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It started when Yue Qingyuan came back wrong.
The general populace of Cang Qiong had only been informed about the battle against the Heavenly Demon Emperor once it had been decisively won, gathering on Qiong Ding to greet the returning forces.
Yue Qingyuan was right there at the front, bracketed by the Peak Lords and hailed as an instrumental part of their victory.
Shen Jiu was waiting alongside the other Head Disciples - all of them left behind, sans the one exception - just barely restraining himself from glaring.
To leave for such a dangerous mission without a word… He was deeply displeased, and Yue Qingyuan would hear about it soon. Would see it, the moment their eyes met.
Except he didn't look.
His gaze swept over the gathered disciples like they were as much as plain air, not pausing even for a second.
Shen Jiu let it slide - for now! - unable to react in such a public setting. But once Yue Qingyuan came crawling back, bringing another trinket alongside his endless apologies, oh, Shen Jiu would give him an earful then!
***
Entering the meeting room, Shen Jiu moved straight towards the head of the table, slamming his scrolls down.
“Yue Qingyuan is possessed."
The ten Peak Lords stared at him with various levels of bafflement.
“Is that why this meeting is starting half a shichen before it should?" Was Shang Qinghua's only contribution.
“Yes,” Shen Jiu said breezily. It had been exceedingly easy to fabricate the invitation notes. “Now, focus: we have a limited amount of time to solve this-"
Wei Qingwei raised his hand. “And Shen-shixiong is so confident of this, because…?”
Shen Jiu glanced over the group, surprised to see them all wait for an answer.
“You can't tell me none of you noticed how different he had been acting!" He said. “Ever since the battle against Tianlang-Jun-”
“Post-battle trauma manifests itself in various ways-" Mu Qingfang tried to interject, but Shen Jiu wouldn't let himself be silenced.
“-he's been treating everyone like they're air! He barely looks at anyone!"
Silence, only punctuated by the sound of fabrics rubbing against itself as people shifted uncomfortably.
“That's… How he always acts?" Qi Qingqi raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn't know since he's always acting like a simpering fool when you're around, but we're lucky to get a response that connects to what we asked about.”
He could only blink as he watched everyone nod and mutter in agreement.
“I haven't seen any expression other than that flaccid smile of his-"
“No, that's only since he dragged Shen-shixiong here. You weren't here before, but he'd just mope around like a depressed ghost-"
“Only after the seclusion in caves! Before that he was fairly sociable-"
“If you were talking about ways to improve one's cultivation, maybe!"
“ENOUGH!" He cut through the noise. “I don't care to hear any of this. Yue Qingyuan needs fixing-"
Liu Qingge opened his mouth, and Shen Jiu already knew he wasn't going to like whatever was going to come out. “You're just jealous he's not giving you special treatment anymore."
Shen Jiu bristled, pulling himself upright even straighter. “Special treatment? Special treatment?! Pray tell, what special treatment do you believe I've received?"
The Head Disciples sitting closest to Liu Qingge shifted away from him slightly. Liu Qingge didn't seem to care about that warning sign.
“You came in years late and you made the head disciple in months, didn't you?"
“I am Qing Jing's Head Disciple because I actually have a brain and use it," Shen Jiu seethed. “And, as opposed to the young masters populating the peak, who thought that the mediocre education they received at home would carry them through the entirety of their discipleship, I am not afraid of hard work. Do you know- After shizun told us about the recent battle, once she stepped out of the class, do you wish to know what the biggest question was? What's a heavenly demon. And you know what conclusion they came to? That it was some kind with wings!”
More than one Head Disciple winced at that.
“So, no, I did not cheat to receive my position. And the moment we ascend, I'm throwing out every single hallmaster who allowed this stagnation and mediocrity to persevere on our Peak- On the peak of the scholarly arts! These are the people who are supposed to advise others on strategy? I wouldn't trust these disciples to strategize their best route to return home!”
“Shixiong was saying about Yue Qingyuan being possessed?" Shang Qinghua interjected timidly. “What would you suggest we do about this?"
“Wait, you actually believe him?" Qi Qingqi sneered. Shen Jiu had found himself in the unpleasant situation of agreeing with her.
“Well, I'm not keen on hearing the details of his coup-"
“It's not a coup if it's a power I rightfully hold-"
“-and, like, what's the harm? If he's wrong, then he's wrong, but if he's right…”
He let the other Head Disciples digest that.
