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“Sect Leader Jiang.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve come to bring the weekly report.”
“Thank you.”
When the disciple promptly left the room, Jiang Cheng finished up the document he was drafting before picking up the report. There were twenty names, all with notes and observations of qi and core. Each name was different, but each note was about the same.
The new Jiang Sect disciples were still reluctant to suddenly do such an experiment.
An experiment, Jiang Cheng called it at least. In reality, it was something he never thought he would end up doing, something that he had done on an emotional whim. But either way, the Jiang Sect’s disciple population was slowly growing, and there wasn’t anything Jiang Cheng could do about it.
Yes, Jiang Cheng still held some hatred for the Wens.
Yes, Jiang Cheng still hated Wei Wuxian.
Yes, Jiang Cheng still hated demonic cultivation.
Yet, these were somehow all of the reasons Jiang Cheng found himself with a list of demonic cultivators that he had taken back to the Lotus Pier for orthodox training.
It was a half-drunken whim, Jiang Cheng supposed. He had finally decided to finish that jar of Emperor’s Smile he bought on a trip to Gusu for his sectly duties. He was only a little tipsy when he had called out for his trusted disciple to formulate a plan to rehabilitate demonic cultivators in Yunmeng.
He never expected that the disciple would do exactly that.
When he had finally colorfully cursed his hangover away and stepped out of his room, he was both shocked and blank at the sight of twenty people in the training field of the Lotus Pier, standing there in rags and dirt, standing there anxiously as if they were about to be slaughtered.
Jiang Cheng’s eye had twitched and the people cowered in the field. A few even fell to their knees and pleaded for mercy.
Was this the reputation he had built up?
Jiang Cheng had sighed and stepped down from the veranda hallway, but that act only made them shiver more.
Very well.
Jiang Cheng had looked at every single one of them, making sure he remembered their faces well. If Lan Wangji and Jin Guangyao could be renowned for their memory, why can’t Jiang Cheng? Whoever said that he had a bad memory?
When he had gotten to the twentieth face, noticing the prominent birthmark under their eye, he straightened up his back and summoned a roaring voice that made the birds in the nearby bamboo forest tremble.
“You are all here for a reason!”
This had only made them shiver more. Even the disciple glanced over at him, as if wanting to advise him on how to better word his desires.
Jiang Cheng had bitten the inside of his lip and lowered his voice, “You have all gone down the path of demonic cultivation, which torments the soul and destroys the body. You all know of these circumstances, do you not?”
The cultivators had looked at him tentatively, and he looked back with a face expecting answers. One cultivator in the front row spoke up, “Demonic cultivation is the easiest and requires no strong golden core.”
Jiang Cheng had looked at this cultivator, who seemed to flinch from the sudden eye contact. Jiang Cheng squinted slightly, “Do all of you have weak golden cores?”
Only a few of the more daring cultivators had nodded.
Jiang Cheng had inwardly sighed. He was quickly realizing that this conversation would lead to nothing. So, he had set his back into a ramrod posture and declared, “All those who do not wish for rehabilitation will leave instantly!”
It had been a curt order that rang through the Lotus Pier, and a few of the cultivators had stiffened. Another cultivator, further in the back, had responded, “What do you mean… by rehabilitation?”
Jiang Cheng had swallowed his spit, “Rehabilitation for a brighter future. Demonic cultivation torments the soul and destroys the body. It sends you into madness from which you cannot escape. So I order you again: leave if you do not wish to participate!”
A few cultivators had looked at the gates of Lotus Pier, and Jiang Cheng could see their decisions waver on the tips of their toes. There were no hostile disciples guarding the doors; in fact, they had been quite wide open.
They could’ve left if they wanted to. They still can.
Since then, none of them have left.
The first cultivator to have spoken was Zhang Feihong. Jiang Cheng only had to observe his progress in-person once for him to conclude that he was spirited and enthusiastic with his studies. One could take a look at his behavior and never guess that he used to be an early demonic cultivator.
