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Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu was…an enigma.

Or, well, he was now. Before, when Liu Qingge first met the man, it had been simple; Shen Qingqiu was an arrogant twat who was clever enough for his position but had none of the honor it required. Liu Qingge hated Shen Qingqiu, and Shen Qingqiu hated Liu Qingge in turn. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation, but at least the Bai Zhan Peak Lord knew where he stood and how to treat the man…namely, with utter disdain.

But then something had happened. No one was sure how, with theories running from qi deviation to amnesia to possession to who knows what. But overnight Shen Qingqiu became a different man, just as elegant and observant, but now with kindness and curiosity and sometimes even humor. By all accounts, it was a positive change that made everything in the sect run smoother than it ever had when the old version was around mucking things up out of spite. Liu Qingge should have been as pleased as the rest with the change. Hell, he could even call Shen Qingqiu a friend now.

And yet, sometimes, Liu Qingge had to admit that he missed being able to just ignore the man. Because if this new Shen Qingqiu wasn’t attracting trouble, he was looking for it, or even just straight up causing it.

And for some reason, the idea of leaving Shen Qingqiu to face whatever risk he ran into alone was absolutely out of the question.

Which led to his current situation. Shen Qingqiu had gone with his students to some small town not far from the sect to solve a problem with some kind of water ghoul. And solve it they did. However, he had apparently heard of some rare plant or whatever and decided to send his students home ahead of him while he went to try and find it. The students had agreed reluctantly, even the one that had been saved from the demon poison by his teacher and had been his shadow ever since.

So when the next day Shen Qingqiu had not returned, about half the students of Qing Jing Peak had to devote themselves to keeping said disciple from tearing off in search of him. The other half, meanwhile, had gone to the sect leader to ask him to send someone actually qualified to go hunt him down. That someone wound up being Liu Qingge.

Liu Qingge had a sour feeling about this situation that he interpreted as annoyance. While the effects of Without a Cure had been explained to him, and his meridians had been treated multiple times now, Shen Qingqiu just didn’t seem to accept that he had a handicap. Once or twice he had skipped out of the cleansing, followed by him sheepishly coming to request Liu Qingge’s aid shortly after when his qi inevitably became blocked. It was very likely, in Liu Qingge’s mind, that the poison had acted up again because he hadn’t bothered to see to it before leaving for the mission, and he was currently wandering in the woods because he couldn’t ride his sword or something stupid like that. 

That Shen Qingqiu might be in some sort of legitimate danger was something that Liu Qingge was very pointedly not considering. Because it was stupid, right? Shen Qingqiu was stubborn, but he was smart enough to avoid walking into something objectively dangerous (most of the time). So there was no reason to follow that line of thought or deal with a sinking feeling in his stomach that came with it.

On the bright side, it’s not like Liu Qingge had to work hard to look for him. In fact, it was the exact opposite. He was flying relatively low over the area Shen Qingqiu had headed towards, considering what to do, when he heard his name called. There was no hesitation as he swooped down to the source; sure enough, it was a familiar figure in pale green and pure white, holding a fan to cover his expression save for his eyes, which were curved into pleased crescents.

Liu Qingge had no particular opinion on Shen Qingqiu’s expressions. He had no reason at all to care what Shen Qingqiu was feeling, and certainly no reason to try and be the one to please him. On a related note, the fact that this happy expression was turned his way meant absolutely nothing. He was not going to keep it in mind a second longer than he had to.

Really. He wasn’t.

“What the hell are you even doing?” Liu Qingge asked, frowning down at his fellow Peak Lord. Shen Qingqiu let out a little annoyed huff and snapped his fan closed. Apparently getting brusque words instead of some worried, relieved greeting annoyed him. If Liu Qingge was a lesser man, he’d have rolled his eyes.

“Really, Liu-shidi, there’s no need to be rude. And to an injured man no less! Nothing too serious,” Shen Qingqiu added hastily, seeing Liu Qingge’s frown immediately deepen. “Just a twisted ankle. Between that and my qi acting up, this lord felt it was better not to risk flight on my sword, so I was heading to the village we helped on foot...but it seems my reliable shidi came to save me.” 

“Don’t bother with flattery,” Liu Qingge replied. “And your qi wouldn’t be acting up if you’d come and get your meridians cleared like you’re supposed to.”

“I don’t want to be a bother to Liu-shidi,” Shen Qingqiu said calmly, like having to come and pick him up in the middle of the woods wasn’t an ever bigger bother. “And nothing bad has happened, so all’s well that ends well. Liu-shidi worries too much.”

Liu Qingge huffed. “You should worry more,” was his retort, as he glanced at Shen Qingqiu’s legs. The robes blocked them from sight, but when he looked, he could see that the man was indeed favoring one foot over the other. Withholding a sigh, Liu Qingge hopped off the sword and motioned for Shen Qingqiu to sit so he could tend to his leg for him. Thankfully, Shen Qingqiu chose for once not to be stubborn and did as requested.

Liu Qingge kneeled and took the injured ankle in his hand. He would have expected some comment about the indecency of that, which he would have then had to give a rebuttal against in order to get on with the treatment, but Shen Qingqiu seemed unbothered. Good, one less annoyance to deal with. If only Shen Qingqiu was this amenable to treating the poison. He sent some qi into the injured area and let it circulate a bit to reduce the swelling and soreness. Shen Qingqiu let out a relieved sigh. It...wasn’t an unpleasant sound.

Not that Liu Qingge paid much attention to the sounds Shen Qingqiu made. That would be weird.

“For the record, you should know your students are losing their minds over you being gone for a day,” Liu Qingge commented as he put down Shen Qingqiu’s leg and took his hand instead. He pressed his fingers onto the pulse point and sent more qi through the spiritual pathways. There was some resistance at first, but he kept the energy at a steady push to clear it out. “That one who follows you around all the time looked like he might cry like a baby.”

“Don’t make fun of my Binghe, or any of my other students,” Shen Qingqiu grumbled. “It’s perfectly natural for them to be concerned and I'm touchd by their care. I’ll have to make sure I give them proper reassurances later.”

“You spoil them too much. Especially the clingy one.”

“I do not!” Shen Qingqiu lightly jabbed the closed fan in Liu Qingge’s direction as emphasis. “I only show them the care and affection they deserve. Liu-shidi could learn from this shixiong’s example, instead of letting his own students run wild breaking things.”

“They have swords, of course they’re going to break things,” was the retort. “And if they can’t take care of themselves, they’re not worth my time or effort.”

“They need direction and care, they’re still children!”

“Only barely. And they’ll stay children longer if I treat them as such.”

Shen Qingqiu huffed, flicking the fan open to cover his expression, but not before Liu Qingge caught his expression for just a second. The warrior blinked, processing what he’d seen. A bunched up lip, puffed up cheeks...

“...are you pouting ?” he asked incredulously.

Shen Qingqiu immediately tensed up and made a show of looking very offended despite his face being covered. “Pouting!? Liu-shidi is being silly. This one is a respected and noble peak lord. Making a face like that would be unbecoming of the position. Honestly, pouting. If I didn’t know better, I would think I was being insulted.” And he very deliberately pulled his hand away from Liu Qingge and turned away from him, his nose in the air.

“...you were definitely pouting. I saw it.” And for some reason, the fact that he’d caught that expression made Liu Qingge...feel rather smug. What’s more, seeing Shen Qingqiu get all riled up and actually express some emotions besides calm indifference or “I know more than you” type satisfaction...that was rare. Rare and appreciated.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t dignify Liu Qingge with a response this time. Instead, he swiftly rose to his feet. Liu Qingge followed his lead, waiting as Shen Qingqiu carefully tested his healed leg. He winced; the treatment was for the pain, but he’d still need to give it some time to fully heal. After staring at his own foot in contemplation for a few moments, he slowly turned back to Liu Qingge and looked at him, clearly waiting for him to say something.

Liu Qingge sighed, knowing what Shen Qingqiu was looking for. Reluctantly, Liu Qingge pulled his sword back out, stepped upon it, and held out his hand for Shen Qingqiu to take.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan closed again, looking satisfied. He took the offered hand and stepped up, standing behind Liu Qingge and wrapping an arm around his waist to hold himself steady.

Liu Qingge felt an impulse, for the moment, to put one of his own hands on top of Shen Qingqiu’s. He resisted, because there was no reason for such a thing. Why had it even come to mind? Maybe a reflex to keep Shen Qingqiu safe. If anyone was going to get so distracted they’d fall off a sword mid-flight, well, Shen Qingqiu was more likely to be that anyone than he should be.

Because that was another one of those strange changes. The old Shen Qingqiu had treated riding on a sword the same as everyone else: a convenience for long distance compared to walking, but a pain to deal with at times. It was simply an everyday occurrence for a cultivator, especially one who had reached immortality as they all had.

But this new Shen Qingqiu seemed to have a different view of it. It wasn’t like he got super excited like a newly trained student, or showed some new phobia of heights, or anything like that. He just...seemed to always be very cheerful about taking a trip through the sky. There was almost a sense of whimsy to him when he was in the air, a feeling that he was enjoying it as something special. Which, arguably it was, it wasn’t like anyone could just hop on a sword and zoom off, but it wasn’t a rare thing either. Even after taking who knows how many rides in his lifetime, Shen Qingqiu still had almost a sense of wonder about flying. Sometimes he’d even just stop mid flight to admire the scenery from this new vantage point, to marvel at how things changed so much from what was really only a small change in position.

Honestly, the stopping mid flight had caused some problems. And yet, in the end, the way Shen Qingqiu’s mood improved when he flew, the way he got such genuine enjoyment out of it…

...even Liu Qingge had to admit it; it was kinda sorta a little bit cute as hell.

Sure enough, once they were up and on their way, he could feel Shen Qingqiu shift every now and then, turning his head this way and that to look at the world passing by. Thankfully he never loosened his grip on Liu Qingge, so he didn’t have to worry about losing his passenger. Still, Liu Qingge was a bit exasperated. Getting injured in a stupid way, making his disciples worry and forcing his martial brother to come pick him up, and Shen Qingqiu didn’t have an ounce of shame in him about it. How someone could care about appearance as much as Shen Qingqiu while still being so carefree, Liu Qingge would likely never know.

About halfway back, a flock of birds flew by them. It was no big deal, it was a big sky, there was plenty of space in between the animals and the cultivators. Liu Qingge would have ignored them completely under normal circumstances.

Normal circumstances didn’t include Shen Qingqiu letting out a thoughtful hum and extending the arm not holding onto Liu Qingge towards the birds. And they certainly didn’t include one of the birds actually leaving the flock and, for no discernible reason, landing right on Shen Qingqiu’s outstretched fingers.

Liu Qingge actually stopped his sword still. What the hell was this. He turned back as best as he could to see Shen Qingqiu’s expression. The Qing Jing peak lord was just as surprised. With both hands occupied, there was no fan held up to cover his face. Liu Qingge got a good clear look at Shen Qingqiu...his mouth slightly open with surprise, his eyes wide and his eyebrows almost at his hairline, a couple pieces of his hair in his face from being windblown but somehow not making him look any less refined.

And then Shen Qingqiu’s lips slowly curled into a smile...a blindingly bright one at that. His eyes sparkled with delight as he examined the little creature contentedly settled on his hand. Looking at Liu Qingge, he let out a small laugh and announced, jokingly, “Aw, it likes me!”

...Okay there was no way to deny that this was the most adorable thing Liu Qingge had witnessed in ages.

So he didn’t deny it, and instead just didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he made a sound of frustration. “I thought we were going home, not playing around.”

“Ah, Liu-shidi is annoyed with me,” Shen Qingqiu said, apparently to the bird, still smiling sincerely even as he joked. “The Bai Zhan war god truly is easy to rile up!”

“Shen Qingqiu,” Liu Qingge said in the most deadpan voice he could muster up. The man behind him simply chuckled, and gently shooed the bird away before motioning for Liu Qingge to continue.

Liu Qingge couldn’t resist rolling his eyes this time. Shen Qingqiu didn’t acknowledge it. He simply went back to enjoying the journey home.

He was blissfully unaware of how the sides of him Liu Qingge had seen today were going to be on his mind for quite a while.

Chapter Text

If Shen Qingqiu skipped out on having his meridians cleaned one more goddamn time Liu Qingge was going to kick his ass. And he’d use yet another of the fans the man forgot somewhere to do it.

Liu Qingge stepped off his sword and onto the soft grass of Qing Jing Peak. He glanced around at the scenery. Liu Qingge wasn’t the type to spend much time looking at landscapes, but he wasn’t unaware of the beauty of the lush bamboo and the healthy flowers. It was...calming, somehow, being here. Liu Qingge couldn’t say he hated it. And it certainly suited Shen Qingqiu, natural and green and bright.

He headed towards the bamboo house. On the way, he passed a group of disciples, practicing instruments together. All of them, upon seeing the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, swiftly stood and respectfully bowed. Liu Qingge nodded his acknowledgement and they went back to their task.

Well, all except one. The boy from the poison incident, Luo Binghe, instead hurried over. Liu Qingge held back a frown. He didn’t know the boy well, but he’d had enough run ins to be aware that he was fairly talented, utterly devoted to Shen Qingqiu, and apparently had dedicated himself to his master’s care and protection. And he seemed to be under the impression Liu Qingge might be something Shen Qingqiu needed protection from.

Not exactly an unfounded theory, considering all the sniping between the two Peak Lords before Shen Qingqiu became...whatever he was now. But it didn’t stop Liu Qingge from being annoyed by Luo Binghe’s insistence on grilling him whenever he came to visit. Especially since over time, the boy seemed to go from wary caution to actively trying to bother him.

“This disciple didn’t know Liu-shifu was visiting today,” Luo Binghe said politely, but his expression wasn’t one of deference. He stood up as straight as possible, as if trying to make himself a bit taller and more imposing. Nice try kid, you’re still only like fifteen, get another couple growth spurts and then we’ll talk.

“I wasn’t planning to, but Shen Qingqiu didn’t come for me to cleanse his meridians,” Liu Qingge told him simply. He didn’t have time to play nice with a disciple who didn’t quite know his place.

“Shizun was very busy with his duties yesterday, and even stayed up late to get them done. And he spent all morning with us. Surely Liu-shifu knows it’s important that disciples are treated with care. Or at least, it’s important to Shizun.” Luo Binghe remained polite with his words, but again, the tone was off, just the slightest bit condescending.

It was well known that Shen Qingqiu spoiled his students and just as well known that Liu Qingge did the very opposite. Judging by the attitude, Shen Qingqiu had been spoiling this one in particular even more.

Liu Qingge wasn’t in the mood to deal with this. “Don’t question your teachers. I’m going to see Shen Qingqiu and take care of his meridians.”

“This disciple will escort Liu-shifu...”

“I don’t need an escort. Go back to the others.” Liu Qingge didn’t exactly snap, but he was short. He turned and walked off without giving a goodbye, ignoring the sensation of being glared at. If he could, Luo Binghe would keep his eye on Liu Qingge the entire time, staying in Shen Qingqiu’s shadow and acting like a guard dog. And Shen Qingqiu would be oblivious to it, and wonder at why Liu-shidi was so tense, is everything okay? Completely unaware of how awkward it was to be trying to talk to a friend when there was someone else there who was staring at you like you were an obstacle and they were waiting for a chance to get you out of the way.

Mingyan had suggested once that Luo Binghe had a crush on his teacher, and Liu Qingge could see the evidence for that, but that didn’t explain why he disliked Liu Qingge so much, did it? Nah, he was just a brat.

Liu Qingge came to the bamboo house soon enough. It was a peaceful place, comfortable and light. Like the rest of the peak, it suited Shen Qingqiu very well, and Liu Qingge couldn’t imagine Shen Qingqiu living anywhere else. This was where he belonged, drinking tea and reading books and displaying fans.

Maybe it’d be easier to just give up on making Shen Qingqiu come and see Mu Qingfang or Liu Qingge for the meridian clensings. Maybe Liu Qingge should just take the initiative and come here himself on the allotted days. Liu Qingge didn’t make a habit of visiting just about anyone else regularly, but...Shen Qingqiu was different.

Because he needed care, of course.

Why else would coming to see him so often be such a satisfying idea?

Liu Qingge knocked on the door, sharp loud raps. Usually, he’d hear Shen Qingqiu call out from within, either to let him know he was coming or to ask his visitor to let themselves in. This time, it was quiet. Liu Qingge knocked again, and again received no answer. Frowning, Liu Qingge tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he entered on his own. If it turned out Shen Qingqiu had gone off on his own to do something dumb again he was gonna be mad.

But no, Shen Qingqiu was there, sitting at his kitchen table, a cup of tea nearby and some papers spread in front of him. It looked like he had been trying to...write something? The characters were strange and Liu Qingge didn’t recognize them. But he was pretty sure Shen Qingqiu knew multiple languages, so he wasn’t overly concerned.

What was of more interest was Shen Qingqiu’s posture, or lack thereof. He was slumped over the table, his arms curled in front of him to pillow his head. His expression was peaceful and his breathing was even, causing a lock of hair that had fallen on his face to gently sway with every exhale.

Huh. Luo Binghe must not have been kidding about Shn Qingqiu staying up late the night before, if the man had actually fallen asleep in the dining room in the middle of the afternoon.

Liu Qingge...found himself conflicted. The obvious course of action should be to wake the man with a shout or a shake of the shoulder, followed by the errands he had come here to accomplish. The sooner he was done, the sooner he could go back to his own peak and make sure he got in all the exercises he needed and still had time to deal with his own brats. And it wasn’t like Shen Qingqiu probably wanted to be caught sleeping, considering how easily he got embarrassed about being caught vulnerable.

But...it didn’t feel quite right to be so rough with him? Shen Qingqiu as always so uptight, so put together and overly aware of himself. Liu Qingge found just being proper and polite during official functions tiring, he couldn’t say he was surprised at the idea that Shen Qingqiu was exhausted keeping his mask up constantly. He honestly might need a damn nap sometimes.

And more than that, there was almost a sense of...getting to see something special. Sort of like the rare times he caught Shen Qingqiu’s expressions, he got the feeling that this was sort of like getting closer to the truth about the man. And he wanted to do that. He wanted to figure Shen Qingqiu out.

There wasn’t any reason behind that desire. It honestly bothered Liu Qingge. But that didn’t change the fact that he found this new Shen Qingqiu...fascinating, for lack of a better word.

He took a second to sit next to Shen Qingqiu, to look at him a bit closer. He could see Shen Qingqiu’s delicate fingers were very lightly stained with ink, like he’d run them over the words on his papers as he checked what he wrote. His cheek was pressed against his arm hard enough that he’d probably have a mark on his face when he finally moved. His lips were quirked down in the slightest frown, like whatever he dreamed of was puzzling him. His face really was without flaw, soft and pleasant to look upon.

Then Liu Qingge realized watching your friend sleep without reason or consent was creepy, so he quickly gave Shen Qingqiu a light smack on the back to rouse him.

She Qingqiu startled, yawned long and loud, stretched his arms out in front of him like a cat stretches their legs. He opened one eye, spotted Liu Qingge, and sighed. He didn’t bother lifting his head quite yet. “Liu-shidi shouldn’t break into people’s homes or he’ll get in trouble,” Shen Qingqiu chided, his voice low and rough with sleep.

And he still managed to look elegant as hell even after just waking up. Bastard.

“You didn’t come to get your meridians cleansed. Again,” Liu Qingge countered. Shen Qingqiu made a groan of annoyance and actually turned his head away, the little shit, still not getting up. “Do you really just not care about your health?”

“I care, but sometimes it seems Liu-shidi cares more,” Shen Qingqiu countered, and after a moment and another sigh he finally sat up straight. Liu Qingge gave him a moment to adjust himself, patting his clothes smooth of wrinkles and making sure his hair was neat. Then he held out his hand to Liu Qingge and nodded at him to go ahead.

Liu Qingge had been right, there was a big pink spot on Shen Qingqiu’s cheek from where he had been laying his head. It was...oddly endearing.

Liu Qingge took his hand and got to work. He felt a bit awkward, somehow, so he actually tried to make conversation for once. Glancing at the papers and the strange words, he asked “What are you doing anyway?”

Shen Qingqiu looked to where Liu Qingge indicated, and tensed up for a second. Apparently he didn’t want to be caught practicing whatever he was doing, the perfectionist. “Nothing of importance,” he quickly dismissed, and he made a weird movement with his hand. Like he had meant to gesture with something but forgot he wasn’t holding it. Instead he tried his best to make it look like he meant to do that, moving his hand instead to adjust his clothes again.

Liu Qingge rolled his eyes and paused in the cleansing to pull a fan out of his belt and hold it up. “Looking for one of these? You left this at the last meeting.”

A smile was Liu Qingge’s reward for the offering. “I was wondering where that went! Many thanks to Liu-shidi for being so considerate!” Shen Qingqiu happily took the fan and was quick to do what he had meant to do before; flick the fan open in a practiced movement and hold it up to protect himself from the danger of actually being seen to have human expressions.

Liu Qingge was unimpressed. “First of all, stop forgetting those things everywhere. If you like those things, take care of them. Second, you have so many, how do you even know which ones you’re missing? They all look the same.”

“So much critique, clearly this shixiong has to work harder to stop earning Liu-shidi’s ire.” Shen Qingqiu as probably smirking behind that damn fan, Liu Qingge just knew it. He didn’t bother to reply to the ribbing, instead focusing on his task.

When he was finished, he made to stand up. After all, he’d done what he needed to do. But Shen Qingqiu put a hand on his arm to stay him. “After putting Liu-shidi through so much trouble, it’s only right to give a proper thank you. Like me make you some tea at least, before you go.”

And Liu Qingge’s first instinct was to deflect to offer, to say he wasn’t thirsty and he had more important things to do. But he looked at Shen Qingqiu, fan down far enough to see the pink spot on his cheek fading, and somehow Liu Qingge found himself sitting down again.

Shen Qingqiu blinked, apparently having not expected Liu Qingge to actually accept without a fight for once. Still, he composed himself quickly, gathering up all the papers with their strange letters to make room. “Liu-shidi will have to pardon the mess…”

“You’re doing what you need to do,” Liu Qingge reasoned, shrugging. “Who cares if it’s messy?”

Shen Qingqiu looked at him for a moment, then chuckled. “I suppose you would rather focus on more important things, wouldn’t you?” he said, and there was something in his voice that approached fondness. It made Liu Qingge feel...something, in his chest of stomach. Nothing bad. Just...strange. Almost satisfied. Like everything surrounding Shen Qingqiu, it was new and...not at all unpleasant.

And so Liu Qingge found his afternoon that day filled with warm tea and Shen Qingqiu’s mild, sometimes confusing ramblings, and he found he didn’t at all mind pulling time from his training to devote to a man in green and white.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge’s life would be much easier if he didn’t have to worry about Shen Qingqiu so much.

He really shouldn’t have to worry as much as he did. Shen Qingqiu was a full grown adult, a distinguished cultivator, a respected teacher, and a scholar of many subjects. Even with the Without A Cure issue, he should be expected to take care of himself with a reasonable amount of success. He’d survived long enough to cultivate to immortality, after all.

But Shen Qingqiu somehow managed to be both incredibly intelligent and also a complete fool, so Liu Qingge ended up worrying about him and his antics far too often. And he wasn’t the only one, either. Mu Qingfang would find plenty of excuses to check Shen Qingqiu over, and Yue Qingyuan didn’t only allow Liu Qingge to keep an eye on the Qing Jing Peak Lord, he actively encouraged it.

So when Shen Qingqiu got it in his head to bring his charges further up the peaks, in order to let them experience the colder, snowy environment there (so they could write about it or some such bullshit) Yue Qingyuan made a point to mention it to Liu Qingge. Who of course decided to bring some of his own students on a little trip up there too, so they could train in harsh elements and he could keep an eye on the Qing Jing Peak Lord and his brats.

His disciples didn’t complain. Honestly, they were used to him giving them so much free reign that they actually relished a chance to actively go on a journey with Liu Qingge, however short it was. The day they woke early to head out, not a one of them seemed to mind the early hour, and many seemed abuzz with excited energy. Liu Qingge was a bit surprised that they were so pleased, but he decided to be nice and not tell them off for acting childish.

They met up with Shen Qingqiu and his group, who all seemed equally enthusiastic, and were happily letting their shizun fuss over them. He was scuttling about between them, reminding them to be sure they were wearing clothes that were warm enough and to be very careful of things like frostbite and to always respect their surroundings so they wouldn’t get hurt by accident and blah blah blah, Shen Qingqiu was spoiling them again, big surprise. They all nodded seriously, chirping “Yes, shizun!” Every one of them looked at Shen Qingqiu with bright adoring eyes.

Luo Binghe’s eyes were the brightest and most adoring, of course...except when he once or twice caught Liu Qingge’s gaze and gave him dirty looks, like he was trying to scare him off. It might have worked, if Luo Binghe wasn’t basically a fluffy little dog in human form, and Liu Qingge wasn’t the goddamn Bai Zhan Peak Lord.

