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The first time Chun Yu met Shen Qingqiu was when she had been pigging out on her snacks in the Great Library’s tearoom. It was a routine that had been carried over from her previous life’s all-nighters in college. Back then, whenever she had gone to the college library to study all night in the 24/7 room, she would always have a designated hour in between night and dawn where she would just pig out on all the snacks that she could buy in the vending machine. A treat, so to say, to motivate her to work so hard. And because using her brain always made her so hungry.
Unfortunately, this world had no vending machines. Chun Yu had to do all the cooking work herself. But she was up for it, if only because she couldn’t live without something sweet in her life.
That was why she chose to be in Zui Xian Peak. Chun Yu couldn’t live without good food. Once she had found out that she was in some version of Proud Immortal Demon Way, Chun Yu had run away from home faster than a rat escaping a cat. Well, there were other reasons too – too many – but food was definitely the most important one. As a reincarnator who had lived in this ancient China world for eighteen years, Chun Yu could confidently say that. No food, no life!
But anyways, how she had met Shen Qingqiu:
One night, Chun Yu had been taking a break from her all-nighter in the Great Library. Chun Yu loved studying at night in the Great Library because there was almost nobody there so late at night. And say what you will about horror stories keeping people away from ‘haunted libraries’! They lived in a world where real ghosts exist, so she was not afraid of that!
It was never creepy to Chun Yu how empty the usually crowded tearoom was. Rather, it was an opportunity and Chun Yu always took advantage of it to lay out all her pretty slices of cake on a table. Once she had filled a table with all her pretty creations, she sketched a quick ‘picture’, poured herself some ‘tea’, and sat peacefully on her floor cushion. Chun Yu happily sipped her tea like a noble woman… and then started pigging out on all the delightful sweets before her. Chun Yu squealed in delight with each spark of sugar in her mouth like a cake whore- and it was on her fifth cake when Shen Qingqiu walked into the tearoom.
At that time, Chun Yu didn’t even know that it was Shen Qingqiu. There were so many pretty people in Cang Qiong that it was practically a fashion academy here.
But one thing Chun Yu did know was that her modern world influenced behavior was scandalous in her current world.
Lady outside by herself late at night? Check.
Cultivator eating tons of sweets past midnight? Check.
Lady squealing and moaning in delight (over cake) in public? Check.
Chun Yu was scandalous.
She just knew it by how the aloof, icy hot beauty by the door widened his eyes upon seeing and hearing her.
Chun Yu delicately placed down her plate of cake, covered her mouth with her sleeve covered hand, and licked her lips and cheeks of bits of cream.
“My apologies, shixiong.” She addressed the poor, scandalized man. “This disciple thought that she was beside herself. It is late, but would you like some tea and cake?” Can I bribe you with sweets to never speak of this again?
Chun Yu could see an interesting myriad of thoughts in the man’s eyes, but curiosity seemed to win in the end.
With a nod, the man closed the door and made his way to the floor cushion opposite hers.
“If it is no trouble to shimei, then this shixiong would.” He said.
“No, no.” Chun Yu waved her sleeve covered hand now that her face was clean of cream and crumbs. “No troubles at all, shixiong. This shimei is always delighted to have guests try her food.” Chun Yu said, reaching into her qiankun pouch to take out utensils covered by a white cotton napkin and another cup. She placed both on his side of the table and began pouring tea from her pot.
“A stasis talisman instead of a warming talisman?” The handsome man asked as he noticed the talisman on her tea pot.
Chun Yu nodded. “This tea is more finicky than others. It is better to keep it at one temperature than to merely keep it warm.”
The handsome man looked at his tea cup, intrigued, before reaching out to take his cup after watching her drink from hers.
Oh. The paranoia. Then again, there were haunted library stories in this world. Chun Yu wasn’t sure if she looked like a ghost though.
The man’s green phoenix eyes widened at the taste before he drank it all. Chun Yu politely poured him another cup.
“What kind of tea is this, shimei?” He asked on his third cup.
Chun Yu smiled, not minding serving him another. “Moonlight Fairy Dew Leaf. On a mission, this shimei stumbled on a secret realm. A kind fairy gave me a tea shrub blessed by her after we shared a meal together. It’s good for cleansing the palate in between snacks and meals.” Also, good at calming the mind for meditation and cleansing, purifying, and strengthening meridians, but taste was more important.
“A secret realm?” The young man asked, intrigued.
Chun Yu happily told him the story as they ate. A good conversation could bolster a good meal.
She normally finished her indulging within an hour, but Chun Yu didn’t mind that time had stretched to two hours by the time they had finished everything on the table and even some more snacks from her qiankun pouch. After telling him the story of the secret realm fairy, she couldn’t help but show off her candy sculpting skills by giving him her most elegant phoenix-shaped palm-sized candy sculpture – strawberry flavored because they were in season at the time.
The man looked surprised at the gift and at how much he had eaten - sweet food and words always made time pass by so fast! He seemed to hesitate as Chun Yu stored all the dishes away.
But he asked.
“Does shimei often come here to study at night?”
Oh! Was this a request to be invited to late night indulging again?
For such a beauty, Chun Yu didn’t mind!
“Whenever I’m not busy with experimenting in my kitchen or out on a mission.” Chun Yu answered with an encouraging smile. “The Great Library is abundant with useful resources and this shimei loves learning new things as much as adventure and food. But whenever this shimei is in the tearoom, shixiong will always be welcomed to join. This shimei enjoyed spending her break time with shixiong.”
The man smiled. It was beautiful. “This shixiong has found this time pleasant too.” Then, he asked. “None of the food can be inexpensive. If you ever need something, feel free to let this shixiong know.”
Chun Yu looked into his beautiful green phoenix eyes and considered the pride he must have as a shixiong. She nodded. “Then, this shimei wouldn’t mind another qiankun pouch to hold her harvests and her hunts.”
