A/n:
Title is a lyric taken from The World Was Wide Enough from Hamilton, the Broadway Musical
Warnings include:
Disrespectful mentions of a (canon, deceased) character's death (I'm referring to Jiang Yanli)
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Jiang Cheng's Pov:
Jiang Cheng eventually finds the resentful ghost at the gazebo as predicted, sitting on the edge of the roof. He was no doubt still recuperating from his fight with Jiang Cheng and the others.
Although Jiang Cheng couldn't explain why he knew Jiao Yang would be here, he knows that it was where Jiao Yang was drawing his resentful energy from.
But what exactly was Jiao Yang drawing resentful energy from? Was it something that had belonged to him before he passed? Or was it where his body had ended up?
No, it can't be, Jiang Cheng reasons, any dead bodies had been recovered from the lake after the Wens fell.
Jiang Cheng observes Jiao Yang staring melanchonically out into the distance, mouth moving to form words that were too quiet for Jiang Cheng to interpret.
But when Jiang Cheng sneaks closer, he hears the words Jiao Yang mutters clearly.
"Wen, Wen, Wen, the Wens are here. Lotus Pier burns. Wen, Wen, Wen," Jiao Yang chants like it were a mantra, and Jiang Cheng felt unnerved by the way he said it.
Lotus Pier burns.
Lotus Pier burns.
Lotus Pier burns.
"How dare you come back here!"
Jiang Cheng startles and his hand flies to Sandu but he doesn't draw his sword just yet. He keeps his eyes on Jiao Yang as the ghost floats down from the roof, body passing through it.
"YOU LIED! You said the Wens were all dead! You said we won, you said they were all dead!" Jiao Yang yelled.
Unlike how the resentful ghost had been the day before, Jiao Yang's appearance had return to just a pale, undead Jiang disciple. His fingernails weren't claws, and his hair didn't act sentient. But the pool of blood on his stomach area was still there.
His ghostly body was also flickering a lot, the tips of his fingers and toes were translucent like he was slowy deteoriating. Jiao Yang's face was scrunched up uncomfortably as if it was really difficult for him to keep his corporeal form.
Overall, Jiao Yang was barely solid and most likely wouldn't even be able to inflict any harm. But he was angry, so, so angry.
Jiang Cheng took a cautious step forward, hand still on Sandu and ready to activate zidian any moment. "We did win! Do you see any Rising Sun motifs anywhere? Do you see any red-robed cultivators on our grounds? We won, the Wen Clan was defeated!"
In a flash, Jiao Yang was right in front of Jiang Cheng with his fist pulled back. He throws a punch at Jiang Cheng's chest as if to gourge out his heart, but Jiao Yang's hand only passes through without harming even a single hair on Jiang Cheng.
To make matters worse, Jiang Cheng didn't bother to block his attack since he was aware that Jiao Yang was too weak to hurt him currently.
This unintentionally made it look like Jiang Cheng was taunting Jiao Yang and it agitated the ghost even more.
Jiao Yang furiously threw more punches at Jiang Cheng; aiming for his chest, his torso, his head, but everytime his hands would just pass through. Jiao Yang moved back, chest rising and falling rapidly as anger built up within him.
Then he released a loud scream, bloody tears running down his cheeks. "What The Hell Did Wei Wuxian Do To Me!? What Sort Of Dark Arts Did He Use?"
Jiao Yang glared at Jiang Cheng and questioned, "If the Wens were all defeated then why are there two of them in Lotus Pier? Are there still survivors?"
Jiang Cheng keeps his expression neutral, refusing to answer the ghost out of guilt.
However, Jiao Yang easily sees through him and he smirks cruelly, "I see! They're the last of their kind, aren't they?" He tilts his head to the side, eyes blank of any sympathy, "Good, good! It'll make my job of killing them easier, then!"
Jiang Cheng felt his hackles raise, but he reminds himself to keep his cool. Still, he finds himself yelling, "You Almost Drowned My Nephew!!"
