Chapter Text
Frustration was a familiar emotion for Qi Qingqi during Peak Lord meetings. It was one of the few times she was forced to be around Shen Qingqiu. Normally she was able to avoid him by just heading to Xian Shu Peak (with its no males allowed) and hunkering down until he left.
Although his lack of a presence was certainly contributing to her mounting anger.
This meeting was supposed to have started half a sichen ago and yet his seat was notably empty. Peak Lords being absent wasn't normally an issue but they usually informed one of their martial siblings before the meeting so they could tell the rest of them. None of them had seen him since Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu had gotten into a fight two weeks ago.
She wasn't the only one shooting annoyed glances that way. Wei Wingwei was also angrily staring the empty chair down. At least she assumed it was because of his tardiness it could have been because of Shen Qingqiu accusing Wan Jian Peak of sending Qing Jing Peak substandard training swords.
She tore her eyes away from the Qing Jing Peak Lords seat. Just one seat down was Shang Qinghuas empty chair and yet nobody was glaring at his chair. Before the meeting he’d sent his head disciple to tell Yue Qingyuan about an emergency meeting with one of the farmers that supplied the sect with food. Something about renegotiating the contract due to cross contamination.
From the seat beside Qi Qingqi, Liu Qingge scowled, “He can’t be allowed to get away with such disrespect this time.”
Qi Qingqi nodded. Ever since Shen Qingqiu had joined the sect, he’d acted without any regards for decency or the consequences that followed. From their gossip sessions, she knew the attempt on his life was still bothering Liu Qingge.
The visits to the Warm Red Pavilion down the mountain were just fire on the already burning kindling.
She knew the types of men who visited such establishments. A place where women turned to such a risky profession in a last ditch hope of survival and where men went to force women to do the disgusting things their wives wouldn’t. Where women signed away their chance to refuse.
A few on Qi Qingqi’s own disciples had come from similar places although she’d yet to get any from the Warm Red Pavilion specifically.
”Perhaps Yue-shixiong will do something.” Even as the words left her, Qi Qingqi knew that would never happen. Even before he’d started trying to court Shen Qingqiu, Yue Qingyuan had been hesitant to argue (much less punish) Shen Qingqiu.
Maybe if they could force the issue then Yue Qingyuan would at least pretend to punish him.
However, a quick glance around the ornately carved, wooden table showed her fellow peak lords talking amongst themselves, clearly uninterested in their conversation. They must have given up on trying to bring the Qing Jing Peak Lord to justice.
Although, perhaps Mu Qingfang and Gao Qinggao would throw their weight in with her and Liu Qingge.
They’d been insulted when, after a training incident on Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu had refused to allow Mu Qingfang to treat the various injuries and had called Gao Qinggaos talismans “unreliable at best and were actively causing trouble for this peak”.
Though it wasn’t a majority of the peak lords, it was the more higher ranked ones that she could currently count on.
Now to get everyone’s attention she thought. It would have to be done in a way to show everyone she was serious. (Definitely not because she liked dramatics)
As Liu Qingge went to say something, Qi Qingqi reinforced her arms with spiritual power and slammed her hands onto the table. Everyone’s conversations abruptly stopped and yet the only one she was paying attention to was Yue Qingyuan. He placidly blinked at her with barely a change in expression.
”Is there something you wish to say before the meeting, Qi-shimei?”
She took a deep breath. “Yue-shixiong, this has to be the end of your ceaseless favoritism. You informed us all of this meeting a month in advance and yet he refuses to show. I understand you are attempting to court him however he is now ignoring your authority.”
His insipid smile hadn’t changed. “We must insist you punish Shen Qingqiu.”
Liu Qingge jerked his head in agreement and Gao Qinggao could have flown without his sword with his fast his head was shaking. Even Mu Qingfang and Wei Qingqiu had supported her even if it wasn’t as enthusiastic as she’d hoped.
For a brief moment it looked like Yue Qingyuan was considering it; however, the brief glimpse of hope soon turned to anger at his response, “Xiao-Jiu has never missed a meeting before and this one is sure he has a reasonable excuse as to his absence.”
