Chapter Text
Shang Qinghua was dozing off on the pile of paperwork he had found waiting for him ever since he came back to An Ding Peak.
Mobei-Jun had kept asking for him to take care of this and that at his residence on the northern border, only allowing him to return to his Peak for a few days.
If Shang Qinghua didn't know any better, he would say that Mobei-Jun was finding excuses to keep him from going back to Cang Qiong Mountain.
He had just started to fall asleep when the loud ping! of a notification startled him brightly awake.
He jumped on his stool, a scroll up in the air to defend himself in one hand, and a brush ready to smack ink into any intruder's face in the other.
It turned out no one was sneaking up on him falling asleep in his office. Shang Qinghua let out a sigh of relief, dropping his stance and both weapons to let himself slide inelegantly on his seat.
What he did find waiting for him, however, was his System's screen with the text, “You have 1 unread message” blinking urgently in red under a mail symbol that featured an envelope opening and closing itself repeatedly.
His curiosity now aroused, Shang Qinghua opened the message waiting for him.
It was the first time he had ever seen such a feature on his System. He didn't even know he could get mail...?
Immediately, a congratulating message in bright, tacky colors assaulted his eyes and exploded on his face. Falling confetti made it hard to read the text underneath. Still, he managed to make out the words and basically learned that he had gathered enough points to get an upgrade.
His account had just reached the beginner-level VIP rank.
Whatever did that mean? And when did he gain new points...? Nothing out of the ordinary happened lately?
The only “unusual” thing was Mobei-Jun's improved mood, the ice demon smiling actual smiles. Shang Qinghua had been so shocked by this that he thought he had been hallucinating.
Now, this was out of the ordinary.
But there was no way he could have gained points out of his work being satisfactory enough that Mobei-Jun was pleased with it. If anything, an Ice Demon King in a good mood and not terrorizing his lowly servants with his terrible temper should be worth penalty points.
Not that Shang Qinghua would know, considering his System never notified him whenever he gained or lost points.
[ Here is your new feature selection... You can choose 3 out of 6:
1) Exclusive “Author of PIDW Universe” Rights (Rights to be disclosed during continual use of this feature if chosen). Please note that with great powers also come great responsibilities and an even greater Achilles' heel. Pick this one at your own risk.
2) Release the "Kraken", and get comments or emails sent by your readers back in your world.
3) Give Snow White the poison apple, and get a wish from the Evil Witch's mirror.
4) Teamwork. Your system will be linked with other users' systems (glitches like occasional switches between users' systems might occur if chosen)
5) Battle Royale. Only one user will remain, get rid of the others. Succeed and win a prize. (no actual “killing” fellow users in the traditional sense allowed - Glitches like occasional switches between users' systems might occur if chosen)
6) Make the readers happy, allow male pregnancy*.
*As per the last poll on the fanbase, this was highly requested. Please note that were this feature to be selected, we don't take any responsibility for undesirable effects such as an apparition of birth organs, giving birth, cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, nauseous, hair loss, extreme fatigue, an increase in cardiac rhythm, etc...
Please consult your doctor if you show any of those symptoms after selecting said feature and after intercourse involving impregnation.
Please choose 3 features. … Wisely. ]
“Uh. I have a few questions...”
[ Request denied. ]
“I didn't even get a chance to say what are my quest-”
[ No questions allowed. No answer will be given. ]
What??
How was he supposed to choose (wisely) if he didn't even know what he was getting himself into here? Why was that text written after the asterisk so small and crossed? He couldn't read that at all! And what was up with that Snow White riddle? What the heck was the “Kraken” even supposed to mean? The word was between quotation marks so there was no way that was an actual Kraken, right?
… Right??
Shang Qinghua brought a hand to his chin, brows furrowed in concentration.
If he had to pick three of these, he indeed had to choose wisely, even though he was not sure what some of these features were supposed to do, nor what they meant exactly. Some seemed completely useless, while he would actually gain something out of the others...
Tough choices.
Eventually, he made his decision, lifted his index and tapped it lightly on the selected options.
Shen Yuan woke up with a headache, the spot beside him in the bed strangely empty, and cold.
He got up and with a quick look at his surroundings, understood immediately this was not the real world, but rather the dream realm.
Or... was it?
It had been quite a while now since he last was brought into the dream realm.
Even so, back in the days when he was running away from Luo Binghe and Luo Binghe was chasing him down, he had been pulled inside his silly disciple's dreams enough times to recognize when he was and when he wasn't in that realm.
It definitely felt different this time. Not strongly different, but still, something felt off.
First of all, he couldn't sense Luo Binghe anywhere. Not a single tendril of his soul. And secondly, it rather felt as if he was... inside his own mind?
