It's literally a CRIME that there isn't a category dedicated to MXTX works on this site. I mean at least we can add them as characters, but dang.
Whelp, it's happened ladies and gentlemen. I'm 1200 pages in, I've edited the first 1000 and managed to make something like a coherent narrative, and I'm going to post it for my own amusement because it's way easier to read my own work on A03 than it is to load up a Google Doc! Huzzah! In my defense, most of it is transcribed stuff from the original plot. Somewhat.
Seriously though I've had a lot of fun with MXTX's work, but MDZS in particular was just plain fun. I started with TCGF and liked it, but MDZS felt more relatable and grounded, with a protagonist who seems like he's genuinely enjoying life and taking charge of his own actions. Xie Lian just felt like a very passive character by comparison, just kinda going along for the ride after he went through so much - sticking to his beliefs against the myriad trials and tribulations around him, but ultimately very stagnant as a result. Wei Wuxian's over here acting like a madman and loving it, laughing his head off at annoying both friend and foe alike, and I just enjoy his energy more.
We're back to the tried and true formula of an OC-cascade and following the books because I love 'em so much! I can only do what I did for Captive Prince so often before things start becoming too real. We're going through this chronologically because it's fun.
I'll probably end up ending this story once the main storyline plays out, with the bonus extras and what's going on there in a second "Story in the series" setup to keep things organized. As of posting this first chapter, we're sitting at 49 chapters with barely any rhyme or reason as to where I made my chapter breaks. Maybe I'll reshuffle to get the round 50 chapters by the end of this.
I swear I'm working on my HoO series. I...I'm so close to the end. I can do it, I'm trying. But I got a little distracted by these 1200 pages of writing sooooo
Enjoy!
The crescent moon in the sky, half dark and half light, bore witness to their first meeting.
Wei Wuxian would say he was in the forest for a myriad of reasons that night. He would say he went out for a casual walk, to play around and climb the trees, to get in a late night training session. Whatever the truth was, even Wei Wuxian did not recall. His memory was poor in such regards, and he wasn't ashamed of it.
It was the sound of hounds that had caused him to freeze on the spot. In his panic, if he couldn't see the source of his greatest fears directly, then he could hardly bring himself to focus long enough to discern the location of the oncoming danger. The dogs seemed to be coming from everywhere, and in the dimly lit forest, every shadow transformed into an omen of terror — a hound would be upon him any second, but from which direction would it pounce?!
"J-Jiang-shushu!" Wei Wuxian called for Jiang Fengmian, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, and even Madam Yu. He wasn't sure if his voice had even made it out beyond a shaky whisper.
These were no ordinary dogs, he was certain! These were the barks of hunting dogs — wolves, even! They were circling their prey, closing in!
At some point, he had ended up hugging the nearest tree and scaling up as far as he could, trembling all the way and still calling for help. Then, movement at the base of the very tree he had climbed made him shriek in fear. He was caught! It was all over for him!
As it turns out, it was not a hound that had fallen at the roots of the trunk, but a person. Luck had not chanced upon either victim cornered at this juncture, because a whole pack of hounds had descended to follow the figure, intent on devouring them alive!
A scuffle occurred, though Wei Wuxian could hardly give a description, as he adamantly refused to look down. He may faint from the fright of the sight of the glistening fangs, the ravaging claws. The sounds of howls and roars were nearly enough to shake him out of his hiding spot, but his hysterical death-grip managed to remain. A part of him did feel remorse for the poor soul below — but Wei Wuxian barely had time to worry about them when he would most certainly be next!
However, the sound of whimpers filled the air next. Heavy thus accompanied the crack of bones and the heavy scent of blood. The grunts and wails of a human came from below — a person who had very much not been devoured!
Wei Wuxian must have spent a full incense time gathering the courage to crack open one eye and take in the scene below. Moonlight trickled through the leaves above, and though most of the forest could be called dark and in shadow, the scene below just so happened to be perfectly illuminated.
A person had defeated all of the dogs. "Defeated" was not the right word — each and every one of them had been slaughtered! Butchered! Dead beyond dead. The stench of blood that filled the air was not from human blood, but the wild scent of the predator becoming the prey.
This figure who had turned the tables did not stop. Indeed the hunter became the hunted as they wielded what appeared to be a sword at first glance and dashed after any of the hounds that had begun to flee. However, unlike the excellent sword work Wei Wuxian had been in awe of in the Jiang Clan, this person wielded the weapon like a blunt instrument without any grace at all. Quite the contrary, they were vicious and desperate, beating and tearing and shredding and stabbing without any sort of elegance at all.
When all of the dogs had gone quiet, only then did Wei Wuxian finally start to feel the ache in his burning muscles, the fatigue that threatened to fell him that very instant. He thought to himself, 'Don't let go, don't let go! Pretend you were never here at all! You are just a tree, nothing threatening in the slightest!'
Of course, just thinking about the horrible consequences of getting caught by such a malevolent entity who had killed so many evil hounds at once — it proved to be his very downfall. Literally!
Wei Wuxian's grip relaxed just too much for just too long. His skin was scraped and bruised as he tried in vain to regain his hold, and then his back and lower spine flared with a sharp pain as he hit the ground. He couldn't help his whimper of pain, and then sharply slapped a hand over his mouth as all his worst concerns came to pass. The figure had noticed him!
A very quick head turned back in his direction, and Wei Wuxian was greeted with a grizzly sight. The person was covered from head to toe in blood. A low groan seemed to rasp from between their teeth. Their movement was stiff. Though they had been speeding like the very wind itself when attacking earlier, the act of just reorienting in Wei Wuxian's direction was now clunky and rigorous. It was like a person in a daze, distracted by something…or like they had to remember how to move the very feet beneath them.
Wei Wuxian scrambled back with a dozen excuses on his tongue from his days on the streets getting caught stealing food. "It wasn't me! I didn't see anything! I'm not tasty!"
This was one of those evils that the cultivators trained to fight. A walking corpse!
Somehow, it was almost as scary as the dogs. Almost.