“An Ding Peak does ten times the work of Qing Jing and yet Shang Qinghua could send a disciple. What reason could Shen Qingqiu give that would be good enough?”
Out the corner of her eye, Qi Qingqi saw Mu Qingfang making his way around the circular table before she turned her focus back on Yue Qingyuan. “If you refuse to punish him for this then at least allow one of our disciples to look into his actions.”
Finally Yue Qingyuans expression changed. It was only a raised eyebrow but Qi Qingqi was sure it meant he was thinking it over.
”Why would you feel an investigation is necessary?”
Before she could explain, Mu Qingfang had reached her and grabbed her arm. It will be better for Liu Qingge to take over now she thought.
She nodded at Liu Qingge as Mu Qingfang showed her large clusters of splinters and wooden shards embedded in her palms. There was already a small pool of blood making the handprint on the table all the more visible.
Watching Mu Qingfang methodically pull out each splinter was fascinating. Her pain tolerance as a cultivator was greater than the common people but Mu Qingfang was treating her injuries with just as much care as he would a mortal child. When he pulled one piece of wood out a small bubble of blood pooled before her spiritual power sealed the hole.
in her anger, Qi Qingqi’s normally exquisite control had failed and she’d actually damaged the table.
When he finished with her left palm, Qi Qingqi wiped the blood onto the table. There was already some on it and she hadn’t thought to bring a spare piece of fabric.
Although a bloodshed free area was never guaranteed when Liu Qingge was around, normally when he comes back from a night hunt they have a few days before he starts to injure people. Qi Qingqi was sure his family had some demon heritage that noble society covered up but she’d never say that to his face.
Looking at the remaining handprint, Qi Qingqi was embarrassed. Over thousands of years ago the sects founder had carved layers upon layers of protective spells and talismans into the wood to preserve the table through time, in spite of weather, and against violence. Yet she’d damaged it over her martial siblings tardiness.
”Is something wrong,” Mu Qingfang asked as she tensed up. Qi Qingqi ignored his question (and the following annoyed huff) to spread her blood onto the wood grain.
She shouldn’t have been able to leave a scratch upon the surface much less turn a portion of it to pulp. The blood spread seaped into every crevice it could find until she could see a newly carved (and slightly crooked) character.
One less destructive gesture brought the rooms attention back on her and a wave directed at Gao Qinggao brought the talisman peak lord to his feat.
Before he could get to her the symbol started to glow a burnt red and the light from the character started spreading throughout the grain towards her martial siblings. Darker colors always meant the carver had messed up somewhere.
Quickly everyone shoved themselves away from the table. Glowing words were never a good sign and were worse when they required a blood sacrifice to activate. At the best of times they could transform the body and at worse could control the mind. Considering the strength of the people around, it was best to get away to where the affects might be weaker.
Especially when whoever carved it had hidden it in a place where only the peak lords (and occasionally their head disciples) went.
The room started to spin as more and more characters revealed themselves. When the entire table was almost covered in light, Qi Qingqi started getting the tell-tale signs of nausea that normally came from array-cursed physical transformations. It normally started heart as opposed to the stomach.
Hopefully it would be less embarrassing than the last time this happened she thought as she passed out.
When Qi Qingqi came to she was on the floor. With the twisted table legs in front of her, she assumed she was still on Cang Qing Peak.
As she sat up, Qi Qingqi noted that the soreness from the splinters hadn’t carried over to her paws. She froze as the sight of paws had finally registered.
There was an uncomfortable weight near her tailbone that one swift glance revealed to be a sleek black tail that was gently swaying from side to side. The array had turned her and presumably her martial siblings into cats.
Animal transformations were normally a thing only the disciples and newer cultivators had to worry about. Stronger cultivators were usually able to fight off most of the effects leaving them with the animal ears or tail. Whatever mistake the unknown person had made must have made the spell use the natural qi on the mountain rather than the spiritual power the carver put into it.
