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Shen Jiu woke up on the ground, his head aching, with Qi-ge's worried face hovering above him.
He looks older was his first thought.
"Xia-, uh, Shen-shidi!" The relief in Qi-ge's voice was obvious. "How are you feeling?"
Pushing himself up, Shen Jiu somewhat begrudgingly accepted Qi-ge's support. It was slightly embarassing, but why should he refuse?
There were more people in the room; A healer, kneeling by his other side, and some strangers loitering by a table, watching him with more curiosity than worry.
Shen Jiu himself was wearing an elaborate outfit comprised of many high-quality robes, the fabrics more expensive-looking than anything he had ever seen before. He quite liked it; He must have picked it himself.
Not that he remembered doing so. But it was alright, he could grasp the gist of the situation from the context clues.
Clearly, both Qi-ge and he joined a sect, and were quite successful in their cultivation. If the memory of the years he lost didn't return shortly, Shen Jiu would simply interrogate Qi-ge once they were in private.
"May I?" The healer stretched out his hand, and Shen Jiu decided to allow the examination, putting his wrist on display.
He didn't exactly trust the healer - he only trusted Qi-ge - but he didn't not trust him, either. Anyway, he was safe with Qi-ge.
Qi-ge's brows furrowed slightly. "Xiao Jiu?"
"Always fretting so much," Shen Jiu scoffed, but couldn't keep the fondness out of his voice. He brought up his free hand to pat Qi-ge's head, like one would a dog. A very loyal, protective, beloved dog. "This one is fine, Qi-ge needn't worry."
Judging by the way Qi-ge's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets, that probably wasn't how he usually acted in public. So what; He suffered some pain, he deserved some Qi-ge cuddles!
"Shen-shidi," the healer called gently, still circulating the qi through Shen Jiu's wrist. "Do you recognize who I am?"
"Of course I recognize shixiong," Shen Jiu lied confidently.
It seemed to have been a trap. He wasn't exactly sure what he had said wrong to tip them off, but what followed was a lot of talking over his head and the hassle of trying to get him to a secondary location.
On one hand, Shen Jiu knew he should trust his martial siblings. Qi-ge would never allow any harm to come to him. On the other hand, though-
"I would much rather just go home with Qi-ge and sleep it off," Shen Jiu insisted.
He couldn't understand why it brought Qi-ge closer to tears with each time he repeated that sentiment, though!
"It would be best to retire to familiar surroundings, if shixiong does not wish to go along with medical advice-"
"Isn't that exactly what I'm saying?"
"Enough," Qi-ge stopped the healer from continuing the argument, folding himself in-between them. Shen Jiu didn't hesitate to put his hand in the crook of Qi-ge's elbow, happy to stay close. "I'll take Xia-, Shen-shidi to the Bamboo House."
"Very well," the healer allowed. Shen Jiu couldn't help himself from directing a smug smile at him. The man - his shidi, apparently - rolled his eyes, appearing unsurprised. "I'd still appreciate it if Shen-shixiong allowed a check-up tomorrow."
"If that'll make shidi feel better, he may come over for tea," Shen Jiu graciously allowed. He had a house and, presumably, a tea set; He might as well make use of it!
One of the people still at the table choked on their tea, spewing droplets all over. Shen Jiu made a note of their appearance, adding them as his first name on the tea blacklist.
"Zhangmen-shixiong, what about the rest of the meeting-?" A mousy man asked, fiddling with his papers.
"Adjourned for now," Qi-ge didn't hesitate. "We'll pick it up tomorrow."
There were some complaints about that, which Shen Jiu didn't appreciate.
"What's on the agenda?" He asked, pulling Qi-ge along as he approached the mousy man. He grabbed what looked like the meeting plan, running through the lines with mounting amount of confusion. "Why are you all complaining? This looks routine. The wine- who's handling the wine? Can you meet the increased demand?"
"I- yes, but not long-term. The fields won't yield much more."
"Then we'll raise prices and start on new fields. The music festival- that's in a month. There's no way that wasn't already underway. How are the rehersals?"
"The disciples are on-track and ready to bring pride to the sect," a nearby woman said.
"Fabulous! Thanking shimei for her efforts. Next-" He continued down the agenda, proving that it did not have to take a lengthy discussion to deal with these matters. And finally, he reached the end. As he read, he pointed to a man with a high ponytail, who had not removed his hand off the hilt of his sword even once. "Wild beasts near Yunmeng to dispatch. That's your job, isn't it? Go deal with them, then."
The man left without further word, stomping away with a level of aggression Shen Jiu doubted to be healthy.
"There," he put down the papers, smiling smugly at his remaining martial siblings. "This way, none of you will have to delay. Any questions?"
The mousy man barreled into him, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Shen-shixiong, I really- really- That was- Waaah!"
Shen Jiu awkwardly patted him on the back. Did he not usually push the meetings along? Perhaps he found it entertaining to watch his martial siblings struggle...
"Shang-shidi, we should be going now," Qi-ge came to the rescue, chiding their martial brother gently.
Soon enough, Shen Jiu was freed, and followed Qi-ge across a rainbow bridge to another peak.
He did not speak to Qi-ge yet, despite there being seemingly no one around. It was easy to eavesdrop on people conversing in public, and cultivators had much better hearing. He'd just wait until they were home.
Shen Jiu admired the bamboo forest he was led through, happy with the scenery. It was so tranquil, so elegant...
The house embodied those qualities perfectly, too.
Qi-ge hesitated on the doorstep, but Shen Jiu didn't let him stay still for long - lest he decided he needed to go do his Sect Leader job when it could wait! - pulling him along as he searched for the bedroom.
"Qi-ge will have to tell me everything important later, just in case I don't remember soon enough," he said, taking the crown out of Qi-ge's hair. "But I meant what I said before; Xiao-Jiu is tired and wants to sleep. Qi-ge won't abandon him to a cold bed, will he?"
He accompanied the words with his best attempt at a puppy face.
"Of-of course not," Qi-ge stammered, his face growing red.
Satisfied, Shen Jiu untied Qi-ge's outer robes, pushing the gray fabric off his shoulders and carelessly throwing it over a divider before it was followed by his own outer robes. And the second layer, and third, until he was just in his inner robe.
He saw Qi-ge fish another crown out of his sleeve, putting it down on the table; It must've been removed from Shen Jiu's hair when he was unconscious.
Satisfied with that level of preparation, Shen Jiu pulled Qi-ge into the bed, curling against his side and using his chest as a pillow. Qi-ge felt rather stiff underneath him, as if unused to such a thing, but that was absurd! Of course they slept like this; What was the point of being in the same sect if they couldn't spend the nights together?
He was probably just worried about Shen Jiu. In an attempt to make Qi-ge feel better, Shen Jiu reached for his hand, threading their fingers together.
Qi-ge responded by pressing his lips against the crown of Shen Jiu's hair.
They fell asleep just like that.
