Kayla stared at the man before her, suddenly aware she was back in her original body. She squeezed her arms around her midriff, enjoying the sensation of actually being herself again.

“Are you going to help me go home?” she asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Wenyuan said. “Not that I wouldn’t like to, but I just don’t have the ability.”

“Oh,” Kayla said, not bothering to hide her disappointment. “Then what’re we going to do? Don’t you want your body back?”

“I do, but since I’m already dead I can’t reclaim my body even after using time magic,” Wenyuan said. Kayla glanced at him quizzically. Wenyuan waved his hand, and the immaculately dressed man was suddenly covered in blood, with his limbs twisted in unsettling angles and a bloodstained noose around his neck. Kayla stumbled back, nearly falling over her own feet in shock.

“Oh my god!”

Wenyuan waved his hand again and was once again immaculately dressed.

“I’m, uh, my condolences,” Kayla said, fumbling for words. Holy shit he’s completely dead!

“Thank you for that,” Wenyuan said. “My mother had left me a magic artifact with powerful time magic, but you can imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t use it. Instead of me, your soul was dragged into this body.”

“How does that even happen?” Kayla asked. “No offense, but you’re literally a character in a novel.”

Wenyuan shrugged. “You know what they say about parallel worlds, things that are fiction in one world may be history in another.” Kayla nodded despite never having heard that saying before.

“Why me though?”

“Chance, most likely. Your luck must be terrible.” Wenyuan gave her a sympathetic look. He was less of an asshole than Kayla expected, but she also couldn’t care less about that right now.

“Then what happens now? Am I stuck in your body? What the hell happens to my original body then?!”

“Theoretically, your original body will be fine,” Wenyuan said.

“Theoretically?!”

“I can’t exactly check. But in either case, your soul is now bound to this body, and I don’t see any way to undo that without killing you for good.”

Kayla flopped down to sit on the ground and bury her head in her hands.

“I’m so screwed.” She looked up at Wenyuan, who was looking at her sympathetically.

“I’m really sorry. It also wasn’t my intention to foist this burden onto you,” Wenyuan said apologetically. Kayla scrunched her face up.

“Listen, Wenyuan, I don’t want to die. You said you would help me, so what are you suggesting?” Kayla asked. He gracefully sat down across from her.

“I’m suggesting we merge souls,” Wenyuan said calmly. “Two souls, one body. You would be in charge, but I would be there to help you. We’d be able to access each other’s memories and communicate with each other. Like they say, two heads are better than one.”

Kayla mulled it over for a moment before nodding determinedly.

“Let’s do it.”

Wenyuan gave her a look of surprise. “Do you not need to ponder it a moment longer?”

Kayla shook her head. “No, I need your help. If I can’t go back, I need to survive at the very least. I can’t do that without knowing anything, and who better to ask than the guy who’s already gone through it before? I tried something and got someone killed already, and I’ve only been here a few days. We’ve got a long road ahead, so I’ll be looking to you for help.”

Wenyuan smiled, looking rather pleased. “I'm impressed with your decisiveness. Very well then, Kayla, I’ll be in your care.”

///////////

The white space faded away, and Kayla was lying on the floor of the prayer room with her cheek pressed against the cold tiled floor. She hurriedly got up and glanced around, but the stick of incense she burned earlier hadn’t grown much shorter.

I haven’t been in this room for years.

Kayla shot up, nearly crashing into the altar at the sound of Wenyuan’s voice inside her head.

I didn’t mean to startle you, Wenyuan’s voice said apologetically.

Oh holy shit, that sure is something. Kayla shook her head and sucked in a deep breath.

Would you grant me permission to access your memories? Of course, I will do the same.

Sure, I need all the help I can get. We should wait until I go back to your room though.

Thank you. You hold important knowledge on the course of events soon to come, I would like to see what I can make of it.

Alright. I also need a lot of information from your end.

Kayla cleared her throat and bowed towards the altar before leaving the room. She wandered back to her room dazedly, nodding half-heartedly at Chujiao’s greeting. Kayla spent the evening and most of the night going through Wenyuan’s memories, vaguely sensing Wenyuan do the same with hers. At almost dawn, she fell into a fitful sleep, Wenyuan still patiently going through her memories of the novel.

