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Chapter Text

Chapter One

A Prayer Answered with a Curse

Help .

She didn’t dare use any more exertion, not even to scream. All she could muster was her mind, her thoughts to plead with any and all listening deities. 

Help me, God. Any god. Universe? If I don’t address the right one, I’m sorry!

The street loomed below, a fall of at least five stories, probably more. She couldn’t entirely remember how many flights she’d raced up. 

I swear if you keep me alive, I’ll be a better person.  

One broken street light flickered in the distance. Not close enough to illuminate the small, struggling figure hanging off the tower. 

Not that there was anyone here anymore. Everyone had left, and she wished it was because they hated her, but really it was because they forgot, and that hurt more. 

“Of course, no one cares about the bitch, anyways.” She echoed her peers from earlier. But in her panic, she actually spoke aloud. 

And no one responded.

She was all alone. Jasmine Jones’ mind whirled with names, each one more panicked than the last. Jesus? Allah? Krishna? 

Zues? Hera, I won’t sleep with your husband! 

Xie Lian??? Jun Wu?! 

Whomever the fuck is up there, I swear I’m sorry! I’ll do anything! I’ll learn who you are! Just don’t let me die!

No one else could help her, unless praying actually worked, and Jasmine had always been a skeptic, and by skeptic we mean someone who so strongly yearned for magic or spirituality or any sort of reassurance that everything was not as it seemed, she didn’t dare believe it. 

And yet. For a moment, she felt her arms strengthen, as if a holy spirit had possessed her body. She was able to pull herself halfway up, to grab for the railing. Raw hope bloomed in her heart, alongside a wonder if her prayer had actually worked.

Which god was she supposed to serve again?

Jasmine pushed those thoughts from her mind for the moment, squinting at the railing that wasn’t completely rusted into nothingness, slowly, slowly reaching for it.  

And then, horror of horrors, a spider with a violet underbelly crawled across the rusted metal.

It was instinct. She jerked.

Her fingers slipped.

No – I can’t die from a spider – this has got to be a joke –

She teetered for only a second – felt the hinge snap off the railing she had been clinging to – yet still, for a second she had hope, for a second she wasn’t surrendered to death – and then she plummeted towards the earth below.

Jasmine screamed, louder and louder, because like hell was she submitting to death with dignity. 

A shuddering crack, like lightning but hotter, stronger, angrier, surged up from her feet to the top of her head as she struck the ground. 

Her brain felt like it exploded into light, completely dissociating from whoever and wherever she was. 

Her last thought as Jasmine Jones was that the first thing she would do, if death was not the end, was spit in the face of whatever god had abandoned her. 

She felt entirely numb, as if she no longer had a body. As if she was space and time herself. 

The first voice to pierce the darkness was mechanical enough that she initially assumed she had, against all probability, survived and been transported to a futuristic hospital. [Activation Code: “Xie Lian.” System triggered].

[How may I address you?].

Jasmine’s eyes flew open. She’d have to take in the sight of her broken body at some point, right? 

She was floating through virtual space. The voice came from, well, everywhere. 

I didn’t picture God sounding like Google Translate , she thought bitterly. 

[We welcome your entrance into the system. This system is based on the developing concept of redeeming unlikeable characters. We hope to provide you with the best experience possible. It is our sincere hope that during the course of your experience, you can achieve what you desired. To transform an evil stereotype into a multi-dimensional character in accordance to your wishes. We pray for your happiness].

 Though she was surrounded by nothing but a voice, Jasmine felt herself beginning to spin and spin and spin. Her years of cheerleading had rendered her invulnerable to most motion-sickness, but this was about to be the exception. 

And then she stumbled, and felt herself plunging downwards again.

Great, was this all a hallucination on her way to death? No, hadn’t she struck the bottom already? She remembered the pain, as momentary as it had been.

And then someone grabbed her wrist. She jerked so hard she felt her spine crack. 

Spittle flew from her mouth, onto the cheek of a young man who dangled even below her.

“How dare you strike my woman?!” A young man in red robes emblazoned with fire and sun motifs held the dangling man, who looked quite pitiable. His complexion was ashen, his face thin and his cheeks bruised. 

She looked up, because this was Mo Dao Zu Shi , that Chinese anime – and novel, and manga, and audio drama, and live-action – she’d been binging in secret.

Truthfully, Jasmine was familiar enough with culture to know it wasn’t an anime, but a donghua, nor a manga, but a manhua. But she feigned ignorance over Chinese culture to avoid any more jokes about her status as an international adoptee in a very, very white part of the United States. As her parents had the ignorance to name her Jasmine, she already stood out as the stereotype she didn’t want to be. Her fellow cheerleaders and football players would never stop nicknaming her “Mulan” if they knew she was into what they dismissed as “Asian” culture. 

Jasmine gulped at the sight of an imposing man holding her wrist – evidently Wen ZhuLiu. With one hand he hauled her up, back onto his sword, and held her while the young man taunted their victim.

While Wen Chao taunted the untamed hero, Wei WuXian. 

While no character looked precisely as they had been drawn, they remained instantly recognizable. Wen ZhuLiu, Wen Chao, and Wei WuXian all seemed like combinations of their two-dimensional and live action characters, as if they had been combined to form a ‘real’ person. 

She looked to the red mark on her chest, which didn’t look like hers at all. For starters, while Jasmine loved low-cut tops, she often got away with school dress codes by having a small figure. 

And, judging from the forming bruise, Jasmine realized that even without his core, Wei WuXian had hit her hard enough to kill.

[System activation successful! Binding your role: Mistress to Second Master Wen, of Wen Sect, originally from Yingchuan, Wang Lingjiao. Weapon: branding iron. Starting B Points: 100].

This isn’t the Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System ! she thought in panic. She had to be dying, or in a coma. This wasn’t real, because for starters, Jasmine was not lucky enough for transmigration to exist, and for second, she was not unlucky enough to be placed as the most odious character from the entire story. 

Sure, she could be a bit of a bitch, and a bitter nerd had even called her a bully once, but she wasn’t that far gone.

Is this a joke?!

“Look at the dark air.” Wen Chao wore a grotesque grin. “Tsk tsk tsk, such strong resentful energy.”

[This is not a joke. You are now bound to the account ‘Wang LingJiao.’ Do you prefer JiaoJiao or LingJiao?]

Jasmine ! She’d always hated her name, but now that some half-assed hallucinated system wanted to take it, Jasmine was gonna cling to her name with every ounce of stubbornness she had.

[Name not found. Please try again].

Fuck you!

[Ten points awarded for being in-character].

Jasmine almost screamed, but the System would likely consider that in-character, too.  

Wen Chao prattled on, indulging his sadism. “Even Wen Sect couldn’t help this place. We could only prevent people from going in. And you know what, this is still daytime. At night, now, anything can exist here. When a living person enters, neither their body and soul return for all eternity.” 

He was speaking Mandarin. Jasmine had had just enough classes in high school to recognize the language. She had struggled with different tonations, and, coupled with her teasing classmates, had quickly dropped the course to sign up for Spanish like almost everyone else. 

So how could she understand now? Was this also part of the System? Was she suddenly fluent? Were dreams ever so detailed they knew a foreign language? 

[As the plot progressives, there will be many point-giving missions opened. Please ensure that the points never drop below zero. Otherwise, the system will automatically deport you back to your original world]. 

There is no way this is real! She was hallucinating some combination of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Mo Dao Zu Shi! 

Wen Chao ripped at Wei WuXian’s hair and cackled with glee. “And you! You won’t be able to get out for all eternity either!”

Wait! As disoriented as she felt, Jasmine realized that this was it. The moment Wei WuXian was hurled into the Yiling Burial Mounds. Even if this was a dream or a hallucination, she might as well try to save him!

Grab his hand ! She tried to lunge forward, only to have the voice in her head grow excruciatingly loud. 

[Warning: Option “Saving Wei WuXian” is currently unavailable. It is a violation of character. OOC cannot be unfrozen at present]. 

Are you fucking kidding me ?! Then why am I here? I’ve already burned Lotus Pier, killed Madame Yu and Jiang FengMian, tortured Jiang Cheng and branded Wei WuXian! If I do this, I’m damned! Jasmine – now JiaoJiao – shrieked, just desperate enough to play along with this fake system.

But despite her desires, the system kept her frozen in Wen ZhuLiu’s firm grip.

And Wei Wuxian was already falling, falling down to the YiLing Burial Mound.

Her stomach churned. 

You brought me back at the point where all hope is gone !

In despair – because JiaoJiao was already past the point of redemption, obviously, and everything was hopeless – she did the only thing the System would allow a weak, spiteful women to do: she pretended to faint. 

“Wen ZhuLiu, we must head back to Wen Pier,” oozed Wen Chao’s greasy voice.

“Yes.” Wen ZhuLiu seemed about as talkative as Lan WangJi, though JiaoJiao would have infinitely preferred the latter’s company.

“How hard did he hit her? That bastard,” cursed Wen Chao. 

JiaoJiao tried not to shiver at his fingers examining her chest. Stay unconscious, stay unconscious.

“He didn’t use spiritual energy. She will recover,” said Wen ZhuLiu.

At that, JiaoJiao bit her tongue. Aren’t you supposed to be smart? Also, I literally died, but okay.  

“Give her to me,” snapped Wen Chao, and to her disgust, she found herself cradled in the arms of that obnoxious prick. 

“You’ll be okay, JiaoJiao,” he cooed, and she briefly considered throwing him off his sword. Except Wen ZhuLiu would surely A) catch him and B) kill her. 

Sword travel felt like flying on a skateboard, and JiaoJiao couldn’t help but resent that her eyes had to be closed through most of it. If she was gonna die by stuffing a chair leg down her throat and through her internal organs, she might as well enjoy flying first.

Fuck Wen Chao for being Wen Chao. Ruining everything.

Gradually, whether from her exhausting frustration, or her prevailing belief that she must be dreaming in a coma anyways, JiaoJiao fell asleep.

The soft scent of a candle drifted into her nostrils, gradually intensifying until she stirred awake. 

Opening her eyes, JiaoJiao saw a small, dainty room of light wood. Crickets hummed in the evening outside, in symphony with a gentle lapping sound, like waves upon a lakeshore. One candle burned at the side of her bed, which bore two silk pillows and a canopy of pink gauze. 

All very...fantastical.

Not a hospital.

All very...vivid for a dream. 

Cursing, she sat up and took in her surroundings. The window was surrounded by a lotus motif carved into the wood.

System, this isn’t funny anymore. Can I go home?

[B points: 110 points. You cannot be deported to your world unless you reach 0 points].

Am I in Lotus Pier?

[It is called Wen Pier now].

WTF. No it isn’t. What, are you on the Wens’ side ? she shot back.

[I am on the side of the story. The present name is officially Wen Pier].

She scoffed and staggered out of bed, only to trip on her robes. 

Hmm. JiaoJiao’s height had never been released, had it? She was quite a bit taller than Jasmine’s four-foot-eleven.

Pursing her lips, JiaoJiao noticed a small bronze mirror lying on a tiny table not far from the candle. Curious, she picked it up to examine her reflection.

Well, she had a prettier face than the donghua JiaoJiao, thankfully. A dark, perfectly round mole rested on the upper corner of her lip, just like the novel had said. Her face was heart-shaped, like the JiaoJiao of The Untamed . Honestly, Jasmine felt she was rather beautiful, which was a change from lamenting her oblong face with a tendency for breakouts. 

Fortunately, her hair lack those two devil horns the donghua had given JiaoJiao, though Jasmine couldn’t help but feel slightly bitter that she’s lost the bangs and reddish lightening she had just used most of her allowance to buy. 

She returned the mirror to its place and looked down at herself. Definitely taller. 

JiaoJiao wore the revealing red robes of the live-action character, though her chest more resembled the character from the donghua. If she weren’t in such a predicament, Jasmine would have been thrilled to have a figure other than ‘tiny and athletic’ at last. 

Of course, then maybe she would have had to deal with disgusting boys far sooner –

Jasmine clapped her hands against her ears, as if that could stop her thoughts. At least his famous nose was probably broken. 

System, can you erase my memories?

[Welcome back, JiaoJiao. I can erase your memories, but this will also erase your knowledge and recognition of this story and change your settings from ‘difficult’ to ‘super difficult.’ This cannot be undone. Are you sure you would like to continue?]

What? No, abort, abort. Who put my difficulty on difficult? Put it on easy! She commanded the system.

[The default setting for JiaoJiao is ‘difficult.’ This cannot be lowered] .

You’re useless , she growled. I’m not smart enough to do anything difficult.  

Jasmine only ever achieved average-to-decent grades in her high school. As soon as she turned eighteen, she had gotten her hair cut instead of registering to vote. She had applied to the same community college as her so-called friends, and planned to spend the next year finding out whatever she wanted to do with her life, and perhaps fighting some more with her parents over her lack of ambition. 

I’m not ambitious enough to be JiaoJiao . She held up her finger as if the System were a real person she was currently arguing against. You should really recast me as someone, anyone else. How about MianMian?

[Luo QingYang has not been killed].

Oh, right. Well, Jasmine had always liked MianMian’s character and wanted her to be happy with her nameless husband and daughter, so she wasn’t about to wish misfortune upon her.

[Luo QingYang is a multidemensional character, unlike Wang LingJiao].

Excuse you, system ?! JiaoJiao balled her hands into fists. JiaoJiao is a poor girl who is barely literate, who exploits her own affair to benefit her family . She’s ambitious AF and a romantic at heart – remember she wanted to be the One for Wen Chao, and that one interesting remark after Wen Chao refuses to punish Wen ZhuLiu? She assures him she cares for him and implies she has no one else to care for! Just because she’s easy to dismiss as a sadistic slut doesn’t mean that’s all she is. 

[Congratulations, JiaoJiao. You have unlocked Level Two of understanding your character].

“What does that mean?” she wondered aloud, while twisting her lips into a sneer.

[Fifty points are awarded for the nuanced understanding of a character you hate] . 

“I am the character right now. How can I hate her?” she snapped. “Shouldn’t you freeze me again for being OOC?” 

Oh. Unless JiaoJiao also hated herself?

Hmm. An interesting development. Then why was JiaoJiao so sadistic and pompous?

Well, why was Jasmine similar in the real world? Not that the funny comments she made to impress her friends should be considered the same as massacring a sect, demanding Wei WuXian’s hand and trying to brand MianMian’s face. But if it was all an act for Jasmine, couldn’t it be the same for Wang Lingjiao? 

She shivered as the door opened, bringing welcome relief to her tumultuous guilt. 

“Maiden Wang.” A maid shuffled forward on her knees.

[Name: unknown. Occupation: maidservant newly hired].  

JiaoJiao waited warily, watching the maidservant shuffle forward. Heavens, that must be murder on her joints. Could any of QiShan Wen’s servants walk without cultivation? 

“Second Master Wen has requested that we let him know whenever you awakened.”

“Where is he?” JiaoJiao did her best to sound bored. As if the servant was beneath her, as if JiaoJiao wasn’t one herself three months ago.

“In the main hall. I will inform him,” began the servant.

“No, no, I’ll go to him.” JiaoJiao had no desire to be alone in a bedroom with Wen Chao. Who knew what kind of fucked-up kinks he would be into? 

“As you please, Maiden Wang.” 

JiaoJiao brushed past the servant, but she couldn't help but stop. And ask, perhaps just to spite the system, “Uh, what is your name?”

The maidservant’s eyes widened slightly. It wasn’t hard to assume that no one in Wen Sect had shown her any interest since she began working for them. “Fang Li, Maiden Wang.”

“Thank you,” said JiaoJiao with a nod. “Fang Li.”

This Mandarin just made sense now, as if she’d spent her entire life speaking it. Thank you, System. I guess.

[We are pleased to provide you with our assistance, JiaoJiao].

JiaoJiao ground her teeth, but tried to give the maid one smile before turning to sweep down the hall.

Unlike the language, she did not automatically understand the layout of Lotus Pier. However, she didn’t need the system or a memory to find the loathsome Second Master of Wen. His whiny voice was loud enough to guide her all on its own. 

A servant opened the door to reveal Wen Chao holding a cup that reeked of ethanol, yelling belligerently at a blank-faced Wen ZhuLiu. 

JiaoJiao’s stomach turned at the smell. Fuck these memories of the real world. If this was a dream, why did she remember that this wasn’t the real world? 

Just pretend this is your life now. It would all be over soon, she promised herself. 

Three months. She had three months to either achieve such a level of goodness that Wei WuXian would spare her life when she hadn’t been able to spare his, or – more likely – drive Wen Chao to abandon her before Wei WuXian reemerged from the Burial Mounds.

[Driving Wen Chao to leave you would not result in JiaoJiao’s salvation. Under such actions, JiaoJiao would not achieve the goal].  

I hate you. 

[Plus ten points for being in-character. Total points: now 160]. 

Motherfu–!

“JiaoJiao, my beloved! You’re awake!” Wen Chao turned to stagger towards her.

She forced a smile onto her face. Right now, she fucking hated her life, but regardless of whether this was real or a dream, she was still grateful she had a life to fucking hate.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

Sleepless Nights in Nightless City 

Wen Chao clung to her arm, squeezing her biceps like he wanted to crush her bones. “My JiaoJiao, I’ve missed you so.” 

His eyes moved straight to her chest. 

No, you’ve missed my two friends, she thought sourly. But the System was already squawking [OOC alert! OOC locked!] .

“And I’ve missed you, too,” squeaked JiaoJiao, internally seizing. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck . Please tell me he’s not going to want to sleep with me.

JiaoJiao needed more information to calculate her next move. System, give me an update on Wen Chao. 

[Please be more specific as to the update you would prefer]. 

You know exactly what it is, mind-reader! How much – I mean – how – turned – how attracted to me – is he?

[Level of Horniness: high]. 

[You have also lost ten points for being internally OOC. Your total B points are now 150].

Die . JiaoJiao opted to avoid kissing his cheek, settling for resting her head on his chest. She pouted at the bottle of wine spilt on the table. “I see you’ve gone and had fun without me.”

“No, no. We’ll have fun with you here, too.” Wen Chao turned back to his wine, dragging her with him. “We’ll celebrate your survival of that pathetic Wei WuXian!”

He patted the seat next to him, and JiaoJiao begrudgingly obeyed. His hands wrapped around her torso like snakes, and she wanted to cry. There was no way she had escaped being felt up by a drunk football player to be felt up by a drunk fictional character. How preposterous. 

Her eyes hardened. She was not giving in that easily, and she wasn’t over-reacting, despite the jeers of her peers or whatever the fuck Wen ZhuLiu was. 

It was settled. She was going to get him black-out drunk until he couldn’t remember his name, much less his dick.

Unfortunately, JiaoJiao reflected as she watched Wen Chao spill the wine he was trying to pour, she herself had never had alcohol. No, she had had one sip last night. That was enough to put her atop the tower, right? 

“Is that all the alcohol you have?” she purred.

“Wen ZhuLiu took the rest.” Wen Chao pointed towards his glorified babysitter, who looked entirely unamused.

Well, that explained the tantrum. JFC. How did anyone ever find this spoiled Wen brat attractive? Money couldn’t cover his personality. 

“Oh, but is he not your servant who answers to you?” JiaoJiao poked Wen Chao’s nose, the way she would if she were flirting with a football player. The way she’d poked Cody, hoping he would leave her alone. “Well, then, let your JiaoJiao serve you, Second Master Wen.”

“How so?” Wen Chao’s hand traveled lower, and JiaoJiao quickly spun away. 

She dropped slowly in front of him, the exact same move that had gotten the cheerleaders reprimanded last fall. Fortunately, Wen Chao was exactly the audience who would appreciate such a move. 

Smoothly taking the wine bottle from his hands, she bent over until her ample chest was displayed and murmured as demurely as she could manage, “Allow me to serve more.”

Wen ZhuLiu looked disappointed, but he would not protest. 

“That’s my good JiaoJiao, always so helpful,” babbled Wen Chao. 

System, find me more wine in Lotus Pier. And water.

She smirked to herself. She would use the same trick she’d used at that stupid party before she’d died. The same trick she’d used throughout most of high school, actually.

[Map accessed. Move down the hall and to the left].

With the system’s help, JiaoJiao quickly found a storage room filled with wine, and fortunately, a few jugs of water. She grabbed three wine jugs, because she would need three for this plan to work, and one water jug, because she did not trust the water from Lotus Lake or whatever it was called.

With a quick glance around the empty, quiet room, JiaoJiao hurried outside. Crouching by a small pool of water, she dumped one of the wine bottles she’d be using into the pond. Sorry, koi .

Lifting the water jug, she refilled her wine jug with water. There. Now she would be sober enough to escape Wen Chao’s advances.

Perhaps, if she could do this every night, this was her redemption path. If Wen Chao was drunk out of his mind, she could smuggle out information like Meng Yao. If she recalled correctly, Jiang Cheng took back Lotus Pier before Wei WuXian’s return, right? Maybe he’d forgive her.

Well, Jiang Cheng and forgiveness weren’t exactly friendly concepts. Maybe if she told him what she knew about Wei WuXian? Maybe he could find out about the golden core sooner?

[The system would like to remind you that your OOC function is frozen]. 

Well, I’ll unfreeze it soon, she vowed as she hurried back to Wen Chao, wondering how much more she had to endure. Or die trying!

“Oh, look how generous she is, getting wine for Wen ZhuLiu, too.” Wen Chao clapped his hands as JiaoJiao served him first, a small but bitter smile on her face.

“Drink, Wen ZhuLiu.” His breath caught as she handed him his wine next, with a shimmy and a giggle.

Wen ZhuLiu did not move.

“Drink. What’s wrong with you? She went through all the trouble to be kind to you after you saved her life today,” snapped Wen Chao. 

Wen ZhuLiu stared at them both.

JiaoJiao perched next to Wen Chao, raising her eyebrows slightly. She poured the water for herself, and raised her cup. 

Wen ZhuLiu looked positively pained. 

“I said drink.” Wen Chao’s voice lowered, and JiaoJiao felt a moment of guilt for only switching out her bottle. After all, she knew what it was like to be pressured into alcohol. 

Why was she the sort of person who would pressure others to do what she didn’t like? Was she that much of a bad person? 

When Wen ZhuLiu finally lifted the china cup to his lips, Wen Chao cheered, but JiaoJiao had to forced herself to giggle.

Wen ZhuLiu was a villain. He deserved it. 

I’m a villain right now, too . And even if she wasn’t a villain internally, she still felt bad. 

In the morning, Wen Chao awoke with a pounding headache and no memory. But JiaoJiao rested snugly beside him, and most of his clothes save his trousers, had been removed. By the first impression, he and JiaoJiao had spent another night in each other’s arms.

He smiled and stretched like a contented cat. 

System? JiaoJiao’s heart pounded. 

[Horniness Level: low].

Thank you, Xie Lian . Since she was in the world of MXTX, JiaoJiao had decided that Xie Lian was her god. If this was real, and though she remained unconvinced, even she had to admit that sleeping within a hallucination would be strange indeed. 

Hopefully Xie Lian could help her find military information stat.

After two nights, however, JiaoJiao still found herself without information. Not because she wasn’t welcome at all of Wen Chao’s discussions, but because he didn’t have military discussions. Indeed, he seemed entirely uninterested. 

Overall, she suspected the Sunshot Campaign had not even officially begun! How exactly was she supposed to save herself in less than three months? 

Well, since she had nothing shady to spy on tonight, she would show mercy for not just herself. And so, when it came time to convince Wen Chao to drink himself into a stupor again, she found herself pouring water for Wen ZhuLiu too. 

Fortunately, he said nothing, nor did the system.

How is this in-character?

[Most would consider swapping water for wine a cruel trick].

I hate you.

Still, after a week, Wen Chao’s Horniness Level was growing higher and higher, even during the mornings, and JiaoJiao was running out of ideas to keep evading him.

Fortunately, that night a letter arrived summoning them back to Nightless City. The Sunshot Campaign had begun.

Nightless City was surrounded by lush green forest, more like the donghua than the live-action. However, the grandeur of the Palace, with its tiled crimson roof and sweeping slopes, was greater than anything she had seen or imagined. 

Butterflies emerged in her stomach from the first sight, and only increased upon stepping inside the palace. Gold trimmed the corners of the room, and JiaoJiao briefly wondered why she was allowed to so much as breathe in here. 

[OOC alert. Your surprise is showing].

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, she thought sassily, if nonsensically. Still, she did her best to paint boredom across her face.  

[Total points: 490. Once your points reach 500, OOC function will be unlocked].

Thank God. JiaoJiao simpered by Wen Chao’s side.

[Take care that you do not spend them all immediately. You will run the risk of losing your place in this world].

Shut up. JiaoJiao’s attention quickly turned to a retinue of serving girls, led by a high-ranking child in a decorated red robe. 

Wen Chao ground his teeth. 

No, wait. As the child glided closer, JiaoJiao saw that she was not a child at all, but a tiny woman was at least as old as she.  

The girl had a cherubic face and almond-shaped eyes. She bowed like a graceful fairy. 

System, who is she ? JiaoJiao asked, though she had a sinking suspicion herself.

[Wen DaiYu, age nineteen. Daughter of Wen Ruohan’s second cousin, first cousin to Wen Qing and Wen Ning. Wife to Wen Chao, and former employer to JiaoJiao herself].

Oh, right. She was the mistress. 

To her surprise, however, the girl seemed just as afraid of JiaoJiao as JiaoJiao was of her. Probably, given her sadistic nature, JiaoJiao had liked to flaunt her relationship with Wen DaiYu’s husband in Wen DaiYu’s face.

“Welcome back to Nightless City. How long will you be here?” The girl’s eyes scanned Wen Chao’s face.

“As long as my father requires,” Wen Chao said impatiently.

“I see.” She nodded before turning to the girl in her husband’s arms. “Wang LingJiao, you are well?”

“I – yes,” stammered JiaoJiao. Shouldn’t this woman be prideful enough not to stoop to speaking terms with the servant who had replaced her at her husband’s side?

[Warning! You are dangerously close to OOC behavior].

“How could I not be fine with Second Master Wen by my side?” She tossed her head and feigned a smile.

[No points are awarded for remaining in-character this time].

Well, fuck you.

[Your trap will not work this time].

Son of a bitch !

Wen DaiYu nodded. There was a trace of disappointment in her tone. “Indeed, you are honored.”

“You don’t have to be at the discussion. I know you find them boring,” Wen Chao said stiffly. 

Wen DaiYu turned to her husband. She dipped her head. “How kind of Second Master Wen.”

“Are you pregnant yet?” His voice was laced with irritation.

JiaoJiao started. Wen ZhuLiu looked at her with a glimmer of suspicion. 

The smile faded from Wen DaiYu’s face. “No, Second Master. Perhaps, if you recall, it was not the correct time –”

“Well, how can I help that? I’m busy trying to keep the cultivation world in line. You’re useless. You were brought here for sons,” snapped Wen Chao.

JiaoJiao sucked in her breath. Oh . 

No human should be treated like a breeding mare. Fuck it. Try and freeze me, system .  “And daughters , of course.”

“Huh?” Wen Chao turned to her.

JiaoJiao had to paste a flirtatious smile on her face to keep the System from scolding her. “Well, daughters are, you know, people too, my dear A-Chao. They can carry on your name and cultivate just as well. Even – even Bitchy Yu was really powerful.” 

“Yes, but women need to learn their place,” said Wen Chao with confusion. Evidently, JiaoJiao had never talked back to him before.

“Yes, but you find women in their place so tiresome, don’t you?” She tapped his cheek with fluttering fingers. “You’re so much smarter than that, A-Chao. You know that a woman loyal to you is not the same as a woman who just submits to you. And you’re wise enough to prefer the latter, so don’t listen to anyone who says women should just submit.” 

Wen ZhuLiu shook his head behind Wen Chao, but she swore she saw a small smile on his lips.

“Imagine Wen women so powerful that even the men of lesser sects must submit to them. Isn’t that how it should be? Wen D – Young Mistress Wen should be similar.” JiaoJiao finished her argument by running her hand down his shoulder. Shameless. In front of his poor wife. To defend his poor wife.

“My JiaoJiao is a deeper thinker that I knew,” said Wen Chao in surprise. 

Fuck, was that intrigue in his eyes?

JiaoJiao shoved aside her panic and smiled again at Wen DaiYu. “You are more powerful than you can possibly imagine, Young Madame Wen.”

Wen DaiYu’s face softened towards her former maid. “Time with Young Master Wen is serving you well.”

JiaoJiao bit her tongue to keep from laughing at the thought.

“We should gather in the discussion hall,” said Wen ZhuLiu.

“Ah, yes. We’re not late, right?” Wen Chao suddenly seemed very nervous. He turned away from Wen DaiYu immediately, and she shrank back before silently leaving.

JiaoJiao watched her go, wishing the System would let her scream, I’ll bite his dick off for you!

Wen Chao held tightly to JiaoJiao once they entered the main hall.  As if he were intimidated and wanted comfort, despite the fact that several dozen Sect Leaders suddenly ceased their chatter simply because he was Wen RuoHan’s son. 

Wen Ruohan had yet to join them, a reminder that they could not start without their all-powerful leader. 

Two smaller thrones were on the left and right of Wen RuoHan’s seat, and Wen Chao led her to the left. To her relief, two smaller seats – one for her and one for Wen ZhuLiu – had also been prepared by his side.

No sooner had she settled, trying to ignore people’s grimaces in her direction, than the door burst open again.

A young man swept towards them without sparing so much as a glance for the other Sect Leaders behind them.

JiaoJiao studied him. The ever-elusive Wen Xu looked very much like his Untamed counterpart, probably because he didn’t have any other depiction, down to the eyes burning with rage. Why he was so angry, she wasn’t sure.

Perhaps he felt envious that his brother had completely conquered a Sect, while he only burned a library – though in her book, she wasn’t sure which was worse. 

Still, both young Wens had let the Sect heirs escape, so JiaoJiao wasn’t too sure why he would think himself better or worse than Wen Chao. He was the heir, right? What did he have to worry about? 

As soon as his eyes met hers, his expression darkened even more. 

Instinctively, she pulled back, and to her surprise and slight dismay, Wen Chao wrapped his arm tighter around her waist.

 “Stay with me, JiaoJiao. Wen Xu won’t bother you,” he consoled her. And his eyes actually held concern.  “Wen ZhuLiu, make sure he doesn’t.”

“Yes, Second Master Wen.” Wen ZhuLiu nodded curtly.

It seemed whatever the circumstances, Wen Xu was not on friendly terms with JiaoJiao. Perhaps he thought her a stain on their family. 

You’re not wrong , she reflected, but you and your brother are stains, too.

Finally, after another ten minutes of waiting, while JiaoJiao insisted on the System naming every Sect Leader present to allay her boredom, Wen RuoHan arrived.

Everyone stood to bow, but he would have been recognizable anyways. From the golden beads in his long hair to his handsome red eyes and slight smirk, he resembled the donghua version of the character.

Besides JiaoJiao, Wen Chao shook slightly. Unlike his son, Wen Ruohan’s smirk wasn’t from overconfidence or pretense. He looked at the gathered sects like a cat surveying its prey, fully aware of its prowess and omnipotence. 

JiaoJiao had not expected this feeling. That if she so much as breathed out of turn, her life might be forfeit.

Why would anyone willingly serve him?! He was fucking terrifying.

However, when he spoke, his voice was almost nonchalant. “Where is Wen Qing?”

What?! She could be meeting Wen Qing today? JiaoJiao cursed silently. 

“She stayed in Yiling, Sect Leader.” A servant walked forward on his knees, a sight to which JiaoJiao could never grow accustomed. “She said that she is not and will never be a fighter, so we had better hold this conference without her.”

Wen RuoHan snorted, as if he was sincerely amused. “How typical.”

JiaoJiao struggled to keep her expression haughty. Whatever Wen Qing’s feelings towards her sect leader were, it seemed Wen RuoHan genuinely respected her.

“If she’s not able to come here, she shouldn’t represent us. Is she not proud to be of Wen Sect?” asked Wen Chao.

“It is not pride, but ability.” Wen ZhuLiu spoke carefully, and Wen RuoHan nodded for him to continue. “Wen Qing is a prominent member of Qishan Wen. But healer may die quickly in battle, and these upstarts will spread the news that they’ve vanquished a strong cultivator as propaganda.”

“It is likely she already understands this, and has chosen to remain where she is useful,” agreed another Sect Leader.

JiaoJiao noted the expression on Wen Xu and Wen Chao’s faces. An uncomfortable suspicion began to grow in her. 

Wen RuoHan almost seemed to favor Wen Qing and Wen ZhuLiu over his sons. 

She almost pitied them.

An idea occurred to her, but it would involve inserting herself in a military discussion she had no right to participate in. Wen Qing really did nothing wrong, and JiaoJiao had always hated her fate. 

Well, she had no right to be in this story, anyhow, but the System was keeping her captive. 

[You have earned 500 points! OOC function is now available! Please try not to overextend yourself]. 

Watch me . JiaoJiao pressed her lips together and cleared her voice. “Wen ZhuLiu, I really must disagree. Propaganda will spread regardless of what we do. If Wen Qing is allowed to defy Sect Leader Wen’s orders, that will be used to suggest Wen Sect is more fractured than it is.”

The hall fell silent.

Wen Chao looked at her with astonishment. Perhaps it was the first time he realized that JiaoJiao was more than tits and an ass. 

“You dare speak?” Wen Xu demanded.

“Silence,” ordered Wen RuoHan. He turned those mesmerizing red eyes back to her. “Continue.”

“I believe it would be better to have her alive than dead,” said Wen ZhuLiu. With respect. He wasn’t trying to shut her up; he was listening. He merely disagreed.

Maybe that was why he was respected. 

JiaoJiao, however, wanted – needed – Wen Qing to be alive. To be in a position where, perhaps, she would be pitiable to the other sects. “On that, I concur with Wen ZhuLiu, and thus, we have two options. Have her join the battles as a healer, or confine her to Nightless City, where she may also heal those who are wounded, but from a safer distance than the front lines. If she is a healer, that may better suit her own principles.”

“Why should we care about her principles?” asked Wen Xu.

“People aren’t loyal unless they’re following a principle of value to them,” she replied. “In the short term, we must crush the other Sects with fear, yes, but in the long term, you’d want them to follow you because they believe in you, not because they are afraid.”

“How naive.” Wen Xu scowled.

Wen RuoHan, however, turns on his son. “Our Sect founder once spoke similarly. Are you a Wen or not?!”

Wen Xu stiffened. JiaoJiao’s stomach twisted. 

When Wen RuoHan turned back to her, however, he seemed calm again. “I agree it is too naive, and you underestimate the power of fear, Maiden. But your words regarding the matter of Wen Qing are well-argued.”

JiaoJiao bowed. “Thank you, Sect Leader Wen.”

When she looked up, Wen Chao was looking at her like a puppy. He did not much like Wen Qing, so he was happy at the idea of some form of confinement. At the same time, he had never seen a mistress display confidence and win an argument on manly things, like battle.

He actually found it enchanting. 

Why hadn’t she lost points? Was it merely that Wang Lingjiao liked being in the thick of things and didn’t know her place? No, perhaps that her actions could be taken as correcting Wen ZhuLiu, whom she didn’t like.

“Father, will we dignify them with a battle?” Wen Xu speaks slowly, measuredly. “It may be beneath us.” 

“Of course it is,” says another cultivator.

“Even the four sects combined will not be enough to defeat Qishan Wen. Perhaps it is time we remind them of our power,” says Wen RuoHan. His eyes glowed, as if excited by the prospect of war, of violence. 

“Four?!”

“Didn’t you hear? Lanling Jin has joined them.”

“Yes, but they are on the fence. As soon as they suffer more defeats than victories, Jin Guangshan will give up,” said Wen RuoHan with derison.

A sect leader snorted. “Most likely he’ll come running back to hug Wen RuoHan’s leg and worship him once more.”

Wen RuoHan sneered, and JiaoJiao queasily hoped that none of the Jin GuangShan x Wen RuoHan fanfictions were accurate.

“That’s still three sects against us,” argued another leader.

“ Three ? More like one,” says Wen RuoHan. 

Wen Chao nodded eagerly. “That’s right. Qinghe Nie Sect’s sect leader is so stiff that he’d easily snap in half. He’ll die by his own people’s hands sooner or later; they always do.”

How right you are, thought JiaoJiao. The irony was so terrible she almost laughed. 

“And Gusu Lan Sect has been burnt into ruins,” said Wen Xu evenly, though no one could miss that he’d only spoken again once his younger brother had. “Lan XiChen survived to inherit the position of sect leader, he is not even twenty years of age.”

Wen Chao’s voice was icy. “And most laughable one must be Yunmeng Jiang Sect. Their people are either killed or scattered, leaving only Jiang Cheng, a boy younger than even Lan XiChen. That he dares to call himself a sect leader at all is preposterous.” 

Wen Xu opened his mouth, but his father cut him off. 

“They are ill-prepared and overconfident,” growled Wen RuoHan. “A few decisive victories will remind them of their place. Enough of our chatter; let us plant these victories.”

“Chao-er, stay a moment,” growled Wen RuoHan once the conference ended. 

“Wait for me in my bedchamber.” Wen Chao whispered in JiaoJiao’s ear, and she nodded, though she sure as hell wasn’t going to obey.

But as she followed the System’s map of the palace, a man in red blocked her bath. 

“Ah, yes, I see my brother’s latest whore still accompanies him, even daring to speak in a meeting.” Wen Xu glowered at JiaoJiao, who, though she didn’t entirely disagree with his assessment, did not appreciate the insult.

“ Whore is a word with a definition. Since I only fuck your brother, not the rest of the soldiers, nor am I paid, I am not a whore,” she shot back. 

Wen Xu’s eyes bugged out. He had not anticipated a retort.

Though, frankly, it would be more accurate to say her body had fucked him. She hadn’t, and didn’t plan on it for as long as the System allowed. “Jealous? Maybe change your temper and a girl would look at you. You’re probably scaring them all off.” 

“You dare speak to the Wen Heir in such a way?!” Wen Xu grabbed her arm, and to her shock, shoved her against the wall.

His eyes were positively murderous. 

The novel mentioned Wen RuoHan’s temper, but MXTX had entirely failed to mention that the eldest son was similar.

“Ah…” Perhaps she had miscalculated in her sass.  If she had her old body, she could kick him between his legs and break his nose in an instant. But, while she might have been a few centimeters taller, JiaoJiao was far weaker than Jasmine.

“You don’t belong here, dog,” snapped Wen Xu, leaning closer. 

“You’re not wrong,” she admitted, trying a new tactic. Honesty. 

His eyes flickered, but his hold did not loosen. His hands were beginning to cut off the circulation in her wrists.

“But, Young Master Wen, if I did not obey your brother, would I not be disrespecting Wen Clan in another sense? Tell me, what should I do? Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

“You social-climbing snake.” He sent her sprawling to the floor. 

JiaoJiao yelped, but she realized that she was likely on her own. No one must like her, so no one would help her. “Get lost!” 

“You dare command me?” Wen Xu raised his hand then, and, steeling herself for a slap, JiaoJiao clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut.

The slap never came. 

A shout and the sound of a struggle told her someone had helped after all. 

She opened her eyes to see that Wen Chao – of all people – had shoved his brother against the wall, holding his hand back. He looked enraged. “Young Master Wen, do not lay a finger on JiaoJiao.”

He called him Young Master, too? Not Da-Ge or A-Xu? JiaoJiao had to wonder.

“Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?” Wen Xu growled, spitting in his brother’s face. 

Wen Chao flinched. “Embarrassed? For acting on my own? Ha!” 

“ Ha ?! You have a wife to whom you ignore your duty so you can galavant about with this slut of a maid.” Wen Xu raised a shaking finger, and suddenly JiaoJiao wondered if his anger stemmed not from arrogance, but indignation. 

She stepped closer, hovering behind Wen Chao.

Wen Xu’s gaze fixed on her. “Don’t think I haven’t heard how Jiang Sect was provoked, or the grudge she bears against Wen ZhuLiu, or her taunts to A-Hong!”

“ A -Hong, mmm? That’s it, isn’t it?” Wen Chao’s eyes glimmered. 

Who was A-Hong? JiaoJiao waited.

“Very well. If you like that boring girl so much, you can have your sons with her. I’ll stay with women who have personalities,” Wen Chao mocked.

“You!” Wen Xu seethed. 

JiaoJiao’s mouth opened. A-Hong was...Wen DaiYu? Her given name was Wen Hong? Wait, was Wen Xu in love with Wen Chao’s wife?

“That is, you can go in after I’m done with my husbandly duties tonight, which Father just now impressed upon me.” Wen Chao grinned at the ire and pain that flashed across his brother’s face, and JiaoJiao couldn’t help but feel a mixture of disgust towards Wen Chao, disappointment that he wasn’t so redeemable after all, and pity for Wen DaiYu.

“You and I both know she would never break her vows to you, and you couldn’t even repay her with six months of faithfulness.” Wen Xu was so angry he was shaking. 

He freed himself from his brother’s hands and spun around to JiaoJiao. “He’ll tire of you like everyone else. When he’s done, you’ll be left to crawl back to whatever sewer you came from. You could have married well and lived in comfort. Instead, you’ll die in shame and poverty, and thousands will piss on your unmarked grave.”

“Ah, I’m so scared,” jeered Wen Chao, though he moved to keep himself between his brother and his mistress.

JiaoJiao’s throat had gone dry. In fact, she didn’t disagree with Wen Xu’s predictions at all, except for the fact that she wouldn’t live long enough to be impoverished. “I disagree.”

“Oh?” Wen Xu scoffed.

“I’m different,” she said, borrowing a line from Meng Yao. “Second Master Wen and I are uniquely suited for each other.”

Well, her character certainly was! 

[You have been awarded ten points for remaining in-character. Total points: 510]. 

Wen Chao nodded, entirely smitten. “That’s right, my JiaoJiao.”

But I’m different in a different way: I don’t want to be doing this at all. Wen Xu, I could support you and Wen DaiYu! Go run away into the sunset. 

“Ha.” Wen Xu stepped back, shaking his head with disgust. “We agree on one thing.”

That night, JiaoJiao found herself alone as Wen Chao presumably fulfilled his duties to Wen DaiYu. Though at least she was free for another evening, she couldn’t help but mourn the cost to Wen DaiYu.

System, can you tell me the backstory of Wen Xu and Wen DaiYu? 

[As both are only mentioned in the original work, their backstory is not available].

She cursed to herself. None of these Wens were really what she expected at all.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

War and Words

JiaoJiao had not expected to be relieved upon her return to Lotus Pier, but if return meant escaping Wen Xu’s angrier and angrier glares, and Wen RuoHan’s malevolent presence, she wouldn’t worry too much. Besides, surely now she could discover a path to help Jiang Cheng retake Lotus Pier. 

Even better, she had gotten her period, and though she found herself immensely displeased with the hygiene of using rags, Wen Chao was squeamish enough that he left her alone. 

But now a week had passed, and she was nearly free of blood and pain, and direly in need of a new excuse.

For now, that meant more alcohol. Though they were in critically low supply, and given the fighting in Langya and Heijian, weren’t going to be receiving any more for a long time. 

And as she poured out another jug, she finally saw it. A man, dressed in purple, hovering above the lake in the distance.

Probably a scout flying by. 

System, can you give me a hint?

[Subject is outside of System range].

For the millionth time, fuck you. She stared at him, hoping he would come closer, close enough that she could somehow communicate that she wanted to help. Just don’t kill me right now . 

“Clever.”

The voice was solemn yet gentle as the pier around them. And, much like the pier, that peace belied the darkness behind its quietude.  

JiaoJiao jumped. Terror struck her stomach.

Wen ZhuLiu stood behind her, watching her with his ever-inscrutable expression.

Wait. No. He was watching the wine jug, not the scout.

And he wouldn’t notice them if she had her way.

JiaoJiao cleared her throat, not bothering to cover the wine jug she had dumped into the water. Denial would be useless, so she spoke as confidently as she could. “You move like a ghost. I couldn’t hear you at all.”

In her peripheral vision, she noticed the scout slip away. She couldn’t even be sure he had noticed her, much less knew she wanted to help. Fuck Wen ZhuLiu. 

“Silence is often the key to survival.” Wen ZhuLiu’s black robes swayed in the breeze. 

Had he noticed after all? She tried to force a smirk. “Is that a subtle insult? Don’t like the sound of my voice?” 

He eyed her hands. “So only Second Master Wen is given wine?”

“Is that a problem? Neither you nor I like it.” She made a face. 

Wen ZhuLiu stared at her.

He suspected something, but what she wasn’t sure. Hopefully just the wine trick. “Look, Wen ZhuLiu, this way he will not feel judged by us, and we don’t have to drink. I’m just trying to please everyone. Nothing more.”

He stepped closer. “I didn’t say there was anything more.”
“Well – well I’m not dumb enough to think that a woman getting her paramour drunk while she remains sober isn’t suspicious at first,” she stammered. “That’s all.”

“Nothing more. That’s all,” Wen ZhuLiu quoted back to her. 

“What’s with that blank look? You’re clearly implying something; out with it!” JiaoJiao stuck out her tongue, just because she wanted to see his reaction. Look, I’m a silly girl, vain and ignorant, right?

He said nothing.

She ground her teeth. “Just because I am not a fancy, educated cultivator like you doesn’t mean I can’t tell when someone is acting .”

“Life is an act,” said Wen ZhuLiu, masking whatever he really felt. But at least he was speaking again.

“Fine then. Be silent, but move. You’re in my way and we shouldn’t keep A-Chao waiting,” she harrumphed. 

“Life is an act,” he repeated, distinctly not moving. “For instance, the simple, petty girl with a strategic, political mind.”

“Oh.” She forced a laugh. “Was that not common sense?”

“Common sense is not so common.” In Wen Sect. That remained unspoken, but JiaoJiao was quite certain that was what he’d meant.  

“Well, I’m not going to apologize for instilling it.” She winked, and he turned his gaze away, uncomfortable with anything remotely familiar. “What the hell? I’m not flirting with you. My heart belongs to A-Chao.”

[Warning: Your acting is formulaic].

Not helpful when nerves are the reason!

“When did you begin to call him A-Chao?” he asked, avoiding her eyes. 

System ?!

[Wang LingJiao often referred to him as ‘Second Master Wen’].

Well then, why did you let me call him that? Wasn’t it OOC?
[‘A-Chao’ is perfectly in line with JiaoJiao’s arrogance].

And ‘Second Master’ feeds his lust for power, and this jackass knows that ! She glared at Wen ZhuLiu. “How pompous of you! Thinking a maid should refer to the man whose bed she shares by titles!”

Now, at last, Wen ZhuLiu seemed mildly uncomfortable. At any rate, he didn’t have a retort. He had no evidence that his master’s mistress was possessed by a ghost of Jiang Sect. 

But he didn’t exactly want to apologize, not to Wang Lingjiao, whom he had never respected before. “I did not intend to offend you. You have been kind to me lately.”

His emphasis on kind . JiaoJiao shivered. “Well, consider it a favor after you kept that Bitch Madame Yu from slitting my throat.”

“Did you not wish my punishment?” he inquired in a low voice.

Oh, shit.

[You have created a conflict with past events. You will be deducted 200 points. Total B points now 500].

FUCK.

“I was a bit emotional after nearly being murdered. You understand.” JiaoJiao waved her hand. 

“I do.” Wen ZhuLiu’s suspicions were not abating. If anything, they were growing.

JiaoJiao, meanwhile, was distracted by a common fan’s curiosity. Her desire for answers outweighed her desire to avoid him. Besides, if she had nothing to hide, she shouldn’t avoid him.

She paused. “I found your exchange with Madame Yu that night quite confusing.”

“You were once Zhou ZhuLiu, right? Whatever happened? What did Wen RuoHan do, to make you give up your name, your family, just to wait by the side of a son and a mistress you don’t like?”

“My lady is mistaken. I respect you both,” he said quickly, dipping his head.

“You don’t.” She scrunched up her face. “Wait, I know. Are you in love with Wen Chao?”

Wen ZhuLiu finally, finally, finally lost his composure. His eyes bulged, and he stuttered at her shameless question.

“You’re so cute when you’re flustered!” she teased, doing her best to sound like JiaoJiao. 

He jerked away from her hand. “I am in debt to Wen RuoHan for his kindness accepting me into his sect. Whatever he requires, I owe it to him.”

“That’s it?” She couldn’t help but sound disappointed. “Debt? Thankfulness? Gratitude is a nice notion, but it’s so rarely a motivator . I don’t think I can believe you unless you provide more details.”

Wen ZhuLiu blew out his breath. Perhaps she was the same JiaoJiao after all. 

Sensing victory, JiaoJiao sashayed in front of him. “Well, Zhou ZhuLiu?” 

“Do not call me that.”

“I shan’t call you by your new name until you tell me.” She giggled. “What if I say you’re a spy?”

“Wen Chao would not believe you.” 

“I’m the one by his side all night,” she said, enjoying his loss of composure. She felt like the queen of high school again, only this time she wasn’t taunting someone to impress her peers. She just wanted to disrupt his suspicions.  

His jaw spasmed, and he glared at her. 

“I’ll tell him you love him!” she chortles. Was she still wrong to do this? Was it still mean? 

“I would never stoop to shame him with such base thoughts, my lady.” His voice was growing more stern. 

She puckered her lips, and he sighed in surrender. 

“I was the eldest son of Zhou Sect, but my father was a heretic, and often cruel towards the minor sects sworn to him.” Wen ZhuLiu examines his hand. “Eventually, Wen RuoHan punished our sect for our tyranny, ending the Zhou Sect.” 

“Instead of imprisoning me as the disgraced son of a demolished sect, he took me to Qishan. The Wen disciples weren’t very friendly to a Zhou, but I did well under the tutelage of Nightless City. He encouraged my core-melting talent, hired a private tutor who would not be afraid of my abilities.” Wen ZhuLiu looks to the sky. “Eventually, he gave me the chance to change my name from the stain that was Zhou.” 

He’s just a bullied kid who thinks he can free himself by changing his identity. JiaoJiao swallowed hard. She hadn’t expected this origin story.

She felt bad for her taunts earlier. In fact, tears pricked her eyes. 

[Warning! You are close to OOC behavior! If you slip below 500 points, your OOC function will be frozen again. Would you like to continue?]. 

You bitch!

JiaoJiao tossed her head and pasted a grin on her face. “Name, hmm? Is it our name that brings honor, or our actions? Am I useful because I have the title ‘Lover to Wen Chao,’ or because as his lover, I make him happy?”

Wen ZhuLiu raised an eyebrow. “Why not both?”

“You’re very responsible to try to repay your debt,” she said slowly, trying to work Wei Wuxian’s words into her own. Jiang Cheng’s revelations at the Guanyin temple haunted her. “But some debts can’t be repaid. Especially not at the expense of others.” 

She shoved a jug into his hands. “We ought to be going before A-Chao is kept waiting much longer.”

Wen ZhuLiu evidently didn’t trust her, but after two weeks, he didn’t appear to have said anything to Wen Chao. In the meantime, Wen Chao had invited her to join his military tacticians in plotting their defense of Yunmeng.

JiaoJiao had inadvertently put herself in the position to delay, rather than assist, the fall of Lotus Pier. 

It was inevitable, certainly, given the Wen’s overconfidence – she couldn’t affect the plot that much. But if she pretended to be useless, Wen Chao would loathe her more, and she would lose points for being OOC. Because while the original JiaoJiao was very useless, she would never silence herself. 

Yet if she gave Wen Chao bad advice, Wen ZhuLiu would have more reason to suspect her.

That was why today was such a shock. Her one idea – taking those guard operating at Wen Chao’s ‘sector of indoctrination’ and moving them to the northern parts of Yunmeng – had actually backfired, and she hadn’t even had to pretend.  

Thank you to Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng.

They now had their swords back. Despite her relief, the System awarded her no points for her assistance, claiming that because it was not deliberate, it didn’t count.

She moped about Lotus Pier, pretending to be humiliated by her mistake instead of consumed- by the anxiety of her impending demise. 

System, fucking help me. It’s been three weeks and Lotus Pier is gonna fall soon and I can’t help them.  

[The System is unable to fix this problem].

Well, you gave me this problem! She sneered internally. 

[Your task is to redeem Wang Lingjiao. Assisting in the retaking of Lotus Pier is your idea, and as such, not a task you must complete].

Her heart constricted. How the fuck else am I to redeem myself? Can I flee and live a humble life helping others? 

She didn’t want that. She admired those who led quiet lives, but now that she was here in the center of a story, she thirsted for more. Jasmine and JiaoJiao both wanted to be in the thick of things. 

[The initial OOC cost would be 500 points. You will be deducted another 25 points for each day you stay away].

Have I told you I hate you yet ? She cursed. She had already lost 125 points over the last five days for empathically refusing Wen Chao’s attempts at seduction each and every time. There was no more alcohol, and thus no more avoiding OOC behavior. 

“JiaoJiao?” whined a familiar voice.

She pasted a smile on her face as she turned to lose another 25 points. “A-Chao.”

“Why are you avoiding me? I don’t blame you; I blame the remaining guards who were too weak.” Wen Chao did not hide his stress well. His eyes were rimmed by dark circles, and he’d developed a habit of biting his nails. He was almost pitiable. 

“We still lost and gave them more propaganda,” she said. Perhaps humiliation would be a suitable excuse tonight, and she wouldn’t even lose points.  

“You seem distracted. You know, you’re not responsible for the military decisions. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want, my sweet JiaoJiao,” he said, drawing her closer.

That’s precisely the problem , she thought sourly. She withdrew as much as his arm allowed her. 

“Are you displeased with me?” he asked suddenly. 

“What?!”

“You seem more like a politician than my woman,” he said in a bitter tone. “What have I done?”

“Do you not like my advice, A-Chao?” She widened her eyes. 

“I do – but that’s all you do!” He glowered at her. “Are you mad about Wen DaiYu? It’s not my fault Father forced me to marry that pathetic girl. If she ever bears me a son, I won’t touch her again.”

You will between mistresses , JiaoJiao thought darkly. Aloud she said, “I know you cannot help that.”

“Then what is it? Is there someone else?” he demanded. As soon as he felt a whiff of responsibility, he tended to lash out at others. 

However, JiaoJiao was so shocked at the accusatio that she laughed. 

His face pinched, and she tried to steady herself. Her mind whirred. “No, no, A-Chao, it isn’t anyone else. I love you. I…

“I’m waiting.” Wen Chao crossed his arms.

“Just … memories,” she said at last, not entirely lying. 

His eyes narrowed. “Memories? Of someone else?” 

“Someone – oh, for goodness’ sake! For someone who claims to be superior, you sure act like you have an inferiority complex,” she exclaimed.

Wen Chao flinched. It was subtle, but she was sure of it. 

JiaoJiao took in a deep breath to calm herself. “Wen Chao. I may give the impression I know what I’m doing, but I haven’t the slightest clue. Despite all the rumors, I was a maiden until I met you.” 

His face scrunched up. “But you didn’t bleed.”

JiaoJiao’s face burned. “Um – well, yes. Not everyone does, despite the misconceptions. If you grew up a tomboy, you likely won’t.”

“You, a tomboy?” Once again, Wen Chao looked more intrigued than she had expected.

“Indeed. How do you think I got so flexible?” She tried to joke, but Jasmine was always bad at sexuality, and so she sounded flat instead.

He pondered this. “Did you get in fights?”

“I didn’t get in fights. I won fights,” she told him, prompting genuine laughter. “Don’t believe me? Hey, watch me!” 

JiaoJiao wasn’t nearly as strong as Jasmine, but her brain remembered what her muscles didn’t. Before Wen Chao could speak, she had performed a solid, if weak, cartwheel and backflip.

Now Wen Chao’s face glowed. He was actually impressed. “You look like a woodland demon.”

“A demon?!”

“A seductive one!” His face turned red.

She gulps. Withdrawn again. “Ha…”

“What happened, JiaoJiao? Why did you turn so cold? Did someone hurt you?” Wen Chao’s eyes blazed. He seized her arm. “Where are they? I’ll kill them.” 

“No – not recently, that is. I have unfortunate memories, that is all.” She wrapped her free arm around her ample chest, feeling her shoulders ache. She couldn’t believe it, but she actually missed Jasmine’s body right now.

“What happened? Tell me,” he commanded.

“Oh, it was...something back from where I came from.” She laughed hollowly. Would he scoff at her, too? “I was at a...celebration, with many of my peers, in an abandoned building. Ample alcohol was there, though I only pretended to drink. Not because I was a teetotaler or worried about rules. I definitely wanted to look like I broke the rules and had fun with the rest of them. But because, if I’m honest, I was too afraid to lose my inhibitions. Afraid that if people saw who I really was, they’d hate me.”

This wasn’t happening. She wasn’t sharing this with Wen fucking Chao. 

“Who are you really?” asked Wen Chao after a moment of silence.

“A tomboy who loves makeup and pretty jewelry.” She tried to keep her tone wooden, but tears sprang to her eyes. “A bookworm, who is more interested in literature and history than anyone in her peers, so she pretends otherwise. Someone embarrassed by her heritage, not exactly because it’s shameful, but because it’s different .”

“Just because you’re from a poor family doesn’t mean you should be ashamed. No matter what anyone says about Wang Sect,” insisted Wen Chao. “Hey, at least your parents were married.”

She breathed a shaky sigh of relief. He still thought she was talking about JiaoJiao. Good. “I don’t even know who my real parents are. I’m adopted.”

Wen Chao was taken aback. “Oh. Well...your parents must have been very pretty.”

JiaoJiao almost laughed.

“You are a good daughter. You requested that I help your family establish a sect before my father even insisted on it to save face. You’ve helped all your people.” He attempted to reassure her.

JiaoJiao blinked in surprise. Hmm. Wang Lingjiao wasn’t as stupid and evil as she seemed. 

He guided her down to the ground, to sit across from her. “As the member of a higher sect than you, I must command you to tell me more.” 

JiaoJiao squinted. Was he teasing? Really? “So, yes. I was at this...celebration. Drunken revelry, really. Anyhow, there was a boy there I liked to flirt with. I even spread a rumor that I had a fling with his friend to string his interest along.” 

Ugh, why was she confessing to Wen Chao, other than that he was debauched enough he might not judge her? “He got very drunk. And...very handsy.”

Now Wen Chao looked furious. Unfortunately, because this was Wen Chao, he had to look possessive, too. 

She sniffed. “So I kicked him between his legs and, once he was bent over, slapped him so hard his nose broke.” 

Wen Chao chuckled. “Good for you, JiaoJiao! No one else has the right to my JiaoJiao.”

She swallowed queasily as he poked her nose. “Well, I’m glad you think so. The others thought my violence was unnecessary at best. They demanded to know why I had flirted with him then, or why I hadn’t just shouted at him. Why I hadn’t been nicer, because he was drunk.”

“Honestly, it was just instinct. Since he was already groping me, I didn’t think assaulting him was unreasonable. But they all did. Maybe I was wrong, but I don’t think I was, and I hate myself because I don’t even want to understand their perspective.” JiaoJiao shrugged.

“They took him to...um, uh...see a healer.  I thought I might be arrested for injuring him, and none of my so-called friends really gave a shit. In fact, I hid there while they all left.” JiaoJiao doesn’t want to speak of the rest. How the thoughts of high school on Monday taunted her, assuring that her reputation was over, that an arrest would forever tarnish her record, ruin her life forever. How unfair it seemed that life could change in an instant, that she could be enjoying herself with friends one minute and a criminal pariah the next. How close she got to the edge.

“That was soon before I left. I suppose I had no friends left. At least, I didn’t want to be friends with any of them. But I still wanted their approval. Does that make sense?” She squinted. “The worst part is, I did actually … want to be with him. But in a longer-term sense. I had no intention of sleeping with him for just one night. I suppose that’s why they said I brought it on myself.”

“I...don’t know.” Wen Chao looked confused. 

She sighed. She oughtn’t have expected more from him.

“But I’m glad you left. And that you’re here. Look at you now, with me.” Wen Chao pinched her cheek. “Actually, I would help you beat up that man. If you want to tell me his name, I’ll send Wen ZhuLiu –”

“That’s okay,” she said quickly, hoping he would drop the subject, hoping that Wen ZhuLiu wouldn’t be sent after someone who didn’t exist in this world. “You’re right. ‘The best revenge is living well.’”

“And here I thought you could barely read. A scholar!” Wen Chao smacked his lips, marveling at her. 

JiaoJiao smirked. “What is that saying Wen ZhuLiu has? That we’re all actors?” 

Wen Chao snorted. “That sounds like him. How cynical.”

He paused. “So those memories make you not...want to sleep with me?”

“It’s not you, it’s anyone,” she said. “I don’t want to feel like an object. I’m not. I’m a person. I don’t know why, but, um, when Wei Wuxian glared at me, the disgust in his eyes – er – it reminded me of theirs, and it’s been haunting me since.”

“Of course you are!” To her dismay, he then wrapped his arms around her. “I love my JiaoJiao. I wouldn’t treat you like that. I’ll stay with you until you’re back to yourself.”

“Damn that Wei Wuxian.” He shakes his head. “Since then...Wait. Didn’t we…”

“I told you I’m very good at pretending to drink.” JiaoJiao felt it was safe to mention.

Wen Chao laughed. “You are a mischievous one, my JiaoJiao!”

“I didn’t want to upset you – I really thought I’d get over it sooner…”

“So sweet and considerate.” He tugged her closer. “Every day, I feel like I’m learning more about you. JiaoJiao is the most interesting woman I’ve ever met.” 

She was so surprised she actually allowed him to hug her.

Two Weeks Later

“What exactly is our position?” Wen Chao barked. “Say it outright!”

The disciple shook. “We are surrounded. Many of the nearby towns have fallen.”

Wen Chao’s kick sent the man sprawling. “Jiang Sect is nothing!”

“Lan Wangji is with them.”

“That brat is the same age as Jiang Cheng! He doesn’t even have a golden core. How can – how is any of this possible?!” Wen Chao was practically hyperventilating. 

“People are angry when they are rendered powerless. Have you never seen an animal lash out in a cage?” JiaoJiao touched her forehead, as if pained. Wen ZhuLiu looked to be developing a migraine of his own. 

“Well, an animal in a cage is easy to kill. These people aren’t,” retorted Wen Chao. 

“Then let’s put them in a cage! Perhaps we should fight.” JiaoJiao knew she was grasping, but perhaps if she could sabotage them, help Jiang Sect back in Lotus Pier – perhaps she could plead for mercy.

What she would do with Wen Chao, she wasn’t sure. Maybe send Wen ZhuLiu home to Qishan with him, or let him stay in prison. Maybe then he wouldn’t even have to die by Wei WuXian. Not that she much liked Wen Chao, but she didn’t...exactly want him to die eating his own flesh. 

She decided to borrow a adapt from one of her favorite historical figures. “And if we are not successful, well, red is the best color to die in.”

Wen Chao huffed, but for a moment, his face was wholly enamored with her before he pulled himself back to the present. “Wen ZhuLiu?” 

“We should retreat.”

“I don’t want to retreat! I want to win! At least JiaoJiao’s got guts!” screamed Wen Chao.

On second thought, maybe Wei WuXian had the right idea , she thought sarcastically. 

“We can’t win in the short term, but we will in the long term,” said Wen ZhuLiu. “Staying in Wen Pier is a much higher risk than abandoning it.”

“I know you know this, too.” Silently, his eyes turned to JiaoJiao, as if requesting her to agree.

“I am just a simple maid,” she began, chafing at her growing sympathy for the Wens , of all people. 

“You are not! Stop that,” shouted Wen Chao.

Stop making me not hate you ! JiaoJiao raised her voice. “Left me finish! If our best guard cannot see a path to victory, my earlier advice may have been in error. We ought to retreat, reorganize, fight with renewed hope. Hope can...be its own weapon.” 

Wen Chao took in a shuddering breath. “What will my father say?”

“What will he say if you are captured?” JiaoJiao responded. Wen ZhuLiu nodded.

Wen Chao wrung his hands. “Fine, fine. We’ll abandon Wen Pier.” 

[Congratulations! You have earned 150 points for aiding in the retaking of Lotus Pier. Total B points: now 1050].

Yeah, but no one knows I helped except Wen ZhuLiu and Wen Chao, so...Does it count as redemption if no one knows?

[The System wishes to remind you that redemption often starts in the heart].

JiaoJiao loathed the fact that, for a second, the System’s reply had comforted her. And then practicality set in. Why doesn’t the System remind itself that I have only two months left to live?!

“Thank you for your support,” said Wen ZhuLiu, standing in the doorframe as JiaoJiao packed the one box of trinkets Wen Chao had given her. 

Most had been from before her time as JiaoJiao, excepting the rubied sun broach. He had bought her the jewelry the day after they’d spoken about her memories, and she hated seeing it, because every time she did, she pitied him more.

  “You were right. I am not the one who should be thanked,” she replied. Sounding entirely like someone trustworthy, someone loyal to the Wens. 

“You have his ear right now more than any of us.” Wen ZhuLiu glanced around before approaching her. 

“Do I?” She raised an eyebrow. 

“I will protect you both, but you must...prepare to take care of him.” Wen ZhuLiu was quite certain this was not the JiaoJiao he knew, but he was also entirely uncertain as to her intentions. Whatever they were, they didn’t seem malevolent, and right now, that was what he cared about. She could help him fulfill his duty to Wen RuoHan. 

“You planning on running off?” She scoffed.

Wen ZhuLiu sighed, refusing to dignify the jab with a response. “This defeat will only worsen his temper.” 

“Say it outright. He’s prideful and impulsive. There’s no betrayal in speaking the truth,” said JiaoJiao. 

“And yet, you are his confidant.” Wen ZhuLiu gazes down into her eyes. “I will protect his body, but you must nurture his mind.”

“Eh?” JiaoJiao squeaked. “Wait.”

She began to giggle. “You’ll take care of his body , hmm? Are you sure my theory wasn’t correct?”

“That’s not what I meant.” He sounded appalled, but his face was red, and she couldn’t stop her laughter. 

“You know I will help him,” she lied at last. Her quivering voice was easily attributed to suppressed laughter and not guilt-ridden lies. 

When they arrived at the nearest supervision office, she was stunned when Wen Chao closed himself in their room and began stabbing the pillow with his sword, over and over and over.

“A-Chao, what are you doing?”

He ignored her. His breath came heavier and heavier.

JiaoJiao took a deep breath, assuring herself that Wei Wuxian still had nearly two months to appear. Whatever this was, it wasn’t demonic energy. 

She crossed the room and grabbed his sword. “Wen Chao. Stop!” 

He looked at her for a moment before dropping it with an enraged sob. It tell to the wooden floor with a lonely clatter. 

“Father will despise me for this,” he breathed. He couldn’t even keep face in front of this woman!

She sounded skeptical. “For making a strategically sound choice, on the recommendation of Wen ZhuLiu?” 

“Wen ZhuLiu, yes, the one my father wishes were my elder brother.” Wen Chao smiles thinly. 

“Do you want to talk?”

“No, I don’t! Get lost, and stop fucking annoying me,” he spat.

JiaoJiao’s eyebrows drew together. “Well, sometimes talking helps, if you recall? What, so I can be vulnerable, and you can’t?”

“Exactly!” he shouted, but he had collapsed on the bed, groaning to himself.
JiaoJiao sat beside him. “I’m listening.” 

“You don’t understand. Both Wen Xu and I are failures. I’ve always been second best, but when Wen Xu finally made an error, I couldn’t even surpass him! I was given one chance and I couldn't face it without alcohol.” Wen Chao clutched his face. “I couldn’t!” 

“What was that?” JiaoJiao had an inkling, but she wanted to be sure. 

“I knew what I was doing. Marrying my brother’s woman, the only person who ever made him smile. Father had chosen to punish him, and I could have seized that moment, should have, but instead I … “

“Buried your angst in alcohol and mistresses?” JiaoJiao asked, gently. 

Wen Chao glanced sideways. “I like alcohol and mistresses.”

“And I am honored to be with you,” she reassured him. “Or, honored to lose my honor for you. Would that be more accurate?” 

Wen Chao laughed. “I had no idea JiaoJiao was so clever before. I like it.”

“I’m glad,” she said, lying. But, even though she didn’t love or even like this man, she pitied him, and wished she wasn’t lying.

“Your Father thinks you slew the Xuanwu of Slaughter, right? Surely that impressed him,” she said.

“He saw through the truth, I am certain. I disgust him. My brother and I both; my brother for preferring libraries to conquests, and me for never being able to match his prowess. My golden core is pathetic.” He shook his head. 

“It’s more than mine, which is nonexistent,” JiaoJiao reminded him. “It doesn’t change your value. What could you be, Wen Chao, if you stopped trying to be whatever you think a Wen should be, and were who you wanted to be?”

The room was silent for a moment. 

“I have no idea.” 

“Then let’s learn.” She extended her hand to him, and he took it, whimpering her name.

“I’m glad Wen DaiYu hired you and allowed you to accompany me.” He smiled, almost uncertain.

She had? Wen DaiYu allowed this? Wanted this? JiaoJiao pretended this wasn’t news to her and pasted a smile over her face. What the fuck had actually happened between her, Wen Chao, and Wen Xu? 

Wen Chao leaned closer and smashed his mouth against hers.

JiaoJiao gasped. She didn’t like him, find him attractive at all. But she did pity him. And want to comfort him.

System, what will comfort him?

[Wen Chao: primary comforts are alcohol and sex].

We don’t have alcohol . JiaoJiao tried to push aside the anxiety that suddenly swarmed her mind, push aside the thought of Cody trying to grab her, and kissed him back. Maybe just a deep kiss would satisfy him.

System?

[Level of horniness: extremely high].

Are you kidding me? He was just crying! 

His kisses were slimy, or maybe that was how kisses were. JiaoJiao would like to say that Jasmine had had many lovers, and indeed, she bragged that she did, but the truth was she’d never even been kissed before. Much less had sex.

How is this my life?

System, how many points do I lose if I break character?

[Fifty points. Would you like to activate OOC function?]

She hesitated. Just a moment. Practically, losing 50 points was nothing, but it could continue, and the toll would add up. 

And then her curiosity got the better of her. Or perhaps compassion, or so she tried to tell herself. She was just trying to know JiaoJiao’s character and experiences better.

So she forced her tongue into his mouth, felt him stiffen and grab her, rolling onto the bed. 

Whatever her sex ed teacher had said about instinct, it wasn’t happening. She had no idea what to do. 

Fortunately, Wen Chao was unbuttoning her shirt, She reached for his.

“So eager after so long?” he teased her, and she nodded, blushing. 

“Good, because I can’t promise to go slow.” He smirked.

Great, you’re still an asshole , she thought. But she didn’t protest. At least he wasn’t groping her without her permission. 

Such high standards indeed.

It hurt more than she had expected, perhaps proving the articles she’d read that the pain was less from physical virginity and more from nerves. Still, she tried to focus on the fact that he was smaller than she’d expected, and that made her laugh to herself, and he thought she was laughing with him.

This was pathetic. 

But for right now, it was what he needed. She was perfectly fine. She was fine.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

An Antagonist, Not a Villain

JiaoJiao folded a gold coin into the disciple’s hands. He was young and likely not even fifteen, and he did not need to be on the front lines. “You’ll take this letter without delay.” 

“Y – Yes, Maiden Wang,” he stammered, nervous to exchange words with the mistress of Wen Chao herself. He had evidently never spoken to such a beautiful woman before, much less felt her hands on his. 

“Thank you.” She nodded and watched him mount his sworn in the direction of Qishan. 

It had been five weeks moving from supervision office to supervision office, and only now had she managed to send a letter. 

How could things be so slow? 

Slowness is expected when you’re powerless , she reflected with a turn of her stomach. 

But the worst part, to JiaoJiao, was that this letter wasn’t even to Jiang Cheng. 

