Work Text:
It was only moments after Lan Huan was named Xichen that Xichen became something more . Something more than Lan Huan or Lan Xichen, more than he would one day be as Zewu-jun, more than he would be as a war hero or as a Sect Leader.
The newly named Xichen bowed his head to his elders, finished the banquet, ignored the confused look A-Zhan sent him, and then went into the Hanshi and panicked the fuck out.
'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation’ was about a love story spread across two lifetimes, a war and the desecration of three different Chief Cultivators.
Overall, it was pretty straightforward if you didn't take into account the absolute shit the entire cultivation world would become just because of a manipulative son of a bitch.
If he was being honest, he actually had nothing against Jin Guangyao- sorry, Meng Yao- but he still took the first opportunity to ask for a break, fly to Yunmeng and put his sword through Meng Yao's throat. The poor boy choked, looking pitiful and afraid, and then died.
Xichen wiped his sword- aware that even if he was caught, even if anyone else saw the boy and realized that a cultivator killed him, no one would even care- and then he flew to Yiling. There was no Wei Ying on the streets of Yiling, and then he went the closest he could to the Burial Mounds, wincing at the disgusting taste at the back of his throat before turning away and going back to Gusu.
As expected, no one raised a fuss about a random boy dying, no one cared to check where Xichen had gone or what he did. Xichen calmly went about his day while internally sighing at the disharmony of the world.
Xichen was raised to be kind and A-Zhan was raised to be righteous. It was something that fit their respective roles quite well- the first son to be the Sect Leader, and the second son to be the ideal.
Xichen still wasn't sure what he would become, what to make of everything, but he had the strength of a Great Sect behind him, he could afford to wait.
Nie Mingjue was sort of wild, was sort of free. Even though he too was a first son, he could do what he wanted while Lan Huan grew up with restrictions upon restrictions. He didn't hate it, no, of course not, but he also enjoyed being able to get drunk with Mingjue after his naming ceremony, about buying a beautiful fan on a whim and gifting it to Nie Huaisang, about laughing freely in the streets of the cities of Qinghe.
He had no expectations but when he brought up swearing brotherhood and Nie Mingjue pounced on it like he had just been waiting for the word, Lan Xichen smiled.
Well, he hadn't been expecting to get fucked quite literally that hard or even that literally, but sometimes you had to adapt to the changes. He never quite managed to work up the courage to actually officiate it though.
While Xichen dithered about, he went about silently gushing about A-Zhan and how his brother was the cutest thing ever. Because he really really was. He couldn't wait to see his brother blush and fluster in Wei Ying's presence.
Xichen grew a little more familiar with his sword, grew better with his cultivation, grew better in playing his xiao and grew better at being fucked.
He couldn't wait to get Wei Ying in Gusu. He really needed to find a way to snatch him away from Yunmeng. He doubted a simple marriage proposal would do. He didn't know much about the Jiang main family with different versions talking about different treatments, but he was quite sure Wei Ying was being abused. Of course, no one really quite cared about abuse in this world.
Thankfully, the Lan Sect had many many many things vaunted as precious amongst their Sect and Lan Xichen was right about the age where the handing over of the Sect Leader position was going on. He asked A-Zhan to report any unrighteousness or dubious actions that any elders were taking.
It was the politics of it- while A-Zhan couldn't quite reprimand people not under his directly, as the role of the younger son, he was heir and meant to support his brother. With their trust in each other- that they wouldn't be backstabbed no matter what- A-Zhan carefully, hesitantly, talked about every single infarction the Elders had committed.
He silently thanked his Uncle for his hardass education of both the brothers and resolved to blackmail his elders. Sometimes, he gave minor punishments, but the elders who didn't listen to him, who turned a blind eye or were disobedient or wouldn't let go of their tight grip on the sect, he took a great deal of pleasure in smiling serenely as he made sure to beat them with a plank, after all, there were many punishments to make up for.
The elders grew agitated and unruly but it was hard to argue against someone who was raised with the Gusu Lan rules as anally as he and A-Zhan were. Of course, he made sure to ease up on the others- external disciples, for one; married in sect members, for another.
The thing about the Lan Sect was that everything needed to be recorded. While the treatment for them was already lax- because the people around them wouldn't complain anyway- for people like Xichen and A-Zhan, it was just easier to have it written down.
His uncle was confused about his methods of input, but he didn't interfere when he saw that Xichen could handle it.
The only time his uncle had attempted to veto him was when he had decided to beat one asshole of an elder who had been trying to interfere with his succession a little too much, using his power as an elder to step in and 'guide’ Xichen, whenever his uncle went off to a cultivation conference while Xichen handled the Sect.
He had asked that if he veto'ed it as an acting Sect Leader, found it to be something harmful to the overall unity of the Sect, he would agree, but if his uncle was acting as an elder himself, who would one day lose his power over Xichen, he would continue. Lan Qiren had been frozen solid and Xichen had taken it as permission to continue.
Members of the Lan Sect were welcome to cultivate, even welcome to take part in politics, but if they overstepped their boundaries, Xichen would make sure to step on their hands on his path forward. He ruffled feathers so he accepted oversight, but he knew and they knew too. He couldn't be killed, couldn't be punished, couldn't be replaced and their rules were carved into the wall so deep that they couldn't be uprooted either.
