If You Only Knew Then (The Things I Only Know Now)
is a For Want Of A Nail Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi Fan Work by Nillegible.
Four people who lost the most send different warnings from the future of what's coming that range from blunt letters to secret messages.
Yu Ziyuan receives a warning, a letter in Jiang Cheng’s handwriting, familiar, though it seems to have evened out over long years of practice. This was from her child, but not. This Jiang Cheng, grown up in ways that it hurt to contemplate, had endured the death of his family, his Sect, and his soul.
He begs her to change things, to not let the same tragedies befall him again.
Nie Huaisang receives a blank scroll, and a handpainted fan in Qinghe Nie green, taunting him. Lan Xichen gets a Xiao score that all but shatters his heart.
(They may have failed once. They will not fail again.)
If You Only Knew Then (The Things I Only Know Now)
- Big Brother Instinct:
- After getting a hint of the brewing war with Qishan Wen, Wei Wuxian needs no prompting to swear he will safeguard Jiang Cheng.
- In spite of being mightily upset by Wei Ying dabbling into demonic cultivation, Jiang Cheng nonetheless assures anyone wanting to hurt the youth for practising The Dark Arts will have to go through him first.
- Nie Huaisang is driven to improve his cultivation and fighting abilities after getting a hint that the brother he adores will die in the Bad Future.
- Combat Hand Fan: Since he's not very good with the saber, Nie Huaisang decides to start fighting with a fan. Wei Ying suggests to add arrays for magic effects and Jin Zixuan is enlisted to help develop a combat style.
- Damned by Faint Praise: Yu Ziyuan muses it was easy for Jiang Fengmian to become the most beloved Sect Leader among the civilian populace — the Nie are still reeling from an abrupt leardership change, Wen Ruohan is a complete psychopath, Qingheng-jun would rather ignore the world to stay in seclusion and Jin Guangshan is far too focused on raping and taxing his peasants.
- For Want Of A Nail: Due to the Yu and the Jiang Cultivator's involvement during the fight with the Waterborne Abyss, Wei Ying was in the water longer then in Canon which led to his Qi and spiritual energy being slightly damaged. In order to rectify it, Lan Xichen agreed to play Clarity for him with Wangji sitting in to observe and prefect the song himself.
- Improvised Weapon: Madame Jin fully harnessed the art of fighting with anything you can get your hands on, and gave her son some pointers. It makes Jin Zixuan the most qualified person to develop a fighting style revolving around Combat Hand Fan.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng start to genuinely worry about the upcoming conflict with the Wens when they realize Yu Ziyuan — Action Girl extraordinaire — is afraid.
- Teen Genius: It's not a secret to know Wei Ying's a budding genius in the making but it's reinforced when even Lan Xichen is impressed at his ability to notice a single mistake in the Song of Clarity after only listening to it five times and without seeing the notes.
