Kang Ruien was once again woken up that night by a half-drunk Nie Mingjue who dragged him back to his quarters with no explanation. But once there, with Ruien sitting patiently on his bed, the clan leader only paced the edges of the room. Ruien couldn't tell exactly what was upsetting him, but he didn't need much help to guess who.

"Has something happened with Lianfang-zun?" he asked.

"What do you think?!" Mingjue snapped, then promptly returned to his pacing.

Ruien normally felt he was quite good at concealing his emotions, but on the issue of Jin Guangyao, he was finding he had less and less patience. "I've told you what I think, Clan Leader."

"Heh," Mingjue barked out a bitter laugh. "I don't remember any such advice from you. This should be good."

Ruien pulled his braid over his shoulder idly, and symbolically sealed off his heart to the man he loved as jealousy flared like an ember stoked by wind inside him. At the same time, he also knew that overt signs of pettiness would only earn him Nie Mingjue's disgust. He couldn't say what he actually thought.

"Forgive me. I spoke above my station."

"Don't hide behind formality just because you're afraid of me," Mingjue growled in reply, glaring at him like a wolf from across the room. "If you have a problem, then say it."

Ruien struggled to control his breathing, feeling stabbed by pain at his clan leader's insensitivity. Even if he didn't already know how Ruien felt, he clearly didn't care. He just didn't like being contradicted.

"I am not afraid of you. I am your subordinate, and I owe you respect," Ruien murmured, hoping the frustration did not appear in his voice.

"No. Molly-coddling my feelings isn't respect. It's subservience," Mingjue shot back.

"Subservience is appropriate for a deputy toward his clan leader."

"Ha!" Mingjue laughed without the slightest hint of mirth. "That's what you think, is it?"

"…it is true."

Mingjue nodded, picking up a jar of wine from atop a nearby shelf and taking a drink. "Good to know. So I will have to find myself a new deputy then, because you're clearly not up to the task. What's your plan? To keep getting yourself demoted until you're all the way down to 'whore'?"

Ruien got to his feet. Part of him knew that this wasn't about him. Nie Mingjue was upset about something to do with Jin Guangyao. He shouldn't take this personally. But no matter how many times he told himself that, his anger would not cool.

"Did you call me here for a reason, Clan Leader?" he asked coldly.

Mingjue took another drink, and Ruien wasn't sure but it seemed that some difficult emotion passed over his face. "No," he said darkly. "Get out."

With that, the clan leader walked in to his own bedchamber, then lay down with his wine jug in one hand and the other arm draped over his eyes. Seeing him like this, the anger that had prompted Ruien to want to leave began to dim. He sighed and, even though he had just been told to get out, came to lean against the partition between the two rooms, watching Nie Mingjue's diminished form.

It was obvious that, despite his words, Mingjue needed comfort. Most likely, Ruien thought, he needed someone to encourage him to be open with his feelings for Jin Guangyao. But even though he had tried to do so before, Ruien couldn't bring himself to do so now.

"You looked very handsome today."

Mingjue's large body stiffened somewhat. He removed his arm from over his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He turned his head to one side rather sullenly.

"I didn't call you here to stroke my ego," he muttered. "And my yang energy is fine, so seduction isn't necessary."

Ruien raised an eyebrow. "Are the two things related? You looked handsome, so I said so. I had no deeper meaning."

Mingjue frowned for a time in uncertainty. "Aren't you the one who's always keen to point out my faults?"

"Looks is not one of them," Ruien answered somewhat playfully.

Mingjue scoffed; almost, but not quite a laugh. "So. Bit late in asking this, I suppose. Are you a cut-sleeve, Kang Ruien?"

Ruien's chest felt as if a cold breeze had blown through it. Along with his fear of his clan leader discovering his feelings, he was also reminded of every failed attempt at a relationship so far in his life. Fortunately Nie Mingjue was still facing the ceiling and not looking at him, because he would have seen the decades of resentment which Ruien usually did his best to hide.

"I'm a foreigner," he said simply. "Nothing else seems to matter."

