Whatever else happened, it wasn't his fault.

~JIANG CHENG'S POV~

It was late at night when Wei Ying finally arrived at Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng had been waiting for him, and rushed out of his room when he had heard the news. Dragging his lover behind him, Jiang Cheng ran up to his brother.

He eyed Wei Ying. His brother had suffered multiple cuts, albeit shallow ones. Jiang Cheng wanted him to go to a healer, but the other had brushed it off, saying that it was no big deal.

"Why are you so fucking stubborn?" Jiang Cheng growled, grabbing Wei Ying's arm, preparing to drag him away.

"Don't be a prick Cheng Cheng," Wei Ying shot back, pulling his arm away. He was delighted to go back to their bantering ways.

"You're the prick!"

"Cheng Cheng, don't be such a baby," Wei Ying tsked. "Zewu Jun won't marry you if you keep acting like that."

Jiang Cheng blushed as a deep red bloomed across his cheeks. "Shut up!"

"Ha! Cheng Cheng you should've seen your face! It was priceless!" Wei Ying hooted, doubling over in laughter. "You looked like a crushing maiden!"

"SHUT UP!" Jiang Cheng bellowed, blush deepening.

Wei Ying wiped away tears of laughter as he let his gaze wander across Lotus Pier. A strong sense of nostalgia washed over him as a surge of yearning overcame him. The Lotus Pier before him was the same, an exact replica of the one from his memories. But at the same time, it was different. Different because there was no Shijie there to welcome him, no Madame Yu there to scold him. All of the people of the past were gone. All buried under dirt and rubble.

Jiang Cheng watched his brother, completely understanding the look of longing in his eyes. Lotus Pier might look the same, but it'll never be the same. There will never be that same liveliness and joy that used to fill the air. Never will there be the same servants chattering about, the same tender looks and concerned smiles. Jiang Cheng won't be able to see the disciples he grew up with, he'll never hear their council ever again. His mother won't be there to scold him, his father won't be there to disappoint him.

Jiang Cheng might've been able to rebuild Lotus Pier, might've been able to bring the Yunmeng Jiang Sect back to all its former glory- but it was an empty victory. What was the point of being Sect Leader when there was no one there beside you? What use was it to be feared and respected, when there was no one there to love you? Why train till your knuckles bleed, when there was no one there to treat you?

If he could trade Yunmeng Jiang for his parents and Shijie? Why he would do it in a second.

A sad smile flittered across Jiang Cheng's face. "Let's go," he murmured, making his way to the Swords Hall. Sects were filing in as leaders scurried about. The Siege of Burial Mounds had resulted in heavy casualties. Sect Leader Yao and Su She were killed, while a few other minor sects had been completely wiped out. It was only thanks to Wei Wuxian, that the rest had even managed to make it out alive.

Jiang Cheng nodded at the few Sect Leaders that had attached themselves to him and Lan Xichen.

"Oh Sect Leader Jiang, did you know that my disciples nearly died? Why after this, I must ask for Sect Leader Jiang's guidance. I heard that Yunmeng is famous for it's sword-skills. Would Sect Leader Jiang be so kind as to help?" chimed the Baling Ouyang Sect Leader. Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, giving a hasty nod. Anything to get rid of the old geyser.

As he rounded the corner, he was met with two women and his head disciple. The disciple was fumbling nervously, and his face lit up in relief when he saw Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen. "Sect Leader Jiang! Zewu Jun!"

Jiang Cheng arched a brow. His head disciple was a calm and composed young man. For him to act this flustered, clearly something big was up. "What?"

"W-Well you see... uhm these two ladies wanted to talk to you about Lian-Fang Zun. It seemed they were ahh, uh..." he trailed off cringing. "...wronged by him before," the young man stuttered, stumbling over his words.

Wronged? Jin Guangyao wouldn't be so low as to resort to rape would he?

Jiang Cheng's brows furrowed. "Very well. You may follow me," he said, inclining his head to the Swords Hall.

"Xichen?" he murmured when he saw his lovers face turn pale.

"I'm alright Wanyin," Lan Xichen replied, his voice shaky.

Jiang Cheng immediately cupped a hand to his cheek. "Hey, listen to me. It's not your fault okay? Whatever happens, you're not alone. You're not at fault here."

Lan Xichen gently covered Jiang Cheng's hand with his own, "I know."

"Good," Jiang Cheng said, giving a decisive nod. "Let's go then."

-------

"So you mean that Jin Guangyao killed his father? And he used you to do it?" Jiang Cheng asked fixing a look at the young woman before him.

"Yes Sect Leader," the woman replied, trembling under the weight of his stare. Her name was Sisi right?

"Then he killed all of your sisters, but somehow left you alive? Why?" Jiang Cheng asked, perplexed. Jin Guangyao was a clever man, he would never leave any evidence behind. How could he not see the consequences of keeping her alive? If anyone were to find Sisi- well it was better to be wrong than sorry.

"Because Sisi took care of his mother," Wei Ying's voice piped up in the corner. He had been standing in the shadows, and with his dark robes, he nearly blended in with the wall.

"What?"

