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Jin Ling took a deep breath to calm himself down before he knocked on the door to his uncle’s room. The knock was a lot louder than he’d expected, his anxious hand hitting the wood with a lot more force than he’d intended to.
“Uncle?” The Jin called out, his voice failing him. His mouth was as dry as a desert, but his mind was filled with a stormy ocean.
“Just a minute” Jiang Cheng called out from inside, forcing the Jin to stay in suspense for even longer. Perhaps he should just leave? It would be better to just not tell him, to let uncle believe what he wanted to believe. That everything was fine. Normal.
Jin Ling wasn’t even sure what he would do if his uncle turned out to be disappointed in him. He had relied on his uncle for so long, and for so much. Sure, he was old enough to handle the Jin sect on his own now and he had his friends by his side to support him in case he needed someone to talk to, but that didn’t make it the idea of a world without his uncle any less scary.
As Jin Ling came to the conclusion that it was better not to say anything the door swung open. The familiar purple-clad man that was his uncle, his parental figure, stood in the doorway eying him with those perceptive grey eyes. Jin Ling gulped. It felt like his uncle could see right through him, like he could tell everything from just a single glance.
That he’d been lying, by avoiding telling him the whole truth for years.
And despite that, he decided to run. “I’m sorry uncle. I just remembered that I should go to Jin Zhu for help with the documentation. I’ll have a missive sent out by tomorrow, sorry to bother you unnecessarily.”
“Jin Ling.” Sect leader Jiang’s voice echoed deeply through the hall. Forcing his feet to stop moving. “Come back here” he demanded, and the Jin’s body complied. Fearful of what would happen if it didn’t his feet led him back to his uncle who grabbed the Jin’s chin his right hand.
“Have you been crying?” The Jiang asked after inspecting the Jin’s slightly reddened eyes. “Has someone been bullying you? Is it that Lan-boy again? I swear… once I get my hands on him.”
“Uncle… please, Lan Yuan hasn’t been bullying me. I promise.” Jin Ling exclaimed as he pushed the Jiang back. Insistent on protecting the other man from his uncle’s wrath.
“No? Jin Ling, don’t try to fool me. You wouldn’t be crying if everything was alright. I didn’t raise you like that.” The Jiang argued, certain that the Lan had hurt his poor nephew. Not only that but he’d convinced the Jin to protect him from the consequences of his actions.
“It’s… I came to tell you something… ” Jin Ling stuttered, hoping that telling the truth would distract his uncle from going after Lan Sizhui.
“You have bad news to deliver?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Jin Ling sighed. “I suppose.” In uncle Jiang’s eyes it probably was.
“In that case, let’s talk inside.” The Jiang said, gesturing for the Jin to step out of the public corridor and into his office. Once he stepped past his uncle Jin Ling heard the door close and lock behind him. What was probably meant as a safety measure, to protect him from anyone walking in on their conversation, felt dangerous and aggressive.
It meant that if his uncle didn’t like what he had to say, he wouldn’t make it out alive.
But his uncle saw no problem with what he’d just done and casually walked over to one of the chairs and after sitting down he gestured for his nephew to do the same.
“No thanks. I think I’d rather stand.” Jin Ling said, hoping that if he booked it and quickly got the lock open, perhaps his uncle would give him a couple pity-seconds to escape out of his sight.
“Jin Ling, you’re worrying me. What’s going on?” Jiang Cheng asked at his more-than-usual anxious nephew.
Jin Ling attempted to speak, but when he opened his mouth no words came out. His uncle’s eyes darkened and Jin Ling averted his eyes towards the ground and cleared his throat. “Uncle, I’m… I’m… I’m as bad as uncle Wei” Jin Ling admitted. It wasn’t quite what he’d intended to say, but it wasn’t completely wrong.
Uncle Wei was a cutsleeve too.
“Don’t tell me you’ve started practicing demonic cultivation!?” Jiang Cheng exclaimed, his face turned ashen at the thought of his nephew walking down such a dark and destructive path. The path that was the reason for the Jin’s current status as an orphan.
“No, of course not!” Jin Ling quickly responded to reassure his uncle.
“Then what? Are you intending to ruin the Jiang sect?”
“Abandon me?”
“Are you going to commit suicide?”
“A world-wide war?”
“A massacre?”
“A murder?”
“An accidental kill?”
Uncle Jiang peppered him with questions, but Jin Ling’s answer remained the same each time: “No”
“Then I don’t see how you can be as bad as Wei Wuxian. Whatever you’re so worried about is not that big of a deal. It’s going to be fine. I’ll help you fix it…” Jiang Cheng spoke trying to reassure his nephew, but it did quite the opposite.
“Well I don’t want you to fix it. Uncle, I’m a cutsleeve!” Jin Ling shouted at the top of his lungs. With the tears streaming down his face and blurring his vision there was no more hope of escaping. Even if he managed to make it to the door there would be no way for him to get the lock open with his lack of vision and steady hands. And so Jin Ling squeezed his eyes shut and held his arms up to protect any vital parts of his body from being attacked, fearing Zidian’s imminent attack.
