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Shen Qingqiu did not intend to be the one to blink first. "Zhangmen-shixiong," he acknowledged without breaking eye contact.
"Shidi. We need to talk."
Yue Qingyuan blinked, and Shen Qingqiu felt smug for just a moment before it was quickly washed away by the much more familiar wave of fury. "Of course," he sneered, his right hand snaking towards his sleeve for his fan—whether to hide his expression or use as a weapon, Shen Qingqiu had yet to decide. "What else could our esteemed sect leader want with me?"
Yue Qingyuan set down the brush he had been holding and Shen Qingqiu saw the twitch of his hand, the instinct he had learned to cover up, but never well enough to hide it from Shen Qingqiu's knowing gaze. If the fool had been any less in control, he would have pinched the bridge of his nose with that hand, Shen Qingqiu knew.
"Shen-shidi. Please. People truly believe you intend to kill Liu Qingge. The threats must stop."
To hear Yue Qingyuan beg him like that, for the brute of all people, painted his vision red as his fury spiked. "If that brute keeps running ramshod all over my peak and allowing his disciples to do the same, this one might surely allow his sword to slip one day." The hand around his fan tightened until it gave a warning creaked. "An unfortunate accident it would be."
"This! Shidi, this is exactly what I mean." Yue Qingyuan frowned in frustration, showing his emotions more openly than he would have allowed himself to with anyone else watching.
Which made the fact that Yue Qingyuan was asking this of him instead of going to the root of the problem all the more aggravating. "Find some way to restrain the brute and I won't need threats."
Yue Qingyuan had the gall to let out a long-suffering sigh, as if he was the one suffering. (He looks tired, a part of Shen Qingqiu that he did not pay any attention to noted.) "Perhaps if Shidi were to threaten him less, Liu Qingge wouldn't seek you out every time."
"You—" Shen Qingqiu began, outraged, but was immediately interrupted.
"Unfortunately, Shidi is the one others keep bringing to my attention. No more threats, find another way to turn Liu Qingge away if he shows up. I will speak to Liu Qingge as well."
As if that brute would truly stop just because the sect leader told him to. If it had been that easy, Shen Qingqiu wouldn't have had to deal with that pest for years now. Most likely, Liu Qingge would follow Yue Qingyuan's request to the letter—completely ignoring the underlying intent.
No, if Shen Qingqiu wanted anything to change, he would have to be the one to take care of things. As always.
An idea began to form in his mind, a throwaway comment Shang Qinghua had made under his breath once, and the more he thought about it, the more appealing it seemed.
If the brute insisted on behaving like a beast then fine, Shen Qingqiu would treat him as such.
Shen Qingqiu squinted down at where Yue Qingyuan was still sitting at his desk, secretly glad for their current height difference. "Is that an order from our mighty sect leader?"
Leaning back in his chair, Yue Qingyuan looked up, as if pleading the gods for help. "Yes! Fine! Consider it an order."
Shen Qingqiu bowed, already mentally calculating where he might find Shang Qinghua at this time. It shouldn't be hard to get him to comply, there was more than enough blackmail material in Shen Qingqiu's collection to choose from if it became necessary. "Of course, as the sect leader wills it. This one will see himself out then."
Without waiting to be dismissed, Shen Qingqiu left, and, in an act of pettiness, did not close the door behind himself.
Only moments later he heard a satisfying thump as it dawned on Yue Qingyuan that he might have made a mistake. "Wait—"
***
The next time his alert array notified him of Liu Qingge infesting the tranquility of Qing Jing Peak, Shen Qingqiu was prepared. The jade bottle stood right where he had put it, to his right. He sipped on his tea as he waited.
And waited.
Shen Qingqiu did not have to wait long. Like the brute he was, Liu Qingge kicked open the door to his Bamboo House, glaring at him where he sat at his table. Shen Qingqiu set down his teacup as Liu Qingge was already opening his mouth to no doubt curse him out about whatever slight he had thought up this time—
In a flash, Shen Qingqiu grabbed the jade bottle and pulled the trigger, spraying Liu Qingge with water. Right on the cheek, under that stupid beauty mark of his.