She didn’t know how to contact him. How could she expect to smuggle out a letter to him without a trustworthy helper? Come to think of it, how did Meng Yao get letters to Lan Xichen?

How had she fucking waited five weeks ? Why hadn’t the System punished her for not redeeming JiaoJiao?

[The System wishes to remind you that as long as you are alive, you can redeem JiaoJiao. The path is not set]. 

She shook her head as she wandered towards the edges of the office, looking at the wild terrain around them that could soon become their graveyard.

With each passing week, the Wens continued to suffer more losses than wins. Their last report said that the situation was stable against Jin Sect in Langya, but the fighting in Hejian  had turned fierce. 

Wen Xu would die soon, and she dreaded it. His demise was the last event remaining before Wen Chao and JiaoJiao themselves would be visited by Wei WuXian. 

She never thought herself the sort to focus on the implications to herself over the sheer tragedy of someone’s death, but she was now. 

Maybe she wasn’t so different from the original JiaoJiao after all.

Maybe she should just die. Would the system consider her suicide a redemption?

[The System would not]. 

Why was she still having these thoughts? She hadn’t wanted to die that time. She’d proved it by pleading and being sent here. Why can’t I stop thinking like this? What is wrong with me?

How am I so ungrateful ? Just a spoiled, superficial brat, that’s all I am. 

That’s all I’ll ever be, right, System?

[The System would not have brought you here if you could not achieve redemption]. 

Whose? JiaoJiao’s? I want to redeem Jasmine too. I’m still her, right? I always wanted to leave her behind until I got here, and now I just want to be her again. Or is Jasmine beyond redemption? Is the good person I thought I was not good at all?

And if I am not good, can I ever become so? Am I fit to live?

[The System reminds you that you have gained 50 B points for your letter to Wen Qing].

JiaoJiao sighed. Yes, she had finally made herself useful today by sending a letter not to Jiang Cheng, but to Wen Qing. Reports from Weinan had said that Lan Xichen had captured many members of the Wen Sect, where Wen Qing’s family resided.

Wen Chao had declined to inform Wen Qing, lest she be distracted from her medicine in Qishan. After a measly protest, JiaoJiao had decided to inform her anyways. A kind action that undercut Wen Chao was redemptive, right? Or was it really kind when she had chosen sneakery instead of arguing as much as she could have?

 But if she could spur Wen Qing to save those weak cultivators under her sect, perhaps the Wens wouldn’t have to die. Especially Wen Ning. Though she did want Wei Wuxian to mother A-Yuan. 

Fortunately, the System had provided her a strong grasp on the Chinese calligraphy, a key change from the nearly-illiterate JiaoJiao. 

“My lady.” Wen ZhuLiu had once again approached her without a sound.  

JiaoJiao spun around, pasting a smile on her face. “Yes?”

“You seem distressed. Are you hurt?” He avoided her eyes.

“I’m fine, though I dare say that you also recognize our position,” she said icily. Testing him. How far was his blind loyalty to the Wens? 

He took a deep breath before speaking quietly. “It is not good.”

So he had a firm grasp on reality. Good, if tragic. 

“Am I failing A-Chao?” After their initial confrontation, JiaoJiao couldn’t resist using that name in front of Wen ZhuLiu every chance she found. 

Wen ZhuLiu closed his eyes and shook his head. “My heart belongs to Wen Sect. If you were, I would tell you so.”

“Would you? Or would that be considered insulting an honoree of Wen Sect?” She smirked, never missing the chance to pick at his unfathomable loyalty.

“You would not find it an insult. The haughty demeanor you displayed at first is gone,” he said carefully.

Her heart flickered. “Is that so?”

“I don’t presume to know what happened. You may very well have learned a lesson from Madame Yu. Or perhaps something else.” Wen ZhuLiu stepped closer. 

JiaoJiao stumbled backwards, feigning indignation. System, update me! How suspicious is he?

[Wen ZhuLiu is not suspicious . He knows you are not the same JiaoJiao. But he does not know how]. 

Can I convince him?

[Likelihood of task success: 0%].

Oh, bloody hell!

“That bitch tried to kill me, and you think I learned from her?” she cried. 

Wen ZhuLiu seemed bored by her act. “Regardless, you are not a threat to Wen Sect, so I will not pry.”

“You’re wrong,” she sneered. Didn’t the System require her lies? Or did she just want to be obstinate? “Why are you so goddamn loyal?”

“We have already had this conversation.”

“Without an answer.” JiaoJiao narrowed her eyes. “What are you seeking? To protect yourself? To make up for your sad childhood? To prove yourself worthy? To love Wen Chao?”

Wen ZhuLiu had expected this remark, but still he was frustrated. “I am not in love with Wen Chao.”

“Loyalty is not your only motivator,” she countered.

His retort came quicker than usual. “You are not the same Wang LingJiao.”

She stuttered before pasting a smile over her face. “Perhaps we can form a truce, then, with neither of us trusting the other.”

“Can there be a truce without trust?” Wen ZhuLiu inquired.

“I’m willing to find out.” JiaoJiao bowed. 

He cleared his throat, and to her surprise, he wore a small smile on his face. By the time he finished bowing, it was gone.

“I finally made you smile. There will be more of that!” She jabbed her finger at him. “Good heavens, you don’t even enjoy your life, do you?”

“Enjoyment is superficial.” Wen ZhuLiu looks towards the setting sun. Their compound is illuminated with glittering orange light. 

“Oh, but can you ever be happy if all you obey is duty?” In this universe, perhaps she could finally seize the chance to talk about the deeper questions she had. Perhaps, with such momentous events surrounding them, she wouldn’t be belittled for her questions like she was in day-to-day high school.  

“We are in a war, my lady.” He held his tongue, but the unspoken fact that he enjoyed neither killing nor battle was obvious to JiaoJiao. 

 “Yes, Wen ZhuLiu, we are in a war. You don’t know how long you have to live. You might as well find something you enjoy...like confessing your feelings for Wen Chao.” She gave him an impish grin. Ever retreating from the questions she herself wanted to know. 

“I have no feelings but fidelity to Second Master Wen. You may ask a thousand times, and you will receive the same answer.” Wen ZhuLiu waited.

“What’s behind that fidelity, then? Wait! Wait, wait, wait.” JiaoJiao rubbed her hands together.

Wen ZhuLiu waited, a perturbed expression on his face.

“Are you in love with Wen RuoHan instead?” JiaoJiao clapped her hands.

For a moment, to her surprise, he was silent. “Wen ZhuLiu?”

“I would not use finite words like ‘love’ to debase Wen RuoHan. If Wen RuoHan is a god, I am his worshipper. ” Wen ZhuLiu glances at her. “Satisfied? He is my savior and my redemption. I will serve him as long as I live.” 

JiaoJiao was stunned. “Oh. I see. Wait, no, I don’t. Love isn’t finite. Not where I come from. It’s the most powerful thing in the world.”

Wen ZhuLiu smiled slightly again. He clearly thought her childish, and he might be right. 

JiaoJiao wasn’t even sure she believed in spirituality, in gods or an afterlife. So what if there was magic or ‘spiritual power’ in this world? It could merely be different physics. She remained unconvinced that this wasn’t a long hallucination, a three month coma. 

She believed in love even less, because she knew she wanted to believe in it, and she could not trust herself. She couldn’t even help Jiang Cheng after all. She was so afraid of being caught she’d taken no risk. And she’d lost her virginity to greasy Wen Chao, which felt maddening and degrading, like she had given up the idea of sex as an expression of love. Now it was just sex, sex almost every night, until she was even taking what little pleasure she could in the sensations. 

But she could not let herself regret it too much, or she would drown in the shame she felt, despite paradoxically not believing that ‘purity’ was anything but garbage meant to control her body. 

Love was not in the picture of her life. Only an unfulfilled eighteen-year-old’s longing for it.  

“Perhaps you deserve better for your devotion, Wen ZhuLiu.” JiaoJiao refocused on the ill-fated man before her. “If you feel guilty here, you should ask Wen RuoHan to move you somewhere else.”

She was taken aback when Wen ZhuLiu smiled again, a dry smile. “What would you two do without me?” 

“You might not care about your happiness, but I think you’d be best in a situation where you are happy,” JiaoJiao says. 

Wen ZhuLiu folded his hands behind his back, watching the sun descend behind a distant mountain. “My happiness is not your concern. Wherever Wen RuoHan commands, I will follow, until I die.”

“Even if it means disobeying your conscience?” At the flash in his eyes, she added hastily, “I know you were upset after the fall of Lo – of Wen Pier. You were reluctant to attack Madame Yu, even though she planned to kill me.”

“I was,” he confessed. “But I had already chosen to keep Wen RuoHan satisfied, no matter what.” 

“Serving Wen RuoHan is to serve a higher conscience. I may not understand his commands, but I trust him,” explained Wen ZhuLiu. “All his supposed cruelties – he wanted the best for his sons with that marriage, acting in their interest when they didn’t know. Even his tortures function as punishment to those who deserve it, and opportunities to study anatomy more. How else do you think Wen Qing became such a skilled doctor?”

“She would never torture!” JiaoJiao defended her beloved Wen Qing immediately. “Also, that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say at a single time.” 

Wen ZhuLiu ignores her teasing. “Wen Qing would not, but the bodies of those executed have provided her much information.”

JiaoJiao scowled. This couldn’t be true. Couldn’t.

“Wen RuoHan is a curious man, determined to take human emotion and pain to its limits, to find the forbidden and expand our imaginations. He saved me, a boy with no use, because he imagined a different life for me. And I have found my worth in him.” Wen ZhuLiu looks behind them, at the indigo creeping from east to west. 

Now JiaoJiao wanted to cry, because how could someone so devoted, someone without a sadistic bone in his body, be so cold, so determined to meet his own end? 

He was beyond reason, and her attempts to save him would fail.

She was a failure.

“I’m sorry, but I think your worth is you. As a person,” she said feebly. She might not believe it for herself, but she would believe it for this villain – no, reluctant antagonist.

“My personhood can be worthy in him.” Wen ZhuLiu said. “I hope you can understand, Maiden Wang.”

“Just call me JiaoJiao. We all know I’m no maiden,” she said to lacerate herself. “What’s your real name? I mean, your personal name? 

For a moment, he studied her, as if concerned by her outburst. Finally, he decided not to pry. He merely replied, “I am Wen Qiu.”

Zhou Qiu , she thought, but she couldn’t force such an identity on him, no matter how much she tried. “Thank you, A-Qiu.”

He flushed, but she had already turned to walk away before he could see her begin to cry. 

Just past midnight, the creaking of their door awakened JiaoJiao from her restless sleep. “A letter, Second Master Wen.” 

Every night, she expected Wei WuXian to arrive, and her to have to drive a knife into Wen Chao’s throat. Which was her latest horrible plan for redemption, though it felt wrong, so wrong she couldn’t help but shiver. 

Still, stabbing Wen Chao would spare him torture, and perhaps earn her a small grain of mercy from Wei WuXian.

She’d been able to develop a murder plot, but not to send letters to Jiang Cheng. How useful. Much redemptive. Much wow.

“So late at night? Why did you interrupt me?” Wen Chao was already out of their bed, glaring at the messenger.

The messenger bowed. “Its deliverer said it was extremely urgent, Second Master Wen.”

“Fine.” Wen Chao moved to slam the door in his face, but at the last second, stopped it. He shut the door quietly, glancing at JiaoJiao’s seemingly sleeping form. As if he actually cared whether he awakened her or not. 

She watched while he settled by their desk and lit a lone candle.

For a few minutes, he remained so still she could have mistaken him for a corpse.  

Suddenly, Wen Chao crumpled the letter he had read into a ball and threw it to the floor. His eyes were enormous, his face pale, his hands shaky. Whether from anger or shock, JiaoJiao wasn’t sure.

“What happened?” She sat up, rubbing her eyes as if she’d just awoken.

“It’s nothing!” He snarled, his voice laced with hatred. “Some Sunshot Campaign! Some Sunshot it is. You want to shoot down the sun? Dream on!”

“Yes, without the sun, all you’ll be left with is darkness and death,” agreed JiaoJiao, wrapping her arms around her thin nightgown that left little to the imagination. She only wore it because Wen Chao liked it.

He nodded, but his countenance lacked its usual smugness.

Her stomach tickled. She had the ominous feeling she knew what the letter said. To confirm, she stepped out of bed and crossed the room to grab the letter.

“That was addressed to me!”

Ignoring him, JiaoJiao smoothed the paper out. 

As soon as she saw the words Hejian, her heart sunk. 

Wen Xu had been beheaded by Nie Sect’s leader himself. His head was displayed on a sword at the front of the battle array as a message to all who served Wen Sect. His body was given to the Nie cultivators.

Wen Xu, the cruel, violent man who had thrown her around. His intimidating body had been chopped apart and ground to dust in front of the Wen army. 

Wen Xu, the first son. Now the first son to die. 

Wen Xu, the favored son who nonetheless saw his brother marry the woman he loved due to some unspoken punishment. He had died without ever reconciling with his brother. 

How was Wen DaiYu feeling? A-Hong hadn’t written to her husband, causing more strife because Wen Chao naturally assumed she had failed to conceive again. He’d spent hours fretting that no woman he had fucked had ever had a child. Though JiaoJiao had elected not to tell him that she had the System’s help brewing contraceptive herbs. 

But had Wen DaiYu loved Wen Xu in return? He had spoken her name with such familiarity, it seemed impossible that were not on friendly terms at least once in the past. 

Would it hurt her that he was gone, or would she be relieved? 

JiaoJiao didn’t precisely mourn Wen Xu, remembering his rage from The Untamed , the way he had tortured Su She. But she didn’t feel good about anyone dying, especially so suddenly. And after she’d snuck Game of Thrones onto her iPad without her parents knowing, displaying any man’s head on a spike struck her as cruel. 

“I’m sorry,” she said aloud, her voice thick.

“It’s nothing,” Wen Chao spat. “He was stupid enough to think that fighting that stiff bastard in a duel of saber versus sword was a good idea. Our swords are powerful, but Nie Sect’s sabers are strong . He’s so fucking useless!” 

Wen Chao cursed. “Fuck him! Shameful!”

JiaoJiao felt she understood his sudden outburst, and it wasn’t the selfishness she expected. “You’re hurting.”

“I’m fine,” he shot back.

“No, you’re not.” JiaoJiao had no patience past midnight. “He was your brother.”

“We weren’t close.” Wen Chao slammed his hand on the desk. “Did you know, JiaoJiao? I am the son of Wen RuoHan’s principle wife, but my mother had the misfortune of many lost children, and so I wasn’t born for a while after their marriage. Wen RuoHan wanted a son, so one day he brought home the first of many concubines, an exquisite beauty my mother could never compete with.”

“Wen Xu is the son of a mere concubine, but it never mattered, because he was handsome and refined and born first. Meanwhile, I took after my mother in looks and after no one in talent!” His breath came faster and faster.

Aren’t I basically your concubine, dumbass ? she thought ironically. “A-Chao, I think you’re very talented.”

He chortled, a hideous sound. “Not in cultivation. Do not lie to me, JiaoJiao.” 

He was pleading. Actually pleading. 

JiaoJiao nodded slowly, unsure what else to say. “I – uh – I’m sorry for your mother.”

“Ha, she didn’t mind. Mother tolerated my father’s concubines, as long as he never quickened any of their wombs again. She was even close friends with Wen Xu’s mother!” Wen Chao laughed in his overwhelming misery.

“It’s like this. Mother was fierce enough that no one dared mock us while she lived. Everyone knew my father married her for her cultivation prowess and not her horse-face, proof that they really loved each other. He could have any beauty, but he chose to marry an unpretty face.” Wen Chao doesn’t understand why this comforts him, because he himself would never marry anyone ugly. But it does. “No matter how many concubines Wen RuoHan took, Mother knew she was the one whose counsel he valued, the one who impressed him with her sword skills, the only one who would stand by his side for his entire life.”

He paused. “They met when she was a rogue cultivator who impersonated a guard to gain an audience with my father, bringing irrefutable evidence that Zhou Sect had threatened Wen Sect. Father thought her impudent and suspicious, so he ordered her arrest, too. But when the guards searched her, they realized she was only in disguise because she was a woman.”

A small suspicion crossed JiaoJiao’s thoughts. Perhaps his capable mother was why Wen Chao secretly liked dominant women. After all, at this point in the novel, he should have started losing interest in her, but her OOC behavior seemed to have captured his heart for longer.

Well, that made her slightly uncomfortable, because she was not here for a man with an Oedipus complex. “How did she die?”

“She lost her tenth son, and an infection set in. Father begged her to get well, though even he knew he could not order her, not even on her deathbed. He promised never to try for more children with her, that I would be enough.” Wen Chao found these old memories easier to revisit than the loss written on the paper in his lover’s hands. 

“In the end, she still died. Afterwards, Father took every healer in Qishan to the Fire Palace and slowly tortured them to death.” 

“How old were you?”

“Nine.” He smiled. “I was quite spoiled then, both Wen Xu and I. Both our mothers wished the best for their son, and my mother – she told me I should not be the first son, not only because Wen Xu was older, but because she wished me the freedom to do what I wanted, when I wanted, with whoever I wanted.”

“Now I am the first and only son.” His voice shook. “I do not want this. I am not capable of being a good leader.”

“You are. You are capable. Everyone is, if you try enough. You – you listen to me, a commoner and a maid.” JiaoJiao took his hands and knelt before him. “You can be a good leader, if you learn. And anyone can learn, even if it’s difficult.”

“Can they? What if I don’t want to?” Wen Chao frowned. “Don’t you think I’m terrible, worrying for myself when my brother just died?”

JiaoJiao weighed her words carefully. “It’d be easier to think so. But I saw your initial reaction, too, A-Chao. I think worrying about yourself is a coping mechanism to avoid the fact that you have a lot of grief and unresolved feelings regarding your brother. And now they’ll never...Well, now only you are here to resolve those grievances. And it’s hard to be alone.”

Wen Chao swallowed hard. He hunched his shoulders. “Am I alone?”

“I beg your pardon?” JiaoJiao’s heart skipped. 

“I know you won’t leave me alone.”

JiaoJiao tried to shake off her guilt. “You’re right, A-Chao. I wouldn’t.” She shuddered. “May I ask what happened to Wen Xu’s mother?”

“She died when I was fourteen, on a night hunt. Wen Sect defeated a powerful assassin, but he used his last strength to attempt my father’s life. She leapt in front and took the assassin’s dagger instead. His second partner to die in front of him.” Wen Chao grimaced. 

The dagger...JiaoJiao had to wonder. Was this the same cursed object that Qin Su would later use to kill herself? 

“Afterwards, Father became determined to increase control over the cultivation world, while my sniveling brother spent hours in the library, reading to avoid grieving her.” Wen Chao couldn’t stop himself from insulting his brother. He was so angry that he had died!

“I can’t imagine your Father appreciated that much,” JiaoJiao prompted. 

“He emphasized all aspects of learning, but yes, eventually, he accused Wen Xu of neglecting the rest of his studies for his precious mathematics.” 

“Mathematics?” JiaoJiao tried not to giggle. The image of the angry, powerful Wen Xu as a mathlete was just too ridiculous. In their high school, she would be the one tormenting him . 

The thought filled her with guilt. 

“My brother was very boring until – I can’t speak more. Please don’t make me.” Wen Chao stopped short. 

The marriage, JiaoJiao suspected. She wanted to ask more, but now was not the time when he suffered enough.

“I don’t think I can make you do anything, can I, Master Wen?” she asked instead. 

Not second master. He hated that. Aloud he said, “I prefer A-Chao.”

“Then no matter what titles you inherit, I’ll call you A-Chao,” she told him, lying, lying, lying, as if she really cared.

She didn’t love him. She didn’t even entirely like him. 

But she wished she could like him, could redeem him too.

System, is redeeming Wen Chao an available task ? She asked as her tears began to spill over.

[The System wishes to remind you that sometimes depth, or the exposure of multiple sides, is redemption itself].

Stop philosophizing! Oh.

You’re saying that I have to redeem myself, and through it, him? Then let me rephrase: is saving Wen Chao’s life an option?

[Anything is an option. We are here to compile an assessment for you].

[To save his life would lose you 100 points for OOC behavior upon initiation. Likelihood of task success: given the power of Wei WuXian’s demonic cultivation, alongside his and Jiang Cheng’s desire for revenge, the System estimates 5%]. 

JiaoJiao felt something crack inside her. Fuck you, fuck you, it’s so unfair.

Wen Chao was doomed, and he didn’t even know it. 

Despair and emptiness ate at her until she wrapped her arms around him willingly. He pulled her to him, his mouth latching onto hers.

I can’t save you . JiaoJiao ran her hands through his hair. I’ll just comfort you, give you a moment of happiness. Because I don’t hate you, I can’t hate you. 

She pulled him back to their bed, positioning him atop her. For the first time, it didn’t hurt at all, despite the discomfort of tears mixed with their sweat. 

Wen Chao caressed her face, hovering over her. He was crying. “I really...don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. When this is over, I’ll make you an official concubine, and promote you in my Father’s Sect, where your political machinations can be put to more use.” 

JiaoJiao’s heart thudded with more guilt. Wen Chao loved her, at least for now, and she couldn’t even distinctly like him. The most she could feel was a hope that he had a swift death.

But if she could save him, why not try?

There was a 5% chance.

He drew her tightly against his bare chest, where she could listen to his heartbeat, the proof that he was alive, for now.

There was a 5% chance.

But if she tried, could she redeem herself? In fact, tonight she felt compassionate enough, seen his human potential enough, to sleep with him and actually – want to.  

No, she couldn’t have wanted to sleep with a creepy villain. She was not a silly teenage girl falling for a bad boy. 

I’m not falling, but I don’t think he is a creepy villain. I think he’s a broken, spoiled man . 

Wen Chao’s breath came evenly, and she watched his sleeping face with pity.

What actions nullified what motivations? 

I don’t love you, but I’m grateful I got to know you, she prayed to him. I’m going to regret a lot, but not knowing you. 

Yearning to flee the emotions welling inside her, she plunged into strategy. 

If Wen Xu was dead, and he was, and she was grieving a man she didn’t even like through the grief of his brother, whom she didn’t particularly like either, then this must be around the time that Nie Mingjue met Meng Yao. 

Good. If she could interfere in that relationship, if she lived long enough, she would be very excited.

The wind howled outside, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

How long had it been after Wen Xu’s death that Wen Chao was killed? She couldn’t recall. None of the adaptations had been clear, and she couldn’t remember if the novel specified.

She was probably safe tonight, at any rate. The idea of both Wen RuoHan’s sons killed in one day would surely have carried over to any other adaptation. And she felt too sorry for Wen Chao to try to run. 

But just as her eyes drifted shut, the window opened, exposing their ears to the lonely melody of a sinister flute. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

Wrong

JiaoJiao sat straight up with a gasp. Tonight? Tonight? Wen Chao really died the same day as Wen Xu? Why didn’t the fandom write more about this? Why didn’t she remember?

“JiaoJiao?” Wen Chao cracked open an eye.

Ignoring him, she scrambled towards the window. Her voice was crisp and cool, contrasting with the boiling fear inside her. “This opened on its own.”

“It’s just the wind,” he said grumpily.

She shook her head, gazing towards the black silhouette that stood directly in the moonlight. Wei WuXian, I love you, my drama gremlin, but not right now.

“No person could get in past the guards, and no demon past the talismans,” he said, lifting his head.

“Well, someone is.” She slammed the window shut. 

“It’s just a messenger!” Wen Chao stomped to his feet, only to freeze at the sight of the unfamiliar figure – and no guards. “Where’d all those fuckers run off to?”

The flute carried itself past the glass. JiaoJiao cursed and, ripping her already flimsy nightgown, shoved the fabric in her ears. She pulled off more and handed it to Wen Chao. “We shouldn’t listen to this.”

“It’s just music, isn’t it?” he asked nervously. 

“It is not. Can’t you feel it?” To be honest, she had no idea if she was crazy yet or just panicking. Her heart pounded, and she felt faint, and she hated herself, yes, but she always hated herself. So maybe she was just panicking. 

Still, Wen Chao obeyed. He had never seen JiaoJiao this beside herself, and it frightened him into compliance.

The music was still audible, but not all the notes. He reached for his new sword as an inhuman howl pierced the night. “The guards!”

JiaoJiao turned to look outside, but Wen Chao shouted again. 

She whirled around to see a pair of bloodied eyeballs lying on the floor. They rolled back and forth, twitching.

“What the fuck?!” screeched Wen Chao, probably the most sensible remark he’d ever made.

A giggle came next. A pale ghoul child pushed open the door, lying right in the doorway. It smacked its mouth and whined.

 Wen Chao breathed harder. He ran to the window and, pushing it back open, shouted his lungs out, “Wen ZhuLiu! Wen ZhuLiu!”

The baby crawled closer, and JiaoJiao’s stomach turned. She couldn’t think or move at all – so useless –

And then she saw Wen Chao grapple for a talisman they’d placed on their window. With a jolt, she snatched it from him. “Get rid of that!”

“Are you crazy? Why would you do that?” he shouted as she dropped it from the window.

“If they’re not doing their job to keep evil spirits out, there’s something wrong with them!” she fired back. Just last night, she had checked them, as she had every night. How had Wei WuXian changed them so quickly? The music? The guards?

Men in Wen robes began to stumble into the courtyard. Some screamed and ran berserk, others fell over and scratched themselves, others tried to flee from their insane comrades. Those who tried to help were run through with swords.

System! Report!  

[Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei WuXian, of Yunmeng Jiang Sect, age 17, has entered the supervisory office. You have been assigned the mission “Downfall of Qishan Wen Sect.” Your goal is to survive. ].

Tell me something I don’t fucking know! Like how to get out of here!

[Would you like a rated system of survival chances for each escape attempt?]

Yes! She clutched Wen Chao’s arm like the scared little girl she was.

[Escape with Wen ZhuLiu and Wen Chao: chance of initial survival: 95%. Chance of long-term survival after encountering Jiang Cheng: <0.1%. Difficulty level: easy. Cost: 500 B points for sabotaging the redemption of Wang LingJiao]

[Flee to Qishan: chance of survival:  67%. Contains the task of talking to Wei WuXian. Difficulty level: highly challenging].

[Run away by yourself: chance of survival: 50% Difficulty level: moderate. Cost: 500 B points for sabotaging the redemption of Wang LingJiao].

[Kill Wen Chao: chance of initial survival: 55% Chance of survival after encountering Wen ZhuLiu: 50%. Contains the task of talking to Wei WuXian. Difficulty level: high].

What the fuck ? These all suck ! She doubled over in panic. How were her least costly options also the hardest? 

“Wen ZhuLiu!” cried Wen Chao, backing up as the ghoul baby continued to approach. His hands shook as he unsheathed his sword. 

Was she really going to have to watch a demon baby run through with a sword? JiaoJiao couldn’t stop herself from thinking of CuoCuo and pitying the damned thing. Dammit! She had to do something!

She needed –

Scanning the room, JiaoJiao noticed the stool by Wen Chao’s desk and gagged. No, no, no, this was not how she was going to die. She wasn’t touching that!

She sent her elbow through the glass, shattering the window. 

“What are you doing?” screamed Wen Chao, horrified by the gashes on her arm.

“Making a hole large enough to get us out of here! Who knows how many other creeps are on the stairs?” She grabbed him.

“Those monsters are in the courtyard, too!” Wen Chao protested.

“Well, shouldn’t we be in a position where Wen ZhuLiu can actually reach us?”

He pressed his lips in a firm line, but nodded. Taking her arm, they leapt out of the tower together.

Guards and disciples staggered about. Some were banging their heads into the walls until their brains spilled from their skulls, but still they did not stop.

Others gnawed their own fingers, biting them off and lapping up the blood.

“ What the fuck ?!” Wen Chao screamed again. He seized her, holding her tight. 

“I don’t know, I really don’t know!” she exclaimed. This was – so cruel –

“Wait!” She reached for a disciple, a teenager not even her age, but he had already stabbed himself twice. As she watched, he began to pull out his own intestines.

She screamed in horror, because he wasn’t dead yet, but he was already gone. 

“Second Master Wen.” Wen ZhuLiu swept towards them. He also seemed to have blocked his hearing, given the scraps in his ears.

“What took you so long?” spat Wen Chao.

Before Wen ZhuLiu could not answer, JiaoJiao interrupted, fighting for control, “Is anyone else sane?”

“Not that I could find.” He knocked the teenager back. The boy, in turn, sent his sword through his own throat, and JiaoJiao hated herself for feeling relieved. 

“What should we do?” wailed Wen Chao.

“It’s Wei WuXian,” JiaoJiao said.

“What?” He glared at her. Wen ZhuLiu looked grim. 

“He’s making good on his promise. It has to be him,” she said firmly.

“Do you have a plan?” He clung to her arm.

She glanced at him in surprise. Why not mix two escape plans together and hope they offset each other’s costs?  “I...you won’t like it.”

“I’ll like it more than this. Stop! Don’t you remember you serve me?” Wen Chao screamed futilely at another guard, who cackled as he offered him stringy flesh from his own  legs.

“We should split up. To ensure that at least one of us three makes it back to Qishan, so that Wen RuoHan knows about this.” And perhaps, Wen ZhuLiu at least could be spared. Or Wen Chao. One of them. 

“I can’t be alone!” Wen Chao cries.

Oh, fuck this.

“Yes, you can! You are enough on your own!” She grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. “Stop, think, and realize you can do more than you think! Are you a Wen or not?!” 

Wen Chao’s mouth fell open. He didn’t yell or protest, and she felt a flicker of alarm. 

Straightening, she turned to Wen ZhuLiu, the reasonable one. “The three of us are certainly his principal targets. Splitting up increases our odds of survival.”

He nodded. 

Wen Chao, however, had a glazed expression on his face.

“A-Chao?” she asked in alarm. No, please, I can’t watch this.

“I – I can’t –” he begins to laugh, and pull at his hair.

“Fuck!” she yelled, and Wen ZhuLiu grabbed him. “Wen ZhuLiu, you take him! I’ll go on my own!”

He nodded, and she turned away, just as another guard dove for her nearly-exposed chest, chomping his teeth like he wanted to eat her.

JiaoJiao ducked, and the guard crashed into the earth, devouring the dirt. She stumbled over her nightgown, stunned beyond reason. 

A man’s fingernails dug into her flesh like claws, hauling her upwards. 

A crazed man, grabbing her –

She couldn’t help it. Even she sounded weak, JiaoJiao couldn’t imagine another outlet for her terror other than shrieking at the top of her lungs.  

“JiaoJiao!” Wen Chao lunged out of Wen ZhuLiu’s grasp.

She felt him strike her chest, knocking her backwards.

She saw the swing of a silver sword.

She heard the unmistakable gurgle of a sword striking flesh.

She bit her tongue and tasted her own blood.

And smelled blood that was not her own.

Wen Chao staggered before her, a gash in his neck.

What? No! System! This couldn’t really be happening. 

[Wen Chao, Second Son of Wen Ruohan: Carotid artery has been compromised. Chance of survival: 6%]. 

She should run. Take her chance. But instead, she grabbed him, slamming her slender hands over the spewing wound, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good.

Without hesitation, Wen ZhuLiu flew them the top of the tower. He pushed her hands aside and began pouring spiritual energy into his master’s wound.

Of course, she was too useless to even do that. JiaoJiao wanted to scream curses, because if Wen Chao had to die, and he did, he didn’t – he shouldn’t die sacrificing himself for her. That manner of death should be reserved for protagonists only, right?

Besides, she didn’t even love him. And in the novel, Wen Chao was definitely not in love with Wang LingJiao. He couldn’t have changed, right?

“How bad?” Wen Chao managed. His vocal cords were intact, at least. 

“Don’t move,” said Wen ZhuLiu. His eyes burned, because even if he didn’t care for Wen Chao, he cared for Wen RuoHan, and Wen RuoHan cared for his sons. 

“My father…”

“We’ll find him.” 

Wen ZhuLiu has always been realistic, even in the novel. He ought to know that Wen Chao’s chances were low. JiaoJiao narrowed her eyes. 

Wen ZhuLiu noted that the flow of scarlet blood was ebbing from the influx of energy, but he was in no position to be moved, and he had no suitable bandages with him.

He’s just trying to keep him calm until we’re caught . She felt a sob rise in her throat. 

Wen Chao met JiaoJiao’s eyes. “Run.”

“What?” she cried.

“I’ll...slow you down…” His face was pale, very pale. Jasmine had O negative blood, a universal donor; was JiaoJiao the same? How did one set up blood donation in the middle of mass death? Why did she want to save him?

“Wen ZhuLiu…”

“I’m staying with you,” said Wen ZhuLiu firmly. 

You can’t save him. JiaoJiao couldn’t help herself. She pinched him.

He looked up at her, no illusions in his eyes. “Better die trying.”

She nodded. Should she move? She wanted to live, but she didn’t want them to die, and fuck, fuck, fuck it all.  

But then Wen ZhuLiu removed his own robe, the one emblazoned with the sun crest, the one he cherished. JiaoJiao thought he was going to stop up the wound, but instead he shoved the robe onto her shoulders.

“What are you doing?!” She jerked away.

[Congratulations! You have received a key prop: the coat of Core-Melting Hand. You have been awarded 10 B points]. 

This didn’t feel like an award. Tears stung her eyes. 

“I put letters and information in my sleeves,” Wen ZhuLiu said with an uncharacteristic urgency to his low voice. “You are right. Someone has to make sure Wen RuoHan hears about this. Qishan should take five days by foot.”

“I’m not leaving A-Chao!” she hissed. Maybe she was confused by the demonic music. Maybe she was just ordinary confused and ornery. 

[You have lost 5 B points for OOC behavior].

She was too distressed to curse the System as she typically did. 

“Go, JiaoJiao,” said Wen ZhuLiu softly. Calling her the nickname she’d impatiently demanded of him just this evening.

Wen Chao’s pallor was nearly gray. He was so weak that he more mouthed the words rather than spoke. “Go.”

JiaoJiao wasn’t sure what came over her, but she pressed her lips to his one last time, the last comfort she could offer. 

She grabbed Wen ZhuLiu’s hand and held it firmly. 

She could think of nothing to say, so instead she whispered, “Goodbye, Wen Qiu.”

He deserved better than such a name, but if she called him Zhou Qiu – what she meant as praise, he would only see as an insult. JiaoJiao could only hope that perhaps the meaning behind her words would ring louder than her actual words.

She scrambled down from the roof and fled, past the guard drowning himself, past the guard impaling himself on his own sword.

She glanced back only once, to see that a third, black-clad figure had joined Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu on the roof. 

At least this time, it would be quick.

JiaoJiao raced along the forest, tears of terror and actual fucking grief streaking her face. How? How could she grieve a villain who had a more peaceful death than his book counterpart?

It didn’t feel like redemption for him or Wen ZhuLiu or anyone else, least of all her. If anything, for not warning them, wasn’t she a murderer?

But this was war. Was it still murder? No, it couldn’t be, even if it was sadistic, it was justified vengeance. 

And she was a stupid teenage girl whose only contribution has been earplugs. Fucking earplugs. She was useless, just useless. Sympathizing with a villain like every dumbass girl, thinking she could save him, even if she didn’t love him. She was the reason people thought fangirls were stupid. 

And now she was running away with her enemy’s secrets, not to give to the protagonists, but to give them to her enemy. Because she fucking wanted to fulfill their last request. Surely she could spy later – oh, who was she kidding? She’d failed to accomplish anything with Wen Chao!

She was so stupid !

JiaoJiao stumbled over a tree root and screamed aloud. “Fuck!”

She slammed her fist into the tree’s rough bark, scraping the skin off her knuckles. 

Wait, no, was this normal? Sure, she always had self-harm tendencies, but was this Wei Wuxian’s influence? Was she about to die, too?! 

She screamed again, unable to control her emotions. Just like a fucking teenage girl. Helpless, stupid, bound to her emotions, just like her peers had accused her.

The notes of a flute slithered through the trees. 

“No,” she moaned. “No, please, God. Xie Lian. Come on!”

@ System, gimme a location on Wei WuXian.

[Wei WuXian: located ten feet behind you].

She whirled around, but if Wei WuXian was here, she didn’t see him. Instead she saw a Wen Sect soldier, the one she’d scolded last week for his poor advice. His neck hung at an unnatural angle, and his eyes circled wildly as he grabbed at her.

Did he want revenge? She had only been harsh to be in-character. That, and she was right, and he was wrong.

“Stay away!” she shrieked, lifting her skirts and beginning to run again.

The intensity of the flute picked up again. In front of her, two more Wen disciples appeared, one with a smashed-in face that struck her with terror, the other a guard who had just arrived tonight, who seemed to have slit his own wrists.

She froze, and the flute continued.

“Shut it up!” she howled back at Wei WuXian. “You’re already trying to kill me, do you really have to taunt me too?!”

This was hopeless. The System couldn’t even save her.

[Likelihood of outrunning Wei WuXian: 0.4%].

Told you I was incapable!

More guards appeared. One hopped, having sawed off his own leg. Others had eaten their own fingers, plucked their own eyeballs. That one was guided by another guard, whom she recognized as his best friend in life.

JiaoJiao laughed with despair. Those two were nice. This was all so, so wrong.

I helped cause their death. Maybe I deserve it.

“Wei WuXian! Show yourself at least!” she yelled. “Not all these Wens helped kill your friends at Lotus Pier! Some of them were really kind and – and they were basically forced into service! You think you’re righteous? Why didn’t you just target Wen ZhuLiu, Wen Chao, and I?!”

A guard swiped at her, and she used her cheerleading techniques to high-kick him square in the jaw. 

When she regained her bearings, she was entirely encircled by at least two dozen corpses. 

“Oh. Oh fuck.” She drew Wen ZhuLiu’s robe tighter, fighting to stay calm. How was she going to die in a zombie apocalypse? How was this real life? 

She was too fucking bitter and scared to implore the System or any gods to assist. 

She had thought if she ever succeeded in suicide, it would be from sadness, but spite was a stronger motivator than she expected. She could die, and fuck the System. 

The zombies – fierce corpses – lunged forward.

JiaoJiao held up her arms to shield herself and screamed. 

The zombies stopped suddenly. 

JiaoJiao frowned.

They still surrounded her. They were close enough to touch. But they didn’t move.

“Oh, come on! I know I was wrong, okay? Make it fast, Wei WuXian! Fast!” 

The corpses looked at her with rage, but they came no closer. 

She lowered her arms slowly. Hysterical giggles began to set in. “I’m getting bored. Wei WuXian? I think your army is broken?” 

A dark figure with glowing red eyes emerged from the trees behind her. 

For a moment, they glared at each other. 

“You know, you’d probably make a really good torturer in the Fire Palace!” she spat. She dissolved into more laughter. “Aha-ha-ha! You really learned this in three months, after breaking all those bones! You, like, you really are a genius! Wen RuoHan would love you! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

She stopped her laughter with an abrupt shriek. “Oh, fuck me and my life!”

Wei WuXian’s response was a single, shrill note from Chenqing. 

The fierce corpses struggled forward, but once more they stopped. 

He blew more notes. They shivered, trying to obey their master. And yet, though they flailed about, they did not attack her.

“Like I said, they’re broken!” she said with feverish glee.

Twigs snapped under his feet as the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation approached. He blew straight into the ear of one corpse, and it gave a guttural growl, but could not move closer.

His gaze swept back to her. His eyes were still murderous. “You.”

“Please don’t kill – ” Yes, here she was, begging.

“Who are you?” he interrupted.

“Wang LingJiao.” Had the System intervened? Why? She could fail her task and die from losing too many B points, so she should be able to die from in-universe causes without the System’s intervention. She burst into another round of miserable laughter. “My friends call me JiaoJiao, or they would if I had any, which I don’t.” 

“Who. Are. You.” He pushed the corpses away and seized her arm. 

“JiaoJiao, care to be my new friend?” She giggled until she was hyperventilating. 

Wei Wuxian spoke curtly. “Then, may I ask, who were you?”

JiaoJiao didn’t really believe this. He couldn’t know, and she couldn’t answer. “‘May I ask?’ You’re so polite for a vengeful demon master. What the fuck is this?” 

His eyes swept her up and down. Despite the same appearance, despite the same scandalous clothing underneath a Wen robe, he remained certain of his hypothesis. “You’re not the Wang LingJiao who besieged Lotus Pier, demanded my hand, branded my flesh.” 

JiaoJiao gaped at him. For a moment, she waited.

“My corpses only attack those I ask them to.” His lips curved up slightly. “I asked them to attack my enemy, the Wang LingJiao who assisted in the destruction of Lotus Pier.” 

System???

[ You are still bound to the System. As such, you cannot reveal your past. Cost: you will be placed at 0 total B points].

Shit . She thought fast. “You’re quite presumptuous. Perhaps there is another explanation, since you’re rather green with demonic cultivation.”

“Ah, but did you not just call me a genius yourself?” 

He had caught that. Good? Maybe? She wasn’t sure, but high school had certainly rendered her an expert in innuendo and insinuations. “I’m very sorry, but I cannot affirm your suspicions.”

“Cannot?” Wei WuXian raised his eyebrows.

“I cannot. Apologies to your pride.” She did her best to imitate JiaoJiao’s pompous tone.

“I see.”

“What do you see?” She crossed her arms. What could she say? Hi, I really like you, you’re awesome and I wanna be just like you someday? Actually I’m pretty far from that...

“ Desire and ability can be different.” He tilted his head. 

“As Wen Chao’s mistress, I can certainly affirm that,” she said, prompting a surprised laugh from Wei Wuxian.

She didn’t really feel better for the joke. In fact, her throat thickened. 

He’d...saved her life. She didn’t like Wen Chao, but she didn’t want to joke about him at all. He’d been so scared, and tentative about the future, she wondered if he couldn’t have been redeemed if he’d only lived long enough. 

“So.” Wei WuXian studied her face. “How long?”

She let out a breath of belief. He had caught her hints. And the System had not punished her, just like when Wen ZhuLiu noticed!

“Why do you need to hurt me?” JiaoJiao laced her voice with disdain. “You already achieved your desires when you punched me right before you went tumbling down into the Burial Mounds.”

Wei WuXian placed Chenqing by his side. “I see.”

She didn’t dare hope. “Do you?” 

“I would like to ask you one more thing. The Wens have done a lot of evil since then.” He frowned. 

“And yet your monsters, who attack your enemies, won’t attack me,” she replied hastily.

“Mmm.”

JiaoJiao couldn’t help it. Her shippy heart began to race. “Nice imitation of Lan WangJi there.” 

He looked defensive. “You should refer to him as Second Master Lan.” 

“Nah.” She shook her head. “Lan WangJi is fine. Courtesy name and all. You though, you probably call him Lan Zhan.” 

Wei WuXian wasn’t sure what to make of this woman who seemed to know an awful lot about him. Perhaps he could acquire more information if he kept her talking. “It does annoy him more.”

“Is that all?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” 

Wei WuXian was evidently still a moron. 

“You’ll find out.” She waved her hand. 

He scowled. “If you don’t I will consider you an enemy!” 

[Warning: Revelation of plot points will also return you to 0 B points].

“I cannot,” she repeated. 

He blew out his breath. “I understand.” 

Wei WuXian raised Chenqing again and sent three notes whistling to the night sky.

The corpses began to disperse. They would forever follow their master, but at a distance for now.

“Thank you?” She shuddered. 

“You said some of them were not my enemy. Why only you?” Wei WuXian actually looked a bit guilty.

You really are the same underneath it all, she thought sadly. “I don’t know...no wait, maybe I do. They were your enemy, but they were not wicked. They would have fought for the Wens, however reluctantly. I don’t know if you can make your flute only kill those who immediately want to kill you, or not.”

“I don’t know either. Maybe I’ll try it.” He examined Chenqing. “So what are you going to do now, seeing as you don’t support the Wens?”

“I don’t think I’d be accepted with your company.” She laughed uneasily. 

“I’d protect you, and tell them what I could.”

Of course he said that.

“You’re so kind, Wei WuXian, but they’ll all suspect me of being under a spell and use that along with my past. And the last thing you will need is division among those opposing Wen Sect.” She moved her hands to her sleeve, where the last papers from Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu remained. “I...have my own mission.” 

She held up the papers. “My pass to Nightless City. They’re not so important as to require sharing with you, but Wen RuoHan will like to see them. And once I find a way to move information to you, I will.”

“You’re a...you were Wen Chao’s mistress.” Wei WuXian scoops up the ghoul baby, which crawls towards his feet. It giggles on his shoulders, and she can’t help but cringe.  “Will you even be accepted?”

“Wen RuoHan thought I had a good mind for politics.” High school dynamics had trained her well in that, too. 

He mulled this over. “The quickest way to Qishan is through the Mountain Pass.”

“Thank you.” She bit her lip. “Life without a sword is hard, isn’t it?” 

Wei WuXian’s eyes hardened. Just then, they heard voices nearby.

System?

[Nearby persons: Jiang Cheng, Sect Leader of Yunmeng Jiang, courtesy name Jiang WanYin. Age: 17 years. Lan Zhan, Second Master of Gusu Lan Sect, courtesy name Lan WangJi. Age: 17 years].

Jiang Cheng and Lan WangJi had followed them here, naturally. They would have found Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu’s bodies already. 

She would be Jiang Cheng’s only remaining target. And she sure AF wasn’t going to allow more tension between him and Wei WuXian. 

“I should go,” she said, backing away. 

He nodded. 

“I hope we meet again, Wei WuXian. And that your reunion with your brother is open and honest,” she said pointedly.

“I hope we meet again when you can be honest with me,” he replied pointedly. 

She began to back away, but she had to ask. “Wen Chao...did he die before you reached him?”

Wei WuXian’s eyes flickered. “Shortly after.”

“And Wen ZhuLiu?”

“Beheaded.”

She nodded. Should she thank him for making it quick? Was that really something to thank him over?

Much like Nie Huaisang, she really didn’t know. So she turned and ran away.

[Congratulations! You have gained 200 B points for completing the task ‘Talk to Wei WuXian’].

Why did success feel so much like failure? Why was she fleeing to Qishan, to complete Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu’s last wishes, when her entire purpose was to undermine them? 

How was she supposed to redeem JiaoJiao when she had completely lost her grip on right and wrong?

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

The Palace of Sun and Flames

JiaoJiao had never known hunger like this, consuming hunger that left her salivating at tree bark and nibbling on grass. At least she assumed she hadn’t. Not that she much knew what her life was like before her parents adopted her, but she didn’t remember it, either.

The streams she’d drunk from – careful to boil the water like the germaphobe she had liked to joke she was but wasn’t – no longer kept her hunger at bay.

It had only been five days, and she felt almost ashamed of her pain. People all over the world starved for much longer, but she wasn’t accustomed to anything like this, in this life or the last. 

She could probably ask the System to direct her to food like it directed her to Nightless City, but she had no money, and was probably too weak to outrun anyone. And even if the System directed her to wild fruit she was free to eat, she wasn’t sure she should. 

Not only because she was angry with the System, a disembodied voice that had saved her life and damned her to this misery – where instead of redeeming herself, she dug her own grave, mourning when antagonists died. 

But she also avoided food because she needed to look pathetic for Wen RuoHan. He had a violent temper; if he judged her to have abandoned his son, he would kill her on the spot. Thus, looking pitiful was her best defense. 

Who cared if people weren’t supposed to judge by appearances? The world did, even if she didn’t like it. The superficial cultivation world definitely did. She wasn’t taking any chances.

The twelve ridges of Nightless City’s palace, adorned with eight heavenly beasts, glowed like dark fire in the setting sun. 

Metaphor , she thought, too tired to laugh at the absurdity. Try a little harder, System .

Wait. Now that she was here, she was no longer on speaking terms with the System. She had decided.

[Congratulations! You have gained 10 B points for remaining in character. Total points: 2040].

Wow . She didn’t even feel like her usual cursing. 

She staggered forward, her vision hazy. She was bent over and panting, but she was not giving up now. She would drag herself on her hands and knees if necessary. She would reach the gate of Nightless City.

As she finally came into view, one of two guards at the city gate drew his sword. He shoved the second guard behind him. “Look out! How did this creature get in?”

“Wait!” His partner, a tall gangly boy with terrible acne, stammered over the first guard’s shoulder. “Isn’t she – I mean – aren’t you…”

“Yes,” she whispered, barely conscious, shaking from hunger. “I’m s’pposed to meet with Sect Leader Wen…”

“Shouldn’t she be dead? How’d you live?” The boy peppered her with questions.

Shouldn’t . So they knew something had happened, if not the details. JiaoJiao closed her eyes.

“We can’t be sure she’s not a trap.” The guard aimed his sword at her. “Raise the alarm.”

“She looks weak to me.”

“I said, raise the alarm!” he bellowed.

“Okay, okay!” The boy thrust his sword forward, just a few feet beyond the gate. 

Her eyes flew open. A sparkle of red light flashed before her vision. 

What the bullshit?

JiaoJiao raised her head to see at least three guards flying towards her on gleaming swords.

An alarm system. All of Nightless City was under a protective barrier. 

So why hadn’t she set it off? Was it just to prevent people from leaving? She frowned, but before she could ask, the older guard was relaying her message to those who had arrived.

The boy, however, drew close to her side, and slipped a small bun from his sleeves.

She looked upon him like he was an angel of God. “Thank you.”

He nodded, blushing, and only when she bit into the meat bun – a meat bun – did she realize that in a few months, this kind young man, probably no older than a freshman in high school, would be dead for serving Wen Sect.

Tears clogged her vision, but she hungrily devoured the bun, fighting the nausea that resulted. Her body was too shocked to receive much food right now. 

Some of the responders looked at her with pity, others with suspicion. Either way, they seemed set on bringing her before Wen RuoHan.

I’m scared, she thought as she was grabbed and flown towards the Palace of the Sun and Flames. 

Fuck redemption, fuck The Right Thing. Right now, if she closed her eyes and ignored all the innocent cultivators and laypeople who would die soon, she could remember Wen Chao telling her to go, could remember the soft look Wen ZhuLiu gave her. Wen Chao was a fool, but Wen ZhuLiu had thought she would be safe with Wen RuoHan. Surely he was wrong about many things, but he was rarely unrealistic. 

They entered the plaza before the palace, where three flags stood. The tallest was adorned with sun and flames. The others were smaller, but no less intricate. She wasn’t going to ask the System, but she had a feeling they represented Wen RuoHan, Wen Xu, and Wen Chao.

Wen RuoHan was a villain, so perhaps he would not be hurt by this. But her heart hurt thinking of how Wen Xu and Wen Chao’s flags remained while they did not.

He pushed her out of the way. And then Wei WuXian had helped her. 

Both of them, an antagonist and a hero, haunted her.

Her stomach flipped, because as she was carried up the stairs, Wen Daiyu appeared at the top, ever elegant, pale as moonlight. 

JiaoJiao could think of nothing to say by the time she reached the zenith.

Wen DaiYu held up her hand, and the guards escorting JiaoJiao paused.

Wen DaiYu’s eyes were already red, probably as news of Wen Xu’s death had already reached her.

So she did care for him, at least a little.

Wen DaiYu opened her mouth. Her eyes scanned JiaoJiao’s exhausted face, asking a question she could not vocalize. 

The dark circles under her eyes, the robe too large for her, the torn nightgown underneath – all of these answered Wen DaiYu’s inquiry. 

The little woman paused, murmuring something to herself. Her arms wrapped around her small body, trying futilely to comfort herself.

The retinue of maids who knelt behind her grabbed their mistress, straightening her as she bowed her head. Tears splashed on Wen DaiYu’s cheeks.

JiaoJiao opened her mouth. Speak, damn you, JiaoJiao! “I’m –”

Wen DaiYu brushed off her maids to grab her by her shoulders. “Are you hurt, Wang LingJiao?”

JiaoJiao stared at her for a moment. “Young Madame Wen...n-no.”

Would she demand to know why? Ask why JiaoJiao hadn’t died instead? Or were her tears merely guilt for feeling relieved that the husband who just viewed her as breeding fodder was gone?

JiaoJiao braced herself. 

“I’m glad,” said Wen DaiYu, and she seemed sincere.

JiaoJiao was shocked. How did Wen Xu fall for, and Wen Chao marry, such a pure-hearted girl? Or was this an act? Was Wen DaiYu actually Nie Huaisang 2.0?

“I –”

“Don’t tell me. Please. I don’t want to know.” Wen DaiYu closed her eyes, though her tears continued. Even in her grief, she looked graceful. 

The guards holding her arms trembled, but did not move. They knew they oughtn’t keep Wen RuoHan waiting, but they didn’t dare disobey their fallen heir’s wife. “Sect Leader Wen must see her now.”

“Take her in. I will follow after a minute.” Wen DaiYu took her maids’ offered hands, collecting herself with their energy.  

JiaoJiao cringed, a dagger of terror through her stomach. The two red doors swung open, revealing a room of twelve golden pillars and a throne carved entirely from jade. A tall man with golden beads in his hair sat in the center.

A pool of red soaked the tiles, and JiaoJiao’s heart hammered until she realized a golden wine goblet lay nearby. Wen RuoHan had thrown the cup, probably – almost certainly – because her arrival meant another of his sons had died.

She was thrown to her knees. The guards waited behind her. 

“Sect Leader Wen.” Her voice broke.

“Wang LingJiao.” He laughed coldly. “It seems the slut survived, while my son and most talented cultivator did not.”

Slut . She jerked. Sure, it was true in this world, but she was Jasmine, too, who wasn’t a slut. Right?

But did a woman engaging in an affair to gain a position she otherwise couldn’t dream of – how was that being a slut, either? 

Dulling her humiliation, JiaoJiao tried to remember how Meng Yao had catered to Wen RuoHan’s ego. “You’re right, of course, Sect Leader Wen, I am worthless and survived when many who deserved better did not. But I have only ever wanted to serve your son through him, Qishan Wen. I still do, or I would not be here.” 

“Did I ask you?”

“No, Sect Leader Wen.” She missed Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu by her side. She hadn’t realized how much safer she’d felt.

The room was silent.

“But – surely you must know that it was still worthwhile to mention.” The words fell out of her mouth. “Sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.” 

Wen RuoHan snorted. “Go on.”

JiaoJiao groveled, lowering her forehead until it pressed against the cool tiles. “The supervisory office was overrun by Wei WuXian –”

“Was he not the miscreant Chao-er told me he had killed?” Wen RuoHan brimmed with rage.

“Yes!” she pled. “But he was only dropped into Yiling Burial Mounds. His death was all but certain, but A-Chao did not confirm it.”

The soft way she spoke his son’s name touched Wen RuoHan, as much as he could be touched by sentiment. “My son was a fool.”

If this was a test, she wasn’t going to fail. “It was an oversight on my part, as well. Mine, Wen ZhuLiu’s, and A-Chao’s.”

“I see. So you should be punished for my son’s death, as the only survivor.” 

“If my death would bring him back, I would.” She lifted her head to show her tears. “I am here to warn you. The attack wasn’t like you think at all. It began with the playing of a flute.”

Wen RuoHan’s eyes flickered. “A flute.”

“I believe those of us who blocked our ears kept out sanity longer, but those who didn’t began to harm themselves. And then ghouls and eyeballs and all – all kinds of horrible sights –”

No, she shouldn’t cry over the bloodshed. Wen RuoHan was a sadist.

“A masterpiece of horror,” she finished, noting the curiosity in Wen RuoHan’s despicable expression. “We three decided to split up and flee to increase the likelihood that at least one of us, his three principal targets, would survive.”

Sarcasm oozed from his voice. At least she thought it was sarcasm. “And you, the good-for-nothing behind the fact that the young masters regained their swords, are the only survivor?”

“Yes! I shouldn’t be! I’m a good-for-nothing slut, you’re right.” If JiaoJiao recalled, Meng Yao constantly defaced himself in front of Wen RuoHan to gain his favor. “The only reason I am here is because he – he – my Lord – your son died pushing me out of the way of a guard who had gone berserk.” 

Wen DaiYu started, and Wen RuoHan said absolutely nothing, 

She clasped her hands over her heart. “His throat was pierced. He couldn’t get far, so we wound up staying together. But neither Wen ZhuLiu nor I could stop the blood flow, and he couldn’t be moved or he’d bleed quicker.”

She gulped. “Wen ZhuLiu would not leave your son, but he took off his robe with these letters and told me to run. I protested, but he said that someone had to warn you about this dark power. And – I would have stayed, but A-Chao told me to go. It was my last chance to do anything for him. So I ran, because to lose face for Wen Sect is an honor.”

“The last I saw, Wen ZhuLiu was facing Wei WuXian and an army of ghouls alone.” JiaoJiao didn’t dare raise her head. 

When Wen RuoHan finally spoke, he said in a strange tone, “You expect me to believe that my foolish son behaved honorably for once in his life?”

JiaoJiao weighed her words. At last, she settled for, “I wouldn’t expect Sect Leader Wen to be fooled by the lies of a worthless slut.”

“I see,” he said. “Bring the letters forth.”

She began to crawl forward on her knees. It hurt. Moving like this was harder than she imagined. 

“Faster! I do not have all day,” he commanded. “Were you not used to working on your knees for my son?”

JiaoJiao flushed. For a moment, she wished Meng Yao was right here, right now, ready to slash his throat. Unwilling to submit entirely, she tried to joke away her pain, “There wasn’t much walking involved is this servant’s service.” 

Wen RuoHan laughed. The sort of hollow laugh she’d heard her mother make when her grandfather had passed. The desperation to grab any reason to smile, to pretend everything was normal. “I suppose not.”

JiaoJiao shuffled forward, eventually taking the letters from her sleeves and handing them to Wen RuoHan.

His fingernails were long and sharp, like the donghua. She shivered. 

Wen RuoHan scanned them. “Wen ZhuLiu sent you here with this?”

“Yes. Battle plans and estimates of forces, but that was before this. There were hundreds of ghouls, and once our men fell, they became part of Wei WuXian’s army. It didn’t matter if their legs were gnawed off by their friends or if they’d eaten their own innards, they still followed him.” JiaoJiao didn’t want to give Wen RuoHan any help, but she wasn’t sure he wasn’t about to send her to the Fire Palace just for surviving. 

So she added, “Blocking the flute music helped delay the response, but I think – in the end, once we were in the thick of the resentful energy, it became hard to resist.”

“I see. So the most useful letter was you.” Wen RuoHan lifted her chin with his boot.

She tried to look at his sharp chin, rather than his eyes. 

“Afraid?”

“Your son died for me, so for his sake you would not kill me. But from your perspective, I have failed him, and so I do not know what to expect,” she admitted.

“If only there were a way to temporarily kill a person,” agreed Wen RuoHan.  

You callous fart . Still, even to save her life, she wasn’t on speaking terms with the System.

“Father.” A voice like jewelry broke into their conversation. 

Wen DaiYu stood behind JiaoJiao. “Father. She is the last one alive who spoke to A-Chao.”

Wen RuoHan scoffed. “And is Chao-er the one you mourn, dear daughter?”

JiaoJiao’s eyes widened. 

“Father!” Wen DaiYu raised her voice. “I mourn my husband, and my brother-in-law, as is only proper.”

“Hmm.” Wen RuoHan glared at her. He didn’t believe her in the slightest, but was that guilt JiaoJiao spied in his eyes?

Also, System, if you’ve made Wen DaiYu just another love triangle between the worst people in this story, you’ll need a redemption yourself! Now we’re back to not speaking, so don’t you dare respond.

He fell quiet. “What do you wish?”

“I wish to bring her back into my service, Father-in-law. And I believe that she could help us further.” Wen DaiYu kneels. 

“Get up! Are you my son’s wife or our servant?!” Wen RuoHan cut himself off, as if reminded anew that Wen DaiYu was no longer his son’s wife. For a split second, he looked almost pitiable.

Wen DaiYu rose dutifully. “Wang LingJiao only became my maid with guile and cleverness. She had no experience before me, but she learned quickly, even gaining small skills in cultivation, through the power of Nightless City and your majesty’s influence.” 

She took a deep breath. “Moreover, I am certain I do not need to remind you, my Father, of your remark two weeks past. That it was a pity Wang LingJiao had not been trained as a tactician instead of a maid, if she was half as good as your son spoke of her.” 

Wen Chao wrote about her to his father? JiaoJiao felt awash in guilt, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. Except maybe make the Wens think she was helping them. 

“Therefore, I must request that Wang LingJiao be re-appointed as my personal head maidservant, where she is still in a position to give us tactical advice while maintaining a position befitting one of her birth.” Wen DaiYu held her head high. “I will also attend our assemblies, as is only fitting of my position.” 

JiaoJiao was entirely flabbergasted. Wen DaiYu didn’t hate her? Didn’t begrudge her? Was she actually trying to help?

“Ah, yes, ever faithful beyond death…” Wen RuoHan looked at his tiny daughter-in-law with heavy eyes. 

JiaoJiao recalled what Wen Chao had said about his mother. With his two sons dead, would Wen RuoHan have to break his vow and take a new wife now? Or at least father children with concubines? Was such a prospect actually distressing to such a callous man?

“You have just seen her talent, as she correctly predicted your feelings regarding Wen Chao’s sacrifice. And I...I would like to speak more with the woman he gave his life for,” added Wen DaiYu.

“How could I deny my heir such a request?” Wen RuoHan answered JiaoJiao’s question without her having even posed it. 

She blinked in surprise, but Wen DaiYu had nodded. “Thank you, Father.”

“Get her cleaned up first. She’d stain a brothel with that clothing.” He kicked her away.

“We have plenty of clothing, certainly.” Wen DaiYu gestured to her maids. “Help Wang LingJiao follow me.” 

Wen DaiYu’s chambers were beautiful, adorned with a vaulted ceiling and an abundance of windows. A canopied red bed sat in the center, though it looked as no one had slept in it. Shelves of books – almost as many as a library itself – lined the walls. 

JiaoJiao bowed, wincing a little at the tightness of the servant’s robe she’d been handed. Wen ZhuLiu’s robe had been tossed away, as if it didn’t matter at all. 

Though she missed the intricacy of her attire with Wen Chao, she was relieved to see more of her chest covered, even if the fabric was tight enough to feel like she was being squeezed. “Young Madame Wen.”

“Do you feel better after having eaten something?” Wen DaiYu gestured towards the soup she’d ordered made. 

“Yes. You have been more kind than this slut deserves.” JiaoJiao watched her carefully, curious how she would respond to such a word. 

“Do not call yourself that in front of me,” Wen DaiYu commanded immediately. 

JiaoJiao nodded, momentarily relieved that Wen DaiYu did not seem to have rescued her for revenge. “Thank you, Young Madame Wen.” 

Wen DaiYu looked towards the dark windows and heaved a sigh before speaking again. 

“Wen RuoHan will ask you later, but I will ask now.” Wen DaiYu’s jaw quivered. “Is there a chance you and A-Chao have conceived?”

JiaoJiao blanched. What a question! She didn’t want to respond, but she pitied the other girl so much she almost wished she had a different answer. “No.”

She had no faith in the System, but it had rated the herbs as giving her a 1% chance. And given she had still bled up last week, she had no doubt it had worked. “I’m not sure if I should say I’m sorry.”

“You were never fond of little ones, I know.” Wen DaiYu offered her a sympathetic smile.

JiaoJiao tried to reign in her surprise.  She had not expected that the wife and mistress would have had such intimate discussions. 

Wen DaiYu shook her head. “Do not apologize to me. You could not have foreseen this.”

Well, it was only fair. Even if she was a servant. “I assume you also...are not?”

Wen DaiYu’s voice cracked. She hunched her shoulders in shame. “I was brought here for sons, and I could not even do that.”

“No!” JiaoJiao sucked in her breath. “You were his wife. You mattered for more than that.”

“Indeed, I am now heir apparent.” Wen DaiYu spoke with derision. Evidently, she had no desire for the position. 

She forced calm into her tone. “It’s quite the honor. Women with humble backgrounds like us.”

JiaoJiao cocked her head. How humble ? she wanted to ask. You’re still more refined in your pinky than I will ever be in my entire body, Jasmine or JiaoJiao.

“You don’t mean that,” she dared to say instead.

Wen DaiYu started. Evidently, not even in her own chambers, with her own personal maid, did she feel comfortable speaking her mind. Which, given how cruel JiaoJiao used to be, was probably wise. Who knew what would happen if she broke her act – her maids might claw each other for the chance to dethrone her and take her place. 

Wen DaiYu’s mask slipped back on. “My whims are just that. My ultimate desires are whatever Sect Leader Wen wants.”

“Yes, Wen ZhuLiu often spoke similar. Do all cultivators sound like they are from a cult? Aren’t you stronger in diversity?” JiaoJiao couldn’t believe she was quoting her high school’s inspirational posters, but hey, they weren’t exactly wrong.

Wen DaiYu smiled sadly at her pretty words.

“If it makes you feel any better,” JiaoJiao continued. “Wen Chao was, um, very concerned that none of his mistresses had a child. It – it very likely wasn’t even you.”

[The System awards you 5 B points for being in-character. Total B points: 2045]. 

Wen DaiYu paled a bit at such frank remarks. Her hand fluttered to her cherry red mouth. “Oh. I see.”

“I’m sorry. You probably don’t need to be reminded of my misdeeds,” said JiaoJiao awkwardly. “I just wanted to assure you not to blame yourself, Young Madame Wen.”

[The System penalizes you 5 B points for being OOC. Total B points: 2040]. 

Whatever. She wasn’t listening. 

“No, really, it’s all right. You – you did for him what I couldn’t. I am grateful he had you,” Wen DaiYu said, bowing to her.

What you couldn’t ? Aghast, JiaoJiao forced her to straighten. What was she talking about? 

“I am fatigued. I think we both ought to rest, Wang LingJiao.” Wen DaiYu avoided her eyes, gesturing to the smaller trundle bed besides hers. 

Apparently JiaoJiao had been a highly regarded maid. JiaoJiao was slightly surprised, as she thought her character had been too stupid and mean to be highly regarded. But no, the original JiaoJiao was self-serving and ambitious – of course she would act as people wanted. Like Meng Yao, but stupider.

How much of the original JiaoJiao’s cruelty was hers, and how much to appeal to Wen Chao? JiaoJiao had to wonder, even though she would probably never know the answer. 

She wanted to know more about the past. Hers and Wen DaiYu’s. She spoke with caution. “You can call me JiaoJiao, if it is not too familiar.”

Wen Daiyu’s slender eyebrows drew together. “You had requested I stop, after your position changed.”

“I was wrong.”

[The System penalizes you 5 B points for being OOC. Total B points: 2035]. 

“No more than I,” said Wen DaiYu quietly. “Good night, JiaoJiao.” 

That night, the screams of men tore the air. The Fire Palace, no doubt, was Wen RuoHan’s key outlet for the loss of his sons. 

JiaoJiao clutched herself. Should she redeem herself by freeing them all? As powerless as she was, any attempt would probably result in both their deaths and hers. 

A softer, more distressing sound filtered through the howls. Wen DaiYu was weeping. JiaoJiao raised her head to see her mistress’s little body quaking with grief.

How did one get over heartbreak? This wasn’t something that could be fixed by ice cream and jokes about cutting off his dick. 

The only thing she could think to do was reach up and put her hand on Wen DaiYu’s shoulder, OOC be damned.

Neither the System nor Wen DaiYu chastised her. In fact, the young woman’s hand traveled back to grab hers as she continued to cry. 

Unfortunately, JiaoJiao quickly learned that despite Wen DaiYu’s inexplicable favor, her retinue of six maids did not much care for Wang LingJiao.

She may have been the head maidservant, but the other maids were unwilling to let her into their clique. Clearly, they were unwilling to forgive the original Wang LingJiao’s past cruelty, and she didn’t entirely blame them.  

Still, for JiaoJiao, who had never had trouble with popularity in high school, this felt both unfamiliar and humiliating. It didn’t matter how many points she lost for extending OOC kindness to them – she was called a slut and a bitch the moment her back turned. When she woke up from nightmares of shredded flesh and ravaging ghouls, the maids only despised her more because she had apparently called out A-Chao’s name. 

She wanted to say it’s not my fault, he was just there most of the time, I didn’t even love him, I’m not doing this to hurt Wen DaiYu, I’m not the same person . 

She said nothing, enduring their jeers and righteous anger, sometimes taunting herself with their words as she went about her duties. Between the maids and Wen RuoHan, who liked to degrade her before Wen DaiYu and his council, she had an abundance of names to call herself.

The worst part was that while JiaoJiao mourned the enemies she probably deserved, and her own loneliness, she knew she should be mourning for something else.

With no confidants, she had no one to help her smuggle letters out of Nightless City. 

She suspected that Meng Yao must have coordinated with someone to send Lan Xichen the notes. He was a better read of character than her, probably able to tell if someone was loyal or not from a single conversation.

She, meanwhile, was despised and untrusted. 

JiaoJiao gradually admitted that she could not act on her own. She would have to wait, just like a teenage girl, needing a man to save her. She only had to wait, stewing in her self-hatred, and Meng Yao would appear in a few weeks. She was sure of it.

She hadn’t affected the plot so much that Meng Yao still wouldn’t run away to Nightless City, right?

[The System –]

Shut up!

“Where were you?” demanded a plain girl named Wu Ping, stopping her entry into Wen DaiYu’s chambers nearly two months later. 

“Another meeting with Sect Leader Wen and his council,” JiaoJiao said. After several weeks, she had given up on friendship, and only wanted not to be bullied. 

“Well, we needed you here, dusting off her books. They’re the only thing our Mistress truly treasures, and you’re her head maid, and you can’t even respect that,” snapped Wu Ping.

“What is your problem?!” JiaoJiao finally shouted. “I am too loyal to ensuring Wen Sect’s survival?”

Let me know what I did!

“Ha!” Wu Ping snorted. “As if you care for our mistress’s well-being. Many of us dallied with Wen Chao, willing or not, but you were the only one who took your position and threw it in our mistress’s face! She may have forgiven you, and treated you with grace, but we will not forget.”

She had expected the maidservants to be spiteful and ambitious, holding personal grudges, but it seemed their grudge stemmed from loyalty to their sweet mistress. JiaoJiao cursed her misjudgment. She ought to have used the System, but after so much time, she just felt ashamed. 

“You’re a pretty face, but can you really offer advice of worth? Because of you, Wen Ning is under arrest,” added Liu Fang, clenching her fists.

“What?” JiaoJiao jolted.  

“I wonder if she hopes Sect Leader Wen wants to fuck her next,” said a blunt girl named Cai Chen.

“Why you –” JiaoJiao was trembling. Wen Ning, Wen Ning was under arrest? She had assumed he and Wen Qing were away dealing with their family. 

Didn’t you refuse to ask the System where he was? You could have fixed this earlier, you selfish whore! 

There was so much she wanted to say – that she had seen the power of Wei WuXian, that she knew this world better than they – but instead, her rage boiled over in the form of a familiar insult.

“How cute. Aren’t you just jealous that Wen Chao didn’t like your face?” 

The System, to her puzzlement, did not award her points for being in-character. Perhaps because this was not a positive development. 

“ChenChen! JiaoJiao!” Wen DaiYu hurried into the room, concern knit across her angelic face. 

JiaoJiao wanted to leap out a window. Once more, she had caved to petty high-school antics, and of course now was the time Wen DaiYu would hear. 

The little woman’s tone dripped with disappointment. “All of you! We are fractured enough as it is. In such times, we ought to work together in harmony. A-Ping, you say you are indignant for my sake, but why? If I have chosen to forgive her, and you claim fidelity to me, why would you still bear your grudge? ChenChen, such language is unbecoming of you. And JiaoJiao, a person’s looks is an easy insult beneath your intelligence.” 

All four women were stood flushed with shame. 

But JiaoJiao didn’t have time to feign repentance. She turned to the one woman not scolded. “Liu Fang, what is this about Wen Ning?”  

