Part 24 – A Bargain Is Struck

“Nie Huaisang, what are you doing here?” Wei Wuxian asked as he glanced around. On the bench next to the sect leader sat a small bag of golden seed. A few wary birds pecked about in the short grass. Their long, trailing tail-feathers shimmered in the sun. “Feeding peacocks?” Wei Wuxian laughed. “Shouldn’t you be attending the talks? That’s why you’re here, after all.”

Nie Huaisang shook his head as he lowered his gaze. “Well…I would like to, but…”

“Let me guess,” Wei Wuxian said, “you’ve been told you’re not welcome.”

Nie Huaisang looked up at him desperately. “W-well…not in so many words. But, yes…I suppose that is the case. I-it would seem—”

“Enough of that already.” Wei Wuxian’s eyes glinted, not without some real heat behind them. “It’s just the two of us here now, so you can drop the stuttering, I’m-so-pitiful act. Do you think it ever fooled me, or Hanguang-Jun for that matter? From the moment we met you on the road, you’ve gone out of your way to seem like a total bumbling incompetent. That stunt with the saber you pulled was almost convincing, I’ll give you that. But then I considered how single-minded your sword was in targeting Wen Ning. Despite all your efforts to appear unassuming, there is a common thread to your schemes.” Nie Huaisang could only stare anxiously as the Yiling Patriarch drew himself up, dark and menacing. Crossing his arms, he peered down, letting the long heavy pause draw out even more dramatically. “It’s me!” he declared at last, in cool triumph.

The sect leader blinked. “…You, Wei-xiong?”

Narrowing his eyes, Wei Wuxian pinched his chin as he began to pace. “Damn, you’re good,” he muttered, cutting his old friend a shrewd glance. “You really do look lost.”

“…That’s because I am,” Nie Huaisang mumbled helplessly, his slender shoulders sinking.

“Jin Guangyao never stood a chance.” Wei Wuxian sighed, almost pityingly. “How could he have guessed such a pattern? But I’ve known you since we were boys. Even back then, when there was something you really wanted, you relied on me to help you achieve it. In those days it was your studies. Not long ago, it was your vengeance. And now?—your ambitions, I suspect. Up to this point, you’ve been forced to keep a low profile, so Jin Guangyao wouldn’t wise up to you. But now he’s dead, and you’re looking to dig yourself out of the hole you’ve been hiding in. You needed me to get you into Lotus Pier. Now you need me to get you into those talks. If you want to be Chief Cultivator, you’re going to need strong allies.” Nie Huaisang blanched at the suggestion, but Wei Wuxian wasn’t fooled. “Now, now, don’t be modest. Do you think I care what heights you’re aiming for? Not at all! I don’t really even care that you’re angling for me to help you. The only thing that concerns me is what I get out of it in exchange.”

For a little while, Nie Huaisang regarded him, his expression a perfect mask of polite befuddlement. Saying nothing more, Wei Wuxian regarded him evenly back. As a soft wind rustled through the lush grass and the shiny feathers of the peacocks, the fine knit between Nie Huaisang’s brows smoothed. When he spoke, his voice was quiet yet steady.

“What is it you want from me?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian grinned. “I’ll tell you,” he said, a hint of warning in his tone, “but you’re not going to like it.”

Mo Dao Zu Shi © Mo Xiang Tong Xiu