Chapter 8 - Before securing Sect Leader Jin, you must first secure a surprise guest.
"Ahh I missed this," Wei Wuxian almost cried into his food. Yunmeng cuisine was so much better than anywhere else, he would stand by this opinion always.
They'd arrived just before dinner since Jiang Cheng had indeed flown slow enough for Wei Wuxian to take in the sights. He'd even flown around Lotus Pier as Wei Wuxian excitedly chattered about their past misdeeds.
"Remember when we stole his Lotus Pods and the ghoul under his boat helped him chase us?" he said as they passed over the old man's lotus lake. Wei Wuxian never remembered the farmer's name, he always just called him the old man. Actually he wasn't sure if the man was even alive anymore. It made him a bit melancholy, even if the old man only hit him and not anyone else.
Jiang Cheng snorted, "How could I forget? Our shidis were quick to praise you for covering for them even though it was because the old man had a grudge against you specifically for being the ringleader so he targeted you and not them."
He mimicked their shidis high pitched teenaged voices, "Oh Da-shixiong you're so handsome. Da-shixiong you're so strong. Da-shixiong you look the best with no clothes on…" *
Wei Wuxian choked and nearly stumbled off the sword; Jiang Cheng's quick reflexes once again prevented him from meeting his second death.
"I'd forgotten Ming-shidi said that," he murmured, red faced. Though his embarrassment was strangely more from having Jiang Cheng say the words, even mockingly, almost directly in his ear. Curse this new shorter body!
"A..anyway," he stuttered, "It's not like anyone would say that anymore, that body is long gone. This was the one I was offered so I don't really have a choice but to live with it now. Now I'm shorter than you and weaker and not as good looking as before."
"Look on the bright side, it could be much worse," said Jiang Cheng, "What if it was Sect Leader Yao?"
"Ugh Jiang Cheng, don't joke about that," he shuddered.
Jiang Cheng laughed at him.
"You're lucky Mo Xuanyu has a pretty face. He resembles the peacock. Jin Zixuan was considered even more handsome than you in your original body so this one is not that much of a downgrade even if your original self was more attractive."
Wei Wuxian didn't know how to feel about that.
On the one hand he wanted to tease Jiang Cheng for calling him attractive. On the other hand, he was a bit disturbed that Jiang Cheng also called the peacock not just attractive, but more attractive than him!
"Hold up a minute, how could you betray your shixiong like this! Take it back!"
"Take what back? That Mo Xuanyu has a pretty face?"
"No! You know exactly what I mean. How could you agree that Jin Zixuan was better looking than me!
"It wasn't me who made up the list," Jiang Cheng said amused.
"No but you're agreeing! You should be on my side not his!"
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, "Alright, you were prettier than the peacock, happy?"
"Well when you give in just like that it doesn't seem genuine," he sulked, "And I was manlier than the prissy peacock!"
"If you say so Yuandao. You can ask MianMian when you see her."
Wei Wuxian's jaw dropped. "You.. you're really using that against me? Rude!"
They bickered all the way until they touched down at the sect.
"Sect Leader," said his second in command who paused in surprise at the second person hopping down from Sandu, "And.. guest."
"Liwei this is Jin Xuanyu."
"Jin Xuanyu?" Pan Liwei raised a disbelieving eyebrow at his sect leader.
"Yes. Jin Xuanyu," said Jiang Cheng with a significant look.
"I see."
"Get Lin-mei to air out the third room in the family quarters and tell the kitchen I'll be having a guest for dinner. Traditional Yunmeng food would be preferable. Serve it at the Lotus Pavilion."
And that's how Wei Wuxian ended up sitting in front of delicacies he hadn't had in so long and pigging out.
"Slow down, you already got heartburn earlier today from forcing Mo Xuanyu's body to eat your style of food. We can't have you throwing up on the Jin elders tomorrow no matter how deserved it might be."
Wei Wuxian looked at the dishes in front of him and pouted. He wasn't going to be able to eat this food for a while again if was going to be staying in Koi Tower. Let him live a little Jiang Cheng! He grumbled incoherently and forcibly slowed his pace.
"Don't sulk, A-Ling will bring you back food from when he visits."
"Why not you?" he whined.
"People will talk. I can't come around as much as I would like to. You know they'll want to say the Jiang sect is interfering."
