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Chapter Text

Liu Qingge’s eyes shot wide open to the sound of a gong ringing. Awareness coursed through him as he was surrounded by bright light, of cloudless vast blue sky above him for as far as his eyes could see. There were three rings of the gong that reverberated through the air and then it was silent, save for the sound of a running stream nearby.

Liu Qingge stayed sprawled on the ground, not having felt this peaceful rest in a long, long time. Which was odd, because for one, he had no idea how he got into his current predicament, and two, the sound of gong should have alerted him that he was in a strange place and very very much should have triggered a fight or flight response.

There was a gnawing voice at the back of his head that would usually tell him to get up and assess his foreign surroundings, but it had been a long while since Liu Qingge had felt this calm in his life. He wasn’t someone with much thoughts in his head to begin with, and the grass beneath him and the sky above him reminded him of warm childhood memories he had with his sister before he left home for Cang Xiong mountains. His body and his mind were in agreement that there was no danger lurking in the corner.

It was, until a shadow of a person loomed over him.

With a reflex of a warrior, Liu Qingge quickly jumped into a fighting stance and a hand on his sword. The person was taken aback and took two steps back and hid behind another man, clad in black with gold accents. He might appear disinterested, but his posture was firm. The man seemed resigned to having been used as a shield, putting his arm up between them to block Liu Qingge from getting at his companion.

“Don’t hurt me, I just wanted to welcome you to heaven!” squeaked the man in a teal robe, talking very fast over the stoic man’s shoulder. “And congratulate you on your ascension!” 

Liu Qingge frowned, his hand on the hilt of Cheng Luan loosened. “...what?”

Sensing that he was no longer threatened, the man in the teal robe stepped out to stand beside the man in black. “I’m Shi Qingxuan, the wind master,” said the man, snapping open his fan with the calligraphy ‘wind’ written on it for emphasis and fanning himself a couple of times. Just as abrupt, he closed the fan and lightly hit it against the chest of the man next to him. “And this is Ming Yi, the earth master.”

Ming Yi curtly nodded in acknowledgement.

The confusion must have been apparent on Liu Qingge’s face, because Shi Qingxuan shook his head and huffed in amusement. “Don’t believe me? Look behind you.”

Liu Qingge’s line of sight followed the direction of the fan until it fell upon a massive palace with an innumerable number of pillars holding up the gaudy looking roof, heavily decorated with gold and intricately carved dragons ascending every pillar. Tall pagodas were built on all four corners of the palace, the multilayered roofs were sharply pointed up towards the high sky. 

Suddenly the peace he felt moments ago was immediately replaced with dread of the unknown. The river stream and the soft grass and the bright sunlight that lulled him into a false sense of security were only a patch of land on some heavenly official’s backyard. 

“You ascended to where you felt the most safe in your mortal life, and I guess in your case it was somewhere with a calm river. Hence why we’re here,” explained Shi Qingxuan, pointing to the stream that sparkled brilliantly under the sun. There was no end of it in sight, a continuous running stream that led to… lead to where? If this was heaven in the sky, would the river flow down to earth? “Ming-xiong and I were strolling after our midday meal when we heard the gong. And I’ve never seen you before, so you must be the new guy!”

“It’s a flawed logic,” mumbled the earth master, only meant to be heard (and dismissed) by his companion.

“How do I know you’re not messing with me?” asked Liu Qingge, hand clasped into a fist. “That this is not an elaborate prank?”

Shi Qingxuan sighed in reservation. “I knew you’d say that. This is Ling Wen’s job after all.”

“I told you we should have let the official welcoming team greet him first,” said Ming Yi for the first time to Liu Qingge, arms crossed over his chest. He did not seem amused.

“Well I’d like to be friends with the new official,” pouted Shi Qingxuan towards the man in the black robe. “And what’s better than getting to know each other as I show the new guy around, am I right?”

Ming Yi dismissed him without as much as an eyeroll. He turned away and started walking towards the palace, with one last word over his shoulder. “Let’s take him to the grand hall. I’m sure Ling Wen and the others are already waiting for him.”

-

It was unbelievable. 

Liu Qingge actually ascended. Officially a heavenly official. 

He was no longer a war god by title, he was now a literal one.

Well, an interim one?

“You’re going to take over General Ming Guang’s place as the martial god in taking care of the north temporarily,” a lady by the name Ling Wen explained, standing in front of Liu Qingge as he was surrounded by projections of multiple heavenly officials around them. She introduced herself to Liu Qingge as the Civil God, the head of the Palace of Ling Wen, in charge of all the civil and communication service in heaven.

Only Liu Qingge, Ling Wen, Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi were physically present for the meeting at the grand court. At the head of the projection was the man introduced as the heavenly emperor, Jun Wu. There was a dignified air about him. Everyone present there was very respectful towards Jun Wu, and in that short period of time Liu Qingge could tell that he held the most powerful position. He keenly listened to Ling Wen’s explanation, and  nodded to her statement.

“Why temporarily?” asked Liu Qingge. As someone who lived by a hard yes or no, a black or white when it came to things, this non-confirmation confirmation was too much for Liu Qingge’s brain to process.

“General Ming Guang Pei Ming has been absent from the court for the last fourteen moons, and it has been causing a lot of trouble in the north as there are plenty of prayers that go unanswered,” explained Ling Wen. “Due to the backlog of works caused by his sudden disappearance, we had to elect a new interim immortal as a god to cover for him until we can track him down.”

Somewhere in the corner Shi Qingxuan turned to Ming Yi, whispering to the earth master behind his fan loud enough for Liu Qingge to hear. “He must be off to chase after skirts. Then forgot his way back again.”

Ming Yi nodded disinterestedly. “Likely.”

“Do you think my brother is involved in this?”

There was no answer from Ming Yi this time around.

Liu Qingge turned his attention back to the court. “And what happens once General Ming Guang is back?”

“Then you shall be bestowed a different region to reign over,” Jun Wu interjected, waving his hand in the air. “Until then, as you don’t have your own temples or worshippers, you will have to cover General Ming Guang’s workload.”

Ling Wen nodded in agreement. “If he is not back by the Mid Autumn Festival Banquet, we are going to assume he relinquishes his position, and you will take the title of the martial god of the north.”

“For now, you remain the Cang Qiong’s Bai Zhan war god,” added Jun Wu with a touch of finality to it. “Nan Yang, Xuan Zhen.”

Two figures came forth through the throngs of projection, bowing respectfully as they were summoned by the heavenly emperor. 

“Liu Qingge, these two men are martial gods of the southeast and southwest,” waved Jun Wu towards the two heavenly officials. “They will show you how to work as a martial god. And of course, Ling Wen is a fountain of information too, if you could find her underneath all the paperwork or catch her in person.”

At the order, one of the martial gods disappeared from the projection and appeared right in front of Liu Qingge in a flash. He brought his hands together and bowed politely. “Nice to meet you, Bai Zhan’s war god. Nan Yang Feng Xin, martial god of the southeast.”

A split second later, the other martial god did the same. “Xuan Zhen Mu Qing, martial god of the southwest. Looking forward to working with you.”

Liu Qingge reciprocated the greetings and gave one last bow to Jun Wu before he dismissed the meeting. Ling Wen informed Liu Qingge on how to access the communication array before she was surrounded by a few lower rank officials with mounting scrolls in their arms, who had been waiting for the meeting to be over so she could answer their queries. Like a strong tide with no barrier to stop them, Ling Wen was swept away. Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi excused themselves to get back to their work too. 

Feng Xin cracked the joints of his hands and neck, warming up to him by asking questions about Liu Qingge’s cultivation and martial expertise. Mu Qing gave Liu Qingge a onceover, looking at him from top to bottom, definitely judging him silently. Somehow, those cold calm eyes reminded him of someone back home.

“So,” said Feng Xin, breaking Liu Qingge’s line of thought before it went astray. His gaze switched to the man dressed in armour. “Are you ready to work?”

Chapter Text

A whole moon cycle flew by in a flash. Dealing with the heavenly court politics as a newcomer was a thing, but being a heavenly official wasn’t that much different than being an immortal peak lord. Liu Qingge slayed beasts, he assisted the poor and the helpless, he squandered devious plans by demons and wrath.  Nothing out of the ordinary compared to his past life, except for the fact that Liu Qingge couldn’t appear in front of the worshipper or in their dreams, as he was only an interim martial god of the northern region. 

To the believers, they were still worshipping Ming Guang Pei Ming. Being raised to honour hard work and honesty, Liu Qingge couldn’t help to find how wrong it was to give undue credit, especially when all the hard work was his. Raised with the same values, Feng Xin shared his sentiment and sympathised with his current predicament. Mu Qing, however, sensibly argued that due to his temporary position, he was not in a secure place to question Jun Wu’s decision. 

It wasn’t a pleasant thing to hear, and Mu Qing could have said it in a nicer way, but Liu Qingge begrudgingly concurred with the argument. He only had to persevere for another couple more moon cycles before he became a permanent fixture as a martial god in heaven.

Even so, there were times when the thought of his past life passed through his mind and he couldn’t help but wonder how everyone was doing back in Cang Xiong mountain.

“Have you ever thought about your past life, Feng Xin?” asked Liu Qingge one day as he parried a blow from the southeast martial god as they were sparring. Working together for the past moon cycle had brought them closer together, comfortable enough for Liu Qingge to address the fellow martial god by his first name. The same couldn’t be said about Mu Qing, though, as their personalities were like water and oil. There was no force strong enough in these three realms to mix them. Much like a certain somebody in his past life whom he used to trade blows with. 

Feng Xin was taken aback by the sudden questioning and had a gap in his defence. Relaxing his grip on Cheng Luan, Feng Xin who was putting his entire weight into the attack fell as Liu Qingge rolled away. One step ahead of his match, Liu Qingge put his leg forward so Feng Xin would trip without ever a chance of recovering from the tumble. His face fell flat to the ground, and when he turned to face Liu Qingge, the tip of Cheng Luan was already aimed at his chest. 

“50 wins,” declared Liu Qingge pridefully as he sheathed his sword and pulled Feng Xin up.

“Yeah but 51 loses,” huffed Feng Xin as he dusted himself off the ground. “Don’t get cocky, brat.”

“I’ll defeat you eventually,” said Liu Qingge with conviction. Feng Xin had 800 years head start compared to Liu Qingge but Liu Qingge believed in his own martial prowess. While Feng Xin was good, Liu Qingge was simply better at close combat battles. They both settled on the bench by the training ground, polishing their swords for the next use. “Back to the earlier question. About past life. Do you remember it?”

There was a quiet contemplation on Feng Xin’s end. It seemed like he was reluctant to answer it, but after a moment he spoke up. “I do remember it. In vivid detail, even though I’d like to forget some of it.”

That piqued Liu Qingge’s interest. “Then do you remember how you ascended?”

The question earned Liu Qingge a puzzled look from the other martial god. His eyebrows were tightly knit together as he let out a soft “oh, that.” Feng Xin had stilled for a moment, before he resumed polishing the training sword. “Just roughly. I was told my ascension is due to my martial ability, and I was leading and winning a battle when I ascended.”

“I see,” Liu Qingge rubbed his chin as he considered Feng Xin’s answer. “How about General Xuan Zhen? Do you know how he ascended?”

Feng Xin scoffed. “That  traitor? Pure cultivation. Though how one would label such a spiteful and sarcastic person as a good cultivator is beyond me.” There seemed to be a deep history between the two martial gods. He knew that Liu Qingge was about to ask Feng Xin why he called Mu Qing a traitor when he probed Liu Qingge first. “Why do you ask? You can’t remember how you ascended?”

Liu Qingge slowly shook his head. He stared at his own reflection on the polished surface of Cheng Luan as he was lost in thought. In the last few weeks, he had been trying to recall his last moments before his ascension, but all that came to his mind were flashes of images of Shen Qingqiu…of all people. Never in his life had Liu Qingge witnessed more than the distant and aloof expression that elegant Shen Qingqiu usually wore, but in his flashback, there was anger. He seemed frantic, almost. Determination. An usual flush on his face before it was replaced with a look that Liu Qingge couldn’t fathom, one he couldn’t help but made him think he was missing some crucial information that might or might not be relevant to his ascension. It was baffling. 

“All I could remember is my martial brother in a cave,” answered Liu Qingge, looking pensively in the distance. Whatever happened before his ascension, it had something to do with Shen Qingqiu. And while they weren’t on the best of terms, a small part in his chest felt unsettled until he knew what had occurred that led him here. Another part of him was curious to know what happened to Shen Qingqiu. “Do you think it will come to me eventually?”

“Maybe,” Feng Xin shrugged. He sheathed the finally polished sword and stood up. “Your best bet is to ask Ling Wen.”

-

It was true when the heavenly officials said it was harder to find Ling Wen than it was to find a rare life saving flower in heaven, growing between cracks in the pavement. As the civil god that liaises with every existing court, she wasn’t as easily accessible as Liu Qingge thought she would be. She hardly ever present physically at her court and her communication arrays were constantly engaged as one after another heavenly officials enlisted her aid to resolve their issue. And knowing that Liu Qingge’s concern was not a life and death matter, he let go of the idea of reaching for Ling Wen for now. 

On his walk back from the civil court towards the martial training ground, he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. When he stopped to look, it was the wind master and the earth master, walking side by side as the wind master vigorously waved his fan for Liu Qingge’s attention.

“Lord wind master, lord earth master.” greeted Liu Qingge with polite bows to each of them once they caught up to him.

“No need to be so polite, Lord Liu,” said Shi Qingxuan as he waved his hand in the air. “What are you doing hanging around at the civil court? It’s the end of a working day, I doubt there’s anyone around.”

“I just have a few questions for Lord Ling Wen,” explained Liu Qingge. “But she’s not here and her communication array is busy, so I’ll try to reach her some other time.”

Shi Qingxuan nodded understandingly as he fanned himself. “What questions do you have, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Liu Qingge took a second to think if he could pose his qualm at Shi Qingxuan. It wasn’t a particularly personal question, and Shi Qingxuan had been in heaven for quite some time now. No one would offer their help so freely as Shi Qingxuan, carefree and kind, like the element itself.

“I need to figure out what transpired before my ascension. My memories are in bits and pieces, and I’d like to piece it all together,” said Liu Qingge. He then took a turn to look at the two masters in front of him. “Do you remember how you ascended?”

“Ha, I was drunk with wine when I ascended, so my memories were a little fuzzy as well,” said Shi Qingxuan sheepishly. He turned to face the ever present companion by his side, clad in black, barely heeding the conversation. “How about you, Ming Yi?”

“I was eating,” answered Ming Yi simply as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t seem like he was willing to divulge further, so Liu Qingge just left it at that.

“I see,” said Liu Qingge. He turned his attention back to Shi Qingxuan. “Do you know if there is a way for me to regain the memories?”

“What else do you remember about your ascension, Lord Liu?”

“A cave,” he paused. Liu Qingge recalled the sharp green eyes with a piercing gaze directed towards him. He felt an unfamiliar sharp sting in his heart. “And a person.”

“And we have leads!” exclaimed Shi Qingxuan gleefully as he snapped his fan close in his hand. “Really, Master Liu, these are plenty to go on with!”

“R-really?” asked Liu Qingge, filled with doubt.

“Really,” Shi Qingxuan huffed as he puffed up his chest. He tucked his fan on his waist and proceeded to grab Liu Qingge and Ming Yi by the wrist with each hand. “Now, close your eyes and think of that person.”

Liu Qingge brows furrowed as he stared at the wind master, blinking twice. Shi Qingxuan waited patiently, and Ming Yi by Shi Qingxuan’s side simply relented to being dragged along in Liu Qingge’s quest to regain his memories. 

Liu Qingge took a deep breath. Ever so slowly, he closed his eyes. And thousands of images of Shen Qingqiu flooded his mind.

-

The sound of a chirping bird flying overhead cued Liu Qingge into opening his eyes, to the sight of the familiar peaks, spearing above the clouds surrounding the current ground he was standing on. The crisp mountainous air and the smell from looming conifer trees were familiar to his senses, something he didn’t know he would miss. In the distance, he could make out the rainbow bridges connecting one peak to another, with disciples running laps on the lower part of the mountain, and a small group flying overhead on their swords. None of the disciples seemed to be alerted by their presence, so Liu Qingge and his company must be invisible to their eyes.

No bother. He was home.

Teleporting to places as a heavenly official was not a new phenomenon to Liu Qingge. He had done that multiple times before while he was on duty, answering prayers after prayers, fulfilling wishes from every corner of the northern region. But he was not aware that it was possible to simply take himself back to the Cang Qiong mountain.

As if Shi Qingxuan could read Liu Qingge’s thoughts, the wind master answered him out loud. “We’re not strictly forbidden from visiting our old lives, it’s just most of us don’t want to. Some just feel disengaged from their past lives as hundreds of years pass by. Some ascended from a ruined kingdom that there is simply nothing to go back to,” explained Shi Qingxuan, as he pointed to the surrounding environment. “You’re still new, so the memories are still fresh in your mind and the place still stands, and so is your attachment.”

To be told he had an attachment issue was something new to him. Never had Liu Qingge ever had issues with worldly attachment – where his residence on Bai Zhan peak were only furnished with bare necessity, and the peak itself was the simplest of all compared to other peaks, training his mind and body only to only focus on perfectioning his physical prowess – but words of argument barely made it out of his throat when Shi Qingxuan started pulling Liu Qingge towards the only building in sight. “Now let’s go find this person of yours.”

It seemed like the wind master had misunderstood the situation by referring to Shen Qingqiu as his person! But Liu Qingge had no time to rebuke him, because they had a mystery to solve and they were so close to the answers. 

They stepped into the building through the walls, their heavenly form capable of entering premises with physical barriers without the need to use doorways. There were a few exceptions to this rule, where wards were placed to avoid heavenly interference. But this was one of the largest cultivation sects, and the ward was instead were repellent for demonic power.

The building was where all the peak lords gather  in Cang Qiong for their meetings whenever they were being summoned. Within this familiar hallway Liu Qingge was quick to guide their way to the main room, but when they got there, it was almost too late.

Shen Qingqiu, the typically aloof and collected person, tactical and calculative in every action he took, slammed his fan on the table beside his seat. The table rattled and the tea that seemed untouched since it was poured spilled over the edges until the shaking stopped. His sharp eyes were deadly piercing, glaring at every single peak lord present in the meeting. Everyone seemed to cower into their seats, especially the An Ding peak lord, Shang Qinghua, who was visibly trembling in fear. 

“I have said this once before and listen very, very carefully because I will never say it again,” hissed Shen Qingqiu through gritted teeth. “Liu Qingge was going through qi deviation in the Lingxi cave and I happened to be there. I held him down and he vanished. That was the end of it.”

“Bullshit,” interjected Qi Qingqi, slamming her hand on the armchair in a fit of rage. There were cracks from the force of the impact. “You killed your own martial brother!”

“Calm down, Qi-shimei,” said Mu Qingfang, standing up to stay in between Shen Qingqiu and Qi Qingqi who were seated across from each other in the circle of peak lord meeting. “We have no proof of that. Liu-shidi’s body has not been found, and the medics were there to examine the area right after the emergency talisman was dispatched by Liu-shidi himself. It would be impossible for Shen-shixiong to do something so untowardly to his own martial brother in such a short time.”

“You’ll never know,” scoffed Qi Qingqi sarcastically. “Some people are cunning and cutthroat like that.”

“That’s enough,” bellowed Yue Qingyuan to get everyone’s attention. “We are still investigating this matter, so please, Qi-shimei, please reserve your judgement until we come to a conclusion. I have enlisted the peak lords of Wan Jian and An Ding in assisting me to find evidence, as well as literature that could possibly explain the disappearance of peak lord Bai Zhan.” He turned to face Shen Qingqiu who was already on his feet, seemingly impatient to leave the meeting. “Shen-shidi, in the meantime, please refrain from visiting the Lingxi cave so as to not tamper with the evidence.” 

Shen Qingqiu clucked his tongue, a scoff escaped his throat as he moved towards the door. He turned for one last sweeping gaze around the room, at the accusing look on the peak lords. The calm, cold expression returned to Shen Qingqiu's face. “Wouldn’t even dream of it.”

– -

Something happened in Lingxi cave.

Something bad happened in Lingxi cave, right before Liu Qingge ascended. 

Whatever it was, Liu Qingge was determined to get down to the bottom of the issue and clear up Shen Qingqiu’s name. If people had known he ascended, the other peak lords wouldn’t be so quick to point fingers and vilify the Qing Jing peak lord for a harm he simply didn’t commit. 

But that was one of the core problems.

Liu Qingge wasn’t officially a god. Not yet. Not without his own temples and his own devout followers dedicating money and offerings, lighting incense and kneeling in front of his statue, with his name on their lips as they pray. He couldn’t simply materialise himself in the human realm and explain away the delicate position he was in. He was really close to doing it, but the wind master managed to talk him out of it, and instead coaxed him to follow the next lead they had before making any rash move. 

Standing at the mouth of the Lingxi cave, Liu Qingge stared into the endless darkness deep inside the cavernous rock. There were two senior disciples standing guard there. None of them sensed their arrival, not budging a muscle as the three heavenly officials stepped past the threshold and went inside the cave. After staying silent this entire time, Ming Yi made himself useful by producing a ball of light on his palm and helped illuminate their way.

Liu Qingge let his instinct took over. He led the other two heavenly officials through the familiar winding cave. After a long quiet moment of traversing past beautiful stones and well formed stalactites and stalagmites, he stopped near the area where the flash images of Shen Qingqiu had been plaguing his mind. The fact was further reinforced by the markings left there, of chalk painted on the ground. This must be the alleged crime scene, not to be tampered with. There were a couple of robes on the ground, and judging by the colour, the soft green and white with gold thread embroidery, he knew it belonged to Shen Qingqiu.

“Right here,” said Liu Qingge with confidence, as the wind and earth master stood by Liu Qingge’s side behind the markings drawn and the robes on the ground. He then pointed at the wall. There was nothing special about it, as it was of the same stone that existed throughout this cavern, but he could recall that specific indentation on the wall that had flashed in his mind a couple of times. “I remember seeing that wall.”

Shi Qingxuan clasped his hands and rubbed his hands together. “This is great!”

“It is…?” Liu Qingge was once again baffled. He scrunched his eyebrows and looked at the windmaster in confusion. “This is our only lead now and there’s barely anything here.”

Waving his finger from side to side, Shi Qingxuan tsked. “Lord Liu, have you ever heard about the stone tape theory?”

Liu Qingge shook his head, and looked at Shi Qingxuan back expectantly. The wind master continued to explain. The stone tape theory is a theory where stones are able to record and store history that occurred in front of it. Heaven has found a way to extract these records and play it back to show events throughout history, especially in times where no witness survived. It’s very useful.”

Without further ado, Shi QIngxuan quickly formed a hand seal and a fast strokes of a character Liu Qingge couldn't quite catch, before pushing it towards the wall. The stones absorbed the power and glowed gold for a second. 

At first, nothing happened. But after a moment, the memories played on, like a play projected from the wall.

-

A MOON AGO, LINGXI CAVES

The silence in the cave was shattered by the sound of Liu Qingge’s struggle. It was supposed to be a regular seclusion and cultivation session for Liu Qingge, but due to the unforeseeable disturbance in his qi flow, a qi deviation was well on its way to make his body self-destruct. He could feel the dark qi tearing his cells apart piece by piece, and all he could do was growl in pain as he clutched his body after sending an emergency talisman to summon the Qian Cao peak for emergency medical attention. It was his first and only time ever activating such a talisman, and he wasn’t sure if he would live through to see it work.

There were sounds of approaching footsteps, light and cautious. 

It was impossible for the medical team to arrive within moments of the talisman deployed, and Liu Qingge stayed guarded despite his spiralling condition. Of all people Liu Qingge expected to see in his current state, Shen Qingqiu was the last person he would ever imagine coming to his aid. What was he doing here? He shouldn’t be here. Shen Qingqiu was not a person he ever wanted to show his weakened state to, not when the cunning tactician could take advantage of him. Liu Qingge had fought and sparred with him before, and it wasn’t above Shen Qingqiu to use dirty tactics just to win. But of course the twist of fate would play out the worst possible scenario.

However, it seemed like Liu Qingge wasn’t the only one mortified by the transpiring event. The dread and panic was visible on Shen Qingqiu’s face, drained of colour from witnessing Liu Qingge’s worsening state. Liu Qingge was clearly groaning in pain, clutching at his chest, Cheng Luan lay forgotten on the ground.

Shen Qingqiu held his fan far too tightly that his knuckles turned white. He appeared reluctant, almost calculative. There was a passing moment before he seemed to shake his thoughts away. Swept away by the unfolding motion, he abandoned their past rivalry and his pettiness to stride forward and reach for Liu Qingge’s shoulders. 

“Liu-shidi, get your grip together,” said Shen Qingqiu with fear in his voice masked with anger, while holding down the convulsing Liu Qingge. He pushed Liu Qingge down as gently as he could against the war god’s resistance to get him to sit down in a lotus position. He took a seat face to face right in front of Liu Qingge, mirroring him.“Don’t fight me. I’m trying to help you!”