Eventually Shen Qingqiu was finally convinced his precious little disciples were prepared, and he announced it was time to go. A few of the younger students didn’t yet have their swords and were using borrowed blades for the flight, so that took another little while of Shen Qingqiu being fussy before they actually got to leave. Liu Qingge was worried that a flight with such a large group of disciples might cause problems, but he was pleasantly surprised with how diligently Shen Qingqiu’s lot followed their master’s lead. It was almost like watching ducklings waddle after their mother. And of course, his own disciples knew better than to lose focus and drift off course.

The weather was good, and the sun was bright, but as they rose in altitude the air about them became noticeably colder. Lush greens gave away to stoney grays and eventually snowy whites. Soon the few trees they saw were naked, crooked things leaning from the weight of frost, and there was almost as much light reflected off the snow covered ground as there was coming down from the sun.

Shen Qingqiu was the one who had started this, so he was the one who chose a landing site - a large, relatively flat area near a sheer cliff with a fantastic view of the other mountains. Landing went about as well as one could expect, with a few people stumbling and falling face first into the snow banks and few more bumping into one another, and of course that sent Shen Qingqiu off and running among them to make sure they were okay. Liu Qingge resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Instead he motioned for his own lot to come over, which they did obediently. Liu Qingge wasn’t fond of giving lessons, but he was capable, and he was able to bullshit some pretty good stuff about using your environment to your advantage and getting used to different terrain. It wasn’t long before his kids had all paired up and begun their usual method of practice, namely beating the living shit out of one another. Liu Qingge stood nearby, close enough to watch but far enough away to easily dodge anyone who got thrown by their opponent.

His attention drifted before long, and he was glancing over at Shen Qingqiu. The Qing Jing disciples were listening to him intently as he discussed something about seasonal poetry and metaphors and other such things. Literature had never been something Liu Qingge cared for much, but it was obvious Shen Qingqiu did; he spoke almost reverently about certain poets and quoted long pieces of text from memory as easily as Liu Qingge could disarm an opponent.

After some time Shen Qingqiu finished with his spiel and sent his ducklings off to go examine the scenery, try to draw or write about it, and come to him to show him their creations when they felt pleased with them. Then he came to Liu Qingge’s side, leaving them to their own devices as he stood prim and proper by his fellow Peak Lord, watching them from over his fan.

Wait.

“...Shen Qingqiu, it’s cold here,” Liu Qingge reminded him.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at him and looked him up and down a bit, like he was wondering if he missed something. “Yes, this teacher is well aware of that, Liu-shidi.”

“It is way too cold for you to need a fan.”

Shen Qingqiu gave a long sigh, the kind you give when you’re dealing with someone who said something foolish. “Liu-shidi, there are more reasons to have such an accessory than merely the most obvious use. This shixiong doesn't expect to need it for the sake of cooling off...it’s a matter of the picture it creates. Aesthetics are of great importance when people look up to something or someone.”

“...so you just think it looks good.” Liu Qingge wanted to give his own long suffering sigh. That was completely stupid, the only people here to see him were people who already knew his looks, since they dealt with him so often. He didn’t need the fan to convince anyone of his image. Was he really that frightened of people seeing he was an actual human being?

“Well, of course Liu-shidi makes it sound simple and foolish,” Shen Qingqiu said with a huff. “But while some are lucky enough not to need to worry about appearance, the rest of us are unfortunate, and have to take great efforts to look presentable.”

Okay, there were a million objections that could be made to that, starting with Shen Qingqiu implying he could ever not look like a goddamn piece of art, but he chose not to bring that up. Instead, he commented, “If it’s about looking a certain way, why do you only use it to make it so people can’t see your face?”

Shen Qingqiu gave him a dirty look from behind his fan. Liu Qingge met it without flinching.

“Shizun! One of the Bai Zhan disciples threw snow at me!” a young woman’s voice rang out.

“I did not!” shouted one of Liu Qingge’s kids before Shen Qingqiu could reply. “I was using the snow to send my opponent’s strike off course! You were just too close!”

“You should be more careful!” the girl who’d been hit snapped, and she reached down and grabbed a handful of snow and prepared to throw. Her target and several of the other disciples on both sides proceeded to pick up ammunition themselves.

“HEY!” Liu Qingge barked, and they all wisely went still. “What the hell are you all doing?”

“Liu-shidi…” Shen Qingqiu started, but Liu Qingge ignored him, and took a few steps closer to the students.

“I thought the reason your shibo and I brought you here was to learn something, not to act like children.” Liu Qingge crossed his arms and glared, and most of the guilty sheepishly dropped their loads.

“They are children -” Shen Qingqiu piped up from behind him.

“Shut up.” Just because Shen Qingqiu didn’t bother to discipline his students didn’t mean Liu Qingge was the same.

One of Liu Qingge’s didn’t drop the snow, however. “But Shizun!” he griped, “if someone attacks us, isn’t it only right to retaliate!?”

“Only if it’s worth your time to do so!” Liu Qingge answered. 

“But it’s a matter of honor!”

“It’s SNOW,” Liu Qingge deadpanned. He was too busy rolling his eyes to notice a few disciples’ attention turn from him to something behind him. “Your honor can survive it. Hopefully it can survive a few laps around the mountain when we’re done here. You’re training to be cultivators, we expect you to try and behave maturely, not throw snow at each other over petty arguments,” Liu Qingge continued.

“Shizun -”

“Are you interrupting me? Do you want worse than laps?” Liu Qingge gave the student a look, and he wisely shut up. All of the disciples looked nervous. “Calm down and get back to the tasks your teachers set for you.” He looked them over, taking a few moments to make sure they all seemed suitably calmed from their little spat. He nodded, satisfied that he had made his point.

And then he was smacked in the back of the head with a snowball.

Gasps were heard all around.

Liu Qingge took a second to actually register what happened, before shaking the snow off his head and whipping around to face Shen Qingqiu. The Qing Jing Peak Lord was standing there, fan up as usual, looking innocent and composed as could be, except for a slight shake of his shoulders and a sparkle in his eyes.

And the fact that he still had some goddamn snow on his sleeves.

Liu Qingge’s eyes narrowed. Shen Qingqiu met his gaze head on. Tension filled the air, and one could almost hear the students’ excitement as they waited to see what would happen next. The seconds seemed to be stretched long by the anticipation.

Shen Qingqiu, his voice perfectly calm and even, gently commented, “Liu-shidi...looks a little cold.”

Oh this little shit .

“...I take it back. Insults should be answered.”

And Liu Qingge was gathering up snow as Shen Qingqiu swiftly turned and fled.

“He’s going to attack Shizun!” Luo Binghe’s voice rose up. “We have to defend him! Stop Liu-shishu!”

“For Shizun!” shouted several Qing Jing disciples, all going to snatch up ammunition.

“Hey! He started it! Don’t interfere with our Shizun getting justice!” screamed one of Liu Qingge’s own, and his fellows actually cheered as they too began to gather snow. Before long, the air was full of projectiles and the sound of shrieks and laughter and childish taunts.

 Liu Qingge ignored them as he finished forming a snowball the size of his head and ran after Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu was fast, but snow meant footprints, so it wasn’t like he could easily lose his pursuer. Still, it wasn’t for lack of trying, and any jutting rock faces or cluster of snow-covered trees was used by him to make as twisted a path to follow as possible.

Maybe Liu Qingge would compliment his dedication to the task after he clobbered him .

Eventually, Liu Qingge paused in his chase.

He had yet to catch sight of Shen Qingqiu, who was apparently very adept at fleeing for his life. However, a distance away, sticking out of the snow next to the tracks was something Liu Qingge had ended up getting very used to seeing lately.

It was a dropped fan.

The first thought Liu Qingge had was the usual one; Shen Qingqiu would probably lose his own head if it wasn’t attached to his neck. This was followed by another common thought; I should return that to him.

But something kept him from doing so. This seemed a little off. Usually, when Shen Qingqiu forgot a fan, it was because he had to put it down to do something else and he just forgot to pick it up again, from Liu Qingge’s experience. They didn’t typically just fall from his belt. Not only that, but while Liu Qingge wasn’t super close, he could still see the glitter of the golden details that decorated the fan guard, and could tell the fan was in an odd position.

Specifically, it looked like it had been stuck there to sit straight up in the snow in such a way that the actual paper part suffered minimal damage. That is to say, it appeared to have been done purposefully.

Liu Qingge had enough battle experience and instinct to know a trap when he saw one.

Shen Qingqiu really was a little shit.

Instead of approaching, Liu Qingge looked around the area. It wasn’t hard to spot a convenient copse of dead trees not too far away, thick enough that one couldn’t see through it too easily. From this side there were no tracks, but it was perfectly possible for the trail he was following to turn and run back to those trees and not be visible from Liu Qingge’s position.

With great care, Liu Qingge made a wide circle around the trees, making sure he was as quiet as he possibly could be in the snow. Satisfied that he would have been difficult to spot in his moves, and hearing no sounds from anything else, he approached the wooded area.

Sure enough, it only took a short, silent search to find Shen Qingqiu, hiding behind one of the trees to keep watch over the place he’d left his fan, another snowball in hand. His back was to Liu Qingge, and he hadn’t noticed him yet, but Liu Qingge could see Shen Qingqiu fidgeting the slightest bit, wondering why his target was taking so long.

Liu Qingge approached slowly, raising his ‘weapon’ above his head, and stood right behind Shen Qingqiu. He waited a few moments more, watching his oblivious shixiong look for him in the complete wrong direction, before finally alerting him to his presence.

“Hey,” said Liu Qingge.

Shen Qingqiu whipped his head around and was immediately knocked to the snowy ground when a melon sized snowball smacked him right in the face. He fell flat on his back with an “oof!”, arms and legs akimbo, his own snowball falling uselessly to the ground.

Damn that was satisfying.

It took a few seconds for Shen Qingqiu to come back to himself. Sputtering, he sat straight up, wiping the snow off his face and onto his lap, his cheeks red with embarrassment and cold. His brow was furrowed in a rare show of visible annoyance. Bits of snow decorated his hair, stark white against mahogany. His crown had been knocked ever so slightly off-center, but it held his topknot still. As always, the tiny idiosyncrasies only seemed to add more to the whole image, and the image was beautiful. 

Damn this man and his inability to not look like a masterpiece. It was very annoying.

Liu Qingge squatted down to be at Shen Qingqiu’s eye level. The Qing Jing Peak Lord paused in his muttering curses and turned his gaze to Liu Qingge, expression remarkably hard to read already despite the obvious frustration a minute before. Hazel eyes bore into Liu Qingge’s gray ones, asShen Qingqiu waited to hear what the war god had to say for himself.

What he had to say for himself was a very matter-of-fact “I win.”

For a long moment, Shen Qingqiu continued to stare…

...and then he laughed.

Not like any other time Liu Qingge had heard him before though.

This time he laughed .

It wasn’t a small, dignified chuckle hidden behind a fan, and it wasn’t a derisive snort directed at incompetence. This was loud, and open, and messy laughter. Shen Qingqiu curled in on himself a bit from the force of it, his shoulders shaking, and it wasn’t long before he sounded breathless. He even lifted his hand and smacked it into the ground next to him several times, like he had too much joyous energy inside and he had to let it out even more. Liu Qingge thought he saw tears in his eyes. And when he started to calm down, he got one look at Liu Qingge’s stunned astonishment, and descended into laughter a second time.

Liu Qingge had never seen Shen Qingqiu this open .

Liu Qingge had never seen Shen Qingqiu this happy.

He couldn't remember feeling his chest squeeze this tight before. He committed every detail to memory even as he refused to let his thoughts go too deep into the reasons why.

Shen Qingqiu was especially beautiful when he laughed. That was the only important thing right now.

Eventually, Shen Qingqiu calmed down, or perhaps he had simply tired himself out. He took several deep breaths, and Liu Qingge watched him visibly compose himself, saw the grin melt into a smaller, softer smile and the crinkle in the corners of his eyes fade away. In moments, the laughing Shen Qingqiu was gone, and in his place was the Shen Qingqiu everyone got to see; elegant, refined, and unreadable, with what went on behind his eyes a mystery.

But Liu Qingge got to see something others didn’t. He knew it.

“Yes, Liu-shidi did triumph in the end,” Shen Qingqiu said, now that he was in the right state to speak. “This unfortunate shixiong went and started a fight he could not win. I suppose snow in the face is a just comeuppance for my sneak attack earlier.”

“That really was a dumb move,” Liu Qingge agreed, standing up again and holding out a hand for Shen Qingqiu to take.

Shen Qingqiu accepted it. His hand was smaller than Liu Qingge’s. Smaller and more delicate and chilled from the snow.

“Well, Liu-shidi was being unfair to the students,” Shen Qingqiu said in a haughty tone. “Just the other day, Liu-shidi responded to my complaints about them being wild by saying that was how they learned to fight. Today they begin to fight and Liu-shidi tries to punish them for it. This shixiong had to intervene.”

Liu Qingge rolled his eyes.

“Also, you told me to shut up,” added Shen Qingqiu. “Rude.” And he lifted up his fan to keep Liu Qingge from seeing him pouting again, even though he obviously was -

Wait a second.

Shen Qingqiu had a fan.

But he’d left one out in the snow as a lure.

Which meant…

“You brought two fans!? ” Liu Qingge asked incredulously. “We’re in the snow and you brought two fans with you!?”

Shen Qingqiu blinked. “...Well, Liu-shidi complains about me losing fans so much, this shixiong felt it was right to bring a spare.”

Liu Qingge wanted to punch this man in his stupid beautiful face.

Shen Qingqiu turned around before Liu Qingge could actually do so. “We should go back to the students now that our little...conflict...is over. Did you hear them coming to our defence? This teacher thinks it’s sweet.”

“Yeah, very sweet. Very sweet how your favorite student rallied his shixiongs and shijies to attack a teacher.”

“Luo Binghe isn’t this teacher’s favorite, it isn’t right to play favorites.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t! I love all my students. And they love me too. You’re just jealous that your students aren’t so affectionate.”

“I don’t need their affection, I need them to listen up and learn to fight. At least they’re probably good enough to beat your students in a brawl.”

“My students are more than capable of taking yours on, thank you very much.”

“Well we’ll see when we get back how deep in the snow mine buried yours.”

“I accept your challenge, Liu-shidi.”

And they kept on bickering as they went back to collect their charges, leaving behind tracks in the snow and the memory of true laughter.

Chapter Text

When Shen Qingqiu changed, a number of these changes were obvious. Anger and bitterness dissolved from him, and his personality changed like winter into spring. A tendency to glare vanished, a habit of pouting appeared (and the man still denied it, although by now Liu Qingge had caught it at least three times). He became dedicated to his students in a way he hadn’t before, and made actual attempts to befriend his martial siblings. He tried harder to hide his expressions, but when they were seen, they weren’t always anger. His fighting style had changed completely, with none of the sneak attacks or sucker punches that everyone used to look out for. Anyone could see these.

Liu Qingge, by virtue of being Shen Qingqiu’s usual chaperone, had noticed smaller details had changed too. One of the biggest signs of possession wasn’t just a change in personality, but also a change of habits, the sort of things a possessing spirit might not think to hide or know the original did differently. Liu Qingge had been actively looking for those.

And there were quite a few. For one, Shen Qingqiu more obviously and commonly relied on his fans to maintain his image. There was also the issue of flight, which still seemed to be a bit of a marvel to the Qing Jing Peak Lord. The new Shen Qingqiu had a habit of sleeping in. While green had always been a favored color, the new Shen Qingqiu wore robes much simpler than the previous one, who had been ostentatious to the point it was obnoxious. When a pun was made, Shen Qingqiu would laugh; Liu Qingge had no memories of the old one laughing even once. Small nervous habits had developed; the old had no habits Liu Qingge could remember, the new would absently doodle on empty pages or drum his fingers. It was true Liu Qingge had avoided the old Shen Qingqiu and had little idea of his habits because of this, but he was still sure some of these were new.

Honestly, this many changes really should be considered a huge problem. It was as if an entirely different person inhabited the body. Typically the response to that, especially for a cultivator as powerful as a Peak Lord, should be to isolate and contain the person and force whatever took them over to leave. If nothing worked to remove the spirit or it was proven the original soul was beyond saving, it was expected to at least consider extermination.

But it wasn’t like there had been no attempts to prove possession. Yue Qingyuan had made multiple attempts. Several times, Shen Qingqiu was made to handle objects that should have reacted to a possessing spirit, little talismans and spirit stones. Not one had set off any alarms.

There were other reasons to doubt too. Shen Qingqiu had shown no hesitation in naming those he came across since his change, recognizing everyone easily. He was able to wield his sword, which was connected to his spirit, and a possessing spirit shouldn’t be able to do that without difficulty. As far as anyone knew, he hadn’t miraculously learned any information he didn’t have before. And of course, while it was nearing a year since the change, Shen Qingqiu had not only failed to harm the sect, but had actively defended it.

Liu Qingge honestly wasn’t sure if this Shen Qingqiu was the original or not. When he was forced to think about it, he had to lean towards the ‘not’ side of the argument. Still, he was quietly relieved whenever a test for possession failed, leaving Shen Qingqiu so safe he likely never realized he was in danger.

Liu Qingge wanted to keep this Shen Qingqiu longer. Maybe permanently.

...Probably permanently.

And if he never had to answer the question of what he would do if the sect did try to lock away and possibly eliminate Shen Qingqiu, he’d be quite pleased, thank you very much.

(He knew what he would do. Even if he refused to put it into words yet, he knew whose side he would be at if the conflict did arise.)

A light tap on the head with a fan jolted Liu Qingge off the dark path of his thoughts. Standing in front of him was the man who’d been on his mind, looking at Liu Qingge with obvious curiosity. “Daydreaming is unlike Liu-shidi. Is everything alright? Did the fight cause more fatigue than anticipated?”

“Of course not,” Liu Qingge answered without hesitation. And it didn’t; the mission he had joined Shen Qingqiu on ended up being much easier than anticipated. Much as Liu Qingge liked a good fight, having someone like Shen Qingqiu around to be a living bestiary made things go very smoothly. Having the weak spots of the giant snake demon you were fighting shouted to you as you hit them was very helpful, who would have thought.

The head of the village that snake demon had been terrorizing was very relieved when informed it was gone. That being settled, they should be heading home. They were waylaid by a marketplace, however, because while heading through it Shen Qingqiu spotted several stalls selling sweets and candies.

And if one had to choose the most obvious change in behavior Shen Qingqiu exhibited, a newfound adoration of sweets would be in the top five.

Listed right above the new ability to apologize and right below the habit of forgetting his goddamn fans.

Shen Qingqiu had run off like a child to purchase some, and was now returned with a hefty bag and a satisfied expression. Liu Qingge would have been annoyed if he didn’t look so happy. Plus, after giving Liu Qingge another tap on the head with it, the fan went onto Shen Qingqiu’s belt instead on over his face for once. It was good to have one less annoyance, even if it was a petty one.

“So you’re done buying every bit of sugar in the town?” Liu Qingge asked as he started to walk down the path again. Shen Qingqiu just chuckled as he moved to walk alongside him. “I don’t know how you eat all of that.”

“Typically I eat it by putting it in my mouth.” Ah, Shen Qingqiu really was in a good mood if he was making jokes like that. Usually he was too busy trying to be regal. “This shixiong doesn’t see the problem in the occasional indulgence.”

“Clearly,” Liu Qingge deadpanned.

Shen Qingqiu let out another huff of laughter, then started to dig through his bag of goodies. Before long he pulled out two long thin sticks, each mostly covered in what looked like crystals. One was bright blue, the other pale pink. Shen Qingqiu held them out to Liu Qingge in offering. “I wasn’t expecting to find rock candy here, I haven’t had any since I was a child. Would Liu-shidi like one?”

“Unlike you, I usually don’t really care about ‘occasional indulgences,’” Liu Qingge replied, shaking his head. Of course, Shen Qingqiu was stubborn about many things, and apparently one of those things was generosity. Rather than pull back, Shen Qingqiu maneuvered the candy in front of Liu Qingge’s face. When Liu Qingge ignored him, he started to poke his cheek with the pink one. “Shen Qingqiu.” The poking increased in speed. “ Shen Qingqiu .”

“It’s just a bit of sugar, Liu-shidi. Consider it a way to get a bit of energy before we have to take flight for home.”

“I don’t need energy, will you -”

Shen Qingqiu just shoved the candy into Liu Qingge’s open mouth.

While Liu Qingge took it out and sputtered, Shen Qingqiu serenely took a small bite of his own piece. “You’re welcome, Liu-shidi.” He didn’t even acknowledge Liu Qingge when he glared at his back, and when Liu Qingge threw the stupid candy in the first bin they passed, he even pouted . Liu Qingge actually felt guilty for a second. Then Shen Qingqiu made a comment about how he should have known Liu Qingge was unappreciative of the sweeter things in life and Liu Qingge remembered to be annoyed.

If there was one thing about Shen Qingqiu that hadn’t changed, it was definitely the fact that he was a bastard.

He was just a bastard Liu Qingge liked now.

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu was a forgetful man, Liu Qingge had long since recognized that. It was never things he considered important, like missing meetings with the other Peak Lords or not knowing a name. It was little things that seemed to slip his mind while he was thinking about something else; he’d miss a meal or lose track of a conversation or leave behind some trinket or accessory or his goddamn fan . Liu Qingge had, at some point in time, gotten into the habit of cleaning up after these incidents when he could. He would ask Shen Qingqiu about his meals sometimes, redirect conversations back to the original topic, and of course he’d check Shen Qingqiu’s seat after the meetings to pick up when he’d left behind.

Sure enough, after the latest engagement with the others, Liu Qingge went to Shen Qingqiu’s chair and saw something innocently sitting on the desk before him. It wasn’t the fan, however, which was a nice change in a way. Instead, it was an open journal.

Liu Qingge had seen this before. He’d been observing Shen Qingqiu’s changes, after all, so he had noticed the man going through most meetings with a book open and his hands busy scribbling away with a brush or charcoal stick. Taking notes, Liu Qingge assumed.

But it wasn’t notes in Shen Qingqiu’s neat, careful handwriting that were on the open page. Instead, Liu Qingge picked up the book and discovered...drawings?

They were strange, messy things. They were recognizable as monsters, drawn simplified and almost cute, but...well, they weren’t monsters that were supposed to be considered cute. There was commentary written near many of them, but most of it was in a language Liu Qingge didn’t know. He recognized the characters from some writings he’d seen in Shen Qingqiu’s home, with little ugly characters, but it was no more comprehensible to him now that it was before. One of the monsters (a mammoth griffin probably) had the addition of a figure on its back and a little note next to it; “I would ride this into battle.”

This was...well, Liu Qingge didn’t know. Sweet, perhaps? Interesting at the very least. Definitely unexpected. And this was just one page of a whole book...

Liu Qingge wasn’t known as a nosy person, because he generally wasn’t one. He knew his own business and didn’t bother with the nonsense of other people. He usually didn’t care that much what other people thought. Reading another person’s notes or journals had legitimately never crossed his mind as something he would want to do.

Not until now, anyway.

It took a minute or two of furious internal debate, but Liu Qingge was inexperienced with curiosity and wasn’t used to resisting temptation. He turned to another random page.

This one wasn’t anything in particular. It was just swirling lines and little shapes and what appeared to be tiny mazes. Absentminded scribbles, the kind one made when they had no goal but to keep their hands busy. Still, they were intricate, and none of the several designs overlapped. It was busywork, but it wasn’t displeasing to the eye.

Liu Qingge went to a third page. This one had a number of little figures on it, drawn with round faces and large eyes. They were wearing Qing Jing disciple robes, and Liu Qingge realized this was a little chart of Shen Qingqiu’s students. Under each one were a few comments, some written in the ugly characters, and some written in script that was actually legible. They were nothing important, just little things like “need to make better decisions” or “has little brothers” or, amusingly, “if he sneaks snacks into lessons again I’m making him run laps.” Luo Binghe was on the page, of course, drawn with little sparkles around him for some reason and the comment “precious cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure.” Liu Qingge had no idea what a cinnamon roll was, but he wasn’t surprised to see Shen Qingqiu’s favoritism on display here too.

Even funnier, though, was a picture on the opposite page. It was Shen Qingqiu himself, in the same cute style, standing in front of a few little disciple figures. He was holding his sword and had a serious look on his face. Above him, apparently meant to be words spoken by Shen Qingqiu’s image, was written “If you even look at my children again I will chop you to death with my sword.”

So Shen Qingqiu WAS aware of how much of a mother hen he was to his students. He just saw it very differently from Liu Qingge.

More than that, there was something like satisfaction seeing this, seeing Shen Qingqiu had indulged in such childishness and expressed his affection for his disciples so openly. The man tried so hard to act like he didn’t feel anything at all, tried to cover his face and keep his voice even and pretend he wasn’t a human being. For Liu Qingge, who had gotten interested in the person being covered up, it was endlessly frustrating. Sometimes he wondered if Shen Qingqiu actually wanted to leave behind those human pieces.

This little drawing, strange and childish, proved Shen Qingqiu was still plenty human.