At this, Mingjue finally reacted a bit more like his normal self. He pushed himself up to a seated position and looked hard at Ruien. "You said your home was Qinghe, didn't you? So answer me like any other myrmidon of the Unclean Realm."

Ruien physically shivered with the force of the love he felt for this man. His purity of spirit was sometimes blinding, and sometimes resulted in absolute pig-headedness, but sometimes it was a quality deserving of the deepest reverence.

"As far as Clan Leader Nie is concerned," Ruien said softly, fear nearly closing up his throat. "I suppose I am."

Nie Mingjue eventually took this in with a nod. "Fair enough," he said.

He shifted his feet off the bed in order to reach over to the bedside table and grab a cup, which he then filled with wine. He held out the full cup his side. Despite a moment of apprehension, Ruien took a seat beside him and accepted the cup. They both drank together, and then Mingjue filled his cup again.

"You don't have to stay," Mingjue said softly, at length.

"I'm not tired."

"…I mean with me. With my clan." Mingjue addressed the wine jug, dwarfed by his large hand as he muttered, "I wasn't kidding earlier. It's not just A-Yao. The sensitive and the intelligent are wasted under my command. Huaisang only wishes I had the power to set him free, but sadly for him, I don't think he could make it on his own. You could."

Ruien gazed down at the scattered moonlight reflected in his wine. "Is there another clan with another Nie Mingjue?" he asked.

Mingjue glanced down at him with a deep frown, saying nothing.

Ruien shrugged and downed his second cup of wine. "Then I don't much see the point."

Mingjue took this in for a few moments in silence. Eventually, he set aside his wine jug. He took the cup from Ruien's hands and set it aside too. The next moment, Ruien felt a large, calloused hand on his face, and the handsome and terrifying shadow of his clan leader drawing over his face. Mingjue kissed him slowly but firmly. Doubly warmed by the alcohol spreading through his body, he leaned back into the bed and wrapped his arms around his awkward and divine beloved.

…

Partly in an attempt to encourage Lan Xichen to return to the Cloud Recesses, Jin Guangyao resumed his normal duties the next day. These included, for him, being the center of a network of informants who were more or less loyal to the Jin but all of whom had a debt of some kind toward Jin Guangyao as an individual. It was through this network, dormant for the past month as he healed, that he heard of something unsavory brewing.

One of his informants had told him of unique scars briefly visible on the body of Jin Zixun, as he was filling in for Zixun's regular servant to assist in his morning cleansing. By the description, although the informant himself was unaware of the significance, Guangyao could tell it was the Hundred Holes Curse. Since Zixun was neither clever nor enterprising enough to actually curse anyone else, he must be the victim, not the caster.

Guangyao's first honest feeling on hearing this was a sense of relief, as Zixun was an unpleasant person who was simultaneously a threat to Guangyao's ambitions. Even so, if left unchecked, it might lead to something tragic which affected others. He gave non-specific instructions to his other informants to be on the lookout for physical abnormalities in other cultivators who either lived in or visited Carp Tower.

The wedding festivities now complete, the other noble families gave their final well-wishes and made their farewells to return home. Guangyao had hoped the Lan brothers would be among them, as he had been more or less successfully avoiding Lan Xichen since that night, but he didn't see them. He did receive quite a shock of a different kind, however.

Nie Mingjue, as he left with his myrmidons, Nie Huaisang on one side and Kang Ruien on the other, said a polite congratulations to the couple, and then stopped before Jin Guangyao. Guangyao's heartbeat rose at the way he threateningly loomed over him. He was not so much afraid of the physical harm Mingjue might do him, but in this context much more frightened of being humiliated by him.

As it turned out, his fears were for naught.

A large fist bumped softly against his ribs. He blinked up at the bearer in astonishment. Looking him in the eyes with a protectiveness that Guangyao had not seen for years, Mingjue told him simply, "Be good."

And then he was gone.

