Chapter Text
Punishment
Sunlight woke Wei Wuxian with a warmth that matched his mood. He didn’t even need Jiang Cheng or Shiji to wake him up this morning, because he was more than ready to jump out of bed and dress for the day.
Jiang Chusi, Sect Leader’s Steward, had given him his head disciple robes during the appointment ceremony the day before, and Wuxian wanted to pull them on so bad he nearly tripped on his way to the wardrobe. Head disciple outer robes were a vibrant plum, and the belt a rich leather, finer than anything he’d ever owned before.
The former head disciple had looked dashing while training the disciples, and Wuxian had been training for a year to take his place. Head disciples were given a whole bag of tools; Jiang Chusi had assured him it came with his own qiankun pouch. One he could keep if he ever left the Jiang, though he’d probably have to fight Madam Yu for the right.
She had another week left on her outing to Golden Carp Tower, and Wuxian grinned as he tied his robes and adjusted his bracers, crossing his fingers that she would extend her stay. Pulling his hair up into a neat top knot and dashing out of the room, he made his way to the Sect library pavilion.
“Wuxian, why am I not surprised?” came the sardonic tone as he nearly slammed into Jiang Linghu.
Wuxian scrambled backwards and bowed, “Shifu! This one apologizes for my carelessness.” The Jiang martial master was older than Sect Leader Jiang by many years, an elder of the clan, but one of the most knowledgeable and strict teachers of the Jiang disciples. Wuxian cringed as the man folded his arms behind his back, his deep purple sleeves billowing in the morning breeze.
“Hmm. With Madam Yu visiting Madam Jin you’ve not spent anytime kneeling this week. Is that something we need to change Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Linghu raised his silver brow, staring directly into Wuxian’s eyes.
Dropping his shoulders to try and appear as apologetic as possible, he said, “No master. This one will watch where he steps.”
Jiang Linghu nodded in acceptance and looked behind Wei Wuxian as if expecting to see someone. “See that you do. Where is Sect Heir Jiang?”
“Probably still sleeping, Shifu. This one was hoping to spend time in the library before drills.”
Jiang Linghu chuckled softly. “I wish all of my disciples had your enthusiasm for books and scrolls. It would serve you well to rise this early every morning.”
“Ha, not likely.”
With a chuckle and a shake of his head Linghu lightly patted Wuxian’s shoulders. He turned away, but stopped abruptly as if he forgot something. Peering over his shoulder with a glare to rival Madam Yu’s, “While you’re in there, work on your calligraphy; your night hunt reports are atrocious.”
Wuxian groaned.
Linghu once again went to leave, but grumbled audibly enough for Wuxian to hear, “And do not be late for drills, remind the library disciple to poke you so you do not overspend your welcome.”
“Yes Shifu!” Wuxian bowed and watched his master march back into the pavilion in search of Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Linghu had only ever punished Wuxian once. Wuxian had jumped from a boat in a storm to fetch an inner disciple’s lost sword. Shifu had made him kneel for hours and contemplate how a sword held less meaning than a disciple’s life.
Linghu had come to retrieve him, stating if he ever wanted to risk himself so foolishly again, he deserved the worthless sword he was attempting to rescue more than his life.
“Wei Wuxian, sacrificing your life for your clan or a replaceable object, is pure foolishness. The time and work others put into your training should not be discarded on a thoughtless whim. You must temper this reckless behavior child.”
It made him sad to think about Shifu’s disappointment that day. Shaking off the memories, Wuxian pushed through the library doors. Grateful for such an understanding Shifu, he vowed to work on his calligraphy at least a little.
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Training with the Jiang in the height of summer meant afternoon breaks thrice a week. Disciples passing out from sun heat served no one, so training schedules were built around the strength of the sun. Wuxian wished he was back in the cool library as he ushered the youngest shidi into one of the side pavilions where they would practice their meditation instead of sword forms. He collapsed on the warm wood with a huge sigh as one of the other instructors took over for him. Rolling to his stomach, he was a little surprised when Jiang Cheng kicked him, “Owww, mean! What did I do?”
“Lazy as always.”
Wuxian looked around at the 20 or so children under the age of 10 that he had wrangled into meditative poses for the instructor, but rolled his eyes at his brother instead of saying anything. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have sect leader lessons right now?”
Jiang Cheng dropped down beside him and leaned back against the wall with a sigh, “Fuqin called them early, Muqin is coming home early.”
