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Chapter Text

He now completely understood his father's hatred towards Linguang-jun, not that he hadn't before of course, but the man was very irrelevant to the plot, it was more of a behind the scenes focus trying to monopolize everything just to have him so that in the end he ends up being killed by Mobei-jun. And they clearly hadn't gotten to that part of the plot yet, the fact that he was trapped in this hellish frozen forest said so, maybe the man was being murdered right now, and he was smiling at the thought! Did it really take him only five years to accept that he is now a demon and, consequently, to think like one? Or was he already so spiteful? This is most likely the case, as just thinking about the shitty writing in Plane Shot into the Sky is enough to make me want to spit blood, and it was also the reason for my death

At least they had the compassion to reincarnate him into a powerful and healthy ice demon body! And straight from the only handsome man who survived the protagonist, Mobei-jun!! It's three strokes of luck, and that's very worrying, no one is kind enough to do such a thing, and it's confirmed when that bastard Linguang-jun threw him down a slope into the frozen tundras where demon testing is done to see if anyone He is worthy of being the successor or calling himself of the clan But! That guy definitely didn't do it for his own good! Linguang-jun is a greedy man who wants the throne and will get it even if he has to use people as stepping stones to achieve his goals. The fact that he threw his own nephew into a trap to die confirms this! That he will throw his nephew's heir to certain death confirms it!!

Although if I wanted to do this famous test, I WANTED IT FOR WHEN I WAS OLDER! Because then I would have less chance of dying a horrible death, okay?

Furthermore, he would have the chance to see many strange and interesting beasts, made of frost and ice, maybe even some of them harmless and cute. But just maybe, because life hates him and it is possible that he will continue that way until his next lives, if he reincarnates for the second time, WHICH SURELY WON'T HAPPEN IF THE DAMNED XIN MO KILLS HIM BECAUSE HE IS SUPPOSED TO EAT SOULS AND DOES NOT ALLOW HIS REINCARNATION BECAUSE THEY CEASE TO EXIST AND AHHHHHAHAHHAH

Ok, I already complained, I calmed down, I ALREADY CALM DOWN, it's time to analyze the surroundings, find a way out, AND GET REVENGE ON LINGUANG-JUN! No, better not that last one, they would beat me to a pulp immediately, and I don't need such a dishonorable and horrible second death, especially now that I can do something, so revenge will have to be postponed. Ugh, suppressing negative emotions is difficult, it makes me want to hit something, and that is questionable, very questionable, if this is what the thoughts of a half-demon are like, it was only natural that Bingge would want to cleanse the Cang Qiong Sect out of existence

And speaking of demons, there's some kind of snow ferret slithering around, maybe I should check it out...

...Yeah, what's the worst that can happen? You'll just get eaten, which will happen to you anyway if you sit like an idiot in the same place...

Taking care of the scratches on his sides, he got up and began to chase the "frost ferret", a name that he hates by the way for its lack of imagination, although it was very easy to lose sight of it due to its transparent color of blue tones as clear as a glacier and its small but quick legs, the fact that it was largely covered by snow didn't help it in the slightest, but if it made it more interesting, what would an ice transparent beast look like inside? to blend in with his surroundings, is the snow on top of him a part of himself or something he places with the snow around him? How low is your skin temperature?

While I was thinking about all that and the possible answers, the little animal poked its head out of a hollow trunk, although I didn't pay attention to it because I was more aware of something more dangerous than a small child, after observing for a while, it disappeared very quickly, just like as he appeared, confusing the boy who was previously curious about the texture of his body, wondering what it would feel like to the touch

At first he was very confused, confused until he heard a howl in the distance, which ensured that a pack of wolves was approaching at full speed, so with a quick movement he climbed up one of the trees with blue leaves and a trunk as pale as snow itself, really pretty

He watched the wolves from the tree, stunned for a brief moment as he stared at the colossal creatures

It was a wolf, but it was huge, not so much like a horse, but like a pony or even more, the fur was organic and snowy in color, it had whiskers made of ice that looked suspiciously like needles, and long legs with claws dotted with flakes of snow, on its muzzle it had a row of fangs that seemed to be made of smooth stone, probably more resistant, and from its mouth protruded a row of canines, but the most striking part was a blood-red jewel that adorned its forehead, which which was incredibly noticeable due to the animal's white fur. Shen Yuan watched spellbound as the wolves moved around sniffing, they looked very elegant with each fluid movement, the red gem shined as they looked at each other, maybe they were using telepathy? That only made them cooler and cuter!

Careful not to make too much noise, he slid down the tree, only wincing as his wounds protested the movement, after moving a safe distance away from the herd, he allowed himself to see them again, he needed to cover ground for his survival and prosperity in the new environment, but for the same reason he must appreciate beautiful things, because when he dies there will not be a second time, maybe... If he should have gone to his mother's birthday... No, it was not the time to think in it, not at all, there is a goal to be achieved, I will not die until then, I must not die until then

Maybe I speak too soon, or maybe in a past life he screwed over some God or higher being, because his bad luck is meaningless! What are the chances of falling into a den of toothed rats? WHAT CHANCE!? Damn world and its fucking logic! Damn Plane and its world-building! Damn EVERYTHING!

With a cry of frustration, Shen Yuan ran off, being chased by the toothed rats, who were furious at the scandal and the ice spears stuck into his body, courtesy of the boy's powers, which despite not doing anything to them due to their rapid regeneration, they were still very annoying and hungry.

With an undignified screech, Shen Yuan leaped and dodged the jaws of one of the rats, which was aiming at one of his legs to slow him down, crashing into the snow when he missed its target, Shen Yuan simply rushed over and formed shurikens of ice, hurling them in the direction of the nearest furry beast, most of them landing the blow and one even blinding the rat, who was writhing on the ground in pain, accidentally hitting his companions as he went it pressed its claws into the bleeding wound, the other rats, tossed aside by their dying companion wriggling haphazardly in the heat, hesitated for a moment, reconsidering whether the meat of a skinny child was worth it, as well as slippery, compared to larger, easier prey to knock down, he decided to withdraw silently, but showing his fangs to the figure that held small daggers in each hand, ready to attack and escape from the place where he was surrounded. Shen Yuan was surprised to see them leave so calmly when less than a few seconds ago they were prepared to skin him alive, that was a big change, but he had no intention of pushing his luck, so with a grimace he also started to withdraw, slowly and without removing them the look, when one seemed to get closer, snarled at him, making him back up again, cautiously

He didn't look away as he kept walking away from the colony, even if he was already far enough away that he wouldn't be caught, he didn't trust, when he was satisfied with the distance, he ran to find a new shelter, because the night was beginning to fall, or so it seemed because everything was getting dark, so he moved, now looking carefully in search of any unwanted tenants, he found starry hawks, spider snakes, cheetah bears, snowy pumas, and one or another normal-sized rodent that he could not identify, perhaps because they were never important to him, but they were important to him, like food, good food. For example, right now he had a pair of rabbits that he had just killed to eat by the ears, he had made sure they were edible by searching his memory, now he only needed fire to cook it...

...

...

...

this was not funny

Well, he would have to refrain from cooking them, so now that his stomach is practically that of a demon... Could he handle raw meat? Well, putting it like that, it was quite likely, considering at least their race in general and the place they were in, most of the time they should be able to eat raw meat... You have to put it to the test, and if it doesn't work, nothing to do but vomit and criticize your own life choices, like reading the shitty novel you had insisted on following through to the end, in the idiotic hope that it will get better, only to get worse with each chapter, truly a waste of time! money and time that you could have invested in something that really served you, even if it had no future!

With a click, he entered another of the many caves there, inspecting the interior, there was nothing of use per se, but it was a spacious and unclaimed cavern, at least considering the lack of smell or scratches.

So, it was time to try creating an indestructible wall at the entrance of the cavern, as a method of security and defense, it would take them enough time to bypass it to have the opportunity to react and respond in time, to be able to cleanly deal with whoever was coming dared to try to enter, yes, an efficient and simple plan, now, only the thick wall is missing with an opening large enough for him to pass through, and small enough for nothing potentially dangerous to do anything to him

Placing a hand on the ground, he began to form the ice that would be the first layer of protection for the wall. The ice began to rise, crossing each other, growing thicker each time, sinking firmly into the ceiling in a way that would be difficult to remove even if you were a strong beast, because humanoid and clan demons are not on that list, they could only break the fragile ice with their palm, but none of them are there for now, so they can allow themselves a rest before starting with the next wall, which this time they made diagonally, just in case

With a yawn he snuggled into the soft fur blankets with which he was thrown into the awful/wonderful place, the possibly only memory of his father he would have for now, that and his appearance, of course, but the only one he had for an indefinite amount of time. Even if Mobei-jun didn't know anything about being a father, at least he did fairly well, since he definitely wasn't a pure devil, that caused a sigh as he settled in better, maybe if he knew his human mother... Better not come to think of it, it's bedtime, and he was a grown man in a child's body trying to survive, this was no time for sentimentality

Although he didn't get a chance to sleep anyway when he heard something crash hard against the wall he had made, he cautiously got up and walked to look through the opening, it was a bird, or some kind of one, because it resembled more like a phoenix, which was impossible considering that phoenixes are fire-

... Convenient, 0/10 but the gift is appreciated, thank you very much to the higher being who took pity on my poor soul, now just have to find a way to take the fire out of the bird, because legendary bird and all you want, but at the moment that was worth poronga, law of the strongest

So, now to go out and grab the animal, easy, I just have to keep his fire away from my ice, and if he gets upset, use his fire against him by turning the ice into water, simple, more because he's unconscious

And really in the end if it was easy, though since a creature like the phoenix wasn't used to low temperatures, it would be best if it was close to a heat source, so... The skins it's wearing should do just fine, technically, perhaps not, as long as everything doesn't die, everything is fine, because if it dies there will be no fire, and without fire I'll die, either from infection or severe frostbite, no matter how it looks, fire is necessary, who knows how your ancestors treated it. they did, but he would use what was at his disposal, and the big bird was within reach, so it was useful

But it looks very weak, maybe it won't be able to start fire or burn something, it wasn't useful like that, we'll have to take care of it until it can make at least a flare or die of hypothermia, to begin with, how the hell did I end up in this place? There was no logic, even if he didn't know where he was going, the cold air and snow should have made him go back because they are not compatible, what made him go into a place like that, aren't they supposed to be smart?

Well, maybe I'm overestimating these things and they actually have the same brains as a chicken, probably, or a particularly strong wind current blew it up here, maybe too, yeah

It was better not to think about that, it was not his problem at the moment, because his problem at that moment was that the little bird was sleeping in what he was going to make his bed, and honestly he did not feel like getting burned by sleeping with it or that at the same time awaken the thing's first instinct whether to burn everything or to peck, neither option was pleasant, the best thing he could do was stay awake and watch the surroundings like an Eagle, also keeping an eye on the little thing so that it doesn't set him on fire in an attack of panic, horrible, his life was horrible, and the worst thing is that he led himself down that path, damn it

He... He... Stayed... Asleep!! ASLEEP! AND NOW HE HAD THE BIRD STARING AT HIM! I WAS GOING TO DO?! Wait! Desperation is not the path to success, just analyze the situation and look for a good escape route or a way to avoid massive fire

The bird didn't move from its spot, it just watched it with some sort of curiosity, and he could handle that, so he sat as straight as he could and waited for the bird to finish searching for whatever it was hoping to find on him. .. Isn't he supposed to be attacking the bird now to force the fire out of it, because he was allowing himself to be dominated? Demons

Whatever he saw, it seemed to make him happy, at least judging by the way he flapped his wings. And before a rooster crows, he disappeared through the small crack made so that he can pass from one side to the other, apparently the bird already knew or suspected it, because of how he walked with so much confidence, perhaps he discovered it while I was there unconscious, it doesn't matter, he just lost the opportunity to generate fire and supply himself... At least it's cold enough for things to be refrigerated perfectly, because otherwise the rabbit meat would already be decomposing and with worms... Ugh , better not to think about it

He stood up from where he was sitting and grabbed his fur cloak, leaving the cave shortly after, prepared for what the next few weeks would bring, or so he wanted to believe, at first, haha

Because? The fucking bird began to leave him corpses, burned, charred, black corpses. Well, specifically, impossible to eat, I already tried it and it gave me indigestion, not to mention how horrible it tasted, I still have nightmares about how horrible it tasted, yuck. What was the bird trying to do? A thank you? So he better show up to be plucked, OR to be allowed to cook the food properly! Not these unrecognizable corpses!

