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Published:
2018-11-03
Completed:
2019-01-14
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87,825
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36/36
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SanRen

Summary:

Leaving YunmengJiang in an effort to curb the tensions in the Jiang family, Wei WuXian becomes a rogue cultivator.

Even without the support of a sect, he is a rare genius whose name will become known across the cultivation world and whose techniques will influence the course of a war.

However, what influences his own fate is a chance meeting that becomes the first step toward love.

Notes:

There is a Russian translation here. Big thanks to Камилла 13795!

Chapter 1: Journeying

Notes:

This was written for Nanowrimo 2018, which I did win. It’s based largely on the novel, along with some bits from the donghua. I wrote this before Untamed was released, so there is nothing drawn from there specifically.

About the title:
Naturally it comes from the honorific used for WWX’s mother, CangSe Sanren. Paraphrased from the wiki, 散人 means "person of leisure." This tends to indicate people with no jobs or nothing to do with the world, but it is also used to refer to rogue cultivators in some novels, contrasting them with those from proper cultivational sects.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Journeying 

 

It was hard to believe anyone had ever lived in that room. Everything had been packed or given away, and every surface was meticulously clean. The only sign of its occupant were the stick figure doodles on the board above the bed. 

 

And, of course, the occupant himself — or was it already “former” occupant? — running his hand over them thoughtfully. 

 

Wei WuXian hummed distractedly as his fingers pressed against the rough lines. He should clean them up too, he thought. He had wanted to leave everything perfect, for... a lot of reasons. To spare anyone from having to clean up for him, to make the separation as clean and easy as possible, maybe to stick his nose up at Madam Yu a little... 

 

He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t. He wasn’t even hurt, really. He didn’t blame anyone either. But he had to admit it still left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth, despite his best efforts to ignore it. 

 

Dragged out of his thoughts as another presence paused in the doorway, Wei Wuxian turned around and smiled as if he had no worries at all. “Uncle Jiang!” he greeted brightly. “Come to see me off?” 

 

Jiang FengMian’s expression was quite light as well — that is to say, quite fake. “Are you all ready?” he asked, smiling the same benign smile he had always directed at Wei WuXian. 

 

No. “Yeah,” Wei WuXian said easily. “I’m all packed.” 

 

His gaze darted to the carvings he’d made in a bout of boredom so long ago, and with a sudden burst of rebelliousness, he decisively thought that leaving them was for the best after all. Some other disciple would be moved into the room soon enough, and inheriting the lazy scribbles of their predecessor was only natural. 

 

No matter what, Wei WuXian had been a disciple of YunmengJiang. That wouldn’t change, even after his departure. 

 

“That’s good. Everything is ready from our end as well. Here is the official notice of your departure from the sect.” Jiang FengMian held out the certificate, the strokes of the script precise and formal, the red of the sect head’s stamp eye-catching. It was probably a good idea to confirm exactly what it said, but Wei WuXian couldn’t work up the will to do more than glance at it. “No one will have any right to give you trouble for heading out on your own, so...” 

 

“Right, right! From now on, I’m a rogue cultivator!” Wei WuXian agreed, grinning. “Like Mom! You know, I was always holding back so I wouldn’t cause trouble for the sect, but now...” He trailed off with an ominous snicker. 

 

Now, he could do anything he wanted. He could go anywhere he wanted. No more scolding from Jiang Cheng, no more being whipped by Madam Yu, no more having to kneel in the hall and “reflect on his behavior.” It was a nice thought — a nice way of looking at this situation. Wei WuXian preferred it this way, but Jiang FengMian’s formerly controlled expression was slowly growing troubled, as he couldn’t quite hold back his feelings any longer. 

 

“Are you sure you’ll be alright, A-Xian?” he asked with surprising insistence. “Even with this, I can still burn it, and you can...” 

 

“No way,” Wei WuXian said firmly. Even though he was still smiling for now, he turned away, just in case. “I already made up my mind! And... Uncle Jiang, I’m very grateful, to you and to YunmengJiang. I wanted to pay you back for raising me all these years by becoming a cultivator and serving the sect. But the way things are...” 

 

It was hard not to let his voice crack, and despite his every effort, his tone went much too flat. 

 

“I’m just making it worse. I’m making things worse just being here.” 

