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In the end, Nie Mingjue follows Jiang Cheng’s invitation to Lotus Pier for a friendly Sect bonding. Wording it like that has been Lan Xichen’s idea, because he thought it would imply boring Sect talk to Nie Huaisang, and when Nie Mingjue shows up without his brother in tow, he seems to have been right.
Jiang Cheng startles when he sees Nie Mingjue because he looks like shit; maybe even worse than Jiang Cheng did right at the beginning with Jin Ling and that’s saying something.
He’s actually afraid Nie Mingjue is going to keel over right here on Jiang Cheng’s pier and where would that put him?
“Da-ge,” Lan Xichen says, voice full of worry as well, so Jiang Cheng guesses that he must look worse than before.
“Sect Leader Nie,” Jiang Cheng politely says, adding the appropriate bow and coming up to a stern glance from Nie Mingjue.
“If you’re going to help me with this, then we should probably drop formalities,” he rumbles out and he even sounds tired.
“Of course, Nie Mingjue,” Jiang Cheng replies easily and then motions for them to start moving towards one of the private piers.
The one he and Lan Xichen spent so much time at, Jiang Cheng realizes with a start and his face starts to burn when he remembers the last time they sat there together.
Lan Xichen must think of that too, because the look he throws Jiang Cheng is very soft and full of love and Nie Mingjue groans between them.
“I did not come here to watch you make eyes at each other,” he complaints, clearly more in his element already. “Please tell me you at least got your shit together.”
“We did,” Lan Xichen says, and Jiang Cheng fears he’s going to burn up when Lan Xichen looks at him again.
“I have to go look for Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng says, absolutely uncomfortable with his feelings in front of Nie Mingjue like that and he marches right off, trusting Lan Xichen to guide Nie Mingjue to the pier.
“Is he always like that?” he still hears Nie Mingjue ask with a slight laugh and he just barely catches Lan Xichen’s soft “Yes” before he’s out of earshot.
Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath; he has to get it together in front of other people. There will be cultivational conferences where both he and Lan Xichen will be present and he cannot lose his cool like this all the time.
He hopes it’s a matter of getting used to it, though, and Jiang Cheng figures he should probably get back to them. Preferably without Jin Ling, because for all that Jiang Cheng loves him he would be a disturbance they don’t really need today.
Jiang Cheng takes a few more deep breaths before he walks back to Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue who sat down already, steaming hot tea in front of them.
When Jiang Cheng comes back without Jin Ling, Nie Mingjue throws him an amused look and even Lan Xichen has to hide his smile, only causing Jiang Cheng to bristle again.
“Not a word,” he growls out before he sits down with them and thankfully they stay silent.
“How are you, da-ge? Really?” Lan Xichen asks after his first cup of tea and Nie Mingjue sighs.
“Not good,” he then admits and looks down at his hands. “It feels like I’m always at the edge of a new qi deviation,” he says and Lan Xichen jerks at his words.
“You wouldn’t survive it,” Lan Xichen whispers and reaches out to check Nie Mingjue’s qi, but when his face falls, Jiang Cheng knows that Nie Mingjue is speaking the truth.
“Well, whatever you put your faith in, you better pray that they make this work,” Jiang Cheng says as he scoots closer, his hand already reaching for his bell.
“I have no faith,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng’s head snaps up at that.
“What?” he asks, because he never met anyone who admitted to that so easily and even Lan Xichen seems surprised to hear it.
“Then who do you turn to when you need some hope?” Lan Xichen asks and Nie Mingjue scoffs.
“Myself, of course. Or my family. You, more often than not,” he easily admits and Lan Xichen seems honestly surprised, though Jiang Cheng can understand that reasoning.
Better than anyone else probably, because turning to Lan Xichen when he needed some hope and light in his life is what he has been doing for a while now.
It also makes Jiang Cheng understand why it was so hard for Nie Mingjue to accept help; he doesn’t have faith that he himself can solve the problem and if you don’t have any faith left, hope is a very dangerous thing.
“I see,” Jiang Cheng finally says and is surprised when both men turn curious eyes on him.
“Do you really?” Nie Mingjue asks, though he’s not mean about it and Jiang Cheng shrugs.
“Of course,” he says. “It’s hard to believe in anything when only bad things happen. If you only trust in yourself you at least know why shit went wrong. But if you believe in anything or anyone else and then bad things happen, you have to believe that they were meant to happen. And that’s very hard to take; that something wanted you to suffer. If I suffer because I wasn’t strong enough to protect those I love, that’s on me and something I can aim to correct. If I suffer because a higher power decided they would simply take my loved ones from me for no obvious or clear reason? How do you even start to deal with that.”
Only silence follows his words but then Nie Mingjue nods.
“You understand,” he says and then relaxes.
“Fine, do your thing,” he then allows and Jiang Cheng strangely feels like he just passed a test.
Jiang Cheng reaches for his bell again but then he hesitates. He would really like to see the effect of the Song of Clarity first.
