Chapter Text
Shen Jiu, or really, the actual and original Scum Villain, Shen Qingqiu was right in front of of him.
Tall, handsome, elegant and a terrifying beauty. Every bit as described as in the original novel, of course! Even the scowl!
If Shen Yuan wasn’t so fucking terrified right now, he’d be shaking in joy and awe at meeting the Scum Villain, right here right in front of him in the flesh!
Why? Because he transmigrated as an extra who was Shen Qingqiu’s only and former master who took him in before he’d joined Yue Qingyuan at the mountain of which he’d someday become the Peak Lord of his newly entered sect and when he had a very unpleasant and frankly traumatizing awakening in this world and absolutely ruined and rugged body after dying from ramen-induced electrocution and a fried computer, and when he’d settled and adjusted to his new identity he knew damn well alone even without major information, that Wu Yanzi had not been as much of an actual Shizun that he was. For fucks’ sake, who else had to have somehow fucked up Shen Jiu’s core so badly even if he managed to become the peak lord with such a shaky foundation?
Yet right now, he stood with the despised blue-window popped next to his right, was the Shen Jiu he’d taken under him and thoroughly derailed the plot with and to his left, the original Shen Jiu, Shen Qingqiu the Peak Lord of Qingjing Sect and the main antagonist in the shitty stallion novel of this world that was the main factor of how Luo Binghe came to be so fucked up.
And both were arguing heavily over him as he stood there contemplating why he said yes at all to that dubiously mysterious and vague scenario provided by his system with it’s grating kaomojis.
{Scenario: Meet the Original Scum Villain! Rewards: unclear, but beneficial. Consequences: nothing.}
How was he supposed to know Shen Jiu would be dragged with him, and immediately transported to a strange white space right after accepting it?! And he’s beginning to regret saying yes only because all it did in return than just acknowledge the command was a suspiciously positive emoticon. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ my fucking, ass!
And the fact there was no resolute punishments for refusing? That had filled him with horror and suspicious dread. No way the sadist of a fucking System he had, had nothing in mind planned to fuck him over and force him back into debt again.
He sighed, weary. And he didn’t even have the consolation that while he’d get a shitty prize in return, at least he’d get a prize! The hell did it mean, ’unclear?’ He’ll decide for himself whether or not it even helps him at all.
On the other hand, Shen Qingqiu was stupefied. He’d been taken, right when he was tearing into Liu Qingge for barging through the brothel doors like old parchment, scoffing at the uncouth accusations as his jiejies were brushing through his hair, fan open and covering his lower face with cold disregard and annoyance for being so disrespectfully bothered when he was finally at peace and able to relax.
He’s fully dressed when he doesn’t remember being back in his robes, hair fully done with his hairpiece in place and before the next blink came, he appeared to be in an odd white spade of an area where although he couldn’t see the ground, had flooring to step on.
No, what baffled and bothered him so much was the fact that not only was there a boy in different robes he didn’t recall ever donning at that age, with a strikingly translucent and gleaming pearl tassel at his waist with a regular sword, was him. Not an imposter, hell no- although the qi he sensed was his, what perplexed him was the fact it was whole. Not cracked like his golden core was, no unstable fluctuating qi ravaging through his meridians, it was pure even if begun late.
And right next to him, was the bastard who’d been his former master whom he killed to save Yue Qingyuan who reunited with him in an unconventional circumstance despite the sense and burn of utter betrayal that he’s still bitter over.
The man who, a rogue cultivator he’d joined as his disciple after escaping the Qiu household and burning that disgusting place down save for the spared women and Qiu Haitang. His only lifeline at the time as both to teach him how to cultivate, as well as to survive being freed as a slave. A time far from pleasant, and he despised the frankly lecherous man. Learning and guiding his qi under the cultivation taught by him ended up fruitful but severely fucked his meridians and core over to where he’s unfortunately experienced far too many familiar qi deviations he managed to force down.
Except he looked different, felt different. The qi was the same, demonic and dark but stronger, and different. Although the face and hair were the same, they looked not at all sleazy and as malicious as he recalled in his memories, only tired stunned and confused with a strange bit of awe in those sharp eyes and a stranger half-moon marking over his forehead, a faint color of violet. He has a matching tassel with the younger version of himself that he doesn’t recognize.
