Chapter Text
“You’ve got the wrong person…” Mo Xuanyu slowly stirred.
The ritual ought to have succeeded, so he couldn’t have gotten the wrong person. He made sure of that.
His eyelids were heavy; he couldn't open them. His body was curled in a fetal position, with darkness his only companion. It felt strangely calm; silent and tranquil. Was this what death was like? Relaxing, soothing, and ...empty. Warm, even.
He stopped trying to open his eyes, lulling himself into the slumber promised to him.
Wei Wuxian had no idea what had happened when Zidian hit him. Suddenly, he felt breathless, and collapsed. He became alarmed, feeling his consciousness fade. Yet, he did not get expelled from his body.
Mo Xuanyu physically felt a stinging pain on his back and fell to the hard ground beneath him, snapping him out of his sleep. Suddenly, he could move. His limbs felt light as he massaged his back. Disoriented, he felt the grass beneath him as he got up.
“That hurt!” He reached for something and felt something soft.
Soft like hair… and something fleshy? He grabbed it and pulled himself up.
“Why did you hit me for?!” He shouted, angry.
He had been sleeping well too! The blurred sounds of the world around him soon cleared up and attacked his ears with full force. The soft wind blowing the leaves in the forest, the movement of chains in the distance, loud voices becoming clearer. His feet were on the dry ground, and the smell of the forest invaded his nose.
“Wait, how did I get here?” The last thing he remembered was that old hut he had been staying in… What did he do again?
He died, didn’t he? His eyelids no longer felt heavy, and he barely adjusted to the light when he saw a man in purple in front of him. The Yunmeng Jiang sect? The purple roles were unmistakable. He then remembered that there had to be people who knew the Yiling Patriarch personally and began to panic. Right! He had tried to summon Wei Wuxian! Did it fail? No, it can't be. How else did he get here? He looked down at his clothes. Yes, they were the same, familiar robes that he wore. He felt his arms and legs moving according to his will; he’s back in his body! He raised his head, his gaze trailed up the purple robes billowing in the breeze and landed on the scowling countenance. He froze. W-Wasn’t that… Wasn’t that the leader of the Yunmeng Jiang!? This man before him was exactly the one who had killed the Yiling Patriarch, Jiang Cheng!
“What is going on?” Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth.
He had hit the man, who seemed to have changed his personality, yet the soul he expected did not come out. Bewildered and enraged, he prepared to raise his whip again and Mo Xuanyu closed his eyes, waiting for another hit.
“Sect Leader Jiang, this should be enough right?” Someone shouted, and the hit did not connect. “It’s Zidian after all!”
Mo Xuanyu turned to see a Gusu Lan cultivator speak up for him, stunned. Jiang Cheng froze, unable to make another move. Zidian can’t possibly fail on the first try. However, doubt still remained as he turned to stare at Mo Xuanyu, who flinched.
Wait, shouldn't I be the one expelled from the body? Mo Xuanyu thought, confused.
“Who on earth are you?” Mo Xuanyu couldn’t bring himself to answer.
He didn’t know! What should he say?! Trembling slightly, he held onto the donkey for support. Fortunately or unfortunately, someone answered for him.
“Sect Leader Jiang, you might not have known about this, but Mo Xuanyu was the Lanling Jin sect’s… foreign disciple.” Mo Xuanyu blinked. “He had poor spiritual talent, failed to work hard in his studies and had umm, harassed other people which caused him to be kicked out of the sect. I’ve also heard that he has lost his marbles? In my opinion, I think he was probably bitter at being unable to cultivate the conventional way, so he stepped onto the demonic path. Plus, I… I doubt the Yiling Patriarch seized this body.”
The more the stranger continued to speak, the tighter Mo Xuanyu gripped the donkey, only to receive a yelp from the animal. In a slight fluster, he released his hold and stepped away.
“Why so?” Jiang Cheng tapped his finger impatiently on Zidian. His palms began to sweat.