“This shixiong knows how to make good qiankun pouches.” He agreed.
And then, they were meeting every night they both were in Cang Qiong.
-
“How fascinating.” The man said as he examined the dragon-shaped cake with painted rainbow scales. “This shixiong never knew that cakes could be sculpted and painted like this. It makes sense though as some inks and paints can be created from vegetable stains.” He murmured to himself.
“Shixiong would be surprised by the number of cakes this shimei can make appear realistic.” Chun Yu said mischievously as she cut the dragon’s head and plated it for him. “I’ve never tried to fool a Qing Jing disciple before, but just give me a few weeks to practice and make all the edible dyes!”
-
“Shixiong! I hope you don’t mind eating something savory today, but I caught a Viper-Headed Goose earlier!”
“Oh? Near Zui Xian Peak?” The man asked as he made a bee-line towards her and sat down.
“Yes,” Chun Yu laughed, ecstatic because she loved the meat of ducks and geese. She had barely stopped herself from eating the roasted geese long before her self-imposed study time. “There was a flock heading west. They must have chosen one of the Cold Pools to rest.”
“So you killed one and chased away the others like a brute.” The man said with no real accusation in his words.
Chun Yu snickered. “Don’t I get an upgrade from being some brute by knowing how to cook the food I hunt?”
“Hmmm…” The man pretended to think about it. “No.”
Chun Yu pretended to hide her face with her sleeves. “Shixiong is so mean to me!” The effect was ruined by the greasy fork and knife that she had in her hands.
-
“Oh. Is it a bad time to play Real or Cake?” Chun Yu asked as she heard the door open and looked up to see the young man’s dark expression. Quite a number of times, he would appear like this, but it had never gotten this bad in the weeks that she had known him.
The man’s anger seemed to register to himself. He tensed, conflicting with himself as both the urge to rage and the urge to relax with her fought within him. Sometimes, he would appear like he wanted to rant for hours, but he would eventually relax under her special calming teas, pleasant stories, and some delicious cake. Sweets were the real way to win a person’s heart, after all!
But Chun Yu had a feeling that it wouldn’t be enough for tonight.
So instead, Chun Yu stood up, crossed the space between them, and slowly took his hand into hers.
“Why don’t we go to my place tonight? I can make cream pies for you to throw at whoever made you angry.”
The words seemed to finally crack his demeanor – in a good way, of course.
“What.” He not-so-quite spat, the angry red in his eyes fading in incredulity and humor at her words.
“Cream pies. Disposable plates full of cream.” Chun Yu explained. “With an illusion charm, we can set up a dummy to look like whoever you want to yell at. It’s not proper to yell at them in person, but we can yell at them and be violent in private. It’s a good way to manage qi.” And stress.
The man looked torn between calling her ridiculous and yelling at her. But always a gentleman, he instead calmed a little after looking into her eyes.
“Is it private?” He finally asked, softly.
Chun Yu nodded. “This senior disciple has her own kitchen and house.” Junior disciples shared dorms, but senior disciples who stayed in Cang Qiong and taught the juniors had their own living arrangements. On Zui Xian Peak where cooking competitions could get intense, they even got their own kitchens to prevent sabotage and people stealing secret recipes. Although she was eighteen, she was a senior disciple. She had already reached core formation and won a few competitions. (It helped that she had more than enough experience stress-baking and making cakes for her family and friends.)
After several seconds of silence – more lost in thought than actually thinking about it – the man nodded. “I will experiment with your method of qi management.”
Chun Yu smiled. What a professional way of saying what they were going to do.
But she didn’t let go of his hand as they snuck out of the library, out of Qing Jing on swords, and then into her house.
The flight there already seemed to calm him. His hand slackened in her warm grip as she led him into her house filled with indoor plants – tea shrubs, potted fruit trees, hanging planters, and hydroponic gardens. She had him sit in front of her kitchen counter while she quickly whipped up tons of cream. Having already tasted tons of her food, he couldn’t help but take some of the baked treats from the multiple jars on the counter that she had given him permission to.
Then, when she was done, she brought him into an empty room and took out a training dummy from her qiankun pouch. Chun Yu placed it on the opposite side of the room and then returned to the man with two talismans in her hand.
“If you don’t want anyone to hear, activate this talisman to muffle your sounds.” Chun Yu explained just in case, handing him the talisman. Anti-eavesdropping privacy talismans were common to senior disciples in Cang Qiong. Like her, the man also had a guan in his hair that symbolized that he was a senior disciple, but she never knew what the other Peaks taught so she explained anyways. She had once thought muffling charms were common to everyone after a certain age, but she realized quickly that not everyone knew the hand seals and technique for the charm; hence, the talisman. “And this talisman, you can activate while thinking of the person you want to yell at. Throw it at the training dummy’s head. Only you will see who it is.”
The man looked quietly at the talisman before activating both talismans in his hand. He tossed the illusion talisman at the dummy’s head with impressive accuracy.
Then, his breath hitched as he saw someone. As that someone probably spoke to him. And-
Splat.
The man jolted and widened his eyes, turning his head to her after he saw a paper plate full of cream fall from the dummy’s face. Chun Yu giggled and scooped up a glob of cream from her bowls of them into a paper plate to give to him. She mimed throwing it at the dummy while laughing too hard to even say the words.
The man’s face was too funny. It was the first time that she had ever seen him so startled. And his qi that had been rising rapidly again in anger was calming once again as he looked down at the paper plate full of cream in his hands and then at the dummy.
When he finally tossed it at the dummy’s head, he stared before he too was barely suppressing his laughter.
“Ridiculous.” She could almost hear him say as he went for the spoon himself and filled another paper plate from the stack set beside the bowl of cream. “You are so ridiculous.”
