Chapter Text
The moon is shining brightly, accompanied with little stars littering the dark night sky. Everything is peaceful and quiet… calm. Until the sound of the flute disturbed the tranquility of the night.
Everyone, both living and dead, tremble in fear. The sound of the flute in the middle of the night only means one thing — Wei Wuxian is here.
Assa! I found you! Wei Wuxian thought as he saw the Dancing Goddess making its way to him, lured by his flute.
He wasted no time as he drew a talisman and threw it towards the demonic statue. Unfortunately, the creature might’ve anticipated it and it quickly got away from the attack.
Wei Wuxian made another and the goddess successfully dodged it again. He sighed deeply. No, his clan won’t lose this precious item tonight.
The Dancing Goddess is carrying with her a very important item every clan in this game covet. If he manages to defeat this monster, their clan would surely go back to the very top of the game.
Wei Wuxian made another attack and this time, he managed to make the goddess fall down. He smirked as he walked towards the goddess triumphantly.
When he was about to give his final attack to finally defeat this creature, everything went pitch black.
“Oh, fuck! Not again.” Junhui exclaimed when his laptop suddenly turned off. He frantically put his laptop and gaming keyboard inside his bag as he quickly went out of his room.
Fuck abrupt power outages! Why does it have to happen every time he’s in the middle of doing something important?
Just yesterday, when he was about to finish his written report for one of his programming subjects, the electricity went out. Well, thank all the circuit and code gods and Junhui being a top student, he still managed to pass something on time.
And this time… just when he’s in the middle of a very important game, the electricity went out again. No, he won’t lose the Yin Tiger seal.
Jiang clan will definitely have it this time.
Junhui instantly went down, hopped on his bike, and pedaled his way to the nearest cyber cafe.
Wen Junhui is a Computer Engineering major. He’s one of the top students in their batch. Being an engineering major sure takes a toll on students most of the time. So, he found something to have this so-called ‘work-life balance’. And that is… playing this interactive game called ‘Mo Dao Zu Shi ’. And apparently, he also aces there. His chosen character, Wei Wuxian, is one of the best players on the entire server. Good-looking, smart, with a good sense of humor, what else can he not do?
Every clan wants to recruit him. It’s because he has his way to get his hands on precious items. Like when he managed to obtain this very powerful flute called Chen Qing. He doesn’t even need to waste his precious energy sparring with corpses and zombies. He just has to play his flute and the monsters will come to him and he’ll be able to defeat them in a snap.
“Oh god, Madam Yu, please don’t be mad at me.” Junhui gritted his teeth as he suddenly thought of one of his clanmates. Their clan leader is a bit grumpy. He promised himself he won’t get on her bad side.
He looked at his watch and saw that less than 10 minutes had passed. No, he must not be AFK for too long. His precious level would go down and it would be hard to climb again.
Junhui’s eyes sparkled when he finally saw the cyber cafe. Just when he was about to pedal harder towards it, he bumped into another bicycle and fell down.
He has no time looking at the other person so he quickly got up, bowed to apologize to the guy he bumped into, and dashed towards the computer shop.
“Jihoon! Usual spot, please!” Junhui shouted to the guy manning the counter.
“Power outage again?”
Junhui nodded and ran to his usual spot. Computer No. 17. He didn’t know how he managed to open and log in to his account that fast but when he entered the game again, everything was a mess.
“Ya! Where have you been?!”
Wei Wuxian quickly apologized to the other members of his clan who were all exhausted fighting with the Dancing Goddess. He took out his healing potions and gave it to his team members one-by-one.
“Apologies.” Wei Wuxian told them as he readied himself to fight the Goddess. Once again, he took his flute out so he could distract it while his clan members are all healing.
“Miss me?” We Wuxian smirked as his black robes flew with the wind as he jumped to the nearest tree to avoid the goddess’s attack. He hopped and hopped until they were alone again. He was trying to help his team members regain their energy.
