Wei WuXian changed his training schedule. He now insisted upon only teaching the younger students, those under ten years or so, and made Jiang BiMing responsible for working with the older disciples, which of course included Yao CaiHing.

Wie WuXian wanted to give away his first kiss. And his virginity. He wasn't quite willing to trade them for his hand in marriage. Not yet. Yao CaiHing was pretty, and willing, and her family was dead which gave him plenty of room to avoid being forced by her father to be responsible for taking what she offered without reciprocating with a marriage offer. That wasn't fair to her, however.

And it wasn't fair to him, either. Shouldn't he have slightly stronger feelings for the woman he kissed and had sex with than 'I don't want to be a virgin anymore'?

That wasn't the kind of man he wanted to be.

It was far better to remove himself from temptation.

His nineteenth birthday came and went without fanfare. Afterwards, they began the preparations for the LanLingJin night hunt. Wei WuXian opened his traveling chest to clean it out. He hadn't looked at the contents since leaving the Nightless City. He grinned at the spring books he found there. I'll have to return these to A'Sang…. Maybe he'll have more that I can borrow. He put them aside to pack them properly only to see a packet of letters fall out from between two of the books. He reddened a bit upon seeing the letters: farewell letters to his shijie and shidi, the one to Jiang Cheng containing a will of sorts. Not that he had many possessions to give away at that point. He opened the ribbon (that he would keep), intending to burn the letters now that they were no longer necessary. And found three letters in the pile, not two.

They see you as the sun. You are light and warmth to make them feel good and healthy, supported and loved. You are bright and brilliant, so perhaps that is an apt comparison.

I saw you for the first time in moonlight. So pale and beautiful.

Wei WuXian nearly dropped the letter in shock. He knew that handwriting; he'd spent many, many hours sitting next to the man who wrote this.

Your smile is as bright as a full moon except when it's withered away to almost nothing like a waning crescent, no less brilliant and lovely for all that it is so small. You try to hide the darkness from them. As if what you hide is weakness instead of strength.

Wei WuXian's heart was racing, like he was now privy to some deep, dark secret. This was a love letter. Lan Zhan was in love. He had written a love letter and accidentally included it with Wei WuXian's letters. For a brief moment, he considered that the letter was for him. Except that they met in the afternoon, not in the moonlight, so obviously, the letter was intended for someone else.

But Lan Zhan claimed he was never going to marry. And Wei WuXian had a fuzzy memory of his friend saying he never thought about naked women. This was definitely a love letter, though, wasn't it? Maybe somewhere between laying around on a rooftop at the Unclean Realm and being whipped at the Nightless City, he'd fallen in love? It could happen, right? The thought made Wei WuXian's stomach feel queasy again. And then he really felt like coughing up blood when he thought of his own desire before leaving camp to die: the desire to give Lan Zhan his first kiss.

Kiss Lan WangJi? The man everyone was now calling HanGuang-Jun? The man who apparently fell in love with a pale beauty despite his protests at not wanting to marry. Of course she'd be a beauty: Lan WangJi deserved to love the most beautiful woman in the world. Should I burn his letter? If I give it to him, he'll know I read some of it. I can reassure him I only read a few sentences, but he'll probably wonder if I am telling him the truth or lying. Better to just burn it and not say anything? Or is it better to return it, so he can give it to his lover? Again Wei WuXian's stomach felt nauseated. In the end, he decided to bring the letter to LanLing and if there was a private occasion to return it, he would. And if not, he'd burn it upon his return to Lotus Pier.

Lan WangJi was one of the first people Wei WuXian saw upon arriving at Phoenix Mountain for the hunt. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by GusuLan disciples; there was no way to get close enough to give back the letter without thirty other people witnessing it. Once the Hunt began, it seemed that the two of them were on a cat-and-mouse chase. Wei WuXian hunted down his friend only to see the other scurrying away. After several hours of this unsatisfactory game, Wei WuXian gave up and rested against a tree. He'd captured no prey since the only thing he'd been hunting was human.