However Liu Qingge progressively became more hostile. His body was shaking, his eyes glowed bright crimson, and it was spreading down his body in a bright red ember through the interconnected veins. Liu Qingge was losing his coherence, and his mind was barely able to comprehend the words that were being said. Swiftly Shen Qingqiu grabbed both of Liu Qingge’s wrists to locate his vital points, and qi were poured from Shen Qingqiu into Liu Qingge, slowly, steadily. 

It seemed futile at first. Liu Qingge was still shaking, Shen Qingqiu was still struggling. But with persistence, and Shen Qingqiu was nothing but persistent, like a continuous stream of water droplets poured onto a burning bush fire, the glowing crimson eyes and ember veins dimmed. A swirl of red and blue qi mixed together to form purple qi in circulation within Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge was shaking less vigorously than before, and when he opened his eyes, there was a moment of lucidity as he stared at his martial brother.

“Shen-shixiong,” croaked Liu Qingge breathily, as if he just spent these past moments wrestling with invincible monsters. He wasn’t sure how long this moment would last, so he had to be fast and concise. “Stop the transfer, you’re going to deplete your qi reserve. You’ll perish too.”

Prompted by Liu Qingge’s voice, Shen Qingqiu opened his eyes. 

“Shut up, shidi, don’t tell me what to do,” snapped Shen Qingqiu, but he was still carefully transferring his energy through the energy points on the younger man’s wrists. A small bead of sweat was forming on his temple and he appeared slightly breathless. “I don’t want people to blame me if something happened to you.”

“They won’t,” Liu Qingge protested.

Shen Qingqiu scoffed. “They absolutely would. I’m already a villain in so many people’s eyes. That includes you too, Liu-shidi. Weren’t you the one who has been thinking badly of me, with all my immoral behaviour and trickery up my sleeves, spreading the words all over the sect en masse?” questioned Shen Qingqiu with a corner of his mouth quirked up, but no humour accompanying the smile. “We have not gotten along well since our disciple days. Our rivalry is an open secret. There is no way they wouldn’t blame me for taking advantage of your qi deviation to kill you out of pure spite.”

“You could.” Liu Qingge looked at the points they were connected to, the blue energy that was produced from the tips of Shen Qingqiu’s fingers to Liu Qingge’s wrists transferred superfluously with no hitch. He had the exact same line of thought earlier, and now he felt guilty about it. “But you wouldn’t.”

“It’s uncouth to do that,” dismissed Shen Qingqiu. “And I’m no brute.”

“But your qi reserve is finite. Help won’t arrive in a while because we’re deep in the cave.”

Instead of retorting immediately, Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes as he took a long moment to consider. His energy flow was still as steady as it was in the beginning, but his breathing was getting more laboured, and sweat beads rolled down his temples. Liu Qingge could almost see the cogs in Shen Qingqiu head working.

“There is…another way,” said Shen Qingqiu finally after some time, almost hesitant. His eyes slowly open to gaze into Liu Qingge’s like there was something he was trying to convey without saying it. “But if you say no to this there’s a high chance this deviation won’t end well.”

“Why would I say n–”

Shen Qingqiu cut him before he could finish. “Liu-shidi, have you ever dual cultivated?”

Due to the sheer shock from the suggestion, Liu Qingge almost moved away reflexively at the suggestion but Shen Qingqiu’s hold on his wrists was firm. “You brute, stop moving! Do you have a death wish?!”

“I can’t — I nev—” Liu Qingge sputtered, too astonished at the brazen proposition. “There must be another way!”

“I wish there was,” Shen Qingqiu wistfully resigned. He appeared reluctant about the suggestion as much as Liu Qingge felt about the idea, and it seemed like this was the end of the line for survival if there was nothing else on the table for Shen Qingqiu to suggest. There was a look of internal struggle simmering under the surface that Shen Qingqiu was trying to suppress.“But we’re running out of time, and we’re running out of options.”

A stretch of silence passed between them.

“You don’t have to do this, shixiong,” said Liu Qingge softly.

“And you don’t have to die right now,” replied Shen Qingqiu, there was no fight or spite in his words. “If you do have a death wish, though, I’ll be happy to end you in a spar after we leave this wretched cave.”

“I don’t…I don’t know how to do this,” admitted Liu Qingge timidly, turning his face away. “I’ve never dual cultivated before.”

“Just follow my lead,” said Shen Qingqiu, instead of mocking or making fun of Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge found the courage to face the older man again, and this time, his bright green eyes were filled with unwavering resolve. Without wasting a moment, Shen Qingqiu closed the distance between their faces and pressed their lips together.

More qi were poured into Liu Qingge through the kiss. But something different happened this time. The energy that flowed into his system through the vital points on his wrists were flowing in reverse now, going back into Shen Qingqiu, and it created a circuit of qi circulation between the two of them. 

The kiss was forceful, and Liu Qingge didn’t know how to reciprocate at first. It was probably the enhanced qi flow or the worsening qi deviation messing with his mind, but when it started to feel good he started licking and biting Shen Qingqiu’s lips.

Shen Qingqiu pulled away, breathless from the kiss. “Careful there, you brute.”

“Is this dual cultivation?” was all Liu Qingge could manage before he went in for the kiss again, chasing after Shen Qingqiu’s lips. Shen Qingqiu reciprocated the kiss, and as a soft moan escaped his lips, the older man slipped his tongue to deepen the kiss.

They kissed and kissed and kissed, until the energy flow eventually stalled. The shiver returned to Liu Qingge’s body, and he started violently shaking once more. Realising the condition was unstable again, Shen Qingqiu broke off the kiss. “Liu-shidi, listen to me carefully,” said Shen Qingqiu seriously, as he released his grip on Liu Qingge’s wrists. Without breaking the skin contact, he swiftly guided Liu Qingge’s hands to press on the bare skin on both sides of his neck. “Try to hold on to my qi points as I take off our clothes.”

There was no moment wasted on hesitation, no room for negotiation. They had discussed this earlier, and now the time was dire. Liu Qingge desperately tried to look away as Shen Qingqiu disrobe layer after layer, and continued clinging onto his neck as he half crouched to remove his pants. He then kneeled on the discarded layers of clothing in front of Liu Qingge, hands swiftly working on taking off Liu Qingge’s clothes. When he realised it was difficult to remove the sleeves as they needed two contact points at all times, Shen Qingqiu simply untied the robe layers and unlaced the tie that was holding up Liu Qingge’s pants. 

There was nothing far more shocking in Liu Qingge’s life at this point than the act of Shen Qingqiu shoving his delicate hand down Liu Qingge’s pants to expose his already half hard cock. It twitched at the sudden contact, unused to being handled by any other than Liu Qingge himself. Shen Qingqiu wrapped his hand on the shaft and started moving it up and down a few times.

“Shit, we don’t have oil,” cursed Shen Qingqiu under his breath. He spat on his hand and tried again, and this time the movement was much more smooth compared to his previous attempt. It felt good. It felt really good. Who knew the act of rubbing one’s genitals would stoke a fire that he never knew existed within?

 While working on Liu Qingge with one hand, Shen Qingqiu used the other to pry himself open. There was a lovely flush adorning Shen Qingqiu’s face that Liu Qingge couldn’t help but stare. The other man deliberately tried not to meet the other’s eyes, pointedly trying to look at what he was working on although it was virtually impossible. Shen Qingqiu’s breath hitched a few times in the process of preparing himself. He bit his lips to escape the moans that were escaping his throat. 

Once he was ready, Shen Qingqiu climbed on Liu Qingge’s lap. The movement on Liu Qingge’s cock stopped. It was fully erect now, with precum leaking from the tip, balls tight and ready to burst. Liu Qingge felt the strong urge of something bubbling under the surface that had been slowly building inside him, as if he was almost bursting at the seam. When Shen Qingqiu lowered himself inch by inch onto Liu Qingge’s erection, his thoughts dissipated into the singular sensation that enveloped him. 

Liu Qingge was still firmly holding on to Shen Qingqiu’s qi points on his neck, while the older man grabbed him by the shoulders for leverage.

Shen Qingqiu's breath hitched once he was fully sheathed. With body pressed flush and nowhere else to look at, Liu Qingge looked up to meet Shen Qingqiu’s mystified gaze. There was an internal struggle that passed through the older man’s features, but it was gone in a flash. Shen Qingqiu grabbed Liu Qingge’s wrists and pulled his hands to slide down his neck to press flat on the skin of his chest to continue with the qi transfer. A tiny whine escaped his mouth as the palms brushed against his nipples. 

“Move, Liu-shidi,” ordered Shen Qingqiu as he moved up and impaled himself onto Liu Qingge’s cock so he would get the picture. They both groaned, and it echoed all through the cave. Slowly but surely, Liu Qingge started moving his hips. Shen Qingqiu gave out instructions until he got it right, berating Liu Qingge when he moved too forcefully, and nagging at him when it was too slow. “That’s it, there, keep that pace,” Shen Qingqiu finally approved, and Liu Qingge was proud of himself for being a fast learner. Other than being the cure of all ailments in this world, little did he expect that dual cultivation would provide such immense pleasure, more than beating a twelve-foot black moon rhinoceros python. 

As the dual cultivation became more intense, Shen Qingqiu wrapped himself around Liu Qingge’s shoulders and locked their lips together. The energy in both their bodies coalesce into one, circulating and righting itself, the red and purple glowing ember neutralised into bright blue. 

“Shi-shixiong, I’m–”

“C-come, Liu shidi,” said Shen Qingqiu with laboured breath, and Liu Qingge let go. It was a moment of intense surge of sensation that coursed through his body, and then blank. He spilled inside Shen Qingqiu, and the force of the orgasm was so strong he had to bite into Shen Qingqiu’s neck to muffle the scream that was rippling through him.

When he came to, Shen Qingqiu was stroking himself to completion, and his cum splattered across their abdomens. He slumped forward, leaning his full weight on Liu Qingge as he caught his breath, exhausted from saving the younger man’s life. They were quiet for a long stretch of time.

Maybe it was the aftershock of righting a qi deviation. Maybe it was the ecstasy of experiencing his first orgasm. Maybe it was a feeling inside him that started to shift away from hatred, like tectonic plates reshaping the face of the earth with a single move. It got Liu Qingge acting rashly, wrapping his arms around Shen Qingqiu’s waist, burying his face on Shen Qingqiu’s chest. “Thank you, Shen-shixiong. I owe you my life. From now on, it is yours.”

And then he dissipated into a thousand brilliant silver stardust, and vanished right in front of Shen Qingqiu’s eyes.

Chapter Text

“Oh my,” was what Shi Qingxuan could say as he fanned himself in increasing speed, after watching what transpired. His cheek was flaming red, but also curious. Ming Yi, on the other hand, was resolutely looking at anywhere but the stone projection, as if he wasn’t paying attention. The red tip of his ears, however, immediately gave him away. 

Liu Qingge paid no heed to the other two heavenly officials. How could he possibly do so? He was too stunned into silence as the memories came back to him. How quickly he forgot the single most pleasurable moment  in his thirty something long years of life as an immortal peak lord. More importantly, he had ascended and left Shen Qingqiu to pick up the pieces, to answer to the other peak lords who were already suspicious of him even prior to this event. Moreover, Liu Qingge himself might have stoked the flame of hatred when he was alive! Liu Qingge had left his martial brother alone, after he had thrust himself into a compromising position and offered himself for dual cultivation to help fix Liu Qingge’s qi deviation, despite their rivalry and the mutual hate they shared towards each other. What shameful behaviour!

If the earth could split into two and swallow Liu Qingge whole, he wouldn’t even fight it. That was a fate befitting to people with little to no awareness of how big of an ungrateful savage they were. 

But moments lapsed, and the ground beneath him was still firm under his feet. 

The sound of the wind and the earth master whispering chatter brought Liu Qingge back to the present moment. With a thick face, he turned to bow to them.

“Thank you for helping me solve this mystery, wind master, earth master,” said Li Qingge, holding back the tremor in his voice. His hands were fisted tight by his sides.

Shi Qingxuan waved his fan around. “Not a big issue, Lord Liu! Right, Ming Yi?” When Ming Yi didn’t answer, he pressed on. “Now that you have recovered your memories, what are you going to do?”

There was a long stretch of silence. There were many things and nothing warring in his brain simultaneously, as he considered his next plan of action. Liu Qingge fisted his hands on his sides, and after a moment, he said, “I’m going to find a way to fix my mistake.”

“Well, then, just remember that you cannot tell them about your interim position within the heavenly martial court. That should be the only rule you have to stick to,” reminded Shi Qingxuan as he looped his arm around Ming Yi’s elbow. “Good luck!”

With a gentle swirl of wind, the two heavenly officials disappeared from the cave.

With one person in mind, Liu Qingge willed himself to be where he was.

*

The tall shoots reaching for the sky and the scent of bamboo forest immediately let Liu Qingge know that he arrived at the intended destination. There were a bunch of disciples meditating under the pavilion, guided by the hallmaster. A group of older disciples were running laps around the training ground. One girl was scattering seeds on the lawn by a bamboo house to feed the birds, while in the distance another boy was made to cut logs to be used to make fire. The luscious green scenery of Qing Jing peak was a contrast to the barren peak that was Bai Zhan, where trees would not grow past a certain height as it was made to be target practice by disciples, and wood and straw splinters littered the ground from broken practice dummies. 

Liu Qingge turned to face the bamboo house and saw wisps of smoke gently puffing out the chimney with the wind. Standing in the walkway towards the entrance, he had to steel himself to face the person who had saved his life. Who held Liu Qingge in his arms, when it was clear that Shen Qingqiu had a strong distaste of being touched by fellow men. He had seen multiple times in their youth, where fellow disciples were beaten to a pulp for trying to put their arms around Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder or just being touchy in general. This wouldn’t be an issue with the female disciples, and Liu Qingge had generally attributed this to Shen Qingqiu’s perverted nature. While this was here or there, Shen Qingqiu was mindful enough to forgo his repulsion to save his nemesis, which made Liu Qingge much more guilty about how things had transpired so far.

While he was busy contemplating his thoughts and further actions, a young girl with hair loops beat Liu Qingge to the bamboo house and approached the doorway with a tray in hand. 

“Shizun,” called the girl to no avail. She tried again, louder this time while knocking on the door, but still no answer. “Uncle Jiu!” she yelled right at the moment the door opened, revealing an angry looking Shen Qingqiu. He seemed like he was ready to punish the student who dared to bother him in his abode, but stopped the moment he heard the name Uncle Jiu being spoken by the girl.

“Yingying. I told you not to call me that when we’re at the sect,” Shen Qingqiu admonished, but the girl was oblivious. He stared at her for a moment and sighed wearily as he stepped aside, motioning the girl called Yingying to enter. Instead of taking notice of the scold, she simply smiled and skipped past the threshold with the tray she was holding with one hand.

She placed the tray on the table and presented it like it magically appeared on the table. “I brought you dinner, uncle Jiu!”

Liu Qingge knew this girl. Or at least, he knew of this girl. On top of Shen Qingqiu’s visits to the Warm Red Pavillion, there were rumours circulating around his indecent behaviours towards his female disciples, and the name Ning Yingying was the one name most frequently talked about due to how close they were. There were times where disciples from other peaks visited Qing Jing peak and were surprised at how openly the peak lord took advantage of his innocent disciple, inviting her into his house in broad daylight. There was no proof of abuse, though, and the girl remained perky as ever like nothing bad had happened to her. But of course, of course it wouldn’t stop the word of mouth from spreading.

He trailed after the girl to enter the house, even though with his ability he knew the use of a door wasn’t necessary for him. It felt intrusive, even if they couldn’t see him. Especially since Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu were not on good terms since their disciple days and he was never invited into the older man’s house before. 

The house was…surprisingly simple. He expected lavish, gaudy furniture and elaborate decor. It was nothing but. It was tidy and clean, with books and scrolls lining up the shelves by the wall. The firepit was lit as the dusk fast approached, and the back area leading to the sleeping quarter was separated by a wooden screen with bamboo carvings. The stacks of paper on his working desk near the open window were neatly arranged and next to it the ink grind was still fresh. Shen Qingqiu must be marking his students' report before he was interrupted by his…niece? 

Shen Qingqiu stood across the girl with his arms crossed. He sounded exasperated. “Yingying.”

Ning Yingying tilted her head and blinked her eyes innocently. “Yes, uncle?”

“What did I say about calling me uncle in public?”

“But nobody was around.”

“What if someone heard you?”

“Then let them hear it!”

“Yingying,” warned Shen Qingqiu, his eyes cold. 

She seemed to be affected by the warning and pouted. “So what if people think I got into the Cang Qiong sect just because of my uncle's favour? I don’t care.”

“I do,” said Shen Qingqiu tersely. “Give yourself more credit, Yingying. You’re great at helping around the sect. The junior disciples adore you because you simplify the teaching materials for them. You’re good at calligraphy and art. You earned your place here.”

Silence blanketed the room, save for the crackling fire on the firepit. Slowly the pout on Ning Yingying’s mouth disappeared and she nodded pensively. “Understood, shizun.”

“Good,” said Shen Qingqiu with a small smile. His mood took a 180 turn, and he was using a softer tone now. He took a step closer towards the girl and patted her head gently. “Now what did you bring me today?”

“Red date and ginger soup!” answered Ning Yingying, a bit more cheerful than earlier as she sat down and uncovered all the bowls on the tray. “I see you have been looking more tired than usual and have not been eating as much, so I asked the kitchen lady to make this for you.”

With no room to protest, Shen Qingqiu was pulled to sit, and Ning Yingying served a bowl of rice in front of him. She took away his fan and traded it for chopsticks. “Eat, uncle. We’re not in public now and it’s just you and me, so it’s okay if I call you uncle Jiu, right?”

It seemed like Shen Qinqiu wanted to argue at first but his mind appeared to be making a quick mental calculation and decided against it. He shook his head and sighed in resignation and slowly started to eat while the young disciple chatter away to fill the silence. 

In this close quarter, Liu Qingge could see it. The dark circles under his eyes, the sunken cheeks. The tension on his shoulder was visible through the layer of robes, though it had significantly relaxed compared to this afternoon during the peak lord meeting. There was no mistaking how his martial brother had been living on edge since Liu Qingge had disappeared from the Lingxi cave.

Liu Qingge’s heart sagged with guilt.

“I’m going down the mountain tomorrow to visit your mother,” said Shen Qingqiu after he finished eating, placing the chopsticks on top of the bowl. “Maybe stay for a couple of days. Do you want to come with me?”

“I have to take the junior disciples to Qian Cao peak tomorrow to learn about useful herbs,”

Ning Yingying shook her head as she gathered the empty bowls back on the tray. “Say hi to mother and everyone back at the pavilion? I miss everyone.”

They continued to talk about people Liu Qingge didn’t know about, presumably about their family members. Shen Qingqiu wasn’t a warm person, but it was the closest term Liu Qingge could give to describe the way his martial brother was talking about these people. 

Something didn’t seem to add up, though, because as far as Liu Qingge knew, Shen Qingqiu was alone when he first arrived at the Cang Qiong sect. Words circulated that he was the son of a faraway noble family who disowned him for pursuing cultivation. People in the sect reason that was why he was such an abrasive person and became really tetchy when he was asked about his family. During lunar new years and summer breaks, he never left the mountains. Liu Qingge knew this because there were times where he sometimes did the same, wanting to polish his skills and believing that taking a break would only slow down his progress in becoming an undefeatable warrior in the martial world. When he found out Shen Qingqiu was around too, he was delighted as there was someone else for him to spar with despite the older man’s unwillingness. (Shen Qingqiu, still Shen Jiu at the time, was understandably annoyed.)

But no, he never spoke of a family. 

After a passing moment, the uncle and niece pair exchanged their words of goodbye and off she went into the night. Liu Qingge was left on his own in Shen Qingqiu’s house, still standing in the corner where he had been since he got there. Now that Shen Qingqiu was clear of distraction, Liu Qingge could finally do the things he set out to do when he transported himself to the Qing Jing peak. 

But his mind was blank. He didn’t know how to proceed. Should he make his presence known and explain the truth? No, there was no way he could simply appear out nowhere at a peak lord house without some sort of retaliation. Even if he could tell half truth to Shen Qingqiu, there was no guarantee that other people in the sect would accept it. He was there in the peak meeting earlier today, he had seen how everyone doubted Shen Qingqiu. There was also the fact that he couldn’t divulge the full truth of the matter to the people until his position in the martial court was confirmed.

When he was growing up, Liu Qingge was told that he was someone who wouldn’t think things through and always acted rashly. No clever trickery, just straight honesty, that was the way to live. However, in his pursuit to be a strong warrior who could best his enemies, Liu Qingge needed to have a sensible brain in his head. And this was one of the moments where he had to put it to good use. Simply appearing in front of Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t fix all the misunderstanding that had been happening since the incident in the Lingxi cave, especially when he had witnessed it himself how sceptical the other peak lords were towards Shen Qingqiu.

Liu Qingge’s eyes trailed towards Shen Qingqiu who was back at his work desk. He seemed to be marking his student’s paperwork, but he had been staring at the same page for a while now, and hadn’t written any notes on the report. There was a vacant look in his eyes from the candle illuminating the room, accentuating his delicate features as he leaned his chin on one knuckle. The cascading silky hair over the shoulder, sharp cheeks and the full lips, but gone were the usual cold glares and the permanent scowl on his face. He simply appeared exhausted, as if he hadn’t been resting properly this past month. The brush had been suspended above the piece of paper for as long as Liu Qingge had been staring, thinking about the next course of action without the recovered memories of the night he spent with Shen Qingqiu from Lingxi cave muddling his thought process.

Silently bowing to the man who wasn’t even aware of his existence in the room, Liu Qingge teleported himself back to heaven.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Shen Qingqiu abhorred more in life, it was receiving an uninvited guest at his house.

And there, standing along the pathway right outside the door to his bamboo house, stood the younger sibling to the bane of his existence. 

The trip to the Warm Red Pavilion had given him the break and the rest he very much needed after…after everything. He tried not to think too much about what had happened, but there was always something that kept nagging at the back of his head. 

Since he emerged from Lingxi cave, there was no moment of peace. Obviously life was never a walk in the park for him, but everything he had tried hard to build and maintain these past years seemed to go downhill at an accelerated speed. There were interrogations, accusations, and threats.There was a constant need to be on guard in case the other peak lords decided to round him up and punish him for something he did not commit.  He didn’t feel safe, even at his own house. Granted, he didn’t have the best relationship with his fellow martial brothers and sisters, not with his own cold attitude and sharp tongues, but he had long since abandoned the idea of explaining himself. If they firmly believe he was guilty, then the verdict was already decided. 

Mu Qingfang was the only one who knew the full truth, only because he discovered bodily fluid at the site and the glaring bite mark at the nape of Shen Qingqiu’s neck. And Yue Qingyuan, of course, being the sect leader. Though Shen Qingqiu knew he was only being nosy, because Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t tell him anything at all unless he played his sect leader card. Disgusting abuse of power.

Nevertheless. Moving on.

He tried not to think too much about dual cultivation. It would be a lie to say that the whole Lingxi incident had no effect on him, but he loathed the fact that his action did not change the worst possible outcome he could imagine, and the dual cultivation was essentially pointless.  Sex was sex, and at least this time he was doing it out of his own free will. Despite Shen Qingqiu’s hatred and mistrusts towards men, he tried not to let the abuse he encountered in the past hindered him from living, especially as this dual cultivation was essential to his survival. It was done out of necessity, because Liu Qingge was dying, and he was dragging Shen Qingqiu down along with him. 

And he really thought he did it! Through their shared qi, he could feel the moment of clarity, where the dual cultivation reached its peak and rectified the deviation. 

But Liu Qingge, that brute, dared to die anyway. 

And now sitting face to face with Shen Qingqiu in his living room was Liu Mingyan, quietly looking at him without breaking eye contact since he invited her in.

It went on for a while, and it wasn’t until Luo Binghe knocked on the front door to deliver tea that the silence around them shattered, and so did their little staring competition. 

“So, what brought Liu-shizhi to Qing Jing peak today?” asked Shen Qingqiu cautiously. He had his fan poise in hand, fanning away mildly at this uncomfortable conversation, most importantly ready to deflect any sudden attack. The calm in her eyes and the composed mannerism didn’t seem like she was here on a mission to execute Shen Qingqiu, but he could never be too careful.

There was a moment of contemplation, a moment where she fiddled with the edge of her sleeves as she composed herself. She didn’t seem like someone who would fiddle. “I’m here with a message,” said Liu Mingyan finally. “That my brother is safe, and Shen-shibo should not feel guilty for what happened after trying to save his life.”

“Is that so?” Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help with the insincere laugh that escaped his mouth, after a moment of stun at her words blew over. He narrowed his gaze and snapped shut his fan with a sharp thud. “And pray tell, how did Liu-shizhi know all this?”

“I had a dream.”