Liu Fang began tersely, but altered her voice as soon as she saw her mistress’ frown. “His sister left for Weinan, directly disobeying Wen RuoHan’s orders, and was captured by Lanling Jin’s forces.”

“Indeed.” Wen DaiYu surveyed her maids. “As a consequence, our wise Sect Leader imprisoned Wen Ning as punishment. Do you know why?” 

Liu Fang bit her tongue, and Wu Ping shook her head.

Cai Chen replied instantly, “To punish Wen Qing for her disrespect.” 

JiaoJiao thought she finally understood how teacher’s pets felt. “No, it’s more than that. Sect Leader Wen adores Wen Qing. Imprisoning her brother, however, intimidates any potentially disloyal sects into staying, less their families experience the same fate.” 

JiaoJiao furrowed her brow, trying to calm her racing heart. Wen Ning should never, ever be imprisoned. “And it will dissuade our enemies from thinking that Wen Qing can be a bargaining tool.”

And maybe Wen Qing will help them . Though, if The Untamed was any indication, she would not for the sake of her other loved ones. Convince her this time, Jiang Cheng, and save her family too. 

“Precisely,” Wen DaiYu said simply. 

JiaoJiao ignored the other maids’ glares. “I must ask. Could they not have just pretended he was imprisoned?”

“Our Sect Leader is cautious.”

You mean paranoid . JiaoJiao wiped a sneer off her face, but Wen DaiYu raised her eyebrows anyways. 

“Not all prisoners taken to the Fire Palace meet a gruesome end.” Wen DaiYu said carefully. “Fear not, Liu Feng.” 

Liu Feng blushed. 

JiaoJiao frowned. Was she, Wen Chao’s wife, actually giving her his location? 

Why? Why are you kind to me? I slept with your husband! I’m a bully!

And then, heaven help her, her next thought filled her with elation.

She had actually affected a major plot point. 

Wen Ning wasn’t imprisoned in the donghua or the novel. He was only imprisoned in the live-action, but for helping Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian, not as a political pawn.

She wasn’t as pointless as she’d thought. Perhaps, on her own, she could redeem herself through both spying and friendship with Wen Ning, the world’s softest killer cinnamon roll. 

Maybe then she’d feel like she was worth something. Fuck, why were her motivations so selfish? 

That evening, Wen DaiYu coincidentally allowed her a few free hours. JiaoJiao couldn’t help but suspect that her mistress knew exactly where she would go.

Naturally, her logical arguments for why she should be allowed access to the Fire Palace were met with stern glares from the guards. Only when she turned around, tugged her tight dress down to expose her plump cleavage, pasted a coquettish smile on her face, did the guards cave. 

She felt their stares clinging to her, like disgusting brands, as she walked through the dungeon. She had thought she would stop being a slut without Wen Chao, but maybe the maids were correct. Maybe Wen RuoHan’s sadistic taunts were true. 

She shouldn’t let sleeping with one man dominate her life. 

But now, when she resorted to such tricks just to gain access to a prisoner she pitied, she wondered if she wasn’t doomed anyhow.

The cells under the Fire Palace reminded her of the one Wei Wuxian had been confined to in The Untamed . Minus the growls of a feral dog.

Dark, dank, and filled with the smell of mildew and filth. 

She knelt besides each cell, peering into the barred windows to see many tormented, bloodied men and a few women. Some had shaved heads, others burned flesh, others missing limbs. Most were too dazed to notice her peeping at them. 

Somehow, the idea that Wen RuoHan derived pleasure from this frightened her far more than Wei WuXian’s attack. How could she save them? How? 

Finally, towards the end of the row, she glimpsed an unharmed man in Wen robes. Wen Ning was instantly recognizable, an almost perfect blend of his donghua and live-action character, without the System’s help. 

Her success birthed the unfamiliar feeling of smugness, which she hadn’t felt in months. It was hard to feel smug as a mistress and a villain, with the possibility of death hanging over her head. 

Last time...well, she had made fun of Penelope, that awkward, glasses-clad but sweet cheerleader who didn’t run in their crowd. 

She wishes she could tell Penelope she was sorry. Even if JiaoJiao still found insisting on Penelope instead of Penny ridiculous, she shouldn’t have quoted Romeo and Juliet at her. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Was Jasmine the same under the name JiaoJiao? Or had she always been this bad? She deserved mistreatment. 

“Are you Wen Ning?”

A faint voice responded. “I – I  yes I am.”

“My name is Wang LingJiao.”

His voice was quiet, but held no derision. “I know who you are.” 

“Doubtless you’ve heard that I am the one who suggested you and your sister come to Nightless City.” 

“I have not.” 

Oh. Right. Wen RuoHan would probably take the credit all for himself. “I feel responsible for your current predicament. Other people wanted you to be punished for refusing Wen RuoHan’s orders! I was trying to mitigate that, and this was the result.”

“You aren’t responsible,” he says slowly. “Neither is Jiejie for leaving. If she can rescue our family, and we all survive, I do not regret my time here.”

“You will all survive,” she promised. “I promise. I will help you.”

He said nothing.

“You don’t have to trust me. But it’s the truth. I – I’ve changed,” she said.

[You have been deducted another 50 points. Total B points: 1490].

Fuck. Off.

“Why?”

“Huh?” She sighed. “I...you helped fix a mistake I made.”

“I did?”

She lowered her voice as much as she could. “Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were doing well when I fled for Qishan.”

Wen Ning inhaled sharply. “You…”

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the side quest ‘Save Wen Ning’].

JiaoJiao weighed this in her mind. Interesting. Okay. So Wen Ning didn’t have to die, here or later. Good.

“Consider myself indebted to you,” she said. 

“Then...can you find news of my sister?”

“Yes. I will let you know as soon as I hear something,” she vowed. She slipped a small pastry from her sleeve into the door.

She listened to the chains rattle as he moved closer. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, her voice catching. 

She hurried away, past the less fortunate prisoners, nameless and doomed and futile. Past the guards, whose gaze she wanted to scrub off until her skin and insides dissolved in a pillar of refining flame. 

She hated herself more with every step she took. Wen Chao, I wish you were alive, so I could persuade you to intervene – or is that just my teenage fangirl imagination? Thinking my vagina can make a man more merciful?

Wen ZhuLiu? Would this break your opinion of Wen RuoHan, or did you see this and still think of him as a god worth worship? 

Hey System, long time no see . 

[Welcome, JiaoJiao. Your total B points –]

I don’t care about that. Do you have a point system to show how far I must go to redeem myself? 

[The System cannot comply with your request. Redemption is not a numerical path].

I’m so lost , she thought, standing alone in the halls, hating herself. 

[The quickest path out of the Fire Palace –]

Shut up. That’s not what I mean. 

Of course redemption wasn’t numeric. But if she didn’t know – was she doomed to follow this System, struggling to achieve enough redemption to live free, until she died?  

But she could save Wen Ning. She didn’t need Meng Yao for that. She could do this on her own. That, and that alone, kept her moving. 

“Maiden Wang!” A servant hobbled forward on knees so swollen she could see them through his robe. “Madame Wen said you’d be down here.”

“Are you okay?” She grabbed him, lifting him up. 

“Please make haste to the throne room, Maiden Wang.” The man bowed. “Sect Leader Wen has requested your presence.” 

Ah, yes. This man was the servant who was always late due to his arthritis. Wen RuoHan was most impatient with him, and likely to kill him if he was late again.

And she didn’t know how to help him, and so she shivered away. 

“Of course. Thank you for informing me.” She scurried away, fearful as always. 

She entered the room on her knees, as always, only to freeze with electrified hope.

Wen RuoHan sat on his jade throne. A slender young man bowed before him, surrounded by guards. Guards surrounded him, their swords crossed at his throat. A stack of papers rested in his hands. 

It was a sight she could all too easily empathize with.

“What do you make of this, oh-most-valuable-slut?” Wen RuoHan gestured towards the young man.

Her eyes widened as he raised his head to turn to her. 

Those fine features, those enormous eyes and impossibly long eyelashes, that small figure. 

Meng Yao was finally here.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

100 Points for Treason, 200 Points for Friendship

[New character: Meng Yao, of Yunping City, age 16].

He’s only 16? ! JiaoJiao hadn’t realized that Jin Guangyao was actually younger than Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi, and Jiang Cheng. Her heart immediately went out to him. Both he and Wen Ning needed to be protected, sinnamon and cinnamon.

“Who is this spy, Sect Leader Wen?” she asked instead, noting the papers. “No, perhaps you should let him tell you, and decide.”

“I look forward to it.” Wen RuoHan settled back and eyed the boy before him. “Tell me more.”

“This lowly servant was liberated from a brothel because of Wen Chao’s actions in Yunmeng,” begins Meng Yao, groveling before the jade throne.

“The one in Yunping?” JiaoJiao speaks quickly, noticing how Wen RuoHan’s eyes turn to her for confirmation. Wen Chao would never have liberated a brothel had he known, and surely his father suspects as much, but she could play it as a byproduct of their takeover. 

“The very same, the one Jiang Fengmian ignored as humans were traded as slaves,” confirms Meng Yao. “Wen Sect has saved my life.”

“I fled north to reach Qishan, but I was conscripted by Nie Sect before being traded to Lanling Jin. But at Langya, I managed to send word to General Wen Tengfei, who used my information to win us our recent victories there.” Meng Yao swallowed. “I would have stayed, but Wen Tengfei requested I come to you, where I would be more use. I have his recommendation with me. Before I left, I even managed to kill a commander in Jin Sect’s army, and take his papers.” 

He holds up the man’s sigil ring, encrusted with blood. 

Wen RuoHan’s eyes glittered. He loved the sight of a dead man’s blood more than any jewel.

You murdered him to build repertoire with Wen RuoHan ? JiaoJiao suspected Meng Yao probably wished his commander’s death anyhow, but still. Now she pitied him even more. 

“Sect Leader Wen, I am forever your servant. All I wish is your acceptance, and a chance to bring you success, for your glory.” Meng Yao bows again. His words shake with sincerity, and they echo Wen ZhuLiu’s. 

He is a goddamn excellent actor , she thought with some disconcert. Of course she loved Meng Yao’s character, but she tended to sympathize with his helplessness, forgetting how ruthless and talented he was. 

“What use would I have for a whore?” Wen RuoHan laughed. “Do I not already have her?” 

He flicked his fingers towards JiaoJiao.

She stiffened. Surely this was normal. Meng Yao would be fine. She should have faith in him. 

“Technically, she was your son’s whore, not yours,” replied Meng Yao.

Wen RuoHan snickered. JiaoJiao tried her best to brush aside her shame, because she knew Meng Yao hated that word, and besides, hey, he knew who she was! 

Wen RuoHan reached out to grab the recommendation from Wen Fang. He scans it, eyebrows raising. “Our general says you remember every face you have ever met. Every word.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“You were the informant who delivered many Qin soldiers into our hands in Langya.” Wen RuoHan considered. “I had asked my men to deliver Sect Leader Qin’s daughter to Qishan, but those good-for-nothings failed, even though a woman caring for soldiers on a battlefield should be an easy target.”

Wait, Qin Su was on the battlefield? JiaoJiao thought for a moment. Of course she was; how else had she been in a position to be saved during the Sunshot Campaign? Meng Yao, she’s awesome, don’t marry her. 

“Indeed, I too suggested it, but Maiden Qin was rescued by reinforcements from Lanling Jin,” says Meng Yao regretfully.

“And you overlooked those?” Wen RuoHan asked. 

“This was shortly after Nie Sect arrived. Sect Leader Jin seemed to have changed his strategy as a result,” admitted Meng Yao. 

“Why not stay on the battlefield where you would be more useful?” demanded Wen RuoHan.

“Because I wish to serve you here, too. Additionally…” Meng Yao gazed up at Wen RuoHan like a god. “Additionally, I was there the day in Hejian when Sect Leader Nie beheaded your son. I found his last letter in his robes, and saved it though I could not save his body.”  

JiaoJiao started. 

Wen RuoHan, for a moment, resembled a suitably devastated father.

Meng Yao reached into his robes, revealing a secret pocket the guards who’d searched him hadn't noticed.

“Quite clever,” remarked Wen RuoHan. His voice was gruff to disguise his grief. 

“I do not deserve the praises of Sect Leader Wen.” Meng Yao replied instantly. He pulled out a thin, folded paper stained brown with blood, and held it forth in his hand. “It is addressed to a lady Wen Hong.”

JiaoJiao wanted to rush forward and snatch it from his hand, but she restrained herself.

Wen RuoHan’s eyes flashed. He grabbed the letter so quickly JiaoJiao feared it would tear. As he read it JiaoJiao thought his eyes seemed red. 

And then he folded it up again, and shoved it into his sleeves. He released a guffaw. “So he still fancied his brother’s wife.”

Meng Yao chuckled.

“Perhaps if my foolish son had paid attention to battle instead of her, he would still be alive. What do you think?” Wen RuoHan turned to Meng Yao. “Since you were there.”

Meng Yao weighed his words with caution. “I think something must have distracted him, or he would not have been so easily killed by a lesser man like Sect Leader Nie. I dare not speculate more.” 

“You’re a spy; isn’t that your job?” Wen RuoHan kicked him, and Meng Yao smiled at the touch, as if he wasn’t hurt at all. 

“Wang LingJiao, our second distracting woman.”

“Yes, Sect Leader Wen?” Her heart pounded. Wen RuoHan knew she had never distracted Wen Chao – quite the opposite, in fact. But he would never miss the chance to heap pain upon another person. 

“You will not mention this to your mistress, or your tongue is forfeit.” He smirks. “You’ll have to write out your pretty strategies, and I’m not sure I’d be patient enough for that.” 

Meng Yao eyed her, judging her to be the tactician other Wens had mocked. Interesting.

“I will obey, Sect Leader Wen.” She bowed again. 

Her heart protested; how could she ignore something to help Wen DaiYu? Unless Wen Xu had harassed Wen DaiYu, and she would be offended to hear from him.

Still, JiaoJiao told herself that Wen DaiYu had the right to know. Even if she, and not Wen DaiYu, was actually the curious one. 

“I’m certain you read its contents, Meng Yao?” Wen RuoHan’s lip curled.

“I did, to see if there was anything of value to you in the immediate aftermath.” 

“Then you also will not mention it. You will escort yourself to the Fire Palace and make yourself of use. Your first task is to make the torture of the Qin captives more entertaining.” Wen RuoHan commanded. “They may have information; they may not. Either way, the journey to determine what they know ought to surprise me.” 

A smart move. Wen RuoHan probably assumed that if Meng Yao harbored any ill intentions, the Fire Palace would scare him into utter compliance. 

“I am honored, Sect Leader.” Meng Yao spoke his name with such reverence JiaoJiao almost believed him. 

System? JiaoJiao asked as she approached Wen DaiYu’s chambers after a council meeting the next day. Her mistress had stayed behind to be lectured by Wen RuoHan. 

[Yes, JiaoJiao?]

She hesitated. She had an actual idea for once in her life. Can you keep track of Meng Yao? Let me know if he does anything shady.

[The System requires you be more specific].

Naturally. Meng Yao. JiaoJiao almost laughed. Let me know when he tries to slip letters to Lan XiChen.

[The System can and will keep you informed].

You’re useful for some things.

[The System thanks you].

I mean, it wasn’t a compliment, but okay. She reflected that she rarely treated this System with respect, but it wasn’t a person, so it didn’t matter right? Why did she feel guilty? Would treating it with respect earn her redemption points? After all, initially scorning it had earned her in-character points, right?

System, can you read my other thoughts?

[I can. Would you like an estimate of your chances for success?]

Yes.

[Plan: approach Meng Yao for Wen Xu’s letter. Chance of success: 85%].

Excellent. And the risk?

[Risk increases five percent for each person you speak with. However, each friendship you start will also gain you 200 B points]. 

With a nervous nod, because the threat of losing her tongue frightened her, yet surely Wen RuoHan would do worse if she helped Meng Yao spy, JiaoJiao slipped into the maids’ side room. She cringed at the sight of six pairs of eyes, all of whom loathed her.

If any of them valued Wen RuoHan and ambition over Wen DaiYu, she could endanger them all. Or maybe women were more than cutthroat bitches if given a chance. 

“What do you want?” snapped Cai Chen.

“I know you hate me,” JiaoJiao said. “But this concerns our mistress; I think we can all rally around her.”

“Go on.” Wu Ping narrowed her eyes.

“Are you aware of our newest servant?”

“The torturer?” Liu Fang sniffed. 

“The same,” JiaoJiao confirmed, hoping Liu Fang would like the affirmation. “He didn’t just bring information from Lanling Jin Sect. He also had a letter from Wen Xu to our mistress.”

The women fell silent.

“Sect Leader Wen took it for himself, and has sworn me to silence, but I must ask. Would our mistress want to read it?” JiaoJiao nibbled her lower lip. “I don’t know what their history is.”

“Are you going against Wen RuoHan?” Wu Ping frowned.

“No! I am trying to help our mistress. Any help to her is help to Wen RuoHan, considering she’s the heir.” JiaoJiao wrung her hands. 

“Only I was there at the time. Four years ago.” A girl who couldn’t have been more than fourteen, Tan En. She had been enslaved by Wen Sect ever since childhood, after her sect’s rebellion failed. 

“Would she?” asked Cai Chen reluctantly. “Even now?”

“Yes,” said Tan En with confidence.

“But the Sect Leader disagrees. Who are we to oppose him?” hisses Wu Ping.

“For her, who are we not to?” asked JiaoJiao.

The women fell silent. No one could argue with their most hated head maidservant. Wen DaiYu might think herself powerless, but she held all her maidservant’s fiercest loyalty. 

“I’ll ask Meng Yao for its contents at least, if not the letter itself,” JiaoJiao decided. “Thank you, Tan En.”

The girl nodded. Wu Ping poked her, but Tan En ignored her to smile slightly at JiaoJIao.

Bloodcurdling screams sent nausea rushing through JiaoJiao as she made her way out the Fire Palace.

“Something has changed,” Wen Ning had told her earlier. 

She elected not to tell him that Wen RuoHan’s newest servant was a terrible genius at human pain. Meng Yao understood the psychology of torture – the head game – more than anyone previously. Kneeling on hot coals? Please. Cutting off the soles of their feet first amplified their suffering that much better. 

The fragrance of burning blood delighted Wen RuoHan and followed him wherever he went, including their latest meeting.

So tonight she had provided Wen Ning earplugs, as best as she could. 

If anything, life had worsened under Meng Yao. Instead of alleviating Wen RuoHan’s bloodthirst, he amplified it, saturating all of his worst instincts. 

JiaoJiao suspected he wanted to create disloyalty and distrust among those in the Palace of Sun and Flames, but living through this was torture.

No wonder Nie Mingjue had distrusted Meng Yao. He was ruthless, but JiaoJiao didn’t know whether she should oppose or support him. Was it more redemptive to sow the seeds for Wen RuoHan’s demise, even if bloodshed was required? Or more redemptive to mitigate the deaths of those innocent for now, while slowing Wen RuoHan’s defeat?

Especially when those innocent deaths would likely die in the siege of Nightless CIty anyhow.

She and Meng Yao had exchanged mutually suspicious glances after their one agreement: suggesting they focus on Langya instead of Hejian. 

She knew Meng Yao likely wanted to ease Nie Mingjue’s chances of approaching Nightless City by thinning the forces in Hejian and putting them in Langya. The plan even seemed sensible, as Jin Guangshan was not nearly as talented as Nie Mingjue, and their chances of overtaking Langya were much higher than Hejian. 

And she didn’t exactly oppose the idea; in fact, she personally wanted Jin Guangshan to get wrecked. But she didn’t want to agree with him immediately, lest Wen RuoHan think they worked together.

The end result was Meng Yao’s giving her a suspicious glare, and her delivering an equally suspicious one of her own.

He had to write XiChen soon, right? It had been three fucking weeks. 

[The System wishes to alert you that Meng Yao has approached the gates of Nightless City with a letter in hand].

What a coincidence. What is this, fanfiction? JiaoJiao paused. Sorry, System.

[The System finds nothing for you to apologize for. You have unlocked a new task: conspire with Meng Yao. 500 B Points will be awarded for the successful completion of this task. Difficulty ranking: extremely difficult].

Really? Meng Yao was a good reader of character; he would know she was sincere. What could possibly be difficult? JiaoJiao wondered as she followed the System’s direction.

She crept out of the palace, to see a figure the System identified as Meng Yao peering up at the lookout tower along the walls to Nightless City. Was this where his idea for the lookout towers had come from? Was he still looking for ways to help commonfolk while participating in cruelty? 

This was why she loved Jin Guangyao, even if he confused the fuck out of her.

Meng Yao entered the tower, and she followed as close as she dared.

Two voices sounded from the top of the tower. At her first glance above, she glimpse two faces. A shock rippled through her before even the System spoke.

A fresh-faced boy of perhaps fourteen or fifteen, with laughing eyes and a capricious smirk and overly long limbs that gave him notable resemblance to a spider. His teeth were slightly crooked, though his face resembled the live action, and he wore the ponytail of the audio drama and manhua images.

[Xue Yang, of Kuizhou, aged fourteen].

You’re kidding me . JiaoJiao pressed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Of course Xue Yang would be Meng Yao’s contact. He’d relish the opportunity to stick it to anyone who looked down on others, and who looked down on more people than Wen Sect?

“You better be right. I’m delaying development of my golden core for this,” grouses Xue Yang. 

“But you're expanding your techniques. As soon as this is over, I’ll teach you how to form a golden core,” Meng Yao assures him. “It’s just that their barrier only works for those who have golden cores, so right now, you’re invisible.”

“Seems an obvious oversight.” He snickered.

“Not really. Most of their enemies are cultivators,” said Meng Yao. “Besides, it’s not common knowledge; they’ve never said as much. I had to deduce it on my own."

“How’s the hot coals thing working out?”

Meng Yao sobered. He didn’t sound particularly happy. “Sect Leader Wen is very enthusiastic.”

“Good. See, I told you. Just imagine you’re examining already dead bodies, and it will get easier.” Xue Yang snickered.

Meng Yao quickly changed the subject. He passed a slip of paper to Xue Yang.

“Wen RuoHan’s plans in Langya and Hejian are here, alongside estimates of his troops.”

“Got it,” Xue Yang said breezily, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He backed up towards the stairs, ready to leap out the tower rather than sneak down the stairs. 

Oh no you don’t , JiaoJiao thought. She leapt up from the stairs to snatch the paper from his fingers.

Xue Yang yelped with surprise, still very much a child. 

Meng Yao held forth Hensheng, and Xue Yang brandished a knife. Still, he whistled slightly. “Meng Yao, you didn’t tell me Wen RuoHan gave you a soft sword!”

Seeing as Hensheng had been forged from the sword of two Qin sect prisoners, Meng Yao was not particularly comfortable with it yet. He smiled uneasily. “Maiden Wang, what are you doing here?”

“Trying to figure out your plans.” She opened the letter and scanned it. A perfect replica of Wen RuoHan’s battle map from this afternoon. “Did you do all of this from memorization?”

“He’s smart,” said Xue Yang with pride.

“Clearly,” she said dryly.

“So are you, to have discerned this,” said Meng Yao, with a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Should I kill this bitch?” Xue Yang waved his knife around.

“That would cause too much alarm, Xue Yang,” said Meng Yao patiently. He inclined his head towards er. “Tell me, Wang LingJiao, since I haven’t a clue: where do your loyalties lie?”

“The fact that you haven’t a clue should tell you,” she said carefully. “And I dare say you know that. How do you think I survived Wei WuXian’s assault?”

“You met Wei WuXian?” Xue Yang shivers with excitement.

Oh, my sweet evil fanbaby.

“It was awful.” She shuddered. “But he wasn’t.”

“You promised to deliver information to him, and meant it,” interpreted Meng Yao. “Have you?”

“Not yet. I had no idea about the barrier. You see, despite my council, working for Young Madame Wen does not involve as much familiarity with security and war.” JIaoJiao shrugged. “Anyhow. I do intend to keep my word, and to survive this war and help stop Wen Sect.”

“Are you not loyal to Wen DaiYu?” Meng Yao asked. “You seem to adore her, like everyone else.” 

“Isn’t helping Wen Sect’s demise actually helping her? If I can help her achieve mercy, even pin some of my actions onto her, I’d do anything,” said JiaoJiao. “I don’t intend to let Sect Leader Nie or anyone else behead her.” 

“How do you want to help?” Meng Yao seemed hesitant. Too many people, too many risks.

“I’ll give you as much information as I can. For instance, I’m far more familiar with the gossip of servants that Wen RuoHan and their, er, unpleasant feelings towards him. As his torturer, you are feared more than I. I’m just the silly ex-mistress.” 

Meng Yao considered this. “What, if anything, would you add to this note?”

“Nothing to the note,” JiaoJiao said slowly. “However, the food supplied to our troops by Hejian will leave next week. It’s often left unaccounted for, and the servants steal from it for themselves. Perhaps if a toxin were added…we could weaken Hejian even more.”

Meng Yao stepped closer. “Where would we acquire such a toxin?”

“Are you not a torturer? Or at least acting like one for Wen RuoHan’s sake.” 

He chuckled. But she could have sworn his eyes were relieved that someone saw him differently. “I see.”

“How did you find us?” he asked at last. Is anyone else suspicious?

“I’ll tell you,” she lied, “If you do me two favors.”

“Two!” Xue Yang laughed. “My knife looks better and better.”

“Consider me not turning you in a favor, dear,” she replied sweetly.

His eyes ignited at her condescension. Oops .

“Consider us not killing you a favor in return,” countered Meng Yao to ease Xue Yang’s anger.

“Then three. I want you to 1) ensure that Wen Ning is given sufficient food and moved farther from the torture chambers. And 2) I want the letter that Wen Xu sent to my mistress.” JiaoJiao crossed her arms. 

“Two. Wen Ning is a kind young man. I have already suggested so to Wen RuoHan, ensuring he thinks I am loyal to Wen Sect,” says Meng Yao. “That won’t need to count.”

“Thank you.”

“As for Wen Xu’s letter, very well. I will copy it for you. Hand my note back to Xue Yang.” 

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” JiaoJiao said. “She deserves the original copy.”

Meng Yao gulped. “Wen RuoHan keeps it in his personal chambers, Maiden Wang.”

“And I know you’re good at copying, dear,” she cajoled. “Not to mention that if you already know where he keeps the letter, you must be skilled sneaking into those chambers, or else how did you get that map?”

“Should I kill her now?” asked Xue Yang.

“That would depend on her motives.” Meng Yao looked into her eyes. “What are your goals?”

“I want to help. No, that’s not entirely true. I do, but I also have to. I can’t say more, but I have to help.” JiaoJiao tugged at her hair. “People like us – street scum and villains – don’t have many chances to change our lives. I don’t intend to waste mine with a falling sect.” 

“You, a street kid?” Xue Yang scoffed.

“Appearances can be deceiving.”

“So why help the bitch wife?”

“She’s not a bitch! She’s a good person, kinder than anyone I’ve ever met. She doesn't hate me for any of the multitude of wrongs I’ve done. She doesn’t even look down on me. So I wish to repay her kindness with at least one act of my own; is that so incomprehensible?”

“No, not at all,” said Meng Yao, and she believed him. Their eyes met, an understanding at last. 

[Congratulations! You have completed Step One of the task ‘Conspire with Meng Yao.’ 100 B points are awarded. Total B points: 2200. 400 B points remain to be awarded throughout this task]. 

She held the note forth to Xue Yang. He snatched it immediately.

“To answer your question. I have a...secret power. It helped me pinpoint that you were towards the edge of the wall, meeting with someone, and gave me directions. I have told no one, and they ought not to suspect you,” JiaoJiao finished.

Meng Yao sighed with relief. 

“Bye, bitches.” Xue Yang leapt out the tower, despite the fact that he was likely to break his leg. Nope, he stood up and waved before slinking away. 

“He’s a bit of a delinquent, but he just needs a chance to value himself,” said Meng Yao, watching him disappear into the forest.

“Indeed. Sometimes I wonder if those who claim to value themselves the most are the ones who hate themselves.” She glanced at him. 

He smiled slightly, not missing the question. “Perhaps.” 

“You’re not alone here.” JiaoJiao paused. “I should go, but I wanted to say that.”

The skin around Meng Yao’s eyes crinkled. 

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new achievement: Friendship with Meng Yao. 200 points are awarded! Total B points: 2400]. 

So soon? Surely he was more careful than that. 

Oh. She was reviled as a mistress and a foolish woman, despite possessing more capabilities than her position implied. JiaoJiao watched him scurry away from the tower, wondering if she actually reminded him of Meng Shi. 

The next day, when she visited Wen Ning, Meng Yao approached her again, drenched with his own sweat and someone else’s blood. He silently slipped her a letter before turning around.

She squeezed his hand for a moment. “I don’t blame you, Meng Yao.”

Meng Yao nodded, gratitude fluttering across his expression, before slowly retreating to his torture chamber. 

“Young Madame Wen.” JiaoJiao bowed that night, just before bed. “I have a letter for you.”

“For me?” Wen DaiYu stopped herself from blowing out the one candle remaining.

“Meng Yao took it...from Hejian.” JiaoJiao held out her sweating hand.

Wen DaiYu froze, stricken, at the bloodied letter. 

“Sect Leader Wen did not want you to see it, but I felt I had to, for your sake,” explained JiaoJiao. 

Wen DaiYu stepped forward, then back. She crossed the room and locked their door before turning back to her maid. She approached her and held out her hand.

JiaoJiao gave it, sitting next to the tiny woman on the bed. She held the candle close so that Wen DaiYu would not have to strain her eyes too much. 

A-Hong,

You’ve heard by now, I’m sure, that these cultivators are stronger than we expected. I may be away for a long time, and my brother, too. Perhaps you will have a little one to call your own by the time I return. But if not, I beg you, allow my words to soothe your loneliness before you burn this letter. 

There’s a unique mathematics to battle planning, but it all goes awry if a soldier’s heart isn’t set. As for me, mine is set. The four clans are stronger than we ever knew. Strong enough to protect a fleeing man and his lover.

I don’t hold any illusions about whose sins began this war. But I will fight to end it, so that all five clans endure, so that you can live in a world where you can smile and raise your children in peace. 

I’ve dreamt of flying across the cultivation world with you, creating and raising our children, of growing old beyond the point of cultivation and counting the silvers in your hair and the lines in my cheeks. Of reading mathematics to you and our family every night until our eyes can’t see anymore.

That world will always be waiting for you. 

I am yours beyond all time.

Wen Xu

JiaoJiao’s heart thudded. No wonder Wen Xu kept the letter on his person rather than send it – if Wen RuoHan had intercepted such a proposal, Wen DaiYu and Wen Xu might have been executed. 

That world will always be waiting for you . But it wasn’t, because Nie Mingjue had slain him. JiaoJiao had always thought Nie Mingjue obnoxious, but now she doubly despised him. Even if she was glad he’d won, glad the Sunshot Campaign succeeded, she couldn’t be glad that Wen Xu was dead. 

“You read it?” Wen DaiYu glanced to her grieving maid. 

JiaoJiao nodded.

“He always – he loved me a lot, you know. And I loved him; I always did.” Wen DaiYu wiped her eyes. “He wanted to run away with me, but I refused. I...Wen Sect is so powerful, we would be caught. At the end, the best we could have hoped for was a few months of happiness before we were brought back to Qishan, tortured, and his last memory of me would be my execution before his eyes.” 

“Before his eyes?” JiaoJiao’s lips parted.

“Wen RuoHan says nothing quite excites him like watching two people who truly love each other be placed in a situation where only one of them can survive.”

JiaoJiao was stunned into silence. But hadn’t Wen RuoHan lost both mothers of his children before his eyes? 

Well, maybe that was why. Maybe instead of working to ensure that no one suffered likewise, Wen RuoHan was the kind of person who liked having the control to inflict the same pain upon others. 

“We were lucky he gave us another chance in the first place.” Wen DaiYu looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers. 

“Another chance?”

“Everyone wonders, don’t they? Even if they don’t dare inquire. Why is the heir to Wen Sect, the first son, not married, while the second son, though considered the inferior, is?” Wen DaiYu presses her lips together. “You see, JiaoJiao, my father always had great ambitions, but he is crippled, you understand. He may be a member of Wen Sect, but his cultivation is poor, and he lives a humble life compared to many in our sect. And so he sent me to Nightless City to study what he could not provide for me.”

Her voice fell. “I encountered Wen Xu by accident. I’ve always loved mathematics, but often when I went to the library, the books I sought had been borrowed.” 

A small, nostalgic smile bloomed on her face. “Though I didn’t know it, the few books I was able to take were greatly desired by the same student. After a few months of both of us taking the other’s books, this mysterious mathematician and I confronted each other.” 

Her voice lightens. “You can’t imagine how terrified I was! The eldest son of Wen RuoHan himself stormed over to me. He tried to temper his surprise at small girl instead of a brash disciple, but ah, his obvious his disconcert is now one of my favorite memories of him. He must have...even then…”

Wen DaiYu shook her head, stopping her speculation. “Our confrontation ended with his insistence that he had the right to the books before me, due to his position, and while I knew my place, I still dared to request that we study together. He agreed. I’m not even sure why. I asked him once, and he said it was because no one had talked to him like me.”

“We taught each other, offsetting out differences. He was gentle and took pride in tutoring me, and took even more pride when I tutored him.” She chuckled. “Even then, every female disciple knew not to spend time alone with Wen Chao, but no one questioned my honor for spending hours in A-Xu’s chambers.”

She wrung her hands. “The day he asked me for my hand in marriage was the happiest day of my life, and the only time he ever touched me. He took my hand and said that even if I declined, I had made him the happiest person in Qishan already. But I said yes, a million times yes, and he asked if he could kiss me.” 

“Did you say yes to that, too?” JiaoJiao asked around the lump in her throat.

She nodded. “Just a single brush of his lips on mine. That’s all we ever shared.”

“No tongue?” JiaoJiao asked mischievously. Inappropriately. Because she couldn’t bear the tension.

Wen DaiYu gasped, though she couldn’t help but laugh. “No. He was very honorable.”

JiaoJiao remembered the furious man who burnt the Cloud Recesses, who shoved her to the floor. “What happened?”

“I wrote to my father, but A-Xu had yet to speak to his. When my father, ever good-hearted and ever ambitious, heard that his daughter had become close to Wen Xu himself, he was very excited. So excited that Wen RuoHan found out before A-Xu had approached him.” She swallowed.  

“I imagine that upset our Sect Leader.”

“No matter what, he would have been hesitant. You see, he didn’t think I or my father were good enough for his eldest son. But this – to find out that another man knew before Wen RuoHan, that another man thought our marriage certain when he had yet to be informed, was a great insult.”

Maybe he should blame himself for poor communication , JiaoJiao thought, though she held her tongue. 

“Wen Xu was taken to the Fire Palace, where he received five lashes with the discipline whip, in addition to other tortures. As for myself, I seized and interrogated for three days without food or drink, until Wen RuoHan was satisfied that I had neither nefarious plans nor behaved dishonorably with his son. He had me brought to his throne room, where he announced that he blamed his son and my father more than me. For my sake, he would show mercy, and granted our request for matrimony.”  

Her voice quickens. “But on our wedding day, when the veil was removed, I was in a bedchamber with Wen Chao and not Wen Xu.”

Though JiaoJiao had expected this, given the current situation, her mouth still dropped. “What?”

“Wen RuoHan had many reasons for his decision. He wished to teach my father and I a lesson, alongside his son.”

“Just for not consulting him before he proposed.” JiaoJiao’s face had twisted with disgust.

“Additionally, Wen Chao was already in trouble for messing around with servants, so I believe Sect Leader Wen wished to quell his second son’s behavior. By giving me to Wen Chao, Wen RuoHan thought he could teach both his sons a lesson while still honoring me by marrying me into his family.”

“Honor! Through deceit?” JiaoJiao dug her fingernails into her palms.

“Wen Chao was so drunk, I had to hold him upright.” Wen DaiYu began to cry. “He was reluctant to do anything, even avoiding kissing me. And then a voice ordered him to remember his responsibilities.”

She doubled over. “And then I saw that Wen Xu and my father were present, alongside Wen RuoHan and six guards. They had been ordered to witness the consummation. To be ensure that our marriage could never be annulled, given the circumstances. And to remind us of our place.”

JiaoJiao’s head spun. “I’m sorry, what the fuck?” 

Wen DaiYu blinks at the curse, which to JiaoJiao’s mind shouldn’t be half so offensive as her memories. She tried to block out the memories of Wen Xu fighting tears, watching the girl he loved taken by someone else, by his own brother. Any yet, if he had actually wept or turned away, Wen RuoHan would have punished him worse. Father’s expression had been blank, though he would later attempt to convince her she was still honored to be Wen Chao’s wife. But two months later, he killed himself. 

JiaoJiao fumed. System, did you just fucking turn a love-triangled girl into a pawn to be used for men’s pain?  Or was this conglomeration  of Mo Dao Zu Shi adaptations also lightly influenced fanfiction works of Wen RuoHan as a kinky sadist? Not that it was reaching to assume the man who enjoyed torture enjoyed other kinks. 

“A-Chao was a doting husband for the first few months, he really was. I knew he hadn’t wanted this, either, and he really did feel terribly. He was ashamed of his helplessness, too.” Wen DaiYu hiccups. “He kept most of our clothes on, perhaps because he was drunk, perhaps to spare my dignity. I never asked.” 

“A few weeks later, Wen Xu finally escaped his watchful guards and risked his father’s wrath to approach me. He implored me on his knees to run away with him, but where could we go? We would be found, and any sect who sheltered us would face massacre. I told him not to speak to me again.” Wen DaiYu clutches her face. 

“I tried to love A-Chao, I really did. He bought me book after book, enough to fill all these shelves.” Wen DaiYu gestured around the room. “But so much hurt had happened, there was no fixing it. Every time he was with me, he’d be reminded that I didn’t love him, that we were only together because of a punishment bestowed on all three of us.”

“So he tried to bury his sorrows in alcohol and mistresses, each affair more flagrant than the last. Those mistresses were his vengeance against his father, as well as his queer kindness to me. To spare me his presence.”  

“Eventually, I even supported my new maidservants, like you, if you expressed interest in him. It kept him from my bed, and he felt fleeting comfort.” Wen DaiYu chokes. “You see, I’m to blame for his adultery.” 

“You are not! Don’t ever blame yourself!” JiaoJiao felt her own tears spill over. “No wonder Wen Chao was the way he was. No wonder Wen Xu was so angry.”

How the hell had Wen ZhuLiu admired Wen RuoHan? He was a monster. How could Wen ZhuLiu look the other way?

No, Wen ZhuLiu was the one who had melted Jiang Cheng’s core, Yu ZiYuan’s and Jiang FengMian’s. She oughtn’t be surprised. Just because he was good to her didn’t mean he was good. 

And it hurt.

She just wanted everyone to be good or bad. Not both. 

“A-Xu – why do you think Wen RuoHan had him burn the library of the Cloud Recesses? It was to punish his own son, who treasured libraries. This entire war started because I – because of Wen Xu and I.” Wen DaiYu stared straight ahead as brine trickled down her cheeks, sparkling in the candlelight like some cruel joke. “I’m to blame for so many deaths.”

“No! I blame Wen RuoHan, not you. You’re the victim here, even more than Wen Xu. You’ve done nothing wrong,” JiaoJiao said as firmly as she could in her quavering voice. 

“I practically pimped out my maidservants. That was wrong,” countered Wen DaiYu. Her lips trembled. “God in heaven.” 

She...Wen DaiYu’s innocence was indeed a farce, but it wasn’t a farce for schemes like Nie Huaisang. It was a farce for despair. 

Well, if this was one thing JiaoJiao understood, it was despair. She leaned over to grab her mistress’s hand. “You didn’t force us. We made our decisions, too. Even Wu Ping’s shame comes from the fact that she only spent one night with him.” 

Wen DaiYu giggled despite herself. 

JiaoJiao squeezed her hand. “I...Wen Chao loved me. I didn’t think he was capable of love, but he did. And I didn’t love him in return. I was even grateful that he died thinking I loved him. I understand more than you know.” 

“I’m glad he felt loved.” Wen DaiYu looked at her with sincerity. 

JiaoJiao’s voice cracked. “I wish it could be simpler. I wish we both – I wish you were just good, and that I was bad, but could become good!”

She wished Wen Chao was evil.

She wished Wen Xu and Wen ZhuLiu were good.

She wished the System’s redemption was easily defined. 

“None of us are good or evil, I don’t think. I feel like we’re all trying our best, and our best isn’t even close to enough to keep from hurting people, much less a happy ending.” 

Why was she encouraging her? JiaoJiao wrestled with despair. The world and its people were too complicated to fix. If redemption meant going from evil to good, it didn’t exist.

“But I still think you’re more good than evil,” she said stubbornly. Because for some reason, she wanted comforting this woman with the words she didn’t dare believe for herself.

“And I could say the same of you, JiaoJiao.” Wen DaiYu took her hand. 

Not according to the System. Not according to myself, JiaoJiao wanted to scream. 

“You’ve been so formal since your return. Please, you should call me Wen Hong.” Wen DaiYu bit her lip. “I am glad to have you as my friend.” 

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new achievement: Friendship with Wen Hong, courtesy name Wen DaiYu. 200 points are awarded! Total B points: 2400]. 

Fuck your points. If she was hopeless, she was taking the System with her. 

She held Wen DaiYu as the woman, with many tears, held the letter to the flame, extinguishing all the evidence of their love except for her tortured memories.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

Fathers and Mothers

JiaoJiao tossed and turned all night, afflicted by the unrivaled cruelty of Wen RuoHan. How could she reconcile this monster who’d assaulted his sons and daughter-in-law with the grieving man who refused to father another child in honor of his wife?

And why was Wen Xu dead, unable to run away with his A-Hong?

She felt momentary relief when a knock at dawn interrupted her fitful doze. Until, that is, the unusual nature of such a disturbance settled in her mind, and she stumbled to the door.

A servant knelt there, his face pale. Wen RuoHan summoned his heir and her maids to the Sun Palace, the seat of his jade throne, without delay.

JiaoJiao’s heart pounded. Could he have found out that she and Meng Yao had procured the message for Wen DaiYu? Had she ruined the Sunshot Campaign? No, Meng Yao was better than that. 

Surely Wen DaiYu wouldn’t be executed, but JiaoJiao? She was disposable. System, you have to help me escape . 

[If necessary, the System will assist].

You better help Wen Hong, too. She glanced towards her mistress, who gave her most reassuring glance as her maids helped dress her. 

When they entered the Sun Palace, Meng Yao stood in black robes before the throne, as if everything was normal. He bowed to Wen DaiYu, who greeted him with a brief smile.

JiaoJiao wanted to look straight at Meng Yao, but she held back, afraid that any look would be noticed, would seal her fate. 

Tension simmered in the air, weighing down her lungs.

A guard was dragged in; JiaoJiao recognized him as the older man who’d rescued her. The acne-afflicted kid who’d lent her a meat bun was nowhere to be seen, and given the bruises on the guard’s face, she felt relieved not to see him. 

“Wen Gan,” purred Wen RuoHan. “I heard you were thinking of deserting your honor and life by running from Nightless City.”

Wen Gan shook his head violently. “No, no, Sect Leader Wen. I would never.”

“Oh? Then why did your partner, son of our most loyal General Wen Tengfei, report you?”

The kid was a general’s son? JiaoJiao pitied both Wen Gan and the nameless meat bun boy, who most likely hadn’t understood the consequences of his actions. System ?

[Name: Wen Hui, only son of General Wen Tengfei, of Qishan Wen Sect. Age: fourteen] .

And him ? She looked the shaking, weary man over.

[Name: Wen Gan, Qishan Wen Sect. Age: thirty-seven. Demoted from Lieutenant due to drinking on duty] . 

JiaoJiao’s spine tingled. This was not good for Wen Gan. 

“He’s a youth, Sect Leader. I merely in – what’s that word – insinuated that if he is allowed to sneak food, I ought to receive the same treatment. It was a joke, no more!”

“You are not allowed the same privileges because you are a drunken bore,” said Wen RuoHan. A strange look crossed his face. “Is that disobedience I hear?” 

A chill exploded down JiaoJiao’s spine. She had never seen anything like the look on Wen RuoHan’s face before.

Wen DaiYu, however, recognized that expression, the expression she’d witnessed over and over. Most prominently, the face leering at her on her wedding night. 

Meng Yao recognized the sneer of the man who toasted to his victims as he flayed them before him. His mouth tightened into a firm line, resolved to do what he must.

“Certainly not, Sect Leader Wen.” In his panic, Wen Gan tripped over his words.

“Oh?” Wen RuoHan asked softly. “Then did you just put your foot in your mouth?”

“Yes, yes, that’s it,” said Wen Gan, and JiaoJiao wasn’t sure why she wanted to scream say no! , but she did. 

Wen RuoHan’s eyes slid to Meng Yao. “Never fear. I don’t think that’s happened yet.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader,” he breathed.

But behind them, the usually vain Cai Chen was biting her lip so hard it bled, and Tan En fought visible despair.

JiaoJiao was about to inquire for the System to update her on Wen RuoHan’s killing intent, because perhaps she could save him, perhaps the System just hadn’t given her the task yet but would – when Meng Yao nodded excitedly to his leader, ever eager to please.

Hensheng soared forth. Wen Gan ducked, but Meng Yao hadn’t aimed for his head or vital organs. Just his foot.

JiaoJiao wanted to die. 

Wen DaiYu’s hand slipped into hers. Her mistress’s – her friend's – small fingers dug into JiaoJiao’s palms, grounding her. 

Wen Gan opened his mouth to scream, not even comprehending his severed limb, but in that instant, Meng Yao had shoved the foot in his mouth.

Wen RuoHan burst into maniacal laughter. 

JiaoJiao wanted to scream, cry, bleach her eyes and vomit all at once. Meng Yao, however, laughed, delighted by Wen RuoHan’s pleasure.

Was he delighted? She honestly couldn’t tell. Perhaps he survived by focusing not on the torture, but Wen RuoHan’s approval. Maybe Wen RuoHan’s approval sustained Meng Yao enough that he could fake enthusiasm. 

Wen Gan was too scared, too humiliated to moan. Tears ran down his cheeks.

“Does he have family?” Wen RuoHan asked with glee. His face was a frenzy at the thought of utter destruction. “We can make an example of him.” 

“Do you?” asked Meng Yao to his victim. “No, don’t remove it. You’ll have to speak around it.”

His whimpered response sounded like no. Wen DaiYu squeezed JiaoJiao’s hand with relief.

“Shall I him to the Fire Palace for our Sect Leader to play with?” prompted Meng Yao. 

“Those who disobey should be killed immediately.” Wen RuoHan was practically shaking. She looked entirely unhinged. “Perhaps you should be next, Meng Yao, you –”

He stopped, for Meng Yao had already begun hacking the man to pieces.

“He’ll never disobey us again,” said Wen RuoHan, his eyes glowing.

He’s mad. He’s fucking mad , JiaoJiao chanted over and over to keep herself sane. 

“Excellent work, Meng Yao. Perhaps I shall keep you, after all.”

Meng Yao kowtowed to Wen RuoHan, dipping his knees and hands in blood because he knew that would please him. “I am honored. I will wear these robes all day as a reminder that it is an honor to soak in the blood of your enemies.” 

Wen RuoHan glanced at Wen DaiYu suddenly. “You, have your gossipy maids spread word of this.”

“We shall, as a key example of anyone who would seek to undermine our family,” Wen DaiYu said after a moment. Her voice was full of blatantly feigned confidence.

Wen RuoHan sneered at her, and for a moment, JiaoJiao feared he would order Meng Yao to kill his own daughter-in-law. And who could she choose? She didn’t want to let Wen DaiYu die. She might have to jump in the way and die herself, which might be better than living with these memories.

But in the end, he waved his hand. “You are dismissed. Keep your slut of a maid here.”

JiaoJiao fought back a scream as Wen DaiYu simply nodded. Most of the other maids barely looked at her as they crawled out on their knees.

“Yes, Sect Leader Wen?” JiaoJiao knelt. If Wen RuoHan had found out about the letter and Meng Yao had pinned it all on her to keep his mission alive, she could only hope Meng Yao would dispose of her quickly.

“I heard that you have been visiting Wen Ning.”

Oh . She nodded, trying to act normal, trying not to scream and cry that the guard who’d helped her enter Nightless City had just been butchered like cattle before her eyes, and how was this normal, how was this fucking allowed ?! 

Her voice came out slowly, but evenly. “Yes, I have. As Wen Qing’s capture has resulted in his imprisonment at your wise orders, I’ve determined that it makes sense for a lowly maidservant to be the one who fulfills your wishes.”

“My wishes?”

“Yes.” Her mind whirred with the excuse she’d practiced, the excuse she wanted to dump on the ebony tiles and trample to dust. “I am certain that Sect Leader Wen would not want a loyal sect member to suffer the same disgraces as other prisoners, yet you cannot show your favor too obviously, lest our enemies hear. So I have decided to carry out your wishes in your name, giving Wen Ning information on our campaign and extra food as needed to keep his spirits up.”

Wen RuoHan laughed. His ego was bolstered, immediately bringing a sane smile to his face. “I see. Well reasoned. At least I have two intelligent servants.”

“We do not deserve such praise.” Meng Yao responded even quicker than she could think.

“You don’t, but I’ll give it.” Wen RuoHan laughed again. His mood seemed to have stabilized. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed her. “Go on back to your crying mistress. Try to toughen her up. Meng Yao, keep the body here until it begins to smell.” 

“I’ll bring you a new one when this is done,” promised Meng Yao, his smile bright as ever.

JiaoJiao spent the rest of her day in a daze. Wen DaiYu wept on her bed, and the rest of the maids moved about with stiff facades, facades to hide the distress of a scene that constantly haunted their minds.

From what little she gathered, this was not the first time Wen RuoHan’s paranoia had overtaken his restraint, but Meng Yao’s sadism had rendered the spectacle even more horrible than usual. 

Wu Ping glared at her. “What did Wen RuoHan want, anyways?”

“My help with Wen Ning, that’s all.” JiaoJiao said. Great. Now they thought she approved this bloodshed. Now they had even more reasons to hate her.

“Help killing him?” asked Liu Fang.

JiaoJiao narrowed her eyes. “Now, what exactly are you implying about Sect Leader Wen?”

The woman paled. 

“That’s what I thought,” she said coldly before returning to Wen DaiYu’s room, intending to force her friend to eat despite whatever nauseating memories had been unlocked. 

She might have backtracked on her redemption path by threatening Liu Fang, but today, she was too tired to care. 

She couldn’t bear to stay long with Wen Ning that night. He spoke hesitantly, noticing that something was awry, but she couldn’t bear to tell such a sweet man the truth. Instead, she slipped out to meet Meng Yao, to know what he felt, to talk straight with someone at last. 

Her queasiness grew as she approached his quarters adjacent to the torture chambers. The fragrance of burnt flesh and salty blood coated the air, alongside the faint stench of men who had shit themselves before death.

His door was made of simple, unadorned wood, residue from one of the oldest sections of the palace, stemming back to the time of Wen Mao. He would probably disown his descendants, wouldn’t he?

She opened the door without knocking. 

Meng Yao leapt to his feet, startled out of his meditation. His eyes were bloodshot, but his dimpled smile so flawless she almost doubted their color. “Maiden Wang.”

“Call me JiaoJiao. I hate formalities, especially between partners in crime.” JiaoJiao tilted her head as she shut their door. Her face collapsed. “How are you?”

Meng Yao smoothed his hair. His voice oozed determination. “To achieve great things, sometimes small sacrifices are necessary.”

System?

[Sincerity: 25%].

Thanks. JiaoJiao crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you.” 

“Pardon me?” 

“You’re looking straight into my eyes, like you want to convince me you’re not lying.  I could see your hands shaking. You may be capable of sadism, but you don’t enjoy it.” JiaoJiao gives him a sympathetic smile. “Remember, I have a secret power, and that also says you’re lying.”

“Ah.” Meng Yao forced a laugh. “Who am I to argue with a mysterious power I can’t see or hear?:”

JiaoJiao crossed the room to stand in front of him. “No, keep looking at me. You’re not a monster, you know.”

“Of course I’m not. This is all to take down a monster,” he said, turning away. “JiaoJiao, would you like some tea?”

JiaoJiao personally had never really liked tea, even after all her months in this world. But when she recalled how other cultivators refused his tea just because he was a prostitute’s son, she felt she had no choice but to make him happy. “Yes, thank you.” 

When he handed a cup to her, not spilling a single drop, she made sure their fingers brushed, and didn’t flinch. She then took a long sip. Hmm, not bad . 

“I think you’re very brave,” she said once he had settled across from her.

“Thank you, JiaoJiao.” Meng Yao reminded her of a teacher’s pet, eagerly lapping up every ounce of praise. 

“This is really good tea. To be honest, I don’t usually like the taste, but this is so light. Where did you learn to brew tea like this?” JiaoJiao had a feeling she knew the answer, but she wanted to get him talking.

“Where I grew up,” he said carefully.

“The brothel?” 

“My mother was highly accomplished. She could write the most beautiful calligraphy, read book after book.” Meng Yao’s face lights up like a boy. “She once was quite rich, a merchant’s daughter, but her family lost their fortune and sold her off.” 

JiaoJiao’s heart hurt. Meng Shi had always sounded more like a sex slave than a willing prostitute to her, and it sickened her that she was judged for her own victimhood. “Your mother sounds like a strong woman they didn’t deserve.”

“She never told me how to find her family; in fact, she tried to conceal it, but I did find them once in a tiny corner of Yunmeng. The son they kept became a drunkard who cared nothing for his parents in their old age.” Meng Yao tried to smirk, but he couldn’t quite, because no matter their karma, his mother had never gotten her own justice. “Serves them right.”

“Tell me more about her,” JiaoJiao encouraged.

“My father was a wealthy cultivator. She bought me many cultivation manuals, hoping that I would already have a cultivation base whenever my father returned to ransom her as his concubine.” Meng Yao shrugged. “They weren’t very good or accurate, and she suspected as much, but if it helped me read, gave me any information at all, she thought it was worthwhile. She even took on one of her customers in exchange for him teaching me to play the guqin. I was ten, just old enough to understand I didn’t want her to do it, but she insisted.”  

“She told me that someday I would achieve great things.” Meng Yao squeezed his teacup to keep his hands from trembling. 

“I don’t think she’d be ashamed of you now. Pained, probably. No mother would want her son to have to face this. But I think she’d be proud of your end goal,” JiaoJiao said. “And that you’ve kept your compassion. And love for her.”

“I hope so. After all, if I don’t achieve anything, I can’t help her memory.” Meng Yao drew in a shaky breath, muffling his cry of I miss her, I miss her, I want her to hug me and rock me and tell me it will all be okay . 

Instead, he turned his wide eyes to her. “JiaoJiao, what of Yingchuan Wang Sect?”

“Ah, that.” She snorted. System, a little guidance ? “They’re not much of a sect. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, that they only gained their status because I became Wen Chao’s consort. Well, that’s all true.”

[The parents of Wang LingJiao are deceased. Her aunt Wang Ya runs Yingchuan Wang Sect. She was sent to Qishan due to questionable conduct with various men]. 

Like a reverse Mo Xuanyu. Why hadn’t she asked before? Did the aunt abuse her?

[The System believes the answer is yes]. 

No wonder the original JiaoJiao was mean. And yet she had repaid her aunt with kindness. Perhaps she too was far more complex than the novel had shown. 

Meng Yao noticed her sorrow. “Is that why you sought your position? You’re quite close with Young Madame Wen otherwise. Unless she wanted that, due to...”

“Wen Hong is indeed a good friend, who wished to avoid Wen Chao,” she confirmed. How much can I say? To tell Wang LingJiao’s story felt almost blasphemous. 

“But I...I’m not really who I pretend I am. My family isn’t even my family. I’m adopted; I don’t even know who my real parents are. In school, you can imagine the words said to me.”

“I can.” Meng Yao reached across the table to pat her hand. “I’m sorry you experienced that.”

“Yeah. Would you believe that I....at first, just to ensure I couldn’t be picked on, I became one of the bullies? I molded my whole life after fitting in, so everyone would think I was just like them. I really am a fool.” JiaoJiao snorted. “It took being felt up by a drunk peer, when I was the the only sober one around, before I was cast out.” 

Meng Yao lowered his teacup. “Things like that happened at the brothel too. It’s frightening.”

JiaoJiao nodded. “I wish I could know who my real parents are, but I doubt I’ll ever learn, not… not with the world having changed so much. But I wish.”

Mom, was she still mad at her for sneaking out? Would Dad ground her when she returned? Had they assumed she’d run off? Or were they scared she was raped and murdered? 

I’m sorry . 

She’d been blocking out the thought of them for so long. 

Was the original Wang LingJiao actually a better person than her? What would happen if Wang Sect ever found her and realized she wasn’t the same JiaoJiao?

Mom’s hot chocolate, Dad watching episodes of Mo Dao Zu Shi with her because he knew she liked it, both of them snapping pictures of her in that sparkly purple junior dress she wore to junior prom, their fears that she would seek out her birth family and abandon them, and well, now she had abandoned them –

Whining that Mom embarrassed her, fighting with Dad over the age she was allowed to date because she was fifteen and so what if an eighteen year old senior on the football team wanted to date her – thinking back, Dad was probably right about that. She was eighteen now and couldn’t imagine dating someone even younger than Meng Yao. 

Her shoulders hunched, and to her embarrassment – because she was here to comfort Meng Yao, dammit – she began to cry.

Meng Yao scooted over to her side.

I just want to go home. I’m scared. Aloud, she said, “No, don’t bother. I’m such a stupid, selfish girl.”

“I think you’re very smart.” Meng Yao put his hand on her shoulder. “Please don’t cry. We’ll both get out of this. You’re not less because you slept with Wen Chao. Mother always used to tell me that the only one who can make you less is you .” 

“But you hate yourself, too,” she reminded him. “I came here to tell you to love yourself, and now I’m a mess.”

“You did?” Meng Yao’s eyes soften. “You remind me of my mother, you know. She was very clever and kind, too, just like you. But sometimes she let me comfort her, and I wanted to. I want to help you, too.”

He hugged her, and she hugged him in return, rubbing his back to give whatever small form of comfort she could.

JiaoJiao crept back to Wen DaiYu’s chambers later than usual, hoping her mistress was already asleep. She and Meng Yao had made a plan to access Wen RuoHan’s secret room for his maps and plans next week.

“JiaoJiao.” Wen DaiYu looked up from the thick tapered candle she held. Money crumbled to ash in her hand. 

JiaoJiao stopped. “Madame – I mean, Wen Hong.” 

“For Wen Gan.” Wen DaiYu finished burning the money. 

“May I join?” JiaoJiao reached into her sleeves for her meager money.

Wen DaiYu nodded, holding out the candle.

JiaoJiao was silent, apologizing to him as she burnt it. The System hadn’t given her the task of saving him, so it had been impossible, right? Why did she still feel guilty?

“Where were you?” inquired Wen DaiYu, taking the candle back.

“In the dungeons again,” JiaoJiao said.

“With Meng Yao?” Wen DaiYu asked mildly.

“Yes,” said JiaoJiao. Did her friend think she had conspired with him, enjoyed his bloodshed earlier? “He has quite a quick mind, and we’re able to discuss the war.”

“Indeed he does.” Wen DaiYu gave her a small smile.

“Wait – no, it’s not like that,” protested JiaoJiao. Wen DaiYu didn’t begrudge her time with Meng Yao – she suspected romance ?!

“He’s already accomplished a lot,” said Wen DaiYu, ignoring her. “He practically seems to read Wen RuoHan’s thoughts. Like the son he never had.”

“Yes, he’ll be able to help teach you, for whenever you take over. God forbid Wen RuoHan die, but he’s not immortal, not yet.” JiaoJiao cringed. From Wen DaiYu’s frantic checking of their locks, she had the feeling her words were punishable by death.  

“You’re very considerate of me. But you cannot only make connections for my sake.” Satisfied that no one had overhead, Wen DaiYu turned around to smile at her again.

“JiaoJiao, I would be remiss if I did not warn you: never trust a torturer.” Wen DaiYu looked into her eyes. 

There it was. Wen DaiYu did not trust Meng Yao after today.

When JiaoJiao didn’t respond, Wen DaiYu sighed. “Wen Xu’s tutor himself became his torturer, leaping at the chance to torment the young master he lavished praise upon. I’m not saying this because I am prejudiced against the position. I’m well-aware Meng Yao is a favorite of Wen RuoHan's, and his rise from humble origins is more than admirable. I’m saying this because I...consider you a friend and would not like to see you hurt.”

“I know, Wen Hong. You don’t have to justify your motives to me.” JiaoJiao smiled. “But I’m nothing more than friends with Meng Yao, I promise. After today, I can assure you...we wouldn’t have had the stomach to discuss anything trivial, much less romantic.”

“Where does his heart lie, then?” Wen DaiYu asked carefully.

JiaoJiao wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret that. What, precisely, did Wen Hong suspect? “With Wen Sect, of course. Albeit in pleasing Wen RuoHan. Not in bloodshed itself.”

“I see.” Wen DaiYu grimaced. “In my experience, desire to please is far more potent than sadism for its own sake.”  

JiaoJia couldn’t refute that. Better motives, worse outcome. How fitting for this world. “I appreciate your care, Wen Hong.”

“You would have my full support, no matter what you choose,” said Wen DaiYu, and JiaoJiao wanted to yell, because how was this woman so sweet and good?

JiaoJiao chuckled. “It really isn’t like that. Let’s say I support his relationship with another...a man...back from his home. I’ve been advising him on letters to that person.”

[For disclosing the truth in a clever manner, the System awards you 10 B Points. Total B Points: 2410].

“A man?” Wen DaiYu seemed only slightly surprised. “So that’s how it is. I see.” She wavered for a moment before deciding to speak her mind. “Take care that Wen RuoHan does not get the wrong impression. I am afraid Meng Yao would turn from entertainer to entertainment if a secret were discovered.”

“I will be careful,” promised JiaoJiao. There was no way she was going to let Wen RuoHan do something to her and Meng Yao like he had done to Wen DaiYu and Wen Xu.

“Good.” Wen DaiYu sat back on her bed. “I am so tired, but afraid to sleep. I’ve seen this before, but that – that foot – and I was the one who persuaded Wen RuoHan to give Wen Gan another chance in the first place.”

“It’s haunting me, too. I just want all this to stop,” said JiaoJiao.

“Me, too.” Wen DaiYu responded so quickly that JiaoJiao wondered for a moment if her mistress not only knew the truth, but supported them. Or, perhaps if she told her the truth, Wen DaiYu would support them, even help raise a coup on her own.

[Likelihood of success: 15%].

Wen DaiYu was not inspiring enough, too small and too female and barely a Wen by blood. 

Fuck the system. 

“Really? Behind a bookshelf?” JiaoJiao couldn’t resist mumbling as Meng Yao picked up a gold-plated text from a wall of bookshelves outside Wen RuoHan’s chambers. 

“Not quite. He’s more clever than that,” Meng Yao whispered back. Opening to the middle of the book, he revealed a keyhole hidden in its ‘pages.’

As JiaJiao watched, Meng Yao took out the key Wen RuoHan always wore around his neck – or, more likely, a damn good imitation. 

He turned the lock, and the book grew to the size of a small door.

JiaoJiao shook her head as she followed Meng Yao inside. Once he had closed the door behind them, the book was once more in his hands.

“This entire room functions like an interspatial ring,” Meng Yao said softly. “It requires a level of cultivation I’m afraid not even Sect Leader Nie could reach.”

“This is amazing.” JiaoJiao’s stomach turned at the chains and manacles hanging from the ceiling, at the spears and sabers mounted on the walls. A mao lay across an ornately carved desk. Scrolls and talismans surrounded each item, as if they all possessed enough resentful energy to choke the life out of her. “And terrifying.”

“It is both,” agreed Meng Yao.

“How did you find this?”

“I requested dark objects to finish off the Yao Sect members we captured last month, and used the chance to find out where he hides his treasures and secrets.” Meng Yao watched her with caution. Afraid she would judge him.

“That was smart,” JiaoJiao said, despite the ache in her heart. But it ached as much for Meng Yao as the men he’d had to kill. 

He smiled with relief.

She reached for the desk covered with the detailed map. 

“Stay back.” Meng Yao grabbed her arm for a second. He then reached for a golden flute besides the desk, blowing few notes through his lips. A shadowed red orb gradually grew visible. A seal, protecting the map. 

“A trap, just in case.” He lowered the flute. 

“How did you notice?”

Meng Yao beckoned to the books. “They’re hovering over the table. Just slightly, if you look close enough.”

JiaoJiao shook her head in amazement. “You really are a genius.”

“I’m not,” he said with an embarrassed laugh. “Just familiar with hiding things. Brothel days.”

“I see.”

He glanced at the map. “What do you see?”

JiaoJiao squinted. “We’re delivering more forces to Yangquan.”

“Anything else?”

She eyed him. “Are you trying to teach me, kid?”

Meng Yao laughed a little. “I’m only two years younger than you. And you seem interested.” 

“Very well, I am.” JiaoJiao thought for a moment. “General Wen Tengfei remains by Langya. We’re moving numbers, but not the talent.”

“Yes, exactly. Aside from that...Yangquan has a narrow passage directly to Nightless City.” He indicated along the map. 

Why would ...Ah-ha. “They’re expecting Wei WuXian’s army along the pass, aren’t they?” 

Meng Yao nodded. “It’d be direct from Jiangling, certainly, and were an army of corpses to pass through a narrow gorge, it’d be a tactical advantage for the Wens. Even if he didn’t die, Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng would be trapped there for a while.”

“Perhaps we should direct Wei WeXian through Hejian instead. The Nie soldiers should be able to prevent civilian casualties, right?” She rubbed her eyes.

“Yes, they could. Meng Yao examine the map closer. “Not a bad idea. But, what if we capitalized on their expectations even more and directed a small number of strong cultivators to Yangquan? Someone like ChiFeng-Zun, whom everyone expects to stay in Hejian for now.”  

JiaoJiao lifted her eyebrows. “Brilliant.”

“If it works. The numbers will not be in his favor. But he is an excellent tactician; I have faith in him.” Meng Yao blew three notes into the flute again. The orb glowed until it surrounded the map, then faded into invisibility. “I have seen enough to copy it.”

JiaoJiao stuck out her tongue, and he smiled at her well-intentioned pride. As they turned to leave the room, she noted a presence so dark her soul felt threatened. “What on earth…”

Meng Yao grabbed a dagger surrounded by two intricate talismans. “One of Wen RuoHan’s favorites. It used to be an assassin’s knife; he told me it was too good to use on those we tortured. See, if you look into the reflection…”

She took it from his hands, entranced by its darkness. Many faces appeared, including a woman with laughing eyes and a face that bore more than a passing resemblance to Wen Xu. 

A mournful feeling rose within her. “This must be the one Wen Xu’s mother died from.”

The very same knife that Qin Su would someday use.

“Wen Xu’s mother?” Meng Yao frowned. 

“It’s a long story. A-Chao told me before he died that Wen Xu’s mother wasn’t Wen RuoHan’s principal wife. She was just a concubine with lucky fertility. On a night hunt, she died by a knife that sounds like this, a knife that traps images of the people it kills.” JiaoJiao peered closer. 

“That explains why Sect Leader Wen treasures it,” Meng Yao mused. “He can still see her.”

It was almost...sweet. With all she’d seen and learned these last weeks, JiaoJiao felt sick at the idea of Wen RuoHan doing anything relatable. 

“This one. Must be her. She looks...happy.” JiaoJiao gestured to the women fading from the gleaming knife. Unlike most of the dead, the woman wore a smile. Perhaps she really had been so carefree that even her death did not daunt her. 

“I wonder how things would be different if either of his partners had survived. They both sounded like remarkable women. And both died in front of him,” JiaoJiao recounted.

“He has many concubines still,” said Meng Yao.

“He does?” Then why had JiaoJiao not seen or heard of any?

“Yes.” Meng Yao looked ill. “Twelve in total. I’m one of the few allowed inside their quarters. There were thirteen, but shortly after my arrival, one of them suggested that Wen RuoHan break his vow to his wife, and father new sons with her.”

“Oh no.” JiaoJiao placed the knife back with shaking hands.

Meng Yao hugged himself. “He had me kill her in front of him, in – in a really awful, degrading way. And I knew enough from the brothel to know just what would please him – just like the son of a whore, right?”

Hatred seeped through his voice.

“No.” JiaoJiao wrapped her arms around him. She couldn’t say it’s not your fault, because to the dead woman it surely was. But she couldn’t blame him, either. 

“Now the women are too afraid to flee, and besides, who would care for the concubines of Wen RuoHan? Their fate is either to live with him and risk being tortured to death, or flee to the unknown, risking torture and death should they be identified. The most they can hope for is to make a living as anonymous prostitutes.” Meng Yao opened the book and slipped in the key, freeing them from the treasure chamber. He silently placed the book back where it belonged before walking down the hall.

JiaoJiao hurried after him. His eyes were closed to shut out the judgment she wouldn’t give, but he did not trip, because Meng Yao knew his way by heart. 

“Meng Yao, please. Don’t...I know you are upset. I know you can’t help but see your mother, your mother in their situation. You’re helping them by working to end the war, really,” JiaoJiao said.

“Ending the war.” Meng Yao stopped, opening his eyes. “Will I be in a position to advocate for them, then?”

“I won’t either, but I will,” she said. 

“I don’t know if I’ll have the courage.”

“Then don’t. I won’t judge you. I’d like you to help me, but I won’t despite you if you don’t,” said JiaoJiao. 

“Really? You really wouldn’t despise me?” Meng Yao seemed skeptical. “Not for my birth, nor my immorality?” 

“You’re not the only lowborn bastard who’s done grievous things.” JiaoJiao weighed her words. “If I were not...afflicted, if you will, with my secret power...I don’t know if I ever would have had the courage to change. Even if I didn’t like it. I...I’m weak, just like you.”

“I just want the world to show compassion for the weak, too,” whispered Meng Yao. “The prostitutes and concubines and spies and assassins, the orphans and the fatherless.”

“Does the cultivation world have any good fathers?” she burst out, seizing the chance to force him to tell her the truth before she accidentally spilled it and lost hundreds of points. “There’s your father, whomever he is; there’s Jiang Fengmian, who ignored Jiang Cheng to favor Wei WuXian; Sect Leader Nie, who died early but given Nie Mingjue’s...stiffness...probably had a temper –”

Meng Yao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, probably, though ChiFeng-Zun loved his father dearly. He’ll even have nightmares about his death – though if he discovers I told anyone that, he’ll sacrifice me to his saber.”

“I’ll keep the secret, then.” She winked. “But, back to the cultivation world and their dads. QingHeng-Jun spent his life secluded from his own sons.”

“His sons turned into good men. Lan XiChen, he’s – JiaoJiao, he’s the best man I have ever met. He is kind, extravagantly kind, warm and sympathetic. I’ve even met him, and he doesn’t look down on me for my mother. He even told me secrets from his own family just to comfort me.” Meng Yao’s face shone. He spoke rapidly, as if he could continue on forever about Lan XiChen.

XiYao is real or I was never Jasmine Jones , she thought with glee. “Good. You deserve kindness.” 

Meng Yao looked desperate to believe her.

“And then there’s that fucker Jin GuangShan. Fucker being the operative word.”

Meng Yao choked.

“Jin GuangShan is a poor husband, but he is very good to Jin ZiXuan.” Meng Yao defended him. 

“He’s poor to his other children. Who even knows how many?”

Meng Yao bowed his head.

“Remember that boy who was kicked down the stairs…”

Meng Yao’s voice was laced with pain. “How long have you known?”