Wei Wuxian drew another talisman then threw it towards the Dancing Goddess. He repeated the attack until he finally found an opening and managed to make it fall down again.
The clan members finally got back to their own feet again as they caught up to the fight. This time, totally making the statue weak. Wei Wuxian then surged forward as he wrote another talisman. He smirked triumphantly as he threw it towards the monster.
Suddenly, a blinding light appeared and next thing they all knew, the goddess statue was shattered to pieces.
The shining light flew towards Wei Wuxian and in front of him, the most anticipated item of the game appeared— the Yin Tiger Seal.
“We won!” Junhui stood up from his seat with both of his hands up in the air.
Jihoon, the computer shop owner, walked towards him to give him a cup of ramen. “It’s not like it’s your first time winning a quest tho.”
Junhui beamed seeing the ramen then thanked Jihoon with the brightest smile on his face. “This one’s different tho. Look, our clan obtained a very rare item. We will surely go back to the top rank.”
“We’re not so sure about that tho.”
Junhui raised a brow at what Jihoon just said. “And why is that?”
“Not when a whole Lan Wangji exists.”
Lan Wangji.
The moment Junhui heard the character's name, instead of feeling bitter, his eyes sparkled, full of admiration.
Mo Dao Zu Shi’s Lan Wangji, the bearer of light.
There’s no one in the entire server who doesn’t know the Lan Wangji. This mysterious player managed to stay on top for the longest time with 0 defeats. He’s also the richest given that he possesses all the expensive items from all the quests he had won. He used to be in a clan. Rumor has it, Gusu Lan sect kicked him out because he’s too good for them and that the other clan members don't want to always depend on him. You know, player ego.
Shitty reason, right? But well, the great Lan Wangji would do fine even without a clan. He’d win every quest, acquire precious items even without the help of a clan.
“I’m worried about him tho.”
Junhui looked at Jihoon staring at the famous player’s name on the ranking list. “Why would you even be worried about him? He’s a top player.”
“It’s been a while since he left the Gusu Lan clan. I’m afraid he’ll lose those precious items if he doesn’t find a cultivation partner. Look at him being on the trending topics in the worldwide website again.”
MDZS has a worldwide website. It’s like a huge forum where all the players in the entire server could post their thoughts and comment on it. This is where face reveals of top-ranked players is always a hot topic. But, Lan Wangji never trends because of that. He trended twice just this week when he left his clan.
MDZS players actually have two options: one is to join a clan. It will give them additional access to rare items and it will ensure your ranking is stable. Another one is to find a cultivation partner.
Well, if no clan would accept you, might as well find a wanderer just like you to level up and stay in the game. It’s like your in-game partner for life. Someone you’d be able to bond with throughout the game. Tho, the ranking is still individual, having a cultivation partner is definitely an advantage. MDZS has this rule that no player should be left without a clan nor a cultivation partner for too long. It’s to protect the golden core. Being an interactive game, MDZS makes sure no one in the game is a loner so if you stay clanless or unbonded for more than 30 days, your character will lose its golden core and your ranking will drastically drop.
Junhui felt his heart sank at the thought of Lan Wangji dropping from the ranks. It’s not like they knew each other but the mysterious player is actually his role model in the game. Games should not be taken seriously but for Junhui every quest, every login feels like battling with his own real-life problems. And being Wen Junhui who always works hard in everything that he does, he makes sure every quest is won.
Junhui’s lucky he was able to join a clan just a few days after he joined the game. But Lan Wangji...
He shook his head at the unnecessary thought. “Ey, I’m more than sure many players would like to bond with him. I’m also sure clans are dying to recruit him in their clan. No need to worry about him.” Liar, you’re worried too tho.
“Well, many players are actually lining up just to be Lan Wangji’s cultivation partner but it seems like that person wants to be kicked out of the game so badly now. He says no to everyone.” Jihoon said, matter-of-factly.