Wuxian snapped his head around to look directly at Jiang Cheng, “Did he say why?”
“No.”
Wuxian frowned and levered himself up off the floor, “Come on.”
“Where are we going, idiot?”
“Did he say when she would be arriving?” Wuxian scratched his top knot trying to get the sweat to absorb into his hair.
“Tonight, and you didn’t answer my question…”
Wuxian still didn’t answer it, but pulled Jiang Cheng into the kitchens and pushed him into a chair in the corner. “Shijie! Why is Madam Yu coming home early?”
“Greet your Shijie properly, and maybe I’ll tell you.”
Wuxian bowed all the way to the floor, and Yanli laughed at his antics. She pulled him up and pushed him toward the table with Jiang Cheng. “Shiiiiijiiiieeee, don’t keep us waiting.”
“The list for most eligible gentlemen in the Jianghu was released by the Chief Cultivator’s office yesterday afternoon.” Shijie placed a tray of steamed buns on their table and ushered them to take a few each. “Our A-Xian was ranked 4th on the list, just after the Twin Jades and Zixuan.”
Wuxian blinked rapidly. The pit that opened up in his stomach could not be filled with food. “Who ranked me above Jiang Cheng?”
Jiang Cheng shoved his shoulder, “What the hell, who even cares?”
Wuxian had to suppress the desire to shout in his brother’s face, that every sect in the Jianghu cared where their son’s fell on that list.
Shijie placed a calming hand on his shoulder, sat and picked up her own bun. “You know the rankings are used to establish skill for the cultivation conferences, and match makers consider it when making matches across the Jianghu.” She was looking beyond the boys to the water behind them, the wrinkle in her brow growing more pronounced.
Wuxian frowned and rested his head on his hands. “Did Jiang-Shushu cause offence to anyone last year?” Shijie shook her head, but Wuxian could see her furrowed brow. This was not good for their clan.
Jiang Cheng took a bite out of one of the buns, rolled his eyes, and said through the food in his mouth. “What does that matter? Stop talking nonsense.”
Wuxian sighed in fond exasperation.
More people piled into the kitchens, and Wuxian watched everyone around them rushing about with focused single-minded intensity. Madam Yu’s pending arrival meant the sect was a little out of sorts, preparing, and Wuxian pushed away from the table to do the same. “I think it’s best if I make myself scarce.” He could feel Yanli's worried eyes follow him from the room.
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Wuxian wasn’t being dramatic when he said he could feel the instant Madam Yu arrived in Lotus Pier. Jiang Chusi would be prepared to report the week's business, which would buy Wuxian at least 20 minutes. Yinzhu and Jinzhu would need time to acclimate, which would get him 10 minutes.
Fuck whoever made the list.
Wuxian spun his core and pulled in all of the ambient spiritual energy he could get his hands on. The rooms he’d been assigned as a disciple shared a pavilion with the household servants, most of whom did not have cores. It worked out in his favor as he didn’t have to fight anyone for the ambient energy around the pavilion. He could feel the tension in the water as he syphoned spiritual energy from the fish. The knock at his door came far sooner than he wanted.
Jiang Chusi bowed when Wuxian opened the door. “Madam Yu has requested your presence in the main pavilion.”
Wuxian blinked rapidly. Was she going to do this in public? Wouldn’t that just further humiliate her son? Wuxian raised a brow at Jiang Chusi, but he shook his head in agitation.
Clearly, the Steward was unhappy with the turn of events but would not gainsay his mistress. Wuxian followed Chusi with no comment. Chusi walked slowly and sedately along the pathways, not saying a word, but Wuxian could tell the man was more than agitated; he was angry.
They passed by Jiang Linghu, exiting the main pavilion, and his Shifu shook his head in disgust. He paused before the pair, clapped Wuxian on the shoulder, and said quietly, “Try not to say anything unless directly spoken to. I will see you afterward.” He stared at Chusi for a moment before shaking his head again.
Wuxian bowed, “This one is grateful, thank you, Shifu.” Linghu patted his shoulder again before leaving the area.
Candlelight flickered when Wuxian entered the large audience room. Jiang-Shushu sat in his chair with Madam Yu to his left, and Chusi walked ahead to join on the right. Wuxian bowed as was expected of him, took a deep breath, and drifted as far away as his mind would safely allow.
