Wei Wuxian P.O.V
to say all the praise made him feel overwhelmed was an understatement… especially coming from Madame Yu. Could he really take commissions for spiritual weapons? Wei Ying wasn't opposed to the thought, if anything the prospect was exciting after so many years unable to cultivate at all. Wei Ying was finally beginning to get used to not being a constant source of strife and grief, but complements and comfort were things he really didn't know how to deal with. Naturally, hearing that his work made his loved ones happy was enough to leave him on the verge of happy tears.
After the fans had been presented, Madame Yu had rushed off to prepare for their afternoon guests. He was nervous about how this first meeting would go too… he'd been talking to Wen Ning quite a bit, the former corpse general had expressed to him the previous night that his sister was nervous about seeing Jiang Cheng again. Wei Ying hadn't been aware that his brother was there when she had burned, apparently Jin Guangshan had told her she could live if she became a concubine for Jin sect… she'd naturally refused. Shan had apparently given marrying into YunMeng Jiang as an option as well, also refused, but for the reason that she'd felt it was unfair to Jiang Cheng, who was in no position to refuse, but didn't even really know her. It hadn't really shocked Wei Ying to find out, given that Jin Guangshan had an unmatched lust for beauty, and Wen Qing was one of the most beautiful women of their generation. What had surprised him was that Wen Qing said Jiang Cheng had apparently argued with Shan over the execution method, stating she didn't deserve to burn. No one would be swayed in the end though. She told him via Wen Ning's message that she'd asked Jiang Cheng to stay until the end as her last request. Jiang Cheng did, he stayed… and that left Wei Ying wondering how his brother would feel about seeing her again.
They are all sitting at the pavilion when a couple of disciples bring news of the arrival of the Wen siblings. Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng go to meet them at the docks. As they arrive, Wei Ying can see Wen Ning fidgeting in excitement, Wen Qing looks calm at first glance, closer inspection reveals her to be worrying her hands a little, nerves… he can't blame her, he's a bit nervous himself.
They had agreed it would be better to make it seem like a first invitation this time, that said, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng introduce themselves as they would in such a situation, before inviting them in. Wei Ying had finished setting up wards to prevent listening in around the main buildings before he'd set up this meeting. So naturally the moment the gates are closed, any pretense of auras crashes and burns. "Qing-jie, I missed you so much!" Wei Ying tells the older sibling, pulling her into a hug, not really caring about appearances. This action breaks her out of her tense stupor.
"A-Ying, what's gotten into you?" She demands, shoving him lightly off of her, "I would prefer to make a good first impression." She scolds in true older sister fashion.
"Aiya, but you already know us!" Wei Ying argues. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes in exasperation, and Wen Qing shakes her head with a similar fondness.
"That may be master Wei, but we haven't met the rest yet." Wen Ning points out. This is when Wei Ying turns to see that his Uncle and Aunt have both made their appearances and are headed towards them, Madame Yu with a mildly disapproving look on her face having seen the hug. Wei Ying gulps subconsciously, he has some explaining to do.
"That's not appropriate behavior, Zhizi." Madame Yu reminds him gently, giving him a look that reads "How would your 2nd jade like seeing you hug someone else."
"It isn't like that, A-Yi, Qing-jie is my sworn sister." Wei Ying explains quickly. This is when Wen Qing chooses to introduce herself and her brother properly.
"Jiang Zhuren, Jiang Furen, I am honored to finally make your acquaintances." Wen Qing says seriously, bowing respectfully with her sword in hand, Wen Ning follows clumsily. "I am Wen Qing of Dafan Wen, he is my Didi, Wen Ning, curtesy name Qionglin."
"A-Ying has told us a lot about you, Wen-Guniang." Jiang Fengmian tells her, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Wen Qing smiles at them, but looks nervously at Jiang Cheng. Wei Ying notices his brother looks a bit pale too right now, probably remembering the last time he'd seen her.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you before." Jiang Cheng apologizes to her, shocking Wei Ying. "I don't think I will ever forget that day."
"You actually did help, maybe not how you would have liked to… but the way you looked at me, it gave me courage to keep my head held high." She tells him, "You helped me to be strong in that situation, I was glad you stayed." Wei Ying feels mixed emotions hearing this, looking at Jiang Cheng he can see his eyes go red, trying to control his emotions, it must have been very hard to watch something like that. Jiang Fengmian and Madame Yu both are giving questioning looks to Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng, it's Wen Ning who answers however.
"My sister asked Jiang Cheng to stay when they led her to the pyre to be burned, he did as she asked." Wen Ning explains solemnly, "He even cleaned up her ashes at the end. I could see it from where they had me contained." Wei Ying feels sick hearing this detail, no wonder Jiang Cheng looks like a mess right now, the last he knew of Wen Qing had been sweeping her remains into a box…. He'd probably had nightmares about it for years. As for Wen Qing, he was the last thing she saw, the only one watching her with compassion in a crowd filled with hatred.
"I would have married you." Jiang Cheng tells her, honestly, "I would have preferred not to watch you burn."
"You would have been stuck in a loveless marriage though." Wen Qing returns, equally honest, "You didn't deserve it then, and you still don't now." Wei Ying feels like he's missed some important interaction between these two in the past. Nie Huaisang's cough, announces his and Yanli's arrival, apparently, they had taken a break from practice to come greet the siblings, arriving at the end of that awkward exchange.
