A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, and thank you for your continued interest in A Mother's Love! :D Thank you to everyone who has liked, commented, and subscribed! :D
Chapter 13 has been updated since it's original posting. I fixed some errors in the final section/Wen Renyin's pov and expanded on some of the details relating to the Wen Remnants. So you may want to go back and check it out! (I also kept going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to expand the Mo Family chapter for awhile, but decided it might be too redundant and I could just add other cool details later, but that did slow down my updating speed, so, apologies!)
As a reminder: The forest is called: Jīn Wù Sēnlín, which supposedly means "Golden Mist Forest". The village is called: Huángjīn Wù Cūn, which also hopefully means (according to Google Translate) "Village of the Golden Mists". The area is low-lying with surrounding mountains so it is often very misty, and during 'golden hour', those mists often get lit up like a golden veil blanketed across the land. So like, it pretty.
Annnnd, let's get to it! :D
Previously on "A Mother's Love": Nie Huaisang is a Bro, Wei Wuxian needs a minute, and Wen Renyin is proud of her heritage. Oh, and the Mo Family got introduced...
...
Chapter 15: The Hunt: It Begins
Wei Wuxian stepped into his and Jiang Cheng's room at the inn, rubbing his eyes. He was starting to get a bit of a headache, and his eyes hurt, probably strain from the busy day, which wasn't uncommon. Huángjīn Wù Cūn had been unexpectedly full, with far more cultivators than they'd thought there'd be, pressing into the little town. His head felt like it was buzzing with all the snatches of half-heard conversation and moving forms. Most of which, annoyingly, seemed to be just on the edge of hearing or sight. It had been very distracting. And though he figured it had mostly been in his head, he felt like there'd been eyes on him all day. Were they staring for the usual reasons, or something more?
He shook his head and pulled Chenqing and Zhou from his belt, looking around. The room was small, but comfortable. A chamberpot with vanishing talismans on the bowl for the contents – an unexpected luxury for such a small outlying town (which had probably been supplied by the hosting sect) – stood situated in the corner behind a simple changing screen. Two narrow beds were placed with their headboards against the far wall with their feet pointing towards the door, with a small bedside table placed between them, which stood under the only window (strong locking mechanism-that was good). On the left hand side there was also a vanity with a small mirror and chair, with a wash basin set on top. The window was closed, but the room itself smelt like it had been freshly aired, the floors well swept and the bed linens clean. There weren't any closets or storage trunks, but that didn't really surprise him, since the inn didn't seem to usually cater to long term guests.
Their room also seemed to have more pillows than the girls' room had, probably because the inn knew this room had been booked for the sect leader. There'd been more than two beds in the other rooms the Jiang's had booked (which were admittedly bigger than this one) and had only one pillow each. Whereas these beds had three pillows. Each. And another two on the vanity. Well, he'd seen worse and weirder.
All in all – a comfortable room.
The beds had been made up equally, probably so as to not give offense by presuming a sect leader's preference, since such consideration wouldn't be given to an average senior who was more likely to be in attendance on these type of hunts, nor even a senior disciple. Since the extras were obviously in consideration for Jiang Cheng. The one with whom people would wish to score brownie-points, or appease. People had done little things like this since they were kids.
(What Wei Ying didn't realize was that the innkeeper had a daughter in the WuBai who'd kept them up to date in the latest cultivation world gossip, and due to the unexpected demand for their rooms, had felt increasingly flustered at the idea of placing a Sect Leader and his brother in one of their poorest rooms, even if it had been the only ones left. Let alone the Sandu Shengshou and the Yiling Patriarch in what had once been a storage closet. Hence, the extra pillows.)
He shook his head at the pillows on the bed, Jiang Cheng was probably going to end up with at least two of those pillows on the floor by the end of the night. His siblings liked to say that Wei Wuxian slept like a starfish: either spread-out across all available room or hugging something. But once he nodded off he slept like the dead and barely moved, or at least he did before the war. Since then he'd become a bit more of a lighter sleeper. But where Wei Wuxian became a limp log of a limpet, Jiang Cheng was the complete opposite – thrashing around and rolling over with absolutely no patience for impeding bedclothes. No one wanted to sleep next to him on camping trips or extended nighthunts for this reason, he'd been known to kick neighboring disciples out of their bedrolls without waking up. He hadn't been allowed to sleep next to the fire anymore, after an incident when they were twelve.
Shijie, being the embodiment of perfection that she was, always had perfect sleeping posture. Especially in comparison. And the patience of a saint when they used to come crawling into her bed after nightmares. But…though she didn't roll around in the bed or steal the covers, she did have a tendency to talk…and walk. Most of the time it was just muttering. He and Jiang Cheng used to hold competitions to see who could hold longer conversations with her when they'd been very small – and her 'fake sleep-talking voice' was decidedly different from her real one. With her talking the more common thing.
But...there had been a time she'd walked all the way to the kitchens during a stressful week leading up to a discussion conference the Jiang were hosting, where a passing servant happened to wake her up halfway through the prep for the opening banquet's planned menu. Luckily, she hadn't moved onto the portion that included anything sharp or flammable before someone found her. Though personally, Wei Ying figured, if anyone could successfully cook while sleeping, it would be shijie.
Madam Yu had been angry when she found out. Surprisingly, not because of the sleep walking or it going unnoticed for so long. But because Shijie had been doing the food prep herself, when she was only suppose to be directing the household staff during the banquet. Reminding her that cooking for the family was one thing, but that Jiang Yanli was nobody's servant, especially those outside the Jiang. And that the idiots at the conference couldn't afford her anyway.
He'd actually heard that shijie'd slept walked a few times since moving into Koi tower. But each time Jin Zixuan had stopped her before she made it out the door. Thankfully. But which also made him facilitate between 'aww' and 'eww' whenever he'd think about it. And he didn't want to think about it. The 'aww' because they were in love, and when you got over the second-hand embarrassment, Jin Zixuan's attentions towards her were pretty adorkable. And 'eww' because that was his sister and they were sharing a room. So. He tried not to think about it too much. Wei Wuxian adored Jin Ling and had absolutely no intention of ever contemplating anything even tangential to the nature of his origins.
Jin Ling just popped out of a radish patch fully formed. That was the official story. And Wei Ying was sticking to it.
Xiao-Wei kicked as if they were laughing at him.
Wei Ying shook his head at himself as he inspected the room. Checking it for traps and any other unpleasant surprises (rather they be curses, an overlooked spectre, or something more innocuous – like mites in the bedding). Thankfully, it was all clear. And he tapped up some protective talismans to make sure it stayed that way. All common procedure in the Jiangs. Something he'd been doing for years.
You'd of thought Jiang Cheng and Shijie would've got their strange sleeping habits from their father. Jiang Fengmian was the cuddly, personable mentor figure to Yu ZiYuan's more strict nature rolled up in intimidating impressiveness and finely honed skill, after all (which just spoke towards her power, since the former sect leader Jiang had been nothing to scoff at). If anyone were to do something so lackadaisical and out-of-form as sleep-walking, the common comparisons between the two would make majority assumptions lean more readily towards Uncle Jiang. Not because he wasn't an impressive figure, but because such 'soft' idiosyncrasies just seemed more in-line with his character.
