#nie huaisang did not intend this
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Nie Mingjue's Fatal Journey crying scenes appreciation post
There's no way I wouldn't make this post, but it ended up way longer than I intended.
Fighting with Huaisang
When is this man not tearing up?
This fight is so important for Huaisang's character development and the movie's themes, with Huaisang being ready to challenge and question the Nie ways and Mingjue doing his best to uphold those traditions and keep the peace through the only way he knows how.
But it's still hard to be challenged like this and to face the possibility that everything you've ever known might not be right, actually.
And this gif specifically is from the moment Huaisang questions if Mingjue even knows what they're there to fight and what this supposed great evil that will come to Qinghe if they fail to balance their blades even is. Mingjue has no answer, of course, I suppose he was only taught this and never had reason to question it.
But Huaisang is also talking about the disciples they already 'lost' at this point of the movie, and he says something along the lines of " You don't know anything, you only know how to bring them here to die" and that does it. Because it's both "you can't follow these rules blindly when they rely on sacrificing people" and "you've changed and I don't trust your judgement on these matters anymore".
And as he says it, Mingjue looks at their disciples and he sees the puppets for a moment. And Huaisang just questioned if the other disciples were really attacked by puppets.
So that's a big moment and Huaisang is right, of course, but he doesn't have a confirmation that this is the result of Mingjue's health deterioration yet, so he keeps pushing. And Mingjue doesn't really have a counter argument because he knows what's going on with him, but it must be very scary to hear it from the person you care about the most and realize just how much you're being affected.
(Actually, Mingjue has one counter argument and that is "Well, I am at least trying to do something while you're painting and living a carefree life", and he's not wrong either. Huaisang is right and rightfully harsh, but this is the first time he's being confronted with these difficult choices and all their family history. He can reflect on and question it, but his brother has been meking those hard decisions since he was 14, when did he ever had a break to question and change things?)
Which leads us to
The Talk
After seeing his brother sacrifice himself for him at the bridge, and then seeing Mingjue be so vulnerable and lost, that anger from their fight is gone. They can meet in the middle with "You are right, I wasn't thinking straight, this is not a long term solution and I've failed at changing our ways" and "It's not your fault, you did everything you could but you're not responsible for this situation" and it's very beautiful and heartbreaking.
Mingjue is so remorseful, both because he has condemned Huaisang to die with him and because he feels like he failed everyone and everything (even if he doesn't seem to know what he could have done differently to avoid all this).
And Huaisang's reaction in this scene is so calm it made me think this Huaisang is somewhat used to his brother displaying vulnerability around him. This isn't book NMJ with all his victories, this isn't a man who never let the Unclean Realm be conquered and who could afford to keep Huaisang far away from the war. This is a man who was attacked and subdued in his own home, who had to send Huaisang to the hands of the people who killed their father.
This Huaisang doesn't have reasons to see Mingjue as this unmovable force, he has seen Mingjue hurt and threatened and fearful; and he's now seeing him remorseful and defeated.
(I'm sure Mingjue telling Huaisang about the fact that he's dying and admiting his mistakes and insecurities is something new, especially considering their previous fight, but this Huaisang doesn't take it as a shock, because he knows his brother is only human and there's only so much he can handle. He even, like, explicitly says this)
And so he assumes this calm, reassuring and empathetic posture, because that's what his brother is asking for. And it's the most beautiful thing, Huaisang has so much love for him, so much empathy. And this is Mingjue's reaction to his brother's reassurance that it's okay if they have to die there:
I'm sure Huaisang is still processing Mingjue's "I only forced you to practice because I'll die soon", but he's so good at reassuring his brother.
Because Mingjue just told him "I am dying and I'll go as a failure" and Huaisang insisted "None of this is your fault and you did everything you could and more, and if I have to die here with you today, I don't regret a thing, and you shouldn't either".
There's no despair or anger that his brother is only telling him this now, there's only understanding and acceptance and so much love and they really knew what they were doing with this movie.
His people love him
Mingjue is so moved. He just admitted to Huaisang that he's not in peace with his accomplishments, or lack thereof; that he feels ashamed to face his ancestors, having done so little.
So I truly believe Mingjue doesn't consider himself worthy of this much trust and support. (And I can't ignore how this is tied to the Nightless City situation, where he led the men who trusted him with their lives to a dangerous situation and couldn't save any of them).
As we see in the confrontation at Jinlintai, that technically happens after this movie, that is still a very sensitive topic.
And here he has his loyal disciples saying they will follow him yet again, despite his previous 'failures'; just like Huaisang was ready to die with him. They have so much trust in him, and the way he's nodding a little here, just like he was nodding when Huaisang reminded him of everything he's done for their sect since their father died, is like he's convincing himself of it. That he can do this and he can do this right this time.
And yet
He fails again. And I don't even think he knows it was him who killed those disciples, like some people say. He doesn't need to because it doesn't matter. His men, who followed him till the end of the world, are dead again. And so is the hope he had of doing this one right thing before he dies.
Yes, he supressed the saber spirit like he had to, but they're still dead, all of them.
He falls apart, how could he not?
At some point I'm sure Huaisang his holding all his weight because he just gives up. There's only so much loss one can handle and that's way too much.
And look at the way Huaisang is watching him as he realizes something inside Mingjue shattered forever.
There's so much pain in this scene, it looks physically taxing and I hope people gave Wang Yizhou a break after he shot this. I know it's his job and he's phenomenal at it, but this has to mess with your head a little.
And hey, it's a Huaisang crying scene as well. CQL Huaisang only really cries twice. First he watches his brother have a mental breakdown in his arms after unknowingly killing his own disciples; and then as he watches his brother qi deviate and die, while unable to do anything to either stop or comfort him.
(And a lot of people said there's no hesitation on Huaisang's part when he rushes to his brother's aid when Mingjue is hurt on this post's notes, and that's true for book Huaisang too, because he runs towards Mingjue as he is qi deviating, gets hurt in the process, and still keeps calling for him, which makes CQL's decision to have JGY holding him back kind of cruel, tbh, there's not a Huaisang who would run from a hurting Mingjue regardless of the risks
But at least we have this scene.)
And that's it, I guess. There's nothing uplifting to say about this, really. He just went through a lot and kept shouldering everything until he couldn't anymore. I just wish book NMJ had gotten to receive the same love and comfort and acceptance from NHS before he died, I wish he had been able to tell his brother what was actually happening, but thats kind of the purpose of this movie, so I'm just very grateful that it exists.
It's like that post says, it didn't change anything but the love was there, you know? That's how this movie feels for me.
#nie mingjue#nie huaisang#fatal journey#cql#long post#now this is meta with gifs#sorry i can't even attempt to joke a little about this movie everything is just sad from start to finish#the gifs might look worse than the ones on the other post and that's me not knowing how to deal with fatal journey being so dark and green#that talk they have feels kind of like an absolution for nmj doesn't it#book nmj deserved that too#oh yes we have two tearing up scenes#one crying scene#and one bawling his eyes out scene#on a movie that is less than 1 hour and a half long so he's crying the entire time; really
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HI I HAVE TO SAY THIS BECAUSE I CANT STOP STARING AT HIM and i absolutely mean this as THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT but i love your earth master shi qingxuan because the color palette and the hairstyle make me think of nie huaisang and THE VIBES ARE IMMACULATE thank u
Thankyou! I did not actually intend to have him be similar to huaisang xD happy accident haha! Both sneaky bois
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Something is wrong with A-Zhan!
By:HeloSoph
Summary:
Something is very wrong with Lan Xichen's younger brother.
First, he didn't wake up at his usual time.
Then, when he did wake up, he called him xiongzhang.
And as if that wasn't enough, he hugged him!
A-Zhan, the boy who hates physical contact since their mother's passing, hugged his brother on his own accord!
And as if the day couldn't get weirder-
“A-Zhan.”
“Yes, shufu.”
“What did shufu say before he let you and your dada go?”
“To get something we like.”
“And what did A-Zhan do?”
“A-Zhan likes Wei Ying.”
Lan Qiren’s eye twitched again.
OR: Lan Wangji time travels and decides to change everything.
Chapter:6/6
Words:15,306
Status:completed
(Dark lan wangji)
Like he killed everyone in the first time line 🫡
Wei Ying is Lan Qiren's cabbage
If what Nie Huaisang had written had even a semblance of truth, he won’t have to worry about his injured back soon. And as long as he does as instructed in the letter, he will be with Wei Ying soon, too.
If not, he’ll just kill Nie Huaisang too. After all, lying is forbidden. And lying to him about Wei Ying– giving him false hope – is even more unforgivable.
~~
For he knows that Jiang Wanyin did blame his Wei Ying for the deaths of his family and sect members, as if Wei Ying didn’t lose the same people too. He hadn’t been able to intervene back then, not with the war blowing in all their faces.
One man’s bitterness was of little insignificance.
But now, Lan Wangji will make sure that the Jiang Sect Leader pays for everything. In full.
He is the paragon of righteousness.
His bitterness, after all, is not insignificant.
It is righteous. It is justice.
He is justice.
~~~
It looked lived in.
But that can’t be true.
His zhiji, his bright and cheerful, full of energy Wei Ying was long dead.
Even before his death, this was not the room he lived in.
‘This lying bastard,’ Lan Wangji’s eyes turned cold as he looked at Jiang Wanyin and fixated on the bead of cold sweat that left from his hairline and threatened to fall in his eyes. He should gouge those eyes out, Lan Wangji absentmindedly made a note to himself.
“I’ll take everything that belongs to my zhiji, and I’ll start with that golden core. Who gave you the right to use it, you bastard?”
~~
In Qinghe, Nie Huaisang felt a severe headache for a week.
When his headache subsided and he woke up, it was to his brother by his bedside, fretting over him.
‘Lan Wangji’s love for Wei-xiong is no joke.’
~~
“You!” He got up and pointed at Lan Wangji, shaking with rage.
Lan Wangji looked at him with a crazed look in his eyes, “Stop pointing those fingers at me unless you want them broken.”
“Lan Zhan, that’s not a nice thing to say.” Wei Wuxian held Lan Wangji’s face in his hands and gently reprimanded him as if he were a misbehaving toddler, not a man fully capable of– and intending to– causing bodily harm to the Jiang Sect Heir.
“Wei Ying..”
Wei Wuxian understood that Lan Zhan was not sorry, so he didn’t push. He simply kissed his forehead, right on his sacred ribbon, “I’ll wait at Jingshi, come back quickly, hmm?”
“Mn.”
Having gotten his answer, Wei Wuxian collected his stuff and went back to his shared residence with Lan Wangji to wait for his zhiji to be done here.
Lan Zhan never liked Wei Ying seeing him when he got like this. He claimed that Wei Ying might not like him anymore if he saw him like this. Wei Wuxian claimed that he would love him anyway. In the end, just to reassure Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian always listened, not wanting to see his zhiji unhappy or in doubt even for a single moment.
With Wei Wuxian gone, the room’s temperature somehow fell even lower.
And this time, Jiang Wanyin noticed too.
Everyone stood frozen in their place as Lan Wangji effortlessly grabbed the Jiang Sect Heir by the throat and lifted him in air, the boy’s feet dangling in the air as he tried and failed to pry the strong hand away from his throat.
As the boy’s face started turning the same colour as the nine-petalled lotus embroidery on his shoulders, Lan Wangji spoke, “I hear another word about my fiance from your mouth, your corpse will greet your family when you leave here. Do I make myself clear?”
