Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Something was wrong with Luo Binghe.

Well, more so than usual, at any rate. It was a well-known secret that their illustrious demon king had quite a bit wrong with him, thanks to the upbringing afforded him by his generous shizun. It was something that was either quietly acknowledged or pointedly ignored, and not something ever spoken aloud - least of all to his face.

Not unless you wanted to receive the Shen Qingqiu treatment.

Recently, however, Luo Binghe was acting far more ‘wrong’ than normal. He had disappeared suddenly one day. This in and of itself wasn’t strange as he was often given to wandering off for long stretches of time, though usually he’d return with a new wife or two. This time, he returned empty handed and acted in an alarmingly bizarre fashion. He had kept asking about Shen Qingqiu’s whereabouts and current state, as if he weren’t directly responsible for both, while pointedly ignoring even the most casual - and in other cases, overt and aggressive - flirtings from his many wives.

And then, just as quickly he had blown in, the little hurricane had blown out once more. It left the palace in a state of confusion, which only intensified when he returned yet again, this time covered in heavy injuries while wearing - of all things - the white robes of a Qing Jing Peak disciple.

Where he had managed to find such robes when the entirety of Qing Jing Peak was nothing more than ashen ruins was baffling in and of itself, but the fact that Luo Binghe of all people was wearing them - so well that they seemed tailor fit for him - was nothing short of mind blowing. If not for Xin Mo’s tale-tell presence on the demon lord’s hip, everyone would have surely assumed this Luo Binghe to be an imposter. A demon, an apparition, or some other form of anomaly - anything but the true Luo Binghe, master of all he surveyed or desired.

And yet, he was Luo Binghe.

Ever since his return, the demon king had been quiet, almost sullen. Be it stalking through the halls of his palace with a dark expression on his face or staring broodingly at empty spaces with eyes that appeared a thousand miles away, Luo Binghe seemed to be anywhere but there. When one of his many wives came seeking affection from him, he would always be receptive to their advances, but it felt more like he was merely going through the motions than having any real interest in it.

Which, given his usual enthusiasm for such trysts, was terrifying in and of itself.

Every once and a while, someone would catch him toying with a small plait that had recently appeared in his luscious black hair. It wasn’t something he had typically worn before, and more had just shown up with him while he returned in his disciple clothes and remained ever since. He even went to great lengths to prevent it from coming apart when cleaning himself, as if he couldn’t bear to lose it. He had begun to baby that silly slip of braided hair more than even his own wives, to the point that some were expressing jealousy of it as if it were a rival for his affections.

When even Mobei-jun began casting his sire what could constitute as a worried glance from the normally unfazed ice demon, it became impossible to deny that something was wrong. Something had happened, and no one but Luo Binghe knew exactly what.

It wasn’t until Luo Binghe had called out for his shizun during a foray with the Little Palace Mistress that the reason for his behavior had finally made itself known. Combined with his inattentive effort into the act itself, their king calling someone else’s name - let alone that of the debauched and disgraced former peak lord - was the ultimate dousing of cold water on the Little Palace Mistress’s normally demanding ardor. The sheer insult of it, the horrifying implication of it, and even Luo Binghe’s lack of remorse or consideration after the fact…

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer woman.

Ning Yingying was the only one brave enough to investigate, venturing off to the deepest depths of the dungeons to see for herself. Her solemn expression when she returned to the light confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

Shen Qingqiu was finally dead.

---

Luo Binghe slouched in his throne, leaning to the side as he propped himself up with his left elbow. His left hand framed his face, his knuckles pressed against his cheek. Only his pointer finger seemed to be excused from shouldering any weight, instead allowed to idly fidget with his braid. It wasn’t exactly the most dignified pose, but no one had the courage to comment or otherwise acknowledge it.

As a red-skinned ogre read off a list of reports regarding the goings-ons from the various lands under Luo Binghe’s control, Mobei-jun watched the demon king intently. He wasn’t particularly subtle, his head turned so that he laid both eyes on Luo Binghe without reservation or hesitation. Not even Sha Hualing had the guts to look at her lord directly, instead peeking at him from out of the corner of her eyes as she stood at attention to the right of the throne.

But for the ice demon, it wasn’t even a matter of brazenness or bravery - he simply hadn’t thought to hide his intense scrutiny. That was just the kind of relationship Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun had - it was the closest thing to friendship that demons were physically capable of.

And so, Luo Binghe said nothing as he was watched with the eyes of a hawk, while his own eyes wandered around the audience chamber. His gaze drifted across the sea of faces, some belonging to his wives while others to his servants and avid disciples; all watched him intently, though that was to be expected. He was, after all, the only-occasionally-contested ruler of their entire world. They loved him, adored him; and if they didn’t, they feared him enough to at least pretend. It didn’t matter, so long as their attention was on him and him alone, basking in his glory - or his horror.

Just so long as they gave him what he was owed.

Luo Binghe continued to fidget with his braid when something caught the corner of his eye. He paused when a face, a far too familiar face, appeared among the crowd - a face that absolutely shouldn’t have been there. Pale skin and long black flowing hair, dressed in fine green robes with eyes that seemed to bore into him like knives.

Those damned sharp eyes, which he hated most of all.

Luo Binghe turned to meet Shen Qingqiu’s stare, only for his former shizun’s visage to melt away. But before the demon king could think him gone, he appeared again elsewhere in the crowd. The former peak lord held his fan over his face, fluttering it slightly, but his eyes were still as clear as ever as he glared at his ‘student’.

Then, just as suddenly, he was off again, this time shifting to the left of the crowd so that he was among the nun sisters, replacing the middle sister. His expression seemed much more serene this time, a soft smile playing on his lips. It was a smile that felt out of place on his own shizun, and no doubt belonged to that one.

That other Shen Qingqiu.

Luo Binghe’s fingers clenched tightly around the braid in his hair. A dark emotion swelled up from his heart and pooled in his belly, rumbling like thunder. To think that there was a world where his shizun had actually acknowledged him, cared about him, loved him. Where Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been an absolute scum of a man, full of nothing but venom and spite, and had actually done his duty as a teacher to his students - to Luo Binghe.

It wasn’t fair.

What did that other ‘Binghe’ do to deserve that which had been denied him? Why was he the one that had to settle for a shizun that could only teach hatred, and had taught him well?

It wasn’t fair!

Shen Qingqiu’s face continued to flash through the crowd, sometimes smiling or laughing, other times sneering or scoffing. Binghe’s eyes followed that face through the crowd, the specter of what was and what wasn’t, taunting him with their very presence.

It wasn’t fair!

As if in response, the hateful peak lord was suddenly in the center of the room, staring at him. Only his head was visible from the large jar, the rest of his body secured inside it - or what remained of it, at any rate. His filthy black hair pooled around his neck and trailed along his ceramic container, and his eyes were completely empty. It was the last expression he ever saw on his tormenter’s face.

The bastard had survived so much, endured so much, and had always managed to keep those damned eyes clear - defiant, no matter the pain. Even when being tortured, he still managed to find the strength, the vitriol, to spit in Luo Binghe’s face - be it with words or even literally.

Until he had seen Yue Qingyuan’s sword, the remnants of it.

It had always been a part of Luo Binghe’s plan for revenge, to take down Yue Qingyuan for his involvement with, and his tolerance of, Shen Qingqiu’s wave of terror across Qing Jing Peak. He lured the useless bastard to him, using his dear peak lord’s own legs as a promise of what was to come, and killed the man so utterly that there was nothing but his shattered sword left to show to his shizun. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to work with.

It had worked well -  too well. Something had broken inside of his hateful ‘master’.

Luo Binghe should have enjoyed it, he should have been thrilled by the results of his actions. But something about seeing Shen Qingqiu crawling with one arm, dragging his mangled body across the floor, towards the shattered sword of his former benefactor - his enabler - had filled the demon lord with something other than pleasure.

Even after Binghe had torn off his shizun’s other arm and shoved him in his jar, where he’d spend the rest of his days, everything had become tainted. For the first time, he had seen something resembling attachment, grief in a creature that he had up until that point only thought capable of venom.

And it had been aimed at someone other than him.

IT WASN’T FAIR!!!

“What will you do about it?” Mobei-jun asked, his voice cutting through Luo Binghe’s thoughts, causing him to jump slightly. The demon king whirled to stare at the ice demon blankly before realization dawned. He was back in his throne room, with his captive audience of onlookers hanging on to his every word - even when there were no words being spoken.

And Shen Qingqiu was still dead.

“Oh,” Binghe said, after a long pause. In the back of his mind, he vaguely recalled hearing something about some and such rebels trying to stir up trouble. There was always someone trying to stir up trouble - it was actually rather exhausting, constantly putting down conspirators and discontents. “Just send someone out to clean them up, as always.” 

“No,” Mobei-jun replied. “Not that.”

Binghe blinked before he arched a quizzical eyebrow.

“Him,” Mobei-jun replied. He didn’t even flinch when his master stiffened, Luo Binghe’s expression going tight. Everyone else quickly stepped back, Sha Hualing included, but not a single crack appeared in the ice demon’s frozen face.

Binghe narrowed his eyes as a particularly dangerous glint appeared in them. It was enough to send most of his wives scurrying out of the room with only Sha Hualing lingering in the grand hall, though she moved to place herself behind her husband’s throne - out of reach. The rest of the audience, demons and disciples alike, stood rooted in place like hapless trees before a forest fire.

“...What are you suggesting,” Binghe said, more of a demand than a question.

“Do something,” Mobei-jun said.

Binge paused at that. “‘Do something’?” he repeated.

“Something other than brooding,” the ice demon said. “Bury him, burn him, display him, leave him to rot in the dark. Whatever it is, do it and be done with it,” When Binghe gave him a slow blink, Mobei-jun returned it with an almost imperceivable shrug. “And if you are not happy with the outcome, do something about that instead.”

Binghe gave another blink as the ice demon’s words filtered in before he let out a bark of laughter. He was about to ask how he was supposed to ‘do something’ about death itself when he stopped short, his eyes widening.

Shen Quinqiu appeared beside Mobei-jun, who was oblivious to the new arrival. His eyes were soft as he gave Binghe a coy smile, barely hidden by his fan. At the sight, Binghe’s hand immediately went to grasp the little plait in his hair. A sharp smile crept across his face as a spark returned to his eyes.

“You’re right,” Binghe said, with a sage nod. It would have looked thoughtful, if not for the shark-like grin. “You’re absolutely right. It’s not like me to brood. If I’m angry, I address it. If I’m unhappy, I fix it,” The demon lord’s eyes narrowed. “And if I want something, I take it.”

Mobei-jun nodded with a small noise of agreement.

Sha Hualing let out a small sigh of relief at her husband’s improved mood before straightening up to place her hands on her shapely hips. Generally she’d be a bit annoyed when Luo Binghe spoke like that, as it usually meant she was about to get a new wife to compete with, but she preferred that over the demon lord’s uncharacteristic brooding. Annoying as it was, it was still something she was experienced with dealing with - far too experienced.

Besides, they were talking about a corpse. And one of his hated teacher, at that! ‘New wife’ was not on the table in this instance, but the chance for more bloodshed certainly was. She wouldn’t mind getting in a few kicks on that dead horse herself, if she thought her husband would be willing to share the normally personal experience.

“Well, my lord husband,” she crooned, with a saucy smile on her face. “As always, I am forever here to assist you.”

“What are your orders?” Mobei-jun asked.

Binghe stood up and raised his arms above his head as he stretched leisurely, as if he hadn’t just been skulking on his throne. He extended his arms forward as he laced his hands together, continuing the stretch, before he let out a heavy sigh and gave a small shake. He then glanced at his two generals, mischief clear in his smile.

“We are going to make things fair.”

---

The soft glow of pre-dawn had only begun to creep in through the windows of the bamboo house, chasing back the lingering night. It hadn’t yet reached the large bed in the room, where two bodies slept comfortably tangled together. Shen Qingqui wore nothing but a slumbering smile as he rested his head against Binghe’s chest, his pillow having lost the honor of shouldering his head sometime in the night.

Binghe was on his side, his arms wrapped firmly around his shizun, his head bowed slightly so that his hair spilled over his back and shoulder, covering bare skin that was left open to the elements due to his shizun’s greedy hogging of the blankets. Not that he minded, as the steady heart-beat that signaled the enduring presence of Shen Qingqiu provided him with all the warmth he needed.

…What he did mind was the sudden presence of Sha Hualing in the doorway, peering in to the room. Her expression was uneasy as she timidly ventured into such a forbidden place, which only intensified when Binghe snapped open his eyes. The demoness stopped short, standing rigid in place, as his eyes glowed in the darkness like two torches.

“This had better be important,” Binghe said, his voice low and deadly like a rattlesnake.

“I-it is, my lord,” Sha Hualing said with a deep bow as she kept her voice quiet. “I swear to you, I would never interrupt without good reason.”

Binghe narrowed his eyes before he cast his husband a reluctant glance. He leaned forward to brush back long black bangs so that he could place a gentle kiss on Shen Qingqiu’s forehead, the action rousing his shizun somewhat. “I will be back as quickly as I can.”

Shen Qingqiu blinked groggily, sleep not willing to leave just yet, before he gave the demon lord a soft smile and uttered a small hum of acknowledgement.

Sha Hualing’s cheek twitched slightly at the scene, but she was able to suppress any other reaction. When her lord husband had warned her, she thought she had understood him and was prepared for what she was about to face, but actually seeing it in action filled her with a strange feeling of resentment… and anger? Jealousy? Something about it felt like someone rubbing the fur the wrong way on a cat - prickly and uncomfortable.

For goodness sake, she wasn’t even allowed to watch this world’s Binghe dress himself! The absolute bloodcurdling glare he gave her until she turned around and gave him privacy - privacy, of all things - to get dressed without giving her a show, not even a single peek. It was a crime, that’s what it was. This world was truly broken in a way that she couldn’t begin to understand.

What, exactly, was she bringing upon herself by assisting her Binghe with this mission?

And it hadn’t been an easy mission, from start to finish. She was never one for skulking in shadows, preferring to charge head first in a show of force - much like she had first attacked this damned peak so long ago. But these past few weeks had been nothing but skulking and sneaking about, not only scrounging up discontents in her not-husband’s realm but doing her best to keep them - and herself - out of sight.

Sha Hualing wasn’t sure what to make of this world when Lou Binghe had taken her here, slicing through apparently reality itself to drop her and Mobei-jun off before quickly leaving lest he draw attention from this world’s demon lord.

For starters, Cang Qiong Mountain looked decidedly less cindery, which in her opinion had been an improvement. There were also a large number of people who were supposed to be corpses walking about. Not just Shen Qingqiu himself, but Yue Qingyuan, Liu Qingge, and even that worm Shang Qinghua still had his head about him - a fact that Mobei-jun himself seemed particularly taken aback by.

Well, as much as that emotionally stunted popsicle could be taken aback by anything.

At first, she wasn’t sure why they couldn’t have just ambushed him and been done with it. With no wives to speak of - beyond his shizun, which they would not speak of - and the world not entirely under his command, how much trouble could this world’s ‘demon lord’ possibly be? And yet, her husband had been quite adamant about the necessity of it, and she knew far better than to argue with him.

Considering the way her blood ran cold when the other Binghe glared at her, she was beginning to understand why. Sha Hualing kept a contrite expression on her face as she followed the other Binghe out, mentally rehearsing what she was going to say. She had the urge to glance back at the bizarrely tranquil and domestic scene they were leaving behind, but was smart enough to suppress it. She was walking a thin line already, no reason to make it even harder on herself.

Binghe cast his sleeping shizun one last glance before he closed the door behind him. The room returned to stillness rather quickly as Shen Qingqiu flopped over onto his side, drawing the blankets tighter around his body.

The peak lord knew he would have to get up soon enough, but there was still time to catch a little more sleep before Binghe returned from whatever business he had to address - no doubt demon world business, as always. And his body was more than happy to oblige, as the heavy fog of slumber settled comfortably in his head once more.

Just as he was about to drift off, a sharp and unfortunately familiar notification alert sounded off, piercing Shen Qingqiu’s brain like a knife and jerking him awake. Blurrily, the peak lord opened his eyes to glare at the neon screen that floated ephemerally in front of his eyes.

[Incoming quest: My Shizun.]

Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes. The quest issuer was listed as Luo Binghe. That wasn’t a surprise, given the title of the quest itself. What was unusual was the fact that, while the System was offering him the option to ‘accept’ or ‘decline’, the ‘decline’ option was entirely grayed out.

“System, is this a glitch?” Shen Qingqiu asked, with a quirk of his eyebrow.

[All systems are operating within normal parameters. No issues detected.]

The peak lord let out an exasperated huff as he rolled his eyes. So basically he was being offered a quest under the guise of having a choice, when in fact only one of the two choices actually worked. While it had happened before, the System at least attempted the illusion that he was being given a choice in whether or not he accepted. It was similar to what a game developer would do in order to give the illusion of depth to their story.

Something about fables and acorns, and all that.

Shen Qingqiu let out a sigh as he reached up to scratch at the back of his head before he jabbed a finger at the ‘accept’ button. Given who was issuing the quest, he didn’t feel too concerned about accepting it - lack of choice notwithstanding. Even the title itself gave him a pretty good idea of what he had to look forward to.

Having accepted the quest, the peak lord closed his eyes and flopped his head back down on the pillow. He’d see what Binghe had in store for him when he returned, and deal with whatever his sticky husband wanted as it came. But for now, he’d enjoy the last remnants of night before dawn - and Binghe - made it impossible to sleep any longer.

Minutes ticked by after the peak lord had settled down again into a pleasant doze, drifting somewhere between asleep and awake. It was at that point that the door opened again, slowly so as to minimize the amount of noise it made.

Quiet and deliberate steps signaled someone entering the room, too soft for the bed’s occupant to notice straight away. It wasn’t until the visitor was right by the bed, placing one black-garbed knee on it to loom over the peaceful shizun did Shen Qingqiu become aware that someone else was in the room.

Shen Qingqiu fluttered open his right eye just in time to see Luo Binghe leaning over the bed. Their eyes locked for a moment before a sleepy smile drifted across the shizun’s face. “Back so soon? Did you forget something?”

A large smile spread across Binghe’s face as his eyes seemed to glow in the pre-dawn light. He reached over to touch Shen Qingqiu’s face, his fingertips leaving a feather-soft trail wherever they went. The demon lord’s smile widened as the shizun closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, a faint blush on his pale skin. Binghe cupped Shen Qingqiu’s right cheek with his left hand, rubbing his thumb against the blush.

“Yes,” Binghe answered finally, his voice low. “You.”

Chapter Text

Morning had only just begun but Huan Hua Palace was already bustling with activity. The servants had long since started their day, as the list of chores never got any smaller. The herculean feat of preparing breakfast for their master’s army of wives was first on the agenda, which would then be followed with the equally herculean task of housekeeping duties regarding their daily care.

As the Huan Hua Palace saying went, as wealth flowed like a river, so too did the laundry.

Huan Hua Palace itself similarly seemed to be ever flowing, with additional wings and extensions being added to the palace whenever space became too limited - coincidentally whenever their master brought home someone new. Between the servants, the disciples, the demons, the wives, and the wives’ personal servants, Huan Hua Palace was practically a city entirely on its own. Some joked that they were running out of mountain to build on, but only quietly where Luo Binghe couldn’t hear.

They wouldn’t have left it past him to take it as an excuse to physically rearrange the mountain itself, regardless of the collateral damage it might bring.

So naturally, when Lou Binghe ordered a tower be built right in the middle of the palace gardens, no one had any doubt what it was for. The only question was, who was such an elaborate structure meant to host? Who could possibly be so important as to destroy the gardens that had existed for centuries, rearranging them into a front yard for a little tower apartment?

And with such urgency! When even the demons - imagine, demons doing construction instead of destruction - were pulled into the job to ensure its timely completion, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it had to be for an inexplicably important guest. 

The answer came that very morning, when Luo Binghe appeared out of the sliced portal created by Xin Mo, the telltale blade in one hand and the unconscious body of Shen Qingqiu dangling in the other.

Everyone who had been occupying the grand hall at that moment stopped to stare as Luo Binghe sheathed his sword before hefting his prize up, taking a better hold on the body to carry the shizun bridal-style. The smile on the demon lord’s face was smug, so exceedingly smug, as he carried his trophy proudly and relished the shocked eyes falling upon it as he passed.

The man in question was apparently naked, with only a blanket wrapped around him to protect his modesty. Pale skin peeked out between the folds as his hair flowed freely, a black curtain that dangled past Binghe’s arm right arm as the man’s head rested comfortably - far too comfortably - against the demon lord’s chest.

As astounding as the scene was by itself, none of it could compare to the one detail that stood chief among all the others - Shen Qingqiu wasn’t dead.

Luo Binghe had a merry skip in his step as he passed by the onlookers, who parted like the sea around him. While he had been able to use his - or rather, the other Binghe’s - blood mites to keep his prisoner lethargic and delay his full awakening, it was still only a matter of time before the man woke up and started making things difficult. And he’d be much easier to manage inside his gilded cage.

Besides, he still needed to retrieve Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun. He didn’t have the luxury of dealing with a kicking and screaming Shen Qingqiu, not just yet. But once they were all back in his world, he’d have all the time he needed to work on his new shizun.

All. The. Time. He. Needed.

Binghe kicked open the door to the tower, which made a loud bang in protest. The first floor was a cozy little tea room for entertaining guests, and he blew straight past it and up the stairs to the bedroom on the second floor. He gently laid Shen Qingqiu on the bed, mindful of his limp limbs. The demon king didn’t need to tuck the unconscious man in, as his old blanket did that job just fine, but he did rest the shizun’s head on the pillows.

Luo Binghe gave a soft smile to his slumbering guest before he turned sharply and proceeded to head back out of the tower. He closed the door firmly behind him and locked it before pocketing the key in his breast pocket. He gave the pocket a brief pat before reaching to draw Xin Mo once more.

“A-Luo?”

Luo Binghe stopped short and turned to see Ning Yingying, her eyes wide as she stared at him. The man’s expression immediately softened before he offered his childhood friend - turned wife a soothing smile. He knew exactly what was coming.

“Was that…,” Yingying began, struggling to find the words.“That was… was it really…?” Complex emotions danced across her face, emotions that he fully understood.

After all, he had been her shizun too.

“Yes,” Luo Binghe said, gently. “Yes, it was.”

“I don’t… understand,” Yingying said slowly, her eyes becoming moist. “How-?”

“I’ll explain later,” Luo Binghe said as he reached over to brush his thumb against the woman’s left cheek, wiping away the tears present. “Right now, I need to fetch Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun. But I want you to know… this Shizun will never hurt you.”

Yingying’s nose scrunched up at Luo Binghe’s words. Her eyes darted over to the locked door before returning her gaze to her husband. After a moment, she reached up to wipe away the rest of her tears. “...Alright, A-Luo. Stay safe.”

“Always,” Binghe said with a wink.

Yingying watched as her husband sliced the very fabric of reality open with Xin Mo before stepping inside. As the cut quickly sealed up behind him, the young woman found herself alone in the garden. She gazed at where Binghe had been moments before before slowly turning to shift said gaze towards the locked door of the tower that now held her former shizun - somehow.

After several long moments, she clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

“I…,” she began before she stopped short and gave a sharp shake of her head. She let out a deep sigh before turning to leave, putting some distance between herself and what the garden now held.

Yingying had thought she had done all her thinking after discovering her former shizun’s mutilated body, as it all felt far too little and far too late to dwell on anymore. But now it seemed the matter still had some life left in it, quite literally, and she had a lot more thinking to do.

As Ning Yingying left the garden, she passed by Liu Mingyan on her way out. The uncontested most beautiful flower among the harem, there were few who could pass the woman by without glancing at her. Yingying herself did it almost instinctively and the two locked eyes. Even through the veil she normally wore, Mingyan’s expression appeared fierce.

“So it is him,” Mingyan said, more of a statement than a question.

“...Supposedly,” Yingying replied, with a small nod of her head. She hesitated before she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, please excuse me. I… I need to think.”

Mingyan gave a knowing nod, then turned to stare at the tower as the other woman left. She stood rigidly for several moments with narrowed eyes, then turned sharply on her heels. Her footsteps echoed loudly against the stone pathway before she too disappeared into the depths of the palace.

---

A strangled scream was all the sound the demon was able to make before his head split open like a watermelon, blood and gore splattering across the floor as bits of black hair - and two eyeballs - floated within the mess. Binghe watched impassively as what remained of his opponent fell backwards in a crumpled heap, his lifeless hand losing all strength so that his sword clattered noisily against the ground.

The ground was already covered with similar wreckage scattered across the massive cave, the floor and walls painted in macabre colors of gore. It was all that remained of the idiots who had dared to try and revolt against their demon lord. They hadn’t put nearly as much of a fight as they thought they would have, or perhaps they had simply underestimated how much their best efforts would mean against Lou Binghe.

Either way, it barely proved to be little more than a morning diversion for the demon king. And really, that’s all it was meant to be. Sha Hualing had to hand it to the foolish rabble rousers for putting in as much of a fight as they did - they managed to waste a good hour of Binghe’s time. It didn’t seem like much, but it should’ve been more than enough for a simple snatch and run. Any more than that, and it ran the risk of attracting the attention of others, such as this world’s Mobei-jun or even herself.

And while she had briefly entertained the idea of confronting herself and asking what the absolute hell she was thinking and how she had managed to screw up seducing her husband so badly, it was far too dangerous to actually consider. The morning’s activities had proved without a doubt that harem or no harem, Luo Binghe was still a monster.

Quite frankly, the sooner she got out of there, the better. She would just have to be discreet with her retreat or she’d never be able to make it to the rendezvous point. She even had to put in her own effort in suppressing the rebellion, much to their chagrin and confusion, lest the man become suspicious of her. She was only fortunate that none had found the time or wherewithal to actually expose her involvement in this little-

“You bitch! You treacherous bitch! You set us up to die!” came a squealing shriek of a former co-conspirator. The demon lay on the ground and used his upper arms to drag himself as he scrambled back in terror, away from the encroaching Luo Binghe. He left a trail of blood as he went, his shoulder wound bleeding profusely.

Shit. There it was.

Luo Binghe stopped short, and the tension in the air became palpable. Slowly, the demon king half-turned his head to stare at Sha Hualing with his right eye, the demand for an explanation making his eye blaze like a hot coal. The demon on the ground seemed to sense an opportunity to flee, but such folly was fleeting as the demon king responded by stomping down on his leg with a crunch, pinning the demon in place beneath his heel.

The demoness could feel her skin crawling under the man’s gaze, even as she tried - and failed - to school her expression into one of indifference. “Soon-to-be dead men will say the strangest things to keep themselves alive even a moment longer, won’t they, my lord?”

Binghe narrowed his eyes.

Sha Hualing grimaced. She knew that look - the ‘I absolutely don’t believe you’ look. Was she really that bad of a liar? Honestly, this demon lord shouldn’t have any reason to distrust her so utterly that he’d react this badly so quickly. Unless that was part of the reason why they weren’t engaged in coital bliss? What the hell had her alternate self done -

The only warning the demoness got was a blur of motion, and even then it wasn’t enough to dodge properly. If it wasn’t for Mobei-jun suddenly popping up an ice wall in front of her, she would have taken Zheng Yang right to the face. All the color drained from Sha Hualing as she stared at the sword stopped inches from her face by a sheet of ice, which had been cracked and splintered like glass. If the demon lord had attacked with the dark sword Xin Mo, she absolutely would have been without a head at that very moment.

Sha Hualing barely had a moment to wonder why he hadn’t used Xin Mo when Mobei-jun grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. The ice demon turned to meet the incredulous stare of Luo Binghe, greeting it with an impassive one of his own, before he yanked his colleague into the dark shadows behind them.

Luo Binghe could only gape in shock at what had happened, as both of his generals disappeared right in front of his face - colluding together. However, he didn’t have time to fully process it when a gathering of shadows appeared to his side, drawing his attention just in time to see…

…Mobei-jun emerging from them.

But rather than carrying Sha Hualing, he had Shang Qinghua. The ice demon was holding him with his right arm wrapped about the peak lord’s waist, allowing the human to dangle helplessly at his side. The smaller man was being carried so casually much like someone would carry a purse - never leaving home without it.

“My king, my king, wait-” Shang Qinghua was protesting helplessly, as he ever did, while the two emerged from the shadows. “You have no idea what you’re walking in on and-ah,” the man stopped at the sight of the incredulous Luo Binghe and swiftly schooled expression to a more reverent smile. “-My lord, how good to see you this fine-!” The little An Ding peak lord paused as he noticed the carnage around them, his face faulting slightly before he quickly recovered. An awkward chuckle escaped him. “W-well, you’ve certainly been busy this morning, my lord!”

When Binghe’s cheek twitched, the peak lord waved both of his hands in a calming gesture. “Y-you see, my king sensed someone with similar powers - one might say his exact powers, if one didn’t know any better - and he was so confused that he rushed to investigate, though I’m not quite sure why I had to come along but as always I-”

Mobei-jun cut off Shang Qinghua’s rambling with a squeeze of his arm, prompting the smaller man to squeak like a dog toy before going quiet. The ice demon was about to say something when he saw the earlier bloodied demon attempting to crawl away with his remaining good leg during the distraction. Mobei-jun swiftly gestured with his left hand towards the escaping conspirator, and a flurry of icicles ended any further escape attempts - or any movement at all, ever again.

With that taken care of, Mobei-jun frowned as he turned back to meet Binghe’s stare. “What happened?”

Luo Binghe gaped at the ice demon lord, who seemed completely oblivious to the betrayal that had just taken place. A mixture of emotions exploded across the demon lord’s face. Shock turned to confusion, before realization and understanding emerged. And when it did, too did unmitigated fury.

---

Luo Binghe was already at the rendezvous point, looking rather impatient. The little forest clearing was well out of the way of any nearby settlements, perfectly unassuming save for a large rock that the demon lord was standing close to. Shifting his weight from side to side as he kept his hand on Xin Mo’s handle, it was clear that the demon lord was ready to go. After all, he had a prize back home to enjoy, and a moment spent waiting here was a moment he could've spent acquainting himself with his new shizun. He was truly making the most noble of sacrifices.

No one could ever say he wasn’t a benevolent king.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait much longer, as the tell-tale sight of Mobei-jun slipping out of the shadows, a bedraggled Sha Hualing in tow, signaled his generals’ arrival. Sha Hualing collapsed to her knees on the ground as she panted for breath, then shot Mobei-jun an irritated scowl.

“You couldn’t have jumped in sooner?!” she demanded.

“No,” Mobei-jun said simply.

“I take it things got rather… heated at the end,” Binghe said, with a pleasant smile.

“He tried to take my head off!” Sha Hualing said as she made a slicing gesture at her throat. “He didn’t even hesitate! You’d think he at least owed me that much after he denied me even a glimpse of his naked body!”

Binghe gave a long, exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. “What can I say? It seems the ‘you’ of this world didn’t do a good job of earning his trust - or affections.”

Sha Hualing made an annoyed noise in the back of her throat as she got to her feet. Even though she knew they were both talking about a different Sha Hualing, it still felt like an insult that at least residually came back in her own face. It felt like spitting into the wind. “It is very obvious now that something is wrong with him. My lord husband is clearly the superior Luo Binghe.”

Luo Binghe gave a small nod before he paused. Sha Hualing barely had a moment to notice it and blink before her husband dashed forward, swinging Xin Mo about in a sidewards strike. The demoness let out a startled squawk as she dropped to the ground again just as the demon blade struck Zheng Yang, which had been about to cut her down from behind.

Blazing eyes locked, Binghe to Binghe, as the demon lords exchanged glares of absolute hatred. Sha Hualing scrambled back on all fours past her husband’s legs so that she could climb to her feet behind him. She was immediately greeted by the sight of a different Mobei-jun standing behind her not-husband.

…Still carrying Shang Qinghua like a human purse. The man seemed entirely used to it, his arms and legs dangling as he stared at her.

“Ah,” Shang Qinghua said, with an air of understanding. “So that’s how it is.”

“W-what…,” Sha Huangling began before she pointed accusingly at the human. “What is that rat doing here?! Where am I?!”

“How rude,” Shang Qinghua said with a huff and a click of his tongue. “I feel like between the two of us, we’re both equally-” The An Ding peak lord was cut short with a yelp when Mobei-jun flung his left hand forward, forming a black ice sword to block several icicles that had been aimed right at the human. Shang Qinghua let out a shriek as he tucked his arms and legs into his body defensively. “My king, save me!”

Mobei-jun’s expression darkened, which seemed a feat in and of itself, as he glared at the original ice demon. He pointed his frozen sword right at his doppelganger, who returned the gesture in kind.

Both Binghes ignored their servants around them as they pushed back against each other, immovable force meeting unstoppable object as their swords remained locked together.

“You…,” Bingmei seethed, his lips curled up in a snarl. “What have you done?”

Bingge let out a snort through his nose as his smirk returned. “What do you think? You are me, aren’t you? What would you have done?”

Bingmei bared his teeth as his eyes flared with hatred, shoving forward roughly so that their faces nearly touched. “If you harm even a single hair on my Shizun’s head-!”

“A bit late for that,” Bingge said, his smirk widening, as he kept his arms locked so that his other self couldn’t make any headway in pushing him back. “Didn’t your Shizun tell you? We met before, remember? Didn’t he tell you about what I did to him when we met for the first time, when he invaded my dream realm?” At the flash of confusion that flickered through Bingmei’s eyes, Bingge let out a sharp laugh. “I mistook him for my Shizun, and gave him a little taste of my usual hospitality. I mean, what could he have expected? Showing up with his arms and legs again after I went through the effort of tearing them off,” A dark, sinister glow appeared in the other Binghe’s eyes as he flashed his teeth. “I found out later that it couldn’t have been him trespassing in my dreams… because he was dead.”

Shock and horror flickered in Bingmei’s eyes before his rage flared up again, burning more brightly than it had before. Bingge couldn’t tell if it was because of the realization of what he had done to his shizun during their accidental meeting, or what he had done to his own shizun.

And quite frankly, that irritated him quite a bit.

“You greedy piece of shit,” Bingge snarled through gritted teeth. “You’ve already got your precious shizun, and you have the gall to care about mine too!?” He lifted his head to sneer at his counterpart. “Tell you what, we’ll trade! I’ll give you that corpse, nicely pickled in his jar, and you can fuss over that scum villain all you like!”

Bingmei let out a shriek of fury as he brought up his foot to kick Bingge solidly in the stomach. Bingge let out a hiss as he clenched his muscles in pain. It wasn’t much of a distraction, but still more than enough for Bingmei to fling him backwards, off his feet.

Bingge was able to recover quickly enough to block Bingmei’s second attack, grabbing the other demon lord’s fist and using the man’s own momentum against him so that he could fling him towards the ground. With their swords now free, he attempted to bring Xin Mo down in Bingmei’s back.

Bingmei anticipated the attack was coming and, from his position on the floor, swept his feet around to trip his counterpart. Bingge stumbled, momentarily disrupted, before Bingmei flew his foot upwards to kick the demon lord in the chin.

Bingge saw stars for a moment as he fell backwards, hitting the ground. He was promptly greeted by the hateful glare Bingmei gave him, crouched like a panther ready to strike.

“I will take both of them,” Bingmei hissed. “You don’t deserve either one.”

Bingge paused at that, his eyes widening, before his own anger came out in full force. He slammed his foot into Bingmei’s face. While he felt some satisfaction at the sound of a crunch and flash of blood, it wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

IT WASN’T ENOUGH!

Sha Hualing knew far better than to get involved with the two Binghes' fight. They could beat the shit out of each other for all she cared, as it at least kept their power away from everyone else. And while she certainly didn’t mind a good throw down, wasn’t the plan to not get entangled in a battle? Weren’t they supposed to be getting the hell out of here?!

The demoness glanced at Mobei-jun, who was exchanging blows with the other Mobei-jun, their ice swords flashing through the air as their faces were like mirror reflections of the other. The only way she could even tell them apart was due to one still holding the An Ding peak lord under his right arm, whose incessant wailing was grating as he was unceremoniously dragged along for the ride. The fact that the other Mobei-Jun was still holding the wretch, let alone him being there in the first place, was…

…Well, she didn’t even know what to begin to think about that.

Sha Hualing sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She was the only one left standing without a violence partner. Interfering with Luo Binghe was outright suicide and she got the distinct impression that helping Mobei-jun would not be appreciated. But standing around made her feel all the more useless.

Where the hell was her counterpart? By this point, she’d take just about anything-

The demoness flinched when Cheng Luan narrowly missed her head, the sword plunging right into the massive rock an inch from her face, splintering it. Her eyes darted over to where the sword had come from, only to see Liu Qingge land on his feet with the grace of a cat from where he had been flying in the air only moments before.

Why the hell was everyone trying to cut her head off this morning!?

The Bai Zhan peak lord yanked his hand back, summoning his blade back from the stone it had wedged itself in, before he took a more threatening posture. “Where is Shen Qingqiu!?” He paused momentarily when he noticed the two Binghes, or more specifically the fact there were two one of them, and widened his eyes. “Two!? There’s two of you!?”

Bingmei’s cheek twitched slightly. It was easy enough to guess what had happened - Ming Fang must have noticed Bingge kidnapping his shizun and, in his usual fashion, scurried off to report the activities to Bai Zhan peak. He couldn’t even imagine what the scene must have looked like.

Still, he couldn’t be too furious about it. For once, Ming Fang had accurately read the scene for what it was - even if the head disciple had thought it was him doing it. And with all the noise their battle was making, it was only natural that they’d draw attention to themselves.

Still, the arrival of Liu Qingge was like a splash of cold water on Bingge’s temper. This was precisely what he had wanted to avoid - a drawn out scene that attracted attention of others. He had lost his temper and, in turn, caused himself far more trouble than he meant to - than he knew better to.

Letting out a curse, Bingge immediately drew back, giving his counterpart one last parting shot in the form of a kick to his side, before he slashed the air with Xin Mo. It ripped open, darkness bursting out like a hemorrhaging wound.

“Go!” Bingge barked as he snatched Sha Hualing, wrapping an arm around her waist before he unceremoniously dragged her into the cut his sword had made in reality itself.

Mobei-jun understood instantly and drew back, even as his counterpart made to follow, and rushed into the hole before it closed.

The last thing Luo Binghe heard before reality healed itself was the howling shout of his other self at his sudden retreat. A vicious sneer slithered across his face as he hurried on back to his own world, leaving them with no way of following after him.

Let’s see who ends up without a single shizun now.

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu grunted as his eyes slowly came into focus, as if they had just remembered how to actually work. His body felt lethargic and his brain groggy, far more than he would have expected from just a little doze. It almost felt as if he had overslept, and his body was protesting in the most backwards way possible.

Reaching up to rub at his eyes with his hands, he wiped away the remnants of sleep that still lingered. Then, the peak lord slowly lowered his hands so that they rested on his cheeks, covering his mouth so that they caught his low sigh.