"I'm Jiang Yanli." Yanli introduces herself, curtsying "It's nice to be able to put a face to the names our A-Xian tells us. You must be Qing-jie and A-Ning."
"I always wanted to meet you last time." Wen Qing tells her, returning a bow, "A-Ying had talked about you whenever he was home sick."
"Aiya, you make me sound like a child." Wei Ying whines, "it was really hard back then, we have a chance to make sure it's better this time." Even as he says this, he can hear the voices in his head whispering that it won't be better… he does the best he can to ignore them, at least they are quieter, Lan Zhan plays clarity for him whenever he visits.
"That's because you ARE a child." Jiang Cheng snorts, there's that eye roll again, how does he not give himself a headache? "I agree though, we can make sure it's different this time."
"That starts with Gusu Lan, YunMeng Jiang and Qinghe Nie forming stronger bonds." Huaisang speaks up thoughtfully, "We're already on track for that." He turns to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, "I'm Nie Huaisang, of Qinghe Nie. It's nice to meet you."
"We also already have a better bond with Lanling Jin's heir in progress." Wei Ying points out, sounding excited. "He actually wrote to me a couple of days ago asking to meet for a night hunt next week." He'd been surprised when he got the message and then had gotten busy and forgotten to ask Jiang Cheng if he wanted to come with them.
"and you were going to tell us about this when?" Jiang Cheng asks incredulously.
"When it arrived… I got distracted because the gems for the fans arrived." Wei Ying explains, "I just remembered it now okay?"
"It sounds like poor Zixuan's been left hanging." Yanli says, hand covering her mouth to suppress her laughter. "Don't forget to respond to him tonight Xianxian."
"I won't! actually, I can send it now if Jiang Cheng will tell me whether he's going to come." Wei Ying says pointedly.
"Fine, I guess I need to get to know him better anyway." Jiang Cheng sighs. "Whether I like it or not I'm stuck with him."
"Yep, you definitely are." Wei Ying agrees then adds in a joking tone, "unless you want to forget about our original timeline."
"Nope, I'd rather keep the good things as they are." Jiang Cheng responds, sounding like he didn't get that Wei Ying was teasing him… oops, sorry A-Cheng.
"I was only kidding A-Cheng." Wei Ying says, "I'll be quick." That said he runs for his room to finish his response and send it. He hears Jiang Cheng shout 'don't joke about that!' after him, but doesn't respond to it. "I don't want to lose A-Ling or Sizhui either, don't take things so seriously."
Yanli P.O.V She isn't sure how to feel about the exchange she hears as she and Huaisang approach the area where the others have already gathered in front of the gates. The last words from Wen Qing tell her there is a lot that her brother glossed over about their other timeline, no doubt he'd simply wanted to avoid upsetting her… she could take it though, she wasn't as weak of a flower as either of her siblings seemed to think, something she definitely needed to remedy… She was still annoyed by Jiang Cheng insinuation that her attending the indoctrination was a bad idea, maybe Wei Ying's sworn sister could help her with that matter.
"I'm Jiang Yanli." Yanli introduces herself, curtsying "It's nice to be able to put a face to the names our A-Xian tells us. You must be Qing-jie and A-Ning." The nice thing is she knows that they remember too, so perhaps they can help her convince her siblings. Wen Qing returns a bow, saying that's she'd wanted to meet her the last time around, before stating in a teasing tone that Wei Ying talked about her a lot when he was home sick, making Wei Ying whine that she makes him sound like a child – Yanli can't help the smile on her lips at the dramatic pout her brother puts on. Jiang Cheng takes a jab at Wei Ying and she shakes her head in fond exasperation, her life will never be boring with these two as siblings, that's for sure. She is grateful though, that A-Cheng seems to be coming to terms with his feelings now, he's not as short with Wei Ying, though the longing is still obvious to everyone outside of the target… a fact she is very glad of, Wei Ying doesn't need to know.
"That starts with Gusu Lan, YunMeng Jiang and Qinghe Nie forming stronger bonds." Huaisang speaks up thoughtfully, "We're already on track for that." He turns to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, "I'm Nie Huaisang, of Qinghe Nie. It's nice to meet you." Huaisang's way of introducing himself brings Yanli's mind back to the present conversation, she'd been surprised when she'd found out he was in the know as to everything that happened in the other timeline. Especially given he'd been one of the ones behind A-Xian's resurrection in that timeline, she hadn't considered that her brother would still consider him a friend after causing so much hurt. Wei Ying had told her though, that in his mind, Huaisang had been pushed too far, this version hadn't done anything yet and thus could be redeemed. She was still wary, but he genuinely did seem to care for her brother as a friend, so all she could do right now is watch.
She's surprised when Wei Ying mentions her eventual husband, Jin Zixuan, more particularly the fact he asked her brothers to meet him for a night hunt in a weeks' time. Having made a rather worrisome comment in a joking tone, that Jiang Cheng clearly missed the intonation of, Yanli sees the realization hit Wei Ying as he explains quickly "I was only kidding A-Cheng." With a nervous laugh, before stating "I'll be quick." before he runs for his room to finish his response and send it.
"Don't make jokes about that!" Jiang Cheng shouts after him, but A-Xian gives no indication of having heard. Yanli feels like she still needs to mediate between the two, she's afraid they may end up on bad terms again if they can't understand each other in even a situation like this.
