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Shen Qingqiu’s face freezes.
The brute already caught his expression. It is too late to pretend otherwise. But he does not know how else to react. It might have been naïve to think his past will never come for him.
The wood underneath his hand creaks. He plasters on a fake smile. “How can this lowly scholar help this immortal master?”
“Stop pretending.”
The brute is stupid. He will go with being simple then. “How did you find me?”
“You didn’t exactly hide.”
Shen Qingqiu did. He lived different than he ever did before. When he woke up in this house, his meridians didn’t hurt. He investigated and whoever’s place he took was a no name wandering cultivator who settled down. It was anonymity.
So, he did what he wanted. He lived quietly. He helped his new friends occasionally. Played the qin. Exercised his martial arts skills. Did research. Kept correspondence. Painted. Wrote a few books. Read a few books.
None of his actions should have caught the attention of the Bai Zhan War God. The brute probably doesn’t know how to read.
It unnerves him to think that the brute knows him enough to discern his true identity and track him down.
Shen Qingqiu rubs at his temples. “What are you doing here?”
“There is an imposter.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Shen Qingqiu sniffs, unconcerned.
He had heard about the current Qing Jing Peak Lord. He looked into him, scared that he would hurt Yue Qingyuan. But none of the nastier rumors about Shen Qingqiu ever escaped Cang Qiong Sect even when he was the Peak Lord. He had to dig deeper, and read between the lines. He learned his reputation improved inside the sect. The prevailing opinion was gratefulness for the turnaround.
Shen Qingqiu saw no reason to return. All debts between him and Yue Qingyuan is repaid.
“He is pretending to be you.”
“You didn’t like me, and isn’t the imposter nicer? Why are you here?”
“I am the sword of the sect. It is my duty to protect it. You are a part of that.”
The words make him want to scream. Of all people to notice the replacement and then care in a roundabout way, he never expected it to be the brute. “No matter what others say? What you have said?”
“No matter what.”
The door splinters in his hands.
“Can I come in?”
He would rather not have the brute taint this place he has called home. It wars with his need for more information. For all his research, nothing compares to a first-hand account. Rumors are better straight from the source.
“Fine.”
Shen Qingqiu leaves only enough room for the brute to squeeze in. To inconvenience him a little bit. Normally, he would make sure he is not in the path at all, but at least he can trust that the brute doesn’t want to touch him just as much as he doesn’t.
The brute sits at his table, entitled to his space. Shen Qingqiu doesn’t bother serving tea. He wouldn’t appreciate it.
“Tell me about the imposter.”
“The imposter is slippery. He refuses to explain anything or tell the truth.”
Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes. “What do you expect me to do? Kill him?”
“No. I owe him a life debt.”
This is getting repetitive. Shen Qingqiu feels like he is losing his mind. “Liu Qingge, what do you want?”
“To bring you to your rightful place.”
“What about the imposter then?”
“He can be a hallmaster. Or return to being a wandering cultivator.”
“Do you think he will thank you?”
The brute is silent for a moment before answering. “No.”
“Are you going to force me back to the Sect?”
“Do you not want to come back?” His question is halting.
The idea of not wanting to be a part of Cang Qiong must be bewildering to the brute, shattering his world view. The brute lives in absolutes. His reality is set. Anything outside of the bounds must strain his brain to comprehend.
But outside of Cang Qiong, Shen Qingqiu is free for once in his life. He has no expectations, no Peak Lord duties, no responsibilities nor reminders of the past. Only himself.
His thoughts must show on his face, his mask not as impenetrable in this body. Something must have given him away for the brute’s mouth to become resolute and utter the word, “No.”
The tension in his body releases like a puppet from its strings. He is exhausted. Shen Qingqiu has half a mind to expel the brute from his home so he can sleep in peace.
Continuing his unnerving ability, the brute tells him, “I will take my leave.”
Shen Qingqiu wishes that was the end of his troubles. Yet the brute lives to disprove him. The brute decides it’s a good idea to visit him. Shen Qingqiu assumed at first it is to keep an eye on him. But he comes with what he can only describe as gifts. The gifting gets to the point that the girls know to give him pointed looks.
He does not like that the brute is acting unpredictably.
His terrible luck does not end there.
Shen Qingqiu is minding his own business, taking notes on the behavior of the silver leaf tailed flying python fish he is observing when he hears someone approach.