"Fine fine…" he shoved a spicy chicken wing in his mouth intent on savouring it while it lasted…then froze.
Jiang Cheng had grumbled something about eating like a slob and had taken his handkerchief and started wiping the sides of Wei Wuxian's mouth that had been stained with sauce.
Abruptly though, as if only just realising what he had been doing, Jiang Cheng dropped his hand and cleared his throat surreptitiously.
"Force of habit," he said, reddening slightly and not meeting Wei Wuxian's eyes.
And it truly was. He'd gotten accustomed to fussing over A-Ling and just moved on autopilot before realising this was not in fact his precious baby nephew.
When Wei Wuxian was younger, he would say XianXian is three and Jiang Yanli would gently fuss over him, very motherly.
When they were younger Jiang Cheng would also fuss over Wei Wuxian, but where Jiang Yanli was motherly, Jiang Cheng was like a mother-hen, always scolding and hovering but taking care of Wei Wuxian in his own way.
This time though… it had a distinctly different aura (despite it being something done automatically from habit).
Actually Jiang Cheng was still kind of like a mother-hen, it was simply that their situations now were so different that it didn't quite feel the same anymore.
(Also, Jiang Cheng had never wiped his mouth for him, if it was the past he'd probably throw a napkin at him and order him to clean his face, but this Jiang Cheng had been wiping Jin Ling's mouth since he was a baby and had moved on instinct.)
His mouth felt funny…tingly and hot but not from the spicy food…
An awkward silence had descended but Wei Wuxian was not one to suffer awkwardness for long so he batted his eyes and said faux coyly, "Thanks jiujiu."
Jiang Cheng recoiled as if he'd been struck, with an expression of disgust like he'd sucked on a sour plum.
"Never do that again," he said flatly, looking vaguely traumatised.
Wei Wuxian couldn't help it, he burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha Jiang Cheng *cough* your face!"
Jiang Cheng actually threw the handkerchief at him this time.
After dinner they'd gone over the tentative plan one more time and then Jiang Cheng had shown him to the room he'd had his second get ready.
It was Wei Wuxian's room, from before he defected.
His throat suddenly felt tight.
It was just as he had left it.
"What?" said Jiang Cheng somewhat defensively, as Wei Wuxian made no move to go in.
"Nothing. It's just.. I didn't expect…"
"Don't overthink it."
Before Wei Wuxian could say anything else, something furry brushed against his legs and ran into the room. His brain automatically went fur = dog and he yelped and jumped on Jiang Cheng.
"D..dog," he whimpered, hiding his face in Jiang Cheng's robes.
Jiang Cheng chuckled.
"I don't think he appreciates you calling him that."
Wei Wuxian was so confused by this that he peeked out at the animal.
It was a cat.
The most beautiful, fluffy white cat he'd ever seen.
The cat had gorgeous green eyes… and with them it was giving him the most affronted look. He hadn't known animals could be so expressive. Well no, that was a lie. His Lil Apple was quite expressive, but this cat could give him a run for his money.
There was a purple ribbon around its neck, tied into a pretty bow with a small Jiang clarity bell hanging from it.
Wei Wuxian sheepishly climbed down from Jiang Cheng's arms.
He felt like he had to apologise to the cat. It didn't seem pleased with him.
"Hey there buddy," he laughed nervously, "I'm sorry I called you a dog. You're far too pretty to be a mangy dog!"
The cat eyed him suspiciously but after a second it seemed to accept that he was being truthful and was appeased.
It walked around him cautiously and smelled him then it left him and twined itself around Jiang Cheng's legs and mewled.
That was Jiang Cheng's cue to pick it up.
"I didn't know you had a cat," said Wei Wuxian.
"Fairy found him and brought him home about a few months ago when we were organising the cleanup of the Guanyin Temple remains. It seemed he was living there before. He was well taken care of but didn't seem to belong to anyone so I kept him."
"He seems very intelligent," Wei Wuxian remarked.
The cat preened.
"He is. I think he must be a spiritual animal. He's very smart. Aren't you Jiunyan?" said Jiang Cheng in the most doting voice as he rubbed the cat's little paws between his fingers and kissed its head.
Jiunyan purred in agreement while Wei Wuxian almost choked on his own spit.
"Y..you named him Jiunyan?"
