Chapter Text
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"This is not how I wanted things to happen," Wei Wuxian acknowledged as he thought back to what had just happened to him only moments prior.
Being called back to the living was unpleasant, especially when he didn't ask for it. Accidentally changing part of the array that summoned his soul was even worse. Getting thrust back in time because for some reason time-travel arrays and soul-reckoning arrays weren't that different, was the absolute worst. And being told by some nameless, nosy god that he was getting a second chance since apparently, he'd been 'wronged greatly in life' had been the only good side once he got past all the bad stuff.
Wei Wuxian wasn't just in the past. He was in the PAST. The past of the past. Or his original body's past. Or another version of his past. Or whatever. It was complicated. Time was always a touchy subject because most theories on it were subjective conjecture.
So he was in a past of a sort.
The year his parents had died to be more specific. A little Wei Wuxian was wandering Yiling at this very moment most likely, all alone and hungry, and waiting for his parents to return like a good boy, and wondering if he'd actually been a bad boy and that was why they didn't come back.
The concept of being an orphan didn't hit him for quite some time. He'd been alone for three months before he even realized that they probably lost to 'the monsters' they'd gone to fight. It was six months before someone called him an orphan and explained what that meant.
He was twenty-four now, but stuck in the time where he was actually four. Or his younger self was four. He was in a new body which made things very confusing since it was supposedly the same soul and apparently two of the same soul could exist at the same time in the same place? Or maybe dying changed him and then being brought back to life so suddenly also changed him around too?
Either way, it was before the Sunshot Campaign had happened. Before visiting the Cloud Recesses as a junior disciple. Before Jiang Fengmian took him in, even.
He'd been brought back in Mo Xuanyu's body, which meant he had a Golden Core again, but could also access Resentful Energy. And Mo Xuanyu didn't look that different from Wei Wuxian in truth. Same hair color even if the eyes were more amber than silver. Same taste in clothing colors. Almost the same height. Almost the same hairstyle. Though he lacked muscle and was a bit like a waif in that regard, which, considering what the nameless god had told him about the boy's past, wasn't far off the mark.
A second chance, he'd been informed. He'd been informed of many things. He could drastically change the future for the better. He had the knowledge on his side to do whatever he wanted and he was trusted to do the right thing instead of taking vengeance. Something about his heart being pure or whatever. He wasn't about to argue with a god when he didn't have all the information he needed about them.
Jin Zixuan's death wasn't his fault. Shijie's death wasn't his fault. The massacre of Lotus Pier wasn't even his fault.
And now he could make certain those things didn't happen again. He could protect those he cared for the most. If he did things right, no war would have to happen at all!
[In your former life, the causes for your problems were Wen Ruohan, Jin Guangshan,
and Jin Guangyao. Jin Guangshan targeted you specifically for greedy purposes. He
had his disciples spread rumors about you to discredit you. And ostracizing you from
your family was his plan. He simply put Jin Guangyao in charge of it.
Worry not. Even with you no longer being in that timeline, justice has been served.
Mo Xuanyu's family was slaughtered hours after you disappeared and the Lan Sect
was set on the case. Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang managed to expose the truth of
all that happened and your name was eventually cleared amidst the drama. Even if
it left many in turmoil, the truth is far better than falsehoods. And some needed to
be made aware of their hypocrisy.
It never ceases to amuse us how mortals always assume they know best. I can tell
you that only two people that you knew from your own timeline would actually be
immortal in the future. The rest could never hope to cultivate to such power when
they are so tainted by their own hypocrisy that it holds them back from growth.
This time, you have the opportunity to make things better. I went against several
orders to create this new branch off the Tree of Time. Don't make me regret giving
you this gift, Wei Wuxian. Do not prove my faith to be misplaced.]
Having the attention of a god was stressful enough. To be granted such an opportunity with such high risks was even worse. But also worth it in his opinion.