But the summer before the Gusu lectures, Wei Ying had come sneaking in at near three in the morning after an ill-advised prank that was totally-instigated-solely-by-his-shidi-and-not-something-Wei-Ying-had-gotten-inordinately-excited-over. Something that had a lot to do with chickens, one temperamental houseplant, and a strange noise which had 'totally been the neighbor's housecat' before revealing itself to be a confused and strangely-out-of-habitat adolescent lynx that was accompanied by an extremely pissed off silver fox. Both animals had left without a scrape, and Wei Ying swore that fox had looked him dead in the eye as if amused, before it and the lynx trotted off. Leaving the boys to try to detangle themselves from the fishing net that had come out of no-where, covered in feathers and fish guts.
Needless to say, that had been the initial reason why he had never accepted a dare from Zhu Chen again.
The group of them had snuck back in pairs and, being the odd one out, Wei Wuxian had followed last. He'd just been sneaking in, almost on the home stretch, looking forward toward nothing more than his warm bed and the first aid kit next to it and the bath behind that, he could even see the tops of the magnolia with the weird bark patterns that lived outside his room! It'd all been going good, when it happened.
He'd turned a corner and nearly run Smack. Into. Madam. Yu.
Internally panicking he'd tried to look as unsuspicious as possible – the abundance of mud on his clothes weren't really helping – and was already expecting a thorough scolding with heaps of derisive disappointment ('if you really must insist on such unsanctioned displays the least you could do is not embarrass me by getting caught') when she'd done…absolutely nothing. She'd walked past him as if she didn't even see him, though he'd literally come almost nose to nose with her (well, more eye-to-chin, he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet) and not in a 'I'm-going-to-give-you-the-glacier-shoulder-for-breaking-the-rules' kind of way.
Thoroughly convinced at this point that she'd been possessed, or placed under some sort of enchantment, and deeply disturbed about what could have managed to do so, he'd followed her with feather-feet with a sword half drawn. Trying to figure out how to alert the compound without losing her or somehow causing a mass-panic, while also keeping the perpetrator from learning of their discovery and perhaps upping their plans before they could act. So, imagine his surprise when he'd heard hurrying footsteps behind him, only to swing around- sword now drawn – to discover Sect Leader Jiang! Uncle Jiang's face had gone from slightly concerned, to bemused, to distinctly amused as his eyes flicked up and down Wei Ying's currently highly-delinquent-in-appearance form.
Uncle Jiang had smiled at him putting a finger to his lips, before mouthing 'sleep walking' while pointing at Madam Yu. He'd then gently taken her by the arm and led her away with a wink. It was only at that moment that Wei Ying had realized that both adults were still in their pajamas, and that Madam Yu was also walking around barefoot, which she deeply abhord for any of the disciples to do while out of doors in the main compound. Something that Wei Ying had distantly been aware of and had only really consciously took note of once he realized that the supposed danger had passed. It was also the only time he had ever seen either of the clan leaders with their hair down.
To this day he still considers it one of the strangest incidents he'd found himself in. He couldn't look Uncle Jiang in the face for days without the man's eyes twinkling at him. Admittedly Wei Ying had gone slack-jawed at the reveal that no preternatural forces had been at play when Uncle Jiang had stumbled upon them. He probably had looked pretty funny.
He still couldn't believe the smell hadn't woken her.
Walking over to the table, Wei Ying set Chenqing and Zhou down, before peering out the window. A decent view of Jīn Wù Sēnlín could be seen, the dark tops of the trees waving in the early evening breeze. It was close, he could smell the pine and juniper, but with enough of a buffer of low rising buildings between the inn and it to feel safe.
Wei Ying had wanted to get a closer look at the forest before the hunt, but by the time they'd arrived he'd been absolutely STARVING and the three of them had decided to get an early dinner while the juniors explored instead. Even though they'd already had a midday meal barely two hours earlier along the way. (It was travel food but still filling and reasonably delicious. Because they were YunmengJiang and could attempt and achieve the impossible, even with something as impossible as tasty travel rations).
Sighing, he started pulling off the heavy outer robes he was wearing. Both Zhu Zian and Jiang Cheng had stopped by his bedroom that morning and had gone over the clothes he'd packed and was wearing with a fine-tooth comb. Making him change twice. Everything had been carefully tucked, layered, and constructed to even and smooth his silhouette and draw attention away from his abdomen. A clever construction of stiff, thick fabrics, leading lines, optical illusion, and color theory. On close inspection he merely looked to have gained some weight, which honestly helped what they were trying to do here with the whole 'stability' image. He'd been getting ghastly thin by the end of the war. That, combined with his increased energy lately, and what Wang Zuan had hilariously referred to as a 'glow' this morning, and a decided lack of malignant beings lurking in his shadow, had contributed to an all-around effect of relative health and normality to his appearance.
He was very glad he'd had the forethought to place some cooling charms in the underlayers, or even with the day's autumn breeze he would have been broiling by now. It had also felt strange, getting to wear senior-Jiang-purples and blues. All his clothes, except for a few presents from his siblings, had been provided by the sect. He'd always figured that the design had been chosen by Madam Yu's, though he supposed it could have been Uncle Jiang's, direction. Because of this, he'd been wearing mostly black with red accents since he'd outgrown the hand-me-down novice robes he'd been given when he first arrived at Lotus Pier. Though through the long exposure, he now favored the darker colors, seeing them for the stain-saving-grace that they were. But before, the colors had set him apart.
However, shortly after Sunshot, Doctor Li had commented how much the apparel looked like what his father used to wear, and how much Wei Ying had grown to look like Wei Changzei. That in certain light, his adult self might make you think Wei Changzei had just walked through the door, though he'd inherited his mother's eyes and, apparently, ears.
So.
He'd also heard members of other sects call the black and reds 'servants' clothes'. With some going so far as to question the lack of uniformity in the Jiang staff robes' in front of him. (Fuck them, there was nothing wrong with dark colors, they were just fucking practical, so of course laborers, or you know, people who actually fucking work might favor them, and they looked damn good on him too! The black made his eyes pop! Shijie had said so!) With others assuming he had always dressed that way by design, showcasing an 'disagreeable sort of, independence'.
But now knowing this about Wei Changzei, had just made him wear the colors with more pride. Even if he had looked like the odd-duck out sometimes. Insisting that it was funny when outsiders refused to believe he was actually a Jiang disciple on his first few nighthunts as a junior disciple (and most of the time it really had been) before he'd become greater known amongst the cultivation world (gremlin powers and heresy could apparently do that to you), when anyone questioned it.
