Chapter Text
A dark figure dashed towards the guest quarters, avoiding the hustle and bustle that arose right after Mo Xuanyu escaped with Lan Wangji. Actually, it was already possible to speak out loud about Wei Wuxian's return, which had been discovered in a rather unusual way. Everyone was now focused on searching for him, on the chase. There were a few people who kept their cool and tried to express their condolences for Qin Su's death to Jin Guangyao, but there were also those who tried to question Jin Ling. All indications were that the boy had collided with those fleeing and pierced one of them with his sword. Unfortunately, Master Jin seemed so shocked by the news that Mo Xuanyu was actually his uncle - Wei Ying - that he made no reply, allowing himself to be led only to his own room.
A figure flashed by, hiding behind a fan, which was quite common in the Carp Tower, not just among the guests.
'I didn't suppose the head was here! I should hurry... Find the right one... I don't know where to look! I don't know...' thoughts raged in the head of the passing stranger. The person stopped abruptly, hearing the hurried servants, curious about the conversation.
"I hear she's completely out of her mind," she said.
"Poor girl, to be manipulated like that..."
"She should be glad she's not pregnant! But that's not what's important. Apparently, she threatened to kill everyone, including his wife!"
"You're kidding, right! They sent her away? Tell me they kicked her out."
"No, she's still as a disciple of Anping Rong. They want to cover up the matter, and expelling Xu Meifeng would only confirm that Sect Leader Rong had an affair with her."
"Really poor girl..."
The voices quieted down as the servants turned in the opposite direction, heading towards the Young Master's quarters. A dark figure, hidden behind a fan, leaned out of the gloom, moving towards her own room, feverishly contemplating what she had heard.
'Dage will kill me if she finds out. Although Wei-xiong still doesn't know it's me... Maybe there's a possibility in that case... After all, he would want to take revenge with his own hands. Well, yes, but with his own hands... I don't know! But maybe it's worth a try before Jin Guangyao decides to make him another Ghost General? I don't know, I really don't know what to do, dage...''
***
He was awakened by a headache. A strong, throbbing pain in his temples, seeming to burst his skull from the inside. He opened his eyes with difficulty, cringing at the sight of the sun's rays, which only intensified the splitting in his head. So he closed his eyes again, putting his hand to his forehead. He wove his fingers through the strands of his long hair, not remembering to let it down completely before going to sleep. In fact, he remembered nothing of what had happened before bed. He clenched his teeth furiously, letting out a hoarse murmur of displeasure. However, if he thought the worst was behind him, he was completely wrong. As he tried to sit up, the memories began to flood him with a wave of broken scenes, fragments of voice, to end with the redness of blood, the scream of his brother, and the terror in his gaze. Overriding everything, however, was one emotion that surged in his chest - hatred for Meng Yao. This one, however, revived him enough that he opened his eyes, looking around the room he was in, though he shouldn't have. If his memories hadn't confused him, which they certainly hadn't, he should be dead, and he wasn't. A corpse's head was unlikely to hurt.
'Where the hell am I?" he thought, looking around more carefully. He spotted blood written marks on the floor. 'Another demonic cultivation fanatic? Fucking Wei Ying...'
He continued looking around, noticing more personal items, more interestingly, they definitely belonged to a woman.
''Looks like the one who summoned me likes to pleasure women and has absolutely no shame on top of that. To commit this fucking shit in his lover's room...' he snorted, half with amusement, half with embarrassment. He didn't fully understand what was going on, but he already despised whoever had summoned him to his place. He lifted himself up, a little wobbly, to look around more carefully, to find some clue as to where he was, who he was into, and how he had come to be here. The man paid no attention to the slimmer shoulders than he had before, nor to the slightly more ornate robe than he himself had worn before. His eyes saw the differences, but his mind hadn't yet adjusted them, hadn't yet put the puzzle pieces in the right places. His dark hair flowed down his shoulder, but he didn't care, deciding to pin it up later. He also paid no attention to his own wrists, which clearly bore cut marks, suggesting that the circle had been created with his own blood.
