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"Shen Jiu, are you happy?”
“Yes.”
It’s a lie.
Shen Anwei had no idea why things went so wrong. Why did the heavens not give a respite to that poor child who has already suffered so much?
How surreal is that after his ascension, instead of finding himself in the higher realm, he found his spirit bound to a half-demon child? Su Xiyan and Tianlang Jun’s child to be more accurate. And helplessly, he had to follow that child’s life. It was a sad life but Shen Anwei knew that such was the law of this era; the poor always suffer.
At that time, he had thought of his own misfortunate disciple. Shen Jiu... Shen Qingqiu... That child; his child, should have become a wonderful peak lord. At that time, he had thought he had made the right decision by making Shen Jiu his successor.
It is only after witnessing the end of the era in the form of an apparition, that he realized... He should have done better.
Shen Jiu, not yet Shen Qingqiu, stands before him injured from yet another fight with his ‘martial siblings’.
Shen Anwei silently takes care of Shen Jiu’s wounds. Seeing his shizun deep in thought, Shen Jiu also stayed silent.
“Shen Jiu,” the lack of the familiar, warm ‘A’Jiu’ feels like a warning bell and Shen Jiu tenses in uneasiness. Shen Anwei acts like he doesn’t notice his disciple’s apprehension and asks.
“Are you happy?”
Shen Jiu stared at his shizun in astonishment. He had been expecting an admonishment not such a confusing question. Then he thought about that question.
Was he happy?
No.
“Yes.” He speaks.
The silence reigns after that and Shen Jiu finds himself unable to relax.
When Shen Anwei finally lets him go, there is a knowing look in his shizun’s eyes that shakes Shen Jiu to the core. And try as he might, he couldn’t sleep that night, not with his shizun’s questions echoing in his head.
Shen Anwei realized he should have done better. He had made a terrible judgment by making Shen Jiu Peak Lord.
Shen Anwei had mistakenly thought that the boy would heal and thrive in Qing Jing but what happened was a disaster.
Shen Jiu, he realized belatedly, should have been set free.
He admits that he is a bit biased because even when the world had been ravaged, he could only think of how he wronged his disciple, how he tied down the boy to a place that never gave him peace. And he regretted it immensely.
Maybe the heavens recognized his sincere regret because he found himself waking up again, corporeal once more, as the Peak Lord of Qing Jing with a head disciple yet to be named successor.
He decides, he should do better this time.
Over the days that come Shen Jiu’s uneasiness grows. Shizun still teaches him, still hands over paperwork to him, Shen Jiu is still the most likely candidate to be the successor but... but something is different.
He is so agitated and distracted that he refuses to even engage in his usual squabbles with Liu Qingge. The brute replies by hurling more insults at him but Shen Jiu has much more important things to think about, like his shizun.
He finds the answer to shizun’s behavior the next day.
Shen Jiu is an expert at brewing tea by now; especially his shizun’s favored Osmanthus tea. As they sit down for a session of their usual mock tactical warfare; shizun changes the subject abruptly.
“I am going to start sending you on solo expedition missions.”
Shen Jiu nods. Solo expedition missions were not strange at the scholarly peak.
“You are going to find a seed of the Everlasting Spirit tree.”
It was Shen Jiu’s training that stopped him from outright gaping, but he did freeze in surprise. The Everlasting Spirit trees? Something that was thought to be extinct? What the...
“I will give you three hints.” His shizun is continuing with his explanation and Shen Jiu tries not to be distracted. The three hints given are;
The southern province.
They prefer damp and dark places to grow.
South seeking butterflies.
“You will leave tomorrow.”
For a moment Shen Jiu just stares, wondering if his shizun was sending him on a wild goose chase. But he has trusted this man for three years already, that stray thought doesn’t last long.
Shen Jiu bows with respect. “This disciple will obey.”
He leaves the next day.
Once Shen Jiu is gone, Shen Anwei sets to work.
