Chapter Text
Shen Qingqiu lurched up, eyes wide and back uncomfortably sweaty. He felt disgusting, and so very, very wrong. Something was wrong.
'What the-' He was in his room, more specifically the Head Student's room 'Was it just a fucked up dream?'
It can't be, everything was too vivid, too realistic to be a dream. Demons with mental manipulation abilities are a rarity, and most don't like to leave their domain for long except for emergency situations. And Qing Jing Peak had many wards against such anomalies, it can't possibly be a dream. It just can't be.
He was going fucking crazy.
The sword- Yue Qi's sword -his brother's shattered soul laid in front of him, the cackling of a foul demon followed as the cruel beast finally got what it wanted.
Shen Qingqiu's fists were curled up tight enough to draw blood, the sight- memory - made him sick to his stomach. He was panicking, he knew this, but all he could hear was static and all he could see is what remains of Qi-ge.
Qi-ge, Qi-ge. His stupid, foolish, kind and naive Qi-ge, who believed he could be lowly, disgusting Xiao Jiu's knight in shining armor.
A hand went up to cover his mouth, he swallowed down the bile that crept up his throat. His heartbeat finally calmied down even as his breathing remained erratic.
He never wanted to see such a sight again.
And he'll do anything if it could make damn sure that Yue Qi lives a long life.
Admittedly, Shen Qingqiu's morals are low in number, he had done too much and - seen - too much to possibly be a person sound of mind. But killing a baby is a bit far off, even for a scum like him.
'Said baby is a ruthless demon lord who doomed humanity by merging the three realms' His mind supplies 'You don't want that, don't you? Isn't Yue Qi's sword enough? It's just one baby-'
Shen Qingqiu ignored the knock on his door, too busy wrestling with his own mind. Luo Binghe is an orphan, a homeless one, from what he could tell, and nobody would care or notice if one brat suddenly disappears. Judging by the date, he will eventually be named Head Disciple a week later, which means that the brat cannot possibly be born yet. That meant that he had quite some time before-
"WILL YOU STOP ALREADY!-" Shen Qingqiu screamed at the door, the stubborn, annoying, knocking finally stopping. A meek voice from behind the door called out.
"Shizun wants an audience with you, Da-shixiong."
Right, of course, his shizun.
As of now, Shen Qingqiu is only a disciple, he had forgotten this fact in his murderous thoughts. He has a perfect track record of being a perfect disciple, and being late will surely displease her. However, compared to Shen Qingqiu, former- present- Peak Lord Long Yuming was much more understanding. Much more kind.
He dragged himself out of bed with a grumble, perhaps murder plans could be conducted later.
He walked outside the door, ignoring the disciple's incredulous look at his unkempt appearance, and walked towards the bamboo house. It was a much shorter walk than he had expected, certainly not long enough for him to get him thoughts into order.
Long Yuming took one look at her disciple and frowned "Shen Jiu, tell this master if something is troubling you."
The disciple in question shook his head "This one's predicament is a private one, this disciple sadly has to refuse his shizun's help."
The Peak Lord's frown deepened, ever since Shen Jiu came to Cang Qiong, he had been a troubled youth. Starting cultivation too late, being looked down upon by his peers and haunted by his own demons. Shen Jiu had much potential, like an unpolished gem amongst rocks, but he is also severely damaged.
"This master shall offer his assisstance anyway. Come to this master if you need any help."
Shen Qingqiu wanted to shake his head, to tell his shizun that he doesn't need her help and he could handle his own baggage just fine. But that would most likely make the woman suspicious.
"This disciple thanks shizun."
Long Yuming smiled, however small it may be, and nodded "Shen Jiu will benefit from a rest, disciple is dismissed."
Shen Qingqiu had a lot of good memories of Yuming, she had been a kind and understanding shizun, quick to come to his aid. He felt bad for using her, but his agenda is much too important to care about feelings.
'Shizun, thank you for being so kind and naive. This disciple will try his best not to hurt you too much.'
"Hey!" An annoyingly familiar voice calls him "I need to talk to you!"
