Chapter Text
Once upon a time, far off in an enchanted land, where the sun always shone brightly, where little foxes frolic in grassy fields, and where the birds never cease their songs; there lived a young man with long, silky, black hair as dark as ink, with the gentlest sunkissed skin, and the sweetest peach blossom eyes, along with soft lips as pink as a peony.
Every day, the young man would head to the marketplace to run some errands, get distracted by some animal running into the woods, play with the village children and tease them for a while, visit the small library in town to borrow some books, before going back home in the afternoon way past the time he should already have arrived home.
‘Shen Yuan!’ A booming voice called out. ‘Where have you been, you little rascal?’
Shen Yuan threw the books that he borrowed earlier onto the floor and kicked them under a bookshelf.
‘Nowhere! I just came back from buying the groceries. Ahhh- Ow!’
‘You only went buying groceries?’ The other man sneered as he continued to pull on Shen Yuan's ear. ‘Then how do you explain that hair of yours that looks like a rat's nest? And this large patch of mud on your clothes?’
‘Baba, please stop!’ Shen Yuan whined before the other man released his grip on the young man's ear.
The man humphed before turning away and heading to the kitchen. To most people, this pair of individuals might not seem close because of how their interactions looked at first glance, but out of everyone, Shen Yuan knew the most that his baba, Shen Jiu, was not what he seemed to look like. Sure, he can act cold and distant all he liked, but that man can't stop a smile from forming on his lips at the first taste of a tanghulu, and will still insist on teaching the village children when he's sick even if he's not exactly the best teacher around (Shen Yuan was his Baba's only full-time student, and oh how his Baba's punishments are despairing). Oh, and don't remind Shen Yuan of how his Baba always acted insufferably around Yue Qingyuan too, always denying his Diedie's affections, but secretly enjoying the attention (Can't hide the face blushing!).
When Shen Yuan heard Shen Jiu's disgruntled murmuring about Yue Qingyuan always returning home late and the sound of water running in the sink from the kitchen, he quietly tiptoed to the kitchen and placed the basket of groceries onto a countertop before sneakily going back to the living room to get his hidden books and dashed upstairs into the comfort of his bedroom.
The door of Shen Yuan's bedroom was slammed open and the young man leapt into his bed, the books flying along with him too before landing on the bed.
‘Let's see what we have here,’ Shen Yuan absentmindedly said to himself, ‘Mythical Beasts of the East, A Complete Guide of Magical Flora, and What To Do With Parts of A Plant. I think I'll do notes on these later.’
The young man put those books aside and brought out the next pile of books.
'The Whispering Shore and The Owl in the Storm? That looks new.’ Shen Yuan mused to himself.
There was only one last book left, and Shen Yuan made sure to glance around to check if there was anyone nearby even though he was all alone in his bedroom.
With a great sigh, the young man held the book in his hands, the bright red cover of the book staring back at him. The book’s title, printed with a golden colour, stood out like a candlelight in a dark room, and if anyone who regularly read books saw the words on the cover, for sure they would have a deep flush of red on their face, because that book was none other than Proud Immortal Demon Way; the ultimate male power fantasy of a stallion novel, with the protagonist being an absolute overpowered hunk of a guy, and a harem size nearing three-digits seeing as every single female character fell for the protagonist. Truly, this novel covered all of the fantasies you would expect from most teenage boys!
To dumb it down, the plot revolves around Luo Bingge, narrating his epic saga as he grew from an innocent young boy that constantly got beaten up from the cruel people around him then discovering his demonic heritage and becoming so powerful that he managed to exact revenge on everyone that had wronged him and took control of both the Demon Realm and the Human Realm, while amassing a number of beautiful women as his wives that would be equivalent to the average population of a town.
This trope was very appealing to the lonely teen boys out there, and thus the novel's popularity even soared beyond the country and garnered a huge fanbase in further Western countries, to the point that there were already five fully translated versions of the series and still counting. The target demographic and… indulgent…nature of the novel's content caused it to have an infamous reputation, so many people that considered themselves to have a shred of dignity often criticised the novel and made fun of its fans.