First order of business though was to establish himself as a rogue cultivator and find his younger self. Even if he knew Uncle Jiang would eventually find the boy, it didn't sit right with him, leaving Wei Ying homeless and starving on the streets, having to fight dogs for scraps of old and mold-covered food. Especially if he knew where the boy was!
Using a surname he hadn't been gifted would cause problems. He couldn't be a Wei since Wei Changze was the only one in the region and he was too old to be the man's son or cousin or long-lost sibling. And the Mo family would surely want to know why a rogue cultivator was running around with their name when they didn't know him. Jiang was out for obvious reasons. As well as any other big sect names. Too many possible questions that he didn't want to answer.
Maybe no surname would be better. He could just say he was a lonely orphan, which was true. And if he used Mo Xuanyu's own history, then his entire family had been killed and he was all that was left. That he just chose a courtesy name for himself because he didn't like the name he'd been gifted by such horrible people. Didn't like the connection he had to them by blood and wanted to do what he could to distance himself from them as much as possible.
All he had to do was pick a name.
He'd contemplated courtesy names for A-Yuan many times. Since he'd most likely be putting a stop to things before they could get as bad as before, A-Yuan would get to grow up with his real parents.
He hadn't ever really been Wei Wuxian's anyway.
And it was better that he get a chance at a real childhood this time. Where he was safe and never had to worry about whether granny wouldn't have food while he ate, or if someone else gave up their food for him. Kids noticed a lot of things and it had broken his heart to know that Wen Yuan had understood their poverty to the point of trying to share his portions with everyone else.
The boy had been so very sweet. He'd get what he had always deserved from the start this time.
The name he'd considered giving A-Yuan, under Wen Qing's approval of course, had been Yuanji. It would have worked in his opinion. And since he had no one to give that name to now, he would take it.
His last link to his last life.
Yuan as in the boy's birth name. Ji was inspired by Lan Wangji. With different characters of course. He'd entertained the idea of giving A-Yuan his own surname since Wen had become taboo and anyone with that surname suffered even if it was written with a different character.
Wei Yuanji, even with different characters, had been nice in his opinion. Unique, inspired by two people who definitely liked him, but not directly connected to those people just so others wouldn't have asked questions or looked too deeply into his origins and connections.
Since A-Yuan would never become a homeless orphan barely surviving day by day, he had no need for this courtesy name now.
So Yuanji would be Wei Wuxian's new name. In honor of his little radish and his - what he'd like to believe - best friend.
First he had to find out the status of Wei Ying's existence. He traveled to Yunmeng first, where word of the Jiang Sect Leader's search for his sworn brother's son was all over the place. So yes, his parents were already dead unfortunately, meaning little Wei Ying was indeed somewhere in Yiling. Starving. Being chased by dogs wanting the scraps he'd found fair and square. Alone.
Jiang Fengmian hadn't been quiet about his desire to find the boy, which was the only positive in the situation in his opinion.
So, Wei Wuxian, now Yuanji, made his way in that direction, helping out on a couple night hunts here and there with only talismans and arrays to help him. Yet, as a genius, he'd developed many of his own and had mastered them thoroughly so he was far from hopeless.
Food was acquired through helping others and a warm fire to sleep near was the best he could manage for the time being. Once Wei Ying was in Yunmeng and with the Jiangs, he could concern himself with his own existence. At the very least, he'd make sure his younger self got a better life earlier on.
If he succeeded in nothing else but that during this 'second chance' that would be perfectly okay.
Yiling was as he remembered it. The back alleys, despite being so far away in his memory, were no different than the last time he'd seen them in person. He felt nostalgic in a disgusting sort of way. But it wasn't a good kind of thing, yet the familiar sight was still nicer than an unfamiliar one.
Being on the streets hadn't been a fun time for him. Fighting animals(especially dogs) for food wasn't fun either. The memories still made him shiver in disgust. Made his arms tingle with phantom dog bites.
