Growing Pains from Growing Family (Xicheng)

Chapter 24: Teaching a Lan

"Don't try and teach me how to deal with my kid. Would you like it if I did so with yours? Huh? Lan Sizhui tell me, what was this buffoon trying to teach you when I walked in?" he asked, fully intending on doing a better job teaching the kid than his absentee father ever had.

"How to lose a competition on purpose without getting caught..." The kid responded, his voice as clear as ever but it was obvious from the way he averted his eyes that he was ashamed of what he was asking to be taught. It was not only unethical, but also against Gusu rules to tank one's performance. The silence which followed looked like it was grilling the kid alive as he waited for the Jiang to scold him. But Jiang Cheng wasn't a Lan, so he was not yet expected to instill said rules into the Lan disciples. Until the title of Lan Furen was officially his he could get away with being slightly devious.

"Hahaha, and so you chose to ask Wei Wuxian!? The man who has never intentionally lost a challenge in his life? Believe me, I would know if he had." Wei Ying was singlehandedly the reason why his achievements were rarely, if ever, acknowledged.

By the time he successfully shot a bullseye. Wei Wuxian had already done three.

When he managed to ride a horse on his own for the first time. His brother's horse was trotting around his in circles, prepared for a race. A race the Jiang was destined to lose due to barely having learned how to ride yet.

When he got second place in an illustrious swordsmanship competition. Well guess who got first place? And understandably he was still pissed about always having lived in Wei Wuxian's shadow. A shadow which he had still not managed to completely leave.

"Well I tried. You just happened to be way worse than I thought" Wei Ying talked back, no longer letting his brother have his way. He was only willing to take so much slander before he would fight back.

"Even more of a reason you shouldn't be the one teaching the Lan. Not only do you lack experience, but all your attempts to so far has ended in failure." Jiang Cheng huffed.

"Hmm, what if we show him together then?" Wei Ying smirked as he made his first attack. Jiang Cheng had already seen the two wooden swords leaning nearby wall and was ready to parry the blow. The two cultivators were evenly matched as they took turns attacking and defending. Wei Wuxian had always been more talented than his brother, but Jiang Cheng had thirteen additional years of practice. Something which should not be underestimated.

Not only had he had the time to practice more than his brother, but Wei Ying was completely uninformed of what he had learned over the years. And so when it became Jiang Cheng's time to attack he allowed himself to leave his right shoulder unprotected, not completely, but enough for a skilled cultivator to be able to take advantage of it.

As always Wei Wuxian struggled to not take the bait. Attacking his brother's weak spot, the same way he had done so many times in the past making the Jiang's sword fly out of his hand and hit the floor with a loud thud. Having disarmed his brother Wei Ying pointed the tip of the sword at his brother's chest, claiming his victory.

Despite knowing it was just a wooden sword Jiang Cheng could still imagine the sharp feeling of steel cleaving his chest. But the lack of danger didn't stop the searing pain of his scar to surge forth once more. It hurt so bad Jiang Cheng had to place a hand on his chest to reassure himself that he was uninjured, and sure enough his chest wasn't creating a fountain of blood.

Heart still beating a thousand beats a minute Jiang Cheng hid his fear behind a victorious smirk. He might not have won the fight, but he had successfully proved his point. "...And that's how you lose a fight on purpose. Similarly, to when you want to win, it's all about knowing you and your opponent's strengths and weaknesses." Jiang Cheng explained to the young Lan.

"Wei Ying's weakness is his lack of knowledge. Having not been around for over a decade he is completely unaware that my fighting style has significantly changed since last time we sparred. That's all you have to do kid. Let your opponent take advantage of a perceived weaknesses, doesn't matter if you have them or not... Just promise me you'll be careful alright? Don't get hurt" his tone suddenly pivoting from harsh to soft as he spoke.

The young man in front of him was Lan Huan's precious nephew. He needed to stay safe, which was why the Jiang decided to step out of character for once, offering up the protective parental side of himself that he had only ever shown Jin Ling before.

But the surprised stares the father and son gave him were uncomfortable and so Jiang Cheng quickly snapped back to his usual self, offering up a "Don't do anything stupid like your father." Before he stormed towards the exit. His chest still causing him agony, it was time to leave.

But right before he opened the door, Jiang Wanyin remembered that he hadn't gone to Jingshi to teach. "By the way is this competition you want to lose related to Hanguang-jun's request for the archery range?" Jiang Cheng asked, pulling out the document he was there to deliver. The Lan nodded his head as he accepted the paper on his father's behalf.

That changes things.

"In that case you should just get yourself a new bow. One which is too big. I'm sure that dad of yours can help you come up with an excuse as to why you needed to change it last minute" sect leader Jiang said gesturing towards his brother. If there was one thing Wei Wuxian was good at it was to get people to stop questioning his bullshit excuses. Either he bombarded you with enough words that you capitulated or you became convinced that no one could speak falsehoods for such an extended period of time.

Besides Jiang Cheng had a very good reason to believe his plan would be successful. "When he was younger Jin Ling always insisted on using my bow instead of his own" Jiang Wanyin's bow was of course much bigger than his nephew's. A little kid wouldn't use the same size as a fully grown adult. The bowstring was too taught for him to pull it back properly, and as a result his aim became terrible as all his focus was spent on exerting enough force to shoot the arrow. Not that lack of force was the only issue that arose with using someone else's bow. Even as the Jin grew strong enough to apply the required force, the arrows never went as straight as when he would use his own bow. The one fitted to match his height and strength.

"Seeing him struggle to shoot straight with the oversized bow..." Jiang Cheng chuckled with exasperation, he'd tried to convince the kid so many times to just use his own bow. He had explained it many times and when that didn't work he had reprimanded the Jin for not using one which suited him. "That stubborn little kid would fall down into the dirt at least once each practice because it was too heavy for him and yet he foolishly kept going. Always needing to use adult weapons to show off. Never learning from his mistakes" Jiang Cheng tsked.

Granted, you needed to remember your mistakes to learn from them.

Jiang Cheng shook his head to clear any unnecessary thoughts, before once more turning to leave. He'd done what he'd come for. Lan Huan's document had been delivered successfully.

"Sect leader Jiang." the Lan called out. "Thank you for your help. I greatly appreciate it." Jiang Cheng could hear the rustling of the boy's robes as he lowered his head in a bow to show how grateful he was. But nothing that Jiang Cheng had said was groundbreaking, the Lan had probably heard the advice he'd given him many times before. Nothing he'd said needed that level of acknowledgement.

The Wen was overcompensating for his lack of blood related ties to his sect, was what he'd normally think. And yet this time Jiang Cheng's initial thought was 'damned Lans and their over the top politeness'. Without knowing it Lan Sizhui had officially taken title of Lan in the Jiang Wanyin's mind.

"You're welcome."