As soon as Wei Ying left the room, Jiang Wanyin turned to the healer.
" Liu daifu, a word."
The healer followed him silently to his main room, they both were no nonsense people and Jiang Wanyin would appreciate that quality if only he wasn't tense with thoughts swirling inside him. Halfway through the corridors, he suspected that his ears picked up some notes of dizi and his feet picked up speed without his conscience.
Once inside the room, Jiang Cheng turned to the healer, " Liu daifu, I hope you can explain yourself."
The lady stared at him impassively for some time then spoke in a rigid tone,
" Sect leader Jiang, I think there's nothing to explain. "
" Of course there is! " Jiang Wanyin burst out at the cold response while zidian sparked in response. He hated it when people treated him like a kid, someone who is unfit for taking responsibilities, someone who can't understand a simple thing, someone who doesn't deserve an explanation. They think that doing something in the name of favour while it was for their own benefit was something he should feel grateful about. He hated it more when people refused to accept the truth about the Yilling Patriarch and feel ashamed for their snark comments and beliefs.
He knows, people think he doesn't but he does.
Ever since he became the Sect Leader of the fallen YunmengJiang Sect, his own Sect, of which he would have to look after sooner or later. No matter how temperamental, how moody, how undeserving other sect leaders thought him to be, he was the only one, has always been.
It didn't matter if Wei Wuxian was better than him in all ways possible. It was him, Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Cheng who would get the position, who would be the leader one day.
Even if his father supported and praised Wei Wuxian more, he wouldn't give that responsibility to someone who wasn't a Jiang by birth; Wei Ying himself wouldn't let that happen, let anyone scorn his brother deeming him unfit for the position like his mother had always feared.
Yes, Wei Ying had sent him a few letters talking about these things. He hadn't visited but considering the last time his brother was at the Lotus Pier and the welcome he got, maybe he would avoid the place as much as he could.
But he sent letters and Jiang Cheng had learned that even if it had happened in some twisted way like his mother always said, Wei Wuxian accepted the fact that he was the son of a servant and if Jiang Fengmian had suggested something like that Wei Wuxian would never let that happen.
In his words,
" You know me Jiang Cheng, you think I would have left you if I had a choice ?
What do you take me for my stupid shidi? I do not like sitting with old fools all day and staring at documents, okay! Only Lan Zhan can take such a responsibility and not whine about it....
Also, as much as Madam Yu was scary, Lotus Pier was like a home for me. I wouldn't want to ruin it with my name."
I know my place.
That Wei Wuxian had considered Lotus Pier his home earlier and knew who he was, left Jiang Cheng thinking whether the thoughts were the result of the tension between them or their priorities.
" Sect leader Jiang, you and I both know who the Yilling Patriarch is. I suppose you don't need me to tell you that."
Another headache for him.
Liu daifu, for all her medical brilliance and ability to deal with any type of patient was not that clear minded when it came to the Yilling Patriarch.
Though Wei Wuxian was proved innocent and Jin GuangYao's original face had been revealed to the public, many cultivators and common folks alike still maintained a wide berth from him, like he was a communicable disease, a parasite, a curse.
Liu Qizhi, a member of Meishan Yu clan, a highly regarded person in her territory for her medical knowledge and achievements had one thing common with Madam Yu. Her bitter sentiment towards Wei Wuxian.
Jiang Cheng had noticed how she had tried to subtly convey that message to the person and him. If her words were a warning, a gesture of her intentions towards Wei Wuxian then it was a threat, a scolding, an intended invaluable advice for Jiang Cheng.
For a week Jiang Cheng had tolerated those glances, those silent frowns and disapproval, it was high time he let her know her original place.