Something seemed off about the ceiling he was staring at. For one, it looked absolutely nothing like the ceiling of the bamboo house. It was far too ornate for a quaint little house in the middle of a bamboo forest, and more something he would have seen at a palace.

Shen Qingqiu paused as he furrowed his brow, then tilted his head slightly so that he could cast his gaze around the room. It wasn’t just the ceiling that looked off, as the rest of the room was ridiculously extravagant as well. The furniture looked very expensive - from the black armoire with golden landscapes engraved upon them, the sleek shelves filled with ornate decorations instead of scrolls or books, and even the lamps themselves appeared to be made out of solid gold. Every inch of the room screamed opulence.

And in doing so, screamed that he was absolutely not where he was supposed to be.

Shen Qinqiu jerked up with a start, then yelped when he nearly fell out of the bed, exposing his bare backside to the world. He quickly yanked the blanket back over the exposed peach, wrapping the cloth around his waist like a garment as he stumbled onto his feet.

With increasing alarm, he noted that his clothes were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a small table at the foot of the bed held black and red robes with golden trim, as well as matching additional garments needed to complete the set. They were absolutely not of his traditional Qing Jing Peak attire, and something more like…

…More like…

Shen Qingqiu bolted over to the window on the farside of the room, holding the blanket around himself with his left hand as his right threw open the red silky curtains. To his horror, the window couldn’t be fully opened, as it was outfitted with thick metal bars. Only light and a gentle breeze could come in through the window, and certainly nothing more could get out.

“System!” Shen Qingqiu choked out. “What is this - what is this - what is this!?”

[This is Huan Hua Palace.]

“This is…?” Shen Qingqui hesitated as he scanned the area outside his window. It looked like he was in the middle of a garden, with more palace structures going outwards all around him. He couldn’t place the location at all, as he had no memory of such a building at the Huan Hua Palace he knew.

It was then that the shizun noticed a huge gaggle of people who had suddenly gathered outside the window. Someone had apparently noticed him staring and was pointing him out, and others were moving to take a look for themselves. As the sight played out before him, Shen Qingqiu felt a chill travel along his spine.

No, it wasn’t a gaggle of people - it was a gaggle of wives.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes darted from face to face, noting each and every woman they came across. And with each face he recognized, his heart sank in his chest. There were even faces he knew shouldn’t have even been there, such as Qin Wanrong, who stood right beside her sister Qin Wanyue despite having been killed during the demon invasion of the Immortal Alliance Conference. The two stared up at him, even though one of them had died right in front of his horrified eyes.

Each flower he settled on was a flower he knew, a flower that had been a part of Luo Binghe’s harem - in Proud Immortal Demon Way.

Shen Qingqiu jerked the curtain back into place as he stepped away from the curtain, panic swelling up in his throat to the point he felt himself about to vomit. “System! Is this a penalty? Am I experiencing a penalty!?”

[No penalty has been issued.]

“Then why am I here!?” Shen Qingqiu demanded to know as he stood in the corner of the room, as if he thought hiding there would actually protect him from this nightmare. “This is… this is that world, isn’t it!?”

[Quest: My Shizun is currently active. Please do your best and enjoy your journey!]

“You… you said that quest was from Luo Binghe!” the shizun snapped before he paused, his eyes widening. “...Wait. You mean…”

[Luo Binghe is Luo Binghe.]

‘Luo Binghe is Luo Binghe’ MY ASS!!!

Shen Qingqiu grabbed the gold candlestick that was sitting on the nightstand by the bed and threw it at the floating screen, even though it flew right through it with no effect and clattered noisily against the ground.

“System, this isn’t fair!” Shen Qingqiu shouted as he continued to fling things - pillows, a hair brush, even a jade pin - at the little neon window. “System, you weren’t clear! You should have told me that quest was being issued by Bingge and not Bingmei!”

[Quest was issued by Luo Binghe. ‘Bingge’ is not recognized.]

“That’s just semantics, you’re arguing semantics with me!” the shizun protested. “You can’t tell me that they’re the same person! There is a fundamental difference -” He then paused as his chill returned, his hands frozen just as he was preparing to throw a little bonsai at the system, pot and all. “W-wait, does that… does that mean my success depends on Bingge’s satisfaction!?”

[That is correct.]

“You just said you didn’t recognize ‘Bingge’!” Shen Qingqiu barked. “And now you’re responding like you know exactly who I’m talking about! You tricked me, System! What about my satisfaction!? Doesn’t that count for anything!?”

[Please do your best, as failure will result in penalties.]

“What… what kind of penalties?” Shen Qingqiu asked, his voice faint. He had a very strong suspicion but he had to ask it anyway.

[ ( ಠ‿<) Luo Binghe will have two pots in his dungeon.]

The emoji didn’t help. It absolutely did - not - help.

Shen Qingqiu carefully placed the bonsai back on the shelf, then promptly dropped to his knees in the corner and pulled the blanket around him, forming a cocoon - an anti-Bingge cocoon.

“I need to think, I need to calm down and think,” Shen Qingqui hissed as he struggled to control his breathing. In that moment, he deeply regretted telling his Luo Binghe to get rid of the Xin Mo shards he had kept. The shizun had only ordered their disposal because he thought Bingge’s arrival was somehow related to them.

Clearly, that was wrong and now they had nothing to use to come after him. Perhaps they could have fixed the sword? Luo Binghe had repaired both Zheng Yang and Xiu Ya, after all. Or if that was too dangerous - and most likely was - they could have just used one of the larger shards to create a small knife. It didn’t need to be large, as it would’ve been too risky to use for battle given the other aspects of the sword, but surely it could have been safe to use for a small slice here and there?

“Surely… surely there must have been some gimmick, some rare herb or flower or ancient demon artifact or whatever, that Airplane-bro had come up with that could be used now?” the shizun muttered. “Airplane-bro! You can’t tell me that you didn’t consider some throwaway plotline where Bingge goes to another world to get a genderbent wife!? With all the other pandering you did, you can’t tell me that you didn’t consider a female Mobei-jun or Shen Qingqiu entering Bingge’s harem!”

…Unless that was what Xin Mo had been for?

Shen Qingqui let out a small whine as he gnashed his teeth, reaching up to grab his hair on the sides of his head. “If not, then you can at least bullshit something up, can’t you!? You’re still the author, aren’t you!? You can’t tell me that your powers of bullshitting have gone stale over the years! Airplane-bro, if you fail me, I will haunt you and strangle you every single night for the rest of your life!”

For now… for now, he would have to focus on doing everything he could to preserve his dignity - and other things - from Bingge. He had to focus on staying alive, and not failing the quest, until help arrived. Because it absolutely had to arrive.

Unfortunately, part of that meant getting dressed. Shen Qingqiu’s eyes moved to the table at the foot of the bed, where the clothes Bingge had picked out for him still sat. While the idea of wearing his colors made the shizun’s skin crawl, he knew being naked would have been far worse. It would have presented way too much temptation for the horny bastard.

Shen Qingqiu paused at that. But wait, why was that even a concern in the first place? Bingge had an entire harem - a massive harem. It wasn’t like his world where Binghe had rejected the whole damn harem to focus exclusively on his shizun. Bingge had an entire arsenal of women to choose from, and he was always adding more to it.

Bingge was a confirmed stallion novel protagonist, in every single way! Surely with a plethora of beautiful flowers to choose from, the stallion would have no interest in the random chrysanthemum that had mistakenly found its way into the garden? Surely Shen Qingqiu wasn’t in that kind of danger, at least in this world? Surely Bingge just wanted a shizun - a teacher?

…Surely?

And Shen Qingqiu had nearly convinced himself of that before a memory popped into his mind. The first was of Bingge groping his body, his fingers like magic against his usually insensitive skin, while the second reminded him of the original Binghe hungrily devouring his mouth to the point that it had left the shizun faint-headed from breathlessness. If he hadn’t realized it wasn’t his Binghe, if Bingmei hadn’t returned at just the right moment…

Shin Qingqiu pulled his lips tight into a grimace as he curled his fingers curled inward, a shudder crawling along his back.

Did he seriously turn two stallion protagonists gay!?

---

When Luo Binghe returned to Huan Hua Palace, he didn’t expect that he would be exchanging one scene of chaos for another. And yet that was precisely what had happened the moment he stepped back into his world, with Sha Hualing and Mobei-jun. An enormous crowd had formed in the garden, filled with a multitude of wives and servants alike, as they were all centered around one particular building - his shizun’s new cage.

The demon lord frowned as he craned his head to peer past the crowd, towards the tower itself. He immediately noted that the door looked to still be solidly locked, with no sign of tampering. With that concern out of the way, Binghe proceeded to walk towards the crowd with the air of someone who couldn’t be bothered with what was happening around him.

Sha Hualing sighed as she rubbed her forehead, then glanced at her demonic counterpart, noting the expression of pure disinterest on Mobei-jun’s face. She couldn’t blame him - they both knew exactly what was on the menu. The ice demon didn’t even have time for regular socialization, so he naturally had no tolerance for his sire’s ‘wife drama’.

And thankfully, he wasn’t expected to deal with it. She, on the other hand, couldn’t avoid it - not without risking her rank among the hoard of wives.

Clucking her tongue, the demoness followed after her husband, into the gaggle of geese who were clearly gawking at the newest edition of their demon king’s harem. And, more importantly, coming to grips with the fact that said entry was Shen Qingqiu.

Little Palace Mistress was the first to spot Luo Binghe, and whirled angrily to face him. “Husband! Husband!” she shouted, her voice booming through the garden. The rest of the crowd stopped and turned to stare at them, with bated breath. “What is the meaning of this!?”

“It’s a small tower,” Luo Binghe said, with a smile. “Remember? The first floor is a tea room, the second a bedroom, and the third a washroom. It’s a rather nice little cage for a graceful little bird - a crane, to be specific.” He spoke so calmly, so casually, that it was as if he didn’t notice - or care - about her fury. And that was most likely precisely the case.

“You didn’t say it was for that… that creature!” Little Palace Master seethed as she clenched her whip in her hands and pulled it tightly. She would never dare use it on her husband, not even in an attempt to intimidate him, but she was greatly enjoying visualizing herself using it on the man whose name she had been called during a deeply personal moment. “How is he not dead!? Why is he not dead!?”

“Oh, that’s because I haven’t killed this one,” Luo Binghe said with a small shrug. He then flashed the woman a sharp smile. “And assuming he behaves, I won’t have to.”

Little Palace Mistress froze at that, a blank look of incomprehension on her face. “What?”

Binghe moved past the dumbstruck woman, approaching the tower. He reached into his pocket to pull out the key. It was just as much for Shen Qingqiu’s protection as it was for securing his cage - his wives could be pretty spirited at times. He stopped when he noticed Liu Mingyan, his veiled beauty approaching him with accusations of her own burning in her sharp eyes. Even in her anger, she was absolutely gorgeous - despite the veil hiding half of it.

“That man,” she began as she pointed up at the window that had been built into the second floor. “That man that killed my brother-”

“-Is still dead,” Binghe interrupted, causing her to stop short with her words caught on her tongue. “This man comes from a world where your brother is still alive. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

This time, it was Liu Mingyan’s turn to look like she had been struck dumb, too numb to move. She gaped at Luo Binghe, her brow furrowing as she searched his face for any sign of deception.

“It’s true,” Sha Hualing growled as she placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin haughtily. “That bastard brother of yours even tried to attack me, while searching for that Shen Qingqiu up there!” She gestured with her chin towards the tower, earning her a shocked stare from Liu Mingyan. “He was trying to protect him!” It wasn’t so much that she was interested in soothing the other woman’s fears, but more venting her frustrations at her. And if the idea of Shen Qingqiu being alive was odious for one of her greatest rivals, surely the knowledge that the live version of her dead brother had tried to protect him would make it twice as vile a pill to swallow.

Rule number one of inter-wife-wars - take your punches when given the chance!

Liu Mingyan stood rigid in place, as if she had been hit by lightning. Dazed, she stepped back slightly as she glanced between the demoness and Luo Binghe, her mind struggling to process what she was hearing. Around her, the other wives began to murmur amongst themselves as the servants kept quiet, knowing they had no place in the discussion.

Sensing a lull in the storm, Binghe took the opportunity to slip inside the tower, shutting the door firmly behind him. The demon lord reached back to lock the door and sighed. He fully anticipated the drama, and knew full well it wasn’t over. There was one person in particular he wasn’t looking forward to having to explain things to, but he’d deal with her no differently than he’d deal with all the others.

Besides, it really wasn’t up to any of them, was it? What he wanted, he got, and everyone else would have to accept it.

Even the shizun would have to accept it.

Binghe paused when he suddenly heard the sounds of movement - hurried footsteps - and glanced upwards to the ceiling that separated the first floor from the second. A small smirk appeared on his face.

Speaking of - it seemed his new shizun was awake.

Binghe made his way up the stairs to the second floor, his movements slow and purposeful like a stalking lion. When he finally got up to the bedroom, he stopped and glanced around for any sign of his guest.

Instead, he saw a room in disarray. Knickknacks and other items were scattered across the floor and Shen Qingqiu was no longer resting on the bed. And for that matter, neither were the blankets or sheets that had once decorated it. Even the blanket he had brought the shizun in was gone.

Instead, he found them all curled up in a massive bundle in the corner, into a tight ball. A ball that was twitching ever so slightly.

Luo Binghe’s expression facefaulted. If it could have been seen by onlookers, it could sufficiently be described as ‘what the hell am I looking at’. The demon king blinked slowly before he made his way over to the bundle in the corner, the anti-Bingge cocoon that he surmised his shizun had decided to create from any fabric not nailed down. Even the curtains had been removed from their rods, adding extra layers of ‘protection’.

As he passed the bed, Binghe glanced over to confirm that the clothes he had left out for the shizun were gone. Seeing that, he couldn’t help but grin in satisfaction before he turned his attention to his prey.

“Shizun~?” he called out, noting with pleasure the way the bundle trembled. He leaned forward and began peeling away the layers, like opening a present neatly wrapped for him. “Shizun? Shiiizunnnn~!”

For all the layers of blankets he had to pry back, it didn’t take long to find the body within them. To his credit, Shen Qingqiu had the grace to look absolutely mortified at his panicked behavior. Once exposed to the demon lord’s eyes, he quickly got up and straightened himself out, covering his face with the lovely black and gold fan the demon lord had picked out for him.

“Erm, well, hum,” Shen Qingqiu began as he tried to think of what to say, before deciding to say nothing and instead fluttering the fan slightly. If nothing else, he intended to try and recover at least some face he had lost just then in his moment of hysteria. “Hm.”

“Good morning, Shizun,” Bingge purred as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, effectively boxing the man in. He would either have to dash through the demon lord - dangerous - or crawl over the bed - even more dangerous - to get past.

Shen Qingqiu made a small noise of acknowledgement, his fan moving faster.

“You look fantastic this morning,” Bingge continued as he uncrossed his arms so that he could reach over to twirl one of the peak lord’s long locks of black hair around his right pointer finger. He noted with satisfaction the way the man flinched, and brought the lock of hair up to his lips. “My colors suit you very well.”

[+50 satisfaction points!]

Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He had anticipated the comment, but it still made his skin crawl. And the System awarding him with points didn’t help. It only served to remind him that, as far as this quest was concerned, he was answering to Bingge instead of Bingmei.  “...So, it is you. You came back.”

Bingge’s lips curled up into a smile. “I did.”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what to say to that, what he should say to that. It wasn’t so simple as putting up a resistance - not when his survival depended so heavily on not pushing too many buttons. He needed to make sure there was something for Bingmei to save. And that meant a balancing act between keeping his arms and legs where they were, and keeping other things out.

Bingge ran his eyes over Shen Qingqiu’s body, taking in the sight fully, before his eyes went back up to the top of the man’s head. “Ah, but it seems you’re not quite done, are you?”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that. “What?”

Bingge made a ‘come hither’ gesture to the man as he headed over to the vanity on the other side of the room. The peak lord hesitated only a moment before he forced his legs to follow, even as every inch of him screamed against it. Under the demon lord’s guidance, he sat down on the little stool in front of the vanity and stared at his own reflection in the mirror.

It was through the mirror that Shen Qingqiu watched as Bingge grabbed a brush and began running it through his long, silken hair. The shizun stiffened but otherwise suppressed his reactions, watching as the demon lord brushed his hair with a tenderness and fascination that he wouldn’t have expected and certainly didn’t understand.

It lasted for several long moments, with Shen Qingqiu indulgent of Bingge seemingly playing with his hair. Simply speaking, the peak lord didn’t dare not to allow it. Finally, the demon lord appeared to be satisfied, and he reached over to set down the brush before opening a large jewelry box - itself covered in jewels - to pull out a coronet.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened as he watched it pass his peripheral vision, not daring to move his head to watch it go by. The little hair ornament was far, far too extravagant for a peak lord, made of fine gold decorated in rubies. He watched in stunned silence as the demon lord placed it in his hair, fastening it in properly before attaching long red ribbons to the headpiece so that they dangled down elegantly.

“There,” Bingge said as he moved his hands forward to cup the peak lord’s cheeks. He pressed lightly, ever so lightly, as he ran his thumbs along the man’s cheek bones. “You look absolutely stunning, Shizun.”

Shen Qingqiu swallowed hard, watching Bingge’s expression as the demon lord in turn watched his own. After a moment, he furrowed his brow. “This master is…”

“Just one more small thing and we’ll be done~!” Bingge said as he reached back into the jewelry box. The shizun followed the man’s movements with his eyes, then froze.

The original Binghe took out an accessory, made of gold and what appeared to be red coiled fabric, but the peak lord knew precisely what it was. It was a collar made out of Immortal-binding ropes. The cords looped around in a circle, connected by a steel metal strip with a lock, the key sticking out of it.

Shen Qingqiu wanted to run, scream, resist, do anything to avoid that collar being placed on him, but he knew far better than to do any of that. Not unless he wanted the offending limbs removed, or his neck snapped, at any rate. All he could do was stiffen and watch in horror as the demon lord carefully slipped the accessory around his neck before locking it with a snap of his wrist, pocketing the key with swift movements.

And with that, all of the peak lord’s qi was suppressed.

The shizun swallowed hard, the action only making him all the more aware of his new accessory, but he wasn’t able to dwell on it for too long before he was jarred from his thoughts by Bingge giving both of his cheeks a light pat.

“Your turn, shizun,” Bingge chirped, a bright smile on his face. He reached over to grab the brush from where he had left it and put it in Shen Qingqiu’s numb hand before he turned around and flopped into a seated position right on the floor. “It’s only fair you do this disciple’s hair after he did yours~!”

Shen Qingqiu turned around slowly so that he could stare down at Bingge. The sight of a demon lord sitting on the ground like a child felt too utterly ridiculous. He blinked slowly before he realized the man was waiting, his back twitching with impatience. Reluctantly, he reached down to remove the hairband from the other man’s hair, freeing his wild locks from their confinement so that they flowed freely into the shizun’s lap.

When the peak lord reached over to do the same to the small braid, Binghe’s hand snapped up to grab his wrist. The grip was tight, almost painfully so, like a vice. It made Shen Qingqiu stiffen, his eyes widening in shock.

“What are you doing,” Binghe asked, his voice sharp.

“I… this master was going to brush your hair, as you requested,” Shen Qingqiu said, choosing his words carefully. He couldn’t tell what the problem was, but he knew he needed to be careful. “How can I do so if I cannot remove your braid?”

“This braid was a precious gift from Shizun,” Binghe said. “Will Shizun replace it if he takes it apart?”

Shen Qingqiu stared down at Binghe in shock. He hadn’t thought much of the plait at the time, but hearing the demon king’s words, it suddenly dawned on him that the plait was the very same one he had given Bingge when he thought he was tending to his own Binghe. He had truly kept it that long, after all this time!?

After a long pause, the shizun gave a small nod. “If… if this disciple wishes.”

“He does,” Bingge replied.

After another moment of silence, the demon king finally released his grip on his captive’s wrist, lowering his hand back down to his lap. Shen Qingqiu didn’t dare move at first, waiting to see if Bingge would change his mind. When he saw the demon king begin to relax, only then did he dare remove the braid he had created during their second meeting.

The hair had grown a bit curly, more so than the rest of the hair, thanks to being trapped in the braid for so long. It took several attempts of the brush to soothe the curls, smoothing them out until they matched the rest of Binghe’s luxurious locks. He did his best to ignore the steady stream of points he was getting from the System, the notification ringing more than a little annoying in his head. He didn’t see what part of his actions merited such rewards, but he obviously wouldn’t turn them down.

He might end up needing to spend them to save his own ass, after all.

As the shizun worked, he felt Bingge lean backwards, placing his back against the other man’s knees. It was a strange little gesture, one that caught Shen Qingqiu by surprise. It was almost as if the original Binghe was actively seeking contact, seeking touch of some kind from the peak lord.

If he didn’t know any better, he would think that Bingge was touch-starved, like he was desperate for positive attention. But that couldn’t possibly be the case. He had a harem, for goodness sake! There were so many women willing to give him all the positive attention he wanted, and then some! They practically threw themselves at his feet, and on other parts of his body. What could this man possibly want from him that they couldn’t give him?

Shen Qingqiu mentally sighed as he tried to focus on the task in front of him. He made certain to be thorough, so that the demon lord wouldn’t think he was trying to rush through the task given to him. Besides, Bingge seemed to be enjoying the attention, if the flurry of point notifications were anything to go by. If he could keep the horny man satisfied with such chaste attention, he was more than willing to do it.

Each moment he managed to avoid even the hint of ‘PAPAPA’ was a moment closer to his rescue, his chastity intact.

…Not that Bingmei had allowed for any chastity to remain in his shizun to begin with but that was beside the point.

Once Shen Qingqiu was satisfied, or at least felt certain that his captor was satisfied, he set about creating a new little plait in Bingge’s hair. He placed it on the other side of the demon lord’s head this time, allowing the hair on the original side a chance to recover after its prolonged captivity as a fashion statement. After he was done, he fastened the rest of the man’s mane with the hair tie and tilted his head to look over his work.

“There,” Shen Qingqiu said with a nod. “I believe that should do it.”

Bingge reached up his hand to touch the new braid in his hair. He was silent for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face. However, before he could say anything, a loud gurgling noise interrupted. The demon lord paused as his eyebrows shot straight up while he felt Shen Qingqiu stiffen behind him.

Bingge slowly glanced over his shoulder to look at Shen Qingqiu, who looked absolutely aghast as he sat rigidly on the stool. His stomach repeated the gurgling noise again, confirming it to be the source of the sound, much to his chagrin. His face started to turn red under the demon lord’s stare and he swiftly replaced the brush with his fan, which he snapped open to hide his face.

The original Luo Binghe blinked once, twice, before he burst out laughing. The sound was uproarious, his entire body quaking as he slapped his right knee with the same-sided hand. The sight and sound of the demon king laughing at him only prompted the shizun’s face to turn ever brighter, the blush reaching to his ears.

Bingge finally settled down to a chuckle as he reached up to wipe at his eyes with his left hand, the other gripping his knee tightly. “It sounds like my Shizun is hungry, hm~? There wasn’t much time for you to have breakfast before your trip, was there?”

“I… I have simply grown accustomed to eating with-,” Shen Qingqiu began before he stopped himself before he could finish referring to his Luo Binghe. “-to eating, that’s all. But I.. should still be able to practice inedia in my… current state, so you needn’t concern yourself with-”

Bingge stood up sharply, startling the shizun so that he jumped slightly in his place on the stool. Shen Qingqiu stared at the demon lord, who had a particularly intense expression on his face, and he immediately understood. The stallion protagonist reserved his cooking only for his chosen harem, and certainly would never cook for a scum villain - even a different world’s scum villain.

“I meant no harm,” Shen Qingqiu began quickly, attempting to soothe Bingge’s temper before it could get out of control. “I certainly never intended to imply that I expected you-”

“Let us have breakfast, Shizun,” Bingge said, with a bright smile. It took the peak lord completely off guard, causing him to stop and gape at the other man. The smile then took on a rather pointed appearance as it widened across his face. “Together.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes darted around the demon lord’s face, searching for any sign of deception. Was this a trick? Was he being baited? What was happening? This Binghe was way too mercurial in his moods, it was almost impossible to tell what he was thinking!

After a pregnant pause, the shizun lowered his head slightly as he chose his words very carefully. “If… this disciple is truly inclined and it pleases you, this master will not reject your kind offer. Otherwise, if proves to be too much of an imposition, then please forget this conversation and this master will-”

“I believe congee will be best for settling your stomach, Shizun,” Bingge said, with exceeding cheer. He didn’t even allow the shizun to finish, tossing the second part of his answer out of hand without any consideration, leaving Shen Qingqiu more than a little flustered. “Please look forward to it.”

“Ah, yes,” Shen Qingqiu said, slowly. “T-thank you.”

The peak lord could only watch helplessly as the original Binghe turned sharply on his heels and left, like a strong gust of wind blasting through a field. Within seconds, he was gone and the sound of a door slamming shut signaled his swift departure from the tower.

Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He assumed he had answered correctly, given Bingge’s reaction. At the very least, he hadn’t answered incorrectly. But the idea of him eating the true stallion novel protagonist’s cooking filled him with a sense of sinfulness, as if he were stealing something he had no right to. He had felt the same when Bingmei had first cooked for him, but now Bingge was offering to do the same? When he actually had a harem to cook for!? What the hell was he supposed to make of that!?

But at least he didn’t have to worry about Bingge trying to feed him his blood. The peak lord already had Bingmei’s blood in his body, and they both seemed able to control the blood mites, which implied them unable to tell the difference between the two Luo Binghe. That meant there was no incentive to add the extra seasoning to his meals, as it wouldn’t have gained him anything new. It should be fine.

…Right?

Chapter Text

When Bingge had mentioned congee to 'settle his stomach', Shen Qingqiu had expected something rather basic from his captor. Frankly, he expected watery-gruel at best, perhaps as a passive-aggressive snipe at the man’s audacity to expect to actually be fed by the Luo Binghe. But the bowl of congee placed in front of him on the little table in the tea room was anything but basic. Topped with diced green onions and cilantro, and a soft-boiled egg placed tenderly right in the center, it was clear that his captor had opted not to skimp in the kitchen. There was even a small plate of crispy fried dough treats on the side, as if his appetite needed further enticement.

Bingge must have seen the way the shizun’s eyes had lit up at the breakfast before him, because couldn’t possibly have looked any more smug. He had his own bowl in front of him, but he was clearly far more interested in Shen Qingqiu and his breakfast. “Well, Shizun. Have a taste~!”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t need much further encouragement, not with the way his stomach growled in demand. He grabbed his spoon with his right hand, practically drooling, before he lifted his bowl with his left and moved to take a bite.

Sure enough, just like Bingmei’s cooking, the food was nothing less than a symphony for his taste buds. Whether it be Bingmei or Bingge, there was absolutely nothing like the cooking of the Luo Binghe.

A small flicker of shame filled the shizun, even as he couldn’t stop himself from eating. He almost felt like he was cheating on his husband by tasting this other original Binghe’s food. Even if it was only to avoid any penalties before his Binghe was able to rescue him. While he had certainly eaten food others have cooked before, he couldn’t deny that there was added context in this situation that added a sense of wrongness to it all.

“I’m so sorry, please forgive your master, Binghe,” he thought, even as he savored each bite with ravenous hunger, unable to stop himself. “I’ll make it up to you, I swear! I’ll let you do this and that, and maybe some of that too - well, probably not that - but… just forgive your master for this transgression…”

[+200 satisfaction points!]

Shen Qingqiu nearly jumped at the notification. Thankfully he had just swallowed or he surely would have choked. He looked over the table to see Bingge watching him with a lazy grin on his face, his chin propped up with the back of his left hand as he rested his elbow on the table. It was easy to tell that he was enjoying the shizun’s reaction to his cooking, even without the sudden notification. The peak lord’s cheeks tinted under the intense scrutiny.

Bingge’s grin widened before he reached over to wipe a kernel of rice that had stuck to Shen Qingqiu’s cheek. “It seems Shizun really likes my cooking.”

Shen Qingqiu’s blush deepened, even more so when the demon lord opted to eat the piece of rice he removed from the shizun’s face, licking it off his finger very purposely. What the hell! Was he not even allowed to eat without being flirted with!? This stallion protagonist was dangerous!

“This master greatly appreciates the gift that has been bestowed upon him,” Shen Qingqiu said carefully. “Truly, every meal must be a grand treat for your wives.”

Bingge made a small sound of agreement, though his smile became rather wry. His wives had seen him off to cook for Shen Qingqiu, and their reaction was to be expected. With so many women now in his harem, cooking for each of them every day was logistically impossible. Spending time alone with them required advanced scheduling, to speak nothing of personalized meals. So, naturally, seeing the debauched and dishonored shizun receive such a rare honor caused quite a stir.  “Speaking of.”

Shen Qingqiu felt a sudden sense of dread, though he wasn’t entirely certain why. “Yes?”

“They’re very eager to meet you,” Binghe said as he laced his fingers together. There was a slight edge in his voice as his cheek twitched ever-so-slightly. “ Very eager.”

Shen Qingqiu furrowed his brow. “Who?”

“The rest of my harem,” Bingge said.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened at that. What? The rest of his harem? Emphasis on rest? Did that mean what he thought it meant!?

“I had initially planned on taking my time integrating you with the others,” Bingge said as he tilted his head to the side. “After all, having a husband suddenly enter my harem… I’m sure they’d find it to be quite a shock. It has to be done carefully.”

What? Husband!? Whose husband!? What!? When!?

The way Bingge was talking, Shen Qingqiu was already part of his harem! When did that happen? Was it the food? Had it been some kind of engagement breakfast and he hadn’t been warned about it!? Shouldn’t he be included in these kinds of decisions!?

“So, after we’ve finished breakfast,” Bingge continued, either not noticing or pretending to ignore the array of emotions flashing across the shizun’s face. “I’ll be arranging some meetings - small groups, of course. To keep it manageable. ”

Manageable? More like an absolute disaster.

Shen Qingqiu felt like he was going to be sick. He wouldn’t have been thrilled about being paraded around a bunch of people to begin with, let alone in front of alternate versions of people he actually knew. Even worse, knowing what he knew about the plot of Proud Immortal Demon Way and the relationships the original scum villain had to these people, the very idea of having to endure their scrutiny made his skin crawl. It was like being punished, judged, for things he wasn’t even guilty of! More than that, with hundreds of women in the bastard’s harem, his little ‘meet-and-greet’ would take…

…It would quite literally take all day.

All. Day.

Shen Qingqiu paused at that, eyes widening. The sheer amount of wives in Bingge’s harem ensured that, even if divided into groups, the entire affair would take hours. That meant hours of Shen Qingqiu and Bingge surrounded by women, never alone. They would have no more time to themselves.

And such, no time for anything untoward to happen.

Mentally, Shen Qingqiu could visualize himself clasping his hands together in prayer as tears trailed down his cheeks. “Thank you, System, thank you,” he mentally sobbed. “For this mercy you have bestowed upon me.”

Outwardly, the peak lord kept his expression calm, almost serene. “Well, then. I will place myself in your care and follow your lead.”

“Oh, believe me, Shizun,” Bingge said, with a brilliant smile. “I will take very good care of you.”

---

What. The fuck. System.

Shen Qingqiu did his best to keep his expression neutral as he sat on a seat cushion at the tea table on the first floor, the perfect image of grace and serenity.

Inwardly, he was flailing around in a fit of rage.

When the original Luo Binghe had said he would separate the wives in groups, he had assumed he would be able to manage the drama by spreading it out. Instead, for the very first group of the day, he had Ning Yingying sitting to his right, Liu Mingyan to his left, and the Little Palace Mistress straight across from him. Even more, two out of the three were staring at him with open hostility.

“You sure this isn’t enough, System?” Shen Qingqiu demanded, mentally. “You may as well have thrown Qiu Haitang in for good measure! Why settle for seventy-five percent when you can score full marks!”

Bingge was reclining on the sofa behind them, seemingly enjoying the view as he looked far too comfortable with what he had just unleashed on the shizun. In fact, if Shen Qingqiu didn’t know any better, he’d think the demon lord was looking forward to it.

…No, no. Bingge was definitely looking forward to it.

Shen Qingqiu let out a soft sigh through his nose as he closed his eyes, fanning himself slightly. He couldn’t begin to imagine how to start this little session, and wasn’t entirely certain if the burden should be his to begin with. Even if this was presented as a meet-and-greet, at its very core, it was a confrontation.

He certainly couldn’t blame the women for that. While he was a complete victim in this circumstance and had no choice in the matter, that didn’t change the fact that this whole situation was absolutely absurd. And even after everything was said and done, they all must have been acutely aware that their thoughts, feelings, and protests meant very little at the end of the day. In Proud Immortal Demon’s Way, what Luo Binghe wanted, Luo Binghe got. That was just the way of Zhongdian literature - only the protagonist mattered, and everyone else was either conquest or cannon fodder.

In a way, the poor girls were expressing the only power they had over the situation, meager as it was. He couldn’t help but sympathize with them, especially given that he himself was in the exact same situation. But unlike them, he had his own Binghe, who was no doubt beside himself with worry and actively seeking a way to rescue him - in whatever means necessary.

In contrast, this was their entire life and always would be.

Shen Qingiu’s expression softened as he looked down at the table pensively, his eyes half-lidded. He was so lost in his thoughts that he had briefly forgotten that he had several pairs of eyes staring at him, from all angles.

Briefly.

The Little Palace Mistress slammed her hands on the table, startling the shizun out of his thoughts. The peak lord quickly schooled his features, using his fan to hide the small smirk that had appeared on his face. Leave it to the little princess of Huan Hua Palace to be the first to go. She always had to be first, even if just in her own mind. It was that spoiled mentality that made her a terror of the harem.

And it seemed that mentality was still going strong, as she felt the need to be involved despite being the one with the least amount of grudge against the peak lord - at least in this world. Her desire to be first and foremost was most likely the reason she was even in this group to begin with, despite her lack of involvement with the scum villain Shen Qingqiu.

After all, what would people think if she wasn’t absolutely involved with everything?

“You!” the Little Palace Mistress barked as she pointed a well-manicured finger in the shizun’s face. “How dare you!”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that and blinked. His eyes darted from Ning Yingying to Liu Mingyan before returning to the princess in front of him, who seemed to be seething with a rage that could only be described as deeply personal. “...Pardon?”

“You dare show your face, after everything you’ve done!?” the Little Palace Mistress seethed. “My palace, my garden, my… my…!” She couldn’t even begin to bring herself to say it. There was no way she could ever vocalize the shame of having this man’s name called out while she and Luo Binghe had been engaged so intimately!

Shen Qingqiu furrowed his brow. He had no idea what she was trying to get at with the last bit, but the first two seemed to be complaining about his current living arrangements - which he had no choice in. What was going through her brain that made her think he had wanted any of this? Or was he just a safe target because she didn’t dare focus her ire on the man actually responsible?

Slowly, the peak lord arched an eyebrow. “...I apologize for being kidnapped?”

A snort of laughter behind Shen Qingqiu told him that the demon lord had found his response funny. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one, as the Little Palace Mistress’ face turned several shades of red.

“Bingheeeeee!” she let out a high-pitched whine, even as she suddenly pulled out her iron whip from goodness knows where among her pink robes.

Bingge struggled to get his snickers under control even as he gestured his right hand at the woman to calm down. “Sit down and put that thing away. Remember? No whips.”

Shen Qingqiu sat up rigid as his eyebrows shot straight up, while the Little Palace Mistress puffed her cheeks out in a sulk like a chipmunk before she flopped back down on her tea cushion with a huff. She shot the peak lord a glare that promised him a painful future at her first opportunity.

The shizun grimaced as he found himself wondering how Bingge was able to tolerate such a little brat. Bingmei didn’t even bother, regaling the girl to little more than a prisoner in her former palace. But this version had full run of everything, including the harem, when Bingge wasn’t directly involved. Was the sex really that good?

He really couldn’t imagine it. The sex to crazy ratio seemed far too skewed - in the wrong direction.

“Shen Qingqiu.”

The peak lord paused and turned to look at Liu Mingyan, who was staring at him sharply. There was a harshness in that gaze that didn’t really befit the world’s foremost beauty, but in that moment, it struck Shen Qingqiu just how ‘Qingge’-like it was. They truly were siblings after all.

“I have been told,” Liu Mingyan began slowly. He couldn’t tell if it was because she was trying to find her words or found them painful to say, or perhaps both. Regardless, the topic seemed a bit difficult to approach, but approach it she would. “I have been told that in your world, my brother is alive.”

And there she went, stabbing right at the heart of the matter!

“Yes,” Shen Qingqiu replied, evenly. He acted as if he had no clue what she was about to get at, but he knew! He knew far better than anyone else! “Liu-shidi is alive and well.”

Liu Mingyan’s eyebrows shot straight up at that. “Liu… shidi!?”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, with a small smile on his face. “Yes, he is my shidi, after all.”

Liu Mingyan stared at the man who had the face of her brother’s murderer, who in turn was so casually referring to that same brother in an affectionate and familiar fashion. Even more, there didn’t seem to be even an ounce of hatred or deception - only warmth that felt completely foreign, should have been completely foreign, on his face.

After a moment more of silence, the willow of the harem straightened up. She fixed Shen Qingqiu with a stare as she seemed to compose herself once more.

“In my world, in this world, my brother is dead,” Liu Mingyan said, her voice forcibly even. When the shizun visibly paused, she held his gaze. “He was murdered. By you,” She didn’t give the man a chance to respond, slamming her hands on the table. “Shen Qingqiu took advantage of him while he was cultivating in Ling Xi Caves and killed him. He killed your shidi.”

Shen Qingqiu kept his expression neutral as he mulled over what the woman was saying. He already knew the accusations, quite deeply. In fact, he had believed those accusations himself, as did the multitude of fans who had devoured the original story. And even then, he still didn’t entirely dis believe them, either. From what he had seen of the original Shen Qingqiu’s memories, it muddied the waters far too much for him to say definitively one way or another what had actually happened.

But in the end, it didn’t matter, did it? He was there, and the man was not, and she was seeking answers from someone who couldn’t give them.

“You don’t look too surprised, Shizun,” Bingge’s voice cut in, cutting through the peak lord’s thoughts. When Shen Qingqiu turned to stare at him, the demon lord tilted his head. “Why is that?”

Damn it. Binghe always caught him off-guard with how perceptive he was. It seemed that fact applied to both of them. And much like Bingmei, Bingge seemed to share the same trait of using that insight when it suited him.

“I… cannot speak for this world’s Shen Qingqiu,” he said as he turned back around to the tea table, looking down. “But I did have an encounter of my own with Liu-shidi in the Ling Xi Caves.”