This corpse stared at Wei Wuxian behind a curtain of long, tangled, blood-soaked hair. It didn't move to attack. In fact, it seemed to tilt its head in an almost curious manner. Like it was thinking. Were such beings even capable of thinking anymore? Surely death stripped away such a vital asset of humanity. Else the dead could simply choose to live on even after they sustained fatal injury.
Wei Wuxian didn't dare say anything more. This corpse did not seem to want to attack, but nor did it seem keen on simply leaving.
"Xuxu!" A voice cut through the stalemate.
There was no time to rejoice. The approaching figure was not his savior, surely. It was a young girl around his age, maybe even younger. A relative of this corpse, come to find them in a fit of desperation?
"Be careful…!" Wei Wuxian could hardly get out a warning before he heard another growl.
Attack hound or corpse or both? It was hard to tell. A hound had followed behind the new girl and leapt to tear her to shreds, but the fierce corpse once again moved fast — faster than before! Faster than the eye could see! They jumped in the path of the attack dog and took the hit with their body. The dead did not fear pain, and so they didn't flinch and merely retaliated in an instant.
The terrifying sight of deadly jaws clamping down on the corpse's arm made Wei Wuxian flinch and hold his own arm in the same place. He could practically feel the pain tingle down his spine.
No time!
Shuddering all the way, he scrambled to his feet and reached to grab the girl's hand. "Run!"
The walking corpse was fierce, fierce indeed. It shook its arm and the entire hound with it, before beating it until it released its grip. Then, it dashed after Wei Wuxian and his new companion.
Wei Wuxian thought, for a split second, everything ended here. He wasn't strong enough or fast enough to outrun or defeat such a creature. But the corpse soared past the two with a gust of wind and slammed a thick tree branch clean through another wolf that came from the shadows.
Snatching more branches and weapons, they attacked each and every one of the hounds and made sure they could not escape. Bones were broken, limbs severed, all accompanied by a desperate cry of rage.
By the time the noise died down, Wei Wuxian realized his muscles were sore from standing still for so long.
"A-Xu!" The girl whose hand he had taken brought him closer to the dangerous corpse.
Seeing as they seemed aware of friend and foe (and they had killed all of the terrifying hounds), Wei Wuxian was able to refrain from panicking. He didn't yet know much about fierce corpses beyond the fact that some kind of resentment kept them in this world — often to fulfill a task like killing someone or protecting others. This one must have been assigned to protecting this young girl.
"A-Xu, are you okay?"
A low growl was still coming from the corpse. This actually turned out to just be its ragged breathing from an exhausted battle. Did corpses need to breathe?
Up close, the corpse seemed to be of a child of the same age, maybe older. They stood at the same height as Wei Wuxian. It was hard to discern if it was a girl or boy.
After a long pause, a voice actually came from the corpse. "I'm…fine. You?"
"Not a scratch," the girl assured him.
The corpse nodded. "Good. That's…good."
Not a moment later, the figure collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"Jiejie!" The girl cried for her elder sister and knelt to take her pulse. With a sigh of relief, it seemed she was satisfied with the result. "Please, kind sir, is there anywhere I can take my sister to recover?"
Wei Wuxian wasn't sure where to take a fierce corpse. If she was dead already, then there was no need for any sort of healing to be done. Still, this girl was insistent, and who was Wei Wuxian to deny a damsel in distress?
"Sure. Return to Lotus Pier with me. Sect Leader Jiang is very nice, he can help you."
"A cultivation sect?" the girl realized.
"Yes. Are you cultivators?"
She nodded. "We…were. We are, I mean. I am. My sister has…she is unable to form a golden core. Forgive me. I shouldn't say too much."
Wei Wuxian thought back to the fight. His mind had managed to process one thing during the battle — these hounds were tracking them. They weren't just some wild wolves stalking easy prey. Quite the contrary, they knew who their target was, and flung themselves one by one into the fight despite the danger. They had been trained. They had been sent.
Someone wanted to kill these two very badly. It could only bring trouble to the Jiang Clan if Wei Wuxian invited them back.
Then again, Wei Wuxian didn't know anyone stronger than Madam Yu, and anyone kinder than Jiang Fengmian. Maybe if they covered up the battle here, they would be able to hide the pair away — least until they had…recovered.
Thinking on the cautious side was never Wei Wuxian's way, so with that thought, he reached down to help gather the older sibling in his arms. She was drenched in bloody clothes, but the blood sticking to her skin seemed to have already dried.
"Follow me. Let's go home."
Fu Xu was awoken by the laughter of a ghost. She hadn't remembered falling asleep, only the fight beforehand.
"A-Xu, Xuxu," a small ghost said, peeking her head over the edge of the bed. This little ghost was unseen by any except Fu Xu, and while the ghost could interact with the world if she wanted to, most of the time she was ordered mainly to observe and report back to Fu Xu.
If one looked closely at this ghost, they would see the markings of deep scars along her body from wounds that would have torn anyone else to pieces. However, being dead, this did not bother her in the slightest, and in fact her body would have looked very normal, as though the scars were merely painted on the surface.
Fu Xu didn't know where she was, and her first thought in such a situation was to say, "Where is A-Yao? Is she safe?"
"Meimei is eating soup, very safe. We can have soup. Meimei says it's very delicious."
At least she was getting a good meal in her. But Fu Xu did not know where they were, and who was feeding them — and what they might ask in return.
Her body was covered in fresh bandages, although she didn't need many because of her healing abilities. The robes she had been placed in were far better than the rags she had been wearing before. She almost felt trapped, fearful of ruining them, and so thought to remove at least the outer layer. Upon closer inspection, the trim and collar were marked with the lotus pattern of a very prominent sect — so prominent, even she knew of its origins from just a glance.
The Jiang Clan of Yunmeng!
Though she had wanted to leave the robes where they were, she ultimately accepted them, thinking to give them to A-Yao. When you often had only the clothes on your back, an extra layer of clothes could be a lifesaver.
"She's awake! A-Xian, retrieve Mother and Father for me."
Fu Xu was tense, filled with the urge to disappear and flee before she was caught. However, she spotted Fu Yao entering alongside a newcomer dressed also in the delicate purple hues of the Jiang Clan.
