‘“The Nie family? If it were the Nie family of the past, of course they wouldn’t remain uninvolved. The rumour would hardly be two days old before they’d resolutely raid the evil thing’s lair in no time at all. But isn’t the current Nie family head - heh heh - that ‘head-shaker?’”’ (MDZS, p. 225, trans. 7S)
I thought this bit was interesting because it contradicts a fanon idea of Nie Mingjue’s Nie clan I’ve seen quite a few times - that Nie Mingjue, just like the other sects, didn’t care for the common men. Presumably, this fanon idea comes from Nie Mingjue being against Jin Guangyao’s watchtower idea (I have not yet reached the part about the watchtowers and will therefore not comment on how that situation went).
However, a commoner in Qinghe - perhaps he is a quack doctor, but he is still a citizen who has to live by the mercy of the sect leader in terms of protection from beasts (and later he is also correct about Nie Huaisang) - says directly that Nie Mingjue would have send out scouts to check out what is plaguing the people in Qinghe as soon as he heard about it. This proves Nie Mingjue was invested in the well-being of the Qinghe citizens, which is in line with his character. The fanon idea doesn’t seem to be correct.
