”…Infuriating…patronizing…condescending…”
Luo Qingyang seethed as she marched out of the Jin grand hall. She was furious, fuming with it, angrier than she’d ever been to her memory. It wasn’t that she approved of Wei Wuxian’s methods as such but she sure as hell didn’t approve of the way her sect leader handled the matter with the Wen survivors. No, not her sect leader—her former sect leader. The slimy bastard who’d smiled at her from his throne like she was an amusing little girl who knew nothing and understood even less. The same, slimy bastard who tried to touch her every chance he got and who thought her sword on his throat was just some added spice. (He had sort of backed off after that, though.)
Her former sect leader because, yeah, that had just happened.
She’d denounced her clan in front of what basically was the whole cultivation world. She’d stripped herself of the Jin robes and thrown them on the floor before storming out and now she had no idea where to go.
”Fuck!” She screamed for a good measure, startling a flock of pigeons to take flight. A handful of Jin servants turned to gape at her from across the yard and then hurried away, heads bent close to each other.
Whatever.
So, what now?
She had no clue but she decided to start walking anyway.
The trickiest thing about being a rogue cultivator wasn’t really the rogue part. She was smart enough to pick her fights and her cultivation was high enough to see her through the fights she picked. It wasn’t even the being alone or sleeping outside. It was the lack of money. Yeah. That’s what she decided. (She didn’t think about how there was nowhere for her to go, not anymore.)
To be fair, she hadn’t actually marched out into the wild unknown straight from the grand hall. She’d quickly made her way to her room, packed a qiankun pouch to go but left the small hair adornment Jin Zixuan had bought him for her birthday the previous year. She knew she could sell it but it didn’t feel right. Besides, even though she considered Young Master Jin as her almost friend, she wouldn’t put it past the Jin clan to accuse her of theft.
Anyway. She had what little she’d been able to save over the time she’d been a Jin disciple but she knew it wouldn’t last for long. To sleep outside she needed a tent of her own and that cost money. And she needed provisions, medicines, change of clothes…Everything that hadn’t seemed much when she’d had everything provided by the Jin that she now had to take care of her own.
But she was smart. She could make it.
She started with selling her fancy robes. With that money, she bought commoners’ robes and a small tent that had only a small rip on one side. In the next village over, she dealt with a couple of ghosts and helped with the harvest. She got a pouch of herbs and a pair of nearly unused boots as a thank you. She learned to fish and weave and haggle and it was surprisingly fun.
And she walked. She kept heading Southwest without really thinking about it. It was convenient, no bigger clans on her way, and perhaps the only direction she was sure the Jin wouldn’t follow (although she really couldn’t figure out why they would even bother).
She missed company sometimes. She hadn’t had many friends in Lanling, both because she was so close to Jin Zixuan and because of her sharp mind and even sharper tongue. In that scheming nest of vipers, she’d been too honest, too loud, too unwilling to suck up to people. But it had been nice, to have people around her.
It would be nice to have someone to talk to.
She wasn’t sure whether to roll her eyes or groan when she realized where she’d ended up in. She could’ve sworn she hadn’t decided to march straight to Yiling but perhaps someone had been gently guiding her all the time. If one believed in such things, that was. But there she was, standing right inside the bustling town, looking around, and not quite sure what she’d expected to see.
It was a nice place. A normal place. Nothing indicated that only a relatively short walk away was the dreaded Burial Mounds where the Yiling Patriarch—also known as Wei Wuxian—held court. Luo Qingyang saw a busy marketplace, inns, restaurants, shops, homes, just like in any other town. And no one looked like they lived in constant terror. Actually, it seemed like the exact opposite.
She made her way to an inn, sat on a table next to the windows, and ordered herself a pot of tea and a serving of stew. While she waited, she listened to the cadenza of conversation around her, curious if the close proximity of the Burial Mounds was in any way visible (or audible) in the Yiling people’s daily lives.
Which it wasn’t. They talked about everyday things: how their business fared, how their husbands or wives or children annoyed or delighted them, what to do with the annoying cousin or the intimidating mother-in-law…it was normal, it was easy, it was a relief.
The stew was simple but filling and the tea strong and refreshing, and she ended up sitting there for a long time, wondering what to do next.
And then,
”Mian Mian??”
Seeing Wei Wuxian wasn’t a surprise, she’d known he lived in Yiling. But seeing Wei Wuxian in plain clothes without his signature red ribbon in his hair, accompanied by a fucking sentient fierce corpse was!
