The Child of Demonic Cultivation

The Half Dead Tiger -7

WC: 1006

An ecstatic shout rang out form the temple's rear grounds. "Sect Leader! We got it! We've unearthed a corner!"

Jin Guangyao visibly relaxed. He walked briskly to the back of the hall. Keep going! Be very careful. Time is running out."

Seven or eight streaks of pale lightning twisted across the sky and were followed by delayed claps of thunder.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian sat together in the temple hall, while Jiang Cheng sat to the side. Lan Tian sat mid way between Lan Xichen and Jin Ling in a corner of the hall staring into the middle of the circle the group created. Jin Ling dragged his own prayer cushion over to sit near them. A long awkward silence descended amidst the sound of pelting grain. No one took the initiative to speak up first.

But for some reason, Jin Ling seemed as though he wanted to them to communicate. His eyes darted between Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. "Jiujiu, good thing you intercepted the guqin string earlier, or it would've been bad." Jin Ling absent mindedly reached for Lan Tian's left hand beside him but they pulled their hand back sharply flustering the boy.

Jiang Cheng's face darkened as he snapped, "Shut up!"

"You shut up! Don't talk to him like that." Lan Tian snapped right back at Jiang Cheng with venom lacing their words.

If he hadn't been so emotionally unstable he would not have failed to subdue the man, nor fallen into the enemy's hands himself. Regardless, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji could have dodged the guqin string on their own. Even if Lan Wangji had no spiritual power and Wei Wuxian was meager, they were still physically skilled. Even if they couldn't attack they could evade.

"I can't believe you. You said you could handle it. You promised me!" Lan Tian glared at Jiang Cheng. "You... you said you'd save them. You even convinced me to promise you the thing I cared about most. Do you hate us this much? Is this some elaborate plan to take everything me and my family care about from us? We finally got Wei Wuxian back, why can't you just be happy for once in your miserable little life? My dad is finally happy and you want to take that away from him?"

"Lan Tian..." Lan Wangji sharply warned.

Jiang Cheng scoffed, "Child, what do you know of anything?"

"You're right! I don't know anything because no one will fucking talk to me about it!" They laughed a deep dark laugh, "You hear what they say about you don't you. How the people in your own gates speak about you behind your back. you've heard it too, haven't you?"

Wei Wuxian spoke firmly this time, "Lan Tian! Enough."

They scoffed before grabbing their payer cushion and sitting against a wall even farther from the group. Silently Lan Tian watched Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian snap at each other across the room.

Between Jiang Cheng's inferiority complex, and Lan Wangji's protection of Wei Wuxian, Lan Tian had enough.

"Why? Wei Wuxian, just fucking why?" Jiang Cheng coughed up as blood poured from his wound.

"Why what?" Wei Wuxian reponded stiffly from behind Lan Wangji.

"How much has the Jiang family given you, huh?" Jiang Cheng said. "I'm the son; I'm the successor to the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng, but all these years, you've one-upped me in every way. You repaid the kindness my family showed in raising you be forcing them to give up their lives - the lives of my father, mother , elder sister, and Jin Zixuan! Because of you, the only one left is an orphan Jin Ling!"

Jin Ling jolted. His shoulders drooped, and his expression wilted too.

Wei Wuxian moved his lips, but was ultimately unable to say a word. Lan Wangji turned and caught his hand in his own.

The fight went on, words were said but none were heard by Lan Tian. For the first time in their life, Lan Tian could sympathize with Jiang Cheng, truly and wholeheartedly.

His mind went to his brother, Lan Sizhui. Lan Tian realized just he did to his brother. His whole life Lan Sizhui had been over shadowed and was given less attention by Lan Wangji. Lan Tian made Lan Sizhui the glass child, Lan Tian made Lan Sizhui Jiang Cheng.

Lan Tian always needed more attention due to their health problems and identity, they caught on to ideas quicker than Lan Sizhui, who was already the fastest learner before Lan Tian began learning in his classes. What ever Lan Sizhui did as a child, Lan Tian did better. It's not like they meant to do it, they just admired Lan Sizhui so much that they wanted to be just like him. It wasn't their fault... was it?

Regardless, Lan Tian didn't want them to end up like Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, they loved Lan Sizhui. He protected and loved them when no one else did, he saved them. They had to do better, they just had too. They needed to.

A sharp sound knocked Lan Tian back to the present.

Lan Wangji shot to his feet at Jiang Cheng's previous words, but Jin Ling had lept to his defense when Jiang Cheng slapped him to the ground.

Jin Ling froze after receiving a single slap. And it wasn't just him - Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Lan Xichen had all gone still. Lan Tian was already at Jin Ling's side kneeling to his right and cradling his face.

Lan Tian was about to slap Jiang Cheng back, but when they looked up tears were shining on his face.

As tears streamed down his face, he hissed through gritted teeth, "Why... why didn't you tell me?!"

Jiang Cheng knew he wanted to hate Wei Wuxian with all of his heart and blood but the golden core circulating spiritual energy in his body made it impossible for him to justify such hate.

Wei Wuxain was at a loss.

The whole reason he didn't tell Jiang Cheng about the core was to avoid this very scene. He didn't want to see this, or Jiang Cheng to even feel this.