" True, I don't need you to advice me how to act and whom to trust; most certainly not how to behave with my brother! "
The healer's eyebrows rose and her muth twisted downward but before she could say anything else, Jiang Wanyin beat her to it, " Though I suppose you could do with a lesson on behavior daifu. YunmengJiang Sect does not wishes to have a head healer whose judgement of characters are based on hearsay and discrimination, especially when the person being discriminated is one of family. "
Being bedridden is a pain. Lan Wangji is reminded of this crucial information as his body wakes up. There are people around him and their hushed voices, but suddenly everything stops and the sound of hurried footsteps reach his ears. His eyelids are heavy and feel like they have got stuck. Opening his eyes has never felt so tiring.
But then strong hands guide him and he finds himself being turned a bit.
"Wangji..." What's Xiongzhang doing here? Where is he ? Maybe those questions can wait. They surely can as his throat is too dry to utter a word.
A cup is brought near his lips and Lan Wangji tries to drink slowly but his throat feels like sand. How much time has passed ?
"Xiong....zh..."
Why does his body feels like this ? Why can't he move ?
" Rest for now didi, you will be fine."
But no, Lan Wangji cannot rest. He is being called, he can feel it. His soul feels pulled towards something and his instinct tell him to trust whatever is calling him. But he cannot move, not with Xiongzhang stopping him. He needs to tell him, if only his body could cooperate with him now.
" Please...didi. Wangji, you cannot move. " His xiongzhang never needs to plead. Lan Wangji can obey his commands and orders just fine. But he is and Wangji can do nothing but try to make his throat and mouth work.
They don't. The call stops suddenly and the connection pulling his soul breaks.
So Lan Wangji stops trying and let's his body go back blank again.
After dealing with Liu Qizhi, Jiang Cheng heads towards the source of the sound of dizi. It doesn't take him long, the new Lotus Pier is almost same as the previous one which means that he knows exactly where he is headed even before his feet take him there.
But Jiang Wanyin had to stop just before he enters the pavilion from where the sound is coming as a strong and oppressive wave of emotions tackle him. He stumbles back from the intensity of the force but the Jiang clarity bell prevents him to lose his focus completely. This....the amount of resentment and spiritual energy being called upon is so huge that even the greatest cultivator with the strongest core would be forced down.
What is this melody ?
The Jiang clan's motto as Wei Wuxian never got tired of repeating was attept the impossible. If he cannot move, he will have to use another method.
After Jiang Cheng managed to drag his brooding brother away for a light dinner and forced down a decent amount of food in him, he noticed something was different.
" You...look..different. From usual."
Wei Wuxian was quick to shake his head and snort, " Glad to know you notice me Jiang Cheng. "
" No...something about you is different." Jiang Cheng wasn't going to be deterred and rise to the bait. He had practised controlling his anger and seeing that Wei Wuxian was trying to use sarcasm, he was one hundred percent sure that something was up.
" Jiang Cheng, I am sleepy. I will go first okay..."
"You are not going anywhere unless you tell me what's the matter..."
"......"
" Do I need to spell it out to you ?"
" I don't know what you are talking about..."
" Stop acting like a heartbroken lover and tell me where are you going now ?"
"....I am...not a....lover?"
" Was that a rhetorical question? If yes, then you are acting like one."
" I am not! Lan Zhan is injured."
"...." Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow while trying to hide a smug smirk. It doesn't work, he is too smug about having followed his clan's motto of attempting the impossible by making his mouthy brother silent.
Wei Wuxian though turned a bit pink. He cleared his throat and looked sideways, anywhere to avoid the Sect leader's eyes saying 'caught you'.
Damn his brother was becoming smart...
"As my first question has been answered, my second question which is way easier....where are you going ?"
" I am not going anywhere..."
" Yes and the folded robes and all the pouches kept in one place are for someone else, correct ? Not the Wei Wuxian..."
" I like neatness."
" First time for me. Lan Wangji would be glad to hear."
"....I didn't say his name...."
" Absolutely, and confirmed my statement. The day you become neat like that, I will forget you as my brother."
Silence......