The second cultivator to speak was Zhang Feihong’s childhood friend, Liu Baoqiang. He was more reserved and was often dragged around the Lotus Pier by the former.
The others got along rather well, much to Jiang Cheng’s surprise. He never expected demonic cultivators to be so… bright.
Either way, they were still reluctant to part from demonic cultivation.
The Lotus Pier’s physicians had sent Jiang Cheng their medical reports, stating that they were all very early-stage, so there was no damage yet. The cultivators were prescribed scar cream to prevent infections and help the scars from blood-letting fade. Gradually, the lines on their fingers disappeared in favor of the various calluses that came with swordplay training.
It had been a few weeks since then.
Even after a few weeks, only a select few were showing true progress in building their core. The others were still reluctant because “they were afraid to get their hopes up.”
Jiang Cheng grit his teeth as he set the report down onto the table and stared at the names of those who were reluctant.
He briskly walked out of the room and set for the training field.
The cultivators were practicing swordplay with wooden sticks, blunt and light. They were practicing the basics, which would help aid their flow of qi and energy. They were not as uniform as the past Jiang disciples, but Jiang Cheng would work with it.
“Li Haoran.” Jiang Cheng called out, staring at the cultivator right in front of him.
The disciples halted in their practice as Li Haoran saluted, “Sect Leader Jiang.”
“Do you find this difficult?”
Li Haoran tilted his head in confusion, but ultimately answered, “Only slightly.”
“Why so?”
There was a moment of hesitation, “I tire out easily.”
“That’s because you’re tapping too much spiritual energy and you don’t have enough to expend.” Jiang Cheng sighed and grabbed a wooden pole from the nearby stack, “Watch carefully.”
The next week, Jiang Cheng saw more signs of progress in their core-building. When he walked around, they even seemed to glow somewhat.
The next week, Jiang Cheng captured even more demonic cultivators, those who were in worse shape. There were about fifty.
It took much longer for the physicians to successfully nurse them back to health, but luckily, they haven't strayed too far down the path, and they could be luckily saved.
In half a year, the Lotus Pier was expanded to accommodate the next batches. And the next. And the next. In a few years, the first few batches graduated and became rogue cultivators, or went to study for other careers, or went back home to build up their lives again.
The Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s latest batches of demonic cultivators in for rehabilitation were in no worse health than his second batch of fifty.
Jiang Cheng often thought about Wei Wuxian. In his fourth batch of cultivators, there was one Wei: Wei Wangyong. He was nothing like Wei Wuxian: studious in his studies, a little slow with his progress, and favoring shorter swords and daggers. And yet, despite such differences, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but be reminded.
When Wei Wangyong was about to graduate, Jiang Cheng asked him what he wanted to do in the future.
Wei Wangyong thought for quite a long time, “I want to help my friend establish a cultivation sect in my hometown, Anping.”
Jiang Cheng’s ears perked, “Anping?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Cheng squinted, “Anping is very far up north. How did you get down to Yunmeng?”
Wei Wangyong scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “Honestly? I was planning on visiting Yiling… because…”
Because that’s where his former grandmaster died.
Jiang Cheng waved his hands to dismiss Wei Wangyong before he could finish trailing off.
It had been thirteen years since Jiang Cheng marched down to the Burial Mounds, only to find Wei Wuxian’s corpse completely gone, without a trace left. It had been eleven years since Jiang Cheng accepted the first batch of twenty demonic cultivators for rehabilitation.
Perhaps only half a year flew by when everything was flipped completely upside-down, when Wei Wuxian returned from the dead, when Jin Guangyao was exposed and killed, when Jin Ling was forced into the position of Sect Leader Jin, when Wei Wuxian married Lan Wangji.
When Jiang Cheng discovered the truth about his golden core.
He didn’t have the heart to tell Wei Wuxian about the demonic cultivators that he had pseudo-kidnapped and help rebuild the lives of. There were hundreds, all who spread out in different directions. Maybe, just maybe, Wei Wuxian would figure it out without Jiang Cheng needing to tell him outrightly.
