Jiang Cheng P.O.V (starting with previous event recap in his POV)
They had just finished eating when Wei Ying practically threw himself at Lan Zhan. "Er-gege, I can finally show you around!" Wei Ying's excitement beyond containment, apparently... When was the last time his brother was ever that excited to be home? Something about the attention his brother gives Lan Zhan bugs him, he doesn't know what though.
His mother's suggestion that they all go is somewhat a relief, he doesn't want to be stuck playing escort to those two morons by himself. She at-least seems happier and more at ease than she has in a long time.
As they walk along Jiang Cheng catches snippets of his sister and Xichen's conversation, his mother and father are lost in conversation with Sect Leader Lan. He thinks about trying to join either group, but ultimately just listens, his eyes keep wandering back to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. "Lan Er-gege, A-Cheng and I bring the disciples down here to swim during the summer." Wei Ying chatters as they approach the docks. Jiang Cheng listens to Wei Ying talk about the mischief they'd gotten into during their summers here, and feels something tighten in his chest, but pointedly ignores it. Suddenly Wei Ying shifts his attention to Yanli and Xichen. "How about fan cultivation?" Wei Ying suggests. Jiang Cheng then realizes he'd been totally spacing on what they were talking about.
"That could work as well." Xichen agrees, then says he should suggest it to Sect Leader Nie for Huaisang as well. It's very Xichen to worry about his sworn brother's relationship with his sibling.
Wei Ying offers that he can ask Huaisang, because they have been in contact for a while apparently. Jiang Cheng snorts, "Of course you have." rolling his eyes, now the summer visits from Huaisang make sense. Wei Ying argues that Mingjue isn't easy to live with and Huaisang needs to vent sometimes, all Jiang Cheng can think of is pot meet kettle.
"He's under a lot of stress." Xichen says, always the diplomat, he's also trying to avoid gossiping about his friend, Jiang Cheng can tell.
"It would help if his brother didn't dodge training constantly." Jiang Cheng tells Wei Ying, "I'd be stressed out too if you kept vanishing to buy clothes and art scrolls." he hears Wei Ying's offended gasp and sees his sister start laughing. "As it is, you ditch to catch fish and steal lotus pods." he finishes, dodging as Wei Ying tries to pounce on him after loudly whining that he's being mean. Jiang Cheng internally flinches as Wei Ying hits the dock, that can't have felt good. A second later what Wei Ying called him kicks into his brain and he snaps "Who the fuck is 'ChengCheng'!" automatically, without thinking about who is with them.
"Jiang Cheng! language!" Yu Ziyuan corrects, looking exasperatedly between him and Wei Ying.
"Sorry A-Niang" He apologizes, though he definitely knows this won't be the last time it happens, Wei Ying is Wei Ying after all. He watches the familiar scenario play out between his sister and Wei Ying again, he supposes it's a good thing that their guests find it amusing, they are going to be family after all. He pointedly ignores the uncomfortable way his stomach twists at the thought of Wei Ying marrying into the Gusu Lan sect.
The rest of the evening goes on without incident, if he can't stop watching Wei Ying and Lan Zhan interact, it's just because he's supposed to be their chaperon.
The next couple of days feel like they drag, he and Yanli and Xichen accompany Wei Ying and Lan Zhan into town the next afternoon. The trip goes about how Jiang Cheng expected, with Lan Zhan buying Wei Ying loads of sweets as they watch the two bounce between vendors. The days afterwards feels like the weather is mimicking Jiang Cheng's own mood, it rains all day and Jiang Cheng desperately wishes someone else would watch the lovebirds. He's getting sick of breaking up the make-out sessions already, how did Xichen deal with these two for months?
Yanli and Xichen seem to be getting along well, Huaisang and Mingjue arrive on the third day. Jiang Cheng is only too glad to let Huaisang play escort for an afternoon and get away from Wei Ying and Lan Zhan for a couple of hours. He decides to follow his sister and Xichen around instead and listen to the three older siblings talk about their struggles, Yanli seems to be getting along well with both of them and He's glad, his sister deserves friends.
Yanli, Mingjue and Xichen are currently sitting at one of the shaded pavilions outside of the main house. Xichen has a scroll he sent for from Gusu in front of him and is explaining how fan cultivation works to the other two. Jiang Cheng had been listening when a flash of movement on one of the docks catches his eye, looking up he realizes it's Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. "Where the heck did Huaisang vanish to?" Jiang Cheng mumbles, looking up and down the area that isn't blocked by buildings, Huaisang is definitely nowhere in sight. At this distance he can't hear any of their conversation but he can see Wei Ying is laughing happily and chattering the 2nd jades ear off. Jiang Cheng decides to keep watching them just in case they try anything inappropriate.
Jiang Yanli P.O.V
Jiang Yanli has noticed over the past few days that Jiang Cheng tends to watch A-Xian very closely, especially whenever 2nd Childe Lan is around. Her suspicion that her little brother may have feelings for Wei Ying is becoming more grounded by the day, however she doesn't think he's realized it himself yet. She knows, because her brother is dense, and will likely never figure it out on his own, that she may end up having to have a talk with him in the near future. After all, for all that Yanli adores her baby brother, she cannot allow him to say anything to Wei Ying.
Yanli is honestly relieved when Huaisang volunteers to play the role of escort for the afternoon. Jiang Cheng needs a break from following Wei Ying and Lan Zhan around, he doesn't complain, but she can see he's frustrated, especially after all the rain. She tries in-vain a few times to involve him in the conversation, but her brother, as usual, isn't much of a talker and seems content to just listen for the most part.