The Jiang boy struggled against Lan Wangji’s steady hold for some time until his vision blurred. It was only after his vision started spotting that he made an attempt to nod. He was thrown to the ground like discarded trash after Lan Wangji decided his answer was acceptable. For now.
As Lan Wangji left and the Jiang Sect Heir choked on the ground, coughing up a storm, the rest of the guest disciples still stood frozen in their place.
#wangxian#wangxian recommendations#mdzs#mxtx mdzs#wangxian fanfic#ao3 recs#the untamed#mdzs fanfic rec#mdzs lwj#gusu lan#dark lan wangji#dark lan zhan#wei ying#lan qiren#lan xichen#lan zhan#lwj x wwx#mdzs wwx#wwx#Something is wrong with A-Zhan!
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So I'm reading mdzs and I've just come to the conclusion that no mater what form of this story I digest, I'm team Nie Huaisang. Ultimately I understand Jin Guangyao, but he caused so much misery and heartache for so many people, and he did so many unforgivable things that in my eyes he can't be redeemed. While yes I will admit that Nie Huaisang did a lot of sketchy things and I whole heartedly believe he should be held responsible for them, I feel that the only person he intended to hurt was Jin Guangyao. As younger sibling I can honestly say I would also go fucking feral. I honest to god understand his rage and desire for revenge. I also feel as though it was never his plan to make Lan Xichen kill Jin Guangyao. I think in the end he was enraged at how to the very end Lan Xichen was fooled by Jin Guangyao. Also i feel he kinda felt like Lan Xichen should have been punished as well??? And this was a convenient way to punish both of them. Idk I just had to get that out. (Sorry for using their full names so much? They feel naked without the whole thing to me😂)
#mo dao zu shi#mdzs#mxtx mdzs#mdzs fandom#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#nie huaisang#lan xichen#jin guangyao#nie mingjue#controversial take#is it controversial?#i have weirdly strong feelings about this#rants#mdzs rants
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(Part 7 of Stay, the MY time travel fic. Well, Chronologically follows Part 3, But you can read them any which way! Read the others using: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7)
“I can take a hint, you know,” says Qin Su a few days later. “I’m not going to keep chasing you if you’re not interested, you didn’t have to tell my father to interfere.”
“I. I did not do such a thing, Qin-guniang,” says Meng Yao.
She glares at him as if to divine how truthful he was being. An interesting precaution but ultimately futile. She wouldn’t ever be able to see through him if he chose to deceive her. “I suppose I’ll believe you,” she says. “Meng-shidi should know that I had the most uncomfortable discussion with my father today. Since it’s your fault – regardless of what you told anyone – you owe me!”
“This Meng Yao has little to offer, but is yours to command regardless,” he says, sweetly.
“Then call me Su-shjie. If you’re part of my sect, you should act like it.”
“Alright, shijie,” says Meng Yao with a smile, hoping that she’ll accept it.
“Better,” she says approvingly. Then, lighter, “It is hard to stay angry, Meng-shidi’spractically weaponized those dimples.” It startles a genuine laugh out of him. She really was the loveliest person; proof that Jin Guangshan’s seed was not all rotten.
“This Meng Yao will find Su-shijie to continue our conversation later? I’m to help demonstrate muffling talismans for the junior disciples today.”
“Of course, go on! I’ll see you later!” The last is a promise, she obviously intends to see it through.
It hurts a little less when he nods and agrees, before hurrying to the class he was meant to help with. They could be friends, this time.
This time, Meng Yao wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
(This time, he wouldn’t hurt her.)
---
If everyone else is also strangely kind to him for a few weeks after, then Meng Yao doesn’t really notice, nor make the connection, until he’s following Su-shijie and two of her friends on a trip to the market. He’s being used mostly to hold packages; the girls had picked up quite a lot of novels; more than fit into the few qiankun bags they had brought with them.
“Apologies to Meng-shidi, we didn’t think we’d be stopping here,” they’d said, or something along those lines, at four different places already.
Aside from the packages, he was only occasionally consulted over the appearance or worth of some small trinkets – one of the youngest disciples had recently received a sword, and they wished to give her gifts for the occasion – but as Meng Yao’s being treated to snacks as an apology for every hour the trip extends, he barely minds. He is free for the day and it’s almost fun.
Li Feilong finds a green ribbon, almost exactly of a shade to match with official Nie robes. Huaisang would like that, he thinks, just as she says, “Oh, doesn’t this look lovely?” holding it out. She wraps it around her wrist to observe the colour.
“Feilong-shimei’s partiality is showing again,” ribs Qin Su, eyeing the other wares, and picking a midnight-blue one for herself.
“Shijie,” Li Feilong huffs, before releasing the ribbon, saying under her breath, “But he is handsome, I don’t know how he’s only ranked seventh on that blasted list.”
“We’ve all heard it before, Feilong-shijie,” laughs Lin Biao. “Well, I suppose Meng-shidi hasn’t.”
“Meng-shidi!” says, Li Feilong suddenly, whirling towards him. “You used to be Sect Leader Nie’s deputy, were you not? Come, tell me if this colour truly matches his robes,” she says, and Meng Yao steps closer even though he’s sure it is close enough.
“It would be hard to tell them apart,” he says. “Though such a light silk would be more Nie-gongzi’s style than Nie-zongzhu’s. He doesn’t know if it’s because Nie Mingjue’s cultivation was so advanced that he could not tell the weight of his robes, but his silks were heavy.
“That doesn’t matter, thanks, shidi! Auntie, may I have three lengths of this, please?”
“Three lengths, Shimei?”
“Hush, Shijie. I’ll wear it to the hunt on Phoenix mountain, next season! I can edge my cuffs with it, to match.”
The three women pick out other ribbons as well, a pretty pale periwinkle, a few yellows and roses, and some Qin-sect blues. Meng Yao finds his eyes being drawn to the green ribbon again and again. He can’t really believe that he thought that, so what if Huaisang would like it? There was no shortage of green silk in Qinghe, and Meng Yao is no longer... no longer beholden to him.
Some habits were clearly hard to break, that is all, and ‘Huaisang would like that,’ is a decade long habit, that led to him buying multiple pretty things for him. Fans yes, for birthdays, but he’d spoiled him with other things, too.
Meng Yao had always treated him like a child, and somehow missed what was right in front of his face.
It doesn’t stop Meng Yao from buying a length of it before they leave, as well as some colours of thread to go with it. He slips it all into his sleeve, and pretends not to notice the curious looks that he gets form his three companions.
“Shall we return then?” he asks.
“Just a few boxes of tanghulu for mother, and then we can go,” Qin Su decides, and they nod, trailing after her.
On the way back, Qin Su asks, voice mild enough that he’s instantly on guard, “Will Yao-shidi be wearing a green ribbon to the hunt as well?”
Wait, what? When on earth had he given her that impression?
“This shidi will of course be in Sect colours,” he says, while he frantically tries to pick out how this misunderstanding had come about. “The ribbon is for a gift.”
“Oh, of course,” says Qin Su.
“At least agree with me that Nie-zongzhu should be ranked higher, Meng-shidi,” says Li Feilong, from behind them. Meng Yao had assumed they were not listening, and when he quickly glances behind them, Lin Biao is elbowing her, trying to shut her up.
Oh?
Too startled by the byplay and its potential implications, he demurs politely, “I have no opinion on the matter, Feilong-shijie.” Then he smirks, “But I do know why the ranking is in the order that it is!”
Lin Biao gasps, and bounds closer. “You know who makes the rankings?” Conversation neatly diverted, Meng Yao spends the rest of the walk back coyly refusing to reveal his source – not that a drunk Huaisang in the future, confessing to ranking Jin Zixuan above Wei Wuxian just to see Wei Wuxian’s face, and putting his brother seventh because he had to be somewhere is much of a source – and the three ladies graciously allow for the change in topic.
If he returns to his room and skips dinner that night, well, he had been treated to a lot of snacks that afternoon. And it gives him time to try to figure out how exactly he’d convinced Sect Leader Qin that he was a cutsleeve. (He pretends that this is pressing enough that he doesn’t need to think about the green ribbon he’d bought so impulsively, and shoves it beneath his simple sewing kit.)
---
Meng Yao very very cautiously observes his disciple-siblings over the course of the next few weeks, but except for two offhand comments – quickly shushed – no one comments on his supposed inclination for cutting his sleeve. He’s a little bemused but after some thought and delicate probing, he works out the evidence for their “deduction”. In addition to his unexpected rejection of Qin Su, there was the matter of his apparent fear of Jin Guangshan; who was well known for his intolerance for such “deviancy” within his sect.
It's so absurdly sensible a conclusion to draw from the limited evidence available that Meng Yao has no defence to offer. Surely it made more sense than Meng Yao having returned from the future.
And most importantly: no one cared. They were trying to be kind.
If he didn't know better he would think he had developed a second golden core; so warm is the feeling that fills him up and settles in.
#meng yao#jgy time travel verse#nie huaisang#time travel fix it#qin su is a good sister#my accidentally convinces everyone he's gay?
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For the Nie Mingjue prompt: He's not everyone's Da-ge, he's everyone's didi!
And if you're not feeling the age swap situation, then maybe canonverse NMJ loses his memory somehow (curse? qi deviation unusual effects?) and needs everyone's help to remember who he is (but specially Huaisang’s 🥺)
Damn, how did this prompt go over 2k?! *Ahem*.
Thank you so much for this prompt! I very much enjoy reverse Nie bros! I got to write then once before and decided to turn this prompt into a sequel (but you don't need to have read Maybe if the stars align, maybe if our worlds collide to follow the worldbuilding!)
So, on to the prompt fill - I hope you enjoy :D
~ ~ ~
Nie Huaisang bit his lip in thought, and a little frustration. He’d been to the rooms assigned to the Lan sect, and hadn’t found his brother anywhere – normally Lan Qiren would have absconded Nie Mingjue somewhere to discuss night hunts, or Lan Xichen would have dragged him away somewhere for tea, but neither had seen him since the banquet that evening. Nor was Nie Mingjue among the Jin – they were in Koi Tower, after all, and the sects had been invited for a grand celebration on Jin Zixuan’s birthday, and though the boy was vain and snobbish at times, he often came out of his shell to take Nie Mingjue under his wing and show him around the grounds or take him to spar on the training field. Nie Mingjue had certainly not been among the Wen – even after Wen Ruohan’s ‘mysterious’ death two years ago, the Nie and the Wen were far from friendly, even if Wen Xu’s reign was nowhere near as contentious as his father’s (Nie Huaisang was quite thankful that he, rather than Wen Chao, had come out on top when the two brothers fought for dominion over their sect).
He was finishing looking around the smaller sects’ delegations, intending to head for the Jiangs’ quarters next, when he was stopped by a feminine voice nearby. “Oh, Nie-zongzhu? It’s quite fortunate that I found you!”
He lifted his fan to cover his frown and sighed. It was Sect Leader Yao’s sister, of course it was. She was nowhere as unpleasant as her brother, thankfully, but she did have a habit of making a nuisance of herself. Particularly to him.
“Ah, Yao-guniang, I hope you’ve been enjoying the birthday celebrations. How may I assist you?”
She fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly and waved her round fan over her chest – her neckline showing far more cleavage than was proper. Normally he would not mind – he did have a reputation for enjoying the company of women (and men), after all – but he knew she’d had particular designs on him for two years now.
“I heard that the matchmakers have been a great bother to Nie-zongzhu of late,” she offered with an attractive pout. “So disrespectful to hound such a great man, no doubt still grieving the late Madame Nie. I would be more than happy to have a word or two with them, if it would help.”