She wilted. Even finding answers didn’t feel good when it hurt someone. “I remembered your name. Wen Chao liked to tell that story when he was drunk. For what it’s worth, the one he laughed at was Sect Leader Jin, though, not you.” 

Did that make Wen Chao smarter than she had presumed? Or had he just hated Sect Leader Jin more than his son, because he knew Jin GuangShan was participating in their rebellion?

She still kinda wished he were here, so she could ask him. She still mourned him, not the enemy she thought he was. She’d been fine for weeks, but now she felt like crying again.

“Wen RuoHan doesn’t know, right?” Meng Yao looked anxious. 

“No, and I wouldn’t tell him.”

“I’m going to surprise him, someday. When I help end this war, I’ll be back in Sect Leader Nie’s good graces, and in my father’s,” Meng Yao declared.

“Sect Leader Nie?” She played dumb. 

“He happened to visit the day I arranged the murder of my commander. I had to feign suicide and then stab him just to escape. But Wen TianFei was waiting for me.” Meng Yao shook his head. “Stabbing Jin GuangShan couldn’t have been harder than stabbing ChiFeng-Zun. I almost threw away the cover I’d worked so hard to build. Because I wanted to stay in his good graces.”

“Sounds like he’s your second father.” She grinned as they approached Meng Yao’s door. “Or maybe just your Da-Ge.”

Meng Yao laughed, but his eyes were laced with yearning. “If only I were so blessed. I’m sure he’ll understand, though. In the end. I hope.”

Now JiaoJiao really wanted to cry.

He stopped outside his door, spinning around to face her. “Also, you’re wrong. I know a good father in the cultivation world.” 

“Qin CangYe is a good father. He dotes on Maiden Qin, and she adores him. He can often be heard saying that she is his greatest pride.” Meng Yao wears a dreamy expression, whether for Qin Su or her loving relationship with her father. 

JiaoJiao swallowed her unease. 

He’s not even …

She couldn’t let him marry her this time around. But he looked so innocent, so happy just to mention her name, that her heart broke for a love that couldn’t exist. 

She would tell him later. When they had time. Because they were both going to survive. 

“I will see you tomorrow,” she whispered, and in that whisper was a promise. They would make it through this. 

“May your dreams be sweet.” Meng Yao grips her hand one last time. “That’s what my mother used to say every night.”

Fortunately, Wen DaiYu was already asleep by the time JiaoJiao returned. However, the next morning, she discovered that her late night excursions had not gone without notice. 

“Sneaking off with Meng Yao in the middle of the night, so unseemly!” Wu Ping tossed a rag towards her. 

“Does he teach you any of his brothel tricks?” mocked Cai Chen. 

Don’t you insult him! JiaoJiao had accepted that she deserved a few insults after what she’d done in high school, but Meng Yao? No, not even if they just saw him as a killer more brutal than the last torturer.  

Still, this had gone far enough; the last thing she needed was Wen RuoHan catching word of this. 

And frankly, despite her belief that she deserved it, JiaoJiao was sick of absorbing their behavior. 

She was fucking risking her life to save all of theirs. Did they really not think Wen RuoHan wouldn’t turn on them if given the chance? And she was tired of bullies, tired of the reminders of her own past behavior. Did they think they were clever in their cruelty? 

“Why?” JiaoJiao tossed back, her calm officially fractured. “Wanna learn?”

“I’m sure she doesn’t need teaching,” said Wu Ping dryly.

JiaoJiao planted her hands on her hips. So that’s how you wanna play ? A sneer spread across her lips. “Aren’t you just mad that you gave your virginity to Wen Chao, yet weren’t promoted to mistress or even given a jewel to remember him?”  

Wu Ping’s expression twisted. “Fuck you.”

“Now, that’s not very ladylike. Which one of us was the whore, again?” JiaoJiao grinned.

“Both of you,” said Liu Fang, bored. “Can we move past who slept with whom? This wasn’t the point of our conversation.”

JiaoJiao bit her tongue until she drew blood. She brought it up ! Why did she have to feel bad, just because Wu Ping was close to tears? 

Why did she feel bad?

“Wang LingJiao, you know that we’re from a variety of backgrounds,” explained Tan En. “My sect was annihilated, Guo BiYu was rescued from her father’s abuse, Ting Xuan began as a scullery maid. Wu Ping’s Chengdu Wu Sect is very strict. They would renounce her as tarnished if they knew she had any relations outside of marriage. Please don’t mock her.”

“Shut up, you gossip!” Wu Ping lunged to slap the small girl, but JiaoJiao, who found Tan En rather mature for her fourteen years, shoved herself between them. 

A red mark erupted on her face with the sound of struck flesh. “Ow!”

Wu Ping glowered at them both. Now Wen DaiYu would see the bruise and blame her. 

Fuck you, System. JiaoJiao ground out the words, because she was definitely, obviously, only capitulating to redeem herself and not because she felt guilty, not at all. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Wu Ping goggled.

“She said what ?” Cai Chen leaned closer.  

“I said I’m sorry. I know I’m mean, I know I tend to resort to superficial insults and petty words when I am hurt, and I am sorry .” JiaoJiao enunciated every syllable. There. Were they satisfied?

The System didn’t even punish her for saying something OOC. Perhaps she had cultivated – pun intended – enough character growth that she was no longer OOC?

Wu Ping struggled for words. 

Cai Chen took pity on her best friend and fixed her pretty smile back on her face. “We’re not here to mock you, either.”

You sure about that? JiaoJiao held her tongue.

“We don’t care if you and Meng Yao are secret lovers or long-lost siblings. We care that both of you see the war updates.” Cai Chen spoke with a solemn air.  

JiaoJiao replied delicately. “How much do you know?”

“Enough,” said Liu Fang. “Tan En has her own special friendship with General Wen TengFei’s son.”

“Yes, I know who he is.” JiaoJiao wondered if Tan En had befriended him after his guilt over turning Wen Gan in. If so, how could she let someone as compassionate as Tan En die? 

“Is it true that we’ve lost Hejian in all but name, and that Langya is turning in Lanling Jin’s favor?” asked Liu Fang.

JiaoJiao gulped.

“Not to mention Wei WuXian’s army of the dead.” Cai Chen shivered. Behind her, the quiet Guo BiYu began biting her fingernails again. 

JiaoJiao looked around their faces. “I…”

“Let’s not waste time hemming and hawing. We might be maids of varying literacy, but we aren’t stupid,” said Liu Fang. 

“Wen RuoHan is strong enough to hold Nightless City on his own,” JiaoJiao said lamely. “Even if it were him versus the world. Do you deny that?”

“He will be one against an army that can’t die,” said Ting Xuan, ever bitter. “We’re not questioning his authority or power. We’re questioning the tide of politics. I’ll say it if no one else will: things look grim for everyone in Wen Sect who isn’t Wen RuoHan. Does that sound loyal enough for you, Wang LingJiao?”

JiaoJiao looked at the ground. So she was the loyal one, eh? Disgusting. “What would you ask me to do?” 

Her guilt roared back, because these women would all die soon, she knew it. Fuck her earlier indignation, fuck her earlier desire to save their lives just to prove herself righteous. Fuck everything. 

“I’m helpless,” she said aloud. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart? You’re capable of forming a plan.” Guo BiYi asked in her vapory voice.

“ What plan?!” Saving Wen DaiYu was one thing, but six maids, too? 

Cai Chen wrinkled her nose. Even with such a face, she looked prettier than most models. “Our mistress . Wen DaiYu isn’t guilty of any crimes against any sect, even if she thinks she is. All she’s done is be dutiful and live in obedient fear. She is too innocent to suffer as Wen Sect’s surviving scapegoat.”

JiaoJiao’s contrarian mind retorted that obedience could certainly be morally wrong. But when it came to someone who broken like Wen DaiYu, she wasn’t sure anymore. At the very least, she deeply understood Wen Hong’s actions. 

“Meng Yao is brilliant, or so we hear,” continued Liu Fang. “He has a plan, I am sure, even if you don’t. All we ask is that she is included in such a plan, and not taken down with Wen Sect.”

“We don’t care what you have to do to fix this agreement, if you sleep with him or not.” Wu Ping shook her finger at JiaoJiao. “But you will find a way to ensure her survival.”

System ?

[Would you like to unlock the task ‘Save Wen DaiYu?’ Chance of success: 40%. Difficulty level: high. Initial Cost: 0 B Points].

How is it worth the second-highest rating? Meng Yao won’t mind, and neither will she – or would she? JiaoJiao fumed. Why are the odds so low?

JiaoJiao didn’t much like basing a promise on a 40% chance. 

But this was Wen DaiYu. The sweet woman who got fridged for her father-in-law’s pride and her husband’s guilt-infested infidelity. 

How could she not try? Even when the odds were against her, her odds were probably better than any of the other maids’.  

Unlock it. If I fail, I’ll kill you and then myself.

[We would die simultaneously].

How romantic. 

[You are not currently able to unlock the ‘find a romantic partner’ task]. 

Oh, fuck off. Aloud, JiaoJiao said, “Of course I would try anything for her.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

Change the Plot

JiaoJiao moaned. “I should never have taught you that phrase.”

“Why? I love it. Bye, bitches.” Xue Yang moved to leap off the tower again, a chunk of candy tucked in his cheeks. He almost resembled a chipmunk about to choke.  

“Someday you’re gonna break your legs,” JiaoJiao scolded.

“You’re not my mother.” Xue Yang lifted a triumphant finger in the air. “I’m pretty sure I don’t have one. I’m a demon spawn.”

“Don’t insult demons,” she shot back. 

He stuck out his tongue at her, promptly gagging on the candy. His face red, Xue Yang growled, “Not. A. Word. If you want ZeWu-Jun to get his information.” 

“We will see you in another week,” said Meng Yao pleasantly. “Be safe.”

“Awww, you’re such good parents.” Xue Yang sniggered. But if JiaoJiao had to guess, he actually liked that people cared about him. And Meng Yao was always certain to pay him with copious sweets he’d snuck from the cook.

Meng Yao watched him scamper away from Nightless City. “He’s not the delinquent everyone says he is.”

“On the contrary,” JiaoJiao demurred. “He is, and that’s part of why he’s wonderful company and a useful ally.”

“Most people view him as a nuisance or are afraid of him.” Meng Yao smiled. “I like him.”

“I think...much like everyone else, he just needs someone to care for him, maybe guide him.” JiaoJiao speculated. “But not a disciplinarian, definitely not. Speaking of.”

“Speaking of?” 

She cocked an eyebrow. “You write to Lan XiChen, not Nie MingJue, even though Nie MingJue sees most of the information. Why?”

“Oh, that.” He blew out his breath. “The fact that you mentioned ‘disciplinarian’ and then Nie MingJue tells me you know. How much do you know about ChiFeng-Zun’s temper?”

“Nothing good. From what I hear he’s quite judgmental, too.”

“ChiFeng-Zun is...well, yes. But it’s judgment borne of innocence. He thinks the world is good and bad, that all who are good are good forever, and all who are bad chose it freely.” How interesting. Meng Yao was almost defending him right now.

“I wish that were true,” JiaoJiao said. She debated: should she ask about the commander he killed, or Lan XiChen? No, she'd practically heard confirmation that the commander was a step to Wen RuoHan. Lan XiChen was more pressing. 

“Me too. If all good people go what they deserved, my mother would be a goddess revered by all.” His eyes glowed. 

Her heart melted at his clear love for Meng Shi. “What is the story between you and Lan XiChen?” 

Meng Yao spoke quickly. “He’s asked me not to discuss how we met.” 

“Why? Were you lovers?” she joked.

Meng Yao gasped. His cheeks turned pink. “No, no, nothing like that.”

“Oh, are you sure? You’re blushing.” She smirked.

“No, it’s just – he’s so pure, even the mention of that is shocking,” stammered Meng Yao. Stammered, instead of his usual eloquence. “Lan XiChen deserves the world’s best woman.”

Uh-huh. JiaoJiao crossed her arms. “You’re not half as hateful as you think.” 

She would never force him to Lan XiChen or even Nie MingJue, but she wasn’t cruel enough to let him keep falling for Qin Su. “Is there anyone you like, Meng Yao?” 

“Ah…” He blushed.

“Who is it?” She leaned forward eagerly.

“Ah, um, Maiden Qin is quite lovely. At Langya, she was at the battlefields while the fighting had yet to completely subside, already offering aid. She...was nearly kidnapped by Wens, and worse. But I killed them by impersonating a Wen. Afterwards, she looked at me with such awe…” Meng Yao paused. His face shone. “A Qin sect soldier told her who I was, and her face didn’t change at all. ‘Then he is even more impressive,’ were her exact words.”

He sighed. “She’s a fine woman.” 

JiaoJiao stomach twisted. Just how much should she reveal? “Your story sounds like a romantic novel.”

Meng Yao laughed. He looked so innocent. She had to believe he really did care for Qin Su until he knew.

She summoned her inner strength, what little she possessed. “But I feel I must warn you about something.”

“Oh?” 

“Maiden Qin...have you heard the rumors?”

“No. What rumors?” Meng Yao is instantly defensive.

“Not about her, I assure you. Her mother...I heard Wen Chao mentioned that Sect Leader Jin was once quite lecherous towards her.” JiaoJiao ignored the ache that began in her head. “Rumor is Qin Su is not even Sect Leader Qin’s daughter.”

Meng Yao spluttered. “What?”

She gulped. “I know. I know you care about her.”

His shoulders slumped. “It’s nothing. I – it’s good to know.”

“You might have a little sister,” she suggested.

“Yes.” Tears fill his eyes. A hope, a small hope of possibility, was again extinguished because of his parentage. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He sniffled. “I just – she was very nice to me. When I rescued her from those soldiers, she said she would definitely speak to her father for me. I told her it didn’t matter, but she was insistent, declaring that she would rather have seen me than a handsome prince. She sought me out afterwards, heard my commander insult my mother, and she – a small woman not even from our sect – she slapped him and said I had more honor than anyone she knew.”

“After that, the commander worsened towards me, but it was worth it. To see her slap him.” He grinned despite the tears spilling over. “You see, no one else wanted to rescue her. She was captured alongside heavily injured soldiers on the battlefield, people who would either die or face months to recovery. Qin CangYe is an excellent commander, but with his daughter in danger, he wasn’t himself, and it wasn’t easy to determine a rescue mission.” 

“But you did.”

“Yes, until my commander took credit.” Meng Yao scowled. “I...Qin Su’s word meant nothing against the word of my commander. In fact, my father was baffled at Qin CangYe’s recommendation; it was quite humiliating for them. So I chose him as my victim, and it went well, until Nie MingJue happened to be visiting.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“You’re a good listener, you know that?” Meng Yao asked before resuming. “Nie MingJue saw me murder him. He knew something was wrong, that it was calculated. I had to stab myself in a suicidal fit to paralyze him so I could flee.”

“Suicide?” JiaoJiao delivered him her sternest look.

“I wasn’t actually suicidal. I know how to stab myself.” Meng Yao opens his robes to expose a small scar on his abdomen. “A client once stabbed me here when I tried to defend my mother. It healed quickly, so it can’t be anywhere vital. Just stab where the scar is, and I’ll be fine.” 

JiaoJiao eyed him. “How old were you?”

“Seven.”

“Meng Yao,” she said, grabbing him. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind hurting myself for a higher purpose,” Meng Yao said with defiance.  

“I know, but I...think you’re worth more than that.” JiaoJiao looked down at her hands. “I’m a hypocrite for saying that, but I’ll say it anyways. You know, I...I’ve actually tried to kill myself before.”

“You have?” Meng Yao frowned. “But –”

“Before I came here, I was the laughingstock of my home. Ah...men. A man I was flirting with, because I really wanted to capture his interest, got a bit too...familiar. And then I was threatened with arrest and told I was at fault, and maybe I was. At any rate, I tried to throw myself off a tower.” JiaoJiao gulped. Truth.

Truth hurt.

“I got very close to the edge. I don’t know if I made a decision, like ‘oh yes, now i’m gonna kill myself.’ It was just, how close can I get, how close, how desperate, will anyone see or care, maybe if I die they’ll feel bad and at least one person will remember me with pity instead of hatred.” JiaoJiao closed her eyes. “Pretty fucked up.”

Meng Yao held her hand. “I...really like having a friend here. I’m scared of being alone.”

“Me too,” she admitted.

“What did you do to nearly be arrested?” he asked slyly. 

“Punched him.”

“Served him right.”

You would think that , she thought with some unease.

“My mother used to say that all life was precious, whether you were an earthworm in a brothel or a Sect Leader in Koi Tower.” He sighs. “And then our friend SiSi – she was the prettiest woman there, and an infamous vixen – would counter that even if all life was precious, the life you had to prioritize was your own.”

“I think that was her attempt to suggest mother just submit to her clients, stop causing trouble with her pride. For my sake.” Meng Yao wiped his eyes. “But I liked her pride in me. No one else loved me like her.” 

“Lan XiChen sounds like he has faith in you, at least,” she reminded him. “And Qin Su; you have a sister who supports you. Even if Jin ZiXuan remains a peacock, you’re not alone.” 

“That’s true.” He brightened. “I’m going to re-earn Sect Leader Nie’s love with my work here. He’ll owe his victories partially to me. I’ll tell him the truth about the murder, and I’m sure he’ll understand. He’ll love me again. Everything I go through here, that’s why it’s worth it.” 

Meng Yao looked so hopeful, so determined, she wanted to cry. Why, Nie MingJue, are you such an unsympathetic arsehole ?

“Like I said, he’s practically your Da-Ge,” she teased aloud as they crept down the tower stairs.

They exited the tower, and she noticed a small, gangly figure watching them. Meng Yao froze. His hand flew to Hensheng.

“Wait.” She squinted. “That’s Meat Bun.”

“Who?”

"Wen TengFei’s son. He gave me a meat bun when I arrived here, weak from starvation.” JiaoJiao waved towards him. “He’s probably Xue Yang’s age. Let him go.”

Meng Yao nodded slightly. Despite his better judgement, he gripped her hand and led her back to the Palace of the Sun and Flames.

Two Weeks Later

JiaoJiao hoped she wouldn’t be late to their midnight meeting with Xue Yang, but something had happened, leaving her cold from her fingers to her stomach. She staggered away from their meeting with Wen RuoHan to the Fire Palace, to Wen Ning’s cell.

She’d long since dreaded visiting him, because she felt guilty, because she dared not offer anything but friendship and information. She had an entire System and used it for nothing but helping the original characters, rather than take initiative herself. 

Except today she actually had useful information for Wen Ning, and she hated it.  

“Your sister has been transferred to Langya,” JiaoJiao said by way of greeting.

“She has?” Wen Ning asked nervously.

“Better Langya than Hejian. She’s a useful political prisoner; Sect Leader Jin will keep her alive,” said JiaoJiao.

“Is there word of anyone else?” asked Wen Ning, as she knew he would. “My Granny is old, and my cousin’s wife is pregnant.” 

She peered inside the bars. “That’s why I’m here, actually.”

Wen Ning fell silent. 

“Your cousin, Wen Tian...was killed in the final takeover of Jiangling. Wei WuXian’s army of corpses overran the last of our troops.”

Wen Ning sat motionless. When he spoke, his voice quivered. “Oh.”

“I’m so sorry,” said JiaoJiao. Did he hate her for bearing the news? For not stopping Wei WuXian? Did he regret helping Wei WuXian? Probably not. “Wen Ning, I’m sorry.”

[You have been awarded 25 B points for honesty. Total B Points: 3145].

I’d rather not.

[You have been awarded 25 B points for empathy, then. Total B Points: 3145].

She groaned to herself. Empathy shouldn’t be rewarded with points. If she only changed for points, how did redemption work?

“It isn’t your fault.” Wen Ning hugged his legs to his chest. “His poor wife. She wasn’t even a Wen, and now she’ll be … stained forever. Her baby won’t even have a father.”

He will, JiaoJiao longed to assure him. A father, and a mother, and friends, lots of friends. 

“Disloyal words,” said a soft voice above her.

JiaoJiao jumped, but after months of living in a frightening place like Nightless City, Meng Yao was probably the only person who could sneak up on her. 

“Who is this?” asked Wen Ning immediately. “Young Master, it’s not what you think.” 

“I’m a friend.” Meng Yao sank besides JiaoJiao. He held a plte of dumplings in his hands, and slipped them between the cell bars. “I too saw the report earlier. I...brought you your favorite meal, Wen Ning. I asked the cook to make it for you. What little comfort I can offer.”

“Meng Yao?” Wen Ning knew him as the torturer. Not a generous friend.

“Yes.” Meng Yao’s voice had a trace of irony. “I suppose we’re all different than we appeared, hmm? You, a Wen imprisoned for politics but not your disloyalty. Me, a considerate torturer. Her, a politically suave mistress with a false name.”

“I beg your pardon?” JiaoJiao’s ears rang. 

“Because you’re not Wang LingJiao,” said Meng Yao, as if it were obvious.

“I beg your pardon?” She repeated, like a robot. What had she possibly said to give it away? Unlike Wen ZhuLiu and Wei WuXian, Meng Yao had never known the original Wang LingJiao.

I’m so stupid!

“She isn’t, right?” Wen Ning said, the traitor. “But I like this version better.”

“I hate you both,” she grumbled.

“No, you don’t,” teased Wen Ning.

Holy shit. Cinnamon Bun was actually teasing, even if it was to avoid his grief? It isn’t fair; I can’t even be mad at you . 

“Your secret power. I don’t know what it is, but once you said that, it wasn’t hard to uncover that you know things you shouldn’t. I imagine you encountered something that changed you drastically,” said Meng Yao. 

“Honestly, I’m envious,” admitted Wen Ning. “I would like to be changed drastically. Then I wouldn’t be a powerless prisoner.” 

“Oh fuck no, you wouldn’t,” she hissed. System, fuck you.

[I am not in charge of Wen Ning].

Well, it seems mean . 

“Wen Ning, I’d like to speak with you more,” said Meng Yao. 

“Yes.” Wen Ning sounded a little nervous, which was only fitting, given Meng Yao’s position. “But may I ask something of you, first?”

“Certainly,” Meng Yao responded.

“There are often many screams. Men, women, children. But even in the middle of the night, there’s a young man’s voice, screaming no , begging for his mother.” Wen Ning paused. “It sounds like your voice.” 

JiaoJiao’s eyes bulged. Wen Ning was savage underneath that soft demeanor. 

Meng Yao swallowed hard. “I...it is my voice. I have nightmares, you see. That is all.”

They heard the sound of chains rattling. And then – two thirds of the dumpling Meng Yao had placed in the cell were handed back. One for each of them.

For a moment, she felt free, like they were all teenage friends hanging out after school. Not a torturer, a mistress, and a prisoner talking through wrought iron bars.

Her relief was short-lived. As midnight approached, she had begun distracting Wen Ning and Meng Yao by teaching some of her worst party games. Meng Yao sounded particularly interested in Cards Against Humanity ; Wen Ning sounded appalled. Either way, both her friends were distracted from the grief of their lives. 

She was in the middle of teaching Meng Yao how to respond to fuck-marry-kill – and noting that Meng Yao had chosen fuck Nie MingJue, marry Lan XiChen, kill Jiang Cheng – when three servants stormed into the hall.

“There they are!”

“What?” Wen Ning gasped.

JiaoJiao stood. Had Xue Yang been caught? Was he really the type to give them up?  “What are you here for? I visit Wen Ning on our Sect Leader’s orders – oh!”

They seized her arms,  and Meng Yao was likewise held between two servants. 

“What’s going on?” Wen Ning asked, although he knew he would not receive an answer, as his two friends were dragged away. 

“What is this?” Meng Yao panted, as if he was utterly shocked. “Has something happened to Sect Leader Wen?”

Not only was his reaction perfectly innocent, his first question demonstrated his loyalty to Wen RuoHan. 

JiaoJiao couldn’t help her instinctual jealousy. If one of them managed to talk their way to freedom, it would be Meng Yao. Besides, she had already lived past her point in the novel; she was expendable. She hadn’t even accomplished anything of importance.

And still, her first response was to protect herself, not Meng Yao.

I’ll save him. I don’t care what you say, System. No, me. Myself. My evil core , she vowed. 

The servants didn’t answer. Most likely they had been forbidden. Instead, they dragged the two before the jade throne.

Both were tossed to their knees, and remained prostrated before their leader, praying their subservience would appease his ego.

The silence stretched on, taunting them, a sure test of their nerves. JiaoJiao wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, but Wen RuoHan might see disrespect, and so she focused on a crack in the dark tiles.

“You two have been accused of conspiring together to overthrow Wen Sect.” Wen RuoHan’s voice soared forth at last. 

“Who made such an accusation, my Sect Leader?” gasped Meng Yao.

JiaoJiao cringed as her mind answered the question for her. 

Wen Hui, you fool .

No, although was dismayed, she couldn’t be angry at the kid. After what had happened to Wen Gan, Meat Bun would either feel too guilty to turn anyone in again, or too afraid not to.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have chosen fear. 

Given his position as son of their best general, he was likely safe. But at fourteen, Wen Hui wouldn’t realize that. He would try to save his life at the expense of everyone else, and here they were, on their knees before Wen RuoHan. 

Every instinct insisted she deny the charges, but she remembered how Wen ZhuLiu discovered her secret. 

By her denials. 

“Sect Leader, I know you are just testing us. Ask whatever you will,” said JiaoJiao instead. 

“Do you know what treason is, little slut?”

“Treason is betrayal of those who trusted and protected and honored you,” she answered, continuing her flattery. 

“Indeed. But what constitutes betrayal?” prompted Wen RuoHan. “Is a charge of treason to be reserved for the extreme cases, such as sneaking information to our enemies?”

JiaoJiao had never understood the phrase cold sweat before, but she did now. How? How did he know? 

“No,” supplied Meng Yao. “Treason is every little thing that led that wicked person to betray the person they swore to serve.”

“I agree, Meng Yao,” purred Wen RuoHan. “Treason is not just reserved for spies and assassins, but for all those whose little secrets and misdeeds undermine their authority’s power.”

They waited with bated breath. 

“Like my right-hand man and my son’s mistress having an illicit affair while we are at war.”

JiaoJiao choked. Of course, sneaking out in the middle of the night to a quiet location with another boy – hahahahaha! Wen RuoHan didn’t even know the truth! 

As precarious as her position was, she felt relieved. Certain she and Meng Yao could explain themselves.

“You, maid. Can you not keep your legs closed for the sect you swore to serve?” Wen RuoHan directed his glare to her first. 

Blame the girl . Apparently the cultivation world wasn’t very different from modern society.

Honestly, he reminded Jasmine of her health teacher. Humiliating Lauren Sands in front of their entire class because she got pregnant at sixteen. Jasmine had wanted to tell him to knock it off, but the boys were laughing, and she really wanted a date for their Valentine’s Day dance. At the time, she’d been proud of herself for frowning instead of laughing, as if her silence had actually helped instead of left Lauren on her own. 

She was a sickening hypocrite, and now that she thought about it, Mr. Smith was as evil as Wen RuoHan. He just had been unlucky enough to be born in a world where the highest title he could achieve was ‘health teacher,’ rather than a magical sect leader. 

She’d really spent her whole life preparing herself to be a Wen looking the other way as people were destroyed. Just on a smaller scale.

“Do you have anything to say?” Wen RuoHan snarled.

JiaoJiao opened her mouth. She couldn’t keep him waiting. 

Should she deny it? Wen RuoHan might not believe her; he might even be offended that she would contradict his judgment. But if she admitted an affair, would he kill her for treason? System –

“Incorrect,” interrupted a smooth voice.

The room stilled. Every guard, every servant, every prisoner felt their blood congeal in their heart.

Who else would dare chastise Wen RuoHan but someone bound to him by law? 

Wen DaiYu swept forward, her hands clasped over her chest. “Father, Father, it wasn’t JiaoJiao’s fault. I – I asked her to do this.”

“You asked her to conspire against us?” he inquired, his voice infused with a frightening sweetness.

“I would never!” Wen DaiYu swooped to her knees, prostrating herself before her father-in-law. Directly between Wen RuoHan and JiaoJiao. 

“I recognized that Meng Yao had designs on her, and in an abundance of caution – as you so wisely taught me, Father – I requested her to keep me informed on his character.”

Taught me, by violating me and your children on your wedding night . JiaoJiao felt nauseated by Wen DaiYu’s obvious obsequiousness. 

“Whether their feelings are sincere or not, I can’t know,” Wen DaiYu continued. “But she has discovered much of use. For instance, while his name truly is Meng Yao, Meng is the name of his mother and not his father.” 

JiaoJiao’s entire chest spasmed.

Wen DaiYu was naive and timid, right? Right? She was glad to keep herself unblemished from reality. She couldn’t know. 

“His father is none other than Sect Leader Jin GuangShan. He is the bastard kicked down the stairs of Koi Tower not many years ago.” Wen DaiYu raised her head to look her father-in-law in the eyes. 

Exposure opened across Meng Yao’s face. His shoulders tensed, a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, and for the first time since their arrest, JiaoJiao could tell he was fighting to remain calm.

“I do not claim to know his intentions here. He certainly has reason to despise his father,” Wen DaiYu added coyly. Summoning Wen RuoHan’s mercy while provoking his suspicions. “But it is undeniable that he has concealed his identity from us.”

JiaoJiao saw suddenly. Wen DaiYu was no damsel in distress. Perhaps she had wanted to investigate the torturer she believed to be pursuing her friend. Perhaps she had been suspicious from the start. 

But when Wen DaiYu heard of her friend’s arrest, all her information became a weapon to be used to save her friend, regardless of the expense to Meng Yao. Wen DaiYu was kind at heart; she would prefer him not to die. But if his death saved her maid, she would accept the sacrifice. 

JiaoJiao remembered Wen Gan’s awful execution. Though she’d denied the feeling, at the time she had been relieved that she wasn’t the one kneeling before the Jade Throne.

But now that she seemed to have been rescued from the very position she feared, she realized that there was something much worse than being the target of wrath. 

Having a friend as his target was worse.

Jasmine should have defended Lauren, should have envied her the position where cowardice was not an option, where existence itself was bravery. 

I’m sorry , she thought. Forgive me .  

Forgiveness from Lauren was one thing. Jasmine was dead in her world. But to ask forgiveness for inaction while she still lived –

If she’d changed enough plot to allow Meng Yao’s capture, she’d changed enough to allow his death. She’d been passive and yet, her mere existence had changed the plot.

You can’t change yourself without changing the plot.

Okay. What were her options? Threatening? If JiaoJiao saw Meng Yao murdered in front of her, she could kill herself. Do you hear me, System? I will die if you allow this!

[The System must remind you that it can interfere with no one’s life but your own].

Meng Yao wouldn’t like it if she killed herself. She cursed. Xie Lian! Xie Lian then! Someone! Anyone !

How dare she ask for divine intervention when she herself was not powerless?

Even if this was a coma – and she’d long since stopped believing that it was – she had a superpower in the form of that miserable System. She was living the dream. She had befriended a character she loved; her only regret was that she hadn’t seen all the people in her previous life like the beloved characters they should have been. 

JiaoJiao opened her mouth. She should not allow him to die, no matter the price. If that meant she had to start creating her own conflict, taking center stage instead of helping in the side wings, she would do it. 

No, wait. 

Wen DaiYu’s words floated back to the forefront of her mind. Wen RuoHan says nothing quite excites him like watching two people who truly love each other be placed in a situation where only one of them can survive.

If it were legal to adopt teenage boys two years younger than her, she would totally do it. The last thing she should do was allow Wen RuoHan to suspect as much. 

First plot-changing action: remain silent. But this time her silence was with defeat. 

Wen RuoHan’s eyes sparkled as he slowly turned his gaze to his right-hand man, as if Meng Yao was a rare prize to own. 

But instead of addressing his torturer, he inquired, “Slut, is that true?”

JiaoJiao felt as though needles were stabbing every area of her heart. Wen RuoHan could not be kept waiting, but she still darted her gaze towards Wen DaiYu.

Wen DaiYu, ever her friend, risked her Father-in-Law’s wrath to meet her maid’s eyes, to give her a plea. 

“Yes,” JiaoJiao decided. As if Meng Yao meant nothing to her.

Meng Yao, for his part, feigned – at least she hoped it was feigned – heartbreak. His head jerked up from his bow. “Maiden Wang!”

“Mmm.” Wen RuoHan turned to Meng Yao. He held out his hand, dragging Meng Yao closer with spiritual energy alone. “Anything you have to say?”

His voice was eerily calm.

“Indeed, your daughter-in-law speaks the truth. I am a bastard of Jin GuangShan.” Meng Yao spoke as though he were embarrassed. “A humiliation even worse than the brothel I was born in.”

“Tell me more.”

“My father is well-known for his licentious behavior. Not his power or cultivation. I don’t consider him worthy of admiration,” said Meng Yao. Tears dripped down his face. “I was ignorant and foolish when I approached him all those years ago, but I learned quickly when he had a servant kick me down the stairs.”

He scoffed. “He is a cowardly, vain man who couldn’t even face me himself. It was my delight to kill one of his commanding officers in Langya before I came to you. You, and you alone, Sect Leader Wen, are worthy of following in the cultivation world.”

Lofty words , thought JiaoJiao. Would they be enough?

“And yet, you would stain me with your presence. The seed of Jin GuangShan and a whore.” Wen RuoHan laughed. He leant over, tracing Meng Yao’s lovely face – those large eyes, that fine nose and full lips – with his sword.

“Even stains may serve a purpose. If I am to die, I hope that I have made you happy, Sect Leader.” Meng Yao closed his eyes and bared his white throat. “Afterwards, I request that my corpse be strung up like your son’s was, if, perchance, my death may disturb my father’s conscience and further your victories.”

JiaoJiao wanted to leap forward and wrestle the sword from his throat, but she stayed bowed where she was. Wen RuoHan liked to torture his victims; Meng Yao would receive a slow death, and she would have time to rescue him. 

Wen RuoHan pressed his sword further into Meng Yao’s neck, drawing just a trickle of blood. “You’re useless dead.”

Meng Yao’s eyes opened again. 

“But it would be a shame to waste such a pretty mind on a corpse. You could be the valued hostage we’ve been looking for.” Wen RuoHan grinned wickedly. “Or perhaps you are lying, and seduced Wang LingJiao to undermine me. There’s only one way to find out.”

“Whatever you wish. I am yours,” begged Meng Yao.

Wen RuoHan turned to his servants. “Take Jin GuangShan’s seed to the Fire Palace. A few days of playing with him should ascertain the truth.” 

No one but the finest actor could show joy in such a situation, but Meng Yao was precisely such a person. He even kowtowed again before he allowed himself to be taken away. “It is my honor to be tortured for you, Sect Leader Wen.”

JiaoJiao stayed bent over, rooted to the cold tiled floor. How was torture the better outcome in this situation?

Maybe Dad was right. She had to stop crying about how unfair life was. 

No, no, she wouldn’t stop. But she neither would she accept it. 

Wen RuoHan turned to her. “No words, no pleas, for your lover?”

A test. 

“It was only for your sake, Sect Leader,” she said with all the sincerity she could muster. Still, her acting was shit compared to Meng Yao’s.

A cold thought froze her heart. Xue Yang was supposed to meet them tonight, which meant that Meng Yao probably had his notes to Lan XiChen on his person.

He was going to be caught.

Wen RuoHan waved his hand, not noticing her sudden distress. He was more interested in torturing Jin GuangShan’s bastard than questioning his daughter-in-law’s favorite maid. “Wen DaiYu, take your maidservant away.”

Wen DaiYu said nothing as she guided JiaoJiao back to her chambers. Once inside, JiaoJiao was surprised to see the rest of the maids gathered around; in fact, Tan En and Guo BiYu actually seemed relieved to see her.

She had to act, but how? Just say something, anything . “Wen Hong, why did you intervene?” 

Wen DaiYu wore a disappointed face. With a flick of her fingers, she prompted Liu Fang to stand outside their door, ensuring no other servant but her maids would hear this conversation. “To save you.”

“Why?”

“I consider you a friend. For your sake. For my sake. For Wen Chao’s sake.” Wen DaiYu shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what you actually have done, and I won’t ask. I’ll trust you.”

“You should ask. You’re far savvier than you pretend. You should want to know!” JiaoJiao threw back at her. 

“She saved your life and limbs!” Cai Chen exclaimed.

“I know. Her intentions were good; I’m not even sure she’s capable of bad intentions. I don’t even love him, and you know I don’t, but I can’t let him be tortured. He’s – he’s just a boy,” JiaoJiao’s voice broke. 

“He’s already being tortured,” Wen DaiYu murmured. “I’m sorry.” 

“So am I.” JiaoJiao clapped a hand over her mouth before she screamed. 

She’d been passive enough. For too long. “I’m tired of being afraid to affect this plot.” 

“Plot?” Wen DaiYu repeated, slowly.

JiaoJiao could barely think straight, but she couldn’t go back. Keep talking. Force a situation where you can’t go back, or you will. “I am a spy. I am. I’ve been using him to find more information to hurt Wen RuoHan and funneling my information to Wei WuXian.”

“What?!” exploded Wu Ping.

“Stop speaking so loudly!” hissed Wen DaiYu. She clapped a hand to her mouth. Damming her questions about Wen Chao inside, because they wouldn’t help right now, they wouldn’t change the past. 

JiaoJiao whirled to the maids. “You remember my promise? I intend to keep it. But you – you’re going to help me escape first. It’s the only way, or I’ll kill all of you, or die trying!”

Shame clouded her vision. Even now, she threatened violence. 

[Would you require the System’s escape plan for Nightless City?].

They wouldn’t help her, would they? Not after she threatened. She couldn’t trust anyone. “Fine.” 

“Who are you talking to?” Wen DaiYu cried.

Ting Xuan strode towards her, hands outstretched. “JiaoJiao, are you in your right mind?”

“Just let me go if you want her to live!” JiaoJiao turned to the door. Guide me; I’m a fucking mess.

[Plan: escape from Nightless City. Change of success: 67% if you leave now for your meeting with Xue Yang. Difficulty rating: medium].

Wen DaiYu cried out and lunged for her. “Wait! Please!”

JiaoJiao didn’t look back, but from the sounds of it, Wu Ping and Cai Chen had grabbed their mistress, and Liu Fang had slammed the door shut behind her.

Wen Ning . He would be scared and alone. She paused in the middle of the stairs. 

[You still have five hundred feet to exit the Palace of the Sun and Flames].

She would have to suspend her task to help him.

No, she wouldn’t. Like everything else in this universe, the appearance of evil – abandoning Wen Ning – was necessary to accomplish good. When she returned to rescue Meng Yao, she could rescue Wen Ning too. This could even be a better plan than merely sneaking him food and information and company. 

The System guided her along the same route as she’d taken with Meng Yao. JiaoJiao forced herself to walk at a normal pace until she reached the tower. She was certain Wen DaiYu wouldn’t turn her in, but one of the petty maids might leak her confession anyhow, thereby saving Meng Yao. 

She climbed two stairs at a time, almost enjoying the pain.

“What the fuck?” Xue Yang’s echoed in the darkness. “You’re late!”

“Yeah? Well, Meng Yao is under arrest.”

“He what?” Xue Yang drew a knife, and JiaoJiao threw her arms around his middle to keep him from rushing back down the tower. 

“Don’t be an idiot!”

“Don’t look down on me!” He kicked her, and in a rage, JiaoJiao high-kicked him straight in his balls. He doubled over. “Fuck, you’re strong!”

“Listen up, you.” JiaoJiao pointed a finger at him. “Wen RuoHan suspects either Meng Yao or I. I’ve left a confession with my mistress. If I flee, there’s at least a chance Meng Yao can say I planted the information on him. And as for you – not even the highest cultivators can stand against Wen RuoHan. You go back in there, you’ll die, no matter how savage you are!”

“So you’re just gonna flee and hope he’s released?” Xue Yang pressed his knife to her throat.

“Like hell I am,” she retorted. “I’m finding someone to rescue him.”

“Oh, but I’m not enough?”

“We’ll need more people, Xue Yang. Even if he’s released, he’ll be watched to the extent that he might as well be a prisoner. He won’t be able to spy again, and everyone but Lan XiChen will assume he really was helping the Wens.” JiaoJiao spoke urgently. 

“If he’s released, you say? Why wouldn’t Wen RuoHan execute him immediately just to be safe?!” Xue Yang tries to dodge around her, but she dug her fingernails into his flesh. 

“He won’t. Wen RuoHan knows who his father is.”

Xue Yang’s knife trembled. “What?”

“Yeah.” JiaoJiao tried to steady her breathing. “He’s thrilled to have Jin GuangShan’s kid to parade about.” 

Xue Yang swore. “Jin GuangShan doesn’t care about Meng Yao!”

“I know that! But he’s not the only sect leader Meng Yao has a relationship with.” A plan was finally, finally forming in her fevered mind. “Nie MingJue and Lan XiChen – if they hear he’s in trouble, I think both of them would speed up their approach to Nightless City. Lan XiChen for certain. We have to find them.”

Xue Yang nodded. “Lan XiChen was in Langya last time.”

“Then let’s find him as quickly as possible. Do you know the way?”

“Well, I haven’t been wandering around looking for every XiChen I pass by. Of course I do,” snapped Xue Yang. He paused. “But Lan XiChen is often visiting other sects, even if he’s stationed in Langya…”

JiaoJiao racked her brain. “I have an idea!”

System, find Qin Su.

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten

Langya

At midday, the forest gave way to reveal the mountain of Langya looming above. Steep patches of white minerals soared towards the sky, blanketed by feathery emerald trees.

Xue Yang motioned her back. He was accustomed to sneaking in and out of the battlements, deftly avoiding both Wen and Jin soldiers. “We’ll go up that ridge.”

JiaoJiao glanced to a rocky, mangled path to their left. The battle had been cleaned, but flies buzzed about, and blood still stained the leaves and shrubberies. 

“She should be just over the ridge,” JiaoJiao breathed. Her feet bled by this point, by the third day where she and Xue Yang had not stopped for more than a few hours to sleep and eat stolen food, and to her curiosity, the System had not even punished her for partaking.

“Good.” Xue Yang’s voice was hoarse, his lips chapped. “Hey, we’re two days ahead of my usual schedule.”

“Haha,” she mumbled. They leaned together, holding each other upright.

Please hang in there, Meng Yao. If she found out he had already been executed during their journey, and word had already been delivered by sword to Jin GuangShan, she would never forgive herself.

“Here.” Xue Yang hopped up a bounder and reached back down for her. She gripped his hand, silently judging herself for being weaker than a fourteen-year-old. 

His knees were covered with dried blood from someone who had, by all likelihood, died on this rock. She paused for a moment, mourning this nameless man’s blood, whatever sect they were from.  

A scream echoed down the mountainside. JiaoJiao jumped, but Xue Yang shook his head.

“Wounded,” he mouthed.

Indeed, moans grew louder and louder as they drew closer. Finally, through the foliage, JiaoJiao saw the outlines of an exquisite pavilion, clearly made for happier times than battle. 

[Qin Su, of Laoling Qin Sect, age sixteen, is located twenty feet in front of you].

A pretty girl, instantly recognizable from her Untamed counterpart, walked fast towards the pavilion, clutching several vials in her hands.

“Is that the bitch?” Xue Yang asked.

“Yes.” JiaoJiao took a deep breath. 

Qin Su shoved the medicine in an older man’s hands. Picking up her blood-stained pink and gold skirts, she hurried away with tears running down her lovely cheeks.  

“Follow her. That’s Qin CangYe’s quarters,” said Xue Yang, gesturing to a small house beside the pavilion. 

JiaoJiao trampled through the vines and trees, with Xue Yang at her heels. She burst through the door, hoping Qin CangYe himself was out discussing plans with Jin GuangShan for now.

“Qin Su!”

The girl dropped the newly washed blankets she had been folding. When she turned around, shock and recognition crossed her expression. “You!”

“Don’t make trouble,” Xue Yang said, because of course he did.

“Wait.” JiaoJiao held up her hand. How did Qin Su know her?

Fuck . Qin Su must have been at the training camp when JiaoJiao had made a jealous, cruel fool of herself. Shit . 

“Hi,” JiaoJiao blurted, as if she had no shame. “We need – help.”

She swayed, and it wasn’t entirely an act.

Qin Su’s gaze swept them up and down, finally fixating on their bloodied feet. “Why are you here?”

“Where is Lan XiChen?” Xue Yang asked at the same time JiaoJiao declared, “I know you won’t believe me, but we’re on your side!”

“Who is this?” Qin Su demanded, nodding towards Xue Yang. But instead of screaming, she slowly crouched on the ground to pick up the blankets.

“H–here.” JiaoJiao knelt herself and helped fold the undone ones. Qin Su seemed unsettled by the kindness. 

“Have you forgotten the plot?” Xue Yang asked irritably.

“It does no good if she doesn't trust us, and with my past behavior, she probably shouldn’t,” JiaoJiao hissed behind her.

“Well I’m done waiting. Look, Qin Su, lady, we need to speak to Lan XiChen about Meng Yao. It’s very urgent.” Xue Yang crossed his arms. 

Qin Su stood abruptly. “Meng Yao?”

To JiaoJiao’s surprise, the young woman helped her back to her feet.

“Yes. Meng Yao and I were spies together in Nightless City,” JiaoJiao rushed to say. “But something happened, and he was caught and captured. And – and Wen RuoHan knows whose son he is. He needs help, and he needs it now.” 

“Nightless City? So that’s...” Qin Su’s eyes rounded. “Oh, no.”

JiaoJiao clasped her hands “I know he trusted you and Lan XiChen.”

“Lan XiChen isn’t here,” Qin Su said tearfully. “He’s back in Gusu aiding his uncle.” 

“Shit!” Xue Yang punched the wall so hard the skin was scraped off his knuckles.

JiaoJiao’s heart sank. “All right. All right, that’s just one option. Qin Su, can you help?”

“I’m just a maiden, but I will try. Meng Yao once saved my life; you must know that or you wouldn’t be here.” Qin Su looked between them. “Let me give these blankets to the wounded, and I’ll be right back. You both look in need of food.”

“You aren’t worried we’ll kidnap you?” Xue Yang asked as she moved past him. She struck him as a spoiled, dense princess. But then, if Meng Yao liked her, she must be okay. He would try to behave for his friend’s sake.

“I don’t think you could right now.” Qin Su replied pointedly. She gestured towards the slender sword that hung by her side. “Besides, I’m armed and you don’t seem to be.”

“Never presume,” said Xue Yang. 

“He has a knife in his sleeve. I’m unarmed,” JiaoJiao said, ignoring his glare.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new achievement: Friendship with Qin Su. 200 points are awarded! Total B points: 3610]. 

That was fast , JiaoJiao thought. But maybe that was not a bad thing, to be kind and trusting. She’d never realized before how similar Lan XiChen and Qin Su were. A-Yao, you love the sweethearts, don’t you. 

Please don’t die .

“Stay here. If you are recognized, Maiden Wang, you might be dragged before Jin GuangShan with no one to advocate for you.” Qin Su left, struggling slightly under the tower of the blankets. 

“She’s not half bad,” Xue Yang commented. “You really think she’ll help?”

“I think she’s our best chance, and by ours I mean Meng Yao’s,” JiaoJiao said soberly.

“I share this house with Father right now. No one should bother us.” Qin Su returned with several day’s rations in her sleeves. And bamboo tubes of water. 

JiaoJiao wanted to ask where Madame Qin was, and BiCao, but perhaps they were back in Laoling. Madame Qin probably wanted to avoid Jin GuangShan. 

“Tell me more,” Qin Su said, watching them with pity after they fell to the food like rabid dogs. “Maiden Wang, how long have you been working for us? And who is this?”

“Name’s Xue Yang.” He waved. “I’m Meng Yao’s messenger to Lan XiChen, though sometimes it’s hard to find him.” 

“Xue Yang? I’ve heard of you,” she said. 

Xue Yang sneered, but Qin Su said, “I think your spunk probably comes in handy during wartime, doesn’t it? I’m glad you’re helping us.”

“Oh.” He pouted. 

JiaoJiao related her information as best she could. “I’ve been working in Nightless City since Wen Chao was killed, but I was working against the Wens since – well – after Lotus Pier. I know I was horrid during the training camp, but I’m not the same anymore, I promise.”

“Yes, you seem differently,” Qin Su said quietly.

“Meng Yao is my friend, and he helped me understand I am not powerless against the Wens. I can’t let him suffer.” 

If Qin Su was jealous of her friendship, she didn’t show it. Most likely Qin Su was not the sort to prioritize her own crushes over what needed to be done.

JiaoJiao swallowed hard. “Wen RuoHan is a sadist, a real sadist. He’s going to use Meng Yao’s status as Jin GuangShan’s son. That’s probably the only reason he hasn’t been killed yet, but he’s probably torturing him horribly.”

“Didn’t you confess before you left?” Xue Yang snapped.

“Yes, but he’ll still torture him!” JiaoJiao grabbed at her face.  

“We can’t leave him,” Qin Su said, visibly distressed. “But Sect Leader Jin is not fond of him; rumor is he wouldn’t even see him despite the recommendation of Nie MingJue.”

“We must track down Lan XiChen,” said JiaoJiao. “Qin Su, in the meantime, can you appeal to your father?”

“I’ll go to Gusu alone.” Xue Yang wiped his mouth.

“What?”

“It’s closer than Hejian, and after he and that Nie leader fell out, who knows if he’d help. I’m assuming there’s a reason your secret power insists on Lan XiChen and not Nie MingJue. Xue Yang stood and grabbed handfuls of bread. “I’m going to fetch that so-called Jade of Lan back even if I have to haul his ass here myself. Qin Su, do you have a bag?”

“Uh. Yes.” Qin Su stood hurriedly. “And more food; what you have isn’t enough.” 

“You stay here,” he told JiaoJiao as Qin Su left the room. “I doubt lover-girl is enough on her own. You’ll probably need to be here to convince Daddy.” 

“Are you sure?” JiaoJiao knew he was right, but she couldn’t help but feel like she should accompany him. 

“Yeah. If all else fails, you have the tits to convince Jin GuangShan.” Xue Yang snickered.

JiaoJiao gulped. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“How’s hope been working for us so far?”

“Wait.” She grabbed his arm as Qin Su came back with a small satchel, loaded with a bamboo canteen and as much food as it could take.

“Oh. You’re very quick.” Xue Yang was admittedly impressed.

“I’ve been working the battlefields for months; I have to be,” Qin Su said simply. “I’ve also included some of my friend’s medicinal herbs should you be injured.”

Friend? JiaoJiao hoped it was MianMian. Well, MianMian certainly would hate her. But still, JiaoJiao would love if Qin Su and MianMian were friends.

“Xue Yang,” JiaoJiao said. Speaking of friends. “There’s someone else in Gusu we need.”

“I’m waiting, stop being dramatic,” he said irritably.

“His name is Nie HuaiSang. He’s delicate and anxious and looks like a dandy and can’t fight worth a damn, but he’s smarter than all of us combined. Maybe even smarter than Meng Yao,” JiaoJiao said.

“He is?” Qin Su asked with skepticism.

“Yes. He plays dumb.” JiaoJiao pointed at Xue Yang. “If anyone can think of a scheme to rescue Meng Yao and topple Wen RouHan together, it’s Nie HuaiSang. Fetch him, too.”

Hopefully, her favorite character would not disappoint. 

“Um, sure.” Xue Yang shrugged. “I’m not picky.”

“Wait!” Qin Su said as he turned for the door.

“Again?” he asked in exasperation.

“I’ll write a letter. Give me a moment.” Qin Su grabbed a scroll and inkbrush. “I’ll use Father’s seal; I’m sure he won’t mind under the circumstances. If anyone asks what you’re doing here, show them the seal, and they’ll let you through.”

“Thank you,” said Xue Yang. This bitch was smarter than she looked. 

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Qin Su asked after Xue Yang had left. “He doesn’t have a sword. It’s several more days to Gusu.”

“If anyone is capable of moving fast and evading capture, it’s him,” said JiaoJiao. “Like Meng Yao, but more volatile. He’s an old friend of Meng Yao’s, actually.”

“He is? How so? Oh, his…brothel days?” Qin Su remained matter-of-fact, as if there was no difference between brothel and another sect. 

“I think so. More like street-children days.” She watched Qin Su carefully.

“No child should grow up alone,” said Qin Su. For a moment, she, too, looked lonely. 

“But many sects only care if it makes them feel compassionate,” JiaoJiao observed cynically.

“Mmm.” Qin Su seemed to be reminded of something, though she did not say what. “Maiden Wang, I’m afraid my Father might be a while. He’s still helping Jin GuangShan and Sect Leader Jiang smooth over a, er, scuffle from yesterday.”

“A battle?” Her heart skipped. If Jiang Cheng was here, would he skin her alive? Or could she seek out Wei WuXian for help? 

[Plan: persuade Wei WuXian to help. Chance of success: 90% if allowed to speak to Wei WuXian. Difficulty level: extremely difficult, likely to cause strife with Sect Leader Jiang].

Shit. We’ll put that on the back burner for now. As much as she wanted to see him again, she had no desire to cross paths with Jiang Cheng, lest he murder her in a fit of righteous rage.

“No,” said Qin Su. “If only it were so simple. Poor Jiang YanLi, she really was making extra soup for her brothers and Jin ZiXuan, but another woman pretended she was the cook instead. Since they used to be engaged, you can imagine Jin ZiXuan accused her of desperately seeking attention.” 

“MianMian tried to intervene.” Qin Su watched JiaoJiao for any sign of jealousy remaining. Satisfied that her face was properly ashamed, she continued, “But this girl was poor and a street child herself. I think she was just starved for attention, but now Sect Leader Jin says she ought to be banished, because she clearly has rotten blood.” 

“I pity her, but she did cause a ruckus. Wei WuXian is Jiang YanLi’s shidi, and he would have beaten Jin ZiXuan senseless for insulting his sister, if his brother and Jin GuangShan did not intervene. Now some Jin soldiers say Wei WuXian is too unnatural and frightens them.” Qin Su sighs.

“What do you think?” JiaoJiao asked, battling her fatigue. Just how far did Qin Su’s even-kneeled benevolence extend? 

“I think I’d rather have Wei WuXian on my side than the Wens.” Qin Su harrumphs. “We can bicker about cultivation methods later.”

“I agree,” JiaoJiao said with a little laugh. She wondered how Qin Su and Wen DaiYu would get along. Qin Su’s realism might be a breath of fresh air to Wen DaiYu’s world. 

“Now, you…” Qin Su turns to her. “I’d ask how you changed your mind, but you seem exhausted. Why don’t you rest, and I’ll wake you when my Father returns.”

JiaoJiao wanted to protest, but after food and water and sitting, actually sitting off her feet, sleep had come to claim her. She barely made it to a mattress before she fell asleep. 

“Wake up, Maiden Wang.” Qin Su’s round, dimpled smile drifted into her foggy consciousness. Candle flickered around the room, and outside the windows, the sky was dark. 

“Your father?” JiaoJiao croaked.

Qin Su nodded and guided her outside the room. JiaoJiao limped on her blistered feet, and Qin Su allowed her to lean on her.  

A lanky, towering figure – perhaps even taller than Nie MingJue – with his hair in a simple, loose ponytail turned around. 

“Father,” said Qin Su, pulling JiaoJiao to her side. “Something’s happened.”

God forgive JiaoJiao, but she couldn’t help but notice that there was zero resemblance between father and daughter. Besides his height, Qin CangYe had a stern, unremarkable face, whereas Qin Su was petite, about JiaoJiao’s height, and remarkably pretty. Their strongest similarity was that both wore the pale pink robes of Laoling Qin, emblazoned with the rose, their sect symbol. “A-Su?”

“Oh, it’s not Laoling. I’m sure Mother is managing fine, no news is good news and all that,” Qin Su assured him. “But, Father, this is Wang LingJiao.”

Qin CangYe had clearly heard the name before. His nose wrinkled down at the beautiful girl who wasn’t much older than his daughter, who had already earned a wicked name and reputation despite her tender age. “What are you doing here?”

“Sect Leader Qin, I’ve been spy in Nightless City,” JiaoJiao blurted out. “I’m working for your side. I had to flee three days ago when Wen RuoHan became suspicious. But there’s another man there, our other spy, and he’s been caught –”

“Father, the man is Meng Yao.” Qin Su stood on her tiptoes, yearning for a power she didn’t have. 

Qin CangYe’s face softened. It seemed he already knew of his daughter’s feelings. “That explains where the young man disappeared to.”

“That’s not all,” said JiaoJiao. “He’s discovered whose son Meng Yao is. If Sect Leader Jin hasn’t heard from Qishan yet, he will soon. Wen RuoHan is extremely cruel; he’s going to use son against father.”

QIn CangYe rubbed his eyes. His tone turned grim. “Undoubtedly.”

“We cannot let him die, Father. He saved me,” Qin Su pressed.

“A-Su, if he took on the duty of spy, he knew the risk,” said Qin CangYe.

“And so did I when I went out to the battlefield! Why else did you and Mother argue so? But it doesn’t change the fact that no one deserves to die, and we should save whomever we can.” Qin Su’s voice cracked. “Especially those whom we care about, and owe debts.” 

“I know.” Qin CangYe offered his daughter a proud smile. Like he was proud of the woman she had become. 

JiaoJiao wished her own father had given her such a look. Though she hadn’t been someone to be proud of, she supposed. He mostly rolled his eyes at her cheerleader events and frowned at her makeup. 

Even though she knew she didn’t deserve it, she still ached for that look.

“I will speak to Sect Leader Jin.” Qin CangYe turned to JiaoJiao. “Maiden Wang, you say it’s been three days?”

“Yes. I can’t use a sword, so we had to travel on foot,” she explained.

“Sect Leader Jin may already know, then.” Qin CangYe grimaced. “Come with me. If you have any more information on Qishan, best to tell it to Jin GuangShan straight away.”

“Yes, Sect Leader Qin!” She bowed. 

“A-Su, you don’t need to come, but I know you will anyways,” he added affectionately.

Qin Su’s eyes burned with determination. “Thank you, Father.”

“I did receive a letter yesterday.” Jin GuangShan’s face was square-shaped, as described in the novel, but he had the general handsomeness and the childish ponytail, of his donghua design. 

Too bad no pretty face could erase his sleaziness, JiaoJiao thought sourly.

She did not appreciate the way his eyes raked over her body, lingering on her full hips and buxom chest. He probably thought she was an easy woman, given her reputation, and the thought filled her with disgust.

Qin Su inhaled, and JiaoJiao bit her lip.

“What do you think the best course of action?” asked Qin CangYe.

“I have nothing proving the boy as my son. Who’s to say Wen RuoHan even has him, besides you?” Jin GuangShan turned back to JiaoJiao. “Perhaps this is a conspiracy.”

“Why would I be here if he isn’t?” she said as her palms began to sweat. “Sect Leader Jin, I’m well aware of how much I am despised inside Qishan; I can only imagine it’s worse outside.”

JiaoJiao tried to think logically. Never her best talent. “He’s only a few fingers taller than me, with your golden eyes, Sect Leader Jin, and, um, eyelashes longer than most women’s. His nose is just slightly upturned, and his hair has red highlights in the sun. Yes, I know that only proves I met him, but – please – If he had not been caught, I would still be assisting your cause in Nightless City.” 

“Perhaps you got spooked,” said Jin GuangShan. “You are a woman, after all, with minimal recommendations.”

The way he said recommendations, the way he focused on her chest, made it clear what recommendations he attributed to her.

“I don’t care what you think of me. I’m here for your son, who will be used against you whether you acknowledge him or not,” said JiaoJiao, crossing her arms over her chest to block his stare. “Before I left, I was serving as Wen RuoHan’s propagandist. I know how he will use this.”

“You?” Jin GuangShan struggled not to laugh. “Then, tell me, Maiden Wang: can we not will use his regrettable fate to motivate our soldiers against the Wen’s cruelty? His fate is unfortunate, of course, but I cannot move my soldiers from Langya when victory is nearly upon us just to rescue another charge used against my reputation.”  

Another charge against your reputation? That’s all he is ? 

The worst part in all of this was that JiaoJiao entirely understood his position. To risk victory for a son he’d never cared to meet was madness. But .

But this was Meng Yao.

He was in danger because she’d changed the plot. But somehow the guilt didn’t matter as much as the fact that he was a sweet boy who didn’t deserve to suffer.

“Who’s saying you have to send all your men? I know the ways in and out of Nightless City; allow me to direct several men you deem suitable,” she declared. “You can then attack Nightless City from the inside!”

Jin GuangShan burst into laughter. “Here for five minutes, and you’re already asking for warriors? Aren’t you a bit presumptuous?”

“Yes, I am,” she said willfully. “Absolutely! But –”

“GuangShan, I do find her credible. She has little to gain by coming here otherwise,” Qin CangYe interrupted. “Laoling Qin Sect is trained in artful techniques of war. I request that you send me and several of my men. After all, regardless of whose son he is, Meng Yao did save my daughter.” 

“Ah, Qin CangYe...you are a good soul.” Jin GuangShan pursed his lips. “But I’m afraid, with the fighting so fierce, we cannot spare your presence. If we win in Langya, I will definitely allow this, but I must request we wait until the situation stabilizes.”

He turned to Qin Su, who had opened her mouth. “I understand you and your new friend are subject to emotions we men are not, but this is why we make the battle decisions and you do not. Please be patient, Maiden Qin.”

“You!” JiaoJiao fumed, but he was right in spite of his sexism. His plan was logical, if cold.

If this was where logic led, fuck it. Piece of shit .

Now, it wasn’t. Pieces of shit would use logic as their excuse to be pieces of shit. 

Qin CangYe bowed. “Perhaps we can discuss the particulars over tea, GuangShan.”

JiaoJiao clenched her fists. So much for being a good father! Not even her own disapproving dad would have sat back as someone mansplained war to her. Hell, not even Wen RuoHan, for all his nastiness and taunts, dismissed her like this. Like women meant fucking nothing. 

Jin GuangShan nodded. “I’ll have someone escort your daughter and her little friend back.”

Unbelievable. JiaoJiao had been prepared for heartlessness, for mockery, even for relief that Jin Guangshan might be free of Meng Yao. 

But she had not been prepared for him just not to...care....because they were women. 

How did one fight against apathy? 

Back in the Qins’ quarters, JiaoJiao snatched a pillow and hurled it around the room. Throw, pick up, throw again. “He won’t even send anyone in because we’re girls !”

“It’s terrible,” said Qin Su, her eyes filled with tears. “Do you think Meng Yao will survive that long?”

“If anyone can, it’s Meng Yao,” said JiaoJiao, trying to convince herself. 

“But war is so unpredictable,” said Qin Su. “It could be tomorrow or another two months.”

Fuck this. She had a task to complete, and she was done being passive. 

“Lan XiChen will surely act. He loves Meng Yao. Er, they’re really good friends,” said JiaoJiao. “Meng Yao once saved him, too.”

“But Xue Yang is on foot,” said Qin Su. “Will he reach Lan XiChen in time?”

“I don’t know,” JiaoJiao confessed. 

Qin Su doubled over. “What can we do?”

“There’s always Wei WuXian, but I had better not cross paths with Jiang WanYin,” said JiaoJiao. “But I’m not sure he could help without upsetting the situation in Langya.” 

She wished she didn’t know how critical Langya was from her time in Wen RuoHan’s council.

“I’ll write Mother,” Qin Su decided. “She may be able to convince Father.” 

“Yes, try that,” said JiaoJiao.

As much as JiaoJiao tried to assure herself that Meng Yao was a survivor and a terrific actor, she could not bear the thought of him suffering for weeks. All because his fucking father fucking didn’t care about him, nor women. His fucking father, who seemed like he was fucking undressing her with his eyes. 

Another idea occurred to her, an idea that turned her stomach inside out.

An idea that just might work, even if Meng Yao resented her for it. No, he wouldn’t; he was always the sort to understand surreptitious, dishonorable actions for a larger cause.

[Chance of success: 95%. Difficulty rating: easy]. 

You’re not going to scold me for immorality?

[It is not the System’s job to advise you on morality. It is the System’s job to award you B points based on redemption]. 

Could you have one without the other? JiaoJiao took a deep breath to avoid her building headache. “Right now, we should sleep. We can’t help him with our minds a mess.”

Qin Su eyed her suddenly calm demeanor, but she did not protest. 

As soon as JiaoJiao was certain Qin Su was asleep, she crept out of the bed. Though they had no mirror here, she stopped to pull out a few seams of her bodice. Her ample cleavage opened more, and with a shudder, she pulled away her underskirt, allowing the thin outer material to cling to her thighs.

Wen Chao had always said her flimsy nightgowns made her hard to resist. 

She wondered what he would say to her now, or why she cared.  

JiaoJiao pulled her hair loose, allowing her dark locks to flutter about her shoulders. Since she didn’t have lipstick, she left a few bites on her lower lip to draw color. 

And then she crept out of the Qin’s quarters and headed down the path to Sect Leader Jin’s.

This was the second time Nie MingJue has been summoned to Langya. The situation in Hejian was stable, so he didn’t mind traveling with his strongest men. As long as their forces could win Langya – and with Wei WuXian’s help, they almost certainly would – the Wen-dogs would have nowhere to run but Qishan. The resulting siege would be long and bloody, but Nightless City would become the Wen-dog’s cage. The four sects’ odds of victory would be all but certain.

Or so his advisors had said. He agreed, but he couldn’t allow himself to voice such confidence. Nie Mingjue did not trust power alone.

He trusted in righteous deeds as much as power. 

Despite his eagerness to win Langya, he couldn’t help but feel angered that he must come here. When they set out from Hejian, he told himself he was merely irked because the information XiChen provided him lately allowed him to ambush Wen supplies and soldiers every day. 

But when he dismounted from his saber, Nie MingJue admitted to himself that the sight of Langya reminded him of Meng Yao. His most trusted advisor. The boy he’d put complete faith in, who betrayed him – not by siding with the Wens, but by prioritizing vengeful murder above anything else.

If he ever saw Meng Yao again, he would feed him to Baxia, even if he were accepted by his father.

With a growl, Nie MingJue turns to his latest assistant, an anxious man who seems more than able to guess his desires, but lacks the confidence to act on them. Meng Yao had both.

“Report to the barracks. You must be tired. I will inform Sect Leader Jin that we have arrived myself.” 

The man nodded hurriedly, and Nie Mingjue strode towards the quaint hall that Jin GuangShan resided in, a hall far too nice for a battlefield, in his opinion.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven

Seduction and Salvation

The moon was high in the star-scattered sky by the time Jin GuangShan ended his discussion with Qin CangYe. Grumbling at his exhaustion, he pushed his way inside his bedroom. Though significantly smaller than his chambers in Lanling, his room here in Langya was still decorated with silk, courtesy of, well, someone who was not Madame Jin. 

She’d been spunky and sweet. But her silly desire to climb the social ladder had led to her early death in battle. Quite a pity. Her breasts would have satiated a husband for a long while. 

Since her, Jin GuangShan hadn’t had the time to find another woman to warm his bed. So when he saw the shadowed figure in his room, he presumed an assassin had found him. 

Well, Jin GuangShan might not have been Nie MingJue, but he was no dandy. His sword soared towards their neck. “Show yourself!”

The figure ducked. “I’m sorry! I mean you no harm.”

Jin GuangShan guffawed. 

The voice of that slut of a maid. The one who’d made a name for herself traipsing around with Wen RuoHan’s second son. 

Jin GuangShan may have lacked wisdom, but he did not lack intelligence. He kept his sword aimed at her pretty bosoms. “Oh? And why then have you snuck into my bedroom, Maiden Wang?”

She bristled at his obvious play on words. Yes, she’d slept with Wen Chao, and now she was going to sleep with Jin GuangShan. The worst characters to sleep with in all of MDZS. Very much not in line with fangirl dreams. 

She didn’t want to be mocked for it. She felt mortified enough already.

Focus . JiaoJiao pushed her feelings aside. “I’m here to bargain with you, Sect Leader Jin.”

She slowly stood, palms up, and stepped into the light of his lantern. She crossed her arms, pushing her chest up even more. “Qin Su and Sect Leader Qin may be fine with waiting, but I am not. I don’t abandon my friends, and your son is my friend.”

That was a lie. In high school, she ignored the latest scapegoat like everyone else. Even Emily, her ‘best friend,’ which really meant that they co-led varsity cheerleading and spent a lot of time together. But when Emily had hooked up with Brett, knowing full well that Isabella was dating him, Jasmine was felt sorry enough for Isabella that she’d helped ban Emily from their cohort. 

Actually, maybe Jasmine had also just been scared, that if a couple like Brett and Isabella could break up, love was fake. Or something equally selfish.  

Emily moved away to an undisclosed location shortly thereafter. There was no forgiveness she could request, in this world or her last. 

Yes, Jasmine hadn’t been very loyal to her friends. But now, as JiaoJiao, she wanted it to be true. She could make it true, starting now.

Jin GuangShan couldn’t conceal his amusement. “Do you think you are in any position to negotiate?”

“Rumor is you have a merchant’s mind,” JiaoJiao said sweetly. “You’ll choose your actions based on the best payoff. For instance, allow several of your cultivators to rescue Meng Yao, and you’ll actually help your prospects in Langya.”

“Oh?” Jin GuangShan had expected a different offer from a woman in his bedchamber. He couldn’t help but sour. 

“You see, if you launch a rescue mission, Wen Sect will be caught off-guard. Once General Wen TengFei hears of a breach in Qishan, he’ll be distracted, giving you the advantage here, too.” She crossed her legs. 

They looked very appetizing. Jin GuangShan licked his lips. “And you broke into my bedchamber to suggest tactical advice?”

“Well,” she simpered, as her heart hammered and she fought to keep from blushing, “I hear you like bold women.”

Jin GuangShan threw back his head and laughed. Still holding his sword in one hand, he pulled her closer, leaned over her. “On the contrary, Maiden Wang, I like meek little kittens who know their place.” 

“Are you sure?” she whined, running her hands along his chest as she swore at herself.

He was attractive, she’d give him that. Despite the fact that he was old enough to be her father. Not to mention that he was a rapist. 

And married.

She hadn’t wanted to cheat with Wen Chao, but with the System, her choices were limited –

No, stop blaming the System. You chose that, because you wanted the easier option , she told herself. 

But at least Wen DaiYu hadn’t minded. Nor had she initiated an affair; she’d only arrived when her body was well known by Wen Chao.

But Madame Jin definitely minded, and JiaoJiao was initiating – this time, JiaoJiao was a willing adulteress.

“Why don’t you test me?” Jin GuangShan pushed her onto his bed, so she hadn’t misstepped too much by presuming he liked bold women.

She was not relieved.

He smirked as he sheathed his sword. “You know, I do have a thing for whores.”

“I’m not –”

“What else would you call offering your services for payment?” His hands landed on her chest. 

Panic flashed through her mind. She sat up instantly. “Will – I mean – what proof do I have that you will help?”

Jin Guangshan looked at her. “...”

JiaoJiao tugged her dress up to cover more of her chest. “You see, a prostitute might have a pimp or a brothel to ensure she is paid. What do I have of yours? What proof that you’ll rescue your son?” 

“My word,” he said smoothly.

Liar , she thought, narrowing her eyes. “Like your word to your wife? I want orders drawn up, sealed even, before I sleep with you.”

Okay, now you’re just delaying , she thought to herself. 

Shut up , her mind retorted.

Jin GuangShan was almost insulted by her audacity. His fingers tried to move between her thighs. “How about you satisfy the sect leader who graciously took you in first?” 

JiaoJiao froze. For just a second.

“No,” she said before she’d even decided. She shoved Jin GuangShan away and scrambled back. “No proof, no sex.”

I guess we’re doing this. And by ‘doing this’ I mean not doing this. 

I don’t want to prostitute myself. I don’t want to do this at all!

Meng Yao, what do I do ?

“Are you my son’s whore?” he asked in disbelief.