Liu Qingge didn’t realize he was smiling as he flipped to a new page.

This one was even better. It had more of the small fat figures, but not the disciples. This time, Liu Qingge recognized his fellow Peak Lords. There was Yue Qingyuan, looking tired but still smiling, labeled “patient father raising loud children.” There was Shang Qinghua, clearly crying and surrounded by stacks of paper. There was the wine Peak Lord, sitting on a jar of wine as large as he was and laughing. There was Mu Qingfang holding a case of medicine and saying “please stop hurting yourself I am running out of medicine.” There was -- oh, that was Liu Qingge, recognizable by both his robes and his beauty mark, holding his sword and shouting “FIGHT ME” in large letters above his head.

And best of all, there was Shen Qingqiu, standing prim and proper with a fan in front of his face. Only, instead of a scene of nature on the fan, Shen Qingqiu had clearly and distinctly written the word “FUCK.”

Liu Qingge actually let out of snort of laughter at that.

Then he heard footsteps, coming down the hall to the meeting room. In an instant he had snapped the notebook closed and turned to face the newcomer. He felt a wave of something like guilt about having invaded privacy and almost being caught doing it.

Something like guilt, but not actually guilt. He was too pleased with what he’d seen.

The one who walked in, interestingly enough, was Shen Qingqiu himself. He blinked with surprise when he saw Liu Qingge. “Liu-shidi, I didn’t expect you to still be here.”

Liu Qingge just shrugged in response. Then, keeping his face as even as he could, he held out the notebook for Shen Qingqiu to see. “Looking for something?”

“Oh! Yes, I did come back to find this. Thank you, shidi.” Shen Qingqiu quickly approached and took the book, nodding to convey his gratitude. “For once I remembered my fan, and instead I left something else behind. Thank goodness, I was worried someone might have read it.”

“Hm.”

That was all Liu Qingge said in response to that, but apparently it was enough. Shen Qingqiu paused, and looked at Liu Qingge was narrowed eyes. Liu Qingge met his suspicious glare with his own unashamed expression. After a little while, Shen Qingqiu seemed to decide to leave it at that. He turned to leave, glancing behind him to make sure Liu Qingge was following. Liu Qingge did.

He managed to keep his mouth shut until they got out of the building. Then, Liu Qingge gave in and asked “What’s a cinnamon roll?”

The look on Shen Qingqiu’s face was fantastic, and well worth getting smacked with his fan afterwards.

<>

“We’re not bringing that back.”

“Liu-shidi is being cruel.”

“No, I’m being reasonable. Put it down.”

“It’s just a baby!”

Yes, it was, in fact, just a baby. Specifically, a baby Fanged Platypus Bear.

For once it wasn’t Liu Qingge following Shen Qingqiu on some errand. This time, Liu Qingge was the one given the mission, and Shen Qingqiu was the one who asked to tag along. It was a simple task, honestly less than worthy of a Peak Lord, so Liu Qingge didn’t think indulging him would cause any problems.

He should have known better.

Getting the large beast that was eating the village livestock was easy. Taking it out when it grew aggressive was easy. Collecting some of it’s shark teeth and poison claws to prove their success was easy.

Dealing with Shen Qingqiu mooning over the rare creature was not easy. Listening to him bemoan the fact that they had to kill it was not easy. And keeping Shen Qingqiu from seeking the creature’s den out of curiosity proved to be impossible.

Because Liu Qingge apparently just wasn’t allowed to have good luck today, the den had been found, with a juvenile inside. Its fangs were still small and its fur was fluffy and the poison hadn’t started to suffuse inside its claws. It was still harmless, and Liu Qingge did have to admit it was very cute.

And Shen Qingqiu thought so too, because he had picked up the baby monster immediately and would not be convinced to put it down.

This man was a walking headache for Liu Qingge. A green-clad, pretty faced headache that tried to appease him with tea and sweets and smiles.

Which only worked sometimes.

“You don’t seriously think you can raise a damn platypus bear on your peak,” Liu Qingge asked, trying very hard not to start scolding Shen Qingqiu like a damn disciple.

“Of course not, Qing Jing Peak is much too dry for this species, they need access to large bodies of water.” Shen Qingqiu said this calmly, while tickling the little chimera’s belly. “I’ll have to find another place for him, one with a river or a lake. ...doesn’t the medical peak have a lake they grow some medicinal plants in?”

“Mu Qingfang is not letting you raise a monster on his mountain.”

“He might.”

“No, no he won’t.”

"I could bribe him."

"No you can't."

“Why are you so against this? You gave me a creature as a pet yourself!”

“It wasn’t supposed to be a pet!” Liu Qingge snapped, still a bit annoyed that a previous attempt at generosity was haunting him like this. “The short haired beast was supposed to be eaten!”

“Then why give it to me alive?”

“So the meat would be fresh! You were supposed to kill it!”

Shen Qingqiu looked at Liu Qingge like he’d said something stupid. Liu Qingge was SO close to punching him in the face.

Liu Qingge glared. “I promise any monster I bring to you will be properly killed beforehand from now on. Speaking of which, hand me that thing.”

She Qingqiu turned his body to put it between Liu Qingge and the baby monster. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Too late, I’m thinking it,” Liu Qingge deadpanned.

“Stop that.”

“Still thinking it.”

“You’re being childish.”

“You’re being childish. You’re not taking that home.”

“I’m not leaving Perry behind.”

“...you NAMED it already!?” Liu Qingge was flummoxed. “...you named it PERRY? That’s...I don’t have words.”

“Liu-shidi needs to read more,” Shen Qingqiu commented innocently, booping “Perry” on the nose.

“I’m about to start kicking your ass, and I don’t know when I’ll stop. That’s your only warning.”

“Haha, very funny. ...Liu-shidi, stop looking at me like that. ...Hey, hey calm down. ...Liu-shidi if you don’t stop right there...wait. Wait. WAIT!”

Shen Qignqiu took off running, baby monster in his arms. Liu Qingge was hot on his tail.

It took a while for things to calm down.

In the end, Shen Qingqiu did take the damn beast home, after agreeing (under duress, as he complained loudly) to go and talk to Yue Qingyuan first about where to keep it. Somehow, with patience Liu Qingge could never hope to emulate, Yue Qingyuan had convinced Shen Qingqiu the creature would be happier in the wild with its own kind, and let him go and release it in an area where other Fanged Platypus Bears lived.

Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge didn’t talk for a week or so. It was the most boring week Liu Qingge had had in a long time, and he was pleased when Yue Qingyuan finally sent them on a mission together and they were forced to interact again, which eventually led to things returning to their new normal.

...he still occasionally brought little monsters to Qing Jing Peak for Shen Qingqiu.

...And yes, he left them alive.

Shen Qingqiu better appreciate it.

<>

One of the things that made it easier to keep an eye on Shen Qingqiu was that he was very much a creature of habit. He had his schedules, he had his likes and dislikes, and he didn’t like being forced to deviate from them. One could make reasonable guesses as to what Shen Qingqiu would be doing at most times, or at least, what he’d been attempting to do before he inevitably wound up in some form of chaos.

This extended to his appearance. Shen Qingqiu largely favored light greens, whites, and golds, and was rarely seen in any other colors. He didn’t typically wear many extra accessories, and if he did they were small and unobtrusive, and almost always jade. Rouge was not something commonly seen, nor did he wear more cases or purses than absolutely necessary. The most intricate part of his outfit was generally one of his beloved fans, or perhaps a nicer jade crown or decorative hairpin. As for his hair, he would usually have his topknot and some hair carefully set to frame his face, and the rest would be left down to flow over his neck and shoulders.

Usually .

Today, apparently Shen Qingqiu had decided to go and throw everyone for a loop, and he’d pulled his hair into a high ponytail he draped over his shoulder.

Which, well, was fine. There was no reason he wasn’t allowed to.. And being graceful and good looking by nature, it certainly didn’t make his image unseemly...quite the opposite, it looked good on him, as most things did.

It was just...his neck was exposed.

And that was bothering Liu Qingge for some reason.

He was very frustrated about that. It was just a neck. Granted, a neck he rarely saw because of high collars and long hair, a neck with pale soft skin on display for the world, but a neck all the same. Some people would consider showing the neck improper, but it wasn’t anything odd to do in the comfort of one’s own home. He shouldn’t be concerned.

And yet when he came to Shen Qingqiu’s bamboo house to clear his spiritual pathways, he was completely taken aback by the newly exposed skin. Liu Qingge had kept his cool, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from darting to his friend’s throat as he sent his qi flowing through his veins. Shen Qingqiu, for his part, seemed remarkably but unsurprisingly oblivious to this, and simply talked idly about something his students had done as Liu Qingge did his work. If he ever saw where Liu Qingge’s interest was, he chose not to bring it up. Liu Qingge didn’t either.

So Liu Qingge cleared his veins of blockage, and accepted a cup of tea when offered, and made little sounds of acknowledgement at the appropriate times as Shen Qingqiu rambled on and on. And, yes, to a certain extent he would have to admit he somewhat enjoyed these meetings, but this one was insufferable, because he kept noticing that neck .

He also noticed he considered it a very attractive neck. Which made him wonder what the hell it said about him to consider the neck of all things attractive.

Liu Qingge then very pointedly forced himself away from that train of thought, because there was no possible way that would lead to anything good.

(He knew what it would lead to on some level, and he was working with all his might to avoid that conclusion and all the issues that it would cause.)

(He was NOT going there.)

(He was not…)

(...he just was not.)

“Liu-shidi seems to be in a bad mood,” Shen Qingqiu commented after some time, and Liu Qingge glanced up (from his neck). Shen Qingqiu appeared mildly concerned. “Is something troubling him? This shixiong is of course willing to offer help in solving the issue if possible.”

“Nothing is wrong,” Liu Qingge shut him down, looking away and trying not to let his embarrassment show. “Just have some things on my mind. It’s annoying.”

Shen Qingqiu chuckled at that. “It’s very easy to bother Liu-shidi, isn’t it?”

Liu Qingge gave him a look, and stood up. “I’m leaving now.”

“Wait, wait, let me walk with you. I need to check on my disciples, so I’ll come part of the way.” And Liu Qingge didn’t have to indulge him, but he did, and when Shen Qingqiu had stood up and adjusted his robes to make sure he looked immaculate, he let Shen Qingqiu walk out in front of him and followed.

That was a bad idea. That left Liu Qingge staring right at the back of Shen Qingqiu’s neck the whole walk.

It was just a neck, he told himself. He had faced terrible beasts, numerous evil cultivators, even roaming corpses. There was no reason someone’s neck should be able to affect him this much. Sure, he had recognized by now that he found Shen Qingqiu attractive, which put the Qing Jing Peak Lord on a very short list of men, but Liu Qingge was a grown adult, not a teenager who’d never learned self control. He kept his mouth shut and continued to berate himself even as he reached up and brushed his fingertips against the back of Shen Qingqiu’s neck --

Wait.

He didn’t mean to do that.

Liu Qingge jerked his hand back as if he’d been burned, so quickly he barely even registered the warmth of Shen Qingqiu’s skin. It wasn’t fast enough, though; Shen Qingqiu gave a small jolt of surprise and turned to look back at his companion in clear confusion. “Liu-shidi? Was there something on my neck?”

Liu Qingge was too busy trying to keep his face calm and act normal to give an answer. He just stood there, hand still in the air, mouth squeezed shut.

“SHIZUN!”

For the first time he could remember, Liu Qingge was actually glad to see Shen Qingqiu’s brat come popping out of nowhere. As always, Shen Qingqiu’s attention immediately turned to the boy, and Liu Qingge was spared from his innocent, bewildered expression. “Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu greeted him warmly. “I thought this teacher asked you and the others to wait for my arrival.”

“Forgive this disciple, shizun, but you were taking a bit long, so we wanted to make sure you hadn’t been pulled to some other task.” Luo Binghe’s face was bright and cheerful, the picture of a happy student with a beloved teacher.

Then Shen Qingqiu nodded and turned away for a moment to glance in the direction Luo Binghe had come from, and the boy immediately sent Liu Qingge a look so poisonous it could probably have killed a lesser man.

So the kid saw what happened. Perfect, just what Liu Qingge needed, a kid with a crush trying to plot his murder for daring to...to do whatever it was he had done.

Okay, maybe Liu Qingge had overstepped. He still didn’t like this kid having an excuse to bother him.

Either way, Liu Qingge was done with this. He started to walk again, past Shen Qingqiu. “I’ll be going then.”

Shen Qingqiu blinked. “Ah...well, if shidi has other things he needs to do, then this shixiong won’t keep him. I hope you feel better soon…”

Liu Qingge didn’t answer. He just pulled out his sword, jumped upon it, and sped off a little faster than he had to, planning to meditate for a good long while. He apparently had neglected certain areas of training when it came to controlling his impulses.

Below him, Shen Qingqiu shook his head and sighed, not noticing Luo Binghe’s sour look at Liu Qingge’s retreating back. “What a strange person he can be. Come along, Binghe, let’s get back to the others.”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t a habit for Liu Qingge to sit still for long periods. He could meditate, of course, or lie in wait to ambush a monster, and he was able to wait for an enemy to strike first for as long as it took. Monster hunting involved hunting, after all, and hunting required subtlety. But to simply sit and listen to poetry, or just plain wait his turn, without any exact idea of how long it would take? Those were things he had never had patience for.

And here he was, doing all of that.

Shen Qingqiu has better appreciate it.

Liu Qingge had come, as was now their schedule, to give his friend treatment for Without A Cure. But Shen Qingqiu’s soft spot for his students had gotten the better of him. They had convinced him to extend their lesson, so here Liu Qingge was, sitting around waiting for Shen Qingqiu to finish reciting poems for his students.

Only it looked like he would never finish, because every time he came to the final line, one of the disciples would shove some open book into his face and beg please Shizun just one more, you read what Shijie suggested so it’s not fair if you don’t read mine too, it follows the same themes, it won’t take too long. And the damn man would smile and tell them to sit back and calm down, that behavior wasn’t very becoming, of course he could read one more poem. And then he’d start to recite and the cycle would begin again.

Liu Qingge was surprised he wasn’t more annoyed at this. But there was something almost amusing about seeing Shen Qingqiu playing parent to all his little ducklings, who sat there staring at him with big bright adoring eyes. And if nothing else, Liu Qingge didn’t have to worry Shen Qingqiu was up to something or getting himself in danger when he was with his brats.

The children, for their part, were remarkably focused on the recitations, almost impressively so. They only occasionally glanced at Liu Qingge, sitting against a tree not too far off and not bothering to hide his presence or play polite guests. Most of them seemed appropriately impressed and respectful, only looking up with curiosity or awe.

Except for Luo Binghe, who seemed to be sizing Liu Qingge up or glaring at him as if to DARE him to take away his Shizun. Really, this kid was something else. It was lucky for the kid that Shen Qingqiu favored him so, or Liu Qingge would have found an excuse to kick the brat’s ass and teach him a lesson.

Liu Qingge was not above kicking children, provided it taught them a lesson and they were asking for it.

But Shen Qingqiu would never forgive him if he hit his little cinnamon roll, so Liu Qingge just had to put up with it.

Oh the things he did for Shen Qingqiu.

Liu Qingge watched the man, half lost in his own thoughts. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves of the trees and dancing in golden patterns on Shen Qingqiu’s face and shoulders. He was, as always, elegantly composed. His posture was perfect, his expression peaceful as if he was in meditation. If his mouth wasn’t moving, and he wasn’t occasionally glancing up at the attentive faces of his disciples, you could mistake him for a painting.

The only thing giving away emotion was his voice. Liu Qingge has never had a soft spot for poetry, but you could hear in Shen Qingqiu’s voice a great respect and thoughtfulness. He didn’t stumble on any of the phrases and let his voice rise and fall in cadence with the lines. Clearly the man had read and appreciated every poem he was reciting. Liu Qingge had to give him credit; he knew hard work when he saw it.

And considering Shen Qingqiu could be a very lazy man, it said something that he’d put effort into this.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord came to the end of the poem and, finally, he snapped the book on his lap shut with purpose. “This teacher is pleased his disciples are so fond of these works. Surely they won’t have any trouble composing something to show to the class in the coming weeks?”

All the students groaned and whined and one or two dramatically flopped to the ground to display their grief. Liu Qingge scowled, thinking of how hard he’d kick a student who reacted like that to his lessons, but Shen Qingqiu, like always, was soft as spun sugar when his students were involved. He actually let out a little huffed chuckle at their antics before flicking his fan open to hide his mirth. “You’re all here to learn and grow, you can’t do that without taking some action. This teacher has spoiled you a little today, so it’s only fair to make sure it was deserved.”

There was a chorus of disappointed “Yes, shizun” given in reply to that. But there was a discordant note in the refrain. One student had not said “Yes, shizun.”

She had said “Yes, baba.”

Everyone stared at the girl as she slapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes going comically wide as it sunk in what she had done. Sure enough, some titters of laughter started to rise from the crowd of disciples. The poor thing’s face went red, and she turned to Shen Qingqiu, clearly ready to prostrate herself to him and beg forgiveness for her mistake.

Except, Shen Qingqiu didn’t look angry. He didn’t even look bothered. Surprised, yes, his eyebrows at his hairline and his fan lowering a bit as he stared at her, but there was no sign of distress.

After a moment, Shen Qingqiu collected himself. He his fan back to normal position under his eyes, which curved into amused crescents. “This teacher was unaware he had adopted a child. One would think he would be the first to know. Fu Ru should have told me.”

The child shrieked at the teasing, and the students laughed. “Shizun, I’m sorry!” The girl, Fu Ru, cried in despair. “I meant no disrespect!”

“I know, I know.” Shen Qingqiu reassures, even patting her on the head. “This teacher is not offended. If anything, it’s rather flattering. But Fu Ru should be careful with her words in the future, to prevent misunderstandings. Etiquette is important. I hope you meditate on this.”

Fu Ru sniffled and nodded, before slinking into the back of the crowd to try and avoid their giggles. She was going to be teased for this, Shen Qingqiu’s kindness notwithstanding.

Luo Binghe, meanwhile, looked at Shen Qingqiu with wide, thoughtful eyes. “Shizun doesn’t mind being called something so familiar?” He asked, trying to sound light and casual, like he wasn’t actually concerned with the answer.

Of course, Luo Binghe was not subtle about how seriously he took everything Shen Qingqiu did, so it didn’t really work.

Shen Qingqiu looked at Luo Binghe with fondness obvious even with the fan, and gave the boy a head pat of his own. “This teacher would be happy to be considered family to any of his students,” he told the boy, who stared at him as though he’d been told the secrets of the universe.

It was all very touching and sweet and Liu Qingge couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked right up to the group, and cleared his throat as obviously as he possibly could.

Shen Qingqiu gave him a dry look. It was not nearly as bad as the glares the students sent, which ranged from annoyed to murderous. “Yes, Liu-shidi?”

“If your lesson is over, we still need to treat your poison,” Liu Qingge reminded him. Shen Qingqiu looked unappeased, but he nodded and turned and gently dismissed his students. They all wandered off to study or train, with Luo Binghe dragging his feet the longest. Finally, Shen Qingqiu started to lead the way to the bamboo house.

They were quiet until they got there. “You didn’t have to be that rude, shidi,” Shen Qingqiu said, even and calm. He didn’t look at Liu Qingge as he went to make some tea for them.

Liu Qingge resisted the urge to sigh. Great, Shen Qingqiu was mad, he’d put on his Peak Lord face and was probably going to be cold this whole visit. Liu Qingge hated when he did this. One of the benefits of coming to Qing Jing was that usually, when Shen Qingqiu was on his home turf, he wouldn’t be as quick to close off.

“You kept me sitting around for an hour,” Liu Qingge pointed out as he sat at the table and waited for Shen Qingqiu to join him. “You knew when I was coming.”

“My students are my priority, of course,” Shen Qingqiu replied primly. He soon came to the table with two cups of tea, and placed one in front of Liu Qingge before sitting across from him and offering a pale, slender wrist.

Liu Qingge took it and began the usual process, sending a surge of Qi through into the pressure point. To reply to Shen Qingqiu’s comment, he just gave him a look and said, in the most deadpan voice possible, “Baba.”

Shen Qingqiu was unmoved and unembarrassed. “Liu-shidi is just surprised and jealous that this Shixiong is so loved by his students,” he bragged.

Liu Qingge made a dismissive noise and let the conversation drop. Jealousy was not his nature, especially of children. And of course he wasn’t surprised that Shen Qingqiu was adored. It’d be pretty silly of him, considering that he also loved him.

…

Considering that he—

Shen Qingqiu--

He loved—

That he also—

…

As his own thought rang through his mind, loud and vibrant, Liu Qingge felt like the whole world had just shifted slightly, just enough that he’d never quite get his balance back.

He’d been trying very hard to ignore the signs, to deny the feelings, to distract and explain and sometimes go and train until he was too exhausted for his mind to function properly. But now it was here, realization and awareness that couldn’t be ignored.

Liu Qingge was in love with Shen Qingqiu.

...and Liu Qingge has absolutely no idea how to deal with that.

The heavens had pity on him, thankfully, and Shen Qingqiu was too busy playing up his aloofness to notice the moment his shidi’s face went pale and tense. For once the man’s oblivious nature was a blessing. More by reflex than any rational thought, Liu Qingge schooled his expression. This was not the time and place. For all that Liu Qingge rarely lost any challenge he took, he knew retreat was an option and how to take it.

So when Shen Qingqiu pulled his wrist out of Liu Qingge’s hand, the war god didn’t wait for the usual pleasantries. He took the cup of tea he’d been given, knocked it back quickly as if it was a shot of liquor, ignored Shen Qingqiu’s affronted objection, and stood. “Since you kept me waiting so long, I can’t talk now. I need to go.”

Shen Qingqiu blinked, taken aback by Liu Qingge’s brusque words despite having heard this tone many times before. Still, he gathered his dignity and didn’t say anything about it. Instead he just sighed, putting up his fan again. “This shixiong apologizes for the trouble, then, and thanks Liu-shidi for his assistance. Have a safe trip back to your peak.”

Liu Qingge grunted affirmation, and turned and walked out of the house. He waited until he was a distance away, and definitely not near anyone, before he took a moment to put his face in his hands and groan, loud and long.

He’d always disliked the idea of being in love. It seemed strange and overwhelming and confusing, with the amount of effort required not necessarily worth the result. He’d decided as a youth to remain unmarried and unattached and had found no reason to change his mind. In fact he had thought he was fairly lucky to have gone so long without meeting anyone who tempted him to the stupidity he’d seen in peers or read in books.

But here he was, in love with a snippy, snide scholar who might actually be some sort of demonic possessing spirit, who spent more time reading and acting lofty than doing anything sensible, and had an unbearably soft heart, and a smile that was brighter than sunshine when he felt like sharing it, and acted so young as carefree in so many ways but also patiently and expertly performed the most delicate and difficult of tasks, and would take care of injured animals even when they scratched him, and made strange drawings of the people he cared about, and loved to fly, and—

...Liu Qingge was so far gone it was almost funny.

But this wasn’t the battlefield or even a meeting hall of cultivators. This wasn’t something Liu Qingge could confidently plan for. This wasn’t something he could fight his way through as he went. Love was supposed to be delicate. And his friendship with Shen Qingqiu was not something he wanted to risk.

He needed help.

Thank the heavens he knew who to turn to.

~

Liu Qingge and Liu Mingyan had a large age gap between them. He was a teenager and had already been accepted as a disciple on Bai Zhan when his mother became pregnant, and he had to make a trip home to meet her when she was finally born. Because his shizun made him fight for the privilege (Bai Zhan had gone by such rules since long before he got there), Liu Mingyan was already a month old when he first got to see her.

She’d stared at him with bright, curious eyes, and then she’d grabbed his hair in her little fist and held it so tightly it took both of their parents to pry her fingers open and set him free.

He’d decided pretty quickly that he loved his sister and would kill for her if she ever needed him to.

She hadn’t asked that of him yet, but he was still willing.

Liu Qingge wouldn’t say he spoiled his sister, but he did make sure his care was obvious despite his frequent absence. Liu Mingyan was curious and imaginative, so he sent her plenty of gifts of interesting flowers or gems or whatever he found on his hunting trips he thought she’d like. He’d write her letters, despite his dislike of the task, to tell her stories and answer questions she sent in return. And as soon as she was old enough, he started spending his visits home teaching her as many techniques and sword forms as they could get away with before they got caught and Liu Qingge was scolded for giving a sword to a five-year-old.

It wasn’t even a sharp sword. Honestly, what an overreaction.

Liu Mingyan wasn’t quite like him. She was more thoughtful, and much more patient. They shared stubbornness and a sense of justice, but it was obvious Mingyan was destined for something much more nuanced and diplomatic than her gege. Liu Qingge didn’t begrudge her that, and put up with her explaining the long sagas of her dolls and their intricate personal lives, and nodded appreciatively when she made flower arrangements and the like. He of course taught her how to fight anyone she needed to, but he knew she wasn’t going to get into as many as him. And on her end, she never once called him simple for getting frustrated with reading, or cruel for relishing the thrill of battles. They understood one another very well.