"Shit! Shen Qingqiu!" Liu Qingge yelled, the vein on his forehead protruding as his glare darkened even further. Water dripped down his face like tears. Liu Qingge hand shot to the hilt of his sword.
The corner of Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitched. He would have usually used his fan to hide it from Liu Qingge if his fan hand hadn't been occupied, but no, this was worth giving up some of his dignity for the moment. "Shidi."
Liu Qingge looked confused, which was not too different from his usual expression, honestly. His glare was fixed on the spray bottle in Shen Qingqiu's hand that might have just become his favourite thing he owned—including his pipa with strings made out of Half-Divine Wood Donkey hair and the robe Ning-jie had embroidered for him. "What. Is that?"
Shen Qingqiu lifted his eyebrow and looked down at the smooth jade with the weirdly shaped cap. "This? Shang-shidi called it a 'spray bottle'. Effective at dealing with... pests. Should Shixiong demonstrate again?"
Not waiting for a response, Shen Qingqiu sprayed more water at Liu Qingge, hitting his hair this time when the other flinched. Pity. This was not even close to as satisfying.
For good measure, he sprayed again.
A few wet strands of hair clung to Liu Qingge's face, taking the edge off his glare. He looked a bit like a Drenched Cotton-Silk Spider like this.
Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitched once more. Truly, he really could get used to this.
Liu Qingge's grip on his sword tightened even more. "Stop."
"Hm? Shidi, raising your weapon against an unarmed opponent?" Shen Qingqiu smirked, knowing exactly the reaction it would provoke.
As expected, Liu Qingge lunged at him, giving Shen Qingqiu the perfect opening to spray him again. Less expected, Liu Qingge bumped against the table as he tried to dodge the water.
Liu Qingge's eyes widened as Shen Qingqiu's cup shattered on the ground, barely avoiding splashing Shen Qingqiu's robes. The teapot followed suit only moments later, and Shen Qingqiu watched with a blank face as the rest of his nice pinewood's jasmine tea seeped into the wooden floor.
Shen Qingqiu could already feel the incoming headache. This would be such a pain to clean.
And this had been his third most favourite set too!
"I didn't—" Liu Qingge tried to absolve himself but Shen Qingqiu interrupted him, his vision tinged red at the edges.
"Get the hell out!" he snarled.
Lucky for him, Liu Qingge listened and left the Bamboo House without another word. Gaze fixed on the shards scattered around him, Shen Qingqiu's grip around the spray bottle tightened as he schemed his revenge.
***
"Fuck! Shit! Boiling water?!"
"Tea, you uncultured ingrate." Shen Qingqiu looked down his nose at Liu Qingge who had not taken more than a handful of steps onto his peak before Shen Qingqiu had intercepted him. He did not want the brute anywhere near his Bamboo House again, with even more things he treasured in reach.
Painting an array onto the jade spray bottle to keep the content hot had been easy enough. He knew he wouldn't have had to go to this much effort—the brute would have likely not even noticed the plain array the bottle—but he had still concealed it in a pattern of birds taking flight.
"Be grateful Shixiong is wasting good tea for Liu-shidi's benefit. It would do you well to learn to appreciate it better."
For good measure, he pulled the trigger once more, but Liu Qingge had already expected it. He dodged to the side, the tea hitting the rainbow bridge behind him instead.
"Stop. That. Here." Liu Qingge shoved whatever he had been holding on to into Shen Qingqiu's arms, the paper it was wrapped in crinkled.
Instinctively, Shen Qingqiu grabbed on to the package, not letting it drop like the trash it no doubt was. He narrowed his eyes. "Trying to buy your way into my good graces, Shidi?" He sneered. "This one did not realize Liu-shidi thought him so easy."
Liu Qingge's glare darkened but he did not pull his sword on Shen Qingqiu. Yet. "Just open it."
