Chapter Text
Present Day.
The man walking down the hall of the museum had long inky black hair, tied back in a neat little bun on the back of his head. He was tall, his long green cardigan flowing behind him as he moved quickly down the hall passing relics of the past. Shen Jiu was in a mood this morning, and if he had anything to say about it, then security would be getting an earful about it too.
Security guards were positioned at every exhibit, except for his. Which was ridiculous because they were opening the doors to the public in less than half an hour. Shen Jiu, a respected professor at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ran the exhibit for painting and artistic pieces from the ancient eras up to the present. Livid that his department had been overlooked, he scruffs the first guard he finds, demanding to know who was their supervisor for the morning.
"Th-that's…" The poor guard stutters, a university student who had just taken this gig to make extra cash. "Mr. Liu…" He says with regret.
There was no one in the security division who didn't know about the hatred between Professor Shen and Security Manager Liu.
"Of course it is." Seethes Shen Jiu, dropping the kid's collar and stomping off swiftly to the main gates where the security office was. He slaps a hand down on the desk, startling the man at the desk who had been about to sip his tea. He curses and coughs before looking up with annoyance.
"What is it, now?" This guard's name was Yang Yixuan and he was almost as annoying as Liu Qingge.
"Where is Manager Liu?" Shen Jiu demands.
"He's gone to open the doors? It's ten minutes to opening…" Yang Yixuan ruffles his hair and sighs. "What do you need this time?"
It wasn't a hidden fact that Shen Jiu was demanding when it came to protecting the precious artworks that his department displayed. The fact that these idiots didn't have anyone stationed in that part of the museum was atrocious.
He gave Yang Yixuan an earful before storming back to his department, furious that Liu Qingge was too busy to harass. Yang Yixuan eventually showed up with two other men and stationed them there as people began to trickle in.
Shen Jiu mutters under his breath a few insults until he feels appeased and goes back to the display he'd been prepping for today. It would be the first day that this new piece would be shown to the public since the Tang dynasty.
The parchment was frayed at the edges, cracks and tears showing it's age behind the protective glass of the massive painting. It was of an ancient cultivation sect, located on Cang Qiong Mountain; and was now a grand attraction itself as a national park. The ink strokes displayed a beautiful sight, the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and it's legendary Avian Warriors.
Legend has it that the disciples of Cang Qiong all had wings akin to birds, due to their swift fighting techniques and response time when it came to battles. They were almost always mentioned in legends that required a speedy messenger to traverse the plains at great speeds. Faster than any horse, Cang Qiong disciples were always displayed with wings of different birds, often reminiscent of birds of prey, cranes or song birds.
Shen Jiu studied the image for a long time, finding himself lost in thought.
Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).
"Wait for me!" Squawked an An Ding disciple, his short wings fluttering after his shixiongs.
They crossed the rainbow bridge together, the young one nearly left behind as the older disciples walked with a large gait. Not only were their legs longer and faster, but they were used to the winds carrying them at high speeds, resulting in a quick step. Their larger wings were tucked behind them to keep from hitting anyone around them as the rainbow bridges to each other 12 peaks of Cang Qiong were usually quite busy.
"Hurry up, Shang shidi! No one's going to wait for you when you start delivering messages in a year." Teased the older disciple, turning to watch their little songbird disciple finally catch up with an armful of scrolls.
"Can't you guys carry some of these too? Shifu asked us to do it together!"
"Fine, fine. Hand me some." The elder student rolled his eyes before taking a few scrolls off the pile.
Disciple Shang grunted in appreciation before rushing to catch up again as they started walking again towards the main peak; Qiong Ding.
"Have you heard the rumors?" Muttered one disciple to another as they stood at the top of a hill. "I heard our darling disciple Yue nearly deviated to death…"
"Yeah, I heard the servants talking about it this morning over the laundry. I hear he tried to rush his cultivation and nearly killed himself in the process." Answered another Qiong Ding disciple, his black and white robes catching the wind.
"Idiot." Snorted the first disciple, sitting on the grass and looking down the hill.
At the base there was a gathering of many young potential disciples. They were all crouched on the ground, and instructed to dig a hole. Most of the Peak lords were present, eyeing the new recruits with hunger.
"Aw, look how tiny that one is!" The young man laughed and shook his head. "He… Is it a boy? They almost look like a girl from here. But they're so dirty! Who would let a child like that leave home so filthy?" The boy in question was digging much faster than the others, his little wings flared out around him with colors of gray and white on his feathers.
"Man.. Look at them go! Such endurance. And see that one on the side? Doesn't it look like their wings were clipped?"
"Ah… You're right. Oh— Is that disciple Yue?!"
"What? Where?"
"Right there! Look, he looks like he's gonna pass out!"
"Some head disciple…" Scoffs the young man that is still standing. He shakes his head. "It's barely been three days since Shifu let him out of Ling Xi Cave. Why is he even out here?"
"Who cares?" The sitting disciple plucks a few blades of grass, braiding them mindlessly. "We all know that shifu has a preference for him anyway…"
"True enough. We should probably get back to chopping that wood soon, I don't want Shifu finding out we ditched it to come watch the selections."
"Yeah, yeah…."
The two start walking back to the woods behind them with their hatchets slung on their shoulders.
The boy was frail, his azure blue wings were clipped and dirty. He looked like he had the heart to kill, his sharp eyes cutting over the head disciple of Qiong Ding. The Peak Lord of Qing Jing peak liked him enough to take him in, but he can tell just by the way those feathers shake that they have a lot of work on their hands.
Considering the boy, Shen Jiu, is almost 14, it's surprising that he's only beginning his cultivation now, unlike the other younger kids at the base of the mountain who are mostly 10-12 years of age.
"Now then, where shall we set you up for the night? You need to bathe as well, it won't do to be so filthy. As a Qing Jing disciple you are expected to be clean and well kept, is that something you can do for me?"
"Yes, shifu." Answers the boy with a shaky voice. Despite his sharp eyes and blank expression, his wings give him away, the way they fluff up at every sudden sound, and twitch at sudden movements.
The Peak Lord can only imagine the life this kid has led until now, and grimaces. "There's a hot spring at the back of the mountain for disciples to use, have one of your Shixiong take you there tonight."
"Yes, shifu."
"And I expect to see you in clean disciple robes, these ones may be thrown away and burned."
"Yes, shifu."
Quiet and demure, it's clear the kid has a life of trauma behind him; and while the peak lord is not necessarily a 'nice' person, something about the kid makes him… sympathetic. Truth be told, the kid was pathetic and dirty, likely had lived a life of homelessness and slavery before coming to Cang Qiong. But his frail little wings had not given up on him, fluttering quietly as he tucked them behind his back. They were clipped too short for flight, but with a few months that might change.
"Have you learned to fly yet?" It's a sad, pathetic question. Most kids learn by the age of 4 or 5 years old.
Shen Jiu flushes with embarrassment and fury. His face turns dark before looking at his feet instead of his new master. "No, shifu."
"I see. We will sort it out."
After a long day of introductions and new rules and new clothes and new routines— Shen Jiu was utterly exhausted. One of the older boys, a tall and gentle young man named Lin Xiuying offers to take him to the hot springs. He can't really decline, considering he knows what he looks like and how he smells.
When was the last time he'd had a bath that wasn't icy cold?As he dips a toe in the water, Shen Jiu's wings twitch at the warmth. Liu Xiuying chuckles as the boy strips right there without propriety and gets in the hot water.
The temperature is utterly sinful how it soothes his aches and pains. With his shixiong's help, Shen Jiu gets nice and clean, leaving the hot spring a little murkier than before. His long inky hair hangs around his nude body as he climbs out of the bath. Having been a slave most of his life, he'd gotten used to not being shy around nudity and lack of propriety.
