Blind to You

Complete

Jiang Cheng's life used to be infested with ghosts. The ghost of his parents, hands clasped in one last show of loyalty, bleeding life into the foundation of their home. The ghost of his sister,  bustling around the kitchen to make her famous Lotus Root soup, the trace of her gentle hand on his face. The ghost of his brother, absent in the places he used to train, gone from his spot on the edge of the cliff to shoot kites out of the sky.

The ghosts used to haunt him, and they honestly still did. Though the pier was rebuilt and the furniture replaced, though the people were back and the city flourished, though Jin Ling grew up, tangible and grounding, Jiang Cheng was still just the survivor.

Before, he was forgotten as a son, and now, he was remembered as the one that was left.

The Nightless City is Jiang Cheng's biggest regret. He replayed the moment over and over again until he couldn't any more, and he still came to the same conclusion: it should have been me .

Every wound on A-Jie's body should have been his. Her ultimate death should have been his. There was nothing he was more sure of.

If he died, Jiang Yanli wouldn't have blamed Wei Wuxian as he had. She would have been kind and forgiving and understanding . She would have raised her son to be generous and less like him.

Wei Wuxian would not have been as outraged. Maybe Lan Wangji could have gotten to him, stopped him before he died.

Jiang Cheng should have died.

…

"Snap out of it! Hey, snap out of it, A-Cheng! What did you do to him?" Wei Wuxian's words came out cold and threatening seeing his brother's blank eyes and unresponsive manner. Lan Xichen held Jiang Cheng firmly by the arm, shaking him gently.

"Oh, nothing much." Jing Hu's voice had taken on several other tones, making it sound like three or four people were talking at once. "We're just using his guilt, his regrets, to incapacitate him. And oh, does he have many…"

Wuxian raised his flute to his lips and took a breath, ready to-

"Nightless City," Jing Hu interrupted, and everyone froze. "Oh my, what a delightful, delicious , little anecdote."

Lan Zhan's grip on his sword tightened impossibly.

"The night his sister died in his arms…" the voices filled the room. "The night he regrets the most. And I bet you're all curious, aren't you?" Jing Hu laughed as what seemed like many people. "Well I'll fill you all in: Jiang Wanyin regretted living." The revelation caused a deep silence, so Jing Hu continued. "He regretted not taking the blade for his dear sister. He feels he should have died instead of Jiang Yanli. Right now, I wager that he's living in that moment, feeling his sister's blood run through his fingers-"

Wei Wuxian shot forward, grabbing Jing Hu by the throat and lifting him. "I'm going to rip you to shreds," he seethed. "For even speaking their names. "

"Go ahead and try," Jing Hu wheezed. "You're too weak."

"Oh yeah?" Wei Wuxian lifted an eyebrow. He reached his empty hand back, feeling the familiar weight of Bichen in his palm. Lan Zhan was adamant that he only used it in an emergency, but that it would always obey him when he did. It was the singing steel of a famous blade that ran through Jing Hu's chest, ending his life and releasing the dark spirits.