Chapter Text
Jiang Cheng wasn’t a cold-hearted asshole as it might have seemed. Sure, he had to put up a strong and strict act for everyone else, since he was a sect leader now. He had responsibilities. Other clans already didn’t take him seriously for being the youngest one among them and already being able to handle his disciples well. Jiang Cheng didn’t need to make it easier for them to doubt his skills. But that had a side effect, an unfortunate one at that. Since everyone viewed him as cold and bad-tempered, no one wanted to approach him.
It’s not like he wanted to make a bunch of friends and have them over all the time. No, he really didn’t want that. Just one person was enough. With a very specific intent.
Jiang Cheng watched both his siblings find love right before his eyes. Yanli’s ending might have been tragic, but she had loved her husband, and he loved her just as much. The love story between his brother and the Second Master Lan Wangji was also well-known in the cultivation world, either that be in a negative or positive view.
And that left Jiang Cheng. By himself. At this point, he didn’t even care who it was, he just wanted someone to love him. He wanted to meet someone that he truly could see himself growing old with. But he didn’t want it to be like his parents' marriage. Jiang Cheng would not marry without love.
If only this was just a personal matter, everything would’ve been easier. A young sect leader without a cultivation partner wasn’t a taboo per se, but it was frowned upon. He would sometimes hear other sect leaders making snarky comments about his singleness and that was never pleasant. It wasn’t his fault, he also wanted to meet somebody soon, but no one seemed to take any interest in him like that. And Jiang Cheng couldn’t exactly force someone into loving him.
That didn’t mean he was completely inexperienced with feelings, though. Jiang Wanyin’d had crushes before and found some people attractive. It just so happened that some of those people were men. It wasn’t a frequent thing and the fear of being severely judged if he were to take a man as his partner was always somewhat present. Jiang Cheng had also been in love with a woman before, he could do it again. It was fine. If he met a woman he liked, there wouldn’t be any problems. He would finally marry, have kids and be happy. There would be no debates about whether his marriage should be approved or not. It would all be fine.
However, with such a tight schedule of a Clan leader, he was busy to even think about something like that. Even though the tragedy of the Lotus Pier had taken place more than a decade ago, they had lost almost all of their young disciples and influential branches, so Jiang Wanyin had to make sure the disciples he had now would grow to be impeccable.
It was thinking like that, that led Jiang Cheng to consider the offer he had received from the Lan clan one day.
His clan had been invited for a night hunt in Caiyi by the Lan Sect, and him and his disciples would be staying in the Cloud Recess for a few days. It was a great opportunity to see his brother and also visit Lan Xichen, the Lan Sect’s leader. Making sure his sect had good relations with others was his job as well. This not only helped for if there was conflict and the clan was in need of supporters, but also in terms of education. Having good connections would lead to his disciples getting better opportunities.
He picked some disciples, and they traveled by sword. The trip was long and by the time Jiang Cheng and his disciples had finally arrived at Cloud Recess; they were all exhausted and in need of some deep sleep.
Upon getting there, they were all walked to their guest rooms, and the disciples went to bed, leaving Jiang Cheng to deal with all the democratic stuff. As much as he wanted to lie on the bed and fall into a coma right now, he could not. As a sect leader, he had to go greet the Lan Masters and probably his brother, which wouldn’t by itself feel unpleasant.
The Jiang sect leader walked to the Elegant Room (Yashi), where the Lans were waiting for him, while being mildly dizzy from exhaustion. But it was fine, nothing he couldn’t deal with. It’s not like talking to them would take too long either.
The first thing he noticed, when getting there, was that Wei Wuxian was also present, sitting right next to his husband, with a bottle of wine and looking relaxed. Since getting married to Lan Wangji, his brother had decided to stay in Gusu. Jiang Cheng didn’t exactly understand why, since Wei Wuxian had always complained about how cold the place was and how the strict rules would one day fry his brain. And it’s not like Lan Wangji wouldn’t go live in Lotus Pier if Wuxian offered him. Jiang Cheng believed that the man would probably do anything his brother asked of him.