Yes, the matchmakers had been on his case of late to petition for various women wishing to be the next Madame Nie. He knew he would have to accept one eventually, but he had yet to decide upon what alliance would be most advantageous. Most believed he was still mourning the ‘accidental’ death of his wife during a night hunt – the better that they did not think further upon the timing of her death with that of Wen Ruohan. While they had not been a love match, Yu Jinzhu and he had developed an affection for one another, and he knew she would not want her sacrifice in pursuit of assassinating Wen Ruohan to put his sect in danger.
He also knew that Yao YuFeng’s offer was far from altruistic – she’d had designs on becoming the next Madame Nie since the day of the funeral.
“That is very kind of Yao-guniang,” he said with a charming smile that prompted her fan to move a little faster, “but this one is not afraid of the matchmakers. When I am ready to marry again, only then will I have need of them. But until that time, I have a sect to run, and a brother to find.”
“Is your Didi lost again?” Her smile and chuckle were now far more genuine. “He’s grown to be such a handsome boy, and a great cultivator even at his age! And I have yet to meet a girl who can resist the temptation to pinch his cheeks when his dimples show.”
“Yes, that’s the very reason why I lose him so often. He’s far too happy to help anyone who asks, and is often led astray.” He gave a long-suffering sigh. “If I allowed him, he would go weeks without seeing his Da-ge and spend all of his time helping people in need. My Didi forgets me so!”
“Such a thing is impossible,” she replied. “Everyone knows Nie Mingjue adores his brother and threatens anyone who even thinks of questioning the way you run your sect. He is a credit to Qinghe Nie, and to his Da-ge.”
He tilted his head in thanks at her kind words. “Your kindness does your sect credit, Yao-guniang. Now if you’ll forgive me, a process of elimination is leading me to the Jiang sect’s quarters – hopefully I’ll find my misplaced Didi there.”
“I wish you the best of luck, Nie-zongzhu,” she offered with a short bow, that he echoed.
Thankfully, she had the grace to leave his side, allowing him to continue on his way.
He took a path through the gardens outside on his way to the Jiang delegation’s rooms, enjoying the cool night air, and he spotted a pair of figures sitting outside in the lantern-light. The two boys seemed to be pouting – well, one looked positively grumpy, while the other one pouted only a little as he bumped his shoulder into the other’s. But the moment Nie Huaisang came close enough to be lit by the lanterns, both boys jumped up onto their feet and made proper bows.
“Nie-zongzhu!” they chorused.
“You’ve been enjoying the celebrations, I hope!” Wei Wuxian crowed with a charming grin.
“Are you here to get Nie-xiong?” Jiang Cheng added, a little too much hope in his voice.
Nie Huaisang did his best not to let a smirk creep upon his face.
“I have been searching for him,” he replied, “and this was my next stop. I do hope my Didi hasn’t been too much of a nuisance.”
“Nie-xiong is never a bother,” Jiang Cheng replied – unsurprising, since he and Nie Mingjue had been close since they were young, and Jiang Cheng had yet to refuse an invitation to come to Qinghe and visit with Jasmine, Princess, and Love.
“Not a bother – but he is a thief,” Wei Wuxian countered unapologetically.
Nie Huaisang lifted his fan to cover his silent chuckle. “Well, would you be so kind as to escort me to my thieving Didi?”
“Of course! Right this way, Nie-zongzhu,” Wei Wuxian offered in a way that was almost flirtatious – ah, to be fifteen again.
As the three of them walked, Nie Huaisang was reminded of how fast these young cultivators grew up. When he’d first taken over as sect leader, he’d been their age, and they had been but children playing at being cultivators. And now they were all grown, and already taller than he was. At times he felt like an ant wandering among trees.
Jiang Cheng knocked on a door and opened it, calling out: “Jiejie! We have a visitor!”
Inside the luxuriously appointed guest rooms, Jiang Yanli had set up a table with tea and many kinds of food – and across from her, shyly accepting an affectionate pat on the head, was Nie Huaisang’s missing Didi. The two looked up at their entrance and Nie Mingjue’s face lit up.
“Da-ge!”
“So this is where you’ve been hiding, A-Jue,” he teased. He knew his brother and that his absences were rarely purposeful – he had simply been ‘adopted’ by so many older disciples that constantly sought him out, wanting to spoil him or teach him or drag him out on night hunts. “I’ve been looking for you for nearly an hour.”
Nie Mingjue looked sheepish; he stood up and bowed to his brother. “This one apologizes to Nie-zongzhu.”
“No apologies necessary, something simply came up at the last minute.” Nie Huaisang turned to Jiang Yanli. “I hope Jiang-guniang does not mind me stealing back my brother.”
“Of course, Nie-zongzhu,” she replied kindly with an elegant bow. “Had I known he was missing, I would have sent him back to your delegation’s rooms.”
“No harm is done – and there are few I trust with my brother’s welfare as much as you and your family.” She tilted her head in thanks, her cheeks flushing brightly. Not for the first time did he think she would make an excellent wife – but not only was she betrothed to Jin Zixuan, but Yu Ziyuan had told him in no uncertain terms that her daughter (and son, for that matter) were off-limits to his wandering eyes.
But a man could still look and appreciate.
Everyone wished each other farewell for the night, and Nie Huaisang and his brother were finally en route to their rooms.
“Is something the matter, Da-ge?” Nie Mingjue asked quietly when they were finally alone.
“Nothing is wrong,” he replied, keeping his eyes ahead of him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look at his brother, but with how he had to crane his head up to look at him since his last growth spurt, it hurt his neck a lot less to keep his eyes on the path ahead. “But there is someone I want you to meet. Someone I believe has some potential in our sect, but who will require some time to adjust to our ways.” He paused as they passed a servant, and only continued once they were long past them. “Furthermore, I want to get your impression of them.”
“Of course,” Nie Mingjue replied. “Whatever I can do to help.”
He smiled to himself – this was why everyone wished Nie Mingjue were their little brother.
When they reached the Nie delegation’s quarters, one of their disciples held the door open for them as they entered. The healer within stood up and bowed in greeting.
“How is he?” Nie Huaisang asked her, glancing over to where a young man sat by the window. When he saw Nie Huaisang had returned, he stood up and lowered into a gracious bow of his own.
“Nothing that cannot be healed,” she replied reassuringly. “I’m more concerned at his malnourishment than I am the few scrapes and bruises he acquired today.”
He nodded and dismissed her with a wave of his fan. He stepped further into the room once the door clicked shut behind him. “Didi, I would like to introduce you to a young man I met earlier today. This is Meng Yao, and I have invited him to come back to Qinghe with us. He wishes to become a cultivator, and I believe we may have a place for him in the Unclean Realm.”
“It is an honour to meet you,” Meng Yao said in a practised tone of voice, the same one that had impressed Nie Huaisang upon their first meeting outside when the young man had stood up from the bottom of Koi Tower’s steps. He’d seen something in him immediately that he recognized – someone who did not have the same strength and skill with weapons that were the basis of many cultivators’ training, but instead he saw someone adept at the more subtle arts that Nie Huaisang called his own, that his father had brought in teachers from Meishan Yu to teach him many years ago.
In Meng Yao, he had seen himself.
“What happened to you?” Nie Mingjue asked bluntly, as was his way.
Meng Yao lifted a hand to self-sonsciously touch the darkened bruise on his cheek, and when he smiled, his lower lip showed red from where it had been split. “It is nothing, Nie-gongzi.”
“Was it a night hunt?” Nie Mingjue asked – Nie Huaisang said nothing, merely standing back and watching his brother. “Or bandits?”
The response was a wince, and Meng Yao shook his head. “It is nothing-”
Nie Mingjue's eyes narrowed. “Who hurt you? Only a coward hurts someone who can’t or won’t fight back.” He reached for his saber, strapped securely to his back, but he stopped when Meng Yao reached out a hand to stop him. “Point me their way and I’ll-”
“It’s all right, young master. I will be fine.” Meng Yao’s eyes softened noticeably the way so many others did when they thought Nie Mingjue’s righteousness adorable, and Nie Huaisang found nothing to indicate it was an act. “You need not worry about this one. I merely wish to do what I can to thank Nie-zongzhu for his kindness.”
“It’s almost time for bed,” Nie Huaisang announced. “Meng Yao, why don’t you escort my brother to his room and help him take his hair down for the night? It will give you a chance to better see some of his braids – they’re typical for our sect, and you may wish to wear some of your own one day.”
“It would be an honour, Nie-zongzhu,” Meng Yao replied.
Nie Mingjue snorted. “Right this way,” he mumbled, “and you can tell me how you got hurt.”
“As I told your brother, Nie-gongzi, it was but a simple tumble down the stairs...”
Nie Huaisang watched his brother and Meng Yao walk away. It was going to be interesting having one of Jin Guangshan’s bastards around – not that he’d revealed to the young man that he’d overheard that part of the encounter on the stairs – particularly one that, like everyone else, fell under the sway of Nie Huaisang’s Didi’s charm.
That night, when Nie Huaisang slipped into his empty bed, he allowed himself a moment of true weakness. Wen Ruohan was dead, but there would always be sect politics, and people needing his attention, and yao and ghosts to fight. At times he was overwhelmed by it all, truly overwhelmed in a way the Headshaker never was. But he had a duty to fulfill, a sect to lead, and a brother to protect – and if he could do what he could to make certain Nie Mingjue never had to worry about anything in life, then it would all be worth it – just like what it had secretly cost them all to take down Wen Ruohan.
He sent a silent prayer to Jinzhu – he really did miss her at times, political though their marriage had been – and one to his and Nie Mingjue’s parents as well. Then, pushing his anxiety aside, he rolled over and allowed sleep to claim him.
The End
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Okay, sending the picture doesn't work, sorry about that, so:
Anything for the Au where Meng Yao gets snatched up by a wen solider, works his way up and is one day 'rewarded' by wen Ruohan who has Nie huaisang sent to his room?
Ah, yeah, nonnies can't send images. Submitted images require a name attached too, but with that I can at least edit you to be anon in the actual post. Totally understandable if you'd rather not, however, no push.
(note: I originally had an opening conversation between Meng Yao and Wen Ruohan for this, but my WRH "voice" felt... slightly off. Not up to my standard. I didn't want to extend your wait while I fought with it, so I might try revising it another time.)
---------------
By the time he opened the door to his room, he had gone through over two dozen possibilities for what this 'mystery present' could possibly be-
-and what he found was not any of them.
He put a hand over his mouth to keep any sound of surprised dismay from escaping, lest someone be listening in where he couldn't see them, then stepped into his room, closed the door, and immediately pressed a silencing talisman to the seam before approaching his bed.
Where there was a boy tied to one of the posts.
Almost immediately, his mind began instinctively taking an inventory of information. Which was good. As long as it was occupied doing that, it wasn't panicking.
First off, the clothing that bore all of the hallmarks of the Nie sect- captive, an important one, clearly, yet sent here instead of the Fire Palace.
The overall ragged state of his hair- clearly pulled more than once in a struggle- and the painful looking bruise that spread down from his left temple over his cheekbone- a favorite knockout tactic for attempted escapees.
Gingerly, he lifted the boy's chin, and estimated that they weren't that distant in age, maybe two or three years at the most.
As he continued his examination, his unexpected... guest made a faint little disoriented moan, eyes fluttering open just enough for him to see they were a vivid pale green before they closed again and the boy once again went slack in his bindings.
Meng Yao took a very slow, deep breath and let it out.
Then did so again.
