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Chapter Text

Jin Guangshan was sure that his plan would work. He had spent hours upon hours planning how to become the most powerful figure in the cultivation world. He had refrained from joining the Sunshot Campaign until the end to preserve his wealth and disciples, the Jiangs were allied to him through Jin Zixuan’s marriage to jiang Yanli, the Lans were in a precarious position trying to rebuild and were also allied to him through sworn brotherhood to his bastard Meng Yao, he would never think of that son of a whore as Jin Guangyao, and his plans to take over the Nie sect via assassination were well underway. That left one problem, Wei Wuxian, the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, the one person powerful enough to stop him, yet too ostracized to do so. He had even rescued Wen Cultivators from his labor camps! He wanted, no needed, the powerful Stygian Tiger Seal to get what he wants, and he always gets what he wants. Looking down at the array in his hands, he was sure that he would get it. ‘There’s no way Wei Wuxian can fool anyone after this! The sects will see the Yiling Patriarch’s evilness and lead a siege, killing him and the Wen dogs in his army. Then the Stygian Tiger Seal will be mine!’ He thought viciously as he sent out summons to an emergency conference about what should be done about the wicked Yiling Patriarch.

. . . . . . .

He observed as the sect leaders gathered in Glamorous Hall. Jiang Wanyin looked as angry as usual and it appeared that the rumors about the conflict between him and Wei Wuxian were true. Nie Mingjue with his furious temper glared at the mere mention of any named Wen. However, Nie Huiasang had cried and whined and pleaded with his brother to listen first because Wei Wuxian was his ‘best friend’ and everyone knew that Chifeng-Zun folded like wet paper around his brother. The Lans were as serene as usual, Grandmaster Lan with his standard disapproval, Zewu-Jun with his customary smile, and Lan Wangji with his icy jade-like face. Was he hallucinating or did Wangji actually look like he was scowling at him? He had done nothing to him. 

Before he could properly and gracefully start the meeting, Chifeng-Zun barked out, “Why did you ask us here? What news do you have on the Yiling Patriarch?”

With a smirk, he started, “I have discovered a way to verify the dreadful rumors about the wicked Yiling Patriarch. Guangyao found this array in the Lan Sect Library and they were so gracious to let us borrow it.” ‘Hah! Take that, Qiren, you stuck up snob! I am powerful enough to take things out of your library without you even knowing it!’ Murmurs broke out through the room, the Lans looked as horrified and angered as expected furiously murmuring among themselves, Chifeng-Zun looked as irritatedly angry as usual, and Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli looked horrified. 

“Father!” Jin Zixuan broke out in a whisper. “This is a bad idea. You shouldn’t do this!”

“Yes Father, the sects might see something unsavory.” Jin Guangyao said, sweat dripping down his forehead. “The labor camps contained more than just Wen cultivators as you know, if they are shown then it will cause problems.” 

“Both of you shut up! Zixuan, go sit with your wife and son and you Guangyao, don’t say another word.” Jin Zixuan sent him a disgusted stare then went and sat with his wife and child in the Jiang delegation, not the Jin , sending a clear message that he did not approve of what was going on. 

“What does the array do, Sect Leader Jin?” Sect Leader Yao asked deferentially.

“Once activated, this array allows you to view anything you wish to see. It will project the scene onto the mirror and will let us hear what is happening. This way we will all be able to see the villainy of the Yiling Patriarch safely and be able to make prompt steps to deal with this threat.” He answered back. ‘Finally, no one will be able to dispute the need to eradicate the Wei Wuxian and I will get the Stygian Tiger Seal!’ He thought, excitement bubbling through his veins. 

“Now, if we are all ready, I will start the array.” Stepping forward, he placed the mirror on a table in the center of the room and started the array. “Show us the Burial Mounds.” He commanded and an image of the burial mounds was projected into the room. 

Dry, barren land came into view. Bones poked out of the earth, a sort of gloom and darkness hung over the Burial mounds. Slowly, the mirror focused into a tiny settlement in front of a cave in the mountainside. A few huts that looked like they might blow done were scattered  around the entrance to the cave. There are a few patches of what appeared to be attempts at gardens were dispersed between the huts. As the image cleared, a faint crying sound could be heard. 

‘ “A’Niang! A’Niang!” could be heard between the sobs. “Don’t leave Meimei and me! You can’t leave us! Please A’Niang! I’ll-I’ll be good boy! I’ll watch Meimei so you can rest! You can eat my food, but please don’t leave again! Qing-Ayi! Qing-Ayi!” The voice called as the sobbing intensified. The mirror slowly zoomed in to see where the crying was coming from. A group of elderly people stood grouped around the cave entrance, a look of fear on their faces and tears in their eyes.’

The elders looked old enough to be grandparents to most of those present in the hall. Every eye was strained on the image being shown, nothing like they were expecting. They were not cultivators, they were elderly commoners, a couple looked so hunched over that it was hard to believe they could still stay upright! Jiang Yanli looked terrified and Zidian was sparkling brightly on Jiang Wanyin’s finger. ‘Where is the army of wen dogs? Why are there these elderly people here? Why is a child crying, no fuck that, why is there a child in the burial mounds?’ Jin Guangshan thought, anxiety beginning to creep into his veins. ‘This is not the way it is supposed to go!’ 

‘The sound of an infant’s wail cut through the mirror as it finally zeroed in on the interior of the cave. From the light of a few talismen, scraps of paper, dirty rags, and half finished inventions were scattered across the floor. Along the far wall, a slab of stone could be seen sticking out from the cave, just big enough to be considered a bed. A pale, dirty little boy was crouched next to a figure slumped on the stone; a baby held securely in the little boy’s arms. The sound of labored breaths could be heard as the figure tried to breath. A female figure hurried into the cave and leaned over the supine figure on the bed. Wen Qing, the famed Wen doctor, supposed niece of Wen Ruohan; she was thin, emaciated, most likely only sustained by her core. She carefully pulled down the torn cloak that was covering the figure to reveal the person beneath it. There were bruises on their face, strangulation rings around their neck, a face and body so emaciated that it was surprising they were still alive, and a red ribbon in their hair. 