“You have shamed this clan for the last time, Wei Wuxian. I will not have your shameful, self-serving ego insult my son. You have abused our hospitality. Why is it too much to ask you to be grateful?” Madam Yu’s voice echoed through the hall as she moved to position herself in front of her husband's seat; she already had Zidian unfurled, and Wuxian watched it like a particularly focused bird.
She was not pleased with his bow and kicked his legs from beneath him. He dropped to his knees with a grunt. “You will not be silent when I speak to you, servant.”
Wuxian kept his head as close to the floor as he was able, not wanting to see the sect members around them watching. “Yes, Madam Yu.”
“What right do you have to be ranked higher than my son?”
“None, Madam Yu.”
Question after question, Wuxian could only answer with what he thought she wanted to hear. By the time his robes were stripped from his shoulders by Jinzhu and Yinzhu, he had recited in his mind the precepts of the Jiang and Jin clans.
Jiang-Shushu remained silent.
When the first lash of Zidian tore through his skin, he moved on to reciting talisman theory as well as the words to every song he had ever heard. The third and final lash brought him out of his trance, and he quickly released the spiritual energy he’d accumulated in the few hours prior, attempting to numb his skin.
Wuxian managed to look up and all he could see through blurry eyes were the wide eyed faces of his fellow disciples. Madam Yu had never taken her whip to anyone else in the sect. She'd never done this to him in public. A few of the new outer disciples had to be held back by an inner disciple. Wuxian could see the furrowed brows and their hands covering their mouths. One of the older disciples must have made certain the children were not present, only adults stared at him, and it was jarring to see tears on some of their faces.
Madam Yu retracted Zidian, and her lilac skirts swished as she took her place once again at their silent sect leader's side. Jiang Fengmian’s face was turned away from the center of the room, he refused to look. He could hear Yanli crying, but couldn’t raise his head high enough to search out Jiang Cheng. His spiritual energy was keeping him upright, but he didn’t have long before he’d collapse. Zidian’s electric power was rolling across his skin, and from experience, he knew the buzz wouldn’t let up for hours.
“If I see those robes on him again, I will expel him from the sect. Collect all of his purple; he can wear black for all I care. Remove him.” Madam Yu’s voice ripped through the room, just as powerful as her spiritual weapon. The disciples flinched.
Chusi walked forward and commanded two disciples, “The infirmary…”
Madam Yu snapped her whip in the steward’s direction, “Did I say take him to the infirmary? Toss him from this room, and he can find his own way.”
Wuxian knew there was no way in the heavens he’d be able to walk for another hour or so until the latent electrical power stopped shocking his system. Thankfully, the two disciples ordered to toss him out of the room didn’t just drop him; they supported him as he propped himself up against the wall.
“Go, go. She’ll shout at you if you take too long.” He ushered the boys away, and they left reluctantly, looking like they’d been kicked themselves. Wuxian closed his eyes and began the arduous task of healing himself. Shuffling forward, he nearly pitched forward, but a strong hand grasped his arm.
“Come.” Linghu carefully led him forward.
“Shifu, she’s not going to be pleased.” Wuxian managed to choke out through the pain.
“I am an elder of the Jiang. She can take it up with the council, and by the heavens I wish she would. Her shameful behavior should be discussed.”
“Jiang-Shushu won’t allow it.” Wuxian coughed through the buzz. Zidian’s spark made it hard to catch his breath. Observing the disciples walking away from the pavilion with their heads down, he took even controlled breaths, trying to smile at them as they passed.
Madam Yu was not doing the Jiang any favors by treating a highly ranked disciple this way before the others. Oh, she was making her point, but he didn’t think it was quite the point she wanted to make. He would discuss it with Shijie later, but the damage control this was going to require was astronomical. Somehow, he had to convince the other disciples that she’d never turn on them in this way.
Wuxian turned his head to look at the main hall. A silhouette shifted the candlelight and he could just make out Jiang Cheng standing, arms crossed, watching, rigid. Pain jolted him from his observations, and he turned back to his Shifu.
“I will be taking you to the infirmary, and she can say whatever she likes about it, and he can sit in silence as is his propensity. I wasn’t in the room to hear her demands, and neither were the healers. I can’t stop her entirely, but unless Fengmian is willing to banish me, I can gainsay her entirely unreasonable orders by virtue of ignorance.”
Blood trickled out of Wuxian’s mouth and nose as he smiled through the buzzing. Madam Yu might loathe the ground he walks upon, but he had enough allies to survive her.
