thrown back in time

chapter 1

After the temple incident, Sect Leader Nie Huaisang was working on a talisman. Since he lacked a strong core, he often relied on crafty tricks. However, he accidentally made a wrong stroke, and a strong light glowed suddenly. The next thing he knew, he was in Cloud Recesses.

"Ahh, what just happened?" Huaisang muttered, getting up from what seemed like an unfamiliar place. A splitting headache hit him as he looked around.

A person entered the room, someone who looked like they were from the Lan Clan.

"Where am I? And who are you?" Huaisang asked, holding his head.

The person bowed gracefully. "Young Master, I am glad to see you awake. We have already given you the needed medicine, and you

should be fine by now," the person responded politely.

"Young Master? I think you are confused. I am the Sect Leader of Nie. What am I doing here, and why are you in Qinghe?" Huaisang asked, clearly confused.

"Young Master, you are in Cloud Recesses, not in your clan, and you passed out in the middle of your lecture. That's why you have been brought here," the person responded, looking confused and concerned.

"Lecture? What lecture? Don’t you think I am too old to attend these lectures?" said Huaisang with a nervous laugh.

"Young Master, you are attending the lecture of the Gusu Lan Clan, and you are at the perfect age to attend. Is something wrong? Did you perhaps hit your head somewhere?" asked the healer, checking on Huaisang.

"Gusu Lan? What is happening here? Is Brother Wei playing games with me or what?" Huaisang asked, very shocked and confused.

As the healer was about to respond, there was a knock on the door, and a polite voice came from outside.

"May I enter, Healer Lan?" The voice was one Huaisang could never forget. "Sect Leader Lan."

"Yes, Sect Leader," the healer responded, opening the door and bowing to the sect leader.

"Is he awake now?" the sect leader inquired.

"Yes, but he is saying some strange things," the healer responded and directed him towards the young master.

As Huaisang looked at him, he realized that the clan leader Lan looked younger, like a teenager. He was wondering what had happened to him when he heard the sect leader call his name.

"Young Master Nie, are you feeling well now?" Lan Xichen asked politely.

"Second Brother, why are you calling me Young Master?" Huaisang asked, confused.

"Second Brother? Young Master, what? Are you fine?" Lan Xichen asked as he touched Huaisang's forehead.

"Why do you look so...?" Huaisang began, but then he saw his reflection in a nearby mirror. "Wait, why do I look so young?" he asked, pointing at himself.

Lan Xichen chuckled. "That is because you are only 16, Young Master, and you don't seem younger than that," he responded.

"Sixteen? What??? But I am..." Huaisang stopped himself midway as things started to make sense to him.

"Due to that mistake, I must have time-traveled back to the past during the lecture time," he thought as he heard Lan Xichen speak again.

"Young Master Nie, if you are feeling better now, you can attend your lecture. If not, you can rest today," Lan Xichen said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I think I can use a day's rest," Huaisang responded.

"Sure," Lan Xichen gave a warm smile.

"I think I should go back to my guest quarters," said Huaisang, trying to hurry his way out.

"If you are feeling better, then why not?" Lan Xichen said.

Huaisang quickly got off the bed and left the healer's office to get to his room as soon as possible. But as he was sprinting towards his room, he came across Jiang Cheng.

"Brother Nie," Jiang Cheng called him from behind, stopping him.

Huaisang turned towards him and smiled, then bowed to greet him. "Sect Leader Jiang," he said, but the sect leader looked at him confused.

"Brother Nie, did you hit your head when you fainted or what? You are acting strange," responded Jiang Cheng.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, Young Master Jiang," he bowed again.

"What is wrong with you, Nie Huaisang? Firstly, you called Zewu-Jun 'Second Brother', now this?" he internally scolded himself.

"Something is definitely wrong with you. Why are you apologizing like that?" said Jiang Cheng, a bit suspicious.

"No, it's just my head hurts. I think I need a nap and I will be fine," Huaisang responded with a nervous laugh.

"If you say so," Jiang Cheng said, looking concerned.

"I should head back to my room," Huaisang said, going towards his room without waiting for a response.

He soon reached his room and looked at his door. "Okay, okay, Huaisang. You are in the past, before the destruction, and when everyone was happy. Yes, you don't need to freak out. Stay calm, nothing is wrong, we are fine," he said, trying to calm himself as he paced back and forth.

"Deep breath, deep breath, Huaisang," he said in a panicked tone while trying to stay calm.

"Wait! If it's before any destruction, then it means... Da-ge is still alive," he said, his eyes filling with tears.

"I need to make a plan fast," he thought with sheer determination.

He then spent the whole day and night making a plan. He finally came up with a plan the next morning.

After that, he really needed to sleep, but he also knew that he had to attend his classes. So after getting fresh, he went out and met with the Jiang brothers.

"Brother Nie!" Wei Ying called while waving his hand.

Nie Huaisang approached them, and Wei Ying threw his arm over his shoulder as they walked in the Cloud Recesses.

"Brother Nie, have you heard that we don't have any classes today?" said Wei Ying, grinning.

"No, why?" Huaisang responded, clueless.

"Apparently, there is a meeting of clan leaders," Jiang Cheng said from behind.

As they were walking, they ran into the Twin Jades, and after their conversation, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng went with the Twin Jades to the town to eliminate the Waterborne Abyss.

"Well, they are gone. I should work on those barrier talismans so the Cloud Recesses doesn't get burnt," Huaisang thought as he started working on the talismans. He spent the whole day making them, enough for the Nie Clan, Cloud Recesses, and Jiang Clan, knowing that it was of high importance.

After two days of hard work, he got some well-deserved sleep and decided to place these talismans in the morning.

(Wei Wuxian was the teacher who had taught him how to make them).