“A-Ying, Didi, I am going to open your robes, alright? I need to make sure your wounds are alright.” She said gently, carefully taking the infant from A-Yuan and handing him to an elderly woman that had followed her into the room. “Granny, could you please hold A-Yu? Thank you.” Turning to the still sobbing boy, she said gently caressing A-Yuan’s head, “A-Yuan, can you cover your eyes for me? I need to check on your A’Niang and I know you won’t leave his side. Why don’t you lay down next to him while you wait? Don’t open them until I tell you to, ok?” The boy whimpered and nodded, closing his still crying eyes. Sighing, she turned to the figure-A-Ying and everyone in the hall gasped. It was Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, paler than death itself, looking like he had been beaten within an inch of his life, with a child calling him A’Niang and a baby. 

Tears were pouring from Jiang Yanli’s eyes and she turned to Jiang Wanyin asking, “What happened to A'Xian? Why didn’t you tell me he had children? Why didn’t he tell us?”

Jiang Wanyin whispered back looking both terrified and heartbroken at the same time, “I didn’t know! He doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”

“What the fuck is this, Sect leader Jin? Where is the mighty and powerful wen army and dangerous Yiling Patriarch?” Chifeng-Zun snarled, many in the room nodding along.

“I’m sure it will all be revealed shortly, this is just an illusion.” Jin Guangshan said smilingly, while he was internally furious. ‘This! This! This is the evil Yiling Patriarch! A sickly, maybe dying young man with two children. Where are the armies? Where are the plots and evil deeds? Where is the wicked Yiling Patriarch committing evil deeds?’ 

Slowly Wen Qing reached for A-Ying and as soon as her hand touched him, he flinched, weakly trying to pull away. ‘No, No, NO! Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!’ He whisper-yelled, eyes screwed shut, shaking like a leaf. Eyes glassy with tears, Wen Qing lightly tapped on his shoulder to wake him, ‘Didi, Didi, you need to wake up! It’s just a dream. I’m not going to hurt you.’ She said calmly, however there was a distinct tremble at the end. The fearsome Ghost General melted out of the shadows to hold him upright, sadness evident on his death-frozen face.

Glassy silver eyes struggled to open with a murmured, ‘JieJie? Jiejie, what happened? Where’s A-Yuan and A-Yu?’ He said anxiously looking around until he caught sight of A-Yu cradled in Granny’s arms and A-Yuan who had fallen asleep next to him. A thin, ghostly white hand reached out to tremblingly caress his head. 

‘A’Yuan was screaming for me so A'Ning and I came to check on you. I need to check on your wounds and give you some medicine.’ She said opening his robes to expose his chest. It was covered with scars. Some purple lightning shaped ones, many scars from the wars, a wen brand on his upper chest, a vertical surgical incision mark across his lower dantian. Bandages revealed a stab wound and a horizontal surgical scar slightly lower than the vertical scar. Both wounds looked like they were healing very poorly, both red and angry with the beginning of inflammation visible. A troubled look crossed over the doctor’s face and she knew that without proper medicine it wasn’t likely he was going to survive. 

The spectators were shocked! This wasn’t the Mighty Yiling Patriarch, this is a dying young man with two children and a group of elderly who depend on him. It didn’t make sense! Wei Wuxian was one of the strongest cultivators in their generation, why wasn’t he able to heal himself or perform inedia to sustain himself? Many of the women and weaker cultivators had tears in their eyes as they viewed the pitiful scene. 

‘I’m dying, aren’t I, JieJie?’ Wei Wuxian murmured slowly, drinking the cup of water pressed to his lips. ‘The stab wound from Jiang Cheng hasn’t even begun to heal yet neither is the incision where you had cut out A-Yu because Jiang Cheng’s sword thrust nearly killed him  and being raped when I went to town four days ago isn’t helping any, is it. Especially since I was already pregnant before it happened. I can’t even feed A-Yu anymore, nonetheless sustain the child in my womb. Even though I am thankful that I don’t carry my rapist’s child, I’ll never be the same, I'll never have only just been with Lan Zhan. My body has been tainted by more than just resentful qi. I just want to rest JieJie. I’m so tired and I’m in so much pain and there’s nothing we can do either. I have no golden core to help me heal and A-Yu used the last of the whatever qi was left in my meridians to survive his traumatic birth leaving me with nothing left. I have just one request, JieJie.’

‘What is it, Didi?’ Wen Qing asked, sobs shaking her body as she finished wrapping his wounds and covered him back up. ‘What can I do for my second favorite little brother, A'Ning is my favorite you understand.’ She said with an attempt at humor. Wei Wuxian chuckled softly  twice before gasping in pain. After a brief pause to regain composure he slowly started in a slightly stronger voice. 

‘On my desk, there are a pile of letters, once I pass, please send them to their recipients. For shijie, I made a protective bracelet for Jin Rulan, please make sure he gets it along with shijie’s letter. Oh, how I miss her and wish I could have seen her wedding or could go to Jin Ling’s one hundred day ceremony. I won’t live long enough to see my nephew either. It is probably a good thing I wasn’t invited as they would have either tried to assassinate me or accuse me of something I didn’t do to make me have to surrender my seal to them and then execute all of us. Please reassure her of my love for her and that I’ll miss my shijie, the one who took care of me as a boy to the best of her abilities. Introduce A-Yuan and A-Yu to her and Jin Ling; I want my shijie to meet her nephew and niece and be able to share with them some of the things she shared with me; a mother’s love and care and protection. 

There’s a letter for Jin Zixuan, telling him to protect Shijie, Jin Ling and any other children they might have. Thanking him for loving shijie and Jin Ling. There’s a talisman in his letter that will enable him track down any other siblings he might have so if he wants to help them, get to know them, offer them a place as his siblings he can. I hope he can gain the family he’s always dreamed of. There’s a letter for Jin Ling apologizing to him for never being able to see him and that I love him and am so proud of the man he will become. Telling him that family is always first and that he does not need to be the best at everything to be loved.