“Like hell!” She snickered. In fact, hysterical laughter fought to be released. 

Sobering, she said, “When you show me the orders, then we can resume our fun.”

“I’m not a patient man.” Jin GuangShan stepped in her way. His hand slipped to the latch, locking the door.

Why the fuck had she shut the window after climbing in?

“Well, channel that impatience into writing some orders,” she said breathlessly, not willing to surrender.

“You have some gall. For all I know, you’re riddled with disease. Why don’t you show me something first?” He fumbled to lift her skirts, and despite his slender physique, he was frighteningly strong.

System !

[Jin GuangShan, of Lanling Jin Sect, age 49. Horniness level: 100%].

Just give up , she told herself, too afraid to ask for her odds of escape. Wouldn’t it be easier to submit instead of being raped?

But she didn’t want it, so wasn’t it rape anyways? 

JiaoJiao was done being passive. Wasn’t that her whole reason for coming here?

Wasn’t that her whole reason for seducing him?

Why were there so many more opportunities to fuck up when she took action?

Well, if there were more opportunities to fuck up, there were more opportunities to fix her fuck-ups, too. JiaoJiao bit her lower lip until she tasted blood. And then she kicked out, kneeing him directly in his favorite appendage.

She grabbed his collar, eyes blazing. “I said, leave me alone.” 

Wen Chao’s voice filtered back into her thoughts. Good for you, JiaoJiao! I would have helped you beat him.

In the spirit of Wen-Chao-was-more-decent-than-you-even-though-I’m-on-your-political-side, she drove her palm into his jaw.

But Jin GuangShan was not a seventeen-year-old high school football player. He was a cultivator, and experienced in sabotaging those few women who actually fought back. He caught her wrist, twisting until she feared the bone would break.

He shoved her from the bed to the wall, and she tripped on her hem. Her skirt tore up her leg, and JiaoJiao groaned at her clothes for betraying her, for making Jin Guangshan’s desires that much easier.

“Mmmph!” JiaoJiao tried to cry out, because wasn’t Jin ZiXuan honorable, or something like that, maybe someone nearby could hear, but Jin GuangShan’s body weighed her down. His mouth sucked the lips she had just bitten.

Wait. 

Bite me.

JiaoJiao bit down on his mouth, sinking her teeth in as deep as she could. Fuck you and your fleshy lips.

Jin GuangShan let out a muffled shriek. He pulled back to howl, “Bitch!”

She barely heard, shrieking herself, for every second her mouth was free. Just like in a nightmare, her voice was weaker than expected. 

She heaved a deep breath, ready to scream her lungs out for real this time, as his hands mashed over her mouth.

The door burst open. Before Jin GuangShan had even turned around, they heard the slither of a blade, and a saber landed beside his neck.

Meng Yao drifted in and out of consciousness. His pounding headache and sore, bound wrists remained his one link to reality. 

A lump grew in his throat as he took in the quiet around him. Midnight, when Wen RuoHan would finally be asleep. Sect Leader Wen was ever unsatisfied, and so the brief time he took to sleep was Meng Yao’s only respite these last few days. 

Wen RuoHan, whispering in his ear that he was as much a whore as his father.

But it wasn’t his father. It was his mother who had inspired him. Meng Shi had once offered herself when they’d come across a young woman surrounded by men. They left the woman alone, and Mother had smiled, but then the men came back to the brothel and demanded more.

Just sleep with them, and they won’t hurt you, SiSi counseled. Otherwise, they might hurt A-Yao. You can cry later. Here, I’ll even help.

You can cry later.

Well, Meng Yao couldn’t cry right now. He wouldn’t even let himself accept that his legs ached.

He would be fine. He would survive this. He would convince Wen RuoHan that all he’d ever wanted was to serve him, Meng Yao had already come so far, done so much – his mission had to succeed. It had to. No matter what happened. 

The door to his cell – which wasn’t a cell, it was the main dungeon of the Fire Palace – opened.

Meng Yao pasted a smile back over his face.

The little wifeling entered. He recognized her from the bandages over her cheek, the bandages that marred her graceful fairy face. 

Her eyes took a moment to find Meng Yao tied to a polished wheel, the wheel he polished every day after it crushed his latest victim’s body parts. 

She approached him with reticence on her face but no break in her steps. Silently, she removed a small pouch from her sleeves. “Are you thirsty, Meng Yao?”

He would not fall for tricks. “Only if Sect Leader Wen has approved this, Young Madame Wen.”

“He hasn’t,” she said hotly. “But I do not need his permission for everything. I am his daughter-in-law, after all.”

Arrogant words for a meek woman. She did not dare untie his hands; instead she held the water to his mouth. “Open or I’ll dump it on your face.”

“You wouldn’t,” he replied, and she seized the opportunity of his open mouth to pour the water into his mouth. 

Meng Yao sputtered, but choking on water sent shockwaves of pain down his throat, erasing the ceaseless scratchiness of thirst. 

“I want to know what exactly was between you and my maid,” she said when the pouch was empty. 

Meng Yao examined her bandages. He had to wonder who had actually cut Wen DaiYu’s face. JiaoJiao seemed genuinely fond of her mistress, to the point that she confided feeling guilty for betraying Wen Sect.

When the maids had raised an alarm that JiaoJiao had attacked Wen DaiYu and framed Meng Yao, he’d thought it a distressingly obvious ploy to save him. But with the cuts, and Wen DaiYu’s delicate disposition, no one had doubted.

Meng Yao had to wonder if Wen DaiYu wasn’t like his own mother. Graceful, easily bruised, gentle on the outside – and sharp and sturdy as steel beneath her gentle surface. 

Not that Wen RuoHan had released him, even despite the evidence. Wen RuoHan was was too cautious to be so foolish. But he did seem to believe Meng Yao’s excuse for his lies, for the incompetence and distraction that allowed Wang LingJiao to plant a paper on him.

No matter how many indignities he suffered from this excuse, at least he wasn’t hurting someone else. 

“Wang LingJiao and I were lovers. She manipulated me and my feelings, it seems,” he said carefully. 

“Pfft. She knew you had feelings for another man, though she certainly misled me as to his identity.” Wen DaiYu pinched her lips together. 

Meng Yao lowered his eyes. Had JiaoJiao really foreseen that he would do such a thing? Was she that good a predictor, or had she just judged him because he was the son of a whore? 

No, he knew JiaoJiao didn’t think of him that way. Still, it stung.

“She’s not the slut she’s been called. After Wen Chao, she said she never wanted to sleep with another man again unless she loved him and he loved her.” Wen DaiYu wore the shadow of guilt. “If she knew you loved my father-in-law, not her, she wouldn’t do such a thing to you.”

“I don’t know which one of you – or both – was the spy. I don’t even care if you worked together.” Wen DaiYu shrugged miserably. “Everyone may assume me an idiot, but I’m not. I merely have faith in my father-in-law’s ability to win this fight, no matter how dark things may look.”

Meng Yao could tell she was lying. But if he was truly loyal to Wen RuoHan, she could not trust him enough to speak her mind. 

“It is an honor to be a member of Wen Sect. I merely ask that, when you have finished proving your loyalty to Sect Leader Wen, that you do not retaliate against my maids. We didn’t know about her treachery.” Wen DaiYu touched her face. “And I would greatly appreciate it if I could see her once she is caught. I intend to be granted the chance to convince her to repent.”

“That is up to Sect Leader Wen.”

“Yes, but of the two of us, the one most skilled at persuasion is the one sharing his bed.” Wen DaiYu didn’t look at him with disgust. Just pity. 

“It is indeed an honor to be with Sect Leader Wen,” said Meng Yao, smiling, smiling like he wasn’t dying inside. 

But he wouldn’t die. And maybe, once he survived, once he saved himself and this entire campaign, he wouldn’t even need to cry.

Nie Mingjue fumed down at Jin GuangShan. He had always disregarded the man as a lout, but he hadn't imagined he would actually assault a maiden during the middle of a tense battle! 

The girl’s clothes were torn, her face red and her lips trembling.

Her hair was lustrous and jet-black, her figure voluptuous, her face naturally pouting, with a mole just beside her lip. Probably the sort of woman whom many would consider beautiful, but Nie MinJue was very strict with himself. If he saw a pretty girl, he immediately blocked his thoughts. 

“Get. Off. Her.” He bit off each word.

“Sect Leader Nie, I can explain,” said Jin GuangShan, dutifully backing away. “I think you’ve misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?!” Nie MingJue’s glare was as sharp as Baxia. He didn’t take his eyes off Jin GuangShan, though he gentled his voice. “Maiden, are you harmed?”

“N-no, not anymore,” JiaoJiao said. Shaking, she climbed to her feet and arranged her hair to cover most of her chest. 

She had not expected Nie MingJue here, right now. 

She could have waited, could have argued with his annoying ass instead of trying to touch Jin GuangShan’s rotten ass.

Why hadn’t she asked the System to keep track of him? Lack of sleep? 

Nie Mingjue had the imposing figure of his donghua character, the severe frown of the audio drama art, the straight hair of the manhua, and the fucking mustache of The Untamed. Honestly, why hadn’t HuaiSang shaved it in his brother’s sleep?

“Father!” 

“Uncle!” 

“Sect Leader!”

Several more figures rushed in. Jin ZiXuan, with his long ponytail of the donghua, the cheekbones of his live-action, the princess-like features described in the novel. He limped slightly, holding onto a man about his age.

The man was taller than his cousin, with dark skin and a broad chest. He had the proud face of the live-action, with the short ponytail of his donghua counterpart. In a less-tense situation, JiaoJiao would want to ask how Jin ZiXun maintained his flawless eyebrows. 

More disciples filed inside, Nie and Jin and Qin, alerted by her own stupid shouts. 

If Jiang Cheng arrived, JiaoJiao realized with a bolt of terror, she was dead. 

Qin CangYe pushed his way to stand beside Jin ZiXuan. JiaoJiao felt her face heat up. He seemed genuinely good-hearted; she hadn’t meant to cause him more trouble. Or let him know just what his friend was capable of. 

Qin Su hovered behind her father, appalled at the sight of her friend’s torn garments, at the sight of Sect Leader Nie holding Sect Leader Jin to his infamous saber. 

“Maiden, what happened here?” Nie MingJue tried to quell his temper. The poor woman looked dazed.

What should she say?

A Sect Leader broke in. “Did he try to force himself on you?” 

JiaoJiao wanted to erase herself. “Yes.”

“You whore !” Jin GuangShan may have been embarrassed, may have been backed into a corner, but he was not giving up. “Was this all your plot to aid the Wens?!”

JiaoJiao wanted to slap him and break his nose, but this company might be even less favorable than her last.

She was back there, with a dozen eyes on her. 

Maybe she should kill herself for real this time.

Jin GuangShan coughed. “She’s a god-damned spy!” 

JiaoJiao felt cold. If Nie MingJue learned her identity, would he still defend her? 

“What is going on ?” demanded Jin ZiXun. His cousin seemed too disturbed to speak.

“She came to me! She came to me!” Jin GuangShan blustered.

Nie Mingjue scoffed, but he saw her gulp, and then he looked closer.

In fact, she actually looked abashed.

“Is that true?” he asked with disbelief. 

“Yes,” she replied, her expression pained.

Nie MingJue pulled back his saber.

“Only partially! No, strictly-speaking!” she begged. “It’s true I approached him tonight, even true I...had lewd intentions, if you will.” Her voice picks up pace. “But then I considered my actions, and I – even if it’s selfish of me, I don’t want to sleep with you, Sect Leader Jin! I don’t want to be a prostitute, or a mistress, not again. I just wanted to convince you to do the right thing, by any means necessary, but in the end, I couldn’t, and you – he – he didn’t want to stop.”

“But you began it. You put yourself in that situation.” Nie MingJue looked at her like she was a smushed spider on his shoe.

Her cheeks burned. Weren’t you flirting with him?

Didn’t you sing that song about touching and look straight at Cody? Well, yes, but she’d wanted to prompt a kiss, a holding of hands, not a squeeze of her breasts. 

Why did you hit him a second time? Why not let it go?

“Does that mean I deserved to be raped?” She tried to echo the online articles she’d read, not that she expected feminism to register much in the cultivation world. “Of course I made a bad decision, but I tried to fix it. I did! You would criticize me if you’d walked in on us fucking, wouldn’t you? But now that I tried to do something right, tried to change, I’m still criticized? Once temptation begins, he’s a helpless animal with no self-control and I’m obligated to sin with him?”  

She seethed. “Well? Are you going to answer?”

“Of course you’re not obligated,” muttered Nie MingJue, to her surprise. 

“Women play hard to get all the time,” said Jin ZiXun, because of course he would. “How exactly was my uncle supposed to know you changed your flighty mind? You’re in his bedroom .”

“What part of kneeing him in the balls and saying ‘no’ wasn’t clear?” she shot back.

“Can you not speak so crudely?! He’s a Sect Leader!” shouted another man.

“You did not say no,” Jin GuangShan said. “I would have stopped if you had.”

She racked her memories. “Oh, right, I didn’t. I said if you didn’t provide me with proof that you’d do as I asked, you wouldn’t get sex. I guess that had several more words than just a simple ‘no.’”

“You expect us to believe the word of a prostitute?” exploded Jin ZiXun. 

“She’s not,” piped up Qin Su, to her father’s evident chagrin. “Right?”

“I’m not.” JiaoJiao felt tears prick her eyes.

She was in the tower again, fearing her life would be over due to arrest, torn by shame for her violence and indignation that the teenagers she’d known for years didn’t care for her at all.

This was the tower all over again.

Again.

But this time, she had a friend. A teenage girl she’d only known for twelve hours, yet believed her anyways. 

“Right, you’re not a whore. You’re just the Wen-dog’s mistress who fled the second things seemed bleak for your sect,” said Jin ZiXuan, finally gaining his voice. “Weren’t you the one who began the fight in that cave? Because your Wen Chao tried to force himself on an innocent woman?”

Fuck, that’s right . JiaoJiao paled. Wen Chao, would you really have ? 

Why were you so complicated ?

“I’ve heard her name before!” called someone.

“That’s right, Wang LingJiao!”

“Wen-dog?” Nie MingJue raised his saber again. This time, towards her. “So you are a spy.”

“It’s not like that,” she said. “Sect Leader Nie, I am one of two people responsible for the secret information that you’ve received these last few months! Yes, I did bad things before, I don’t deny that, but I – I want to change. I only left Nightless City to draw suspicions of spying away from my imprisoned comrade.”

“I hear a lot about wanting to change, but see little evidence.” Nie MingJue stepped closer.

“I took her in yesterday,” said Qin CangYe. Taking responsibility for his daughter, no doubt. “Sect Leader Jin and I personally questioned her, and at the time, deemed her trustworthy. Wang LingJiao has information she’s willing to share. But in return, she bargained for her friend, who currently suffers in Wen RuoHan’s Fire Palace.”

“Now, I suppose, that is all questionable.” He looked disappointed in her. 

“Why? She was just desperate to save – uh – her friend. Sure, her actions aren’t honorable, but isn’t there an inner code of honor, too, to want to sacrifice your body to save someone?” Qin Su asked, quiet but resolute. “I apologize for what wrongs you’ve suffered, Sect Leader Jin, but I see no reason to assume Wang LingJiao is our enemy.”

“Women,” scoffed Jin GuangShan, earning a frown from Jin ZiXuan.

“You aren’t a sect leader,” Qin CangYe reminded her. He spoke swiftly, to keep his friend from scolding his daughter.

Confusion and hurt spread across Qin Su’s countenance. She couldn’t tell where she was wrong, but everyone seemed to mock her, so she must be wrong. She didn’t have the confidence to think any higher of herself. 

JiaoJiao felt incensed. It was one thing to have everyone hate her, but to cast aspersions on Qin Su when she told the truth, when she was reasonable? Fuck that ! 

So she replied coolly, “Sect Leader Jin, if you’re so desperate for a pussy without a voice or thoughts or anything human, really, why don’t you create a doll for yourself?” 

“You!” His slap was fierce. Her skull smacked into the wall, and she saw stars.

The Jin and Qin sects glared at her. Nie MingJue, however, though unsettled by her crude language, didn’t entirely fault her the remark. 

“Sect Leader Jin.” He reached out and yanked Wang LingJiao towards him. Her eyes widened at Baxia, and she suppressed a scream on instinct.

But Nie MingJue sheathed Baxia. “I will take her away for questioning. She won’t be able to try any tricks on your sect, nor corrupt Sect Leader Qin’s. Besides, I, more than anyone else, should be able to ascertain whether she is behind the letters.” 

“Very well, Sect Leader Nie.” Jin GuangShan tried to hold his head high, but he still trembled with rage. It was impossible to forget his actions unless she was a degenerate Wen-dog. 

That being said, he found the idea of this bitch interrogated by the merciless Nie MingJue positively tantalizing. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve

Of Disney and Dreams

System, I’ve ruined everything.

System, why didn’t you say something?

System?

[The System can only counsel you on B points gained and lost, not morality].

But don’t I gain points for morality?

[B points count towards your redemption. They are related to morality, but not synonymous].

Then why didn’t you dock points when I tried to fuck Jin GuangShan?

[Your motives were pure, as Qin Su reminded you]. 

JiaoJiao fought tears. Perhaps what looked moral and what was moral was not always the same. Perhaps, in this fucked-up world, sometimes there was merely a choice between immorality and a lesser immorality.

Well, fuck that, because Nie MingJue certainly didn’t agree. He marched her towards the Southern Point of camp, his strides long enough that she had to run to keep from tripping. His fingers squeezed her wrist so deeply, she was certain they would leave bruises..

He held his head high, not sparing her a single glance. Which, honestly, was probably for the better, since his scowl was so severe she half-expected his face to rip in two. 

She tried to clear her mind. What was that quote from the novel? When dealing with Nie MingJue, bringing up the good and bad someone had done was an effective tactic. 

“Sect Leader Nie –”

“Be silent,” he commanded.

JiaoJiao flinched, and he turned his gaze to her with concern. He had only spoken because they neared a larger pavilion guarded by golden-clad Jin soldiers. 

The guards moved aside at Nie MingJue’s nod, though their eyebrows raised at the woman he dragged behind him. Fortunately, because this was Nie MingJue, no one supposed her in any real danger. 

Nie MingJue hurled her into a sparse room. 

Staggering forward, JiaoJiao pressed her hands over her racing heart. Nie MIngJue was the sort of person to chase Meng Yao across Nightless City with a saber after Wen RuoHan’s death. He wasn’t precisely someone she would characterize as sane.

That being said, he had been grievously injured at that point in the novel, and traumatized from witnessing the death of his men – perhaps he had taken his guilt out on Meng Yao? Wei WuXian hadn’t mentioned. 

Come to think of it, Wei WuXian hadn’t mentioned Nie MingJue’s feelings much at all. Perhaps Nie MingJue was so out of touch with his emotions, he could only qualify them as ‘rage’ or ‘not rage?’

The thought brought a hysterical giggle to her lips.

“This isn’t funny,” Nie MingJue said. His back was to her as he slid the lock shut.  

See him as human. Respect him as human . She could start there. She took a deep breath.

When Nie MingJue turned around, his frown had softened. He realized there was only a bed and a table in his room, nothing else. “Have a seat at the table. The door is locked for your own safety.”

“T-thank you,” she said, a bit perplexed that he was emotionally intelligent enough to realize how this looked to her. Of course, he couldn’t know that she knew him well enough to know he had no interest in sex.

She dutifully sat herself behind the table, and focused her gaze on her lap. She clasped her hands before her in a penitent facade. 

System? Uh, information?

[Nie MingJue, Sect Leader of QingHe Nie. Age: twenty-two].  

His shadow fell across her. Even in JiaoJiao’s body, he was still at least a foot taller than her. “Wang LingJiao.” 

She bobbed her head in acknowledgement.

He huffed. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“I know,” she said in a small voice. “And much of it is deserved.”

Albeit not by her. But she didn’t want to seem like she was evading responsibility. 

“Spying was never mentioned,” he said dryly.

“Isn’t secrecy key to spying?” She giggled again. 

His face promptly darkened.

She replied hastily, “I’m scared! I’m scared; that’s why I’m laughing. You – you’re scarier than Jin GuangShan, much scarier. Hahaha!”

Nie MingJue was about to accuse her of lying when he noticed she was actually shaking. As if she was truly scared. 

He sighed, forcing himself to speak with care. “Your last letter. What did it say?”

JiaoJiao closed her eyes. “We suggested that the reinforcements on the main road outside Yangquan would be a key target, further weakening the Wens’ forces in Langya. The letter we sent before that detailed the Wen’s spy ring outside Liyang, which you were able to successfully root out.” 

Nie MingJue was quiet for a moment. “Very well. How did you come across this information?”

“I worked with a servant of Wen RuoHan’s. The servant and I had both been made a part of Wen RuoHan’s advisory council.” JiaoJiao felt she had better not mention Meng Yao’s name, not yet. She had to make sure Nie MingJue was in a decent mood. Or at least, more decent than he was right now. “This servant, he has a friend able to sneak out of Nightless City and deliver our letters. The three of us were a team.”

“You?” Nie MingJue did not hide his skepticism. “An advisor?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I may not be educated in cultivation, but I know people. And politics and propaganda. What it takes to remain at the top of your cohort. As such, Wen Chao recommended me to his father before he – was killed.” 

At the mention of Wen Chao, at her evident sorrow, Nie MingJue’s expression darkened once more. “Yes, Wen Chao. My brother has many stories about your behavior during his ‘training’ camp.”

He leaves his accusation unspoken, the accusation that she could have gotten HuaiSang killed. 

He really did love his brother. JiaoJiao took small comfort in that fact. “As for the camp, I – have nothing to offer. I was an idiot. I can’t say much more, other than I was a coward and very, very wrong.” 

Nie MingJue felt unsatisfied with her answers. Whether because of their content or the fact that he hadn’t expected an unequivocal apology, he wasn’t sure. “It’s unusual for an uneducated maid to arrive at such a high position in such quick time.”

“War quickens a lot of timelines, Sect Leader Nie.” She swallowed, recalling her promise to the maids. Perhaps she could soften him to her and Wen DaiYu. “Aside from the second son of Wen RuoHan, Wen Chao’s wife thinks highly of me. Or she did, before I left.”

Nie MingJue shook his head. Thinking highly of a mistress – just more proof of the Wen’s immorality! “So you did not join Wen Sect with noble intentions at first.”

JiaoJiao weighed her words, resisting the urge to bang her forehead against the table. “If by noble you mean undermining them, of course not. There was no Sunshot Campaign then. Everyone thought it was an honor. And what’s more, it was escape from – well, my shitty prospects back where I was from. But then, when I saw what they did...how could I not help you?” 

She drew her knees to her chest, hugging herself. “Jiang FengMian and Yu ZiYuan did not deserve to die like that, and their kids didn’t deserve to be hunted down like dogs.”

[You have been awarded 10 B points for telling the truth without arousing suspicion. Total B Points: 3620]. 

“If you thought that way, why didn’t you stop it?” 

JiaoJiao looked at him funny. Was he for real? 

“Do you have an answer?” He regarded her with suspicion. 

Wow, he certainly was for real. JiaoJiao dug her fingernails into her palms. “Sect Leader Nie. You said it yourself. I’m an uneducated maid. Whose initial rise was due to my status as a mistress. I wasn’t even an advisor at the time of the attack. I had no real power to stop anyone. If Yu ZiYuan hadn’t tried to kill me, Wen Chao would have invented another reason. Maybe it would have been your sect first instead. Either way, war was coming, and the Wens were going to start it. I guess they just underestimated the other sects’ fortitude.”

JiaoJiao wished she could have stopped it. She really did. But she was also grateful she didn’t have the chance to freeze or fall passive as Lotus Piet burned. “You are correct, though, that I’m not entirely innocent. I have been mostly passive until now. But that has changed; I can’t stop now.”

“Because your fellow spy is in danger?” Nie MingJue wrinkled his nose. “All you’re saying is that you only care about saving lives when it affects you!”

“No!” JiaoJiao wracked her mind. “No, that’s too simplistic, Sect Leader Nie! Aren’t you smarter than that?”

Nie MingJue sputtered. 

JiaoJiao spoke quickly. “ I suppose it is true that the closer you are to a situation, the more you are spurred to action, because humans are more motivated by their emotions and attachments. It’s not a matter of morality; it’s a matter of human nature. Would you have responded in the exact same way if it had been Qinghe burned and HuaiSang killed?”

“You will never mention my brother’s name again, Wen-dog.” Nie MingJue’s hand landed back on Baxia.

“You haven’t answered the question,” she whispered back.

“Have you no shame? You hussy,” he spat.

“Ooh, so original,” she retorted. Anger sapped her fear. “I’m quaking in my shoes. Look, maybe I was wrong to seduce Jin GuangShan. Maybe I did it because I don’t know how else to convince him, and I had no idea when you were arriving, and someone I care about is in danger and probably subjected to torture as we sit here spewing insults at each other!”

“I would do anything to help them. Wouldn’t you do the same for your brother?” she pressed.

Nie MingJue glared. “I told you not to say his name!”

“I didn’t,” she replied cheekily. “The point remains.”

“Sect Leader Nie.” JiaoJiao steeled her will and threw her hand across the table, to pinch his sleeves. “This servant, my fellow spy, is someone you know, too. Please help them.” 

“We cannot just waltz into Nightless City, even if they are our ally.” Nie MingJue felt a spark of pity for the desperation on her face. “To abandon Langya would be disastrous.”

“Who said abandon? This rescue will help us win Langya! Once the Wens in Langya hear Qishan is attacked, they will be distracted. They may even move back to Nightless City. Wen TengFei may be a brilliant commander, but his son is a guard in Nightless City; he will be distracted, no matter his skill. And if we escape alive, we can boost morale, because how could Wen RuoHan lose his captive from under his nose?”

Nie MingJue eyed her. “You’ve quite the mind for propaganda.”

“It fueled my ability to spy. I had to be good at it,” she said earnestly. “The servant – please –”

“Your lover,” he surmised.

“What? Why does everyone think that?!” Wang LingJiao threw her hands in the air, a sight that almost amused Nie MingJue.

“No, no, we are friends. Close friends, nothing more. I only like him as a friend. He’s…” Wang LingJiao moaned. “Nie MingJue, I feel like I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this, but I can’t think of another way to make you listen! Why are you so irascible?!”

“I beg your pardon?” he demanded. 

She leapt to her feet, leant across the table. She grabbed his broad shoulders and shook him, her eyes burning brighter than the Wen sect’s crest. “His name is Meng Yao! Meng Yao! He used to serve you!” She shook him harder. “Meng Yao is being tortured by Wen RuoHan!” 

“Meng Yao?” Nie MingJue’s head spun. He lurched backwards, out of her grip. “That scum!”

“He isn’t scum ! You saw his last move to establish himself with Wen TengFei! Murdering his commander was part of proving himself to Wen RuoHan!” JiaoJiao grabbed for him again. “The Meng Yao you knew is the real Meng Yao! He’s acting like scum to help you, to help his father, to gain Wen RuoHan’s favor!”

Nie MingJue’s breath left him. 

Meng Yao’s face was so cold when he killed that man. His smile chilling when he feigned suicide to escape. His tears were an act!

Or was the cold face the act, the tears the real Meng Yao?

“He, like me – we’re not noble, respect people. But we are trying to do good, by whatever means necessary. And maybe we’re wrong, but we’re only wrong to be right in the end. And no, I don’t think the ends justify the means, but I don’t think the means set the end, either.” JiaoJiao didn’t fight the brine that ran down her cheeks. 

“Please help him. He’s – he’s only sixteen. And Wen RuoHan has made him do terrible things, Sect Leader Nie, things no one his age should do.” JiaoJiao hiccuped. “He needs an older brother, a leader, a father figure in his life who isn’t a shitty rapist. He needs a second chance. You’re the only one who can give him that!” 

Nie MingJue stared at her. What the –

“Sect Leader Nie! Sect Leader!” Someone pounded at their door. “The Wens have launched a surprise attack on Mount Langya!”

JiaoJiao nearly cursed aloud. How could they really be interrupted right now ? What was this, a story? Oh, wait.

Nie MingJue arose, shoving her away from him. “You will stay in here, or I will give you to Baxia.” 

“Baxia would be kinder than many of the other sect leaders,” she said. “Of course I will stay. Besides, there’s no one to seduce if you’re all off fighting.”

Nie MingJue nearly swore as he crossed the room, hurriedly removing himself from her wanton taunts. 

“Sect Leader Nie?”

“What?!” He stopped, his hands on the door.

“Er – good luck?”

Confusion washed over him. Nie MingJue had never had anyone wish him well in battle besides HuaiSang. But he didn’t want to thank a Wen-dog’s mistress. Just how exactly what he supposed to respond?

“Stay here,” he decided as a reminder before disappearing out the door. She had to stay, for her friend. He had to learn more about this Meng Yao situation. 

He wasn’t sure he believed in Meng Yao’s innocence, but the idea of Wen RuoHan torturing him sickened Nie MingJue. 

In fact, as he headed to battle with the Wens, he couldn’t wait to wet Baxia with their blood. 

Despite a battle around her and no bed she dared to sleep in, JiaoJiao was so exhausted from the traumatic events of the past few days that she fell asleep with her forehead pressed against the table.  

A man with an identical mole above his smiling mouth tossed her in the air as she squealed with delight. He caught her and placed her on his shoulders. “How’s that, JiaoJiao?”

She reached up for the sky, convinced she could touch the fluffy clouds from up here. Convinced she could pocket some of that golden light.

“Trying to steal the sun again? You’ll have to go to Wen Sect for that,” teased the man.

“It’s gold,” she said.

“It is. See, there’s gold free for everyone.” The man beamed up at his daughter. 

“If it rains right now, will it be gold?”

“Why do you want gold?” The man’s clothes were ragged. His cheekbones were sharp, the appearance of someone who hadn’t eaten quite enough in a long while.

“A crown. I’m going to be a princess,” declared Wang LingJiao.

The scenery of a feudal Chinese village fell away. Jasmine turned around from her position on the couch. 

“Daddy, do you think I am a princess and my parents had to give me up?” she asked, holding up her hands. “Like Briar Rose.”

Dad’s breath caught, now that she remembered. She didn’t recall his expression, but in her dreams he wasn’t sad.

“Well, I don’t know,” he replied, “but you are a princess to me.” 

The sharp rattle of a doorknob interrupted her dream.

Blinking, Jasmine cracked open her eyes. The muscles of her neck were in agony, and the door imprisoning her was opening. 

She was very far from a Disney Princess. She was an infamous trollop, and had been a mean, superficial girl in her past life. And now she was the bottom of the pile, too broken to repair.

System, was that a real memory of Wang LingJiao? 

Her father loved her.

So did mine. 

Where did we go wrong?  

[Your redemption cannot be complete without empathy. You have accumulated enough B points to unlock memories of Wang LingJiao to assist you in your task]. 

How the hell will that assist me?

JiaoJiao shook herself, refocusing on the door. Someone had picked the lock. 

She braced herself for another man to enter, but instead, the closest character to a Disney princess in the MDZS world stepped over the threshold.

“Are you hurt?” Qin Su wore a worried expression as she examined her up and down. JiaoJiao’s clothes were rumpled and slightly torn, but she seemed otherwise unharmed. 

“No.” JiaoJiao shook her head. How the hell did Qin Su know how to pick a lock? “What’s happening out there?”

“We’ll win the assault on Langya thanks to Wei WuXian. But they’ve used the skirmish to take the small peak beside us.” 

JiaoJiao’s heart sunk. Oh shit, Wen TengFei had actually followed her advice. The advice she’d given to fit in more. No, no, fuck . 

Qin Su gestured to the medicinal vials in her hands. Her face was pale; she did not appear willing to entertain the notion of her father in danger. “I’ll be needed on the battlefield soon, but I wanted to see you before. I brought more rations for you, too.”

JiaoJiao nodded. Sweat dripped down her brow. This was her fault, again. Again . 

Qin Su stepped closer, placing food on the table. “Wang LingJiao, what happened last night? Tell me.”

“Will you hate me?” JiaoJiao blurted out. She didn’t think so, but she wanted to be sure.

“No. I just want to know.” Qin Su shook her head.

“Meng Yao can’t wait very long. I thought – I really thought that if I slept with him, maybe Jin GuangShan would change his mind.” JIaoJIao’s voice wobbled.

“Oh, JiaoJiao, No. you’re worth more than that.” Qin Su wrapped her arms around her.

The gesture was so sympathetic and – friendly – like Wen DaiYu without the restraints imposed by living in Nightless CIty – that JiaoJiao began to cry. “I keep telling myself I’m not a whore, that I’m not the slut Wen RuoHan liked to call me, because I never even slept with anyone until Wen Chao, and I didn’t like that or want to sleep with him, really, but maybe I am. Or maybe I just believe them even though I say I don’t. And if I don’t want to do something to save Meng Yao, if I’m not willing to give up everything, aren’t I selfish?”

“It’s not selfish not to want to sleep with a married man infamous for his affairs,” Qin Su said resolutely.

JiaoJiao wanted to yell out, Qin Su, he’s your father ! But she held her tongue, because now was not the time. “But it’s how everyone sees me. It’s all I feel I’m good for.”

“It’s not how I see you.” Qin Su pulled back to look into her eyes. “And I’m sure it’s not how Meng Yao views you.” 

“No, that’s true,” JiaoJiao acknowledged. “He’s...a good man. Who I must maintain was never my lover, nor do I have such an interest in him, despite the assumptions.” 

Qin Su laughed lightly. “That’s good.”

JiaoJiao sobered. No, please, don’t already be smitten. She’d tell her later. Later, when every single person was alive and safe. They’d talk, maybe, her and Qin Su and Wen DaiYu, woman to woman.

Woman to woman...

“Qin Su, would you listen to another idea I have?” she asked with hesitance. “I want your advice, because I see you have a kind and wise and noble heart. I trust you more than myself.”

Qin Su blushed. “Yes!”

“I’m under too much observation to escape without persuading the sentient wall that is Nie MingJue.”

Qin Su dissolved into laughter, warming JiaoJiao’s heart, reassuring her that she still had a friend, and the proof was in more than the System’s 200 B points. 

“But there is another besides Xue Yang who knows their way around Nightless CIty, who might just be willing to help.” JiaoJiao took a deep breath. “Her name is Wen Qing.”

“The doctor? She’s in our prison camp.” Qin Su was surprised.

“Yes, and her brother is imprisoned in Nightless City. By their own family. As a warning to anyone who might dare turn themselves in. Back there, I spoke with him often. He’s kind and so is she –they even rescued Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian upon the destruction of Lotus Pier,” JiaoJiao explained.

“They did?” Qin Su was aghast. “Then why hasn’t she said a thing?”

“She still won’t abandon her Wen family members. But if you can offer her clemency for her faction – or at least convince your father to argue for them – and if you say you can also rescue Wen Ning, she might help. I know where he’s kept in Nightless City. It won’t be far from where Meng Yao is, too.” JiaoJiao waved her hands about. “I can draw a map of where his cell is.”

“But would anyone listen to Wen Qing?” Qin Su stopped. “Oh. She and I would go. Together.”

“I don’t want to ask you to endanger yourself.” But she had to, even if she was too ashamed to say it aloud. 

“Everyone is in danger,” said Qin Su briskly. “But, suppose Wen Qing agrees for her brother’s sake. How do I break her out?”

“Perhaps you can bring someone else, to switch with her. Like Jiang YanLi – she’s kind and helpful,” suggested JiaoJiao. 

“Jiang YanLi is about to depart for Lotus Pier, given her recent kerfuffle with Jin ZiXuan.” Qin Su mused. “Oh! Well, Maiden Song – the woman mistaken for Jiang YanLi – she’s so humiliated and distressed even though it wasn't her fault. Maybe she would join our mission to help do some good.”

Qin Su tapped her chin. “Though if YanLi hears Wen Qing and Wen Ning helped her brothers, she might help, too. Ah, I can say I’m accompanying her away from Langya to avoid alarming Father. I will recruit the two of them – I don’t think that is too much, do you?”

JiaoJiao shook her head. “I trust the women more than the men at this point.”

“You sound like my mother. That’s her advice,” said Qin Su with a smirk.

JiaoJiao’s heart panged. No doubt Qin Su’s conception was precisely the reason behind that advice. “Be safe.”

“I will try.” Qin Su turned for the door. “I will go to them tonight. No one will move in and out of Langya until the fighting ends today, anyhow.” 

“I understand,” said JiaoJiao. “And Qin Su? I’m sorry I’m asking this of you.”

“Actually, I’m rather glad someone thinks me capable.” Qin Su paused as JiaoJiao’s heart melted. “Best of luck with the sentient wall. The more who try to save Meng Yao, the better.” 

Only when Qin Su left did JiaoJiao allow herself to comprehend that she was partially responsible for this attack. That this bloody day was on her. 

When Nie MingJue returned – and she was glad he had – his black and gold robes were stained with blood, though not his own. She couldn’t help but wonder if the crimson splatters were his enemies, the pools his friends’. Perhaps both. 

And perhaps she knew the relatives of the dead Wens. 

For Nie MingJue’s part, a fleck of relief crossed his face when he saw her there. 

“I’m glad you survived,” she said stiffly.

He grunted. “They took another peak.”

JiaoJiao stared at the blood on his robe, wondering why it wasn’t dripping from her own fingers. Her mouth opened. 

“You look like you have something to say.” Nie MingJue wondered if she wasn’t just sad her Wen-dog friends had died. 

JiaoJiao buried her face in her hands. “I’ve outed myself as a spy to the Wens. I truly  didn’t expect them to follow my advice anyway.” 

“I beg your pardon?” Nie MingJue crossed the room to grab her chin, force her to look into his eyes. 

She briefly considered telling him how his actions echoed Wen RuoHan, but that would only result in her death and no help for Meng Yao. She had to act repentant. Repentant.

Mournful. 

“Well, we could have used all your information!” he snapped, seeing the truth in her eyes. “Do you know how many people died?”

“Too many!” she shot back. Something broke inside her; and she wasn’t acting anymore. She was just angry. “I know too many! You think I wanted that? I – I had to give reasonable advice to avoid suspicions. I know there is blood on my hands, I know. You don’t have to remind me. Ha.”

Nie MingJue was stunned when she grabbed his robe, squeezing the fabric until her hands were covered, and rubbed the drying blood onto her luscious face. “There! Does that satisfy you?!”

He gaped at her, as she sunk to the floor, too miserable to cry.

“I’ll have one of our Nie women accompany you to clean yourself up,” he said at last.

“No.”

“You’re not staying here with blood on yourself.”

“Fuck off.” She glared up at him. “Isn’t that how you see me anyways? And Meng Yao? No matter what mistakes someone makes, no matter what bargain with the devil, even if it’s to help you, they’re dirty in your eyes. Oh, and I guess you probably see me with cum on my clothes too, as fitting for a Wen’s whore, or are you too pure of thought?”

Nie MingJue stepped back. “Have you no shame?”

“No shame?! Shame is – shame is all I have!” she screamed back.

An unsettling thought settled on his shoulders, that her descriptions of herself were less accusations against him, but lamentation of her own self-image. 

She buried her face in her knees. “I’m supposed to redeem myself, but there is no forgiveness, no matter what I do. I can’t rescue my best friends. Honestly, why didn’t you just let me die, and put me in hell? It cannot be so bad.”

“Let you die?” he asked incredulously. Was she sane? Did she even know Meng Yao? “Who are you speaking to?”

She half-laughed. “A god named Xie Lian.”

“Who?” Nie MingJue had never heard of such a deity. 

“He’s a god, once a prince. All his good intentions resulted in the downfall of his kingdom, his parents’ suicide and his friends’ lived turned upside-down. And then, 800 years later, he ascended again, defeated the head god who was secretly a demon, and married the demon king who was his friend in life.”

“He married a demon? And he’s a god?” Nie MingJue was thoroughly confused. 

“Yes. The love story of Hua Cheng, one of the four supreme demon kings, and Xie Lian, god of heaven, is truly inspiring. Anyhow, Xie Lian is the only god I consider worthwhile because he once responded to a prayer of mine. Or I hope he did. I don’t really have proof. You know what, maybe we’re all alone and when you die, you extinguish like a flame.” Her voice was flat.

The room fell silent.

“Ghosts exist. Fierce corpses. Life does go on.” Nie Mingjue sat besides her. Her could calm her down, then figure out her information. “If you want redemption, you can redeem yourself.”

“I can’t do it alone,” she replied pointedly. 

What do I need to atone for ? He thought. He wasn’t sure. “Wallowing in your sins won’t do any good. Pick yourself up, acknowledge your wrongs, and do better next time.”

“You make it sound so simple.” She sounded derisive.

“It is.” Why did he feel foolish? This was what he believed. 

“For a man with strong cultivation and respect, sure. You’re enough on your own.” Wang LingJiao twisted her lip. “Most people aren’t. Most people are people like me and Meng Yao. We do one bad thing, it negates every good thing we ever did.”

 Nie MingJue pushed aside his guilt, pushed aside the comment about being enough, because it tickled him in the worst of ways. “That’s because it’s not one bad thing.”

“Isn’t it? What did Meng Yao do? Kill a commander to gain Wen RuoHan’s trust? Oh, and since he had to kill someone, he chose the most loathsome man he could, to make it more bearable?” She glared. “Suddenly, he was evil to you, his goodness all a facade.”

“You don’t know that,” he snapped, but she held up her bloodied hand. 

“I do.” She snorted. “Ignore what society calls you, you say. But you haven’t ignored it, or would you really judge Meng Yao so strongly? Why didn’t you ask? He couldn’t have told you the truth, I know, but still. Did you just assume innate evil because of a cold look on his face? You really expect me to believe that the fact that he was the son of a whore had nothing to do with your judgment?”

It hadn’t; it truly hadn’t. Nie MingJue wondered just how much Meng Yao had told her. How had she known about the cold look? Had he mentioned it to Meng Yao? Probably. He didn’t quite remember.

Wang LingJiao wasn’t done. “For my part, I see nothing to recommend you to me, except that you didn’t think I should be raped – really high bar, huh? And yet, because society respects you, I still think I must be wrong. That I’m misjudging you.”

Nie Mingjue couldn’t help but feel stung. Nothing to recommend? Why did he care about her respect? “Is that part of your plan to manipulate me into saving Meng Yao?”

She clenched her teeth. “You know what? Call it manipulation, call it truth, call it good or fucking evil. I don’t care, so long as you actually do help, you hopeless man.” 

Nie MingJue felt disbelief; no one, not even Wen Xu, had ever spoken to him like this before. “Heaping insults certainly doesn’t endear you to me.”

“I don’t care.”

Fury surged through his veins. He had the sudden urge to throw her in prison for the deaths of every man today. Let Meng Yao die; he was as foul as her.

But wasn’t Meng Yao in his thoughts as he fought today? Empowering him?

So he said, “You and I will both clean ourselves. There’s no way we can leave Langya right now. We will discuss this in the morning. When you’re able to behave like a proper woman.”

“Yeah, that’s never going to happen,” she said, but there was no more fight in her voice. 

He really didn’t understand her, he thought, especially afterward they’d both returned to the room. He insisted she stay in his room again, partially because he didn’t trust her and partially for her own safety. And she then insisted that he take the bed, because he’d been fighting, and she would take the floor. Like she wasn’t at all the pampered, haughty maid she was rumored to be. 

He’d tried to throw her onto the bed anyways, because he was a man and he could take the floor, and she’d responded by somersaulting back into him with more strength than he’d expected.

That did it. She definitely wasn’t the pampered, haughty maid she appeared. 

All the more reason to investigate her for longer. 

Nie MingJue dreamt of a different forest – one covered in orange pine needles and hanging moss and dead twigs. It was a far cry from the pristine woods of Langya, but the blood-soaked forest floor remained the same. 

“Run!” he screamed, scrambling over the brush.

“You fool!” His father was bent over, leaning on his broken saber, bleeding, but still he summoned the strength to he kick his son away. Nie MingJue sprawled backwards, as the boar gored his father straight in the chest for a second time.  

“Dad!” he screamed. “Help, someone help! Help!”

And that’s when he realized. 

He did feel all alone. 

This was why his memory haunted him. Because in this moment, he was powerless, all alone, and he couldn’t save his father and himself on his own.

“Kill me, not him! Kill me!” he shouted to the boar, but the angry creature ignored him. Direct your wrath towards me !

Weak. Pathetic. Everything his father hated. And yet, his father’s last look at him before his eyes closed, as he lay bleeding on the mossy carpet, was of pride.

Nie MingJue awakened to someone shaking his shoulder.

“Sect! Leader! Nie!” 

His eyelids flew apart to see a shadowy hand poised to strike his face.

On instinct, he lunged for Baxia, which he kept under his pillow ever since his father’s broke. Because he didn’t trust anyone not to break it. 

He didn’t trust anyone, ever. Except Meng Yao, and now he regretted that with every inch of his soul.

Wang LingJiao stumbled back. “Sect Leader Nie, you were sobbing in your sleep.”

Nie Mingjue tried to calm his heart. He felt unnerved to hear himself try to respond with sarcasm. “I’m surprised you would stop me, then.”

She shrugged. “I’m a propagandist, like I said. It’s not really useful to let your men hear you so distressed after a battle.”

“I wasn’t thinking of a battle,” he countered. But wasn’t he? And against the Wens, no less.

No. It wasn’t the Wens. They weren’t his enemy, not in that moment. And neither was the bore. 

He was. Because he was not enough on his own. 

He’d never recovered from it. He’d driven himself to the edge of saber techniques, led victories against the Wens in Hejian, killed countless boars. But no matter how strong he grew, he never felt enough. 

Why would he dream this now? Was her cutsleeve, demon-loving god real?

“What?” she demanded. “You’re looking at me weird.”

But Nie MingJue had no more chance to collect himself. The door to his bedchamber was blown off its hinges in an explosion of purple light.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen

Unlucky

“You!” Jiang Cheng’s burst through the door. His expression was so livid he almost resembled a demon.

Nie MingJue raised Baxia, but Wang LingJiao was already wrapped tightly with Zidian.

Fucking hell, it burned. She tried not to squirm too much, tried not to make things worse.

Jiang Cheng laughed, his face mad with grief and righteous anger. In these moments, it was easy to see him as a traumatized seventeen-year old instead of a sect leader. “We meet again, Wang LingJiao, you foul slut.”

“Jiang WanYin!” Nie MingJue shook off his lingering grogginess to place Baxia on Zidian. Not that Baxia was capable of severing Zidian; he knew no tool of Purple Spider would break easily. But Sect Leader Jiang might not know that. “She’s under my protection!”

Jiang Cheng was baffled. No one imagined Nie MingJue would consort with someone so low. “ Her ?” 

“She’s one of our spies from Nightless City. Sect Leader Jiang, I understand your desire for vengeance, but now is not the time for grudges. Release her.” Instead of glaring at Jiang Cheng, Nie MingJue looked to Wang LingJiao with worry. 

Zidian was slowly burning through the more modest clothing she’d adorned. Her pretty face was wrangled with pain and not a small amount of fear. And yet, she seemed unwilling to scream.

Now is not the time for grudges? That’s ironic from you , she wanted to say, but wouldn’t right now. Zidian wrapped itself tighter and tighter around her.

“Does you know? Does he know? Does he know what you did? Does he?” Jiang Cheng lifted Zidian. She danged several inches from the floorboards. 

“Does he know how you sauntered into our sect, commanding our servants like you owned them? How you arrested our sixth shidi, just a child, on trumped-up charges?  I assume he died in the massacre – he was just a defenseless child!” Jiang Cheng cried. “Does Sect Leader Nie know how you demanded my shixiong’s hand as punishment for your own petty grudges, even after he had already been whipped with Zidian? Did you tell him?”

Shit . Had her hands murdered a child in this version, too? JiaoJiao stared at his angry form, unable to think of any response. 

“I would still have my sect if it weren’t for you, you nothing whore,” hissed Jiang Cheng.

Nie MingJue lowered Baxia just a bit. Disgust returned once more to his face. “Is that true?” 

“Yes,” she managed.

Nie MingJue gaped at her. His expression – was he bewildered as well as outraged? 

JiaoJiao moaned. Meng Yao had told her the secret to torture was psychological – if she didn’t think about the marks Zidian was probably etching into her skin, she could bear it.

“Like I told you before, Sect Leader Nie, there’s no adequate explanation for my behavior back then.”

“Being an unscrupulous fool is one thing. But that is malice .” Nie MingJue’s eyes darted between Jiang WanYin and Wang LingJiao. Who to choose? Who to protect? 

He had almost considered himself wrong for judging her, and now he knew this.

“You can kill me after, Jiang Cheng, but not now, please,” she begged, certain that Nie MingJue was not going to help her. “I’m still needed for right now!”

[You have been penalized 50 B Points for jeopardizing the life of Wang LingJiao. Total B points: 3570].

Oh, piss off!

“Needed? For what?” Jiang Cheng scoffed. “How dare you imply something unsavory between yourself and Sect Leader Nie?”

JiaoJiao made a face towards Nie MingJue.

He spoke reluctantly. “She is a source of valuable information. I kept her here to keep you from finding her.”

But he wasn’t exactly arguing for her freedom, she noted with misery.

He sighed. “Like it or not, we do need her information.”

Yes, her value was her information, not her. JiaoJiao tried to sop up her self-hatred. She failed. 

Jiang Cheng sneered. “You trust her?!”

“Nothing she’s said thus far has been wrong. Her involvement in writing the letters that have helped out campaign is unquestionable.” said Nie MingJue. “As she tells it, she left Nightless City once Wen RuoHan found out.”

“No, I left because Wen RuoHan was about to find out my spying partner. I left to incriminate myself instead,” JiaoJiao complained. “I left because I need you to help Meng Yao, Nie MingJue!”

“Meng Yao?” Jiang Cheng’s brow furrowed. “ That Meng Yao?”

“Yes,” Nie MingJue said icily. His posture made it clear that he would not accept any criticism towards Meng Yao.

Despite her predicament, based on that alone, JiaoJiao hoped.

“You have some nerve, trying to save your pathetic life,” spat Jiang Cheng. Memories of torture – the discipline whip and his golden core – melded into a mask of fury on his face. 

But deep down, he was scared. She knew, had seen and caused, some of his most humiliating moments.

And JiaoJiao knew it.

She wished she knew what exactly she’d done, but at the same time, she didn’t want to know what else she should feel guilty for. No matter what, she wouldn’t bring up the details in front of Nie MingJue.

“I know her, Sect Leader Nie. She is the worst kind of person,” said Jiang Cheng. His eyes burned with tears and fury. 

The sooner she died, the sooner his memories died. Because if she died, no one else would know how he’d screamed and begged them to do anything to him, hit him with the discipline whip again, torture him more, anything but melt his golden core right in front of his parent’s strung-up bodies.

Didn’t your father always think you were nothing, anyways ? Wen Chao had laughed.

Bitch Yu will be so sad to see her pathetic son lose all his chances, taunted Wang LingJiao. Aw, is he crying?

Jiang Cheng’s face warmed. Now she was his prisoner, and he wished she had a golden core he could melt. He couldn’t let her go, couldn’t risk anyone knowing, couldn’t miss this change to avenge his mother and finally be useful to his father.

“Nie MingJue, don’t try to spare her. Please,” said Jiang Cheng, and for a moment, he looked like a lost boy, like the seventeen-year-old he was.

Pity rose inside Nie MingJue. He saw himself as a young Sect Leader, grieving wrong committed by the Wen-dogs, yearning for a war to finally give him the excuse to kill them. 

Wang LingJiao would probably throw his desire to kill in his face, as proof he could be as evil as she.

Well, he wasn’t. He hadn’t actually done anything. 

But he wanted to have that conversation with her. Wait, why? To teach her righteousness, obviously. 

“Wang LingJiao will be tried after the Sunshot Campaign concludes, but I cannot allow you to have her yet.”

JiaoJiao writhed. Was a trial really necessary for redemption? Or was redemption an everlasting punishment? Call me crazy, but I thought that was hell . 

“Jiang Cheng!” A dark figure pushed his way inside. A flute with red tassels hung from his sword-less belt. 

He looked at her before anyone else, checking. 

She blinked back, trying to reassure him, I’m not her; I’m the same person you met in the woods . 

“Wei WuXian.” Nie MingJue regarded him with suspicion, no fan of his wayward ways or lack of discipline.

Wei WuXian finally addressed his shidi. “Shijie told me you ran off after Qin Su’s visit. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to ensure she did not escape nor harm Sect Leader Nie.” He rattled Zidian, and she gasped with pain.

“Let her go, Jiang Cheng.”

“What?!” Jiang Cheng choked. “Have you forgotten her crimes?”

“I’ve forgotten no crimes of Wang LingJiao, believe me.” Wei WuXian threw out his hand. “But that is not Wang LingJiao!”

“ What ?” Nie MingJue and Jiang Cheng shouted.

“Let her go and I’ll explain.” Wei WuXian glanced towards her again. 

“Is that true?” Nie MingJue demanded, pointing Baxia at her. 

As if she was somehow more dangerous for not being a child-killer. Apparently, Sect Leader Nie really did not enjoy the unknown.

“You presume I have the ability to answer,” she replied delicately. 

Nie MingJue hated dishonesty. He glowered at her. 

“Jiang Cheng. It’s all right,” Wei WuXian insisted.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t yet as stubborn as his adult form. He slowly lowered her to the ground and removed the burning sensation from Zidian. “She can stay tied.”

“Very well.” Wei WuXian sighed. “She’s in the same body of the woman who ruined Lotus Pier, for certain, this is not her. Back when you and Lan Zhan found me – it wasn’t just the ghouls you overheard me speaking to.” He gestured towards JiaoJiao. “I had commanded all the corpses to attack the Wens and Wang LingJiao. Imagine my surprise when they wouldn’t attack her, no matter my command!”

“Maybe there was something wrong with your command,” said Nie MingJue impatiently.

“No.” He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have worked for Wen Chao or Wen ZhuLiu, then suddenly failed for her.”

“You just let her scurry back to Wen RuoHan?” barked Jiang Cheng.

“She declared an intent to spy, and from the sound of it, she’s done quite well, hasn’t she, ChiFeng-Zun?” Wei WuXian crossed his arms.

“Admittedly, Meng Yao is a better spy than I,” she muttered. Maybe Nie MingJue would soften to her modesty.

“Why don’t we test this?” Jiang Cheng unfurled Zidian from around her body. He raise the purple whip.

“It won’t work!” yelped Wang LingJiao, ducking behind Nie Mingjue. Actually, it might, but she would not appreciate losing her body. 

“Oh?”

“Mmmph.” She shrugged, as if she couldn’t speak more. 

“Well, it would only work if she possessed Wang LingJiao. If she was placed in the body of Wang LingJiao without a choice of her own, if the original Wang LingJiao is dead – well, Zidian can’t discern that.” Wei WuXian stroked his chin. “Right, JiaoJiao?”

“Yes.” System, how much more can I say ?

[You may affirm what is known in their world. You may not affirm your identity, yet].

Yet? She opened her mouth in retaliation, to yell, can’t say more yet , but a sharp pain exploded in her brain. “Oh!”

Nie MingJue and Wei WuXian grabbed her when she stumbled.

“Ha...I guess you ought to have kept Zidian on me,” she rasped to Jiang Cheng.

“How did Wang LingJiao die?” Jiang Cheng still didn’t trust her. She didn’t blame him.

“My suspicions are a well-timed punch above a mound of resentful energy.” She looked at Wei WuXian.

“You?” Jiang Cheng frowned. “Wei WuXian! You said you narrowly evaded capture. Were you actually captured?”

Fuck, he sounded hurt. As if he assumed his brother was keeping his capture from him even after rescuing him.

Wei WuXian bit his lip so hard he drew blood. “I … it’s a long story. Jiang Cheng, let’s not discuss it now.”

“As long as you don’t ignore it forever,” JiaoJiao said petulantly.

Wei WuXian eyed her, certain by now that she knew his secret. Was she forbidden from speaking it? Or was she choosing not to? 

“Who are you? Answer!” Nie MingJue charged.

Of course. For Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian, it was enough that she was not their hated enemy. For Nie MingJue, she was an unknown, the scariest person in the world.

JiaoJiao sighed. She raised her imploring eyes to his, hoping to communicate that she was sorry, that she didn’t want to deceive him, that she was trapped.

He seemed extremely uncomfortable with her gaze. “Very well. I suppose you can’t answer. Though if I find out you can, I’ll kill you myself.”

“I’ll help,” said Jiang Cheng. 

“Isn’t there enough bloodshed right now already?” she asked sweetly. Her voice harshened. “I think I see enough craziness in every single face I see, myself included.” 

Nie MingJue wanted to silence her, but she wasn’t entirely wrong. 

Gusu was as quiescent as Xue Yang has heard. His ears had found nothing but the murmur of waterfalls and the whir of insects; his eyes had seen nothing but overbearingly green foliage.

And it drove him mad. He wanted to stop and chop down a tree, dam the clear water, create chaos because it wasn’t fair that anything was peaceful when the one person who seemed to value him was in danger. 

Gusu, to him, was a joke.

Up ahead, he finally noticed a fallen tree. A grin settled on his mouth as he approached. These trees were scorched, barren brown in the middle of this sea of green.

Xue Yang sensed the remnants of a barrier, thanks to Meng Yao’s teachings, but it’s probably only rudimentary now. Just enough to let its owners know that someone had entered. 

Fuck, the Wen Sect really did raze this place. Bastards. Xue Yang climbed a tree for a better look at his path forward. This was his first time to Gusu; previously, he had always found XiChen in Langya, Jiangling, or Hejian before. 

“Who goes there?” A slender young man in white zipped through the trees, balancing precariously on his sword. 

“Me!” Xue Yang leapt down upon the man. 

The man yelped as he tumbled onto his back. He had thin eyebrows and a sharp jaw. 

“I have urgent information from Langya for your Sect Leader. You better hope Lan XiChen is here,” said Xue Yang. 

“He is,” squeaked the man, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I’m Su She. I’ll lead you there.”

“I don’t care who you are,” grumbled Xue Yang as Su She placed him on his sword. 

The man’s frown deepened, but he didn’t dare push Xue Yang off. 

They arrive at the charred ruins of what one was a magnificent sect. With a grimace, Su She stepped off his sword and dragged Xue Yang towards two tall figures.

“Get your hands off!” Xue Yang jerked away before following him.

Su She’s voice had cooled as he addressed the twins. “Someone with an urgent message from Langya, Sect Leader Lan.”

“Which one of you is called Lan XiChen? Why did no one mention you look practically fucking identical?” groused Xue Yang. Maybe he shouldn’t say ‘fuck’ in front of a respected Sect, but how could he not poke fun at these fuddy-duddies? 

The two men looked at each other. Finally, one of them said in a disarmingly pleasant voice, “I am XiChen.”

“Great!” Xue Yang infused his voice with sarcasm. He pulled the letter with Qin CangYe’s seal out from his ratty robes. “You’re the one I’m looking for.”

“What happened?” asked XiChen, as his brother said in a stern voice that was practically the opposite of his brother’s, “Sect Leader Qin’s seal.”

“This is his seal to assure you of my identity, but the information is from me.” Xue Yang jabbed his thumbs towards his chest. “Lan XiChen, I’m the reason you keep getting letters outside your tent and in your laundry.”

Lan XiChen started. “You’re working with – him?”

His tone softened at the pronoun. Xue Yang dared to hope that he actually did care, just like Meng Yao said. 

“Meng Yao, yes.” Xue Yang’s breath came harder. “There’s no point in keeping this secret anymore. Wen RuoHan has already found out about the letters.”

Lan XiChen turned as white as his robes. “What happened?” 

The man braced, already steeling himself for news of his friend’s demise. His brother watched him with concern. 

“Most important point first: he’s still alive, as far as I know,” said Xue Yang. “We worked with a third party, who already tried to frame herself to take some of Wen RuoHan’s suspicions off Meng Yao. But that Wen-dog won’t free Meng Yao even if she succeeded in convincing him of her guilt.” 

Xue Yang inhaled. “Wen RuoHan knows Meng Yao is Jin GuangShan’s bastard. He’s going to enjoy flaunting his newest captive around Nightless City.” 

“Our third party fled to Langya, where we spoke with Sect Leader Qin,” fibbed Xue Yang. “She seems to think that Wen RuoHan will try to use Meng Yao as a bargaining chip. Problem is, Daddy don’t care about Meng Yao and would probably prefer his death and we all know this except Wen RuoHan and Meng Yao. So we remembered you – you’re his friend, right?”

Lan XiChen sucked in air. “Yes.”

“Xiongzhang.” Lan WangJi watched him carefully.

“WangJi. I – this man – ” Lan XiChen struggled to explain. In part, he was not sure how to explain how much Meng Yao meant, how his heart lightened at the sight of him, how proud he was that Meng Yao risked everything to spy for them, how relieved he was that this, this mission, explained the otherwise appalling actions Nie MingJue witnessed. 

Lan XiChen settled for, “I owe Meng Yao a great debt.”

“Tell me,” said WangJi.

“He once saved my life. When the Cloud Recesses burnt.” Lan XiChen spoke slowly. “I owe him my life.”

Xue Yang wasn’t sure what he thought about owing anyone anything, but so long as this noble man helped Meng Yao, he’d keep his mouth shut.  

WangJi seemed to understand. “It may be a trap.” 

“It probably is, on Wen RuoHan’s part.” Lan XiChen sighed. “But, to the cultivation world....I am more valuable than Meng Yao.”

Su She’s eyes widened, and Xue Yang could hardly believe it. “You think you’ll just waltz in there and exchange yourself for him? Are all sects this dumb?”

Su She choked. 

“Xiongzhang!” WangJi was angry now. 

“Wangji!” Lan XiChen whirled around. “There are still rules to war, even now. Was it not Wen Mao himself who wrote them? I will trade myself for Meng Yao.”

His hands trembled slightly. It would be an honor . He had no plans to die, but WangJi was more than capable should the worst happen. 

“No one would care if Meng Yao dies, except me and his friends.” Lan XiChen gestured to Xue Yang. “As for me, everyone knows you and I are close, and that Shufu cares a great deal for us. My trade would seem to yield Wen RuoHan a strong bargaining tool he may torture but not kill at first, while releasing someone with intimate details of Nightless City. Meng Yao forgets nothing .” 

Lan WangJi shook his head. His distress was palpable, yet his face remained stoic. 

“If all Sect Leaders were like you, I might not hate you rich people.” Xue Yang clucked his tongue. “I see why Meng Yao liked you.”

Lan XiChen’s eyes glimmered at that. “WangJi, you will report to Langya today, as planned?”

For someone about to turn himself over to a murderous enemy, he seemed calm. Xue Yang almost admired him.

“I shall.” Lan Wangji nodded. “Someone must report these events to Uncle, though.” 

“I will!” Su She pled.

“I’ll come along. I have a second mission, anyhow.” Xue Yang turned to Su She, languid with exhaustion and relief. “Do you know of someone named Nie HuaiSang? Care to point me in his direction? Got, uh, something for him too.”

At noon, Jiang Cheng returned from visiting his injured men in the healing pavilion. He had to ensure they knew how grateful he was that they  joined and shed blood for Jiang Sect.

He had returned just in time to see sent Jiang YanLi off to Lotus Pier, with Qin Su by her side. 

Qin CangYe nodded his head in acknowledgement. Jiang Cheng returned the gesture, though he still felt uncertain, still felt like a child playing dress-up. 

Qin CangYe seemed relieved to see his daughter leave the battlefields, but Wei WuXian found her actions puzzling. Qin Su might have been a bit dense in classes, but she liked to remain where the action was, even if she could only help in small amounts.

But for right now, both of them forgot their misgivings, and embraced their sister good-bye. 

“Hopefully when we see you again, this war will be over,” Wei WuXian whispered.

“I have faith in both of you,” she said, smiling at Jiang Cheng. 

Jiang Cheng stole a glance to his brother they strolled back to the center of their base. “You ever gonna tell me the truth?” 

“Truth?” Wei WuXian looked down at Chenqing. He rubbed his sleeve over the glossy black flute.

“What really happened to you?” Jiang Cheng wanted to yell. Why could you see me broken, and then not let me see you? Did they torture you, too? Why couldn’t you let me help? 

“Wei Ying.” A white figure landed in front of them, momentarily blocking the sun.

“Lan Zhan, you’re here already – Lan Zhan?” Wei WuXian stopped cleaning Chenqing. 

For the second time in his life – the first being in the cave of the Xuanwu – Lan WangJi looked distraught. His eyes were actually red-rimmed. 

Even Jiang Cheng was stymied.

“What happened?” Wei WuXian leapt forward, snatching his sleeve like they hadn’t bickered the last time he departed, like he hadn’t sighed with relief to be free of Lan WangJi’s disapproval. 

“My brother...is turning himself in to Wen RuoHan.” Lan WangJi’s voice came out a whisper.

“He’s what?! How could he?” Jiang Cheng was certain Lan XiChen was not a traitor. Lan XiChen found and nurtured him when Wei WuXian was missing, brought him to the meeting that commenced the Sunshot Campaign. What is happening ?

Lan WangJi shook his head. “There should have been a spy who came here…”

“She’s with Nie MingJue.” Wei WuXian glanced towards Jiang Cheng, who was already leading the way. “Let’s go.”

This was at once everything she wanted and everything she feared. JiaoJiao was relieved that Lan XiChen had acted, but not like this. She pitied Lan WangJi’s broken stoicism. 

“You’ve spent more time with him than any of us. Do you think Wen RuoHan will adhere to such a code of ethics?” Wei WuXian searched JiaoJiao’s face.

“Of course he won’t.” Nie MingJue’s knuckles were white.

“He may, so long as XiChen feeds into his sense of power.” JiaoJiao silently reckoned that Meng Yao’s current ignorance on Xiyao might be a blessing. If Wen Ruohan liked tormenting lovers, and if Xiyao was real…

Wen DaiYu’s warning echoed in her ears. Wen RuoHan says nothing quite excites him like watching two people who truly love each other be placed in a situation where only one of them can survive.

Meng Yao had better keep up his act. And they had better rescue the both of them ASAP. 

“How could he be so foolish!” Jiang Cheng seethed.

JiaoJiao bit the inside of her cheek. The answer was obvious to her, and right now, probably only her. Because he’s a Lan in love. 

“What can we do?” Jiang Cheng furrowed his brows. “There’s still Langya to win.”

“Will a rescue in Nightless City not better our prospects in Langya? We would shake the Wen-dogs confidence in their impenetrable fortress.” Nie MingJue spoke confidently, but his eyes swept to JiaoJiao, checking with her. 

She blinked at him, surprised he remembered, surprised he listened and thought highly enough of her argument to repeat it. She didn’t fault him for plagiarizing; even with her identity as ‘not that JiaoJiao,’ Jiang Cheng was unlikely to listen to her.

She had just also assumed Nie MingJue wouldn’t trust her enough to listen, either. 

System?

[The System will not propose more ideas].

The fuck?

[To ease your transition, the System will now rank your ideas with odds of success]. 

How am I making progress ? She almost laughed with disbelief. 

“So we sneak in, kill Wen RuoHan and save everyone. Unlikely,” said Jiang Cheng.

System?

[Odds of success: 11%].

“What do you know?” Nie MingJue turned to her. 

“Me?”

“You worked there,” he snapped.

“I, well, yeah.” JiaoJiao rocked back and forth, noting Lan WangJi’s sorrow, Jiang Cheng’s skepticism, Wei WuXian’s support. She honestly wasn’t sure what Nie MingJue felt. 

“I know you don’t feel comfortable leaving Langya,” she said to Nie MingJue, to Jiang Cheng. “But here there’s Jin GuangShan, Qin CangYe, Jin ZiXuan – plenty of people. Besides, Wen RuoHan...will try to surprise us sooner or later. We should surprise him first.”

“They will expect Lan Zhan and Lan QiRen once they try to ransom him,” said Wei WuXian. “That means Lan Zhan should not be there.”

“Mm.” Lan WangJi looked pained. 

“He can help divert their attention. They expect Jiang Sect to take the pass through Yangquan. Now only it would be direct to Nightless City, but it’s infamous for its resentful energy.”

“They predicted correctly,” said Wei WuXian wryly.

“Was that your prediction?” Nie MingJue frowned.

“Yes.” JiaoJiao rubbed her eyes. “Don’t, Jiang Cheng. Jiang WanYin.” Calling him by his courtesy name was difficult for her; she’d forgotten that the novel mostly referred to Jiang Cheng by his familiar name because of Wei WuXian’s perspective. “I had to maintain some form of cover –”

She stopped mid-sentence.

System?

[Chance of initial success: 67%].

“I think I know a way in.” JiaoJiao could only hope that Xue Yang and Nie HuaisSng, and Qin Su and Jiang YanLi and Wen Qing, could arrive later. The more rescue missions, the better Meng Yao and Lan Xichen’s odds.

[The System confirms that this is true].

“Nightless City is surrounded by a protective barrier. It detects anyone with a golden core who tries to enter, and I’ve never been able to figure out how to stop it. That means I am the only one who can enter without raising alarm, since I never reached that level of cultivation,” she said, fumbling for words. 

Wei WuXian stared at the floor. Wondering if he should volunteer. If he should tell his secret. Or at least part of it.

“Wei WuXian and Jiang WanYin, keep your attention on the Yangquan Pass. They’ll have removed the dead, but you can lead the ones you’ve used here over there, right? And Lan Zhan, if you go with them, you can make sure the dead don’t do any damage to civilians, because they’re, uh, using them as shields too.” JiaoJiao winced as every single man glared at her.

“That also your idea?” said Nie MingJue.

“Yes?” she lied. Actually, it was Meng Yao’s. And from the Look Nie MingJue delivered, he realized it, too.

JiaoJiao continued. “As for us, Nie MingJue, there was a battle yesterday. There must have been dead Wens.”

“Many,” said Nie MingJue tightly. He did not like that he had been paired with her. He did not like the word us . Not at all. 

She gulped, looking guilty. 

Once more, Nie MingJue felt himself caught off-guard. So she really did care about those who lost their lives. 

“Their bodies will be brought back to Nightless City. Now, with rumors of Wei WuXian’s sinister techniques, the bodies are burned soon after arrival, but their loved ones are allowed to see their dead one last time, to collect anything of theirs to erect a tomb,” JiaoJiao explained.

“Dead bodies do not have golden cores any longer,” said Wei WuXian. “Even if you pretend to be a corpse, it’s only you.” 

“No, but those escorting the corpses do. They’re mostly impoverished youths whose parents sent them the Wens for a better life. I remember Wen Hong saying Wen RuoHan allowed them to gain enough cultivation to form a golden core, but no more. He calls it ‘charity.’” She laughed humorlessly.

“Who is Wen Hong?” asked Wei WuXian.

“My mistress. Wen DaiYu, Wen Chao’s widow.” She tapped her fingers together, ignoring their questioning stares. 

“I hate to bring this up,” said Wei WuXian, though he didn’t really. “But, um, no one here can pretend to be a boy.”

“True, you’re all too tall and I have...yeah.” She looked down at her chest.

Despite the fear they all felt, Wei WuXian almost laughed. 

Nie MingJue turned a dark shade of green, as if he could not bear the reminder. 

Xielian H. Christ. JiaoJiao tossed her head and decided to spare him, since Nie MingJue wasn’t as bad as she’d initially judged. “We won’t be hiding amongst the Wen boys. We’ll be hiding a coffin.”

“Seems your father doesn’t care much for you.” Wen RuoHan’s taunt filtered into Meng Yao’s thoughts.

Meng Yao forced himself to turn slowly towards the door. He knew, he knew father wouldn’t risk his life for a spy of a son he didn’t know, but he could dream, couldn’t he? 

Now he didn’t even have those dreams.

