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Underneath Huan Hua Palace, in a dank cell with very little light was one of his hard-won trophies.

He arrived intending to dismember Shen Qingqiu. Cang Qiong had not surrendered yet, and Yue Qingyuan refused to meet with him so he planned to send his former Sect Leader a gift in the form of his childhood friend.

When he crossed the hallways, he heard the clanking of chains, thinking to himself finally, Shen Qingqiu decided to move around.

But what lay beyond was his Shizun in his tattered clothing and the man trying to lick his fingers and arms clean and meowing pitifully.

When Shen Qingqiu noticed him, his Shizun’s tail… he had a tail.

It simply puffed up, and the ears bent back, and Shen Qingqiu started hissing.

“Hssssssss.”

Shen Qingqiu plastered himself against the wall, his tail flicking left and right.

Luo Binghe stared at his Shizun and opened his mouth.

“Tell me. What is the meaning of this!?”

Shen Qingqiu looked quite ruffled, his green eyes wide with fear.

Still hissing, Luo Binghe began moving closer.

“What did you do to him? Who did this?”

And Shen Qingqiu swiped at him with his nails, and Luo Binghe was too surprised to even dodge.

Because his prisoner dared to hurt him, he wrapped his right hand around his Shizun’s throat and slammed him against the uneven walls.

Shen Qingqiu growled and bit his hand.

“This… This lowly one…”

The head prison guard knelt.

“If you do not tell me now, I will have your heads! Speak!”

Shen Qingqiu gave another growl and hiss. Slender hands tried to dig into his arm and Luo Binghe eventually loosened his hold.

As he did, Shen Qingqiu kept his struggles, “Maaaaaaooooo.”

The perfectly round pupils narrowed into slits.

“Answer me now.”

Shen Qingqiu started kicking him and Luo Binghe tossed the man to the floor. Shen Qingqiu started backing away, and hissed at him, before proceeding to purr, the man’s eyes were looking at the open door and tried to make a dash for it before being pulled back by the invisible chains attached to his Shizun’s neck, wrists, and feet.

The man kept pulling away from it and Luo Binghe realized it was quickly going to keep harming the oblivious man if he suffocated himself to death so, with his blood parasites, he forcibly kept Shen Qingqiu still.

When he approached Shen Qingqiu again, Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth and for some reason, his teeth had grown fangs.

He could see it now.

The body was trembling with fear.

It felt strange to see Shen Qingqiu so visibly afraid of him.

Luo Binghe had the healers sent to Shen Qingqiu without regard to the lack of his Shizun’s dignity.

There was barely anything clinging onto Shen Qingqiu.

He already decapitated one guard and he saw how Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were staring at the blood and the freshly decapitated head with some interest.

“You like that don’t you?”

All he got was another hiss.

When the healers arrived, they bowed before Luo Binghe and began figuring out what was wrong.

They all knew his Shizun had somehow turned into a half-human cat and lost his ability to speak and think like a human.

But what caused it and who did it was something he itched to find out.

This was not at all how intended to punish his Shizun. After painstakingly setting him up to be caught, humiliated, and tortured, he didn’t expect this to happen.

“Junshang… I’m afraid… there is no… known cure for this affliction.”

“Then find one! I do not wish to keep him in this state. He is useless to me like this.”

“Myaaa?”

Shen Qingqiu’s pupils turned round and were staring at the tassel that one of the healers wore that was connected to his headdress.

Before long, Shen Qingqiu, with a speed that he did not possess before, simply snatched the headdress away and proceeded to bite it all over, ripping it with his razor-sharp teeth.

“Aiyah… my hat.”

“Tell me what’s wrong with him.” Luo Binghe was starting to feel impatient.

“Please calm yourself… Junshang.”

The head healer looked about ready to faint and started wiping his sweat. While the others were kneeling and kowtowing on the floor many times.

“I’m afraid… Shen Qingqiu… thinks of himself as a cat. He’s lost his mind…”

“If you’re all so useless, why do I even keep all of you!?” Luo Binghe took out Xin Mo and wielded it, pointing it at the throat of the healer whose eyes had gone red with tears.

Shen Qingqiu abandoned the hat and his eyes have instead focused on the shiny thing that was in front of him. It glinted against the torches that lit up his room.

Luo Binghe was unaware of this and continued, “You say there is no cure but what can I do to make him… remember?”

“Junshang! Junshang… Please… it is not at all hopeless… I’m sure… with time… Shen Qingqiu will remember. You just have to be patient… While this curse does not have a cure, certain curses… certain curses… can be alleviated with… with… yourself.”

“Myself? Are you telling me that I… have to heal the scum myself?!” Luo Binghe felt his demonic qi rising.

He raised Xin Mo and was about to decapitate the healer who suggested such a shameless thing when he felt fingers wrapping themselves around Xin Mo and teeth around his hand.

Instantly, Shen Qingqiu let go. Droplets of blood began dripping on the floor.

Shen Qingqiu meowed pitifully and started licking his injured hands.

“...” Luo Binghe was momentarily speechless.

“Tend to his wounds… this is giving me a headache.”

Luo Binghe watched as the healers began crowding around Shen Qingqiu who fought them tooth and nail, scratching at each of the healers he could get his hands on but eventually being pushed down on the floor as someone began to put a salve on the man’s injured hands and another began wrapping it with a white bandage.

It amused Binghe, and he had not felt so amused in a while.

