Chapter Text
Chapter 1: An Awkward Group Heads to the Theatre
The elders of various clans were currently convening to discuss something private, and apparently Jiang Cheng's presence was unneeded despite his being a sect leader. He seethed at how he wasn’t being taken seriously even after they had reached this far into Qishan Wen land with his aid. So in the meantime he had somehow managed to gather the other young people to report on how the Sunshot Campaign was going for each sect.
As usual, two men in clashing black and white clothing had set a heavy mood. There was more lightning in the glares between Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi than Zidian when wielded by Madame Yu.
“As I have mentioned before, o-esteemed Lan WangJi, Gusu Lan need not interfere with Yunmeng Jiang sect business. I know what I am doing. Let us speak of plans more helpful to Young Master Jin and Sect Leader Jiang. We only have so much time before the next prong of attack.”
“Wei WuXian! You--!”
Jin ZiXuan absentmindedly fingered the sheath of his sword while waiting for the argument to pass, and Jiang Cheng had nearly given up standing between the two to shield his brother. He was about to second Wei WuXian's words when a different kind of storm burst into the room.
“WEI-BRO! Check out what I found in the nearby town!!” shouted Nie Huaisang, banging open the door. An illustrated flyer fluttered from his hand.
The tension in the room seemed to dissipate as four pairs of eyes turned towards him.
Jiang Cheng directed icy words to the interruption. “Oh, care to finally join us? Otherwise Sect Leader Nie might beat you up again.”
Under a sharp glare from the purple cross-armed man, Nie Huaisang shrunk and shuffled closer to the friendliest person in the room.
Wei Wuxian blinked his eyes, returning them to their normal colour. He glanced over with cold indifference until he flipped the paper around. “‘The Demonic Cultivator of Yiling’... as performed by the Qishan Actors Sun Troupe...?” Amused, he continued down the page,” With information gathered across the land, from the wine-sellers of Gusu to cultivators of LanLing Jin... and a surprisingly knowledgeable Lotus farmer.”
Hmm. Interesting. And this portrait of “me” isn’t half-bad.
Jin ZiXuan scoffed, “Them? Talentless hacks. Almost as sleep-inducing as listening to the Wen dog’s own indoctrination speeches. Their take on the cultivation world is an ignorant joke. Mother always insisted on me taking Maiden Jiang to them when the LanLing troupes were off-season, but you should be glad that I never did, otherwise she would’ve been bored to te--ars...er--…”
He blushed and then looked away, embarrassed of his previous sourness to Jiang YanLi. After she had made him a special bowl of soup he really did find himself growing fonder of her…
Before his shixiong could antagonize Jin ZiXuan, Jiang Cheng peeked at the painted flyer. Veins popped from his forehead.
“What the hell? Why are you the focus here?!” He yelled, jabbing the flyer until it almost ripped. “What a farce. And don’t even think about suggesting we go, or I’ll break your legs myself.”
Nie Huaisang delicately snatched the flyer back and smoothed it out. “Aiyo, please be careful… one of my favorite folding fan artists painted this. Its rare!”
His watering eyes were as large as lotus pods, since although the posters were all over the Qishan area (which was already a difficult place for one of his nature to access nowadays) hardly any could be found without vandalism over the facial features. Namely over the demonic cultivator himself.
“By the way, I’ll have you know that this apparently is the newest popular show by this troupe, and apparently they’re in town. I just thought that you might like to see your face on a poster, Wei-bro. Maybe.”
Wei WuXian slapped Jiang Cheng on the shoulder and had the hint of a childish grin on his face. “C’mon Jiang Cheng, isn’t this group popular with the Wen dogs? We could scout for some new information or something. Plus, we’re all in it apparently. Ahaha.”
Lan WangJi glanced at the demonic cultivator’s face, whose eyes crinkled with suppressed laughter. The resentful energy in the air had vanished.
“Mn. Agreed.”
The four people were stunned momentarily. Jiang Cheng’s lofty threats died in his throat, while Wei WuXian suddenly began to chortle. It had been so long since he had laughed that hard, that he had to grab his stomach and lean on his brother’s shoulder.
“Lan Wa…Lan Zhan it’s been...hahahah.... so long since we agreed on something ahahaha!! Wait have we ever really? Haha. See guys, if the righteous Hanguang-Jun says we should, then we should. Ahahaha!!”
The derisive tone had faded, replaced by an obnoxious laugh. He smiled brightly at Lan WangJi, who swiftly walked out the door. Wei WuXian wondered what he had done this time to make Lan Zhan mad enough to storm off, but figured that Lan Zhan was too embarrassed to say he wanted to watch the play himself.
So Lan Zhan does still have a cute side. Geez we're not at Cloud Recesses right now; he could stand to allow himself some fun!
Jin ZiXuan numbly followed behind Lan WangJi, confused to see the great Second Young Master Lan readily agree with Wei WuXian when they had been bickering so much the past few months. It was well known they hated each other and basically never got along on any points.