He didn’t believe that Shen Jiu was a bad teacher. Even though he had witnessed everything from Luo Binghe’s point of view, he believed in Shen Jiu.
What this means is that he needed to tighten Qing Jing’s defenses and find out exactly who all in his peak dug pits for his dear A’Jiu. He has a few candidates in mind...
Shen Jiu comes back three months later.
Shen Anwei looks at the child and marvels at the difference.
Shen Jiu is thinner than when he left, he is not at the stage where cultivation could erase all physical needs and it is evident that Shen Jiu has skipped more than recommended meals. However, other than that, Shen Jiu is positively glowing. Isn’t it a wonder what time away from constant scrutiny and judgments could do this much?
“Shizun, this disciple has succeeded.” And then he proudly presented the seeds.
Shen Anwei smiles and invites his disciple inside. “Tell me all about it.”
Shen Jiu’s smile is a tad bit wider than usual. Good.
“So, I reached Hun province...”
This is the first time he has seen Shen Jiu speak like an excited child but it is such a refreshing sight. Shen Anwei listens attentively.
It is only after Shen Jiu’s tale is finished that Shen Anwei starts making the tea. If Shen Jiu is surprised when Shen Anwei breaks open one of the seeds of the Everlasting Spirit tree and adds it into Shen Jiu’s cup, he doesn’t show it. However, even if he doesn’t show it, Shen Anwei has spent a decade with Shen Jiu in another timeline and can read him like the back of his hand.
“You completed the mission, so you deserve a reward.” He doesn’t let any protests fall from Shen Jiu’s lips. “Of the five seeds you brought, three will be given to Qian Cao’s greenhouse to cultivate. And the rest are for you.”
Shen Jiu lowers his gaze.
There is a reason the Everlasting spirit tree was hunted down to extinction. It was how valuable the tree’s seeds were for a cultivator. Now his shizun was giving him three seeds... Even though he did spend three months searching for it and collecting it, he feels it is a bit much. However, he also knows that the expression on shizun’s face, Shen Jiu will not be able to refuse this reward.
As such the only thing he could do is present the gift he made a little early.
Shen Anwei watches the conflicting emotions on his disciple’s face turn into resignation and smiles contently.
They talk about other things while enjoying the tea.
“I heard that a few of the hall masters and senior disciples suddenly quit.” Shen Jiu says tacitly. He knows there is more to this ‘sudden quitting’.
Shen Anwei hums pleasantly. “We should not keep other people’s pets.”
Ah... Shen Jiu nods and changes the subject.
After tea; Shen Jiu goes back to his room.
It is only now that he was back and standing among this sea of glares and whispers that he realizes how tiring all this is. Compared to the freedom he experienced the last three months; Qing Jing no longer feels like home, or maybe it never has felt like home. The home that Shen Jiu thought was 'Qing Jing' was only the warmth of staying by shizun's side.
Qing Jing was not home.
The thought leaves him pale. He feels like he is betraying his shizun but...
"Shen Jiu, are you happy?”
He thinks shizun already knew the answer.
That night was sleepless so he works on the present for shizun.
Shen Anwei now has proof that his vision is quite possibly the truth. From A’Jiu’s description, the seeds were found exactly as he saw in his visions of Luo Binghe’s (rather unspeakable) escapades.
Shen Anwei puts down the parchment containing the new subject he has created.
It is about time all his disciples learned exactly how many aphrodisiac flowers, beasts and artifacts were out there as well as appropriate cures that did not involve dual cultivation due to desperation. He also added a class teaching about proper dual cultivation techniques and the importance of consent.
Suffice to say, Luo Binghe’s encounters have left this poor old man a little traumatized.
While he is thinking about it, Shen Jiu comes with a delicately carved wooden box in hand. Shen Anwei recognizes his disciple's fine carving work immediately.
The box itself could be a gift but no, the actual gift is inside the box.