Shen Qingqiu sighed tiredly and sped up his walking, he's still wondering about the pros and cons of just killing Luo Binghe as a baby. The pros are outweighing the cons by far, but nothing was ever simple with that beast, so he couldn't be sure-
"I said I need to talk to you!" Liu Qingge- Liu Feng - kept on shouting, catching up to him. The brute grabbed his shoulders and looked at him with an intesity that he had never seen before. But just as the boy opened his mouth, nothing came out.
Apparently he lost all his words the moment he wanted to say them, typical.
Shen Qingqiu aggressively tried to shake the hands off him, which felt like metal shackles on his arms "What do you want, Liu-shidi? Are you just here to grab my arms until it bruises or do you actually have something to say?"
Liu Feng finally regained consciousness and glared "Do you remember?"
"Remember what? There are plently of things I remember Liu-shidi, you have to be specific than that."
"The Spirit Caves, you tried to save me." Liu Qingge says, and for a moment, Shen qingqiu felt as though the ground had given up underneath him. Had it not been the the metal bars that the brute called arms, he would have fallen.
He exhailed harshly, so Liu Qingge came back with him, this… changes everything.
He looked at Liu Qingge's face, young and pubescent, lacking the hardness that he developed in the future but his expression never changed. Just as the future Bai Zhan Peak Lord faltered, thinking that he had been wrong, Shen Qingqiu shakily smiled and answered.
"Can Liu-shidi assist me then? This shixiong would certainly appreciate it."
Liu Qingge nodded like a man on a mission, which is both hilarious and unnerving at the same time. Considering that even as his Peak surpassed the others’ own in superiority, Liu Qingge had never taken him seriously.
"This shidi will see what he can do."
A few minutes later, the two of them sat huddled in the woodshed on Qing Jing Peak.
He had briefed Liu Qingge on everything that had happened after his death in the Caves, which included the burning and slaughtering of Cang Qiong and all of its residents except for a few and the awkward part where he explained how his sister had married the man who did it.
Liu Qingge didn't say anything, but Shen Qingqiu can tell that he was disturbed, no doubt thinking about how he could prevent such a thing from happening.
Shen Qingqiu knew that Liu Qingge was a right and just man, who stuck closely to his morals and ideals. Admittedly, he thought it was going to be hard to convince him, but Liu Qingge was, quite suprisingly, onboard with the murder plan. Which is more than great, because now he doesn't have to sit and convince him about how murdering the baby would be the best plan.
But there was a complication in this plan.
"Luo Binghe is a Heavenly Demon, even if we stab him multiple times, there's still a chance that he'll awaken his demonic blood as his life is endangered. Which will make killing the baby much harder than you think, as Heavenly Demon's regenerative powers are superior compared to humans."
That is an understatement, Luo Binghe could submerge himself in the acidic water of Huan Hua Palace's Water Prison and come out without a single scratch on his body.
"Then how could we kill him? If he's already immortal from day one then we don't have a chance." Liu Qingge said.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Shen Qingqiu answered promptly "Nothing is certain but death and taxes, so even the most powerful must have a weakness."
A knock on the door snapped the two of them out of their musing, Liu Qingge stood up and opened the door.
Shang Qinghua walked in with a serene smile on his face, Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes. He had never been fond of the little traitor, there had always been something about the rat that rubbed him the wrong way. Apparently his intuition was correct as it turns out Shang Qinghua had been the one feeding Mobei-jun, the little beast's closest general, information on Cang Qiong Mountain.
"Shen-shixiong, Liu-shidi, this Shang Chen greets you." The boy bowed politely, nothing seemed off about his demeanor except for the empty smile.
"May this shixiong know the prupose of shidi's visit? Surely An Ding has better things to do than bother other disciples." Shen Qingqiu says, not even bothering to hide the hostility of his words, Liu Qingge also looked at the man with a distrustful gaze.
Shang Qinghua lifted his head "Even Heavenly Demons aren't without weakness, this shidi would know best as his spy."