"A-Ying still likes to joke around too much." Wen Qing says, shaking her head, "I would've thought you'd be better at dealing with it than I am."
"You must be joking, this last year and a half is the first time we've been together longer than a couple hours." Jiang Cheng huffs, "and in the other timeline, he'd only been back for 5 years. And I saw him at a distance more than I interacted with him…" He admits Yanli notices how he trails off, but at length he continues. "it took 20 years and a trip back in time for us to even breath the same air without fighting." Yanli sees the hurt in her brother's eyes when he says that. she can also see the concern on their parents faces, she definitely has to be sure she's strong enough to keep her family together this time.
"That's something we need to remedy." Huaisang decides, snapping his fan shut loudly enough to turn the focus to him. "If we're going to fix this timeline, then we ALL need to understand each other."
"Nie-xiong has a point, misunderstandings will give our enemies weaknesses to exploit." Wen Ning speaks up, agreeing with Huaisang in a calm and quiet voice that throws Yanli's idea of the corpse general out the window. "We have a lot to do before the indoctrination camp."
"Agreed, A-Xian told me that they needed herbs and food supplies pretty badly last time." Yanli says, "I was going to ask you if you could help me design herb pouches that will look like perfume, Wen-Guniang?" she asks, turning to Wen Qing.
"I would be happy to." Wen Qing says, "We will need A-Ying's help though, he was there, so he will know what kind of infections they were fighting."
"I can prepare some ration packs, Wei-xiong should be able to find away for us to conceal them." Huaisang hums, "We should probably also get Da-ge to help us with concealment charms for our weapons." Huaisang seems to be a natural planner, he's also much more logical than Yanli had first thought… of course the things he'd done in the other time line point to his scheming abilities rivaling Jiang Cheng's own battle strategy abilities, something she new her brother was, in fact, better at than Wei Ying.
"I might actually be of help with that." Jiang Cheng speaks up, "last time they simply took our weapons when we arrived, I've actually been considering this for a while now." He draws something out of his sleeve. "I had thought that we could just leave our weapons at home, but that would likely make them suspicious." He continues, "so I've been working on this charm, the problem is, the charms need to be customized to match each person's weapon. The charm will make a normal Jian look like a spiritual weapon."
"I thought the charm Master was A-Ying." Wen Qing says, quirking an eyebrow curiously.
"I have been helping him test his ideas the past year, it would be hard not to learn something." Jiang Cheng snorted, rolling his eyes, "it was either catch up or get left in the dust."
"More like get turned into dust." Yu Ziyuan says, at one time it might have seemed malicious but right now she looks more amused. "Zhizi often neglects safety considerations when he's running experiments."
"He was like that in the burial mounds too, Yu furen." Wen Qing agrees, "I have often been called absurd for my theories, but seeing the things he'd do made me seem normal." This comment concerns Yanli, she is going to needle Wei Ying later for details about the burial mounds, she has this feeling that much of the trouble between her brothers started with that place.
"We keep getting on to him about it, but Zhizi seems to have very little consideration for his own wellbeing." Jiang Fengmian says, looking a little sad. "I'm afraid that it started with our own misunderstandings and will be a constant struggle to fix."
"The first step in fixing an issue is realizing it's there." Wen Ning speaks up, "I don't think young master Wei holds it against either of you Jiang Zhuren."
"In some ways, it would be much easier if he did." Jiang Fengmian sighs, "it might not have ever gotten to this point" Yu Ziyuan nods in agreement, they've cleared their misunderstandings over the past year and have worked hard to be more aware of their own actions. Yanli sees the regret in both of them, but while one could argue more lies with Madame Yu, she can see it bites her father Fengmian far harder… he knows this could all have been avoided if he'd been clearer with his wife in the first place.
"Wei Ying wouldn't hold a grudge against anyone, period." Jiang Cheng snorts, "That's part of the problem, we've had a chance to get rid of one of the biggest assholes from last time, but he hasn't done anything yet so Wei Ying saved him." Yanli can tell he's salty about something, she will ask who and why later, possibly while she tries to get him to let her join them at the indoctrination camp.
"Aiya, Chengcheng! We couldn't just let him drown, he's still innocent right now." Wei Ying argues, announcing his return from his task.
"If he shoots at you again, I'm going to feed him to Xuanyu." Jiang Cheng shoots back, "innocent or not, he's an arrogant, cowardly, useless piece of garbage." Yep, Yanli definitely needs to needle them both later, she's missing something here. "Stop calling me that! it's annoying."
"If he hurts Wei-xiong, you'll have a line of people who want to do the same." Huaisang says, and Yanli can see the scheming look in his eye, he's already planning a way to take the person in question out… telling Yanli he either already knows who it is, or he's going to be questioning them later as well.
"Augh, you're both sooo mean! Shijie, they're both terrible!" Wei Ying whines whipping his head back and forth between the two. "I wont! Chengcheng is Chengcheng!"
"You have a lot of people who worry about you, young master Wei." Wen Ning says trying to pacify Wei Ying.
"but he hasn't done ANYTHING yet!" Wei Ying repeats, "there's still a chance we could get him on our side!"