He slowly walked over to a table standing nearby, on which various scrolls lay. There was a drawing between them, which looked like a circle created on the ground. He began to read into his description, frowning in irritation every moment, feeling anger rising in his chest, though it wasn't as crushing as it had been so far.
'Soul sacrifice, yes? Coward. Why do something yourself when you can call on someone else to do all the work... Oh, well. What do you want from me? Any note?' he continued to snort with amusement, slowly realizing that his voice sounded strange to him, but what to expect after entering someone else's body. He crossed his arms over his chest, furrowing his brow. Something was definitely not right, and warning tones rose in his head.
"What the hell?" he threw out into his voice, now fully hearing what that sounded like. Pleasing to the ear, velvety, even low, though he wouldn't call it fully masculine. Just like the musculature of his chest. He grabbed at the edges of the robe he was wearing to try and pull it open with a jerk and make it stand still. This was definitely not what a male body looked like.
'No, this must be some kind of joke. Just another trick by that giddy dog, Meng Yao. The son of a prostitute... He will pay me for everything. The mirror. Where's the mirror!' he thought, feeling rage slowly flood over him as he began to dash around the room looking for something to look at himself in, until he grabbed a small, elegant mirror with a longer, ornate handle. He lifted it in front of his face and stood still, too surprised to react. A pair of dark grey, almost brown eyes, similar to his own, looked at him from the reflection. These, however, were almond shaped, highlighted delicately by makeup, though a little smudged at the moment. Dark, sleek hair partially hid a face that was pretty enough to hang the eye on longer. The shapely mouth, now open in a slightly goofy expression, certainly tempted men. The girl in the reflection looked to be in her mid-twenties, and since she was a cultivator, it wasn't that long before she stopped being a junior. He furrowed his brow in another fit of rage as he fully realized what had happened, and the dark eyes from the mirror threw lightning bolts in his direction.
'How dare you summon me, Nie Mingjue, into your body! How am I supposed to do anything, being... a woman!'
The mirror, thrown with fury, hit the wall, shattering into small pieces. The man stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily, shaking with rage. He didn't understand how he had come to be a ghost who could be summoned to oneself, forced to enter one's body, which entailed completing the task at hand. Nor did he understand why he found himself in a woman's body, or why she gave him her own body. After all, he would have neither the strength he had nor the agility. He had once been a man to be feared, and with one look he could force others to bow. No, he wasn't a villain, but he did not allow others to step on his head, he did not allow himself to be pushed around. He was the one who had fought during the Sunshot Campaigne like the beast they had as the symbol of the family. How could he become a woman now!
He grabbed the edge of the table and furiously lifted it with the intention of throwing it against the wall. He could expect hardly anything to come of it, though he definitely threw it further than the average woman could. Apparently his hostess, as he preferred to think of the previous owner of the body, had not been idle in her training. That much, at least. He staggered suddenly, feeling the wetness on his cheeks. He knew what it meant, but still raised a hand in disbelief to wipe the tears of anger from his face.
'Awesome. I've become a weepy maiden,' he thought, clenching his hands into fists. He raised his head proudly, straightening up, intending to do what he needed to do as soon as possible to get back to his body, or where he actually was before. He needed to find the information first, which was expected of him. As Nie Mingjue looked through the papers scattered on the ground, a knock sounded at the door.
"Xu Meifeng?" a cautious question was asked in a female voice.
"Go away," he replied sharply, which was clearly not typical of his hostess, as the door opened and a petite maid slipped inside. Judging by the symbols on her robe, he was in the Anping Rong sect. 'At least I'm close to home,' he thought, gritting teeth as the maid looked around the room without restraint, noticing the bloody marks. He should probably react somehow, erase the marks, but truth be told, he was still in shock. The girl suddenly raised her hands, giving him a respectful bow, which he commented on by raising his eyebrows high, clamping his mouth into a narrow line. 'What is the meaning of this?’
"I suspect she has succeeded. May I know who you are?" the girl asked in a humble tone, which left him even more stunned.
"You knew what she was trying to do, and you didn't stop her? What are you two playing at?" he growled, glad to realize that at least his voice could sound as icy and sharp as it once did, though he would have preferred to be in a male body.