The number of Nie family members who were in or close enough to the central bloodline to inherit that eye color could be counted without running out of fingers, which, put together with the other things he'd made note of, meant he'd been handed none other than the brother and heir to the sect leader currently leading the war against his own.
He had heard quite a bit about the Brothers Nie since he'd first come under the direct command of the Undying Sun. Wen Ruohan's opinions and feelings about them wandered the entire gamut from 'upstarts to be crushed under heel like bugs' to 'wayward children who merely needed to be taken well in hand," depending entirely on his mood at the moment he happened to be -frequently- thinking about them.
One of his very few requests of his sect leader was that he be allowed to keep his job and his home entirely separated, so given that... that Nie Huaisang had been sent here, it seemed that Wen Ruohan's opinion was currently in the 'wayward child' category.
Which didn't exactly make things easier for him, since, again, it could change at any time. For all he knew, this was anything from a genuine gift to some kind of test.
He sighed and rubbed his head.
Alright.
Alright.
He would simply -as if anything about the situation he'd been handed was simple- focus on 'for now,' to prevent giving himself a headache.
For now, this was intended as a gift.
One to be taken care of, akin to a surprise puppy.
He could do that.
Maneuvering into a position that would make it easier to catch Nie Huaisang once he was no longer bound, he pulled a knife from his sleeve and went to work on the ropes. When the last came free, Nie Huaisang slumped forward into his arms.
Huh.
He was a lot lighter than expected.
Filing that away in his mind in case he needed it for later, Meng Yao managed to get him laid out on the bed with very little difficulty.
He was not, however, a fool, so before he resumed examining for other injuries, he tied both of Nie Huaisang's hands back to the bed post.
By the time he was done, he'd found a handful of other bruises -though none as serious as the blow to the head- and some minor scrapes, as well as a qi-slowing sedative that would need to be burned out of Nie Huaisang's system.
And then it would just be a matter of figuring out what to do once he woke up.
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survival (of a sort) - extra snippet - ao3
Wen Ruohan was not a man much given to self-reflection, let alone self-doubt.
On the contrary: the adjectives most often used to describe him had been ‘conceited’, ‘arrogant’, and – when the speaker was especially brave – ‘tyrannical’. From his youth to his adulthood, he had scarcely known a single moment of hesitation, never questioning that he was better than others, more worthy, more deserving. His vanity had known no bounds; he had seen himself as the sun in the sky, and he had never encountered anything that would cause him to question that assumption.
Right up until he had, of course.
There was something rather illuminating about being trapped in a lightless prison for years on end, robbed of sight and sound and company and even the ability to create, left crippled and as good as dead. He would have been dead, if it hadn’t been for Lao Nie’s particular madness about him. Certainly very few of the mad Sect Leader Nie’s other victims lasted very long once he’d fixed his anger on them.
It was a little ironic, actually. When he’d broken Lao Nie’s saber, Wen Ruohan had been lashing out in hurt, feeling that Lao Nie did not care for him as much as he cared for him; he had felt ignored, overlooked, taken for granted. He’d felt as though Lao Nie treated him with the same careless disregard as he treated everyone else, and it had burned at him, clawed at him, angered him past the point of reason. It was only after Lao Nie had gone mad that he finally learned the depths of Lao Nie’s affection – measured now, thanks to the qi deviation, by the equivalent depths of his hatred.
Wen Ruohan hadn’t wanted to lose Lao Nie, and it turned out that Lao Nie hadn’t wanted to lose Wen Ruohan either. And he hadn’t hesitated in ensuring that he wouldn’t: he had bound Wen Ruohan’s cultivation, imprisoned him in the deepest pit in the Unclean Realm, and cut off both his hands to boot, knowing that Wen Ruohan’s genius with arrays would otherwise let him find a way out as soon as he has the smallest possible opportunity.
If it hadn’t been for Nie Mingjue following in his father’s footsteps and finding him, Wen Ruohan would likely have lived out the rest of his life and then died in there. If it hadn’t been for Nie Huaisang’s (grossly underestimated) skill in painting an adequate depiction based on words alone, they might have all died there, victims of Lao Nie’s paranoia and blind reckless hatred. As it was, they’d cut it rather close…
The array had worked as intended, at least.
It had been, to be frank, a terrible idea. It had been a terrible idea when he’d mentioned it to Nie Mingjue, a terrible idea when Nie Mingjue had agreed to it, and an even more terrible idea when Nie Huaisang, tongue stuck out to the side in concentration, had painted it on the floor in front of the prison as a trap meant for Lao Nie. Wen Ruohan was not actually especially good at making traps, which were the specialization of lower-level cultivators whose primary purposes was the night-hunt – his focus had instead been on arrays that would make him stronger, bringing him closer to perfection, closer to divinity. But if you thought about it a certain way, divinity, too, was a way out…
Wen Ruohan hoped Lao Nie was happier now.
No – he was sure of it. Certainly the man could not be suffering any more than he already had been.
He was…less sure, when it came to himself.
Nie Mingjue had taken the throne of the Nie sect at once, as was only proper, and with it had assumed unquestionable control of nearly the entire cultivation world. Of the sects that had been conquered by Lao Nie, there was no one willing to risk finding out if Nie Mingjue, heir to Lao Nie and genius of the same cultivation style, was any less fearsome than his father had been, and the rest of the world was no more eager to discover that. The Jin had rushed to surrender as soon as they understood that doing so would no longer involve the execution of the entire family, as it would have under Lao Nie; thankfully Jin Guangshan was long dead, and there was no fear of them trying anything stupid. As it was, they would need years to repay the debts they’d acquired and rebuild their diminished treasury. The Jiang had kept their heads down, as they had these since the great massacre there, and the Lan had sent feelers out from their seclusion, hoping to revive old alliances now that it was safe to do so.
Old alliances, new fealty…
Nie Mingjue was a young man, not even at the prime of his life. His cultivation was powerful, and his face and body were handsome, particularly when he was wearing clothing that hid the scars. He held the world in one hand, and the sky with the other.
He had, to be frank, better options for dao companions than Wen Ruohan.
Wen Ruohan had never doubted himself before, but he found himself doing so now. He was no longer the powerful and terrifying man he had once been, rich and handsome, capable and influential. His cultivation had been damaged by his time in prison, and he found himself weaker not only in pure power but in ability to recover or improve in the future. His looks, of which he had always been quite proud, had suffered as well; his body was skin and bones, his hair shot through now with fine strands of silver, and even if you overlooked all the rest, there was always the matter of his missing hands, chopped off into unsightly stumps. And with his hands had gone the abilities of which he had been most proud…
Nie Mingjue had gotten him prosthetics, beautiful things made of jade, jointed like the bodies of dolls and carved with arrays to make them move through the manipulation of spiritual energy – to be specific, he’d commissioned Nie Huaisang to find someone who could build such a thing, and Nie Huaisang had dug up an enterprising young man in Yiling called Wei Wuxian, who had been more than happy to take on the job. His arrays were exceedingly clever, and Wen Ruohan had picked up something of a correspondence with him, a secretary taking dictation for him; the next set of hands were already under construction, and they both had every confidence that these would be much better. The present ones were too rough and too awkward, jerky and uncoordinated no matter how much precision he used in moving spiritual energy through them; they could pick things up, if he needed to, but could barely draw a straight line…Nie Huaisang had joked that they resembled Nie Mingjue’s own attempts at painting, and while it had been momentarily funny, it had pricked at Wen Ruohan’s heart in ways he could scarcely give word to. He had once been a very fine painter, better even than Nie Huaisang; to be reduced to the level of a Nie Mingjue was to fall very low indeed.
He didn’t even have a sect any longer.
His sons were dead; his closest kinsmen massacred; his generals long gone.
Those with his surname that had survived Lao Nie’s wrath had scattered into the dust, returning to their original surnames if they’d changed them, changing them to others if they’d been born with them. The largest group of them were currently surnamed Wei, after Wei Changze, Wei Wuxian’s father – finding that out had almost been enough to make Wen Ruohan stop writing to him. Not that there was anything wrong with Wei Changze himself, nor his wife Cangse Sanren; they had been very polite to him, respectful, and they had saved the lives of his family. Though none of them would admit it, including him, Wen Ruohan had recognized his own grandson in Wei Wuxian’s foster son, meaning that his line would continue and that was not nothing. All things considered, his remaining family had done relatively well for themselves.
He hadn’t been invited to join them.
Wen Ruohan had understood. He was rather infamous, everyone knowing that it was his actions that had caused Lao Nie’s actions, and his former family had no doubt been wary of inviting a snake into their midst; certainly he didn’t have anything to recommend him any longer, having lost everything that had once made him capable of being their sect leader. He knew the calculations they made in their hearts. He’d understood.
Nie Mingjue had taken rather more offense, the slight having pricked at his notions of fairness.
“Fine,” he’d said crisply when his suggestion that Wen Ruohan go for a brief visit to Yiling had been met with refusal – couched in polite words, but a refusal nonetheless. “So be it. They don’t want to be tied to a sinking anchor, so too will they avoid being lifted by the rising tide. When we tally up the strength of the various clans in the cultivation world, Yiling Wei is to be counted among the small sects, and recognized as no kin of mine.”
That had made a few of Wen Ruohan’s cousins blanch, abruptly regretful, although Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren had remained peacefully indifferent; they’d been rogue cultivators to start with, and had no interest in running a Great Sect, even if they’d generously shared their surname for wider use. Now that the threat was gone, they used Yiling as a home base more than anything else, and even their son Wei Wuxian seemed more likely to marry into the Lan than to remain in the Burial Mounds.
Wen Ruohan had been amused by that.
He was less amused when one of his cousins tentatively offered up his daughter, Wei Qing, to act as Nie Mingjue’s concubine, so as to bear him the heirs that Wen Ruohan could not, while coming as close as possible to having the same bloodline. The suggestion had offended Wen Ruohan on multiple levels, not least of which was that he had personally picked Wen Qing to be brought back to the Nightless City on account of her promising talent as a doctor – her being sent off to be a concubine would be a grotesque waste. Luckily, Nie Mingjue had agreed, and had instead insisted on her setting up a hospital instead, to treat all those who’d suffered under his father’s rule, and so that matter was settled.
Still, Wen Ruohan had to admit that in some ways, his cousins…had something of a point.
He certainly couldn’t bear Nie Mingjue any children. Without power, without ability, without looks, without even youth, what exactly was he bringing to the table?
“Stupidity?” Nie Huaisang suggested, and Wen Ruohan gave him a dirty look, though to no avail. He was irritatingly immune to Wen Ruohan’s glares. It was unclear whether this was an innate trait or something he’d developed after Wen Ruohan had accepted him as a pupil in the art of creating talismans and arrays – it had resulted in, in Nie Huaisang’s words, the first time Wei Wuxian had ever envied him for anything, a very novel experience, and worthwhile even if it did mean he had to practice painting arrays every single day, or at least every couple of days. He was the most intolerably lazy cultivator Wen Ruohan had ever met. “No, really. What makes you think that da-ge measures worth with standards like that?”
Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes. “He’s the head of a sect now. There are some considerations that are universal.”
“Not for da-ge.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Not so.” Nie Huaisang shrugged. “Just wait. You’ll see.”
“Wait for what? To ascend to the heavens?” Wen Ruohan asked sarcastically, bemused and trying to hide it. “Are we waiting for a family reunion?”
“For da-ge to prove his sincerity to you. He’s not easily moved.”
Wen Ruohan opened his mouth to say ‘ridiculous’ once more, and maybe to use his too-rough jade hands to pinch Nie Huaisang by the ears and give him a shake, only he found someone else’s hands snaking around his waist and pulling him into an embrace.