He found his younger self huddled in the shadow of a large wall far away from the main market. A familiar spot, he recalled. Wei Ying was covered in dirt and his clothes had already become ragged. His hair hadn't been washed at all and looked matted, sticking out in various directions.
"Wei Ying?" he asked the boy, watching as familiar silver/grey eyes lit up upon hearing his own name.
"Hi," the little boy said, looking cheerful despite the circumstances he found himself in. Even cowering for safety he still seemed happy.
"Sect Leader Jiang of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect is looking for you. He knew your parents," Yuanji told him. "He has their swords in his family's Ancestral Hall and promised he'd find you and bring you home."
Little Wei Ying blinked. "Home?"
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Yuanji. A rogue cultivator, like Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren were."
"Okay."
He should have been more concerned over how accepting the boy was of the situation, but he was too relieved to be that worried about it.
All he had to do was get Wei Ying to the Jiangs as fast as possible. Yiling and Yunmeng weren't very far apart. If only he had a sword. If only Mo Xuanyu's cultivation was higher. But he did have time to fix that now, so he could see to that later on when there was more free time on his side.
And he'd fashioned a new dizi for himself the other day. Not as nice as Chenqing had been of course, but still tolerable. If anything happened, he could protect them both with ease.
All food for the next three days went to Wei Ying, who, despite being starved, did his best to share. Even if it was apples or boring rice, he wanted them to evenly split their wares instead of hoarding it all for himself.
He couldn't believe his selfless streak stretched back that far.
"Yuanji, why don't you have a surname?" the boy had asked him on the first night as he huddled in the warmth of the man's arms, wanting to snuggle.
"I don't have a family. I'm an orphan."
"I'm an orphan and I have a surname."
He huffed a laugh and pulled the boy even further into his embrace. "More like I don't want to remember my blood family, Wei Ying. They are dead but they were bad people and I don't like being connected to them, so I chose my own name." That sounded like a good excuse, using Mo Xuanyu's life experience as a way to explain his name choice. If anyone asked he could explain the abuse and how they died because they were bad and attracted other bad things.
"What does Yuanji mean?"
"Death, or it could mean Birthplace with different characters. I mean it in a sort of, death of my old self and birth of a new self kind of way," he explained. "I am a new me now."
"And you like that name?" the boy asked as he fiddled with Yuanji's hair ribbon, which had fallen over his shoulder.
"Yes." The one he'd chosen for his A-Yuan had meant 'birthplace' but either version was acceptable at this point in time really. He had no reason to write his name out anyway.
"What do you want, gege?"
"Many things, A-Ying. Things I can't get anymore." And things that weren't really for him but still necessary for everyone else.
Yuanji looked around the streets of Yunmeng, trying to find the telltale purple of the Jiang Sect. He could hand Wei Ying over to a Senior Cultivator and be on his way without having to see Uncle Jiang or Madam Yu personally.
Would he even be able to handle that? Probably not. He didn't want to see for himself either. He wanted to steep in his cowardice some more, thank you very much.
Finally, he noted a violet-clad form bearing a sword, and made his way toward the cultivator, who eyed him warily as he approached.
"You're a Jiang Sect disciple, yes?" he asked, tone brokering for no argument.
The other stood straighter and nodded.
"Good. I found Sect Leader Jiang's sworn brother's son. This is Wei Ying."
As the good boy that he was, Wei Ying waved.
The other cultivator gaped for a moment before finally managing to collect himself. "Where was he?"
"Yiling. Specifically the alleyways as far from the main street as you can get. Less traffic back there."
"Come with me. Sect Leader Jiang will want to speak with you."
Oh that… no.
He winced. "Can't you just bring him with you? You know how to deal with such people. I wasn't taught proper measures for these kinds of meetings, I'll probably make everyone lose face," he lied, even if his discomfort was very much real, if not for the obvious reasons.