“You did!?” Liu Mingyan promptly stood up, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

“I entered the caves to meditate when I came across your brother in the midst of a qi deviation,” Shen Qingqiu said. “I went to aid him and he… well,” the shizun paused, then let out an awkward chuckle. “He did not make it easy for me. He was unable to control himself, attacking indiscriminately,” Shen Qingqiu gave a twirling gesture with his fan before he turned to meet Liu Mingyan’s stare. “I was able to save him, thankfully. But it occurs to me that I could have just as easily failed, and killed him in the process. If that had happened, then perhaps… in my world, your other self would be saying the exact same things about me at this very moment.”

Liu Mingyan opened her mouth to speak, then stopped and snapped her jaw shut with an audible click.

“Please keep in mind that this is merely my own experience,” Shen Qingqiu said as he lifted his free hand in a warding gesture. “As I said, I cannot speak for the Shen Qingqiu of this world, only myself. And in the end, he cannot speak for himself, either. Neither can your brother. Only Ling Xi Caves knows the truth.”

Liu Mingyan didn’t seem to be listening anymore. She sat down slowly, staring down at the tea table in front of them. Her expression made it impossible to tell what she was thinking, but at the very least she didn’t seem hostile anymore.

Unlike the Little Palace Mistress, who looked about ready to consider a career as a Skinner Demon as she visualized herself stripping every inch of skin off Shen Qingqiu’s body.

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t see it, but Luo Binghe had a rather interesting expression on his face as well. However, the demon lord did a better job of hiding it, instead playing with a button on his robes with an air of boredom.

With two out of the three done, the only one left was Ning Yingying. And judging by the way the girl was fidgeting and staring down at the table, it was clear that she was struggling with even being there, let alone approaching the subject that had been on her mind.

Shen Qingqiu’s expression softened as he looked at the uncomfortable girl. One of the sins that had condemned the original Shen Qingqiu was his intentions towards his precious disciple, Ning Yingying. He had been one of the massive chorus screaming for the man’s castration when the accusations first arose in the story.

Which made it all the more awkward when he had first transmigrated into the very scum villain he had advocated mutilation for.

Regardless, what memories he had access to of the original goods showed nothing when it came to those impure intentions towards the young girl under his care. But, that didn’t mean he could definitively say that there weren’t any, and so as with everything that came to the original, he was left with unclear answers. Despite actively living in this body for years, he still felt like he understood very little about the soul that had once occupied it.

“Yingying,” Shen Qingqiu said softly. When the young woman twitched and looked up to gape at him, the peak lord offered her a gentle smile. “You don’t need to force yourself to do anything you are not comfortable doing.”

Ning Yingying stared at Shen Qingqiu, her eyes wide. He felt so warm, so comforting. And unlike the others, who had never experienced such warmth from the man who shared his face, it felt downright nostalgic to the former disciple. It hadn’t been quite so vivid, so obvious ; the smile had been far more subtle and easy to miss, but still equally warm and indulgent. Like a secret smile that had been expressly for her.

Yingying felt like she couldn’t breathe, her heart in a vice.

Shen Qingqiu frowned slightly, as it seemed like the girl’s distress had increased rather than decreased. Before he could comment on it, however, a loud bang at the door made everyone in the room stop and turn to stare.

There was muffled shouting outside the door, a woman’s voice overwrought with hysteria. Sha Hualing’s voice could be heard as well, even yet firm, but the shrieking was having none of it.

It was then that Shen Qingqiu realized he recognized the voice, tears and all, and visibly blanched. “System! System, when I suggested you go for full marks, I was just making an observation! You didn’t need to actually take it into consideration!”

It was Qiu Haitang.

Bingge looked more than a little annoyed before he schooled his expression into something more neutral. He got up and moved to grab the shizun’s shoulder with his right hand, making the man jump at the tight squeeze and turn to meet the demon lord’s stare. “Stay here, don’t move.”

Stunned at the command, Shen Qingqiu could only give a small nod of acknowledgement.

Bingge released the shizun’s shoulder before he moved around the tea table, heading for the door. He stopped briefly to glance down at the Little Palace Mistress, who was glaring holes into Shen Qingqiu still. He reached down to pick her up, unceremoniously flinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

The Little Palace Mistress squawked in surprise before she clung to her husband’s shoulder, kicking her legs uselessly. “Husband! Put me down! Put me down, husband!”

Bingge ignored the demand and instead opened the door. For the brief moment it was open, Shen Qingqiu was able to make out some of the shouting going on, and it was about what he had expected - ‘how can that monster still be alive’ this and ‘how can you just let him stay here’ that, among other similar statements. They became muffled again when the demon lord, and his shrieking cargo, stepped through the door before closing it behind them.

Liu Mingyan wrinkled her nose before she rolled her eyes, before turning to look at Yingying. The other former disciple of Cang Qiong’s twelve peaks met her gaze, and with it, seemed to receive some courage from the other woman.

“Shizun,” Yingying said, her voice soft. Shen Qingqiu turned to look at her, and found her barely holding back tears. “What… what was I to you?”

Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He knew the question was aimed at him, but it wasn’t directed at him. Sadly, the answer she wanted was not something he could genuinely give - not in good conscience. “Yingying, the man who could answer that… is not here. All I can tell you is my own experience.”

“And that is?” Yingying asked, her voice shaking.

“A precious disciple,” Shen Qingqiu replied. “A warm ray of light that brightens the mood on the peak, bringing joy with you to everyone you come across. Kind when you need to be, strong when you need to be…,” he hesitated before offering the girl a smile. “You are like a daughter to me.”

Yingying felt a tremor run up her spine. “...I see.”

“I take it that it was not the same here?” Shen Qingqiu asked, softly. “For you?”

“I don’t know,” Yingying admitted, after a poignant silence. “I thought so, but… between the… the brothel and your - or rather, his treatment of A-Luo, and what he allowed to happen, I…”

“You began to doubt,” Shen Qingqiu finished.

“A-Luo was so certain!” Yingying said, her voice slightly breaking. “And the Old Palace Master… he insisted that it was true! The brothel was proof… A-Luo’s abuse was proof…! That’s what they said! And the other peak lords even agreed during the trial! And I… so I… I started to think that surely they must have been right, so I…!”

“What do you feel is true?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

“Suddenly everything came into question,” Ning Yingying said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Was it true, did you really have those intentions? Were you just… did you intend to…?” She gave a small shudder and covered her face with both hands. “What was real, and what wasn’t!? I just don’t know!”

Mingyan grimaced and lowered her gaze, her expression solemn.

Shen Qingqiu was silent for a moment. He wanted to touch the girl and comfort her but didn’t dare to. He wasn’t sure if she’d welcome it, not with this face. “Yingying.”

Yingying lowered her hands, which were trembling and moist with tears.

“You should write him - write your Shen Qingqiu - a letter,” the peak lord said, his voice soothing. “Write all your thoughts, your worries, everything you’re feeling… put it all in your letter, and then burn it as an offering to him,” He smiled as the woman blinked. “He may read it, he may choose not to… but at least you will not keep it all trapped here anymore,” The shizun reached up to place his left hand over his heart. “You can take a moment to breathe, and then grant yourself the time to think for yourself how you would like to move forward.”

Ning Yingying was silent as he blinked slowly. After a moment, she returned the man’s smile with one of her own as she reached up to wipe her tears away. The warmth, the gentleness, and the grace… there was no doubt that this man was a shizun.

“I think that’s a lovely idea,” Liu Mingyan said, her own expression gentle. Even the veil couldn’t hide the warmth coming from her smile.

“So do I,” Ning Yingying agreed.

The door suddenly opened again, allowing a stream of hysterics to enter in before the door was promptly closed again. This time, it was Sha Hualing, who sighed and massaged her temples as she leaned against the door. Noting the three staring at her, the demoness gave a shrug of her shoulders.

“She was giving me a headache,” Sha Hualing replied. “ I’m not having sex with her - I don’t have to listen to her whining.”

Shen Qingqiu pursed his lips in disapproval at the woman’s rather vulgar language. Some things were fine to think but certainly not to say, especially in front of the two women beside him. But then again, Sha Hualing had no reason to keep the coyish and charming persona going when dealing with her harem rivals, so it’d make sense the mask would drop so quickly when alone in their presence. And given the entire rivalry between Sha Hualing and Mingyan, she had even less reason to play sweet and demure.

“That reminds me,” Sha Hualing said, drawing Shen Qingqiu’s attention back to her. She quirked an eyebrow at him, staring down her nose. “I’ve been wondering… it’s really the only thing I feel like asking you.”

Shen Qingqiu felt a sense of dread, which seemed to be becoming a common occurrence this morning. “Yes?”

“How the hell do you make that thing fit?” Sha Hualing asked with an exasperated throw of her hands.

Shen Qingqiu’s face went solid red as he stiffened, his eyes wide like saucers. Was this seriously happening right now!? Did she really just ask what he thought she just asked!?

“You and that other Binghe have done it, right? How!?” Sha Hualing continued before she made a vague gesture towards her lower regions. “We’ve got a physical advantage over you, and even then it’s still pretty damn tight! How are you still able to sit!?”

Shen Qingqiu jerked forward as he began to cough violently, using his free hand to cover his mouth while his other discarded his fan to join it. He felt like he was about to choke on his own tongue, or maybe that was just the taste of all the face he had accrued being vomited out of his body in the most horrifying way possible.

“Shizun? Shizun!” Ning Yingying got up to pat Shen Qingqiu’s back, trying to help him breathe. “Take a deep breath! Try to take a deep breath!”

Liu Mingyan glanced at Shen Qingqiu as she looked rather thoughtful. “...I’m interested to know as well.”

Shen Qingqiu shot the veiled girl a sidestare, even as he tried to stop his violent coughing. Hell no! Hell no! Hell no! Why is everyone still so obsessed with his sex life!? Did you forget this is your husband we’re talking about!? How are you not jealous!? There was no ‘The Regret of Chunshan’ in this world, but harem gossip wasn’t much better!

“I know, right!?” Sha Hualing asked, with a nod of approval. “At least we have that ointment Chao Fang created to make things so much easier.”

The shizun managed to stop coughing, though his face was still red - both from embarrassment and lack of oxygen from his fit. However, the demoness’ words managed to filter in and he paused, casting her a glance. “Huh?”

Noticing Shen Qingqiu’s piqued interest, Liu Mingyan nodded with a smile. “Madam Chao Fang is a member of Binghe’s harem as well. She is an apothecary that created this wonderful ointment for the whole harem to use. It works as both a stimulant and lubrication, it’s her own personal recipe.”

“A-Luo made sure to order a lot of it,” Yingying added as she sat back down, her hand still on Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder for support. She paused before her face pinked lightly. “A lot.”

“It’s a work of wonder, that’s what it is,” Sha Hualing said with a sharp nod. It went without saying that the madam was one of the few women she didn’t mind being in the harem, if only for the sheer benefits her skills had brought them.

She was, quite frankly, worth her weight in lubricant.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes slowly drifted down to the table as he processed what he was hearing. After a moment, he frowned. “But… but surely it wouldn’t work for, ah… that …”

“It does,” Liu Mingyan said, with a nod. “It works in both areas, very well.”

Sha Hualing whirled to gape at the veiled beauty, her jaw dropping. “What? How would you even know that?!”

Liu Mingyan shot the demoness an enigmatic smile, her fingertips pursed together. “Not all of us are as… traditional as you.”

“T-traditional!?” Sha Hualing repeated, aghast, before she stormed over to the other woman. “What the hell are you trying to say!?”

“I am simply a bit more imaginative than you, that’s all,” Mingyan said, with the air of an innocent maiden. However, her eyes were sharp and challenging.

“What’s so imaginative about sticking that up your-!?” Sha Hualing demanded as she leaned over to get in the other woman’s face, placing her hand on the tea table in front of the girl.

Shen Qingqiu coughed again, though he managed to suppress another fit, before he reclaimed his fan and used it to hide his face. His impression of the pure willow of Xian Shu Peak had forever been stained. While he knew she had to have done the deed with Binghe as a member of the harem, Airplane-bro had never overtly described any of it. It gave her an air of purity, of saintliness among a sea of debauchery. So what was this nonsense coming out of her mouth now!? Still, he was at least grateful that the sudden argument had distracted Sha Hualing that the man had not answered her question.

And answer it, he would not. He would never.

The door began to open again, though this time there was nothing but silence spilling in. Bingge entered the tower, looking more than a little exhausted. He was notably by himself, with neither the Little Palace Mistress nor Qiu Haitang in tow, a fact that the shizun was grateful for.

The demon lord stopped and blinked at the scene in front of him. A playful smirk appeared on his face as he tilted his head. “You all seem to be enjoying yourselves.”

Sha Hualing straightened up and turned to face their husband, the argument with Liu Mingyan seemingly forgotten for the moment. “Manage to calm her down, my husband?”

Bingge made a small noise as he considered his response before looking at Shen Qingqiu. “Qiu Haitang won’t be joining us, not for a while yet. She’s… not ready to see you.”

“And I am certainly not ready to see her,” Shen Qingqiu thought, though he didn’t say so. Instead, he gave a small nod. “That would be best.”

“Well, then,” Bingge said as he clapped his hands together. “I trust you’ve all said your piece? Then I suppose you’re free to go and enjoy the rest of your day.”

As Ning Yingying and Liu Mingyan began heading for the door, Shen Qingqiu offered them a parting smile. Once the door closed behind them, with Sha Hualing following them out to retake her place as sentry, the peak lord let out a heavy sigh.

“I have had more than enough for one day,” he muttered, under his breath.

“What do you mean, Shizun?” Bingge asked so innocently, with a wide smirk - which only widened further at Shen Qingqiu’s reaction as the peak lord gave a start and whirled to stare at him. “That was just the first group. You will be having many more visitors today.”

Shen Qingqiu stared at the demon lord before he remembered himself - and the situation - and grimaced.

Oh. Right.

Damn you, System.

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu wanted nothing more than to just drop into bed and die - metaphorically, of course. He was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted by this point. He couldn’t even properly enjoy his long deserved bath, as the fear that Bingge might return at some point made him far too paranoid to relax and forced him to finish it as quickly as possible. The luxurious facilities had been completely wasted.

Even the relief he had felt at the demon lord taking his leave had been plagued by fear and anxiety, as there was nothing stopping his captor from coming back. Even sleep itself was a luxury he wasn’t sure he could afford. But with the immortal binding collar around his throat, he didn’t have a choice - inedia was simply out of the question. He didn’t have much qi available to him at this point, let alone enough to keep him awake for hours on end.

He could only hope he could make it through the night without incident.

Clutching his night robes tightly against his body as he carefully descended the stairs to the second floor, Shen Qingqiu cast a glance over to the window that overlooked the garden. Tired as he was, he was caught by the whim to look out. He could use some soothing, and perhaps a glimpse of the night sky full of stars might do that. He could use a little cheering up.

The peak lord was more than a little disappointed that he couldn’t see the sky from his vantage point, only palace rooftops. It seemed that it was going to be a common theme of the universe, or perhaps just the System, purposely thwarting his attempts at self-comfort. What he did see, however, was a small light in the garden itself, which was otherwise completely dark.

Craning his head to look, he could barely make out a small stone shrine near the garden pond. The light was small, barely anything worth mentioning. It was then that Shen Qingqiu realized what he was seeing - Ning Yingying kneeling down in front of the shrine, burning several pieces of paper. Her face was partially illuminated by the small fire, crouching down with her hands clasped in prayer.

The shizun blinked before a soft smile drifted across his face. It seemed he had been able to see something soothing after all. Cheered up slightly, the man made his way over to the bed and pulled back the covers, before slipping under them.

Now, if only the Binghe he saw in the morning would be his own. That possibility would have been the most soothing thought of all.

---

It was well past midnight when Bingge quietly slipped into the tower. His footsteps were nearly silent, both on the stairs and against the floorboards as he made his way towards the bed. He looked bedraggled and out of sorts, but his eyes were still focused intently on his prize - Shen Qingqiu.

The shizun of Qing Jing Peak looked so tired, even as he slept. He had a rough day, to say the very least. But so had Bingge - no, his entire life had been rough. And most of it was thanks to the man who wore the exact same face as his captive. And while the man was clearly exhausted, surely a couple hours of sleep were enough to give him the energy he needed for a few minutes? A few precious moments?

He was owed that much, wasn’t he?

Luo Binghe slowly climbed up onto the bed before he crawled over to the slumbering man, looming over him as he slept. He reached down to gently turn the shizun’s face towards him, the sleeping man offering no resistance. With a hungry glint in his eyes, the demon lord moved closer…

…And then froze when he heard a low cluck of disapproval, as if someone was clicking their tongue at him. He jerked his head about to stare off to the side and went completely rigid.

Sitting in the chair by the bed, his arms crossed with an air of disapproval - of disgust - was a man that looked to be the mirror image of the one in the bed. And yet, Bingge knew him, knew him far too well. The sharpness of his eyes, the angle of his chin as the man stared down at him, it was all so familiar that it made his heart clench.

It was Shen Qingqiu.

It was his Shen Qingqiu.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Shen Qingqiu said, with a sneer. He uncrossed his arms enough to give the demon lord a ‘shoo’-ing motion with his right hand. “Go on, wallow in your failure a bit more. I’ll wait.”

“...You,” Bingge hissed, his voice rough.

“Oh?” Shen Qingqiu tilted his head slightly, his sneer still present. “So the beast does remember me? I thought you had surely forgotten, with all that play pretend you’re doing over there. Or is that why you left me in the dungeon to rot? So that you can pretend I’m still alive? Out of sight and out of mind, hm?”

The demon lord narrowed his eyes as he began slinking across the bed, like a cat stalking a rat. His movements were slow and precise as his eyes glowed in the darkness.

“You do remember he’s not yours, correct?” Shen Qingqiu asked, with a sharp arch of his brow. “You do remember who your real shizun is, yes? Are you truly so pathetic that you are willing to accept another man’s seconds? Does that thing make you feel like you’ve won something?”

Bingge said nothing as he drew closer before he lunged off the bed, swiftly pinning the other man into the chair. Shen Qingqiu met his stare with a harsh one of his own, leaning back as much as the chair would allow him to.

“Beast, you-!” Shen Qingqiu began to protest as he placed his hands on Bingge’s chest to shove at him roughly, without much success.

The demon king moved in for a kiss, harsh and demanding. He could feel the former peak lord stiffen underneath him, but was ultimately unable to resist as his disciple plundered his mouth with an intensity that took his breath away. Bingge flicked his tongue against the shizun’s own before he bit at his lower lip, earning himself a return bite - but he didn’t mind.

Drawing back, Bingge gripped the sides of Shen Qingqiu’s face with trembling hands, his fingers digging in slightly to the pale flesh.

Shen Qingqiu fixed him with an even gaze. “You do realize I’m not real? I’m just your mind, come to remind you that Shen Qingqiu is dead. Your Shen Qingqiu is dead.”

Bingge’s expression became stricken as he stared at the man in front of him, who’s expression was unrelenting. Something seemed to be bubbling up in his chest, from somewhere deep within.

“Your revenge. Your vindication. Your validation. You will never have any of it,” Shen Qingqiu hissed. “Because I am dead. All you have is a hollow little toy to distract you. To make you forget what you don’t have, what you can’t have,” the former shizun’s expression became coy as he reached up to touch Binghe’s cheek, trailing his fingers along it so gently. “But you won’t forget, will you? You’ll never forget.”

Bingge’s eyes became glazed as his breathing grew rough, as if he were fighting down the urge to vomit.

Shen Qingqiu drew closer, his hand moving to cup the disturbed demon lord’s cheeks. A sly smile snaked its way across his face, sharp and biting. “I escaped you. You’ll never have me.”

Bingge couldn’t keep it down anymore. A scream burst out of his throat as he dropped to his knees on the floor, clutching at his head.

The sound made Shen Qingqiu wake with a start, nearly falling out of the bed as he let out a startled scream of his own. He looked around wildly before his eyes fell on the crumbled form of Luo Binghe, who looked as though he were in actual physical pain as he writhed on the floor. “What? What!?”

[!!! Warning !!!]

[Luo Binghe’s satisfaction points are dropping expeditiously.]

“What!?” Shen Qingqiu blurted out as he gripped the blanket so tightly his knuckles were turning white. “No! What!? But I didn’t do anything! Was I supposed to do something!?”

[Luo Binghe nearing negative satisfaction points. Quest failure is imminent.]

“Wait, no! System!” Shen Qingqiu yelped as he scrambled out from under the covers so that he was on his hands and knees on the bed. “Can’t you do something? Can I exchange my points for a different outcome!? Isn’t there a scenario pusher you can do!? Anything!?”

[Scenario Pusher available. Would you like to activate?]

“Yes!” Shen Qingqiu screamed as he banged his fists on the bed repeatedly for emphasis. “Activate, activate, activate!”

Bingge couldn’t hear anything except his own screaming as he clutched his head, huddled on the floor in a fetal position. Atleast, not until he heard strange music. He had no nostalgic connection to the sound itself, as electronics were an entirely foreign concept to the denizens of Proud Immortal Demon Way, but if Shen Qingqiu would have heard it, he would have instantly recognized it as the sound of a computer startup jingle.

The sound seemed to have a soothing effect, clearing the throbbing pain that had addled the demon lord’s mind not even seconds before. Luo Binghe paused before his eyes came into focus on a bizarre ephemeral screen, neon green in color, that hovered right in front of his face.

[Access terminal unlocked for ADM_PIDW.]

[Initiating greeting program.]

[Greetings! ＼(^o^)／]

[How may I assist you today?]

Bingge blinked once, twice, and a third time before his expression deadpanned, the massive bags under his eyes only enhancing the expression. “What the fuck am I looking at.”

“The physical manifestation of your insanity,” Shen Qingqiu said, with a shrug and a flick of his wrist. “Obviously.”

“Shut up,” Binghe growled. His expression clearly communicated how not in the mood he was, for both the figment’s snide comments or whatever nonsense that was currently floating in his face.

[This System is a system designed by, for, and about Luo Binghe.]

[Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers! ＼(^┓^)／]

[Your satisfaction is our primary goal.]

“Do I look satisfied to you?” Bingge asked, his expression still deadpan. 

“You look like you’re getting precisely what’s coming to you,” the false Shen Qingqiu said, with a small scoff. Binghe glanced over to the shizun his mind was projecting, who crossed legs in addition to his arms as he reclined in his chair, the posture far too sassy for a peak lord. Even the way his light leg bounced as it was propped up by his left knee ruined the illusion that the man was anything but a snarky little bastard beneath those teal robes.

It felt so real, as if the peak lord truly was sitting there. But it made sense - Binghe knew the man better than anyone. He had spent so many years in the man’s shadows, watching and worshiping him. His behaviors, his mannerisms, his everything was all burned into Binghe’s mind. He had obsessed over the man, desperate for even a tiny shred of affection, of kindness.

And he had gotten nothing but venom for his adoration. It was only fitting that he, in turn, tore that false idol apart - piece by piece.

Bingge paused before he reached over to slip his hand up the man’s robe, feeling up the man’s leg. The demon lord grasped the ankle tightly when the apparition tried to move his leg away, and lifted his head to meet the scornful stare.

“Would this not count as masturbation?” Shen Qingqiu asked, with a slow arch of his brow. “Have you really fallen so low that you need to feel yourself up? Don’t you have enough wives to do that for you?”

“...It’s not enough,” Bingge whispered. “It’s never enough. You know that.”

“Of course I do,” Shen Qingqiu said with a scoff.

[How may this System assist in rectifying your dissatisfaction?]

Bingge spat out a scoff, his lips curled up in a snarl, as his grip on the leg became tight as red nail marks appeared on pale flesh. Even then, the false Shen Qingqiu didn’t so much as flinch. “Unless you can bring Shen Qingqiu back from the dead, there isn’t a damn thing you-”

[This System has protocols in place that can assist with this request.]

The original Binghe immediately stopped short, his eyebrows shooting straight up. Even the fake Shen Qingqiu had gone silent, tilting his head slightly.

[Would you like an explanation?]

Bingge gave a small, almost imperceivable nod.

[This System can restore PIDW to a previous save state, one optimally chosen to ensure the greatest chance of success.]

Bingge frowned. For an explanation, it sure explained absolutely - freaking - nothing. “Previous… state?”

[A previous time when Shen Qingqiu was alive.]

At that moment, the demon lord understood and straightened up. “You can turn back time!?” He paused for a moment as he considered the implications before he frowned. “But what will stop the bastard from just… repeating everything?” The scum villain seemed pretty focused on his own self destruction, no matter the cost - including those who had been stupid enough to care about him.

[That will depend on Shen Qingqiu.]

Binghe raised an eyebrow. “That’s not reassuring.”

“Go to hell, beast,” the false Shen Qingqiu said, his tone dripping with venom.

“Already there, scum,” Bingge said as he reached over to give the figment’s calf a squeeze, earning him a kick to the shoulder.

[Both of them.]

The demon lord froze at that as he felt his heart lurch in his chest. He stared at the screen in silence for a moment before he whipped his head about to stare at the other shizun currently sitting on his bed.

That Shen Qingqiu was staring at him, watching him with terrified and confused eyes. Given the fact that the other man hadn’t said anything about the bizarre floating screen, it was safe to say that he couldn’t see it. Instead, all he saw was Binghe on the floor, who had finally stopped screaming, only to turn towards him with an intensity he didn’t understand.

Of course. Of course. He was a shizun, wasn’t he? What his shizun needed was his own shizun, one that could teach him grace and understanding and how not to be an absolute piece of shit bastard…

This Shen Qingqiu knew how to treat his disciples right - knew how to treat Luo Binghe right. He could teach his Shen Qingqiu to do the same.

…Then things would finally be fair.

A smile crept across Binghe’s face before he turned back to face the screen in front of him. Excitement and anticipation surged up inside of him, and he couldn’t even begin to contain it. “Do it!”

[!!! Warning!!!]

[The process will reset the current timeline. All current progress will be lost.]

The demon lord made a noise in his throat at the warning. It made sense - they were turning back time, after all. Given how far back they went, he could lose a great deal - his place as master of Huan Hua Palace, some or all of his wives, and even Xin Mo and his awakened demon heritage. It all depended on when this ‘system’ thought the ‘optimal’ point was.

As daunting as it all should have been, Bingge found himself surprisingly calm about the prospect. The possibility of gaining his own shizun was more than worth the risk. Besides, he had done it once before, he could clearly do it again. In fact, he could probably do it even better this time, given everything he knew. There really was no downside to any of this.

Still, a part of him couldn’t help but be curious about something.

“What sort of future would I have been looking at, if I chose not to do this?” Binghe asked. “Is that something you can see?”

[The type of ending a protagonist of this genre deserves.]

Bingge blinked. Once again, the spirit was being exceedingly unhelpful in their helpfulness. “...And that is?”

[A legend known the world over, praised by humans and demons alike. Surrounded by hundreds of women, thousands of descendants, millions of followers, and incalculable wealth.]

[And yet completely and utterly alone. Miserable and insatiable, constantly yearning for something more. Something you will never have.]

[An ending both ironic and tragic.]

Binghe’s expression went blank as he stared at the screen. “...What?”

[To quote the author - “It is the ultimate form of irony - surrounded by hundreds of beautiful women and fawning minions, and yet forever alone. Constantly searching, constantly craving, constantly seeking… only ever to be looking onwards to the horizon, having everything and yet having nothing at all.”]

[“That way, not only will I never have to commit and earn the ire of the shippers for picking one woman over another, but I can also keep expanding the harem whenever subscriptions dip. Nobody wins, but nobody technically loses either! Plenty of room for extras, or maybe even a sequel, in Bingge’s never ending quest to find some happiness.”]

[“And let’s be honest - that’s what the readers are here for. Not Luo Binghe himself, not a happily ever after, only a happy ending with a dappling of excessive violence here and there for seasoning. And seriously, how can you expect anything less from such a bitter, angry, and vengeful protagonist?”]

[“No, no, it’s best that they end tragically - drowning alone, in a sea of abundance. It’s way more poetic that way! Besides, even ignoring the mountain of corpses he’s piled up, who would seriously want to see Luo Binghe all domesticated and happy!? This is Zhongdian Literature! Surely all the readers would spew blood - and bad reviews - at the very thought!”]

Bingge felt a swelling of rage inside of him, originating from the dark pit of his heart before spreading throughout his body, to his fingers and toes. He flared his nostrils as he grit his teeth, his eyes blazing like fire within the darkness. He didn’t understand everything, but he sure as hell understood enough. He could hear the apparition of Shen Qingqiu burst out laughing beside him, though the sound was far more mocking than mirthful.

Elsewhere, in another world, Shang Qinghua let out a strangled squeak. A shiver ran along his spine, as if Death itself had slipped a sultry hand up the back of his shirt, caressing him as it went before giving his metaphorical bra-strap a sharp snap. The An Ding peak lord dropped the scrolls he had been holding, which clattered by his feet.

Behind him, Mobei-jun gave the peak lord a small blink with a furrowed brow. He stood beside Luo Binghe in front of a large black anvil generally used by blacksmiths. Luo Binghe himself gave Shang Qinghua an annoyed glance before returning his focus back on to what he was doing - putting the finishing touches on a small knife, its blade giving off a malicious glow of darkness that rivaled even the scorching blaze of the smithy furnace. Nearby, a small basket was filled with similar looking shards, though it was difficult to see them through the plethora of paper talismans piled on top of them.

Back in the bedroom, Bingge exhaled out of his nose deeply. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his face, steepling them as he pressed them against his mouth.

Well, that made this whole thing a lot more simple, didn’t it?

“Do it,” Binghe said, tersely.

[!!! Warning !!!]

[Once the process has been initiated, it cannot be canceled. Please confirm that you still wish to proceed.]

“Are you truly going to give up everything for a chance at a scum villain’s pants?” the false Shen Qingqiu asked. “You rule the world. You have everything - almost everything you have ever wanted. What does it matter if you don’t have that one thing? Imagine sitting atop a mountain of gold and fawning women, and yet still whining about a corpse not loving you! Can’t you just be satisfied with the hundreds of useless girls you’ve dragged down with your desperation?”

The imaginary shizun paused before his eyes brightened. “Oh, I know. Why don’t you just find a new one? That’s what you do when your current wives stop working, is it not? Since you have no trouble playing pretend, just make sure that this time you pick one that looks like your scum and-oh, wait,” the shizun pretended to hesitate as he pressed his right pointer finger against his chin, with a coy expression. “You’ve already done that, haven’t you~?”

“Do it!” Binghe barked, his fists clenching. “I won’t say it again!”

[Understood. This System will begin preparing for initialization and execution of the restoration protocol. Please eject all foreign entities from PIDW to ensure minimal interference.]

Luo Binghe blinked. It took him a moment to think about what was being said before it dawned on him - there was only one ‘foreign entity’ he could think of, and it was sitting directly behind him on the bed. The spirit was asking him to send that Shen Qingqiu back. But if he did that, how exactly was he supposed to teach his shizun? The spirit seemed to have something in mind, but his paranoia wouldn’t let him accept such a command at face value.

“You better not be trying to trick me,” Binghe growled.

[This System will never lie to Luo Binghe.]

“But you can lie to others?” Bingge asked, his tone openly accusing.

[ (^‿◕) ]

Binghe’s expression deadpanned again. “Right. Just be aware that if you are lying to me, there won’t be enough left of you to regret it.” While he wasn’t certain how he’d manage to make good on his threat against a spirit window, that never stopped him before. He’d figure something out.

Bingge’s response prompted a scoff from his mental projection of Shen Qingqiu. “Is violence truly your default response to everything?”

Rather than verbally respond, the demon lord instead reached over to pinch at the ‘peak lord’s calf. However, the figment had anticipated it this time and promptly lifted his leg, tucking it against his chest before the demon lord could reach it. Rather than deter Bingge, he simply reached over to pinch the other calf instead, earning him an indignant squawk and a smack against the back of his head.

“Hm,” Bingge said, with a small smirk. “If so, I wonder where I learned it from.”

[Once foreign Shen Qingqiu has been returned, this system will initiate the restoration of the previous save state.]

[Good luck! You can do it!]

Bingge watched as the screen flickered out of view, leaving him in the dark bedroom once more. His expression was impossible to read as he lowered his gaze to the floor, though the tension in his body had eased.

Shen Qingqiu had no damn clue what had just happened. Being awakened from an uncomfortable sleep to the sound of screaming had been bad enough, even more so at the discovery that Bingge was in the room in the first place, but to have the System shouting at him about ‘imminent failure’ had set his adrenaline ablaze.

It reminded him rather strongly of his own Binghe, when Xin Mo had been attacking his mind back at Mai Gu Ridge. But that Luo Binghe had been susceptible to the demon blade and wasn’t able to fight its malicious influence off; in contrast, Bingge in Proud Immortal Demon’s Way had been able to master Xin Mo, subverting it to his will rather than the other way around.

Unless, a part of Shen Qingqiu thought with growing apprehension, it wasn’t possible to fully subjugate the hateful sword - merely keep it on a short leash. And if it ever got an opportunity, if it ever sensed blood, it wouldn’t hesitate to attack.

Well, if that was what was happening, Bingge better get that damn sword under control because Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t be taking any heavenly pillars for his sake! Not now, not ever!

But for the moment, just as suddenly as everything had begun, everything was calm again - at least superficially. He had no idea what the Scenario pusher had done this time, but it seemed to have averted disaster.

“Shen Qingqiu.”

The shizun jerked, his skin crawling along his back, as he lifted his head to stare at Bingge. The original Binghe had turned back to look at him, his expression neutral. He didn’t know what to make of the sudden shift in address, but he didn’t dare call it out. “Y-yes!?”

“Tomorrow,” Bingge began, slowly. He paused, his eyes drifting over to the chair, as if he could see something the other man could not, before he returned his gaze to his prisoner. “Tomorrow, I will take you home.”

Shen Qingqiu was stunned speechless.

“But,” Bingge added, his eyes narrowing. “I expect you to do your best,” the demon lord’s eyes widened and began to glow softly. “I will be very angry if you do not.”

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t even begin to figure out how to respond. His best? His best at what? What was the man asking of him - no, demanding of him? What the hell was going on!?

A sudden notification from the System chimed through, and the little screen popped into the shizun’s view.

[Quest ‘My Shizun’ updated. Do your best!]

What the hell!? What just updated!? System, what was going on!?

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t able to do much more mental flailing before he was interrupted by the sight of Bingge climbing onto the bed and moving closer. The shizun opened his mouth instinctively to protest before he let out a yelp when the demon lord flopped down on top of him, pinning him down to the bed. However, rather than anything seductive or even mildly suggestive, it felt more like the demon lord had lost all the energy to keep himself upright any longer.

Binghe wrapped an arm and a leg around Shen Qingqiu before resting his head on the peak lord’s chest. He then went still and closed his eyes.

Shen Qingqiu’s face twisted in both shock and mortification. What the fuck!? Was he a dakimakura now!? After all that talk about taking him back to his world, was Bingge really going to use him as a damn body pillow!? Admittedly, it was better than what other uses the demon lord could have had for him, but this was just a bit much, wasn’t it!? How was he supposed to sleep like this!?

By the way the tension fully left the demon lord’s body, it seemed he most certainly did intend to use the shizun for such a thing. But only for the moment, only for the night. He was allowing this moment of weakness, this false comfort, because he knew that come the morning, he would have a lot of work to do. They would all have a lot of work to do - not just Binghe but both this Shen Qingqiu and his.

But for now, he just wanted a little bit of peace, no matter how fake it was.

Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu’s head was throbbing. Between his current condition and the constant nightmares thanks to Luo Binghe’s chaotic mental state, what little sleep he had managed to get granted him absolutely no relief. In fact, the only relief he did get was finding himself waking up alone in the bedroom. Bingge had been nowhere to be seen. Only the barest light of dawn was there to greet him.

Reluctantly, the peak lord got dressed in the clothes Bingge had provided him. He partially dreaded how his Binghe would react to the sight - would he like the colors, as they were technically his as well, or would he despise them because Bingge had given them? He really hoped for the latter, as the color scheme felt too foreign and, after all this, had too many bad experiences associated with it. He’d rather burn them and be done with it.

Shen Qingqiu briefly contemplated forgoing the rest of the accessories before reluctantly completing his outfit. Even in times like these, he still had his pride - besides, he felt rather naked without them. After completing his attire, he did give his reflection in the mirror a stare - more specifically, a stare at the one accessory he couldn’t take off even if he wanted to. The Immortal-bonding collar was still firmly on his neck. Would Bingge take it off, or would he leave it for Bingmei to deal with? Regardless of who actually removed it, he was greatly looking forward to that moment.

Sluggishly, the shizun headed down the stairs to the first floor and went to sit on the sofa. He imagined Bingge would eventually return for him to take him back, so there was not much else to do but sit and wait anxiously.

What else was new?

Shen Qingqiu sighed as he closed his eyes. He debated attempting to meditate as he waited, and see if it might grant him some relief, or just flopping over like a dead fish for the next few hours. However, no sooner had he thought such things did the door suddenly open. Looking up sharply, he expected to see the demon lord coming for him.

Except it wasn’t.

Ning Yingying smiled as she was carrying a tray, a bowl of congee sitting pretty in the center as steam rose up from the breakfast food. “Good morning, Shizun! How are you feeling?”

Shen Qingqiu felt both disappointment and relief at the same time.“Yingying, good morning. I am doing well enough.”

“Good!” Yingying said as she carried the tray over to the table. “I’ve brought you breakfast this morning. A-Luo says he’ll be taking you home after breakfast, so he asked the staff to make you something. I asked if I could bring it to you and A-Luo gave me the key to the tower!”

“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu thought with a wry grin. “So I’ve been regaled back to ‘undeserving of the Luo Binghe’s cooking’, have I?” Mercurial did not even begin to describe the young man. Still, he supposed that he should be thankful he went from suffocating to neutral instead of hostile.

Besides, so long as he kept his word, Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t have to deal with his mood swings ever again.

“Thank you, Yingying,” Shen Qingqiu said as he got up off the sofa to approach the tea table, and the warm breakfast.

“Oh, um, also,” Yingying said as she fidgeted slightly. She cast the man a shy glance before side-eying the door. Confirming that they were truly alone, she moved over to kneel beside the peak lord. “I have a gift for you, Shizun. To take with you.”

“A gift?” Shen Qingqiu repeated, curiously. He watched as the young woman reached into her robes before pulling out a small silk pouch, light purple in color with red flowers embroidered upon it. She extended it towards the peak lord, who accepted it without thinking. He paused and met her shy smile before looking down at the pouch and opening it carefully, pulling on the red strings.

Inside was a slip of paper, carefully rolled up into a scroll and tied with a pink ribbon, and a glass medicinal jar with a cork top, filled with a light pink ointment.

Shen Qingqiu froze, his eyes widening. Was this what he thought it was?

“I asked Madam Chao Fang for a copy of her recipe,” Yingying admitted, her voice a bare whisper. A blush appeared on her cheeks, embarrassment clear on her face even as she tried her best to hold Shen Qingqiu’s shocked stare. “And some to go with you as a sample. F-for… for your A-Luo.”

Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth and closed it several times before he felt a swelling of immense gratitude inside him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to fling himself at this precious girl’s feet and sing her praises, but he managed to keep his composure beyond a little mistiness in his eyes. “Yingying… may you be blessed and happy for the rest of your days.”

Yingying gave a little giggle, reaching up to cover her mouth with her left hand. “And to you as well, Shizun.”

---

An Ding Peak was the most under-appreciated peak of the Cang Qiong Mountain sect. This fact was uncontested among those that actually cared enough to contest it, which in and of itself was irrefutable proof of the peak’s lack of respect. If people cared so little about it to the point that they didn’t even care enough to hide their indifference, that was when you knew you had reached - ahem - peak apathy!

It was this apathy that seemed to make all An Ding Peak disciples blend into the background, as if they may as well not even be there. It was as if they gained this aura of invisibleness, of nonexistence, that made everyone around them overlook them unless they were specifically looking for something. And even then, they only existed for that brief moment of usefulness before drifting out of awareness to join the background like so much white noise.

Like servants, handymen, and other members of the logistics community - they were little more than fixtures in the environment.

And things were no different for the An Ding Peak Lord himself. The Peak Lord of An Ding Peak was still the Peak Lord of An Ding Peak, after all. A fact that he found exceedingly galling, considering he quite literally created this damn world.

But, as galling as it was, it suited him just fine for the moment!

Shang Qinghua glanced around as he walked through the halls of Huan Hua Palace. When Bingmei first instructed he be sent in for reconnaissance, he was certain he was surely being sent on a suicide mission. He couldn’t deny that the others would stand out like a sore thumb, especially the ones whose mere presence loudly screamed ‘ protagonist energy ’ to anyone with a set of eyes. But surely someone would’ve questioned how the An Ding Peak Lord was alive when both he and his peak should have been nothing more than ash?

And yet no one did. No one looked at him - even glanced at him - as he wandered through the halls. Be it demons, Huan Hua disciples, servants, or the cornucopia of women that made up Bingge’s harem, not a single one of them gave him the time of day. So long as he acted like he belonged there, no one questioned it.

The apathy was just too strong. Such was the life of the service industry.

Shang Qinghua sighed. He really didn’t want to be involved at all, honestly. It was like a father being forced to choose between his two sons as they fought over a favorite toy. It felt wrong, on so many levels. Still, he ultimately had no choice to side with the world where his character was actually alive.

He had to live there, after all.

“So long as I avoid Bingge, I should be fine,” Shang Qinghua thought, with a nod. He had his concerns about this world’s Mobei-jun and whether or not the ice demon would also be an issue. He had his doubts whether Mobei-jun had even remembered the original Shang Qinghua by this point, at least not until he was reminded of his previous existence during the whole altercation at Cucumber-bro’s kidnapping. And even then, did he even know who he was looking at? The ice demon tried to attack the human directly, but that didn’t mean very much. Mobei-jun’s mind worked in mysterious ways.

Still, the peak lord had no intention of finding out. It’d be best to find where Cucumber-bro was being kept as quickly as possible, so he could report back and let the ‘hired muscle’ do the actual muscling.

The answer became pretty self-evident by the time Shang Qinghua arrived at the palace gardens. The tower apartment was definitely new, and it was very easy to guess what - or who - it was built for, at the expense of the historical gardens. He almost wanted to lament the amount of  research that had gone into designing the gardens, but it was just proof positive of how little appreciation he got for what he put into his precious novel.

But what could he do about it? Nothing, that’s what. If Bingge wanted to destroy his toys, who was he to complain? It wasn’t his problem, after all.

Satisfying the protagonist was satisfying the readers. Though, goodness knows what those readers thought of all this nonsense going on around them. But considering he no longer had to worry about catering to them to make rent or afford more than discount ramen, that was also not his problem.

The sound of voices came from inside the tower before the door opened suddenly. Yingying walked out through the door, carrying a tray with an empty bowl and used cutlery. She juggled between watching her step and glancing over her shoulder back at whoever she had been talking to, giving a parting farewell. She stopped long enough to lock the door behind her, struggling to manage both the action and keeping her grip on the tray with its cargo. She was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice Shang Qinghua off to the side, by some shrubbery along the perimeter of the tower.

And she especially didn’t notice him snatching the key from her robes as she turned to leave. The peak lord waited only long enough for the young woman to exit the garden proper before he moved to swiftly unlock the door and disappear inside.

Shang Qinghua was greeted by the sight of Shen Qingqiu, sitting at the tea table in his red and gold robes while sporting a lovely little Immortal-binding rope collar. He looked rather well, despite the circumstances.

He wasn’t dead, for instance!

Shen Qingqiu looked up sharply at the sound of the door opening and closing, his eyes settling on the An Ding Peak Lord. Confusion appeared on his face, which quickly turned into shock as he realized what, or more specifically who, he was looking at. The shizun stood up sharply as he sucked in his breath. “Airplane-bro…?”

“Cucumber-bro!” Shang Qinghua chirped with a bright smile. “Good morning! Looking well, I see!”

Shen Qingqiu lunged across the room in a matter of seconds, wrapping his hands around the An Ding Peak Lord’s throat. Shang Qinghua could do little more than squawk as the shizun began to strangle him, his normally graceful expression flooded with anger, and no small amount of relief.

“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through!?” Shen Qingqiu demanded as he violently shook the other man while choking him. “What your original flavor has put me through!?”

“Considering you still have your arms and legs, not as much as he could have,” Shang Qinghua said, despite the way the other man was throttling him. When Shen Qingqiu paused a moment to seethe, his fingers twitching against the other peak lord’s throat, Qinghua gave him a level stare. “Don’t tell me you turned him gay, too. My readers will have your ass on a stick.”

Shen Qingqiu immediately resumed strangling the other man, giving him several violent shakes for good measure, causing the other peak lord to flail around almost like a ragdoll.

“Okay - okay - okay - okay-!” Qinghua choked out between each flail as his head flopped about before he managed to grab the other peak lord’s arms to try and restrain them. “Time and place, Cucumber-bro, time and place!” He let out a sigh of relief when Shen Qingqiu paused at that, reminded of the current situation. “We need to meet up with Bingmei before Bingge gets back.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes immediately brightened at the mention of his husband, releasing his grip on the other man. “Binghe is here?”

Shang Qinghua nodded as he adjusted his clothes, fixing them after they were jostled about - along with the rest of him. “He said he had something to do first while I looked for you. Now we just need to get the hell out of here before the battle of the chuunibyou begins.”

Shen Qingqiu frowned. He wanted to scold Shang Qinghua for making fun of Binghe, considering he was the author and directly responsible for how the poor protagonist turned out, but wisely kept his mouth shut. After all, while he couldn’t be blamed for Bingge, he had much more influence over Bing mei. Their sins were at least equal in that regard.

“We’ll head out to meet up with Mobei-jun and-,” Shang Qinghua began before the shadows seemed to congeal on the wall beside him. The two peak lords turned to stare as the ice demon in question emerged from the shadows, his expression frigid as always.

Qinghua blinked before a bright smile appeared on his face. He hadn’t been looking forward to trying to sneak the giant neon sign that was Shen Qingqiu out of the crowded palace to meet up with his king, so the fact that the demon lord had gotten impatient and went to look for him was a huge relief. “My king, perfect timing! We were just about… to…”

The An Ding Peak Lord trailed off as he stared at the ice demon, who met his gaze with the most glacial stare he had ever seen. After a moment of silence, his expression became solemn. “Ah.”

“‘Ah’?” Shen Qingqiu repeated, dread clear on his face as he glanced between the peak lord and the glaring ice demon.

“Wrong Mobei-jun,” Shang Qinghua said with a sage expression. He gave a small nod before he suddenly flung his right hand forward, towards the ice demon. “Black Sun Immortal Fire!”

The name alone made the original Mobei-jun jerk in shock, before he got a face full of sparking flame. It wasn’t much, but enough to make the ice demon draw back, giving Shang Qinghua a chance to kick open the front door and drag Shen Qingqiu through it.

“Wh-what was that!?” Shen Qingqiu demanded as he stumbled after the other man, dragged unceremoniously through the garden. He remembered the other man begging him to create the ‘Black Sun Immortal Fire’ for him, and knew damn well that it was capable of far more than a few sparks. “That was not-!”

“Of course not!” Shang Qinghua said with a stern expression, shoving through servants and wives alike as he hurried through the palace, all subtlety be damned. “I could never bring myself to burn that face! I would never forgive myself!”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression deadpanned. And Shang Qinghua had the audacity to tease him as a ‘fanboy’? It would seem that the kettle had quite a few words for the pot regarding their mutual color!

“Shen Qingqiuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

The scream made both Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua look up with a start. The Little Palace Mistress stood in their path, her whip pulled taunt between her hands as she set her eyes with murder-minded focus on the Qing Jing peak lord. Clearly, she saw this as her opportunity to unleash her wrath upon the man, with his escape attempt as a pretense.

She was so focused on this opportunity that she wasn’t watching Shang Qinghua at all, a fact that the An Ding Peak lord noticed with a small sigh. He yanked Shen Qingqiu about to the side with one hand as he swerved around the girl, before solidly kicking her butt from behind.

The Little Palace Mistress shrieked as she went falling forward, face first. Her arms flailed as she tried to catch herself, dropping her whip, before her face impacted solidly with the ground.

“…Bro. Seriously, bro. What the hell were you thinking, making her like that?” Shen Qingqiu asked, his expression deadpan.

“Bro, you just don’t get it,” Shang Qinghua replied, with a shake of his head as he tugged the other Peak Lord along. “When you’re creating a feast, you need all sorts of flavors - you need variety. You’d be surprised how many people are into that sorta thing.”

“Even that?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

“Bro, they’re not the ones that gotta wake up next to her in the morning,” Shang Qinghua said with a smirk. “That’s a Bingge problem. Dine and dash, bro.”

Shen Qingqiu pulled his lips tight in a frown. He was about to retort when the words were cut off by a startled yelp before he suddenly collapsed, dropping like a sack of potatoes to the ground. The sudden weight caused Shang Qinghua to stumble before he turned to question the other peak lord’s strange action, only to stop short at the sight of Shen Qingqiu’s grimace as he writhed on the ground, a hiss of pain escaping him.

Oh. Oh no.

Qinghua blanched. He lifted his head, his eyes settling on the one person he hadn’t wanted to see - Luo Bingge. The proud main character of the popcorn novel that had given him fame and infamy in equal measure, the demon lord looked every bit the protagonist as he stood among the crowd. A lazy smile was on his face, but his eyes were sharp as they focused with absolute clarity on Shang Qinghua.

Quickly, the crowd of people parted to make way for their demon lord. Bingge didn’t even glance at them as he kept his eyes on Qinghua, walking slowly - so very slowly - towards the An Ding Peak Lord. Each step sent chills up the man’s spine, beads of sweat trickling down his brow as if he were feverish.

The smile never left Bingge’s face. In his head, Qinghua felt like a quivering frog being stared down by a snake. It was as if the original Luo Binghe was daring him to move, daring him to even breathe without his permission.

And given the way Shang Qinghua was suddenly holding his breath, he wasn’t willing to do either one.

Bingge came to a stop just a few feet away from the two peak lords. He stood there for a moment before he reached over to grasp Xin Mo by the hilt. He seemed to be relishing the way the peak lord was gawking at him as he drew the dark blade, his smile widening across his face.

However, rather than striking forward towards the horrified Qinghua, he instead brought it upwards to block a strike from Cheng Luan, the sword narrowly missing his face. Liu Qingge used the force of their clashing blades to spring back, putting some distance between himself and the demon lord.

The ferocious war god of Bai Zhan Peak came to a stop between his fellow peak lords and Luo Binghe, acting as a barrier between them. Slowly, he held Bingge’s stare as he brought his sword off to the side, pointing it outwards in a clear challenge - ‘you will not get by me’.

Several of Bingge’s disciples looked about ready to rush forward, but Bingge waved them off with a flourish of his hand. The disciples drew back instead, as instructed, as tiger and leopard glared at each other with an aura of menace.

Shang Qinghua let out a sigh of relief before he paused and looked around sharply. His unspoken question was immediately answered when two people suddenly burst out of the shadows - even though technically they were the same person. Mobei-jun and the original Mobei-jun were locked in combat, ice sword against ice sword, as they glared at each other with a ferocity that looked out of place on the normally impassive face.

Unfortunately, it was literally impossible to tell which was which.

The An Ding Peak Lord glanced between the two demon kings, furrowing his brow, before a thought came to him. He took a deep breath before he let out a wail. “My king!”

One of the Mobei-juns instinctively glanced over towards Shang Qinghua before returning his attention back to his doppelganger, who in turn completely ignored the human’s frantic call.

Shang Qinghua snapped his fingers before pointing. “That one.”

Without another word, the peak lord dropped Shen Qingqiu’s hand and rushed over to kick his foot into the original Mobei-jun’s shin. It did practically nothing damage-wise to his target, but it did prompt the demon king to whip about his head to stare at him in what could only be described as bewildered outrage.

It was enough of a distraction for Mobei-jun to slam his counterpart into the ground, face first. Swiftly, the ice demon reached over to snatch up his human, tucking him safely under his arm once more. His cargo safe, the ice demon moved over to the immobilized Shen Qingqiu before lifting him up with his other arm.

“What the absolute hell -?” Sha Hualing demanded as she rushed over to the scene of the chaos, shoving gawkers aside each step of the way, before the sound of bells - similar to her bells - cut her off. She stopped short and whirled about to find herself face to face with herself - she may as well have been looking in a mirror. The demoness blinked as her other self smirked at her, before a look of fury appeared on her face. “You! Where the hell have you been!?”

Sha Hualing paused. She didn’t expect that sort of greeting from herself. “What?”

“And what have you done!?” the original Sha Hualing continued before she pointed towards Bingge. “Why is our husband screwing that man and not you!?”

Both Bingge and Liu Qingge paused in their staredown to glance over at Sha Hualing. While Bingge looked bemused, Liu Qingge looked absolutely aghast.

“Hey!” the Bai Zhan Peak Lord snapped, but he was summarily ignored.

Shen Qingqiu made a croaking noise. It was the best he could manage with the blood mites crawling around in his body. He wanted to curl up into a ball and scream, but even that was asking too much from his numb limbs.

Sha Hualing’s face turned red. She bristled as she clenched her fists before making a sweeping gesture. “That’s… that’s not my fault!”

“Then who’s fault is it!?” the original Sha Hualing demanded. “Did you try showing him your boobs!?”

“Yes!” Sha Hualing retorted. “And I accidentally stripped more than once, too!”

“And that didn’t work!?” the original demoness was truly thunderstruck.

Bingge chuckled and shook his head before he surveyed the situation. A gaggle of onlookers were crowding around the scene, forming a circle of wives, demons, and disciples who didn’t dare get involved. He saw his Mobei-jun get back on his feet and turn to glare down his counterpart, who was currently holding his human cargo protectively. The not dead Liu Qingge moved to place himself in front of Mobei-jun so that he was between both the original and Bingge, glancing between them with open hostility.

Overall, it was just outright comical, and completely unnecessary.

It looked like his counterpart had managed to find a way to follow after him without Xin Mo, and brought reinforcements with him. He probably should have expected it - he certainly would have done the same, if their situations were swapped. He wouldn’t have trusted his other self to decide to return what he had stolen, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have. But the spirit had demanded he return his prize in exchange for a better one, and that meant these foreign entities needed to leave too.

…Still, one thing bothered him about the current arrangement.

“Someone seems to be missing,” Bingge said, lightly. “Where is Luo Binghe?” They were words he never thought he’d say, but here they were.

“Right here.”

The crowd parted in a panic as people scrambled to get out of the way. As they moved, Bingmei stepped forward into the entrance hall, his expression intense as he glared hatred at his original self. He was carrying something in his arms, which he had removed his outer robes to wrap carefully. It was hard to tell what it was, as the object defied outright identification due to its misshapenness. But whatever it was, Bingmei was carrying it with surprising tenderness.

Bingge’s eyes widened as his pupils shrunk into dots.

…No, it wasn’t something. It was someone. The stench of rotting flesh not only confirmed it, but confirmed who.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Bingmei growled. “You don’t deserve either one.”

The atmosphere immediately changed. The air became oppressive, like a storm was moving in. Despite being inside the massive palace, it wouldn’t have been out of place to suddenly hear thunder rumbling through the room - at the very least, it felt like it could at any moment. The gawkers seemed to have enough sense to notice and quickly fled the area, scattering in multiple directions. In the end, very few dared to remain behind, and certainly not out in the open.

The red demonic mark began to glow on Bingge’s forehead, which quickly spread to his eyes. Both glistened with the color of blood, like ominous lights in the dead of night. Every muscle in his body was tight, with even his jaw clenched to the point that surely the bone was about to shatter from the pressure.

Then, like a spring snapping, the original Luo Binghe lunged at his counterpart with a snarl. Bingmei turned to greet him, passing off the cradled corpse to a stunned Sha Hualing before he drew his sword to greet his attacker.

However, rather than clash swords, Bingge dove past Bingmei to lunge at Sha Hualing, his expression nothing less than absolutely feral. Sha Hualing yelped as she stepped back instinctively, her arms trembling around the covered corpse she held. Bingmei swiftly intercepted by swinging his blade between them, blocking Bingge’s strike of his hand. Without Zheng Yang taking the attack, the original demon lord would have ripped her face right off her skull.

A fact that made Sha Hualing nearly faint, her face deathly pale.

The original Sha Hualing similarly lost the color in her face as she backed away, putting distance between her husband and her other self. While part of her thought she should attempt to assist him, her instincts told her that would be a very - bad - idea. He seemed completely unhinged at the moment, his anger running wild as he launched strike after strike against her other self, with only Bingmei managing to block them. He wasn’t even using Xin Mo, instead opting to claw at the other girl like an animal.

Quite frankly, she wouldn’t have even been surprised if he tried to bite her, if he managed to get close enough. The last thing she wanted was to be on the wrong end of mistaken identity - there wouldn’t be enough left of her to apologize to!

Even Mobei-jun seemed hesitant to inject himself in the situation. He grimaced as he watched Bingge swing again at the alternate demoness, with only his alternate self able to keep the lethal blows from making contact. He glanced over at his own alternate self, who met the stare with an even one of his own. While his arms were full with humans, he was still more than capable of protecting himself, which the sudden temperature drop reminded his opponent of.

Liu Qingge kept his position close to Mobei-jun, or more specifically Shen Qingqiu as he was being held by the ice demon. While he would have preferred to hold the peak lord himself, he knew he needed his arms free lest he get dragged into the combat. He made active use of his peripheral vision, keeping his eyes on the other ice demon, Sha Hualing, and Bingge at any given moment.

Liu Qingge gave a small start when he noticed Liu Mingyan lingering in one of the doorways, standing beside Ning Yingying as the two watched the scene as it played out. The two siblings locked eyes for a moment, with Qingge raising his right eyebrow at how shaken his sister appeared to be, before he cut his attention back to the battle happening in front of him.

 The war god of Bai Zhan Peak let out a low grunt as the two demons seemed locked in combat, even if it was rather unorthodox. The demoness Sha Hualing was constantly on the backfoot as she scrambled around the room, carrying her assigned cargo while Bingmei ran interference. Bingge refused to even face himself head on and set his sights solely on his wife’s other self - or more specifically, what she was holding. In the end, Liu Qingge wasn’t particularly concerned about whatever it was the two Binghes were fighting over, as Shen Qingqiu’s safety was his only concern.

“Hey,” Qingge said. “Should we even be messing with this? He’s too damn pale!”

Shang Qinghua glanced over at the other peak lord, who indeed looked more than a little sick in the face. He knew what exactly was going on and he debated calling attention to it - it would certainly call Bingmei away from his fight with Bingge. He couldn’t help but side with his firstborn son on this one - Bingmei was being way too vindictive, not to mention greedy!

Bingmei, you have your living scum villain, let him keep his dead one!

“My lord!” Shang Qinghua called out loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Your shizun cannot take much more of this!”

It worked exactly as expected. Bingmei gave a start and looked over in alarm, his eyes searching for his husband. It was clear he hadn’t noticed anything was amiss, too focused on the corpse of ‘his’ shizun to realize what was happening.

Unfortunately, Qinghua’s shout had gotten Bingge’s attention as well. The original demon lord stopped in mid-lunge to glance over to the An Ding Peak lord before his eyes settled on Shen Qingqiu. A particularly sharp look appeared in his blazing eyes.

Shen Qingqiu grimaced as he got a bad feeling from the look in the other man’s eyes, which quickly turned into a scream of agony. Instead of merely seeking to disrupt him with mild pain, the blood mites in his body were on the attack. Biting, clawing, tearing - the heavenly demon blood mites launched an all-out offense on his innards.

Bingge was on the offensive.

“Shizun!” Bingmei shouted. He instantly sent a command to the blood mites in an attempt to counteract the one his other self had sent, even as he rushed over towards his husband’s side. “Shizun!?”

Sha Hualing yelped as her king began to move away from her and turned to lock eyes with Bingge, with no barrier between them any longer. Seeing the menace in his eyes, she promptly dropped the corpse, not willing to maintain the game of keep-away by herself.

Bingge allowed the demoness to flee, instead diving forward to snatch the robe-wrapped body into his arms before it could hit the floor. He then retreated to the far side of the room, coming to a stop in front of his throne. He cradled his shizun’s body against his chest as he crouched slightly, glaring after the intruders with eyes that promised death if they even attempted to get close to what was his again.

Bingmei snatched his shizun from Mobei-Jun’s arm, similarly cradling his own quivering peak lord against his chest. While his command was doing what it could to mitigate his blood mites, Shen Qingqiu was still in an enormous amount of pain as the war waged onward in his insides.

“B-Bing… he…” Shen Qingqiu choked out between raspy gasps for air.

Bingmei grimaced before he shot his counterpart a glower, who met it with one of his own.

“ Leave,” Bingge snarled, his teeth bared.

Bingmei’s face twisted into a mirrored snarl, even as he carefully reached into his belt to draw a small black knife, trying not to jostle his precious cargo too much. “I’ll be back. For him… and for you.”

“ Leave!” Bingge barked, practically spitting his words across the room.

As if to accent the other demon lord’s command, a shuddering wail ripped through Shen Qingqiu and out his throat, with the helpful assistance of the blood mites.

Bingmei held the other man’s eyes even as he sliced the air with the small knife, which ruptured open like it had done so many times when the blade had been whole. He used the side of the blade to pull open one side of the tear, as if opening a curtain rather than reality itself. Sha Hualing wasted no time in jumping through, practically diving inside.

Mobei-jun shot his counterpart a look, who quickly backed away so as not to interfere with his master’s order. Once the other ice demon had retreated, only then did Mobei-jun follow suit, carrying his human into the darkness.

Liu Qingge lingered as he looked about ready to snatch Shen Qingqiu and take him through, but he knew better than to start the fight at that moment. He and Luo Binghe locked eyes, glaring at each other, before the two passed through the tear at the same time.

Bingge continued to bristle as he watched the intruders retreat. Only when the tear healed itself closed did he finally begin to relax, exhaling deeply. Still, the tension didn’t fully leave his body, as his grip on his shizun remained tight.

“A-Luo!”

Luo Binghe paused and glanced over to see Ning Yingying rushing over to him, concern clear on her face. The rest of his wives and servants were starting to return as well, now that the dust had begun to settle. Everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, even though Bingge himself remained silent.

Suddenly, a loud chime pierced the air.

[No foreign entities detected! Initiating restoration of previous save state.]

[Executing protocol…]

[... 3… 2… 1…]

“A-Luo, are you al-” Yingying began before she seemingly froze in place, stopped in mid-sentence as she had been reaching towards her childhood friend turned husband.

Bingge blinked and turned to stare at the woman, who looked as though she was a statue in a garden. But it wasn’t just her - everyone had stopped moving. Sha Hualing had paused in mid-saunter, trying to recover face from her less-than-impressive showing against the intruders. Mobei-jun was off staring to the side where the tear had been, his expression complicated - even for him. Liu Mingyan had a solemn look on her face, a hand over her heart, as she had been in the process of leaving rather than joining the others. The Little Palace Mistress had been stomping into the room, sporting tears and a lovely little bruised bump right on her forehead. Even Qui Haitang had chosen that moment to peek out around one of the many pillars that lined the entrance hall, her expression unnerved.

Everywhere he looked, Luo Binghe saw nothing but stillness. The birds had stopped singing, the wind stopped blowing, the hanging banners had stopped rustling. It was as if all life had simply… stopped.

And then, they began to disappear. They slowly faded, like figures from his dreams, until he was surrounded by darkness littered with specs of multi-colored light like a night sky filled with stars. The people, the floor, the ceiling, it all dissolved into nothingness, leaving only Bingge - and his shizun.

Luo Binghe knew he should be disturbed, he should be alarmed by what he was seeing. But instead, he simply felt… tired. And a bit relieved. It felt like he was finally getting somewhere as a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

And yet that wasn’t entirely true, was it? This wasn’t the end, but the beginning. The beginning for him, and for his shizun. The only question was - how would things turn out this time? Would his shizun even be able to change, to become what he needed, to give him what he needed? Or was his soul truly so wretched that he would repeat the same path?

But it was too late to worry about such things. What would be, would be. Binghe would take everything as it came, and do what he needed to do to achieve something else, something more, something better.

Anything was better than what he had.

“You understand how selfish this all is, don’t you?” came a voice from beside Luo Binghe. He turned his head to see his mental cognition of Shen Qingqiu standing right beside him, staring at him with open judgment. “It’s not just your future, your present that you’re changing. You are changing theirs too - your wives, your ‘friends’, everyone. Everything they’ve endured, everything they’ve overcome, everything they’ve accomplished, everything they’ve hoped for… gone. Did it even occur to you to care?”

“You heard the spirit,” Bingge said, his voice dull. “‘Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers.’ That means my satisfaction is everyone’s satisfaction. Once I get what I want, then no one will have any room to complain.”

“And what if what you want is not what they want?” Shen Qingqiu pressed.

Bingge glanced down at the wrapped corpse he held in his hands. It felt so light, so fragile and brittle in his arms. He could feel every inch, every contour of the ruined body as he cradled it so tightly against his chest. He let out another sigh before he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

“I didn’t ask.”

[Save State restoration has been completed!]

[Please enjoy your journey!]

And then, everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Consciousness was proving to be very difficult to come by. It kept lingering just outside of Shen Jiu’s reach as a heavy fog dulled his senses. But then, just as it seemed like it would never break through the mind-addling mist, awareness suddenly rushed forward with the intensity of a lightning strike.

Shen Jiu jerked awake, his eyes snapping open only to close again with a grimace as the harsh light assaulted him with the same intensity that consciousness had. The shizun let out a low groan as he reached up to shield his eyes, his face twisting into a grimace.

And he then immediately stopped, his body going rigid.

After several moments, the peak lord of Qing Jing Peak slowly lowered his hands to stare at them - or more specifically, at the fact that he had hands. In fact, not only did he have hands, he had feet too. He could see the bumps in the blanket that was draped over him, signaling that he had appendages under said blanket. Even more, he had both eyes of which to see said hands and feet. And his tongue, and… and…

Shen Jiu had many things that he absolutely should not have.

“Shidi?”

Shen Jiu felt his heart nearly stop in his chest. That voice, he recognized it - he could never forget it. It was a voice he had longed to hear for quite some time, but knew he would never hear again - because of him. And yet, there it was, echoing in his ears.

Shakily, the shizun lifted his head to stare past his hands, only for his eyes to fall upon the face of Yue Qingyuan. As the lord of Qiong Ding Peak and the sect leader of Cang Qiong Mountain itself, he was Shen Jiu’s shixiong.

…No. No, he was far more than that. Far, far more than that. It was a long, complicated history full of both joy and pain, though mostly pain in the later years as hatred had consumed all that was good between them - or so he had thought. It wasn’t until the very end that he had realized he had been using his hatred as a blindfold, refusing to see so that he stumbled through the darkness even as his longtime supporter kept offering him a hand to guide him.

At least, not until a pile of sword shards had cut through his blindfold, forcing him to see once more only to find desolation laid out before him.

Yue Qingyuan was supposed to be dead. Pierced by thousands of poisonous arrows until there wasn’t even enough of a carcass left to show off.

How the hell was he alive!?

“Qi…ge?” Shen Jiu gasped out, his voice hoarse as if it hadn’t been used in a very long time. His hands trembled as he reached forward, trying to touch a wisp of a specter before it could disappear again.

Yue Qingyuan gave a start at the nickname, one that he hadn’t heard in years and thought he would never hear again. And while there was an initial flicker of joy on his face, it quickly gave way to shock and concern. He immediately lunged forward to take Shen Jiu’s trembling hands into his own.

His warm - warm - warm hands.

“Shidi, are you alright?” the sect leader asked. He didn’t dare use the man’s nickname, not at that moment. He knew how much Shen Jiu hated it, and he wasn’t going to push his luck - not when the man’s face was so pale he looked about to faint.

Yue Qingyuan frowned as he noted how clammy the other man’s hands felt before he leaned in to press his forehead against Shen Jiu’s. Shen Jiu closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, breathing in the sect lord’s presence, his warmth, his scent.

It was real. It was real. This couldn’t be a dream, could it? It felt too real.

“Your fever hasn’t broken yet,” Yue Qingyuan murmured. He released his shidi’s hands to gently grasp the man’s shoulders, guiding him to lie back down on the bed. “Please lie down and I’ll get a fresh compress.” It sounded like a request or suggestion, but the man’s grip asserted that it absolutely was not.

That was fine. Shen Jiu didn’t have the energy to resist, anyway. Not with the way his head was spinning.

Shen Jiu let out a deep sigh as his head was placed back on his pillow, cold against his sticky neck and back of his head. He glanced over to watch the sect leader grab a small cloth and dip it in a bowl filled with water that sat on the nightstand.

The whole feeling was surreal, and yet far too real. The shizun couldn’t help but wonder - wasn’t he dead? Shouldn’t he be dead? Was he dead? And if so, was this hell? But if that was true, what would someone like Yue Qingyuan be doing in hell? Unless Shen Jiu’s sins had been so great that they drenched Cang Qiong Mountain’s sect leader, dragging him under with the scum villain he had been far too lenient with. It had been enough to pull the man to his death, but even into hell itself?

It would have been yet another one of Shen Jiu’s insurmountable sins.

Before the man could brood too much on it, a mysterious and unnatural chiming sound caught his attention seconds before a glowing ephemeral screen appeared in front of his face.

[Save State was successfully activated!]

[Shen Qingqiu account has been restored - Novel Journeyman's code: UV004.]

Shen Jiu stared blankly at the spirit window. A flurry of information was flowing past him on the screen as the odd voice continued to chime along, but he had stopped listening by that point. The only thing he could think was that he had lost his mind, he had finally lost his mind.

He - had - lost - his - DAMN MIND.

The sensation of a cold, moist cloth suddenly interrupted Shen Jiu, causing him to jump slightly before he returned his attention to Yue Qingyuan. The sect leader carefully placed the compress against the peak lord’s forehead before he returned to sit on the bed beside him.

Shen Jiu frowned before he closed his eyes. He needed to take a moment to compose himself, to really think about what was happening. While his first instinct was to assume he was hallucinating, he couldn’t deny how real everything felt. Each pang, ache, and throb was quick to assure him of that. Moreover, he felt lucid enough. The beast had been exceedingly skilled at dreams, a fact that the shizun had unfortunately grown far too familiar with, but things had gone on for quite some time without the other shoe dropping.

Besides, what would be the point of all this trouble for a dead man? And he had died.

…Hadn’t he?

Admittedly each day of pain had blurred in together, even more so after Yue Qingyuan had been killed, but he still distinctly recalled his body finally succumbing - a numbness that promised him peace, an end to his punishment. It was his final escape, away from what his life had become and the beast he had created.

[Correct. Shen Qingqiu died in the original future of Proud Immortal Demon Way .]

“…‘Died’?” Shen Jiu repeated, cautiously. The past tense immediately jumped out to him. “So you confirm that I’m dead?”

[Your account has been restored, and as such, your life has been restored to the most optimal state to maximize your chances of success.]

Shen Qingqiu frowned. The strange words made no sense to him, but he was able to gather the context of what was being said based on the words he did understand. “So I… I am alive…?”

[Affirmative.]

“I am alive?” Shen Jiu repeated, more firmly this time.

[Affirmative.]

“So you are saying that I am alive at this very moment?” the peak lord pressed as he pointed at himself. “This is real?”

[This question has already been answered and will now be ignored.]

“So… so Yue Qingyuan is also alive?” Shen Jiu said as he struggled to sit up, staring at the screen. When no answer was immediately forthcoming, the shizun pointed a finger accusingly at the floating window. “It’s a different question! Don’t ignore me!”

[At this point in time, everyone that was alive is alive and everyone that was dead is dead.]

 Shen Jiu felt a tremor run up his body before he struggled to get out of bed. He was immediately stopped by Yue Qingyuan, who moved to force him to lie down again.

“Shidi, please rest,” the sect lord said firmly before he repositioned the compress back onto the man’s brow. “I understand you are concerned about the Immortal Alliance Conference, but you are pushing yourself far too hard. You could have died!”

Shen Jiu paused at that, his eyes widening. “The… the Immortal Alliance Conference…?”

“It is still over three years away,” Yue Qingyuan scolded, though his tone was far too gentle for a sect lord who should have been scolding his peak lord. But then, the man always was far too gentle on Shen Jiu. “At the rate you are going, you may not even make it to the conference. Your body is begging you for rest, so please heed it and give it the time it needs to recover.”

Shen Jiu opened his mouth before he closed it with an audible click. He stared at the sect lord before glancing at the spirit window, which continued to hover between them. The fact that Yue Qingyuan wasn’t even making a single comment about the spirit between them, or even seemed to have heard the conversation they just had right in front of him, was duly noted. However, it was a mere side point to something far more important. “Spirit. I… you are saying I have been restored to just before the Immortal Alliance Conference? And so has everyone else?”

[As previously stated: at this point in time, everyone that was alive is alive and everyone that was dead is dead.]

So everyone that should be alive during this time, was. And everyone who shouldn’t be alive, wasn’t. That was how Yue Qingyuan was physically infront of him, as full of life and vitality as he had ever been. It wasn’t so much that everyone had been restored, but more like time had made its way backwards, back to that particular point with all the wrinkles and creases that came with it.

And he, for some reason, could remember everything.

“…Why?” Shen Jiu asked, his voice weak. “Spirit, why would you do this? What are you?”

[This System is a tool to assist you in your journey to completing your mission with the utmost success.]

“And what mission would that be?” Shen Jiu asked.

[To ensure that Shen Qingqiu becomes a proper shizun rather than a scum villain that destroys everyone and everything he touches.]

Shen Jiu’s expression went blank for a moment before he burst out laughing. It was a mirthless laugh, and it hurt - by the gods did it hurt - but that didn’t stop him from cackling as he reached up to cover his face with his hands.

“Shidi?” Yue Qingyuan asked as he looked up in alarm. “Shidi, what’s wrong?”

“So you’ve given me a mission I am doomed to fail!” Shen Jiu said, wheezing as he struggled to breathe. “If I haven’t failed it already!”

[Mission: My Shizun is currently active and has not encountered any failure perimeters.]

Shen Jiu gave a small shudder as he kept his hands over his eyes, struggling to still his breathing. His head was throbbing, like a hammer pounding on a drum. But he had to know, he had to proceed. “What happens if I fail?”

[In the event of failure, penalties will be distributed.]

[Continued survival cannot be guaranteed - for user Shen Qingqiu or anyone else.]

[Please do your best to avoid this scenario for optimal journey satisfaction!]

“…What if I leave Qing Jing Peak?” Shen Jiu asked. “What if I leave, and swear to never darken this mountain peak ever again? What if I leave everyone to live their lives, without me dragging them down with me?”

[!!! Warning !!!]

[That would count as an automatic failure. In order to ‘be a good shizun’, Shen Qingqiu must be a shizun.]

[This System warns against such an action.]

So he couldn’t run away. He had to face this, if not for his sake, then for Yue Qingyuan’s sake. For the sake of everyone else he had dragged down with him. He was trapped on this damn peak, in his old position, and surrounded by people who had long learned to despise him. Somehow, the position he had once cherished had become a pair of shackles, and the peak he called home had become a prison.

How could he possibly consider this situation to be anything other than utterly hopeless!?

“Shen Qingqiu!”

The peak lord jumped, startled out of his thoughts, and stared blankly at Yue Qingyuan, who was right in his face at that moment. He flinched when the other man gripped his face to hold him still, looking intently into his eyes. Shen Jiu blinked several times before the sect leader’s face finally came into focus, every inch of it etched with worry.

“Still dilated,” Yue Qingyuan muttered. “I will fetch Mu-shidi.”

Shen Jiu frowned as the sect leader forced him to lie back down, taking the compress to moisten it again before returning it to his brow. The peak lord hesitated as he chewed over the situation before finally finding his voice.

“Before that,” he said, his voice cracking. Yue Qingyuan stopped and glanced back at him from the door. “Where is the bea… the boy?”

Yue Qingyuan grimaced before he shook his head. “Shidi, please. This is absolutely not the time-”

“Where is he?” Shen Jiu repeated, a slight edge in his raspy voice. “Where is Luo Binghe?”

The sect leader went silent for a long moment before he finally relented with a sigh. “He is still locked in the woodshed where you left him. Shidi, I understand that you-”

Shen Jiu grimaced. The gods only knew what ‘punishment’ he had just meted out at this time. There were so many of them that he himself couldn’t even begin to imagine what state the beast was currently in. “Spirit, are you certain I have not yet failed?”

[As previously stated: Shen Qingqiu has not encountered any failure perimeters at this time.]

So whatever he had done was not enough to fail the spirit’s mission right from the very start. However, he didn’t have the luxury of feeling relief at that fact - it was still a huge risk just by virtue of who he was.

He was very good at digging his own grave even when he didn’t intend to.

Shen Jiu shook his head before he waved off Yue Qingyuan with a weak flick of his right hand, who was still in the process of trying to dissuade him from whatever villainy - and that was absolutely what it was, villainy - against his young disciple. The irony that the sect leader was preaching for the sake of the beast that would - or had? - kill him so brutally made the situation all the more difficult to swallow. But then, whose fault was that?

His and no one else’s.

“Enough, enough,” Shen Jiu said. “I understand. Enough.”

Yue Qingyuan couldn’t hide the relief he felt. “Well, then, stay here and rest. I will return shortly with Mu-shidi.”

“One condition,” Shen Jiu said, his voice soft. The other man blinked as he stared at his bedridden shidi, who let out a low sigh. “I will do as you say on one condition.”

Apprehension crept across the sect leader’s face. And while Shen Jiu found it more than a little irritating, he also knew he had no business getting angry at it - not now.

“And that is?” Yue Qingyuan asked.

