Chapter Text
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And Luo Binghe swears, he swears that he will burn the world down to the ashes once again, that he will torture his master just as slowly and painfully once again, if that is the chance that was given to him.
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Upon the sight of the peak, memories surface.
They're memories so old, that had once ignited the fire within him, and then slowly shoved into the very depths of his mind.
When Shen Qingqiu had died, that is.
Along with the death of the man, back in his own world, there was not a single trace of a peak hidden by the bamboo forest left.
With Shen Qingqiu's death, upon the years, he had pushed the memories back, and locked them away. And now, like a cruel joke, he was in the same very peak, under his master's control.
So he remembered, the cold woodshed and the boiling tea, the torment of his master and the other disciples, the insults hurled at him and the fake manuals, and -
Qing Jing Peak has never been kind to him. So why should he be, even in an another world? Why shouldn't he let the fire take over the whole mountain, right before his eyes?
Because, after all, they were all beneath him.
Yet now, he stood as a simple disciple, his Heavenly Demon Blood still dormant. Luo Binghe then decided, that it was okay - when the time came, he would force his own demon seal, he would jump into the hell on his own volition.
He would not give Shen Qingqiu the same pleasure once again.
He had gone through Endless Abyss once, slayed and killed to survive, slowly and slowly started his own reign in the Demon World. The him back then was only 17 years old, yet the him now was of hundred years worth of age.
Doing the same thing for a second time, would be just a game for Luo Binghe.
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....That is, only if he could also understand what kind of world he had fallen into.
Eyes wide open, he stares at Ning Yingying, and she stares back.
(Ning Yingying - back then, had been his only pillar of support, under the treatment of others.
When the eldest disciples had made his life hell, every single day, every single time - it was only her who had stood by his side and tried to defend him.
Perhaps, he thought to himself now, out of everyone else in his harem, Ning Yingying had been one of the numbered women he had actually held close to himself.)
"Y-.." A cough. "Ning-shijie, what are you talking about...?" Luo Binghe asked, slowly and carefully, his eyes still wide.
The young girl standing before him gave him a concerned look - a very, very exaggerated concerned look. "A-Luo, what are you talking about? Ah, did you fall into the pond? Do you have a high fever?"
Likewise her words, she quickly checked his forehead with the back of her hand, tutting to herself. "Ah, how come you've forgotten? Were you planning on sleeping in the woodshed..?"
Shaking her head, she hummed. Truly an elder martial sister. "Ahh, A-Luo, don't be mad at Shizun! He made all of us run 15 laps, didn't he?"
Don't be mad at Shen Qingqiu?
Luo Binghe opened his mouth once, then closed it.
Then he tried to speak again, but no words came out until the third try. "Ning-shijie...Ning-shijie is right, it seems that I - no, I've gotten a bit confused. Thanks to Ning-shijie for her help, I'll go back to the....bamboo house then."
With an earnest smile, Luo Binghe bows like the young and sincere disciple he is, before turning around and leaving.
Obviously going somewhere else other than the bamboo house.
No matter how much he thinks - how much he searches for an answer, nothing sensible comes to his mind. Because - in what world, would Shen Qingqiu, let this Luo Binghe sleep and rise under the same ceiling as him? In what world would he remain in the same space as him, without attacking him with his words or objects?
None. The answer was pretty simple. Or rather, it should have been this simple. And yet.
Spirit possession came first to mind - but would no one in this sect realise, if a peak lord was truly possessed? Luo Binghe didn't think they were all that incompetent, no. Especially the sect leader - who would have realized without a doubt.
Even if he were to say, that Shen Qingqiu was under the same situation as him, Luo Binghe knew the man very well.
No matter how many painful deaths he'd go through, no matter how many times he'd be reborn, at his core, Shen Qingqiu would always remain bitter and venomous, made of everything sharp and prickly.
Or, that was what he had thought, at least.
A while had passed since moon had risen, letting Qing Jing Peak light up with the stars above. It was only then that he decided to go check on the bamboo house, at the very least.
As he came closer, he could see the faint light of a candle. Standing before the door, Luo Binghe hesitated at first - only to open the door without knocking at all in the end. If it was true that he resided here, he didn't have to knock, did he?
What waited him inside was truly a...weird sight.
The Peak Lord of Qing Jing, his master, Shen Qingqiu, sitting on a pillow as he was scribbling something under the candlelight, his outermost robes discarded and his hair down.
The most terrifying part about the picture was his expression - looking so serene and comfortable.
Standing at the entrance, Luo Binghe stared and stared as Shen Qingqiu finally sensed him, and raised his head.
With a snap, he opened his fan, obscuring half of his face. If Luo Binghe didn't know better, he'd say that the man was embarrassed because of being caught in such a state.
"Binghe!" The other man exclaimed, his expression changing pretty quickly. Slightly scowling, though Luo Binghe didn't sense any real animosity. "Haven't this master told you to come back to study? Look how late it is now."
This was...scolding, he supposed. His eyes on the floor, Luo Binghe made himself look smaller, letting out a hum. "This disciple apologises. I was...running errands, it's this disciples fault for forgetting. Begging for Shizun's forgiveness."
Clearing his throat lightly, he kept looking down but still heard some shuffling, assuming that the other had stood up. "Errands? Who told you to run errands?"
Hearing a click of the tongue, he finally looked up at the figure of Shen Qingqiu in the dim light, holding some scrolls inside his arms. "Go sleep, now. This master will deal with it later. Do not be late tomorrow."
And just like that, Shen Qingqiu was gone - disappeared into his own room and closed the door behind, leaving an even more confused Luo Binghe behind himself.