Things got a little more unstable, but the thing was, the Lan Sect elders who held the greatest power were the Craft Masters. Their weavers had their rules relaxed, their Healing Masters were more scrutinized but he also went to consult them often about the rules of their sect. They had more than enough power. He didn't give a shit about the Talisman Master because he wanted Wei Ying to replace him, and the Array Master was viciously delighted at the way Xichen completely ignored him.
Their Music Masters were the ones he had the most mixed feelings about. They were, no doubt, the most offended but he also had no intention of actually offending them. His concession was to give them more power. Not over him specifically, but more political power in general- he allowed external disciples to learn their music as well.
Of course, he did not mean their spiritual music. But their mastery of the art was beyond any Sect, because they had weaponized it. He allowed external disciples to learn a little more about their culture.
External disciples were mostly taught an introductory course- the ones their disciples learnt as children. Just like every other sect, the Lan Sect kept their most important secrets within their sects. But music didn't have to be a secret. Just like the Lan Sect enjoyed their music without spiritual energy, so could the rest of the cultivation world.
The Lan Sect had so many different music scores. Even masters of their craft would be able to learn more, let alone junior disciples. Within these changes, Xichen gained his title again- Zewu-jun.
Of course, this time he planned to drown his enemies in his waters if they tried to destroy his peace.
When the time finally came for the guest lectures to begin, he was absolutely delighted. Confirming that the Head Disciple of Yunmeng Jiang was participating had almost had him jumping on his toes while his brother- newly named and newly moved into the Jingshi- was utterly confused what was making him so goddamn excited.
His brother was so young, he couldn't quite think about the fact that he was destined to have hot heavy public sex with Wei Ying, but that said!! He was still very excited!! His eternally repressed rule-abiding brother was about to meet his first love, the rule-destroying, infuriating, cheeky, arrogant and yet charming and strong disciple called Wei Ying.
He was almost tempted into breaking his own rules just so he could catch them on the wall, but he barely refrained himself. His brother left seclusion at the exactly right time, stumbled across Wei Ying sneaking in alcohol and then came to confess his sins to his brother the next morning.
Xichen repressed his laughter but punished A-Zhan while letting off his soon-to-be brother-in-law, and his uncle steamed hotly into his cup of tea while A-Zhan tried not to show how embarrassed he was. Of course, A-Zhan didn't quite know that this wouldn't be the last time he was punished for losing control near Wei Ying, not by far, but as Xichen hid his laughter in his cup, he was sure that his brother had an inkling already.
His uncle went off to the cultivation conference and his brother came to report yet another misdeed of theirs, and Xichen tried very very hard not to laugh in his face even as he assigned their punishment. A-Zhan's ears pinkened in embarrassment.
And while his brother was going through his own emotional ups and downs, the news came that the Waterborne Abyss was finally here. He went and confirmed the numerous water ghouls, and after capturing and releasing their resentment, he flew to the middle of Biling Lake to confirm the Waterborne Abyss.
Waterborne Abyss was not something that could be easily purified. The easiest way was elimination, which worked by employing the entire lake.
Lan Xichen had, in fact, taken a different viewpoint. The Lan Sect wasn't wrong in their viewpoints. After all, a Landborne Abyss like the Burial Mounds could barely even be entered, let alone purified. It was a different matter, but the Waterborne Abyss was new. It had just barely coagulated before being pushed into the Biling Lake.
He put their nets everywhere, creating some safer waterways and restricted everything else, and then he called for a meeting of the Elders. Soon after, he went and got A-Zhan.
Of course, it was the same as the story. Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang caught up to them asking to join.
A-Zhan flustered about, but Lan Xichen laughed, telling them that there would be no fighting against it. That they were purifying a Waterborne Abyss and they were welcome to watch.
A hundred of the best the Lan Sect could offer descended down the mountain to the awe of all the external disciples, outer disciples and civilians of Caiyi town. They stayed on the land, and together played Inquiry .
The Waterborne Abyss was a coalition of consciousness, where one could not quite separate from the others. Their bodies hid in the waters, while their consciousness joined together to form the Abyss.
The Inquiry of a hundred disciples- good or mediocre, as long as they were effective- was aimed at separating the consciousness. The waters churned with agitation as the consciousness was pulled apart in a hundred different directions by a hundred different disciples.
First the elders, and then him and A-Zhan and then the rest, the Waterborne Abyss gave way as resentful spirits were pulled apart. Inquiry became Rest .
Some stumbled here but the harmony was not broken. They kept going. The first set of consciousness was out to rest and the bodies of drowned victims slowly floated to the top of the Lake.
They started again. Inquiry then Rest .
It was a slightly more brute force method that he had initially planned, but Rest was quite a difficult song to learn, and it was even more difficult to make sure that at least 100 well trained disciples and elders would remain within the Sect during this time.
Their energy waned, but the Waterborne Abyss was already weaker. The resentment would be purified by a few plays of Cleansing, and the bodies were pulled off the Lake to be buried.
He preened internally at the wide, awe-filled eyes of the guest disciples and A-Zhan shot him a look telling him to control any excessive pride.
Well, mostly. Even he seemed pleased at the attention he was receiving as Wei Ying fluttered about him, showering him with compliments.
