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There are two things that Lotus Pier is known for. The first, lotuses, is quite obvious to anyone who hears the name. The second thing is a bit less obvious unless one goes in person to Lotus Pier, then it’s hard to miss all the cats. The other cultivation sects simply accept cats as a quirk of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan and, if they’re feeling a bit mean, call it the Yunmeng Cat Clan instead. But never to the face of anyone from Lotus Pier. Or anywhere that there might be cats to overhear.
The Jiangs have never been bothered by the rumors they hear. They know their connection to cats is downright bizarre to outsiders. The second Master and Madam of Lotus Pier are cats and it’s well known that one simply does not argue with the cats. You’ll lose and it’ll be even more humiliating than one could imagine. Obtaining a high level of cultivation means nothing to the cats that laze around the sun at Lotus Pier and they will let you know if you displease them.
It is for this reason that Madam Yu permits the young Wei Wuxian to be adopted into her family as her second son: the cats have spoken and she is not so foolhardy as to deny them. Madam Hui, Yu Ziyuan’s own cat, gave birth to kittens only three times in her life and the last time was when Yu’s husband had brought home his friend’s son. She didn’t have to like it, but she did have to accept the cats had spoken.
Even worse was the fact one of the last litter ended up being Wei Wuxian’s cat. The cat always chooses its master, not the other way around, but family lines tend to run concurrently in both the humans and the cats- so the cats had said that Wei Wuxian’s connection to the main line of Jiang was as strong as Jiang Yanli’s or Jiang Cheng’s, whose cats had also both come from litters Madam Hui had around the time they were born. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng are both ecstatic when the only pure white kitten from Madam Hui’s last litter curls up next to the small, starving frame of Wei Wuxian and starts purring.
Madam Yu is a hard-hearted woman, but even her heart softens a bit at that. Wei Wuxian is recognized as the second son of Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian only two years after he comes to Lotus Pier and is finally considered healthy enough to partake in ceremonies with his siblings. Baishen, the cat who chose him, sits next to him and watches everything with curious eyes, her tail twitching as day fades to night.
It doesn’t take long after that for Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian to be referred to as the “Three Jewels of Yunmeng” for all of them are beautiful in their own way, but a little wild around the edges. They are as inseparable as their cats and it’s not uncommon to see all three siblings and three cats out among the Lotus’, laughing and playing. Or later to have dirt and mud tracked through Lotus Pier as they head towards the kitchen to make their meals. Family meals are a necessity, as Jiaolong, Zhi, and Baishen quickly decide they will yowl if they can’t take their meals with each other, so of course Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian must join them.
Every Jiang disciple in Lotus Pier has a cat. It’s not a requirement, per se, but usually a disciple will chose to leave of their own volition if they reside in Lotus Pier for three or more years, yet never have a cat pick them. It’s not intentional, but they feel left out when they look at everyone else who shares their life with their cat. Even the civilian residents of Lotus Pier cannot stand separation from the cats that chose them for more than a couple days. The other sects begrudgingly accept this, though they find the Yunmeng Jiang sect’s habit of thinking of their cats as of equal rank as their owners as downright perplexing. The Gusu Lans catch on first, doubling the number of Yunmeng Jiang cultivators they welcome during official functions- for if a cultivator and their cat arrive, the Yunmeng Jiangs will count it as two cultivators, for all that cats cannot cultivate. Despite this, it is a long standing argument between Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang as to whether or not their cats actually count as pets or companions.
Because one cannot choose the cat, merely accept that a cat chooses you, sometimes those who reside outside of Lotus Pier find themselves the subject of a cat adoption. Usually this means they’ll marry into Lotus Pier or come to reside there semi-permanently. No one knows how the cats know, but it is widely accepted that if you gain a cat, you’re family. Whoever should be chosen by a Yunmeng Jiang cat will always have a place at Lotus Pier. Of course, this means that the gossip mill goes wild after both of the Twin Jades of Gusu Lan leave Lotus Pier with cats. Lan Xichen’s perches on his shoulder while Lan Wangji’s bolts too and fro with the manic energy of a kitten, despite definitely not being a kitten.
The cats will sit in their human’s laps, even during Discussion Conferences. They will join their companions in battle as well, quick and nimble on their feet. (The first time the Yunmeng Jiangs were called to war, the other sects had laughed in their tents as the presence of cats on the battlefield. Dogs and horses were expected, but cats? They’d just get in the way! After the first battle, the other sects agreed to never talk about it again and accept the aid of the cats. And never get on the bad side of Yunmeng Jiang. If too much time went on between wars, the other sects would forget, only to be reminded once again. The Sunshot Campaign marks the first time the Jiangs have gone to war in two hundred years. After the first battle, only the Nies dare fight alongside the Yunmeng Jiangs for the other sects fear coming along the wrong side of a cat’s claws. Baishen, more than once, emerges from the fray completely stained red only to be cooed at by her human, Wei Wuxian.)
A fisherman’s cat will trot alongside their owner, singular fish caught in their mouth. A weaver’s cat will sit under the loom, catching mice who try to nest in the fibers. A watchman’s cat will perch on their shoulders, watching over everyone with their human. A cultivator’s cat will join them during morning exercises. Whenever someone sits down to eat, they put down a bowl for their cat as well. One cannot separate ‘regular life at Lotus Pier’ from the cats. Even the cats who claim no human will weave between legs on market day and be found bathing in the lotus ponds on the muggy, oppressive days of summer.
If someone from Lotus Pier should die, their body cannot be touched until their cat has also passed away. Every cat reacts differently to their human’s death, but most become inconsolable and wild things, attacking anyone who approaches their human’s body. There is no record of a cat surviving more than three days without their human and likewise, if someone’s cat dies they usually follow swiftly thereafter. Rumors abound as to why- some say that Jiang Ruhar and jiang Chao, who founded the Yunmeng Jiang Sect made a pact with a cat god so that everyone who lives in Lotus Pier is blessed by it. Others say that somewhere along the way, the Jiangs aided a Heavenly Cat and were blessed by its descendants. Whatever the truth may be, no one will mention the oddity of the Yunmeng Jiang cats to the face of any resident of Lotus Pier. And no dares separate a Yunmeng Jiang and their cat- whether in life or death.