Shen Qingqiu took 2 breaths to take in the information, before snarling and grabbing the collar of Shang Qinghua's robes "You filthy, disgusting traitor!"
The younger man grabbed his wrists, the diplomatic smile remained on his face despite Shen Qingqiu's hostility and Liu Qingge's wariness "Let us not be hasty, Shen-shixiong. Am I not your most reliable informant at the moment?"
"I would rather chew off my own foot!" He growled "You went ahead and licked Mobei-Jun's boots just to save your pathetic life! And you think that I'm just going to listen to whatever you feed me?"
Instantly, the smile was wiped off Shang Qinghua's face at the mention of the Ice Demon "Believe it or not, Shen-shixiong," He raised his eyebrows "I am not interested in dying again, not by that bastard at least. And I would like it if you could please let go of my robe."
Shen Qingqiu exhaled harshly, and then prompty dropped Shang Qinghua on the groud, who stood up and dusted off his robe. Liu Qingge glanced at Shang Qinghua, distrustful after hearing how Shang Qinghua had betrayed their Sect for an Ice Demon, who even serves the man that had destroyed their Sect.
"I am Mobei-Jun's, and also, Luo Binghe's spy, therefore I am privy to information that most others do not have. Either you trust me or you don't, I am still your best bet."
There was logic in his argument, but Shang Qinghua had never been a man who does good for the sake of being good. There was always something to gain for him in the end.
As if sensing his line of thought, Shang Qinghua interrupted "I get to keep my life and you get to keep yours. Is that not enough?" He hesitated for a moment, and then continued "After Luo Binghe had wiped out all his political opponents, I lost my usefulness, so they killed me as to not let me leak anything regarding his plans and personal information."
Shen Qingqiu blinked, and then sighed "Fine," He said begrudgingly "But if you even try to lie to us, I'll kill you."
Shang Qinghua exhaled, a shaky smile on his face "I wouldn't dream of it."
Shang Qinghua actually proved to be useful, the An Qing disciple had memorized everything he could about Luo Binghe and Mobei-Jun, which included family ties, sponsors, teachers and even battle tactics. He was also very creepy with the way he sneaked up on them with a smile on his face, making no sound as he walked. Even Liu Qingge with his dog senses couldn't detect him, what the fuck?
Shang Qinghua was a good spy, and as much of a bastard that the rat proved himself to be, Shen Qingqiu understood why he was kept around for so long. He was competent and good at what he did, even if it was spying and information gathering to betray their Sect.
Soon the relationship between the three of then turned into a tentative friendship. None of them wanted to call it a friendship, but the fact that they are comfortable enough to sprawl on top of each other and be touchy- and the mortifying realization that they like it -made it so that there isn't any other word that can describe their behavior around each other.
Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge already trusted the other to a degree. He had saved the brute after all, but Shang Qinghua was a different case, which meant that in order for them to truly connect (??) with him, they needed to understand his motives.
"Why did you betray the Sect in the first place?" Liu Qingge asked bluntly and Shen Qingqiu wanted to whack him on the side of his head, didn't they practice this? Where are his formalities?
Shang Qinghua furrowed his eyebrows in obvious discomfort, and then said "I was under the threat of death if I didn't. He had an icicle on my throat and constantly sent demons to supervise me and make sure that I was doing my job properly. And also..."
"Also? ..." Shen Qingqiu asked.
"He was... very handsome. I was enraptured even as he slaughtered all my shidis..." Shang Qinghua avoided Liu Qingge's and Shen Qingqiu's judging gaze. Quickly defending himself "You have to admit, he was charming. Even if he is an abusive bastard!"
"You sound like a maiden angry with her former spouse." Liu Qingge concluded, Shen Qingqiu agreed.
"We are going to fix your taste in men," The scholar declared "It is shit and you can do better than an ice block with emotional constipation and facial paralysis."
The former spy grumbled, but otherwise didn't say anything.