While resentment itself was harmful to the soul, the Lan Sect's musical cultivation was truly a perfect way to get involved with resentment (to purify it) without letting the resentment touch their purified bodies.
There are two ways to immortality- one was as a cultivator, the path that led to godhood; the other was through resentment, the path that led to a demon.
Of course this wasn't just something he made up, but something he had learnt while scrounging through the books hidden away in their secret basement. Maybe after the story ended, Wei Ying became a demon, or ended up living hundreds of years and dying with A-Zhan.
But the point was, that he would never achieve immortality in a body that was not his. His yin and yang would be in a state of instability.
Wei Ying had two choices- one, he doesn't give his core away; two- he recultivates his core after losing it.
Recultivating was possible, thankfully. He had double checked his theories with their healer and he had consulted all the books they had to make sure the theory was solid. In very specific circumstances, aka Wei Ying's exact situation, it was very very possible.
Lan Xichen was not a kind man, but he wanted to make his brother happy, so he was willing to try a slightly more unfavorable option of getting Wei Ying in the beginning.
If his Sect agreed to a marriage, if the Jiang Sect gave up Wei Ying to them, if they were willing to exchange Wei Ying for the promise to learn the concept of cloth arrays that was (one of) the specialities of the Lan Sect, he would be willing to help them. Well, more like helping them help themselves.
Wei Ying was an underutilized asset they had been abusing for no good reason and it broke his heart- mostly because his baby brother was head over heels for the boy.
Since A-Zhan was almost constantly with him, he got more acquainted with Wei Ying as well. He let the boy call him Xichen-ge, laughing as he sat him down beside him so they could both stare at A-Zhan's face and taught him that the pinkening of his ear indicated his embarrassment, that the wrinkling of his brow was irritation, that the softening of his mouth was laughter, the way he looked away was shyness. Xichen was very fucking blatant as he taught Wei Ying how to read his brother until his brother stormed off and Wei Ying quieted down, turning red.
Xichen was well aware that it took them two lifetimes, a war and three Chief Cultivators to finally get together, and only because Xichen told Wei Wuxian that A-Zhan loved him. He was not willing to repeat it again.
“Xichen-ge,” Wei Ying cleared his throat, “Why are you doing this?”
Xichen calmly sipped his tea and wondered what he should do with this stupid genius.
“I want Wuxian to marry into the clan,” he stated bluntly. Wei Ying startled, then he squeaked and started babbling in panicked embarrassment as he turned red. Xichen watched amused. After Wei Ying stopped telling him all the reasons he was not a good match, and Xichen looked at him quietly and serenely, he sat looking very uncomfortable and very red.
“I simply want to know if you and your Sect will be willing. My brother's happiness is very important to me, and I wish to see my brother reach eternity with you,” Xichen's words were a double edged sword.
Not the words that Wei Wuxian suspected, which was the first part; but the second part, 'eternity’. If he gave up his core, he would lose his hope of marriage.
Xichen didn't really care about Jiang Wanyin's life. If the boy had the strength of will, he would survive. If he didn't, he would die. If he died, there would still be Jiang Yanli. He could support her into being a Sect Leader. She could marry Jin Zixuan or whoever she wanted. He didn't quite care. He would be willing to support the Jiang Sect as long as he got Wei Ying.
But he doubted it would be enough to stop him. Not the protagonist, the paragon of selflessness.
As he had expected, Wei Ying's shoulders slumped before he forced a smile on his face, laughing as he rejected the offer of marriage. Xichen didn't argue, didn't tell him that there were a lot of things, far more precious, that he was willing to offer to the Jiang Sect.
If Wei Ying didn't think his own Sect Leader would be willing to give him up, then he was probably right. Out of all the people in the Jiang Household, he believed Wei Ying saw the situation most clearly.
He let the boy take a few days to avoid A-Zhan and mope, before he invited him again and forced his uncle to talk about Changse Sanren to her son who knew nothing about her, through gritted teeth. And Xichen smiled serenely whenever Wei Ying shot him suspicious glances.
He didn't mind showing Wei Ying who his future brother-in-law was going to be, and Wei Ying seemed to realize something of the sort because he seemed even more confused and conflicted. A-Zhan became a little more sad and lonely after being abandoned by Wei Ying, so Xichen took it upon himself to give advice.
A-Zhan followed Wei Ying, embarrassed but determined, and Xichen cut in anytime someone else tried to embarrass his baby brother for his love in any way. Wei Ying softened at A-Zhan's initiative- which Xichen knew was taken after he had told A-Zhan that he gave his blessings, but which Wei Ying thought was taken because he was just left alone and lonely, unaware of why Wei Ying was avoiding him.
When the incident with Jin Zixuan happened, Xichen cut in and insisted that no one be expelled as they were all here to learn , but since distance was prudent, why not allow the music classes to start earlier than the 6 month benchmark and put them in separate classes?
After some hemming and hawing, both Sect Leaders agreed and Xichen smiled at being able to keep Wei Ying for the whole year. His uncle complained a little, but barely a week after the music classes started and Wei Ying showed his talent with music, those complaints subsided.