As he heard his uncle’s quickening footsteps, the sound of death approaching, Jin Ling let out an involuntary squeak of fear. This was not an honorable way to go. Jin Ling knew that and yet there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Feeling two caring yet firm arms embrace him with a seemingly endless supply of love Jin Ling concluded that his uncle had made it quick and painless. He’d made it to the afterlife without feeling a thing. Hopefully his partner had gotten the same treatment Jin Ling thought as he hugged the Lan back. Even if uncle didn’t allow them to be together in life, at least they could remain together in death.
“It’s alright A-Ling, I’ll support you. And if anyone dares make fun of you for it, I’ll break every single bone in their body.” The man embracing him spoke. With a voice that sounded suspiciously much like his uncle’s.
Opening his eyes slightly Jin Ling realized that he was still in his uncle’s office, and that the man with his arms wrapped around him was the man he’d been worried would end him was the one who was comforting him. The same person who was calmingly patting his head as he cried. The same person who had cared for him for as long as he’d lived.
“Uncle!!” Jin Ling cried as he hugged the Jiang even closer. Relief washing over him and making the tears flood even more violently.
“I’m here. Everything is fine.” Jiang Cheng cooed at him. The usually harsh man that would scold him for every little thing was nowhere to be seen and was instead replaced with someone caring, someone who hugged him tight and accepted all of the feelings he shared. Who let him cry until there was no more tears to cry.
Jin Ling felt slightly dizzy, but also happier than he had in a long while. A heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Having hidden it from Jiang Wanyin for so long had been a lot more difficult on him than he’d first thought.
“You don’t have to worry Jin Ling, we all have flaws. And as long as yours doesn’t lead to bloodshed I won’t mind it…. But even if it does. Do. That. I’ll always be here for you. With or without bloodshed.” Jiang Cheng added. And though his words sounded awkward his heart was clearly in the right place.
“Really? So you’re fine with it?” Jin Ling asked with tears in his eyes.
Jiang Cheng averted his eyes, unable to keep eye contact with his nephew whilst he was being so emotional. “Yeah. As long as he treats you well I suppose I’ll have to deal with it. Like I said, we all have flaws. Even me.”
“Yeah?” Jin Ling spoke with surprise. He wasn’t used to his uncle being this vulnerable. The Jiang he was used to would never admit to having flaws. But this one did.
“Mn, mine is currently standing behind you giving me directions because all of this ‘supporting’-shit is really difficult.” Jiang Cheng complained, revealing his usual side with a large eye-roll.
Turning around Jin Ling was shocked to be faced with a familiar white-clad cultivator holding his hand up in a circular shape, which he swiftly removed once he noticed the Jin looking at him.
“Greetings sect leader Jin, apologies for listening in on a conversation with such a sensitive topic. I just felt it would be in all of our best interest for me to stay and help sect leader Jiang navigate the interaction.” The Lan explained.
But before Jin Ling was able to respond to the sudden appearance of sect leader Lan, his uncle exclaimed “Oh, come on I was handling it just fine on my own!” Jiang Wanyin insisted.
“No, you were avoiding the topic by repeatedly asking him if he was going to commit murder.” Lan Xichen corrected him.
Sect leader Jiang pursed his lips. “So? Cutsleeves aren’t beyond taking lives. My boy isn’t so weak that he couldn’t slay a couple bad men if necessary!” Jiang Wanyin insisted, patting the boy he’d raised on the head to show how much he believed in him.
“Whilst you’re not wrong, I do believe the more pressing matter is listening to your nephew as he’s trying to tell you something important. Don’t you agree?” Lan Xichen asked.
Jiang Cheng frowned at the rhetorical question. Obviously Jin Ling was more important than whoever he may or may not have killed. “Apologies A-Ling, I should’ve waited until after your confession to confirm your projected kill count”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine…?” Jin Ling replied, unsure of what he’s supposed to reply in this situation. And as if the interaction wasn’t awkward enough, that’s when he noticed the slight tint of blue hidden underneath the Lan’s mostly opaque white outer robes. His inner robes didn’t match his outer robes…
“My apologies but I really have to go send Jin Zhu that message before it gets too late” Jin Ling said to excuse himself, his ears burning with embarrassment. Stumbling over to the door he wanted to get out as soon as possible only to find that the handle didn’t work.
The door was still locked.
Sect leader Lan had been in there the entire time…
Fumbling with the lock Jin Ling finally made it into the hall and was able to close the door behind him. His cheeks and ears a burning red.
“I heard you screaming. Is everything alright?” the young Lan asked as he peeked around a corner of the hall, still refusing to leave the position in which Jin Ling had left him.
“Mn” the stunned Jin said with a nod, which the Lan took as permission to come and embrace him. Because in this life, not just in the afterlife, could he have Lan Sizhui’s arms wrapped around him without having his uncle disown him. “It went well.”