“A dream?” Shen Qingqiu shook his head with a half hearted chuckle. He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry.

Liu Mingyan was not disheartened by Shen Qingqiu’s reaction. Instead, she pressed on. “My brother came to me in my sleep. He said he’s in a better place now, but he can’t exactly explain where that is until the right time comes. He is indebted to you for saving his life and will do everything he can to make it up to you.”

Shen Qingqiu raised his eyebrows. “Will he now?” He did not ask how. “Are you sure that’s not a demon in your sleep that’s playing with your emotional state?”

Liu Mingyan shook her head, her hands balled into a fist. “When we were little, we had a codeword we invented, so we would know it was us if we were ever separated. Only the two of us knew about it. Not even our parents were in on our secret. So no, I know it really was my brother whom I spoke to,” said Liu Mingyan firmly. When Shen Qingqiu didn’t say anything to that, she continued. “While you were away, I already met the other peak lords and explained to them the situation revolving around my brother, and about your attempt to save my brother’s life in the cave. I have also written to my parents so they will not be sad or worried anymore.”

There was a moment of silence as Shen Qingqiu stared at Liu Mingyan. He had been sceptical, but Liu Mingyan didn’t seem the type to joke about serious matters, such as the disappearance of her own brother. “Wait. Did you really speak to him, to that brute?”

Liu Mingyan’s face might be partially covered with a veil, but her eyes were more than enough to convey her fierce sincerity. It reminded him of her stupidly honest brother. She gave Shen Qingqiu a firm nod. 

Shen Qingqiu’s hold on his fan tightened. He didn’t tell her about dual cultivation, did he? That would be a thoroughly awkward conversation to have with your siblings. “Did he mention anything specific?”

She shook her head. “Just the fact that you saved his life. That you shared your qi with him. That you could have let him die but you didn’t,” said Liu Mingyan. “Why didn’t you tell the other peak lords about it?”

“Does it matter?” Shen Qingqiu countered. “People will believe what they want to believe. Besides, this isn’t the only time something like this happened between me and your brother.”

There was a moment of confusion that passed through her features. Her brows were scrunched, mind whirring away like she was putting puzzle pieces in places. “The well mission,” exclaimed Liu Mingyan once she reached her conclusion. She was smarter than her brother, of course she could piece it together in a snap of a finger. 

“I think I have spoken too much,” dismissed Shen Qingqiu as he got up from his seat, hoping she would take the hint. “If Liu-shizhi has nothing more to say, this peak lord has paperwork and urgent correspondence to attend to.”

As expected, Liu Mingyan was better at picking up social cues than her brother. “One last thing,” said Liu Mingyan as she stood up as well. “But this is coming from me, not my brother.”

“What is it?”

“I know my brother was not the best at expressing his emotions,” she started, shifting her gaze from the floor to Shen Qingqiu. “But all this while…he only wanted your attention. Like children pulling pigtails of someone they like at a playground. I don’t think he ever realised it. He never intended anything malicious when it comes to you, Shen-shibo. Please forgive him if he overstepped your boundaries.” Liu Mingyan startled Shen Qingqiu when she gave him a deep bow. “Thank you for saving my brother’s life.”

After Liu Mingyan left, Shen Qingqiu sat in silence until the colour of the sky outside his windows changed, sipping tea that had gone cold a long time ago.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge scratched his head as he went over the scattered paperwork that laid all over the top of his large mahogany desk. A couple of sentences in, his mind started drifting off. It was a vicious cycle of trying to distract himself from one thing, but the distraction from the thing distracted him from the thing that was supposed to provide him distraction. After going over the same line twelve times, he decided enough was enough and threw in the towel. 

The thing was, he was trying his best to not think too much on how things went between his sister and Shen Qingqiu. 

It had been days since he appeared in Liu Mingyan’s dream to clear the air and convince her that he was doing better than ever. Since then he had visited her every other day now, but Shen Qingqiu was not at his peak for his sister to talk to and there was actually nothing they could do until he was back in Qing Jing peak. 

There was a moment of relief in his sister’s face when he uttered the random codeword Liu Mingyan had made up in their childhood. A child with a massive imagination, she was convinced that a shapeshifting demon could impersonate either of them as they played hide and seek in the forest, and therefore a codeword between them was important. In his current predicament, he couldn’t help but think how smart his sister was.

A sudden burst of his door startled Liu Qingge in his seat.

“Lord Liu, I came to play~!”

Barging through the door was a lady in teal and pink robes, a lady he had never seen before in his life.

He blinked twice, unsure what to do in this situation. Cautiously he removed himself from his work desk and approached the person who had just trespassed into his office. The way she carried herself, her pristine looking robes and expensive looking accessories let him know that she was someone who was of high standing within the heavenly court. Before Liu Qingge could ask, a middle court official that was supposed to guard the martial god of the north court came running in after her.

“Wait, master, you cannot just barge into this palace as you please,” exclaimed the guy, sounding winded from running after her. “And I haven’t announced your arrival yet!”

“Why not?” she asked him. “I am Lord Liu’s friend!”

“I don’t know you,” retorted Liu Qingge curtly, not helping the situation.

The lady pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest, the ribbons around her fluttered with every move. “Hey, I thought we were friends?”

Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes. “We are?”

“Lord Liu, this is the wind master, Lord Shi Qingxuan,” explained the middle court officer apologetically. “He’s – she’s a, er —”

“I like to switch it up sometimes,” Shi Qingxuan helpfully added, to end the officer’s suffering. She fanned herself demurely. “Now that you know I am the wind master, I’m sure this officer can excuse himself so I can discuss important matters with Lord Liu?”

Liu Qingge wanted to point out that the first thing she shouted when she entered his office was ‘let’s play!’, but he nodded anyway, and dismissed the long-suffering officer to go back to his stationed duty.

He waited until the door was closed before he turned back to face the Shi Qingxuan. “Wind master, how can I help you today?”

“Nothing much, really. Ming-xiong is off somewhere I don’t know and I’m bored,” said Shi Qingxuan as she twirled and skipped her way towards Liu Qingge’s working desk, glossing over his paperwork and scrunching up her face in mock disgust. She took a seat on his chair and leaned her chin on her laced fingers. “I’m also curious to find out what happened with your shixiong after you recovered your memories.”

Flush creeped on Liu Qingge’s face when he recalled the fact that both Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi saw what transpired in the Lingxi cave. He was grateful for their help in the recovery, but what happened should not be witnessed by others, especially since Shen Qingqiu was the other party involved and he would burn with fury if he ever found out.

“I, uh, I still haven’t talked to my shixiong,” confessed Liu Qingge finally, once he got over his embarrassment. He leaned on the desk next to Shi Qingxuan and crossed his arms. “I went to see my sister in her dream and told her to clarify the situation to everyone in Cang Qiong mountain because the other peak lords don’t trust Shen-shixiong, but they would believe it if it came from Mingyan’s mouth. And also for her to let him know that I’m doing okay.”

The chair almost tumbled backward when Shi Qingxuan shot up too fast.“That’s it?!”

Liu Qingge blinked twice. “What else am I supposed to do?” he asked innocently.

“What about thanking him in person! Apologising to him! Showering him with gifts for things he had done for you!” exclaimed Shi Qingxuan with an exaggerated sigh. Without hesitation, she grabbed Liu Qingge by the wrist to drag him out of the office. “He saved your life and sent you to heaven and you’re not doing anything about it? Unforgivable.”

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Shopping!”

***

“Is this really necessary?” asked Liu Qingge as she stopped in front of a stall of a hairpin merchant, staring at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her features were softer, her chest was fuller. She could easily pass as her sister, if there was a veil covering half her face. Her shoulder was still relatively broad, though, and people could probably still recognise Liu Qingge even though she had shifted into a female form. Passersby in the bustling market were discreetly staring at the two ethereal beauties chatting away, like goddesses descended from the sky to shop amongst the mortals. Men turned their heads twice to catch their glimpse for a second longer, women whispered with each other to speculate about their beauty secrets.

“It’s more fun this way,” replied Shi Qingxuan nonchalantly, as she went through the hairpin on display. They were all pretty, of course, but Liu Qingge wouldn’t be able to tell which one was better than the other, or which would suit Shen Qingqiu the best. “Tell me, Lord Liu, how would you describe your martial brother?”

“Mean. Arrogant. Short tempered. Sarcastic. I’m pretty sure he enjoys making his students cry.”

Shi Qingxuan sighed and pulled Liu Qingge by the elbow to walk down the street, avoiding kids running around them in the process. “Positive things, Lord Liu.”

“Elegant,” said Liu Qingge without a second to think. “He’s a brilliant tactician.  Begrudgingly smart. Resourceful, but annoying when he resorted to using dirty tactics against you. Fairly strong cultivation. Perfectionist. Delicate fingers. Sharp eyes. Sharp jaw. Beautiful face. I accidentally saw him smile at a female disciple once and I thought the world was going to end for a second. And I wouldn’t have said this a few moons ago, but now…I think he’s kind. Kind enough to save me from qi deviation.”

“Well at least there are more positives than negatives.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s mean.”

“You obviously don’t mind it, though.”

Liu Qingge abruptly stopped walking. “What do you mean by that?”

“Because despite all that negative things you said, you still associate closely with him,” shrugged Shi Qingxuan, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Denial was brewing inside Liu Qingge, but the arguments one by one fled her, because the Wind Master was right. Even before the Lingxi cave incident, she had been the one seeking out Shen Qingqiu despite the Qing Jing lord’s displeasure. And when the latter was vexed, he would hurl mean insults to Liu Qingge. It had hurt the first couple of times, especially when they were younger, but after that she had almost come to expect being called a brute, the insult became a word that flew over her head. (There was no mistaking that she could be a brute, at times.)

“So you must want to be his best friend, right?” asked Shi Qingxuan, after stopping to get candied apples for each of them. She didn’t wait for Liu Qingge’s answer. “Like me and Ming-xiong! He’s always so quick to deny that we’re best friends! Even though we’ve done a lot of things together. Not the thing you and your shixiong did in the cave, though, that does look fun, I’m going to ask Ming-xiong later if we could do that, but there were plenty of other things we did together, in heavenly realm and on earth! That should count for something, right?”

“Mn,” said Liu Qingge, a little unsure but nodded in agreement anyway.

“Right,” echoed Shi Qingxuan, nodding firmly to the statement. She then turned to face her companion. “So we have to find the best gifts, so he would forgive you and be nicer to you. And then he’ll be your best friend. Do you know what he likes?”

It wasn’t a hard question to answer. It should have been unsettling how quickly Liu Qingge could give answers to that in a split second. She looked down at the fan in Shi Qingxuan’s hand and pointed at it. “He really loves his paper fan.”

Her mind went to the times Shen Qingqiu used his fan. To fan himself, to hide his face, to snap it open or close for emphasis, to hit his students on the head or in the chest with it. The way Shen Qingqiu danced with the fan in deflecting attacks during sparring sessions seemed to be Liu Qingge’s favourite memory of her martial brother’s use of the particular item essential to the man.

Shi Qingxuan snapped open her fan and proceeded to fan herself swiftly, showing off her beautiful fan. “I know just the place.”

***

When Liu Qingge was back in his original form after a little shopping spree he had with Shi Qingxuan, he was faced with a mountain of gifts, stowed away somewhere in his heavenly chamber. Now the problem was how to deliver them to the intended person. 

Since he got back, he had entered Liu Mingyan’s dreamscape once more for an update. She had welcomed him with open arms this time, no more worrying about a demon intruding her mind. In her dream, she was barely over 5 year-old form, reaching out to her big elder brother, clinging onto his shoulder until he carried her to sit by the gentle stream that ran in the forest behind their house.

He found her account reassuring. The peak lords seemed to accept her explanation well, with Mu Qingfang probing for all the possible details he could get. His parents were relieved to hear the words from his sister. And Shen Qingqiu. Of course Shen Qingqiu was sceptical over the whole situation, given the bizarre way of how they had parted. Of course he would scoff at Liu Mingyan, because the explanation came to her through a dream. 

“But there’s one more thing,” said Liu Mingyan seriously and coherently, despite her childlike appearance. “Do you remember the well mission you had a few years ago?”

Liu Qingge paused for a moment to think. “The mission where Shen Qingqiu tried to kill me?”

Liu Mingyan nodded. “He didn’t try to kill you,” she sighed, sounding like a troubled child. “That was a misunderstanding.”

“What do you mean it was a misunderstanding? I was there.”

“Brother, this is why you should stop jumping to conclusions,” exclaimed young Liu Mingyan, hitting against his chest with her tiny fist and a pout on her face. “The enemy was sneaking up on your back and he was trying to kill it. And he succeeded, but he accidentally hurt you in the process. But you immediately thought he was trying to kill you! And Shen-shibo is not someone who seems to like to explain himself, so he just lets himself be misunderstood!” 

A moment passed as Liu Qingge digested his sister’s words. “So I’ve got it all wrong all this time?”

The small child fiercely nodded. “And I asked Shang-shishu to confirm this because he was there at the time as well. He said Shen-shibo was threatening him and that’s why he didn’t say anything.”

“Huh,” was all Liu Qingge could say. It was a bitter medicine to swallow to find out that you had been a bigger asshole than the biggest asshole in the Cang Qiong sect. More than anything now he felt obligated to do right by Shen Qingqiu, because there was no way he could live with himself knowing he had besmirched the other man’s honour from his own incompetence, from his tendency to jump to conclusions. He wanted to take the responsibility, not only for being a thorn in Shen Qingqiu’s side for the longest time, but also for the things they had done in the Lingxi cave.

Dual cultivation partners were bound to one another for the rest of their lives, right? That was what his parents said when he was younger.

After spending some time catching up with Liu Mingyan, they reluctantly parted ways and made a promise to visit her from time to time. In his incorporeal form, Liu Qingge stood by his sister’s bedside and wiped the tears she shed in her sleep. The discrepancy between the dream Mingyan and real Mingyan really hit him how much his little sister had grown. How time had flown. He tucked her in, and turned his heel to transport himself to Qing Jing peak.

Trying to be respectful, Liu Qingge stood outside the bamboo house by the window to observe Shen Qingqiu without trespassing. From this angle, Liu Qingge could only see his side profile, but that was more than enough. As expected, Shen Qingqiu was still wide awake despite the late hour. The stack of papers in front of him dwindled at a quite astonishing speed, as the brush in his hand was quick to mark a big X red mark right across the paper on calligraphy that simply wasn’t up to the teacher’s standard. On top of their cultivation training, the mastery of four arts were vital for Qing Jing peak students after all. 

Shen Qingqiu, nothing short of a perfectionist, was a brutal teacher. 

At one point during marking, he seemed to grow impatient with the progressively ugly calligraphy. Liu Qingge was pretty sure it was fairly decent and his own students at Bai Zhan peak would fare much worse than the Qing Jing disciples. Leaning his head back against the chair, Shen Qingqiu massaged his temples and let out a disappointed sigh. He attempted to pour another cup of tea from the teapot but it was empty. The sigh was louder this time.

Instead of taking it as a sign to call it a night and turning into bed, Shen Qingqiu reached out for an unopened letter on his table. Liu Qingge was standing close enough by the window to be able to read bits and pieces of it, marked with the Qian Cao peak emblem. It was Mu Qingfang who wrote the letter, asking about Shen Qingqiu’s wellbeing. There was a mention of the Lingxi cave incident and the older man was asking for Shen Qingqiu to visit Qian Cao peak for a general check up, as it was coming up to two full moons since it happened. 

Liu Qingge was expecting Shen Qingqiu to sigh again or to crumple the letter into a ball and toss it into the fire pit. He did none of those. What he did was stare at the letter for a very long time, left his work desk, walked outside the bamboo house, and mounted Xiu Ya and swiftly pierced through the clouds into the dark sky, sparsely illuminated by the nearly full moon.

Tailing right behind the Qing Jing peak lord, the distance covered within half a shichen was impressive, especially since it was in the middle of the night and the reduced visibility at this hour would usually dampen anyone’s speed. It took a while for Liu Qingge to figure out where Shen Qingqiu was heading. Slowly they descended from the cloudy sky and headed towards a porous limestone mountain, landing right at the mouth of the Lingxi cave that was situated halfway to the top of the mountain. There was no way in or out of it unless one climbed the mountain or used a sword to fly there.

Unlike the last time Liu Qingge visited, there was nobody guarding outside it. Shen Qingqiu stood there for a while, staring into the eerie darkness inside the cave, like there was a quiet whisper from within calling for him. There wasn’t fear in his eyes, though. There was uncertainty. In the middle of nowhere, assuming that he was on his own, Shen Qingqiu let his stoic mask down. Shen Qingqiu turned himself away from the cave as he took a step to leave, but a second later he turned his heel and lit an orb on his palm, walking into the cave with a newfound determination.

Liu Qingge quietly followed. He walked right behind Shen Qingqiu, through the tortuous labyrinthe that was the Lingxi cave. They passed a somewhat familiar route, familiar enough as he just did this fairly recently. He doubted Shen Qingqiu had done the same, given that he was banned from stepping into the Lingxi cave until recently, but Liu Qingge had no business doubting Shen Qingqiu’s capabilities. 

They indeed were walking towards the area of the qi deviation incident.

Once they reached there, Shen Qingqiu let the orb floated from his hand to the top of the cave, illuminating the cold cavern with its faint blue light. He reached into his sleeve to retrieve something from a qiankun pouch.

A candle was lit, and an orange was placed right in front of it. Shen Qingqiu slowly closed his eyes, and brought his palm together.

“If you’re not dead yet… stay safe, brute,” said Shen Qingqiu in a barely audible plea. A moment stretched on. He opened his eyes again. “Or I’ll kill you.”

 There was a touch of softness in his sharp eyes despite the harsh words.

The very next morning, there was a wooden box containing a brand new fan placed on Shen Qingqiu’s windowsill.

Chapter Text

Despite his busy schedule as a heavenly official, Liu Qingge made time to leave gifts on Shen Qingqiu’s windowsill. 

Small little trinkets, petite jade pendants, precious pearls and beautiful hair decoration. As for bigger gifts like slain beasts claimed to be good for cultivation, he left it right in his front yard. He tried to carefully drain the blood from each of the beasts as much as possible before presenting them, because he knew Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t appreciate the mess.

Feng would sometimes follow Liu Qingge for his fun expeditions to hunt these rare beasts, because he was sick of hearing nonsensical prayers from his own worshipper. 

“It’s embarrassing requests,” dismissed Feng Xin whenever Liu Qingge asked. He seemed almost angry as he butchered a Hornless Rhinoceros Gazelle. Liu Qingge had done his part by slitting its throat to drain blood out of it. He then let Feng Xin take over, as he seemed like he needed to blow off some steam over prayers and requests. 

“Like I don’t even know how to make it happen. Use your hand. Or your mouth. It’ll get bigger alright,” mumbled Feng Xin. 

Liu Qingge didn’t interject, or ask what would get bigger with the use of a hand or mouth. He frankly wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Maybe because he was new at being a heavenly official, and so far the prayers he had to answer were nothing out of the ordinary.

Once they were done, they dropped the neatly tied together beast right in front of Shen Qingqiu’s bamboo house and off they went again, back to the heavenly martial ground to spar.

***

Upon returning from teaching classes, the last thing Shen Qingqiu expected to see at the end of a long day was another slain beast at his doorstep.This was the fifth time it had happened in the past couple of moons. The person who did it was stealthy at hiding their trace of spiritual aura. It felt like he had accidentally adopted a feral cat, a large one that was strong enough to go for these larger beasts with a clean kill and a smart one who knew enough about bestiary to know these slain beasts were good for cultivation when consumed.  A hunch was telling him that this was the same person who had been leaving gifts on his windowsill. 

Shen Qingqiu flicked his sleeve and entered his house without sparing the dead animal another glance. He fanned himself. He fanned himself using his new fan with increasing exasperation, as he paced back and forth in his living room.

The fan he found on his windowsill  had since become his favourite, despite his reluctance to use it at first. It had beautiful carvings and intricate design on its handle, wood polished to perfection and the paper was lightweight yet sturdy at the same time, perfect for daily use and for martial fights. The bamboo painting and beautiful calligraphy on it was tastefully done, a custom made beauty that was no doubt created with only Shen Qingqiu in mind. How could he possibly resist that?

A long consideration had narrowed down Shen Qingqiu’s list of suspects that could pull this off. On top of the list was of course Yue Qingyuan, because Qi-Ge and his stupid guilt were neverending. For some reason, Yue Qingyuan felt responsible for what happened in Lingxi cave, despite none of the decisions that led to this current predicament were made by the sect leader. Well, maybe except for allowing Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge to go into seclusion in the Lingxi cave at the same time.

Plus, he had been weird since he learned what happened between Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge. (Weirder than usual.) The true, exhaustive account on what occurred, because he refused to leave the room when Shen Qingqiu recounted the tale to Mu Qingfang who was there to attend to his injuries. Knowing that they had to resort to dual cultivation seemed to unsettled the sect leader, as if he had failed to protect his younger brother. Again. Which was …ridiculous.  Unlike the time he was abused by Qiu Janluo and Wu Yanzi, Shen Qingqiu had agency, and he wasn’t helpless. It was simply a clinical need, Shen Qingqiu convinced himself.

The only reason he wasn’t fully convinced it was Qi-Ge who did it was because he was away for a night hunt in the last 2 weeks, away in the most southern part of the region, and yet the gifts kept appearing on Shen Qingqiu’s windowsill or in front of his house. 

The next person Shen Qingqiu had in mind was Liu Mingyan. There was a chance that she was acting on behalf of her brother, trying to shower him with gifts to make amends over their past grievances. But Liu Mingyan was restricted in her access to Qing Jing peak from her strict schedule as a Xian Shu peak disciple. And while she possessed good cultivation, there was no way that she could snuck around Qing Jing peak undetected, let alone leaving stuff like dead beasts at the peak lord’s house with no one noticing. 

Which brought Shen Qingqiu to his next suspect, which was Liu Qingge himself. 

All that they were told by Liu Mingyan about her brother was that he was not dead. There was no follow up explanation as to his whereabouts, his condition or what they should expect in the future. There were talks brewing about electing someone to replace Liu Qingge’s place as the new Bai Zhan peak lord, but some of the peak lords were against it because it was a tradition for all twelve peak lords to ascend together, and replacing one of them in the middle of their reign would not be appropriate. Bai Zhan peak disciples, in the meantime, were divided and absorbed into the remaining eleven peaks so none of them would get left behind in their education and cultivation. 

The lack of information about Liu Qingge’s wellbeing was information itself. There was something his sister wasn’t disclosing. At least not yet, not now. Shen Qingqiu wasn’t stupid. He had access to rows upon rows of books and scrolls of knowledge in the sect library, it was only a matter of time before he could piece it all together. 

He obtained the last piece of information to form a complete picture this morning.

Now, Shen Qingqiu was almost entirely sure of the information he had gathered. He just needed to test his theory.

Shen Qingqiu brewed himself some tea, and calmly drank it while watching the mild afternoon sun ever so minutely shift lower and lower in the sky. Ming Fan came by to drop the junior disciples homework and the senior disciples night hunt report. He dismissed his head disciple, and left his bamboo house to go to Lingxi cave.

For the fourth time, Shen Qingqiu lit a candle and left an orange in the cave. He had done it before for each moon that had passed since the incident, just to remind himself of the passage of time. No incense was offered, because Liu Qingge was not dead. Unlike Liu Mingyan, Liu Qingge never visited Shen Qingqiu in his sleep, and this was the only way he could think of to communicate with the lost martial brother, if he could hear him at all. He had no idea if his words ever reached Liu Qingge.

This time, though, Shen Qingqiu said nothing.

He instead exited the cave, flew on Xiu Ya to the peak of the mountain, and sheathed the sword back into its scabbard. Overlooking the expanse of misty lush green below, bathed by the soft orange glow from the setting sun as birds flew home in a flock, Shen Qingqiu took a few steps towards the edge of the rocky peak.

Without a moment of hesitation, he threw himself off the cliff.

***

The way down felt surprisingly long. 

The harsh wind in the first few seconds burned his skin, but the cool air almost immediately soothe it. His long sleeves were flapping annoyingly around him, his hair must be in disarray from the tumble. It took a moment for Shen Qingqiu to realise that out of all the stupid things he had done in the past, this might have been the most thoughtless and stupidest thing he had ever done.  

He indeed had thrown himself off a cliff, free falling from some five thousand feet above the ground. At one point in the mid air, his body had flipped and he was now nosediving at a terrifying speed, the kind of speed that would split his head like a crushed watermelon even before he could finish spelling watermelon in his head. That would totally be an inelegant ending. He detested the image. But it was probably too late to turn the tide, to break the fall from this height that was closer and closer to the ground with each passing second. Shen Qingqiu was being unnervingly calm over the prospect of ending his immortality in an attempt to prove something. To test an untested theory. But that was the point, wasn’t it?