It helped to know that Shen Qingqiu had been meowing nonstop as if begging for help.

The healer who lost his hat took the tattered remains of it and slunk to Luo Binghe’s side, “Ah… as Junshang has seen… since he thinks of himself as an animal… if you wish to keep him alive, you must… you must keep him elsewhere…”

“What makes you think I care if he dies like this?”

The healer opened his mouth and looked at the other healers who were exhausted after being bitten and scratched, and Luo Binghe who was glaring at Shen Qingqiu.

“...Never mind. Tell me how I should keep him.”

“First… you must earn his trust. Once you earn his trust, then you’ll find it easier to care for him. While cats are solitary creatures, they are still social, and need companionship… so you cannot keep him all alone. He needs to get used to…”

Luo Binghe once fed stray cats in Qing Jing, he knew how cats were. He listened to the healer who kept droning and droning on about what he had to do.

“They like having their own territory… We do have a few feline demons who might be able to help.”

“No. If someone must own Shen Qingqiu, it must be me alone. If Shizun regains his memories and one day realizes he’s become my pet, willingly… then I’m sure he might wish to kill himself. What else should I do?”

“Even if he thinks he is a cat, Junshang… you must still try to feed him human food. He will have cravings for blood and fresh meat… Whoever did this to him is quite cruel. Those who are cursed think of themselves as different…Some think they are birds and try to fly only to die. It is not only that… but it depends on what gender the animal whose soul was used to curse him is… if it’s female… then Shen Qingqiu will have his heats… if it’s male… then he will fall into a rut.”

Luo Binghe wished to kill whoever gave him such a troublesome problem.

Without care for Shen Qingqiu’s state, he had the man drugged and moved into a chamber closer to his. If he needed to tame the animal that Shen Qingqiu became, he should be placed next to him.

All the words the healer said were starting to haunt him.

“Junshang, you cannot give him just any clothes. They do not like clothes. So if you wish for him to keep the things he wears, make sure it is of the finest silk. They do not like certain scents. It will make him sick if your wives who keep wearing such strong-scented perfumes crowd around him. A cat likes to climb things… Keep the windows and doors barred. He will need to be trained to use the bathroom… I’m afraid he does not know how to use inedia or use his cultivation for that matter. He will think everything is a toy. Junshang… perhaps it would be best to simply kill him if it’s too much trouble… Junshang…”

Irritated, Luo Binghe took out a scroll and read about the curse. And he burned it in his hand in frustration.

The next morning, he had his wives and all his servants questioned one by one. And before long the culprit came out.

It turned out to be a servant of Sha Hualing, instigated by Xiao Gongzhu.

“I only wished to help the demon saintess. I did not know it would be this much trouble… I did not know… Junshang… Please spare my life. Junshang! Please!”

Luo Binghe smirked.

“How about you live your life as a worm. Let’s see you survive.”

The servant was so terrified and started bashing her head on the floor.

Luo Binghe stood up, irritated that others would choose death over getting punished by him.

He had his other wives summoned for questioning.

“Why did this happen? Mingyan, I thought I could rely on you to keep the others in their place.”

Ning Yingying looked concerned, “It’s not Mingyan’s fault… And… that servant… she was only concerned of Ling-er. A-Luo… A-Luo… the most important thing is… how is Shizun?”

“Shizun? You care about Shizun more than what just happened?”

Ning Yingying rushed to his side, clinging to his arm and crying, “A-Luo… I mean no harm… but if Shizun has lost his mind… I… I don’t know what I should do.”

Xiao Gongzhu knelt, “I only wished to keep my husband happy… This one apologizes.”

Luo Binghe glared, “I know you mean well. Get up. There is nothing we can do about it now. I do not wish for this to happen again. If it does, then I will not spare any of you from punishment.”

It was a curse that eradicated the mind and made one think one was an animal.

His foolish wife thought it might be fun to turn Shen Qingqiu into a cat. In her defence, she thought it would be extremely humiliating for Shen Qingqiu to lose his mind and make a fool of himself.

Luo Binghe would have thought so as well, had he not seen Shen Qingqiu attempting to groom himself while he was in that dark prison cell.

And now, Ning Yingying and Liu Mingyan were following him into the specially made chambers where a sleeping Shen Qingqiu had been kept.

And lo and behold, just as the healers warned him, Shen Qingqiu hated clothes.

Even the softest of silk, he tore apart and he was stretching on the bed with nothing on and licking his fingers like a lascivious male pet.

He was purring too.

And Luo Binghe who had his wives on both his arms immediately commanded, “Close your eyes.”

Luo Binghe growled, “Why can’t you stay dressed?”

“Hsssss.”

They were back to hissing.

Shen Qingqiu who was tangled up on the bed started struggling and fell on the floor wrapped around in silk and hissing.

Irritated beyond belief, Luo Binghe froze the man with his parasites and began to hurt him.

“Mewww..”

Limp, and looking as if the world had betrayed him, Luo Binghe began unwrapping his very naked Shizun.

Terrified servants who were on the sides of the room were summoned with Luo Binghe's irate finger, and they helped dress the man.

When Shen Qingqiu was presentable, Binghe said, “You may open your eyes.”

“This… this is Shen Qingqiu?”

The silk was so translucent that it barely covered anything. And Shen Qingqiu’s skin was so white. Those green eyes were slitted and looking at them all with mistrust.

The poor thing was hissing.

