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Chapter Text

When "Great Master" Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky died, he did not expect to be reincarnated as a baby. In fact, he didn't expect to be reincarnated at all. He didn't know where he was, all he knew was that he remembered his past life, this was definitely not modern day China, and he had little control over his body.

For instance, he couldn't hold it when he needed to go to the bathroom, which was humiliating, he couldn't speak, when he tried it came out as incoherent babbling, so he resulted in screaming and crying if he needed something.

He was called A-Hua by his parents, who's surnames he didn't know. He was 9 when he learned the truth.

He wasn't sure what tipped him off exactly. Perhaps the name Shang, which was his. Perhaps it was that his name was the same as Shang Qinghua's had been before he got his knew name Qinghua. Perhaps it was the fact that this world had cultivation.

Whatever it was, he realized that he was in Proud Immortal Demon Way.

His world.

That he wrote.

He'd made the characters suffer so much...

ping!

"Great Master" Airplane, though his new name was Shang Hua, flinched violently at the familiar sound of a notification. Fortunately nobody was around to notice, because he was the only one crazy enough to still work in me ande rain, which it was raining rather hard right now.

[This system greets User_001!]

"Huh?!" Shang Hua yelped. "Wh-what are you?!"

[This system brought you here in the body of Shang Qinghua when you died! You can call me system and speak with me telepathically or out loud!]

Well that's good to know... Shang Hua thought. Wait a second! Why bring me here as a baby, huh?!

[This system would like to apologize, as that was unintentional!]

Unintentional my ass, Shang Hua thought, before calming down thinking. What if this was his karma? To live a life of suffering as Shang Hua, who would come to be known as Shang Qinghua, as punishment for everything he put his characters through?

[This system assures the user that is not the case!]

But Shang Hua wasn't paying attention. It really did make sense, didn't it? Why he had to suffer like that as a baby, though it was more the humiliation. But many of his characters faced that too.

Of course. This had to be his karma. His world had come true and now he was to suffer in it, alone, to pay for what they had gone through.

Shang Hua felt guilty about all of it. He'd felt increasingly guilty while he was still writing PIDW, but changed nothing. If he could satisfy his fans... But he couldn't. Not all of them. There were more haters than fans and so he'd made everyone in this world suffer terribly.

Shang Hua let out a broken sob combined with hysterical laughter, and sank to his knees. He was laughing like a lunatic while sobbing hysterically, sitting in the mud and rain, letting himself get soaked.

Chapter Text

Shang Hua chuckled along with his fellow disciples as they all collectively complained about having to deliver this much to Huan Hua Palace, being gone for 7 days.

They all hated delivering things here with a passion as the Huan Hua disciples and cultivators complained that they took too long, were too slow, and were too weak.

On more than one occasion they'd get hit by a disciple and go crashing to the floor, but no matter how many complaints they filed, their Shizun insisted they still had to do it.

Shang Hua pushed his cart forward when suddenly it stopped, refusing to move. He felt dread and fear creeping into him.

"Something's wrong. The cart's stuck."

Suddenly the others noticed their carts were stuck as well. Shouts of fear filled the air as they realized ice was freezing the carts to the ground in place.

But that was impossible, it was the middle of summer!

Shang Hua suddenly remembered something with a jolt. It was from a draft he'd long forgotten when trying to decide how Shang Qinghua ended up working for Mobei-jun, but he scrapped it since nobody seemed to care.

Mobei-jun had fled Huan Hua Palace after being tricked by his uncle, Linguang-jun, and attacked. He wasn't uninjured however, and came across this very group of disciples. When they tried to attack and flee, Mobei-jun killed them all.

All except Shang Hua, who escaped through dumb luck (another reason he scrapped the draft) and ended up being forced to help the injured and sick Mobei-jun, becoming a traitor.

He agreed to this, but only for his own greed of power, tired of being pushed around. But in the end, he hates having to work for demons, and works with Linguang-jun to kill Mobei-jun. Or at least, that was his intention.

Instead, both he and Linguang-jun ended up dead, Shang Qinghua's neck snapped ensuring a quick death, a small repayment for helping him in the past, as he knew that once he heard of the betrayal, Bing-ge would hardly grant a quick death.

Which meant with his discarded draft, only one thing, or rather demon, could be the cause for the ice.

"Bing Mo." Shang Hua was barely aware he'd said it out loud and instantly cursed himself internally when his martial siblings gave him some funny looks.

That was a name only the ice demons were supposed to know.

"How do you know that name?" A voice demanded.

Speak of the devil and he will appear.

"U-um... There's a p-perfectly reasonable and lo-logical explanation for this..." Shang Hua stammered.

Mobei-jun, or Bing Mo narrowed his eyes. "You somehow know my name, which only ice demons know, and you are most definitely not an ice demon or related to us."

Shang Hua swallowed. He was absolutely screwed. A small voice in his head whispered that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea if Mobei-jun tortured him to death. Another part of him said to not listen to that voice, though it was constantly growing quieter as years passed, while the other grew louder.

He ignored both, wracking his brain for an excuse as to how he knew Mobei-jun's real name. He had none.

System! A little help here?!

[But this is hilarious to watch! You're turning a really bright red (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ]

System!

[Fine, fine, this system will help this user... This user is so mean to system *sniff* (˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥)]

Shang Hua opened his mouth again, hoping the System would provide him with an excuse he could use. Instead one of the carts broke free of the ice, ran over a bunch of disciples, and killed some of them by getting them stuck and dragging them off while Bing Mo collapsed.

System! I said help not killed my martial siblings!

[They're supposed to die anyways, this system just edited the job. Some people are still alive though...]

Leave them alive! Shang Hua internally screamed while checking Bing Wanmei's pulse.

[No can do!]

SYSTEM!

[Too late!]

Suddenly a freak storm came out of nowhere, and so Shang Hua picked up Mobei-jun and hauled him after his martial siblings as they fled towards town where they had booked a few rooms.

His martial siblings never made it to the inn, dying in the storm. Shang Hua got their rooms, then buried his face into a pillow, screaming and crying, sitting next to Mobei-jun, cursing the fact they were the only two to survive.

The rest of his martial siblings got knocked away by the wind causing them to stumble into a dangerous area and die. They got too close to the river and three of his martial siblings drowned, leaving him and one other, who got impaled by a stray tree branch and died.

My fault, Shang Hua thought. If I had just kept my mouth shut...

Chapter Text

Shang Hua managed to get Bing Mo into bed, and promptly sat on the ground against the wall crying. His martial siblings... He had to watch them die. They were all so young too.

He took a shaky breath, trying and failing to calm himself. He could try leaving. Like right now. Get back to An Ding Peak, tell them what happened. Yes, that sounded nice.

He didn't want to leave Bing Mo, but he was in a complete daze, he'd run into the door frame three times. In a row.

Shang Hua stood and was just about by the door when a hand gripped the collar of his robes and yanked him backwards.

"I won't let you leave," Bing Wanmei said, glaring down at Shang Hua. "Not until you tell me how you knew my name."

"What are you talking about?" Shang Hua asked. Time for his secret attack... Gaslighting!

"You knew my name," Bing Mo said. "How?"

"I never said your name...? How do you know I know it?" Shang Hua asked.

Bing Mo glared at him, then fished through the few belongings Shang Hua had with him that were saved.

"Hey!" Shang Hua snapped. "You can't just-"

He didn't get to finish when a rope tied around his neck, the other end around Bing Mo's finger. "Don't lie to me," the ice demon said simply before going to sleep.

Great! Now how was he supposed to leave! Shang Hua moped quietly, mourning earliers deaths until he felt a yanking on his collar.

Shang Hua looked at Bing Wanmei, and felt his forehead upon seeing the discomfort, alarmed that it was warm. He needed cold!

Shang Hua panicked even more, digging through the things he'd recovered to see if anything would help. To his immense relief, there was a fan among the things. It was one of the newer ones Shen Qingqiu had bought, but it was apparently misplaced.

Shang Hua set to work fanning Bing Mo until the demon cooled down enough to wake up. Bing Mo stared at Shang Hua for a while, eyes filled with confusion.

"You were overheating," Shang Hua mumbled, on the verge of passing out.

"...Thanks," Bing Mo said.

Shang Hua gave the ice demon a faint smile before the fan fell from his grip and he collapsed, vision blurry and rimmed with black. He felt arms catching him before he hit the ground and saw Bing Mo looking alarmed as his vision swam before darkness took over him.

When Shang Hua came to, the first thing he was aware of was that it was cold. He blinked slowly, and then realized the reason he was so cold was because he was being held close to Bing Wanmei's bare skin.

"You're awake," Bing Wanmei said.

"What happened?" Shang Hua mumbled.

"You passed out. The rain gave you a fever, I'm attempting to bring it down."

"Ah... Well, thanks my king," Shang Hua said, giving Bing Mo a silly grin. He felt a little delirious, probably the fever.

"...Why do you call me your king?" Bing Wanmei asked, confused.

"Oh... Well, only if you want I suppose. I'd be willing to follow you for the rest of my life. So I could work for you, like as a spy, or a servant. I may not be an inner disciple, but I'm stronger than I look," Shang Hua said. After a moment's silence he added, "Also I'm hungry, food will help the fever. Specifically warm broth."

Bing Mo nodded, and set Shang Hua on the bed, causing him to be vaguely aware that the rope around his neck was gone.

"Just until the fever breaks," Bing Mo said, seeing that Shang Hua noticed. "I still need answers."

"Oh, by the way my king," Shang Hua mumbled, feeling sleepy again. "My name is Shang Hua..." He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

When he came to again, it was to Bing Mo propping him upright against some pillows.

"Oh good," Bing Mo said. "The broth is still warm. Can you feed yourself?"

"My arms feel jiggly," Shang Hua announced, before giggling uncontrollably. The fever had definitely gotten worse.

"... I don't know what that's supposed to mean," Bing Mo replied.

"Ooh, my king, there's two of you," Shang Hua gasped in awe. "That's so cool!"

"... Open your mouth," Bing Mo said.

Shang Hua obeyed, and Bing Mo put a spoonful of broth in his mouth.

"Swallow," he said.

Shang Hua closed his mouth and swallowed the broth. They repeated this until the bowl was empty.

"Sleep," Bing Mo commanded.

"Yes m'king," Shang Hua slurred, feeling sleepy and full from the warm broth.

Chapter Text

It took about three days for Shang Hua's fever to break, and he ended up apologizing to Bing Mo repeatedly for the things he said while delirious from fever. Bing Mo didn't seem to care, just asked if the part about willing to follow him was true.

Shang Hua didn't remember that part. He did seem to remember being so delirious that he stretched and pulled at a very confused and slightly scared Bing Mo's cheeks while giggling and calling him a cute child.

When he brought this up, Bing Mo glared at him and forbade him from ever bringing that up again, but Shang Hua could see the embarrassed blush creeping into his cheeks. Then Bing Mo tied a rope around Shang Hua's neck again, tying the other end around his wrist.

"We're going home," Bing Mo declared.

Shang Hua sneezed, and nodded. He was still sick, just didn't have a fever.

Bing Mo led him through the streets, but suddenly Shang Hua stopped walking.

"Shang Hua?" Bing Mo asked, confused.

"Ah! Sorry, I thought I heard someone call my-"

"Shang Hua!" Liu Qingge yelled, grabbing Shang Hua's shoulders with so much force he almost knocked him over. "Where are the others?! Why haven't you come back?! It's been 9 days, you were supposed to only be gone 7!"

"They're dead," Shang Hua replied in monotone. "And you're apparently blind."

"What do you-?" Liu Qingge cut himself off as he noticed the rope tied around Shang Hua's neck like a leash, and turned staring straight at Bing Mo.

"Shang Hua. You know him?" Bing Mo asked.

"Obviously," Shang Hua replied, still monotone.

"You demon," Liu Qingge yelled, drawing his sword. "Let him go!"

"I have a name too you know," Bing Mo said.

"Liu Qingge! Did you find him?!" Yue Qingyuan called, running over.

"Yeah, he's this ice demon's prisoner!" Liu Qingge didn't once take his eyes off Bing Mo.

"You act as though I won't run if you refuse to look at me," Bing Mo said, raising an eyebrow.

Shang Hua sneezed again, shivering. He didn't feel so good, Bing Mo just didn't want to stay away from home for too long which was the only reason they were heading to his home despite Shang Hua being sick.

"Are you sick?!" Liu Qingge asked alarmed.

Shang Hua stared at him. His ears were ringing, vision swimming. Why had he decided to kill Liu Qingge again...? He really regretted that now. He'd miss him in the future.

And with that last thought, Shang Hua fainted.

Chapter Text

Shang Hua blinked slowly as he woke, finding himself staring up at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling of a certain building on Qiang Cao Peak. Where Mu Qingfang worked.

He remembered putting a lot of detail into writing the details of this building. It was a hospital of sorts you could say. Although he hadn't personally been here before, he'd recognize it anywhere.

It was made of a combination of oak and birch wood, had multiple rooms, and usually 5 beds per room. But there were 12 rooms that had only one bed each. Shang Hua was in one of those 12 rooms right now.

The walls inside were painted a brownish red, and on each ceiling, a different scene was painted. The one Shang Hua was staring at now was a picture of him- or rather his old body. He was dressed in white funeral robes, hair short, eyes closed.

Although he'd described each ceiling, this one came up the most.

It was a painting of his old body yes, but in this world it was a painting of the god of parent loss and children, specifically to protect them.

How ironic... Shang Hua thought. I put myself in this world to protect children, especially those without parents, whether from neglect, divorce, or death. Yet I couldn't- no, didn't protect my son. Protect Binghe. How can I call myself a god? By what right-?!

"You're awake!" Liu Qingge exclaimed, seeing he was awake.

Shang Hua turned his head to look at Liu Qingge who's relieved face instantly turned to worry.

"What's the matter, why are you crying?!"

He was crying? Shang Hua touched his cheek, feeling something cold and wet roll down his cheek. Oh. He was.

"S-sorry," Shang Hua muttered, wiping his tears, mind slipping into his past.

His parents were divorced, and didn't particularly like him. The result of a failure, of a mistake. They didn't believe he deserved to cry when he'd caused them so much pain. They'd hit him if they saw him do so, and lock him in his room without food outside of school for the rest of the day.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, you can cry, what's wrong, you can tell me," Liu Qingge said.

"Th-they're dead," Shang Hua mumbled. "I saw them die. I was right there. I couldn't, I didn't save them. Why should I still be alive?" They'd be alive if I hadn't killed them in the novel.

"It's not your fault," Liu Qingge said.

Yes it is, Shang Hua thought miserably. I killed them in the novel for convenience to have Shang Qinghua be a traitor... And now I had to watch them die.

"You gave us quite the scare when you fainted you know. Mu Qingfang said it seemed like you'd just broken a fever."

"Probably because I did, had? Just broken a fever."

Liu Qingge looked alarmed at that. "I'll go get Mu Qingfang."

I'm sorry... Shang Hua thought as he watched Liu Qingge leave. You don't deserve to die.

Mu Qingfang hurried in after a couple minutes, looking extremely worried. "You're awake, that's good."

"How long was I out?" Shang Hua mumbled.

"A couple of days," Mu Qingfang replied. "You were mumbling nonsense in your sleep, we couldn't understand some of what you were saying, and most of everything else was apologies."

"Ah," Shang Hua said. System?

[You were talking in English when they couldn't understand you, repeating "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry" over and over]

Thanks...

"How do you feel?" Mu Qingfang asked as he examined Shang Hua.

"Really shitty," Shang Hua replied.

"No wonder," Mu Qingfang murmured as he felt Shang Hua's forehead. "Your fever has returned. You need rest to get rid of it."

"Hey, tell Shen-shixiong something for me will you?" Shang Hua said.

"What?"

"Tell him... Tell him that if he finds someone qi deviating to restrain them and find you, don't try to help alone."

Mu Qingfang blinked down at him. "The fever seems to have muddled your mind."

"Tell him," Shang Hua demanded.

"Fine, I'll tell him," Mu Qingfang sighed.

"Thank you," Shang Hua said, relaxing back into the pillows and closing his eyes.

Chapter Text

Shang Hua sighed as he flopped into his bed. He got his very own room, and surviving that encounter with the future Mobei-jun had gotten him promoted to being an inner disciple, but now he had a lot more work to do around An Ding Peak.

At least he wasn't allowed to deliver things with the other inner and outer disciples after he was almost kidnapped, but that also meant he wasn't allowed to leave the peak at all except for when he'd had a fever and was on Qiang Cao Peak, and even then he was escorted back to An Ding Peak by 3 peak lords.

"We don't know what that ice demon wants with you," Yue Qingyuan had said as he, Liu Qingge, and Shen Qingqiu (although reluctantly, but he wanted to know what Shang Hua's message meant, Shang Hua played it off as the fever messing with his brain and claimed he remembered nothing) escorted Shang Hua back to An Ding Peak, the disciple complaining that he'd be fine. "You need to be protected."

"It really was too much," Shang Hua grumbled as he stared at his ceiling. "I don't need this much protection, I'll be fine! And anyways, have they forgotten the ice demon who apparently wants to kidnap me can make portals? There's nothing to stop him from coming into my room right now and-"

As if on cue, a portal appeared in his room and Bing No stepped through.

"Speak of the devil and he will appear," Shang Hua sighed, sitting up. "Hello my king, did you need something?"

"What do you- nevermind, I don't care. You humans are strange. You are fully recovered?" Bing Mo replied.

"Yep, have been for abooooout... A week I think. Hard to tell since I'm not allowed to leave An Ding Peak."

"You're not?" Bing Mo asked, furrowing his brow.

"No thanks to you," Shang Hua said. "Did you really catch me when I fainted?"

Bing Mo nodded.

"Huh, thanks."

"You seem surprised," Bing Mo noted.

"Hm? Oh, I guess I am a little bit. Even the other disciples I got along with weren't that nice. An Ding Peak is about survival of the fittest here because we all hate our job with a passion," Shang Hua finished with a chuckle.

"That doesn't make sense."

"We all hate our job, but those with higher cultivation or skill get to do deliveries, the worst part, a lot less. So thus, it's survival of the fittest," Shang Hua said with a shrug. "Although even if I were still an outer disciple I wouldn't be allowed to do them anyways, I'm not anymore since you apparently tried to kidnap me for some unknown reason that could endanger Cang Qiong sect." 

Shang Hua rolled his eyes. "Honestly, we're more powerful than people realize. We may have some of the weakest cultivators and struggle to survive, we lose far too many disciples each year, but we know everything about every sect, including their strengths and weaknesses. If we really wanted to we could overthrow the entirety of Cang Qiong sect."

"Really?" Bing Mo asked, interested.

"Yep!" Shang Hua said cheerfully. "Oh, by the way, Mu Qingfang's coming to check on me. He doesn't seem to believe you did nothing to me. So you might wanna leave now."

Bing Mo nodded, and left right as Mu Qingfang entered, fortunately he didn't see either the portal or Bing Mo.

Chapter Text

Shang Hua was extremely upset right now. The inner disciples had all either given up on the peak and left to join other peaks or died, and now he was head disciple.

But that wasn't why he was upset- He was upset because the other peak lords were trying to convince his Shizun to lower his rank from head disciple because if he became Peak Lord they wouldn't be able to keep him on An Ding Peak and safe from Mobei-jun.

For the last time, he can teleport onto An Ding Peak! He's been visiting Shang Hua each week for information, which Shang Hua was more than happy to give, but really, not only was being on An Ding Peak for so long boring, it was making it hard to get new information about what was going on with the other peaks!

"I honestly find them all idiots," a voice said, startling Shang Hua from his mental rant.

"Huh...? Ah! Shen-shixiong!" Shang Hua yelped. "What are you doing here?!"

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes. "Zhangmeng-shixiong, Liu-shidi and Qi-shimei are trying to convince Zhang-shixiong to demote you again. It's like they forgot he tried to teleport away with you."

Shang Hua chuckled. "I was just thinking the same thing. All they're doing is making me really bored."

Shen Qingqiu blinked at Shang Hua in surprise. "Wait, you remember that? I thought you'd fainted."

Shang Hua could tell he was trying to deflect from the real reason he was surprised- that Shang Hua had laughed at what he said. But he didn't press Shen Qingqiu. "Mu-shixiong told me what happened."

Shen Qingqiu nodded. "I see."

FLASHBACK (aka, I forgot to put this in the previous chapter and panicked. Also, the flashback is what Mu Qingfang was telling Shang Hua, so it's not from his POV)

As Shang Hua fell to the ground, the ice demon caught him and picked him up, creating a portal and attempting to flee with the cultivator.

"Let him go!" Liu Qingge yelled, rushing at the ice demon with his sword and cutting at him. He missed the ice demon, but cut the rope connecting Shang Hua to the demon and causing it to drop Shang Hua.

Yue Qingyuan quickly rushed forward, picking up Shang Hua, and the ice demon fled as Liu Qingge attacked it again. He was angry that the ice demon escaped, but calmed down once he saw Shang Hua was safe, helping Yue Qingyuan rush him to Qiang Cao Peak where he woke two days later.

END FLASHBACK (that was a short flashback)

Shang Hua and Shen Qingqiu stared at each other in uncomfortable silence for a while until Yue Qingyuan showed up.

"There you are Xi- Um, Shen-shidi. Hello Shang-shizhi," he said with a warm smile.

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes but didn't respond and Shang Hua looked at Yue Qingyuan.

"I'm really sorry, I'm sure you don't want to be demoted, but it's for your own safety. If only we could get Zhang-shidi to agree," Yue Qingyuan sighed.

"See?" Shen Qingqiu said, gesturing at Yue Qingyuan. "He's an idiot."

"I can tell," Shang Hua said. I made him that way after all.

"...What?" Yue Qingyuan asked, smile frozen on his face.

"You're an idiot," Shang Hua said simply. "If you think keeping me trapped on An Ding Peak like a prisoner will prevent me from getting kidnapped by that demon." God I hate calling my king that...

"I don't understand," Yue Qingyuan said.

"Neither do I, why are we calling Zhangmeng-shixiong an idiot?" Liu Qingge asked, appearing behind Yue Qingyuan.

"The ice demon can teleport," Shen Qingqiu said blandly. "Including into this room. At any given moment. All we're doing is making it easier for Shang-shizhi to be kidnapped the second the demon figures out which peak he's from. Seeing as you two were there with me, I figured you'd know that. Clearly I was wrong."

Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge blinked slowly as they realized Shen Qingqiu was right.

"Well then," Shen Qingqiu said. "Now that you're aware of the obvious, I'm going back to Qing Jing Peak before my disciples kill each other."

Chapter Text

As it would turn out, reminding Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge that Mobei-jun could teleport was the wrong move. Because now he not only wasn't allowed to leave An Ding Peak, Liu Qingge, Yue Qingyuan, and Shen Qingqiu were taking turns guarding him.

Shen Qingqiu really didn't want to, and would usually spend the entire time glaring at Shang Hua while the younger of the two rambled and did his work. Bing Mo had chosen to visit while Shen Qingqiu was guarding him, and Shang Hua freaked out super bad. Fortunately Shen Qingqiu had been looking in a different direction, which gave Shang Hua enough time to hiss at Bing Mo that he was being guarded at all hours now and to leave.

Shen Qingqiu had heard him and turned back but Bing Mo was already gone and Shang Hua managed to play it off as a paper cut, but thankfully Bing Mo got the hint and hadn't visited. It had been about a week since that incident and a month since he started having someone guard him 24/7.

Shen Qingqiu was guarding him right now as a matter of fact. Shang Hua glanced at him nervously, planning to sneak away to have a moments privacy. But Shen Qingqiu, although not looking directly at him most of the time did so whenever Shang Hua moved too much. Better than Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge at least, Shang Hua wasn't sure he'd ever seen them blink on their shifts.

"Do you really want to be here?" Shang Hua finally asked. The silence was unbearable.

"No," Shen Qingqiu replied.

"Then why are you? I don't need, don't deserve to be protected like this," Shang Hua said. I killed them in my past life and couldn't save them in this one... so why am I treated like this when it was my fault!

"... Do you really believe you don't deserve protecting, or are you just annoyed by it?" Shen Qingqiu asked, ignoring Shang Hua's question.

"I as good as killed them, I failed to save them, I should be dead, I wish I were dead! I can't sleep, I just see them dying and remember how I couldn't save them, I-" Shang Hua's voice broke. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, the system blaring red warnings to not die while begging him not to kill himself.

Shen Qingqiu seemed shocked. "That's not true... You didn't kill them. There was nothing you could have done."

"But there was!" Shang Hua cried out. "Instead I decided to rescue that demon and had to watch them die, I'm such an idiot!!"

"...You did what?" Shen Qingqiu seemed angry now.

"I'm sorry... He was injured, and he just collapsed, so I went to help him, but then the storm hit, and I got sick and they all died and I was right there."

"Is there anything else you're not telling me?" Shen Qingqiu said.

Shang Hua shook his head. The two of them remained there in silence, Shang Hua on his knees (when had that happened...? He wasn't sure) crying, Shen Qingqiu standing over him glaring.

"You never answered my question," Shang Hua said finally. "Why are you here if you don't want to be?"

"Because Zhangmeng-shixiong drags me here insisting you need to be saved. I mostly don't want to be here because he wants me here," Shen Qingqiu said, still looking at Shang Hua suspiciously.

"Right... You guys knew each other before here," Shang Hua said.

"How do you know that?" Shen Qingqiu asked sharply.

"It's obvious, the way you look at each other and act, the way the rumours say you acted towards each other when you first arrived here, the way Zhangmeng-shixiong relaxed significantly after you arrived almost like he was relieved."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Shen Qingqiu cried out.

"Before you arrived in the sect, Zhangmeng-shixiong was irritable, reckless, prone to qi deviations, constantly upset, quick to anger or tears. But after you arrived, he calmed down a lot," Shang Hua explained, getting up and sitting on the bed.

"He was? Why?" Shen Qingqiu seemed confused.

"God knows why, but he was in a rush to become the best cultivator ever apparently, he chose a sword that was too strong to handle and got locked in the Ling Xi caves for over a year. He doesn't like to talk about it. This is just what I know from rumours though, they also say that he had a bunch of qi deviations in there, that people still avoid where he was locked up, and that he was screaming and begging to be let out. None of us know why, or why he chose that sword, but we were all relieved when he calmed down."

Shen Qingqiu was staring in horror now while Shang Hua just kept feeling more guilty than ever about what he did to Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan.

"...Please excuse me, I need to have a talk with Zhangmeng-shixiong. Will you be okay on your own?" He finally said faintly.

"I'll be fine, I can just go find Shizun. Actually, I think I'll do that now."

Shen Qingqiu nodded and left, almost in a daze.

[That was unfair, he wasn't supposed to know]

But I answered his questions honestly, and knew about the rumours, I just referred to them. I never mentioned you or my involvement with the creation of this world.

[This system knows, that's why you didn't get a punishment or B-Point reduction and why it's unfair]

Shang Hua ignored the system and found Zhang Fengxi, feeling happy that Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan would be able to resolve their problems and make up.

That night he heard Shen Qingqiu had been found unconscious after a qi deviation halfway to Qiong Ding Peak.

Chapter Text

Shang Hua groaned as he stared at the mountain of paperwork. "Why am I the one in charge of all this?" He complained.

"Because you're going to be the new sect leader, Shang Qinghua," Zhang Fengxi replied.

"Huh? What did you just call me?" Shang Hua asked surprised.

"Your new name, it is to be Shang Qinghua. You have earned it. And I am not much longer for this world. I can sense it," Zhang Fengxi replied.

"You have to deal with this all the time?" Shang Hua- no, Shang Qinghua asked.

"Haha, yes. It's quite stressful, but I'm sure you can do it. Besides, it's better to pass the roll onto you while I still can and before Yue Qingyuan orders me as sect leader to demote you from head disciple," Zhang Fengxi chuckled.

"Haha, true..." Shang Qinghua said. "It's so tiring... I'm glad they let you guard me today, not that I think there's much they'd be able to do against B- against the ice demon."

"...You know him don't you?" Zhang Qingxi said.

"Huh!? Wha- no, what gave you that idea I don't know him, I swear!" Shang Qinghua cried out, panicking.

"It's okay, I don't mind. It doesn't bother me, I won't be alive much longer anyways. I'm old. I can sense it. Why bother about something that won't be my problem. You're smart Shang Qinghua, you can figure it out," Zhang Fengxi said, shrugging.

"...Thanks. And yeah, I know him. He's the future Mobei-jun, Bing Mo," Shang Qinghua admitted.

"I thought you said you didn't know my name," a voice said, and Bing Mo emerged from the shadows, glaring at Shang Qinghua, having been looking for an opportunity to talk to him.

"Ah! My king!" Shang Qinghua yelped. "Um, well, I... Uh..."

"I'll let you two figure this out yourselves," Zhang Fengxi said, leaving.

Shang Qinghua swallowed nervously. "My king, I can explain..."

[Well you better find an explanation that doesn't involve telling him about you creating this world, being a transmigrator, or me (¬_¬)]

Yes, thanks for that reminder! Any advice?!

[Nope! Good luck! ╰(▔∀▔)╯]

Seriously?! Agh, fine...

"Well?" Bing Mo asked. "How. Do. You. Know. My. Name?"

"P-please don't kill me," Shang Qinghua replied, his voice small.

Bing Mo glared at Shang Qinghua, who shrunk back.

"My king..." He whispered, but he wasn't sure what else to say.

Angry, Bing Wanmei grabbed him by the collar. "Answer me!"

Shang Qinghua swallowed, but said nothing. Bing Mo glared at him for a moment longer then threw him into the wall where Shang Qinghua fell in a heap, a groan of pain barely escaping his lips.

"Answer me!" Bing Mo yelled.

Ah... Shang Qinghua thought dimly, vision blurring. He's scared... Scared I know as much about him as I know about the other peaks.

He was vaguely aware of Bing Mo shouting something, tone turning to alarm. There was a ringing in his ears and spots danced across his vision.

I don't feel so good... Is this how I die?

Bing Mo was crouched in front of him now, Shang Qinghua barely seeing him through half shut eyes.

Ha... What a pathetic death. I didn't even get to be sect leader for two minutes. This'll certainly affect the story a lot.

And with that thought everything faded to black.

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua was the last to arrive to the emergency peak lord meeting. The others still didn't know he was peak lord yet. After he'd passed out yesterday, he'd woken up to find himself in the previous peak lord's bed, Zhang Fengxi dead on a stool next to him, his cold body leaning against the wall.

Shang Qinghua assumed his Shizun had found him and brought him to this room, waiting for him to wake up, but finally passing as he waited. An Ding Peak held a small quiet funeral amongst just the disciples and new An Ding Peak lord.

They hadn't even gotten the chance to inform the other peak lords of Zhang Fengxi's passing before the emergency meeting was called.

So now Shang Qinghua walked into the Peak Lord Meeting, late, in funeral robes, sporting various bandaged injuries sustained from being thrown into a wall, one arm in a sling, and very much alone and unguarded.

"Hi," Shang Qinghua said when the other peak lords stared at him. "Before you ask, the demon that tried to kidnap me attacked, I got thrown into a wall."

"I see," Mu Qingfang said. "Please come with me to Qiang Cao Peak after this meeting then."

"I mean, I would have gone already if it weren't for this meeting. Speaking of which, I see Shen-shixiong isn't here?" Shang Qinghua said, limping over to an empty chair.

"No, he's actually what this meeting is about," Yue Qingyuan said. "Where's the An Ding Peak lord? We'll start when he arrives."

"You're looking at him," Shang Qinghua said with a sigh. "I wasn't even the official peak lord for two minutes and I get attacked and think I'm about to die. It's a good thing Shizun found me, or I probably would have died."

"He... Made you the An Ding Peak lord?" Yue Qingyuan said. "He can't do that unless he's in too poor condition to keep running his peak, it's against sect rules. I'll have to have a talk with him."

"I mean, I technically wasn't the official peak lord? And unless you know how to bring people back from the dead you can't talk to him," Shang Qinghua said. "Can we just start already? What's going on with Shen-shixiong?"

"He's acting strange," Liu Qingge said. "He saved me from a qi deviation in Lang Xi caves."

Shang Qinghua blinked. "Uh, yeah, we received a report about that. He really hates your head disciple fun fact, he mentioned so in his report. I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to deal with him being the new Bai Zhan Peak lord."

"That's not all," Yue Qingyuan said.

"What else could there be?" Shang Qinghua asked confused.

"He's calmer, a bit nicer to Luo Binghe, stopped tolerating bullying, is allowing Binghe to participate in lessons, evenly distributing chores, scolds his disciples if they bully each other, stopped showing favoritism to Ning Yingying and had a civil conversation with me over tea for over two hours," Yue Qingyuan stated.

"Now that is strange," Shang Qinghua said. "Not the last part though, the last time I saw him he mentioned wanting to clear a misunderstanding with you. Not sure what that was about, but he felt bad about how he treated you."

[Seriously? Of all the things you find most strange it's him treating the protagonist like a decent person?]

I mean, obviously I'm glad and happy for Luo Binghe, but even if he wants to act nice to Yue Qingyuan it doesn't make sense for him to start treating Binghe like a person! I didn't write him like that.

[...]

[ಠ_ಠ]

Oh shut up.

"Clear a... misunderstanding with me?" Yue Qingyuan asked.

"That's what he said. But is that all? Shen-shixiong is acting strange? Have you checked for possession? Or perhaps it could be memory loss? Partial memory loss?" Shang Qinghua replied.

"We checked multiple times for possession. Nothing," Mu Qingfang replied. "Perhaps it is partial memory loss... He seems to remember a few things of the past, but not further than meeting Binghe, and even then it's only bits and pieces. And he knows who we all are."

"There you have it then," Shang Qinghua said. "He has partial memory loss. Now can Mu-shidi and I please go get my injuries checked out. I think I broke one of my ribs, and I know for a fact I dislocated my shoulder."

Mu Qingfang stared at Shang Qinghua in horror. "Why the hell did you bother showing up then?! You could have just used a communication talisman to get ahold of me instead of further injuring yourself!"

Because I deserve this. It's nothing compared to what I did to all of you.

"Because it was funnier this way. Your expressions when I walked in were priceless. If it weren't for my rib I'd probably have doubled over with laughter," Shang Qinghua deadpanned.

Mu Qingfang continued to yell at Shang Qinghua as the other peak lords slowly snuck out of the room not wanting to get caught in the middle of Mu Qingfang's wrath, Shang Qinghua forcing himself to keep smiling with apparent light amusement.

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua massaged his temples. "What the hell is this bullshit?" He grumbled.

'This bullshit' was a request from Liu Qingge. While that wasn't entirely unusual, what was unusual was the fact he was requesting for funding to go hunting and be away from his peak more often.

"Liu Qingge you idiot!" Shang Qinghua cried out in exasperation. "You don't need funding for this! You're the leader of Bai Zhan Peak are you not?! Just take your disciples on hunting trips!"

Shang Qinghua slammed his head into the table. Ever since Shen Qingqiu started acting strangely, it was like the rest of the peak lords' common sense and intelligence went out the window.

Shang Qinghua wrote a polite letter to Liu Qingge explaining why funding was unneeded for his request and shredded the paper with a bit of qi.

Then he picked up a request from Qi Qingqi. "...Are you fucking kidding me. We don't have the funding for this! Not even close, I've made this clear multiple times!"

Shang Qinghua wrote another letter, and shredded the request. But the endless stupid requests kept coming. Until he got to one from Shen Qingqiu.

Normally, Shen Qingqiu would send in an occasional order for new supplies or robes for his disciples. But this time he was asking for supplies so that they would be able to go on field missions. Shen Qingqiu never took his disciples on field missions saying they were all too terrible at fighting and common sense to be able to go.

Jeez, I knew he lost his memory, I didn't expect this drastic of a personality change! Shang Qinghua thought as he set about preparing an approval for the order.

"Shang Hua," Bing Mo's voice said from behind him.

Remembering their last encounter, every muscle in Shang Qinghua's body stiffened, his joints locked, and his breathing became shallow. After forcing himself to breathe, Shang Qinghua turned, still stiff, towards Bing Mo.

"...My king," he said, with much difficulty as his tongue felt like cotton in his mouth. "It's actually Shang Qinghua now."

"Shang Qinghua," Bing Mo said. "Do you have any new information for me?"

Shen Qingqiu has amnesia and is acting different, Shang Qinghua wanted to say, he was afraid of Bing Mo finding out if he were to lie. But he couldn't seem to get the words out.

Every fiber of his body screamed danger, his heart pounding, body stiff, breathing shallow, eyes glazed over, hands trembling. He tried again to speak, but couldn't. His mouth moved, but he wasn't sure he was speaking.

Suddenly a loud crack echoed across the room as Bing Wanmei slapped Shang Qinghua, causing his head to snap to the side, but effectively shaking him out of his trance.

"Are you going to tell me, or will you keep acting like a fish?" Bing Mo demanded.

"S-sorry my king..." Shang Qinghua whispered, shrinking back in fear. 

"Well? What do you have to say?"

"Sh-shen Qingqiu had a qi devation... a-and now he's acting s-strange, and has p-partial amnesia," Shang Qinghua stammered.

"Is that all?" Bing Mo asked.

"M-my shizun p-passed, so I-I'm peak lord n-now. B-but there's nothing else... n-not useful a-anyways, j-just stupid budget requests that I denied and sh-shredded already."

Shang Qinghua refused to look at Bing Mo, his hands were in his lap grabbing fistfuls of his robes in a futile attempt to stop them from shaking so much. He was on the verge of a qi deviation, that's how scared he was. Not to mention with all the new stress of being a peak lord and Yue Qingyuan trying to convince him to let them keep guarding him his qi was already extremely unstable.

"Here," Bing Mo pulled out a blue jewel and handed it to Shang Qinghua. "You can contact me through this, and it gives me your location if you call for me, it doesn't matter how, the jewel can tell. Keep it on you at all times and keep it hidden."

Shang Qinghua nodded, grabbing it with trembling hands, and almost dropping it as soon as Bing Wanmei let go.

"Call for me and I'll come," Bing Mo said. "You may be easily replaceable, but you... interest me. You know my name, but despite being so obviously afraid of me you refuse to say how."

[Oh he's so gonna keep pestering you about this. Just say you can't say how or you'll die.]

Would I actually die if I said how?! Shang Qinghua thought, alarmed.

[Of course not, you want to die don't you? It wouldn't be a fair punishment. Nah, Shang Qinghua would die and you'd return to your original body alive.]

I'd be dead if you didn't keep threatening to punish me with something worse than death. Shang Qinghua thought, sadly reminicing about how his plans to commit and how the system threatened to control his body or send him to repeatedly experience the original goods death while not dying if he tried to go through with any of them.

Bing Mo was looking at Shang Qinghua like he expected him to say something, and after a few moments of silence while Shang Qinghua talked to the system, he turned to leave.

"Wait... Please," Shang Qinghua said.

Bing Mo turned back to look at him.

"I do know your name. But I can't say how. I'll die if I do. I'm sorry. I wish- I wish I could tell you," Shang Qinghua said. I wish I could apologize for everything I did wrong to you in my past life.

"I understand," Bing Mo said. "If you're able to tell me someday, I'll listen." Then he left.

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua was pissed, and rightfully so. He'd told the other peak lords, multiple times, that he needed the list of disciples entering the Immortal Alliance Conference at least two weeks before it started.

And what do they do? Turn them in a week late! It was supposed to start in four days and he'd only just received the lists from Qi Qingqi and Liu Qingge two days ago. He'd chewed them out, yelling at them for half a shichen about how they needed to turn these things in on time, before letting them leave An Ding Peak.

And now he had only just gotten Shen Qingqiu's! Seriously?! If only he hadn't had that blasted qi deviation, he used to have everything done on time!

Shang Qinghua was gripping the paper so tight it was crumpling. "Is this what you call on time?" He asked, shaking with rage.

"I'm really sorry," Shen Qingqiu said offhandedly, hiding behind his fan.

Shang Qinghua's eye twitched. That bastard! He wasn't sorry at all!

"You..." He exhaled.

"Calm down Shang-shidi, it would have been later had I not reminded him," Yue Qingyuan said smiling.

"...ARE YOU BOTH ABSOLUTE IDIOTS?!" Shang Qinghua screamed, nearly tearing the paper in half.

Yue Qingyuan jolted in surprise, and Shen Qingqiu's eyes widened behind his fan, brow furrowing as though he were confused.

"Shang-shidi, calm down," Yue Qingyuan chided.

"Calm down. CALM DOWN?! DO EITHER OF YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THIS IS GOING TO TAKE TO FIX?! Yue Qingyuan, shut your damn mouth, I've already yelled at Liu-shidi and Qi-shimei for this, don't think you get off scot free just because you're the sect leader. THIS IS LATE! THE IMMORTAL ALLIANCE CONFERENCE IS IN FOUR DAYS AND I'M ONLY JUST GETTING YOUR LIST OF DISCIPLES NOW?! Shen Qingqiu I thought you were better than this! Just what the fuck did that qi deviation of yours do that you can't even turn in simple paperwork on time!"

"Shang-shidi!" Yue Qingyuan yelled. "Calm down and be quiet! It's fine-"

"Fine? You think it's fine?! Oh sure, you'd think that, it's no secret Shen-shixiong is your favorite sect leader! But this is unacceptable! I said I needed the lists two weeks before it starts, not four days!" Shang Qinghua yelled, shaking the list Shen Qingqiu had given him, before slamming it on the desk.

"This is going to be an absolute pain to turn in now that it's this late, so you know what?! Yue Qingyuan if you think this isn't such a big deal and 'fine' then you can submit them yourself! I sure won't do it, and neither will any of my disciples! So either you figure it out or Shen Qingqiu's disciples don't get to participate in the Immortal Alliance Conference. Maybe this will teach you how to do shit on time instead of ridiculously late!"

Shang Qinghua stormed out of the room, Yue Qingyuan staring straight ahead at nothing in shock that anyone would dare speak to him like that, Shen Qingqiu hiding behind his fan, expression unreadable.

"Ugh, I need to let off some steam," Shang Qinghua grumbled as he walked down the hall. "I mean the nerve to turn it in this late! Shen-shixiong better pray Zhangmeng-shixiong fixes the damn problem. This new version of Shen Qingqiu is going to be the death of me."

Shang Qinghua then proceeded to run straight into what felt like a wall of ice. Stumbling backwards, he glanced up to see that it was just Bing Mo.

"My king," he said. "Now's not a good time, Zhangmeng-shixiong and Shen-shixiong are both in the other room. Fucking assholes," he grumbled the last part under his breath, but Bing Mo still heard.

"Why are you so mad at them?" He asked.

"The Immortal Alliance Conference is in two days and Shen-shixiong only just submitted his list of disciples that are to participate even though I needed them over a week ago. I already had to pull several strings to be able to turn in Liu-shidi's and Qi-shimei's lists late, but I snapped this time and told Zhangmeng-shixiong to do it himself or Shen-shixiong's disciples wouldn't participate," Shang Qinghua explained, exasperated.

"I see..." Bing Mo said. "Interesting."

"Yeah, it only happens once every four years, so for many disciples it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, but for some stronger disciples, such as Zhangmeng-shixiong when he was a disciple, who stay in the sect after they finish learning get to participate more than once, but it's rare they participate more than twice. As a matter of fact, Zhangmeng-shixiong is the only recorded person to ever participate three times and no body's ever participated four or more times," Shang Qinghua said, not thinking too much about it.

"Meaning this could be the only opportunity for Shen Qingqiu's disciples to participate," Bing Mo summarized.

"Exactly."

"I'll be leaving now then," Bing Mo said.

"See you my king," Shang Qinghua said.

Chapter Text

TW: suicidal thoughts, self harm, and the Old Palace Master

Uh, yeah, this is probably gonna be pretty depressing... So, fair warning for that. The entire story as ended up more depressing than I intended tbh. Also there might be some second hand embarrassment during one scene? I got second hand embarrassment writing it, so just depends on the reader I guess.

Also, sorry it took so long to come out, I had to check out the ebook of book one from the library (fortunately it arrived the next day), had school and finals and whatnot, and then accidentally deleted half of what I had written TWICE, half meaning everything except the notes and part of the notes. It was over half.

