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.”
i feel really sorry for jiang cheng but he needs to understand.. it isn’t about how much of wen’s rice wwx ate, it is because of those two certain wens, he were alive in the first place 😦 so how could wwx would’ve turned a blind eye to them?
I don’t think it is about thsoe specific people in the end. It’s about doing the right thing.
Overall maybe but Wen Ning and Qing opened WWX eyes that not all Wen are the same. Seems like an obvious thing but many people in this story paint a whole people with the same brush. If WWX didn’t see WenQing that day, then I doubt it would have occurred to him to wonder what was happening to the innocent or lower Wen.
Don’t take it literally. He’s just basically saying that why would Wei Wuxian save the others first instead of his family? Esp he made a promise to stay and fight with him like their fathers, but ended up fighting against him with the Wens on his side.
Wei Ying didn’t have or discover that power he has yet or even called as Yilling Patriarch that time so he couldn’t save his family who died bc of Wen Cao or otherwise he will be probably be dead if he went fighting them alongside with Jiang Cheng who was with him when they saw JC parents died in front of their eyes. For those 2 to be still alive was bc of Wen Ning who was distracting the others to not get them caught. WXX saved the Wen siblings after he became powerful and also the Jin Clan was irritating him and wanted to kill him. Btw Wei Ying didn’t have any other Wen on his side when he was fighting against Jiang Cheng apart from only Wen Ning all the Wen clan was killed by him. He only saved some old people, innocent kids and Wen Qing. Btw he was using those corpses of the Wen clan he killed as an Army which he control. No clan was on his side btw
I love Jiang Cheng so much. It’s not possible for me to express how well-written he is as a character and how much I love him for it.
Same dude. He’s an underrated and misunderstood character. Poor baby just needs to be loved 😭
I don’t hate his character nor do I love it. I knew he was misunderstood but if he had only stood by his WY he would have gotten a brother and his sister plus his brother in law and all of the Wens would still be there. I don’t blame him but it is still his fault
I don’t agree with saying that it’s his fault that he lost everything because he didn’t stand with WWX. It would have been worse if he were to stood against the cultivation world and protect the Wens together tgt with WWX. By doing so, he will make the cultivation world his enemy since JGS will definitely not let WWX go just because JC stands with him. The corrupted sect leaders will only see JC as immature and naive if he were to protect WWX and the Wens, and in the end, there will be nothing left of Jiang Sect. His sister’s death have nothing to do with him. He had even once tried to convince WWX, telling him he cannot protect him anymore if he were to choose to defect from Jiang sect. Moreover, even if he stayed with WWX, no one can say for sure JYL won’t die because the array was planted by JGS to frame WWX. It doesn’t matter which route JC takes,‘it’ll all be the same. Had he stood with WWX, then at the Nightless City, the whole Jiang Sect would be see as traitors who supports demonic cultivation. Worse scenario is that JC dies too. His decisions were not wrong, considering the bigger picture. I am saying this because I honestly cannot stand JC being slander for thing he did not wish for to happen and things he have no control over. This comment is not mean to be offensive in anyway btw.
Yes, he really is an increadibly misunderstood and complicated character, the fact that he appear as the antagonist because we had WWX side of the story hurt because for the few of us who try to imagine what it was like for him you can’t hate him, i can’t love him either because he did bad things but i definitely like him
Indeed!
Man. I could really feel the complexity of Jiang Chen’s emotions in this. Like all the rage and admiration and betrayal and love- wow. This was powerful, the author is amazing. And thank you translators for really conveying this so beautifully!!
pls u two just make up already it hurts my heart to see u arguing imagine what ur sister would say if she seen this😭
Lan Zhan reaching out to hold Wei Ying’s hand is the emotional support we all need.
“i am sorry… i broke my promise.”… my heart is broken..
I’m sorry but can Lan Zhan just back off and stay out of the brother’s argument please…..!
As Wei Ying’s partner and the only one that stood by him he owns a place next to WY in this argument. He plays a part in it too.
He didnt step in, he only protected WWX from the physical violence and stood by his side to comfort him, leaving would have been wrong, he was the only person on WWX side and he still his
Jiang Cheng was filled of hatred and jealousy all these years against WWX and Lan Zhan knows it. He was just protecting him or else this would have turn worse. And also LZ is Wei Ying’s partner he has all the right to protect him in this situation and he was the only one who was by his side all the time. He didn’t want WWX to get hurt by JC who went crazy full of anger and hatred
LZ have every possible right to protect his love, JC played major role in killing WWX in his first life. Why should he stay of it now? To get him attacked once again. JC character is so complex, noone knows how he will take things as. He is not involved in argument, he just gives WWX comfort that he needs at that place.
