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Shen Yuan knew that by becoming the mate of the Emperor, he had gained some of Binghe’s abilities. During their mating ritual he had been overwhelmed by the raw power that suddenly flowed throw his meridians, and was more than a little out of it for that first week. But it wasn’t until someone tried to assassinate his first born that he truly used them for the first time.
On the day that it happened, his family was spending the weekend at their favorite vacation spot: the beach. Binghe wasn’t with them yet, as he was working on finishing up a few last-minute things.
“Go on ahead, A’Yuan. The children are ready to go, and I won’t be far behind.” His husband had promised.
So Shen Yuan had managed to get all of his children on his sword and fly to the beach. It wasn’t far, and Muyang was far enough along in his cultivation now that he was able to help Yingyue balance as Shen Yuan held Feiyu and their bags.
After making sure that their house was how they had left it, Shen Yuan sent the children out to the beach.
“A’Mu, make sure to watch after FeiFei, please!” He called out. His son stopped and grabbed his sister’s hand before giving him a thumbs up. At 12, he was more than capable of keeping an eye on his four-year-old little sister. Yingyue would have been a good option as well, but her cultivation wasn’t as strong as Muyang’s yet. In the event that the water overwhelmed Feiyu, Muyang would be able to retrieve her with little effort.
Shen Yuan was creating a shopping list to send to his husband when suddenly Yingyue screamed. The sound had him dropping the pen he was writing with as his blood ran cold with fear. Before he realized what was really happening, he was out the door and racing towards the beach. His eyes widened in horror as he watched Muyang stand in front of his sisters, his newly acquired sword standing between them and the enemy. Yingyue appeared to be wounded, as she had a hand pressed to her head.
“Jiejie!” He heard Feiyu cry as she grabbed at Yingyue’s arm.
“Get back! Mom!” Muyang called out, unaware that he was already there. As he began to approach the scene, he took in the enemy.
The demon was a huge thing with horns and large teeth. He almost looked like an orc, but Shen Yuan couldn’t recall an orc plot in PIDW. Just as he was about to intervene, a human appeared beside the demon. With a wave of his hand, Muyang’s sword was ripped from his grasp.
“No!” Shen Yuan cried, picking up his pace as he ran towards his children. For someone to take Muyang’s sword with that much ease meant that this person was more than just some minor demon or cultivator. The human smirked and grabbed Muyang by the front of his robes.
“Little Prince, I bet your father will pay a handsome price to get you back.” The human taunted.
“My father will kill you where you stand.” Muyang declared. The human sneered at him and slapped his face for his remark. Shen Yuan was finally close enough to hear the sound of his sweet baby’s round cheek getting smacked. When a trickle of blood ran down the side of his mouth, Shen Yuan felt a rage like he had never felt before.
“Let. Go. Of. My. Child.” He snarled. He felt a powerful energy take over, and in the blink of an eye, he had removed Muyang from the human’s hold. Shen Yuan sent the enemy a look that froze them in their place before looking down at his child. He gently stoked Muyang’s cheek, a deep frown on his face at the swell and heat from the slap. He was so angry that even the sudden appearance of his claws wasn’t enough to distract him.
His son was so brave, a part of him said in awe. He was meeting his furious gaze with one of determination, and was acting very calm despite his sisters still crying behind them.
“Mama, I’ll take my sisters and call Dad.” Muyang finally said. Shen Yuan gave him a final once over before nodding. He raised his hand and stroked his cheek again, sending some healing qi into the wound. Unbeknownst to him, the hand that was resting on Muyang’s shoulder put a protective barrier on his son. Only his sisters and father would be able to touch him until Shen Yuan released it.
He released Muyang before turning back to the enemy. He could sense Muyang grabbing his sisters and running towards the house. At the same time the S.O.S. talisman that all of his children kept on them was activated, and Binghe’s energy shot out. It activated a separate barrier around the children that only their parents, Mobei-jun, and Shang Qinghua could enter until Binghe dismissed it.
With a snap of his fingers, the immobilized enemies were sent to their knees.
“How dare you.” Shen Yuan growled. “You come here, to one of our favorite family vacation spots, and taint it by trying to harm my children!”
“Well we actually were trying to just kidnap the Prince.” The stupid human had the nerve to say. Another flare of rage came over Shen Yuan and suddenly vines wrapped around the human’s throat, tightening menacingly.
“You will never lay a hand on my children again.” He snarled, a part of him satisfied as he heard the sound of the human gasping for breath. The orc wasn’t faring much better, and another wave of satisfaction washed over him as he watched the green creature’s face turn a bizarre purple.
Suddenly the sky over them darkened. Shen Yuan felt the barrier shimmer behind him as his mate finally appeared.
“A’Yuan.” He looked over as Binghe joined him, and the look of fury on Binghe’s face calmed something in Shen Yuan.
His mate would take care of things from here.
