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Mo Ran stares at the man that passes them by as they approach the village. He can’t quite help it. He can sense Chu Wanning and Shi Mei’s eyes also tracking the man’s approach. Their interest is easily explained - the man has what appears to be glittery, scaled horns that grow out of the top of his head. They glisten in the sunlight as he walks, forcing everyone’s gaze towards him.
“What the hell are you looking at?”, the man snipes when he notices their stares.
“Would you like a mirror?” Mo Ran yells back cheerily though he’s immediately cut off by Chu Wanning glaring venomously at him, a silent but sure threat that Mo Ran will have to pay for his words. He darts slightly further away from his murderous Shizun to walk beside Shi Mei, apologizing to the stranger as he does. Shi Mei just smiles at him helplessly as he does and it leaves Mo Ran feeling the entire, stupid interaction was worth it.
As the trio continue their walk onto the main road into the village, Mo Ran asks, “What do you think is wrong with him? I thought the village said they had a crying sickness. That sure wasn't -"
Chu Wanning glares at him again. “We didn’t get a lot of information from the village head when he requested Sisheng's help”, he replies, though Mo Ran can see the slight crease on his forehead - a sign that the stranger they had met had confused him too. “We’ll just have to talk to him to get the whole story.”
They make their way into the village center in relative silence. Shi Mei had accepted a mission on behalf of the sect when a villager had rushed in, begging for help after the tenth person in a month had succumbed to the same curse and had lost their ability to cry. The villager, while smiling and laughing himself, had explained how distressing it was to be unable to cry even when everything around them was clearly hopeless. The dissonance was disturbing to even watch.
Chu Wanning had insisted on accompanying Shi Mei when he had heard the story and couldn’t think of any spells that would leave people in such a state. Mo Ran had joined them because, well, he heard Shi Mei was going.
As annoying as finding out Chu Wanning was coming, Mo Ran comforted himself with the knowledge that Chu Wanning's presence meant both him and Shi Mei were free to do whatever they wanted again, just as they had on Mo Ran’s first case. Which is how the three of them found themselves in the village chief's office only a day after the sect had been alerted to the issue.
There, Chu Wanning takes the lead even though the case was supposed to be Shi Mei's. Mo Ran spends his time glaring daggers into Chu Wanning's wide back even though Shi Mei himself doesn't seem all that bothered about their flipped chain of command, only stepping forward to ask questions about the victims occasionally.
"It started when Great Aunt Zhen died. This village is small, everyone knows each other and most of us attended her funeral", the village chief explains. "It's there, where so many of us were mourning, that young Zhen Li started laughing. He had to be dragged out of the funeral by the others."
"Was he close to the aunt?" Chu Wanning inquires. Mo Ran notices the little frown between his eyebrows again.
"He was, she practically raised him and his sister. The worst thing about it all was how haunted he looked as he was dragged out, horrified at his own laughter but unable to stop. His younger sister stayed with us, quiet, though you could see how upset she was at his reaction too. She's only ten."
"Are we sure he didn't have some kind of mental breakdown at the loss?" Shi Mei asks gently.
"We would have thought so too but then it happened again and again. At the same funeral. Aunt Zhen’s death was greeted with laughter. Don’t get me wrong, she was loved by everyone in the village - this was not malice. The laughter continued even after the funeral. Someone fell off the hill behind us," the chief gestures out the window, "but comes back to us laughing with a broken bone. It just makes no sense, our tiny village feels cursed, Gongzi."
When Chu Wanning and Shi Mei have asked all their questions, medical and magical, Mo Ran pipes up to ask about the horned man they had passed by.
To his surprise, the chief's face is filled not with confusion or worry, but with derision. "Ignore him, he made a foolish wish and now he must live with the consequences."
"Wish?" Shi Mei asks, interest piqued. He's not the only one. Both Mo Ran and Chu Wanning have both perked up at the word. Wishes, however foolish, meant something in the village had the power to cause harm.
The chief must pick up on their interest because he doesn't dismiss it again though the clear contempt on his face does not fade, saying, "there's a temple right at the north edge of our village, there's a local legend that if you wish for something in the temple, it will come true. The thing about the god in that temple though, is all your wishes never turn out right. It’s as if the god wants to make a mockery of us all - he clearly has the power to grant these wishes. He just doesn’t grant them in any way you’d actually want. Everyone in the village knows this so most of us never venture in. You saw old Chang with the horns? He got desperate enough to wish for every woman's attention." The chief snorts before continuing, "He definitely has it now."
"Surely, that sounds like it'd be connected to this case too-", Shi Mei starts but is cut off by the chief.
"No one in this village would be stupid enough to enter that temple to make a wish. Even the youngest of children know they're nothing more than curses at this point."
"So, we're going to the temple?" Mo Ran asks the minute they leave the chief's house.
“Mm”, Chu Wanning nods, “whatever the chief says, the temple and its wish granting seems to fit whatever is happening here. Since we have to walk through the village to get to this temple, let's first pay a visit to the Zhen’s family house too.”
Shi Mei and Mo Ran both fall in line behind Chu Wanning as they make their way through the village. When they pass through the market, Mo Ran is drawn to a colorful stall, chatting and laughing with the old man that mans it before returning with two sticks of tanghulu.
He hands one to Shi Mei proudly, who takes it somewhat reluctantly with an “A-Ran, you shouldn’t have” that somehow still manages to warm Mo Ran’s heart, before sticking the other one into his own mouth. Only then does he deign to look at Chu Wanning who is glaring at him.
"Sorry, would Shizun like one too?" Mo Ran asks, candied fruit still in his mouth muffling his words.
Chu Wanning's glare grows impossibly harsher and he snaps, "We're not here to fool around, if you have nothing better to do, go back to the sect."
Shi Mei steps forward, tone consoling as he tries to keep the peace, "A-Ran must have just been hungry, Shizun, please, he won't be a bother on this case."
