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English
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Part 1 of Bamboo Leaves Sway With Breeze
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Published:
2024-12-13
Updated:
2025-05-19
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2,055
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2/?
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Cycles of Winter

Summary:

Shen Yuan has a dilemma. Shang Qinghua just couldn't keep his mouth shut! It was bad enough that he let it slip that they were transmigrators (cough, cough, his enjoyment at seeing another bro from the same hometown gave too much enjoyment to not shout out), but apparently, even though it's been a few years since they first woke up, a meeting is being held? He can understand the meeting, of course, but they're asking such personal questions! Scratch that, he has a new objective. 'Threaten Shang Qinghua into not age-dropping him'. If he can't even do that, he doesn't know what'll happen to him!

----
so like i spun a wheel on what fanfic to write (shoutout to Wheelofnames.com) and i kept removing my fanfics until it landed on 'Cycles of Winter'. basically, shang qinghua thinks shen yuan is either in late 20s or early 30s, when shen yuan is actually litearlaly a baby (17), but atleast hes aged up a bit more (techincally??) because of his life as shen jiu. yippee, sqh finds out and paired with the fact that he let it slip that theyre 'transmigrators'. he js has to hide the fact that hes a devious minor whos chronically on the internet from cang qiong and hes good frfr

Keywords: baby , baby fever

Chapter 1: C. I (You're What?!)

Summary:

Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan have a little chat. Too bad the hamster needs his mouth sewn shut afterwards :3

Notes:

!CHAPTER SUMMARY AT END NOTES, IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE SPOILED PLS DONT CHECK THEM!

sorry y'all for the short chapter, this was sorta like a demo!

TYSM TO MY VERY FIRST AND VERY BEST BETA READER, LIGHTLYREAD!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“A-Yuan.”    

 

“A-Yuuuaaan.”  

 

“A-Yuaannnnnnnnnn!”    

 

“A-YUAN!”    

 

“What the fuck do you want?!” screeched the ‘A-Yuan' in question. Although, seemingly noticing the sudden disturbance, he immediately quieted down. “Is it not enough that you wouldn’t stop your yapping four days ago? How can you still have the nerve to bother me after what you've done?”    

 

The hamster-like man bothering ‘A-Yuan' let out a whine, opting to look pathetic instead of leaving him, the genuine victim, alone.    

 

“E-…Ehm… You know the whole… identity thing? Well, they're okay with me, kinda, since I was here since birth, but you? They’re not sure I think, considering how on guard they’ve been.”    

 

Shen Yuan let out an aggrieved sigh. Leave it to his Airplane Bro to mess everything up! And what was with the system's silence? Even with Luo Binghe being in the Abyss, shouldn't it have chomped his ass up? Or could it be that it was just waiting for Binghe's return to initiate punishment? Either way, both thoughts were unsettling.    

 

“That’s to be expected. How would you react if Mobei-Jun or someone else turned out to be an entirely different person?”  

 

“That's besides the point! Yue Qingyuan keeps giving me the stink eye in meetings, and Qi Qingqi is barely hiding her desire to fish for gossip! It’s too much for us old timer souls!” 

 

"..." 

 

“Bro, say something, you’re freaking me out.” 

 

"..."

 

“Y-Yuan-er?”  

 

Still more silence. Shang Qinghua took a peek at his friend. He looked almost... stunned?  

 

“Bro, I’m getting really freaked out! Say something!”  

 

Shen Yuan snapped out of his daze. He had a mix of blazing white fury and dawning revelation in his eyes. Cucumber Bro, it wasn’t his fault this time, Shang Qinghua swore! Please don’t beat up your best friend!  

 

“Shang Qinghua.” 

Never mind, he was normal. There was that seemingly-calm tone which hid murderous intent. 

 

“How old were you when you transmigrated here.”  

 

“I- Wait, why are you asking this...?”  

 

“Shang Qinghua.” 

 

“Okay damn I was entering my early thirties! Wait, hold on a minute, how old were you ?” 

 

Shang Qinghua was, once again, met with silence. Aiya, please stop breaking, Cucumber Bro! 

 

“Cucumber Bro, how old were you?” 

 

Something unintelligible was muttered. Shang Qinghua needed a break, his worry levels were going up and down like he was in a goddamn Minecraft scaffolding! 

 

“...A-Yuan.”

“A-Yuan, how old even are you . . . ?” 

 

Then, with a slight pause, Shang Qinghua abruptly gasped and blurted out his next sentence without thinking. 

 

“Holy shit, were you like fifty?”

 

That seemed to break his companion out of his third trance.