Please give Jiang Cheng my letter and have him open my sword. It is his now as he has my core. Please tell him that I love him and never regretted giving him my core as it has enabled me to see how amazing a Sect leader he has become. Tell him I never wanted to leave Yunmeng, but I did so that I did not put him in a tight spot with the Jins; I would do anything to protect him and keep him safe. Tell him that I have always cherished the memories of him, my brother and have missed him. Ask him to give my sword to A-Yuan when he grows up so he’ll have something from me. Ask him to teach A-Yuan and A-Yu sword forms, how to swim, how to pick lotus seeds, how to attempt the impossible as he has always done so well, and how to protect your loved ones as he does best. 

There’s a letter for Nie Huiasang with the amulet he had so desperately wanted when we were younger. It is a permanent cure for him, Nie Mingjue, and their entire sect from their qi deviations if it is put on each current saber and each new saber that is made. There are instructions on how to make more so please make sure these get to them as it will save lives. Tell him that I have always been so thankful for his friendship and brotherhood, that I am so thankful for coming here and trying to help us as much as possible, and for always being there for me no matter what has happened to me. Thank him for being the best uncle to my children and ask him to protect them as much as in his power. I have also included a plea to Chifeng-Zun, not to pardon you as with his prejudice, he won’t do that, but to simply allow you to live unhindered. Even if you are all innocent no one will believe you or me. Thank him for always being the best Da-ge even when we oppose each other. Tell him that I will always have fond memories of the few days I spent in the Unclean Realm with him and his brother, that I wish him well and happy in his life, and that I beg him to use the amulet I created to help him with his cultivational problems.  

To Lan Zhan,’ and here he paused, a few tears escaping his eyes ‘Tell him that I have always, continue to, and will always love him even when he doesn't love me and wishes to lock me up in Cloud Recesses to punish me for marrying him and becoming a demonic cultivator. Ever since he tied his forehead ribbon around my wrist in the cold cave and we bowed to his ancestor and were married, I knew what he was doing and married him with my whole heart as I love him. Yet, not once has he acknowledged our marriage but he has slept with me three times giving me my children. I know by Lan custom, in a case like mine, pressuring me to go to Gusu with him is to lock me up as was done to his mother, to prevent me from marrying someone else and to force me to bear heirs for the Lans. Fortunately, for my children, I doubt he remembers any of the encounters as he only touched me when we were both out of it with fever after fighting the Xuanwu, drunk during the celebration of the end of the Sun shot campaign, or most recently when he was drunk when he came through on a nighthunt. He was so drunk that he didn’t even realize that I was covered in bandages or that I didn’t want to be intimate with him, but did it because he wanted to. He can’t even remember that he took my virginity or slept with me at all, thus I want you to raise them if you can. Tell Lan Wangji, he will always have my eternal love and that I knew that we were married but understood that that was not something he wished. How I have longed for his presence even when being around him reminds me of what I can not have. I must have done something wicked in my previous life to fall in love with someone who cannot stand me and bear his children but never receive his love. Tell him about the children, make sure that he knows that they will be safely raised elsewhere, not in a place that forcefully secludes people or marries people and refuses to acknowledge the marriage. 

If you cannot raise them, perhaps Jiang Cheng or Nie Huiasang can or even Nie Mingjue can. I would ask Shijie and Jin Zixuan but I don’t want my precious babies anywhere near that golden den of lying, backstabbing snakes. Apologize to Lan Wangji that the only reason I did not go with him and let myself be secluded away to satisfy him was to protect A-Yuan at first, then A-Yu, and now my unborn child. If I had submitted myself to the cleansings offered at Gusu, it would have removed the only thing keeping me alive and would have killed me. It might have just been better to do so than to be pregnant with my third child, and then get raped, at least in that case I would have been dead. Give him my letter and only let the children meet him if they want to, please never let them go to Gusu. I don’t want them punished for grieving or for running like a normal child would, or for laughing; I want them to have a normal happy childhood and not end up turning into living jade, who are bound by rules and cannot think for themselves. If they push it, give them a clipping of my hair to signify divorce and the register where it shows I married Wen Ning and he adopted my children so that the Lans can have no claim on my children. With Lan Zhan’s refusal of our marriage, my children will be mistreated and slighted there, especially because I’m their mother. Even though Wen Ning is my brother and I could never marry him, it will keep both the children safe and prevent the Lans from even attacking as they would hesitate to put their would-be heirs in danger. This is the best failsafe I can come up with to keep everyone safe and free from interruption from the sects.   

Apologize to Lan Xichen for not being able to do my duty to Gusu after marrying in and for not allowing my children to go there. He was always nice to me and treated me with respect even though it didn’t appear that he knew I had married his brother or when Lan Qiren treated me with obvious hate simply because he couldn’t get over his feelings towards my mother. 

There are letters for each one of you, JieJie and DiDi, thanking you for taking care of A-Yuan when I went to war, for loving us and accepting us into your family, for being there for us when we needed it the most. I am sorry that I brought your consciousness back, Didi, as I have doomed you to a life of hate. 

Finally, there are two letters, one for A-Yuan and one for A-Yu. Wei Yuan courtesy Suzhui, my little boy and Wei Yu courtesy LiDaiyu, my baby girl. To recollect or long for and my beautiful and strong black jade. Please tell them how much I love them and regret leaving them. Please tell them stories about me, not the rumors started by the Jins on how wicked I am, but the stories of who I am as a person, of my family, of my fond times at Lotus Pier, of studying at Gusu, of falling in love, of fighting a war, of gaining my second family. Don’t tell them that I was unloved by my husband, that I was abused during my childhood, that I was brutally raped more times than I can count by some stranger too weak to even save myself, that their sibling will die with me, that I died a villian to the world because no one but me would or could stand for the truth, that my own brother almost accidentally killed A-Yu in a duel for me to succeed the sect, or that I tried to commit suicide so many times during my life as I was too weak and broken to survive the physical and verbal abuse, the heartbreak of being rejected by my husband, of losing my core or being thrown into the hell of the burial mounds.