A fan, made from the wood of the Everlasting spirit tree and the silk of the South seeking butterflies. The ink work showing a picturesque scenery of Qing Jing is definitely Shen Jiu's best work yet (not counting the previous lifetime).
"Is this a gift for me?"
It is an obvious thing but Shen Anwei still asks just to see that shy look on his disciple's face. When Shen Jiu nods, Shen Anwei smiles brightly and pats the top of his head fondly.
"Thank you, A'Jiu."
Shen Jiu turns bright red and flees with a poorly crafted excuse.
When he is gone Shen Anwei chuckles and caresses the fan.
Then remembering A'Jiu's beautiful blushing face, he doubles his determination for the new subject. It wouldn't do to have his beautiful son caught up in some nefarious situations.
Shen Jiu gets another mission from his shizun after a month. During this month he had been revising the lectures and class schedules for shizun’s new class.
Revising the lectures and required materials has resulted in him being an expert at the subject involved, even more so than the hall masters meant to teach it. Now he knows exactly which flowers, trees, and beasts he shouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, which admittedly was Shen Anwei’s intention as well.
The next mission is to find the Spring of Eternal Depths and collect water samples, make drawings for reference, and draw a map meant for the sect's secret archive. He was also asked to record each day of the expedition in the form of a journal.
Shen Anwei gives him three clues this time as well.
Shen Jiu sets off the next day and he refuses to admit that he is excited but Shen Anwei knows anyway.
Shen Jiu comes back in five months' time.
Shizun’s clues had been greatly helpful in finding the spring. He wondered where shizun gets this knowledge from.
“I have some visions...” Shen Anwei replied with a smile.
Shen Jiu accepted with a nod. There were some rumors that his shizun was a seer. It seems there is some truth to it.
“So,” Shen Anwei took out the tea leaves. “Tell me about your adventure.”
Shen Jiu grins.
Shen Jiu has half a month’s break this time.
Shen Anwei intended to give him some more break time but Shen Jiu was getting antsy with the need to leave the sect.
If you give someone in constant pain some pain reliever, would they be able to refuse after knowing the comfort?
This time, Shen Jiu leaves in search of the Fiery Autumn Canary.
People have begun talking that the prospective successor was never at the peak. Shen Anwei doesn’t mind their talk unless they start insulting Shen Jiu. And when such insults began to crop up, he proudly announced the result of his disciple’s expeditions.
In the face of the Everlasting spirit tree, does anyone have the face to criticize his disciple? He doesn’t mention the Spring of Eternal Depths. That is something best kept a secret. It also helps that whenever Shen Jiu comes back, he also finds some other valuable items. Like the Spiral Leaved Serpent tree now growing in Qian Cao, or the Blue Heart flowers currently being cultivated in the Zui Xian, and the Crystal green bamboos now planted behind Shen Anwei’s own residence. There were also some naturally formed night pearls that were given away to the Chuang Zao peak. These things while valuable were not something that could cause a riot so there was no problem in mentioning them.
This also helped build a reputation for his A’Jiu and the peak lords who received the gifts now favored A’Jiu.
During the time Shen Jiu was away from the sect, Yue Qingyuan had become a constant nagging presence at Qing Jing until Shen Anwei had decisively banned him. To which the sect leader wholeheartedly agreed because the relationship these two shared was borderline toxic now, and would become completely toxic in the future. Better to put some distance between them now and curb it for their own good.
Another constant nuisance was Liu Qingge. Shen Anwei had no idea what to do with this oblivious child. As experienced as Shen Anwei is, it is clear to him that Liu Qingge has a crush. Shen Anwei had thought in one lifetime that once they become peak lords, the two would realize and solve things.
Shen Anwei now had to concede and admit that he had been naïve to think so. So, he goes and recruits the Bai Zhan Peak lord with the mission to keep Liu Qingge occupied so Shen Jiu can have some peace while he is on the peak. Feng shidi was very cooperative.