“That… As in that…” The cultivator did not dare to speak.
“He’s a cut-sleeve!” Someone else quipped.
Mo Xuanyu gripped his arm at this, the other hand curled into a fist. Jiang Cheng shot a disgusted look at him, and Mo Xuanyu stepped back. His hold on his whip tightened, carefully scrutinizing the young man in front of him. Mo Xuanyu felt pressure mounting on him, as though he was an insignificant ant in front of the sect master.
Just like how she raised the stick and beat—
He snapped out of it, shaking his head.
“It’s not him no matter how you look at it…” If he summoned Wei Wuxian, where did he go? “The flute was also played horribly, so this is definitely a case of blind imitation, considering how inferior it sounded.”
He could suddenly hear Wei Wuxian speak out in his mind. Why don’t you try playing a few notes after ten-or-so years of not practicing, using a lousy flute made with just a few slices and cuts? If it sounds pleasant, I’ll kneel in front of you!
Wait, who? Mo Xuanyu turned around, bewildered. Upon realising no one had spoken, Mo Xuanyu realised the voice he heard could only be Wei Wuxian! So he did summon him! He tried to grope for where Wei Wuxian was in his mind, only to realise that he had fallen back into unconsciousness for some odd reason. Mo Xuanyu started to panic. Nothing in the materials he studied had mentioned anything about this! But this wasn’t the time to think about what in the world happened, the main problem now was how to get out of this situation. He turned around to see Sect Leader Jiang ponder. Seeing the older man’s hesitation before finally deciding to stare at him, he felt a shudder go up his spine. Then, Jiang Cheng raised his hand, causing the other disciples to come over.
“W-What are you going to do to me?” He stuttered, panic beginning to overwhelm him.
“Drag him out!” The other members of the sect rushed into the room to apprehend him, separating him from—
Jiang Cheng saw fear in the other’s eyes, and moved closer. Calm down! Mo Xuanyu snapped himself out of it. He can’t take you away because you’re not Wei Wuxian! He paced his breathing.
“I’m not him! Why do I have to go back with you?” He hadn’t noticed, but Lan Wangji walked over.
“I have to investigate anyone who practices demonic cultivation after all.” They made no move to stop.
He quickly ransacked his mind for ideas. Jiang Cheng was infamously known for torturing anyone who practiced demonic cultivation. Mo Xuanyu hadn’t had time to check if his wounds from the ritual were present, and time was ticking as the men got closer.
“What do you know of my suffering!?” He screamed, stunning Jiang Cheng. “I shall ask this again, what right do you have to take me back to your sect just because I somehow practiced demonic cultivation?” Anger began to rise from within him.
“Sect Leader Jiang, the evidence is clear.” Lan Sizhui stepped in. “Mo Xuanyu’s body was not taken. If so, why should you want to trouble an unimportant person such as him?”
“Then, why is Second Young Master Lan going to such great lengths to protect an unimportant person such as him?” Jiang Cheng replied coldly, which made Mo Xuanyu realise Lan Wangji had walked over.
“Let me spell it out for you then. He wants to save you face from going so far as to pick on a cut-sleeve!” Emboldened, and the flame within him simmered and boiled over, Mo Xuanyu shouted.
“Save me face?”
“Did you forget, Sect Leader Jiang?! I’m a cut-sleeve! A shitty lunatic thrown out of his own sect! You would go so far as to capture a homosexual lunatic back to your sect just because I played some stupid flute? Are you not scared that people might think you are a cut-sleeve instead?” All the rage just suddenly came bursting out of Mo Xuanyu.
Jiang Cheng’s eyes twitched at this insult.
“What did you say?”
“Furthermore, if I have to pick which sect to take me in for punishment, I’d rather be taken in by the Gusu Lan sect! They’re righteous and they would be more impartial than someone like you!”