Shen Yuan was also one who highly valued his dignity, and yet… Proud Immortal Demon Way was like a guilty pleasure of his. With its worldbuilding incomparable to any other known works, captivating layers of mystery after mystery, and riveting plotlines, how could a literature enthusiast like Shen Yuan not be entranced? If one could see past the uncomfortably vivid descriptions of bouncy breasts and plump buttocks of a woman every two pages, that is, one would realise that Proud Immortal Demon Way’s story was actually on par with most highly-rated fantasy novels of that time.
That was why Shen Yuan was currently giddy with excitement as he admired the artwork of Luo Bingge in all of his glory at the front pages of the novel. It seemed like this copy of the novel was a limited edition version, because the design of the novel was of higher quality and there was even a signature from the author, albeit their signature only being a single character, ‘Shang’.
However, Shen Yuan’s excitement was only short-lived.
When the young man read the first sentence in the first chapter, a feeling of familiarity washed over him. Then his disappointment only grew as he continued to read through the chapter.
Well, fuck. He’d read through this entire chapter before. Heck, he already finished the entire book! Shen Yuan didn’t notice it earlier, but this was actually the limited edition copy of Volume 9 of Proud Immortal Demon Way, the exact same book he had finished reading last night, just with a different design that fooled him into thinking that it was a different volume. It’s just that the design of this copy of the novel looked too good to ignore, so Shen Yuan unwittingly grabbed the book off the shelf in the library in a hurry without checking which volume he took.
Shen Yuan was distraught. After all, acquiring the novel without anyone knowing was incredibly difficult to do, because whenever he went out to town, there would always be at least one person pestering him. And to add salt to the wound, Shen Yuan was actually excited and looking forward to reading Volume 10 of the novel series, which was the final volume in the series of Proud Immortal Demon Way. He’d been waiting for months for the release of the final volume, always rereading the novels again and again, and when he heard that the novel was brought to the library today, he was the first to show up at the library to borrow the book.
Now Shen Yuan’s chance to binge-read the novel was gone. Sure, he could always borrow the novel from the library at any other time, but then, not being the first to read the novel would mean that someone had to read it before him, and there was a chance that same person had jacked off while reading the novel. Shen Yuan had learnt this the hard way when he unsuspectingly borrowed a novel from the library that looked normal at first glance. Yeah. Horrifying.
Dejected, the young man lay on the bed, staring into the ceiling up above before screaming into a pillow.
Can’t give up. I need to get up and get going, Luo Bingge’s voice echoed in Shen Yuan’s ears.
A sudden wave of determination surged in Shen Yuan.
That’s right, Shen Yuan thought, I need to get up and get going if I want to get something I want.
Granted, it was a bit inappropriate to compare the protagonist’s suffering as he practically fought for his life in a hellscape, not knowing whether he would live to see another day, with Shen Yuan’s dismay of not being able to read the novel from his favourite series, but Luo Bingge’s quote from the novel gave enough motivation for Shen Yuan to get up from his bed and do something about it.
The sky outside was starting to become painted with streaks of vermillion and orange, and the songs of the birds seemed calmer and more soothing. The streets of the village became quieter as people returned from the fields and more shops were closing up. If one listened closely, they could hear the merry chatting and cheering from the tavern in the middle of the village getting louder, as more people visited the tavern after a whole day of work to unwind.
Perfect. There were less people hanging out in the village now. Shen Yuan snuck out the window, careful to avoid making any loud noise. He made sure to look around one last time for any peering eyes. Thankfully, there was nothing else that was of note other than the fact that Shen Jiu was no longer in the kitchen, instead now having tea in the garden with Qi Qingqi, one of the only people with a character competent enough to keep up with Shen Jiu's personality. Shen Yuan didn't realise when she had arrived, but he deemed her as not too much of a threat to his escapade and continued his way.
The cool breeze of the evening was chilly against the young man's skin as he swiftly jumped from building to building. It was a very exhilarating experience, and he wondered if this was what the birds felt as they flew in the sky. Oh, how he wished to touch the sky too, but his parents, especially his baba, forbade him from flying on his sword. Perhaps he could one day, when Shen Jiu trusted in his abilities (Probably never). But for now, Shen Yuan would need to rely on Luo Bingge describing his first-hand experience of flying in the sky, holding on to a woman’s waist that was bound to be Wife No. 276, as the pair rode on a sword and flew into the distance.