“I’d be Lan Wangji’s cultivator partner in a heartbeat. But yeah… you know I love Yunmeng Jiang clan so much, right?” Junhui said as he slurped down his ramen, worry for the top-ranked player still sitting uncomfortably inside his chest.
🕹🕹🕹
“Junnie, that’s your nth sigh for the last ten minutes, I’m now worried.” Soonyoung, Junhui’s roommate and best friend, said as he saw the other propping his chin on both hands, his brows furrowed as if he’s trying to figure out life.
Junhui sighed again as if to add to Soonyoung’s worries. “Just… thinking of something, Soonie.”
Soonyoung rolled his swivel chair closer to Junhui’s. “And what would a smart guy like you ponder so deeply that you’ll be able to exhale all the carbon dioxide inside your body from too much sighing?” Before Junhui could even open his mouth, Soonyoung put his hand on the other’s mouth. “Wait, let me guess.” He put his hand on his chin and rubbed it, trying to think of something. “Grades?” He quickly shook his head. “Ani, you never get problems with your grades.”
Junhui let himself be distracted as Soonyoung dragged him out of their room to buy some food while trying to think of other reasons why Junhui looks so troubled.
“Your cat? Momo is sick?”
Junhui shook his head. They reached the cafeteria and they immediately lined up to buy Junhui’s favorite instant food — Luosifen.
“Ya, are you seriously letting me eat Luosifen inside our room? I don’t want our room to stink—”
Soonyoung cut him off, with a huge smile on his face. “I’ll help you deodorize later.”
This is one of the best things about Soonyoung. Everyone in the room hates the smell of Luosifen but on his bad days, Soonyoung always spoils him and lets him eat his favorite noodles, knowing how much Junhui misses home and this smelly noodle somehow lessens his homesickness.
Junhui made kissy noises to which Soonyoung returned with a series of longer kissy noises as they waited in line.
“Aha! Don’t tell me—” Soonyoung squinted his eyes. “You finally found a boyfriend?”
Junhui’s eyes widened then he quickly tapped Soonyoung’s mouth. “Ya! No! I don’t have one, okay? It’s just that…” He sighed again. “You played MDZS before, right?”
Soonyoung nodded then wrinkled his nose. “Aigoo, don’t even remind me. I stopped when I couldn't… you know.”
Junhui comforted him by patting him on the back. He could still remember that night he finally convinced Soonyoung to play MDZS with him. Soonyoung managed to join a clan only to be kicked out a few days later because he fails the quests.
Then, someone actually offered to be his cultivation partner but… the saddest thing is, Soonyoung’s laptop caught a virus two days after the bonding. Junhui helped him in reformatting but he forgot his MDZS password. He’s too embarrassed to go back, afraid that his in-game partner would think of him as a ghost. So yeah, that pretty much sums up Kwon Soonyoung’s MDZS experience.
“Wait, don’t tell me, the reason why you looked like you got the whole world on your back is because of that game? Again?”
Junhui chuckled when Soonyoung said ‘again’. This guy’s used to his rants and it usually just revolves around his homesickness, him missing Momo, and MDZS.
“I’m just worried about someone getting kicked out of the game.” Yes, Junhui’s not over the fact that one day, his role model, Lan Wangji, won’t be in the game anymore because of that shitty game rule.
“How can you be so worried about someone you just met in a virtual world, Junnie?”
“I mean, they’re not just game characters. There are actual people behind those players… so it’s still normal, right?”
Soonyoung ruffled Junhui’s hair. “Seriously, this world doesn’t deserve someone as kind as you. I mean, they can just go back winning those quests again to go back to their rank, right?”
Well, Soonyoung’s right. Someone as great as Lan Wangji would take maybe a few days to go back to his rank. So why… Why does the thought of him being alone, clanless, and without a cultivation partner, make him so worried?
He doesn’t even get to interact with the top player. Oh! Maybe it’s just that. Maybe… Junhui wants to at least have an interaction with his game role model.
