the thing with feathers
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Untamed, and make no money writing fanfiction.
Chapter Twelve
Lan Qiren had at first been surprised to have respect for the son of someone as wild as Cangse Sanren, but it had grown over the weeks at Lotus Pier. The boy, despite his lack of memories, did his best in his studies—studies he wasn't even required to take part in, having joined voluntarily if only because they took place in the infirmary due to Wangji's reluctance to leave during the coma.
Continuing them there had been a matter of convenience, and despite the fact that they did not wake Wei Wuxian he still tried to pay attention when he did wake.
From a purely academic standpoint, it was interesting to see what he had retained despite the amnesia. Sometimes it was unclear what was a memory breaking through, but often the boy recognized when that occurred—or, on unfortunate occasions, he suffered a nosebleed.
Healer Lan was of the opinion that it was a combination of the swelling of his brain following the attack and perhaps the impact of the resentful energy they had been unable to remove.
"It's possible the amnesia is the impact of the resentful energy, and when he remembers there is backlash."
The issue was concerning, as too much backlash could potentially cause permanent damage. Jiang Fengmian had expressed concern regarding Wei Wuxian's future if it persisted; were he to become ill on a night hunt, for instance.
Fortunately, at only ten, they would be supervised on night hunts, and his condition could be monitored. As he grew, perhaps the episodes would lessen. There was no way to tell.
Wei Wuxian had impressed his nephews barely days into his consciousness. At first Lan Qiren had been skeptical, but the boy's questions during lessons had been thoughtful and evidenced a quick and curious mind. He had brought Wangji out of his shell more than anyone aside from Xichen. And hearing of Wei WuXian's good reputation around Lotus Pier and his kindness toward orphans assured him of his character.
Lan Qiren had never even considered that a ten year old would teach cultivation to street children to help them survive, let alone that the Jiang clan's response would be to take the children on as disciples.
The youngest had even become the adopted sister of Wei Wuxian, the ritual performed properly in front of his parents' tablets, which had been given their own altar in the ancestral shrine. Wei Changze had apparently been Jiang Fengmian's sworn brother, affording him and his wife a status befitting the decision.
Another side of Wei Wuxian had emerged since the event, with a sister barely older than a toddler clinging to him. He doted on her, including her when she was present. Though she was staying in Jiang Yanli's quarters, there were times she would find her way into the infirmary in the night, still confused and uncertain and seeking comfort. On those occasions Lan Qiren discovered them curled together when he arrived in the mornings.
When Sect Leader Jiang suggested that as her adopted brother, Wei Wuxian should choose her courtesy name—perhaps not something like Suibian, the boy disappeared into the library and made extensive lists in his free time, conversing with Wangji and Xichen as well as the Jiang children over the possibilities. He took the task seriously, as befitting a brother.
Over a week later he approached Jiang Fengmian and proposed A-Lian bestowed the courtesy name Lianxin (莲心) when she came of age. Lotus heart.
"She came from suffering, but she emerged untainted from the muck, not sullied nor debased," the boy said. "A-Lian has the heart of a lotus."
Lan Qiren was impressed by the reference to Zhou Dunyi's poetry. To think Wei Wuxian had been on the streets a year ago but could now reference poetry like a budding scholar!
Sect leader Jiang and Madam Yu seemed similarly pleased, and the courtesy name was approved.
He had also had the opportunity to watch the boy as he returned to training with his fellow disciples, who welcomed him back eagerly. His archery was truly outstanding, and though he was still recovering his stamina he was a splendid swordsman with good footwork—even if he had named his sword something ridiculous.
(Lan Qiren tried not to think of how that would have made Cangse Sanren laugh, especially if she knew Jiang Fengmian had been partly behind it.)
Wei Wuxian had to be shown the Jiang footwork only once and then his muscle memory had taken over, showing just how many hours he had put into his training in just a year.
The son of Cangse Sanren was an able budding cultivator with a bright future.
Jiang Fengmian invited them to accompany the family to a well-known instrument maker for a flute to be commissioned for Wei Wuxian, and Lan Qiren accepted. It would, he felt, be a valuable learning experience for his nephews, even if neither of them played the dizi.
The instrument maker was in the city of Yungping, not too far from Lotus Cove. Since the children could not reliably fly there, they traveled by boat through a series of lotus lakes.
