Chapter Text
The alphas have the energy of the sun and as the sun blazing with light and heat is the king of celestial orbs, so are the alphas blazing with yan energy charged with ruling the world. Their ability to impose Order is definitely the sign of divine favor. The betas have the energy of the moon. The moon provides light in the absence of the sun, and so the betas guide and govern in the absence of an alpha, though of course they are not equal to the alphas just as the moon is not equal to the sun. The omegas are the earth, dark and heavy and blind, and so their fate is to be led and guided and trodden down by those who are superior. This is the will of the Heavens, the natural way of things; this is how the world works.
Wei Wuxian thinks bitterly, that a cultivator’s pursuit for immortality surely breaks the natural way of things, but the cultivation world still clings fiercely to the traditional social hierarchy and validates it as the will of heavens. As an omega he stands at the end of the social scale. He is to be submissive and obedient and bow to the will of others, and when he refuses, everyone acts so offended. This treatment followed him through his childhood into the Sunshot Campaign. During the Campaign it mellowed a bit: he was useful, he was on their side, he acted from filial piety and righteous fury. But still the whispers continued: he is too powerful, too wild, too disrespectful to those who stand higher than him. And now when he dared to save the Wen remains, the social judgment is thus: he is a mistake of nature, a horrendous abomination and as such must be eliminated to restore the right order of the world.
Amid the screechy shrieks of all those pious cultivators demanding his blood, the silence of the Nie sect stands out loud and ominous. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what to make of it. Nie Mingjue isn’t known either for his indecisiveness, or for his love of Wens. He didn’t raise his voice against the sentence the Wens were convicted to; that means, he agreed to it. The Qinghe Nie sect had suffered heavily at the hands of Qishan Wen; Nie Mingjue returned this suffer tenfold. He sure knows filial piety, thinks Wei Wuxian with some irony. Too bad he is also stiff and unbending, stuck in his beliefs and unwilling to look into other ways. It is a surprise he is a beta and not an alpha, with how he presents himself. But now something is making him hesitate; something stays his hand. Wei Wuxian would really like to know what it is and if he can use it.
Whatever it is, the Nie wait, and the rest of the cultivation world wait with them. No one dares to make a move without Nie Mingjue’s consent. The Nie know how to act genteel, but there’s always a feeling about them, as if these noble manners are but a thin cloak of gloss that barely hides the claws and teeth and barely restrained rage; and as such they have never been what others consider worthy. Only recently, when they rapidly gained power due to the defeat of the Wens, are they given respect; but this respect is more of a reverence before a wild beast, a mighty tiger ready to attack. Wei Wuxian thinks that when a common cultivator looks at the Nie, he sees not humans, but taotie in a guise of humans, the same one that is displayed on their family crest.
Despite everything Wei Wuxian rather likes Nie Mingjue. In the world ruled by alphas Nie Mingjue managed not only to make them respect his sect, but also to respect himself, a beta, someone traditionally considered lower than alphas. He, a beta, the pale moon in the night, is revered no less than alphas, the glorious blazing sun. For Wei Wuxian it is a sign, that the public prejudices can be changed, and there is still hope for omegas like him and for the Wen remnants; maybe if they lay low, with time the cultivation world will let them live in peace or will forget about them entirely.
The Wens settle on the Burial Mounds. Life is… well, not good, it’s heavy work and barren soil, not enough shelter from cold and wind and rain, too little food and too much resentful energy around. But it is peaceful. Wen Yuan is a ray of sunshine. He runs around, amuses himself, helps with little things like carrying bowls or the few crude instruments they were able to make. He doesn’t notice the cold or the hunger, the uncertainly and fear on the faces of adults. He has his loved ones with him and is happy.
Wei Wuxian envies him. At times he is so overcome with nostalgia, that he can barely breathe. He’d give almost anything to return to those happy days, when shijie and Jiang Cheng were with him, when Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu were alive, when the only worry he had was avoiding the displeasure of Madam Yu and supporting his siblings. When he still had his golden core and his promising future with it.
Lan Wangji came yesterday with the news, that shijie’s wedding is in seven days; Wei Wuxian is both thankful and resentful for it. And while he is happy for Wen Ning, who was restored to consciousness the same day, and Wen Qing, he can’t shake the bitterness off. He and Jiang Cheng spent many long hours imagining the wedding Jiang Yanli would have, the grand celebration, the good wishes, the luxurious presents. They wanted to give her the best wedding ever. Now all those dreams, all those naïve fantasies of innocent childhood have dissipated like morning fog. Now he can only drink in commemoration of the past and the bright happy children they all once were.
He is drinking now, holed in his cave. Far away from the Burial Mounds, the preparations to the wedding are in full swing. What present has Jiang Cheng prepared for shijie, thinks Wei Wuxian, feeling sorry for himself. And doesn’t he deserve a bit of reprieve? Remember not what good you’ve done for other people, but what other people have done for you; but isn’t Jiang Cheng able to immerse himself in the preparations only thanks to Wei Wuxian’s sacrifice? No, that’s not right, Jiang Cheng is strong, he would have pulled through; but his spirit would have been marred by deep scars. Besides, he is the son of Jiang Fengmian, Sect Leader Jiang, without him the Jiang sect would have never recovered. He is far more important that Wei Wuxian, the son of a servant, the lowly omega that doesn’t know his place; Wei Wuxian, who brought peril on the Lotus Pier.
Do you think of me? Jiang Cheng, shijie, I love you so much, it’s tearing me apart; do you think of me even sometimes?
All you alphas and betas, thinks Wei Wuxian in a fit of desperate anger.
After some time he notices, that there are tears sliding down his cheeks. He angrily wipes them off.
‘Fine’, he thinks. ‘I will be an omega. I will crawl in mud and let you step on me and press me deeper, so that my loved ones will remain clean. Isn’t this what being an omega means?’
He sits still for a long time, deep in memories. The wave of bitterness passes, as it always does, leaving only quiet sadness behind. The tears stop. His head and his heart are empty.
And then the protection spells set along the perimeter of the settlement activate. There is agitation among the Wens. The elderly and Wen Yuan hide in the shacks, the younger ones led by Weng Qing and Wen Ning barge into the cave.
"Young Master Wei, Young Master Wei!" is wailing Wen Ning. "It’s the Nie! The Nie have come!"
"What?" cries Wei Wuxian. He is instantly filled with trepidation. The Nie have finally come!
He runs to the settlement boundaries. The Wens follow at some distance, so not to unintentionally provoke their uninvited guests, but at the same time to be able to rush to help, should the need arise. About thirty harsh-looking heavy-built Nie disciples are waiting there. Wei Wuxian feels the Stygian Tiger seal through his robes.
"Don’t worry, Wei-xiong", calls a familiar voice. "We come in peace".
The Nie disciples part, and Nie Huaisang’s impeccably dressed elegant figure steps forward, armed with an intricately painted fan. It’s like suddenly seeing an orchid bloom in a swamp. Wei Wuxian, who was ready for a violent bloody battle, is thrown off the track.
Nie Huaisang, not Nie Mingjue, has come to the Burial Mounds.