Lin Xiuying shakes his head and coaxes the young boy into some clean Qing Jing robes. "You're going to have a good life here, Shen Jiu. Think of it as a do-over." He smiles, patting the small boy's head. "Should this shixiong braid your hair too?"
Shen Jiu's feathers shook out some water and he frowned. He wasn't a baby! He could braid his own hair! "I'm fine." He muttered, glaring at the ground.
Sensing that Shen Jiu wasn't ready, Lin Xiuying didn't push it, and instead started to lead them back to the disciple dorms where they got the new recruits sorted out.
It didn't matter that it was late or a long day for Shen Jiu. He didn't sleep until the very early hours, afraid he's wake everyone up with his nightmares. Wu Yanzi always hated when he did that. And he made sure that the small songbird new it.
"Wow!" Lin Xiuying exclaims as they reach the training hall for their first lessons. Now that the sun was out, he could really appreciate the beautiful blue coloring on Shen Jiu's wings. "Your wings, Shen Jiu, they're really nice!"
These? Shen Jiu thinks to himself, his wings twitching. He pulls them a little closer to himself, feeling shy. They're still frail and short and no good… Nothing like shixiong's… Instead of saying what he thinks, he just dips his head in thanks, watching as Lin Xiuying turns to the rest of the new students (10 in total) and flares his wings out a few times as if to stretch them. The large wings are a remarkable snowy white, reminiscent of the snowy owl that came from the same area that Lin Xiuying came from.
Such strong and pure white wings, made him look much like an angel, his smile genuine as the kids stared in awe. "Alright!" Lin Xiuying smiled, clapping his hands together. Everyone quieted down and knelt on the main hall's wooden floors as he began to tell them about what to expect for classes, etiquette and meal times. There would also be a chore list that every disciple was responsible for, and cultivation manuals.
It was around winter time by the time Shen Jiu was caught up on the basics of cultivation as his peers. He struggled with his qi, it was apparently due to his meridians being twisted, according to the medical peak. He'd had a visit there shortly after first getting his manual, nearly deviating in the middle of class.
It had been scary, and it didn't really get better from thereon out, considering the younger students saw him as inept, they teased him behind the shixiong's backs. Shifu wasn't around very much, and when he was, he would pick apart his appearance until Shen Jiu felt like that dirty and smelly slave boy from day one.
Shen Jiu grew sharper, his flight feathers came in and, it was only after three months of pestering, that he finally let Lin Shixiong help him preen them. To say that was an uncomfortable experience, would be an understatement. At one point, he'd lost control of his wings and gut punched the poor man trying to help him with one wing while the other had knocked over everything on his desk.
Luckily, all Lin Xiuying had done was laugh; but it didn't soothe the constant anxiety. Due to nightmares, Shen Jiu didn't sleep enough, and due to anxiety he couldn't make himself eat much, no matter how hungry he was. This all came to a head one fateful day, when Shen Jiu was requested to take a scroll from his shifu to the shifu on Bai Zhan peak.
"Do you remember how to get there?" Asked Shifu, raising a brow.
Shen Jiu dipped his head and answered, "Yes, shifu."
Before he left, Shifu made him change his hair pin into something prettier, and painted a huadian on his forehead. He felt ridiculous, but Shifu insisted it made him look better, and thus represented the peak better.
He didn't fight it. He just nodded and left quietly, trying not to think about the wooden grape vine hair pin he'd left behind with Shifu. It had been the only time Wu Yanzi had gifted him anything, and it had been to go undercover as a noble for a heist— but it had been something special from his previous life. He didn't have much of those types of things.
The trek up the mountain to the rainbow bridge gates was long enough that it was midday by the time Shen Jiu reached them. He panted with exhaustion from ascending so many stone stairways and paused to catch his breath. His wings fluttered a few times, shaking out the tension from his shoulders.
While his flight feathers had started to come back, one could still see where his wings had been clipped, leaving a sharp edge to each wing. Subconsciously he tucks them in against his back, as if to hide the ends as he walks along the rainbow bridge. Shen Jiu knows what people say about him, that he was nothing but a loser slave boy, that he would never ascend with his cultivation. He'd heard it all.
But that didn't mean he'd go down without a fight first.
Many different disciples from the varied 12 peaks of Cang Qiong traversed the rainbow bridges, their robes indicating their stations. Shen Jiu greets the shixiongs at the gate properly, saluting them before moving on to the busy rainbow bridge. The air up here was thin and frigid, and with no railings on either side of the massive road, the wind would push and pull at one when they crossed.
For most avian disciples, this didn't mean much, because they had learned to fly ages ago. For someone less versed in lessons of flight, Shen Jiu took precautions to stay in the middle of the road, his wings tucked back so they wouldn't catch the breeze.
It ruffled his azure and gray wings, blowing his hair to the side as he walked over the bridge and tried not to think about how high up he was. Falling from here definitely would be certain death.
As he reached the hall in the middle, where all the rainbow roads met at an intersection, he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It felt much better to have solid stone beneath his feet again, even as he approached the Bai Zhan gates. He passes through after showing them the scroll his shifu asked him to deliver, bowing to the older boys properly. Shen Jiu has been practicing his mannerisms with Lin Xiuying lately, to catch up to the noble students under his shifu's wing.
He wanted to show them that he was just as capable, just as strong as any number of them.
"What, no salute for your shixiongs?" Scoffs one guard, long black wings behind his back. They flutter and make him look a little bigger in Shen Jiu's eyes.
Shen Jiu shrinks back on instinct, cursing himself in his mind. "Begging this shixiong his forgiveness…" He says nervously while saluting. His wings shake a little as he does so, embarrassing him even more.
"As long as you understand." Chuckles the man next to the first guard. They let him through, but Shen Jiu feels like a dog with his tail between his legs all the way across the rest of the rainbow bridge to the other side.
Unlike Qing Jing, where bamboo groves and wide expanses of greenery were often seen, Bai Zhan Peak was formed out of thick rocks and cliffs. The tops of the mountains were mostly wide and flat, its cliff faces dusted with a reddish brown dirt that resembled clay. From the main gates he could see a series of dorms and rough terrain, stone steps lining the mountain up to the top.
"Greetings, shidi. What business does Qing Jing Peak have with Bai Zhan today?" Asks a voice from above.
Shen Jiu looks up and jumps back as a large shadow descends in front of him. The man is shirtless, his robes tied around his waist. His tan skin was littered with silvery scars, one in particular that arced up the side of his torso. A little frightened, his wings move like they have a mind of their own, fluffing up to make him look bigger. Still, Shen Jiu is just a small song bird afterall and someone like this man, tall with strong dark brown wings was intimidating as hell.
"U-um—" Shen Jiu winces as he stutters, taking two steps backwards. "My shifu sent me to deliver something to the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan." He says unevenly before remembering he should bow and salute. "Um, greetings, shixiong…" He says weakly.
He feels sick at his poor representation of the peak. Shifu had just lectured him about that…
The man is staring at him like he has four heads before throwing his head back to laugh boisterously. "Ha! You're funny, kid."
Shen Jiu frowns, dismayed. "I'm not a kid!"
"Sure you are, what are you? 11? 12?"
"I— This one is 14 already…" He argues, feeling heat in his face. The cool winter breeze doesn't soothe the burn.
"Ah, just a little guy, aren't 'cha?" Asks the disciple before shaking his head in amusement. "Nevermind, I'll show you to shifu's cottage." He fans out his wings in preparation for flight, launching upwards quickly, before Shen Jiu can explain that he didn't know how to fly.