And then I didn't have any motivation to write this chapter since it's going to be super long and I'm not used to writing super long chapters (and again, keep deleting most of it) and I 'had' to edit a picture of Shang Qinghua because my dumbass thought "Oh, let's add an unneeded illustration to this shit show!" which my computer deleted when I was almost done with it OVER TEN (I started losing count after that, it was probably closer to 15+) TIMES (holy shit, my dedication to adding this picture was insane-) and 'had' to remake it each time, all the while my computer wasn't charging properly and the screen kept jumping all over the place causing what I drew with my stylus to end up sloppy and need to be redone when my computer wasn't acting like it was possessed by demons, while also dealing with headaches, dehydration, low blood sugar, a really nasty cough, school, finals, poor mental health (tried to kill myself like 5 times while writing this) and a runaway puppy who keeps trying to eat me that my family is calling George until we get him new owners since we can't find his and ran into financial issues because of our car and no longer can keep him which was the original plan.

That was a VERY long (mostly run-on) sentence-

So yeah, writing this chapter has been an absolute shit show, but I'm not in school anymore and it's officially summer vacation, yay! That means I can (hopefully) update this more often. (Unless, you know, it takes me over half of summer vacation to finish this chapter- spoiler alert! It did.)

Seriously though, while writing this I was running on low blood sugar, barely any food, hardly any water, dehydration, and little to no sleep. Not to mention that if you include the notes, this shit is (barely) over 10.5K words, but without the notes it's only 9.6K (holy shit those are some long notes wtf-). Even though I copy-pasted a good chunk of it (plagiarism yay!) before Kindle stopped letting me, I still had to read through this shit, delete certain things, add other things, change the POV around, then type out the rest of it while doing the same thing... It's difficult okay! Easier said than done and much harder than it sounds!

Anyways.

I'm pretty sure I accidentally made Shang Qinghua significantly younger in this fic, but also he maintains a more casual relationship with his disciples, usually greeting them casually and they greet him with hugs. Part of it is due to age difference, Shang Qinghua spent a lot of time as a disciple with most of them (my AU, stfu), part of it is due to feeling guilty about killing them.

Most of this is taken verbatim from the novel (thus the copy-pasting I mentioned earlier) since it's one of the most important and significant chapters because of Binghe falling into the Endless Abyss, I just changed the POV to be Shang Qinghua's, edited some phrasing, cut out Shen Qingqiu's parts and the System, and changed the paragraph lengths a little - thus the long chapter. I cut out some significant details from Shen Qingqiu's POV since as we all know, Shang Qinghua doesn't remember a lot of his original story. I think I actually made him remember more than canon, but I'm not sure. Probably, and we can blame it on him being significantly younger because I fucked up the timeline and a million other things that I'm too lazy to fix. Meaning Mobei-Jun is also aged down because Moshang, and I'm not going to have a 30+ year age difference since Shang Qinghua is about 20 or so in this chapter.

Some parts aren't from a specific POV.

Oh, and Idk if An Ding Peak has an introduced head disciple, I've seen different fics use different names and genders, so that's what I'm doing, using my own head disciple, I'm too lazy to look shit up. She's a female disciple named Ma Lia who is dating a nonbinary disciple named Li Weihao who likes swords. Same with Shang Qinghua's sword, only I did look it up and found nothing, so it'll be called He Fin, though I've seen multiple people use Yin Yan which might be the canon name, but I'm too lazy to edit. Maybe I will later if I find the sword name while looking at the books, which I found online (albeit with spelling errors and a different writing format, but whatever, it's basically a website for pirated anime but replace anime with donghua, and sex ads with AI 'art' ads, of course there's gonna be errors) since I'm now using them to consult what happens since I don't remember shit (I found myself getting characters mixed up with TGCF and The Disabled Tyrants Beloved Pet Fish, which is impressive, since I can barely remember who's who in those books).

And no, I didn't forget about the demon invasion and Without a Cure and to add that chapter, whatever gave you that idea? *screams into pillow*

The peak lord names and the peaks who we don't know are taken from this screenshot below on BananaPink's fic because I'm lazy (also I really like the names, and BananaPink's fic, it's called "When the wound stops crying it starts to sing" and it's super angsty, but also really funny at the same time, I love it :D) Color theme is the same except for An Ding Peak (their color is yellow) and Yin Hui Peak (they can have orange).

Comments are a great motivating factor btw! Reading them makes me so happy and want to continue instead of just kms.

Shang Qinghua blinked up at the ceiling of his room. He had a vague feeling something important was happening today.

Suddenly his eyes went wide and he shot upright. "Ma Lia?!" He called out for his head disciple.

A female disciple poked her head into his room. "Yes, A-Hua?"

"What's happening today?" Shang Qinghua asked, panic creeping into his voice.

"It's the day of the Immortal Alliance Conference. The others already left just a few moments ago," Ma Lia told him, fully entering his room.

"Shit!" Shang Qinghua cursed. "They left without me?!"

"None of us could wake you and since An Ding isn't participating the Peak Lords assumed you weren't coming. They waited as long as they could for you though," Ma Lia stated.

"Crap, I have to get ready!" Shang Qinghua yelped, practically falling out of bed in his haste.

His hair was disheveled and undone, his sleeping robes nearly falling off when they caught the edge of the bed. Ma Lia ignored all this however, and instead calmly helped Shang Qinghua to his feet, handing him a set of freshly cleaned yellow An Ding Peak robes.

"Change," she told him. "Then I'll fix up your hair."

"Right- Where's my sword?"

"Li Weihao said He Fin seemed neglected, so they're fixing it up," Ma Lia said.

"I see," Shang Qinghua said, relieved.

He quickly stepped behind the changing screen, changed as quickly as he could, and stepped out again. Ma Lia fixed up his robes, which were slightly askew, then turned him around, sat him on the floor, and combed his hair, putting it in a ponytail. Right as she finished, Li Weihao stepped into Shang Qinghua's room with He Fin, handing the spiritual sword to it's owner. Shang Qinghua gave them both a quick hug goodbye before speeding off towards Jue Di Gorge on He Fin.

Everything from here onward is taking verbatim from the novel aside from the (some minor some major) changes I made to have the POV be Shang Qinghua's. I don't own these scenes or most of the plot, they belong to MXTX.

Jue Di Gorge. It spanned seven mountain peaks and overflowed with verdant greenery. Scattered every which way within it were bright springs and dark rivers, waterfalls and wondrous stones, deep valleys and soaring peaks. 

As the name "Hopeless Land" implied, some of its terrain represented "the brink of despair"—yet in the next moment, as if confirming that every cloud had a silver lining, you would spot paths winding through the peaks, indelible and unerasable.

The new talent participating in the conference followed the agreed-upon arrangements and stood in well-ordered rows surrounding a gigantic, natural stone platform before the gorge. Disciples from the four great cultivation sects made up the main share of participants. Cang Qiong Mountain was in the lead, followed closely by Zhao Hua Monastery, Tian Yi Temple, and Huan Hua Palace.

 Of the four sects, Cang Qiong Mountain was the most comprehensive. The eleven attending peaks each had their own strengths in a variety of fields, though it was the case with all twelve. An Ding Peak wasn't participating, Shang Qinghua was too scared of losing more disciples, fortunately his disciples understood. 

Meanwhile, the monastery and temple sects were naturally those who fostered Buddhist monks and Daoist priests, respectively. Huan Hua Palace was more complicated. Their sect followed the teachings of a number of different schools, had an aptitude for the Daoist art of concealment, and interacted the most with the secular world. The level of their techniques was unclear, but on one point there was no doubt: they were absolutely the wealthiest of the sects. They contributed the most funds to every conference. 

Other than these four, numerous small and mid-sized sects were also participating. Therefore, the final number of those who had signed up and gathered at Jue Di Gorge was well over one thousand. What had been a cold and silent gorge entrance suddenly burst to life with more than one thousand people. Animals that had never seen people before were all frightened away. It was unusually lively in all meanings of the word. 

A high dais had been constructed at the entrance to the gorge, and from there, all the non-participating cultivators would observe the battles. Various colored flags representing each of the sects fluttered and swayed upon it. Seats for the sect leaders were at the highest level. Cang Qiong Mountain's delegation, led by Yue Qingyuan, took their place on the dais.

Not long after everyone was seated, a member of Huan Hua Palace walked onto the stone platform. After all, they'd contributed the most money, so no one could argue with their choice of host. Below the platform, the over one thousand competitors gradually quieted, focusing their attention on listening to the host describe the proceedings. The host's martial foundations were deep, his breaths plentiful and long-lasting. Every last person at the mouth of the gorge, including those on the soaring dais, could clearly hear his voice in full. 

"The conference will last for seven days. Once everyone enters the gorge, we will erect a giant barrier and cover the entirety of Jue Di Gorge. For those seven days, the participants who enter Jue Di Gorge will be isolated from the outside world and will remain ignorant to what happens there. The observers will follow the situation within via the spirit eagles let loose above the valley. 

"Over a hundred varieties of demonic creature have been loosed within the valley. The total number nears five thousand. Every time you take down a creature, you will receive a prayer bead from its body. The creatures are of different difficulty levels, and the spiritual qi within the prayer beads will likewise vastly differ. Is everyone wearing a gold cord around their wrists?" 

The people beneath the platform raised their wrists together, revealing a sea of gold cords. It was quite a magnificent sight. The host continued. 

"When you obtain a bead, thread it onto the cord. Your scores will automatically be displayed on the ranking charts outside." 

The ranking charts were displayed opposite the dais. Although there were eight charts in total, the crowd's attention would be squared on the names of the top one hundred scorers on the first, gold-inscribed tablet at the top—and at times, they would be watching only the top ten. This embodied the principle of "No first place among scholars, no second place among martial artists." 

Finally, the Huan Hua Palace host delivered a severe warning. "Sect disciples are forbidden from fighting over and stealing each other's beads! The moment anyone is found to be fighting or using underhanded methods to steal beads, their right to participate will be revoked, and they will be banned from the conference for three sessions!" Three sessions meant twelve years.

This group of new talent was like a mix of carp and dragons. Many were young and inexperienced, but quite a few were slippery old bastards, scoundrels who'd scurried about for years and years. If duels weren't forbidden, the organizers had reason to fear that the entire conference would devolve into incomparable chaos, and lives might well be lost. Therefore, this rule was exceptionally necessary.

Shang Qinghua spaced out at this point, already knowing the rules. He'd created them after all. His mind wandered to the System and the demons. In the original timeline, Shang Qinghua let in a bunch of demons during the Immortal Alliance Conference, causing the Endless Abyss to open and Shen Qingqiu to push Luo Binghe into it. But the System hadn't told him to do this. Perhaps because of Shen Qingqiu's memory loss and personality change he wouldn't push Binghe into the Abyss so there was no need to cause the attack?

He was shaken out of his thoughts when someone coughed twice before speaking. 

"Why don't we do as we have before and make our predictions about which of these new talents will stand out the most?" They said with a smile. 

Shang Qinghua was instantly paying attention, curious. The words "make our predictions" weren't actually referring to divining fortunes, but instead to gambling. To be clear, it was about betting on the talent you had your eye on. Cultivators needed entertainment too, after all. Also, the stakes used in these bets weren't tacky, monetary items like gold and silver, but talisman charms, spirit stones, or even the names of disciples who would be sent to study under other sects.

They also wouldn't bet anything of vital importance—but it was still one of the Immortal Alliance Conference's traditional entertainment activities. Anyone as dignified as a first-class sect leader, like Yue Qingyuan, had to be conscious of their status and wouldn't indulge in things like this, but naturally many others were willing to join the fun. 

A short moment later, the dais was roaring with enthusiasm, dozens of bets being laid. Quite a few bet on their own disciples—for example, Qi Qingqi bet on Liu Mingyan's victory.

Shen Qingqiu immediately bet five thousand spirit stones on Luo Binghe. Such a daring move caused quite a ripple. Even Yue Qingyuan paused in his polite exchange of greetings with the abbot from Zhao Hua Monastery, his gaze shifting toward Shen Qingqiu. Shang Qinghua was completely shocked.

 "Zhangmen-shixiong, this is just a bit of fun," Shen Qingqiu said. "To encourage Binghe a little."

 "Just for fun." Liu Qingge sneered. "If you shattered the entirety of Qing Jing Peak, would you even find a thousand spirit stones in the rubble?"

Shang Qinghua winced, knowing full well Shen Qingqiu wouldn't.

Yue Qingyuan, probably afraid of the sect being embarrassing before outsiders, rushed to smooth things over. "All right. Lower your voices. Of course there would."

"Zhangmen-shixiong, you'll be his guarantor?" Qi Qingqi butted in, getting right to the point.

"I will," said Yue Qingyuan.

"If you lose, who pays?" Liu Qingge asked.

"Me," said Yue Qingyuan.

"If I win, who keeps the payout?" asked Shen Qingqiu.

"You," said Yue Qingyuan. 

An agreement was reached, and everyone other than Liu Qingge rejoiced. Shen Qingqiu went to make his bet. The gathered cultivators quietly wondered why they'd never heard of Luo Binghe. You couldn't really blame them. The current Luo Binghe's modus operandi was low-key and modest, and he was unwilling to claim credit, An Ding Peak only knew what he was up to because of his reports or reports with him in it that they filed. Every time he did a good deed or completed a task, he quietly took his leave. This prevented his reputation from growing, so his skills and talents had never shone.

Those unaware of the situation assumed Shen Qingqiu was doing exactly as he'd claimed and just making a show of good faith to encourage his disciple. Below the dais, after the participants took their oath together, they formally entered the venue. There were many of them, so twelve different entrances had been erected, through which the participants would enter in assorted groups of mixed sects.

The participants, shaking with nerves, stepped into Jue Di Gorge and began their expeditions. On the dais, the members of the older generations, who'd long since achieved success and made their reputations, had finished their round of betting. They sat with unruffled composure, some of them even exchanging pointers, chatting, or chewing on melon seeds.

Within the venue flew more than a hundred spirit eagles controlled by experts. The silver rings around their talons were inlaid with special crystals. As they soared, a panoramic view of the people and scenery below was projected onto the dais's numerous crystal mirrors, the effect similar to that of surveillance equipment.

 Someone smiled from ear to ear. "As expected, Gongyi Xiao is in first place right after entering!" 

On the gold-inscribed tablet, the first ten names all shone with bright light. At this time, "Gongyi Xiao" had already reached the first-place position. Right after his name was the number twelve. 

That is to say, a mere hour in, he'd already eliminated twelve demonic creatures and obtained twelve prayer beads. Even Liu Mingyan, close behind in second, had only obtained six prayer beads. A large gap had already appeared. 

A youth dressed in white was reflected on a crystal mirror, his figure elegant and unrestrained like drifting clouds and flowing water, yet his actions were quick as lightning. In an instant, he shredded a shrilly screaming vengeful ghost into scattered smoke. An unceasing stream of excessive praise rose in response. 

Luo Binghe's name was currently in the middle of the pack. The number after it was a mere "one." The first day of the Immortal Alliance Conference approached midnight. A round, golden moon hung high in the sky, and the dais gleamed bright beneath the lamp light. Among the many crystal mirrors, Shang Qinghua noticed one displaying Luo Binghe. Currently, he was slowly moving through the forest, spotlessly clean and without a trace of exhaustion. His eyes were like stars, and it seemed as if they could see right through the crystal mirror. 

However, he wasn't alone. Most of the participants moved by themselves. If people teamed up to fight the monsters, how would they divvy up the beads? At most, they might cooperate with those they were familiar with, forming teams of two or three shixiong and shidi. There were also some incredible female cultivators, but on the whole, these girls' strength and mental fortitude was lacking, and they often required help. 

Their teams were mainly composed of shimei and shijie who got along well, and they spent their time playing around instead of actually working. Basically, they looked quite hopeless. Yet following after Luo Binghe were seven or eight other individuals, and all of them were either delicate girls or young disciples.

This group drew a great deal of attention. Some of the audience even stopped watching Gongyi Xiao's heroic exploits, switching over to size up this bloated team and finding it too strange to look away. In the group, the one walking closest to Luo Binghe was a Huan Hua disciple in light yellow robes, holding a night pearl to light the way. The girl was graceful and elegant, but she walked with a slight limp, like she had sprained her ankle. It was probably an injury she had sustained while fighting monsters.

"Luo-shixiong, I truly apologize," she said. "You saved us, and now we're troubling you. If you weren't protecting us, you would be so far ahead already... We are a burden."

"We are all cultivators. It's our obligation to look after each other," Luo Binghe said, eminently proper. 

Yue Qingyuan smiled. "Qingqiu, that little disciple of yours has great moral character."

Shen Qingqiu didn't respond.

Qi Qingqi humphed. "Exactly. It's impossible to tell that he was the one who taught the boy."

Other observers said a few additional words of praise. However, they weren't necessarily sincere. What use was good moral character? The Immortal Alliance Conference valued power. In their eyes, Luo Binghe's actions seemed rather childish. But when Huan Hua Palace's Old Palace Master, sitting by Shen Qingqiu's side, saw Luo Binghe's face through the crystal mirror, he let out a barely audible "eh?" and almost stood up. Shang Qinghua sent him a look of disgust, he understood all too well what this leecher was thinking.

 Luo Binghe was beautiful, and he looked quite like his birth mother. The Old Palace Master had seen this face and, thinking the junior disciple's similar appearance was only coincidental, had become nostalgic about his own favorite 'disciple'. He could scarcely have imagined that Luo Binghe was the child of precisely that beloved lost 'pupil'. Shang Qinghua felt absolutely sick, and a wave of guilt for writing this old man like this causing Luo Binghe to lose his parents washed over him.

I'm sorry Binghe, he thought sadly before turning back to the crystal mirrors when he noticed a faint glow coming from within his robes. Bing Mo was calling him.

Shang Qinghua snuck off, and sent a faint pulse of qi into the blue jewel Bing Mo had given him. A moment later he and Mo were standing together in the Northern Ice Palace.

"My king," Shang Qinghua said. "Did you need something?"

Of course Shang Qinghua knew exactly what he needed. But Bing Mo had almost killed him for refusing to say how Shang Qinghua knew his name, so he very well couldn't say he knew that they were going to release an attack on the Immortal Alliance Conference.

"You mentioned this conference with cultivators," Bing Mo said.

"Yes..." Shang Qinghua replied, slightly confused.

"Prove your loyalty, and help me attack these cultivators." Bing q fixed a cold glare on Shang Qinghua.

"What...?" Shang Qinghua's eyes widened. This wasn't how he wrote it. In the novel, Shang Qinghua came up with the idea of the attack himself, as an excuse to rise in rank. In the novel, he wasn't even peak lord yet (though the readers didn't actually know that, he'd forgotten to mention it). Shang Qinghua had accidentally changed the story around enough that he became the youngest peak lord in history, but it meant he had no reason to stage the attack, and the system hadn't asked him to.

(If you got the reference at the end of that paragraph, I love you)

Well apparently that was because the system had decided to make Bing Mo do it instead!

"Are you questioning me?" Bing Mo asked.

"N-no my king, I just-!" Shang Qinghua started to stammer out an excuse, but Bing Mo grabbed him by his neck, lifting him off the ground.

Shang Qinghua was cut off as he suddenly was unable to breathe, his legs kicking out wildly as he clawed at Bing Mo's hand. Spots danced across his vision as he struggled to breathe. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as they watered from the lack of air, and he squeezed them shut. His head hurt, his lungs burned, his throat was being crushed. He could feel his movements slowing down, until his legs went limp, his hands slipping from their grip around Bing Mo's wrist, arms falling to dangle at his sides.

Then suddenly he was on the floor, the hand was gone from his throat and he could breathe. Not well, but he could breathe. But his limbs felt like jello, and he could only lie on the floor, blinking at Bing Mo's legs with blurry vision, unable to move his head to look up. He lay there for what felt like forever, gasping for air, circulating his qi in an attempt to repair his crushed windpipe.

"Are you willing to listen to me now?" Bing Mo asked.

"Yes... my... king..." Shang Qinghua gasped out.

"Stand up," Bing Wanmei commanded.

Shang Qinghua tried, but collapsed, spots dancing in his vision as it threatened to go black.

"I'm... sorry... I... can't..." Shang Qinghua wheezed. His throat still hurt, windpipe half crushed, and he was pretty sure his vocal cords were damaged as well. Every word he spoke felt like someone had poured hot liquid metal down his throat.

Bing Mo yanked him up by his arm, and threw him through a portal, where they ended up in a clearing near the outer area of Jue Di Gorge, safe from the eyes of those watching the conference.

"I want you to make an array that will let me open multiple portals at once," Bing Mo commanded.

Shang Qinghua nodded weakly, and thought for a moment, recalling what the array he had the original Shang Qinghua use looked like.

"Hurry up," Bing Mo snapped, causing Shang Qinghua to flinch.

"S-sorry..." He said, wincing from pain as he spoke. He stood, wobbling on weak legs, blinking away the spots dancing across his vision, and began to make the array before pouring his qi into it. This effort nearly caused him to pass out, but he simply collapsed while Bing Mo released his monsters across Jue Di Gorge.

Shang Qinghua was forced to stop circulating his qi due to it being so depleted while Bing Mo sent him outside of the barrier with a warning to act as though they didn't know each other should they run into each other during the attack, which made no sense to Shang Qinghua, as in the original, Bing Mo didn't stick around after unleashing the monsters. Shang Qinghua walked back to his seat, somehow managing to not pass out.

On the other side, in Jue Di Gorge, Luo Binghe was calmly considering what to do with this crowd of vulnerable disciples. From a moral standpoint, he couldn't just abandon them; they were from Huan Hua Palace and had barely started training. But he also didn't want to miss the chance to shine in the Immortal Alliance Conference and win honor for Shizun. 

A female disciple from Huan Hua Palace leaned on Qin Wanyue and began to hiccup and cry. "Jiejie, my feet hurt so much." 

In front, Luo Binghe stopped, but he didn't turn around. He lowered his head and rubbed his temples. Nervous, Qin Wanyue lowered her head and spoke quietly to the girl. "Wanrong, endure it for a bit longer, all right? We have to walk a little faster." 

"But my feet really hurt—I can't walk anymore!" Wanrong-meimei whined. "We've been walking all day, and there's nowhere to take a bath. I'm so uncomfortable." 

A number of untrained disciples in the group agreed, one after another. Shang Qinghua rolled his eyes. If your feet are so delicate, don't sign up for the Immortal Alliance Conference. And if you do, then whatever, but why drag others down?