"What's wrong with Jiunyan?" Jiang Cheng said, frowning. The cat also frowned. It was astonishing how identical the two of them looked. Is this what they meant when they said pets and owners start to resemble each other?
He held back a laugh, "N.. pft.. Nothing. It's good to see your naming sense is still the same."
"You don't get to judge," Jiang Cheng huffed, "You called a donkey Lil Apple."
"Well he likes apples!" he defended.
"Well Jiunyan was said to have nine lives, isn't that right?" Jiang Cheng cooed at the cat who looked very pleased with himself.
For a minute all Wei Wuxian could do was stare. He had never seen Jiang Cheng so soft. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Jiang Cheng loved animals. It was just that Wei Wuxian never witnessed this because he would often pet the dogs in the market etc and Wei Wuxian would not go with him or would hide.
He'd never thought that Jiang Cheng would get a cat. Though he had heard that no dogs were allowed at Lotus Pier (except Fairy) and he had promptly shut that tidbit in the back of his mind because examining it was too painful at the time, especially if it was just a rumour. But now.. Now it seemed that it was true. Because his shidi loved dogs, but he had chosen to adopt a cat. Wei Wuxian's heart felt strangely mushy.
"Anyway, there's a bath behind the screen. You can use it and go to bed. We should have an early start tomorrow if we can. There are robes in the cupboard," Jiang Cheng eyed him, "They might be a little big. But they'll suffice I suppose. We can go to the market in the morning and see if the tailors have anything ready made that will fit. I'd let you take these anyway but that would cause rumours we can't afford at the moment so you'll just have to keep them here."
"Oh. Right. Okay."
He'd forgotten that he didn't have many suitable robes to show up with to Koi Tower. He had Mo Xuanyu's ratty ones (they'd been a bit destroyed since he'd gotten caught up in Nie Huaisang's schemes) and a few cheap pairs he'd gotten with what money Lan Zhan had left him.
"Well," Jiang Cheng looked like he wanted to say something else but shook his head and just said, "See you in the morning then."
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Wei Wuxian sat in the bath and marvelled at it. How long had it been since he'd had a proper bath? He didn't ask for it but he was glad that Jiang Cheng was kind enough to have one prepared.
Well, apparently Jiang Cheng had far more than his bath prepared.
The room…
Jiang Cheng told him not to overthink it, but he didn't think it was overthinking.
No.
How could it be?
Jiang Cheng had kept his room all this time and very well preserved too. He'd kept Chenqing as well, and now that Wei Wuxian thought about it, he'd clearly been taking care of it because he'd been able to use Chenqing immediately.
He thought about what he'd realised at Mianmian's earlier that day.
That Jiang Cheng had always valued him was never more obvious…
He was really a fool wasn't he?
Jin Guangyao had taunted Jiang Cheng and told him if only he'd trusted Wei Wuxian more, but Wei Wuxian was now thinking that actually maybe if he'd trusted Jiang Cheng more it wouldn't have turned out like this.
Jiang Cheng had always looked up to him. Had followed him around to the point that Madame Yu would snap that he was to be the future sect leader and that he should conduct himself better. Wei Wuxian never realised it then as he was young and arrogant, but he'd clearly relished in that attention not just from Jiang Cheng but from all their shidis. He was well liked and they looked up to him (he coloured as he remembered some of the shidis comments that Jiang Cheng had reminded him of earlier). Jiang Cheng was grouchy but he was no exception.
But inadvertently because of the fact that Jiang Cheng followed Wei Wuxian's lead on everything, he'd ended up thinking of Jiang Cheng as a somewhat 'helpless' younger brother type. Logically he knew better of course. He knew Jiang Cheng was smart and strong, even if he couldn't beat Wei Wuxian. When it came to considering someone his equal, the first person he'd thought of that way wasn't Jiang Cheng who he had by his side all the time, but in fact Lan Wangji.
Lan Zhan could match him evenly in a fight. He'd viewed the cool and collected young master as too good. And Lan Zhan was good. But Lan Zhan wasn't home. He'd harboured a small bud of hope that Lan Zhan would ask him to stay but when he didn't…
Well now he was glad for it because if he did then Wei Wuxian would not have been given this opportunity. And the thought of trading the Lotus Pier for the Cloud Recesses was laughable. He would never be able to fit in there. He'd have stayed for Lan Zhan of course but at the end of the day the Cloud Recesses could never beat home and could never be his home.
