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一
Yue Qingyuan insisted on holding one-on-one meetings with each Peak Lord every month; An elaborate scheme Shen Jiu suspected to be concocted purely to get him in the same room regularly.
Well, if the sect leader wished to waste his time, who was Shen Jiu to stop him?
Still, that didn’t mean he was going to show up on time. Let Zhangmen-shixiong wait.
When he finally arrived, Shen Jiu let himself inside without waiting for an invitation. He expected to find Yue Qingyuan at the table, with that annoying smile of his.
He didn’t expect to find him dead.
二
At first, he thought Yue Qingyuan had simply fallen asleep. It wouldn’t have been odd, with his taskload. He made some scathing comments as he entered, kneeling neatly behind the table. It was odd that Yue Qingyuan wasn’t moving. Falling asleep was one thing; Staying asleep while someone entered the room was something else entirely.
Fed up with waiting, Shen Jiu poked him harshly with the fan.
Yue Qingyuan fell to the side, off the table. There was a small trail of blood in the corner of his mouth. His eyes were open, glassy, lifeless.
He yelled for help.
三
The head disciple was capable enough to call for Mu Qingfang. Shen Jiu suspected she was suppressing the shock, refusing to believe her own eyes.
He couldn’t blame her; He was doing the same.
Kneeling there, with Qi-ge’s lifeless body pillowed upon his thighs, Shen Jiu brushed through those silver-speckled hair. He had already drawn the necessary talismans, ascertaining that there had been no one in the room other than Qi-ge all day.
He’d need to wait for Mu Qingfang’s diagnosis, but if no one had entered… Then how was Qi-ge dead? What happened to steal his life away?
四
Shen Jiu passed the rest of the day in a state of shock. Qi-ge was taken away from him eventually, carried away to Qian Cao.
There were some whispers about him; He couldn’t understand the words, but he didn’t doubt the content was less than flattering towards him. It wouldn’t be surprising if the rest of the Peak Lords decided to assign the blame to him. Who cared if he wasn’t anywhere near at the time? No one would believe that he’d be the last person to ever hurt Qi-ge.
They saw a potential motive, and that was enough.
五
He woke up, but refused to leave the bed. What was the point? Qi-ge was gone. It was only a matter of time before he was, too.
Only when Ming Fan hesitantly poked his head in and reminded him about the monthly meeting-
Shen Jiu startled, sitting up. “It’s today?”
He barely bothered to put an outer robe over his sleepwear, flying over on Xiu Ya with as much haste as he could manage.
It was still too late to find Yue Qingyuan alive but now, at least, Shen Jiu had hope.
He drank the strongest tonic he had.
六
He rushed over to Qiong Ding the moment he woke up. It was far too early for a social visit, but Shen Jiu didn’t particularly care about that.
Qi-ge’s bedroom was already vacated, he had checked there first. When he rushed into the office, Qi-ge was already fully dressed and kneeling at the table, brush in hand.
“Shidi?” He asked, joy lighting up his face.
Shen Jiu became abruptly aware of the picture he painted: disheveled, panting, having clearly gotten there as soon as possible.
“Ignore me,” he ordered, kneeling down before the table. “I am just… checking something.”
七
In the end, he almost missed it. Qi-ge was silent as he struggled, choking on his blood. It was only once his grip slacked and the brush clattered to the ground that Shen Jiu noticed, rushing over to his side.
“Why?!” Shen Jiu couldn’t understand. He was there the whole time! Nothing happened, no cursed correspondence, no attack from afar.
So why was he still-
“Xiao Jiu-” Qi-ge rasped, one hand rising to press against Shen Jiu’s cheek. “Qi-ge’s sorry- He rushed too much. To get back to you- Xuan Su was bonded to my soul. And that’s why-”
八
Qi-ge had come back. He came back. Just… Too late. Because he spent a year recovering from soulbonding with a sword.
Shen Jiu had left the body on the ground, a bloody handprint displayed on his face as he returned to Qing Jing. It didn’t matter if he rushed. When he woke, Qi-ge would be alive once more.
When he woke, he could ensure he lived. And then Qi-ge could share the truth again. They could finally get back onto the same page. They could finally be Xiao Jiu and Qi-ge, without the pointless secrecy.
They could finally reconcile.
九
Mu Qingfang had halted the attack with insulting ease. A couple needles, some herbal remedies, and left the room with a reminder for Qi-ge to take his medicine.
Shen Jiu stayed behind. And waited.
It clearly pained Qi-ge to say it, but he did so regardless. “Would shidi mind if we rescheduled this meeting?”
Shen Jiu stared, incredulous. “Is that all you have to say to me?”
“This shixiong apologizes-”
Again with the apologies. No matter how Shen Jiu poked, how many of his cards he showed, Yue Qingyuan never said it.
He drove Xiu Ya through his chest.
十
Shen Jiu pulled out a talisman, scribbling a quick message to Mu Qingfang. Nothing specific; Just claiming that Shen Jiu was too busy today, and he would very much appreciate it if Mu Qingfang could switch their slots around.
This way, Yue Qingyuan would survive. The episode would pass by unremarked, easily managed, kept hush between the leader and the healer.
And Yue Qingyuan would continue to offer him nothing but meaningless apologies, never intending to explain himself unless he was at death’s door. So Shen Jiu would play along. He’d stay away.
This way, nothing would ever change.
