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Shen Jiu hated the fact that everyone liked his brother. Well, not in a jealous way but out of concern. His brother was incredibly innocent and oblivious and who knows what would happen if he didn’t have an older brother to look after him.
Well Shen Jiu knew what would happen, he would’ve been married off to some random man without him. It almost happened too many times when they were young. If Shen Jiu was any weaker he would've lost his brother long ago.
Of course he felt pride in the fact that people adored his brother but if only it wasn't that every other person was attracted to him. He was just lucky that certain people only fell to his charms in a familial way instead of romanic.
The worst part was that not even a month after joining Qing Jing peak there was a proposal at least every two days. They weren't even elaborate and barely came with any gifts of note and consisted on pure lust as opposed to actually cherishing Shen Yuan for who he is.
An example of the most common letter was something like this:
Shen Yuan,
Please accept this one’s proposal. You are so gorgeous and kind and I will offer you whatever you want!
Signed, Random disciple
They were impersonal and didn't even deserve the light of day. It was obnoxious to need to go through these as of course he had to come up with a way to prevent his brother from seeing such letters. It only took a bit before he became known as the person who others would have to go through if they wanted to marry Shen Yuan.
One of the most prominent suitors was the emperor’s nephew. Word had gotten out of the ‘Qing Jing peak beauty’ and he went to see what the rumors were about. The man wasn't anything awful, he was average in every aspect apart from wealth and family position. The man had even gone after several female disciples of multiple cultivation sects before, obviously not someone who could easily commit.
“You are not marrying my brother,” Shen Jiu glared at the man who had the audacity to outright declare he was marrying Shen Yuan before even fucking proposing! Not that he would ever get the chance anyways.
The emperor’s nephew, Lin Zeyu pleaded, “I have more to offer than anyone else ever could,”
Shen Jiu was furious. The bastard just kept digging a deeper hole, did he know nothing of deep bonds? What should draw people together is love, not lust.
Shen Jiu growled, “You’re not marrying my brother. If you try anything I’ll fucking impale you on Xiu Ya,” He had managed to gain a rather large amount of fame and reached the head disciple station, well on his way to becoming a peak lord and having the authority to easily turn down these many suitors. The best part about his fame was being known for his sharp blade, Xiu Ya. Being known for a strong weapon is one thing, but being known for getting rid of suitors with such a weapon was another.
“Well that’s rather harsh, you should look at it like a business exchange-” Before Lin Zeyu could finish he had been shoved to the ground by Shen Jiu.
“Leave and never come back unless you want me to kill you right now,” Shen Jiu unsheathed Xiu Ya and held the sword up to Lin Zeyu’s throat. He had a bad reputation, what was one more kill to the list? Everyone was judgmental until they looked and Shen Yuan and realized they too would fight to protect him. None of them even understood though as they only viewed him with lust and want as opposed to the bond he shared with him. They had gone through everything together and saved each other from hell.
“No! I’ll leave!” Lin Zeyu cried, crawling on the ground before scrambling up and running. He never sent another letter and disappeared of the face of the earth, too embarrassed to admit he didn't manage to win Shen Yuan's hand.
One dealt with, an infinite amount to go.
The next annoying suitor was another Qing Jing disciple who spent way too much time with Shen Yuan. Sun Hongliang was an obnoxious disciple who refused to pay attention in classes yet lusted after Shen Yuan with much fervor. Despite how clear Shen Jiu made it that he would deal with the man in a gruesome way, Sun Hongliang didn't falter in the slightest.
Shen Jiu had given the man many death glares over the years he had been eyeing Shen Yuan. Luckily for him this problem resolved itself through Shen Yuan’s adorable obliviousness.
“Sun-Shidi? What is that look about? Are you alright? Maybe you should head over to Qian Cao,” Shen Yuan said with worry.
Sun Hongliang was incredibly embarrassed as he had been actually trying to lean in to kiss Shen Yuan but was completely rejected. The last Shen Jiu saw of that man was hearing about how he had slept with many disciples from countless peaks and was a constant customer at the local brothel. Someone who could turn into that kind of man would never be worthy of his brother at all. Shen Jiu only ever went to brothels to sleep or gossip with the jies that worked there, and that was when his didi was off on a mission.
Shen Jiu had also faced many close calls once he finally raised to the position of peak lord and lived in the bamboo house with his brother.
“Jiu-ge, what are all of these letters for?” Shen Yuan asked with a puzzled expression as he went to open one.
Shen Jiu jumped in, “A-Yuan, please don’t touch. They are to be brought to An Ding peak to be sent off,”
Shen Yuan just shrugged and put the letter down, “Jiu-ge, how many letters do you need to send? There seem to be hundreds!”
“It’s just stupid business that somehow ended up given to me,” Shen Jiu said, rolling his eyes and portraying the complete dislike he felt for the letters.
“Well I’ll leave Jiu-ge to do the boring work then!” Shen Yuan called out as he excited the room.
Shen Jiu let out a sigh of relief, he had somehow managed to keep his brother oblivious for longer.
Somehow despite them both being incredibly talented cultivators, Shen Yuan kept finding ways to get stuck in demon’s traps and Shen Jiu had to keep coming to his rescue to prevent his brother from being wed to a random demon. It seemed to be once every month that Shen Yuan would go missing and wind up in the clutches of a random worthless human-like demon that obviously planned to marry him.
Luckily Shen Yuan never realized that they were dressing him in red because of a wedding and just always thought he was going to be killed, eaten or sacrificed. Shen Jiu was able to easily jump in and kill the demons and their stupid minions who dared place their hands on his brother. Finally they started dying down to just one a year once they realized that they would then be hunted by one of the peak lords of Cang Qiong. There were still that few brave outliers that would try their hand at getting a coveted spouse.
Shen Jiu come make an entire novel out of just the names of all the demons that tried to marry Shen Yuan, even betraying each other in hopes that they would be the one to marry him.
When Shen Yuan had a qi deviation, Shen Jiu was terrified. That was only relieved when his brother finally recovered only to have a loss of memories. It was most certainly cruel to find comfort in that but Shen Jiu couldn’t help but feel content with his brother not having any more troubling memories, not that they seemed to bother him much when awake regardless. Although that meant that Shen Yuan would have no memories of the past people who attempted to pursue him. Shen Jiu would just have to step up his game afterall, especially with how Liu Qingge seemed to be looking at his brother. The disciples too. He expected them to at least have some decency yet even they would still lust after Shen Yuan.
Sometimes Shen Jiu wonders how they are related, but that was cleared up many years ago when they were stuck with the Qius. That was a living nightmare and it was so lucky they managed to escape and make the lives that they did.