He couldn't hear anyone around him; he couldn't feel anyone around him. So he pulled out ChenQing and played a song or three. He could claim he was only playing to amuse himself. In reality, he was using resentful energy to 'encourage' various yao he 'found' to meekly walk or bounce or slither their way into the Jiang spiritual nets. If it wasn't exactly a cultivation method accepted by the Sects, it also wasn't explicitly banned by generic polite hunt 'rules'. Since the object of the Hunt was for a Sect to capture the most prey possible, and he'd wasted half of the day hunting down a person, he felt this would at least make up for some of his mistakes.

He was wrong. So wrong. The Jin disciple was practically spitting and frothing at the mouth as he yelled his frustration and anger at how much prey Wei WuXian had single handedly 'captured'. Then Wei WuXian compounded his 'mistake'; "Who are you anyways?" he demanded to know. "I have no recollection of ever seeing you and yet you…."

"My name is Jin ZiXun!" the other screamed. "You know who I am! We studied together at Cloud Recesses for almost a year. We attended strategy meetings together for months! Who do you think you are?"

Wei WuXian was dumbfounded. He had zero recollection of ever meeting this young man and yet they had spent so much time together? And then Lan WangJi walked into the small clearing, and Wei WuXian realized that it was indeed quite possible for him to not remember who this Jin person was. Lan WangJi was so much more interesting to look at, so much more interesting to listen to, to pay attention to. This Jin boy… was annoying and therefore infinitely forgettable.

Jiang YanLi walked in after Lan WangJi, the peacock trailing her. "My sincere apologies, Jin GongZi," she said and bowed slightly lower than his status would require. "My ShiDi was anxious for our Sect to win the day's prize."

"ShiJie," Wei WuXian started to interrupt, but he was shushed by her angry look.

"I would like to know, however, Jin GongZi, what do the Rules say about how much prey a single cultivator is allowed to capture? And what methods are barred? I received no such manual with my invitation, so we were unaware of this. Please educate this ignorant one." And she bowed again.

Jin ZiXun's mouth dropped open. "Jiang GuNian… there is no manual for a Hunt! No rule book!"

She opened her eyes as wide as possible. "There is no rule book, Jin GongZi? Then why would you claim he broke the rules by capturing too much prey?"

"It's… it's not explicitly stated. It's… it's… it's understood! Using a flute to make prey walk into the Jiang's nets? That's….. It's not fair."

Wei WuXian looked at the pouting Jin and smiled. "If there are no rules against using a flute to cultivate, why are you so upset at me?"

"Just because there are no rules against it doesn't mean it's acceptable! No one else is using a flute!"

Lan WangJi stepped forward. "Is it the dizi you object to? Or musical cultivation in general? Because several of our GusuLan disciples also used musical cultivation to capture prey. Several use a xiao, one uses a dizi like Wei GongZi. They were not as successful as Wei GongZi was." He half bowed towards Wei WuXian. "This one would be interested in learning more about how you used the music to control the yao."

Jin ZiXuan puffed his chest out. "Of course we have no issue with GusuLan cultivation techniques!"

Jiang YanLi frowned. "Then you have an issue with Jiang cultivation techniques?"

Jin ZiXun was ready to say yes, everyone could see his mouth preparing to say it. Jin ZiXuan spoke instead. "Of course my cousin has no issues with Jiang cultivation techniques. He is merely jealous. Please leave, Cousin, before you embarrass the Jin Sect further."

Jiang YanLi shook her head. "No. We need to finish this now before rumors abound. Jin GongZi, please educate me as to which rules my shidi broke. As his elder, it is my responsibility to ensure he follows the Hunt rules" Jin ZiXun stayed silent in the face of his elder cousin's glare. "Then… Jin GongZi, you have defamed my shidi and the entire Jiang Sect. I demand an apology."

Jin ZiXun ignored his cousin. "How can I defame your Sect? Wei WuXian is merely a mongrel your esteemed father picked up. He's responsible for your father's death! For the destruction of your Sect! And you want me to apologize to him?"

Jiang YanLi's smile was colder than ice. "You verbally attacked my shidi, the head disciple of the Jiang Sect. In doing so, you have insulted me and my Sect."