With the three of them spending a lot more time in the other’s presence, there came a lot of speculation and rumors about how it came to be. They didn't pay attention to it at first, too busy making plans for homicide and how to get away with it, but eventually it spiraled to the point where it became annoying.
Shen Qingqiu didn't have a good reputation, even amongst his own Peak, and Shang Qinghua didn't have one at all. Meanwhile, Liu Qingge is the prodigy of the Sect's Martial Peak, combined with the fact that he was the dashing young master of the prestigious and rich Liu clan, he was very popular.
So to see him walking around with a lecher, who he has a hostile relationship with, and a nobody from An Ding was suspicious. And that was when the rumor mill of Cang Qiong picked up the story.
The theories and outrageous and hilarious at the same time, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Some people, who are completely biased, said that the scummy Shen Qingqiu must have used something against Liu Qingge and forced him to follow him around like a puppy. Liu Qingge himself especially did not like this rumor because it painted him like some maiden in distress, and he reacted very violently when people asked. But as he cannot explain why he's following them around, his rash actions only added fuel to the fire.
A much more peaceful, but much less popular version was that the three of them had somehow kiss and made up with each other. With Shang Qinghua as the meditator between the two supposed hot-heads. This one was much closer to the truth but sadly no one wanted something boring and generic.
And the worst one, particularly popular with Xian Shu disciples, was that..
Bai Zhan Peak-Training grounds
The Bai Zhan Peak Lord, Shi Yuzhong, grabbed his disciple aside as he stared intently at the slightly stupid looking face of his best disciple. Best, not brightest.
Liu Feng's martial prowess made him among the best of fighters in the newest generation of young cultivators, but he has never been very smart. He's rash, aggressive and stubborn, quick to anger and holds a grudge like no other, trusting and kind of naive, also.
He is a good kid, so Shi Yuzhing needs to make sure.
"Liu Feng, tell me. Are you on top of Shen Jiu and Shang Chen?!" He asked "Do not be a bottom. Bai Zhan has taught you better than that, you know this."
Liu Feng blinked "Of course I'm on top?"
He's much stronger physically compared to Shen Qingqiu, and even a dog, or a really dedicated duck, can kill Shang Qinghua. How in the world would he be the bottom? If anything, Shang Qinghua should be.
He watched in confusion as his shizun exhaled in relief, telling him to go join his shixiongs and beat their asses.
Qing Jing Peak-Lecture Hall
"Shen Jiu, you know this master worries about you?" Long Yuming furrows her brows "Bai Zhan is, admittedly, much stronger than us in terms of martial prowess. But Qing Jing is the tacticians Peak and we certainly do not bottom."
Shen Jiu has learned several languages during his time as a Peak Lord, what his shizun is saying is not one of them. He tilts his head in confusion "But of course Bai Zhan is the bottom, we surpass them in seniority."
"And what of An Ding?"
"An Ding is higher than Bai Zhan and we are higher than An Ding. So it would be in between?" Seriously, why is his shizun asking something like Peak seniority? Shouldn't she know more than him?
"Good, good," His shizun muttered "Qing Jing should never be the receiver..."
Shen Jiu does not really understand what is happening, but he feels as though a rather large misunderstanding has been made.
An Ding Peak-Leisure House
The An Ding Peak Lord tugged his disciple aside as he hushed at him, brows furrowed in concern. Shang Chen complied and was dragged to the Peak Lord's office.
"Shang Chen, I know you are going through a hard time," The Peak Lord said "You must be so very sore, stuck between those two monsters. Shen Jiu is a perverted lecher and Liu Feng does not know his own strength."
Shang Chen quirked his brow, there are many things to dissect here. First of all, he does not know why he 'must be sore', and he also does not know why the subject of Shen-shixiong's reputation and Liu-shidi's blind strength came up.
"I know you have no chance of being on top," Okay, rude. Shang Chen was never the strongest physically but his shizun did not need to cruelly remind him like that "But make sure that they know your limits, okay? Promise this shizun."
"Yes shizun, this disciple promises." Shang Chen is very, very confused. But as a spy, it is always best not to question your orders.
.....