Dealing with Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge didn’t take much time, so with the remaining time before A’Jiu returned, Shen Anwei decides to solve one problem for A’Jiu.
Namely; the Qiu.
He starts by doing some digging; hardly a chore for Cang Qiong’s chief tactician.
Shen Jiu returns with the Fiery Autumn Canary a mere two months later. Two tiny birds with fire-like feathers that were extremely fond of A’Jiu. They fluttered their wings as they hovered around A’Jiu.
Shen Anwei smiled at the scene.
Shen Jiu smiled brightly and greeted his shizun.
It is only when Shen Jiu is close that Shen Anwei spots the third canary in Shen Jiu’s palms. It was snuggled comfortably in his cupped palm and barely gave a glance to Shen Anwei who came close, before haughtily ignoring him.
Shen Jiu and Shen Anwei looked amused by the little bird’s antics.
The two hovering by Shen Jiu’s head were the husband; Xia Feng and the daughter; Xia Yu, while the one in his palm was the pregnant wife; Xia Xue, all duly named by Shen Jiu. And thus, in Shen Jiu’s care was the Xia family.
Shen Anwei chuckled. His disciple sure was adorable. Especially with the family of three sitting on his peacefully with Xia Yu claiming the spot on his top knot, while Xia Feng chose his shoulder and of course, the madam of the family was comfortably in his lap.
“I was planning on letting them be after making enough drawings and collecting some fallen feathers but then some idiots came and destroyed their nest while I was taking a break. If A’Yu hadn’t found me and brought me to the site immediately, poor A’Xue may have lost her children.” As he speaks, he caresses A’Xue’s tiny head softly. The bird preens in his palms.
“After that, they decided to follow me and I thought Ling You peak would be safer for them... At least there won’t be any Huan Hua idiots barging in and destroying their homes.”
After he is done regaling his entire adventure, Shen Jiu asks almost eagerly.
“I will stay for longer this time. I need to make sure the Xia family is settled in peacefully before going on the next mission.”
Shen Jiu acts like it’s a foregone conclusion that he will be sent on another expedition and seems excited at the prospect of it.
Shen Anwei knows that he has made the right decision this time.
“Why don’t you take them to Ling You now...” Shen Anwei suggests smiling.
Shen Jiu looks a bit hesitant.
Shen Anwei’s smile widens. “Maybe sometime later then.”
This is the brightest smile he has seen on Shen Jiu’s face in any lifetime.
Duan Qingze had a rather unflattering impression of this shidi of his. After Shen Jiu becomes the successor and gets his generation name; Duan Qingze and everyone except Yue Qingyuan would have to look up to this unscrupulous shidi and call him 'shixiong'. The thought was unpleasant.
The rumors about him were always abundant and distasteful. Yet, seeing Shen Jiu standing peacefully with a Blood Moon Wolf pup in his arms and three other pups running around him playfully, he wonders if it’s the same person.
Because Shen Jiu is smiling!
And goddamn it’s a beautiful smile... At least he now understood why the constant scowl was a necessity.
That smile simmers down to a barely-there curve of lips when Duan Qingze makes his presence known.
Ah... the man likes beasts more than humans... And the Ling You peak head disciple thought that it was an admirable trait.
So, with a polite smile, he asked why Shen Jiu was here.
And what did he hear?
Fiery Autumn Canaries? Three of them? And one of them laid eggs!!!
He had heard that Shen Jiu had been going to constant expeditions and had gifted his findings to various peaks but he never thought it would be Ling You’s turn one day.
He excitedly followed Shen Jiu towards the canaries. Apparently, Shen Jiu had gifted the canaries as early as a week ago but Duan Qingze had been on a mission so he only found out now.
The canaries are very fond of Shen Jiu. In fact, almost all the sentient, non-violent creatures in Ling You had taken well to Shen Jiu. And the man himself seemed more at ease among the beasts than the humans. When he thought back on how Shen Jiu was treated due to the rumors, he could understand the mentality.