“You—”
“He has stated his intentions. Thus, I’ll be taking him back to Cloud Recesses with me.” Lan Wangji spoke.
Mo Xuanyu froze. Wait. When did the Gusu Lan sect get involved with strangers or concerned about demonic cultivation? And there’s no way Hanguang-jun would take interest in a lunatic like him. Unless… Wei Wuxian did something and Lan Wangji recognised him. He watched Jiang Cheng hesitate and leave with Jin Ling in tow. He felt a pang of hurt hit his heart at seeing Jin Ling shoot him a look of disdain before turning to see the Gusu Lan cultivators walking towards him.
This was going to be a long, agonizing journey. Well, he’d rather take his chances with Lan Wangji than Jiang Cheng. At least he won’t get tortured to death, considering Jiang Cheng doesn’t let demonic cultivators go no matter what…
Wei Wuxian can’t possibly complain, right?
Lan Sizhui observed the man he knew as Young Master Mo in front of him. He knew the man had saved their lives not once, but twice. Yet, ever since Mo Xuanyu was hit by Zidian, something was bothering him. Prior to being hit, he behaved as though he was an experienced cultivator, knowledgeable and able to deduce the cause of the incident at Dafan Mountain. While he still sometimes slipped into bouts of shamelessness and craziness, he had a cheerful disposition, which made Lan Sizhui realise that he could not trust the rumours after all. However, the man kept to himself when they descended the mountain. Silent, and awkward. It was almost as though he didn’t recognise him at all.
“It’s weird. He’s acting like a completely different person.” Lan Sizhui muttered. “He’s avoiding us.”
“Hasn’t he always been a lunatic?” Lan Jingyi said, having not noticed the change. “He always does this. You must be thinking too much, maybe he’s just sulking that he has to come back with us to the Cloud Recesses. I don’t get it, he said he’d rather be punished by us than go with Sect Leader Jiang, right? He has to take responsibility for his own words!”
“Still… his behavioural change is so bizarre.” Lan Sizhui folded his arms.
“Like I said, you’re thinking too much about it, Sizhui. He isn’t possessed, he’s just being crazy like he usually is. Remember? He got hit by Zidian and it didn’t expel any soul out!”
“What’s the matter?”
“A-Ah, Hanguang-jun!” Both juniors shouted in shock.
“Please don’t punish us! I swear we didn’t break the rule of bad mouthing someone!” Lan Jingyi said quickly, apologising while his companion sighed.
“Explain.” Lan Wangji said, and Lan Sizhui soon explained everything. “I see. I’ll talk to him. Go and rest.” The juniors meekly obeyed, and went to their own rooms at the inn while he searched for the young man.
Mo Xuanyu clasped his hands nervously. He didn’t know how to talk to the other Gusu Lan cultivators because first of all, he had no memory of ever meeting them. That meant he had no clue what their names were, and it was rude to ask for their names again. He can’t possibly address all of them as Young Master Lan, can he? Secondly, they talked as though they were familiar with him, which he mentally noted was Wei Wuxian, not him. So, he had quietly avoided them all along. He couldn’t just outright say that the ‘Young Master Mo’ they had been talking to all along wasn’t him! They would tie him up and investigate him if he did! What was he going to do in the next few days if he can’t get Wei Wuxian to wake up? The idea of having to lie to those nice cultivators made him feel guilty. They believed he was innocent, but the truth is, he really didn’t deserve to interact with them at all.
He jumped when he saw the door open and gulped upon seeing the handsome, highly esteemed cultivator dressed in ethereal white step into the room. Lan Wangji gracefully sat down at the table opposite him, and waited. Mo Xuanyu blinked at this, having expected the senior cultivator to start lecturing him on why demonic cultivation is bad. Most senior cultivators he had met abused their seniority and would deem it beneath them to talk to their juniors. Furthermore, all the righteous sects had lambasted demonic cultivation, so he was surprised at this action, or the lack of such action. That said, Hanguang-jun was not like most people after all. Silent, and taciturn. Tranquil, and peaceful.