Chu Wanning wordlessly turns around and starts to walk out of the market. He has no leg to stand on, snapping at his disciples for what? Sharing food without getting him something? For being closer to each other than to him? He's better than that. He will force himself to be.
The sting of the rejection and then the subsequent banding of his two disciples against him doesn't fade though. Even though the market they're in is noisy, Chu Wanning can still hear the two whispering behind him. Talking about the food, the market itself, the case. He wishes he could just block his ears to it.
He wishes he doesn't have to look on from the outside. He wishes Mo Ran would bring him sweet treats, trinkets the way he does Shi Mei. Most of all, he wishes he were anyone but himself, harsh and mean tempered and never anyone's friend.
With each self deprecating thought, his pace quickens, as if distance alone from his two disciples is enough to shovel down his feelings. He refuses to check if the two are keeping up with him, simply determined to wrap up this case so he can go back to Sisheng and hide in his pavilion where no one can possibly hurt him.
Soon enough, they reach the Zhen family home and Mo Ran and Shi Mei are mercifully done with their tanghulu. The house is quiet.
There’s a young girl sitting on the doorstep, watching the birds in the tree that stands outside the house. She notices the three of them as they slow down at the entrance, looking at all three of them inquisitively.
“Is this Zhen Li’s house?” Shi Mei calls out to the girl after a moment passes and both Chu Wanning and Mo Ran have said nothing.
Though the girl stares at them suspiciously, she answers, "My brother's not home, he's at the doctor again. Who are you?"
"We're cultivators from Sisheng, here to help with your brother's ..problem."
"You can help?" The girl's eyes go wide and Mo Ran could swear there's a sparkle in it now that Shi Mei's answer has given her hope again. "The doctor hasn't been able to do anything for us, gege laughs even when he's mad now, it's scary."
Shi Mei steps forward to comfort her and the other two take their cue to follow him in. "We'll do our best to cure your gege, okay?"
"I just wanted him to not be so sad when auntie died," she says in a small voice.
All three of them are instantly alert.
"Did you make a wish for your brother to not be sad anymore?" Chu Wanning asks.
His harsh question makes the girl flinch but she answers anyway. A nod.
"Where did you make this wish?"
"Where? I …. At the funeral. Gege kept crying when auntie died and he got even worse at the event and I just wished for him to not be so sad."
“Did you wish it out loud?”
“No, it was just in my head. The funeral was really quiet except for the crying - no one was really talking.”
"Did you go to the temple that grants wishes outside the village?" Shi Mei pushes.
"No", the girl replies again, tone changing from guilt to incredulous, "everyone knows not to go there."
"Does Shizun think she's lying about where she made her wish?" Shi Mei asks once they leave the house to continue to the temple.
"No," Chu Wanning responds, "but her wish and the results match the backwards wish granting the chief described. They might be connected but we cannot tell for sure yet."
"There's also the other cases in the village," Mo Ran points out. "She couldn't have wished for all of them to be happy even if she may have caused what happened to Zhan Li."
Chu Wanning only nods in acknowledgement and it sends a burst of irritation through Mo Ran. It's been over a year since his first case at Butterfly town and his Shizun's teaching methods have not improved one bit.
They walk in silence towards the temple now, the houses that line the sides of the road starting to become few and far between by the time they reach the edge. Mo Ran catches a glimpse of an old, crumbling structure beyond the trees and points it out to the other two.
"Get behind me, I'm going to put a barrier up around us before we enter", Chu Wanning warns, "we don't know what kind of creature has cultivated inside that temple but it must have significant power to grant people's wishes."
"Do you think it's another deity formed through prayers?" Mo Ran asks.
"Maybe, but the villagers seem insistent that none of them pray here anymore - and the lack of worshippers would soon cause it to fade."
The temple itself does look dilapidated, its outer walls dull from dust and rain and the edges crumbling. It seems the chief wasn't wrong about the temple’s lack of use but Chu Wanning doesn’t lower his guard.
“I can’t sense anything inside the temple”, he murmurs as he cautiously walks closer to the temple. “Remember, don’t directly interact with anything you may see in there, and do not make a wish of any sort.”
When Shi Mei and Mo Ran nod in understanding, Chu Wanning walks into the temple.
The inside is just as worn down and dusty as the outside. There is a painting of a figure at the back but it has long faded, only the barest details of a human figure in red robes now recognizable.
When he finally relaxes, deeming the temple as safe as it can be, Mo Ran and Shi Mei branch away from him to check out the rest of the temple.
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s been in here for years”, Mo Ran comments, walking headlong into cobwebs hanging from the pillars as he looks around.
Shi Mei, who is still close to the exit, looking around at the dust on the ground in distaste, agrees. “No one came here to make a wish here recently, that’s for sure.”
"Maybe if we make a wish, we'll summon it here?" Mo Ran asks absentmindedly, trying to shake off the cobwebs now in his hair. He doesn't notice Chu Wanning's glare at him. Shi Mei does though, and laughs, "I'm sure we have no need to do that just yet, A-Ran."
They poke around a little more but find nothing interesting in the temple. When the sun starts sinking, Chu Wanning decides they should all head back to the village, having done all they can in the abandoned temple.
Even though they decide to leave the investigation until tomorrow, the trio are very quickly thrown a new problem at the only inn in the village. There are only two rooms available.
The inn doesn’t see a lot of traffic given how out of the way the village itself is, the owner explains, which is all fine and good except Chu Wanning now has to pick between appearing rude and entitled if he asks for a room to himself or perverted if he offers to share it with one of his disciples.
He is saved from making a decision by Mo Ran announcing he would share with Shi Mei. Shi Mei makes no protest at that and Chu Wanning retires to his own room for the night.
