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Part 5 of Love Both Gentle & Sure, Part 13 of MDZS Kink Meme 2020 Prompt Fills , Part 7 of MDZS Kink Meme 2020 Multi-Chapter Prompt Fills
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Mó Dào Zǔ Shī | The Untamed Kink Meme 2020
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Published:
2020-10-24
Updated:
2021-05-06
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21,202
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6/15
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115
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450
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8,243

As The Sun Goes Down

Summary:

Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanli started exchanging letters and became friends after he reached out to her in compassion following the end of her betrothal with Jin Zixuan. He helps her grasp the courage to move on, as well as figuring out how to begin developing her cultivation effectively; and the two of them influence each other in ways that make both of their lives better.

Over time, they eventually fall in love.

When the Wen Sect launches their devastating attacks, they each come face to face with war, death, and destruction. As time goes on, they continue to grow closer; particularly with all the time spent in the war camps over the course of the Sunshot Campaign. It's hard to handle everything alone, but it's also just that much easier to deal with it all together.

Especially the most daunting yet important task of all - looking after their precious little brothers.

Notes:

Notes about how I filled this at the end. I hope this is what you were looking for! (De-anon, please!)

Prompt:
So we know canon-wise that JYL is not a strong Cultivator, but what if JYL just has a different affinity towards non-martial Cultivation that her parents failed to cultivate? What if JYL realizes this and sets out to learn as much as she could about non-martial Cultivation, and requests access to the famed Cloud Recesses library to study.
As her visits become routine, JYL starts interacting with LXC and they bond over being the eldest child with a lot of very specific pressures and responsibility, amongst other things. I just want these two very selfless elder siblings to be doted upon by each other and doing nice things for each other because heavens knows these two don't get pampered or prioritized enough.
Bonus :
+ JYL cooks for LXC somewhere in the fic and LXC realizes that he misses having a meal cooked just for him
+ LXC standing up (very subtly but VERY passive-aggressively) for JYL in front of other Cultivators
+ JYL and LXC as a terrifyingly amicable and smiling political duo. Imagine!
Any rating is fine, you can go from shy Victorian handholding to "ohh it's always the quiet ones who's the most kinky", I got no squicks.

Chapter 1: A New Resolve

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Jiang Yanli slipped into her bedroom. Making her way over to her bed, she sat on the edge, holding her head in shaking hands as she tried not to cry. 

The thing was, she knew her mother hadn't meant to be hurtful. 

As cruel as Yu Ziyuan often was, she didn't actually want to hurt her children. She simply knew no other way to be; to communicate or express herself. 

Yanli knew this. 

She had certainly reassured A-Cheng often enough about it.

(A-Xian too; though that was much more difficult since her mother did mean to hurt him, and he knew it. They all did.) 

But her mother had a way of unconsciously pinpointing the places where her barbs would cut the deepest, and when her sharp tongue flew it often cut precisely where it hurt the most. For all that she tried to tend the wounds Madam Yu left on her little brothers’ hearts, that simply meant that there really was no one to tend to her own. 

Her father was not dependable for anything that involved him going against their mother if he could possibly manage it, after all. 

For such a kind, caring man, he was incredibly selfish and unfeeling when it came to his family. He never hesitated to abandon his children to his wife's cruel temper; so long as it would shift at least part of the storm away from himself. Never stood up for them, or refuted her words with anything more than a few trite comments here or there. 

Granted, Yanli knew full-well that Jiang Fengmian was not nearly so altruistic as he seemed. 

One of the benefits to being the quiet one, the one who was frequently overlooked, was that she was able to observe others unimpeded; often without them even being aware she was watching. This granted her a great deal of insight into the various members of her household, and she attempted to use this deeper understanding of her family to create harmony to the best of her abilities. 

However her understanding of her father meant that she was aware that he was entirely capable of being ruthless in his own way. 

Perhaps the best example of this was his cold-blooded acquisition of A-Xian; taking him in from the street and raising him alongside his own children, but never completing any sort of formal adoption or fostering arrangement – making his status and official standing quite precarious and uncertain. Despite his position as Head Disciple, he wasn't actually even listed as a disciple of their Sect.

This meant that he was legally considered an indentured servant of the Jiang; and that he and any children he had – and so on down his bloodline – would be required to serve the Jiang Sect in whatever capacity they demanded. 

In short; legally, he was little more than a slave. Since he was not listed anywhere in the records as a person, he was considered property. And since A-Xian grew up believing that his standing was not only normal, but the way things were supposed to be, he would never even dream of trying to complain or change things. 

As his parents had both been free, this was a deep insult. It would have been an acceptable decision considering A-Xian's father had once been her father's servant – albeit one who was compensated for his work – since her father took the boy in from the streets. However, the fact that A-Xian's mother had been a well-known and highly-respected disciple of Baoshan Sanren made the very idea quite scandalous and disgraceful. Which was the only thing keeping her mother's loudly and frequently expressed opinions regarding A-Xian, his worth, and his status from being widely believed. 

(Not that it would stop anyone unscrupulous who had it in for him from using his ambiguous status to their own advantage or insulting him with it; but no one actually thought it was true.) 