Fu Xu and Fu Yao were only half sisters, sharing their mother with different fathers, and their names were not originally such. The character for "Fu" in their names was also not the same. Fu Xu had named Fu Yao as such in the hopes of her rising to greatness, but in her heart, her younger sister wished to one day take up her true name once more. She shared the same name as their mother, although this time their surnames matched (obviously) but the first names meant different things.
"That is Miss Jiang Yanli," the little ghost informed her. "She's ever so nice. Be gentle to her, Xuxu."
Fu Xu made a subtle gesture with her hand to dismiss the ghostly girl. She obeyed, vanishing like smoke on the wind with a giggle echoing in Fu Xu's ears.
"A-Xu, how are you feeling?" Fu Yao immediately asked.
Fu Xu sat with prim posture on instinct. "I am well. And you?"
"Good, good. You should eat. Miss Jiang, do you have more of that soup?"
The young woman was older than even Fu Xu, and though she hailed from the Jiang Clan, she did not seem as fierce and imposing as the tales of Madam Yu. Her gaze was gentle, her voice soft as clouds. "I do. Please, don't hesitate to speak up if you need anything. Father and Mother have approved your stay. I'll leave you both to discuss matters. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Jiang Yanli's words might have come off as a general courtesy if they had been spoken by anyone else. However, there was something practiced in her tone, how she managed not to speak down to Fu Xu, even as she put herself in a position to offer her services.
Fu Xu could only nod her head in response and repeat, "A pleasure."
She must have sounded very insincere, but Jiang Yanli only seemed even further amused. Just the fact that Fu Xu had addressed her at all seemed like enough to have pleased her. She swept out of the room with a skip in her step.
Fu Xu waited before her footsteps had retreated before she spoke, "What do you mean we've been approved to stay? A-Yao, this is a cultivation sect. The sooner we leave, the better."
"I know, A-Xu," Fu Yao sighed. "But I was brought to meet the lady of the clan, and she recognized me!"
"Recognized?"
She continued, "It was Madam Yu who insisted we be welcomed. She even got into an argument with her husband Jiang Fengmian. Something about how he allowed his ward, so she would have us. Wei Wuxian is very kind and funny."
Fu Xu held up her hand. "Slow down. How does Madam Yu know you?"
Fu Yao shook her head. "I don't know yet. She said she would explain when you woke, but she guaranteed that we would not be followed — all evidence of your recent battle has been taken care of, at her direct order."
Madam Yu was not known for many things to those who did not know her personally. Though she was married to Jiang Fengmian of the Jiang Clan, she retained the name Yu from the Yu Clan of Meishan, and was the third oldest of her siblings, San-Niangzi. She was known to the cultivation world as the Purple Spider and carried the famous spiritual weapon, Zidian. She was known for being fierce, headstrong, prideful…and for having a rather distant relationship with her husband. The two didn't argue publicly, but they were said to lead the Jiang Clan in very different ways — and, of course, the fact that she seemed to refuse to use her husband's surname, due to her strong personality, but the couple never commented on the gossip either way.
For her to be so generous with Fu Yao, it meant she had to have some relation to their mother, surely.
Speaking of which, it wasn't long before Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian arrived. Madam Yu had two handmaids called Jinzhu and Yinzhu, trusted aides who never left her side, combat-ready and imposing enough on their own before they parted to reveal the Madam herself. A woman fair of skin and fine in appearance, with noble eyes, and a sharpness to her features, lips curled into the ghost of a sneer — the look of a born cynic. Her waist was slim, and her purple robes flowed gracefully as she moved. Her face and the right hand resting on the hilt of her sword were both as cold as jade, and on that hand's index finger was a ring adorned with a purple crystal.
Jiang Fengmian, by contrast, did not immediately look as though he planned to judge Fu Xu and insult her until she bled from her apertures. He greeted Fu Xu with a welcoming smile. "I am told you are called Fu Xu. Your sister speaks highly of you."
Fu Yao showed all due respect to the Jiang Clan. It had been a very long time since she had properly utilized the etiquette of their childhood. Seeing as she had acclimated so well, Fu Xu trusted her younger sister's judgment. She had taught Fu Yao to be overly cautious in recent years, and Fu Yao was an excellent student. Fu Xu would dare call her a prodigy, and thus had high hopes that Fu Yao would one day be able to take her place in the cultivation world.
As introductions were made, Madam Yu's handmaidens prevented Jiang Yanli and her brothers from entering with a stern warning.
"Fu Yao, please join them," Fu Xu requested. "I wish to speak with the leaders of the Jiang Clan and arrange our accommodations."
Fu Yao spared a glance over her shoulder as she left. Fu Xu knew what she was thinking, from the moment she had woken in Lotus Pier. Fu Yao wanted to trust these people, wanted to stay. She wanted a home again.
Every action she had taken while Fu Xu was unconscious had been calculated. She had eaten their food, wore their clothes, and spoken to Madam Yu in private to have made some level of arrangements. Fu Xu could only smile. She hoped her sister would only grow more dangerous; that way, she would never have to worry about her sister's safety again. It was so exhausting being an older sibling.
"What else has my sister told you of our circumstances?" Fu Xu said.
"She has told us all of your current predicament," Madam Yu explained.
Fu Xu relaxed her posture and leaned back on the bed. "Then you did know Madam Lang."
Madam Yu had some mystical way of making even the simplest of statements sound like a biting retort. "We were of the same generation."
Jiang Fengmian seemingly had to ask the question that Madam Yu did not want to. "Forgive my asking, but Fu Yao described what little we already knew of the fate of the Lang Clan of Yong'an. We knew of young Lang Ying, but we had never heard of an elder child."
Madam Yu seemed obligated to speak the obvious: "A bastard child born of a lowly servant. How familiar! It seems the Lotus Pier will be known for taking in strays."
Fu Xu found no reason to hide it, nor to feel any shame admitting it outright. "We share only our mother, yes. My father was a medic of the Lang Clan. If you have a problem with strays, then you denounce my mother's entire clan."