As a cat lover, Liu Mingyan felt her heart become soft.

And despite the hate that she had for the man who supposedly killed her brother, right now… with all she knew… she knew that this thing before her was rather innocent and unaware of his crimes.

The tail curled around Shen Qingqiu who was placed unceremoniously on the bed by Luo Binghe. And it was tapping up and down impatiently.

She watched with barely hidden interest as Luo Binghe began petting Shen Qingqiu’s lustrous dark hair.

And then, Shen Qingqiu started purring.

She found herself sitting before the bed, unable to stop herself.

Her fingers curled into a fist and she tentatively held it before Shen Qingqiu’s nose.

Calmer now, Shen Qingqiu sniffed her, as if evaluating her.

Then, the man’s very pink tongue darted out to lick her fingers.

“Shizun!”

Ning Yingying took that moment to rush forward and it scared Shen Qingqiu whose fingers dug into Luo Binghe’s hip.

The fingers have elongated themselves to claws.

“Shizun…?” Ning Yingying’s voice was forlorn and teary-eyed, as if entirely unaware of how spooked Shen Qingqiu was, she turned to ask them both.

“He really can’t recognize me anymore?”

Luo Binghe stared at his catified Shizun and took out a pill that should keep the man asleep since he was too much of a handful to control.

He placed it on the man’s mouth and used his parasites to make Shen Qingqiu swallow.

Ning Yingying kept sobbing, while Liu Mingyan began chattering about how soft the ears were, and how lush Shen Qingqiu’s white tail was.

Luo Binghe’s growing headache was only just beginning, however.

He tried to keep it a secret from the world, but eventually, the word spread that he reduced his own Shizun into his pet, and this absolutely enraged Cang Qiong who sent him death threats.

Yue Qingyuan not only said that he was going to fight him in person, he added that even if he must go alone he would do it so he could retrieve Shen Qingqiu and take him home.

What Luo Binghe had not been aware of was that a certain wife of his began circulating short stories, and depictions of the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Pet. AKA the oblivious Shen Qingqiu who was often seen napping on Luo Binghe’s lap.

If only that was what the stories entailed but it started becoming raunchier and raunchier.

If it was not for the female servants who suspiciously started gossiping about themselves at the sight of Luo Binghe complaining about white fur getting stuck on his clothes and hair, he would not have found out about the books.

There were books. In a short span of two months, there were books depicting the beastly acts Luo Binghe had been doing to Shen Qingqiu beyond closed doors.

And they left very little… to the imagination.

The body drawn had been accurate.

He paused, at the sight of himself, using Shen Qingqiu during his heat…

His heat…

After he rid the demon realm and his territory of such shameless books, he then proceeded to wrangle out the truth from the healer.

“Was it a female cat or a male cat?”

“Junshang! Please… please don’t kill me… Please please… this lowly servant can’t breathe.” Coughing, the healer who had been accosted once more and had already graying hairr bowed down low and whispered.

“Fe…. female… Cat…Junshang… In… three more weeks… He might experience his first heat.”

Luo Binghe paced before his Shizun’s room before slowly opening the door.

Lately, he’d gotten Shen Qingqiu to trust him. No longer was Shen Qingqiu biting him, but that body always somehow found itself plastered against him.

He knew it was because Shen Qingqiu liked how warm he was.

Luo Binghe knew that sometimes Huan Hua Palace could be cold, and the moment he entered the rooms, he would be hugged and rubbed by Shen Qingqiu who was trying to rub off his scent on him.

Strangely enough, Shen Qingqiu hardly needed a bath. As typical of cats, Shen Qingqiu hated being bathed… but he also managed to train him enough to accept one every two days.

He was not as perverted as the one in the stories, nor did he think of himself as an abuser, rapist, and lecher as depicted in the stories.

And yet, Shen Qingqiu now, who finally settled into wearing a translucent skirt, sat on his lap and started licking his neck and dozing there… Luo Binghe could not lie to himself and not feel… even a modicum of…

Affection.

He would call this affection.

He had after all cared for this man like his own pet, and when Shen Qingqiu opened up to him and started hugging him, and bonding with him, Luo Binghe… found it difficult to keep his anger intact.

Or his sanity.

He was supposed to be torturing Shen Qingqiu and making him pay.

But now, in his own domain, he was sneaking around in fear of waking the slumbering cat-shizun of his.

Luo Binghe sat beside the sleeping man. It was early in the morning, and his Shizun was curled up in a ball.

His hair was miraculously untangled, and the curtains had not been ripped to shreds this time.

His hands automatically went to his Shizun’s head and rubbed the ears, Shen Qingqiu’s eyes opened, and blinked up at him slowly.

Luo Binghe began slowly blinking back.

And Shen Qingqiu stretched his body, slowly, his nipples, hardening because of the cold air.

The man sleepily sat up and sat on his lap.

“Bingnyeh…”

Luo Binghe stared.

“Shizun?”

“Bingnyeh?” Shen Qingqiu’s eyes blinked again, and the cat shizun of his licked his face and lips. Before dozing off again.

Luo Binghe was feeling his heart beating too fast. He wiped his lips and stared at the thing on the bed. Everywhere around him smelled like Shen Qingqiu.

He had to get out.

He had to forget.

He never allowed Shen Qingqiu to lick his face but Shen Qingqiu. His Shizun. The one whom he hated. Licked his lips.