Though he'd have to leave home for a while to play his part in Koi Tower which was depressing, but at least he knew he could come home when he was done.
But the point was that he'd always seen his shidi as someone he had to help and protect. He didn't need to protect Lan Zhan so he could rely on him as an equal, but because shidi was, well, shidi he had wanted to protect him and not to burden him. But he had been doing Jiang Cheng a disservice. Jiang Cheng had been his sect leader and his friend. He should have trusted in him. But shixiong knows best right?
Jiang Cheng was right, it was stupid of him to have hidden his lack of a core from him and shijie. Even if he did have to lie in the end about how he lost it, he should have at least been honest that he'd lost it. In fact it wouldn't even have been a lie to say Wen Zhuliu attacked him because Wen Chao had ordered the man to melt his core. It was just when he tried there was no core left to melt. All he had to do was conveniently leave out that detail.
If he hadn't hidden it maybe they could have helped him to cope with the loss and he wouldn't have spiralled as bad as he did, he would have also been more level headed and less impulsive. He wouldn't have been as reckless because he wouldn't have been in denial and turning to alcohol to cope and to help him hide and lie to his loved ones.
The resentment affected him even more because he himself had been harbouring resentment against Jiang Cheng for something that was his own decision and not his shidi's and also because he was becoming more and more isolated. He'd retreated from the casual affection of his family which he was accustomed to.
Maybe in the end things would have been less destructive, if only he had trusted in Jiang Cheng and admitted that he was having a hard time. Though it was too late now for what ifs. All he could do now was trust Jiang Cheng in the future.
They definitely weren't equal now though. No. This time it was Wei Wuxian who had to be protected. The thought stung a bit but was soothed by the idea that even though they'd not trusted each other enough then, they were trying now, and they were going to protect shijie's son together.
He sighed and got out of the bath. He would get an opportunity to get close to his shijie's son this way too. He'd reconciled with Jiang Cheng and now he would be able to help Jin Ling. It was more than he'd expected to have just two days ago.
He dried himself off and went looking for the robes Jiang Cheng promised.
Opening the cupboard his breath hitched and he felt his eyes well up inadvertently.
Those were his robes.
His Jiang robes.
He'd taken to wearing red and black coming down to the end of his life, after all he was not a Jiang sect disciple any longer. But these were robes befitting his position in the Jiang sect.
He ran his hand down them disbelievingly. They were preserved just as well as the room. They didn't even smell musty.
He'd gone to the burial mounds with only the clothes on his back and whatever was on his person at the time. Everything else he owned of course remained back at the sect. And they were all here. He was a dead man and this was a shrine (up until he joined the living again). People said that Jiang Cheng was hunting demonic cultivators to find him and to get rid of his very existence and he readily believed it. Even though Jiang Cheng told him that of course he wanted to find him, he needed to send his soul on to the reincarnation cycle and free it of resentment, it hadn't quite sunk in.
But with this, he had no choice but to believe it. Because the rumours were right that Jiang Cheng wanted to find him and get rid of him, but the tone was all wrong. He didn't want to 'get rid of him' because of hate. He wanted him to rest in peace, out of love (even if he also hated him for hurting him). He probably let the rumours fly because it was better for the sect if people thought that Sandu Shengshou hated the Yiling Laozu and wanted to kill him all over again. Especially since Wei Wuxian knew the rumour of Jiang Cheng killing him in the first place was false.
He wiped his eyes and donned his sleeping robes. His Jiang sleeping robes. When he lay down in bed, he could hardly believe that he was actually here and that it wasn't a dream.
He tossed and turned for a while before staying still to stare at his headboard. The two figures kissing he'd carved when he was younger were still there. The Wens had not burned down Lotus Pier the way they did the Cloud Recesses, so many of the furnishings of the bedrooms etc had remained, though Wen Chao did also destroy a lot of property. So his original bed was still the way he left it.
He'd carved those figures some time after moving out of the room he shared with Jiang Cheng. After all, Madame Yu said they were both getting too old to share a room and so he got his own and was free to consider things he might not when with others. In the dark of the night his mind went where it might not usually and he carved those figures on impulse. He didn't know if he was thinking of anyone in particular, just kissing he supposed. He got shy immediately after and hid under his covers.