Liu Mingyan grew up into a perfect young lady, as Liu Qingge has always predicted she would. She was skilled at the arts and at battle, she was so lovely she wore a veil to make sure suitors wouldn’t distract her, and she was of course loyal to her family, especially her brother. When Qi Qingqi took her in as a member of her peak, Liu Qingge had been quick to let his shijie know both that he would be checking in on Liu Mingyan regularly, and that if she was mistreated in any way he’d happily raze her whole mountain.

Qi Qingqi had just rolled her eyes at him and told him not to make a mess when he visited.

So while it wasn’t something regular or scheduled, Liu Qingge saw his sister often. They’d get together and he would show her sword forms and she’d show him stories she’d written, and they’d complain about things, and they’d sit in silence and just enjoy the good company.

There had been times Liu Mingyan had asked for advice, usually on fighting or monsters or places he’d been, and he’d always given it without question. She’d made it clear she’d happily give her brother advice in turn if he needed it.

Right now Liu Qingge probably needed it.

Thankfully, when Liu Qingge reached her room and knocked on her door a little harder than he needed to, she was present to receive him. Liu Mingyan took one look and wordlessly ushered him in, closed and locked her door, and even put a seal on it to muffle noises so there could be no eavesdropping.

She was always good at reading the mood.

Liu Qingge sat down at her little tea table and put his face back in his hands. Liu Mingyan didn’t say anything. She just quietly sat across from him and waited for him to find his words.

“...feelings,” Liu Qingge eventually muttered.

“They can be very vexing,” Liu Mingyan said sympathetically, and if it was someone else Liu Qingge would have thought he was being mocked. “Especially when they’re intense. Something happened recently that’s made you uncomfortable?”

“...didn’t happen recently,” Liu Qingge admitted reluctantly. He lifted his head and crossed his arms. “Happened a while ago. I just figured it out today.”

“It’s not like you to let a problem sit this long.” Liu Mingyan sounded a little worried now.

“It’s...not a problem. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. I hate this.” Liu Qingge tried not to sound whiny, but he couldn’t help his frustration.

Liu Mingyan leaned forward a bit. She didn’t wear her veil in the privacy of her room, so Liu Qingge could see her concern. “Can you put it simply for me?”

There was a childish impulse to say nothing, to keep it inside. There was something about spoken words that made things more real. But Liu Qingge wasn’t stupid enough to think that it wasn’t already real, and he knew it had to be dealt with, so with gritted teeth he forced it into the open.

“I’m in love with someone.”

Liu Mingyan stared at him. Liu Qingge didn’t meet her gaze. It was a good few minutes before she actually replied.

“Oh my heavens…!” Her voice was soft and bright with wonder.

That got Liu Qingge to look up finally, shooting her a look. “Don’t sound so happy!” She didn’t seem to hear him, her eyes starry and expression dreamy. “Mingyan, this is serious!”

“But it’s so sweet! You don’t usually connect with people, so for this to happen, it’s something precious!” Liu Mingyan beamed at him, and Liu Qingge considered walking right out the door.

Unfortunately the romantic streak that had her acting like this was also why he knew she was his best shot at advice. So he just sighed at her antics and told her “Mingyan, I don’t know what to do about this.”

“Well, that depends on who it is. So will you tell me who? You know I can keep a secret, but you don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable.” Liu Mingyan looked very interested, but when Liu Qingge took a few minutes considering what to say, she didn’t rush him.

“...don’t laugh at this.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. This is a serious situation.”

“...”

“...”

“It’s...I’m…”

“You’re…?”

“I’m...it’s Shen Qingqiu.”

Liu Mingyan...looked mostly confused. She waited a moment for further elaboration, and when she didn’t receive it, she gently commented “I wouldn’t have expected that.”

Liu Qingge groaned. “I didn’t either! He was an ass! But now he’s changed and this new person he is…”

“He’s really turned around so much?” His sister prompted.

“He’s completely different. He’s gone all...all soft and gentle and thoughtful and...and cute!”

“Cute!?” Liu Mingyan repeated incredulously.

“He keeps the monsters I brought him for food as pets. He doodles in his notebooks. He pats his students on the head!”

“...that is cute.” Liu Mingyan agreed. She seemed taken aback by all this, and Liu Qingge was a little calmed seeing his sister agreed on how strange this all was.

“...I wouldn’t have expected gege to fall for someone...cute.” Liu Mingyan kept her voice diplomatically calm and even, no objection or accusation in the statement whatsoever. Liu Qingge still felt himself bristle a bit, his instincts telling him to go on the defense. So what if he liked someone who was cute!? Shen Qingqiu was a SPECIAL cute, okay!?

Liu Mingyan noticed the tension and stayed quiet for a moment, considering her next statement carefully. “What is it about Shen-shibo gege likes?” she asked, writing in her notebook. Which she had all of a sudden, and Liu Qingge hadn’t seen her take out.

His eyes narrowed. “Why are you taking notes, Mingyan?”

“Answer the question, gege.”

“...” Liu Qingge shrugged. He wasn’t trying to be difficult, but everything was so strange and his thoughts weren’t in his control as much as they should be. He was never that good with eloquence, and Shen Qingqiu was hardly easy to explain.

His sister tried prompting him. “What sort of things does he do that make you love him?”

Liu Qingge considered. “He’s...special. He doesn’t act like anyone else.”

“What does he do differently?”

Again, Liu Qingge shrugged, but he still tried to explain. “He just...he looks at things differently. Like he’s thinking all the time. Like everything matters. And he’s so... nice, I guess. He cares about everything.”

Liu Mingyan took mercy on him and didn’t ask him to keep going. Instead, she asked “What do you want to do when you’re around him?”

“Why are you writing notes?”

“Gege.”

“...stay with him. Keep him safe. See him be a person.”

“Be a person?”

“He’s always hiding!” Liu Qingge griped. “He hides his face and doesn’t tell you what he’s thinking and acts like he doesn’t have feelings! It’s awful.”

“How do you know it’s hiding and not how he actually is?” Liu Mingyan prompted. Her brush was going furiously.

He stared at her for a little longer before giving up and continuing. “Sometimes he stops hiding. He’s different then. He’s all soft with his students, he makes jokes, once I saw him laugh so hard he couldn’t breathe. He acts like he’s made of ice but he’s not. I don’t like it when he pretends he is. Stop making that face.”

To her credit, Liu Mingyan, who had been getting all starry eyed again, took a moment to compose herself. After she’d become serious again, she commented “You sound very fond.”

“I literally told you I was in love with him.”

“Yes, but it’s not like you to say things like this.”

“I know, it’s awful. Do you HAVE to take notes?”

“It’s not awful, it’s sweet! Don’t roll your eyes.” Liu Mingyan tapped her brush on the table in an authoritative manner, and continued to take notes. “Thinking things like that is good, gege. It’s sincere. That’s important for a relationship.”

Liu Qingge said nothing. He hadn’t even gotten that far in his thoughts. He’d only just stopped being in denial!

Liu Mingyan didn’t giggle, but he could tell she wanted to. “Gege is being so shy.”

“I’m not shy, ” he objected, scowling. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, what would you like to happen?”

That...hm. That was a good question. He was...comfortable where he was, mostly. He enjoyed Shen Qingqiu’s friendship and looked forward to time spent with him, and as far as he could tell, Shen Qingqiu had the same opinion. Shen Qingqiu didn’t ask too much of him, and he didn’t ask too much of Shen Qingqiu. He had no reason to want that to change, right?

“I...don’t know,” he said, and he meant it. “I don’t know how to be...romantic. I don’t know if Shen Qingqiu would want anything romantic. Things are...good, right now.”

“Are you satisfied, though?” Liu Mingyan asked. “Do you want anything more?”

The first impulse Liu Qingge had was to say, ‘Of course!’ Shen Qingqiu was so closed off, so secretive, there was so much Liu Qingge didn’t know. He wanted to know what Shen Qingqiu was thinking, why he was thinking it. He wanted to make him smile more. He wanted to see him laugh. He wanted to hold his hands for something other than medical treatment. He wanted to make Shen Qingqiu understand that when Liu Qingge told him to be safe, it wasn’t manners, it was because Liu Qingge NEEDED him to be safe. He wanted Shen Qingqiu to be around him more than he was. He wanted Shen Qingqiu to reach for him and come after him, not the other way around. He wanted a lot.

But the words didn’t come out. They were held back by something heavy and hard. It wasn’t fear, Liu Qingge was not someone who felt that without incredibly dire reasons, but it was closer than he liked.

Liu Qingge wasn’t used to being worried. Well, he was, but not like this. Worry that inspired him to act, he could take. Worry that made him pause, that was torturous.

“I don’t want things to go wrong,” Liu Qingge finally forced out.

“How would they go wrong?” Liu Mingyan asked. “Do you mean rejection?”

“I mean, yes,” Liu Qingge admitted reluctantly. To open himself up to Shen Qingqiu and be told that Shen Qingqiu would have preferred it if he stayed closed was almost painful. “But it’s not just that. He’s...in a weird situation.”

After all, Shen Qingqiu was so strange. He was always in trouble, he was so prone to getting hurt. His soul, as far as Liu Qingge could tell, had come from the ether mysteriously and was in a delicate position where a wrong move could put him in danger. He seemed to know so little sometimes, despite his wisdom. Liu Qingge had seen him respond with confusion to things that should be simple, how to operate certain talismans or what to call certain sword forms he should know by heart. Other times, he would suddenly need to do this or that task, or stare into space like he was listening to someone when no one was speaking. It was like something was compelling him. For all of his habits, something about Shen Qingqiu was impossible to predict.

“That’s true…” Liu Minyan paused in her writing, looking thoughtful. “Considering he changed into this so suddenly, he could change back just as quickly…”

Liu Qingge’s face went pale. He hadn’t even THOUGHT about that possibility. The idea of the man he’d grown so fond of suddenly being forced out and replaced by the viper that used to be there was sickening .

“...that’s incredibly unlikely, please forget I said that, gege,” Liu Mingyan swiftly added, her tone apologetic. She reached over the table and patted his shoulder comfortingly. “I’m sure he’s here to stay.”

“He’d better be,” Liu Qingge muttered, shoving the dark thoughts away. “If he tried to leave, I’d hunt him down and make him stay.”

Liu Mingyan got a funny look on her face and scribbled something down in her notebook. “Please stop taking notes,” Liu Qingge told her. She ignored him and finished what she was doing before looking up again.

“Gege, you do know you’re allowed to take your time, right?” Mingyan asked.

“How so?”

“You don’t have to decide what to do right now.”

Liu Qingge blinked, confused. “What? Why? When you have a problem, you solve it, the sooner the better.” That had always been Liu Qingge’s way. Hesitation was a crutch he didn’t need to use.

Liu Mingyan shook her head gently. “But loving someone isn’t a problem, is it?”

It sure felt like a problem, in Liu Qingge’s opinion, but he kept it to himself. Liu Mingyan gave him a look that made it clear she still knew he thought it.

“Gege. The only problem is if you and him are happy or not. Are you happy, keeping it to yourself?”

“I’m...content. I like how things are. It doesn’t need to change.”

“Then you don’t have to say anything to him yet. But situations change. You might start feeling more strongly. Someone else might try to court him.”

Liu Qingge clenched his fists tightly and felt his face go red. It made his blood boil, thinking of some empty headed beauty or some cocky man sidling up so Shen Qingqiu and putting their hands on him.

...hrm. Jealousy. Liu Qingge didn’t like it.

Liu Mingyan smirked a little, clearly noticing, but she chose to have mercy and not bring it up. Instead, she just said “Think of it like a battle, gege. Yes, sometimes you can rush right in, but other times, you have to check the situation and wait for an opportunity, right? This is the same thing. You have to make sure the circumstances are good, and then use them to your advantage.”

Liu Qingge considered. That felt strange and maybe even a little silly, but it did make him feel a bit more in control to think of it like that.

“...it would be easier if I didn’t feel like this,” Liu Qingge muttered, knowing he was being a bit childish. Still, this was a stressful situation, and the only witness was his sister, who wouldn’t mind, so he indulged the impulse.

Liu Mingyan nodded. “It would be much easier. But you do feel like this. So you have to decide what to do...and deciding to wait and see how things develop is perfectly fine. I’ll be here to listen to you whenever you need to talk, too.”

“...thank you, Mingyan.”

“You have my full support, gege.” Liu Mingyan smiled, and it was sincere enough that Liu Qingge had to smile back, just a bit. “I believe in you. Whatever you do, Liu Mingyan is at your side.”

It was strange. The situation hadn’t really changed at all. Liu Qingge was still feeling overwhelmed by something unknown, things were still probably going to change whether he liked it or not, he still didn’t have control of the situation. But it felt more...tolerable, now. He could handle it, for now. He would keep his feelings in check and see what happened. He would wait for the best time to change it, if he ever did, to keep Shen Qingqiu’s friendship and his comfort.

Oh, the things he did for Shen Qingqiu.

“I’m glad I could help you, gege.” Liu Mingyan looked a bit relieved. She made a few more notes in her book, and then closed it.

“So why were you taking notes?”

“Gege if you asked me that again I will write mother a letter about this conversation.”

Liu Qingge threw a cushion at his sister’s face.

Chapter Text

As unprecedented as Liu Qingge’s recent revelation was, not much changed afterwards. Which was how Liu Qingge wanted it to be, currently.

He would still go meet Shen Qingqiu regularly for his treatment and talk and listen to him as long as the other man wanted, without feeling too awkward about it. He would go on his missions and, while he was always pleased to come back and see his friend again, he wasn’t tempted to leave early to do so. Watching Shen Qingqiu baby his ducklings/students or seeing him stick his nose up at others remained annoying.

Liu Qingge hadn’t actively worried love would make him an idiot, but he’d seen it happen to others, so he was still a bit relieved.

Shen Qingqiu remained pleasantly oblivious as well, just as intended.

For now, at least.

He knew, deep down, that he wasn’t someone who generally enjoyed sitting still when there was something he wanted. Eventually Liu Qingge felt like the time would be right and he would tell Shen Qingqiu about this. But that was hopefully quite far off.

For now, everything was essentially the same.

Including Shen Qingqiu being a little shit sometimes, of course. He still hid his face too much, and paid attention to advice too little, and sometimes went off on his own for no discernable reason beyond “I have to do this; no, I have to do this” for why he was getting into trouble again.

Another thing that hadn’t changed was that Liu Qingge wasn’t putting up with that bullshit. 

It wasn’t too long after the realization that Shen Qingqiu went on one of his apparently self-assigned missions. A few days of him being cagey and carefully turning down assignments from Yue Qingyuan was the first clue. The disappointed looks on the disciples at his peak when Liu Qingge came to treat him was the second (they always looked disappointed when their teacher was going to leave, like babies). And the third was Shen Qingqiu being remarkably evasive during their conversation that afternoon.

Shen Qingqiu was not as subtle as he thought he was.

And Liu Qingge knew he thought he was subtle, because when he informed Shen Qingqiu “I’m coming with you on whatever little trip you’re planning,” Shen Qingqiu was so shocked he spit out the tea he was sipping.

...Liu Qingge might have made his comment at the same time as the sip on purpose.

Shen Qingqiu deserved a taste of his own obnoxious medicine, anyway.

“Liu-shidi has no idea what he is talking about,” Shen Qingqiu replied as he wiped the tea off the table. “This shixiong is not planning any trips. There is simply... an errand to take care of. It will only take a few days at most. Nothing that requires a fight, against monsters or humans. Liu-shidi would only become bored.”

“What kind of errand?” Liu Qingge asked, undeterred. Shen Qingqiu put aside the cloth he used to clean the tea to raise his fan in front of his face and look imperiously over it, like he’d asked a stupid question. Liu Qingge knew he didn’t because Shen Qingqiu remained quiet, which meant he didn’t have a good answer.

Liu Qingge had fallen in love with such a strange man.

After a few more minutes of staring, Shen Qingqiu folded. With a sigh, he snapped his fan closed. “It’s...difficult to explain. The short version is, there’s a travelling party that will be heading through the area soon...and I have reason to believe that one of their higher members is a demonic cultivator with particularly nasty intentions.”

Nothing that requires a fight against monsters or humans, Liu Qingge’s ass. Some demonic cultivators were bad enough they fit into both categories.

“Don’t make that face, I mean it, there will be no fighting,” Shen Qingqiu scolded, waving the closed fan threateningly at him. “I just want to take a chance to find some proof of my suspicions, since I heard that the head of one of the villages nearby will be letting the group stay in his home and holding a small party for them. I’m going to find a way to sneak in, keep an eye on him, try to get a look at his things if I can, and then get out. Simple. Quick. Peaceful.” That last word was said with another jab of the fan for emphasis.

“And if it stops being simple and quick and peaceful?” Liu Qingge countered.

“Then I’ll retreat.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good plan.”

“What plan would Liu-shidi prefer? Go in, start punching people in the face, and see where it takes us?”

“It’s worked a few times.”

Shen Qingqiu looked like Liu Qingge was giving him a headache. It was very satisfying and Liu Qingge only felt the slightest bit guilty.

“Seriously. You need back-up when dealing with dangerous people,” Liu Qingge insisted, trying to make his concern clear. Shen Qingqiu frowned and looked away, his face unreadable. Liu Qingge didn’t let up. “I won’t let you get yourself hurt.”

That seemed to get through to Shen Qingqiu, after a moment to consider. He looked Liu Qingge over thoughtfully. Finally, he sighed. “If I tell you not to come, you’ll still follow, won’t you? I suppose it’d be better to know where you are...but you have to listen to me! I don’t want this to become violent, not when I can’t prove the man’s crimes yet. Do you understand?”

Liu Qingge gave a firm nod. How Shen Qingqiu knew what he knew, he didn’t question. He trusted him to be doing what he thought needed to be done for the benefit of the people around him.

And also knew Shen Qingqiu was way too lazy to bother with this much work if he had any doubts.

“...may I become violent when you CAN prove it?”

“You’re being annoying on purpose.”

“Yes.”

~

Let it be known that Liu Qingge LOATHED parties.

Well, perhaps that was unfair. Some parties weren’t too unfavorable, the kind where it was a genuine celebration of a birth or an accomplishment, where everyone was happy. A small get together with friends could be quite enjoyable. And even the times the peak lords ended up getting drunk together had surprised him with occasional bouts of entertainment.

But the kind of parties that were built on one person trying to suck up to another one? Where everyone had to wear their most obnoxiously fancy clothes and spend the whole night humble bragging while trying to keep their insults subtle? And the musicians and cooks were clearly chosen based on who they were related to and not their actual talent? And you couldn’t complain without risk of gravely insulting someone you’d never heard of only to find out they were distantly related to your half brother’s cousin’s wife’s long lost aunt or something and making a mess for your family?

Yeah, those made Liu Qingge want to kill a man. Specifically whatever man first got the idea to hold said party.

Liu Qingge wasn’t even acting as a guest at this party and he still hated it.

Shen Qingqiu had gotten it into his head that the best way to do this apparently more covert than expected mission wasn’t to go to the party as guests, where they could possibly be recognized due to their position and fame, but to instead disguise themselves as the help. After all, he reasoned, servants could go to more places than guests could, and likely overheard all kinds of juicey gossip, and probably weren’t even recognized or remembered by rich guests in the home. It would be far easier to sneak about if they looked like they belonged there.

Liu Qingge was fairly sure that Shen Qingqiu had read that in a book somewhere or made that up, and was trying it half for fun. He was far too prepared on how to dress and act like a servant and didn’t pout nearly as much as expected while making arrangements. Still, if he was having fun, and still getting something accomplished, Liu Qingge wouldn’t complain. He was here to make sure Shen Qingqiu didn’t get stabbed, not to try and force him to be normal which was probably impossible anyway.

Also it might be a little cute seeing Shen Qingqiu getting all excited for his little espionage plan, and Liu Qingge was hardly going to put an end to THAT. He liked it when Shen Qingqiu was cute.

And to his credit, it worked. All it took were some swiped robes, simple accessories, and a little make-up to cover their more obvious identifying features (Shen Qingqiu had made a comment about how sad it was to have to hide Liu Qingge’s beauty mark, and that gave Liu Qingge complicated feelings knowing that Shen Qingqiu found it attractive). And in the business of the household, two new servants were overlooked with incredible ease, to the point that Liu Qingge was annoyed with the lack of security. Some people really were far too lax.

He was even more annoyed when some young rich miss called him “the help” and shoved a dirty glass at him without even looking his way, like he wasn’t a person worth her time. He was lucky Shen Qingqiu was there to drag him away before he told her what he thought of that. Calling guests out on bad behavior was not something a servant typically was allowed to do, Shen Qingqiu gently reminded him.

Had he ever treated servants like that at the parties his family occasionally asked him to attend? He didn’t think so. But he still decided to try and be extra careful in the future to not...do THAT.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t have to tell him which man might be the demonic cultivator. Even if Shen Qingqiu hadn’t kept giving one specific figure long, calculating looks and kept angling to get closer to him, Liu Qingge would have known. The other members of his sect wore simpler, pale blue robes, but this one somehow managed to fit in black and red accessories, and his face looked like it hadn’t seen the light of the sun in days, and he kept giving small, ominous chuckles and swirling the wine in his cup absentmindedly.

Also he smelled like a dead animal. That was usually a good give away.

Honestly, getting rid of demonic cultivators would be so much harder if most of them weren’t so dramatic about it.

The time came when some girl, wearing jewelry far too gaudy to be genuinely valuable, approached the demonic cultivator, clearly to try and seduce her way into good favor with his sect. That she was able to put up with the stink was almost impressive. Thankfully, he fell for her antics and let her lead him outside.

The second he was out of the room, Liu Qingge glanced at Shen Qingqiu, who nodded knowingly, and they both quietly slipped out of the dining room to head to the living quarters the cultivators were staying in. It was a relief to be free of the smell of wine and too much perfume, and the sound of snide remarks and clinking glasses. At least Liu Qingge had done a good job keeping his cool, and hadn’t done anything suspicious.

“For the record, Liu-shidi,” Shen Qingqiu mentioned quietly, “you should be a bit more careful if something like this is needed again. Some of those guests were definitely concerned by your glaring.”

...well, no one called him out on being suspicious. So that was close enough.

It took a few tries, but they found the room the demonic cultivator was using, again alerted by the smell. Shen Qingqiu scrunched up his nose and almost looked offended by it. Damn this man, being cute even now. Liu Qingge reminded himself to focus.

The demonic cultivator had a room all to himself. He’d covered up the window with paper for who even knew what reason, and most of the light sources for the room had been shoved into one corner where they clearly wouldn’t be used. Otherwise, it looked normal enough, but even a demonic cultivator wouldn’t be so obvious as to leave something like a skull out in the open or whatever. Not if they were any good at what they were up to anyway.

Shen Qingqiu went right to the desk, and started quickly and carefully shuffling through papers. Liu Qingge looked in the storage areas. The closet was where he made a good find: in the pockets of a conspicuously normal looking coat among the other, flashier robes, there were vials of blood, each shut with red wax that had some kind of sigil cut into them. Monster blood could be used in medicines and spiritual tools sometimes, but just carrying around vials of what seemed to be human blood? Very suspect.

Liu Qingge took one of them and brought it to Shen Qingqiu. For his part, the Qing Jing Peak Lord had taken a small, unobtrusive notebook from a pile of other small, unobtrusive notebooks. When he saw what Liu Qingge was holding his eyes lit up, pleased at the find. Liu Qingge hadn’t thought he’d ever see someone happy to find bottled human blood, nor that he would ever find himself pleased to be providing said blood, but, well, Shen Qingqiu had caused stranger occurrences. Probably.

Shen Qingqiu took the little vial and put it in his sleeve pocket, along with the notebook. Evidence successfully obtained. Everything had gone smoothly.

And then they heard footsteps approaching, and quiet mischievous giggling. The smell of rot grew stronger.

Shit. The demonic cultivator was coming back with his little conquest!

Cheng Luan was too obvious a tell to have come along on this little mission, but Liu Qingge was hardly unarmed. He had kept several small blades hidden on his person, along with a couple smoke bombs in case he needed to give Shen Qingqiu a chance to escape while he kept fighting. He immediately went to draw one.

But he never got a chance. With astonishing swiftness, Shen Qingqiu had neatened the desk, shut the closet, and grabbed hold of Liu Qingge’s arm. “SHHHH!” he hissed, a finger in front of his mouth. And then down he went, dragging Liu Qingge with him, and he managed to roll them both under the bed without a sound.

It happened so unexpectedly, and so fast, that Liu Qingge felt his head spin in a way he was not accustomed to. Wow, for someone who was so slow sometimes, Shen Qingqiu could get a move on when he wanted to!

...right now, Liu Qingge suddenly noticed Shen Qingqiu had moved to lay on top of Liu Qingge.

Oh. Okay. This was...an event.