Time felt infinitely slower as one approached their end, and for a moment, it came to a standstill. Or that was what Shen Qingqiu thought. The wind started to blow gentler around him, the piercing wind howl in his ears from earlier seemed to be muffled. All of a sudden, his sight was obscured. There was something — someone — who had matched his falling speed in a fraction of seconds and swiftly looped Shen Qingqiu in their arms, with Shen Qingqiu coming face to face with the person’s broad chest. 

And then they reached the ground.

The person had cushioned the fall, with Shen Qingqiu laid on top, safely wrapped in their arms. There was a crater formed on the ground from the impact, and birds resting on tree branches in the forest erratically scattered from the sudden loud sound. 

Shen Qingqiu was stupefied. His hands had involuntarily cling on this mysterious person’s robe, shaky from his own stupid stunt. In return, the arms around him tightened, almost breath stealing and bone crushingly tight. He could feel the other person buried their face on the crook of Shen Qingqiu’s neck.

“Shixiong. Shen-shixiong,” whispered the person desperately. They seemed to be more shaken than Shen Qingqiu as the tremble in their voice was palpable, so they hugged Shen Qingqiu a little tighter. “Why did you do that, Shen Qingqiu? Do you have a death wish?!”

Ah. 

Shen Qingqiu recognised this voice. 

His theory was right. 

After his composure returned Shen Qingqiu spoke, sounding not as cold as he wished it to be. “Believe it or not, Liu-shidi, I do not have a death wish.”

There was a moment of silence that stretched on as they acknowledged what had happened. That Shen Qingqiu had effectively lured Liu Qingge out, that Shen Qingqiu had risked his own life to find out if Liu Qingge was indeed still hanging around, despite disappearing into sparkling dust in the Lingxi cave.

When strength returned to his physical body, Shen Qingqiu extricated himself from the hug and got on his feet. Thank the heavens that his knees were still working after all that. He then offered a hand to Liu Qingge, pulling him up from the shattered ground. 

Shen Qingqiu took a sweeping glance at the crater surrounding them, and back to facing Liu Qingge whose eyes were slightly glistening, fear was still gleaming on the surface. 

“Shen-Shi–”

The words were cut short from the sound of a loud slap. A sharp sting was felt on Shen Qingqiu’s hand before realisation dawned on him, that his palm had unmistakably struck Liu Qingge’s cheek. 

It drove Liu Qingge speechless. He was frozen in place, staring into Shen Qingqiu’s eyes at a loss, betrayed. But he was even more baffled, when Shen Qingqiu made a move to hug him once again, tautly clinging on Liu Qingge as if he was going to disappear at any moment.

Shen Qingqiu exhaled heavily. He closed his eyes and leaned onto Liu Qingge’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re not dead yet, brute.”

Chapter Text

At the start of the day, Liu Qingge had said something cocky to Mu Qing. 

Liu Qingge wasn’t a cocky person by nature, but he had faith in his own power, and the mission they had to work on that day was so frustratingly easy he wondered why two gods had to be dispatched to deal with it, only because the case involved a wrath from southwest that encroached into northern region. It was too easy. Mu Qing was very methodical in his tactics, and Liu Qingge was efficient when it involved field work. The problem was dealt with only within half a shichen after they managed to track the wrath down.

By the end of the mission, he was lamenting over how boring the day was.

Now, staring down at his linked hands with Shen Qingqiu as he was being led into the Warm Red Pavilion through the back entrance, he regretted speaking too soon. Today was by far one of the hardest days in his life, because he had to watch his martial brother throw himself off a cliff, barely making it in the nick of time to stop it from having a catastrophic ending. 

And then there was this.

All eyes were on Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge as they walked through the pavilion. He trained his own eyes on the ground, on the velvety red carpet that lined the hallway. There were a few ladies in revealing clothes and heavy make up, ladies who presumably worked for the Warm Red Pavilion, cheerfully greeting Shen Qingqiu as he walked past them. It seemed to be a fanfare as more and more of the ladies peered into the hallway. Words of excited whispers that Shen Qingqiu brought someone back reached Liu Qingge’s ears. Their steps slowed down by a bit as Shen Qingqiu reciprocated their greeting, but they still steadily paced forward until they reached a room at the end of the hallway, all the way at the back.

In the room, Shen Qingqiu told Liu Qingge to make himself comfortable as he ordered a servant boy to bring them tea. He then closed the door behind him and placed the tray of tea on the table before slowly approaching Liu Qingge, who, by all his might, did not know how to get comfortable as the situation was akin to a cornered mouse and a house cat looming with his paw poised to strike.

“So,” said Shen Qingqiu conversationally, head slightly tilting up to gaze carefully at Liu Qingge. They were standing toe to toe, with barely enough space between them for Shen Qingqiu to move his hand to fan himself. “Will you tell me the reason why you just vanished into thin air the last I saw you?”

Liu Qingge had every intention of staring back, but the question made him look away, as if that was enough answer for Shen Qingqiu. There was a long stretch of silence between them. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you why,” said Liu Qingge finally in defeat, because they were caught in a deadlock and Shen Qingqiu would probably wait in silence all night until Liu Qingge said something. 

Shen Qingqiu was not satisfied by the answer but also didn’t seem entirely too displeased by it as if he had expected such an explanation, took a step back. He then made his way to the table at the receiving area and sat there, pouring two cups of tea. “Sit down, Liu-shidi.”

He mutely obeyed. It was really ridiculous how nervous Liu Qingge was over this confrontation, as if he was courting death. He wasn’t even this nervous going into a suicide mission when he was seventeen with a bunch other seventeen year olds and the former Bai Zhan peak lord. But since the incident in the Lingxi cave, Liu Qingge had a changed perception over the man across from him and he had sworn to do right by him. A quiet disappointment from not being able to provide Shen Qingqiu the answer he so desperately wanted to tell was gnawing Liu Qingge from the inside. 

After Shen Qingqiu had drained his cup, he reached into his sleeve for a qiankun pouch. From it, he retrieved a tattered looking scroll and unrolled it in front of Liu Qingge, pointing at a particular section of rows upon rows of text using the end of his fan. “Read it.”

It was written in an ancient language that was not too entirely foreign from their own, detailing a mysterious event of disappearance of noble men and war heroes that scattered across the region. These same men, some time after their disappearance, emerged again in the public eyes with temples and statues of their own with status elevated to deity, and people started worshipping them out of nowhere. Despite the documentation, it was still a rare occurrence, but it happened often enough for the author of the scroll to notice the recurrent pattern and mark it down in writing just in case it would provide some insight for someone 200 years in the future.

“You don’t have to answer me in words if you were bound to some oath,” Shen Qingqiu prefaced, eyes sharp as he pinned Liu Qingge down with his gaze. “But nod or shake your head when I ask you questions. Surely it isn’t against the rules?”

Liu Qingge took a moment to consider it. There were no exact rules dictating that affirming denying questions or statements. He nodded.

A flash of triumphant look passed across Shen Qingqiu features, and his lips now curled into a devious smile. Liu Qingge tried to hold himself high with a puffed up chest and a firm posture, but he couldn’t help the hair at the back of his neck standing from being under his martial brother’s scrutiny. 

“First thing’s first. Did you die in the Lingxi cave?”

A shake. 

“Are you alive?”

A nod.

“Do you have spiritual power?”

A nod.

“Can you turn invisible?”

Liu Qingge furrowed his brows. A nod.

“Have you been watching me since…since Lingxi cave?”

A half nod and half shake. Liu Qingge felt like this wasn't a secret information he needed to keep from Shen Qingqiu, so he explained himself. “Only a handful of times. I did it respectfully, Shen-shixiong. From a distance. Just to make sure you’re doing alright after…after what happened.”

Shen Qingqiu seemed satisfied with the answer. He snapped open his fan and fanned himself, showing off the custom made piece. There was also a rare jade bracelet around Shen Qingqiu’s slender wrist, the one Shi Qingxuan had helped Liu Qingge pick for the older man. “Were you the one who has been leaving me gifts?”

A nod. Guilt crossed his face as if he was caught red handed.

“I need you to stop. I don’t want dead beasts outside my house,” said Shen Qingqiu sternly. 

“But shixiong, it’s good for your cult — “

“Next question,” Shen Qingqiu punctuated his words with a snap of a fan closing. He leaned forward to stare deeply into Liu Qingge’s eyes. “Are you, by any chance, a heavenly official now?”

Liu Qingge’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect Shen Qingqiu to go for the jugular with minimum preamble. He had nowhere to run now, trapped by the gaze of the sharpest man on earth. Of course Shen Qingqiu of all people would be able to arrive at the conclusion based on an obscure scroll he found from centuries ago.

It took a long moment for Liu Qingge to answer. But eventually, he let out a reluctant nod.

“Are you not allowed to talk about it?”

A nod. Deeper than the other nods. 

There was a moment of silence that stretched for a substantial amount of time. A passing displeased look passed through Shen Qingqiu’s features, before it morphed into a vexed smile as he shook his head with a huff of insincere laugh. “Of course. Of course of all people, you are the one who gets to be a heavenly official.”

The words offended Liu Qingge. He scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Son of a noble man, born in a wealthy family, good cultivation, decent strength, pretty looks. Of course heaven would favour someone like you,” said Shen Qingqiu. “Unlike the rest of us.”

The ‘unlike me’ went unsaid, but Liu Qingge could somehow make it through the disappointment and revolt that was on display. Ever since their disciple days, they had been in competition with one another. It started one sidedly from Liu Qingge’s part, challenging Shen Qingqiu persistently because he was one of the few that could best him. But both of them had a competitive strike that was a level above the rest of the current peak lords, and it must have somehow affected Shen Qingqiu that Liu Qingge was ahead of him now, an immortal of a different plane, an official of a heavenly realm.

“That’s not true,” said Liu Qingge, trying to fix this situation. “You are better, shixiong. I would trade places with you because you deserve it after what you did in the Lingxi cave. That was selfless of you.”

There was a full on laughter that escaped Shen Qingqiu now, but Liu Qingge couldn’t tell if it was sarcasm or an honest one. “I didn’t know you’re good at comedy, shidi. Add that to the list too.”

“But it’s true!” protested Liu Qingge, but Shen Qingqiu waved him off as his laughter died down. 

“That’s alright, Liu-shidi, you don’t have to lie to yourself. I know my place as the lecherous peak lord and a wicked person you used to admonish once upon a time. Don’t you remember? I even take you, the admirable peak lord of Bai Zhan, to a place like the Warm Red Pavilion. It must hurt your honour as a respectable man.”

No matter how hard Liu Qingge wanted to protest, that was the reality of their past relationship. Their conversation was disrupted by a knock on the door that abruptly opened, revealing a mature lady with another teapot in her hand. She was dressed more modestly than the other ladies Liu Qingge had seen on their way in.

“A-Jiu, I’m barging in,” said the lady, lifting the teapot and carefully waving it so it wouldn’t spill. “I brought more tea since it had been a while since you’ve got one. I’m sure it’s finished by now.”

“Ning-jie,” Shen Qingqiu got up to receive her, holding her free forearm to lead her to the sitting area. He abruptly stopped to address Liu Qingge and the situation. “Are you okay if an outsider joins us?”

“Not at all,” Liu Qingge shook his head, after greeting her with a bow from where he was seated. “I’m just avoiding people from the Cang Qiong sect because it would be complicated.”

“What do you mean an outsider?” retorted the lady as placed the teapot on the table and bow slightly to Liu Qingge. “The name is Ning Huiying. A-Jiu's big sister around here.”

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes and sat back down. “You know what I mean, Ning-jie.”

She smiled softly at Shen Qingqiu and turned to face Liu Qingge. “You must be the missing Bai Zhan peak lord, Lord Liu Qingge. A-Jiu worked so hard to find you that he’s turning this bed chamber into a library,” she waved off at a section of the room with piled up scrolls and books stacked up high on a side table. I’m glad to see you alive.”

For the first time since he arrived, Liu Qingge looked around the room. The faint scent of bamboo and jasmine permeated the air. It was indeed remarkably similar to the feel inside Shen Qingqiu’s bamboo house, despite its smaller size and a bed not sequestered away behind a screen, placed in the centre by the wall. “This is your bed chamber?”

“I have a life outside of Qing Jing peak, you know,” dismissed Shen Qingqiu. He shot a glare at Ning Huiying, but his words were not unkind. “Ning-jie, you talk too much.”

“And you keep to yourself a little too much,” Ning Huiying retorted, lifting the teapot to refill the cups only to find it still full. Neither of them had the time to drink it. “Huh. You still have tea.”

“We’ve been busy,” replied Shen Qingqiu, and when Ning Huiying wiggled her eyebrows with a suggestive grin, he covered his face with the fan, faint red tinged his ears. “Talking. Busy talking!”

“Right,” she chuckled, pouring a cup of tea for herself instead. Liu Qingge felt like he was missing something, an inside joke, perhaps? Something that involved him that he wasn’t privy to, but he couldn’t be bothered about it. Ning Huiying pressed on. “It’s good to see you so lively, A-Jiu. I’m glad you finally found Lord Liu. And Lord Liu, please don’t be discouraged by A-Jiu’s words. He can be cold but he’s not as mean as he made himself to be.”

Liu Qingge nodded in agreement. “I realise that now.”

Shen Qingqiu sighed exasperatedly. Not wanting to pry, Ning Huiying switched the topic to something else. They talked about the latest gossip going around the pavilion. Shen Qingqiu complained about his students. How he was running a daycare for spoiled children. Except, of course, his beloved niece, Yingying. Ning Huiying enquired about her daughter’s wellbeing. Shen Qingqiu warned Liu Qingge not to tell anybody about his relation to Ning Yingying. Liu Qingge rebuked that he wasn’t in Cang Qiong anymore to bother. Shen Qingqiu harrumphed and switched the topic back to his niece. 

Liu Qingge was happy to sit there and listen to them talk. After being interrogated by Shen Qingqiu, this change of pace was very much welcomed. Relief settled in his chest now that he wasn’t in the centre of the attention anymore. At least for now.

In the presence of Ning Huiying, it was the least guarded Shen Qingqiu Liu Qingge had ever seen. The frosty demeanour and sharp tongue was only for people in Cang Qiong, apparently, because Shen Qingqiu was entirely capable of being a decent person in front of his sister who did not share the same family name. In fact, he didn’t know that Shen Qingqiu could dote on someone so much. Liu Qingge had seen the man interact with Ning Yingying, but that didn’t seem to be the full extent of their relationship. There were mean quips here and there towards Liu Qingge whenever Ning Huiying tried to rope him into their conversation, but the facade Shen Qingqiu put up wasn’t as effective anymore towards him.

After some time, Ning Huiying excused herself as an attendant came to collect her as per a customer’s request. She exchanged words of goodbye with Shen Qingqiu, and welcomed Liu Qingge to come visit again.

“Will you be able to show yourself to me from now on, or do I have to jump off a cliff again?” asked Shen Qingqiu conversationally after Ning Huiying had left the room. Thankfully, the tense atmosphere from the interrogation earlier did not return. For a moment there Liu Qingge had completely forgotten about the crazy stunt Shen Qingqiu had pulled off just to get him to appear.

“Don’t ever do that again,” said Liu Qingge sternly, with glares and all. It barely had any effect on the older man, but he had to try. “Now that you basically have a knowledge of what’s going on, there’s no need for me to hide. At least from you.”

Shen Qingqiu harrumphed. “How do I reach you, then?”

Liu Qingge considered for a moment. “You just…pray.”

Chapter Text

Two weeks had passed since Shen Qingqiu had learned the full truth about what happened in Lingxi cave.

And while knowing the truth changed nothing much in his current life, it was at least a satisfactory conclusion to the investigation that he had conducted on his own, because that An Ding rat was not one to be trusted. He believed in if you wanted to do things right, you had to do it yourself. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t care less whether Liu Qingge live or die, but his name had been implicated simply because he existed in the same space as his martial brother when the qi deviation happened, and this way he was fully certain that he did not make things worse by intervening. 

With the warning he had given, Liu Qingge had stopped leaving dead beasts on his doorstep. There were still occasional trinkets on his windowsill, and Shen Qingqiu could tell that it was made from the highest quality materials by exceptionally skilled jewellery makers. Of course Liu Qingge could afford to do that, he was a heavenly official now, money was surely not an issue. Shen Qingqiu was prideful, but he wasn’t above being materialistic. He would accept these gifts as a reparation, as a compensation for annoying Shen Qingqiu with his existence since their disciple days. He kept all of the gifts meticulously in a safe hidden in his bamboo house. And then maybe one day, if he reached his tipping point, tired of teaching a bunch of spoiled brats in Qing Jing peak, or dealing with ridiculous requests from the sect, he would  sell all these expensive jewelries to pay for his living expenses, bid Cang Qiong goodbye and ride off into the sunset. 

(He wouldn’t do it. It was just a short lived daydream and he worked too hard to be a peak lord to give it all away, though Shen Qingqiu was this close to doing just that right at this moment.)

He was riding back from a herbs and medicine collection mission when a messenger dove from Qiong Ding peak intercepted him on his way home. There was an urgent request from a rich businessman to investigate the mystery of bride disappearances in Mount Yujun, as it was going to involve his daughter and he wanted things sorted out before it was too late. This businessman was known to be a generous benefactor to the sect, so they had to attend to his request or risk losing his sponsor. And because Mount Yujun was directly on Shen Qingqiu’s path back to Cang Qiong, Yue Qingyuan had entrusted the task on him. Curse you, Qi-ge!

Just his luck, too, that he was stuck with only two students to complete this task. The initial mission was a simple yet tedious one, so Shen Qingqiu only brought Ming Fan and Luo Binghe with him on this trip. 

Ming Fan wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was obedient and one of the more competent ones among his students. As for Luo Binghe, it was Ming Fan’s idea to take him along to be his lackey and carry everything. Shen Qingqiu was indifferent to the suggestion. There was a point in time where his gut conjured vitriolic hate towards this boy for having everything he never had, but the feelings came in waves. Right now, there was less hatred towards this youngster, and more towards Yue Qingyuan, for dumping more work on him with barely any information to go on with. Curse you, Qi-ge!

In a few short hours, they reached a little town near Mount Yujun. Shen Qingqiu instructed his students to find an inn and secure rooms for them to stay for the night, as well as replenish their inventory, as they were going for another mission. Meanwhile, he went scouting for information so he could be over with this soon. Thanks to a few tips from the town’s people, his feet took him along the narrow alleyways that led him towards the opposite edge of the town, where he located a small tea shop where he could try his luck. Small Shop of Chance Encounter. The owner must be a poet at heart or in his past life.

Shen Qingqiu’s first impression towards the tea shop immediately changed when he heard a familiar voice coming from a party of four that was talking away, seated at a corner of the tea shop. Chance encounter was indeed a bane of his existence. He rolled his eyes at his own fate, and considered leaving the place. There must be another tea house in town with a lead to the case, right?

But luck was not on his side, because there was no way Shen Qingqiu could avoided the party. Liu Qingge had spotted him from the crowd on the table. He was hoping that Liu Qingge was distracted by the two people who seemed to be arguing more than talking, but it seemed like he too had caught a glimpse of Shen Qingqiu and used his power to teleport in a fraction of seconds to appear right in front of the older man.

It was pointless for him to try to escape now, so Shen Qingqiu stood tall, menacingly staring at his martial brother.

"Shen-shixiong, what are you doing here?" asked Liu Qingge.

"I could ask you the same question," retorted Shen Qingqiu, because he loved being difficult like that. He flipped his fan open and fanned himself. "The world is vast, it should not be a problem for me to exist anywhere on it."

Just as Liu Qingge opened his mouth to speak up, a commotion broke outside the tea house. A bunch of men were carrying a bridal sedan towards the foot of Mount Yujun, the area where all these disappearances were rumoured to happen. These men were stopped by a young lady, hindering their way in an attempt to save the bride's life. As the were struggling to get rid of the young lady, the sedan tipped over and something fell out of the sedan and rolled on the ground. 

The commotion had drawn everyone in the tea house outside to witness the incident, including Shen Qingqiu who didn't even have time to sit down and have tea yet. Shen Qingqiu recognised that it was a mannequin head dressed with veil and bridal hairdo, and in an instant he was able to deduce that these bunch of men were probably trying to use a mannequin bride to lure the monster that was involved in the disappearances.

An altercation soon took place, as the dissatisfied man tried to harm the young girl. It was then when Liu Qingge's companion, dressed all in white, stepped forward and tried to stop them. All these while, Shen Qingqiu stood by on the sideline, observing everything as it unfolded. He eyed the man in white robe, sensing a high level of cultivation and an immense strength hidden underneath the soft smiles and the polite demeanour. This man was strong. If Shen Qingqiu went by association, it was possible that the people around Liu Qingge were all heavenly officials.

The fight that broke out was short lived. Another one of Liu Qingge's companions stepped up and ended everything with just a flick of a finger. That took down the tea house too, and Shen Qingqiu sighed inwardly as he would have to wait until he got back to the accommodation to finally have some tea.

The girl who started all this, on the other hand, kicked the white robed man and ran off. For some reason the man was undressing in front of the girl (and the rest of the crowd), and Shen Qingqiu stared at him in disgust behind his fan, reforming an opinion about this man in his mind.

Liu Qingge who had been quietly observing Shen Qingqiu judging people, finally spoke up. "Shen-shixiong," he started, taking a step closer to his martial brother. "Are you here on a mission?"

Feeling generous, Shen Qingqiu answered him with a curt nod. "The disappearance of brides at Mount Yujun." 

He raked his eyes at Liu Qingge from top to toe.  He hadn't seen the younger man properly since their confrontation at the Warm Red Pavillion two weeks ago, having parted ways with stern warning regarding leaving dead beasts in front of his house and sneaking up on Shen Qingqiu without permission.  He had enough experience dealing with longing stares from the sect leader, adding a heavenly official to the list would be exhausting, not to mention creepy. Before he let Liu Qingge go, he made the other man promise to let his presence be known to Shen Qingqiu whenever he was around or Shen Qingqiu would spill Liu Qingge's secrets. He didn’t know the repercussions of it nor did he mean the threat, but he had to scare off Liu Qingge. Since then, there would be wind chimes ringing -- even on days without wind -- before a gift was placed at the same spot on the windowsill for him. "Are you here for the same reason?"

 Liu Qingge  nodded. "This territory is under my supervision for now, so I’ve been tasked with it, with additional help for this mission." He pointed towards the other three men who were seen talking to the owner of the tea house.  Shen Qingqiu caught wind of their conversation from a good distance away as they negotiated the price to pay for ruining the owner's shop.

The older man turned his attention back to his martial brother. "What information have you gathered so far?"

"Not much, unfortunately," said Liu Qingge, disappointed. "We just know that it has been happening for years now and 17 brides have gone missing so far. People believe that this is the work of a ghost groom, but there is no other lead."

"Lord Liu," one of Liu Qingge's companions called out for him as they approached.  "We are going to stop by at Nan Yang temple to plan for our next move. Let's go," said the man, before he noticed Shen Qingqiu and gave him a once over.

Before he said anything,  the man in white robe interjected. "I saw Lord Liu talking to this fair gentleman, is he a friend, or...?"

"This is Shen Qingqiu, my martial brother from the Cang Qiong sect," said Liu Qingge hastily, introducing Shen Qingqiu to the rest of the party. Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan and gave a quick bow to the man. "Shen-shixiong, this is Your Highness Xie Lian," he pointed towards the man in white robe, who politely bowed at the introduction and sent him a sincere smile. 

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Peak Lord Shen, " greeted Xie Lian.

"We are supposed to work together as we are both new officials," said Liu Qingge, before he moved to introduce the two younger looking men. "And these two are junior officials from the middle court, Nan Feng and Fu Yao."

There was a polite nod all around, and Shen Qingqiu was quietly assessing the company he just made. Initially it was hard for Shen Qingqiu to tell the two junior officials apart as they both wore almost similar clothing with similar hairstyle, but he noticed that Nan Feng had jet black hair, whereas Fu Yao had light brown. They both didn't seem to be on good terms with each other, though, constantly at each other's throat ever since Shen Qingqiu noticed them in the tea shop.

"Is Peak Lord Shen investigating the disappearances too?" asked Xie Lian.

"Yes. The daughter of the sect's benefactor is at risk, and I have been tasked to investigate to prevent a disastrous outcome in the near future," said Shen Qingqiu as he tilted his head, trying to be respectful. If this man in white robe was called Your Highness, he must be of a royal descend. He had to be mindful with his behaviour lest it cause him trouble later down the line. Like lightning, an idea struck Shen Qingqiu.  Internally, he was proud of himself for being so smart. He could get this over with in no time. This was an opportunity not to be missed, so he grabbed it with both hands. "If we have the same goal, how about working together to solve this?"

"The more, the merrier," smiled Xie Lian, as he was quick to agree. 

The two other juniors were indifferent, but they were somehow obedient to the words of Xie Lian and followed along. As they walked towards Nan Yang temple by the directions given by the tea house master, Liu Qingge filled Shen Qingqiu in with information he knew.