 Tell them that I struggled but don’t tell them all my tragedies. Tell them to always fight injustice, to stand up for the weak, protect the helpless, to always stand for the truth and with righteousness, not swayed by sly words like Lan Xichen is or moved public opinion or pressure like Jiang Cheng or willfully blind by a self-pious sense of righteousness like Nie Mingjue is. It is hard to stand for the truth, but it is a choice I made and I never regret it. Teach them to be happy, to learn to laugh, to find joy in life. Teach them medicine, Didi can teach them archery, together you can teach them how to live righteous lives and to be happy and content with their lives. My greatest wish is for them to be loved and cared for, not abused like I was by Madame Yu. Teach them self worth and that they are not indebted for the smallest kindness like was drilled into me. They are loved and cared for and it is not their duty to accept blame for others. Allow my children the life of love and care and freedom from debts that I never had. Please make sure they have enough to eat. I have written second letters to both Jiang Cheng and Shijie pleading with them to give you either food or money to be able to buy food for them; I know it goes against your pride to do so but please don’t hesitate. Apologize to them that I died and their sibling died with me; I never wished to be separated from them. Please take care of them for me. That is my final request. 

When I die, place the Stygian Tiger Seal over my heart as the resentment that is holding my body together will be absorbed by my seal and will forever bind it to me, making sure no one will ever use it again. After that is finished, place the seal in the array I drew in the blood pool and it will forever fuel the wards surrounding the burial mounds, while pulling the resentment from burial mounds thus purifying it. Burn all of my inventions that are dangerous or incomplete as I don’t want to risk anyone getting their hands on it. You will all be able to live here safely. If not, like we planned, leave the cultivation world and head west. There must be lands in the imperial world where you can safely live far away from the reach of the greedy and corrupt cultivation world. Protect them Didi, I trust you to keep my precious children safe just like I know jiejie will keep you safe. Thank you, Jiejie, Didi. I love you both. Can I see A-Yu and A-Yuan once more? I don’t think I will make it through the night.” He whispered, sobs shaking his frail, dying body; weak trembling arms embracing Wen Qing and Wen Ning before A-Yu was passed back to him. Wen Ning gently shuffled A-Yuan to snuggle against Wei Wuxian. A beautiful melody was hummed, two kisses placed, I love yous said, and Wei Wuxian gradually slipped back asleep still cradling both his children in his arms. As the mirror started to fade, Wen Qing could be seen promising to do that, tears streaming down the proud doctor’s face. 

There was not a dry eye in the room minus Jin Guangshan’s when the array finished. Jin Guangshan was absolutely gobsmacked. It was revealed that he had lied about the prison camps, about Wei Wuxian himself, and that Wei Wuxian had been justified afterall. Angry murmurs broke out, not against the fearsome Yiling Patriarch, but against him for deceiving them. 

“What the fuck was that shit?!” Chifeng-Zun uttered, promptly summing up everyone’s thoughts into one sentence. He leaned over and whispered something to his brother, who promptly fleed the room while he stood up. “I hereby vote to remove Jin Guangshan from the post of Chief Cultivator, and to put him trial for mistreating war prisoners, lying to the assembled sect leaders for his own gain, and slandering Young Master Wei to the point where he is now dying.”

“I agree.” Jiang Wanyin said, clearing his throat while standing up as well, Jin Ling situated in his arms as Jin Zixuan comforted Jiang Yanli. 

“The Lans stand with the Jiang and the Nie and vote to remove Jin Guangshan, have an investigation initiated, and put him to trial for his crimes.” Lan Xichen said standing, his eyes red rimmed and a heartbroken look on his face. With the support of three of the four major sects, all the minor sects supported this decision and thus Jin Guangshan was stripped of his title and marched to his own dungeons as a prisoner with his cultivation sealed, guarded by men from each of the major clans and disciples loyal to his wife and his son. ‘The son of a whore was right, this was a stupid decision! Why didn’t he stop it or change it in our favor? The bastard! Now I am sitting in my very own dungeon as a prisoner with my cultivation sealed waiting for trial! What went wrong?’

. . . . . . .

Chapter Text

Back in Glamorous Hall, chaos reigned. Sect leaders and their families were trying to come to grips with what they had just seen. Wei Wuxian wasn't some wicked demonic cultivator hell bent on conquering the world. No, he was young man who gave his core away, turned to demonic cultivation only out of desperation, fought in a war to keep them safe, was then his reputation was destroyed and he was painted to be enemy of the cultivation world, then cast out and not listened to when he rescued the Wen remnants.

He had children of his own! He was one of the blessed few males who could carry and cultivate children and he had bore two lan heirs and was now carrying a third. He had been right all along when he accused them of defeating Wen Ruohan only to cement another tyrant as their leader. He tried his hardest to protect his family broken apart by war and politics, he had left one family to keep them safe and now he was unable to provide for his current family. He was so starved that he could not even produce milk for his baby.

He could not even provide basic necessities such as food or adequate housing for his family, yet he continued to do his best. He was not the evil, wicked monster; they were the ones who had turned their back on the truth and had allowed innocents to be captured and imprisoned.

Lan Wangji had fallen into his chair, looking visibly dazed. Tears lining his eyes as he processed what he heard and saw.

‘Wei Ying loves me. He is dying. We have two children and he is pregnant with our third. He did not even want me to sleep with him a third time and He has refused to let me see my children. He knows we are married and actively chose it. He was raped and he is dying. He has always loved me. He thinks I wanted to imprison him in Gusu, I just wanted him to be safe.’

Lan Qiren marched up and slapped him hard, breaking him out of his musings. Shocked, the room fell deathly silent and waited to see what Lan Qiren had to say, the man who notoriously despised Wei Wuxian.   

“You! I raised you better than that! You married Wei Wuxian, and then refused to acknowledge it, without even asking him or telling him you were marrying him? You let him suffer and never helped him? You slept with him three times, impregnated him three times but never followed through on your duties as a spouse and father? If you hated him that much, you could have gotten it annulled immediately, but no, my coward of a nephew had to refuse even that courtesy to the one he married.

