Chapter 102: Hatred—Part Five
Although he was pierced right through the chest, Jiang Cheng wasn’t so weak as to have died right then. It just wasn’t the best for him to move or conjure up his spiritual powers. He didn’t like it when others tried to help him, turning to Jin Ling he said, “Fuck off.”
Jin Ling knew Jiang Cheng was still mad at him for running around. He felt guilty and didn’t dare defend himself. The dog’s barks came from afar, followed by a sudden wail. Jin Ling shuddered as he remembered what Jin GuangYao said, shouting, “Fairy, run! They’re gonna kill you!”
Soon, Su She rushed through the storm, furious. Jin GuangYao, “You didn’t kill it?”
Su She’s expression darkened, “I couldn’t. Can’t believe the dog’s so spineless. It’s wild when somebody’s there to help it, but as soon as it’s at a disadvantage, it runs away faster than anyone!”
Jin GuangYao shook his head, “It might lead someone else over. We should finish things quickly here.”
Su She, “Those good-for-nothings! I’ll go make them hurry.”
Jin Ling, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Jiang Cheng sit on the ground, still dark-faced, he turned to Lan WangJi after some hesitation, “HanGuang-Jun, are there any more sitting mats?”
The four mats that they’d been sitting on were all gathered by Lan WangJi. However, there were only four within the temple. After some silence, Lan WangJi stood up and pushed over the one he’d been sitting on.
Jin Ling hurried, “Thank you! It’s fine. I’ll just give him mine…”
Lan WangJi, “There is no need.”
As soon as he finished, he sat down beside Wei WuXian. Even as the two sat so seriously on the same sitting mat, they didn’t seem too cramped. Now that the mat was handed over already, Jin Ling scratched his head before dragging Jiang Cheng over. Jiang Cheng first pressed onto an acupoint at his chest, stopping the blood flow. After he sat down, he looked up and glanced over at Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi. He soon looked down again. His face was gloomy, disclosing nothing of what he was thinking.
Right at this point, an ecstatic cry came from behind the palace, “Sect Leader! We got it! A corner is out already!”
Jin GuangYao’s expression relaxed quite somewhat. He quickly walked back behind the palace, “Press on! Please be careful. There’s not much time left.”
Over a dozen streaks of lightning twisted their way across the edge of the sky. They were soon followed by a series of roaring thunder. Over there, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi sat together while Jiang Cheng sat at the side. Jin Ling dragged his own mat over as well. Amid the pounding of the rain, there was a long while of dead, awkward silence. Nobody spoke up.
But for some reason, Jin Ling seemed as if he really wanted to talk to them. After some glancing around, he suddenly began, “Uncle, good thing you stopped that guqin string earlier on, or else things would be pretty bad.”
Jiang Cheng’s face darkened, “You can shut up!”
If not for him leaving Jin GuangYao with a chance for a sneak attack due to his own unstable emotions, he wouldn’t have landed in the enemy’s hands either. On top of that, in reality, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi could’ve completely dodged the attack on their own. Even though, right now, Lan WangJi had no spiritual powers and Wei WuXian’s were low to begin with, their skills were still there. They couldn’t attack, but they were still able to dodge. Clumsily, Jin Ling was trying to speak for his uncle, yet the deliberation made the situation even more awkward.
After being scolded, Jin Ling stopped talking, embarrassed. Jiang Cheng sealed his lips together and didn’t speak again.
Wei WuXian didn’t say anything either. In the past, he’d definitely laugh at Jiang Cheng for being so easily-provoked that he gave the opponent an opportunity. But now, recalling what Jin GuangYao said, he understood everything.
Jiang Cheng knew the truth already.
Lan WangJi stroked Wei WuXian’s back a few more times. Wei WuXian looked up. Lan WangJi didn’t seem at all surprised. His eyes were almost gentle. Wei WuXian felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t help but whisper, “… You knew?”
Lan WangJi nodded slowly.
Wei WuXian let out a light breath, “… Wen Ning.”
Wen Ning had originally been keeping Suibian, but now it was in Jiang Cheng’s hands. And on their way back from Lotus Pier, Wen Ning said nothing of such a matter.
Wei WuXian, “When did he say it?”