He could hide it like Wei Wuxian hid his golden core secret.
So, Jiang Cheng carried on, still rehabilitating demonic cultivators. There were less now, maybe only ten or fifteen. It was mostly because he couldn’t find any more around Yunmeng and Yiling, and it took a lot of time to expand out. Furthermore, his nephew’s ascension in Jinlintai only made Jiang Cheng crackle Zidian around more instead of taking in more demonic cultivators.
There were also just, less demonic cultivators.
Jiang Cheng once wondered if he could get through every demonic cultivator and rehabilitate them in his lifetime. But thinking about the sheer evil of Xue Yang, Jiang Cheng only sighed in relief that he hadn’t gotten such a ruthless being for a disciple.
Yes, there were quite a few that put up a fight, even daring to use demonic cultivation in the Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng suppressed every urge to lash at them until their organs rained from high in the sky. Of course, he thought back to Zhang Feihong’s one comment of “Sect Leader Jiang, you’re much nicer than they say, haha!”
Thus, while it took a few years, he successfully managed to wrangle the feistier ones down into those with just a spirit nearly on-par with Wei Wuxian.
Speaking of Zhang Feihong, he had come back to the Lotus Pier. He was one of the many who decided to be a rogue cultivator, and came to visit Yunmeng to check on the Lotus Pier as a visiting cultivator.
“Sect Leader Jiang.”
“Feihong.” Jiang Cheng slightly smiled as the other sat down in the main hall, “About time you visited.”
“Are we all required to visit? You should’ve told us back then!” Zhang Feihong laughed.
Jiang Cheng sighed and Zhang Feihong sipped tea, “How many now?”
“About three hundred.”
Zhang Feihong’s eyes widened, “Congratulations.”
Jiang Cheng shook his head, “There are still more. I haven’t touched on many cities up north.”
“It’s definitely progress. Remember Baoqiang? He said he’s sending about forty demonic cultivators to Yunmeng.”
Jiang Cheng would’ve spat out tea if he was drinking any, “What?”
“Yep! I told you Baoqiang is good at persuading others. I heard that over half of them even volunteered after just hearing the word ‘Yunmeng’!”
Jiang Cheng, “You kids…”
He sighed, “I suppose it’s something at least. I haven’t been able to wrangle anymore lately, only getting about ten or so.”
Zhang Feihong stuck out a thumb and pressed the tip to his own chest, beaming, “Trust your disciples! We’ve got you covered. I heard Jingsheng-xiong talk about persuading a cultivation clan up near Tangxi to implement another rehabilitation program, which he wants to lead. And then Julong-xiong…”
Zhang Feihong had gone on to talk about his peers in the first batch, the test batch, the batch that Jiang Cheng half-knowingly helped straighten up from a drunken whim. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pride (of course, not as strong as the pride for his nephew).
When Zhang Feihong finished recalling a few other peers, he looked out the entrance of the main hall, watching the newest batch of demonic cultivators walk through the veranda hallway and into the training field.
As they picked up the wooden poles, Zhang Feihong smiled, “I remember that. Haoran-xiong looked so scared before you went to help him out. Now, he’s paired up with Qingyuan-xiong to go on night hunts together. I don’t think I’ve seen a more confident duo!”
Jiang Cheng suddenly recalled Wei Wuxian and his head dipped down ever-so-slightly. Zhang Feihong opened his mouth, but said nothing.
Zhang Feihong finished his cup of tea, which had significantly cooled down already, before stretching and standing up. He bid farewell to Jiang Cheng before setting off to play around Yunmeng.
Zhang Feihong wasn’t the only one to visit the Lotus Pier out of the many that graduated from the Lotus Pier. Li Haoran and Wang Qingyuan were the first to visit, chatting about their times in night hunts and various small cases that they had the pleasure of resolving.