“Deal with… the boy,” Shen Jiu said. He acted like he couldn’t see the shocked expression on his sect leader’s face as he tried to keep his own as neutral as possible. “Unlock the woodshed and… address his injuries. I will say nothing more about it, and consider the matter addressed.”

Yue Qingyuan’s eyes widened before he practically beamed, like the bright sun to Shen Jiu’s dour moon. Shen Jiu would have normally found it nauseating, infuriating even. But in the moment, it came as a relief. He had not seen the sun in years, and only now had he understood how desperately he had missed it.

If for nothing else, he was grateful to the spirit for giving him this one moment after a seeming eternity of desolate darkness.

Yue Qingyuan headed for the door before he stopped just inside. He glanced over his shoulder at Shen Jiu, hesitating. After a moment, he turned back slightly, placing his hand on the frame of the door. “Ah, shidi, would you mind…?”

The sect lord immediately stopped short and privately chided himself. Clearly, it had been an accident - his shidi was obviously still quite ill, trapped within the hold of a vicious fever. Even his qi seemed to be completely unstable, visible to anyone with even a cursory glance. It had been a moment of weakness from a frightened man who had been in death’s hold not even hours before. It would be best not to bring it up at all and risk embarrassing him, and most certainly not be so selfish as to ask the man to call him ‘Qi-ge’ again.

No, he would accept the precious gift with gratitude and be satisfied.

Shen Jiu gave a small blink before arching an eyebrow. “Yes? What is it?”

“Nevermind,” Yue Qingyuan said, with a smile. “Just rest and leave everything to me.”

---

Waking up in a woodshed covered in bruises was not the awakening that Binghe had expected, or appreciated. It had been a long time since he felt such pain, but he had remembered it quite vividly. It had been one of his primary driving forces that motivated him - both to become something more, and to punish those that had wronged him. And he had ultimately achieved his every goal, and much more.

So to suddenly find himself back in such a state was more than a little infuriating.

Binghe’s eyes bore holes into the ceiling of the woodshed as he lay sprawled out on the hard wooden floor. Every inch of his body hurt, which in turn made his blood boil with each pang and spasm he felt in his battered body. It made him clench his teeth to the point that he was vaguely concerned they might break.

SHEN! QING! QIU!

However, before Bingge could continue working himself up in to a furor over the situation, he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the lock on the woodshed door fumbling about. His eyes darted over to focus on the door as he listened to someone fidget with the lock before undoing it with an audible click, then proceeding to open the door.

Disappointment flooded the former demon lord’s veins when his eyes settled not on Shen Qingqiu, but Yue Qingyuan of all people. The sect lord himself, who he had killed with great relish not too long ago, was alive and well before him. But more importantly, the dead-man-walking had actually unlocked the woodshed, something he had never done before.

Yue Qingyuan had always been an enabler, complicit in Shen Qingqiu’s abuse by virtue of never doing anything to stop the man. The sect leader surely knew it had been wrong, and did nothing anyway. And in doing so, he had signed his own eventual death warrant.

But now, the sect leader had unlocked the door to Binghe’s little punishment shed.

Bingge paused at that and frowned. Since when has Yue Qingyuan ever stepped in before? While his disappointment had been insurmountable initially, the situation was giving him pause now that he actually thought about it. What the hell was Yue Qingyuan doing here, instead of Shen Qingqiu? Or even Ming Fan, the disgusting little toad that had hopped to his shizun’s every command?

Though, having thought of it, it was probably best that Ming Fan hadn’t been the one to unlock the door. Binghe couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t have instantly snapped the boy’s neck at the mere sight of him.

He still might do it later.

“Luo Binghe,” Yue Qingyuan’s voice interrupted the former demon lord’s dark brooding, bringing the boy’s attention to the sect lord. Qingyuan’s face was gentle, irritatingly so, as he looked down at the beaten boy. “Your shizun has asked me to release you from your punishment in his stead.”

Binghe’s eyes widened as he sat up sharply, ignoring the way his body shrieked in protest at the action. He had? His shizun had requested it? Shen Qingqiu had requested it!? “...Shizun did?” After a moment’s consideration, he narrowed his eyes slightly. “And Shizun could not come himself?”

Yue Qingyuan paused at that before he gave a small shake of his head. “Your shizun is… recovering at the moment. But he asked me to release you from your punishment, and to give you this.” The sect lord reached into his robes before pulling out a small jar of medicine.

Binghe’s eyes snapped onto the medicine with intense focus. Shakily, he reached out to accept the jar, his breathing hitching. He felt something in his heart flutter, in spite of the jaded anger it normally held. He held the precious container of medicine with both hands as he stared down at it, no longer even looking at Yue Qingyuan despite the inherent disrespect in that action.

To his credit, Yue Qingyuan didn’t seem to notice - or mind. Instead, he gave a small nod of his head and uttered a few paltry words of appeasement that Bingge didn’t even remotely bother listening to, before finally leaving the disciple in the unlocked woodshed - no doubt assuming Binghe would leave on his own once able.

The words themselves had meant nothing, but the actions meant everything.

“Hey,” Bingge said, still looking at the little jar of medicine in his hand. “You. Is this your doing?”

[Shen Qingqiu has taken his first steps, embarking on his journey to become a better shizun.]

Bingge made a noise in the back of his throat. “Does he remember?”

[Shen Qingqiu has retained his memories of his previous state.]

The former demon lord narrowed his eyes. “Does he know that I remember?”

[That information is not available to Shen Qingqiu.]

[Novel Journeyman Users do not have the same rights and privileges as Administrative Accounts.]

[That information is on a ‘need to know’ basis and this System has not determined that Shen Qingqiu ‘needs to know’ at this time.]

“Good,” Luo Binghe said, as a dark grin snaked across his youthful face. “We don’t need to complicate things, do we? He’s going to have a hard enough time as it is, fighting his very nature as absolute scum.”

[Please look forward to the outcome!]

[ (`･ω･´) ]

Bingge chuckled before he glanced down at his fourteen year old body and noted with irritation that it wasn’t healing quite as quickly as he would’ve liked. It was only natural, given he had been reverted to such a young state. He couldn’t even feel his demonic powers, which wouldn’t have been unlocked during this time frame. All his knowledge was still there, but his body wasn’t synchronized to go along with it.

That was fine. It gave Binghe something to work on while his shizun worked on himself. And his memories and experiences would be far more useful than the fake-ass training manual Shen Qingqiu had given him. He had wasted so many years on that nonsense, and now he could instead spend that time actually working on his cultivation.

Binghe opened the jar of medicinal ointment before he began lathering it on his wounds. Despite his injuries, his mood had improved considerably. And how could it not, when he was already seeing dividends for his investment?

Naturally, he’d have to scope out the peak, get a feel for the place and its current situation before he made any moves of his own. It had been many years, after all, since he was an obedient little disciple of Qing Jing Peak.

He would need a little bit of a refresher course.

---

Shen Jiu changed his mind. He was in hell - definitely, most assuredly, undeniably in hell. He was in - absolute - hell.

The pain he could deal with. The throbbing headache, the hot flashes, the cold flashes, the aches and spasms - he could handle all of that. He was used to pain, his body was fairly numb to it by now. Not completely numb by any means, as the beast had taken great efforts into discovering, but enough that he could tolerate more than the average person.

What he couldn’t tolerate was the damn coddling.

When Yue Qingyuan had returned with Mu Qingfang, they had been nothing but smotheringly doting. They fussed over him as if he were an invalid, as debatable as it was about whether or not he actually was one. The two had refused to simply leave him alone. In the past, he would have chased them both away by any means necessary - be it with biting words, scathing glares, or even sharp blows.

But after everything that had happened, everything that he had experienced in his future, and everything they had experienced because of his future, Shen Jiu found himself tolerating far more than he ever would have.

As his past had suddenly become his present once more, the peak lord had done his best not to lose his temper and risk the ire of the spirit that was surveying him and his supposed redemption. By the end of it, the peak lord felt like he was about to spit blood - perhaps even literally, with how much he had been biting his tongue.

But most of all, why did Qingyuan look so damn happy about the whole damn thing!?

“Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan said, breaking the scum villain’s focus on his sulk. When Shen Jiu lifted his head to look at his shixiong, he was met with a gentle smile. “Please get some rest for now. I will task Ming Fan with checking on you periodically. If your symptoms worsen, have him fetch one of us.”

Shen Jiu paused at that. At the mention of his head disciple, he was filled with complex emotions. The boy was another casualty of the beast’s campaign of wrath, for his involvement in the peak lord’s own campaign. Yes, of course, he would’ve been alive as well during this time, wouldn’t he? It seemed Shen Jiu would be experiencing this feeling over and over, for quite some time, as the ghosts of his sins walked past him in pure obliviousness of their fate.

Shen Jiu sighed before he reached up to press the moist compress against his forehead. There was much he wanted to say, but he chose instead to say none of it. “...Very well.”

There! There it was again! That smile! That damn smile! Why was Qingyuan’s face brightening up every time Shen Jiu spoke!? What the hell was wrong with the idiot!?

Go smash your face against the wall, for all the damn sense you make! Let’s see if you’re still smiling then!

“Good,” Yue Qingyuan said. “Then we will take our leave for now, shidi.”

“Hurry up and go!” Shen Jiu wanted to scream, but he kept the words on his tongue where they belonged. He instead simply gnashed his teeth as he watched the sect leader and the Qian Cao Peak Lord leave - finally - after what felt like hours of smothering torture.

The scum villain twitched, his fingers curling, before he grabbed the moist compress off his forehead and flung it across the room with a snarl. He huffed and puffed for several moments before he realized what he had done, and the fact that he still needed the damn thing.

With a grimace, Shen Jiu carefully hobbled out of bed and scuffled over to where he had thrown the compress to retrieve it. Fumbling back into bed, the peak lord flopped backwards and placed the compress on his forehead once more before glaring up at the ceiling.

“Spirit,” Shen Jiu said, his tone accusing. “Are you certain you are not here simply to torment me?”

[This System is here to assist you in your mission to become a better shizun.]

[Please enjoy your journey!]

[ (^•ܫ•^) ]

Shen Jiu closed his eyes, sliding the compress down from his brow so that it covered them, and let out a low grunt.

As he thought, he was in hell.

Chapter Text

At another time, in another place, in a separate world, the sound of songbirds drifted in through the windows of the bamboo house. It was carried in by a soft breeze, floating over towards the bed where Shen Qingqiu was still fast asleep.

Morning had long since ended, well past the time when the shizun should have been up. However, no one had the heart to wake the peak lord, not after the experience he had gone through. Even Binghe himself was more than willing to waste the day in bed with his husband, cuddling him protectively. It was just as much for the demon lord as it was for Shen Qingqiu, as he was desperate to feel the reassurance that he had rescued his shizun, and his shizun was alive and well.

He hadn’t ended up like… the other one.

Still, eventually everyone had to wake up, and Shen Qingqiu was no exception. Groggily, he opened his eyes, squinting up at the ceiling. He was struck by a strange sense of deja vu, as if this very scenario had happened before. However, unlike the last time, he was greeted by a very familiar sight - his own bedroom.

Shen Qingqiu sat up with a gasp, at least as far as he could with Binghe’s arms wrapped around him so tightly. He hesitated, glancing about the room, before looking down to the demon lord’s arms. He followed them over to the body they were attached to, and he found himself staring face to face with Luo Binghe.

The two were dressed in just their inner robes, implying that the demon lord had undressed the unconscious peak lord to make him more comfortable. With only thin fabric between them, the two were snuggly pressed together in bed. 

The peak lord paused as he was torn between terror and joy, as his brain struggled to figure out which one he was currently looking at. However, the answer came immediately, when his eyes settled on the scar on Binghe’s otherwise perfect chest, visible through the slightly askew robe.

Shen Qingqiu felt a swelling of relief before it overflowed in the form of tears. He reached forward to grab his husband before pressing his face into the man’s chest, not caring how uncharacteristically brazen the action was. He was immediately rewarded for his actions with the feeling of Binghe pulling him into a hug, tightening his arms around him, before the demon lord moved to kiss his shizun’s neck.

“Good morning,” Binghe murmured, against the other man’s skin.

“Good morning,” Shen Qingqiu mumbled back, his face still firmly planted in his husband’s bosom.

The demon lord moved his face to nuzzle the back of his shizun’s head, giving the man a moment to compose himself. His hands gently massaged Shen Qingqiu’s back, attempting to soothe the tension it found there.

After a moment, Shen Qingqiu leaned into the nuzzling and let out a soft sigh, his breath hot against Binghe’s skin. “I knew… you would come for me. I didn’t know how, but I…”

“I’m sorry, Shizun,” Binghe said softly. “I know you told me to get rid of the shards, but I… I couldn’t help but worry. I kept thinking that, if it were me, then I… and without them, I wouldn’t be able to…”

“This master has no room to criticize,” Shen Qingqiu replied with a shake of his head before lifting his head to offer the demon lord a weak smile. “So long as you’ve taken the necessary precautions, there is nothing else for me to say.”

“I have it covered in paper talismans, and put away so I won’t be tempted to use it unless absolutely necessary,” Binghe said before he moved to kiss the peak lord’s forehead. He paused before his face grew pained. “Shizun, I’m sorry.”

Shen Qingqiu furrowed his brow as he let out a quizzical hum. Another apology? “Hm?”

“I should have focused on you first,” Binghe said, his voice low. “Instead of trying to… rescue the other you at the same time. He’s dead and you’re not… I should have… if I had just… I should have been there, to notice what he was doing to you and you wouldn’t have-”

Shen Qingqiu leaned up to brush his lips against Binghe’s, prompting the demon lord to immediately go silent as his eyes widened. The peak lord held his disciple’s gaze before his expression softened. “You are not to blame for anything he did. They are his sins - let him carry them.”

Binghe was silent for a moment before he moved to press his forehead against his shizun’s, closing his eyes. “I won’t ask you what he… if he…”

Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes as he reached up to gently touch Binghe’s chin. “Thankfully, he did nothing of consequence this time.”

“...This time,” Binghe repeated, his voice harsh.

The peak lord paused before he opened his eyes, meeting Binghe’s own. He could see the anger pooling in those eyes, the hatred and loathing the demon lord felt for his other self. “...He was not concerned with such things last time. He had more typical forms of violence on his mind then,” Shen Qingqiu saw Binghe’s cheek twitch and he quickly shook his head. “However, he wasn’t able to accomplish as much as he had wanted, thanks to Senior Meng Mo pulling me out of his dream realm.”

Or rather, the System allowed him to, after the penalty had completed. But there was no point in vocalizing that.

Binghe stiffened. “Senior knew!?”

Sensing he had accidentally thrown the dream demon under the proverbial bus, Shen Qingqiu quickly moved to dispel the misunderstanding and shook his head. “No, no, no. I did not tell him about… what I had experienced. All he knew was that I was suffering in a powerful dream realm, nothing more.”

“Why did Shizun not tell me?” Binghe asked, his voice a whisper.

Shen Qingqiu paused as he felt his heart twist in a vice. He reached up to cup his precious husband’s cheeks, brushing his thumbs against the man’s cheek bones gently. “For all this master knew at the time, it was nothing more than an awful dream deserving of being forgotten. You were carrying far too much pain on your shoulders for me to burden you with nightmares parading around with your face.”

Binghe reached up to take hold of his shizun’s right hand before pulling it to his lips, so that he could kiss the knuckles gently. In a way, he was apologizing to the hand, as he could only imagine what that bastard had been doing, had intended to do given the state of the other Shizun.

Shen Qingqiu was quiet for a moment as he watched his husband before he curled his fingers. “Though… this master will admit that, at the time, he… desperately wanted to see you. To wash away that awful moment…,” the shizun paused before he met Binghe’s gaze as the demon lord lifted his eyes to look at him, and offered the man a shy smile. “...Just like now.”

Binghe moved to kiss Shen Qingqiu, capturing his lips a bit more forcefully than he had intended. The action caused his shizun to fall back on the bed, and he descended forward after him, pinning the other man down. However, he quickly regained his composure when he realized what he was doing and reluctantly drew back, his body trembling from the effort.

“S-Shizun,” Binghe said, his voice rough. “I… I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t be able to hold back… so I’ll… I’ll just go and…”

Shen Qingqiu reached up to wrap his arms around his husband’s neck, attempting to trap him so that he couldn’t escape. He was about to utter assurances when he stopped short. “The ointment!”

Binghe paused at that. “Ointment?”

“T-the pouch!” Shen Qingqiu blurted out. “Did you find a pouch in my clothes?” When the demon lord gave a small nod of acknowledgement, the shizun continued. “It contains a jar of ointment and a recipe. It was a gift from that world’s Yingying! It’s for, ah… it’s…,” The peak lord paused as his face began to turn pink. When Binghe noticed and furrowed his brow, the blush spread across his face to the tip of his ears. “For…”

“‘For’?” Binghe repeated.

“...Assisting in…,” Shen Qingqiu muttered, struggling to find the words but not wholly willing to stop. By now, the blush had spread to his shoulders. He couldn’t believe he was uttering such things but he couldn’t back off now. Besides, hadn’t they done worse things? It was as if he had suddenly become a blushing maiden, and that comparison certainly didn’t help his embarrassment any! “...Putting… very big things in… very tight places…”

Binghe stared at Shen Qingqiu for several moments as he tried to decipher what his shizun had said. The shizun could see the exact moment when realization dawned, as the demon lord’s eyebrows shot straight up as his pupils became large.

Bingmei practically flung the blankets off the bed as he jumped off it, racing across the room. He hurried to where he had discarded the shizun’s clothes upon bringing him back to the bamboo house. The shizun gawked as his husband bent over to root through the clothes before he carefully removed the pouch.

Binghe opened the fabric container and pulled out the scroll, still tied securely with its pink ribbon, before withdrawing the small glass jar of pointment. Binghe placed both the pouch and the recipe on the vanity before turning to face Shen Qingqiu, holding the glass jar with both hands, with a reverence that was typically reserved for sacred artifacts or relics and not… lubricant.

“We… we have to try it!” Binghe said, his voice quivering, before he lifted his eyes to stare at his husband. “C-can we try it, Shizun!?”

Shen Qingqiu let out an awkward chuckle. How could his disciple ask something so earnestly, all the while standing there with his heavenly pillar at full attention like that!? It was fully noticeable even through the inner robes, which did a terrible job of obscuring it. “W-well, we… would certainly need to, wouldn’t we? No sense in making more until we know it… does the job properly-”

Binghe pounced onto the bed, interrupting the peak lord. He loomed over his husband, his eyes practically sparkling. He swiftly set about removing both their robes, forcing Shen Qingqiu to assist lest the garments get ripped apart like tissue. The demon lord broke eye contact only to look down as he opened the glass jar, pulling out the cork with a pop.

Shen Qingqiu was immediately greeted by a floral scent. He paused before he furrowed his brow, attempting to place the flower. It was a rather sweet scent, not overpowering, but its identity eluded him.

Then again, there was a strong possibility it was one of Airplane-bro’s arsenal of mythical flowers, a plethora of plot devices for all his wanton narrative needs. The author was always pulling something out of his ass to justify, excuse, or resolve a situation that the idea of one such device being used for personal lubricant wasn’t entirely impossible - in fact, it was incredibly likely.

“Or, perhaps, this Madam Chao Fang had simply found a use for one of his plot devices that he hadn’t considered,” Shen Qingqiu thought, with a wry chuckle. His sex scenes were hardly that imaginative, after all. With all the ‘wham bam, thank you ma’am’ the idiot wrote, Shen Qingqiu doubted-

A sudden feeling of Binghe’s finger slipping inside, slick with the ointment, immediately turned the peak lord’s thoughts blank.

Shen Qingqiu let out a squeaky gasp as he reached up to grab his husband’s shoulders, his hips arching slightly. The sensitive ring of muscle initially protested the sudden intrusion, tightening up - as it usually did. However, as the invading finger moved around gently, spreading the ointment thoroughly against every nook and cranny, the peak lord found his body beginning to relax in spite of itself. Warmth, originating from that sensitive area, began to spread outwards as a light flush appeared on his face.

“A-ah… that…,” Shen Qingqiu murmured, his voice hitching. “That’s not… so bad…”

Binghe was watching his shizun’s face intently as he slowly moved his finger about such an intimate area, gently massaging the muscles. The ointment felt warm and slick against his skin, so he could only imagine what it must have felt like there. And in the end, he didn’t have to, as the peak lord’s flushed face told him very clearly.

The demon lord began to grin as he moved a second finger, slowly easing it in to join the first. He felt his husband tense slightly as his entrance tried to protest, but it quickly abandoned all pretense of resistance and became far more welcoming with each stroke.

Shen Qingqiu shivered, his legs spreading instinctively as his hips began to shift from side to side. His hands fumbled down to grasp at the sheets as he arched his back, letting out a wide assortment of little gasps.

The peak lord let out a plaintive whine when Binghe used his free hand to snatch Shen Qingqiu’s right leg, lifting it up so that he could lick the captive leg at the knee before gently nibbling on the man’s inner thigh. The peak lord curled his toes before reaching over to try and grab at Binghe again, though his hands fumbled in the air unsuccessfully.

Binghe chuckled before granting his husband mercy, leaning forward so that Shen Qingqiu could grab hold of his shoulders once more. He continued to move closer so that he could kiss the man, guiding him back down onto the bed as his fingers moved in and out, simulating a very particular action.

Shen Qingqiu wrapped his arms around Binghe’s neck as he closed his eyes, drowning into the kiss. He didn’t even notice as his hips began to move in rhythm with the demon lord’s fingers - but Binghe did. He slipped a third finger in, and noted with excitement that his husband’s body barely protested. He spread his fingers slowly, coaxing the muscles to relax and loosen more in preparation of something much larger.

When Shen Qingqiu finally broke the kiss to gulp down air, he found himself grasping at Binghe’s back, trying desperately to cling to him. The demon lord didn’t even mind the red marks that began to tail behind his shizun’s nails, instead taking them as proof of a job well done.

Slowly, Binghe slipped his fingers out of his husband, eliciting a moan from the trembling man. It was becoming harder and harder, quite literally, to keep himself at bay and the way the man was writhing beneath him only spurred him on. The demon lord paused for only a moment to lather a healthy amount of the ointment on his heavenly eagerness before gently lining up the tip against his shizun’s sensitive and well-prepped area. He felt Shen Qingqiu’s breathing hitch. He moved to kiss the other man’s slick forehead before he slowly moved his hips forward.

Shen Qingqiu let out a shiver as he felt himself being filled, and filled he was. It had always been a problem before, as his disciple had been ‘blessed’ as all true stallion protagonists were with obscene monuments of manliness - wonderful in theory, but abysmal in practice.

And yet, unlike all the other times, it went in - it went in with little difficulty. The ointment made the passage smooth, even pleasurable until he felt himself completely full. Beyond some mild discomfort at the tightness, Binghe was in and it felt good.

The peak lord tilted his head back so that his head rested against the bed, panting with his arms locked tight around his disciple’s neck. In his head, he began to chant over and over. “Thank you, thank you, thank you… Madam Chao Fang… most esteemed Madam Chao Fang… revered Madam Chao Fang… may you be granted eternal blessings… may your days be filled with bliss… may you gain enlightenment and all the honors you deserve…! Thank you, thank you, thank you…!”

In his mind, he continued to chant praises and platitudes to the woman from the other world who had created something so miraculous. Surely he would have been shedding tears of gratitude, if he wasn’t already weeping from the intense sensations in such an intimate area. But when Binghe rocked his hips forward, all thoughts of anyone but his husband were driven swiftly from his mind.

Binghe let out a low growl as he rocked his hips slowly, taking everything he had not to straight go full hilt right away. His body screamed for more, as the ointment was having an effect on him just as much as Shen Qingqiu, but he was determined to make certain this time, things would go absolutely perfect.

The demon lord moved forward to nip at Shen Qingqiu’s throat, which the other man had presented him unthinkingly. In turn, the shizun fumbled up his left hand to bury his fingers in his husband’s hair, tugging lightly at the luscious locks. His long legs locked around Binghe’s hips as his own began to move to the rhythm the demon lord had set - fumbling at first, before gradually easing into a complimentary motion.

“B-Binghe…,” Shen Qingqiu whimpered as he gave a small tug of his husband’s hair. “It’s in, Binghe… it’s… it’s in…!” As if the demon lord couldn’t possibly already know that without being told! “It’s in!”

“I know,” Binghe murmured against the peak lord’s skin, before sucking to form little red marks, vivid against the pale skin. “I know… I’m in… and you’re accepting every inch of me… right here…!” He gave a small deep thrust forward for emphasis, which prompted a sharp gasp to escape the man beneath him.

Binghe couldn’t take it anymore and began to move his hips quickly, plunging himself deeply into his willing - and accepting - husband. His hands moved to grip the peak lord’s pale hips, assisting in guiding them with each thrust.

Shen Qingqiu began to babble his husband’s name over and over as he tugged at the man’s hair again, his other hand digging his nails into the demon’s back. When the heavenly pillar brushed against that very sensitive spot deep inside, the peak lord cried out and arched his back as he saw stars, spots dancing in his view. He released Binghe’s hair to reach back and grab at the bed above his head, clamping down on the headboard.

The bed creaked noisily beneath them, accenting each thrust Binghe used to drive himself deep within his precious shizun - his shizun. He loved every sound the peak lord made, but he especially loved the ones he made in that moment. Each gasp and shivering cry, full of pleasure without even a hint of pain, was like sweet music.

And as Shen Qingqiu sang for him, it made Bingmei’s own body sing in response, thriving not only on the pleasure he felt but what he delivered to his precious husband. His hips rocked hard forward again and again, the ointment expertly assisting in a smooth motion each time.

The demon lord shifted his attention to the peak lord’s left shoulder, licking the skin before moving to bite it - not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough for the shizun to feel it. And feel it he did, judging by the way the muscles clenched slightly.

Shen Qingqiu gasped desperately for air, his skin slick with sweat as a lush pink covered his face and shoulders - even his ears glowed red. He gave a shake of his head as he kept his eyes firmly clamped shut. “Bi… Bin…Bing-haaAaaAah… Bi-Binghe-! I ca… can’t… I can’t - I can’t - I can’t…!”

“Then don’t,” Binghe growled against the man’s skin, his own breathing rough as his hot breath caressed the sensitive flesh. He snaked one of his hands down to grip at Shen Qingqiu’s own hardness, the lingering ointment on his fingers smearing across the sizzling flesh. Even as he continued to rock his hips forward, he slipped his thumb up the length of his husband’s own peak and began to stroke it, encouraging it to its limit. “Scream for me.” 

And scream Shen Qingqiu did. It was all too much for the poor peak lord, after everything he had endured the past few days. He shuddered and wailed a word that sounded suspiciously like ‘husband’ as tears streamed down his cheeks. His muscles locked up, squeezing the demon lord tightly as his peak erupted, hot liquid covering Binghe’s hand.

Binghe’s self control finally broke and he felt himself similarly explode, coating his husband’s insides with his own eruption. He clung tightly to the lithe man beneath him, his breathing like a strained hiss through his teeth. Even so, he kept his eyes firmly open as he watched every inch of Shen Qingqiu’s face, drinking in his pleasure as if it were water to a dying man.

Beautiful. Shen Qingqiu was so beautiful.

Only when Binghe felt his husband begin to go limp did he finally allow himself to relax as well, gently lowering himself onto his shizun and cradling him in his arms. He held the other man tenderly as Shen Qingqiu blinked his eyes blurrily, trying to regain his vision as spots continued to dance about in front of him.

For a long moment, only the sound of the two men catching their breath filled the room, their panting mingling together. Then, the peak lord finally let out a heavy sigh and flopped back against the bed, completely spent with no strength left. Even his legs barely dangled off the demon lord’s hips, held in place only by the position itself than any real effort.

“If… if it’s all the same to you,” Shen Qingqiu murmured. “I would like to lie here a bit longer… just a bit longer… morning doesn’t start until I say it does, hm?”

Binghe chuckled before he moved his head to nuzzle the peak lord, a bright smile on his face. “Rest then. Sleep the whole afternoon away, if you like… your husband will indulge you~!”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that, his eyes widening. Had he actually called that out loud at some point!? He couldn’t even remember, his mind had gone completely blank! His eyes darted down to the demon lord’s face, whose cheshire-like grin confirmed his suspicions. And while it certainly wasn’t a lie to call Binghe his husband after all this time, and all they’ve done together, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing to cry out!

The shizun covered his face with his hands. Surely he would’ve rolled over into a fetal position, if they weren’t still locked together by a certain appendage. Binghe chuckled before he pulled his hips back, reluctantly disengaging himself, before he moved to spoon the mortified shizun from behind.

“I will clean us up,” Binghe said into the peak lord’s ear. “And then you can rest as much as you like.”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that before he stopped covering his face and slowly reached down, taking the demon lord’s hands with his own. “...In a moment. Just… let us stay like this for a moment more.”

Binghe nuzzled his husband, his hand eagerly accepting the tender gesture and lacing their fingers together. He hooked his leg over Shen Qingqiu’s, pulling the man’s tired body closer to his own before he set his chin on the man’s shoulder.

“As you wish, Shizun,” he purred.

---

Several hours later, the sun had slowly begun its descent from the sky, creeping towards the horizon. It had been a long and tedious day, and none had worked quite so hard as Shang Qinghua, the lord of An Ding Peak.

Placing this order, doing that inventory, approving those budgets, sourcing these requests - the life of logistics was ever busy, as materialism was alive and well in the world. Between tending to peak business, his king’s business, and Bingmei’s business, Qinghua had worked himself quite exhaustedly - if he did so say so himself.

And so naturally, the hardworking and tirelessly slaving peak lord entirely deserved to take a minute to himself and enjoy some melon seeds in the privacy of his study - again, if he did say so himself.

And so he did, munching away contently as he half-heartedly looked over the reports in front of him. He had just grabbed a handful and popped them into his mouth when the door suddenly burst open with a kick.

Shang Qinghua choked on the melon needs, nearly Cucumber-bro-ing himself into his next novel. Thankfully, he was able to clear his throat, spitting seeds onto the official report in front of him, and saving himself the trouble. He coughed a few times before looking up to see who had come to visit him at such an hour - and in such a way, no less.

Standing in the doorway, his eyes blazing, was Luo Binghe. A large smile was spread across his face, the shadows creating an almost sinister darkness across the curves of his face.

Shang Qinghua felt a shiver run up his spine at the sight before his mind quickly struggled to figure out what was happening. He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he? He couldn’t think of anything wrong! What had he done? Had he done something? What was happening?!

“Shang-xiansheng,” Luo Binghe said, his smile sharp. “You are not too busy for visitors, I trust?”

The respectful address did absolutely nothing to soothe Qinghua’s nerves. If anything, it felt like a sarcastic barb from the demon lord, who clearly outranked him in every possible way. Even though the demon lord didn’t seem to intend to be menacing, as far as he could tell, Shang Qinghua still felt pretty damned menaced! Still, it didn’t sound like he had done anything wrong, so that was a small measure of relief.

“M-my lord,” Shang Qinghua said, forcing a smile on his face despite the way his voice quivered. “I always have time for you! How can I assist you-?”

The peak lord of An Ding Peak jumped slightly when the demon lord strode forward and slammed a scroll, delicately tied with a pink ribbon, down in front of him, right on top of the records. Shang Qinghua blinked before he lifted his head and stiffened, finding himself face to face with the beaming Luo Binghe.

“I have a very important order for you.”

Chapter Text

Walking through the bamboo grove was a fairly nostalgic feeling for Binghe, bringing with it both positive and negative emotions. It reminded him of his childhood, where he was tortured daily by a cruel man. However, he also remembered with great joy how he had burned it all to ash in retaliation for said torture. That was definitely a defining moment of his life!

But now here Bingge was, walking through that same bamboo grove of his childhood until it gave way to lush woods. Everything was exactly as it was back then seemingly without a single leaf out of place, and his youthful body to match. He had dreamed of this place many times, as a favorite haunt of both his nightmares and his fantasies. But in this moment, everything had a sense of newness, like a clear morning after a heavy rain.

Bingge came to a stop by a large tree. He reached up to place his hand against it as he looked skyward through the forest canopy. He could see the daylight through the leaves, like a flickering dance of light on the forest floor.

The former demon lord let out a hum in the back of his throat before turning to look at his hand. He felt the tree’s qi against his palm as he actively sought it out. He had long since gone rusty with his qi, having spent more of his adult life focusing on his demonic qi instead. It had only made logical sense, given how much stronger his demon heritage made him. But that had come back to bite him, as his demon blood was firmly sealed at this time period and with it the vast majority of the power he had accrued.

But then, he could hardly be blamed for that. Who the hell would ever anticipate suddenly being sent back in time?

Still, it was fine. He was rusty, not amnesiac. He still had the knowledge and the experience, even if his body wasn’t synced up to match. Given his aptitude, he’d be able to bridge that gap quickly enough. He’d still be starting off with a considerable head start, especially compared to the rest of these dredges. And once he figured out how to get his demonic powers unlocked, perhaps even sooner than they had been before, well…

Bingge chuckled as a smirk slithered across his face, as he dug his fingers into the bark.

“A-Luo!”

Bingge stopped and then glanced up to see Ning Yingying heading over towards him, like a fawn bouncing through a meadow. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his childhood friend. She was much younger, as to be expected, and had a childish air about her - one that never fully left even as an adult.

“Here you are!” the young female disciple chirped as she waved her arms in greeting. “I was looking everywhere for you!”

“Good morning, Yi-,” Binghe immediately stopped himself, as he recalled a certain incident with that other Binghe’s Yingying. It called to mind that he didn’t really remember what their relationship was like at this particular time. Obviously, it had become quite intimate at a future time, but he couldn’t be certain if that had begun to develop at this time just yet. It would be best to play it safe and take cues from her reaction. “...Ning-shijie.”

Yingying didn’t even twitch, which confirmed that Bingge had made the right choice. Instead, she hopped up to her shidi, full of smiles. “I heard you were busy running all over the place today, so I came to find you. What are you doing out here, A-Luo?”

“Ah, that,” Bingge said, with an easy-going smile. He hadn’t exactly been subtle in his little journey through memory lane, so he could only imagine all the eyes that had caught a glance of him wandering around like a tourist. “I was looking for a good place to train. I have to do my best while Shizun is recovering. I can’t slack off just because Shizun isn’t feeling well.”

Yingying frowned, concern clear on her face. “Yeah. Everyone’s really worried about Shizun right now,” After a moment, her smile returned. “But he seems to be doing better now that Mu-xiansheng has seen him!”

Binghe found himself curious about Shen Jiu’s current state. He would have to stop by the Bamboo House at some point to take a look for himself. But that’d have to be later, perhaps sometime during the night when most staring eyes had gone to bed. Given their current relationship, he doubted he could just waltz into the Bamboo House without invitation, after all. Not without causing a fuss, at any rate. He would just focus on himself in the meantime and get situated in his surroundings.

“Good,” Binghe said. “We should do our best for Shizun’s sake. Right, Ning-shijie?”

“Right!” Yingying agreed.

“There you are!”

Binghe felt a surge of adrenaline at the haughty voice that called out, like a crow’s shrill scream that disturbed the forest calm. It immediately made his blood go into a roiling boil. Slowly, the disciple turned his head to see Ming Fan stomping towards them with an air of confidence and self-importance, no doubt emboldened by the other disciples following behind him like flies on shit.

And that was precisely what the boy was - absolute shit.

But for all the head disciple’s talk and bluster, the former demon lord remembered all too well how the boy had fallen apart as he was being torn apart by thousands of ants - bite by bite. The screams, the wailing, the pleading for mercy - there had been none of this confidence then. He remembered that scene quite vividly, even now as he forcibly made himself recall that moment in order to cool the lava bubbling through him.

While Bingge certainly wouldn’t mind giving the bastard a repeat performance, he wasn’t stupid. He vehemently rejected the idea that his shizun could ever have cared for the little toad beyond what meager usefulness he offered, but he wasn’t going to tempt fate. There was no way it wouldn’t jeopardize his shizun’s journey to better personhood - murder tended to frighten even the coldest of hearts. He had learned that quite well.

Shen Jiu’s heart was far too cracked in the moment to risk another scare, not yet.

Slowly, Bingge let out the breath he had been holding before he schooled his expression into something more neutral. Still, his eyes carried a coldness rivaling the deepest winter that surely dropped the temperature of the forest grove several degrees. “Good morning, shixiong.”

“Shizun falls ill for a brief moment and you run off to play around?” Ming Fan asked with a scoff, clenching his fists and placing them against his hips as he puffed his chest. “Shameful!”

Bingge continued to keep his expression neutral as he tried to think of an equally neutral reply, one without the barbs just dancing on his tongue. He never got a chance to fully formulate a response, as Ning Yingying suddenly beat him to it.

“A-Luo wasn’t playing around!” she protested with a huff, placing her hands on her hips and puffed her chest as if mimicking the head disciple’s pose. “He was looking for a good place to train!”

“Hoh? Is that what he calls-?” Ming Fan began before he turned to give Luo Binghe a scornful stare, only to stop short when their eyes met. Something about the way the other disciple was looking at him chilled him to the bone. It was as if he could literally feel Bingge ripping his skin off his body with his eyes alone.

The sight made Ming Fan hesitate before he recovered, thrusting up his chest even more, like a bloated peacock. “R-regardless. Regardless! He knows that training comes after chores! There’s still plenty of firewood to chop and water to carry! It’s more important now than ever, with Shizun recovering!”

“Then why don’t you get some?” Ning Yingying asked, indignant for her shidi’s sake as she gave a stamp of her right foot. “Why is it always A-Luo who has to fetch the wood and water, every day?”

“Xiao-shimei, I understand why you might find things to be unfair,” Ming Fan replied, his tone might have sounded pacifying if it hadn’t been so damn condescending. “But you have to understand. There is a hierarchy that must be followed, for the sake of sect unity-”

“He’s absolutely right, Ning-shijie.”

Everyone stopped when Luo Binghe commented, turning to stare at him. The former demon lord had a smile on his face, but it felt sharp - far too sharp. His eyes were still focused on Ming Fan, with an intensity that made the head disciple shiver. The confusion on the boy’s face only served to make Bingge’s smile widen.

Wordlessly, the former demon lord reached over to again place his hand on the tree beside him. He pressed his fingertips in, feeling the qi once more, before he gathered his own qi and sent a surge of it right into the defenseless plant.

With a sickening crack, the tree shattered. Bits of bark and wood shot out in various directions, some even bouncing off Bingge’s back and shoulder with little effect, as the once massive tree crumbled. The former demon lord held Ming Fan’s horrified stare as he and the other disciples gawked, stunned into complete silence as the tree collapsed in on itself as it was reduced to nothing but a pile of pulp and splinters.

“Shixiong,” Bingge drawled. “I’m done with gathering the firewood,” He paused before his eyes widened, though his smile never left his face. “Oh, but… they’re much too small to be of any use, aren’t they? A thousand apologies, shixiong. I’ll do better next time.”