"W-wait!" He calls but the man is already up in the air. Shen Jiu looks up, flushing further as several younger disciples fly over to their shixiong in the air, flying circles around him. The man pauses, confused when Shen Jiu doesn't follow him into the sky and comes back down.
"What's the problem?" He asks, tilting his head.
Shen Jiu shuffles his wings, trying to hide where they were clipped. He backs away from the older male and towards the stairs. "I'll take the stairs… I- um… I just…"
A kid drops onto one of the tree branches near them and giggles, hanging upside down by his knees. "Shixiong look!"
"Get down before you break the tree limbs!" Snaps his shixiong.
The kid laughs more before swinging down and fixing his robes. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Let's go up to the training fields!"
Shen Jiu watches the younger boy, likely only 11 or so, with pure jealousy. The envy in his eyes is enough for the shixiong to understand. A boy with wings, who couldn't fly? It was a damn shame.
"Go get disciple Liu, someone needs to show this disciple to Shifu's cottage."
"Wha? Why me?" Complains the kid before glancing between the older student and Shen Jiu. The awkward tension makes his skin crawl.
"I don't need a guide, I know the way." Shen Jiu argues but the man has his arms crossed over his chest and isn't looking at him.
"Just do it."
"But—"
"No buts!"
"Aw, c'mon…." With a groan the younger kid takes off to the skies like its the most natural thing in the world, disappearing in the glare of the sun.
Shen Jiu scowls before starting up the stone pathway. It hadn't been cleaned in a while, grass growing up between the stones. "I told you, I know the way."
"We can't just have you wandering alone up there, someone might try to pick a fight with you." Laughs the older man before two shadows flash over their heads once more. The young boy is back, another avian disciple dropping from the air from a several meters up. He lands like a cat, light on his feet and his hair streaming behind him in an inky black brush stroke.
"This is disciple Liu. He will take you to our shifu."
"Greetings," Shen Jiu says like it was painful. "This disciple is grateful for your hospitality."
The young boy watches him with big black eyes before frowning and turning to walk up the steps without a single word or goodbye to his shixiong.
Shen Jiu freezes, is… Isn't that bad manners? Was that…
He looks back at the shixiong and the man just mutters to himself before putting his hands on his hips. Shen Jiu bows once more quickly before glancing up and seeing his guide has not waited for him at all and is, in fact, already half way up the stairs that wind up the first of many hills.
With a distraught flutter of wings, he rushes as quickly as he can without running to catch up.
"Can't you—" Shen Jiu gasps as he tries to keep up, the thin air of the mountains was still something he wasn't used to yet. "Can't you slow down?!" He complains as the nimble younger avian disciple trots up the stairs. His wings are silvery and white, catching the sunlight as they climb the steps. He flaps them here and there, to jump up the steps from time to time without much care for his follower.
"It would be faster to just fly up." The rude boy says.
Shen Jiu glares. "I know that." He snaps as he forces his aching legs to continue stomping up the stone steps.
"Then, why don't you?"
"Why don't I, what?"
"Why don't you just fly up?"
Shen Jiu's wings shudder in fury as a dark look crosses his face. "You're rude." He says after a pause. There would be nothing to gain from starting trouble with another peak… But he had an ego too, he deserved to protect his own pride.
"Hah? I'm rude? So what? Who cares?" Scoffs disciple Liu.
"What do you mean, 'who cares'?" Demands Shen Jiu. The last three weeks he'd been drilled to perfection in manners by Lin Xiuying. Of course he knew that people cared, and that it was important.
"If you're a good fighter, what does it matter? Manners won't save your life." Disciple Liu continues, turning to stare down the steps at Shen Jiu. "If you're weak, just say so."
Anger boiled in his stomach like acid, Shen Jiu's wings puff up aggressively, his qi starting to roil under his skin. He bites his lip, glaring at the ground before stomping up past disciple Liu and trying not to seem out of breath. Because he's so worked up about this idiot, he doesn't even hear disciples Liu's sudden intake of breath as he passes by, his clipped wings easier to see from the back.
"You—"
"Just show me to the top already!" Shen Jiu snaps, whirling around with bits of hair out of place from his bun. He's sweating despite the thin cold air and glaring like a viper ready to strike.
"Whatever." Disciple Liu decides, if the guy wants to be a jerk, then he could be one too.
He leads Shen Jiu all the way to the top of the mountain where, across from a large barren field where practice dummies were half falling apart from use, there sat a small cottage nestled into the side of the field with a wisteria tree outside.
"We're here." Disciple Liu announces, as if it weren't obvious.
"I can see that." Shen Jiu growls, his pride hurt, and his body shaking from the workout of climbing Bai Zhan Peak. "You can leave now."
"I have to escort you back, too. Disciples from other peaks aren't allowed to roam here alone."
"Says who?" Shen Jiu has never heard of such a rule before, crossing his arms and staring down his nose at the shorter boy. Disciple Liu's silvery white wings flap in agitation and puff up much like Shen Jiu had before.
"Says me." The two freeze, looking back at the cottage doors where an older man emerges with a tired smile. He uses a cane to cross the patio and sits on the edge, his feet dangling off the side.
Shen Jiu can't help but let his eyes catch on the man's left leg, or what was left of it, anyways. From the knee down, it was some kind of metal and wooden contraption that he wore to walk, the prosthetic showing marks of age at the bottom. It was the first disabled person Shen Jiu had seen since joining Cang Qiong, and though they had wings which made walking easier he couldn't imagine learning to fight without his legs.
"You must be the boy that Qing Jing was supposed to send by, I was expecting you much earlier than this."
This must be the peak lord of Bai Zhan, then. Shen Jiu fully ignores disciple Liu at his side, bowing and trying to hide his impropriety with a salute. Sweat drips down his neck from the trek up the mountain and it was only now that he realized the sun was setting. He still had to walk all the way back to Qing Jing before it was time for bed.
"This one hopes the master of Bai Zhan will forgive him for being so late." He says, a shiver running through him as the cool winter breeze gets colder now that the sun was setting. "Here is the scroll," he says holding it out politely for the master to take.
"It's alright, just make sure to send word if you only plan to come so late." He answers before accepting the scroll. He opens the seal and hums over it for a moment before glancing back up to Shen Jiu and Disciple Liu. "You two are dismissed." He says after a pause.
Shen Jiu bows and salutes again before turning to leave. Not only does he feel exhausted from the day's hike, but he feels as if he's made a fool of himself, for squabbling with a younger kid in front of the peak lord's home.
"Should I—?" Disciple Liu starts to say, but his shizun just waves him off.
"Take that boy back to his peak." He instructs, before stabbing a finger in the boy's chest. "And do not cause any trouble."
"Yes, shizun."
Shen Jiu rolls his eyes at their conversation, not waiting for disciple Liu to show him the way back. It doesn't matter, with a fluttering of feathers, he can tell the boy has glided down the stairs, landing behind him. Shen Jiu sighs in annoyance, and they don't speak another word to each other until he reaches the Bai Zhan gates at the rainbow bridge.
A week later, Shen Jiu is carrying a load of wood up to the woodshed, ditched by his cohorts who were supposed to help him, when he saw the Liu boy again.
"Where's your shifu?" Disciple Liu asked rudely without any greeting.
"How did you get this far alone? Aren't you supposed to be escorted?" Sneered back Shen Jiu. He glared at the boy while readjusting the load of wood in his arms.
"They said I could find it easily enough." Disciple Liu said with a shrug.
Shen Jiu scoffed, glancing around to see if anyone else is there to take this idiot to his destination. None. Nada. All alone, he makes the decision to just show the idiot the way, as he was headed up the mountain anyhow. "Just follow me. And don't talk. It's annoying."