Wei Ying's focus was redirected to music quite easily and he even began pursuing musical cultivation after being warned that he was not to teach any Lan secrets that he found out on his own. Wei Ying learnt to appreciate the quiet of the Lan Sect- which Xichen got to know from A-Zhan's secret delight of it- and the music piece that would one day be called 'Wangxian’ slowly weaved into being under A-Zhan's talented hands.
The year passed slowly and Xichen got absorbed into his work again. Aside from improving his Sect, he had been learning arrays. Honestly, his talent wasn't anything close to the genius of Wei Wuxian. He was better with music than he was with arrays, but there was only two arrays he was learning.
After learning the basics, he had set those two as his only goals. He had to make an impenetrable barrier. He just needed to link the spiritual vein under them, nurtured for generations in a healing cycle within the Sect into something that could protect the Sect from the Wens. It was a clear cut goal and he simply had to create it. It just wasn't as simple or easy as it sounded.
The second was for their library. If there was a breach and their library was threatened, then he needed to hide away everything in their library. They didn't need to copy everything down, it was a waste of paper and precious ink. They would lack money after the war and wasting it on ink would only hurt them in the long run.
Instead, he planned to transport the entire library away. Any way was fine. There was a teleportation talisman and there was a storage qiankun. What couldn't they do? He just had to find a way. That one, to his surprise, actually turned out easier to make than the barrier- which was genuinely a shock.
After the year ended, and Wei Ying left, shooting shy longing-filled glances at A-Zhan, he sent a marriage proposal to the Jiang Sect.
A-Zhan blushed a lot, and sat quietly and excitedly as he wrote it, and even though he had been warned, they were both left disappointed when a curt rejection came.
Xichen wasn't planning to let it be, of course.
He sent another, with a list of a few things they would be willing to part with for Wei Ying to cut all ties with the Jiang and be bound to the Lan Sect.
The proposal was still done in secret, though already he had heard rumors about how furious Yu Ziyuan had been, for reasons no one could quite tell.
When the Wen cultivation conference came, Wei Ying looked exhausted and was viciously guarded away from the Lans by a fire spitting Jiang Wanyin, while Wei Ying exhaustingly tried to laugh everything off.
He forgot all the negotiations and worries the moment he saw A-Zhan though, teasing him with delight, and Xichen had to hide a smile as A-Zhan got shy and Wei Ying turned red and almost bit his tongue after he recognised it. At least his bluntness had helped them in some way.
Unfortunately, Wei Ying, now having learnt the preciousness of a forehead ribbon, did not pull A-Zhan's off. And the Sect discussion continued on. Unfortunately, his archery skills had suffered a little as he had been neglecting it in favor of other pursuits, but he still positioned highly. Fortunately, A-Zhan, having not left the grounds in fury, won the first prize.
Wei Ying had managed to stop just short of cheering and Xichen was content after seeing his brother's lips relax into an almost- smile. (Wei Ying was dumbstruck.)
After the competition, during the conference, his uncle declared the handing over of the Sect Leader title to Xichen. People dithered and talked about Xichen being too young. Wen Ruohan congratulated him on his ascension, Xichen smiled serenely at everyone and thought about how Ruohan was about to die from their hands, and he didn't even know.
They left the conference with a buoyant lightness that wouldn't last, but Xichen was still happy nonetheless. He was Sect Leader, his brother was happy to have seen Wei Ying, and his uncle was proud of them both.
Xichen was ready for War since he had arrived in this world.
The moment he got warning about the approaching Wens, he set up the barrier to war-mode. Only one person along with the holder of Gusu Sect's jade pass was allowed to enter the barrier, and with only two people per pass allowed, how could an army penetrate them?
Fortunately, he had just taken inspiration from the future version of their barrier instead of slogging through to create a new one. He wasn't a genius and it was quite ridiculous that he had even thought he could create something of the sort.
He proactively shut off Su She's jade pass and recalled all Lan disciples back to the Sect. Then as they sounded the alarm and readied all disciples for a fight, he and uncle went to the library and activated his array. In his hand, a miniature of the library, down to its last etching, was put in a box and then thrown into a qiankun, then he calmly explained to his uncle that if the barrier was broken, Uncle was to run with it.
This was why Xichen had insisted on being named the Sect Leader at the conference. This was why he had insisted on the ascension before the War. This was why he had linked the barrier to the position of the Sect Leader.
Xichen smiled as his uncle's face paled and grew horrified. His uncle pleaded with him, but Xichen was implacable. This would work. If it didn't, he could run away. Or he could let himself be thrown in Wen Ruohan's dungeons.
Honestly, since Xichen had mostly helped in the war with Meng Yao's help, it shouldn't be that big of a loss, would it? He would probably be kept alive till the end, as Ruohan took sadistic pleasure in torturing him. Since their genius torturer, Meng Yao, wouldn't be there, and Wen Zhuliu would die the moment Wei Ying learnt demonic cultivation and came out of the Burial Mounds…well, it would depend on his strength of will.
But it worked.
His uncle didn't fight, escaping till the other end of the tunnel and waited and Xichen led them to rounds of battles. His brother led a force to defend Caiyi and he fought in a rotation with the others. The Wens who came were slowly grinded down as they desperately tried to destroy the barrier.
There were so many Wens, hundreds upon thousands, looking like they outnumbered them ten to one. But their musical cultivation affected the spirit. From inside the barrier, the weaker Elders sat at the edge, their old quivering fingers playing music after vicious music to temporarily distort the Wens’ judgement. Lan Xichen and the others sliced through bone and flesh alike, killing and killing.
