Chapter Text
Nie Mingjue arrives at the demon-slaughtering cave in time to find Wei Wuxian telling A’ Yuan a bedtime story. Walking on the tips of his toes he comes to sit next to his lover on the little nest of blankets Wei Wuxian called a bed. “Isn’t it a bit early for bed?”
“DieDie.” Screeches A’ Yuan jumping up from the bed and into Nie Mingjue’s awaiting arms. “A’ Niang said you’d not be back till Sunday!”
Mingjue smiles at the child and then moves to place a kiss on Wei Wuxian’s surprised face. “I had some free time, should I not spend it with you?”
Wei Wuxian laughs, the sound is more precious than gold to Nie Mingjue who watches, mesmerized, the shine of Wei Wuxian’s withe teeth against the darkness of the cave, the way his plump lips stretch to accommodate his grin. The demonic cultivator sneaks under one of Mingjue’s arms and cuddles at his chest, his arm coming to surround A’ Yuan as well. Wuxian places a kiss on Mingjue's chest.
“As long as you keep coming back to us, I don’t care how long it takes for you to appear before my eyes. A’ Jue would you cuddle with us? We’ve had a hard day and we want to sleep, right A’ Yuan?”
Their child lets out a happy squeal. “Yes! Die, cuddle with us!”
Nie Mingjue’s rare and raucous laughter echoes in the walls of the cave. “How can I say no to you?” He stands up with his lover and their child hugged to his mighty chest and carries them to bed, making himself comfortable in the nest and closing his eyes to enjoy the warmth of the moment, for he knows when morning comes he would have to say goodbye to his family one more time.
Wei Wuxian places a kiss on the line of his jaw and whispers softly. “Don’t think so loud, relax with us. We’ll deal with the world in the morning, A’ Jue.” Their soulmate bond circling and bathing their souls in warmth as they bask in each other’s presence, even the bond they share with A’ Yuan prods softly at them from where the boy is drooling all over Mingjue’s chest.
This is his family, the family he must protect at all costs, but he can indulge a little and enjoy the feeling of them secured in his arms. Wei Wuxian is right, they can deal with their problems in the morning.
Nie Mingjue had never felt so useless in his life as when the Jin disciple came knocking at his door to invite him to Nightless city to watch Wen Qing and the infamous ghost general burn. He never made it to the gathering, he’d been busy arguing with his head disciple for a way to sneak his lover and the remaining Wens out of the burial mounds, because of this he missed the massacre his soulmate supposedly unleashed on the cultivation sects, he was spared from the gruesome sight of Jiang Yanli’s murder at her shidi’s hands. Knowing A’ Ying as he does, Nie Mingjue could not believe his ears.
Still, when news of the siege reached his ears, Nie Mingjue flew, like a soul running from the devil, straight to the burial mounds with a small contingency of disciples. He was too late. The moment his feet touched the ground he was greeted by the disgusting sounds of flesh being ripped apart, and the blood-curdling screams of a man being eaten alive.
His heart stopped, a deadly coldness invaded his arm where A’ Ying words were carved on his skin. Nie Mingjue dared to take a peek and wished he hadn’t, the lovely burning red of his soul mark was fastly being devoured by the color of death. Urging his feet to move, Nie Mingjue runs straight to the sound of the screams, he would have fallen to his knees had it not been for Zonghui. The sight of Wei Wuxian’s torn body and the corpses feasting on it would haunt him forever.
There is an icelike stab on his arm, their sacred bond has been severed by a violent death. Nie Mingjue’s core revolts inside his chest, his meridians shaking wildly under the force of his grief, under his rage and his devastation. An unnatural desire to kill and maim blooms on his broken heart. A feeling so close to Qi deviation, the opposite of how light A’ Ying always made him feel. He wants to scream but the politics of the world choke him up as he stares at what is left of A’Ying-- patches of the skin he used to kiss and caress, strands of the hair he used to braid, that he’d braided a mere week ago.
“Da-ge,” greets Jin Guangyao with that well-practiced voice of his. “I feared you would not come.”
A muscle jumps on Mingjue’s jaw as he answers, the first lie to ever pass his lips. “ There was a storm in Qinghe. We came as fast as we could, but I see the problem has been dealt with.”