Liu Qingge had a good couple of moments to let it sink in where he was. They were under a bed, dark and soft, pressed together by the squeeze of it. He was on his back, and Shen Qingqiu was laying atop him, his chest on Liu Qingge’s stomach and his head on Liu Qinnge’s chest, his cheek lying right at his heart. Liu Qingge could feel his weight on him, feel some of his loose hairs ticking his neck and collarbones. One of Shen Qingqiu’s legs was between his own. Shen Qingqiu was quiet, but he could feel his chest rise and fall as he took slow, deep breaths.

Liu Qingge wasn’t sure how to handle this.

The door to the room happened, and the demonic cultivator and his partner for the night entered. The demonic cultivator was carrying her, and he laid her on the bed before getting on it as well. The extra weight made the mattress above them sink, and pushed Shen Qingqiu even tighter against Liu Qingge’s body.

He couldn’t help but make a little noise at that. Shen Qingqiu did his best to shoot him a look from his position, and put one of his hands over Liu Qingge’s mouth. Those delicate, talented fingers were pressed tight across Liu Qingge’s lips, and he could feel their warmth and the callouses on them from all the writing Shen Qingqiu did. His hand smelled a little like ink and bamboo. He could kiss them right now if he wanted to.

The man he was in love with was lying with him in the dark, skin touching skin, more contact than they’d ever had before. He trusted that Liu Qingge, who had killed many men and beasts, was not going to harm him. He was trying to keep Liu Qingge safe from a threat himself.

Liu Qingge had once heard Shang Qinghua jokingly refer to himself as “too gay to function” while drunk, and thought it was the dumbest phrase he had ever heard.

He had to take that back. Suddenly he understood exactly what it meant to be too gay to function.

Above them, the demonic cultivator and his little tryst were busily trading kisses, which was ruining the mood until Liu Qingge remembered there wasn’t supposed to be any “mood” here right now. He could only hope that the pair wouldn’t force him to listen to anything more intimate because, really, he didn’t want to be forced to associate strangers being gross with having Shen Qingqiu in his arms.

And when had that happened? He didn’t notice when he was doing it, but at some point he’d put his hands on Shen Qingqiu’s waist, as though to steady him. He noticed Shen Qingqiu was slimmer than him, which was to be expected from a scholar compared to a warrior, but still. And his waist was so tiny. Liu Qingge had no idea what to do with this information. But it was definitely very important information to have.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t acknowledge Liu Qingge’s internal turmoil, which hopefully meant he didn’t notice it. His cheek was on Liu Qingge’s chest, although with clothes in the way, and eventually Liu Qingge felt the weight of it shift as Shen Qingqiu fully rested his head where it was. Liu Qingge could only hope the servant robes they were wearing were thick enough that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear his heartbeat, which was much too fast right now.

The pair on the bed kept going for a while longer, just to make Liu Qingge’s torment extend as long as possible, he was sure. But then, there was a change. There was a sudden squeak of pain from the woman, and a gasp of surprise, and then a thump. It sounded like she’d collapsed. Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge exchanged looks as well as they could in their weird position. Had they heard a murder?

The demonic cultivator got off of the bed. The Peak Lord watched the man’s black, worn boots calmly walk over to the closet Liu Qingge had looked at before. Some shuffling and the clinking of bottles later, and the cultivator approached the bed again.

“I think he’s extracting her blood,” Shen Qingqiu murmured, just barely audible. Liu Qingge nodded, and tried to ignore how moving his head made him all the more aware of the hand still on his face.

He could kiss those fingers right now. The timing was terrible but his mind was a traitor and wouldn’t let him stop considering the idea. Liu Qingge had practiced restraint for the sake of cultivation for years, but Shen Qingqiu was all it took to ruin that, as a certain incident with his neck had proven. It took far, far too much concentration to keep from being stupid.

Any being stupid would wait until he wasn’t in the same room as an evil cultivator stealing a woman’s blood for demonic purposes.

After some time, the demonic cultivator made a noise of satisfaction, and went back to the closet. More clinks of bottles clicking against one another, and he closed the closet and went to his desk. His feet went to the desk and he began to flip through his pile of notebooks.

One of which was in Shen Qingqiu’s sleeve pocket. And if the demonic cultivator noticed it was missing, he would surely search the room, and what moron wouldn’t check under the bed for something missing? They were sitting ducks.

Slowly, Liu Qingge moved his arms to more fully wrap around Shen Qingqiu’s waist, and he adjusted his position slightly. If the opponent came over, he was ready to roll out from the other side of the bed, pulling Shen Qingqiu with him. Then, if the demonic cultivator was quick enough to attack immediately, he could easily keep rolling to make sure he was blocking Shen Qingqiu from the blow.

Nothing was going to hurt Shen Qingqiu tonight. He wouldn’t let it.

Shen Qingqiu finally moved his hand from Liu Qingge’s mouth to pinch his cheek. Liu Qingge winced and looked down at his friend incredulously. The look he recieved in return read “don’t you dare do anything stupid.” Liu Qingge rolled his eyes at him and got a pout in reply.

Was it a good sign that they could communicate so well without even using words? This was probably the wrong time to think about that.

Thankfully, the demonic cultivator didn’t seem to notice the missing book. He had pulled out another from the pile and begun scribbling something in it, muttering under his breath. When he finished, he chuckled like he’d heard something funny.

Liu Qingge imagined breaking the man’s legs. Now that was funny.

After taking the proper amount of time to laugh about his evil plans or whatever, the demonic cultivator put his book back. Then, he went to the bed, picked the girl up, and walked out without a care in the world.

After another minute of waiting, to make sure he wasn’t coming back, Shen Qingqiu let out a long, loud sigh. “Of course he came while we were in here. Wonderful luck we have. Liu-shidi, you can let go of me now.”

Oh, Liu Qingge was still holding onto Shen Qingqiu’s waist, and pretty tightly too. Hiding his reluctance, he released his hold. Shen Qingqiu squirmed on top of him a bit, which made Liu Qingge have to hold in some noises that would probably be embarrassing, and then shimmied off of him and out from under the bed. He held out his hand to help Liu Qingge follow him.

Liu Qingge was glad to have room to move again, but there was a little part of his brain that was disappointed that the moment of closeness was over, that he hadn’t kissed Shen Qingqiu’s fingers when he had a chance, that the demonic cultivator left without finding them and giving Liu Qingge a chance to show Shen Qingqiu what he’d do to protect him. He forced that part of him down.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t notice. He was too busy scowling at the door. “Did he seriously not notice anything was taken? Seriously!? And he went to the trouble of knocking the girl unconscious and carrying her out, which is going to be super suspicious if anyone spots him!? Does he have no intelligence!? Does no one ELSE have intelligence, since no one has noticed what he’s up to yet!?”

“People are awful,” Liu Qingge said with a shrug.

That just made Shen Qingqiu sigh again. After that, he cleared his throat, composing himself. “Well. At least we have what we came here for. A vial of human blood and notes on demon summoning arrays, in his hand writing. Turning this over to the authorities will hopefully take care of the issue now.”

“You’re not going to confront him yourself?”

“No, I’m tired of having to smell him. It’s like a walking corpse had a dead baby and all its walking corpse friends brought it gifts of weasel vomit.”

“...that’s...descriptive.” Liu Qingge wasn’t sure what it said about him that he found that little tirade so amusing, almost endearing. It was certainly not the usual forced composure.

Shen Qingqiu made a point of not responding to that. Instead, he brushed some dust from his clothes and stood up straighter. “Whatever. The point is, we’re done here, and we should make our escape now before the party is officially over and guests start to leave as well.”

Liu Qingge nodded and went to the door. He opened it slowly, glanced outside, and turned to Shen Qingqiu to nod when he spotted no witnesses.

Shen Qingqiu, rather than approaching, took a second to look a bit sheepish. “I...would also like to apologize for what happened just now. I can only imagine how uncomfortable Liu Qingge must have been in such forced proximity, but it was the quickest thing I could think of.”

“It worked,” Liu Qingge said with a shrug. And, well, yes, it had been uncomfortable, but not for the reasons Shen Qingqiu probably thought. Less awkwardness and more having thoughts he would need to deal with later.

He could still remember exactly how Shen Qingqiu’s fingers felt pressed against his skin.

Shen Qingqiu nodded, accepting the reassurance, and followed Liu Qingge out of the building and back to the inn where they had stored their things. It was a relief to be in their own clothes again, and to wipe off the make-up on their faces.

Shen Qingqiu watched Liu Qingge wash his face, and when the beauty mark appeared again, he grinned. “There it is!” And he gently poked it with the tip of his finger, and walked away to tend to his own things, completely oblivious to the effect he’d had.

Liu Qingge considered his evening. The thoughts and feelings he’d had in response to such strange things. Giving a man vials of blood, being shoved under a bed, having his face poked and teased. All of these should have been fairly uncomfortable at the very least. Instead, all were seen as a net positive, because Shen Qingqiu was there, because Shen Qingqiu was the subject of his attention during the night.

Great, being in love WAS making him an idiot after all. He resolved to never tell his sister about tonight. It would absolutely end up in one of her romances.

Chapter Text

Another day, another message from the sect leader to Liu Qingge to send him on a monster slaying mission. And, fortunately, another surge of satisfaction to hear Shen Qingqiu would be joining him on it. Nothing special, perhaps, and maybe he shouldn’t be so pleased to hear of some creature or other terrorizing the populace, but an excuse to travel with Shen Qingqiu was always well appreciated.

And for once, it seemed like they both were being sent somewhere that did need both of their expertise, and not like one was going to do the work while the other babysat them. The call for help came from a town near a canyon, and the monster was an unknown. Based on the destruction it left, it was huge, and yet no one had seen a thing, even when witnessing the very incident, implying it was cloaked somehow. The attacks happened nightly, targeting either homes with lots of people or farms with livestock, leaving devastation and blood in their wake. The best guess anyone had to its location in daylight was an old abandoned mine in the canyon, because the attacks started shortly after an earthquake struck the area of it.

Fighting a giant, man eating monster? That was possibly invisible, meaning Liu Qingge would have one less sense to rely on when taking it down? And possibly a battleground as unfamiliar and claustrophobic as a mineshaft?

Liu Qingge LIVED for this sort of thing.

Shen Qingqiu, meanwhile, would be needed to help figure the creature out with his expertise on rare beasts. He would also help with a large, relatively prominent library that had been destroyed in an attack somehow. The report had maybe said something about a livestock auction nearby, but honestly, Liu Qingge hadn’t been listening in favor of trying to surreptitiously see what Shen Qingqiu was doodling in his notebook. Shen Qingqiu was not expected to battle, or at least, Liu Qingge didn’t plan to drag him into the battle and risk his safety, but it still made sense for him to be the one to accompany the Bai Zhan War God.

So, when they arrived in town, Liu Qingge was in a remarkably good mood, despite Shen Qingqiu complaining about the heat the whole journey and the fact that he’d still have to wait at least until nightfall to actually get to the good part. These were annoyances, sure, but not enough to overcome the anticipation of a good fight and the opportunity to just…bask in the presence of Shen Qingqiu.

(Liu Qingge was so far gone for this man it wasn’t even funny anymore)

Of course, basking in the presence of Shen Qingqiu would be better if it was just the two of them. But that wasn’t the case this time. Because the library issue would require a decent amount of busywork to copy and replace damaged books, Shen Qingqiu had brought some of his disciples with him to aid in that task. And, as one could easily predict, among the ducklings following their mother was Luo Binghe, and he’d brought his bad attitude along with him.

Liu Qingge remembered when he was little, and his mother told him not to make faces or they’d freeze like that. He could almost believe that Luo Binghe’s sour expression would get stuck there with the amount of times he was making it at him. But somehow every time Shen Qingqiu’s attention turned to him, it effortlessly went back to bright, sincere respect and affection, which Shen Qingqiu returned happily.

Honestly, Liu Qingge was almost impressed by it.

For now, because they needed to get some information before Liu Qingge inevitably charged headlong into danger, the Qing Jing Peak Lord led the way. Liu Qingge would have liked to walk beside him, to share thoughts, but Shen Qingqiu was a mother hen as usual, so it was Luo Binghe who walked closest to him, asking question after question (“Has shizun ever been to this place before?” “Can shizun really identify a monster that can’t be seen?” “Shizun is so wise, are you donating your own books to the library we’re working at?”), and getting patient answers in return (“No, this master has not.” “There are methods beyond sight to recognize such things.” “Binghe is trying too hard to flatter this master.”) Sometimes, to the obvious delight of the boy, the answers would come with a little pat on the head.

Liu Qingge didn’t know if he found it cute or obnoxious.

(He knew very well he found it utterly adorable.)

Their little band stuck to the outer areas of the town initially, focusing on the farms and stables that seemed to be the primary targets for the creature. Later they would go to places within the town that had fallen, and finally the library would be their home base to decide their plan of action. Liu Qingge already knew what the plan would be, that Shen Qingqiu would figure out the most likely place the monster would strike, and Liu Qingge would go there to lie in wait to engage the creature and kill it. But Shen Qingqiu would want a chance to show off to the watching villagers and his besotted students, and to scold Liu Qingge to be more careful, and Liu Qingge wasn’t going to get in the way of that. So, predictable as it was, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord had no complaints about following it.

Almost every farm bordering the town had been hit, assuming they had any quantity of livestock. Cows, horses, pigs, sheep, all were devoured. In several cases, at least one family member had been attacked and eaten as well, especially if they tried to defend their animals, but it seemed the animals were the main priority for it, not the human beings.

Shen Qingqiu took charge of these visits, giving soothing words to the survivors from behind his fan as he asked them questions, sometimes offering them small amounts of gold to buy their dinner, or asking the boys to finish this or that chore. Not a single person denied him the answers he sought or permission to check their fields. He frowned sternly while he carefully, intently looked over every speck on the scenes. Several times he would make his observations aloud for the group of students, or even point at some element in the scene and ask the students themselves to deduce what this could mean.

By the end of their fifth visit, he had pointed out several important details, like the depth of the footprints showing the monster’s weight was immense, that there were few blood stains despite the dismemberment which suggested it drained the blood first, and lead his students to figure out that the marks between the footprints meant its belly dragged on the ground. At the same time, he left every family who had been attacked looking at least a bit more hopeful than when they arrived.

Liu Qingge was more than content to watch Shen Qingqiu demonstrate this side of himself, his capability and talent. He made it seem effortless to touch a person with kind words and to learn so much just by looking at the world around him.

Still, when they were in between their interviews, Liu Qingge got to see the side of Shen Qingqiu he liked a little more. That was the more open side, the one that praised his students with a smile and stopped to look at birds flying by and shot looks of exasperation at Liu Qingge when the disciples started squabbling. Sometimes Liu Qingge would even get lucky and catch it during the stops themselves, spotting Shen Qingqiu stare at the surviving animals with mild interest and confusion. Once he even saw him freeze with an expression on his face of muted disgust and horror, before slowly and subtly trying to scrape his boot on a rock, making it clear the man had zero experience with farm animals or with their droppings and avoiding stepping on them.

Despite the more embarrassing incidents, Liu Qingge thought Shen Qingqiu was at his most beautiful like this, when he was honest and expressive.

 Liu Qingge was not the only one who noticed. Several of the ladies on the farms blushed when under Shen Qingqiu’s gaze, a few of the men as well. His students were unabashed in their awe. And of course, Luo Binghe took every opportunity to sing his shizun’s praise. On their trip between the last farm that was destroyed and the only one left that wasn’t attacked, Luo Binghe found excuses to call him wise, generous, insightful, kind, knowledgeable, perceptive, and humble.

That last one made Liu Qingge snort despite himself. The man he loved had many good traits, but he was NOT humble. He enjoyed being noticed and praised and proving others wrong too much for that word to suit him.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingqiu heard that, and took a second to turn up his nose and inform Liu Qingge “It’s not a good look to be so openly jealous of someone else’s compliments.” Luo Binghe and his fellows all shot Liu Qingge dirty looks and nodded their assent.

The response they got was an eye roll. “I’m not jealous of your doting children, Shen Qingqiu.” The Qing Jing Peak Lord didn’t even dignify him with a reply, he just huffed and made a point of not looking at Liu Qingge the rest of the walk, leaving his students to be the ones to display their distaste for the lack of respect to him. Luo Binghe even went so far as to move to make sure he was physically in between the two adults.

Obnoxious, but Liu Qingge couldn’t say it was unexpected for the students to be so defensive of their master. He was in a good enough mood to decide it was for the best that they wanted to protect him so badly.

Now if only they didn’t think they needed to protect Shen Qingqiu from HIM.

The farm they left for last was an outlier, both in distance from the town and in its condition. Every other farm had been attacked for livestock, but instead of taking this one down as well, the monster had moved to residences in the town proper, seeking a meal from the poorhouse, the inn, the brothel, the temple. All places with a large number of human prey. So why did it choose to change targets, and ignore the last homestead? That could provide a clue to the monster’s level of intelligence, depending on the reason.

It turned out very boring, unfortunately. The reason, one could assume, was just a matter of the amount of food it would get from the attack. At this farm the amount of available meat was low.

Because the only animal these farmers kept were chickens.

A large variety of chickens to be fair, of varying sizes and colors (one was even bright blue, which wasn't something Liu Qingge thought even happened with chickens). But still, they were relatively small, and while there were a good number of them, all added together it was still less meat than the inner town targets had provided.

Despite the fact that the chicken farm was peaceful, Shen Qingqiu still insisted on looking around, saying that there was still a chance that the monster may come here yet. After all, many were leaving the town, at least temporarily, so there were less places with lots of people that the monster might choose instead. Liu Qingge accepted his reasoning, but he was not about to go stomping in a chicken pasture, so he stood back with Shen Qingqiu while they sent the students to look for anything interesting.

All the students but Luo Binghe, who somehow managed to wrangle his way into staying at Shen Qingqiu’s side. Specifically the side that put him in between the two Peak Lords.

Good mood or not, this kid was starting to bother Liu Qingge. He had gathered by now that the child was devoted, and he didn’t even blame him; Shen Qingqiu had saved him from the Without A Cure poison at the expense of his own health, and went out of his way to provide everything the boy needed and more. But there was something about the boy’s desperation to stay by Shen Qingqiu’s side that made Liu Qingge feel wrong, and not just because he was getting in the way of time with Shen Qingqiu. Luo Binghe just seemed so...dismissive of anyone else. It was weird.

Luo Binghe noticed Liu Qingge looking at him, and matched him with his own glare. Well, fine, if the kid wanted a staring contest, no complaints from the Peak Lord. Liu Qingge was hardly going to back down from a challenge, even if it was from a kid. Neither of them blinked, focused entirely on staring the other down.

At least until a painted fan snapped open in between them, cutting their eye contact off and making them both jump. “This master would like to know what it is you two are trying to accomplish,” Shen Qingqiu asked, raising a delicate eyebrow as he pulled the fan back to cover his face.

“Shizun, please don’t blame this disciple!” Luo Binghe whined, turning big puppy eyes to his master. “Liu-shishu is just acting so rudely to shizun today, and now to this disciple too, what else could I do!?”

Liu Qingge, without missing a beat, gave Luo Binghe a light smack on the back of the head. “Don’t be a crybaby.”

“Liu-shidi!” Shen Qingqiu snapped, looking genuinely annoyed and reaching over to pat Luo Binghe on the head as if to make up for the hit. “He is not your disciple to criticize!”

“Then control your damn son yourself,” Liu Qingge replied, shrugging.

Luo Binghe’s eyes went wide at the word “son.”

They went even wider when Shen Qingqiu’s response was “I’ll raise my son however I want, Liu-shidi can keep his mouth shut.”

There was a second after that where Shen Qingqiu visibly froze, realizing what he had said. He quickly looked at Luo Binghe, who was staring blankly at him, and he covered his face with his fan and tried to play it cool. “That is, all of my disciples are like my children, and like a parent their conduct and how they are reprimanded or complimented for it falls to me. Liu-shidi’s advice is appreciated, but unneeded. Please don’t say things that might embarrass or upset my students.”

Liu Qingge just turned to Luo Binghe. “He doesn’t look upset to me,” he commented.

“Son!?” Luo Binghe repeated, finally showing an expression, looking absolutely touched and almost near tears. “Shizun thinks of me like a son!?”

Shen Qingqiu looked quite startled by this turn of events. He looked to Liu Qingge for help, realized he wouldn’t get any, and tried to calm Luo Binghe down. “This teacher is sorry for making any assumptions. Of course Binghe is very important to this master, but it is wrong to overstep--”

“I’d be happy to be your son!” Luo Binghe announced. And this time he was loud enough to gain the attention of the students in the chicken fields, who came running over when they heard to demand to know when Luo Binghe had been adopted and why they hadn’t been told and if THEY counted as shizun’s family too please please please!?

Liu Qingge happily watched Shen Qingqiu take a good half hour to calm everybody down and get Luo Binghe to stop crying, and did absolutely nothing to help him.

~

The day went on to be fairly uneventful, at least for Liu Qingge. They checked the remaining attack sites, then went to the library, where Shen Qingqiu and his students all went into a tizzy over the damaged texts. Shen Qingqiu was quickly giving orders to everyone, both his students and the surviving library workers, to get book binding materials or sort torn pages or copy smudged words. Even Liu Qingge was not spared, told to use his strength to help repair broken bookshelves and, when that was done, to go and get dinner for everyone while they kept tending to the poor books and scrolls.

Liu Qingge was actually a bit amused watching them run around like busy bees, and he had to give credit where it was due: the ducklings were very efficient little workers when Shen Qingqiu ordered them to be so.

After dinner the students were sent back to work, but Shen Qingqiu took a moment to pull Liu Qingge to the side. “Regarding where and when to engage the monster, Liu-shidi, I think the chicken farm is the most likely next target. Very few buildings are left with large amounts of people, so that seems the most likely place for the next meal it takes.”

“What about here in the library?” Liu Qingge asked. “After all, now we’re all here. That’s a pretty decent number.”

“I intend to send the students to look out for the monster at the edges of town in case I’m wrong, so they’ll be spread out,” Shen Qingqiu assured him. “That way they won’t be in a big group and get attacked, and if I’m wrong about the farm one of them will hopefully spot where it does go and keep the night from being a waste.”

“They won’t need to sleep?”

“I only brought students whose cultivation is high enough that they don’t need to sleep every night. I planned ahead,” Shen Qingqiu said, looking a bit too pleased with himself for his foresight.

Liu Qingge didn’t point it out.“And where will you be?” he asked instead.

“Why, I’m coming with you, of course!” Shen Qingqiu looked surprised he’d even had to ask.

“No you’re not.”

“Why on earth wouldn’t I?”

“You need to keep an eye on your brats,” Liu Qingge argued. “And this monster is possibly invisible, pretty large, capable of taking down large prey easily--”

“Which is why Liu-shidi needs back up!” Shen Qingqiu cut him off and finished for him. Liu Qingge scowled at him, and Shen Qingqiu just brought up the damn fan again. “This master won’t be in the way, it’s merely that if the monster tries to flee or heads for the house where the family lives, someone should be there to help redirect or distract it. You can’t say that there’s no chance of those events occurring, this creature has never actually been fought before and we do not know how it will behave.”

Liu Qingge’s glower didn’t fade. Yes, Shen Qingqiu had a point, but still. Shen Qingqiu adored strange monsters, and Liu Qingge couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t be the one getting distracted himself, throwing himself into danger in a moment of excitement. Shen Qingqiu being hurt was absolutely not allowed to happen.

But he knew this man all too well, and was sure if he refused to bring him, Shen Qingqiu would either follow him, or maybe even sneak away early to beat him there. Liu Qingge had fallen in love with a stubborn git, and all that was left that he could do was try to protect him anyway.

So, he held back a sigh and gave a reluctant nod. “Fine. But stay out of the way, got it? Or you’ll get yourself hurt.”

“Liu-shidi underestimates his shixiong,” Shen Qingqiu said, hiding a smug smirk poorly behind his fan. “It will be absolutely fine. Besides, if we’re lucky the fight will be swift, and Liu-shidi will only have to worry about being bored.”

“Whatever.”

“...if Liu-shidi is really worried about this master’s safety, perhaps it would help to bring someone else along--”

“Leave your son out of this.”

“I didn’t say it would be Binghe...”

“But it would.”

“Well, yes.”

~

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Waiting for a monster to appear was the only kind of waiting Liu Qingge liked.

He and Shen Qingqiu had returned to the farm after sending the students out to their assigned look out spots, and told the family of their plan. To keep them safe, they were given a small bag of gold and sent to find accommodation in the town, which they were all too happy to do when the risk of a monster attack was imminent.

The chickens were all in their coops, and Liu Qingge was standing nearby, hand on the hilt of Cheng Luan already in anticipation. Shen Qingqiu was currently wandering around the coops, pacing with impatience. The attacks were all at night but at different points within it, so there was nothing left to do but wait once the sun had set upon them.

This was the good kind of waiting. There was the promise of action to come, leaving Liu Qingge’s body thrumming with anticipation and his mind alert in a way it wasn’t in day to day life. The adrenaline hadn’t hit yet, but it would be a rush when it did, and Liu Qingge looked forward to it.

