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"And don't you dare stray from the path, you know full well how dangerous it is, and I know my idiot brother well enough to know you'll just fall into the first bush of thorny flowers you see!", Shen Yuan could only find it in himself to absentmindedly continue to nod his head up and down, listening to his older brothers lecture about the dangers of the nearby woods.
"I'd like to know why the village head has to live that deep in the mountains.", despite the scorn in Shen Jius voice, he thrust a well made care package into his little brothers arms, "And of course Qi-ge falls ill at the most busy time of the year, doesn't he know I have brats to take care of? The nerve." With another swift movement Shen Yuan felt his green coat thrown over his head, his brother busying himself to even out any wrinkles that could appear, just to pat his shoulders afterwards.
"Anyways, I'll finish up my business here and follow along soon, just bring him his medicine and make sure he actually takes it.", a large hand ruffling Shen Yuans hair, "And make sure he stays in bed, we both know how reckless he gets. Now hush hush, go, I have things to take care of."
Hearing the door shut behind him, Shen Yuan just absendmindedly scratched his neck.
Well it wasn't like he didn't have things to do?! That aside! He was only born – what, like 20 minutes after his brother! How dare he treat him like a little kid! Okay, maybe he didn't have a job and still kept studying while his brother had already stepped out to work, and okay, yes maybe he also had Shen Jiu pamper him in any way possible – which his brother complained about at least once a week, while also still doing whatever task Shen Yuan hadn't come to take care of just yet.
And yes okay, maybe, really just maybe he was absolutely going to stray from the path, but really what could happen?
Shen Yuan had been studying plants and animals for the past years, and he confident to be the most well versed 16 year old in this small town when it came to said subject. To top it all of Shen Jiu had practically forced him to start cultivating. He was good at it. Maybe not as good as his brother or Qi-ge, but he was fairly decent. If he tried. Which he had to do a lot since his brother had once dragged him down a field so they could cultivate in unison. And maybe that had started because he was oddly frail and sickly since young and his brother wanted to make sure he didn't just die on him. Not that Shen Jiu would ever openly admit to it.
Well in any case Yue Qi was living up the mountain in one of the deeper parts of the woods so he'd have to walk quite a bit through the dense forest. Not that he minded much, in all honestly, it wasn't really dangerous there anyways, most animals were too scared to come close. Even the whole talk of demons living there didn't really seem to be true either, at least Shen Yuan hadn't ever seen a demon up there, and he'd spend days camping there to study different herbs and animals in their natural habitat.
Throwing the green hood of his coat over his head, Shen Yuan adjusted to a leasurely pace, walking towards the small road up the mountain.
Shen Yuan sat silently behind a few plants, quietly observing two huge adult Wolfboars feasting on a just recently hunted elk. There were only a few of these bulky and most definitely dangerous animals left on the mountain so he really just couldn't help himself!
Research! He absolutely needed to know more about those oddly shaped creatures!
And whilst following their tracks he...may or may not have wandered deeper into the forest than he'd ever dare tell his brother.
With a solemn nod he decided, his brother would never know about this, at least not if he wanted to keep living. Or eating. Or anything really, in any case Jiu-ge shouldn't find out he'd went off path again. But really, he could think about this later.
Bringing his attention back to the two beasts, he realized their ears had perked up. Fur standing up, menacing growls rippling through the small clearing.
Wait, did he make a sound? He really was not paying attention for just a second! No way he made a sound! He was a cultivator for gods sake! He realy shouldn't have taken that nap last time his brother had sent him off to train.
Both wolfboars focussed their gazes on a spot not too far away from where Shen Yuan was hiding, backing off slightly.
Well, nevermind, they probably hadn't seen him. Which...well best case whatever startled those bloodthirsty carnivores hadn't noticed him either. After another moment of silence, the two animals snarled loudly before breaking into a run, away from the rustling bush.
Well, that...wasn't too good. Whatever hid there probably was dangerous.
Shen Yuan felt himself holding his breath, trying his best to not make any sounds, in the hopes of not being noticed.
Another rustle, and suddenly a small bundle of black fluff emerged from the greenery. The surprising picture made Shen Yuan gasp, making two small ears perk up at its sound. The bundle of fluff turned his way in the blink of an eye, two huge brown eyes staring directly towards his hiding spot.
Shen Yuan felt himself shudder.
Oh god.
This- this...
IT WAS ADORABLE.
Seeing the minimal movement behind the bush, the small bundle inched closer, peeking inside the greenery, just to come face to face with the hiding young man, who simply stared back.
A small tail began to slowly wag, just to come to a halt. Big brown eyes looking up towards Shen Yuan.
He, for his part, was currently marking Wolfboars down as fucking cowards because! Because! This little fluffy puppy was adorable! Who would dare run from those little button eyes! That pink little nose! He couldn't hold himself back, only realizing what he had done, as his hand found itself on the soft fur of the puppys head.
Another moment of silence, both of them didn't dare to move, before Shen Yuan could suddenly feel movement below his hand.