Nie Mingjue put his chin on Wen Ruohan’s shoulder. “Why am I proving my sincerity?” he asked, his voice a little warm. “Did I do something wrong somewhere? Do I need to grovel and make amends?”
Nie Huaisang laughed, and Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes again.
“You have indeed done wrong, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said. “My poor shifu has been your dao companion for several months, and you still haven’t married him – it’s only natural that he’d be cross with you.”
Wen Ruohan choked. What?
“Absolutely not,” he said firmly. “Absolutely not.”
“Ugh, fine. Shifu, you’re so mean. Rob me of the chance to plan out a grandiose wedding, why don’t you…”
“Get married yourself, you brat! Leave me out of it!”
“Aren’t you planning on taking Wei Wuxian as a second disciple?” Nie Mingjue asked Wen Ruohan, who inclined his head in agreement. “Well, do that first, and then Huaisang can plan out his wedding instead. It’ll be a good excuse to bring the Lan sect out of seclusion and back into the world for good.”
“Not to mention a good excuse to show the world that they’re part of the family,” Nie Huaisang said, nodding. “An old alliance is all well and good, but after everything that happened with a-die, being family is still better.”
Nie Mingjue nodded in agreement, serious as ever.
Wen Ruohan –
Well, he smiled.
#mdzs#wen ruohan#nie mingjue#nie huaisang#wei wuxian#my fic#my fics#someone made a specific suggestion for a continuation#and my hobby of having good endings kicked in#oh well
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The Canary Problem
The Untamed(陈情令/Chén Qíng Lìng)(2019) is a mainland chinese xianxia drama, based on the popular danmei novel 魔道祖师/Mó Dào Zǔ Shī. The series isn't exactly peak birdwatching, but it has a select few appearances of Weird Birds.
The main problem I will be tackling here is the presence of a small, but incredibly confusing, problem: a wild Canary.
In the fourth episode of this show, a character—Nie Huaisang— smuggles a songbird into class.
He claims to have captured the bird from the wild on his journey from his home(Qinghe) to the current location(Gusu). This problem is that the bird he has in this scene is a domestic variant of the wild Atlantic Canary, Serinus canaria. This species is native to the Canary Islands, off the coast of northern Africa, and to make things worse, this particular individual has a color pattern known as Red Factor, which was created from humans intentionally hybridizing domesticated Atlantic Canaries Serinus canaria forma domestica with south american Venezuelan Red Siskin (Spinus cucullatus). This is essentially like he was wandering around in the woods of northeastern china and found a purebred Chihuahua.
But the actual species of the bird is not necessarily the only important factor in fiction. The species the birdy actor is intended to be portraying also comes into play. While the official english subtitles do refer to the bird as a canary, the words actually used in chinese are 金雀/jīn què, directly translating to gold bird. This name is colliqual, not scientific, and can therefore be referring to multiple different bird species of similar appearance. I am led to believe that the species intended to be portrayed here is, in fact, the Eurasian Siskin, Spinus spinus. If this is the case, a canary is a fine choice for casting, as wild type Domestic Canaries and Eurasian Siskins are quite similar in appearance.
Additionally, a Eurasian Siskin is a very realistic species to be found in between the real life northeastern china.
Unfortunately, by casting a clearly domestic red-factor, the similarity is lost.
I do believe Eurasian Siskins remain an ideal candidate for the intended species, if not aesthetically, then thematically. For you see, while Eurasian Siskins are sometimes referred to as jīn què, they are more commonly known as 黄雀/huáng què.
The word huáng què is used in the classic chinese idiom “螳螂捕蝉黄雀在后了/tángláng bǔ chán huáng què zài hòule” which is often translated to “the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole is behind”. This alludes to an individual that is so focused following their goal, they fall prey to others. In the context of this story, and the placement of the canary there appear to be two major options.
Warning: Its major plot spoiler time
In the early series, Nie Huaisang is characterized as an unserious and rather careless young man, but at the end of the it is revealed that he has spent many years(during a plot-relevant time-skip), engineering the downfall of one of the series’ major antagonists, Jin Guangyao.
The most straightforward option, is that Nie Huaisang is holding the bird as a representation of himself, being the “huáng què” to Jin Guangyao’s “mantis” in the eventual reveal, but i think there could be more to it.
Huaisang refers to the bird specifically as a jīn què, not a huáng què. While this may be intended to distance the bird from the idiom, in order to make the foreshadowing more obscure, it does not seem coincidental that the jīn in jīn què uses the same character as Jin Guangyao(and the entire Jin sect, but regardless-).
So i propose that the bird is more specific foreshadowing, meant to represent Jin Guangyao, the huáng què who, while stalking a prey intent on another, did not look behind himself for the greater predator, a man.
Nie Huaisang, specifically was said to have stalked the bird for several days before capture, a far cry from the rest of his characterization at this point in the series. It could be simply intended as a demonstration of his tenacity when given the appropriate motivation, but it becomes a far more pointed commentary if it was intended to mirror his quiet hunt for Jin Guangyao in the later series.
A lot of symbolism for a bird with 3 seconds of screen-time, or not, it could be simply flawed bird casting. Please don’t get me started on the chicken.
Thank you for reading!! If anyone has any good medias for me to look at birds in, send me an ask! I would love to hear about them!
I will be posting all my bird metas under the tag #meta as well as #bfw(my general works tag).
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Warning: very long post under the cut!
If there’s one thing most people can agree on, it’s that Nie Huaisang is a very interesting character. We see him introduced as a laid-back, somewhat incompetent Sect Heir who’s not interested in what they’re supposed to be doing, we see him in the present as a Sect Leader and he’s still like that… until he’s not and that’s completely turned on its head. We don’t know how much of his yiwen sanbuzhi/Headshaker persona is an act, and how much is in some way genuine, or when it was that he adopted it deliberately — straight after the death of Nie Mingjue? A long time after? He hides himself so well that at the end of the book, we don’t even know for certain if he was responsible for what happened to Jin Guangyao — not even the narrative can condemn him, even if we can be pretty sure that was the case outside of it, since MXTX likely wouldn’t open an avenue for heavy character depth and not intend for us to venture down.
And there’s another mystery around Nie Huaisang, and it’s this: how did he figure out that Jin Guangyao was the one behind Nie Mingjue’s death?
We’ll never know for certain — the narrative will never confirm it. But what we can do is look at what we know, see what could have happened, and venture down the path that gives that narrative the most value. While still making canonical sense, of course, both in regards to the character’s personality and situation.
And it sometimes strikes me that two of the things we do know is that Nie Huaisang is interested in the arts, and that his brother was killed using music. We also know that he was somewhat close to Lan Xichen (being sworn brothers by proxy -- at least I assume this, judging by the way he refers to Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen throughout the novel, but I'm not Chinese and I don't know how sworn brotherhood works, some clarification would be great), the person who taught Jin Guangyao the Song of Clarity.
...You may see where I'm going here. So let's talk about the more objective thing first — whether this would be possible, or likely, considering Nie Huaisang's position and actions in MDZS.
Almost immediately, we run into some problems. I've searched for every mention of Nie Huaisang's interests I can find, and there isn't much, if anything, to indicate he's a musician. Jin Guangyao says he's interested in painting and calligraphy, and when his things are brought out to be burned, we see "fans", "paintings" and "porcelain" -- no instruments or musical scores anywhere.
However:
Jin GuangYao, “Our second brother said that he gave you a guqin.”
The guqin was given when Lan XiChen was here to play Sound of Lucidity for Nie MingJue, in order to help him calm his temper. Jin GuangYao continued, “Brother, in the past few days, the GusuLan Sect is at a critical point in its reestablishment of the Cloud Recesses and you refuse to let him come, which was why he taught me Sound of Lucidity. I assume that even though I’m not as skilled as our second brother, I’d still be able to help calm you to a certain extent, Brother.”
Nie MingJue, “Just take care your own things.”
Nie HuaiSang, however, was rather interested, “Brother, what song? Can I listen? Let me tell you, the limited edition that you gave me last time…”
Nie MingJue shouted, “Go back to your room!”
- Chapter 49, EXR
Despite not being a musician, Nie Huaisang does seem to own some scores (even limited editions*!), and be somewhat interested in music**. More importantly, he's interested in the specific song that would eventually be used to kill his brother. Additionally, since musical cultivation is prominent in the world of MDZS, and especially so in the Lan sect where Nie Huaisang studied for a while (longer than the other guest disciples, and he mentioned not passing last time, so he’s studied there before), Nie Huaisang has probably had lots of exposure to music and musical cultivation before, especially with his brother being sworn brothers with Lan Xichen and spending a lot of time around him.
Another thing to note, though, is that Nie Mingjue doesn't seem to want to tell his brother about the song at all (probably because of the status of his relationship with Jin Guangyao). But Nie Huaisang is nothing if not sneaky — if he’d wanted to listen to it, he probably would find a way.
So, with all that in mind, we can see two possibilities of how Nie Huaisang could have figured out Jin Guangyao was behind Nie Mingjue's death by using his potential knowledge of the Song of Clarity.
One scenario is that Nie Huaisang does end up hearing the version of the song Jin Guangyao plays. We know Jin Guangyao played his version of Cleansing in the Unclean Realm, we know (or are pretty certain that) Nie Huaisang spends most of his time there, we know Nie Huaisang was at some point interested in the song that Jin Guangyao played (albeit not how deeply, so don’t use that as irrefutable evidence), and we know he’s very sneaky when he wants to be.
So, it’s very possible that this was the case, and possibly even on multiple occasions. And we’ve already established that Nie Huaisang probably does have access to the true version of cleansing via Lan Xichen. With this in mind, it’d possible that Nie Huaisang heard Jin Guangyao play his version of the song, not finding it suspicious at all… until Nie Mingjue died. Maybe at that point he started to look back on what Jin Guangyao played, maybe he was distraught over the death of his brother (extremely likely, especially considering how he reacted when Nie Mingjue was qi-deviating) and somebody (likely Lan Xichen) even played the correct version of Cleansing to calm him down a little, or soothe him after, you know, his brother and only real family member died and he was forced to take the position of something he clearly didn’t want and wasn’t expecting in the slightest. And maybe he heard that, and subconsciously (or even consciously) looked back on those times Jin Guangyao used to play for Nie Mingjue and thought… hey, wait a second. Something’s not quite right there.
Remember, this is what Wei Wuxian theorised about why Nie Mingjue never realised that the tunes Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen played were different:
“(…) In front of you, he was clearly playing the correct version of Cleansing. ChiFeng-Zun wasn’t someone passionate about the arts. He had heard you, Sect Leader Lan, play Cleansing before and knew the overall melody of it. Thus, Jin GuangYao didn’t dare straight up play to him the dark song and instead took trouble to combine two songs of different styles with opposite uses. And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent. I’m guessing that he used little spiritual power in the Cleansing sections and only exerted power in the section of The Collection of Turmoil. After all, ChiFeng-Zun wasn’t familiar with this method of cultivation, so of course he wouldn’t realize the fact that Jin GuangYao had already changed one of the sections into a dark, life-taking tune!”
- Chapter 64, EXR
Both reasons (in bold) we’ve established are either definitely (interest in the arts) or probably not true (familiarity with musical cultivation) for Nie Huaisang. He could have easily compared the two, and figured something was up with Jin Guangyao, and it was likely related to his brother’s death.