Sometimes he would see the flash of orange feathers in the distance and he would have to control himself not to throw snow in that direction so that the bird would leave him alone. Once he did, but the bird wouldn't let him even after being bombarded by snowballs, at one point he even thought that instead of snowballs, needles, but before he could think about how wrong it was to do that to him, the bird had already left calmly, which was disconcerting, that phoenix was strange, too much, perhaps it was even too intelligent for its good... Meh

But that wasn't the only thing that happened, no, on his way through the waist-high snow and the impressive glass trees, he had encountered more beasts, well, insects... Some even had a frozen human face, ugh. But in addition to interesting monsters that, well, he observed more closely, there were also many white flowers, a few were green, but the blue and white ones were more common, did he recognize them? No, and that's why he didn't come close, no matter how beautiful they were, you never know if they can carry papapa, and that was a strange death that I wanted to avoid, okay?

And then he met the golden-beaked owl who flapped his wings and threw the pollen from the flowers in all possible directions. The good thing is that due to the distance he was able to make a terrible copy of an igloo and cover himself from the avalanche of ashy pollen that spread like a predator. He was locked in the clear igloo for days because the pollen wouldn't go away, and it really was a papapa one, if the way the animals behaved told you anything...FUCK! Why did he always end up in situations LIKE THIS?! Phew

Wait, but why would the owl do something like that? It didn't seem malicious or anything, is that something he should do? Like instinct? Something biological?

There were many possibilities, such as feeding on the expelled pollen or reproducing as a species, but it would have done it when he would have already left! Which is just what I was doing before the owl released the pollen, you didn't have to despair little friend!

He felt the urge to growl, to bite something, to tear something, so when an unfortunate ruby elk with its ears cut off appeared in his field of vision, well, whatever happened, and then he was mortified for such a short period that it made the human that still lived inside him want to vomit curses, but that's officially past history, turn the page, turn the page!

Exactly after that, he found some orange feathers that were hiding, or trying to, among the leaves of the pale trees, he really had to realize that this was useless, the warm colors clashed enormously with the cold ones

He sighed tiredly

"Stop doing that. It's annoying and insulting that you think you can fool me like that"

He could see the feathers ruffle before the phoenix decided to stick its head out, it looked embarrassed, and it should be! Even a fool can see that it is impossible for it to blend in with so much white being such a bright color! What happened to your superior Phoenix intelligence?!

"Why are you following me? There's nothing interesting about me, and if it's because I saved your ass, first think about not going near the domain of a northern demon, and second, it was nothing."

The bird moved its wings in a clear attempt to complain, but only angry squawks came out as it moved like crazy

Shen Yuan looked at him while trying not to pluck his feathers or throw anything at him

After a moment of crazy movements and meaningless squawking, the bird finally stood still, staring at him, as if trying to decipher his thoughts. Shen Yuan only blinked slowly, analyzing the orange figure through his eyelashes

"You're aware that you're pretty easy to spot, right?"

The animal squawked, after a moment of consideration, bobbing its head up and down in affirmation. He already felt like he was going to have a headache if what he wanted was what he had in mind

"If you already know, why don't you hide or leave? Or can't you just leave?" The critically observe the way he lowered his head. "You can't then, eh, what a problem," he sighed

"But I still don't understand what that has to do with you following me around like a headless chicken."

Clearly the way he said it bothered him, judging by how he puffed up, angry... That was great, he looked great, but he also looked like a ball

He finally got down from the tree, but he crashed into the snow while trying to show off, it almost made him laugh, but he had the feeling that if he laughed they were going to burn him, so he stayed silent, watching him arrive. While trying to put on a dignified air, was he a phoenix cub instead of an adult? That would explain a lot of things, like his precarious lack of thought, god, he looked like a log

The bird tapped its head on its legs, insistently, before raising one wing, as if pointing out, how cute, it was a cute little bird

Better not to think about the fact that this same bird almost gave him cardiac arrest and that it had been harassing him for several weeks, no, better not to think about that and much less that it could burn him alive

The bird squawked again, excited, and used his head as a nest... Wait... THE FUCKING BIRD WANTS HIM AS A PROTECTOR? Or something like that, maybe as a father? No, no, that was worse, much worse

He grimaced, tried to take it off, it didn't work, so he left it there, but he would take it off as soon as I tried to put twigs and eggs in his hair

Now, it seems that officially the animal was not going to leave him alone, and considering that having it with you is better than having it harassing you, maybe he will adopt it, having a phoenix as a pet... I never imagined it in my wildest dreams

If I'm going to keep it, I'll need a name, a cool one, since it's a mystical animal. Are phoenixes mystical in PIDW? That adds to the list of questions I will ask airplane one day, if I see him again and he didn't hang him first, but anyway...

"Ling?"

The bird did not respond.

"Weizhe?"

Nothing

"Ken-Zhi?"

Again, nothing

"Shu?"

Nothing

"Mm Dàhuǒ?"

The phoenix punched him in the nose in response, which ended with him grumbling, searching his brain for another name

He tried several, but none of them liked the finicky one, so he watched it while it flew, looked like a feathered ray

"Hóng lei?"

The animal stopped its lazy flight to fix its gaze in his direction, then descended until it was at eye level. They made eye contact for a while until the bird got bored and returned to nest in his hair

Shen Yuan wrinkled his nose, but didn't comment on it, so that would be his new name, well, he officially had a pet, a very strange one... but a pet. Thinking about it, in his past life he didn't have any due to his illness, he couldn't have animals, no dogs or cats, not even fish, he was too weak to take care of anything other than himself

And even that didn't make it right... Ahg

How will Mobei-jun be? I miss him? Or did he forget about his son? He probably thinks he's already dead. Has his mother already arrived home to finally meet him? Either she already died or she never had any interest in meeting him... For starters, when is Mobei-jun supposedly married? Many questions

and there is no answer

Chapter Text

Okay, he wasn't there for the first five years of his Baobei's life, yeah.

It wasn't in his first steps, first words, first meal, AT ALL!

And he blamed the paperwork (death to work!), and the sect leader, and Liu-shidi, who couldn't handle anything without help (sect leader), or keep his disciples' hands on himself ( LIU -SHIDI!!) Which caused an overload of work that almost killed him with his little paper hands.

And to add to his stress, his villain not only adopted his protagonist (Luo Binghe, get out of there!) with the cult leader, but as soon as he returns home, he discovers that Lianguan-jun grabbed and threw his baby to a cold and merciless place, by custom of the northern clan, TO A FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD! Obviously he wasn't going to take the news well! Understand, my King!

"Is there anything this King can do for Qinghua?"

"Eliminating Lianguan-jun and returning me to my bun would be very nice!"

Mobei-jun grimaced.

"I can take care of assassinating my uncle, but I can't return A-Xue, he has to complete his demonic test"

"I thought we agreed that he wasn't going to take that test because of his second nature!"

"But A-Xue is already there, it is against the rules to take him out of there, and if we do the clan could turn against him and they will never respect him as heir"

Shang Qinghua gritted his teeth in frustration, his king had a good point, but him having a good point didn't make the situation any better!

"What if they murder him!? Is he hungry, or scared, not knowing what to do, crying while he bleeds to death somewhere in that horrendous space!? Forget if they don't respect him! His life is worth more than opinions of those guys, and if they try to kill him, I MYSELF WILL MAKE SURE THEY NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!"

He wasn't thinking straight, and he knew it, but he didn't regret it, his bun didn't deserve that! From everything his king had told him, he was a very good child!

And the best thing, apparently he was more human than demon! It's not that he was against the demon race, but it would have been difficult to communicate and establish a relationship with the child if he were like that, of course, he will probably be a little wilder when he comes out of the frozen tundra, so his duty as a father it's going to be showering him with affection, love and acceptance!

Yes, I was determined, that's what I would do! And baobei is going to be so happy that his blood is going to be filled with sugar, although that may not be a good thing... It's not a problem! Mobei-jun, as the demon father, won't exactly be affectionate, but he won't leave it aside, so the harsh, punishing side could very well be left to his husband, while he showers their baby with treats and sweets! 

And while Shang Qinghua was losing his mind thinking of ways to give love to his bun, Mobei-jun watched without blinking as his husband seemed to go crazy, although normally his husband was a little crazy, this was a new level of crazy that Mobei-jun found strange, but at least I knew it wasn't a danger, probably not

But all that was interrupted by a servant, who looked at them strangely at the scene they were making, but did not comment on it and only told Shang Qinghua that he needed to return to his duties as lord of An Ding Peak before the humans will begin to suspect

"I'm coming, ugh."

I was not at all excited to once again face that pile of paperwork that grew in size every day, endless.

"So, Qinghua has to go already?"

Shang Qinghua smiled lazily at his king, now more relaxed as he had an entire course of action and response in mind for any situation that might arise for his baobei. He caressed the cold cheeks of his king, who responded by bowing to the warmth of his hands.

"Only for now, my king, but I promise to return soon."

And thinking about it now...

"Also let me know when our son comes out of his demonic test, I will be eager to see him after so long, I still remember his little face, and I want to know what he looks like now that he is a big boy."

Mobei-jun grunted a confirmation, he would tell his husband once A-Xue gets out of there

With confirmation that he would be among the first to find out if his son returned, Shang Qinghua was finally able to leave, more or less calm, but something is something. And dragging his feet he climbed the mountain, quite annoyed, almost 100% convinced that he was going to hang the first person he came across, of course the imbecilic impulse did not last long because the first person he came across was Shen Qingqiu, who sent him a cold look before grabbing him by the neck and dragging him across the floor in the direction of the bamboo house.

"If this humble one did anything to upset Shen-shixiong, he sincerely apologizes!"

The poor man practically screamed as he was rudely pressed into the ground in retaliation.

"Shut up"

He obediently decided to keep his mouth shut and not make a sound the rest of the trip across the rainbow bridge, and the grass that follows, even if several rocks dug into his side and the grass tickled him, no, even anyone who saw him would mistake it for a bug-eyed corpse

When they finally arrived at the bamboo house, Shen Qingqiu only let go of him for a moment to open the door, kicking him inside, entering after making sure that no one was watching

Shang Qinghua watched from a corner as Shen Qingqiu was in charge of placing talismans to avoid gossip, marching to the kitchen to emerge in a short time with a rather nice tea set, although he only served a cup, a cup that he himself drank, looking at Shang Qinghua as if he were a particularly unpleasant rat, to which the little man could only shudder, thinking about how at some point in his anger it had even occurred to him to hang the first person who came across him, fool, fool, fool!

"Shang Qinghua"

"Y-yes?"

Shen Qingqiu wrinkled his face slightly as he fanned himself a little faster, as if what he was going to say made him feel particularly frustrated-angry, so Shang Qinghua did not hesitate to start praying.

"What do you know about dealing with young children?"

Of everything they could talk about, this was the most unexpected, so much so that if it weren't for the fact that he was scared, he would have laughed out loud.

"Sorry?"

He almost regretted expressing his doubt, the way the other man bristled made him press himself hard against the wall, almost wanting to disappear into it

"Lately he has been seen getting along well with children. Can you know how he does it?"

Considering the fact that Shen Qingqiu seemed to be trying not to stab him with Xiu Ya, naturally the response was somewhat clumsy and rushed.

"T-this one just does what anyone would do, treat them well and- give them some candy?"

Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes, silently considering his words. Suspense was not good for Shang Qinghua's blood pressure

"That's all?"

"Maybe also...Positive reinforcement?"

Again, the other just stood in a thoughtful pose, drinking some tea that, he was sure, was already cold, what kind of strange interrogation was this?!