And again, the fact that black was decidedly harder to stain was a distinct bonus. However, the lack of wide gentry sleeves had been a personal choice, that Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu really hadn't fought that hard against. Though Wei Ying was capable of wearing ridiculous flowing formal clothes and remaining presentable without face-planting, he'd found them tediously impractical and would wrap his sleeves on even the more casual models of his novice robes. Since there was nothing inherently rude about wearing narrow sleeves, even if it wasn't considered 'high fashion' and a status symbol in most cultivation circles when outside a nighthunt. And since cutting out the expense of adding unused yardage of unwanted sleeves had been only practical, Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu had been fine with the change. Only making him wear the long sleeves on his most formal of robes, which he'd worn mostly at such rare occasions as weddings or births (and he'd only ever had the opportunity to attend those in-sect before the war) or on the rare occasion of their youth when they'd wanted to make a statement, since encumbering your head disciple in foreign territory was generally just a dumb idea, even amongst friends.
So by the time he was old enough for outsiders to recognize him, he only really ever wore the formal sleeves on visits to Meishan.
Though this had only really been incorporated when he'd outgrown most of those robes, and he'd outgrown most of the the novice robes by about twelve anyway. And the habit of wrapping his sleeves regardless, had carried over. It added a nice brace and cushioning to his forearms when doing chores or fighting, especially when worn under bracers, and added a source of alternative hiding places. Torn up the wrappings could also work as the base for some emergency talismans in a pinch. They'd also made decent backup bandages on more than one occasion.
After taking off one of his coat layers, Wei Ying sighed. Before carefully unwrapping his arms so he could begin to remove some of the many shirts, careful to keep his underrobes covering the ribbon on his left wrist.
By his teenaged years he'd known that the arm wrappings had become associated with his general 'look', and he personally found the added subtle detailing it added to his overall appearance aesthetically pleasing. Kinda like a 'rugged but personable figure' (according to old fourth shidi). Even if they could be a bit of a hassel in this situation.
But overall, he liked that image (even if people didn't want to see it anymore). That old ideology.
Tough and hardworking, friendly, without sporting anything specifically violent. Well besides, Suibian, and now, Chenqing. And most cultivators treat their swords as a cross between their most valued tool and prize accessory, so carrying it around everywhere was expected and hardly noteworthy. As for Chenqing, there wasn't anything inherently violent about a flute. Even Zhou, which was a very nice blade that could fit in among the upper echelons of society while still simple enough to fit amongst the middle classes if you don't look too close, still read more as a serviceable practicality, a common hand tool, rather than something someone might shank you with in a back alley.
Something a hunter might use to skin a catch, or a young nobleman might use to open packages. The outside was nice, but very utilitarian. It was only when you drew the blade that you could really see the quality of the work. Zhou was a nice blade. A lot nicer than what he'd initially thought when Li Qiang had first gave it to him. It hadn't been in bad shape, but after cleaning it up some – the blade shone, not in a 'cultivator-sword-glare-kind-of-way' but in a 'dang-this-waaay-made-with-money-look-at-that-polish-high-quality-metal' kind of way. He'd bet a hand or foot that it had been made by some kind of master. And he was really interested about where his father got it.
So yeah, Wei Ying knew he had a 'look'. Which is why these heavy robes they'd dressed him in today, had also had their sleeves wrapped. Even if they weren't in his 'typical' color (being a deep plum instead of black). To keep consistency.
He begrudgingly folded the robes, knowing the wrinkles would show better on these finer cloths than they would on his usual ones.
Wei Ying glanced at Zhou again, where it sat innocently on the table.
He wasn't sure if the sheathe was the original. Though it matched the hilt well.
Nor did he think the knife had ever had a guard. He'd rewrapped the handle with braided black-leather chord soon after getting it, with a single purple strip as an accent. Which stood out nicely against the polished red wood of the sheathe and handle. The name "Zhou" had been carved into the sheathe and sanded smooth, stained thick and glossy, giving the inscription a shimmering ghostly appearance after it had been cleaned. Making the words not immediately readable unless the edges happened to catch the light just right. The old silk chord wrappings on the hilt it had originally come with had been frayed, and slipped down when he first drew it, covering part of the base of the blade. It was only after replacing it with the leather chord that he found the name "Wei" inscribed into the metal with a flowing dainty hand, surrounded by a swirling circular design that reminded him of a river's currents.
Almost like a crest. Which was ridiculous. (At least he knew he shared something with his ancestors).
Though Wei Ying wasn't any sort of blacksmith, he knew enough about weapons to recognize quality work when he saw it. Even if he hadn't been able to pick up on the quality of the steel, the perfectly detailed intricate design work of the inscription, done no larger than his thumbnail, would have clued him in. It almost made him wonder if his father had deliberately let the old grip fray to cover the design. Because otherwise Zhou looked perfectly normal enough to pass as not-thief-bait. Not unless you got very close or the thief was exceedingly desperate, and then you had a whole new set of problems.
A good hunting knife was useful but not necessarily hard to steal or that expensive. Even the poorest households generally had something similar (at least in general design), or to borrow readily. If someone was going to attack a Jiang disciple (like himself) or rob a member of its household (like his father who'd still been technically allied with the sect even after he left active duty), they'd generally have something a bit bigger in mind to be taking than their 'pocket knife'. Which is probably why his father left the name hidden, 'hiding away in plain sight'. Though, Wei Ying supposed, it also could have gotten damaged through repeated use and then lack thereof from sitting in a storeroom for some two-plus decades. But, from the little that he knew, his father was supposed to have been clever. With little subtle tricks like this right up his (and Wei Ying's) alley. So, Wei Ying liked to believe that the former was the reason.
It made him feel closer, anyway.
Shrugging down to his final layer of underrobes, Wei Ying sat by the window (which thankfully didn't show past his shoulders when standing, keeping certain secrets, well, secret) not wanting to actually have to change into pajamas or do, well, anything. He leaned forward and rested his chin on the sill. His muscles ached and his feet were swollen, but the ditch water hadn't reached to this layer of his clothes yet from carrying Shui Biyu (a name he wasn't about to forget anytime soon), so he wasn't damp. At least anymore.
Except for his boots which were in a toppled heap by the end of the bed, a small puddle of water spreading out from beneath them. He should probably move them before Jiang Cheng got up in the night and stepped in it with stockinged feet.
Jiang Cheng hated getting his socks wet and would rather run around in wet bare feet than damp socks. Personally, Wei Ying didn't see much sense in it. Socks added more protection than none, especially when you were on the street. Then again, Jiang Cheng had grown up on Lotus Pier's board walks, regularly swept and elevated, running in and out of the water.
For a little while before the Jiangs, Wei Ying didn't have shoes, more bundles of cloth tied around his feet.
Groaning, Wei Ying bent over and moved the shoes away from the communal space to the far side of the bed that stood closest to the door, smacking a low level heating talisman between their mouths to help dry them out. He left the puddle to evaporate when it willed, since he wasn't about to bend over again if he could help it and didn't really have any spare cloth around he was willing to mop it up with – towels weren't supplied unless you ordered a bath.
Probably so no one would steal them.