Lan WangJi, “While you were unconscious.”
Wei WuXian, “This was how we left Lotus Pier?!”
If not that Wen Ning hadn’t found them yet, Wei WuXian would definitely have begun glaring at him already.
Lan WangJi, “He always felt sorry for you.”
Wei WuXian’s tone was tinged with anger, “… I told him so many times not to say it!”
Out of the blue, Jiang Cheng spoke up, “Not to do what?”
Wei WuXian paused in surprise, turning to him along with Lan WangJi. Jiang Cheng covered his wound with one hand, his voice chilly, “Wei WuXian, you’re such a great, selfless person. You did the best things possible, and you swallowed all the suffering and didn’t let anyone know. What a touching story. I should kneel down and cry in gratitude, shouldn’t I?”
Hearing the mocking tone that lacked any courtesy, Lan WangJi’s face grew cold. Jin Ling saw the displeased expression and immediately stood in front of Jiang Cheng, scared that Lan WangJi would kill him with one strike, “Uncle!”
Wei WuXian’s expression worsened as well. He never expected Jiang Cheng to make up with him after he found out the truth, but he didn’t think his tone would be as unkind as ever, either. With a moment of silence, he replied, voice muffled, “I never asked you to thank me.”
Jiang Cheng let out a hah, “Of course. Giving without expecting anything in return. What a high level. Unlike me, of course. So that’s why my father always said you were the one who truly understood the Jiang Sect’s motto and did things the Jiang way, back when he was alive.”
Wei WuXian couldn’t keep on listening any longer, interrupting him, “Enough.”
Jiang Cheng’s voice harshened, “What do you mean, enough? It’s enough as long as you say so? You know everything! You’re better than me at everything! Whether it be talent or cultivation or spirituality or personality, you guys knew everything while I was much lower—then what am I?!?!”
He suddenly reached out, as if to seize Wei WuXian’s collar. Lan WangJi grabbed Wei WuXian’s shoulder with one hand, letting Wei WuXian stand behind him, and with his other hand he forcefully pushed away Jiang Cheng’s hand. Rage could be seen hidden within his eyes. Although his push held no spiritual energy, it was quite powerful in terms of strength. The wound at Jiang Cheng’s chest ripped apart again. Blood surged.
Jin Ling cried, “Uncle, your wound! HanGuang-Jun, spare some mercy!”
However, Lan WangJi’s voice was cold, “Jiang WanYin, spare some virtue!”
Lan XiChen took off his outer robe and lay it over the shivering Nie HuaiSang, “Sect Leader Jiang, please do not be so agitated. Your injury will worsen.”
Jiang Cheng shoved Jin Ling, who’d been holding him up helplessly, out of the way. Even though he was losing blood, it rushed to his head unceasingly. His face switched between white and red, “Why? Wei WuXian, just fucking why?”
Behind Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian replied stiffly, “Why what?”
Jiang Cheng, “Just how much did we the Jiang Sect give you? I’m supposed to be his son, I’m supposed to be the heir of the YunmengJiang Sect, yet all these years I’ve been outdone by you at every single thing. You paid for your bringing-up with life! The lives of my dad, my mom, my sister, and Jin ZiXuan! Because of you, all that’s left is a parentless Jin Ling!”
Jin Ling trembled. His shoulders sunk, and his face sagged as well. Wei WuXian moved his lips, but he couldn’t say anything. Lan WangJi turned around to hold his hand.
On the other hand, Jiang Cheng refused to give up, shouting, “Wei WuXian, who was the one who broke his promise and betrayed the Jiang Sect first? Tell me. That I’d be the sect leader and you’d be my subordinate, that you’d help me your whole life, that so long as the GusuLan Sect had its Two Jades, the YunmengJiang Sect would have its Two Prides, that you’d never betray me or betray the Jiang Sect—who was the one that said these?! I’m asking you—who was the one that said all these?! Did you eat all your fucking words?!”
He got more agitated as he ranted on, “And in the end? You go and protect outsiders, haha! The Wen Sect’s people, even. How much of their rice did you eat?! Defecting with such resolution! What did you take our sect to be?! You did all the best things, yet every time you do the worst ones, it’s involuntary! Forced! With some unspeakable grievances! Grievances?! You told me nothing, you played me for a fool!!!
