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If you would have told Jiang Cheng that he would be all alone with his dead sister's son after his whole entire family bit the dust while he was trying to raise a defeated sect from the ground back up while he was only 20 years old (wow, that's a lot to take in), he would have laughed - if he had the mental capacity left over to actually do it.
Better yet, he thought that that would’ve been the last time he ever took in a child on purpose. Now look at where he was; Jin Ling on his left, and another little 7 year old right next to him, giving him the biggest pleading eyes he had ever seen directed at him (besides his dead brother and sister-).
“Jiujiu, please? I wouldn’t have to bother you all the time, and it would give you more time to do those sect leader thingies that you have to do all the time-” he snatched Jiang Cheng’s purple robes, clutching them with white knuckles, “-please, jiujiu! He has no other family.” He had said the last part quieter than the first, and Jiang Cheng barely caught it - though it honestly would’ve been better if he hadn’t.
Jiang Cheng was starting to realize how utterly soft he was for his nephew. He had by now lost count how many times he had done something he otherwise wouldn’t because of the brat, and it was startling that he only saw it now.
He was also a sucker for kids with no family whatsoever. Since he himself grew up without much parental love after his brother was brought into the picture, he had found out that he had a sort-of savior complex. The feeling of wanting to save a child from an unhappy childhood overcame him every time he was presented with the opportunity to do it himself, and many a time he had contained himself, saying that it would only make it worse for them - he wasn’t in the right mindset to take care of yet another kid. Taking care of himself was already a problem even before Jin Ling came into the picture. But taking care of two ? He couldn’t.
But… it'd already been seven years since he had taken Jin Ling under his care. He has gotten better and Lotus Pier has been thriving for three of them. He had the money to do it, and - as Jin Ling had said - it would be better for both of them in the long run. Jin Ling wouldn’t have to bother him to keep him company all of the time (though it hurt to tell him no, but he had to work on official paperwork. Those elders just wouldn’t stop giving him so much ) and he would finally have another person around him his age that was brave enough to approach him.
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Yes, it might just work. And maybe, the kid would help him, too.
Making up his mind, he looked at the two boys in front of him, and he could see the second his decision was registered to Jin Ling. His eyes widened, and an additional spark of excitement was alighted in them. He eagerly turned to his new “brother” and rushed forward, slamming his body into the other. Then, he jumped up with a pout. “Hey, that means I’m still going to be the youngest!”
The older boy grinned in a familiar way (Jiang Cheng had to block out the memories of him ) and turned to look at the only adult in the vicinity. “So, what now?”
Jiang Cheng gave a quiet huff of amusement and crossed his arms, shifting his weight onto one foot. “Well, we first have to make this deal between the three of us legal. We can’t just do this without the acknowledgment of others, or else that would mean that I kidnapped you - which I didn’t . So, that means we are going on a road trip.”
That got the two of them jumping around again. The youngest looked around, beaming. “Awesome! Jiujiu’s road trips are the best ! You’re going to love them, A-Shen!” The other looked at him, and gave a softer smile.
‘Yeah,’ Jiang Cheng thought, looking at the two of them with a kindness he only saves for his close family, ‘this is going to be better for the both of us. Hopefully, we may also heal with this help.’
—
When the uncle and nephew pair had originally met their new family, it had been at Caiyi. He had been wandering the streets, his clothes ragged, looking as if he was about to fall over from the slightest gust of wind. He had looked to be about Jin Ling’s height (maybe smaller), and the moment he caught sight of them he rushed over- though he only kept his presence, never speaking out. But, that did eventually change when Jin Ling urged him to speak (after multiple affirmations that he wouldn’t get in trouble for it, he was allowed to say what he wanted), and when he did, it was like a dam broke and crumbled to the ground.
The boy would talk, and talk, and it went on the whole time the two of them stayed in Caiyi. They had only originally come for a night hunt, wanting to get there early. A few hours later, Jiang Cheng had caught sight of one of the Cloud Recesses elders (why they were in Caiyi, Jiang Cheng had no clue) walking toward him. Jin Ling, having seen his sudden stiffness, looked at where his attention was, and looked back at his new friend.
“Hey, my jiujiu won’t mind if we go walk around for a little while by ourselves, he knows how to find me.” He took the other boy by his hands, dragging him farther down the street right as the clan elder got in front of Jiang Cheng.
“Ah, Sect Leader Jiang, what a lovely surprise to see you here today.” The older cultivator barely reached Jiang Cheng’s nose.
“Yes, Clan Elder Lan, same for you.” Jiang Cheng gave a respectful bow, the other imitating him, though slightly higher. Jiang Cheng’s eye involuntarily twitched. “Did you need me for something?”