The Lang Clan of Yong'an was a sect known for accepting anyone who required a home. It was founded on land once ravaged by war and rebuilt thanks to the blessings of the Scrap Immortal — who was said to have ascended to godhood through the act of, well, scrap collecting. The survivors of the horrible war were people who didn't care for conflict anymore. They banded together, regardless of origins or from which corner of the war they had hailed from. They learned to scavenge for whatever they could, make use of sparse resources, and they took on any and all jobs to build their economy. Yong'an had become known for taking in anyone who had no home, but who were willing to work hard to make one of their own.
As such, everyone in the Lang Clan of Yong'an knew how to build houses from all manner of material, old and new. They were inventors, architects, repairmen, carpenters, and collectors. They stored information from all across the world to use the knowledge in the name of invention — though in comparison to most clans, their collection of knowledge didn't discriminate between useful and unuseful information, and their libraries could hardly be called organized. Therefore, rare was it that anyone would think "Hey! We should look through the texts of Yong'an to find what we need!"
The other clans knew the people of Yong'an as busy men, the people to call for construction or rebuilding after any given incident, and servants for temporary hire. While it didn't make them a "prominent" clan, and they were still essentially known as a clan made of servants, it still meant that most of the clans at least knew who they were. They were prominent in their own way.
The thing was, the Lang Clan of Yong'an was also a cultivation sect. The powerful Scrap Immortal was known for having lost everything and even been notoriously banished from the heavens. Yet he remained true to himself and had ascended once more, never giving in to the temptations and torments of the worst parts of humanity. The only god who had thrice ascended, in fact!
The Scrap Immortal had never intended to found a cultivation sect of his own, but had refused to abandon the people of Yong'an when they were at their lowest as well, and so thought to teach them to spread stories to encourage others that even when all seemed lost. Something could always be built from nothing. Even when the worst of luck befell one at every turn, there was always a way to prepare and recover. Whether he liked it or not, the people of Yong'an would take his words to heart and found a cultivation method following in his footsteps.
Yong'an was the primary place of worship for the Scrap Immortal, but he had worshippers all throughout the world thanks to a tangle of many other accomplishments and relation to a Ghost King. It was a long story with endless tales to tell children to put them to sleep. Only Yong'an really worshiped the Scrap Immortal for his true nature, in Fu Xu's opinion. Well…they no longer worshiped him anymore.
Madam Yu's irritation only seemed to grow deeper. Her expression tightened, and Fu Xu imagined the Purple Spider would be bearing fangs if she had them. "Those damned Wens again. They grow more pretentious by the day."
The Wen Clan of Qishan had been expanding their territory over the past few decades, overtaking all of the clans in the area with the goal of holding the majority. Smaller clans were crushed if they refused to obey, and though those who managed to avoid destruction still remained, they were all labeled as "part of the Wen Clan," and so the numbers of the Wen Clan continued to grow exponentially. Conquering was a rather fast way of "recruiting." Those who submitted were still treated as slaves, no better than animals in their eyes, not to be treated as humans.
"My people have not been exterminated, but they have been conquered in such a way," Fu Xu concluded. "It has fallen to me to protect Fu Yao, and when she is grown, she will return to rebuild Yong'an."
"The Wen Clan shall hunt them for the sake of their own petty pride," Madam Yu agreed. "All the better. Let us spite them in such a way. When their cultivators come looking, let them find not a hint of who they seek. Let their failures be brought to light and shatter the delusions of grandeur."
Jiang Fengmian's gaze toward his wife seemed gentle and even slightly amused, like he knew Madam Yu wanted to accommodate the siblings for more sentimental reasons, but she would never admit it so easily. Calling her out on such things would be a fruitless endeavor, and so instead he said, "You have been fleeing since the fall of Yong'an?"
Fu Xu nodded. "Yes. We have managed to gain the skills necessary to elude their cultivators, and now only the hounds have come close to tracking me down. I have attempted to leave Fu Yao and draw their ire upon myself in many ways. The Wen Clan cares not for the potential rebellion of Yong'an. It is me who they pursue."
At this, Madam Yu even seemed to be amused. "What have you done?"
Fu Xu long since had her story prepared. "I was taken hostage during the stalemate of Yong'an, which would result in the death of our mother, Lang Ying. In the process of my escape thanks to my father's efforts, I stole an artifact. They were experimenting with torture methods and destructive weapons."
Without care for appearances, she tugged down her collar to reveal a circular ring of ice or crystal buried beneath the skin of her chest, right at the point between her clavicles.
"It can ward off all manner of evil creatures and stave off the death of the wielder in extreme circumstances. Though it does come at a cost; with each death I avoid, I myself become corrupted by ghost qi. Soon enough, it may be that I am no different than a ghost myself, without realizing it. In addition, the moment I am separated from the ring, all of its effects are removed. I will be struck with the full brunt of every near-death experience I had, leading to a rather painful result and the shattering of my soul beyond any afterlife."
"And so your sister shall not abandon you without a home she seeks to stay within," Jiang Fengmian followed. "While she seems taken with Lotus Pier, she also seeks to keep you within our care as well."
"I've long since abandoned hopes of eluding her," Fu Xu confessed. She had left Fu Yao at multiple orphanages and homes, but the stubborn young girl would put herself in more danger if it meant finding Fu Xu or drawing her back. It was simply less trouble and more practical to keep Fu Yao at her side. Her half-sister was loyal, for certain.
"Then you will stay with us? If my lady will be pleased, of course…"
Jiang Fengmian, despite being the sect leader, didn't seem to speak to Madam Yu as equals. It was rather odd to watch him trying to speak to her — not quite above her, not quite below her, trying to make her happy even though she didn't seem to respect him in any kind of equal manner.
Madam Yu rested her hand along the sword at her waist, remaining elegant and aloof through every slight gesture. "You are dedicated solely to your sister's safety."
"Absolutely," Fu Xu replied without hesitation.
"Then she will be your responsibility. If either of you cause any level of trouble, both of you will suffer consequences immeasurable. Exile from Lotus Pier will be the least of your concerns."
Fu Xu inclined her head, not quite submissively, but respectful all the same. "I understand."
