Chapter Text
Luo Baichi did not believe in asking permission to enter the Lingxi Caves. It was a stupid, unnecessary tradition.
As he stumbled upon a bloodied disciple tucked away in one of the side caverns, he stood corrected: maybe sometimes, waiting to be allowed entry was the right course of action.
Not for him, of course; For the disciples.
He crouched beside the kid, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn't a disciple of Bai Zhan but Luo Baichi recognized him as the Head Disciple of Qiong Ding.
A disciple who had been described as a promising young man. He hardly seemed promising now, collapsed on the ground with limbs sticking out at odd angles and eyes seeming distant.
“Hey, kid," Luo Baichi poked him in the shoulder. “I don't think you're supposed to-”
The boy moved faster than he expected, desperately clinging to his robes.
“Please-" He rasped. “I need to- Xiao Jiu- I have to come back for him! Please, shizun, let me keep my promise!"
Hm. Interesting.
He wasn't lucid enough to answer any follow-up questions, retreating back into calling out for his “Xiao Jiu”. When trying to heal his wounds, Luo Baichi found his meridians on the brink of a qi deviation.
Soothing them a little bit, he elected not to bring him out of the caves just yet. It would only be detrimental to his health.
Not until he got to speak with zhangmen-shixiong. He would find out what was going on, exactly.
***
That Xiao Jiu of his seemed fun. Bristly and permanently pissed, but always running a cost-benefit tally in his head, going with whatever would keep him safe.
And yet loyal to a fault, once you earned his trust. Luo Baichi hadn't really been trying - his only goal was to deliver A-Jiu to Cang Qiong safely - but apparently protection from dangers of the road and regular meals were enough to tame that little spitfire.
In the loosest sense of that word possible.
He was still rude and aggressive, but now he was acting on Luo Baichi's behalf, scolding him anytime he was willing to let himself be lightly scammed by the vendors. It was endearing to see him argue the prices down, though Luo Baichi was aware it was more fun for him than for whoever was unfortunate enough to land on the wrong side of A-Jiu's temper.
It made him understand why Yue Qingyuan rushed so much, why he had risked his life just to get his sword a bit sooner.
Now, it didn't exactly work out for him, but Luo Baichi was nothing if not a helpful shishu! He would keep the promise in Yue-shizhi's place, and get to enjoy all the perks of it.
From A-Jiu's fiery anger, through his excitement to learn cultivation, all the way to the nodding off against Luo Baichi's shoulder.
The kid had incredible potential. With proper support, he'd make it far!
If only he hadn't been so clearly suited for Qing Jing…
***
Luo Baichi gave it a couple of months before paying his An-shijie another visit. A-Jiu seemed so nervous when he first arrived on the peak, it was best to give him some time to acclimatize!
But it wouldn't do to let him forget his shishu, either. So once a suitable mission appeared - some minor demonic pest problem, but A-Jiu would enjoy the dispatch - he made his way to Qing Jing, requesting that Shen Jiu join him.
An-shijie gave him an odd look over her cup of tea.
“...If he agrees," she stipulated, and sent off a disciple to fetch A-Jiu.
Instead of A-Jiu, though, the disciple brought news of him being injured.
Luo Baichi snapped to his feet, jostling the table and causing a teacup to shatter on the ground.
“Wait," An-shijie called. Then, addressing the disciple, “Why don't you tell us exactly what happened?"
The disciple slowly stutters through his report: he found A-Jiu. He told him that Luo-shishu was here to take him along on a mission.
And A-Jiu had stolen a practice sword off of another nearby disciple and impaled himself on it. Then, he proceeded to claim injury, and bullied the disciple whose sword he stole into bringing him to Qian Cao.
That… Did sound like something A-Jiu would do. But why? He could have just said he didn't want to go…
“It might be best," An-shijie patted his shoulder gently. “If you did not request him for a mission again."
“It sure seems that way."
***
Having learned from his previous mistake, Luo Baichi did not send for A-Jiu again. Instead, he sought the disciple out on his own.
