1Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! This came to me on a whim and overtook the other fics I was working on so enjoy :)
Dec 9 2019:
I just saw Episode 48-50 and realised there was a reconciliation of sorts between Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng in the GuanYin temple with Lan Zhan, ZeWu Jun and Jin Ling looking on. So... *blushes* this does render my fic rather AU. Sorry...!
Summary: Jin Ling has always defied his jiujiu (uncle) despite the man's numerous threats to break his legs. So really, what was once more if it could buy him peace of mind? A sob-fest where everyone ends up shedding tears. Except for Lil Apple who really couldn't care less.
Warnings: Spoilers for The Untamed TV series, tears, angst, almost crack, possible OOC-ness.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: The Untamed series is based on the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel which belongs to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu.
- Story Start -
Jin Ling fidgeted, lips pressed in a mutinous line as he marched along beside his jiujiu, Sect Leader Jiang. Jiujiu told him that Wei WuXian had long since gone off with HanGuang Jun, and that everyone should just return to their respective homes.
Jin Ling didn't want to do that. Not yet. He had something to say to Wei WuXian, and knew his jiujiu had something to say to him too despite his repeated denials. Jin Ling had wanted to speak to the Yiling Patriarch while they were in the Burial Mounds cave, but the cold suspicion on SiZhui, JingYi and even HanGuang Jun's faces as they stood protectively in front of the man had put him off.
He bristled at the memory. How dare they look at him like that especially SiZhui and JingYi!
Hadn't they become close after sharing so many adventures together?
Fine, only two adventures - pursued by ghost puppets in Yi City and tied up in the Burial Mounds cave - but still!
But even after all the younger disciples left, HanGuang Jun remained beside Wei WuXian like a permanent fixture at his side so Jin Ling chicke - uh, decided to wait for a more opportune moment. Then the clan elders arrived at Burial Mounds, jiujiu was yelling his name and there was no more opportunity to talk.
Speaking of Burial Mounds, how could such an awful, depressing place have been someone's home?! Granted, it had been destroyed and then abandoned for sixteen years so it likely looked worse than it had but still...! He never wanted to set foot in such a dark and dismal place ever again, a thousand light years away from the golds and teals of bright, clean LanLing City.
But that cave had been home to Wei WuXian.
Argh, he was digressing!
Back to SiZhui, JingYi, Zizhen and the others. It wasn't like he would miss them or anything. But despite their squabbling - and being called the 'emotional Young Mistress Jin' - it had been fun going around with a group of people his age who didn't keep comparing him to his late father or reminding him of his responsibilities as Sect Leader heir or threatening to break his legs. They just treated him like he was one of them.
But after refusing to put down his sword in front of the Ghost General and then breaking down in tears, what would they think of him now?
The nickname 'emotional Baby Jin' came to mind. As did a future that didn't include anymore night hunts with the other disciples.
Jin Ling would have stamped his foot if he weren't briskly trotting along, trying to keep up with his jiujiu's long stride. They would be sorry if they didn't invite him to the next hunt and got themselves killed by ghost puppets or fierce corpses or something!
And speaking of sorry...
They were the ones who should say Sorry to him - SiZhui, JingYi, even HanGuang Jun - for standing in his way when he wanted to talk, just talk, to Wei WuXian! Looking down at him - HanGuang Jun using his greater height to his advantage - with such hurtful suspicion...
Did they honestly think he would stab the man again?
It... it was all that Jin GuangYao's fault, reminding him of what the Yiling Patriarch had done. Of course Jin Ling wanted his revenge! And he had taken it. He had avenged his parents' honour at the bottom of the steps of Koi Tower!
But why did it feel like the most shameful thing he had ever done? Why did he feel even worse than before, when he should be feeling relived and vindicated?
Wei WuXian hadn't even retaliated, just muttered something about how jiujiu had apparently stabbed him in the same spot as blood dripped from his mouth.
Wei WuXian who had taken care of them at Yi City and again at the Burial Mounds.
Wei WuXian who had teased them and answered their questions and taught them new things and fed them warm food.
The memory of that glutinous rice congee made Jin Ling shudder. Worst. Dish. Ever. But seeing his frien - the other disciples coughing and choking had admittedly been hilarious!
Jin Ling stopped walking, a half smile pulling up his lips before they turned down again. He stared at the ground and gulped, that nagging ache in his chest growing stronger. Something hot pricked at his eyes and he blinked angrily, not daring to wipe them.