Oh fuck the tears
I personally think, that Jiang Cheng’s feelings of hatred and jealousy got tangled, I wish he spoke about how he felt to WWX before 😦
jc used his hatred to suppress the sadness and hurting of losing wwx. idc if u tell me that wwx had it way worst —it isn’t about that! jc had a fragile and insecure personality since young so naturally he wouldn’t be able to react the same as wwx. to jc he broke his promises to care for outsiders instead,, how could he not be hurt? i feel bad him
THIS, yes
Jiang Cheng’s character is so well written.. I’m astonished. I don’t hate him but i dont love him either. Its not like he’s evil to the core but hes also at fault in a way. Its all about perspectives. I hope he understands WWX’s perspective as well…
Now I understand Jiang Cheng, all that hate was more disappointment and the feeling of betrayal from Wuxian, and it fester in to what he has become. Poor tortured soul, I hope you will now be at peace with yourself.
We really can’t blame JC for everything. At that moment, we know WY doesn’t have a choice in protecting the Wens. But also for JC. He has a whole sect to recover, as well as, Yanli to think about. If he’s going to give up everything to stand with WY, then how about the people who depend on him? How about Yanli?
It’s a hard situation for both of them. WY who couldn’t fulfill his promise to stay with JC bc of the Wens and his core. JC who couldn’t stay with WY bc of their sect and of course YanLi. At some point, I can see they’re both trying their best to protect each other. But then in their situation, sacrifices were meant to happen. :((
In the novel, Jiang Cheng’s sacrifices were never seen and heard. The reason why he always thirst for approval. Even the readers still can’t see his sacrifices and deeds. I just feel bad for him. He grew up lacked of warmth and couldn’t comprehend why he lost everyone… including WY. He’s just confused af.
yeah i hated him first, but now reading again, what you said all makes sense. Except his attitude. But didn’t he also blamed WWX for everything? Wen sect sure would have destroyed Jiang Sect just like GusuLan, it was just matter of time. In the cave, wen chao would have surely killed both LZ and Jin XiZuan if WWX didn’t stopped him.
My heart ache so much with this scene, imagining jiang cheng crying.. I mean all this time he’s carrying those promise of wei ying down beneath his heart and not just that he also find out that wwx lied to him (tho its for his own good) still it’ll contribute to the hatred and the longing that he feel for wei ying back then and now.
There it is. Poor thing. 😢
All along he was just sad, scared, and so very lonely. It doesn’t justify the way he acts up, but it’s understandable. He’s so bitter because he felt abandoned. It’s really awkward with everyone around, but he really needed this outburst.
I just wish poor A-Ling didn’t have to suffer as collateral. 😭💔
It might be unfair to JC how WWX chose those wen people but he should understand how much help the wen siblings did to them, but ofc, I cant blame JC because he felt betrayed and his parent died in wen people hand afterall 🙂
All those mean things about wen rice and such are just something jc said to hurt wwx eventho i think he doesnt mean it that way ( like siblings does when they argue) He must suffered a lot too to be alone so sudden when he always did everything with wwx. After all this is jst my opinion.
I never hate JC. Every one have their own perspective.
😭😭😭😭
I think JC is the most realistic character here, we hate him for the fact that somehow if we are also in his shoe, we would feel the same way. Just how a human is full of flaws, ego, pride, and other complex emotion. JC is a powerful character, JC make me feel tormented and sometimes hypocrite lol. But he really needs to a SLAP to wake up
Jin Ling deserves some credit he is trying his best to help them all out , I love him ♡
Also I can’t hate Jiang cheng , I just can’t ! Wei ying and Jin Ling are the only people he has got… He has been hurt so many times and deep down has suffered a lot !
I honestly can’t really blame Jiang Cheng for always thinking of himself first when anything tragic or soul crushing happens and he’s involved in some way. His parents pitted him against Wei Ying in different ways, making him feel inferior from a young age. That wasn’t the fault of either WWX or JC. It’s toxic parenting.
But I still really hate how he takes it all out on WWX every time. WWX didn’t save him for the glory of it, he saved him out of love for his brother. Geeeesh
Its true that wwx broke his promise. It’s just that after thrown in burial mounds he wasn’t old himself anymore….