 

That was the plain truth, even though they had all ignored it as hard as they could for a long time. Frankly, Wei Wuxian would have probably continued to ignore it, but... 

 

It was the truth. The rumors and the friction between Madam Yu and Uncle Jiang, the pressure on Jiang Cheng — they were all just building and building. It wasn’t going to get better. He wasn’t helping anything by being here. He was just making it worse. 

 

So the best thing he could do was leave. 

 

Once he decided that, Wei WuXian had immediately felt like some invisible weight had... not lifted exactly, but settled on his shoulders in a way he could carry until it became so natural that he wouldn't even notice it anymore. Everything clicked together and started to make sense again, like coming out on the other side of the muddle his thoughts had been slowly spiralling into as he became more and more aware of the tensions prying the Jiang clan apart. 

 

He’d become a rogue cultivator like CangSe SanRen had been. He'd travel freely, hunt and research at his leisure, and play as he pleased. And then one day...

 

‘I’ll be back,’ was what he wanted to say, ‘I’ll still pay you back for all your kindness and support.’ When Jiang Cheng became the sect leader, when there was no more reason for bitterness between them, when there was no more reason for Madam Yu to doubt... But wouldn’t saying it be too irresponsible? Uncharacteristically, Wei WuXian wavered. The whole point was to remove his troublesome presence. Leaving behind a promise might just cause more problems. 

 

In the end, he remained silent. 

 

Jiang FengMian’s expression turned pained in that silence, his lips pressed tightly together to hold back the hundred things he wanted to say as well. 

 

This awkwardness was the worst part, Wei WuXian decided. Stowing the last of his belongings in a qiankun pouch, he turned around and grinned as carelessly as he could. “Thanks for everything, Uncle Jiang,” he repeated firmly. 

 

Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi were waiting at the gates, along with a crowd of their junior disciples. The brother’s expression was tight and complicated. It was probably the first time Wei WuXian had seen such a resemblance between him and his father. The sister only smiled gently and pulled Wei WuXian into a warm hug that he returned tightly. 

 

‘I’ll be back,’ he again wanted to say. But he stayed silent — and promised it only in his heart. 

 

~.~.~

 

To be perfectly honest, traveling around a rogue cultivator suited Wei WuXian pretty well, if he did say so himself. All the advantages he had anticipated—! And even the issue of having to manage his own finance didn’t end up much of a problem.

 

After all, there were many areas that didn’t fall under any cultivation sect’s control, and they were always happy to receive any help at all with their accumulated spiritual woes. He helped them, they gave him a hot meal and a place to sleep, and everyone was happy. It was a pretty good deal all around. 

 

...Usually. At the moment, Wei WuXian was admittedly a fair distance from happy. 

 

This little errand was undeniably a tedious one. Calling it hunting was a stretch — it was really just tracking down a few dozen moving corpses that had scattered across the valley after a merchant caravan was caught in a landslide. The bodies, falling down a gorge, couldn’t be retrieved before they transformed, and ended up wandering off individually. Even if they had all come at Wei WuXian together, their low level would have made them no challenge. One by one? There was not even a point in swinging Suibian. 

 

It was just finding them that was taking far too long. There would have been no way to confirm if he caught all of them normally, but Wei WuXian had seen this as an excellent opportunity to test out something he had been working on — a special magic tool of his own creation, which pointed toward any malevolent beings in the vicinity. 

 

Or at least it was supposed to, there were admittedly a few gaps in its functions. Knowing that, he made a somewhat dubious expression as he stared down at it. There were no longer any reactions, even after he crossed the valley up and down atop his sword, but did that mean he was done, or had the compass missed any of the moving corpses? 

 

Finally, Wei WuXian shrugged carelessly, dismissing the issue from his mind. “I’ll check again tomorrow night,” he decided, “and if there’s no response again, I’ll call it done.” 

 

Given the level of the moving corpses, even if a couple remained, they wouldn’t be a serious danger to the villagers. Of course, he’d warn them that some might still be out there too. 

 

He had been lazily drifting along the outer edges of the valley, intending to circle back toward the village, when the compass in his hand gave a faint ping. The reaction fluttered unsurely and faded out a moment later, but it had definitely been there. 

 

Wei WuXian huffed in annoyance. How typical. It seemed his night wasn’t over after all. 

 

In fact, it was just beginning. 

 

~.~.~