The Wens ran, leaving their dead. There were dead Lans amongst the field, and Xichen exhaustively sent a disciple to bring back his uncle.
After resting, all the able Lans sat and played Rest . They resented them, they hated them, but everyone played Rest to purify their lands and take away the taint of resentment and hatred.
His brother came back with his blood soaking half his robes and Xichen hugged him in gratitude. Someday soon he would have to send his brother farther, with much less hope of his return, and he dreaded it as it came nearer and nearer.
The Lan Sect had won the fight, and the result shocked the entire cultivation world. The Lans were renowned for their knowledge, but everyone knew about the barrier around their Sect. Even after knowing the function of the barrier, after knowing how it worked and functioned, the Wen Sect were unable to pierce through.
Wen Ruohan was enraged.
Xichen sent requests for help from the other Sects, and everyone hesitated, unwilling to take Ruohan's rage upon themselves. The Lan Sect retreated, giving more and more land. Qinghe sent people, and their border destabilized a little more- too far away from the Wen lands to gain the quick support they needed. Unless they were war groups, which led to skirmishes and could not be hidden, most of the Wens sneaking into Gusu died.
Wen Ruohan was unwilling to send a large portion of his army to Gusu when they could be surrounded by the other Sects.
He slowly devoured the other Sects and the Lan Sect put out the call to join forces to all the minor Sects. Refugees collected in Gusu with reddened eyes and revenge in their hearts.
Xichen introduced the concept of military rations, and everyone hated it. He almost started laughing when even his uncle had to spend a moment to breathe after he had tried it for the first time. Well, the Lans were known for its bland and bitter food, so why not?
Qinghe had rich lands, and Xichen was and wasn't surprised when Nie Huaisang saw the benefits and insisted that Nie Mingjue make more as well.
With Qinghe Nie and Gusu Lan blatantly preparing for War, the uneasiness grew in the cultivation world.
Then…Wen Ruohan started the Indoctrination Camp.
Here, Xichen grew complicated.
While they were preparing for war, the Indoctrination Camp was a complicated affair. If the other Sects decided to send their children, Yunmeng would send Wei Ying. If Wei Ying was sent, would he survive the Xuanwu of Slaughter without A-Zhan?
In the end, he hesitantly decided to not send anyone. In any case, he couldn't risk it. Gusu Lan wasn't as defeated as it originally had been and Wen Zhuliu was supposed to be there. If they destroyed A-Zhan's core, he wasn't sure he would be able to do the core transplant, not to mention, he didn't know the problems it could cause even if it did succeed.
He couldn't risk it.
Following his lead, Qinghe refused as well.
The Jin sent in their heir, proclaiming that since the Chief Cultivator was willing to teach, they would be willing to learn. Yunmeng Jiang sent in their heir as well.
Xichen closed his eyes, anxious with worry, and then he opened them to A-Zhan clutching his sword anxiously.
One week, he decided. After one week, he would send A-Zhan and some of their forces to Muxi Mountain to defeat the Xuanwu of Slaughter. If they found the other disciples on the way or in the cave already, they would rescue everyone and kill the others.
He nervously thought about Wen Zhuliu's presence and packed a qiankun bag of resentment filled battle armor for them.
He didn't know the concept of Wen Zhuliu's power. Did he use a special technique to break a golden core? Did he burn it out somehow? Did he use resentment to taint and destroy a person? Did he use spiritual energy? Did he steal their cultivation?
Wen Zhuliu had only used his power on the people inside Qishan Wen. The only thing they knew about him was that it took a very short amount of time, and it destroyed the spiritual capacity of their entire body. The body was unable to hold spiritual energy, let alone nurture it.
A person would be permanently cut off from the natural yin and yang of the world, unable to grow with and beside nature. A woman would become barren, a man might as well become eunuch.
As far as he could tell, Wei Ying's core removal was different. His body was more like a regular non-cultivating mortal than a victim of Wen Zhuliu. Jiang Wanyin, in the story, must never have managed to have children at all. Or maybe he would, who knew?
All he could tell for sure was that if they found a victim within a day, preferably, within the hour, they could try to understand more. Or so said his very irritated Healing Elder.
Xichen heard no news and so he sent his brother to rescue them. He , on the other hand, went to show his face and destroy another set of wandering Wens and incite a battle.
A-Zhan really did end up saving Wei Ying. The Xuanwu was killed off, thanks to the Lan contingent and Wei Ying. All the Lans took turns scolding him on their way back, apparently, and A-Zhan sent Wei Ying and the other disciples found on the way back to their own Sects.
The attacks on the Lans eased up, allowing them to lick their wounds, and tend to the people of the territory. Groups of cultivators went out to night hunt, and they came back learning how to fight the Wens.
Battles were difficult.
Xichen quietly edited a few rules to add 'in the Cloud Recesses’ (which was safe, so they didn't need to hoard food or weapons, where they could sleep at night in peace, where they didn't need to worry about their life) and the lack of protest told him that everyone was aware that the worst was yet to come.
Things simmered a little more, and then the Wens pulled away completely.
The next news they got was that Yunmeng Jiang was annihilated.