He was snapped out of his train of thoughts when the people around them started whispering and murmuring as they all looked at the cafeteria door.
There, Junhui saw a beautiful guy. Chiseled face with fox-like hazel brown eyes. He’s just walking but why does it look like there’s a halo of light surrounding him?
Jeon Wonwoo.
Their college department’s most treasured gem. Junhui’s a smart guy who gets good grades too but Jeon Wonwoo is on a different level. Programming, codes, ciphers, there’s nothing Jeon Wonwoo can’t do.
If Junhui would be asked if he ever fell in love his entire college life, he’d probably say no. But if someone asks if he ever fell into deep admiration towards someone, he’d probably answer two persons — Lan Wangji and Jeon Wonwoo.
Junhui has a thing for people who work hard and make an effort to get to where they are now. Jeon Wonwoo is one of them. Despite having a dad as one of the university’s professors, he didn’t take advantage of that and climbed his way to the top of the student’s list through his own hard work and intellect.
That’s what earned Junhui’s respect and admiration towards him. His developed game programs, his researches, even his Math solutions are all flawless. It makes you wonder how such a perfect man exists.
If Lan Wangji has a human form, it would definitely be him.
A girl approached Wonwoo holding something like a piece of paper to which Wonwoo just coldly passed by on. He didn’t say anything to the girl. He just… ignored her and continued walking.
“Tsk tsk tsk… what a cold guy. If I were her, I won’t take any chances. That guy only knows computer shit. He’d probably marry his keyboard if he could.” Soonyoung commented then proceeded to tell the cafeteria staff their order.
Junhui let his eyes linger on Wonwoo. Not until their eyes met. Oh, fuck! Their eyes met. Is it real? Are they really having a fucking staring game right now? Junhui immediately looked away, his face heated up.
“Junnie, I already got you a Luosifen—” He quickly dragged Soonyoung away from there.
Once they’re out of the cafeteria, he didn’t even bother to hide the smile on his face.
“Ya, you looked like you just ruined a country earlier and now you’re grinning like an idiot. Is that the famous Jeon Wonwoo effect?” Soonyoung teased his best friend.
“What Jeon Wonwoo effect?”
“You know, everyone here kinda has that. The dude sure knows how to make himself look cool, I must admit.” Soonyoung stopped walking, then faced Junhui, hands on his waist. “Wait, I thought you’re worried about this Lan guy in the game and now that you’ve seen Jeon Wonwoo, you completely forgot about him? Ya, that’s bad, you know?”
Junhui rolled his eyes then flicked Soonyoung on the forehead. “Ya! It’s not like I’m connected with the two.”
Well, he just knew Lan Wangji because he’s the top-ranked player in MDZS. In the same way he only knew Jeon Wonwoo because he’s the top student in their department. They don’t even know him nor interacted with him.
“Aigoo, you and your admiration towards coder guys. I should really find you a boyfriend soon so you won’t fall in love with guys who’d probably confess to you with .exe shits and whatnots.” Soonyoung said as he hooked his one arm to Junhui’s.
“No need. I’m too busy with my game anyways. I think I’d be married with my laptop in no time. You’d be my best man, right?” Junhui teased Soonyoung who just gasped.
“I can’t believe I’ll be hearing you say ‘I do’ to your keyboard, oh god, Junnie.” Soonyoung dramatically slapped his forehead with his palm.
Junhui chuckled then remembered they have a clan meeting at 6. He tugged Soonyoung hurriedly.
“Let’s go, Soonie. Before I get married, I still have a clan to bring to the top.”
🕹🕹🕹
“What do you mean I should leave the clan?” Junhui’s smile faltered as soon as he saw what their clan leader said to the clan group chat.
He logged in the game quickly the moment he finished his school stuff because he thought it’s gonna be another tactics meeting or just the clan talking about some things. He never expected it’s about him leaving the clan.
Madam Yu looked at her clan members then to Wei Wuxian with utmost seriousness in her eyes. “Yes, you should leave. Yunmeng Jiang clan is letting you go.”