After some time, Shen Yuan finally saw the familiar outline of the building of the library. Faint light spilled out from one of the windows, and the young man approached it.
A young girl was sitting at a study desk, surrounded by piles of books. A sword casually laid beside her, and she was currently reading a book, her face expressing one of relaxation that could be seen even when it was half-covered with a lilac veil.
Shen Yuan knocked on the window. The girl looked up from her book in surprise and got up to open the window.
‘Shen Yuan?’ The girl asked incredulously. ‘What are you doing here?’
The young man welcomed himself into the room even though the girl didn't say anything else yet.
‘Mingyan, I need Volume 10 of… You know, that series.’ Shen Yuan said in a hushed voice.
Liu Mingyan raised her eyebrows. ‘I thought you already came to get it this morning?’
Shen Yuan shook his head, facepalming into his hand. ‘Weelll, it was the wrong volume.’
The girl stared at Shen Yuan for a while before letting out an exasperated sigh. ‘Fine,’ She muttered, ‘I’ll get the one that you want for you.’
Shen Yuan grinned. ‘Thanks, Mingyan, you’re the best!’
‘Whatever you say.’ Liu Mingyan replied as she began to scour through the bookshelves. As she was busy searching, Shen Yuan helped himself on the couch, lazing around while he waited.
‘Why do you want to borrow this book so badly anyway?’ Liu Mingyan's voice suddenly broke through the silence.
‘Hmph! You really don't get it? This is the last volume of the series that has been going around for years!’ The young man scoffed. ‘You like reading too, and here I thought we shared a common ground about obsessing over our interests.’
‘Alright, alright, I get it.’ Liu Mingyan replied curtly. ‘Here, take this so-called amazing novel of yours.’
Shen Yuan gently took the novel from Liu Mingyan's hands, treating it as if it was some sort of artifact. ‘Thanks, Mingyan! Your books honestly make this small village feel larger.’
‘Yes, yes.’ Liu Mingyan spoke while waving her hand dismissively. ‘You should go back now, before both you and I get an earful.’
And with that, Shen Yuan was dragged and pushed outside of the window. He only managed to wave goodbye before the window was slammed shut on his face.
Ah, he was always treated so coldly by that girl. Well, at least he got his desired book now, so all's well that ends well anyway.
The sky was getting dark, and the lights of the village became brighter, creating a picturesque view. The air was chilly and refreshing, and seeing as there was nobody in the streets now, Shen Yuan thought it would be nice to stroll in the streets for a while before heading home.
Dried leaves, browns and yellows, circled around Shen Yuan as the wind blew them playfully. The young man was so distracted by them that he didn't hear the sound of footsteps behind him.
‘Shen Yuan?’ A disarmingly familiar voice called out.
Shen Yuan turned around to see who had called his name, and the leaves dancing around him fell to the ground when the wind stopped blowing as soon as he saw who it was
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
(Scene with Qiu Jianluo begins)
‘Ah - Lord Qiu.’ Shen Yuan barely acknowledged him. ‘You’re back.’
‘Yes, I have.’ The man reached out his hand. ‘And how have you been?’
Shen Yuan stepped back. ‘I’m fine. Thanks for asking.’
‘I see.’ An odd smile made its way to Qiu Jianluo's face. ‘You know, I just came back from the capital.’
Shen Yuan wanted to excuse himself politely and run away, but unfortunately, he had backed off into a wall. And right above him was a roof, so he couldn't just jump up and away.
‘So what was it like at the capital?’ The young man asked to distract the man advancing towards him. ‘It must always be so exciting to see new sights.’
Qiu Jianluo nodded. ‘Indeed. There's always something new to see at the capital every day.’
The other man was now standing right in front of Shen Yuan, completely trapping him.
‘But you know what?’ Qiu Jianluo asked out of the blue.
Shen Yuan tried not to flinch when the other man reached out for his hair and started to play with it. ‘W-What is it?’ The young man stammered.
Qiu Jianluo brought Shen Yuan's hair to his lips. ‘I couldn't see you when I was at the capital, so I was a little sad about it.’
‘Oh!’ Shen Yuan replied, his voice getting higher from panicking. ‘Okay.’