Jin Guangyao smiles but it is his father, covered in the blood of those Wuxian had sought to protect, who answers with a burst of bark-like laughter. “That is right! Sect leader Nie, it is not like you to miss the action, I’m sure there are still some Wen dogs around for you to kill.”
Nie Mingjue eyes the devastation bestowed upon the settlement he helped build and doubts it. Hand clenched on Baxia’s handle he holds himself from taking Jin Guangshan’s head and asks as calmly as he can, not succeeding at all as the Jins notice a tightness on his voice, the edge of his anger-- a feeling they believe comes from missing the opportunity to kill the remnants of the clan that murdered his father.
“Have his invention been destroyed?”
Jin Guangyao shares a quick look with his father. “No one has dared inside the cave, the men are searching around the ruins and near what’s left of the Yiling patriarch. If there is anything left of the stygian tiger seal it must be secured and destroyed. “
Nie Mingjue nods with tense muscles. “Of course, his villainy cannot endure.” Making a show of squaring his shoulders and looking down at the ruins he sneers, “ I’ll go inside the cave and destroy what I find.”
Jin Guangshan pats him on the shoulder with a nervous smile. “Surely such a tiresome task is not fit for a man like you, sect leader Nie.”
Nie Mingjue raises a sharp eyebrow, the coolness inside his soul mark fueling his anger. “ A man like me? Is sect leader Jin implying I shrink away from my duty to our world?”
Baxia’s spirit is almost jumping out in joy, all they need is an excuse to kill this disgusting excuse of a cultivator. Sadly, Jin Guangyao intervened on behalf of his father.
“Da-ge, forgive my father he meant no offense. It's just no one knows what kind of dark artifacts await inside the cave, and if something were to happen to you it would be a devastating blow to QingheNie.”
Holding back a snort, Mingjue makes eye contact with the slimy sect leader that envied his soulmate’s power. Dark honey clashes with muddy brown. “ I had no idea sect leader Jin cared so much about my person. Nonetheless, I insist, how I can walk away from here knowing I left such dangerous things in the hands of someone else, someone whose hands are weaker than mine.”
Then with an almost imperceptible nod to his sworn brother, Nie Mingjue and his disciples march straight up to the demon slaughtering cave. He tells his men to wait outside and only allows Zonghui to come with him, his cousin had been the only one to know about his and Wei Wuxian’s relationship, and that was only because he caught Mingjue sneaking into Yiling a few months ago.
As they enter the cave the lingering smell of spices and lotus mixed with blood hits his nose, Nie Mingjue has to brace himself against the cold stone, this was his lover's home. This was their safe space where they played with their son and napped together away from the Wens' knowing glances. This used to be their refuge and now it's filled with empty memories and corpses.
Baxia burns on his hand, urging him to go back outside and kill the cultivators celebrating over the dead bodies of his lover’s family. Instead, he bent down and retrieved a single red ribbon from the ground, it was bloodied but Wei Wuxian’s smell clung to it. Now that his soul mark was black, this would be the red on his wrist.
He found the broken paper butterfly buried on what once was their little nest, and his knees grew weak. A’ Yuan. He had not wanted to grow attached to the boy, and yet he had failed miserably since the first moment he saw the child curled against the crook of Wei Wuxian’s neck as they slept together in the cold coziness of the cave. At some point, A’ Yuan had stopped being ‘that little Wen’ and became his son, their son.
Nie Mingjue’s hand tightened on the toy, nearly snapping it in half before he regained his senses. If only he’d moved faster, if he’d only found a way to keep them safe, to protect his little family. His golden core buzzed in distress and he forced himself to breathe. Dying here would be of no use to their memories, of no use for his revenge. A cruel grimace twisted his lips, if it was up to him the rest of the sects would be bathed in red by morning.
Nie Mingjue carefully secured his treasures in his sash, gestured to his cousin and they began to dig the mess of Wei Wuxian’s notes. They burnt every single design and talisman that was incomplete, but the schematics of his inventions like the compass of evil they stocked safely inside their qiankun pouches. In the end, Mingjue knew half of Wei Wuxian’s writings were missing, that Guangyao had most likely lied to him, but comforted himself in the knowledge that at least he had more than half of his lover's creations. That he had more than just memories to remember him by.
With one last look around the cave, he took a deep breath and steeled himself to place an indifferent face in front of the vultures outside. But as he stepped out into the death-charged air of the mountain he realized his disciples were the only ones left in the ruins of the settlement. Relief flooded his core, he was in no mood to see Jiang Wanyin’s ugly face.