"NO! Fuck that guy!" Jiang Cheng snaps, "I was worried enough when you brought him in on everything" he hisses pointing at Huaisang, who looks sheepish Yanli notes… he must know what he did last time around. "We are NOT saving Motherfucking Su She! Did you forget he's the reason Qionqi pass happened?'' The mention of that event makes Yanli's mind go racing trying to recall everything she'd been told about that event. It takes a moment before it clicks that it's the event where her husband was killed in their previous time. She notices that both Wen Qing and Wen Ning flinch at the mention of the pass as well.
"LANGUAGE Jiang Wanyin." Yu Ziyuan chastises Jiang Cheng for cursing, "A-Ying has a point that he has yet to do anything, wait until he tries something before you feed him to the Xuanyu." Yanli tries not to show her amusement at the fact her mother just told Jiang Cheng to go ahead and feed him to the turtle if he tries anything.
"I knew there had to be something else behind that day." Wen Qing says, "A-Ying wouldn't have hurt Zixuan, I knew that much."
"Never. I might have wanted to punch him when he made Shijie cry… but that's different." Wei Ying says, "I still have nightmares about it." He admits. Yanli can see the anxiety in his posture, she doesn't like it, Wei Ying should always be bouncy and childish. Both of her brothers came back from that time with trauma that they're going to have to struggle with forever. She hates that fact with a passion.
"I know you wouldn't A-Xian." Yanli tells him, "I'm pretty sure the version of me from that time line knows you better than that as well. She wouldn't have blamed you either." Wei Ying looks like he wants to cry when she says this.
"She definitely didn't blame him, she insisted there had to be a mistake until the end." Jiang Cheng says, looking at the ground. "I was the one who didn't listen. I had so many people telling me he was at fault and so much other stress that I just let them sway me, it was wrong, it won't happen again."
"That's how I feel about my other self from your timeline too." Huaisang says, "I must have really been pushed too far to do what I did, so I will just work even harder to make sure it doesn't happen this time."
"We've all made mistakes, but the first step in moving forward is forgiving ourselves for them." Wen Qing says, "I say A-Ying can help A-Cheng with his charm ideas, Jiang-guniang can introduce me to your doctor and we can work on the perfume sachets." She says dividing up the work.
"Wen-xiong can help me with figuring out the travel foods." Huaisang offers, "I'm sure both of your herbal knowledge will be helpful there." and Wen Ning nods in agreement.
"You can call me Yanli, A-Qing, after all, A-Xian considers you family." Yanli tells her, "Also, we can all meet back at the main house for dinner in a couple hours." Plans made, Yanli leads Wen Qing to their medical building. They talk on the way there, and she discovers that Wen Qing is a few years older than Her brothers, almost her own age, and has been a doctor since she was 12. She is serious and no nonsense but has a calmer kinder side to her, it makes Yanli realize why Wei Ying would've clung to her in the burial mounds. They are different, but have enough similarities to put their siblings at ease.
"This is Jiang Lin, she's been our doctor for a long time." Yanli says, introducing Wen Qing to their doctor. "Lin, this is Wen Qing of Dafan Wen, she's visiting with her brother to help us with some things."
"it's and honor to meet you Wen-Guniang." Jiang Lin bows, "What is it I can do to help you?"
"Yanli had the idea to disguise medicinal herbs as perfume sachets." Wen Qing explains, "I asked her to introduce us so that we could work together on this."
"It's an interesting idea, but why would we need to disguise them?" Jiang Lin asks, it's a fair question, they've been making arrangements 'just in case' for months now after all. It's natural that other sect members are wondering why.
"Call it a sort of premonition based on what went down at the archery competition." Yanli says, "I have a bad feeling about the main Qishan Wen sect as a whole."
"My uncle is unstable at the best of times and highly dangerous at the worst." Wen Qing agrees, "I would rather my friends be safe and well prepared if he lashes out." She explains earnestly.
"That could be dangerous for you, Miss Wen." Jiang Lin says with concern.
"I'm well aware of the perilous path I walk." Wen Qing says, "I can only hope that by helping the rest of you, there is a better chance for my family as well." Wen Qing's words strike a chord with Yanli, she's ultimately doing the same thing they are, forging friendships in hope of surviving what's to come with her loved ones safe.
"aiding others may bring his wrath down on you though." Jiang Lin points out.
"He will make no move against me for now, he needs me for his medicines." Wen Qing says, "he will be annoyed with me, but as it stands, we're at a draw, he needs his medicine and I need my clan safe. He won't get his meds if he harms them, so he will bide his time." Her confidence in her ability to hold him off from harming the Dafan is admirable, but Yanli can't help wondering how she's managed it.
"Couldn't he just find another doctor?" Yanli asks.
"they wouldn't know how to treat him, it's dark cultivation that has caused his present state." Wen Qing reveals, "I have been made to run experiments on different methods, to learn how to treat him. but I memorized my methods and burned the notes and ingredient lists. Without me he will have to start from scratch, he can't physically afford to do that." that answers it, she has an eidetic memory like A-Cheng, interesting.
they spend a lot of the time going through different types of herbs, they put together several different samples. They will show them to Wei Ying at dinner and get his opinions on exactly what needs to be changed, Jiang Lin also gets several tips and tricks from Wen Qing on treating and soothing symptoms of dark cultivation, which will help Wei Ying. Yanli realizes that Wen Qing is likely the only reason her brother survived as long as he did after the war in the other timeline. She also has Wen Qing help them list the medical supplies they need to stockpile for the war and immediately after.