The other scenario is that Nie Huaisang already suspected something was happening to his brother, and Jin Guangyao talking about the song he was playing for Nie Mingjue confirmed it and also confirmed who was culpable, as, again, musical cultivation is a common thing in this world, and it’s not just used for good. This could also be why he was interested in the song Jin Guangyao played for him and asked to hear it, despite not having shown any explicit interest in music beforehand (that we know of). Again, he does have a connection to Lan Xichen, if he’d wanted to ask about the actual Song of Clarity to see how it compares, he very well could have (yes, it is a secret Lan technique, but Lan Xichen remarks on how it would be “selfish” to keep such a benevolent technique to himself, and also that it isn’t really breaking secrecy when sharing it with a sworn brother. For the latter point, I’m not sure if the latter mindset would extend to Nie Huaisang too, but he is Nie Mingjue’s brother so it isn’t impossible, and the former mindset would still be at play).
This should be taken with a grain of salt, as we don’t really have any indication that Nie Huaisang suspected something, and he did genuinely seem to be surprised by his brother’s change in temperament:
If only Nie HuaiSang were like Wei WuXian and could feel how great Nie MingJue’s rage was, he wouldn’t grin in such a bold way. He protested, “Brother, the time is up. It’s time to rest!”
Nie MingJue, “You rested just thirty minutes ago. Keep on going, until you learn it.”
Nie HuaiSang was still giddy, “I won’t be able to learn it anyways. I’m done for the day!”
He often said this, but today Nie MingJue’s reaction was entirely different from his past reaction. He shouted, “A pig would’ve learnt this by now, so why haven’t you?!”
Never expecting Nie MingJue to burst out so suddenly, Nie HuaiSang’s face was blank with shock as he shrunk toward Jin GuangYao. Seeing the two together, Nie MingJue was even more provoked, “It’s been one year already and you still haven’t learnt this one set of saber techniques. You stand on the field for just thirty minutes and you’re complaining that you’re tired. You don’t have to excel, but you can’t even protect yourself! How did the QingheNie Sect produce such a good-for-nothing! The both of you should be tied up and beaten once every day. Carry out all those things in his room!”
The last sentence was spoken to the disciples standing by the side of the field. Seeing that they had gone, Nie HuaiSang felt as though he was on pins and needles. A moment later, the row of disciples really did bring out all the fans, paintings, porcelain from his room. Nie MingJue had always threatened to burn his room, but he had never actually burned them. This time, though, he was serious. Nie HuaiSang panicked. He threw himself over, “Brother! You can’t burn them!”
- Chapter 49, EXR
However, three important things should be taken into account — firstly, Wei Wuxian is seeing this scene from Nie Mingjue’s memories, and therefore from his point of view. Neither of them know what Nie Huaisang is actually feeling in this moment. Secondly, Nie Huaisang is a master of hiding behind a mask, especially one derived from genuine personality traits he had/has, and genuine feelings he’s felt in the past, and I’m pretty sure he would be feeling horrified if Nie Mingjue was burning all the things he’d gathered over the years — regardless of whether he suspected something or not, nearly the things he’s feeling are probably genuine. Thirdly, Jin Guangyao himself is present in that scene. If Nie Huaisang did heavily suspect him, that would be a very strong incentive to keep some sort of a mask on. And just in general, we have no idea how long he’s been using the Headshaker persona deliberately, or when he started. We think it’s after Nie Mingjue’s death, but we really have no idea, and he could have already been playing into it at this point, especially considering that at this point he has lived through a war.
I’m not actually sure which theory I support more — the first seems slightly more likely, but the second is more cohesive and requires less assumptions (we only need to think about how Nie Huaisang in this scenario began to suspect that something was happening to his brother, which admittedly is a big thing, but at least part of it could be that Nie Mingjue was clearly acting more and more aggressive to him. It should be noted that this could just be some background suspicion though, not necessarily supported by any evidence until Jin Guangyao mentions the song he’s playing, which could have turned that from a vague suspicion to a likely theory). And with that said, I’d love to hear which one everyone else thinks is more likely, or even if there’s another possibility I haven’t thought of.
…But, now that we’ve established that this is possible, in some way, shape or form, let’s talk about narrative value.
I’ve left this last, because it is very subjective. But another thing we know about Nie Huaisang is that Nie Mingjue was not supportive in the slightest of his brother’s interest in the arts.
He greeted Jin GuangYao again and again as he grabbed the fans in haste. Seeing how his younger brother reacted, Nie MingJue was so outraged that he almost found it amusing. He turned to Jin GuangYao, “Don’t send him those useless things!”
In a hurry, Nie HuaiSang dropped a few fans on the ground. Jin GuangYao picked them up for him and put them into his arms, “HuaiSang’s hobbies are quite elegant. He’s dedicated to art and calligraphy, and has no propensity for mischief. How can you say that they’re useless?”
Nie HuaiSang nodded as fast as he could, “Yes, Brother is right!”
Nie MingJue, “But sect leaders have no need for such things.”
Nie HuaiSang, “I’m not going to be a sect leader, though. You can be it, Brother. I’m not doing it!”
- Chapter 49, EXR
(And there are a lot more instances in these flashbacks, including much more… overt demonstrations — *cough cough burning his things cough cough*)
We also know that it was the arts in some form that killed him.
So how narratively satisfying, how ironic would it be, if the thing Nie Mingjue discouraged Nie Huaisang’s interest in — the thing he said was useless, that sect leaders had no need for*** that made him a “good-for-nothing”, to quote directly — was the very thing that allowed Nie Huaisang (and only Nie Huaisang for a very long time) to find out who was responsible for Nie Mingjue’s death? How ironic would that be, when we already know that lack of knowledge about the very thing Nie Mingjue had discouraged his brother’s interest in ended up being the thing that killed him? How satisfying would that be if it was a two-way street?
I repeat: it is possible. It’s not confirmed, but it is possible, and adds value to the narrative. Just like Nie Huaisang being behind it all in the first place.
After all, there are so many mysteries surrounding Nie Huaisang. Why can’t we try to solve this one?
—
*I do find it a little suspicious that Nie Huaisang has limited edition music from Jin Guangyao, considering Jin Guangyao’s past of messing with music and making it all blend seamlessly. But I can’t really imagine him giving Nie Huaisang a copy of messed-with music, in case that somehow reveals his culpability, despite how harmless Nie Huaisang seems to him, and despite the pages being torn from the Collection of Turmoil. So I’m willing to believe it was a limited edition thing for now, and won’t include that in this theory, because it’s too much of a stretch.
**This interest could be because it’s something to do with his brother, but seeing as one of his immediate requests is to listen to the song, I'm inclined to think what I said here.
***To be fair, he was right here. Nie Huaisang may have shown himself to be very capable as a person, planner and manipulator, but as a sect leader? He didn’t try very hard at all, and none of his skills in the arts are going to help with that.
#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#mdzs meta#in a way#though i guess mdzs theory would be the better term#nie huaisang#nie mingjue#jin guangyao#we love our little morally grey headshaker#(especially from an analysis standpoint)#my meta
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Good morning. So, I feel a bit stupid for asking this, but we all ask stupid things sometimes, so...
I never understood why NHS lured juniors to the Yi City. And then I re-read the ending where the reasoning was explained (something about how if the kids died, their deaths would have been pinned on JGY), but I still don't really get it? Like, how exactly? Well, I kinda get it, but also not really? The explanation is kinda far stretched. Like, what does JGY have to do with the juniors? Or did NHS assume that their deaths would be pinned on him after he sent Bicao and Sisi, after which all kinds of crimes, real or not, were blamed on JGY?
Hello anon!
The general assumption with leading the juniors there is that if they had ended up dying being from prominent clans, it would have at least lead to the exposure of Xue Yang's and Jin Guangyao's continued friendship as well as experimentation with the Yin Hufu. A bit like a pre-dated Second Siege plan that didn't pan out for the worst for the boys. And of course lead to exposing Jin Guangyao's cohorts to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji who were not the intended lure victims and ended up a short cut for Nie Huaisang to be able to move faster to unravel things with Jin Guangyao's reputation and was able to significantly put him on the defensive when they come to investigate Jinlintai. A lucky coincidence, for Nie Huaisang.
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Fake dating to real marriage pipeline pt4/On AO3
Lan Xichen stared, wanting Nie Huaisang to start laughing at his own joke. It had to be a joke. One in rather poor taste perhaps, but a joke nonetheless, one Nie Huaisang couldn’t resist making when Lan Xichen was foolish enough to still believe Meng Yao’s lies. But while Nie Huaisang smiled, he did not laugh.
“Did you really…” Lan Xichen started, only for Nie Huaisang to shrug and nod.
“If he had to lie, he’d have found something less stupid,” Nie Huaisang said with a scoff. “I mean, once he told you, of course you’d ask me. He had to know that, he’s too good at understanding people to not predict how you’d react. And I have no reason to not spill the beans as well, right?”
“When did you date him?” Lan Xichen cut him, feeling his headache quickly worsen. “And why have I never heard of it before?” he added, seized by an unpleasant fear.
Meng Yao had lied before about his faithfulness to Lan Xichen. And Nie Huaisang, for all his purported dislike of Meng Yao, might have just been acting that way to fool Lan Xichen. Their little plan had proven how skilled he was at comedy, hadn’t it?
“Back in university,” Nie Huaisang replied. “You know, my big break-up back then, the one that surprised you and Da-ge because you didn’t even know I was dating someone? Well, that was him. He’d asked me to keep it a secret, kept promising me he’d come out once he was done with university because it wouldn’t matter anymore if he got disowned, but at that time his dad was paying for everything. Instead he got a job offer from his dad when he graduated, a well paying one, and he figured it was time to stop fooling around with boys.”
Some tension left Lan Xichen’s shoulders. It would have been unpleasant if Meng Yao had cheated on him even more than initially thought, but he could have dealt with it. Being betrayed by Nie Huaisang though, who over the last few weeks had become a much dearer friend than Lan Xichen would have thought possible… somehow, that would have been unbearable.
“But I met him shortly after he started working for his father,” Lan Xichen realised. “Did he just lie to you?”
Nie Huaisang shrugged, perfectly careless.
“Oh, probably. I mean, what hasn’t he lied about, at this point?” he asked with a laugh. “Or maybe he really did intend to live a straight life, but then you waltzed into his life with your perfect face and your perfect smile, and I bet you were nice to him, too… how could anyone not fall in love with you, right?” Nie Huaisang laughed again, and nervously tried to pull his hair behind his ear even though it was perfectly tied up in a ponytail. “But then it turned out your bestie’s little brother is his ex, and it had to be so awkward for him.”
“It had to be awkward for you too,” Lan Xichen protested. “I wish you’d told me. I don’t think I could have stayed with him, if I had known he was the person who had hurt you so much.”
“And you would have robbed me of a chance to see him look so uncomfortable around Da-ge and me?” Nie Huaisang gasped in fake horror. “Gege, don’t you realise how much fun I had, seeing him so awkward?”
Lan Xichen’s headache further increased, turning every light around him into daggers.
“If I’d broken up with him right away, I wouldn’t have wasted several years of my life being in love with someone who never saw me as more than a distraction,” Lan Xichen managed to say. “You should have told me, Huaisang. I deserved a warning about what sort of a person he is. A good friend would have warned me.”
“Then I guess I’m not a very good friend,” Nie Huaisang retorted with a sweet smile. “And besides, you wouldn’t have listened,” he added more seriously. “By the time you introduced him to us, he already had you under his thumb. I know who you’d have believed. I can’t even blame you. When I dated him, I’d have sided with him about everything, up until the day he couldn’t be bothered dealing with me anymore.”
“I would have listened to you,” Lan Xichen insisted.