Jin Guangyao stood perplexed by this small interaction for so long he almost lost track of what he was supposed to be doing. He quickly looked up and smiled, bidding goodbye to the next noble family, all the while the wheels turning in his head and getting nowhere. What was going on in the mind of Nie Mingjue?

When he attempted to return to his chamber to rest for an hour or so before his evening duties began, he almost walked straight into Lan Xichen.

"A-Yao," said the angel with a dazzling smile that shot straight through Jin Guangyao's heart. "Good that I found you. Since you are healed now, do you have time for some guqin practice together?"

Guangyao let out a soft breath of relief, though little of the tension eased from his body. Given Xichen's utter inability to hide major emotions, clearly he did not remember the previous night. Though that was a great weight off his shoulders, it would not save him from the uncomfortable conversation that had to come next.

"Er-ge…it is not that I am not grateful," he began slowly. "But…the Cloud Recesses are still being rebuilt. Is this not so?"

Xichen hesitated, but he had to nod slightly, knowing Guangyao was well informed by him of the state of the Cloud Recesses.

"And your uncle still requires much help."

"He has Wangji," Xichen said with unusual conviction. He did not seem angry or upset, but Guangyao was still surprised at how firmly he denied his own responsibilities as a clan leader. "They two are capable of handling almost any eventuality that might trouble Gusu. But there are things here that only I can do."

"…what do you mean, Er-ge?"

Xichen graced him with a warm and slightly secret smile. "Guqin practice, for example."

For someone normally so open and easy to read, this entire interchange was bordering on bizarre. Guangyao's first response was of course, 'there are plenty of people to practice the guqin with,' though that would have been rude to say to a clan leader and a master guqin player like Lan Xichen. And obviously the rebuilding of one's home should take priority over helping a friend at music practice. He tried to convey all this with a troubled expression, but Xichen only continued beaming his expectant smile down on him.

Guangyao let out a soft sigh and offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Er-ge. The truth is, I don't really have the heart for guqin practice. Perhaps another time?"

The hope in Xichen's eyes began to dim. "But…you have studied so faithfully up until now," he said, attempting a hesitant smile again. "And after being out of practice for a month, I would have thought-"

"Yes, precisely," Guangyao said with false cheer. "Since you were kind enough to play for me almost every day as I healed, my own scrambling noises now sound abhorrent to me. I'm sorry, Er-ge. I'm sure I will feel much more enthusiastic after a short break."

It seemed to take a few moments for this to sink in, before Xichen eventually nodded softly. "…then…shall I come back in a week?"

Guangyao tried to smile, but the thought of being separated from Lan Xichen on the one hand and revealing what he had done on the other were almost unbearable. "There is no rush. You are always welcome in Carp Tower, Zewu-jun, but do not come for me. Excuse me, I need to prepare for evening duties."

He bowed and left a stunned Xichen behind in his wake, no doubt further struck by Guangyao's sudden formality with him after so long. But this was the least he could do. A month of malingering while being serenaded by the most perfect creature in the universe, not to mention stealing his first kiss, were crimes that required a heavy penance.

From that time, months passed with little change. Lan Xichen still visited Carp Tower about once a month in order to practice with and play for Guangyao. Each time he did, Guangyao had to use all his energy to hold back tears. It seemed harder and harder to do each time. Being apart from him, and his music, made his presence and the love Guangyao felt for him all the more intensely felt.

Then one morning as he was preparing for the day, one of his informants approached him and whispered in his ear, "The Moling Su Clan's clan leader, Su Minshan, is scarred all over his body."

Guangyao took this in for a moment and nodded, dismissing the servant. It took him some time to draw the connection between Jin Zixun and Su She. It occurred to him that, although the two rarely met, the handful of occasions he could think of did seem to involve some amount of cruelty on Zixun's part. But were casual insults really enough to curse someone over?

He found Su She alone in one of the smaller training grounds the next morning, which he was known to frequent. Su She seemed to like Guangyao a great deal, though he was quite transparent in his obsequiousness, and the fact that his devotion was due entirely to Guangyao's having remembered his name. But as a result he greeted him warmly, and after exchanging pleasantries, Guangyao commented on the way he seemed to be scratching at his chest.