“Right,” Wei Qingwei clasped his hands. “What do we do?”
***
The plan was frightfully simple, in hopes that no one would fuck it up.
A net of talismans was set up, ready to capture Yue Qingyuan once he sat in his seat and trapping him inside until they determined what was wrong with him.
Of course, even such a simple plan could be derailed by Yue Qingyuan failing to attend the meeting.
It was decided that only a small group would seek him out so as to not spook whoever was possessing him, one consisting of Shen Jiu, Wei Qingwei, Shang Qinghua and Mu Qingfang.
The healer in case the issue was resolvable by medicine, the logistician for his vast knowledge, the swordsmith to carry the possession-detecting sword, and Shen Jiu, since he was the only one capable of noticing Yue Qingyuan's atypical behaviour.
Liu Qingge wanted to go, too. But since he was useless for their purposes - a fact which Shen Jiu delighted in telling him - he was ordered to stay behind.
***
Yue Qingyuan was more focused on his correspondence than his shidis, which was aggravating but also very helpful when it came to re-setting the talisman trap.
The sword detected nothing, but Shen Jiu had more or less expected that. It would have been too easy, and there were plenty of ways to control someone which didn't fall under possession.
He stepped closer, pulling the letter out of Yue Qingyuan's grasp. He finally succeeded at catching the man's attention, even if seeing a glare directed at himself was disconcerting. Yue Qingyuan's hand shot out to retrieve the missive, only to knock into the invisible barrier.
“Now then," Shen Jiu glared at the impostor. “What made you believe you could impersonate Yue-shixiong without anyone noticing?”
The person wearing Yue Qingyuan's body chuckled, expression shifting into a neutral smile. “Whatever do you mean?"
“Cut the crap. We've seen right through you."
“I'm afraid-"
“You should be," Shen Jiu didn't want to bother playing games. They could dance around it for hours, or he could just make an educated guess and- “You've been defeated once already, and quite recently at that. What made you think you could succeed this time, Tianlang-jun?"
The smile slid off of Qi-ge's face, replaced by pure shock. “...how-?"
Snapping his fan open, Shen Jiu turned his nose up. “It's hardly difficult to deduce. Someone drastically changed their behaviour after battling in close quarters with a strong opponent capable of manipulating their own blood; Only an idiot would fail to make that connection.”
Someone behind him coughed, but Shen Jiu stood by his words. If they felt insulted, they should study harder.
Mu Qingfang siddled a bit closer, leaning to whisper into Shen Jiu's ear. “Can the talismans-?"
“Yes, of course."
He wasn't so stupid as to try and hold the Heavenly Demon Emperor with something he could easily break out of! This was almost the same array as the one Huan Hua used, and it had been a pain and a half to obtain it. At least according to Shang Qinghua who, despite those words, brought them back within less than a day.
“So I see," Tianlang-Jun looked at him with a calculating gaze. “What do you wish to achieve by ambushing me, then?"
“Give Qi-ge back."
Tianlang-Jun shrugged. “Alright!"
The body went limp for a moment, before the ownership visibly changed.
The next time he spoke, it was Qi-ge.
“Xiao Jiu, don't-!"
“Qi-ge should sit back and let me work," Shen Jiu chided. Then, voice turning harder: “Did you really think I'd fall for that? You didn't even make it convincing."
The reins of the body were forcibly wrangled back. “It was worth a try!"
“Then so is this."
Mu Qingfang used his acupuncture needles to knock Qi-ge's body unconscious.
***
The rule was: no one was allowed to be with Tianlang-jun on their own, and if they absolutely had to be there without Shen Jiu, they better not fuck anything up.
Not that there were many opportunities for them to visit Tianlang-jun alone - not when it was Shen Jiu who requested permission to cultivate in the Lingxi Caves - but it was best to be prepared in case the hostage situation ran overly long. That way, they could contain the Heavenly Demon somewhere he would have a hard time escaping from.
The emperor did not appreciate his new prison cell.
“What is it with cultivators and using caves for holding?" He complained the moment the acupuncture needles left his body. “Out of one cave and straight into another. Bleh!"
“I'll happily dispatch you into a more scenic placement," Shen Jiu offered, kneeling down behind three separate array circles. “How would you enjoy the bottom of a lake?"