Now, you have fathered two children and left them to struggle in that wasteland, leaving your spouse pregnant with your third child that he did not even want, and your actions are now probably going to take the only parent they have known away from them?! You only slept with him when drunk?! How do you know that you did not force yourself on him and he wanted these children?! Wei Wuxian is more honorable than I thought to not expose your dishonorable actions to the world.

I am ashamed of you Lan Wangji. If you loved him, you would have told him and supported him, not this apathy that you have exhibited. You will be punished for this reprehensible behavior. You will apologize to both Yunmeng Jiang and Wei Wuxian, provided he is still alive when we get there and you will do everything they demand to make amends for your actions.

By the paperwork, Young master Wei has divorced you and married his brother in an attempt to protect himself and his children from you. If Young Master Wei chooses to maintain his divorce you, you will do so; if he chooses to remarry you, it will be on his terms. Provided, of course, he survives to be able to. If not, then you will respect his decision about your children as you have no say in this as you failed in your duties as a spouse.”

Grandmaster Lan nearly shouted, looking absolutely furious, Lan Xichen looking both shocked, heartbroken, and understanding of the situation. Turning to the Jiangs, Lan Qiren bowed.

“On behalf of the Lans, I formally apologize to the Jiangs for Lan Wangji’s conduct regarding your brother. Any reparations demanded will be met with.” Jiang Wanyin returned the bow and nodded in response, still trying to gather his bearings after the emotional viewing. 

“And, you, Lan Xichen.” Lan Qiren snapped, continuing to where his other nephew was. “You are so weak minded that you just go with the flow of things, appeasing your mind that you did your best rather than upset the peace to stand up for justice. You knew about who Young Master Wei had rescued, yet you did nothing other than protest an outright siege of the Burial mounds.

When the rescue from Qiongqi Path occured, instead of investigating, playing inquiry for the spirits there, you simply accepted what your ‘A’Yao’ said without any demure. You didn’t push for both sides of the story to be heard, but merely lamented over Young Master Wei’s tragic slide from the honorable orthodox path and his obvious association with the ‘wicked wen-dogs’.

You have no spine and willingness to do what is right no matter the hardships. In this matter you are just as bad as your brother. You pick and choose what is ‘righteous’ enough for you to fight over. The lives of countless innocents is not worth the trouble, yet any belittling words towards your precious sworn brother are met with your utmost defense and anger. You are a weak, naive coward who believes that everyone is good and will not accept the fact that people can lie, manipulate, and use your trust against you. 

You will also apologize to the Jiangs for this situation. As the Lan Sect Leader and Wangji’s brother, you knew something was going on between them just as much if not more than everyone else, yet you did not try to ease Wei Wuxian’s burdens, you did not reach out to him and help him or try to figure out what caused this radical change in behavior. You went along with the flow and now people have died, your brother’s husband is dying with an unborn child in his womb all because you could not stand for justice.

What a righteous sect we have. It is clear that our rules have done us no good service as if they did, this would not have occurred. When we arrive back at the Cloud recesses, I will be taking over temporary leadership while you and Wangji, with the help of other pure-hearted cultivators, go over the original rules and what Lan An wanted for us. Then you will draft a new set of rules based on your findings and present it to the counsel who will be receptive to hearing that and this lack of virtue and strength will not happen again. You may believe in the goodness of the world but do not let it cloud your judgment.”

Lan Xuchen looked shame-faced and bowed somberly, it was plain as day to see where he went wrong but he had trusted A’Yao, A’Yao wouldn’t lie to him, right? But it had been shown that he did lie to him about who was in those camps and what was happening. Shufu’s counsel was good and going over the rules to bring them back to what they needed to be was for the definite benefit of the Sect.

“Nie Mingjue!” Grandmaster Lan said furiously, rounding on the Nie Sect Leader. “Your father would be ashamed of you. Lao Nie always stood with justice, even if it was for his worst enemy. Not only have you advocated for the extermination of the Wens, you turned against a struggling boy cultivating the same poison your clan does.

How righteous the Nie are! You how claim to be so righteous and noble turned a deaf ear to the torture and murder of innocents, condemned their only protector for cultivating resentment while you cultivate something remarkably similar, but you have the gall to be unapologetic about it. If you were a citizen with the name ‘Wen’ and you didn’t participate in the war, only to be herded into a labor camp for the single crime of having ‘Wen’ as your name, what would you think of the ‘righteous cultivating world’?

Instead of treating the non cultivators and innocents with justice and fairness, you are unfairly biased against them. You even have the gall to treat your own brother poorly and belittle him publicly because he refuses to cultivate using methods that will eventually cause him to qi deviate. You refuse to listen to his counsel and support him in his belief that Wei Wuxian is right and you could be wrong.

Nie Huiasang is an intelligent and capable young man who is unable to utilize his skills and knowledge because he is continually undermined at every turn. He could ease your burden as a sect leader, help you with administration, with politics, and even help you work out a solution to your cultivation problem, but you look down on him and his abilities simply because he does not excel at cultivating. He is your brother, someone you should support and help rather than belittle his talents and pursuits. You lack the willingness to see things for any other perspective than your own which is more damned than your unfounded anger.

And you, Jiang Wanyin. You push people away by your words and actions, then get angry when they actually leave. Yes, Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan treated you and your siblings poorly; belittling your sister for her poor cultivation without helping her be successful, comparing you with your brother and every other prominent young cultivator or simply ignoring your existence, and abusing your brother because he is naturally gifted and the son of someone they hated or putting him on a pedestal to motivate you to become better.

However, that does not change your weaknesses. Instead of standing up against your mother’s abuse you choose to let it influence your behavior towards your brother. Yes, you love him, but you are angry at him for being better than you and have malice in your heart towards him. You could have supported your brother during the war when he needed it the most but no, you had to keep hounding him and not giving him the support and help he needed. You choose to listen to faulty peer pressure and that led to the situation we are currently in. Tell your brother to choose between doing right or folding to your whims?

Wei Wuxian and I have never got along, but at least I never made him choose between doing the right thing and doing what would be better for me. You alienated the person who has supported you to the best of your ability while trying to do the right thing whereas you did what was best for you. Instead of using your anger as a way to bring justice and righteousness to the world, you use it to suit you best. 

