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If his fellow vassals still had faces of their own, Mei Nianqing would've slapped the living shit out of them.
The ordeal began normally enough—he and his highness were gathering their harvest for the month when he encountered something shiny on the ground. Carefully, he unearthed the object, revealing a strangely familiar sword nestled in the dirt.
“Gui Zheng? What’s that doing here?” Jun Wu said, peeking from his shoulder. If it wasn’t for the deformed warts on his face and dark circles under his eyes, Mei Nianqing would've thought they were back in the palaces of Wuyong. Back when they were prince and vassal, carefree and only thinking of ways to strengthen their cultivation.
Those days before the eruption that changed everything.
“This was his highness’ sword?” He asked the former emperor. The other man nodded.
“It was one of the first ten we collected with special abilities, though I forgot what it does now.” he said, rubbing his temples. “My memory has been hazy having lived so long, you know?”
Mei Nianqing nodded in understanding. After being alive for centuries, Wuyong's glory days had become a warm cloudy haze, a feeling of nostalgia without a memory. It was foggy and distinct at the same time, like his fingertips were just out of its reach.
“I'll take it inside, it might be dangerous,” he said quickly, yanking the sword from the ground. “Your highness can just focus on harvesting.”
Jun Wu nodded as the vassal entered the little hut and put the sword in a battered chest. He made a mental note to surrender it to Xie Lian when he drops by, but for now, a chest under the bed seemed safe.
The next day, Mei Nianqing woke up to his own body snuggled against his chest.
“What the hell!” Jun Wu’s voice came from his mouth in shock. In a panic, he crossed the threshold of the hut and grabbed a bronze mirror.
There, staring back at him, was his highness’ face.
In horror, he tossed the mirror across the room, the metal crashing against the walls with a resounding clang! and waking his own sleeping form.
“Qingqing, what—”
The other man took three long blinks, each time his expression becoming more and more confused.
Finally he spoke.
“Do I really look that hideous now?”
It didn’t take long for them to realise that the sword was behind all this.
“HOW DID YOU FORGET THAT SWORD DID THAT?”
“HOW DID YOU FORGET?! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO DEALT WITH MINGZHI AND GAOJIE BEFORE!”
“Enough!” Mei Nianqing ran a hand through his (or rather, his highness’) hair in exasperation. “Arguing won’t get us anywhere. Now, your highness.”
He took his own hand in Jun Wu’s, tracing the familiar calluses on his body's knuckles. It was a familiar feeling, but felt alien in this form.
“Do you remember how we fixed this?”
As his highness tried to remember, something rolled into the little hut and landed neatly at Mei Nianqing’s feet. Picking it up and holding it up to the light, a wave of memories overflowed his mind, and it seemed his highness had the same realization as well.
“Tonglu.” they said in unison as Mei Nianqing neatly tucked the cracked half of the whetstone into his robes.
It looked like it was time to meet some old friends.
Turns out, venturing with your former emperor into his old palaces which were haunted by the friends he threw into an active volcano has consequences.
“Your highness, are you certain we aren't lost?” he asked for the nth time, his ancient bones creaking from walking so long. Jun Wu's voice reverberated in his mind.
“Yes, I'm certain. Wait, where are you?”
“Huh?”
Turning around in a circle, Mei Nianqing found himself very much alone in an empty cavern with seemingly no way out.
“Your highness, did you walk ahead too far again?” he demanded, putting his hands on the rock face to find an exit. Inside his mind, Jun Wu scoffed.
“With your bad knees? Please, Qingqing you flatter yourself too much.”
Mei Nianqing huffed.
“And who was responsible for that?”
Jun Wu was silent as he seemed to recall the incident, and Mei Nianqing turned his wrist over to the long, wide scar on his highness’ arm.
The horses of the fancy carriage bucked wildly, their mannerisms skittish and tense as the crowd gathered around them. Spilled ink seeped through the pavement cracks, soaking some of the scattered priceless books and scrolls. Yet, that paled in comparison to the mangled boy stuck underneath the carriage.
He was alive, thankfully, crying out as teams of servants tried to pry him from the wreck of splintered wood and metal. It wasn't until a finely dressed boy came forward and destroyed parts of the wreck that the trapped youth was finally freed.
“Are you alright?” asked his savior. He was a handsome, dark haired noble boy with a large build, indicating that he was going to be a formidable cultivator once he matured. Mei Nianqing blinked, gesturing to his bloody robes.