"If I may ask...Why is Shen-shixiong asking me this?"

"It's none of your business"

The sharp response took him by surprise, so he shrank in on himself and watched from his spot as Shen Qingqiu became thoughtful again, apparently considering something he had not noticed before

But before Shang Qinghua could continue his ramblings, he heard the distinctive sound of childish laughter, piquing his curiosity, he wanted to go closer to see, but a look from Shen Qingqiu was enough to make him freeze, very tempted to play dead

A little boy came out of the next room, laughing lightly as he held a paper heron in his little hands, stopping only after noticing Shang Qinghua, who was looking at him in dumb astonishment. There was no doubt that this was the protagonist! But that wasn't what was impressive, what was really impressive was how well cared for it looked! How long have you living with my summit mates!? A year or two!? How did they keep it hidden for so long?! Or why? Nothing made sense, before I had thought that he had been recently adopted, now it turns out that no, that child had actually been living there for more than a year!

"Luo Binghe, go back to your room right now."

He blinked several times as he saw the tension in the small body when Shen Qingqiu spoke, did that mean that the animosity and natural tension between his villain and protagonist persisted? All was not lost! Although looking at the other's face, that probably bothered him a lot

"If... This one retires, then..."

The boy's little voice could almost not be heard because of how softly he spoke as he retreated to what he now knew was his room. After that, he noticed his partner who was still there. From what he could tell, Shen Qingqiu's normally imperturbable face was no longer there, giving way to the complete frustration of a man who only wanted to get closer to his offspring, which was funny, at least considering the original story

"So what Shixiong wants is to bond emotionally with his acquired son?"

Shen Qingqiu did not spare a single glance at him as he poured the tea, even though he could tell from where he was that the cup was not empty. After he took a sip, Shen Qingqiu's poisonous gaze focused on him

"And what if it is?"

He practically spat on him

Shang Qinghua shifted uncomfortably before gathering the courage to look into the eyes of the other man, who looked him with disdain

"This one doesn't judge Shixiong, it was just, ah, unexpected. And if Shen-shixiong doesn't mind, this one could help, but he can't help but wonder, why don't I ask the sect leader instead of this lowly one?"

At the mention of the sect leader, Shen Qingqiu just snorted

"I don't need him help with anything, I'm doing fine alone"

Internally, Shang Qinghua screamed, why did they have to put him in the middle of their couple's fight? It was totally unnecessary!

"If Shixiong says so..."

He felt the need to cry, at least for a moment, he would probably feel better later. The expectant and irritated look they were giving him only increased his desire to cry, he wished his king were here! So he could hold him and let his husband's clumsy attempts at comfort make him feel better, but he wasn't here, so he would have to deal with this shit alone

"First, I would recommend him to be less rough, he is still very small, he needs more love and less strict discipline"

Shen Qingqiu wrinkled his eyebrows, but did not make any comments, so Shang Qinghua bravely continued speaking

"Second, using positive reinforcement will motivate him to do more things and do them better than before, if you just yell at him or hit him, you could end up scaring him, make him feel like a failure, or make him end up resenting the activity taught, which would hinder his progress anyway"

Shen Qingqiu remained silent, without any notable expression

"Third, give him a safe space, which him considered his and no one else's, where he can vent if he feels bad or if he is scared he can hide"

"Him room is enough"

Shang Qinghua grimaced at the interruption

"Yes, their room is more than enough, as long as they don't invade it all the time, which should be done less when he reach adolescence, for... Obvious reasons"

The stare they gave him shook him

"He will have no such desires, I will make sure of that"

Now it was Shang Qinghua's turn to look at him because, WTF! That was impossible! His son will definitely pay attention to girls his age, not to mention he would have an entire three-digit harem, so what Shen Qingqiu was telling him was surreal!

"Is Shen-shixiong sure that he will achieve such a thing?"

The sharp gaze made him want to scream in fear

"Of course"

And with a dramatic wave of his robes, he left, probably forgetting that this was his house and that Shang Qinghua was the guest, not to mention that his son was also there

If Shen Qingqiu was aware of this, he did not comment anything or make an effort to return

Chapter Text

Making new clothes with animal leather is much more complicated than it seems, A LOT, the people who could do it so perfectly deserved respect, dammit

Although I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for the accelerated growth, less than a few months ago I was just like a flea, now at least I was a young tree, although perhaps it would be more correct to say... A flower, a daisy, small but not so much.

Oh God, forget it, that's even more ridiculous!

It's just not that small in height and all, there is no need for such strange comparisons. Although he didn't grow the most... Hóng lei increased her body mass almost doubled, before he fit perfectly on my head to make a nest, now I can use it as a nest, or is she? It doesn't matter, its name fits both genders, although do phoenixes reproduce? If they do, then they should hunt them often, or they would only give birth to one egg in their entire life, because phoenixes are practically an immortal bird, they only die if they are killed, but never of old age

Thinking about it, they were a complicated breed, and for the simple reason that he could die at any moment with him friend, he don't have the luxury of thinking about them, nah, not even a little bit, absolutely not...

Who is he going to fool? The terrifying monsters, the lives they lead and their interesting biology, make anyone tempted to delve deeper into it! It's not me fault! It's common sense! And it's not like phoenixes were scary either, they could only be described as majestic and that's it, end of topic

"Where do we go now?"

Hóng lei gave him a look, squawked, and continued on his way. Shen Yuan couldn't help but sulk, they had been walking for days! And the last time he followed him he took him to a nest of bone birds, damn stupid names, who screamed obnoxiously while making his jaw bones crack, horrible, he's sure his ears bled too, horrible horrible horrible

He fell face first into the soft snow when his animal companion decided to rest on his head, something he could do before.

"Hóng lei, get off, you're crushing me"

The bird ignored him, curling up further on top of him. Shen Yuan pouted and grabbed the bird to get it off him, Hóng lei resisted at first, but in the end he gave up and let himself be lifted up. Considering that he was probably very tired or just wanted to bother him, probably bother him because the bird developed a taste for pricking his patience, he decided to keep him in his arms as if he were a baby. Hóng lei glared at him, but he didn't make any further complaints, so the rest of the way to a "safe" place he kept it in that position

The safe place, it's just an open meadow, where glass trees couldn't grow, that should be bad, but in his experience, it's actually rather a good thing

Why do he believe it? Because it means that the demonic energy is not strong enough for something like a tree to survive, maybe not even grass there, but he don't know that, because there is so much FUCKING SNOW YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! And also because it is not their priority to know if there is grass. But as I said, since the concentration of demonic energy is not that strong or dense, not many beasts appear here, he says not many because the small and harmless beasts have no problems with the little energy that there is, and also some predators, but they are not a problem, they are not as big and they do not threaten his life like a cheetah or bear would, so there are no problems, besides, he already has more or less polished his skills, he is much stronger and more deadly now, so no is a problem

Although he has the feeling that after two long years he should be much stronger, something inside him screams to show strength and dominance, to show that he is at the top of the food chain, but he ignores that feeling because that is taking himself to a certain death and he's not stupid, okay?

Using the snow from his surroundings because he is lazy enough to create it himself, he makes what is quite similar to an igloo, and yes, he has lowered himself to making his house in only igloos because they are the easiest and he has the intention of to do nothing detailed because they are in nomadic mode, staying in one place is stupid and beginner, a true survivor knows to keep moving and not do anything detailed or too busy because it will bite him in the ass later when there are problems, blessed and beautiful are the extreme survival games that helped with the basics, will never be able to thank them enough, but he gives them a kiss

The igloo is reinforced with multiple layers of snow and ice resistant to withstand anything, only being able to derive an equal to him, but that is unlikely, because from what he observed while he was next to father, he was the only child, and even some years later, it still was, if now a child was born while he was gone, then he would just have to hurry, but that was unlikely for the simple fact that there is a great difficulty with the birth of demons, and it is in his majority who are not interested in having relationships, of any kind, and adding to that that the fertility rate is incredibly low, and they could even tie a FUCKING KNOT! It was impressive that they still existed, and in such numbers, maybe they had tricks for that? I had a suspicion that at least the nobles had a harem, if so, then Luo Binghe being the emperor it was normal that his would reach three digits

But putting those thoughts aside, Hóng lei doesn't seem like he has the intention of letting go, which he is grateful for because of how cold it was starting to get, his "little" friend was like a living heater, very pleasant to the skin, but at the same time he it irritated, because the cold was part of him, even if he didn't like it, apparently the normal reaction of a frost demon was to reject any type of heat source, which makes him wonder... How could father last long enough for his creation? Just imagining himself inside a warm body makes your hair stand on end, unpleasant

Well, at least that wouldn't be a problem if he stays with some girl from his clan, and it's also not a problem because of Luo binghe's harem that will take most or all of the girls, and thinking about it, Luo binghe had a bad taste, most girls had cotton instead of brains and were a pain in the ass who only knew how to cause problems and conflicts in the harem, that's why... UP WITH MONOGAMY BITCHES! It's less work, and less work is more free time, and more free time equals researching interesting monsters, and researching interesting monsters equals happy life

With the horribly tailored articles of clothing, he wrapped up the bird that had suddenly entered his life, and that he now considered like family, they huddled together, and went to sleep

In the morning, they drank some water and left, Hóng lei practically shot out like a rocket, feathered and red, he could probably grab a rabbit in his claws and have lunch, but he never did, maybe I should teach him how to do it so he doesn't nothing stupid, or very stupid, really just so that he is not codependent, every creature needs at least a little independence, although to be honest, he did not mind how clingy he was, his feathers always tickled him, and it always ruffled his hair, It was annoying to a certain extent, but tolerable most of the time, plus he also tormented or hesitated, so he deserved it.

They did some hunting, I cooked it with Hóng lei fire "cook something with a lighter/flamethrower" style, they almost started a fire because they forgot to do it away from the vegetation, and it wasn't entirely their fault! Okay?! The bird forgot too! DO YOU HEAR ME HÓNG LEI?! DO NOT BE A HYPOCRITE!

And after that little accident, they continued on their way through several places, a complete forest with different trees, that basically if you touched them with something warm or very strong, they would crumble like snow and a mess would be left, several birds pecked them for that, for example:

The frozen bird of paradise, Frost Condor, the Eskimo bird, Hakcon, some cold-colored birds of prey, and the last one would be the winter little bird. Don't be fooled by the name of the last one, that thing was a raging beast and there was nothing small or cute about it, it was even presumably much bigger than the rest!

How the hell could he get up there and not have problems? He would never know, so he just focused on moving forward, moving forward, moving forward, at some point in the walk this should end, it should, but he had already been here for two years, he wasn't going to get his hopes up, but he walked anyway, tired

How many he already derived? He lost count at some point, but it was full of... Guts, yes, it looked like guts, and blood, a lot of blood, the snow and the stone were covered in blood of, surprisingly different colors, three in fact, red, blue and green

The red was his and Hóng lei's, the rest was... He wasn't sure, at that moment he felt blind, unable to think clearly, just some intrusive thoughts, how did he get to this point? Easy, at one point he decided to venture into a cave as usual, together with Hóng lei to explore above, and suddenly they were attacked by, whatever that is. Hóng lei was injured, not a lethal or deep wound, it was just a scratch that drew some blood, but apparently that was enough for his more demonic side to react, with violence of course, destroying the creatures foolish enough to try to confront someone like him and harm his family, thinking to escape unscathed, ha!

In the end, it now seemed like it was a complete herd, as the fight seemed... Endless, Hóng lei tried to help again, but due to the intelligence of these... Monkeys? They threw snow at him and the fire was easily put out, so he had to retreat, but that moment of distraction was enough for one of them to hit him with his... Tail? Drawing a lot of blood, although he regenerated almost instantly, it still hurt, damn it, it was starting to irritate him. Monsters were cool, until they attacked you or a teammate

He impaled several with ice stakes, he beat thousands with his bare fist, and he attacked with ice daggers, putting too much effort into killing them was complicated, because there were many of them, he would hesitate for a moment and he would be bitten, scratched or hit, every time that happened, A fireball came from above, the monkeys dodged or a much larger snowball was thrown at them, undoing the attack, damn it.