Over time, not only did Jiang Cheng receive new disciples, he also received many past disciples, those who grew from the depths of darkness and were rebirthed into orthodox cultivators with spiritual swords and weapons.
Jiang Cheng sighed and stood up from the main hall to supervise the training batch.
At night, Jiang Cheng would occasionally tend to his nightly duties before going around the docks of Yunmeng. The stalls were sparser than during his youth, and the stands were even more catered towards the popular and mainstream goods rather than the local tastes.
Jiang Cheng bought a meatbun before walking around. He was wearing simpler clothes and took his crown down. He often liked to walk around as if he were nothing but an ordinary cultivator with a sword. Of course, there would be those who recognized him, but they never did anything but stare.
Coincidentally, he spotted Zhang Feihong talking to Liu Baoqiang, walking down a somewhat-populated street with steamed buns in their hands, seeming to chat as they walked. Jiang Cheng quickly averted to the side, but made no obvious gesture to avoid them.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet them, he just preferred to be alone with his own thoughts tonight.
Then suddenly, he heard Zhang Feihong muse from the side, “Hey, Baoqiang, don’t the cultivators of the Gusu Lan Sect have forehead ribbons like that?”
Jiang Cheng stiffened, hoping that it was just Lan Sizhui or Lan Jingyi here for some night hunt of some sort, and not Lan Wangji with Wei Wuxian-
Nope, it was Lan Wangji with Wei Wuxian.
Jiang Cheng quickly turned back around and walked away. However, he stopped in his steps before going to the nearest stand and pretending to look at the tassel pendants for sale. Remarkable craftsmanship, Jiang Cheng had to point out.
“Feihong, it’s not good to point-”
“I heard Sect Leader Jiang has been so hung up on Hanguang-jun. I’m going to go ask-”
“Feihong! What did I tell you?”
“You told me that it’s not good to point. I’m not pointing, am I? It’ll be okay, I won’t die in front of all these people.”
“If Sect Leader Jiang has been hung up on him, then Hanguang-jun probably doesn’t want to-”
“Hanguang-jun!”
A series of footsteps and Jiang Cheng heard Wei Wuxian muse, “Oh? Who’s this, Hanguang-jun? Childe, do we know you?”
“I don’t think so. My name is Zhang Feihong, and this is my friend, Liu Baoqiang.”
A chuckle, “Alright then, Childe Zhang, Childe Liu. What business do you have with Hanguang-jun?”
“I was wondering-”
“It’s nothing!” Liu Baoqiang interrupted, and Jiang Cheng could see from the corner of his eye that he was trying to drag Zhang Feihong away, “We’re sorry for bothering you! We just heard the stories of Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, and wanted to confirm if it was really you!”
Zhang Feihong pouted and resisted the movements, “Baoqiang, if we don’t do things ourselves, Sect Leader Jiang is going to sulk about it for the rest of his life!”
There was a stagnant pause despite the bustling street, and yet it was so quiet that Jiang Cheng’s ears rang.
“Sect Leader Jiang?” Lan Wangji’s indifferent voice flowed out.
Zhang Feihong vigorously nodded, “Yeah! He’s been moping about Hanguang-jun and the Yiling-laozu according to the disciples! It’s become so bad lately too, from what I’ve heard.”
Wei Wuxian’s voice wasn’t playful anymore, and it was tinged with some concern, “What about Hanguang-jun and the Yiling-laozu?”
“I’m not sure. Isn’t that for Hanguang-jun to decide? And the Yiling-laozu, wherever he may be.”
“Are you affiliated with the Yunmeng Jiang Sect?”
“I sure am. Baoqiang and I, along with eighteen or so other former demonic cultivators, were sent to the Lotus Pier about eleven years ago, for rehabilitation. Do you not know about it?”
A pause, “No-”
“That’s enough.” Jiang Cheng walked over with a cold face, giving Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian a glance.
“Se-Sect Leader Jiang.”
