To Make a Miracle by mercyandmagic
Summary: Wei Wuxian thought that Lan Xichen wasn’t himself at the Gusu Lan Sect’s family banquet, but he didn’t realize just how correct he was.
Jin Guangyao, meanwhile, would have gladly accepted another chance at life, especially one with everything he's wanted: a sect to lead, a high cultivation, everyone’s esteem.
But Lan Xichen’s soul is a price not even he is willing to pay. Written for Xiyao Month 2020.
My comments: Oh, this was a fun ride. The first third of the story is about Jin Guangyao waking up in Lan Xichen's body, utterly heartbroken that the man he'd loved had killed himself for him. He can't keep up the act for long (emotionally) and has to confess to Lan WAngji and Wei Wuxian, which is as heart rending an occasion as it sounds like.
After this, the three determine to see what they can do about restoring Lan Xichen's soul, which means learning about restoring shattered and destroyed souls, which involves Qin Su (trapped in the soul-stealing knife she'd used to commit suicide), Song Lan and his precious cargo, and Mo Xuanyu (who'd pulled the same maneuver as lxc). On the way they pick up all the juniors (who are suspicious and begin to put the pieces together on their own), an angry grape, a few female characters (both canon and OC) who really seem much smarter than the men they're surrounded by, bless 'em, and one renowned headshaker. And a girl who is accidentally half a goddess. And our fierce corpse buddy Wen Ning.
POV is primarily jgy, but everyone gets a turn (especially when they're all doing things in different locations).
Author handles a lot of difficult issues about guilt and forgiveness, too. Because damn, have all these folks done some Really Terrible things. But as Nie Mingjue muses, near the end, "[he] doesn’t know what to say. His heart is broken, but he doesn’t know how to judge anyone. It feels like everyone betrayed and killed for reasons he almost understands, and it confuses him, because it’s wrong." BUT....
Anyhoo, a good story, and I'm happy that everyone got a chance for redemption (including lots of mothers who were very badly treated in canon).
post CQL, post canon, angst, suicide, xiyao, wangxian, zhuiling, sangyu, bodyswap (in a sense), grief/mourning, guilt, fix-it, shattered souls, and how to fix them, case fic, in a sense, journey to the netherworld, redemption, adorable juniors, happy ending, @mercyandmagic
(You may wish to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)