A-Zhan almost had a panic attack at the news, and Xichen sent off people to look for survivors. His brother insisted on going, but he held him back to let the first group of people report back on the situation. He knew what was going on, and he even knew where Wei Ying was.
But he didn't want A-Zhan to stop anymore. If Wei Ying didn't learn demonic cultivation, they couldn't make up the difference in numbers.
He had once thought that if Wei Ying's talent in talismanry would make up the difference, he would be happy to take him in. But that was if he was that good and if he had the time.
People wouldn't instinctively use talismans they weren't sure of and Xichen wouldn't allow his people to use them without proper testing. They wouldn't have enough time to use the other method, so it only left Wei Ying's demonic cultivation.
He deliberately asked people to check Yunmeng and the areas around the Sect. Yiling was on the border of Wen and Yunmeng. Unless someone was protected by a Wen, it would be almost impossible to hide there.
After about a week, he allowed A-Zhan to lead his own search team. He contacted Yanli who had been at the Yu Sect, and took her in for protection.
Everyone knew that the Lan barrier had not fallen to the Wens and Xichen strictly controlled the number of jade passes in use. The ones inside the barrier were not allowed leave unless with a Lan, and Xichen was the Sect Leader who controlled if any Lan could even use their pass.
If someone was deemed traitorous for this act, it would be difficult for them to survive.
Su She, it seemed, had already died after Xichen had revoked access and Xichen didn't shed a single tear about it.
On the other hand, A-Zhan came home with Jiang Wanyin who kept mum about the Wen involvement in his rescue, but Xichen grilled him, pointing out inconsistencies (like how did he survive in Yiling ) and he bitterly said that some Wens had been threatened into hosting them.
With the thinnest veneer of possibility, Xichen sent him off to his healers with half threats about Wen Zhuliu's ability. Jiang Wanyin's false core came out immediately and he spilled about Baoshan Sanren's help. The healer and Xichen kept their doubts to themselves, promising to keep it a secret since it hurt no one and Xichen smiled to himself as his healer helped fix his meridians better, using acupuncture and almost manually guiding his core to fixing this or that part better.
After that, Mingjue, Xichen and Jiang Wanyin showed a united front as they declared the start of the Sunshot Campaign.
A-Zhan looked desperately for Wei Ying for 3 months.
Xichen gave up managing logistics to his Elders, pushing Nie Huaisang to help out there, even though he panicked and was flustered. He knew how important it was and he really couldn't afford to mess it up.
Xichen couldn't afford to sit someone as cunning as Nie Huaisang out of the war, no matter what Mingjue wanted. While he might have hosted things well in Qinghe with the entire war front starting from there, Nie Huaisang needed to be something close to Meng Yao, to replace his existence in the background from their side.
Mingjue was stunned at the move, but they were already very busy and there were Elders there to make sure Nie Huaisang could only give advice and not completely control it. Not until he actually had the ability.
The minor Sects that the Lan and Nie had gathered, stood under the banner of Sunshot Campaign, slaughtering Wens again and again and again, from one end or Qishan to the other.
His brother wandered around Yiling, fighting viciously in Yunmeng, rescuing civilians and sending the remaining Jiang cultivators to Jiang Wanyin. Wanyin fought near Yunmeng, joining his brother to search for Wei Ying.
Xichen and Mingjue handled the majority of the warfront, their generals, second in command, scholars trying to provide advice. Xichen had not been prepared for how exhausting it was.
There were so many things they couldn't do, because of their moral compass, because it would harm the environment, because it would harm them .
A straightforward war would only hurt them, they couldn't afford to fight one for one.
But slowly, each sect took out secret techniques, or some things that could help in the war until the Wen techniques could all be nullified some way or the other.
Wen Zhuliu stayed hidden away, protecting Wen Chao, and Xichen sighed in relief because he hadn't known if the man would come out or not.
In the end, Wei Ying was found drenched in resentment and A-Zhan kept yelling at him to come to Gusu and they finally kept fighting and fighting and winning .
It was Nie Huaisang who raised suspicions of Jin involvement, and without Meng Yao inside the Nightless City, Xichen hoped that they would finally find proof of their actions.
Xichen slid into an occupied table, a familiar person sitting on the opposite side. The man raised his head and gave a sardonic laugh.
“Did you~” the man slurred, “did you come to tell me to go to Gusu too?”
Xichen privately marveled at the fact that even drunk out of his mind, Wei Ying could differentiate A-Zhan from him.
“No,” he replied firmly, his quiet smile a tinge sarcastic, “we can't win the war without you no matter what A-Zhan seems to want.”
“Ugh,” Wei Ying said, burying his face in his arms, “I can't handle this conversation. Shijie~” he called out lonesome.
No shijies appeared and Wei Ying groaned again.
Xichen quietly ordered some food and silently ate while Wei Ying changed from drunk skeptical, drunk sad, to drunk sleeping. He was quite amusing sometimes, that's for sure.
He woke the other man up after some time, ready to drag him back to somewhere with a little more protection. Thank God A-Zhan was always hovering around, trying to take care of him, or else their greatest asset would just turn up dead without anyone the wiser.
“Xichen-ge?” Wei Ying called out drowsily, his eyes squinting. “Where's Lan Zhan?” He asked, sounding sad and lonely.