As they gather at the dining hall, they find Huaisang and Wen Ning already waiting, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying are nowhere to be seen however. "Jiang-guniang, Wen-guniang, how was your work with the herbs?" Huaisang asks as a greeting.
"We've made progress, we need to ask Wei Ying about the samples we've brought though." Yanli answers, "Have you seen A-Ying or A-Cheng yet?"
"Nope, there was a lot of noise coming from Wei-xiong's experiment tent though." Huaisang says,
"I think young master's Wei and Jiang were arguing about something." Wen Ning agrees.
"Well if they don't show themselves in a moment, I will go get them." Yanli sighs, those two really can't go ten minutes without fighting over something, can they? Of course as soon as she goes to get up they can be heard walking towards the doors.
Jiang Wanyin P.O.V
Never again. Never. Leave it to Wei Wuxian to somehow manage to trip him up and make a fire talisman explode. Thankfully they both have the shields he created permanently embedded in their skin, but it didn't keep ash from staining their clothes. Even so, it was a situation he'd rather not repeat, if that means he has to check his pockets AND Wei Ying's to be sure his klutz martial sibling won't set something off accidentally, so be it. He doesn't want to be sent back any further in time thanks! Between bickering about whose fault that was, and the charms they need to work on, they end up going later than expected. They're also covered in smudges of ash and soot, and Wei Ying's hair is a disaster… Though he somehow pulls that look off better than he should it's hot—Jiang Cheng isn't sure how to feel about that. "You definitely need to change." He says, feigning disgust which couldn't be further from his actual response to seeing Wei Ying looking like that. "You can't go to the dining hall like that."
"So do you." Wei Ying says, sticking his tongue out animatedly, "go look at your reflection."
"We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't decided to leave that stuff in a place it could easily ignite." Jiang Cheng huffs, "We're going to be late." They're already heading to their rooms to change at this point. Jiang Cheng is grateful that they don't share a room anymore, he has a sneaking suspicion it would make things ten times more awkward for him when it comes to hiding his feelings.
"How was I supposed to know you weren't going to watch where you were walking?" Wei Ying responds, and Jiang Cheng wonders what Wei Ying's reaction would be if he found out he tripped because he was watching him? misplaced feelings aside, he was doing it right now too. Wei Ying's robes are slightly tousled as a result of his attempts to brush off ash, and his hair is half down from his ponytail because Jiang Cheng had fumbled for something to grab when he tripped and ended up grabbing his hair.
"how was I supposed to know you put a box in the middle of the floor!?" Jiang Cheng returns, "You know most people keep those on shelves."
"I don't think about where I put things when I'm working!" Wei Ying argues.
"OBVIOUSLY." Jiang Cheng snorts. "You also apparently don't pick up afterwards."
"If I did, I'd forget where I put it and then dig everything back out and make a bigger mess." Wei Ying argues, "It's pointless."
"What's pointless is this conversation." Jiang Cheng grouses. "You aren't going to magically stop being a disorganized wreck no matter how much I argue with you."
"Nope. You're right, it's pretty pointless." Wei Ying agrees, they're near their rooms now so they split up and go to change clothes and fix their hair. They meet back up around 30 minutes later and head to the dining room. There are still streaks of ash on both their faces but it's better than it was, they're already late so it will have to do.
"Get ready for the questions." Jiang Cheng sighs,
"Eh, whatever… it's not like we're in Gusu, who cares?" Wei Ying jokes, "Qing-jie and A-Ning have definitely seen me look worse." He has a point, there aren't exactly baths or even easy drinking water in the burial mounds. Still, that's not where they are, and they're definitely going to get asked.
"I'm telling everyone it's your fault." Jiang Cheng grumbles, they enter the dining room and everyone else is already seated and waiting, as he expected.
"Nice of you two to finally show up." Yanli says, giving both of them a look. "Something happened?" she asks after appraising their appearances.
"Wei Ying leaves shit lying all over the place." Jiang Cheng states.
"He means he tripped because he didn't look where he was going." Wei Ying clarifies.
"That doesn't explain the ash on your faces, or the change of clothes." Wen Qing says, raising an eyebrow.
"when he tripped, he activated a bunch of fire talismans by accident." Wei Ying says, looking slightly deflated, "because of my shield spell, we didn't get burned, but a lot of parchments did and we ended up covered in ash."
"It wouldn't have happened if you would pick up your messes, A-Xian." Yanli giggles, "maybe you should work on that."
"But I lose things whenever I clean." Wei Ying whines, "I don't see the point."
"how about a lower chance of lighting people on fire?" Jiang Cheng argues, "not everyone who goes in there has your shield spell."
"A-Cheng has a point Zhizi, you may need to work on organizing that chaos." Jiang Fengmian says, "for now, let's eat, then we can go over some of the things you were working on." No one argues, by this point everyone at the long table is hungry and the food is being brought out.
After the meal, the sun is low in the sky, almost setting, the group gathers at one of the pavilions to talk about what they've accomplished so far and work through ideas together.