Xichen had just laid out the scrolls he sent for on the pavilion's small table; the scrolls have images of positions and guides on how fan cultivation can be achieved. "These scrolls were written by Sect Leader Lan Yi, she's behind a lot of Gusu's current training methods." Xichen explains.
"It makes sense for the creator of fan cultivation to be a woman." Mingjue says Yanli thinks anyone else wording that sentence would be using it as an insult. However, Sect Leader Nie has no such intention and seems to be genuinely interested, and impressed by Lan Yi's work.
"She's also the one who created the assassination cord method." Xichen adds, "Gusu generally frowns on violence of any sort, however it's important that her life experiences are taken into account." he continues.
"Wasn't Lan Yi also a friend to the immortal Baoshan Sanren?" Yanli asks, she has heard Lan Yi's name before, she's almost certain it was in connection with the famous immortal.
"More than friends, Lan Yi and the immortal were lovers." Xichen says, "Changse Sanren was their daughter."
"How is that even possible, they were both women." Mingjue asks. "Last I checked that was impossible."
"Mother said that there was a case of a soulmate's blessing when she was a small child." Yanli says, "I wonder if she meant our A-Xian's A-Niang."
"Quite possibly, it was the note she sent A-Ying about the soulmates blessing that made me go back and look." Xichen responds. "On a different note, I was wondering if A-Ying might be capable of crafting a spiritual weapon.'' This last part is aimed at Jiang Cheng, who doesn't appear to have heard it at all. Yanli looks in the direction her brother is facing and sees A-Xian and 2nd Childe Lan, A-Xian is basically draped over the 2nd jade in a highly inappropriate fashion. She definitely needs to talk to A-Cheng later.
"A-Cheng, do you know if A-Xian has ever experimented with spiritual weapons?" Yanli asks tapping Jiang Cheng's shoulder, he was apparently so focused on them that he was dead to the world, he jumps slightly in surprise.
"He's only ever made two and they were both for demonic cultivation." Jiang Cheng tells them, "He'd probably be able to figure it out, but you'd need to give him a place away from people to experiment safely."
"What do you know about the demonic items, were they stable?" Mingjue asks, "I've heard demonic cultivation is hard on a person's mental state." The Nie Sect Leader had been caught up on the time travel by Yanli and Xichen over the past few days with the help of the timeline Xichen copied from her brother.
"The flute was perfectly safe, and easily controlled." Jiang Cheng answers immediately, "The Stygian tiger talisman however, was highly dangerous if you couldn't control your emotions."
"Could he control it?" Xichen asks, sounding a little worried about his future brother in law.
"Debatable." Jiang Cheng responds, "he created it during the war and used it to control legions of the undead, after the war he started to fray mentally." Xichen shudders at his description of necromancy.
"what would happen if he lost control?" Yanli asks, her brother never went into the gory details when he recounted the past to her. Now that he's mentioned necromancy however, she feels she needs more details.
"He crushed 40 jin sect cultivators like ants under a boot." Jiang Cheng says, with a disgusted expression. "The Jin's had killed a bunch of innocent Wen survivors and were keeping the rest in labor camps... many of the dead were children and elders, Wei Ying snapped." MingJue and Xichen both look pale and horrified by this revelation, and Yanli is sure her own face is much the same.
"So the Jins cannot be trusted." Mingjue replies after a moment's silence. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
"Actually I think some of them can be." Jiang Cheng says, "Jin Zixuan was never ruthless enough for his father's tastes, he's a bit vain and spoiled, but he would help us." He still remembers how quickly Zixuan had put aside his distrust of Wei Ying for the sake of Yanli. That willingness to forgive and accept for the sake of his beloved, had ultimately gotten him killed in the original timeline, but Jiang Cheng knows Wei Ying won't allow it to happen again. "I fairly certain Jin Furen can also be trusted."
"According to A-Niang, Jin Furen has always despised Jin Zhuren '' Yanli confirms, it's well known that Yu Ziyuan is good friends with lady Jin, and that the two women had grown up together in MeiShan.
"That explains why Young Master Jin is an only child." Xichen says he looks as if he feels sorry for the peacock in question.
"That peacock is so desperate for a sibling he started clinging to Wei Ying after I was sent home." Jiang Cheng snorted dismissively, Wei Ying had told him about Zixuan saving him and Huaisang repeatedly from arriving to class after the last bell.
"Wei Ying is allowed to make friends outside of lotus pier A-Cheng." Yanli says softly,
"Did he have to choose that prick though?" Jiang Cheng grumbles, "I still haven't forgiven him for what he called you and A-Ying... He's going to have to prove he's changed first."
"I'm sure my brother has already thought of ten ways to get pay back." MingJue says, surprising everyone within earshot. "What? Did you really think I was unaware of my little brother's habits?"
"It's just strange hearing you admit he has them..." Jiang Cheng clarifies for the rest of them.
"The amount of unaccounted for funds and trade, coming in and out of QingHe had to be being used for something." Mingjue says with a long-suffering sigh, "I found out by accident that he's been paying prostitutes to spy for him." Xichen chokes on nothing, and Yanli cringes, this is definitely not what they were expecting to hear. The look on her brother's face tells her he isn't surprised at all.
Their conversation topic changes back to fan cultivation and Yanli notices Jiang Cheng eventually spaces out again, staring at the docks that Wei Ying and the 2nd jade have now disappeared from. He appears to consider going to find them but apparently decides he doesn't want to know what they're up to, and instead takes his shoes off and sits on the edge of the dock with his feet in the water.
