This night hunt with Nie Mingjue hasn't gone well at all. But of course, her stupid, stubborn brother refused to listen to reason that he shouldn't carelessly handle some unknown artifact no matter how many mysterious disappearances it was reputedly responsible for. And maybe impulsively snatching it away from her brother hadn't been the smartest decision to make in the heat of the moment but what's done is done.
One flash of light later and here she is, falling gracelessly from the sky, limbs flailing. The high-pitched screaming marking her descent only stops when she lands directly in the water with unceremonious splash. The offensive artifact responsible for this whole mess falls in with her, quickly disappearing from sight.
A light flashes in the sky that is nothing like he'd seen before - not
starlight, and certainly not moonlight. For one, a scream accompanies
whatever is falling from the heavens. Secondly, she lands in the water and
Jiang Cheng is very sure that she could not swim the strong currents of the
river. Very few who did not grow up in Yunmeng could.
Shaking off his slumber, he easily dives into the waters, moving with the
currents and around whirlpools until he sees a mess of silk floating. He
reaches out and circles his arm around the woman's middle, quickly pulling
her to his side so that he could bring them both back to shore.
He's been out of practice since entering seclusion but his body still
remembers and doesn't fatigue as easily as anyone else's as he swims
straight to the shore. What is the creature he'd just rescued from the
depths?
Laid out against the river bank, she looks so familiar--if he looks closer,
he could even parse that she looks a lot like Huaisang. Which wouldn't be
possible for a multitude of reasons.
The resemblance is certainly uncanny. She's a little shorter with feminine assets and curves but she could easily pass for an identical twin sister. If possible, her facial features are even softer and prettier. And the robes she's wearing certainly mark her as Nie cultivator and one of high rank at that,
After a few minutes of sputtering and coughing up water, she manages to sit up, pushing her dripping hair out of her eyes. Once she's able to speak, she turns grateful puppy eyes to her savior. Then stops with a start.
"...Jiang-xiong? What happened to you!? You look old."
Even if physically, she probably doesn't look much younger than the Nie Huaisang that already exists in this timeline does given the man maintains his youth very well to begin with. They both likely look firmly in their twenties.
There's truly only one person who would call him that. With a closer look,
she truly...as if Huaisang had been born a woman instead of a man. Jiang
Cheng can't help himself with staring at her as she gathers her bearings.
Those puppy eyes. His eyes widen when it clicks into place.
"...Huaisang?" he ventures carefully.
There's so many questions: how? What? Why did she call him old?!
His gaze sweeps over her body again and looks back up at her eyes.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-12 04:20 am (UTC)One flash of light later and here she is, falling gracelessly from the sky, limbs flailing. The high-pitched screaming marking her descent only stops when she lands directly in the water with unceremonious splash. The offensive artifact responsible for this whole mess falls in with her, quickly disappearing from sight.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-21 06:13 pm (UTC)A light flashes in the sky that is nothing like he'd seen before - not starlight, and certainly not moonlight. For one, a scream accompanies whatever is falling from the heavens. Secondly, she lands in the water and Jiang Cheng is very sure that she could not swim the strong currents of the river. Very few who did not grow up in Yunmeng could.
Shaking off his slumber, he easily dives into the waters, moving with the currents and around whirlpools until he sees a mess of silk floating. He reaches out and circles his arm around the woman's middle, quickly pulling her to his side so that he could bring them both back to shore.
He's been out of practice since entering seclusion but his body still remembers and doesn't fatigue as easily as anyone else's as he swims straight to the shore. What is the creature he'd just rescued from the depths?
Laid out against the river bank, she looks so familiar--if he looks closer, he could even parse that she looks a lot like Huaisang. Which wouldn't be possible for a multitude of reasons.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-27 09:40 pm (UTC)After a few minutes of sputtering and coughing up water, she manages to sit up, pushing her dripping hair out of her eyes. Once she's able to speak, she turns grateful puppy eyes to her savior. Then stops with a start.
"...Jiang-xiong? What happened to you!? You look old."
Even if physically, she probably doesn't look much younger than the Nie Huaisang that already exists in this timeline does given the man maintains his youth very well to begin with. They both likely look firmly in their twenties.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 09:37 pm (UTC)There's truly only one person who would call him that. With a closer look, she truly...as if Huaisang had been born a woman instead of a man. Jiang Cheng can't help himself with staring at her as she gathers her bearings. Those puppy eyes. His eyes widen when it clicks into place.
"...Huaisang?" he ventures carefully.
There's so many questions: how? What? Why did she call him old?!
His gaze sweeps over her body again and looks back up at her eyes.
"...Did Wei Wuxian put you up to this?"