Chapter Text
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“Stupid author! Stupid novel!” yells Shen Yuan.
Bundled up in his hoodie, glasses askew, he opens a yogurt he fished out from the fridge and swallows a spoonful. He promised Da-ge he would start eating breakfast, and look, here he is eating breakfast! Take that Da-ge and your disbelieving 'Sure A-Yuan, sure you will' smile.
Now, Shen Yuan did not in fact, start his morning in mindless rage. He would claim himself a relatively calm and reasonable person, thank you very much. The reason for his current mood was, in fact, one of his least favorite web novels, which had just released what was marked as its last chapter this morning.
And what a last chapter it was! If Shen Yuan were asked to describe it, he would use words such as: deeply unsatisfying, wasted potential, unfinished plotlines that went nowhere, the last hopes of competent worldbuilding disappearing in the wind, suspension of disbelief has long since left Shen Yuan, but the last chapter somehow made it worse, and so many swears, probably every single one Shen Yuan knew.
But that’s not the worst of it. No. The worst of it is that Shen Yuan realized something. The reason Luo Binghe was the character he was, the reason he became the man he was in the last chapter, was the scum villain from the early part of Proud Immortal Demon Way, Shen Qingqiu. He is the reason Luo Binghe, the white lotus, was at the start of the novel, became the blackened demon emperor he was at the end. If Shen Qingqiu were not such a cruel, venomous, lecherous man, Luo Binghe might have turned out completely differently. You would think that such a villain, who impacted the protagonist to this extent and even pushed him into the endless abyss, would have a thought-out, impactful backstory where it would be explained just why he was so cruel to this small child. Or really explain anything about him. The man had so many plot threads hinted at, and none of them came to anything! What even was his deal with the sect leader, eh? Well, it will never be answered now! And so now, the reason Luo Binghe set out on the path of revenge and power was either just a cruel twist of chance, a coincidence of Shen Qingqiu picking Luo Binghe for his cruelty, or just a random act of cruelty because the scum villain could. Either way, not very satisfying! Like at all! So now Shen Yuan is simmering in boiling rage. Having ranted about all these thoughts aloud for the past hour.
After a few more spoonfuls of his breakfast yogurt, Shen Yuan began to feel tired and not so well. Maybe he shouldn’t yell as much. It can’t be good for him, and he just got back from the hospital a month ago. No need to stress his family again. He stood up to go get a glass of water and his morning pills when his head spun. He clutched the table as black spots began to cloud his vision.
Then the world became sporadic, then blurry.
Then, eventually, the world became black.
Pain. That was the first sensation that greeted Shen Yuan when his consciousness jump-started again, lagging like an old virus-ridden laptop, everything came to him slowly. The pain was there even before he could put a name to it, and it was everywhere. Far be it from him to be unused to pain, every part of his body was in pain at some point or another, but this was different, the pain was more? No, not more, but in a strange place…
Shen Yuan was used to hearing his heart pulse loudly in his ears and feeling his veins pump everywhere, but it was… doubled? As if he had two sets of veins, each pumping and spasming in their own way. Each pulse felt like getting stabbed, followed by intense burning, his limbs wanted to cramp and curl, but lacked the strength. Shen Yuan was vaguely aware that, at most, he was uselessly twitching.
Did he get blood poisoning? How does one get blood poisoning from food poisoning? Is that possible? His ears started picking up sounds other than his thundering heart. He heard shuffling? Maybe and something like pained whimpering…
Oh please, whoever that is needs to cut it off, he feels like dying over here, and someone has the audacity- wait- he lives alone- who is making that sound? He did not have anyone over. Meimei was supposed to visit in the afternoon, but that was hours away. Did he pass out for so long? Did she call an ambulance for him? But that was not crying nor the sounds of paramedics- Wait, was HE whimpering?! Oh, that is so embarrassing! Shen Yuan quickly tries to shut his mouth, but can’t. His muscles are not listening to him.
I need to open my eyes and call an ambulance… Er-ge’s gonna kill me, he thinks. After about twenty tries, cursing the heavens and his poor dietary choices, and what feels like eternity, his eyes finally clip open.
Red. Wet. What? What the hell? Why am I seeing red? Literally. Did my eyes start to bleed? That’s a first! Shen Yuan thinks hysterically. What do I do now? Do I have to wait for meimei to find me like this? Will I go blind?? Have I already gone blind??? No, wait, I see the blood, so that’s good! Right?!
[Activation Code: “Stupid author! Stupid novel! Stupid chance! Stupid coincidence!” System automatically triggered.]