“Just how much do you owe the Jiang Sect? Am I not supposed to hate you? Can I not hate you?! Why is it that now it’s like I’m supposed to have wronged you?! Why do I have to feel like I’m a fucking clown all these years?! What am I? Do I deserve to be blinded by all your dazzling splendor?! Am I not supposed to hate you?!”
Lan WangJi shot up. With panic, Jin Ling stood in front of Jiang Cheng, “HanGuang-Jun! My uncle’s hurt…”
Jiang Cheng slapped him onto the ground, “Let him come! Am I scared of him?!”
But after the slap, Jin Ling froze. Not only him, Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi, and Lan XiChen all stopped moving.
Jiang Cheng was crying. Tears poured from his eyes as he forced through his teeth, “… Why… Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Jiang Cheng clenched his fist, like he wanted to hit someone, like he wanted to hit himself. In the end, he still slammed it onto the ground. He should’ve been able to loathe Wei WuXian without a care. But right now, the golden core revolving within him took away all that confidence.
Wei WuXian didn’t know what to say.
In the beginning, it was precisely because he didn’t want to see such a Jiang Cheng that he decided not to tell him.
He remembered every single thing he promised Jiang FengMian and Madam Yu—to help and take care of Jiang Cheng. If someone as unhealthily competitive as him found out about this, he’d be dispirited his whole life, too tortured to face himself. There’d always be something he could never overcome, reminding him that he could only reach where he was because of another’s sacrifice. It wasn’t at all his cultivation and his achievement. No matter if he won or lost, he’d long since lost the right to compete.
Afterwards, it was because Jin ZiXuan and Jiang YanLi died for him that he had no face to let others know. To tell Jiang Cheng after what happened then would be like shirking responsibility, hurrying to demonstrate that he’d contributed as well. It’d be like telling Jiang Cheng, don’t hate me, look I’ve contributed to the YunmengJiang Sect too.
Jiang Cheng cried soundlessly, but tears had already streaked across his face. To cry in such an unsightly way in front of others was almost impossible for him in the past. But every single moment that passed from now on, as long as the golden core remained in his body, as long as it could still revolve, he’d forever remember this feeling.
He choked, “… You said I’d be the sect leader and you’d be my subordinate, you said you’d help me your whole life, you said you’d never betray the YunmengJiang Sect… You said so yourself.”
“…” After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian replied, “I’m sorry. I broke my promise.”
Jiang Cheng shook his head, burying his face deep into his palms. A second later, he suddenly burst out with a laugh. His muffled voice mocked, “It’s such a time already, and I still need you to say sorry to me. What a fragile person I am.”
JC really like Weiying but because of hes mother always comparing him and Weiying since childhood that’s why there something in JC heart that he cant Express JC has complicated heart for Weiying when he denounced Weiying hes also conflicted he said he cant protect him if Weiying still insist on protecting those remaining wen sect but deep inside hes heart he still care for him ..😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
I love how LZ comforting Weiying silently 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
I feel kinda bad for hating Jiang Cheng
Why do you hate JC? I think he is the most human character (with WY) in the novel with all its flaws and qualities. It perfectly reflects what a human can feel with all the emotions: love for his brother, fear and pain when he lost his family over the years, the comparison with WY of Madame Yu all the time, the thought that his father preferred WY, the feeling of being betrayed, the weight on his shoulders when he had to prove to other clans that he was able to rebuild Lotus Pier and the decisions he had to make, sometimes good and sometimes bad and that he had to live with the greatest pain: the loss of WY: as right hand and faithful friend and brother, WY choosing the Wen clan, literally when WY died and now WY chose LZ. He feels betrayed to the bottom of his heart. The fact that WY never opened up to him (and he too) does not help because in the end, he still loves his brother. Of course, that can’t excuse the way he acted toward WY, but, like all of the characters in this novel, we shouldn’t judge him. The author is very intelligent and sensitive in the way she has written how a human being can be, with good and bad sides.😁
I’m not crying, you are! T-T
Jc is the only character in this whole novel who has lots of layers. And unfolding each and every layer of his character in one go is impossible. The more you read this novel the more you’ll understand him little by little. His character is really deep.