But he threw more and more cream pies at the person only he could see. He said some words that she could not hear under the short-range privacy talisman, even yelled angrily. He tossed another illusion talisman that he had taken out from his qiankun pouch and wrote up himself. He tossed even more cream pies at that person.
Chun Yu laughed and cheered him on, supporting him.
By the time that they had ran out of cream, the man had gone over and whacked the dummy on the head with his cream-covered spoon in hand. Multiple times. And then a last time before he ripped the talismans off the head and started laughing again.
“Ridiculous.” He said again, shaking his head after he deactivated the muffling talisman. “This is going to take so long for you to clean.”
“But was it worth it?” She asked, smiling so hard that she couldn’t suppress it to proper levels anymore.
The man looked at the cream-covered dummy again and snorted.
“Yes.” He admitted. “It is a good method.” He complimented.
She smiled. “So is shixiong up for Real or Cake? I have wine if you just want to drink too.”
The man blinked. “Zui Xian wine?”
She smiled in good humor. “Is there any other wine to offer to honored guests when you are on our peak? Yes. And the good stuff.” Chun Yu didn’t mind bringing out the cultivation-boosting spiritual wine for her friend.
“…This shixiong would not be opposed.”
She especially didn’t mind when it seemed like no one had ever drunk with this poor man before with how surprised he was that she would offer it. Normally, all seniors of Cang Qiong Sect had already had a sip – from friends or from parties – before.
Or maybe people had offered spiritual wine to him before, but he had been too wary of others and cautious about maintaining his aloof demeanor in public to accept.
But they were in her home within her security seals and she would be a bad host to not give him the best to get drunk off of after such a long session.
Shixiong was a lightweight. She told him such in the morning after giving him honey milk tea with boba. She also offered to help him up his alcohol tolerance in the safety of her home until he was at a tolerable level for formal parties and dinners wherein drinking was expected.
To her delight, he did not refuse. It had been a while since she had been able to share dinner with someone.
Fortunately, she had not turned the guest room into a storage room yet. Last night, she had given him a mattress to sleep on the floor, but she’d renovate by their next meeting – they had scheduled meetings now!
-
-
-
“Shixiong!” Chun Yu shouted upon hearing a polite knock. After opening the door, Chun Yu smiled, “Want to play Real or-” Her voice trailed off when she noticed shixiong stand awkwardly behind an old man.
A familiar old man.
Chun Yu quickly bowed her head. “Shen-shibo! This disciple didn’t know you were coming. Is there something you need from this disciple?” Chancing a glance at shixiong, Chun Yu asked, “Will you also be having dinner with us tonight?”
The old man – Shen Anwei, the infamous Peak Lord of Qing Jing – scrutinized her a bit before laughing. “At ease, shizi. I was just curious as to who was fattening up my disciple.” When she was about to make some flustered excuses, he held up a hand. “Which is a good thing because I have always worried for how skinny Qingqiu was.” Chun Yu stared as Shen Anwei winked and Qingqiu-shixiong reddened a little at the ears.
Qingqiu. Qingqiu. Oh.
Chun Yu’s eyes widened.
She had been meeting Shen Qingqiu all this time? He was Shen Qingqiu?
Unbeknownst to her, Shen Anwei’s eyes sparkled at her very visible and belated realization.
“If you don’t mind, then this master would be delighted to have dinner with you two tonight.”
“Oh!” Chun Yu quickly thought of all the things in her qiankun pouch. “It’s not a problem. This disciple would be honored to have Shen-shibo eat with us. Of course, if shixiong doesn’t mind…” Chun Yu glanced over to Shen Qingqiu, not noticing Shen Anwei’s approval for being considerate for his disciple even in the face of authority. Shen Qingqiu gave her an odd look but nodded. Chun Yu smiled. “Then, please. Come on in. This disciple would need to make a few more preparations, but feel free to make yourself at home.”
“Thank you, shizi. We will.”
-
Shen Anwei watched in amusement as the adorable girl – possibly only a few years younger than Qingqiu and those of his generation – gestured to the dining room which already had a table of dishes set, organized it to make room for one more person, and then rushed as fast as she could under social propriety to the kitchen.
It was a small house – one made for a young senior disciple. The dining room was just the room before the main entrance and Shen Anwei could already smell mouthwatering food that he was certain his shidi, her shizun, would be proud of. Although most newly built houses were standard, Shen Anwei was impressed by how she must have gotten the An Ding disciples to customize it a little for her. Instead of being tucked in another room, the kitchen was connected to the dining room, a high counter being the only thing separating the two from each other.
Shen Anwei supposed that it was because she was a chef. Most guests that she would invite would come over to eat at her house. Thus, the tall chairs at the high counter would let her guests eat in the socially acceptable dining room while watching and talking with her through the opened panel window on top of the counter. If she didn’t want to be seen cooking as guests ate instead at the low table in the center of the dining room, then she could close the paneled window to make it look like a normal wall.
Fascinating. Shen Anwei wondered if Gu-shidi knew the interior design of his little senior disciple’s home. Possibly not because Shen Anwei was seeing such a fascinating indoor orchard and garden for the first time as well. Everywhere were potted plants, mini fruit trees, and an interesting water system of vegetable plants grown without soil set up against a wall.
Shen Anwei studied it: the structure, the flow of water and health of the plants, the talismans that seemed to power the system and prevent the smell of fertilizer from being emitted into the rest of the room.
“Shizi,” And Shen Anwei would never let Qingqiu live down on how he still didn’t know the name of his friend (though that seemed to go both ways until Shen Anwei had given away his disciple’s name to her). “Explain your garden to this shibo.”