Chu Wanning wakes up to the sound of someone bustling about in his room. He starts awake, mind instinctively reaching for Tianwen, only to realize the someone is Mo Ran.
“What are you doing here?”, he snaps. His own voice sounds different, higher than it normally is.
“Ah”, Mo Ran looks at him apologetically, “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
Chu Wanning stares at him in silence. He’s never seen Mo Ran look at him so ..dotingly. It's disconcerting. When he doesn’t reply, Mo Ran keeps talking.
“I was going to go down and make us both some breakfast. Since you’re already awake, is there anything you want to eat?”
Chu Wanning still can’t bring himself to answer - part of him convinced he’s still asleep and dreaming. Maybe his subconsciousness has moved past the emperor Mo Ran dreams into whatever this is.
“Shi Mei?” Mo Ran asks, looking at him in concern when he hasn’t said anything for another minute.
Suddenly Mo Ran’s kindness, his change of voice, Tianwen not immediately materializing in his hand all click together into a horrifying picture - Chu Wanning is not in his own body, he’s in Shi Mei’s.
Still in disbelief, he warily looks down at his own body. He's lighter than he remembers feeling, the thin, younger body he finds is definitely not his own. His hair falls to cover his face as he looks down, the style it's in- not the tight one he’s used to that keeps it all out of his face, loose enough that it hides his shock and horror from Mo Ran’s concerned gaze. There's fewer calluses on his fingertips, Shi Mei doesn't hold a sword hilt as often as Chu Wanning does. All in all, the differences leave Chu Wanning off-kilter.
If he had not realized he wasn't in his body, the slight changes would have had him feel like he was sick. The knowledge that he is in his disciple's body, however, threatens to overwhelm him in its wrongness.
Even when he looks back up, something in his face must show his shock and discomfort because Mo Ran has already moved closer to him.
"Shi Mei?" he asks, gentle in a way Chu Wanning has never had directed towards him, even as his mind screams at the wrongness of this. That gentleness is not meant for him. "Are you sick?"
“Mo Ran, I -”
Before he can explain, a hand reaches out to touch his forehead and Chu Wanning’s words die in his throat. “Your forehead feels fine but you’re turning really red.”
Chu Wanning darts away from Mo Ran and off the bed. He can’t explain who he is now - not when that touch was clearly meant for not him . He can feel his face burning at the touch. “I’m fine, I’m going to see Shi- I mean Shizun. Bye!”
With that, “Shi Mei” rushes out of the room, leaving behind an extremely confused and slightly worried Mo Ran.
Chu Wanning finds himself - presumably Shi Mei in his body, stepping out of his room as he rushes out of his and Mo Ran’s. Shi Mei stares at him, and then at Mo Ran who had followed Chu Wanning out of the room before speaking, “Shi Mingjing, come with me to my room for a minute. We need to talk.”
The words sound awkward to all three of them but Chu Wanning will take it, unendingly grateful that Shi Mingjing is willing to hide this for now. He steps into his actual room and turns around to shut the door.
The last thing Mo Ran sees is Chu Wanning, of all people, giving him an apologetic look as Shi Mei snaps the door shut. He didn't think he could be more confused after Shi Mei rushed out of their shared bedroom in a manner so unlike his calm self, but he sure is now.
In Chu Wanning’s inn room, Shi Mei is the first to speak. “Shizun? Do you know what happened?”
Chu Wanning shakes his head. It's odd, looking at himself, moving and speaking in ways that are so unlike how he sees himself. He imagines it's just as bad for Shi Mei to see his own body in front of him. “I woke up in your body, I don’t know anything else yet. Was it the same for you?”
“Yes. Do you think this is connected to our case?"
"No", Chu Wanning snaps immediately, "it can't be - no one made a wish that could have caused this. This has to be something else."
Shi Mei doesn't quite believe him but doesn't say anything - Chu Wanning would only get angrier if he pushed on something he sounds so adamant on. He’s not so sure about the idea that no one could have wished for something like this, but he knows his Shizun well. Anything he says in contradiction will only sound like an accusation to him. Instead he diverts the topic towards the future, "What do we do then?"
"Once we go back to the sect, Madam Wang can probably help-"
"Is Shizun suggesting we do nothing until we get back? What about the case? Shizun, I can't use Tianwen or your barriers even if I'm in this body."
There’s a pause as Chu Wanning weighs the dangers that this case may pose against the embarrassment of having to admit that his petty, jealous thoughts from yesterday may have caused this.
“I can teach you how to summon Tianwen.”
Shi Mei: “....”
A half-hour later, Shi Mei is able to summon and wield Tianwen, albeit clumsily. It flickers in his hand when he summons it, it sometimes dissipates completely when he tries following Chu Wanning’s instructions to attack but he did manage to strike their target (a pillow) once so he's got that going for him.
He doesn’t really understand why Chu Wanning doesn’t seem to want to connect their swap to the case and also wants to hide this from Mo Ran and everyone else but he’s glad to keep it a secret. He’s not sure if their current predicament is connected to the village’s curse but his mind keeps bringing back his own thoughts of wishing he was more like Chu Wanning as they had walked around the village yesterday - more powerful, more able to simply be himself.
Maybe it's not a bad thing that Chu Wanning doesn’t want to look into it until they return back to the sect. Shi Mei is a little worried about his Shizun in his body, but he plays along. In a body not his own, in a body that hurts far too much that it's a miracle Chu Wanning keeps moving, with his own face looking at him practice with a focused, determined expression so at odds with how he usually holds it. There’s no way they’re going to be able to keep this a secret for long.
When Chu Wanning’s finally satisfied with Shi Mei’s meager attempts at using Tianwen, they decide to meet up with Mo Ran and then get breakfast together. They don’t have to go far because the minute Chu Wanning opens the room’s door, they find Mo Ran waiting on the floor outside of it.
“Mo Ran?”