The puppys tail began to wag furiously, his whole body almost vibrating, as he expectedly kept staring up towards Shen Yuan.
Well.
Moving his hand to finally pat the pups head, the small animal started to yip loudly and approvingly. God, he had found a new friend! Shen Yuan continued to pat the small head, while in the back of his mind he wondered, if there wasn't anything he was forgetting.
Well, nah, probably not.
Nope, he absolutely, totally and very importantly had forgotten this stupid little carepackage Shen Jiu has given him.
So he could go up the mountain first. And his brother would follow later. Looking at the setting sun, Shen Yuan wondered if maybe there was a god out there and he had done him the favor of blocking the mountain road.
Well, no, seeing his brother tapping his arm in front of Yue Qis estate there wasn't.
There absolutely was no god in this world, so he might aswell pray to his brother to have mercy.
Meanwhile the little fluffy puppy had stopped in its tracks as Shen Yuan had gotten back on the mountainpath, yipping and barking a few times, maybe even escorting him up until his brother had appeared on the horizon. Knowing exactly what was about to happen, Shen Yuan had hushed the small dog away, nope, not happening.
Shen Jiu had never allowed him to have pets, he had just found a small adorable puppy in the mountains, he was not having his brother take that away from him. (However ridiculous that thought may be.)
Little Bingbing was his puppy now! Noone could stop him! Except the fact that he had absolute no clue how to take care of a dog. Or the fact that he'd have to smuggle a dog into their small cottage down the mountain. Or well maybe the fact that said puppy was staying off the road, seemingly ready to say his goodbye and vanish again.
Okay fine, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
Such as his angry brother, ready to rip off his head. Or give him a slap. Or, by god - please not let it be this - pinch his arm.
"Where the fuck-", Shen Jiu was abruptly cut off by Shen Yuan giving him a hug, honestly just trying to keep his brothers hands in check. "I know, Gege, I know, I was bad, but that's not important right now, how about we go inside and look how Qi-ge is doing?", Shen Yan could feel the angry tremble of his brother in his arms, but he also knew how weak his brother was to his pleading, especially if he called him gege. (Again, something Shen Jiu would never openly admit to, but the unusual blush on his cheeks whenever Shen Yuan refered to him as gege betrayed his cold words that always followed.)
"Fine.", Shen Yuan yelped through a pinch on his arm, "Come inside already, next time at least try to not be as late as now."
Both of them were unaware of the two eyes, gleaming red in the setting sun, eagerly observing every move they made, still lingering on the spot long after the door to the estate had been closed.
Fact was, Shen Yuan had tried to sneak little Bingbing into his and Shen Jius home, but he had failed. Badly.
Because his brother didn't have the nerve for more idiots in the house. His words. And looking down on the small puppy that kept visibly vibrating whenever he'd pet him, well maybe his brother wasn't all that wrong. Bingbing might not be the sharpest tool in the shed. But he was absolutely adorable. Especially that reddish brown dot on his forehead! God! So cute!
"Ahhh, Bingbing, my life is so rough!", Shen Yuan dove forwards, burying his face in the soft fluff of the – had he grown? - small puppy, a relieved sigh escaped his lips as he felt himself absolutely enveloped in the pure fluffiness he had hoped to find, "Jiu-ge and Qi-ge are... ah! You know if I could dualcultivate I'd have my core formed already! You know, they're absolutely trying to not have me notice, but I'm not an idiot." No matter how many times his brother did his best to emphathize that he absolutely was one.
Bingbing just perked his ears again, giving him an almost pondering glance, tail wagging furiously – as it always did when they had fullbody contact.
"You know, Jiu-ge has already tried to find me a good match.", blabbering on about his worries, Shen Yuan didn't even notice the abrupt stop of the tail wagging, "But you see, your Shizun here", yes, he had absolutely taken it upon himself to teach the little puppy a few tricks, he could call himself shizun! It was absolutely legit, "isn't really in the mood to find a partner? I mean, Jiu-ge is really doing his best, but at some point I might aswell just find someone myself. I'm not that hopeless." And again if he'd just payed attention, Shen Yuan could have seen the sliver of serious doubt in the big round eyes of his little idiotic Bingbing. Followed by a sudden rush of panic, as his tail began to wag again, just less happy but more furious.
The pup yiped at him, which made Shen Yuan lean back into its fur again. "Ahh, my adorable Bingbing gets me.", he continued to ruffle up the wavy fur with his hands, "I really hope whoever I end up with will understand me just as well as you do. Actually Bingbing, why don't you marry me, that would make a lot of things easier. Right? Right?? Ahh my sweet little Bingbing is the best!"
Little Bingbing listened to his mindless rambling with stars in his eyes, tail wagging.
The next thing Shen Yuan knew was, that little Bingbing couldn't be found anywhere near the mountain. Well, that was...bad.
He had already been worried when he had heard hunters talking about a ferocious beast roaming the woods – one he still never had seen.
