Work Text:
Shen Qingqiu had imagined, over the past 3 years, so many ways this could have gone.
He pictured a blackened protagonist knocking on his doorstep, a fire in his eyes, ready to kidnap him and turn him into a human stick. Maybe he could manage to convince Binghe to leave Cang Qiong alone, but probably not.
He pictured luo Binghe surrounded by no less than 5 wives when this happened, with another 95 waiting at home for him.
Oh, and he imagined this would happen 2 years from now, because holy shit, Luo Binghe was out of the Abyss early, red alert, red alert.
[System starting up. Please wait…]
Fuck your mother!
Luo Binghe was staring at him from across the road, in the middle of a village so small its name never appeared in the pages of Proud Immortal Demon Way, where no plot heavy thing should have ever occured. And yet! The protagonist was wandering around here in broad daylight all alone. And he was staring right at his scum shizun. And Shen Qingqiu was going to die.
He didn't really have time to come up with a plan before Luo Binghe crossed the street in three quick strides.
"Is there a reason you're staring at me, esteemed cultivator?" Luo Binghe asked. Shen Qingqiu, for his part, was rooted in place and unable to move.
[System back online. Thank you for your patience host! Analyzing– hold on. An anomaly has been detected. Processing... Please stand by, host! Searching for anomaly within the protagonist…]
Wait. What? Anomaly? You mean the reason why canon diverged so hard that Binghe left the Abyss early?
"Binghe," Shen Qingqiu choked out.
Faster than he could blink, Luo Binghe clung to his wrist. Shen Qingqiu imagined he had about 5 seconds left to enjoy having a hand attatched. He squeezed his eyes shut in terror.
"You said my name," Luo Binghe said in an… an awed voice. "Do you know me? Do I know you?"
…
...what.
"What?"
"Ah," Luo Binghe, supreme demon lord, looked sheepish. What the…? "I apologize. I… well you see, I've lost my memory. I've been searching for clues as to who I was before. I can't remember most things about my past except for my name." He licks his lips, and he actually looks nervous. "I just- you were staring at me just now like you recognized me, and you said my name! You don't know how happy that makes me. If you know anything about me, anything at all, please. I would be indebted to you if you could help me find out who I am and who I'm missing."
Shen Qingqiu stared for a long moment. He was silent for so long that the System finally chirped up.
[Anomaly analyzed. Protagonist Luo Binghe has lost his memories thanks to the venom of the memory eating water snake, which he fought in the endless Abyss. Protagonist has failed to regain his memories ever since.
New mission: Master and Disciple, Old Memories and New! Do you accept?
Yes/Yes]
I hate you so much, Shen Qingqiu thought.
Then he realized he still hasn't answered Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe, who was looking at him not with contempt but with pleading eyes, like his old white lotus never left. He felt a pang in his heart. He felt guilty for feeling so relieved that Luo Binghe apparently didn't remember a thing about him. He also felt incredibly sad that Binghe didn't even have memories of their good times together anymore, apparently. Ah, what was he now, a sentimental fool?! Binghe was probably better off with amnesia! He hated to say it, but Binghe's young life had been full of misfortune after misfortune. The 3 years of favoritism Shen Qingqiu gave him paled in comparison to every hardship that came before and after. Binghe would be far, far better off never recovering his memories, probably.
Oh, but, well. There left an issue with wives like Ning Yingying and Liu Mingyan. But… what was 2 less wives in the grand scheme of things? The pros and cons probably balanced out in the end, right? Right.
Binghe was still staring at him expectantly. And he still didn't know what to say. Dammit.
"I don't know how to help you," is what came out of Shen Qingqiu's mouth.
"Please, daozhang," Luo Binghe gripped his wrist tighter. "If you can give me a clue, a hint, a word of advice, anything, I will take it. Point me in the direction of where I should go or who I can talk to. Just– please, please, I'm looking for someone and I don't know how to find them." And oh no, no no no, Binghe's voice actually broke when he said it. Shen Qingqiu could already feel his resolve crumbling away. This wasn't fair at all!
...Wait a minute. "You're… looking for someone?"
Binghe nodded emphatically. "I know it sounds strange, but I feel like there's someone I'm trying to find. Someone I left behind, or… or someone who left me. I can't remember anything about them, I don't know how I can remember that I'm even looking for them, but I know I am. I need to find them. I don't know what I'd do if I fail them."
Shen Qingqiu's heart siezed at the declaration. It was an incredibly romantic thing to say about, undoubtedly, one of his wives. Perhaps this particular wife plot was one of those unpublished drafts Shang Qinghua was talking about? It didn't explain why such a big change in the plot and the early end to the Abyss arc all came from this "anomaly," but Shen Qingqiu couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth when it meant his limbs were safe right now.
Actually… if he helped Binghe now, couldn't that earn a little bit of his favor back? He could help Binghe find wife number whatever, be really really nice to Binghe along the way, and when Binghe suddenly got his memories back, he wouldn't be able to hurt Shen Qingqiu. His own virtues wouldn't allow for it. Luo Binghe always paid back kindnesses tenfold. So helping him through this wife plot could balance out the Abyss betrayal, and the score would all be even for them, and Luo Binghe could leave him and the sect alone, and everyone would be happy. Yes. Good. This plan was good.
He was going to ignore how the thought of never seeing Binghe again when this was all over made him feel– no, nope. Not important. Not going to think about how that made him feel because it didn't matter. Having limbs mattered. Having all of his limbs intact mattered a whole lot more than any sentimentality.
"I'll do what I can to help you find your friend," Shen Qingqiu said and gave Luo Binghe a small smile.
Binghe froze for a moment, and then he beamed so brightly. "Thank you. Thank you! Thank you so much– what, what may I call you?"
...Should he avoid giving Binghe his real name? He tried to think back to amnesiac arcs he'd read in different webnovels. Sometimes if a character gave their real name, it was enough to trigger the character's memories of the person. He really, really did not want to risk the chance that Airplane Bro wrote about amnesia in the same cliche way.
"Shen Yuan," Shen Qingqiu said. "This one's name is Shen Yuan."
"Shen Yuan. Thank you," Binghe said.