At some point his energy ran out, so he started to destroy it using his claws and brute force, Hóng lei kept trying to help, until at one point he went further ahead, getting lost among the multiple caves, that made him more anxious to what was already there, so he unloaded the anxiety on the bodies of his opponents

Quickly his own body was filled with scratches and bruises that healed quickly, but they never completely healed due to the constant attacks. Apparently they realized that he was regenerating, and they started attacking the same places to slow him down, tender, but insufficient

With a blow, he took out the limbs of one of them, using them to attack his companions while the other writhed. When some of them noticed their fallen companion, they pounced on him, and from where he was he could hear the disgusting sound of flesh being torn savagely, when they finished they launched themselves with more force in his direction, because he had managed to regain some energy, he impaled them on the wall, with the feeling that he should not approach them. To his surprise, the rest stopped momentarily, then several jumped on him, while the others dropped on the bodies of their fallen.

Shen Yuan's stomach would have turned to see them resorting to cannibalism, but Mo Xue didn't care and continued to attack, ignoring the sound of teeth and claws tearing skin, ignoring it more consciously as he felt his own claws pierce the soft skin, the blood still warm on his cold hands, sliding gently down his wrist, disgusting

Those who consumed their companions had a sudden change in their speed and strength, now that the majority had consumed them... Let's say, he was not having a fun time, but to his good luck, no more were coming, otherwise, I probably wouldn't have told it

His energy had recovered, so he was now focused on impaling and freezing as many bodies as he could, but he always missed several, the blows they delivered were unpleasant, they broke his bones, if he were just a human... God

A particularly strong blow sent him flying, crashing against the ceiling, he closed his eyes against the sting on his back, it burned, it hurt, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! At this rate they were going to kill him here, he had to move faster! But his muscles burned as if he had been hit by five cars and a train, it was unbearable, unbearable, unbearable... But nothing more than seeing those eyes fill with joy and pleasure while those things open their arms, wanting to catch him when he falls, their mouths open, showing all their small, sharp fangs, they promised to be painful when tearing off the flesh, they had already bitten him, but they had not torn anything off, the only good thing

He saw his life pass before his eyes as he fell, just the first, there were so many things he wanted to fix, so many words not said, so many hugs and company not given, all because he preferred to lock himself up and never go out, all because he preferred loneliness to warmth of his family, he regretted it, holy heavens, how he regretted it, he couldn't be with them, not even when Dad died, in his memories his voice tormented him, screaming at him for having been such a horrible son, incapable of mourning his death, no, he couldn't... He just couldn't... Not even when his sister lost her best friend, he couldn't support her, he didn't know how, and that ended up distancing them, his brothers and mother, although they were never really very close, still I missed they, they words of encouragement and comfort, I really, really... I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry... I'm sorry I was never there for any of you, even if you were always there for me, please forgive me...

But also, Hóng lei, he- maybe, maybe he...

He didn't know at what exact moment he had started to cry, but he felt horrible and couldn't breathe, he couldn't think straight, not at that moment, but he felt a familiar warmth, and without thinking he hugged him, trembling to lose him again

But... something felt strange

I didn't feel skin, nor fur, but rather... Feathers?

"H-hóng lei?"

The phoenix turned its head for a moment to look at him, before returning its attention to the ground, being careful to avoid being jumped on top of them. Meanwhile, Shen Yuan had frozen, Hóng lei was here, hadn't he gone to the deeper parts of the cave? For a moment he thought his friend was dead, but here he was, saving his ass, the tears threatened to come again, so he hid them by burying his face in the soft feathers.

"I-I'm so happy, you're okay, you're really okay"

He sobbed into the feathers for a moment, they weren't safe yet, but he needed it, damn it, he hated crying, then his eyes hurt and he became a snotty mess.

"I thought you died...I'm glad that's not the case"

he whispered with his heart in his throat, Hóng lei turned to look at him again, whatever he saw, he made a soft noise, trying to convey calm, before turning his attention to flying as high as possible and away from those monkeys, which were following them closely, but little by little they were stopping, until no one was following them anymore, they had retired to the cave

They spent a long time flying, from where they were, everything looked like ants, it was impressive, but not as impressive as him riding Hóng lei, he had never thought about it before, he had never believed it, phoenixes are proud birds, they do not let never climb on them, so... Was this an honor? I do not ask

He let the winter breeze clean his face, feeling more relaxed, he lay down on Hóng lei's back, who now that he saw him, looked more, round? he ate something? what thing? He decided that he probably didn't want to know, so he relaxed in the company of his adventure friend for a moment.

They were moving further and further, further and further from where they started, where they met, and it became more and more difficult to move forward, it was... Stressful, I didn't know what would come next, I had a feeling that it was what outside, it would be more dangerous than everything they faced, so he would have to get stronger, much stronger, he has to, as soon as he left that cave, he let himself go, he almost died again, if it weren't for Hóng lei, he would have died an atrocious death, torn to pieces, and that vision was... Pathetic

He has to get a lot stronger, but while he's doing that...

A smile spreads across his lips, and with a sudden turn, he hugs the phoenix beneath him, who screeches due to the sudden surprise, before starting to squawk, completely indignant, drawing a laugh from Mo Xue

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua stretched painfully on the uncomfortable chair, which only made his back pain worse and also put him in a bad mood. So while he was writing he looked constipated, and that's probably the best way to describe how he was currently feeling, which boiled down to: a shit

His baby was still trapped in that horrible place, still showing no signs of being about to come out, and that made his hair stand on end, he didn't like to think that probably (his son was dead) very injured and hiding somewhere fighting against horrendous beasts that he had the bad luck to write, if he had known that something like this would happen he would definitely have put pure harmless or not (very) lethal animals! His poor baobei must be suffering a lot in that dirty place, thinking day after day about how they abandoned him to die, surely he already hates him for abandoning him at birth, now he must hate him more for allowing something like that to happen to him!

But not only were there bad (or very bad) things, he had met his protagonist and had managed to place an order for Liguan-jun's head to be brought to him! That was great! The other side of the coin was that his protagonist was the villain's son, which was ridiculous! And on Lianguan-jun's side, now the man wanted him dead, and multiple assassination attempts had become customary in recent years, who, by the way, were mostly from his king's clan, because they were not happy with a human being their lord's spouse, since they thought that made him weak, and Shang Qinghua was weak, a rat, but their king definitely not! And hey?! What the hell are they talking about my son?!

That time, there was a massacre, but there is no need to go into details other than that his sword was dyed red for a time and that his king would not let him go out again or participate in a public execution

I don't blame him, he himself admits that he got a little (a lot) out of control

But they really made him angry! He doesn't mind being messed with, but his king and his son are another story! He will not allow anyone to degrade them like that, ever, not even they are allowed to do such a thing

"Shang Qinghua"

He held back a scream at the regretful presence of Shen Qingqiu in his office, the man did not even spare a glance at his mess, he was just looking at him, his gaze boring into his skull.

"Is there anything offered to Shixiong?"

They were probably going to kill him for having seen and stayed in his house with the protagonist, it was a good life, although he still wanted to see his cabbage

But Shen Qingqiu did not answer him

"Shixiong?"

"I'm going out"

"Wh-?"

"With the leader of the sect"

"Um, yes?"

"Take care of the child, try anything and you will wake up dead"

... What did he say?? He leaves with Yue Qingyuan and leaves him in charge of the... Child? THE PROTAGONIST?!

"W-wait! Why me?!"

"You're the least likely to do anything against him, and he seems to like you even a little, plus you're a coward"

That's an insult?

With nothing more to say, Shen Qingqiu left, and Shang Qinghua didn't know what to do. Now not only was he going to have to work until he was exhausted, he was also going to have to take care of a small child (who wasn't even his son!) all day, or days? Or weeks! Depending on how long it takes them to do whatever they are doing! Incredible!!! Now I was a personal nanny!

Okay, maybe he was one of the least respected among his fellow summit lords, but this was amazing, what's next? Liu Qingge asking me to take care of Liu Mingyan?

Ugh, really, sometimes they were annoying, like a stick up the ass (not my king's!) that made him want to strangle them.

And wait, does his protagonist like him even a little bit?! Survival chances going up!!

But what are he going to do with the mountain of paperwork in charge of? It's not like he has a main disciple to take care of it, putting his disciples to do it can also be a very bad idea (terrible), why didn't it occur to him to create a copy of the multi-shadow clone jutsu? It would be very helpful!

Running his hands over his face, Shang Qinghua tries not to cry in despair, he would have to take some of the paperwork to the bamboo house, and when he returned he would wait for him much longer, he did have a horrible life (as if he hadn't noticed it before) and sighed, sliding down the chair until he reached the floor.

"I think I should start moving, every second that passes is a second added to being tortured for not being with the protagonist"

With a heavy soul, he started moving. He saved as much paper as he could, some melon seeds, and some books that could help him with the paper. Now yes, he headed as a warrior to war on his way to the picturesque bamboo house

He really didn't know what to do, so he entertained himself with the clouds that floated in the sky, dispersing and taking the shapes of animals or objects, they made him want to be a cloud, free and calm like they were, without having to face his possible extermination by a mother hen angry because he had not yet arrived with her chick

And when he finally arrived, he almost grabbed his sword to dig a hole and hide, almost, because it would be stupid and would further tarnish his reputation as lord of the peak, (even though An Ding never had a good reputation to begin with) haha

He rapped his knuckles on the door three times, still hoping that it was all a twisted joke and that it wasn't really happening, but all foolish hope died when he saw disheveled curls and a round face with dark eyes looking at him curiously

"You are the sir that Sh- bába sent?"

He ignored the child's mistake

"Eh, yes, yes it's me"

"Are you the man who came here a week ago? Whom Baba called a cowardly sewer mouse and who probably got his position through unorthodox methods?"

"... Yeah"

The little eyes lit up as if the entire galaxy had just lit up.

"Go ahead then! Erh, if you want"

The fact that the boy will be shy now after what he said threw him off, what the hell has Shen Qingqiu been teaching him?

"Um, of course."

the bamboo house was spotless, as always, because Shen Qingqiu would kill himself first before allowing it to be less than perfect, which made him even more nervous, because if he moved something or made a mess, nothing nice would happen to him...

Its protagonist began to write at the small table as soon as they entered, pointing out the place where he would sit.

"What is the sir's name? This one's name is Luo binghe, my pleasure."

The boy extended his hand, he squeezed it lightly

"Shang Qinghua, the pleasure is mine, Luo binghe"

Luo binghe smiled happily

"Mr. Shang is very busy?"

"Normally yes, but I have some time to take care of you, don't worry"

The little boy grimaced

"Can't I do anything to help?"

"Well... Just by behaving well you'll help me a lot"

"Alright!"

Whatever he was writing, he started doing it again, with more passion this time, woow, very diligent

Well, let's get to work, i have something to do, and that's a stupid amount of work. At least he had a companion, it made him feel less alone

DAMN SHEN QINGQIU AND YUE QINGYUAN! THEY REALLY MADE IT THE OFFICIAL BABYSITTER OF THEIR PROTAGONIST!

Although it is not as if he was unpleasant, Luo binghe was a very intelligent and sweet child, like the good white lotus who wrote, the bad thing is that due to his innocence he did not think much about his words, and having been almost at all in the street, he wasn't very tactful either, although he always tried, and he was learning, but it was difficult having Shen Qingqiu as an influence and tutor

Furthermore, Shen Qingqiu had the audacity (yes, DARE! Because it already turned him into a nanny!) to make him his advisor regarding small children, and that flattered him (because he had to read a lot of books about infants for when he was with his little son) and obviously he shared his knowledge (voluntarily) because if he didn't he could say goodbye to his peak

"My King!!"

Shang Qinghua sobbed as he clung like a koala to his husband's clothes, sniffling a little.

"Qinghua"

"My King!"