Eventually Sect Leader Nie is called back to QingHe to attend to something and Jiang Cheng, Xichen and Yanli see Mingjue off. Huaisang will be staying for the next couple of weeks, at least this visit with Gusu is almost over... she thinks A-cheng can deal with the headshaker much better than the 2nd jade, even if she is glad that Xichen and Nie Mingjue seem to be people she can get along well with.
Wei Wuxian P.O.V
Wei Ying was delighted to be home, don't misunderstand, but constantly having his time with Lan Zhan interrupted by Jiang Cheng wasn't exactly what he had in mind. When he'd sent a message to Huaisang he had expressed that sentiment to his friend, he knew if anyone could get them some alone time, it would be Huaisang. He got a message back later that night via a communication spell, Huaisang was delighted at the prospect of training in something other than the saber. He had also been quick to suggest that he could play chaperon and then 'get lost' in the town for a couple hours while he stayed with them. They had continued sending messages back and forth via the communication spell for several hours that night, working out a perfect plan.
After the Nie's arrival, there were a couple of hours spent together as a large group. Xichen explained how fan cultivation worked briefly, and Mingjue was shown around the training grounds of lotus pier. They ate lunch together in the dining hall and then Xichen, Mingjue and Yanli started to leave for one of the pavilions to talk more about what the training would involve. "Lan Zhan! It's finally good enough weather to go to the markets again." Wei Ying chatters at his future husband, "I want to buy tanghulu, it's nice enough out we could rent a boat too!"
Lan Zhan nods quietly in response "Mn."
"I'm not renting a boat with you; you'd somehow manage to ruin the view for everyone else." Jiang Cheng rejects, rolling his eyes as usual.
"Then stay on the shore! I was inviting Er-gege, not you!" Wei Ying says sticking his tongue out at his martial sibling.
"You aren't married yet." Jiang Cheng reminds him again. "You have to have a chaperon."
"Then rent another boat." Wei Ying suggests he's getting tired of the Jiang Cheng '3ft apart at all times' rule. "It's not like we're going to try something in public anyway."
"Fine. But if you try anything I'm going to splash you both." Jiang Cheng snorts. Wei Ying doesn't doubt he would do it, his brother's idea of 'try anything' includes something like holding hands though. Wei Ying is about to say as much when Huaisang speaks up.
"I can be a Chaperon for the day, if that's okay with everyone." Huaisang interjects, "it's been almost a year since I've been to the markets in YunMeng."
"You're a guest here, Young Master Nie, we wouldn't want to impose." Jiang Fengmian says, "A-Cheng complains, but he volunteered to chaperon them himself."
"It's not imposing, I want to visit the market anyway." Huaisang reassures, "besides, I can pick up some cheap fans for Jiang Guniang and I to practice with." This offer seems to quiet any further opposition, much to Wei Ying's delight.
With that settled, Wei Ying, Lan Zhan and Huaisang head for the market.
The market is bustling by the time the group arrives, vendors can be heard bargaining with customers. Huaisang points Wei Ying towards a merchant selling fans, "Wei-xiong, help me pick out practice fans for Jiang-Guniang!" Wei Ying drags Lan Zhan with him, after all this was the excuse they used. The merchant has many different styles of fans laid out on his stand and propped open on shelves. Some of the fans are plain, with either colored silk or stained wood as their only decoration, others have lovely imagery or embroidery delicately flowing across their silks. The vendor also allows customers to choose charms and tassels to be attached to the fans if they wish.
Wei Ying looks through the images on the available fans, these are simply going to be for practice, but he still wants to choose a design that fits his Shijie. His eyes finally land on a pair of lilac silk fans, the wood is stained deep mahogany. "These will be perfect for Shijie." Wei Ying says, "since you are both just beginning, sticking with simple ones is best."
"You're probably right, Wei-Xiong." Huaisang agrees, "I wouldn't want to risk destroying the artwork." With that in mind, Huaisang chooses a set in deep mahogany with white silk.
"Nie Zhuren would Qi Deviate if you bought any more art fans." Wei Ying jokes, "once I have the whole spiritual weapon thing figured out maybe we can convert one of your favorites?"
"I really hope he doesn't, I don't know what I would do without Da-ge, I don't want to be Sect Leader." Huaisang says honestly, "as for my favorite fans..." he adds with a pause "He already burned a lot of them before you contacted me, Wei-Xiong."
"Aiya, so mean... Nie Zhuren is worse than an untrained dog!" Wei Ying groans, "At least A-Cheng has never destroyed my things." and it's true, if anything, Jiang Cheng had taken great care of his old possessions, he hadn't even allowed his old room to get dusty... and he'd kept Wei Ying's flute, Chengqing, in perfect working order. Next to him Wei Ying catches a 'puff' from Lan Zhan, who was clearly amused by the 'untrained dog' comparison. "Er-gege, what are you laughing at? Sang-ge's Da-ge is truly feral, messing with other people's things." Wei Ying argues.
"Huan-ge has also called MingJue a dog." Lan Zhan says, Wei Ying and Huaisang both gape at this.
"Er-gege, you aren't supposed to gossip!" Wei Ying chides, bumping Lan Zhan with his elbow.
"Not in Gusu." Lan Zhan quips back, "Wei Ying asked, cannot lie."
"Er-gege, you can't just bend the rules whenever you want!" Wei Ying whines.
"Can. Will." Lan Zhan says firmly.
"I want to know when that happened." Huaisang interjects, "Da-ge visits Gusu a lot, but Xichen-ge wouldn't say such a thing while in Gusu." the implication that Xichen also bends rules while out of GusuLan floors Wei Ying.