And you, Jin Zixuan, are you living with your head in the clouds, or maybe buried in the dirt?! You are the heir to the Lanling Jin Clan, yet you do not know what your despicable father is doing or how atrocious your clan members behave?

You willfully choose to not be involved in politics or the running of the Jin Clan and thus people have suffered and died. You knew, everyone knew how promiscuous your father was and how unmoral his actions were, how they shamed your mother and were hurting others, yet you did nothing. You have been of age for several years yet you have done nothing to rectify the wrongs your clan has committed.

You could have taken over as Clan leader with the support of many at the age of 18, yet you choose to continue to live in luxury, letting your father, stepbrother, and cousin commit atrocities without doing anything to stop them. You could have promoted the virtues to this den of vipers yet you choose to be spineless and do nothing.

You even publicly insulted your fiance simply because you were dissatisfied with her? Young Mistress Jin is a noble, kind-hearted young lady who does her best with what abilities she has to do good. Your aloofness and laziness has caused the death of many and irreversible harm to others.

I am ashamed of all of you in this room. You are supposed to be virtuous cultivators who strive for the betterment of others, to help the commoners, not squabble over wealth and power like common thugs. I have held my peace for many years striving to make the world a better place hoping that you would get your heads out of the sand, but this has gone on long enough.

Because of your greed, selfishness, lack of empathy and kindness, and pride people have died and others are dying. The common people have no faith in the Sects to help them, rather they look for the rogue cultivators to help them as they know that the rogues will help them without demanding an exorbitant fee and will do a good job. I refuse to sit back and do nothing to fix this mess that you all have created.

You will and must meditate on what you have seen and what is in your hearts. If you cannot put your pride, your greed, your pettiness aside and work for the betterment of all, then what right do you have to be called a cultivator? You all condemned an innocent boy for doing the right thing, and condemned innocent people based on their names. I suggest you reflect on your behavior and the reality of what your actions have done. Now, the Lans and I will be heading to the burial mounds to provide whatever help that can be done to aid them.” 

For a second time, the room was in stunned silence, mediating over sharp, yet truthful words of Grandmaster Lan. Grandmaster Lan was furious, he had always dreamed of righting the wrongs within his own clan and working towards bettering the cultivation world, but his brother who supported his desires married a woman who killed their teacher in self-defense and no one would listen to her side of the story or to him. With his brother and sister-in-law in forced seclusion, he realized that he would have to wait until he had more support to bring about the changes he desired.

Now that Lan Xichen was Sect Leader with the support of the elders, he could bring about the positive changes he desired. Maybe now the changes he wants to see done in the world would happen. However, the only thing he wanted to do was to get to the burial mounds and try to save Wei Wuxian. His grandnephew and niece deserved to live with their mother alive and well and his unborn grandniece/nephew deserved to survive, to live to see the light of day, to meet his/her siblings.

He wanted to, no he needed to save these innocents, bring the life back to the exuberant boy who had exasperated him with his brilliance and brightened everyone's lives even when they didn’t want it.

Well, he also couldn't deny that he loves little children and has been longing for some grandnieces/grandnephews to spoil. And if those children came with Wei Wuxian, he wouldn't complain, his thoughts already wandering towards how many sweets is too many.

Chapter Text

Jin Zixuan, the newly instated sect leader of LanLing Jin, immediately rose to his feet, pulling Jiang Yanli with him and bowing quickly. “Thank you for your counsel Grandmaster Lan, I will reflect on it and make appropriate changes to my character and behavior. If you don’t mind, we will join you, and I will do everything to assist those unfortunate people injured by my father’s orders.” Jiang Yanli nodded and hurried off to gather supplies needed for the trip. 

Nie Mingjue nodded resolutely, “As Sect Leader Jin said, thank you for your counsel and advice. I have definitely made many mistakes that need rectification. Thank you for your support Sect Leader Jin. It will be much appreciated. I have sent Huiasang out to get supplies to bring with us and he will meet us at the gates. I suggest that only the major sects go with as many healers as we can round up on such notice and our disciples so as to not overwhelm the wen remnants and be able to maximize our abilities to help, if that sounds good. The rest of you can wait here for news until we return.” Jiang Wanyin nodded and bowed his agreement with both Nie Mingjue and Jin Zixuan’s statements, obviously reflecting on his behaviors. On leaving Glamourous Hall, they were met by Nie Huiasang and a couple of disciples carrying qiankun pouches. 

“I have bought as much medical supplies, food, clean clothing, blankets, and other necessities as I could get at such a short notice. Are we ready to leave, Da-ge?” He asked. 

“Yes, once Young Madame Jin and the healers we have sent for have arrived, we will set out.” Moments later Jiang Yanli arrived followed by two cultivator maids carrying supplies and the healers sent for. With Jin Ling swaddled and securely held in Jiang Cheng’s arms so Jiang Yanli could ride with her husband, they set out.

. . . . . . .

Hours later they reached Yiling and landed at the base of the burial mounds. Jiang Wanyin stepped forward and the wards shimmered brightly, refusing admittance to all. Chifeng-Zun raised Baxia to strike the wards but Jiang Yanli held up her hand. Stepping forward, she lightly knocked on the wards, and then waited calmly. Moments later, Wen Ning the fearsome ghost general appeared. 

Jiang Yanli bowed and said, “Good evening, Young Master Wen. There have been some revelations about the circumstances around Wei Wuxian and the survivors A'Xian brought here. We brought food and supplies and would like to help. I heard A'Xian was sick, please let us in and allow us to help, please let me see me brother.” She said, bowing, prompting the rest to bow as well. 

Lan Qiren stepped forward as well and said, “There are things we have discovered about Young Master Wei’s relationship with Gusu Lan and it appears that there are many clarifications and apologies due in this disastrous situation. We wish to offer restitutions and hope to permanently move you all out of the burial mounds. We brought food and medicine and supplies for your immediate needs.” He finished with a bow. 