And if he got to show off a bit to Shen Qingqiu, well. The Qing Jing Peak Lord got to shine for most of the day. It was only fair that Liu Qingge got a turn next.

He liked the idea of Shen Qingqiu watching him do what he did best.

After far too long, and also not very long at all, his enhanced senses picked up vibrations. It started small but grew very quickly, indicating a large being moving fast, and coming straight toward them. Soon a rumble in the air joined the shaking earth. The monster was coming.

Perfect.

When it came close enough, Liu Qingge could see the footprints appear, but the creature itself was indeed invisible. There was no way to tell how big it really was, how tall, if it had some sort of natural armor or other limbs.

So Liu Qingge didn’t bother, and flung his sword forward before using a gesture to send the blade careening right at where the belly of the beast dragged against the ground.

A loud scream rang out from the unseen monster, and despite the fact that it was invisible, blood that came pouring from the wound was not, staining the ground dark. Liu Qingge could see the injury, and thus saw when it jerked up before flying into the air.

It could fly!?

Excellent.

Liu Qingge summoned his sword back and lept upon it when it zipped by, and followed the beast into the air. As he approached it, something long, thin and flexible grabbed his leg, but before the apparent tentacle could actually drag him down, a strike of his fist and some focused qi caused it to make a snapping sound and go limp, spewing some blood in an arc in front of him. The creature shrieked again, and Liu Qingge quickly shot his fists out as fast as he could in as many directions as he could manage. Sure enough, he felt his hands strike against something multiple times, each hit accompanied by another snap and more splatters of blood.

The beast seemed to grow tired of Liu Qingge destroying its limbs, and the bloody wound made a sharp turn down, careening toward the homestead again. With a curse, Liu Qingge followed, shouting a warning. “Shen Qingqiu! Above you!”

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t necessarily a warrior, but he wasn’t a slouch either. At the sound of Liu Qingge’s call, he sent his own sword flying up towards Liu Qingge’s voice, and thus towards the monster. Xiu Ya lodged itself into the monster with a loud, disgusting ‘thwack,’ and this time when the monster screamed, it was accompanied by a gush of blood from what must be the monster’s mouth. The beast changed trajectory, trying to aim back towards the town.

Liu Qingge wasn’t having that. He sped to his opponent and leapt from his sword onto the monster. He grabbed the hilt of Xiu Ya, and shoved it even further into the beast and twisted the blade. With a heavy blow from Liu Qingge’s shoulder, the monster seemed to fall into an uncontrolled tumble, and Liu Qingge held on and drove the sword deeper until right before they hit the ground. At the last second, he let go and jumped off of the monster, back onto his own summoned sword, and so was safe when the monster slammed hard into the ground.

It let out one last, shuddering groan, seemed to try to raise up again, and finally fell with a final thump. Liu Qingge hopped off his sword and nodded at Shen Qingqiu, who came hurrying over when he saw the fight looked over.

The battle was shorter than Liu Qingge would have liked, but still quite invigorating. He didn’t regret the trip.

Shen Qingqiu’s first order of business was to come over to Liu Qingge, looking him over with mostly concealed worry. Liu Qingge stood still and didn’t object to the concern, and in fact felt quite pleased when Shen Qingqiu let out a little sigh of relief when he decided Liu Qingge was unhurt. Only then did he go to yank his sword out of the monster, clean it of blood with a look of disgust, and finally start poking and prodding the monster excitedly to learn everything he could about it.

Liu Qingge let him. It was cute.

After long enough for Shen Qingqiu to get giddy over their discovery a few times and even take out his notebook and sketch the creature (it was, apparently, sort of maggot looking but with tentacles and wings and weird hoof-pad-feet), Shen Qingqiu let Liu Qingge drag the monster away from the chicken coops it had very nearly crushed. Liu Qingge went on to burn the creature’s body once it was far enough away, something Shen Qingqiu refused to take part in for whatever reason. Probably because he was soft, even when it came to monsters. The flames took over the beast surprisingly quickly, and glowed purple instead of red, and soon the killer was nothing but pale white ash.

Liu Qingge took a moment to stretch and savor the feeling of a job well done. The monster was slain and he’d gotten some excitement out of it, and no one else had died. He even got to show off a bit for Shen Qingqiu. All in all, it was a good night.

It went from good to great when he returned only to see Shen Qingqiu being bullied by the chickens. One of the bigger ones was jumping at him, squawking and flapping its wings and trying to peck him while he knocked it away again and again with his fan.

“Liu-shidi, please do your shixiong a favor and stab this chicken,” Shen Qingqiu snapped when he realized Liu Qingge was just going to stand there and watch the show. Liu Qingge chuckled at him and shook his head. “Liu-shidi!”

“You’re a Peak Lord, you can kill a chicken yourself!” Liu Qingge told him, trying not to grin too much.

Shen Qingqiu scoffed loud enough to be heard over the attacker’s cries. “I just cleaned off my sword, which just felled a magnificent beast! It’d be insulting to use it on a chicken that attacked me for no good reason!”

“So my sword gets to do the dishonor?” Liu Qingge asked, enjoying this too much and taking delight in how Shen Qingqiu had managed to get a couple feathers in his hair.

Shen Qingqiu proceeded to grab the chicken the next time it jumped at him and throw it at Liu Qingge, who caught it and threw it back. This continued for a few throws until Shen Qingqiu finally seemed to realize how undignified this was, and simply chucked the thing into one of the coops and slammed the coop door shut. He took a good few minutes to readjust his appearance to be free of signs of the chicken battle, which at least gave Liu Qingge time to school his expression before he started smiling like a dope.

He had seen the person he was in love with fight a goddamn chicken and it made him love the man all the more. Liu Qingge was turning into a sap.

When Shen Qingqiu finally deemed himself acceptable and came to Liu Qingge’s side, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord chose to give him some face and not bring up the chicken fight for now. Instead he just nodded his head towards the road back to the village, and Shen Qingqiu nodded in return and they started the walk.

It wasn’t too late in the night. The day had been hot because the sky was so clear and the sun was beating down, but now it left the heavens open to view the thousands of stars and bright gibbous moon. There were no predators in the area, especially after the monster frightened the wildlife away, so there was no need to worry about attack. It was beautiful, peaceful in a way even Liu Qingge could appreciate. Shen Qingqiu’s pale skin seemed to glow in the moon’s light, and Liu Qingge had to try not to stare. It wasn’t romantic, but it so easily could have been, and knowing that made Liu Qingge’s heart do something strange. He tried to savor the moment, commit it to memory.

“Peep!”

Liu Qingge blinked. Shen Qingqiu did the little freeze that he did when he was caught doing something he didn’t want to be caught doing, but was quick to keep moving. Liu Qingge followed, wondering if he heard things.

“Peep peep!”

No he did not, because not only did he hear it again, but Shen Qingqiu was trying to walk faster. Liu Qingge grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt.

“Liu-shidi is being rude!” Shen Qingqiu objected.

Liu Qingge didn’t say anything. He just waited a moment, and…

“PEEP!”

“...Shen Qingqiu?”

He looked away, clearly flustered. Liu Qingge kept looking at him intensely

“PEEP PEEP PEEP!”

Finally, Shen Qingqiu gave a sigh of defeat. He shook Liu Qingge’s hand off, reached into his sleeve, and pulled out the culprit.

It was a fluffy baby chick.

Liu Qingge did not stop staring.

Shen Qingqiu shifted nervously, tried to look innocent, and eventually admitted, in a small guilty voice, “It was cute so I stole it.”

It took a second for Liu Qingge to recognize the sensation welling up inside him, but when he did, he couldn’t resist it.

He burst into HYSTERICAL laughter.

Liu Qingge laughed very rarely, and usually when he did it wasn’t much. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been like this, roaring with laughter that had him holding his pained stomach, and gasping for air. It rang out in the clear night air with nothing to stop it, least of all Liu Qingge himself, who was too busy trying not to fall down.

The most pompous, dignified, educated Peak Lord of the sect, who had just helped him defeat a man eating monster, had stolen a chicken and gotten in a fight with its mother literally minutes afterwards because he had no impulse control for cute animals.

It was far too much.

Liu Qingge was so busy laughing, his eyes squeezed shut to hold back the tears, that he did not see how Shen Qingqiu’s jaw literally dropped, and he absolutely gaped for the whole time. Only when Liu Qingge finally started to stand up again did Shen Qingqiu finally snap his mouth shut with a click, and whip out his fan to hide his flushed cheeks.

Liu Qingge wiped his eyes, and turned to Shen Qingqiu, grinning still. “What the hell was wrong with you?” he asked, his voice still full of joy.

Shen Qingqiu huffed and turned on his heel to keep walking toward the village, baby chick still in his other hand and peeping up a storm.

Liu Qingge held back another laugh, and went to follow.

This was the best day he’d had in a long while, and he was going to hold it close to his heart. It would keep him warm for days.

Honestly, he’d probably need it. There would be no more missions for a little while, after all.

Things would be very busy for the whole sect as they prepared for the Immortal Alliance Conference.

Chapter Text

“Shizun, do you really want to kill me?”

“I don’t want to kill you.”

Everything happened all at once, despite him knowing it was coming. There were changes, like Mobei-jun appearing instead of a Moon Python Rhinoceros, one of the future wives dying, Luo Binghe laid low instead of standing proud like a protagonist should. In the end, though, it turned out as it had when it was words on a page: Shen Qingqiu stood in front of his disciple, sword in hand, forcing him into hell for daring to be born as he was.

Shen Qingqiu hated the world itself right now.

The Peak Lord kept his face stoic, tried to distance himself from the event. This was necessary. It was the best thing for Luo Binghe and his glorious future. It was the best thing for his own precious life! He just had to treat this like another harsh lesson and ignore how the boy’s eyes grew wild and dark with despair.

“Only, what that person said earlier wasn’t wrong,” Shen Qingqiu continued, taking a step forward and watching Luo Binghe take a step back. Backing him closer and closer to fate. “The Human Realm is not where you should be—"

“B-but you’re here!” Luo Binghe objected loudly. “And you’re my family! ”

Shen Qingqiu had an excellent poker face, but here he couldn’t resist a flinch. The way Luo Binghe said ‘family’ so sincerely, like it was the most sacred thing, could take a lesser man down to his knees! Even his own teacher is not immune to the power of the protagonist!

“It isn’t so simple, Luo Binghe…” Shen Qingqiu said slowly, trying to retain composure while thinking of what to say. Heaven help him, he didn’t want to make Luo Binghe hate him! He just had to be cold enough to get Luo Binghe to take him seriously and go into the Abyss!

Of course, Luo Binghe didn’t make it easy for him. “Why can’t it be that simple!? We could just go home -- you know I’d never hurt anyone! I’m sorry that I lied, but I swear I never considered anyone my Shizun but you! Shizun, you know me!”

Protagonist, how can you fall to such levels! Begging and pleading so!

“I know you, Bing—Luo Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu was absolutely exhausted --  his insides felt like they’d been through a blender and it took all he had left to not  let his hand shake where he held his sword in a white-knuckled grip. He didn’t know how much longer he could withstand his little white sheep begging to be forgiven. “I know you. But the rest of the cultivation world does not.”

He turned his head and looked back at the scattered figures strewn upon the ground: unconscious disciples of several sects lay bloodied and bruised, among the corpses of the demons they’d been fighting off. Just beyond their sight, there were also the corpses of those who had literally had their blood sucked out. Further than that, more devastation and death was promised.

He turned back to Luo Binghe, whose face had gone a shade paler. It made the shining seal on his forehead seem even more intense.

“Any other cultivator who sees this won’t see a Cang Qiong Mountain Sect disciple. They’ll see a demon, descended from other demons, in the middle of a trap set by demons, surrounded by people hurt and killed by demons.”

Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath and steadied himself before truly looking Luo Binghe in the eye again. The boy looked terrified. It broke his shriveled little heart more than anything ever had in either of his lives.

“I don’t want you to die, Luo Binghe. So, I can’t let you stay in the Human Realm.”

Another step forward for Shen Qingqiu, another step back for Luo Binghe. His boot hit the very edge of the Abyss, sending pebbles tumbling down, down, down. 

Luo Binghe’s eyes darted back and forth, as though looking for escape, but there was none. After a moment to steady himself, he stood up straighter and looked at Shen Qingqiu, gaze as firm and determined as he could manage.

“I don’t want to go,” he announced, his tone resolute and unwavering. “If the cultivation world will take me away from my family, and my father, I’ll fight them. If they try to kill me, I’ll kill them myself. I have people I love and I’m willing to fight for them.”

Luo Binghe! You haven’t even fallen yet, how could you say you’ll kill someone like your heart has already gone black!? Fuck, if it weren’t for that statement, he would have had a perfect protagonist’s speech right there!

Shen Qingqiu shook his head, but he also lowered his sword. “You just said you would hurt no one, and now you say you’ll kill those who oppose you? Is your demonic half starting to show even in front of me?”

He flinched inwardly at the look of pure terror that swept across Luo Binghe’s face; he had only meant to urge Luo Binghe to always remember to act with restraint, but perhaps he had been too harsh. “I know you don’t mean it like that,” he immediately assured him despite knowing better, and Luo Binghe seemed to calm back down.

[WARNING! Abyss will close in ten minutes, rendering mission “Endless Abyss and Endless Hatred” unable to proceed and leading to instant loss of B-Points! Please conclude the mission in a timely manner!]

Oh, and now there was a fucking time limit, how wonderful. Shen Qingqiu was too upset about all of this to even muster his usual hatred.

“Luo Binghe, you need to—”

“You don’t need to speak to me so coldly, Shizun,” Luo Binghe interrupted again, sounding desperate. “Please, it hurts when you treat me like a stranger, or...or like you think I’m a monster. I don’t want you to think I’m a monster.”

“I don’t think you’re a monster, Binghe.” The words came out with no thought. Comforting Luo Binghe was as easy as breathing. And the look of relief on his student’s face made it hard to regret it, at least in that second. The guilt of what he was doing was crushing, that loss of tension was a momentary reprieve. Even if it was going to hurt him more later, Sen Qingqiu was desperate to see any sign that he wasn’t hated. Even if the reassurance wasn’t going to change anything, what parent wouldn’t want to comfort their child?

God, Shen Qingqiu should never have gotten so attached to Luo Binghe. But here he was, and he knew kindness would probably make everything worse, but he still had to give it.

Shen Qingqiu took a step toward Luo Binghe. With Xiu Ya no longer pointed at him, Luo Binghe made no attempt to move away, and let Shen Qingqiu come close. After a moment of thought, he patted Luo Binghe on the head like he’d done many times before. He wasn’t sure what else he could do.

Luo Binghe waited a moment, considering, and then flung himself at his teacher, embracing him tightly. By pure reflex Shen Qingqiu froze. Luo Binghe often stumbled and fell into him, but this was the first purposeful embrace he’s had in ages.

Well, unless you counted that time with Liu Qingge hiding under the bed. Why that memory came to him now, at a time like this, was beyond him.

Still, the thought steadied him, made him remember what he could do, what he had done. That incident had happened because Shen Qingqiu had chosen to change the book. And he did change the book! The demonic cultivator was arrested, his nefarious plans nipped in the bud.

And hell, Liu Qingge was only able to be there with him on that excursion because he’d saved the man’s life! Liu Qingge, and all the good he’d done the world and the sect and Shen Qingqiu himself since he’d walked out of the cultivation caves, was proof that Shen Qingqiu could change the world. Sometimes just by being kinder, like he had been to Liu Qingge, he could make everything turn out better.

Shen Qingqiu could do this. He could afford to care, just a bit.

Slowly, he hugged his student back, let him have this moment at least. Despite the stink of the Abyss and the muffled sound of far away battle, it felt like everything was okay for now.

Luo Binghe didn’t have to come out of this hating him. He could change that.

[WARNING! Five minutes remaining!]

But he couldn’t afford to avoid this entirely. No matter how much he wanted to.

He gently pushed Luo Binghe away. Luo Binghe went, trusting, looking at Shen Qingqiu calmly and without a hint of suspicion. His face was attentive as Shen Qingqiu put his hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye.

“Binghe, I’m sorry you’ve suffered.”

Luo Binghe smiled, as though to reassure the person currently reassuring him.

Shen Qingqiu gripped his shoulders tight.

“But I’m too selfish to let you die. So, you’ll have to suffer some more.”

There was enough time for Shen Qingqiu to see Luo Binghe’s eyes go wide and his smile fade. There was enough time to see confusion cloud his expression and his lips to begin to part as he prepared to say something, maybe even just call his Shizun one last time.

And then Shen Qingqiu pushed Luo Binghe with all his might, and Luo Binghe tumbled down and disappeared into hell.

The cheerful trills of the System congratulating him made Shen Qingqiu want to jump off a cliff himself.

~

By the time Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, Huan Hua Palace, and Tian Yi Overlook cultivators had finished cleaning up the monsters, the rent space of the Endless Abyss had already closed.

Liu Qingge wished he could have been the first to find him, but by the time he arrived, another group of cultivators was already there, tending to the numerous disciples fainted on the ground, and Yue Qingyuan and Mu Qingfang were at Shen Qingqiu’s side, looking worried.

And who could blame them? While Shen Qingqiu had clearly taken time to see to the children, he hadn’t seen to his own wounds and appearance. His clothes were bloodstained and dirty, his face pale and bruised. Even though the Abyss had closed, Shen Qingqiu still smelled of sulfur.

He had clearly been pushed to the literal edge.

Liu Qingge hurried right to Shen Qingqiu’s side. “What happened? What did this?” he demanded, ready to hunt whatever it was down and rip out its still beating heart to give it to Shen Qingqiu as a gift.

Mu Qingfang gave Liu Qingge a quelling look. Liu Qingge shut up, but he wasn’t happy about it.

Yue Qingyuan started asking Shen Qingqiu quiet, gentle questions while Mu Qingfang tended to him. Liu Qingge took the time to look at the others around him: there were mostly injured disciples, some conscious and some not, as well as Shang Qinghua (also injured, of course). There were no bodies in the immediate vicinity. 

Something was missing.

“Where’s your kid?” Liu Qingge asked.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t say anything, didn’t even have a change in expression; he just looked at a certain spot on the ground. 

Following his gaze, Liu Qingge saw the shining, sharp pieces of a shattered sword.

One of Shen Qingqiu’s other students (his head disciple?) saw it, too, and gasped. “Shizun, that sword, isn’t that…?”

Another of them, a girl who followed Shen Qingqiu almost as much as Luo Binghe did, let out a sob. “Shizun, you…you, don’t you scare me. Isn’t this…is this A-Luo’s Zheng Yang?”

Liu Qingge had thought the blade looked familiar and the context had made it obvious what had happened as well. Still, hearing the little ones confirm it made his heart drop.

Luo Binghe was gone.

Liu Qingge didn’t like Luo Binghe very much, but this wasn’t something he’d ever wished on him.

And he certainly wouldn’t have wished it on Shen Qingqiu.

Whispers rose up around them from men who must have even less tact than Liu Qingge did, discussing how horrible this was. How a spiritual sword was connected to the wielder’s soul. How a broken sword could only mean one thing. How the good die young.

Liu Qingge shot them a death glare. They wisely shut up.

The girl burst into wails. The head disciple looked like he would throw up any minute. Other disciples bowed their heads in respect, even if they had probably never known the boy. For all his hatred of weakness, Liu Qingge didn’t blame them for their distress. Luo Binghe was going to be mourned by Qing Jing’s disciples as much as its Peak Lord, it seemed. Maybe by the whole sect.

The most important thing was comforting Shen Qingqiu. He looked like his soul had been ripped from his body.

Liu Qingge was bad at words. Not sure what to do, he put a hand on Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Shen Qingqiu glanced up at him, blankly.

He wished he could do more. He opened his mouth to say something, to assure him that he could take another disciple, but he closed his mouth again instead. Shen Qingqiu looked at Luo Binghe like a son. That wasn’t something that could be replaced so easily.

Shen Qingqiu looked away again, toward where the Abyss had opened up and swallowed part of his family. “Qing Jing Peak’s disciple, Luo Binghe, was harmed by demons and fell into the Abyss,” Shen Qingqiu said, his voice dull and monotone. Just the sound of it was enough to make Liu Qingge’s heart start to break.

The person he was in love with was in pain.

And he couldn’t do anything to fix it.

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu was unwell.

Not that anyone was too surprised, really. It had been a few months now since the Immortal Alliance Conference and the incredible loss that came with it, but that wasn’t really enough time to stop mourning, especially not for Qing Jing Peak. The whole place had a melancholy air now and felt quieter than it ought to as well. The disciples rarely left their mountain and Shen Qingqiu didn’t leave at all.

Liu Qingge didn’t know what to do.

Obviously, Shen Qingqiu should be given time and space to mourn, and Liu Qingge tried to do so, as did the other Peak Lords: they reluctantly accepted him making a sword mound for Luo Binghe instead of interring the blade; they made sure they didn’t overstay on their visits; they offered him missions but didn’t push when he inevitably declined them.

But Liu Qingge was growing worried.

Shen Qingqiu had stopped eating, accepting meals only to throw them away, and while he was far enough in cultivation not to starve, the break in habits unsettled Liu Qingge. Shen Qingqiu was slacking in teaching his students, leaving them to fend for themselves. Liu Qingge visited him one evening and found him sitting at his table holding a cup of tea. The next morning, he visited again, and Shen Qingqiu was in the same spot with the same cup of tea, having not moved from his seat the whole night.

When Liu Qingge startled him out of his daze, Shen Qingqiu seemed mildly surprised and a bit embarrassed, but was ultimately unconcerned by what happened.

Mu Qingfang was bullied into multiple check-ups by both Liu Qingge and the Sect Leader, but he couldn’t do much; grief wasn’t an illness he could cure. He gave reassurances that time would heal this eventually, but Liu Qingge was not appeased.

He had to do something. Shen Qingqiu almost seemed to be dying himself, like a piece of him was lost to the Abyss with his disciple, and Liu Qingge couldn’t stand the idea of being useless to him.

But what could he do?

Liu Mingyan was encouraging, at least. When he expressed his worries, she didn’t tell him to wait it out or make light of his concerns. She said he was doing the right thing, making sure Shen Qingqiu knew he was cared for and monitoring his health, but also warned him that trying to use force to move him would likely backfire. And when Liu Qingge got frustrated with this, she let him sulk for as long as he needed in the secrecy of her room until he could regain composure and go back to his duties.

She really was a good sister.

Even if she hadn’t let him go through with his initial plan to just find the most interesting monster he could and throw Shen Qingqiu at it.

Apparently, it was bad form to throw the person you were interested in at dangerous creatures.

Romance was stupid.

But the point was, he still didn’t know how to help Shen Qingqiu. Happiness couldn’t be forced -- it could only be guided -- and Liu Qingge wasn’t sure how to guide Shen Qingqiu to a better emotional state.

For now, he kept to what he was doing.  He visited frequently and after a while, just stopped bothering with giving reasons for his visits because Shen Qingqiu had stopped asking for them. He would often clear Shen Qingqiu’s spiritual pathways just to give themselves some deniability, but they both knew that it wasn’t the reason he was coming. Or at least, Liu Qingge assumed Shen Qingqiu knew. Considering how badly he was taking care of himself, maybe he had genuinely lost track of the cleansings and took Liu Qingge at face value.

How could a man fall so deeply into despair? And did he have any idea that others cared about this, that anyone was reaching out to him?

He probably hadn’t noticed the effect he had on other people. Shen Qingqiu could be a self-centered idiot sometimes.

Liu Qingge loved him still.

Once again, as was nearly daily now, Liu Qingge visited the peak where Shen Qingqiu was languishing. There was music, which Liu Qingge was used to, but it was slow, stilted, somber. The students were quiet and nodded at Liu Qingge when he passed, but didn’t bother to get up and bow. He didn’t scold them for it.

There was no quiet glare at Liu Qingge’s back as he went to the bamboo house, nor following footsteps hurrying to come and chaperone the visit; they were conspicuous in their absence.

Liu Qingge refused to consider that he missed Luo Binghe to any extent. He had too much to worry about with his teacher to deal with that.

Shen Qingqiu clearly missed Luo Binghe enough for ten men anyway.

Liu Qingge headed to the door, but before he even got there, he spotted something in the yard near the house. He felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he changed directions, and sure enough, he soon saw a familiar thin, green-clad figure knelt in the dirt before the mound of earth that covered the remains of Zheng Yang. He was still, serene and somber, showing no sign that he minded dirtying his clothes.

Shen Qingqiu was at the grave again. And knowing him, he’d been there a while.

At this point Liu Qingge was beginning to go from concerned to genuinely frustrated.

There was no response from Shen Qingqiu when Liu Qingge approached, although after Liu Qingge spent a few moments standing there saying nothing, he did look up. His face was lovely as always, if a little paler and thinner than before. He offered no greeting, polite or otherwise, and didn’t even show a change in his expression. He just waited for Liu Qingge to try to start a conversation.