But other than looking for the little pup, there wasn't much he could do, so Shen Yuan decided to – from time to time at least – bring a small offering to the local god of the mountain they lived on.
The god was said to be picky about his offerings, but really?
Whenever he brought over a few of the leftover dumblings his brother had stared at with distaste, criticizing his cooking skills, the plate would be cleaned by the next day.
Well, if the mountain god wasn't picky enough to scorn his food, dear god, he didn't want to know how the people in this village cooked.
--
Like that a couple of years flew by.
Really, Shen Yuan kept up his usual routine, bringing an offering to the mountain god in the morning, roam the deeper parts of the woods for herbs and to study the wildlife, to then return back home, all the while looking out if he'd ever get to see a familiar patch of fluff somewhere along the bushes.
By now he'd become the most knowledgeable person in the village when it came to the different mountainpaths and medicinal herbs to treat injuries.
Meanwhile Jiu-ge and Qi-ge had taken over the post of the villagehead, well Qi-ge had, being bestowed the name Yue Qingyuan, whilst his brother managed things with him. As his wife.
Shen Yuan would never get tired of teasing him with just that word. And he would enjoy it even more, if his brother hadn't started to hit him with a fan whenever he did! Ah! Why couldn't he have nice things?
Anyways, his homelife was nice.
Which made the procession standing in front of their home make him stutter in his steps, almost tripping over the hem of his robes.
Oh what the fuck.
He hurriedly scurried to the backdoor, sneaking inside the house.
It was not like this was the first time this happened. Shen Jiu was decently pretty, and well maybe a few people had come over to uh... have him change his mind and move elsewhere. (That most of these offers where for Shen Yuan since Shen Jiu had been married, his brother did his best to not let him know.)
Awaiting him inside, was an already impatient Shen Jiu, tapping his hand with a fan, eyeing the door with an almost deadly glare.
"Okay then idiot brother, what did you do?", his eyes locked onto Shen Yuan, who involuntarily shrank back a few steps. "Uh...huh?", the younger one of them both cocked his head to the side, "Why? What did I do?"
Before his older brother could answer, there was a knock in the frontdoor.
Well. Anything to escape his irritated brother, right?
Shen Yuan ran towards the door, slamming it open with enough force to make it creak loudly.
Whoever was out there would be refused by his brother anyways, there wasn't really much need to keep face. Right? .....right?
Not right at all, before him now stood a regal looking young man, wavy hair falling down his shoulders. His slightly surprised eyes turned to crescents as his lips formed a heartwarming smile.
"Shizun, this lowly one has come to bring you back as a bride. So we can dualcultivate together so you can form a golden core?", the deep voice made his breath hitch, and before Shen Yuan even process the meaning of whatever he was told, the door shut close with a loud slam right in front of his nose.
"What the fuck did you do, Shen Yuan.", his brothers voice was a loud hiss by now, shaking him out of his utter awe of the sight he had just seen. "Uhhhh....", using his muddled brain to finally process Shen Yuan blinked a few times, before he felt something click.
Shizun.
Shizun? He had absolutely never taught anyone?
Wait.
Fluffy hair.
Shizun.
Shizun.
Oh fuck.
Throwing the door back open, Shen Yuan again looked into the surprised eyes of the handsome youth in front of him. "Bingbing?", he sputters out, earning him another almost blinding smile.
"This Luo Binghe is glad to see Shizun remembers him.", Bingbing – no Luo Binghe went down on one knee, hands reaching out towards Shen Yuan, "Would Shizun be willing to accompany this lowly one?" Shen Yuan only found it in himself to blink a few more times, before again, the door was slammed shut. "In your dreams.", Shen Jiu hissed again, grabbing his younger brothers shoulders, "What did you do?!"
Shen Yuan simply licked his lips in a moment of contemplation as everything began to click together and make sense.
Well, wasn't the local gods name Luo Binghe?
Uh...yes maybe.
Well.
Well this explained why the Wolfboars fled. Or why there was never any wildlife whenever he played with Bingbing. Actually. Huh...
He gave a dry laugh, "Uh huh...Jiu-ge, do you remember the time you told me, you would love me, no matter what?"
"What. Did. You. Do?"
"I...uh... I might have proposed to a mountain god?", another awkward laugh.
"Oh for fucks sake, Shen Yuan, why are you like this?!", his brother let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Shizun?", another knock, "Shizuuunnn~ Don't leave me aloneeeee~!"
Oh god.
Well, that was his life now.
Opening the door again, Shen Yuan found himself tackled to the ground, a almost offendingly handsome young man lying on top of him. "Binghe, what was that for.", he groaned, patting the – oh god it was smooth – silky hair on top of the mountain gods head. "Shizun!", Shen Yuan could feel the way his brother was trying to drag the youth off of him, "I will make you the happiest in the whole wide world!"
Well, that was a promise, wasn't it.
"I'll be in your care then.", two red sparkling eyes stared at him and Shen Yuan could almost feel Luo Binghes – in this form non existent – tail wag as he, as he was suddenly startled by a kiss pressed onto his lips.