If only he could see Wei WuXian again. Just for a few minutes. Just long enough to-
"Jin Ling. Jin Ling!"
Jin Ling looked up, peering at a blurry version of his jiujiu.
"What is it? Is it the guzhin string cut? Does it hurt?"
Jin Ling blinked, having forgotten all about the cut at his throat. Jiujiu's voice was softer than usual and he actually looked concerned for once. Jin Ling felt even more like bursting into tears, but now wasn't the time for that. Sucking in a deep breath, he pulled back his emotions and buried them deep inside him. Then he looked around, ignoring the other Jiang disciples staring at him.
He had always been a fast runner, hadn't he?
There was still time.
With that thought in mind, he spun around and started to run.
"Oi! Where're you going?" Jiujiu sounded bewildered.
"I'll be back soon, jiujiu! Wait for me here!"
"What the hell's gotten into you?!" Now jiujiu sounded furious. He would threaten to break Jin Ling's legs any moment now.
"Get back here or I'll break your legs!"
Jin Ling just ran faster. He was surprised when he passed by the GuanYin temple sooner than expected, and hurtled past ZeWu Zun and Nie HuaiSang. He didn't stop at the latter calling his name in surprise. He just kept going, arms swinging, legs pumping, robes flapping against them, pounding heart fit to burst from his chest. More shouts sounded behind him. They sounded familiar, but he didn't stop until he spotted them in the distance, just beside the small dirt path.
That accursed donkey, two figures in black, two in white and one of them clinging to the Yiling Patriarch's legs.
By now, Jin Ling was out of breath, almost staggering by the time he reached the little group.
"Jin Ling! Wait up!" That sounded like Zizhen.
"Why are you still here?" That was JingYi.
The four people in the group turned around, Wei WuXian tugging a sniffling SiZhui to his feet who promptly covered his face with his hands.
"Jin Ling, what happened? Is it Sect Leader Jiang?"
Falling onto his knees and nursing a fierce stitch in his side, Jin Ling shook his head and just focused on getting more air into his lungs before he passed out. For some strange reason, Wei WuXian and SiZhui were already teary eyed, but that couldn't possibly be his fault.
With his clenched fists resting on his knees, Jin Ling bowed.
"Wei WuXian! I mean, Wei Qianbei! I swear I wasn't going to stab you again in the cave!"
"Jin Ling."
Someone crouched before him and a warm hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing it.
"I know."
Jin Ling's head snapped up and he looked into warm eyes, catching a glint of fond humour in their wet depths. He inhaled, tried to hold it in, but his lungs felt like they were about to explode and he coughed instead.
"Did you run all the way back here just to tell me that? Here, stand up." Two hands grabbed his arms and tugged.
Jin Ling resisted, shaking his head.
"Come on, get up. Sect Leader Jiang will flay me with Zidian if he sees you kneeling like this." Again, Wei WuXian tried to pull him up and again he failed. "Lan Zhan, help me."
"I'm sorry! And thank you!" Jin Ling cried before he lost his nerve.
"What-"
"At Koi Tower! You told me that a man should learn these two phrases, right? So I'm sorry for stabbing you! And thank you for teaching me that move against Jin Chan! And for taking care of us at Yi City! And rescuing us at Burial Mounds!"
A silence fell, broken only by his still too fast breathing, and a strangled sob that sounded like ZiZhen's. Jin Ling peeped around at the shocked faces looking back at him. Lil Apple looked bored, chewing at whatever was in his mouth. HanGuang Jun looked... approving?
Kind of hard to tell, really.
Then Jin Ling looked back to Wei WuXian who had even more tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Thanks accepted, Jin Ling. But don't apologise for that... other one. I deserved it."
"Wei Ying. No." HanGuang Jun crouched down beside him.
"I must apologise," Jin Ling insisted. "I'm sorry!"
"Don't, Jin Ling. I deserved it."
"Wei Ying, enough. You already paid for that with your life." HanGuang Jun removed a snowy white cloth from one of his sleeves and started dabbing at Wei Ying's cheeks.
"It's not enough." Already emotional, Wei Ying broke down. "It w-won't ever be enough. Shijie... Jin ZiXuan..."
"I'm so sorry!" Jin Ling tried again.
"Wei Ying, no."
Jin Ling clenched his fists even tighter, not even feeling the bite of his nails in his flesh. His eyes were burning again.
"Don't interrupt me when I'm trying to apologise!" He almost yelled only to cringe when the two of them turned to him in surprise, a most splendid frown settling upon HanGuang Jun's brow. "Argh, I'm sorry for that too!"
