Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian opened his eyes to a damp uncomfortable taste of blood on his tongue. He coughed violently, spitting up more of it and tried to use his elbow to gain balance and raise himself up.
The body was stiff but after a few unsuccessful attempts, it finally obeyed. As his mind started to clear up gradually, he stared at the white robes on his arms with blank eyes. It's been quite a few years but still, the cloth looked oddly familiar.
What the fuck... When did I do something as immoral as stealing another's body?
With an extra effort, he carefully sat up, finally noticing the bloody array beneath him. Although his movements had already smudged some of it, it was still noticeably precise drawn. Someone with an obvious talent in cultivation rituals had perfected it carefully to summon his soul.
He reached out in the dim light given by only a few candles and caught hold of something that seemed like a bookshelf. With killing slowness but he stood up.
Thank the Heavens at least I'm still tall.
He thought as cheerfully as he could in such a situation and looked around for more clues on who his mysterious summoner was. It seemed like he was in some hidden library room... What was more interesting though was that his new body seemed to be in excellent condition having great strength both physically and spiritually. The confused Wuxian couldn't think of a single reason why a powerful person like him would use such a drastic and forbidden method of offering his body to a malicious spirit.
Damn. Since when do I even count as a malicious spirit to start with?
Even if in his past life he had a bad reputation, Wuxian could swear that one can't find another wandering ghost like him. Still, he knew that with his soul having taken over this body, the contract had been already sealed.
With a sigh, he raised his arms, and indeed, he could see three deep cuts on the otherwise flawless white skin, representing the original host's last wishes. Failing to fulfill those would mean his soul was damned to perish, never to be reborn again.
Inspecting the space further he finally found something that resembled an old dusty mirror. With fearful curiosity, he looked into it but one glare at his new reflection was enough and the mirror crashed on the ground.
No, no, no, NO!
Quickly kneeling down Wuxian grabbed the now cracked mirror again and raising it back to the light of the flame looked into it again. With no success because it was still the same gentle face looking back at him. Lan Xichen... Motherfucking Zewu-Jun! What the fucking hell was he doing in his body?!
Saying that Wuxian was panicking would be an understatement. He kept his eyes stubbornly on the reflection trying to find any other possible answer. But the image was identical to the one in his faint memories. Only instead of his usual gentle smile, those delicate jade lips were now trembling in his terror.
How... Why... How the fuck did he end up in the body of the Gusulan Sect's leader?!
He knew better though than to think Xichen was somehow forced into this. Such a strong demonic cultivation spell wouldn't work if the host wasn't free willing to do it. No, there was something else lying beneath this. Something frightening enough that the leader of the most righteous Sect used such a sinful method of summoning him out of everyone to solve it.
Wuxian had always been confident in his own skills but he also knew from first-hand experience how powerful the Twin Jades of Lan could be. The body he was occupying now was the number one most handsome cultivator of this world. Playing it low so no one would notice the change seemed almost impossible. Especially if he thought back at the ridiculously strict rules of this sect. No, he needed to solve whatever Xichen wanted him to do quickly, with securing the salvation of his own soul in the process, then get out one way or another. There had to be a note!
Bewilderedly he started to search around again and for real, there was a piece of paper laying there with perfect calligraphy. It read as the following:
"Protect him, Love him, Make him happy"
Despite all his respect and acknowledgment towards Xichen's abilities from his past life, Wuxian right then needed an especially long deep breath keeping his inner thoughts silenced.
He is already gone. Gone, leaving me here with this bullshit instruction. Who the hell is this "him" even supposed to be?!
To bad that it seemed in his last hours it was the previous leader's romantical dreamer side that took over the more logical strategist he also could be.
Wuxian stood there still leaning against the table dumbfoundedly. Still his brilliant mind grown up on challenges was already contemplating some sort of plan.
First and most importantly, he needed to get out of this place wherever it had been. Then he needed to find this mysterious someone and solve the riddle, meanwhile keeping hist true identity protected.
At least the previous leader was surely private enough to do this immoral practice at some private place. He just needed to find the exit and catch up as quickly as possible with the current events of their world. Blindly starting to tap around at the bookshelves only following his instincts. Finally, he accidentally pressed down on the correct spot and in one sudden move the whole shelf turned around with him locking him out at the other side.
Fuck. Maybe he should have first cleaned up the evidence just to make sure! Worrying that he just made his first mistake Wuxian turned around only to receive an even bigger shock.
"Brother?" A cold but calm voice asked behind him.