Ming Fan opened his mouth several times, like a fish gasping for air, before he finally managed to find the ability to speak. “Y… y… y-yes, it’s… you did it wrong! Y-you need to… try harder!” His voice cracked, despite his attempts to sound firm and authoritative. “A-a-and be quick about it!”

“Of course, shixiong,” Bingge said as he gripped his hands together, palm over fist, in a respectful bow. “I will try my best.”

“You… you do that!” Ming Fan barked before he turned sharply on his heels, gesturing to the other lower-level disciples to follow. They barely needed the instruction, as they practically ran away from the former demon lord back towards the sect proper.

Bingge smirked as the group left quickly, apparently abandoning all pretense of their visit. He lifted his head to watch the head disciple leave before he noticed Ning Yingying out of the corner of his eyes.

She looked rather shocked herself, though the female disciple seemed to be struggling between concern and apprehension of what happened. He couldn’t blame her, as he had suddenly become rather menacing - it was kind of the point - which was something her A-Luo had never done.

Still, it would be easy enough to fix.

“Ning-shijie,” Binghe said, his voice softer as he plastered a look of regret on his face. “It looks like I need more training. I wasn’t able to control my qi well enough at all… I’m sure Shizun will be so disappointed. I wasted the whole tree.”

At his words, Ning Yingying paused before she seemed to relax. As expected, she took his explanation at face value and offered the former demon lord a reassuring smile. “That’s okay, A-Luo. I’m sure Shizun will just tell you to keep practicing, and you’ll get it right!” She giggled and covered her mouth with her right hand. “That would have been so incredible if it had worked! Chopping a whole tree, just like that! It would make chores so easy!”

Bingge smiled back at the girl, the expression far more gentle than the one he gave the head disciple. He turned his head to glance back the way the group had retreated, and suppressed a small chuckle lest he upset Yingying again.

It didn’t take much to assume that the lackey - and his lackeys - had come to pick a fight. They were always picking a fight back in those days, trying to curry favor with their scum master. Today was supposed to be no different; they probably heard that he had been released from the woodshed and meant to kick the dog while it was down. After all, no kindness should ever go unpunished.

Obviously, he had changed the intended outcome. He probably avoided a beating - he had experienced dozens of them by this time period - and gave the head disciple reason to second guess any future bullying. But that might have been assuming too much intelligence from goldfish droppings, trailing behind their illustrious shizun.

Either way, he’d deal with it when it happened.

Bingge gave a full-body shrug, as if he were shaking out the whole exchange - out of mind, out of body - before he turned to smile at Yingying. “Anyway, this disciple will try again and again until he gets it right. I’ll have an entire mountain of firewood, just for Shizun,” He clenched his fists and raised them in an encouraging manner as he smiled brightly at the female disciple. “Please watch over me, Ning-shijie~!”

Ning Yingying clapped her hands as she giggled, bouncing in place. “I know you can do it, A-Luo!”

“I’ll do my best,” Luo Binghe replied, with a slight smirk.

---

Bingge had really only meant to do his little qi trick a couple more times, to properly build his cover story after threatening Ming Fan. Just enough to cement the illusion that he was gradually learning a new skill. But with the way Ning Yingying kept encouraging him, clapping every time the tree fell apart and gushing with praise, the former demon lord found himself unable to stop.

Luo Binghe justified it, telling himself it was just training. And in a sense, it was - his body was rapidly responding to his efforts, to the point that it was becoming easier and quicker to destroy the trees with increasingly smaller amounts of qi. But he knew in his heart that wasn’t the main reason - the praise was.

Ning Yingying had always been one of his greatest supporters, and in fact his only supporter on Qing Jing Peak. It was the reason why she was the only survivor in their original future, she had been the one thing worth saving among the rest of the garbage. And it seemed that, once again, the young girl was acting as his most ardent cheerleader. The positive reinforcement, the gushing, the admiration - he was consuming it like air, to the point that he was practically becoming drunk on it.

And unfortunately, that meant he didn’t stop when he was supposed to, when he had planned to, and ended up creating a large clearing in the woods. And he only stopped then because there was nowhere else to stack the logs.

Bingge stopped as he glanced around the clearing, at the piles upon piles of wood he had generated. Even Ning Yingying had run out of space to stand, instead sitting on a stack of lumber with a bright smile on her face. The former demon lord’s face became rueful as he surveyed what he had done.

There was just way too damn much wood.

“Wow, A-Luo,” Yingying said as she kicked her feet idly from her perch atop the logs. “There’s enough wood to fuel the whole peak for weeks!”

Bingge gave a lopsided smile as he nodded before he lightly rotated his right shoulder, placing his left hand against it. “Well, then…”

The female disciple watched as her shidi began stacking up wood in his arms. She frowned as he seemed to be stacking more and more than she felt safe to carry. “A-Luo, that’s a lot of wood… are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll have to make quite a few trips as it is to get done before nightfall,” Bingge replied, and gave the girl a smile. “This is training too, so I’ll do my best.”

And that at least was the truth. He had completed his qi practice, so now was the time to focus on his muscles. He could feel them protesting a bit, but he imagined they’d warm right up and get with the program after a few trips.

Yingying made a small noise of understanding in her throat before she hopped down from her throne of lumber. Dusting herself off, she proceeded to pick up some of the wood herself - though a much smaller pile. “Then, I’ll help A-Luo!”

“Be careful, Ning-shijie,” Bingge said as he glanced over his shoulder. “It’s heavy.”

Ning Yingying gave a small scoff as she hoisted up her own pile, trying to look quite serious despite how out of place it looked on her face. “A-Luo, don’t forget, I’m your shijie! Your shijie will be able to handle this, no problem!”

Bingge quirked a small smile as he suppressed a chuckle. How could he possibly laugh at the girl when she was trying to be so serious? “Of course, Ning-shijie. Let’s both do our best.”

“Right!” Yingying said with a sharp nod.

Even with the two of them working together, the task should have proved to be quite an ordeal - emphasis on should have. If they were two regular disciples, it would’ve taken them several hours to make the multitude of trips to and from their destination to carry all the wood. However, they were not two regular disciples - one of them was the protagonist.

And in true protagonist fashion, whether he realized it or not, the entire ordeal became little more than a training montage for Bingge, as the pile of wood he carried grew higher, and the strength of his muscles increased to match. By the end, the communal kitchen, woodshed, and living quarters were thoroughly stacked with resources. It was scarcely noon by the time Ning Yingying and Bingge made their way to their final destination with the last bit of cargo - the Bamboo House.

Ning Yingying approached the front door and carefully opened it, peering inside. Seeing that their shizun was fast asleep in bed, she moved her finger to her lips in a quieting gesture before opening the door wide for her shidi.

As Luo Binghe slipped inside with his arms full of wood, he couldn’t help but glance towards Shen Jiu. He hadn’t really planned to visit so openly, but the opportunity had presented itself so neatly so why not take it? From what he could see, the scum looked to be fast asleep, his head resting against his pillow with one arm draped across his chest while the other dangled down off the bed. The scene could almost be considered peaceful, if not for how hideously pale and sickly the man looked.

Bingge must have been noticeably staring after he had set down the wood in the kitchen, as it prompted Ning Yingying to draw close enough to whisper in his ear, cupping her hands around her mouth to try and stifle the sound.

“Shizun caught a very bad fever suddenly,” she said, her voice quiet so as not to wake the man in question. “No one knows why it happened.”

Bingge made a noise in his throat. He had a pretty damn good idea of ‘why it happened’. The man had just been forcibly brought back from the dead. While others had suffered the same fate, such as their dear sect leader, the key difference was that none of them actually remembered any of it.

Shen Jiu did remember. That, obviously, would have some side-effects. Even Bingge had been knocked out and disoriented by the restoration, and he hadn’t been a mangled corpse in a jar. Still, the man seemed to be recovering well enough if a fever was all he had to deal with.

The man was like a cockroach - resilient, stubborn, and difficult to kill. It was why it had caught him so off-guard to find the man had finally died in his absence. It had been yet one more betrayal by the man who should have been his shizun. It was like the scum had snuck away, like a thief in the night skulking under the shroud of darkness.

…But he wasn’t here to fume about any of that. He was giving the scum villain a chance to make things right, so he had to be a little magnanimous and not stew on the past too much. He’d give the man a little more rope before making any effort to hang him with it.

The former demon lord was interrupted in his brooding by Yingying, who moved him over to the bed. Binghe watched as the girl leaned down to pick up a compress that had fallen on the bed beside their shizun, long since dry. She gave it a few good shakes before dousing it in the small bowl of water by the nightstand.

Carefully, Ning Yingying removed the now-wet compress from the bowl before placing it back on her shizun’s forehead. She was immediately rewarded with a jerk from the bedridden man, causing her to squeak in alarm - a sound that was rather similar to the one Shen Jiu himself had just made.

Shen Jiu’s heart thundered in his chest as he dug his fingers into the bed, eyes wildly searching the room. When they fell upon the startled Ning Yingying, the scum villain paused with a blank look on his face. After several moments of silence, the man seemed to school his expression into something far more calm.

“Ah, Yingying,” Shen Jiu said, softly. “I… it’s you.”

“I’m sorry, Shizun,” Yingying said regretfully. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I… no, it’s quite… alright,” Shen Jiu said softly as he reached up to place his hand on the fresh compress, holding it in place. “This master was just… resting his eyes. That’s all.”

Yingying frowned, puffing her cheeks out slightly. “I hope you’re resting far more than your eyes, Shizun!”

Shen Jiu paused at that before he chuckled lightly. “I’m feeling better now. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Bingge kept his expression neutral as he watched from the doorway leading into the kitchen. The whole exchange gave an impression of a loving master and disciple relationship. How ironic that their very relationship was one of the charges that destroyed said ’master’, sealing his fate deep in the dungeons of Huan Hua Palace.

Even if it was just an illusion to hide the scum’s true intentions, seeing their ‘relationship’ in action still made every hair on Bingge’s body bristle. If the bastard could pretend so easily, then why couldn’t he have at least tried to pretend for him-

“Ah, that’s right!” Yingying said. “Shizun, you’re going to be so proud of A-Luo!”

Bingge stopped short mid-brooding and looked over to see his childhood friend practically jumping in place, beaming brightly. He got a very good look at Shen Jiu’s face, who looked particularly taken aback by the sudden outburst.

Shen Jiu furrowed his brow as he stared at Ning Yingying before his eyes finally drifted over to the other side of the room, settling on the other visitor - the one that he clearly hadn’t noticed until that very moment. All the color drained from the man’s face, which was pretty impressive considering how pale he was to begin with. A small tremor ran up Shen Jiu’s spine as he dug his fingers into his blanket.

Bingge shifted his expression into something more docile and harmless, as if he didn’t see the way the man’s whole body flinched at the mere sight of him. But inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel a thrill. The scum villain’s reaction was proof that the former demon lord had left a mark on the man who had seemed so completely untouchable.

Though, it admittedly wasn’t all that helpful now, was it?

Ning Yingying noticed her shizun’s complexion had gotten worse and moved to grasp his shoulders, as if she thought he was about to faint. “Shizun, if you’re lightheaded, you should lay down again!”

“I… n-no, I’m… I’m fine, I’m fine,” Shen Jiu said carefully. “What… what was that you were saying about… Luo Binghe?”

“Oh, right!” Yingying said, as if her comment had been nothing but a passing thought that suddenly flickered back into mind. “A-Luo was using that technique you taught him to gather firewood. It was amazing! He gathered so much firewood that the whole peak won’t need more for a long time!”

Shen Jiu furrowed his brow. “Ah, did he now…?”

Bingge did his best to keep his face innocent even as he mentally he cackled at the sight of Shen Jiu’s expression. The way his eyes darted around, his brow scrunching with confusion, practically screamed ‘I taught the beast something?’ in sheer disbelief.

And truthfully, Shen Jiu hadn’t - he never taught his disciple anything, except the true meaning of hatred and anger. He had even given the defenseless boy a false training manual, which Bingge only became aware of years later after receiving real instruction.

However, the former demon lord didn’t need to worry about his lie to Yingying unraveling. Shen Jiu wasn’t so stupid as to outwardly confess to not teaching his disciple anything. Moreover, given how much time had passed and how much the man had gone through, the scum villain probably couldn’t say definitively that it was a lie. His memories of his more peaceful days had most likely been buried under mountains of pain and suffering, which he was currently trying to sift through.

With so much confusion, trauma, and vague memories, could the scum villain really be certain of anything?

In the end, it seemed Shen Jiu opted to play defensively. He straightened up before giving a small nod. “I-I see. And he did well?”

“Yes!” Yingying said brightly before she turned to smile at Bingge, clearly proud of her shidi and only too happy to show it. “A-Luo did very well!”

Bingge gave a bow, left palm closing over his right fist as he raised his hands respectfully towards his shizun. “I did my best to remember Shizun’s teachings.”

Shen Jiu opened his mouth before closing it sharply. He chewed on the words in his mouth, a slight grimace on his face. There was clearly a gap in his memories, but that was to be expected given the sheer amount of time that had passed between his future and his now-present. He couldn’t deny the possibility that he had taught the brat something, if only to throw crumbs the brat’s way and maintain the illusion of something resembling a legitimate master-disciple relationship.

But all that aside, the current situation was apparently being set up as an opportunity to ‘be a good shizun’. He knew that part of being a ‘good shizun’ was giving praise to his disciples, and clearly the situation demanded it, but the words felt like cotton in his mouth. He had never once praised the brat, and that was before the brat had grown into a beast. But to actually praise him now, knowing full well what he was capable of!?

…But wasn’t that all the more reason to praise him? To throw scraps to the beast in hopes that it would pacify him? Was that not the very purpose of ‘being a better shizun’?

Bingge kept his head bowed, not out of respect but because it allowed him to covertly peer at the man’s face. The scum villain looked like he had swallowed a frog, which was currently trying to climb its way back out his mouth.

Shen Jiu swallowed hard before he struggled to speak. “I see, then… I… he… he did g… g… goo…”

Bingge’s expression deadpanned. With the way the man was acting, one would think he was being tortured for information rather than being pressed to give simple praise. And yet the pain and discomfort was palpable. What an absolute scum villain. It would’ve been humorous if it hadn’t been so pathetic.

“...I-I see,” Shen Jiu said, finally abandoning the effort as he turned to Yingying and nodded his head slowly. “Then I… I will expect even greater things from him in the future.”

“Coward,” Bingge thought with a small smirk.

“Of course!” Yingying agreed, beaming as she took his vague words as praise for her dear shidi. “A-Luo will definitely prove himself, Shizun!”

“Ning-shijie,” Bingge said as he straightened up, prompting the girl to look at him. “I will go fetch fresh water for Shizun, and refill his water jars. Should I fetch more clean towels too?” He would have his hands full with the water, but he didn’t really expect to get the towels himself. He was more tossing the idea out so that his childhood friend might catch it.

And catch it, she did. Yingying’s eyes immediately lit up before she turned to check on the towels sitting on the nightstand that were meant to be used for Shen Jiu’s fever and frowned. Most had already been used and looked a little ruffled because of it. She gave a small nod before turning to Bingge. “Don’t worry about the towels, I’ll go get more. Just worry about the water, okay, A-Luo?”

Bingge gave a nod, smiling. “Of course, Ning-shijie.”

Yingying gathered up the used towels, leaving only the one currently on her shizun’s forehead, before turning to smile at Shen Jiu. “Don’t worry, Shizun! Just get more rest, and we’ll take care of everything.”

Shen Jiu nearly swallowed his tongue. In the past, he would’ve thrown an absolute fit at how much his disciple was interacting with the beast. He had specifically instructed her to stay away from him, and yet here she was openly galavanting about with him! The peak lord wanted to bark at the boy to stay away from her, to warn her away from the little beast, but he didn’t dare - not now.

“...Just take care of yourself, Yingying,” Shen Jiu said, softly. It was the most he dared to say, to warn her.

“Of course,” Yingying agreed, totally missing his meaning with how eagerly she accepted his warning. “And you should take care of yourself too, Shizun, and get more sleep!”

“I… will try,” Shen Jiu agreed as his eyes drifted over to Luo Binghe, who was looking at him with an air of absolute innocence. The very sight of the beast made his skin crawl, despite his best assurances that the boy hadn’t done anything wrong - yet. And if the peak lord did what he was supposed to do, it wouldn’t happen.

Supposedly.

“Spirit,” Shen Jiu muttered. “Is there truly no other way?”

[There is one other possible resolution to the current situation.]

[User Shen Qingqiu could simply choose to fail the mission.]

[All concerns would effectively be resolved in a definitive manner.]

Shen Jiu’s expression flattened. “You are a hateful little thing, you know that?”

[ ಥ◡ಥ ]

---

Shen Jiu awoke with a start, then grimaced as he reached up to place his hand against the now-dry compress. He had apparently drifted off at some point and, judging by the coppery red light painting the windows and floor, he had been asleep for quite some time. Not enough, given the way his head was throbbing. But then again, considering his dreams had been nothing but memories of what he had endured, his body hadn’t gotten nearly as much rest as it craved.

The peak lord took in a deep breath before he exhaled out of his nose. If nothing else, the pain served as a constant reminder that he was alive. Whether or not that was a good thing still remained to be seen.

After all, he still wasn’t certain he could even conceivably succeed at what he was being tasked with. Such nebulous things like ‘be a better shizun’ did very little to clarify what was actually expected of him. Better how? And how much better? What was the criteria, Spirit!?

If he were to guess at what he should be doing, the obvious answer would be that he needed to avoid his proverbial fall from grace. That abomination of a ‘trial’ gave him what could be considered guidelines for improvement.

Unfortunately, of the charges that had been levied against him, half had already come to pass and were beyond the point of redemption and one had been outright fabricated. He was essentially trying not to drown when he was already halfway underwater.

The Qiu family had long since been burned to the ground, and there was no going back on that fact. It was ancient history, or so he had thought before quickly being proven wrong. The only difference now and his past-future was that he was aware that Qiu Haitang was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to destroy him and avenge her psychopath of a brother. The fact that his once savior had turned into his executioner left a vile taste on his tongue.

But then, she really hadn’t been much of a savior, had she? She had been ignorant of the abuse Shen Jiu had suffered at the hands of her brother, and had unknowingly shielded him from time to time, but she had been fully aware that he was a child slave purchased for their household. Their power dynamic, from the start, had been horribly lopsided in her favor.

Even during the trial, she had not once acknowledged that he hadn’t been given any input in their supposed ‘engagement’. It had simply been interpreted as some sort of lover’s commitment between two people of equal position, rather than what it actually was. His ‘engagement’ was just window dressing to cover her brother’s depravity - aimed at both him and her. The very idea that a child slave, abuse or no abuse, would have any positive feelings for the family that enslaved them was the height of naive ignorance.

At the time, he had let the matter pass without comment, without pointing out the issues with her statements and accusations. Even when he faced certain doom, he hadn’t dared clarify the record. In his mind, to be convicted of such lies was better than to admit to such weakness and exploitation. His pride allowed nothing less.

Still, none of that mattered, did it? She had her reasons, and said reasons were nothing more than ash and bones by this point. The fact remained that he had killed all the men in her family, whatever the circumstances had been. They were dead, and it was his fault. The rest of the details were just semantics. That was one strike against him, and he hadn’t even started yet!

The other point of no return was the rumors about the brothel visits that had led to his reputation as a lecher. While he hadn’t minded them at the time, mistakenly thinking them unable to harm him as they covered for the real reason he visited those places, they had absolutely come to bite him in the worst way. They directly contributed to the fabricated charges against his young disciple, Ning Yingying.

A man of such lustful tendencies would surely have such designs on all women, after all! Why else had he accepted her as his only female disciple? Clearly he planned to take advantage of the secrecy that Qing Jing Peak provided to prey on the girl!

The idea made him want to vomit. And yet even then, being thought of as a pervert had been better than having his weakness exposed. He had sacrificed his integrity, and his relationship with his dear disciple, rather than risk anyone finding out the truth.

Not that it would have done him any good even to admit it by that point, anyway. No one would have believed him. He had gone into that trial already convicted - it was just pomp and circumstance by that point. It was little more than a circus of Shen Jiu’s misery, performed for Luo Binghe’s viewing pleasure.

Shen Jiu found himself wondering what the other peak lords and sect leaders must have thought when, after all their airs of moral superiority and judgment, they all still fell to the beast’s hatred. Were they full of regret? Remorse? Or did they curse him as the orchestrator of not only his destruction but theirs as well, ignoring their own roles in feeding the beast?

Even the Old Palace Master, for all his gleeful embracement of the beast, hadn’t been spared. Shen Jiu was no fool - the elderly man’s disappearance from the dungeons despite being a previously active participant in his torture and the master’s subsequent retirement couldn’t possibly been amicable.

Huan Hua Palace only needed one palace master, after all.

Shen Jiu shook his head sharply. He was getting side-tracked. It was hard not to follow down such rabbit holes, but they hardly mattered by this point, did they? That future was now his past, and he was supposed to be focusing on averting it, not stewing in it!

The peak lord sighed as he covered his face with his hands. His head was still throbbing, and these destructive thoughts weren’t helping. Perhaps a drink of water might help, or at least give him a moment’s distraction to break this spiral he had worked himself into.

Slowly, he turned to place his feet down on the floor, making to stand up…

…Before promptly flopping down onto the floor with a bang as his legs gave out underneath him.

Shen Jiu yowled as he went tumbling, then flinched as he hit the ground with a hard thud. He grimaced and reached to rub his backside, which had taken most of the impact, before he glared balefully at his legs. It was then that he noticed that while he felt the pain in his right leg, he did not feel any in his left.

In fact, he didn’t feel anything at all.

The peak lord paused at that, furrowing his brow, before he reached down to touch his left leg. As he pressed his left palm against the wayward leg, he noticed with increasing dread that while his hand registered that he was touching something, his leg didn’t acknowledge the sensation at all.

It wasn’t as if his leg had gone numb, either. Numbness itself was still a sensation. Instead, he felt nothing at all, as if his leg simply didn’t exist. It was as if his body had forgotten that he even had a leg.

…No, it was as if his body had remembered that he shouldn’t have a leg.

Shen Jiu spat out a curse before he placed both his hands on his forgotten limb, pumping qi into the meridians found within it. If he managed to stimulate them, perhaps it would cause his body to recognize the appendage again. It took several moments but he began to feel a slight tingling, like needles pricking his skin. 

And that was when the pain began.

The peak lord let out a hiss as he clamped his jaw tight to keep from crying out. He shut his eyes as he hunched forward, wheezing through clenched teeth. His leg was spasming violently, as if every single muscle had seized. He tried to massage his legs shakily with his hands, but it was hard enough just to breathe.

All Shen Jiu could do was ride out the pain, even as it seemed to stretch on endlessly. His eyes watered as he quivered, his leg practically screaming at him as it came back from the void. When the pain finally subsided to a dull ache, he pulled his leg up to his chest and wrapped both arms around it. He curled forward, resting his forehead against his knee as he panted.

If he thought this might be a one-time thing, he could have felt relief and simply moved on. However, something told him that it wouldn’t be - and in fact, might even be a regular occurance that he would have to deal with. There was no way he could ignore the coincidence.

Not just his left leg, but his right too - and both his arms, his eye, and his tongue. They were all things he had lost, things Luo Binghe had taken away from him. Things that he, and his body, had grown accustomed to not having before being shunted back into a body that did.

Shen Jiu knew of phantom pain, and had experienced it quite a bit during his stint in the demon lord’s care. But to experience the reverse? What would that even be called? Would it be called anything, given the sheer logical improbability of someone suddenly regaining body parts that had been torn from them?

Regardless of what it was called, could be called, or would be called, he had just experienced it. And his instincts told him with great clarity that he should expect to experience it again. Because that’s just how badly this world hated him, and how dedicated it was to fucking him over.

Shen Jiu let out a choked chuckle, his face still pressed against his knee. “Of course, of course… I’m being punished, aren’t I? I’m being punished.”

[No penalty has been issued.]

[This System will issue a warning before taking any such actions.]

The peak lord nearly jumped when the strange spirit spoke to him. He hesitated before lifting his head to glower at the screen, his eyes moist with a hint of redness. “What would you call this, then, Spirit?”

[A natural side-effect of being restored from your previous state.]

[Some difficulties in adjusting are to be expected.]

Shen Jiu’s expression deadpanned. “‘A natural side-effect’.”

[While your physical state was reverted, your mental state remains unchanged.]

[This means any trauma you have endured remains in place, as well as any effects said trauma may have.]

[Counseling options are available.]

[ ※\(^o^)/※ ]

Shen Jiu spat out a curse as he took a swipe at the screen, only for his hand to go through it with seemingly no consequences. Clenching the ineffective hand into a fist, he then punched it into the floor - lightly, as he lacked any real strength.

Despite what the spirit had said, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being punished. He had finally found peace, even if it was in the form of death’s embrace, only for him to be dragged back into a world that actively hated him and delighted in hurting him. He was being held captive in his own home by a disembodied spirit, who was barking such bizarre things as ‘be a better person’ or ‘be a better shizun’ at him while threatening the few so stupid enough to care about him with great bodily harm - all with the implication that said harm would be his fault.

And he couldn’t even deny that it would be, as he had already caused their deaths once!

Even more, his own body was so terribly broken that he may as well be useless. He had pushed himself so hard for so long, to the point that he had damaged his own cultivation to achieve core formation as quickly as possible. He didn’t have a choice, not if he had any hope of catching up with his peers. He had put his heart and soul into being recognized, to prove his worth to a sea of judgmental eyes that could never see his value, only his late start and damaged foundation.

And all of it was for nothing, then and now. His spurned disciple had shown him how little his efforts had mattered, effortlessly defeating him - destroying him. His life, his reputation, his body, Binghe had taken all of them from him with great vengeance and vitriol. Even those that had sought to protect him were torn down with him, leaving only tatters.

Yet here he was with even less than that. He may have been given back his life and his reputation, but how long would he be able to keep either of those with a body that refused to work properly? How was he supposed to continue his training when his body could spontaneously forget his limbs existed at any given moment!? To say nothing of an actual battle - he’d be slaughtered in an instant!

Shen Jiu had even less now than when he originally started, but he was still expected to somehow overcome the insurmountable and change his fate for the better!? He wanted to scream, to yell, to spit blood and pound his fists.

But instead, all he could do was quietly weep, hugging his knees as he curled up on the floor of his bamboo house.

Chapter Text

Shen Jiu’s eyes fluttered open. He must have fallen asleep on the floor at some point, even though he had no memory of it. However, rather than being greeted by his bedroom in his bamboo house, he was instead greeted by…

…The outside of his bamboo house, in broad daylight.

The peak lord gave a start, mortification spreading across his face as a pink hue. Stumbling to his feet, he quickly reached up to check his face, more particularly his eyes to make sure nothing embarrassing lingered there. Though being caught sleeping outside in and of itself was pretty damn embarrassing! In his night clothes no less-

…No, wait. He was fully dressed in his peak lord outfit.

Shen Jiu paused. He hesitated a moment, his brow furrowing, before he checked his robes, then glanced about the area slowly as he took in the sights. The birds singing, the gentle breeze playing in the bamboo, the sun shining down upon him so peacefully…

“Ah,” Shen Jiu said. “A dream.”

The Bamboo House was a fairly common dream location, both in its pristine state and when it had been reduced to cinders. He had found both peace and torment in equal measure in this setting, and he knew every detail by heart. At least during this visit, it seemed his mind had defaulted to ‘peaceful’, but he knew that could change in an instant.

He really didn’t need this shit right now. Not with everything else he was dealing with.

At that moment, the ephemeral screen he had already grown to despise flickered into view, drawing the peak lord’s eyes to it.

[Counseling session currently in process.]

[Please proceed inside the building for your mandated counseling session.]

Shen Jiu stared at the screen blankly. “What?”

[Please proceed inside the building for your mandated counseling session.]

The peak lord blinked slowly before his expression deadpanned. He remained firmly in place, not moving, as he drew himself up to stand straight and tall.

[Please proceed inside the building for your mandated counseling session.]

Shen Jiu slowly crossed his arms as his gaze became frosty, lifting his chin so that he could glare down his nose at the spirit with open contempt. For his resistance, he was rewarded with a dozen screens suddenly popping up around him, each displaying a flashing warning sign.

[!!! Warning !!!]

[Please proceed inside the building for-]

Shen Jiu gave a powerful swat of his hand at the screen right in front of him, as if he were trying to strike it away despite the ineffectiveness of it. He then let out a small ‘tch’ noise with a cluck of his tongue. The moment the spirit whipped out that damn ‘warning’ sign, he knew he couldn’t push any further. “Yes, yes, I understand. I’m going.”

The peak lord grumbled under his breath as he strode towards his bamboo house, glowering at the building as if it was responsible for his current situation. The peak lord barely withheld his instinct to kick the door open and instead opened it aggressively, like a civilized person. As he did, he was greeted by the sight of his own home, down to every last detail.

…Including a mirror replica of himself sitting at his tea table, looking just as confused to be there as he was. At the sound of the door opening, the other Shen Qingqiu looked up before he froze, eyes locking on Shen Jiu while he wore a blank expression. The two peak lords stared at each other in silence for several moments, before Shen Jiu’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re looking far too comfortable in my house,” Shen Jiu snapped. “And stop wearing my face. I may have agreed to this ‘counseling’ nonsense, but I never agreed to tolerate you using my own face to do it.”

“I… I thought I was in my house,” Shen Qingqiu began, more than a little awkward. He felt as if he were being chastised by a teacher, which was not something he had felt for a long time. He then paused and his eyebrows shot straight up. “Wait. Are you… are you real? You are not just a part of this dream!?”

Shen Jiu frowned as he stared at the other Shen Qingqiu. While it was most certainly his face, there was an almost uncanny valley quality to it. The other man’s face was far more open, easier to read. His eyes had an almost soft quality to them, with an air of kindness that he didn’t think his face was physically capable of. And it was those very qualities that told him the man was being genuine - his shock was real.

“What is going on now?” Shen Jiu asked, exasperated. The spirit was obviously responsible for this nonsense, but he couldn’t comprehend what or how it was happening.

“System, what is going on?” Shen Qingqiu asked, his eyes darting over to the screen as it manifested at his question. “Is that… is that who I think it is? Is that the original goods!?”

[Correct.]

Shen Qingqiu felt like he wanted to throw up, and his face took a rather green tint to match. First he had run into the original Binghe, and now the original scum villain himself!? Was he experiencing another penalty, perhaps for failing the ‘My Shizun’ quest Bingge had given him? But he hadn’t received any notification from the System! The quest was still very much active as far as he could tell!

The peak lord took a deep breath as he pressed his fingertips together, trying to regain control of his emotions. “Calm, calm… breathe… alright, I just need to… gather my bearings. First things first. Is this the Shen Qingqiu whose body I took over, or the Shen Qingqiu that Bingge massacred in his dungeon?”

[Yes.]

Shen Qingqiu’s expression twisted into something that loudly proclaimed ‘what the fuck kind of answer is that?’ “...‘Yes’?!”

[Yes.]

The peak lord took another deep breath before exhaling it out, slowly lowering his hands to place them in his lap. He didn’t know what that answer was supposed to mean, but he also wasn’t certain if that meaning would actually matter.

After all, regardless of what the System meant, the fact remained was that Shen Qingqiu was staring face to face with the true Scum Villain of Proud Immortal Demon’s Way.

“Wait,” Shen Qingqiu said with a blink. “Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?” Bingmei had quite literally tried to steal his corpse, after all. “Are there three different timelines now!?” Was there a third damn Luo Binghe he’d have to be worrying about!? Bing-ge, Bing-mei, and Bing-er!?

[Yes, and no.]

“...So yes, he is - or was - dead, and no, there isn’t a third world?” Shen Qingqiu asked. “So he’s… a ghost?” As absolutely bizarre as it all sounded, he was at least relieved that the existence of a third Luo Binghe had been deconfirmed. No one needed that shit.

But still, it only begged the question even louder - what was going on? Why was Shen Jiu here? Why was he here?

[Both Shen Qingqiu and Shen Qingqiu are alive at this time.]

[Per the current objective of quest ‘My Shizun’, it is your responsibility to ensure this statement continues to be true.]

[Please do your best!]

Shen Qingqiu blanched as he gripped his knees tightly. What the hell, System!? Not even addressing the apparent fact that Shen Jiu had been brought back from the dead by whatever means, there was no way he could miss the fact that he had been included in the ‘alive at this time’ statement. As in, there was a possibility that he could not be alive!? After everything he had already gone through, he wasn’t interested in dying a fifth time!

Death really is just a plot device to you, isn’t it, System!?

It was then that Shen Qingqiu noticed how quiet Shen Jiu had become. He stopped and looked up at the man in the doorway, who was staring back at him. Shen Jiu’s eyes were intense, as if they were scouring Shen Qingqiu’s face for every detail, no matter how small.

What Shen Qingqiu hadn’t seen, and Shen Jiu most certainly did see, was the array of expressions that had been constantly flickering across Shen Qingqiu’s face - shock, confusion, apprehension, irritation - with seemingly no outside stimulus. It was as if he were having a conversation entirely with himself, which begged the question of his mental stability given some of the reactions, or…

…Or he was having a conversation with an entity that Shen Jiu couldn’t see.

Like a spirit, perhaps?

Shen Jiu stiffened. His eyes immediately darted over to his right, where he was greeted by the sight of the ephemeral spirit window, which seemed to sense that it was being thought about.

[ (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵) ]

Shen Jiu frowned before another thought hit him and he immediately went pale. If that was what it looked like when someone communicated with the spirit, did that not also mean that was what he looked like while doing so!?

Oh gods, what must Yue Qingyuan have thought, seeing him back then!? What faces he must have made, how he must have looked! Now he understood why Qingyuan had checked his eyes and temperature! The man must have thought him deranged!

Right then and there, Shen Jiu vowed to never again interact with the spirit without his face firmly covered by his fan. His only saving grace was that he hadn’t done it in the presence of anyone since Yue Qingyuan, and he could blame the fever for any eccentricities the sect leader might have seen. But even then, the thought of it still made him want to die - again.

Slowly, the peak lord moved to sit down at the tea table across from his counterpart, the image of perfect poise and grace. No one would have suspected he had done so to avoid falling to his knees in despair.

“So am I to…,” Shen Jiu began, slowly as he struggled to choose his words carefully. “Am I to presume that you are also burdened with… a spirit? In the form of a glowing window?”

When the other Shen Qingqiu looked at him in open confusion, the peak lord immediately regretted his words and felt a light flush of embarrassment on his face. However, those feelings only lasted a moment before he saw realization replace his counterpart’s earlier confusion, the man’s face going pale. Shen Jiu felt a rush of vindication - and relief.

“I knew it!” Shen Jiu crowed, with smug superiority. “Your face is an open book, boy! You should learn to hide your emotions better.”

“‘Boy’? I’m the same age as you, aren’t I?! This is your damn body!” Shen Qingqiu thought, incredulous. He then gave a small shake of his head and found his voice. “B-be as it may, you… you mean to tell me that you… you also have… that!?” He made a gesture off to his side with his hands, towards the System’s hovering screen.

Shen Jiu glanced in the direction his other self had pointed and made a noise in his throat. “As I thought - I cannot see yours, and you cannot see mine. Are they the same spirit or different members of the same species…?”

Shen Qingqiu crossed his arms as he regarded the original scum villain. The man’s reaction, and more specifically how he referred to the System, definitively eliminated any doubts he had entertained about whether or not he was looking at another victim of transmigration from his world. A ‘spirit’ sounded like a logical assumption for someone from the cultivation world, who had absolutely no concept or experience with computers or other modern technology.

So was that why he was alive? Because he transmigrated back into his past self? It was another popular form of the entire transmigration genre, so it was certainly something that Shen Qingqiu was familiar with. But just how much transmigration did one novel need!?

“System, I’m starting to think you’re just as much of a hack writer as Airplane-bro,” Shen Qingqiu muttered. “What the hell are the readers going to think of this?”

[Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers!]

Shen Qingqiu facefaulted at that. Well, that was certainly ominous. Obviously, the ‘protagonist’ in this situation would be Bingge. So was this what Bingge meant by ‘doing your best’? Did he know this was going to happen?

…Wait, was this what that Scenario Pusher had done!?

The peak lord groaned as he covered his face with his hands, plopping his elbows on the tea table. “I think I have the beginnings of a headache forming.”

Shen Jiu’s expression became stern. “Elbows off the table,” When Shen Qingqiu jerked before quickly complying with the command, the original scum villain clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “The fumbling, the unguarded emotions, the lack of any decorum. It’s simply hard to accept. If you didn’t have my face, I surely wouldn’t have known you were supposed to be me.”

Shen Qingqiu felt a prickling of irritation at that. Was he seriously being judged by this asshole based on a moment’s weakness!? He had a perfectly good reputation as a well-mannered and poised shizun, he’d have the bastard know! Certainly better than the scum villain ever had!

“My decorum is just fine, thank you,” Shen Qingqiu replied stiffly. “I simply remember that I am, in fact, human and allow myself to feel some human emotion now and again.”

“Ah,” Shen Jiu said with a smirk. “So you do have some bite. Or is it just bark~?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Shen Qingqiu said, returning the expression with a smirk of his own. “What about your bite? Have you ever aimed it at anyone besides defenseless children? Have you ever tried to nip at someone a little stronger? What do you suppose would happen then?”

Shen Jiu stiffened at that as his eyebrows shot straight up. Unbidden, he instinctively thought of Liu Qingge, and the constant humiliating defeats he had suffered at the man’s hands. And given who he was talking to, there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that the implication had been intentional. “You! How dare you-!”

“How dare you?” Shen Qinqiu demanded. “How dare you act all high and mighty when you torment children due to petty jealousy! Is that how a peak lord should act!? To say nothing of your behavior towards Yingying-”

“Lies!” Shen Jiu shrieked, cutting the accusation off, as he nearly stood up, moving to slam his hand on the tea table. “Lies, lies, lies! I would never… I never…! You claim yourself to be me and spout the same slander as those cretins!? You of all people would believe that garbage, same as them!?”

“Can you blame them!?” Shen Qingqiu demanded as he leaned forward in turn, slamming his own hand on the table. “How can you judge them for thinking poorly of you, when all you ever did was give them every reason to!? You cannot expect them to believe the best in you when all you do is act your worst! You can only spit so much venom before everyone thinks of you as a snake!”

“I will not be lectured like a child-,” Shen Jiu snarled before he was stopped short by a small strike to the top of his head. His eyes widened as he gaped at Shen Qingqiu, his hand still extended in a chopping gesture.

“Then stop acting like one,” Shen Qingqiu said with great authority, with the air of a shizun scolding his disciple.

Something in Shen Jiu snapped. His cheek gave a small twitch before he lunged across the tea table, abandoning all sense of decorum as he flung himself at the other peak lord. Shen Qingqiu yelped as he jerked back to dodge, before lashing out to smack the scum villain on the top of his head once more.