"Cultivation conference in Qinghe, heard Huan-ge arguing with MingJue." Lan Zhan answers.
"They got along fine all through the conference." Huaisang says, looking confused. Wei Ying had attended that conference but had slept through most of it, he doesn't know either way.
"Not during. After" Lan Zhan says, as if that clarifies it, apparently Huaisang remembers something however.
"So that's where Da-ge vanished." Huaisang says as if realizing something. "That was so late though, Xichen-ge should have been asleep."
"Not Gusu." Lan Zhan says again. "Huan-ge often stays up later during conferences. Learned not to bother him." it takes a moment for the implication to sink in, when it does, Wei Ying can feel himself blushing and Huaisang looks equally horrified. The merchant coughing awkwardly snaps them out of their conversation and they pay for the fans.
"I don't think I'll be able to look Da-ge in the eye." Huaisang complains as they finish paying, but before they part ways. "or Xichen-ge"
"Me either." Wei Ying agrees, "we'll meet back up later, have fun!" he adds with a suggestive eyebrow raise.
"I plan on it." Huaisang says, fanning himself in a suggestive manner before vanishing into the crowd, Wei Ying shakes his head before turning back to Lan Zhan.
"Lan Er-gege! Let's go, there are so many places I want to show you!" Wei Ying giggles dramatically as he grabs Lan Zhans wrist and drags him in the opposite direction.
He introduces Lan Zhan to his favorite vendors and merchants, pointing out his favorite restaurants along the way. Lan Zhan buys him treats at several of the stalls, and Wei Ying ends up giving some of them to homeless children as they wander through the merchant center of YunMeng.
Wei Ying had been joking about the boating thing, it had been a way to get to the point where Huaisang could volunteer and give them a chance to escape. Instead, he leads Lan Zhan out of Yunmeng, to a place in the forest where he often escaped to when he didn't want to be found. Not even Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli knew about this place, it had been his private hangout when he needed time alone.
The place where he leads Lan Zhan is a clearing surrounded by dense woods on all sides, there are no signs of anyone having stepped foot here recently. Perfect for their purposes, Wei Ying muses. "No one else knows about this place, I put a barrier up back when I was first learning spells." He explains, "it was my place to escape whenever things got rough, even Shijie and A-Cheng don't know about it." Lan Zhan seems pleased with this statement and Wei Ying wraps his arms around the 2nd jade's neck. "we can do whatever we want, no interruptions."
"Mn. Good." Lan Zhan hums, before claiming Wei Ying's lips in a kiss that starts out innocent and quickly becomes anything but. Wei Ying allows himself to be swept off his feet and placed on the ground on his back as the kissing deepens.
"Anh..." Wei Ying gasps as Lan Zhan breaks the kiss, Wei Ying can feel Lan Zhan's teeth nipping the sensitive skin of his neck, and his hot mouth sucking bruises into his skin. He feels Lan Zhan's mouth close gently around one of his nipples through the fabric of his robe. "Er-gege..! I'll still need my clothes later- Let me take them off first!." He Whines, fighting with the ties, Lan Zhan pulls back briefly, the look on his face clearly reading as 'do you really need them?'. "Lan Zhan! What would your father say if I came back in different clothes!? A-Yi would find it amusing but she'd definitely be angry as well." That said, Wei Ying finishes untying them and flings them away.
Now in just his pants, his hardening length can be easily seen, Lan Zhan is still completely clothed. "Er-gege, It's unfair, I want to see you too!" Wei Ying whines.
"Patience." Lan Zhan hums lowly in his ear, Wei Ying can feel his warm breath, he keens impatiently. The next moment Lan Zhan shifts his attention, stringing kisses and love bites down Wei Yings chest before reaching the top of his pants. Wei Ying grabs at and manages to untie Lan Zhan's belt, his fingers are trembling from a combination of excitement and arousal. Lan Zhan gently grabs one of Wei Ying's hands and draws it to his mouth, kissing his hand before sucking on one of his fingers. Desire curls in Wei Ying's stomach at the sight, he moans subconsciously.
"So mean! Teasing your husband like this..." Wei Ying whines, he's about to ask Lan Zhan if he wants him to beg, when he feels Lan Zhan's hand enters his pants and wraps his cock. Lan Zhan strokes him deliciously slowly, roughly, sending pleasure vibrating up and down his spine. "Hah... Lan Er-gege, if you keep doing that I won't last..." Wei Ying has discovered sex in his original body is very different from the body he'd been given in the other timeline. Lan Zhan finishes tugging Wei Ying's pants off and then, finally, undresses himself. "Lan Zhan...! Er-gege, hurry and take this husband already! I want to still feel you inside me tomo-" Wei Ying's admittedly inappropriate chattering is cut off by Lan Zhans lips.
"Wei Ying. Behave." Lan Zhan chides, breaking the kiss.
"Make me." Wei Ying purrs as he feels Lan Zhan's cock breach his tight rim, as usual his Er-gege is only too happy to indulge him. After being reborn as Mo Xuanyu even regular encounters sometimes made walking hard, he'd been delighted to find that his real body was as sturdy as he remembered.
"Remember you have to pull out, unless we want to marry before the war in this time line! I'm sure we could figure something out if you-" Lan Zhan steals his lips again before he can say anything else scandalous.