"And you shall both be training among the disciples," Madam Yu continued. "I expect you to both excel while you are here, providing exceptional results in the name of the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng."
Fu Xu managed to lift her gaze up to meet Madam Yu's unyielding one. "Madam…I cannot form a golden core. My duty to Fu Yao is to prepare her for greatness. She was always going to be the successor to our mother. I was always destined to be nothing more than her servant, as my father was to my mother. No matter how I love her, my fate will never matter compared to hers."
For reasons unknown to Fu Xu, Madam Yu was further pleased to hear this. "Just as well. The training shall be strenuous, punishing, relentless. You will indeed be judged by a different standard than the rest, so long as you're doing your utmost to prove your loyalty not only to your sister, but to the Lotus Pier who sheltered her. You may prove a useful model for other delinquents of this sect to learn from."
Jiang Fengmian looked like he had many things to say, but ultimately didn't actually have a means to protest to such a demand. After all, Fu Xu had openly admitted to being hunted, being a dangerous person potentially corrupted by ghost qi, and potentially many other hidden grievances. However, her loyalty was true enough, and the ease that they could remove her and her sister at any moment was enough for now, until they could build more trust in the future.
"Then may I make one request going forward?" Fu Xu said.
Madam Yu had certainly been expecting Fu Xu to make some sort of demands in return, and was curious to know what it was that Fu Xu might want so as to use that leverage against her if need be. "Name your desire."
Wei Wuxian and Fu Xu were not what anyone would have assumed were friends.
Fu Xu watched from the sidelines as Fu Yao interacted with the eccentric young man, the two of them getting along well enough. Wei Wuxian didn't appear to hold any ulterior motives — he was very straightforward about what he wanted and how he was going to get it.
Apparently, he had been adopted into the Jiang Clan as well, after a life on the streets. He was the son of a servant that had once been friends with Jiang Fengmian, and so the sect leader had taken interest in him and his safety. Madam Yu did not take kindly to this, as Wei Wuxian was also the son of a famous woman who Jiang Fengmian was rumored to have loved once as well. The child of his good friend and subordinate, and the woman who he loved but could never love him back. One he seemingly treated with a great deal of care and leniency — even more so than his own son. How could there not be tension?
Speaking of the young master of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Cheng, was certainly his mother's child. He simultaneously wanted no trouble, and so vehemently stressed the importance of rules and at least not being a disturbance or asking for trouble, while also being friends and brothers with Wei Wuxian. That is to say, no matter how much he complained and bickered, he ended up following Wei Wuxian into his endless scheming and fooling around.
Fu Xu wanted to draw no attention to herself or her sister, lest they face even more trouble in their precarious situation. Thus, she did her best to keep Fu Yao from such a character.
"A-Xian is not so bad," Jiang Yanli insisted. "His actions may seem frivolous at times, but he simply encourages us all to enjoy life to the fullest."
"Some of us don't have the freedom to live in such a way," Fu Xu sighed. "Fu Yao was caught sneaking to pick lotus pods with the boys. It was a miracle she didn't take a beating."
Jiang Yanli snickered. "A-Xian has always been the one to accept punishment for such things. He can never resist helping others in need."
"My sister wouldn't have been in need, had she not followed him in the first place!"
"Fu Xu," Jiang Yanli said, "did A-Yao say she had fun?"
She had. When Fu Xu had brought her for a lecture, Fu Yao had grown so stubborn! She declared that such escapades with Wei Wuxian and the other disciples — which she had gone with for trouble more and more frequently in recent days — were the most fun she had ever had! Ever since…well, since the last time they'd had a home.
Fu Xu was weak to this, and they both knew it. Fu Yao deserved the chance to shoot kites and steal lotus pods and go swimming. The women of the Jiang Clan were like most women, even the disciples. Fu Yao simply didn't get along with them. It wasn't that she hated any of them; she just didn't share the same interests. She had grown up in Yong'an, where children learned all work equally — cooking, cleaning, building, fighting, reading and writing. There was no person in Yong'an without calluses on their fingers and a layer of sweat and grime on their person. Incidentally, there was no line between the rich and the poor, men and women, or any biases for one's place of origin.
Even in the cultivation world, women were considered lesser. They were primarily to he cooking, cleaning, bearing and raising children, always emotional during important meetings — and therefore their words were often dismissed if and when they spoke up. Only by marrying into a good sect could women become known for anything else.
Madam Yu was widely known, her very name striking fear into the masses, but if she had not married Jiang Fengmian, the fear for her could have been interpreted as threatening, rather than a means to respect her. She was essentially a sect leader, but if she was not, then she would be an uncontrollable and threatening force to this male-dominated society. They would seek to crush her in every way possible.
Thus, did Fu Xu not want Fu Yao to suffer such scrutiny before she was ready. She never wanted Fu Yao to suffer such scrutiny, but seeing her act out in such a way proved that she would be destined for it. She wanted to rise and be worthy of her mother's name, to reclaim Yong'an and build the sect back to its acclaimed reputation. It would be a long fight to the top, though.
Jiang Yanli's cultivation was weak, and so her main skill was helping in the kitchens and preventing Jiang Cheng from arguing too much with Wei Wuxian. They were her little brothers, she said, and they would be so forever. Fu Xu wished Fu Yao could have stayed as innocent as Jiang Yanli.
But if it was what Fu Yao wanted, how could Fu Xu stand to crush her dreams? She was proud of her sister. She had wanted to prepare Fu Yao for her future ascension to the head of the clan, and that hadn't changed, even now. Maybe she was just worried that her sister was growing up too fast.
Here Fu Xu was, sitting and having tea and cooking soup with Jiang Yanli. She had turned into a big sister worrying over her little sister's antics but ultimately approving. She only had herself to blame.
"A-Xian and the others are going out tomorrow," Jiang Yanli announced. "You should go with them, if you're so worried about A-Yao. See how much she enjoys herself — and you should enjoy yourself too. Lotus Pier is not a prison; you have the freedom to live your life as you please."
Fu Xu did not have the luxury of living her life as she pleased.