Exhaling softly he made a gesture for his men to a group and prepare to leave. There was nothing left for him in the burial mounds but sadness and grief, the echo of happier days, and the ghosts of his family.
“Sect Leader,” bowed one of his many cousins, an eager glow on his eyes. “Sect leader Jin asked me to inform you there is to be a celebration banquet at Carp Tower, and that they expect your presence as soon as you finish destroying the Yiling Patriarch's profanities.”
Nie Mingjue rubbed his wrist where A’ Yings ribbon was tied, a silly gesture to calm his raging heart. “ Go and tell sect leader Jin I will not attend, there is a matter I must deal with. Tell him I expect his hospitality to be extended to my disciples as they will be there in representation of QingheNie.”
There were small cheers and bright smiles across his men as they bowed to him and expressed their gratitude. Feeling odd around their celebrating spirits, Nie Mingjue dismissed them and watched as they flew away ready to celebrate the death of the Yiling patriarch, of the man that if fate had been kinder would have been their sect leader’s spouse.
A hand landed on his shoulder. “ Let's go home, cousin. I’ll help you with his funeral.”
Hysteria bubbled on Nie Mingjue’s chest, he’d never thought he’d be the one burying A’ Ying. He’d always anticipated it would be the opposite, that it would have been Wei Wuxian in white and burning ghost paper for him. A strange drowning feeling squeezed his heart, there was an itch on the back of his eyes, something he’d never felt before. Nie Mingjue tightened his fists and gave his cousin a thankful glance, but as he was about to reply a red shadow on the corner of his eye caught his attention.
It was a ghost, floating on the ruins of the path that led to the deepest part of the ruined settlement. But it was not any ghost, it was the dead concubine Wei Wuxian used to send messages between Yiling and the Unclean Realm. Mingjue’s breath got stuck on his throat, a river of unrestrained hope began to flow on his veins. Before he even knew it he was running after the ghost, dodging tree branches and black bushes until they reached an enormous tree with a hollow base. The ghost stopped next to its trunk. One long, sharp fingernail pointed at the inside of the base, her lips moving in silent words. ( Chengqin had been her voice and now it was out of her reach.) Nie Mingjue stepped closer until he could see the inside of the hole, a gasp escaped his lips as he dove forward and all but snatched A-Yuan out of there.
Their son was alive! A’ Ying had secured their son, he had ordered his ghosts to keep the child safe long enough so that Mingjue could find him. His knees buckled and he clutched A’ Yuan to his chest, his fingers digging into the child's pulse point, letting out a wounded sound once he felt that steady pulse under his fingers.
There was a muffled exclamation against his robes, “Die!” A’ Yuan had woken up from all the jostling, his little hands pressed against Mingjue’s chest and smiled up drowsily at the older man.
“A’ Yuan.” Breathed Nie Mingjue, securing the boy in his arms so that his face would be hidden on Mingjue’s massive pectorals. “Sleep, I’m here. It will be alright.”
A’ Yuan yawned widely, his little teeth on display, before snuggling into his father’s chest and going back to sleep ignorant to the horrors that had taken place around him. Standing up, Nie MIngjue gave one firm nod to the ghostly concubine who vanished back into the shadows and made his way back to his worried cousin. He had a son to take home, and heavens cursed the fool that dared to try and take the child away from him.
His brother was carrying a child!
Nie Huaisang was sure his brain was malfunctioning. This cannot be possible. His muscle beast, saber demon of a brother, was making cute faces at the sleepy-looking child in his arms; and the child was laughing .
“Die!” cries the boy, fully waking up just as Huaisang gathers his courage to march towards them. “Die, where is A’ Niang? A’ Niang went for radishes?”
Nie Huaisang tumbles as his brain short circuits, because as soon as his nephew - he has a Nephew- finishes his questioning Mingjue falls to his knees right there in the middle of their private courtyard, clutching the child to his chest with such force Huaisang fears the boy may suffocate.
“A’ Niang is gone, A’ Yuan.”
Oh brother . Huaisang takes a step closer and kneels next to Mingjue. “Da-ge?”
Da-ge looks up to meet his eyes, he is not crying, Nie’s can´t cry, his brother is incapable of even thinking of it-- but it's a close call. Mingjue’s eyes are devastated as if his soul had been ripped from his body and the wound left to fester, and rot in the wild. He reaches to touch his brother’s shoulder and changes his mind mid-way; Huaisang envelops his Da-ge on an awkward hug full of odd angles.