No . He stopped his thoughts. Surely JiaoJiao or Sect Leader Lan would care. Even if Nie MingJue didn’t. Someone had to care about him. Actually, maybe if he was pathetic, Nie MingJue would forgive him. 

No. Not even that. He didn’t need their help. He could rescue himself. Then everyone would respect him, and no one would know what he had done. 

“I don’t need his favor when I have yours. What use is a candle in the daylight?” said Meng Yao. 

Wen RuoHan glided across the torture chamber, smiling at the sight of Meng Yao washing ash from the bronze cauldron. 

“He must not have liked your mother. I wonder why.” Wen RuoHan grabbed Meng Yao’s hands, his gaze lingering on the bloodied mark he’d left in the middle of Meng Yao’s forehead, as a travesty of Jin Sect’s vermillion dot. 

Meng Yao’s heart sank. He was probably going to be taken right here and now. Again. A celebration for his father’s denial. “I apologize; this good-for-nothing has not finished cleaning.”

“Leave it. We have a new plaything,” said Wen RuoHan, lifting him to his feet. “Meng Yao, I look forward to seeing your art.”

Meng Yao smiled at the pinch on his cheeks, as if he was just delighted to be Wen RuoHan’s pampered mistress. In reality, he was just relieved not to sleep with Wen RuoHan this moment. “I will not disappoint you, Sect Leader Wen.”

He padded after Wen RuoHan, questioning what sort of misery he could inflict this time. He had to make it more gory, more brutal, while keeping them alive for longer…

A dozen in flaming Wen robes surrounded a figure in white robes. Their swords formed an intricate fan around him.

His flute, the lovely white Liebing that had lulled Meng Yao to sleep when he cried for his mother and his friend cried for his father. It was now held in the grubby hands of Wen Dao.

His sword, the brilliant Shuoyue that had sent thrills down Meng Yao’s spine, had filled him with hope, the sword whose hilt had been pressed into his palms as his first true friend pantomimed techniques with him, was now in the hands of a nameless servant.

His lip was split, his arms tied behind his back.

No, no, no . Meng Yao felt acid burning the back of his throat. 

I hear he’s too pure for this world, JiaoJiao had said.

No, it’s precisely because he’s too pure that the world needs him, Meng Yao had answered.

Lan XiChen was forced to his knees. His face was calm, resolute. But the way his eyes widened, the way his jaw twitched ever-so-slightly, the way his breath caught when he saw Meng Yao –

Wen RuoHan guffawed. Unmistakable. He turned his lurid stare to Meng Yao, intending to see just what his faithful servant felt.  

If JiaoJiao had been there, she would have warned them of Wen DaiYu’s words.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen

The Coffin 

Nie MingJue could not believe he was wearing the robe of a Wen. A robe too short for him, from a prisoner who had died of infection a few days ago. 

To add to his consternation, he wore this robe inside a coffin, a coffin on a carriage plodding towards Qishan. Though they’d removed the corpse, he was not the only body squeezed into the coffin. Baxia was the only guard between him and the former mistress of that simpering Wen Chao.

Still, due to the constraints of the coffin, she pressed tightly against his body. Her long hair long tickled his neck, made worse by the fact that he was sweating from the heat made by two bodies in a confined space. He tried to remind himself that their situation must be even worse for Wang LingJiao, who was still wounded from Zidian, huddled against a man whom she probably considered a brute. Not that he cared what she thought about him. 

She’d insisted on giving the Wen bodies a proper burial, on keeping their items in the coffin. He’d accused her of sympathies with the Wens, and she’d retorted that sympathy wasn’t wrong, and now he felt angry because he felt guilty.

“Since we’ll still be here for over a day, we could take turns sleeping. I think it’s best if one of us stays awake at a time, just in case we hear them deciding to search the caskets or something,” said Wang LingJiao, her voice soft. 

“Very well.” He tried to shift away from her, but his body barely fit as it was. “I do not mind staying awake.”

“Mmm.” She tried to turn her head, only able to face him halfway. “I’ll wake you if you begin screaming again.”

“In that case, perhaps it is better not to sleep,” he said stiffly. Her tickling hair was really starting to aggravate him. Was she teasing? 

“Perhaps not.” System, this will be so boring.

[There are other ways to pass the time besides sleep].

JiaoJiao pouted, but fortunately for her, Nie MingJue seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

“What were you saying to Sect Leader Jiang before we left?” he asked. 

He’d appointed his right-hand man in charge, given his scribe a letter explaining a ‘secret mission’ for Jin GuangShan. Neither men combined were as capable as Meng Yao, but they would be sufficient for Langya. However, while he’d been distracted given his orders, he’d noticed Wang LingJiao steal away to speak with Jiang WanYin.

He almost hoped she was apologizing. Even if she hadn’t done wrong.

“You won’t like it,” she said dryly.

“Propositioning?” Nie MingJue soured. 

In a fit of rage – perhaps his temper was contagious, or perhaps she was just tired of months of mockery – JiaoJiao jabbed her elbow directly into his side. “That’s all you think I’m good for, isn’t it. What did Meng Yao see in you?” 

Immature, he thought with derision. But...as the silence grew, Nie MingJue began to feel uncomfortable with himself. He really hadn’t meant to imply anything like that. He just couldn’t think of another reason. She was so shameless, surely she’d think it a joke.

“I made a suggestion to him, that’s all.” JiaoJiao wanted to fake tears instead of show her real anger. But the System would frown upon her. 

“What suggestion?”

“I told him about a second prisoner in Nightless City that I plan on rescuing alongside Meng Yao. I wanted to gauge his response; to ensure that if he is brought back, Jiang Cheng will offer him protection.” JiaoJiao said nothing more. 

“Why Jiang WanYin?” He really wondered why she insisted on referring to him so intimately.

“The prisoner is Wen Ning, brother to Wen Qing, whom I believe currently resides in a prison camp. He was imprisoned after her capture as a warning to any Wen members who might think of turning themselves in...Wen Ning and Wen Qing once saved Jiang WanYin and Wei WuXian.” JiaoJiao thought it prudent not to mention that she’d also noted how Jiang Cheng colored upon the mention of Wen Qing.

Spurred on by his embarrassment, JiaoJiao had dared to suggest that rescuing Wen Qing’s brother might earn her gratitude. It seemed The Untamed’s ship was not entirely without basis, and JiaoJiao was here for it.  

But on the off-chance Jiang Cheng did have feelings for Wen Qing in this universe, or even just attraction, JiaoJiao wasn’t going to pass this opportunity by. Action, right? 

“Wen Qing did not turn herself in,” said Nie MingJue. 

“And yet, she saved their lives.” JiaoJiao deepened her voice. “‘How could she have done anything of worth when she’s our enemy?’ That’s your question, right?”

Nie MingJue did not appreciate her imitation. “Something like that.” 

“It’s not my story to tell, but Wens are brave, too. Just not the monster in charge,” she said. 

“I highly doubt that.”

“Maybe I’m not telling you to test you. See if you’re capable of believing anything other than your own limited judgment,” she shot back.

“Excuse me?” Nie MingJue pulled Baxia closer to his body. “ Limited ?”

“I meant in the sense that every human’s is limited. I wasn’t calling you stupid.”

He settled down. Just slightly. “You’re defending our enemies , the people you betrayed.”

Wang LingJiao huffed. “I consider myself to have betrayed exactly three people in this life, Sect Leader Nie.”

This life? Nie MingJue had to wonder if she was a spirit after all.

“Wen RuoHan – thank God for the chance – Wen ZhuLiu, and Wen Chao.” Wang LingJiao swallowed hard. “My feelings for the latter two are...complicated.”

“I imagine so.”

“You have no idea,” she said darkly.

And now Nie MingJue had to wonder just what she’d gone through, if she had never wanted to be Wen Chao’s mistress. It was easily to think she deserved such a fate if she’d chosen it, but if she hadn’t – to him, that sounded like a fate worse than death. 

These weren’t proper questions to ask. But he had to know if she was good or not. He really wanted to know. 

The carriage creaked as it swayed back and forth, bumping over a rock in the road. JiaoJiao’s head bumped into his chin. “Sorry.”

She felt the urge to pick a fight with him. They were trapped; he could raise his voice, not could he kill her. Maybe here she could finally tell Nie MingJue how obnoxious he was. 

 “How well did you know Wen Xu before you fought him?” she ventured at length. Despite her growing frustration, her tone came out timid. 

“He was a quiet and guarded man.” Nie MingJue remembered him hovering around the peripheries of discussion conferences, more than capable when he took part in the festivities, but more than often avoiding them. “He was a despot I’m glad to have had the honor of killing.”

She knew it. She knew he’d say that.

“You don’t know anything about him! Wen Xu – he faced worse than you can imagine,” fumed JiaoJiao, as loud as she dared. 

Nie MingJue laughed harshly. “He caused worse than you can imagine.” 

“Well, it’s certainly true that there was no love lost between Wen Xu and I,” said JiaoJiao. Her voice broke. “But you don’t know, you really don’t.”

“What don’t I know?”

“He didn’t want to burn the Cloud Recesses. His anger got the best of him, and I’m not excusing the brutality or the men he killed. But Wen RuoHan only sent his eldest son to punish him , because libraries were...meaningful to Wen Xu. This was an elaborate, nasty plan to hurt his son. The Cloud Recesses were just fodder.” She drew in a shuddery breath. “If Wen Xu hadn’t done it, they would have killed the – the father of someone Wen Xu cared about.”

“You say you’re not excusing, but what is all this protesting?” If Wen Xu was truly reluctant, he should have thought of another way to save the father, Nie MingJue assured himself. 

“It’s an explanation! Explanations aren’t excuses!” JiaoJiao twisted her head around to view the dim outline of his jaw and that stupid mustache. “Do you think that just because someone isn’t the shallow, hateful thing you assume they are, they’re lying or trying to excuse their actions? Sometimes your presumptions are just wrong .”

“You listen to me,” she commanded, in a broken whisper. 

If she had yelled, Nie MingJue wouldn’t have listened. But something about her urgent whisper tickled his curiosity. “All right.”

“He – have you ever met Wen Chao’s wife?”

“No?” Probably another low, social-climbing whore. 

“Well, I have, and she’s the kindest, most gentle person you can imagine.” JiaoJiao wished she had the ability to convey the truth with her mind, because words felt inadequate. “She and Wen Xu met in a library while she was just a disciple. They fell in love over mathematics, of all things.”

“Wen Xu?” Nie Mingjue’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes, they were – are – in love. Even though he’s dead, Wen Hong still loves him and I think she always will; she’s just faithful like that. Wen Xu even proposed to her, and she accepted.” JiaoJiao paused meaningfully. “But Wen Hong is barely a Wen. And Wen Xu he didn’t consult his father about marrying a girl with no political assets. So Wen RuoHan forced Wen Chao to marry her instead, and he – he made Wen Xu and her own father watch .”

“Watch?” Nie MingJue sounded confused. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he clenched his fists and roared as much as one could in a whisper. “He – how could he – those were his own sons!”

“They were, and they made their sins, and paid for them! But if – if Wen RuoHan were not their father, Wen Xu and Wen Chao would not have become who they were. If given a chance, not all Wens would be the same! Not all Wens are cruel and vicious.” JiaoJiao sniffled. “And Wen DaiYu, Wen Hong, is not like you think all Wens are, no matter how highly she ranks, no matter how kindly Wen RuoHan treats her, that appearance is a lie .”

“She’s suffered more than you or I can imagine, and she still treats everyone with compassion, and you would run her through with Baxia just for her name.” JiaoJiao wanted to scream, but she didn’t need to. The impact of her words hit Nie MingJue like Baxia through his chest. 

“You felt angry when your disciples gossiped about Meng Yao for his name as a prostitute’s son? Did you never consider that you’ve done the same to the Wens, blaming all of them for the actions of their leader?! Only instead of measly gossip to slaughter their reputations, you’d advocate for slaughtering them .” JiaoJiao was well-aware of her own history of gossip. Jasmine had been merciless, too. But at least she knew she was a hypocrite.

At least she was trying now. 

His voice was gruff. “So you were loyal to Wen Chao for Wen DaiYu?” 

“I love her. She is the first true friend I’ve ever had.” JiaoJiao paused. Why? Why were her true friends Meng Yao, Wen DaiYu, Wen Ning – all people from this universe she couldn’t really consider a dream any longer? 

Because she knew them, not just from the novel and adaptations. They let themselves be known, and she let herself be known by them. 

“I...arrived with Wen Chao shortly after Lotus Pier’s destruction. There wasn’t any helping what happened next. I gave in and became his mistress a second time.” She shrugged, her shoulder jabbing into Nie MingJue. 

Nie MingJue frowned. His heart ached; for that, he couldn’t judge her. What choice could she have made, suddenly propelled into a mistress’s body? 

“I didn’t hate Wen Chao. I judged him, hoped for his death at first. But then I actually...mourned and if I’m honest, I still do, both him and Wen ZhuLiu.” JiaoJiao drew a deep breath. “When Wei WuXian attacked, I expected Wen Chao to flee and abandon all of us. But actually, he died to save me.”

“Well,” said Nie MingJue after a moment. “Then I suppose a Wen-dog did something good for once.”   

A jolt of surprise ran down her spine. “Oh. That – that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Hmph.” 

She had to continue, to keep her promise to the maids. And not just for points in a system. “Young Madame Wen...please, if it’s possible, I wish to rescue her, too. At least, do not speak ill of either son in front of her. She feels guilty enough.”

Nie MingJue was still reeling from what the wife had suffered. “I...Wen Sect will be annihilated, but she will be given a choice.” 

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need.” His ignored the stirrings in his chest, the warm feeling of her body against his. He was not Jin GuangShan nor Wen Chao; he would only treat Wang LingJiao, think of Wang LingJiao, with the utmost respect.  

A snarky voice crept into his thoughts, unlike any voice he’d heard before. So you admit she deserves respect, eh ?

“You look even younger than I remembered.” Wen RuoHan sprawled on his jade throne, drinking in the sight of the eldest Jade of Lan kneeling on his black tiles, swords surrounding him like petals. “You are the very image of your father. Almost as if your mother never existed.”

At the mention of his mother, Lan XiChen’s chest tightened. No, Wen RuoHan couldn’t know. 

Could he? His eyes flickered to Meng Yao, who unlike the rest of the kneeling servants, stood on two feet before Wen RuoHan. By his side. 

“QingHeng-Jun was once a competent hunting partner; it seems you inherited his skills.” Wen RuoHan shook his head at the boy. “As well as his sense of duty towards his sect. Or should I say, the lack thereof.” 

Wen RuoHan sighed. “A pity Lan QiRen, for all his rules, never taught you that abandoning your sect for your romantic heart demonstrates poor leadership.”

Lan XiChen’s cheeks heated. No, no, no . He knew. He knew . 

Meng Yao laughed, as if he was entirely amused, and for a moment, Lan Xichen’s heart wavered. 

Was he really behind these notes? Was this all just an act, or had the person Nie MingJue described lurked underneath after all?

No.

Lan XiChen knew better. He knew the man who’d wept when they discussed their mothers, who’d promised him his mother could still have been a good person, who spent a week’s worth of his bookkeeping money to burn incense for XiChen’s mother.  

Can I still be a good person instead of a joke? Meng Yao had asked.

You already are, Lan XiChen promised him. 

He knew that person. He would not fall for Wen RuoHan’s lies. 

“Sect Leader Wen.” Lan XiChen straightened his already impeccable posture. “I believe we are all familiar with Wen Mao’s Philosophy of War. ”

“In it, your ancestor, a great man, discussed the negotiation of prisoners. ‘If a prisoner of more value can be obtained, it is honorable to exchange him without harming the one of lesser value. As to what gives value, that is up to the ruler.’” Lan XiChen beseeched Wen RuoHan. “I am today offering myself, Leader of Gusu Lan Sect, to you, in exchange for your servant Meng Yao.”

Wen RuoHan was silent. 

Meng Yao trembled internally, but on his face he pasted an amused grin.  

Then Wen RuoHan burst into laughter. 

“You’re quite an arrogant one, aren’t you, Lan XiChen? Feigning familiarity with my sect, trying to use our own words against me, as if you can understand it without the teachings of Qishan Wen to guide you.” Wen RuoHan smirked. “This is why I insisted on training your sects, on removing your precious library that filled your head with drivel.”

Lan XiChen said nothing. He would not respond to such barbs.

“And yet – and yet you come here, unguarded, unassuming, thinking you can easily negotiate for the exchange of a prisoner. Well, yes, but as you can see, Meng Yao is my esteemed servant. He is not a prisoner, no matter what the slut of a maid may have relayed.” Wen RuoHan laughed. “Meng Yao, did you hear? JiaoJiao wanted to rescue her lover.”

The word lover tore at Lan XiChen. So Meng Yao had found love in Nightless City? Why did that fill him with fear?

Meng Yao laughed. “This servant has no need for that whore.”

Whore . The real Meng Yao would never use such a word. Lan XiChen clung to hope.

“Do you think you are honorable, Lan XiChen? Arriving to demand the release of someone you’ve deemed less valuable than yourself?” Wen RuoHan sneered. 

Lan XiChen ached. He hoped Meng Yao would see through such intentions.

“Your sect doesn’t even have a home. You are a child playing dress-up as a Sect Leader and a war hero! Pathetic.” Wen RuoHan grinned. “Meanwhile, Meng Yao is also a sect leader’s son, and far more...creative. I think I will keep him.”

“Did you not write to his father with demands?” said Lan XiChen. 

“‘Do not insert yourself where you are not needed,’” recited Wen RuoHan.  Did you not learn that rule, or was it lost amongst your 2999 others?” 

Wen RuoHan sniggered. “We ought to have burned your Wall of Rules, too. Pity me in my mercy. Why does one prisoner, not even from your sect, mean so much to you, Lan XiChen?”

He leant forward. “Why would you come instead of Jin GuangShan? Why would you send yourself and not another person of rank among you? Why you ?”

Lan Xichen breathed heavily. “I once owed Meng Yao a debt.” 

“Is that so?” Wen RuoHan clucked his tongue. “I think not.”

“Sect Leader Wen?” Meng Yao ventured.

“There is a saying in Qishan. ‘You will know if a Wen is in love when they obey the rules. You will know a Lan is in love when they break the rules.’” 

Lan XiChen turned white. Love? He loved Meng Yao, yes, but like that? 

Why couldn’t he look at Meng Yao? Why was he suddenly afraid? Why did his limbs feel like they were made of soup at Wen RuoHan’s words?

He was a fool. 

“...Tsk tsk, Lan QiRen must be so disappointed.” Wen RuoHan gestured towards the guards.

Something cracked on the back of his skull, and with a flash of pain, Lan XiChen’s vision collapsed into darkness. 

“Enough about the Wens.” JiaoJiao wanted to know more. “You and Nie Huai – I mean your brother – are also half-siblings, are you not?”

Nie MingJue was confused by her wording until he recalled that he’d forbidden her from saying HuaiSang’s name. He felt a mite guilty. She wasn’t that unworthy.

“Wen Xu and Wen Chao were only half-siblings?” He hadn’t known that. So much for ‘enough about the Wens.’ And he was the one bringing them up again!

“Nice deflection.”

“It wasn’t. I was just curious.” He did not appreciate her judgement. Was she determined to think poorly of him?

JiaoJiao moved her tingling arm to keep it from falling asleep. She should apologize for misjudging him, but maybe he deserved the discomfort. “Yes, Wen Xu was born to a concubine and Wen Chao to Wen RuoHan principal wife. Honestly, both of them deserved better than him, if half of Wen Chao’s descriptions were accurate.” 

“Both women died in front of Wen RuoHan, which is why he is particularly fond of torturing lovers in front of each other. Or so I suspect.” She shook her head.

Nie MingJue was quiet. Sickening, that Wen. “My mother was not even a cultivator. She was thin and sickly woman who worked as a vendor selling food to scrape by. But shortly after inheriting Qinghe Nie, my father forsook his engagement to marry her, teach her cultivation. She died in childbirth.” 

“Your childbirth?” JiaoJiao ventured, hoping she wouldn’t anger him, or cause him additional pain. 

“Yes.” Nie MingJue ignored the feelings swirling within him. “I once asked Father if he regretted marrying her, or at least having me. But he told me that her last words were ‘I’m so glad.’”

“That’s...beautiful.” JiaoJiao nodded.

“HuaiSang’s mother was indeed the young cultivator my father once spurned. She forgave him and wed him, becoming a kind, devoted mother to us both. She was...a truly good woman.” He won’t talk about how she defended him from bullies, how she told him he might not have her blood, but she was his mother, because love was stronger than blood. 

“What happened to her?”

“She died shortly after my father’s...demise.” He remembered her hands on his chin, assuring him he would be a good sect leader, that she was proud of him. In his desire to please her, he promised her that he would take care of HuaiSang. 

And then how she walked slowly up the stairs, never to awaken again.

He tried to avoid the truth, but he knew. HuaiSang didn’t, and Nie MingJue would never tell him. 

He would never speak it again. Maybe then it would be less true.

Maybe if he hadn’t made that promise, she wouldn’t have done it. 

“Losing two parents so quickly. That is traumatic. No wonder you have nightmares,” JiaoJiao said tentatively. Trying to break into his stormy thoughts. To spare him. 

He jerked. Unwilling to lie, he could only simmer in silence.

“I...know the gist of what happened. I’m sorry you had to see that. I don’t think I would recover.” She sighed. “You know, you’ve done really well, all things considered. Leading a sect. Raising your brother. Losing two parents so soon – no wonder he is timid.”

“He’s stronger inside than most,” Nie Mingjue declared. 

JiaoJiao grinned unexpectedly. “Oh, yes. I always had the feeling he played dumb when in fact he observed every last detail. As much as Meng Yao.”

“You never saw HuaiSang,” said Nie MingJue. “You weren’t Wang LingJiao during the training camp.”

“Fuck. Oh, wait, sorry. I’ll try to swear less.” She acquiesced.

HIs heart warmed. How strange, when he had no idea who she was, when he had every reason to suspect her.

“No, but I…have a secret power. That gives me information on people. I know a lot about what has happened even if I wasn’t there,” she said lamely.

“A power ?”

“At this point, I wonder if it’s a curse.” She paused. “If my parents think I’m dead. They might. Though I’m adopted; I never knew my real parents.” 

“You?” Nie MingJue felt a wash of pity.

“Me. I used to pretend I was a long-lost princess. Now I think I was probably an extra mouth to feed, or some embarrassing secret. Maybe my mom felt too guilty to abort me.” She shrugged. “Let’s see how much I can say, shall we? I grew up in a place where my appearance is very unusual. People have light gold and brown hair there, mostly, and all colors of eyes. And they view strange appearances with suspicion.”

“So I did my best to fit in. I didn’t do very well, honestly. I might not have committed the crimes of Wang LingJiao, but I think I was a bit of a schoolyard bully. Even if my intentions – even if I didn’t consider them malicious at the time.” She sighed.

“At least you have learned,” said Nie MingJue. 

“You think so?” Her voice lilted. A very pretty tone.

“To some extent,” he said sternly. Though whether he intended to be stern to himself or to her, he wasn’t sure.

She shifted again, switching back to his past instead of her own. “What did your mother sell?”

“Wooden carvings.”

“Oh, really?” JiaoJiao shifted against him. “I wonder if you don’t like art because it hurts you, then?”

“Excuse me?” Nie MingJue felt an odd feeling as she brushed against him.

“Sorry, sorry. That was too harsh.” JiaoJiao wiggled again, feeling the hilt of his saber digging into her spine. “It’s just, Baxia is really well-designed. I didn’t think you’d be interested in such art.”

“HuaiSang’s mother was also an artist. She designed Baxia to have both elements of my mother and her skills in its hilt,” he explained.

“Really? No wonder you love that saber.” JiaoJiao arched her back.

Her shoulder pulled his hair. “Could you remain still?”

“ Me ? You know what? I’m sorry it’s hard to fit, but your beautiful saber is poking my back,” joked JiaoJiao. Her voice was light in the darkness around them. “I’m putting up with you and your deadly weapon!”

With a huff, she dug her hand back to shove Baxia off –

Except –

Except –

This wasn’t actually the hilt of a sword. 

[Yeaaaaaaaah!] The system was positively shrieking. 

[Cool points +1000! Congratulations for obtaining the achievement “Physical Relationship Development!!!” Total B Points: 4590].

Trapped in the coffin as they both were, they could only stare into space, pretending this wasn’t happening. 

[You have unlocked a new subplot: romance with Sect Leader Nie MingJue, ChiFeng-Zun!]

What? What ?! 

“Kindly remove your hand,” Nie Mingjue said icily after a few seconds had passed.

She hadn’t even realized she’d still been gripping it. “Gladly.”

It wasn’t her fault. Shut up, System !

[Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhh!] it chirped.

“I – I really didn’t – I really thought – it felt felt long and hard and large enough to be Baxia! I just assumed,” she stammered. Well, shit, that wasn’t helpful. 

Now Nie Mingjue really wanted to die. At the hands of a Wen-dog’s mistress.

Both of them stared at the coffin lid, red-faced, silent. 

[Nie MingJue: Level of horniness is 13%. Normal level: 0%. This is an infinite increase!]

It’s physical attraction , she argued. A physical response . He couldn’t really be interested, not in a woman who’d slept with a Wen-dog.

[Denigrating yourself to avoid the truth will cost you ten B points. Total B Points: 4580].  

The truth ? It couldn’t be.

Even if it was an infinite increase. 

Lan XiChen’s blurred vision faded in and out. He was in a cell, slumped against a wall. Heavy metal, rough with rust, chains bound his hands above his head.

A hem embroidered with flames entered his vision. “Since Meng Yao was no prisoner, I see no reason to adhere to rules, Lan XiChen.” 

Wen RuoHan himself was here. Honoring his prisoner with his presence.

He poked the young man’s broad chest. “Let’s see how long you last in the devices Meng Yao has devised.”

“I look forward to it, Sect Leader Wen,” said Meng Yao.

He was here, too!

Lan XiChen, still half-unconscious, not cognizant enough to guard his expressions, jerked his head to the side. To see Meng Yao. 

Wen RuoHan laughed. “He really is smitten, isn’t he?”

“So it seems, Sect Leader.” Meng Yao’s thoughts were turned upside down, ripped up, inside out, like he’d run them through the wheel, burned them in the caldron, slowly sliced into his golden core. 

He could see all the signs, but no, that couldn’t be.

Lan XiChen was a man. 

The best man Meng Yao ever knew.

But a man.

JiaoJiao knew something. He’d dismissed her probing hints, but she’d known . Whatever her powers were, she suspected this, hadn’t she?

Someone loved him. A sect leader thought he was worth love . 

Lan XiChen.

Meng Yao, however disheveled his insides, kept a sadistic smirk on his face. The perfect actor, even now.

“What are you waiting for?” Wen RuoHan looked at him.

“Your orders, my lord.” Meng Yao bowed. Delay, delay, delay. “What devices would you like to see? Ones that test your muscles and strength may take longer to take effect, but I think it will be enjoyable when his body finally gives out.”

“I was thinking such a special prisoner deserves a special combination of punishments.” Wen RuoHan ran his hand down Hensheng. “You know lingchi, correct?”

Meng Yao felt cold as he grasped the sword. 

Lan XiChen’s bleary eyes fell on the soft blade. So Meng Yao finally had a sword.

“What better person to do it than his love?” goaded Wen RuoHan. “My only regret is that Wei WuXian and Nie MingJue are not here to avenge myself for my sons.”

Lan XiChen stiffened. WangJi would die if Wei WuXian were to suffer. If they spent their torment on him and not Nie MingJue, not Wei WuXian, it was worth it. 

“When he is broken enough, I will make sure he cannot bear a child even if he were to survive,” said Meng Yao eagerly. Forever in his role.

What could he do? How could he stall? Surely JiaoJiao would return, and Xue Yang – but when?

“Excellent.” Wen RuoHan reached out with his own sword.

No! Meng Yao wanted to scream. There were too many guards in the Fire Palace. He couldn’t save him. He ought to have done something in the Sun Palace, in the throne room, but XiChen had swords pointed at his neck –

But to Meng Yao’s relief, Wen RuoHan only cut Lan XiChen’s forehead ribbon.

It fell to the ground, and Meng Yao finally saw his chance. He knew exactly what he had to do.

He reached down so quickly Wen RuoHan would assume it instinct, and took the ribbon in his hands.

Lan XiChen had dreamt of wrapping that around Meng Yao, hadn’t he? Why hadn’t he realized? 

“Ah.” Wen RuoHan jeered. “His fated person, his cultivation partner, torturing him to death.”

“Indeed.” Meng Yao slowed his words. Made a muscle in his cheek tighten. 

“Meng Yao.” Catching on, Wen RuoHan pulled him closer. “I’m beginning to think you are not indifferent to this boy.”

“It is true that I once saved his life. I did not consider him your enemy at the time, Sect Leader Wen,” Meng Yao said meekly. He was glad – in a horrible, sickening way – that Wen RuoHan’s hands had begun wandering down his sides. 

A horrific understanding began to dawn on Lan XiChen. 

Meng Yao tilted his head up to Wen RuoHan, allowing tears to shine in his eyes. Even as he entwined the ribbon with his fingers. “But you have my heart, always.”

“Mmm. I think I’m a bit jealous,” said Wen RuoHan, biting his lips. “Does it hurt you to hurt the man who loves you?”

“This servant asks you to forgive him his weakness, and to remind him of your strength,” said Meng Yao. The more torn he seemed, the more Wen RuoHan would take his sadism out on him and not Lan XiChen. 

“Yes, perhaps it would be good to remind you both.” Wen RuoHan stroked Meng Yao’s cheek. A grin spread across his face at the quivering in Meng Yao, at the agony and fury on Lan XiChen’s expression.

“Meng Yao,” cried Lan Xichen, unable to take anymore. But no matter how he struggled, no matter his strength, he was held back by chains.

Meng Yao shook his head. He wished, more than anything, he could spare XiChen this part of him, that no one would have to know, but he couldn’t. 

And his secret would be safe with Lan XiChen. If anyone had to know, XiChen would be the safest. 

So Meng Yao turned his head to Wen RuoHan, allowing the Sect Leader to take his lips, to squeeze him in indecent places, to lead him away from the dismayed Lan XiChen, struggling in vain to rescue the man he loved.

By the time the endless swaying and creaking of the carriage finally ceased, she and Nie MingJue had recovered enough to speak again. Mostly out of necessity, to keep each other awake. 

[Congratulations! You have completed the mission of ‘Sneaking into Nightless City’ with a 100% success rate]. 

 JiaoJiao tensed. “We’re here.”

She sighed, listening to the System’s chatter. “We’ll be sent to the mausoleum first. It’s not far from the Fire Palace.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen these processions before,” she said. Then, guilty for the lie, she added, “That, and I...fine, you’re right. My secret power. I know where we are right now, even though we’re trapped in the coffin.”

“Impressive,” he said. Sincerely.

“Did you just compliment me? A Wen-dog? No, a Wen-dog’s mistress?” JiaoJiao had to keep teasing him. Otherwise she would act different, change her actions based on a System’s side quest, based on the fact that he might have found her physically attractive. “Admittedly, I did nothing to earn this other than ask Xie Lian for help.”

“Sometimes knowing when to ask for help is commendable,” allowed Nie MingJue.

A flush spread over her face. “You can yell at me, you know.”

“You’ve done nothing for me to yell at you.”

JiaoJiao now knew the meaning of crying internally.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen

Baxia

“You’re too damn tall.” JiaoJiao shoved Nie MingJue into a side-street. A little thrill ran through her, that she could shove ChiFeng-Zun and actually have him listen to her, and she wasn’t sure why.

The footsteps of a patrol moved ever closer. 

“They’ll notice us anyways.” He pressed himself against the wall, as if he could ever dream of being flat enough to blend in.

[Current plan: 100% chance of success]. 

“You’re too damn broad, too.” With a roll of her eyes, JiaoJiao leapt into his arms. “Fall.”

In surprise, he obeyed, as if Nie MingJue actually trusted her. More likely, he just felt guilty for the coffin incident – though her current plan was not going to allow him to forget anytime soon.

As he sunk to his knees, JiaoJiao grabbed his head and shoved it straight into her chest. Her hair cascaded over his face, blocking it from the approaching guards. She straddled his hips and let out the lewdest moan she could, doing her best HBO imitation.

Nie MingJue had never been terrified like this before. He wanted to pull away and flee, though he would certainly be caught if he did. What was he supposed to do? Grab her? 

He couldn’t. He would never treat someone he respected like this – but it was a good idea –

“You! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

The guards had stopped at the entrance to the side street, alerted by two figures sneaking about at night. Several immediately backed away in embarrassment. None dared approach any closer. 

“Having fun,” purred JiaoJiao in her most sultry voice, keeping Nie MingJue’s face very, very close to her breasts. 

“Well, have your fun somewhere respectable. Like a brothel!” snickered the man before marching away.

“You’re so puritan, I almost mistook you for Lan Sect,” she pouted, tossing her head. Her face remained towards Nie MingJue, lest they recognize her as well. 

“Hey, don’t insult us.” The leader began to move away. “Let’s leave these miscreants.”

As they began to file down the street, and their voices faded, another guard said, “I heard Lan XiChen is currently the latest toy of Sect Leader Wen.”

As expected , she thought sadly. Wen RuoHan would not obey any precepts, even if they were set by his own sect. 

Nie MingJue was still frozen, staring into nothing, breathily heavily. His face was redder than the Wen’s robes. He had never – in his life – he had never even kissed a woman, much less engaged in such base activities. 

“Uh, revenge for the coffin?”

He sputtered.

“I’m joking. It was actually the only option I could think of. Maybe that does make me a whore,” she said, feigning a shrug. She scrambled up, offering him her hand.

He accepted it, to her surprise. “Ingenious, if … immoral.”

“Like I said, sometimes you gotta be immoral to be moral.” She pulled her bodice up as much as she could. 

“I’m not so sure.” He hesitated. “Nevertheless, I am glad we were not caught.”

JiaoJiao was taken aback by the warmth in his tone. “Um. Wen Ning is on the periphery of the Fire Palace. I suspect Lan XiChen will be housed closer to the center, harder to get. If you don’t mind the suggestion, I think we should try to free XiChen first, because I don’t want to implicate Wen Ning if anything goes wrong.” 

JiaoJiao explained softly as she led him towards the back, towards entering the exit she and Meng Yao had used to smuggle letters out of Nightless City.

Thought it all, his hand remained in hers. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Nie MingJue was impressed by her complex plans. And intrigued by her mysterious power. And –

He wanted to act like a gentleman with her. She deserve someone who treated her that way. He wished he hadn’t been so struck by her chest, or mesmerized by the weight of her against his hips. 

He rued the notion that he had already sinned against her, and as such, their relationship could never be salvaged. 

“These people…” Nie MingJue was inundated by the smell of salted blood and moans of prisoners.

“Some are prisoners of war, but most are criminals from Qishan. The soldiers are generally healthier and make better torture subjects, and so they don’t live as long. The thieves and murderers are usually in a pitiful state already.” JiaoJiao watched Nie MingJue, to see if he got the point.  “We wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.” 

He looked torn.

JiaoJiao drew in a deep breath. “And yet, no one deserves this. I don’t care if they are the worst murderers around. I want to rescue them all.”

“We will, when we win,” said Nie MingJue. 

She looked surprised.

He hated that he could save them all right now, but he wouldn't, because that risked alerting the guards, risked the people dear to him. 

Was he as wicked as those murderers? Was Lan XiChen and Meng Yao worth dozens of criminal’s lives? Was life ever exchangeable? 

[The System wishes to alert you to the presence of a Wen in the hall ahead, ten feet from you]. 

JiaoJiao held up her hand and came to a sudden halt. 

To her surprise, when she peeked around the corner, Wen DaiYu floated down the hallway. She held a jug of water and a slender candle which reflected sparkling light off the rubies and pearls in her hair.

“Who?” mouthed Nie MingJue. From her rank, he could guess, but this – she was not who he expected.

“Wen DaiYu,” she mouthed back. 

His eyes softened. Not just because of the tragedy Wang LingJiao had relayed, but because she looked nothing short of angelic, and small enough to be a child. And there were bandages wrapped around her cheek.

JiaoJiao’s heart pounded. “Stay here.” 

She stepped out into the light.

“Wen Hong.”

The woman spun around, her skirts fluttering about like butterflies. She didn’t seem surprised; merely concerned. “JiaoJiao.” 

Nie MingJue was confused. Wouldn’t the woman scream immediately? 

Wen DaiYu took a step towards her former maid. “Why did you leave? We could have covered it up.” 

“What happened to your face?” JiaoJiao replied. If Wen RuoHan had hurt her, she was going to petition Nie MingJue to let her help kill him. 

“My face...Oh.” The little woman traced her fingers over her bandages. “I covered it up.”

“But who injured – oh. Oh.” JiaoJiao gasped, and Nie MingJue’s mouth nearly dropped.

This Wen-dog, this delicate woman younger than him, would injured herself to aid a spy who doubled as her husband’s mistress? 

“Wen Hong, we can escape. I’m here for your sake as much as Meng Yao’s,” said JiaoJiao.

“And Lan XiChen’s?” Wen DaiYu asked calmly. “He’s in the cell I just visited. I...do what little I can.”

“Come with us.”

“To where? Nie Sect?” Her dark eyes traveled to Nie MingJue’s shadowy figure. 

“How did you know?”

“His outline. His height is too easy to recognize.” Wen DaiYu gazed upon him with despair. 

Of course, she would despise Nie MingJue. He was an easier target than Wen RuoHan. Hating him was easier than hating the man she lived with, the man who named her his heir.

Nie MingJue emerged behind JiaoJiao, giving her his best intimidating glare. He gripped Baxia. If she tried to call guards on Wang LingJiao, he would end her here and now, no matter her pain.

Instead, the woman’s face twisted with pain. Her eyes focused on Baxia, the blade that had slain her beloved Wen Xu.

For some reason, he wished he had some solace to offer her. 

The woman called no guards. She said simply, “Here.”

She held out a set of keys to Wang LingJIao. But dared not come closer, lest Nie MingJue kill her.

“You won’t escape easily,” Wen DaiYu warned them. 

“No, but I’m trying to do the hard things I want lately, even if it’s risky,” said JiaoJiao. “I think you can understand that.”

“I tried those hard things, once.” Wen DaiYu’s lips trembled. “I hope it works out better for you than it did for me.”

“Me too. And I hope someday, you can try those things yourself again.” JiaoJiao’s tears spilled over, cascading down her face.

“It’s too late, isn’t it?” Wen DaiYu looked straight at Sect Leader Nie. No haughtiness, no rage. Just pain.

Say something. Convince her to surrender. Say she won’t be accused of crimes.

But he was too overcome with guilt, guilt for a death he’d taken in a fair battle. 

And then she left.

“We should be quick, though I trust her,” said Wang LingJiao, moving forward.

The door opened, spilling light into the darkened, cramped room.

Perhaps they would torture him at night, too. Lan XiChen pried his eyelids open, though they were crusted with blood and tears.

As long as they put him back under the whip. Or the wheel. As long as he didn’t have to watch Meng Yao’s violation again. 

It replayed over and over in his mind anyway. 

But Meng Yao was not there, nor Wen RuoHan. A stunning woman stood there, dressed in a soldier’s Wen robes, and behind her – 

“Sect Leader Nie?” Lan XiChen wondered if Wen DaiYu had slipped him a hallucinogen in her water. 

“You didn’t think your brother would let you walk into a trap without backup, did you?” Nie MingJue asked, shoving his way inside. “I must say, this is the first time you’ve ever been rash, XiChen.”

“WangJi?”

“In Yangquan. Assisting Jiang Sect.” Nie MingJue stood by the door as the woman fished through the set of keys in her hands. 

“I don’t think these keys work for the chains,” said the woman. “I’m Wang LingJiao, by the way.”

XiChen looked slightly confused by the name, but if Nie MingJue trusted her, who was he to argue?

“Baxia can cut the chain, if not remove the manacles,” said Nie MingJue, closing the cell door. He raised his saber and struck. 

“That’s quicker than Titanic ,” joked JiaoJiao. They both looked at her with confusion. “Um, ignore me.”

[You have been fined 10 B points for an anachronistic joke. Total B Points: 4570].

“Meng Yao? We are here for him, too,” JiaoJiao ventured. How much did Wen RuoHan know? How much had Meng Yao had to hurt his friend?

Meng Yao wouldn’t want anyone to know. Lan XiChen would not betray his trust.

He would mourn with him as long as it took, afterward. Lan XiChen shuddered. “He has gone to many lengths to save me.”

“I’m sorry,” JiaoJiao said, as if she understood. And if she was Wang LingJiao, she just might. 

“What aren’t you telling me?” demanded Nie MingJue.

“I really can’t say,” said Lan XiChen miserably. His words slurred together.

Nie MingJue did not need to know. To be honest, Lan XiChen wasn’t even sure Nie MingJue would see Meng Yao as the victim in this case.

“He is faking, no matter how realistic it seems,” said JiaoJiao. “I know it.”

“I believe him.” Lan XiChen’s eyes were rimmed with red. “I wish Wen RuoHan had saved his tortures for me.”

“He did. By torturing someone you care about in front of you, right?” JiaoJiao glanced at Nie MingJue. “He loves that.”

Footsteps echoes along the corridor. Nie MingJue stiffened. “We have company.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Maiden Song.” Jiang YanLi grasped the other woman’s hands. 

“Anything to help,” said Maiden Song, her heart skipping. She was still guilted over the rift that she’d inadvertently caused between Jin ZiXuan and Jiang YanLi.

The unfortunate truth was everyone would assume she had demurred to answer because she wanted Jin ZiXuan’s attention, but the truth was exactly the opposite! She’d wanted to protect, to help – her.

The purple lady.

The lady with unconventional beauty of a kind spirit. 

Once they entered the Wen camp, Wen Qing was easy to spot – a curvaceous woman about twenty years of age, about the same height as Jiang YanLi. She held an older woman sit up, spooning rice gruel into her mouth. 

Ever a doctor.

Wen Qing watched the four young women approaching her with suspicion.  

The mats the Wens had been provided to sleep on were thin and threadbare, Jiang YanLi noticed with discomfort.

Besides her, MianMian huffed. “If we want to be better than the Wens, it does no good to treat our prisoners as poorly.”

“Indeed.” Jiang YanLi shook her head. “I will petition my brother.”

“And I, my father,” said Qin Su, their sweet, gentle, rallying leader. 

Wen Qing and her grandmother said nothing. They had learned not to begin conversations. 

Jiang YanLi noticed the untouched rice and water besides Wen Qing. “You should eat, too.” 

Wen Qing scowled.

“At least drink? You can’t help Wen Ning if you’re dehydrated,” Qin Su tried.

Wen Qing flinched at the mention of her brother. “I cannot help him anyways. I can barely help Granny.”

A bundle in the older woman’s arms whimpered, and Jiang YanLi sucked in her breath. “There’s an infant?”

“He’s so small.” Qin Su peered at the bundle.

“A-Yuan was born two weeks ago,” said Wen Qing. “His mother died in childbirth, because we didn’t have enough herbs. His father is unreachable in the Yangquan Pass, and there isn’t much milk to go around.”

Jiang YanLi was stricken. “No, that’s terrible.”

Wen Qing took the baby to rock him in her arms. “It is what it is.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” said MianMian. “That’s why we are here.”

“Oh?” Wen Qing surveyed the four women.

“Give me the baby,” said Lady Song, reaching out her hands. “Ah, my mother was a midwife. I will make sure he drinks.”

Wen Qing eyed her with suspicion. “And I am a doctor.”

“And you saved my brothers despite our surnames,” said Jiang YanLi. “Yes, I am Jiang YanLi. This is Qin Su, of Laoling Qin, Luo QingYang of Lanling Jin, and Song Duan of Lanling Jin.”

“Why have you chosen to visit me? Do you not have enough medics for your soldiers?”

“Dear, give her the baby.” Granny pointed at Lady Song.

Wen Qing held the infant tighter. 

“Because we know your brother is imprisoned, too. And we...we need a guide into Nightless City.” Qin Su glanced around the five women.

“So I should rescue my brother and … what? Bring him back to a new prison?” Wen Qing raised an eyebrow.

“Even so,” said MianMian quickly. “The war isn’t going well. He’s safer if he’s not in Qishan.”

“And we would help you, speak up for you,” said Jiang YanLi. “Even if we can’t have you freed right away.” 

“We have a map.” Qin Su held out the paper JiaoJiao had given her.

Wen Qing studied it for a moment. Her lips pursed. “Who gave you this?”

“Wang LingJiao. She’s a spy.”

Wen Qing choked. “Wang LingJiao? That disgusting, cruel and capricious bitch? The reason I was caught in the first place?”

“Does it matter if she wants to help you now?” asked Qin Su. “She was as you say during the training camp, but she was neither cruel nor capricious upon our second meeting.” 

“Why? What changed you, Wang LingJiao? The noble influence of Wen RuoHan’s second son?” Wen Qing’s words positively dripped with sarcasm. 

A question fluttered into Wen Qing’s mind. Perhaps...Wang LingJiao was behind the mysterious letter she’d received. Warning her about her family’s endangerment. 

Wen Qing rubbed her forehead. “Keep in mind I have agreed to nothing yet. First, do you all have golden cores?”

“Yes,” said MianMian.

“No,” said Maiden Song. “But I will be staying here, as your … double for now.”

“Give her A-Yuan,” Granny repeated.

“I haven’t agreed yet, Granny.” Wen Qing clutched A-Yuan. 

“Dear, you’re so proud, and with good reason. Because of your character, not your name, be it Wen or not,” said Granny. “And that is why I know you will hand Maiden Song our A-Yuan.”

Wen Qing hesitated. “...I suppose I could bribe a guard.”

“I have money,” said Jiang YanLi quickly.

“I see.” Wen Qing wavered. “You have swords, or are we walking from Langya to Qishan?”

“MianMian and I have swords,” said Qin Su. “I’ll take YanLi; you’ll go with MianMian.”

“I thought her name was Maiden Luo?”

MianMian smiled briefly. “My friends call me MianMian. And by friends I mean, only women are allowed to call me MianMian.” 

Qin Su smirked. “Not that that stopped Wei WuXian.”

Jiang YanLi giggled, and Wen Qing raised an eyebrow. “I am not surprised in the least.” 

Granny said nothing more, but she looked at her granddaughter with expectation.

With a deep sigh, Wen Qing held A-Yuan out Lady Song. 

Maiden Song kissed A-Yuan on his cheek, and Wen Qing softened slightly. “If you’re my double, will Jin Sect not recognize you?”

“I’m a peripheral disciple. They won’t,” she said with a shrug.

“I see.”

Wen QIng had to hope that after experiencing the conditions of their prisoner camp, this Jin disciple would advocate for her family, however peripheral she was. “Very well. If anyone sickens, you make sure a doctor treats them, understand? Even if you reveal yourself.”

“Understood.” Maiden Song bowed.

“Here. I have herbs that can help.” MianMian handed Maiden Song a pouch.

Wen QIng snatched them first. Bringing the satchel to her nose, she sniffed. 

“Hmm. These are quite good, actually.”

“Really?” MianMian brightened. Wen Qing thought her herbs were good!

The two women exchanged her ragged Wen robes for the golden silk of Jin Sect. he four snuck back out of the camp, with Qin Su giggling and MianmIan embracing Wen Qing, like old friends who had just been on a compassionate mission.

That was when a talisman flew directly for Qin Su.

JiaoJiao bit her tongue to keep from swearing. Wen Hong, why?

She knew, though.

“That Wen-dog,” cursed Nie MingJue.

“No.” If Wen Hong were anyone else, JiaoJiao would assume she just wanted revenge against Nie MingJue. 

But this was Wen Hong, who didn’t care for revenge. She just...knew only despair.

Wen Hong really didn’t believe that JiaoJiao could rescue Meng Yao and Lan XiChen without being caught. 

So Wen Hong wanted to use the fact that JiaoJiao had brought Nie MingJue back to have JiaoJiao forgiven. To make it look like her friend had merely been undercover, luring a Sect Leader back. Possibly saving both Meng Yao and Wang LingJiao.

“Wang LingJiao,” said Nie MingJue.

She glanced back.

To her shock, he pushed Baxia into her hands. “Take this. Allow Baxia in the hands of those Wen-dogs and you’ll see what I do to you!”

“Sect Leader Nie, I’m not – I don’t have enough spiritual power to hold a sword, much less Baxia!” she exclaimed.

“Is its blade not still sharp?” Nie MingJue glared at her like she had insulted his brother. 

“You’re missing the point! Pun not intended.”

“Maiden Wang, you will be executed on the spot,” said Lan XiChen. “He will not.”

“That’s where you’re wrong – I have Wen DaiYu –”

“Do you really wish to return to a helpless maid, suspected by everyone? Go,” commanded Nie MingJue. “You know this city; I do not. Go find whatever your other plans were.”

So he’s suspected she’d had made other plans? JiaoJiao shook. She wanted to stay, to argue, because he was misjudging Wen DaiYu’s motives, but there was no time. “You stay alive!”

She pushed Nie MingJue’s chest before fleeing down the hall. 

“Let’s feign an escape attempt,” said Nie MingJue. Uncomfortable, as always, with lies.

“It’s not really feigned, is it?” Lan XiChen asked dryly. He hobbled out of the cell, directly into a stream of guards.

In alarm, Nie MingJue grabbed him and hoisted him back into the cell, away from their swords. 

Meng Yao stood at the head. 

He chuckled at the sight of Nie MingJue holding Lan XiChen. “I never expected you to be this foolish, Sect Leader Nie.”

“Was that your slutty maid? I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to fall for her wiles, too. She’s quite fun in bed, but enough to entice Sect Leader Nie?” Meng Yao clucked his tongue.

“Do not speak of her like that!” Nie MingJue’s neck flushed under his collar. 

He seemed extremely uncomfortable, a curious development. Meng Yao smiled. “Perhaps we will have quite a bit of fun before she dies.”

“You won’t touch her,” said Nie MingJue, distressed at the thought. 

“I won’t, but the guards have been starved of women for a while. What better treat for them than the cock-warmer of Wen Chao?”

Nie MingJue breathed hard. Meng Yao...was faking. Surely he was faking.

“Sticking up for the mistress of a Wen-dog, that’s not a sight I expected to see, Nie MingJue,” mocked Meng Yao. 

His voice cooled. He avoided Lan XiChen’s eyes as best he could. “Restrain them.”

The guards swarmed. Nie MingJue pulled out one of their swords, but Lan XiChen was too injured. He stumbled to the side, perfectly aware why Meng Yao would have assault on his mind, wishing to erase the past for his friend. 

Meng Yao knew he could end this easily if he were to hold Hensheng to Lan XiChen’s throat. Nie MingJue would surrender instantly. 

But he couldn’t. Not to XiChen.

So he let XiChen be captured by other guards, let more guards die at Nie MingJue’s hands, let Nie MingJue finally be knocked off his feet before Meng Yao stabbed him straight through the abdomen. Straight where he’d stabbed himself in Langya.

Nie MingJue widened his eyes at Meng Yao’s telltale smirk. Angering Nie MingJue was the only way to remove his prowess in battle, but it hurt, it really did.

His voice did not falter. “Surrender, Nie-dog.”

“I don’t know, I really don’t know why she would say that,” fretted Nie HuaiSang. He nibbled on a slender braid, a disgusting habit that made Xue Yang want to push him off his own slender saber. Even if that meant walking the rest of the way.

“Neither do I,” snapped Xue Yang, entirely fed up. “But the way I see it, you can either keep being a dumbass, or not. The choice is up to you.”

“Is it?” Nie HuaiSang cried.

“Well, who else is it up to? Your brother?! That prick.” Xue Yang scoffed.

Nie Huaisang raised his voice. “Don’t insult my Da-Ge! His little finger is stronger in cultivation than you will ever be in your whole body!” 

Xue Yang moved to throw him before the implication sank in. Instead, he grabbed HuaiSang by his collar, howling with laughter. “You really are that observant, aren’t you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You expect me to believe you didn’t mention my little finger on purpose?” Xue Yang held up his four-fingered hand. 

“I wouldn’t have! I’m – I’m so sorry.” Nie HuaiSang trembled in Xue Yang’s clutches. Nearly gagging from the tightness around his collar.

“You’re a good fucking actor, that’s for sure. Damned if you couldn’t beat Meng Yao himself in a contest,” said Xue Yang, whistling. 

Nie HuaiSang let his mask slip, for just one moment. “Is that so.”

“Yeah.” Xue Yang rolled his eyes as the frail facade emerged once more. “Hey look, there she is.”

They landed just outside the battlegrounds of Langya. Qin Su waited for them alongside three other women. 

“Where’s JiaoJiao?” Xue Yang frowned at their faces. 

Nie HuaiSang was blushing. Useless again. “H-hello.”

"JiaoJiao is currently accompanying Nie MingJue, shall we say,” said Qin Su.

“Is she all right?” Xue Yang demanded.

“Yes. Nie HuaiSang, pleasure to meet you again.” Qin Su turned to the other woman. “I suppose that explains how a talisman was sent.”

“Like I said.” A woman confirmed with an authoritative air. “You don’t need high cultivation for a messaging talisman, but you do need finer art skills to conceal it from interception.” 

“We are Lan XiChen’s best hope,” said Qin Su, addressing HuaiSang and Xue Yang. “Even if he succeeds in freeing Meng Yao.”

“And Wen Ning’s,” added a slender, plain girl who looked too refined for the rags she’d donned. “I am Jiang YanLi.”

“Wen Ning...ah, their friend in jail. We’re rescuing him, too?” Xue Yang groaned. “This is a lot.”

“Who are you?” demanded the authoritative woman. She had boobs nearly as big as JiaoJiao’s. 

“Xue Yang, the infamous delinquent,” he simpered.

“Not that infamous, since I’ve never heard of you, brat.” The woman sniffed. “I am Wen Qing.”

“Oh. The famous sister!” Xue Yang straightened. “We’ll have a second insider, then. Nice. And who’s this bitch?”

“Don’t call me that, you vagrant kid,” the girl shot back. She was dressed in dark pink, with two small buns in her hair. She raised her sword – she actually carried a sword – straight at him.

Xue Yang said, “I’m not a kid! I’m almost fourteen, I’ll have you know.”

“And I’m fifteen, so you are a kid to me,” retorted the girl. “You will call me Maiden Luo.”

“It’s good to see you, MianMian,” said Nie HuaiSang. Again, deliberately. 

She shook her fist. “Did I tell you that you could call me that?”

“Oh, stop worrying about the pishposh of who’s proper or not. We’re all spies and prisoners and women. Ain’t no one care about us,” sneered Xue Yang. 

“There’s nothing wrong with addressing people with respect,” she replied.

“If they earn it.”

She lifted her sword to his face. “My sword earns mine; where’s yours?” 

Xue Yang nearly granted her the point. “Let’s get going to Qishan. Time to rescue a fair spy and a fair sect leader and a fair brother.”

“That’s precisely how we’ll get in,” said Nie HuaiSang, softly, undeniably. 

“I beg your pardon?” Wen Qing asked with a severe frown. 

Nie MingJue was dragged into a pillared hall, thrown to his hands and knees before a jade throne.

“Nie MingJue,” Wen RuoHan intoned with none of the smugness he possessed while facing Lan XCchen; instead, his eyes burned with hate. “Pathetic son of a pathetic sect leader.”

Son. Nie MingJue jerked. 

Father, I promised you revenge. Father . He struggled to stand. Blood dribbled down his chin. “Wen-dog.”

“Ha!” Meng Yao slowly approached. 

Was he – had he been on Wen RuoHan’s lap? Nie MingJue shook his head, confused.

“You!” He glowered at Meng Yao, his anger not entirely faked. “You traitor.”

Meng Yao seemed to laugh. “No one loyal to Sect Leader Wen can ever be considered a traitor. Only those who ignore his glory are the true traitors.”

“Get. Lost.” Nie MIngJue hoped his act held. He hoped his lies would be forgiven.

Meng Yao laughed again, with a trace of pity. “Look around you. Do you still think you are the king of Hejian? This is the Sun Palace.”

Nie MingJue had never thought himself a king of any sort. In fact, he found such a jab incredibly painful. The pain fueled his anger. “Shut. Up.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Meng Yao half-knelt beside him. “Sect Leader Nie, if you can even be called that, you’ve always thought yourself quite impressive. But I wonder, how would you compare to your father? How many stabs of that beast did it take for your father to fall? And even then, did he not linger, hovering between life and death, for another six months?”

All the blood in Nie MingJue’s body rushed to his head.

“And yet you blamed Wen Sect for your father’s own qi deviation. Did you ever consider that if a broken saber could break him, perhaps he was not worthy to lead?” Meng Yao grinned. “Perhaps the problem was not Sect Leader Wen, but your father, who didn’t love you more than his saber.” 

Nie MingJue knew.

He knew.

Meng Yao had overheard his nightmares, just like Wang LingJiao. The nightmares where he begged Father to stay, not for him because he was strong, but for HuaiSang, for his wife – and maybe, just maybe, a little for his sake, too.

Wang LingJiao had awoken him, helping him bury his secret. 

And Meng Yao had told his worst enemy.

Nie MingJue’s hand swung out.

Meng Yao stumbled back, coughing flecks of blood. 

Wen RuoHan shifted forward.

Meng Yao’s eyes widened, and he lunged forward, kicking Nie MingJue squarely in the abdomen. “How dare you act so uncouth in front of the majestic Sect Leader Wen!”

Nie MingJue staggered backwards, pain from the wound spiraling through his body. He knocked Meng Yao back, prepared to punch his head, knock him unconscious and run.

But before he could strike him, he felt his body pulled forward at least thirty feet by an unusual force. Wen RuoHan laughed.

“Sect Leader Wen, look out!” Meng Yao cried.

“Let it be!” Wen RuoHan hurled Nie MingJue into the nearest golden pillar. Sparks flew in front of his vision, and as he lunged forward, because the Wen-dog was so close, so tantalizingly close –

Wen RuoHan punched Nie MingJue in the chest. His entire body sank a few inches into the tiled floor. 

“Twenty-two years old. Very much still a boy,” said Wen RuoHan, sneering down at his squirming enemy.

“I wonder, did you consider age when you took my best son from me? He was even younger than you.”

“I wonder if Wen Xu was relieved, with you as a father,” Nie MingJue replied, spitting a wad of blood onto Wen RuoHan’s robes. “Rumor says you weren’t the one who occupied his thoughts.”

Wen RuoHan laughed. He laughed madly, and for a second, even Nie MingJue thought he saw regret on Wen RuoHan’s face.

Nie MingJue’s body stilled. He suddenly found he could not move.

“You have won, Sect Leader Wen. With two sect leaders in your grasp, the war will tilt in your favor,” said Meng Yao, arriving to stand beside Wen RuoHaan. They stood very, very close together.

“Are you going to kill him now, or take him to the Fire Palace? After what he did to Wen Xu’s body, my personal recommendation is the Fire Palace. We will do the same while he lives,” said Meng Yao.

“I think he’s too pathetic to keep alive.” Wen RuoHan chuckled.

“As you wish.” Meng Yao looked uneasy.

He grabbed his sword – a soft sword, the kind Meng Yao had always said he admired – and stepped forward.

“Wait.” Wen RuoHan suddenly held out his hand, and a large branding iron settled into his hand. “But first.”

“Hold him,” commanded Wen RuoHan. 

A dozen guards – or it felt like a dozen, at least – held Nie MingJue on his knees.

The Wen crest glowed red with spiritual energy. Wen RuoHan took his time, taunting him. Creeping closer with his branding iron, moving back a little, aiming straight for Nie MingJue’s face. To mark him and his corpse forever. 

And Meng Yao stood by. The most he could hope was to kill Nie MingJue before that fateful symbol was etched into his skin.

Nie MingJue tore his eyes away from that evil mark. If he was going to die in humiliation, he might as well look into Meng Yao’s eyes, the eyes of the boy he once trusted with his life. 

“I’m sorry, Da-Ge,” he whispered.

Nie Mingjue stared. Wang LingJiao’s words – he needs an older brother, or a father figure, you can be that for him – echoed in his mind.

For a second, he saw a little brother, like HuaiSang – no, even younger. 

“It’s not your fault, A-Yao,” he said, dropping his charade for once as he pulled back his head, as the iron closed in. 

He hoped his words could be just enough to keep Meng Yao alive, to encourage him to save XiChen even if he could not save Nie MingJue. 

Meng Yao caught his breath and gave in to the plan Wen RuoHan had given him, the once slim chance of sparing Sect Leader Nie’s life. 

“ Meng Yao !” Nie MingJue bellowed as the boy fell before him, gasping in pain. The smell of seared flesh singed the air, but it did not come from Nie MingJue’s face. 

The boy scrambled back, clutching his chest, shaking from the brand he knew Nie MingJue would never be able to bear. “I’m weak, I’m weak; I’m sorry! I couldn’t – I love him, too!” 

Wen RuoHan whirled upon Meng Yao. “You whore.” 

“Forgive me, Sect Leader!” Meng Yao prostrated himself in front of Nie MingJue, still in a  position to block him from Wen RuoHan. 

“Seems like you took after both your mother and father after all.” Wen RuoHan advanced, and suddenly Nie MingJue noticed the bite on Meng Yao’s neck, the fear in his eyes, the emphasis on love. 

“Meng Yao?” he questioned with sudden trepidation. “ Meng Yao ?”

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen

Return of the Teenage Girls

Wen Hui may have been a general’s son, but his position in Nightless City had been increasingly thankless. He felt increasingly worried by news from his father’s precarious position in Langya, he had accidentally caused his partner’s death, and now, a saber was pressed to his back, and he waited up the stairs in the top of a tower on the city walls. 

“Someone will notice that I’m missing,” he said nervously.

That maid, the one rumored to have been Second Master Wen’s beloved, the one rumored to have been a spy, gave him a strange look. “I forged a letter saying Wen RuoHan had personal business for you.”

“You – how did you get the ink and paper?” he blustered. 

“A street stall.” JiaoJiao tossed her head. “I’m not that recognizable to the commoners here.”

“Wen RuoHan won’t look kindly on you.” Neither would his father, but Wen RuoHan was scarier. 

He hoped no one would think him shameful for being taken captive by a woman. 

“He already doesn’t,” she said dryly. “We will wait as long as it takes.”

Wen Hui glared at her.

She gave him a side smile. “Wanna tell me what’s going on between you and Tan En?”

“I don’t speak with traitors,” he said angrily. “And I will not open the gate for your posse of spies.”

JiaoJiao shifted nervously. He had better. But she didn’t feel like she had the right to argue with him. Because right now, she was literally holding a saber to a fourteen-year-old’s throat.

And yet, the System had not fined her. Why? I’ve kidnapped a kid. 

[Likelihood of success: 50%. This is higher than all of your other plans combined].  

She really hated this. 

Lan XiChen thought he had given up trying to break free of these chains, but that was before both Nie MingJue and Meng Yao had been dragged back into their cell. 

Sect Leader Nie was bloodied and bruised, unconscious, half-dead. But Lan XiChen was struck most by the fact that he was alive. When Nie MingJue had been dragged away, he had not expected to see his proud friend alive again. 

Meng Yao was alert, but Lan XiChen could make out the raw brand of Wen Sect through his torn clothing. He was fastened to the wall besides Nie MingJue, across from Lan XiChen.

“Meng Yao,” whispered Lan XiChen, straining.

His friend, his sweet, generous, kind friend, avoided his gaze. He cast his eyes toward the bloodied floor. His face hung heavy with shame. “Lan XiChen, we are alive for now.” 

Lan XiChen forced himself not to flinch at the bite mark on Meng Yao’s neck, the mark Wen RuoHan had enjoyed afflicting upon Meng Yao in front of him. “Meng Yao, don’t fault yourself.”

“I don’t.” Meng Yao sounded brittle, not at all like himself. He still looked at the floor, at the congealed blood from Wen servants Nie MingJue had killed before his capture, as if their lives didn’t matter, as if they hadn’t quietly asked if he needed to be protected from Wen RuoHan. “I’d do it again.”

“I know.” Lan XiChen yearned to wrap his arms around him, to hold him the way Meng Yao had held him when he learned of his father’s death, back when Lan XiChen didn’t even know what to say or do or what he even wanted, didn’t even know how to cry, but somehow Meng Yao understood he needed a hug. Somehow Meng Yao had understood him, a person he’d only known for a few weeks, better than he understood himself. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t bother me, to hurt myself. Really.” 

I could see the pain on your face every second he wasn’t looking , Lan XiChen wanted to say, but he held his tongue, lest he hurt Meng Yao with careless words. He settled for his name. “Meng Yao.” 

“That’s nothing. It really isn’t, compared to what he would have done to you.” Meng Yao was deadly serious. 

“You should have let him.” Lan XiChen shook with sincerity. “ Let him .”  

Meng Yao would have thought such words a reprimand from anyone else. But from Lan XiChen, they were an offer. 

Lan XiChen was trying to tell him that he would sacrifice his honor, his body and even his life, to spare Meng Yao.

This was so wrong. Meng Yao wasn’t worth it. He had to earn his worth by doing the things no one else wanted to. The things everyone wanted to ignore. 

Meng Yao stared at the angry red brand. “This will please him for a few hours.”

“...”

“...He will see it as a reminder that I will belong to him and not my father. A reminder to any woman who marries me that I’ve been taken by a man. He will enjoy that,” Meng Yao said softly. He tried to smile, as if it was nothing. 

“Meng Yao.” His name was all Lan XiChen could call, could remind him. The name his mother had given him. Meng Shi, who would surely be devastated to hear that her son had been hurt like this. 

“Could Sect Leader Nie bear being marked by the man who killed his father? Sect Leader Lan, could you bear being penetrated by torture devices so harsh that Wen RuoHan’s assaults feel like relief?” Meng Yao squared his shoulders. His voice fell. “These devices I designed.”

Lan XiChen still searched for his gaze. His eyes were rimmed with red. “Please call me Lan XiChen. You know we are closer than that. And no matter what has happened, I will always want that – you are my dear friend.”

“I know, I know what Wen RuoHan said I feel. It’s true.” Lan XiChen released his tears. “I apologize for my indiscretion, for my indecent feelings. I promise, it is not because I see you as an object, nor would I ever act on these feelings.”

Why can’t he say the words? I love you. I love you so much that I don’t have to have you. I love you so much that I want you to be happy and respected more than anything else. 

“You should not have borne the consequences of my actions.” Lan XiChen tried to control his tears, but they just flowed faster. 

Meng Yao hunched his shoulders. How could he tell him that he was already Wen RuoHan’s mistress, that he’d done it to save own skin, that Wen RuoHan would have gone on bedding him whether XiChen had loved him or not? That it was better that XiChen loved him, because that was the only reason XiChen was currently still alive? “Lan XiChen. I grew up in a brothel. My body is nothing sacred. Not like it is to Lan Sect.”

“Meng Yao…” whispered Lan XiChen. You are a person. Even if the world discards you as trash, you are sacred to me. 

“If you wish to comfort me, all I ask is that you not tell Sect Leader Nie,” said Meng Yao in a small voice. “I know he suspects, but I also know how he will look at me if it is confirmed, and I cannot bear it.”

“He will pity you. Once he hears, he will not blame you. He can blame me,” argued Lan XiChen. 

“I do not want him to see me as broken,” Meng Yao said. “Don’t tell him, I beg you, Lan XiChen.”

Nie MingJue cracked open an eye. His friends sat nearby. Meng Yao knelt besides him, chained by his wrists to the wall, his chest still bloodied and burnt. 

The rawness around his mouth made much more sense now. 

“Don’t tell me what?”

Meng Yao turned white.

“MingJue-xiong…” began Lan XiChen, but he did not go further. Of course not. Of course he would not trample his friend’s wishes.

If Sect Leader Lan doesn’t want to talk about it, then I’ll have to keep the secret as well.

Apparently their confidence was mutual. 

“Don’t tell me what?” rasped Nie MingJue. He turned to Meng Yao, who flushed with shame.

Beneath his hair, bruises marked his throat, the kind of bruises he once asked his stepmother about when he was eight, and she stammered while his father roared with laughter and Nie MingJue didn’t understand why. 

And beneath the bruises, Nie MingJue saw a boy even younger than HuaiSang, a boy who’d been abandoned by his father, abused in a brothel, a boy who’d borne witness to the worst in humanity by the time he was ten. 

A boy who thought nothing of stabbing himself to accomplish his goals.

“Meng Yao, what – no, I won’t let you answer.” Nie MingJue was afraid he would lie if asked. 

Meng Yao trembled. He met Nie MingJue’s eyes, hoping his resolve would help Nie MingJue dismiss the truth.

“That Wen-dog…” Nie MingJue forced out the words.

Meng Yao cowered. 

Nie MingJue could not imagine a more sickening sentence ever leaving his mouth. “He raped you.”

It was not a question.

“No,” said Meng Yao immediately. “No, Sect Leader Nie.” His pulse hammered in his throat. Surely now Nie MingJue would think him disgusting, vile, beneath contempt, not worthy of pity, unbroken . Someone who murdered and tortured and spread his legs for an enemy. “He did not force himself. I chose it.”

Nie MingJue frowned. Meng Yao was so young, so knowledgeable of everyone’s desires and intentions… 

He remembered his father’s rage back when he was fourteen, the day a female disciple was found pregnant. She was a disciple very young, so young that the man responsible was executed while she was promoted to a position away from gossips, safely serving HuaiSang’s mother. That woman still served on the battlefield in Langya. “You are a servant, and you are only sixteen.”

Why hadn’t Nie MingJue disciplined Meng Yao like the junior disciple he was? Why hadn’t he taught him that his life was valuable, too? Why had he assumed the worst? Why hadn’t Nie MingJue been able to protect him ?

“And many are married by my age,” replied Meng Yao. “Wen Chao and Young Madame Wen, for one. Besides, it isn’t like I was never touched before in the brothel. Not so … intimately, but …” His voice cracked. “I am not innocent.”

“No, Meng Yao, it isn’t your fault.” Tears tickled Nie MingJue’s eyes. “I’m a proud and angry man, but I would not hate you for this. It isn’t your fault.”

“I don’t regret it,” retorted Meng Yao, determined. His words tumbled forth. “If I didn’t, I would have been tortured to death instead of just for pleasure. I would have had no means to arouse Wen RuoHan’s jealousy, no means to save you both.” 

Lan XiChen cried out, but Nie MingJue cut him off. 

“I know. You are – brave and strong. You are not the person I thought you were, it’s true: you are even better.” Nie MingJue wishes he could hold him, the way he held HuaiSang when their father and his mother died, rocking him back and forth, burying him in his arms, promising that nothing bad would happen to him again.

“Are you crying, Sect Leader Nie?” Meng Yao half-smiled. 

“You have two people here,” said Lan XiChen, “who would give up everything for you, too.”

Meng Yao’s lips parted. For a moment, his eyes darted back-and-forth between the two sect leaders, wondering how they could possibly think that. But both of them weep for him, nod in confirmation.

“I – lied,” Meng Yao said weakly. “Sect Leader Nie, I am not actually in love with you. It merely made a good ruse.”

“I know that,” snapped Nie MingJue. He sulked for a moment. “I didn’t mind the lie. I know...the pain of lovers is what he likes best. I know what he did to his own children.”

He heaves a sigh. “Your lie was a good way to distract him. I presume that is why Lan XiChen is still alive, too.”

Meng Yao nodded.

Lan XiChen’s heart sank. He had known it was likely a ruse, but still, but still, he wanted – not just to help Meng Yao heal, but to live the rest of his life with him. To buy him alcohol to forget his pain the way Meng Yao had for him, though that had backfired by dramatically increasing XiChen’s talkative nature. To hold him until he forgot about the cruel touches of Wen RuoHan.

Meng Yao licked his chapped lips. “So JiaoJiao told you about Wen DaiYu?”