Just like their first time in the other timeline, Lan Zhan sets a bruising pace, not giving Wei Ying a chance to adjust to his intrusion. He's definitely going to be sore later, but right now the mixture of pain and pleasure is driving him quickly towards orgasm. He begins grasping at Lan Zhan's back, desperate for something to hold on to as Lan Zhan angles his hips searching for Wei Ying's prostate. Wei Ying moans into Lan Zhan's mouth when he hits it, seeing stars, both from the bolts of pleasure/pain that shake him with each thrust, and need for air. "Ha... Er-gege..." Wei Ying moans breathlessly as Lan Zhan breaks the kiss, both of them are panting hard. Before Wei Ying can think of anything else embarrassing to say he feels Lan Zhan's hand around his cock again, pumping him in time with each thrust... he's vaguely aware that he's chattering all sorts of nonsense, but his voice feels disconnected...
Lan Zhan bends down and Wei Ying feels hot breath, then teeth brush his ear. "Wei Ying, Cum for me." Lan Zhan purrs next to his ear, the words are accompanied by Lan Zhans teeth sinking into the soft skin of his shoulder. Wei Ying's vision whites out as his orgasm hits hard, knocking the breath out of him, later he will discover the nail rakes he's left down his Er-gege's back.
Lan Zhan follows quickly behind him, somehow managing to remember to pull out and spilling across Wei Yings thigh.
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan cuddle in the grass after they've tidied themselves up a bit and redressed. The weather is mild for Yunmeng's typical summer heat and there is a breeze, making under a tree in the clearing a perfect place to doze. They spend maybe an hour napping under the shade of the tree before Wei Ying tells Lan Zhan he wants to show him his favorite area of the docks.
Jiang Cheng P.O.V (time skip)
Much to Jiang Cheng's relief, their visitors finally leave a few days after Huaisang's failure at chaperoning. However, Huaisang and Xichen will still be coming and going from Lotus pier on a regular basis, Wei Ying is delighted as this gives him time with his friend and more chances to see Lan Zhan who sometimes accompanies Xichen. Jiang Cheng. on the other hand has decided he really misses peace and quiet with just his sister and parents. It definitely doesn't help that Wei Ying whines about missing the white robed prick CONSTANTLY.. he really wishes he knew the silencing spell.
The next year feels like it drags by to him, on the one hand, he's happier than he's been in years, his family is all there. His sister's core is improving by leaps and bounds, and with it her health, for the first time, Jiang Cheng feels like maybe things are going to be okay. But then there is the other stuff, he feels bitter and annoyed every time he sees the 2nd jade. Jiang Cheng knows shouldn't feel that way, he knows it's stupid, but he cant help feeling like that prick is stealing his best friend from under his nose. There are also the moments when Wei Ying is chattering with Huaisang, that he wonders why the younger Nie doesn't inspire the same dislike. "If anything, I should dislike Huaisang for what he did in the last timeline, but I don't." he grumbles mentally at one point after listening to his martial sibling and Huaisang chatter about art for 45 minutes.
When the meaning of those feelings finally dawns on him it's only after he, Wei Ying and Yanli are alone. Wei Ying had flopped on the dock and has been whining since he was pulled off of the younger Lan four hours ago. "Lan Zhan this, Lan Zhan that... Will You PLEASE, SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!?" He snaps, "I don't know how he puts up with you! Your giving me a fucking headache.."
"A-Cheng... That wasn't nice, he's not used to being apart from A-Zhan, it's natural that he would-" Yanli starts, but he doesn't want to listen right now, he honestly just wants to escape.
"I dont give a fuck what he's used to! I can't stand listening to it anymore!" Jiang Cheng growls, interrupting her, he can hear Wei Ying telling her it's okay he knows he was being a little annoying, but he's not listening anymore.
He needs to get out of there, right now, he needs a moment alone to think... fuck, what did he just do!? Wei Ying has always been extra and whiny, he should be able to deal with it, but for some reason he just had to open his fucking mouth... he was just going to tell him to be quiet, but somehow it came out sounding like a jealous- "Fuck." he hisses internally... that's what this is, he's jealous of Lan Zhan, because he loves Wei Ying.. Somehow realizing the source makes it feel 10x worse, his chest aches... and his eyes burn. Just when did he stop seeing Wei Ying as a brother? The lines are all blurred and Jiang Cheng isn't sure how or when it happened, but clearly, it's an issue. Being so lost in thought he isn't even aware of where he's going until he's back in his room.
He really hopes Wei Ying doesn't notice his jealousy issues, for once he's grateful Wei Ying also tends to be dense when it comes to emotions. He knows Wei Ying loves Lan Zhan, and he knows they make each-other happy, that's precisely why... He can't let Wei Ying find out how he feels, he needs to get better at controlling his emotions. If he buries it deep enough, maybe he can forget it exists, at least he hopes he will... because it hurts. It takes a moment for him to realize he's crying, he's not a big crier, he never has been. But right now, back against the door of his bedroom, he can't stop the tears. "Why... Why does it have to be him?"
Jiang Yanli P.O.V
The past year has sped by for Yanli, she's getting better and stronger with her fan every day, and the other disciples around lotus pier are treating her with more respect as a result. Don't misunderstand, they weren't disrespectful before, they just were different, Yanli isn't blind to the pitying glances. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, is beginning to worry her. Recently her brother has become very jealous of his time spent with A-Xian, who somehow remains oblivious. It's becoming clearer and clearer to her that he doesn't realize how he's acting, but she sees the way the 2nd jade looks at him sometimes... Lan Zhan definitely realizes what's going on, she just hopes he won't say anything to her A-Xian. Speaking of saying something, she really needs to talk to A-Cheng, but how to go about it? Her little brother is much more sensitive than anyone realizes, and very dense.. They need to talk but she doesn't want to upset him.