Between that and the fact that he was given the position of Head Disciple without actually being listed as a disciple of their Sect, it was commonly accepted as fact that A-Xian was Jiang Fengmian's bastard whom he preferred to his legitimate heir, but could not acknowledge because of his wife. 

Yanli had not understood the intricacies or implications of all of this when she was younger, believing the lack of formal guardianship was unimportant and left undone simply to pacify their mother; now she understood that it had only fed the rumours and rendered her impotent to do anything but vent her anger on A-Xian himself. It was only due to her more recent study of politics due to her budding friendship with Lan-gongzi that she had gained a strong enough understanding of the situation at all. 

Though she had no idea what sort of plans her father might have for A-Xian, she doubted it was anything too awful; but she also felt it very likely the entire thing had been done that way for the sole purpose of ensuring A-Xian could never leave Lotus Pier the way his father had. 

The next most likely thought – that her father intended to one-day claim A-Xian as his heir and replace A-Cheng, should he ever decide that A-Cheng was unworthy – was not really something she could bear to think about. The fact that A-Xian would never agree would not stop the fact that their father had attempted it from destroying A-Cheng. 

There were other, less savoury possibilities; but on the whole, she thought she understood her father well enough to be sure that it had simply been done to keep A-Xian by his side for the rest of his life. 

Not terribly sinister in intention, but nevertheless rather cruel and very underhanded. 

It limited, constrained, and bound A-Xian in ways that Yanli dearly hoped would never hurt him. But only time would tell if he would one day discover just how severely his supposed benefactor had clipped his wings. 

For now, the worst part about it was the way that it set up A-Xian as a constant source of shame and wounded pride for their mother; and provided her with an attractive, easily accessible, and consistently available target for her to use to take out her stress and vent her rage.

(Privately, Yanli wondered whether that was also part of her father's intention in keeping the status of the older of her little brothers unsecured.) 

So no; Yanli was well aware that her father could be an incredibly selfish and thoughtless man, and it left her rather bitter to know that there was no deeper or more significant reason for him to allow his children to take the brunt of his wife's tantrums than simply being self-serving. 

Both of her parents were deeply flawed people, and while Yanli loved them and was more than willing to overlook their faults in favour of their good points, it could not change the fact that she knew they were there. 

Neither could it change the way it burned inside when their flaws hurt her or others that she loved. 

So there was no help and no comfort to be found from either of her parents now; her little brothers depended on her to be a source of strength and support for them, and would panic if they knew she was upset; and her friends were all servants who could not offer her the kind of understanding she wished for. 

But no – her thoughts came to a sudden halt. 

She did have another friend; a new friend, one who likely wasn't expecting to have to deal with these kinds of troubles, but... 

Well, Lan-gongzi had offered to listen to her if she needed to talk. 

They hadn't exchanged that many letters yet, so she was a bit nervous about the thought of pouring out her heart to him and confiding in him like this. However, this was exactly the sort of thing she needed a friend for. And he had assured her he was willing to listen if she wished to talk about her troubles. 

While he might have only been intending to refer to his offering of his sympathies over her recently broken engagement, there could be no harm in asking. Even if there was, at this moment, Yanli did not quite care

Wiping her eyes and drawing in a calming breath, she rose to her feet, making her way over to her dresser. 

She had a letter to write. 


Lan-gongzi, 

I hope this letter finds you well. 

I pray it will not be an imposition that I have written you again so soon after my last missive, but in your first letter, you had offered to be my confidant. I do not know if that was only intended to be regarding the matter of my cancelled betrothal to Jin-gongzi, or if you were willing to hear me out on other matters as well. If not, then I must beg your patience with the rest of this letter. 

If you are willing, however, I am struggling with something about which I would appreciate being able to speak to a friend. 

You may have heard the rumours about my weak cultivation. 

They are true; but not the whole truth. 

The fact is, that my Golden Core is entirely unsuited to martial cultivation. The various types of cultivation used by the Jiang Sect are nearly all martial in nature; therefore, I cannot cultivate to my full potential utilizing Jiang Sect methods. For that matter, Meishan Yu cultivation methods are also almost purely martial; there is little help to be had for me with techniques from my mother's home Sect either. 

While my parents could have sought out alternative methods for me to learn, it is not a favoured practice to seek out techniques from beyond one's own Sect. I am a daughter, not a son, and not my father's heir; thus it has never been a priority to him that I be a strong cultivator. 

My mother looks down on all non-martial cultivation methods; to her, the fact that I will never be a strong fighter makes me a disappointment who will never accomplish anything of worth. I am not the daughter she would wish for; not the daughter she wants. 

It is painful to be dismissed so wholly and completely by your own blood. 

To be derided and ridiculed by a parent; what's more, to have that parent not even intend to be insulting or hurtful – to them their cruel words are simply the truth, and you have no cause or excuse for being upset by it. 

Sometimes, it makes it hard to believe that I have worth outside of my cultivation. That I am more than my Golden Core, such as it is. 