"A-Qing, Jiang Lin and I made up some sample sachets for you to look through, A-Xian" Yanli says, she and Wen Qing pulling them out of their sleeves. "We thought you could help us fine tune them since you know what you ended up needing last time." Wei Ying looks through the pouches, and Jiang Cheng watches as he pulls out Shi gao, and Qing hao- both herbs used for reducing fever- Ma bian cao, Chuan xin lian and Lian qiao- herbs that help with infections,
"All of these would be very helpful, last time we both got injured in the chaos." Wei Ying explains to Yanli, "or well… I got branded and then shot in the arm by Su She, and Lan Er-gege distracted the Xaunyu and ended up getting bitten on his already broken leg." Yanli pales at this account, and Jiang Cheng wonders once again if he should have given her more details and not left out so much of the gore. On the other hand, he really doesn't relish remembering that he'd allowed Wei Ying to stay behind and play bait. He's also dreading what comes next, it's only a week or so before the burning of Gusu in the last timeline.
In the end the group parts ways with an agreement to all stay in touch using Wei Ying's untraceable methods. they all head to their rooms for the evening, rather, everyone but Yanli heads to their rooms- apparently, she was serious about getting more details on the indoctrination camp event. She followed him to his room, ultimately. After quite a bit of needling from her, Jiang Cheng gives in, he tells her everything he remembers in gory, brutal detail. "Jiejie, I'm just worried about doing something and losing the good things from our future." Jiang Cheng finally admits, "I know we have the shields that Wei Ying designed, but it would be better if we didn't make them common knowledge yet." He looks at the ground, before admitting "I'm scared… this whole thing was the start of something I still have nightmares about, please stay here this time."
"this isn't because you don't think I can fight?" Yanli asks again.
"No, it's because I know what that guy is capable of, and he scares me." Jiang Cheng answers honestly, "he was the one who pushed our A-Ying over the edge and into darkness to begin with last time. Part of me is afraid he would try to do the same to you." Yanli appears to be considering his words, she looks pale– undoubtedly trying to process the information he's just dumped on her.
"You said that A-Xian chose to stay behind, and Lan Zhan stayed with him. What happened after you left the cave?" Yanli asks, "You've basically told me everything up until you left it, and A-Xian filled in his part of it after you left."
"There isn't much worth noting." Jiang Cheng shrugs, not really wanting to talk about it– or think about it for that matter. He's still bitter about how things had played out after he got home, not because of the way Wei Ying had been celebrated after he and Lan Zhan killed the turtle– they deserved that; no, the bitterness involved in those memories had more to do with the fact he had been just as exhausted and in pain as they were, but not one person had worried about him. Maybe he was just better at hiding it… or he'd already pushed them far enough away that they didn't notice. Either option wasn't a pleasant thought. To his surprise, Yanli takes one look at his face and calls his bullshit out loud and clear.
"Do you want me to point out the blatancy of that lie? Or should I ask A-Xian to?" Yanli asks, leveling a glare that reminds him of Yu Ziyuan. "I'm going to get the FULL truth out of you, one way or another, Didi." Great… so time for more throwing himself to the sharks and hoping he doesn't make his sister hate him.
"I just would rather not remember– it wasn't a pleasant time for me either Jiejie." Jiang Cheng tells her, but she insists. So, sighing, he recounts the details of his trip. From leaving Wei Ying behind to play bait, through to several days of starvation and dehydration as he and any other survivors made for the nearest sect in hope of aid. And then his own panicked insistence that they go rescue Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, refusing to rest himself until he knew his sibling was safe— only to be verbally lashed by both his parents when they were finally back at YunMeng safely. "A-Niang wasn't happy with me, not only did I lose Sandu, but I hadn't controlled A-Ying well enough and caused damage to YunMeng's image as a result. She said it was on my head if we were attacked next." Jiang Cheng explains, before adding, "Father was angry that I allowed him to stay there in the first place– as the heir, he said I should have stayed behind; he was right about that."
"First of all, you are younger and not as strong as A-Xian. He wanted to stay, you can't be expected to stop him." Yanli argues, "Second, A-Xian is much stronger health wise than either of us, and a better fighter. There's a good chance you would have died if you stayed, the logic doesn't work. You still pushed yourself to your limit, and they attacked you for doing your best."
"Maybe I deserved that." Jiang Cheng casts his eyes to the floor. "I hadn't exactly been a great son, or even a great brother for quite a while by that point." regardless of whether he deserved recognition; it hurt feeling like you'd been punished for doing your best.
"That was a different time, everyone deserves a second chance, A-Cheng." Yanli tells him, "except for maybe Wen Chao… I don't particularly care if he's innocent currently, I'd like to end him myself after the things you and A-Xian have told me." She says flatly, and He can believe she would, having looked at her face.
"A-Ying definitely got good enough revenge last time." Jiang Cheng tells her, "I ended up mercy killing him after what Wei Ying did— I really hope I never get on his bad side." Yanli gives him a 'do tell' expression and he explains about how Wei Ying had killed Wang Jiaoliao and made her castrate Wen Chao. Then followed Wen Chao haunting him with the undead and killing off all his servants and guards— before finally making the sleep deprived bastard so crazy he hadn't noticed Wei Ying cutting strips of meat off his legs. "His last action was selling the meat from Wen Chao's legs to him cooked into stuffed bao– he was so crazy when we finally reunited with A-Ying that all he could do was whimper and say 'I don't want meat' over and over." Yanli looks like she's going to be sick. He agrees.
"Maybe you can feed him to the tortoise this time." Yanli suggests, "I'm glad dinner's over, I feel sick after hearing that."