But Liu Qingge didn’t, this time. He just took a hold of Shen Qingqiu’s arm and pulled him to his feet, steadying him when he stumbled in surprise. Then, before Shen Qingqiu could question him, he pulled him out of the yard and into the house where he found Shen Qingqiu’s tea table and plopped him down on a cushion to sit.

“Liu-shidi?” Shen Qingqiu asked, looking not nearly as affronted as one might expect. He had a sort of wide-eyed confusion that reminded Liu Qingge of people just waking from sleep, disoriented and soft as the world around them took hold.

“Stay,” Liu Qingge ordered, not unlike one would a dog. Shen Qingqiu actually did look a bit offended by the tone this time, finally showing a bit of his old demeanor, but Liu Qingge didn’t indulge it. He just went to Shen Qingqiu’s kitchen and started poking around.

Nothing was dirty, but it also had clearly gone unused for some time. Even the kettle for tea was packed away in a cabinet that had been closed long enough for the door to stick a bit.

Liu Qingge made a mental note to suggest to Yue Qingyuan to send Shen Qingqiu some snacks or something the next time they ran into each other. Maybe what he knew about the old Shen Qingqiu’s likes and wants would help somehow. For now, Liu Qingge focused on his own task.

Soon (but not soon enough), he came back to the table, carrying a pot of tea and two of the tea cups Shen Qingqiu used the most often.

Shen Qingqiu, for his part, had obeyed Liu Qingge’s request and was still where Liu Qingge left him, probably more out of curiosity than anything else. His eyebrows raised a bit when Liu Qingge came in, but he didn’t make any snide comments as Liu Qingge set everything down and poured tea for them both. He just picked up the cup he was given, nodded in acknowledgement, and took a little sip.

Liu Qingge took a sip himself. Damn, the tea was watery. Liu Qingge was used to simple, strong teas, and apparently Shen Qingqiu’s preferred brews needed different treatment.

Liu Qingge should have been relieved when Shen Qingqiu didn’t make a comment and simply drank quietly like nothing was wrong.

… He was not relieved. In fact, he was quite frustrated.

“What, I mess up your tea and you don’t have anything to say?” he tried to goad. “Knowing you, it was probably overpriced.”

“Hm? Oh…” Shen Qingqiu took a moment to consider, as though he’d been interrupted in the midst of some great and complex thought. “Well. Liu-shidi happened to choose a fairly difficult brew, so it isn’t surprising for the result to be less than perfect. It takes a few tries to master some blends. It took Binghe--”

And Shen Qingqiu shut right up.

Dammit, Liu Qingge tried to distract Shen Qingqiu and instead handed him a reminder of his loss.

“What are you going to do today?” Liu Qingge tried.

Shen Qingqiu looked genuinely perplexed by this question. “What do you mean?”

“You’re a peak lord. You have things to do. We’re going easy on you, but you have to do something. So what are you doing today?” Liu Qingge asked.

“I have paperwork,” Shen Qingqiu said airily. “It can wait.”

“So can I.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m gonna stay here ‘til you’re done.”

Shen Qingqiu frowned, at last getting huffy in the way he was known for. “This shixiong hardly needs to be babysat, especially by someone who disregards his own paperwork so often.”

“I’m not babysitting. I’m keeping you company.”

“I don’t need company.

“You’re getting it anyway.”

That made Shen Qingqiu visibly bristle a bit, sensing the concern and probably reading it as disrespect. But he must have seen in Liu Qingge’s eyes that he wasn’t going to be dissuaded so easily. “Fine. This shixiong will do it now, and as soon as it’s done, Shidi will kindly leave this shixiong and go back to minding his own peak or bother someone else.”

“Fair,” Liu Qingge agreed, relaxing minutely. Good, this is what he wanted. This way he could make sure Shen Qingqiu actually did something besides languish in despair. Maybe he could keep doing this every few days until eventually Shen Qingqiu got back in the habit of working without him prompting it, and from there he could ease out of mourning and back into regular life in the Sect.

Liu Qingge could only hope this was the right way to help.

Shen Qingqiu got up and went to his desk, then came back and spread out his papers in front of him. Liu Qingge recognized some things: lesson plans in neat little grids, messy work clearly done by students that required grading, a bestiary Shen Qingqiu was working on, personal notes in the weird ugly script Shen Qingqiu liked to use to keep his papers coded. Honestly, Liu Qingge expected the backlog to be worse, but then again, they had been going quite easy on him lately.

Liu Qingge sat back and got comfortable. He’d be here for a while.

For some time, that was it. Shen Qingqiu’s brush glided across the pages, occasionally being switched out for a stick of charcoal, as he slowly went through paper after paper. He’d occasionally sip his badly made tea and when the cup was empty, Liu Qingge would pour him more and ignore the dirty look he was given for still being there. Other than that, Liu Qingge simply sat quietly, half meditating.

It was peaceful. Calm. Maybe close to how things had been in the past at some rare moments, when Shen Qingqiu’s lips quirked at a student’s mistakes or at some line he was proud of writing. Once or twice, he even started to doodle before remembering he had company and quickly then blotted it out before Liu Qingge could figure out what it was.

But as time passed, the mood changed. Shen Qingqiu’s weak smiles stopped and were replaced with a steady frown. His brush would pause for no obvious reason for minutes on end before rushing to try and catch back up. The fingers of his free hand started drumming an erratic rhythm, full of nervous energy. At some point, he must have made a mistake in his writings because he crossed out a line violently, jerking his arm so suddenly and sharply that he knocked the forgotten cup of tea off the table.

Liu Qingge caught the cup without issue, but the tea within it splashed onto the floor, splattering across Shen Qingqiu’s robes and drenching Liu Qingge’s hand. 

Shen Qingqiu cursed and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Liu Qingge’s fingers. 

“It’s fine, it wasn’t too hot anymore,” Liu Qingge quickly reassured, placing the cup back on the table with his other hand.

“It’s not fine. I forgot how to spell a word, lost my temper, and made a mess,” Shen Qingqiu snapped. Liu Qingge couldn’t tell who he was mad at -- himself for forgetting one of those strange foreign words or Liu Qingge for being there to witness his mistake. “That isn’t suitable behavior for my position.”

Shen Qingqiu turned and opened his mouth as though to call for someone. Before he could say anything though, his eyes went wide with realization, and he snapped his mouth shut so swiftly, Liu Qingge heard his teeth click together.

He was just about to summon Luo Binghe to help clean the mess.

With a frustrated growl, Shen Qingqiu stood up, again so suddenly that he ended up banging his knee against the table and making it rattle. He took a deep breath in through his nose. “Please excuse this shixiong for a moment, Liu-shidi,” he bit out and scurried off to the kitchen.

Liu Qingge didn’t like this. Shen Qingqiu’s stress was getting to him, which only made sense when the only outlet he was allowing for his energy was the walk to and from the sword mound. Liu Qingge decided to allow him a few moments of privacy, using the cloth left behind to quickly mop up the spilled tea from the floor, before going to the kitchen to check on him.

He entered just in time to hear Shen Qingqiu curse again and watch as he fumbled a cup of water, the cup falling out of his hands and crashing to the floor, breaking into pieces.

Shen Qingqiu’s mouth twisted up in a scowl that almost looked painful. He didn’t look at Liu Qingge as he approached, keeping his eyes on the pieces of porcelain strewn on the floor before him.

“Don’t say anything.” Shen Qingqiu’s voice was low and rough. It sounded like he was holding something back. “Just leave me be.”

Liu Qingge ignored his request. Instead, he walked over and stood before Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu kept looking down at the floor, even though he went from staring at the pieces of the cup to staring at Liu Qingge’s boots.

“... You’re not okay,” Liu Qingge said. It wasn’t a question.

“Not with you here bothering me, I’m not,” Shen Qingqiu said through gritted teeth. “I asked you to kindly leave.”

“No.”

Shen Qingqiu finally looked him in the eye, glaring at him. Liu Qingge stood there and took it, meeting his stare with his own. Anger was good. If anything, at least it was a change. He was willing to encourage it.

“What do you want, Liu Qingge?” Shen Qingqiu asked. He addressed Liu Qingge by name, but Liu Qingge couldn’t celebrate that. It was clearly an attempt to jab him with disrespect, not to show endearment.

That fact hurt a little but now wasn’t the time. 

Liu Qingge was never one to beat around the bush. “I want you to stop wasting away.” As frustrated as Liu Qingge was and as much as that frustration was building ever higher, he tried to be gentle with him.

“You don’t get to dictate how I act.”

“I’m not telling you to do anything, but I’m worried.”

Shen Qingqiu scoffed, a curt dismissal of Liu Qingge’s effort and concern. “A foolish sentiment. This shixiong can take care of himself.”

“But you’re not,” Liu Qingge countered. He could feel his temper starting to flare in response to Shen Qingqiu's, his own hands shaking at how tightly he was clenching them, but he pressed on. “This needs to change.”

Shen Qingqiu actually rolled his eyes at that. “What does it matter?” he said mockingly. “Do you care about me or something!?”

That did it.

He stepped right up into Shen Qingqiu’s space, almost bumping into him, and shouted, “YES!”

Liu Qingge didn’t know what he was expecting Shen Qingqiu to respond to that with. There was a beat where Shen Qingqiu seemed startled out of his derision and Liu Qingge thought maybe he’d gotten through to him.

Instead, he got a sneer and a sour, humorless laugh. 

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard of you doing since I met you,” Shen Qingqiu snorted. “And you do a lot of stupid things.”

Liu Qingge felt his heart crack.

Wounded, he shot back the first hurtful thing that crossed his mind. “Not as stupid as you sitting around, doing nothing just because one damn disciple is dead! Just get another one!!”

Shen Qingqiu’s face went pale, and then flushed red. Furious, and faster than Liu Qingge had ever seen him move, Shen Qingqiu surged forward, grabbed Liu Qingge by the front of his robes, and shoved him hard, slamming him backfirst against the wall. “HOW DARE YOU!?” he roared. “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!?”

Liu Qingge gripped Shen Qingqiu’s wrists, but didn’t try to pry his hands off yet. “Oh, so you can dismiss what others feel, but we aren’t allowed to say anything about what you do!?”

“You don’t get to insult my--you don’t get to disrespect me and mine!”

“I’ll disrespect you AND your brat as much as I want, if you’re going to be a prick!”

“He is NOT a brat!”

“He is, and he learned from the master!”

“You don’t understand anything!” Shen Qingqiu was shaking with rage.

“Whose fault is that!?” Liu Qingge demanded, just as angry but somehow keeping cold and hard in the face of Shen Qingqiu’s fire. “You don’t get to treat people like shit or ignore them, and then act like you’ve been wronged when you only get shit back!”

“You don’t understand! ” Shen Qingqiu shouted again, yanking Liu Qingge forward and shoving him back against the wall again with a slam.

“Then fucking EXPLAIN IT TO ME! Instead of hiding from everything, let me HELP YOU.”

A scoff was his reply. “Help me!? Why!? How!?”

“I can protect you! Because I care about you, and I will keep caring even if it’s stupid , and you can’t stop me from caring, no matter how shitty you act to try and make me! I’m going to be here for you even if it kills me! ”

Something about that statement seemed to snap Shen Qingqiu out of his rage. His face paled and he suddenly released his grip on Liu Qingge’s robes and pulled away. 

Liu Qingge, confused and with his heart still racing, took a step forward without thinking. 

Shen Qingqiu took another step away. He looked to the floor, expression unreadable

“...” Shen Qingqiu put the heels of his hands against his eyes and started taking deep, even breaths to calm himself. 

Feeling off-kilter, Liu Qingge tried to make himself settle, too. In the ensuing silence, guilt for saying what he did was seeping in, the heavy sensation settling into the pit of his stomach.

He opened his mouth to say... something, make some sort of apology, but he was cut off by Shen Qingqiu.

“I can’t make you stop, can I?” he asked, quiet and distant like he was talking to himself more than anyone else. Liu Qingge, not sure how to respond, said nothing, and Shen Qingqiu continued, beginning to pace and even gesture with his arms.

“I just want it to stop. I’m just so tired of this.” Shen Qingqiu sounded like he was bordering on hysteria and trying to hold it back, but once the words started, he couldn’t stop them, and they spilled forth rapidly. He was speaking so fast that at some points, it was unintelligible to Liu Qingge, although he managed to understand parts.

“I don’t get any say in any of the shit that’s happening and when I do, I just make it worse. I don’t want to care and I don’t need to care, but I still do, and I don’t want anyone else to care, but you still do--”

“--and sometimes I hate this place,, and I hate this stupid world and its stupid rules and its stupid fate, and my stupid fate--”

“--it’d be easier if people would just NOT be people and act like they’re supposed to, but you won’t do that--”

“I don’t want to feel bad about the shit I have to do when I don’t have a choice, I don’t want to forget the languages I used to know, I don’t want to be stuck here, and all this is my fault even when it’s not, and I’m just so TIRED OF EVERYTHING!”

Shen Qingqiu finally broke off with that last shout, needing a moment to catch his breath again. Eventually, he seemed to remember that he had a witness and looked at Liu Qingge with wild eyes.

For his part, Liu Qingge was standing there in shock, trying to sort through the outburst of stress and madness. When Shen Qingqiu’s eyes met his, however, his heart lurched as he realized Shen Qingqiu’s cheeks were wet. Tears continued rolling down his face, unchecked.

“I just want everything to stop,” Shen Qingqiu said, sounding absolutely exhausted. “I want to go to sleep and just wake up somewhere else.”

Liu Qingge stepped forward. He reached out tentatively, hesitated, and settled on taking him by the shoulders. “I don’t think I understand everything that’s wrong--”

“I don’t think I understand everything that’s wrong,” Shen Qingqiu interjected dryly, his verbal barbs coming out by reflex.

“--but I know you’re not helpless to ‘fate’ or whatever the hell you’re talking about,” Liu Qingge continued. “You’re allowed to have feelings about whatever is going on that’s wrong. No one’s going to turn you away.”

“They should; it’d be easier for everyone,” Shen Qingqiu said. He spoke with the tone of someone stating a fact. The sky is blue, fire is hot, people shouldn’t bother with Shen Qingqiu.

“Of course it’s easier not to care,” Liu Qingge countered. “But we do anyway, and you do anyway, and you can’t make anyone stop. So maybe just be glad we’re going to be on your side and stop trying to act like you’re not hurting, especially when it’ll make you hurt more.”

“You’re hardly the first man I’d ask for emotional advice, Liu-shidi.”

“I wouldn’t go to you for it either,” Liu Qingge deadpanned. He wasn’t about to let Shen Qingqiu try to misdirect and joke away the seriousness of the situation; he knew him too well to fall for it now. “I’d just admit I was pissed and go hit things until it went away. But that won’t work for you.”

“It doesn’t matter what would work for me,” Shen Qingqiu griped, getting frustrated with Liu Qingge again. “There isn’t a problem--”

“So you’re not mourning your disciple?” Liu Qingge inquired. As Shen Qingqiu visibly bristled like a cat at this statement, Liu Qingge plowed forward. “Because if you ARE mourning him, then you need to let it out. You can’t just shut yourself away forever and think you’ll get better.”

“It’s not that--I don’t want to--”

“You don’t want to care, you said so. But you do care. Pretending you don’t won’t make it go away.”

Shen Qingqiu made a frustrated noise and glared at Liu Qingge, seemingly unaware of how his cheeks were still tearstained and his eyes were glistening and wet. “Then what, dear Shidi, are you expecting me to do?”

Screw it , Liu Qingge thought.

He pulled Shen Qingqiu into an embrace. 

He could feel Shen Qingqiu tense up against him, but he didn’t push away, to Liu Qingge’s relief.

“You’re allowed to be sad, Shen Qingqiu,” he said in the direction of his hair. “No one’s going to hit you when you’re down. You don’t have to be scared.”

“I’m not scared,” came Shen Qingqiu’s voice.

“Then you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Slowly, Shen Qingqiu relaxed, perhaps simply too tired to keep up his defenses. Bit by bit,  the tension drained out of his form, and he leaned forward into the hug, resting his head on Liu Qingge’s shoulder.

Liu Qingge simply held him close.

After a moment, Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders started to shake. Soon after, he started breathing more heavily. There was some wetness on Liu Qingge’s shoulder.

“Shut up, don’t say anything,” Shen Qingqiu said, his voice not quite cracking but sounding weak and warbled all the same.

“I won’t,” Liu Qingge assured him.

And he didn’t.

Liu Qingge stood there, holding him close and safe as Shen Qingqiu finally started to weep over losing his son.

He cried for a long, long while.

By the time Shen Qingqiu’s frame steadied and his breathing evened out, the afternoon sun had faded into the dim light of the evening and crickets had begun to sing. 

He patted Shen Qingqiu’s back gently. “Need anything?” he asked quietly.

“Haagan-Dazs,” Shen Qinqqiu mumbled, not moving from his position in Liu Qingge’s arms.

“...I don’t know what that is.” Somehow, it was almost comforting hearing Shen Qingqiu speaking nonsense again.

Shen Qingqiu sighed and waved his arm in a weak “it’s okay” motion. “It’s complicated. I’m just tired.”

“Do you feel any better?” Liu Qingge asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“I don’t know yet,” Shen Qingqiu said, thoughtful. “But...it’s not as heavy right now.”

“That’s a start.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded. “It’s a start.”

There was, for a few more moments, nothing more said and no movements made. Somehow, Liu Qingge felt lighter as well. Shen Qingqiu had opened up to him. He’d told Shen Qingqiu he cared, and even though he hadn’t declared how much, the fact that he had admitted even a fraction of his affection was a victory, even if Shen Qingqiu had been too deep in despair to really listen.

Liu Qingge finally got past some of the walls Shen Qingqiu set up.

But the day had been long and the outbursts had been many, and while the burden of mourning was lessened, it wasn’t gone. There was only so long before exhaustion really, truly set in.

“I want to go to bed,” Shen Qingqiu decided after some time. He drew back, allowing Liu Qingge to see his face for the first time in a long time. His eyes were red from crying and there were marks on his cheek from where he was pressed against Liu Qingge’s clothes. His hair was a disheveled mess.

He was still beautiful in Liu Qingge’s eyes.

Shen Qingqiu took slightly wobbly steps to his room. Liu Qingge came with him, a hand on his arm, half afraid he would topple over asleep before he even made it. Fortunately the fear was unfounded, and Shen Qingqiu reached his bed and flopped down upon it almost comically. Before Liu Qingge could even ask anything, he held up a hand and again made a motion as if to shoo away any concerns.

Regardless, some things still needed to be said.

“I’m...sorry today was a mess,” Liu Qingge said. “And for saying shitty things about your kid.” And he meant it. He was glad his actions had eventually gotten through, but he still came into Shen Qingqiu’s home and acted out, yelling at him and making demands and even insulting him. It wouldn’t be surprising if Shen Qingqiu wanted him gone, at least for a while.

Shen Qingqiu shrugged, still facedown in the pillow. Perhaps it was just his fatigue, but he didn’t seem bothered at the moment. “I’ve been a bit of a mess myself. I wasn’t being very charitable to you either.” After a moment, he turned his head to give Liu Qingge a look that was probably supposed to be threatening. “Don’t tell anyone about the crying.”

“I won’t,” Liu Qingge vowed, solemn and sincere.

Shen Qingqiu...let out a little huff of laughter. “Liu-shidi doesn’t need to look like he’s going off to war or something. It’s just a secret. Friends can keep secrets.”

Liu Qingge relaxed, but couldn’t resist adding, “You’d probably try to kill me if I told anyone.”

“There would be no trying involved,” Shen Qingqiu said as he rolled over onto his back so he could pull off his boots and toss them to the floor. “There would only be success.”

“If you wanted to kill me, you’d have to be able to beat me in a fight first,” Liu Qingge reminded him. He wasn’t quite sure about the sudden shift in tone, but he couldn’t deny it was an absolute blessing to see Shen Qingqiu loose and lazy, to hear him say silly things in the same tone he’d use for genuine boasts.

It felt like talking to him again. The real him.

“Liu-shidi underestimates his shixiong’s powers,” Shen Qingqiu said loftily, taking out his crown and throwing that to the floor, too. It landed with a clang that Shen Qingqiu showed no concern over.

Liu Qingge raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Are you saying you’d beat me in a fight?” he asked incredulously.

“There wouldn’t be a fight -- there would be clever subterfuge and a well-set trap.”

“So you’d cheat.”

“It’s not cheating; it’s creative winning.”

Liu Qingge actually let out a snort. Shen Qingqiu, if only for a moment, smirked, as if satisfied at getting that out of him. Then he sighed long and loud and dropped back onto the bed.

“... Thank you, Liu Qingge,” he said quietly. “For being here, even if I didn’t want it.”

Liu Qingge’s heart twisted at the sincerity, at the openness. Some part of him wanted to tell him why he had been there, why he had REALLY been there, just how far the caring Liu Qingge had professed to would go and how long Liu Qingge was willing to stay.

But...it didn’t feel right. Not when Shen Qingqiu was still broken up inside, not when he still needed unselfish and trustworthy support.

Liu Qingge decided at that moment that yes, he would tell Shen Qingqiu he was in love with him...

… But only when it was the best time to do so.

So instead, he simply nodded his acknowledgement of the gratitude, and bid Shen Qingqiu goodnight. He went to the door, paused, and turned back, going to the kitchen and quietly picked up the broken pieces of the porcelain cup. When finished, he returned to the tea table and stacked the scattered papers back onto Shen Qingqiu’s desk. 

He took one last peek into the bedroom and found Shen Qingqiu already in deep sleep, hugging one of his pillows in a way he would absolutely be embarrassed about if he knew Liu Qingge saw.

Only then was Liu Qingge completely sure Shen Qingqiu was okay. And only then did he leave him to his dreams.

Shen Qingqiu was unwell.

But he would get better.

Chapter Text

Change can be slow. In some cases, there was simply nothing to be done but wait for progress to occur on its own. Liu Qingge knew this.

That didn’t mean he liked it.

Shen Qingqiu did show some improvement after Liu Qingge basically came into his house and bullied him into...into whatever it was that ended up happening. Shen Qingqiu actually did some of his work now, and judging by the attitude of the students on Qing Jing Peak, their Shizun had given them a lesson at some point. But he was still spending far too much time indoors, sighing wistfully too often, and shutting down if he accidentally brought up Luo Binghe. Which happened every day or so because even with the kid dead, Shen Qingqiu still had to dote on him.

Liu Qingge never wanted children if this is what happened to people who did.

He mentioned that to Mingyan and she had asked what he’d do when Shen Qingqiu asked him for a baby someday.

Liu Qingge had bopped her on the head. She’d laughed at him.

Focusing on the present, Liu Qingge still felt that it was best to check on Shen Qingqiu often. As usual, he wasn’t the only one. He’d caught Mu Qingfang and Yue Qingyuan on their own visits several times, along with a surprising new visitor. When and why Shang Qinghua had become a frequent visitor to Shen Qingqiu’s house was beyond him. But it was kind of funny seeing Shang Qinghua look so bullied, and Shen Qingqiu seemed to enjoy the bullying, so Liu Qingge accepted it in stride.

As long as it helped Shen Qingqiu escape his melancholy, Liu Qingge would encourage it. Honestly, if the Qing Jing Peak Lord had gotten joy from committing a murder, Liu Qingge would help get rid of the body.

But as long as Shen Qingqiu was staying in the bamboo house and keeping his outings to occasional walks to greet his students, Liu Qingge had to work to take care of him anyway. Shen Qingqiu’s cultivation was more than enough to keep him alive, even if he chose not to sleep or eat or move, but it was best for him to do all these things.

Movement had been achieved after the Incident, which seemed to get Shen Qingqiu going at least enough to do daily chores and some lessons. And sleep was one of the few things he had never given up on at all. Which left food, and that was proving problematic.

Luo Binghe had been a willing servant to Shen Qingqiu even when his shizun tried to make him stop, and one of the services he had provided was meal preparation. While Liu Qingge hadn’t indulged in the boy’s cooking too often, and the Bai Zhan Peak Lord was hardly a gourmet, even he had recognized the excellent taste. If Luo Binghe had chosen not to become a cultivator, he would have probably had a promising future as a cook. Shen Qingqiu even bragged about the boy’s talent when he felt particularly smug.

That made meal times a problem for them now. Not only was it more difficult than expected to meet the high standards Shen Qingqiu had developed from years of masterpieces, but there was always a risk that some taste or lack thereof would spark too strong a memory of the lost child. Then Shen Qingqiu would get, as Shang Qinghua had dubbed it, the Big Sad.

...let it again be known that Liu Qingge did NOT know how this man and Shen Qingqiu had become friends.

The other Peak Lords still did their best. They brought meals from well-reviewed restaurants or treats from expensive shops. The Qing Jing kitchens were checked often to make sure they were stocked and had the best quality ingredients. The students who were spotted trying to fill in their shidi’s duty were never discouraged from their attempts. But it still seemed Shen Qingqiu’s meals were small and rarely finished, and only the most ridiculously sweet candies caught his eye.