Jiao Yang's eyes flew wide, recoiling from disgust at the statement, "That fucking Wen-Dog is your nephew!?" He even floats a few steps away from Jiang Cheng as if Jiang Cheng carried the plague.
Jiang Cheng clenches his fists and zidian crackles on his finger, "Be careful of how you speak of Lan Sizhui! He may have Wen roots but he is far from evil!"
Jiao Yang acted disinterested. "Bah! What do I care? A Wen is a Wen, all jackals from the same lair¹."
"Not all of them were evil or guilty! Many of them were innocent: elderly, women and children! They didn't do anything wrong!" Jiang Cheng argues.
Jiao Yang let out a cynical laugh. "Didn't do anything wrong? If these 'innocent-Wens' were such saints, then why didn't they stop Wen Ruohan and his men? Why didn't they join our side or destroy Wen Ruohan secretly?"
Jiang Cheng knows why Jiao Yang wasn't seeing reason.
If the Dafan Wen and other Wen branches actually had a choice to separate from Wen Ruohan and the rest of Qishan Wen, they would have done so from the beginning.
Jiao Yang was too clouded by his fury and resentment to see clearly. All that resentment building in him from all those years will prove to be difficult to get through.
"How can I trust a thing that you say, huh? How can I believe your words when you lied to me?" Jiao Yang breaks Jiang Cheng out of his reverie. "You lied to me, you betrayed me! You brought Wen-dogs into our sect! You betrayed the Jiang Sect! You betrayed your people! You betrayed your family!"
At this point, it would be useless to get through to Jiao Yang's head with reason. Jiang Cheng could only stall long enough so he could find an opportunity to get rid of Jiao Yang for good. "I didn't betray anyone! The war is over and things are different now!"
Jiao Yang refused to meet his eyes and stopped listening to a word he said. He must have lost interest or he was done listening, either way--this was Jiang Cheng's chance to strike.
He sees it, he sees an opening! On his right hand, zidian starts to transform.
Jiao Yang cackles out of the blue, and Jiang Cheng's expression shifts minutely to show his confusion. "Hahaha... I think I see it now...I understand why your sister would do such a thing."
Upon the mention of Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng's skin prickles and his posture changes into an offensive stance. His fists clenches tightly and the air buzzes with static and electricity. "What kind of dog shit are you spouting now?"
Jiao Yang dons an indifferent mask on his face, the kind that said that he fully intents to hurt Jiang Cheng to his core with whatever he says. Jiang Cheng can't let himself get distracted now, whatever Jiao Yang tells him, Jiang Cheng just has to ignore him---
"Even in her last moments, your sister still chose your shixiong over you!" Jiao Yang taunts cruelly, expression twisted like a person that enjoys suffering faces. "How fucked up do you have to be, that your sister would rather die for someone else than to live for YOU?"
Jiang Cheng's irises shrunk to the size of peas as he inhaled sharply. His heart dropped and all at once, his body goes numb.
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(Flashback, Age 3)
"Ah-jie! Here, a flower for you!" Little Ah-Cheng presents Jiang Yanli with the largest flower he could find. It was pink and lovely like his jiejie.
Jiejie pats his head with a smile and takes the flower. "Oh, Ah-Cheng, that's so sweet! Thank you! I'll cherish it forever!"
(Age 5)
"Ah-jie, ah-jie, carry me!" Ah-Cheng holds his arms up for jiejie, pouting adorably.
"Didi, you're getting too big for jiejie to carry you. You're a big boy now!" Yanli says, but she caves in anyways and lets him on her back.
(Age 6)
"Shi-jie! Jiang Cheng keeps stealing all the pillows from my room!" Wei Ying cries to Jiang Yanli. He's only been at Lotus Pier for a few days but Jiang Cheng already hates him.
"All because you started stealing from me first!! You no good thief!" Jiang Cheng protested.
"Ah-Cheng, that's enough! Ah-Cheng, Ah-Xian, you shouldn't fight." Jiang Yanli takes both their hands and makes them hold each other. She puts her palms on both boys' cheeks. "You're brothers now, I want both of you to get along!"