The girl looked up from the fish she was frying and quickly explained like one of his scholars once she saw what he was looking at. Although the girl seemed happy at Zui Xian, Shen Anwei wondered how he had missed such a bright girl at the initiate trials. She had put a lot of thought into the hydroponic garden and science of growing plants indoors.
It made the house lovelier too. Shen Anwei had never been inside a room that was not a greenhouse and yet still felt like a forest. Some of the plants, he noticed, had purification qi. If Cheng-shidi knew that there were a few spiritual plant cultivars in this house that were not in his own Qian Cao gardens, his shidi would have an aneurysm. Of course, Shen Anwei couldn’t fault the girl for keeping her misadventure gains and personal discoveries to herself. Things found and discovered off-duty were fair game for their cultivators to keep.
It was not like he hadn’t benefited. His Qingqiu’s cultivation had advanced a stage since meeting her. One of the reasons why Shen Anwei had wanted to meet the girl was because his disciple’s meridians had never felt better. Even after Yue Qingyuan’s impromptu visit and then Liu Qingge’s attack to ‘avenge his martial brother’, his disciple had not gone into a public rage or qi deviation like Shen Anwei had feared Qingqiu would either. Instead, when Shen Anwei had summoned the boy to check on his meridians the next day, the boy had appeared calm and happy.
Shen Anwei had never realized that he had never seen his personal disciple so relaxed and happy until that morning. It was a horrible realization. Although the question was personal, Shen Anwei couldn’t help but ask his loyal disciple who had hesitated but answered why.
Then, Shen Anwei had to check and visit the girl himself because his disciple would never trust another person again if this girl was manipulating and using him. But turns out that he hadn’t needed to worry at all! She hadn’t even known the name of his infamous disciple! Both her reaction and Qingqiu’s confirmed it. If Shen Anwei was reading her expressions right, she also either didn’t know about the bad rumors regarding his disciple or care about them either. A most fortunate thing. Especially if it was the latter. Even Yue Qingyuan seemed to believe most of the rumors.
It was too bad that she was a girl. It was improper for a pair of unwedded boys and girls to meet alone at night like Qingqiu had apparently been doing with this girl, but his Qingqiu would benefit from positive interactions like this. Heavens knows that the world seemed to be against him. His luck was fated to go to extreme ups and many more downs, according to Fang Anrong of Zhi Ji Peak. (But Shen Anwei would never give up on his disciple.)
“And this tree, shizi? If this master sees correctly, there are fifty different branches.” Shen Anwei continued his questioning, looking up at a particular tall tree in a corner in fascination.
“Ah, yes.” The girl replied sheepishly – sheepishly! “This humble disciple had no room for multiple fruit trees in her home so she grafted different stone fruit trees onto one. Half of them will bloom in spring. Half in summer.”
Although Shen Anwei had already been planning further visits, Shen Anwei now knew that he had to visit once more in both spring and summer to see the tree. “Oh? And which varieties?”
Shen Anwei was filled with questions. Then, he was filled with delight when he realized that the girl hadn’t held back in using high quality, fresh spiritual ingredients for his disciple. No wonder his disciple hadn’t had a qi deviation or problem with his meridians for weeks. He was getting the equivalent of Qian Cao’s nourishing tonics every time they met. And refreshing calming tea. Shen Anwei listened in fascination as the girl described the secret realm in which she had met and won the favor of a fairy that had blessed a tea tree for her.
If the candy sculptures that she had gifted Shen Qingqiu (again) and him weren’t enough to impress him with her artistic skills, the game that they played afterwards was.
“What game was it that you wanted to play with Qingqiu earlier?” Shen Anwei reminded the girl as she cleaned up the table and returned with one of her best bottles of spiritual wine. He had no doubt that the girl had opened her best bottle the other day with how free she was with sharing with Qingqiu.
“Oh!” The girl blinked before smiling, “Real or Cake! Do you want to play, Shen-shibo? I have been meaning to play with Shen-shixiong, but things keep coming up.”
While Qingqiu mumbled a bit in embarrassment, letting Shen Anwei know that they hadn’t played yesterday because of Qingqiu’s near qi deviation, Shen Anwei was interested.
“Real or Cake? I have never heard of such a game. Do continue.”
If the girl was not in his presence, the girl would have beamed brightly at his assent. Whether or not they would have fun, it was clear that the girl was.
Hiding her big smile behind her sleeve, the girl quickly brought out a box with a stasis talisman sealing it.
“In this game, all you have to do is guess whether it is a cake or not.” The girl instructed. “You can only eat it if you guess correctly.”
“Oh?” Shen Anwei leaned forward. Would it be so hard to guess whether something was a cake or not? While her sculpting skills were impressive – it was work that he would expect from the best of his senior disciples – surely, it was impossible to completely disguise a cake from cultivators.
Soon, Shen Anwei realized, the fun wasn’t only in guessing.
Shen Anwei laughed as they guessed correctly and she began cutting through a morbidly realistic cake imitation of her hand – the current sleeve of her robe matching and everything.
The cake was delicious. And Shen Anwei had never realized that his disciple loved sweets as much as he did until he had finished everything – the fake hand, the apple, the boot, the flute, the rose bud, and the bunny – despite the dinner they had earlier.
Although eating too many sweets wasn’t that good for them, Shen Anwei watched indulgently as the two happily gluttoned on the cakes that were both realistic and to scale to the objects that they imitated.
Shen Anwei thought for a moment before pulling out a wooden stand and a large paper panel.
“Gu-shidi does not have a technique like this, but I think you may be able to benefit from learning and trying to apply it to your own field.” Shen Anwei introduced to the two young adults who watched him pull out his painting supplies curiously. “My hope is that one day, Qingqiu would also have the peaceful heart and patience to one day learn this technique at the culmination of his extensive practice and cultivation training.”
