Be The Icy Beauty! A Xianxia/Cultivation Tale

[SolipsistSerpent]

My guess? He noticed that Xiyi has more traits of the bloodline the clan so prizes than her fake father ever did. Which would naturally lead to speculation about Xi Fu's ancestry.

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And remember, Xiyi is by far the most talented of the children her formerly legal father supposedly produced. Meaning children sired by Xi Fu might be better for the clan than children sired by Ji ever would have been, so if they recruit him towards the clan maybe they can get more talented children (or at least retain this one).

 

[Candesce]

One thing I'll note - Bing Meilu nominally gave Xiyi gifts as a method of getting close to the Redscale Clan.

I personally think she was being completely full of shit about that - she was pretty clearly giving Xiyi gifts because she liked Xiyi and wanted her to survive the Godsblood Crisis - but having made that justification, I think she might actually feel compelled to give the Redscale Clan more stuff.

After all, giving Xiyi a bunch of gifts right before it comes out she's the daughter of someone already in Bing Meilu's service looks real self-serving in retrospect, and while Bing Meilu has no issue with being or looking self-serving, I think she'll object to looking like that by accident, you know?

 

[iledian]

One thing I'll note - Bing Meilu nominally gave Xiyi gifts as a method of getting close to the Redscale Clan.

I personally think she was being completely full of shit about that - she was pretty clearly giving Xiyi gifts because she liked Xiyi and wanted her to survive the Godsblood Crisis - but having made that justification, I think she might actually feel compelled to give the Redscale Clan more stuff.

After all, giving Xiyi a bunch of gifts right before it comes out she's the daughter of someone already in Bing Meilu's service looks real self-serving in retrospect, and while Bing Meilu has no issue with being or looking self-serving, I think she'll object to looking like that by accident, you know?

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She might also say that clearly Xi Fu and Xiyi are exceptionally talented people in the Redscale Clan and what better way to bolster the clan than to advance their potentially strongest members and tie them to a rising power in a way that compels her to defend them.

I think some of it was her liking Xiyi and some of it is her desperately wanting some of the good of her past to carry over to her new life. Also how better to build a close knit and capable core than to recruit those capable of being her competition at an early enough stage that they can be friends/allies.

 

[Wallawallaman]

OP, that emotional escalation at the end between a mother who was in a terrible position, compared to her reasonably sheltered and shielded kid really made my stomach drop for the kid during and after the mother's breakdown. Bad situation to be in all around, that was a very gut punchy scene.

 

[Skippy]

Honestly I really liked how there was no neat resolution here, frankly Xiyi's reaction felt entirely reasonable for a child in her position. It would be extremely jarring if she had a sudden shift in feelings towards Xi Fu, even before learning that he'd just killed the man she still thinks of as her father. As much as I want to get back to some of the other plotlines, I'm also looking forward to seeing how their relationship progresses. Given the lengths of time that cultivators can spend training, and the fact that The Gang are just about to go on a lengthy sea voyage to, the next time XiFu gets to see Xiyi after this could plausibly be measured in years rather than months?

By that point Xiyi may well have grown up a bit more and become a cultivator, and will probably have complex feelings towards Xi Fu, and no shortage of lingering resentment. Even if Xiyi eventually accepts that Ji Ran was not who she thought he was, that does not necessarily neatly transfer into forgiving Xi Fu for upending her life or exposing her to the scorn of her peers, or for not being around during her childhood (even if that's a bit unfair). In real life, this would be the kind of thing you might want to see a family therapist about, but in a Xianxia setting, the opportunities are somewhat limited...

LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR DR BING MEILU

 

[The Lone badger]

"Therapy" in xianxia is traditionally performed by the medium of violence.

 

[Sirrocco]

Did the old guy just sneak adopted Xi Fu by basically making him head of branch family?

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...and the logic is sound.

"So we had this utterly useless scion who was given a bunch of stuff because he had one kid with a strong bloodline and a lot of talent."
"Turns out it wasn't his kid."
"So... give it all to the new guy?"

I wonder if Madame Fang is part of the deal. She'd certainly consider it an upgrade.

No, but joking aside, what he got were the holdings, not the people. So he owns all of the houses, all of the shops, all of the material goods, and so forth. He'd be entirely within his rights to toss everyone out. He probably won't do that, though. Basically, the old guy set up an enticing little lure to cause Xi Fu to adopt himself.

That said... honestly, I don't feel like Xi Fu wants to own a bunch of holdings in the city. He's going to want to make sure that the people he cares about are taken care of and that's basically it. If anything, I'd expect him to basically pass that stuff directly along to his boss. She'd wield it better. She has her own pet mercantile cultivator, after all, and is also better suited to leveraging the political influence.

We'll see, I suppose.

 

[MagicalAmbitions]

"I hate him. I hate everything about him! His pompous arrogance, his callous indifference to everyone who isn't him-I hate the way he dresses. I hate the way he walks, I even hate the way he talks!" Xua Xiang shouted.

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i see she has studied the philosophy of the honorable daoist Kendrick Lamar.

 

[Winged One]

No, but joking aside, what he got were the holdings, not the people. So he owns all of the houses, all of the shops, all of the material goods, and so forth. He'd be entirely within his rights to toss everyone out. He probably won't do that, though. Basically, the old guy set up an enticing little lure to cause Xi Fu to adopt himself.

That said... honestly, I don't feel like Xi Fu wants to own a bunch of holdings in the city. He's going to want to make sure that the people he cares about are taken care of and that's basically it. If anything, I'd expect him to basically pass that stuff directly along to his boss. She'd wield it better. She has her own pet mercantile cultivator, after all, and is also better suited to leveraging the political influence.

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Well, the clan will probably be pissed if Xiyi doesn't end up inheriting that stuff when she's ready.

 

[Candesce]

If anything, I'd expect him to basically pass that stuff directly along to his boss. She'd wield it better. She has her own pet mercantile cultivator, after all, and is also better suited to leveraging the political influence.

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Cue Bing Meilu leaving him behind and departing before he can hand things over, so as to create a trial and tribulation for him to overcome.

... Not that I think she'll actually do that (probably), but Madam Fang is local, knowledgeable, and would probably like to keep everything running; also, she was probably doing most of that work already, because can you really see Ji Ran doing it?