Very sleepily. That pink tongue had darted out and licked him, and it was slightly rougher than a man’s tongue. But still.

He could not get out of his head.

He rushed out of the room, and for a whole day, he’d been distracted.

Two days later, he came back to face his fears and was met with a very forlorn Shizun who can now call him by his name.

“Bingye?”

“It’s Binghe.”

“Bing…. Nya? Meeewwww…” Shen Qingqiu held him down and started to play with him, as he always did, but now Luo Binghe was hyperaware of where each body part was pressing down on.

He wrestled with his Shizun, and the two of them tumbled on the bed until finally Luo Binghe won and had his Shizun’s wrists held above his head.

Shen Qingqiu kept trying to struggle away.

“It’s Binghe. Say my name Shizun.”

“Nyo…”

“No?”

“Bingnye!!”

Luo Binghe as if possessed, sat down on his Shizun’s navel, and Shen Qingqiu kept thrusting up and down and away from him.

When the door to Shen Qingqiu’s luxurious rooms opened, Liu Mingyan, Sha Hualing, and Ning Yingying were conversing.

“Ah… if he’s needed in court and you can’t find him. I know he should be… here.”

“A-Luo! Unhand Shizun this instant. I didn’t think you were so perverted… to do this to him… Shizun… Shizun is so innocent!”

Luo Binghe froze and said, “What I do with him is none of your concern!”

And he realized that came out wrong and Ning Yingying disappeared and appeared before Luo Binghe slapping his face and hugging Shen Qingqiu who was trying to get away from her too.

“...Bingnye?”

“What?”

“He.” Luo Binghe tried to stay calm. “I was trying to teach him to say my name and he’s saying it wrong.”

“Oh? Oh… is that it? A-Luo… I’m sorry I hit you.” Ning Yingying, who realized she made a mistake soon began fawning over Luo Binghe as she always did.

Liu Mingyan took in Shen Qingqiu and nodded to herself. “Awww… Xiao-Qiu. Why don’t you say my name? I’m Mingyan. I’ll give you a treat if you do.”

Liu Mingyan took out a snack, which was something she carried with her every time she wished to visit Shen Qingqiu.

“Ming-Yan.”

“Meeew…yaa”

Liu Mingyan gave Shen Qingqiu the treat and Sha Hauling sat behind Shen Qingqiu, patting his back.

“Fascinating.”

“Meeew?” Shen Qingqiu inched closer to Liu Mingyan.

“I can see why in the stories… he’s always so…” Sha Hualing didn’t want to finish, knowing that Luo Binghe’s glare was already sent her way.

“Adorable?” Liu Mingyan said.

“Xiao-Qiu. It’s Mingyan. Come on… you can do it.”

Shen Qingqiu looked as if pained and started saying, “Miii…. Miiii…. Miin… nya?”

Liu Mingyan’s heart melted, “Husband if you don’t plan to kill him, why not give him to me. I can have Xiao-Qiu forever.”

Luo Binghe held out his hand, and Liu Mingyan frowned, giving out her dried salted meat.

“Say it again, Shizun. It’s… Biiiiing…. Huuuuuhh.”

“Bingnye.”

Shen Qingqiu meowed pitifully when his treat was clasped around by a hand.

“Binghe. Or no food.”

“A-Luo, how can you be so cruel?”

“Bing…huh”

…

Liu Mingyan began rubbing Shen Qingqiu’s head, but for some reason Shen Qingqiu started tearing up, looking at Luo Binghe who didn’t even open his hand and give him a treat.

He retreated to Liu Mingyan who embraced him and asked, “What’s wrong.”

And then they realized Shen Qingqiu’s stomach started growling.

“...How is he hungry? Did the servants not feed him?”

Luo Binghe stood up and the servants who always accompanied Shen Qingqiu in his room all but rushed to kneel before them.

“Junshang… this one… Lord… Shen… he didn’t eat… he was trying to call for you. But you wouldn’t come. He kept pacing by the door and didn’t touch his food. You weren’t here for two days, so he didn’t eat for… two days.”

“How can you not tell me something this important. What if he got sick? Guards!”

“Spare us! Spare us… Junshang.”

The guards came and dragged the incompetent servants out.

Luo Binghe sighed and the betrayed Shizun of his started hiding behind Liu Mingyan and started licking his hands with a little bit of anxiety.

“Shizun… What shall I do with you? Come here… you’re hungry right. This lord will feed you.”

Liu Mingyan coughed and fanned herself a little bit.

“Husband, I believe I forgot a prior appointment. Here.”

Liu Mingyan took out a sachet filled with dried treats.

“He’ll need something wet, you know.”

Luo Binghe clashed with Yue Qingyuan, who was holding a suspicious-looking book.

“My Shidi has already suffered so much in your hands. Now… now you’re only feeding him… your… your… You will pay for this!”

Luo Binghe faced the wrath of Xuan Su, and if not for his army, and Mobei-Jun coming to his rescue, he would have gotten more injured.

Xin Mo cut through a route for escape, and he retreated to Huan Hua… Knowing that Cang Qiong already knows he was using Huan Hua as a base since he was ambushed so close to it, he had a split-second decision to move into the Northern Realm.

He had carried his Shizun and wrapped him in a cloak.

It was another bad mistake.

Shang Qinghua was visiting the Northern Realm to report on the status within Cang Qiong when Luo Binghe saw him and commanded him to, “make something livable for Shen Qingqiu. He’s cold, and he needs a very warm room to stay in.”