Qin Wanyue sent another look at Luo Binghe's back. "Little Sister," she said quietly, "we've already made a lot of trouble for Luo-shixiong..."

She still wanted to rely on Luo Binghe and try to make a name for herself in the Immortal Alliance Conference and earn some reputation. If her sister foolishly annoyed Luo Binghe, it would go badly for her.

"Luo-shixiong is such a good person—he won't mind," Qin Wanrong said innocently. "Isn't that right, Luo-shixiong?"

Luo Binghe finally turned, a faint smile still on his face and did not speak. But for some reason, Qin Wanyue inwardly shivered in fear. However, Qin Wanrong had cotton for brains and took his smile as acquiescence. Singing a carefree tune, she swept over to a nearby creek like a gust of wind.

Shang Qinghua noticed Shen Qingqiu tense up and suppressed a snort. Given what she'd just said, he thought she was going to bathe. Fortunately, (thanks to him), this little girl wasn't that eccentric, and she only shook off her shoes and socks to dip her feet into the creek. A number of the other disciples soon followed Qin Wanrong's example, and just like that, the little crowd started to laugh and play. Luo Binghe was completely helpless as he watched. 

It would have been awkward to approach them, so he could only call from far away, "Wading in the water at night isn't safe. It's best if we finish and leave right away." 

Luo Binghe pleaded with the disciples, but a few had even crossed to the other side of the creek, chatting and laughing. "It's all right! Luo-shixiong, you come too!"?

 Even the sect leaders watching through the crystal mirrors were speechless. Shen Qingqiu had no expression on his face. Shang Qinghua had a vague feeling something was wrong about this scene. Qin Wanyue knew her little sister was being rather inappropriate, and she cautiously apologized to Luo Binghe. 

"Luo-shixiong, I'm so sorry," she said. "This is the first time Shimei and the others are participating in the Immortal Alliance Conference..." Truly lovable and pitiful.

She bit her lip like she was making an excruciating decision. "If Luo-shixiong feels burdened, leave us and go. It's all right..."

These words, together with that expression on the verge of tears, were wildly insincere. But after hearing her plea, any man with a bare minimum of virtue would find himself unable to do as she suggested. Before Luo Binghe could reply, an ear-piercing scream came from the creek. His face suddenly changed, and he shoved past Qin Wanyue, whose face had lost all color, as he dashed toward the creek's bank. The audience watching from the crystal mirrors stood in terror, no one noticing how Shang Qinghua swayed on his feet.

 "What's going on?" Luo Binghe asked in a forceful voice, his sword before him. Five or six disciples had been washing their feet and playing in the creek. Now two of them had disappeared, and one of the missing was Qin Wanrong.

"I don't know what happened!" a disciple screamed. "The water suddenly turned black, and Shijie and the other were swept under by something!"

Luo Binghe rapidly dragged the stupefied disciples still in the creek up onto the bank. But just as he reached out to grab the last person, they fell over like they had lost their footing. Everyone stared as the water closed over the disciple's head and they disappeared with their eyes wide open. At the same time, a black smog billowed through the creek. Shang Qinghua froze, finding himself unable to look away.

 The smog was actually countless black strands, smooth and silky like a woman's dark hair. From between the strands seeped scarlet blood, diluted by creek water. They were thicker and more disgusting than hair.

Luo Binghe had quickly identified the monster in the creek. He sent sword glares into the water as he cried, "Get far away from the water! It's the Demon Realm's Nu Yuan Chan!" 

For a while, the billows and billows of the hair-like demonic creature's body swirled within the water. Suddenly, like they were burping after a full meal, the black strands spat out a few objects with a stream of bubbles: three bodies that had been sucked clean of flesh and blood, leaving only drenched corpses of skin and bone.

The pores on the dead bodies were abnormally large. That was because many strands of hair were still attached to their skin, thrust into their pores, hungrily sucking out the bodies' remaining flesh, blood, and spiritual essence. Leaving no pore uninvaded, diving into any opening it could find—this was one of the Nu Yuan Chan's most terrifying characteristics.

Your fault, a voice in Shang Qinghua's head whispered.

This scene scared the disciples by the creek witless. Wails and screams filled the forest as they threw themselves behind Luo Binghe to hide. At the sight of the horrible state of her sister's body, Qin Wanyue nearly fainted. Luckily, she was smart enough to not faint for real, in this chaos nobody would bother to help her escape.

Nu Yuan Chan was an amphibious creature. After sucking three people dry underwater, it was itching to climb the bank and search for new targets. Luo Binghe's expression was icily severe. He snapped his fingers, igniting a burst of flames at his fingertips. Then, boosting the flames with spiritual energy, he flicked them toward the lurking demonic beast. As soon as they touched the beast's hair-like strands, the flames flared into an inferno, forcing the black mass of hair to retreat into the water with all speed, leaving it afraid to come onto the bank.

Luo Binghe executed this set of actions in a single smooth sequence, radiating formidable might, utterly relentless. Luo Binghe picked up the night pearl that Qin Wanyue had dropped in her panic and raised it high. Like a shining beacon, it calmed everyone's hearts.

"Don't stray, stay together!" he shouted.

Then he took out a piece of the standard equipment all the participants had been given, a rescue firework, and fired it into the sky. The rescue fireworks were given to disciples to call for help if they encountered a monster that they were unable to handle. The Immortal Alliance Conference hadn't released any excessively dangerous monsters, and if a participant fired a rescue firework three times, they automatically forfeited their right to participate. Therefore, in all past conferences, no one had really used the fireworks unless they were really backed into a corner.

However, at that moment, glittering bursts of fireworks rose one after another in the sky over Jue Di Gorge. This should have been a beautiful scene, but at that moment, not only did these fireworks not seem gorgeous, they made the onlookers' insides twist in fear. Every blooming firework represented a disciple who had encountered an exceedingly dreadful monster—whose life was in danger.

"The crystal mirrors! Look at the crystal mirrors!" Someone back on the dias yelled.

 Bloodcurdling shrieks and wails of distress came in an unending stream from the mirrors. Some disciples were already corpses on the ground, some were still struggling, soaked with blood, gazes full of terror. 

"Why? Why here... There shouldn't be!"

"Someone, help! Shifu, save me! Shige, save..." A hoarse cry burst from one mirror, followed by the mournful shriek of a spirit eagle. The picture went out, becoming a flat, black screen. Everyone stared, uncomprehending.

 "What's going on?"

That hoarse cry had definitely been the cry of a Demon Realm bone eagle, a type of aerial demonic beast that was as fierce as it was bloodthirsty. It had no doubt torn apart the spirit eagle, shattering its crystal into dust. Beasts that swam in the water, beasts that walked on land, beasts that flew through the air... These fierce demonic entities had absolutely not been part of the conference's plan. 

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault, your fault, your fault.

Outside Jue Di Gorge, pandemonium had broken out on the dais. Tian Yi Temple's cultivators said sternly, "What's happening? The demonic beasts chosen for the Immortal Alliance Conference were determined via strict rules and meticulous selection. How could something like the Nu Yuan Chan, which resides only in the Demon Realm, find its way in?!"

Your fault.

Many Huan Hua Palace disciples had already died. The Old Palace Master shot to his feet. "Open the barrier!"

The giant barrier over Jue Di Gorge was supported by nearly a hundred monks from Zhao Hua Monastery. The Zhao Hua Monastery abbot immediately began to cast a long-distance voice transferral spell to tell the monks to release the barrier

"You cannot!" Yue Qingyuan said.

The Old Palace Master started. "Sect Leader Yue, what is the meaning of this?"

Over a hundred of Cang Qiong Mountain's disciples were in Jue Di Gorge, yet Yue Qingyuan refused to open the barrier to let the trapped escape. Obviously he had an exceptional reason.

Shen Qingqiu responded in Yue Qingyuan's place. "Once you release the barrier, the disciples will be able to escape, but so will the demonic beasts trapped within—and they will scatter. There are villages only a few kilometers from here. The situation would become even more grave. Sect members and disciples at least have the ability to contend with the beasts, but the common people with no spiritual energy at all..."

No elder or sect leader on the platform had the words to retort, and they fell into a dead silence. At this time, no matter how great one's cultivation, Core Formation or Nascent Soul stage or anything between, there was no way to reverse the course of events.

"If we cannot open the barrier to let them out, then...then what should we do?" asked a cultivator, at a loss.

"If they can't leave, then we must enter," said Liu Qingge. 

The members of Cang Qiong Mountain exchanged a look in tacit agreement.

"Fellow cultivators," Yue Qingyuan said gravely. "Someone must be behind today's incident. They hope to use these demonic beasts to wipe out the new talent of the cultivation world, eliminating its future pillars in one fell swoop. For now, we can only maintain the barrier. But are any of our fellow cultivators willing to enter the gorge with Cang Qiong Mountain Sect to clear out the demonic beasts and rescue the participating disciples?"

To carve a path of blood into the gorge, clearing out all the demonic beasts, would require not only martial power but a great deal of courage.

The Old Palace Master was the first to respond. "It would dishonor Huan Hua Palace to refuse."

Huan Hua Palace had sent the most participants to this year's conference and had invested the most as well. They were the party least able to take the loss. Once someone took the lead, others followed, volunteering one after another. Even if a scant few cowards were in the crowd, by now they had been reminded that their own precious, talented disciples were also trapped.

Shang Qinghua, in order to avoid suspicion, also stepped forward, despite feeling like he was going to pass out and being injured.

You deserve it.

Shang Qinghua didn't say anything, he didn't want people to ask why he couldn't talk. But with his qi depleted as it was, he would be lucky if he could make it to a group of disciples without falling off his sword and dying.

Maybe you should just die.

Shen Qingqiu stepped forward, but almost instantly Liu Qingge also stepped forward slightly and used his sword sheath to block Shen Qingqiu's way.

Expression unchanging, Shen Qingqiu pushed the sheath aside with two fingers. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Your poison," Liu Qingge said succinctly.

"That's right," Yue Qingyuan agreed. "Your ailment from Without a Cure has yet to be resolved. Entrust the safety of Qing Jing Peak's disciples to us."

If Shen Qingqiu's condition suddenly acted up after he entered Jue Di Gorge, and his spiritual energy stalled while he was surrounded by swarms of demonic beasts, then neither heaven nor earth would be able to help him.

Shen Qingqiu shook his head. "How can a master hide and relax on a dais while his disciples are in danger? If I can't even protect my own disciples, I don't deserve to be the Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak."

Yue Qingyuan had failed to dissuade him, as had everyone else. "Then you must be careful," he said reluctantly. "If you can't manage it, you must use a voice transferral spell to call us for help."

In Jue Di Gorge, Luo Binghe had just calmed a crowd of terror-stricken junior disciples. In this sort of situation, they couldn't afford to fall into disarray. If they encountered a new demonic beast or any of them strayed off, the situation would only grow more disastrous.

The night wind whipped by, carrying wails and howls from all around. It was impossible to tell if they came from human or demonic throats. The faint-hearted were already curled up and sobbing, and Qin Wanyue's face was deathly pale. But at the sight of Luo Binghe leaning against a tree, Zheng Yang clasped hilt-up within his crossed arms, calm yet alert, protecting them against any attacks that came from the darkness...she couldn't stop the trace of tender fondness welling up within her.

Suddenly, rustling noises came from the nearby shrubbery. Luo Binghe's gaze sharpened, and he gathered spiritual energy in his palm, ready to strike. The rustling in the brush grew louder and louder, closer and closer. Everyone's hearts climbed into their throats. Perhaps they were terrified beyond belief, because not a single one let out a scream. Suddenly, there was a plop, like someone had collapsed to the ground.

A round object rolled out of the bushes. It was a human head. Both of the head's eyes were tightly closed, its face covered in blood, its hair disheveled like a chicken's nest. Normally, this sight would have been frightening. But at present, a harmless corpse head was much better than a man-eating demonic beast, so quite a few disciples even sighed in relief. 

"This... Does anyone know which sect this shixiong belonged to?" Qin Wanyue asked, her voice trembling. Disciples from the various sects stepped closer to check, one after another, but all of them sighed in relief. 

"Not one of ours." 

"Never seen him before." 

Luo Binghe gazed into the dark depths of the shrubbery, thinking. If the head was here, the body was also nearby. It would be better to go check its sect uniform. He strengthened the spiritual flow in his palm and walked into the dark. As expected, a stiff corpse lay beyond the shrubbery, wearing aqua-blue cultivator robes. One of Tian Yi Temple's newly accepted disciples. Luo Binghe saw only the hem of his robes before sighing. 

Newly accepted disciples like this one only came to the Immortal Alliance Conference to gain experience. They had never imagined that they'd be drawn into such an unpredictable catastrophe and lose their lives. He looked farther up and suddenly froze in shock. There was still a perfectly good head on top of the corpse's neck. Then where had that other head come from? Zheng Yang had already left its sheath before Luo Binghe doubled back. 

As its white light overflowed, he yelled, "Get away from the head!" 

Before he finished speaking, the head lying quietly askew on the ground suddenly opened its eyelids. It met the disciples' gazes with wide, glowering eyes—then eight spindly spider legs, segmented and barbed, stretched forth from somewhere at the bottom of its neck, and it leapt up in a single bound.

The closest person couldn't dodge in time, and the monster jumped onto the disciple's head. With a crazed howl, the disciple drew his sword and wildly swung it around, forcing everyone nearby to hurriedly duck away. Luo Binghe dared not attack carelessly in case he stabbed the disciple's head instead of the monster. The result would be too horrible to imagine. The sensation of something so terrifying crawling back and forth on your head would be enough to frighten anyone to death.

In complete despair, the disciple changed the direction of his sword and swung it toward his own head. Before he could strike, those eight spindly spider legs had found their target and ferociously speared into his temples. He went instantly stiff, and like his tongue had twisted into knots, he was unable to yell a single word.

The spider legs sticking into that human head bored deeper and deeper, and the disciple's whole body began to twitch unceasingly. After only a moment, the eight legs drew back out, leaving nothing but twin rows of gory holes in his temples. Everything within his skull had been sucked clean, leaving it completely empty. The scene was utterly horrible. Even Luo Binghe remained frozen for a while, unable to react.

Meanwhile, in another part of Jue Die Gorge, Shang Qinghua landed near a group of disciples who had just defeated another group of demonic beasts. Though it would be more accurate to say he fully depleted his qi and crash landed, passing out.

When he came to, three disciples were feeding him qi, and he could feel that his qi was almost fully recovered.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked, sitting up, feeling that his windpipe had been healed. Oh, stupid question, they were pretty bloody and quite a few were dead. Fortunately none of them were from Cang Qiong Mountain.

Your fault.

"Never mind, stupid question. Can those of you alive all walk?" Shang Qinghua rephrased.

The disciples hesitantly nodded.

"Are you okay?" A disciple asked, one of the three who had been feeding him qi, and actually still was, hand around Shang Qinghua's wrist. She was wearing brown robes, and Shang Qinghua recognized her as one of Mu Qingfang's diciples, Fan Song. She tended to be the main one in charge of him whenever Bing Wanmei sent him to Qian Cao Peak. 

"Better, thank you. I'll lead you all somewhere safe," Shang Qinghua pulled away from Fan Song and gestured for the group to follow him then realized he had no idea which was the best place to go.

[Allow this system to help!]

The system chimed with a notification, then began loading something. While it did this, Shang Qinghua looked around, wary of demons.

"Er, Shang-shishu?" One of the disciples asked. Taking note of the orange robes, Shang Qinghua realized this disciple must be from Yin Hui Peak.

"Yes...?" Shang Qinghua let his voice trail off realizing he didn't actually know the disciples name.

"This one is Yan Guangli," the disciple said. "I thought you were taking us somewhere safe?"

"I needed to take note of where we were first, to make sure we go in the correct direction and not directly into more danger," Shang Qinghua lied. In truth he was stalling for time while the System did whatever it was doing.

The system had pulled up a map, with a blinking "You Are Here!" dot and a blinking red dot with an arrow pointing towards it. Shang Qinghua led the disciples in that direction, keeping his sword drawn in case they came across monsters since they weren't marked on the map.

Finally he came across a clearing where Shen Qingqiu was with Luo Binghe and some other disciples.

Shen Qingqiu turned to look at him, and Shang Qinghua smiled, feeling relaxed. "So it was Shen-shixiong," he said, returning his sword to it's sheath. "Meeting up with you puts my heart at ease."

"Shang-shidi," Shen Qingqiu said. "As you approached, did you see a large demonic beast nearby?"

Shang Qinghua froze. A large demonic beast? Like the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python that opened the Endless Abyss? But there was no way for Shen Qingqiu to know about that, and Shang Qinghua knew for a fact it hadn't been released. Had Shen Qingqiu heard something nearby?! "A large demonic beast?" Shang Qinghua said aloud, choosing his words carefully. "That... There wasn't one."

Shen Qingqiu glanced at Luo Binghe, who was eyeing some nearby flowers and seemed discontent about something. Seeing Shen Qingqiu wasn't going to say anything, Shang Qinghua spoke again.

"Before I found this group, we lost quite a few disciples from various sects," he said, voice full of grief.

Your fault. 

"They were all future pillars of the cultivation world. The person who released these demonic creatures is truly poisonous and shameless, underhanded and vulgar, cruel to the point of insanity!"

But aren't you describing yourself? You released the creatures after all.

Shang Qinghua tried his best to ignore the voice and the guilt sitting in his stomach. But just then the ground started shaking.

People staggered and fell all over the place, terrified and confused, their questioning voices moving into one.

Shang Qinghua's breathing hitched. The shaking was like that of a 7.5 earthquake, which meant it could only be one thing.

The Endless Abyss.

But the Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python hadn't been released, so how-?!

Most of the disciples fell to the ground, exhausted from the earlier ordeal. Only Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu, and Shang Qinghua managed to stay standing.

Since the Endless Abyss had been opened, that meant that something demonic would emerge from the other side. The three held their breath in anticipation, silently waiting and on full alert.

The familiar figure of a man emerged from the shadows.

Shang Qinghua felt the blood drain from his face. "WTF?!" Why is Bing Mo still here?! And why is he the one opening the Endless Abyss?! Never mind, calm down Airplane, you don't know him remember?

"Who is this distinguished one?" Shang Qinghua yelled rushing forward. "Why have you come to this place?" Crap, I think I overdid it a little!

Bing Mo tilted his head and then with a half hearted flick of his finger, flung Shang Qinghua into the air with sudden force. The peak lord slammed into a tree and lost consciousness.

When he came to, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe were saying something to each other. Binghe's back was facing the Endless Abyss, Shen Qingqiu facing him. Bing Mo was nowhere to be seen. The disciples that had been with them earlier had all fled and were no where to be seen.

Shang Qinghua still felt dizzy, so he watched through half-lidded eyes, pretending to be unconscious.

[REMINDER! Luo Binghe must fall into the Endless Abyss!]

Why the hell are you telling me? Shang Qinghua thought. Although...

If he were to 'accidentally' push Luo Binghe into the Endless Abyss and fall with him, his chances of survival were very low. His cultivation was weak from all the paperwork he had to deal with and being unable to build his cultivation or even properly maintain his current level.

If he were to die down there he wouldn't have to deal with this crushing guilt anymore and the voice in his head would be silent, or rather nonexistent. And that seemed rather appealing right now.

Shang Qinghua tried to move, but his head hurt too much. So he listened to Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe's conversation instead while circulating his qi so he could heal his injuries enough to stumble over towards the two, fall into Luo Binghe, and cause the two of them to fall into the Endless Abyss.

"I don't want to kill you," Shen Qingqiu was saying. "It's only what that man said wasn't wrong. The Human Realm is no longer a place for you. You ought to return to the place you belong."

What the fuck!? After everything Shen Qingqiu had done for Luo Binghe and he turned around and threw it all away just because he was a demon- wait, Luo Binghe's seal wasn't supposed to be broken yet. AAAAAHHHH! Bing Mo, what did you do?!

"Will you go down yourself, or must I force you?" Shen Qingqiu asked, Xiu Ya pointing toward the Abyss.

Xiu Ya still pointing towards the Abyss, Shen Qingqiu stepped forward, and the spiritual sword stabbed Luo Binghe straight through the chest. Shang Qinghua was shocked at that. Not even the original Shen Qingqiu had stabbed Binghe! What the hell was wrong with this one!?

Acting all nice to Luo Binghe, and everyone else, creepily so to anyone who knew him before, and then stabbing him?!

Shen Qingqiu withdrew the sword, and pushed Luo Binghe into the Abyss. Then Shang Qinghua went back to playing dead, fully closing his eyes upon hearing others arrive.

"Where's that disciple of yours?" He heard Liu Qingge ask.

There was no answer from Shen Qingqiu, but Ming Fan's voice sounded instead. "Shizun, that sword can't be..."

Ning Yingying let out a sudden loud wail. "Shizun, d-don't scare me. Is that... is that A-Luo's Zheng Yang? It can't be right? It can't be!"

A wave of whispers flowed around them.

"Zheng Yang?"

"They're talking about Peak Lord Shen's beloved disciple, Luo Binghe?"

"A sword shares its existence with it's master. If the sword is broken, then where is he?"

"Could he have... ahem."

Someone sighed. "If this is really what happened, that's truly a great pity. In the midst of all this, Luo Binghe had become the Immortal Alliance Conference's top ranker."

"Heaven envies talent, heaven envies talent!"

There were those who sighed in pity, those who were stunned, those who were sorrowful, and those who rejoiced in the misfortune of others.

Ning Yingying burst into wailing tears on the spot.

Though Ming Fan hated Luo Binghe and was always cursing at him to go die, he'd never really wanted him dead. Moreover, when he thought about how much Shizun had adored him, and how this shitty brat had died without even leaving a corpse—Shizun had to be terribly sad, and Ming Fan couldn't be happy about that either.

Shang Qinghua barely cracked one eye open. Gloom and anxiety had fallen over the entirety of Qing Jing Peak's delegation. Xian Shu Peak's group of women, with Qi Qingqi as their head, were also deeply moved.

Liu Qingge wasn't good with words. He patted Shen Qingqiu's shoulder. "Your disciple is gone, but you can still accept more."

Shang Qinghua rolled his eyes at that, quickly closing them when Fan Song came over to check on him.

"Qing Jing Peak's disciple Luo Binghe," Shen Qingqiu said slowly, "fell to the demons and perished."

