Chapter Text
-.-.-.-
Shen Qingquiu had only brought his daughter to Jinlan City because the danger was supposed to be over.
Liu Qingge and Mu Qingfang had resolved the issue with the help of a delegation from Huan Hua Palace. The governor of Jinlan City had insisted on holding a feast to celebrate the city’s salvation and, as one of the top-ranked peak lords of the sect which had played such a key role, Shen Qingqiu had little choice but to attend.
He had a few quiet hours with Shen Jie after the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect delegation arrived in Jinlan City. It was just enough time to let Shen Jie nurse, get her settled enough to sleep, and then dress in a rush. He had had less and less patience for the full regalia ensemble after Shen Jie was born, but it was unavoidable on this occasion.
He was just tucking his fan into his waist sash when he heard Shen Jie stirring with a drawn-out whimper.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently.
Sometimes all she wanted was to hear his voice. Perhaps she had sensed his hurry and worried that he would be leaving her all alone.
Shen Jie grunted and whimpered. So she needed something more than to know he was there. Shen Qingqiu began moving over to her while speaking in a soothing tone.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. I won’t be far. If you need anything, as long as you cry out, this talisman will alert me and I’ll come right over, alright?”
Shen Jie blinked at him sleepily when he came into view, and then reached her hands up over her face and whimpered again.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.
She whimpered some more. It was clear she was uncomfortable, and Shen Qingqiu’s heart stirred. He picked her up and pressed her to his chest. He could feel that she was wriggling as if trying to shake off pain.
There was a light knock on his door then, but Shen Qingqiu ignored it for the moment.
“Jie-er, what’s wrong? Does your tummy hurt? Is it a nightmare? Tell a-niang so I can help.”
He sent a light stream of spiritual energy through her looking for anything that might be wrong. To his alarm, he sensed some other faint force pulsing through her body. Demonic qi.
“Jie-er?” he called out.
Whether it was in response to the fear in his voice, or to an increase in pain to whatever was hurting her, she finally cried out.
“Jie-er,” he cooed, trying to sooth her while he felt out that other force.
It wasn’t a curse. It felt more like a strong demonic presence was resonating with the qi he’d sent through her body. The demonic presence faded quickly and then was gone entirely. Once it had, Shen Jie calmed down.
Shen Qingqiu looked sharply at the door. He had read the mission report on their way here and he knew that the plague had been caused by sower demons. The sower demons themselves seemed to have been captured. But how could they be sured that they had captured them all? And what about the sower demons’ overlords?
He had already placed protective spells over Shen Jie. Now he reinforced them and added a temporary concealment spell.
.-.-.-.
Yue Qingyuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when Shen Qingqiu joined them before the doors to the feast hall.
“I hope Zhangmeng-shixiong will forgive me,” he murmured, “but I will have to be absent from the feast.”
Yue Qing nodded without any visible surprise. “Do what you must. It is only…I am only glad that I have the chance to speak to you before the feast.”
“Oh?”
Yue Qingyuan hesitated.
Shen Qingqiu waited, but Yue Qingyuan seemed unsure what to say. Shen Qingqiu thought that Yue Qingyuan had celebrated too soon: There might not be enough time to talk after all, if Yue Qingyuan kept hesitating.
He looked at Liu Qingge automatically; He trusted his shidi to just say whatever it was without overthinking it. Liu Qingge did not disappoint. As soon as he felt Shen Qingqiu’s eyes on him, he said flatly:
“Luo Binghe is here.”
The light in the room seemed to dim at the edges.
“Liu Qingge!” Qi Qingqi scolded.
Someone put their hand on his back, whether to restrain or to support him. Either way, it was unnecessary. There was no way Shen Qingqiu had heard correctly. It was impossible. Luo Binghe had only been in the Endless Abyss for less than two years at this point.
“What?” Shen Qingqiu asked.
“Your disciple,” Liu Qingge said, as if Shen Qingqiu could have forgotten his name. “Luo Binghe. He’s here.”
Shen Qingqiu wasn’t aware of having made the decision to flee. It only registered for him once his path was blocked by a tall, well-shaped figure in black silk robes.
Luo Binghe.
Luo Binghe was in front of him, glorious and beautiful and terrifying. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t take a step forward. The mortal terror froze him to the spot even as he lifted a hand to cover the back of his baby’s head.
“Shizun,” Luo Binghe breathed.