Shen Qingqiu quietly listened as they walked side by side, close enough that their arms and hands were brushing against each other. The other heavenly officials were walking ahead of them, leading the way. He looked down at his hand that was lightly touching the back of Liu Qingge's hand, and there was an unfamiliar ache that settled in his chest. Even without verbalizing it, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but to begrudgingly acknowledge the subtle changes that had been happening between them since they dual cultivated in Lingxi cave.

He was still annoyed by the younger man's presence at times, but it was no longer enough to resent his existence.

After a substantial amount of walking, they reached the temple. It was a small one but it was well kept. There were incense lit up and offerings on the altar, no layer of dust were seen covering every surface so there must be someone who had been taking care of this seemingly abandoned temple from the outside. After offering incense to the deity in the centre of the temple, Xie Lian raised a suspicion over the lack of temples for General Ming Guang, who was supposed to be the god that ruled the northern region. The fact that people in the north worshipped a god from the southeast did not escape His Highness. 

But that, somehow, led to an altercation between Nan Feng and Fu Yao, because Fu Yao was explaining the origin of the perverted Nan Yang title for the martial god Feng Xin, who happened to be the martial god Nan Feng was serving. Xie Lian simply stood there, standing in the eye of the storm with a placating smile on his lips.

Meanwhile Shen Qingqiu was again, standing in the sideline, silently judging everyone. He was able to gather that the lack of General Ming Guang was the reason why Liu Qingge came to be in charge of the region. Another thing he realised now that he was in the company of a bunch of heavenly officials, was that they were no better than mortals and immortals who remained in the mortal realm. They were still petty, and fight over stupid stuff. Liu Qingge remained quiet by Shen Qingqiu's side, watching him watching the other heavenly officials.

The argument between the two junior officials escalated as they started throwing things at each other. Xie Lian had his eye on a stale mantou that was thrown around. It was when the junior official's thunderous voice disapprovingly shouted at Xie Lian to leave the mantou alone that Shen Qingqiu could hear a tiny shriek from behind the statue.

Shen Qingqiu immediately froze. The other heavenly officials were too distracted to hear it, but Shen Qingqiu could hear a suppressed faint cry from somewhere he couldn't see. He turned to look at Liu Qingge who had his eyes on Shen Qingqiu this whole time, and he seemed to hear the sound too. Liu Qingge unsheathed Cheng Luan, and Shen Qingqiu spread open his fan and brought it to his chest. There was a nod of understanding between the two before Liu Qingge put himself forward in front of Shen Qingqiu as they both traced the sound to its source.

The area behind the statue was dimly lit, and not even a few steps towards it, a rat ran off between Liu Qingge's feet.  Simultaneously, a small figure who was hunched behind the statue darted out evading Liu Qingge, and met with Shen Qingqiu's legs as they attempted to escape. The impact was strong enough that Shen Qingqiu had to take a step back to stabilise himself, while the figure fell flat on their back.

A huge cry broke out. The figure turned out to be a boy with black hair and sharp green eyes. By estimation, the boy couldn't be over seven years of age, and he clearly had a rough childhood, judging from his unkempt appearance and ragged clothes. He was perturbed by the turn of events that occurred in the temple, and currently wailing away as he clung on Shen Qingqiu's thigh, begging for mercy.

The sight startled Shen Qingqiu. It was like looking in the mirror, like looking at his past self, at the young street rat Shen Jiu who would do just about anything to survive. For a moment, he was frozen in place. Was this a demon, impersonating him in the past to taunt him? Was this a bad dream, and Shen Qingqiu would soon wake up and resent his past again, like he hadn't done it enough from time to time?

Liu Qingge seemed equally stunned by the sight, and flicked his gaze back and forth between Shen Qingqiu and the boy. The other three heavenly officials, finally done with their argument, were now drawn to the new situation unfolding.

"Shen-shixiong," called out Liu Qingge, and it broke Shen Qingqiu out of his daze. "That boy..."

"That boy," said Xie Lian as he had his sight trained on the new person among them, "He's a human."

Shen Qingqiu focused on all of his energy, and indeed, he couldn't find any traces of demonic energy from the boy who looked exactly like him.

"There there, boy," coaxed Xie Lian as he squatted next to the boy and gently patted his head, trying to get him to stop crying. "We're not going to harm you. Please don't be scared."

"Sword," cried the boy in between hiccups, still burying his face on Shen Qingqiu's thigh, clinging tightly around it. There were handprints on Shen Qingqiu's robes now, but he couldn't care less.

Shen Qingqiu gave a warning stare at Liu Qingge. "Liu-shidi, please put your sword away."

"Right," said Liu Qingge, as he obeyed the order. Cheng Luan was placed back in its sheath. "But shixiong, this boy...do you know him?"

As there was no more sound of arguments and weapons, the boy's cry slowly died down. He finally realised what he was doing, and quickly let go of Shen Qingqiu. "I'm sor ---"

In the middle of his apology, he tilted his head to look at the looming figure above him dressed graciously in white and green. But his words died in his throat, green eyes meeting green eyes, the reflection within showed the image of each other with startling clarity. And then his cry started again, and he was back to clinging on Shen Qingqiu's thigh.

"Brother!"

That somehow answered and did not answer all of the questions Shen Qingqiu had.

Gently, Shen Qingqiu pried the boy off his thigh and crouched so he could see the boy eye to eye. There were still traces of fear in his eyes, glistening with tears from the scare earlier. But Shen Qingqiu could also sense the boy's relief.

"I'm so glad I finally found you, brother," said the boy, followed by a hiccup. He was no longer crying, harshly wiping away the remaining tears off his face using his sleeves.

"Brother," echoed Shen Qingqiu quietly, as Shen Qingqiu smooths out the boy's hair with careful hands, and dusts his clothes from the fall earlier. "What's your name, boy?"

"Shen Yuan," answered the boy.

"And why are you here on your own, A-Yuan?"

Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment, and stared at his shoes. It could barely fit him, with his little toe poking out through a hole on the cloth shoes. "Father sold me off for a sack of rice many moons ago.” He paused.  “I ran off from the bad guys while they weren't looking. But I got lost," said Shen Yuan, lips wobbly as though he would start crying again. But he bit on his lower lip and pressed on. "Ying-jie has been feeding me for this past moon and the monk here is kind enough to let me sleep in the temple. But I have to clean the temple three times a week."

A sudden surge of rage was boiling underneath Shen Qingqiu's skin. His features turned frosty. Shen Yuan's words brought Shen Qingqiu back to the beginning of time, to the time he declared himself an orphan, because parents who would sell their children for a sack of rice were as good as dead. He couldn't believe that many years later they would still pull the same trick. There was a significant age gap between the two brothers. Briefly he wondered, how many more brothers and sisters he had out there, who faced similar fate as Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan?

 Without restraint, Shen Qingqiu threw his arms around Shen Yuan, pulling him into an embrace. And Shen Yuan, with no hesitation wrapped his tiny arms around Shen Qingqiu's shoulders, and held on to him tight. He hoisted the boy and carried him with one arm, and turned to the rest of the party who had been quietly observing.

"Pardon me your highness, I think I have to excuse myself for the evening," said Shen Qingqiu to the heavenly official. "I will retire for the day to sort some unexpected things out and come back the next day, so we can figure out what to do for the mission."

There was a sympathetic smile on Xie Lian's face. "Of course. Please take care of Shen Yuan.” He patted Shen Yuan’s head lightly.  “We will discuss our plans and lay it all out tomorrow before we make our move."

Shen Qingqiu politely bowed to Xie Lian and the junior officials, and turned his heel to leave the temple with Shen Yuan in tow. When Liu Qingge tried to follow, he stopped the younger man.

"Listen to the plan properly and brief it to me in the morning," said Shen Qingqiu, as he pressed his palm firmly on the centre of Liu Qingge's chest, trying to stop him from following them. Standing outside the temple carrying Shen Yuan in one arm who was nuzzling his neck, he turned his head slightly to look back and gestured at the people inside. He sounded tired. "Don't leave your duty to others when this territory is yours."

Liu Qingge looked like he was about to argue, but after a moment he agreed with Shen Qingqiu's statement. "Please take care, shixiong," said Liu Qingge quietly. He reached for Shen Qingqiu's hand on his chest, thinking that the younger man wanted to remove it, but instead he pulled Shen Qingqiu forward so he would fall into Liu Qingge's embrace. For a moment Liu Qingge squeezed Shen Qingqiu's arms with Shen Yuan trapped between them, and he let go before the older man could protest.

 Shen Qingqiu huffed indignantly, but there was no real anger behind it. He simply turned away, mounted on Xiu Ya with Shen Yuan in his arm, and shot away across the sky until Liu Qingge disappeared from his sight, back to the little town down at the base of the mountain.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan did it.

He finally did it!

As Shen Yuan hid his face against Shen Qingqiu's shoulder, trying to avoid looking down as they flew hundreds of feet above the ground, he could hear the ping from the system in his head.

[Congratulations, user! You have just successfully returned to the correct story line of Proud Immortal Demon Way! HP is fortified + 500. Starting quest: reunion with big brother Shen Jiu aka Shen Qingqiu completed! B-Point +300.]

It had been 6 years since Shen Yuan woke up in a foreign world as a baby in an unknown xianxia novel. It had come as a shock to him, of course, to find out he had transmigrated into a story. An unknown one to boot. First he had to accept the fact that he had died in the modern world because his weak body decided that mold in food was strong enough to kill him. Secondly he had to come to terms that he was born in an ancient setting to a poor couple who, frankly, were not good people. He thought his rich parents in his previous life were bad enough for emotionally neglecting Shen Yuan and his siblings by not being present in their lives, but they did at least provide food and shelter for Shen Yuan until he died at a ripe young age of 20. But this Shen couple? They were down right evil for selling their kids to a bunch of human traffickers just for a sack of rice. 

Shen Yuan was 4 years old when it happened, and because he was an adult who was stuck in a child's body, he remembered every single horror he had to endure. When he was born he knew there was a young girl in the house, but after a while he stopped seeing her. At first he thought nothing of it, but now he realised the same thing must have happened to the girl who was his sister in this current life.

It was very confusing at first. After he was born, he was immediately greeted by the system, who told him he was born in the wrong setting. His main mission was to get back to the right setting which was the universe where Proud Immortal Demon Way was set in, and he needed to make sure Luo Binghe became the ruler in the Demon realm like he did in the series to complete the quest. It was the last book series he had read before he passed away. Back then, he had cursed the author for butchering such a good world building to trade it with unbelievable amounts of papapa that was highly unnecessary, and created dumb canon fodders plus a tasteless scum villain.

But of all people! He was made to be a character related to Shen Qingqiu. In Proud Immortal Demon Way, Shen Qingqiu was nothing but a scum villain who was filled with hatred. He was cunning and had a personality of a snake, wicked to the core, not to mention his lecherous tendency. Not even the sect leader could stop him from frequenting brothels. Apart from his horrible treatment towards the protagonist, Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu's scandalous treatment towards Ning Yingying, his own student, was one of the reasons why Shen Yuan hated the character so much. How could a teacher molest his own student? Despicable behaviour! Because of this, he himself had spearheaded the forum that called out for Shen Qingqiu's castration.

And yet. This person who had been holding him tightly in his arm was speaking to him gently, and protected Shen Yuan from a bunch of people he did not know in the temple, Shen Yuan felt safe in his snug embrace.

Not long after flying above sparse greenery in the darkening sky, they slowly made a descent. As soon as Shen Qingqiu hopped off Xiu Ya, he was greeted by two voices who seemed to anticipate his arrival. Shen Yuan finally raised his face from being tucked away on Shen Qingqiu's neck and smoothed over the crumpled robe from his tight hold. His sight landed on two younger characters bowing deeply towards Shen Qingqiu.

"Shizun, I managed to book 2 rooms at the inn in town," reported one of the boys. "I will share the room with Luo Binghe for the night."

"And I managed to procure the basic things needed to replenish the medical kit, shizun," reported the other boy. "I have helped da-shixiong to sort through the inventory for the herbs we have collected in the last mission for Qian Cao peak."

Shen Yuan alternated his gaze between the two characters. Ah, so this was the famed stallion protagonist. And the other person must be Ming Fan, the head disciple, and one of Luo Binghe's future victims. He thought that because this was another xianxia novel, all characters were meant to look beautiful. All the men he had seen in the temple were beautiful. But Ming Fan made Shen Yuan change his mind. As expected, a disposable canon fodder!

"Lead me to the room, Ming Fan," said Shen Qingqiu to the head disciple. He then turned to the other boy. "Little beast, go draw a bath."

Both of the younger men answered simultaneously. They tried hard to sneak a glance at Shen Yuan, staring at the back of his head as he on and off hid his face in the crook of Shen Qingqiu’s neck, but averted their gaze when Shen Yuan caught their look in a stare.

After they reached the room designated for Shen Qingqiu, he ordered Shen Yuan to take off his ragged clothes. Luo Binghe emerged not too long after, hurriedly carrying warm bath water into the room.

“A-Yuan,” asked Shen Qingqiu, crouching in front of Shen Yuan. It was alarming for Shen Yuan to know the character he hated so much was capable of being nice to a child. “Do you need help with the bath?”

He looked at the wooden bath tub, and Luo Binghe was kneeling beside it, testing the steaming water with his hand. 

Shen Yuan nodded his head, and pointed at Luo Binghe. “That gege can help me.”

There was a quiet, assessing look on Shen Qingqiu’s face.  “Little beast,” he called out for Luo Binghe, “assist A-Yuan with his bath.” 

A little occupied, Luo Binghe shouted his affirmation without the usual bow.

“Ming Fan, follow me,” said Shen Qingqiu, but he did not break eye contact with Shen Yuan. “I’ll be back in a while, A-Yuan.”

More than happy to be left alone with Luo Binghe, his favourite protagonist, Shen Yuan quickly stripped and hopped over next to the teenager. There was no need for shame. They were both boys. 

Shen Yuan watched in awe, as the stallion protagonist he admired diligently set up a hot water bath for him. He prepared the bath soap and dropped a few drops of fragrance oil in the water, and left the towel on a stool within reach of the tub. This character was still young, judging by the white and green robes he was wearing. He couldn't be older than fourteen. He radiated innocence, not at all like the sex-crazed blood-lust power-hungry stallion male lead Shen Yuan came to know from the novel.

"Young master," said Luo Binghe quietly, addressing Shen Yuan and gesturing at the steamy wooden tub. "Your bath is ready. Do you need help with washing?"

Shen Yuan dazedly nodded to the suggestion.

He let the protagonist carefully lift him up and dunked him in the tub, making sure he was fully covered with water before he started thoroughly washing him with soap. With gentle hands, Luo Binghe left no skin on Shen Yuan's body unscrubbed..

"Shen Yuan," said Shen Yuan suddenly as Luo Binghe was washing his hair and massaging his scalp. He had his gaze fixated on the pretty protagonist who was working on him with full concentration, eyes sparkly, filled with adoration. "Gege can call me A-Yuan. A-Yuan is not a young master."

That seemed to break Luo Binghe's train of thought. He blinked a moment, as though he was not used to being spoken to nicely. And then a timid smile tugged on his lips. "Then A-Yuan can call me Bing-gege. Nice to meet you, A-Yuan."

[Congratulations, user! Introduction to protagonist, complete! Protagonist satisfactory point + 200. B-Point +50.]

Right! A sudden ping in his head reminded Shen Yuan that he was here for a purpose!

In the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, Luo Binghe was mistreated during his disciple days and abused by his master. This, of course, turned the protagonist into a resentful person, and avenged those who wronged him once he became the strongest half demon in all three realms. His master who was the scum villain now happened to be Shen Yuan's brother. If Shen Yuan didn't do anything about it, his brother will be turned into a human stick in the future!

It also got Shen Yuan thinking, would Luo Binghe torture or kill him too, due to his association with the scum villain? Or would he spare Shen Yuan for not being directly involved in Luo Binghe's suffering? 

A shudder ran through his body just thinking about it. Looking at the young protagonist now, innocent and diligent, with gentle hands and strong arms, it was hard to believe this person could turn into a cold blooded monster one day. Shen Yuan took a moment to consider, and then made a resolve to himself.

He was going to do whatever it takes to save himself, his scum villain brother and this young protagonist from extreme fates of Proud Immortal Demon Way!

Not long after, they were done with the bath. Luo Binghe hoisted Shen Yuan out of the tub and helped dry him with the towel, but when he wanted to dress Shen Yuan up, he sadly looked at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor.

"We don't have child clothes, A-Yuan. Will it be okay if you wear mine? I have a spare robe," asked Luo Binghe sympathetically. "It will be a bit big on you, but it's clean."

"That won't be necessary," said Shen Qingqiu, suddenly appearing again in the room. Shen Yuan did not know where he went off to, but when he reappeared, he was holding a bunch of clothes in his hand. "I've got you some new clothes, A-Yuan." With a sterner tone, he addressed Luo Binghe. "Your work here is done, little beast. You can retire for the night."

"Yes, shizun!" said Luo Binghe as he deeply bowed to his master. He gave Shen Yuan a tiny wave before promptly leaving the room.

Shen Qingqiu helped Shen Yuan to dress up. He had indeed brought clothes that fit Shen Yuan just right, in a shade of white and green that was more similar to Shen Qingqiu's than the ones Luo Binghe's wearing. The hair was still damp from the bath, so Shen Yuan let it air dry as Shen Qingqiu brought him to the table where food was served and kept warm using a talisman. 

With no reservation, Shen Yuan gobbled everything up. It had been so long since he had good food he could cry. The discordance from being a second generation rich kid to a dirt poor kid sold to human traffickers was too cruel. He was forced to thrive off stale mantou and overly runny rice porridge. Noodles were a luxury, and he could probably count on one hand how many times he had it in the last six years of his life. He couldn't even recall the taste of beef because he never had it in his life, until now.

Once in a while, Shen Yuan looked up from his food to look at Shen Qingqiu who was barely eating, more busy watching over Shen Yuan with an unfathomable expression on his face. When reading Proud Immortal Demon Way, he had always assumed that Shen Qingqiu was a spoiled rich kid with a rotten personality. Never had he considered that he was born in a harsh life, and that was probably what made him evil in the original book. His villain origin story. If Shen Yuan was traded for a sack of rice, and the sister above him was also traded for a sack of rice, he was pretty sure Shen Qingqiu had the same fate. Shen Yuan too, would probably be a bitter human being if he was forced to grow up in this cruel world, especially knowing you were less worthy than rice.

"A-Yuan," said Shen Qingqiu quietly, breaking the silence when Shen Yuan finally slowed down his eating. "How did you know I am your brother?"

The question sent Shen Yuan into a little panic mode. He couldn't possibly tell Shen Qingqiu about the system in his head. The system didn't divulge much, apart from his role as Shen Qingqiu's little brother in this setting. If he couldn't give a good answer, if he was not able to convince Shen Qingqiu that he was Shen Yuan’s brother, not only would Shen Qingqiu lose his trust in Shen Yuan, he would probably drop kick him onto the street right at this moment. Calmly, Shen Yuan swallowed the last bit of food in his mouth and faced Shen Qingqiu with a daring stare. 

"Because I look like you," said Shen Yuan confidently around the fear in his heart. "It's like looking in the mirror, Jiu-ge." Shen Yuan put an emphasis on the Jiu-ge, because as a reader of Proud Immortal Demon Way, he was not privy to Shen Qingqiu's real name before his ascension as a peak lord. Knowing this fact itself was intimate, not something that a random person could just figure out on the spot. He tried to match Shen Qingqiu's sharp stare and stubborn set of jaws, with similar inky black hair past his shoulders, so the older man would be able to see it himself. If Shen Yuan didn’t know any better, he could even pass off as Shen Qingqiu’s son.

Shen Qingqiu was quiet for a long time. It seemed like he was taking his time to think, to digest the fact that Shen Yuan existed. "Before the useless old man sold you off," said Shen Qingqiu through gritted teeth, "were there any other siblings you know off?"

"A sister," replied Shen Yuan quietly around chopsticks in his mouth. He tried to recall the girl that was no older than seven years old that was around him when he was a toddler. "But she disappeared when I was three years old. I remember her feeding me oranges when I was small, and then suddenly she stopped being around."

"And you were sold off to the bad guys?"

Shen Yuan nodded. "The bad guys made me beg on the street. And then they were planning to sell me to someone rich. A stray dog helped me run away. I got on a boat for many many days and stole food to eat. And then I got off the boat looking for food but the boat set sail without A-Yuan. So I walked and walked and walked. And then, and then I was lost in the woods for days, but kind Ying-jie helped me. And then I met you."

The temperature in the room dropped a couple of degrees as cold animosity emanated around Shen Qingqiu. There was a literal murderous glint in his eyes, and the chopsticks in his hand were held so forcefully it snapped in half. Realising that Shen Qingqiu was slowly stewing in hatred and just a few steps away from committing parricide, Shen Yuan hopped off his seat and threw his arms around Shen Qingqiu's chest.

"It's okay, Jiu-ge, A-Yuan is safe here!" exclaimed Shen Yuan as he clung on the older man. "Jiu-ge will help A-Yuan, right?"

Shen Yuan was a bit nervous about his relation to Shen Qingqiu. This was, after all, the scum villain of Proud Immortal Demon Way. He abused Luo Binghe to a catastrophic point. The sweet young protagonist would later turn into someone so different in the future. There was a sliver of chance that this scum villain would do the same to Shen Yuan, or at best, be indifferent towards the situation and just leave him out here to fend for himself in this unknown setting. But from their initial encounter, Shen Yuan felt that Shen Qingqiu wasn't as bad as he thought he was, and there was a chance that Shen Qingqiu as a person could change his fate with a little intervention, if there was a little goodness in him left. 

And damn it, Shen Yuan loved a little fix-it! It was one of his favourite fanfic tags after all! He could fix Jiu-ge! And he could fix Proud Immortal Demon Way, by tampering with the plot lines!

[There are certain plot lines that can't be changed, user has to be mindful of that. But helping the scum villain is not fixed and does not interfere with the main quest, so good luck!]

The system had given its green light, and Shen Yuan couldn't be more delighted. Just then, the older man reciprocated Shen Yuan's embrace.

"Jiu-ge won't let you down, A-Yuan," whispered Shen Qingqiu as he stroked Shen Yuan's hair, gaze lost in the distance. There was a crack in his voice. Just like that, all the disdain from earlier dissipated into thin air.

Hook, line, and sinker!

Chapter Text

If there was one word Liu Qingge could use to describe the current mission, it was unpredictable.

First of all he was paired with a newly ascended heavenly official, His Highness Xie Lian, who turned out to be not so new after all, because he had ascended twice before, and this was his third ascension. The reason was unknown to Liu Qingge. People had been talking in hushed whispers in heaven,  but it was none of Liu Qingge's business, so he turned a deaf ear to the others. If he was really curious, he could just go up to the man and ask him right on one day.

Then, they were joined by two junior officials from the southeast and southwest martial court. It was odd for other martial court junior officials to tag along for a mission that did not involve their heavenly officials, but they seemed overly familiar with Xie Lian. They were here to assist Xie Lian, and by extension, Liu Qingge. He didn’t think it was necessary, but he didn’t have time to dismiss their help because…

…of Shen Qingqiu's appearance. He thought he was hallucinating, a trick his mind was playing on him because he hadn't seen the older man in nearly a week because he was away on a mission and Liu Qingge himself was swamped with work. But it seemed like Shen Qingqiu too was tasked to investigate the same thing as he did, and he was secretly delighted to be able to work with his martial brother again. The last time he had worked with Shen Qingqiu at the well mission had left a bitter taste in his tongue, so this time, Liu Qingge was determined to make it right.

The most unexpected thing was the appearance of a boy who was a carbon copy of Shen Qingqiu. Well, almost. If the boy was older, and had a cold air around him, with expensive guan on his hair and the softest cotton for his robes. But instead, he didn’t seem like he was a day over eight years of age, with rumpled and rugged clothes, and a rough look around him, dust smudged across his cheek. Until they had determined that the boy wasn’t a threat or a demon’s trick, everyone was on edge.  

It did, of course, come as a shock to everyone, including Shen Qingqiu himself. Before, Liu Qingge might not be able to tell Shen Qingqiu's expression apart. But after watching him more closely in these past couple of moons, Liu Qingge could differentiate a few of his stony cold expressions, and beneath the mask he wore, Liu Qingge could see he was shaken.

So Liu Qingge reached out and embraced Shen Qingqiu.

It was a spur of a moment thing. He had no right, nor did he ask permission to do it, but Liu Qingge felt like it was the right thing to do. Shen Qingqiu seemed like he went through a lot that day, and Liu Qingge felt like it was appropriate to convey his support to his martial brother. Shen Qingqiu didn't push him away, he did not berate Liu Qingge over it. It was a quick one, but the adrenaline of doing something physical with Shen Qingqiu left him high for hours afterwards.