 

“NO! What the fuck Airplane? I’m not fifty! 

 

“Then seriously, how old were you?” 

 

Shen Yuan seemed reluctant to say anything. He did, however, eventually relent.

“...I was. . .”


“You were what?”

 

“Seventeen!” blurted out the (newly identified) younger, though he seemed to regret it immediately after. 

 

Instead of the potent silence being by Shen Yuan, however, it was Shang Qinghua stuck in a trance. Unlike the younger, however, he broke out of it by himself. 

 

“What the actual fuck?! You were a whole decade younger than me! Wait no, scratch that, your soul is pretty much a baby! You’re like, what, a freshly-baked twenty year old?” 

 

They were on Qing Jing peak, and while he trusted his disciples not to go snooping and to give him personal space, Shen Yuan couldn’t guarantee the same for some rather. . . frequent intruders (cough Bai Zhan brutes cough). 

 

“Keep your voice down! And I’m not a baby, I’m in my twenties now for god’s sake!”

“Yeah, barely!” said Shang Qinghua. It sounded like he was hysterical, but at least he heeded Shen Yuan’s words and took on a quieter tone.

 

“ Seriously, you’re like– super young, and I know that they ascended in their 20s, but that was because of Tianlang-Jun! You are a year older than your eldest disciple! I’m not sure if you’re even qualified to be a peak lord. ” 

 

Shang Qinghua was silenced from his rambling by a look from Shen Yuan. 

 

“Now, hold on, dear friend Airplane. Who said they were going to ever learn of this information?” 


Far away, the disciples of An Ding shuddered, and the disciples of Qing Jing felt cold sweat as they heard a shrill scream from their Shizun’s abode. By now, they knew better than to interfere.

Notes:

Summary: Shang Qinghua confronts Shen Yuan about his age, and Shen Yuan reveals that he died at 17 and is in his early 20s paired with his time as Shen Jiu. Good luck Airplane, because he's about to destroy you!

Chapter 2: Peak Lord meeting and panic attacks, start!

Summary:

Beta for some reason isn't responding, so here we go with an unedited and unpolished chapter :)

Notes:

weeeeee (probably not dealing with the panic attack this meeting)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan were conversing in the bamboo house, each looking equally dishevelled. Eventually, the former calmed down from his hysterics, equipping his normal persona.

“So does that mean I can call you Yuan-di?”

“Hell no.”

“Whatever you say, didi.”

The murderous look sent his way perfectly replicated the original possessor’s glare, sending shivers down the An Ding peak lord’s back. Still, he persisted.

“Xiao Yuan?”

The disciples of Cang Qiong weren’t prepared for a second screech, the sound even more fearful than the last.

...

The journey to Qiong Ding peak was short paired with Airplane’s world mechanics, but nonetheless stressful. Throughout the entire ride, he was on edge. What if Yue Qingyuan and the peak lords decided to strike him where he stood?!

Shang Qinghua, like he pointed out earlier, had been there since birth, so that was that. But Shen Yuan? While he has been here for a while, he still could be considered an imposter!

Whatever. No use crying over spilt dignity. While the plant body had not finished growing, he was sure that he could figure something out. Yeah. Yeah, of course! After his smiting, he could find a coincidental plant body or hope that his had a random, premature growth spurt.

After that, he’d find some quaint little village near the Borderlands. Lots of flora could be found there, along with fauna.

His fantasy of surviving his predicament, however, was cut short when the carriage came to an abrupt stop.

The air around him was silent, as if mourning. Carrying an aura of elegance and poise, he glided down the steps, not a hair out of place. He truly cultivated the peerless beauty persona. ‘Hah! In your face, random horny commenters!’ thought Shen Yuan.

Of course, his glory was merely a facade. Inside he was still shuddering in fear due to the peak lord meeting he was about to attend. He made his way to the entrance of the meeting room. There seemed to be a hushed discussion inside. He didn’t dare eavesdrop, yet he was almost sure they were talking about the supposed imposter who infiltrated their ranks undetected.

He took a breath. The system was quiet. With all the identity issues, he had not been allowed time to think about Luo Binghe. It broke his heart. Everything was his fault. Yet he still sat in the peak lord persona. He still sat in the position that he stole. He was a coward for putting someone else’s life before his. His poor little disciple was only a child when he was forced to suffer, and he wasn’t even an adult when he was pushed down into the abyss.

Exhaling, he attempted to rebuild his unbothered persona. Shen Qingqiu pushed open the door to the meeting room, whispers stopping at his arrival. He didn’t know if that was a courtesy, or a token of shame. “Peak Lord of Qing Jing.” He wasn’t sure who acknowledged him verbally, and he did not want to.

