Work Text:
Silver eyes stared nervously at the people having a discussion (if you call some of the strongest cultivators of The Great Five Sects almost throwing punches at each other a discussion) in front of him, and glanced at the door and windows, waiting for an opening to get the hell out of there.
"Jiang Cheng is a Jiang! He is the heir of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect! Not the Lan's little protégé!" Yu Ziyuan, the famous Violet Spider, yelled. Her beautiful face was turned into a scowl, and the ring on her finger was sparking purple electricity.
"His name is Yèxīng! Not Jiang Cheng! And I raised him! Took care of him! Saved him from the streets you people kicked him to when you took in the son of Cangse Sanren!" Lan Yùntài (who apparently was Qingheng-Jun) yelled back, his golden eyes shining with hate towards the so called Jiangs. A satisfied smirk settled on his lips when he saw the Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian flinch at the words, silence reining in the room. "Oh? What's wrong? Cat got you tongue?" Lan Yùntài chuckled, and Yu Ziyuan, with her blood Burning from anger, finally let out Zidian, the majestic whip.
"You-! You dare say lies!" Was all the fierce women could say, her gaze becoming hateful. Jiang Fengmian, who was known as a pacifist just stood there, his gaze indifferently before actually.
"Wife, please do not get mad. This man has no right to make an opinion on our lives after he forced his wife to have children with him, kill his wife, abandon said children and enter in a cowardly seclusion. Now if you'll excuse us Qingheng-Jun, we will take our son out of the Cloud Recesses." Jiang Fengmian said, his eyes cold but his lips smiling which made Yèxīng almost gouge his eyes out.
The Yunmeng Sect Leader walked towards the kneeling Yèxīng but was stopped by Lan Yùntài, who let some of his Qi out, trying to glare into submission Jiang Fengmian, who just responded by doing the same.
"I seriously shouldn't have stayed" Yèxīng cried inwardly as he looked at the scene. Now, you may be asking, how did this happened? Well, it all started at the beginning of the day...
...
Yèxīng sighed, feeling annoyed at Merchant Diqiu for not telling him sooner where he was going to escort him. Said Merchant offered him some lotus deeds to appease the teen's anger, and it worked.
"You could have told me it was to the Cloud Recesses, Merchant Diqiu." Yèxīng said with a glare towards the older man who whistled.
"Well, if I told you earlier, you wouldn't have come. Besides! I confirmed with my inside friend that Lan Yùntài isn't here today! So there is no need to worry for that measly man." Diqiu said, smiling at his own words.
The cultivating teen and the merchant man where climbing the stairs that lead into the Cloud Recesses. Diqiu was going to take some tea leaves for the Young Masters staying in class that were ordered by Lan Qiren, the Second in Command until Lan Xichem reached the age to become a Sect Leader. But the thing was that Diqiu was old, and carrying a pack full of herbs in his back damaged his health so he enlisted his favorite (and only) not-son to carry him while climbing the stairs when he got tired.
"You have a whole crew. That is behind us. Carrying the packs full of herbs." Yèxīng said, each word pronounced louder so that the people behind them, which were Merchant Diqiu's crew, heard him.
"Can't you do this for you old man? It may be the last time we see each other. After all, you are going to a foreign country, right? And you don't know when you'll come back. So-"
"Okay, okay. I'll stop talking. " Yèxīng said, not wanting to hear any further and cry at the words. Finally, after some silence, they reached the top, making Yèxīng place Merchant Diqiu almost harshly out of his back. Said man just laughed at the action, before going to the disciple in charge of watching the gates.
Silver eyes watched the interaction between Merchant Diqiu and the disciple, and after some minutes, the crew was let in with a guide that was going to show them where to leave the herbs and leave. On the way, they encountered the disciples from the other Sects that were there as students, and as Yèxīng passed them, he was stopped by a Yunmeng disciple.
"Stop right there. Our Shixiong wants to see you. Please come with us" one of the Yunmeng disciples said, and Yèxīng almost screamed in frustration, but he just sighed and for Diqiu's sake, he obeyed. The old man saw this, and frowned worriedly. Nothing good came when Sect discipiles called Yèxīng.
After being led to a small conference room, he was met with the teen with the red ribbon he saved, and a small woman with gentle features. He sat down, and waited for one of the persons in front of him to talk. The woman started, her tone gentle, as if wanting Yèxīng to be comfortable.
" Hello. My name is Jiang Yanli, and I'm the regent heir of Yunmeng Jiang until our little brother comes back. This is A-Xian, the head discipile." Jiang Yanli started, and Yèxīng nodded, looking bored but was actually in doubt. Why did this people want to talk to him? He never once met the Jiang Clan nor had clashed with it's disciples.
"Are you comfortable? I made some Lotus Pork Soup." Jiang Yanli said, her gentle smile looking like the sun from how bright it was. She pointed with her perfectly manicured hands at the plates in front of Yèxīng, who never looked, and instead stared at the pair of siblings.
"Why am I here?" Yèxīng said, his gaze serious and never wavering. Jiang Yanli hesitated at the seriousness in his eyes, but Wei Wuxian didn't.