Shang Qinghua managed to resist rolling his eyes at that. After all, he'd helped let the demons into this conference, he wasn't much better. And he'd written for Shen Qingqiu to push Luo Binghe into the Abyss. For all he had changed, it seemed some things in the plot couldn't be fixed.

That year's Immortal Alliance Conference was a greater disaster than nearly any since its inception.

Over a thousand new talent from every sect had participated in the conference. Of the four great sects, the members of Zhao Hua Monastery, who'd been focused on supporting the barrier spell, had luckily been spared. Shang Qinghua knew that hadn't happened in the original plot, but he'd heard Shen Qingqiu had explained why the barrier shouldn't be taken down, something he hadn't done in PIDW, leaving Yue Qingyuan's warning unheeded as the poor sect leader had been unsure how to explain why the barrier should stay up.

Huan Hua Palace had suffered the greatest losses, to the tune of nearly a hundred participants while Cang Qiong Mountain had taken the least damage, with only thirty or so injured, about the same as in the original plot.

The newcomers with low skill and meager cultivation largely hailed from the other assorted sects and clans. This was the group that had been hit hardest and taken the most casualties.

Getting your name on the gold-inscribed tablet should have been a joyous occasion, but this year, many of the people listed on that tablet had perished in Jue Die Gorge. Most heartbreaking of all was the first-ranked name, high at the top of the list—a member of Cang Qiong Mountain's Qing Jing Peak and Shen Qingqiu's beloved disciple, deceased, his sword broken.

This was to say nothing of the casualties among the cultivators who had joined the fray to give aid during the incident. In this battle, each sect had suffered major losses.

Shang Qinghua returned to work after the incident, loaded with paperwork which his disciples happily helped fill out, letting their Shizun rest. They didn't much care that he was better now, and insisted on keeping him in bed while they took care of the paperwork, threatening to tie him down in it when they caught him doing a small stack of work.

Finally, Shang Qinghua let them pamper him like this, but on one condition- that he teach them his filing system. After teaching it to them, he went back to spending his days in bed being pampered by his disciples, who still refused to let him get up. Shang Qinghua was really getting quite restless, it had taken a lot of arguing with Ma Lia to get them to even let him teach them his filing system, but he really needed something to distract him from the guilt.

So he started cutting. Whenever he heard the voice in his head, or felt an overwhelming wave of guilt, he grabbed He Fin and ran the sharp blade across his wrists until it stopped, circulating his qi around the wounds enough that they closed but still scarred. He hated hiding this from his disciples, hated being stuck in his room, hated himself.

Your fault your fault your fault.

Then one day he received a message from Shen Qingqiu requesting that he visit. Shang Qinghua gulped audibly. Did Shen Qingqiu suspect something? No, he couldn't possibly. Perhaps it was just because they happened to end up together during the Immortal Alliance Conference. Or maybe he wished to form a bond with Shang Qinghua?

After all, ever since his qi deviation, Shen Qingqiu had formed a close bond with some of the peak lords, namely Qi Qingqi, Liu Qingge, Mu Qingfang (although that was mostly because of Without a Cure, sorry Shen Qingqiu!) and Yue Qingyuan. Perhaps it was his turn now? But he was probably just getting his hopes up.

Worrying the entire time, Shang Qinghua made his way to Qing Jing Peak immediately, his disciples were somehow perfectly fine with him going out and about, practically shoving him out the door, but when it came to paperwork they threatened to tie him to the bed?

After his arrival, Shen Qingqiu made some tea for both of them, and they drank silently. But finally Shang Qinghua couldn't stand the silence any longer. Or rather, he couldn't stand how loud the voice in his head was. But since he was with company, he couldn't use his usual method to shut it up, or at least quite it down.

So he placed down his porcelain tea bowl and smiled at Shen Qingqiu. "Shen-shixiong's Qing Jing Peak is truly elegant and secluded. Even this mere tea bowl is exquisite. Such sophistication truly makes Qinghua feel ashamed."

Qing Jing Peak and An Ding Peak had always minded their respective business. Shen Qingqiu was reserved and aloof and rarely took the initiative to invite guests, but this time he had sent a disciple to An Ding Peak with an invitation. Shang Qinghua was unable to discern what he wanted. But no one slaps a smiling face, so he started out with compliments. At least that couldn't be a misstep.

Shen Qingqiu dismissed the disciples, closed the door, and sighed. "Shidi, with these words of yours, everything I see begins to bring up old memories. Every plank, every dish in this Qing Jing Bamboo House was personally arranged by that disciple of mine."

Oh. Now Shang Qinghua felt bad and extremely guilty.

You should have been the one to fall. Your fault, the voice in his head whispered.

Shang Qinghua sighed along with him, though it felt like a difficult task. "Ah, Luo-shizhi was a heroic youth, such a pity. Those demons brought such disaster upon us; they are truly hateful. The world mourns with us. Shen-shixiong, my condolences."

Shang Qinghua meant what he said about Luo Binghe. He wasn't even sure Luo Binghe would survive the Endless Abyss now that Shen Qingqiu had went and stabbed him! But even still, every word felt like a chore as his tongue felt like it was made of cotton.

"If Shang-shidi truly felt it was a pity, this tragedy would not have occured," Shen Qingqiu said faintly.

At this Shang Qinghua stiffened. Did he know-? After a moment he seamlessly smoothed things over with a smile. "What does Shen-shixiong mean by that? Is he rebuking our An Ding Peak for inadequate administration? If so, Shidi should apologize."

Yes, said the voice. Apologize. It's your fault his disciple is dead after all. He deserves your apologies. It's not his fault for stabbing Binghe, but yours for writing this world at all.

Shen Qingqiu refilled his teacup. "How was it inadequate? You clearly overexerted yourself. You even found demonic creatures like the ghost-head spiders, Nu Yuan Chan, and bone eagles—none of which would ever enter the Human Realm of their own volition. How could Shixiong rebuke you for inadequacy?"

"Peak Lord Shen— to make such accusations!" Shang Qinghua lept to his feet, internally screaming. He knows! Shit he knows!

But so what if he knows? Maybe then you'll get what you deserve.

Shen Qingqiu put his hand on Shang Qinghua's shoulder. "Why is Shang-shidi getting so excited?" He asked solemnly. "Let's sit down and talk. Let me say something. Does this one dare respond?"

"Why wouldn't I? I have a clear conscience."

Lies.

"Why should I clear a false accusation?"

It's not false. You should die... to atone for your sins.

Shang Qinghua squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them and speaking again. "Unless of course I were guilty, in which case would Shen-shixiong free me from my misery and end my life? Or I could always bring up how you stabbed Luo Binghe and threw him into the Endless Abyss. We all know how cruel you used to be. They might believe you were lying because I knew."

"...What?" Shen Qingqiu said, face turning stark white.

Shang Qinghua smiled bitterly. "What was Shen-shixiong going to say?"

"I was just going to ask if the words Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky meant anything to you," Shen Qingqiu said, eyeing Shang Qinghua nervously.

Shang Qinghua in turn, felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Finally he managed to speak. "You... How do you know my ID?"

After three long seconds, Shen Qingqiu jumped on him.

"It's you?! How could I not know your ID after reading your entire fucking novel?! If you hadn't let something slip when Mobei-jun appeared, I really never would have known what hole you'd really crawled out of, 'Great Master'!"

Well that certainly explained the change. Shen Qingqiu hadn't lost his memories when he qi deviated, he'd been replaced with a reader of PIDW from Shang Qinghua's world!

The art towards the beginning is not mine. Idk who the original artist is, I just edited the photo. This is the original picture.

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu stared at each other in shock before Shen Qingqiu finally spoke.

"Digging plot holes and not filling them!" He yelled. "Foreshadowing gone to waste! Landmines all over the place! The writing style of an elementary schooler! If you're going to write a stallion novel, then write a proper stallion novel- Don't fool around writing whump!"

"I'm also a victim here," Shang Qinghua said slowly. "At the end of the day, I'm still the author. Even if I didn't transmigrate into the protagonist, I should at least have transmigrated into the roll of a System in itself, right? But all of a sudden, I try to plug in a cord, I get electrocuted, and the System assigns me a character at random- and I end up cannon fodder."

I could have changed people's fates. They would have lived or had better lives. If only I had more control. If only-

"Still better than me," Shen Qingqiu sneered. "After you're exposed as a spy, Mobei-jun kills you outright to silence you. Don't you remember the state I'm in after I get carved up by Luo Binghe?"

Shang Qinghua snorted. "Yeah, somehow I doubt it'll happen now, you might have just killed the protagonist. Or have you forgotten he barely survived the fall into the Abyss without being stabbed? And either way it's still better than me."

Shang Qinghua glared at Shen Qingqiu. "After all, you transmigrated how many years ago? I transmigrated at birth. A childhood where I was destitute and miserable, and years as a disrespected outer disciple, then put on technical house arrest because Bi- Mobei-Jun tried to kidnap me, constantly guarded 24/7 without a moment's privacy to bathe or sleep, I almost didn't become Peak Lord because Yue Qingyuan tried to get my shizun to prevent me from being head disciple, which would have ended up really bad and we both would have died because the Endless Abyss wouldn't have opened and I wouldn't have caused the demon attack- have you really had it harder than me?

Shen Qingqiu blinked at Shang Qinghua in surprise. "Was Mobei-Jun supposed to kidnap you?"

"Not the way it happened," Shang Qinghua said, before sighing. "I've actually met a reader. Must be fate, must be fate. One of the four joys in life is meeting a friend in a foreign place. What was your Zhongdian ID? Maybe we were old acquaintances."

"Peerless Cucumber," Shen Qingqiu said.

Shang Qinghua's eyes lit up. "Cucumber-bro! I remember you! You were especially vicious in one of those threads that was demanding I castrate the villain. It was when you, ahem, when the original Shen Qingqiu, wanted to do... to Ning Yingying..."

Shen Qingqiu glared at him. "Absolutely disgusting of him."

"For him to want his daughter figure to have a good time and NOT IN THAT WAY!" Shang Qinghua shrieked, covering his face as Shen Qingqiu raised his fan to his Shang Qinghua. "I mean a good time the one might mean a good day, or have fun at a party! You all misinterpreted their relationship for no good reason!"

"Wait, really?" Shen Qingqiu said.

"Yes really, I'm not that cruel," Shang Qinghua said miserably. Then he thought for a moment. "Never mind, I am that cruel, you all simply targeted the wrong person. It wasn't Shen Qingqiu who was a leecher, but the Old Palace Master. Ask questions later, I'm not in the mood to explain right now. Assuming I haven't killed myself by then."

"Oh. Wait, what? ...Anyways I wanted to have a discussion with you today- because after the Immortal Alliance Conference, I suddenly had an idea. Perhaps it can solve our shared problem."

"What shared problem, our deaths? Personally mine can't come soon enough, do you know how hard it is to live here knowing that everyone you grow attached to will die because of you? Because that's what you wrote? I created my disciples, my family, my friends, just to kill them all. Even if it is not my character that caused their deaths, directly or indirectly, it is still me who indirectly caused the death of everyone here. The guilt eats at me constantly every day, and I just want it to stop," Shang Qinghua responded.

"Well I'm not about to let myself be the only living transmigrator here, but will you at least help me? Tell me, do you remember a plant that only appears every thousand years?" Shen Qingqiu replied.

Of course I remember Cucumber-bro, Shang Qinghua thought. I made a million of them. "You're description is way too broad," he deadpanned. "Bing-ge's eaten at least eighty, if not a hundred plants like that."

Shen Qingqiu sighed, and leaned forward, whispering four words into Shang Qinghua's ear.

Shang Qinghua was, quite frankly, shocked. After a moment, he gave Shen Qingqiu a deeply meaningful glance.

"What are you looking at?" Shen Qingqiu asked him.

"Nothing," said Shang Qinghua. "It's only, long ago, I began to suspect that Cucumber-bro was a faithful reader, just one who didn't like expressing his feelings in a normal way. To think you were able to recall an obscure, throwaway plot that I only used once. I'm very moved."

And he was telling the truth. He was really touched, most of his readers read for the papapa and Luo Binghe's revenge on people like the original Shen Qingqiu. They didn't care about plot, backstories, epic fight scenes, the various plants. So that his fellow transmigrator remembered such a small plot point like that truly made Shang Qinghua happy.

You don't deserve it, the voice in his head whispered.

But for once, Shang Qinghua was able to ignore it.

Shen Qingqiu ignored what Shang Qinghua said. "Tomorrow, leave the mountain with me. We'll go search out its place of origin."

"Tomorrow? This... Isn't this a little too sudden?" Shang Qinghua stammered. "Truthfully, I- I can't remember its exact location and description. The entire work was nearly twenty million words long, and it was only mentioned in a single paragraph. Let me think for a while. I'll tell you once I remember."

"Then take your time remembering until Luo Binghe murders his way back, with Mobei-Jun under his command," said Shen Qingqiu with utmost sincerity. "At that time, one will kill me, and the other will kill you. I'm sure it won't be too late then either."

"You seem to have forgotten my earlier words asking you to kill me, but alright. I'll definitely remember by tomorrow!"

Shang Qinghua fled and returned to An Ding Peak before Shen Qingqiu could respond, and thought long and hard the entire night, racking his brain, not sleeping even at Ma Lia and Li Weihao's insistence.  Finally, before daybreak, an epiphany struck, and he circled a location on a map.

The moment he saw the map, Shen Qingqiu slapped the table, then grabbed Shang Qinghua and set off down the mountain, followed by a rather upset Ma Lia and Li Weihao, who ended up threatening to cut off Shen Qingqiu's hand if he didn't at least let the two of them come with. Shen Qingqiu ignored them until Ma Lia came rather close to actually cutting off his hand, causing his wrist to bleed.

The four of them spent part of the journey eating, part of it playing, traveling by sword until they were able to rent a carriage, splitting costs equally between the two peak lords when Ma Lia threatened Shen Qingqiu again. Ma Lia and Li Weihao took turns driving, refusing to let Shang Qinghua drive, and not wanting to let Shen Qingqiu out of both of their sights, one of them always giving him a death glare.

The two An Ding Peak disciples were perfectly content to ignore Yue Qingyuan's orders to them in favor of their shizun.

"Shang-shidi, for the journey's duration, Qingqiu will be in the care of you and your disciples. He's frail, so please watch over him." Yue Qingyuan had told them before they left.

Shang Qinghua's disciples had wasted no time ignoring those instructions as soon as they left, which warmed his heart. Everyone but his disciples treated him like a nanny, it was really no wonder the original Shang Qinghua had been so desperate to climb ranks that he started consorting with demons!

Currently Li Weihao was driving the carriage. Ma Lia was sitting in the carriage next to Shang Qinghua, giving Shen Qingqiu, who sat across from them, such a fierce death glare that there was no hope of conversation.

Suddenly the carriage lurched to a stop, Li Weihao shrieking in horror and alarm.

"What's wrong?!" Shen Qingqiu asked, raising the curtain, fully alert.

Shang Qinghua's hand flew to the sword of his hilt, and Ma Lia's death glare was replace with an alert look.

"There was a woman slithering on the ground like a snake!" Li Weihao cried out, panicked. "If I didn't stop I would have run her over!"

"That's definitely worth screaming over," Shen Qingqiu said.

The forest was still and quiet. At first nothing seemed wrong then Shang Qinghua felt his blood run cold. The forest was quiet. Forests weren't supposed to be quiet.

"Something's wrong," he whispered.

"I'm sure it's fine," Shen Qingqiu said, although he too looked uneasy. "But just in case..."

Shen Qingqiu formed a sword seal, made Li Weihao go into the carriage, and he and Shang Qinghua sat in the driver's seat. Shen Qingqiu gave Shang Qinghua some melon seeds since he was panicking, and Shang Qinghua obediently ate the melon seeds, eyes darting around looking at their surroundings, on full alert.

Then they came across a problem.

Lying on the path in front of them was a familiar trail of the melon seeds Shang Qinghua was eating. They were going in circles.

"This... Is not good," Shen Qingqiu stated.

"No shit Sherlock," Shang Qinghua said, absentmindedly using a saying from their world.

"Who's Sherlock?" Li Weihao asked from inside the carriage.

"Nobody," Shang Qinghua said. "That's just a saying for when someone states the obvious."

"Oh, I see," Ma Lia said, looking interested.

"You're an idiot," Shen Qingqiu said decisively. "But somehow you're a smart idiot, and I don't know what to think about that."

Shang Qinghua rolled his eyes. "I think we have bigger problems than that. For instance, why and how we're going in circles."

Remembering an old folk remedy, Shang Qinghua then suggested; "How about we try sprinkling a male virgin's pee into the horse's eyes?"

"Horses have dignity too," Shen Qingqiu said, giving Shang Qinghua a look of disgust and horror. "And where am I supposed to find a male virgin's pee in the middle of nowhere? The both of us aren't virgins."

Shang Qinghua shrugged.

"And I'm not asking Li Weihao to do it," Shen Qingqiu added.

"Okay, first of all Li Weihao is nonbinary," Shang Qinghua snapped, angry. "Secondly I was joking."

"Oh, shit, sorry, I didn't know!" Shen Qingqiu yelped as Shang Qinghua started to unsheathe his sword.

"It's okay," Li Weihao said. "But what's nonbinary mean?"

"It means you're not a man or a women to put it simply. There are other terms for that, but it's also when you use they/them instead of she/her, he/him or something else when referring to yourself. For instance, when talking about you guys, for Shen-shixiong I'd say 'he is making me mad right now' or 'his fan is missing again'-"

"Gah, my fan really is missing!" Shen Qingqiu said.

"You left it in the carriage," Ma Lia said, handing it to him.

"For Ma Lia I'd say 'she is the head disciple of An Ding Peak' or 'her temper is really short'-"

"It is not!" Ma Lia protested.

"It really is, when it comes to defending me anyways, how many times did you threaten to cut off Shen-shixiong's hand since starting this journey? Anyways, for Li Weihao it would be 'they are courting Ma Lia'-"

Ma Lia and Li Weihao turned bright red at that, they thought they'd hidden it well.

"Or 'it was really nice of them to not try and kill Shen-shixiong'," Shang Qinghua finished his explanation. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Li Weihao said. "That makes sense. So it's called being nonbinary?"

Shang Qinghua nodded. "They/them would be your pronouns the way he/him would be mine and Shen-shixiong's or she/her Ma Lia's. There are other pronouns that can be used to, such as she/they, he/they, zi/zir-"

Suddenly Shang Qinghua cut himself off, shrieking in fear as he saw a terrifying creature with a mass of hair and white face.

"Why are you screaming," Shen Qingqiu mumbled. "You wrote this creature, shouldn't you be the one who isn't scared?"

"I don't remember writing it," Shang Qinghua hissed back. "Shen Qingqiu, are you looking at the map right now?! Bai Liu forest may be marked, but it's only the size of a dot."

"Look for yourself," Shen Qingqiu pointed at the lower portion of the map. Li Weihao and Ma Lia, who had gotten out of the carriage at some point, looked along with Shang Qinghua.

Cang Qiong Mountain and Zhao Hua were in the east, Tian Yi Temple in the center, and in the south, was the territory belonging to Huan Hua Palace. The dot representing Bai Liu Forest just happened to fall on the border with the last, which had been outlined in diluted ink.

Shang Qinghua suddenly understood. "Bai Liu Forest was allotted to Huan Hua Palace and it's sphere of influence? So right now we aren't walking in circles, we just entered their protective array?"

Shang Qinghua thought for a moment about what to do in this case. He didn't want to break through the array and alert Huan Hua Palace to their presence, the last thing he wanted to do was be forced to have tea with the pedophile and rapist in charge.

He glanced at Shen Qingqiu, who seemed pissed about something but appeared to be trying to hide it, before nudging Shang Qinghua.

"Call your System. Is it still connected?" Shen Qingqiu breathed out, barely loud enough for Shang Qinghua to hear.

System!

[This system is currently undergoing maintenance. Please try again later!]

"It says it's undergoing maintenance," Shang Qinghua muttered.

Annoyance briefly flashed over Shen Qingqiu's face before vanishing completely as he turned towards the bushes with alarm.

"Come out!" He yelled, snapping his fingers.

At his waist, Xiu Ya left its sheath, controlled by the orders from Shen Qingqiu's sword seals, flipping, stabbing, and slashing. The creature hidden in the shrubbery seemed to swim like a fish, more slippery than a loach, evading all his stabs.

Suddenly, a blinding ray of light flashed before their eyes. The creature let out a shrill whine, and leapt backward several meters.

The shrubbery had been slashed into shambles and was no longer capable of hiding anything, but that thing had long since escaped. There were no further movements.

"It's afraid of light?" Shang Qinghua asked, going to lean closer to Shen Qingqiu so they could discuss it without being overheard by his disciples, when Ma Lia stepped between them, giving Shen Qingqiu a quick death glare.

Then she wrapped her arms around Shang Qinghua and hugged him tight. "I'm glad you're okay, but please be more careful next time! What if that thing had hurt you?"

"I know how to take care of myself Ma Lia. Remember when I was still an outer disciple?" Shang Qinghua assured her, running his hands soothingly through her hair.

Ma Lia glared tearfully up at him. "Fine, I'll be more careful," he conceded.

Just then they heard the subtle sound of footsteps. The persons footwork was excellent. The three from An Ding Peak heard the footsteps before Shen Qingqiu, though if he had been of any shallower cultivation, he definitely wouldn't have heard this person.

From the depths of the woods emerged a youth dressed in white who Shang Qinghua recognized as Gongyi Xiao.

Gongyi Xiao held his sword unsheathed, his expression alert. On seeing the visitors, his face grew astonished, and he quickly sheathed his sword to greet them.

"This junior sensed some unusual fluctuations around the barrier and henceforth hurried over, not knowing Immortals Shen and Shang were here. Please excuse us for not coming to receive you."

"This young hero is?" Shen Qingqiu asked politely.

Gongyi Xiao almost fell over.

"There's a limit to how little dignity you can leave others," Shang Qinghua whispered in his fellow transmigrators ear. "That's Gongyi Xiao."

Gongyi Xiao was a little depressed. Though he had been number one before Luo Binghe kicked him off that place on the golden tablet, no matter what, he was still number two.

His achievements were remarkable, and he had been the favorite for first place, so he had greeted each sect's high-ranking members alongside the Old Palace Master. Therefore, Shen Qingqiu's failure to recognize him came as a surprise.