Still, she followed the boys through Lotus Pier, keeping any eye on her sister. As a favorite of Madam Yu, Fu Yao spent a great deal of time with Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian — and Jiang Yanli, when the boys were unavailable. Fu Xu was always watching from the sidelines, in those early days. She knew, the moment she had volunteered to come on this trip, that she would regret it.
Wei Wuxian immediately dragged her into trouble.
They had spotted a procession of cultivators heading in the direction of the Jiang Clan, and had then thought to cause chaos. Suffice to say, it ended with multiple men drawing their swords and shouting as they fled to draw attention away from Fu Yao. Fu Xu had never worried about her sister getting caught — she could disappear in a moment's notice, and so long as Fu Xu was the one they were hunting, Fu Yao could disappear from their minds, as well.
"A-Xu, A-Xu! I knew there was a feisty spirit in there!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed.
Fu Xu paid him little mind. She turned around as she ran and made a hand seal. An enormous bright flash of light blinded all of the cultivators pursuing them, and then Fu Xu took off in a gust of wind to disappear. Not a sound, sight, or sense could find her as she vanished into oblivion.
In reality, she had disappeared behind a tavern, bustling with activity as the people within were gawking over the angered cultivators searching the streets. With not a hint of concern on her face for her desperate flight, Fu Xu sat down at a table in the corner.
"Ha ha ha ha! Fu-gege, you're such a trickster!"
She nearly startled out of her seat as Wei Wuxian crept up beside her and took a seat as well. As if he were one to talk! Fu Xu had never met a cultivator as tricky as Wei Wuxian. She had been fleeing from keen cultivators for years, learning how they hunted and what methods could deter and fool them. Wei Wuxian was like no one else, and had invaded her personal space multiple times now.
Fu Xu huffed and acted as though nothing were amiss. "You're still here? Don't you have something better to do than to pester me?"
Wei Wuxian made a show of thinking very hard, his eyes darted from place to place, making various faces, a hand on his chin, as he seemed to consider his options. Finally, he cheerfully concluded, "Nope! You're the most interesting thing in the whole of Lotus Pier! Come on, come on, I want us to be friends! You saved my life when we first met. Let me make it up to you."
Fu Xu had very much not intended to save Wei Wuxian in any way. She hadn't even known he was there. But for him, the mere presence of dogs had terrified him to the brink of death, and so he continued to declare very soundly that she had saved his life. Fu Xu would never admit that, in helping bring them back to Lotus Pier and being accepted into the Jiang Clan's protection, Wei Wuxian technically saved her life as well. She would rather have him owing her, than her owing him.
Fu Xu sighed in defeat, "What more do you wish to offer me? You could stop causing so much trouble with Fu Yao in tow, for one thing."
"Fine, fine. I won't bring Fu Yao into my trouble. I'll just bring you instead!"
This appeared to be exactly what Wei Wuxian was hoping to have heard, and so Fu Xu was once again resigned. "I have come to Lotus Pier for your offer of safety and is hardly what I would call safety. I have caused Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu a great deal of headaches, and now we may face punishment."
"What's safety if you are constantly hiding from scorn?" Wei Wuxian pressed. "A home is not truly safe until you can cause all the mischief you want and still feel safe. Even if there are consequences, you must know they will be fair. Madam Yu will crack that whip of hers all the time, but she hates me more than she hates you. You'll be fine. So come on! Let's get a drink."
"A…drink?" Fu Xu didn't know what kind of drinks he could possibly be suggesting, but considering his personality, it couldn't be anything good.
"Or we could steal some treats. Jiang-shushu pays for everything anyway. I saw what you did back there — you're as sneaky as I am, and crafty to boot! You've gotta teach me that flash trick. Or is that a cultivation method unique to your sect? You don't have a golden core, though, so fess up! Are you using some kind of cool spiritual tool? We could have so much fun with that!"
Before Fu Xu could manage to get in any sort of reply, a small thud and scuffle drew their attention. A small figure had crawled under their table and was currently using their robes as a means of hiding.
"Little brat, get back here!" One of the cultivators from the visiting party had called out from the streets.
Wei Wuxian tapped his finger to the table, but made no move to expose the little intruder. "That's the son of the Nie Clan," he recalled. "You can tell by those robes of his. The Nie Clan is known for that stern temper of theirs."
Fu Xu began to actually feel relieved that she hadn't ended up in the Nie Clan of Qinghe rather than the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng. At least the latter were more bark than bite.
Once the cultivator had disappeared around the way, Wei Wuxian dipped down and scooped up the young child from beneath the table and placed them on his lap. "Hey there little guy."
The young boy was indeed wearing the dark robes of the Nie Clan, and squirming desperately to escape now that he'd been exposed. "No! I don't wanna go back! Ming-xiong is mean!"
"Ming-xiong? Oh, right, that was Nie Mingjue. He is a big meanie, isn't he?"
The little boy nodded and slowly stopped his struggling. He especially stopped struggling when Wei Wuxian reached into his sleeve and pulled out a skewer of candied hawthorns and offered it to the boy.
"You're running from the big meanie? I'll tell you a secret: we're running from the big meanies too. Did you get into trouble? We did. A big barrel full of trouble, dumped right on their heads. Honestly, it was just lake water, but they're so sensitive. You guys are from Qinghe right? More mountains than lakes or rivers. I wonder if they can even swim. How sad."
"I wanna learn how to swim," the boy agreed. He stared down at his candied hawthorn sadly. "Da-ge says I should stop reading, but when I wanna do something else, he says to stop too. Da-ge says it's not good for me to learn things from other places."
"Nie Mingjue is your da-ge?" Wei Wuxian realized. "What's your name?"
It took a long moment of awkward silence for the boy to finally answer, "A-He. Mingjue is my da-ge, but not my da-ge. Mom and Dad say he is da-ge, but he's a scary da-ge. He is mother's mother's brother's daughter's son's son…I think." A-He began counting on his fingers, trying to work out the math of the family relations. This was clearly not the first time he had tried to remember such a thing, but his young mind still couldn't fully wrap his head around it.
"So you are his cousin, then," Fu Xu concluded.
A-He nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Da-ge is gonna be a big leader of the sect. He yells a lot."