I disagree. He is in the end exactly as he was in the beginning. There was no character growth. He couldn’t even bring himself to apologize to Wei Ying. He is selfish, jealous and petty. I like him, but I also don’t like him and I feel Wei Ying did himself a disservice doing what he did for JC, because he didn’t deserve that sacrifice. But that also shows the kind of person Qei Ying is. He didn’t do it because JC deserved it; he did it because he loved him and felt responsible.
whenever I watch this scene in the drama I’m teary 😪
I’m glad I never hated Jiang Cheng. I only love him more now…
Why?
Same, i also never hated jiang cheng
some people don’t understand him🙂🙂
Your eagerness to use the one you YOURSELF has acknowledged as selfless as a scapegoat significantly lowers my sympathy for you. You know you’re wrong and yet you do it anyway.
Jiang Cheng’s actor in the drama is really talented. It’s like he was born for the role.
Yes the production’s tram did a great job for the casting.. Everyone, even bad guys, acted
I really hope Jiang Cheng can be happy in the future, and his relationship with Wei Ying will be fixed, and things will be good…
He is a complex character but lol you can still hate him. He’s just as faulted for everything he did to wei. Y’all funny for deciding he’s now someone I don’t need to hate just because he has to confront everything Wei has done for him against everything “Wei caused” so “aw how pitiful.” Although let’s be honest that later logic is a fallacy bc Wei isn’t the issue as much as the Wen sect were for punishing anyone who stuck against them, for people being jealous of wei’s power, for people intentionally using Wei as a scapegoat while using his methods more deviously then he ever did. Wei is just as pitiful but he’s definitely not nearly as hateful: why? Probably because he doesn’t just care about himself…and actually thinks about other people.
Aka lol just because JC is a more complex character now that he has to face the facts doesn’t still make him an idiot or not hatable.
True!!! In fact he still kept saying that he was supposed to be the leader and WY his subordinate… And that WY broke his promise, but really, even after knowing that WY is selfless, did so much for him, but still he needs to say that… It’s just that JC might be hatable… Even I dislike his character a bit, but honestly he doesn’t really know hiw to express himself, just like WY and LZ… But since he has always been compared to WY, and even though WY didn’t have his parents, be still was loved and respected… But fir JC maybe that parental love felt a bit force…? Maybe… Its just how the story is and I feel it should be like this along with how the characters are… Or else it wouldn’t be as intriguing as it is !!!😊 😊 😊
You know at first I wasn’t able to love JC but in the end I could feel his deep pain over losing the one who was most important and close to him (even more than YanLi) WWX. I’m not saying he was in love with him but he was his friend, his brother, his confidant so he felt betrayed even though he knew it wasn’t WWX’s fault but like you said, he didn’t know how to express his emotions. He felt betrayed because WWX followed his own heart, beliefs and values to save the innocent Wen people instead of choosing to support them and rebuild the clan, supporting them in front of other clan leaders taking even the demonic way, fighting and protecting others, die and in the end choose LZ to stay by his side. JC grew up in the shadow of WY because of his mother who constantly compared him to his father, who subconsciously preferred WY knowing full well that WY was the most competent to be a chef and understood Jian’s motto the best. He loves his brother but because of that his whole relationship was love (brother) and hate. Of course, he should have stood next to WY in front of the others, but he didn’t, and because of that, WY realized that only LZ was still the one who was totally honest with him and the rest is history. My main point is that no one is totally black or white even though we cannot excuse their actions or words.😁
honestly i really feel for jc: he’s been constantly compared to wwx his entire life, constantly trying to live up to his role as the yunmeng jiang sect leader yet once he does become leader he’s still let down by wwx time and time again while having to put up with others who talk behind his back…what can he do?