”What are you doing here, Mian Mian? Did the Jin send you? I really hope they didn’t because I’d hate to kill you,” Wei Wuxian said and cocked his head. He didn’t look that dangerous but Luo Qingyang knew better than to assume that just because Wei Wuxian didn’t carry his sword or flute, he was harmless.
The biggest surprise, however, was how the whole inn fell quiet at Wei Wuxian’s words. Luo Qingyang glanced around and realized everyone was staring—at her!
”Wei Wuxian!” She snapped. ”What the fuck? I might not agree with your methods but I sure as hell don’t agree how my former sect handled things.”
Wei Wuxian looked taken aback. ”Former?”
She scowled. ”Hanguang-jun and I tried to argue for you but we were overruled. It pissed me off.” She sniffed and smoothed her robes. ”I stripped my sect robes off, threw them on the floor, and walked out. Haven’t looked back since.”
”Wait—you did what?” Wei Wuxian asked, jaw slack with shock which, to be honest, wasn’t a very becoming look.
”Oh, it wasn’t all just for you. I’ve been feeling more and more uncomfortable with the Jin politics, especially since Jin Guangyao came along.” She suppressed a small shiver.
”What about the peacock?”
”The who now?” She asked, raising a brow.
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes. ”The peacock, Jin Zixuan. How is he going to survive when you took away his only functioning brain cell?”
She gave him a flat look and said nothing.
He stared back.
She raised a brow.
Almost immediately, Wei Wuxian groaned. ”Gods, now there are two of you.”
She had no idea what he was talking about but if it was something that made Wei Wuxian fold like a wet paperman, it had to be good.
She wasn’t sure why she ended up trailing behind Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning (the Ghost general, what the fuck?) who was very shy, very sweet, and very dead. They had been on their way to the marketplace where they half-heartedly tried to sell a batch of slightly sad-looking vegetables which Luo Qingyang watched for a moment with something akin to pity and exasperation before she took over.
”I’ve never seen anyone sell vegetables with such single-minded dedication,” Wei Wuxian commented with wide eyes when she turned around and crossed her arms on her chest. ”That was scary.”
”Efficient,” she said curtly. ”What next?”
”Oh, we’re going to buy potatoes!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, rubbing his hands together.
”Wei-gongzi, jiejie asked for radish seeds,” Wen Ning said quietly.
Wei Wuxian snorted. ”Pfft, nonsense! Potatoes it is.”
”Jiejie?” Luo Qingyang asked.
Wen Ning nodded. ”Yes, Luo-guniang. My sister, Wen Qing.”
”Wait!” Luo Qingyang said and grabbed a hold on the nape of Wei Wuxian’s robe. ”Wen Qing? As in the formidable doctor Wen?”
”A formidable bully, more like,” Wei Wuxian grumbled and then rolled his eyes. ”Yes, yes, that Wen Qing. So?”
Luo Qingyang smiled. ”We are going to buy radish seeds.”
”But—”
Luo Qingyang raised a brow.
Wei Wuxian whined.
They bought radish seeds.
Her new life in Burial Mounds shouldn’t have felt so easy but it did. It was simpler and more honest than anything she’d ever had in Lanling and it didn’t take her long to realize she enjoyed it a lot. She helped where she could, and what she didn’t know she learned. She talked with the residents of the settlement, learned their names and their histories, and listened to Granny Wen and Uncle Four talk about Wen Qing’s third cousin who had been just like Luo Qingyang. She nodded and smiled, and scoffed when Granny Wen said she didn’t have to rub her shoulders, foolish girl.
She was aware of Wen Qing watching her like a hawk, trying to figure her out. She was glad Wen Qing didn’t interrogate her because she wasn’t sure she’d figured herself out, yet.
But if trying to make sense of her new life on the Burial Mounds was strange, even stranger was to watch Wei Wuxian. He was silly, goofy, and a complete domestic disaster because he had no idea how to run a household with little to no money. Most of the time he was like a gangly younger brother she’d never wanted but reluctantly learned to love and scold anyway. He tended to swoop in and help when needed (and often unneeded, leaving behind a mess for others to clean up) but most of the time he concentrated on his inventions and strengthening the wards around the Burial Mounds.
It was hard to remember that he was perhaps the most dangerous man currently alive.