Nie MingJue was somber. “Wang LingJiao is a good woman.” 

Meng Yao watched him carefully. That was not a compliment Nie MingJue gave easily.

“She better be,” Nie MingJue added, “Seeing as she has Baxia.”

In the midst of all their torment, the three men managed to chuckle at that.

Midnight had come and gone by the time JiaoJiao spied Xue Yang’s lanky figure emerging from the foliage. He was accompanied by five bedraggled people, and as they approached, JiaoJiao noted that all – including Xue Yang – were clad in women’s clothing. 

She threw a small stone to catch his attention and gestured for him to wait.

Holding Wen Hui close to Baxia, she edged down the stairs of the tower. “Don’t try anything. Do not step over the shield. We’re just going to talk first.”

Wen Hui’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. All her excuses dried up; sure, he would be dead if the events of the original novel had been allowed to unfold, but still, did that justify holding a saber to a kid?

They stopped at the periphery of the wall, pressed against it. Since no alarm sounded, JiaoJiao assumed they hadn’t broken through yet. 

Qin Su smiled at her. Full of hope. It was only then, upon that smile, that JiaoJiao realized she’d been holding in tears. That she was scared, scared of herself, who was capable of harming a child – because kidnapping was harm even if she wouldn’t actually hurt him – and scared for Meng Yao, scared for Nie MingJue, scared even for Wen DaiYu whose salvation seemed even more unattainable now. 

“Why are you dressed like women?” Wen Hui asked dully.

“Because we’re hapless refugees,” said pretty, sweet-faced girl who sent JiaoJiao a wary glance.

[Luo QingYang, nicknamed MianMian, of Lanling Jin Sect. Age: fifteen]. The System broke into her thoughts, chattering to introduce new characters. 

[Wen Qing, of Qishan Wen Sect. Age: twenty-one].  The woman looked upon her with resolve; while she may have disdained Wang LingJiao in the past, she was practical enough to let the matter go so long as she she could rescue Wen Ning.

[Jiang YanLi, of Yunmeng Jiang Sect. Age: eighteen]. YanLi looked at her with uncertainty; as far as she knew, JiaoJiao was the maid who had destroyed her sect, and was now holding a child hostage. Even if JiaoJiao was also the maid who wished to save Wen Ning and a spy left to die, she wasn’t sure what to make of her yet.

[Nie HuaiSang, Second Master of Qinghe Nie Sect. Age: seventeen]. HuaiSang’s eyes widened at Baxia, and he began to sweat. “Da-Ge?”

Wait, that’s it , JiaoJiao realized with a start. Women . “Brilliant.”

“Da-Ge?!” Nie HuaiSang reached for Baxia, but Wen Qing grabbed him fiercely. 

“You’ll set off the alarm.” She glared at JiaoJiao. “Wang LingJiao, where is Sect Leader Nie?” 

“He’s been captured. He gave me this and told me to run.” She squeezed the hilt of Baxia, feeling a deep sorrow that just last night, she had been so close to him she’d mistaken something else for Baxia. 

“C – Captured?” Nie HuaiSang stuttered.

“Meng Yao is brilliant. We’ll find a way to save him,” JiaoJiao said. “I know it.”

“If you’ve hurt him –”

“She hasn’t,” said Qin Su shortly.

JiaoJiao’s heart ached at the affirmation. “Yes, I know. You’d see me dead, Nie HuaiSang, and I have full faith that you could, but I haven’t. Right now I wouldn’t trust me either, but we don’t have much of a choice.”

Nie HuaiSang opened his mouth in confusion, but he was interrupted by Wen Hui. 

“Wen Qing ?” 

“You’re Wen TengFei’s son, aren’t you?” The woman inquired.

He nodded. “Why are you on their side?”

“I’m not,” said Wen Qing simply. “I’m on the side of the people who look to me for leadership, who currently languish in one of Lanling Jin’s prisoner camps. I’m on the side of my brother, who was imprisoned for symbolism, as if he were an object. I will do right by my people, and if that means working with these people, I will.” 

“I know, Wen Hui,” JiaoJiao said sadly. “I know you’re terrified of more than this saber. I know why. I know Wen RuoHan has frightened you into submission, but you deserve better. You deserve to serve someone you want to serve.”

“My desires are nothing compared to the honor of serving Sect Leader Wen,” he replied. 

“All of you Wens sound like you’re from a fucking cult,” said Xue Yang.

“Wen RuoHan is not a god,” added MianMian.

Xue Yang was surprised the prim little woman would be so blunt. He nodded, suddenly shy. No, not him. He was not shy. Never.

“He might as well be,” said Wen Hui.

“Don’t you want revenge for Wen Gan?” cajoled JiaoJiao.

“His punishment was just,” recited Wen Hui. 

“Then why did it frighten you so much? Doesn’t it say something that the person who administered his torture turned on Wen RuoHan?” JiaoJiao persisted.

“Stop!” Wen Hui scrunched up his face. “My...father…”

Qin Su’s face softened. “I was once taken captive by enemies, too.”

Wen Hui frowned. “By enemies, you mean Wens.”

“Yes,” she said honestly. “Afterwards, I asked my father if he would have hated me. You see, I thought if I was lucky, they would whisk me away to Wen Sect for ransom. Most likely I would not me have been so lucky. But...when I asked my father if he would have thought me shameful, or a burden, he said he could never think that of me. That I was his daughter, and nothing I could do could make him hate me.” 

She clasped her hands. “I know you’re close to your Father. I know you want his approval. But do you know when mine said he was most proud of me? When I defied his wishes and accompanied him to the battlefield regardless. Because I proved to him that I was a person devoted to the standards he taught me, even when I had the chance not to be, even when he himself encouraged me elsewise.”

“I know Wen TengFei. He surely taught loyalty to Wen RuoHan, but more than that, he emphasized helping others no matter their sins. Right?” Wen Qing looked at Wen Hui. “He is known for his ruthlessness on the battlefield and his generosity with everything else.” 

The boy drew in a shuddery breath.

The meat bun , JiaoJiao thought. “You gave me a meat bun.”

“Huh?” He turned around, still afraid of the saber. 

“I was starving, and you fed me. That’s why...I chose you to help us. Not because you’re young or easily bullied. Well, okay, that too. But mostly, because you were kind when you didn’t need to be,” JiaoJiao explained. “And I know you feel guilty for Wen Gan.”

He swallowed.

“I do, too. Every day, I think of those maneuvers I helped plan in Wen RuoHan’s council. Of those I couldn’t save, and especially of those whose deaths I directly caused. I can’t bring them back to life, and it hurts,” said JiaoJiao, looking at Jiang YanLi. 

YanLi nodded.

“But I can help ensure that less people are hurt this time – if this war can end without more people hurt – I want to. Like you. Wen DaiYu. Tan En. If the city is besieged, it will be bloodier than necessary,” said JiaoJiao. “Hell, why am I telling you this? I think...I am doing this because I know you have the capacity to be kind, not because I hate you. And nothing will change that I took you hostage, and I’m sorry, but I still think you’re capable of making this decision. Even without me holding Baxia.”

Jiang YanLi said nothing. Instead, she reached her hand through the barrier, offering him her hand.  

Tan En. The smiling little girl, forbidden to cultivate, who brewed him tea during his night shirts. 

Among these people he didn’t know, Wen Hui saw a Wen, a sister, a daughter, a brother. 

His words sounded foreign, as if he’d decided before he even knew he had. “I can open the gate.” 

“Can I go?” asked Wen Hui after being hauled back up to the tower again. 

“I’d prefer it if you stayed with me,” said Wen Qing, giving him a firm nod.

Though clearly disappointed, he obeyed. JiaoJiao was relieved; she didn’t trust him not to confess to Wen RuoHan, thinking himself deserving whatever punishment he received.

JiaoJiao flicked her fingers towards Xue Yang’s brown dress. “It suits you.”

“Fits better than yours,” he responded acerbically.

“Depends on the affects you’re trying to have,” she said. “Which is precisely our best idea.”

“What idea?” asked Qin Su.

“Wen RuoHan...has many concubines,” JiaoJiao said slowly. “Meng Yao said no one except he and Wen RuoHan has ever seen them.”

“So if a few more appeared in the Sun Palace, no one would notice,” said Nie HuaiSang, catching on.

“On one hand, the guards won’t dare interact with you lest they be accused of treason,” said Wen Qing. “On the other, Wang LingJiao, your face and mine are far too recognizable.”

“Clearly you haven’t experienced the full potential of makeup,” JiaoJiao said slyly. Finally, finally, her skills putting on cheerleaders’ makeup was going to be useful in this world. “I promise, you’ll look like a new person.”

Wen Qing raised an eyebrow. 

“Would concubines wear rags?” asked Jiang YanLi, tentatively.

“I brought some money I thought we might need...” Nie HuaiSang said. 

“ Concubine clothing?” MianMian asked. “Shouldn’t we look like prostitutes? Will we even be able to find such clothing at the market?”

“We’ll modify them. I can fix our clothes,” said Nie HuaiSang. “Assuming, of course, that Xue Yang and I are going to be accompanying you.”

“You’ll have to unless you want to languish here,” said Wen Qing. 

“Plus, you nearly pass for girls right now,” said JiaoJiao with a wicked grin. “A little bust and some makeup, and we’ll make a woman out of you.”

“NIe HuaiSang,” said Qin Su sternly. “How would you know what concubines wear?”

“I…” Nie Huaisang trailed off.

“Porn?” JiaoJiao asked flatly.

He at least had the decency to look chagrined. Xue Yang, however, suddenly sidled up to HuaiSang. “I didn’t think you had it in you, A-Sang.”

“Do you just pointedly call everyone by their most intimate name?” demanded MianMian.

“Yes!”

“So rather than develop the vulnerability required for a close relationship, you deflect by calling them their close names?” suggested JiaoJiao.  

Xue Yang glowered at her as YanLi patted his shoulder. Ordinarily he would yell fuck off, but YanLi seemed genuinely sweet. “I just want to see some of HuaiSang’s art .” 

“You are not giving a thirteen-year-old access to porn,” JiaoJiao said, turning on Nie HuaiSang. “I’ll kill you.”

“I’m practically an adult!” Xue Yang yelled in the loudest voice he dared. 

“But you’re not ,” said Wen Qing in a saccharine tone. “If you do that, Nie HuaiSang, I’ll make sure your brother finds out. If there’s one thing Nie MingJue hates more than Wen-dogs, it’s probably his little brother’s corruption.”

“Sex doesn’t corrupt,” said Nie HuaiSang. 

JiaoJiao suddenly realized she was...probably the only non-virgin in the tower. And while she took small comfort in Nie HuaiSang’s words, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed. Wen Chao , no less. 

“Regardless,” Qin Su broke in. “If JiaoJiao can find a way into the palace, I think the concubine idea is a good one.” 

“It’s a terrible one,” Wen Hui said finally.

“Did we ask you?” asked Xue Yang with annoyance. 

He nibbled his fingernails. “You don’t understand. Sect Leader Wen has been ignoring them lately.”

“That’s perfect, then. We’re lonely and looking for our sweet lover,” said JiaoJiao, her lower lip trembling, as if she was really sorrowful. 

“We’re jealous of a big, violent war taking his attention from us,” MianMian whined, with remarkable acting ability of her own.

Wen Hui gulped.

“What? Does he have a serious lover?” asked Nie HuaiSang, picking up on something unsaid.

Wen Hui scuffed his boots against the stone floor. “The torturer you’re all determined to rescue.”

Pins and needles rushed down JiaoJiao’s limbs. 

Qin Su let out a cry. “Meng Yao?!”

JiaoJiao clapped a hand over her mouth. “No.”

All those fanfictions had really influenced this hyper-reality too, hadn’t they. At least to some extent. Wen RuoHan was fucking Meng Yao.

But Meng Yao was sixteen.

Her stomach turned. He’d been imprisoned, held captive – right?

Indeed he had. 

No wonder he had resorted to such measures. I thought I was saving you by running, but I just left you all alone. “Wen RuoHan must die.”

“Get in line.” Xue Yang’s voice was quiet, in contrast to the storm in his eyes. He brandished his knife. 

“Aren’t his concubines female? I never thought Wen RuoHan was a cut-sleeve,” said Jiang YanLi, with a frown.

“Maybe he’s attracted to both,” said MianMian. 

“He isn’t. He likes degradation. Whether it’s a man or a woman,” said Wen Qing, weighed by her own guilt. “I would treat the concubines when they became hurt. Not one died on my watch, and I tried to tell myself it was good enough, because it was all I could do.” 

JiaoJiao took a deep breath to steady herself. Concentrate . “Dawn is nearly here. When the city wakes up, YanLi and Qin Su: find makeup. HuaiSang, MianMian: go buy clothes and take care no one recognizes you. Wen Qing and I will wait here with Wen Hui and Xue Yang.”

Xue Yang should not be sent to a market, she recalled from the extra chapters. No need to tempt him.

Was it wrong that she could think clearly, even if it was hard? Did it mean she didn’t care about Meng Yao? Or was she so horrified she would rather think of anything else? 

System, you better find us a way into the Sun Palace fast. She squeezed her eyes shut, clinging Baxia as if it were her only hope. 

Xue Yang, for once, felt upset enough to hold his tongue.

“Well, well. My three prizes.” Wen RuoHan entered the cell with a satisfied smile. He surveyed the beaten young men before him. “Were you manipulating me the entire time, Meng Yao?”

His voice held a dangerous edge, sharper than a blade.

“No, Sect Leader Wen,” sobbed Meng Yao, at once a dilapidated mess in his master’s presence. “I love you. I’m weak, you know that; I love anyone who is kind to me.”

He wasn’t lying, not entirely , Nie MingJue realized with dismay. The matter was just that Wen RuoHan was not kind. 

I do love you, little brother , he thought. 

“I see.” Wen RuoHan towered over Meng Yao. “How befitting the son of a whore.”

Lan XiChen’s face exploded with panic. Wen RuoHan’s foot was playing with the oozing brand on Meng Yao’s chest. Though his face twisted with pain, the boy refused to cry out.

Nie MingJue had a foul suspicion of what Lan XiChen thought would happen. What had already happened. 

He made Wen Xu watch –

Though his spiritual powers were sealed, though he was heavily injured, Nie MingJue was still stronger than most men. He kicked out his foot, intending to send Wen RuoHan stumbling into the wall.  

Wen RuoHan caught his foot instead, his reflexes impossibly fast. He began to twist Nie MingJue’s leg.

“You will not touch him again,” Nie MingJue declared as he waited for the snapping of his bones. 

His knee popped, and his leg plummeted to the floor. Nie MingJue breathed heavily, hoping he would not yield Wen RuoHan the satisfaction of hearing him scream. 

He knew his words were foolish. That he would likely die at any instant. But if it kept that foul Wen-dog off Meng Yao –

He didn’t mind so much.

But instead, Wen RuoHan turned to Lan XiChen. “Would you like to offer yourself for Nie MingJue, too? Or is that just your lover?”

“You know I would,” Lan XiChen said quietly, despite Meng Yao shaking his head in the background.

“So noble. Or is it?” Wen RuoHan clapped his hands. “Very well. Kneel, and perhaps I will kill you instead of your lover and your friend.”

Lan XiChen didn’t trust Wen RuoHan, but he saw no better alternative. He knelt. 

“Bow.”

“No,” Nie MingJue spat. “No, XiChen. He’ll kill me anyway.”

Wen RuoHan was playing him! Just like JiaoJiao had predicted: he was using the friendship of Nie MingJue and Lan XiChen to torment them both. 

Wen RuoHan unsheathed his sword. 

Lan XiChen knew they were trapped, knew this was a game. Despite Meng Yao’s agony, despite that it would hurt Nie MingJue, despite his own self-disgust, he pressed his forehead to the bloodied floor.

Wen RuoHan clapped. “Look at you. Bowing to your enemy, trying desperately to seize any power you can. How hypocritical. How pathetic. You, the pathetic son of a pathetic father, of a murderous mother, you who ran while your Cloud Recesses burned. The boy who ran thinks he is a Sect Leader?”

Lan XiChen did not respond, though surely Wen RuoHan’s words struck deeper than any of Meng Yao’s devices. 

“I wonder what your dying father thought when you weren’t there for him. When was the last time you saw him? All to save books .” The disdain positively dripped from Wen RuoHan’s tone. 

Lan XiChen felt the man’s boot on his head, pushing his face against the dingy stone. Every word said echoed the words he’s spoken to himself, with no one else around, no one but –

Meng Yao. Meng Yao had heard, and Meng Yao knew. He knew the pain, the raw hatred XiChen felt for running. How XiChen drove himself to visit battle after battle, not just to cheer soldiers’ hearts, but to redeem himself for a sin he had never committed, a guilt that would never abate. 

Lan XiChen strove to scrub away the shame he felt for not saving his little brother’s leg, for not holding his father’s hand while he passed, for not burying those disciples who died bravely on the day that Gusu burned.

And Meng Yao could not abide the suffering of the brave, beautiful man who had crashed into his life, not any longer. 

“Lan XiChen! Do you remember? Remember what I told you?” Meng Yao cried. “To be a leader, sometimes you must sacrifice. Books are worth saving, because when we read, we create worlds in our minds, and we are our own!” 

His mother had taught him that, when she tutored him in reading, tutored him and her fellow prostitutes. 

“Lan XiChen, do not break for me. Please. Please .” Meng Yao wanted to say, it’s not because I’m not worthy, though I’m not. It’s because – 

“Lan XiChen! You are the light of my life! ” he screamed, because in another second he might forever lose the chance to say those words. 

Lan XiChen’s head whipped around so fast that Wen RuoHan finally stumbled. 

Meng Yao sobbed. He knew he didn’t deserve Lan XiChen, but he couldn’t bear the thought of him not knowing, not knowing that if Meng Yao had a different life, if he was Jin Yao who had never been defiled by Wen RuoHan, he would live his entire life by his side. 

What was this? 

It took him a moment to realize that the frenzied words in the cell were his own.  “I love you, I love you, I love you .”

Before Lan XiChen could react with anything but shock, before Wen RuoHan could strike, a brilliant red light erupted in front of their vision. 

Wei WuXian surveyed the corpse army racing upon Nightless City. Once he and Jiang Cheng had received word that that YanLi had not arrived in Lotus Pier, he had tested his newest creation in Yangquan.

The Yin Tiger Tally revived the dead in battle, allowed all manner of dismembered and destroyed corpses to claw their way out of the funeral pyres prepared for them, our of the graves in the dirt long since unmarked.  

The Wens in their way fell in a bloodbath, a slaughter he told himself he could think about later, when they were safe. Later, he could think about the pain he’d seen in Lan WangJi’s expression. 

At least they all agreed on that. The three commanders stood together on the mountainside, surveying the wall. Jiang Cheng stood by Wei WuXian’s left hand, and at his right, nearly brushing his fingertips, was Lan WangJi, with him despite the corpses he was about to unleash.   

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen

Battle of the Teenage Girls

“Well. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting this.” Wen Qing surveyed her face in the mirror.

She’d led them into a small storage room in the concubines’ wing, where they – five young women and three boys – now bustled about putting the finishing touches on their disguises.. 

Jiang YanLi beamed. “You look like an entirely different person.”

“Indeed.” Wen Qing blinked, lightly tracing the kohl on her eyelids. The red paint on her lips, the shadows emphasizing her cheekbones. Fortunately, JiaoJiao had pinned her dark dress to hold in her chest. Her midriff was exposed between fabric that resembled a night sky. Small glittering glass shards were woven into throughout; if it weren’t so skimpy, she might have even appreciated a dress made of such fantastical material.

Jiang YanLi tugged at her own low-cut top. She had volunteered to wear it, as she had the smallest bust and would naturally be less exposed. But right now, her face grew hot at the golden outfit, which was so low in the bodice and sheer in her skirt that she assumed its only proper use would be in a bedchamber between husband and wife.  

JiaoJiao had insisted that the gold suited her, as it was ‘the opposite color of purple,’ whatever that meant. 

If only she could wear gold like this in a bedchamber with him – no, she shouldn’t think like that. At least, not now. How dare she. 

“You look like a bride,” JiaoJiao teased MianMian, as she wove faux pearls into her high ponytail. Something exotic, perhaps anachronistic, to give MianMian an edge in her otherwise sweet outfit. “Where I come from, brides wear white.”

“Not for mourning?” MianMian asked, smoothing the ponytail. She rather enjoyed the feeling of her hair swinging behind her. 

“Red is actually associated with prostitution,” admitted JiaoJiao, prompting Jiang YanLi to gasp.

“Well, if that isn’t fitting for Wen Sect,” remarked Wen Qing. “What? I’m capable of criticizing my sect.”

“Oh, we know. You’re a good Wen.” Qin Su hastened to add, “Eh, I think most of them are probably good. Like you.”

She recalls the dying young men she’s held on the battlefield, Wens and Nies and Jins and Qins. Most of them were scared and just wanted someone with them. They were all the same.

Wen Qing smiled back at the sweet young woman, who wears a rainbowed gown with butterfly motifs. Its cut was perfect for Qin Su, JiaoJiao thought; the slit up the skirt was required to make it even slightly slutty.

For JiaoJiao’s part, she wore pink solely for irony. Actually, it was her favorite color anyways, so it wasn’t entirely for irony. 

But though pink seemed weak and demure in her world, she was determined to give it a different meaning in this world. Her dress was tight enough not to leave much to the imagination; she was pleasantly surprised her bodice hadn’t split open. 

She wasn’t sure why the prospect of Nie MingJue seeing her in this outfit excited her.

She was here to rescue, nothing more. How inappropriate to think of anything else.

Though, if she were honest with herself, she wanted to think of anything but what Meng Yao had endured after she left. As a result, her mind gave her endless distractions.

Take the distractions, Jiang YanLi had instructed her and Qin Su. Treat them like gifts. It’s what I used after my parents died. 

But JiaoJiao wasn’t sure Jiang YanLi would have said that if she knew JiaoJiao was fantasizing about how a renowned sect leader would respond to a woman in overly tight clothing. 

“Goddamn.” Xue Yang whistled. “HuaiSang, we look like regular women.”

“Not regular,” corrected Nie HuaiSang as he finished tying a second bag in Xue Yang’s baby blue bodice. Though Xue Yang was taller than most already, he was still childlike enough that with padding in his chest and makeup on his face, he made for a beautiful young lady.

HuaiSang tossed the elaborate braids he’d woven into his hair. He couldn’t help but poke his own fake chest. His orange and yellow dress looked like flames, and he’d even procured makeup to match. He fluttered his fan about and batted his eyelashes. 

“Are you all ready?” Wen Hui looked ill. His green dress and matching makeup made him extremely uncomfortable. His father would be appalled by such scandalous apparel. 

“Yes, dear,” said Xue Yang in an affected voice.

“Do not speak a word, you, or you’ll give us away,” ordered Wen Qing.

He made a face, but was immediately distracted by JiaoJiao fastening MianMian’s sword in the belt she wore under her skirt. 

“What?” MianMian demanded, catching his gaze. 

“Nothing!” He squeaked, and to JiaoJiao’s amusement, his face was actually red. So Xue Yang was still a child after all.

“Amazed that women have legs?” she asked dryly.

“Shut up!”

“I told you not to talk,” Wen Qing retorted. 

“Can I talk?” HuaiSang asked in a delicate tone.

“Since you can sound passably female, yes,” Qin Su declared.

JiaoJiao straightened, feeling Baxia’s cool hilt against her own legs. “I’ll figure out where he is.”

“At this time, Wen RuoHan is in his secret room or the Fire Palace,” said Wen Qing.

“He rarely goes in his secret room anymore,” said JiaoJiao. “Just to store documents, that’s all. Right, Wen Hui?”

Wen Hui nodded.

“Oh.” Wen Qing looked concerned. “You see, he used to spend time mourning his wife and first concubine in there.”

“The knife,” JiaoJiao said knowingly. Perhaps, after his sons’ deaths, he felt too ashamed to spend time mourning their mothers. For a moment, she pitied Wen RuoHan, before she remembered he had sexually abused Meng Yao, Wen Daiyu, Wen Xu, and Wen Chao, all to varying extents. When she remembered that, no amount of empathy could take away her anger. 

“Let’s try the Fire Palace,” murmured Xue Yang, unable to hide his curiosity. “Am I allowed to say that?”

MianMian elbowed him, and he stuck his tongue out at her. 

System?

[Wen RuoHan: located on thousand feet to the northwest. At a cell in the Fire Palace. Other occupants: Meng Yao, Nie MingJue, and Lan Xichen]. 

“He’s interrogating them right now,” she said weakly.

Nie HuaiSang’s breath caught.

“That means they’re all alive,” she said, clinging to small comforts. If he touched Meng Yao again, she, Qin Su, and Xue Yang would see that Wen RuoHan lost a particular part of his anatomy.

They swirled out of the room, fluttering fans before their painted faces. Full of sighs and giggles, they made their way towards the Fire Palace, with JiaoJiao subtly directing them from the middle of the group. 

She waved at a pair of guards at the other end of the hall. One jerked away; the other was entranced.

“They’re Wen RuoHan’s.” The former jabbed his elbow into his partner, who immediately looked terrified.

“Don't mind us,” purred MianMIan.

“C-Certainly.” The guards evaded the women as best they could, as if afraid to see any more skin on their bodies.

Xue Yang chuckled as soon as they were alone. “It’s like they’re scared of women’s bodies.”

“That’s because they are,” JiaoJiao replied shortly. 

Behind her, Wen Qing nodded. “You wouldn’t believe some of the medical misinformation out there.”

“I would, trust me,” said JiaoJiao.

“But, like, they bleed the same. There’s just more, um, curves,” said Xue Yang with confusion.

“What a sweetheart,” JiaoJiao couldn’t resist saying. 

“A dear,” giggled Qin Su.

“Excuse me?” He looked infuriated.

“Nothing. Sometimes it’s nice to see boys so innocent and sweet. It’s a compliment,” said MianMian, inserting herself between the two.

Two servants guarded the double doors to the Fire Palace, their faces expressionless, as Wen RuoHan preferred for servants. At the sight of them, JiaoJiao, Wen Hui, and Wen Qing placed their fans in front of their faces, and HuaiSang took over. 

“Oh,” he simpered in a perfectly pitched female voice. “Is our Master in here? Could you, maybe, tell us?”

“Um.” The guard stammered.

“We won’t tell him you saw us if you let us know,” said Qin Su, worrying her lip. “We’re just lonely, you see.”

Jiang YanLi giggled, and it wasn’t forced. Just from nerves.

“We heard his mistress is in jail,” said JiaoJiao, lightening her voice until it resembled feathers. “Do not inhibit us from comforting our beloved Sect Leader.”

“We can give you a present,” said Nie HuaiSang, batting his eyelashes. “Like a kiss.”

The guards reared back, stumbling into each other. Scared shitless, JiaoJiao thought. Of course, Wen RuoHan would be jealous if a guard accepted a kiss from his women, even if he neglected them. 

“Through the doors,” said the guard, sweat beading his brow.

He frowned at Wen Hui, but the boy made a nervous laugh, and the guard seemed to doubt his recognition.

The ‘women’ swept into the torture palace. Qin Su and Jiang YanLi paled at the smells and moans; Wen Qing, MianMian, and JiaoJiao were grim.

Xue Yang and Nie Huaisang glanced furtively about; HuaiSang looking for weaknesses to exploit, Xue Yang interested in human suffering.

Well, you won’t die or kill this time, I promise this time you won’t, vowed JiaoJiao.

[Your vow has been logged. 10 B points are awarded for your vow. Total B points: now 4670].

What? JiaoJiao cursed to herself. 

However, no sooner had the gates swung shut behind them and JiaoJiao pointed in the direction of Lan XiChen’s cell, than a sharp red light shot through their minds, tingling their vision, electrifying their nerves.

“What is that?” gasped Jiang YanLi, stumbling into the stone wal. Qin Su grabbed her hand to steady her.

“The alarm system,” breathed JiaoJiao, remembering her first arrival in Nightless CIty, looking to Wen Qing for confirmation.

The woman nodded.

“How did they know?” MianMian fretted.

“They didn’t,” said Wen Hui. “It means someone else has crossed the protective barrier now.” 

“A mistake?” asked HuaiSang.

“No,” said Wen Hui.

“It lasted too long,” agreed Wen Qing, just before another burst of red light.

The sound of many more footsteps and voices filtered outside the doors to the Fire Palace. “Protect the Sect Leader!”

“Everyone else, to the walls!”

“Who could…” JiaoJiao’s mind raced. “There’s no way Wei WuXian could get through the Yangquan Pass that fast. Unless – Fuck!”

“What?” MianMian demanded.

JiaoJiao slammed her palm into the wall. “Fuck, I forgot about the Tiger Tally!”

“The what?” Jiang YanLi asked.

“His most powerful weapon!” She closed her eyes, wishing this wasn’t happening, wishing she could have rescued them earlier.

She didn’t even need the System to remind her that this rescue was their best chance to escape, but she couldn’t help but fear for the lives of those in Nightless City. 

“What is it?” asked Xue Yang with excitement. 

“He can control an entire legion of corpses.” JiaoJiao gulped. “Which means fierce corpses are probably probably about to overrun Nightless City.”

“Are we in danger?” demanded Nie HuaiSang.

“Not us – we’re not Wens –” JiaoJiao turned to Wen Hui. “But –”

He paled.

“They went through Yangquan,” Wen Qing said quietly, thinking of A-Yuan’s father. No, please. The baby could not be orphaned; that was too cruel.

And yet...

Qin Su reached out a hand to Wen Qing, understanding. “I’m sorry.”

Wen Qing nodded. In another second, her composure returned. Her jaw set. “Where is Wen Ning?”

“Yes, yes.” JiaoJiao shook her head in confusion. “You and Wen Ning aren’t enemies; you might be okay, but I don’t know how this magic works at all.”

She wanted to scream. Wen RuoHan’s killing intent would have risen dramatically now. If he looked to be at a disadvantage, he might lose focus on sadism and settle for the bitter deaths of two sect leaders and Meng Yao. 

“Wen Qing, find Wen Ning first, protect him. He’s at the end cell, on the left. I – who can pick a lock? Xue Yang, go with them,” commanded JiaoJiao.

“But –” Xue Yang was offended by the prospect of missing out against Wen RuoHan. 

“I can pick a lock,” said Qin Su with defiance. “Meng Yao taught me! Wen Qing, let’s go.” 

“Fine. Go!” JiaoJiao watched them race off. Please be safe, Wen Ning. Xie Lian, help them.  

She turned to Wen Hui. “I know – you want to go to the gate. Don’t. There will be thousands of corpses.”

“Do I have a choice?” he spat, fear etched on his face.

Fear for his father. Fear for those he loved. 

Loved.

An idea occurred to her. 

“Your father’s in Langya; he’s fine,” JiaoJiao reminded him. “Go – I know – go to Tan En!”

“Why?” He reddened.

“Wen DaiYu and her maids will not be protected as much as Sect Leader Wen, and I know you care for Tan En. Go.” Not caring for modesty, JiaoJiao reached down her bodice to the small knife she’d kept between her breasts. 

She shoved the blade into his hands, entrusting her captive with a weapon. “Go.”

For a moment, Wen Hui wavered. He could stab her now, be a hero.

And she would understand if he did. 

Xue Yang tensed, ready to pounce if the brat tried anything. 

But Wen Hui already knew. If he didn’t stab her, he could still save those dear to him, and still be a hero. 

He ran. 

“Excellent, we lost the kid. Now time to distract a bitch,” said Xue Yang, baring his teeth. 

Nie HuaiSang feigned a scream, just as Wen RuoHan threw open the door to Lan XiChen’s cell, his boots caked in blood. 

JiaoJiao’s pupils shrank. Whose? 

“Sect Leader Wen, help us!” called Nie HuaiSang. 

“We’re so scared!” MianMian threw in.

JiaoJiao wasted no time. “Sect Leader!” 

She dove towards him, still using the fan to block her altered face.

Wen RuoHan had expected guards, shouts, an army of filthy sects and perhaps corpses. He had expected almost anything – but if there was one sight Wen RuoHan had not expected to see, it was loose women calling his name in the midst of his torture palace. On instinct, Wen RuoHan stepped out of the way of this whore he did not recognize. 

Nie HuaiSang grabbed Jiang YanLi, MianMian grabbed Xue Yang, and the four threw themselves into the cell.

“Sorry.” JiaoJiao forced a wink, lowering the fan. 

Just as Wen RuoHan recognized her, just as he realized he’d been tricked by a pretty figure, by the whore who’d ruined his son of all things, just as his eyes burned red with rage, Xue Yang proved his instincts even quicker than the most powerful Sect Leader’s. 

Xue Yang snatched JiaoJiao into the cell, just as MianMian slammed the door shut. 

“Lock us in,” ordered JiaoJiao. 

MianMian nodded, and Xue Yang shoved his knife into the lock to seal it. 

She whipped her head around to see Nie MingJue lying on the ground with his leg at an unnatural angle, Lan XiChen’s bruised face fallen to the side, and – and Meng Yao chained to the wall. 

Branded. 

Bruised. 

Alive.

[Lan Huan, of Gusu Lan Sect, courtesy name Lan XiChen, titled ZeWu-Jun. Age: nineteen].

As fond as she was of XiChen, right now, she didn’t care beyond the fact that he was still intact. Because Meng Yao was injured, tortured, traumatized, and alive.

With a cry, she threw her arms around her friend. “I’m so sorry, I left you! I wanted to turn them on me, not you! Meng Yao, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!” 

“Move, or I can’t fix his chains.” Xue Yang knelt beside her, while Nie HuaiSang moved to free Lan XiChen.

“JiaoJiao?” Meng Yao thought he was dreaming, or perhaps dying; perhaps Wen RuoHan had killed him instead of Lan XiChen. “JiaoJiao?”

“I’m here, I came back for you, I did,” she said tearfully. “I’m so sorry.” 

A friend – came back for him? Someone beyond Lan XiChen and Nie MingJue loved him?

“You did nothing wrong,” said Meng Yao softly. He liked her arms around him. She felt safe. A friend.

Xue Yang. Xue Yang was here, too, and three additional women. All dressed like prostitutes, all here to save them. 

As broken and scared as he was, right now, he felt loved. 

Wait, why was HuaiSang not freeing his brother? Was he embarrassed by his decor? JiaoJiao reluctantly removed her arms from Meng Yao and fell by Nie MingJue’s side.

His eyes were dazed, his forehead swollen, mottled with purple and brown. But he recognized her, of that she was certain, and infinitely relieved. 

“I kept Baxia safe,” she said, relieved to see him breathing, relieved even to see that stupid mustache. 

If he judged her indecent appearance, he didn’t show it. In fact, his eyes were fond. “JiaoJiao.”

She held his hands. “I’m here. I think Wei WuXian is invading, and Jiang Sect and probably Lan WangJi.” 

Lan XiChen gasped. His brother shouldn’t be here. 

More red light exploded – disciples with golden cores following the dead, crossing the shield.

It was so disorienting that Lan XiChen nearly lost his way to hold Meng Yao in his arms, so dizzying that Jiang YanLi lost her balance, so surreal that JiaoJiao nearly missed the moment Wen RuoHan crushed the stone wall separating them. The door crumbled like paper under his power. 

MianMian swung her sword only to be flung into the wall. HuaiSang and YanLi fell over XiChen and Meng Yao.

“Well, fuck,” JiaoJiao yelped, pinching Nie MingJue’s robes. “Xue Yang, free him faster!”

“I’m trying!” snarled the boy, but his hands slipped, as any thirteen-year-old’s would under such stress, and she and he and Nie MingJue were all helpless.

“That’s the prison palace!” Wei WuXian pointed to the imposing structure ahead. Between them, Wen soldiers fought futilely against an army of the dead. “Let the corpses manage on their own.”

Lan WangJi looked angry at the thought of more death. “Can you control it?”

“Stop bickering and let’s go!” Jiang Cheng grabbed Sandu and hoisted Wei WuXian with him. “You just had to fucking forget Suibian to a battle, hmm?”

“There were more important weapons to remember! I got us through Yangquan!” protested Wei WuXian.

Ordinarily, Jiang Cheng would argue that he would have won without Wei WuXian, that just would have taken longer without using that tremendous seal. But Shijie was in danger. And so Jiang Cheng didn’t care about glory; he cared about wasting the least time.

The ground shuddered beneath the Fire Palace, and a section of the magnificent tiled roof collapsed. Wei WuXian frowned as Jiang Cheng flew straight into the palace.

They landed in a long hallway, where half the stone wall had collapsed. 

Wen RuoHan held forth his hand, and Nie MingJue was dragged towards him by some unseen force. 

Wang LingJiao must have known it was futile, but she still lunged in front of Nie MingJue, shrieking at Wen RuoHan. “You monster!”

The deafening slap occurred before she could even grab for a weapon. Wang LingJiao lay on the ground, her face already swelling from the strike. Wen guards swarmed the hall, meeting the swords of women who looked like prostitutes.

At the sight of more men, the Wens cried out for their leader, and their leader laughed. “Let them try!”

The scene was, in two words, utter chaos. 

“Wei WuXian!” Wang LingJiao threw herself at Wei WuXian’s feet. “Stop the Tiger Tally! People are going to die, innocent people! The Wens – most of them – they’re just scared! Most of Nightless City serves him because they fear him, not because they love him!  Show them we’re more powerful than Wen RuoHan here, and they’ll surrender!”

“WangJi!” Lan XiChen called from where he had fallen over Meng Yao, protecting him from the falling stone. “Be careful! He’s sealed our spiritual powers by touch.”

They were guarded by a woman in gold. 

“What – what is this?” Jiang Cheng peered at the women brandishing swords against the guards, the tallest and most skilled of whom was quite clearly a man. And then – the woman in gold, who stood guarding Lan XiChen and this Meng Yao, who wore half her chest exposed, turned around with wide eyes.

“Jiejie?” screeched Jiang Cheng at the same time Wei WuXian shouted, “Shijie!”

“A-Cheng! A-Xian!” Though she wasn’t not embarrassed to be seen like this, she wasn’t going to apologize. 

“What did he do to you?!” screamed Wei WuXian.

“This was our plan!” MianMian spun around, knocking several more guards back from YanLi. “How else could we get access to the palace?!”

“Wei WuXian, focus! You’re the most powerful person here. You have to stop the Yin Tiger Tally!” shouted JiaoJiao, enunciating every syllable.

“Most...powerful?” echoed a sinister voice.

JiaoJiao mentally thanked Disney and Wen RuoHan’s ego as the Sect Leader threw Nie MingJue to the floor, turning around to focus his pupils on Wei WuXian. 

His stare alone was so menacing that JiaoJiao finally unveiled Baxia despite her lack of power.

“Are you really the most powerful? The man who can slay armies?”

“You don’t –” Wei WuXian was cut off by Wen RuoHan lunging for him. He spun away, ducking and feigning, never striking with a sword he didn’t have. Always on the defensive, unable to gain enough time to lift Chenqing to his lips.

Jiang Cheng swung Zidian against the guards who aimed for his brother, felling five at once. Lan WangJi surged forward, only to be blocked by several more Wens. In desperation, he called, “Wei Ying!” 

And sent a fallen guard’s sword flying towards Wei WuXian. 

Wen RuoHan swung his sword with one hand and pulled Wei WuXian towards him with his other.

Wei WuXian lifted his hand to catch the sword from Lan WangJi, blocked the blow and –

The blade shattered upon impact.

He fell heavily, or he would have if Wen RuoHan had not caught him, pressed him against his body. 

Trying to seal his powers with touch.  

Wei WuXian, for a moment, thought he could win. That he could pretend to be powerless before he struck.

And then Wen RuoHan burst into laughter. 

And Wei WuXian knew.

Everyone froze. 

Wei WuXian’s mouth quivered. He hung, limp and helpless, in Wen RuoHan’s hands.

Wen RuoHan laughed and laughed and laughed. “Funny that Wen Chao was so eager to write to me about melting the Jiang whelp’s golden core, but I don’t recall him ever mentioning the servant’s!”

Jiang Cheng started. Lan WangJi’s eyes widened. 

“You really think they would have let me go otherwise?” Wei WuXian managed, refusing to admit the truth. 

Wen RuoHan turned to JiaoJiao. “Did you?”

JiaoJiao froze.

“She wouldn’t know,” said Wei WuXian.

“Really? My son wouldn’t have bragged to his bitch?” Wen RuoHan grinned.

She wanted to lie. Not to play into Wen RuoHan’s games. But the longer she hesitated, the more her answer became apparent. Say something. “I did not enjoy torture, so he never bragged to me about it. That says nothing about what was actually done.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jiang Cheng seethed. “Wei WuXian, I would have helped you search high and low for BaoShen SanRen! I – you didn’t have to bear everything on your own!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Wen RuoHan. “BaoShen SanRen. I remember her. She teaches that nothing can be gained without a sacrifice.”

His eyes swept Jiang Cheng up and down. “When we heard rumors of you rebuilding your sect, I thought you might be hiding it. Then I thought Chao-er might have lied to me. But now I suspect another possibility.”

Wei WuXian’s eyes turned red. He squirmed in the other man’s grip. 

“Let go of my shixiong,” growled Jiang Cheng. 

Wen RuoHan ignored him. “Boy, were you ever unconscious for a period of time?”

Jiang Cheng stopped short. A look of terror crossed his face. No, no, no. No. “You’re just trying to upset me. I won’t listen.”

“Oops.” Wen RuoHan curved an arm around Wei WuXian’s neck. “What a faithful servant you are. And so creative. A pity you didn’t serve me, Wei WuXian, instead of Meng Yao.”

Jiang Cheng began to hyperventilate. He fought to remain calm. “I said, give me back my shixiong!”

Just then, a guard rose to his feet and plunged a knife into Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the light of Zidian extinguished. Nie HuaiSang was paler than his makeup as he defended his friend, piercing the guard’s throat.

“Jiang Cheng!” cried Wei WuXian and Jiang YanLi in unison. 

“Stop talking!” Jiang Cheng shouted back at him, but he staggered to lean against the wall. MianMian descended on him with herbs. “He’s lying, I know he is lying, Wei Ying!”

“You’re only upset because you know I’m not,” mocked Wen RuoHan. 

“Wei Ying! Say something!” begged Jiang Cheng. Fighting tears of his own. 

“And you thought you could lead a sect. Who are the four great sects? A whoremonger, a violent youth who thinks in childish vengeance, a groveling cut-sleeve who ran when his home was razed, a boy who couldn’t even keep his golden core.” Wen RuoHan shook his head. “You are all pathetic. You are nothing without me. Look at your most powerful man – the man without a golden core!”

Lan XiChen’s cheeks burned, and he held Meng Yao tighter. He felt WangJi’s shock, even without seeing him. 

Wei WuXian squirmed, but he could not free himself. In the corner of his eye, he saw a subtle move. 

“Shut up!” 

Everyone turned to Jiang YanLi, who struggled to lift a sword with her minimal spiritual powers. “You have tortured my didis long enough. I – will – not – allow any insult against either of them to stand. What is so wrong with sacrifice, if you truly want to do it? Does it mean either the saver or the saved is unworthy? Why? Don’t you ever disrespect any of the people here!”

“She’s right,” JiaoJiao called, seeing precisely what YanLi and Wei WuXian had also noticed. “So what if we all have help? You think anyone can accomplish anything worthwhile alone?”

[The System supports this sentiment].

“You think I’m scared of women with weak spiritual powers?” sneered Wen RuoHan.

“Oh, it ain’t us you should be scared of,” JiaoJiao said with a triumphant grin.

Lan WangJi slashed Bichen forward in a blaze of white light. Wen RuoHan lurched backwards – his hand, while not severed, splattered the wall with blood as red as the Wen Sect motif. 

And in his hands WangJi took Wei WuXian, pushed him away.

And shielded him, just in time for Wen RuoHan to thrust his sword into Lan WangJi’s chest. 

Lan XiChen screamed. His family, his family, his family – no!

Nie MingJue lay by that Wen-dog’s feet, barely conscious. But he knew that his friend Lan XiChen was screaming, that XiChen’s beloved little brother was bleeding.

He couldn’t imagine what he would feel if it were HuaiSang. Was this the empathy JiaoJiao had lectured him about?

Nie MingJue suddenly summoned all of his strength to pry himself off the ground, to clumsily grab Wen RuoHan.

Lan WangJi bent over, heaving, the sword still in his chest. 

“Xue Yang!” MianMian hurled her sack of herbs towards the delinquent.

Xue Yang caught it and sprang to Lan WangJi’s side, pulling him and Wei WuXian aside. “Here!”

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, why?” Wei WuXian held his shoulders as Xue Yang busied himself caring for the injured young man. 

Wei WuXian’s eyes blurred. He had no core. He couldn’t give Lan Zhan spiritual energy, he couldn’t – he had failed.

“Wei Ying! I’m sorry.” Lan WangJi tried to control his breathing, tried to recall all the times he chastened Wei WuXian for his bloodshed, for his choosing the ghostly path. 

He had never considered that Wei WuXian had chosen it as a sacrifice! Lan WangJi had judged him, had judged the boy he claimed to love!

Wei Ying goggled at him. 

With a kick, Wen RuoHan finally won his battle of strength against Nie MingJue. He sent Nie MingJue flying onto his back.

JiaoJiao cried out, but Jiang Cheng grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. If Lan WangJi could not beat Wen RuoHan, a girl with minimal spiritual powers stood no chance. She would be running to her death.

Wen RuoHan advanced on the man unable to stand on both legs. The man unable to do anything but writhe on the floor. All his opponents were either injured, without a golden core, or women. 

“Do you know why your parents married, Nie MingJue? When your father was already engaged to another woman from a prized family, while your mother had nothing by crafts?” We RuoHan smirked. “Shall I tell you? I’ve always wanted to.”

“Your father was out night-hunting, and encountered a group of succubi. He defeated them, but not before their curse was cast upon him. Of course, being a proud Nie, he thought he could handle it and refused help when I offered him my concubines. He even tried to come back to Nie Sect on his saber, only to fall off with hot blood coursing through him.”

“He crashed into a woman’s cottage. Your mother, can you guess? She was nearly as tall as your own father, and dark-skinned, with a very pretty face for someone so thin. She took pity on the suffering man and led him inside, not knowing his affliction or his identity. Whether he attacked her or whether she gave in of pity or true love, no one knows.”

Nie MingJue was practically hyperventilating. He couldn’t help himself. He shook, losing more and more strength. “You lie.”

“She said no one had to know, and so did I when I heard the matter. But you know your father – ever obsessed with honor. When he awoke from his spell, he married her and broke his engagement to the lovely woman he’d been so excited about.” Wen RuoHan leered at him, stepping on his chest with evident glee. “I wonder why they did not simply end the pregnancy.”

Nie MingJue was too shocked to deny it. He gagged on a mouthful of blood. 

“At least you emerged eight months later, ever early, and after that your mother died and your father was freed.” 

“Shut up!” appealed Nie MingJue. 

“He may have felt excited about his engagement, but he did not love her. You chose your words carefully, Sect Leader Wen,” spat Meng Yao, rising to his feet. He and Lan XiChen leant against each other, ready to attack Wen RuoHan, no matter how futile the effort without their spiritual powers. Because they would not, they would never, let Nie MingJue die by his hands.  

“Her. A nice name for the woman called was Jia XiFeng.” Wen RuoHan smiled. “And, oh, I forgot to tell you, Nie MingJue. The woman your father forsook, the woman who loved him so much she killed herself after he died, the woman who forgave that brute, was sister to my favorite concubine. The one who gave me Wen Xu.” 

Nie MingJue gaped. HuaiSang’s mother – Wen Xu was – his little brother’s cousin – he was related to a Wen-dog – he had beheaded his baby brother’s own cousin.

The terror that crossed Nie MingJue’s face was beyond expression. He felt as though a saber of grief had run through his heart. 

“He didn’t love her then! But he changed! That is why she forgave him,” said Meng Yao. 

“He didn’t want to marry someone he didn’t love in the first place,” JiaoJiao added. “Not that you’d know much about that, hmm?”

Wen RuoHan’s mouth opened, but Nie MingJue heard no sound. At first he wondered why, but then he realized that he’d been struck so hard he simply could not hear. 

Apparently, even Wen RuoHan was capable of feeling guilt.

Guilt accomplished nothing to save his sons and daughter-in-law. What use was guilt, then?

It was useless without action, right? thought Nie MingJue. A strange thing to think about in the moments before his death. 

No, wait. His father must have felt guilty for forsaking his betrothed. And yet, while Nie MingJue’s mother lived, his father would not have acted. In such a case, the feeling of guilt meant more than action. Feelings? Actions? 

Both mattered. It wasn’t clear at all. 

His head hurt. 

“Fuck you!” yelled a voice, and it wasn’t a woman’s. In fact, it wasn’t a concubine at all. 

Nie MingJue would recognize that voice anywhere, even if he was deaf and blind. 

Nie HuaiSang was the woman in fiery orange and yellow, the woman dressed like a sunset. He shoved his slender saber towards Wen RuoHan.

Wen RuoHan’s hand landed on it, splintering the delicate blade Nie MingJue had ordered carefully constructed for his brother’s thirteenth birthday into a hundred pieces. He latched his long, painted fingers around Nie HuaiSang’s throat.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen

Revenge of the Teenage Girls

Wen Ning had not heard from Meng Yao in several days, and that worried him. Had he escaped? Or had something terrible happened? He already suspected the sweet boy was being abused, given how guarded he had been since JiaoJiao’s flight, given that he no longer heard his nightmares, as if Meng Yao slept somewhere else now. 

But now, given the pervasive alarm, Wen Ning was outright frightened. 

Was the city about to fall?

Had Meng Yao escaped? Or had he been killed?

Wen Ning wished he could save him. He wished he could save everyone.

He hated being helpless, but every damn time he tried, he just stuttered, shot arrows into the ground, slipped and fell. His only success ever, in his entire life, was saving Wei WuXian and Jiang WanYin. And even then, Jiang WanYin had lost his golden core, suffered countless tortures, and in the end one of them would always be missing that core. 

And for the insufficiency of his salvation, Wen Ning loathed himself.

The lock jittered, and Wen Ning stiffened. Perhaps Wen RuoHan wanted him freed. Or perhaps, in a fit of rage, he would have all prisoners slaughtered before the city was overrun.

I don’t want to die yet. I want to do something useful. I don’t want to be a damsel in distress forever. 

He expected a guard with a sword, not a scantily-clad woman who launched herself at him, crying out, “A-Ning!” over and over and over.

“Sister?” he gasped. Her face was so different, and she was much thinner, but her voice was unmistakable. 

“You’re alive, you’re all right, you’re all right.” Wen Qing was sobbing, undignified, not a trace of the usual pride she wore like armor. She pinched his cheeks, before stepping back to take in the sight of him – somewhat thinner and paler himself, but unharmed.

He shivered at her outfit, afraid something had happened while she was captured. “Y-Y-You...”

“We disguised ourselves to sneak in,” said a petite woman dressed like a rainbow. Everything about her, from her rainbow gown adorned with butterfly motifs, to her dimples and dark, luscious hair, was so lovely Wen Ning forgot to breathe.

He immediately turned red and began to stutter. 

“I’m Qin Su, of Laoling Qin Sect,” she said kindly. “We’re here to rescue you.”

“Qin Su.” He recognized the name. She was the kindly woman Meng Yao had spoken of with pride. The woman Meng Yao said might be his sister. 

Qin Su knelt besides him, working on freeing his chains with an exquisite hairpin.

She was too beautiful. Wen Ning averted his eyes. “I’m s-s-sorry, sister.”

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who left you here!” exclaimed Wen Qing.

“I’m so u-u-u-useless that I-I-I was more u-u-use to Wen RuoHan imprisoned than free,” he mumbled.

“It’s better that you were. They’ve promised to help Granny and the others if we helped them into Nightless City,” said Wen Qing. “The other Sects, that is.”

Wen Ning glanced briefly back at Qin Su.

“A-Duan had her baby. His name is A-Yuan, and he’s precious,” said Wen Qing, attempting to distract her shy little brother. 

Qin Su released one manacle with a fresh smile that filled him with vastly frightening sensations. 

Wen Ning coughed. “How is she?”

Wen Qing drew in a soft breath. Her face fell. 

“I see.” Wen Ning looked at his feet. He couldn’t even help his cousin’s wife, the woman whose wedding he’d attended, his childhood friend. Years before their marriage, he’d once helped her throw mud at their all-too-serious cousin, who was already set on becoming a soldier. 

“Wei WuXian and Jiang WanYin are likely invading the city, so our odds of escaping today went from impossible to merely unlikely,” Wen Qing said.

So the city was being invaded. Was it too much to hope for Wei WuXian to show mercy? He was always a generous young man. “S-S-Sister – there are other p-p-people here.”

“Yes, we’re rescuing Meng Yao and, um, Sect Leaders Lan and Nie,” said Qin Su. 

“Sect Leaders?” Wen Ning gasped. Wen RuoHan captured two sect leaders and still couldn’t win? 

Wen Qing humphed. “Hell yes we are. They’ll be in our debts and have mercy on our clan if it’s the last thing I do.”

“We will,” vowed Qin Su. “I got it!” She lifted the manacles with a brilliant smile. “You’re free, Master Wen.”

“Thank you, M-M-Maiden Qin.” 

“Don’t treat yourself like that,” she added, her expression immediately serious.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t blame yourself. Don’t think, ‘oh, if only I were stronger, then they wouldn’t use me as a captive, oh, it’s my fault for needing rescue.’ It’s not true,” she said fiercely. “It’s not.”

“You were taken c-c-captive once?” he stammered, remembering that he shouldn’t know that. Sometimes it was easier to play ignorant. 

“Once. Meng Yao rescued me. That’s why I’m here to rescue him.” Qin Su smiled sadly at the siblings. “I can’t imagine how much more determined I would be if it were my brother in prison. I wish I had a brother or a sister.”

Wen Ning swallowed hard.

And suddenly, the wall in the back of his cell gave way. 

“Look out!” Wen Ning pushed Qin Su and Wen Qing away as half of the ceiling crumpled around them. 

Nie HuaiSang dangled above the floor, gagging for air as Wen RuoHan’s fingers tightened around his throat.

“HuaiSang!” cried Xue Yang. 

“Take me,” Nie MingJue didn’t hesitate. He fed directly into Wen RuoHan’s desires, begging the man he swore he would never respect. But his limbs were too broken and bruised, and he couldn’t stand, couldn’t kneel. “Take me!”

“Da-Ge…” Nie HuaiSang was drooling. 

JiaoJiao lifted Baxia, but Wen RuoHan clucked his tongue. “I wouldn’t move if I were you, slut.”

She hesitated. 

“Don’t call her that,” said Meng Yao. Lan XiChen wrapped his arms tighter around him. 

“Are you really in a position to talk to me like that?” Wen RuoHan chuckled at the straining Nie HuaiSang. “Really, crossdressing? That’s what Nie Sect teaches its students? Things are even worse than I feared.”

Nie HuaiSang’s eyes glimmered.

JiaoJiao lowered Baxia, despite the panic that burst into Nie MingJue’s eyes. 

Wen RuoHan couldn’t have cared less about Nie HuaiSang. But Nie MingJue had taken his prized son from him, and so, his little brother was really the perfect torture device.

He thrust his sword towards HuaiSang’s neck.

Meng Yao and Lan XiChen, Wei WuXian and Xue Yang, MianMian and Jiang YanLi – all of them moved forward. Wang LingJiao was the only one to remain still.

Nie HuaiSang reeled to the side, answering the sword with his favorite fan. With a sudden burst of movement, he twisted the sword with his fan, throwing Wen RuoHan off balance, allowing him to escape the man’s clutches.

The sword clattered to the floor.

JiaoJiao’s lips curved. 

Nie HuaiSang dove for the sword, raising it towards Wen RuoHan. “You’re certainly right that things are worse than you feared.” 

Nie MingJue gaped at the move he’d taught his little brother years ago, though not with a fan, but two sabers.

Two bags hurtled towards Wen RuoHan. He ducked, and HuaiSang seized the chance to rush to his Da-Ge’s side. He held Wen RuoHan’s sword while JiaoJiao raised Baxia, daring the man to try to hurt Nie MingJue again.

MianMian pierced the man’s robe with her sword and a seal of spiritual energy, pinning him to a deceased guard.

“Oops, I lost my boobs,” mocked Xue Yang. “What do you have to say about crossdressing now, hmm?” 

An idea occurred to JiaoJiao. “Wei WuXian!” 

“What?” he yelled from where he had returned to hold Lan WangJi up. 

“Destroy the Tiger Tally!” 

“What?! Do you know the kind of backlash –” Wei WuXian cut himself off. 

She nodded.

“That’s it!” he shouted.

“Is there a way to direct the backlash onto someone else?” Nie HuaiSang asked. 

“There has to be, there has to be,” fretted Wei WuXian.

“Jiang Cheng, go find Wen Qing – she should be down the other hall, to the left,” JiaoJiao commanded. “We need a healer.”

“Wen Qing...would never betray me.” Wen RuoHan sputtered. His spiritual powers swelled, weakening MianMian’s seal every second. She poured very single drop of spiritual energy into maintaining the seal. 

“Who would not betray you?” asked Meng Yao, with tears in his eyes. 

Jiang Cheng hesitated. He still held his chest, but not the wound – his hand was still pressed over his golden core. His eyes were filled with the pain of inadequacy. 

“Go! Jiang Cheng, you’re not as injured as Lan WangJi, MianMian’s sword is about to break, and you still have a golden core. It’s strong. Go !” JiaoJiao said.

“I –”

“It’s yours, Jiang Cheng! It’s yours now!” cried Wei WuXian. “And – Jiang Sect needs at least one of us out of here.”

“You won’t get a goodbye from me, you idiot!” Jiang Cheng spun around and fled. If he didn’t have a moment of closure, Wei WuXian had to survive. Right? 

And being around people who didn’t know his humiliation, who could still look up to him – fuck, he was always lesser, even now, even with Wei WuXian’s core.

“Hurry!” MianMian exclaimed, sensing that the seal was about to break. 

“Wei Ying.” Lan WangJi reached weakly for his sleeves.

“No, you’re injured,” snapped Wei WuXian as he took the two halves of the Yin Tiger Tally out of his sleeves.

The air was at once heavier, thicker, dimmer. Black energy swirled around them, like ghouls stalking their prey. 

With a shout, MianMian grabbed YanLi and dove away from Wen RuoHan as her sword fractured. 

But in the midst of such pernicious energy, even Wen RuoHan stumbled, as if he was wading through a dream. 

“Cut me!” Wei WuXian ordered Xue Yang, who looked honored to obey. 

But then, as Wei WuXian allowed his blood to drip onto the seal, Lan WangJi thrust his hand forward, smearing the blood from his chest on the seal before Wei Ying’s.

“Wen Ning!” Wen Qing frantically dug into the pile of stones. She and Qin Su had been digging and digging towards his faint voice. 

“I’m alive,” he repeated as Qin Su removed the stone flocking his head.

Wen Qing dragged him out, inspecting. “Your wrist might be fractured, but otherwise, you seem okay.”

Only when she was satisfied that a fracture was his most serious injury did she slap him. “Why would you do that?!”

“Because I want to save people,” Wen Ning said. “I-I-I might not be as g-g-good a d-d-d-doctor as you, but I w-w-want to save people my own way.”

Wen Qing’s eyes filled. She embraced him tightly. “A-Ning, you will be the death of me.” 

Qin Su suddenly jumped backwards.

Corpses swarmed the broken roof, crawling, walking, staggering and falling into the prison. Some splattered on the ground; some’s limbs twisted in hideous directions, and yet, they all stood again and began walking down the hall. 

A few stopped to stare at them, but came no closer.

“Thank heavens. He can control it,” panted Qin Su. Her hand fished about, and Wen Ning instinctively took it to comfort her. 

She glanced at him with surprise, but she did not seem upset. He hoped he didn’t seem forward or rude. He just wanted to help her. 

But more and more corpses began to come, an unending sea of bodies. 

“The Tiger Tally,” breathed Qin Su, just as she was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream.

The unfortunate prisoner in the cell besides Wen Ning had not been able to escape the ceiling collapse. The corpses were writhing their way inside, intent on killing a Wen guard – a guard accused of stealing bread for his pregnant wife.

A Wen. 

The enemy.

Wen Ning gasped, and leapt in front of the corpse, blocking the smashed-in door with his body. The corpse’s fist hurtled for his chest, and Wen Qing shouted, and he steeled himself to die –

A weak purple spark wrapped around the corpse’s throat.  

Wen Ning opened his eyes to see Jiang WanYin, using his spiritual energy from that golden core, despite bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. The man was pale, his eyes red with tears, but he had summoned enough energy to work Zidian for now. 

“What happened to you?” cried Qin Su.

“Doesn’t matter.” Jiang WanYin glanced around. “Lan WangJi is far worse than me, and this place is about to be overrun. Wen Qing – we need you.”

“Wait!” Qin Su met Wen Ning’s fearful gaze. “How many people are wrongfully imprisoned here?”

“Many,” said Wen Qing tersely.

“Some deserve it,” Jiang WanYin said irritably.

“Sure, some do, but does that negate that many innocent people are going to be devoured alive?” Wen Qing demanded. “I’m a healer, Jiang WanYin. I cannot leave.”

Jiang WanYin cursed. “Then I’ll leave you!”

“Oh, will you? How very like Wen RuoHan,” retorted Wen Qing.

Jiang Cheng turned even paler. “I …”

“You know he’s not, sister.” Wen Ning clasped his hands. “We c-c-c-can’t leave, Jiang Wan-W-WanYin, until we make sure no more people die from these corpses.”

“Seems to me the quickest way is to pull as many people out of their cells as possible,” said Qin Su, as another wail for help emerged from down the hall.

“Fine. Let’s rescue as many as we can.” Jiang WanYin could not have looked more on edge.

Qin Su began to pick the lock to the cell beside her, but her fingers weren’t quick, not like Xue Yang’s. 

“Move.” Jiang Cheng slashed Zidian across the lock. The door swung open and the guard staggered out, gasping in fear. 

“You’re safe. Stay close to us,” Wen Qing ordered, pulling the injured Jiang WanYin along with her to rescue the next cell.

“Wen Ning, stay with me. We’ll protect the prisoners,” said Qin Su, yanking a sword out of her skirt. A woman too young for the gray in her hair, for the hollowness in her eyes, raced towards them for protection. “I know your wrist is hurt – is there a place we can lead them? An armory, perhaps?”

As she spoke, at least a dozen more fierce corpses had arrived. And from the growls on the roof, more were on their way. 

“Uh –” Wen Ning whirled around to kick in the door to the torture chamber. 

“Let me. You’re injured.” Wen Qing hoisted last remaining Qin captive, missing fingers and one leg below his knee, onto her back. 

Jiang Cheng hadn’t expected many captives at all, but now that he saw them, his anger towards Wen RuoHan had intensified beyond what he thought possible. He was so shocked, he actually allowed this woman to take the soldier instead of himself.

“Here.” Jiang Cheng helped her through the doors Wen Ning and Qin Su had entered. They could guard the captives here while Wen Qing could treat his family, right? Qin Su wasn’t strong, but Wen Ning was – although he was injured, too – 

Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure what he had expected in the room. Much-needed weapons. More cells. 

Not a golden urn that reeked of burnt flesh, not bloodied hooks hanging from the ceiling, not a table with cut marks in it. Now a wheel for crushing body parts. 

“What sort of fuckery is this?” he burst out.

“Wen RuoHan’s playground,” said Wen Qing tightly. The Qin soldier on her back stifled a  moan, and she moved her hands to his meridians, sending him into a blissful sleep for now. She gently lay the man on the ground.

Qin Su muffled a rising sob. She couldn’t help but feel relief at Jiang Cheng’s horror. Because finally, someone else was appalled, someone else had not expected this level of barbarity before.  Meng Yao, Meng Yao – it’s too terrifying.

No wonder you let him rape you.

You must have felt all alone. 

You must feel so ashamed. 

You did nothing wrong.

I want to help you heal. JiaoJiao and Lan XiChen and Nie MingJue and Xue Yang and I. Let us help you. 

Jiang Cheng ground his teeth. “Son of a bitch.” 

A hand landed on his shoulder. 

Jiang Cheng jerked. “What are you –” 

“Healing you,” Wen Qing said sharply. “As much as I can. Don’t you want to make it back to your shixiong?”

“Thank you.” Jiang Cheng avoided her face; at one point during their hiding, he had craved her touch. He had hoped that if a girl – no, a powerful, enemy woman – liked him, he might not be worthless, even without a core. “Someday I will repay you.”

“There’s no need.”

“Isn’t there,” he said bitterly.

She looked somber. He was about to say let’s go when the lock plummeted from the door. 

“They’re coming in,” cried a frail man in a beggar’s garb.

I have to get Wei WuXian! I have to save him! Jiang Cheng surveyed the weak and crippled lot before him. Wen Qing, a doctor with no fighting skills. Wen Ning, the timid archer Wei WuXian had claimed was better than Jiang Cheng, with a broken wrist. Qin Su, not exactly the strongest cultivator. 

What would his brother want him to do?

I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me again ! he thought angrily. 

There were too many corpses. Too many sick and injured, too many crying, unable to bear death by fierce corpse after weeks of torture. 

Save them? It was impossible.

Just like his sect motto. Jiang Cheng’s heart thudded in his chest.

“Stay behind me.” Jiang Cheng pressed his hand against the center of his chest, over the skin that covered the golden core he didn’t deserve. Wei WuXian, you had better not let me down now. I’m living until we find BaoShen SanRen to give it back to you, bastard.

Wen Ning grabbed a bouquet of arrows, ignoring the blood that crusted their tips, ignoring the fact that he could barely move his left hand. He aimed at one corpse, and then another. Qin Su and Wen Qing formed blockades with their bodies.

Jiang Cheng ignited Zidian. If he had Wei WuXian’s golden core, even if just temporarily, he would use it to its utmost.

“Lan Zhan, stop!” raged Wei WuXian, but, even heavily injured, Lan WangJi’s arm strength was too formidable to shake off.

The heavy thumps of corpse feet began to consume the Fire Palace. The resentful dead chittered, and ghouls cackled, as those who had been tortured to death from Wen RuoHan rose again, breaking through the stone floor they’d been buried in, crawling out of the ground beyond the Fire Palace, all determined to find the source of their demise inside.

Xue Yang felt set his jaw and pulled Wei WuXian’s hand back from Lan WangJi. He held out his other hand towards MianMian.  

As the black energy grew and grew, MianMian’s legs trembled. She had used all of her energy fixing Wen RuoHan in place. She stretched out her hand to take Xue Yang’s. Her other hand held Jiang YanLi’s.

Alone, with no one to lean on, Wen RuoHan flailed about.

Good , thought JiaoJiao.

With the help of Meng Yao, Lan XiChen flung himself to his brother. JiaoJiao reached over to take Meng Yao’s second hand.

Nie HuaiSang clutched her fingers, and his Da-Ge’s shoulder.

“Why are you all – not running?” cried Wei WuXian.

“Diminishing the backlash onto you,” Lan XiChen replied. “But then, you already know that. Why do you insist on taking it?”

More and more corpses began to fill the room, gurgling towards Wei WuXian.

“I –” Wei WuXian broke off, looking to JiaoJiao and Lan WangJi. They knew what he’d done. How he’d tortured Wens to death for revenge. And now everyone knew he had no other cultivation path except for the ghostly path. Didn’t he deserve it? Wasn’t it better this way?

“Don’t you dare, Wei WuXian,” JiaoJiao hissed instead. 

Wen RuoHan finally found his bearings. He sent a burst of light energy, sharper than a sword, straight for the Tiger Tally.

They say the devil masquerades as an angel of light , JiaoJiao thought with giggle borne of pure hysteria. 

Xie Lian, please, please, please . She had no more words, only the chanting in her head.

She could summon the System, but she didn’t want to stop praying for even a moment.

Help us, Xie Lian .

The light intensified, until JiaoJiao feared certain they would all be blinded. And then the Tiger Tally exploded into dust.

The corpses screamed. They whirled upon Wen RuoHan, the breaker of the seal, who would bear the brunt of backlash.

Wen RuoHan was powerful, but more and more corpses piled upon him, sinking their teeth in, tearing at his hair, as the jewelry he wore on his head. Eventually, he toppled over, and the corpses formed a pile over him.

 JiaoJiao averted her eyes from the sight of him devoured by corpses whose only hunger was resentment. 

After a few minutes, Wen RuoHan’s howls had ceased.

“Is he dead?” cried Nie HuaiSang. Would the corpses now turn on them?

“Who could survive that?” retorted Xue Yang.

Wei WuXian began to whistle, and Xue Yang suddenly began imitating him, and not awfully, at that.

And, to her relief, the corpses began to stagger, began to fall. 

JiaoJiao turned to Nie MingJue. “ChiFeng-Zun, Sect Leader Nie, Nie MingJue, A-Jue – I’ll call you A-Jue if you lose consciousness, you hear me?”

“Don’t motivate me,” slurred Nie MingJue. He didn’t have the strength to smile, but his eyes showed more than enough as he took in both HuaiSang and Wang LingJiao.

“I knew you were smart.” JiaoJiao slapped Nie HuaiSang in his chest. “But that scared the hell out of me!”

“But, if we’ve all just participated in wayward cultivation, how could that be?” Nie HuaiSang asked, timid but cheeky. 

JiaoJiao shook her head before turning to smirk at Nie MingJue. “You should be very proud of your brother. He fixed out outfits and had the original idea. I merely did the makeup.”

“It was both of our idea,” squeaked HuaiSang. A corpse collapsed behind him.

JiaoJiao jumped.

And then horror speared her. The corpse had already lost its fierceness; it had moved because Wen RuoHan stood behind him. 

JiaoJiao’s mind whirled. How –

Wen RuoHan must have feigned his own demise. Of course he was paranoid; he likely had he had a protection seal on himself. 

“Look out!” screamed Jiang YanLi.

JiaoJiao brought Baxia up to meet Wen RuoHan’s sword, to keep him from Meng Yao on her left and Nie HuaiSang on her right. And though she had no spiritual energy, the blade was strong enough not to break. Rather, she was knocked back atop Nie HuaiSang. 

Wen RuoHan’s shadow, long from the sunset visible from the broken ceiling, loomed over them.

JiaoJiao didn’t have time to look up as something enormous crashed atop her, pinning her to Nie HuaiSang. She coughed up blood – a new first experience in the MDZS world for her. 

“Da-Ge,” wheezed Nie HuaiSang.

JiaoJiao opened her mouth in a silent scream. She couldn’t turn around – Nie MingJue’s body was too heavy – but she could feel something wet and sticky oozing into her pink robes. Like crimson blood.

“H-H-Huai…” Nie MingJue struggled to speak. Tears streamed from Nie HuaiSang’s eyes. 

But he was speaking.

If he was speaking, he was alive.

And if he was alive, JiaoJiao wasn’t giving up. She summoned all her strength, all her muscle memory, and flipped him over to aim a high-kick straight for Wen RuoHan. 

She might not have been a cheerleader or have practiced for months, but her foot landed on Wen RuoHan’s chest all the same.

She narrowly dodged his sword, and felt his powers sucking her back to him. She opened her mouth to scream – only for the vortex to stop so suddenly she tripped over Nie MingJue’s broken, bleeding body. 

Wen RuoHan froze. On his right shoulder – not unlike the donghua – a knife poked out. 

But Meng Yao was trapped behind her! JiaoJiao whirled around. 

Liu Fang stood there, her eyes hard. “This is for our mistress’s father.”

“This is for Wen Chao.” Wu Ping drove another dagger into him. 

“This is for Wen Xu!” Cai Chen hurled a thin spear, which Wen RuoHan blocked, but barely. His surprise had thrown his reflexes off, and he struggled to avoid Guo BiYi’s whip and Ting Xuan’s talisman. 