Both watched with rapt attention as Shen Anwei began painting two small birds resting peacefully against each other on a tree. The snow was melting and a pink flower bud was marking the beginning of spring. They watched quietly, diligently as he seemed to effortlessly paint everything perfectly, so beautifully that the painting seemed to come to life. Each sure stroke was the result of centuries of practice. Each application of qi to dry the paint to do another layer and finish a work faster was a testimony of his cultivation.
And then they both gasped when Shen Anwei finished, made a hand seal, and the painting seemed to come to life. The long winter was over. The snow was literally melting. The bud was flowering into a full blossom. The sun was shimmering on the snow. The two resting birds flew together towards the light.
The living painting. One of his signature techniques. Shen Anwei was going to demonstrate it only if Shen Qingqiu was completely ready (maybe never at all because there was only so little time until ascension left), but now, he wanted to show it to the boy, if only to remind him of his trust, his hope, his faith that Shen Qingqiu could one day do it. Watching the girl make his child happy reminded him that sometimes, they couldn’t wait until everything came its due time. Sometimes, people had to have a change, some happiness, a hope in the current situation that would carry them onto the big, beautiful future.
“This Shizun believes you both can do it in due time.” Shen Anwei said, looking at them both, mainly to his child. Seeing Qingqiu’s eyes widen and even glisten with emotion affirmed to Shen Anwei that he would never regret it.
“Yes, Shizun.” Shen Qingqiu said, looking overwhelmed.
“Yes, Shibo.” The girl also said, covering the lower half of her face with her sleeves as she stared at the birds flying.
Seeing how much she liked the painting, Shen Anwei gave it to her as a present for taking such good care of his Qingqiu. She hadn’t held back in giving his child the best of her craft nor the best of her heart. So he also, regardless of how expensive they all knew the painting could go for.
The girl fluttered her arms like she wanted to hug the painting, hug him, hug Qingqiu, hug someone. In the end, she just ran to her room and hugged a life-sized stuffed animal of a bear.
“Thank you, Shen-shibo for the present.” The girl bowed while hugging the doll that she must have made by herself tightly. Shen Anwei watched in amusement. Even in all his centuries of living, it was the first time someone had thanked and bowed to him like this. Shen Qingqiu also looked amused as she continued tightly squeezing her cuddle buddy. “Thank you for visiting me, Shen-shibo, Shen-shixiong.”
“Thank you for having us over, shizi.” Shen Anwei returned with his own thanks. When it was obvious that his proper disciple who was already the center of so many rumors had been planning to stay a little longer, Shen Anwei squeezed Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder. Shen Qingqiu quickly nodded and passed his greetings. To Shen Anwei’s amusement, the girl also looked disappointed that Shen Qingqiu wasn’t going to stay longer.
But the girl also had manners trained into her and she bowed her head.
“Feel free to visit whenever you wish, Shen-shibo, Shen-shixiong. I may not always be present, but my door will always be open to you both.”
“Thank you.”
-
-
-
Fortunately for Shen Anwei, the next private Peak Lords’ meeting wasn’t so far away.
“Gu-shidi, what do you think of your youngest female senior disciple?”
Of course, by this time, Shen Anwei did do some research on the mysterious girl and found out that while she was young as he had thought, the current youngest senior disciple of Zui Xian was male. Still, he was curious to hear what the Peak Lord thought without bias.
“My youngest…” Gu Anxiu repeated in bewilderment before remembering. “Ah, Xiao Yu. She’s a genius at desserts. Eccentric and tends to love presentation more than flavor, but she’s a good kid.”
“Eccentric?” Shen Anwei asked.
Gu Anxiu covered his face and groaned. “She loves experimenting too much. Sometimes, the combinations work, but most of the time…” Shen Anwei watched in amusement as the Peak Lord seemed to despair over something that must have looked and tasted bad in the past. “She’s also the kid that eats everything. We think she has an immunity to poison or something with how she never needs to visit Qian Cao.”
“What?” Cheng Anshuo asked sharply, having started paying attention because Shen Anwei was speaking and it was almost unheard of to hear him ask about a disciple. But to hear this! “You’re letting a kid eat poison and not get examined?”
Shen Anwei himself was intrigued. He had never heard of this in his light investigation of the girl – just name, general reputation, and position. Almost no one seemed to have heard of her. She mostly kept to herself. Friendly, but focused on her own pursuits. Made it to senior disciple at a young age, but no one seemed to know that she was already past core formation. They thought she was promoted because she lucked out from having had a good day on the exams. Now, he was understanding why there was a bit of a discrepancy in what he saw and the general public knowledge of Chun Yu.
“Stop, stop.” Gu Anxiu waved his hand at the Qian Cao Peak Lord. “Unless you get a leash on that girl, you’re never stopping her. All her teachers had tried in the past to tell her not to eat this, not to eat that. But she’s very curious and sneaky. And determined.” Gu Anxiu wrinkled his nose.
“The worst combination.” Yan Anming and a few other Peak Lords chimed in, making no secret of how they were now eavesdropping.
“But everyone reports that she’s fine. The current speculation among my disciples is that she ate too many of her experiments in the past that she’s now both taste deaf and immune to all poisons.” Some Peak Lords snickered in amusement. “I think she just might have had good luck and stumbled on an elixir or something.”
Thinking on how she had a few spiritual treasures growing in her room, Shen Anwei could see that happening. The fairy in the secret realm that she had once stumbled upon also might have blessed her body and not just given her a mere tea tree with purification qi.
“She should still visit Qian Cao. After this meeting, I want you to send her to me.” Cheng Anshuo said with firmly.
Gu Anxiu sighed. “Yes, Cheng-shixiong. But why are you asking about her? Did she eat something on your Peak?”
Shen Anwei chuckled. “You could say that.”