Both of them stared at each other, with eyes wide and varying degrees of shock. Sure they had been communicating and their letters were civil and almost borderline brotherly squabbling, but neither of them had a proper talk. Which, Jiang Cheng believed was necessary; i.e. if he ever wished to have his brother back at his side like they promised.
"What...." Shaking his head and closing his mouth, Wei Wuxian whispered, his voice wavering only a tiny bit, "What did you....call us ?"
For a moment Jiang Cheng thought to backpaddle and make an excuse but the expression on Wei Wuxian's face was one of shocked happiness and was that hope he saw in his eyes ? Those gray orbs were shining. He wasn't crying just because Jiang Cheng slipped and called them brothers, correct ?
But for all his running mouth and brain, Jiang Cheng knew that Wei Wuxian couldn't handle affection. He thought he didn't deserve such attention and love and so he gathered up his courage and said while avoiding his brother's eyes,
" What ? I called us brothers. Have you really forgotten me or do you plan on leaving just like you did before-"
But Jiang Cheng never got to finish his sentence as a ball of black leapt onto him, tackling him to the ground. Arms wrapped themselves around him while the a mess of head was just beside his own, mumbling things like,
" stupid shidi....think you can get rid of me so easily ? I will tie you with me if I have to....sniff....but unless you tell me to.....sniff...... or I need to in order to protect you, I am not leaving!"
Maybe Jiang Cheng should tell him that Wei Wuxian was not the only one who could tie the other, though Jiang Cheng would probably find a more sane option but, you know....as long as it stayed in his mind all was well.
That night, the previous Yunmeng dou spent the night drinking Lotus wine and trading stories from their lives, reminiscing the past and just basking in the presence of eachother.
And if there were tears and snot on their faces, no one was there to tell.
They will need to have a decent talk later when both of them were not covered in tears and overwhelmed with emotions but at that moment, nothing else mattered.
Next day, as Lan Xichen oversaw Lan and Jiang disciples preparing to leave for Cloud Recesses,
Wei Ying hovered like a black bee near Lan Zhan.
Lan Wangji had been put on a movable bed placed indise a carriage so that traveling without aggravating his wounds would be easy.
Wei Wuxian was not convinced. He kept his distance but was still near the sleeping Lan. Only when a disciple came running to him did he remove his eyes from the bed.
" Wei gonzi....Li...Li Taiyang...." In an instant, Wei Wuxian turned with his eyes sharp on the cowering disciple.
" Where ?" The disciple pointed shakily and Wei Wuxian was off like lightning.
Li Taiyang was not a powerful cultivator. This Wei Wuxian had observed, but the Meili hier had an unusual reserve of qi in his body which, was actually worrying.
" But how is that possible ? Unless he got spiritual energy transferred into him forcefully it is impossible. "
" Jiang Cheng, you are becoming more smart day by day!" Wei Ying chirped while dodging a half-hearted punch coming his way.
" Stop goofing and fund out what happened ! I can't believe even your talismans can go wrong!"
At this Wei Ying turned a toothy grin at his brother " Aw...didn't knew you had such confidence in me Jiang Cheng!"
But the next moment his face turned serious and grim and he muttered something about his talismans not going wrong.
" My talismans didn't go wrong. They just were made with a certain limit to which they can handle the pressure. His body is behaving like a system with multiple hidden voids gone wrong."
" Senior Wei, can you elaborate?" Sizhui and Jingyi had just thought of seeing the man as they weren't needed with the preparation, partly because Sizhui couldn't bear to look at his parent figure in such a state without breaking down and Jingyi insisting that he was fine even when not.
" Sizhui! Jingyi! Where is A Ling ?"
" I am right here !" Jin Ling exclaimed from behind the two Lans.