Wei Wuxian bobbed his head in agreement, very serious. "It's a common trait of future sect leaders. They have to practice all their yelling and shouting so they can be heard by so many people, you see? But sometimes they forget that they can talk quietly too. If they get too loud, you plug your ears like this and go 'Shh!'"
He taught A-He to put his hands over his ears with an undignified look of disapproval, and the child mimicked him in earnest. Fu Xu remembered when A-Yao was this young — although she was only a few years older.
'A home is not truly safe until you can cause all the mischief you want and still feel safe.'
Fu Xu would remember those words, looking at Wei Wuxian teaching this young boy to be defiant. She saw something then, and had a thought. Maybe Wei Wuxian's way of living was not so wrong. He could cause trouble and mischief, but wanted others to have fun in doing so. He knew he could be punished and face consequences, but he was never afraid of facing them — even to take punishment for the sake of others. To him, all the consequences in the world were worth seeing someone smile.
In a way, Fu Xu thought that he was not so different from her. Or rather, she was not so different from him. She was prepared to face any danger if it meant keeping Fu Yao not only safe, but also…happy. She knew how to keep Fu Yao safe. She would fight tooth-and-nail against people and animal alike, both alive and dead. But as to the latter…Wei Wuxian would have to be the winner in that regard.
That was probably when it began, when Fu Xu began admiring Wei Wuxian. That was when she, knowingly or not, began following him, and knew she would stand at his side even if the road he walked was so narrow and so dark.
"First you bring your own strays, then you go so far as to try stealing away another! When will it end with you?!"
"Mm, it's too early for this. Calm down."
"Wei Wuxian! Get up!"
Fu Xu had been worried about Wei Wuxian. After bringing A-He back to the Jiang Clan, he had been picked up by a furious Nie Mingjue. Although he couldn't have been much older than Fu Xu herself, he was already quite tall and very imposing. The cultivators that had come with him were already very much under his command, despite being no older than fifteen or sixteen. Anyone else might have been called a brat for trying to command fully-grown adults or their peers with such a demanding presence, but in this case, Nie Mingjue truly did seem to have won the respect and authority to command the people of his clan. Truly, a terrifying man.
He even had a meeting with Madam Yu, where the two spoke of clan affairs without a hint of pleasantries. They were straight to the point, understood each other completely, and treated one another as equals worthy of respect. Fu Xu thought she had been witnessing history in the making, a true tale for the ages!
A-He was apparently a cousin that Nie Mingjue had only been made aware of very recently. His parents were not dead, surprisingly, but they were rather neglectful, and so Nie Mingjue had taken it upon himself to educate and train the boy in their stead. Despite his less than friendly disposition, he really did seem to want to create a better life for A-He than whatever he'd had before.
Unfortunately, there was a bit of a disconnect. Where A-He was used to being ignored and left to his own devices, Nie Mingjue was overly attentive and concerned about every little thing. A-He had run off to be alone (as was seemingly normal for him), but Nie Mingjue had been worried into a fury so great, he might have bled from his apertures if A-He had not been found sooner.
Naturally, as the one who had brought him back after many hours of exploring the Lotus Pier together, Wei Wuxian had been blamed for capturing the poor boy and subsequently took the blame. Not a single party listened to what he or A-He had to say on the matter, and so they didn't say anything at all. A-He even pressed his hands over his ears and refused to listen to any of the adults scolding them. This show of defiance, clearly taught to him by Wei Wuxian, only seemed to confirm their suspicions, and so he was made to kneel in the ancestral hall until his legs went numb and he had passed out from the boredom.
When Fu Xu had gone to check on him, it seems she had not been alone. Jiang Cheng, despite being worried enough that he had snuck into the ancestral hall as well, had immediately begun berating Wei Wuxian for falling asleep and getting into trouble in the first place. Wei Wuxian, however, was not afraid. He didn't regret it for one minute.
"Master Jiang, must you always be so dramatic?" Fu Yao sighed.
"Don't call him 'Master'. Don't use titles at all. Jiang Cheng suits him fine. He has a courtesy name, but who cares? No one uses it. Hey, we should get you a courtesy name too."
"Me? But aren't courtesy names just for you boys?"
"Yes, however you're going to become the leader of your own sect one day — therefore, you're worthy of your own courtesy name! Let's see…" Wei Wuxian began rattling off names, one after the other, in an endless torrent of imagination and creativity.
"Would you cut it out? You already bring enough shame upon the Jiang family name," Jiang Cheng was saying.
"Fu Xu and I will not bring anymore trouble," Fu Yao said.
"Don't give in to him," Wei Wuxian insisted. "He's not the master of this place, nor the master of you. I'm the one who invited them here, so I'll be responsible for everything. Jiang Cheng, why don't you just calm down and go make breakfast with shijie?"
A scoff. "You aren't the master of me either."
Jiang Cheng stormed out, passing Fu Xu altogether. Not that it was easy to spot her when she wanted to be hidden. She was very good at being stealthy, but when it came to cultivators — even just the disciples — they had highly acute senses. Learning to outmaneuver even them had taken serious training, and even then, she needed to move in concert with winds and other noises in the correct direction to avoid being detected.
Fu Xu pushed past the threshold, revealing herself. "A-Yao, mind your manners."
A-Yao made an innocent face that was not very apologetic. "Sorry, da-ge."
Fu Xu had long since agreed to pretend to take on a male form for the sake of keeping A-Yao safe. While she was young, the disguise worked well enough, but it wouldn't work forever.
To her benefit, she had been attacked at a young age so her chest was mauled beyond recognition with permanent scarring. As of yet, she had no idea whether her chest would develop normally, but it was highly unlikely. Her voice couldn't be helped, nor a lump on her throat, but if she scowled hard enough and spoke sternly enough, it was often enough — especially with A-Yao's assistance referring to her as a male, setting the precedence. She would learn to manipulate her voice better as time went on.
