Chapter Text
“Luo Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu called. The little sheep of a disciple looked up.
“Yes, Shizun?” Luo Binghe said tentatively.
“Have you settled in alright?”
“Yes, thank you!” Luo Binghe had only recently passed the entrance exam, and the Qing Jing Peak Lord had selected her. Luo Binghe, picked by somebody! It was a wonderful feeling.
“Hm. This master would like to invite you for tea this afternoon,” Shen Qingqiu said. She idly fanned herself, hiding the bottom half of her face.
“Really! I- Yes,” Luo Binghe schooled her expression, attempting to match Shen Qingqiu’s aloof demeanor.
Shen Qingqiu turned to walk towards the Bamboo House. Luo Binghe half-ran to catch up.
The tea was prepared slowly, heated over a fire rather than with talismans.
“Shizun, why don’t you use a heating talisman? Wouldn’t that be much faster?” Luo Binghe asked.
“I could. However, the tea ends up with a shallow taste, or the water could heat too fast and lead to it combusting.” Shen Qingqiu placed the tea leaves into the pot, and sealed it once again. “Have you ever had properly brewed tea, Luo Binghe?”
Her name rolled off Shen Qingqiu’s tongue smoothly. She raised an eyebrow, testing her disciples reaction.
“No, Shizun.” Luo Binghe’s eyes were downcast, clearly nervous.
“Mm, that’s alright,” Shen Qingqiu replied blandly, then handed her a cup. “Here.”
Luo Binghe held the cup in her hands, afraid to do anything. What if she did something wrong? Shen Jiu’s eyes, normally cold and fierce, had softened. She slowly held the cup to her mouth, before drinking it in three sips. Luo Binghe followed her careful example.
Before long, having tea became a routine, an event Luo Binghe looked forward to each week. Some days they would sit in silence, other days there would be small conversation made. Luo Binghe’s cultivation quickly improved, on track to be head disciple in no time. Other’s, who were accustomed to the Qing Jing Peak Lord being a cold beauty, ready to kill you with her sharp tongue, all wondered how such a disciple could be so favored.
Rumors spread like a river flowing to the sea, and Luo Binghe let them. If anything, she felt glee at being talked about. Shen Qingqiu had a rocky reputation, and no one could decide if they liked her more or less now. Was it true, genuine affection, or were there lies and deception hiding beneath the thin ice? Whatever it was, no one wanted to crack the frozen surface and see the dark, true, water.
“Shizun!” Luo Binghe threw her arms around Shen Qingqiu in greeting. Her fan snapped open to hide her face in response.
“Luo Binghe. I ask you refrain from such gestures,” She said.
“Why?” Luo Binghe looked up with teary eyes.
“It is improper.” Luo Binghe pouted at those words.
While Luo Binghe did not mind what those around her thought, the Qing Jing Peak Lord certainly did. She heard all of them, no matter how quietly others thought they were whispering. It was another stain on her reputation and she hated it. The first crack in the rift.
✦✦✦
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe looked up, fear filling her eyes. The abyss was letting out clouds of red smoke, filling the air with an ashy smell. Shen Qingqiu pushed Luo Binghe behind her, sword unsheathed. Its usual shine was dampened by the thick haze.
Twisted birds surrounded them. Beaks as sharp as daggers, talons that would rip you to shreds, bony wings. The feathers around their eyes made them look bloody. Their cries echoed through the air, shrill and high. Luo Binghe winched and covered her ears.
“Don’t try to hit them. Their blood will corrode your sword,” Shen Qingqiu warned. Before Luo Binghe could respond, she slashed her sword in a wide arch. A sword glare followed, pushing the crowd back. Where blood hit the ground, it hissed and turned black.
The birds showed no fear. They continued to crow mockingly, dancing in front of the rift in the ground. Luo Binghe gripped Shen Qingqiu’s robes harder.
Suddenly, the twisted excuses for avian creatures took to the sky. A swarm of gray and red, blotting out the hidden sun. In their place stood warped wolves and sick snakes. They jumped at Shen Qingqiu. She wasted no time in cutting them down.
Luo Binghe shrieked, one of the snakes lunged at her. Shen Qingqiu turned and felt the satisfying resistance of flesh then air. But-
A large, jaggaed, gash ran across Luo Binghe’s stomach. The snake responsible lay on the ground, dead, but damage had been done. Thick blood slowly trickled to the ground. Wolves circled her, tugging on her tattered robes towards the rift cutting through the earth.
“Shizun!” Luo Binghe cried. The crowd turned to a flood, quickly pushing her backwards. Before Shen Qingqiu could do anything, Luo Binghe was on the edge. The snakes wrapped around her own limbs, leaving her pinned to the ground and without a sword. Their serrated tails taunted her flesh, pulling it taunt before tearing it open. But the searing pain wasn’t important, no, not when Luo Binghe was already half over the edge. She was saying something, what is it, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear over her own cries. Luo Binghe, Luo Binghe, Binghe-
✦✦✦
The broken remains of Luo Binghe’s sword lay in Shen Qingqiu’s hands. They were sharp on all sides. Shen Qingqiu had let the wounds from the snakes scar, but would anyone notice if she re-opened them?
The other peak lords had surely noticed by now, but no one said a word. They were afraid her sharp tongue would cut them to shreds in her grief. The grave marker had Luo Binghe’s name carved into it by Shen Qingqiu herself. It was just as jagged as Shen Qingqiu’s scars, a tragic mirror forged by agony.
Luo Binghe had been lost to the abyss and it was her fault. She should have learned. Known that anything she liked, showed any affection or care for, would be snatched from her. Ripped to shreds before her eyes. She should have known that being fond of Luo Binghe would be her demise. Anything Shen Qingqiu touched would wilt, why would this time be any different? Why would it change? She was just a street rat parading as a peerless swan. So why was it a surprise? Why did she care? Anything good that happens must have an unpleasant ending.