Chapter Text
“Does your heart still hold resentment?”
“I want to see others down, only then will I be happy. What do you think?”
“Engaging in feminine charms is harmful to cultivation.”
Ptui!
Lying in the disciple’s quarters of Qing Jing peak that night, surrounded by stinky men on all four sides, he, unable to sleep, can only ruminate endlessly, coming up with one petty heart’s scheme after another while waiting for dawn.
That Yue Qingyuan, who does he think he is, having become the head disciple of Qiong Ding, now, he’s going around lecturing others as if he’d assumed the position of sect leader - hmph, this ancestor’s affairs, it’s not his turn to govern!
Every day, acting lofty and sanctimonious, as if he, himself, has never engaged in…
Pondering it further, Zhangmen-shixiong’s indeed yet to express interest in anyone, within or outside the sect…
Ptui!
Perhaps his sword can’t be unsheathed, big and useless like that oaf himself!
Pathetic.
At least he, Shen Jiu, is a true villain, be it murder or arson, if he has the guts to do it, then he’s unafraid to own up to his deeds, unlike Yue Qi, that false gentleman, only capable of saying “sorry”, refusing to give an explanation even if you’d beat him to death!
Good, Yue Qingyuan.
Continue to keep pretending, this ancestor will just have to let everyone see that you’re no better that us wretched people, merely a lying, faithless -
- that’s right.
In the eyes of mortals, what’s worse than a lecher who, without shame, indulges in pleasures of the flesh?
A hypocrite!
A man who - abandons his lover to pursue glory and power, tossing them away like a used rag…and one with child, at that!
As for the role of the ‘spurned lover’ in this play, of course, it has to be -
Him!
Other than himself, who could understand Yue Qi better, who has Yue Qi let down the most in this life?!
He, himself, will, with his own two hands, grab Yue Qingyuan and push him down -
Push him down from his position as the successor to Cang Qiong sect’s sect leader!
If he wants to act, it has to be fast - since the battle at Bailu mountain, where the demon Tianlang-jun was sealed, Yue Qingyuan’s repute grows by the day.
…in three months, a group of those Qiong Ding peak disciples will descend the mountain for a mission, after dragging him back to Cang Qiong instead of walloping that busybody Liu Qingge, that oaf had the audacity to ask him if he’d like anything from the town they’d be passing through -
When the time comes, he can simply sneak off when the sun sets to ‘engage in feminine charms’, in any case, everybody believes he’s a lecher anyway.
Now, what sort of maiden would Zhangmen-shixiong trick with his flowery promises and insincere words?
A courtesan from a green mansion?
No, it’s too unbelievable.
A nameless wandering cultivator with no status or ties to the great sects?
Too suspicious.
Then…a young miss from a prominent family, virtuous and demure, willing to give up everything for her Qi - no, Qingyuan-gege.
…tomorrow, ask the jiejies to recommend a tailor, steal some silver from these rich young masters to make a set of robes…
He, Shen Jiu, isn’t a fool, in his belly and his heart, he’s clear - such a petty trick, would probably not hinder Yue Qingyuan’s ascension to the seat of sect leader, but at least for the rest of his immortal life, his good name will be left to sweep the floor with, jumping into the yellow river wouldn’t wash him clean!
When the time comes, perhaps his anger will subside a little.
After all, he, Shen Jiu, is a rotten person, rotten from birth - only when those people like Yue Qi, the phoenix who’s risen from the branches the soar, the carp who’s leapt over the gate to become a dragon, have fallen into the abyss, sharing bitterness and suffering with him, can he be happy.