Ma Lia and Li Weihao, who had hidden behind Shang Qinghua, now stepped out from where there were hiding, greeting Gongyi Xiao with a quick and polite bow before stepping back, though still in front of Shang Qinghua as though to guard him.

This shocked Gongyi Xiao, why would two disciples dare to stand in front of their Shizun rather than behind?

"I was unaware you brought your disciples with you," he said cautiously.

"It was either that or Shen-shixiong lost a hand," Shang Qinghua sighed.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Gongyi Xiao said, confused.

Ma Lia scoffed. "With the way Shen-shifu grabbed A-Hua to drag him down the mountain, he's lucky I didn't cut that hand off."

"Hush Ma Lia," Shang Qinghua said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"A-Hua?" Gongyi Xiao repeated. "Is that...?" He turned to look at Li Weihao.

"That would be me," Shang Qinghua explained. "This is my head disciple Ma Lia and her partner Li Weihao. We all spent time as disciples together, but I'm afraid all our martial siblings have passed, so please understand if they're a little overprotective."

"You say that like we wouldn't be anyways," Li Weihao said. "All of An Ding Peak is protective over you."

"Well still," Gongyi Xiao said, steering the conversation in a different direction. "For two peak lords to enter Huan Hua Palace's territory unannounced- Why didn't you inform us beforehand? We've neglected our seniors. Our hearts are burdened."

He was truly treating Bai Lu Forest as his sect's territory. As a favored disciple on the Huan Hua Palace payroll, he had an obligation to ascertain the intentions of two visiting peak lords from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. Why would they skulk around the border of his sect's sphere of influence?

"We have no intention of visiting Huan Hua Palace and are dealing with a small matter within Bai Lu Forest," Shen Qingqiu said.

By informing Gongyi Xiao that they had come for business by neglecting to say what the business was, he clearly indicated that he was unwilling to discuss it. In general, Gongyi Xiao would be expected not to ask further questions. After all, a junior interrogating his seniors about their activities would be improper.

Gongyi Xiao wavered for a moment. "This junior doesn't know what matter the two seniors are seeing to, and he is unskilled. But may he be so bold as to request permission to come along to assist?"

"If we refuse him now and let him leave, it won't be just one person coming to look for us later." Shen Qingqiu's face held a smile, his lips barely moving, as he muttered to his teammate. "It's better if we bring him along."

Shang Qinghua muttered in response; "In the event he won't let us walk away with the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom, what will we do? 'If it grows in my garden, of course it belongs to me. If it grows along my fence, it also belongs to me.' Don't say that I didn't warn you of Huan Hua Palace's logic."

"Are you an idiot?" Shen Qingqiu asked, causing Shang Qinghua disciples to bristle with anger. "When we find it, we take it and leave. He can't forcibly snatch it from us. If he goes back and tattles to his teacher, that's a problem for future us. We'll be long gone by then. Like we'd wait for them to catch us."

As he spoke, Ma Lia and Li Weihao's brows raised slightly in newfound yet subtle respect.

"What if our sects become hostile?" Shang Qinghua questioned.

"Your life or diplomatic relations, choose one."

"You seem yet again to be forgetting something. But I won't risk the lives of my disciples, so let's bring him."

Shen Qingqiu raised his head and decisively said to Gongyi Xiao, "Let's go!"

And so, the hard work of driving was handed to the junior.

"Senior Shen, there's something junior doesn't understand," Gongyi Xiao said curiously as he was maneuvering the reins.

"Please, speak," said Shen Qingqiu.

"With Senior's level of cultivation, he would need only a moment to break our sect's protective array, and he could do it without anyone knowing any better. Why did you emit such a large spiritual fluctuation?"

Ma Lia and Li Weihao bristled at Gongyi Xiao's implication that Shang Qinghua wouldn't have been able to do so, but didn't say anything at Shang Qinghua's warning look.

"That fluctuation wasn't my attempt to break the spell," said Shen Qingqiu. "It occurred while I fought a mysterious demonic creature."

"A mysterious demonic creature?"

"In truth, it was hard to tell if it was demonic, but it had an evil appearance unlike that of normal creatures of our realm."

Shang Qinghua glared at Shen Qingqiu. The creature had looked strange, but it hardly looked 'evil' just misshapen, as though it were born wrong. If anything, the creature looked half demonic like Luo Binghe, but as though the demon didn't have a human form and the creature took on an unfortunate combination of both forms. The creature hadn't even bothered them until Shen Qingqiu confronted it.

Gongyi Xiao frowned. "There are human settlements within a five-kilometer radius from Bai Lu Forest, but we've never heard word of any demonic attacks. Even fierce beasts are uncommon."

"Then what exactly was that?" Shen Qingqiu muttered to himself, though Shang Qinghua still heard him. "It had loose hair draped all over its head, an oddly flexible skeleton, and a bloated face like that of a starved, drowned corpse.

"No matter what it is, it's for the best if it doesn't appear again," Gongyi Xiao said. "If it does, the two seniors need not trouble themselves and can leave it to this junior."

Shang Qinghua frowned. What exactly had the creature done that it needed to be eliminated? If anything, it was like a bear who wasn't hungry and didn't care about those nearby that Shen Qingqiu had attacked for no reason.

With Gongyi Xiao's guidance, the five quickly broke through Huan Hua Palace's protective array and pinpointed their location.

The original novel had not described the place where the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom grew in much detail, just briefly mentioned that it was "in a stone cave covered by dense greenery." Merely recalling this sliver of content had cost Shang Qinghua half his soul. In his defense, this mushroom wasn't reserved for Luo Binghe. Rather, it was supposed to be for one of his opponents.

It was precisely because of this that Shen Qingqiu dared to seek it for himself. If it were a thing that affected the main plotline, or if it were some mystical flower or herb meant to provide one of Luo Binghe's power-ups, he wouldn't have had the guts to try and steal it. Trying to snitch resources from the male lead didn't lead to the kind of sweet and forgiving conclusion you got when you lost a handful of rice for trying to swipe a chicken. But since they were both villains, he figured it should be fine if they reappropriated it.

Fortunately, though Bai Lu Forest was large, there was only one stone cave. This saved them quite a bit of trouble.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fingers, and a bright yellow flame sprang to life at his fingertips. With a flick, the flame swam off into the depths of the damp, pitch-dark cave, a bright tail leisurely swishing behind it to illuminate the path before them.

At first, the stone path was wide enough for three people to walk shoulder to shoulder, but the farther they went, the narrower it became, until they had to turn sideways to get through. It twisted this way and that, like the coiled intestines of some giant beast.

The lighting was poor. Even Shen Qingqiu's ball of flame flickered between bright and dim. He flicked out a few more, and the balls of fire chased each other around. Gongyi Xiao took up the rear. Shang Qinghua had wanted to wait outside the cave, but Shen Qingqiu had dragged him in. Ma Lia and Li Weihao waited outside at Shang Qinghua's command.

Shang Qinghua ended up falling quite a distance behind Shen Qingqiu, not wanting to go further while Shen Qingqiu kept walking faster and faster. Gongyi Xiao, bless him, didn't say anything, just letting Shang Qinghua keep at his slow pace, despite being forced to match it.

Suddenly Shang Qinghua heard Shen Qingqiu's voice sound from far ahead of them. "Shen shixiong! What did you say?" He called out.

There was silence for a while, and Shang Qinghua grew worried something had happened to Shen Qingqiu. But soon enough Shen Qingqiu's voice sounded again.

"Watch out!" He yelled. "There's something heading your way!"

Shang Qinghua quickly looked around. "I don't see anything!" He yelled back.

Shen Qingqiu yelled again. "On the ground! Look at the ground! It's crawling on the ground!"

When Shang Qinghua turned his head back, he saw a snake-man slithering toward them, the same one Shen Qingqiu had attacked earlier. He made a swift decision and collapsed on the spot, not wanting to injure the creature.

Gongyi Xiao had never seen such an eerie monster either and he froze for a moment. But upon seeing Shang Qinghua's sudden collapse, his face twitched.

"My apologies!" He cried as he leapt over Shang Qinghua.

"Don't draw your sword-" Shen Qingqiu yelled again.

Before he could finish the word "sword," Gongyi Xiao had carelessly tried to draw. Of course, he ended up suffering the same disastrous consequence. His hilt hit the stone wall before the sword was halfway out.

Shen Qingqiu finally arrived, holding his own blade. "Ah, idiot!" He blurted out. Shang Qinghua mentally grimaced with sympathy for Gongyi Xiao while at the same time feeling the creature squeeze past him.

The stone corridor meandered back and forth, and moreover it was dark, which made for an extremely advantageous environment for the creature to move through. Shen Qingqiu drew out another handful of talismans, but the creature had already slithered away and disappeared, much to Shang Qinghua's relief as he tried desperately to recall anything he may have written about the creature.

"Senior Shen, that... snake, was that the demonic creature you encountered in Bai Lu Forest?" Gongyi Xiao asked in disbelief.

"It was," said Shen Qingqiu. "I still don't understand how that thing managed to escape our pincer attack."

"By squeezing past me." Expression unchanging, Shang Qinghua got up from the ground and patted the dust from his robes.

Gongyi Xiao pointedly said nothing.

"...Let's go," said Shen Qingqiu. "This time, stay close to me."

Shang Qinghua agreed, and refused to stray more than an arm's length away from him. He was curious about this creature, and didn't want Shen Qingqiu to hurt it, not until he remembered what he'd written about it anyways, he didn't want another innocent creature or person to be killed because of him.

Killed like your disciples and martial siblings. Killed like those at the Immortal Alliance Conference. Your fault.

Shang Qinghua ignored the voice, this wasn't the time. And again, in the presence of others he couldn't use his usual methods to shut it up.

After a dizzying number of twists and turns, the three finally made their way out of the stone corridor. Deep in the belly of the cave, they suddenly came upon a wide cavern.

At the cavern's highest point, a giant opening in the ceiling yawned up toward the sky. Sun and moonlight fell through this opening like a spotlight to hit a single point at the heart of an underground lake.

A little mound of soil surrounded by glittering water was naturally a hallowed location with excellent feng shui, and it was where the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom grew.

"The Dew Lake," Shang Qinghua said with conviction. "I'm certain."

Shen Qingqiu let out a sigh of relief.

The lake before them was filled with no ordinary water, but rather with unsullied morning dew. This unsullied water collected from morning dew, brimming with spiritual energy, and nourished the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom. After the mushrooms matured, their mycelia sunk into the water and soil to nourish the dew water in return. In this way, the spiritual energy cycled back and forth undiminished, never to be exhausted.

Admiring the beautiful scene, Gongyi Xiao finally understood the peak lords' objective. But he still found it a bit odd.

Cang Qiong Mountain was a major sect that produced mystical herbs and elixirs, and surely they gathered a number of rare and treasured flowers everyday. Though this mushroom was scarce and precious, it didn't look like something that could grant immortality, nor a breakthrough to ascension- so how did it merit two peak lords personally taking a long journey to collect it?

Meanwhile, Shen Qingqiu's eyes were fixed solely on the small, white, fleshy pods in the center of the lake. With a sweep of his sleeves, he stepped into the water. After a few dozen steps, the dew water reached his waist.

Shen Qingqiu hesitated for a few moments before he carefully pulled up each mushroom together with a little soil and stored them in his sleeves.

Just as Shen Qingqiu had the last mushroom in his hands, Shang Qinghua saw something in the water heading for Shen Qingqiu. Clearly Gongyi Xiao saw it as well because he reached quickly for his sword. They both drew their swords, assuming a fighting stance, staring straight at Shen Qingqiu.

Suddenly, something long and large leapt out of the surface of the lake. It looked like a giant fish, and it pounced straight toward Shen Qingqiu. It was the creature that they'd encountered both times before.

At the same time, Gongyi Xiao finished forming his sword seal, and his sword flew at the thing like a bolt of lightning. But once the thing missed Shen Qingqiu, it sank into the lake and did not resurface, stirring up the long-settled silt at the bottom until the water became turbid and murky.

Gongyi Xiao recalled his sword. "Senior Shen, come back to shore, quick!"

But Shen Qingqiu smiled. "Don't panic. I want to go fishing."

He stood in place without moving, and he slowly extracted a talisman from his robe.

"A single talisman probably isn't-" Gongyi Xiao started.

Before "enough" could leave his mouth, Shen Qingqiu rubbed the talisman like he would rub a bill, and the single talisman abruptly became an entire stack. Holding that stack of talismans, Shen Qingqiu thrust his fist into the water.

A chain of booms followed.

The surface of the lake exploded, sending up over twelve sprays of water into the air, each several meters tall.

This explosion also threw the snake-man hiding on the lake bottom into the air. It was tossed up high before crashing heavily to the ground by Shang Qinghua's feet.

Shen Qingqiu dripped his way back to shore. After being given a meaningful look, Gongyi Xiao used the hilt of his sword to turn the creature over.

Once it had been, all three were horror-struck.

After a long time, Shen Qingqiu turned to look at Shang Qinghua. "What is this?"

Shang Qinghua squeezed out three words. "...I don't know!"

He really didn't.

The creature was vaguely human-like. It had a full head of long hair, but it seemed to be entirely composed of cartilage. Its skin was rough, hard, and covered in patches of scales here and there, like a python half-scraped off its scales. Upon taking a closer look at its face, though it was bloated, they could faintly discern it was that of a man.

Shang Qinghua gave Shen Qingqiu a questioning look. "Did I...?" He asked.

Meaning: Did I write about this kind of thing?

Shen Qingqiu frowned. "...I don't think so."

The two looked hopefully at Gongyi Xiao. Gongyi Xiao didn't recognize it either, and he felt a bit awkward. "If the two master cannot recognize this creature, it is even more unfamiliar to this junior."

Suddenly Shang Qinghua remembered something from his drafts. Something about a character being forced into an unnatural form...

"Let me say something," he said. "What if this isn't this creature's natural form?"

"Punishment from the heavens, a curse, or a cultivator who failed to cultivate a forbidden technique?" Shen Qingqiu muttered.

"All three of those events could indeed result in this kind of monster," said Gongyi Xiao.

Shang Qinghua was pretty sure it was none of the above, but before he could say anything, the snake-man reacted. It seemed irritated by the word "monster," and its tail-like back half furiously slapped the ground.

Shang Qinghua hurriedly dodged away. "Young Hero Gongyi, Young Master Gongyi, don't say such irresponsible things- it seems like he can understand us. Use a different word, a different word!"

The creature's gaze remained fixed on Shen Qingqiu's sleeve.

"No wonder it attacked us. Look." Shen Qingqiu spoke up, pointing. "Its eyes. They probably look like that because it drinks unsullied morning dew every day. Now look at its scales- there's lichen growing between the cracks, green with a bit of red, the exact king that grows on the stone walls. It's been visiting this cave for a long time. Perhaps it's been living off the spiritual dew within the Dew Lake."

"But Senior Shen, if that m- creature has been living off the dew water, wouldn't it be better to eat them directly?" Gongyi Xiao asked. "Why did it never pick the mushrooms itself?"

"He fled from light," Shang Qinghua said, cutting off whatever Shen Qingqiu was going to say. "And he especially didn't like the light from the sun reflecting off Shen-shixiong's sword earlier." He pointed at the shaft of light beaming down from the cave's domed ceiling. "The Sun-Moon Dew Mushrooms are steeped in sunlight and moonlight all day and all night. Of course it couldn't approach them. Shen-shixiong, hand me a mushroom please?"

Shen Qingqiu handed Shang Qinghua one of the mushrooms, and Shang Qinghua held it in front of the creature. The snake-man's eyes lit up, and it urgently craned its neck toward it, baring a mouthful of dense white teeth.

Gongyi Xiao prodded him with the hilt of his sword, and flipped him over again. The snake-man strained, struggling and wriggling on the ground, but it couldn't turn back over. Gongyi Xiao turned his sword point down, seemingly preparing to stab it through.

"Wait," Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua hurriedly said at the same time.

Gongyi Xiao stopped. "Seniors?" He asked in confusion.

"You said before that the common people within a several-kilometer radius of Bai Lu Forest had never suffered demonic attacks?" Shen Qingqiu said tactfully.

"Yes."

"Then that means this creature has never done anything malicious. There's no need to exterminate it. Moreover, all it's ever done has been to drink the dew water in this cave. We were the ones who intruded and disturbed it."'

"You only just realized this?" Shang Qinghua snapped. "It was obvious from the beginning. Each time before now that we saw him, you attacked unprovoked Shen-shixiong. So what's with the sudden attitude change?"

"Apologies Shang-shidi," Shen Qingqiu said. "And to you as well, whatever your name is if you have one," he added, speaking to the creature. "I'll try to be better in the future."

"You and Gongyi Xiao both," Shang Qinghua said.

"Huh?" Gongyi Xiao pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You also attacked unprovoked, did you not? When you attacked, he was only trying to flee from Shen-shixiong." Shang Qinghua stated.

"But what about you?" Shen Qingqiu said.

"What about me?" Shang Qinghua asked, raising arching an eyebrow. "I never attacked him unprovoked, only prepared to when he attacked shixiong in the water."

Gongyi Xiao and Shen Qingqiu fell silent at this.

"This junior will try to be better," Gongyi Xiao said finally.

"Take care of him," Shang Qinghua said, nodding at the creature. "That will be a good first step. Make sure he has enough food, check on him, ensure the spiritual energy in the cave doesn't die."

Gongyi Xiao nodded in agreement, and went to use his sword to turn the creature over, only for Shang Qinghua to take it out of his hands, glaring at the junior.

Gongyi Xiao swallowed, but used his hands to help the snake-man turn over. "Can you speak? Do you have a name?" The junior asked.

The snake-man just hissed.

Shang Qinghua racked his brain, trying to remember which character he could be. Then a name came to him. "Zhuzhi-Lang?"

The creature turned to him, hissing and bobbing it's head.

"That's your name isn't it? Zhuzhi-Lang. The demon general who fought alongside Tianlang-Jun and could turn into a giant snake. You must have somehow gotten stuck between forms."

Zhuzhi-Lang (Shang Qinghua was sure it was him now) hissed, nodding in response.

Shang Qinghua gave Gongyi Xiao his sword back with a warning look, and the junior sheathed it. After confirming Zhuzhi-Lang could move on his own now, they left the cave, leaving a tiny, thin Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom sprout.

After exiting Bai Lu Forest, Gongyi Xiao invited the four Cang Qiong Mountain Sect members to visit Huan Hua Palace- he could also notify the Old Palace Master.

Shang Qinghua was quick to decline, earning confused looks from the other four, but Ma Lia and Li Weihao quickly shrugged it off, deciding to not question their martial brother and peak lord.

"Young Hero Gongyi, let's dispense with courtesy today- we can visit properly next time. If you come to Cang Qiong Mountain in the future, you can visit Qing Jing Peak. Your Senior Shen will definitely look after you well. Or to An Ding Peak, I'll most likely be busy with paperwork, but I'm sure Ma Lia and Li Weihao could look after you instead," Shang Qinghua said as way of explanation.

In truth, he just didn't want to be anywhere near the leecher running Huan Hua Palace Sect.

Shen Qingqiu gave him a death glare when Shang Qinghua invited Gongyi Xiao to Qing Jing Peak, but recovered his expression and smiled. "As Shang-shidi says, Qing Jing Peak awaits your arrival."

Gongyi Xiao knew that just like its name, the people of Qing Jing Peak were fond of peace and quiet and didn't like to be disturbed by guests. He wasn't sure if these were just words of courtesy, but he smiled either way.

"I will remember Senior Shen and Senior Shang's words," he said. "I may indeed have the chance to disturb you in the future. When the time comes, to whom should I send the message announcing my arrival?"

"Give it to my disciple, Luo Bing-" Shen Qingqiu started before abruptly cutting himself off.

After he spoke, everyone fell silent. The atmosphere turned a bit odd.

Shen Qingqiu slowly flapped his fan twice and stiffly continued. "-he's shixiong, Ming Fan."

Gongyi Xiao's heart filled conflicted feelings.

Rumor had it that after the peak lord of Qing Jing Peak lost his beloved disciple at the Immortal Alliance Conference, he had for a time fallen into inconsolable heartbreak, being out of his mind with grief. The man before him right now didn't seem like one who had accepted that Luo Binghe was really gone. Perhaps Shen Qingqiu hadn't come here primarily to pick the mushroom but rather to take his mind off things so he could briefly forget Luo Binghe's existence. Otherwise, why would two peak lords pursue this task in person?

Senior Shang must have come to supervise Senior Shen and make sure he didn't do anything rash. Then, after Shen Qingqiu had forced himself to smile this whole trip, Gongyi Xiao had managed to poke his sore spot and stir up melancholy thoughts... As expected- what a deep master-and-disciple bond!

Until they parted ways, Gongyi Xiao kept looking back at Shen Qingqiu every ten steps, his gaze a tangled mix of awkwardness, sympathy, sorrow, and admiration.

"It's true," Shang Qinghua sighed when they were again alone. "It's actually true."

Shen Qingqiu gave him a kick that was neither heavy nor light, but cause Ma Lia to grab her sword in warning. "What's true?"

"I've been watching you for a while, and I have something to say. Besides, keeping it in is uncomfortable," said Shang Qinghua. "Cu- Shen-shixiong, did you really see Luo Binghe as the apple of your eye? Did you adore him as your darling baby and disciple?"

He went on, analyzing the evidence piece by piece. "I heard your Qing Jing Peak disciples say that ever since returning from the Immortal Alliance Conference, Shen-shixiong has been out of his mind with grief, his thoughts wandering all over the place. Time after time, you call Luo Binghe's name, and you stand in front of that sword mound and sigh in sorrow. I didn't believe it, but just now I finally witnessed it with my own eyes. Shen-shixiong, I really never thought that you were this sort of person."

Shang Qinghua, having now forgotten his disciples were there, continued to dig his own grave. "Cucumber-bro, can I ask, how did you see Luo Binghe? I remember you were one of his fans, right? You roasted a huge number of the characters I wrote, but even so, you never roasted him. To you, is he a character, or is he a..."

Shang Qinghua's voice trailed off as he suddenly remembered his disciples were there.

[User 001 has revealed that he wrote Luo Binghe into existence! Punishment protocol activated!]

"Shit," Shang Qinghua said, face going pale.

