Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian gazed in awe at the vast stretch of lotus flowers that covered nearly every inch of the lake's surface. The sheer number of them was a sight he had never encountered before. The overwhelming fragrance of the flowers filled the air, tempting Wei Wuxian with the urge to gather their seeds and replant them in Qishan after their six-month stay, assuming Yunmeng Jiang’s Sect Leader would permit it. The tranquil atmosphere allowed him and Wen Ning to savor the moment, relaxing on a boat with a roof overhead while Qishan’s flag fluttered proudly.
"Dear Young Masters, you have arrived at Yunmeng Jiang’s Lotus Pier," the boatman announced, his pride evident as he looked out at the horizon, even though his face was shaded by a bamboo hat.
Lotus Pier was a far cry from the Nightless City. While both places possessed beauty, their similarities ended there. Nightless City boasted grand and opulent palaces, whereas Lotus Pier featured simple, temple-like wooden structures, docks, boats, and water. The only structures hinting at power and affluence were those occupied by the sect. If Wei Wuxian hadn't known that the Yunmeng Jiang Sect resided here, he might have mistaken Lotus Pier for a fishing village. Strangely, despite not having been to this place before, a vague sense of familiarity washed over Wei Wuxian. This was where his birth-father had grown up and where his birth-mother had found her true love. It felt almost like a homecoming.
Shifting his gaze toward Wen Ning, his shidi's expression of amazement mirrored his own as he leaned over to observe his reflection in the water. Witnessing his shidi's joy, Wei Wuxian felt no regret for bringing Wen Ning along to Lotus Pier. As their boat approached the entrance of Yunmeng's gates, Wei Wuxian rose to his feet, with Wen Ning following suit.
With a wide grin, he acknowledged the boatman's efforts with a nod of gratitude as they docked at the entrance of Yunmeng's gates. A retinue of disciples awaited them, led by none other than the leader of Yunmeng Jiang's Sect, who personally approached to extend his welcome. His countenance exuded kindness, accompanied by a gentle smile. On his right stood the sect's heir, Jiang Wanyin, his face contorted into a deep scowl.
Wei Wuxian was in the midst of stepping forward to greet the Sect Leader properly when his movement abruptly ceased. The sound of barking dogs—three of them—drew his attention downward, where he observed three exuberant canines under the control of Jiang Wanyin.
“D-dog!”
The whole Yunmeng Jiang Sect stood speechless as Qishan Wen’s most beloved disciple quickly hid behind his shidi and tried to climb on him. The boatman suddenly tripped and met head-on with the water. Some of Yunmeng’s disciples tried to stifle their laughter while the braver ones snickered. The fishermen who were minding their own business also looked at the spectacle.
Jiang Wanyin scowled even further, feeling insulted. How could someone be afraid of his beloved dogs? Princess, Love, and Jasmine are very well-behaved!
“Why are you hiding?!!! Princess is a very good dog!”
But this was left unheard.
“Wen Ning! Get them away!”
Wen Ning smiled sheepishly, doing his best to not be embarrassed by his shixiong. He carefully disentangled himself from Wei Wuxian (who still held his robes) and bowed respectfully to the Yunmeng Jiang Sect Leader. It was not a secret that Wei Wuxain has a fear of dogs but this particular information was only known to the residents in the Healer’s Pavilion. Rarely were dogs allowed inside Nightless City so not many know that Wei Wuxian feared them but the one time that a dog had strayed into the Healer’s courtyard during one of Wen Sect's practice matches, let’s just say that many disciples' ears needed to be tended by Wen Qing from bleeding.
“Sect Leader Jiang, I am Wen Ning, courtesy name Qionglin, p-please forgive my shixiong. He is deathly afraid of dogs because of the circumstances he had before he was taken in by Sect Leader Wen.”
Wei Wuxian's fear of dogs can never be remedied, but at least Wen Qing tried to tone down Wei Wuxian's panic.
Jiang Fengmian had a worried look on his face hesitantly, he faced his son.
“A-Cheng, our guest is clearly uncomfortable with Princess, Love, and Jasmine. Why don’t you ask some of the disciples to take them back to their homes?”
Jiang Wanyin originally thought that the Wen disciple was joking and faking an act but seeing him cowering, he felt a tinge of guilt inside of him. With a huff, he reigned in his dogs and gave the leash to one of the disciples. They got the message and removed the dogs out of Wei Wuxian’s sight.