“Wu-shishu, said that little ones would hatch in a day or two.” Shen Jiu says. There is a fondness in his tone that Duan Qingze appreciated very much.
“Shizun said that?” Duan Qingze says and pays a closer look at the three tiny eggs. “It does look like that... Is that why you were camping here for the last three days?”
Shen Jiu looks at the family of canaries with a slight smile, “Of course. I want to be here when they hatch...”
He almost sounds like a brother expecting to meet with a new sibling.
Duan Qingze smothered a smile. He never knew that Shen shidi could be so adorable...
“So, what names do you have in mind?” He asks.
This gets Shen Jiu excited; it's not obvious but Duan Qingze still sees the sparkle in his eyes.
“Oh, I had three boy names and three girl names in mind... The oldest-”
Duan Qingze listens to the boy with a serene smile. He realizes that he should not have paid attention to the rumors.
Maybe he should meet with Shen Jiu more often...
Two days later, the Xia family’s three new members; all boys, are named Xia Yang, Xia Rong, and Xia Hui.
Shen Jiu’s next mission takes longer than Shen Anwei expected and he starts to worry. This time the boy had gone in search of a Summer Lake Pearl and it has been almost six months since. But Shen Jiu’s letter arrives trying to assuage his worries. It doesn’t exactly work.
Shen Jiu requested that he needed some more time because he met with some ‘a complication that can be dealt with easily but would take some time’.
The only reason Shen Anwei doesn’t go himself to pick up his disciple is that Shen Jiu keeps sending letters; as if he too knows that Shen Anwei would worry.
Shen Jiu returns eight months after he left and he brought that ‘a complication that can be dealt with easily but would take some time' back with him. This complication can also be called Qiu Haitang.
Shen Anwei sizes up the girl. She is far from the grief-addled revenge-mad woman he had seen in Luo Binghe’s future life, standing before Shen Anwei was a little girl who had lost much and was learning to live again. There is also a striking resemblance between her and Shen Jiu that Shen Anwei had found the reason for from his investigations.
Qiu Haitang requests permission to stay at Qing Jing because she wanted to reacquaint herself with her ‘estranged’ half-brother Shen Jiu.
Shen Anwei agrees generously.
Later when they are sitting down for their ritualistic tea time chat; just the two Shens, Shen Jiu asks.
“How did shizun find out?”
Because of course, Shen Jiu is smart enough to figure it out.
The Qiu’s midwife that had delivered Shen Jiu and raised Qiu Haitang while being a silent witness to everything, wouldn’t just go find Qiu Haitang in her old age and spill the truth about what happened at the Qius without someone prompting her. Shen Jiu only knows one person who would help him like this.
“A vision.” Shen Anwei has used this excuse a lot but never once has Shen Jiu questioned him. This time as well, the boy accepts without a doubt.
“Do you wish to talk about it?”
Shen Jiu lowered his eyes. “You already know everything.”
“Yes.” Shen Anwei admits freely. “But if A’Jiu needs a listener, shizun will always be here.”
Shen Jiu trembles.
Then he starts speaking.
Qiu Haitang’s arrival starts a lot of new rumors and destroys a lot of the old ones.
Shen Jiu was apparently a noble child that was abandoned and grew up as an orphan. His late cultivation was not a matter of laziness nor a choice on his part.
Predictably two people are struck heavily by the news.
One is Yue Qingyuan who never expected Shen Jiu to have another family that wasn’t ‘Qi-ge’.
The other is Liu Qingge who had acted as an outright asshole because of his prejudice and misunderstandings regarding Shen Jiu. Luckily the disastrous well mission that destroyed any semblance of peace between them had yet to happen but still, Liu Qingge had done much that required a thorough and heartfelt apology. This is hard to do as Shen Jiu does his best to avoid the Bai Zhan successor. And whenever they do happen to meet, Liu Qingge is especially talented at putting his foot in his mouth. Well, this awkwardness was way better than the bitter hatred it could have been.