"Me too." Jiang Cheng agrees, he feels sick thinking about it. "A Lot of gruesome things happened in the other timeline– I didn't want to relive it; and I didn't think you needed to."
"I think I may need to know it though, A-Cheng." Yanli says, clearly gathering her thoughts and trying to calm herself. "I need to understand everything from both of you, if I'm going to fix your communication issues." changing the topic she says, "You should have known A-Xian was joking earlier, he adores his son and nephew as much as you loved A-Ling."
"I know… I just– I was still thinking about the last time I saw Wen Qing… I wasn't all there." Jiang Cheng admits. Seeing the woman you watched burn to ash walking around talking is a strange experience. He's glad he has a chance to fix that, but he's also not sure he will ever forget it entirely. "That whole experience was traumatic, even though I know it hasn't happened yet. I can't stop thinking about it." Yanli ruffles his hair like you would a kid."Stop- don't do that!"
"What? I'm not allowed to mess with Didi's hair?" Yanli asks,continuing to mess with him for a minute longer. She stops though saying in a more serious tone, "Things will be better this time Didi. you'll see." in a very determined manner, she adds "And I'm going to make sure you're married before 35 this time! Even if it means playing matchmaker, my Didi isn't going to be single forever!"
"Good luck finding someone who will put up with me." Jiang Cheng snorts, "everyone with a brain knows that's a tall order."
"Don't be such a pessimist, A-Cheng." Yanli remarks, before heading to the door. She turns back adding, "I will stay home this time. But don't think that means I will always leave the fighting to you two. Good night A-Cheng"
"Good night A-Li" the moment she's left his mind goes back to earlier in the day. Nothing to do with Wen Qing though– instead it's Wei Ying on his mind; well, that, and whether or not he wants to find anyone. He really isn't sure at that moment in time, he definitely can't imagine what a relationship of that nature would even be like– even if it would sound silly to admit it, given the amount of dogfood he's born witness to. Of course his mind decides to convince him how wrong he is about that that night when he finally doses off.
The night hunt with Zixuan ends up going well– Zixuan's immediately warm and teasing greeting of Wei Ying throws him for a loop, reminding him too much of his nephew who hasn't been born yet in this timeline. He also apologizes to Jiang Cheng for his rudeness, stating he behaved like a brat and deserved the broken nose. At least he's self aware. That said, Jiang Cheng isn't sure he will ever be close with his sister's eventual husband– Wei Ying on the other hand seems to consider the peacock a friend and has completely forgiven his rude comments in favor of treating him like a brother; much to Zixuan's delight. Luo Qingyang is much easier for Jiang Cheng to get along with, and he's beginning to understand why she had chosen to side with Wei Ying before. The older girl is a lot like Yanli, her perceptiveness to other peoples emotions is uncanny, and the moment they split off from Zixuan and Wei Ying she asks him about his feelings towards his martial brother.
/Flash back/
"You have feelings for Wei-xiong, don't you?" Luo Qingyang asks the moment the other two are out of earshot. "It must be painful seeing him with someone else."
"Wei Ying is happy, that's all that matters." Jiang Cheng had responded, trying not to let his own feelings show in his voice. "I couldn't give him the freedom he needs anyway. Lan Zhan is perfect for him."
"That doesn't mean your feelings aren't valid." Luo Qingyang says, "Wei Ying would be in shock if he knew."
"That's why he'll never know. He'd give up his own happiness, and I can't let him do that." Jiang Cheng had said. Luo Qingyang had responded:
"We're a lot alike then, I like A-Xuan– but even if he won't admit it yet, I know he likes your sister." Luo Qingyang says, "he's just dense and doesn't want to admit it yet. You should see his face whenever a letter from her arrives… even if he doesn't have the guts to respond." the last comment actually gets a laugh out of him, he's definitely going to tell Yanli about that.
/Flash back end/
The morning after the night hunt is when he remembers that conversation and seeks Yanli out to tell her. He finds her practicing with her fans, and subsequently watches for a while before she notices. She's becoming more and more graceful and skilled with it, turning fan cultivation into her own form of art that looks like dancing– he wonders what Zixuan will think when he finally gets to see his future wife's fighting style.
"Good Morning, A-Cheng." Yanli greets as she folds and returns her fans to her sleeves. "Your up earlier than usual." He has been sleeping in later the past couple of weeks, so her comment is valid. He feels safer than he has in years, who can blame him if he wants to sleep in?
"I remembered something Luo-Guniang told me, and I wanted to tell you." Jiang Cheng explains, "Keep writing to the peacock– apparently he lights up like a lantern everytime he gets a letter from you. Luo says he just hasn't had the guts to respond."
"SO that's how he is." Yanli says crossing her arms, "Little brat, the least he could do is respond! I was beginning to think he found me annoying– that or Madame Jin was burning them."
"He likes you, he's just being a coward and won't admit it." Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, "That makes things a little easier for you."
"Maybe I will ask Wei Ying to send my next letter with one of his." Yanli decides, "Maybe I can force him to respond." That's when Wei Ying decides to make his appearance, and alongside him, the aforementioned peacock runs along the path towards them, looking worried.
"The Wens moved early! They attacked Gusu last night." Fuck. of course they did.
Wei Wuxian P.O.V.
