Work Text:
Lotus Pier was…loud.
Everything was screaming for attention, the colors, the scents, the garments, the jewelry, and Lan Sizhui couldn’t even bring himself to feel bothered by this because it was friendly and disarming and so, so beautiful.
The stalls lining the streets were covered in long silk cloths, the vendors smiling cheerily, waving at him when they caught him looking at them with barely concealed wonder.
People were clad in only one or two layers of light fabric, sometimes only loosely wrapped around their bodies, looking ready to throw themselves into the water.
Everybody was tanned, their hair, their ears and their arms covered in delicate silver jewelry, faces marked with decorative paint.
The dialect of Yunmeng was a lot like the people, it was fast, loud, and cheerful, with a lot of hand gestures, reminding Sizhui of the currents hidden in deep rivers, beautiful from far, but dangerous and confusing when there was direct contact.
Wei Wuxian, or course, fit right in.
With his chronically loosely tied robes, the wide smile, and the untamed locks of hair, he ran from stall to stall, looking at the wares that were being sold, occasionally buying something for himself or the overwhelmed Lans, the picture of one familiar with this sort of chaos. Most vendors greeted him with name and loaded him with small gifts, clearly used to his antics.
Sizhui was fascinated. Never had he seen a place where the people were this peaceful and happy. There were no beggars sitting leaned against walls, no homeless orphans trying to hide in the mass of writhing bodies, swiping the money right out of a careless person’s pocket.
Not even Gusu, the home to the righteous Lan Sect, was like this. As much as it pained Sizhui to admit it, even the Lans cared little about the problems of the common folk. If it had something to do with corpses attacking the peasants or a malicious spirit causing troubles for villages then yes, they would help.
But the cultivators high up their mountain didn’t see poverty or hunger. They rarely walked through the lands, preferring to fly to their destination, Hanguang-jun being one of the very few exceptions. When not faced with the plights of the people directly, it was easy to ignore how little reserves most families had, how small a wound had to be to cause a deadly infection.
The Jiang Sect, on contrary, was tightly connected to Lotus Pier and the surrounding villages. Married disciples, for example, didn’t live on the Sect compound, they usually owned a house where they spent their time with their family, only coming to the Sect grounds to train and report for duty.
Most buildings of the Jiang Sect were built in the water, the long wooden piers at home on long pillars reaching out of the water. Even though everything was still pretty new, the wood already showed obvious signs of usage.
Beyond the gates encompassing the Sect compound, the canals were filled with blooming lotuses. Disciples were standing in the water, digging for the roots, and picking the pods. They waved at the passing guests.
The walk to the main hall of Lotus Pier was not very long, but to Sizhui it was eternal because wherever he looked, he saw another fascinating oddity, never before seen in the Cloud Recesses.
Most of the buildings had an open front, showcasing the mass hall, the weapon chamber, and the main hall. There were also many big windows, most notably the one behind the nine petalled Lotus seat, allowing the eye to fall upon the training grounds with a magnificent waterfall in the middle.
In the main hall Jiang Wanyin was sitting at a low table stacked with towers of papers and files. He looked up at their entrance and sent them, Wei Wuxian, a smile.
It was a very surprising but not unpleasant sight. Sect Leader Jiang was known for his stern face and eternally angry expression, but the smile made him softer somehow, more approachable.
Wei-qianbei plopped down beside his brother and sprawled across the floor. “Did you miss me while I was gone, A-Cheng? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to catch up on all the paperwork that I missed before leaving.”
Jiang-zongzhu, expression already clouded again, grumbles a few choice words under his breath. “I don’t care about the paperwork. You left the disciples alone for the entire day and now they went cliff diving instead of working on their archery.”
Wei-qianbei threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Ah, Jiang Cheng, it sure is convenient to be able to forget that we used to do the same thing back in the days. I won every single time. Worth any punishment, really.”
Sizhui could see Jiang Wanyin hide a little smile. When he spoke, he sounded brash as ever: “Go check on the kids, idiot.”