“Shi Mei, are you hurt? What happened?” Mo Ran asks, grabbing Chu Wanning’s hand to check for himself before he can even answer.
“I’m fine”, Chu Wanning yelps, tugging his hand out of Mo Ran’s grasp. “I just needed to check with Shizun about ..uh ..”
“A theory about the case. Shi Mingjing thinks we should talk to the little Zhen girl again”, Shi Mei provides helpfully from behind them before sweeping past them both to head down for breakfast. The other two quickly follow him, questions and doubts laid aside for the time being. Being “Chu Wanning” has its perks.
Breakfast poses its own challenge - mostly in the form of Mo Ran ordering and depositing a steaming, red hot bowl of noodles in front of who he thinks is Shi Mei. Chu Wanning stares at the chili oil covering everything in the dish with apprehension and Shi Mei stares at him, equally worried now.
All three of them know Chu Wanning can’t handle spice. Even Mo Ran managed to remember, placing a bland bowl of noodles in front of him, a contrast from the last time they were in this position. Unfortunately, Shi Mei isn’t confident that his own abilities to eat spice remain in his body now that Chu Wanning is inhabiting it. Chu Wanning doesn’t seem very confident either. If the spices cause him to tear up in Shi Mei’s body, .. well, Shi Mei would rather not think about it.
“Mo Ran” Chu Wanning mutters weakly, “Isn’t this a little too red?” His eyes are still fixed on the bowl in front of him, hands gripping the chopsticks like he’s ready to use them as a weapon. Shi Mei casually pushes a plate of his own non spiced vegetables towards him.
Mo Ran stares at them both as if they’ve grown horns, “Are you sure you’re feeling well? I can make something else if you’d like that, I’m sure they’d let me into the kitchen again.”
His words seem to convince Chu Wanning to risk it - taking one cautious bite of the noodles. The other two stare at him with baited breath - Shi Mei out of fear and Mo Ran, from worry at how odd Shi Mei has been acting since he woke today.
It doesn't burn.
Chu Wanning chews through his first bite, bracing himself for the burn but it never comes. Shi Mei's body, already well used to eating spice, has managed to allow him to taste the food beyond the initial burn for the first time.
When he swallows the first bite, he notices Shi Mei, who was sitting rigid across from him, finally relax and start with his own food. Mo Ran, on the other hand, is clingier than ever. Chu Wanning feels even more guilty about his deception as Mo Ran excitedly asks him if he liked the food but he can't quite bring himself to admit who he is now.
With every interaction with Mo Ran, words, touch and gestures meant for Shi Mei and not him, he digs himself deeper in his lies, making it near impossible that he will ever reveal that the swap took place.
Mo Ran can tell something is wrong. He watched Chu Wanning and Shi Mei all through breakfast and is now convinced that the two are hiding something from him. As if Shi Mei running into Chu Wanning's room this morning wasn't odd enough, the both of them kept glancing at each other the entire time Mo Ran was there.
His first instinct is to think Shi Mei has been injured somehow - it would explain him needing Chu Wanning’s help, it would explain his stiffness at breakfast, all his movements stifled and awkward. Mo Ran would be hurt that Shi Mei had gone to Chu Wanning instead of him, but he’s not even confident about that theory. Afterall, he hadn't been able to sense anything wrong with Shi Mei’s body in the few seconds he had held his wrist.
The other difference Mo Ran has noticed, however, is that Shi Mei has been calling him "Mo Ran" since he woke up. Not A-Ran, not in the quiet, caring way he usually does, Mo Ran. He doesn't understand it.
He wonders if he had done something wrong last night and driven Shi Mei away but for the life of him, he can't imagine what.
As much as he cares and loves Shi Mei, Mo Ran has never been particularly good at actually talking to him. His words are too often blurted out and clumsy and he’s always relied on actions to show he cares. So when Shi Mei had already said he’s fine, there’s not much Mo Ran can think to do. He follows the two in silence as they head back to the Zhen family.
Even their dynamic from yesterday has changed. Shi Mei leads the group now and Chu Wanning follows him. Even though Wanning had said Shi Mei had his own theories about the case, the sudden flip seems out of character and Mo Ran's confusion only grows.
The trio walk through the same market as yesterday and Mo Ran looks around for the old man and his tanghulu stall, hoping the candied fruit serves as a good-enough proxy to show Shi Mei his worry without actually being overbearing. He doesn't see the old man but does spot the stall so he makes a beeline towards it.
Today, the stall is manned by an old lady and Mo Ran quickly strikes up a conversation with her as he picks out three different tanghulu sticks this time, wanting to avoid Chu Wanning’s anger this early in the morning.
As he pays for the three, he asks about the man he had met yesterday, “Was that your husband yesterday?”
The lady just gives him a weird look, pausing in her search for the change she owes him. “My husband has been dead for years, boy. I’m the only one who handles my shop and it was closed yesterday.”
Mo Ran drops the subject with an awkward smile and an apology for mistaking the stall, even though he’s convinced he got the right one. He takes his change and the sticks before heading back to the other two.
As he hands out the tanghulu to Shi Mei and Chu Wanning, he asks, “Do you remember the person behind the counter from yesterday? It wasn’t the lady who’s manning it now.”
Shi Mei pauses to think before answering, “the old man?”
“Yeah! Well, today, auntie over there said the stall was closed yesterday and no one else helps out with it anyway, it's just her. Her husband’s dead too. I don’t understand why she would lie about something like this.”
Chu Wanning replies, “she’s probably not lying but that is strange.”
In the end, they decide to leave it be for now and continue on to the Zhen family house. The stall and its owner, while odd, doesn’t seem as important as resolving the actual case they were summoned for.
This time, Zhen Li is home. He welcomes the three cultivators with an eagerness that shows his sister has told him of their visit yesterday.
“Can you really help?”, he asks.