"Jin Ling. Stop. Just... stop."
A pair of shaking arms enfolded him and pulled him forward into a tight hug.
Oh.
Wei Qianbei felt warm, so warm. Was this what a hug was supposed to feel like?
Being so close to another person you could smell them and hear their breathing and even feel their heartbeat against your palm?
Then he was pulled to his feet by an iron grip on his arm - ow - and all of a sudden, there were more hands everywhere, patting his hair, clapping his shoulders, slapping his back - wait, who was that trying to grope his rear?!
There were also cheers and laughter and someone blowing his nose hard, honking like a goose. Jin Ling couldn't breathe, he was going to suffocate and pass out. But he didn't want to let go. He didn't want to be the first to let go.
It was Wei Qianbei who released him first, giving him a tearful smile before grabbing the cloth from HanGuang Jun to mop his own face, and then Jin Ling's.
"D-don't touch my face with that, it's got your snot all over it!"
"That was a very nice apology, young Master Jin," SiZhui said. His eyes still sparkled with tears, but his words were as polite and his smile as gentle as always.
"So dramatic, just like a novel!" ZiZhen was still sniffling away into his sleeve. Ugh. Sentimental fool.
"Young Mistress Jin gets more and more emotional everyday." JingYi's nose was red, but his grin looked positively evil.
"Shut up!" Jin Ling glared at him, dashing away his tears. He glanced at the Ghost General, but only received a nod and what looked like a painful attempt at a smile.
"Jin Ling! There you are!"
Everyone gave a collective wince and turned around.
"Uh oh," Jin Ling muttered.
"How dare you make me follow you all the way back here? What the hell is going on?!"
Jiujiu stalked towards them, purple sparks crackling around his right wrist, the other Jiang disciples behind him.
In a blink, the others formed a protective line in front of Jin Ling and Wei Qianbei.
"Get over here at once!"
"Jiujiu, just wait a minute," Jin Ling tried.
"Get over here right now!"
Then Wei Qianbei gently pushed HanGuang Jun and SiZhui aside and took a step forward. Not to be outdone, Jin Ling pushed JingYi aside - less gently, and no, it wasn't because of that detested nickname - and stood beside Wei Qianbei, shoulders back, chin up.
"Sect Leader Jiang, your nephew learned two very important phrases today," Wei Qianbei said with great respect, his hand warm on Jin Ling's shoulders. It felt... nice.
Jiujiu opened his mouth and closed it again, looking oddly afraid to ask.
"What?"
"'I'm sorry' and 'Thank you'. And I'm ashamed to say he beat me to it."
Wei Qianbei dropped to his knees, his action causing a few murmurs of surprise among their audience.
"Sect Leader Jiang, I'm sorry too. And thank you for taking care of me."
With great ceremony, he bowed until his forehead touched the ground.
"Get up! Get up! Who the hell do you think you are, prostrating yourself like that?!" Jiujiu raged and stormed over, face red and Zidian crackling even louder. He came to an abrupt halt when HanGuang Jun suddenly materialised in front of him, but peered around him, still shouting.
"And why are you calling me that! You've always called me Jiang Cheng!"
To everyone's shock, he pushed HanGuang Jun aside, fell to his knees and shuffled forward, throwing his arms around a stunned Wei Qianbei.
"I'm sorry too! I've always wanted to tell you that. And thank you. Always wanted to tell you that too, you idiot!"
And that, Jin Ling would forever swear, was the exact moment the figurative floodgates swung wide open.
"B-both my sleeves are already s-soaked!" Zizhen wailed, as dramatic as usual. "JingYi, l-lend me yours!"
"G-get away from me," JingYi blubbered. "Jin Ling, help!"
Ghost General Wen Ning looked like he was attempting to smile and cry at the same time, one hand awkwardly patting SiZhui's back as the latter cried into his shoulder.
Even HanGuang Jun managed to squeeze out a few pretty tears.
Lil Apple continued chewing, looking done with the whole thing.
The other Jiang disciples cried equally noisy tears, interspersed with cries of 'Sect Leader Jiang!' and 'Wei-xiong!'
But loudest of all were jiujiu and Wei Qian - no, dajiu, still kneeling on the ground, hugging and sobbing fit to raise the dead. It was truly an utterly mortifying sight.
One that Jin Ling wouldn't exchange for anything.
- Story End -
A/N: Thank you for reading! So not how it happened in canon, but I couldn't stand how open ended that was. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it, OK? :)