"Apologize," came a stern voice. "Or I'll have to have our head disciple remind you of how to behave."

"Jin Furen," Jiang YanLi bowed. "This small one thanks you for your support of my shidi."

Jin ZiXun refused to apologize. Instead, he stormed away from his aunt.

Jin ZiXun also refused to sit down at the banquet dinner that night. Madame Jin was true to her word; the head disciple had twenty words to say to the rude Jin cultivator, all of them numbers in increasing sequential order.

However, the numbers of cultivators upset with the amount of prey Wei WuXian captured was not limited to Jin ZiXun. They were no less adamant, just quieter and slightly less insulting.

Wei WuXian didn't care overly much about the grumblings of random cultivators. They'd had a several hour head start on him. He'd bagged less than a quarter of the prey that was still available. Anyone who hadn't managed to capture or kill a yao by that time was either extremely unlucky or a piss-poor cultivator who didn't deserve any prey in this contest.

He did care about getting Lan WangJi alone for a few minutes so he could hand off the misplaced letter. It almost felt like it was burning a hole in his lapel pocket. Away from the hunt, HanGuang-Jun was no less elusive than he'd been at the mountain. Always in the company of at least his brother and in no apparent hurry to find himself a quiet space away from the crowds to meditate.

The day after the Hunt was for Sect leader business. Wei WuXian, as head disciple, was excluded, which he was quite happy about. Not being forced to sit in boring meetings all day gave him time to wander Koi Tower. In the course of his wanderings, he ran into Wen Ning.

"What are you doing here?"

Wen Ning shrugged. "A'Jie was invited to today's meeting. She's sort of the new Wen Sect leader because everyone defers to her."

"Ah… I'm sure she hates every minute of it." Wei WuXian laughed, imagining the Healer's sure to be grumpy face.

Wen Ning looked uncomfortable. "The invitation was more like a command. And there was mention of remuneration and compensation for the losses the allies had."

"What compensation should she give?" Wei WuXian asked. "You and the rest of the DafanWen were in our camp through much of the campaign. You didn't cause any of the atrocities. Nor assist Wen RuoHan in any way. Plus everything of even the smallest potential value was already looted from the Nightless City. There's probably nothing left that's worth even a copper coin."

"I don't know," Wen Ning sounded sad. "The letter from Jin ZongZhu sounded pretty angry and arrogant."

"That seems to be his normal mode." Wei WuXian respectfully kept the rest of his opinion of the Jin Sect leader to himself. Lecher was also an extremely appropriate adjective. Profligate, degenerate, deboucher of innocents. Whore-monger. The man was reputed to have lifted the skirt of every prostitute in several cities. And decent women, too, given that he'd acknowledged Mo XuanYu as his bastard.

Later in the privacy of his own room, Wei WuXian acknowledged to himself that there was an issue to be addressed. The cultivators captured in the SunShot campaign were enslaved, as was normal. The men and women from Wen RuoHan's inner circle were executed, as was proper. The homes of the QiShan clan leaders who supported Wen RuoHan were looted for valuables and the families enslaved or executed as was normal. What wasn't normal was expecting an ally to compensate her fellow allies for atrocities committed by her relatives. Were they burdening her with this responsibility because of the blood tie? Or because she was a woman and therefore supposed to be weak and yielding? Because Wen Qing was anything but weak. He rather pitied the Jin Sect leader if he intended to make an example out of her. She'd have him weeping and begging for mercy just with the look on her face. He'd be on his knees if she ever used her needles!

The following day, Jiang WanYin hauled him into the Sect leaders' meeting, glaring down anyone who thought to mention that, as a head disciple, Wei WuXian was not entitled to attend.

Jin GuangShan was sitting on a dais, acting like he was the new overlord of the Sects. That alone made Wei WuXian's hackles rise. Jin GuangShan smiled benevolently, as if bestowing a kind word to a child, "Wen Guniang. Have you agreed to what we spoke of yesterday?"