Only later did he realise he'd carved two boys. Maybe that should have clued him in. Staring at the two figures once again, it finally hit him why he might be feeling so funny around Jiang Cheng now. On the sword together and then earlier when he wiped his mouth...
Well..
He… didn't know what to do with this realisation.
He'd started to clue in with Lan Zhan, especially when they were at Lotus Pier, but there was so much going on concurrently that he didn't follow any train of thought and let it die where it started. But now he could no longer deny his own inclinations.
In the years prior to the war, he'd spent a few months teasing Lan Zhan. Then he'd spent his time before things went to hell roughhousing with Jiang Cheng (well they'd always played together, with or without the shidis, it was just as they got older his actions had clearly gone in a different direction though he hadn't realised it at the time.)
Of course it was different with both Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng. He'd grown up with Jiang Cheng after all, so his behaviour had just naturally been rougher. He'd pick fights with him and get physical in a way he didn't with Lan Zhan. He'd treated Lan Zhan more like a beauty from a poem that one couldn't help but tease to see their reaction.
He'd also taken Jiang Cheng a bit for granted because, well, Jiang Cheng was always there, but Lan Zhan wasn't. So he would latch on to Lan Zhan and try to get his attention. When Lan Zhan wasn't there he would wonder about him (and wow thinking so much about another guy probably wasn't average.) So the one in front of him was ignored in favour of the one in his mind.
It was only seeing Jiang Cheng move familiarly with him now that he realised what he'd lost by virtue of having been deprived of it for a long time. He hadn't even realised quite what he'd lost because he hadn't even known he'd had it in the first place. He'd truly taken Jiang Cheng's care for granted. And in the end he'd ended up convincing himself that Jiang Cheng never cared at all, that he'd had no love in his heart. Part of it was him lashing out at Jiang Cheng resentfully in his mind after the loss of his core made magnified by the seal, but even so, what a terrible thing to think of his shidi.
He suddenly felt very contrite and also that his bed was not very comfortable anymore.
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"Eeeep"
"Wha– Wei Wuxian?!"
"Wha- No that wasn't me… it.. it was the cat!"
Jiunyan gave him the most sour look.
He felt like he couldn't get on this cat's bad side so he just had to admit to it.
"Okay okay it was me, but in my defence anyone would do the same if Zidian wrapped around their neck okay?"
Jiang Cheng sighed and released Zidian, "Why are you sneaking in here at this hour? You could've knocked if you needed something. I thought you were an intruder, you're lucky it was just Zidian and that I didn't use force. Also the last time there was an intruder Jiunyan skewered him."
Phew, he was lucky he admitted his fault. He did not need a fear of cats alongside his dog phobia.
"Wait who intruded in your room!?"
"Oh just some foolish Jin assassin, no need to worry, it's all handled."
He almost choked. Shidi, you don't just say a thing like that nonchalantly!
"Anyway, did you need something?" Jiang Cheng continued, oblivious to his internal freak out.
"No, just…"
Well he felt kind of silly now really.
"Just wanted to see you…." He fidgeted with his sleeve (the robes were indeed too large on Mo Xuanyu's body).
"Did you have a nightmare again?"
"Something like that," he muttered.
Jiang Cheng sighed, "Alright, get in."
He lifted the covers on the other side. But Wei Wuxian eyed the cat who was giving him the stink eye.
"Uh…"
Jiang Cheng laughed, "Yes, that's Jiunyan's spot. Come here baobei."
He picked up the cat and resettled it on his chest, cuddling it in apology and kissing its head. The cat looked pleased by his new bed and finally stopped glaring at Wei Wuxian. Only then did he slide under the covers too. Also what was this feeling? He was not jealous of a cat okay?
As he made himself comfortable next to Jiang Cheng the cat gave him a smug look as if to say I know exactly what you're thinking.
He laughed a bit internally.
Am I that predictable? He raised an eyebrow at Jiunyan, and then proceeded to pet the cat himself, "I'm sorry for taking your spot little buddy, it's just for one night and you have a better spot now don't you?"
Jiunyan begrudgingly let himself get petted and acknowledged with a dainty sniff that yes, yes he did.