“We’re going to do our best to cure you”, Shi Mei replies before Chu Wanning can, saying almost exactly what he had said yesterday. Mo Ran just stares at who he thinks is Chu Wanning, the idea that his Shizun would offer comfort in the form of words unbelievable to him.
There’s an awkward pause before Chu Wanning, in Shi Mei’s voice, speaks again, addressing his question towards Zhen Li.
“Did you do anything different before the curse took effect?”
“No, nothing really changed - I was upset, obviously, and busy because of the funeral preparations but I can’t think of anything that could have caused this. It’s terrible. I know this curse doesn’t sound so bad. Afterall, laughter is good. But you’re not in control, you want to cry and all that comes out is that infuriating laugh - I can’t stand the sound of my own voice nowadays.”
Even that small burst of frustration is punctuated with an uncontrolled giggle before Zhen Li purses his lips shut.
“Did you make any wishes?” Chu Wanning asks, “Did you go to the temple that grants wishes after your great aunt died?”
“Temple? No, no one goes to that one. Everyone here knows better. I didn’t make any wishes anywhere else either.”
Remembering what was said yesterday, Chu Wanning then asks, “Can we talk to your sister again?”
Zhen Li stares at him, “She’s fine though, she isn’t affected by this.”
“Yes I know, I had a question for her.”
In the brief period they wait for Zhen Li to go find his sister, Mo Ran stares at Shi Mei and Chu Wanning. Through their entire interaction with Zhen Li, Shi Mei had taken the lead and Chu Wanning hadn’t interrupted him once with any questions. “Chu Wanning” notices his staring and asks, “What is it?”
“Ah nothing”, Mo Ran hastily replies, “I’m just surprised you didn’t have anything to say during our talk with Zhen Li, Shizun.”
There’s another awkward pause where Chu Wanning glares at Shi Mei, having caught the tail end of Mo Ran’s words to him. Shi Mei awkwardly smiles at him before replying, “It is Shi Mingjing’s case, I’m only here to help if needed.”
Mo Ran is starting to wonder if Chu Wanning hit his head somewhere. They’re interrupted when Zhen Li returns with his sister.
Chu Wanning opens his mouth to ask her what he had wanted to but pauses, remembering Mo Ran’s suspicions about how “Shi Mei” was taking charge. He looks back at Shi Mei instead, trying to wordlessly convey that Shi Mei should handle this before Mo Ran asks more questions.
However, Shi Mei does not seem to notice his desperate glares.
Shi Mei doesn’t know what Chu Wanning wants to ask the young girl, he’s hiding this secret from Mo Ran at Chu Wanning’s insistence and his Shizun is really not making it easy for him. Instead of trying to guess what Chu Wanning wants to do, Shi Mei simply pretends he does not see his own eyes glaring at him from across the room.
They keep up their stalemate long enough that Mo Ran greets Zhen Cao instead, having apparently given up on either Chu Wanning or Shi Mei saying anything to her. “How have you been? We’re here to help your gege today but my Shixiong here has another question for you before we can do that, okay?
When the girl nods, Mo Ran looks back to Shi Mei.
Giving up on his silent battle with Shi Mingjing, Chu Wanning turns around to ask, “You said you wished for your brother to not be sad anymore - where did you make that wish?”
Zhen Li looks at his sister, “ You wished for this?”
“It wasn’t really a wish, I just didn’t want you to be sad”, she cries, hiding behind Mo Ran, the person who just happens to be standing closest to them both and the one she decides is the safest.
“Shi Mei” doesn’t say anything else and Chu Wanning has always been useless at comforting so it falls on Mo Ran to deal with the child currently using him as a shield from her brother. Trying to figure out what is going on with them both is going to have to take a backseat for now.
“Hey, we know it's not your fault, we just need to know everything so we can help fix it.”
“It was here, during the funeral. A lot of people were crying and I just wished it, in my head.”
Chu Wanning freezes at her words, his brain immediately connecting the “not really a wish” to his own, shameful, envious one from yesterday. He can’t bring himself to look at Shi Mei who stands behind him in his own body, forced out of his own by what seems to be his wish. Behind him, Shi Mei has also connected the dots - but with a different result - that the swap happened from his own wish to be stronger and more capable. He doesn’t look at Chu Wanning either.
Mo Ran does not notice that both of his companions have stopped paying attention, still attempting to comfort Zhen Cao and keep Zhen Li from exploding at her for her careless wish.
“Who else was at this funeral? Did you see anyone you don’t know?”
Zhen Li answers, “Most of the village turned up for it, auntie has always been friendly with everyone here. There were people even I didn’t recognize and I’ve lived here my whole life. If you’re looking for someone in the crowd who could have done this, I’m afraid I don’t have a list of all the people who were there.”
Mo Ran directs his question at Zhen Cao again, “Who was sitting close to you when you were thinking this? Do you remember?”
“Hmm, I was sitting next to Auntie Chang on one side. There was someone I don’t know on the other - an old man. I’ve seen him in the village but I don’t know his name.”
“Old man?”, Mo Ran perks up, “Do you know this person?”
Zhen Li shakes his head.
“All the others in the village who have the same problem, do you know if they were at the funeral too?”
“Yes, it happened at around the same time to us all.”
Mo Ran pauses to think, looking back at Shi Mei and Chu Wanning to see if they had any questions, only to find them both staring at different walls in the house. How did they get to this point where he is being the most useful among them?
“Thank you for the information”, he tells the Zhen’s as he grabs Shi Mei’s hand and motions to Chu Wanning. “We’ll be going now. This should give us enough to try searching for whoever cursed the people at the funeral.”
Chu Wanning finally comes to himself when Mo Ran grabs his hand. The warmth of Mo Ran's touch is what pulls him out of his spiral about his feelings and inadequacy being laid out bare for everyone to see because of this cursed village.