Liu Baoqiang glared at Zhang Feihong, who only licked his dry lips, “What a coincidence, Sect Leader Jiang!”
Wei Wuxian swayed slightly in his position, “Jiang Cheng?”
Zhang Feihong looked at Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng suddenly remembered that neither Zhang Feihong nor Liu Baoqiang really knew about the current status of the infamous Yiling-laozu. They only knew that he was resurrected, but there were still speculations of where he could be.
“Feihong, Baoqiang.” Jiang Cheng eventually called out, “You may leave.”
Liu Baoqiang looked relieved, tugging Zhang Feihong’s sleeve. Although reluctant, he eventually left with him.
Lan Wangji was still glaring at Jiang Cheng, which was understandable really. The only reason Jiang Cheng ever hated him was for simply taking Wei Wuxian away from him. Such a childish reason for such harsh words. Even then, Jiang Cheng had no intentions of saying anything, knowing that it would take much longer than one night for them to even get close to reconciling.
Wei Wuxian awkwardly looked at the both of them, “Childe Zhang, Childe Liu, they…”
Jiang Cheng’s eye twitched and Lan Wangji immediately stepped forward to shield Wei Wuxian from him. Really, is his eye twitching that terrifying?!
Wei Wuxian stepped forward, “Jiang Cheng, let’s go talk elsewhere.”
Jiang Cheng looked at him and said nothing, watching Lan Wangji book a room in a tavern and shuffle into the quiet room.
Wei Wuxian was the first to sit, urging for Jiang Cheng to sit across from him. Lan Wangji sat right next to Wei Wuxian, so closely that Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but twitch his eye again.
Wei Wuxian sighed and poured the alcohol Lan Wangji ordered earlier, “So from what I’ve heard, you’ve been rehabilitating demonic cultivators?”
Straight to the point, yet Jiang Cheng found himself at a loss for words, and opted for his first defense mechanism, “Feihong and Baoqiang came to the Lotus Pier as disciples. That’s all there is to it.”
“They said they were sent there.”
“Sent there, came to, what’s the difference?”
“They talked about rehabilitating demonic cultivators.”
It was at this point that Jiang Cheng sighed and downed his cup of alcohol, “And so what if I am? The other sects want to do the same, so what’s so special about me doing it?”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“That’s because Gusu never gets demonic cultivators. Yunmeng is so close to Yiling, so of course we would have the most.”
“Jiang Cheng, I know you well. You look to the side when you lie and you always glance at me every now and then to see my reaction.”
Jiang Cheng grumbled and took the jar of alcohol, gulping down mouthfuls. Lan Wangji retrieved more alcohol and ordered some more, seeing the rate at which the two were downing the alcohol.
Wei Wuxian sighed, “If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. At least look at me when you talk though. I haven’t seen you for a long time since we parted at the Guanyin Temple.”
“Which was not too long ago.”
“We didn’t get a chance to talk about things properly.”
Jiang Cheng slammed down his cup and glared, “There’s nothing more to talk about. I don’t even know why I followed you here. I’ll be taking my leave.”
“Jiang Cheng!”
“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng stood up, “Just because you’re married to the Chief Cultivator doesn’t mean you can get me to talk! Even if you two are immortals, even if you two take over Yunmeng, I’m never talking!”
Lan Wangji glared with a squint and Jiang Cheng did the same. Wei Wuxian hurriedly stood up when Lan Wangji did the same, “Aiya, both of you, stop it! Sit down, sit down, if we can’t have a conversation about this, then let’s at least not fight, okay?”
Jiang Cheng squinted more before sitting back down. Curse his fear of angering both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Even if his pride wouldn’t admit it, he knew that he was in no mood to fight.
Wei Wuxian poured alcohol into the two empty cups, silence permeating the air. He finally spoke, “Thank you.”
Jiang Cheng perked his ears as he looked up from the side, “What?”
“I said ‘Thank you’. You say Gusu doesn’t have demonic cultivators, but you’ll be surprised to see that there are still a few. I always feel so helpless when I see them in the streets, suffering from the backlash. Some have even gone too far to be saved.”