“Would you play for him, first?” he asks Lan Xichen. “I want to see how much of its effect is lost already.”
“Of course,” Lan Xichen says and briefly takes Jiang Cheng’s hand, more in thanks for doing this than anything else really, but Nie Mingjue still rolls his eyes at them.
“I give you a pass because it’s recent but don’t think you can always be like this is front of me,” he tells them and while Jiang Cheng flushes Lan Xichen frowns.
“You wouldn’t speak like that if you had someone yourself,” he says and Jiang Cheng only barely catches the bitter look on Nie Mingjue’s face before he smoothes it over.
It would make sense, that Nie Mingjue doesn’t allow himself to fall in love. The last qi deviation nearly killed him, the next one might yet. If you know you’re going to die sooner rather than later you’re probably not looking for someone in your life, if all you can give them is pain and grief.
Jiang Cheng feels a lot of sympathy for Nie Mingjue, because he didn’t allow anyone to love him before either, though his reasons were a bit different.
And he knows it was a hard time of his life.
Jiang Cheng is startled out of his thoughts when Lan Xichen starts to play the song and Jiang Cheng reaches out to take Nie Mingjue’s wrist, to check the song’s effect on his qi.
What he finds makes him frown.
“What’s wrong?” Lan Xichen immediately asks, the song coming to an abrupt end, but Jiang Cheng doesn’t open his eyes.
“Go on,” he orders Lan Xichen, who dutifully starts playing again.
The song has its full effect on Nie Mingjue. His qi is rattled and out of order, almost fraying around the edges and most definitely hurting Nie Mingjue, but the song does what it’s supposed to do.
Nie Mingjue’s qi gentles under Jiang Cheng’s watch, starts to flow more normally and it makes no sense.
“What’s wrong?” Lan Xichen asks him once the song came to its end and when Jiang Cheng opens his eyes, he sees that Nie Mingjue even looks a bit better than he did before.
“The song is still working,” Jiang Cheng says and Nie Mingjue’s relaxed face turns into a frown.
“What do you mean?” he demands to know and Jiang Cheng winces.
“When Xichen said you’re qi deviation got worse I thought maybe the song isn’t as effective anymore as it used to be, because it’s being played for you so often. But that’s not the case. It’s still working as it should; I don’t think it’s lost its efficacy at all.”
“How can this be?” Nie Mingjue asks, though Jiang Cheng might have an inkling.
He’s just not sure he can say it.
“Maybe it’s because A-Yao’s qi isn’t as strong as mine,” Lan Xichen muses. “Maybe his song doesn’t have an effect.”
“But even a little bit of qi would help Nie Mingjue,” Jiang Cheng argues.
“Then maybe he doesn’t use it at all?” Lan Xichen asks next but he is already frowning.
“No, he’s using his qi, I can feel it when he plays for me,” Nie Mingjue chimes in, not taking his eyes off Jiang Cheng. “What do you think?” he asks him and Jiang Cheng clicks his tongue.
“I’m really not sure I should just say it,” Jiang Cheng says with a wince, because Jin Guangyao is their sworn brother after all.
But Jiang Cheng remembers the fight he had with him to be allowed to take Jin Ling, remembers how Jin Guangyao seemed terribly sorry through it all, always telling Jiang Cheng no until Jiang Cheng offered up almost half of Lotus Pier to be allowed to take Jin Ling home.
Jin Guangyao had made it look like he was only reluctantly taking Jiang Cheng’s offer, but Jiang Cheng caught a satisfied smirk right before he fully turned away from him, and Jiang Cheng made it a point to never talk to Jin Guangyao alone at all, if he could help it.
If Jin Guangyao somehow changed the song to do more harm than good to Nie Mingjue—
“Is the song you’ve been played lately different from the one Xichen played for you just now?” Jiang Cheng asks, but Nie Mingjue only helplessly shrugs.
“He’s tone deaf,” Lan Xichen tells him. “I’m not even sure he can tell songs apart at all.”
“What?” Jiang Cheng demands to know because no one can be that bad.
As if in answer, Lan Xichen plays the same song again, this time without using his qi.
“Same or different?” he then asks Nie Mingjue, who honest to the gods hesitates.
“Different?” he then asks, clearly not sure of his answer at all and Jiang Cheng smacks his own forehead.
“How convenient,” he mutters and when he looks at Nie Mingjue again, it’s clear that he has to tell them about his suspicion.
“If the song still has its full effect then the rapid decline is suspicious,” Jiang Cheng starts. “Something or someone is deliberately altering the song to make it harm Nie Mingjue.”
“A-Yao wouldn’t,” Lan Xichen immediately says and Jiang Cheng shakes his head.
“Did I ever tell you that I had to trade in a not inconsequential amount of land to be allowed to take Jin Ling home?” Jiang Cheng says instead of arguing with Lan Xichen.
“You had to what?”