Shen Qingqiu considered just throwing the package in the brute's face but decided against it. Despite himself, he was somewhat curious as to what Liu Qingge had given to him. He never gave anything to Shen Qingqiu, aside from bruises and headaches from dealing with the messes he left behind.
Without letting Liu Qingge out of his sight, Shen Qingqiu slowly pulled the paper open, watching Liu Qingge's expression for any change, any hint that this was another insult. When he didn't detect anything like that, he peeked down.
And stopped.
"…A new teaset?"
And what a teaset it was. The glimpse of the Silver Mirror Starling perched on a branch of peach blossoms was beautifully painted, inviting whoever looked to indulge in a cup of some nice, mild tea.
"Compensation. For the broken one."
And with that, Liu Qingge pulled out Cheng Luan and jumped onto it, leaving Shen Qingqiu to watch him disappear in the direction of Bai Zhan Peak.
…why the fuck had Shang Qinghua not giving him this spray bottle years ago, if that was all it took for the brute to grow some brain cells?
***
"Liu-shidi looks like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Wei Qingwei called out as he caught up with Liu Qingge on their way to Qiong Ding's meeting hall. "Night hunt gone wrong?"
"No." It was not like Liu Qingge usually wasn't alert, but now it seemed like even the slightest movement around them made him jump, every distant sound making him twitch.
Wei Qingwei looked around but could not see anything out of the ordinary. "What has you on edge then."
"…"
The rustling of grass – like the softest of footsteps – made Liu Qingge tense, his head whipping around, before he ducked behind the nearest bush, the tip of his high ponytail still visible.
Wei Qingwei watched on in amusement, which only grew when he discovered the cause of Liu Qingge's weird behaviour. "Shixiong."
"Wei-shidi." Shen Qingqiu didn't even spare him a glance as he slid past him and toward the meeting hall.
Wei Qingwei watched him walk away before turning back to the not-quite-hidden Liu Qingge. "What the hell did Shen Qingqiu do this time?"
"…" Liu Qingge stood back up. A leaf from the bush was caught in his hair, so very out of place on the usually pristine War God.
Seeing him still so on edge sobered Wei Qingwei up slightly. He took a step closer, reaching out as if to put a hand on Liu Qingge's shoulder. "If Shen Qingqiu has stepped out of line, we should speak to Zhangmen-shixiong. Something must be done. He can't keep acting this way and getting away—"
"No," Liu Qingge interrupted but didn't bother to elaborate.
Wei Qingwei lifted an eyebrow. He was slowly getting invested in whatever was going on between those two martial brothers of his. "No?" he prodded.
"…He keeps spraying me."
Wei Qingwei waited, but his most monosyllabic shidi did not explain any further. "…Spraying?"
"With a spray bottle."
"What?" Wei Qingwei tilted his head, brows furrowing in confusion. A what now?
"And water. And tea." Liu Qingge frowned, then corrected, "Once. He stopped."
"Stopped… spraying?" Wei Qingwei made sure. Come on, shidi, use some more words! How was Wei Qingwei supposed to get anything from that?
Liu Qingge steadily grew more annoyed. "Tea," he said, as if it should have been clear, which of course it should have been, how dare Wei Qingwei not understand before.
Obviously done with the conversation, Liu Qingge turned back towards the building housing the meeting hall being used for peak lord meetings.
"Wait. Shidi." Wei Qingwei made a quickly aborted move to hold Liu Qingge back before he thought better of it. Better not make him jump when he was in such a mood, or Wei Qingwei might very well lose his hand. And Mu Qingfang was much too overworked as things stood to deal with that. "Wait a moment. What?"
But Liu Qingge was done explaining. He stomped away, just a bit more forcefully than would have been appropriate, grumbling something under his breath that Wei Qingwei did not bother deciphering.
Baffled, Wei Qingwei watched his back disappear around the corner.
"What the hell is going on?" he murmured. Shaking his head, Wei Qingwei made to follow after his shidi. He saw Qi Qingqi approaching from the other side and quickened his steps to catch up to her. At this rate, he was bound to be the last one to arrive. "I guess it's better than trying to kill each other?"
