Work Text:
Thirteen years.
For thirteen years, every time Jiang Cheng looked at his nephew, he was reminded of his sister, as well as Wei Ying, the cause of her death.
For thirteen years, Jiang Cheng has hated, loathed, despised anyone who bore any similarities with Wei Ying, and would do whatever he could to get rid of them.
For thirteen years, Jiang Cheng took up the responsibility of dealing with everything alone. Taking care of Jin Ling, dealing with YunMeng Jiang Sect, coping with the promise that was never fulfilled.
For thirteen years, Jiang Cheng had never really laughed or cried. He wondered if he even had any tears left to cry, or joy left to laugh .
For thirteen years. Jiang Cheng had been waiting for Wei Ying’s return.
***
“Wei Ying! I’ve been waiting for this day to arrive for a long time! Thank the Fates that smiled at me, I will finally see you crushed !”
Jiang Cheng laughed at how karma worked, at how Wei Ying finally died. He was raging with anger and couldn’t wait to bring an end to him himself . Had it not been for him, he would still have his family, his sister, his pets. But Wei Ying came and took them all away.
He sat alone as he laughed, drinking straight from the jar. “Fuck you, Wei Ying! You totally deserved it you fucking piece of shit!”
He then opened another jar. He drank. He laughed. And then, he cried.
*
“Like I have said, cultivators using diabolism should be executed immediately. Why do you guys bother negotiating with them?” Jiang Cheng pushed one of the corpses away and kicked the rest, protecting his clan members.
The younger clan members bowed and hid behind him. “But Master Jiang, they were very insistent and strong…”
The other cultivators controlling the corpses covered their face and used the corpses as they liked, protecting themselves and attacking the others at the same time.
Jiang Cheng’s voice was cold. “You guys just don’t learn, huh.”
One of the cultivators yelled at him, “Who are you to speak?! The YiLing Patriarch was someone you knew of! Heck, who knows that you may be involved with all these demonic powers!”
The leader of the YunMeng Jiang Sect gave a smile that sent shivers down everyone present, including the dead. “You have just asked for death, and you shall be granted.” He then took out ZiDian and stroke the ground at the cultivator’s direction. “So much for running your mouth. Any last words?”
No words were given nor listened, as Jiang Cheng did not spend any time hesitating in striking them with the lightning whip.
That night, he let Jin GuangYao took care of Jin Ling while he went getting himself wasted.
“Wei Ying, I hate you with all my life. Don’t you ever return, you oath-breaker.”
*
Jiang Cheng woke up with a raging headache, and the source of his pain was a terribly played flute.
“Flute?”
Not bothering to change from his sleeping attire, he dashed out following the sound. He then found Jin Ling playing with ChenQing under the supervision of a smiling Jin GuangYao. Jiang Cheng went up and snatched the flute away, glaring at Jin GuangYao angrily.
Jin GuangYao still had his default smile plastered on his face. “What’s wrong? Ah Ling is still a child and he doesn’t have the ability to summon any of those yet.”
Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth. “Keep your mouth shut.”
Jin GuangYao’s smiled dropped a little. He soothed the fidgeting Jin Ling as he delivered the next blow. “You’re still waiting for him, aren’t you?”
“Like I said, keep your fucking mouth shut.” With that said, Jiang Cheng stormed back into his room. He gripped the flute over his head, attempting to smash it down.
But he couldn’t.
Letting out a breath that he had been holding in, he flung the flute onto his bed and fall into his chair. He planted his face in his hands and questioned his life choices.
“Why are you still haunting me when you are already dead, Wei Ying?”
*
“Father, mother, apologies on visiting you both at this time.”
Jiang Cheng bowed towards the tablets before sitting in front of them. He then took out a piece of cloth and wiped them, cleaning them as much as he could.