It had such an effect on Liu Qingge that when he saw his martial brother the next day, he could hear his heart beating a little more rapidly than usual. Would a heavenly official’s heart even beat the same way humans would? Liu Qingge had no answer to that. Shen Qingqiu seemed like he didn't sleep much then night before, with tired eyes and faint dark circles, but he wasn't any more grouchy than usual when Liu Qingge greeted him in front of the temple. Liu Qingge contemplated asking about his brother, but Shen Qingqiu cut him off by inquiring about the plan to settle the current mission at hand.

"What did you guys come up with?" asked Shen Qingqiu.

"We're going to use decoys," said Liu Qingge as he fell in steps next to Shen Qingqiu as they entered the temple.

Shen Qingqiu massaged his temples. “I don’t like where this is going.”

Liu Qingge further explained that because the ghost groom kidnap brides, the best possible option was to get someone to dress up as a bride to lure the ghost groom out, and hopefully that would lead them to the disappeared brides. But because of the risk of danger, they couldn't possibly let a human woman be the bait.

"So we decided that among us, two would have to dress up as brides," explained Liu Qingge. "We are splitting the team into two to avoid being too conspicuous, and while one team lure the ghost groom, the other can investigate the woods to find any lead."

"And who are the lucky brides?" asked Shen Qingqiu cuttingly, with a sharp glare in his eyes.

"Well, His Highness is one, and the other..." Liu Qingge trailed off, unable to meet Shen Qingqiu’s eyes as he fiddled with Cheng Luan’s hilt. "Look, I can disguise as the bride if you don't want t --"

"No, don't. Nobody is going to believe you're a bride with that brutish behaviour of yours," said Shen Qingqiu, putting his hand up to Liu Qingge, resigned to his fate as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to carry the sedan anyway. Let me sit back and rest for a bit."

Liu Qingge felt a little less guilty about that. The truth was, he tried to recall the transformation magic Shi Qingxuan had taught him not too long ago. But he only did it once, and when he tried to teach Xie Lian the night before, both of them failed spectacularly at it. Unfortunately, Shi Qingxuan wasn't around to teach them. He didn't mind dressing up as a bride in his male form, but the two dresses Xie Lian found were made for slender figures, and Liu Qingge's shoulders were slightly too broad for it. It would, on the other hand, fit Shen Qingqiu perfectly. Now that he knew how the older man looked underneath the layers of robes after the Lingxi cave incident, he was sure that Shen Qingqiu wouldn't have problems fitting into the dress.

(He tried not to think about the Lingxi cave incident too much.)

"The girl who had stopped the bridal procession yesterday is helping His Highness with his hair and face right now, why don't you go try the dress on and let her help you afterwards?" said Liu Qingge as he led Shen Qingqiu towards a room at the back of the temple. 

Nan Feng and Fu Yao were standing guard outside despite the lack of threat, and they were at each other's throat again. Not as bad as the night before when they startled the little boy, but loud enough that Liu Qingge could hear them before he saw them.

Just then, Xie Lian emerged from the room fully dressed like a bride with a full face of powder and red lips. It immediately shut the two men up. Liu Qingge could see that they had something to say to Xie Lian but were holding themselves back in the presence of Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu.

"Greetings Your Highness, " said Shen Qingqiu with a short bow. "The dress suits you really well."

Xie Lian smiled sheepishly as he acknowledged Shen Qingqiu's presence. "I just hope I can fool the ghost groom with this." He then introduced Shen Qingqiu to Xiao Ying, who made magic happen with her touch. "This is Xiao Ying, she helped me with the whole look. A-Ying, this is Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu."

"Nice to meet you, Master Shen," said the girl, politely bowing at Shen Qingqiu. "His Highness is too generous. He already has a good look, I just helped him look more presentable for a bridal procession."

Shen Qingqiu inquired about the other bridal dress, and quickly went to change. Liu Qingge  followed Shen Qingqiu into the makeover room while the rest of the party were waiting outside for them to be ready. 

When Shen Qingqiu finally emerged, Liu Qingge was stunned by the sight. The bright red and gold embroidered dress was made to fit like a glove for the older man. He had always known that Shen Qingqiu was gifted with beauty and delicate features, but to see him in a wedding dress...He simply couldn’t look away. His breath was caught in his chest. 

"You're staring," remarked Shen Qingqiu, glaring at Liu Qingge. 

"Sorry, shixiong," said Liu Qingge, his voice hitched in his throat as he picked up his jaw from the ground. His face burned from getting caught staring. "You're just…breathtaking."

Shen Qingqiu blinked twice. He then sneered. "Okay," he said, with a touch of cynicism.

 "I mean it, shixiong," Liu Qingge retorted, doubling down on his effort to convince Shen Qingqiu that he meant his words. "I don't know fancy words to describe it, but you're really beautiful. Pretty. Gorgeous. I think I need to learn more words."

At that, Shen Qingqiu snapped open his fan and hid his face behind it, but Liu Qingge could see the tip of his ears turning a lovely shade of pink. He was sure the same thing was happening on his cheeks. Secretly he wished to see it. Maybe one day Shen Qingqiu would be comfortable enough to let him see it.

"If you are ready, Master Shen, shall I put powder and rouge on you?" asked Xiao Ying, gesturing for Shen Qingqiu to sit in front of the bronze mirror.

"I can help with the hair," volunteered Liu Qingge. When Shen Qingqiu furrowed his eyebrows and gave him a sceptical look, he defended himself. "I have a sister. I'm used to this."

Of course when he was younger he was forced to do it to indulge Liu Mingyan. His sister would threaten not to talk to Liu Qingge when he refused to play dress up and makeover with her, and he made it to three days without talking to his sister before he started missing her. He hadn't done this in a long time, not since he left for Bai Zhan peak and Liu Mingyan had grown out of pestering his peak lord brother to play makeover, but the muscle memory was still there.

Xiao Ying smiled. "Thank you for your help, Lord Liu. I'm sure you'll do a good job."

Shen Qingqiu gave him a hesitant nod. He turned to sit sideways on the seat, so he could let the two of them work at the same time. He faced Xiao Ying who softly started patting his face with powder. Liu Qingge picked up a brush and started brushing Shen Qingqiu's hair.

"Gently, brute," warned Shen Qingqiu quietly, but there were no sharp edges to his tone.

Liu Qingge put a little less power to his brushing, gently carding through Shen Qingqiu silky black hair from scalp to the end. He repeated the motion a couple of times, making sure to get everything straight and presentable. From the side reflection on the mirror, Liu Qingge could see that Shen Qingqiu was closing his eyes and tilting his head back slightly, enjoying getting his hair brushed. There was a rare unguarded look on his face, and it made Liu Qingge smile to himself. It was an accomplishment to get Shen Qingqiu’s walls down. Maybe this was his new favourite thing, making his martial brother happy and out of his shell, pampering him whenever possible.

After trying a few styles, Liu Qingge decided the simplest one was the best. He put Shen Qingqiu's hair in a half up bun neatly and placed a hairpin he had bought for Shen Qingqiu but had yet had the time to give it to him. It had a bamboo motive on a gold body, with a hanging teardrop shaped jade. It shone brightly, standing out against the inky black hair. A hair crown was placed to cover the hair bun to complete the look.

Xiao Ying was done with the make up just a moment after Liu Qingge was done with the hair. When Shen Qingqiu turned to face the mirror, he stared at it for a moment, like he was trying to get used to his new appearance. He then turned his head side to side to see Liu Qingge's handiwork on his hair.

Tilting his head up to look at Liu Qingge, he considered his words for a moment. He touched the end of his side hair that was styled by Liu Qingge. "Your work. It's not too bad."

Was that a praise? Liu Qingge couldn't help but scoff. Since his martial brother was bad at taking compliments, he would return the praise with Shen Qingqiu's own words. He reached his hand out to tilt Shen Qingqiu by the chin and hovered his thumb over the older man's plump lips, covered in bright rouge. "You don't look too bad either, shixiong."

There was a tension that was palpable in the air as their eyes met, more taut than a rope in a tug-of-war competition, that was quickly crushed by Shen Qingqiu when he swatted away Liu Qingge's hand with his fan.

"A-Ying, your makeup is good," said Shen Qingqiu, turning back to the girl who was packing up her make up into a small bag. The blush on his cheeks was redder than it was before.

"Not at all, Master Shen," replied the girl with a smile. "You and His Highness are already blessed with good looks, I just enhanced it."

Shen Qingqiu shook his head. But instead of arguing, he switched the topic to something else. "A-Ying, may I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Master Shen?"

"Did you happen to help a boy named Shen Yuan who happened to live in this temple for the past moon?"

At that, her eyes widened. "Yes," said Xiao Ying. There was a slight fear in her eyes at the mention of Shen Yuan. "Please don't throw A-Yuan out in the street, Master Shen. He has been having a tough time since he was very little, and he already asked permission from the monk to stay in this temple."

"Wha-- no, A-Ying, I'm not going to do him harm."

The girl sighed in relief. "That's good. Everyone in this town is wary about newcomers since the story about the ghost groom broke out, and I've been afraid that some of them might harm A-Yuan because he appeared out of nowhere."

"I see," nodded Shen Qingqiu understandingly. "I brought it up because A-Yuan talked about Ying-jie that saved his life in this town. That was you, wasn't it?"

Xiao Ying nodded. "Do you know A-Yuan?"

"I never knew he existed until yesterday, but I'm getting to know him," said Shen Qingqiu as he stood up from his seat and bowed to the girl. "I want to thank you for saving my brother's life."

When Shen Qingqiu raised his head, Xiao Ying was on the verge of tears, but it was a happy one. "I'm so glad things turned out well for A-Yuan!"

For the sideline, Liu Qingge quietly stood and watched the interaction. Shen Qingqiu handed her a sack of gold and silver ingots, probably more than she had ever seen in her lifetime. She could probably live off it well into her adulthood, if she was being savvy about it. 

"Thank you so much, Master Shen! With this, I can help many other kids in need," said Xiao Ying with a bright grin on her face. What a big heart this girl had, Liu Qingge thought. After they were done with this mission, he would send her some money too.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and it was Fu Yao standing in the doorway. "Are you guys ready? Let's get to work."

- -

The two bridal processions were separated on two opposite ends of the base of Mount Yujun. 

The first team was lead by Xie Lian as the bride and he was escorted by Nan Feng and Fu Yao from the southern end, whereas the second team was lead by Shen Qingqiu as the bride and he was escorted by none other than his martial brother, Liu Qingge from the northern end.

Now that the decoy mission had started, Shen Qingqiu felt like he was tricked into being a bride. His initial thought was to avoid doing hard labour of lifting and carrying the sedan. Who would have thought these heavenly officials were very resourceful. They went up to the father of a missing bride and showed their martial prowess to gain his people to help carry the sedans!

So now he was stuck in a bridal dress with full face updo, while Liu Qingge only had to walk next to the sedan on foot, like a hand maiden escorting her young lady to her wedding. The dress was slightly restrictive compared to his usual robes, so he would be in trouble if he ever had to fight in this current fit. Accepting his fate, Shen Qingqiu rested his head on the side of the sedan, closing his eyes in resignation. This had been happening a lot lately and he was out of energy to fight it, especially since he couldn't really rest the night before, thinking about Shen Yuan.

He had resolved to bring his brother back to Qing Jing peak. Overnight, he had thought of what he would do as soon as they got back to the sect. Shen Yuan could be one of his disciples. He could live with Shen Qingqiu in the bamboo house or he could stay at the dormitory with the rest of the disciples, that would be up to Shen Yuan to decide. But first, he would have to assess if the boy would be able to read, write and count before placing him with the other disciples. He had tested the boy’s core the night before, and Shen Yuan had potential to cultivate. 

None of the other peak lords could protest his decision, because Shen Qingqiu knew that Yue Qingyuan would be on his side and allow it despite it not being the time for disciple selection. He could turn up Qi-ge's guilt to the maximum level, especially since Shen Yuan looked exactly like young Shen Jiu. Yue Qi had left Shen Jiu when he was younger, and if he had any shred of decency left, the guilt would resurface and eat him alive if he denied Shen Yuan’s chance at a better life. It was twisted, an underhanded tactic on Shen Qingqiu’s part. But it had to be done.

For now, he was glad that he could leave Shen Yuan to his disciples. Shen Yuan was especially attached to that little beast. When he left Shen Yuan for the mission this morning and entrusted the boy to his two disciples, Shen Yuan immediately latched on Luo Binghe's thigh. Maybe that little beast could be useful for once. His students could babysit his brother, they didn't have to follow Shen Qingqiu for the mission, Shen Qingqiu didn't have to explain Liu Qingge's existence, and he would get the job done with minimal effort because there were four other heavenly officials who were capable of solving the mission even without him. 

It was a win-win scenario all around.

The bridal procession quietly trudged through the woods as dusk settled around them. The moon was covered by the clouds and dark night descended the sky. Liu Qingge was walking in tandem with the rest of the procession, keeping his pace so he would be by Shen Qingqiu's side at all times. Shen Qingqiu caught his glimpse through the small window from inside of the sedan as the see-through curtain flapped in the wind, staring at the younger man's side profile.

Unconsciously, his hand ran over his lips under the veil, reminiscent of the time in the temple when Liu Qingge almost touched Shen Qingqiu's lips with his thumb. His heartbeat quickened at the thought. 

Shen Qingqiu wasn't a fool. He knew that this feeling was, but he figured that if he had not put a name to it, it wouldn't be true. 

(But he knew that that thought too, was juvenile.)

Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge were hurtling down a path that was entirely foreign to the both of them, and if Shen Qingqiu didn't cling on to something, he was afraid that he would be swept along by the rush of emotions, much like swimming against a deadly sea current.

"Shixiong," said Liu Qingge quietly, and he walked closer to the sedan.

That broke Shen Qingqiu's train of thought. "What is it?" His guard was back up.

"Have you noticed? The forest is too quiet now," Liu Qingge pointed out.

Shen Qingqiu shifted his focus, and enhanced his hearing. It was indeed a little too quiet. There were sounds of birds and insects when the first entered the wood, but it slowly faded away, and now, it was quiet, except for the sound of a nursery rhyme sung by a child. He didn’t notice it before as he was so deeply lost in his thoughts, but now he couldn’t shake the eerie voice off, singing about a smiling bride.

"Are you seeing anything outside?" asked Shen Qingqiu. “And did you hear the nursery rhyme?”

Liu Qingge asked him back. “What nursery rhyme?”

There was a stretch of silence as he tried to listen to it carefully to convey to the younger man, but the sedan's procession came to an abrupt halt all of a sudden and he was almost thrown forward.

"Wolves!" screamed one of the military men hired to carry the sedan.

"No, those are not wolves," exclaimed another voice. “It’s something demonic!"

“Binu,” muttered Liu Qingge under his breath, giving context to Shen Qingqiu before he leaped away from his side.

There were screaming and sounds of swords slashing. Hearing the commotion outside, Shen Qingqiu peeked through the heavy fabric that covered the front part of the sedan.

"Don't come out, shixiong," said Liu Qingge as he struck down a few Binu at a time. Two of the men that were carrying the sedan laid lifeless on the ground as Binus feasted upon them, whereas the other two were running off in different directions hoping to shake the beasts off their tails as they retaliated against the oncoming attacks. The stench of blood filled the air. The dead military men were mutilated beyond recognition, being bitten down to the bones. Liu Qingge, on the other hand, was striking at it one by one, protecting the radius around Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu stared at the dark woods ahead, where multiple red eyes were staring back at him, ready to come out of hiding to attack.

Stubbornly, Shen Qingqiu did the exact opposite of what he was ordered to do. "Don't be stupid, Liu-shidi. There's too many of them. They will maul you to death before you get them all."

But due to the restriction of wearing the bridal dress, Shen Qingqiu couldn't fight to his full potential. The best he could do was to use the leaves he had hid within his sleeves and flicked it between Binu's head, going for the kill. A Binu jumped towards him with an open mouth, baring rows of sharp teeth, and Shen Qingqiu quickly flicked his fan open and deflected it to the side towards Liu Qingge, who was ready to slash it in half. Shen Qingqiu swayed in such a way that was so graceful so that he wouldn't drop his veil. He used qi powered leaves to kill another two Binu that were sneaking behind Liu Qingge, and in turn, Liu Qingge killed another ten around Shen Qingqiu. They fought back to back, and slowly but steadily, they got through the whole pack.

It was hard to admit, but they made a good team when they weren't actively antagonising each other.

Liu Qingge flicked Cheng Luan free of Binu blood. He was barely out of breath, despite the overwhelming number they faced and the fact that he did most of the work.

"Are you okay, Shen Qingqiu?" asked Liu Qingge, heavy with worry.

"I'm fine," said Shen Qingqiu without looking at the younger man as he lifted the skirt of the dress, avoiding the messy pool of blood on the ground from all the killing. He could see a splotch of blood on the side of the dress and he clucked his tongue.

Observing this, Liu Qingge took three large strides and closed the distance between them. He then immediately wrapped one arm around Shen Qingqiu's knees to carry him.

"What are you doing, brute?! Put me down!" protested Shen Qingqiu as he clung around Liu Qingge's neck, half sitting on the younger man's arm and shoulder, trying to balance himself.

"The ground is filthy," answered Liu Qingge nonchalantly as he started moving forward, carrying Shen Qingqiu in his arms. Shen Qingqiu could only cling on his martial brother tighter so he wouldn't drop him. Being this close to Liu Qingge, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but smell the scent of fresh pine forest and sword oil off the younger man. He was unprepared to be this close to Liu Qingge, so he trashed even harder when Liu Qingge said, "Would you rather me carry you like this, or do you prefer a bridal carry?"

That shut Shen Qingqiu up. It was a rare occurrence. Nobody shut Shen Qingqiu up. 

Liu Qingge carried him for a good distance as silence stretched between them. Instead of avoiding the pool of blood and bones strewn on the ground, he simply stepped on it. The sound of blood splotching was audible, and even though Shen Qingqiu couldn’t see it, he knew it would stain Liu Qingge’s boots. 

 And then, after a moment, Liu Qingge broke the silence. "You look so beautiful out there fighting in the field, Shen Qingqiu. It looked like you were dancing with your fan in the wedding dress." remarked Liu Qingge in a low voice. He paused for a while, and then added, " Any groom would be lucky to have you."

For a lack of appropriate response, Shen Qingqiu scoffed. "Nobody would want a bitter, decrepit old man, Liu-shidi."

"I would," said Liu Qingge without hesitation, with a conviction so fierce it left Shen Qingqiu breathless. 

“If this is about taking responsibilities over what happened in Lingxi cave, you don’t have to,” Shen Qingqiu was giving Liu Qingge a way out, playing up the nonchalance.  It was all about honour, honesty and responsibility with Liu Qingge. A brute with one track mind was too easy to read. “I won’t hold you accountable. It was my choice.”

There was a quiet moment between them. It seemed like Shen Qingqiu struck the right chord. He tried not to be disappointed. None of it was showing on his face anyway, face stoic and gaze sharp. But then, Liu Qingge’s arms around Shen Qingqiu tightened. “It did start that way, shixiong,” confessed Liu Qingge. “It’s more than that now.” 

Shen Qingqiu pressed on. “What if Shen Yuan is my bastard son?”

“That has nothing to do with us. I would make no difference at all with how I’m feeling towards you right now,” replied Liu Qingge simply. “And I already know he’s your brother.”

"We're not soulmates." Shen Qingqiu knew they both were fundamentally different people. Liu Qingge would not be Shen Qingqiu's first pick, and he knew the old Liu Qingge would not pick Shen Qingqiu if he ever had a choice. All of these tensions and niceties were only because of what transpired in the Lingxi caves.

"Soulmates are stupid," Liu Qingge refuted fiercely. "I want you on purpose."

His nails around Liu Qingge's shoulders dug deeper, and his face felt a little too hot under the veil. There was a desperate need for Shen Qingqiu to look at Liu Qingge's expression, and this veil had been getting in the way since the get go. He should have thrown it to the ground long ago. But the veil stayed intact, and Liu Qingge said nothing more.

After a good distance of carrying Shen Qingqiu in his arms, Liu Qingge let Shen Qingqiu down on the solid ground underneath a large tree, free from blood splatters. There was a sense of relief from being able to stand on his own two feet, but something felt unresolved. It needed to be addressed. Before Liu Qingge could walk away, Shen Qingqiu subconsciously reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Liu-shidi, wait," Shen Qingqiu simply couldn't let the younger man walk away. The tensions between them had been building for a while now, and if Shen Qingqiu let it fester, he was afraid he might explode.

Liu Qingge waited expectantly, without saying a word. The brute Shen Qingqiu came to know what showed an extreme level of patience unknown to him before. He desperately wanted to despise the younger man for it, but he knew that wasn't the right emotion to describe whatever turmoil that was warring in his heart at the moment.

"Can you remove my veil?" Shen Qingqiu asked exasperatedly.

As if unaffected at all by Shen Qingqiu's tone, Liu Qingge replied. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's just a disguise."

So Liu Qingge did what he was told, he removed the veil. For the first time in the entire evening, they came face to face, staring at each other eye to eye, standing so close to one another. Shen Qingqiu could finally see the desire in Liu Qingge's eyes, the flare of his nostrils, the slight tremble of his lips. If there was more light than just the moon that had risen above the cloud, he would probably be able to see the blush dusting the younger man’s cheeks. Liu Qingge’s gaze was fixated on Shen Qingqiu and Shen Qingqiu alone. It seemed as though his eyes had caught on something so rare and precious that he was unwilling to even blink, lest he miss something important.

Shen Qingqiu was tired of fighting himself. He was tired of fighting these irresistible feelings, the gravitational pull so strong they drifted towards one another,  to just be in each other's personal space. 

Slowly, tilting his head up, Shen Qingqiu closed the distance between their lips. Liu Qingge met him halfway, not stopping until their lips touched.

The kiss was languid, it was gentle. It was different from the kiss in the Lingxi that started it all, where it was driven by desperation for survival. Nothing could have prepared Shen Qingqiu for it to evolve into something more, and yet, here they were, lapping at each other's taste with the practised ease of two old lovers.

It was almost like a dance, between two souls that were intricately bonded together since that fateful day in the Lingxi caves.

Liu Qingge deepened the kiss, and Shen Qingqiu took staggering steps back, one by one, until he found comfort, back leaning against the sturdy tree trunk and Liu Qingge’s body pressed against him. 

It was then that Liu Qingge had stepped on something, and the sound of it cracking broke them both out of the kiss.

It was an enchantment skull that was placed between the roots of the tree, and with Liu Qingge's power, the entire hollow skull was broken, disintegrated into a pile of dust. Almost instantly,  as though a veil had been lifted towards the sky, a large temple was revealed a short distance away.

Breathless from the kiss, they looked at each other with faces barely a distance apart. Shen Qingqiu glanced at Liu Qingge's swollen and well kissed lips, now tainted with a smudge of rouge, his gaze returned to the deep grey eyes. He brought his thumb to the younger man's lips to rub away gently at the red stain that was transferred from his own. "We'll continue this later."

"Y-yes, Shen shixiong," stammered Liu Qingge, struggling to pry his arms away that had found its way around Shen Qingqiu's waist.

Both of them took a moment to straighten themselves, before he walked towards the new building that seemingly had appeared out of nowhere. Liu Qingge crouched to examine the pile of dust on the ground, concluded that it was an enchantment skull, and joined Shen Qingqiu as they approached the temple.

The large, gold embossed plaque with the name Ming Guang Temple hung above the closed door. To Shen Qingqiu, it was just another temple with no significance. But Liu Qingge had a different reaction to it as he went quiet for a moment.

"What is it?" Shen Qingqiu asked, observing his martial brother who was lost in thought.

"This temple belongs to the general who reigned in this territory. The people in this little town told us that there were no Ming Guang temples around here, which is odd because this is his territory.” He shook his head. “Was. Before he went missing and I..." Liu Qingge trailed off, returning Shen Qingqiu's gaze with a meaningful look with unspoken words, hoping that he would catch it. Before Liu Qingge ascended and this territory became his.

Shen Qingqiu didn't say anything, he didn't expect Liu Qingge to finish his sentence. Instead, he gave him a curt nod and gestured so that his martial brother would lead the way into the temple. With Xiu Ya and Cheng Luan ready in hand, Liu Qingge pushed the door open and entered the courtyard as Shen Qingqiu trailed after him.

From then on, mayhem was unleashed. 

Xie Lian arrived at the temple much earlier than Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge. He had discovered all seventeen of the missing brides, and all of them were unfortunately deceased and had been slowly rotting away in the temple. The mob of people from the commotion near the tea house the day before were there to claim the prize money from the lord official who had promised a bounty for those who could bring his daughter back, but they had tampered with the dead bodies and the evil spirits. It had caused the dead brides to attack. 

Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge had arrived right in time to deflect the attacks by the brides. But despite their combined powers, they were still outnumbered, and they had a considerable number of civilians to defend to boot.

Amidst all the chaos that broke out, the mobsters mistook a mysterious boy with a bandage on his face to be the ghost groom and tried to attack him. Shen Qingqiu had never seen the boy before. Xiao Ying, the girl who had helped Shen Qingqiu and Xie Lian early in the day, had apparently trailed after them and tried to protect the boy from the mob of people, begging them to stop. For a moment, it did stop, but it was only because the ghost brides were attacking indiscriminately. 