The voice came from all directions, and it sounded like Google Translate. Wait, he was reading when he passed out. How did he open Google Translate? Did someone else do it? He needs to reach his phone and call an ambulance. But the voice seemed to come from all directions! Ugh! He tries to move, to reach out, the voice sounded close, so the phone has to be close as well, but he is abruptly reminded that his muscles are not his friends right now. So uncooperative!
[Welcome, cherished user. This system operates in line with the design concept: “YOU CAN YOU UP, NO CAN NO BB”; we hope to provide you with the best possible experience. It is our sincere wish that during your time, you can fulfill your desire, and in accordance with your wish, transform a stupid work built on a coincidence into a magnificent, high-quality, first-rate classic. We hope you enjoy!]
Shen Yuan blinked rapidly. So not in his apartment then. Shen Yuan read enough transmigration novels to make an important decision, namely that should he ever transmigrate, he would not, in fact, start giggling and asking who was filming this prank. He would, in fact very much like to ask where this, the place he transmigrated to, was, but seeing as opening his eyes was a feat to achieve and he was in fact not able to close his mouth and stop the painfilled sounds- oh no the first thing he did after transmigrating was to whine in pain, what an awful first impression to make on anyone around! Mortifying!
Wait! Why am I in so much pain after transmigrating…
He hears footsteps and finally, finally manages to blink some of the blood out of his eyes and sees… dirt? What the fuck? Am I lying on the ground? The footsteps get closer. Till dirty black boots come to a stop before Shen Yuan. A person! Now, not to be naïve, but this humble transmigrator could really use a helpful starting character who aids in acclimating to a new world now… and maybe some healing.
His hair gets roughly gripped, which in his current state only adds to the overall pain minutely, and is pulled off the ground. He hangs by his hair in the man’s grip, staring into amused eyes. Amused?! Shen Yuan tries to move or say something, because really, this is very rude. Why must he have an awful starting transmigrator experience? But all he manages is a minute twitch and a stutter, interrupting the pained sounds, still leaving him against his will.
“We thought you were dead or on a certain way there! But look at you! Managed to wake up again all by yourself, Gonzi…” the last part is added, chuckling. Ok! Definitely not a helpful start character! He sounds like a generic evil guy from a trashy novel, the likes of Proud Immortal Demon Way. Hopefully, he is just as stupid as those characters…
His wrist is grabbed, and he feels the second set of his veins burn more. A strangled cry escapes him. Dammit, Shen Yuan, get it together! No need to lose face before such a low-level villain. He wears robes, the likes that fan artists draw on characters in cultivation novels, but like the evil flavor. A black hairpin adorned with a strange monster in his hair. The monster looks somewhat familiar… He called him Gonzi even if demeaningly. Is this a world with cultivation, and if so, is the man checking his spiritual veins? Shen Yuan is pretty sure no one ever described it hurting so much, not even when the scum villain Shen Qingqiu in Proud Immortal Demon Way checked Luo Binghe meridians, was it described as painful, and Shen Qingqiu reveled in being cruel altogether, especially to Luo Binghe. So why is it so painful?! Shen Yuan is starting to think he’d like a refund…
“Hmmp,” says the man as he lets go of his wrist, “You’ll live, Gonzi. Impressive.”
Shen Yuan promptly hits the ground and starts getting dragged away. Somewhere. Shen Yuan would really like to know where. But on the bright side, at least he is not actively dying, even if he feels like it. Well, unless this low-level, unfriendly, unhelpful starting character is about to kill him, which would be very inconvenient, but Shen Yuan is not worried about that at all. And it’s not like he can do anything about it! He can’t even move! So, no reason to worry about that.
A different floor comes into view. Shen Yuan would like to see the rest of the room to at least get his expectation in order, but alas, he is not raised into the air again, so staring at the ground it is. At least he can listen. Unfortunately, he can also smell, and while the smell of blood was strong where he woke up, this new room smells rancid. Like someone kept collecting roadkills and piled them up in this room for the last few years. They come to a stop.
“This lowly one greets Wang-zun,” says the starter character. Ha! He is just a minor villain! Cannon fodder, even. Calling someone else revered and himself lowly. As much as Shen Yuan is proud to be proven right, he is also ostensibly now in a room with a slightly higher-level villain, which is let’s just say, not ideal. Though how important he is is yet to be determined, a task made easier if he could see him and knew which cultivation novel he landed in.
No response gets given to the cannon fodder, he continues: “Wang-zun, I bring one who survived you, and as far as this lowly one is able to say he will live without any aid… What is Wang-zun’s wish with him?”
Ah, meeting the original’s killer. How prompt. Sorry, buddy, I can’t exactly avenge you in this state. But at least you got taken out by a higher-level villain! Not that that’s much of a consolation… Hopefully, he won’t follow the original goods so soon.