Was he just simply dreaming? Why was his headache so real and painful then? It almost felt as if his head was about to explode.
As Shen Yuan held his forehead in his hands and was about to lament how miserable he was feeling right now, the dearest, gentle, and most beloved google-translate-voice of his System resonated in his ears.
As if it was trying to add more weight to his anguish, Shen Yuan was all the more startled that he had (gleefully, delightfully) grown accustomed not to hearing from the System for the past year he had been living with Luo Binghe.
That voice had not been dearly missed. Instead, it drove his headache from barely endurable to outright hellish.
This time, he cursed out loud.
“It's been a while...” he said, unaffectionately. Not even trying to hide that he didn't miss the System one bit.
[ Dear VIP user, as per the recent upgrade of both accounts and the general outlandish improvement of the storyline, you will be pleased to learn that the plot has thickened. ]
“Absolutely ecstatic to learn this.” Shen Yuan replied, unimpressed.
At this point, it wasn't as if he wasn't familiar with the System's cruel nature already.
Wait... "Both accounts"...? What did that mean?
[ A new challenger wishes a fair game against you. ]
A new challenger...? Shen Yuan pondered who could that be before he asked, “Wait... a game? What for?”
[ A game to determine who the rightful owner of the body you're currently possessing is. ]
A cold shiver ran through Shen Yuan's body at those words and a sense of dread suddenly froze him on the spot.
It couldn't be...?
But as soon as he saw the exact mirror image of himself —image that was bearing a much more sinister smile— approaching from the darkness of the room, his worries were suddenly confirmed.
“H... Hey, isn't that a little unfair? You're the one who gave me this body! Do you think I asked to be him of all people? Why now?”
Completely ignoring his remark and question, the System then proceeded to explain the rules of this “new game” Shen Yuan was forced to participate in.
The rules were rather simple, in all honesty: He had to win fair and square at a game of riddles against the challenger.
Shen Yuan was quite confident in his ability to win such a game. Years of visiting a forum for riddle enjoyers had left him with quite the experience.
And yet, he couldn't shake away the dread he was feeling. Especially when he knew that his opponent was a master of trickery.
The System would act as a referee, wouldn't it? Not that this was of any reassurance, really...
Putting his worries aside, Shen Yuan regained composure. He sat down as serenely as he could —which was to say, not so serenely. If he had to prove he deserved that body, though, he might as well make the effort and show the original good what he was made of— and started playing.
One hour later and Shen Yuan couldn't be bothered with composure anymore. His opponent was way out of his league.
Shen Yuan blanched and stood up, unsteady.
How could it be? How could the System let him down like this? He couldn't believe he had lost and yet here he was, panic rising as the System announced loudly:
[ Winner: Shen Qingqiu ] [ Loser: Imposter Shen Qingqiu ]
What do you mean by “Imposter”? Again, who do you think put me in that body, to begin with!?
Shen Yuan was about to protest when glass walls suddenly rose from the floor and surrounded him from all sides, sealing him up and preventing him from leaving.
The System then delivered his sentence.
[As the winner, Shen Qingqiu is allowed to reclaim what was rightfully his and get his body back.
As the loser, The Imposter Shen Qingqiu lost 20,000 B-points and is to remain locked in his subconscious until his time is up, at which point he will be sent back to his original world.]
As Shen Yuan banged loudly on the glass to try and break it, to no avail, he suddenly felt sand running down his hair.
He looked up and it was at this moment precisely that he understood the meaning of the System's words.
Much to his horror, he had been locked up in a giant hourglass, and the time he had before he was sent back to his world was limited.
What kind of sentence was that? Losing pretty much meant he had been sentenced to death!
... He had to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
It was Shen Jiu's turn to wake with a headache. Almost like he had just left a years-long, dreamless slumber.
He felt nauseous and excessively dizzy, meaning he had to try a few times before standing in order not to fall right back.
This resulted in a frustrated grumble. How much more humiliation could he get? What had happened to his body? He had never felt so weak before.
Despite the fog in his mind, Shen Jiu could tell he had been dreaming intensely right before his awakening. But like the string of a kite inadvertently escaping his grasp, what he had dreamed about had already long flown away.
Sure, he vaguely remembered a thing or two, like coming face to face with an exact replica of himself.
Strangely, though, he could tell with absolute certitude that this reflection of himself was a perfect stranger, and whenever he tried to picture said reflection in his mind, it was a different face he was only able to conjure.
Deciding to push that oddity aside, Shen Jiu finally managed to shakily stand on his legs.
He froze with a start.
Where was he? It was the Bamboo house alright, but why did it feel so... unfamiliar?