If that’s the case, then maybe he could… Mo Xuanyu placed his hands on his knees and breathed in sharply. Slowly chanting to himself in his mind to calm down, he mustered the courage to finally look up at Lan Wangji.
“Um! Hanguang-jun... It’s a bit confusing but I’m actually the real Mo Xuanyu. I had offered my body to the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, some time ago.” Lan Wangji did not show his surprise, if any. “I’m sure I did the ritual correctly, because someone said about playing a flute, right? I don’t remember playing a flute, but somehow I’m still here even though I’m supposed to be dead.” He looked down, not wanting to see the other person’s expression of disbelief.
“When did you perform this ritual?” The other man’s voice spoke in a monotone, yet no harshness or disbelief could be found.
Mo Xuanyu blinked in surprise at this, looking up to see Lan Wangji still maintaining the same expression. So calming . He exhaled, somewhat at ease. He closed his eyes, trying to remember. Suddenly, he felt his head begin to split in half as he struggled to answer.
“The night before the Gusu Lan sect members arrived at the Mo estate, I think?” The stinging headache worsened, and Lan Wangji could see his face start to pale. “I don’t... remember what happened, all I know is that I was in a deep sleep when I died. It was really peaceful and warm. Quiet, and relaxing. But I’m sure Wei Wuxian was in control until today,” he said confidently.
“You, or rather he, was hit by Zidian, which caused you to wake up.” Lan Wangji supplied, and he nodded. “Is he still here?” He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Mo Xuanyu thought he could feel the temperature in the room plummet.
“He’s here, he’s here!” He leapt away from the stool he sat on, both the stool and him falling onto the floor. “He’s just sleeping!” He added nervously.
Mo Xuanyu had curled up into a ball, trying to assimilate with the wall. Lan Wangji did not move from the table, but also did not say a word. They stayed like this for a few minutes, the younger man expecting the cultivator to demonise him or chastise him, yet nothing came. A pregnant silence expanded between them, so much so that Mo Xuanyu felt like he was going to suffocate.
“Han-Hanguang-jun,” He slowly spoke, finally shattering the silence, “aren’t you going to punish me?” Mo Xuanyu looked up at Lan Wangji.
“For?”
“Practicing demonic cultivation.” He dared not look at him.
“No.” Mo Xuanyu looked up in complete surprise.
“But… I thought you wouldn’t want to be associated with demonic cultivators.” He looked at Lan Wangji, surprised. “I mean the Yiling Patriarch was your enemy, wasn’t he?” The cultivator in white paused.
“Why should I return to Gusu with you?”
“It is not my place to punish you.” He rose from his seat quietly. “You do owe him an explanation. Rest well.” Lan Wangji soon left the room.
“Ah, okay.” He responded without thinking, and the door closed.
He heaved a sigh of relief and got up slowly. Brushing dust off himself, Mo Xuanyu placed the stool back while deep in thought. Why did Hanguang-jun just let him go like that? What did he mean by ‘it was not his place to punish him’? Shouldn’t he hate all demonic cultivators? He quietly walked to the bed and lied down. Why was the second strongest cultivator in the world acting like this? Could it be that Hanguang-jun wanted to talk to Wei Wuxian? Fatigue soon overtook him and he closed his eyes, brushing aside the questions brimming in his mind. He snuggled into the bed, enjoying the comfort it brought.
It felt like an eternity ever since he had an actual bed to sleep on. He didn’t smell bad nor felt hungry at all; guess Wei Wuxian would have taken care of that. Aside from the backside whipping he got earlier, he felt no pain. Mo Xuanyu rolled up his sleeves and stared at his arms. Clean, the dark bruises absent. There were no signs of the cuts he made during the ritual. He vaguely remembered cutting them, but everything else was a blank. The more he tried to remember, the more his head would start to hurt in return. Giving up, he decided to sleep. It did not take long for sleep to come.