Shen Yuan decides that since he is keeping calm so well in this situation, he will just wait to see how this develops.
“Truly now? Let this master see,” says a calm, deep voice. Shen Yuan shivers. It’s filled with malice. Or maybe Shen Yuan is just imagining it…
His wrist gets gripped again, and if the first time was painful, what follows this action now is pure agony. Screaming cuts through the room. His screaming. Shen Yuan is certain he should try to close his mouth and stop, but he can’t focus on anything but the pain and sound, let alone try to move. Then just as the agony came, it’s gone. He gasps, lung drawing in air frantically. The pain subsides back to the original one, which is a relief. Somehow. Shen Yuan should really ask for a refund.
“This master must agree. Gonzi here shall live. We can use him again for certain after he rests for a while. Take him to a room. He is not to be disturbed until he recuperates, then this master will see him, his qi was a delight,” the pleased voice announces. Definitely a cultivation world and definitely a stereotypical villain. Why must Shen Yuan's transmigration start with mediocre writing? Does he ask for that much?
After the fodder villain sucks up to his boss a bit and assures him that he will inform everyone else that Shen Yuan is his, which, ugh, he drags Shen Yuan to a small, damp, dark room with a small straw bed. Onto which he promptly gets thrown. The man leaves after a head pat and telling him to recover fast so that his master can have his fun, which is, to put it mildly, disturbing, he would like to avoid any torture, or, well, based on his state, any more torture.
When the door’s lock clicks shut, a neon screen pops up, and Google Translate voice speaks to him once more.
[The System was successfully activated! Bound role: Nameless Daozhang. Weapon: None. Starting B-points: 100.]
Nameless?! I transmigrated into a random NPC in a cultivation world?! I am so going to get killed! Why? Where am I? How do I get out of here? At least give me something to work with, System!
[You have triggered System’s execution command, however due to a slight difference in wording, we had to adjust the account you were bound to in order to make fulfilling your wish possible. As you progress in your wish, various point types will become available. Please ensure that no score falls below zero, or the system will automatically mete out punishment.]
My wish? What wish? System?
[According to the System’s database, user made his wish of uncovering a hidden reason for what felt like cheap coincidences loudly heard.]
Wh- Proud Immortal Demon Way?! Have I transmigrated into Proud Immortal Demon Way?! Shen Yuan is certain that Proud Immortal Demon Way was what made him so enraged, which means that, according to the System, he transmigrated into a nameless NPC in Proud Immortal Demon Way. A nameless NPC killed by torture… Excellent. The question of when is answered, but when is he? There really is not much around him to give him a hint.
System, you said my account had to be altered. Is that why I transmigrated into a random NPC who died somewhere from torture?
[User was originally bound to the Shen Qingqiu account, but difficulties were encountered. User was given the most suitable account available instead. This System apologizes for any inconvenience.]
Shen Qingqiu?! Shen Yuan dodged a bullet there. What a relief. But he is still injured and captured somewhere in Proud Immortal Demon Way world, which Shen Yuan is certain, from the many chapters of the novel he read, is a terrible situation to be in if you are an NPC.
System? Can you tell me where I am? And what is happening? And why am I so injured?
[Answering user, user is currently captured by a group of demonic cultivators. The original soul of the body was captured and used by the demonic cultivators as a human cauldron in order for them to balance the overabundance of yin energy caused by their cultivation technique, which caused death. This System apologizes for the current state of the body, user was originally not meant to take it over.]
…
So, am I a cultivator? Can I get out of here? Or am I just going to get killed all over again? System, you have to help me! You got me into this mess, help me out! It’s your job, right?!
[This System aims to please and provide a satisfying experience. We are diligent in fulfilling this directive. User has well-developed spiritual veins and meridians, but has not yet achieved true immortality, only slowed aging. As an apology, this System has provided a healing item which will also provide a pain relief effect. Would user like to use it?]
Yes! Yes! I would! I do!
Liquid suddenly appears in his mouth, and he instinctively swallows. The concoction tastes extremely bitter, but the relief is immediate. He sighs happily as all the pain all but evaporates. His muscles start cooperating, and he is able to slowly sit up.
Shen Yuan tries to use qi, as the low-level villain pulled a truly low-IQ move and left a cultivator just locked in a room instead of binding him in immortal binding cables. Nothing happens.
System? A little help, maybe?
[User is perfectly able to manipulate qi within his body. Keep up the good work and practice! This System will always support you!]