It was like a ritual for him, to visit his parents when he felt tired and hopeless. He wished he could visit his sister more often, but she was at LingLan Jin Sect, making it a little difficult. Not to mention that he would rather avoid looking at Jin GuangYao’s face if possible. The fake smile was too difficult for him to process.
“Father, mother, it has been years. I hope you all were able to meet sister. Things are fine over here. I will be an excellent leader and won’t let you down.”
He then proceeded to tell them how he had planned to rebuild the sect, how the cultivators under him were growing. He shared stories on how their grandson started talking and had thrown a brush at Jin GuangYao.
“Did you know that Jin Ling’s first words were Jiu Jiu (a term referring to the mother’s brother)? Jin GuangYao’s face was pitch black but he still had that Mother Mary smile. I’m amazed at how people around him couldn’t see how fake he looked.”
Jiang Cheng made a promise in front of his parents before he left for the night. “I promise I will take good care of Jin Ling. I have lost almost all my family members, and I will protect this child with all my life.”
*
“Uncle! Play with me!” Jin Ling said as he tossed the ball up high towards Jiang Cheng.
Smiling a little, he hit the ball back to the child gently. “Try tossing the ball a little higher.”
“Okay!” With another hit, the ball accelerated and hit another kid that was passing by.
“Oh shit.” Jiang Cheng muttered in his heart as he broke into cold sweat forming when the kid burst out in tears.
Jin Ling rushed towards the child and apologized profusely, but the kid took the ball and hit it back at him. “Shut up, you damned orphan!”
Jiang Cheng’s face darkened immediately. He went up and scooped Jin Ling into his arms and looked at the child threateningly. “I would shut up if I were you.”
The kid’s sobbing stopped for a while before he ran away bawling, “Mummy! This purple madman is fierce!”
Jiang Cheng huffed out a sigh of annoyance, but the tension remained.
“Uncle? What is an orphan? Is it bad?”
He looked at his nephew with eyes as soft as he could and caressed him gently. “No, orphans are not bad at all. Don’t listen to him. You’re not an orphan, you’re Jin Ling.”
Jin Ling didn’t look convinced, but still he nestled himself against his uncle.
“Damn you, Wei Ying.” Jiang Cheng cursed in his heart, aching for his remaining family.
*
“Shut up you orphan!”
“Your mother and your whole family was betrayed by people they trust! Who knows you’ll betray us as well!”
“Yeah you might be a murderer too!”
“Boo!!”
“Go away!!!”
All these words that the kids spewed out finally lit a fire of rage within Jin Ling, and he no longer gave any shit. The toddler went up to bit, punch, kick and do whatever he can to shut the other kids up.
Jiang Cheng and Jin GuangYao were hiding by the side, watching how Jin Ling protected himself. They were proud at how brave their nephew was, but most of all, they were sad. It was all the truth, and they were sad that they couldn’t just brush those words off as lies. Jin Ling may be a child, but he deserved to know what exactly happened to his parents.
The next day, Jin GuangYao brought Jin Ling a puppy. “Look at this fella! I got him from somewhere and I have no idea what to name him. Why don’t you pick a name for this child?”
Jin Ling was elated. “Then! Then I shall call him Fairy! He will be my best companion and we will fight off bullies together!”
Jiang Cheng folded his arms and let out a small chuckle. Jin Ling was indeed his nephew, sharing the same naming aesthetics. But then, seeing the puppy reminded him of a person he tried to not remember. It was thanks to Wei Ying that his father gave away his puppies, who were his only friends. And yet he swore to chase away any dogs if they were around him. Now that he’s gone, it would be alright for him to get some pets, wouldn’t it?
“Uncle! Can we keep him?” Jin Ling looked at Jiang Cheng with sparkly eyes.
Jiang Cheng ruffled the boy’s hair. “Yeah, you can.”
Jin Ling then carried Fairy and went to introduce him to the rest of the family members, chuckling and smiling happily.
Jin GuangYao went up towards Jiang Cheng with a slightly serious face. “You replied ‘you’ instead of ‘we’. Why is it?”