At least this was less embarrassing than the time Qi Qingqi had been turned into a songbird. She had just joined Xian Shu and due to her inexperience hadn’t retained her mind. She’d spent several nights just keeping her fellow disciples awake because of her loud chirping.
”Mu Qingfang must surely have the cure on Qian Cao,” she mumbled as she jumped from the nearby chair onto the table.
”Unfortunately Qi-shimei, this one doesn’t have the medicinal flowers in stock. I’d just sent some disciples out for more yesterday,” Mu Qingfang said. Hearing his gravely voice coming out of a soft gray and white cat was quite odd.
As the two continued talking, two more cats joined them on the table. One grey-striped and one orange tabby. Out of the grey cat came Gao Qinggao’s voice,” Goodnews Mu-shining, I got a good look at the array before passing out and this array doesn’t need a flower to cure. We just need to be called by our names by someone we know.”
‘He paused and, upon seeing everyone’s deadpanned faces, clarified, “Somebody who isn’t also a cat.”
”So we wait for Xiao-Jiu to arrive,” Yue Qingyuan said. Qi Qingqi hadn’t expected him to be such a bright orange.
Qi Qingqi wasn’t going to just wait for Shen Qingqiu to arrive when she could just go to Xian Shu where Liu Mingyan or someone elsewould easily recognize her Shizun. Her disciples had thought she hadn’t heard them calling her catty behind her back.
As she went to leave the groans and yelps up her martial siblings awoke to new feline bodies. Qi Qingqi at least wouldn’t be explaining the situation.
Slowly cat after cat made their way onto the table and sat in front of their respective chairs until the only present one missing was Liu Qingge. “ Liu-shidi could you please hurry up so we can discuss this ?”
”I’m trying!” He shouted back.
Of course, give him a monster to fight and he’ll figure out how to kill it within a sicken but have him learn to walk slightly differently and he’ll take the entire day just learning how to sit up. I’m going to drag him up here, she thought.
With one graceful leap she was looking down at Liu Qingge. With what she saw she could be forgiven for the cackling that she didn’t even bother trying to hide.
Looking up at her and hanging only halfway up his chair, Liu Qingge was the fluffiest little kitten Qi Qingqi had ever seen. The black fur around his face was almost twice the size of his head.
He scowled at her, “Would you come help?”
Had she still had one, she would have raised an eyebrow at such a dumb question. “I will after taking in the sight,” she teased as her tail flicked in amusement.
Liu Qingge hissed at her. Her chuckling grew louder and her tail moved faster.
She never really tried hiding her emotions but her tail giving away every single feeling was something she would need to get used to for the time being. Qi Qingqi finally hopped down onto Lie Qingge’s seat. Now how to help him with no hands she asked herself.
Recreating what she’d seen actual cats do, Qi Qingqi grabbed Liu Qingge by his neck and pulled.
“Ow!” He screamed as he made it onto the seat. It just dawned on her that, although it hadn’t looked painful when they were humans, pulling on someone’s neck was bound to hurt.
Qi Qingqi let him go immediately. She asked,” Think you can get onto the table by yourself?”
He ignored her.
She huffed but sat aside as Liu Qingge crouched down (and shook his really fluffy body) before he leaped towards the table edge. He managed to latch onto the thick wood but despite his shifting never moved.
It was actually embarrassing to watch him wiggle around in the air. Qi Qingqi soared over him to help pull him up again.
Rather than thank her, Liu Qingge batted at her tail before flouncing towards their martial siblings. Qi Qingqi let out another chuckle before following him.
”Perhaps not him but his disciples would if they believed we had in some way wronged him,” Gao Qinggao told Yue Qingyuan. It seems they had already begun trying to figure out who had laid this trap for them and the main suspect was someone from Qing Jing.
”Or maybe,” Wei Qingwei spoke up from where he sat closest to the door,” whoever did this is a part of the stampede outside.” His hearing had been warped from his time spent making swords in such a way that he couldn’t hear people talking right in front of him but could hear someone walking from outside the buildings.
Yue Qingyuan frowned and Qi Qingqi understood why. It couldn’t have been Shen Qingqiu outside he hated to run and would avoid it if he could.
