Mdzs Oneshots

in a kingdom by sea

"So, I was thinking of letting the soldiers cross the river by swimming across it-" Jiang Cheng pointed at the map animatedly, his amethyst eyes glinting with satisfaction and pride, chest huffed up.

Sighing, Wei Wuxian rubbed at the dark circles beneath his eyes. That wouldn't work,"  without referring to the map, he continued. "One, it's winter. No soldier can swim across a frozen lake, and our temperatures are not low enough to reach a state where most of the river is solid enough for them to walk pass with ease. Two," he put two fingers up in the air as if to emphasize his point, "there's a bridge there. You're using an old map. The maps need to be updated."

The fine hairs in Jiang Wanyin's nostrils flared up, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Wei Wuxian was going to criticize his plan again, of course he was. He was always 'better' than him, wasn't he? "If you're so smart, then you can come up with a better plan." He replied stoutly, puffing his chest up like a peacock did his feathers.  Wangji looked at him with bored eyes, his mind winding down a different route. Maybe he'd make a good jester if he had feathers, he thought. They'd look wonderful with his purple robes, sprouting up out of nowhere.

"Sure. To get them across, we can get some of the skilled commanders to go across the bridge undercover and infiltrate the nearby village as a base. Get them to evacuate the villagers quickly, and send the troops in to pose as villagers for a few days. Then, we can launch a pincer attack and capture their base, before moving north to get to their resources and cut off access."

Wangji's eyes widened in keen surprise. For the first time, Wei Wuxian seemed to take the words out of his mouth, saying exactly what the famed Hanguang-Jun would have suggested. Nie Mingjue stroked his chin, contemplating. "That's good, where do you want to go from there?"

At this, a few eyebrows were raised. Even though Wei Wuxian was known as the Jiang Prodigy, Nie Mingjue wasn't named Head Cultivator for no reason. And for him to accept the plan so readily…

"From there on out, we can move towards the base, leaving behind a second force to defend the area and silence any oppressors that stand in the way, or get the townsmen and merchants to swear themselves to silence. If not, we may have to resort to other measures." Silvery eyes hardened, a talisman flickering right at the corner of his robes as his "brother" rolled his eyes at him. I have at least a thousand selective silencing talismans stocked up, and they can be used to make sure they don't tell us to the Wens."

Wangji was filled with an odd sense of pride hearing him say this, as if he was the one who came up with the plan. He found it odd, he guessed. But there was something about Young Master Wei that drew him in like a moth drawn to flame, helpless in his presence.

"Good," Nie Mingjue continued. "We'll follow that plan, then."  And the rest of the meeting faded into Wangji's memory, centred mostly on fine-tuning the plan. The hours streamed past in disjointed moments, turning into evening before any of them knew it. "Alright, we'll stop here for today. He rubbed his hands in satisfaction. "It was a very productive session today, thank you to all of you. Rest well for tonight, we'll discuss the rest tomorrow. You are dismissed."

With a quick flutter of Nie Huaisang's fan, the rest scurried from their seats. Jiang Wanyin stood up first, Wei Wuxian not too far behind him. For some odd reason, though, it looked more as if Wei Wuxian was the one leading, instead of the one in the Jiang Heir's shadow. The moment the rest of the Clan representatives were out of sight, Jiang Cheng grabbed Wei Wuxian harshly by the shoulders, pulling him into one of the many vacant classrooms the Unclean Realm now held. A stark symbol of the war that raged, the war that ravished and consumed, leaving nothing behind but empty hearts and shattered dreams, all in the name of long-forsaken glory. Nothing but a glimpse of pleasure in an ocean of horror, lapping against city walls and drowning people under.