At that moment, Lan Xichen entered the room and looked at Jiang Cheng, who was still by the door.
“Please,” the man said. “Come in. Have a sit.”
Jiang Cheng greeted him politely and did as he was told, sitting opposite to Lan Xichen and by Wei Wuxian’s side.
“You must be tired from the trip.” Lan Xichen said, always considerate of others. “I won’t take up much of your time. I just wanted to talk about the details of the night hunt we have scheduled for tomorrow, so everything will go as planned.”
Jiang Wanyin nodded and straightened his back. He tried to pay attention to what Lan Xichen was saying most of the time, but there were some slip-ups, when he couldn’t focus on anything else other than how tired he was and how softly the other man talked. After everything that happened in the past, it was fascinating to see that Lan Xichen had not changed a bit. He still had that kind smile on his face and politeness in his expression. His calmness had been a great reassurance during the events of the past. Jiang Cheng still remembered working by his side to shoot down the Wen clan and take back their territory.
His lack of focus was probably noticed by the kind man, which led to their meeting being abruptly ended.
“I see you’re getting tired.” Lan Xichen said with a sweet smile, as always. “I’ll leave you to talk to your brother now, if you want, and then rest. We’ll be busy with the disciples tomorrow.”
Jiang Wanyin said his farewell and watched as Lan Xichen left. Lan Wangji also got up and walked away, but not before telling his husband he would wait for him in their room. Jiang Cheng still got chills whenever he was reminded of his brother and Lan Wangji’s night activities. He was happy for them, but he did not need to see Wei Wuxian give the Second Master a mischievous smile full of sexual innuendos.
Wei Wuxian soon turned to him again.
“I was surprised to hear you would be coming here.” he said. “You never accepted any of my invitations before. How come you say yes to Lan Xichen but not to your own brother?” His tone was full of mocking annoyance. In reality, he knew Jiang Cheng had not rejected his requests out of spite. Wei Wuxian knew how busy his brother was with making sure the Jiang clan reclaimed its influence in the cultivation world.
“Lan Xichen is a sect leader.” he responded, trying to make his voice sound as neutral as possible. “Of course, I’ll accept his invitation. I have to make sure our disciples get along and can share knowledge. Besides, it has been a while since I went to a night hunt. It could be interesting.”
Wei Wuxian nodded and took a sip of his wine.
“You should come more often. I miss seeing the purple sometimes.” he said so jokingly, but Jiang Cheng knew how sincere that sentence had been.
Jiang Cheng scoffed and said with false annoyance, “It’s you who misses Lotus Pier, why should I be the one to bring it to you? If you miss it, you can always visit, you know this. Bring Lan Wangji with you. I’m sure he would enjoy seeing more of the place you grew up in.”
Wei Wuxian smiled fondly, probably thinking about his husband.
“Yeah,” he said. “I want to do that too. But I’m busy these days here in Cloud Recess. You know, for a guy that says he hates me, Lan Qiren seems to appreciate my lessons to the young disciples quite a bit. Although that may also be the reason they’re defying him more often lately.”
After getting married and moving to Cloud Recess, Wei Wuxian had not only started to help training the disciples in practical aspects but also in theory. He was the most known demonic cultivator out there, so it was only logical he would be the best one to teach the youngsters how to fight resentful energy and use it to their advantage. The tools he had created more than a decade ago, were also still used by many clans nowadays, regardless of how much many of them used to hate him back in the day. No one could deny his brother’s ways often worked very well.
“Are you going to the night hunt tomorrow?” Jiang Cheng asked, to change the subject. “Since the disciples will be going…”
Wei Wuxian smiled devilishly and answered while arching his eyebrow, “No. Lan Zhan and I have plans.”
Jiang Cheng knew what kind of plans his brother was talking about, and he did not want to know any more details of it. His face was probably red by now.
“Disgusting.” he said in the end.
Wei Wuxian was not affected by his comment in any way though. He actually seemed quite pleased to annoy his brother like this. It had been a while since they last saw each other and this was how they showed affection. It was weird and seemingly mean, but they both refused to abandon their petty ways.
