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As soon as Ning Yingying heard raised voices coming from the Bamboo House, she knew exactly who it was. There were very few disciples who even dared to talk to Shen Qingqiu, let alone argue with him. Most of the others kept their heads down and only spoke when ordered to do so. There was something deeply unapproachable about Shen Qingqiu according to most people, although Ning Yingying herself never felt it. She loved her shizun and sure, he could be a bit harsh at times, but it was only because he had high standards for his students, which was a good trait for a teacher. Ning Yingying had grown up the beloved youngest daughter of a wealthy family and nobody had had many expectations for her back home, but Shen Qingqiu treated her like she was capable of anything and that meant a lot to her, even if she wasn't able to meet his standards very often. What counted was that pushed her to do her best and be more than a pretty face, which was more than her parents had ever done.
Not everyone saw it that way. The other juniors in the sect looked at Shen Qingqiu with pure dread in their eyes. He could be a tough disciplinarian and while he had never raised a hand against Ning Yingying, she saw him giving out beatings plenty of times. Or rather, she used to see them. Things had changed a lot over the last year, ever since the two newest disciples had joined Qing Jing Peak.
First, there had been Luo Binghe, a sweet boy who made Ning Yingying feel all warm and fuzzy inside when she was around him. Exactly what that meant was difficult to figure out, but she knew that she definitely liked him. Luo Binghe was about her age and a fast learner, much better at almost everything than Ning Yingying. His guqin playing was simply atrocious and he had been banned from the painting studio after he somehow ruined every set of clothes he owned with ink, which were both activities that she excelled at, but everyone knew the important parts of cultivation were martial arts and sword fighting. Ning Yingying had always been at the back of the class in both of those topics and that didn't change with the new addition. Luo Binghe was a natural at combat, so impressive that Shen Qingqiu had given him his own personal cultivation manual. Their shizun clearly knew a rising talent when he saw one.
The second disciple had arrived more than six months after Luo Binghe and caused a bit of a stir. First of all, his name was Shen Yuan and he had more than a passing resemblance to Shen Qingqiu. Rumors quickly spread that the two were relatives, but Shen Qingqiu firmly refused to answer any questions about his family and those conversations always seemed to dry up when they were joined by an uncharacteristically stern Yue Qingyuan. Ning Yingying didn't believe the rumors herself. Shen wasn't that unusual of a surname and while she could see the similarities in their faces, sometimes unrelated people just looked like each other, nothing weird about that.
But on top of a possible connection with Shen Qingqiu, Shen Yuan was very strange for other reasons. He was significantly older than the others, close to coming of age, which would have normally barred him from entry into pretty much any cultivation sect. The only reason he was allowed to join was because of his exceptional knowledge of demons, ghosts, yao, beasts, and anything else non-human that could pose a danger to commoners. Shen Yuan had piles of scrolls he had written containing information that no one else in the sect knew, including the Peak Lords, which invariably turned out to be correct, and even more information was stored in his head. No matter what creature they encountered on their missions, Shen Yuan knew its weaknesses, threats, favorite foods, sleeping habits, and mating strategies. It was thoroughly impressive and more than earned him a place on the scholarly peak, even if he was too old to really build a firm foundation for cultivation.
Ning Yingying liked Shen Yuan too; it was hard not to. He could be a bit prickly at times, but he was always available to help people and had taken to protecting Luo Binghe from bullies as soon as he arrived, a task that Ning Yingying had tried to accomplish and failed many times. While Shen Yuan's cultivation was weak, he was simply bigger and stronger than the others due to his age. Luo Binghe followed him around like a shadow, clearly glad to have a big brother to defend him, even though Shen Yuan was technically his shidi. The only problem she had was when Shen Yuan had pulled Ning Yingying aside and told her to be more careful around Shen Qingqiu. Ning Yingying wasn't afraid of her shizun and he had only ever treated her kindly. Why would she need to be careful around him?
Perhaps the strangest thing about Shen Yuan wasn't his age or his knowledge, it was the way he acted around Shen Qingqiu. No one else dared to speak to their shizun so disrespectfully. Maybe it was because Shen Yuan wasn't a child or because he had seen more of the outside world than the other disciples, but he was perfectly willing to talk back to Shen Qingqiu and even argue with him. The first couple of times had earned Shen Yuan extra chores or laps around the peak, but Ning Yingying had noticed Shen Qingqiu smiling behind his fan when he thought no one was looking. Punishments turned into spirited debates with Shen Yuan and it seemed like Shen Qingqiu was smiling more often, even as they threw insults at each other. Both of them seemed to enjoy their verbal sparring matches and Shen Yuan started spending more and more time alone with Shen Qingqiu in the Bamboo House, a privilege even Ming Fan rarely received.
Other things started changing around the peak as well. Luo Binghe was allowed to move out of the woodshed and into the main dormitory with the others. He spent less time doing chores and more time training, with the extra work split evenly between the other disciples. That caused widespread grumbling but Ning Yingying didn't mind a bit of extra work if it meant Luo Binghe wasn't constantly exhausted. The special cultivation manual that Shen Qingqiu had given to Luo Binghe was replaced with the normal manual one day and Shen Qingqiu wasn’t even mad that the first one had been lost. And in general, the other disciples agreed that things were improving. Shen Qingqiu was still quick to punish misbehavior, but he seemed more willing to forgive minor offenses and there were fewer actual beatings. While Ning Yingying had never been hit herself, it still upset her to see it happen to her martial brothers. She wasn't sure if she could attribute all of these improvements to Shen Yuan alone, but they had coincided with his arrival.