That’s bs. How is it Wei Ying’s fault that JC was always compared to him? That was the failing of his parents and his failing was that he bought into it. Wei Ying never treated JC as less than him. JC was content as long as WY stayed by his side and in his shadow. He was completely happy with WY promising to stay by him, as his second, but the moment WY started branching off and following his own mind instead of following JC, who was content to let bad things happen to other people as long as it wasn’t him or anyone from his sect, he got angry or jealous. And when he became jealous (usually when WY’s abilities were seen and recognized) he became more angry. And how did WY let him down after JC became leader?? JC was only “let down” as you put it, because WY was focusing on others that weren’t him or of their sect. He was selfish and a coward and by the time he got the backbone to stand up and do something most of his family was dead.
“so long as the GusuLan Sect had its Two Jades, the YunmengJiang Sect would have its Two Prides” it’s always so sad to hear this sentence (╥﹏╥) So many bad stuff got in the way of their familial love/brotherhood.. they deserved all the good things for the sacrifices they’ve made (╥﹏╥)
What a powerful chapter!
could he have been any more petty ughhhh
but really i think i am the exact same as Jiang Cheng, which is why i feel some unreasonable and unjustified hatred for him. it’s not that grand, just a speck of pity. i mean he’s like what, in his thirties? and he still holds those kinds of grudges? olay he was clueless before but after he learned about the core inside of him, he should have had time to realize what Wei Ying was thinking when he did everything he did starting from being the trouvle child to saving Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan to defecting to being responsible for a large-scale massacre… etc.
Jiang Cheng is still too blinded by his grudge to realize the things Wei Ying went through aren’t any less painful than what Jiang Cheng himself went through. or is it that it doesn’t matter because Wei Ying is a servant’s son? because he’s a servant’s son, he can suffer alone without blaming anyone else for it?
thank you for translating.
omg Jiang Chang. so frustrating. what do u mean wuxian broke the promise. when truly the promise was broken by jiange Cheng himself. jiang chang should have stood by wuxian during those times and trusted him. when does wuxian constantly have to sacrifice things for jiang Cheng. wuxian deserves to have his own desires too.
And Jiang Cheng doesn’t? They both did bad things, and both are equally hurt, just in different ways. WWX did break the promise, that is the cold, hard truth. Sure, he had a good reason to, but that doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t stick to his words. WWX made the promise to JC when he was hurting, when he felt that JFM loved WWX more than his own son. JC didn’t break any promise, because he didn’t promise anything. Like he loved WWX, but he didn’t verbalise a promise like WWX did.
Besides, Jiang Cheng had a whole damn sect to lead, he couldn’t stand by WWX. Not even if he wanted to. If he did, he would face the consequences of ‘siding with evil’, his sect would be destroyed, his family honour ruined. You might say ‘family honour doesn’t matter as much as a life’, but that’s not how things were in ancient China.
JC and WWX deserve to have their own ‘desires’. WWX desired to help the Wens, so he did. JC desired to have a happy family. That, he never got. His feelings are justified, especially after the golden core thing was revealed to him.
Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk lololol
Jiang Cheng…..needs therapy.
I’ve said from the beginning that’s it’s impossible for me to hate him simply because I can understand so well. Not that he isn’t wrong A LOT, but that he’s a victim of his upbringing.
I think the reason so much shit was so fucked up in the past was the lack of mental health professionals.
Wei Ying used to be his therapist; the person he told everything and the person who always calmed his anger, without him there, JC just kept being angry. It’s definitely not good for the heart or mind.
He never learned to control his rage because he never had to, WY took everything and never complained.
He really was spoiled by his Shixiong.
I feel really really sorry for Jiang Wanyin. I kinda wanna travel into the book and give him a hug, I don’t think he ever got sincere physical comfort without an ulterior motive.
And he has no one to do this for him.
I love this comment 💝 I would have agreed wholeheartedly if not for JL who loves him and whom he treats harshly.