What Wei Wuxian had expected after falling asleep at 2am, was a lazy morning where he slept until noon. It most certainly wasn't what he got. He'd woken up to the peacock, who hadn't even stayed the night at lotus pier, shaking him awake looking scared and worried. "Wuxian! I came looking because you weren't answering my messages– you need to wake up! Gusu was attacked last night!"
"WHAT!?" He basically jumps out of bed upon hearing this, and that's when he notices the sound of the communication arrays crashing away that he'd somehow slept through. "When? I only fell asleep around two this morning– did my arrays work? Are they okay?"
"I don't know– I was talking to Zewu-Jun about watching Honey for a couple days when the attack started." Jin Zixuan explains, "He cut out suddenly and I couldn't reconnect– then I contacted Hanguang-Jun briefly and he said something had activated the barrier, he left the jingshi and I could hear demands being made and then he cut off too." Jin Zixuan looks genuinely worried and freaked out, "And then I tried to get you but you weren't responding, I was worried so I came to check on you."
"We need to tell everyone– I need to try to contact Er-gege– what are they thinking!?" Wei Wuxian feels his stomach twisting into knots, he doesn't know what to do. This wasn't supposed to happen yet.
"I already tried. I don't know what's happening." Jin Zixuan tells him, "They aren't responding and I was afraid something happened here when you didn't respond."
"I was drunk and went to bed really late… you know I'm a heavy sleeper!" Wei Wuxian argues, "Not the point- let's go find everyone and figure out what to do." He hastily brushes his hair into a ponytail and throws on his outer robes haphazardly and the two leave his room quickly. Jin Zixuan deactivating the communication arrays as they leave.
They spot Yanli and Jiang Cheng talking as they enter the inner courtyard and make a bee line for them. "The Wens moved early! They attacked Gusu last night." Wei Wuxian says the moment he's within hearing, he sees both his siblings blanch at this. "Zixuan came to make sure we were okay because he couldn't get through to me."
"Nice to know you care enough to not consider your own safety, moron." Jiang Cheng snaps at Jin Zixuan, who looks like he wants to hit him.
"I do consider Wuxian a friend you know." Jin Zixuan responds, "additionally, he's courting Wangji, it'd be rude not to let him know what was happening."
"Behave A-Cheng, there are more important things right now." Yanli speaks up, silencing both boys. "Let's go find A-Niang and A-Die, they should know what's happening." Zixuan nods in agreement with this. "A-Cheng, go find A-Die. I'll find A-Niang, A-Xian and A-Xuan can wait for us in the main hall– after they try to reach someone in Gusu again."
"Jiang-Guniang is right, let's figure out what we can." Jin Zixuan agrees, "Let's go try to reach Hanguang-Jun again, maybe he will answer you, Wuxian." Wei Ying follows him– his stomach is doing flips and he can't find the words to speak, to be honest he almost feels like talking might make him throw up, he's scared, this wasn't supposed to happen yet.
'That's what you deserve for changing events' the voices say in his head. 'You were greedy and took more than you deserved and now you will lose all of it.'
"WUXIAN." Jin Zixuan's voice breaks Wei Wuxian out of his own thoughts. The communication array is drawn and they are sitting in his room for privacy's sake. He needs to activate it.
"Sorry… I spaced out, didn't I?" Wei Wuxian asks, and Jin Zixuan looks at him worriedly.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm just worried and keep thinking about what might've happened." Wei Wuxian responds, activating the array before the peacock can ask further questions. There is silence for a solid 4 minutes before a response hits from the other end.
"A-Ying?" the voice is Qingheng-Jun's and Wei Wuxian feels his stomach drop, it was Lan Zhan he messaged.
"Ah– Sect lead- Lan Liangfa, is everything okay? Zixuan said you'd been attacked." Wei Wuxian says, "He was worried enough he came to find me himself."
"We're alive– it was a rough situation for a while though. The elders failed to set up one side of your barrier correctly, thankfully we got most of our people to the caves before it gave out." Qingheng-Jun explains, "Wangji was in the last group to enter and got injured by a falling beam– he's alright, but he's resting. He wouldn't leave his rabbits behind." ah, of course he wouldn't leave his pets to get killed or eaten by Wens.
"I shouldn't have given him something he'd worry that much about." Wei Wuxian answers, "He wouldn't have gotten hurt if i hadn't given them to him."
"Wangji is alright, A-Ying. The injury was minor and our healers have already treated it." Qingheng-Jun reassures. "It could have been a worse injury if not for your last gift. I was also saved by it."
"Even if that's so, Lan Zhan was still injured because of me." Wei Wuxian mumbles, before saying more seriously, "Are the Wen still outside the cave? Do you need help?"
"They're still here." Xichen's voice confirms from the other side, "I don't think anyone coming here is wise, at least not for a while."
"They are demanding we send cultivators out, 19 disciples and one of my sons." Qingheng-Jun says, "do you know what this is for, A-Ying?"
"I suspect the indoctrination camp– this is all happening earlier than last time." Wei Wuxian tells him, next to him, Zixuan looks at him questioningly– he's going to have to tell him, isn't he? Great, why not just let the whole world know. Maybe he should make a memory charm… speaking of charms. "Make sure to apply the 'gift' to all but you-know-who, Xichen; if you don't remember, ask Er-gege. That way they will be safe at least." he feels a little guilty, but they can't trust Su she, better to be sure the monster can still be killed if he goes down the same path as last time.