So, Liu Qingge decided to try mixing the approaches. If his martial siblings buying food didn’t work, and the disciples cooking food didn’t work, then perhaps one of the martial siblings cooking themselves might at least get Shen Qingqiu’s attention , if not his approval. One of them should try to actually go to him and make a meal themselves, or even encourage Shen Qingqiu to do so himself.

The problem was, Liu Qingge couldn’t bring up the idea to his colleagues. It felt...embarrassing, somehow, like admitting he’d thought about the issue this much might reveal more than Liu Qingge was ready to about his feelings. Sometimes he’d caught the others looking at him with something too much like understanding when Shen Qingqiu was brought up in conversation. The idea that they might have figured him out made Liu Qingge feel almost vulnerable, and he disliked it very much. Several of the Peak Lords had grown up well off and considered cooking to be servants' work. To suggest they lower themselves to it for Shen Qingqiu...it was  like an incriminating admission, it would confirm too much of what others seemed to suspect.

...which meant Liu Qingge would have to try enacting his little plan himself, even if he already recognized it was a fiasco in the making.

Love had made him so, SO stupid.

The decision was made however, and that day, a month or so after the Incident, Liu Qingge came to visit and, after the usual tea and quiet conversation, Liu Qingge didn’t head to the door. He went to the kitchen.

Shen Qingqiu, perplexed, followed him. He didn’t ask anything immediately, just kept a few steps behind and curiously watched. It wasn’t until Liu Qingge lit a fire under the stove and pulled down a pan hanging on the wall that Shen Qingqiu made an audible noise of confusion.

“You aren’t eating enough, so I’m fixing it,” Liu Qingge explained.

“What.”

Ah, the flat ‘what,’ a staple of Shen Qingqiu’s mannerisms. Somehow, it was good to hear it.

“You heard me.” Liu Qingge glanced at what was present in the cabinet. Not too much, but that was fine. Liu Qingge’s typical fare when he cooked for himself was roasted meat and whatever he foraged on his monster hunts. It wasn’t like he was going to try anything complex and luxurious when he had that little experience.

Rice was there. Rice was obvious. And it was pretty easy to make, he thought? You put the rice in the pot, you put water in the pot, you waited, you got cooked rice.

“Liu-shidi is serious,” Shen Qingqiu said, sounding somewhere between impressed and appalled. He wasn’t moving in to stop him yet though.

Liu Qingge took a pause from pouring rice in the pot to give Shen Qingqiu a look. “When am I not serious?”

Shen Qingqiu pulled out his fan and covered everything but his rolling eyes. Which meant that he had no answer to the question and was hiding the face he was making. Also that he was at least feeling well enough to start caring about his image again. Satisfied with that response, Liu Qingge resumed his mission.

Once the rice was started, Liu Qingge thought about what to do next. Add things to the rice, he supposed? So it wouldn’t be bland? He’d never cared about that as long as it was edible, but Shen Qingqiu was delicate like that, he’d want flavor. How about some meat? Meat was important for strength, and he knew there were some sources of it on the mountain. “What happened to that chicken you stole? Or the short haired monster?”

“Stop trying to make me eat my pets,” Shen Qingqiu snapped.

Liu Qingge shrugged. Okay, fine, it’d be a hassle to kill and prepare them anyway, he’d stick with what was in the kitchen. There were spices. Spices were good, probably. Not that he really knew how to season food with any finesse. Or if you added the spice during the cooking or afterwards. Still, he pulled some containers out and placed them on the counter.

Shen Qingqiu finally got frustrated enough to approach him. “Liu-shidi’s concern is appreciated, as always, but this shixiong has some doubts about how successful this endeavor will be.”

Liu Qingge didn’t admit that he was equally worried about that, and just took out some of the vegetables in the cabinets. He could cut up vegetables, that was probably the one thing in the kitchen he could confidently say he was capable of. “Where are your knives?”

“What, shidi isn’t just going to use Cheng Luan?” Shen Qingqiu asked with mock surprise, but he did get a knife for Liu Qingge and handed it over. “Shidi does remember that this shixiong can practice inedia?”

“That won’t improve your health,” Liu Qingge countered, starting to get to work on the vegetables. How much would he need? Maybe a handful of each?

Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes, deciding to be offended. “This shixiong isn’t a weakling, nor a growing child.”

“No, you’re just a hermit.” A dramatic hermit, Liu Qingge thought as Shen Qingqiu lowered his fan just enough for the face he made to be visible.

“For a man who never worries about his own health, Liu-shidi finds plenty of time to worry about mine,” Shen Qingqiu commented, raising his fan again and trying to look aloof. When Liu Qingge only shrugged, he tried adding “and how much has shidi been leaving the mountain himself lately, hm? Not often, if shidi is close enough to bother this shixiong so often.”

If his intent was to make Liu Qingge defensive, it failed. “I’ve left a few times for short missions. But someone I know needs a babysitter or he won’t even eat.”

Shen Qingqiu made the ugliest offended noise Liu Qingge had ever heard and he enjoyed it immensely.

“If this shixiong needed a babysitter, which is NOT the case,” Shen Qingqiu huffed, “Liu-shidi would be the last person worth considering for the position. No one asks for care from a man who kicks children!”

“If they come to my peak they’re literally asking for it,” Liu Qingge said, starting to get annoyed. He’d largely forgotten the vegetables by now.

“They’re asking for an education! And for directions!”

“Coddling is your style, not mine.”

“My students are not coddled. They are merely cared for and watched over. Which isn’t something you would be familiar with. You’re more prone to destruction.”

“I do not destroy everything!!” Liu Qingge argued.

And then the rice caught fire.

There wasn’t even a second of hesitation before Liu Qingge reacted. It was reflex at this point to respond to danger immediately. It had kept him alive for many years.

Liu Qingge pulled out his sword and immediately brought it down with a blast of qi, and the stove basically vaporized. As did the wall behind it.

…oh no, he did destroy everything.

There were a good few moments of silence from both men.

And then, by some miracle, Shen Qingqiu chose to burst out into hysterical laughter. Liu Qingge hadn’t felt this sort of relief in YEARS. He didn’t even care that the laughter was clearly directed at him.

Liu Qingge didn’t even think Shen Qingqiu HAD laughed since Luo Binghe was lost. A stove and a wall were a welcome d sacrifice for that.

“What the HELL was that!?” Shen Qingqiu asked, after he calmed himself down.

Liu Qingge tried not to look too embarrassed, to hold onto a small bit of dignity. “I put out the fire.”

“I mean…you’re not wrong …” Shen Qingqiu admitted. Still, he clearly didn’t think Liu Qingge was right either.

Liu Qingge tried to resist the oncoming headache through sheer willpower. He came to express his care and concern for Shen Qingqiu and instead he destroyed his kitchen and made a fool of himself. This day couldn’t get any worse.

There was a slam as the door opened and someone scurried over. “Holy shit, bro, your house just exploded—EEP!”

…Shang Qinghua was here. It HAD gotten worse. At least Mingyan would find this funny when he told her later.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t seem too pleased either. “Shang-shidi. This shixiong doesn’t recall sending any invitations to An Ding recently.”

Shang Qinghua looked affronted. “Bro! Come on! Don’t be mean!”

The headache could not be willed away now. Why was Shang Qinghua being so…casual with Shen Qingqiu? What the hell was with the “bro” thing, too? Liu Qingge glared at him, and the other man squeaked and hid his face behind a box he’d brought with him.

“As for the kitchen, there was a bit of an…accident, as Shang-shidi can see,” Shen Qingqiu added. “And Liu-shidi was just leaving to get some food since it will be difficult to make a meal with this. Right?” Shen Qingqiu looked at him meaningfully.

What else could Liu Qingge do? He sighed and nodded, already thinking of where to go.

Shang Qinghua’s face lit up. “Actually, speaking of food, that’s why I’m here!” he announced, puffing up a little bit with pride and holding out the box he’d been hiding behind like a treasure chest. “I got my hands on something good and I wanted to share it!”

Liu Qingge raised an incredulous eyebrow. How good could whatever this mouse got his hands on be that good? Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, looked cautiously curious. He waved his hand in a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

With flourish, Sheng Qinghua opened the box and held the content for display. There were…things. Little smooth marble-like confections, colored deep brown, many placed in little foil cups. Some had decorations of tiny white sprinkles, others were drizzled with some dark syrup. Liu Qingge couldn’t recognize what they were made of. Obviously they were sweets, but they didn’t look that special…

Shen Qingqiu clearly disagreed. His eyes went wider than Liu Qingge had ever seen them. He lowered his fan enough to sniff the air above the box, and he actually gasped a little. “You have CHOCOLATE.”

“I have chocolate!” Shang Qinghua confirmed, beaming at the reaction he got. “And it was way harder to get than it should’ve been, so you better appreciate me sharing with you! Ah! Um…Liu-shidi, would you…also like some?”

“No he doesn’t,” Shen Qingqiu quickly answered for him, and gave Liu Qingge a look that was clearly meant as a threat. A ‘touch this food and they will never find your remains’ kind of threat.

Liu Qingge held his hands up in surrender. “I don’t even know what that stuff is. And I don’t like sweets.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, pleased with Liu Qingge’s response. He took a piece of the ‘chocolate,’ took time to appreciate the look of it, and then took a slow bite. He looked like he’d tasted heaven. Liu Qingge hadn't seen him look so… satisfied for months. He’d certainly never acted like this for any gift Liu Qingge had offered.

…something sour was building up in Liu Qingge’s gut now.

“I’ll go get you some dinner,” he announced gruffly. He turned on his heel and headed to the door, not quite storming off but probably closer to it than he should be. He could hear Shang Qinghua hastily and nervously call out a farewell. Shen Qingqiu was too busy savoring the candy to react at all.

The door was left open when Shang Qinghua entered the house. Liu Qingge couldn’t even kick it down to release his stress.

Liu Qingge had never lost a battle before. But he was pretty sure if he did, it would feel like this.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge was not a stupid man, whatever the rumors said. He was more prone to action than reason, true, and he didn’t have much patience for negotiation or the like. But he wasn’t a fool. He knew what was going on around him, he knew how to face problems, and he knew when something was a bad idea. He knew when he was being lied to.

Which is why he was honestly offended that Shen Qingqiu thought he could get away with this nonsense.

Almost three seasons had passed since the Immortal Alliance Conference, since the tragedy of Luo Binghe. The entire time, Shen Qingqiu had been on his peak, never straying farther than the very edges to see off students going on this or that errand. He had done everything except go into seclusion in the caves to not interact with the outside world. People had honestly begun to wonder what would happen when/if the day came that he HAD to leave, because they assumed he would refuse and resist.

But today, when Liu Qingge was on his way to visit him, he found the man with Shang Qinghua and a bag of funds provided by Yue Qingyuan for a spontaneous pleasure trip he was going on without warning…

…and Shen Qingqiu genuinely thought he could just say “There’s something this shixiong was hoping to see, please check on my disciples for me occasionally, many thanks!” and Liu Qingge would accept it ?

No. No no no no. That was not what was going to happen. Shen Qingqiu could argue until he was hoarse. Shang Qinghua could kowtow until he became one with the dirt. They could both remind him Yue Qingyuan gave permission a thousand times. This was not happening. Even if Liu Qingge had to pick Shen Qingqiu up, haul him over his shoulder, and carry him back to his bamboo house kicking and screaming.

He had grabbed Shen Qingqiu to do so when Shang Qinghua suggested in a panic, “If Liu-shidi wants to come too there’s room in the carriage!” Only that made Liu Qingge pause, letting Shen Qingqiu wrest himself from his grip and smooth his robes indignantly.

“Why didn’t you ask anyone to accompany you in the first place?” Liu Qingge asked when Shen Qingqiu was finished with his theatrics.

Shen Qingqiu motioned to Shang Qinghua. “It’s not like this shixiong will be alone.”

“He’s worse than going alone,” Liu Qingge countered. Shang Qinghua whined about something that Liu Qingge didn’t care enough to pay attention to. “That’s a liability if you end up in danger.”

“There’s not going to be danger, Liu-shidi,” Shen Qingqiu said dismissively, waving his fan gently as if to wave away his concerns. “It’s just a couple of days taking a trip for no official destination. For relaxation purposes.”

Liu Qingge didn’t buy it. “You relax by being lazy, not taking trips.” Shang Qinghua poorly his a snort of laughter, and Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes. Liu Qingge continued, “and I don’t think you find the mouse there very calming.”

“Not true. It’s very cathartic to hit him a bit now and then.” Shen Qingqiu also ignored it when Shang Qinghua voiced his objections to that.

“And what if your poison flares up while you’re gone? Who’s going to clear your meridians?”

“Shang-shidi has enough cultivation talent to do that much at least.”

Shan Qinghua didn’t bother complaining anymore.

Liu Qingge crossed his arms. “This is way too sudden. You haven’t said anything about a trip to me or your students.” Liu Qingge knew he hadn’t, because if he had warned the disciples, their moping would have been obvious. “I’ll bet you’re just going to get yourself in some trouble again. And bringing that guy with you makes that worse.”

“So?”

“So I’m taking his offer. I’m coming too.”

Shen Qingqiu looked at Liu Qingge for a moment or two in silence, as if to imply that was too stupid an idea to deign a response, but of course he couldn’t resist opening his big mouth eventually. “You weren’t planning to come on a trip! You can’t just leave your students without warning!”

“I do it all the time. I can do it again.”

“Or shidi could go home.”

“I could. But I won’t. I’m going to come with you. Where are you going anyway?”

Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua exchanged looks and didn’t say anything. If Liu Qingge hadn’t already been suspicious, he would be now. They weren’t telling him something.

Liu Qingge sighed. “Fine. I’ll find out when we get there. I’m going to go tell Yue Qingyuan. I’ll be back in less than an hour. Don’t try to leave without me.

They did try to leave without him. He caught up with them.

To be fair to the two and their claims of a pleasure trip, it was fairly peaceful for the first part of it. It was a leisurely ride in the carriage with the occasional stop to deal with small nuisances or to eat at an inn. It could almost be called pleasant.

There were two reasons it wasn’t. The first was, of course, Shang Qinghua. He complained about every purchase even as he made it, he whined about this and that, he kept nervously looking back at Liu Qingge as if he thought the man was going to gut him out of the blue.

Which, well, Liu Qingge could, and perhaps was tempted to do when Shang Qinghua got particularly annoying. But the Bai Zhan War God did have SOME self control.

The second reason was that Shen Qingqiu apparently thought if he made his own annoyance at Liu Qingge’s presence known, it could convince him to leave. A foolish assumption, of course, but that didn’t stop Shen Qingqiu and his dramatics. Shen Qingqiu never looked at him in the carriage and instead stared out the window, no matter how boring the scenery. At meals he would sit as far from him as possible. When he deigned it fit to converse with Shang Qinghua, he would talk about Liu Qingge as if he wasn’t there. Sometimes he’d even let out long sighs as though he was suffering some terrible hardship.

Sometimes Shen Qingqiu’s silliness was endearing. Right now it wasn’t. But Liu Qingge never assumed loving a man like this was always going to be easy.

Still, for a time, everything went smoothly. It was enough to lull Liu Qingge into something like a sense of security. He was as startled as Shen Qingqiu when suddenly the carriage lurched and Shang Qinghua loudly swore and reined the horses in.

Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge looked outside. The carriage was in a thick forest at this point. Even the sunlight was largely blocked by the foliage above, creating an almost night-like darkness around them.

“What are you screaming about?” Shen Qingqiu demanded. Liu Qingge couldn’t see or otherwise sense any danger at the moment, but he already had a hand on the hilt of his sword.

“I saw something that looked like a woman crawling on the ground!” Shang Qinghua claimed, pointing at the spot he’d seen it. “I would have run it over if I didn’t stop!”

“I suppose that is worth screaming over,” Shen Qingqiu agreed. “It’s probably best to have multiple eyes out while we’re in the woods. I’ll come up and sit with you–...Liu-shidi.”

Liu Qingge had sat down next to a startled Shang Qinghua on the driver’s bench before Shen Qingqiu could get there. “You can stay in the carriage and ‘relax’ like you were planning to do,” he told him. “I’ll keep an eye out for any strange creatures.”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t even argue at this point. He just threw up his hands, sighed dramatically once again, and got back in the carriage. Shang Qinghua stared at Liu Qingge in something like horror for a few minutes before finally urging the horses onward again, pulling out a bag of melon seeds to chew on and distract himself from constantly glancing over at his companion.

Liu Qingge didn’t bother hiding his scowl as he let his mind wander. Of course it wandered to the most pressing question of the day; why the HELL was Shen Qingqiu going on a trip with Shang Qinghua? What could he gain from this? It was true Shang Qinghua, by virtue of running the logistics peak, had information on where to get various rare items (like that ‘chocolate’ stuff), but that wasn’t something Shen Qingqiu had to leave his peak to benefit from. And while Shen Qingqiu clearly got some weird satisfaction from his friendship with the mouse, it wasn’t enough to want to be alone with him for a significant amount of time, right?

And what about Shang Qinghua’s end? What did HE get out of this? Shen Qingqiu didn’t bother to hide his bullying, nor did Shang Qinghua hide his dislike of it. There was no sign that there was any romantic inclinations from Shan Qinghua toward him either (and thank goodness for that, or Liu Qingge might have to consider murder to defend Shen Qingqiu’s honor). Liu Qingge had no idea why they ever bothered talking to each other outside of sect matters to spark this whole friendship. It was WEIRD.

Shang Qinghua glanced at Liu Qingge, and proceeded to squeak and fling his bag of melon seeds at him when he saw the look on his face. He missed by a mile. Liu Qingge had never been less impressed.

So it was for a while, Shang Qinghua cowering and Liu Qingge stewing and Shen Qingqiu doing whatever he was doing in the carriage. It wasn’t a peaceful trip, but there was no reason to think trouble was afoot.

At least until they came across the bag of melon seeds laying on the ground in front of them.

Shen Qingqiu was called out, and they all considered the offending object. It had been left behind and ended up in front…meaning they had managed to come back to where they started.

“We only went straight, I don’t see how we could have gotten turned around or gone in a circle,” said Liu Qingge. Shang Qinghua nodded his assent.

“To be fair, there aren’t any landmarks around here…it’s just endless trees and darkness.” Shen Qingqiu glanced around him. “This place looks just the same as everywhere else.”

“Then how do we get out here?” Shang Qinghua asked. “There’s a couple folk methods we could try…”

“We’re not doing anything foolish or irrational,” Shen Qingqiu was quick to tell him, jabbing his fan in his direction. “So don’t suggest anything disgusting.”

Shang Qinghua pouted but obeyed and stayed silent.

“Maybe we could fly up and take a look around to get our bearings?” Liu Qingge asked.

Shen Qingqiu considered. “That might help a bit but it wouldn’t prevent us from getting turned around again, and I don’t think it’s possible to have someone flying lead us from above if we can’t see them…I think there is a map in the supplies, perhaps that could assist us.” He went back into the carriage, and Liu Qingge followed and stood looking over his shoulder as he dug through the packed items.

Then Shang Qinghua screamed like a little girl from outside. Liu Qingge startled so hard he banged his head on the roof of the carriage, and Shen Qingqiu spilled the bag of supplies all over the carriage floor. Both men cursed, then stormed out to see what on earth that was about.

Shang Qinghua looked terrified and had half climbed back onto the carriage seat. “Once you were inside I felt a furry thing on my neck and I raised my head and there was all this hair and there was a face behind it and I couldn’t see it well FUCK!”

Liu Qingge immediately put his hand on his sword hilt and walked around the carriage doing a perimeter check, but he found nothing but grass and branches. When he came back and reported this, Shang Qinghua looked somewhat deflated and Shen Qingqiu was rolling his eyes, so Liu Qingge figured that the coward had already been scolded for his foolishness and didn’t comment beyond “There’s nothing here.”

Shen Qingqiu opened the map. It showed the whole mainland, and for a moment Liu Qingge was unsure what help it provided, but he spotted it quickly. He pointed to the area he thought they were at. “This is the forest, right? This territory…”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, frowning. “That’s right. We’re right by the border of the Huan Hua Palace territory. We might be in their protective array.” He sounded thoughtful. After a pause, his eyes suddenly seemed far away. Whatever he was thinking of, it made him scowl in obvious frustration after a few moments, and then he turned to Shang Qinghua and opened his mouth to ask him something…

…only to suddenly snap it shut when he glanced at Liu Qingge. He covered his face with his fan and made a point of looking away. Shang Qinghua, seeing this, also suddenly turned his head so it was harder for the Bai Zhan Peak Lord to look him in the eye.

Liu Qingge didn’t know what the hell kind of secret they were keeping, but he knew he hated it. He hated it so much he even said so. “You’re not gonna help us get out of here by being sneaky about whatever it is you’re being sneaky about.”

“This shixiong hasn’t the slightest idea what on earth Liu-shidi could mean,” Shen Qingqiu said way too quickly and innocently to be believed. Shang Qinghua just quietly moved to stand behind Shen Qingqiu like there was any chance that would protect him. In fact he made it worse for himself, because now Liu Qingge could add “used Shen Qingqiu as a human shield” to his list of crimes.

Fortunately for the mouse, Liu Qingge would have to put retribution for that aside for now, because a sound caught his attention. His sword was sent flying into a bush where movement occurred, making Shang Qinghua shriek. Shen Qingqiu quickly jumped in to help, sending his own attack at the target with a bright flash of light. The creature, whatever it was, howled even louder than Shang Qinghua as it was flung back, and it had fled by the time the light faded.

“Can it be that it’s afraid of light?” Shen Qingqiu wondered as he looked over the destroyed bush and Liu Qingge summoned back his sword. Shang Qinghua, useless as ever, simply moaned about ghosts. Liu Qingge rolled his eyes and didn’t bother responding to either of them.

Not that he had time to, because all at once the trio registered another sound; footsteps. They were quiet, barely audible, clearly the steps of someone practiced in cultivation. They remained quiet until a figure emerged.

He was young, still a disciple, clad in white and with a serious face that didn’t relax until he got a good look at them and discerned there was no danger. He sheathed the sword in his hand and bowed in greeting. “This junior was investigating a change in the surroundings and specially rushed here, but didn't know it was Immortal Master Shen, Immortal Master Liu, and Immortal Master Shang here, who are of the Nascent Soul stage.”

While Liu Qingge could appreciate being shown some respect after all the nonsense of this trip, he hardly had the patience for children at this point in time. “Who are you and what do you want?” he asked gruffly. He could feel Shen Qingqiu give him the evil eye for his rudeness.

The boy wilted a little, and it was Shang Qinghua who harshly whispered “…You really don't remember a person's face or give them face. This is Gongyi Xiao.”

Liu Qingge could vaguely remember the name…it had been mentioned at the Immortal Alliance Conference, he thought. The chaos and tragedy of the day had erased any memory beyond that, however, at least for the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. Shen Qingqiu did a better job of remembering the lad, and commented “Ah, the young hero,” in apparent recognition. This alone made Gongyi Xiao’s mood rise again. 

“I don't dare. For these two Peak Lords to come to Huan Hua Palace's borders, why didn't you send notice ahead of time? We've truly delayed you elders and given you difficulties.” Ah, so Huan Hua did consider this place as theirs. Great, so Shen Qingqiu’s little trip involved trespassing. Liu Qingge resisted the urge to bonk him on the head for causing problems on purpose again .

Shen Qingqiu said, “We have no plan to pay respects to Huan Hua Palace; we've only come to deal with a situation in Bailu Forest.” For a moment it looked like Gongyi Xiao was going to ask more, but he thought better of it. Shen Qingqiu’s voice was even and calm, leaving no room for argument from a figure of lesser standing. The poker face was coming in useful for once, leaving no room for objections without coming across as insulting his elders. With that option unavailable, there was little he could do but follow Shen Qingqiu’s lead and assume that this was normal and okay, or at least act like he thought so.

The powers of politeness were never ones Liu Qingge really mastered. He was just glad Shen Qingqiu was using those powers for good.

Hopefully.

“What the elders are going to do, this junior won't guess at but would please ask to be of assistance to them.” The boy was dutiful, Liu Qingge gave him that.

But he was unneeded. “There’s nothing here that’s a danger to us,” he said firmly. Because that was the whole reason he was here, after all; to keep Shen Qingqiu out of harm’s way. Having a child following them about, let alone one from another sect, would only get in the way.

Gongyi Xiao started to deflate again, but before he could be dismissed, Shen Qingqiu put a hand on Liu Qingge’s shoulder and gently pushed him to the side, clearly taking charge of the situation. Liu Qingge shot him a look that was ignored completely. “These masters would appreciate the assistance of one who has more experience with the area than us.” Again, the boy’s shoulders rose with pride, and he quickly went to take the job of driving the cart from Shang Qinghua. Clearly the decision was made and the journey was going to continue. Shen Qingqiu nodded encouragingly at Gongyi Xiao when he looked over at him, the same way he would to his students.

Liu Qingge held back his protests, knowing better than to get in the way of mother duck Shen Qingqiu and a duckling he wanted to adopt. At least this one couldn’t be dragged back home. And if everything went well, maybe they'd finally he heading home soon.