The other man touched Shen Yuan's cheek and started to caress it, much to the younger man's dismay.
‘But don’t let that pretty head of yours worry about me.’ Qiu Jianluo chuckled. ‘In fact, I got you a little something from the capital.’
Shen Yuan was beyond merely panicking, but his interest got piqued a bit. ‘Thank you.’ The young man said. ‘What is it?’
Qiu Jianluo smirked and brought out a small box from his expensive-looking robes.
‘It’s lipstick. The finest and most expensive one currently; all the noblewomen are clamoring to get their hands on this.’
Yeah, Shen Yuan thought, I sure do love wearing lipstick for middle-aged wine aunts.
Qiu Jianluo took out the lipstick from its box and uncapped it. ‘How pretty would you be when wearing this shade I specifically chose for you, I wonder.’
Shen Yuan was caught off guard when Qiu Jianluo began applying the lipstick on his lips. The young man could tell that the other man was trying to be as careful and gentle as possible, but when he was finally done, Shen Yuan could feel the lipstick messily smeared all over his mouth.
‘Oh, you have no idea just how lovely you look.’
Shen Yuan forced a smile. ‘Um. Yes.’
Qiu Jianluo returned the lipstick back to its box and placed it in Shen Yuan's hand.
‘So what do you think of it?’ The other man inquired with a toothy grin.
‘Well, I’m more of a lip gloss kind of person.’ The young man murmured before frantically shaking his head. ‘Not that I don’t like this or anything! Really, I do appreciate this gift. ’
Qiu Jianluo smiled. ‘If that’s what you think so. I’ll be sure to give you what you actually want the next time I'm going back to the capital.’
In his mind, Shen Yuan was scolding himself for suggesting another item to Qiu Jianluo. At this point the girls in the village were pretty much spoiled by Shen Yuan because of the amount of stuff from Qiu Jianluo that he secretly gave out to them.
‘Wait! You don't need to give me so many things, you know.’ The young man blurted out.
Qiu Jianluo took Shen Yuan's hand and brought it to his lips. ‘Nonsense. Whatever Shen Yuan wants, I'll always try to get it if I can.’
Then his eyes met with Shen Yuan’s, his stare burning into the young man intensely. Shen Yuan felt like a small animal being cornered by a tiger.
‘Shen Yuan doesn’t need to repay me back, though…This one would like to ask for something from you.’
The young man’s ears perked up but his gaze remained averted. ‘Oh…What can I do for you?’
Qiu Jianluo got even closer, his breaths warm on the young man’s face. He took both of Shen Yuan’s hands together and brought them to his chest.
‘You don’t have to do anything much. Just a kiss.’
Shen Yuan’s mind went blank for a second before alarm bells started blaring inside of his head.
‘Wait, what?! That’s…I…’
Shen Yuan tried to push against Qiu Jianluo’s chest. He really didn’t want to do this kind of ‘woman from a good family resisting a ruffian’ pose, but the other man was getting way more touchy than he’d liked.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
(Scene with Qiu Jianluo ends)
‘Shen Yuan?’
Both Shen Yuan and Qiu Jianluo turned to the voice speaking to them. From the shadows, a striking visage, fair and dewy as the verdant willow, appeared out of nowhere. Yet that person bore a piercing stare that could cut through anyone like a knife, and they were watching the pair intently.
Qiu Jianluo immediately released Shen Yuan from his firm grip, and Shen Yuan tried really hard to make his sigh of relief inaudible.
‘Liu-gege?’ The young man excitedly called out and ran towards the newcomer.
Despite the bloodstained sword in the other man’s hand, his unkempt appearance, and looks that could kill, Shen Yuan was happy to see the return of a friend after so long and trusted him way more than the foreboding lord anyway. Qiu Jianluo, however, did not share the young man’s enthusiasm to see the proclaimed War God of Cang Qiong, so while the beauty and the brute of the village enjoyed their little reunion, Qiu Jianluo silently slipped away into the darkness of a nearby alley.
Soon enough, Shen Yuan noticed the lack of presence of Qiu Jianluo. ‘Huh? Did he go already?’
‘Yes. Did he do anything to you?’ Liu Qingge asked with a rare hint of worry in his voice.