“What… What did I do? Did I do something wrong? Did I say anything wrong?” Wei Wuxian felt a pang inside his chest. He has to know what he had done wrong. He couldn’t stand it when he hurt someone, what more if it’s unintentionally. He definitely has to know.
“You’re a great player. Believe me, you are. But… the teamwork inside the clan in quests, it’s just… not working everytime you’re there.” Madam Yu explained.
“Is it the Yin Tiger Seal? I can give them to you—”
The clan leader and the others just looked at him with emotions Wei Wuxian couldn’t decipher. “You know, we just don’t want to depend on you every time. We want to experience many things in this game too. But it definitely won’t happen if we’ll stay behind your shadows.”
“You’re too strong for us. It’s overpowering the whole clan. I think it’s best if you find a clan who’d like to get a free ride from you or a cultivation partner so you won’t be alone for long.” Madam Yu advised as they go to the Lotus Pier to erase Wei Wuxian from the engraved names in their clan tablet.
Junhui’s never a selfish person. Everything he does in every quest, he does it in the thought of protecting the whole clan or making all of them level up.
Maybe sometimes, we try so hard to protect something then unknowingly, we’re also the reason why that something breaks because of our strong grip on it.
Just like that… Junhui’s character, Wei Wuxian, became a lone cultivator.
The next day, before going on a mission to find another clan to adopt him, Junhui decided to drop by the Lotus Pier for one last time. He just wants to give his once sworn family some precious items they could use to level up.
However, upon entering the clan chatbox, he read something that broke his fragile heart into tiny million pieces.
jiangclan1: It’s good that we kicked him out. I really think he got plenty of cheat codes and hacks.
jiangclan2: Oh! I remember him telling me he’s a Computer Engineering major! That must be why and how he got cheatcodes!
jiangclan3: Now that I think about it, those two AFK incidents where he managed to come on time is just too fishy.
jiangclan4: Top players who never do face reveals are always the fishiest. That Lan Wangji is fishy too. Maybe the Gusu Lan clan discovers him cheating too, that's why he was kicked out.
jiangclan5: Whatever, I don’t want to be clanmates with a cheater.
The others agreed with them and Junhui quickly pressed the Leave button. Nothing is more painful than being pierced with hurtful words your once called family say about you.
An important quest in Xuanwu cave will happen in a few weeks. Lone cultivators couldn’t join.
Junhui badly needs to find a clan as soon as possible. He has to prove to his ex-clanmates that he’s not a cheater. He’s not and he’ll never be. He didn’t know how something as pure as his intention to uplift the clan turned into something twisted like this but he can’t stand it. He needs a clan to take him in.
But how?
Now that he realized it, he really might’ve been at fault too. The fact that he always tries to let his teammates on the sideline during quests because they don’t want them to get hurt, the others might have interpreted that wrongly. They might think Wei Wuxian is taking the spotlight for himself.
Funny how he’s overly-worried about Lan Wangji that day but little did he know, he'll actually experience it too just a few hours after. What kind of bad luck is this?
The next day, Wei Wuxian watched as the Yunmeng Jiang clan celebrated their victory in an important quest. They successfully formed an alliance with the Jin clan.
Watching them have this grand celebration makes his heart pang. It’s just a game but he actually treated every clan member in the Jiang clan like a real family. They said it’s not that deep so why does his heart hurt when he sees them happy without him? Why does it hurt when he heard them say words against him?
As if trying to torture himself, Wei Wuxian tried to walk closer towards the crowd. He just took a few steps when—
“Junnie! Junnie! Junnie!”
Junhui turned his head and found a distressed-looking Soonyoung entering their room. “What happened, Soonie?”
The other pouted at him and made baby crying noises. “My laptop died. Please, resuscitate him for me. I have 10 minutes left before the deadline.”
Junhui shook his head but a fond smile was on his lips. He stood up then went to Soonyoung to fix his project. “What type of virus did you let in again to make your PC sick?”