Then everything went back and he collapsed.

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua found himself in the Northern Ice Palace. Shang Qinghua frowned slightly in confusion. Why would the system send him here?

"Qinghua," a voice said from behind him.

Shang Qinghua turned around to find Bing Mo. "My king?"

"Everyone left from Cang Qiong Mountain is either dead or our ally," Bing Mo said calmly.

Shang Qinghua swallowed. Could the punishment be him and Cucumber-Bro failing to save the sect?

"However, this means I no longer have a use for you. You were my spy, but why would I need a spy anymore?"

"My king?" Shang Qinghua whispered.

Bing Mo stared coldly at him, before creating a sword of ice, which was sent straight towards Shang Qinghua.

Realizing at this moment that he was in the world of PIDW, Shang Qinghua dodged, falling over. Not sure what would happen if he were to die here, he leapt to his feet, quickly running through the palace with ease, the layout coming to him easily, after all, when it came to anything involving Mobei-Jun or Bing Mo as his real name was, Airplane Shooting Toward The Sky had made sure it was perfect, with not a detail out of place or missing, even if it was often overshadowed by Luo Binghe. How could he forget the layout?

Shang Qinghua ran, heading towards the one place Mobei-Jun didn't know about to hide. Linguang-Jun had created hidden passageways behind Mobei-Jun's back in an attempt to kill his nephew, but Mobei-Jun had killed Linguang-Jun before they ever got to be used, so Mobei-Jun didn't know about them.

Shang Qinghua glanced behind him, Mobei-Jun was too close. Shang Qinghua forced himself to run faster, quickly turning corners, and pressed a hidden switch in the wall. A door slid open, and Shang Qinghua ran through the opening, sliding it shut behind him.

The walls had been hollowed out, and through the original Shang Qinghua's help they were soundproof so that when you were inside the walls, you could hear everything happening outside of them, but nobody could hear you, unbreakable, and appeared transparent while inside and opaque while outside them.

Shang Qinghua watched Mobei-Jun run past him, and quickly made his way to a larger room Linguang-Jun had made, where food and water was stored, and with the original Shang Qinghua's help, always fresh and restored when running low. He'd hide out here for as long as needed.

As it turned out, Shang Qinghua needed to stay there for a while. He stayed there for months actually, bored out of his mind, eating just enough to stay alive, to worried about not being able to get back to Cucumber-Bro to really eat, and not being hungry.

He kept tabs on Mobei-Jun and the people in the castle looking for him, looking for an opportunity to escape, but finding none as the entire castle was on the lookout for him meaning he was unable to even leave the inside of the walls. All doors and windows were guarded, so they were certain he was still in the castle.

And unfortunately for Shang Qinghua, they were right. Although honestly he was impressed by their resilience and determination to find him, the original Shang Qinghua didn't even pose a threat to them- well, unless you counted him helping Linguang-Jun with these secret tunnels, but he hadn't known what they were for. And anyways, Linguang-Jun was dead.

Shang Qinghua was worried he might have to spend the rest of his life here, which didn't really sound appealing, until after 14 months of living in the walls, one of Mobei-Jun's servants accidentally triggered one of the doors that entered into the secret tunnels. Suddenly Shang Qinghua was more than content to peacefully spend the rest of his life here.

The walls were searched, and Shang Qinghua was dragged to Mobei-Jun by some of his guards, one of his arms being broken in the process. But he forced himself not to scream knowing it would only get worse.

"You've finally found him," Mobei-Jun said when the guards dragged Shang Qinghua in.

"Your dedication to finding me was admirable," Shang Qinghua replied coolly, though it was more an attempt to fight off the fear.

"Leave us," Mobei-Jun told the guards, and they let go of Shang Qinghua, giving Mobei-Jun a quick bow before retreating.

"And you," Mobei-Jun said, turning towards Shang Qinghua. "Who said you could speak?"

"Well seeing as I still have my tongue and wasn't gagged, I assumed I was allowed to," Shang Qinghua replied with mock surprise.

"Do you want me to cut out your tongue?" Mobei-Jun snapped.

That shut Shang Qinghua up, and he stood there, silently staring at Mobei-Jun, holding his broken arm in place.

"I was just going to kill you outright," Mobei-Jun said. "But then you ran. And you somehow knew about these hidden corridors in my palace walls. Yet didn't tell me about them. Why is that? You may speak now."

"I assumed you knew about them my king, it was Linguang-Jun who had me help make them after all. What happened to him by the way, I haven't seen him in a while?" Shang Qinghua responded, remembering that the original hadn't learned of what happened to Linguang-Jun, was just mad when he never showed up on the day they had planned to kill Mobei-Jun.

"My uncle was trying to kill me you fool," Mobei-Jun snapped.

"Well then I'm sorry, but I didn't know," Shang Qinghua retorted, lying through his teeth.

"And why did you run?" Mobei-Jun asked, glaring daggers at Shang Qinghua.

"Because I didn't, don't want to die."

A lie.

But Mobei-Jun didn't know that.

"You once swore you would die for me," Mobei-Jun refuted.

"For you, not because of you. If you had ordered me to jump off a cliff without my sword I would have done so. It wouldn't mean I'd want to, but I would. But no one wants to die at the hands of the one they've sworn absolute loyalty to," Shang Qinghua said.

Huh, jumping off a cliff without his sword. If he made it back home, he might end up doing just that, or jump off the mountain. Yes, that seemed like a nice idea.

Suddenly there was a horrible pain in his shoulder, causing Shang Qinghua to gasp, more out of surprise than pain. He'd cut himself and been abused by Bing Mo enough to be used to it.

He looked at his shoulder, and saw there was an ice spear sticking out of it.

"Huh... That hurt less than I expected," Shang Qinghua muttered.

"Shut up- Wait, what?" Mobei-Jun said.

Shang Qinghua didn't reply, just calmly pulled the spear out of his shoulder despite his broken arm (it had gone into the shoulder of his good arm) and handed it back to Mobei-Jun.

"Answer my question, what did you say?" Mobei-Jun snapped.

"I said it hurt less than I expected, now are you going to take this back or do you want me to stab myself?" Shang Qinghua said tiredly.

Mobei-Jun snapped at that, seizing Shang Qinghua by his neck and lifting him into the air before throwing him into the wall with such force it cracked, and the shards imbedded themselves into Shang Qinghua's head, neck, and upper back, the first parts of his body to hit the wall before he fell, collapsing on his side, blood pooling around him.

Mobei-Jun turned, intending to hurt Shang Qinghua more, but froze at the sight of all the blood. He quickly ran to Shang Qinghua's side, lifting the humans limp body into arms.

"No... What was I- I'm sorry, wake up, please, wake up... I won't kill you or hurt you anymore, I promise, just please..." Mobei-Jun was shaking slightly, horrified by what he had done.

"Please... Just wake up..." He felt Shang Qinghua's pulse, but couldn't find it. Shang Qinghua wasn't breathing. Mobei-Jun pressed his ear to Shang Qinghua's chest, but couldn't hear or feel a heartbeat.

He lifted his head from the body of this corpse, staring in silence at Shang Qinghua, shoulders shaking. Something wet fell onto the human's body, and it took Mobei-Jun a minute to realize he was crying. He sat there for hours, crying cradling Shang Qinghua, horrified with himself and wondering why.

He had just killed this human in cold blood. So why did he suddenly care? Why was he upset?

When he'd finally stopped crying, Mobei-Jun took Shang Qinghua to where his mother was buried, setting the body down on the ground. He left, returning in clean robes, and holding clean white robes. They were nice quality, and beautiful if simple, a set of funeral robes in Shang Qinghua's size.

Mobei-Jun wiped the blood off of Shang Qinghua's face and rinsed it out of his hair, the wounds having long since stopped bleeding, because there was no more blood left to seep out of them. With shaking hands, Mobei-Jun peeled off Shang Qinghua's bloody robes, wiping the blood off of him, before changing him into the white ones and setting him ever so gently into a coffin, made of ice but so clear it looked like glass.

Mobei-Jun cleaned up all the blood, and got rid of the robes, before returning to Shang Qinghua's coffin, where he collapsed and wept, regretting everything he'd done, whispering the same words over and over again.

"I'm sorry."

"He's qi deviating, someone help!"

"We need backup!"

"What happened?!"

"I don't know, he was like this when I came in here!"

"Quick, help! Feed him some qi!"

"He's seizing, hold him steady!"

"He was stable until now, what could have happened?!"

"We don't know, just get him stable!"

"We need to get him back into bed!"

Shang Qinghua could hear voices around him, and wanted to open his eyes, but found he couldn't. Just then a pinging sound chimed, and he heard a google translate sounding voice speaking.

[Punishment protocol complete!]

Then everything faded away again.

When Shang Qinghua came to again, Shen Qingqiu, Mu Qingfang and Fan Song were crowded around him.

"Shang-shixiong, you're awake!" Mu Qingfang said.

"Yes, thank you for that genius, I didn't know," Shang Qinghua grumbled, sitting up.

"..."

"Sorry, sorry, my head hurts really bad and I tend to get snappy and sarcastic when that happens," Shang Qinghua sighed.

"It's okay Shang-shixiong," Mu Qingfang said.

"What happened anyways, how long have I been out?" Shang Qinghua asked.

"...14 months. You were in a coma for 14 months. You just had a qi deviation less than a shichen ago. Do- do you know what happened? Your disciples and Shen-shixiong said you just collapsed but wouldn't tell us anything else."

"No," Shang Qinghua lied. "Wait- 14 months?! What about the paperwork, my filing system, the budget, meetings-"

"Hey, hey, calm down, your disciples took care of all that," Mu Qingfang said, gently pushing Shang Qinghua back down on the bed. "I'm going to have to insist you stay here until I can be sure you're fully recovered. Fan Song will look after you when I can't. Your sword is right here." Mu Qingfang gestured to where He Fin was leaning in its sheath against the wall near Shang Qinghua's bed.

Shang Qinghua slumped back reluctantly against his pillows, staring up at the ceiling. It had a scene of a cloudless sky during the day closest to him, turning into a scene of a clear and cloudless night sky near the door furthest from him. But instead of a sun, there was a man in robes the color of fire, golden-brown hair held in a ponytail with a golden crown and hair stick, and instead of a moon, a woman in gray-silver robes, ink-black hair pinned up the same as the mans but with a silver crown and hairstick.

The man represented the sun god of this world, the woman his sister, the moon.

Shang Qinghua stared up at the ceiling as Fan Song and Mu Qingfang left. Shen Qingqiu walked over to the door, and herded Ma Lia and Li Weihao, who must have been waiting outside, into the room, closing the door behind them and placing a silencing talisman on it.

"We need to talk," Shen Qingqiu said in English. "The system isn't going to let us tell them everything, but they need an explanation."

"I know," Shang Qinghua said. "But what can we tell them?"

"I don't know," Shen Qingqiu admitted.

They were silent for a moment, until Ma Lia spoke up. "A-Hua, you must have created this world, right? You didn't mean to, but you did, and now you're stuck in it as our Shizun for some reason."

Shang Qinghua swallowed, scared to answer in fear of enacting another punishment from the system. But Ma Lia didn't give him the chance to respond.

"A-Hua, answer me this. Are you happy? Do you want to be our Shizun?" She looked at Shang Qinghua tearfully.

"I'm not happy," Shang Qinghua admitted. "But I don't hate being your Shizun. I care for you, and-"

He hesitated, before deciding to not confirm he'd created this world.

"I won't let you die," he said finally.

"I'll protect you all. I won't let you or any of the rest of An Ding suffer because of my mistakes," Shang Qinghua said pulling Ma Lia and Li Weihao into a hug. "I won't."

"Airplane," Shen Qingqiu said in English. "What- what was the punishment?"

"The system sent me to PIDW when Mobei-Jun was supposed to kill Shang Qinghua. I managed to hide for 14 months, I wasn't sure what would happen if I were to die there. But if I had known I would just wake up back here, I would have let him kill me," Shang Qinghua replied in English.

Shen Qingqiu looked sadly at Shang Qinghua. "I'm sorry," he said in Chinese.

"It's not your fault," Shang Qinghua said, also switching back to Chinese.

"Come," Shen Qingqiu said. "Let's leave Shang-shidi alone. Besides, we have paperwork to get to." 

"We?" Shang Qinghua asked as Ma Lia and Li Weihao pulled away.

"I've been helping them get through your work," Shen Qingqiu said before switching to English. "I've also been helping with the problem of that ice demon of yours. They almost spotted him twice, and I've had to pretend to not notice him each time he showed up."

"Thanks," Shang Qinghua said, sinking back into his pillows.

Shen Qingqiu just nodded before herding the An Ding Peak disciples out of the room, leaving Shang Qinghua alone.

Your fault. Everyone who died at the conference... It's all your fault. You should have permanently died when Mobei-Jun killed you. Your fault your fault your fault your fault.

"Shut up," Shang Qinghua mumbled.

Your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault-

Shang Qinghua bolted upright, grabbing his sword and unsheathing it. He pulled up his sleeves, glancing for a moment at the previous scars, before setting the edge of the sword against his arm and slicing open the skin.

Your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault your fault-

"Shut up," Shang Qinghua mumbled, slicing open his arm repeatedly until there was nowhere to cut anymore.

Your fault your fault your fault your fault. You should just die. Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die-

Shang Qinghua began to cut open his other arm, tears brimming in his eyes. He just wanted the voice to stop. Why wouldn't it stop?! This usually worked, so why- Why didn't it this time?!

Shang Qinghua dropped his sword with a broken sob, burying his face in his hands and blood ran down his arms, staining his robes. "I should just die," he mumbled.

Standing up, leaving He Fin on the ground, Shang Qinghua slipped out the window and ran while holding his bloody arms to his chest, collapsing in a heap at the top of the mountain as his legs gave out, the blood loss beginning to get to him. Shang Qinghua stood weakly, swaying slightly as he looked down. If he were to jump from here, he'd die.

Good, he thought.

Shang Qinghua walked closer to the edge, prepared to jump.

"Shang-shidi?" A voice said.

Shang Qinghua whipped around, staring with wide eyes at Yue Qingyuan.

"Zh-zhangmen-shixiong," Shang Qinghua said.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting? I was just on my way to visit you," Yue Qingyuan said stepping closer.

Shang Qinghua backed away, shaking his head. "Stay away, please, just leave me alone."

"Shang-shidi?" Yue Qingyuan asked, brow furrowed.

Shang Qinghua looked carefully at the sect leader. "You don't have your backup sword on you?" He asked.

"I saw no reason to bring it," Yue Qingyuan said, looking concerned. "It's a nice day so I thought I'd walk."

Shang Qinghua smiled. "Then that means you can't stop me," he said softly.

"What? Shang-shidi, I'm not sure I understand-"

Shang Qinghua backed up towards the edge.

"Shang-shidi, look out! You don't have your sword, if you fall, you'll-" Yue Qingyuan cried out.

"Die?" Shang Qinghua interrupted, still smiling. "Yes, I know. That's the point."

Then he stepped back and fell.

"SHANG-SHIDI!!!"

Shang Qinghua closed his eyes as he fell, not wanting to see the broken look on Yue Qingyuan's face as he reached out, trying and failing to catch him. But he still smiled, knowing this endless guilt would stop. Shen Qingqiu would probably be the only one who knew the reason why and understand, but Shang Qinghua didn't care.

He just wanted it to stop.

But then a pair of arms encircled his waist, catching him as he fell.

Shang Qinghua opened his eyes in surprise to see Liu Qingge, who straightened out on Cheng Luan, shifting Shang Qinghua into a princess carry.

Shang Qinghua struggled, attempting to push away, but Liu Qingge just held him closer to his chest.

"You are not dying on my watch," Liu Qingge snapped, flying at breakneck speed to Qian Cao.

"Let me go," Shang Qinghua whispered. "Please, I just want it to stop, MAKE IT STOP!"

Liu Qingge ignored him, nearly crash landing, and running straight to Mu Qingfang.

"We have a problem on our hands," he stated, when Mu Qingfang opened his mouth to speak. "First things first, he needs to be treated."

"I just treated-" Mu Qingfang started, but stopped when he saw the state of Shang Qinghua's arms and the amount of blood staining the front of Liu Qingge's robes. "Shang-shixiong... What have you done? Quick, set him down here."

Liu Qingge set Shang Qinghua down where Mu Qingfang indicated, watching closely to make sure Shang Qinghua didn't run. Mu Qingfang wiped the blood off Shang Qinghua's arms, wrapping them up in bandages before giving Shang Qinghua a pill to heal the wounds.

Shang Qinghua glared at the pill, and threw it across the room. "I don't want them to heal."

"Shang-shixiong," Mu Qingfang said gently. "Please. For your disciples."

"I don't want them to heal!" Shang Qinghua yelled. He hugged his knees to his chest, resting his face on them. "Please..." He whispered, his voice broken, tears streaming down his face.

"At least let me help treat the cuts then," Mu Qingfang said.

Shang Qinghua didn't respond.

"...Liu Qingge, please stay with him. I need to go talk to Zhangmeng-shixiong."

Liu Qingge nodded, sitting next to Shang Qinghua.

"Do-" He hesitated, he had never been good with words. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shang Qinghua shook his head.

Mu Qingfang stepped out of his office just as Yue Qingyuan arrived.

"Zhangmeng-shixiong," he said with a bow. "I assume you're here to visit Shang-shixiong?"

"He jumped off the mountain," Yue Qingyuan said.

"What?!" Mu Qingfang looked up.

"I- I couldn't help him without risking killing us both," Yue Qingyuan said, whatever that was supposed to mean. "Liu Qingge was fortunately close enough to catch him, but I- I almost had to watch him die."

"His arms were also cut up, they were a bloody mess," Mu Qingfang said. "It's a miracle he didn't bleed out, but he refused to let me heal them, yelling at me and then shutting down. I think it's a good idea if we keep him away from sharp objects and don't leave him unsupervised."

"That's smart... I'll go retrieve his sword, he probably left it in his room," Yue Qingyuan said.

Mu Qingfang nodded, and they walked to Shang Qinghua's room together, freezing in horror at the sight when they arrived.

There was blood everywhere, on the ground and staining the sheets. He Fin's sheath had toppled over, and He Fin was carelessly discarded on the ground, stained with Shang Qinghua's blood. It looked like a hastily abandoned crime scene, if they didn't know any better, the two peak lords might have assumed that Shang Qinghua was murdered and the killer forgot to clean up, too focused on disposing the body.

"So much blood," Mu Qingfang murmured. "And to carelessly discard He Fin like this..."

Yue Qingyuan knelt down, picking up He Fin and wiping off the blood, before gasping in horror. "His sword... It's cracked..."

Mu Qingfang hurried forward, and his eyes wided. There was a whole web of tiny cracks near He Fin's base, with longer and larger cracks spreading all across the rest of the blade.

"If it were to take one hit from another sword, even just a regular one, it would shatter," Yue Qingyuan said gravely.

"Perhaps Wei Qingwei can fix it... He was able to repair Luo Binghe's Zheng Yang after all," Mu Qingfang suggested.

"Yes... I'll take it to him now," Yue Qingyuan said, picking up He Fin and the sword's sheath, turning to leave. "Ah- who is with Shang-shidi now?" He asked, turning to Mu Qingfang.

"Liu-shixiong," Mu Qingfang replied.

"Good, that's good, at least he's not alone," Yue Qingyuan said before leaving.

A few weeks had passed since Shang Qinghua had jumped off the mountain. Mu Qingfang came to check on him periodically, making sure he didn't overwork himself, and Shen Qingqiu spent the most time with him, Liu Qingge being there when Shen Qingqiu wasn't.

None of the An Ding Peak disciples knew about the incident, and aside from the peak lords involved, nobody else did either. But the An Ding Peak disciples had started letting Shang Qinghua do his paperwork again when Mu Qingfang said he needed the distraction and people would be watching him so he didn't overwork himself.

It was around 5 weeks later when Mobei-Jun visited. Fortunately Shen Qingqiu was the peak lord with him when this happened.

Not so fortunately, Ma Lia was also there.

"A-Hua," Ma Lia said walking into the room. "We need to find a different material for Bai Zhan Peaks dormitories. And we need to set aside part of the budget for repairs. Again."

Shang Qinghua groaned. "Oh come on, really? I really thought that new wood we tried would last longer. And we spent a lot of money on it too. This is why our funds are so low!"

It was at this moment that a portal opened up and Bing Mo arrived.

"Aaaah!" Shang Qinghua yelped in surprise, falling over when he turned around to see Bing Mo right there.

"Oh, hello," Ma Lia greeted the ice demon, not really caring. "A-Hua, are you alright?"

Shang Qinghua stood up, patting off his robes. "No, but when am I ever?"

"Are you uninjured?" Ma Lia rephrased.

She may not have been told about Shang Qinghua's attempt, but she wasn't stupid. She'd seen the cuts, heard the (quickly shut down rumors) of the An Ding Peak Lord falling off the mountain. She was upset at how long it took for her to notice her Shizun had been cutting himself however, and after having overheard Liu Qingge talking with Mu Qingfang about the cuts and attempt, the An Ding Peak disciples now took extra caution to keep any sharp objects out of sight from their shizun.

"Yeah, I think so," Shang Qinghua said.

Shen Qingqiu just rolled his eyes. "You two do whatever it is you want to. I can hear disciples screaming though, which means someone from another peak- probably Bai Zhan- is here again. Ma Lia, stay with him, I'm going to go deal with that."

Ma Lia nodded. "Hi, I'm Ma Lia. An Ding Peak's head disciple."

Bing Mo blinked slowly at her, then at Shang Qinghua.

"Okay, I don't know why she's acting like this my king, I didn't tell her anything, I promise!" He yelped.

"A-Hua, have me and the rest of An Ding not sworn to help you with anything?" Ma Lia reminded him. "That includes... Whatever this is." She gestured at Mobei-Jun.

"I'm a traitor to Cang Qiong," Shang Qinghua muttered.

"Oh. Cool. A lot of them kinda deserve it." Ma Lia leaned against the wall like she couldn't care less.

"Um..." Bing Mo looked extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

"I'm afraid I don't have much information to give you my king..." Shang Qinghua said shifting. "I, uh, I've been..." His voice trailed off into a mumble.

"He's been in a coma for 14 months," Ma Lia translated. "Hang on, I'll be right back."