To say the least it is disorienting to see his old face peer at him. Shen Qingqiu stares. It is like looking through a curved mirror. He looks – softer. The furrowed brows are smoothed out, there is no hint of downturned lips. The expression the imposter wears is unfamiliar, not one he would have ever shown, one of surprise mixed with innocent curiosity, his mouth slightly parted and his cheeks pink.
The imposter doesn’t look like him. What a strange thought.
The little plateau shatters with the arrival of the brute. Shen Qingqiu gathers his things. He brushes the dirt off his robes.
“Ah, you don’t have to leave! You were here first. This one apologizes for interrupting.”
“It is fine. This one is finished here anyway.”
“Really, we can share the space!”
Shen Qingqiu wills the brute to say something to steer the imposter’s attention away. The brute stands around like a useless log.
Seeing no way to escape gracefully, Shen Qingqiu sighs and concedes. “This one is Xue Jing.”
Shen Qingqiu doesn’t know how else to describe it but the imposter’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
“You’re Xue Jing, writer of -?”
“Yes,” Shen Qingqiu cuts him off before he can list any of the many bestiaries he has written.
“Oh, excuse my manners,” the imposter flushes as he realizes his misstep. His hand goes to the side but finds it empty. The brute hands him his fan which the imposter uses to quickly hide his face. Shen Qingqiu watches in detached interest. The brute is reduced to some attendant to an absent-minded noble scholar. “It’s just – I – this one is an admirer of your work,” he finishes weakly.
Shen Qingqiu had for a time thought they switched places. But the only recognition the imposter had at the name was only for his work. Of course, what truly happened to them could not have a simple answer.
The imposter then introduces himself with his stolen name. When he starts to for the brute, the brute finally speaks up, “No need.”
The imposter whips towards him, “You know each other? Liu-shidi, why didn’t you tell me?”
“We should leave him alone.”
For once, the brute is speaking sense.
“Liu-shidi, are you embarrassed?” the imposter teases.
“No.”
“You are! You would be the type to get flustered when your friends meet.”
Shen Qingqiu feels his brow twitch. What is he watching?
“The beast is going to leave.”
“Oh, right!” The imposter pulls out brushes and paper and settles beside him. His enthusiasm is… cute.
It is a strange moment in his life that somehow transitions to eating together at a teahouse. The conversation is an earnest interrogation of interest. The imposter wants to hear all about his travels.
He does enjoy talking with the girls, but it is something else to talk with the imposter. They share a similar curiosity of the world. It may have been foolish but he agrees to keep correspondence with the imposter. He ignores the heavy stare of the brute.
And then they part ways.
Once again, things are upended. His life gets a new normal. He remembers the old him would have hated any alteration to his life. The changes this time are not bad, he even likes some of it. The thing is, he is the one driving the change, getting to control much of it.
Shen Qingqiu purposely plans trips to meet with the imposter. Their subjects of study often align. They trade barbs and information in equal turns. To match wits is exhilarating.
Sometimes the brute is there. Other times, the brute visits separately. He leaves when he asks.
Yet things are taken out of his hands and out of his control when the brute brings the imposter with him to his home. For all their relationship has grown for the better, Shen Qingqiu has never invited the imposter to his home.
If the circumstances were different, Shen Qingqiu would be pissed that his wants are disregarded. But the imposter is unconscious, his pallor pale and sickly.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. He fell unconscious after an encounter with a Ribbon Crawling Centipede. But that shouldn’t cause these symptoms.”
“No shit.”
The imposter blearily blinks and takes in his surroundings. “This is my home? Wait – that doesn’t make sense.”
He then seizes before his chest goes oddly still. He is barely breathing. The brute feeds him qi while Shen Qingqiu does compressions.
His body moves without his input and his mind races with the implications. They truly have switched places. But the imposter didn’t recognize his own name nor his own face. Amnesia from one of his experiments? It must have been an accident; the imposter is hardly scheming enough to steal the position of a Peak Lord in one of the Great Sects. If he wanted it, he would have worked hard for it. Mad as it makes him, the imposter is a wealth of knowledge. Yet saying that it is an accident that caused their turn of fate doesn’t feel true. Something isn’t adding up.
The only way he will get answers is for the imposter to get better and wake up.
He can’t die now.
Shen Qingqiu does not know how long he and the brute try to revive the imposter. But just as suddenly, the imposter gasps a breath of air. Shen Qingqiu does not collapse in relief.
For once, he is enough.