Something about the place seemed different. It was in the air, the smell, and the way some of his possessions had been, either neatly or on the contrary carelessly, touched and placed around.
It certainly was not like Shen Jiu last remembered it.
It was still early morning and the timid sunlight was filtering through the window. While the place was lightening slowly, it was still rather dim and Shen Jiu had to squint a little as he scanned the place for... a hint. Anything, really, that could explain his discomfort.
A bright and utterly unexpected “Shizun, you're awake already!” startled him so badly that he almost (almost) jumped to the ceiling.
Instead, he flinched subtly and sent a dangerous look in the direction of the voice chirping in. His. Own. And. Highly. Private. Bedroom.
Whichever disciple was this —how dared they? Who allowed them inside?
Shen Jiu was in a bad enough mood already. All with his hurting head, strange dream, and the eerie feeling that seized him ever since he opened his eyes. He didn't need some unruly disciple to have to deal with on top of everything.
What he did want now was peace. And maybe a little more sleep, though he wasn't too sure if this was going to help or worsen the ache he was already feeling.
With a sigh, his gaze swept upward. When his eyes fell on the owner of the way-too-bright and way-too-chirpy voice, Shen Jiu blinked, puzzled.
The young man before him was much older than his disciples, all of which were still teenagers. If anything, he looked like he was around the same age as Shen Jiu himself.
He also was not dressed in the typical uniform worn by his Qing Jing Peak students. So why was he addressing him with a “Shizun”?
Now that he thought about it, his face resembled Luo Binghe's quite a lot. But Luo Binghe as Shen Jiu knew him was a fourteen years old child. Frail and scrawny, with the loathsome face of an angel. The only thing the man standing in front of him had in common with Luo Binghe was that they shared the same facial traits.
That was perplexing enough, but even more bizarre was the way he completely and utterly ignored Shen Jiu's personal space and stepped very close to him —too close! This is way too close!
“Shizun, is everything alright? You don't seem well...”
Luo Binghe's lookalike stepped even closer and the next second, his hand touched Shen Jiu's arm gently.
Shen Jiu violently flinched and tore his arm away.
The snappy movement seemed to startle the young man and his eyes widened almost comically. The worry he already sported on his face turned into absolute concern and his eyes brimmed over with tears.
To say that Shen Jiu was astonished was an understatement.
Such a reaction implied that he acted unexpectedly and, somehow, that his recoil was unforeseen. Shen Jiu had only withdrawn his arm, it wasn't like he had just hit this disciple.
Who on earth was that mysterious disciple if he dared to call him Shizun and yet didn't seem to even know what kind of person Shen Jiu was at all?
“What do you think you're doing?” Shen Jiu said, coldly.
Backing off slightly, the man curled up on himself and his head hung low like a dejected puppy. “I... Shizun, what is up with you, today? Are you hurt somewhere? This disciple can—”
“Enough.” Shen Qingqiu raised his hand to shut this unruly disciple up. “Whoever gave you the right to call me Shizun? Would this 'disciple' even care to introduce himself?” Shen Jiu made sure to put a lot of emphasis on the way he pronounced the word “disciple”, leaving no space for speculation: He didn't like that one bit.
At that, the other man seemed to be even more rattled. It rendered him speechless. All he could do was stare at Shen Jiu with a look of utter confusion and genuine shock.
Interesting... Shen Jiu thought.
Only now did he notice the red mark on the man's forehead. So not only that man was considering himself a disciple of his, but he also, undeniably, was of demon descent. Very interesting...
“Could it be...” Shen Jiu barely heard him talking again. The voice once bright and loud now a mere mumble, almost afraid to let itself be heard. “Could it be that Shizun lost his memory?”
He, too, put quite the emphasis on the word “Shizun”. It was an obvious riposte. Indirectly, he was hinting he wouldn't drop the use of the titles “disciple” and “Shizun”.
What a cheeky thing. Shen Jiu gritted his teeth in front of so much insolence. But, looking directly into him were not the eyes of an impudent. What he was met with was the most dejected look he ever saw on someone's face.
The tears that threatened to fall earlier were now breaking free, two of them gliding slowly on sickly pale cheeks. The full-grown man who was so full of glee and vitality mere moments ago had somehow been utterly, spiritually crushed in a matter of minutes. A few exchanged words and now he looked like a kid whose candy had been stolen. Ridiculous!
Completely unfazed, Shen Jiu reached for his fan on the nightstand and swung it open in one, swift move.
Could it be true, though? Did he truly lose his memory?
Shen Jiu didn't find this completely absurd. If that were true, however, he wished he could know what had happened in the meantime.
How much of his memory did he lose? If only someone could fill him up on this.