“The children?” He asked, leaning into the hand Binghe put at the base of his back. With that simple touch all of the rage was gone. Instead he was content with what he had done so far, and wanted to go and comfort his children.
“With my Queen.” Mobei-jun appeared next to them, glaring at the two before them. At Binghe’s nod, he stepped forward to keep an eye on the enemy so the Imperial couple could have a brief moment to themselves.
“Do you want to handle them?” Binghe leaned in close to ask, pointedly keeping his voice low enough only Shen Yuan could hear him. He shook his head, unaware that his demonic energy was rapidly leaving him. With it went the calm and was replaced with a sudden anxious need to see his children.
“What, you aren’t even man enough to deal with us yourself?” The human taunted. Shen Yuan’s rage flared again, and before he could think about it, he had cut off one of the human’s arms. The warm spray of blood had him blinking out of his rage, and he scowled.
He would need to discard this robe before he touched his babies.
“I am choosing not to deal with scum like you.” He informed the human. With that, he turned back to his husband. Binghe was looking at him with a heated gaze.
“A’Yuan.” Binghe murmured, reaching for him. Shen Yuan’s expression softened, and he pressed a hand against his chest, leaning up to kiss him.
“Not when I’m covered in blood. I’m going to change and then attend to the children. Don’t take too long.” He said. Binghe nodded, leaning in to kiss him. When his husband nipped at his bottom lip, Shen Yuan eagerly opened his mouth. When Binghe let out a quiet moan, Shen Yuan realized that while making out in front of your enemies was a big power move, it wasn’t really the best thing for his traumatized children. He pulled back, pressing another kiss to Binghe’s mouth.
“Love you.” He whispered. Binghe mouthed it back before pulling away to turn on their enemies.
Shen Yuan took a moment to appreciate the menacing image that was Demonic Emperor Luo Binghe before turning towards their house. He stripped off his outer robe as he walked towards it. To his relief, that’s where the blood stopped.
He found Feiyu sobbing in Yingyue’s arms. Muyang was sitting on the couch next to his sisters, explaining the situation to a frowning Shang Qinghua. All four of them were still in Binghe’s barrier, which told Shen Yuan his husband wasn’t sure of the threat and had left it up just in case.
When Shen Yuan stepped into the house, his son fell silent.
“Mama!” Feiyu cried, pulling away from her sister to run to him. He scooped up his four-year-old, gently shushing her.
“I’m here, baby, I’m here.” He promised, his hold on her just as tight as her hold on him. He pressed a soothing kiss to her cheek as he sent a bit of his qi into her, using it to calm her down and also to verify that no harm had come to her. Yingyue ran over to join them, throwing her arms around his waist as she buried her face in his side. He released one of his arms from Feiyu before wrapping it around Yingyue’s shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. Your Father and Uncle are dealing with them.” He soothed, doing the same thing to Yingyue. The injury on Yingyue’s head was from her tripping on something, not the enemy’s attack, too his relief.
Together they made their way over to the couch. Shen Yuan kept Feiyu on his lap but released his hold on her so he could reach out and touch Muyang’s cheek again. His son offered him a reassuring smile that had his expression softening.
“Do you need me to get you anything?” He asked. Muyang shook his head, leaning into his touch.
“No, Mama. You healed me out there.” He said. Shen Yuan was a little surprised by that, but decided to explore that later.
“I acknowledge that this is a really inappropriate time to mention this, but you really do look like the Imperial Family with your matching marks, Cucumber-bro.” Shang Qinghua’s comment had him looking up at his best friend. He was sitting in the middle of the room, writing something down on a stack of papers. The comment had him scoffing, which in turn had Yingyue giggling. The marks would stay until Binghe returned to release the barrier, a warning to anyone not to touch what was his.
This banter was very familiar to their children, and it worked to ease the tense situation.
Binghe and Mobei-jun joined them an hour later. By then Feiyu had cried herself to sleep, still wrapped around Shen Yuan. Yingyue and Muyang were playing a game with Shang Qinghua that was pretty close to Go Fish.
“Baba!” Yingyue shouted, jumping up from the table to throw herself into Binghe’s arms. Shen Yuan watched as his husband picked her up, pressing a kiss to her cheek. At the same time he felt the barrier around the children be released. In turn, Shen Yuan released the barrier he had on their children as well. Shang Qinghua visibly relaxed, shooting Mobei-jun a welcoming smile.
“Are you hungry, A’Yue?” He asked their daughter. She nodded, pulling back just a bit to shoot him a pout.
“Do we have to go home?” She asked. Binghe sent Shen Yuan a questioning look. He appreciated that his husband wanted him to have the final say, but it was unnecessary. If his children wanted to stay and move past this event, then he wasn’t going stop them. So he shrugged, looking down at Feiyu. Those two actions were enough for Binghe, who shook his head.
“Only if you want to.” He said.