Jiang Cheng did not bother answering and left the Jin’s place. He had no answer to that and decided to ignore the aching of his heart.
*
Jin Ling was carrying his father’s sword, SuiHua. It was a little heavy, but it was a weight Jin Ling would be more than willing to carry. He had heard stories of his father from Jin GuangYao, and now he wanted to hear stories of his mother from Jiang Cheng.
“Your mother, Jiang Yan Li, was the best woman I’ve ever known. She was kind, protective and strong.” Jiang Cheng said as he ruffled through his belongings, trying to find for something.
Jin Ling’s eyes were sparkling. “Was she pretty?”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes softened and a small smile was seen. “Yes. The prettiest.”
“Even prettier than grandmother?”
“Yes.”
Jin Ling gave an evil laugh. “That’s why I look so good. Heck I look much better than the other brats out there. It’s because my parents are so good looking!”
Jiang Cheng finally found what he was searching for. He unrolled the scroll and showed Jin Ling a drawing of his sister. “This is your mother. She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Jin Ling dropped SuiHua and went closer to his uncle, small fingers tracing the outline of his mother’s portrait gently and softly. “Her eyes…”
“Yeah…” Jiang Cheng agreed instantly. “Her eyes were soft and kind, always patient and tolerant to us.”
Jin Ling was puzzled. “Us?”
Jiang Cheng’s smile dropped. “It’s a past that had disappeared.” He rolled up the portrait and passed it to his nephew. “Here, keep it.”
Jin Ling hugged the portrait close to him. “Can I?”
The older man nodded. “She’s your mother. It would be good to know how your mother looks like.”
Jin Ling thanked his uncle. “Now I can boast to the rest of the brats that my mom is the most beautiful.”
Jiang Cheng had mixed feelings, feelings that he had no idea how to put in words. “I guess the only thing you did right was drawing my sister so beautifully.”
*
Things were getting hectic at the Lotus Pier, and Jiang Cheng had no time to deal with other things, which include the cultivators from the other sects.
“What do you guys want now?” Jiang Cheng stood with his head high, glaring at the rest of them with annoyance and disgust clear as day in his eyes.
“Master Jiang,” one of the shorter cultivator started. “We are here to ask for your cooperation in exterminating evil for good.”
Jiang Cheng scoffed. “Exterminating evil? For good?” His voice was clad in venom, and he did not bother in hiding it. “Why would you not be honest? It’s obvious that you guys wanted the flute Wei WuXian used in controlling the army of ghosts. Not for the good, but you yourself wanted that power.”
“Please watch your words, Master Jiang.” Another cultivator stood up and looked at Jiang Cheng in the eye in an attempt to threaten the leader of the Jiang Sect.
But then again, Jiang Cheng was a man who experienced a near death, as well as a heartbreaking betrayal. Threats like this were literally nothing to him. “Tell your leader that the flute ChenQing was destroyed. Controlling the army of ghost? Dream on.”
The other cultivators who heard this were shocked. “How could you do that?! It’s a prized possession and it’s—“
“I don’t give a fuck on what it is. If any of you were found practicing demonic cultivation, I’ll make sure you lot regret living.”
The steel in Jiang Cheng’s voice made the room temperature dropped. The cultivators were beyond terrified when they saw Jiang Cheng’s ZiDian was unleashed and they immediately fled away.
“The only one capable of causing trouble after death is you, Wei Ying. How on earth are you so capable of shit, huh?”
*
Jiang Cheng had his left leg in the Jin’s place when a sword came flying at him. He dodged in time and knocked the perpetrator’s head with an exhaustion he was trying to hide. “Not today, Ah Ling. And don’t swing the sword that close in front of anyone, it’s dangerous.”
The kid cladded in black robe instead of his normal gold one nodded. “Okay… So… What’s with the flowers? Why did you bring peonies instead of tulips?”