While she's trying to come up with the words, her choice to do this delicately vanishes. Poor A-Xian gets snapped at in a very rude manner by her brother, who then has the nerve to interrupt her! Quite rudely might she add! Yanli is done with this delicate business, she's going to go have a few words with A-Cheng as soon as she gets done making sure A-Xian is okay.
"A-Cheng didn't mean it A-Xian." Yanli says, "He's frustrated with having people coming and going regularly, but that isn't an excuse to be a jerk." Wei Ying is fidgeting with his ponytail, she can see that look on his face again, A-Xian clearly thinks it was his fault.
"It's fine Shijie, A-Cheng is right, I was definitely taking it a little too far earlier." Wei Ying says, he's looking at the ground.
"You always take it a little too far, A-Cheng knows this too." Yanli says softly, "that's precisely why he needs to apologize for being a prick." She adds firmly, "I'm going to go have a 'chat' with him and make sure he does just that."
"S-Shijie!" Wei Ying yelps, "I'm really not mad at him, it's fine, we fight all the time, so why bother when it's so silly!"
"it's not fine, and it's not silly!" Yanli argues, "Besides, he was rude to me as well! I'm definitely not letting him get away with that, he's lucky I don't tell A-Niang." Wei Ying visibly gulps at the mention of Yu Ziyuan, yes her mother would definitely be less than nice about how he behaved just now. With that said she turns to head in the direction he went, towards his room she notes mentally.
"At least tell him I forgive him, and I'll try not to whine as much." Wei Ying calls after her, his tone is more normal again and Yanli relaxes, good, at least Wei Ying seems to think it's just normal Jiang Cheng behavior... though that leaves her with questions as to how they'd gotten along in the other timeline.
"You can tell him yourself when he actually apologizes." Yanli jokes, She's secretly relieved that Wei Ying doesn't follow her, it gives her a better chance to confront him without exposing it to Wei Ying. She's definitely still irritated with A-Cheng when she reaches his room, and has to check herself and take a moment to breathe before she grabs the slider's handle.
"go away..." Jiang Cheng's voice says from behind the door, "I don't want to talk to anyone right now." She notes the hoarseness in his voice and the anger dissipates.
"Sorry but I can't do that." Yanli tells him, "We need to talk about this." Her tone is gentle but firm, the same tone she uses with Wei Ying when he tries to avoid talking about things. She goes for the handle again but the door slides open a crack, Jiang Cheng is turned away from her, but she can see his shoulder trembling slightly. "A-Cheng?" She begins, her tone is gentle and careful.
"I'm sorry." Jiang Cheng mumbles, she can tell her brother is trying hard to keep his tone even, "I shouldn't have cut you off like that."
"Apology accepted." Yanli says, but continues further into the room. "You should really be apologizing to A-Xian, though." She places a hand on her brother's shoulder, "You know why I actually came after you right?" She asks. Jiang Cheng doesn't respond, and they stand there for several minutes, finally she says, sighing "You have feelings for A-Xian."
"..." Whatever Jiang Cheng said is too quiet for Yanli to catch, she asks him to repeat it. "Why me?"
Yanli hears him the second time, the phrase hangs in the air for a moment as she tries to think how to respond. Then Jiang Cheng turns towards her, and she sees his face, there are tear tracks down his cheeks, though he isn't sobbing right now, his voice is hoarse. She can see the frustration and irritation on his face, clearly aimed at himself, as well as heartache. "I don't know A-Cheng." She says finally, pulling him into a hug, "unfortunately we have little control over who we love." She tells him. When her engagement was called off she'd been heartbroken over it, but the things she'd learned about the other timeline had given her hope.
"Why him!" Jiang Cheng buries his face in his hands, "mom was right, I can't do anything correctly... I can't even fall for someone I have an ACTUAL CHANCE with." his frustration makes his voice pinched, there is an almost strangled sounding sob, after it. Yanli flinches at his words, she's under no illusion as to whether or not their mother had said such things in the previous timeline. Yanli's heard their mother compare Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng in a less than kind light before, and while Madame Yu's attitude has changed drastically, the damage is done.
"You shouldn't say such things." Yanli tells him, pulling her brother into a hug like she would when he was little. "My Didi is an amazing person, he's so strong and has survived so much." She tells him, "I KNOW that there is definitely someone for you, A-Cheng." She stands there, holding him close for an unknown amount of time before he finally calms down enough to speak properly.
"Was A-Ying okay?" Jiang Cheng asks sheepishly, Yanli nods in response.
"He was a little confused as to why I got mad, he said you argued all the time." Yanli tells her brother, "I know you make jabs at each other from time to time, but I've never heard you snap like that."
"We only made up when we woke up back here." Jiang Cheng admits, "to be honest we avoided each other completely, we were only night-hunting together because Jin Ling tricked me." he confesses, "We both were scared the other hated us and we were afraid we'd make things worse."
Yanli sighs, she should have figured as much, neither of her brothers are good at reading people, and constant misunderstandings and traumatic events made that worse. "Somehow, I'm not surprised it happened that way. I suppose I should thank my son for a second chance when he's born." she says, her last statement is worded in a teasing way.
"I think you becoming stronger is the best thank you." Jiang Cheng says, "He missed both of you a lot, even though he wasn't old enough to remember you, he wouldn't let go of his fathers sword even when he slept." Her brother's eyes are sad when he says this, she can tell he misses Jin Ling, just as A-Xian misses his adopted child.