Immediately and like nothing happened, Wei Wuxian climbed down from behind Wen Ning’s back and stepped forward with confidence. He cupped his hands and bowed. The Jiang Sect disciples were gobsmacked. What happened to you? Aren't you embarrassed by your stunt a second ago?
"Greetings Sect Leader Jiang, I'm Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian of the Qishan Wen Sect. I've come here to study along with my shidi, Wen Ning. We thank you for the invitation and may we learn from your teaching during the duration of our stay."
Jiang Fengmian only smiled genially.
“It is an honor to have disciples of Qishan Wen to learn from our Sect. Yunmeng thanks Qishan for accepting the invitation. Welcome to Lotus Pier.”
Jiang Fengmian offered the appropriate salute and then signaled a few of his disciples with a wave of his hand, directing them to guide Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning to the Sect's premises. Following along, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning noticed an air of unwelcoming from the disciples accompanying them, which contrasted starkly with their Sect leader's reception. Poorly veiled scowls adorned some of their faces, and a few even attempted to trip Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning a couple of times, though their efforts were in vain, naturally. Such treatment was something Wei Wuxian had grown accustomed to back during his time among the disciples of Qishan Wen. Frequently, it was rooted in envy, yet he couldn't help but ponder the reasons behind these disciples' actions on this occasion.
“Treating our guest disciples this way, have you no shame?” Jiang Wanyin glared at his fellow disciples when he caught them. Immediately the disciples stopped but their expressions were that of humiliation. Wei Wuxian pretended not to notice.
Walking inside the gates of Lotus Pier, it was more beautiful than Wei Wuxian had imagined.
“The disciples’ quarters are that way,” Jiang Wanyin suddenly said, addressing them, he pointed his head towards the right hall, “but since you’re guest disciples, the Sect Leader has tasked me to show you a different room. Follow me.” After he said this the other disciples left while Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning followed Jiang Wanyin.
Uncomfortable with the silence, Wei Wuxian smiled and tried to break the ice, “Ah young master Jiang, Lotus Pier is very beautiful! I like it very much! I heard that your home has the best spices!”
Jiang Wanyin ignored him but Wei Wuxian could see he was trying to fight off the prideful smile on his face. Encouraged, Wei Wuxian suddenly wrapped his arms around Jiang Wanyin’s shoulders.
‘Aww, don’t be like that Young Master Jiang! We’ll be together for 6 months! We should start being familiar with each other!”
Jiang Wanyin glared at him and tried to pry his shoulders off. “What familiar with each other?! I don’t like someone who is deathly afraid of dogs!”
“You can’t blame me Jiang Wanyin… I don’t like dogs, they're scary! They were going to bite me!
Jiang Wanyin squawked. “No they are not! Get off of me” He pushed Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian was surprised and he tumbled over the deck and suddenly he fell off and landed on the pond creating a massive splash of water.
Jiang Wanyin paled.
“Wei-xiong!” yelled Wen Ning and immediately he went to help his shixiong out of the water but luckily Jiang Wanyin beat him to it. Jiang Wanyin was just about to pull the disciple out until he was also pulled into the water.
“Hahahahaha! Revenge!” Wei Wuxian laughed despite him being covered in wet plants
“You!” Jiang Wanyin in retaliation splashed water in Wei Wuxian’s face. And just like that, the tension between the two has dispersed. Wen Ning knew better than to interrupt and like a proper shidi stayed out of their way.
They would likely have continued their roughhousing if it were not for Yu-furen’s presence as she walked. Jiang Wanyin immediately stopped and paled when he saw his mother glaring at them from the dock. When Wei Wuxian met her eyes though, he saw immense displeasure in those purple orbs. Instead of being intimidated though, as this kind of displeasure he was used to from Wen Chao, Wei Wuxian offered her a salute.
“Greetings Yu-furen, I am Wei Wuxian, please forgive me for such behavior.”
Yu-furen gave him the stink eye. Obviously, she wanted to scold him and her son, however she was more worried about losing face.
“I am aware of who you are.” She replied with all the passive aggressive tone she could muster. “Such behavior is unbecoming of a disciple raised by Qishan. I wonder, is it their teaching that has failed? Or is it because of your origins?”
Wei Wuxian just smiled at her, hiding his irritation. Though he really wants to defend himself against her inexplicable anger at him, being called a son’s servant is nothing new to him. Wen Chao’s lot always reminded him of this matter.
Lady, what’s your problem?
“As it is, Yu-furen, this disciple is excited to be at Lotus Pier. I am most grateful that Sect Leader Jiang has allowed me to learn from YungmengJiang, make friends and hopefully strengthen the ties between our sects.”