“At another warfront,” he answered.
“Hmmm,” Wei Ying slid off into sleep. Then he jerked awake, “What?”
“He's fighting somewhere else since you need to heal,” Xichen said.
“No, no,” Wei Ying shook his head vigorously, “I have to be with him! I have to stay beside him and protect him!”
“How?” Xichen asked quietly. “How will you do that, when demonic cultivation is eating you inside out? When your injuries haven't been able to heal enough? When you are barely rested enough? It's his job to protect you. Your job is to kill our enemies.”
Wei Ying stared at his face for a long moment before bowing his head.
Xichen swallowed more harsh words and dragged the other man up to his sister. Yanli stood up in a hurry, enveloping Wei Ying in a warm hug, and fussing over him. Xichen gave her a brief nod before going on his way.
A-Zhan came back and Wei Ying kept rebuffing his attempts to take him out of the war. Finally, after killing for what seemed like a century, they somehow rushed to Nightless City.
There, Wei Ying used the Stigian Tiger Seal and overturned the entire battlefield,
In the end, it was a combined effort of Mingjue, Wei Ying and A-Zhan who kept Wen Ruohan's attention and Xichen who used their Cord Assassination Technique (because he knew he had been stabbed in the back last time, assassination had to be Wen Ruohan's weakness) to slice off Wen Ruohan's head.
It was only when Wen Ruohan failed to defend against their technique, when his body was barraged with multiple wounds, that people realized that he was dead. A bloodied guqin string dropped from Xichen's hands and everyone looked at him with wide awe-filled eyes as Wen Rohan's head fell off his shoulders to stop at his feet.
Wei Ying fainted and A-Zhan screamed his name in fear. Then Xichen commandeered the battlefield to burn all the remaining bodies, bring the injured to the infirmary and let the dead finally stay dead.
The Jiang coalesced around Wei Ying as he slept and their fear grew. It was natural since many people had witnessed him. Xichen was praised to high heavens and he silently accepted it all.
They waited for Jin Guangshan to come and they personally went through all the documents to look for Jin involvement. Xichen even had Huaisang brought to the Nightless City, much to Mingjue's displeasure.
But Huaisang was a great help. He knew where to look for the signs of collaboration. Xichen put Nie Huaisang in charge of finding the evidence and put some Lan and Nie cultivators to prevent anyone from burning any evidence.
The Jins weren't happy to be barred entrance, but Xichen and Mingjue had commandeered the entire war, and their Sect Leader was on their way. Since everyone insisted on waiting for the man's arrival, there wasn't much to say.
Xichen, with the death of Wen Ruohan to his hands, had a lot of political power now. They went through the post-battle process, waited for Wei Ying to wake up, waited for Nie Huaisang to find evidence and sent all their injured men back.
Jin Guangshan arrived first, dropping by with a 'I always knew this would happen’ proud look. Xichen, Mingjue, Wanyin and Jin Guangshan convened together and Xichen and Mingjue mostly decided how to split the profits. Wanyin got enough to reestablish his Sect, thanks to Wei Ying, and the Lan Sect came out receiving the most, because of Xichen's kill. He wasn't Jin Guangyao who could manipulate everything to his favor during unfavorable circumstances, but honestly, he didn't need to. He was in favorable circumstances already.
Jin Guangshan received a pitiful little. He demanded the rights for participation in the Campaign as a Great Sect, but his contribution had been less than many of the minor sects so the three unanimously disagreed. They decided on the Wen treatment- where the innocents with unbloodied hands were free, but cultivators needed to renounce their name or join a Great Sect.
The participating Wens needed to have their circumstances checked. To no one's surprise, everyone hated the last proposal, but Xichen insisted. The Lans would use inquiry to call on the dead to confirm. If anyone actively fighting the war could provide testimonies for the Wens, they would be allowed to join that Sect and from then on, their actions would be a part of the Sect they joined.
Mingjue and Wanyin hated it. They fought against it while Jin Guangshan seemed ambivalent, like it could provide him with an opportunity. Well, as soon as they found any proof, Xichen would take that opportunity away. But for now he had to rely on his kill and Jin Guangshan not fighting him to coax the two down.
Mingjue wasn't as hard. Xichen knew his reasons and they were close friends. He talked a little and Mingjue frowned and scowled and then gave in. Wanyin protested completely, not wanting any Wens to survive at all, but after Mingjue gave in, he grew quiet and angry.
It was all he needed, so he took it as acceptance. Then he called all the minor Sect Leaders into a discussion, giving them reparations for their dead people, and their victory one by one.
There were some Sects which had no more cultivators left, so they handed the next person some money to distribute amongst the widows or widowers and their children. Each Sect was called by name and acknowledged, and Xichen said a few words of gratitude for their sacrifices to each one, before calling for the next.
The other three Sect Leaders sat seething for their own reasons and Xichen smiled at everyone, confirming that the War against Qishan Wen had finally ended.
After the rewards were given, Xichen announced what had been discussed amongst the major Sect Leaders. There were a lot of hushed quarreling, and some even started protesting, but Xichen used the moral high ground to convince them. Thankfully, their double standards were so much easier to handle when you were on the side of the privileged one. So Xichen smiled serenely and talked about how all life deserved to be preserved and people scoffed about the Lan precepts before quieting down in acknowledgement of their greatness.