“You only say that because you’re not the one doing it.” Wei Ying said with a mocking tone and soon, added, “You need to get laid, brother.”
Jiang Cheng almost choked on his own saliva after hearing that. He looked around to see if anyone had heard his brother’s atrocious comment. Wei Wuxian had always been shameless like this, but sometimes he crossed the line.
“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng whispered.
“Why?” the other asked. “Are you afraid of people finding out the reason the serious-looking sect leader Jiang Cheng is stressed all the time is because he’s still a virgin?”
Okay, now, Jiang Cheng had to kill him.
He almost jumped to grab Wei Wuxian by the throat but was interrupted by a cough coming from the door. Jiang Wanyin turned his head and looked at the mildly uncomfortable Lan disciple standing by the door, staring at them with concern.
“Master Wei…” the boy called.
Wei Wuxian got up and walked up to the disciple Jiang Cheng now recognized as Lan Sizhui, and then put an arm around the boy’s shoulders.
“You know you don’t need to call me that anymore.” Wuxian said. “What did I tell you to call me?”
Lan Sizhui looked at Jiang Cheng with worry but then turned to Wei Wuxian again, with more confidence this time.
“Father.”
Jiang Cheng choked. He knew Wei Wuxian had apparently adopted a Wen boy during his time with the survivors of the Wen clan. He also knew that after Wei Wuxian had died, Lan Wangji found the boy, brought him to Cloud Recess and raised him as a Lan. But all this knowledge did nothing to calm Jiang Cheng’s heart when he heard his brother being called a father. Even this irresponsible thing had a family but not Jiang Cheng.
Wei Wuxian looked back at Jiang Cheng and smiled.
“I’ll be going now.” he said. “A-Yuan needs to talk to me. You know how to get to your room by yourself right?”
Jiang Cheng nodded and followed Wei Wuxian out of the door, but took the opposite direction, towards his place of rest, hopefully. It had been a long day and Jiang Cheng wanted nothing but to sleep. The people from Gusu woke up at five in the morning, and, as a guest, it was expected of him to do the same.
***
The next day was indeed a busy one, just like Lan Xichen had said. All the disciples were overly-excited by the upcoming night hunt. The difference is that the Lan disciples were much quieter and contained than the Jiang ones. Jiang Wanyin found himself having to tell them to pay attention multiple times, as he instructed them about what they should know beforehand about the area they would be hunting in and what sort of creatures they could encounter.
The case seemed to be a little more complicated than what Jiang Cheng would’ve picked for his own disciples, but since both sect leaders would be present, there was nothing to worry about.
Lan Xichen had informed him that a number of men had died in a very mysterious manner. The people that lived close to the area said that none of them were involved in any crimes, nor did they seem sick prior to the incident. They all died suddenly and without warning. According to the victims’ family members, they were all unmarried and that seemed to be the only thing they all had in common, since their age range varied, as well as their appearance.
Jiang Cheng frowned when thinking about that fact. He never thought his relationship status could turn him into a possible target but well, here he was, worrying about it like an idiot. He shouldn’t be overthinking this. Everything would be fine. The whole point of this night hunt was to teach the young generation of his clan how to act in these situations and gain experience. If he were to show any weakness, they would surely lose trust in him. A sect leader should never be doubted on his skills and strength.
He swallowed his intrusive thoughts down and went to meet the Lan group, so they could all head to Caiyi together.
***
As soon as they all got to where the incidents were occurring, both sect leaders decided to first settle in an inn, in case they would need to spend more than a day resolving this. There was also no point in carrying their things everywhere.
Now the issue: Jiang Cheng had completely forgotten that, combined, their group composed of around fifteen people. Which meant, there would be shared rooms. No inn would have enough rooms available to have them each take one by themselves. And that also included the sect leaders.
It’s not that Jiang Wanyin had issues with sharing a room. He had done it uncountable times in his life and it never bothered him much. But he had never spent that much time around alone around the Lan leader. They were friendly and talked from time to time, but they hadn’t gotten to the point where they could call each other their given name. Jiang Wanyin couldn’t think of anything they had in common other than being the leaders of their clans.