“Easy to say now. You’re not in love with him anymore, are you?”
That remark startled Lan Xichen. He hadn't thought about it in a while, too lost in the merry whirlwind that was dating Nie Huaisang, which so rarely left him with time to sit down and contemplate his feelings. But Nie Huaisang was right: Lan Xichen had fallen out of love with Meng Yao. It wasn't something new, either, prompted by the unpleasant revelations of the day. Even before Meng Yao told him about dating Nie Huaisang, trying to sow discord between them, Lan Xichen's feelings had already changed from complete adoration to distaste.
“Even back then…” Lan Xichen protested, but he couldn’t finish the thought. He knew that to be a lie. When they'd just started dating and for most of their time together, Meng Yao could have told him the sky was pink and Lan Xichen would have found a way to believe him.
“Listen, let’s just drop it," Nie Huaisang huffed. "If we have an argument now and he hears about it, he’ll think he’s won, right? We’ve said everything we had to say, anyway."
“Have we, really?”
Nie Huaisang laughed softly. “Gege, everything you’ve said has been exactly what I expected you to say if you ever learned what happened between YaoYao and me. You’ve probably also said everything YaoYao had predicted too,” he added with a grimace. “You are welcome to try and think of something else to add, but you’re going to start repeating yourself and what’s the point?”
“I could surprise you.”
“Even Wei Wuxian doesn’t manage to surprise me, and his train of thought is usually as stable as a mongoose on cocaine. No offence, gege, but you’re way too predictable to ever surprise me.”
They both fell silent after that, Nie Huaisang going back to his phone, Lan Xichen trying to find new arguments why he should have been told about Nie Huaisang’s past with Meng Yao. He blamed his lack of ideas on the headache pulsating behind his eyes. An influx of new people at the next stop provided some distraction from his frustration, and caused Lan Xichen to check how many stations were left before he’d have to change trains. He found with no small amount of relief that he only had one more stop to go.
"Well, we've reached the point where I expected you to get tired of this anyway," Nie Huaisang calmly said, his eyes having also wandered to the metro map. "And you don't love him anymore, it’s what matters. We need to give it at least another week or two so he doesn’t think it’s his fault, maybe a little more to be safe, but if you want we can break up in a month."
Lan Xichen frowned. "If you're so eager to be rid of me, we can break up now. I wouldn't want to impose on you longer than necessary."
"Xichen-ge, you don't have to be polite about this," Nie Huaisang scoffed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "You, imposing on me, really? When you’ve been putting up with my silly idea with such good spirit?”
“I wouldn’t say I just put up with it.”
“No, you’d be more polite than that,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “You’re always polite, everyone knows that. But really, it’s fine. We’re exactly within the exact time frame I had in mind for everything. I told you, you’re really easy to predict, Xichen. I know you’ve been wondering when it was finally going to end, but you were being too polite again... well, now you know."
Lan Xichen's frown deepened. Except for whenever Nie Huaisang mentioned it, he hadn't thought even once about when they would end their little charade. He'd been enjoying it too much to consider the end, especially since he'd genuinely believed Nie Huaisang too was having fun. Certainly Lan Xichen was angry now, especially because Nie Huaisang was acting so dismissive of Lan Xichen’s displeasure, but being angry now didn't negate his overall enjoyment of becoming close to Nie Huaisang.
"Don't put words in my mouth," Lan Xichen warned. "If this had grown tiresome, I would have said something."
"The way you told Meng Yao when you felt neglected and the weight of secrets started bothering you?" Nie Huaisang mocked. "Or maybe the way you tell people at work when you're tired of doing their job for them? No, it's fine, I don't mind making the hard decisions. Maybe we can organise an argument or…"
"We'll see about it," Lan Xichen snapped at him. Then, feeling the train slow down, he added. "I'm changing here. We'll talk about this later, alright?"
"Sure, we can see the details later. I'll have come up with something, don't worry."
Refusing to answer, Lan Xichen rose from his seat. When the train stopped and the doors opened, he barely spared the time for a quick hand wave before he rushed out. For the rest of the ride home he was fuming. Partly because he was still struggling with the fact that Meng Yao and Nie Huaisang had hidden so much from him, yes, as expected, but there was more than that bothering him.
It was Nie Huaisang’s way of acting as if he had known Lan Xichen's every reaction from the start that annoyed him, and the way Meng Yao had done the same, saying he'd expected Lan Xichen to try to find someone else immediately in spite of his advice to give up on dating. People had always called Lan Xichen reliable, something he took pride in, but being considered predictable rubbed him the wrong way.
After a night of good sleep, Lan Xichen prepared himself some breakfast and sat alone in his kitchen, a rare occurrence these days. While sipping on some excellent tea which Nie Huaisang had convinced him to try a little while before, Lan Xichen considered the events of the previous day and found himself a good deal less angry about the whole situation, now that the surprise had passed and he was no longer plagued with one of the worst headaches in his life.
He was still irritated that Nie Huaisang had kept something so important a secret, and wished he’d been told the truth, however much it would have hurt him. But he couldn’t deny that the reasoning behind that secret made sense. It would have taken a lot to turn him against Meng Yao back then, and he’d gladly given in to demands that now felt outlandish.
But Lan Xichen remembered, also, the state Nie Huaisang had been in after that terrible break-up of his. How Nie Huaisang had nearly dropped out of school, refusing to go out, refusing to see his friends, to do anything at all really. It had taken so much effort to convince him to overcome his heartbreak, and more than once Lan Xichen had wished he could find the man who’d hurt Nie Huaisang that way, just to have a few words with him.
Lan Xichen couldn’t imagine he’d have remained in love with Meng Yao, had he known the truth.
His breakfast over, Lan Xichen wondered what to do with his day alone. Without Nie Huaisang to make plans for both of them and suggest some interesting place to visit, Lan Xichen ended up doing some housework, before reading a few chapters of a book his brother had recommended to him. It made for a quiet morning, the sort that used to make up most of his weekends. But cleaning the kitchen without company was more tedious than he remembered, and the essay just couldn’t grab his attention no matter how interesting the topic. Lan Xichen would read a page or two, pause to check his phone, only to find himself forced to re-read the same pages because he’d retained nothing of what they contained.
By noon, Lan Xichen gave up any pretence of reading and restarted his phone, in case it wasn’t working properly, but everything seemed fine. Nie Huaisang just hadn’t texted him once since reaching his brother’s home the night before, something wildly out of character for him. Even more so when he had to deal with something unpleasant… and there wasn’t much in life that could be more unpleasant for Nie Huaisang than spending any amount of time with his father’s family.
>>How is it going? Lan Xichen texted.
He then ordered some food for himself from a place nearby. The food was sent and delivered, and still Nie Huaisang had not replied. Lan Xichen considered the situation, and texted again.
>>If you don’t reply, I’ll have to assume that you snapped, murdered one of your cousins, and are now on the run. In which case let me advise you not to go to Wei Wuxian for help, you know you’d just end up in worse trouble.
This time, an answer came almost immediately.
<<I havent murdered anyone yet but its SO tempting. If dads great-aunt doesnt stop asking me why I didnt become a doctor like her neighbors son who is making so much money and has a wife and two kids and hes only twenty five I swear im putting some of wwx’s super special spicy sauce on her plate when shes not looking (⓿_⓿)
Lan Xichen’s lips turned up.
>>A fate worse than death
<<now her daughter wants to know when I’m bringing a girlfriend (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Lan Xichen laughed.
<<I swear next time I’m asking you to come and I’ll introduce u as my fiancé. And then while theyre all processing it im spiking everything with hot sauce. Thatll teach them!!( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
<<Oh no they want me to meet their neighbour’s granddaughter who’s a lawyer. This is hell. Gege plz come and rescue me!! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Reassured that Nie Huaisang wasn’t angry at him, Lan Xichen started eating in between texts, laughing sometimes at his friend’s lamentations, answering with either encouragement to fortitude or veiled hints that in case of murder he’d offer himself as an alibi. They continued texting throughout the afternoon. Lan Xichen tried to get some more cleaning done, but made even less progress than in the morning because he was constantly dropping what he was doing to check Nie Huaisang’s latest text. Then, around 4pm Nie Huaisang announced that at last his brother too had had enough of nosy relatives and they were leaving.
>>Im not coming home tho ＞﹏＜
>>wwx wants me to go with him on a cool gig well be gone a few days so I can film him doing something very stupid
>>enjoy the quiet while im gone!! Finally ur free again!! At least for a while ♪(´▽｀)
>>but also remember to eat ok i will be mad at u if u dont eat. U have to send me pics of ur dinner every day so i kno ur not forgetting!!(⓿_⓿)
Lan Xichen stared at his phone for a while, a frown forming on his face without him noticing. Nie Huaisang was always impulsive of course, so it should have been surprising that he’d suddenly follow Wei Wuxian wherever he wanted to go set things on fire this time. Or at least, Nie Huaisang liked to appear impulsive. After several weeks in close company, Lan Xichen knew that Nie Huaisang was fairly organised, especially when it came to his jobs, and since they’d started living together he’d always been careful to warn Lan Xichen if anything came up that might interfere with their routine. Of course this sudden change of plan might have been Wei Wuxian’s fault, who truly was as impulsive as he appeared, but…
But there had been their argument the night before. But there was Nie Huaisang so convinced that Lan Xichen couldn’t wait to be rid of him. But there was that “you’re free again”. It all felt too much like Nie Huaisang couldn’t wait to put distance between them, all while trying to act like it was what Lan Xichen wanted.
However pleasant the afternoon had been, those last texts left Lan Xichen feeling off for the rest of the day. Even when Nie Huaisang truly pestered him for proof of his dinner, something that he normally would have found sweet, Lan Xichen remained bitter over the reminder that nothing between them had been real, that at the end of the day they hadn’t even been friends when this all started, that they probably still weren’t.
Nie Huaisang had probably never seen him as more than a way to get revenge against Meng Yao, and Lan Xichen was a fool for not seeing the difference between acting and reality.
#fake dating au#xisang#nie huaisang#lan xichen#mo dao zu shi#mdzs#jau writes#this chapter was meant to be longer but I'm wrestling so damn much with the next part#but also I just wanted to update bc it's been two fucking months you know?#xisang fake dating
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MDZS Volume 2, page 316. Lan Xichen offers to teach Jin Guangyao Cleansing (”Purification Tone” in Seven Seas translation.) The very next part of the flashback is Nie Mingjue threatening to burn Nie Huaisang’s fans because he can’t find his sabre. He does not burn the fans. Nie Huaisang says “Please don’t! They were a gift from someone!” which suggests that them being gifts from Jin Guangyao was not a motivation for this.
Jin Guangyao interrupts and offers to play cleansing.
Page 320: “From that point, Jin Guangyao would rush from Lanling to Qinghe every few days and play the purification tone to help Nie Mingjue purify his mind. He did this to the best of his ability, without a single word of complaint. The purification tone was indeed mysterious and effective. Wei Wuxian could clearly sense the resentful energy lurking within Nie Mingjue’s heart being surpressed, and the conversations and interactions they had while the guqin played were like those they’d shared in the past when they had yet to fall out with each other.
“Perhaps being unable to get away from the reconstruction of the Cloud Recesses was only an excuse on Lan Xichen’s part. Perhaps he only wanted to give Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao an opportunity to ease the tension in their relationship.
“But the thought had only just occurred to Wei Wuxian when an even more maniacal fury surged up within Nie Mingjue.”
He then throws off two disciples and barges into the Blooming Garden, where Jin Guanyao and Lan Xichen are talking - this indicates that Jin Guangyao was not playing at the time of the rage fit.