Tan En’s voice was soft. “This is for me, and perhaps Wen Hui.” 

But she was too slow, and Wen RuoHan easily broke her knife with a flick of his finger. His sword shot towards the little girl, defenseless, not even allowed to be a cultivator – Wen RuoHan had once decreed that she would face execution if she ever attempted it – and JiaoJiao screamed, and Wen Hui spun Tan En away and himself into his path, and –

Wen DaiYu, still smaller than her fourteen-year-old maid, answered her father-in-law’s sword with her chest. 

Right beside her heart.

JiaoJiao shrieked. Wen RuoHan seemed truly surprised, enough to hesitate.

He had never expected the girl he’d broken, the petite and demure daughter-in-law who surrendered to him years ago, to turn on him.

“And this,” spoke Wen DaiYu, her face shining with sweat and her eyes glistening with tears, a speck of blood on her crimson lips, “is for me .”

She tore the sword from her own chest, sealing her fate, and shoved it straight into his abdomen. Aiming upwards, due to her small size, through his ribs. To his heart.

Her maids cried out, but Wen DaiYu was smiling as she and Wen RuoHan staggered away from each other. 

“I’ll see you in hell,” she spat. Words that sounded very strange coming from her usually gentle lips.

Wen RuoHan’s mind reeled. The only people – who had never betrayed him – were his wife and his concubine, the ones whose sons he’d lost –

Wen DaiYu collapsed into JiaoJiao and Wu Ping’s arms. The former rivals nodded seriously at each other as Wen RuoHan’s head was suddenly struck from its body.

Meng Yao held a sword forth, his face pale. Lan XiChen’s hands were overlaid on his, helping him swing. 

Wen DaiYu gasped. The man she feared, the man who’d burdened her life for years, was dead.

Her breathing was labored. “Good, good, good.”

“Who has medical knowledge?” cried Cai Chen. The maids scrambled around their dying mistress.

“Find Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng!” JiaoJiao yelled to Xue Yang. 

MianMian rushed forward, but the herbs were quickly washed away by the stream of scarlet. 

JiaoJiao held Wen DaiYu’s head on her knees, but she knew, she already knew, that she wouldn’t last the next few minutes.

And then Nie MingJue hoisted himself up to kneel besides her. JiaoJiao jerked her head up to see him press his hands over a Wen-dog’s wound, unable to pass energy, but perhaps staunch the bleeding as best he could. 

After a few moments, Nie MingJue shook her head at her.

“I’m sorry,” Wen DaiYu said thinly. 

“I promised your maids I would save you, and I will,” JiaoJiao insisted, denying this, denying this reality.

[Chance of survival: steady at 2%].

“You did,” Wen DaiYu murmured. “I gave you so many chances to surrender, save yourself. You kept choosing to disobey your fear. So I...chose the same.”

JiaoJiao choked down a sob. 

[Chance of survival: 0%].

What ?!

“JiaoJiao,” said Wen DaiYu, her voice faint. “I can see him.”

“Who?” JiaoJiao asked, but she knew already before pale light enveloped them. 

“You!” Nie MingJue stiffened, but the ghost ignored him. 

A young man wearing sun-crested robes and a nervous expression hovered among them, reaching out his translucent hand. 

The other maids began to sob. Even stoic Liu Fang. Even Wen Hui, as he held Tan En. 

Wen DaiYu gasped. She tried to raise her hand, but she was too weak. 

And then, before JiaoJiao or any of the maids could react, Nie MingJue lifted Wen DaiYu’s hand to take the spirit’s. 

His own arms were so weak he shook uncontrollably, until Nie HuaiSang, his eyes fixated on the spirit, steadied his brother’s hands with his own.

Wen Xu looked at the Nie brothers for a moment, surprised that his enemy would usher his beloved into the afterlife. 

Nie MingJue had no idea what to say to his brother’s cousin. He wasn’t sorry for what he’d done. Just how things had turned out. He didn’t hate Wen Xu anymore, not at all. In fact, he grieved him.

But he focused on the one thing he knew to say instead – words to the still-living. 

“You – are a – very brave – brave woman,” said Nie MingJue with all the strength he could muster. 

And then Wen DaiYu smiled, and her head fell back.

JiaoJiao began to sob, not just from loss, but because they were here, right in front of them, holding each other, treasuring the spiritual equivalent of a lover’s touch was. They had no need for apology or explanation, because their souls already understood each other. 

And then Wen Xu kissed A-Hong, a long and deep kiss that had simmered for through years of pining and mourning and brokenness, reclaiming what they’d lost in their lives. Mortals might have judged such a kiss lewd, but to those who knew their story, who knew the truth, there was nothing purer. 

Nie MingJue held JiaoJiao as she sobbed harder, as their light began to fade as their spirits were carried away from this mortal realm. United at last, still locked in an embrace as they traveled to wherever life continued. 

And if there was one thing JiaoJiao was especially positioned to know, it was that life did continue. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen

Telling the Truth

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the task ‘Surviving Story Climax!’]

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the task ‘Rescuing Wen Ning’].

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the task ‘Saving Wen DaiYu’].

I have not .

[Salvation, like redemption, is not always synonymous with survival. You have been awarded 1500 B points for your efforts. Total B points: 6020]. 

500 B points would not make up for the life of Wen DaiYu, whose death she saw when she closed her eyes at night.

“Wang LingJiao!”

JiaoJiao stopped. She was in the process of carrying soup to the sprawling medical pavilion where Meng Yao, Lan XiChen, and Nie MingJue were treated. Well, them and everyone else who had participated in the battle against Wen RuoHan: the tortured prisoners, Lan WangJi, and Jiang Cheng were likewise confined. 

Burying of the dead had gone on for five days now, despite reinforcements from all sects. Fortunately, Nightless City still had abundant resources for healing the injured. 

Wen Hui hurried over to her, escorted from the prisoner barracks by Nie soldiers. While his brother recovered, Nie HuaiSang had given them clear orders to treat all Wen soldiers with respect.  

Tan En accompanied him, and a small smile bloomed on JiaoJiao’s face. “Hey there, Meat Bun.”

He flushed. 

“How is your father?” she asked. Wen TengFei’s forces had arrived yesterday for discussion. “Were you able to see him?”

“He’s...negotiating surrender.” Wen Hui nodded as he scuffed his boots against the ground. “He said he’s just happy I am alive.”

“I’m glad.” JiaoJiao said, her heart warming. She turned to Tan En. “How are you?”

“I’m well,” said the little girl, forcing a smile.

JiaoJiao eyed her.

Tan En lowered her head. “I’m really sad.”

“Me, too,” JiaoJiao said. “I miss her. She was my first true friend, I think. And I – she deserved so much more.”

Tan En met her eyes. “Was it my fault?” 

JiaoJiao caught her breath. “Oh, Tan En, no. No. Wen DaiYu loved you. She loved all of us. She died free, protecting someone she loved. I think...if she had to die, that is how she would have chosen to die.”

Tan En nodded. 

“May I hug you?” asked JiaoJiao.

Her face crumpled, and she nodded again, and JiaoJiao carefully placed the soup down before wrapping her arms around the girl.  

“It will be okay, you’ll see. I’m sure Wen Hui and Wen TengFei will teach you cultivation. Wu Ping is convincing her family to surrender, too. All of you will be okay,” JiaoJiao murmured, rubbing the girl’s back.

Tan En’s tears had dampened the front of JiaoJiao’s dress. “It doesn’t feel okay.” 

“No,” JiaoJiao admitted. “It doesn’t, does it?”

When she finally arrived back at the medical quarters, she had to chuckle at the sight of a certain golden peacock disappearing into YanLi’s room, carrying the soup he had insisted on brewing himself. 

Not long after the corpses had fallen – so soon in fact that JiaoJiao was still weeping over Wen DaiYu’s body – reinforcements led by Jin ZiXuan and Jin ZiXun had arrived outside. For his part, Jin ZiXuan had flown to the Fire Palace only to fall backwards at the sight of Jiang YanLi beside Wen RuoHan’s corpse, dressed in a preposterously scandalous outfit.

The expression on his face had been so priceless that JiaoJiao wished cell phones existed here. In the days since, she’d replayed it over and over in her mind whenever she felt too depressed.  

Every day since, Jin ZiXuan had devoutly delivered YanLi the soup he’d made himself. Though YanLi drank it, she confided to JiaoJiao that its taste left much to be desired. Unfortunately, when JiaoJiao had tried to intervene, he’d insisted his recipe was correct because ‘Maiden Jiang likes it.’ 

Some people were destined to be together, she thought wryly. Wen Xu and Wen DaiYu. Jiang YanLi and Jin ZiXuan. Now they just had to push Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi. 

Wei WuXian stopped to glare at Jin ZiXuan’s golden robes as the door closed behind him. Jiang Cheng hung on his brother's shoulders; as the leader of Jiang Sect, he had insisted on taking part in the negotiations despite his injuries. And now, after a long day, he was paying for it. 

“He only likes her because he saw her half-naked,” growled Wei WuXian. “Like Father, like son.”

Jiang Cheng was appalled. “See if he dares!” 

“I’ll cut it off,” vowed Wei WuXian. 

“With what sword?”

JiaoJiao choked.

“Okay...I probably deserved that,” mumbled Wei WuXian. “Oh, hey, Wang LingJiao.”

She waved with a slight chuckle. “Don’t get too violent yet.”

Wei WuXian snorted as she passed by into Nie MingJue’s room. “That reminds me, I have a lot to ask her.”

“I have a lot to ask you ,” retorted Jiang Cheng.

“Oh?” Wei WuXian looked nervous.

“Where is BaoShen SanRen?” Jiang Cheng shoved Wei WuXian. He was injured and tired; Wei WuXian couldn’t push back. “You’re an idiot if you think I’m keeping this core.”

“Am I? You deserve it. I have ghostly cultivation,” said Wei WuXian.

“Oh, you think I can’t do ghostly cultivation?”

“Not if you want to lead Jiang Sect. You know that,” Wei WuXian reminded him.

“Were you just never going to tell me? I feel like a fool. You’ve made me a fool,” Jiang Cheng whispered. 

To his brother’s dread, there were tears in Jiang Cheng’s eyes.

“You needed it more than me,” Wei WuXian says simply, though his voice cracks.

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “Where is she?”

Wei WuXian stared at the ground.

“Wei Ying!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, okay?” Wei WuXian allowed his tears to leak down his cheeks. “I never found her.”

Jiang Cheng felt even more humiliated. His face was nearly the shade of his uniform. “Then…”

“Wen Qing is the best doctor known,” Wei WuXian said woodenly.

Jiang Cheng’s lips parted. “No.”

He had been so weak, so pathetic, to Wen Qing? He’d nearly forsaken her and her brother’s rescue, as if he owed them nothing, when she’d given him everything? He doubled over. “ No .”

“I’m sorry. I know I deceived you. I just wanted to honor my vow to protect you with my life,” said Wei WuXian.

“You fool!” Jiang Cheng swung his fist into the wall besides his brother. “Did you not think I would make the same vow to you? Did you not think that the reason you weren’t caught at the market that day, when it was swarming with Wens, was that there was a distraction? Why are you the only one allowed to sacrifice?”

Wei WuXian’s face drained of blood. “What?”

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips together to keep himself from gasping with sobs. “Wei WuXian, why do you always have to outdo me?”

Wei WuXian was wracked with heavy cries. “Because you’re my shidi and I love you. You – you really – why –”

“Well, why won’t you let someone else love you for a change, too?” Jiang Cheng yelled, before spinning on his heel and storming back to a certain room. He slammed his palm on the door.

“Fuck,” gasped Wei WuXian, racing after him. 

A familiar face appeared to open the door.

“Qin Su, don’t let him in,” hollered Wei WuXian. 

“Qin Su, I’m a Sect Leader. Let me in.”

“Sorry, Wei WuXian, I think he has the right to speak with them,” said Qin Su mildly as she stepped aside. 

The room held two beds: Meng Yao and Lan XiChen occupied one, and Wen Ning the other. 

Meng Yao had tried to shirk the treatment he desperately needed. He was petrified of the wounds they would see on his body, afraid of the rumors that would spread. Fortunately, Lan XiChen had intervened, insisting that Wen Qing, and Wen Qing alone, treat him. 

She had, with both compassion and discretion, and Lan XiChen had yet to leave his side. He held him every night, even though Meng Yao awoke multiple times with nightmares. XiChen had even asked his Shufu Lan QirRn to attend the negotiations while he recovered.  With only a broken arm and malnutrition, Wen Ning had guarded his door from the inside, and JiaoJiao, Qin Su, and Xue Yang took rotating shifts to guard from the outside. 

“Wen Qing!” Jiang Cheng stormed inside. 

Alarm leapt upon Lan XiChen and Meng Yao’s face. Jiang Cheng frowned; those two were still in the same bed, holding each other. Whatever. They deserved comfort. 

Wen Ning struggled to his feet.

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. He tried to infuse calm into his voice. “May we speak in private, Maiden Wen?” 

Wen Qing noted Wei WuXian’s frantic expression form the doorway, and Qin Su’s amusement. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it right here.”

“I –” Jiang Cheng was about to say that he couldn’t, but that wasn’t quite true, was it? It wasn’t impossible. He just didn’t want to.

This is why Father despised you. 

“I know what you did,” he said. Lamely. Truly a great beginning. 

She closed her eyes. “I am glad he told you.”

“Was it painful?” Why is he even asking? To hurt himself more? 

Wen Qing was brisk. “Very. Analgesics would have affected the removal of his golden core.”

“So he had nothing?” Jiang Cheng gaped.

“Yes.” 

Jiang Cheng trembled. He didn’t want to turn around to see Wei WuXian yet. Not right now. “Why did you agree?”

“You…” Wen Qing struggled to speak. “You were destroyed after your captivity. Wen Chao may not have been the sadist his father was, but he, too, was capable of great tortures. And as a member of Wen Clan, I felt responsible...to heal as much wrongs as I could.” 

Jiang Cheng angrily swiped at his cheeks. After a moment of struggle, he ventured, “Maiden Wen. There is great hatred between myself and Wen Clan, that is true, but that hatred never applied to you. After everything...you and your brother have done, how could I?”

Wen Qing stared at him. She seemed to have realized his intentions before anyone else.

“Wen Qing, what I’m asking – what I’m saying is – if you were to leave Wen Clan – leave and –”

“And?” She waited. 

“I would protect you.”

“What can you do?” Wen Qing shook her head. “Certainly, I was imprisoned. But A-Ning was still in Qishan, even if he was in jail. And what of the rest of my clan? You cannot save us all.”

“There is nothing wrong with saving yourself,” said Meng Yao quietly. “Isn’t that what you told me, Wen Qing?”

Lan XiChen’s hands squeezed his, understanding.

“You’re right!” Jiang Cheng blurted. “I can’t save you all. But I – we – we are not alone. We can save you all, or as many as possible.” 

“We?”

“Me and…my shixiong. My sister. Sect Leader Lan, Sect Leader Nie – both witnessed your bravery in Nightless City. Qin Su can convince her father. I – isn’t it worth trying?” Jiang Cheng never imagined himself begging before.

“Lan Sect will certainly offer the innocent protection,” said Lan XiChen.

“I’ve already spoken to my father about the conditions of the Jin’s prisoner camps,” added Qin Su. 

“Sister.” Wen Ning sounded anxious.

Wen Qing moved closer to Jiang Cheng. She recalled how he had struggled with what little energy he had left to ward off innumerable fierce corpses for Wens and prisoners, even though it seemed hopeless, until the gentle sound of a flute calmed them.  “What, precisely, are you asking me, Sect Leader Jiang?”

Shit . She really was going to demand ever word from him. Jiang Cheng wanted to cover his eyes, but he couldn’t. “To join our clans in marriage.” 

 Wen Qing took a second to respond. “I’m not a pawn to be traded for political gain.”

“No, never! I would never think that of you. I – I actually do – I c-care for you.” Jiang Cheng fumbled for words. 

“Good.” She nodded. “Then I accept.”

Jiang Cheng felt as though he might faint. She has such a strong cultivation. She was infinitely more powerful, and he was in her debt. And yet – he saw respect in her eyes.

And he was happy. 

Wei Wuxian clapped behind them. “Kiss him, Wen Qing!”

“Wei Ying, I’m still –” Jiang Cheng was cut off by Wen Qing’s lips pressed over his own.

Nie MingJue awakened to see Nie HuaiSang and Wang LingjIao’s faces watching over him. His brother’s neck was bruised, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. He was back in his Nie Sect robes, and seemed to be conversing about ‘surrender’ with the maid.

Wang LingJiao wore a plain, dark green dress, and yet he thought she looked even more beautiful for it. It was impossible for this woman to look plain. And those were Nie colors... 

“He’s awake!” Wang LingJiao leapt to her feet. 

“Da-Ge!” Nie HuaiSang seized his hand. 

Nie MingJue took in the unfamiliar room, made of glossy black stone. “Where…”

“We’re still in Nightless City,” Nie HuaiSang said eagerly. “Da-Ge, Wen TengFei is negotiating surrender. I’ve been...sitting on the councils in your absence. You won.”

Nie MingJue was stunned. Over? The thing he had lived for his entire life, revenge and the destruction of Qishan Wen, was over ?

He didn’t know what to do from here.

But one thing he did know – “ We won, HuaiSang. You included.”

“Ah, Da-Ge.” HuaiSang ducked his head. “I was a bit of a fool. I really did just attack Wen RuoHan without thinking – I just couldn’t bear how he spoke to you.”

“I took your cousin.” Nie MingJue’s eyes widen as he recalls what Wen RuoHan had revealed.

“Yes. I wish you hadn’t. I wish Wen Xu and his bride had run away to Qinghe, even though I know why he stayed.” Nie HuaiSang squeezes Nie MingJue’s calloused hand with his soft, fine fingers. “Da-Ge, I know I’m a youthful fool, but please listen to me.”

“I know my mother never resented your mother. Or you. She loved you and considered you her son. And I – never use words like ‘half-brother’ to describe you. You’re my brother, and the one Father would have wanted to lead. It doesn’t matter how you were conceived.” 

Nie MingJue swallowed hard. After a moment, he said, “Don’t ever try to convince me you don’t know anything again.”

It was his own way of saying I love you , and both he and HuaiSang knew it. 

“Wang LingJiao.” Nie MingJue turned to her, though hI shand still held HuaiSang’s. “How is Meng Yao? And XiChen?”

“They’re recovering in a room down the hall. It...will be a long journey for Meng Yao. But we will help him,” JiaoJiao promised.

“We will.” Nie MingJue shifted. “Just down the hall? Help me up.” 

“Ah, Da-Ge, you should be still –”

“I’m seeing XiChen and A-Yao,” he insisted.

HuaiSang and JiaoJiao both rolled their eyes, but after a sour look from Nie MingJue, both caved to help him out of bed.

Nie MingJue noticed Baxia lain on a table. “Thank you, Wang LingJiao.”

“I should thank you, since without it and your...large body, HuaiSang and I would be in pieces,” said JiaoJiao. She draped one of his arms around her shoulder, and HuaiSang took the other.

They hobbled into the hallway to see two familiar faces.

“Stop squirming!” MianMian dabbed at a cut on Xue Yang’s hand. 

“It stings!” Xue Yang shot back. “Besides, there are so many more hurt than me. Why do you insist on treating me like a baby?”

“I’m not treating you like a baby; I’m keeping you from infection!” MianMian huffed. “Fine. Be that way!”

She put her hands on her hips and turned to stomp off, but at JiaoJiao’s snicker, Xue Yang whirled around. “What are you laughing at?”

“Xue Yang has a crush,” Nie HuaiSang said.  

JiaoJiao giggled. Nie HuaiSang could not be wrong. And I suspect it’s mutual .

Xue Yang shrieked and ran away before MianMian had seized her chance to grab him. 

“JiaoJiao, what?” she cried.

MianMian was supposed to marry a different man. A good man. No, perhaps JiaoJiao should put no effort into insisting canon be followed anymore.

“Pssh. Go find the brat.” JiaoJiao grinned.

“Did I get up for this?” muttered Nie MingJue. 

At the sight of Nie MingJue, Meng Yao sat up at once. Lan XiChen supported his small frame as the boy attempted to bow. “Sect Leader Nie.”

Nie MingJue took in the sight of Meng Yao with his faded, yellowed bruises on his neck, the bandages over the brand that would forever tarnish his chest, and he couldn’t help but think Meng Yao was not the one who should be bowing. Aloud, he grunted, “Didn’t you call me Da-Ge back there?” 

“I – thought that was the last I would speak with you,” Meng Yao tried. 

“I thought so, too.” Nie MingJue gave him a small smile. “I owe you my life.” 

Nie HuaiSang and JiaoJiao hastily helped him sit on the edge of Meng Yao’s bed.

“As do I,” said Lan XiChen, gazing at Meng Yao with his soft doe eyes.

Nie MingJue narrowed his eyes. “XiChen. You really are...You are a cutsleeve.”

Lan XiChen half-smiled before swallowing hard. He said in a low voice, before Nie MingJue and Meng Yao, before Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng, before Wei WuXian and Wen Ning and Qin Su and Nie HuaiSang and Wang LingJiao, “I am.”

At the resulting silence, JiaoJiao was about to open her mouth and demand what was wrong with love, when Nie MingJue interrupted, “I would be honored to take an oath of brotherhood with you, Lan XiChen, and you, Meng Yao.” 

Lan XiChen leaned forward. “Nie MingJue, you wouldn’t consider me a disgrace?”

“I know what I saw in that dungeon,” said Nie MingJue stiffly. “I know what disgrace and honor look like. The both of you have the latter.” 

Meng Yao’s mouth opened and closed. “You...you mean it? Even though I am – a bastard and a prostitute’s son?” 

Nie MingJue’s voice was hoarse. “Meng Yao, you are also a rare genius...and you are my friend.”

Meng Yao was crying. His voice caught. So what if he was not accepted by his father? Sect Leader Nie wanted to be his brother. Sect Leader Lan knew what had been done to him, and he still wanted to be his husband. “I accept, I accept.”

“Excuse us.” Sometime later that evening, after Jiang Cheng had peppered Lan XiChen with questions about cutsleeves that confused everyone present except for JiaoJiao, Lan XiChen himself, and the ever-observant Meng Yao and Nie HuaiSang, voices poured into the hall.

And then Jin GuangShan stepped into the room, accompanied by Qin CangYe and multiple other sect leaders. Jin ZiXuan and Jin ZiXun, escorted by Jiang YanLi.

JiaoJiao eyed YanLi’s proximity to Jin ZiXuan. She couldn’t resist a small wink.

YanLi blushed. 

“Father.” Qin Su clutched his hands, and Qin CangYe smiled down at his daugher. He then turned to Jin GuangShan, his friend, and waited. 

The silence grew.

“Meng Yao, I hear we – we are related.” Jin ZiXuan looked distinctly uncomfortable as he addressed his brother before anyone else. 

Meng Yao nodded, shy at once.

“Father wants to accept you into our clan,” he said.

Meng Yao’s lips parted. 

Qin CangYe beamed, pleased at having finally convinced his friend that a spy and war hero should be rewarded. And Qin Su smiled, until she noticed how similar Meng Yao and Jin ZiXuan’s eyes were, a beautiful gold, just like their father. Undeniably Jins, with eyes to match their uniforms. 

Wen Ning had just told her that her eyes were as gold as a sunrise, too. With a frown, she lifted a hand to her face. 

Nie MingJue couldn’t help but grimace in concern, and he noticed Wang LingJiao also looked less-than-pleased.

Lan XiChen pulled Meng Yao closer to himself. 

ANd Meng Yao thought for a moment. Lan XiChen loved him. Could he marry Lan XiChen if he joined Jin Sect? Or would a more advantageous marriage – to a woman – be required?

No one else would want him if they knew. His fingers brushed the bandaged brand. 

He didn’t want to be intimate with anyone except Lan XiChen. And even then, he wasn’t sure he could.

“Congratulations, Meng Yao,” Lan XiChen said at last. Selfless. Loving. Kind.

Meng Yao’s protest caught in his throat.

“After all, you are the one who killed Wen RuoHan,” said Jin ZiXun.

Meng Yao shook his head, and Nie MingJue snorted.

“That was a combined effort, Young Master Jin,” said Meng Yao timidly. “Young Madame Wen deserves the most credit.”

“Yes, we’ve already given her maids and the concubines sanctuary,” assured Qin CangYe. “But you struck his head from his shoulders, and that, too, deserves commendation.”

“He sure does, but why has Sect Leader Jin said nothing?” Xue Yang’s voice came from the hall. He and MianMian pushed their way forward, and JiaoJiao noticed that he was clinging to the edge of MianMian’s sleeve. “Isn’t he his long-lost son?” 

“What can one say to their son who has accomplished so much?” said Jin GuangShan, his golden eyes glittering. “I am glad you followed my advice, Meng Yao.”

“You are very kind, Father.” Meng Yao bowed. “I do not need a place in your sect, or a room in Koi Tower. I merely have – I only wish to be known as your son.”

Jin GuangShan kept smiling. “It pained me not to respond to Wen RuoHan’s ransom, lest I endanger you more. I am glad my trust in you was not in vain, despite your trials.”

Nie MingJue gawked at him. Qin CangYe grimaced. JiaoJiao choked.

Meng Yao knew from JiaoJiao that his father had been perfectly willing to let him rot, but that had been before. Now, after the battle, he had proven himself. Now his father could love him.

“Indeed, he was Wen RuoHan’s most trusted advisor,” JiaoJiao said, tensing.

“Even more than you?” Jin GuangShan’s voice was pure ice even as he smiled at her.

“Seems Wen RuoHan surrounded himself with whores,” muttered a disciple, and JiaoJiao jerked.

Nie MingJue saw red. And then he saw Meng Yao’s expression – the realization that somehow, someway, someone knew. 

The servants had talked, hadn’t they? Didn’t you hear? Sect Leader Jin’s son was violated by Wen RuoHan.

“Now, now, is a son to blame for his mother’s sins?” asked Jin GuangShan, still smiling.

“Perhaps you haven’t heard how he became so close to Wen RuoHan.” 

“That’s right.”

Jin GuangShan’s smile was beginning to fade. 

Meng Yao trembled. His secret would be known no matter how much he tried to hide it. 

For a moment, Meng Yao seemed entirely unsure what to do. “Father –”

“Sect Leader Jin, I really must object. He was Wen RuoHan’s consort! Perhaps he did it for our sake, but there is still a taint to someone with such base morality.”  

“Were you not branded like a common whore?” 

Meng Yao wanted to cry, but that would make him appear even weaker. His fingers grabbled for Lan XiChen’s, for Da-Ge’s. How had he switched from honor to humiliation so quickly? 

His father knew, his father knew the heavy shame he felt. Jin GuangShan looked at his son with contempt.

“Father,” begged Meng Yao. He’d spent his life working for this, for his Father’s love; it could not all slip away because of – what happened. “It wasn’t – I had no choice. No choice, I swear it.” 

“Son of a whore,” whispered Jin GuangShan in shock. 

Nie MingJue opened his mouth. Wei WuXian was busy trying to help MianMian contain Xue Yang.

“Yes, whores. Funny how it seems rapists always surround themselves with people they can label whores.” JiaoJiao tapped her chin. “Though I really must wonder if that’s true. If, perhaps, rapists surround themselves with vulnerable people they’ll then claim are whores to discredit them?” 

She pressed a hand over her heart. “Tell me Sect Leader Jin, I’m so curious. Of all of us, you are best equipped to answer that question, aren’t you?”

He glared at her, but in another second, Qin Su intervened. “If you call either JiaoJiao or A-Yao whores, you’ll have to call me one, too. Did not all of us dress up like concubines to kill him? Go on, I dare you. Call me a whore!”

Qin CangYe sputtered. 

“Indeed,” say Jiang YanLi coolly. She even bowed. “I request the same.” 

“Don’t stop at Sect Leader Jiang’s sister. Call his betrothed a whore, too,” added Wen Qing. 

“B-betrothed?” sputtered Jin GuangShan.

“Wen RuoHan is proof that whores can have more honor than sect leaders,” said MianMian, tossing her hair. Xue Yang’s hand drifted to his knife behind her. 

JiaoJiao said nothing. Nie MingJue realized she, and she alone of the women and Meng Yao, had no one to defend her. 

“If any of you say a word against Wang LingJiao, or Meng Yao, or any of these women, I will face you with my saber,” he threatened. 

JiaoJiao turned to him; even though she stood and Nie MingJue sat, she still had to look up to meet his eyes. Hers moistened with gratitude.  

“They’re all heroes,” said a strained voice.

Jin ZiXuan clenched his fists. “Even Maiden Song, who stayed in the prison camp at Langya to show me what it is like. All of them are heroes, Father.”

“Indeed. Heroes, allies who launched a surprise attack without informing us,” said Jin GuangShan. 

“Are you really worried about who gained glory for taking Nightless City?” spat Jiang Cheng.

“From what I heard, Wang LingJiao had good reason not to tell you,” said Wei WuXian. 

“Ah, our demonic cultivator.” Jin GuangShan sighed. “Taking the side of the woman who destroyed Jiang FengMian and Yu ZiYuan? Sect Leader Jiang, I know he is your brother, but –”

“Shut up. Worried that your position to succeed Wen RuoHan is in jeopardy?” said JiaoJiao. “Do you know what Wen RuoHan’s greatest weakness was? His whores? His pride? His sadism?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It was how he treated his sons.”

Jin GuangShan stared at her. She smiled slightly, just enough to bother him.

“Pah. Forget him,” said Jin GuangShan, turning away from Meng Yao.

The boy’s mouth opened in a cry, but no sound came forth. Even if it had, his father wouldn’t have heard it as he walked away. Qin CangYe cursed and, with one telling look towards his daughter, rushed after the man he called a friend. 

“Meng Yao,” said JiaoJiao, her eyes full of tears. 

Meng Yao had buried his head in his hands. His shoulders heaved up and down with silent sobs. With the circumstances of his birth and now his dishonor, surely no one would want him. As soon as word spread, Lan XiChen would leave him. He would never be able to make an oath to Nie MingJue, never be able to call him Da-Ge again. 

Qin Su rushed over to him; JiaoJiao, Xue Yang, and Nie MingJue were already surrounding him. YanLi was crying. Their voices blended together. 

“Meng Yao.”

He gasped at the lone, discernible voice. 

Still standing there, beyond his friends, were Jin ZiXuan and Jin ZiXun. 

Jin ZiXuan had slowly approached the bed, his hand outstretched. He wavered back and forth. “I – don’t know what’s going on. I don’t...that’s not your fault, is it?”

“It isn’t,” said Lan XiChen firmly.

“I know. I’ll try to change his mind. But no matter what happens, Meng Yao, I...am really proud of you. I’m proud of everyone here, who dressed up and took part in the attack.” Jin ZiXuan turned pink. “Meng Yao, I support you wherever you wind up.” 

In a split second, Meng Yao’s eyes became brighter than stars.

When quiet fell back around the room again, JiaoJiao finally made out Qin Su’s voice.

“It’s not a common eye color,” Qin Su was saying, wringing Wen Ning’s unbroken hand.

JiaoJiao stopped. “Qin Su?”

Wen Qing seemed perturbed. “Why are you asking about eye color?”

“Nothing much,” Wen Ning said quickly. “We’re just discussing heritage, that’s all.”

“Would that heritage have anything to do with the fact that both Maiden Qin and Meng Yao have the same golden eyes?” Nie HuaiSang asked quietly. 

“You observed all that?” Nie MingJue regarded his brother.

HuaiSang nodded.

“I just…forgive me for any unseemly insinuations. But Jin ZiXuan, you also have those eyes. So does Jin ZiXun.” Qin Su touched her forehead. 

“What are you saying?” asked Jin ZiXun. 

Wei WuXian rolled his eyes. “We all know perfectly well what she’s saying.”

“You – you’re insulting a respected sect leader and his wife!”

“Emphasis on one respected sect leader,” said Jiang Cheng darkly. 

“JiaoJiao, you have a secret power…right?” Meng Yao said, looking at her. His sister.

“It’s not what you think,” JiaoJiao said quickly.

Qin Su’s eyes pooled. “It’s exactly what I think.”

Ah. Of course. Qin Su thought the best of most people. She would not assume her mother unfaithful. Not when she knew what Jin GuangShan had tried with her friend Wang LingJiao. 

“I’m sorry,” JiaoJiao said. 

“Don’t be.” Qin Su wiped her eyes. “My mother did nothing wrong. And my father is still my father, no matter what.”

“I understand.” JiaoJIao recalled saying the same to her dad when she was eleven. 

Her dad, who probably thought she was dead by now. She swallowed hard.

[Telling the truth will cost you 500 B points].

Kewl.

“Qin Su, I can confirm that ...your suspicions are correct,” she said.

Qin Su was startled. Wen Qing gave her a suspicious look, and Wei WuXian guffawed.

“About time.”

“Why don’t you tell us the truth now?” asked Nie HuaiSang. “About who you are.”

“I’m not sure I can,” she said, staring at her feet, absorbing the loss of her points. 

[The System believes that, with a little creativity, you can].

Oh, you’re fucking kidding me! 

“Tell as much as you are able,” said Nie MingJue. In as soothing a voice as he could manage. His fingers brushed against hers. 

“What is happening?” asked Jin ZiXuan, still reeling from meeting both a brother and a sister in one day. YanLi shushed him. 

JiaoJiao laughed. “Nie MingJue, do you remember the story I told you? Of the god and his demon husband, the weak god I chose to worship because I preferred a weak and compassionate god to an omnipotent and cruel one?”

“Yes.” His heart quickened as she slowly sat beside him.

“Well, there’s another story. By the same...person who put the story of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng into writing. It’s called The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System.” She waited, and the System made no protest. “A man named Shen Yuan lives in a world, a familiar world to my mind. He hates the ending to a story he read, to the extent that his last thoughts are of the story as he dies of food poisoning.”

“Who poisoned him?” demanded Wen Qing.

“Uh, no one. It’s irrelevant. Anyhow,  Shen Yuan then transmigrates into the body of the villain of the very story he was so consumed with. He is guided by a ‘System’ to redeem the villain, with the end goal being ‘to avoid being carved into a human stick by the protagonist.’ In the end, he succeeds, and actually, the protagonist falls in love with him rather than a harem of demon and human females. It’s very funny.” JiaoJiao watched her feet swing back and forth. “The first of three writings by the same author. The third is the story of the god and demon.” 

“And the second work?” asked Lan XiChen.

She looked pointedly at him.

“Oh, bullshit!” exclaimed Jiang Cheng.

“Is it?” Wei WuXian leant forward. “Who can say? We know she isn’t Wang LingJiao.” 

“We’re the second work?” Meng Yao furrowed his brow. “Who could possibly be so powerful, to write that?”

“The writer is named Mo Xiang Tong Xu,” said JiaoJiao quickly. Once more, the System didn’t chastise her. 

“Perhaps we ought to build a temple to her, not Xie Lian,” mused Nie MIngjue. 

She looked up at him, and to her relief, he seemed curious, but not angry.

“So...what’s the plot of the second book?” asked Nie HuaiSang. “The overthrow of Wen Sect?”

“Actually, that is the backstory. It takes place fifteen or so years from now, and, um, it’s called Mo Dao Zu Shi .”

Wei WuXian threw back his head and cackled. 

“It’s a love story,” she put in. 

“Really?” Now he looked doubly interested. Lan XiChen looked notably sad. 

Fuck, why wasn’t WangJi here? JiaoJiao cursed her timing.

“Yes, and a murder mystery.”

“Who died?” asked Xue Yang, because of course he did.

“Well. Most people. The actual story may involve said Grandmaster pissing off the wrong people and dying two years in our future. Thirteen years later, a third bastard of Jin GuangShan’s may sacrifice himself to bring our beloved Demonic Grandmaster back from the dead.”

“He has a third sibling?” Jin ZiXun spoke for his now-speechless cousin.

“There may be an extremely powerful resentful corpse, whose body has been cut to pieces to mitigate its rage, and our Grandmaster and a certain Second Master of Lan Sect may begin investigating.”

Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow at the mention of Lan WangJi. 

“Who’s the unlucky bastard?” asked Xue Yang impatiently.

She chewed her lower lip. “He may be the person leaning on me right now.”

Nie MingJue inhaled.

“Who did it?” Meng Yao was infuriated.

“Umm...He may have died upon an established rapist’s insinuated remarks to his isolated bastard son, who remains unforgiven by his eldest sworn brother. Said son may then be so desperate to cover the truth that a lot of people die. Eventually, the world may discover that this whole resurrection was not set in motion by the third bastard at all, but by a certain sneaky brother who wants revenge.” 

Nie HuaiSang mumbled, “So that’s how you knew.” 

The rest was too awful for him to comment on.

“Wait, where do I come in?” asked Xue Yang.

“You don’t want to know.”

“I do!”

Meng Yao shook his head back and forth. “Da-Ge, I wouldn’t, I swear!”

“I know,” said Nie MingJue, his eyes scarlet with emotion. His heart felt broken; how could he have not forgiven Meng Yao? How could he have left him vulnerable to Jin GuangShan, just like Wen RuoHan?

Oh. 

Without her. That was how. He wouldn’t have learned any of this without her . 

“Yeah, I think Wen Ning, Wei WuXian, and Lan WangJi may be the only people with happy endings,” said JiaoJiao. “Although our Wen might be a conscious fierce corpse whose sister was burned alive. Qin Su and A-Yao may have accidentally married and the horror is such that she harms herself. No, wait. MianMian! MianMian may have a happy ending. She leaves the cultivation world after they show her disrespect for being female. She has a husband and a daughter and lives happily as a rogue cultivator.”

MianMian and Xue Yang glanced at each other. He looked both relieved for her and jealous of the husband. 

“I should also add that none of the events have happened yet to set everything in motion,” she squeaked. “I should be dead, for one. And Jin ZiXun, you’re probably not going to kill Wen Ning now.”

“I what ?!”

“He may return the favor once Wei WuXian controls his body.”

“And Wen Qing? Did we – marry in that story?” Jiang Cheng looks horrified.

“No,” she said. “Only one adaptation has any romance between you two, and it’s a minor plot.”

“Adaptation?” asks Wei WuXian.

“Uh, there’s a written form, a spoken form, a visual form with real actors, and a visual form with drawings. It’s a very popular story.” JiaoJiao sighed. 

“Shijie?” demanded Wei WuXian.

“Jiang Cheng’s ending is hopeful,” JiaoJiao answered instead. “He has a good nephew he raised after a tragedy our grandmaster inadvertently caused.”

“That’s vague!” Jiang Cheng snarled. 

“Caused?” Wei WuXian had tears in his eyes. 

“Nephew?” squeaked YanLi. She did not look to her left. She would not. She could not meet Jin ZiXuan’s undignified expression.

JiaoJiao winked at her again, and YanLi giggled nervously. Jin ZiXun and Qin Su were grinning at the two.

“That explains why you know so much,” said Lan XiChen slowly. “But you said there was a romance –”

“Excuse me, Sect Leader Lan, can we concentrate on the fact that she’s told all of you your fates, but mine is apparently too awful to name?” Xue Yang pointed at her. 

“Can we concentrate on that fact that Shijie took the peacock back?” yelled Wei WuXian.

“Meng Yao, I forgive you. You know that, right?” Nie MingJue was still in disbelief.

“Yes! All I’ve ever wanted was your approval,” Meng Yao repeated. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

“I married my brother,” whispered Qin Su, her face white as milk. Wen Ning held her steady. 

“Can we concentrate on whether this is even real,” grumbled Jin ZiXun. 

This is chaos , she thought. Bile rose in her throat. What have I done?

[Excellent job. The System is very pleased with you. Especially your subtle evangelism for Xie Lian –]

[The System would like to inform you that Xie Lian has taken the System back from Hua Cheng. Congratulations! You have achieved the level ‘Telling the Truth despite The System’s Obstacles.' You have only one side-request remaining].

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty

Redemption

Xie Lian? Hua Cheng? You two – JiaoJiao had to start laughing. You were behind this bullshit the whole time?

[The System would like to inquire what you are calling bull –]

[The System would like to reward you for telling the truth! 2000 B points are awarded. Total B points: 7520].

Shouldn’t I now have the side-task of cleaning up this shitstorm?

“None of this has happened!” She waved her hands around. “You’re all fine!”

[The System does not believe assigning this task is necessary, as you already know to do it]. 

“ Are we?” Meng Yao asked, still shaking at the idea that he had assassinated Nie MingJue. Still afraid Da-Ge would turn on him like his father. 

But Nie MingJue held his hand. Looked at him and had the audacity to apologize for his future wrongs.

Lan XiChen stroked his back. Calm. He wasn’t leaving him, no matter what sins future Meng Yao was capable of. 

And Wang LingJiao – she knew. She’d always known. And she’d still come back for him.

“You’re okay,” she promised. “Meng Yao, you’re worth love. Everyone here is.” 

“And I love you,” Lan XiChen assured him. “I’ll tell you as many times as you need.”

Meng Yao nodded.

“Why don’t we focus on the positive aspects,” Lan XiChen suggested. “Tell us about the romance.”

JiaoJiao eyed Lan XiChen. His eyes were laser-focused on her. Subtle he was not. 

“It involves me , right?” Wei WuXian grinned from where Jiang YanLi embraced him. Him, and not Jin ZiXuan, whose forehead was dripping with sweat. 

“Yes,” JiaoJiao said slowly.

“And who else? Who’s the lovely m – person?”

There. He choked. He choked on the word maiden, as if he already had a suspicion. JiaoJiao smirked to herself. 

“Given whom you’ve been spending your nights with this last week, isn’t it obvious?”  Jiang Cheng asked, bored. “Let me guess your options: fuck Lan WangJi, marry Lan WangJi, kill your golden core…”

Meng Yao pinched Lan XiChen to keep him from fainting. 

“Who taught you that game?!” JiaoJiao screeched. 

“Wen Ning mentioned you played games with him while he was in prison, so I made him tell us.” Wei WuXian crossed his arms. He found it far easier to answer her question than Jiang Cheng’s. 

“You played a crude game with Wen Ning?!” demanded Wen Qing.

“Your brother was a blushing ball of innocence when he described it. He could barely get out the words. Wei WuXian, now, hasn’t stopped asking me the questions.” Jiang Cheng flicked his fingers. “Fuck. Marry. Kill.”

Wen Qing wrinkled her nose at him, and he felt a flicker of fear. Was he too crude, too immature for his betrothed?

“It’s fun,” Wei WuXian protested.

Nie HuaiSang cleared his throat. “And how does Second Master Lan come into this?” 

“I – Lan WangJi saved me from Wen RuoHan, of course I am helping nurse him back to health!” blustered Wei WuXian. “I keep him warm at night; it can get cold here!”

To JiaoJiao, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

The room was completely quiet. Even Xue Yang said nothing – perhaps because MianMian had her hand over his mouth.

“Surely you are not blind, Master Wei,” said Lan XiChen at last.

Wei WuXian seemed dumbfounded. “What do you mean?”

JiaoJiao slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from grinning. Other than Wei WuXian, only Jin ZiXuan seemed confused. 

“Even as an outsider, this is painful to watch,” said Meng Yao mildly. 

“Have you been playing games with WangJi’s feelings?” Lan XiChen was rarely angry, but right now he was, especially after first watching Meng Yao humiliated not long ago. Now WangJi’s treasured feelings were talked about flippantly, and so XiChen was approaching the limit of his patience. “Master Wei, he nearly died to save you, and this is how you repay him?”

“I’m not – Is it – what are you saying, ZeWu-Jun? Is it – is it –” Wei WuXian struggled to speak for once in his life. 

“Do you think he would have done that for anyone?” Wen Qing said, cocking an eyebrow.

“ Yes ,” Wei WuXian said slowly. “Why is that even a question? He’s the best person I know.”

“Is it common to share beds with the best person you know?” prompted Nie HuaiSang. For once, he actually felt smarter than his friend.

“ZeWu-Jun, what are they saying?” cried Wei WuXian. “I’m not – there’s nothing wrong – he –”

“Very well; I am afraid he will not tell you, so I shall.” Lan XiChen took a deep breath, but his words ran away from him regardless. “Did you not see his expression when he stole you from Wen RuoHan’s clutches? While he was bleeding out, did he not wear the same expression for you that Wen DaiYu wore for Wen Xu’s ghost? No one blind or deaf could mistake it – and you say you do not know?!”

Wei WuXian wheezed.

“How can you not know?!”

“ZeWu-Jun. ZeWu-Jun, I promise, I – I’m sharing his bed because I love him! ” 

The shout echoed through the room, and probably down the halls. JiaoJiao couldn’t help but hope that Lan WangJi had awoken. 

She needn't have worried.

“Good,” said Lan XiChen, at once smooth and composed. “Because he’s right outside.”

“Wha…” Wei WuXian tripped over himself turning towards the door.

Fighting a smile, Qin Su pulled the door open. 

Lan WanJi’s face was white as the moon. He looked at Wei WuXian, his lips quivering. 

Wei WuXian took a slow step forward. “D-Did you hear me, Lan Zhan?”

Lan WangJi dipped his head. “You said...you said…”

Wei WuXian flung himself towards Lan Zhan. “I said I loved you! I’m staying with you not out of gratitude, but because I–”

“You said you love me,” Lan WangJi repeated, over and over, in disbelief that gradually melted to hope and finally joy, as Wei WuXian peppered his face with kisses. “You love me...You…” 

Meng Yao and Lan XiChen exchanged grins. 

Jiang Cheng made a face, but Wen Qing glared at him, and he promptly blurted out, “Can I kiss you?”

Jin ZiXuan noticed with frustration that Jin ZiXun had stepped away from him and YanLi with a wicked grin on his face. He stood beside his – potentially – future wife, the woman who’d brewed soup endlessly for him without receiving or delivering any credit, the woman who was weak in cultivation but fierce in love she would enter an enemy’s city to save his half-brother, the woman who had looked resplendent in that golden gown…

ZiXuan watched each couple hold each other and kiss – hell, even Qin Su and Wen Ning seemed to be standing unusually close. Finally, timidly, he lifted his gaze to hers. Both of their cheeks were slightly pink, both of their minds wondering what could happen next.

“Now, Wang LingJiao,” said Nie HuaiSang, taking out a new fan to flutter about. “If I may continued the game.”

“Um, maybe not now?” Her cheeks felt warm, and she avoided looking at Nie MingJue.

“No, I think it’s important,” he said slyly. “If you were to play that game again...Fuck Wen Chao, kill Wen RuoHan, marry Nie MingJue?” 

Nie MingJue leant over to box his brother’s ears so fast that JiaoJiao tumbled off the bed.

JiaoJiao hoped that was the end of FMK, because she certainly didn’t wish to disgust Nie MingJue away, but her luck didn’t hold out for long. 

Nie MingJue walked her back to her quarters around midnight, where she slept guarded by Nie soldiers lest anyone still resent her. He hobbled slowly beside her, enjoying the way she held him. 

Not that they were alone, he couldn’t help but ask, “What was that game?”

“Oh?” She laughed nervously. Her pitch rose an octave. “It’s called ‘Fuck, Marry, Kill.’ Crude, ridiculous, humorous – quite popular amongst teenage youth in my world.” 

Nie MingJue nodded seriously.

She winced. “I apologize for corrupting your brother.”

“From the sound of it you did nothing of the sort.” Nie MingJue looked ahead. “May I ask how I die?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“I don’t intend to die in fifteen years, so, yes. Not that I think Meng Yao will harm me. I trust him, this time.” He glanced back at her. “I must have been quite the unsympathetic character, refusing to forgive him after the war.”

“That’s the issue. you were sympathetic. And yet so was Meng Yao. That was the beauty of the story,” she said. “Oh. And, technically, it may be sooner than fifteen years. The timeline isn’t clear.”

He glared at her. “Stop stalling.”

“Fine,” she said quickly. “Qi deviation. The saber spirit.”

He looked sorrowful. So she knew that, too?”

“Meng Yao – his name is changed to Jin GuangYao, actually – plays a song that hastens your qi deviation,” she added. “Before he decides to carry out his plan, though, you kick him down the stairs to Koi Tower and call him the son of a prostitute.” 

Nie MingJue swallowed hard. “It sounds as though I was very cruel.”

“That action was, yes, but that’s why the story is so great – so many cruel actions, so many sympathetic characters. Honestly, the only easy ones to hate were, um, Wen RuoHan, Jin GuangShan, Wen Chao, and Wang LingJiao.” She laughed uneasily. 

“Well, that will not happen this time,” he said. “For starters, you’re very hard to hate.”

“I’m glad,” she said, sobering. “I don’t want you to die, Sect Leader Nie. I think – if you can seek more treatment for the saber spirit – you will be okay, too. Maybe Wen Qing can help.”

He nodded, looking up at the quiet night sky. “Where will you go from here?” 

“I...really don’t know. Yichuan has nothing for me. Should I play the part of their daughter? Does she even have family to see? I don’t know. I don’t know what to do, or what is right,” she admitted. “Either way, the original Wang LingJiao is dead, so they will hurt. It’s just a matter of determining what will hurt them the least. I wish...I wish reality was more kind.”

“I will support whatever you decide,” he said quietly.

“ You are very kind,” she said with a smile. 

“Ha. I thought once the war was done, I would be certain of things. Instead, I feel the opposite.” Nie MingJue looked deep into her eyes. “But I will ask: come to Qinghe, Wang LingJiao. You would be protected there.”

Her face heated. “Yes, but what would people say about you?”

“Nothing crueler than you suffering alone,” he replied. And now he avoided her gaze again. “Besides, if you’re so worried...you could...become my wife.”

“Nie MingJue?!” She coughed.

“Wang LingJiao,” he said, hating that this was not her name, hating how fake it felt on his lips, “You are a strong, courageous woman. I do not care for your lack of cultivation or past. I would be honored to be your husband.”

JiaoJiao’s mind raced. She was eighteen – legal here and back home. But, did she love him? Did she just like him? Was this a crush, or more? She hadn’t known him for very long! 

Back home, people would jeer her. A teenaged girl, marrying, not even finishing high school – relying on a man she just met – well, okay, no one wanted to finish high school. Everyone just wanted to have finished high school. 

But still. This was her side quest, correct? 

Yes, but she actually had feelings for him. 

You don’t need a man. 

So why did she want to say yes? 

In confusion, she sabotaged herself instead. “I’ve had sex before.”

Nie MingJue furrowed his brows. He seemed understandable caught off-guard. “I know. You and Wen Chao were not subtle about that.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?” It bothers me. This can’t be a fairy tale or a fantasy novel, because I’m not the virginal hero. 

“You mean, does the idea of Wen Chao – being intimate – with you bother me?” Nie MingJue paused. This conversation was so unseemly. And this was partially why he loved her; because they could have unseemly conversations, and they felt natural. “Well, yes.”

She sighed.

Nie MingJue hastened, “You deserved better than that. And I…I...if we married...I am a warrior, not a refined princeling. I do not have the experience he did.”

JiaoJiao’s face twisted. After a moment, she ventured, “You mean you don’t think I’m filthy, damaged goods – you mean you’re – afraid you will be worse at – at sex? You’re not jealous, you’re insecure?”

“Why – why are you laughing?” Nie MingJue was baffled when she doubled over with giggles.

“You’re afraid I’ll, what, think you’re not a spoiled, traumatized child? Oh, how terrible! Wait, excuse me, you are that, too, don’t worry.” JiaoJiao sobered. “You...surprise me, ChiFeng-Zun.”

“You don’t have to call me that,” he muttered, his face red as he reached for her hands.

She hugged herself instead. “Honestly, Wen Chao was my only experience. I didn’t really want to, but I didn’t want to arouse suspicion any longer. I – I feel really dirty, even if I don’t think I did anything wrong, because I know what people say. Isn’t that sad? Just words alone are enough to make me think I’m filthy.” 

“You are nothing of the sort,” said Nie MingJue firmly. To her surprise, he battled back his fear and touched her, slowly unwrapping her hands from her body so he could embrace her, give her spiritual energy.

But he knew he wasn’t just doing it to give her energy. He was doing it because he loved her.

He’d never really been captivated by a woman before. And he didn’t want to be captivated by anyone else. “You just told us that our world is based on another story. Of course words, written or spoken, can be powerful. Like Meng Yao said to Lan XiChen: when we read stories, we are our own. And to hear you tell it, the fact that I chose to quote Meng Yao now means that stories have power.” 

Her arms ever-so-slightly tightened around his waist. 

It hurt. To say the words aloud. To be vulnerable. Nie MingJue was never vulnerable willingly. 

“I –” He squeezed the words out. “Love. You.”

Now hands dug around his waist, and she raised her beautiful face, the face that to him was more lovely than the thousand stars above, to smile softly at him. 

Was this a crush? Or love? How did she know the difference? She had no idea, except that she wanted this to be love, and felt she had a choice. “I love you, too.”

She wished she could say something more eloquent, but she couldn’t think of anything.

But his face melted at those words, and she felt the most pleasant chill she had ever experienced deep in her core. JiaoJiao clung to him, unwilling to let go. 

“In your world,” he began, hesitant, “what was your name?”

Her lips opened in surprise.

“You would call it Moli. In my world, it was pronounced JAZ-min.” She grinned. “The name of a princess in a famous story. She argues against being used as a political pawn and falls in love with a street urchin for his heart instead of power, and together they defeat a manipulative advisor. Well, there’s also a subplot where he finds hidden magic and pretends to be a prince to win her over, and lies to her, but she forgives him because she sees his true intentions.”

“That sounds like a story you would enjoy.” Nie MingJue said affectionately. He repeated slowly. “Moli. JAZ-min. Which would you prefer?”

“Honestly, just call me LingJiao or JiaoJiao. I’ve been with the name for months.” 

“We’ll keep Moli to ourselves.” Nie MIngJue bent down to press his lips against hers.

[True Love’s Kiss! Congratulations! You have successfully completed your remaining side quest: romance with Nie MingJue].  

Completed? A flicker of alarm passed through her body, interrupting a rather mesmerizing kiss. Her heart thumped in her chest; she wanted to focus on Nie MingJue, but what would happen once she was done here?

[In some cases, to complete is to begin]. 

[In the same vein, you have successfully begun the redemption of Wang LingJiao].

Begun?! What the fuck were the last few months?

[We consider your time with the System complete].

“JiaoJiao?” Nie MingJue pulled back with alarm. “What’s wrong?”

The System’s voice grew louder and louder until it was nearly deafening. 

[Congratulations! You will be set free!]

[We believe that you no longer need the System to live successfully and redemptively in this world. With the honesty you have revealed, your path is set].

I’m not going back? Am I going to die? She cried out. Xie Lian wouldn’t be that cruel, right?

[You cannot go back. You are in the world of Mo Dao Zu Shi now. However, as a present for your success, the System will grant you one reward: a wish fulfilled].

Can I wish to be back alive in my world?

[Do you really want that?]

No. She looked up at Nie MingJue, who still held her hands, who seemed convinced her spirit was departing. He held her limp body upright as he begged, “JiaoJiao – Moli – Jasmine – Wang LingJiao!” 

I wish to see my parents one last time. Myself – and Nie MingJue.

[Excellent decision].

She felt herself thrown into Nie MingJue’s body. He gasped, still injured, as the world dropped away from them.

Nie MingJue plunked down onto a hard, black road made of a stone – at least, he supposed it stone – he had never seen before. He looked up and saw a building beyond a small yard of lush green grass. The house was yellow with a white roof, and it matched at least a dozen other houses along the same road. 

Thin, metal poles lined the road, filled with glowing light. The night sky above was too hazy to discern any stars. 

An unfamiliar girl stood next to him. 

Her height was only a few finger-widths below Wang LingJiao, but her figure was far smaller. Her hair was shorter, lightened to bronze and worn in a high ponytail. Her face was shaped like an upside-down droplet, her skin darker and painted, but in a gentle, natural way. 

She wore a blue and white dress with a skirt of scandalous length. Above her knees.

“A-Jue,” said the girl nervously.

Though her voice was higher-pitched, he knew it was still JiaoJiao.

“You’re beautiful in this world, too,” he said.

She shot back with a smirk, “Stop being such a romantic! I’ll never be able to believe your tough-guy image again!”

But her eyes, small and thin and delicate, sparkled up at him. That smile, that tone – she was undoubtedly the same person as JiaoJiao.

“What happened?” he asked, looking around this strange place. Were those carriages, shiny carriages, before each house? Where were the horses?

She took a step closer to him. “I think...I finished with the System. The redemption story. Or began it, since apparently to Xie Lian, beginning and completing can be synonymous.” 

“Are you leaving?” He felt afraid. 

“I’m dead in this world,” she said, staring at the house, at its white door. 

His hands shot out to grasp hers tightly. “You –”

Are you going?

“No,” she said, reading his thoughts. “I can’t return here, you see. No matter how much I’ve completed the System’s mission, I’m just a corpse here, and there’s no walking corpses in this world.”

Her voice dropped. “The System has merely granted...a wish. I may be adopted, but I still...love my parents.”

She pulled him along, gliding in a dreamlike state towards the door.

[You will only have five minutes to complete this bonus mission].

Inside, he noticed smaller, glowing lights. A mirror along a hallway. Lushly carpeted stairs. And a mantle lined with portraits that looked more glossy and detailed that painting could capture. They looked like someone had stolen a moment of life and framed it. 

“It’s called a photograph,” she said softly. 

JiaoJiao stopped to look at a picture of her as a child. She’d won a cheerleading competition that day, if she recalled. 

She wore her hair in pigtails, and was dressed in a similar outfit to the one she wore now. She was hoisted high on the shoulders of a freckled man who looked nothing like her. A woman with golden hair smiled besides them.

JiaoJiao reached out, and to her relief, the photograph was solid in her hands. She held it to her chest as she led Nie MingJue up a staircase, into the first door on their right.

The freckled man, the woman with the sunshine hair – Nie MingJue recognized them from the portrait immediately. They had been sitting on a bed weeping, but the second they entered, the woman let out a cry. 

“She’s not real,” said her father, a frown on his face. The haze made him squint. He reached for the spectacles that hung around his neck.

Their language was different, Nie MingJue realized, but somehow he still understood it. 

“Does it have to be concrete to be real?” retorted the woman, and Nie MingJue snorted. Evidently Jasmine shared her temperament with her mother. 

“I’m here,” Jasmine whispered, as tears spilled down her face. She held the portrait to Nie MingJue for him to hold, and reached out to squeeze her parents’ hands. “I hope you know that I’m okay. And I hope you’ll be okay.”

“Why aren’t you here? I feel you! But you were also – buried – I don’t understand,” said her father, his voice trembling. “Why would you throw yourself off a tower? What did we do wrong?”

Nie MingJue faced her with concern. She threw herself off a tower? 

“A really terrible, split-second decision,” Jasmine said, her eyes heavy with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” said her mother, embracing her daughter.

“I’m not dead,” she promised them, roping her father into the embrace. “I’m not. But I’m not in this world anymore. I know that doesn’t make sense – I just had to come anyways, try anyways, to show you I’m okay. To make sure you know I love you.”

“We never doubted that,” said her father. “But Jazz – we miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” she said, wiping her cheeks. “I love you both. But I’m okay, and you are too, and I – I’ll see you when this is over again, okay? I know I will.”

The System began to squawk in her head. The room was fading from her eyes.

Was anyone ever ready not to see their parents again? 

“I love you!” she cried out, and Nie MingJue grabbed her hand to steady her. 

“Who is he?” The woman finally turned to Nie MingJue.

Jasmine tilted her head up and winked. Her trademark sauce returned to her voice. “My boyfriend.”

And so the last thing her parents saw was their grinning daughter, vibrant and full of life, and a young man dressed like one of those animes their daughter liked, who looked at her with pure adoration.

Nie MingJue and Wang LingJiao both fell to their knees as they hit the soft soil. Nightless City surrounded them one again.

She was back in JiaoJiao’s body, though her eyes were still sore. 

Both looked up to see two translucent figures – a white-clad man with a bamboo hat, and a tall, eyepatched man in red, surrounded by silver butterflies. 

Nie MingJue understood immediately.

“Thanks,” JiaoJiao said lamely. In the presence of a god and a demon, what else could she manage?

“Thank you,” said Xie Lian seriously. 

Hua Cheng smirked. “We’ll be watching you.”

She laughed, and laughed, and when exactly the two gods vanished she wasn’t sure. 

Nie MingJue looked after them, and then at the woman he loved. He couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like dressed in red and covered by silver butterflies. 

But now was not the time. “Your parents are kind and good people.”

“They are,” she agreed with a sniffle. “I wasn’t really the best daughter, but they never made me feel inferior or unloved for being adopted.” 

“Good,” he said. 

“JiaoJiao, you killed yourself?”

“Somewhat accidentally, if I’m being honest,” she admitted.

No points were awarded. No system squawked in her brain. It really was over. 

But Nie MingJue wasn’t. He regarded her compassionately, kindly, hopefully. He could wait for an answer to his proposal. He could wait to find out just what ‘boyfriend’ meant. Right now, he wanted to learn more about the woman he loved. “Tell me.”

She did.

As luck – or perhaps more – would have it,  one year later, Nie MingJue did indeed find out what JiaoJiao looked like dressed in a red gown adorned with silver butterflies. A bridal gown, to be exact.

Cai Chen had embroidered the fabric, carefully envisioning just what JiaoJiao recalled from Hua Cheng. 

Cai Chen lived in Lanling with her … friend … Maiden Song, who remained with Jin Sect. JiaoJiao had doubts the beautiful maid and the soup lady’s relationship was just friendship, but she would not press them. 

As a result of Cai Chen’s involvement, however, Nie MingJue found himself having to face a perilous combination of women before he was allowed to find his bride. Wen Qing, Qin Su, Jiang YanLi, Luo QingYang, Lady Song, Cai Chen, Wu Ping, Tan En, Guo BiYu, and Ting Xuan all played tricks on him, and even with Meng Yao, Lan XiChen, and Nie HuaiSang by his side, it had taken him two hours to complete their tasks.

“Wu Ping’s presence surprised me,” JiaoJiao admitted that evening. “Tan En said she told her Wen DaiYu would come. And that we would burn money to our mistress.”

Tan En, who now learned cultivation at Nie Sect alongside Wen Hui. The little maid was remarkably talented with a saber, to Nie MingJue’s delight. He’d even allowed Wen TengFei himself to live nearby, in a subordinate position. He’d even allowed all the maids to burn money to Wen DaiYu, Wen Xu, Wen Chao, and Wen ZhuLiu, and he’d even participated for the former two. 

The rest of the Wens had joined various cultivation sects; most of Wen Qing’s family remained in Lotus Pier. The exception was A-Yuan, who had taken such a liking to Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi that they had adopted the child. 

So much had happened. And yet, right now, he could only think of her. 

“You look beautiful,” he blurted out at last. 

JiaoJiao’s eyes widened. A small smile grew on her face. “So do you.” 

He snorted at the thought. 

She stood next to their red-sheeted bed, a blush on her cheeks, shyly holding out her hand. Certainly not what anyone would expect from Wen Chao’s mistress. The reminder of her complexity, her depth and world and experiences, entranced him.

He pulled her close to his body and lifted her in his arms, laying her down on the bed. He crawled next to her, kissing her slowly. 

She ran her hand through his hair. 

She was trembling, he realized. He wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t be afraid.”

JiaoJiao was not sure how to explain her feelings. Wen Chao fucked her, and she’d only enjoyed that one night before he died, but there had never been any doubt that he was attracted to her body, or that he would not enjoy himself. Nie MingJue was different. She was nervous for him to see her because she cared.

So she snuggled closer and kissed him. 

Nie Mingjue’s face reddened as her tongue slid into his mouth, savoring his taste. He pushed back, trembling, fervently trying to control himself.

“Are you afraid of hurting me? You don’t have to be,” said JiaoJiao, pulling back to gaze into his dark, stormy eyes. “I won’t break. Well, not easily.”

“I know you won’t. But I –” How can he explain? That he’s a warrior, not a lover? That he is once again afraid his ferocious spirit will seem unrefined and uncouth, and disgust her? That, even though his brothers had all given him instructions, he sort of expected her to take charge?

He reached for the lapels to her robe, and she swiftly guided his hands until the fabric was tossed aside. Nervously, she opened her arms for him to see her.

“You’re b-b-b-beautiful.” He stuttered at the sight of her round bosoms, her dark nipples. They harden under his touch, which surprised him. 

Nie Mingjue hardened, but he had never been naked with anyone before, and his heart pounded with anticipation.

She shed her own skirt, revealing creamy, perfectly sculpted thighs surrounding a dark, heart-shaped patch. 

His senses felt on fire. And still, he was afraid to touch his wife. 

And then her hand took his, guided him closer, into the damp crevices of her body. 

“ Moli ,” he whispered, pushing her back onto the bed, hovering over her. 

Had he moved too fast? No, she looked excited, happy, relieved. 

“I was afraid you would think I was ugly,” she admitted, enjoying the way his thick fingers played with her. 

“You?” He laughed in disbelief. “Never.”

Nie MingJue guided her to remove his crimson robes. When he was fully exposed, he looked at her to see desire burning on her face. Her fingers caress his hard member, which no one had ever touched before.

He felt completely vulnerable with her, this mysterious and brilliant woman from another world, as their hips moved in unison. She gasped, and he stopped suddenly.

“Just give me a minute. You’re a lot larger than...uh, you know.” She chuckled under him and adjusted herself, and he had to start laughing, too. 

At the end, Nie MingJue was moaning in her ears, and she was grinning goofily over watching the fierce sect leader become undone in her body. It hurt but not unpleasantly, though she was certainly going to take advantage of the oil Nie HuaiSang had offered next time. I can’t believe my health teacher was right and MXTX was wrong, and I declined oil. 

But afterwards, she realized that Meng Yao and Nie HuaiSang had certainly given Nie MingJue more lessons than she’d expected, because his attention soon focused entirely on her. 

Three Years Later

Yunping City

“It’s beautiful,” said Wang LingJiao, peering up at the GuanYin statue that had been erected in Yunping City’s new temple. Nie MingJue stood beside his wife, holding her close to him.

Meng Yao smiled as he approached them. “It looks a lot like her.”

“Good,” said JiaoJiao. 

“You’re a good son,” said Nie MingJue, patting Meng Yao’s shoulder with affection. His eyes slid to Lan XiChen, who rocked a baby in his arms. “Though i don’t believe we’ve met this one.”

Meng Yao beamed as Lan XiChen held out their baby. “Da-Ge, meet your nephew. Lan JingYi.” 

“You were always skilled with children,” said Nie MingJue. “You will be a great father.”

Meng Yao felt a lump in his throat. “Thank you.”

“I’m surprised he’s quiet now. He’s quite vocal most of the time,” teased Wei WuXian. “Not like our well-behaved A-Yuan…”

He looked helplessly as A-Yuan clung to WangJi’s legs. 

“I see,” JiaoJiao said dryly.

“We haven’t been able to find a magic elixir to quiet JingYi yet,” said Lan XiChen affectionately. “Not like Jin Ling with Suihua. But we will.” 

Up ahead, JiaoJiao waved at Jiang YanLi, who held Jin Ling on her hips as she spoke to Wen Ning and Qin Su.

Wen Ning and Qin Su, who had...their own child. A sweet, small boy they’d named RuSong. 

JiaoJiao had never mentioned his name to Qin Su, but she had to Meng Yao. They’d all been surprised by the choice of name, and hopeful, too – that his soul was the same as the RuSong who had been Jin GuangYao’s son.

At any rate, Meng Yao fully intended to spoil his three nephews. 

“It’s a much better sight, isn’t it?” asked a pretty woman from behind.

Meng Yao gasped. “SiSi! You’re back.”

“A place of debauchery was transformed into a place of holiness. Even that Sour Shufu thought it was worth seeing it opened,” said SiSi. 

She had been rescued from the brothel shortly after the Sunshot campaign, and the Madam thrown out of business. Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen had offered many of the women jobs in their sects, despite Lan QiRen’s protests.

Though now, Meng Yao suspected Lan QiRen had grown fond of SiSi’s no-nonsense approach to righteousness. At least, the elder of Lan Sect sought her out far more than most servants. 

Meng Yao kissed JingYi’s head. He whispered, “I’ll protect you, little one.”

Though he and Lan XiChen had married several years ago, shortly after WangJi and Wei WuXian, he had taken months to make love with him, and even now, he had a tendency to dissociate. To wake Lan XiChen with nightmares of the Fire Palace. 

He wondered if his mother had these dreams. Nightmares of her abuse. 

He wished she could have had someone as wonderful as Lan XiChen to bear her burdens alongside her. 

Maybe, if enough people worshipped her image, she would in her next life. That was his hope, at any rate.

“A-Yao!” A slender figure flew towards him. “Is this him? Is this my nephew? Oh! He’s so cute! Can I hold him?”

Mo XuanYu’s disheveled hair sailed about him as he bounced up and down. 

And JiaoJiao loved seeing him happy, loved hat Nie MingJue immediately sought out A-Yu and his mother and sheltered them at Qinghe. 

Nie HuaiSang trailed behind his intimate friend – his very intimate friend, if JiaoJiao’s suspicions were correct. They had matching fans, for heaven’s sake.

“Ah, so when’s the next time we’ll be together?” asked Wen Qing, rubbing her growing stomach. Which Jiang Cheng still blushed at, even though they’d been married for nearly four years and at this point, people would have been more surprised that they didn’t have a child – like JiaoJiao and Nie MingJue – than not.

“Luo QingYang’s wedding is in two months,” said Jin ZiXuan. Though she’d left Jin Sect to cultivate on her own, he fully intended to throw her a large wedding.

“Yes, my guardians will allow us, finally,” said Xue Yang, ignoring the poke from his little sister and JiaoJiao’s newest favorite character, A-Qing.

Xiao XingChen and Song Lan raised their eyebrows. Xue Yang was a devoted disciple of Wei WuXian, but Wei WuXian had also insisted he learn BaoShen SanRen’s powerful cultivation as an antidote to demonic cultivation. Hence, Xue Yang had been living with those three in Yi City for several months now. Fortunately, as he was close to the Unclean Realm, he visited JiaoJiao and Nie MingJue often.

Given the arrivals of “RuSong” and “JingYi,” JiaoJiao had a sneaking suspicion that Xue Yang and MianMian would have a little MianMian on their way before long.

At JiaoJiao’s urging, Su She had been strongly encouraged to cooperate with one Jin ZiXun, and to everyone’s surprise, the two were a better pair than anticipated. So close were they that JiaoJiao expected a wedding before long – Su She and Jin ZiXun were both the sort to insist upon an elaborate celebration. Who knew, JiaoJiao thought, maybe they’d adopt Jin Chan. 

“Oh my heavens, A-Qing, stop!” groaned Xue Yang. “You stole my candy again, didn’t you? Children! No, JiaoJiao – what’s that word you used – teenaged – teenaged girls! Teenaged girls, the bane of my existence!”

“And yet teenage girls grow up and became badass bitches you want to marry,” said A-Qing, smiling sweetly at MianMian. 

“Language,” admonished Xiao XingChen.

“Wait, Song Lan, don’t give me that look – she learned those words all on her own. It’s the power of teenaged girls, I guess,” sputtered Xue Yang. 

JiaoJiao laughed, and laughed, and intertwined her fingers with Nie MingJue’s. “Power, indeed.” 

They’d made it four years without Wei WuXian dying. With WangXian married, with XiYao married, with Jiang Cheng and his brother closer than ever. With Xue Yang settling for smirking at the Chang Clan whenever he was given a place of honor as Xiao XingChen’s disciple. With Jin GuangShan begrudgingly accepting Meng Yao and Mo XuanYu into Koi Tower for XuanLi’s wedding. 

Though the cultivation world remained difficult, she was convinced that no one’s story had to end in tragedy.