You! System! I am about to be tortured, and heavens know what else! How the hell am I supposed-
…
Always support me, will you?! Aim to please and satisfy, do you?! Well, System, my arrival here was very unsatisfactory and rough, you even agreed with me. I was not even meant to be here. I appreciate the apology gift, I truly do, but this mistake of yours gave me an insight into a few tips that would make transmigration experience much less frustrating and much more satisfying for us both… if you would be so kind as to hear me out…
[This System aims to please and provide a satisfying experience. All improvement suggestions are welcome and will be diligently considered. In addition, due to users’ unique experience, this System will put additional weight on users ‘tips’.]
Shen Yuan smiled. While the robotic voice showed no emotion, Shen Yuan liked to imagine that it sounded a bit guilty.
Well, to start tutorials on skills I’m supposed to have but I don’t, would be appreciated, along with some sort of way to track progress and gain new skills, both in cultivation and not. I’m sure that would make things easier for us both. Maybe also a way to track quests, my inventory, people I meet, and locations. Imagine how much easier that will make things for you when I won’t have to bother every five minutes for things like that. What do you think?
The system was silent for a moment, and just when Shen Yuan was about to ask whether it was listening, a window popped up.
[Processing user’s request, please wait… Request sent to management, please wait…]
[…]
[Request processed. Reply from management received. All requested features were approved for use, user may buy them for 1000 B-points each.]
1000 B-points each?! I have a hundred! System, you said my tips would have additional weight since there was an error! And this is what I get?! Bullshit, you scammed me and gave me false hope! I am neither pleased nor satisfied!
[This System aims to please and provide a satisfying experience. This System informs user user’s requests were given additional weight. Most of users' suggestions would not have been approved by the management were it not for this error. This System recommends user be diligent in saving his B-points so that he may buy these features in the future.]
…
System listen… Strict bosses suck, I know. But you must see that I asked for these features to be able to even have a chance to escape this hell where I ended up by mistake. If you aim to please and satisfy, then you have to help me here. Can’t you give me a steep discount? Or I don’t know, have all the features be a reward for a quest? A quest like I don’t know, getting past this door? I can’t be satisfied if I die in the starting location! Surely the management cannot protest if it’s a reward! You will be praised for your cleverness in aiding your transmigrator, and I will live and get out of here! It’s win-win!
[…]
[New Quest Available: Escape Demonic Cultivators. Goal: Escape the den of demonic cultivators alive. Reward: Bundle of Experience-Enhancing Features. Would user like to accept this quest?
Accept / Decline]
I have to escape without them?! And then I get them?! I really deserve a refund!
[Refund unavailable to user. 2. Would user like to accept the quest?
Accept / Decline]
Shen Yuan kicks the ground. He would like to scream in frustration, but one of the evil minions might hear him, and he really doesn’t want their boss to come looking for his fun. Whatever that means. He spits blood as he stares at the neon window filled with text.
Sweeten it with B-points along the way, and we have a deal! He tells the system stubbornly, even if he doesn’t know what B-points are, yet the more the better, right...
[B-points will be awarded during users' escape as appropriate. Would user like to accept the quest?
Accept / Decline]
Fine! Fine! I accept, but you better not be tricking me! He hits the accept with his hand just to be safe. He carefully stands up and examines the door. From the looks of it’s just a normal locked door, just like the doors existing back in his old world, with the exception that beyond this door is an unknown number of demonic cultivators who already managed to kill the original goods.
Hey system? What happens if I die?
[Answering user. User will be transported back to his original body, which, according to our database, died of food poisoning. User is advised to take care of his new body.]
Wh-
He-
…
…
…
Well, no time to dwell on that! Time to escape the den of demonic cultivators!
~~~
~ One year later ~
~~~
Shen Qingqiu was surrounded on all sides by the idiotic, the incompetent, and the weak-willed. How a group of twelve people could only contain one intelligent life form was honestly beyond him. Some of them, he had to reluctantly admit, were skilled in their specific fields, which apparently pushed all common sense out of their minds.
This month’s peak lord meeting was crawling by at an alarmingly slow pace, not in the least helped by Shang Qinghua’s budget report, which had been going for the last two shichen and was currently in its monthly phase of trying to get Liu Qingge and the rest of his brutish peak to stop breaking their own mountain and half the others. Even if Shen Qingqiu were a far more optimistic man, he would say that it was a fool’s errand. As he was, he was of the mind that Shang Qinghua was wasting Shen Qingqiu’s precious time.