“My legs. I can't walk.” he said, his breathing ragged. The other boy nodded and in one swoop, carried him on his back, his intricate clothes stained with dirt and blood.
“Your highness, let the servants handle this!” said a guard, his hands reaching out to take Mei Nianqing. The boy shook his head.
“It was my fault he got injured. He's my responsibility.” he insisted. Mei Nianqing looked at him appalled.
“THAT WAS YOU? YOU IDIOT, DON'T YOU HAVE EYES? YOUR RECKLESSNESS SHOULD BAN YOU FROM DRIVING A CARRIAGE EVER AGAIN!” he screamed.
The young noble looked embarrassed as he steadily carried him to the hospital wing, laying him down on the nearest bed. Only when he was finally cleaned and bandaged that the words of the guard began to sink in, and he realized just who this noble boy was.
Mei Nianqing, a promising young scholar, had just yelled at the Crown Prince of Wuyong and called him an idiot.
Well, shit.
He began to sputter out an apology, only to notice one of the prince’s sleeves was quickly becoming stained with a sickening red.
“You’re bleeding!” he exclaimed, frantically waving his arms to call a medic. Fortunately, a medic saw them and rushed over, pulling up the prince's sleeve and removing a large, splintered piece of wood from his arm.
“Stay for a few days.” the medic ordered, bandaging the prince's arm. “And don't move it. It's a miracle your bone didn't snap in half when you carried that other boy here.”
And so the medic left, leaving Mei Nianqing and the Crown Prince alone in their beds.
“Your highness, forgive this one for calling you an idiot earlier.” he began, only for the Crown Prince to laugh and wave him off with his good hand.
“You were right though, I was being reckless.” He then jumped up and took Mei Nianqing's hands in his own. The young scholar was taken aback—did royalty always smell so good even after being covered in blood and dirt?
“And that's why you'd make the perfect vassal.” he said with a smile brighter than the sun. Mei Nianqng blinked. Was he going insane?
“A future king needs someone who isn't afraid to tell him things that he did wrong.” the crown prince explained, his eyes shining with such hope, it tugged at Mei Nianqing’s heart. “The fact you did it so easily tells me you’d be perfect for the job. So what do you say? Will you be my vassal?”
Mei Nianqing could only smile as he squeezed the crown prince's hand, a silent promise to stay with him until the end of time as the sky turned into a brilliant blend of contrasting hues—orange dimming to a deep purple, day fading into night.
A prince and his vassal.
“Yes,”
After what seemed like forever, the former heavenly emperor reached a large chamber, the ceiling reaching up to an ever expansive darkness. At his feet was nothing but rubble, the bases of long destroyed statues lining his path. With his now long and slender fingers, he traced the foot of each statue, the entire mountain shaking at his touch.
Haven’t you done enough?
“ You should’ve helped me pacify the volcano when you had the chance.” he said to no one in particular. Tonglu continued to shake, its restless spirits practically howling in anger at his presence. He understood why, of course, but it still didn’t stop it from hurting.
“Then stay there! I’ve had enough of you ungrateful idiots!” he yelled, the mountain’s rumbling slowing to an eerie standstill.
He knew he didn’t have the right to call them such, but he was exhausted. Centuries upon centuries of trying to save the common people, and all people could see were his failures, his shortcomings. Even his vassals, the very people he considered his closest friends, had abandoned him when he was at his lowest.
Or had they just been doing what he asked them to do?
Looking up, Jun Wu had somehow found himself at the end of the cavern, where five barely intact statues stood in a line, the remains of their empty eyes trained on his person.
Four vassals and a crown prince who wanted nothing more than to save his people, only to destroy the very people he once sought to protect.
“Zhu Mingzhi.” he said solemnly, addressing the statue on the farthest left, its cracked yet steady features not unlike the man it depicted.
“Lan Gaojie. Ju Qianren.” he continued, addressing each of his deceased vassals as if they were still there. His hands were clenched tightly, shaking in both anger and melancholy.
“Forgive me for what I have become,”
“Your highness!”
The fallen crown prince turned around to face three of his vassals, his face contorted into a menacing grin, a far cry from the gentle and pure soul they once pledged their loyalty to.
“You have to stop.” Lan Gaojie said, gesturing to the barren wastelands that were once the thriving plains of their kingdom. “You're destroying Wuyong.”
