The Light's Dark

Slowly Awakening to a Better Person

Jiang Cheng was anxiously tapping his leg up and down, gritting his teeth. He stared at the wall. He had spent the last few days trying to figure out how Wei Ying was doing, but it...was not really...working all that well. Perhaps it was a bit...selfish of him, but he really just wanted to know if the Lans had figured out anything regarding the Jiang clan. He did not really want to worry about how it could affect them. they really could not afford to make enemies of the Lan Sect. They had already been on tense terms in the first place, and whatever Wei Ying said or exposed now could either strengthen their relations, or shove them down into the dust never to be thought of again.

For all that the Lans were upright, there were certain things that they simply did not condone. Wei Ying, having been brought into the Jiang sect and treated...more or less the way that he had been, specifically by Madam Yu, his mother, he shuddered to think what they would do. The Lans may be strict, but what his mother did to Wei ying, and continues to do, even he knows that it was a bit much. 

He grit his teeth wondering if he should share his concerns with his parents. They had been the ones to allow him to leave with the Lans, and he doubted that they would easily give him back. It could easily escalate. He bit his lower lip, gnawing at it. Not to mention, sect relations be damned, he did not want Wei Ying to come back in the situation that they were currently in. 

The entire house was tense. With Wei Ying's sudden departure, after all the efforts that the Lan sect had made to find him in the form of Lan Wangji, and his own attempts to find his brother...all their effort, he had sort of...defied a few rules that had been placed for him. Then again...they had been placed there by his mother, whose dislike of Wei Ying was not exactly unknown, so he supposed at the time he just had not really cared. He wanted to find his brother, and he was desperate to use any attempts that were needed in order to do so, even if it went against what his mother wanted. Though, he doubted if she would care if he were to disappear for the rest of eternity, with how strong her hatred of him ran. All because his mother was a person her husband had a crush on. Really...

He just shook his head. There was no way that he would be able to bring himself to tell his parents about his fears. They would likely not listen anyways, and even if they did they would once more blame it on Wei Ying, which was not what he wanted. He put his head in his hands, and decided to just say screw it. Although he doubted that their relations with the Lan sect would survive Wei Ying's stay at the Cloud Recesses, he could do this one thing...this one pathetic thing for his brother. 

Wei Ying had sacrificed so much for the Jiang Sect, for the family, for him, for YanLi, and his thanks was not a thanks at all. It was more as though it was expected. Even his father...even his father had a problem with his mindset. He did not do anything then. He had sat to the side and watched as his brother was shoved through unspeakable things that a child should never have to go through, just because his father had a fleeting crush on some sect member. He had not even bothered trying to defend him, not bothered trying to help him. 

He had allowed his pride to get in the way of his brother, and really, he supposed that was the nail in their relationship. It was Wei Ying trying to hide his pain and scars behind a laugh, because he loved them, he cared for them, and did not want to burden them, while he turned a blind eye to everything that his brother was suffering and just continued to scold him over and over again for things that were somewhat trivial. 

He...He found himself somewhat ashamed of his behavior. Of himself, of the sect that he was supposed to lead to greatness. How could he really lead a sect and protect all those under him when he could not even stand to protect a helpless child like himself? 

He flopped back into the bed. Perhaps this was a sort of karmatic fate. Before, he had hurt Wei Ying by his silence, but now, now he would help him by remaining quiet. He knew that if he brought the concern of their relations being in danger to his parents, his mother would demand he released from the Lan care immediately, and honestly the Lans were the only ones who were really able to help Wei Ying. 

Not that it would matter his his mother. She had never really cared for Wei Ying. Never bothered, her hatred blinding her to anything more. He covered his eyes with his hands, sighing deeply. He wondered...He wondered what it was like. He hoped that the Lans could help Wei Ying, in what they had so desperately failed to do. He sagged down in misery. He wondered...He really wondered if Wei Ying was okay. 

they had not gotten any information from the lans as to his condition, despite the numerous messages that Jiang Cheng and Yanli had sent. He supposed perhaps that was likley for the best, but it still sent a sort of panicked ache in his chest. Pushing aside his jealousy, he realized...Wei Ying had likely suffered the most out of all of them and not once had he complained. Truly complained of course as he did complain over minor things. Which led Jiang Cheng to wonder...exactly how much of the Wei Ying that he knew was an act...and how much of it was real?