Poor JC. I don’t hate him. In fact, I feel sorry for him. And I blame alot of his faults on his mother, Madame Yu. Her jealousy of WY’s mother destroyed not only her marriage, but also crippled her son. All she could see is how much stronger WY was than JC and, because of who his mother was, continuously compared them. She put her own insecurities on her son and made him into the same angry and jealous person that she was. She treated Yanli as if her only worth was to marry since she couldn’t cultivate and made WY to feel like his only purpose in life was to remain by JC’s side and protect him. Because since he was so much stronger than JC, then he may as well use that power to protect him. After all,, WY owed JC that for being rescued by her husband. It’s really sad too, because all of it was due to a misconception in her own head. JC was doomed from the moment WY was brought to live with them. And I feel bad for JC because he had the tools to overcome it. He had Yanli and WY who loved him dearly and constantly told him his worth, but the more WY showed himself to be a better cultivator the more he believed what his mother said and the more his anger grew. JC is also a some-what selfish person and he did not see the merit in helping someone else who was not part of his sect and, definitely, if it would cause harm to himself or those he loved. Madame Yu was the same way and it was another that drove a wedge between her and her husband, bc he wanted to be someone who would help someone in need regardless of who they were or what sect they came from. Just like WY’s mother. And he loved how WY turned out to be so much like his mother and he wanted JC to be like that, too and to one day, when he was leader, he would take the entire sect into a new direction. But, unfortunately, JC turned out to be more like his mother. While Yanli was like her father and WY, but she would lead the sect and her cultivation was too weak. So no, I don’t hate JC, but I do feel sorry for him and he is so set in his anger and jealousy that he will never be truly happy, because he won’t allow himself. After all the years that WY was dead, JC didn’t change a bit. And the fact is after he knows the truth he can’t accept it because then he would have to face the bad parts of the past that he played a hand in.
After all these chapter i could kinda understand JC..At the beginning of the novel i hated him..but later from around the time when JC and WWX had the duel..i just pitied him..now i must say i felt bad for him..but what he did to WWX is not forgivable..i know the reason he was harsh against WWX was because of jealousy and his insecurities,which was because of his not so good childhood..but what he did was wrong..i know he loved WWX but his insecurities and jealousy towards WWX overpowered his love towards WWX..
I don’t want to blame JC Alone..WWX was also responsible for their relationship to turn this way
WWX and JC were both selfish..WWX back then never saw things from JC’s perspective nor JC tried to see things from WWX’s perspective..only if they both had tried to talk it out and at least tried to understand each other,things would not have turned this way..JC in the drama was even more pitiful..
On the other hand LWJ always tried to understand the situations from WWX’s perspective..he did not force WWX to do anything..he always tried to to talk to him if he felt what he was doing was wrong but when WWX didn’t listen to him he just warned/gave him an advice..ultimately letting WWX understand things on his own..that’s why their relationship became stronger and stronger day by day..LWJ always respected WWX’s decisions respective of whether it was right or wrong..
BRO EVERYONE ELSE WAS HATING JC AND I NEVER WANTED TO
AND THIS IS WHY
I’M CRYING-
I feel like I should clarify that I didn’t like him either, but I didn’t want to hate him because I sort of understood where he was coming from
damn just talk to each other
I feel for JC and at the same time I dont, even after all this years, even after he admitted that wwx is not the rsponible of the LP downfall he still blame wwx for it, he never apologize and he twist everything wwx said (ala YZY!), he still wants wwx to live his whole life trapped in LP, the yunmmeng bros would have broken up no matter what, JC would still want WWX to stay at LP and WWX would want to be with LWJ and travel around the world. He still goes ‘ME ME ME’, he is still angry at wwx because he is better than him! once he grows past that, once he decides its time to be an adult I will like jc more, for now he is still in red numbers for me
IF HE TOUCHES JL ONE MORE TIME, JIN LING IS NOT AT FAULT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN HIS LIFE do not treat children as your punching bag because you cant handle dealing with your sht
Jiang Cheng is such a broken man that I feel this deep misery crom him. The actor who also played him in the drama was great for acting out this scene that I cried with him. You can never understand a person who silently suffered a trauma and can’t get over it even after all these years. Reading Jiang Cheng words, its really painful.
Also Jin Ling, my poor boy! He tries to console his uncle and still understands him even though he’s acting out so bad. Jiang Cheng, I want to punch your chest so bad. 😑
This scene makes me cry in live action.. and also the scene where wen ning telling jiang cheng about the golden core i really cried because my wangji tears fall down on that scene.
not at how everyone who hated jc’s character is suddenly praising him and feeling pity or still being ignorant about him
i would’t say i hate JC, but i hated the way he never saw how weiying struggled and overlooked it. i feel bad for them both