She turned to leave, then paused turned around, and pointed a threatening finger at Bing Mo. "You, don't leave and don't let him out of your sight."

Then she ran off.

"What is she doing?" Shang Qinghua said, more to himself than to Bing Mo.

Bing Mo just shrugged.

Ma Lia was back 5 minutes later holding a stack of papers. "Hang on, let me look through these for a moment."

That was what Shen Qingqiu walked into when he finally returned from dealing with the disciples. "What is she...?"

"I don't know," Shang Qinghua replied.

Shen Qingqiu just shrugged, glancing over Ma Lia's shoulder before nodding like he understood.

"We'll need this paper," he stated, pointing at one of them. "This one can be discarded, the matter has already been dealt with."

The two of them began sorting the papers themselves, asking occasional questions, while Bing Mo and Shang Qinghua stared in confusion.

"Alright, sorry about that. An Ding Peak takes reports on all matters in the sect, and we tend to have at least one copy of every report in case we lose them. I was just gathering copies of the ones from the past 15 months and finding which ones were still relevant or helpful to you," Ma Lia explained.

She handed Bing Mo a stack of papers, then left with the discarded ones to go file them away.

"Okay, that's actually pretty resourceful, why didn't I think of that?" Shang Qinghua lamented.

"Because you're an idiot," Shen Qingqiu stated. "Now come on, let's go."

"Go where?" Shang Qinghua asked.

"I mean, unless you want Mu-shidi to know you're a traitor."

Shang Qinghua groaned. "Noooo, I don't wanna go. He's just gonna try and give me healing pills and prescriptions..."

"I will drag you," Shen Qingqiu stated.

Shang Qinghua threw himself to the ground. "No, don't make me go!"

"Shang-shidi!" Shen Qingqiu huffed.

"Don't wanna," Shang Qinghua wailed.

Shen Qingqiu glared at Shang Qinghua, and then hoisted him up by the back of his collar, dragging the wailing peak lord out of his office. Bing Wanmei blinked in confusion at the sight before retreating through a portal back to the Northern Ice Palace.

Shen Qingqiu ended up dragging Shang Qinghua back to his room, where they waited for Mu Qingfang to show up, and he finally did when Ma Lia practically dragged him there not giving him the chance to look anywhere else.

"I'm leaving," Shen Qingqiu announced. "I'll send Liu Qingge over here now."

Mu Qingfang nodded, watching him leave, then turned back to Shang Qinghua who was backed into the corner, hissing like a cat.

"Shang-shixiong, at least let me-" Mu Qingfang started, only for Shang Qinghua to start yowling when he came closer.

"Nooooooooo, I don't wanna, no no no no no no no!"

"Shang-shixiong, your mental and physical health are important, you can't continue to neglect them like this," Mu Qingfang sighed.

"I've been doing it my whole life, why should I start caring now?" Shang Qinghua challenged.

"That... Actually explains a lot," Mu Qingfang said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "At least let me check that you don't have any new injuries? You clearly can't be overworking yourself if you're here and hissing like a cat."

"NO!" Shang Qinghua screeched, causing Mu Qingfang to wince.

"Shang-shixiong-"

"NNOOOOOO!!!!!"

Chapter Text

It had been almost two months since Bing Mo last visited Shang Qinghua.

He was worried about his... Servant he supposed. He'd been trying to court the human but his advances were ignored. And now he had been told not to beat Shang Qinghua up, the girl had threatened him, so perhaps he'd been doing something wrong.

Whatever the case, he was unconscious for 14 months, with the peak lord in green in his humans place.

He hadn't visited, because he wasn't sure how to approach the subject. One thing he'd learned with humans is that they misunderstood things very easily and are sensitive, so you have to be careful when talking about things like that.

But now he was ready to try.

When he entered Shang Qinghua's office via portal, he found a corner table with clipped stacks of paper that said "for my king" in Shang Qinghua's messy handwriting and an empty office.

Bing Mo ignored the papers, he'd take them with him when he left, but he needed to talk to Shang Qinghua. So he sat down on the floor and waited until he heard voices.

"-another attempt..." One was saying.

"How could we have let this happen!" It was the girl who threatened him.

"I don't know, but I feel bad... We're supposed to help A-Hua, but-"

"We can't help him if he doesn't let us, we can only hope to keep him alive," the girl said.

"I just wish he would talk to us..."

"According to Shen-Shishu, he feels guilty about... Their deaths."

"You mean... When the ice demon tried to kill him?" The other person asked.

"I don't think the ice demon even killed any of them," the girl admitted. Her voice was getting closer. "Most of them died to the freak storm that came out of nowhere."

"Then why would A-Hua feel guilty? It wasn't his fault..."

"Survivors guilt. He was there, and chose to save the ice demon and betray our sect. A-Hua probably feels they could have survived if he didn't save the demon."

"Speaking of which, I sense demonic qi, I think the demon of discussion might be here."

"Most likely, it's been two months after all." The girl opened the door. "Ah, we were right. Hello. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Ma Lia, and this is my partner, Li Weihao."

"Hi," the person next to her waved. At first Bing Wanmei thought they might be a boy, but looking closer he wasn't sure. As if sensing the his gaze, the person smiled. "I'm nonbinary, neither girl or boy."

Bing Mo nodded. It didn't make much sense to him, but it probably meant they were a little like intersex demons, usually of species relating to insects or amphibians, who tended to not like either female or male terms used when discussing them.

Shang Qinghua explained it once to him, but he'd been sleepy at the time and hardly remembered what was said.

"Bing Mo," he said.

"Well, I'd tell A-Hua you're here, but I'm afraid he's on Qian Cao Peak again," Ma Lia sighed. "Baobei, can you go get Shen-shishu?"

"Sure," Li Weihao said before leaving.

"Um, why is Qinghua on... Qian Cao Peak you said?" Bing Mo asked somewhat awkwardly.

"He tried to kill himself," Ma Lia said tightly. "Again. The first time was shortly before we met, it was a whole scandal and we had to shut it down quickly so word wouldn't get out of the sect."

"Why would he...?" Bing Mo was shocked, not understanding why anyone would want to try and kill themselves.

"When the two of you first met, he was the only survivor out of all our martial siblings with him. He has something called survivors guilt."

"I don't understand," Bing Mo said, confused.

"He feels guilty he's the only one to have survived, and that they deserved to live, that it's unfair he does and they don't. And he also feels that he could have saved them, but chose to save you instead and hates himself for it, because he regrets not saving them, but doesn't regret saving you at the same time," Ma Lia said sadly.

"I see," Bing Mo said.

"I have to go, if you have anymore questions talk to Shen-Shishu."

Bing Mo watched Ma Lia go, and knew one thing. He had to help Shang Qinghua.

He started by popping in and out of An Ding, helping them with reports and gifting them a talisman to make carts lighter when they went on deliveries. He trained them to fight, correcting their stances, never fighting them himself.

They had resolve, and were stronger than they seemed, but fought dirty, aside from Li Weihao who was from a rich noble family and came to An Ding Peak to get away from their grandparents, who were unaccepting of his sister being a girl (transgender Shang Qinghua had called it according to Li Weihao) and of the siblings being cultivators.

"You have a sister?" Bing Mo asked one evening.

Li Weihao nodded. "She's on Xian Shu Peak, and was originally here. Her name's Li Xu, originally Xiang."

"I've heard of her," Bing Mo admitted. "Your grandparents somehow wound up with us looking for her, saying their  "grandsons were delusioned" and that "their darling A-Xiang was using a different name, a girls name." My father was extremely concerned for their mental well-being and sent them to Zhao Hua Monestary."

"Hm, so that's what happened," Li Weihao said lightly. "Mom and dad said they disappeared one night."

"They were rambling like madmen," Bing Mo remarked.

"I can imagine they were," Li Weihao said laughing.

Bing Mo was surprised that a human could laugh around him so easily when Shang Qinghua seemed so terrified.

Shang Qinghua returned to An Ding after three months of Bing Wanmei teaching and helping the An Ding Peak disciples. He was in a wheelchair, and seemed... Empty. Devoid of life, and like a broken doll.

Bing Mo silently watched as Shen Qingqiu gently pushed him into the leisure house, murmuring something the ice demon couldn't hear. Ma Lia ran after them, and after a few minutes, Shen Qingqiu came back outside and headed straight to Li Weihao and Bing Mo, gesturing them inside.

"Why is Qinghua in a wheelchair?" Bing Mo asked, brow furrowed.

"There was a mix up with an order, it was sent here instead of to Qian Cao and Shang Qinghua attempted to use its contents to poison himself," Shen Qingqiu explained tiredly. "He's still fighting the effects but will be doing physical therapy soon. He'll need a cane though, if his legs act up again."

"It didn't almost kill him?" Li Weihao asked, confused.

"He misread the label," Shen Qingqiu said flatly. "It's an ointment meant to be rubbed into legs to sooth sore muscles, Mu Qingfang was running low. If ingested it can cause leg paralysis. If Shang Qinghua weren't a cultivator he'd be in that wheelchair the rest of his life."

Bing Mo sucked in a horrified breath.

"He'll be fine," Shen Qingqiu assured him. "If he stops trying to kill himself. He still doesn't have He Fin back."

"It was taken from him?" Bing Mo asked.

Shen Qingqiu nodded. "He... It was pretty bad, I wasn't there but there was a lot of blood and his arms are a web of scars."

Bing Mo was horrified.

"Bing Mo, would you be willing to take care of him?" Li Weihao asked. "I can take over sword training and Ma Lia reports."

Bing Mo nodded. "I can do that."

"Thank you," Shen Qingqiu said. "If you ever need to go back to the Northern Demon Realm, tell Ma Lia or Li Weihao, one of them will let me know and take over for you."

Bing Mo nodded. "I understand."

"Good," Shen Qingqiu said. "If there's anything at all you need help with, tell Li Weihao or Ma Lia, or if I'm here helping with paperwork or whatever, you can ask me."

Bing Mo nodded again. "I will."

"I have to go now, I'll see you later." Shen Qingqiu stood and left.

"Shizun's favorite meal is hand pulled noodles, let's go make him some!" Li Weihao jumped to their feet before running off to the kitchens, followed by Bing Mo.

"Alright, first things first, we need to measure out the flour and the water, and we can't forget to add salt," Li Weihao instructed, showing Bing Mo how to measure them, then helping the demon measure out about 250 grams of flour¹ and 125 milliliters of water², putting them in a bowl together.

"Now we can use the chopsticks to combine the flour and water. We do this until no loose flower can be seen, then knead it briefly until it's smooth but firm. The salt makes the noodles more Jīn Dào³."

Once the dough was formed, Li Weihao plopped it onto the counter. "Now to section it," they said. "Two sections is good enough."

Bing Mo watched as Li Weihao split their dough into two sections, before doing the same to his own. Grabbing two rolling pins and handing one to Bing Mo, Li Weihao began rolling out their dough. "Roll it out to about a half a centimeter thick, making sure it remains rectangular."

After the dough was rolled out, Li Weihao thoroughly coated both sides of the dough in oil, and placed them on top of each other in a tray before covering them. Bing Mo did the same.

"Won't they stick together?" He asked.

"That's what the oil's for," Li Weihao explained. "Flour works, but gives the noodles a rougher look and makes them stickier. But anyways, now the dough needs to rest, it's still pretty firm, too firm to work with right now. The dough needs to rest for 3 incense times⁴."

As the dough rested, Li Weihao started bringing a large pot of water to a natural boil. When the dough was done, they cut it into strips about 3 centimeters wide. Bing Mo did the same, but Li Weihao had him cut one piece of dough to be a centimeter wide.

Li Weihao then carefully held each noodle above the hot water, pulling one end toward the water before dropping it.

Once one piece of dough was finished, they cooked the noodles for two minutes, then placed them into a bowl on a tray, before repeating with all the dough sections, cooking the thin noodles for only a minutes.

"The thin noodles are for A-Hua," Li Weihao said, handing to tray to Bing Mo. "He likes the thinner ones, Ma Lia and I like the thicker ones, and you started cutting yours to be thick before I thought to ask if you prefer thin or thick noodles."

The two proceeded to walk to Shang Qinghua's room, where the man was in bed, absently staring out the window as Ma Lia rubbed his hand.

"A-Hua, we made you some noodles," Li Weihao said gently, handing Shang Qinghua the bowl of thin noodles.

Shang Qinghua turned, and nearly cried when he saw they were thin, just how he liked them. He took a bite, and really did start crying then.

"Do you like them?" Li Weihao asked. "Bing Mo made them, I showed him how, although pulled the noodles myself so we could serve them faster."

Shang Qinghua nodded. "Th'r rlly goo'," he mumbled around a mouthful.

Li Weihao grinned. "Hear that Bing Mo? You did a good job!"

Bing Mo made a small noise of acknowledgement.

"Thanks my king," Shang Qinghua said, beaming. He felt happier than he had in years.

You don't deserve it.

The smile slid off Shang Qinghua's face, replaced with a blank expression as he slowly continued eating the noodles in silence. Li Weihao and Ma Lia gave him a saddened look before leaving.

As he slept that night, Shang Qinghua had nightmares.

"My king, please, I'm loyal!" Shang Qinghua begged.

"You betrayed me for my uncle!" Bing Mo yelled, knocking Shang Qinghua to the floor.

"I didn't, I swear!" Shang Qinghua was crying now. "Please my king, I'm only loyal to you!"

"Lies," Bing Mo hissed. "I won't have traitorous scum like you work for me."

"My king, please," Shang Qinghua tried again, clutching the hem of Bing Mo's robes.

Bing Mo kicked him away, and Shang Qinghua was lifted into the air. His neck snapped, and everything faded to black.

When it focused in again, Shang Qinghua was in the body of Shen Qingqiu.

"Shizun," Luo Binghe sneered. "Won't you say anything?"

Shang Qinghua didn't reply, unsure of what was being discussed, but this only irritated Luo Binghe.

"Fine! If you won't say anything or explain why you did it, there's no need for you to talk!" Luo Binghe's hand plunged towards Shang Qinghua and his tongue was ripped out, he was in unbearable agony.

"Aggh, ahhh!" He screamed, unable to form words, collapsing.

Luo Binghe stepped forward and Shang Qinghua put his arms up to shield himself, but he'd barely raised them before Luo Binghe caught them.

"Trying to fight back Shen Qingqiu?" He jeered. "You won't be able to hurt me again!"

Shang Qinghua was pushed to his back onto the ground, and Luo Binghe planted a foot on his chest, before pulling, and Shang Qinghua let out another strangled scream as his arms were disconnected from his body.

Shang Qinghua lay there screaming as Luo Binghe left, only to return the next day with a chuckle.

"Still staying there Shen Qingqiu? I suppose if you're not going to run there's no need for you to have legs."

Shang Qinghua's eyes widened in terror, as Luo Binghe advanced, this time pinning Shang Qinghua down with his hands and ripping his legs off one at a time.

"Always glaring at me with those eyes," Luo Binghe sighed. Shang Qinghua wasn't glaring, but this was the original dialogue. Cucumber-Bros future.

"I want to blind you but ah, there are things I want you to see after all, so perhaps I'll just take one of your eyes."

Luo Binghe's hand lowered towards Shang Qinghua's face, but then the scene shifted again.

Shang Qinghua was now in Luo Binghe's body, strung up in the storage shed as the original Shen Qingqiu mercilessly struck him, over and over again. Then when Cucumber-Bro stabbed him, and he fell off the edge of the cliff into the Endless Abyss.

He couldn't control his body but could feel everything as Luo Binghe ran and dodged and fought, year after year, as he grew older as his heart filled with hate. All the pain he felt. The manipulation of Xin Mo.

Then he was in Shen Jiu's body, suffering at the hands of Qiu Jianluo, escaping then working for Yan Wushi, being abused by him, killing the man because he was going to hurt Qi-Ge-

He was Qi-Ge, fighting and in pain, needing to escape the Ling Xi caves, he had to get back to Xiao-Jiu, but when he finally did it was to a burnt down house and news all the men had died-

He was Liu Qingge, suffering and dying from a qi deviation-

He was Yue Qingyuan again, being shot with ten thousand arrows-

He was Mu Qingfang, trying to help his martial siblings, only to be pushed into a vat of acid, his skin started melting off, and before it could finish he was dead-

He was Wei Qingwei trying to pull Mu Qingfang out of the vat, only to be dragged away from his husbands body and be stabbed in his left eye through the skull by Xin Mo-

Shang Qinghua jolted awake with a strangled scream, tears streaming down his face, his throat raw as though he'd been screaming for a while, Bing Mo was shaking him awake.

Shang Qinghua flinched away from him, terrified, gasping for air, he couldn't breathe-

"A-Hua!" Ma Lia came running into the room. "What's wrong?!"

"He was having a nightmare," Bing Mo said as Ma Lia shoved him out of the way.

"A-Hua, calm down, breathe with me okay?" Ma Lia said.

After some time, Shang Qinghua managed to calm down, Ma Lia and Li Weihao both curled up in his bed with him.

Bing Mo left, feeling upset at not having been able to help. Shang Qinghua would occasionally see him when he collected the reports left for him by An Ding Peak disciples if he wasn't at physical therapy, but for the most part they didn't see each other.

Shang Qinghua drifted through life in a blur, using his cane to help get around, mostly staring out the window or making light meals if he felt like it. Shen Qingqiu or Mu Qingfang always picked him up for peak lord meetings, and Shang Qinghua would shrink further into himself for being an invalid due to his attempt failing, just because he misread the label.

Then came the Peak Lord Meeting that would change everything.

Chapter Text

It had been three years since Luo Binghe fell into the Endless Abyss.

It was hard for Shang Qinghua to believe considering he spent 14 of those 36 months unconscious, and another 10 in and out of Qian Cao Peak because of his attempts and physical therapy. Currently, the peak lords and a few disciples were all gathered at a meeting.

Yue Qingyuan was the first to speak. "You were all summoned to return to the sect because of an urgent problem. Do any of you know Jinlan City?"

"Jinlan City? I've heard of it," Shang Qinghua said, confused.

You created it.

"That's a city in the Central Plains that's located at the place where two major rivers, the Luo and Heng rivers, meet. There's a lot of trade going on there and the city is quite prosperous."

Yue Qingyuan nodded. "Yes. People do trade at Jinlan City. It's always been a center of trade but two months ago, Jinlan City closed its gates." After a pause, he added: "Not only are the city gates closed, no one is allowed to go in or out and messages cannot be delivered either."

A well-established trading center suddenly closed itself off from the outside. There was definitely something very wrong.

Shen Qingqiu lifted his teacup and blew on the surface of the tea. "Jinlan City is closest to Zhao Hua Temple. They have a lot of dealings with each other. If something happened, the masters of the temple should be aware of any anomalies."

Yue Qingyuan nodded. "Yes, twenty days ago, a Jinlan city merchant escaped from the city by waterway and went to Zhao Hua Temple for help."

He used the word "escape" and it seemed that the situation was very serious. Everyone listened solemnly, but Shang Qinghua was still confused.

"That merchant was owner of Jinlan city's top weapon shop. Every year he went to Zhao Hua Temple to light candles and burn incense so many of the monks knew him," Yue Qingyuan went on. "When he arrived at Zhao Hua Temple he was all wrapped up in black cloth, with only half of his face exposed. He collapsed at the steps of the temple while he kept repeating that there was a terrible plague in the city. The monks immediately carried him to the hall and reported to the elders. However, by the time the elders came out, it was too late."

Dead?

"That merchant had turned into a skeleton," Yue Qingyuan said slowly.

Shang Qinghua was terrified. He just said that the man was tired when he arrived at the temple doorway, how did he suddenly turn into a skeleton? He hadn't written anything like this! Frantically, he caught Shen Qingqiu's eye, and the other transmigrator subtly shook his head before speaking.

"Zhangmeng-shixiong just said the merchant's body was wrapped in black cloth? From head to toe?"

Yue Qingyuan nodded in confirmation. "Exactly. During that time, the monks tried to help him remove the black cloth but he cried out in pain so they dared not pull it off by force."

Listening to these words, it might have been like tearing his skin off.

"The abbot of Zhao Hua Temple was deeply disturbed," Yue Qingyuan continued. "After some discussion, that very night they sent masters Wu Chen, Wu Huan, and Wu Nian to investigate. So far none of them have returned."Compared to Shen Qingqiu's generation, the "Wu" generation were of higher seniority, therefore their cultivation shouldn't be worse than his.

"No one came back?" Shen Qingqiu asked in a slightly surprised tone.

Yue Qingyuan nodded solemnly. "Huan Hua Palace and Tian Yi also sent more than 10 disciples. None of them returned either."

Three of the four great sects had all been dragged down into this mess.

Shang w suddenly realized why they had been summoned today.

Sure enough, Yue Qingyuan said, "Our friends sent a message to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect asking for our help. We must certainly send help. This matter is urgent and I fear that some 'others' who like to stir up trouble might be behind this. Some of us have to go and some of us to stay behind."

The "others," needless to say, referred to the demons. Liu Qingge was the first to speak. "Bai Zhan Peak's sense of honor will not allow me to shirk this duty. I would like to escort Mu-shixiong."

Since the city was suffering from a plague, then the Lord of Qian Cao Peak, Mu Qingfang must be sent to help. Shen Qingqiu spoke next. "I would like to go with them."

Yue Qingyuan hesitated. "I intended to ask you to stay behind to protect the sect."

"Zhangmeng-shixiong, why do you think I'm so fragile? Even though I am not so talented, if it really is the demons, I know a little about them that will be of help," Shen Qingqiu replied easily. A walking demon encyclopedia – whether it was the original Shen Qingqiu or him, both of them could definitely be given this title. For hundreds of years, Qing Jing Peak had accumulated this knowledge. If the Peak Lord didn't read all those books then he would be buried behind the back of the bamboo house...

Yue Qingyuan considered this and in the end he let Shen Qingqiu go with Liu Qingge and Mu Qingfang since it would be easy for them to. Plus the War God of Bai Zhan could protect them. It was decided that they would be divided into three groups. Liu Qingge, Mu Qingfang, and Shen Qingqiu would go first to check out what was happening in the city. The second group would stay outside the city and make a move whenever they were needed. The third group would stay behind to protect the Cang Qiong Mountain sect.

The situation was urgent, which meant they couldn't spare the time to use boats, carriages, and other vehicles, and so the three set off on their flying swords.