When the attack was aimed at Xie Lian, she wanted to save him too.

But her efforts were futile. Nang Feng and Fu Yao were occupied, and Shen Qingqiu was at the far end of the temple with Liu Qingge to fend off the attacks themselves, too far a distance to save the girl.

The light left Xiao Ying's eyes, after Xie Lian promised her to help take care of the bandaged boy.

The biggest mystery, slowly unravelled by Xie Lian's capable hands, as he figured out the person behind all this trickery. It was all caused by Xuan Ji, who was revealed to be one of General Ming Guang's spiteful lovers. With help from a supreme demon, she was able to cause all these problems, just to lure him out to confront his ex. 

Xuan Ji did not get what she wished for. She was defeated, eventually putting an end to this decades old mystery that shrouded Mount Yujun and terrorised the brides from this area. Despite all the damage she had inflicted, General Ming Guang did not bother her with his presence, and she was handed over to the descendant of General Ming Guang who was a god from the middle court so she could be dealt with accordingly.

"I have to go. This is my territory, I have to settle this," said Liu Qingge as he grabbed Shen Qingqiu by the wrist, gesturing at the apprehended Xuan Ji with General Pei Junior. There was a pause, and his eyes started darting nervously, stuttering. "Can we-- can we continue what we did earlier when I get back?"

Shen Qingqiu huffed and rolled his eyes. “What if I say no, Liu-shidi?”

“Then I will wait until you want me again,” answered Liu Qingge seriously.

Straight laced as ever. Shen Qingqiu shook his head and huffed. He took a sweeping look at his surroundings, making sure everyone was not paying attention to them. Xie Lian was admonishing the people over their actions, Nan Feng and Fu Yao were talking to the reinforcement team, handing over the apprehended ghost. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, Shen Qingqiu spread his fan open to cover both their faces and grabbed Liu Qingge by the collar, tip-toeing on his feet and pulling him for a quick peck on the forehead. 

“Find me at Qing Jing peak whenever you’re done,” whispered Shen Qingqiu against Liu Qingge’s lips, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his chest. 

Liu Qingge beamed at him and nodded vigorously, before he disappeared into thin air.

With the arrest of the culprit, the mission was complete. Shen Qingqiu exchanged polite bows with the other heavenly officials, thanking them for making this trip a swift one. Shen Yuan cried when Shen Qingqiu told him about what happened to Xiao Ying, and only stopped when he fell asleep on Shen Qingqiu's shoulder as they flew back on Xiu Ya to Cang Qiong mountain.

Because of Shen Yuan's presence, Shen Qingqiu decided that the first order of business when they got back to Cang Qiong was to see Yue Qingyuan first. The sooner he got over this, the less trouble his fellow peak lords could give him for an unsanctioned disciple recruit. Not that he cared about the opinions of the other peak lords, he simply wasn't interested to deal with them. But getting Yue Qingyuan’s approval before the fortnightly peak lord meeting would create the path of less resistance for Shen Yuan, and Shen Qingqiu were willing to endure talking to Yue Qingyuan outside of required meeting hours if it meant he could keep Shen Yuan close to him. 

As soon as he landed at Qiong Ding peak, a few disciples were running towards him in haste, practically throwing themselves at him and looking at him with immense relief. 

Shen Qingqiu had a bad feeling about this. 

"Shen-shibo, I'm so glad you're here,” exclaimed one disciple in navy blue robe of Qiong Ding, part of his sleeve was torn and bloodied. The boy appeared thoroughly beaten. “There are demons from the Demon realm sneaking into Qiong Ding peak while Zhongmen-shibo is away, and these demons are injuring many of our peak disciples!"

Shen Qingqiu started massaging his temples, feeling a headache coming. What rotten luck!

Chapter Text

If there was an award for the person with the worst possible luck in the world, Shen Qingqiu was sure that he would take first place. One after another, something was always happening. Barely a day after solving the mission at Mount Yujun, he had to face a demonic invasion in the sect. 

He could never catch a break, could he?

This was such terrible timing for Yue Qingyuan to leave for an important business trip. Not only that, the students had reported that the rainbow bridges were found to be severed, and that could very well cause delay in help from other peaks to arrive at Qiong Ding peak to fight the demonic invaders. 

While Shen Qingqiu knew the invasion was likely by design to happen explicitly to coincide with the sect leader's absence, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but to blame Yue Qingyuan for his current misfortune, of having to deal with the the demon saintess and her mob of demons who were trying to ruin the sect's reputation. Curse you, Qi-ge!

There was, however, no time to fret. Shen Qingqiu maintained his aloofness, back straight with a stoic face, quietly assessing the situation with his fan poise close to his chest. The disciples here were counting on him, and most importantly, Shen Yuan was here, and protecting his little brother was his main priority. His cultivation might not be as strong as the sect leader or other martial type peak lords, but he could hold his fort, at least until the other peak lords noticed the severed rainbow bridges and realised that something was wrong with Qiong Ding peak, and hopefully come with reinforcement.

Shen Yuan was hiding his face behind Shen Qingqiu as he traded words with the demon saintess that led the invasion, but the boy kept peeking his head out, as though intrigued and curious. Shen Qingqiu had to coax the boy to stay away somewhere the demons couldn't reach him. In his last ditch effort to pry the boy away from him, Shen Qingqiu had dropped his little brother in Luo Binghe's arms and told him to move to the back of the crowd of spectacles that were gathering around the field.

Sha Hualing, the newly minted demon saintess, was cocky and full of herself. Confident in the power of the demons she brought with her, she had issued a challenge to the Cang Qiong sect. As the only peak lord present at the moment, Shen Qingqiu had to step up to rise to the challenge, lest it tainted the sect's image.

Three representatives. Three matches. 

Under the pretence of 'learning from each other' and 'friendly spar,' the first contender was a demon that went by the name Elder 'Single Arm' Dubi, who, without the need for further description, only had one functioning arm.

Shen Qingqiu was the first from Cang Qiong to step up to the challenge. He was heckled to cut off his arm so it would level the playing field. Not one to be baited, Shen Qingqiu simply made a rule of not using his arm in the match, twisting his forearm to rest it against the back of his waist, with his other hand holding on to his fan. 

Being the only peak lord from the older generation present at the moment, Shen Qingqiu did not disappoint. With only his fan, he deflected the attacks from the demon, flowing as graceful as a silk in the wind. His attacks were not powerful, but with consistent and repeated movement, even droplets of water could bore a hole in a rock. Elder 'Single Arm' Dubi was strong, but Shen Qingqiu was simply smarter, outwitting his enemy as he moved two steps ahead. He was the second in command for the Cang Qiong sect afterall, the Qing Jing peak lord, the hand of Xiu Ya.  The students and demons alike were captivated by his moves, some unblinkingly following his every step, some cheering with every blow. 

Eventually, the elderly demon was defeated.

Sha Hualing herself was up for the next match. The demoness pointed out that the 'sparring session' between Cang Qiong disciples and the demons would be pointless if only Shen Qingqiu represented every match, and he had no choice to turn towards the rest of the disciples who were watching in the crowd. Fanning himself demurely, bidding for time as he carefully scanned the crowd to look for potential candidates, his sight fell on a pocket of Xian Shu disciples. Liu Mingyan raised her hand, and through throngs of people, she slowly came forward to greet the peak lord.

"Let me represent the sect for this round, Shen-shibo," said Liu Mingyan with firm conviction, bowing to Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu touched her hand and gestured for her to rise. She stared at him with an unwavering resolution, and there was a little turmoil in Shen Qingqiu's heart over putting Liu Qingge's little sister in danger. If anything were to happen to her, this would put whatever that was budding between him and Liu Qingge in a precarious position. It could go back to the way it was, maybe even worse. Shen Qingqiu refused to admit that it would hurt him, if it ever came to be. But as though she could read him, Liu Mingyan added, "I'll be careful."

He hesitantly nodded, and announced to the crowd the next representative for Cang Qiong mountain.

Liu Mingyan tried. She was one of the best students in Xian Shu peak, and she was the younger sister to the Bai Zhan peak lord. The Liu siblings were gifted in physical prowess, and Liu Mingyan had better advantage in tactics. Where her brother lacked in tactfulness, Liu Mingyan had it doubled. With their noble background, there was no doubt that they were trained by the best teachers even before they entered the sect, and that put them ahead of their peers.

But even that wasn't enough for Liu Mingyan to defeat the Saintess Sha Hualing.

She took the defeat like a champion, with no major injury or damage to her cultivation. It was unthinkable that Sha Hualing could get more arrogant, but with the win, she was insufferable.

With her win, that put the strain on the last match. Shen Qingqiu struggled internally to decide who should be the next contestant, because there were hardly any reliable disciples that stood out in the crowd. As he was lost in thought, a small voice screaming his name broke him out of his trance.

"Jiu-ge!" shouted the voice that was invisible at first, but when he could finally locate it, it was Shen Yuan who had been dragging Luo Binghe forward through the crowd until he was met with Shen Qingqiu.

“I’m sorry, shizun,” said Luo Binghe apologetically as he tried to pull Shen Yuan back to the back of the crowd, to a safer location. “A-Yuan, don’t go there, it’s dangerous!”

"Jiu-ge," said Shen Yuan, as he struggled against Luo Binghe who was resisting him, but he was still winning. His body might be small, but he was strong enough to drag an entire teenager with him. "Jiu-ge, let Bing-ge fight in the next match!"

The suggestion stumped Shen Qingqiu. Luo Binghe himself appeared equally dumbfounded, because he knew he wouldn't be anybody's choice in a dire situation like this. He was simply a lowly disciple of the Qing Jing peak, not the brightest one at that. To the rest of the sect, Luo Binghe’s existence was simply nonexistent.  But Shen Yuan was persistent, he had a firm belief that Luo Binghe could defeat whatever demon that would represent the other team next, despite only knowing Luo Binghe for a few days. He had never even seen Luo Binghe fight before.

"But Bing-ge is strong," protested Shen Yuan when Shen Qingqiu tried to deny his suggestion. "He protects A-Yuan, he can protect the sect!"

“A-Yuan, this is not a game,” warned Shen Qingqiu. Was Shen Yuan trying to get the little beast killed?

“But Bing-ge will win!”

Luo Binghe stared at the young boy as he pleaded his case on Luo Binghe's behalf. Instead of appearing scared or nervous, he seemed stunned at first, but determined to prove to Shen Yuan, the only one who believed in him, that he could win the match. The Qing Jing peak disciples were whispering among themselves. Some were speculating about the boy who addressed Shen Qingqiu as Jiu-ge, some were talking about Luo Binghe and his lack of credit to his name to represent the sect. 

Shen Qingqiu paid them no heed. 

While Luo Binghe wasn't his favourite student, it was undeniable that the teenager had a strong core for cultivation. He was behind his peers at one point until Shen Qingqiu discovered that one of the disciples had pranked the boy by giving him a fake cultivation manual, but after Shen Qingqiu interfered and set Luo Binghe on the right track, he was fast catching up with the rest. Even if he hated the boy and envied his existence, Shen Qingiu wouldn't deny the boy a proper education, especially as a disciple under his tutelage. His pride was on the line, afterall. 

With Luo Binghe, he had no worries from earlier when Liu Mingyan volunteered. If the boy were to die in the match, it would have very little effect on Shen Qingqiu. But then his gaze fell on Shen Yuan, and suddenly he remembered how hard he cried after Shen Qingqiu delivered the news of Xiao Ying's death.  Shen Yuan was attached to Luo Binghe now. 

On second thought, the death of his little brother's new babysitter would probably affect him. A crying kid would only make his headache worse. 

When Luo Binghe stepped on the side of the ring before the fight, Shen Qingqiu lightly hit the boy's head with his fan. His face was stony cold as usual, but his words were not as frosty as they used to be. "Don't die, little beast."

Luo Binghe was taken aback by Shen Qingqiu's encouragement. 

“Yes, shizun!” His eyes shimmered bright,  the nervous look on his face was immediately replaced with determination.

The contender from the demonic side was Elder Sky Hammer,  who wielded a giant hammer and wore armour with spikes lathered with poison. Truly, the difference between their power was too vast. All Luo Binghe could do was dodge attack after attack. Retaliation was far in between, and Luo Binghe went for it at every chance he got. With nimble footing, Luo Binghe moved all over the ring, carefully avoiding the poisonous spikes. Elder Sky Hammer might be more powerful, but Luo Binghe was a fountain of youth and endless energy to move around the ring. The fight stretched on, and after almost a full hour, Luo Binghe's persistence paid off. The Elder Sky Hammer fell on his knees, and Luo Binghe was declared as the winner for the third round. 

What a turn of events! 

Shen Qingqiu's gaze fell on Shen Yuan who was cheering so loudly by the ring side. Maybe Shen Yuan  had a lucky pick. There was no way he could judge Luo Binghe's strength accurately by being by his side in just two days. But a win was a win, and Shen Qingqiu was secretly relieved that the random selection for a vital match turned out well. He couldn't even begin to think of the excuses he would have to come up with at the peak lord meeting if it was a loss. 

Unfortunately, the spectacle did not end when the matches ended. Shen Qingqiu should have expected that it wouldn't be this easy to get rid of the demoness and her mob of demons that invaded Qiong Ding peak.

Deciding that the Elder Sky Hammer was being a huge embarrassment to the demons, Sha Hualing created a scene by 'disciplining' her own teammates by beating the older demon in front of the crowd. As her status as the saintess by noble demonic birth put her in a higher standing than Elder Sky Hammer, she brazenly did things as she pleased.

Shen Qingqiu had to remind her where she was, and pointedly told her to mind her manner as a guest on other people's turf.

The Elder Sky Hammer, spiteful after being beaten by a fifteen year old nobody and slapped by the demoness, were quietly watching Luo Binghe out of the corner of his eyes. Despite the win, Luo Binghe survived the match with quite a lot of damage, and was too distracted by his reunion with the young Shen Yuan to notice it. It was during a moment of lax that the Elder Sky Hammer struck, swinging his giant hammer in the direction of Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan. Luo Binghe's movement were slowed down due to his injury, whereas Shen Yuan were stunned in place.

Shen Qingqiu appeared between the young disciples and the demon in a flash, as if he had predicted the vile sneak attack, and used his fan to bring down Elder Sky Hammer on his knees, knocking the giant hammer off his hand. The looming figure was now sprawling face down on the ground, thoroughly defeated in the most shameful way.

"Stay back, A-Yuan," barked Shen Qingqiu angrily, even though he was more worried than angry. "Take your Bing-ge with you."

Before Shen Qingqiu could finish his sentence, Elder Sky Hammer got up again, and threw himself forward with open arms towards Luo Binghe. Unconsciously, Shen Qingqiu moved his body to intercept the demon so he wouldn't get anywhere within the range of his disciple and his brother. Xiu Ya quickly left its sheath to pierce it through the demon's body. But with no dignity left to spare, Elder Sky Hammer was laughing maniacally as he advanced towards Shen Qingqiu, letting himself be skewered through by Xiu Ya with the sole purpose of piercing Shen Qingqiu with his poisoned armour.

"Shizun!"

"Jiu-ge!" Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe called Shen Qingqiu out simultaneously.

When Shen Qingqiu noticed it, it was already too late.

Chill ran through his body as he felt the sharp sensation coursing through his body from his right hand. Already, he could feel his qi slowly starting to stagnate, and he realised that he had been poisoned. Shen Qingqiu's blood ran cold. 

Enough was enough. Play time was over. 

Shen Qingqiu did not hesitate to pull out Xiu Ya from where he was stabbing the demon and with a single swift motion of his blade, Elder Sky Hammer's head fell on the ground with a resounding thud. It rolled off the ring in slow motion, until it came to a halt in front of Sha Hualing.

The crowd gasped in shock. The demons roared in anger. Luo Binghe managed to wrap Shen Yuan in his arms and covered his eyes, shielding him from the horror.

Sha Hualing, who was daring enough to argue with Shen Qingqiu just moments ago, took a step back. Fear flashed in her eyes for a moment, before she managed a humourless laugh. "Good luck trying to survive the poison, Peak Lord Shen! The poison is called 'Without A Cure' for a reason!"

Without A Cure. Shen Qingqiu remembered reading about the poison in one of the books on bestiary for the syllabus of his disciples. The poison was extracted from the gall bladder of a triple legged bat lizard. It would cause qi to disconnect from the point of entry and it would spread to the entire body, causing qi to stagnate and coagulate. Even with a stable core formation, it would not guarantee one's survival. Shen Qingqiu aimed his palm to the ground in an attempt to use qi blast, but it was to no avail. He cursed under his breath. His legs were starting to give away, so he stuck Xiu Ya to the ground and leaned on it to keep himself upright.

The sound of demons shouting snapped Shen Qingqiu's attention away from his current concern. They were agitated after one of their own was slaughtered, and collectively raised their weapons to retaliate. The disciples who were present raised their weapons too, even though some of them were still using training swords as some had not yet had the sword selection ceremony done.

Shen Yuan darted towards Shen Qingqiu's side, and Luo Binghe drew his training sword to stand in front of the two siblings to defend them.

Sha Hualing exchanged looks with the demons that flanked her on both sides, rows upon rows of demons all wielding their weapon up in the air in a battle stance. She had a gleeful smile across her lips and malice in her eyes and  with one resolute nod, the demons were running towards Cang Qiong disciples, roaring with battle cry. The disciples met them halfway, not backing down so very easily.

Suddenly there was a booming sound in the sky. A pillar of light that pierced the ground in the centre of the ring had appeared out of nowhere, like it had spilled down from heaven. The pillar had stretched wider and wider horizontally until it reached both edges of the mountain, and the bright blue light emanating from it had disintegrated every demon in its path. Once the light served its purpose, it gradually dissipated into thin air, leaving no trace of the demons it had destroyed.

As the light sheen twinkled into nothingness, it gradually revealed the person at its core, standing in the small crater of his own making in the middle of the ring with fury in his eyes. Cheng Luan was poise in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.

It was the lost Bai Zhan peak lord, who had disappeared in the Lingxi caves many moons earlier.

Luo Binghe staggered back to avoid the impact radiated by Liu Qingge. Liu Mingyan had to rub her eyes to make sure it wasn't simply her imagination, and once she was convinced that her eyes were not playing a trick on her, tears were welling in her eyes. The revelation had shocked the disciples present at Cang Qiong peak. A small group of students in mixed colour robes were ecstatic that the Bai Zhan peak lord had returned.

With the arrival of Liu Qingge, ease settled in Shen Qingqiu's heart, and he dropped to his knees on the ground. Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe rushed to his side, calling for his name, cautiously supporting him without touching his wounded hand.

The impact of Liu Qingge's unprecedented attack had obliterated half the demonic forces and shredded Sha Hualing's barely existing clothes into nothing. The almost naked body that would make any man swoon barely had any impact on Liu Qingge, as he glared furiously at Sha Hualing with the tip of his sword pointing at her neck. "Scram."

The demons cowered in fear. They did not want to tempt fate after invoking the wrath of the famed Bai Zhan peak lord. Covering herself with scraps of fabric, Sha Hualing spouted curses at Liu Qingge and retreated with her remaining underlings.

Liu Qingge took two large steps and kneeled by Shen Qingqiu's side who was laid on the ground. "Shen Qingqiu," The murderous aura he emitted earlier vanished almost immediately, desperation dripping in his voice. He scooped the older man around the shoulders to sit, leaning against his chest. "Hang in there. I'll take you to Mu-shixiong right away!"

"You're late, you brute," said Shen Qingqiu, voice muffled from blood that was pooling at the back of his throat. He coughed some out and it splattered on the ground, to everyone's horror. The guarded look on his face vanished and was instead replaced by furrowed eyebrows as he saw two Liu Qingges in front of him. Shen Qingqiu raised his palm in front of his face, flipping it back and forth as his vision doubled and blurred around the edges. He barely had any energy left, and his hand fell on his chest.

The voice of Luo Binghe, Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge calling his name was the last thing he remember before he descended into darkness.

Chapter Text

An incense burner slowly emitted smoke from a smouldering piece of wood bark by Shen Qingqiu’s bedside. It was said to be beneficial to one’s health and qi restoration, and was stocked in abundance at the Qian Cao Peak. Everyone present in the room waiting for the examination to wrap up were waiting with a bated breath. After a substantial amount of time examining the Qing Jing peak lord, Mu Qingfang spoke.

"I’m afraid there is no known cure," said Mu Qingfang grimly to Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan. Liu Qingge clenched his fists tighter, helplessly watching the sleeping figure lying still in the pristine bed, his face and lips paler than the sheet. “However, something can be done to stagger the effect of the poison.”

It had been days since the demon invasion in the Qiong Ding peak and Shen Qingqiu was still unconscious. Liu Qingge had arrived at the scene a moment too late, and the poison had already spread to Shen Qingqiu's core by the time he brought the older man to Mu Qingfang. Practically crashing the door of Qian Cao peak, his appearance with an unconscious Shen Qingqiu had arrived at the urgent medical bay like a storm.  But as a trained medical professional, Mu Qingfang was completely unfazed with Liu Qingge's sudden appearance, attending to Shen Qingqiu in a calm and orderly fashion, asking relevant questions pertaining to Shen Qingqiu's injury even though he was probably curious to know where Liu Qingge had been for the past couple of moons.

The aftermath of Liu Qingge's reappearance in the eyes of the sect was secondary now, with Shen Qingqiu being his priority.

Yue Qingyuan, who was away for an important meeting, had rushed back the moment the news of the invasion reached his ears. Looking worse than a kicked puppy, the respectable sect leader was blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault. More than the invasion of the sect, he seemed to be more remorseful over Shen Qingqiu's injury in his attempt to defend the sect and his disciples. He was especially distraught with the presence of Shen Yuan, who was clinging by Shen Qingqiu's side, like a ghost of his past had come to haunt him.

Mu Qingfang and his dedicated team of disciples were working tirelessly for two days straight to try and patch things up. The treatment was made more difficult to manage as the injury was more chemical than physical, but a poison with the name of Without A Cure was pretty self explanatory. For the time being, the healer was able to suppress the poison, and Shen Qingqiu was no longer in a critical condition. He was deep asleep, rebuilding his qi in a complete restful state.

"I supposed Liu-shidi has his reasons for going missing and then suddenly reappearing again?" asked Mu Qingfang after he had updated the two peak lords regarding Shen Qingqiu's condition. While Yue Qingyuan was more distracted over what happened while he was away, Mu Qingfang looked thoroughly at Liu Qingge from top to bottom as he stroked his moustache, circling Liu Qingge, analysing every inch of the man before him. "You appear…well."

"I am well," retorted Liu Qingge.

"Will you tell us why you disappeared, Liu-shidi?" Yue Qingyuan shifted his gaze from the bed where Shen Qingqiu was sleeping and looked at Liu Qingge. He had composed himself, and although traces of worry were still visible on his face, he was able to take his mind off his other martial brother and his new found younger brother.

Liu Qingge shook his head. "I can't tell you yet. Not now, at least. But rest assured, I'm doing fine," replied Liu Qingge with a short bow. Thankfully that his martial brothers did not press further, he turned back to face Mu Qingfang. "While Shen-shixiong is sleeping, is there really no way for us to cure his poisoning?"

"There's one flower," said Mu Qingfang as he stared in the distance pensively. "But it's extremely rare, hidden in the deep valley about two regions over that are infested with monsters like black moon rhinoceros python and blue tiger boa, and only appeared in human’s spectrum of vision during the one night of the peak full moon. However, it is not a guaranteed cure. This cure was written in an old scroll written in ancient language collected by my previous master, and I happened to assist him in deciphering it when I was a young disciple. The validity of it has never been proven until now."

"Tell me where I can find them," said Liu Qingge. He was ready to scour every nook and cranny on earth to save his martial brother's life. "I'll bring the flower back for Shen-shixiong."

Yue Qingyuan gave a slight nod to Mu Qingfang. The hesitancy dissipated and he told Liu Qingge exactly where to look. With no time to spare, he simply left in the middle of the conversation to complete the mission. 

—------- 

Five days later he was back with the blue flower in hand with not a single scratch on him. It didn’t matter that the full moon was in a few more days, because Liu Qingge was no longer confined to the strain of a mortal on earth, and the flower was present, beautiful and untouched, when Liu Qingge reached the deepest part of the valley to retrieve it. Mu Qingfang had stared at it in awe when he handed it to the healer to make a medicine out of it.

Shen Qingqiu was still asleep when he got back. Shen Yuan was sitting by his side, no longer crying but watching him. Ming Fan, Ning Yingying and Luo Binghe were waiting by the smaller boy’s side, all appearing equally glum and dejected. For such a cold and intimidating teacher who expected nothing less than perfection, he was surprisingly adored by his students.

