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The night before his duel with Kunye, Yu Ai had gone over to Shen Qiao's room, what had seemed like a loving gesture from a shidi had really been a ploy to overthrow him.
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The door to Shen Qiao's room slid open, the familiar face and voice an anchor for his soul, quelling the thoughts and panic that tormented him. Yu Ai stood there before entering, carrying a tray of tea for both of them. He didn't even need to ask for permission to enter his room. They were just that close.
Shen Qiao walked over, helping his shidi carry the tray to the low table he had in his room, smiling at Yu Ai once it was set down. "Shidi, you didn't need to do all this." He said with a hint of a smile in his voice. Though he said otherwise, Shen Qiao couldn't deny that this gesture made his heart flutter with gratitude. Yu Ai knew him so well.
Yu Ai smiled back and took a seat on the cushion that faced Shen Qiao as his shixiong sat in front of him as well. "Of course I did, I knew you were spiraling and I couldn't just leave you like that!" He looked at the teacups placed in front of them carefully, admiring the ornate blossoms engraved and painted onto the china before he began to pour the tea into their respective cups.
Looking back now, Shen Qiao realized that Yu Ai wasn't actually admiring their new cups but instead he'd been looking for the slight differences he'd created, a part of the cup dotted with a mark to warn himself which one held poison and which was safe to drink.
Most high-level martial artists would be capable of spotting it instantly but Shen Qiao's mind was in such turmoil and with his friend offering him some company and space to talk, he naturally let his guard down, unsuspecting of any foul play at hand.
After making sure, Yu Ai took the safe one, holding it up high before downing it in one gulp to wish Shen Qiao luck with his battle. Seeing that his shidi had drank it so quickly, he chuckled and began to drink the tea slowly, Yu Ai was always so hotheaded. Always doing the most and the fastest to win their shizun's favour, he had to be first at everything, even making Shen Qiao call him shixiong when it was actually the other way around.
Even though they were like fire and ice, Shen Qiao found them to get along quite well though it must've hurt when it was him who'd taken the position as Xuandu Mountain Leader and not Yu Ai.
As he sipped his tea, Shen Qiao began to spill everything he felt, something he hadn't found himself doing since he was a young child, confessing to Yu Ai all the worries he held about the next day's fight and just as he knew he would, his shidi was always there to comfort him.
After pouring his heart out to Yu Ai, Shen Qiao sighed, drinking the rest of the now cold tea in one big gulp. His shidi shifted over so he could give Shen Qiao a hug, smoothing out his hair in the process. "Don't worry A-Qiao, I'm sure you'll defeat him! You're the leader of Xuandu Mountain after all!" Yu Ai reassured him, reminding him of his strength and the reasons why Qi Fengge chose him to be the leader out of the five disciples he had.
Massaging his shixiong's shoulders, Yu Ai noticed a needy look in Shen Qiao's eyes and he closed in to give Shen Qiao a chaste kiss on the lips. He really knew him well, even able to spot the part of himself that longed for Yu Ai even when Shen Qiao didn't even know much about, himself.
That was what made his betrayal hurt him the most.
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When Shen Qiao arrived at Banbu Peak, he faced his opponent and gathered his qi, drawing back, he waited to block and attack after Kunye would make the first move. Yu Ai believed in him when he didn't and just the thought of everyone he was fighting to protect propelled him forward. Kunye launched the first attack, a quick, brutal slash meant to slice his throat, Shen Qiao sidestepped it and when he tried to infuse his qi into his attack, he realized that his meridians were blocked.
He took too long to realize what had happened and was too distracted by inspecting himself that Kunye took this opening to kick him off Banbu Peak. While Shen Qiao fell, he finally realized what Yu Ai had done last night and the moments before he'd hit the ground, Shen Qiao didn't even mind that he was going to die. It would hurt less than having to face the fact that his friend and love had betrayed him.