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Shen Qingqiu had begged the System for an alternative route.
Between a punishment or a blackened protagonist coming back for revenge five years later, which could possibly be worse, he had thought.
The system offers a punishment for not having to push his disciple down the abyss and like the fool he is, he clicks on accept.
Luo Binghe falls down anyway. Note the terms and conditions in very fine print: does not have to push Luo Binghe down the abyss *with his own hands.
So he had watched helplessly as Binghe fell, and could do nothing about it as the punishment overtook his body.
The pain had been excruciating. He lost an eye and a leg, and a disciple too. Perhaps he had severely underestimated the System.
But Shen Qingqiu doesn't regret it, not one bit. He figured that this was way better than being forced into a pickle jar several years down the road, and there was no guilt on his conscience. Maybe there was hope that his disciple would not come back for revenge.
With practiced ease, Shen Qingqiu pours the medicinal powder into his tea and one-shots it. It was a mixture that Mu Qingfang had made specially for him, it had taken months to achieve the correct formula. Trials after errors, accompanied with a whole array of unwanted side effects, they finally got a medicine that soothed the phantom ache in Shen Qingqiu's leg and empty eye socket.
Then they proceeded to spend more than a year creating his prosthetic leg. Months of chafing on his stub, falling on his good knee and being way too tired to take even another step, Shen Qingqiu finally had the option of walking on days he wanted to. He had cried on that day to a very bewildered Mu Qingfang.
And throughout it all, he had missed Binghe. He missed talking to him, eating with him, just his overall presence.
He slides open his drawer of eye patches. He has more than ten of them, of various colours and designs and degrees of transparency. Shen Yuan cares a lot about his image as the Qing Jing Peak Lord, and he likes to match his eye patch to his robes. Though in his previous life he had basically lived in t-shirts and sweatpants. The eye patch makes him feel slightly like a pirate, but only Shang Qinghua laughs at his Aye Matey jokes. Today he feels good, so he picks a white, translucent eye patch embroidered with light green lace, and joins his disciples for breakfast.
Three years had passed in a haze. He's in his wheelchair getting some work done when there is a commotion from outside. His heart jumps. Has he returned?
When Luo Binghe steps foot on Qing Jing Peak, a warm feeling grows in Shen Qingqiu. He wonders briefly if his efforts have been futile, if his disciple is back to take revenge, but for some reason that is not important. Luo Binghe is taller now, even taller than him, and his hair is longer. He's missed him.
Luo Binghe comes straight to him, a slightly horrified expression on his face. "Shizun? What happened to you?"
Shen Qingqiu can't help but break into a smile upon hearing his voice. "Binghe, you're back."
"What happened to you?" Luo Binghe repeats, voice turning darker.
Shen Qingqiu is overflowing with emotion. "This Master hasn't seen you in years, Binghe has grown so much. Let me take a look at you."
Luo Binghe's gaze softens slightly. "Did Shizun miss me?"
Shen Qingqiu nods. "Binghe must be tired."
Luo Binghe kneels down and takes one of his hands in his. "Can Shizun tell this disciple what happened?"
Shen Qingqiu lightly taps his head with his fan. "Where did the patience that this Master taught you go?"
"Shizun, please!"
"Binghe, calm down." Shen Qingqiu is furiously wracking his brain for ideas. He hadn't expected him to come back today. He's totally unprepared and has no idea how to explaining without sounding completely insane. System, can I tell him?
Revealing any information about the System results in account termination , the robotic voice sounds in his head.
Telling a lie or not telling him at all, which is better? Shen Qingqiu sighs inwardly. "After Binghe fell into the abyss, this Master... suffered these injuries."
Luo Binghe looks like he's on the verge of tears. "Did Shizun fight those demons?"
Shen Qingqiu hesitates. The last thing he wants to do is to falsely say that those demons dismembered him, he's got nothing against demons after all. But how does he get out of this conversation? How can he put the blame on himself instead?
"This Master was next to the abyss when it closed." Shen Yuan, you're a genius! He mentally high-fives himself.
"Foolish Shizun!" Binghe yells. "Why didn't you back away?"
"Uh" is his eloquent reply. He didn't think this far.
"Was Shizun," Luo Binghe's voice cracks, "trying to look for this disciple?"
Great, now he doesn't have to think of an excuse for himself! He nods his head with a solemn look.
Luo Binghe throws himself over him and envelopes Shen Qingqiu in his arms, tears spilling over his cheeks. "Shizun, you shouldn't have!"
Shen Qingqiu pats Binghe's back awkwardly. There there. "It's okay, don't cry."
Luo Binghe cries even harder. "Shizun, it's all my fault!"
Shen Qingqiu panics. "Who said it's your fault?"
Luo Binghe pulls back, tears twinkling like stars in his eyes. "This disciple will go back to the abyss and retrieve your leg!"
Shen Qingqiu urgently shakes his head. His leg isn't in there! "There's no need, this Master has gotten used to it."
The statement looks like it breaks his disciple's heart even more. "I've failed you!" Luo Binghe stares at him earnestly. "Will Shizun forgive this incompetent one?"
Shen Qingqiu replies, "There's nothing to forgive."
More tears well up in Luo Binghe's eyes.
Yikes, that had come out sounding harsher than he wanted. Shen Yuan, you absolute buffoon. "This Master forgives you," he corrects himself.
Luo Binghe wraps him in a bear hug again. "Thank you, Shizun! This disciple is unworthy!"
Shen Qingqiu hums, patting Binghe's head. "Don't cry anymore, okay?" He adds on in a stroke of genius, "It hurts this Master to see you cry."
Luo Binghe immediately wipes his tears away. "This disciple promises to never hurt Shizun again," he swears.
From that day on, Luo Binghe is basically Mu Qingfang's personal assistant. He takes care of all of Shen Qingqiu's medicine and physical therapy, on top of cooking every meal for him. And he's still able to tell what mood Shen Qingqiu is in at a glance, like he wasn't gone for three whole years. He takes one look at his Shizun in the morning and knows exactly what kind of day it's going to be.
Some days, the medicine does nothing to sooth the burn in Shen Qingqiu's eye socket. He wakes up wishing his nerves weren't capable of feeling instead. He knows it's phantom pain and he understands the science behind it but the pain feels so very real. He lies in bed curling into himself and just trying to breathe through it. On the worst days, he begs Mu Qingfang to knock him out with a sleeping potion.
But Binghe is always there. He holds him in his arms and whispers soothing promises in his ear as he shakes in agony. He doesn't complain when the pain makes Shen Qingqiu cranky and irritable and he screams for him to get out of his room.
On better days, Shen Qingqiu lets Luo Binghe pick out an eye patch for him. Maybe they take a walk around the bamboo forest or they go down to the town for a little shopping. Binghe even bought him a red and black embellished eyepatch once.
For the first time, Shen Qingqiu sees a future in this world. He sees a lifetime of happy moments together with people he care about. The transmigration was a new opportunity and he'll make the best of it.
"What is Shizun thinking about?"
Shen Qingqiu snaps out of his thoughts and looks at his Luo Binghe. He smiles. "Something."
Luo Binghe's eyes widen. "Something good?"
Shen Qingqiu nods. Very good.