"You're not the boss of me." Disciple Liu quipped back but followed behind Shen Jiu either way.
They start up the stairs, Shen Jiu's burden gets heavier as they go. Most disciples would easily fly their chopped wood from chores up to the woodshed. It wasn't necessarily far, as much as it was high up the mountain, near the peak lord's cottage. Because he still had yet to learn anything in terms of flying, Shen Jiu had to always make the trip up the mountain by foot all alone.
He couldn't wait until he got a spiritual sword, at least then he would be able to fly that way.
Despite the fact that his flight feathers were growing back, the constant clipping of his wings through the years had taken a toll. He was painfully aware of this, and even with Lin Xiuying helping to teach him the basics of preening them— they were still a mess. Some short and choppy, others thin and small, crooked and messy.
It certainly was a blow to his ego, as he was constantly trying to put his best foot forward. The other students bullied him enough as it were, being older and less talented than them; for Shen Jiu, having imperfect wings was just another sign of defect.
The walk is fairly peaceful, until Shen Jiu suddenly stopped ahead of the Bai Zhan disciple. His breathing was harsh, and his wings heaved with his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Disciple Liu asked bluntly, jumping up a few steps with a flutter.
"Nothing." Shen Jiu answered, but his eyes were screwed shut and his face clammy.
"Here, give me that." Disciple Liu demanded, pulling the wood out of his hands.
"What?" Shen Jiu steps back instinctively. "No, it's fine!"
"Just give it!"
"Would you—!" Shen Jiu's words broke off as his breath caught in his throat. One moment he's fighting with disciple Liu over the wood; and then in the next second, he's falling backwards. "!!!"
Shen Jiu throws out his arms to catch himself, eyes wide. He barely registered his fall, before a force barrelled into him. The only thing he heard was the sound of wood hitting the steps. The force that hit him sent him falling faster off the edge of the steep staircase.
He panics, flailing his wings and crying out as he's trapped in iron tight arms. It is only after they rolled in a clump over the edge of the stairs, down the mountain side, and land in a snowbank— that he realizes what must have happened.
He's frazzled, frozen stiff in the arms that are smaller than him. The younger boy, disciple Liu, was wrapped around him with his wings flared out, creating a shielded ball around Shen Jiu as they rolled over bumps and through the bamboo forest.
In blind panic, Shen Jiu lashed out, shoving the boy away from him and scrabbling to his feet. The world around him swirled violently and he toppled back to his knees. "What the hell are you doing?! You could have gotten us both killed!" He snapped, unable to keep his eyes open as his vision swam.
"Are you alright?" Disciple Liu asked while retracting his wings.
"Fuck off!" Shen Jiu growls, shielding himself with his defected wings. The wings are shaking violently, puffed up and agitated. Behind them, Shen Jiu cradles his head, feeling sick to his stomach.
"Let me look." Disciple Liu argues, pushing at his wings.
At the simple touch on his wings, Shen Jiu shoots a palm blast of qi at the boy. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
No matter how hard he tried to focus though, his head felt light and cold. A shiver ran down his spine and his wings drooped enough that disciple Liu bullied his way in closer.
"Don't touch me!" Shen Jiu argued weaker than before, even as his face is pulled up to be inspected by the younger disciple. They were both a mess of dirt and scratches and wet clothes from the snow.
Disciple Liu's hair crown was askew, but his black eyes shone with worry. \
"Just…"
"You're bleeding."
"I'm fine!"
"You're not." Disciple Liu doesn't let Shen Jiu argue, looking back up the hillside they fell down.
"Just let go!" Shen Jiu tried to fight his hold as the younger man pulled him up to his feet again. He fought to pull his wrists free from disciple Liu. "I feel fine!"
Disciple Liu ignored him, assessing the situation before testing his own wings. Some feathers were a little messed up, but the silvery white wings were still pristine, shaking out the snow and debris. "Stay here, I'll get help."
"I don't need help!" Shen Jiu growled, pulling a hand away from his sticky forehead to see blood. Nothing new to him, and he easily ripped the robes he's wearing to hold it to the wound. "I can…" He wobbled, grabbing a bamboo shoot for stability.
"You're not fine. You could pass out, if we don't get help!" Disciple Liu argued back.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Shen Jiu said again and again, more to assure himself than that idiot Liu. At some point he felt the ground suddenly rush up to catch him. "I'm fine…" He whispered even as a worried disciple Liu is talking over him and shaking his shoulders.
When he blacked out, it didn't feel like a long time. One moment he was laid in the snow with disciple Liu over him— He felt cold, clammy, and weak. He begged the boy not to touch him. That he really didn't want anyone to touch him. But it was useless. Just like him.
It had been a long while since he'd last fainted from anything. Most likely the Qiu manor was the last time he'd passed out like this. And that had been at least 4 or 5 years ago. He couldn't remember now. It had been like another life that was foreign to him, a memory in box, that's all.
The beatings, the abuse, all of it…
Another life. Another Shen Jiu. Not him.
No… He was a disciple now. Abandoned by Qi-ge, sure. Alone, as always. But he was growing stronger every day! So why…
Why was he still so weak?!
The next moment, someone was tapping his cold cheek with warm hands, forcing his eyes open briefly. He caught a glimpse of whiteness, rushed voices, and the comforting scents of sandalwood and eucalyptus.
Shen Jiu blinked slowly but couldn't really understand what was happening, slumping against a warm solid wall that he was leaning against. It felt… Not bad.
Whatever strange warm dreams that had happened while Shen Jiu was asleep, washed away all too soon to a blank hospital room on Qian Cao. He was alone, he was cold; and he was sore everywhere. He slowly shifted into a sitting position, clearing his throat in attempt to speak.
What happened? He asked himself. He'd been fetching wood for his morning chores… And then that awful disciple Liu had shown up and… And..?
Then he… What? The memory was faded black and he couldn't seem to recall it no matter how he tried. Frustrated, he slipped out of the bed and his bare feet touched the cold floor. His wings flinched at the sensation, pulling in tighter to his back.
Disciple Liu was not here, nor was anyone else. It seemed to be night time now, so he must have been unconscious for a few incense sticks, at the least. Shen Jiu scowled as he pulled on his white boots and looked around the hallway. There were a few students here and there, but they didn't think to stop him as he walked by with false confidence.
Shen Jiu nearly made his escape back to Qing Jing, when he bumped into a much taller man with an "Oof!"
"And where might you be sneaking off to, hm?" The older man asked while pushing up his monocle. He squinted at Shen Jiu before clapping his hands together. "Ah! The first year from Qing Jing! Yes, how are you feeling now?"
"I'm fine." Shen Jiu answered curtly.
"Hmm… Why don't I just take a quick look?" It was not a question.
The peak lord of Qian Cao was old, but not senile. He was quite crafty and somehow had Shen Jiu back in his bed within an hour of their meeting, holding the boy's wrist to monitor his qi. Shen Jiu, for what it was worth, hadn't been an easy patient. He put up a fight until the exhaustion won out and he was herded back into the small bedroom.
The only person he'd met since Qi-ge that would take care of him like this was Lin Xiuying…. And so it wasn't the most comfortable to be this vulnerable to just anyone.
"You gave us all a scare, you know. Poor Liu Mingyu was white as a sheet when he brought you to us."
Mingyu? Shen Jiu blinked slowly, digesting the words as the old man pulled down Shen Jiu's sleeve again.
"If he hadn't brought you then, I fear the qi deviation you suffered would have been much worse. You must learn to control your qi and find the balance between life and lessons. If one doesn't care for their own being, how can they be expected to grow?" Lectured the peak lord, placing Shen Jiu's now limp wrist back onto the bed.
