Times Have Changed [MDZS]

Chapter 16: Token of Engagement

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Chapter Sixteen

A torment, a misery, an unfulfilled desire, a lifelong suffering and longing had broken the barrier of space and time. Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang successfully travelled back to the past, leaving the empty life behind for the chance of mending the wounds that didn’t heal in the passage of time.

To them, the past sufferings no longer mattered. Because this time they would correct the past mistakes. That past… would never be their future.

It was surreal. It was just like a dream that would make one confuse yet would also compel them to never desire to ever wake up again. Had they not shared the same knowledge of that distant future, Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang would probably think that they were indeed dreaming.

It didn’t take long for them to lay their plans. Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang knew that they needed to be careful with their decisions. A time traveler or not, they couldn’t change the fact that they were still trapped in their teenage bodies. Nie Huaisang had still not formed his networks and Hanguang-Jun hadn’t yet cultivated his uncontested powerful core. The only advantage they had was their memory of the future and their skills that were honed during the war.

They couldn’t bear to throw away their most powerful advantage. Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang couldn’t let go of their grasp of the future. The two were restrained from changing too much of the future events, in the fear of making the situation out of their hands. No matter how much they wanted to change everything for the better, they couldn’t.

Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang had to be selfish. They were here to save Nie Mingue and Wei Wuxian from dying and all these things would only happen after the war. And so, they decided to only change the events of the post war and to let the Sunshot Campaign to carry on as how it did in their past.

In the first few days of travelling to the past, Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang started to act and prepare for the events that caused the demise of Nie Mingue and Wei Wuxian. Nie Huaisang first observed Meng Yao who had already joined the Nie Sect’s forces by that time. Aside from that cunning smiling face, he also needed to track down the little devil, Xue Yang. Whilst, Hanguang-Jun ended up staying in Yiling to search for Wei Wuxian.

It was at this time that Hanguang-Jun met a mysterious woman who shared with him the news of the obliteration of Yiling supervisory office. Apparently, Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu were part of the casualties of this incident, an advantageous situation that could affect the result of the war, and an event that greatly triggered the voices of resistance of the tyrannized cultivation sects.

Who would make these changes other than them time travelers? But the two could attest that they weren’t the culprit of this and so their sects.

In fact, Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang were momentarily baffled with this course of event that they didn’t experience in their original timeline. Why? Because Wen Qing and Wen Ning also died with the rest of those in the Yiling supervisory office and these four deaths were too conflicting with each other. They even thought that maybe they made a mistake in breaking the barrier of space and time.

Until the Wen siblings miraculously came back to life, or to properly phrase it, they came back from the hiding to shock the Wulin with the banner of their rebellion. That’s when Hanguang-Jun and Nie Huaisang had a conjecture of what was possibly happening.

Where they were wasn’t a parallel world. This world was not following its original course because someone other than them might had been changing the events of this timeline and who that person is was quite obvious. It was not as if they hadn’t expected this to happen before travelling through time.

For this reason, Nie Huaisang had to attend the founding of the Sunshot Campaign to observe Wen Qing. And the woman had not disappointed him indeed. With her wits, sharp tongue, and strange hatred towards the Jin Sect, it was obvious to Nie Huaisang (a man from the future) that she knew something.

Amusingly, Hanguang-Jun occupied himself in proving his ridiculous conjecture about the woman he met in a few fateful encounters during his visit in Yiling.

Nie Huaisang had not seen the said woman, and so he couldn’t understand Hanguang-Jun. It was only thanks to his rather skillful timing as he chose to unwind after the stressful debate with other sect leaders, did he understand. That mysterious woman was indeed a mystery.  

“Wei Ying spoke about the Sunshot Campaign,” Huanguang-Jun solemnly said, withdrawing his gaze from the conspicuous orchid hairpin in his hand. It was really quite eye catching, Nie Huaisang had to say.

“So it is really Wei-xiong?” Nie Huaisang smiled behind his fan, confirming the identity of the woman and at the same time, their past conjecture.

The name of the campaign to overthrow Wen Rouhan should still be unknown to the public by this time. Wei Wuxian knowing about this meant that he was most likely just like them and also, he should be the one responsible for altering the course of events of this timeline.

It made sense. Again, they had expected this to happen or to put it more correctly, some ice cold jade hoped for this to happen. After all, it was really not impossible given that the slit that they used as the medium for their travel was closely tied to the death of Wei Wuxian.

Thinking about this so called “wish granted”, Nie Huaisang stealthy looked at the man across him while fanning playfully. Hanguang-Jun was as usually emotionless, but something was off. Specially, the way his gaze kept on drifting back to that orchid hairpin. What’s with this reaction, hmmn?

Haha, did Wei-xiong teased him to the point of being absentminded? And this hairpin… He joked earlier that orchid isn’t appropriate as a marriage token, but giving away one’s hairpin was still giving away one’s hairpin no matter how you look at it. Orchid even sounded like the other’s clan. (T/N: Orchid = Lan, Lan = Blue). And what’s with that mung bean cakes? Bridal cakes? No! This should be given by the groom! Did Wei-xiong mixed things up? Now he could understand why Hanguang-Jun was like this! Nie Huaisang was really really amazed by Wei Wuxian’s creativity, resourcefulness, and carelessness!

But Wei Wuxian was innocent. The hairpin, he was aware. After all, countless maidens had offered him their hairpins before. But the mung bean cakes, he just forgot to take it away! He was supposed to give that to A’Yuan!

“Then Hanguang-Jun, I don’t understand why you let her go,” Nie Huaisang asked afterwards in failure to stop his curious mouth.

Nie Huaisang couldn’t really understand why after this engagement rituals, the great Hanguang-Jun was still here instead of following his wife.

Hearing Nie Huaisang’s words, Hanguang-Jun once again silently looked down at the hairpin in his hand, seemingly lost in his thoughts, and unable to extricate himself.

When he decided to return to the past with Nie Huaisang, it was true that what he really yearned for was not to change the future but to get back the same Wei Ying that he had lost.

He thought that when the time came that he found him, he would never let him go.

Who would have thought that the man or woman rather would be so different this time that her every action made him confused? He didn’t want to let Wei Ying go, but how could he expect that Wei Ying would use that tactic to distract him?

Nie Huaisang soundlessly laughed. Given this reaction, there’s should be an interesting story behind Wei Wuxian’s successful escape. Unfortunately, it’s not advisable to pry Hanguang-Jun’s mouth open if you don’t want to kiss the sharp blade of his Bichen.

Nie Huaisang, “What’s your plan now?”

“Follow him,” Hanguang-Jun resolutely said.

Haha! Why did he even ask? Is it not obvious that Hanguang-Jun would go after his beloved?

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