On the way, the Jiang children and Wei Wuxian showed A-Lian, Xichen, and Wangji how to determine whether a lotus pod was ripe, how to pick them, and how to de-shell and peel the membrane from lotus seeds, and how to remove the bitter germ at the heart of each seed before eating.
"You don't have to remove the germ," Jiang Yanli explained. "It's just a bit bitter, so many people prefer it be removed. Healer Kang says eating it benefits the heart, though."
Sect Leader Jiang explained softly that he would reimburse the owners of these lakes for the pods eaten, which satisfied Lan Qiren's concerns of theft.
By the time they reached Yunping, the bottom of the boat was littered with empty pods and shells, and the children were happily sated.
The shop was past the inns in the city, though not too far into the less savory parts.
On display were a variety of demonstration instruments; Xichen was immediately drawn to the xiao, and there were also panxiao, sheng, hulusi, and a variety of others.
The head maker herself greeted them, clearly notified of their visit in advance. She was an older woman, and introduced herself as Lu Zhu, which implied she was not a cultivator but an artisan.
The maker explained that while traditional dizi were carved bamboo, it was not the best material for a spiritual instrument as bamboo was prone to cracking. While a spiritual instrument would strengthen with time spent cultivating, she recommended Wei Wuxian select a different material for the sake of durability.
"You are not simply using this to play music," she said, "but as a spiritual weapon. It must be durable."
First, he was instructed to select a key, and the maker demonstrated the sound of each key on sample bamboo dizi. The gentle folk tunes she played on each had A-Lian clapping happily.
Wei Wuxian selected the D key—which was one of the more typical keys, Lan Qiren knew.
He was learning much from the artisan's explanations and gaining a better appreciation of the dizi. It was perhaps too hastily dismissed as a peasants' instrument by cultivators.
The maker then demonstrated the sounds of different materials in D key, moving between various types of wood and ending with jade, having Wei Wuxian feel the weight of each as well. The boy included his siblings in the latter like a game, and even Xichen and Wangji hefted each dizi out of curiosity.
"There's little point in choosing a material you find too heavy," the instrument maker told him.
He immediately ruled out jade as too heavy, and eventually was focused on choosing between rosewood and sandalwood based on the sound and weight.
When Wei Wuxian raised the sandalwood dizi to his lips experimentally, he got a concerningly faraway, almost grieved look that only disappeared when Jiang Fengmian touched his shoulder in concern.
"Sandalwood," he said softly. "I like how it smells."
"A-Ying, what's wrong?" Sect Leader Jiang asked.
Wei Wuxian abruptly looked far older than ten, his face lined and tired.
"I don't remember, but I miss something," he said after a moment. "Something important."
The scent of sandalwood, Lan Qiren realized, had jogged not a memory, but the feeling associated with the memory.
"Would you prefer the rosewood, A-Xian?" Jiang Yanli asked. "If sandalwood makes you sad…"
He shook his head and smiled.
"Maybe the smell will help me remember."
When presented with samples of different colors of sandalwood, Lan Qiren was unsurprised when he chose red sandalwood. Equally unsurprising, the boy selected black oxhorn as the material for his instrument's ferrules.
Most of Wei Wuxian's clothing was black and red, making his decisions predictable.
"Your dizi's name?" the instrument maker asked.
Wei Wuxian looked startled for a moment, as though he hadn't thought to consider a name. But then he looked distant again.
"Chenqing," he whispered.
Lan Qiren was impressed with the name, especially given Suibian, but perhaps he shouldn't have been given his consideration of Lianxin. In some ways Chenqing, to express feeling, was almost an obvious name for a spiritual instrument, but the name was also impressively wrapped with literary meaning.
"And the poem you want inscribed?"
Wei Wuxian's gaze became distant again, and he recited, "願為雙飛鳥， / 比翼共翱翔。 / 丹青著明誓， / 永世不相忘。 (Couples of birds in flight, / Paired wings soaring. / Cinnabar and green pigments record a vow: / 'I'll never forget you for all eternity.')"
The lines were by one of the Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Ruan Ji, Lan Qiren recognized. The last verses from one poem among a series he had written regarding the "blossoms of peach and plum" of cutsleeve relationships.
It was an odd choice for a child of ten.
Lan Qiren knew the text was in the library at Cloud Recesses, but Xichen and Wangji did not seem to recognize the poem. He was unsurprised by this, as it was not a text generally assigned in classes, and though Wangji was a prolific reader of poetry he could hardly have read through the entire library at his age.
Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu exchanged looks, clearly recognizing the poem.
"A-Ying, are you sure?" Madam Yu asked.
Wei Wuxian nodded, still looking distant.
"I forgot someone. Someone important. I want to remember them."
The child was so ridiculously romantic he could be a Lan himself. Somehow this poem was a vow for him to remember, a shift on the last two lines. Lan Qiren wondered if perhaps he wished to remember his parents, and this poem spoke to him despite being about lovers.
Lu Zhu finished writing the lines down.
"Would you like the inscription in black, then?"
Wei Wuxian shook his head, his countenance still distant as it often was when his mind was recovering memories.
"Gold. They were gold."
"What were gold?" Sect Leader Jiang asked.
He looked concerned, and Lan Qiren couldn't blame him. None of them had expected this trip to have this sort of impact on Wei Wuxian. Picking out a dizi seemed so mundane a task, yet it had not been.
The boy blinked, the distance in his eyes gone. He looked almost despondent.
"I don't remember, shushu. But… I think they're gone."
Jiang Yanli stepped forward, but surprisingly it was Madam Yu who pulled Wei Wuxian gently into a hug.
"So the poem is an homage to them. That is a worthy decision," she told him.
Wei Wuxian nodded.
"Even if it hurts, I want to remember."
The boy didn't shed any tears, despite the grieved note in his voice. He was, Lan Qiren reflected, handling his situation remarkably well, but he also had little other option.
Not true, he had to amend himself; it would have been far too easy for Wei Wuxian to slip into sorrow and self-pity, and perhaps a lesser person might have. The child had lost so much, but had the inner strength, somehow, that many grown men lacked.
Regardless, when Madam Yu released him it was easy to see the slight tremors in the boy's body, less from weakness than from emotion.
He was pleased when Wangji stepped beside him, his nephew's eyes filled with concern.
"We will play together when your instrument is complete. Perhaps music will help you recover those memories."
Wei Wuxian offered him a tremulous smile.
"It should be done in a week, perhaps two," Lu Zhu said. "Once complete, I will have an apprentice bring it to Lotus Cove. The shop next door has tassels and charms, if Wei-gongzi wishes to attach one to the dizi."
Sect Leader Jiang bowed politely to the artisan and extended a purse of money to her.
"We will return to the shop when the dizi is complete. A-Ying will want to choose a charm that matches his instrument, I'm sure."
Lu Zhu returned the bow.
"Thank you for selecting my humble shop, Jiang-zongzhu. It is my honor to create a spiritual instrument for your ward."
"Nephew," Madam Yu corrected, her voice surprisingly gentle. "A-Ying is our nephew."
The woman smiled.
"I am glad your nephew has recovered from his illness."
Even beyond Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian's illness was known, it seemed. News and gossip traveled swiftly.
The Jiangs insisted on visiting the market, while Sect Leader Jiang excused himself to check in with the city magistrate to see if any matters needed to be brought to his attention since he was here.
Though the lotus seeds had assuaged the hunger of the Jiang siblings, Xichen, and Wangji, A-Lian and Wei Wuxian eyed market stalls with clear interest. Both of them were underweight, the boy not quite recovered yet and the girl malnourished from her time on the streets.
Madam Yu noticed this as well and bought them meat buns, then once they had finished, she had all of the children choose spun sugar animals at another stall. Wangji and Wei Wuxian both chose rabbits. Jiang Wanyin chose a dog. Jiang Yanli selected a bird. Xichen, a turtle. Little A-Lian chose a fish.
They continued through the market, Madam Yu occasionally purchasing items either for the children or perhaps herself.
When Jiang Fengmian returned, he looked disgruntled, and pulled Madam Yu aside. Whatever he had to say clearly angered her, as zidian flashed on her hand.
Sect Leader Jiang turned to Lan Qiren and bowed.
"I apologize, but there is an issue we need to resolve here. We may be several hours, and if you would like to take the children back to Lotus Pier instead of waiting for us, we can rent a boat later.
Lan Qiren stroked his beard, noting that Madam Yu's maids seemed intent on accompanying her to resolve the issue, which left him in charge of six children alone. This was not unusual in the Cloud Recesses, but the Jiangs were spirited.
"A-niang, perhaps we should rent a room in an inn?" Jiang Yanli broke in. "A-Lian will go down for a nap soon, and I'm sure A-Xian could use some rest after so much today. I could stay with them, and Lan-laoshi could continue to explore Yunping with A-Cheng and his nephews."