This only seemed to enrage Shen Jiu further, who lashed out to return the blow. The other peak lord blocked the hit with a well-aimed strike of his own, then the next, and the next after that. The sounds of hands striking each other filled the Bamboo House, with Shen Jiu attempting to hit his counterpart, while Shen Qingqiu blocked each blow with expert precision.

The two danced around the room, Shen Qingqiu stepping backwards while Shen Jiu followed after, as blows rained between them with none ever making their mark. Neither cared as any furniture in their way was knocked over or kicked about, the room becoming a mess around them. Strike-block-strike-block-strike-block, it created a constant repetitive sound like rain on a metal roof.

Outside the Bamboo House, Bingge hummed as he walked through the strange dream world. It was actually rather nostalgic, but not because of the location. It reminded him of that other time, when he had first met the alternate Shen Qingqiu. Qing Jing Peak had been decimated at the time, unlike now, but both had a mysterious air about them. It felt like a dream, but also not - to begin with, he couldn’t control it at all.

Last time, he had wandered about and discovered a living Shen Qingqiu. He couldn’t help but wonder what he was being shown this time.

As he neared the house, Bingge heard the sound of commotion inside. He paused, tilting his head curiously, before he reached to open the door leading into the building. He was immediately greeted by an absolute mess of the house, furniture overturned in all directions. And at the center of it all, sprawled on the floor, were two Shen Qingqius.

Disheveled and panting heavily for breath, the two were currently limb-locked together as they struggled for supremacy. One had his legs wrapped around the other’s waist, straddling him. The other had grabbed the peak lord’s robe and was attempting to rip it off in a frenzy, and had succeeded enough to give Bingge a good look at pale bare shoulder. Judging by the way the man on the floor was gnashing his teeth as his counterpart held him back with a hand firmly planted against his forehead, there was a good chance biting was also on the table.

Bingge’s expression froze.

In that moment, a loud chime went off in both of the peak lord’s minds, as their respective System windows popped into view.

[Achievement unlocked: One Hell Of A Confused Boner!]

[Achievement unlocked: Read That In A Fanfic Once!]

[Achievement unlocked: Does It Count As Twincest When They’re The Same Person?]

The two Shen Qingqius stopped simultaneously and jerked their head about to stare at the intruder. Bingge returned the stare with a completely blank expression before he stepped back outside the Bamboo House and slammed the door shut.

Shen Qingqiu blinked slowly before he grimaced. Given the notification, it had no doubt had been Bingmei. And he was not looking forward to having to explain what the demon lord had seen. Feeling Shen Jiu stiffen underneath him, the peak lord immediately made the connection and lifted his hands in a warding gesture. “No, no, don’t worry! That was was my-”

WHAP!

Shen Qingqiu stopped short and blinked as he realized Shen Jiu had just bopped him right on the head, before he let out a yelp as he was unceremoniously shoved to the floor. The other man promptly scooted his butt across the floor to put distance between them so that there could be no counterattack. Once safe, Shen Jiu then proceeded to try and fix his robes with an air of disinterest, as if hadn’t just engaged in absolute tomfoolery moments before.

Shen Qingiu blinked again as he sat up from where he had fallen on the floor. As he sat there staring at the scum villain, he felt all his preconceived notions being challenged right in front of him. It called to mind his conversation with Ning Yingying, and her complex feelings about their relationship after everything had been said and done. Between that and Shen Jiu’s outburst, he found himself wondering if maybe…

…Was he doing it again? Was he assuming things and taking his knowledge for granted?

Luo Binghe’s abuse had absolutely been real, and inexcusable. Even with all the shades of gray in the world, Luo Binghe had started out an innocent victim and undeserving of what Shen Jiu had unleashed upon him. But Qiu Jianluo, and the rest of his accomplices? Their murders had gone from depraved violence to a breakdown of an abused slave. While it was certainly debatable if their murders - or any murder - could ever be justified, it at least was proven not to be the unexplained act of psychopathy that it had been presented as.

Even Liu Qingge’s death had some ambiguity as to whether or not it had been intentional or an accident. Their hostility had been real, and very well known, but what had been an absolute given in the eyes of Shen Jiu’s accusers had far too many questions than answers. Shen Qingqiu had experienced his shidi’s qi deviation himself, and it was nothing but aggression from the very start. He had been thrust into a kill-or-be-killed scenario, and he had been aware of the encounter in advance! How would Shen Jiu have reacted? How did he react?

And now Ning Yingying… even she wasn’t clear on what had actually happened between them, what the truth of their relationship was. His reaction had been one of sheer outrage - not at being confronted, but at the mere suggestion. It didn’t feel like a reaction of a defensive, guilty man but someone repulsed by the idea of it.

Shen Qingqiu frowned, before he sighed and lowered his head. It sounded insane to him, given everything he had read and known about the scum villain, but he wasn’t willing to make the same mistake again. Even if he was proven wrong - or right, depending on the view point - and that Shen Jiu was truly just as disgusting a villain as he had been in Airplane-bro’s compromised presentation of him, at the very least Shen Qingqiu could say that he had kept his eyes open and saw the man for who he really was.

With his thoughts resolved, Shen Qingqiu began to approach the other peak lord, though he felt a bit awkward scooting across the floor. “Alright, enough. This master will admit that he was also behaving childishly, and said things in a moment of anger that weren’t helpful. I apologize.”

Shen Jiu eyed the other peak lord suspiciously, but seemed to relent and relax a bit when Shen Qingqiu began to help him with adjusting his robes back to their proper place. “So long as you understand.”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Shen Qingqiu said as he smoothed out Shen Jiu’s inner robe. He felt as if he were suddenly the adult soothing a sulking child, but knew better than to voice those thoughts out loud. “As they say, ‘if you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape one hundred days of sorrow’.”

Shen Jiu went quiet at that. The proverb was especially relevant for him. By this point, how many angry words had he spoken, and how many days of sorrow had he accrued? Clearly, his debt stretched ever onward without end - even beyond death itself. The peak lord’s expression softened before he made a small noise of affirmation. “...Mm.”

The Bamboo House settled into silence for several moments as Shen Qingqiu helped Shen Jiu dress himself properly again. When Shen Jiu suddenly turned to return the favor, his hands slowly moving to fix what they had done to Shen Qingqiu’s attire moments before, the other peak lord opted not to say anything or call attention to it. Instead, he reached up to use his fingers to try and run them through the other man’s long black hair, aiming to undo the tangles that had gathered there while mindful not to pull the locks too hard.

“…Why?”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that and glanced down at Shen Jiu, who refused to meet his gaze as he fidgeted with the robes in his hands. The transmigrated peak lord was struck by how crestfallen, almost lonely the other man looked.

“Why are you… like this?” Shen Jiu asked, his voice a whisper. “Why are you so different?”

Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He knew the answer to that quite clearly - because I’m not you. He was a soul that had transmigrated into this body, and so obviously there would be changes. Once he had unlocked the ‘OOC’ feature from the beginner quest, he had abandoned all the animosity and vengefulness that defined his ‘character’. It was only natural that the original goods would notice the difference.

“Why?” Shen Jiu repeated. “Why are you… not like me?”

“I… simply had a different experience than you. A different life than you,” Shen Qingqiu said, solemnly. “That’s all.”

“A happy one?” Shen Jiu asked, his tone a little sharp and accusing.

Shen Qingqiu considered his words before he gave a small nod. “Yes.”

“I see,” Shen Jiu murmured.

The transmigrated peak lord sighed. He didn’t really feel right about this at all. He never felt a strong inclination to reveal himself, save to the other transmigrator trapped in the same situation. But at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel awful. He felt like he was lying, and he should probably consider-

“So even someone like me can find happiness?” Shen Jiu asked. There was something in his voice, something deeply emotional and almost hopeful. “Someone like me can… deserve to be happy?”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened as his mind immediately snapped down on the previous thought, like a gate slamming shut. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Lock that thought in a box, bind it with chains, take it to the ocean and anchor it with rocks so that it sinks to the deepest depths.

‘Oh, no, there’s no way someone like you could ever find happiness or redemption, as the only reason I found any was because I’m a totally different person so you’re just doomed forever-’ LIKE HELL HE WOULD EVER SAY THAT!!!!

Shakily, Shen Qingqiu reached over to grasp the other man’s shoulders, going over his words in his head over and over before he was finally satisfied. “We all have the capacity to change - to become better than what we are. It takes a desire to change, but also the strength to follow through. To want to be understood, and to understand. It also means being willing to let go of past grievances, no matter how justified they may be. Both yours and others.”

When Shen Jiu wrinkled his nose, Shen Qingqiu let out a soft chuckle. “I suppose I had it easy in that regard,” He smiled when the scum villain finally looked up to meet his eyes. “I… this master suffered a qi deviation, and had been struck by a high fever suddenly. I found myself… without most memories - about who Shen Qingqiu was, where Shen Qingqiu had been, and what Shen Qingqiu thought and felt. I was someone else in this body, living my life to the best of my ability. I did eventually recover many of the lost memories, but by that point… it was too late.”

“Too late?” Shen Jiu repeated, furrowing his brow.

“I suppose you could say, I wasn’t aware that Shen Qingqiu was supposed to hate everyone, and especially himself,” Shen Qingqiu said, his voice soft. It was difficult finding the words to tell the truth in a roundabout way without outright lying, as he was certain the shrewd man would immediately catch any falsehoods. “I had no knowledge of the wrongs committed against him, what had motivated him to be… who he was. So by the time I recovered them, it was too late. The hatred had been gone for too long to have any power. Even when elements of that past came to harm me, I…”

Shen Qingqiu trailed off at that as thoughts of Qiu Haitang came to mind. His expression grew pained as he recalled her running into the depths of the Holy Mausoleum - and presumably her death. While it was not his fault and he was in no position to save her, he still couldn’t help but feel regret for her fate. “I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. She was also a victim of her brother, and that obsessive and morally defunct Old Palace Master. She… they both lost to their own obsessions.”

Shen Jiu knew exactly who his counterpart was referring to. So it seemed Qiu Haitang had come for him as well. He even understood the reference to the Old Palace Master, who had taken a particularly malicious interest in his torment. But unlike Shen Jiu, they seemingly hadn’t succeeded in their attempts. He couldn’t fathom why - their vengeance had been so utterly relentless that something as simple as amnesia couldn’t have dissuaded them.

“I’ll admit I have lived my life more than a little blind to the consequences of my actions. And my actions were exceedingly naive at times,” Shen Qingqiu said. Bingmei was first and foremost in his thoughts, and all the pain he had inflicted on his disciple due to his shallow thinking. It had taken far too long for him to see the others around him as more than the characters he thought them to be, and that was something he would always regret. “But in the end, it was not able to destroy me. I was protected - and loved.”

Shen Jiu stared at his counterpart, incredulous. “What?”

“Yes,” Shen Qingqiu nodded his head. “By my disciples, by the other peak lords, and… by my Luo Binghe,” He reached up to pat Shen Jiu’s head, and he chuckled as he got a baffled gawk in response. “As I mentioned, it will be a bit more difficult for you as you will be working against yourself, but I know they will acknowledge your efforts, just as they did with me, and accept you. They can and will respond to your efforts at kindness.”

Shen Jiu paused. His other self’s words called to mind something Yue Qingyuan had said to him so long ago. It had been about Liu Qingge specifically, but judging by what the other Shen Qingqiu was saying, he supposed it could have applied to everyone in this situation - ‘If you extend him a single share of kindness, he’ll return it two-fold’.

At the time, he had rejected the words out of hand. Why should he be the one to take the first step? Why should he make the effort, and not them? The idea of exposing himself, being vulnerable and taking the risk of being rejected or hurt had been too emotionally repugnant to consider. And so he didn’t, and they in turn never did.

So he was back here again, being asked to do the same thing he had rejected so thoroughly. Even now, the idea made him want to vomit. It was just as his other self said - his battle would be greater, as he would be working against himself. He’d have no memory loss to save him from his grudges and resentment - the same grudges and resentment that had been his hangman’s noose in the past-future.

“That’s a bit much to ask of me,” Shen Jiu muttered.

“I know,” Shen Qingqiu replied. “But you don’t have much choice, do you?”

Shen Jiu frowned before he lifted his eyes to meet Shen Qingqiu’s, who offered him a gentle smile. To have his own face offering him such reassurances, such kindness, was both disturbing and comforting at the same time.

Shen Jiu normally had so many walls up to protect himself from other people, but for some reason, those walls weren’t quite as sturdy against himself. He supposed it was because he had no secrets to hide - no secrets he could hide. This other Shen Qingqiu knew everything about him, but this version of him was softer, kinder, gentler - he didn’t need to be afraid of him. That made it so much easier to lower his guard, and not feel afraid of what might happen during his moment of weakness.

It felt both terrifying but also… kind of nice.

Shen Jiu paused at that before he narrowed his eyes, squinting at Shen Qingqiu. Maybe he was a little too gentle. He had been quick to apologize, and to comfort the original scum villain. He had even found it within him to forgive Qiu Haitang, despite her no doubt relentless efforts to destroy him. Forget a knife in the back, he was practically asking to receive it right to his face! And don’t even get him started on that nonsense about Luo Binghe! He was still a beast, wasn’t he!? How has his world not eaten him alive yet!? Shen Jiu wanted to put him in a box and hide him!

“I suppose I’m here just as much for him as he is for me,” Shen Jiu said with a weary sigh. “Very well.”

“Mm?” Shen Qingqiu blinked at that.

Shen Jiu waved off the query with his hand. He then paused as a thought struck him and he looked at Shen Qingqiu with an uncomfortable, awkward expression. “Once this… whatever this is ends, will I… be able to see you again?”

Shen Qingqiu offered the man another gentle smile. “If it were up to me, I would certainly not mind seeing you again. System willing, of course.”

Shen Jiu nodded slowly. The spirit, ‘System’, was the one in charge of this ‘counseling session’, so it stood to reason it decided when and if they would ever meet again. He glanced off to the side, narrowing his eyes. “Well, Spirit?”

[This System can schedule more counseling sessions as needed to ensure the continued success of your journey!]

[Please continue to increase your social circle and improve related social skills for maximum rewards!]

Shen Jiu’s expression deadpanned before he looked at his counterpart. “Is your spirit as passive-aggressively insulting as mine?”

Shen Qingqiu laughed awkwardly, with a long-suffering smile. “You get used to it.”

---

Outside the Bamboo House, Bingge peered in through the window to watch the exchange between the two shizun - after taking care of certain things, of course. They seemed to have settled down for the moment, which was good.

In fact, the scene inside had turned downright docile, with Shen Jiu looking surprisingly serene as he sat at the vanity, after they had picked it back up off the floor, while Shen Qingqiu brushed his hair with a smile. The two were engaging in small-talk, as if they hadn’t been at each other’s throat moments before.

Whatever they had been fighting about, it was clearly more or less resolved.

“Good,” Binghe said with a small nod of his head. “Then he’s doing his job.”

Bingge turned his attention back to his own shizun, noting his face - and more specifically, the small smile on said face. He had never seen such a gentle expression on the scum villain’s face before, like a tender secret shared between two people.

Slowly, he reached up into the air as if to grasp at the smile from afar, wanting to snatch it away for himself. He felt a pang of jealousy that the smile had been created by Shen Qingqiu and not him, that he had to share that smile with anyone, but he shoved that feeling down.

It was fine, this was fine. He just had to be patient, that was all. Soon enough, that smile would be for him - and him alone.

It was going to be his, one way or another.

Chapter Text

“Shizun? Shizun!? Shizun!”

Shen Qingqiu groaned as he became aware that he was being shaken rather roughly. He peeled his eyes open, noting that the room was still dark as night hadn’t fully left the Bamboo House. He vaguely recognized that he was in bed once more, where he had fallen asleep with his sticky husband hours earlier. But before he could think too much about any of that, he realized that he was in Bingmei’s arms, who was the origin of both the shaking and the desperate calls.

“Shizun!” Binghe said, panic and concern clear on his face. “Shizun, can you hear me!?”

“Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu murmured, groggily. “What is it…?”

The demon lord openly sagged with relief, his eyes becoming moist, before he collapsed on top of his husband, wrapping his arms around him. “You’re awake…!”

“What…?” Shen Qingqiu blinked before he tentatively wrapped his arms around the trembling demon lord, his sense of dread and confusion growing in equal measure. “What’s wrong?”

“You were in some sort of dream, a very powerful one,” Binghe muttered, his face muffled by the peak lord’s shoulder. “I couldn’t reach you, I couldn’t pull you out.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened at that, as he immediately recalled what had happened the last time the System pulled him into a dream, though it had been a penalty. Senior Meng Mo had said something similar, about having trouble reaching him. And it had made sense - the System wouldn’t allow him to leave until the punishment had been completed. It seemed the same happened here - he was not allowed to leave until the ‘counseling session’ had been completed.

Luo Binghe seemed to have made a similar connection as he drew back, his eyes flaring with hatred. “It was that bastard, wasn’t it!? He came after you again! What did he do to you!?”

“Ah, no, that…,” Shen Qingqiu began before he hesitated, then gave a small shake of his head. “Actually, I don’t remember seeing him at all. Instead, I was talking to… Shen Qingqiu,” the peak lord paused before he grimaced. “The, ah, other one.”

Bingmei’s eyebrows shot straight up. “You mean the-,” he hesitated, unwilling to say the words even though they both knew precisely what he had meant. His expression became pained. “...The one I tried to save?”

Shen Qingqiu gave a small nod. “He seems to be alive again, though I can’t fully understand how or why. We spoke quite a bit. It was a much more pleasant experience than, ah… than last time.”

“I see,” Binghe murmured, though his expression was still very dark - and not because of the lack of light in the room.

Shen Qingqiu gave his husband a soft smile before reaching up to pat the man’s head soothingly. He then paused as a thought struck him. “Wait. So you weren’t able to enter the dream at all?”

Binghe shook his head. “No. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get in.”

“So that…,” Shen Qingqiu began before he trailed off, his eyes widening. That wasn’t Bingmei that had burst into the Bamboo House, before slamming the door and leaving!? After all those achievements, he had been so certain but if Bingmei couldn’t even get in, that could only mean…

Bingge had been the one to get a boner over them!? And he then just left!?

Besides! Besides, besides, besides!

After speaking to Shen Jiu more, the scum villain had told him he had found himself back before the Immortal Alliance Conference - just like he had been! From what he heard, it was identical to the situation that Shen Qingqiu had transmigrated into. Which meant, at that time, Luo Binghe was only fourteen years old - and firmly in his white lotus stage! That sure as hell wasn’t a white lotus! It was a grown ass demon lord!

Just what the hell was going on!?

What the hell was Shen Jiu in for!?

System, what the hell are you doing!?

Shen Qingqiu was so busy freaking out mentally that he didn’t notice the shadowed expression on Bingmei’s face. Slowly, the demon lord closed his eyes as he rested his head on the peak lord’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. He allowed the sound to sooth his nerves, easing the tension from his body and the smoldering fury in his heart, but he wouldn’t forget them.

He would never forget them.

---

Shen Jiu grimaced as something danced on the edge of his senses, demanding he wake. The sunlight was rather persistent as it tugged at his eyes, but his awkward pull to consciousness was more due to the faint sound of a voice beside his head, slowly coming into focus.

“Shidi. Shidi. Shidi?”

The lord of Qing Jing Peak opened his right eye, his left still firmly clamped shut. His half-lidded eye drifted over to the origin of the voice, where a blurred figure came into view. As his pupils came into focus, he found himself staring at Yue Qingyuan, the sect leader leaning over him.

Shen Jiu blinked slowly before realization hit him - hard. He jerked awake with a gasp, before grimacing as the action made his head spin. He groaned as he grasped his head with both hands, as Yue Qingyuan reached over to steady him gently.

“Easy, easy. There you go,” Yue Qingyuan said soothingly as he helped the peak lord sit up in bed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I… did I…?” Shen Jiu murmured.

“You’ve been sleeping half the day,” Yue Qingyuan said. “Though that’s to be expected. You are still recovering. Still, I’d like to get some food in you. You haven’t been able to practice inedia since the fever hit, so you’ll have to keep your strength up the old fashioned way.”

“I…,” Shen Jiu began before he frowned. Last he remembered, before the strange dream with his other self, he had been on the floor, not his bed. And yet here he was, in his bed - tucked in even!

The peak lord felt a sense of dread and glanced at Yue Qingyuan. Had the sect lord found him sleeping on the floor!? And then, with great care and consideration, carefully placed him back under the covers and tucked him in like a child!? It certainly sounded like something the man would do! And the idiot would never admit to it, nor would the scum villain dare ask him.

Some things just deserved to die, right where they were! Never to be spoken of again!

“Can you stand, shidi?” Yue Qingyuan asked. “Do you need my help?”

“I… I’m fine,” Shen Jiu replied, his voice rough. “I will manage.”

“I understand, but don’t push yourself,” Yue Qingyuan said as he gestured towards the tea table, where a tray of food awaited him. “If you need assistance, I will-”

Shen Jiu waved off the man’s offers with a snap of his wrist, before turning to dangle his legs over the side of the bed, out from under the covers. After carefully slipping out of the bed, first testing his feet on the floor to ensure his body remembered they existed, he slowly approached the tea table and took his place in front of the food.

It was a bowl of congee, but it was topped with a wide assortment of delights - ginger, garlic, mushrooms, as well as dried shrimp and scallops. It was certainly a step above the usual meals the disciples could expect to see, who were typically the only ones actually eating as their teachers usually controlled their hunger with inedia.

The smell alone got the peak lord’s mouth watering, and his stomach demanding its due. He delicately took the accompanying spoon before taking a small scoopful. When the taste hit him, even the normally guarded Shen Jiu couldn’t prevent the flush of pleasure that flooded his face.

Realizing what had happened, Shen Jiu shot his sect leader a glare. Yue Qingyuan politely pretended to be looking elsewhere to imply that he hadn’t noticed the shameful display, though the smile on his face called him a liar quite proudly. Shen Jiu lifted his left hand to his mouth to cover it as he made a light coughing noise, before resuming eating his breakfast with a bit more restraint - if barely.

“I asked your disciples to make you breakfast,” Yue Qingyuan said as he stood opposite of his junior, his hands laced behind his back. “As well as to tend to future meals, until your qi is stable enough for you to practice inedia again.”

Shen Jiu found himself taking another bite, and another, and another, unable to help himself. While his pride insisted he show some reservation or at least eat a bit more slowly, his stomach demanded he do neither. In fact, it took all his willpower not to simply shovel it like he had devoured food in his youth, afraid of another slave stealing it from him. “This is quite good, Zhangmen-shixiong. I didn’t know Ming Fan could cook so well.”

Yue Qingyuan paused at that, a flash of something darting across his face before he could stop it.

It instantly put Shen Qingiu on alert. He paused and glanced suspiciously at the sect lord, his brow furrowing. “Zhangmen-shixiong. Who cooked this?”

Yue Qingyuan was not forthcoming, instead pursing his lips tightly as he seemed to be thinking of how to respond.

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes. “Zhangmen-shixiong.”

Yue Qingyuan sighed, resigned. His expression became placating as his hands made a calming gesture. “Shidi, please do not be angry. It was Luo Binghe who volunteered to cook breakfast for you.”

Shen Jiu nearly choked on his food before he straightened up to stare at the sect leader. “T-the bea-!?” He quickly caught himself, but his surprise was still palpable. “-boy!?”

“Everyone has been very worried ever since you fell ill, the boy included,” Yue Qingyuan said. “And when I went to ask for someone to prepare your meal, he was eager to help. And, as you said yourself, his efforts were clearly quite good. Even without tasting it, I can tell that the food is very well-made.”

Shen Jiu grimaced. His first instinct had been to vomit and fling the food across the room, but he had managed to suppress it. The idea of eating the beast’s cooking left a sour taste in his mouth - at least, it should have, but the food was just too damn good! Leave it to Luo Binghe to have yet another prodigal talent. He wanted to stop eating immediately, but he heard his counterpart’s words ringing in his ears.

Efforts of kindness. And after all, it had not been the peak lords themselves that had ruined him - they merely hadn’t stopped the main orchestrator of his destruction. Would showing the beast kindness truly accomplish anything? Would even a small bit of kindness matter that much? Would it hurt anything to find out?

…Besides, he could only imagine how much it’d rankle his past - future? - tormenter if he knew that the object of all his hatred was actually dining on meals cooked by his younger self. He would probably be rolling around on the floor of Huan Hua Palace, spitting blood like waterspouts aimed at the heavens.

At that, Shen Jiu’s feeling of revulsion turned to sheer giddiness. It was pettiness, but it was delicious pettiness, and he’d take his victories where and when he could.

“…So long as he is not neglecting his studies,” Shen Jiu said, carefully. He turned to shoot the sect leader a stare. “I will not have my disciples toiling away cooking for me at the expense of their training.”

For some reason, Yue Qingyuan looked exceedingly happy, to the point that it made the scum villain’s skin crawl. The sect leader smiled and gave a sharp nod. “I will make certain the boy understands.”

“Then there is nothing more to be said,” Shen Jiu replied, before he scooped up another spoonful of the congee. As he put the warm, smooth breakfast in his mouth, he couldn’t help but feel as though life itself was returning to his weary body.

Neither Shen Jiu nor Yue Qingyuan noticed the pair of eyes watching them from the window - and indeed, Bingge had been watching the whole time. He wasn’t about to miss his shizun’s reaction from eating his hateful disciple’s food for the first time, and the man’s expression was well-worth the wait.

Words could not describe the swelling of pleasure and satisfaction he felt at seeing Shen Jiu practically melt, nor the way he kept shoveling the food even after he had been informed who had cooked it. He couldn’t even stay mad that his shizun had assumed that idiot Ming Fan had been responsible, as the misunderstanding had been cleared quickly. He had to admit that it was a reasonable guess, given the head disciple was usually all over his shizun like flies on shit. The boy had even tried to take the responsibility of cooking for himself, but Yue Qingyuan stepped in before things became unfortunate - for Ming Fan.

Bingge had been a little concerned when he found his shizun passed out on the floor the night before, but the man seemed to be doing better this morning. The visit with his other self seemed to have improved his spirits, if nothing else. And with good food filling his belly, his health was surely going to improve as well.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t linger much longer even if he wanted to watch the scum villain eat, as the risk of being seen rose with every second. The former demon lord quickly retreated away from the Bamboo House and slipped around the building to head back to the sect grounds. As he drew further away from the building, he soon saw Ning Yingying waiting beside a tree, watching anxiously. When she saw Luo Binghe, and the smile on his face, she couldn’t help but clap her hands and bounce in place excitedly.

“Shizun liked it!?” she asked, then clapped harder when Bingge nodded. “That’s great, A-Luo! I knew you could do it!”

Honestly, she hadn’t known what to expect at first. When the sect leader had asked for food to be prepared for their shizun, she was surprised at how quickly Binghe had offered to cook. But even more surprisingly, she hadn’t been prepared for the sheer animosity when Ming Fan had tried to deny him the opportunity - and neither had Ming Fan, given the way he had flinched back. The sect leader had thankfully stepped in by that point, and Luo Binghe was granted the task, ending the exchange.

And really, just one look at what Binghe had cooked showed it was the right decision. She doubted anything Ming Fan could cook would look or smell half as good as what A-Luo had made! It was surprising that he had such skill, and she admittedly felt a little jealous, but she reminded herself it was for their shizun.

There was no way he’d be able to stay sick with such delicious food!

“I’m relieved Shizun liked my cooking,” Bingge said, with an air of humility. “I will continue to try my best for Shizun’s sake.”

It was a lie, of course - he had never doubted his cooking skills for a single second. He had honed them through the years, swooning countless women with his food. His wives often craved it as much as they craved him, and jealously fought over both. And the other Shen Qingqiu had proven that even men were susceptible to his skills.

Still, witnessing his cooking work its magic on even that scum villain was exceedingly gratifying. Between it and whatever that other Shen Qingqiu had done the night before, it was clear that something was starting to change in the bastard. Baby steps, but they were still steps, and Bingge was willing to acknowledge the effort.

So long as Shen Jiu made an effort, he could afford to be magnanimous.

---

Shen Jiu let out a sigh as he set the spoon down on the tray. His stomach was a bit disappointed that the food had run out, but it was a glutton by design and obviously shouldn’t be indulged too much. Pangs of past and future starvation made it eager to gorge itself, and the peak lord knew no good would come of such indulgence. He wasn’t a child anymore, and he’d be damned if he’d make himself sick like one. He knew Yue Qingyuan would absolutely take it as an excuse to reminisce, and he didn’t have the stomach for that either.

Speaking of Yue Qingyuan, the peak lord shot the man a side-eye as he saw the sect leader head over to help him up from the table. Shen Jiu attempted to wave him off while moving to rise to his feet, only to yelp when his legs nearly buckled beneath him and he found himself grabbing onto the man’s outstretched hands to stop himself from falling over.

Shen Jiu grimaced before he glowered darkly at the sect leader, who said absolutely nothing as he smiled. The peak lord hesitated as he debated which was more abhorrent - being helped to the bed or falling on his ass in front of Qingyuan - before sighing and reluctantly allowing the man to help the weakened peak lord.

Once secure in the bed, Shen Jiu reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This… is only temporary. I assure you, I won’t be like this much longer.” It wasn’t clear who he was speaking to - himself, Yue Qingyuan, or both.

“I know,” Qingyuan said with a nod of acknowledgement. “You will be hard at work again in no time. But for now, please rest. I know you are not used to it, but your body is clearly in desperate need of it. Don’t worry about your duties, your disciples all have their instructions. Oh, and you also needn’t worry about tomorrow’s peak meeting.”

Shen Jiu paused at that. “Peak meeting?”

Yue Qingyuan nodded his head absently as he tucked the peak lord in. “I’ve already informed the other peak lords. Mu-shidi said that he will visit after the meeting to check on you.”

Shen Jiu pulled his lips tight. He always found the peak meetings to be a chore, something he dreaded doing but had to in order to maintain face. Being excused from the meeting should have been a delight, but his pride was screaming at the idea of not attending for such a ridiculous reason - even more so with the knowledge that the other peak lords knew the reason.

But before Shen Jiu could work himself into a rage too much at the idea, a thought quickly came to mind - all the other peak lords would be in attendance.

Especially one peak lord in particular.

“Liu Qingge,” Shen Jiu muttered.

The Bai Zhan peak lord was notoriously difficult to track down, given his inclination to run around looking for battle like a violence fiend. Even calling him a peak lord was laughable at best, as his definition of doing his duties was showing up to beat the shit out of his disciples for a couple hours before rushing off to chase monsters or cultivate in seclusion. The fact that Liu Qingge was often given a pass for his behavior while Shen Jiu had been demonized for his made it all the more galling.

…But in the end, both of them had paid for it, hadn’t they? Shen Qingqiu at the hands of the beast he had cultivated, and Liu Qingge at the hands of his own cultivation. They had both cultivated their own deaths.

Shen Qingqiu had been there to see it, and had tried to stop it. And all he got for his efforts was the beating of his life, and an eventual conviction as the other man’s murderer. And honestly, he couldn’t entirely disagree with the judgment.

After all, he had failed to save him. How was a failure to save him any different than killing him with his own hands? The end result was the same - Liu Qingge was dead.

Or rather, he had been dead.

If Shen Jiu was right, if he had his bearings enough to place his current time at this very specific moment, Liu Qingge was still alive. He hadn’t yet gone into the Ling Xi Caves to train, and therefore hadn’t suffered his qi deviation. However, that time was soon approaching, it could happen at any time - but only after the peak meeting.

The peak meeting was Shen Jiu’s last chance to try and talk sense into Liu Qingge, and perhaps avoid the qi deviation entirely. He could finally succeed at saving the man, and in doing so erase his failure and one of his deepest regrets.

If he could do that much, then everything up until now would have been worth it.

“Thank you for your consideration, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shen Jiu said, with an air of respectfulness. “But I will still attend the peak meeting tomorrow.”

Yue Qingyuan looked up at that. He then let out a low sigh and shook his head. “Shidi, I understand your concern, but no one will think less of you for being too ill to attend.”

“Perhaps not, but given that I am not too ill to attend, the point is moot,” Shen Jiu replied.

“Shidi, you have a fever,” Qingyuan said, with a frown.

“A small fever,” Shen Jiu retorted.

“A ‘small’ fever that nearly killed you,” Qingyuan replied, his expression becoming stern. “And left you bedridden for several days, in addition to destabilizing your qi.”

“My qi was hardly stable to begin with,” Shen Jiu said, his tone becoming cold. “I do not need my qi to sit at a table and listen to people chatter about irrelevant things.”

“But you will need the ability to walk,” Yue Qingyuan said firmly. He seemed to ignore the sharp glare his peak lord sent his way, holding firm. “If you cannot cross the distance between your bed and the table, how will you safely maneuver the rainbow bridges?”

Shen Jiu bristled and was about to snarl at his sect leader when he snapped his jaw shut, nearly biting his tongue. It was clear that Qingyuan was not willing to bend on this. He may bend the rules far too much for the peak lord, but when it came to his safety and health, the sect leader was able to find some remnants of his spine now and again.

It was that same determination that had gotten the idiot killed, for the sake of the even bigger idiot who had never fully understood his efforts and had taken them for granted. All for the sake of a promise.

The peak lord sucked in his breath before he exhaled deeply through his clenched teeth. “...I understand.”

Yue Qingyuan seemed genuinely shocked at his capitulation, as his expression clearly showed before he managed to school his features. No doubt the man had expected the argument to continue onward, and the relief he felt when it hadn’t was equally clear on his face. “Good. Then please take this time to rest, shidi.”

Shen Jiu gave a small nod before he turned his head to the side to hide his small smirk, as his fan was not in hand to do so itself. So he wouldn’t attend the peak meeting - that was fine.

But that didn’t say anything about not waiting outside Qiong Ding Hall for the meeting to end, and ambushing Liu Qingge on his way out! With the sect leader himself attending the meeting, there would be no one to stop him before it was too late.

“Just you wait, Liu Qingge,” Shen Jiu thought as he curled his fingers until his hands clenched into fists. “Just you wait.”

---

Bai Zhan Peak was a-flutter with activity, and for good reason. On this most auspicious of occasions, the disciples of the peak had the pleasure and privilege of Liu Qingge’s presence that fine day.

Their peak lord was like a wild animal, roaming the land without a leash. They rarely knew where he was, where he had been, and where he intended to go. And as such, whenever he did decide to grace his peak with his presence, it was often without warning and as sudden as a hurricane. This specific occasion was no doubt thanks to the peak meeting the next day, but it was but a brief responsibility that could not hold him indefinitely. And once it ended, Liu Qingge would blow away like a leaf on the wind, disappearing into the world once more.

And perhaps due to its rarity, any appearance by Liu Qingge was often considered a time of great excitement by the disciples of Bai Zhan Peak. The fact that it meant they were getting the tar beat out of them was of no consequence. The bruises they got from sparring with him were badges of honor.

It just would’ve been nice if they didn’t hurt so much.

A squeal escaped the Bai Zhan Peak disciple as he was flung unceremoniously off the sparring platform, his Jian sword clattering against the ground with the wooden blade splintered to the point of near uselessness. The disciple’s body quickly followed as it too hit the ground, forcing out an ‘omph’ from the boy before he groaned and rolled over onto his back.

Liu Qingge’s expression was impassive as he glanced at his defeated opponent before turning to glance at the crowd of awaiting challengers. “Next.”

The next challenger was an older boy, nearly a full adult, who looked rather uneasy. He quickly steeled himself when his peak lord’s eyes fell upon him and stepped forward, giving a respectful bow before drawing his own training sword.

Liu Qingge barely gave him a nod of acknowledgement before assuming his fighting position. “Come at me.”

“Yes, Liu-shixiong!” the disciple barked before he lunged forward to attack his peak lord with everything he had.

Liu Qingge braced for the attack, his eyes following every movement as he already formulated his counter-attack. It was then that a sudden chill ran up the peak lord’s spine, like ticklish fingers feeling out each individual vertebrae along his back. Liu Qingge’s eyes widened as he pulled his lips tight, the feeling making his entire body shiver, before he looked up sharply.

The lord of Bai Zhan Peak only had a moment to realize he had instinctively glanced towards Qing Jing Peak before he was suddenly rewarded for his inattentiveness with a WHACK to his face. The disciple’s wooden sword solidly struck its target.

Silence.

The disciple froze in place, his eyes wide. He hadn’t expected to actually hit Liu Qingge, nor had any of the other disciples as they stood around watching and waiting their turn. No one knew how to react, perfectly immobile as tension started to form like a storm cloud.

Rather than feeling elation at the strike, the disciple felt dread as sweat began to drip from his face. The ominous feeling only intensified when Liu Qingge slowly turned his head to stare down at his opponent. Droplets of sweat became rivers along the disciple’s neck as the peak lord arched both his eyebrows straight up as a small red mark appeared to form on his cheek where he had been struck.

Liu Qingge held his disciple’s gaze for a long moment before he narrowed his eyes.

“Hm.”

Chapter Text

Bingge walked with a noticeable spring in his step as he carried the morning’s breakfast to the Bamboo House. He had gone all out as usual, using his skill to create a mouthwatering meal that turned heads as he walked past. But they would just have to drown in their own drool, as his food was strictly a privilege.

And currently, only one person would be allowed that privilege.

“Shizun!” Binghe chirped as he opened the door to the little house before stepping inside, carefully carrying the tray of food. “Good morning!”

The former demon lord paused as his eyes fell on the peak lord, who had left his bed and was currently sitting at his vanity, fully dressed in his robes. He was struggling to fix up his coronet, his shaking hands making it more difficult than it should have been.

Shen Jiu stopped at the sound of Bingge’s voice, hesitating. After a moment, he slowly lowered his hands, leaving the coronet a mess in his hair. He didn’t turn to look at the boy, as he didn’t trust himself to keep a straight face.

In his later years, when Binghe arrived, it meant pain would follow soon - his body had been conditioned to expect it. His insides clenched even as he tried to remind himself that the boy was not there to torment him. He hadn’t darkened to that point yet.

“You’ve brought breakfast, then?” Shen Jiu asked, keeping his voice even as he pressed his hands into his lap to hide their trembling. “Put it on the table.”

“Of course, Shizun,” Bingge said before he moved to do as he was instructed. After he set the tray down, he turned to watch Shen Jiu as the man sat rigidly at his vanity. The former demon lord stared at him for a moment, watching every shiver, before he lifted his eyes to the peak lord’s uneven coronet. Filled with a sudden impulse, he moved closer to the man.

Shen Jiu stiffened as Bingge drew closer, his skin crawling. Just when he was about to snap a command at the beast to get back, the words froze on his lips as he felt the boy’s hand go to his hair accessory.

“Shizun, are you going somewhere today?” Binghe asked innocently as he fixed the coronet, his touch gentle against the man’s silky hair. “This disciple is glad that you are feeling better. Everyone was so worried about you.”