There was no victory banquet to be held in the Nightless City, but Jin Guangshan announced that there would be one in the Jin Tower. He needed to have some superficial claim to their victory, even after being humiliated by the lack of rewards.
In response, Xichen took out the proof Nie Huaisang had brought forward and laid it out in front of all the Sects, claiming the Jins had no honor and that they had been funding the Wens during the fight.
The Sect Leaders were absolutely horrified, throwing accusations at Jin Guangshan who was rolling down and down the drain. He desperately tried to deflect, but this time there was no Jin Guangyao and no one wanted to support the man who had been the reason for the prolonged war.
Xichen immediately claimed that there would be no more war or fighting, that there had been enough deaths already. But unless Jin Guangshan stepped down and handed his role over to Jin Zixuan who had participated in the war, the Jin Sect would be giving up their rewards and any possible relationship with the Lans. He also said that the Jin Sect would not be allowed to defend any of the Wens, since they couldn't be certain if there would be any false testimonials for their own reasons.
Jin Guangshan was barely able to defend himself before being kicked out and the victory banquet was smoothly shifted to Qinghe Nie's fortress instead.
Everyone went home with gossip about Jin Guangshan, glad that Sect Leader Lan cared enough about human lives to not only allow the Wens to survive, but to even use their Sect to prevent another war. They praised him as a dragon of virtue, and dragged Jin Guangshan's name through the mud.
By the time the victory banquet rolled around, Jin Guangshan was replaced by a very terrified looking Jin Zixuan. Mingjue and Nie Huaisang arranged the victory banquet while the Lans took responsibility for a lot of the healing, even many from the other Sects.
In fact, Xichen (mischievously) took hold of the Dafan Wens and corralled the whole village of civilians and healers to resettle near Gusu and promptly kidnapped both Wen Qing and Wen Ning to work as healers for the Lan.
Wen Qing took one look at the workload, and then rattled off a list of names to Xichen which he handed over to A-Zhan. Then he sent a message to Wei Ying to help A-Zhan if possible, and Wei Ying had a great excuse to get away from his Sect without exposing his lack of core and also helping in the post war efforts without making the Jiang look like dicks for not taking in any of the Wens.
The two of them ran around collecting people and the look on Wei Ying's face when he finally came to Gusu and saw Wen Qing was almost too hilarious.
Xichen quietly asked Wei Ying to come to the Hanshi after giving him a few days to settle down in Gusu, and raised an eyebrow when A-Zhan escorted him. The two brothers stared at each other for a few moments before Xichen gave a smug smirk and A-Zhan nodded with red ears.
Wei Ying slumped down across Xichen with an annoyed sigh.
“I still can't tell when you guys talk like this,” he grumbled. Xichen laughed with his eyes, pouring the other man a cup of hot tea.
“Well, you could tell that whatever it was made A-Zhan happy, couldn’t you?” he asked. Wei Ying grumbled under his breath about stupid habits and Lan Zhan's pretty face and Xichen sipped his tea to hide his smile.
They drank tea serenely for a few minutes before Wei Ying broke the silence.
“So what do you want now, Xichen-ge?” Wei Ying called out, his lips pressed together. Xichen smiled brightly.
“Couldn't you tell already? I even brought Wen Qing here,” he replied back. Wei Ying sighed heavily, looking exhausted and a little terrified.
“How did you know?” He asked.
“Oh, this and that,” Xichen said carelessly. “Don't worry, A-Zhan doesn't know. Nor does Jiang Wanyin.”
Wei Ying stayed quiet.
“What do you want?” He asked again.
“I want you to marry my brother and leave the Jiang Sect behind completely,” Xichen said cheerfully. “Then I want you to listen to our healers, recultivate your golden core and give me at least 5 nieces and nephews to spoil before ascending to immortality with A-Zhan.” He nodded, still smiling widely.
Wei Ying looked up at him, his eyes wide and shocked, before his lips twitched. Then he burst into loud guffaws that disturbed the quiet of the Lan Sect. Xichen drank the tea serenely, watching his future brother in law break down into tears and laughter.
“Ah, Xichen-ge,” Wei Ying wiped his tears, “Never change.” he smiled brightly, a few tears still stinging his eyes.
“I don't intend to, difu,” Xichen smiled back.
Not long after that, Xichen sent a request for marriage Sect Leader Jiang could not afford to refuse. Jiang Wanyin gritted his teeth amongst spiteful voices ringing in his ears and signed away his brother's future.
Not long after, Jiang Yanli married Jin Zixuan with all the golden luxury of the Jin Tower and Wei Wuxian married Lan Wangji with all the serene beauty of the Lan Sect. But neither of the couples had eye for the grandness of the wedding nor the exquisite preparations of the banquet, instead all they held in their eyes was the beauty of their life partner, walking hand in hand into the future.
Xichen cried like a baby during his brother's wedding, and Lan Qiren subtly wiped his stinging eyes as he patted his nephew trying not to repeat the Lan precepts against excessive emotions.
It was a good day.
Later, Xichen wondered if he could ask Mingjue to dump the Sect Leader position to Nie Huaisang, cause clearly he was already doing the work anyway, and just marry him already.