"Qinghua"

"My king! You don't know how much I missed you, it was hell! a hell! ha ha ha waaa"

Mobei-jun did not move, but imperceptibly wrinkled his eyebrows.

"Shen Qingqiu kept harassing me, wanting me to take care of his son! Or to help him get to know him better! He didn't let me finish my wooork! And it piled up a lot, and you know what's the worst?! That the sect leader allowed it and he was even an active participant!! He betrayed me because of his... Whatever they are!"

"Cultivation partners?"

"Yes! That thing, but at least his son was a little angel and not a piece of shit."

"And what is this child like?"

Mobei-jun sat on one of the chairs in the living room, arranging his husband on his lap so that he would be more comfortable while he complained

"He's small! About the age of our bun, and very very cute, his hair is curly and his eyes are like tar, but at the same time very bright! Like a galaxy, his little face is round and his eyelashes are long. It's almost perfection in a child! Because our little one is the real perfect one."

"Mm."

Mobei-jun agreed, no one was above his son, least of all a human fool

"By the way my king, was there any news from A-Xue?"

Mobei-jun blinked slowly, thinking

"No"

"Oh, well..."

"Mm."

Mobei-jun narrowed his eyebrows in silence.

"But, yesterday there was a disturbance nearby, the guards reported what was an attempted portal"

"So... is it possible that he's trying to get out?"

"Mm."

"Couldn't we, you know, help?"

"No"

Shang Qinghua grimaced.

"Sure?"

"Yes"

"Okay... How long do you think it will take him to get out?"

"A day or two"

"Oh really?!"

"Mm."

"After so much, finally!"

"Mm."

"But how do you know?"

"The quality of the portal and how big the scratch was"

"Ohh"

Mobei-jun smiled pleased

"He is strong, and he will be even stronger"

"That's good"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, very short.

Because a bloody guard burst in agitated, on the verge of collapse

Chapter Text

At first, Mobei-jun didn't want he to go with him, and he understood, he wasn't the best at fighting and preferred to hide, but there was a chance (however small) that it was his bun and he wanted it be there for him (no matter how irrational it was)

"Please my king, what if it is him?"

"What if it is not?"

"But you yourself said it would take at least a day or two!"

"What if it is not?"

"Besides," Shang Qinghua smiled "While we are arguing, your men are probably being slaughtered"

Mobei-jun grunted, but he didn't stop him from advancing next to him again, even though he wrinkled his face in a way that anyone could interpret as a pout (obviously Shang Qinghua didn't believe it because his king is not childish), and they went outside, being fully greeted by a blizzard that almost sent Shang Qinghua flying if he hadn't clung like a leech to his king, who only raised an eyebrow in his direction, with some amusement in his cold eyes

Now paying attention to the surroundings, Shang Qinghua couldn't help but open and close his mouth like a fish

The cold snow was dyed dark red, almost black, and on top of the deepest puddles were the guards, impaled on gigantic ice stakes that pierced their chest, stomach or skull, with brain fluids scattered on the ground. It made my stomach turn, but at the same time I had to admit, the sight was fucking beautiful and rough, the icy peaks were shiny and transparent, like diamonds, you could tell they were also tough and powerful, the whole scene itself it was a clear display of brute force, and from the way the icy spikes were placed next to the guards surprised/fear/anger face, they were also used intelligently and fluidly. Even something like fluids looked good in that strange piece of art

Of course, his ramblings were interrupted

By the sound of something crashing roughly against a flat surface, and then the sound of flesh being torn, then the snap of a weapon (presumably a sword) being shattered along with a silenced scream of rage. Their king wasted no time and headed in the direction of the scream, freezing after crossing the corner, so with curiosity, he approached, observing the scene in surprise

It was where there were more guards crossed, but in a much more careless way, some were not even dead, but trapped inside a glacier without the possibility of moving. In the middle of the scene there was a child (yes, a CHILD) injured and disheveled, with clothes clearly made in haste and poor fabric judging by the badly cut furs that barely covered him, he seemed in the middle of a frenzy of blind rage, one of his claws passing cleanly through the chin of one of the unfortunate ones who had tried to go against him

Shang Qinghua began to tremble, tempted to hide behind his king, being surprised when he calmly approached the crazed boy.

"A-Xue"

From where he was, Shang Qinghua could hear the boy's muffled sigh (very similar to a sob) and the moment he began to shake (convulse?) before falling hard to the ground, colliding with Mobei-jun's arms directly, who had approached, then stood next to him showing the child like a trophy

"Our son has successfully passed his test"

Shang Qinghua blinked several times in a daze, looking at his bun and then at the mess around him.

and he fainted

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on something considerably cold and hard, and he was starting to get a headache due to the same, so he sat up yawning and blinking lazily.

"Qinghua"

Still somewhat disconnected, he focused his vision on his husband

"My King?"

"Mm"

"How long did I sleep?"

"Fifteen minutes"

Only fifteen? It felt like an eternity, I could almost swear days had passed

"Our son, where is he?"

"Resting"

"Where?"

"His room"

Shang Qinghua raised an eyebrow

"Did they clean it, bandage it and change it?"

Mobei-jun gave him a dark look

"Yes"

"Okay, where his room?"

"Right"

"Did you go to check it?"

"Yes"

"Can I go check on him?"

"No"

"Why?!"

"You need to rest too"

"Why?"

"You fainted"

"Due to adrenaline overload!"

His king looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"What?"

"What is 'adrenaline'?"

"A chemical response of the body, like the fight or flight system"

"Mm"

"So can I go?"

"No"

"Pleaseee?"

"No"

"In a little whilee?"

"Mm"

"Yeeeess?"

"Good"

"Thanks my king!!"

Shang Qinghua jumped from where he was lying (his king's shoulder) onto the bed and covered himself with the blankets

"I'll get out of here after a while! And when I do I'll go see our bun, so don't worry if you don't see me here"

"Mm"

With a smile, Qinghua curled up into a ball and tried to take a mini nap, eager to finally see his baobei (it doesn't count when he found him dirty and injured) and to be able to be in his life like any normal dad, even though they have It's been four years since his baby was in the frozen tundras and nine since he last saw him... Yes, he wasn't going to be able to sleep, so he gave up and quietly left her room, certainly almost no time had passed, but he became impatient very quickly, he had a lot to talk to his son about

He crept out of his room, heading directly to where his king had pointed out before, almost running through the hallways until he found the first door, he opened it carefully, looking inside, stopping when he found himself face to face with a white bed and a sleeping boy

Shang Qinghua watched him for a minute, still not being able to believe that he was there, with him, safe and sound (more or less) but above all, alive

"I-igh l-le"

The sound came out raspy and painful, coming from the small lump on the bed that was now coughing wildly. Shang Qinghua hurriedly picked up the glass of water on the bedside table

"It's okay, you're okay, you're back home"

His baby's eyes opened, glassy with tears, but he noticed that they were like his own, amber, only his son's were more red than his. His face was round and delicate, with a little button nose, his cheeks were somewhat sunken but a healthy shade of pink, his hair was long and dark (Like the beautiful hair of his king) tied up in an uneven braid (probably because of the recent fight) and now he was clean and in really decent clothes (not that unrecognizable thing that looked like a dead rat)

Shang Qinghua was enthralled as he let his little bun drink water from the glass, the latter looking at him distrustfully, wrinkled nose included (The gesture of his king when he is irritated) to which Shang Qinghua smiled at him

"You are better?"

Mo Xue blinked slowly, analyzing, then just as slowly, he nodded

"That's good, I'm glad... Mo Xue, right?"

Another nod

"Well, erh, this here is you... Um... Bába?" That came out more like a question, so he wrinkled his eyebrows “You…bába, Shang Qinghua.”

His son looked at him without any expression or emotion, lay down again, watching him. After a while (too long for his own good) he hummed silently, nodding

"Am... Okay, uh, that's okay, with you?"

His Baobei looked at him strangely

"Erh, you know, your dad is human and looks... Physically very weak, don't you think?"

Blinking, as if he'd barely noticed (presumably because he didn't care or dismissed it as unnecessary, ouch) he looked at it for a few seconds, then raised and lowered his shoulders, appearing indifferent, almost as if he expect it (double ouch)

"Haha, yeah... Uh, how was it? Your stay in... That place?"

His son's eyes darkened as he wrinkled his face

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just curious"

After that, they fell into an awkward silence, his son looked at him silently, and then looked out the window, as if waiting for something to appear. After a long while, he finally gave up and looked at his knees, pursing his lips and wrinkling his eyebrows, crushing the fabric of the sheet that was currently covering him with his little hands

"Something happens?"

He didn't answer him, he continued looking stubbornly at the sheets, as if what he wanted was going to appear by the magic of the holy spirit.

"You need something?"

His son looked up, just for a moment, and glared at the blankets again, Shang Qinghua increasingly felt like he didn't know what to do

"Um, I think I'll get you some tea, okay? Don't try to get out, you're hurt"

He practically ran out of the room, that had been awkward, and easy? Perhaps, it wasn't as complicated as he originally thought, his son was... Understanding? At least by not asking any questions

On his way to the kitchen, he found his king (with an apron?) Kneading with excessive force some balls of dough that contained some herbs inside, so concentrated was he that he did not notice it until he was next to him.

"Qinghua"

"My king, what are you doing?"

"I prepare food for A-Xue"

"Ohh, is that so? Why?"

"He needs to recover, eating will help him, herbs too"

"No no no, I mean, why are you doing it and not the staff?"

"I wanted to do it"

"Ohh"

Mobei-jun glared at the innocent raw dumplings

"But it's harder than it seems"

Shang Qinghua refrained from laughing, that was sooo cutee

"I was just thinking of making he some tea, I can help you my king, and then hand over the tray, I'm sure Baobei will appreciate it."

"Mm, good"

With a smile, he got to work molding (gently) the dough balls (and helping his husband not to destroy them with excessive force), keeping the herbs inside and then placing them in some kind of, oven? (Xianxia Version)

"That should be all, my king."

"Mm"

"Now the only thing missing is the tea"

As he moved to pick up some tea leaves, out of the corner of his eye he could see his king heating the water, with a deep frown and his mouth baring his fangs, as if the teapot had insulted him personally

"Is something wrong my king?"

"Too hot"

"Really? But it's average heat"

"Too hot"

"I don't think it will hurt A-Xue."

"Too hot"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Too hot"

"But- my king..."

"Too hot"

"Okay, okay, I'll put some ice on it, better?"

"Mm"

With a sigh, I add some ice cubes to the teapot

Mobei-jun hummed with satisfaction in response

And Shang Qinghua felt a little silly, but he didn't say anything and with an exasperated sigh (with affection) he took the dough balls out of the oven, piled them on a plate and his king gave him a cup of tea, which he placed next to him to the plate on a tray, and moved immediately to deliver it, his king following him

He paused momentarily in front of the door, somewhat doubtful.

"Something happens?"

"No, nothing, it's nothing"

He grabbed the doorknob tightly and turned, inside the room everything was the same, even the bundle that was sleeping like a burrito

Silently, he approached (with his king at his heels), leaving the tray aside, sat on the bed, watching the burrito's breathing rise and fall, like that, until it suddenly stopped, and Shang Qinghua could hear how the burrito hissed at him angrily, probably for ruining his peaceful sleep

"It's okay, it's just me."

The burrito stopped hissing, only to remove the blankets and look at them, opening his eyes wider as he saw Mobei-jun, who looked back at him with a nod, which his little burrito returned

"Well, um, we brought you some food and tea (that your dad made me fill with ice), erh, we hope you, like it?" 

His bun stopped observing his king to look at him, in silence 

He grabbed one of the dough balls and directed it right to his nose, sniffing it as he squinted at the tea. Shang Qinghua felt a little uncomfortable, at least until he saw melancholy cross his little one's eyes

"There is something wrong?"