“Y-You promise not to a-attack us? Xian-Ge is dying and we all need s-supplies d-desperately, but I won’t let you through if you are going to hurt us or Xian-Ge. It might be too late for Xian-Ge but if you have any food and medicine, it will save the children and the elderly.” Wen Ning stuttered out, bowing deeply. “D-Do I have your words not to harm us? If you harm anyone, I will protect them and I don’t want to h-hurt anyone.” He said, waiting for a response. 

“We agree, Young Master Wen.” Jiang Yanli replied firmly. “Please let us in and take me to my brother.” Wen Ning nodded and raised the wards, allowing them entrance. “The cultivators entered cautiously, following their guide closely, wary of getting lost in the treacherous terrain surrounding them. As they approached the settlement, horror struck the cultivators at the sight; it was even worse in person than what they had seen. Wen Qing was seen to leave the cave and hurry towards them. 

“What are they doing here A'Ning? A-Ying is dying and other than you, there is no other protection for anyone else.” Wen Qing hissed quietly, however the qi enhanced hearing of many of the cultivators enabled them to overhear the conversation.

“They brought f-food and m-medicine and s-supplies with them. It might help Xian-Ge to recover.” he whispered back. She huffed and turned to face them. 

“The medicine, food and supplies will be very helpful. If you brought any competent healers with you, I need them to help me with Wei Wuxian, who is currently dying. The rest of you can make yourselves useful by preparing food and helping tend to the rest of the people. Bring the medical supplies into the cave and someone start boiling lots of water. Young Madame Jin, you and Jin Ling can come with me into the cave as you will be needed. Nie Huiasang, you are in charge of everything and you know where everything is. If there is a chance to save A-Ying, it needs to happen fast. We will be discussing why you all had a sudden change of heart once I stabilize A-Ying.” She ordered briskly, marching back towards the cave, Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling, the other healers and a couple disciples carrying medical supplies trailing after her. With an eye roll at the stunned expressions on the rest of the groups’ faces, Nie Huiasang promptly began ordering the remaining cultivators around.

“Nie Fai, Nie Chan, Nie Qin, start building fires to heat up water. Nie Feng, Da-Ge, Er-Ge, Nie Zongzhui, and Jiang-xiong go and bring back more wood. Jin Zixuan and your cultivators will be under Granny Wen’s and Uncle Forth’s discretion and will help with the preparing the food and distributing the supplies. The rest of you Jiang cultivators, half of you assemble the four wooden bathtubs I bought and the rest of you go and fetch water and heat it up so that these poor people can have baths. The rest of you Lans can divide your attention between helping bandage any injuries these poor people have, playing cleansing, and assisting with anyone else that needs help.” Nie Huiasang ordered sharply, breaking everyone out of their daze. Still somewhat in shock at the turn of events, everyone promptly did as they were bidden, surprised at the core of steel that Nie Huiasang possessed. 

A shichen of time passed before one of the healers rushed out of the cave, startling everyone. “I need strong cultivators who have not taxed their cores to come and give qi infusions immediately.” He shouted, panic clear in his voice. Jiang Wanyin, Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, Jin Zixuan, Lan Wangji, and surprisingly Lan Qiren hurriedly followed the healer back into the cave. There was blood everywhere. In one corner, Jiang Yanli sat with Jin Ling and A-Yu asleep in her arms, and A-Yuan asleep with his head on her lap a silencing talisman shimmering around them. On the other side of the cave, Wen Qing and two other doctors were spattered in blood, sharp knives in their hands as they tried to lance wounds and stitch a sedated Wei Wuxian back together. It was clear they were running into problems.  

“I have been informed that you all somehow know about Wei Wuxian’s missing core. I have theorized a way to restore it but it will take a lot of qi from all of you and possibly drain your cores; actually, I will need more cultivators than this for it to work. Are you willing?” She asked, her eyes never leaving her patient. At their affirmatives, she continued,

“Are there any other strong cultivators willing to donate qi? This is probably the only way to save A-Ying. If so, go fetch them immediately. Hurry. When you are back, I will explain the procedure to you. Grandmaster Lan, if you could please start feeding A-Ying your qi, focus on slowly cleansing the resentment from his meridians, and then continuing to remove the resentment from his body. Focus on healing the damage to his meridians and dantian from the resentment as that will make the procedure hopefully work.” She said sharply. Grandmaster Lan sank down next to Wei Wuxian and, taking his wrist, started to gradually do as the doctor said. 

A faint gasp escaped him as he reached the empty dantian and he discovered the true extent of damage done by the resentment. Wen Qing frowned severely at him and he redoubled himself to his task, slowly but steadily cleansing the poor boy’s meridians and healing the damage. 

‘This poor boy has suffered so much, some at my hands, some due to the lack of seeing the obvious and helping him, and some due to things out of his control. I will help him, he deserves better.’ Lan Qiren thought. Wei Wuxian started whimpering in his needle-induced slumber due to painful cleansing and healing of his damaged meridians. 

He could feel the baby in the womb eagerly pulling in his qi, clearly having been in desperate need of both qi and nutrients. He sighed again, thinking of how this child was created and the suffering Wei Wuxian went through afterwards.  

“Don’t give any to the womb.” Wen Qing snapped. “It is affecting A-Ying and lowering his chance of survival. We will be lucky if we can keep him alive even at the loss of the baby. If this works and we can save A-Ying, then we will focus on saving the baby.” Lan Qiren nodded and focused on not permitting the baby to take any more qi. 

It broke his heart to be in this situation once again, last time he was not able to save his sister-in-law or her unborn child. ‘This time, this time I am stronger and I will save them.’ he vowed to himself. Moments later, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangj returned with three of their strongest cultivators, Nie Mingjue returned with Nie Zongzhui and two other cultivators, Jiang Wanyin returned with four Jiang cultivators who had survived the massacre, and Jin Zixuan returned with Luo Qingyang and one other female cultivator. Wen Qing gave them all an appraising look.

“Alright, here is the procedure. I need Zewu-Jun to copy Grandmaster Lan and feed qi directly into Wei Wuxian’s meridians on the other side. The goal is to cleanse the resentment and to heal the damages to both his meridians and hopefully his dantian. 

