Chatter by the Clear Lakes

Again and Again

Wei Wuxian is stuck in a time loop on the day of Jin Zixuan's death.

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When Wei Wuxian first encountered the strange time loop, he figured that it was a strange case of clairvoyance. Perhaps a side effect of practicing demonic cultivation. The food he ate for breakfast, the same exact lines Wen Qing told him before he went to check on the potato field, and the same excited laugh of Wen Yuan outside the cave's entrance aligned all too well from what happened in his memory. He looked so shocked and confused that Wen Qing had to stop midway through her scolding to ask what was wrong.

The questions of how and why such a thing happened to him was not what he needed to figure out the moment the situation hit him as hard as the wooden bowl Wen Qing threw at his face when he came home late yesterday. He can still feel the bruise too.

No, what he needed to do was avoid the possibility of killing his brother-in-law. The sound of that word in his mind still makes his face scrunch up with displeasure. What did shijie see in that guy anyway?

Since getting ambushed was the reason he lost his temper, thus enabling Jin Zixuan's death, then he should take a different route this time when he attends Jin Ling's one month celebration. Instead of going through Qiongqi path, maybe the forest around it is a safer option.

Long story short, it did not work.

There were Jin disciples in the forest as well. As soon as they spotted him, they launched their attacks. He was forced commanded Wen Ning to defend themselves. It was much harder to move around a forest because of the trees and plants restricting their movements. On the bright side, the danger of arrows piercing them from the sky was avoided.

If only the same could be said for Jin Zixuan's life.

Just like before, Wei Wuxian's gift for his nephew dropped out of his robes. Jin Zixun took the opportunity to crush it beneath his foot, laughing and spouting the same lines that fueled his anger.

The sight of the precious gift he worked so hard on for his nephew crushed into pieces was enough to set him off. He let go of his control on Wen Ning just like before. His undead friend blindly attacked anyone in his vicinity, including Jin Zixuan.

"Yanli...wanted to see you..." he wheezed out, falling to his knees.

Wei Wuxian blinked out of his haze with horror as Jin Zixuan collapsed on the ground before him. The hole in the man's chest caused his blood to flow into the forest floor.

"No..." he whispered, "This shouldn't happen"

His vision suddenly starts to fade before he blinked his eyes open.

The cave. He was back at Burial Mounds. The food he ate for breakfast, the same lines Wen Qing told him before he went to check on the potato field, and the same excited laugh of Wen Yuan outside the cave's entrance. The day restarted again.

"Fuck..." he swore under his breath.

It's okay, Wei Wuxian reassured himself. There was another chance to save Jin Zixuan.

He tried to come up with another solution this time.

To his frustration, his every attempt resulted in his and his brother-in-law's and death again and again. It was like the world was with and against him. The memories of his body stained with blood, either his or his Jin Zixuan's. Time seemed to restart if either him or his brother-in-law died.

When he refused to take Wen Ning with him, the arrows rained down on his body. Hewas pierced to the ground with arrows and died before Jin Zixuan was able to interfere.

When he made sure that his gift for Jin Ling was secured on his body, Jin Zixun found an opening and attacked him, destroying the gift in the process. That lead to Jin Zixuan's death again.

When he decided to stay back at Burial Mounds, Jin Zixuan directly confronted him. His cousin's men followed him and initiated an ambush that ended with his death and the burnt remains of Burial Mounds.

Wei Wuxian was running out of options.

By the time he woke up again, he immediately sat up and tried to find a clean piece of paper to write a letter for Jiang Cheng. His younger brother would know what to do. Besides, wouldn't an angry Jiang Cheng fly to his safety faster than a confused Jin Zixuan?

He commands the corpse of a dead bird that sits by the little nest in his cave to come closer. The bird flies over to his side and he ties the letter to its one leg, gently petting its head.

"Take this to my brother in Lanling"

The bird flew out of the cave's entrance to deliver the message.

Wei Wuxian made sure to keep Wen Ning out of the situation again. The gift for his nephew was kept in his robes. He brings his flute and heads off to Qiongqi path once again.

Wei Wuxian was not sure if there was a limited amount of times he can enter a time loop. His plan for this one was more of a gamble. He knows Jiang Cheng will make a fuss, but he's afraid of that his brother might get caught in the crossfire.

"Wei Wuxian!"

Jin Zixun's confrontation with him repeats and he waits. He waits for his brother's help.

"A-Xian!"

Wei Wuxian gasped and looked behind Jin Zixun to see Jiang Cheng with his sister and her husband.

"Shijie..."

Jiang Yanli looked furious, raising her voice at all the Jin disciples in the area. "How dare you! All of you!"

Jiang Cheng lowered his sword to the ground and his sister immediately ran up to Jin Zixun.

"Lady Jiang please- "

Slap.

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened. When was the last time he saw his shijie slap a person?

Jiang Yanli glared at him, her voice still loud and angry. "The audacity! So you actually have the gall to ambush my brother! On his nephew's one month celebration no less!"

"Zixun" Jin Zixuan spoke, clearly displeased at his cousin's behavior. "It seems you've become too arrogant. Tell your men retreat or I will personally choose your punishment"

"If anyone here has to be punished, it's him!" Jin Zixun pointed at Wei Wuxian then to the horrific holes on his body. "He cursed me! If I don't kill him right now then I'll die!"

"Do you even have any evidence for that?" Jin Zixuan pressed, "If you don't, then this offense warrants an execution!"

"Evidence? That bastard practices demonic cultivation! What other evidences do you need?!"

"Jin Zixun you- "

Whack!

The sounds of a whip and sparks echoed around them. Jin Zixun screamed in pain. He clutched his chest and fell down to his knees. A burn mark traces a line from his arm down to his hip. Purple sparks highlighted the burn.

Jiang Cheng stalked towards them with a scowl, gripping Zidian in his hand. "So you have the courage to talk back" the air around him became more and more suffocating. "This much arrogance...you're more suited to be pig food"

"Jiang Cheng" Wei Wuxian warned him.

"You're lucky you're still alive" Zidian takes on its ring form. Jiang Cheng snickered at the pained moans of his victim behind him. "Come on, we can't be late for Jin Ling's one month celebration"

Wei Wuxian nodded and allowed himself to hop on his brother's sword. They leave Qiongqi path and arrived in Lanling by the time the sun was at its highest peak.

Jiang Yanli and her husband left them to inform Madam Jin of what happened with Jin Zixun.

It worked. Wei Wuxian gulped, I can't believe it actually worked.

Jiang Cheng grimaced at his expression. "Hey, why the fuck are you smiling?"

Wei Wuxian moaned loudly as tiredness consumed his body. He leaned against his brother to support himself.

"Hey! Get off of me!"