Reunited

s i x

"This craftsmanship is only taught in The Lotus Pier. How could she have gotten ahold of one?" Wei Wuxian's voice was curious as he talked to himself. The charm, which he had conveniently nicked from Xiaoying's blade hilt when in the Library Pavilion with Lan Wangji, was kept safe as he cradled it between his fingertips. For a solid two hours, he looked it over and over for any imperfections, any impurities, anything that would signify it was something someone sold as a vendor to try and lure in and con young cultivators for a sword charm -- but he found none. To Wei Wuxian, 'Xiaoyi' didn't seem like a person to him that would fall for such a simple con anyways.

She was much too smart for that.

It was completely and utterly an original charm from the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. Wei Wuxian remembered learning how to make them with Jiang Cheng in his earlier years, something so complicated with weaving the threads just right, carving the edges just perfectly to create the lotus shape. Eventually he grew tired of it, his hands not nimble enough for the craft and he just gave up. Jiang Cheng and his Senior Sister had one themselves, though being the son and daughter of a sect leader, along with theirs came more charms, more shades of purple, and a different colored lotus than 'Xiaoyi's'.

"She couldn't have stolen it, she doesn't strike me as a thief. Even then, she couldn't get far with those tiny legs. Ha! What a shorty-" Wei Wuxian laughed to himself before he was interrupted by a lurking Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang. "Wei Wuxian! What are you cackling about by yourself here in the woods? Shouldn't you be fulfilling your punishments?" Jiang Cheng scolded, and Wei Wuxian turned around to face him, the charm sliding behind his back with ease in his hand. He wasn't sure how Jiang Cheng would react to seeing it, and didn't want him to before he devised a plan.

"Funny thoughts, Jiang Cheng, funny thoughts. Like Lan Zhan's face when I showed him Nie Huaisang's book!" He lied smoothly, gaining a simple eyeroll from Jiang Cheng and a surprised laugh from Nie Huaisang. The three began to walk through for a small distance, venturing to the back of the mountain, before finally settling near a small stream, Wei Wuxian plopping down before the other two sat down less forcefully.

Wei Wuxian let out a soft sigh, laying back against the cool ground and he pulled back out the charm. The light bounced off the beads and the carved lotus, giving even more detail to it, but still he could not spot a single abnormality to prove it anything less than it was.

"What is that?" Jiang Cheng asked, reaching over before snatching it from Wei Wuxian's hands, the elder man jumping up quickly to reach for it. "Jiang Cheng! Be careful with that!" Wei Wuxian cried as it was held out of his reach, Jiang Cheng standing up to view it more closely, Nie Huaisang following along up to peer at it. "This is a charm from our sect. Did this fall off of one of our disciple's swords?" Jiang Cheng asked, turning around just to have the charm plucked from his hands by Wei Wuxian.

He carefully took the time to unravel any misshapen threads, wanting it to fall just as it did when he found it. "No. It did not, which is why I wanted you to be careful. If she notices and finds out it was me who took it you'll surely be identifying my corpse tomorrow morning." Wei Wuxian reprimanded, and Jiang Cheng's eyebrows, along with Nie Huaisang, soared to the sky in confusion. "'She'?" Jiang Cheng muttered, "who is this 'she'?"

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh when the charm was as good as it was before, the threads untangled. "Jiang Cheng, do you remember any female disciples being kicked out that looked similar to Wen Xiaoyi?" He inquired, Nie Huaisang's eyes widening as his fan began to wave faster.

"Wen Xiaoyi?! You mean the Qishan Wen Sect's Battalion Commander Wen Xiaoyi?!" He stammered. "I can't say I do. Are you really that scared of her, Huaisang? She's half your size, she wouldn't hurt a fly." Jiang Cheng said, his chest puffing out naturally in pride. "I'd like to see her challenge me, no doubt how quickly she would lose that title." He snorted, and as soon as it came out, Wei Wuxian punched him in the shoulder.