There were other rumors that Shen Jiu had been raised by a prostitute and that was the reason for his visits to the Warm red pavilion. This was a truth struck accidentally and with no proof but neither Shen Jiu nor Shen Anwei made a move to refute any of them. So, people accepted it as the truth.
Shen Jiu because he had stopped caring about other people’s opinions and Shen Anwei because this was just another way to fix his student’s reputation.
When it comes to public opinions pity was better than distrust.
Then Shen Anwei released a bomb and said that he had adopted Shen Jiu.
It was a fine chaotic day.
“Xiao Jiu-”
“Do not call him that.” The one who interferes isn’t Shen Jiu but Qiu Haitang.
Yue Qingyuan glared at her. “You have no right to speak for him.”
“I have every right speak for my brother . My brother has told you many times that he hates that nickname and by disregarding his wishes you are only insulting him.”
With her piece said, Qiu Haitang grabs a hold of Shen Jiu’s wrist.
“A’Jiu come. Let’s go meet with the ladies at the brothel. I have to thank them in person for helping you.”
Shen Jiu is silent throughout the event.
Yue Qingyuan doesn’t stop them as they walk away.
When they are out of sight, Qiu Haitang releases his hand with an apologetic expression. They’re not as close as she made Yue Qingyuan believe.
“Did I overstep?” She asked timidly, very different from her earlier bravado.
Shen Jiu looked at her a little sad but more relieved.
“No... Thank you for what you did.”
Qiu Haitang is eager to have a proper relationship with Shen Jiu and this results in her tagging along on his expeditions unless he specifically asks for time alone.
Their relationship improves slowly but steadily.
This was a result better than what Shen Anwei hoped for.
“I want you to help me train a successor.”
Shen Jiu is both surprised and not surprised by the statement. His shizun; now his baba, had no intention of making him the successor. This was something Shen Jiu realized early on and he agreed with that decision wholeheartedly. After knowing the freedom and excitement of the explorations, Shen Jiu hardly wanted to sit in the position on Peak Lord; barely able to leave the peak unattended. Shen Jiu will gladly hand that honor to someone else.
What he was surprised by was the fact that baba wanted him to help train the new successor.
But by now he has accepted that all of Shen Anwei’s actions would never hurt him. So, he accepts.
And in the end, they decide on the silent but cheerful senior who is very good at dealing with idiotic brats; Yu Daiyu.
Shen Jiu is her junior and it is insulting for her to have to learn from him but Yu Daiyu shows no such complex and even Shen Jiu is impressed by her integrity.
Yeah... She will do nicely.
This time when Shen Anwei ascends, he knows things will be different. His A’Jiu is doing wonderfully and Yu Daiyu now named Yu Qingxin will be an impressive peak lord.
Shen Anwei had tried to search for Luo Binghe but he could never find the child despite his knowledge of the child’s fate. Some things are better left as it is.
Now that Huan Hua’s crimes and dirty secrets had been brought to light with the help of a certain Qing Jing peak lord and his adopted child; the old palace master perished long before he could plan anything sinister for Cang Qiong.
If Luo Binghe ever joins Cang Qiong; or any sect, things would be different. What with the increasing tolerance of demonic entities because of some strategic ‘findings’ about the truth behind Tianlang Jun’s ‘attack’.
For that matter; the heavenly demon had been released.
Since it had been only five years since his sealing; the demon recovered well. Su Xiyan’s truth had been revealed to the demon lord with adequate proof and the heavenly demon had vanished after collecting her remains.
In this life, if Luo Binghe wanted to conquer the demon realm, he would have to face his father.
So, Shen Anwei knows things will be different this time around.
All he can do now is hope for the best and watch over his child.
"Shen Jiu, are you happy?”
“Yes.”
There was no lie this time.