The prince paused for a moment, only to laugh coldly at their faces as he pointed at the settlement of people at the base of the mountain. Despite the gloomy and dire circumstances, the mood was hopeful as the people went about their lives, blissfully unaware of the price of their temporary peace.
“Destroying them? No, I’m helping them. This place would’ve been buried in lava a long time ago if it wasn’t for me.”
“Yet look at what you’ve become!” Qianren screamed at him, gesturing at the bubbling magma below their feet. “Is this what you stand for now? Sacrificing the innocent?”
The prince sneered, his eyes filled with a manic fury that looked out of place in his youthful face.
“And you have forgotten your place,” he said, his eyes trained to the molten pit below their feet. “As my vassals, you should be helping me manage Wuyong.”
“And you have forgotten the reason why you took us in the first place!” Mingzhi retorted. “You once said that as the future king, you needed people who weren’t afraid to tell you what you did wrong. We’re simply carrying out our duty to you, and to the kingdom.”
The prince stayed in place, as unmoving as a rock,further steeling the vassals’ resolve. Mingzhu sighed and took off his outer robes—a symbol of his vassalship, and threw it to the ground. The others followed suit, and only then did the man's expression change, his eyes wide with shock and betrayal.
“I see. You're deserting me.” he said, his voice icy and monotone. Before they could even blink, the man had seized them, his strength still impressive despite his lost godhood, and sent them tumbling into the magma below.
“Then, I pray you all never rest in peace.”
Mei Nianqing found the old armory quicker than he expected. Much like the rest of Wuyong, it was looted and left in ruins, but fortunately for him, some treasures still remained.
Now the question was, would the other half of the whetstone still be here?
Sorting through the mess of ruins,he prayed to whichever higher being would listen to him that it was there, hoping for a sign he was on the right track. In his hands, the once brilliant swords and armors his highness adored were now rusted beyond repair, mixed in with the bones of people they once knew. Overhead, he could feel the rumbling of the mountain-nothing new at first, but something felt different this time.
Looking up from the centuries of dirt and grime, Mei Nianqing could see that a portion of Tonglu opened up, revealing a little sliver of the night sky. Above him, clear as day, he could make out a single star, shining directly below him.
When the stars above Wuyong are at their brightest, it was said that one could get a glimpse of destiny.
Back when he was studying as a scholar, the astronomers taught him how to read the stars. After all, fate was already written in the skies, you just needed to seize it. When one is confused with which path he should take, the stars can help determine what they need to do.
Except this time, Mei Nianqing didn’t quite know what to make of it.
It wasn’t like he suddenly forgot how to read the stars- he was becoming quite famous throughout the court for his readings- it's that he was confused why the heavens were telling him he should get together with the Crown Prince.
The reading was clear as day- expect a romance with one who helped him immensely, but depending on what the person chooses to do in life, it can end in two ways. Mei Nianqing knew only one person who fit that description.
His dear highness.
Part of him wishes he was wrong. He knew that he had feelings for his dear highness-feeling that went beyond just being a vassal and friend. In fact, it was so obvious that his fellow vassals constantly teased him about it. But Mei Nianqing knew his place. As the future ruler of Wuyong, the crown prince had to have heirs, preferably from a young woman of high standing. Mei Nianqing was neither a woman nor of high standing, so how could he ever wish to be with him?
And yet the stars above remained unchanging, his future set in stone. Was he really fated to be at his dear highness's side, a love that can never be recognized?
“Qingqing.”
Mei Nianqing swallowed at the sound of that familiar nickname and turned to face him.
“My dear highness,” he replied, his heart beating like a drum. He gestured to the empty space on the rooftop next to him.
“Come, sit. I was just reading the stars.”
The prince nodded and took a seat, his smile unwavering. Meanwhile, Mei Nianqing’s heart was about to burst in his rib cage.
“So what do the stars say?” the other man asked, his bright, clear eyes full of curiosity. Mei Nianqing gulped.
“I…It said that you’ll face a crossroads in the future.” he said hurriedly, leaving out that one crucial detail. The prince cocked his head, curious what else he had to say. Mei Nianqing adjusted his robes, his face flushed.
“Don’t pester me for more, your highness, that’s all they really had to say!” he protested, only to be met with laughter and a pat on the back.
“I see, I see, no need to get defensive, Qingqing.” he teased. Suddenly, his face turned serious and pointed at a single star above them- the one that meant romance, loyalty and devotion.
“I keep forgetting what that one says.” he said solemnly, his voice without any hint of mockery.
