A Means to an End (WangXian)

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Wei Wuxian felt numb, deprived of all emotion. He felt still like a statue, meant to stand there and deteriorate overtime. 

It was a feeling he became used to. When there was no hope left, and he was shunned by everyone he cared about, he felt frozen, unable to move and continue living. 

However, he thought he had hope again. He thought he could change the future, prevent the suffering that everyone endured, but that didn't happen.

Instead, he stood there, staring at those he could not save. Staring at the person who took him in.

Sure, Wei Wuxian realizes that this man had taken him in under selfish desires, but Wei Wuxian also recognizes that he would be dead without Jiang Fengmian. He would have starved on the streets and became food for the wild dogs. 

He would never have become a cultivator. He would never have met Lan Wangji and the others he holds dear. 

So, an aching feeling sat in the pit of his stomach, guilt and shame ate away at him. 

It felt even worse as he looked at some of those wonderful disciples he trained that had also lost their lives in the battle.

Yes, many lives were saved this time. Lotus Pier continues to stand proud and strong. They were not wiped out. However, it doesn't completely wash away the sour taste in his mouth.

Lan Wangji stayed with Wei Wuxian. He made sure that despite this blank stare that glazed over Wei Wuxian's eyes, that Wei Wuxian was still eating and taking care of himself. Lan Wangji feared what kind of twisted thoughts warped through Wei Wuxian's mind, but for the moment, all he could do was lend an ear and provide comfort. 

He understands that this did not go the way Wei Wuxian had planned. Jiang Fengmian was not meant to die, more disciples should have been spared, and Wen Chao should have lost his head. But the coward found himself scurrying away after Jiang Fengmian died, leaving many of his men behind. Wen Zhuliu made himself scarce as well.

Then gossip circulated through the cultivation world, the great Wen Chao brought down the helpless and weak Jiang Fengmian.

It made quite the stir and many people began to feel uneasy.

Yu Ziyuan has been oddly quiet. She is often found staring off in space. Her mind is a jumbled mess, replaying the event that only happened the day prior. She had survived the invasion, but the thought of losing her husband in return never crossed her mind. 

Jiang Wanyin became angry. He could be found either at the training grounds or in a secluded place near the lake and drilled his training anxiously for hours on end. Sometimes he would return late into the night, hands raw and blistered from swinging his sword and body so exhausted that he looked ghostly pale.

No one could approach him. He was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. 

Nie Huaisang tried his best to check in on him. He knew what it was like to lose family so suddenly and rather unexpectedly. He would bring food to Jiang Wanyin throughout the day as well. It became apparent to many of the disciples that Nie Huaisang was one of the only people that could approach Jiang Wanyin without any backlash.

The experience has made Nie Huaisang think with a new perspective. For a long time, he held this anger towards Jiang Wanyin because he couldn't understand what would make him resent Wei Wuxian so much. Part of him still does not fully understand and still has that lingering hatred, mainly because of Wei Wuxian's demise. 

However, his eyes are wider. Wei Wuxian was not the only one affected and scarred by Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. Jiang Wanyin and even Jiang Yanli were too. Jiang Wanyin had one parent that barely looked at him and another that only scorned him when he was not better than Wei Wuxian. The environment was hostile for all three of them. It explains why each of them are the way they are. They are examples of three different outcomes when you are raised with parents that are constantly angry and unhappy. One becomes angry and detached, one becomes gentle and unsure, and one turns to smiling and blocking out the pain.