Shen Qingqiu slowly and deliberately waved his fan. He was at least pretending to pay attention along with Yue Qingyuan. Everyone else seemed to be either sleeping discreetly or openly, aside from Liu Qingge, who was blankly staring at Shang Qinghua. Not a thought in those eyes. It was a miracle the brute even attended, but seeing that he missed the last three, perhaps a miracle occurred, and Yue Qingyuan grew enough spine to force their brutish shidi to attend. Or maybe Liu Qingge remembered he was a peak lord and as such had duties… though that was ridiculously unlikely.
Shang Qinghua comes to a fretful stop, eyeing Liu Qingge fearfully.
“They need to train,” Liu Qingge grunts, because of course he does.
Shang Qinghua wilts. He tries a few more times, but it looks like a mouse trying to persuade a cat. It would be almost entertaining, the way Shang Qinghua was throwing peas at a wall and expecting to make a dent, if Shen Qingqiu was not sitting for the last four shichen.
Just as his temper neared its limit, on his left, Wei Qingwei’s sleeping head slipped from the hand where it was resting, and he faceplanted into the table. The loud bang startled everyone awake or from their thoughts. Wei Qingwei flushed when all eyes turned to him.
Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan open: “Good morning, Wei-shidi…”
Wei Qingwei shot him a look he ignored. Liu Qingge frowned. Shang Qinghua let out nervously: Ha ha haa.
Yue Qingyuan gave everyone an indulgent smile: “Shang-shidi, perhaps we could move the meeting forward… I am certain Liu-shidi will ask his disciples to take better care while continuing their hard training…”
Meanwhile, Shang Qinghua sputtered for a bit before quickly agreeing to move on. Liu Qingge gave a curt nod. The liar. Shen Qingqiu quietly snorts.
Shang Qinghua hastily shuffled his papers, desperately trying to change the subject before Liu Qingge decided to test Bai Zhan’s training methods inside the Qiong Ding main hall.
"Right! Moving on!" Shang Qinghua squeaked, wiping sweat from his brow, "The next item on the agenda is the logistics for next month’s joint night hunts. Shen-shixiong, Qing Jing Peak is slated to lead the strategy, but we still need to finalize the structural expenses..."
Shen Qingqiu didn't even look up from his fan: "Qing Jing Peak’s strategy is already perfected and submitted. As for the expenses, perhaps An Ding Peak should look into docking the allowances of those who treat our tactical camps like their personal demolition range."
He leveled a frosty glare across the table.
Liu Qingge’s infuriated eyes snapped to him: "Bai Zhan fights on the front lines. We do not sit behind bamboo screens playing with ink while others bleed."
"Clearly," Shen Qingqiu sneered, his voice dripping with disdain, "for if you spent even a single shichen with ink, you might have developed a cognitive capacity higher than a beast. It is a pity the God of War's martial prowess is inversely proportional to his civility."
"Shen Qingqiu!" Liu Qingge gritted out, his knuckles turning white against the table. "You mock the strength of my peak, yet where do you crawl off to the moment a meeting dismisses? To dally with courtesans and waste your qi in dens of filth."
From across the table, a heavy sigh cut through. Mu Qingfang set down his teacup with a soft clink. The Peak Lord of Qian Cao Peak looked between the two men with a face of long-suffering patience. His sharp eyes fixated first on Liu Qingge's tense shoulders, then drifted over to the subtle, furious tremor in Shen Qingqiu’s grip on his fan. Why does he always notice everything?!
"Liu-shidi, you are projecting an uncharacteristic amount of agitated spiritual pressure today," Mu Qingfang noted, his voice smooth, professional, and entirely unbothered by the deadly glares directed at him, "your meridians are clearly overtaxed from your recent hunts. And Shen-shixiong..."Mu Qingfang adjusted his broad sleeves, his tone turning subtly sharper, because of course he did, "your qi flow has been erratic for the last two shichen. Bickering with the Liu-shidi will only agitate your golden core. If both of you would kindly report to Qian Cao Peak after we adjourn, I have several newly refined calming decoctions that would benefit you both."
Shen Qingqiu’s fan snapped shut with a sound like a whip crack: "This master requires no medical interference from Qian Cao Peak, Mu-shidi."
Pointedly ignoring the healer's steady gaze, he turns to Liu Qingge: "And where I spend my private time is of no concern to a mindless brute who lacks the refinement to even understand the arts. At least the ladies of the Pavilion possess grace. A concept entirely foreign to Bai Zhan."
"Lecher," Liu Qingge growled like an animal.
"Brute," Shen Qingqiu said coldly.
"A dual medical evaluation is due," Mu Qingfang murmured to himself incredulously, "however, neither of them will attend willingly…”
How dare he?! Shen Qingqiu does not need his pity or fake concern. And he certainly does not need the scrutiny. He is perfectly fine right now.
Just as he is about to respond to the insolent healer, the uncivilized barbarian draws his sword: “Fight me!”