"You will get to see him again A-Cheng." Yanli says, "even if you won't be raising him this time around, I know you will still be his favorite uncle." She tells him.
"his favorite blood uncle maybe, but after he came back Jin Ling definitely preferred Wei Ying." Jiang Cheng snorts, "I can't blame him, A-Ying is more affectionate and motherlike, I could never be that way with him." it's true, they both know that Wei Ying will be a wonderful mother one day. But Yanli thinks that her little brother will definitely be a good father figure to someone, no matter how much he might deny it.
"I think he probably felt torn between you." Yanli tells Jiang Cheng, if her son is anything like her, it would have stressed him out seeing them fight... yes, he would definitely try to fix it, she decides. "On a different note, you can come to me when it gets hard to stay silent." She tells her brother, "Our A-Xian can't find out how you feel."
"I know he can't, that idiot is too self-sacrificing." Jiang Cheng agrees, his eyes, which had begun to brighten at the change of topic, look hurt and hopeless. "I'll try to hide it better." He promises, and that's honestly all she can ask of her brother, she's had more experience at building walls than he has.
"It will get easier, A-Cheng." She tells him, before she leaves him alone for a while, he probably does need some time. She pretends she didn't hear the quiet 'will it though?' that she gets in response.
Jiang Cheng P.O.V (time skip)
It would definitely be a lie to say that the first couple of weeks after that realization weren't rough, he cried a lot when he was alone at night. But he got better at hiding it, better at keeping himself from snapping at Wei Ying when he would complain and cling to Lan Zhan like a leech. Wei Ying had told him when he apologized for snapping at him, that he would try not to be so extreme, and to his credit, Wei Ying did try... but would it be Wei Ying if he wasn't a whiny brat?
Yanli had finally brought up Xichen's thoughts about Wei Ying making spiritual weapons at dinner one evening. Their parents had asked Wei Ying if he was interested, to which the answer had been immediate, of course! As a result an empty piece of land near the training grounds now had a tent and desk set up, and Wei Ying was often there tinkering with talismans and arrays. Jiang Cheng was discovering that helping Wei Ying with his crazy experiments, was both soothing and maddening. He enjoyed spending time with Wei Ying in-spite of the ache in his chest, but it also made him lonelier.
"A-Cheng! Help me test this shield array." Wei Ying chirped; Jiang Cheng had come searching for Wei Ying after he hadn't showed up for lunch. He'd barely even made it to the tent before Wei Ying came rushing to the door and grabbed his wrist excitedly.
"I thought you were working on spiritual weapons!" Jiang Cheng remarks, the inside of the tent is a mess, there are scorch marks everywhere. "Were you trying to burn the tent around you?"
"I am, I'm multi-tasking... We have a war coming so I'm working on arrays to shield our disciples." Wei Ying explains, "besides, I needed to let the metal cool for the fan frames." he continues, dismissing the concerned comment about the scorched sections of the tent completely.
"You couldn't get the disciples to help you?" Jiang Cheng asks, concerned.
"They ran off after I had a fire talisman I was working on exploded." Wei Ying says nonchalantly, "it's not like anyone got hurt, it was just loud." Jiang Cheng has a feeling he knows what happened to the tent now.
"Test fire spells outside of the tent dumbass." Jiang Cheng snorts, "I can't blame them for running off." He sometimes thinks Wei Ying is a danger to everyone's sanity when he's experimenting.
"Ehn? But the tent is fire proofed, I made that array earlier." Wei Ying says confused.
"I think that array needs more work." Jiang Cheng deadpans, pointing to the scorch marks. Wei Ying's eyes light up as it dawns on him what Jiang Cheng was referring to.
"Ohhhh, those happened when I was still working on it." Wei Ying chimes, "look, it wont catch anymore." as if to prove a point he whips a fire talisman out of his sleeve and ignites it pushing it into the tents fabric. The flames flicker and then go out, there are no new burns to the fabric.
"you couldn't test it on something smaller?" Jiang Cheng asks, incredulously.
"I was making it to stop them from being able to burn the lotus pier and the cloud recesses." Wei Ying insists, "I had to know it could cover a building. Now help me test this shield array." he argues, handing the shield array talisman to Jiang Cheng.
"Okay, okay!... how do you activate it?" Jiang Cheng asks, he's never seen symbols like the ones on this array before, honestly his martial brothers ability to come up with this stuff never ceases to amaze him.
"It's a blood charm, once it's activated it will continue to protect the person who activates it indefinitely." Wei Ying explains, "to tell you the truth I've already tested it on myself, but I want to make sure they work for everyone else." Jiang Cheng isn't sure whether to feel reassured or angry that Wei Ying is experimenting on himself.
"can you please STOP doing that?" He begs Wei Ying, it's not the first time, nor will it be the last, but it doesn't make it less frustrating. Wei Ying gives him a look that clearly says he has no idea what he's talking about, see? Selective hearing. "We would all prefer you to be in one piece, A-Ying."
"It's fine, the worst I would have gotten was a few burns, I'm not a flower A-Cheng." Wei Ying dismisses, once again he misses the point. "it only takes a drop of blood, like a normal fire lure charm." Wei Ying explains. "Then you push enough power into it to activate it, like normal." Jiang Cheng follows his instructions, the talisman lights up with a yellow gold glow, then the paper vanishes and there is an odd warm sensation on his wrist. The sensation makes him pull his sleeve up, on his arm is the Sanskrit symbol for 'shield' looking like a pale white scar on his skin.