Su She blinked rapidly and looked away, unable to disguise his guilt. "Oh…it's nothing. A rash."

"Is that so? Well then drastic steps may need to be taken. I have seen Jin Zixun scratching in exactly the same way. Perhaps it is spreading."

"No!" Su She cried hurriedly.

Guangyao smiled at him with pity at how poorly concealed his plot was. Realizing he could never have hid it from Jin Guangyao to begin with, Su She folded in on himself until he crouched on the ground, holding his knees as if for comfort.

"…he deserves it…" he grumbled.

Guangyao tilted his head to ponder that. "Arguably. But is it really revenge if the object doesn't know who's doing it to them, or why? I must say, this plot seems poorly conceived from the start, Minshan."

Though he seemed once again touched to be referred to by his courtesy name by a superior, Su She looked pitiful and even on the verge of tears. "…Lianfang-zun…don't tell them. I'll stop. I won't kill him."

"The curse will do that eventually whether you continue casting it or not," Guangyao said confidently. "It's a matter of how soon and in how much agony he will perish. Of course, his suffering would be much eased if the caster himself died first."

Su She's eyes filled with fear as he crouched on the ground before Guangyao. Suddenly he shot to his feet and menaced the smaller man, all his deference morphed into frightened outrage. "I can't die yet! Lianfang-zun! You've always been kind to me! Please, don't end my life when it's just beginning! You must take pity on me!"

Jin Guangyao closed his eyes tiredly, forced to calculate whether Jin Zixun or Su Minshan were more valuable alive. It took him a moment to realize there was no question it was Su Minshan. He was loyal to him, not without power of his own, and unable to threaten Jin Guangyao's position. Why had he even considered saving Jin Zixun, who was at best indifferent toward him, and occasionally cruel? Because they were family? Why would that suddenly matter?

He opened his mouth to give the appropriate response, that he would help Su She as long as he followed his instructions. He had said the same thing countless times to others whose secrets he kept. But there was a sudden lurch in his heart that stopped the words coming out. His lips fell closed again.

Su She's fear only seemed to grow at his continued silence. "You can't! If you do…ah! If you do, it will reflect badly on the whole Jin family! Jin Zixun is not strong enough to hold back the Hundred Holes Curse, or even detect its caster!"

Guangyao barely even considered this option. He shook his head. "If the Jin family can withstand the presence of the son of a prostitute, it can withstand a cousin with poor cultivation."

Su She's distress grew, his eyes darting back and forth along the ground as he tried to think of another way out. "The Lan!" he said suddenly, at which point Guangyao's confidence faded. "I was once a disciple of the Lan! If you tell the Jin what I did, I'll tell everyone that I only lashed out because they taught me to do so!"

"…no one would believe such a thing."

"Maybe not everyone. Maybe not at first," Su She wheedled, drawing closer and whispering. "But you know better than most the power of words, Lianfang-zun. I know you. Any of these noble fops you would throw under a carriage wheel without a second thought. But Zewu-jun?"

As Guangyao's eyes hardened and he glared at the misguided young cultivator, Su She let out a slightly crazed laugh.

"Yes…yes, that's right. You'd do anything for him. Even to protect him from a baseless rumor."

Few things had ever aggravated Jin Guangyao more than these few sentences spoken by someone whose devotion he thought was reliable.

"…do nothing until I say," he said at length. Looking up into his eyes to make sure the message was received, he added, "And conduct yourself with more care."

"Yes, Lianfang-zun! You have my word!" said Su She, bowing deeply.

A situation like this would normally have been little more than mildly amusing to Jin Guangyao not long ago. And yet, as he left the training ground, he could not help feeling he was being pulled in opposite directions, with no escape from either path. That night, he brought out his guqin but did not play it, longing for far more dulcet notes than he himself could ever produce. He wondered what Lan Xichen might be doing at this moment. He longed to see his face, and cursed himself for such presumption in the same breath.