When the doors opened to reveal a bunch of Cang Qiong disciples, Qi Qingqi was suspicious. They knew not to bother them when they were in a meeting unless the sect itself was on fire and yet she smelled no smoke.
Their angry faces all but confirmed that they had something to do with the current situation.
”What?” Liu Qingge squeaked out. It seemed her puffball of a shixiong had already forgotten that he was a kitten and they wouldn’t be able to understand him.
Instead of answering, the presumably biggest dimwit on the mountain and leader of the group asked his entourage of followers,” Bai Zhan did know it was our day for pranks, right?” The disciple on her left checked something before replying,” Yes Ji Jue was waiting until the meeting had well passed started before sending some disciples over.”
She frowned,”Did we get the time wrong?”
Someone farther in the group answered, “The letter we intercepted from A Ding said the meeting wasn’t supposed to start until midday.”
Everyone startled as Yue Qingyuan hissed and it finally hit Qi Qingqi were she’d seen the leader of this group of ruffians before. It was Jian Lan, Yue Qingyuans head disciple and seeing her involved in this nonsense must have made the normally calm sect leader extremely mad.
Jian Lan groaned, “I’ll send for someone on Ku Xing to redo the array before you-,” she jabbed at the boy on her right,”- give An Ding the all clear to send the meeting missive to Qing Jing.”
Had Shang Qinghua been here these disciples would have lost limbs.
The last time someone had messed with the mail had been when Qi Qingqi still been a disciple. Shang Qinghua had just finished reorganizing the mail system (which is how he became head disciple) when someone from Ku Xing decided to send a talisman to change their friend on Xian Shu’s robes from purple to green. Unfortunately the ink had ran and instead all the paperwork on An Ding caught fire before it could even be delivered.
When Shang Qinghua learned who messed with his beloved pride and joy he’d had them punished with shoveling manure for Long You for a month.
What he was going to do to them would certainly pale in comparison to what Yue Qingyuan would do should their prank mess with his Xian-Jiu’s precious mail.
Some girl from the back asked,” What should we do with the cats?”
Jian Lan shrugged,” Just grab them and we’ll come up with something later.”
None of them were just going to let themselves be captured, even by their own sects disciples. Liu Qingge immediately leaped at Jian Lan, misjudged how far his tiny little legs could take him, and found himself just clawing at her robes. Before he could do any real damage, somebody took off one of their outer robes and scooped him up in a makeshift bag.
The second in command was making her way towards Gao Qinggao’s unguarded back. Rather than just fight he’d turned back to the array.
Qi Qingqi wanted to tell him to leave it be and attack or run but she’d had to scarper away from an approaching disciple. Another tried to scoop her up with the “bag” but Qi Qingqi leaped through their arms towards the exit.
Mu Qingfang had had the same idea as her. Unfortunately the boy from before was still guarding the door. They spared each other a glance before lunging at him. Mu Qingfang went after his ankles and Qi Qingqi used the nearby table leg to boost herself up to his neck.
He screamed as Qi Qingqi sank her claws into the muscles around his neck. Tiny rivulets of blood slowly spread down his collar until they were hidden by the black robes of a Cang Qiong disciple.
Over his shoulder, Qi Qingqi could see Yue Qingyuan still sitting on the table just glaring at Jian Lan. It would have been more effective had he still been in his human body.
The brief distraction was enough for her victim to grab Qi Qingqi’s neck. Every muscle locked up and all she could do was scream and hope he went deaf. She’d have to apologize to Liu Qingge after they turned back.
Her captor rubbed at his bloody neck, shot a sneering glare at Qi Qingqi’s, before throwing her into the bundle of robes.
From somewhere, Liu Qingge yelped,” Watch it!”
”I’m trying but there’s not much space in this bag.” Gao Qinggao,the idiot of the day.
”These are robes,” Liu Qingge replied, confused. Nevermind.
From everywhere Yue Qingyuans voice came,” Stop, all of you. None of use are going to be comfortable until we get out of here!”