“Can you enlighten me?”
Mei Nianqing nodded and with a grunt, laid his head on his highness’ shoulder. True, his highness would never be his, but that didn’t stop him from selfishly taking this moment for himself. After all, if fate willed it, who was he to defy it?
“It means loyalty, your highness.” he whispered. Then in a quick gesture, he pressed his lips onto the prince’s neck, feeling the blood rushing to the other man’s face for a moment before moving away.
“Because no matter what you choose, I’ll always be by your side,”
As if on cue, the rock ceiling above him crumbled open, revealing an opening to the skies above. Moonlight shone down like a beam of light, landing directly at the ground in front of his feet. Jun Wu hesitated for a moment before a quick rumble of the mountain pushed him forward, the brightly lit ground below him cracking and sending him tumbling down below. By some luck, he didn't break his neck, but instead found himself cradled by his original body.
“Your highness!”
Jun Wu blinked, his eyes refocusing towards the sound of the other man’s voice. When they finally did, he threw his arms around him, his chest heaving.
“Qingqing, Mei Nianqing, forgive me for all that I’ve done. I should have listened to you all.”
Mei Nianqing stood confused for a moment before he also wrapped his arms around his highness, their warm bodies mingling in a way that it hadn’t in several centuries.
“And I shouldn’t have left you.” Mei Nianqing admitted, his thumb caressing his highness’s cheeks. It was weird to be doing that to his own face, but he didn’t care.
His dear highness-not Bai Wuxiang, not Jun Wu, not the fallen prince of Wuyong-had come back to him.
The mountains rumbled under their feet as Mei Nianqing set his beloved down, their rumblings no longer malicious. Somehow, it sounded playful as the other half of the whetstone tumbled down the hole above them and landed with a thump on his highness’s head before landing in his palms.
“So this was your doing?” Mei Nianqing asked, his voice echoing through the walls. The mountains sat still for a moment before a quiet hum answered him, seemingly amused.
“You're all idiots,” Mei Nianqing spat out, his tone teasing as he held out his half of the whetstone. His dear highness nodded, a gentle smile on his face as they linked the two halves together, flooding the cavern with light.
“This is ridiculous! You went around doing my duties for me looking like this?”
“Face it, Mingzhi. You're much more attractive when you wear orchids in your hair.”
“Of course you think that, you always put orchids on your things!”
Lan Gaojie put the whetstone back on the shelf and gave his fellow vassal a knowing smile.
“Precisely why they're on you now.”
Ju Qianren and Mei Nianqing scoffed at their friends’ disgusting display. After suffering through months of those two pining for each other, it was about damn time they got together.
“I’ll handle these two love birds, you need rest after figuring out how to switch them back,”
said Ju Qianren. Mei Nianqing nodded and walked out of the armory, shaking his head. Who knew that a sword could switch bodies?
Slipping quietly through the palace halls, Mei Nianqing went up a small staircase to the roof top to clear his mind, only to find the crown prince himself waiting for him there.
“Have you finished handling that predicament?” he asked teasingly, his smile bright even in the dark of the night. Mei Nianqing nodded.
“Taken cared of, though I will say that they’ll be even more insufferable now.”
The prince laughed, his voice piercing through the night. Below them, the festivities raged on as Wuyong celebrated the crown prince’s birthday. The city was glowing in warm colors as the people enjoyed stunt shows and flowing wine, the very picture of a kingdom at the height of its power, its people unaware of the tragedy that would await them in just a few short years.
“True, but that would just mean we’ll have even more time for ourselves, no?”
Mei Nianqing scoffed, and playfully pushed the prince’s shoulder.
“You wish, your shameless-ness!” he said, laughing as he sat down on the still warm tiles. The prince sat down next to him, their bodies leaning against each other as they watched the sky light up in vibrant colors. They sat in silence for a moment before the prince spoke.
“If we were the ones who switched bodies, do you think we would be as insufferable?”
Mei Nianqing snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Maybe. Ask me that again when it happens.” he replied, brushing a stray lock of the prince’s hair back. His dear highness smiled.
“Maybe I will. After all,”
The prince entwined his fingers in Mei Nianqing’s, their palms touching lightly. It was a small gesture, but Mei Nianqing could feel his dear highness relax, his worries about the future melting away like snow. As long as he had his vassals, he could save the world.
He could save the common people.
“You said so yourself. No matter what I choose, you’ll always be by my side.”
And Mei Nianqing believed it.