The night would surely be silently awkward.
But there was still some time before the sunset, and they had places to go, so after they had all decided who would be their roommates, and their things were safely stored, it was time to go deal with the case.
Lan Xichen walked them all to the latest victim’s home, where they could talk to his family members and see the body, which was yet to be buried. Since the house was small, they separated in two groups, each one had half of the Lan disciples and half of the Jiang. Jiang Cheng led one group to see the body and the other went to talk to the family with Lan Xichen. That way both disciples would get a bit of everything and could share what they learned with rest later.
The first thing Jiang Wanyin noticed about the body was that its skin had acquired a blue hue. Could have the cause of death be asphyxiation? Jiang Cheng walked closer and the surrounding boys did the same. One of the Lan disciples, who Jiang Cheng recognized as Lan Sizhui, crouched down close to the body. He then used his sword’s case to turn the head to the side, exposing its neck.
The boy looked up and said, “The veins on his neck are swollen.”
Jiang Cheng had seen this kind of thing before. It was quite common when a person died of a heart attack. But this man was very young. Looking at his face, Jiang Wanyin would say he’s no older than twenty-fine. To die of a heart attack at the prime of his life, while in good condition, was uncommon. And they had another seven victims just like this one. This was definitely caused by some creature.
After determining the cause of death and looking for any clues of what could’ve done this, Jiang Cheng led the disciples back to the front of the house, to meet with the other half of the group.
Lan Xichen was waiting for them.
“Did Zewu-jun find anything?” Lan Sizhui asked, calm.
The sect leader smiled softly at the boy. Jiang Cheng just realized he was technically the boy’s uncle, if Lan Wangji was the adoptive father. He hadn’t thought about that. It was odd seeing how a whole connected family had started just because Wei Wuxian decided to save the remaining Wen members.
Did that mean he was also his uncle? He still considered Wei Wuxian his brother so…
But this was not the time and place to let his mind wander about his extended family. He needed to focus. This case was important and quite difficult. Jiang Wanyin shouldn’t be slacking off.
“His mother said the man didn’t seem to be feeling any pain of weakness of the body before he died,” the sect leader announced with a serious tone. He could look pretty scary without the sweet smile on his face. “But he did seem affected mentally. She said that a couple of days before his death, her son had become moody and clingy. He would lose focus very easily and sometimes talk nonsense.”
Jiang Cheng considered what he was being told. Whatever was causing this wasn’t just killing them for no reason. If it was murdering people just for the pleasure or to feed on their energy, why waste the time messing with their head first? No. There was a strong motive for the crimes. They just needed to find out what it was.
After gathering their information, the big group headed back to the inn they would be spending the night in. The sunset looked pretty from the streets of Caiyi, especially when they walked close to the water, which would reflect the colors so prettily.
All disciples headed to their specific rooms and Jiang Cheng did the same, being accompanied by Lan Xichen. They arranged their things in silence and got ready for dinner, which was kindly served in their rooms by a nice lady that worked there. Usually Jiang Cheng would’ve been picky with the food he eats, but he was oddly tired to mind what was being served to him tonight.
Thy ate facing each other, while sharing the small table. Jiang Cheng finished his food before Lan Xichen and the silence had started to bother him by now. It was so awkward. He had to start a conversation somehow. He almost did speak until he remembered his time studying in Cloud Recess.
There was a rule for not talking during meals. He had forgotten that one. Even as a teenager, Jiang Wanyin had found the rule hard to follow, as the meals he ate at home were always place for conversation or arguing. The table was never silent.
Or at least, it never had been… until things changed. Jiang Cheng sometimes forgot he was the only one of his family living in Lotus Pier currently. He had all his meals by himself now.
Thankfully, Lan Xichen finished his food and started talking before his mood got worse.
“What do you think about the case?” he asked with a calm but worried tone.
Jiang Wanyin frowned. He, too, was worried about this case. Not only about the possible future victims but also with his disciples. They were still too young and inexperienced. The Lan disciples were older and had been exposed to many cases already.
