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Shang Qinghua had no idea what was happening. To be fair to him, this happened far more often than he tended to let on, but in this specific case, he felt rather like he’d somehow managed to turn the universe on its head.
That is to say, he just managed to intercept Liu Qingge. Successfully.
He hadn’t thought it would work!
Inwardly panicking even as he outwardly did his best to try to look like he’d done absolutely nothing at all that surprised him, he leaned down and scooped the other Peak Lord up and then hurried away with him.
If he was honest, he was almost completely sure that this had only happened at all because the man was exhausted, and his downtime was probably going to be counted in minutes rather than hours, but like hell if he wasn’t going to do something with it. So. Off to his house they went, with him taking care to not be seen by people as much as possible. He didn’t actually want to court death.
Simple. Straightforward. Not at all something to panic over.
Nope, none of that convinced him that all was well and he practically threw the other man at his bed when he realized he was waking up. Graceful? Not even a little. Effective? He eyed the way Cheng Luan appeared in the man’s hands as he jerked up to a sitting position. Yeah, he’d say it was effective.
“Hey there Shidi, so, I didn’t actually mean to like, need to kidnap you to talk to you but you’re really really hard to catch and I have some-”
“Where are we?”
Rude. Staring back at the man who was getting to his feet, he huffed a breath and said a prayer for his chances to actually get what he needed out of this conversation before the man left. “My house. I hauled you back here after I knocked you out since you were about to fly off before I could get a word in again!”
Those pretty eyes of his focused back on him, a touch of surprise on his face as he looked him over, but hey. He wasn’t actually weak, even if he didn’t like to fight if he could avoid it. “You.”
“Yes, me! I didn’t have someone else ambush you. Now will you sit still and let me feed you some tea so I can talk to you or not?” He wished that he has as much presence as one of the other Peak Lords, honestly, because at least then he could get this guy to listen for once, but, well, what could a guy do, really? He could play it down, but going the other way was hellish.
Thus, he didn’t actually expect Liu Qingge to stop at his table and actually sink down, blade gone like he hadn’t called it up in the middle of his house in the first place. “Fine. What did you even want?”
Flummoxed, but unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, he spun and started to prepare the tea just in case that was somehow going to be a deal breaker. “Right, good, so I know you’re not really into the whole paperwork thing, but there’s stuff I still need you to check over and sign. Releases of debt and whatnot that came with some of the kids in the last couple years. It’s getting a little urgent and at least one of them is putting some trade agreements in favor of someone off the mountain so I really need that to be sorted out already.”
He moved over and set out some snacks, watching the way the other man looked first puzzled, then thoughtful, clearly trying to sort out which kid could have had any impact like that and coming up blank. If only he spent more time on the mountain he’d probably get it, but alas! “How?”
“Well, the short of it is that we accepted a couple kids who were being used as political hostages who managed to escape, and while one side of that is fine with it, the other side is ticked. It’s not the sides you’d think either. It’s the home province that’s pitching fits and unfortunately, they’ve got the best access to a specific kind of rock that we use for ink making for talisman work.”
“Shouldn’t they be pleased? The hostages they sent aren’t under threat now.”
He brought over the pot, now heated, and set about steeping the tea as he gave him a rueful look. “Yeah, but also no. They sent over a disfavored kid and one of fairly low rank, expecting them to prove themselves and then come back to give them intel. The kids never came back, and they can’t even leverage them having hostages as a component in negotiations with that other province now. They’re no longer the sympathetic party so a couple other areas aren’t treating them favorably anymore either.”
“Why don’t we just get the rock from somewhere else then, if it’s so much trouble?” One of the man’s hands reached for a treat he’d put out, examining it like it would be poisoned, which rude. Was it so much to want to be able to admire him without the judgment?! It’s not like Liu Qingge didn’t know he could cook either. He certainly used to be kidnapped to Wan Jian enough for it!
“Old trade agreements. Which is why you need to claim the kid under your peak officially instead of just leaving him as a floating disciple. If no one claims him, we can’t actually intervene in the politics around the kid, and thus are going to lose money and access. The lower ranked one of the pair was already claimed by Xian Jing. The trade agreements come up for renewal in a few months. You’ve had over a year to sort it but it’s getting a bit urgent now.”
“Then why don’t you just do it?” Shang Qinghua set the full tea pot in front of the man, and was gratified when he actually started to pour. Respect! Finally! His most troublesome child was finally straightening up!
“If you don’t claim the kid, I will, but I’m not actually an asshole who claims kids off the other peaks uninvited. I get enough of that crap from the rest of you, why would I do it to you?” He said it sweetly, but apparently something about that was shocking if the look he was getting now was any indication, startled and with slightly widened eyes. What, had he never used that tone with him before? Weird. He scooped up his teacup once it was full.
“Your kids usually go back to you after.”
“I know. It’s why I don’t make a fuss about it. My disciples come back when they get what they wanted off the rest of you. That doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed.” He eyed him, watching as the surprise faded back to his normal contemplation, and he hummed into his cup. So so weird.
“Claim him. If you still need me to sign things I will.” Liu Qingge wasn’t remotely as slow about his own tea, knocking back most of the cup in a singular long drink before getting to his feet. “Update me when I come to spar with you.”
“Wait! Wait. When you what?”
“You knocked me out.” Why was he getting the look like he was an idiot here? He’d pulled a trick, that had nothing to do with combat! “If your disciples need training, then so do you. I’ll return within the week.”
“Wait! You don’t need to-”
“I’ll return within the week,” he repeated the words while making eye contact this time, and even had the temerity to lean down and collect one of the skewers off the snack plate while he did. “Be prepared, Shixiong.”
Closing his mouth and not quite daring to push his luck, he gave an uneasy nod. Which was apparently enough, because the man left his house without another word.
He was going to die. It was just that he’d apparently chosen the slow death option or something?
Fantastic.