"Sect Leader Jiang won't care about that!" the other assured him with a calm smile. "He'll want to thank you himself."
Oh gods, why?
He sighed and lifted Wei Ying higher, trying to give himself something to stay upright for. "Okay," he murmured in trepidation.
He was led all the way to Lotus Pier, which was as it had been before being burned down. No damage. No dead bodies. No lingering air of loss and regret or the never-ending 'what ifs?' around every corner.
Yuanji's throat was tight with emotion and he bit his cheek to control himself. This wasn't his home anymore. This hadn't been his home in a long time. But it would be Wei Ying's home, and he would make certain that he got to keep his home this time. That he didn't lose any of the bonds he'd form in the future.
The ghosts of his past were ever present and constricting. Even if he hadn't been at fault, that didn't mean he hadn't spent years thinking it was his fault. Believing that he was to blame for everyone's unhappiness. Punishing himself in any way he could for it. One doesn't just get over that the moment they learn that they weren't the one in the wrong.
The main hall remained as it used to be. Purple banners. Lotus designs. Sunset shining through the open windows. So much had happened there. He felt nostalgic again, even though it hurt. Those days were long gone. Another lifetime away.
Jiang Fengmian's presence interrupted his downward spiral. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. He was young, healthy, and possessed a calm disposition like he had in the early days of Wei Wuxian's memory.
Wei Ying was deposited on the floor, looking as amazed as he had when they'd entered Yunmeng.
Yuanji stepped back a little to give him space to himself.
The boy looked confused about who to focus on. The man in fancy, purple clothing or the man who had protected him these past few days.
Jiang Fengmian aimed his familiar, calm smile at the little boy and crouched down so they'd be closer in height. He looked as if the heavens had opened up to him personally. Like living sunshine in a personal sunrise. "Hello, Wei Ying. I'm Jiang Fengmian, a close friend of your father and mother."
"Hi," the boy said shyly, looking adorably flushed under all the attention he was getting.
Once upon a time Wei Wuxian had been cute. What had happened?
Uncl- Jiang Fengmian looked up, piercing Yuanji evenly with his violet gaze. "And who is your friend, Wei Ying?"
"That's Yuanji! He's great!"
He was also a sweet kid once upon a time. What had happened?
Yuanji gave a small bow that certainly wasn't low enough, all to keep up his whole 'not taught properly' image.
"Well, he brought you here which means his family gets the reward I promised. Did you know that?" Jiang Fengmian asked the little boy conspiratorially.
And Wei Ying, sweet little Wei Ying, teared up immediately. "But Yuanji-ge doesn't have a family, so who gets the reward?"
"I don't want a reward. I was just doing the right thing," Yuanji said frankly. He just wanted to get on his way so he didn't have to look his dead guardian in the face any longer. He did his part. Wei Ying would get to have a childhood much sooner and would have better memories this time around. That was what mattered the most presently.
Jiang Fengmian frowned up at him. "I can't just not reward you for going out of your way, especially when you look like you could faint at any moment."
What? "I'm fine." He wasn't, but that didn't matter.
Yet the sect leader refused to be deterred. "When was the last time you ate?"
Wei Ying decided to answer for him unfortunately. "Gege ate an apple yesterday. He let me have all the apples today though."
Appearing back in the past in Mo Xuanyu's already starved body was very unfortunate. He was all sharp angles and hollowed cheeks at present. And with Wei Ying accompanying him, of course he'd give the child the food he desperately needed. He had experience with all the stages of hunger and knew he was nowhere near the detrimental stages yet, so he could go without food for a bit longer until he figured something out.
It was close to dinner time in Lotus Pier. That meant he'd gone at least twenty-four hours on the sustenance a single apple could provide. Jiang Fengmian did not like that realization at all.
"Stay the night," the man offered. "We can repay you with a few meals and some new robes before you go."
