Chapter Text
“It’s the The Yiling Patriarch! He has come back and is now here in front of us! Suibian sealed itself a long time ago and no one could open it except its master, you have to be Wei Wuxian!” Jin Guangyao accused, pointing his finger directly at Wei Ying.
“What? No!” Wei Ying sheathed the sword hastily as he denied, but it was too late, everyone had seen him with the blade out already.
Jiang Cheng, as if entranced, took a step closer to Wei Ying. His face was hidden behind his fringe, his body language usually so loud and angry was now strangely subdued as he stumbled forward and harshly grabbed the sword from Wei Ying slack hands.
All the eyes of the room were suddenly trained on Jiang Cheng, watching him raptly as he elevated Suibian until it was parallel to the floor.
One breath and then pulled.
Gasps were heard around, faces in open mouthed shock and confused disbelief because the sword that LiaFang-Zun had so vehemently declared sealed and thus unopenable scants minutes ago gave away easily in Jiang’s Sect Leader hands.
Wei Ying brain was in overdrive trying to find a way to explain the unsheathed blade in his former shidi’s hand that didn’t involve the golden core business, and like numerous times in the past, words were spilling out from his mouth before he could really think about what he was saying.
“HA! Sealed? More like you couldn’t do it because you simply weren’t powerful enough to make it slid out and were so ashamed that lied to everyone saying it wouldn’t open for anyone except the Yiling Patriarch,” Wei Ying put his hands in his hips and let the mocking tilt on his voice show how lame he thought the other man was.
There were murmurs of assent, it made sense after all; it was public knowledge that Jin Sect Leader didn’t have a big golden core and the sword had been tossed in the Jin treasure room ever since.
Jin Guangyao saw his control over the crowd slipping and was mad at himself for losing his head desperately calculating the how's and whys of the situation, he had never factored this in his plans!
“Is that so?” he asked calmly, his poker face was damn good and nothing in his expression denoted the turmoil going on inside of him, “then how could you unsheathe it? The Mo Xuanyu I remember had a pitiful amount of spiritual energy, much less than my meagre reserves. Care to explain that?” The rest of the cultivators shifted their attention between the two men, like it was some kind of play, and they were waiting for the exciting resolution, it’d be funny but Wei Ying knew intimately how easy it was for them to turn on you if they decided to.
“Urm, oh, yes, of course.” Wei Ying scrambled for another explanation, taking comfort in Lan Zhan’s steady presence beside him, “maybe it’s because I have nothing against the Yiling Patriarch? Suibian could have been sealed but just against those people that meant harm to its master. I think he was kind of an idiot sometimes but I also recognize he was brilliant, and very handsome,” people pulled a face at his blatant –for them- cut-sleeve comment, but he ignored it because it wasn’t strange if he was complimenting himself, “so, I believe that the sword can tell I don’t hate him and never have had ill intentions towards him,” Wei Ying nodded, putting emphasis in his words, satisfied with his reasoning. There, refute that, you slippery slimy snake.
Everyone was stumped, the words made sense, but there was something niggling their minds that rendered unable to agree.
It probably was the sudden killing intent flooding the small treasure room, Wei Ying felt his blood freeze inside his veins and wanted to hit himself. He didn’t consider the very reason why they were in that situation on the first place! He watched nervously as Jiang Cheng grip on the scabbard tightened until his knuckles turned white and he was shaking all over in obvious all-consuming fury.
“I HATE WEI WUXIAN! I WANT TO KILL HIM! AND I DEFINITELY DO NOT SUPPORT HIM!!” apparently over his shock, Jiang Cheng screamed at the top of his lungs and spewed a series of profanities alternated with wordless roars of rage.
People were too scared of the terrifying aura the man was exuding to stop him and try to reason with him, or were wise enough to let the anger run its course first because it was less exhausting that way. Well, there was one person who was hiding his calculating frown behind an artfully painted fan that talked anyways.
“This misunderstanding can be resolved easily, since it's obvious that there can’t be two Wei Wuxian’s and the esteemed Leader of the Jiang Sect certainly isn’t him,” Jiang Cheng actually coughed blood at that, he couldn’t stand that anyone would even imply that HE could ever be Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang continued as if he hadn’t heard the enraged shout ‘OF COURSE I’M NOT THAT FOOL WEI WUXIAN!’ “Then we only need to prove Suibian will react to others too, don’t you think so too, Er-ge?” he feigned to be a little unsure, seeking reassurance on his late brother’s friend. Lan Xichen thought about it; even if he wanted to support in his sworn brother, he also vowed to never again put in jeopardy his little brother’s happiness if he could help it, plus Nie Huaisang was also dear to him as the little brother of his Da-ge so in the end he sided with him.
“Yes,” Lan Xichen said looking at no one, “that makes sense, good idea Huaisang,” he smiled at him, and chuckled as the younger man flailed and shook his head, denying knowing anything. “But the majority of the cultivators present harbors or harbored resentment against Wei Wuxian, how should we conduct this experiment?” Seeing his chance to get his original plan in track Jin Guangyao prepared to say something when suddenly and firm voice beat him to it.
“I’ll do it.” Lan Zhan stated and glared at everyone, daring them to deny him. People silently questioned him, Hanguan-Jun was supposed to hate the Yiling patriarch, they opposed and confronted each other countless times, but no one was brave enough to say that aloud.