Before he can protest the touch, Mo Ran has managed to get both him and Shi Mei out of the Zhen house.
"Are you okay?"
Chu Wanning stares at Mo Ran blankly, he can't remember a time when he's been asked that question before, especially when he's done nothing to deserve that level of attention. Most times, he's visibly much bloodier before anyone notices. Now, he’s been asked that twice. All just by being ..not him.
He nods quietly, not daring to speak and destroy the moment, even when he keeps telling himself it's not meant for him. Especially when the real Shi Mei is standing right behind him.
"So, we're looking for an old man then?" Shi Mei asks from behind them.
Mo Ran lets go of his hand and turns around to face "Chu Wanning". "Maybe, Zhen Li did say there were others who he didn't recognize at the funeral too."
"You said you saw an old man yesterday at the tanghulu stall", Chu Wanning says slowly.
"Yeah?"
"Who the lady said doesn't exist. I think it's him."
"But he didn't do anything yesterday", Mo Ran protests, "unless me wanting the tanghulu backfired somehow."
Neither Chu Wanning or Shi Mei respond to that.
“Let’s just say it is the old man who did it - how do we even find him?”, Shi Mei asks.
Mo Ran : “Make a wish?”
Once again, neither of them dignify that joke with a response. Shi Mei pauses before suggesting, “Why don’t we confirm it really is him? We can find the horned man we first met and find out if he saw the deity in the temple when he made his wish. If it is, we atleast have a place to start - the temple.”
“Mm. If the people in the village stopped going to the temple, it makes sense the deity tried wandering the village to look for wishes to force upon people. These may very well be connected. Let’s split up and look for this man - it’ll be faster”, Chu Wanning suggests.
Mo Ran immediately agrees, looking at Shi Mei to add, “I can go with Shi Mei so we’re extra safe, Shizun can handle the other side of the village.”
Chu Wanning gives Shi Mei a startled look at Mo Ran’s suggestion, hoping he shoots it down and says they should each go their own way. Instead, Shi Mei agrees. Feeling extremely petty about this being the second time Shi Mei has ignored his silent pleas, Chu Wanning decides to return the favor - “We can communicate with Shizun’s haitang blossom when one of us finds him.”
Shi Mei stares at him blankly, “We can?”
When Chu Wanning doesn’t reply, Shi Mei attempts to make one from what he’s seen his Shizun do before - it works, kind of.
Mo Ran stares at the floppy, flickering flower that “Chu Wanning” hands him, so unlike all the previous ones he’s seen. “Are you sure this one works?”, he asks doubtfully. When Chu Wanning just glares at him, Mo Ran takes it as his cue to leave.
“Come on, lets go”, he mumbles to Shi Mei before backing away from his Shizun.
He doesn’t notice Shi Mei secretly create and send a real haitang floating towards where their Shizun stands as they walk away.
When they’ve lost Chu Wanning, Mo Ran stops to look at Shi Mei. He’s been worried all day about the weird and confusing behavior he had noticed but with Chu Wanning around, it had never seemed like the right time to actually bring it up. Now that they’ve split away from their Shizun, however, Mo Ran can finally pause to make sure Shi Mei is fine.
“Hey Shi Mei”, he starts awkwardly, “are you sure you’re feeling alright today?”
Shi Mei stiffens and Mo Ran notices that the older boy won’t meet his eyes. “Something is wrong, isn’t it? Is it something I did -”
“Mo Ran, no, you did nothing wrong.”
“You keep calling me Mo Ran though. You haven’t called me A-Ran once today.”
“I- A-Ran,” Shi Mei starts.
“You don’t have to call me that, you know. I just .. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Chu Wanning freezes, the guilt that’s been simmering in him all day finally spilling out in the face of Mo Ran’s genuine hurt and worry. As embarrassing as it’ll be, Chu Wanning braces himself to reveal the truth.
“I’m sorry, you did nothing wrong, I’m just ..having a weird day”, he starts to explain. “This morning when I woke, I wasn’t ..me. I’m sorry for hiding it from you, I’m not Shi -”
They’re interrupted by a glowing haitang blossom floating towards them. Before Chu Wanning can complete his confession, his own voice comes out of the flower, “I found him, come quick.”
Mo Ran looks blankly at the flower before looking back at Chu Wanning. “Shizun can wait, what were you saying?”
But Chu Wanning can’t bring himself to find the courage to try confessing again. It seems fate really doesn’t want him to, given how he’s been interrupted while confessing his real identity twice today. “We’ll talk later, it’s not important, A-Ran.”
Pretending like calling Mo Ran by his nickname isn’t extremely awkward, Chu Wanning makes to follow the haitang blossom that is slowly floating back to Shi Mei. Mo Ran pauses for a few seconds to stare at “Shi Mei’s” back before catching up to walk with him.
Shi Mei stands at the corner of a street, keeping an eye on the entrance of a house when Mo Ran and Chu Wanning find him.
"He's in there", he nods at them in greeting, noting with curiosity how red Chu Wanning has made his face look. He wonders what the two talked about in his absence. When he had agreed to sending the two off together, Shi Mei had mostly been amused by the idea of Chu Wanning also having to put up with Mo Ran's clinginess. Maybe he was even hoping it would disgust Chu Wanning enough and make him finally stop playing favorites among his disciples. Not that he'd ever admit it
Even knowing how much Chu Wanning appears to favor Mo Ran, Shi Mei would never have expected Chu Wanning to return blushing. Perhaps he had miscalculated. Maybe he should have kept Chu Wanning by his side instead and sent Mo Ran off alone. It's too late for any of that now.
"Do we go in?" Mo Ran asks.
"No, he should come out any minute now, I think."
Just as Shi Mei finishes speaking, Chang Jin does in fact come out of the store and the three immediately corner him.
"What is this?" he demands, "are you three outsiders now attacking people physically too?"