While waiting for Shen Qingqiu to regain consciousness, Liu Qingge went back to his heavenly duty. But he was heavily distracted, and it was so bad there were instances where Feng Xin and Mu Qing had to help him clean up his mess. Noticing something was amiss, Mu Qing had dismissed Liu Qingge until he could get his act together.

With nowhere else to go, Liu Qingge went to the bamboo house.

Now that Shen Qingqiu was stable, Mu Qingfang had allowed him to be transferred to his own house. Something about a familiar environment had a calming effect on the patient and it would help with their recovery. Typically, since Shen Qingqiu had warned him about appearing at his house unannounced, Liu Qingge would make himself known by ringing the wind chime five times. With that, Shen Qingqiu would know he was around, and would be aware of whatever gift Liu Qingge left on the windowsill. He hardly lingered around, afraid that it would anger the older man. If he wanted to make amends, he had to follow Shen Qingqiu's rules. He had never gone anywhere beyond the sitting area or the window, because he was a brute, not someone with no common sense.

This time, though, Liu Qingge slowly  made his way further into the house, past the work desk and the fire pit, all the way to the back of the wooden screen, where Shen Qingqiu was sleeping. It was already late in the night, and nobody but Shen Qingqiu was around. Shen Yuan must be staying somewhere else for the night. Liu Qingge never thought about it. He had no shortage of people taking care of him, with the way Qing Jing disciples dote on him. Even the sect leader seemed partial to the boy, the way he did towards Shen Qingqiu since their disciple days.

Liu Qingge sat on the chair that was placed next to the bed of sleeping Shen Qingqiu. The flow of time felt like spilled honey, dripping slowly, sticky. The moon crested at the peak in the cloudless night sky as Liu Qingge watched Shen Qingqiu, looking peaceful in his sleep despite his pale appearance. The memory of Shen Qingqiu's rouge stained lips pressed against his at Mount Yujun flashed through his mind, and he unconsciously touched his own. That felt like a lifetime ago. There was a promise for a continuation at a later time, and Liu Qingge had been looking forward to it. He never thought Shen Qingqiu would be caught in a trap by demons in their very own sect, and a later time was no longer certain as his life tethered at the edge of mortality.

Closing his eyes, Liu Qingge tried to meditate as he waited. He had answered plenty of prayers while he was away just to keep his hands and mind occupied. He sorted through the paperwork even though it was his least favourite part of the job. He sparred with Feng Xin for distraction and shopped with Shi Qingxuan for more gifts. He was finally reunited with Liu Mingyan properly after his disappearance, and that was a teary affair, but it was still not enough of a distraction.

All of that could not take his mind away from Shen Qingqiu.

His attempt at meditation clearly was not working. Liu Qingge slowly opened his eyes, and to his surprise, Shen Qingqiu's eyes were open watching him, eyes gleaming in the dark, save for the unblinking moon in the night sky out the window. In the span of the hours Liu Qingge’s failed attempt to meditate, Shen Qingqiu woke up.

"Shixiong," exclaimed Liu Qingge, shooting up from his seat too fast it rocked in its place. "Let me get someone from Qian Cao Peak!"

"No need," said Shen Qingqiu weakly as he grabbed Liu Qingge by the wrist, his hold was loose. Liu Qingge wasn't resisting. "I feel fine."

"You don't look fine," Liu Qingge protested.

"Well thanks. You look like shit yourself," Shen Qingqiu remarked as he gestured at the bronze mirror with his chin. 

Sure enough, the mirror reflected the image of a man with tired circles around his eyes. His usually tidy ponytail hadn't been re-tied in the last couple of days and he hadn't bothered to change his outer robes from his last mission before coming to the bamboo house. All of a sudden self consciousness overcame him. He started sniffing his armpits and dusting all over his body. He knew Shen Qingqiu was someone who prioritised tidiness and had better hygiene practice than most men.

Shen Qingqiu sneered and shook his head. He patted the edge of the bed. "Come here you brute. You don’t stink, if that’s what you worry about."

He obliged, sitting on the edge of the bed by Shen Qingqiu's side. Days after the incident at the Qiong Ding peak, Shen Qingqiu was finally conscious again. Sitting this close to the older man, Liu Qingge could really see how sickly Shen Qingqiu was. His cheeks were slightly sunken, lips were chapped and devoid of colour, the sharp green of his usual eyes lackluster. Liu Qingge unconsciously brought his hand to Shen Qingqiu's cheek and traced the porcelain skin with his thumb, careful so he wouldn’t break.

Shen Qingqiu leaned into Liu Qingge's touch, gazing at the younger man deeply.  After a moment, he said, "Kiss me, Qingge."

Liu Qingge did not need to be told twice. 

Slowly he leaned in and they kissed. Liu Qingge couldn't help but send qi through to Shen Qingqiu as they locked lips. After they parted, Liu Qingge noticed that Shen Qingqiu appeared less pale than he did just moments ago.

"Shixiong, how are you feeling?" asked Liu Qingge for confirmation.

Shen Qingqiu turned his palm up and stared at it, before pressing it on the left side of his chest. A moment passed. "Better."

That lit up something in Liu Qingge. His gaze shifted from Shen Qingqiu's hand on his chest to the older man's eyes. "Shen Qingqiu, let's try the -- , the -- you know. Dual cultivation," he flushed, feeling the tip of his ears overheating. "To return the favour I owe from the time in the Lingxi caves. To save your life the way you saved mine at the time."

“Is that it?”

“Is that what?”

“Is that the only reason, Liu-shidi?”

Liu Qingge blinked a few times. “Is there something else I’m missing?”

A long stretch of silence passed between them as they stared at each other. His gaze grew colder. "You don't owe me anything," said Shen Qingqiu. He bunched the blanket in his fists, his demeanour suddenly frosty.

"But shixiong ---"

"If that is your only reason for wanting to dual cultivate, I don't want it," Shen Qingqiu interjected with a sort of finality to it. “There’s a way to get rid of this poison, I’m sure.”

Liu Qingge scowled, looking at Shen Qingqiu perplexed. They were talking normally just moments ago, why was Shen Qingqiu upset all of a sudden? Did he answer his question wrongly? Obviously he wanted to dual cultivate with Shen Qingqiu again, not just to repay the favour. 

Shen Qingqiu seemed to be done with the conversation, with his body turning away towards the wall as he pulled the blanket up. Not wanting another misunderstanding to get between them, Liu Qingge quickly grabbed Shen Qingqiu by both shoulders so he would turn to face him.

"I also want to dual cultivate with you because I like you," said Liu Qingge resolutely, with a gaze not faltering against the ever challenging brilliant green eyes. He wasn’t even sure if that was what Shen Qingqiu wanted to hear, he simply threw it out there because it was a fact. "Really really like you, shixiong. And I like it. Dual cultivation. I really do. It was so good the last time we did it I went to heaven."

The older man was startled, but he did not push Liu Qingge away. There was a moment of silence as they stared into each other, and Liu Qingge wasn’t planning on backing out of this one. Then a small laughter escaped Shen Qingqiu. His shoulders were shaking underneath Liu Qingge’s palms as it morphed into a raucous one with crinkly eyes and his head tilted back, exposing his neck, and Liu Qingge thought Shen Qingqiu looked so effortlessly pretty it was unfair. It went on for a while and Liu Qingge just let him. After the laughter slowly died down, Shen Qingqiu wiped the tear at the edge of his eye and grabbed Liu Qingge by the collar so they could smush their lips together.

It felt like a sense of accomplishment for being able to coax his shixiong like this.

Shen Qingqiu broke the kiss, and looked at Liu Qingge. There was a softness in Shen Qingqiu's eyes that was foreign to Liu Qingge, and he couldn't help but surge forward to kiss the older man again. Hands cupping Shen Qingqiu's face, his mouth was pliant to Liu Qingge's lead. He could taste the lingering bitter medicine in Shen Qingqiu's mouth, and was determined to explore it, removing the taste with his tongue, exploring every inch of Shen Qingqiu.

When they parted, there was a dazed look in Shen Qingqiu's eyes. He ran his hand across Liu Qingge's chest, and traced it down, lower and lower, until he could feel the bulge on the crotch. Liu Qingge mewled at the sudden touch.

"Do I...do I have to take you, shixiong?” asked Liu Qingge. He was never timid or shy, but he was so out of his depth when it came to these sorts of things, he started stammering.

Shen Qingqiu's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"The last time we did it, when I needed help with the qi deviation and the qi transfer, I-- you--, I put it in you. Now that you need the qi transfer, does it mean I have to....take you? Sit on your cock? So you can transfer the bad qi as we dual cultivate?"

That drew another laughter from Shen Qingqiu. Liu Qingge found that sincere laugh from Shen Qingqiu was one of the most beautiful parts of him that other people rarely get to see. Liu Qingge counted himself as the luckiest man on earth and heavenly realms.

"It's not necessary. As long as we dual cultivate, it would be fine," Shen Qingqiu shook his head, amused. Then the predatory sharp gaze of those green eyes were back, and Liu Qingge could feel the hair at the back of his neck standing up. "Though if you are interested...we can try that someday."

It was not a lie that the promise, interest and the intense gaze from the older man turned Liu Qingge on even more. It was a new challenge, and Liu Qingge was always up for a challenge. "Okay," said Liu Qingge as he pecked Shen Qingqiu's lips before pressing butterfly kisses all along his neck. Shen Qingqiu tilted his neck back, letting Liu Qingge do as he pleased. His hands were nimble in untying Shen Qingqiu's sash, removing the older man's sleeping robe out of the way, before moving on to his robes.

Something had to be said about seeing Shen Qingqiu bare in front of him. The first time it had happened, Liu Qingge was too busy deviating, and Shen Qingqiu was struggling to save their lives. There was no moment to spare to appreciate the beauty of his martial brother, to marvel over the expanse of fair skin and taut muscles on his lean body. Liu Qingge's fingers were gently caressing the older man, fingertips ghosting over the skin as it trailed down from Shen Qingqiu's neck down to the chest. It grazed past one of his nipples, and a soft whine escaped his lips.

It took all Liu Qingge's might to not pounce on the older man.

That being said, all his reservation went out the window as he practically climbed on top of Shen Qingqiu. They were back to kissing again, and this time they were rutting against one another, both fully erect, with Liu Qingge already leaking at the tip. Shen Qingqiu encircled both their cocks with his hand and the added pressure drew a groan out of Liu Qingge's throat. With a couple of strokes, and Shen Qingqiu's moans against his lips, drowned in his scent and his taste and his touch, Liu Qingge's mind went blank and he came in Shen Qingqiu's hand. Shen Qingqiu required a few more strokes, but he too came not too long after, his cum splattered all across Liu Qingge's chest.

Liu Qingge was still half hard. After breaking the kiss and catching his breath, Shen Qingqiu flicked at Liu Qingge's still energetic cock using his fingers and told Liu Qingge to grab the bottle of oil from the drawer of his vanity mirror. Without a second to spare, the younger man obliged.

By the time Liu Qingge returned, Shen Qingqiu was on his hands and knees , with his pert ass up in the air. " Open me up using your fingers."

Dousing a generous amount of oil in his hand, Liu Qingge did what he was told. He kneeled behind Shen Qingqiu and parted the two round mounds, circling the rim of the entry teasingly, slipping one finger in. Shen Qingqiu shook a little. "Gently, brute."

"I am being gentle," retorted Liu Qingge as he slowly prodded around until the muscle around his finger relaxed a little. When he started feeling a little less resistance, he inserted a second finger. This time, it was tighter. Liu Qingge knew he was well endowed, Shen Qingqiu would require a lot more preparation if Liu Qingge didn't want to hurt him. While he was blindly stretching the ever so slightly relaxed muscles, his finger brushed past a spot that made Shen Qingqiu buckled. His moan was muffled against a pillow.

"Don't hide your voice, Qingqiu, you sound so good," said Liu Qingge as he tried to find the spot again.

"Shut up, brute," Shen Qingqiu turned his face slightly so he could look at the younger man standing behind him as he pried him open. This time, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t quick enough to cover his face when Liu Qingge pressed the tip of his finger on the spot again, and Shen Qingqiu's uncovered moan was like music to his ears. Shen Qingqiu blushed and scowled, hiding his face in the pillow again. After a moment, he peeked an eye out as Liu Qingge inserted the third finger. "....Jiu."

Liu Qingge strained his ears to hear what the older man was saying. "What did you say?"

"I said," reiterated Shen Qingqiu, his voice loud and then dropped to a whisper, "my name is Shen Jiu. Not Qingqiu."

Was Shen Qingqiu giving Liu Qingge permission to call him by his real name? Shen Jiu. A-Jiu. His martial brother was being so endearing Liu Qingge wanted to kiss him so badly.

"Shen Jiu," Liu Qingge said affectionately, rolling the name on his tongue, tasting it, familiarising himself with it. "A-Jiu. A-Jiu."

Shen Qingqiu theatrically rolled his eyes, but there was no dagger to it. "Yes, Liu-shidi."

"Call me Mingyu, A-Jiu," it was a name reserved for family, but damn it, Liu Qingge would love to make Shen Qingqiu a part of his family one day.

"Okay, Mingyu," said Shen Qingqiu. "Well, Mingyu, can we get on with the show?" he pressed back into Liu Qingge's hand. "I think you have stretched me enough."

Liu Qingge did one last stretch, and oiled up his cock. His cock was already twitching in anticipation, back to full mast like the orgasm he had just moments ago didn't happen. "Are you ready?"

Shen Qingqiu harrumphed in exasperation. It seemed like he was equally as desperate for this, but Liu Qingge was making it hard for him. He purposely arched his back lower than before, and grabbed his glutes with both hands to part the cheeks, exposing the puckering hole that was glistening with oil. Shen Qingqiu wasn't one to say please, so instead he said, "Move it, brute."

And Liu Qingge did not hesitate to slide inside. As careful as he could, Liu Qingge slowly moved until he was fully sheathed inside Shen Qingqiu, puncturing with a groan. He let himself fall forward, his chest plastered to Shen Qingqiu's spindly back, kissing him in between the shoulder blades. That elicited a whole body shiver from the older man, and his voice hitched in his throat. 

"Mingyu," whispered Shen Qingqiu. Gone were the sulks from earlier, replaced by a quiet plea. It took a moment for him to compose himself, to even out his breathing again. "You can move now."

"Yes, shi-- A-Jiu," replied Liu Qingge. He moved, gradually building up his pace. Shen Qingqiu met his thrust with his hip moving in tandem, the sound of their grunts and skin slapping against skin filled the dead silence of the darkest part of the night. Their breath became more ragged as time wore on. Liu Qingge reached for Shen Qingqiu's hands so he could lace them together. Liu Qingge planted kisses on the older man's back, neck and shoulders, wherever on the expanse of the porcelain skin that his mouth could reach. It hitched for a moment when he could trace remains of faded scars on his skin, but he only had half a mind present to inquire about it, filing it for later. His hip was now moving with a mind of his own, relentlessly thrusting in and out Shen Qingqiu with punishing pace. With his martial brother bent over and pliant like this, taking Liu Qingge in without complaint, was incredibly erotic of him.

Liu Qingge could feel he was getting closer to the edge again. The warmth that enveloped his cock felt scalding, constricting tight around him making the sensation unbearable and incredible at the same time. "A-Jiu," he whispered breathlessly next to Shen Qingqiu's ear, grazing it with his teeth in the process. "A-Jiu, I'm close."

"Just, a bit more," replied Shen Qingqiu in punctuated hitches in accordance to the strokes inside him, "move a little, to the left."

He did what he was told, and Shen Qingqiu moaned a little louder. It seemed like he found the spot again, and this time, Liu Qingge would not let it out of focus. He continued his thrust at the same angle again and again until Shen Qingqiu was reduced to a babbling incoherent mess. As the tight coil at the pit of abdomen unfurled, Liu Qingge's hold on Shen Qingqiu tightened.

Bursting at the seams, Liu Qingge reached the climax and came first inside Shen Qingqiu, head giddy as Shen Qingqiu enveloped all his senses. Two beats later, Shen Qingqiu followed, coming untouched, his cum splattered all over the bed sheet. They collapsed in heaps on the bed as they caught their breath.

The urge to curl around Shen Qingqiu and stay in position overwhelmed Liu Qingge, his arms finding its way around the older man's slim waist, winding around it in a loose hold. His now limp cock slid out of Shen Qingqiu, and his cum were dripping out of the gaping hole, trailing down the older man’s thigh.The sight was so titillating. It was so lewd. Liu Qingge's cock twitched weakly at the sight. He wanted to have a go at it again, but he was entirely drained, and he realised they were covered in sticky cum and sweat. Intending to move away to find a wet cloth and fresh new sheet for the bed, Liu Qingge let go of his hold on Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu instead pulled Liu Qingge to hold him tight so his back was pressed against the younger man's chest and entire body. "Not yet. Don't go," murmured Shen Qingqiu in a hushed voice. He laced their fingers together. "I don't want you to disappear again."

Here was the thing. Liu Qingge had not considered how incredibly unsavoury it was to disappear after such an intimate moment they shared. Now that they had dual cultivated once more and seeing Shen Qingqiu reacting to him this way, the ever so aloof Shen Qingqiu sounding almost scared, scared for it to happen again, scared to be left alone again, the sound and the sight, the touch, had painfully squeezed Liu Qingge's heart. He was practically holding Shen Qingqiu in a crushing hug.

"I'm not going anywhere," whispered Liu Qingge into the crook of Shen Qingqiu's neck, inhaling the scent of musk and sweat. Even if it took an eternity to make it up to Shen Qingqiu, Liu Qingge was willing to give it all to him.

- -

"So?"

Shen Qingqiu asked, as Mu Qingfang touched his wrist with the tip of his fingers, feeling his qi from his pulse point. He exchanged a quiet look with Liu Qingge with a bated breath, who was standing next to Yue Qingyuan by the bed. The sect leader was present at the bamboo house before Mu Qingfang did at the news that Shen Qingqiu had finally regained his consciousness.Typically he would have a more visceral reaction towards Yue Qingyuan’s presence in his house, but he was too exhausted after a rowdy night he had with Liu Qingge just hours ago, so he let it slide, just for today.

"Hmm," answered Mu Qingfang as he stared in a distance, formulating his response. Once he had his thoughts in order, he said, "The effect of the poison has been reduced quite significantly, but it is still there." His eyes glossed over Shen Qingqiu who was sitting up, looking at him from top to half of his body not covered by the blanket.  It made Shen Qingqiu overly conscious of himself as Mu Qingfang seemed to have caught a mark on Shen Qingqiu's neck.

"Insect bite," said Shen Qingqiu before Mu Qingfang could ask him. His hand was quick to cover the bite mark left by Liu Qingge. He resisted the urge to glare at the younger man for being sloppy and leaving a mark at visible places, afraid that Mu Qingfang would follow his gaze. "It's the season," he added, gesturing at the warm summer sky and the musical cicadas singing outside the window.

"Well this insect is so powerful, a couple more insect bites wouldn't hurt," replied Mu Qingfang, coughing exaggeratedly into his hand. He then stroked his moustache, and alternated his glances between Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge.

No luck. There was no way Shen Qingqiu could fool Mu Qingfang.

"Well then, I'll check in on you again in a week," Mu Qingfang packed up his medical equipment and wrote a script down for all the medicinal herbs required by Shen Qingqiu. Yue Qingyuan was about to say something but Mu Qingfang's departure had given a signal to Shen Qingqiu's students and in just a moment, the bamboo house was filled by Qing Jing peak disciples lead by Shen Yuan, as over a dozen of them stormed in to greet and cried for him in unison.

"Shizun!!!!!!"

Normally his students were well behaved and would freeze in terror at the sight of him, and wouldn’t approach him without his explicit permission. But he had gone for a while, and he nearly died while defending the sect. When Shen Yuan and Ning Yingying lurched towards him, everyone else simply followed suit. By the bed, Ning Yingying was softly sobbing and Ming Fan was quietly crying, while the rest of the disciples had happy tears in their eyes. Shen Yuan wasn’t crying, but he had reached for Shen Qingqiu’s hand and had a firm hold on him, the younger green eyes bore into his older, tired ones. There was a mixture of fear and relief on the boy’s face as his small, stubby fingers grip Shen Qingqiu a little tighter. Behind him stood Luo Binghe, who appeared more worried over Shen Yuan than Shen Qingqiu’s condition.

“Xiao Yuan had been worried about you, Xiao Jiu,” said Yue Qingyuan, standing near the foot of the bed with a wistful look in his eyes. The weight of his name on Yue Qingyuan’s tongue was like a load of lead being dropped on his mood, crushing it instantly. The disciples moved back a little bit, giving the sect leader space to approach the two brothers. 

Something was clutching the insides of Shen Qingqiu’s heart. He shifted his gaze from Shen Yuan to Yue Qingyuan, who was looking at them with a melancholic smile on his face. This was it, it was now or never.

Shen Qingqiu pried his hand free from Shen Yuan’s hold to pat him on the head, and carded through his silky hair with his fingers gently. “I believe you have met my brother while I was asleep, zhongmen-shixiong,” said Shen Qingqiu, his tone calm but frosty. His gaze never left the older man, gauging his response to the situation, like a cobra locked in a staring showdown with its prey before striking.

“I did, indeed,” replied Yue Qingyuan, a smile ever present on his face no matter how rude Shen Qingqiu treated him. It was vexing. “Xiao Yuan is such a lovely boy, it’s good that he’s here with us now.”

Shen Yuan alternated his gaze between Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan. There was a blush on his cheek over being praised, but he seems wary of Shen Qingqiu’s response to his reaction, as if he understood the complex history between Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan, of years they spent living together like abandoned street cats, before Yue Qingyuan left him.

It appeared like it wouldn’t be much of a hassle to convince Yue Qingyuan to let Shen Qingqiu keep Shen Yuan in Qing Jing peak after all. But there were hushed whispers among the students, small talks of Shen Yuan’s origin. This made Shen Qingqiu realise that Yue Qingyuan was not the only one in the sect that needed convincing.

Shen Qingqiu knew what it looked like to the people from the outside. Appearance of a boy that looked nearly identical to him would have people talking, because he was well acquainted with the rumours surrounding himself. A lecher, a womaniser who visited brothels often and brought shame to the sect. With the age difference between Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan, it would be far too easy for people to think that Shen Yuan was his bastard son, especially now that he was dressed in a clean Qing Jing’s green robe, hair neatly tied in a half bun, green eyes bright but a little less sharp, a spitting image of him during his disciple days. 

If Shen Yuan did not explicitly tell him the same dreadful story from his only remaining childhood memories of his parents, Shen Qingqiu would have thought Shen Yuan was his son too. Except, he never had such relation to any woman, and the thought of siring a child outside his knowledge would just be another one of his rotten luck in this world.

“I’m keeping A-Yuan in Qing Jing peak as a disciple,” said Shen Qingqiu without beating around the bush. He wasn’t asking for permission.

Yue Qingyuan nodded, and glanced at Shen Yuan. He seemed hopeful. “I’m sure Xiao Yuan will fit in just fine.”

He couldn’t stop glaring at Yue Qingyuan, and suppressed the urge to beat the man with his fan for using such an intimate nickname for his brother. But that was all the confirmation he needed.There was no need for further conversation. “Ming Fan,” Shen Qingqiu called out for his head disciple, who had stopped crying since.

“Yes, shizun,” exclaimed the boy, wiping away the last of his tears.

“Prepare a bed and space for disciple Yuan in the dormitory,” instructed Shen Qingqiu. “Please see to it right away.”

Before Ming Fan could reply, Shen Yuan interjected. “Wait!” All eyes were on the small boy now, as he grabbed Luo Binghe by the sleeve. “I — I would like for Bing— I mean, Luo-shixiong to stay in the dorm with me! Otherwise I don’t want it.”

Shen Qingqiu shot the boy a cold glare, but he held his ground. It wouldn’t do to indulge Shen Yuan’s selfish demands, but Shen Qingqiu was tired, he was still recuperating from being poisoned, and it was only the matter of rearranging the students in the dormitory for it to happen. Ming Fan could get it sorted.

“You heard him,” he said to Ming Fan tiredly. “Go reshuffle the bed arrangement in the dorm so they can stay in the same bunk bed or next to each other.”

There was a tiny bit of hesitation in Ming Fan’s reply, but he obliged nevertheless.

With the head disciple leaving, the rest of the students excused themselves too, heading for their lesson that had been delayed today. When the rest were gone, Shen Qingqiu wiped away Ning Yingying’s tears, and told her to come back later in the evening again. He patted Shen Yuan’s head and glanced at Luo Binghe. The three of them bowed deeply at their master, and left the room to catch up with the others.

Yue Qingyuan excused himself before Shen Qingqiu could kick him out. Before he left, he shifted his gaze towards Liu Qingge, the only other person left in Shen Qingqiu’s room and asked, “Will we ever get an explanation about your sudden disappearance and reappearance, Liu-shidi?”

Liu Qingge, who had been standing quietly in the corner of the room watching like a faithful dog by its master, was slightly taken aback from suddenly being addressed. He gave a curt nod, and stared off into the distance. 

“Someday. Hopefully soon.”