The man in front of him could have done so, Shen Jiu assumed, but he now was quite a miserable mess, sniffling pathetically and uselessly in a corner, whining something that sounded like, “Shizun, please remember”.
He wouldn't be very helpful in this state and Shen Jiu didn't want to have to put up with him more than he already did.
Feeling his headache worsening, Shen Jiu grunted and held his fingers to his temples, trying and failing to alleviate the pain by massaging the sore spots.
He sighed again, feeling himself gradually annoyed by the situation and trying, through the pain, to think of what he could do about this situation.
He seriously needed some fresh air.
He thought he could go to Qiong Ding Peak, obtain a meeting with Yue Qingyuan and subtly ask a thing or two.
The thought of letting off steam by punishing Luo Binghe also was tempting, especially when the guy crying in his room, worsening his headache more than anything, looked so much like him.
He had been tempted to call Xiu Ya to force the intruder out of his room but something about him reeked of power. Shen Jiu hated to admit it but he could feel, whoever that man was, that he was much more powerful than him.
Even if fighting demons was one of Shen Jiu's strongest aptitudes and even if currently, the man's defenses were down, he was completely vulnerable and was a pitiful sight that left Shen Jiu with many opportunities to sneak an attack on him, the Xiu Ya Sword could sense that he was no match for him.
Something about the demon's aura told him he was dangerous and even just with the single contact of his hand on his arm earlier, Shen Jiu had a foretaste of how strong this potential adversary was.
Shen Jiu was about to step outside when the other man seemed to get a hold of himself. He took Shen Jiu's hands in his own and tried, but didn't quite succeed to smile.
“Don't worry, Shizun. I will find Mu-Shishu. I'm sure he will find a way to help you get your memory back!”
He really did seem to believe these words. Or maybe, he was actually clinging to them like a lifeline.
There was so much hope and eagerness in his voice, Shen Jiu almost thought for a second that he was going to get hugged and visibly tensed at the idea. But he was left alone after the words were uttered, which left him as confused as since he woke up that morning.
Right. Time to pay Yue Qingyuan a visit.
Inside his hourglass, Shen Yuan could see everything as if he was looking directly through Shen Jiu's eyes. Like some kind of sick joke, he was allowed a glimpse into what was now Shen Jiu's reality, as if they were still somehow sharing the same body, but only one of them had been allowed to control it.
Shen Yuan hammered with all his might on the glass wall to try and break it, blasting beams of spiritual energy one after another.
Much to his dismay, that didn't work.
His attempts to summon Xiu Ya had been worthless. He had nothing but his hands and body.
Needless to say, no matter how much strength he put into throwing himself at the hourglass' sides with the intent to shatter them or make his prison fall over, said sides remained unscratched.
When Luo Binghe started to look worried and then, when the tears inevitably came, Shen Yuan shouted as hard as he could, hopeful that maybe, somehow, his voice would reach his husband.
He even tried to talk directly to Shen Jiu as well. If he was in some strange in-betweens where he could still see through Shen Jiu's eyes, maybe he could hear him calling out?
But no matter how hard he shouted, how itchy his throat started to feel from doing it for so long, it had become evident that neither Luo Binghe nor Shen Jiu could hear him.
He was truly, fully cloistered in that godforsaken place.
Through Shen Jiu's eyes, Shen Yuan could see the way Luo Binghe felt lost and betrayed, even though it was Shen Jiu's doings.
If only his hourglass was made of the same glass as Luo Binghe's heart...
Alas, there was nothing he can do but watch helplessly as his husband faltered only inches from him. Shen Yuan felt more helpless than he had ever felt in his entire life.
This was really too cruel as a punishment. Luo Binghe had been through enough. What kind of “plot thickening” was that?
Yelling and cursing at the System had been a good part of his first minutes inside the hourglass, but now Shen Yuan found himself begging. Begging for it to release him, to give him a different punishment.
If it was just him being punished, it was fine. But why bring Luo Binghe into this as well?
Despite his numerous pleas, the System remained unresponsive.
Shen Yuan was truly starting to lose hope and he fell to his knees, on the sand that was now reaching his shins.
Was there really nothing he could do? Only watch as the original Shen Qingqiu broke and hurt his husband, and stole his life? There was no way he could let that happen.
In a way, Shen Yuan knew that he was the one who had stolen one's life in the first place and Shen Jiu was only getting his own life back. Yet, it still felt truly and entirely unwarranted.
A hand raised slowly and fell on the wall of glass again, without much force or conviction this time.
Completely lifeless, Shen Yuan let that hand slide dispiritedly against the smooth surface. His head hung low, as if all hope had died within him.
For once, he really didn't know what he could do to save Luo Binghe and himself.