Yu-furen scowled, unable to retort. “Yes, my husband definitely did say that, did he?”
Yu-furen set her eyes on Wen Ning, “I assume that you know where your quarters are?”
Wen Ning nodded politely. Without further ado, she took Jiang Wanyin with her, who was just silently looking away, and walked away.
“Well, that went… well.” Wei Wuxian exclaimed while dutifully and enthusiastically unpacking their things in the room that was led to them by a Jiang disciple. Wen Ning hummed, while digging through his things that consisted of herbs, creams, and a surprising amount of tonics and medicine prepared especially for Wei Wuxian by Wen Qing. Knowing full well of her shidi’s intimate relationship with getting into trouble.
“Xian-ge, I think Yu-furen hates you.”
Wei Wuxian chuckled. He brought out all his talisman papers, brushes, and ink and began setting up wards. Silencing talismans were put on the corners of their rooms and talismans, made by himself truly, that prevent robbery and alert them of visits. He knows that the Jiang Sect has perfectly functioning wards and its security is what you would have expected from being one of the Great Sects, but Wei Wuxian knew not to trust them wholeheartedly especially when they are from Qishan Wen. And from what he has observed, as from the way that both civilians and even Jiang disciples treat them, both he and Wen Ning are viewed with disturbing caution.
“A-Ning, at least she shows her hatred on her face, we know what she really feels about this. Unlike others.”
“Xian-ge.” Wen Ning bit his lip as he methodically placed what he was carrying on the shelves, an air of gloom surrounding him. Wei Wuxian sighed. While Wei Wuxian was really excited about his first time outside the sect’s walls, Wen Ning was just as, or even more so, looking forward to this. For Wei Wuxian it is a learning experience and something he would eventually need to do to contribute to his sect. For Wen Ning, it was an opportunity for him to gain friends and help people. For Wen Ning, being viewed by the Jiang disciples and Yu-furen with suspicion and distrust must have dampened his motivations greatly.
The state and the location of their room was an exact representation of what hid beneath their welcome. Despite coming here as guest disciples, their quarters were located farthest from the training grounds, almost secluded. It has the most basic of necessities included, two beds, tables, and a shelf with a window. It was modest and plain. Fitting more for a servant, rather than a guest disciple staying and learning. Wen Ning also noticed this, displeased with the subtle insult towards his shixiong.
Honestly speaking, Wei Wuxian expected this but was hoping to be proven wrong. Qing shijie has always warned him that for Wen Chao and most of the gentry, blood is more important. And for Wei Ying, despite being one of the best disciples in Qishan Wen, a genius some might even say, he was still nothing more than a son of a former servant who eloped with a rogue cultivator. He’d held hopes that with the way Sect Leader Jiang apparently viewed his father as a friend, maybe, it would be different with Yungmeng Jiang.
No matter. His family, Qing-shijie and A-Ning, will always be the best. Even if most of the disciples in the Wen sect were like that, Sect Leader Wen, Xu-xiong, his shidis, and those at the Healer’s Pavilion, always treated Wei Ying well.
Wei Ying grinned as he walked towards Wen Ning and wrapped an arm on his shoulder. “Don’t mind them, do I look like someone who cares about what people might think of me? As long as we get to go outside and learn, isn’t it fine? We just need to learn. This is our purpose here isn’t it?”
Wen Ning hummed but the gloomy atmosphere still persisted. Wei Wuxian laughed and brought out a talisman, the ink was still wet and it looked like it was written just now.
“Now, A Ning, would you want to help your shixiong with trying this talisman? I just had the most amazing idea! Looks like Yunmeng Jiang has remarkable insight after all! They gave me the best place to try this!”
Wen Ning looked at his Xian-ge’s sparkling eyes and looked away, knowing full well what was coming.
“Xian-ge, No.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes teared and looked impossibly big and shiny.
Wen Ning never really stood a chance, he can never deny his big brother. He suddenly wished that his jie was here, at least she had her needles that would put a stop to this but alas she isn’t here.
Wen Ning nodded in resignation, Wei Wuxian cheered.
It was the first of many sleepless nights for the Jiang disciples.
Jiang Wanyin never felt so grateful for his mother’s remarkable insight to put that chaos Wen disciple at the edge of Lotus Pier.
Madame Yu is not happy. She was furious in fact, but alas, Cangse’s imp is in the Wen Sect and unless she wants to offend the most powerful cultivation sect, she is forced to reign in her temper. She is powerless, and can do nothing about it.