Qi Qingqi would deny the fear she felt until the day she died. Yue Qingyuan was always so nice and polite that it made you forget just how terrifying he could actually be.
If he was like the around Shen Qingqiu it would probably solve most of the sects issues (they’d probably already be married too).
When the icy cold water came from above (or maybe below) her, Qi Qingqi and her martial siblings started yowling. Being suddenly dunked in cold water wasn’t pleasant as a human and the instincts the array had given her insisted she scream, claw, and run as far away as she could.
Someones voice just barely managed to cut through the screams,” Did anyone hear that?”
”No!” They all screamed back.
They quickly got used to the feeling even if the sensation of wet fur never quite went array. Soon tempers settled and Liu Qingge spoke up,” Anyone have any ideas on where we are?”
Qi Qingqi wished them the best of luck figuring this out. Hopefully they were still on the mountain but figuring out which of the many rivers, streams, or ponds from within the “bag” was almost next to impossible.
Although, now that she thought about it, considering the soon to be kicked out disciples plans they were probably on Qing Jing Peak.
Figuring out whether they were about to fall off the side of the mountain on one of Qing Jings many tributaries or they were floating around one of its numerous ponds would have to wait until they somehow managed to get free.
Maybe someone had heard their screaming just now or would see the squirming robes and get curious about the robes before they froze to death.
”Come on shixiong, I knew I saw something,” suddenly a young girls voice rang out.
A light came from behind Qi Qingqi and she was dumped out onto the mist-touched grass. Qi Qingqi immediately shook the chill from here fur.
In front of her was a cheerful girl in blue and green robes that Qi Qingqi only vaguely recognized and a plain looking brown haired boy who was clearly running a fever. It was one of the few girls that Shen Qingqiu had managed to snatch up before her.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
Putting on her best cat impression (despite currently being one), Qi Qingqi started to rub her body all along the girls legs and started purring. She got a giggle in response and was picked up. Taking advantage of the impromptu cuddle, she stuck her nose into the girls neck.
Her pulse was normal but checking her cultivation and a more in depth medical examination would have to wait until later.
“Qi-shimei, what are you doing?” Yue Qingyuan asked from beside the discarded, plain brown robes.
”Thanking our rescuer of course,” she lied,”Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”
He’d always refused when Qi Qingqi has asked that one of her disciples be allowed to look into the more lecherous rumors surrounding the Qing Jing Peak Lord.
Yue Qingyuan gave her a slow shake of his head and a suspicious look. He’d probably still be interrogating her had Shen Qingqiu and another disciple not appeared from around the bamboo.
Quickly, Yue Qingyuan forgot everything and started running towards Shen Qingqiu. Even from her pearly, Qi Qingqi could see the love struck expression on his face.
Liu Qingge followed swiftly after Yue Qingyuan although he looked more inclined to bite Shen Qingqiu than kiss him.
With way more elegance than the situation required, Shen Qingqiu scooped up them both up. Finally a flaw in his untouchable mask appeared as he stared at the two.
He ignored the nuzzling Yue Qingyuan and the gnawing Liu Qingge and instead focused on Qi Qingqi’s holder, “Who is your friend, Ning Yingying?”
She suddenly found herself clutched in a very restrictive embrace. Could Shen Qingqiu’s very presence be so terrifying that a simple question was enough to drive the girl to seek comfort in a damp cat she’d only just found?
”I just found them Shizun. Can they stay, please?”
Rather than answer, he just hummed before turning to the two boys. To the sickly boy he said,” Ming Fan, grab the rest before you join us,” and to the other,” Get back to your chores, beast.”
The boy didn’t look beastly. He just needed to take better care of appearance and he’d be quite the looker (the resemblance to Shang Qinghua was noted and then shoved straight into the furthest recess of her mind).
Qi Qingqi was glad to be in Ning Yingying’s arms rather than Ming Fans. With his very flushed face, the occasional cough, and his runny nose that would have gotten into her fur, Qi Qingqi would have clawed him multiple times rather than be carried.
At least one of them was having a good time. Yue Qingyuan was probably going to ascend with how close Shen Qingqiu was holding him.