 There was no answer, just silence while the boy bit into one of the little balls, looking into his eyes as he chewed, as if he were waiting for something, or that something would happen. After a while, he looked away and continued eating, sometimes drinking the tea

Shang Qinghua did not move, but he almost did, even if it was because of a chill, no one told him that his son was going to be creepy (in a weird way) and intense 

"A-Xue"

His boy hummed in response, Mobei-jun sat on the bed (was his king giant, or was the bed very small?) and looked him in the eyes, having a staring contest, at least for a few minutes, because his King stared at the wall with his eyebrows wrinkled (barely there was a change, my king, please don't teach that to our baby!)  and after a time of consideration, he speak 

"Are you feeling okay? Your demonic test was tough, judging by your injuries"

His bun nodded

"Mm"

... Did he really stick with that answer that could easily be a lie? It's a joke? It is evident everywhere that he is not well, and his king clearly knows it, but he doesn't say anything! Why?! 

"Rest, when you are recovered I will test your strength" 

This time Shang Qinghua did not stop and looked at his king as if he were a demented psychotic

Mobei-jun ignored him in favor of watching his son's reaction, who did not say or show signs of wanting to refuse, so he came out. Shang Qinghua following closely behind him, turning to look back when he was at the door

"My king... Are you sure?" 

"Yes"

"But it's obvious that he's not feeling well..." 

"Yes"

"Then why do you want he to fight you?" 

"Fighting helps" 

"... Since when?" 

"Always, it helps to release the tension and aggressiveness of a demon" 

"If you say so..." 

"Mm"

Maybe a fight will really make him feel better (he doubts it), because he's half-demon? Luo Binghe also had a lot of aggression, but that was mainly because of the Abyss, so... Maybe it's the same with his son because of the Frozen Tundras? I knew it was a bad idea to leave it there! 

"It was better this way" 

"Wha-?"

"No one will try to oppose him, and he will be able to claim the throne without so many problems in the future, despite being a mestizo" 

"How-?" 

"Your face says it all" 

"But how did you know exactly what I was thinking?” 

His king looked away 

"I guessed"

... It really was too obvious, wasn't it? 

"I understand... But anyway I would prefer it to be another way..." 

"Would Qinghua feel better if I said that we already found out where Lianguan-jun is?" 

Oh, God 

"Yes! I would definitely feel better, especially if they catch him and kill him" 

His king's face lit up 

"Mm"

"So what will my king do in the meantime? A-Xue doesn't look like he's going to get up anytime soon"

 "He will get up faster than you think" 

"So, are you going to wait for him?" 

"No, I have better things to do, a lot of paperwork not done"

"Then how will you know if he got up?" 

"A servant would let me know, unless Qinghua prefers to do it himself" 

"No, no, it's okay, I have a lot to do too, see you later then my king!" 

"Mm" 

Okay, now for the boring paperwork that I definitely didn't want to do, but had to do, damn it, why did I create An Ding Peak? What was I thinking?! 

He shuffled until he reached his room (he definitely wasn't going to go to his peak just for this, especially not with his son currently here), and got to work, crying tears of blood to himself

life hates me 

Shang Qinghua gnawed on her nails as he looked at the training ground, his son was there, and his king... 

"Get ready, I won't be sweet to you just because you're my offspring" 

Mo Xue did not answer him 

Mobei-jun didn't expect an answer either

Shang Qinghua watched from his spot as his king began, lunging forward with claws extended to deliver the first blow, something his son quickly dodged and countered with his own claws, tearing the skin from his father's stomach (he was too small in size comparison, like a polar bear next to a meat bun) managing to push his king back a few centimeters. His son attempted to kick his king in the shin, only for his king to stop his kick and pick him up, his king unceremoniously tossing him across the training ground, Shang Qinghua felt his heart in his throat as he watched his bun crash hard against the earth, raising the dust, he had no time to think about his little one's injuries, because his king lunged at the cloud of dust, destroying it with both claws, only for nothing to appear. He was not confused for long, because almost immediately afterwards his son appeared behind his king, his fist raised to hit him on the back of the head

But of course, his son was still quite young, therefore not fast enough, so his king dodged him and grabbed his arm and smashed him to the ground, doing a Hulk-like move to Loki afterwards... He was going to scold him more late for that, he was spending time with his child

And his son turned out to be quite stubborn, he was quite injured (he wasn't healing!! Why wasn't he healing?!) And yet he threw himself at his king, starting to... Bite him? Okay, I understood that they couldn't use their abilities, but was it necessary to use their teeth? Apparently it was not against the rules, because their king smiled (Smiled!)

"Good spirit, use all the tools at your disposal to obtain victory, but that will not be enough against someone much stronger, you will have to be much better"

He grabbed the boy by the neck and lifted him up, throwing him straight to the ground again, on the way to freeing himself from the boy's teeth, he tore much of his skin, which was regenerated almost at the same speed. Mobei-jun had no problem sitting on top of the other, thus ending the fight, which was too fast, but that was not important, the important thing was that his son was bleeding while being crushed, and he was not complaining either!! Damn that must hurt a lot, at least it should be some broken ribs, but his son didn't make a peep!! What the hell did he have to go through that damn test?!

"My king, please get up from our little one, the fight is over, and he is very badly injured"

"It can heal itself"

"But he's not doing it!"

As if he had just noticed (is he serious?!) his king stood up and looked at the crushed figure of the other, who was bleeding out, much faster, shit

"It's in a horrible state!!"

"Yes, why?"

"What do you mean 'why?' Obviously because you two fought and he got hurt badly in the process!"

"But it is a vital part of demons to learn to regenerate"

"Well clearly he doesn't know how to do it!"

Mobei-jun wrinkled his face

"Mm"

Quickly, he grabbed his bun and ran straight to where he knew (or hoped) the infirmary was located, he ran through the hallways like a madman, being closely followed by his king who moved silently.

"Hello?! Is there anyone here!!?"

A nurse (it was a species that he did not remember) approached them when he heard the screams, which he was sure could be heard even in the south

"What is it, your majesty?"

"The prince is losing a lot of blood"

The nurse opened her eyes wide

"Excuse my boldness, your Majesty, but aren't royalty supposed to have a very high level of regeneration?"

"Well apparently he doesn't or hasn't learned it yet"

"I see... Okay, put the prince on the stretcher, luckily for us, our dear prince does not have very serious injuries, although he has many that seem to be from days or months ago, he will survive, but how did he get the recent ones exactly?"

"...Training with his father..."

"...Oh"

From there, the nurse did not ask any more questions, she simply dedicated herself to bandaging, applying ointment and ointments to his son's skin.

"He should be much better in the morning, even if his ability to regenerate quickly has not been learned, his natural nature as a demon is helping him, healing wounds faster than an average human could heal."

"I understand"

"But it would not be good for the prince to do activities that require strength."

Mobei-jun squinted from his spot on the wall, something Shang Qinghua didn't notice, too relieved to notice.

"Thank you"

"There's no reason, it's my job"

Shang Qinghua held his bun in his arms, breathing easier, his son was completely bandaged, up to his head, which made him want to squirm when thinking about the number of wounds he could have at that moment, wounds that a superficial inspection did not reveal could notice

"Sorry"

What-?

"My King?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about the injuries that A-Xue surely had, it was my fault that he ended up so hurt, I wanted to test his strength, and I ended up being too rough"

It was the first time he had seen the kicked puppy expression on his king's face, and he immediately decided he didn't want to see it again

"It's okay, it's not your fault-"

"It is"

"No, my king, you were just excited."

"And that emotion hurt my son, I did not take into consideration his human side"

"Yes, maybe you didn't take into consideration his human side, but it's your first time being a father, obviously you're going to make some mistakes"

His king stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"Does that include almost killing him?"

"Erh, yeah? It's more common than it seems"

Mobei-jun wrinkled his nose

"Humans are weird"

Shang Qinghua couldn't help but laugh out loud

"Yes, we are"

He could see how the corners of his king's lips turned up slightly, he also felt his face a little hot

"We should leave him in his room"

Shang Qinghua practically coughed as he avoided eye contact

"Mm, good"

His king followed him again as they walked to his son's room, in a quite comfortable silence, the only thing that could be heard was his footsteps on the smooth stone of his home

"Could I stay with our son in his room for now, my king?"

Mobei-jun stared at him, confused, almost as if asking him why he is asking for permission.

"Alright"

Shang Qinghua smiled

"Good"

"Mm"

Shang Qinghua considered saying goodbye to his husband with a kiss, but in the end decided not to because of the child and his injuries, so he retired to his son's room once he saw his king disappearing through the corridors.

"If you were in pain, why didn't you say no to your father when he asked about training, or did you insist on continuing?"

He left his son on the bed while he murmured

"That was silly, you could have died, and my king could have felt much guiltier if he ended his own son's life"

I look at his cheeks

"You must have been through a lot there, right?"

He absentmindedly runs his fingers through the hair of his bun

"You're impressive, seriously, even without being the protagonist, and that scares me, maybe the protagonist will end up eliminating you for that reason..."

He let out a sigh and settled down next to the other

"And I'm supposed to be the protagonist's babysitter, how problematic"

That night, he simply slept, hugging his baby, who was not as asleep as he seemed, and was now staring at him, strangely, there was only curiosity in his eyes

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua stared at the ceiling with all his attention, trying with all his might to ignore the small flakes that fell and hit his face, because his son was right next to him, watching him

Why is he in bed and why is his son looking at him so closely? That's easy to answer, although he doesn't even know who he's answering because right now he's just delirious and looking for excuses to remember what happened, it's not like it was a really bad thing to begin with

It's as simple as a sneak attack almost killing his husband and son and he put himself in the middle to prevent that, he got hurt (obviously) and his king went to kill whoever dared while leaving his child behind charge of taking care of him, what is happening now 

"A-Xue, this is completely unnecessary, I'm not going to die just because you lose sight of me, besides the problem has already been solved..." 

His bun didn't move, but his gaze became much more intense

"I have to go to work..."

No matter how hard he tried to get up, he was always pushed back to his starting position.

"Please! They're going to start suspecting me if I don't show up at my peak! I'm now well enough to go back to work, besides the paperwork-"

His bun growled at him, completely disagreeing, even coming much closer to the bed to... Pull his cheeks?! Who taught him to be so condescending to his elders?!

"A-Xue!" 

And now he was completely ignored, great, now his son was acting like a total brat (at least he's not that bad psychologically, if he can be so shameless)

"If you're that worried about me, you can come with me to work!"

His baby stopped bullying his cheeks and proceeded to look at him with all his attention, his little eyes showed a lot of confusion and interest, his son was an adorable brat!! Just like his father!

"What you heard"

The boy looked through his eyelashes at his bába, the little man had already proven to be trustworthy and quite genuine, If he said it, then there was a good chance it was true, and to be honest, humans could be interesting and he could test whether they are as weak as his bába is, because his bába is a big weakling, and if it turned out that he was the strongest of his race, then humanity was lost and the demons were idiots incapable of lifting a single finger, so he nodded determinedly, capable of bathing in blood whoever crossed his path, besides, he could surely discover what happened with-

"Okay, now stop using your powers and treating me like I'm a petty criminal, I'm still your dad, you know?"

His brat of a son at least had the decency to look embarrassed, with his cheeks puffed and pink (Awww)

"Now, go change into something lighter, where I work, which is in the human kingdom, is very hot for an ice demon like you"

His bun fixed his intense gaze now on the furs he wore as clothing, then he approached him and raised his little arms, looking at him with big golden eyes.

"Do you want me to help you?" 

The half-demon's cheeks were dyed again, but this time a neon red that made Shang Qinghua feel unarmed and sweet, so not afraid of being bitten, he squeezed them lightly as he lifted the child in his arms, cooing at his little bun for being the most precious little thing that could exist in the universe, that managed to make his baby turn into a little steaming tomato who was now struggling to free himself from his mortal embrace, which he obviously did not allow and left his room with the child still in his arms, who, by the way, felt more and more mortified by the ridiculous situation in which they had thrown him headlong

Shang Qinghua smiled when he saw the door to his son's room, opened the door with a rude kick and let his baby sulk on the bed while he started searching in the closet

"You really don't have anything even remotely light? I know I wasn't thinking about you leaving the house or that you would go to the human kingdom, but this is ridiculous..."