"I ask your forgiveness on behalf of Meifeng and myself. Before I say anything more, however, I need to know who I'm talking to" the girl didn't let up, not lifting her head, still stuck in her bow.
"Nie Mingjue" he replied proudly, clenching his hands into fists anew and standing upright before the servant. He discovered with horror that he was no longer as tall as he once was. At the present moment, he would have reached his former self to his shoulder, which only made him even more nervous. However, he had no time to think about it, when the girl before him bowed lower, trembling slightly.
"Chifeng-Zun," she whispered with clearly audible fear, but also respect. After a moment, she rose and gestured to the bed for them both to sit down. Seemingly nothing had changed in her friend, though now she still had her eyebrows furrowed as if she was irritated. She guessed that this was the work of the ghost of the former leader of the Nie sect. As promised, she was now going to convey Xu Meifeng's request to him and everything would return to normal afterwards.
"We're in the Anping Rong Sect, which I'm sure Chifeng-Zun already knows," she snapped, waiting for confirmation, and seeing the nod, she breathed slightly. "Meifeng is an orphan and hasn't spoken much about her family. For over a year, the leader of the Rong Sect had shown her favour, but she had rejected him. However, not too long ago, something changed. She claimed that the sect leader had disgraced her, and she promised to take revenge on him. He himself spread everywhere that it was she who seduced him."
"Should I kill the sect leader?" he asked quietly, almost snarling with amusement. A woman's revenge... He had heard that the scorned and silent ones were to be feared the most, but he had never expected to be caught up in an act of revenge himself. Nor had he ever expected to be a woman, so perhaps it was high time to stop being surprised.
"Yes. Once the task is completed, everything will return to normal and your spirit will no longer be troubled, Chifeng-Zun," the girl replied, tilting her head slightly. It sounded too simple. There had to be a catch somewhere, and Nie Mingjue already knew that there would be problems from this. "To be honest, this isn't the first time the Rong leader has committed a similar act. However, until now, none of the girls had such a strong motivation to take revenge, nor did any of them decide to take such a desperate step as Meifeng did."
"Do you know how she knows demonic cultivation?" He asked, at the same time wondering if there was a possibility that any records of that devil, Wei Wuxian, might not have been destroyed.
"Unfortunately no. Yesterday, she declared that she already knew what to do. That was the first time I thought she had really gone mad. She had madness in her eyes."
Mingjue was silent, trying to absorb all the news and not paying attention to the fact that his hands were shaking slightly. It seemed that Xu Meifeng was quite an emotional maiden and was certainly crying from anger, shaking from nervousness. He was slightly afraid of what else this body might show him, knowing that he wouldn't be positively surprised. The servant helped him clean up the room, and destroy the records of the demonic tricks so that no one could discover their secret. He wasn't sure if he could trust the girl, but so far she was the only person who knew that although she looked like Xu Meifeng, she wasn't her, and that gave him some comfort. At least enough that he didn't start destroying the room out of rage. Finally, Nie Mingjue was left alone in the room again. Outside the window, he could see the rays of the sun, which was clearly leaning towards the west. Snorting under his breath, he made sure that no one would be looking in now, then stripped off his outer robes to inspect the body he had come to use. Luckily, Nie Mingjue didn't see any folds of fat, although he couldn't say that he sinned with the amount of muscles. For the sake of practice, he performed a few basic positions, as if he were holding a sabre in his hand. Well, he was more stretched out than he used to be, but he definitely didn't have the strength. He glided his gaze over his legs, noticing the muscular calves that he was sure the girl had based all her attention on so far. Chifeng-Zun hoped that, despite everything, it would be enough to get the job done, so he could get back to where he was. Maybe not necessarily to his own body, but at least somewhere where he would wait to be reincarnated, or to become a ghost who could haunt Meng Yao. 'Fucking son of a prostitute... He'd better die before that happens,' he thought, slamming his fist into the wall, at which he actually immediately squirmed in pain. "Fucking weak flesh!" he growled, shaking his aching hand. At least he didn't have the strength to break his wrist. He sighed, re-dressing to immediately hear the call for evening training.