Gu Anxiu groaned, covering his eyes. “Oh no. Did she actually get poisoned this time?” While Gu Anxiu would hope that someone would tell him if his disciple got badly poisoned, he couldn’t think of anything else that could catch his shixiong’s attention.
Shen Anwei shook his head. “No. She’s not in trouble.” Shen Anwei smiled, “Apparently, she had been eating late night snacks in our Great Library. Qingqiu caught her, but then they began eating together for weeks.” Gu Anxiu uncovered his eyes to look at Shen Anwei in disbelief. That was how infamous his little Qingqiu was and how surprising it was that someone would not know him. Perhaps, that was another reason why Qingqiu continued to meet with Chun Yu. He was finding solace in meeting with someone who didn’t know him. “We had dinner at her house the other day. She didn’t know who he was until I said Qingqiu’s name, but it didn’t change anything.” Shen Anwei chuckled. “Qingqiu still doesn’t know her name and is too proud to ask. Don’t tell him it.”
The Peak Lords gaped.
“That’s…” Someone said.
“Is it too late for Qingyuan?” Yan Anming asked.
Shen Anwei shook his head. “I think they’re just friends. And fellow lovers of sweets. I didn’t know Qingqiu loved sweets so much until we played Real or Cake.”
“You played Real or Cake?” Gu Anxiu asked in a horrified fashion. “Did she go easy on you or did she bring out the puppy and the bloody brain?”
Shen Anwei looked at Gu Anxiu, amused. “Would her hand and the bunny count as easy?”
Gu Anxiu held his heart. “No, but if you ever play that game again, let me tell you that she can do very realistic cakes of demons and people’s heads. Even if you know it’s cake, watching her slowly excise someone’s eyeball and feed it to you is…” Gu Anxiu shuddered.
“She’s very masterful at suspense and drama.” Shen Anwei nodded his head in mirth. Shen Anwei was certain that was the reason why she enjoyed playing the game so much.
“Real or Cake?” Xiu Anran mouthed to a fellow Peak Lord in cautious fascination. What they were hearing certainly sounded intriguing.
“The worst part is that her cakes are good and all the kids know it. Everyone who knows always wants to play Real or Cake with her. Then, there’s the brats who get kicks out of everyone’s expressions.”
“You should send her to Qing Jing.” Shen Anwei said, causing some more eyebrows to shoot up. “She could fit right in with the senior disciples.”
Gu Anxiu’s lips pressed. While some of his colleagues wondered how good her cake art could be to go straight to the senior disciple classes, Gu Anxiu had seen them and the other works of (culinary) art. Truthfully, he had once thought of asking her if she would like to take some of the art classes on Qing Jing. But now that he knew that she was close to a boy there… even if he was Shen Anwei’s…
“I’ll think about it.” Gu Anxiu grumbled. Although he wasn’t that close to Xiao Yu, she was still one of his own. Did he want someone to steal his cabbage? Especially someone who might break her heart?
Shen Anwei chuckled. Fair enough. “On another note. I think you and Cheng-shidi would enjoy visiting her house. She has an impressive indoor garden.”
Cheng Anshuo took the bait. “How impressive?”
“Most of the plants are growing without soil. She has some spiritual plants that I had never seen in Qian Cao before. She has many grafted trees because she ‘has no room’ in her house. One tree can fruit 50 different kinds of stone fruits-”
“50?” Someone gasped.
“But how is she growing them indoors? Night pearls? Flare talismans?”
“That sounds pretty. I would like to visit in spring.” The Xian Shu Peak Lord said before murmuring. “Or do you think she can put it into a qiankun pouch and bring it outside? It’s potted, right?”
“We’ll meet her in her house.” Cheng Anshuo said, changing his mind from earlier of having her sent to him in Qian Cao.
“Hm. Do you think Qingqiu-shidi would let Qingyuan closer if he offered sweets as gifts instead?” Yan Anming asked seriously.
“I don’t think the gifts are the problem.” Shen Anwei deadpanned.
“You’re right.” Yan Anming easily conceded, waving the thought dismissively away. “And that idiot’s never going to figure out what is. I swear, he’s usually a genius with people, but when it comes to Qingqiu…”
All of the Peak Lords nodded their heads in agreement.
“And a random disciple is doing better than all of our successors in getting closer to their shixiong.” Xiu Anran sighed. “How is it that even Qingqi, the oldest of them all, is incapable too?”
They all sighed.
“Will you be continuing to supervise their dinners?” Xiu Anran asked knowingly. “Or can we have one of the succeeding disciples play chaperone instead?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, but I think they’re fine by themselves. I’d rather not ruin their time together. Even when I was there, it was the first time that I saw Qingqiu so relaxed and happy. I didn’t realize that the rumors were affecting him so much until then.” Shen Anwei admitted.
Feng Anhu squeezed Shen Anwei’s shoulder. Yan Anming sighed. “I wouldn’t think it’s your fault. Qingqiu-shidi hides it very well and we all decided to not hold their hands since they would be our successors after we ascend.”
Xiu Anran nodded. “Qi Qingqi should know better than to let these rumors about her shixiong and indirectly the sect continue. Even if the source tends to be… Liu-shizi and the sect.”
All of them sighed again.
But little did they know, it was because of Liu-shizi and the sect that the problem that they were most worried about was fixed.
-
-
“SHEN QINGQIU!!! I HEARD THAT YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH A GIRL AND NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY!!!”
It was this out of all the things that had ever come out of Liu Qingge’s mouth that finally made Shen Qingqiu snap.
“What.” Shen Qingqiu asked, voice as sharp as his sword. “Did you say?”
Their surroundings were simultaneously both silent and noisy as everyone watched the two in the Qiong Ding courtyard with wide eyes.