“Good! We hardly got to play on the beach. Are you done with work?” She asked next. Binghe put her down before walking into the kitchen. Shen Yuan rose to his feet, gently shaking Feiyu awake. She gave him a grumpy glare that quickly melted away when she spotted Mobei-jun. She beamed, wiggling out of his arms to go and jump in her “Uncle Bei”’s arms. Muyang and Mobei-jun moved into the kitchen as well, leaving Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan alone.
“Are you okay?” Shang Qinghua asked, following after Shen Yuan as he went to set out sleeping robes for their children and Binghe.
“I’m fine. Exhausted, but fine. It’s still a little hazy but I think I finally activated the qi mating with Binghe gave me.” He admitted. Shang Qinghua’s nod confirmed his guess.
“Sure as hell did. When we arrived, it was as if Binghe was already here. You looked so bad ass, and I’m a little sad I was keeping the kiddos calm as you did it.” He sighed. Shen Yuan rolled his eyes, even if a pleased grin crossed his face.
It was nice to know that he really did have it in him to protect his children.
Dinner was a relatively short affair. Feiyu ended up falling asleep in Binghe’s arms, and Yingyue wasn’t doing much better. After tucking in their daughters, Shen Yuan went to his son’s room to find his husband sitting on his bed.
“You did a great job protecting your sisters, Muyang. I’m very proud of you.” Binghe was saying. He paused just outside the door, not wanting to interrupt this moment.
“I…I was scared, Baba.” Muyang admitted, and Shen Yuan felt his earlier rage creeping in again.
“That’s okay. It was a scary situation. But you stayed calm, and your sisters weren’t harmed. The bump on Yingyue’s head is just because she tripped when they appeared, not because she was attacked. And when your Mother appeared, you activated the talisman, just as you’ve been taught.” Binghe reminded him. He heard his son fall silent before letting out a sigh.
“You’re right. I just wish I was as strong as you are, Baba. Then Mama wouldn’t have become so upset. I hate to see him upset.” And just like that, Shen Yuan’s rage was gone. He smiled, warm affection for his son filling his heart.
“You will be, in time.” Binghe promised. “And I do as well. But someone attacked you and your sisters. There isn’t a scenario where your Mother will be okay with that. Right, A’Yuan?” Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at his husband’s poor attempt at bringing him into the conversation. He stepped into the room, joining his husband on their son’s bed.
“Your Father is right, A’Mu. I will never be okay with someone trying to harm my children. But you did a great job today, and I’m very proud of you. Now lay down. It’s time for bed.” He said. Binghe rose to his feet before helping Shen Yuan up, and together they watched as their son tucked himself in.
“Good night, Baba, Mama.” Muyang said. Shen Yuan leaned down, pressing a warm kiss to his forehead.
“Good night, Muyang.” He murmured. Binghe took his hand, tugging him out of the room.
They were quite on their walk to their bedroom. It was only after the door was shut that Shen Yuan let out a sigh.
“What a day.” He murmured. Binghe’s hands settled on his shoulders, and he pressed a warm kiss to the back of his head.
“You’re exhausted, my love.” Binghe reminded him. Shen Yuan shivered a little as Binghe’s hands began to take off his robes. Once he was stripped, he leaned back into his husband’s embrace. As his back touched cloth and not skin, he turned around with a scowl.
“Strip.” He ordered his husband. Binghe perked up at the order, and he all but ripped off his robes. Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at his husband’s brutish actions, but tugged him towards their bed.
He pressed himself against Binghe’s bed after they were settled. The feeling of his warm skin pressed against his own helped ease the last of the tension in his body.
“I’m proud of myself.” He admitted softly. The hand Binghe was using to rub soothing circles into his back paused for a moment before resuming.
“Because you protected our children?” Binghe guessed. Shen Yuan shook his head, looking up to meeting Binghe’s gaze.
“No. I will always protect our children, even if it costs me my life.” He rolled his eyes as Binghe’s rage flared up at that statement, and he lightly smacked his stomach to get him to calm down. “I’m proud that I was able to handle my new powers. That I didn’t get overwhelmed, and managed to keep a level head. It’s the first time I truly felt like Demonic Empress Shen Yuan.” He admitted. His husband nodded, taking a moment to think that over.
“You always have been, beloved.” Binghe eventually said. “But I’m glad that you are seeing yourself in a light that the rest of us do. You are very powerful, A’Yuan. You always have been.”
Shen Yuan sat up a little, smiling at his husband.
“Thanks for believing in me, Binghe. I love you.” He murmured. He watched as Binghe’s face lit up with happiness, and he leaned up to press a kiss to his lips.
“And I love you, A’Yuan. Always.” Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at that, even if his cheeks grew pink. He settled down against Binghe’s side, pressing his ear over his heart. He fell asleep to the sound of Binghe’s heartbeat, very relieved to finally have put this experience behind him.