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Shen Qingqiu is cursed.
Although in the past he was affected by poisons more dangerous than this, this curse is the most humiliating of all. It will kill him slowly and painfully, and the only cure is... affectionate gestures. Fuck. He needs to find a solution soon and his pride prevents him from visiting Mu Qingfang. Perhaps his relationship with the healer is not as hostile as with the rest, but Shen Qingqiu appreciates his reputation more than his health. He is wandering the sect while reflecting on the encyclopedic knowledge he possesses looking for an antidote when Shen Qingqiu sees Liu Qingge walking in the direction of Bai Zhan Peak.
And he comes up with an idea.
Liu Qingge will probably interpret any gesture as a threat (it wouldn't be the first time). It's perfect! Shen Qingqiu will be cured without anyone finding out the truth! Everyone will believe that he has tried to attack Liu Qingge and will draw the worst conclusions without discovering his weakness.
Determined, Shen Qingqiu follows his prey using his qi to mask his presence. Liu Qingge seems so lost in his thoughts that he is unaware of the predator stalking him.
At the right moment, Shen Qingqiu runs up to him and hugs him from behind! Liu Qingge stiffens, too shocked to react, and Shen Qingqiu hugs even tighter as he rests his cheek against his back.
"SHEN QINGQIU!" Liu Qingge yells when he finally pulls away. "WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING NOW?"
"Practicing. It’s a new fighting style."
His eternal rival narrows his eyes, his hand resting on Cheng Luan's hilt.
"Your new style sucks. You will never defeat any monster like that."
Shen Qingqiu extends his fan to hide behind it.
"I don’t want to defeat any monster." He whispers looking into his eyes. The War God blushes and his fist clenches the hilt even tighter.
"Let's fight them! Seriously this time! No more dirty tricks."
Shen Qingqiu fakes a yawn before shaking his head.
"No. Fighting with you is boring." He turns his back on him before lazily walking away. "Goodbye, shidi."
That simple gesture calms the curse. Shen Qingqiu knows that it's not enough, but thanks to the involuntary help of Liu Qingge he has bought time to collect his ideas and continue to investigate how to heal without losing his face.
As Shen Qingqiu fears, a few days later the curse manifests again: his veins freeze, his pulse trembles, his qi fluctuates... Fortunately, Liu Qingge is still in the sect and hasn't gone hunting yet.
However, this time he doesn't catch an unprepared Liu Qingge, but a War God beating his disciples and adrenaline pumping. When Shen Qingqiu reaches Bai Zhan Peak, despite his secrecy Liu Qingge discovers him. His rival looks at him and frowns. His body is tense and ready to fight. Although he has defeated fifty children, for him they have only been flies. There is no scratch, just a bit of sweat covering his almost naked body. For the sake of comfort, Liu Qingge has removed his outer robes, exposing his stupidly muscular chest.
Shen Qingqiu barely reacts when he points the sword at him.
"You come at a good time, Shen Qingqiu. Let's fight."
And he rushes towards Shen Qingqiu without allowing him to flee or change his mind. Shen Qingqiu hisses between clenched teeth before unsheathing Xiu Ya.
Both are entangled in a spiral of steel blows, precise and faster than their heartbeat. The few disciples still conscious forget the pain, paralyzed by the amazement of a fight between two martial gods. While Shen Qingqiu's technique is graceful and beautiful, Liu Qingge's is brutally direct. And both fit together as if the fate of their swords was to confront each other.
Fighting Liu Qingge has never been equaled. His rival plays with better talent, more powerful cultivation, and the most important thing... HE IS NOT POISONED! It's no surprise that Liu Qingge pinned him to the ground after disarming him, yet Shen Qingqiu is still enraged. He stirs and even tries to hit him with his knee, but his rival immobilizes his legs with his weight as his victorious expression grows. He is so fucking close, humiliating him in front of his disciples as the poison devours Shen Qingqiu's golden core.
He has no other choice. Furious, Shen Qingqiu releases a hand to wrap his fingers in Liu Qingge's ponytail and draw his face to his. And he kisses his forehead.
"What...!?" Liu Qingge growls as he frowns.