Chu Wanning interrupts to say, "we just had a few questions regarding..your condition, if you don't mind."
"I have nothing to say to a bunch of rude strangers, get out of my way."
"Please, this can help you -", Chu Wanning's words are interrupted by a flash of gold and a loud bang. All of them jump in shock at the noise.
Shi Mei makes an apologetic smile at Chu Wanning and Mo Ran who stare at him in shock. "Tianwen .. must be broken", he says awkwardly as Chu Wanning glares at him.
"Mo Ran, why don't you use Jiangui for now?"
Mo Ran : "..."
"What? Are you people threatening me now? I'm leaving!" Chang Jin demands though he doesn't make it far before a red vine wraps around his wrist.
Mo Ran doesn't use any energy to keep Jiangui in place, not wanting to actually hurt the man, just frighten him enough so he would answer them.
"We just want to know if you saw anyone in the temple when you made your wish. Did you see what the god looked like?"
Chang Jin stares at their three, unrelenting faces before he finally answers, "Only a glimpse, but he seemed to be an elderly man. His hair was all white."
Chu Wanning looks at Mo Ran and he nods, recalling Jiangui.
"I guess we do have a wish to make in this temple, after all."
“This is an incredibly stupid idea”, Shi Mei comments as the trio make their way to the temple again. Chu Wanning had picked the temple because it is far enough from the village that no one else could get caught in their trap.
“But it's going to work”, Mo Ran says confidently.
The plan was simple. They go to the temple and Mo Ran goes inside to make a wish and draw out the god. Shi Mei and Chu Wanning set up barriers to trap the god (and Mo Ran) inside its walls before they jump in too to help him destroy it.
Chu Wanning hated it. He had tried convincing Mo Ran to allow him to go make the wish but Mo Ran, seeing his “Shi Mei” try to protect him had ignored all of his protests and said he had a stronger wish to make. When Chu Wanning had glared at Shi Mei to use his current Shizun authority to get Mo Ran to listen, Shi Mei had not been looking at him. Ultimately, that meant Mo Ran's plan of being used as bait was supported wholeheartedly by his Shizun.
So here they are, at the abandoned temple again, unsure if the bait would even work. Chu Wanning starts setting up all the barriers, creating them so they turn on and trap them all in the minute something passes through them. Shi Mei hovers around him, pretending to supervise under Mo Ran’s watching eye.
“Are you prepared to summon Tianwen?”, Chu Wanning whispers. All parts of this plan worries him, more so given how his own combat ability is almost non-existent in Shi Mei’s body.
“Believe in your disciples a little, Shizun. We’ll be fine.”
Mo Ran watches the two whisper between themselves as they walk around the perimeter of the temple. He’s even more convinced they’re hiding something from him but for the life of him, cannot imagine what secret Shi Mei and Chu Wanning of all people would share together.
It irritates him. It should be him that secrets are shared with. When has Chu Wanning ever been reliable or a source of comfort to anyone?
Something about his thoughts must show on his face because Shi Mei approaches him. "Mo Ran", he warns, "make sure you're not wishing for anything until it's time. We don't know how this entity works yet and we don't want to be taken unaware."
Mo Ran could hug him. Instead, he holds Shi Mei’s hands in his own. All of his earlier irritation bleeds away at Shi Mei's words. "Thank you for worrying about me."
Shi Mei’s hands are warm against his palms and Mo Ran swears he can see the starting of a blush spread across his cheeks. Suddenly, his love feels a whole lot more real. More possible. It delights him. It terrifies him.
"You're not listening to me", Shi Mei interrupts, his hands still in Mo Ran’s, “Promise me you'll be careful inside - get out if you need to."
Mo Ran pauses before he nods solemnly. The stiff tension in Shi Mei's shoulder relaxes a little at his acknowledgement though he still holds himself as still as statue with Mo Ran grasping his hands. He's never heard Shi Mei sound so worried or insistent about anything before. He remembers Chu Wanning saying Shi Mei had a theory this morning and how for everything after that, his Shizun had taken a step back. Belatedly, he wonders if he should have asked more details but they've run out of time. Chu Wanning is walking towards them.
"The barriers are ready."
It's odd. To Mo Ran, those words sound almost like a question. But who would Chu Wanning want confirmation on for the state of barriers he invented? Nothing makes sense to him and his head is starting to hurt. Giving up on trying to untangle the mess the other two have left in his mind, he decides to just blindly trust his instincts in the battle ahead. That, and Shi Mei.
The temple looks about the same as it did yesterday - that is, untouched and abandoned. Mo Ran moves closer to the painting of the deity he had spotted last time, trying to see if he can spot anything more than the vague shape of a figure. He thinks he sees a man in the worn out paint but isn’t sure if that’s just coming because it's what he expects to see.
“We’re ready!”, comes a voice from outside and Mo Ran finally breaks away from the painting. His only instructions were to make a relatively honest wish and then keep whatever deity that appears talking until Chu Wanning and Shi Mei join him to take it on. Shi Mei had tried to force him into promising he wouldn’t do anything risky while he was in here alone but Mo Ran had skirted around actually making the promise. He’d rather die than let any harm come to Shi Mei.
He moves to the center of the temple and says, “Okay here goes, hello Mr Wish granting god, I’m here to wish for something.”
Nothing. It’s awkward standing there talking to himself but Mo Ran continues anyway, lowering his volume so that the two outside can’t hear him now that he’s actually wishing for something. Something he really wants. A wish strong enough to actually trick this god into appearing.
“I wish for Shi Mei to be safe and live a long life.”
Almost immediately, Mo Ran feels a presence in the temple with him. It does not reveal itself to him yet and Mo Ran waits, pretending he does not feel it draw closer to him.
“Surely, you can wish for something more. I know what’s in your heart. I know what you hide.”
Mo Ran hears a voice whisper right by his ear. “I know what I want, can you not grant it?”