Before he can reply, Yue Qingyuan chooses to grace them with his words. “Shen-shidi, Liu-shidi, there’s no need to fight or argue… Let us end this meeting so everyone can rest. It has been a long day,” he says placatingly. Shen Qingqiu bristles, and Yue Qingyuan makes eye contact with him, giving him a pitying smile.
Liu Qingge growls but sheaths his sword, angrily turning and stomping off. The rest of his dear martial siblings file out, bemoaning their terribly hard lives in which they have to attend greatly taxing meetings once a month, after the theater was done. Shen Qingqiu stayed behind, seething.
When only he and Yue Qingyuan were left in the room, Shen Qingqiu slowly turned to the man. Yue Qingyuan gave him another pitying smile, but this one was a bit strained.
“Is Xiao- Shen-shidi going to rest or can this- ”
“Does Zhangmen-shixiong think this shidi so weak that he cannot get through one meeting and survive through a meaningless argument?!” he rounds on Yue Qingyuan.
“No!” Yue Qingyuan tries to placate him with a lie, “This shixiong simply wanted to help-“
Shen Qingqiu stabbed his fan into Yue Qingyuan’s chest: “Oh, now shixiong wants to help! This master does not need your pity, Zhangmen-shixiong, and this master certainly does not want your help.”
He takes one more stab for good measure before he sweeps out the door. Back to his peak, his house, his peace. Peace that he needs to disturb by grading essays of the entitled lazy brats called his disciples…
~~~
The last disciple hits a tree, sliding down with a thump. Liu Qingge looks around to confirm that all of his disciples are defeated. He nods to himself and says, “Train.” After a few moments, he adds, “Destroy less of the peak.”
He turns around and steps on Cheng Luan. As he flies through the sky, deep frustration gnaws at him; sparring with his disciples did nothing to quell the anger he felt. That shameless, pompous bastard. How dare he? Ugh. Never mind. Shen Qingqiu should not occupy Liu Qingge's mind, preferably ever, but Liu Qingge will settle for it while he is not in the vicinity where he could stab him in the back. A good fight will do Liu Qingge some good.
The mission he has been handed should be relatively challenging. Hopefully more than that. An unknown number of unknown and unseen beasts have been attacking a town. Since no one has seen the beasts, they are either invisible or extremely stealthy. Either way, a good hunt awaits Liu Qingge.
The town is not helpful. At all. Despite losing a person every day for the last few weeks, no one has any useful information. Liu Qingge gives it two unhelpful, dragging whinings before leaving. This is why he doesn’t bother talking; what a waste of time…
He spends a day looking for any trace of the beasts in the nearby wilderness. When he comes upon a fresh set of tracks traced with demonic qi, the hunt begins. He stalks through the forest, stretching his senses outward, following the wisps of qi and physical marks.
He reaches a seemingly empty clearing, and his instincts scream. Danger. He crouches at the shadowed edge. The calm, methodical focus of trailing prey bleeds into sharp awareness. This clearing is not empty; Liu Qingge would stake Cheng Luan on that. At the edge of his senses, something moves. But his eyes see nothing. Invisible then. His blood thrums in anticipation. Liu Qingge reaches for Cheng Luan. More movement. Many creatures. Nine. No, ten. No. He moves a bit closer. His senses stretch. Nine monsters and something else—something unfamiliar he cannot place at the other side of the clearing, seemingly hidden in the ravine. Unmoving but dangerous. Obscured qi is raging and straining, and the beasts are seemingly moving to and from the ravine. The nest must be there. First beasts, then nest.
Liu Qingge charges.
A well-placed sword glare, followed by two strikes of Cheng Luan, and the first beast shatters. Literally. Glass glints in the air as a snake-like body falls to the ground. One down, eight to go.
A movement behind him. He turns and deflects a strike just in time. The world narrows down to one clearing, eight beasts, and Liu Qingge. The dry, sturdy earth under his feet. Seven beasts. The glare of the sun on his back. Six beasts. The wind blows from the east. Five beasts. The qi thrums around him. Four beasts. The smell of blood fills the air. Three beasts. The shards of glass gleam in the light and crunch under his feet. Two beasts. The eight corpses strewn about. One beast left. The fangs aim for his neck. Quiet.
Nine beasts down. The nest, veiled in strange, raging qi, remains. His grip on Cheng Luan stays strong. He draws near the ravine, ready to strike. When he looks down, he is left confused. It looks somewhat like a nest, but a metal one. Made of wires. And pulsing with qi. Tainted, raging, burgeoning, but not demonic qi. He raises Cheng Luan in defense. Whatever this is, he will not be surprised. He takes one step forward to the ravine’s edge.