"Jin Guangyao grew up in a brothel. His mother was a prostitute, and was often picked on by other women. They would mock her for being educated, and hounded her endlessly. Sisi defended his mother, and ended up getting those scars on her face. Say what you will about Jin Guangyao, but the man is filial, if nothing else."

"And how do you know this?" Jiang Cheng asked, brows furrowing.

"I performed Empathy on Chuan Han's corpse." Wei Ying paused, tilting his head. "Or I guess you could say he performed Empathy on me."

"What?"

"Chuan Han was Jin Guangyao's childhood friend, he grew up with him in the brothel. Later, Jin Guangyao had Su She kill him when he walked in on them strangling his son."

Jiang Cheng frowned. He didn't like this one bit. Jin Guangyao was a monster. He killed his father, his brother, his friends, his son- he killed everyone. And he did it in cold blood. To have him be portrayed as a filial son was not the impression he wanted to leave.

"What about her? What about Bicao?" one of the minor sect leaders chimed, pointing at the servant girl in front of him.

"Ah yes, Bicao," Jiang Cheng cleared his throat, gesturing at the young maiden. "You said that Jin Guangyao married his own sister?"

"Yes Sect Leader. I remember the days before our Young Mistress, Qin Su's wedding, my lady was in a foul mood. She would often cry herself to sleep, lamenting about her misfortune. At first, I didn't really think much about it. I thought that she was just sad that Young Mistress was leaving, and so I would often comfort her. I told her what a good man Lian-Fang Zun was and how he would definitely treat our mistress well. But who knew! At those words, my lady would sob even harder! And it wasn't until she was on her death bed when she finally told me: Jin Guangyao and our Young Mistress... they were never husband and wife- they were a pair of siblings!"

Gasps of outrage echoed through the hall. "That Jin Guangshan, he even touched Sect Leader Qin's wife?" the Baling Ouyang Sect Leader exclaimed, bursting with righteous indignation. "Sect Leader Qin was Jin Guangshan's loyal friend and ally! How dare he force himself upon his wife!"

"So that's what Wei Wuxian was saying in the cave! Remember how he said that Jin Guangyao killed his own son? Well now it makes sense!" one of the Lan Sect's foreign disciples chimed in. "With siblings, nine times out of ten, the child is retarded. When the kid is little, no one can tell, but as they grow older, it'll become more and more obvious. People would say that it was Jin Guangyao's prostitute blood that made the child this way, and he would bring shame to Jin Sect. Oh and do you guys remember? When Jin Guangyao was still trying to become His Excellency, the people that opposed him, were also the ones found guilty of his son's death! That can't possibly be a coincidence, right?"

"Yes, yes, that makes sense," another disciple agreed, "How dare that Jin Guangyao! You remember the only way he was even able to become His Excellency, was by sucking up to Chi-Feng Zun and Zewu Jun!"

"Exactly! Otherwise that son of a whore could never get to where he is now!" someone else spat, glaring at Jin Ling.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "What Jin Guangyao did has nothing to do with the Lanling Jin Sect. It has nothing to do with Xichen or Jin Ling. That bastard made his own choices, and if I see one more of you blame his mistakes on my nephews head, you will answer to me." he slammed his cup down, glaring at the crowd. "Are we clear?" he asked Zidian crackling on his hand. 

"C-Clear S-Sect Leader Jiang!"

"Hmph. Very well then. Enjoy your stay. I'll have my disciples arrange rooms for you." he gestured at his head disciple. "Tomorrow, we'll discuss taking further action." he thundered, scowling at his guests. These idiots. They were making his head hurt.

"Yes Sect Leader!"

-------

"Jiang Cheng," Wei Ying nodded when he saw his brother enter the Ancestral Hall. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Their bond had improved significantly over the last few weeks, but he didn't want to push it. There was 13 years of hatred and old grievances still between them. Jiang Cheng might not hate him anymore, but that didn't mean he was ready to forgive him. 

Wei Ying put down the three sticks of incense he was about to light. "I was just leaving," he whispered on his way out. 

Jiang Cheng grabbed his arm, "Stay." 

Surprise flickered across Wei Ying's face as he looked at Jiang Cheng with uncertainty. "Are you sure?" 

Jiang Cheng snorted, "I asked you to stay didn't I?" 

Wei Ying's eyes shone with relief and he knelt down on the floor beside him. Each held three sticks of incense in front of them as they bowed to their ancestors. Truth to be told, Jiang Cheng didn't even know why he invited his brother. It was a spur of the moment decision, and he had grabbed his brother's hand out of instinct. 

Now though, he was quite glad he did. 

The look on Wei Ying's face had been worth it. 

A small grin curved on Jiang Cheng's face when he saw the joy in his brother's eyes. They had seen far to much, and suffered through all the highs and lows. There was a long way to go before they could truly put the past behind them. It would be a long time coming before Jiang Cheng could look his brother in eye, and feel nothing but glee and delight. 

But kneeling here, with his brother by his side, gazing up at the tablets of his ancestors, Jiang Cheng felt a stone in his chest finally settle. 

No matter what happened from here, it would all be alright.