Dropping all his reports and reporting to his King that he had a new task, Shang Qinghua set off tirelessly working a day and night to furnish a room to Shen Qingqiu’s liking.

The spoiled… pet that his Shixiong had turned into looked so innocent, curled, and pitiful, embracing the terrifying lord of the demon realm.

Shen Qingqiu looked as if he was afraid, and always hid in Luo Binghe’s arms the moment the others stepped closer.

And Shen Qingqiu looked as if he was naked underneath the fur blanket. Crying, and begging for Binghe again and again, it was a pitiful sight.

He read the books himself and was shocked at what he saw and read.

Shen Qingqiu was always hard on him, but… the man was loyal to Cang Qiong and tried to do good while he was still alive. Shang Qinghua saw him try to save Liu Qingge on one occasion only to be accused of wanting to kill him. He also knew how much Shen Qingqiu tried to keep Cang Qiong safe, and now since Cang Qiong lost their main tactician, it was as if they lost a limb.

Their paperwork had never been so disorganized since Shen Qingqiu often made sure to check everyone’s work for discrepancies.

When he returned, he watched Luo Binghe holding Shen Qingqiu’s hands and blowing on them. “You must be hungry, Shizun. Don’t worry, this lord will feed you. Something wet. Something… tasty… you like meat, don’t you?”

“Binghe… c…cold…”

“Shhh. I’ll warm you up.”

Shang Qinghua knelt and tried not to stutter. He wanted to light a candle for his poor abused Shixiong and hoped he could survive the endless torment. What horrors he must have suffered… to be reduced to such a state… to plead for warmth in the arms of his once disciple who abhorred him enough to even…

He refused to think.

He wished to stop his brain.

It was not his place.

He cannot save someone when he can’t even save himself.

“Shizun… have I not treated you well?”

Shen Qingqiu sniffled and Luo Binghe placed his hand behind Shen Qingqiu’s head, combing through it.

Shen Qingqiu looked as if he was so well trained by now that he began licking Luo Binghe’s neck.

Shang Qinghua was about to faint.

“Ju-Junshang… The room is ready…”

Luo Binghe sighed, because of his inattention, Shen Qingqiu caught a cold.

How can someone be so troublesome?

Unable to rely on the others, he locked himself and his Shizun within his rooms and tended to him personally for three days.

No, he was not attached.

But the fever refused to die down, and he knew he had to call for help.

When he left the room, with Shen Qingqiu sick, and pale on the bed, he saw healers, and Shang Qinghua already waiting to rush inside, and all of them were quite terrified.

“...”

Luo Binghe did not understand what was going on inside their minds.

A healer bowed before him, and said, “Junshang… I know you must love Lord Shen, but he… he’s mortal right now… his body… is not suited… for such things… Even if you must do it… you must do it with preparation.”

He was handed a familiar-looking bottle that he often used with his own wives and thought the healer must know a new treatment to make Shen Qingqiu far more comfortable than he usually is.

Shang Qinghua, in his guilt, stayed out of the room, and he heard pitiful words…

“No…”

So many noes. So many painstaking cries.

“You have to swallow it all, Qingqiu. Don’t make a mess.” Luo Binghe sounded disappointed. And there was the sound of breaking glass.

“No… No Binghe… … don’t want… nyo more…”

“You can do it. I know you can. You’ve been such a good boy. Shizun, it’s just one more mouthful. Open your mouth. Swallow… that’s it.”

“Binghe… Bingye…”

It was like this, with tortured sounds, and breaking things. And Luo Binghe trying to coax Shen Qingqiu into behaving.

At one point in time, their lord lost it.

“If you don’t take it, I’m going to force you to take it. You have to get it all in…”

“Shizun. Why won’t you let me take care of you…”

“Are you tired… I’m tired. Shizun, Shizun don’t you sleep on me. We’re not yet done here.”

Shang Qinghua, feeling lost, started writing about what he heard. He began writing a story about a spy he had in the Northern Realm, and he wrote to the only person who could save his Shixiong.

Yue Qingyuan was crying.

“Xiao-Jiu… if I knew your disciple was going to turn into a monster… I wouldn’t have stopped you from killing him… Xiao-Jiu… you must have suffered so much.”

For three days straight, he forced Shen Qingqiu to submit to him. We could all hear his cries, and we had to beg for Luo Binghe to be more merciful to his Shizun. When we found Shen Qingqiu, he was feverish and in pain. He wouldn’t let anyone touch him… and yet he still kept calling after him…

Shen Qingqiu, who finally got rid of his fever, started following Luo Binghe around.

He thought it would be nice to surprise his human by appearing and surprising him in the most unlikely places.

And yet, Luo Binghe always seemed to know he was there.

It annoyed him.

His tail was swishing left to right as he followed Luo Binghe to his bathroom.

“Will you follow me here too, Shizun? Why do you keep following me around?”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know why.

With his rather limited vocabulary, he started to struggle to explain.

“Binghe… mine.”

“Me… yours?” Luo Binghe narrowed his eyes and made a come hither gesture.

“Come here then. Let’s give you a bath.”

Shen Qingqiu shook his head.

“...”

The stare made Shen Qingqiu far more obedient, and he dipped his toes.

Before long, Luo Binghe pushed him in.

“This is a medicated bath. It should be good for you… Shizun… it’d be nice if you never remembered… You’re better like this.”