"What the fuck!?" Jiang Cheng startles, Wei Ying cracks up laughing and he has the momentary urge to smack his martial sibling.
"It's supposed to do that, A-Cheng." Wei Ying explains when he's stopped laughing, "if it stayed as a paper it would only be good as long as the paper was on your person."
"You should probably warn people ahead of time that they're going to have a tattoo afterwards." Jiang Cheng snips, oh well, at least it's easily hidden.
"it will keep them safe when their back is turned, I doubt they will complain too much." Wei Ying argues, "Now walk away from me." Wei Ying tells him. Jiang Cheng gives him a 'this had better work' look before doing as he's been told. The next moment he hears Wei Ying hit the ground, and turns around to see his martial brother sprawled on his back in the dirt, grinning like a lunatic. "see? Totally works." Wei Ying laughs.
"what if the attack comes from the front?" Jiang Cheng asks, now he's curious.
"then it will only protect from murderous intent." Wei Ying admits, "I couldn't make it shield against every type of attack or it would be hard for disciples to practice." he explains. "It makes a barrier around your body if it senses danger." he continues, "sparing isn't done with intent to harm, so it will only activate if the weapon comes too close to vital organs."
"We should wait until we take care of Su she and Meng Yao before we give it to the other sects then." Jiang Cheng says, "Do you think we can trust Gusu Lan to not give it to him?" he asks.
"I will tell Er-gege that it is just for the main family and their elders next time I see him." Wei Ying assures him, "he already knows they can't trust Su She." Jiang Cheng nods in approval.
"So when are you going to tell A-Niang and A-Die?" He asks, "A-Niang will definitely flip if she sees the mark first."
"I'll explain it at dinner." Wei Ying says, "OH! Do you want to see the art I commissioned for Shijie's fans?" Jiang Cheng can see the excitement radiating off of his martial sibling.
"You got them already?" Jiang Cheng asks in surprise, "how much more work do you need to do to make them function as spiritual tools?" He questions as he follows his brother to an old cabinet, currently being used to keep supplies dry.
"Sang-ge told me about an artist in Meishan who he'd bought fans from before, I contacted the artist via a message array a couple of weeks ago." Wei Ying explains excitedly as he rifles through the cabinet's contents. "Sang-ge also ordered the ones for him and his designs are here as well." He continues, pulling out a couple of canvas rolls. Walking to an empty table he carefully unrolls the canvas, the first set are immediately recognizable as belonging to Yanli. The silk has been painted and cut to resemble a lotus known as 'beautiful dancer', it's petals beginning as a soft yellow and fading to a rich pink. Huaisang's are painted and cut to look as if they've been made from hill myna bird feathers, glossy black with iridescent pigments overlay-ed.
"A-Li will love them, the pinks suite her." Jiang Cheng says trying to imagine what the fans will look like completed.
"I thought so too, I had thought about having the artist add iridescent pigments..." Wei Ying starts hesitantly, "But I thought about it and realized it would make them harder to match to her clothes." He still looks like he's not entirely sure whether he made the right call or not.
"I don't think they need anything extra." Jiang Cheng agrees, "They look refined, like A-Li" he tells Wei Ying, whose eyes light up at the encouragement... if Jiang Cheng's heart flutters at Wei Ying's smile, he doesn't acknowledge it. "It's almost time for the archery tournament" He reminds Wei Ying, "we need to try harder to befriend Wen Ning this time." Jiang Cheng continues, "we need him and his sister to trust us during the war."
"I don't think you need to worry about that, all I did was stand up for him last time." Wei Ying reminds him smiling, "I could ask for permission to message him I guess." Wei Ying adds after thinking about it for a moment.
"That's a good idea." Jiang Cheng agrees, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "if we can make them trust us before the war starts, it will make rescuing the Dafan afterwards easier"
"I will definitely do it then!" Wei Ying chirps.
The day moves onward, that evening Wei Ying shows off the protection arrays he's made and how they work. Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are just as disturbed to hear about Wei Ying's method of testing the array, but are glad he's okay. Yanli immediately pounces on Wei Ying, demanding that he take better care of himself and that he let their doctor look at his burns later.
"They are already healed Shijie! I dont even have a scar, look!" Wei Ying argues, he tugs up his sleeve and shows them that the skin looks normal and healthy. Jiang Cheng feels relieved knowing his martial sibling hadn't burned himself too badly while experimenting.
"That's not the point A-Xian!" Yanli argues.
"With your luck you could have cursed yourself or something." Jiang Cheng adds, sounding exasperated but teasing.
"My luck isn't that bad." Wei Ying argues, "I've survived, haven't I?"
"Barely." Jiang Cheng snips, "You were ripped apart by fierce corpses last time, or have you forgotten?" Jiang Cheng counters. He loves Wei Ying, but god is his martial sibling thick headed sometimes. Wei Ying winces at this comment, Yanli and their parents go pale.
"to be honest I don't actually remember feeling anything." Wei Ying says, "Lan Zhan told me what happened after the GuanYin temple events." Wei Ying explains.
"Just be more careful of your health, A-Ying." Yanli pleads after a moment's silence, "You are very important to all of us." Wei Yings 'I will try, Shijie' is the end of that conversation.
The announcement of the archery tournament is a few days later, He and Wei Ying double down on archery training with the younger disciples in preparation. They also make sure that Wei Ying's shield has been handed out to all of their disciples. One can't be to careful of people like Wen Chao.
The day of the event arrives and as before Jiang Sect arrives early to the location. This time Jiang Cheng follows Wei Ying when he deviates from the map and gets 'lost'.