The clan elder stroked his beard and gave a contemplative look, “no, not really.. I just thought that I would check up on you, see if you were still… eligible, so to say.”
Jiang Cheng internally groaned. Of course, why else would the clan leader come and purposefully talk to him? The clan elders (from multiple different sects) have come and interrogated him (multiple different times, in the most randomest places - it was like they were stalking him, or something) to see if he was a sect leader to their liking - as if he was their sect leader that they could control. The clan elder that had done this the longest though, was this one: Clan Elder Lan Xiu.
Lan Xiu was ruthless in his work, and he practically ruled over Lan Xichen as a sect leader - sometimes he thought he was one, and it irritated the everliving fuck out of Jiang Cheng. He couldn’t stand it when the man come up to him randomly in the streets when he was in Caiyi and started questioning him on things he had no knowledge of (because they were private rules of the Lan Clan that he forgot other sect leaders didn’t know) and silently berated him when he called him out on his bullshit.
Lan Xiu started to lead Jiang Cheng down the street (the opposite way Jin Ling and his new friend went) at a turtle’s pace, already starting his questioning.
“So, Sect Leader Jiang, you did go to the last conference, correct?”
“You would be right.”
“So, how is the cultivation world looking right now?” Ah, his questions to see if he was actually paying attention during those tiresome meetings.
“Don’t you have a sect leader yourself to tell you of those things should you ask for it?”
Lan Xiu frowned. “Well, yes, but I just wish to ask you for your… official… opinion, if you will.”
Jiang Cheng sighed as quietly as he could, “Clan Elder Lan, your sect leader could easily give you the same information if you were to just ask - and I’m sure you would be more inclined to agree with his views more than mine. So, I beg to ask, what do you gain from asking me these useless questions when you already know the answers yourself?”
Lan Xiu was starting to turn red in the face. “Sect Leader Jiang, I am just asking for a simple report-”
“One that I do not have to answer seeing as I’m not your sect leader.”
Growling out in frustration, Lan Xiu curled his fists tighter and breathed as deeply as he could. “I see that it is not right for me to be here, as you are not currently in the mood,-”
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, ‘Yeah, no shit.’
“-so I will take the initiative and end this conversation. I will return to this topic with you later, when you have calmed down. Goodbye, Sect Leader Jiang.” When he stopped talking, he turned on his heel and left.
Dismissing the fact that the other hadn’t even bothered to bow in parting, Jiang Cheng was still a little irritated. How could he call him angry, when he looked as if his head were going to explode if he had as much as breathed another word? He shook his head and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down before Zidian lashed out for him.
All of a sudden, he remembered that Jin Ling had taken his friend when he had seen Lan Xiu heading toward them, and that they were somewhere behind him. It was moments like these that Jiang Cheng was glad he had memorized Jin Ling’s magical signature (of course, he did it anyway since the brat was family, and he would always be there for him), and headed out after the boy and his companion.
About five minutes later, Jiang Cheng came upon a run-down pier, and at the very end of it sat both his nephew, and the other boy (which he just now realized he still didn’t have the name of). He could tell the two of them had become close friends, and it hurt his heart a little when he knew that they would have to part. He walked up to them, making sure his footsteps were loud enough so that they could hear him coming. “Jin Ling, let’s go.”
The boy in gold whipped his head around, frantically looking back and forth between his uncle and the boy next to him, his eyes having a scheming spark in them. “Jiujiu, can we bring him home with us?”
—
When they could no longer walk on foot (he was not going to allow the kids to ride on his sword, it would not end well), they had to load a boat that would take them to their destination. They had been traveling so far for almost an entire day, and they still had quite a few more hours to go. Jin Ling had taken the opportunity to touch everything he possibly could which resulted in nearly toppling over the boat multiple times.
The two kids have since scared away anything that could’ve been around them in the water from all the splashing, so they were thoroughly bummed out rather quickly during the trip.
Though, Jiang Cheng did end up finding out the boy’s name while on the boat: Shen. He had said that he didn’t know his family name, since he was abandoned at birth, so he never learned it; he was just traded from house to house in his childhood until he got to be too much trouble for the people taking him in, and tossed him to the streets. Jiang Cheng’s resolve strengthened, and he narrowed his eyes to the empty air.
One day later, the trio made their way to a regal building, with spiraling white columns and refined wood outlines surrounding the place. Jiang Cheng had never been here personally, but he knew that this was where his father and Wei Wuxian had gone when the former had to gain custody of his brother. Jiang Cheng just never thought he would be here more than once.
Walking in was like stepping right into the Cloud Recesses; it was cool, and it was refreshing to be in. Jiang Cheng felt like he was finally able to breathe clearly, unlike when he was in Lotus Pier.