“He wouldn’t let me take Jin Ling home. I pleaded with him and when that didn’t work I started to list off things I would give to him if he would just let me take him. It wasn’t until I offered a particular strip of land that he agreed. Land that he immediately converted into something else, not that I ever went there again to check,” Jiang Cheng says and Nie Mingjue makes a very displeased sound.
“Xichen, I always told you not to trust him,” Nie Mingjue says. “He killed my guard, and it wasn’t in the heat of the moment. It was premeditated murder. He picked up a Wen sword and he went deliberately to that guard and even when he still held on to that sword he told me that it was Xue Yang. And that’s not even mentioning what he said and did in Wen Ruohan’s throne room,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng is surprised to hear about all of that.
He thought they had all agreed to being sworn brothers.
“He wouldn’t—” Lan Xichen starts, but he can’t finish his sentence. “He always insisted on helping me carry parts of the books when he found me after I fled the Cloud Recesses,” he finally whispers. “I don’t remember which half I gave him, but there were some forbidden books in the lot.”
“Could he have used them to alter the song?” Jiang Cheng asks and he reaches out to take Lan Xichen’s hand, because he seems like he could need an anchor right about now.
“Yes,” Lan Xichen mutters and then he turns desperate eyes on Jiang Cheng. “How are we going to find out if it’s true? How are we going to stop him?” he demands to know but Jiang Cheng shakes his head.
“That’s a problem for tomorrow. Today we’re going to see if my bell has an even better effect on Nie Mingjue than the song and then we can worry about the other stuff tomorrow, okay?” he asks Lan Xichen and lightly squeezes his hand.
“Will you sing for me, later?” Lan Xichen asks carefully, clearly more shaken than he wants to admit and Jiang Cheng immediately nods.
“Of course. We’ll get Jin Ling and you can hold him while I sing, huh?”
“I’d like that,” Lan Xichen gives back and briefly pulls Jiang Cheng into an embrace.
“I love you,” he says, and Jiang Cheng gives the sentiment right back.
He startles when Nie Mingjue clears his throat behind them and Jiang Cheng flushes slightly when he realizes that Nie Mingjue just saw all of that.
“Anyway, the bell,” Jiang Cheng tries to bring them back on track. “Let me check your qi while I ring it,” he says and scoots closer to Nie Mingjue to put his fingers to his wrist again.
“You can do both of those?” Nie Mingjue asks and Jiang Cheng shrugs slightly.
“My mother, she—well, she didn’t quite get qi deviations but she was always awfully close. She had a bad temper and the tiniest things would enrage her,” he tells them, though he can’t meet their eyes. “She wouldn’t let father or Wei Wuxian ring the bell for her and a-jie’s qi wasn’t strong enough to calm her quickly so I did it most of the time. I learned to monitor her qi while using mine to make the bell chime.”
“I see,” is all that Nie Mingjue says to that, but he offers his wrist to Jiang Cheng. “Then do your worst,” he says with a wry smile and Jiang Cheng huffs out a laugh at that.
He closes his eyes to find Nie Mingjue’s qi again and then he rhythmically starts to ring the bell, heavily infusing it with his qi.
The effect on Nie Mingjue is almost instantaneous and it’s even better than when Lan Xichen played the Song of Clarity. Jiang Cheng keeps it up for longer than he originally intended to, but when he stops, he’s pretty sure Nie Mingjue is a few anger attacks away from a qi deviation instead of succumbing to one the instant he allows himself to feel a negative feeling and Jiang Cheng thinks that’s a win.
“Jiang Wanyin,” Nie Mingjue breathes out when Jiang Cheng finally stops and when Jiang Cheng opens his eyes he sees that Nie Mingjue’s eyes are suspiciously wet.
“Don’t,” Jiang Cheng rushes out, absolutely panicked that Nie Mingjue will start to cry on him, but he also sees that he looks healthy again, that he carries himself differently than before and Jiang Cheng figures it might be something to be proud of.
“Wanyin,” Lan Xichen now also says, and when Jiang Cheng turns around he’s startled to see that Lan Xichen is already crying.
“What? What’s wrong?” he demands to know but Lan Xichen only shakes his head and pulls Jiang Cheng into a hug.
“Thank you so much,” he whispers and Jiang Cheng shares a very awkward look with Nie Mingjue over Lan Xichen’s shoulder.
“I promised I would help,” Jiang Cheng says with a sigh, but he too is glad that his bell had this effect on Nie Mingjue.
“It’s not a miraculous cure, though, not if something else disturbs Nie Mingjue’s qi,” Jiang Cheng tries to remind them but even Nie Mingjue only smiles at him at that.
“But trying to find a culprit is a much more doable thing than fighting my own body,” he says and when Lan Xichen doesn’t let go of Jiang Cheng quickly enough Nie Mingjue simply pulls both of them into his arms.
“Thank you so much for making me try this,” he whispers and Jiang Cheng can tell by his voice that he’s crying now, too.
It’s enough to bring tears to Jiang Cheng’s eyes as well and so he simply doesn’t mention it at all.
It seems only fair.