Then, I need two lan cultivators to feed qi to Grandmaster Lan and Zewu-Jun to bolster them. Do not feed any qi to the womb at all, saving A-Ying is top priority before we can focus on the unborn child.” She said, nodding at Lan Xichen who knelt down on Wei Wuxian’s other side to begin the process. Like Lan Qiren, he looked shocked at how damaged his meridians were and by how much pain he must have been in.

“Then the rest of you will form a circle around us, each of you feeding this array. Once the array has started, you will begin meditating, bringing the tips of the fingers on one hand together to form a smaller circle, and then start sharing qi. 

You will share your qi in a circular pattern to the person to your right, imitating the movements of your core. As you continue sharing your qi, you will start gathering up more and more qi at your fingertips and when I say so, you will release as much qi into the array as you can without completely depleting your core. 

During this process, the qi should start to coalesce together in the small circle formed by your fingers forming a new core. Then I will guide the newly formed core back into an incision I will make over his dantian and will reconnect it with his meridians. At that point both Grandmaster Lan and Zewu-Jun need to pour as much qi as possible into A-Ying and help him rotate his core and fight off the resentment holding him together. 

You both can focus your qi on healing any injuries you find after the core has taken hold. The healers will focus on healing his current injuries and any injuries that become visible after the resentment is gone while I focus on his new core and then the baby. Is that clear? Alright, those of you not directly feeding qi to A-Ying, begin meditating in a circle around us as you begin the process.” She ordered turning back to her patient to begin the surgery. 

A chorus of “Yes, Wen Daifu'' arose as everyone set about their tasks. Minutes slipped by like water as Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren, supported by their two companions, worked on cleansing Wei Wuxian meridians and dantian, while healing as much damage as possible. 

The damage was extensive and they had just started working on healing his dantian when Wen Qing asked them how far along they were. Slipping out of his semi-meditative state, Lan Xichen suddenly noticed the immense power generated by those feeding the array around them. It illuminated the cave as if the sun was condensed overhead. 

“Ah, Ah, we, uh, are just starting to heal the dantian, Wen Daifu.” Lan Xichen stuttered, momentarily losing focus on his qi.

“Don’t lose focus!” Wen Qing snapped angrily. “Tell me once you are done. The rest of you, gradually start increasing the amount of qi you are channeling into the forming core. It is almost time.” Minutes later, Lan Qiren nodded at Wen Qing who was using her needle to stem the bleeding from the surgical incision she made for the new core. 

“Everyone, close your eyes! Now release the qi!” Wen Qing shouted, a sudden surge of qi bursting through the cave. Even behind his closed eyes, Lan Xichen could see the bright flash of light as the new core was formed. A series of thumping sounds made him open his eyes as he saw everyone in the circle fall to the floor, their qi nearly depleted, several bleeding from their noses or other orifices. His eyes flickered to the open incision where Wen Qing was working desperately, trying to connect a bright golden ball glowing in his once empty dantian to his meridians. 

“Pour your qi into him and start circulating it through his core!” Wen Qing sounded frantic. “He’s not spinning it, you need to do that otherwise his body will reject the core!” The franticness of the tone made Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji sit up in worry while Wen Qing worked. 

Agonizing minute after agonizing minute passed until suddenly, Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren felt the core start moving on its own, the core started changing where they were directing their qi to the more dangerous injuries. A sigh of relief was heard and someone murmured that the core was accepted but it was hard to tell who. 

They continued to pour their qi into Wei Wuxian’s broken body, setting broken bones, reattaching torn flesh and muscles, piecing damaged organs back in place. The cold feel of Wen Qing’s qi could be felt guiding their qi to heal the damage. A sharp exclamation was heard as Wen Qing swayed lightly, before one of the other healers gave her qi. 

Lan Xichen gasped. His qi was cocooning the unborn baby and he could feel the weak, trembling pulse of qi; it felt like he was cradling the baby in his palms. He could feel the struggle of life happening and instinctively poured his qi there to protect the fragile life at his fingertips. With a jolt of satisfaction, the flickering life source strengthened and he felt it stabilize. Time passed and finally Wen Qing gave the signal to stop with the current qi transfusions.

“Stop the qi transfusions. A-Ying is momentarily out of danger. He needs rest and nutrition” Wen Qing said, rising to her feet, before looking around the room shocked. She, Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren and only 2 of the healers remained upright. The cultivators were all passed out, slumped where they had stood from the massive qi depletion. Jiang Yanli was dozing in the corner holding both babies with A-Yuan curled up sleeping at her side. 

“I would get some rest if I were you.” She said to Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. “The Lan healer will be woken to take care of A-Ying and the rest of us will get some rest. Please eat something before you sleep. I am sure Huiasang has food prepared as well as someplace for you to rest. A'Ning will watch over him and alert us if anything happens.Thank you for your help.” And with a deep bow, she turned and stumbled towards the entrance of the cave where Nie Huisang was waiting. As she left the cave, she was startled by how much resentment had been cleansed. ‘How did this happen?’ She wondered as Huiasang hurried towards her. 

“Wen Qing! How is Wei-xiong? How is everyone else? What was the big explosion of qi? It cleansed and reduced the resentment present by half. We thought it might be a qi deviation, but the qi didn’t feel the same so we weren’t sure.” Huiasang rambled. ‘Ah, now I understand.’ Wen Qing thought. 

“A-Ying is fine, I tried that theory I told you about I created for forming a new core and it worked. A-Ying has a new golden core! Well, he has a dual core. The great reduction in resentful energy was him cleansing the resentful energy back to its original state, yin energy and using it to fuel the formation of a dual, yin and yang, core. 

Everyone else is for the most part passed out from the massive amounts of qi they donated. They all just need some rest. Send some of the disciples in there to quietly and carefully remove those passed out and bring them out here so when they wake up, they don’t disturb A-Ying. Now, I am going to sleep. Do not disturb me unless there is any change in A-Ying’s condition. We will discuss what happened and what the plans for the future look like once we have all had some rest.”