The colors are corresponding, like Yin and Yang. Something ugly and utterly unexpected stirs his insides into a filthy arrangement at the lingering thought. His mouth tasted terrible all of a sudden.
And what caught him off guard was the fact that the brat was protecting him. Fiercely. As though he was a man worth protecting. What happened? Why does his younger self seem to care so much for this bastard? Why isn’t his core lined with cracks and faults?
And why does Wu Yanzi gaze at him with that unfamiliar expression so similar to Yue Qingyuan’s but so different? It makes his chest squeeze with a sharp pang of a confused ache that demanded answers. He scowled at it.
He scowled at the pair. His younger self bared his teeth right back, almost wild but his master only reaches out- not to strike as Shen Qingqiu had expected so easily to happen- but to pat his head, knuckles rapping lightly to calm the boy down.
He’s rendered speechless, eyes wide, so caught off guard by this unanticipated action, he forgets his mask and it slips.
”You. Why are you…you are not as I remember. I do not recall ever acting like this. I do not recall you ever acting like this.”
This is not the Wu Yanzi he is familiar with, and it makes him far more curious and something in him wants to know why. What has changed. Why does he seem so close with this boy, who is him? As if he was an actual man who took him in as a proper disciple, only far more of a different unconventionally done meeting that led to pair so close. As if his younger self genuinely trusts the man who he is supposed to be wary and distant from. Who’s touch he should’ve reacted with sheer disgust and tolerating only because of necessity?
His ribs ache. Why is he reacting like this? Is he envious of this boy, another version of himself, for having a seemingly far more different yet impossibly kinder master?
But the question that irritates him from the inside out, eyes glaring with a burning sting, is ‘why couldn’t I have this? Why does he get to have this? This..this trust so different than the one between we and Yue Qingyuan. He knows- he knows what happened the last time we trusted someone who was not ourselves. He will see his true personality. He will know again the pain of betrayal, and be fools for lending trust so foolishly.’
But his own thoughts are foolish too, and he shoves them away with a seething envy. He wanted that gentle touch despite hating the vile touch of a man anywhere near him. Wanted that quiet gaze, still the same and shady, yet clear with affection and humor for the boy next to him and reprimanding him with what he could hardly even consider to be a reprimand.
Shen Qingqiu narrows his eyes with a mirroring frown at the boy in front of him.
”Why do you seem to protect him as if he is worth our trust? He is a vile, despicable man, a man.”
To both his expectation yet surprise, the younger version of himself bristles at that, agitated.
”How dare you? You may be me, but he is different from the others. Different from the other men we have met before. He is worthy of our trust, my trust. He saved me, from that disgusting bastard-“ he spits out, and both of them know who he is mentioning, “-he took me in, and although he’s a stupid moron, careless with his own life just to save idiots who don’t deserve to be saved especially by him- he cared and stuck around for me. Unlike Yue Qingyuan who betrayed us. He promised he would stay and he made sure to keep it unlike him.”
And the words strike him as if he were truly wounded, almost flinching even and he reels himself in, stepping forward, mouth opening to spit back in return a scathing remark.
”And how do you know he isn’t just biding his time, waiting for us to let our guard down? To push farther than what we give, take what we do not want?”
”Because he doesn’t! Because he won’t! What don’t you get? Shizun would never hurt me, hurt us. He’s a stupid fool who doesn’t wish to hurt others even at his own expense, but he has killed for us, was willing to spill blood and stain his hands of sins all so that he can guarantee we are not hurt by his touch. He’s proven it to me over and over again. Qi-ge was all words and a liar. Shizun was honest. Shizun protected, fed, sheltered and taught us. Are you jealous? Because I’m you and I got to have this shizun?”
’Yes,’ Shen Qingqiu bitterly admitted with an empty smile, ‘why do you get to have this? Why couldn’t I?’
But what he says is of course not what he has in his thoughts, those words spoken with such earnest conviction like his obliterated faith he once held that their Qi-ge would return for them, stronger, and would save them from that disgusting revolting demon disguised as a benevolent man, Qiu Jianluo.
”Don’t be foolish, he will betray us like him soon enough, and once we run out of entertainment or use, he will become just like those vile men-“
The words are cold, masked by bitter indifference yet somehow he cannot hide the unwelcome envy staining his heart, to know why he gets to have this Wu Yanzi that seemed to actually care for him and does not have the intention to use him like others have done. He will betray us, don’t you see? He wil-
Whatever biting snarls and hissed words both Shen Jius’ were about to speak from angry demanding voices, a hand lands on his head.
