Chapter Text
He had been stabbed.
It had been Jin Ling.
It was karmic justice, but more than the wound, Wuxian's heart aches.
Lan Zhan had grabbed him and carried them on his sword, but arrows were still flying. They couldn't outrun them, so instead, Lan Zhan landed and pushed Wuxian to run away before the mob attacked again.
Wuxian doesn't want to, but something in his gut tells him this was the end.
Again.
"Lan Zhan."
"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan replies with so much emotion Wuxian feels his heart cave in on itself, "Wei Ying must… must stay safe."
"Lan Zhan I'm— I'm going to change this. I'll stop it," The mob is drawing closer and Lan Zhan looks like he wants to believe it, he gives a quick nod.
"Go," he says, and so Wuxian does. As he runs, he turns back one last time to drink in the sight of that beautiful honorable man. Their eyes lock and there's so much Wuxian wants to say, but cant.
He would make things right, this time. He had to.
He eventually hears the cultivators catch up to Lan Zhan who is probably blocking their path, "Hanguang-Jun is with the Yiling patriarch now! He must be stopped as well!"
The sounds of swords clashing and magical weapons humming gets softer and softer as he gets further away. Every second feels like an hour.
It isn't until he has run quite a distance away that he hears it.
The cheers of a supposed enemy taken down carries in the wind and Wuxian has to do everything not to break down right there.
They would be coming for him next, so he pulls out an invisibility talisman and hides himself.
He's been stabbed, and he's losing a lot of blood. The talisman is hard on his already weak magical abilities so he needs to do this fast.
He ducks into a shrine that's empty and he drags himself into a corner taking out an empty notebook he had bound.
He had used it to keep track of the mystery of Nie Mingjue's body, but he rips those pages out and instead starts quickly jotting down what he'll be passing on.
He has a plan. He actually doesn't know if it'll work or not, but he promised Lan Zhan. He has to change things this time. He refuses to let things end like this again.
There's a talisman he's been tinkering with. He had considered using it in his last life, but he was always terrified of something going wrong.
When he had been reborn, he had considered it again, but kept hoping it would all work out. That he wouldn't have to go to such an extreme— maybe then he could have planned this out better.
He wishes he had more time! Time to take more words, more advice, hell even a invention or talisman, but all that's left is this notebook. This was the best he could do in the the circumstances. The faintness from blood loss is getting worse, even though he had ripped his sleeve earlier and tied it around the wound to staunch the bleeding a bit.
He focuses though.
His hand works quickly to jot down detail after detail. Anything he remembers that can be important.
When he reaches the last page he finally stops. He wonders if this will be enough, but he's also at his limit and he needs to have enough energy to activate the talisman.
This talisman will take everything— this is his end, he knows. He's so scared it won't work or it will simply backlash, but he promised Lan Zhan. He promised...
He can almost feel his spirit with him as Wuxian prepares. This is all he can do and he wipes his tears before he grabs the talisman he had stashed away in his qiankun pouch and stares at it. He takes a deep breath holding on tight to his notebook and presses the talisman to his chest before doing the activation hand symbols. "Reverse!" he says before everything is drowned in bright light.
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The boom and aftereffects of energy are felt like a cosmic blast. It's like the world is unwinding. Unwinding and rewinding around the fabrics of time. But it's not just him... everything resets; every person, every plant, every animal and so on. It's like millions of souls hurtling to the start again on Wuxian's selfish plea.
Wuxian puts all his force and energy to make sure time moves back with him. It's so so loud, and so bright and overwhelming.
And then it's not.
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....
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When he wakes up— even before he opens his eyes— Wuxian knows the energy the spell required has emptied him of all his spiritual energy and his life.
Thankfully though when he does open his eyes it's a warm pleasant day in his old bedroom and he's staring straight at a stupefied younger version of himself. Wei Ying of his original body.
There's silence and then, "....Oh my god!" Wei Ying says horrified, before diving into action, "Do you need a doctor? Hold on, let me get Uncle! No wait, who even are you?!" He asks all of those in quick succession and Wuxian almost wants to laugh, but he's too weak and he knows he only has a few precious minutes before he will succumb.
"S-sir…" Wei Ying says and Wuxian pushes the notebook towards the child.
"No, doctor," He says weakly, "Wei Ying, listen."
"H-how do you know my name..?"
God, he hoped he would listen, "I'm from the future, A-Ying."
Wei Ying doesn't look like he believes him for a second and he can't help but give a tired smile, "When we first came to Lotus Pier we were angry at Madam Yu for scolding us, we left a frog in her drinking water one day and no one has ever found out."
Wei Ying's eyes become round and he seems to finally believe him, "...But how?! And why are you—? That's not my body, at least I don't think that's me?"
"Long story," Wuxian says tiredly, "I wrote it all in this book," he says passing the notebook over to him again, and Wei Ying finally takes it.
Wuxian visibly relaxes in relief. "A-Ying listen to me," he says very seriously and Wei Ying seems to finally get the gravity of the situation as he nods. He's starting to look horrified and Wuxian feels bad, but this is important for them.
"Things will go very wrong in the future… very very wrong. You cannot repeat my mistakes. Anything of importance is listed there so take it to heart and try your best."
"What about… what about you?"
"My time is over kiddo." He says weakly, he tries to give him a reassuring smile, but he is so tired. He lays his cheek on his side and slowly closes his eyes.
He's just glad he made it.
"Even if I hadn't been stabbed, the spell I created… there cannot be the two of us in one timeline. When I came here... my timeline ceased to exist... my mistakes too... It's your turn to try again. I wish…" he coughs and the last of his life force slowly leaves him, "I wish you a happy life, Wei Ying. From the bottom of my heart," he whispers.
Wei Ying stares at him. His childish innocence takes in the morbid situation, but he's tough, he's suffered through worse, so Wuxian knows he can do it.
This time they would be happy, they would all be happy.
He feels his lips crack, and then so does the rest of his skin. His last thought is of his Lan Zhan's golden eyes hiding the lightest smile.
He thinks of Lan Zhan as his consciousness fades and then he turns into ash, and his remains float away, out the window of Lotus Pier. Finally at home.