The girl glanced at Lan Qiren questioningly, and he nodded minutely.
Madam Yu seemed taken with this idea, and gave Jiang Yanli enough for a room and, if necessary, meals.
Before they split off, Sect Leader Jiang gestured Lan Qiren to the side.
"There is an issue with a ghost at a local brothel," he said, keeping his voice down so the children wouldn't hear. "Yunmeng wasn't notified because of the nature of the establishment, but it would be remiss not to handle the situation."
Lan Qiren nodded his agreement; regardless of one's station in life, it was a cultivator's job to put the dead to rest. Truly, if the spirit was one of a prostitute, he hoped they could be liberated to enter the cycle of rebirth, perhaps to a more fortunate life.
"I appreciate your willingness to stay with the children. Had I known there was an issue in Yunping I would have brought disciples."
Truth be told, Lan Qiren preferred not to be seen near a brothel, though he would certainly aid in the liberation if necessary. He had an inkling Jiang Fengmian was aware of that fact and was allowing him to save face.
"It is no trouble," he said.
Jiang Fengmian bowed respectfully in thanks, as did Madam Yu and her maids, and he watched them head off.
When he turned back to the children, Jiang Yanli was carrying A-Lian on her back, the child tired following what for her was a large meal and an active day. He herded the children toward a nearby inn, only for Wei Wuxian to point to a different one, his expression distant again.
"That one has better food."
He swayed alarmingly, and Wangji rushed to steady him. Jiang Wanyin took his sword, as he had when this had occurred in the Lotus Pier market.
"We've never been to that inn," Jiang Wanyin said.
Confusion passed over Wei Wuxian's features. Wangji kept careful hold of him, clearly concerned the boy might collapse. Thankfully, his nose did not bleed as it had on other occasions, and he finally shrugged.
"I don't know how I know, but I know."
Jiang Yanli made the decision for them, hefting A-Lian higher on her back and heading toward the inn Wei Wuxian had indicated.
Shortly they were gathered around a table in a well-cleaned and simply furnished room. A-Lian was tucked into one of the beds in the room, and although he protested when his martial sister led him to another bed, Wei Wuxian was shortly asleep as well.
Lan Qiren was not terribly surprised when Wangji asked to stay behind at the inn; his youngest nephew hated crowds, and the market was quite busy. Instead he recommended Wangji meditate. On the way out, he asked the innkeeper to send up tea for Jiang Yanli and him.
The day was pleasant, having only Xichen and young Jiang Wanyin to look after as they browsed the market. The latter was clearly taking advantage of the lack of his siblings to pick out gifts for them, using his spending money to make purchases of small practical things like ribbons, dizi membranes, empty sachets for herb mixtures, and even a little doll, presumably for A-Lian.
He wasn't quite certain how Sect Leader Jiang and Madam Yu would find them, given they didn't know which inn they would select, so Lan Qiren kept an eye in the direction they had left for them.
It was late afternoon, and he was considering returning to the inn and ensuring the children ate a good meal, when there was a stir from that part of the marketplace. Lan Qiren urged the boys to stay close and headed in that direction.
To his surprise, the sect leader and his wife were leading a group of perhaps ten or fifteen women dressed in cheap courtesan robes. The women were all carrying makeshift bags, and one of them was holding the hand of a young boy about Wangji's age, perhaps younger. Madam Yu's zidian was crackling on her hand, perhaps indicating her temper.
Before Lan Qiren could ask any questions, one of Madam Yu's maids asked Jiang Wanyin to bring her to his siblings, clearly meaning to collect them, but perhaps also to remove the boy from the conversation. He considered whether he should send Xichen with them, but his nephew could perhaps take a lesson from what had occurred.
Jiang Fengmian's smile was tired, and he gestured to indicate they should walk toward the boat; ideally, this meant the townspeople would not listen into the conversation. It was clear not everyone would fit on the boat they had brought, and so they would likely need to charter a second.
"We were able to liberate the spirit," he said to begin. "As it turned out, the brothel had purchased these young women into sexual slavery, and the ghost was likely a victim."
"All these women were victims," Madam Yu huffed angrily, cutting in. "They had to buy themselves back but pay exorbitant prices for their room and board and received no earnings. Unacceptable."