Nie Mingjue didn't feel comfortable in his new body, but since he had to complete the task to be able to return to himself, he intended to do it as soon as possible. First, however, he wanted to see what this woman could actually do. He pinned up his hair in the typical manner of his former self, pushing most of the strands out of his face, which he tied with a ribbon at the back of his head. He let the rest fall down his back. Nie Mingjue washed off his make-up, without sparing any curses or angry snorts. Not only that, but he also chose the most comfortable looking robes, regretting that he couldn't wear something less costumed and, above all, that he couldn't wear trousers. He also gave himself any hair ornaments, which he wouldn't know how to use properly anyway. In other words, he definitely didn't look like the real Meifeng, but that apparently didn't surprise anyone, although it didn't stop them from whispering comments or laughing quietly.
"Have you seen what she looks like? To think, she tried to seduce the Sect Leader."
"What did you expect? Apparently, after the rejection, she went completely bonkers."
"She used to at least look like a woman, but now? What has she done to her hair?"
All the whispers reached Mingjue, who wasn't going to care. He walked confidently to the training ground, wondering exactly what the exercises would be like. He definitely wasn't expecting such a defeat, as he had suffered for the first time in a really long time. In fact, he couldn't remember ever having such a poor performance since he stopped being a kid. He kept forgetting that he didn't have the strength he used to have, until at some point he slammed his fist into the dummy, already letting out a short cry of pain that he couldn't swallow. 'Fucking female twigs. Why do they need fists if they can't punch? How could she train and not train... What did she think I was going to do with this body? After all, it will be years before I have even half the strength I used to, and she wants me to kill the sect leader!''
"Xu Meifeng what is wrong with you today? I don't care about tearful stories of scorned love. Get a grip on yourself and show what you can do!" the teacher did not spare anyone a reprimand, but only brought her private problems to light, thus giving permission for others to scoff. Finally, a fencing exercise was ordered and everyone was assigned a pair, not caring about gender. Every cultivator had to be prepared to fight against a stronger opponent, as ghosts, ghouls, or demons didn't care whether they were facing a novice or someone experienced in battle. Additionally, there were very few female cultivators in Anping Rong. Apart from Xu Meifeng, Nie Mingjue spotted two that looked younger. He finally looked at the boy standing opposite him, who looked not much younger than his hostess.
"Shijie, today I'll be able to beat you," the boy chuckled, smiling provocatively, which Chifeng-Zun only commented with a raise of his eyebrows. Clearly the girl, whose body he was occupying, wasn't behaving like this, for the nameless boy furrowed his brows, clearly looking concerned. He still asked if everything was alright, but the teacher gave the sign to start fighting. This proved to be more difficult than Nie Mingjue had expected. Although muscle memory helped somewhat, he himself was used to fighting with a sabre, not the sword whose wooden imitation they held in their hands. The weapon had been knocked out of his hand many times, which only increased the man's fury.
"You can't fight with that! I want a sabre," he finally threw out, clenching his hands into fists as another sword fell to the ground. 'I am worse than Huaisang was when I trained him. Not only am I a cry-baby, but they gave me a toothpick to fight with. Like how am I supposed to complete a task and kill an experienced cultivator!' he snorted under his breath, his dark gaze flickering with lightning until he suddenly twitched as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.
"Did you decide to follow the Sect Leader Nie's suggestion to move to Qinghe Nie for study? I didn't think that after a night of thinking, you would suddenly want to fight like them'' the boy he was practising with laughed sympathetically, but that wasn't what interested the man.
"What are you talking about?" Nie Mingjue asked, not even trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Not only did he have to face a body that didn't fit him, but he didn't know everything about this girl, which made it difficult to function. Why didn't the maid tell him anything about someone from Qinghe Nie visiting? Now he was coming off as an idiot.... Actually, Xu Meifeng was coming off as an idiot, but as long as he was in her body, he couldn't see the difference. Only he had to remember to use the correct forms when talking about himself. 'Annoying' he thought, snorting to himself.