‘Liu-gege!’ Shen Yuan exclaimed. ‘He won’t do anything bad to me! Also, it’s not nice to assume someone like that.’
Liu Qingge simply ignored the young man’s remarks and grabbed his hand instead. Shen Yuan kept squirming at first, trying to escape from his friend's strong grasp, but eventually gave up and allowed himself to be dragged by Liu Qingge. Eventually, the pair stopped frisking about and settled on a slow pace, leisurely walking on the streets of the village.
The sky was now a complete black canvas, making the bright glow of the moon and the stars stand out as the foreground. A few clouds drifted by, covering the outline of the moon but not its light. The songs of the birds did not come to a halt, though their melody has changed: The merry chirps and tweets of the canaries may be over, so the lullabies of the nightingales began. Serenading the song was a choir of crickets, and even the croaking frogs acted as the backing vocals.
‘It's a beautiful night, isn't it?’ Shen Yuan mused.
‘Mn.’ Liu Qingge agreed. ‘I’ve been so busy lately that I haven't been able to even watch the world like this. I should talk to Mingyan sometime.’
Interest stirred inside of Shen Yuan. ‘What have you been doing recently?’
Liu Qingge stared off into the distance. Did you realise anything strange recently?’
Shen Yuan scratched his head, trying to rack his brains. ‘Well, the birds do sound quieter than usual. Hmm, and more animals are hanging out in the countryside too. In fact, baba is a bit stressed out lately because he's been trying ways to get rid of the wild cats that keep messing up the garden.’
An exasperated sigh left Shen Yuan's mouth. ‘No matter what he does, more and more wild cats keep coming to visit. Just yesterday, a tiger came and rolled around in the lemongrass patch!’
Liu Qingge blinked. ‘That’s… an interesting observation. How about anything else?’
‘Anything else?’ Shen Yuan wondered. ‘Probably the sudden influx of visitors in the village nowadays. Madame Qi must be bathing with money right now because of the large number of visitors staying in her inn. Also, there’s been so many patients waiting in line at the clinic nowadays that the physicians had to call Lord Mu from the capital for assistance.’
‘Right.’ Liu Qingge agreed. ‘And what do these patients share in common?’
Shen Yuan furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation. ‘Ah, I got it!’ He cried out. ‘Most of them had bite marks and scratches all over their body.’
Liu Qingge nodded, urging the young man to go on.
‘Hmm, I think I know what’s going on.’ Then Shen Yuan’s expression darkened. ‘Oh…Oh no.’
A withered flower fell from the branch of a nearby magnolia tree, slowly floating towards the ground. Shen Yuan caught it with the swift movement of his hand before it could land.
‘You must’ve caught on with what I was thinking.’ Liu Qingge said solemnly. ‘Those people were passing through and got attacked by the animals.’
‘But the animals don’t like to go near humans!’ Shen Yuan cried out. ‘They won’t bother anyone that leaves them alone. Unless…Something has been driving them out of the forest?’
A steely look glinted in Liu Qingge’ eyes. ‘Exactly. In the north, there’s been incidents of people getting kidnapped in Bailu Forest, especially young women.’
Shen Yuan gulped. ‘Oh, that-that’s terrible.’
Liu Qingge gave a reassuring pat on Shen Yuan’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. All of the victims are only missing for a few days before they’re found alive. Though they may have been physically unscathed, their mental state however…is not.’
Shen Yuan cocked his head quizzically. ‘What do you mean?’
Liu Qingge cleared his throat. ‘All of the victims report being held captive in a cellar by a hideous beast. However, for some reason, the beast never actually harms them. The most it will do is just threaten to kill someone. Still, this results in a state of paranoia in the victims that lasts for a few days. ’
‘It seems that this beast specifically wants something.’ Shen Yuan hypothesised.
‘Maybe. But it doesn’t matter.’ Liu Qingge glanced at the sword on his hip. ‘What's most important right now is to eliminate this threat.’
Liu Qingge's sword faintly shimmered, mirroring Shen Yuan's own reflection on the blade even in the dark of the night. While the War God of Cang Qiong continued to speak, Shen Yuan was deep in his own thoughts, lost in the reflection of his own image on the sword.