Lan Qiren glanced at the women, many of whom seemed exhausted and wrung out. He wondered if this was also a practice in Gusu, or if it was limited to Yunmeng, but he had a feeling he would not like the answer.
"And what will become of them?" he asked eventually, glancing at Xichen, who was listening with wide eyes.
"They will be educated, if they wish, or trained to have better future prospects," Madam Yu said. "These young ladies wished for that. A few others decided to ply their trade elsewhere."
He nodded, nonplussed. He had never heard of any cultivation sect doing anything like this, had not considered that could be an answer.
"'Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others,'" Xichen murmured. "Ren."
Lan Qiren was startled by his nephew's acuity in making the connection to the teachings of Confucius, though he immediately felt badly for it—Xichen was an exceptional student, and he had no doubt the teen had been thinking about this since the Jiang sect had taken in the street children Wei Wuxian had been teaching. There was a depth of ren in those actions, and in this.
"Truly, ren," he replied to his nephew softly, and was gratified when the boy beamed.
He wondered how this might impact Xichen's view of his role as future sect leader and thought perhaps the Jiang sect's free spirited impulsivity was not always a bad thing.
"It is the virtue of my lady wife," Jiang Fengmian explained proudly.
Madam Yu blushed and huffed.
"It's barbaric," she muttered. "And the practice should be stopped."
She was speaking of sexual slavery within brothels, he realized. Lan Qiren got the impression Yu Ziyuan intended to see it halted personally.
"The boy is, according to his mother, the son of a cultivator," Madam Yu continued. "She is literate and taught him. She is willing to teach our newest disciples to read and write."
Sect Leader Jiang smiled widely.
"As you surmised, Lan Xichen, Jiang sect is enlarged in this action, and all of Yunmeng by my lady's benevolence."
He wondered how all of that would be handled, but before he could ask further questions, Madam Yu's maid rejoined them with the children, and the conversation turned away from things inappropriate for children so young.
Jiang Fengmian introduced them to their new shidi—Meng Yao, apparently—but said little about the women. Though Jiang Yanli looked at them with curiosity, she held her questions for later, instead greeting her newest shidi with a bow, which encouraged Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin to do the same. Even little A-Lian bowed, and the new boy broke into a dimpled smile at the sight. Though Xichen and Wangji were not of Yunmeng Jiang, they too bowed and introduced themselves.
As they neared the dock for the journey back to Lotus Pier, Lan Qiren imagined they made quite a colorful group, the townspeople watching them as they left the city.
He couldn't find it in himself to mind.
I didn't expect this chapter to go in the direction it did, but I'm happy with it. In terms of Madam Yu's continued shifting, I kind of see her as feeling shaky in her role as mistress of Lotus Cove because she felt her husband was in love with a dead woman and not her. Now that she knows this is not the case, she's starting to define her role more. I decided to instead show this shift through Lan Qiren's eyes.
I like playing here with the way that things can change incidentally. They are only in Yunping to get Wei Wuxian a spiritual dizi, and Jiang Fengmian views it as polite to greet the magistrate, which is how he learns of the haunting, which undoubtedly would have eventually been dealt with by a cultivator using the brothel but perhaps using suppression or elimination. Where a lot of time travel AUs have the time traveler changing things purposefully, Wei Wuxian can't in this fic, and thus these are just continued ripples from the inciting event.
Yes, the poem Wei Wuxian chooses is cutsleeve poetry, and he specifically focuses on the last four lines of it, which seem to reference the Chinese idiom "比翼鳥" (biyiniao) which is a pair of lovebirds or a devoted couple. The "cinnabar and green pigments" refers to history, so recording a vow in history to never forget each other. Yet he has forgotten, which is part of the bittersweet aspect of that choice. Jiang Fengmian, Madam Yu, and Lan Qiren assume he's thinking of his parents, because who else would it be? The choice in poem is weird for that, but who's gonna tell him how to grieve? Yes, it is in that book of poetry I bought and am obsessed with. Also, two cutsleeve poems in the collection (that I've seen so far) reference blossoms of peach and plum, leading me to believe it's a euphemism or symbol of sorts.
Random, but Lu Zhu's name is 芦 as in reed (the plant) and 竹 as in bamboo. There is actually a plant called reed bamboo (Arundo donax), and it's also the district of Taoyuan City in Taiwan, which is incidental. Basically, her name is bamboo reed and she makes reed instruments. Don't judge.