Hiding Shen Qingqiu in the Northern Realm seemed like a good idea until Cang Qiong launched a full-scale attack there.

Frustrated, he went to the Southern Demon Realm.

And that’s when his Shizun’s heat started.

It caught them both unaware.

Luo Binghe had his Shizun tied up and Shen Qingqiu kept crying and sobbing.

He did not know what kind of god he pissed off to deserve such treatment.

It was no lie, he was probably a monster for wanting his own defenceless Shizun, but to be teased and teased and followed and… adored was… beyond his wildest dreams.

All he ever wanted was his Shizun’s acknowledgement and the kindness that he spared his own disciples. He didn’t want to ask for much.

But… here he was. It was obvious Shen Qingqiu considered him to be his entire world. And during his heat, he kept hearing Shen Qingqiu beg for his name.

But he wouldn’t sully his Shizun like this.

When his Shizun remembered… he wanted his Shizun to remember that at the very least, Luo Binghe was decent to him.

What Shen Qingqiu never gave him in the past, he was willing to give.

And if it turns out that Shen Qingqiu still hated him, and called him a beast… after all this time, then he would accept that and let the man go.

Perhaps the humiliation of being his pet would teach his Shizun a lesson, and humble him.

His Shizun remained childlike, for a very long while, until all of a sudden, he was afraid again.

Shen Qingqiu was becoming more eloquent, and while he still loved Luo Binghe the most, Shen Qingqiu had become distrustful of all the male servants, so Luo Binghe had them replaced.

He had never bothered to see into his Shizun’s mind before.

“...Shizun…”

“Why do you call me Shizun? I’m not your Shizun. I’m just a slave…. I’m Shen Jiu… if you have to call me… by my name… just call me A-Jiu.”

“A-Jiu… A-Jiu it is then.”

The cat ears were folded. And Shen… Jiu was staying far away from him… but still… near enough that when he inched away, Shen Jiu was looking at him with a forlorn look.

He didn’t know what he wanted.

“I will never know what’s wrong without you telling me… so if you can’t tell me, then I’ll search for the truth myself. Swallow this pill. It’ll help you sleep.”

And when Luo Binghe looked into his Shizun’s mind, he saw red.

A child…

His Shizun was a child when Qiu Jianluo molested him and tried to rape him.

His Shizun’s legs were broken and he tried to wait for Yue Qingyuan to come back to him.

His Shizun was crying all alone, without anyone to help him heal… surviving every single day out of spite.

No wonder he hated men.

All those in the Qiu family abused him, threatened to rape him, and threatened to sell him as a whore if he didn’t behave.

In his rage, he summoned Qiu Haitang who looked absolutely shocked, “My brother would never do that.”

“I’ve seen his memories. I’ve seen what Shen Jiu suffered. No wonder he hated my name. If there’s anyone who should be sorry it should be you. You were there. You should have seen what’s wrong. All this time your love for your own brother blinded you.”

Luo Binghe felt strange, and he watched the sleepy Shizun of his dream away…

I don’t want him to remember.

You can’t keep him from the past. He won’t stay like this forever.

Luo Binghe stayed by Shen Qingqiu’s side, which grew colder and colder as the days passed by.

“Won’t you tell me the truth?... I am Junshang’s prisoner… aren’t I?... They say… you’ve bedded me… and I…”

“That’s right. A long time ago, you were my Shizun. And you hated me. You abused me. You hurt me. You tried to kill me. And I wanted to kill you. I wanted to make you hurt… but instead, you turned into a cat. I could have hurt you too… I could have made your life a living hell but I didn’t.”

Shen Qingqiu’s wide dilated eyes closed.

“Binghe…? Don’t leave?... I’m scared… I don’t want to remember… I’m… scared…” Shen Qingqiu clung to his arm and crawled onto his lap just like ages ago and sobbed there.

“What are you scared of? They’re just memories…” Luo Binghe hugged him and kissed his forehead.

“...I know… but… but… don’t hate me…”

Shen Jiu clutched Luo Binghe’s robes, pressing his face there, inhaling the comforting scent...

“No one else… no one else was kind enough… only… Binghe… so… so… don’t hate me… Please?” Shen Jiu was begging now.

Before it could become even more troublesome, Luo Binghe signed a peace treaty and to prevent him from becoming even more attached, he kept Shen Qingqiu in an enchanted sleep.

He sent him back to Cang Qiong, where he belonged.

Mu Qingfang would know what to do.

Two years passed.

Shen Qingqiu still has a fucking tail.

And cat ears. Both were things he hated because he could never hide what he was feeling with those extra appendages around.

His memories were fragmented but he already knew enough. He knew what a horrible life he's had.

He’s back in Qing Jing and is waving a white fan in irritation and dismay.

The past three years of his life passed by him. He spent his first year in his disciple’s care… like a feral cat, slowly being tamed by his disciple whom he considered being his one and only companion.

His fan cracked.

The next two years were spent in agony in Cang Qiong, as he remembered his time as a rogue cultivator, then a disciple in Qing Jing, eventually being granted the title of Qing Jing’s Peak Lord.

He remembered how he begged Luo Binghe not to leave him, not to hate him. And yet his disciple gave him away like he was nothing.

The fan snapped in half.

“Shifu.”

Ming Fan greeted him, “The others are here to visit you…”

Mu Qingfang was inside, and he stared at Shen Qingqiu’s tail which was swishing back and forth.