Especially when Yue Qingyuan, who was holding a stack of papers, dropped them as he was walking out of the building. “W-what? X-Xiao Jiu, did you-”
“No.” Shen Qingqiu growled. He had been silent and lied on many things so overly done with people thinking the worst of him anyways, but there was no way he could accept this when he was certain who the ‘girl’ that they were mentioning was.
“Liar!” Liu Qingge shouted. “You slept at her house and came out in the morning! Everyone knows it!”
Shen Qingqiu felt like murdering people. Especially whoever had apparently seen him come and go. He felt like murdering Liu Qingge, who kept blurting out these things, right now. He felt like he could kill Yue Qingyuan, who looked like he was believing these things in an instant, next.
Fortunately, for all members in the sect, Chun Yu had been heading to Qiong Ding to drop off some reports. Otherwise, someone might have been murdered. (Because Yan Anming and Shen Anwei were there too.)
“Wow. You speak as if you have no friends.”
At the familiar voice, even if it wasn’t as cheerful as it usually was, Shen Qingqiu felt himself calm a little. He looked to the side to see Chun Yu holding some papers, which she used to subtly pat him on the arm. Physical touch would be bad for the current situation, but Shen Qingqiu could almost feel her comforting him with her hand instead.
“W-who are you?” Liu Qingge sputtered at the new person to appear.
Chun Yu snorted. “Apparently, the woman who Shen-shixiong is sleeping with.” Liu Qingge sputtered and reddened again, especially at the tone. “Which isn’t true by the way. If you listen to so many rumors and misunderstand everything, it makes you wonder how many of the things you say are true.”
Liu Qingge’s eyes narrowed. “I am not a liar.”
Chun Yu crossed her arms as she strode closer. “Maybe not intentionally. But I know for sure that Shen-shixiong had never done anything disrespectful or inappropriate towards me yet you say he did.
"Now backtrack a little, what else have you said before.
"You said that he’s ruining his cultivation and giving the sect a bad name by sleeping with the flowers in the brothel. Yet besides the fact that there is nothing wrong with brothels in this current world where some little girls are sold by their parents into slavery or others don’t have any means to provide their living besides that kind of work, there are many other things a person can do in a brothel besides sleeping with the women there. Namely, listening to the pipa, teaching women language, numbers, and the Four Arts so that they can attain personal worth and freedom, drinking. You may see him go into a brothel like someone saw him go into my house, but until you know for sure what’s going on inside, you can’t say anything about what he does there. Because that’s lying.
"Then what else is there. Oh. Dirty tricks. But if you ambush and force a spiritual cultivator into a fight outside of a ring with established rules, then it’s a free game. Especially because a martial cultivator is physically stronger than a spiritual cultivator and a spiritual cultivator naturally uses tricks with qi to win. Unless you, in your righteousness, expects him to just lay down and take a punch that can pierce through a wall without using any of the ‘tricks’ that spiritual cultivators train to use. Do you always go to smash the spider and say that’s cheating when they try to bite you back with venom? Bully the weak and get mad when they fight back? You’re so righteous.
"And now what? Are you going to tell me that I’m lying? Say one thing about Shen Qingqiu that you truly believe that he did that’s wrong. Something you’re confident that you haven’t misunderstood. I’ll help you use your brain. If the sect only has one braincell, then I’ll give it to you today.”
Liu Qingge stared down at her, especially as Chun Yu got so close to him that she could press her finger against his chest and glare up at him.
Liu Qingge felt distinctly off-footed, unbalanced despite knowing that he had perfect control over his body after so many years of training. But the thoughts resounded in his mind and it was hard to dismiss the fact that the girl that he had been trying to defend was defending Shen Qingqiu and saying that Liu Qingge was the one who was wrong. It was hard to dismiss the fact that she didn’t look like she was lying – and with that one thought – that she wasn’t lying about him being wrong about what Shen Qingqiu was doing with her – made his foundation tumble like a tower of rocks.
“He’s a liar.” Liu Qingge said instead. Just as he knew she was not lying, Shen Qingqiu had to be! Liu Qingge just knew he was! “An annoying prick who always hurts people.”
“Oh wow. Self-defense hurts. Maybe, if you stop trying to provoke him or fight him or see illusions of the worst in him, then he’ll stop hurting you back. Why are you always running towards him anyways? He doesn’t want to fight you. He’s a scholar. Why are you always trying to pick a fight with him – physical or with words – unprovoked and yet trying to find every excuse you can to pick a fight with him? Don’t you think this is annoying?” When Liu Qingge stared at her, she sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, there’s only two reasons why I think you’re obsessed with him. This is either the Bai Zhan version of boys pulling the hair of girls they like to catch their attention.” Liu Qingge sputtered. “Or you’re jealous because someone you like likes him.” She leaned in and whispered loudly. “Is it Yue-shixiong?”
“No!” Liu Qingge shouted in a panic, face reddening especially when he unconsciously looked around and saw Yue Qingyuan within hearing distance.
“Oh! Then you’re either lying or you do like Shen-shixiong!”
“I do not!”
“Then why are you blushing?” Chun Yu rushed forward, making the War God unconsciously take many steps back. “Can I misunderstand your expression and think that you like both?”
“NO!”
“I don’t believe you!” “I’m not-” “You have to be lying!” “I’M-” “A LIAR! You believe we have two hands to hold two people!” Chun Yu yelled over him, began to holler to Liu Qingge who quickly retreated so far until he was unconsciously getting onto his sword and flying away like he was being harassed. “Don’t forget when you hear the new rumors that’s what it feels like you’re doing to your crush!” Chun Yu used qi in her voice to make sure he heard it.
Then, Chun Yu shook her head before glaring at everyone in the gathered courtyard. They jolted back when her eyes met them.
“Now. All of you. If you want to apologize to Shen-shixiong for making up his entire life story, I better hear rumors about Liu-shixiong by sundown.”