Shen Jiu opened his mouth to argue but a yawn took over instead.
"Do make sure to keep following your proper regiments, your meridians are all twisted, and cultivating the proper path will prove to be difficult. Yet… rewarding, in time."
With a blink, Shen Jiu's vision blurred and he found himself falling asleep again, against his will. Too weak to resist the pull of the darkness, he let it consume him once more— Only waking in the late morning by the sound of his door rattling open.
"How long do you plan to lay there?"A barbed voice demanded.
Shen Jiu flinched awake. First he saw… him. But yet, when he blinked, it was just his shifu, fanning himself impatiently with a leer.
"Well?" Prompted his shifu.
"Apologies, shifu. This one has disappointed shifu, again." Shen Jiu said as he sat up. His head wasn't too light anymore, just heavy— like the rest of his body. He felt like someone had rolled him down the mountain like a boulder, crashing at the bottom and breaking him into smithereens.
"See to it that you are back in classes by this afternoon. I will not tolerate this nonsense. Do I not treat you well? Do I not feed and clothe you? Teach you well? Hm?"
"Yes, shifu."
"Then, why is it, that I have had Peak Lord Mu tell me that you have collapsed due to malnourishment and sickness?" Demands the peak lord, whirling to point his fan at Shen Jiu. "Is it that this master mistreats you in such ways?"
"No, shifu."
"Then is it that you wish to misrepresent our peak to the rest of Cang Qiong?"
"No, shifu."
"Very well. Then it must be that you assume you are better than your peers, and thus do not need to follow the same cultivation path? Is this why you've deviated, a second time?"
"N-no, shifu."
With every answer to his master's picking, Shen Jiu felt smaller and smaller until he could feel his wings start twitching at every question. It was only then, that the man seemed satisfied. The peak lord scoffed from behind his folding fan, before leaving in a haste.
Shen Jiu gripped the bed sheets until his fingers hurt and then slipped out of bed to peer into the hall, where his shifu cursed out the student holding discharge paperwork.
Quietly, he washed his face and tied up his hair before sighing a heavy breath and dressed quickly. While life here was much better than he could have ever imagined for himself… It still felt like he was nothing more than a defective street urchin, no matter how much progress he made.
Shen Jiu lets Lin Xiuying lead him to the hot springs at the back of the mountain a week later.
"You've been quiet." Said Lin Xiuying as he pulled off his own robes and stepped into the water.
Shen Jiu was resting his head on his folded arms, looking up at the moon. "Mn." He hummed.
"Want to tell this shixiong what's going on?" The elder boy asked while shaking his wings out in the water.
Ever since the day at Qian Cao, Shen Jiu had been trying his best to keep his head down. Having gotten sick had seemingly really irked his shifu, and his belittling picking had only gotten worse. Not to mention the bullying from the other kids…
"It's nothing." Shen Jiu lied. It wouldn't help to have his only friend, Lin Xiuying, worry. Still, he heaved a big sigh.
"It's not 'nothing' if it bothers you."
"It's really nothing, though." Shen Jiu said again, scrunching his face up and shooting Lin Xiuying a look.
Lin Xiuying snorts, wading into the deeper water where Shen Jiu floated against the rocks. He leaned his back against the cool rocks. After a long pause of silence he looked over at Shen Jiu and said, "Is there ever going to be a time when you trust me?"
Shen Jiu's eyes widened, his wings puffing up in defensiveness. He stared at Lin Xiuying from the side, a small ache in his chest burning.
"It's alright, you know? If you don't. I just… Wish I could be there for you." Lin Xiuying continues, staring up at the trees and avoiding the young boy's gaze. "I… You remind me of a kid I used to know. I wasn't there for him when it mattered most. I just wanted to try to be better, now that I've been gifted this chance by the heavens to try again."
Shen Jiu blinked a few times before looking back at the moon. His face felt a little flush. "It's… It's not that easy…" He said quietly.
Lin Xiuying doesn't interrupt as he starts washing up quietly beside him.
"There was someone, a long time ago, who I trusted and… Well…" Shen Jiu shrugged, pulling his azure and grey wings around himself a little like a shield, hiding his face from view. "It didn't end well."
"I see…" Lin Xiuying hums. "Maybe this is fate's way of giving you another chance, too? Like I said before, think of Qing Jing as a do-over. You can become whoever you want to be, here. No one cares about your past."
That didn't sit well with Shen Jiu. They didn't care? They didn't care about his suffering? Of the continued suffering of those still in situations like he'd been in? It wasn't right. He scoffed and glared at the moon.
Sensing the tension in the boy, Lin Xiuying frowned. "Not to say that the past isn't important. Everyone had a life before Cang Qiong… Just think of it as a clean slate. A new beginning."
"Mn." Shen Jiu hummed, deep in thought. Even in this new beginning of his, had he not just messed up more? Made enemies of his peers and shidis, such as disciple Liu? Fail to present himself well enough for shifu? Fall behind in class? Get ill for simple reasons that were entirely his own fault? Deviate again?
Lin Xiuying tried and failed to get the kid to open up. But Shen Jiu let him help preen his feathers, which was long overdue. It was sensitive and intimate, but while he couldn't trust Lin Xiuying fully— this was something he'd allow… For now.
When they return to the dorm, he found himself falling asleep to everyone's quiet conversations with their friends, feeling more alone in a room full of disciples than he had in a long time.
Over the next two months paranoia started to set in. Shen Jiu could not go a single day without bumping into disciple Liu. First it was once a week, the offhand errand or chore that brought them within each other's eyesight, but slowly it devolved into chaos.
The first fight happened on An Ding. It started with class supplies and the number of brushes assigned to Qing Jing's first years. They were short three brushes, and disciple Liu had three too many.
Instead of simply speaking to each other, a brawl occurred in the middle of the main hall where two Qing Jing disciples had to hold Shen Jiu back while five disciples from An Ding struggled to dog pile on top of the furious disciple Liu. While they both ended up leaving messier than they came, Shen Jiu would argue he won the argument simply due to the fact that he hadn't been the one banned from returning to An Ding's main hall for a year.
The second fight broke out during a special ceremony to honour the heavens and bless the sect for another year of prosperity. Bai Zhan had been stationed near Qing Jing's lines of disciples, the youngest in the front while the eldest in the back. If you asked Lin Xiuying, this fight was entirely Shen Jiu's fault.
It began with some shuffling through the lines on Bai Zhan's side. A bright eyed disciple, Liu Mingyu, trying to edge himself closer to the Qing Jing lines without his shizun noticing. Lin Xiuying had watched with a confused face, before noticing the an item gripped in Liu Mingyu's hand. He reached out tried to tap Shen Jiu on the shoulder as the gong rang over the entire sect.
Shen Jiu slapped the hand away and snarled at Liu Mingyu. Before Lin Xiuying could step in to save them all a little face, the Qiong Ding disciples at the front of the ceremonial procession began reciting sutras. Whispering broke out around the two as the young disciples began to slap at each other back and forth with dark looks. When Shen Jiu had clearly reached his limit, this was where things fell to chaos. Lin Xiuying started moving in the crowd but was too slow to stop it before Shen Jiu launched himself fully at Liu Mingyu with a yell.
The ceremonial procession came to a stop, and the sutras died out— causing the peak lords to look back at their own disciples making a farce of the important ceremony.