It felt decidedly weird to bend over when something alive that wasn't you was in your belly, not bad, but different than what he was used to. He'd noticed his center of balance had been shifting as the baby grew, and had gone out of his way to practice moving around the change, drawing on half remembered lessons from Madam Yu about female warriors from history and more present-day advice from Doctor Li. It had worked fairly well, but was something he had to keep in mind, rather than letting muscle memory take over.
If the Tigress of Yueyang could go to war at seven months pregnant, he figured he could supervise a few hours at an overpopulated nighthunt.
"…coming! Hurry! They're…!"
Wei Wuxian cocked his head at the sudden noise, trying to identify the source of the muffled voices. Was…someone sobbing? He stood up. It sounded close.
"…hurt. My land…strangers…why…"
"…wish that we could have gone with Heise…"
He moved closer toward the door, but the words didn't sound any clearer. Opening the door a crack, he peered out, but there was no one in the hall.
The person, and whoever they were talking to, sounded to be in pain. Scared, panicked, grief stricken. It sounded like one voice, with the rambling quality perhaps indicating that they were talking to themselves. But that rambling could also be due to the hysterical tone of voice… Perhaps they simply had a companion, companions, who were really quiet? He had known some people who went mute with fear, while others screamed. The muffled quality was also making the words fade in and out, preventing a firm read on who and what they were saying, the walls muffling the location. Perhaps the room downstairs? But no...he'd already set a ward their, to protect against unwanted visitors pushed through the floorboards. Any sound filtering through that wouldn't sound like this...nor the walls...
"…cannot travel. Go without me, you'll be safe at the clearing…!"
So, it was two people then, at least. Wei Wuxian frowned at the latter sentence, hurrying over to the open window. He looked down at the street for a group of people hurrying past, left and right, before peering out over the neighboring buildings, even tilting his head back at an odd angle to look up at the roof of the inn. But there was no one in sight. Everything was empty, and still. The road deserted.
Off in the distance, the forest shifted in a silent breeze beneath the deepening twilight.
"..."
A clearing could indicate a place in the woods…
Wei Ying peered forward again.
Though he strained his eyes, there was nothing to see. No living creatures in sight. He sighed. Whoever it was was long gone. He hoped they were alright.
Wei Wuxian sat back down on the bed. As he moved, Wei Ying's gaze caught on a piece of reflected light that flashed from the room's mirror. He started, before rushing back to his feet and hurrying over to the polished surface, peering closer.
He gasped.
His eyes were glowing a brilliant red, not quite the crimson he'd heard it described. It was vibrant like cinnabar on talisman paper, stark like blood on snow, and yet a touch warmer than either. But bright enough that the light of them backlit his bangs, leaving the fine hairs in a mix of blurred shadows and perfect silhouettes. A red glow glinting off the contours of other strands. Before diffusing in an ambient manner, shining softly where it reflected off the contours of his skin, the shadows themselves becoming slightly maroon. Yet instead of making a ghost of his features, it heightened them. The glow from his irises were starkly visible in the darkening room. Like a sword glare in the dead of night.
So, the rumours were true then. His eyes really did glow.
Huh.
Wei Ying's eyes widened. There was nothing living in sight! Of course, he wouldn't have seen any living human walking by in distress, as he'd expected! The voice hadn't been distorted by the inn walls as he'd thought. He hadn't been too far off to think it an literal echo.
It had just been a figurative echo, of a person who'd once been alive.
He laughed softly, letting the tension in his eyes fade. And with it, the light disappeared. His eyes no longer straining. Even as a sadness settled in his shoulders.
He hadn't even noticed the glow of it, until he had saw it in the glass. The red not appearing in, or affecting any of his sight. So far as he could tell, it hadn't affected his vision at all. You'd think that your eyes glowing like that would color the world in some reddish haze. Like the physical manifestation of bloodlust you heard in storybooks. But all the colors had been the same! And yet…no wonder people found his 'demonic visage' so striking! The glow had been unnatural and piercing.
As if it were trying to lay all the world to bare. Like nothing could hide before it.
Wei Ying laughed.
And yet this terrifying Laozu couldn't even play Rest for some wandering soul! He glanced at Chenqing where it faintly hummed on the desk, a sound only he could hear. Wei Ying placed a hand on his belly, before looking towards the inn-room door. It wasn't like trying to follow the ghost would accomplish anything, nor had it sounded dangerous. He wouldn't be able to help in this matter, even if he could find them again. Wei Ying hadn't even picked up on any resentful energy when he'd heard it, and it had been so faint…which pointed towards it being not particularly powerful. It was just another poor soul ravaged by war. Another disquiet dead.
And since the dead could often sound so much like the living, it wasn't the first time that Wei Wuxian had mistaken the voice of a weaker ghost to be among the living when mixed in amongst the noise of a crowd. And he had been distracted.
Wei Ying sat back down, grounding himself in place. He also couldn't leave again. Not without saying something. He couldn't just up and vanish. He smacked the side of his face for even briefly considering it. Ever since the harvest, shijie and Jiang Cheng's concern had been…jarring. He known that they cared, but he hadn't expected them to care so much. The circumstances he had gotten himself into were messy and complicated and didn't look good from an outside perspective. Though he hadn't thought that they would throw him out (though it wasn't like he'd had much time to think about it) he'd expected some sort of anger or resentment for the avoidable difficulty that had been summarily tossed into their lap. But beyond an initial surprised reaction, there'd been…nothing.
It made him feel, somewhat ashamed. His siblings had rose to his defense with an unexpected fervor. Logically, he knew that the three of them shared a bond, that they swore during the war to always stay the three of them, together, and have each other's backs. That they had always been this way.
But he hadn't wanted to bring difficulties upon them, especially when he could handle something on his own.
Wei Ying could recount many times when shijie had cared for them and had come to their defense, and where Jiang Cheng had defended and helped him and shijie in his turn. But they'd been younger and times simpler then, with consequences not quite so damning. They weren't children anymore, he didn't need to be shielded or coddled. Nor, at the end of the day, were he as integral to the sect as they were. In the grand scheme of things, he was just a disciple. If he ran off like his parents it'd just be blamed on 'bad blood' by the more bigoted masses and deflect the worse of his mistakes back onto himself, their own maker, as it should be.
There was just one thing that he'd miscalculated.
Wei Ying, was, apparently, never just a servant to shijie and Jiang Cheng. Which was…a stupid realization, really. Compared to other sects, the servants and disciples of the Jiang were all 'family' to a certain respect. The lines of duty blurred with dear friendships forming between members of all status and rank. The clan and sect intermingled and combined. There was no separation or ideology of 'betters' and 'lessers'. That was just how they lived, how they functioned. So of course, everyone would always be upset and sad if something negative happened to a 'random' disciple, regardless of what happened. But to his friends, to his family, Wei Wuxian was more than just 'random', wasn't he?
He smack both his hands against his cheeks, a bracing gesture.