And it was only after three days did Shang Chen and the other two realized what their shizuns were trying to tell them. But by then the damage had already been done, nobody believed them even as they tried to debunk the rumors.
Shen Qingqiu became permanently scarred when he found an erotica of Shang Qinghua, Liu Qingge and himself in one of his shimei's bedroom.
"Don't touch me!! Stay the fuck away from me!" Shang Qinghua held up a stick aggressively. He was uncharacteristically angry, as his spy disposition had trained him to be calm in the worst of situations. But this was a completely different matter.
"You are poisoned" Liu Qingge said curtly "We are trying to help you."
Shen Qingqiu nodded, he was also apprehensive about the whole thing. But Shang Qinghua is going to die and he needed him for information (he will not admit that he has grown close to the spy-).
"I don't want to be molested by the lot of you! The initial rumor was bad enough, it'll be even worse if we confirm it! Liu Qingge! Step your ass back!-"
Seeing as the three of them had became much closer, the Peak Lords decided to assign them a mission, to prove that they were actually worthy of their Head Disciple status. The mission itself was simple, retrieve a Demonic ring in a secluded forest somewhere in the East, except the cave where the damn ring was being kept was guarded by a giant flower that sprayed aphrodisiacs when it dies at the closest person.
Poor Shang Qinghua was the victim.
He tried to beat himself off but apparently, according to Mu Qingfang, they needed a person that the victim had a close bond with to do it for them. And even then it would take 3 whole days for the poison to subside.
In the end, once again, Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu were dragged into the mess. Apparently, Liu Qingge does not understand the crushing morality of the act of beating off your best friend.
Shang Qinghua sobbed "Just give me a piece of paper, I'll write down everything I know and then you two can let me die in peace! Leave me! Go away!!"
After a moment of hesitation, he turned to Liu Qingge and said "Hold him down, I'll do it first."
......
Three days later, they exited the room.
Shang Qinghua looked thoroughly traumatized and the other two seemed almost completely unaffected. As the An Ding Peak Lord rushed to see his dear disciple, the other two Peak Lords of Bai Zhan and Qing Jing nodded solemnly.
Shang Qinghua never tried masturbation again.
"Oh god, it's okay, it's okay." Shen Qingqiu muttered to himself "I just need a to cut this up and bury it somewhere no one could find it. Pehaps a talisman to hide the smell.."
He tried to reassure himself as Shang Qinghua dragged the body to the middle of the room and Liu Qingge got them a sack they could hide it in.
For some reason, a mission had led to them brutally murdering the man after Shen Jiu found out that the resentful ghost who haunted the house was his wife, who was also abused severely. Being a defender of women and the natural enemy of men, Shen Jiu grabbed an axe and split his head open once the woman was banished to the afterlife.
Being around Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua for so long had dimmed Liu Qingge's morality. Pehaps it is because he had came to the conclusion that murder is inevitable, since they had initially planned to kill a baby anyway, or maybe he was also mad at the man for abusing his wife and thus say no qualms about Shen Qingqiu axe-murdering the asshole.
"I know a place nearby, it's so swampy and deep, you can't see anything. And it's disgusting so no one goes there," Shang Qinghua said, while rolling up the body in a rug "We can wrap him in this thing, and throw him down there. No one will suspect a thing, least of all a trio of just cultivators."
The spy continued "Also, the people here don't really like him anyways, for what he did to his wife. So no one will report it if he goes missing."
Shen Qingqiu asks "Then what do we do if someone does report it?"
"Then we'll say that the man had an accident just as we finished up, like the wife gave one last attack and it hit him or something." Shang Qinghua shrugged "If not then we'll just say that the man attacked us in a drunken haze and we killed him out of self-defense."
Well, that certainly made sense.
Liu Qingge nodded, listening to Shang Qinghua's suggestion. Shen Qingqiu eventually shrugged and came to assist Liu Qingge, as Shang Qinghua was on the look out.
Disposing a body with his best friends was not what he planned to do when he came back in time. But sometimes things don't go as he planned it.