Wen Qing rose to her feet. "My position has not changed. Jin ZongZhu is Sect leader of the LanLingJin. He is not the Sect leader of the QishanWen nor of the DafanWen. Jin ZongZhu has no authority to imprison the people of QiShan merely because they happened to live under Wen RuoHan's regime."

Jin GuangShan's smile became even more benevolent. "Dear girl, it was war," he began.

"A war in which your son and heir entered late, and you yourself entered only on the last day," OuYang ZongZhu spat.

Jin GuangYao bowed to the angry Sect leader. "OuYang ZongZhu. My father sent Jin ZiXuan and a rather large portion of our army at the same time that the MeiShanYu went to the Unclean Realm. Are you also angry at that Sect for arriving late?"

Sect leader OuYang huffed. "The entire MeiShanYu sect came. Not simply an heir and a few cultivators. Jin GuangShan! You act like your Sect saved us all!"

"Didn't we?" the other asked, almost idly. "I recall that Nie ZongZhu was your esteemed leader and yet at the end... He was captured and almost killed by Wen RuoHan. It was my son who killed that bastard. My son who saved Nie MingJue's life! My soldiers who were fresh, who were not weary from poor rations and a long march, who overran the Wen cultivators that day."

"And it was my head disciple who managed to take control of the puppets and the dead from Wen RuoHan," Jiang WanYin stated firmly. "Meng Yao…. My apologies, I'm not yet accustomed to the new name. Jin GuangYao would never have had the opportunity to kill Wen RuoHan if he'd still held control over those creatures. My shixiong nearly died in his efforts to aid us. And how was he rewarded for this?" He pretended to think. "Oh yes. You flogged him and the man who saved his life. Some reward."

Mentioning Wei WuXian's participation seemed to cause Jin GuangShan to sit up straighter. "Yes, your shixiong certainly played a valuable part that day. Wei GongZi… I've heard so much about your tiger seal…. I would love to see it."

Wei WuXian lied and remained seated. "I don't have it here, Jin ZongZhu." He grinned as if he was making a joke. "I wasn't expecting to have to control puppets in Koi Tower." He kept his tone light and foolish. The tiger seal was, as it always was, stored in a qiankun pouch wrapped in go-away spells and placed in yet another qiankun pouch also wrapped in go-away spells.

Lan WangJi stood and bowed in the general direction of the dias. "Use of the tiger seal for cultivation is dangerous to the cultivator's mind and body. It would be best to destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Jin GuangShan sounded like he was halfways outraged and halfways puzzled. "It is obvious that this seal is a powerful spiritual tool. It should be studied by experts and if there are ways to make it less dangerous to the user, that would be good."

Wei WuXian smirked. "As I am the one who created it, I am the 'expert' on the seal. I will study it when I have time, I assure you, Jin ZongZhu. Right now, there is too much to do at Lotus Pier; there is no time for playing around with my inventions."

Jin GuangShan's smile turned oily. "You are so young to have such a responsibility. Allow some of the Jin elders access to the seal and they can study it for you."

Jiang WanYin bristled. "The tiger seal belongs to a member of the Jiang Sect. As such, if it is to be studied by Sect Elders, it will be studied by YunMengJiang Sect Elders. We will not bother the Jin with our spiritual devices."

"But the LanLingJin have many Elders who are currently idle. And YunMengJiang are so busy rebuilding. On top of many of your Elders having died when the Wen invaded."

Lan XiChen stood up. "I agree with Jin ZongZhu. The Jin Elders should have a chance to study the tiger seal. With such cooperation in mind, there are a few spiritual items in the Jin vaults that the Lan Elders would like to study. We appreciate your willingness to share."

Wei WuXian slouched in his seat, not bothering to cover up his grin. The Lan Sect leader was placing the Jin Sect leader in a precarious position. Either he dropped the pretense of wanting to simply study the tiger seal or he allowed the Lan, and other sects, into his vaults. Predictably, he dropped the pretense.

"It was only an offer to assist Wei GongZi. If he is too stubborn to accept help in discovering what this tiger seal is capable of, I will not push this matter further."