He wasn't just the 'servant'. He wasn't just 'a disciple', or 'the unwanted ward'. He wasn't even just 'that crazy da-Shixiong', or the irreverent head disciple. He was Wei Ying. And wasn't that a crazy thing to have forgotten?
His brother and sister had done nothing but support him since they found out about his demonic cultivation (having faith in his word that he knew what he was doing and could control it), when they discovered the status of his golden core, when they'd all found out about xiao-Wei.
They actually seemed excited (about the baby, not the traumatic past events). Shijie hadn't wanted to leave. He'd been dragged shopping, and to family dinners, and they'd spent more time together in each other's company beyond the duties of the sect. It was nice, like back when they were young again.
Maybe part of the problem hadn't been just his heretical cultivation and war time stains, but the fact that they'd all grown up, too? They were adjusting to new roles and living farther apart. Shijie was in Koi tower with her own family. Jiang Cheng had moved into the sect leader's rooms, far across the compound from the disciple's quarters. And all this after spending only scattered moments, even less of those relaxed, in each other's presence during the war itself and the stress of rebuilding. Adding a physical distance to the already weaker lines of communication and differing experiences.
Before that, the longest they had ever been away from each other was that year spent studying at Cloud Recesses. And Wei Wuxian hadn't even lasted the full time, if he hadn't been kicked out, they would have spent the full time in each other's company. An entire year! Just separated by gender in the guest disciple quarters. And even then they'd had unobstructed communication in the form of letters, surrounded by familiar and trustworthy faces, and could meet up to spend time together, and shared some classes. But keeping secrets and not talking…perhaps that was really what had been coming between them in the end. They'd been so used to proximity and the routines of childhood taking care of their problems, they hadn't taken deliberate action to adapt to the changes. Not really. But that could be changed.
And earlier…Jiang Cheng had been so worried.
Not telling them about his core. About the hunt for the yin iorn. About what really happened to him at the Burial Mounds-
Shijie feeling like she always had to keep the peace, and not sharing her worries about and to her brothers. Not wanting to add to their burdens-
Jiang Cheng refusing to bow under the pressure, to the point of burying deep every question or insecurity. Thinking he was the only Jiang who wasn't marrying out or for some strange reason abandoning their path-
Never again would he leave without saying goodbye. Without letting them into his plans.
No, Wei Ying couldn't do that to his siblings again. Nor did he want to. He didn't want them to drift apart. For them to feel alone. For him to be alone.
And if past experience showed, then they were stronger together.
It was high time that they make use of that.
…
"mmMMMrumph!"
"Come on!"
"NooOOOooo!"
"Wei Wuxian!"
"Noooooooo! So comfy. Comfy warm. Don wanna move!"
Sigh.
"Wei Wuxian".
"mmMMmrfph, Chengcheng. Go 'way. Nightnight sleep time."
"Wei Wuxian, it's morning."
A single silver eye cracked open, taking in the early morning light that was filtering through the window.
"Liar."
The eye closed.
For a brief moment Wei Wuxian thought Jiang Cheng had gone. Only for his warm-soft-warm-blanket-cocoon to be cruelly ripped from him. Letting in the icy-bad-EVIL-air in to take its place.
"WhhHHhhyyyy!" Wei Wuxian moaned, putting his face back in the pillow.
"Wei Ying, get up."
Wei Wuxian sent a rude hand gesture his way without looking up. Before burrowing deeper into the nest of pillows he'd made the night before. He couldn't sleep on his front anymore but bracing pillows around his front and back while he slept on his side had helped. And right now, he was just so comfy, even if he was now cold, the traitor. Stupid little brothers stealing stupid blankets…
Last night Wei Wuxian had planned to take the bed closer to the door and had left all the extra-sect-leader-pillows for Jiang Cheng to use (both so he could see the gift and cause he thought it was funny) on the other bed. If anyone came barging in during the night, it would be better for the sect leader to be farther from the point of entry, and Jiang Cheng would be safer. It was a reasonable plan, and they'd always slept that way whenever they'd shared rooms in their youth.
But when he'd gone for the bed closer to the door after rearranging the pillows, Jiang Cheng was already on it. When Wei Wuxian told him to move, Jiang Cheng had asked why. So, Wei Wuxian had patiently explained it to him. For some reason this had pissed his little brother off, and Jiang Cheng had stood his ground and thrown pillows at him until he'd agreed to take the farther bed. Madam Yu would have been appalled.
He didn't get why Jiang Cheng had been annoyed. But he realized that he could finally go to sleep if he just gave in. So, he'd stuck a talisman on the door that wouldn't let anyone without a Clarity Bell get in and had conked out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Mmhnn. Sleep.
"Wei Wuxian. The nighthunt starts in an hour, you need to get up."
Wei Wuxian groaned and sat up. Jiang Cheng was already dressed except for his shoes and his hair, which was being passive aggressively attacked by the poor innocent comb in his brother's hand.
"Come here."
Wei Ying made grabby hands.
Jiang Cheng looked at him suspiciously. "What."
Wei Ying sat up on his heels and pointed at the edge of his bed.
"Come. Here."
Jiang Cheng looked him up and down again as if he'd somehow weaponized himself during the few seconds he'd been awake before gingerly sitting on the edge of the bed.
Wei Ying yawned and stretched.
That response made him wish he had a prank on hand. At least he knew his little brother was keeping on his toes.
He stuck out his hand for the comb. Jiang Cheng gave his grumpy early morning glare.
"Fine. I was going to make you let me do your hair anyway. It's a disaster on its own and there's gonna be a lot of people out there today."
Wei Ying took the proffered comb with an eyeroll and began gently pulling it through his brother's hair, before reaching over to grab the hair piece and accessories from the side table so they'd be closer.
It was quiet for a minute, as Wei Ying sectioned the hair out into pieces.
"We haven't done this in a while." Jiang Cheng murmured.
Wei Ying nodded in response to the quiet voice.
"Mmnn, probably not since before Cloud Recesses at least."
Jiang Cheng went to nod, before Wei Ying nudged him with his knee to keep him still. Putting up the headpiece wasn't conducive to head movement.
"You remember when Jiejie used to do this for us?"
Wei Ying smiled. Every morning, until they were about nine, Shijie would get up early to help them get ready for the day. She'd been an absolute blessing when it came to formal wear. The two boys had shared a room until Wei Ying had been made to move out at 13. However, neither brother had said anything when the Lans roomed them together during the lectures.
"Yeah, you used to have to distract me so that I'd sit still long enough." Wei Ying chuckled.
It was not long after they'd stopped sharing a room that Wei Ying had been made head disciple, and Jiang Cheng had begun to be treated as Sect Heir in earnest.
"It feels like a long time ago."
Wei Ying tapped the top of Jiang Cheng's head with a smile. "All done!"
Wei Ying slipped off the bed and behind the changing screen to dress, while Jiang Cheng finished with his shoes. He skipped back out a moment later, grinning cheerily. Jiang Cheng groaned at the sight of the rat's nest awaiting him.
"You know, you could braid it, tie it back, something, and it wouldn't end up like this" Jiang Cheng scowled, reaching for his qiankun pouch.