“I can grant anything, boy. I can grant you power to crush the world under your foot again. I can grant you the love of your life.”
Mo Ran freezes. He still can’t see the deity but he has a horrible, sinking feeling that it can see right through him and all his secrets. Even though the thought of being exposed terrifies him, he forces himself to laugh, pretending to be unperturbed. “I already told you exactly what I want. If you can’t grant it, maybe you’re not all that powerful after all. There’s no reason to talk big”, he retorts.
“Did you like what I gave you a hint of? You could have it for the rest of your life.”
“What are you talking about?” Mo Ran asks warily.
“You wanted him to return your feelings, have you not noticed the boy you claim to love has changed how he behaves around you?”
All the odd behaviors he had seen in Shi Mei today flash before Mo Ran’s eyes. The blush, the awkwardness, the unwillingness to be with Mo Ran alone. “What did you do to him? I didn’t wish for this. I never -”
“You wanted him to notice your sincerity when you walked up to my stall. I simply swapped him out with someone who would.” There’s a laugh and Mo Ran’s temper flares and Jiangui appears in his hand, pulsing in reaction to his emotions.
The laughter only continues. “You can’t hurt me. I’m older and more powerful than you can imagine. I’ll grant your wish for you, boy. If that is what you want.”
“I take it back, reverse what you did to Shi Mei!”
“Foolish”, whispers an amused voice in his ear.
There. Mo Ran finally spots a flash of light out of the corner of his eyes as his words spur the god into action - presumably attempting to finally grant Mo Ran’s wish. He summons Jiangui, whipping it in the direction of the light all as he yells, “SHIZUN!”. Even as the red vines force the deity to show itself, Mo Ran feels a sharp claw scratch at his face.
At the same time, outside, Chu Wanning suddenly finds himself back in his own body. He immediately turns around to find that Shi Mei has also safely returned to his. He has no time to wonder what happened, if Mo Ran’s had already guessed enough to wish for their return before he hears Mo Ran call for him.
Abandoning every other thought except to make sure Mo Ran is unharmed, Chu Wanning rushes into the temple, Tianwen out and ready to attack.
The familiar feel of his holy weapon in his hand is a comfort. It's only been a day of being cut off from his own body and core and he hadn't realized just how uncomfortable he had been until he was back. For all of Chu Wanning's self hatred, he has always been secure in his role as a protector, as a weapon, as something to throw into battle so no one else gets hurt. Losing that ability, losing the only value he sees in himself to a stupid curse he has brought on himself, had forced him to see just how useless he is without his strength.
Chu Wanning forces the barriers Shi Mei had set up to close in on the temple, determined to trap and destroy this god once and for all.
Inside, he sees Mo Ran struggling to keep what appears to be an old man in Jiangui's grasp. All around him, the temple's walls are shaking violently. There are lamps, plates and whatever objects the god can force into the air hurtling towards Mo Ran's head in an attempt to knock him out. He immediately forces Tianwen around the man, the golden vines intertwining with the red ones already keeping him in place.
"Shizun!"
"I'll handle this now, go, get Shi Mei and both of you get clear of the temple and its barriers."
There’s a brief sense of familiarity, they’ve both done this before. Mo Ran nods and leaves, hurrying over to where Shi Mei stands outside.
With Chu Wanning left alone in the temple, the god’s desperate struggle takes on a final, mean turn.
“Did you like what you got for a day? Did it feel good being loved for once, Chu Wanning? I can give you more if you only let me go.”
Chu Wanning simply glares at him, refusing to acknowledge the jibe. Tianwen flares up in his anger, tightening around the god and muffling his mocking words.
“You’re as foolish as him. I could make that real for you if you let me go. The boy outside - he would only look at you. Wouldn’t you like that? Release me and I can give it to you.”
“Shut up.”
“Yesterday was just a taste. You could be loved-”
There’s a loud band as Chu Wanning’s temper finally explodes, and along with it, Tianwen. The god is slammed against the walls of the temple and all the chaos around him finally subsides. Tianwen’s length grows and grows, covering the god until he cannot be seen, he cannot be heard, until there’s nothing of him left, disintegrated into pure energy from Chu Wanning’s power.
He’s glad he’s back in his body. He doesn’t need to be loved as someone else. Chu Wanning doesn’t need to be loved at all. He’s glad Mo Ran isn’t here to witness the mockery, he’s glad Mo Ran isn’t here to notice the brief second he faltered, where the promise of not being him had actually tempted him. He is determined to not let even the tiniest remnant of this god remain, to bury his own shame with it.
When Chu Wanning finally leaves the temple, there is barely enough of the outer brick walls to call it that. He sees two figures beyond the dust and golden light, waiting for him, and blindly makes his way towards them. The god’s voice still echoes in his mind, calling him foolish, telling him he will never have the things that he wants, but he knows it holds no power beyond which he allows it to. He won’t allow it to have any.
“Shizun! Did you get him? Is it over?”
Shi Mei. Chu Wanning can’t quite bring himself to look at him after the god’s words still fresh in his mind. They had no opportunity to discuss that their swap has been reversed but to Chu Wanning, there is nothing to say. He definitely can’t look at Mo Ran. He had almost confessed, earlier, the guilt at tricking Mo Ran having pushed him over the edge, but now that it’s over, Chu Wanning would rather pretend this never happened. If he had, he would have caught the puzzled look on Mo Ran’s face as he looks at him.
“Mh. It’s gone. We should check on the Zhen’s to make sure they’re back to normal too before we return to Sisheng.”
With that, he brushes off his disciple’s concern and turns to immediately start their trek back to the village. It is clear to all of them that Chu Wanning would rather waste no more words discussing the case now that it is done. Mo Ran and Shi Mei have no choice but to follow him, Chu Wanning’s tall, white, lonely figure paving their way back against the setting sun.