𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓━━━J. Cheng

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲

012—Letters

A deep sigh left her lips while propping her head with her hand. She then lazily said, "Ahh, Wuxian left... He really said something outrageous and left immediately before I could even ask him some stuff..." Jiang Cheng placed his cup of tea back on the table and looked at her curiously, "What did he say?"

[First Name] glanced at him for a moment before she averted her gaze, there was a bit of redness in her cheeks as she turned away. "... I can't tell you." 

Jiang Cheng raised a brow but he didn't ask anything else. He closed his eyes calmly and started, "He got into a fight with Jin Sect's young master. He already caused a lot of trouble before so what else could our sect and Lan Sect do other than send him back to Lotus Pier?" [First Name] chuckled amusedly, "Wei Wuxian is a fun person but he's really too energetic for Cloud Recesses to handle." Nie Huaisang who was playing with his fan raised his head and joined in the conversation, "It's just the three of us left here."

A disappointed frown formed on her lips as she lowered her gaze to the table, mumbling, "Yeah, but only for one year... You'll be staying here for another year, right?" Jiang Cheng looked at her and replied, "Yeah, then all the disciples will go back to their own sects."

Once they really leave, [First Name] won't have anybody to talk with casually. The other disciples are still not talking to her, and the older disciples? It's impossible. Nobody can talk so casually with them, they're too stern and stiff. And so, she sighed once again. Cloud Recesses is too boring. She finally raised her head and looked at two, "After a year, I want to visit Yunmeng and go to Qinghe again. If I go there, would you guys welcome me?"

Nie Huaisang's eyes brightened as he beamed enthusiastically, "Since you already went with Zewu-jun before, you're always welcome to visit us! I never really leave the sect so I'll make sure everything's prepared when you come over." she grinned. Jiang Cheng also gave a nod, "Same here. My sister seems to look forward to meeting you, she probably took interest in you from my letters." this time, [First Name] didn't reply immediately. She hesitantly glanced at him, he was drinking his tea and she said, "I'm glad but... letters?"

The boy paused for a moment, the cup stayed in front of his lips as he slowly recalled his own words while being stared at by the two curious people. His eyes widened and his face reddened. He abruptly placed the cup back on the table, he did it so roughly that some tea spilled out. His eyes were on his hand which was stained with the liquid for a moment before he raised his head and looked at her, "... I-I mean, Wei Wuxian and I have been sending letters to Yunmeng before, and since we made friends with you, we sometimes mention you in our letters!" he was stuttering flusteredly.

Ah, crap. 

Wei Wuxian's words are really bothering her. And seeing the boy flustered, she couldn't help but be like that as well. "A-Ah... I see, but why do you look so flustered?"

"I'm not!"

Nie Huaisang knows everything. So of course, he decided to join in. "Jiang Cheng, are you shy?" he giggled playfully. [First Name] could only laugh awkwardly in her seat as Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth with his whole face red in embarrassment, "You two...!" Huaisang continued laughing and Jiang Cheng was trying to explain it even more, but the conversation was suddenly interrupted. 

"[First Name]."

She turned and raised her head, looking at her cousin who just suddenly appeared behind her. She smiled, "Wangji-xiong, what is it?" He didn't even look at the other two who were sitting across her, he simply took out a qiankun pouch from his sleeves and handed it to her. "I went to town earlier, I remembered that you broke your bow again during your last night hunt so bought you a new one. It's sturdier." [First Name] didn't hesitate to open it and take out the bow inside. She placed the pouch on the table and held the bow in her hand, lifting it up and checking it out. The two finally stopped their bickering and looked at the two Lans. 

"Hm... A bit heavier since it's thicker than what I usually purchase but hm... Yeah, this is a good one. Thank you, Wangji-xiong. Tell me next time where you bought it!" Lan Wangji's corner of his lips curled so slightly that it wouldn't be so obvious at first glance. But he was indeed smiling. "Mn. I'll tell you later."

He left and [First Name] placed the bow back in the qiankun pouch and simply left it on the table. Nie Huaisang placed his open fan in front of his lips, covering his lower face as he tilted his head with curiosity. "[First Name] you always bring your sword wherever you go but I never really saw you using it. Do you usually use bows and arrows when night hunting?" Jiang Cheng also spoke up, he finally calmed down. "It's harder to put corpses to rest using arrows."

[First Name] placed a hand on her sword, which was hanging on her waist. She rubbed it gently for a moment but her eyes were cold as she stared at it. The ice in her eyes melted as soon as she turned her attention back to the two. "Ah, my sword is useless for night hunts." she smiled. 

Jiang Cheng looked at her before he finally said, "Last time I held it, it was so light and the sheath felt empty." She froze to her spot and her hand stopped. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at him in disbelief. "... Huh? You... Held it? When?" Everything that had happened that drunken night was forgotten and gone, along with the alcohol the next day. He hesitantly replied, "It was a few weeks ago when we went down the mountain to drink. You got drunk and your sword fell so I grabbed it for you."

[First Name] couldn't help but look at her sword. Her eyes narrowed while she tightened her hold on it. "I... Let you touch [Sword Name]?" she mumbled. She really can't recall anything from that night. 

Who knows when was the last time someone else touched this sword. Not even her father, nor her trusted older cousins. They never held it or touched it. This sword is just as important as her own clan's forehead ribbon. 

Nie Huaisang looked at her curiously, "Is there something wrong with your sword?" Only after that did she snap out of her deep train of thought and gave an answer. Her voice was trembling a bit, she was still in a state of confusion. "A-Ah... No... There's nothing wrong with it. It's just... Um... This is something I should not let others touch or hold so uh..." Just what was she thinking that night? She finally sighed and shook her head. 

Jiang Cheng watched her looking troubled. He didn't know why but he felt a bit disappointed. "I only picked it up and gave it back to you, I never unsheathed or inspected it. Other than that, I didn't do anything with your sword." he calmly explained, trying his best to reassure her. [First Name] glanced at him and subtly nodded, "I see... Thank you." 

And then, silence followed. Nie Huaisang didn't know what to say, he wasn't with them that night so he didn't really understand what happened. Jiang Cheng didn't say anything else, he only finished his cup of tea and kept silent. [First Name] frowned. She brought this topic up so she had to change the topic herself. "... Let's go down Cloud Recesses today. I heard that a new restaurant opened up in a nearby town, let's check it out." Nie Huaisang disliked the silence and felt awkward so he spoke up immediately, "It's been boring lately since Wei-xiong left, let's go, let's go. We'll end up like those disciples from the Lan sect if we breathe in their atmosphere."

"Huaisang, I'm also a Lan disciple." she laughed. 

"[First Name]-jie is an exception!"

That's just how fast they easily switched the topic from her sword to food just in two sentences from [First Name].

time skip time since I dont have anything else to write during Jiang Cheng's stay in Gusu so I might as well. after the cloud recesses study arc flashback, it's the QishanWen Conference. ya know, the arc where wwx pulled the forehead ribbon from lwj 😳

we all know what happened after the conference tho, pain arc lmao

Publish: February 10, 2022