He grabbed a bottle of detangling oil and poured a liberal amount onto the back of his brother's head.
"eehh, I forget!" Said Wei Ying sheepishly.
"Forget my ass! You're just too lazy! You need to take care of yourself properly!"
"I do! I really do just forget sometimes!"
"What's so hard to remember?! Long hair tangles, that's why you pull it back!"
"Ow! Jiang Cheng! Stop pulling!"
"I'm not pulling! You're the one who keeps squirming!"
"I am not squirming!"
"Are too!" Jiang Cheng grabbed the top of his head and turned Wei Ying to face front again.
"Now hold still!"
"This isn't how Shijie does it," Wei Ying pouted.
Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, before continued working.
It was quiet for a minute.
"Why do you call her that?" his voice sounded terse, tense.
Wei Ying blinked, confused. "Who?"
"Jiejie."
"Shijie?"
"Yeah, why do you call her that?"
"Cause…I'm supposed to? I mean, she's older than me and we're in the same sect, it's not like I can call her shimei-"
"You used to call her Jiejie, when we were really little." Jiang Cheng interrupted.
"Yeah…?"
"Why'd you stop?"
Wei Ying picked at the end of the bedclothes and stayed quiet.
"Did someone tell you to? Did someone say something? Say you couldn't?" Jiang Cheng sounded angry. Wei Ying winced as Jiang Cheng tugged a little too hard.
"Sorry." The hands gentled again.
"But seriously, did someone?"
"Jiang Cheng, it doesn't matter-"
"Like hell it does!"
Wei Ying heard a faint metallic click as the headpiece settled into place, before Jiang Cheng lowered his hands to his sides.
"Cause a-Li's our sister, and you can call her whatever the fuck you want!" Jiang Cheng fumed.
"You never call us anything but 'Jiang Cheng' and 'Shijie' anymore! I used to think it was just cause you'd thought you'd outgrew it or something! I mean, it took you so long to call us that when you first came to the Pier, you used to be so timid and formal, but then you stopped when we were like 10 and I thought you'd maybe thought it was like, too babyish or something. But then you called me didi again back at the doctor's office, and it just made me realize – you never call us didi or jiejie anymore! But you obviously don't think badly of it, so, why?‼"
Wei Ying swallowed heavily, "It wouldn't have been appropriate, for the children of a sect leader-".
"Bullshit!"
Wei Ying jumped.
"That is the largest cow patty, of festering foolishness, that I have ever heard!" Jiang Cheng threw his hands up in the air.
Wei Ying gave a warbling laugh. "That's an, nice alliteration".
"Well," Jiang Cheng huffed, giving an imperious scowl that was on level with the best of Madam Yu's.
"I don't care how you got it into your head, you can forget it! You're our brother. That's final. Now get up and get your shoes on." Jiang Cheng crossed his arms.
Wei Ying gave a wet laugh, smiling. "Is that an order, Sect Leader?"
"Yes. Now hurry up, I wanna get some food before we have to go. And don't forget to check your face in the mirror before we leave."
"Aiya! Aiya! Jiang Cheng! So impatient!" Wei Ying shot him a fond smile that made him huff and turn his back before Wei Ying slowly reached down to grab his shoes from where he'd kicked them under the bed the day before.
"And don't mess up your hair!" Wei Ying snorted.
After grabbing the shoes and slipping them on, Wei Ying strode over to the wash basin and cleaned his face and mouth, before glancing in the mirror to check for eye goobies or any other embarrassing thing that might have made its way onto his face in the night. He was almost half expecting some ridiculous drawing on his forehead, courtesy of his brother due to his insistence, even if it would be counter to their purpose of being here.
He wasn't expecting what he'd actually found.
Resting on his head, instead of one of his black leather hair pieces and his usual red ribbon, was a dark purple guan. It was a familiar head piece. He knew the shimmering purple effect was made by a delicate sheer silk ribbon, that was layered over a highly polished silver base. A Lotus shaped pendant was attached to the front. When he looked closely, he could still see the piece of uneven sauter where he'd helped Jiang Cheng fix it after they'd broken it off by accident while playing in their youth. It was one of Jiang Cheng's favorite hair pieces from back then, from before the war. It wasn't a formal one, but –
"What is this…?"
Jiang Cheng turned to look at his brother, who's eyes were wide with shock.
"Hmmm?"
Wei Ying gestured up frantically at his hair with both hands. "What is this?!"
Jiang Cheng smirked, raising an eyebrow. "A hair piece…?"
Wei Ying rolled his eyes. "But why am I wearing it?!"
Jiang Cheng raised the other eyebrow, "It's yours…?"
"No, it isn't!" Wei Ying waved his arms, as if to show case his incredulity to the universe.
"I think I know my own hair pieces Jiang Cheng!"
"It is now."
Wei Ying froze. "What?"
"I'm giving it to you".
Wei Ying could not get more confused. "Whhhy?‼"
Now Jiang Cheng was starting to look confused, and a little uncertain.
"Cause you're my brother, and it belongs to you. And I thought it'd be a good idea for you to wear it today?"
"Jiang Cheng I know I'm your brother-" Jiang Cheng looked relieved, which was odd, "-what I don't understand is why I have an informal hair piece of a SECT HEIR. ON. MY. HEAD!?"
Wei Ying flailed again, knocking over a candle. Which was fortunately unlit.
Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, "Cause you are one?"
"whaAAaaAAATTTTT!?‼‼‼‼" Wei Ying's voice hit an octave of ear-splitting levels.
Jiang Cheng's eyes widened, his face shifting to a dumbfounded expression.
"Well!?" The voice was so shrill, if not for the silencing talismans, dogs would be howling.
Jiang Cheng stared at him with disbelief. "You're not messing with me."
"Messing with you?! How-why would I be messing with you? If anything, you're messing with me! Why would you put my hair up with this when we're just gonna have to take it down again before we can go anywhere, are you getting back at me for not getting up this morning?! Cause I was having a really good dream – there was a donkey in it and an all-you-can-eat-buffet and someone had just let the chickens loose which was hilarious and – "
Jiang Cheng stared at him. "You really don't know."
"Know what!?"
"How can you not know?! It's so obvious. Like, doesn't even need to be said obvious. Like, who possibly else could it be!? I mean seriously…"
"Well obviously it is not obvious, or I would know what the hell you are talking about Jiang Cheng! You can't have someone outside the Jiang Clan wearing these things Jiang Cheng!"
Jiang Cheng gave him his best, 'Wei Wuxian you are an idiot and an embarrassment, and I can't believe I have to explain this to you look' that had become perfected during their rebellious pre-teen years.
"You know, sometimes I can't believe you're considered a prodigy and genius."
"Jiang Cheng!"
"I mean, you're considered one of the best of our generation-"
"Jiang Cheng, come on!"
"-created an entirely new form of cultivation-"
"Jiang Cheng!"
"-have multiple patents to your name-"
"Ji- wait when did that happen?!"
