MingYu

22

Note: [Text] = Thoughts-one-has | [Text]= Thoughts-one-has-but-doesn't-want-to-acknowledge-it

Warnings: the depressive thoughts, angst, bouts of misplaced and rightful anger and miscommunication. If any of these triggers you, please don't read. There are some mentions of mind torture, indirectly and nothing in detail. But if you feel like I should post a more specific warning, then please let me know!

Author Notes: Hi guys! This is me dropping a 4.8K words at you, twice the length of the chapter I was initially going to post, because let's be real, you deserve it for being so patient and encouraging of me.

"We have ghosts following us??" 

Wei MingYu sighed, knowing that he won't be getting the peace he wanted. Already, the Wens were making a huge ruckus since the morning, especially Wen Chao. 

It seemed like ghosts following them was a terrible shock to them. Why was it a surprise anyway? Everyone knew ghosts existed. 

"Who's following us?" Wei Ying asked, eyes sparkling in undisguised want. MingYu idly thought to teach that boy about the dangers of knowledge. [He remembered so much, and yet so little. What he did remember was that this QishaWen "study" induction hadn't gone like this.] 

"Ghosts," MingYu replies absentmindedly, feeling more than seeing A-Ying pout.  After the excitement from the morning, MingYu felt like collapsing. His nerves that had been alight from the moment he met Wen Chao's eyes, feeling extra hyper as he kept following the boy's move. [The uncomfortable shifting even as he pretended to not be intimidated was like a balm to MingYu's soul. Oh, he couldn't wait for the fun.]  

"Not that!" A-Ying whined, draping himself over him. It was uncomfortable. 

"What our stupid brother means," Jiang Cheng drawls out, rolling his eyes at their unexpectedly clingy brother. "is he wants to know who is haunting us."

MingYu frowns at that, "They're not haunting you."

The Jiang-Wei brothers exchange a perplexed look. 

"But you said—"

"That the ghosts are haunting Wen Chao," MingYu interrupts Wanyin, reclining in his chair languidly. The only two, other than MingYu, were reminded of a silent predator who was just waiting for the right moment to pounce. "I never said they were haunting you."

...Was MingYu-ge purposely trying to unsettle Wen Chao?

There was silence for a moment, both of the YunmengJiang siblings absorbing that in. It took a while but a gleam entered Wei Wuxian's eyes. For a brief minute, Jiang Cheng lamented at the interest Wei Ying still had regarding demonic cultivation. At least, he wasn't trying to become one. [But then again, neither did future Wei Wuxian, and yet he did.] 

"Those ghosts hate Wen Chao," Wei Ying said matter-of-factly. 

"So...?" Jiang Cheng prompted when his brother didn't continue. 

"But not the ones following us," Wei Wuxian slowly continued, as though he was still piecing things in his head. "Which means that the ghosts that are following us, and not haunting us, have an attachment to us in some way, most likely positive."