Still, she approached the Bamboo House with a hint of caution. That morning, a disciple from An Ding Peak had arrived with the monthly allotment of supplies and Ming Fan had tasked her with bringing a crate of tea cakes to Shen Qingqiu personally, since she was the least likely to get yelled at for being in their shizun's personal residence. Shen Qingqiu was a notoriously private man and hated anyone entering the Bamboo House unless he gave them express permission, even for expected deliveries. But he generally tolerated Ning Yingying better than his male disciples, so it would probably be fine.
Ning Yingying knocked on the front door. When there was no answer, and not even a lull in the argument, she balanced the crate on her knee and opened the door herself, awkwardly nudging it open with her hands full. All she had to do now was follow the shouting to find the arguers.
"It cannot be a jiangshi! The victim was drained of blood! Jiangshi only consume the qi of their victims, not any physical substances!" The voice was instantly recognizable as Shen Qingqiu. He sounded angry, but not in the same way as when he yelled at other people. It was an almost playful anger, one that Ning Yingying didn’t know very well.
"This is a different type of jiangshi, shizun!" Just as she had expected, the other person arguing was Shen Yuan. He was the only disciple who could get away with something like this. "It's mixed with a particular monster known in the far west, which is sort of like a hungry ghost but the hunger is only for blood."
Ning Yingying stood and listened for a moment. This western creature wasn't one she had ever heard of before, but it sounded very scary. What kind of hungry ghost would desire blood? From what she knew, ghosts desired many of the same things as the living and no living person craved blood.
Clearly, Shen Qingqiu agreed with her. "That's ridiculous! What benefit would a hungry ghost gain from blood alone?"
"Look, I know the creature is ridiculous! It's born out of a poor understanding of classical literature. The point is that this is the cause of the bloodless corpses the villagers found. We need to bring both normal exorcism materials and a sturdy piece of wood."
"Wood?" Each new detail seemed to only make Shen Qingqiu more irate. "What good will wood do?! Shen Yuan, you had better not be lying to me!"
The exasperation was audible in Shen Yuan's voice. "When have I ever lied to you? The wood needs to be driven through the creature's heart. Yes, I know bodily injury won't stop the undead, but this particular type of jiangshi requires it."
Shen Qingqiu let out an annoyed snort, but didn't answer. Ning Yingying took the opportunity to enter the study with the tea cakes, a smile on her face. "Shizun, the supplies from An Ding Peak have arrived."
She braced for him to scold her for interrupting, but the harsh words never came. Instead, she noticed Shen Yuan give Shen Qingqiu a stern look before he took the crate from her arms. "Thank you, Ning-shijie."
"A-Ning," Shen Qingqiu said suddenly. "What do you think of a creature similar to a cross between a jiangshi and a hungry ghost? What would it take from its victims?"
Ning Yingying didn't want to get in trouble for eavesdropping, so she answered with what she knew he wanted to hear. "This disciple thinks it sounds very strange. Would it want qi or worldly needs like food?"
Shen Qingqiu smiled. He was doing that more and more these days, but it was still strange to see. "According to your shidi, it takes blood. See, even A-Ning can tell how ridiculous this sounds."
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes, muttering something Ning Yingying couldn't quite hear that sounded like "shitty author, too many foreign lightning shadows." She had no idea what lightning or shadows had to do with anything, but being confused was hardly a rare experience for her so she ignored it.
"It may sound ridiculous, but maybe Shen-shidi is right, shizun." Ning Yingying knew how serious this situation could be. Shen Yuan had saved their lives multiple times when it came to dangerous creatures, so listening to him was wise. "He knows so much about demons and other beasts. Maybe he has fought this strange jiangshi before."
Shen Qingqiu shot her an angry look, but let out a defeated sigh as well. "Fine. Bring your piece of wood. But if you get your qi stolen while trying to stab a jiangshi with a blunt stick, don't cry about it to me."
Before Shen Yuan had joined the sect, Ning Yingying would have never dared to question her shizun. But Shen Yuan had made it possible and that seemed positive for everyone involved. Even Shen Qingqiu seemed happier around his disciples. It was strange to think that all Shen Qingqiu had needed was someone to argue with. Shouldn't that make him even more unhappy?
There were rumors, of course. People always gossiped, even supposedly righteous cultivators. The main rumors were about the long nights Shen Yuan spent in the Bamboo House. But it was just because he was nearly an adult and didn't belong in a dormitory full of children, right? Surely there wasn't anything improper going on between master and disciple. And if there were, it was none of Ning Yingying's business and definitely not something she had accidentally walked in on last week.
Anyway, she had more business to attend to and her chores wouldn't get done by standing here like a training dummy and maybe blushing just a little bit. Ning Yingying bowed to her shizun and took her leave. As she exited the Bamboo House, she heard Shen Qingqiu's voice raise again. "And what were you saying about this 'man wolf' earlier?"
Shen Yuan just sounded tired. "It's not my fault the gods are lazy hack writers sometimes."
There was a sound that Ning Yingying didn't recognize until she listened harder. Shen Qingqiu was laughing.