Wei Wuxian woke up feeling very refreshed. It was a good decision to go to Jiang Cheng's room the night before. But when he opened his eyes he didn't see his shidi, only the judgemental face of Jiunyan which seemed to say 'Oh you've only just gotten up?'.
Wei Wuxian smiled at this which seemed to throw the cat for a loop.
"Xiao mao, you're just like Jiang Cheng aren't you?" he laughed, "You two make a good pair. Very adorable."
Jiunyan just looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
Adorable? He was dignified, thank you very much!
He turned around and whacked Wei Wuxian in the face with his fluffy tail before jumping off the bed and heading out, probably to find breakfast. Wei Wuxian should go do that too.
Jiang Cheng had let him sleep in while he went to see about some sect business. He'd thought Wei Wuxian had a hard time sleeping due to nightmares, that's why he came into his room.
They had breakfast together, perused the markets a bit to get Wei Wuxian some clothes and things of his own to take to Koi Tower with him, then set off. (He couldn't help but sneakily kiss Jiunyan's haughty little face before he left. He earned himself a kitty slap and an affronted mewl for it but it was worth it.)
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"Ah, if only this Mo Xuanyu had realised sooner how wrong he was about Sect Leader Jiang!" he cried dramatically, fake swooning after Jiang Cheng landed in JinLin Tai. The guards and many disciples had seen them fly in. Mo Xuanyu ("Wait a minute, isn't he the Yiling Patriarch now?" queried a random Jin disciple) was clinging to Sect Leader Jiang the entire time.
"Who knew that Sect Leader Jiang was hiding all those muscles? This humble one has been fortunate enough to realise the error of his ways. Sect Leader Jiang is my type after all!" he announced brightly.
"You-!" Jiang Cheng suddenly felt a vein throbbing on his temple. Of course Wei Wuxian would take his previously snarky comment (his bad memory had to be a lie, Wei Wuxian's brain was really just selective wasn't it?) as fuel to be embarrassing.
("Maybe he is still Mo Xuanyu," whispered random Jin disciple 2, "Who else is as shameless as he is to be flirting with Sect Leaders?")**
"Aiya Jiang Cheng, don't look so intense, you'll scare our favourite nephew!" he chirped.
("But doesn't the Yiling Patriarch address Sect Leader Jiang familiarly?" "Yea but what if that is just part of Mo Xuanyu's shameless behaviour?" "You've got a point.")
"You there," called Jiang Cheng.
The gossiping disciples froze.
"Yes Jiang-zonghzu?" said the first one timidly.
"What is going on? Why hasn't anyone come out to greet me?"
As was the custom when a Sect Leader was visiting another sect, someone important enough in the sect would always be dispatched to welcome them. And the Jin sect in particular would make sure to follow this custom, unannounced visit or not, at first because Jin Guangyao was the consummate host, but then after Jin Ling became Sect Leader, because they wanted to keep an eye out whenever his uncle visited. The Jins were a suspicious lot.
The disciples shared a glance with each other.
"Ah Jiang-zongzhu," said the head disciple, rushing out to greet him, "Please forgive the delay. Welcome to Koi Tower. I am afraid that Jiang-zongzhu has come at an awkward time. Jin-zongzhu is currently unavailable."
"Unavailable? He was aware that I would be visiting soon, he would not have gone out on a nighthunt."
"He's not away…"
"Then why is my nephew unavailable?"
"Ah," he gulped, "I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say but Jin-zongzhu reinstated a disciple that left the sect and introduced her at breakfast. The elders are unhappy about it and are trying to change his mind. He's been in the meeting room with them since after breakfast."
"I see," said Jiang Cheng curtly, "Well no matter, I shall wait. However it is well within the purview of the sect leader to admit disciples to the sect without anyone's approval. I do hope your elders remember that."
"O..of course Jiang-zongzhu. I shall have someone prepare your regular rooms. Will you take refreshments as you wait?"
"Sure we will!" said Wei Wuxian cheerfully. He had been ignored the whole time because the Jin head disciple had been trying to stay out of Jiang Cheng's bad books and had zeroed in on the annoyed sect leader, not even noticing his companion.
The Jin head disciple did a double take.
"Mo Xuanyu? What are you doing here?"
"That's Jin Xuanyu now!" he said gleefully.
"What?" the head disciple's face turned dark. But before he could open his mouth and say anything to get himself into trouble, his shidi hastily whispered to him, "Da-shixiong, he came with Jiang-zongzhu!"