Wei Wuxian quickly pressed a kiss onto his brother’s crown and danced out the reach of his swipes, cackling the entire way to the falls.
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Yunmeng’s waterfalls parted the training grounds right in the middle, creating a large and deep river that was the source for the canals and ended in Lotus Bay, a pool connecting Yunmeng to the sea and responsible for most of the income of the resident people: trading.
They were huge, surrounded by massive cliffs that were covered with forests older than the world could remember.
At the bottom of the main fall stood Wen Ning, looking as concerned as his stiff face allowed it. On top of the cliffs was a group of disciples that took turns in jumping down into the river, twisting themselves masterfully during the fall and always landing with their feet or their arms first, a show of true control.
Wen Ning turned around as he heard them approach and he immediately turned to Wei Wuxian. “I tried to stop them, Young Master, I mean, Xian-ge, but they told me that it was good practice and that you wouldn’t mind.”
Wei-qianbei grinned. “Don’t worry about it, A-Ning, it’s not your fault that I don’t teach my disciples better than that.” He whistled loudly and the disciples quickly made their way over to them. An older looking one opened his mouth to explain but he was cut off: “My darling shidis! I leave you alone for one day and what do I come home to? This is a disgrace to our Sect! I taught you better than to cheat like that!”
Sizhui saw Hanguang-jun nod in agreement before Wei-qianbei continued: “There was an authority figure right there, ready to snitch on you! And you didn’t even have anyone on the lookout. How were you supposed to know when I was coming home? I am disappointed! For all of you, 20 laps full speed. Get going!”
The disciples scrambled to comply as the Lans tried to conceal their visible confusion. Wei Wuxian took one look at them and laughed.
Jingyi cleared his throat. “Why would you teach your disciples how to cheat? And then give them pointers when they fail?” He was clearly baffled.
Wei Wuxian led them to the shore where the disciples could be seen swimming from one marked point in the water to another. “Don’t even think about slowing down, Sanshidi!”, he shouted and then said to Jingyi: “Here in Yunmeng we don’t only teach our disciples to be righteous cultivators that fight against evil. First and foremost, they learn how to survive. A dead disciple can’t learn after all. Besides, there is no logic in fighting honorably if your opponent won’t do the same and I guarantee you: they won’t.”
He stopped shortly to reprimand another disciple. “But cheating is only allowed if you don’t get caught. So naturally, I have to punish them. I could, of course, order them to copy a text from a book or something like that. But that is both a waste of time and paper. In Gusu you additionally have to do all of the writing while doing a handstand. That does train your muscles, yes, but not your stamina. And strength is not everything. Of what use is it if your enemy can run circles around you and you get tired from a few swings? So, our disciples swim as a punishment.”
Sizhui was sure that this was the most emotion he had ever seen on Hanguang-jun’s face. It was no wonder, Wei Wuxian had just relentlessly criticized the Lan’s disciplinary system in front of him without a single ounce of shame and brought several good arguments against it.
Jingyi in contrary was obviously elated. He took ahold of Wei-qianbei’s robes, nearly shaking him in his excitement. “Can I please stay here forever, Wei-qianbei? I will even try to behave!”
Wei Wuxian swiftly evaded his grip and laid an arm around the junior’s shoulders, trying to smother his laughter. “You’re going to have to ask A-Cheng about that. But if you really want to change sects, we are going to have to teach you the Jiang way of things. You ever been corpse wrestling?”
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Lan Wangji was sitting on Wei Ying’s bed, said man behind him, braiding his hair for the night. The only source of light was a candle on the little table under the window.
As Wei Ying secured the braid, he pressed a gentle kiss onto Lan Wangji’s shoulder. They crawled under the sheets, their bodies touching, legs tangled.
Wei Ying kissed Lan Wangji’s forehead as well and whispered: “Good night, Lan Zhan. See you tomorrow.”
Lan Wangji was happy.