Taking roots after the misty rain

Ch-6

"A-Jie, I think that we should sound them out. If they have been brought back, then well and fine. If not, they think of us as lunatics in the first place anyways. It doesn't matter if we say some nonsense in front of them anyways." Jiang Cheng suggested.

"That seems to be the most plausible way we can deal with this situation, A-Cheng. But when do we sound them out?" Wei Wuxian said.

"I will be going over to Meng Shi's courtyard every few days for the next few months. If I happen to meet either of the Jin siblings there, I shall confirm our suspicions. " Jiang Yanli suggested.

Her brothers agreed with her idea. The sense of siblinghood and mutual trust wrapped around the trio, emitting the vibe of a very heartwarming scene.

"Now, I don't know about you two, but if we don't get moving, then the soup's gonna burn." Jiang Cheng said.

"Way to ruin the moment, Cheng-Cheng."

"Wei Wuxian!"

'There they go again, bickering and fighting as always. But only when they are like this, can I feel at peace. At least this bickering is better than them staying silent and keeping secrets.' Jiang Yanli thought as she looked at her brothers affectionately.

*-*-*

At the carp tower-

Jin Zixian's subordinates had covered up her and Jin Zixuan's absence perfectly. No one could tell that they had not been Lanling for most of the night. The following morning, Jin Zixian decided that Jin Zixuan knew too much and hence needed to be dealt with. So, after lunch, when everyone had a few hours to themselves, she took him to one of the inns owned by the Sheild of Death. Jin Zixuan felt quite uneasy since he came to the inn. Hence, when Jin Zixian dismissed her subordinates after they sat down on a table, his survival instinct kicked in. He was sure something was wrong now and tightened his grip around the hilt of Suihua.

"What are doing, Zixian?" He asked, testing the waters.

"Jin Zixuan, you have read too many novels. Do you think that I brought you here to kill you? Let go of Suihua." She told him as she sipped her tea. "You died after me, a lot of stuff must have happened in that interval, unless you didn't survive the siege of Nightless City. So, I need you to tell me what all has happened."

"Oh. Right, that. Yeah...So, I died a few years after you. Well, in those few years, I got married to A-Li. "

"A-Li? As in Jiang Yanli? The angel of the whole Jianghu?! You dared to defile her?!"

"Excuse me, but we got married because we both loved each other."

"Guess you finally came over your stutter." Zixian commented on the side.

"Moving on," Jin Zixuan pointedly ignored her comment, "well, we had a son together, Jin Ling, courtesy Rulan. It was on his one-month celebration that I died."

"I want the political details, not a summary of your love life." She said, irritated.

"Oh, alright. Not much happened, I guess. Firstly, my father became the Chief Cultivator-"

Jin Zixian spit her tea out at this. She signaled Jin Zixuan to continue as she coughed.

"Then, a hunt was organized at the Phoenix Mountain. Two months after which Wei Wuxian got into trouble for freeing some Wens and killing disciples of Jin Sect. He claimed that they were innocent and weak who were being tortured, but my clan members claimed they were prisoners of war. "

"And you believed your clan?! How are you even alive despite being this dumb?" Jin Zixian, all but shrieked, "Maybe that is why you could live to as long as you did, you are so dumb that no one takes you seriously."

"I am very offended by this, but I will be magnanimous and let you go this time. Anyway, Wei Wuxian defected from the Jiang Sect. Apparently, he got into a fight with the Jiang Sect Leader. He then went and settled with the Wen remnants in the Burial Mounds. And somehow, he managed to revive Wen Ning, or the Ghost General from the dead. I remember my father being interested in him, and his Stygian Tiger Tally as well."

"Jin Guangshan being interested in anything always leads to bad outcomes."

"Well, I don't what happened after that till Jin Ling's birthday. That day A-Yao told me that Jin Zixun was creating trouble at the Qiongqi path."

"Hold up, I don't get it. Why do you call Meng Yao A-Yao?"

"He was accepted in the Jin clan after he killed Wen Ruohan. He was given the name of Jin Guangyao."

"He what?! Jin Zixuan! Are you and idiot?! Had I not asked, were you never going to tell me such an important thing?!"

"I missed it out, okay? "

"That might be what cost you your life! That Meng Yao never struck me as an innocent person last time. After facing such an insult, there is no telling how he could have acted."

"Anyway, on the Qiongqi path, Jin Zixun claimed that he had been cursed with the Thousand holes curse by Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian began to play his flute to threaten him, but suddenly the Ghost General went feral and attacked me and Zixun. He killed me."

"Something feels off, Wei Wuxian loves his sister. No matter what, he would never kill you, even if only for the sake of his sister."

"I didn't mention a small detail. Do you know that I practice the traditional methods of the Jin clan, the ones involving animals?"

Zixian nodded her head.

"Well, it enhances my abilities in a way. It improves my peripheral vision, hearing and gives me a stronger sixth sense. I didn't use it much in my past life much actually, my father didn't like it very much."

"May your father go to hell then. He has no idea what cultivators would give for your abilities."

"So, when I woke up yesterday, my last memories flashed back in my head. I could discern a second sound in the memory. While Wei Wuxian played a flute, anther was played by someone else nearby. There was a difference in the two melodies, I suspect that someone may have been trying to frame Wei Wuxian. "

"Precisely. I am afraid that something even more serious must have happened in the cultivation world after your death. I am afraid only someone who died after you can tell us. But who? Jiang Guniang, perhaps. She was nothing more than a quiet doll for most of her past life. But she is a commendable woman now, maybe she was reborn too. Only one way to know, I guess."