(Age 20)
"JIE!! Jie, please wake up!! WAKE UP!!" Jiang Wanyin holds the limp body of Jiang Yanli in his arms, trying and failing to staunch her wound.
The warmth of her body was draining away so quickly, her blood bled into his purple robes and dying it a dark colour. He searches around frantically, screaming for help--hoping, begging that someone hears him.
But the battlefield is too loud, people get cut down left and right. There's no one to help him.
How could have this happened? Why did it come to this? Ah-jie can't die, she can't die!
"I'm so sorry, ah-Jie..." he whispers to her brokenly but she smiles weakly at him.
Jiang Yanli reaches her hand to his cheek, "Ah-Cheng...jiejie lov--" She starts but never got to finish her words as she drew her last breath. Her citrine yellow eyes faded to a dull yellow, the life leaving her eyes.
His sister passes in his arms.
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The last memory especially forced a tidal rush of grief over him, making Jiang Cheng keel over. He falls down on one knee, hand clutching his pounding heart.
He can't breathe, his legs are weak and he's seeing stars.
It hurts... It hurts...
Jiang Cheng remains stricken, unable to move from his position on the floor.
He's reminded of a similar scene: His hair down while his guan was on the ground somewhere. Angry tears running down his face as his brother and Hanguang Jun leave on the boat with Wen Ning. The truth of Jiang Cheng's golden core having been revealed.
Jiang Cheng is a selfish coward. He turned his back on his brother and best friend when he needed him the most. He left his sweet sister all alone.
Wei Wuxian might have been the one to fall, but Jiang Cheng was the one that had lost it all. He survived, but at what cost?
What did it cost him to be the last Jiang? To lose all his family, to lose all his friends? What did he lose when he shunned the world out?
After all of this, would there still be someone waiting for him in Lotus Pier²?
"What's the matter? I thought you knew." Jiao Yang taunts haughtily. He floats close to Jiang Cheng's ear and whispers harshly, "Is the truth eating at you on the inside? I bet it does..."
Anger boils within him and Jiang Cheng lashes out with zidian in its whip form. "HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MY JIEJIE!!!" Zidian coils around Jiao Yang, but once again Jiao Yang easily slips away.
On his feet, Jiang Cheng chases Jiao Yang around the gazebo with zidian, furiously whipping his spiritual weapon around to capture the ghost.
Jiao Yang continues to taunt him while he dodges Jiang Cheng's attacks. "You call yourself a sect leader? Look At You! You can't even get rid of a measly ghost like me!"
"HAAAHHHHH!!" Jiang Cheng yelled animalistically and lunged toward him again, but Jiao Yang moved out of the way and even used his ghost abilities to fly out into the lake so Jiang Cheng couldn't reach him.
Resentful energy starts to surround Jiao Yang, as he was hovering over the source of his powers.
He's regaining his powers! Jiang Cheng has to stop him before he gets too powerful again, or it'll be troublesome to take him on on his own. But how--
Although his guard was let down for just a fraction of a second, Jiao Yang was able to gain the upper hand and he threw Jiang Cheng far back with his powers.
Jiang Cheng is thrown back and tries to stop his descend, but he still lands harshly on his front. He quickly recovers but his palms are scraped, and there's some splinters.
He furrows his brows as he feels something tucked in a layer of his robes, but he doesn't have time to see what it was. Did Wei Wuxian put it there?
Jiang Cheng senses it before it sees it and he rolls out of the way, right as Jiao Yang flung a rowboat at him.
The boat explodes and breaks the boat dock in half, and Jiang Cheng has to get on Sandu to avoid getting hit by flying debris.
Up in the air, Jiang Cheng tsked, Shit, that's going to be a bitch to fix. He glares at Jiao Yang who's laughing at the destroyed platform as if damaging private property was amusing to him.
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A/n:
*¹一丘之貉 yì qiū zhī hé--jackals from the same lair. Chinese idiom that means they are all just as bad as each other.
*²would there still be someone waiting for him in Lotus Pier--not me taking lyrics from Hen Bie (jc's theme song) to make this more angsty