Obviously there was no response (As usual)

"Well, it doesn't matter, we can manage! We only need the least hot skin there is and an inner tunic that looks like the outside!"

Surprisingly, this time his baby allowed himself to be manipulated to his liking by not moving around like a sardine with rage, everything was easier and faster, perhaps he did feel like going, besides, how would his little one react to the protagonist? Hopefully not as a mush-brained minor villain

"Ready!"

His bun watched him curiously as he pulled out a talisman from his sleeves, even approaching to check his sleeves, letting out a small sound of confusion when he found nothing unusual in them

"You don't see anything there, right? That's normal, it's because of a Qiankun bag that is sewn to my sleeves that I can take out many objects, including this talisman" Shang Qinghua waved it happily "It's very useful"

His son looked at him enthralled, opening his little hands to try to find the secret storage, which Shang Qinghua stopped with a big smile

"No, baby, you're still too small"

The boy looked at him now with something very close to irritation, but he stopped pawing at his sleeves, he really is a very pretty little brat

"Well, let's stop playing games, there's work to do!"

He placed the talisman on the door, generating a very strange gold and green glow just behind this, which went out after a few seconds, Mo Xue could almost even feel less cold than usual 

"Ta daa, here we are, in the human realm, more specifically, at An Ding Peak! What do you think?" 

Shang Qinghua smiled as he opened the door for his little boy, who almost immediately ran to see the inside of what was his office. He couldn't help but sweat slightly when he saw his son's face before his incredible mess of papers and ink

"Um, I swear it's usually a lot neater than this haha..."

His baby gave him an accusatory look

"It's okay! Maybe it is always in that state...."

The boy snorted, but didn't give him a second glance and began to order, flipping through one or another paper before accumulating them in small piles to organize them better later

"Do you know how to read?"

His son nodded

"No, wait, can you read human language?"

His son nodded again

"Wow, that's... Wow"

The boy smiled proudly, puffing out his chest like a cocky little bird would

"Well then, I guess you can help me?"

His baby smiled at him before nodding decisively

"Fine"

And so they began, Shang Qinghua feeling like committing suicide every time more paperwork arrives while his son looks at him with pity and tidies up the entire office, leaving it clean, tidy, and papers classified so that they are easy to access. In addition to his disciples who look curiously at the unknown boy who was definitely not Luo binghe and who bore a mysterious resemblance to their Peak lord

"Son, that's it, it's lunch time, put those papers down"

His son did not look at him as he arranged the same pile of papers containing important matters for the third time, Shang Qinghua sighed deeply

"Come here, it will hurt you not to eat"

The boy turned to see him now, he looked at the pile with strange eyes and then sat next to him on the floor, extending his hands so that they would give him the food

"Now, don't be a little desperate"

His baby puffed out his cheeks angrily, making Shang Qinghua burst into laughter

"I was just joking, don't be mad-"

"Jiujiu!" 

Shang Qinghua couldn't help but grimace as he heard his little protagonist invade his house, much less when he saw the way his son's pupils shrank, as if he recognized a potential threat and was preparing to eradicate it, and sadly that threat was its little seven-year-old protagonist, who froze at the door when he saw a stranger in front of his jiujiu

"Jiujiu, who is it?"

"He is... My son"

"Your son? Jiujiu had a son and he didn't tell anyone?"

"Well-"

"It's none of your business"

Shang Qinghua opened his mouth like a fish, looking at his baby, who had finally spoken words (even though those words went against the protagonist and that was screwed up), that made Shang Qinghua feel better and worse, better because it means that his son was not mute, worse because it means that he never wanted to say a word to him or give him answers despite everything, as if Shang Qinghua was going to do something to him just because he opened his mouth... Shit

As Shang Qinghua sank deeper and deeper into a path of unpleasant thoughts about the reasons why his bun will act like a mute, Luo binghe felt the strange urge to show his fangs to his jiujiu's supposed son

"It is, I am part of his family and I would like to know that he are well-"

"He's fine"

Luo Binghe this time did not hold back a growl, which was immediately leveled by the other boy's growl. Both were silent for a few seconds, analyzing their opponent

"What is your name?"

"It's rude to ask a person for information without giving yours first"

The other half-demon tensed

"This one's name is Luo binghe, what's yours?" 

"Mo Xue"

"Mo?"

"By father" 

"Jiujiu is not your father?"

This time his question went unanswered, because the older boy sat next to his jiujiu, placing one of his small hands on the man's shoulder, who practically jumped when he was abruptly taken out of his thoughts

"Oh, Binghe, son, they're still here"

"Where would we go?"

"Well... I don't know, anywhere?"

"But jiujiu! I came to visit you, why would I leave so soon?"

"How did you know I was here to begin with?"

"Bába put a talisman that will tell him when you will return"

"Oh..."

Shang Qinghua watched his son wrinkle his nose in disgust

"I will remove it"

"No, you will not!"

"Why? You don't need to know if he's coming or not, it's not your problem, he's an adult"

"It is! Because otherwise I wouldn't know where to find it!"

"More reasons to remove it"

"A-Xue! Don't be so mean to Luo binghe!"

"Exactly! I'm younger than you"

"I don't care about that, it just gives me reasons to call you a brat"

Shang Qinghua felt a potential migraine threatening to set in, his son was digging his grave by treating the young protagonist badly, and every time he tried to get in, both boys bared their fangs at him (talk about disrespecting your elders, brats!)

"How can you be so mean coming from someone like jiujiu?!"

"I think you ignore my heritage from my father's side, brat!!"

"I don't care about your father!"

"Well you should, he's a king!"

"My bába and father are Peak lords!"

"My Bába too!"

"You don't even look like his son!"

"And you look like yours?!"

"No but that's something else!"

"Is the same!!"

"No, it is not!"

"Yes, yes it is!"

"No, it is not!"

"Yes, yes it is!"

"NO, IT IS NOT!"

"YES, YES IT IS!"

"ENOUGH BOTH RIGHT NOW!!!"

Both infants fell silent at the same time, looking somewhat fearful as the normally fearful man glared at them

"Stop fighting! Mo Xue, you're older, don't stoop to acting the same" the boy lowered his head while puffing out his cheeks angrily "And you, Luo binghe, stop bothering him! I don't know you're supposed to be old enough?!" The protagonist looked away, embarrassed, Shang Qinghua sighed "Let's go out for a while, I think it would be better for us than here locked in a claustrophobic office" both children looked at him strangely, but he ignored them, beginning to drag them around the yard

The exit was incredibly quiet, if you ignore the sharp looks the kids were suddenly sending each other. The disciples watched the scene amused by how silly and childish it was

Taking them both to Qiong Ding Peak, he really needed Yue Qingyuan to deal with the two unruly fluffs that were the children in his arms (although both his son and Luo binghe normally weren't the least bit unruly, which made the whole situation less common)

"Sect leader..."

"Oh, Shang-shidi, what brings you here?"

With the expression of a man who had been through hell and come back to tell the tale, Shang Qinghua showed the two children who were now ignoring each other like they were kittens, Yue Qingyuan smiled.

"I can see that one is my little Binghe, but the other is...?"

"My son"

"The one you've talked so much about?"

"Yes, the only one I have and probably have"

"I see... And why do they seem to get along badly?"

Shang Qinghua almost cried

"I don't know! They just get along badly..."

"Perhaps it has to do with their demonic heritage? I understand from Xiao-jiu that demons tend to be very territorial and aggressive towards each other, even more so royalty, which is one of the reasons why the demon realm is not unified, no kind of demon likes them to be stronger than they"

"Wait! Jiujiu's son is half-demon too?"

Yue Qingyuan smiled warmly at his son, who now had his eyes shining with the illusion of someone equal to him, even if that person was rude

"Yes, your jiujiu's son is half demon too, his demon half is quite strong, an ice demon, and from the branch of royalty too, since he comes from Mobei-jun, the lord of the north"

"Jiujiu conquered a demon lord?!"

"Yes, that's how impressive it is, Binghe"

Shang Qinghua couldn't help but cough into his fist, everything was too embarrassing, but at least he now had an idea why his son showed so much animosity towards his little protagonist

"Well, leaving aside my love life... What do we do to make them get along?"

"I think having a practice fight would help both of them, it would show that they are not a potential threat or that they were looking to seriously harm the other"

Both boys' eyes lit up at the prospect of a fight, although where Luo Binghe seemed happy to test forces with another half-demon, his son seemed happy to crush the threat he considered the other boy

"If you consider it sensible..."

"Yes, I'll call Xiao-jiu too, I'm coming"

Shang Qinghua grimaced at the prospect

It was not sensible at all, his son practically swept the floor with his young protagonist, which now not only increased the animosity (in some strange way), it also caused an incredibly dark look from the scumbag villain that meant that nothing good was coming

"Next time I will be the winner!"

"Who says there will be a second time?"

"You won't visit jiujiu again?"

"I live with him, genius"

Luo binghe grimaced

"Anyway, next time you return to the human realm, I will be the winner!"

His son scoffed

"First take care of your wounds, then think about training, it will end badly for you if you don't protect your butt"

"Yes, it's true!"

Shang Qinghua became even more silent as he watched his baby pat his protagonist's curls a few times.

"We'll see you later, weakling"

"As you say, 'bun' "

The boy wrinkled his nose at the nickname his bába used to address him coming out of that weakling's lips

"Shut up"

Luo binghe couldn't help the laugh that escaped from his chest, even having to double over when the older boy tried to silence him

"A-Xue, it's time to go, leave poor Binghe"

"There's nothing 'poor' about it!"

Shang Qinghua smiled

"Whatever you say, let's go" before Shen Qingqiu decides to kick us out

His baby snorted, but nodded

"See you later! Sect Leader, Shen-shixiong, Binghe!"

"Bye!"

Only Yue Qingyuan and Luo binghe said goodbye

Shen Qingqiu was very busy looking at the back of the brat of Shang Qinghua, who was holding hands with his father with a rather relaxed look too

"A-Xue, are we seriously going back to the silent treatment?"

The boy nodded

"God, why?"

There was no answer

"Qinghua, is something wrong?"

"My king! Today our son met the other half-demon, he defeated him, he even SPOKE! And now he doesn't want to talk again no matter how much I ask him to..."

Mobei-jun stared at his son, receiving the same look

"Good job"

His bun blinked slowly, looking at him in a daze

"Good job, you defeated another half-demon"

Their king gave a small proud smile at his baby

"My lord! You are needed in the main room to announce some things"

One of the servants interrupted the moment, which earned him two withering looks that made him tremble like a leaf

"Fine"

Mobei-jun grunted as he moved towards where he had been told. Shang Qinghua silently watched his king's back, which with each step moved further away

"Bába... When do we return to the human realm?"

Shang Qinghua stared at his bun, who was looking with shining eyes at the path where his king had gone

"Um, I finished everything I had to do, so in a few months maybe?"

"Mm"

The boy turned around, retreating to the hallways that led to his room, leaving Shang Qinghua alone

"What did I do to have such a strange family?" 

There was no answer 

Chapter Text

Luo binghe no longer knew what to think about his jiujiu's son, he had no idea what to feel either, but that was mainly because his jiujiu's son was a confused bastard

His jiujiu's son was not someone kind, definitely not, nor was he someone of many words, because when he spoke, at least to him, they were always icy and sarcastic words, but not poisonous or truly sharp, it was as if he was simply his usual way of speaking and not a mood, which was more strange considering that his jiujiu's son was also very rude. To add to the rarity of his jiujiu's son, in some rare cases he would even help him improve something regarding his demonic cultivation, always with teasing in between of course, but he helped him at the end of the day, which earned him a great increase in his abilities, which his bába made him counteract with more human cultivation so that he would not have unbalanced

Although it's not like those increases in his cultivation were a bad thing, rather they were incredibly positive, since if it weren't for their help, he might have had a lot of trouble advancing his cultivation and would have been left stagnant, or worse, his core human consumed the demonic one, killing it in the process, so that was something to thank the son of his jiujiu

It's also that it became part of his routine, in a way, since his jiujiu's son was not someone he saw often, but he always visited the human realm every two weeks, which in addition to meaning more practice in demonic cultivation, It also meant more beatings, because every time they met, they had a friendly fight, which ended with his jiujiu's son kicking his butt, and his jiujiu's son wasn't even making an effort, rather he set limits to, according, not ending his short existence and painting a red target on his family in the process, and that is entirely the fault of bába and his threats

"Binghe, what are you thinking about?"

