- Wen Mingjue: Father, Xiansheng taught me this week, the great philosopher Laozi said, ‘I have three treasures to keep and cherish: The first is love; The second is frugality; The third is not striving to lead.’ . Doesn’t that mean we aren’t suppose to try to be better than everyone else?Wen Ruohan: You will learn this more as you grow. This is not a matter of striving to lead.” These words that left Wen Ruohan’s lips were not spoken with a tone of arrogance, but as a simple statement of fact. “We simply are superior.
The Red Earth (滚滚红尘) is a Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi fanfiction by Stelra_Etnae. It is based on the idea that, instead of being Sect Leader Nie's eldest son, Mingjue is born as Wen Ruohan's eldest son.
It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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The Red Earth Features the Following Tropes:
- Adaptational Heroism: Wen Ruohan. While he's still pretty ruthless and power hungry, Mingjue's influence keeps him from becoming the full-on evil overlord he is in canon.
- Adaptational Name Change: Nie Mingjue becomes Wen Mingjue.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Because Mingjue has been instructing Wen Chao in how to behave, he is far pleasanter than he is in canon by the time he's an adult. He's admittedly a bit bratty as a child, though.
- Big Brother Instinct: Mingjue is very protective of his younger brothers and his cousins. This includes instructing them on behavior, taking Wen Qing and especially Wen Ning under his wing after they are orphaned, and protecting the younger children from a poisoning attempt.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Sect Leader Nie is actually friendlier with Wen Ruohan after losing to him in a fight, hoping for a rematch.
- Everybody Lives: Well, everyone named in canon at least.
- For Want Of A Nail: Mingjue is a Wen rather than a Nie. While this causes many changes, the biggest one that will affect canon is the fact that Wen Mingjue intercedes before Wen Ruohan can shatter Sect Leader Nie’s saber , preventing the major inciting incident of the Sunshot campaign before it can happen.
- Freudian Excuse: Wen Ruohan's grudge against Qinghe and the Nie sect is explained because that was where Wen Ruobai died, killed by a yao. He believes that, had Sect Leader Nie cared more about patrolling his own territory for yao, the incident would not have happened.
- Genius Bruiser: Wen Mingjue's characterization in this fic, as a talented combatant who is very observant and well-read.
- Graceful Loser: Sect Leader Nie, who graciously admits defeat after his match against Wen Ruohan and commends his opponent on his superior skill.
- Heel Realization: Wen Ruohan has a moment where he realizes how close he is to jumping off the slippery slope:Wen Ruohan: "There is a madness in me, Jue-er. It is like something possesses me, making me act on a cruel whim without thinking of the consequences. My mind wanders, and it triggers something ugly in me."
- Lighter and Softer: The body count of this fic is a lot lower than in canon, a rare occurrence in a fic centering on the Wen sect.
- Morality Chain: Wen Ruobai, Wen Ruohan's cousin, is one of these. His death causes Wen Ruohan to start slipping.
- Morality Pet: Wen Mingjue is this for his father. All of his children are to a degree, but Mingjue's honorable nature means that he actually can rein his father in. Mingjue himself is very aware of this, and promises to stand at his father's side.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: A throwaway line suggests that Nie Huaisang uses this, as in canon. Unlike in canon, Mingjue is alive to see through his act.
- Odd Friendship: Wen Ruohan, a morally ambiguous warlord, and Wen Ruobai, a gentle, wandering healer, are very close despite their contrasting moralities.
- Related in the Adaptation: Mingjue is the son of Wen Ruohan. He is therefore related to all of the Wens: Wen Xu and Wen Chao's older brother and Wen Qing and Wen Ning's cousin.
- Shout-Out: As seen in the page quote, Wen Mingjue occasionally quotes Classical Chinese philosophers like Laozi and Sunzi.
- Spirited Competitor: Sect Leader Nie is one of these, heartily enjoying his fight against Wen Ruohan despite losing and looking forward to a rematch.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: Wen Mingjue has no blood connection with his canon family, the Nies. This makes the fact that he saves Sect Leader Nie's life somewhat ironic.