They all nodded in fright, several girls more eagerly than others.
“Don’t take it too far. Remember that they are your shixiong! Dismissed!” Chun Yu snapped at all of them, using qi to push them with wind and encourage them all to scatter.
Chun Yu returned to Shen Qingqiu and sighed. “I’m sorry if I said anything you didn’t want me to say, shixiong.”
Shen Qingqiu finally snorted and shook his head. “You are not sorry. You are a menace.”
“I suppose I am if shixiong says so.” Chun Yu repented.
“But it’s my fault for getting caught going in and out of your house.” Shen Qingqiu relented, a soft ‘it’s okay. It’s not your fault’.
Chun Yu smiled. “What are you saying? Was I not the one who invited you?” It’s not your fault either.
“But I was the one who accepted.” And your invitation is the only one I would accept.
They both stayed in warm silence before Shen Qingqiu asked cautiously. “Does Liu… shidi really like… Yue-shixiong?” Shen Qingqiu momentarily struggled with calling them by their polite names.
Chun Yu smiled. “If you ask that, then I think we both agree that blush was highly suspicious.”
“Huh.” Shen Qingqiu looked like his mind was momentarily tilted, every past interaction needing to be re-evaluated by the new worldview. “But why is he jealous? Yue… shixiong doesn’t like me.”
“What!” Yue Qingyuan suddenly said, finally standing straight after the fiasco (and then depressing sight of Xiao Jiu with a girl). “What do you mean that I don’t like you? Xiao Jiu, of course, I like you!”
Shen Qingqiu’s eyes narrowed. “No, you don’t.” His body shuddered a little, showing even more of his intense distrust.
Yue Qingyuan quickly ran over to insist worriedly, “Of course I do! What do you mean I don’t? Why do you think I don’t? I give you gifts!”
“Out of guilt.” Shen Qingqiu spat.
Yue Qingyuan faltered. “But-”
“You only brought me here because you feel sorry for me. You only apologize and give gifts because you can’t stand feeling guilty because of me. I must be a blot in your eyes. A dark stain that you can’t get rid of. A filthy-”
“NO!!” Yue Qingyuan shouted, trying desperately to grab Shen Qingqiu. “Don’t say that! I don’t think that-”
“Then why didn’t you come back for me, Yue Qingyuan!!” Shen Qingqiu shouted, dodging, even pushing back Yue Qingyuan’s hands.
Yue Qingyuan froze, stiffening in horror. “I- I’m sorry-”
“Tell me.” Shen Qingqiu demanded.
“I’m sorry-”
“You and your useless apologies.” Shen Qingqiu hissed. “Just tell me that you didn’t want to come back then. That you were happy to forget me and leave me behind. That you don’t want me here. Just tell me already that I was an useless burden that you were happy to get rid of so that you could stand in silk robes-”
“NO!!” Yue Qingyuan shouted, “I can’t!! You’re not-”
“Why!” Shen Qingqiu hissed in frustration.
When Yue Qingyuan looked trapped, Yan Anming finally descended down the stairs of the building from behind Yue Qingyuan,
“Heavens! Is that what this was all about? That was the reason why Qingqiu couldn’t stand you?”
Shen Qingqiu hissed, glaring angrily at Yan Anming, daring her to say that he was wrong or stupid for caring, but to Shen Qingqiu’s surprise, Yan Anming smacked Yue Qingyuan in the head and grabbed him by the collar. “Follow me, Qingqiu. I’ll tell you for him. I don’t know why he becomes so stupid and useless around you. I’m going to have to find some gift to compensate you for five years of trying to talk to this idiot that’s supposed to be my successor.”
Shen Qingqiu looked at them blankly, but when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw his Shizun.
“Come on, Qingqiu.” Shen Anwei sighed. “It’s something you as the sect strategist need to know anyways.”
“There… There was a reason?” Shen Qingqiu slowly asked, hesitantly with fragile hope.
“Yes.” Shen Anwei smiled gently. “If I’m understanding your argument correctly, yes. As Chun-shizi demonstrated so valiantly earlier, no one who truly knows you would want to leave you behind.”
“…Oh…” Shen Qingqiu could only utter, so lost in disbelief and yet overwhelmed hope and warmth at that thought.
Shen Anwei gently helped him follow Yan Anming and Yue Qingyuan.
Chun Yu watched them before glaring down at the remaining audience – namely the Qing generation that had remained.
Qi Qingqi held up her hands in peace. “I see now that I was completely wrong on many things. Namely, Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge are idiots, as good-natured and smart about other things as they are.” She deadpanned.
Chun Yu nodded in approval.
“That’s so sad.” Ruan Qingruan said. “Shen-shixiong all this time was a scorned abandoned wife that was misunderstood by everyone?”
“I… I got to write that down.” Shang Qinghua said, only to get a sword between his legs. “Or I won’t write it down. Er, your name was Chun-shimei right? I promise! Not a word from me about what happened today!”
“His luck is so bad.” Lin Qingshui shook his head. “It got higher because of you though.” Lin Qingshui acknowledged, nodding his head towards Chun Yu. “Thank you on behalf of our generation.”
“I anticipate less qi deviations in the future.” Mu Qingfang said in satisfaction. “I’ll only tell Liu-shixiong the bare minimal to prevent misunderstandings, Chun-shimei.” Mu Qingfang promised.
Chun Yu sighed, unable to do more. “What are you all doing here anyways?” Chun Yu asked before she went to do her original errands.
“Today was supposed to be the day for Peak Lords and head disciples to meet.” They all chorused in answer.
Of course it was.
Her shixiong's luck truly was so bad, but fortunately, she could try to make up for it with sweets! Maybe she will try tanghulu inspired cake for her shixiong this time!