“…”
There was nothing of either joy or malice in Luo Binghe’s tone or expression. Shen Qingqiu stared into those fathomless starry eyes like a downed bird at the wintery night sky.
And then he recognized the footsteps of his fellow peak lords approaching. He forced himself to breathe and adjust his posture. He couldn’t afford to immediately crumble in front of them. He needed to make sure before Luo Binghe tore him apart that Shen Jie had the full protection of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. He needed their trust.
“Shen-shidi,” Yue Qingyuan called.
Shen Qingqiu turned his head slightly and murmured a polite acknowledgement of his sect leader. He kept Luo Binghe within his peripheral vision.
“You’ve met…Huan Hua’s top disciple,” Yue Qingyuan said.
He obviously wanted to take charge of the tense situation, but his uncertainty over how to refer to Shen Qingqiu’s ex-disciple only made the awkwardness impossible to ignore.
“…en,” Shen Qingqiu agreed stiffly.
Yue Qingyuan looked between Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe.
Luo Binghe suddenly bowed. To anyone who didn’t know about the vengeance in his heart, it looked like a deep, respectful bow. To Shen Qingqiu, it was as good as a promise: Luo Binghe would be sure that Shen Qingqiu repaid every bit of harm he had done to him.
“Shizun. I am glad to see you again,” he said quietly.
“…Excuse me,” Shen Qingqiu squeezed out over the thudding of his own heart.
He took half a step forward, in the direction of his and Jie-er’s room, and then couldn’t continue. It was the same direction in which Luo Binghe currently stood, after all.
Yue Qingyuan cleared his throat again.
“Please excuse Peak Lord Shen,” he said. “He must go take care of Jie-er…that is, his daughter...”
He must have noticed the way Shen Qingqiu stiffened, because he promptly stopped talking. Shen Qingqiu wished he could have slapped a hand over his mouth. If Luo Binghe hadn’t already seen past the concealment spell, then he now knew for certain that Shen Qingqiu’s daughter was in the city.
It wasn’t that Shen Qingqiu thought that Luo Binghe would hurt her: Luo Binghe, he knew, was someone with a clear sense of justice. He would never hurt an innocent child just as he would never allow an abusive elder to go unpunished. But Shen Qingqiu could barely breathe, let alone rein in his fear. He was utterly aware that if Luo Binghe did decide to target his daughter, Shen Qingqiu would not be able to do anything about it. He could not fight Luo Binghe.
As Shen Qingqiu spiraled, Yue Qingyuan cleared his throat. Then Shen Qingqiu remembered- He certainly could not protect his daughter. But Yue Qingyuan could. Yue Qingyuan was the only character in PIDW who potentially matched Luo Binghe when it came to fighting strength.
Shen Qingqiu latched onto Yue Qingyuan’s forearm without another thought.
“Come with me,” he said simply.
“…Oh.” Yue Qingyuan said.
Shen Qingqiu took that as an agreement. Holding onto his human shield, Shen Qingqiu was able to walk toward Luo Binghe and then past him. Then he kept walking without looking back, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up until he shut the door to his and Jie-er’s room.
He stood at the door for a moment listening. Then, having heard nothing, he exhaled and dropped the concealment charm over Shen Jie. Yue Qingyuan startled to see her suddenly appear strapped to Shen Qingqiu’s chest.
“Good job,” Shen Qingqiu told her, “You were perfect.”
Jie-er had not made a peep during their entire outing. True, she was asleep, but it was still quite impressive for a baby!
“Shidi, what is going on?” Yue Qingyuan asked.
Shen Qingqiu stroked his baby’s head as he thought about how to answer.
“Is something wrong with Jie-er?” Yue Qingyuan asked.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head.
“Then…does it have to do with Luo Binghe?”
Shen Qingqiu inhaled sharply, tried to meet Yue Qingyuan’s eyes, and failed.
He nodded.
Yue Qingyuan hesitated once more. When he spoke, it was in a gentle tone. “Will you…explain?”
Shen Qingqiu’s stomach was churning with shame and guilt. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t say it out loud. Especially with Yue Qingyuan looking at him full of pity and sympathy that Shen Qingqiu did not deserve. In the end, he swallowed hard and dropped his gaze without speaking.
“…”
“…That’s fine too,” Yue Qingyuan said.
“...How?”
