Chapter Text
~~ For a short period, when LBG and LBH will meet, OG.LBH will be written as Luo Binghe/he/him , while Bingmei will remain normal, to be easier to understand who is who~~~
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Luo Binghe was not ok. He didn’t know why, didn’t understand this feeling inside his chest, this void which was never complete. He had thousands of wives, treasures, everything one could want, but despite all these riches, he felt more empty than ever. He started to become more and more obsessed with cultivation. He had desired power so he could take revenge, destroy every person who had hurt him. But now that everything was said and done, what did he wanted? Hasn’t he already reached his happy ending? Then why, why was he feeling even worse than before?
Maybe other people liked to drink when they were feeling down, but Luo Binghe enjoyed training, practicing new techniques to slay his nonexistent enemies. It was dangerous to do this so often because Xin Mo was a greedy sword, but why should he care about ‘little’ details? Yet it seemed that exactly those ‘little details’ were the ones that were going to change his fate.
One night, when he couldn’t fall asleep, he decided to go into secluded cultivation in one of his favorite caves, to try out a new technique from a scroll he acquired during a negotiation with the eastern tribes. ‘Negotiations’ meaning just another massacre. Anyway, he has already killed so many, what does it matter a few more? The eastern tribes were known for their strange cultivation methods and the interesting effects it brought to the user. The single downside was that if your mind wasn’t strong enough, your cultivation could be crippled.
Luo Binghe took out Xin Mo and started fallowing the instructions, his rough footwork slowly merging in something that seemed more and more like a dance. His mind started to calm down, and he felt his qi circulating through every single meridian, opening the small blockages. With every step, the movements were becoming swifter. This reminded him of Qing Jing Peak, of his treacherous Shizun and his aloof demeanor. Memories were a dangerous thing, once one came back, you couldn’t escape anymore the wave that was bound to drown you. All kind of images started to form in his head. He saw the wicked smile of Ming Fan, he heard the screams he let out with every whip, he felt the hot tea on his head. The next thing he knew was that he most certainly was entering a qi deviation, because he could sense the demonic and spiritual energy being turbulent, losing balance. Of course Xin Mo took this chance to backlash. Fighting with both the qi deviation and the sword at the same time wasn’t necessarily hard, but it wasn’t comfortable either. He didn’t know how, but by mistake he opened a rift into space and fell through it. Without Xin Mo. Now, this was a problem, but he will deal with it later, after he heals this qi deviation. He could just walk back and take the sword after.
Luo Binghe channeled his qi and slowly circulated it through his body for half an hour, until it seemed to stabilize. He looked down at his hands that were now smaller. He has shrunk into a kid, again? At least this time he seemed to be in his 14 or 15 old slef. To be a demon lord and look like a 6 years old wasn’t advantageous at all. When he looked around he saw a lot of trees, this being probably a bamboo forest. Because the sky was still pitch black, he couldn’t recognize this place. How far from the palace has Xin Mo sent him? He still had approximately half of his original power, which was more than enough to confirm that there were no threats nearby. After pondering for a while, he decided the best course of action would be to wait for the morning to come. Of course he wasn’t going to sleep as long as he was into an unknown territory. He wasn’t stupid enough to let his guard down. Nope.
The singing of different birds announced a new day. A body stirred near a bamboo tree, then two black eyes slowly opened. Huh? Did he fall asleep? Ah, this certainly happened because he had already checked the entire area and there was no threat. Yes. Definitely. Now that the sun was shining everything could be seen easily. Scanning the surroundings, Luo Binghe felt a shiver running down his spine. This place was way to familiar. And of course he would know better than anyone, as he was the one to burn it down. Where the hell was he? He stood up and stretched a little because his body was numb after an entire night of sleeping on the ground. Indeed some time has passed since he last slept on the bare ground.
Luo Binghe started to walk towards what he recalled to be the exist, still hoping his suspicions were false. He tripped a few times because the robes he was wearing were bigger than his new body. He totally looked out of place in that beautiful green paradise with his dark black robes, with intricate silver and red patterns. He hasn’t really cared about clothes or the public’s perception of him in his childhood, but once he became the Emperor it was expected of him to be at the top, to look perfect and untouchable. After all, displaying the image of a person with a perfect life wouldn’t also trick you into feeling better about yourself? And this way it slowly became a habit to always arrange himself to be impeccable, to always fake a smile, even if inside he felt empty.
At this moment Luo Binghe really regretted putting all this layers because they were truly bothersome. The last time he had this kind of qi deviation, it took a few months to turn back to normal, but who knew how long it will be now? At first he suspected that maybe he somehow time-traveled, but he wouldn’t have also kept this clothes when he was transported there. Knowing that the bamboo forest shouldn’t be anymore and that one alike didn’t exist in the whole world, brought only a single conclusion: he has somehow crossed into a kind of of parallel universe. How much he ‘missed’ all his old acquaintances from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. And now fate was so kind as to offer them the chance to meet again.
