Mischief in Gusu

Chapter 20: Smoke and Bait

The clouds hung low over the Burial Mounds the following morning, casting the world in a veil of gray. It wasn’t just the weather—everything felt heavier, as if the very land was mourning in silence. Wei Wuxian stood at the center of the warded altar, chalk in one hand, incense burner in the other. The same mysterious object that had turned him and Lan Wangji into toddlers once now stood between them, surrounded by a circle of intricate talismans and ghost-attracting symbols.

Behind him, Lan Wangji adjusted the boundary seals. His white robes fluttered slightly in the wind, his calm expression at odds with the rising tension in the air.

“Are you sure about this?” Lan Wangji asked softly.

Wei Wuxian smirked, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course not. But when have I ever let that stop me?”

Lan Wangji didn’t smile, but the look in his eyes softened. “I will be here. No matter what.”

Wei Wuxian's heart fluttered for a second, before he looked away. “Alright then. Let’s call a ghost.”

---

The burner was lit.

The moment the smoke curled up into the sky, the energy in the air shifted. It wasn’t warm like before. This time, it was biting cold, as if the very essence of resentment coiled through the mist. The world around them wavered, then stilled—unnaturally.

A sharp shriek pierced the silence, and shadows began to crawl from the trees, flickering like broken lantern light. From the mist, dozens of faint outlines appeared—spirits, phantoms, the remnants of tortured souls drawn by the call.

But none of them dared to step into the circle.

Then—

Laughter.

Slow. Mocking. Familiar.

“Well, well. The Yiling Laozu still loves to put on a show.”

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once. Wei Wuxian turned sharply. Lan Wangji’s fingers tightened around his sword.

“Show yourself, Su She!”

More laughter. This time, the smoke thickened, and from it, a figure emerged—not fully corporeal, but more solid than any illusion. His face was distorted, like wax melting under fire, but unmistakably Su She’s.

“You really thought you could summon me using a toy meant to trap petty ghosts?” he hissed, voice echoing strangely.

Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes. “No. I called you here to distract you.”

That’s when the seals flared.

Lan Wangji raised his hand, and the surrounding talismans blazed with golden light. In a flash, the smoke twisted back toward the burner, forming chains that lashed out toward Su She’s form. His smile vanished.

“You—!”

Wei Wuxian chanted quickly, his voice steady and powerful. “Soul lock—Resentment bind—Seal!”

The chains lashed forward and wrapped around Su She’s smoky form, anchoring it to the physical world. He shrieked, his body thrashing, half-solid and writhing like a snake in fire.

“You’ll pay for this! You’ll both—!”

“Enough!” Lan Wangji’s voice was like thunder, calm yet commanding. “Why return? Why target Wei Ying?”

Su She’s face twisted, the old bitterness returning tenfold.

“Because he lived,” he spat. “Because the world that shamed me celebrated him!”

Wei Wuxian blinked. “This again? Are you still nursing that grudge? You ruined your own life, Su She. You chose to walk this path.”

Su She sneered. “And you’ll follow. I’ll see to it. You used the incense burner to become a child again, didn’t you? Felt safe, pure? But you don’t understand—it’s changing you. Warping you. That’s not a blessing. It’s a curse that spreads.”

Wei Wuxian’s smirk faltered.

“Wait,” he said slowly. “You don’t mean…”

Su She laughed madly. “Did you think you were the only ones touched by it?”

And with that, his form exploded into mist, breaking the chains and escaping in a scream of smoke and wind. The burner cracked at the base, and Wei Wuxian stumbled back.

Lan Wangji caught him just in time.

“He’s gone.”

“But he left us a warning,” Wei Wuxian whispered. “It wasn’t just us. Someone else... maybe others... are changing too.”

---

That night, Wei Wuxian tucked A-Yuan into bed again, heart heavy. The boy clutched his little stuffed rabbit, yawning and blinking sleepily.

“Daddy,” A-Yuan mumbled. “Can I sleep next to Uncle Lan tomorrow?”

Wei Wuxian blinked. “You don’t want to sleep next to me anymore?”

A-Yuan giggled. “You kick in your sleep.”

Wei Wuxian gasped dramatically, then pulled the blanket over A-Yuan like a cocoon. “Fine! You may abandon me—but you’ll regret it when I eat all the sweets.”

“Nooo!” A-Yuan shrieked in mock horror, dissolving into giggles.

Lan Wangji appeared in the doorway just in time to catch the end of the chaos, his expression softening as he watched the scene. Wei Wuxian looked up at him and whispered, “He has no idea what’s coming.”

Lan Wangji stepped inside, brushing his fingers against Wei Wuxian’s arm. “We will protect him. Together.”

Wei Wuxian nodded.

But outside, in the depths of the mist, the curse that Su She warned about had already begun spreading—taking root in corners of the cultivation world that no one was watching.

And the game… had only just begun.