It was the one thing she had requested of Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian when she had agreed to stay here. Madam Yu was insistent on making Lang Ying's daughter grow to be a powerful cultivator (and perhaps to also spite Jiang Fengmian, to repay his doting upon Wei Wuxian with her doting upon Fu Yao — they were such a toxic relationship, it was almost unbearable to watch), and so she was pleased to hear that Fu Xu was willing to prostrate herself to become merely a stepping stool to lift her sister to higher heights.
Fu Xu had been pretending to be a boy ever since they'd gone on the run, as it gave her enough status and intimidation to allow Fu Yao the freedom to act however she wanted. This would continue here in the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng. Fu Xu actually did enjoy the freedom that came from being perceived as a boy. She hoped she could keep up the act long enough for Fu Yao to be protected. Fu Xu was not afraid to punch anyone who dared insult her sister, and at least for boys, it was not so unexpected to be so aggressive in the name of an innocent younger sister.
As Wei Wuxian described it, 'When you grow up, you'll want to punch a lot of people, but won't be able to because of all those rules of being a grown-up. Best to get into all the fights you want to while you're young!'
"Sorry?" Fu Xu repeated.
"Very sorry," A-Yao agreed.
Fu Xu exhaled in defeat. "Nevermind. It's nearing chou time. Have you even gotten any rest?"
Fu Yao snickered to herself. "Not as much as A-Xian, of course!"
Fu Xu finally noticed that Wei Wuxian had gone silent. He had fallen back asleep the moment Jiang Cheng was gone! What skill. Fu Yao was poking him in disbelief, amazed.
Fu Xu couldn't help admiring Fu Yao in her new outfit provided by the Jiang Clan. Her robes were a shade of lavender, delicate and designed as a young lady of her age deserved. Fu Xu hadn't been able to provide such luxuries to her in a long time. This place was where she deserved to be.
"He's truly asleep!" Fu Yao admonished. "We could paint his face."
"No," Fu Xu chided. "You should get some sleep too. And don't go stirring anymore trouble with those Nie Clan visitors."
Fu Yao seemed to pout mostly to herself, but the only thing she said aloud was, "You deserve sleep too."
Fu Xu was not prone to sleep. For one thing, she wouldn't be able to rest until she had confirmed every potential danger and confirmed every potential escape route. For another, her abilities allowed her to essentially go without sleep entirely, if she balanced her energies correctly. During their time on the run, this was essential to keeping herself and Fu Yao safe. Even after many days spent acclimating to living in the Jiang Clan, Fu Xu had yet to properly fall unconscious even once.
"I'll consider it," she said.
"Your father was a servant too?"
"A healer, yes. I've learned everything I know from him."
Wei Wuxian sat back, and then looked rather confused. "If you're a servant and you can't form a golden core, then why are you training with the other disciples? Did Madam Yu force you? What's she holding against you?"
Fu Xu wanted to point out that she was not, in fact, doing much training, because of him dragging her away to slack off. She didn't know what had possessed her to do so, and yet here she was.
Perhaps it was the fact that, even with all of his playing around and ignoring training or studying, Wei Wuxian was one of the top disciples of the Jiang Clan. He even beat Jiang Cheng in many regards — to the eternal chagrin of Madam Yu. Wei Wuxian was not Jiang Fengmian's son, and yet after he had been taken in, he was constantly surpassing Jiang Cheng's ability. It should have been the Sect Leader's son who was the top disciple, and yet even when Jiang Cheng was trying his hardest, Wei Wuxian had a natural talent that was hard to diminish.
Maybe, Fu Xu thought, that was why Wei Wuxian was constantly getting into trouble and slacking off. At least then, by comparison, Madam Yu could not complain that Wei Wuxian was better than her son. Even if it gave Madam Yu more opportunities to scream and shout that Wei Wuxian was nothing but trouble, at least she wasn't yelling at Jiang Cheng for not being good enough.
Fu Xu explained, "My sister's training is very important; she will one day reclaim our sect and rise to greatness. That, or she will simply become a renown cultivator to some degree. Whatever the case, her future must be bright, and it is my duty as her older brother to ensure her training is adequate."
"Nice excuse." Wei Wuxian didn't believe it for a moment. He knew Madam Yu too well to not realize that Fu Xu was being forced into training with the other disciples, despite Fu Xu's insistence that she couldn't form a golden core. "Anyway, you're already a pretty good fighter. I've seen you take on a whole pack of dogs. Most cultivators in this world aren't much better than a pack of rabid hounds, so you can protect your sister one way or another."
Fu Xu agreed, "That's the hope."
"Hey, it's true! You've got those fancy skills of yours, right?"
"My fighting style is better with improvisation than proper sword techniques. I'm a novice to all of this stuff that other cultivators have been learning since they could walk. Since I was the child of a servant, I was raised a servant. Fu Yao was the one who was learning cultivation techniques…at least until things went awry."
Wei Wuxian had pillowed his arms behind his head. "I'm not into all that formal stuff too. There's only so much you can learn from just copying all the techniques from a book. I enjoy practical experience. Hey! Let's go on a Night Hunt together, get in some real training."
Fu Xu had fought many life or death battles before this, and so was not particularly impressed by the offer of a Night Hunt. However, it would be better "training" than anything she had here at the Jiang Clan. It was mostly just standing in a courtyard, swinging your sword around with a bunch of other disciples, trying to get the perfect stance and correct technique.
For someone with a golden core, who took their cultivation seriously, perhaps this was important. But for Fu Xu, who stood on the outside, it looked boring and tedious and ultimately pointless in the face of a true fight. Who cares if you didn't precisely stand in the perfect stance? If adjusting your stance for better balance was better than learning the prescribed instructions, then Fu Xu would choose to improvise all the way.
And so she had agreed, once again, to another of Wei Wuxian's absurd plans. She hoped this wasn't going to be a trend.
As much as Fu Xu wanted to be the responsible older sibling, at her core, there was one thing she was certain of. Following the rules was never going to be her style.
For those curious, here are the characters for some of the names I use. Because I'm pedantic like that and I like to know what my characters' names mean. I used a lot of names and words from others in the series because fun!
Fu Xu - 复徐
Fu Xuanming - 复玄明
Fu Yao - 扶摇
Fu Lianmin - 扶怜悯
Nie He - 聂贺