“From what I see, it’s not something just searching for some random soul to feed on. It messes with the victim’s head first and then it kills them. This thing has a conscious somewhere. It’s not acting on pure instinct.”
Lan Xichen stopped to think for a few moments.
“So, we have two options: it has to be a ghost or a demon.” The sect leader announced. “Either way, it came from a human being, so it has some sort of motive. These victims were unmarried so that may have something to do with it.”
Jiang Wanyin agreed.
“Doesn’t that make us possible targets?” he said. He hadn’t meant to think out loud like this, but it just sorts of came out. He was concerned about that.
Lan Xichen gave him a soft smile.
“I guess it does.” he said. “But don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”
Jiang Cheng felt his breath hitch. Did Lan Xichen just… basically say he would protect him? That’s what he meant, right? No one had ever said something like that to him. It felt… oddly pleasing to hear that. Jiang Wanyin had always been capable of protecting himself, so no one ever dared to try and protect him aside from his brother. And even Wei Wuxian wouldn’t say it out right, he would just do it.
But then again, he would probably feel offended if anyone else said something like this. It would feel like they were looking down on him.
Lan Xichen was different though. Jiang Cheng knew the man would never look down on him like that. He was too nice and respectful to do it.
“Well,” Jiang Cheng started, to change the subject. “In my opinion this might be a ghost. Demons usually feed on the victim’s flesh after they’re done with whatever they wanted to do. And the body I saw was pretty much intact.”
The Lan sect’s leader nodded in agreement.
“Then, we will follow the Lan sect’s instructions on this matter. Liberate, suppress and eliminate. You remember?”
Jiang Wanyin did remember. Lan Qiren had taught them about this. He also remembers Wei Wuxian completely dismissing it and talking about using resentful energy in the middle of class. Lan Qiren might see more use for dark cultivation now, but it hadn’t always been like this.
“We should rest. Tomorrow we might need to use a lot of spiritual energy.”
Lan Xichen nodded and got up from the floor. Jiang Wanyin followed behind him and headed to their shared bedroom.
As soon as they walked in, Jiang Cheng flushed a deep red. One bed. There was only one bed. He had forgotten about that part. This inn wasn’t very big as they chose it for its location rather than its size. And that meant not only he would have to share a room with Lan Xichen, he would also be sharing a bed with him.
The other man didn’t seem fazed by that fact one bit and just walked up to the bed and sat down. Jiang Cheng watched as Lan Xichen took off his shoes and untied his hair, in astonished silence. The other sect leader must have noticed the quietness coming from the other side of the room and looked up.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, ever so politely. “Is it because the bed is too small? I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. When I asked earlier, there were no other rooms available, but should I go ask them again? There could be another room free now.”
Jiang Cheng forgot how to speak for a few seconds before opening his mouth to say the most shocking thing he has ever said in his life.
“I want to sleep with you.” As soon as he said this, he felt his face warm up, and he looked away, embarrassed by his own impulsiveness. “I mean, I’m okay with sharing the bed with you. It’s fine.”
He didn’t know what possessed him to say something so strange. Jiang Cheng has shared beds with other people before, specially before night hunts, in many inns just like this one. Why was he so flustered by this situation? Why did he say something like that out of nowhere?
Lan Xichen gave him an odd look. There was something in his expression Jiang Cheng wasn’t able to read. But it was gone in a second and his features softened into a smile. He giggled at the other man’s blushing face and got onto the bed.
“Come lie down then.” said the other sect leader. “Like you said, we need to rest for tomorrow.”
Jiang Wanyin nodded and walked up to the bed. As Lan Xichen scooped to the side, making space for him, Jiang Cheng took his place. It was awkward. The distance between them was non-existent. The skin where his arm was touching Lan Xichen’s own felt like it was burning with his embarrassment. But he didn’t say anything else. Too scared to open his mouth and have it run on its own like before.
“Good night.” said Lan Xichen by his side.
Jiang Cheng closed his eyes, trying hard to not think about how much he wanted to scream right now.
“Good night.” he replied instead.