"We think you are our brother, and we want to do a test to confirm our doubts" Wei Wuxian looked at Yèxīng firmly, his words making the teen almost change his expression.
"Brother? As in Jiang Wanyin the disappeared heir of Yunmeng? That can't be, can it?" Yèxīng thought, looking at the siblings. There was something akin to desperation in their eyes, and Yèxīng, knowing he had no choice in the matter, nodded. He saw how Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian brightened, and both looked at each other in happiness and hope. Hope for the fact that he may be their long lost sibling.
"They will really get surprised when they see I'm not the person they are looking for. But I don't care" was Yèxīng's train of thought, a satisfied smirk in his mind imagining how Yunmeng would repay the disrespect of It's heir and head disciple.
Would they give him food? Silks? Maybe a house or two? Territory? Money!? Oh he could not wait.
So it was a surprise when the Yunmeng Jiang Sect Leader did the test himself and actually was positive, making Yèxīng almost faint at the sight. While the family was happy and content that their long lost son/sibling was back, Yèxīng was terrified, a worried frown passing his face.
Sect Heir? Responsibilities? Not being able to travel like a Rogue Cultivator!? No! The results must have been wrong! But Yèxīng wants dumb, and while he was in denial, he had to admit the result were correct. Then Qingheng-Jun came to the room, where Lan Qiren, Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan were and it became so much more chaotic. While they fought, Yèxīng ran away, more exactly, jumped from the window silently and then flew away with his sword. That, that was when the real problem started.
....
Yèxīng hurriedly packed his stuff, which wasn't much thanks to the fact he hadn't unpacked completely, in his qianku bag. This situation was a complete disaster! Now he knew why his mother wanted him to stay a beggar in the streets. Nobody would notice a little beggar was actually the heir of Yunmeng Jiang!
Merchant Diqiu was inside the room with his niece, Fan Quan, who was helping him pit everything in the qianku bag. He sighed, passing a hand in his long hair. His eyes looked rapidly everywhere to see if there was something left, and then softened at the sight of Fan Quan looking at him worriedly.
"I'm sorry our time together has been cut short Shijie" Yèxīng whispered frustrated. It was all his fault that he could not stay in Caiyi Town for long, and while he knew he should feel happy for this encounter with his biological family, he didn't. He didn't feel anything to those people related to him by blood, and that somewhat terrified them.
Fan Quan saw his eyes, and how terrified they looked, and made her choice. With determination, she looked at Yèxīng in the eyes and said out loud; "I will accompany you this time." both men looked at Fan Quan dumbfounded. How could Fan Quan, someone so delicate, travel with Yèxīng?
"Shijie, it's dangerous! You know my travel lifestyle. I fight demonic beasts every day, yet-"
"May I remind you that I am not some weak pathetic flower Yèxīng? I trained with you with Lan Yùntài, and surpassed you in many ways. I know how to take care of myself." Fan Quan said, her soft and worried gaze turning hard and unforgiving, making Yèxīng shiver in surprise. "I am not called Léishézhī-Zhǔ (Lord of the Snake of Thunder) for nothing"
These words made Yèxīng eyes widen in surprise, almost forgetting the fact that the niece of Merchant Diqiu was a cultivator just like him, that earned herself a title for all her work in the cultivation world. Fan Quan had gained a strong golden core after training under Qinheng-Jun for almost all her life, and instead of the soft Lan sword style, she adapted it and created a new style. The style of the snake, she called it on the last letter he received of her that detailed all the things she had done with it. Instead of embracing the Lan rules, she outright rejected them and cursed them, becoming a famed mercenary. Léishézhī-Zhǔ was the tittle given to her while working as a merciless killer. Of course, she never showed that side of her at home, only a soft side to her family members that made her seem like a Lotus.
After some hesitation, Yèxīng nodded resigned, and both of them started to pack, ready to leave before sunrise. In the end, they both escaped Caiyi Town in the middle of the night, ready to leave for their next destination which Yèxīng decided would be Nightless City, to investigate what is really happening there.
"We should start our journey passing Tinshang He" Yèxīng said, looking at the map he had brought to his journey. Fan Quan glanced at it and nodded, agreeing. The siblings where at a rest site outside of Gusu and in the outskirts of Tinshang, looking for a path that didn't involve seeing the Jiangs or the Lans.
"We could continue travel by feet until we reach Tinshan, and after some rest we can go to Baling on sword." Fan Quan said, her face serious and different from the normally soft expression she always held. Her brown eyes glanced at Yèxīng, and relaxed her expression at seeing him so anxious. She pated his head, making Yèxīng silver eyes look at her. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I promise."
"I... I know. It's just, I'm worried. What if I regret running away? I feel like I should be more happy at knowing I have a blood family alive, yet all I feel is deep fear of losing you, Old Man Diqiu and all the friends we have made..." Yèxīng whispered, tears in his silver eyes ready to explode at any moment. Fan Quan sighed at the words, and hugged him.
"I think that you have the right to chose who your family is, no matter if it isn't by blood. It's okay If you don't want to be the Jiangs family, and it's okay if you want to be. Just know that I, your Shijie, will always be in your side no matter what choice you make" those words made Yèxīng's tears drop, and he hugged her back, feeling r