Perhaps Peak Lord of Qing Jing was the only title he could possibly claim. He had taught Qing Jing and its disciples, yet the name Qingqiu was not given to him. The name Shen was his, yet the others knew nothing of his background, so it would of course be assumed to be ‘stolen’ to. The weird thing was that the system wasn’t throwing him into the jaws of tigers for letting his identity slip. Was there a glitch? His secret was jeopardized.

Maybe it was just because only the peak lords knew, but he didn’t bet on that possibility. The system could possibly smite him with heavenly cloud-splitting thunder the second Luo Binghe approached him. He took out his fan, snapping it open with a crack. He likely did it harshly by accident, as Shang Qinghua flinched. It could also just be the fact that he was a coward.

Silence loomed over the table as eyes seemed to pry Shen Yuan open. He felt vulnerable, yet he knew he wasn’t. He felt like a liar, yet he knew he had no choice. It felt like they seemed to pry him open for ages, yet it was only a few seconds in real time.

Yue Qingyuan had a stony expression. “Due to recent discovery, Cang Qiong Mountain would like to ask questions regarding the matter of your true identity.” Shen Yuan felt like he was a criminal being interrogated, yet he knew they were as unsure as he was: maybe even more so. Shang Qinghua squirmed in the corner, feeling sorry for his friend whom he knew was mentally going through torture.

“This one is willing to answer questions,” declared Shen Yuan. The peak lords seemingly remained passive, yet Yue Qingyuan had something dark in his eyes. Shen Yuan inwardly panicked. ‘Seriously it's not my fault, please do not smite me!’ The peak lords, unaware of his mental panic, remained silent as they thought the situation over along with which questions to ask. “My true name is Shen Yuan.”

The peak lords began to ask different questions, pertaining to his possession of Shen Jiu. “Around three years before the Immortal Alliance Conference, I was forced into the body of Shen Qingqiu by an unknown spirit. I didn’t ask for it, not understanding what had happened.”

Qi Qingqi’s eyes narrowed. “Then why did you come here at all?” “I don’t know,” he admitted. He was still concerned about why the backup System was so quiet regarding him sharing almost everything. “And the information?” Mu Qingfang asked, voice gentler but no less wary.

“I was given information about the sect. Enough to fake my way through. I just tried to survive.”

The Peak Lords exchanged glances. They still didn’t trust him, but he sounded sincere.

Yue Qingyuan then brought up his questions. “And yet you passed every test for possession. Even the ones designed to detect deception.”

“That’s what I don’t understand either,” he admitted. “The system let me in, as if the world itself wanted me to stay.”

The silence was oppressive. Mu Qingfang eventually had to break it, voice calm yet laced with something Shen Yuan couldn’t decipher. “Regardless of how you came to be in Shen Qingqiu’s body, the fact remains that you have taught the Qing Jing disciples well. As a matter of fact, they have improved.”

Qi Qingqi scoffed quietly. “Improvement or not, it still doesn’t change the fact that we were deceived. We have the right to question whether someone who was not born of this world should have such authority.”

Shen Yuan bowed his head. “I understand. I don’t expect forgiveness or blind trust, but I didn’t come here to steal anything. I simply did what I thought would cause the least harm.” The next part came with hesitance. “...If you choose to strip me of my title, I will accept that.”

Yue Qingyuan’s gaze softened slightly. It was barely noticeable, yet it made his heart clench with guilt.

“We will not make a final decision tonight. This decision is far from simple, and for now you will remain the Peak Lord of Qing Jing,” said Yue Qingyuan.

Shen Yuan blinked in surprise. He expected them to strip him of his title and cast him to the streets; shit, maybe even draw their swords! But certainly not this?! Where the hell has the plot gone!

“Your disciples are loyal to you, and your knowledge, though unorthodox, has benefited them. Until we understand more, removing you would cause instability.” annexed Mu Qingfang.

They discussed more, the sun beginning to burn overhead. It soon came to a close.

“Understood,” nodded Shen Yuan.

Yue Qingyuan’s voice was firm. “The meeting is adjourned. You may all return to your peak.”

As the Peak Lords quietly filed out, murmuring amongst themselves, Shen Yuan remained seated a bit longer. Shang Qinghua gave him a pat on the back as he passed by, unsolved tension in the air.

Shen Yuan was still here. Still uncertain, but still here.

Notes:

how'd you guys feel about the meeting? I feel like I could've done them more justice

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