The beast that captures, but does not kill, Shen Yuan pondered. It doesn't matter what the beast wants, because it has to be killed off or subdued anyway.
But does it really?
‘-Huan Hua Palace has set up a perimeter around Bailu Forest. With the help of the Liu Clan, we will get rid of the beast.’
‘Huh?’ Shen Yuan murmured in surprise, his train of thought interrupted. ‘Y-Yes, you're right.’
‘It’s good that Shen Yuan thinks so.’ Liu Qingge replied. ‘When Bailu Forest is safe, then Mingyan can finally come back home to Bai Zhan.’
After that, Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge's conversation came to an end. The pair walked in the streets of the village, simply enjoying each other's company in silence.
Both of them came to a halt when they arrived in front of Shen Yuan's home.
‘This is where I’ll take my leave. See you next time, and don't let that Qiu scum disturb you ever again.’ Liu Qingge reminded.
Shen Yuan chuckled. ‘Whatever you say, Liu-gege.’ Then the young man's eyes widened in alarm. ‘Oh, and pleaseeeee don’t tell anyone that you saw me.’
‘Why? Wait, don't tell me you snuck out again?!’
‘Goodnight, Liu-gege!’ Shen Yuan giggled, at this point already jumping onto the roof of the first storey of his house.
The young man crept to the window of his bedroom. When he peered inside, everything still appeared the same way from when he had left his bedroom. The bedsheets and the blankets were tangled up, the pillows scattered all over the room, and the books he had borrowed were strewn across the bed. Confirming that the coast was clear, Shen Yuan carefully opened the window and jumped inside of the room.
Shen Yuan expected to hear the hushed gossip or heated debates between his baba and Qi Qingqi, but the house was strangely quiet instead. He didn’t hear that woman’s honeyed voice, so she must’ve left when he was on his little trip to the library. And even that was not the most peculiar thing. In fact, Shen Yuan had not heard a single sound of his baba’s voice. Where was Shen Jiu?
Well, whatever. Shen Yuan was really hungry after his adventure. With hunger completely taking over his mind, the young man went to the kitchen, not even bothering to be stealthy this time.
A fragrant smell wafted from the kitchen, and Shen Yuan's already lively pace only quickened. The sight of steam rising from the food made his mouth water, and he didn't waste his time rushing to the food.
‘This smells so good, ’ Shen Yuan murmured, ‘But why is it so...tasteless?’
‘If you don't like the food, then why don’t you make it yourself?’ A voice suddenly chimed in.
Shen Yuan froze in his tracks, then he turned around slowly. ‘Hehe. Oops.’
Shen Jiu smacked Shen Yuan’s head with his folding fan. ‘Go clean yourself up first then eat.’
And with that, the young man was hauled into the bathroom. As soon as he took off his clothes, Shen Yuan was pushed into the bathtub. Shen Jiu was no fussy man, so he immediately started pouring water over Shen Yuan's head despite the young man's cries of protest. Shen Yuan couldn’t even finish crying out from the shock before another wave of water came crashing down on him.
‘Ahhh!’ Shen Yuan shouted. ‘The water is so cold!’
‘Then you should’ve come home earlier, the water won’t be so cold in the evening.’ Shen Jiu scolded.
Another gush of water rained down on Shen Yuan, making him sputter and gasp. ‘Can’t you let me bathe on my own?’ He complained.
Shen Jiu replied by splashing water on the young man's face. ‘If I did, you would be spending an hour in the bathroom. The food will be cold by then.’
‘Hmph! But you don’t treat Diedie like this when he comes home late.’ Shen Yuan scoffed.
A faint sigh left Shen Jiu's mouth, but Shen Yuan was too preoccupied to have caught on that.
‘That man can’t be helped.’ Shen Jiu muttered under his breath. ‘But you can! So duck your head.’
'Wha?’ Shen Yuan could only exclaim, before his scalp was pushed forward and drenched with water again.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The rest of the night went on like that, with Shen Yuan getting lectured for every single little thing that he had done by Shen Jiu. Even after dinner, Shen Yuan was once again reprimanded because he just wanted to read his borrowed books.
‘Go to bed!’ Shen Jiu ordered while forcefully tucking Shen Yuan into bed.