He physically attacks him, and yells at him about Xue Yang. They have that massive fight you know the one, blah blah no excuses bring me Xue Yang’s head, blah blah you know what fuck you YES I’m more important than the people I killed.
Then he gets kicked down the stairs.
“After the kick Nie Migjue gave him, Wei Wuxian had thought Jin Guangyao would keep to himself a little while. But, unexpectedly, he still showed up at the Impure Realm as usual a few days later.”
This time, Nie Mingjue actually does burn Huaisang’s things. Jin Guangyao has not played for him yet when he does this. He’s only just arrived.
Jin Guangyao then promises that if Nie Mingjue gives him two more months, he will bring him Xue Yang’s head. Then he plays.
“One day,” less than two months later - there may have been many playing sessions in this time - Nie Mingjue overhears Jin Guangyao telling Lan Xichen that he feels unsafe. Nie Mingjue feels betrayed by this because Jin Guangyao was being perfectly friendly with him earlier. He goes into a rage that develops into a qi deviation.
OK! So! These are the facts. Here are my interpretations:
- “But the thought had only just occurred to Wei Wuxian when an even more maniacal fury surged up within Nie Mingjue.” - seems very sudden and unprovoked! Seems like a resentful energy issue. He is pre-disposed to this from Nie cultivation, so it’s unclear whether this was influenced by Jin Guangyao. Wei Wuxian doesn’t note whether or not Jin Guangyao had played for him yet this visit, but since he was somewhere else talking to Lan Xichen, it wasn’t a direct result of the playing.
- It is ambiguous whether or not the music changed. Ambiguous. Meaning, not clearly stated in the text. Meaning, multiple valid interpretations of the text. Meaning, the author intended for there to be multiple valid interpretations of the text.
- However! Jin Guangyao’s sudden promise to bring Nie Mingjue Xue Yang’s head does lend itself to the interpretation that he has now decided to kill Nie Mingjue.
- I personally agree with this interpretation.
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Less of a rant and more of a quibble, there’s so much information dumped into Nie Mingjue’s flashback that it’s easy to miss things here and there.
I had a couple thoughts on Nie Mingjue’s motivations on joining 3Zun and how really this was a brotherhood destined to fail.
Recently I’ve seen several takes suggesting that he was manipulated into joining up with Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao because they wanted to get to get a third sect leader on their side and raise up Jin Guangyao, or pressured by Lan Xichen to forgive the unforgivable. Which... there is some of the latter in there; Lan Xichen has a very strong blindspot for Jin Guangyao and tends to believe his first impression is correct and not re-examine it until he has to do that. I’m not here to talk about Lan Xichen though, there’s more than enough of that going around.
The first take is incorrect. Nie Mingjue not only knew exactly what he was doing, but he was not some innocent pressured into joining and giving up his morals by a devious tag team of wily manipulators. He got into it to do exactly what people accuse Lan Xichen of doing. Pressuring people to do exactly what he wants. It’s not even subtle or hidden. It’s baldly stated in the text.
“Wei WuXian had once found it strange as well. Ever since Meng Yao betrayed the QingheNie Sect, the relationship between Nie MingJue and him hadn’t been the same as before. Then why did they later become sworn brothers? From his observations, aside from how Lan XiChen brought it up, having always hoped that the two would reconcile, the most important factor was probably the gratitude of saving his life and writing the letters. To be precise, in his past battles, he had more-or-less depended on the information that Meng Yao sent over through Lan XiChen. He still thought that Jin GuangYao was a talented person whom one would rarely come upon, and intended on leading him back onto the right path. However, Jin GuangYao wasn’t his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin GuangYao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie HuaiSang.“
Chapter 49: Guile, ExR translation.
There we have it. Nie Mingjue joins 3Zun of his own free will to pressure Jin Guangyao into doing what he wants and acting on what he sees as the right path. Which as he told Jin Guangyao before involves killing himself.
And before people get into defending him, remember that he thinks the right path is executing everyone who is a Wen, but also being in your face and aggressive. He is not an arbiter of justice who remains fair, he is a blatant hypocrite who enjoys having the power to pressure people into acting black and white. There is a reason why the Jin sect keeps manipulating the Lan through banquets and Jin Guangyao’s schmoozing and donating to help them rebuild Cloud Recesses, yet does nothing about Nie Mingjue till he starts insisting they assassinate Xue Yang. He’s already an ally of theirs in all the ways that matter.
Not a single sect leader in the past is innocent. That includes Nie Mingjue. So keep that in mind when examining 3Zun. He’s in it for his own agenda from the beginning.
#mdzs#nie mingjue#3zun#lan xichen#jin guangyao#why is he getting meow-meowed now#he's literally more tolerable as a fierce corpse out to kill all Jin than he is in life#and his fanon personality is more insidious than the villain stans#because I've seen people who otherwise understood the book quite well say that he would have been a hero if only he'd known about the wen#uh no
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For the author ask, your BTS commentary of your fav scene of Pour Some Memory Down :)
oooh an exciting one (and dangerous asking me for a commentary) It's the second (first full) scene of Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang on the pier. There were a few options but there's a lot of stuff inthis bit that I liked and also them on the pier is the core and inspo for this fic
Cut for length
Nie Huaisang is still floating calmly in the lake, his words about the Xuanwu rolling through Jiang Cheng’s head.
The Xuanwu! Simply put Nie Huaisang is a lying liar who lies- and more importantly it's about how Jiang Cheng doesn't pick up on it because his mind is sort of always stuck on Nie Huaisang being weaker or needing help. He's never considered how, if huaisang cana't swim, he got out of that cave. And he's starting to question that now- although there's a later paragraph where JC shows how he's trying to not think about that and how it means nhs is a liar. I tend to write JC as putting nhs on a pedestal while simultaneously having infinite gripes with him. THey're complicated boys.
Jiang Cheng is still standing on the pier, the rain is pelting but the worst of the storm is yet to come. The dry riverbed gasping it in, unaware-
Continuining as is the case with this whole fic, JC's mental/headspace is abysmal, like words cannot. Also lots of pathetic fallacy. It's kind of meant to be a metaphor for jc's trauma, I guess. It's bad and he's soaking the pain in and moping in it- but he's got a whole week of this and it's gonna get worse. Just like the riverbed- and JC doesn't want to think about that either
The ground surrounding the pier is wet and seems less like ash, the river a gaping mouth trying to swallow it up
Ash and burning vs wetness and rain were the two big things about this fic. Again, I'm a basic cheap ass bitch, pathetic fallacy. They're fighting each other just like Jiang Cheng's thoughts! The rain extinguishes the fire and washes away the ash! but it's dangerous and damaging in its own way. You have to be careful with it. They complement each other, just like sangcheng.
“Last time you were the one in the water and I was the one sitting on the edge of the lake.” A pause. “Different bit of lake I guess.”
“It’s the same bit of lake.”
This is probably one of my favourite exchanges in the whole fic tbh. Different but the same, many years and many changes but still them, maybe in some ways unrecognisable, but still them. There is also something in here about how JC is trying to cling to good things that have changed from him and while he feels like he needs it, it's not good for him. Jiang Cheng in his jc way, is trying to say a lot more to nhs than it just being the same bit of lake. NHS is unfortunatley not a mind reader, although today he really is trying. He's starting to realise that maybe JC is just of big a liar as NHS himself is, just in different ways.
For jc's part he's saying, we can be those carefree kids again, right? we can? Nothing has changed, right? We're still us, right? and he knows it's not but he wants it to be.
Then, Nie Huaisang’s eyes are so very, very close to Jiang Cheng’s own, staring at him unblinkingly. Water streams down his face, dripping off his nose- and it’s raining right now, sure, but Huaisang’s mouth looks so very wet and-
The first kiss fake out! I think this is actually the only one I intended to be a fake out, all the other ones were times I wanted them to kiss but decided it felt weird to have them have a big sloppy while one of them was like... dissassociating, or crying, or hitting the other
Also, Huaisang totes knows what he's going
“-did you want me to die? Did you want us to die? Did you want yourself to die?”
Jiang Cheng starting to realise that NHS might not be so alright- and JC starting to really properly break out of his fog. This is actually partly why nhs drags jc into the river he's starting to realise jc worries about him so he's, very very poorly, trying to get jc more in the moment but making him fuss about him. For his part, JC is doing his usual "break your legs bluster" but as he goes on he starts to wonder and worry about what NHS was doing
Some of the anger begins to turn to fear as his words catch up with him, but it’s still unbelievably, wonderfully, unbearably sharp .
Had that been what Huai-
as I was saying above, the strategy might be sus, but NHS sort of flics JC out of his introspection and back into the now- and JC evens start to wonder if that's what NHS was doing before he gets distracted by nhs again and also his complte denial and inability to consider nhs outside his framework of the "weaker one" at this point in the story- until yanno, he starts wondering how come nhs copes with grief better (debateable) and if that makes nhs stronger
“I said that [killing JC/NHS} that would kind of defeat the whole point,” the other sect leader mutters, like a petulant child. (And Jiang Cheng knows some.)
Jin Ling is the petulant child. But yes, some more light on NHS' agenda! To make sure JC doesn't accidentally drown himself in his own grief, to help JC with the worst week of his life by distracting him- a tactic that uh, JC maybe doesn't appreciate but that's the fic. JC, of course, has no idea what NHS is talking about and just tries to ignore it. Also this is NHS so even when he's talking about pretty serious things (his fear that JC is heading towards his own destructive spiral leading to his grave) he's gotta be a little brat about it. Can't show real genuine emotion, let alone care, ot Jiang Cheng eh?
IDk I felt it was very them, they're both allergic to letting each other they care about the other becuase of the gulf between them, and the history, and the current circumstances of their life, and their own personal traumas. But they care, they do.
Oh also, if I'm talking about it, while NHS is somewhat concerned about JC being possibly suicidal he IS mostly being facetious- it's like, JC has dealt with this awful week for several years and he's still kicking. NHS is more worried that it's not sustainable and has also realised that maybe it's not fair that JC always has to deal with it alone. JC does not (in his own internal thoughst at least) consider himself suicidal or wanting to die. He just... isn't entirely emotionally connected to the phsycial plane at this point in time.
Lastly something to note that never really comes up because NHS doesn't notice and JC doesn't say but um admittedly to an extent nHS being here has made jC worse- which is why nhs has weird fluctuating concern. JC can't completely disconnect in a way that he typically woud (Unhealthy coping behaviour all the same) because he needs to entertain/interact with Huaisang. This means that JC actually has to deal with all his emotions in this week for once (not that he does that either, all the cut off thoughts) as opposed to competely checking out for a week and coming back to himself surrounded by alcohol ocassionally
#ask game#mdzs#jiang cheng#nie huaisang#fic#author commentary#long post#thank you so much for teh ask btw#sorry if i was a bit self indulgent with it#i just do like this whole scene#a lot
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Nie Huaisang thought of the day:
There's so much debate about what he is and isn't responsible for in the events post-timeskip, and I was reading a discussion recently about the whole "dead cats left for juniors" thing, and there's one question nobody asked that just occurred to me. Because we don't know what NHS did and did not know, we can't know what his plans actually were. So it's entirely possible he didn't know as much about Yi City as we give him credit for, and the cats were intended to scare the juniors off instead of luring them. As far as I know, there were no notes or anything to actually point the Juniors in a specific direction.
(Not that I don't believe him capable of hurting them or going scorched earth, but it's something I don't often see argued.)
Anyway, it's just a thought.
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