" Ah so now that you are here, let's get started. That night when I built an array around him, it was just a suppression array which kept the resentment at bay. The talismans helped to prevent any resentment from getting attracted towards him. I did not interfere with his personal spiritual aura, nor did I stop his body and core from controlling the flow of qi and spiritual energy in his spiritual vessels along with the blood. His body functioned in its own way with the qi flowing as it was."
Wei Ying continued, while pacing around and rubbing his nose in thought.
"But examining his body now, I will say that his soul is just barely untouched from the resentment. His body is behaving like a space with many voids hidden from anyone else who might want to locate them; those voids according to my theory accumulating spiritual energy and qi not of the same origin as his original one. Both the flows have different directions and strength and are contradictory in nature. The flow of qi is unusual and with the amount of spiritual energy he has, he should be at the same level at Lan Zhan if not above. "
" You can identify the nature of qi ? Is that even real ?" Jin Ling exclaimed while Jingyi gaped.
" Ah..yes. It's not difficult. I just prodded his spiritual vessels and felt for the flow and frequency of the the wave of energy near his core and near his heart. Both are different. Also, his organs are stressing under the newfound pressure, specially his heart. "
"......"
" I feel like I should take notes....." Sizhui muttered.
" Me too.." Jingyi nodded his head, agreeing.
" This feels like advanced class..." For all his lessons, Lan Jingyi was sure they had never made such analysis even on their toughest night hunts nor did any of the Grandmaster Lan's test contain such questions.
" Uh...did you all understand what I said right now ? " Wei Wuxian blinked, finally out of his bubble.
The disciples around them looked like owls blinking, Jiang Cheng was subtly gaping while trying to hide his embarrassment, Jin Ling looked like everything went above his head while the two Lan ducklings appeared deep in thought as if trying to wrap their head around the idea but failing miserably.
WeiWuxian sighed, maybe he should keep his rants for when he can discuss them with Lan Zhan. They look like five year old kids being told the concept behind the core formation.
" Forget it. What you need to know is that first, my talismans didn't fail. Second, this person here has more than enough spiritual energy in him which is making him unstable so, I would advice that whosoever will be transporting him to the Cloud Recesses must bind him with Diety Binding ropes and keep their distance.
Hang him in a net or travel by transporting talisman if you can but, do not come near him if you value your cultivation. "
" What if we don't ?" Jingyi asked, wary of the guy since their meeting at Koi Tower.
" Dear Jingyi, have you heard of core melting ?" At the shake of head from the young Lan, Wei Wuxian continued
" Well let's say, you are very fortunate to be living in the time you are. Your core will burst from the sudden pressure of spiritual energy passed on you. "
" Can't you simply lock his spiritual energy ? Spiritual energy cannot be passed that way, it's not a parasite." Jin Ling said rolling his eyes.
" My dear A Ling, if I do that then I am afraid you will be haunted by my ghosts all your life..." Wei Ying said in a singsong voice but seeing his nephew trying to glare at him, he said nonchantly " Well for your kind info, that will make his viens burst due to sudden excess pressure in them. The first characteristic of resentment and unusual qi is that they hate to be bound. Didn't you learn this in your starting lessons ? "
After a few muttering about non practical classes, stupid lessons and a remark from Jiang Cheng about no death talk later, Li Taiyang had been bound and with the help of few senior disciples sent ahead of Lan Xichen's retinue with Wei Wuxian giving the disciples transporting the man a few tips and talismans.
Jiang Cheng, after a few attempts, managed to bully his brother into joining the Lans to go to Cloud Recesses. He may or may not have included the Lan ducklings and other disciples whom Jin Ling pointed out could help.
But, it was the sentiment that counted and his was only to drag his brother out of his kicked puppy self and be selfish for once in his two lives.....
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6 July, 2021
First : I am not getting much time and the chapters take time to edit and reach up to my expectations.
So, in short like Wei Ying said —
Updates will be infrequent.
Second : Long time no see......👀
The usuals, read comment and if by a chance in thousand galaxies, vote if you liked the chapter?