"-I did you moron, how else do you think the Jin haven't openly stolen half of your inventions by now-"
"Jiang Cheng this is serious!"
"I KNOW THIS IS SERIOUS!" Jiang Cheng glared at him.
"THAT'S WHY I CAN'T POSSIBLY GET HOW YOU CAN CONCEIVABLY NOT BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT-!"
Jiang Cheng paused and took a deep breath, lowering his voice.
"That's why I can't possibly get how you don't know that you're my Sect Heir."
Wei Ying sat down, hard.
"I- I…" He blinked heavily, staring at his shidi. His younger brother. "I'm – you…".
Jiang Cheng nodded, "You're YunmengJiang's Sect Heir."
"But-you… you want me to be your sect heir?"
Jiang Cheng looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Wei Ying rather felt like he had.
"Of course. Who else would it be?"
"Wh-when did this happen?"
Jiang Cheng gave him a weird look. "Well, I suppose it first got put into words when we were writing that missive- "
"What?"
"A few days before you gave us these," Jiang Cheng gestured toward the wooden lotus medallion he wore at his belt, that he hadn't taken off since. "We put up the by-law addendums that day".
Wei Ying made a mental note to look up the record of this announcement when they got home, cause apparently, he'd missed something.
"But you were always the obvious choice." Jiang Cheng finished.
Jiang Cheng gave him a worried look.
"I mean, a-Li is married out and a-Ling belongs to the Jins inheritance-wise, and it's not like I have any kids. And honestly, I couldn't think of someone better anyways. Even with the original pier still standing."
Wei Ying stared up at him with wide eyes. Jiang Cheng shifted uncomfortably.
"You know all our traditions, are an expert swordsman even without spiritual cultivation, have had an education on par with my own, and not everyone goes to Lan lectures anyways, and you're ridiculously smart when you're not being an idiot, and were head disciple, and care more about things than pretty much everyone, and have all of Yunmeng practically eating out of your hand so you'll be fine there…"
Wei Ying's eyes were welling up with tears.
"So obviously, but if you don't want – I mean you weren't born into it so if it sounds that terrible, I suppose we can always shove it off on Zhu Zian and you can still just be my second. But I mean, second and heir kinda go nicely together, and – "
Wei Ying hugged him.
Jiang Cheng cleared his throat, awkwardly hugging him back.
"So, yeah. I figured it'd be good for you to wear it today. I mean, it's not the official 'sect heir' hair piece cause that might draw a little more attention than we want right now, but it obviously has the sect and clan insignia on it, so they know that we've claimed you and hold you in high regard and all that. In all honesty you probably should have had something like that back just as the head disciple. And it's not like many people are left around who might recognize it as one of my old ones, but it'll also help transition into when you'd be wearing the official ones out in public without it seeming too random or sudden. And it'd technically still be an 'heirs' hair piece rather than 'heir apparent', cause that'd be my kid if I ever had one, but xiao-Wei would also get an heirs hair piece too either way, once they have hair I mean, when they're born. Well, eventually, have hair I mean. And – ".
Wei Ying started laughing quietly into his shoulder.
"What?"
Wei Ying laughed again. "This just, reminded me of a surprise I have for you. And now it's gonna seem kinda silly in comparison."
Jiang Cheng held him at arm's length, looking at him warily. "What surprise?"
"Ay! Jiang Cheng! You can't say you don't trust me!"
Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes at him. "I do. But that has absolutely no bearing on you shoving a frog down my shirt."
"I haven't done that since we were kids!"
"You did that last week."
"Oh yeah, well. I'm not going to tell you till my birthday!" Wei Ying crossed his arms and went back to pouting.
Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow but relaxed marginally. And huffed.
"Fine. Be weird for all I care. Now, are you done blubbering so we can go?"
"Just a sec."
Wei Ying went back to the wash basin and rinsed his face again. He was not about to face the wolves of the cultivation world looking like he'd just been crying. And who knew what'd be waiting downstairs.
Jiang Cheng turned away slightly, pretending he didn't notice how Wei Ying was studying his hair in the mirror. He felt an odd squirming in his gut that his brother honestly hadn't realized that he was the defacto heir. Let alone Sect Leader Jiang Wanyin's preferred choice. Even in the greater cultivation world there'd been many a nasty rumour discussing the possibility of just that. He'd known his brother hadn't put any merit in those discussions, but to have literally never considered it?
"Jiang Cheng?"
Wei Wuxian's voice was quiet and serious.
"You know I never-, you know you've always been my sect heir, my sect leader, right? To be your second…to be you and shi- to be you and jiejie's brother, that's all I've ever wanted. This isn't necessary."
Jiang Cheng's mind flashed back to a similar conversation that he and Wei Ying once had together, on the steps of the main courtyard shortly after the lectures in Cloud Recesses.
"Yeah. It is."
Wei Wuxian looked up, and Jiang Cheng smiled. "The Twin Prides together, I remember." Wei Ying smiled back.
A knock on their door sounded before Zhu Zian stuck his head in the crack.
"Ah good, you both are up."
Zhu Zian nodded his head at both of them.
"Sect Leader Jiang, with your permission, I'd like to take the disciples down to breakfast."
A loud clatter came from the hall behind him.
"a-Bao stop pushing me!"
"Did not!"
"Did so!"
Zhu Zian gave a long-suffering sigh as something from behind jostled him into the doorframe.
Jiang Cheng smirked, "Yeah, I don't see why not. You didn't have to wait for us."
"Kang Longwei and Chen Meirong were taking a while to get ready and I figured you might need reinforcements" Zhu Zian gave a pointed look towards Wei Wuxian, who stuck his tongue out at both of them.
"We're fine, almost done here. So, we'll see you all in a minute." Wei Ying said primly.
Jiang Cheng snorted. "Order us something too when you get there."
Zhu Zian nodded, and turned to go.
"All right you lot, listen up…!" The door clicked shut behind him.
…
Nie Huaisang came flouncing out of his stolen room with a big smile. Today was going to be a good day. He could feel it.
The sun was shining. The birds were singing. And he'd changed into a lovely brocade robe that he didn't mind ruining. It made him look just soft-lovely enough that no one would take him seriously, and make everyone collectively hope that he'd wandered off to be some other person's problem.
Which is exactly what he planned to do. Well, wandering off. He certainly hoped not to run into anyone.
Now just for a lovely jaunt in a haunted wood to pick a few flowers, and he'd be back in the Unclean Realm and home for lunch. Easy-peasy.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Nie Huaisang froze in the narrow inn hallway, shifting his folded fan slightly so that it rested just barely across the fingers of the man standing behind him. The subtle glow of Nayong's guard masked by the the only light source in the otherwise deserted hall, a window to their right. Second-floor, but he could survive the jump. Better than being caught in the stairwell. His eyes narrowed, at odds with his voice.
"Y-you shoul-should know. That d-da-ge will be very mad if I'm not home at the expected time t-today. I-I'm meeting a shi-shixong. Be bad if I was late, so I can't chat now. I-I really must be going."