To say that they had learned their lesson that day, was really going too far. Instead, one might say that the winner of this fight was Liu Mingyu, who only had to run 1000 laps around Bai Zhan peak until his legs gave out and kneel in front of Qiong Ding's main hall for 5 hours in penance with his arms over his head. Shen Jiu was not so lucky. After kneeling with Liu Mingyu for 5 hours in the courtyard of the main hall of Qiong Ding— Shen Jiu had been taken to their shifu's cottage and no one had heard a word from the boy after for several days. They hadn't needed to ask to know what happened, their shifu had made it clear with the lashes on Shen Jiu's back.
One would think this would be the end of the feud between Liu Mingyu and Shen Jiu.
Somehow it only got worse.
Whenever they met it was as if they were destined to fight about something.
Rumours began to spread like wildfire. Bai Zhan disciples started seeking out fights by raiding Qing Jing occasionally— often with either Shen Jiu in the cross fire, or Liu Mingyu at the head of these raids. Back and forth they fought and it all came to a head one day in early spring.
"I don't understand it." Lin Xiuying sighed as he was pulling a few burrs from Shen Jiu's wings. The teeth were hooked into the feathers, leaving the young disciple sensitive and seething.
"OW!" Shen Jiu hissed, flinching away from Lin Xiuying as he pulled another bur out. He was covered in the spiky seeds, leaving rips in his robes and ruffling his already messy wing pattern. "…OW!" He snarled.
"Sit still!"
"I'm trying!"
"Well try harder!" Lin Xiuying swore, pulling his hand away from a nasty bunch of the burrs that had pricked his finger. "Otherwise I'll have to take you to Qian Cao and shifu will be furious!" He lectured. While he didn't like to pull the big brother card on Shen Jiu, it was time to put his foot down. "Why can't you two just avoid each other, anyways?"
"It's not my fault that disciple Liu just appears out of nowhere!" Shen Jiu complained, sounding much younger than he usually did. He winced, his entire body tense, as a few more burrs were pulled out of his wings.
"I'm just saying—"
"Well you can just say it somewhere else! I didn't ask for him to push me into the bushes!"
"Will you just—"
"AND he's the one who started it this time anyways! It's always disciple Liu starting it! I'm just trying to protect myself, but somehow I end up in trouble over it! How is that even fair?"
Lin Xiuying sighed, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. While the situation wasn't one to be desired, he did feel a little warmth in his chest at the oblivious way Shen Jiu was trusting him with such vulnerable emotions that were not filtered through his usual cool mask.
"Not to mention, did you hear what he said today? He called me a —"
"Shen Jiu," Lin Xiuying warned, raising a brow "do we need to repeat that, here?" He asked.
"…No…" Shen Jiu sighed, flinching violently this time as a bur was pulled out and took a small feather with it. "OW!" He complained again.
"I'm almost done." Lin Xiuying soothed, moving to the other wing to tackle that one as well. While his wings were smaller than Lin Xiuying's, Shen Jiu had managed to get enough burrs in them by using them as a shield when he'd fallen into the bur bushes. This meant that while his skin was protected, his wings were hit with the brunt of the fall. "I just wish you two could just talk it out… You know?"
Shen Jiu remained silent, glaring at the dormitory floor. Everyone else was using their free time this afternoon to enjoy the warmer weather, as the snow had finally started to melt away. Yet here he was, picking burrs out of his poor wings with Lin Xiuying who was determined to get him to quit his feud with disciple Liu.
"Can't you two try to get along, even a little bit? If not for your sake, then for mine." Lin Xiuying continued to lecture, dropping a few more burrs into the bucket on the floor. "I worry about you." He added softly, frowning at the burrs that were hooked deeply into his flight feathers.
"No one asked you to." Shen Jiu muttered quietly. His head was kept down, his face caught in the shadows under his hair which had been let down after pulling the burrs out of it as well.
"No, you're right. No one did." Lin Xiuying answered. "But I do. I worry. What will come of my shidi when I am not here?"
Shen Jiu shrugged, flinching at another bur pulled free. He didn't think he could just let it go, like Lin shixiong wanted him to. He couldn't just… Let disciple Liu get away with being such a jerk! He couldn't just let some brute stomp all over his peak! What would that make him? A coward? A loser? A… A freak?
He was already all of those things. He knew what the other disciples said behind his back. But for them to be proven correct?
Not. Gonna. Happen.
"I don't think he means as much harm as you seem to think—"
"Apologies, shixiong; but this one cannot forgive disciple Liu for his transgressions." Shen Jiu said to the floor. He bit his lip in trepidation.
"I see..." Another bur fell into the bucket and Lin Xiuying wiped his hands on his pants. "There. All done. Let's get you washed up, now."
Lin Xiuying doesn't bring up forgiving disciple Liu again. Shen Jiu doesn't bring up that it's impossible, either.
Shen Jiu can't wait for autumn to come back around, as they learn during class one day that they will soon be allowed to enter the sword peak. There, they would be given the chance to walk through the sword trials terrace and become acquainted with a spiritual sword that was crafted by none other than the master of Wan Jian peak, Wei Qingwei.
Before then though, they were each given a temporary spiritual sword, as a chance to learn how to use one in real combat. While during spars these were all enchanted with a dulling spell— Their shifu had lectured them adamantly that they were required to use them in a real combat before being allowed to access Wan Jian peak.
That summer, during the blazing heat and the cicadas' cries— Shen Jiu and his peers were told that they would be leaving a in a week for a mission at the base of Cang Qiong Mountain. A simple sealing at a temple had begun to weaken, and it was going to be the task of the first year disciples to renew said sealing without disturbing the previous talismans or spirits that may be lingering.
Things were looking good. Shen Jiu hadn't had a deviation in months, the disciples were all distracted by the chance to descend the mountain for the first time since joining Cang Qiong to bother Shen Jiu with their usual taunts— everything was going great.
That was… Until they showed up.
It was the afternoon of their excursion when the disciples had arrived at the gates to set off with their horses and a single carriage for their shifu who would be overseeing their performance. Shen Jiu's horse was a brown and black mare that tossed her head from side to side anxiously while he held the reins. He had barely any experience with horses, and would have asked if he could just walk, had he not been the only one out of place. His peers were all sitting comfortably, some patting their horse on the side and others holding the reins with only one hand.
The second group of disciples appeared at the gates just as they were about to set off. And of course— One could imagine the sneer on Shen Jiu's face when he saw who was riding a big white horse that pulled the shizun of Bai Zhan peak's carriage.
"What is the meaning of this?" Demanded Qing Jing's shifu.
"An Ding did not inform you?" Scoffed the older scarred man from his own carriage. "The mission has escalated, there was rogue spirits afoot the temple. To proceed with caution, Qiong Ding has assigned my first years to work alongside yours, to ensure minimal injuries."
"Ridiculous!"
"If it is ridiculous, you are welcome to delay our excursion down the mountain and demand an audience with Sect Leader Jing, yourself?" The shifu of Bai Zhan laughed softly at the look he received before nodding to disciple Liu who was jumping down from his horse.
The boy took a scroll from his master and walked over to where Shen Jiu was glaring from beside the carriage. He held the scroll out to the Qing Jing master, who snatched it from the open window and read its contents quickly.
"Simply ridiculous!" Repeated Qing Jing's master, before waving his disciples to start their trek down the mountain.
Shen Jiu tensed as disciple Liu turned to look at him before goading his horse to start walking. The horse, sensing the tension in her rider, shuffled backwards and snorted before shaking her head. Disciple Liu snorted before walking off, leaving Shen Jiu red in the face before he could get the damn horse to walk forwards.
The temple, when they arrive, is much fancier than what Shen Jiu had in mind. They had ridden past the poor quarters of the city and deep into the center where the nobles lived. There were no beggars on the sides of the roads like the world Shen Jiu had known when it came to visiting cities. The streets were mostly clean, and beautiful shops were open to those who could afford such fineries.