Finding himself in a dream-like world, the first thing he saw was a handsome, older man he did not recognise. Unlike him who had tied his half hair into a small bun, the man did not and let his hair loose. The older man folded his arms, impatiently tapping his foot. Surprisingly, they seemed to wear similar clothing too. He did not expect to share such similar taste, though he noticed the patterns of the Qishan Wen on his sleeves. Well, to be fair, he wore black because it wouldn’t get dirty. No one would wash his clothes after all.
“Who are you?” Mo Xuanyu asked.
“I’m Wei Wuxian, the ‘ghoul’ you summoned to fulfil your wishes.” Wei Wuxian answered in an annoyed tone, and the younger man just stared at him, dazed.
This was the infamous Yiling Patriarch? Though he knew Wei Wuxian was certainly not evil, he did not expect this . Unlike Hanguang-jun who looked like an immortal that descended from the heavens, the Yiling Patriarch in front of him was more of a welcoming, friendly trickster. He gave off a much more open aura, whereas the other man was aloof, distant from the mortal world.
“Thank you. I know I’m very handsome, but why did you think I was a ghoul?! I’m so harmless that I can’t even hurt a fly!” Wei Wuxian feigned a hurt expression, and his whining, shameless voice finally snapped Mo Xuanyu out of his daydream.
“Um, please don’t be offended,” he didn’t know how to address him, but since he’s older than him, “Senior… Wei? I didn’t think you were a ghoul.” He replied.
“Okay, then tell me, why the hell did you offer your body to me ? Dear Xiao-yu, what made you think this was a good idea?” Wei Wuxian said, exasperated.
Mo Xuanyu twitched his eye at being called a nickname by a stranger he just met. Sighing, he acquiesced since he did make the mistake first. He then made an attempt to recall, only to get a stinging headache in return. Nothing came up.
“I can’t remember. It’s all a blur.”
“Try harder.” The more he tried, the more painful it got.
“Hey! I said I can’t remember, and besides, do you even remember how you died?” Mo Xuanyu shot back, irritated.
“Point taken.” He couldn’t exactly remember how he died, so how could he expect Mo Xuanyu to remember how he died in the midst of a frenzy? “So, why are you still here when you should have returned to the earth?”
“I don’t know. I already offered my body to you, and you already fulfilled what I wanted. Do I look like I want to be here?”
“Look here, you. Do I look like I want to be here?” Wei Wuxian pointed at himself. “Why did you offer your body to me? If I didn’t manage to fulfil your wishes, I would have been ripped apart!” He threw his hands into the air.
“A-Anyways, you did fulfil it anyway, which shows that I made the right choice! As for why I’m still here, shouldn’t you know? You’re the one who made the spell in the first place!” The younger one shot back.
“Well, you didn’t even chant what you wanted when you executed the array, so I nearly died after you offered me your body you know!” Wei Wuxian sighed, looking at Mo Xuanyu in front of him. “Do you even remember what you had me do?” Mo Xuanyu wanted to retort, but somehow his mind drew a complete blank.
“I… don’t know.” He hesitated, shaking his head instead.
It seemed the boy in front of him really had no memory of how he died. He’s aware he did the ritual, but not the events that led up to it. Technically, Mo Xuanyu should have returned to the earth after the spell, so Wei Wuxian had no idea what happened either. He tried to recall the state of the hut and the array from memory. Mo Xuanyu skipped some steps, but overall, he didn’t skip the necessary ones. Was he controlled? Or instigated into performing the rite? Without the memories of when Mo Xuanyu died, Wei Wuxian was at a dead end, and he’d rather think about other worrying things… like having to share a body with a stranger.
“So, we have to share bodies now huh?”
“Yeah.”