“It’s your mother’s favourite flowers.” Jiang Cheng replied with a sad smile. “I never knew she loved them until I found some dried ones that she kept in between her notes.”
Jin Ling looked at them without any expression and took them from his uncle’s arms. He then walked towards the hidden room and offered them to his mother.
Jiang Cheng followed the boy and sat beside him. “What are you thinking about?”
“About how much of a scum Wei WuXian is.”
Jiang Cheng chuckled. “That’s a fact that is well known among the world of cultivators. I doubt if there are anyone in this realm would think highly of him.”
Jin Ling clicked his tongue. “Are you kidding me? Those cultivators practicing diabolism practically treated him as god.” His uncle gave him a look and Jin Ling averted his eyes, realizing his speech towards his uncle was not exactly appropriate. “Sorry…”
Jiang Cheng ruffled the child’s hair. “I’m the one who should be sorry…”
Jin Ling did not say a thing and hugged his uncle. Jin Ling may be upset, but he knew that the one who felt the betrayal the most was Jiang Cheng. He may be young, but he was also determined to protect the ones who were dear to him.
***
Thirteen years later, the person he waited for had returned.
Jiang Cheng was enraged when he saw that damned cut-sleeved scorning his nephew. Not to mention that he was playing a flute to control the Ghost General. The only person he could think of that possessed that capability was Wei WuXian, and he took out ZiDian to force his soul out.
However, Wei WuXian did not take Mo XuanYu’s body on his own accord, hence, his soul was not forced out. Jiang Cheng started to have doubts. “How could he not be Wei Ying when that way of speech pisses me off like hell?”
His doubts were overturned when he saw Wei Ying trembling at the sight of Fairy, but he had no time to think of anything else as Wei Ying full out sprinted towards the other direction. He took out ZiDian and aimed at Wei Ying’s leg, however, with Wei Ying moving around, he hit his back instead. “You’re not getting away anymore.”
“I suppose that you didn’t have a mother to teach you, huh. I can’t believe you of all people would have the guts to say that. Don’t you remember how she died? Whose fault was it that she died?!” Words alone were not enough to express the anger, the disappointment, the betrayal he had held with him for the past decade. He told himself he would strangle Wei Ying again when they meet, but God knows why he couldn’t.
Knowing Jin Ling’s parents’ murderer had returned, Jiang Cheng still did not let his nephew know about it. In fact, he let the boy continued his rowdy journey with Wei Ying and the others from the Gu Su Lan Sect. He didn’t know why, but it was probably the tiny bit of trust in Wei Ying remaining, which he chose to deny vehemently.
Jiang Cheng was more than shocked when he pulled out SuiBian under Wen Ning’s persuasion. The truth that spilled out from Wen Ning’s mouth sunk his heart. He did the only thing he could do: run. He ran out of that place, chanting a mantra of Whys. Why? Why? Why?!! Why would Wei Ying do that?! Because of the guilt? Because of the responsibility of protecting him?
He had attracted the Wen’s away to protect Wei Ying. But why? Why did Wei Ying give up his core for him? Why did he do that? Would Jiang Cheng appreciate that? No! Not at all! And yet, no matter how hard he yelled and wailed, nor how much he questioned, nobody was there to give him the answer.
The one time Jiang Cheng cooperated with Wei Ying completely was when they had a common goal, that is to protect their nephew. It was there and then that he realized he had been holding too much within him for far too long, it was time to let them go. The grudge, the detest, the past, the disappointment, the betrayal; the hopes, the dreams, the smiles, the happy memories, the promises. They left his chest with a remnant of bitterness when he returned ChenQing to its owner. Perhaps, it was time for him to move forward.
“I’m sorry for breaking our promise.”
Jiang Cheng filled the two cups before him and emptied one with a gulp. He no longer knew who he could toast to, nor who he could talk to. “Well then, guess it’s me alone who will be keeping the promise.”