Luo binghe looked into his jiujiu's eyes, then at the empty space beside him

"jiujiu's son didn't come today"

His jiujiu laughed

"No, he did come, but he is busy with my paperwork because he gave himself the task of being my personal secretary."

"Personal secretary?"

"Yes! He does part of my work, he helps me with finances and the paperwork"

"Like a head disciple?"

"Yes... something like that"

"So he is your head disciple?"

"Uh, he hasn't even been accepted by the sect..."

"So he'll take the test?"

"I would have to ask him"

"That would make him part of An Ding, right?"

"Do not damage anything recklessly"

"I wasn't planning to do it"

Jiujiu sighed in a way that made Binghe realize that he was holding back his laughter. He couldn't stop the heat from rising to his cheeks

"That's good, because if not they're bound to destroy something later, and I don't think either of us wants your bába breathing down our necks, right?"

Binghe turned pale

"Yes..."

"Anyway, I don't think A-Xue wants to be in An Ding, he will most likely choose Qing Jing or Bai Zhan, it's more his style"

"Is jiujiu sure about that?" 

"Yes, why?"

Because the way your son clings to you makes it unlikely that he will leave your side so easily. Obviously he didn't say it out loud

"No reason"

Jiujiu stared at him suspiciously, but did not question him further

"I think I left some melon seeds on my office table, I'll be right back."

"I'll accompany you!"

Su jiujiu stared at him again, it seems that his son's habits were rubbing off on him...

"Alright?"

Binghe walked across the rainbow bridge calmly, well, not so calmly, he was secretly preparing some explosive talismans, for when he inevitably faces the other in a fight again, they had been effective last time, although his jiujiu's son probably won't fall for the same thing twice

"A-Xue I'm back!"

"Mm"

At the desk where his jiujiu normally sat, his son was there, with ink black hair tied up in a simple braid, his ever-golden eyes shone contemplatively as he looked at a document that Luo Binghe recognized as what needed to be repaired and changed at every peak, and apparently it was something unpleasant, judging by how the older boy's eyebrows arched slightly in irritation and how his nostrils flared trying to hide his bad mood

"Oh, something wrong this time?"

"Yes, it's like they can't watch their asses and the only thing they know how to do well is demand and ask as if you owe them something"

His jiujiu made a choking noise as he looked at his son in alarm

"A-Xue!!"

His jiujiu's son snorted

"I'm not lying, they are like babies unable to keep their hands still, not to mention those at Bai Zhan Peak, those look like beasts with walnut brains"

Luo binghe almost laughed at such a perfect representation, his strangled noise caught the attention of his jiujiu's son, who only wrinkled his eyebrows more, but now with more confusion than irritation

"What are you doing here?"

"Accompanying Jiujiu"

The other's eyes wandered from his face to his nervous jiujiu, then he snorted

"Of course you do"

And then he just... He ignores him, turning his attention back to the papers, scribbling with impressive speed

"A-Xue, can I go back to work now?"

"No"

Binghe watched silently as his jiujiu withered as he was denied the job

"Why? You've been doing my job for quite some time already..."

"You are overloaded, rest"

"Oh, come on! I'm not used to so much inactivity..."

"Eat melon seeds and visit your fellow peak lords, that's enough mental exercise for one day"

His jiujiu pouted, ignoring what Binghe could easily identify as disrespect, strangely funny

"Why do you treat the rest of the peak lords so badly? A-Xuee"

"They are not worth it"

"Bába and father are worth it!"

Luo binghe could notice the moment when the small bubble they had created broke, the golden one headed in his direction, looking at him without any expression

"That depends, it's not like your baba will treat mine much better than the others, but at least it's decent" 

Binghe had to admit that his jiujiu's son had a good point.

"Well, that's true... But they're still worth it!"

His jiujiu's son looked at him, and then nodded

"Yes, in a way"

And he continued with what he was doing, his jiujiu seemed like he couldn't take it anymore and sat down in a chair next to his son, eating melon seeds while beckoning him over, placing him precariously close to each other

"My little one's braid is already coming undone, what if we make you a new one?"

The nickname didn't seem to affect the other, but only if one wasn't looking carefully, because his jiujiu's son had red ears

"Mm, 'we make'?"

"Oh yes, Binghe will help me"

"... Well"

Yes, Luo binghe did not expect that his jiujiu would propose such a thing, much less that the other would accept, so now he found himself in the situation he was in, hands in his incredibly soft onyx hair, but also somewhat cold, rather, If he thought about it, his jiujiu's son's entire skin was cold, but not unbearably cold, but like an autumn breeze, that was nice, but it also made him want to poke the other, so he waited until jiujiu went to make mooncakes

"Your hair is really soft, what are you doing to it? Is it also perfumed? My bába also likes to take good care of his hair, he gets easily irritated if someone other than him touches it, he doesn't even let Father"

"Mm"

"Also, bába also loves to try all kinds of hair lotions, whether scented or not, his bathroom is full, even incredibly expensive soaps, do you use them?"

An easy way to annoy his jiujiu's son was to compare him to a human, especially his bába, it was enough to make him bristle like a cat

"No"

"No? But then how do you have such shiny and silky hair?"

"It has always been like this"

"Even the faint scent of rosemary and lemon?"

"..."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of, everyone always perfumes their hair, bába for example likes the smell of bamboo and earth"

His jiujiu's son responded by pinching his cheek hard, which rather than making him feel intimidated, made him laugh a lot

"Shut up"

Binghe looked at him with big kicked puppy eyes

"But I didn't say anything bad, I'm just telling you something that's true"

His jiujiu's son pinched his cheeks even harder in response

"Shut your mouth and fight with me"

"Now you're just being cruel to me for no reason!"

"Shut up and fight!"

Luo binghe barely had time to react when he already had his jiujiu's son on top of him, cruelly pinching his nose, only to release them to hit him on the forehead with a finger

"Will you let yourself be defeated so easily?"

Binghe smiled

"Never"

The scene that Shang Qinghua encountered was basically:

All their papers were thrown everywhere as if a hurricane had passed and in the middle of all the mess were the two children rolling on the floor while pinching each other, completely disheveled and laughing like true maniacs, Shang Qinghua decided that it was best to watch them quietly and not interrupt his play time

Although more and more he considered separating them when he saw them crushing and crumpling papers that could probably be important, only stopping when he saw them laughing as liberally and foolishly as the infants they still were (his son was already ten, a year since he returned and about five months since he and Binghe met, and their protagonist is already eight... I feel old waaa) They finally stopped after about an hour (it was really no joke how much pent up energy a demon could have, something that his butt confirms, even if it's only half)

After that tough fight, Luo Binghe felt exhausted and satisfied, as if one of his most primitive instincts was satiated after leaving a few bruises on the other's pale skin

"You're getting better" 

Both children stared at each other 

"You've improved since last time too" 

His jiujiu's son wrinkled his face 

"Of course" 

Binghe lay down on the ground in response

"How hard is it to be your father's heir?"

Mo Xue didn't give him an answer right away, seeming more interested in deciding whether to lie down beside him or kick him. In the end, he chose to lean against the desk, staring in miserable silence at the mess he was obviously going to have to pick up on impulse

"It depends on how you see it" 

"'It depends on how you see it'? "

"Yes, for some it may be the best thing that ever happened to them, for others a nightmare from which they would like to escape and never be responsible again, I honestly am not very interested" 

"You're not interested?" 

"No, it's more interesting to see monsters and plants than to keep an eye on a clan that obviously despises you." 

"Oh... Well..." 

"Don't bother saying anything about it, the servants' comments are enough for me "

"... Well"

Amber eyes looked at him with laziness and resignation

"Changing people's opinion of how they see you is difficult only if they see you negatively, if they see you positively, it will only take one mistake, and they will want you dead" 

"How you're so insensitive to that? "

"Who says I am?"

"It is what it seems..." 

"Appearances are deceptive"

"True.."

Mo Xue let out a deep sigh

"I better pick all this up"

"I help you" 

"No thanks, I don't want your hands on important documents"

"They may be important, but you did not hesitate to crush them to attack me." 

"You-!"

"Kids, I'm back!"

Finally Shang Qinghua decided to make his entrance, as that could easily end up in another argument that would end in a fight where his paperwork would really become a disaster 

"Dad... I'm sorry about... the paperwork..."

Mo Xue bowed as low as he could, causing Shang Qinghua to become frantic  

"No! It's okay, nothing's wrong-!"

"Jiujiu!"

A perfectly contained sigh developed in Shang Qinghua's throat

"Yes Binghe?" 

"Can you ask him now?" 

"Ask what?" 

"The test thing!"

"Ah"

"What test ?"

Mo Xue watched with silent interest the way his Dad squirmed

"Uh, the one about joining the sect, I was wondering if you wanted to participate, you're already the right age and all that..." 

Binghe looked expectantly at the older boy's blank face

"Don't I have to prepare myself as a future ruler?" 

"Not exactly... You're still very young and so is your father, it will be a long time before you have to act as a true successor and even longer before you have to act as a ruler, so we thought it might be a good way to-" 

"Okay, I accept" 

"-take advantage of your childhood and core... Wait, really?!" 

"Yes"

"I thought you would be more resistant to the idea..." 

"Why ?"

"You don't like humans... "

"Dad is human, I like Dad, Dad is a cultivator and lord of the peak, what's the point?" 

"Um..."

"So? I agree to join the sect." 

"Well, uh" 

"Remember that you have to take the initiation test!”

Mo Xue looked irritably at the excited Binghe  

"Fight me"

"We are still in the jiujiu office!"

"Fight me outside"

"Don't be annoying! 

"And you coward"  

"Last time I won!" 

"Liar" 

"Okay! Okay, guys! Calm down! No fighting! You've had enough for one day." 

Both of them stuck their tongues out in annoyance, Shang Qinghua already felt the migraine coming on, which finished forming when Shen Qingqiu appeared at his door, watching the mess with indifference

"I see you brought your little beast"

"He's not a little beast Shen-Shixiong..."

Shen Qingqiu did not give him a single glance, instead he looked at Binghe

"Who said you could run away to go to another lord's peak?"  

"Uh, but I just went to accompany jiujiu..."

"It doesn't matter"

Shang Qinghua watched as little Bunghe withered away... And he also watched as his baby was seconds away from pouncing on Shen Qingqiu with his fangs bared

"Um, Shen-Shixiong?"

"What?"

"If it's not too much trouble, could you let Binghe stay and play a little longer?" 

"No"

"Okay..."

This was going to be more complicated than it seemed

"... But meeting with children who look like him could be-" 

"Counterproductive, I say no again"

He could only passively watch as his Bunghe was taken away while grabbing his lil bean's shoulder. Who looked like he was about to actually bite the reformed villain

"...I hate Shen Qingqiu"

"I can see it, he probably knows it too..."

"Let him know, I don't care"

“A-Xue…” 

“No”

He sigh with resignation

"Okay... Let's go home?"

Mo Xue first watched as Binghe disappeared, when he was out of sight 
he finally looked at him, something similar to anxiety circulating in his gaze

"What's with all the paperwork? It's scattered and... damaged, I guess."

“…”

If any divinity heard him, it was not too late to kill him and send his soul to the next cycle of reincarnation without papers. Although that will leave his little baby alone and his husband too... BETTER NOT

"We will pick it up, another day other than today, preferably"

”Okay”

His baobei took his hand and started to drag him

"I think dad finally managed to grow melon seeds, let's go see if they are ripe or ready to eat"

…

"By the way, it's better to let your disciples take care of the mess, you have them for a reason"

"They are not servants..."

"Close enough"