There is nothing that can be done to change my mother's opinion of me, I'm afraid. Even if I was able to cultivate with a non-martial method, and could develop my Golden Core strongly, the fact that I am not and never will be suited for battle makes me weak and useless in her eyes. 

Perhaps this seems silly to you. Childish. 

I don't know. 

But I desperately need a friend right now, and just the thought that you might be willing to listen to me and understand my struggle – if only a little – is a great comfort. 

I suppose I just need to talk to someone; I have to be strong for my little brothers, so I cannot seek support from them. Something I am sure you can relate to, as an older sibling yourself. 

Similarly, I am friends with our servants; but the difference in our statuses keeps us from being true equals, and I can hardly speak to them about my dissatisfaction with the Lady of the household. 

My father is no help with anything to do with my mother – generally the opposite. 

So I have come to realise that you are the only friend I can confide in about this. 

I hope it isn't a bother. 

I also hope that you might be willing to offer me some advice. 

While there is nothing that will change my parents' opinions of me, I would like to improve my cultivation for myself. To prove to myself that I can do it; that I am not a weakling, for all that I am no warrior. I would like to be able to use my cultivation to benefit others, even if not by night hunting in the traditional way. 

However, as I said before; I do not have access to any non-martial methods of cultivation – only a few small bits and pieces scavenged together from the libraries of the Jiang and Yu Sects. Which is the same as having none at all. As you know, attempting to put together a cultivation plan piecemeal like that runs the risk of damaging one's core, or possibly even inciting a Qi Deviation. My reluctance to risk such severe consequences for an uncertain gain is understandable, I think. 

I know there are non-martial methods of cultivation out there; I simply do not have access to learn them. 

The same cannot be said, I suspect, for yourself. After all, Cloud Recesses’ library is renowned across the world for being the largest and most extensive collection of knowledge. Therefore, I would like to ask if you could offer any advice or suggestions for where I ought to focus my attention and my efforts. 

Please do not misunderstand – I am not asking you to research the matter for me; that would be unpardonably rude of me and place an unfeasible burden on your time, and I do realise that. 

Rather, I am simply inquiring if you have come across any information in your own studies that you think might be of use to me. 

Those which you are willing to share, of course. I understand that there are Sect secrets, and would never dream of asking after those. However, Cloud Recesses does regularly welcome guest disciples and grant them access to the library for independent study – as A-Cheng is doing now and A-Xian was prior to his expulsion. Since I am not male, I am not eligible to take those classes; but I believe the information available to guest disciples itself is not restricted to be offered only to males. 

As such, I am simply interested in learning if there is any publicly available information you have come across that would aid my own studies. Even if all you know of are vague generalisations, if there is anything in them that can give me a safe starting point, I might be able to forge my own path. 

Perhaps there is even a volume or two within my or my grandparents’ libraries which I had previously overlooked, that you could recommend I search for. 

I apologize if my request is unwelcome. 

It is not my intention to cause you any inconvenience or trouble. I have no wish to impose upon you, especially if it is unwanted. Please believe that I have no desire to do anything which would disturb you in any way. 

Words cannot express how grateful I am that you have offered me your friendship. I did not realise how sorely I needed such a thing until after it had already been granted. 

I hope that someday I can provide the same comfort to you as you have given to me. 

Sincerely, your friend, 

Jiang Yanli 

Notes:

This isn't exactly the same as the prompt, since JYL doesn't actually visit Cloud Recesses in this. She gets access to the library through her letter-writing with Xichen; he sends her copies of books and scrolls, and discusses things she's learning with her. Then he continues to assist her in her studies after the start of the war. If I hadn't seen this prompt I would have just written about her Cloud Recesses library studies as a short series of side-stories to the main fic I planned to write,
(AKA this one.)
So their in-person interaction doesn't really start until after the start of the Sunshot Campaign. I did it like that because I'm going off of the novel, where girls and guys were 100% segregated at CR, so if she had gone in person they wouldn't have ever been alone together or had much of a chance to build a relationship. Becoming penpals actually offered them more opportunities to deepen their relationship than being in the same physical location would.
However everything else about this prompt is exactly what I wanted for this fic, including JYL learning non-martial cultivation methods and applications from CR library. It's the continuation of a series, but you don't have to read the other fics to enjoy this; it would just probably enhance your enjoyment to at least read the first two short fics.
(Three and four chapters long, respectively, plus a cover art chapter for each at the end. The others are just side-stories set in the same verse.)
This takes place concurrently with those two fics for the first few chapters, filling in some of the blanks and setting the stage for their interactions and some plot points in this later on, so technically you won't miss anything important if you choose not to read them. Just some relationship development, and how and why they started writing to each other.
They both have feelings for each other fairly early on in this, but the actual relationship is a very slow burn due to the war. So there won't be any smut until the next story in the series. This one just takes us to the end of the Sunshot Campaign, and a little bit after. If you don't want to read the next story, it doesn't end on a cliff-hangers or anything – just their betrothal.
(There is a smutty one-shot set at an unspecified point in the future after they're married which I wrote for Kinktober; I haven't gotten around to editing it yet so it’s still unposted.)