The cultivator at the front desk cleared her throat, and waved them over. She raised her eyebrow, “so, what brings you three here today?”
“Well,” Jiang cheng said, “I’m wanting to take Shen under my care - adopt him, if you will.”
The woman nodded. “Alright. Now, I just want to go over the standardized questions, just answer them truthfully, even if the answer is (painfully) obvious.”
“Alright.”
“Okay, you are above the age of 25, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Is the child you’re looking to adopt within the 45 year age distance limitations?”
“Yes.”
“Are you married?”
Jiang Cheng’s jaw tensed, “no.”
“Since you are not married, are you financially stable so you can support both yourself and this child - along with any other children who may currently or already be in your care?”
He scoffed, “definitely.”
“Alright, final section of questions: you are in good health, correct? If you do not know currently, you can go visit a cultivation doctor and come back with a rundown of your results.”
“I know my health, yes, I’m good.” ‘The only thing that is capable of killing me is Death itself, but they’re not here, so I’m immortal ‘till then.’
“Alright!” The woman gave a bright smile and Jiang Cheng had to contain himself from wincing, reminded too much of lost people. “Now, he is going to take your family name?” The woman looked over at the older boy, and her eyes crinkled when she saw him eagerly nodding his head. “Great. So your legal name is now Jiang Shen. Do you have a courtesy name?”
The boy shook his head, and turned to look at Jiang Cheng, eyes starting to glisten while he pouted.
Jiang Cheng sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Hmm, what a thing to think about. He had never been good at naming things, he’ll fully admit that - not like he could ever forget it when Wei Wuxian shoved it in his face at every waking moment. He thought back to how he observed Shen’s behavior, then something like a lightbulb lit up in his mind. He internally snapped his fingers, “how about Jingyi? Jiang Shen, courtesy name, Jingyi?”
—
Watching Jiang Shen look around Lotus Pier with palpable delight, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but feel unconditionally proud of both himself and his disciples. They had all put in so much time and effort to rebuild his home, and he wasn’t going to tolerate anyone fucking this place up. Seeing his work admired by someone made his heart beat a little more, though he willed it to not show visibly as to not show any weakness.
“Okay kid, we have to figure out sleeping arrangements now. Do you want your own room, or do you want to room with this brat over here? If you want your own room, you’ll be in the room right next to his.”
Jiang Shen turned back to Jiang Cheng, looking contemplative. “I’ll take a room by myself, since Jin Ling annoys me.” He shrugged and stuck out his tongue when he saw Jin Ling’s offended expression.
“Ugh, you bitch!”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened, and he rounded on the youngest. “JIN LING!”
“What?” Exasperated, “you say things like that all of the time, why can’t I?”
‘You know, he’s right in that regard.’ “You can say things like that when you can finally go through a night hunt without any of my assistance, you brat .” He raised his eyebrow when Jin Ling squaked. “Also, I only saw those things when I’m talking to those stuck-up bastard sect elders (and sometimes the sect leaders themselves), so my reasons are justified.”
“You literally did it just now.”
“No, I didn’t. You heard wrong.”
“YES, you did!”
“No? A-Shen, did you hear me say anything like what Jin Ling said earlier?”
“Nope! I think A-Ling needs to get his hearing checked!”
“What?!”
“You know, I think I agree with you on that.”
“You guys suck!”
Jin Ling turned and left, stomping his feet on the ground as he stalked back to his room. Looking after him, both Jiang Cheng and Jiang Shen had varying looks of amusement in their eyes, and they looked at each other. Jiang Shen started to crack up, falling forward to the floor while covering his stomach with his hand when Jin Ling was far enough away, and Jiang Cheng gave a huff, his shoulders showing the slightest bit of movement betraying his laughter.
“Okay, enough of this. A-Shen, we need to get you situated so we can start up a training schedule for you. You’re now my kid; I’m not letting you off easy.”
Jiang Shen had since straightened up, brushing off dirt from his ragged clothes, nodding his head. He started toward the rooms adjacent to the multiple docks connecting them above the winding rivers, when he turned around and shouted at Jiang Cheng, successfully rendering him speechless.
“Thank you, A-Die!”
When Jiang Cheng finally got a hold of his bearings again, Jiang Shen had already disappeared from his sight, as he likely ran off in embarrassment.
Jiang Cheng never thought he would take another kid under his care after Jin Ling, but look at where he was now; two kids running amok in his sect, spreading laughter and muddy water all along the streets and conversing with the multiple street market owners, lighting the place up splendidly.
‘Yeah, this is most definitely going to be better for all of us, god knows how much we need it.’