“At least I could enjoy the fish drama, then," Tianlang-jun sounded petulant. He tested the give of the immortal binding cables around him, but they held properly. “I've heard some fascinating facts about fish anatomy-"
“I couldn't care less."
The Heavenly Demon Emperor pouted.
Time moved differently in the caves. Sometimes a shichen stretched into infinity, sometimes a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Being forced to listen to Tianlang-jun's rambling retellings of various yellow books of dubious quality definitely felt like the former.
With the cultivation bound, they had to give Tianlang-jun food in order to keep Qi-ge's body alive. It was during one of such mealtimes, as the emperor happily ate some congee, that Shen Jiu decided to weaponize some of the information he had Shang Qinghua obtain.
“The Lady of Lotus Palace is going to cheat on her husband with the cook."
Tianlang-jun gaped at him, the bowl forgotten. “...what."
“The love triangle in Chronicles of Demonic Cultivation is going to end with the two love interests deciding they prefer each other.”
The bowl landed on the ground, congee spilling as Tianlang-jun rushed on his knees, palms pressed against the barrier. “No- No!”
“And as for Xiao Mei-"
“Please! Not Xiao Mei!”
Shen Jiu paused, narrowing his eyes. “It's truly a quite fascinating twist," he taunted. “My, this must feel really good to read it for the first time. Would be a great shame if you were spoiled…”
“Fine! Fine!" Tianlang-jun slid down the barrier, staring up at Shen Jiu with an exceptionally pathetic expression. It didn't seem out of place on Qi-ge's face, considering it was the same expression he so often directed at Shen Jiu. “You win. I'll leave. Just, please, not Xiao Mei…”
“Great," Shen Jiu rolled the scroll of spoilers back up. “Then do so, now."
Tianlang-jun hesitated. “That… Might not be such a great idea..."
Narrowing his eyes, Shen Jiu pointedly started unrolling the scroll again.
“Alright! But don't blame me for any damages, I warned you!"
The words didn't make much sense… At least not until Tianlang-jun retreated - deeper into Qi-ge, not out - and Qi-ge…
Began clawing at the barrier with desperation clouding his gaze.
“Please, please, please," he kept repeating, his voice hoarse. “I learned my lesson, please, I can't waste time, I have to go back, let me go back for him-"
His body went still as Tianlang-jun took control of it once more. “See? The boy doesn't have the best experience with this place. I promise I'll leave him, as long as you let me do it outside."
Shen Jiu mulled that proposition over. It was a lot of faith to put into a demon's word, but…
“Try anything funny, and I will spoil you faster than you can kill me."
“Trust me, I'm well aware of what's on the line."
Shen Jiu carefully dismantled the arrays. His robes had woven in anti-possession talismans and he left the immortal binding cables as they were, which he deemed enough.
He led Tianlang-jun out of the caves, watching him carefully.
The demon inhaled deeply as he stepped out into the sun.
“Oh, I missed this," he sighed. Then, he tilted his head back to look at Shen Jiu. “What does it say about your masters, that a coalition of four great sects didn't manage to hold me for even a fraction of the time a bunch of disciples did?"
“That they ought to retire already," Shen Jiu growled. “Get moving."
“So impatient." Tianlang-jun tutted. But then he moved to kneel down, starting to cough until blood started pouring out of Qi-ge's mouth.
Shen Jiu startled, but didn't move to stop him. That was good, that's what he wanted to happen.
The blood took the form of a small snake, disturbing in its fluidity. It raised its tail in a mocking wave and began to slither down the mountain.
Shen Jiu watched for a moment before rushing to Qi-ge's side.
He was coughing, struggling in the bonds. Shen Jiu didn't bother untying the knots, cutting through the cables instead.
“I'm sorry," Qi-ge rasped out, an apology just as useless as every other one. “I caused so much trouble for Xiao Jiu…”
“Stupid Qi-ge," Shen Jiu glared. Then, he sighed. Those few sentences he heard in the caves gave him a starting point; He'd wrangle the rest out of him eventually. For now… “You came back to me. That's all that matters."
Qi-ge looked like he was going to cry, clutching at Shen Jiu's sleeves.
"But you're still going to tell me everything about why you were locked in the caves, you hear me?"
"As Xiao Jiu wishes."