Work Text:
Binghe doesn't think that being taken on a private roadtrip by his shizun mere weeks after having joined the peak is normal, but shizun said to keep quiet and not question it. So, of course, Binghe stays quiet and doesn't question it.
Even as they stop at a small town and shizun tells the carriage driver to wait there. Even as he takes Binghe deeper into the forest. Even as they board Xiu Ya to move further in.
He's heard stories of parents abandoning their children in forests, left to be devoured by demons in chicken-legged houses. But surely shizun wouldn't waste so much effort if he wanted Binghe to leave? It's only been a few weeks, and shizun picked him-
They eventually find an entrance to a cave, half-covered with a large boulder. There's just enough space for them to squeeze into the tunnel, but it's hardly comfortable. Shizun lights a night pearl, handing another to Binghe, and starts striding down the path at a pace Binghe struggles to match.
When the tunnel opens into a larger space, the darkness seems to thicken, the light given out by the pearls spreading less than before. Binghe can barely even see shizun anymore.
And then he's forced to cover his eyes with a small hiss, a major lighting array activating at full power.
There's more hissing and grunting coming from someone else, but surely it isn't shizun making such ugly noises...?
The array dims until it reaches a level shizun deems acceptable. Binghe's still blinking the stars out of his eyes when shizun grabs him by the arm, moving closer towards the middle of the room and, as he sees now, the person kneeling there.
While being covered in a mindboggling amount of chains and shimmering ropes.
Not a human, he realizes after a moment. He's never seen a demon before, but he's pretty sure that's one.
Shizun unceremoniously kicks him in the thigh.
The demon groans again, raising his head and squinting up at them. His expression is already hateful, even before his eyes land on Binghe. Once they do, it seems as if they're glowing with anger.
Binghe gives in to the urge of hiding behind Shizun.
Shizun seems unphased, tapping the closed fan against his chin as he makes a contemplative noise.
"Do you know who you are?" He asks.
The demon sneers. "That line usually goes the other way, doll."
"Good." Why does the demon get praise for an insult, when Binghe hasn't even managed an 'acceptable' despite all his efforts?? So unfair! "That should make this easier."
"So why are we restarting the interrogation?" The demon seems to lean back in his chains, slouching back as much as they let him. "I thought we established what happens to those who try to extract information from me."
Shizun snorts in derision. "This master is not affiliated with Huan Hua Palace. He only wishes to impart certain knowledge."
The demon's expression sours. “It wasn't enough to betray me, huh? She just had to drive the point deeper-"
“Whatever do you mean by that," Shizun says dismissively, spreading his fan open with a whoosh. “It doesn't matter. This master comes with a proposition."
“What a coincidence! I have a suggestion, too. Why don't you go and stuff that fan up your-"
“So junshang doesn't wish for freedom?"
Binghe turns his head around so quickly his neck aches, staring at shizun in shock. That… Didn't sound like something shizun had the authority to do…?
The demon doesn't speak for a moment, watching shizun with narrowed eyes.
“And what would a righteous cultivator get out of ruining the hard-earned results of the unprecedented coalition of the four great sects?" He asks. “I'm not stupid, doll."
Despite Binghe's worries - shizun had ordered lashes for less - it seems like such an answer satisfied him.
“Naturally. I'd expect you to remove a pest from my peak in exchange."
Shizun steps back and to the side slightly, leaving Binghe alone at the front. It takes him a second to realize what that means.
“Shizun…?"
Pest? But shizun picked him! What had Binghe done to deserve Shizun throwing him into the clutches of a demon?
The demon doesn't look particularly happy with that trade, either.
“If you didn't want the kid, you could've simply kept it in your pants," he glares. “Toss him back to his mother. Or is she too busy seducing another target, hm?"
Binghe blinks, even more confused. “My mom is dead."
For a moment, it looks like that reveal genuinely hurt the demon. But then his expression steels again. “None of my business, is it? Not anymore.”
“Junshang is mistaken.” Shizun sounds faintly amused. “It is, in fact, his business. Little Beast, touch him. Anywhere is fine, as long as it's skin to skin."
…Binghe doesn't want to do that, but he wants to disappoint shizun even less. Maybe if he does a good enough job of following his orders, shizun would let him stay on Qing Jing?
He gingerly approaches the kneeling demon, trying to figure out where he should touch him. In the end, Binghe settles on pressing the tips of his fingers against the demon's cheek.
Something - some sort of weird energy - whooshes through him through that small point of contact.
And the demon's expression crumbles into despair.
“You're-" His voice sounds choked up as he stares at Binghe like he’s seeing a ghost. “But she-"
“Perhaps it would be helpful for junshang to know," Shizun is standing there, arms folded leisurely as he watches the proceedings with a self-satisfied expression. “That the four sects had been convinced to work together by means of Huan Hua's Palace Master blaming junshang for the death of his Head Disciple."
The demon's eyes snap towards shizun, but his head doesn't move an inch. If anything, he presses closer towards Binghe's hand.
“Is that so."
“Fascinating, then, isn't it, that her son was born some months after your capture."
Wait. WAIT. Binghe glances back, staring at shizun in shock. “My- But- Shizun knew-?”
He trails off, unsure of what to ask. Helpless, he looks at the captive again.
“You look like her." The demon says, voice low. “Splitting image. Tell me, child, what name were you given?”
“This one is Luo Binghe.”
︙
“Luo?”
“Like the Luo river," Binghe elaborates. “Some fishermen found me floating in a basket on the coldest day of the year."
The demon closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. When he opens them again, they are blazing.
“Well, doll, have you got any other stipulations for my release?" He directs at shizun.
“You'll keep Cang Qiong out of whatever revenge you're planning," Shizun says instantly.
That condition gets a tilted head in response as the demon considers it. “That depends. Is that little disciple who crossed swords with me still a part of it?"
“He had no choice back then. He will not stand against you anymore."
The demon snorts. “And you have the means to ensure that, do you?"
“Yes."
“Very well." A shrug. “In that case, I want something in return. Until I regain my strength and gather allies, I want you to keep Binghe safe in Cang Qiong.”
Shizun crosses the cave in a couple of steps.
"Are! You! Out! Of! Your! Mind!" He screeches, punctuating each exclamation with a thwack of his fan.
The demon ducks his head, but it's only to hide his smile, Binghe thinks.
"You want to leave him in Cang Qiong? At a sect full of cultivators? A half-demon?!"
"His powers are still sealed," The demon shrugs. "And where would be safer than the one place no one would ever suspect to look at?"
A muscle ticks in shizun's cheek. “Fine," he spits out. “Junshang gets a year, not a day more."
"Deal."