Large, rough and warm. It..coaxes him. Calming him. It’s so unexpected and so unfamiliar he almost reels from shock alone- but the touch of a man, from him, that should’ve made him smack that touch away and bite it, instead fills him with desperation yearning he never even thought he was capable of. It doesn’t beat his skull, yank his hair, scream filthy orders or infuriating insults into his ears that make his blood run cold with anger and frustration. It pets his scalp, patting him with a touch so dissonant he cannot help but long for more of something he had never had, had never gotten to receive from someone who were not the women he trusted, not Yue Qingyuan he thought he could lay faith in.
It’s distracting, and his mind blanks before it could shout and scream at him to move, to turn away before that hand turns violent. But he doesn’t. In fact, he leans into it, and suddenly a strange thought strikes his disconnected mind: ‘Oh. Oh I see why he seems to be so oddly fond and trusting of this man. Perhaps, if my Wu Yanzi had been like this, I would’ve…’
He doesn’t dare finish the rest of this absurd and ridiculous thought- what does it matter now when he’s become one of the twelve Peak Lords, strong enough that no one will dare hurt him again? He has no space for regret, he’s achieved what he wanted for the longest time, hasn’t he?
He waits. Waits and waits and waits to regret doing something only a glutinous fool craving affection would do. But the expectation and tense waiting was not met.
Because in the end, a moment passes, then another, and the tense muscles begin to uncoil and relax when his system realizes there is no pain to come, none to brace for, and his traitorous heart burns warm with desire for this pathetic affection and slows it’s rapid beating to a calmer pace. And this brat shamelessly leans into the hand on his scalp with a smug grin that Shen Qingqiu immediately scowled at.
Meanwhile, the only reason he isn’t grumbling about being pat like a misbehaving child yet secretly enjoying the rough hand of his master, is because his older self clearly realizes he himself wants to be pat too, and he can’t help the satisfaction running through him when he seems to finally get it enough for him to forget being embarrassed.
A weary, rough and familiar sigh enters both their ears at this moment.
Both of them turn to look at the taller man, taller than both of them, and freeze at the exasperated yet humored gaze that was coated in fondness, a lopsided smile on that scarred lip almost seemingly displaced in a face of all sharp angles and danger but is so distinctly soft to Shen Qingqiu.
’I understand now, why he defends this man so much.’
And selfishly, greedily, he wanted more of this drop of genuine affection that was for him just for himself.
He locked eyes with the younger version of himself and they both narrower their gazes instantly reading Shen Qingqiu’s thoughts. Shen Jiu tightens his grip around the sleeve of Wu Yanzi’s robes.
“Absolutely not, Shizun is mine,” the barely sixteen year old boy snarled, practically biting him and he reflects the sentiment right back.
”Oh? Since when? If he’s yours, and I am you, then that makes Shizun ours, you brat-“ and the title rolls off his tongue, unfamiliar in the way it feels right for once when it came to him.
They bare their teeth at each other, eyes narrowed darkly and ready to fight despite one being a teenage version of himself and the other a grown adult, like territorial strays fighting over a scrap of meat. The hands on their heads gently raps their scalps, both snapping out of their possessive debate over Wu Yanzi, as the main subject they were just arguing over scolds them and they blink.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuan is already tired. What’s with this mood change? The supposedly cold and mistrustful arrogant and cruel man, Peak Lord of QingJing, the main antagonist and Scum Villain- is fighting an adolescent version of himself who’s eighteen years younger than him, over him when he was just arguing about why they shouldn’t trust him. And his Shen Jiu has no qualms at all fighting his older self, words clashing and claws aimed to pierce.
Said Scum Villain seemed to change his mind for a reason far beyond even Shen Yuan’s rationalizing brain, right after he had attempted to calm both Shens excluding himself down and now they were ready to scrap again seconds later over who he belonged to with literal teeth being bared for war.
What the actual fuck is happening right now? Before he could reel in the habitual urge of how he always manages to calm his hotheaded disciple down who only ever seemed to be as feral as a rabid dog when it came to trivial matters like his master being insulted or disrespected and misaimed notions of Shen Yuan being threats to his wellbeing, both his hands were already resting on both of them, one on the younger Shen Jiu and the other on the older Shen Jiu.