And he is not surprised when the trap springs. He rears back, ready to deflect. And then Cheng Luan falls from his hands. He crumples to the ground into the array that appeared under him. Paralyzed.
Then, not a moment later, the nest of cables moves to drag him in. When he can move, he immediately attempts to tear the cables to shreds, but just as he gets leverage, three cables attach themselves, and his dantian screams. In his momentary shock, the rest of the contraption springs to immobilize him, and as his access to air is cut off, he slowly begins to strangle. No, that’s wrong; strangulation is not how this trap kills, he realizes as his qi is forcibly drained out of him—that’s just to weaken or knock the victim out.
Liu Qingge thrashes, pulls, and pushes. The cables barely budge. Is he not using enough strength? This thing could not have weakened him so fast! But with every attempt, the cables light up with burgeoning qi, and the metal does not give. Liu Qingge grinds his teeth.
He cannot give up. This contraption keeps sapping away his qi. The longer he stays, the less likely he is to get out. He strains his arms and pushes. The cables and metal creak, but nothing breaks. In fact, Liu Qingge’s meridians start straining as the trap begins stealing his qi faster.
Liu Qingge lets his senses reach out. This thing has to have a weakness; everything has a weakness. It was one of the most important lessons his own shizun instilled in him diligently. He just has to find it—
Footsteps. Footsteps are approaching him. Human. Cultivator. Though his strength is difficult to gauge, his qi and core seem to be obscured, no doubt by one of his techniques. Does this contraption belong to him? A demonic cultivator? Or just a passerby who heard and came to investigate?
“Well, at least the town doesn’t have to worry anymore…” says a gentle, melodic voice.
Liu Qingge strains again in his prison. He can’t shout, but he attempts to at least grunt. He is only mildly successful. His strained senses feel the gentle wave of the stranger’s qi wash over them.
“Fuck!” the voice says, and Liu Qingge stops trying to break out. Did he just—did he hear right? Frantic footsteps approach him completely.
A man peers down at him, his pupils widening behind his red glasses.
“You’re still alive! Oh dear, I’m so sorry I didn’t check immediately! Don’t worry! I encountered this type of trap before. I’ll get you right out!” he says apologetically, though he still sounds calm, or more accurately, sure of himself. Liu Qingge does not really have a choice in the matter, but the man’s voice calms him all the same.
“Ok, so you can move your head a bit, right? The beasts look freshly slain, but I have to make sure; do you have enough oxygen to last half a shichen? If yes, just move your head in any way, please,” the stranger asks. Liu Qingge jerks his head.
“Excellent, safe way it is,” mutters the man.
The man begins to move around, practicing skilled movements, dismantling the trap piece by piece. Despite what some might tell you—namely Shen Qingqiu—Liu Qingge is perfectly capable of recognizing people skilled in fields outside of combat. And this man is rather capable, in Liu Qingge's opinion. He dismantles the arrays as the best of An Ding would—well, seeing as the head of An Ding is Shang Qinghua, probably better. And in terms of strength, while much of him is concealed, Liu Qingge’s instincts spike, he’d be unwise to underestimate him in combat.
Just as the man said, in half a shichen, Liu Qingge is pulled out of the destroyed trap, fully intact. He goes to thank the stranger but instead breaks into a coughing fit.
“Aya, here, here, drink some water,” says the man, stepping closer and pushing an opened water flask into his hands. Liu Qingge drinks. The cool water must have some herbs mixed in it because, aside from soothing his throat, it also speeds up his healing.
When he returns the flask, he bows.
“Thank you. You saved me. I am in your debt,” he tells the man.
“Ah, no need, no need,” says the other man and quickly tries to pull him up from the bow. Liu Qingge lets him do as he pleases and ends up staring into the shining green eyes hidden behind the red glasses. “I’m sure anyone in my place would endeavor to do the same, daozhang.”
“Hm,” replies Liu Qingge. Everyone should do the same; whether they would is an entirely different question.
The man pats him on the shoulder and takes a step back before he gasps: “Wait! Are you the one who killed all these beasts? Are you injured?” He steps closer again, and the green eyes begin to look him up and down.
“En. I did. It was a good fight. Not injured,” he says proudly.
The man smiles then, bright and warm, clasping his hands together.
“Ah, this one is honored to meet such an excellent fighter then. Glass Skin Snakes can be rather tricky opponents. Though to be honest, they are rather ill-named… fucking Airplane,” the last part is muttered bitterly under his breath.
Liu Qingge blinks at him, not seeing the problem. “They shatter,” like glass, goes unsaid.