When she woke up in the morning again, something had transformed inside her. It wasn’t just that she felt more at home in this body, but there had been an intangible change that somehow made all the difference. It was as though Kayla’s soul had somehow grown in size, not quite doubling, but had absorbed Wenyuan’s soul enough that it had expanded and was now more than it was before.

Wenyuan? Kayla tested for the presence of the other man’s soul.

Good morning.

Oh okay, I was worried you’d disappeared. Does something feel weird to you?

Yes, but don’t worry. That’s just the effect of our souls merging. As time goes on, we’ll share more and more of the same soul.

Kayla frowned slightly. She instinctively knew that she would retain her original consciousness, but it didn’t seem like that would be the case for Wenyuan.

I’m not sure if I’ll be completely absorbed, or if I will always retain a separate existence. But in either case, I’m sure it is better than the fate I was doomed to before.

Sorry to hear that, Kayla offered apologetically.

I do have some good news. From my memories, you may have noticed my interest in magic.

I sure did. In Wenyuan’s memories, the man had often been looking through magic-related theories and scrolls instead of his actual work from the Ministry of Justice.

I took interest due to my mother’s proficiency in the art, but sadly I was never able to use magic. You, however, are different. Perhaps it is due to being brought from another world, but you have large amounts of magic.

Nice! Does that mean we have a new defense mechanism now?

However, you have a specific type of magic that limits you to a very narrow range of actions. Kayla winced in disappointment.

Don’t be so hasty, Kayla. You have nullification-type magic, it is a rare and powerful ability.

Okay, but what exactly does that mean?

You can nullify other people’s magic.

Great! But they have to use their magic first, don’t they? What am I going to do if they just come at me and start swinging?

Due to the prevalence of magic, there’s a lot of magic in various items and buildings, and many martial artists use it to increase their abilities, especially in the capital. Here, more so than anywhere else, your ability will serve you greatly.

Kayla smiled as the implications of this dawned on her. If all else failed, she had at least some way of self-defense beyond swinging an ashtray at whoever tried to kill her. Her celebration was cut short as Chujiao announced her arrival, entering with a gaggle of serving-girls to set out Kayla’s breakfast.

Jiao'er does her job perfectly as always.

Jiao'er? Wait, are you two-

No, of course not.

Kayla raised an eyebrow thoughtfully and began to eat, pausing at the sight of a dish of sea urchin served at the perfectly suitable hour of 7 a.m.

Wenyuan, you have no idea how over-the-top all this is, Kayla commented. Wenyuan sent a wave of amusement as Kayla began to eat. Right as she finished, Matron Li entered the room again.

“Young lord, the Grand Duke ordered me to dress you for your visit to the palace,” Matron Li said politely. Kayla blinked at her.

“What visit to the palace?”

“Your lordship was scheduled to meet with the Emperor last week, but the appointment was pushed back due to your health,” Matron Li explained patiently.

“Oh, ok.”

Wenyuan, help. There was a wave of affirmation from Wenyuan, and Kayla relaxed a little. She held still as she was once again dressed in even more elaborate clothes than before, doing her best not to fidget as Chujiao slowly and painstakingly did Wenyuan’s long hair.

After almost half an hour of preparations, Kayla was escorted onto a well-crafted carriage with gold trimming and a luxurious interior. As the carriage rolled smoothly towards the palace, Kayla discreetly lifted a corner of the curtain covering the carriage window to peek outside. The streets were well-paved with what looked to be large white stones, with bustling crowds milling along on either side. There were a large number of expensive residences, high-class restaurants, and hundreds upon hundreds of smaller stores and street vendors selling everything from barbecue to silk brocade.

Welcome to Luoyang, Wenyuan’s voice murmured.

This is really cool, Kayla admitted to him. The noisy streets soothed her nerves somewhat.

There’s no need to worry, the Emperor dotes on me quite a bit, Wenyuan offered comfortingly. Kayla nodded. From Wenyuan’s memories, the Emperor had been an affectionate uncle who pampered Wenyuan and flitted between his many concubines, easily swayed by their fragrant robes and soft caresses. The crowds thinned out as they neared the palace, the stately buildings of the Outer Palace looming over the trees that lined the street. Kayla finally allowed the curtain to fall shut just as the carriage ground to a halt.

“Young lord, we have arrived at the Grand Entrance,” the horseman announced. Kayla got out of the carriage, taking in the large red wall towering in front of her. There were two giant doors with golden knobs on them, the entranceway lined with Imperial Guards. Kayla took in a deep breath and confidently stepped forward.