Yue Qingyuan started to pick up the pieces of the fan that broke and stored them for his own safekeeping. Yue Qingyuan was so weird these days.

They were not telling him what he wanted to know, and everyone else was walking around on tiptoes lately. As if he was broken, or something.

Well, he’d been a wreck when he first woke up and kept begging to see Luo Binghe of all people until the memories kicked in and he realized what a fool he’d been.

“Shen-Shixiong. Please… your wrist.”

His wrist was presented.

And he had to relax not to let out his claws.

“...How has Shixiong’s cultivation been lately?”

“Good.” Came Shen Qingqiu’s reply.

“...We still haven’t found a cure for this.”

“I don’t care.”

“But… but we’ve found a way for you to hide it.” Yue Qingyuan said and took out a bottle.

“This…”

Shen Jiu stared at the bottle, and it was familiar, it had a familiar seal.

The heavenly demon mark.

Him.

He snatched the bottle and smashed it on the floor.

“Who said I needed his help? I’d rather die than take something from that beast!”

Shen Jiu felt hurt, and he knew he was being dramatic.

“Forgive this one… if I could only find a cure… Shen Shixiong won’t be this upset.” Mu Qingfang bemoaned. The man sighed and looked at Shen Jiu with determination. But also pity. And Shen Qingqiu hated pity the most. He did not want any of it.

Shen Qingqiu hated everyone in Cang Qiong.

He hated everyone in the world.

He hated and hated… and felt so betrayed and alone.

Before long, he took Xiu Ya, newly restored and unshattered, and rode it out of Qing Jing.

He began to escape from his hateful life and found himself in Jue Di Gorge waiting for a miracle to appear.

He wanted the abyss to pop out of existence, to jump inside it and see for himself if it was terrible enough a place that it could turn someone like himself into a cold mass murderer. Oh but he already was one. But it turned an innocent boy into a cruel demon lord and granted him a weapon. Shen Qingqiu wanted a weapon too, to keep all the others who annoyed him far far away from him.

Luo Binghe’s crimes were always attributed to him. A disciple's faults were the fault of their master. He raised a monster. Shen Qingqiu's mind was spinning.

Perhaps he should pay for it with his own life.

He felt humiliated to like being a pet cat.

And he felt ashamed to think that the life he had back then was worth more than the life he had right now.

So as he sat there, he took out some wine and started drinking.

Alone, he watched the sun dip down, and the moon eventually came out.

And when it finally did, he uncorked a bottle of poison and mixed it with his wine.

“Shen Jiu would never do that.”

Shen Qingqiu looked behind him and was surprised to see Luo Binghe appear behind him.

“...What are you doing here, beast?” Shen Jiu resisted the urge to growl.

“Shizun looks like he needs some company. This disciple wants to accompany you in watching the moon.” Luo Binghe took off his cloak and wrapped it around Shen Qingqiu’s form.

“It’s cold.” Luo Binghe added, and those red eyes stared him down.

Shen Qingqiu felt himself behave on reflex, and when he realized what happened, he had already allowed Luo Binghe to sit next to him and steal his precious wine.

“It’s poisoned.”

“Poison like this doesn’t work on me.” Luo Binghe said, drinking from the poisoned cup, and showing no outward reaction of pain.

“...Idiot.” Shen Qingqiu said, and he took the jug of wine and drank straight from it.

“...Shizun… They told me… you haven’t been eating well.”

Shen Qingqiu looked away.

“You only really like to eat when I’m there.” Luo Binghe added and the demon’s hands reached out for his ears. Shen Qingqiu darted away and glared.

“Don’t be so full of yourself.”

“This lord was told, you scratched even Yue Qingyuan and threatened to kill him.”

“So what.”

Luo Binghe laughed. “It’s funny…”

Shen Qingqiu hissed this time, “Sssso what.”

“I thought you would change. But there are parts of you that are still the same… A-Jiu.” Luo Binghe crawled closer. And Shen Qingqiu, who drank pretty much almost all of the bottle of very strong wine, took out his fan and slapped Luo Binghe with it.

“Shameless.”

“...Are you not my A-Jiu?”

Shen Qingqiu bit his lip and tried to stand up and tripped.

Luo Binghe was there to catch his fall and Shen Qingqiu rolled away, pitifully crawling away from the madman. He saw a patch of flowers that he knew should deter demons.

But for some reason even when he managed to cross to the flowery patch, the flower patch began dying one after the other.

“You’re killing them!”

“I never thought Shizun cared for flowers.”

“...I do. Qing Jing… Qing Jing has many plants. I like plants.”

“...Shizun likes plants. What else does Shizun like?” Luo Binghe appeared beside Shen Jiu who was spooked and collapsed on the dead flowers.

“You beast…”

“Shizun likes me?”

Shen Qingqiu lost it and his nails sharpened into claws.

Luo Binghe laughed and easily overpowered him.

Shen Jiu recalled the many times he fought like this with him.

Like a child, he was filled with laughter and thought it was just a game.

They rolled around and it ended with Shen Qingqiu sitting on top of Luo Binghe.

“Why… Did you give me away?” Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were slits and his hands slowly wrapped around Luo Binghe’s neck.

The man looked comfortable lying down underneath him.

“I thought it would make you happy.”

“...That’s all?...”

Luo Binghe slowly nodded.