The young man squirmed, trying to loosen the blanket tucking him in. ‘Baba, you know I’m a literal grown up right?’
Shen Jiu tossed a stuffed toy cat at Shen Yuan, accidentally hitting the young man's face. ‘And yet you’re still too young and inexperienced for the world.’
The room was filled with an earthy scent as Shen Jiu lit an incense burner. Shen Yuan curled into his blanket and watched as wisps of smoke from the incense burner dissipated into the air.
‘Baba-’
‘No more questions.’ Shen Jiu interrupted. ‘Go to sleep, it’s late now.’
Shen Yuan sulked and huddled his stuffed toy closer. ‘Baba, demons... are they all wicked beyond redemption? Must every last one of them be exterminated?’
Shen Jiu was silent.
‘Baba...?’ Shen Yuan meekly asked after Shen Jiu didn’t say anything for a considerable amount of time.
To Shen Yuan’s surprise, Shen Jiu swung around to face him, his brows furrowed and an angry expression on his face.
'That’s enough talking, Shen Yuan!’ Shen Jiu snapped.
Shen Yuan flinched and lowered his head. ‘Y-Yes, baba.’
Shen Jiu’s eyes softened. He went to Shen Yuan's side and gently patted the young man’s head.
‘It’s late now, so don’t concern yourself with matters like these.’ Shen Jiu spoke, his voice barely a whisper.
Shen Yuan looked up, leaning further into Shen Jiu’s touch.
‘...Understood, Baba. ’
A rare small smile made its way to Shen Jiu’s face. ‘That’s good. Goodnight, A-Yuan. ’
As Shen Jiu quietly left his bedroom, Shen Yuan sank deeper into the bedsheets. He just laid on the bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling above him.
Wow. Shen Yuan only realised how exhausted he was now after all of the chaos that had happened on that day. His eyes kept trying to close, a sign that he was drifting off to sleep. Lulled by the gentle gusts of wind outside whooshing through the trees, Shen Yuan slowly fell into a slumber, with only a single thought lingering in his mind.
What was happening in Bailu Forest?
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Boom!
Shen Yuan awoke with a jolt, falling off his bed.
Lightning flashed outside, the bright light illuminating the entire room. Leaves rushed into the room as the window flew open. Shen Yuan broke into a frantic sprint towards the window, soaking his face with the spray of rainwater as he did so. He was about to close the window when he was met with a peculiar sight.
Through the flashes of lightning and the battering torrential rain, small, dim lights could be seen flickering outside of the young man’s home. Filled with curiosity, Shen Yuan pushed the window open a little bit, leaving it slightly ajar. The sound of the rumbling thunder and the pounding of rain on the roof only amplified because of his doing, but when Shen Yuan listened closely, he could hear the hushed whispering of people outside.
Shen Yuan closed the window and crept out of his bedroom. While walking to the staircase, he passed by Shen Jiu’s bedroom (That would also be his Diedie’s if he was back home). The door to the room gaped open, revealing a glimpse into a space that was empty save for a few scattered items. The bed sheets appeared to have been hastily yanked back, and a blanket lay crumpled on the floor, attesting to Shen Jiu’s presence.
The young man shrugged and continued onwards, going downstairs and heading towards the living room.
‘Bailu Forest…Demons…’
The whispering was getting louder, becoming more akin to a discussion now.
‘Why did you come to me?’ Shen Jiu’s voice echoed in the hallway.
Shen Yuan's entire body tensed upon hearing Shen Jiu's sudden voice. His steps became slow, light, and as quiet as possible as he sneaked towards the living room, finally stopping close to the room and hiding behind the bookshelf.
From Shen Yuan’s point of view, he could see Shen Jiu talking to a group of people outside of the house from the doorway. Their figures were barely discernible, lit only by the dim light emanating from the night pearls they carried, which revealed only half of their heavily cloaked and hooded faces.
‘You really don’t know?’ Someone spoke, which Shen Yuan recognised as one of the village elders. Upon hearing the old man’s words, the young man’s shoulders relaxed a little, relieved that the group of people did not seem threatening.
One would argue that it was a grave error for him to drop his guard so hastily.
‘Haven’t you heard?’ The village elder continued, his voice heavy with unease.
‘High Elder Yue Qingyuan is missing.’