Jiang Cheng looked at Lan Wangji, but his face was as indifferent as ever. Jiang Cheng sighed, “Idiot.”
“I sure am. I hadn’t even thought of rehabilitating them. I suppose it’s Lan Qiren’s anger towards them that I cannot send them up to the Cloud Recesses. Though, I suppose it’s different for the Lotus Pier, isn’t it?”
Wei Wuxian smiled as he drank his alcohol, “Childe Zhang and Childe Liu looked so bright and happy. I would have never guessed them to be former demonic cultivators.”
Jiang Cheng hesitantly shared, “They were in the first batch of twenty. That batch had minimum health issues and were early-stage cultivators. I suppose I should’ve drilled some lip-sealing habits into them while I was at it.”
“How old were they?”
“Thirteen to seventeen years of age at the time. Now they’re reaching their late-twenties.”
Jiang Cheng drank more alcohol, “The second batch was larger, about fifty, all in worse condition. I guess it got worse when we reached the fifth or sixth batch, then it plateaued. The Lotus Pier doesn’t have the resources to expand into demonic cultivators with worse health. We’re currently trying a few to see what helps the most.”
Jiang Cheng promptly shut his mouth. What was the point of telling them all of this? He only had the alcohol to blame, and cursed colorfully under his breath as he downed more.
Wei Wuxian pondered, “You were rehabilitating demonic cultivators around Yunmeng a few years after my death?”
“What other explanation do I have? Now that Feihong’s gone and outed all of that stuff to you and Lan Wangji, I can’t exactly deny them, now can I?”
In reality, Jiang Cheng was just hoping that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t ask him why he did all of this. From the way Wei Wuxian said those last few words, however, Jiang Cheng supposed that Wei Wuxian had already figured it all out.
Traitorously, the alcohol had overtaken most of Jiang Cheng’s higher brain functions, and he began to ramble on and on about the various disciples who were being rehabilitated, stories Zhang Feihong told him of his peers, the differing personalities.
It must’ve been hours, the longest Jiang Cheng ever spoke. Eventually, he laid his head down onto the table, the half-empty cup of alcohol right next to his head. He was still mumbling the stories.
“Liqiang… kept on bickering… with Chenguang… did you know? The female cultivators… are always the most… feisty to work with…”
Wei Wuxian was mostly silent, drinking both the alcohol and the words that seeped out of Jiang Cheng’s mouth. When a period of silence occurred, Wei Wuxian observed his face from the side before looking up at Lan Wangji, “Looks like he’s asleep.”
“Mn.”
“Come on. Help me carry him back to the Lotus Pier.”
“... mn.”
“Don’t be so reluctant, Lan Zhan. I know he said some stuff and to be fair, I’m still upset about it, but we can’t leave him here alone. Let’s go find Childe Zhang or Childe Liu. Maybe then we can leave Jiang Cheng with them.”
“Mn.”
They ended up never finding them until they got to the entrance of Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng was unbearably heavy, but fortunately, Lan Wangji had enough arm strength to shoulder most of the weight.
At the entrance, Zhang Feihong and Liu Baoqiang were chatting as they entered, spotting the bright white of Lan Wangji. Zhang Feihong grinned and waved, “Hanguang-jun! Is that Sect Leader Jiang? Here, we can take him back.”
When Jiang Cheng was successfully transferred over, Wei Wuxian sighed, “He’s had a lot to drink. He’ll be out for a while.”
“That’s alright. We’re staying for a week before departing.”
Wei Wuxian smiled, “Alright then. Are you two rogue cultivators?”
They nodded and Wei Wuxian grinned, “It’s a pleasure to meet you then.”
“If I may ask, who are you?”
Wei Wuxian looked at Zhang Feihong before glancing back at Jiang Cheng.
He then smiled again as he looked back at the former, “Just a grandmaster of sorts.”