Soonyoung just pouted more. “Junnie, please save your best friend. I’ll buy you all the Luosifen, just please.”
Upon hearing that his favorite food on the line, Junhui stretched his fingers and cracked his knuckles then smirked, “I have 10 minutes, you say?”
“9 minutes as we speak.”
“Give me 5.”
In less than 5 minutes, Junhui was able to fix Soonyoung’s laptop. The latter thanked him then quickly passed his project on time.
“You are my laptop’s guardian angel!” Soonyoung exclaimed as he leaned and kissed Junhui on the cheeks. “Okay, I’m gonna buy your Luosifen now. Wait for me, okay?”
Junhui just smiled and watched as Soonyoung happily dashed out of their room. He went back to his seat and his jaw dropped upon seeing what happened inside the game.
“Oh, fuck.”
[Is he perhaps trying to ruin the alliance?]
[Maybe he wants to sabotage the two clans now that he’s clanless.]
[Bitter Wei Wuxian.]
[What if he summons all those corpses and demons with his flute?]
Junhui found his character standing in the middle of the road, blocking the procession of the Yunmeng Jiang clan on their way to the Lanling Jin Clan’s Carp Tower. His ex-clan members are all looking at him like he just lost his mind.
Junhui wanted to facepalm for causing such a scene in the game but instead of doing that, he tried to regain his composure and thought of a better way to get out of this humiliating scene.
“Talismans! I’m selling cheap talismans and equipment. I’m offering a special discount today because I’m feeling the best.”
This turned out well as he managed to distract the crowd as the Jiang clan passed by them successfully. When Wei Wuxian is sure that they’re already out of sight, he sighed in relief.
“Okay, okay. It’s sold out now. Thank you for buying!”
The crowd dispersed and Wei Wuxian never felt this relieved to be left alone again. He watched as the procession went farther and farther away from him.
“Oh! Someone sent me an anonymous message?” Junhui said as a pop-up chatbox suddenly appeared out of the blue. “The character looks familiar tho. Oh, what is this number? Is this a secret code or something?”
[LWJ]: 4735
“The character looks like a god, Junnie. I suddenly remember my cultivation partner,” Soonyoung said while putting a facial mask on his face before going to bed.
“Should I reply to him, Soonie? What do you think?”
“If he’s a creep, just go report.”
Junhui nodded and went back to his game while Soonyoung prepared to go to bed.
“What do you think of this celebration?”
Wei Wuxian heard someone ask from behind him. Without looking back, he answered, “It’s beautiful… They look so…” He bit his lower lip. “...so happy.”
“Do you want to be happy too?”
Wei Wuxian sighed. He didn’t know why he kept on replying to this random player’s question but he answered the question anyways.
Rather than him being the one who receives happiness, he’s actually happier when he’s the source of happiness.
As if they knew what Wei Wuxian was feeling, the leaves from the nearby maple tree started falling.
Wei Wuxian felt like falling too… Just like how the leaves fall off from the trees, he felt abandoned too.
“I want to be...needed.”
He watched as the leaves fell with nothing but the cold ground to catch them.
There’s silence before that someone speaks again. Wei Wuxian thought that maybe that person already walked away. However, he’s definitely wrong. And what this player told him made his heart skip a beat.
“Well then, Wei Wuxian, I need you.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened upon hearing that so he quickly turned around and what he saw almost gave him a heart attack.
Snowy white robes, forehead ribbon ornamented with clouds, a zither behind his back and a white sword that no player in MDZS would fail to recognize.
“Lan Wangji?”
He is yet to recover from the fact that this is the Lan Wangji he’s talking to at the moment, and that he just told him that he needs him… when this player told him something that could make the great Wei Wuxian faint if they’re in the real world.
The leaves continued falling. With his one hand, Lan Wangji caught one of the autumn leaves then held it out to Wei Wuxian.
“Will you be my cultivation partner?”