Their horses had been left at the stables, and they walked on foot behind their Shifu like little ducklings, before arriving at the temple in question. There, they rejoined the rest of their group which comprised of seven first years from Bai Zhan peak. Their Shizun was already speaking with the head monk when Shen Jiu's shifu arrived.
The man didn't have anything nice to say about that fact, either.
Shen Jiu rolled his eyes before looking around and finding himself distracted by a shadow at the top of a balcony. It moved from side to side, like a mother would while cradling her child. Rocking back and forth in a gentle way that seemed to sway with the trees around the temple. It could just be a shadow, or it could be something more sinister.
"There he goes again, spacing out…" Teased one of the other Qing Jing disciples to their friend.
"What a loser…" Muttered the friend, getting an elbow from the first disciple when Shen Jiu glared at them.
"Shut it, he might just try to fight you, like that unlucky Bai Zhan kid."
"Oh please, as if I'm scared of someone who can't even stop his own qi deviations…"
Shen Jiu's eye brow twitched as he tried to keep to himself. When he looks back to the balcony, the shadow is gone.
"What's your problem?" Demands a voice behind Shen Jiu. He turns back to the two that had been gossiping behind him loudly, only to see them getting into it with a Bai Zhan student.
"Hey, watch it!" The other snarls when the boy pushes them back. With a flap of silvery wings, Shen Jiu nearly deviated on the spot. Disciple Liu … Was picking a fight? With someone that wasn't him??
"Keep your brutish hands to yourself, idiot." Shen Jiu scowls, glaring at Liu Mingyu. The boy's face turns incredulous before opening his mouth to argue.
"That is enough, from both of you." Snaps shifu. Shen Jiu flinches at his tone, dipping his head apologetically.
"Yes, Shifu." He and the other boys acknowledge.
Liu Mingyu simply glares at Shen Jiu before moving back to where his Shizun stood on the other side of the courtyard.
"Welcome to our temple, we hope you are able to help us with this matter." The head monk began, before leading them over to where the seal which once had been needing to be resealed and updated was now broken entirely. The tree that had been sealed for bad energy had charring on the roots, where the rope had fallen from around it's trunk.
Each of the Qing Jing disciples was paired with a Bai Zhan student, and as luck would have it— Shen Jiu had been the last to be paired. He didn't even deign to look at Liu Mingyu before marching off to the temple entrance. He and three other Qing Jing disciples were tasked with checking out the interior of the temple, while a few stayed to inspect the unsealed tree.
As they cleared the first floor of the temple, Shen Jiu wrote out a talisman that would catch fire if there was demonic energy in the air. He held it out in front of him as he walked through hallways and eventually up to the third floor of the temple.
Alone, the two were too focused on their task to bicker, for once. While Shen Jiu tested the air for demonic energy, Liu Mingyu cleared each room with his sword drawn.
A soft whispering voice lilted through the air, so quietly that if he had breathed too loud he wouldn't have heard it. "Wait." Shen Jiu said as they neared the living quarters of the monks.
"What?" Liu Mingyu asked.
Shen Jiu held a finger to his lips. "Sh."
Beautiful jasmine flower
Beautiful jasmine flower
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down to give to someone
Jasmine flower, jasmine flower
Beautiful jasmine flower
Beautiful jasmine flower
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down to give to someone
Jasmine flower, jasmine flower
The lullaby was breathy and quiet, like someone was begging their child to be silent. As if they were hiding. As if they were terrified.
When Shen Jiu slowly followed the voice, it never grew louder, breaking off in places before starting the lullaby once more. He nods his head for Liu Mingyu to start clearing the next room, holding out his talisman.
Still, there was no demonic energy.
But something was here, alive or dead? That was another question.
As they quietly moved through bedrooms and common rooms, there was nothing out of place or odd; and so they were about to go back down the stairs when the talisman began to burn bright blue flames.
"Here." Shen Jiu murmured, looking around the empty hall.
"There's nothing—"
Shen Jiu looked around and then noticed it, a small sliding door on the bottom half of the wall. A servant's access door. He points to it, before Liu Mingyu followed his lead. They crawl through the entrance and deep into the spaces between walls of the temple. The fire burning bright blue was their only source of light now, and if it should go out, they were going to be lost in the pitch blackness of the servants quarters.
Beautiful jasmine flower…
Beautiful jasmine flower…
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds…
'That way' Shen Jiu mouthed to Liu Mingyu, who held his sword ready. Shen Jiu pulled his own out of the sheathe as well, prepared for a fight. Instead they fall upon a tiny bedroom, the size of a small carriage. There was the strong scent of frankincense, a citrusy and woody incense often burned for meditation.
Liu Mingyu entered the quarters first, following the glow of the talisman which signified demonic energy.
Suddenly the lullaby stopped. The silence was far more intimidating, and Shen Jiu found himself holding his breath in trepidation.
"What, now?"
"Shut up!" Shen Jiu hissed, looking around the tight quarters they stood in.
"Who put you in charge?"
"Well I definitely didn't put you in charge!"
"I got us this far didn't I?"
"You??? You didn't even hear the—"
A cracking sound erupts from the dark corner to their left. Pure instinct has Shen Jiu ducking his head, just as something thick and dark shoots from the corner of the tiny room.
"Get down!" He shouts, but Liu Mingyu is not beside him anymore. There's a series of crashing sounds before he can look to his side and sees just a hole in the wall where Liu Mingyu once stood. The talisman's burning light went out and suddenly Shen Jiu was trapped in the dark in a servant's quarters all alone.
Panic consumed him. Shen Jiu tries to take deep breaths, still crouched on the floor and feeling sweat drip down his neck. "What am I gonna do? What am I gonna…"
Another series of crashing and slashing occurs before something breaks behind him forcefully.
Shen Jiu shrieks in unadulterated terror, aiming his sword at the dark wall behind him before light breaks through. It wasn't a demon—
It was—
"Quit your screaming!" Liu Mingyu snarls, covered in debris and scratches as he rips a plank of wood off the frame of the hall. Light burst into the tiny space and Shen Jiu feels shame like no other before standing.
"Shut up!"
"You, shut up!"
"I said it first!"
"Well I said it second!"
Shen Jiu pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to reel in his anger. "If you had just ducked when I told you to, you wouldn't have gone flying."
"I wouldn't have gone flying if I hadn't followed you in here, in the first place!"
"Whatever!" Shen Jiu growls before shoving past Liu Mingyu and out of the claustrophobic servant's quarters. His wings brush past the dark limb that had sent Liu Mingyu flying. In the light he finally realized what it was. "…Tree limbs?" He asked slowly, touching the bark.
"So it's a tree demon, that must be the tree out front then." Liu Mingyu said, wordlessly pulling Shen Jiu through the debris of the wall, letting go the moment he could. "That means that Shizun will have dealt with it by the time we get out there anyways."
"But that doesn't explain how it attacked us up here!" Shen Jiu argued.
"Who cares? It's not attacking us now, is it?"
"And what about the lullaby? Is that just not important to you?"
"It's not helping me kill it faster, that's for sure."
"Ugh! You're SUCH a BRUTE!" Shen Jiu snarled, shoving the boy.
"Don't push me!" Liu Mingyu growled, pushing him back.
It somehow devolved into slap fighting and bickering, the two oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them in the dark.
"Is that everyone?" Asked the Qing Jing peak lord, having finished sealing the tree anew.
"No, we're still missing two…" Answered one of the Bai Zhan disciples who had counted and recounted their numbers.
"And just who is it that is missing?"