///////

After walking across several separate courtyards large enough to serve as football fields, Kayla finally arrived at the Emperor’s study. A eunuch loudly announced Wenyuan’s arrival, and Kayla quickly bowed in the direction of the Emperor.

"This vassal humbly greets the Emperor," Kayla began. Large hands grabbed her arms and lifted her upright again.

“Nephew! No need for formalities here, I have missed you!” A cheerful voice boomed. Kayla returned the Emperor’s smile. The Emperor used the normal pronoun I rather than the Imperial pronoun, signifying the casaulness he expected Kayla to match. Emperor Zhou Ying was a tall, sturdy man with dark hair streaked with grey, and looked more like someone who would be everyone’s favorite uncle rather than the absolute ruler of a country. The Emperor was rather good-looking, being the son of a concubine renowned for her beauty. He was in casual robes, which were still more elaborate than anything Kayla would consider comfortable, rather than the full vestiges the Emperor wore for court.

“Greetings, your Majesty. I’ve missed you too.”

Zhou Ying’s eyes crinkled as he smiled again.

“As I said, drop the formalities already, we’re all family here. I’m glad to see you doing well, I’d heard you’d fallen ill! Are you fully recovered now?”

“Thank you for your concern, Uncle, I’m all better now,” Kayla replied.

“Good, good. The Empress Dowager was concerned as well, she’ll be glad to hear you’re doing well.”

Kayla followed the Emperor over to a low table on a raised platform with several cushions around it.

“Come and sit down,” the Emperor beckoned affectionately, “These are some candied fruits from the Western provinces, try some!” Kayla happily obliged, to the beaming approval of the Emperor.

In Wenyuan’s memories, the young man had grown increasingly reserved in his interactions with the Emperor as the Grand Duke grew harsher, but Kayla was quickly realizing that the Emperor wanted to play house more than he wanted a reliable nephew.

It’s fine if I act more comfortably, right? Kayla decided to check with Wenyuan first. There was a slight pause before there was a surge of approval from Wenyuan.

Kayla forced herself to relax a bit as she chatted with the Emperor, relying on Wenyuan’s knowledge to maintain the balance between casual and eloquent speech.

“They say that the Western provinces barely need to add any sugar to their candied fruits on account of their climate,” Kayla said, “I guess it really is true, it feels as though they are still fresh from the vine.”

“Well observed, nephew! These candied fruits are about to enter the capital’s market, who knows how hard it’ll be to get then,” the Emperor replied.

“For other people, surely. I’ll just come and bother you when I’m craving them,” Kayla said, sending the Emperor into roaring laughter. The Emperor was a good conversationalist, and more than happy to indulge the whims of his only nephew who survived to adulthood. Other than Wenyuan, of all the Emperor’s nephews and nieces, only the nieces made it past 20 alive. The conversation was still going strong when a eunuch entered to announce someone’s arrival. Both Kayla and the Emperor turned towards the eunuch with identical looks of mild annoyance at the interruption.

“Announcing the arrival of the Seventh Prince!”

Kayla nearly spat out the orange she’d just put into her mouth, looking at the doorway in disbelief. What the hell?! This early?

That asshole also came?!

“Oh, Xianchun’s here? Good! It’s been a while since we’ve sat together,” the Emperor said happily. Kayla silently nodded, forcing herself to smile as she waited with bated breath for the arrival of the Main Character.

---

Cultural Notes

娇儿 [jiāo ér]: Wenyuan refers to Chujiao as Jiao'er, an affectionate nickname that takes the 娇/Charm character of her name and adds an 儿/'er, a character commonly added to the end of a name to form a nickname. 

洛阳/Luoyang: An ancient city that has served as the capital city over multiple dynasties.

Outer Palace: The parts of the Imperial complex where the court and civil government are located, as compared to the Inner Palace, where the Emperor and the Imperial harem reside. 

朕 [zhèn]: The Imperial pronoun for "I" that is used exclusively by Emperors. To use the common pronoun "I" in place of the Imperial pronoun can be understood as creating a casual atmosphere or simply that the Emperor lacks professionalism.

太后 [tài hòu]/Empress Dowager: Normally the widowed Empress of the previous Emperor, even if the current Emperor was born of a concubine. If the previous Empress had passed away or was deposed, it would be the mother of the Emperor regardless of her rank in the previous Emperor's harem.