Luo Qingyang got her reminder a couple of days later when she nearly wet herself when several warning talismans lit on fire around the settlement. A moment later, Wei Wuxian stalked out of his cave, resentful energy swirling in dark tendrils behind him. Without a second thought, she grabbed her sword and hurried after him, falling in line with Wen Ning.
”What do you think you’re doing?” Wei Wuxian said in a cold voice. ”Get back to the others.”
She snorted. ”What the fuck do you think I’m doing? I’m protecting my home.” And then she realized that yes, that was exactly what she was doing.
The red in Wei Wuxian’s eyes flickered for a moment, then he shook his head and walked on without another word.
When they reached the protective barrier Wei Wuxian had raised around the Burial Mounds, she saw a horde of Jin cultivators waiting, hammering the barrier and trying to get in. Idiots, Luo Qingyang thought.
”Can I help you?” Wei Wuxian asked with a small smile.
”We’re here to drag you to justice!” An all-too-familiar cultivator cried out.
”Jin Zixun, what the fuck,” Luo Qingyang said.
”What—Mian Mian?” Jin Zixun said. ”What the hell are you doing there?”
”What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Luo Qingyang asked, fed up. ”Whose idea was this? Jin Guangshan’s? Or that smarmy son of his? Who the fuck thought it would be a good idea to one, launch a half-assed assault on Burial Mounds and two, put you in charge?”
Jin Zixun flushed dark red. ”You shut your mouth,” he hissed. ”You know nothing—”
”Oh, I know enough,” she snapped. ”I know you’ve been scheming behind Jin Zixuan’s back for years, trying to either disgrace him or displace him—hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were scheming to kill him!”
Jin Zixun’s jaw clenched and something flashed in his eyes. ”You little bitch—”
Wei Wuxian pointed his flute at Jin Zixun and his eyes bled red. ”I don’t like that kind of language,” he said. ”So, how about you shut up.”
”How about you come here and make me?” Jin Zixun sneered.
Wei Wuxian tutted and the resentful energy around him ebbed and flowed. ”You silly boy, I don’t have to come there to shut you up,” he said and grinned.
As he raised his hand and lazily cocked his head, a shiver ran through Luo Qingyang. Because Wei Wuxian didn’t need to use his flute to raise the dead, all he needed to do was to think about it. From all around them, corpses walked forward and passed the barrier like it wasn’t even there, and stopped in front of Jin Zixun and his troops.
”Yes?” Wei Wuxian said. ”Did you have something to say? Oh, and just for your information, your swords or spells won’t do anything to them. Thought you’d like to know.” The cold smile was back and combined with his red eyes, Wei Wuxian was a truly terrifying sight.
Jin Zixun’s throat worked as he tried to force himself to yell more insults at Wei Wuxian but his eyes darted from one corpse to the other and he kept his mouth shut.
Wei Wuxian’s smile dropped from his face. ”I thought so,” he said flatly. ”So, how about you run back to your home and stay the hell away from mine. If I never see your face again, it will be too soon.” He turned and the corpses turned with him.
Luo Qingyang was about to turn as well when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. She swirled around, unsheathing her sword just in time to smack aside an arrow. Fuming with rage, she gripped her sword and glared. ”Jin Liwei,” she said. ”I shouldn’t be surprised to see it’s you who tried to shoot Wei Wuxian in the back.”
”And what are you now? His plaything?” Jin Zixun snarled.
”Is that what all women are to you? Whores and bitches?” Luo Qingyang snarled back. ”You truly take after your uncle: a womanizer with no spine and eagerness to put someone else to do their dirty work. I pity your mother that she was burdened with a son like you.” She spat on the ground and without another word, left.
They were halfway back to the settlement when Wei Wuxian cleared his throat.
”You realize you didn’t have to do that,” he said hesitantly.
”What?” She snapped, still seething. ”Defend you? Defend myself? Tear that asshole down? Do enlighten me.”
”Uh,” Wei Wuxian said, eyes wide.
She whirled around and jabbed him on the chest which made him stagger back. Odd. She pushed it out of her mind because, ”That piece of turd is on to something. His reaction when I said I wouldn’t be surprised if he was planning to kill Jin Zixuan was—” She pinched her lips together. ”I don’t like it.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. ”Do you think it’s something I should worry about?”
She gave him a flat look. ”Considering your sister is supposed to marry Jin Zixuan, I’d say that yeah, maybe you should.”
Wei Wuxian blinked a couple of times and then he gasped, ”Oh, fuck. Shijie.”
”Yeah,” Luo Qingyang said grimly.