Shen Qingqiu takes advantage of that instant of confusion to sneak away. It's too late to fix his disheveled appearance, so he simply summons Xiu Ya to leave Bai Zhan Peak for good.
Even though Shen Qingqiu has left, Liu Qingge doesn't react. Long ago he accepted that his martial brother was a snake without morality, but this behavior is illogical and inexplicable…
"Do you think Shen-shibo is trying to woo shizun?" The disciples whisper among themselves. "I suppose that the only person worthy of marrying the War God must defeat him... Or try."
"Maybe Shen-shibo wants to attract shizun’s attention!"
And that idea slowly slides through Liu Qingge's head, taking root without evaporating.
After the last incident, Liu Qingge's attitude begins to turn erratic. He is more cautious with Shen Qingqiu whenever they coincide. To his misfortune, Shen Qingqiu understands that he won't be able to continue using him as an excuse for much longer. Still, he will try to postpone looking for another candidate. No one is surprised that Shen Qingqiu seeks a fight with his eternal rival, but Yue Qingyuan will punish him if he bothers Mu Qingfang. And Qi Qingqi will try to castrate him if he gets close to her. Yue Qingyuan is actually his last chance, the one that Shen Qingqiu will only accept only when he is dying. Hmmm... Maybe he could bully Shang Qinghua next?
Meanwhile, the curse continues to spread. And a fleeting kiss on the forehead is not enough to give him a break. Soon, Shen Qingqiu feels those effects again that make him clumsy and sleepy, terrifyingly weak. And the worst part is that he doesn't even have time to investigate the extent of the curse because of his duties as Peak Lord.
At the next meeting, he is unable to fly on his sword to Qiong Ding Peak and must instead walk across the Rainbow Bridge. Shen Qingqiu arrives frustrated and enraged. His mood is twisted upon seeing Liu Qingge walking in front of him. His rival is always late, but today that dubious honor belongs to Shen Qingqiu, who grits his teeth. Then, an impulse makes him run towards his enemy to tackle him from behind and first, regain energy with a hug, and second, defeat him.
However, Liu Qingge's keen senses ruin his plot.
The War God spins around and Shen Qingqiu, instead of hugging him from behind like last time, ends up against his chest. He is still assimilating what has happened (why did Liu Qingge just turn around instead of dodging him!!!!?) when his arms grab him around the waist, preventing him from fleeing. In the end, it's Shen Qingqiu who ends up being hugged!!
That is good for his health, not for his pride, and Shen Qingqiu values the latter more. Annoyed, he rests his hands on Liu Qingge's chest and tries to get away from him, but his rival holds him even tighter.
"What are you doing, brute!?" He growls, angrily.
"What are YOU doing, Shen Qingqiu!?"
"It is none of your business!"
"Now it is! And I'm not going to release you until you confess what you're playing at."
Liu Qingge sounds... tense and suspicious. Well, Shen Qingqiu doesn't intend to explain anything to him. At least there is no one else and the others wouldn't believe that they are hugging anyway, so… Shen Qingqiu smashes his pride into pieces and wraps his arms around Liu Qingge's neck.
Shen Qingqiu hugs him by leaning his chest against his and resting his head on Liu Qingge. Who is hugging whom now? He will show his dominance to that War God!
In the end, he wins when Liu Qingge pushes him away.
"Shen Qingqiu!" He roars, flushed to the tips of his ears.
"Now if you'll excuse me, shidi, I have a meeting to attend."
"SHEN QINGQIU!"
Shen Qingqiu sneaks away with his head high and pretending that nothing has happened. Liu Qingge watches him walk away shaking and clenching his fists. He still remembers when Shen Qingqiu said that he was training a new technique and that his goal wasn't to defeat any monster.
Perhaps... His goal is Liu Qingge? What if his disciples are right??
As the War God, he has never been defeated and Shen Qingqiu's pathetic flirting attempts will be no exception.
As Shen Qingqiu feared, that hug has consequences, but not the ones he expected. True, Liu Qingge is now acting even more suspicious towards him, but instead of avoiding him, he keeps visiting him at Qing Jing Peak to annoy him. He can't study the curse if Liu Qingge pesters him every day to challenge him to duels or deliver monster corpses! Furthermore, it looks like Liu Qingge is expecting him to leave victims in front of his house too!???