“This is totally not what I expected, but then again, I was supposed to be dead, yet defied natural logic by coming back to life again.” Mo Xuanyu heard a sigh. “Wait, what happened with Jiang Cheng? Is he dragging you back to Lotus Pier now? Please tell me he isn’t.” Wei Wuxian grabbed him, suddenly.
“Oh, uhh, I was taken in by Hanguang-jun.” Mo Xuanyu blinked.
“No!” He started shaking him violently. “You can’t go back to the Cloud Recesses with him! I’ll die there! No, he’ll kill you! Those 3000 rules are no joke you know!” The man shrieked, rendering Mo Xuanyu speechless and in disbelief.
The Great Yiling Patriarch, a man who almost single-handedly took down the Qishan Wen sect in the Sunshot Campaign with an army of nearly invincible corpses, and invented the way of demonic cultivation, was afraid of the Cloud Recesses not because of the righteous cultivators there, but because… they have 3000 rules. Mo Xuanyu gaped at the sight of this man, who looked like he was in his thirties, whine like a child .
He didn’t know if he wanted to tell the man that the rules had increased by another thousand.
Then he wondered if there’s anything that would bring this man down to his knees. Shaking his head at how ludicrous the notion could be, because it was the Yiling Patriarch they were talking about after all. He then recalled that Lan Wangji being patient with him earlier; as though he was used to it. So, he was right that Hanguang-jun wanted to speak with the Yiling Patriarch! Mo Xuanyu brightened all of a sudden, and Wei Wuxian felt a chill go up his spine.
“Are you two lovers?” He asked excitedly, and the other man promptly released his hold on him, shuddering and backpedalling in fear.
“What—NO! What gave you that idea? He’s my arch-enemy! He hates demonic cultivation!” Wei Wuxian felt alarmed at having to share his body with a cut-sleeve ! Mo Xuanyu remembered how Lan Wangji didn’t show any expression of disgust. “You idiot! He doesn’t express anything on that stone ice face of his!”
Mo Xuanyu disagreed. Lan Wangji didn’t give him any pressure at all, which felt nice. No one had been that patient with him before. Sure, Lan Wangji probably wanted to talk to Wei Wuxian, but it felt pleasant not being hated and being treated like a human being for once.
“Anyway, run away at the first chance you get.” Wei Wuxian instructed.
“Do you seriously expect me to get away from the all-mighty Hanguang-jun with my lack of cultivation?” He didn’t even have a sword, and there were still the other Gusu Lan cultivators too!
“True. Did you at least manage to disgust him? Maybe if you did, he would let you go.” Mo Xuanyu did not dignify him with a proper response, rendered speechless once more.
What. Is. This.
“Oh wait, did you take Little Apple with you?” Wei Wuxian didn’t even give him a chance to process what he had just said, and Mo Xuanyu found himself more bewildered.
“Little Apple?”
“The donkey! He is a very important mount!” Wei Wuxian explained.
“It followed I guess?” He did vaguely remember a donkey following them. “But why is his name Little Apple?”
“Because he would only accept an apple that’s why.”
“Okay… There were horses at the estate when you ran away, and of all things to choose from, you picked the donkey instead.” For an infamous cultivator who could raise corpses, a donkey seemed to be the most ill-fitting mount.
Mo Xuanyu chuckled, imagining an army of corpses following a man sitting on a donkey.
“By the way, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, ask away."
"Do you wear black because it won’t get dirty easily?” He finally asked the burning question in his mind.
“No? Dear heavens, how long have you gone without taking a bath?” Wei Wuxian asked in horror.
“You think they’d let a ‘lunatic’ like me take a bath?” He sharply pointed.
“True. But seriously no, I do not dress in black because it won’t get dirty easily. I dressed in black because… actually, why do I wear black?”
Mo Xuanyu would soon learn later that he could not apply common sense to Wei Wuxian, and that he would regret ever summoning the Yiling Patriarch back to this realm.