“Idiot.” Shen Qingqiu looked up at the moon and wiped his eyes. He stood up. He started running away. He ran without care at all and hoped he was just dreaming again.

“Shizun!... Shizun… where are you going?”

“Far away from you!”

“Shizun wait!”

He was caught and embraced and he realized that Luo Binghe was already so much taller than him and he stepped on the demon lord’s boots and summoned Xiu Ya, swinging it around drunkenly and using his qi to begin burning off the alcohol that made things a little bit whoozy.

“Wait… Shizun.”

Luo Binghe tied the black robes around himself more securely.

And Shen Qingqiu grew so annoyed he ripped it off and handed it back to his stupid disciple.

“I hate you! I hate you! You are despicable. I hope you die! I hope you die a thousand painful deaths you—”

Shen Qingqiu suddenly found something wet touching his lips, and he was being kissed to an inch of his life.

Shocked, he was kissed senselessly and unable to breathe for several long moments until he realized he had to snap out of it and slapped Luo Binghe.

“Do you want to die?” Shen Qingqiu asked, wiping his lips and spitting it out.

Shen Qingqiu clutched at his heart and Luo Binghe smiled, “I very much want to stay alive, Shizun… but I know… I know you must hate me. But I want you to know I regret sending you to Cang Qiong. I missed you… and I want to take you back.”

“Why won’t you let me die? Isn’t that what you want? You… I…” Shen Qingqiu thought of a hundred things to say but just couldn’t get him out.

Luo Binghe was being difficult… and yet. Binghe was kind to Shen Jiu. Shen Qingqiu had been horrible to the brat.

Shen Qingqiu abused and tortured the man who in the end, kept him safe, nursed him to health, fed him, taught him how to speak, and made him feel loved, more than any person in the world had ever bothered to do.

He sucked at making up.

And he only excelled at making things worse.

So to end his mortification and torment, he thought it was a good idea to just die. That way, Cang Qiong wouldn’t have to worry about curing him. Luo Binghe didn’t have to think about killing him.

“I don’t want Shizun to die. Shizun… I can’t bring myself… to want to hurt you… not when… you were mine.”

“I’m not.”

Shen Qingqiu suddenly couldn’t move.

“Shizun. Don’t. Test my patience. Stop resisting. I’ve been inside your dreams. I know what you want. Why can’t you take it? Why can’t you just accept… that I care for you?”

Luo Binghe held out his hand and Xin Mo hovered above it. He cut through a portal and carried Shen Qingqiu with him.

In the end, his fuming Shizun had to be appeased very slowly, denying every single peace offering that Luo Binghe could give.

Shen Qingqiu threw away the peace treaty with the Cultivation world and screamed. It was earsplitting.

Luo Binghe was just about ready to give up.

“What else do you want, Shizun! When will you forgive me?”

“I don’t know. Divorce your wives. Burn all the stupid books about you and me. Stop sending me gifts.”

Shen Qingqiu looked positively feral, and Luo Binghe’s own rooms looked like a warzone.

“I’ll do it.”

“You will?”

…

“But what about Xin Mo?”

“Shizun better take responsibility.”

Shen Qingqiu looked him up and down and suddenly the man was silent.

Luo Binghe felt smug. It did not take longer than a week to get to the heart of the matter.

He knew his Shizun was selfish.

Of course, he would demand this sooner than later.

“Shizun… you know what I want right?”

“You beast… it’s obvious. Back then I didn’t know you wanted me… I…”

“Shizun…” Luo Binghe found himself carefully stepping through the broken glass, gold, trinkets, tables, and chairs, and stepping closer to the bed where his Shizun was sitting.

“Shizun, let’s start over… Okay? I want you. I love you. I’m telling you the truth… So won't you be honest with me? Please, Shizun…”

“...one last thing. Remember the time you locked me up during my first heat because you didn’t know there were suppressants for it?... I want to do the same to you… I’ll make you so hungry… for it. And leave you there for a week.”

Luo Binghe’s eyes darkened with lust. “With pleasure… so then…”

“...” Shen Qingqiu nodded. He could hardly feel his own cheeks. And he suddenly found himself wrapped in a warm embrace, and he found himself inhaling Luo Binghe's scent. It was like coming home.

In the end, the books survived, the wives dispersed (whether they liked it or not), and Luo Binghe ruled with an iron fist beside his temperamental Shizun.

The curse never really went away, but the two found good uses for it.

Shen Qingqiu realized he enjoyed hunting his foolish disciple, the way a predator hunted and stalked its prey. And Luo Binghe enjoyed Shen Qingqiu’s seasonal mating habits very very much.

Yue Qingyuan reluctantly gave his blessing, and all was well and good in Cang Qiong when Shen Qingqiu eventually came back to take over his duties in Qing Jing Peak.

Shang Qinghua was rewarded for his efforts in spying for Yue Qingyuan and got into Mobei-Jun’s graces. He still thinks his poor Shixiong suffered and has tragically fallen for his captor. It was a hot topic amongst cultivators and demons alike.

Liu Mingyan kept writing her stories, which made her extremely rich. Ning Yingying was quite happy for her Shizun and ex-husband while settling in with Sha Hualing in the demon realm.

Ming Fan still hates Luo Binghe but now has to be respectful to the Shidi whom he once hated. His Shifu and Luo Binghe were married after all.

The servant who made this all possible received a posthumous title, and her family was rewarded for years to come.