"No, no, it's fine. Your generosity is appreciated but wholly unnecessary, I assure you," he replied, backing away another step and feeling very uncomfortable in the process. "I have to leave." He didn't want handouts and he didn't want to be here any longer.
"To where?" asked Wei Ying, the little traitor. "You don't have a home either."
How did a four year old manage to make such good arguments? He didn't remember being that clever as a child.
"Somewhere I'm needed," he chose to say since he couldn't think of anything good enough to get him out of this troublesome situation! Or anything good enough that a child would just accept it without question.
Jiang Fengmian nodded. "You are needed here, so here is where you will stay. A servant will show you to a guest bedroom."
WHYYYYYYYYYY?!
He was given a room. The room that had been his old room to be precise. He was then told a hot bath would be drawn for him and a set of plain purple and black robes were handed over for keeping. Literally, he was told he could keep them. He didn't plan to.
Now while he did need help, he didn't feel comfortable accepting it from the Jiangs. When everything was lost during the war, he'd been made aware of how greedy he'd been as a youth, and felt guilty over not being more appreciative of his privileges. He was just the son of a servant but was only fortunate enough that his parents had a wealthy friend with a conscience. That was all that saved him from life on the streets as a child.
Even knowing Lotus Pier's downfall wasn't his fault, he still felt guilty over it, and probably wouldn't ever not feel guilty.
Still, he would take the bath and clothes and dinner and maybe a night of sleep, and then be on his way in the early morning. The Jiang Sect was normal and didn't rise early under some misplaced sense of self-righteousness like the Lans, so if he awoke at five, he could sneak out without anyone being aware of it.
Mo Xuanyu's clothes could be washed in the remains of his bath water and would dry overnight thanks to the average temperature of Lotus Pier. They'd be ready to wear again come morning.
Bathing for the first time in a long time was nice though. The water was hot and relaxing and it kind of hurt too, but it was also nice to just be able to feel sensations again. He hadn't really gotten to enjoy being alive again until now and for the moment, he could just take it all in and relax.
For only a moment though.
But there were things to do, so relaxing wasn't something that could happen often.
He had to prevent the need for the Sunshot Campaign and he had no clue how to go about doing that. He wasn't the member of a sect this time so he didn't have the easy option of gaining notoriety through sect connections like he would if he was a part of a sect.
Mo Xuanyu's Golden Core was formed and certainly there, but it wasn't strong and his cultivation wasn't particularly high as a result. He'd have to train and meditate and really put his all into getting stronger. The man's body was more delicate and pretty and lacked years of experience in battle. His body, while looking similar to Wei Wuxian's, was too untrained to be totally comfortable.
He felt vulnerable in a sense. All he had on him was a dizi he'd carved out of bamboo himself, which wasn't the best quality, and his own blood if he needed to make an array of some sort.
Yuanji scrubbed his face clean and put on the robes they had lent him. The purple outer robe was left behind since he wasn't a disciple of the Jiang Sect and those not in the sect should not wear their colors bearing their motif.
He took a few extra moments to scrub his clothes as clean as he could get them and then proceeded to wring as much water out of them as he could. They were laid out on the floor of his room. Hopefully, since Mo Xuanyu hadn't been given many layers to live in, they'd dry quickly.
Jiang Fengmian had ordered a servant to bring him to dinner. Not bring him food, but bring him to where the food was served. Meaning he'd no doubt have to take his meal with the Jiangs and Wei Ying.
He was going to die.
Thankfully Madam Yu wasn't even thirty yet, and only six years or so older than him so she hadn't hit her 'terrifying' age yet. The woman's glare barely had an effect on him and he felt some kind of internal relief at that. And it was obvious that she did not like how he wasn't cowed by her very presence. He already had one lifetime where he was moderately scared of her and he didn't have the energy to care enough about Zidian this time.