Maybe he believes that he is training... And the corpses are to prove his supremacy... Well, nevermind, he has no interest in wasting time with Liu Qingge's games.
The bad news is that Liu Qingge dodges him every time Shen Qingqiu tries to catch him in a hug. And the curse continues to advance, slowly and without stopping. Until one day Shen Qingqiu faints.
Liu Qingge arrives at Qing Jing Peak to deliver his 50th monster corpse. Proudly, he leaves the prey in front of Shen Qingqiu's house. "He hasn't caught anything yet, so this win is mine," he thinks proudly. How does Shen Qingqiu expect to woo him if he is unable to even overcome that simple challenge? Now, he will abandon his expectations of conquering Liu Qingge.
He is about to leave when he hears a thud from inside the house. Gripped by a bad feeling, he knocks on the door. Nobody answers him. Strange. Shen Qingqiu never wastes an opportunity to scold him.
Liu Qingge kicks the door open and enters. He finds his rival passed out on the floor. He is deathly pale and whimpers when Liu Qingge grabs him. Gently, the War God allows him to lean against his chest and begins to transmit spiritual energy to him.
"What happened?" He growls when Shen Qingqiu blinks.
Instead of answering, he lifts his head and kisses his cheek.
Then he starts coughing up blood and passes out again.
Despite the shock of that second kiss (how can Shen Qingqiu think of him when he's dying!?) Liu Qingge carries him and takes him flying to Qian Cao Peak in bridal style.
Shen Qingqiu wakes up dazed on a bed and enveloped by the heat of another body. Immediately, he stiffens. Noticing his tension, the other person hugs him even tighter.
"Tsss, relax... You're poisoned."
He is quite aware of that. Thanks. What he doesn't understand is what Liu Qingge is doing SPOONING HIM IN A BED. They are face to face. More precisely, his face is buried in Liu Qingge's chest. "Don't worry. Mu Qingfang has said that it is a slight curse." SLIGHT? He almost died!
Well, maybe technically it was his pride that was killing him.
Misinterpreting his silence, Liu Qingge continues speaking.
"He has also said that a long hug or kiss will be enough to heal you."
"How long have we been like this?" He manages to sputter.
"I don't know. Perhaps two shichens."
THAT'S TOO MUCH. Fuck, Shen Qingqiu won't survive if he has to be hugged by Liu Qingge for a whole day. Since there are only pieces left of his pride, he doesn't hesitate to raise his head and slide his hands down the cheeks of the War God. He kisses him on the lips. Liu Qingge lets out a surprised sound, but instantly he opens his docile and pliant mouth. Since the intensity of the kiss is proportional to the healing, Shen Qingqiu doesn’t hesitate to slide his tongue inside.
Shen Qingqiu shows his dominance by kissing him until Liu Qingge gasps for air. However, the War God counterattacks by pressing him against the mattress. Something inside Shen Qingqiu stirs at the prospect of being crushed, but he doesn't break the kiss. He plunges his fingers into Liu Qingge's ponytail and stretches his hair, making him moan. It's a delicious sound and Shen Qingqiu purrs in satisfaction before licking his shidi's lips and biting them.
They're both breathless when they finally finish kissing. Shen Qingqiu closes his eyes and smiles when he finally feels that his meridians are clear. Instead of pulling away, Liu Qingge intertwines his fingers with his, holding hands.
"How do you feel?"
"Fine..." For once, Shen Qingqiu is unable to give him a cruel or bitter tone of voice.
Liu Qingge has always been an annoying rival but due to his stupid honor, he has been hugging him despite hating him and allowing himself to be kissed. Shen Qingqiu still notices his blood on his lips. A faint flush covers his cheeks as he realizes that he is now in debt to the War God.
"Thanks..." He growls, turning his head to avoid Liu Qingge's gaze above him. "You didn't have to help me. So thanks."
Liu Qingge lets out a soft smile before leaning towards him and brushing his face with his forehead.
"It's nothing. You're my fiancé after all."
Despite everything, that is what almost killed Shen Qingqiu in the end.