Wei Wuxian wanted to rush to Lanling to warn his sister which was perhaps the most idiotic thing Luo Qingyang had heard in a long time and she used to live in Koi Tower.
”Absolutely not,” Wen Qing said and glared at Wei Wuxian.
”But shijie—”
”Sit the fuck down and listen to me,” Luo Qingyang snapped. ”You will not go to Lanling or anywhere else. We will write letters and we will send letters and then we will stay here and wait for answers to those letters.”
”You can’t stop me,” he hissed with narrowed eyes.
”But I can,” Wen Qing said and smiled sweetly. ”So, don’t even try.”
”You are terrible,” Wei Wuxian said, pointing an accusing finger at Wen Qing. ”And you are terribler-er!” He said to Luo Qingyang.
”That’s not a word,” Luo Qingyang pointed out calmly.
Wei Wuxian threw his arms up and let out an incoherent noise of frustration.
”He’s cute when he’s told no,” Luo Qingyang said.
Wen Qing gave her a flat look. ”No, he isn’t.”
They ended up writing letters to Jin Zixuan, Jiang Yanli, Lan Wangji, Nie Huaisang, and a couple of Luo Qingyang’s old acquaintances who she knew for sure loathed Jin Zixun’s guts at least as much as she did. She offered to turn the letters into Jin butterfly messages but Wen Qing said there was no need.
”He saw them a couple of times and reverse engineered them,” she said and rolled her eyes.
Luo Qingyang blinked. ”I’m sorry, he did what?”
Wen Qing shrugged. ”I have no idea how his mind works but that’s what he did. They look like Jin butterflies and they act like Jin butterflies but they—”
”—offer a nasty surprise if someone else than the appointed recipient opens them,” Wei Wuxian said from behind Luo Qingyang. She turned to see him carrying little A-Yuan over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
”A-Yuan likes surprises!” The boy said brightly.
”Not these kinds of surprises,” Wei Wuxian said. ”These are the kind that do an ouchie.”
”Oh,” A-Yuan said and frowned. ”I don’t like ouchies.”
”And that’s a good thing,” Luo Qingyang said.
She watched Wei Wuxian do his thing to the letters and had no idea what he did to make the butterflies turn into deranged wasps if a wrong person tried to read them. It was annoying. She didn’t like it at all.
And then, there was nothing to do but wait.
”So…are you and Wei Wuxian an item now?” Wen Qing asked that night when she and Luo Qingyang were sitting on the partially crumbled stairs that no longer lead anywhere.
Luo Qingyang glanced at her from the corner of her eye. She was looking calmly over the quiet settlement, a small bottle of Uncle Four’s fruit wine in her hand. The other Wens had gone to bed already and the only people up were them, Wei Wuxian (who was an idiot and stayed up until he collapsed from exhaustion), and Wen Ning (who obviously didn’t need sleep because he was dead).
”Fuck no,” Luo Qingyang snorted. ”First, he’s like a messy, chaotic little brother. Exhausting to look after. Troubling. Dear. Second, do you have any idea how Hanguang-jun looks at people who wander too close to Wei Wuxian?” She shook her head. ”I might be stupid sometimes but I don’t have a death wish.”
”Mn,” Wen Qing said. ”True.”
She took a sip from the bottle and then offered it to Luo Qingyang. Their fingers brushed when she took the bottle and it sent a pleasing tingle down her spine. She was pretty sure Wen Qing did it on purpose.
She took a sip, swallowed, and then said airily, ”And he’s not really my type anyway.”
Wen Qing turned to look at her. ”Oh. And…what’s your type?”
Luo Qingyang decided to take a gamble. ”Female,” she said and turned to meet Wen Qing’s gaze. Her eyes were wide and luminous in the moonlight and her lips slightly parted. Luo Qingyang very much wanted to kiss her.
”So…why are you here then?” Wen Qing asked.
Luo Qingyang tilted her head. ”This is my home. Where else would I be?”
Wen Qing swallowed and her eyes darted to Luo Qingyang’s lips and then back to meet her eyes. ”Does it mean you’ll stay?” She whispered.
She smiled and leaned forward, giving Wen Qing time to stop her if she so wanted. But she didn’t, and a moment later Luo Qingyang pressed her lips on Wen Qing’s, tasted the wine there, and felt her smile.
She drew back slightly, leaned their foreheads together, and said, ”Yes. Yes, I’ll stay.”
And then Luo Qingyang kissed her again.