***
Shen Qingqiu pulled the trigger of the jade spray bottle just for the water to hit the ground when Liu Qingge jumped aside at the last moment.
"Stop dodging!" For good measure, he sprayed again, right at Liu Qingge's face, just for the brute to duck.
"No!"
Abandoning his poise, Shen Qingqiu dove after him, spraying at Liu Qingge whenever he got into range. Who cared what anyone looking at them might think. Shen Qingqiu would hit Liu Qingge sooner or later, and if the brute refused to make it easy, than wasn't he asking to get punished, like the unruly pest he was?
***
Shen Qingqiu stayed as still as he could as he watched Liu Qingge approach. Any movement might break the talisman concealing him.
Closer.
Just a little closer.
In a flash, Shen Qingqiu lifted the spray bottle and pulled the trigger, two, three, five times.
Liu Qingge recoiled, glaring at him. "An ambush?!"
His robe was wet in several spots, clinging to his arms and chest while falling loose in others. It looked ridiculous.
Satisfied, Shen Qingqiu smirked as he lifted an eyebrow in a challenge. "Hah! Better stay light on your feet, Liu-shidi."
Liu Qingge gave him another glare yet he didn't pull his sword. Instead, he continued on his way to An Ding Peak, not even bothering to dry his robes.
For a few moments, Shen Qingqiu considered following him to see people's reactions but no, he'd check what reached the rumour mill in a few hours. There was a nice water chestnut cake waiting for him that he had more than earned, now that he had managed to catch his dear shidi off guard once again.
***
Liu Qingge jumped out of the way, and the water harmlessly dripped to the ground.
"You missed," he smirked, oozing satisfaction.
It hadn't even been close. How the fuck had he done it? Before, even if Shen Qingqiu missed, at least the brute always had to work for it.
Shen Qingqiu glared at Liu Qingge but he would not lower himself into asking how he had done it.
"Your qi spiked," Liu Qingge answered the unspoken question anyway, and Shen Qingqiu wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face. His hand around the spray bottle tightened. "When I approached. Amateurish and clumsy."
Stupid, stupid mistake. Shen Qingqiu vowed to do better next time as he watched Liu Qingge walk away. There was no way he would let Liu Qingge win that easily.
***
Liu Qingge stood there on his peak, not drawing his sword on Shen Qingqiu but also very much not making any move to leave.
"Shidi?" Shen Qingqiu tilted his head, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "What are you doing on Qing Jing Peak?"
Gritting his teeth, Liu Qingge didn't reply, but under Shen Qingqiu's watchful eyes a flush spread across the war god's stupidly delicate face. He did not meet Shen Qingqiu's eyes.
When he followed Liu Qingge's gaze, Shen Qingqiu found it fixed on his… hand. Huh, how very interesting. Shen Qingqiu quirked an eyebrow, his lips twitching up. "Oh? Missed it? Nothing but a brute after all, to miss such base training."
Somehow, Liu Qingge's flush deepened still. "It's good training. Trains the senses," he mumbled, still not looking at him. "You've gotten better too."
Shen Qingqiu froze before he whipped out his fan and hid his expression behind it. Was that a compliment? Did Liu Qingge compliment him?
"It's… satisfactory," he agreed slowly, watching Liu Qingge's face for any sudden change, any indication that this was a trick, a trap. But it stayed as stupidly sincere as it had been.
Truthfully, Shen Qingqiu didn't know if Liu Qingge was even capable of lying this directly, now that he thought about it.
The silence between them grew and settled uncomfortably on Shen Qingqiu's shoulders as neither of them knew how to break it. Now what?
Shen Qingqiu shifted, watching Liu Qingge for his next move, yet it seemed the brute was waiting for Shen Qingqiu to make a decision.
For a moment, Shen Qingqiu wondered if Liu Qingge would just leave if Shen Qingqiu told him to.
Somehow, he was almost sure that Liu Qingge would, no questions asked.
Shen Qingqiu closed his fan as he turned around, decision made. "Fine. Let me fetch the bottle."