He almost laughed at the blank startled expression on the Peak Lord’s spectacularly stunning face- eyes wide, mouth gaping as he processed the fact he was getting patted on the head! Then he leaned into it with a reluctant tense posture and when time passed with no sign of apparently expected punches, he relaxed as if he were a wary stray cat realizing the touch meant no harm.
He didn’t even bother hiding his terribly affectionate sigh- he rapped the younger Shen Jiu over the head with a quiet scolding for having the most smug smile he’s ever seen the boy wear as if trying to provoke the other man again right after he’d just almost had it handled!
Right after each respective snarled sentences left both the supposedly Scum Villains, he knocked both their scalps for trying to start another argument that would’ve left Shen Yuan with a terrible migraine, leaning down between his boys regardless of whether or not one of them was in his early thirties, with a soft voice to coax out the ashes where fire was sparking once more.
”I’m both yours, now calm down and let’s go home, hm?”
He didn’t think much about what he was saying, of course- he said it to calm both of them down before they actually started fighting each other physically.
When both of them relaxed at his words and begrudgingly glared at each other but made no move to argue further or escalate into violence, he mentally cheered counting it as a win.
He gave them both head pats with an amused chuckle.
”Good.”
And then the fucking System ruined it, chiming in with the screen slapped straight in his face.
{Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! This should be said three times, to celebrate! Reward: 50+ b-points-}
’That’s all?! You fucking cheapskate, if you were only going to give me this much I should’ve just let them fight and watch while munching on a snack!’
{-and full trust of the Scum Villain, Shen Qingqiu! Bonus rewards: Scroll of Mediation And Peace: Provides the User with the ability to handle diplomacy with ease, and escape situations where voices mean otherwise than said aloud as well as leveling conflict between two or more people.}
He looked at the screen with an internally made suspicious expression. It was actually helpful. Regardless, he was actually thankful it wasn’t anything damned and cursed like those stupid but reluctantly helpful scrolls from two of the previous trials-
{Command ‘”I’m both yours, now calm down and let’s go home, hm?”’ Activating triggered scenario, loading…}
God-fucking-damn it, of course he wasn’t gonna be let go so easily with a surprisingly decent reward. Of course his words were gonna bite him back in the ass, that’s how he even ended up here at all! He should’ve known better to think about what he was saying before he said it!
{Triggered Special Scenario: Bring the Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu, and the disciple Not-Yet Scum Villain Shen Jiu back with you. Consequences of failure: Retracted b-points, and returning to former body. Good Luck! ✧～(ゝᴗ ∂ )}
Shen Yuan stared at the screen, scarred hands absently carding through sleek black silky hair. His lips twitched. He’s going to fucking kill this sadist of a goddamn System.
He sighed again, and when both Shen Jius’ looked up at him he couldn’t help the small smile that made the corners of his lips quirk up.
”Let’s head home now.”
Shen Yuan genuinely could not tell anyone how he ended up in this predicament, with a full-grown Shen Jiu an immortal cultivator and Peak Lord, wearing his own robes nonchalantly walking around as though the quality wasn’t even at all good enough to compliment that elegant sculpture and beauty! It was of decent material, decent stitching, decent average design- so why the hell is he of all people wearing something like that when he should be wearing finer silks and garments, parading around as though he was wearing the Emperor’s robes himself, and even every so often admiring them as if he wasn’t wearing what was the equivalent of shit compared to the quality of clothes he usually wore!
And what the hell was wrong with his Shen Jiu? He’s glaring at the older version of himself as if Shen Qingqiu was competition- for what?! What are you two even competing for?!- and just as casually, was not only braiding his master’s hair and brushing through it with scented oils, but was practically cuddling his arm, refusing to move and even glaring at Shen Yuan so fiercely he gave up trying to get up right away even when the boy complained about how uncomfortable he was, while not even budging a single inch away from him.
It was making him go insane, so much so an incredulous chuckle left his helpless grin. He’s flabbergasted at the ridiculous situation he was in as the absurdity finally sunk in.
‘Ah,’ he thought to himself as he sat there with both the Scum Villains busying themselves around him, ‘what even is my life anymore?’
Too bad it was too late to return him back to his own world when Shen Qingqiu hissed unfathomable threats of violence with a tone of refusal so strong he’d rather defy an order from the Demon Lord himself than test saying no to him!