A-Jiu noticed him almost immediately, stopping his almost-perfect rendition of the same melody he had struggled with all those months ago.
He placed his hand upon the strings of the guzheng, glaring up at Luo Baichi.
“No mission this time, I promise!" He raised his hands, palms-out. “So don't go cutting any more organs, alright?"
“What can this disciple help shishu with." A-Jiu said dispassionately.
“Our mutual friend is exiting seclusion today. I thought you might wish to be there-"
Luo Baichi almost didn't notice A-Jiu move. One moment he was sitting behind the guzheng, and the next he was standing at Luo Baichi's elbow, fan in hand.
Smiling, he guided A-Jiu towards the rainbow bridge to Qiong Ding. He tried to gauge how A-Jiu was doing, but the boy never answered. Probably nervous about reuniting with Yue Qingyuan.
Only zhangmen-shixiong waited at the entrance of the Lingxi caves. He glanced over at Luo Baichi, but didn't seem to mind their presence.
Yue Qingyuan exited soon enough, marching forward with the healer trailing behind him.
Zhangmen-shixiong tried to speak to him, but the disciple passed him by as if he was air. Only grabbing his arm brought a reaction.
“If you stop me again-"
“Qi-ge!”
As Yue Qingyuan rushed towards A-Jiu, engulfing him in a desperate hug, Luo Baichi mentally congratulated himself for a job well done.
***
The only way to receive updates on A-Jiu was through grilling Yue Qingyuan when he regularly came back to once more express his gratitude for Luo Baichi to pick up where he couldn't, or through his mom sharing some tidbits. Because apparently A-Jiu only had an issue with Luo Baichi, and it did not extend to the courtesans.
He was fine with that. His hands were full anyway; That new disciple from the Liu clan was a right handful. Barely old enough to begin cultivating, and yet challenging Luo Baichi to a fight every week!
It was in the middle of one such fight when the rumours reached him: there was someone climbing the Bai Zhan stairs.
As the only peak to freely accept disciples, it wasn't unheard of, but not many decided to take their chances. Those who did tended to be rather unique.
Luo Baichi just hoped they would be less troublesome than disciple Liu.
But then they made it to the top, and appeared at the edge of the training grounds, and his fight with disciple Liu was forgotten entirely.
Because there, pointing at him with a fan and a glare, shouting to fight him, stood A-Jiu.
***
Obviously, Luo Baichi told everyone to get lost and tried to herd A-Jiu towards his house for some privacy. Once he calmed down, the boy's thin face wouldn't appreciate the public airing out of whatever issue he was ready to tackle.
But A-Jiu was really determined to have that fight. He didn't even have his own spiritual sword yet, though that wouldn't stop him. His fan worked just as well, and he had always been good at utilizing his surroundings.
Luo Baichi ended up with a lot of leafcuts all over his body.
All he did was defensive maneuvers; He refused to fight A-Jiu. The boy seemed to take it as an insult, growing more hysterical and closer to a qi deviation with every passing minute.
Finally, Luo Baichi managed to make some progress: he made it close enough to grab A-Jiu into a hug.
The fight seemed to leave him in a rush. The fan fell to the ground as his hands fisted in Luo Baichi's robes, face hiding in his shoulder.
“What's wrong?” He rubbed the boy's back, bringing them to sit down. A-Jiu didn't let himself move far, pressing into Luo Baichi's lap. “Was someone mean to you? Do I need to have a talk with any of the disciples?"
A-Jiu shook his head.
“...Your shizun, then?"
The boy stiffened. Luo Baichi gently coaxed him to sit up straight, trying to look him in the eye.
“If there's anything wrong, anything at all, I'll fix it," he promised. “You just gotta tell me."
The boy sniffed. “And then you'll let me join Bai Zhan?”
Luo Baichi furrowed his brows, confused. “I thought you'd be a good fit for Qing Jing-”
“But I wanted to be a good fit for you!"
Ah. Well. He could work with that.