“No matter what happened at the Immortal Alliance Confrence…what you may have done…Cang Qiong Mountain Sect will protect you,” Yue Qingyuan reassured him.
Shen Qingqiu squeezed his eyes shut, torn between a desperate desire to accept the offer of protection, and the urge to scream from frustration. This was the whole problem! The reason Luo Binghe was going to destroy Cang Qiong Mountain Sect was because they insisted on protecting the man who had abused him. Shen Qingqiu didn’t want that! He didn’t want to drag his sect down with him! He only wanted…
The solution occurred to Shen Qingqiu in a flash. It was easier to look into Yue Qingyuan’s eyes once he realized what he had to do.
“Zhangmeng-shixiong would do anything I asked?”
“Anything,” Yue Qingyuan confirmed.
“Promise me.” Shen Qingqiu insisted.
Yue Qingyuan swallowed and gazed at him.
“I promise.”
Shen Qingqiu smiled, a bittersweet expression of relief and resignation. Yue Qingyuan’s brows twitched as if he were suddenly concerned. Well, it was too late. He had made a promise and Shen Qingqiu knew that Yue Qingyuan would never break a promise.
“I only ask two things,” Shen Qingqiu said. “The first is that you protect Jie-er.”
“I will let no harm come to her,” Yue Qingyuan said solemnly.
Solemnly, but with a question in his eyes. He knew that that was the easier of the two promises.
“The second is that, no matter what happens, you will not allow Cang Qiong Mountain Sect to fight Luo Binghe.”
Yue Qingyuan hesitated this time.
“Why…would…?”
Shen Qingqiu shook his head.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have time to explain.”
Yue Qingyuan frowned.
“Why don’t you have time to explain? Has he… has anyone threatened you?”
He looked towards the door and reached for his sword as he spoke.
Shen Qingqiu sighed. “That’s…that’s not it…But regardless, you must not let the sect fight him. Even if he kills me. Even if he-“
Shen Qingqiu would have continued, but he was startled by the way that Yue Qingyuan’s expression changed at the mention of Shen Qingqiu’s death. Yue Qingyuan took in a deep breath. If it was an attempt to calm himself, it failed: His expression crumpled.
“Xiao-Jiu,” he said, and then couldn’t seem to continue.
Shen Qingqiu winced. Yue Qingyuan sounded like Shen Qingqiu had stabbed the noise out of him. He had never called him this name before, and Shen Qingqiu recognized that he had stumbled into another mess that Shen Qingqiu’s predecessor had left behind. Shen Qingqiu was suddenly in a minefield with no time to find the safe path. Whatever hurt he had unwittingly inflicted, he couldn’t fix. Worse, he had to admit to himself that he couldn’t afford to even care about fixing it: The stakes were too high. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t rescind his demands because he needed to make sure that his daughter was safe. That the innocent disciples of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect would be safe.
Still…he found himself unable to look Yue Qingyuan in the eyes again.
“…Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan said.
He sounded even more resigned.
“I’m sorry,” Shen Qingqiu said.
Yue Qingyuan shook his head.
“It’s all my fault,” he said.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “It’s not your fault…”
“I deny you your request.”
…
“What?”
Yue Qingyuan sighed. Shen Qingqiu stared at him, confused. Yue Qingyuan looked tired.
“Even if that disciple of yours is as formidable as you think….I won’t let you die.”
Shen Qingqiu clutched Shen Jie to his chest. She made a sleepy sound of protest.
“But…no, you have to protect…How will you protect Jie-er if you’re at war?”
Yue Qingyuan dropped his gaze.
“I will protect her too,” he said quietly.
Shen Qingqiu began panicking then. How to explain that that was impossible? That Luo Binghe was going to kill him, and that there was nothing they could do about it? That the entire sect was doomed if they fought the protagonist?
Yue Qingyuan raised a hand to silence Shen Qingqiu’s protest.
“That is enough. From now on, you are not to leave Cang Qiong Mountain without myself or the Bai Zhan Peak Lord as a guard. Since you are so certain that Luo Binghe will attack our sect, it would be helpful if you explain his capabilities.”
Shen Qingqiu gaped at him. Was Yue Qingyuan, that gentle older brother, actually…putting him under house arrest?
“Why are you doing this?” he asked.
Yue Qingyuan didn’t answer. He got to his feet and went to the door. Then he paused.
“Would you prefer to go to the feast with me, or for us to stay in your room?”
“…”
.-.-.-.-.