“Well, yes, but,” the man waves his arms around, trying to find words. Then, quick as a viper, he grabs Liu Qingge's sleeve, “here, let me show you.”
He begins to pull him towards the corpses, Liu Qingge going along in slight shock at the man’s boldness. He is impressively fast, Liu Qingge decides, though unarmed at first glance. The only sharp thing immediately visible appears to be a black hairpin tucked in his belt. But he must have a weapon somewhere. Every cultivator on Cang Qiong Mountain Sect carries a sword, and all other sects generally do the same.
The man kneels next to one of the snakes.
“Look here, yes, the snakes shatter, but it is not the skin that is made of glass; the skin is thin, flexible, and translucent, keeping anything unwanted from getting inside the body. Under the skin, there are overlapping bands of glass, which is the part that shatters,” explains the man, showing Liu Qingge a few of the bands and pulling a bit of skin off.
“Mmn,” nods Liu Qingge. If he ever fights this beast again, he will aim where the bands intersect.
“What are the glass bands for? No one knows. They are not used for gathering qi, there are no evolutionary advantages to having glass that can be shattered easier than the rest of their bones, they are not used in mating or any other activity. Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with any theories for their existence, but personally, I think it’s a joke from the heavens,” the man continues to talk with a smile, then suddenly stops and hides his expression behind his sleeve, “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I started rambling again! Please forgive this one, daozhang.”
Liu Qingge shakes his head: “No. You explain well.”
“Oh, um, thanks,” says the man. He seems slightly taken aback by that, and by the red of his cheeks, a bit embarrassed. Did Liu Qingge do something embarrassing? Or did no one ever tell him that?
“Are you going back to town?”
“En…” Liu Qingge makes his exasperation at the task known in his voice.
“Oh, um, if you’d rather head back home, I can tell them you took care of the beasts. The townspeople kindly pointed me in the right direction and provided a few useful details, so I was going to go back regardless,” offers the man with a smile.
“They talked to you?!”
“Well, yes, they were rather helpful. Did they not— Ah, please forgive them, daozhang, you do look rather fearsome. I’m sure they were just in awe… and mild fear, maybe,” he quickly says, waving his hands—adorned with rings—around apologetically. His wrists, much like his ankles, are adorned with big silver bracelets.
“Hm. If you want to go to town, then I will go.”
“Alright. Um, wait! You should take a few of their hearts with you if you know a skilled healer; they’ll be delighted,” tells him the man. He quickly bends down, produces a knife from somewhere, and skillfully cuts a few of them out. Skilled with a small blade—the man is used to gathering resources, notes Liu Qingge.
When he hands them all over, Liu Qingge frowns: “Do you not want any?”
“You’re the one who killed them, and I don’t really own the equipment necessary to process them.”
Liu Qingge nods. If the hearts were truly that valuable, perhaps Mu Qingfang would accept them as a bribe and let him escape without forcing a checkup this time.
Green eyes grow nervous behind his red glasses. “But if daozhang won’t mind, this one would like to take a few bits of glass from the snakes.”
“Isn’t it just normal glass?” Liu Qingge asks. The man had not mentioned any strange properties in his lecture.
“I don’t know,” a blinding smile is cast Liu Qingge's way, “I want to find out!”
Liu Qingge nods again. “Thank you, daozhang!”
Liu Qingge bows, promising: “I won’t forget my life debt.”
“Oh no. I said none of that! This one does not help people to indebt them to himself! There is no debt for such simple assistance!” he insists, making big, broad gestures, though his bracelets do not jingle.
“Saving my life was not simple assistance!” Liu Qingge’s voice grows frustrated.
“This one firmly believes a cultivator of your strength would have gotten out on his own eventually, albeit more painfully!” says the man despairingly.
Why does he insist on refusing? Politics is not Liu Qingge’s thing, but he knows perfectly well that most would jump at the chance to have Liu Qingge and, by extension, Cang Qiong Mountain Sect in their debt.
“I insist,” says Liu Qingge stubbornly.
He glares at the man in green, and the man stares back, neither flinching nor cowering.
“Well then, if the great master insists, we will agree that if our paths ever cross again, fate agrees that you owe me; if not, you bear no debt to me. What do you say?” the man sounds a bit frustrated.
Liu Qingge nods: “I will see you again then.”
He takes Cheng Luan, jumps on it, and flies away. He thinks the man muttered something as he left, but he didn’t quite catch it. Later, when he is back at the sect, Liu Qingge will realize he didn’t ask the man his name and did not give his own either. Debt to a nameless cultivator… perhaps the man was wise to insist the debt would only exist if they met again, for it was truly only up to either fate or chance.
~~~