The man behind him snorted, his grip tightening slightly before releasing him. Nie Huaisang made a show of his shoulders relaxing slightly, though the raised angle of his fan, obscured by his torso, didn't slacken.
"Sangsang! As if you ever needed a-Jue to fight your battles!" Chimed a voice. The one presumably connected to the hand.
A familiar voice.
"There are no Nie disciples deployed in the area, what other shixiong do you have skipping?"
Nie Huaisang whirled around, his narrowed gaze replaced by a frustrated pout that was only slightly affected.
"You-‼"
"And what's this about an expected time of arrival home?! You snuck out in the middle of the night! Leaving a note that said 'went fishing, be back later' isn't exactly an itinerary. It was also completely unnecessary. You're the sect heir and an adult, you can use the front door for heaven's sake." The other man rolled his eyes, his intricate braids glinting in the early morning sunlight.
Nie Huaisang pouted harder, "And what if you'd been some mad serial killer who wanted to steal me away and lock me in some basement?! I know I'm beautiful but that isn't usually what people have in mind when they talk about my 'captivating good looks'! Making you think I was expected soon someplace else might make me seem a less useful quarry! You know, too much to deal with?" The other man laughed.
"Are you ever not?"
"You don't have to be mean, Nie Zonghui!"
Nie Zonghui rolled his eyes. "Tangdi, when in my life have I ever been mean to you?"
"Last week when you broke my new calligraphy brush!"
"That was an accident!"
"You sat on it!"
"You left it in a chair! Under! The! Cushion!"
"It was the only way to keep Weiqi from finding it!"
"Weiqi?"
Nie Huaisang froze, before biting his lip, and fiddling with his fan nervously.
"I, I dunno, he's just one of my birds…"
"Nie Huaisang, I know all of your birds. And I know for a fact, that you don't have any named Weiqi."
"…he's new?"
Nie Zonghui raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell da-ge!"
"Oh, why wouldn't I tell a-Jue?! He's just our sect leader and family head, who specifically told you not to get anymore birds!"
"His wing was broken! And da-ge's being silly. There's no such thing as having too many birds."
"Sangsang, when you're pushing a hundred, it's too many birds."
Nie Huaisang huffed, blowing his bangs out of his face.
"With enough servants, you can't have too many birds. All of my birds are meticulously cared for. I know all their names and habits and have trained them myself. I have tea in the aviary daily. And don't try to talk to me about the cost. You know that I know that you know that I've been managing the sect and family finances for years, which haven't been this good since great-grandmother's time, as you well know. And I'm personally responsible for 98% of our current investment portfolio."
Nie Huaisang narrowed his eyes. "The birds stay".
Nie Zonghui narrowed his eyes at him. "You're distracting me."
Nie Huaisang huffed. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
"You know, there's a rumour going around the disciples that you've trained at least half of that pigeon flock of yours to attack on command."
Nie Huaisang grinned, "they go for the eyes".
The expression was exceedingly Nie, and so of course one that most would never expect to see on the young sect heir's face.
Then Nie Huaisang pouted, his face morphing back into the commonly expected expression. "And don't call them all pigeons, I have a diverse population".
Nie Zonghui smirked for a moment, before sobering. His expression growing serious.
"a-Sang, why are you here?"
Nie Huaisang fluttered his fan, becoming exaggeratedly coy. "Can't I just have a flight of fancy?"
The eyebrow went back up.
"Your general flights of fancy don't include impromptu nighthunts, especially those that have more than enough attention already to be dealt with."
"Perhaps I wanted the worldly experience. Improve my meagre cultivation." Nie Huaisang mimed swinging a sword, with exaggerated poor form.
"The untruths in that statement boggle the mind."
"Well, when people asked, that's the reason I gave. That and gambling. You can stick around if you want, but don't get in my way. I'll be home this afternoon, this evening tops." Said Nie Huaisang with a hair flip, turning to walk away.
"You know we wouldn't worry so much if you actually told someone where you were going, and maybe an ETA on when we could expect your return. Being gone two days is normal for a five day trip but concerning if you were only supposed to be gone for an hour, and you're not giving anyone a frame of reference. Just because you don't carry a saber doesn't mean you don't have vulnerabilities, and I don't want to have to tell a group of teary-eyed novices that 'Bird-gege' died on the road without reinforcements cause we mistakenly expected him back later and 'didn't notice'. Don't be a cautionary training tale, a-Sang."
Nie Zonghui stepped up next to him, staring intently.
"So."
Nie Huaisang refused to look at him. Clutching his fan tightly.
Nie Zonghui leaned forward slightly, staring intently.
Nie Huaisang turned away, sticking his nose in the air.
Nie Zonghui stared harder.
Nie Huaisang glanced back at him, before looking away quickly. Flicking his Nayong open and fluttering it quickly, avoiding the eyes.
Nie Zonghui didn't even blink.
"You're evil."
Nie Zonghui smiled, still without blinking.
"Evil incarnate. Bringing up the 'Bird-gege', that was completely unfair."
Nie Zonghui nodded, "Yes. So…?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…I, heard about something interesting. You know, it's a pretty area around here. All the mountains. Supposedly it was once a very spiritual place. The Golden Hour is said to be especially delightful. I just wanted to see it for myself. See if it lived up to the telling. And…maybe bring home a few souvenirs for Da-ge. Maybe make something to cheer him up, you know. If I'd told him I'd went to a nighthunt without his asking, it'd probably make him happy…"
Nie Zonghui's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He glanced out the window at the midmorning sun, before looking back at Nie Huaisang, who had only just left his rooms. Then he smiled.
"Well, if it was a present for a-Jue, why didn't you just say so? I'll help."
Nie Huaisang blinked at him. It was that easy?
"So…are we hitting the shops today…?"
"Actually, I was thinking we could take a walk in the woods, put in an appearance first, you know how these things are…"
"Of course. Perhaps we'll see something interesting? There are many disciples participating."
"Perhaps."
Nie Zonghui nodded his head, "Very good. Lead on, Sect Heir Nie Huaisang".
Nie Huaisang snorted, and smacked Nie Zonghui across the chest lightly with his fan, before leading the way down the hall.
"You know I hear this 'Ju Li', is suppose to be good".
"You wanna make a wager?"
He laughed.
"Not a chance".
...
A/N:
Fun Fact: 'Golden Hour' is a phenomenon/window of time in the day that is loved by photographers because it is a time of day that produces a warm diffused golden light. Though it varies depending on one's location/geography and the season. Generally it refers to the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset (before reaching twilight). Or when the sun is between six degrees below the horizon and six degrees above. Nie Huaisang arrived in town after Golden Hour, and only just left his rooms at mid-morning. And he said he came to town to check it out, like a liar. lol.
I was originally going to include another section to this chapter, but realized it would be faaaar too long. So, I'll see you all next update in Chapter 16 "The Hunt: Into the Woods We Go". Hoping you are all doing well, and let me know what you think! See you next chapter! :D
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