Defeatedly Mingjue rests his head on Huaisang’s bony shoulder and sighs out a sound full of pain. “They killed him, A’ Sang. And I did nothing!”
Shakingly Huaisang draws calming circles on Mingjue’s back. “Da-ge? What happened? I thought you were in Yiling with the rest of them?”
Because Huaisang had woken up to the news that-- despite his weeks of protests and talks-- his beloved Da-ge had decided to join the siege against his dear friend, the friend that even in poverty had found a way to send Huaisang a beautiful painting of the burial mounds for his birthday. The friend that had always been willing to listen . For his Da-ge to return in such a state and with such cargo, it made no sense.
Mingue removes his head from Huaisang’s shoulder and stares into his brother's eyes, it was beyond time he told his didi the truth. Placing A’ Yuan on the ground between his thighs he pats the boy’s head, A’ Yuan sniffs and hides his face on his father’s leg.
“Do you remember,” begins Nie Mingjue, “what I told you when you asked me to spare Wei Wuxian?”
Startled by the unexpected subject, Huaisang blinks dumbly and replies. “ You said I didn’t have to beg you for his life.”
“And you should never have. I’m sorry I never told you, but I never found the right time to let you know.” Whispers Mingjue, his fingers playing with his son’s matted hair.
There is an opening inside the soulbond they share, the feelings that reach Huaisang are so full of regret he has to slam the bond shut to avoid the overwhelming feeling of failure that clouds his Da-ge’s soul. Wide-eyed, Nie Huaisang watched as Nie Mingjue rolled up his sleeves and displayed the black words of a dead soulmate.
“Wei Wuxian was my soulmate, we were planning on getting married once the war was over. This is our son, Nie Yuan." Mingjue takes a shaky breath. "All the times you came at me and begged on his behalf, I was already working on how to protect us from the repercussions of bringing him home. I was so close, A’ Sang. So close ...and then Qiongqi path happened.” There is a fragile edge on his brother’s voice, it is a sound Huainsang has never heard before and he hates it. He hates the sadness that glazes his Da-ge’s eyes. He hates that Da-ge never mentioned something so important, that he did not trust Huaisang. They could have done so much more had they worked together. Huaisang wants to scream at his brother.
“It was not your fault,” he says instead and means it. It was not Da-ge’s fault that things turned out as horrendously as they did. Huaisang’s crestfallen eyes land on his nephew’s blotchy face, this child has already lost a parent due to Da-ge’s silence and the Jins attack, Huaisang is not letting him lose another to grief. Standing up he collects his nephew into his arms, his muscles burn under the weight of the child but Huaisang forces himself to carry him. “Come on Da-ge, Ying-Xiong's funeral is not going to plan itself. I’ll make his name plaque myself.”
“Huaisang…”
“Shush Da-ge.” Huaisang gives his downcast brother a watery smile. “Let’s drink together tonight, once my nephew has burned paper for his mother. Then we’ll talk, Da-ge.”
Once Wei Wuxian’s name plaque had joined their ancestral hall, hidden unless you knew where to look, the brothers drowned jar after jar of wine. They screamed at each other, they raged and sobbed, they destroyed cups and furniture as they grieved for a friend and a lover. Not one tear was shed but the building feeling of sorrow and anger was exchanged constantly between them, their soul marks heating up at their combined mourn. When the morning came and all words were said, the Nie brothers emerged from the destroyed room with the same goal in mind: protect Nie Yuan, protect themselves. And Huaisang’s new absolute rule, no more secrets between them.
Despite that tiny rule, it took half a year for Mingjue to tell Huaisang the truth behind their hereditary Qi deviations and the price of wielding a saber such as Baxia. In shock, Huaisang threw his fan straight into Mingjue’s head and refused to speak to him for six days as he faced the reality that he may live in a world without his brother. On the seventh day, he stood before his brother and declared. “A’ Yuan will not wield a saber until we’ve figured out how to stop Baxia from killing you.”
Wisely, under the never-before-seen heat in Huaisang’s eyes, Nie Mingjue surrenders and agrees. It is too bad their research would come to a crashing end under the poisonous notes of Jin Guanyao’s guqin in a few years.