For now.
Soul Fishing
“It's fascinating watching him respond to abuse, like watching a bird fly into glass over and over. He never once thinks of leaving. He doesn’t ask for help. He doesn’t fight back in any way. Just walks in knowing what’s going to happen, and walks away with nothing to say. Lord Yan, are you certain this is the one?”
Skepticism and doubt coloring her tone. The little girl watched as the old man took the boy to the healers, amazed he was still walking even with help. First-class spiritual weapons could disable grown men with cores, but this child was still somewhat standing. Impressive, if stupid.
“I am very certain. He destroyed the Tiger Tally voluntarily. He fought the Gentry of the Jianghu, knowing the outcome was death no matter what path he took. The boy was afraid, but he walked that path. He survived a mountain of death even though he died. He is of the blood, and it burns brightly in him.”
A grey-haired man waved the image of the boy away and dipped his hand into a pool of starlight. It was always difficult fishing for souls bare-handed, especially ones that had been shattered and scattered across three realms. Watching images of the boy's life helped focus the location magic.
“He actually destroyed it?” The little girl watched the scene shift. The boy sat in his room now dressed in a black robe. He pulled his hair into a high ponytail and wrapped a red ribbon around it. She could tell it wasn’t long after his whipping, his body seemed to be shaking with pain. Not only did he wear what the woman told him, he changed his hair. None of the Jiang disciples wore their hair in such a way. He would stand out. A bright, bold, light amongst the crowd.
“It was admirable.”
“Yes, but watching him do it was revolting. I thought he would need help. I was on the edge of my seat, I was half convinced that the boy he calls brother was going to finish him off first.” She turned away from the images projected, “what are you doing playing in the soul well?”
“He unraveled his soul.” The grey-haired man said with exasperation.
“Wasn’t that done when he had his core ripped out and given to his sect brother?”
“No, it was fractured, but still intact.”
“How will he enter the underworld without his soul?” The little girl danced around the moonlit temple.
“Oh, he won’t.”
She stopped dancing and looked up into the starlight sky, a look older than time scrunching her face. “Where will the poor thing go?”
“Back.”
She swirled around to stare in horror. An old nickname crossed her lips, “Yama, you can’t do that.”
The grey-headed man shrugged. “It is done. It is up to him to see his way forward. The tribulation he will face requires three-fold lives. For his soulmate to ascend, his soul had to be whole. This was always the path he was meant to walk. I have already paid the price. For her, I would pay it again and again.”
Arrival
Chatter surrounded him, but Wuxian couldn’t open his eyes. Madam Yu had all but stripped him of his discipleship; any visible indication that he was the head disciple would be met with punishment. His whole body hurt from her whipping, but he couldn’t breathe right for some reason. Lotus Pier had been in the middle of a heat wave, but he felt the cool crisp air from the mountain on his body; he just couldn’t get his lungs to cooperate and breathe.
“Is he okay?” “Should we get the healers?” “Maybe Lady Jiang can help?” The words kept coming, but Wuxian still couldn’t move. Who were these people?
“Wei Wuxian, stop causing trouble, get up, you idiot.”
That was Jiang Cheng. Wuxian tried to rise, but his arms wouldn’t do as he bade. He had not felt this unmoored since he was a child on the streets. He’d nearly burned his fledgling core out trying to keep himself alive. This felt eerily reminiscent. Attempting to reach into himself and pull strength from his core, a shout came out of his mouth. A small flicker of golden power, all that remained inside of him.
In his horror, he heaved himself over and puked. Arms came around him and lifted him backward from his sick.
A stern voice he couldn’t place demanded, “Get the boy to the infirmary, Wangji. Report back once the healers evaluate him.”
Wuxian was lifted into someone’s arms, and his eyes finally obeyed him as they stepped into the mountain sun. A halo of light surrounded the most beautiful man Wuxian had ever seen in his life. Pale soft features looked down on him with concern, golden eyes shimmering in the light. “Wei Ying?”
Wuxian took a deep breath; he smelled the scent of sandalwood and trees. The beautiful man picked up his pace. “Who are you?”
“What is the last thing you remember?”
“Lotus Pier?”
The boy's brow rose, and Wuxian could see his concern, though he wasn’t certain how he knew. The other boy’s face barely changed. It was something in his eyes. “You are in the Cloud Recesses. I am Lan Zhan, courtesy….”
Wuxian heard no more.