"Liu Mingyu." Answered the Bai Zhan peak lord, stroking his beard. "And that scrawny one of yours."
The peak lords both shared a look before looking back at the temple.
"I said don't touch me!" Shen Jiu yelled, on the floor with Liu Mingyu fighting him on top. They roll down the hall a little before he kicks the boy off of him. "What is your problem?! Just leave me alone!"
"Leave you alone? All I've done is protect you from some stupid tree monster! But sure, you scaredy cat! I'll leave you alone!" Liu Mingyu argues, jumping to his feet. He stomped off in a random direction, leaving Shen Jiu to huff and puff on his own in the hall way.
A loud cracking sound caught his attention, but it was too late. Shen Jiu could only turn and stare in horror as a tree limb shot out from the wall, throwing him violently through a wall and crashing into Liu Mingyu again.
Disoriented, the two started to squabble once more before the creaking began to become more ominous.
"This is all your fault! You made it mad!"
"Me? What did I do?!"
"You called it a monster!"
"Oh please, like you weren't thinking the same thing!"
Branches started to sprout from the floor and ceiling until they were hacking at them with their swords to keep from being pinned down. "We can't just fend it off like this forever, we have to get out of here!"
"No shit, idiot!" Liu Mingyu cursed, using a sword glare to destroy the tree limbs. Something far too close to them hissed in pain, sending a shiver down Liu Mingyu's spine. "Behind you!"
Shen Jiu turned with his back to Liu Mingyu and struck, his practice sword embedding deeply into the chest of a woman. She had dark skin that was made of bark, her eyes an acidic green. She blended into the wall of the temple before pulling free of the blade.
She screeched in a language they didn't understand, and Shen Jiu dropped his sword, holding his ears.
Liu Mingyu struck the second time, and with another horrible scream, the monster darted out of the room and out the window.
Shen Jiu looked around with panic, his ears ringing. "Where did it go?!" He yelled, unable to hear himself.
Liu Mingyu mouthed something but he couldn't hear him. Shen Jiu shook his head and circulated his qi the best he could. When his hearing came back Liu Mingyu was in the middle of saying they had to jump from the window to catch her.
"Are you insane?!"
"What, you think your wings are for decoration? You need to use them!"
"I can't!"
"What do you mean, you can't?!"
Shen Jiu nearly ripped Liu Mingyu's incredulous looking expression off his face. "I can't." He repeated. "I don't know how."
The room began to shake as the supports for the building seemed to begin to crumble. Whatever that demon was doing outside— it spelt out trouble for them in here.
"Well consider this your first lesson." Liu Mingyu said as he pulled Shen Jiu over to the balcony. "Just… trust me."
Shen Jiu shook his head. "I can't!"
"You can." Liu Mingyu said with determination.
"But—"
"Look, either you jump or I'm going to push you off!"
The building shook harder and debris began to fall around them. The demon was going to pull the entire temple to pieces!
"I can't!" Shen Jiu repeated but as promised, Liu Mingyu didn't hold back any longer, jumping off the railing before hovering in the air in front of Shen Jiu. "I really— I can't—"
"Just, trust me!"
Shen Jiu stood carefully on the balcony even as it shook and finally, with what one would call a leap of faith…
He jumped. And began to fall.
Just as he was about to curse out that idiot Liu, hands grabbed under his armpits and hoisted him up.
"Relax!" Liu Mingyu yelled over the roar of the temple collapsing behind them.
Shen Jiu squirmed and shouted back, "How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"
With a grunt of frustration, Liu Mingyu began gliding downwards, having to pull Shen Jiu up more until they were back to chest. With his larger wings and guidance, Shen Jiu (who had his eyes screwed shut) felt for the first time, the wind beneath his wings.
He shook out his wings slightly and shuddered. It felt … right.
"See? You just needed to trust me." Liu Mingyu's voice said behind his ear. Shen Jiu flushed red even as they landed roughly outside the temple gates.
The fight with the tree demon after that was easy, as it revealed itself and was then sealed away under the tree again. Apparently there had been a sapling beside it that had been struck by lightning a few months ago, and the monks had to cut it down. As it were, the tree demon had thought of the sapling as it's child and with fury over it's death and it had come to get revenge on the temple.
On the ride home, Shen Jiu and Liu Mingyu didn't bicker. It was odd enough that they had actually worked together during the mission. But they didn't even pick a fight with one another as they rode side by side back to the sect.
"By the way," Liu Mingyu said as they were about to part ways a the rainbow bridge. "I never really meant to fight you, you just always kept running away from me. I wanted to return this to you." He held out a pin.
Frowning, Shen Jiu accepted the wooden hair pin from the boy. Just how long had Liu Mingyu been holding onto this?! That idiot— he—-
It was the grape vine hair pin he thought he'd lost back on that day he deviated.
The one from Wu Yanzi. The only one that he had ever owned.
It meant a lot more than Liu Mingyu could ever know.
"Thanks." He said tersely, looking away at the ground. Maybe… Maybe Liu Mingyu wasn't such a bad guy, after all.
Present Day.
"And here we have one of our oldest paintings of the winged disciples of Cang Qiong. As we can see here, while they are described in texts as having wings this is obviously simply part of the legends. This particular painting shows the two peaks, Bai Zhan and Qing Jing coming together to celebrate the union between two peak lords of the Qing generation." Shen Jiu explained to the group of onlookers in the crowd around the large display. The parchment was eroded in places, but the image still depicted a handsome man with silvery white and black wings and taller ethereal man with shorter azure and grey wings. "This concludes the tour, please ask if you have any questions."
As he let the tourists wander around, Shen Jiu caught Liu Qingge's eye. The security guard raised a brow at him before turning to look over the displays as well. The newest addition, the union of Bai Zhan and Qing Jing was a very rare piece, with no other copies known to have been made.
Once the doors closed for the day, Shen Jiu walked to his car. One arm carried his bag while the other was juggling a few papers.
"Here, give it before you drop it." A voice said beside him.
"What? No." Shen Jiu seethed, glaring at Liu Qingge.
"What are you, 5? Grow up and let me help you."
"Don't touch me!"
"Why you—"
"You—!" Shen Jiu swore as Liu Qingge bullied him into letting go of the paperwork throwing around a glare in case someone saw. "You promised you wouldn't do that!" He snapped.
"What, now the parking lot counts as 'showing favoritism at work'?" Scoffed Liu Qingge. He rolled his eyes at Shen Jiu, before closing the distance to the man's car. He even boldly reached into Shen Jiu's pocket and pulled out his keys, unlocking the door and dropping the papers onto the passenger seat.
"I don't want people at work knowing!" Shen Jiu hissed, snatching away his keys from the thief.
"Please, it's a miracle they never noticed to begin with." Liu Qingge snorted, wiggling his ring finger in front of Shen Jiu's face. "Besides, you don't think they actually thought we hate each other that much, do you?"
"The guards do, they nearly shit their pants every time I ask for you." Shen Jiu muttered, batting away at Liu Qingge's display of his ring, a silvery band that had an elegant azure blue stone in the middle.
"Well," Liu Qingge sighed, looking around before catching Shen Jiu's hand and holding it up between them. To anyone else from the museum doors it would like they were confronting one another, up in each other's space. "no one said they were very smart…" Liu Qingge said against the tense hand that he pulled to his face. He presses the softest of kisses, mostly to annoy Shen Jiu further, on the man's matching silvery wedding ring.
"I hate you."
"I'll see you at home." Liu Qingge chuckled, letting Shen Jiu snatch his hand away and clamber into his car with unwarranted aggression. Liu Qingge only laughed louder when Shen Jiu slammed the door in his face, shaking his head before walking over to his own car parked across the parking lot.