When no one made a move to stop him, he squeezed Wei Ying’s hand in reassurance and extended his other hand imperiously at Jiang Cheng, silently demanding to hand it over. There was a somewhat awkward pause while Hanguan-Jun and Sandu Shengshou stared each other down; Jiang Cheng loathed being bossed around and thought Lan Wangji arrogant for trying to do it, on the other side Lan Zhan hated the hurt the Jiang sect leader had inflicted in his beloved and abhorred having to ask anything out of him.
In the end Jiang Cheng handed Suibian over after clicking his tongue and glaring fiercely, dissipating the heavy atmosphere that had fallen to the room much to the relief of the people watching the proceedings.
“Please, my love, let me protect you. Trust me. Please, Suibian, I only have Wei Ying safety in mind,” Lan Zhan thought fervently, a plea to make it work and it wouldn’t backfire in their faces, a prayer for his most adored person to believe in him and let him have his back. The sealing of swords was rare due to the insanely high level of cultivation needed, it had happened so few times so there’s little information to go on, but it’s been theorized that the loyalty a spiritual tool has for its master can affect it too. Wei Ying has always inspired loyalty for everyone that encountered him since they were teenagers, so is logical to assume his own sword would be undyingly loyal to him and would seal itself out of grief after his death. That’s why Lan Zhan was torn, he desperately wanted to save his soulmate, but also this would be the definitive proof of his standing with him; If Wei Ying didn’t trust him completely it won’t move for him –that’d hurt like a wound in salt because Lan Zhan had loved him for so long, so fiercely, and that Jiang Cheng could do it despite everything burned- but if it did unsheathe for Lan Zhan then they could move past this and go back to unmask Jin Guangyao’s nefariousness and the first step to clear Wei Ying’s image.
Lan Zhan only wanted Wei Ying to be happy and he wanted Wei Ying to be safe.
Lan Zhan wished to save Wei Ying; he’d do anything for Wei Ying.
His fist closed around Suibian’s hilt, and he gently poured a tiny amount of spiritual energy into it. Lan Zhan made sure to pour all his love, devotion, wishes and feelings into the small tendril of golden energy flowing into the sword, willing it to please work. Lan Zhan took a steadying breath, the only sign of weakness he permitted himself in front of so many hostile people and pulled.
At first nothing happened, and the despair he had been pushing back for so long threatened to overwhelm him. But then Wei Ying put a hand on Lan Zhan’s back while trying to see better what he was doing, and just like that everyone could hear the clink the blade made at being freed from its scabbard. With an inaudible sigh of relief betraying the rushing wave that almost brought the mighty Second Jade of Lan to his knees, he fully took the white blade out of its sheath and admired the shimmering characters engraved. It had been a long while since he had seen it last, many years since that first duel in the Cloud Recess’s wall. To Lan Zhan it never was as beautiful as now and thanked it heartfeltly in his head.
“Well then, now that’s out of the way we can go back to why Jin Guangyao dismembered Chiefezun,” said Wei Ying.
The room exploded into noise; Jin Guangyao had tried to subtly inch to the exit but before he could move that much Lan XiChen caught him in the act, paralyzing him in the spot. Jin Guangyao never wanted him to find out, he never wanted to see the hurt contorting that beautiful face, the love and trust and acceptance in those eyes being chased by distrust and self-loathing.
That’s why he stupidly stood there and watched in horror how Nie Huaisang -that little shit, I should have seen through his façade, no one is that stupid while maintaining a stable power. And I killed his beloved older brother so of course he’d want revenge- talked hurriedly to Xichen and passed him something that suspiciously looked like that damming letter he destroyed not too long ago.
“Ah… Is this really the end for me?” Jin Guangyao thought ruefully as his sworn brother nodded pained and hurried to his side to question him about everything.
“Er-ge! Look!” Nie Huaisang whisper-shouted, there was enough background noise that drowned their conversation, but he still didn’t want to take any chance. “I found this letter addressed to Madam Jin, is opened and a little ruined but it’s legible still,” he passed said letter to Lan Xichen, and nervously played with his hands. The letter was a backup Nie Huaisang made just in case, it was wrinkled and had smuggles like someone cried on it, and since things developed until this point he may as well use it to convince Xichen to go against the kin-slayer. He felt a bit bad for using such a good person, but needs must, and Nie Huaisang never claimed to be good anyways.
“A-Yao, please tell me this is wrong, tell me everything it’s some sort of misunderstanding,” Lan Huan begged with red rimmed eyes, the letter addressed to Madam Jin was possibly-probably-definitely the cause of her breakdown earlier, and was horrified at the awful things the letter and Mo Xuanyu, who was backed up by his brother and he was 90% sure he was Wei Wuxian, claimed his sworn brother was responsible for.
“Er-ge…” it was obvious Lan Huan was devastated by the betrayal this meant, but he was a righteous man, so he proceeded to interrogate A-Yao, hopping for an explanation but not letting that cloud his judgement.
While the esteemed first jade of Lan did that, Nie Huaisang corralled everyone out of the room and sent them on their way to their rooms with the revised version of the chief cultivator’s crimes and all his dirty secrets he had prepared for exactly this purpose, for his vengeance. And in the ensuing chaos everyone forgot it was actually him secretly pulling the strings for who knows how long.
Well, everyone except certain couple, who took the chance to escape to the Cloud Recess.