"What do you mean, don't tell me you've already forgotten the proposal they gave you? They wanted you to come to their teachings! To Qinghe Nie, the closest of the Great Sects!" the boy's excitement was loud enough that after a moment they both felt a slap of the hand on their occiput and a reprimand from the teacher, who told them to return to their training. Nie Mingjue couldn't focus on it, though, even though he was already having trouble wielding the weapon anyway. Luckily, they had not come to use a spiritual sword. He was worried that the weapon wouldn't recognize its owner, after all, she wasn't here and Baxia was unknowable. Happily, the training was soon over, and he was able to go to dinner, along with the other disciples. However, it wasn't a peaceful meal. He kept hearing whispers behind his back, comments, and although he kept telling himself that they were about the girl he wasn't, being in her body, he was starting to feel more and more irritated. It seemed that whatever Sect Leader Rong didn't spread about her worked perfectly. Most of the people skirted around her, with only the training boy and the maid left to talk to. Actually, Nie Mingjue wasn't surprised by the reactions of the others. It seemed that Xu Meifeng was portrayed in the eyes of the others as an orphan who wanted to get a higher position through the bed, to become someone. Additionally, the Leader of Anping Rong already had a wife and a child, and although it wasn't unheard of for men to have multiple mistresses, it wasn't welcome in every sect. Some were famous for sleeping with others every day, while others were looked down upon. In Anping Rong it was the latter, and the sudden spreading of the news that a girl had dared to threaten the Sect Leader's wife only scared people away from Xu Meifeng. Unwittingly, Nie Mingjue was beginning to wonder if the maid was right and Xu Meifeng had been raped by the Sect Leader, and when she wanted justice, the man had further slandered her. If that was the case, he deserved punishment, even death.
Chifeng-Zun finished eating and was about to head to his room to think about how he would complete the task when he was summoned by the Sect Leader along with a few other disciples. Unfortunately, the friendly kid he had trained with earlier wasn't among them.
"Your group will be going on a night hunting trip with me tonight. We will split into pairs and scour the area around the village. The locals have been complaining about persistent harassment from ghosts, so it shouldn't be anything difficult," he informed them, then assigned a pair to each. Nie Mingjue noticed that he was actually left alone, but then he noticed a glint in the Sect Leader's gaze. "Xu Meifeng, I heard that you're not in shape lately. I would like to personally check it out, so I will accompany you on this hunt. Don't let me down," he said in a seemingly neutral tone, but the atmosphere suddenly thickened dangerously, and Nie Mingjue had a great desire to sink his weapon into his chest right now. However, he first wanted to find out the truth, who was lying, who was right.
"Of course, Sect Leader Rong," he replied, bowing respectfully to him. He was surprised to discover that his voice could be soft, gentle. In an instant he felt like throwing up his entire dinner, but apparently that was exactly the tone the man had expected, because after a moment he let everyone go, ordering them to prepare for the hunt. Nie Mingjue tried to keep a stony expression on his face until he was in the room, where he only allowed himself a heavy sigh and a wry grin. He found the woman's sword with his gaze and approached it slowly.
'A spiritual weapon listens only to its owner. How can I go night hunting if I can't defend myself?" he mused, reaching for the blade. He gripped it securely, then removed it from its scabbard in one smooth motion, himself puzzled. 'How could this be? Could it be that her spirit is here somewhere with me, though, just dormant? Demonic shit... This kind of cultivation shouldn't exist,' he growled, snorting under his breath. He made a few slashes for a test, feeling the irritation only grow within him. Sword fighting was different from sabre fighting, and to say that he didn't like the current state of affairs was like saying nothing at all. He didn't know how he should deal with it, how he should make the sword move with spiritual energy. He looked at the blade, noticing a name engraved on it - Weifeng, breeze.
"Name obliges you to give others equally grandmotherly names? Weifeng? Miss Xu, a little less of all that girl talk, and you might not have ended up in this place," he muttered quietly, towards the broken mirror from which the lovely girl was looking back at him. The longer he looked at the reflection, now devoid of makeup, he became more convinced that she was still a junior. This made things difficult, for he couldn't travel in peace, he needed a sect to study with.
'Stop. I complete the task and disappear from this body. That's what the maid said, that after completing the task everything would be as it was before' he rebuked himself in his mind, then moved to the door to go outside.