Reaching the end of the bamboo forest, Luo Binghe spotted in the distance some disciples practicing their sword techniques while others were running leaps around the mountain, the classical Qing Jing Peak’s teaching method. He would almost feel emotional seeing this scenery, if he didn’t hate this place with his entire being. Deciding it would be the best to evade unwanted attention, Luo Binghe slowly sneaked on another path. He kept looking back too see if someone noticed and was fallowing him, when a voice broke his train of thoughts.
“A-Luo! Here you are!”
Luo Binghe turned back his head and saw an innocent little girl running toward him, Ning Yingying. Analyzing her now, he realized she indeed was so pure before he stained her. It was so long since he saw such a sincere smile on her face, that it almost hurt to think he was the cause of her destruction. The Ning Yingying from another world, his wife, was the subject of his greed. Even the single person that treated him wholeheartedly on this entire mountain couldn’t escape his poisoned claws in the end. What love? Now that he pondered about this, he realized he didn’t even bother to ask if she’s happy.
Seeing no response from him, Ning Yingying raised an eyebrow.
“A-Luo! Do you even listen to me? And what you are wearing?”
Luo Binghe shuddered.
“Ning-shijie, sorry. This one was lost in thoughts.” He totally ignored the question about his clothes. The fact that she didn’t seem surprised to see him like this probably meant that his other self was the same age.
“Shizun was looking for you! He wanted to thank you for the breakfast or something like that.”
Hearing that specific form of address, Luo Binghe’s eye twitched. That man was the reason of all the bad things that went wrong in his life. Now that he was in this world for an undetermined period of time( Could he even go back? His Xin Mo was in the other universe.) he decided he will help his other self to realize what type of human Shen Qingqiu was and stop trying to impress him or crave for his attention, because in the end all he would get would be a stab in the back.
“This one shall take his leave.” Luo Binghe showed a weak smile and left without waiting for an answer.
At first he tried to find his other self in the places he knew he usually spent his day in those times. There was no one in the kitchen, the woodshed was also empty. The locations in which he usually was punished to kneel were deserted. After walking around for an entire hour, he finally succeeded to spot his other self near the river, washing some clothes. Of course, how could he forget about this one?
“Luo Binghe.”
Hearing his name, the boy turned around at first absent minded, but seeing the other person, his expression soon tuned into surprise and he furrowed his brow into confusion.
“Who are you?” He asked.
“This one is you, but from the future.” Luo Binghe explained. He thought this explanation was way better and it will make him look more credible in the long run, then the universe-crossing afair.
“Me from the future?” The other boy looked a little bit skeptical.
Luo Binghe just nodded and briefly explained how he came back in time to warn him about the future events that were going to take place. Even if at first he didn’t look convinced, hearing the story, the boy looked pleased.
“This matter, this one should tell it to Shizun.”
Luo Binghe was a little dumbfounded. “Why would you want to tell Shen Qingqiu?”
“Because Shizun is a wise man and always takes the best decisions for me.”
“You think Shen Qingqiu is so good?”
“Shizun is the best! Should’t you know better, coming from the future?” the boy said smiling.
Huh. This was quite the declaration.
“Alright. Let’s tell your Shizun then.” What an unexpected turn. This situation truly picked his interest. Why did his other self think like that about Shen Qingqiu? And anyway, with the power he had at the moment, it wouldn’t be impossible to defeat the scum if he tried something.
Soon they stood in front of the bamboo house. The place where all his nightmares started. After knocking a few times, a voice replied to them, inviting them in. Luo Binghe truly made big efforts to stop his killing intent when he spotted the face that he hated the most. Shen Qingqiu aloof as ever, looked at them, moving his eyes from one to the other, analyzing the strange situation.
“Shizun, this boy is me from the future.” His other self said and then started to tell all the story again. Shen Qingqiu seemed at first lost in thoughts, but after as if he realized something, his face twitched and he hurried to cover it with his fan. Was he suspecting anything? No way, his story was flawless.
Shen Qingqiu looked at the 2 identical figures that entered his bamboo house. Wait a minute, what the hell is this? After hearing his Binghe’s story he started to feel that something seemed fishy.
‘System, who is this boy? Is it true what he says?’
[Answering Host, this is Luo Binghe from the original work. He suffered a qi deviation and somehow ended without Xin Mo in this world.]
What the hell? The original stallion protagonist? The blackened demon lord with 3000 wives, the overpowered and cruel man? That one? No wonder he felt all that killing intent earlier. Luo Binghe wanted his head most certainly. Seeing how the original protagonist was looking suspiciously at him, Shen Qingqiu realized he mustn’t let his image falter, because at least for now he didn’t seem to want to kill him right on the spot. He must continue to act normally and try to understand better the situation.
“We can’t keep calling you both Binghe. It will create confusion and misunderstandings. Because you said you are from the future, then you are the bigger one, so Bingge should do.” Shen Qingqiu said as he pointed towards the original. “It’s alright?”
Bingge nodded slowly, but still looked at him as if he couldn’t decide if he should rip Shen Qingqiu’s head off or tear apart his limbs.
‘System, I want a refund! You never mentioned there will be two of them!’ Shen Qingqiu cried in his head.