The head disciple's face paled so rapidly Jiang Cheng thought he might faint.
"The Y..yiling Patriarch…" he whimpered, suddenly remembering that Mo Xuanyu was actually no longer Mo Xuanyu.
But the Jin head disciple was accustomed to being put into difficult positions so he got himself together and welcomed Wei Wuxian.
"Please forgive me, Yiling Patriarch sir, I shall have a room prepared for you too if you are staying."
"Yiling who? That's so last decade. Just call me Jin Xuanyu!" Wei Wuxian said flippantly.
"R..right. J..Jin Xuanyu then," said the poor head disciple, confused but intimidated enough to go along with him.
He had the servants show them to a private dining room where they awaited Jin Ling.
Ouyang Zizhen, unable to be in the meeting room with his friend but also eager to be doing something, quickly found his way to them (gossip spreads fast, he already heard whispers of their arrival) to inform them of what had taken place that morning.
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"Sect Leader please be reasonable! This woman publicly denounced our sect and left. Think of our face! If we accept her back into the sect then anyone who has an issue with us can defect out of anger and then come begging to be let back in and use her as an example!"
"Begging? Elder Chen, she was merely passing through, I was the one who asked her to stay. In fact the moment she left our sect she was asked to return by my own father, who would be sect leader if he was alive today, as you well know from the letter she brought with her. It was genuine, confirmed to be his writing and his seal by our own Elders Huizhong and Guozhi. Can anyone else claim the same if they defect in anger and want to come back?" Jin Ling refuted.
"Besides, our Jin sect has lost far more face recently than accepting a formerly disgruntled disciple would cause anyway. It won't even cause a ripple. People have more serious gripes with us, don't you think? Regardless of any loss of face however, my late father's wish was for her to rejoin the sect. Even if she can no longer be at his side, she can be at mine in his place. It is my filial duty to honour the wish of my father and I intend to do so."
"Jin Rulan, your father might have wanted her to come back but your grandfather would never have let a disciple that left, especially one who publicly went against our Jin sect, return to the sect!"
"Elder Shan, do I need to remind you that I am the Sect Leader? I have the final say on the matter whether you agree or not," Jin Ling said, feeling a headache blooming. "My late grandfather may not have accepted her but my late father would have. They both have differing opinions and it is my prerogative to choose which one to accept."
He'd been arguing with the elders for what seemed like hours.
Elder Shan looked like if he could get away with it he would throw hands with Jin Ling right then and there.
He gritted his teeth, "I am aware, Sect Leader, but you should consider how it would look for us to accept a turncoat back into the sect."
Jin Ling suppressed a weary sigh. It was the same argument they'd been making, over and over, in so many different words. They just kept repeating themselves.
"I have considered it. In fact I checked the records of that meeting where Luo Qingyang defected. If it's one thing that my late uncle was good at, it was record keeping, wasn't it Elders? His memory was second to none. I read the transcript and I have to say, I am quite disappointed. You all like to remind me of my age and inexperience but I felt like I was reading about a bunch of children squabbling.
Luo Qingyang's advice was sound. She basically said not to be hasty with our decisions and judgements and not to exaggerate details, which any wise person would agree is reasonable, except she got called a hysterical woman in love with the enemy for it. Really Elders, the sects just didn't like being contradicted did they, and so they took it out on her because she dared to be a dissenting voice and didn't foolishly and blindly agree with everyone else. Luo Qingyang had all right to leave a sect that failed to value her voice and also failed to defend her from false accusations. If anything, we the Jin sect owe her an apology! So Elders, if you are willing to bow down to her at the next intersect conference and apologise then I'll reconsider your advice to not admit her to the sect."
Of course this was an unacceptable alternative. The elders would never do a thing like that.
With many sour looks they finally gave in to Jin Ling's will and begrudgingly accepted Luo Qingyang back into the sect. They could always kick her out for some other transgression anyway when they elected a 'regent'.
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A/N:
* This is canon btw their shidis did say this in the lotus seed pod extras I believe
** The Jin disciples are young and don't really know that Wei Wuxian himself had a reputation for being kinda shameless. Not many people remember Wei Wuxian other than for his rep as the YLLZ bcuz a lot of the older cultivators died in the war and then the siege etc.