The part that wasn't a relief was the fact that there was only one open space left at the table and it was beside Jiang Fengmian. Though the other side was Wei Ying so it wasn't too bad. Though little Jiang Cheng and little Jiang Yanli were there as well and his guilt decided to rear its ugly head immediately and ruin the moment even further.
His shijie would have better this time.
Yuanji bowed to the sect leader and his wife and quietly thanked them for their hospitality.
Jiang Fengmian was as welcoming as always, his wife not so much, which wasn't unexpected.
Wei Ying looked thrilled to have a variety of food to choose from, and smiled as a child would, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation.
On his own end, Yuanji was just trying to casually secret the chicken from his own bowl into the boy's bowl so he'd have more meat to fill him up. Also, he only needed the large serving of rice he'd been given, and some of the vegetables, in order to get a proper meal in. It'd been a while since he'd had food of substance. Even he wouldn't complain at having to eat like a Lan.
Obviously, Jiang Fengmian noticed his stilted movements and quirked a brow at him. He flushed and looked away. Mo Xuanyu's body wasn't as good at being sneaky, it seemed. He'd have to work on honing that ability too.
"Are you certain there is no family we can give this reward to?"
He sighed and sent the older man a look. "Even if they were alive they wouldn't deserve it, believe me."
The bitterness in his tone made the sect leader gape in shock.
"My mother's family was a wealthy one in a minor village. My aunt did not like her younger sister and especially didn't like when she received attention from a visiting sect leader who did not want to keep her around. He was over thirty and she was only fourteen. You can see where this is going, I'm certain."
Jiang Fengmian grimaced, as he should. Jin Guangshan was a fucking creep. Touching Mo Xuanyu's mother when she was barely into her pubescence was just wrong on so many levels.
"My aunt felt her sister was even more shameful afterward, instead of choosing to hold the man responsible for what he did to her little sister. She kept us locked in a shed for some time to keep my shameful existence a secret from everyone. Eventually, the sect leader lost interest and stopped visiting, mother died from an untreated illness, and the family died from getting the wrong sort of attention because they couldn't just be decent people.
"It just goes to show you that you never know what kind of danger someone poses, therefore you should just show common decency to everyone just to be safe."
"I'm sorry this has been your life thus far, Yuanji."
He shrugged. "It is what it is." Poor Mo Xuanyu. He deserved better. Maybe he could make certain the boy got better this time too.
"But you can have a better life now," Jiang Fengmian said firmly. "You've managed to form a Golden Core of your own without any personal training, which is very impressive. Here, you can learn proper cultivation techniques to strengthen yourself, and you can learn how to wield multiple weapons."
He did have a point.
"You'd have a place to lay your head at night, food to eat, and clothes to wear."
Also a very good point, unfortunately.
"And Wei Ying wouldn't have to worry about you if you were here permanently."
That devious fiend! Using the obvious attachment that the boy had managed to form in so little time against Yuanji's fragile emotions!
Jiang Fengmian aimed a sweet smile at him. The kind that practically screamed of victory. He knew he'd won. It was his go-to smile in political meetings.
"Would you like to join the Jiang Sect?"
"...Yes."
"You can have my name! And then we can be brothers! I always wanted a big brother!"
He didn't remember being this sweet as a child but if he had been, then it was no wonder people thought he was adorable. He remembered earning favor with all the servants and workers around Lotus Pier. How everyone would greet him with smiles when he returned home. If he was actually this adorable and stayed that way then it made sense.
"You're sweet, Wei Ying."
The boy grinned. "Wei Yuanji sounds nice. All you need is a birth name."
"Yu. Wei Yu. Wei Yuanji."
So Mo Xuanyu wasn't totally lost and so Wei Yuanji would never forget his sacrifice.
Wei Ying beamed and latched onto his leg. "Da-ge, will we be a family?"
"Yes, A-Ying. We'll be a family."
He'll just have to find some way to stop Wen Ruohan from his place in Yunmeng.
~.O.~
A/N: The first is finished!
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