Work Text:
“There is something about Jiang Wanyin that is off ”, the townspeople whisper. The residents of Lotus Pier who have managed to survive the Wen’s massacre have known him since he was a child, but even they know that something about him changed.
“He was always an odd one”, they think, “but he’s become more so after the massacre”. He no longer feels human. He moves as if he is floating, his gaze sees right through you, and no one dares get close to him in fear of touching something that does not belong.
The only people who dared touch him were Wei Wuxian, his former shixiong, and Jin Ling, his nephew. But that was before, now, only Jin Ling touches him for Wei Wuxian is no longer in Lotus Pier. Their relationship is too broken for him to even think about leaving Gusu to reconcile with each other.
--
Jiang Cheng knows that he is odd, that he does not belong here . Among the townspeople and the disciples, he feels as if he is stuck on a path only he can see. Everything is blurred: his disciples’ faces, his home, even his nephew’s face is gradually fading. “Eventually”, he knows, “everything will be faded and I’ll be alone once more”.
His time is limited; once Jin Ling, his only remaining living tether, dies, he will fade. He is not mortal, that he is sure of. For if he were, he knows that he would feel more human, that he would actually be able to feel instead of putting on a facade.
He remembers the first time he felt different from others: his father had just brought Wei Wuxian to Lotus Pier, and Jiang Cheng knew that he was supposed to be alarmed, to feel sad. But he felt nothing at all and he knew that if he did not act, he would be seen as even weirder, and so he acted. He acted and acted, portraying emotions he never felt, until he could eventually pretend that he was human, that he fit in.
--
When Lotus Pier was attacked, that was when Jiang Cheng finally knew who he was, what he was. That feeling of wrongness when he went to the Cloud Recesses finally made sense. He was not human, that he knew, but what he also learned was that he was a part of Lotus Pier. He was similar to a spirit, but far stronger, since he was a manifestation of Lotus Pier, of the residents’ fears and beliefs, of their hopes and dreams
That day, he felt something in himself awaken. His powers used to be weak, but fueled by the destruction of himself, of his home, he raged. He brought death and destruction on their enemies. He fought with all he had, until the sunshot campaign was over and the Wens all but eliminated. Except for the group with Wei Wuxian, who chose to save them.
For the first time, Jiang Cheng felt betrayed. He and his family had clearly done so much for Wei Wuxian, but in the end, he chose to protect those that destroyed them, that destroyed Jiang Cheng.
Oh, Jiang Cheng knew that they were innocent, but his anger at them was irrational; the only thing he could feel was pain. Pain for his people, pain for his land, and pain for his home. Wei Wuxian choosing them was tantamount to slapping Jiang Cheng in the face and stepping on him; but, Wei Wuxian was still a part of Lotus Pier, still a part of Jiang Cheng, so Jiang Cheng, now Sect Leader Jiang, went to him in the Burial Mounds.
Try as he might, Wei Wuxian was immovable in his stance to protect them and turned from him. Even when Wei Wuxian caused Jin Zixuan’s and Jiang Yanli’s death, Jiang Cheng still considered him family; so, he continued opening his arms to him, but Wei Wuxian eventually died in the siege on the Burial Mounds.
--
After Wei Wuxian’s death, Jiang Cheng felt another thread snapping. His connection with the mortal world was fading and only Jin Ling was keeping him mortal. He began feeling more and more distant from everyone; his emotions were fading faster than ever and he had to start covering up his lack of emotion with anger. Eventually, Jiang Cheng got used to it.
He focused all his efforts on raising Jin Ling and keeping Lotus Pier afloat. He toiled alongside his people, rebuilding broken and burned down areas and planting new lotus seeds. After a while, their efforts paid off and Lotus Pier began flourishing once more. This in turn made him stronger.
With his people finally happy and his home flourishing, Jiang Cheng’s strength grew.
--
When Wei Wuxian returned, Jiang Cheng felt him. Something inside himself said, “This is Wei Wuxian, a part of you.”, and Jiang Cheng followed that feeling. He kept his arms open and accepted him back into his heart, but his brusque attitude caused Wei Wuxian to turn away from him, from Lotus Pier.
At the Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng was finally told the truth of his core. Of course, he had already known about it beforehand since he was a manifestation of Lotus Pier and knew that this core was not his, but Wei Wuxian’s. Once the truth was out, and Wei Wuxian told him to leave everything in the past, Jiang Cheng’s acceptance of him once again vanished .
Wei Wuxian left once again and Jiang Cheng went back to Yunmeng all alone. His attachment once again fading and leaving his presence fainter than ever.
--
Years passed and eventually, Jin Ling ascended as sect leader and died while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both cultivated to immortality.
Upon Sect Leader Jin’s death, it was said that Sect Leader Jiang vanished. No one knows if he died, but they do know that he was never seen again. However, sometimes there were whispers of a ghost haunting Lotus Pier.
“Not a malicious ghost, mind you.”, the people admonish, “but something else”.
They say that the ghost protects you as long as you are Yunmeng born; that you can talk to it about your problems and they will be miraculously solved.
They say that the ghost only appeared upon Sect Leader Jiang’s disappearance; so, many believe that the ghost is him. And they are indeed correct.
--
From his place in Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng, the incarnation of Yunmeng, smiles peacefully.
--
end