Nie Huaisang fanned his face and glanced expectantly behind him. “Wei-bro? Jiang-bro?”
Did he just want company? Or an excuse to give to his brother for watching a play? Even in times like these he never changes, does he. Unlike some other people... haha...
“Alright Jiang Cheng, they’re all going so we might as well. Unless you want the other sects to have a jump on the Wen dogs first!” The now jubilant man grabbed Jiang Cheng’s wrist and marched after the others.
“Lan Zhan, wait up!!!”
“Hey uh... Jiang Cheng?” Wei WuXian said while poking his brother,” I uhhh kinda wanted to sit there...?”
“What’s the big fucking deal? You dragged me here and we couldn’t even fly on our swords because you left Suibian in your room. Again. Just sit your ass down before it starts.”
“Uh... okay, fine. You sure are getting into this”
Wei WuXian reluctantly plopped down next to Jiang Cheng, but peeked over to where Lan WangJi was sitting on the other side. There was not a speck of mud on his white clothes despite the fact that they had to trudge through the rain to get to the theatre.
How can this guy be so perfect all the time? I still don’t understand.
“Lan Zhan…” He whispered while pretending Jiang Cheng wasn't there, “Thanks for paying for our tickets. I guess I really owe you now.”
Suddenly the two’s eyes met. Lan WangJi seemed to be startled for a moment when he realized Jiang Cheng was there too. He looked between the brothers and back at Wei WuXian before he scowled.
Lan WangJi sighed and broke eye contact with Wei WuXian.
“No need for thanks.”
Wei WuXian smiled ruefully and reaches to stroke Chenqing at his side.
Lan Zhan is probably still angry from our last argument. That definitely wouldn’t be fixed up right away just because we’re scouting out a play together. It's probably a good thing Jiang Cheng sat between us after all...
They were all sitting in the back of the room to be less conspicuous, and because the heightened senses of cultivators allowed them to experience the play just the same. Nie Huaisang fanned his face and whispered from behind Wei WuXian that it was quite hot and difficult to see the stage. Jin ZiXuan was too proud to turn back after he had already taken a few steps behind Lan WangJi, so now he scowled at the curtains as if willing the play to end before it had even started.
A few rows in front of them some girls were whispering to themselves, blissfully unaware of cultivators in their vicinity.
“I know you’ll like it dear! I’ve seen this play three times. Almost as good as three-part series… Contentment of Wa…ian… written by Lady… and no its not the same as Rese….ChunSha…”
Some parts were actually too quiet for Wei WuXian to hear after he had lost some of his heightened senses, and he strained his ear to catch their conversation. Normally some random talk nearby wouldn’t be worth eavesdropping on, but even Lan Zhan twitched from what they said, so he didn’t want to miss out…
“Even if they had to censor parts because its too scandalous for the public or what nonsense… It’s so rare to see a main character with *giggle* cut-sleeve tendencies, and the real-life story of the Yiling Patriarch, no less!”
Jiang Cheng stood to his feet and roared, “The Yiling Patriarch is WHAT?!”
Jin ZiXuan pretended not to listen and waved his hand dismissively. “What do they know about cultivator business? LanLing Jin wouldn’t allow information leaks that easily. Wei WuXian is so ostentatious that the mediocre people got the wrong idea. Maybe you need to control him more effectively, Sect Leader Jiang.”
The cut-sleeve in question wanted to punch Jin ZiXuan, but Jiang Cheng had composed himself and immediately held him back.
He was a little uneasy from what the girls said, but quickly decided that this would be a great ice-breaker to tease Lan WangJi with. When was the last time he had played with Lan WangJi? It had been a while since he truly had fun, not counting ripping Wen Chao to shreds. But that was only fun for a moment.
“Well now, how did they get that impression when I am so popular with the ladies? I wonder who the lucky young master is, ahahaha. Although I think the only male I know that meets my expectations is Lan Zhan, worthy to be called the Second Jade of Lan. He’s probably the most handsome cultivator there is, aside from myself of course. Ahahaha.”
“Wei WuXian, stop laughing. Have you not learned a thing? He is sitting right there. You want him to hate you more than he already does?”
Lan WangJi seemed to be frozen, stiller than the rock the 3000 Gusu Lan sect rules were carved on.
After peering closer and seeing a slight pink on Lan WangJi's earlobes, Wei WuXian felt satisfied and decided to switch targets.
“I'm so sorry Jiang Cheng. You know that you're dreamy too~ so good looking that we got a whole basket of loquats to snack on that one time~"
“Shut up.”
“Shhh sh the play is starting. Let’s see what kind of fun- ah I mean what kind of intel we can get from this, right Wei-bro? I mean I don’t know I have no idea what sort of things they would know about Wei-bro... please don’t look at me, look at the stage...”
Nobody was looking at Nie Huaisang in the first place.