“I… yes,” Shen Jiu said, hesitantly. Something about the current situation felt off to him - it was almost as if he were on the defensive, like he was under interrogation and had to explain himself. And yet he was the shizun, was he not?! This brat answered to him, not the other way around! “...I have business to attend to, so I will be gone for a couple hours. I trust you can manage in my absence.”

“After breakfast, of course,” Bingge said as he smoothed out the man’s hair and the trailing green ribbons of the coronet, finishing adjusting the headpiece accessory.

Shen Jiu frowned. Something about the way the boy spoke sounded rather pushy and authoritative, which wasn’t something he particularly appreciated. In the past, he absolutely would’ve flown into a rage at the boy for daring to speak in such a tone, but he at least had the good sense to suppress that response. And it was difficult.

By the gods, was it difficult.

Besides, how could he be sure that wasn’t just his imagination? After all, he was still having trouble separating the boy he was from the beast he had become. His nerves were on edge, so he wouldn’t put it past himself to be overly sensitive around the boy.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Jiu nodded. “Of course.”

“Good, good!” Binghe said, with a bright smile. “Then this disciple will be sure to have lunch ready for Shizun by the time he gets back.”

Shen Jiu gave a small nod of acknowledgement as he kept his eyes firmly on the mirror, watching the boy’s every move by his reflection. Binghe gave a dutiful bow, hand over fist, before turning to leave with a serene smile on his face. The peak lord waited until he was certain Binghe was fully gone before he dared try to move over to the table.

He’d be damned if he’d let the beast see him wobble across the floor, let alone potentially fall on his ass! He would self-detonate right then and there, and take the whole peak with him!

Breakfast was delicious, just like before. And without an audience to watch him, Shen Jiu allowed himself to be far more open with his enjoyment of it, making happy little noises with equally happy little faces. The thought of not being able to eat this food again was too upsetting to consider. More than once, he found himself thinking he’d need to come up with an excuse to keep the current arrangement going even after his qi had been stabilized.

…If it could be stabilized.

At that sombering thought, Shen Jiu grimaced. He swallowed the food in his mouth before he looked down at his legs. It was too early to decide that his body was beyond hope; it had only been a couple days, after all. He wasn’t willing to give up just yet, he’d plowed through worse despair before.

And today, he was going to prove it.

After finishing his breakfast, Shen Jiu left the dirty dishes where they were. He imagined someone, be it Binghe or Ming Fan, would come and collect them soon enough. He wasn’t overly concerned about it, no one would expect a peak lord to clean up after himself, after all. Besides, he had somewhere to be.

Liu Qingge wouldn’t get away from him this time.

Shen Jiu stepped out of the Bamboo House, using the doorframe as support as he tried not to wobble too much in place. He gave a quick glance around to make sure he was alone before he began his journey to Qiong Ding Hall.

Theoretically, it should’ve been a quick and easy trip - one he had made many times over the years. All he needed to do was pass through Qing Jing Peak to the rainbow bridge that connected the peaks, then cross over to Qiong Ding Peak. It should have been of absolutely no consequence, like taking a merry walk on a bright and sunny day.

So why was it taking so damn long!?

Half the time was spent huffing and puffing, as if he were climbing Cang Qiong Mountain itself with his bare hands rather than walking the well-manicured path. His legs felt like he was moving through knee-deep sludge, and it was difficult to catch his breath no matter how many stops he made along the way.

And did indeed make many stops along the way, sometimes sitting and other times leaning against whatever structure he came across. Be it tree, bamboo, or anything else he could find that could offer support, the peak lord was taking a multitude of breaks as he tried to gather his strength to continue.

Shen Jiu was only thankful he hadn’t come across any disciples during his arduous trek across the peak. The whole experience was mortifying enough without having to explain to his disciples why their shizun was slouching on a log or some stone steps like a hobbled vagrant!

In the end, something that should’ve taken him fifteen to twenty minutes at the most had taken at least triple that. Forget attending the meeting at all by this point. If he didn’t start making better time, he wouldn’t even make it before the end of the damn meeting!

Between this urgency and the daunting rainbow bridge itself, with nowhere to sit and nowhere to support himself, the pressure was finally enough to push Shen Jiu past his pride and convince him to take a sturdy stick off the wooded grounds of Qing Jing Peak and use it as a cane.

Only then, using said stick to essentially drag himself along, did he finally make it to Qiong Ding Hall. He all but collapsed to sit on the front steps, gasping for air as if he were drowning. He could feel the eyes of the peak’s disciples on him, though a quick glare was enough to make them look away and mind their own business - or at least to pretend to.

But it didn’t matter. He had made it, and in time too. He could still hear the meeting going on inside - they hadn’t left yet. Liu Qingge hadn’t left yet!

Success would be his!

Shen Jiu sighed with relief as he began to fan himself with his folding fan, allowing the air to waft against his flushed face. Finally, he had a chance to actually catch his breath. He closed his eyes as he continued to fan himself, leaning over to rest his head against his impromptu cane as he used it to prop himself up.

He had a little time to spend, and he was thankful for it. He’d just have to wait for the other peak lords to leave and he’d confront Liu Qingge. He’d go over in his head what we would say, as he absolutely couldn’t afford to ruin this chance, but he could afford wasting a few moments resting.

Just a few moments…

…A few moments…

…Just… a… few…

“SHEN! QING! QIU!”

Shen Jiu jumped with a yelp and nearly fell over as the harsh bark of his name jerked him awake. He reached over to grasp the stick with both hands, managing to keep himself from tumbling over, as his fan fell to the stone steps with a small clatter. Gasping for breath, the peak lord blinked blurrily for a moment before lifting his head.

He immediately locked eyes with Yue Qingyuan. The sect leader was staring down at him with a fury that he had never seen before on the man’s face. Shen Jiu blinked before he grimaced. He must have fallen asleep. He could only imagine how it must have looked to the other peak lords, leaving Qiong Ding Hall to find one of their own basically passed out on the front step. If not for his fever being known to them, surely they would’ve suspected him of being drunk in public! His reputation was bad enough without that added injury!

Behind Yue Qingyuan, the other peak lords were standing around and staring down at him. Their expressions carried varying degrees of concern and disapproval - save for Shang Qinghua, who looked curious and a tad bit amused of all things.

One peak lord in particular, Liu Qingge, was standing in the back of the crowd, giving him a particularly scathing glare of judgment. In the past, that look alone would have sent Shen Jiu into a frenzy. But now, he didn’t care. Liu Qingge hadn’t left yet, he was still here! You aren’t getting away, you bastard!

But first things first.

“It seems I was too late for the meeting,” Shen Jiu said, keeping his voice light as if he hadn’t just demolished a good portion of his face at that very moment. “My apologies for my tardiness.”

“I told you to rest!” Yue Qingyuan snapped, his anger not in the least bit dissuaded. “Will you not be content until your body is literally falling apart!?”

Shen Jiu pursed his lips slightly. The sect leader’s words were morbidly ironic, considering what ultimately happened to the Qing Jing Peak Lord in the future. Still, Yue Qingyuan’s anger was a bit more intense than he was used to.

“Zhangmen-shixiong, please calm yourself,” Mu Qingfang said as he made a calming gesture towards their sect leader. “At the very least, lower your voice. I am sure Shen-shixiong simply overestimated his recovery. It is very common for the infirm to overextend themselves at the first sign of improvement.”

“Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in?” Yue Qingyuan demanded. While he was no longer shouting, his voice was still boiling with anger. “What if you had lost your footing and fell off the rainbow bridge!?”

“Then that would have solved quite a few people’s problems, wouldn’t it?” Shen Jiu snapped, almost instinctively. He immediately regretted it and lowered his head, staring down at the ground so that he wouldn’t have to see Yue Qingyuan’s reaction.

Yue Qingyuan was stunned speechless, as his expression conveyed a mixture of shock, concern, and anger. The combating emotions couldn’t quite decide which would dominate the others and dictate his reaction.

Qi Qingqi was not so tongue-tied.

“Do not speak like that!” the lord of Xian Shu Peak said, her expression and tone sharp as if she were scolding a child. “To speak such evil into the world, you should know better! For shame!”

Shen Jiu grimaced as he kept his eyes on the ground. He hadn’t come here for this, but it seemed he was already kicking up a fight without even meaning to. It was exactly as his counterpart said. He really was fighting against himself, it would seem. “...I apologize.”

Qi Qingqi jerked, her eyebrows shooting straight up. She stared at Shen Jiu before she turned said stare to Yue Qingyuan, then back again to the ill peak lord. She furrowed her brow before she suddenly strode forward, down the steps and closer to the sitting scum villain.

Without waiting for an invitation, she reached out to feel the man’s brow, causing him to stiffen slightly before glancing up at her. Qingqi paid Shen Jiu no mind as she felt his forehead, noting the sticky sweat and uncomfortable warmth she found there. She frowned and turned to Yue Qingyuan.

“He is far too ill to be out and about like this,” she said, with great authority. “He should be escorted back immediately.”

Mu Qingfang nodded. “I agree.”

Shen Jiu’s slips pulled tight as his expression became flat. So even an apology was proof of illness now? Were all his efforts to ‘be a better shizun’ going to amount to this, disbelief and concern for his health and sanity? What next? Would they drag him over to Wan Jian Peak, and parade him in front of Hong Jing to make sure he wasn’t possessed!?

And yet as much as he complained, he knew damn well that it was all his own fault. But that fact didn’t make it any more palatable!

Shen Jiu grunted as he used the stick to stand up, no matter how it made his knees tremble. Nevermind, never-damn-mind! He didn’t come here for this. “Liu Qingge.”

Liu Qingge stiffened at the sound of his name, his eyes fierce as he was clearly anticipating a fight. Rather than give a verbal response, he simply let out a grunt of acknowledgement.

“You asked Zhangmen-shixiong for permission to train in the Ling Xi Caves, did you not?” Shen Jiu asked, ignoring his shidi’s glower.

Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes. “What is it to you?”

“Don’t do it,” Shen Jiu said, firmly. “And if you absolutely must, don’t go by yourself!”

“I don’t need your permission,” Liu Qingge retorted.

“It has nothing to do with permission! I’m trying to warn you!” Shen Jiu snapped, feeling his temper rising. He had known to expect it, but the other man’s attitude never failed to fray his nerves. “You’re being extremely careless, and I am telling you to be more mindful of that fact!”

“I don’t need your ‘concern’, either.” Liu Qingge said as he crossed his arms.

“You are constantly putting yourself at risk of a qi deviation!” Shen Jiu pressed, with a sweeping gesture of his free arm, the other clutching the stick tightly. “Just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean that it won’t ever happen! You are gambling with your life, while pretending the risks can’t possibly happen to you! There is no strength in that kind of blind recklessness!”

“And you would certainly be an expert on that, wouldn’t you?” Liu Qingge asked, with a sneer of his lips.

“Yes, I would!” Shen Jiu barked, the admission causing the Bai Zhan peak lord to stop with a blink. “Which means you should be listening to your shixiong instead of ignoring everything I’m saying! If you keep sneaking off by yourself, you’re going to suffer a qi deviation and destroy your cultivation - if not outright get yourself killed!”

“Like you, you mean?” Liu Qingge asked, with an arch of his eyebrow.

“Shidi, is… that what happened?” Yue Qingyuan asked, his voice suddenly soft. “What did you do-”

“Stop arguing with me and listen for once!” Shen Jiu snarled, as he felt his hold over his temper begin to break. Everyone was starting to go down a rabbit hole, and while it was absolutely his fault for presenting that opportunity in the first place, he refused to let the topic spiral away any more than it already had. “I am telling you that if you insist on going into the Ling Xi Caves, you will not be coming back out! That place will be your tomb!”

“Is that a threat?” Liu Qingge asked, his tone becoming sharp like his eyes.

“It’s a warning, you idiot!” Shen Jiu all but screamed as he whipped about the stick to shake it at the Bai Zhan peak lord. “Why does everything have to be so difficult with you!? Why can’t you just listen-”

“I’m done listening,” Liu Qingge said, uncrossing his arms. “I’m not afraid of you, or your threats.”

Something inside Shen Jiu truly snapped. He felt it deep in his guts before it surged up his spine, like a tremor. He felt as if he were about to spew blood all over the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, but instead it came out like a gush of fury. And it was that fury that spurned him forward, causing him to cross the distance between himself and Liu Qingge in an instant.

The other peak lords scrambled back in shock as Shen Jiu plowed through them without even a glance, his focus exclusively on the war god of Bai Zhan peak. Even Liu Qingge hadn’t expected it as he froze, startled to have Shen Jiu’s face right in his own.

“You brainless brute of a fool,” Shen Jiu hissed, his eyes blazing. “Go ahead, ignore me. Do what you always do, and bash your head against those cave walls as much as you like!” He whipped up a quivering hand to jab a finger in the other man’s face. “But remember this. You will remember everything I’ve said. When you’re lying there on the cold ground after kicking your own ass, covered in your own blood, and staring down your own mortality, you will remember that I, that this one, that Shen Qingqiu went and saved your ungrateful ass!

Shen Jiu leaped back to make a wide sweeping gesture with his hands. “Let’s see what your damn face and pride are worth then! The great war god of Bai Zhan peak, saved by this broken trash!”

Liu Qingge’s expression shifted to a mixture of shock and disbelief as Shen Jiu leaned in closer, their noses practically touching.

“I will save you, whether you want me to or not,” Shen Jiu growled.

Liu Qingge stared at Shen Jiu as his lips were pulled tight, saying absolutely nothing in response.

“Shidi, enough,” Yue Qingyuan said as he moved to grasp his junior’s arm, guiding him back away from Liu Qingge. “I’m sure Liu-shidi will be careful, and he’s well aware of the risks. For now, you should focus on your own health first.”

“You best remember, Liu Qingge!” Shen Jiu seethed as he pointed at the other man even as he was being pulled away, jabbing his finger as if it were a stabbing knife. “I won’t forget, and neither should you!”

“Come now, come now, enough. Enough!” Qi Qingqi said with a sigh as she gripped Shen Jiu’s other arm, helping their sect leader escort the man away from the hall. “Gods, you’re clearly feverish. What a fool you’re being right now!”

“Shen-shixiong, please calm yourself,” Mu Qingfang said as he followed the other peak lords. “If your fever is truly due to a qi deviation, that’s all the more reason for you to be more careful. You could cause lasting damage to your body. Let us get you back home, so you can properly rest.”

Shen Jiu huffed, trying to regain his breathing as his entire body quivered with anger. His fingers curled and uncurled around the stick as he visualized it as Liu Qingge’s throat, choking the stupid right out of him.

“So be it, Liu Qingge, so be it!” Shen Jiu hissed under his breath. “If you won’t save yourself, I’ll save you instead! Just you wait!”

Liu Qingge watched the procession as they headed to the rainbow bridge that connected Qiong Ding Peak to Qing Jing Peak. His expression became increasingly confused as he tried to process what the hell just happened before he paused, his thoughts interrupted by the sound of crunching. Liu Qingge turned to his right, his eyes settling on Shang Qinghua as the An Ding Peak lord munched on melon seeds so casually, as if he were watching a show.

Shang Qinghua paused and turned to meet Liu Qingge’s incredulous gaze, as well as that of the other remaining peak lords who had turned to stare at him, before he gave a helpless shrug and popped a few more melon seeds in his mouth. “Well, that was interesting!”

 The man then closed the small pouch of treats he had been eating. He placed the pouch back in his robes before brushing off the bits of remaining food off his clothing. Once clean, he gave the Bai Zhan peak lord a little wave and a smile. “Good luck being saved, Liu-shidi~!”

And with that, he was off, with a merry skip in his step.

---

By the time Shen Jiu returned to the Bamboo House, he was about ready to pass out. His anger had fueled him for a good portion of the trip, but that sort of adrenaline was fleeting and quickly ran out. By the end, he was almost entirely relying on Yue Qingyuan and Qi Qingqi to help him along, a fact that he would’ve found utterly galling if he had the presence of mind to realize what was happening.

The sect leader and peak lord duo assisted their ill compatriot over to the bed, sitting him down on it. When Yue Qingyuan got up and turned to call for Ming Fan, he was interrupted by the sound of a kettle going off. The sect leader paused before he turned just in time to see Binghe appear from the small kitchen area of the little house, a kettle with steam gushing out in hand.

The sect leader stared as the disciple completely disregarded them, moving past without even a nod of acknowledgement to where the basin had been placed by the bed - complete with clean compresses. Bingge poured the hot water into the basin before he turned to face his shizun. Practically pushing past Mu Qingfang, the disciple reached up to remove Shen Jiu’s coronet as his shizun sat there, perfectly docile in his delirium.

After removing the headpiece, Bingge then went to grasp the peak lord’s outer robes to remove them. He paused before finally glancing towards Qi Qingqi, his eyes narrowing slightly, before he shifted his gaze to the sect leader and the lord of Qian Cao Peak. Catching the meaning, the only woman in the group quickly removed herself from the area, stepping just outside the Bamboo House to give Shen Jiu some privacy.

Yue Qingyuan and Mu Qingfang, however, did not catch the meaning in the former demon lord’s eyes and instead seemed to misunderstand it. The healer went to remove Shen Jiu’s shoes from his feet while the sect leader attended to the compresses, testing the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

Bingge let out a grunt before he decided to let the matter go. He was, after all, still supposed to be a dutiful disciple at this time. At the very least, he needed to avoid outright challenging these people. With that in mind, he proceeded to remove his shizun’s outer robes.

Shen Jiu was utterly compliant, not saying a single word as he was manhandled by his disciple. While it thrilled Bingge a bit, it still had a sour note to it - the man was clearly so out of it that he no doubt had no idea where he was, let alone what was happening.

The damn fool.

“This disciple should have tried to stop Shizun from leaving,” Bingge finally said, his voice low. “He will be more mindful in the future.”

“Now, now,” Mu Qingfang said as he moved to check Shen Jiu’s forehead, before accepting the wet compress from his sect leader and placing it against the ill man’s brow. “We all know Shen-shixiong can be quite… determined when he puts his mind to something. I very much doubt you could have stopped him, so do not blame yourself.”

Bingge made a noise in his throat before he set about tucking his shizun in. He absolutely could have stopped the man from wandering off, but he also knew that doing so would have agitated him, and quite possibly set back whatever progress the other Shen Qingqiu had made. So, instead, he allowed the subject to pass. “Yes, Mu-xiansheng.”

With Shen Jiu safely in bed, only then did Qi Qingqi return back into the Bamboo House proper. She glanced towards the bed where Shen Jiu was practically unconscious before turning to face Yue Qingyuan, her arms crossed. The two moved over to the side of the room and began to talk in hushed tones. After he finished checking on Shen Jiu, Mu Qingfang went to join them.

Bingge knew that the three peak lords were trying to discuss Shen Jiu quietly, without the disciple hearing. It was a wasted effort, as he could clearly hear every word they were mumbling amongst themselves, but he pretended not to. Instead, he focused on keeping the compress nice and wet, while using a second compress to dab away at his shizun’s flushed skin to clear away the sweat.

Binghe shook his head slowly as he let out a quiet sigh. “You really just can’t help yourself, can you?”

Chapter Text

Bingge leaned against the bedpost, his arms crossed as he looked down to watch his shizun sleep. The former demon lord would never have been so brazen as to stand so openly - and so close - and risk being seen, but he knew that Shen Jiu wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. He was back in that dream world again, the one the spirit had dragged him into the night before. He imagined Shen Jiu was visiting the other Shen Qingqiu. This time, he apparently wasn’t allowed to enter, as it kept him out no matter what he tried before he finally gave up. While it rankled him a bit, he decided not to dwell on it too much.

So long as the other shizun was doing his job, Bingge had no reason to complain. He had enough sense to know better than to stick his fingers into things for the sake of being involved, especially when it ran the risk of complicating things.

Things were complicated enough as it was.

The disciple reached over to take one of Shen Jiu’s long locks of ebony in his right hand, gently rubbing the silky hair between his fingers. He then brought it to his lips, closing his eyes. He didn’t fully understand what the man had been trying to do, why he had pushed himself so hard to try and warn Liu Qingge about his impending death - as if he hadn’t been directly responsible for it.

Shen Jiu had killed him. That was one of the sins, one of the crimes he had been convicted of. It had been instrumental in turning the other peak lords against him, eroding his position with them. If the scum villain was trying to prevent that, wouldn’t he simply… not kill him? Don’t take advantage of his qi deviation?

Wouldn’t that just solve the problem? Just don’t be a murderer? Why warn his victim to avoid going into the caves, when the scum could just as easily stay away from the caves himself and avoid the whole affair?

It made absolutely no sense to him, until the other Shen Qingqiu’s words started echoing in his mind.

“I was able to save him, thankfully. But it occurs to me that I could have just as easily failed, and killed him in the process.”

Bingge frowned. Had Shen Jiu actually been innocent in Liu Qingge’s death? Had Liu Qingge’s death not been his intent? Despite, for years, swearing he would kill the man after every crushing defeat? Had he, like the other Shen Qingqiu, tried to save the war god of Bai Zhan Peak… but had failed?

It seemed absolutely baffling, defying all his expectations of the scum villain, and yet it was the only thing that made sense.

And if that was true, it would make even more sense to not go into the caves and avoid the entire situation. Shen Jiu clearly knew about the qi deviation this time, so he wouldn’t accidentally stumble across it and be caught off guard in a dangerous situation. All the scum had to do was stay away from the caves and leave Liu Qingge to his fate, and his hands would remain clean.

The war god would still die, but no one would be able to blame Shen Jiu for it - at least, they wouldn’t have been able to if not for the scene he had just made at Qiong Ding Hall. Thanks to that nonsense, even if Shen Jiu never stepped a single foot within the caves, he would automatically be suspected of orchestrating the other man’s death. He had essentially sealed his fate and ensured he’d be held accountable, just as he had been previously.

The scum villain wasn’t stupid. He had to have known all of this, he had to have known that it would draw attention to him. Did he just… not care? Did it not matter to Shen Jiu? Was he not concerned about how his actions would look?

Did he simply… want to save Liu Qingge?

Something about that thought irritated Bingge immensely. He felt the little hairs along his neck rise like hackles on a dog. Just who the hell was this bastard to his shizun!? He never actually got to know the man, given his untimely death. But the other Liu Qingge was clearly protective of that Shen Qingqiu. What did that mean in comparison to his Shen Qingqiu?

The former demon lord clenched the silky hair he held before finally letting it fall from his fingers, back to the bed. No, no, he was overthinking it. He had seen for himself the sheer amount of hatred this Liu Qingge had for the scum villain - there was absolutely nothing there to be concerned about.

If anything, he should take this as a positive sign. It meant that there was some decency inside his scum villain, somewhere. He just needed help cleaning out all the sludge and slime that filled his veins, that was all.

“Well, Shizun, at the rate you’re going, you might not live long enough to see any of that happen,” Bingge said with a sigh, before he glanced around the quiet room. Of course, he knew no one would actually come to visit the scum villain so late at night, so the action was more instinctive than anything else.

Slipping off his hair tie and placing it on the nightstand, the former demon lord crawled into bed with the unconscious peak lord. He had been tempted to remove his clothes, but knew better to give into the temptation. He needed to be ready to leave the moment he felt the spirit release Shen Jiu from the dream realm.

Carefully, Bingge slipped under the blankets and wrapped his arms around his shizun. As he pulled the slumbering man into his arms, he noted with irritation that his fourteen year old body wasn’t quite able to spoon the other man as well as he would have liked.

That was fine. He was patient. It just gave him something to look forward to, once he got back to his true body. He could only imagine what it’d feel like then, to wrap his arms around Shen Jiu and fully engulf him in his arms. The very idea of it made him grin.

…Still, he’d better stop that line of thinking before anything started to react to it. He had a purpose in mind, and it wasn’t to simply feel up his unconscious scum villain. He actually did have a real goal to accomplish!

Bingge sighed as he closed his eyes, snuggly pressed up against Shen Jiu’s back. He had the other Shen Qingqiu to thank for this as well. The other shizun had used his own qi to flush Bingge’s meridians, though he admittedly thought the demon lord to be the other Binghe at the time. But thanks to that, he knew just what to do for his shizun. Resting his chin on the man’s shoulder, he proceeded to use his own spiritual circulation to flush Shen Jiu’s, and hopefully purge some of the distortion that was plaguing his body.

…Didn’t that one story the other Liu Mingyan wrote start like this? How that Binghe, at this exact age, climbed into his master’s bed, who was caught in a dream and unable to resist him as he…

No, no, no. None of that. He needed to stay calm, he needed to keep his thoughts pure, he needed to focus. He needed to keep his circulation nice and gentle as his qi flowed into his shizun’s body, and absolutely not think about how warm the man felt against his body, and-

-and it was going to be a very long night, wasn’t it?

---

Shen Jiu slammed his hand on the tea table, rattling their cups with the force of his anger. Shen Qingqiu blinked at the display before quietly wiping up some spilled tea with a little cloth without comment. It may have been a dream, and thus by extension nothing more than dream tea, but their minds and taste buds still recognized it for what it was. Besides, it was more about the atmosphere anyway - and there was just something calming about tea.

And Shen Jiu needed a lot of calming.

“And then… and then!” Shen Jiu seethed, shaking his other hand as he clenched it into a fist. “He accused me of threatening him! I was trying to warn him, giving him good advice, and he kept calling them threats! How much of a fool can that brute be!?”

Shen Qingqiu kept his expression serene, even as he found himself chuckling awkwardly inside his head. It wasn’t hard to imagine at all, leaving Liu Qingge himself aside. He had often heard of the phrase ‘resting bitchface’, and it seemed to suit Shen Jiu perfectly.

Or perhaps it was more accurately ‘resting scum villain face’ in this situation? Everything and anything Shen Jiu did automatically had a villainous air to it, no matter his intentions, so it was no surprise that anyone would react badly to him. But Shen Qingqiu wisely kept that thought entirely to himself. He doubted Shen Jiu would get - or appreciate - the reference. Besides, wasn’t it supposed to be his face, too?

“Well, it was a very ‘Liu Qingge’ response,” Shen Qingqiu opted to say instead, with an air of understanding. “There is no way you could have worded it that would have allowed him to accept your warnings with any amount of grace.”

“He’s going to go into those caves and suffer a qi deviation, despite everything I told him,” Shen Jiu said with a heavy sigh. “I’ll have no choice but to go in after him.”

“You could call for help,” Shen Qingqiu offered. “Say you came across him and-”

“They will not believe me,” Shen Jiu said, with a shake of his head and a flick of his wrist, as if striking the idea out of the air. “They’ll assume I am trying to harass Liu Qingge while he’s training, and scold me for interfering.”

Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He could totally see that happening, and he unfortunately understood the thought process behind it. The fact that they would’ve been wrong about Shen Jiu’s actual good intentions just added an extra layer of irony to the situation. “That’s… very likely, yes.”

“Which means it is up to me to save him,” Shen Jiu said, with an air of finality, before he sighed. “That brute just makes everything more difficult than it needs to be.”

“Given that you will know what you’ll be dealing with ahead of time, it will be easier to stay calm and deal with it rationally,” Shen Qingqiu said. “Mostly, you will need to focus on dodging him long enough to get an opportunity to flush his qi and correct his deviation.”

“Perhaps I should leave Xiu Ya behind,” Shen Jiu murmured, thoughtfully. “If he sees me without my sword, it may discourage him from attacking. I certainly can’t risk using it on him or I might kill him again, so I may as well not have it with me at all.”

“Assuming he has enough sense to notice that detail during his qi deviation,” Shen Qingqiu said, uneasily. As he recalled, the man was completely addled with bloodlust - neither rock nor person was spared from his indiscriminate ire.

“The idiot doesn’t have the sense the gods gave a rock,” Shen Jiu said, with a snort. “Even on a good day.”

Shen Qingqiu found it harder and harder to keep his expression serene, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. Here this man was brainstorming how to save his Liu Qingge while simultaneously dragging him across hot coals and through mud without mercy. Did he hate him or not? What was this tsundere nonsense? What the hell was this scum villain?

“Poor Liu-shidi,” Shen Qingqiu thought.

---

Bingge carefully smoothed out his clothing as he stood beside the bed. Several hours had passed and he had actually gotten quite a lot done - Shen Jiu’s color had improved significantly, as had his qi circulation. It wasn’t perfect, but given the man’s cultivation was damaged to begin with, the peak lord shouldn’t be greedy and instead be thankful for small mercies.

The former demon lord would’ve liked to spend more time on circulating the man’s qi, but he had already pushed his luck far enough for one night. The peak lord was still in the dream realm, so there was no risk of being caught for the moment, but Bingge had been getting too comfortable in that bed with his shizun in his arms. The last thing he needed was to fall asleep like that, and Shen Jiu waking up to both of them spooning in bed.

As amusing as the thought might have been, it would’ve caused far too much damage to what he was trying to accomplish.

Luo Binghe cracked his neck before rotating his right arm, exercising his shoulder. It would be best if he returned to the woodshed and got some sleep, recovering what qi he had spent. It wasn’t the most luxurious of sleeping arrangements, but he had certainly improved it with the bedding he had swiped from the communal sleeping areas - much to Ming Fan’s chagrin.

But the toad could have as much chagrin as he liked, so long as he stayed out of Binghe’s way. And he was doing a rather fine job of that, after the disciple’s little ‘display’ with the tree and their near confrontation over cooking Shen Jiu breakfast. Bingge was not surprised that the brat was a coward through and through, without his master there to bolster his courage and make him feel invincible.

“Whatever,” Bingge grunted as he tied his long hair back up in a ponytail. “So long as he behaves, I won’t kill him this time.”

The former demon lord was about to leave when the sound of leaves and twigs being stepped on caught his attention, followed shortly by the faint sound of hushed whispers. Bingge paused as he cocked his head to the side, listening.

Someone was outside.

Bingge glanced around sharply before he drew closer to the nearest window. No one should be awake at these hours, much less have any business so close to the Bamboo House. That alone cast the sudden visitors in a suspicious light right from the very start.

“...Ji-shixiong, is it really…”

“...What if someone…”

“...That bastard… what he said… Liu-shixiong…!”

Bingge narrowed his eyes as he stepped into the shadows by the window as the voices - and accompanying footsteps - drew closer.

Outside the Bamboo House were three disciples of Bai Zhan Peak, with Ji Jue himself leading the other two. They were avoiding the main paths, keeping under the shadows of the bamboo canopy, as they circled around the building. No matter how it looked, there was nothing they could say to justify three disciples from another peak being in such a place at such a time, so it was best to not be seen at all.

“It’s just… it’s not the same now as when they were both head disciples,” one of the disciples said as he cast an uneasy glance around them. “They’re Peak Lords now, and-”

“And that’s why it’s even more unacceptable that the bastard was allowed to threaten Liu-shixiong so openly!” Ji Jue said, firmly. “He specifically said, in front of the other Peak Lords, that he would make sure Liu-shixiong never leaves the Ling Xi Caves! How can that be interpreted as anything less than declaring war on all of Bai Zhan Peak!?”

The first disciple looked uncomfortable. “Wasn’t he just delirious, though? Even Liu-shixiong himself didn’t think too much of it.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason for us to take it seriously?” the second disciple pointed out. “Don’t they say that when you’re sick, that’s when you speak your true feelings as your inhibitions are lowered?”

“I think that saying is for when you’re drunk,” the first disciple muttered. “Not sick with a fever. And even then-”

“Whether he’s sick or not, it’s our responsibility to do something about this,” Ji Jue said, firmly. “We need to make him aware that even if Zhangmen-shixiong will let him get away with whatever he wants, Bai Zhan Peak won’t stand for it. Peak Lord or no Peak Lord!”

At his shidi’s uncomfortable expression, Ji Jue scowled. “Listen. You don’t wait for a snake to bite you before you beat them away with a stick! Don’t forget that this man has constantly harassed Liu-shixiong for years! Are you really suggesting we just wait until our shixiong is dead before we can do anything about it!?”

“Keep your voice down,” the second disciple hissed. “Otherwise, you’ll wake up all of Qing Jing Peak!”

Ji Jue glanced at the other disciple before he sighed, exhaling through his nose before he pinched the bridge of it. “Listen. If anything, if he is truly ill, then it works in our favor. It means things won’t get out of hand, we’ll have total control over the situation. All we have to do is scare him a bit, teach him a little lesson. That’s all.”

The other two disciples glanced at each other before giving a small unified nod. Having won their cooperation, Ji Jue nodded sharply before he turned to open the front door of the Bamboo House.

None of them were prepared to be immediately greeted by Luo Binghe standing right in the doorway, staring straight at them. He was almost completely covered by darkness, save for his eyes, which shone like a cat’s in the darkness.

“Good evening,” Bingge said, a smile on his face that carried absolutely no friendliness to the older disciples from another peak. “Qing Jing Peak welcomes Bai Zhan Peak on this most auspicious occasion.”

The three disciples froze, realizing they had been caught, with varying degrees of panic rippling through their group. The first disciple looked about ready to vomit. Ji Jue was sizing up the little junior in front of him, while the second was somewhere in between. Luo Binghe continued to smile as he stood in the doorway, physically blocking entry with his body in a clear challenge to the Bai Zhan intruders.

“Isn’t he the boy that Shen Qingqiu keeps bullying?” the second disciple asked, his voice low. “What’s he doing here?”

“Who cares!? We need to leave!” the first disciple hissed.

“We have business with your master tonight,” Ji Jue said, his voice even. “Unless you want to be involved, I suggest you leave - now.”

“Hmhm,” Bingge made a thoughtful noise as he tilted his head. “And I wonder what sort of business Bai Zhan Peak would have with Shizun at this time of night? Must be important,” The young disciple’s eyes widened, giving his face a rather eerie and off-putting look. “Something about ‘teaching him a little lesson’?”

Part of Luo Binghe had wondered with a somewhat sick curiosity what the three planned to do to his shizun, and if there was entertainment to be had by allowing it to happen. Certainly, the scum villain would have deserved whatever they had in mind. But the very idea of someone else punishing his Shen Qingqiu made an intense fury gurgle in his veins like blood. Only he had the right to punish the scum villain, no one else.

Who did these bastards think they were?

Ji Jue’s expression hardened. The boy in front of him looked to be a young teenager. While he wasn’t thrilled about roughing up a junior so much younger and smaller than him, he also wasn’t willing to back down. Leaving now felt far too much like running away.

Besides, something about the boy just really rubbed him the wrong way. He wasn’t sure if it was the sheer lack of disrespect or the overflowing confidence that seemed to be radiating from the urchin, but it filled him with a desire to knock him down a bit.

Who was from Bai Zhan Peak, and who was from Qing Jing Peak? Who did all the boys look up to, regardless of peak? Who the hell did this brat think he was sneering down his nose at!? He couldn’t even properly sneer down it, instead having to look up to meet Ji Jue’s gaze!

This Luo Binghe really was Shen Qingqiu’s disciple, it would seem. They were both too damn arrogant for their own good!

Ji Jue snorted before he reached over to grab the boy roughly by the front of his disciple uniform. “Listen, brat, you need to listen to your shixiong-”

Luo Binghe’s hand lashed out to grab Ji Jue’s wrist, clamping down on it like a steel trap. He wretched the man’s arm sharply to the side, twisting it until it bent - but didn’t break - so that his elbow was at an awkward and painful position.

Ji Jue yelped as he was brought to his knees by the much smaller teenage boy, with the other two disciples watching in muted shock and horror at what they were witnessing. The elder Bai Zhan Peak disciple hissed through his teeth from the pain as his eyes began to water, struggling to comprehend how the boy’s grip could be so powerful, so unbreaking, that he could bring a grown damn man to his knees. Just who the hell was this brat!? The disciple then froze as Bingge drew in closer until they were nose to nose with nary an inch between them.

Bingge’s smile widened across his face, his eyes glistening in the darkness. If Ji Jue hadn’t known any better, he’d swear that they were glowing. “Perhaps this shidi should be the one to teach his shixiong a little lesson, hm?”

---

Shen Qingqiu took a drink of his tea, holding his cup to his mouth, before lowering it slightly. “Speaking of. We may want to discuss how we should address each other, going forward.”

Shen Jiu arched an eyebrow at that. “What  do you mean?”

“If we are going to be meeting often like this, I mean,” Shen Qingqiu said. “I’m sure it must feel a bit strange to be using your own name to address me. Perhaps we should come up with nicknames? For between us?”

Shen Jiu made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. He had to admit his counterpart had a point - to an extent. “What did you have in mind?”

“Perhaps I can call you Shen J-?” Shen Qingqiu began.

“No,” Shen Jiu said, with sharp finality. “And you may not take that name, either.”

Shen Qingqiu paused at how quickly he had been shot down, then frowned slightly. He supposed it made sense - the scum villain had been rather insistent about rejecting his old name, from what ‘his’ memories showed him. “Well, then I’ll be the one to take a nickname. You may call me… Shen Yuan.”

It felt a little strange to say his old name, it almost felt like he was doing something illegal, or forbidden. And frankly, he had been called Shen Qingqiu for so long that it hardly even sounded like his name at all at this point. But what did it hurt, between them, like this? It should be fine, right?

“Yuan?” Shen Jiu repeated as he arched an eyebrow. He was about to question why his counterpart chose that name specifically before he stopped, his eyebrows going straight up.

Of course. Yue Qingyuan, Shen Yuan.

By the gods, this child. This precious, naive child. He wanted to just put him in a box and keep him close at all times, protecting him from the world.

“Spirit, are you certain you do not have a box I can keep that boy in?” Shen Jiu sighed. “Preferably one with a lock.”

[No Shen Qingqiu boxes are available at this time.]

Shen Jiu paused at that. To begin with, the question was meant to be rhetorical. But the answer he got made his skin crawl, particularly the ‘at this time’. “...Nevermind. Knowing you, you’d try to shove that boy into a coffin. Keep your nonsense to yourself.”

[ ∑(; °Д°) ] 

“If you’re not comfortable with calling me Shen Yuan, I-” Shen Qingqiu began before he stopped as Shen Jiu waved his concerns off.

“I can only imagine what else you might come up with, so it’s best to stop now,” Shen Jiu said with a sigh. “Shen Yuan it is.”

Shen Yuan blinked. He wasn’t sure what was going through the other shizun’s head and was briefly tempted to ask before deciding against it. Shen Jiu had agreed to use his name, so there wasn’t much point in pressing further. The peak lord opened his mouth to change the topic when he stopped, noting their surroundings were becoming somewhat indistinct. “Ah. It seems our time is up.”

Shen Jiu instinctively glanced about before he frowned. He really wasn't ready to go just yet, but the spirit had other ideas. Still, he at least felt a bit better, and had more of a grasp on what he needed to do going forward. “I suppose-”

A blood-curdling scream pierced the air, sending a ripple through the dreamscape. Both Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan jumped slightly before turning to stare at each other in shock. Neither had a chance to react beyond that before the dream realm shattered, like broken glass.

Shen Jiu awoke with a start, gasping as he sat up sharply. He grasped at the headboard to steady himself, his head struggling to stop spinning after he had jolted up too quickly. Slowly the room came back into focus, and with it the sounds of a commotion outside his front door. The shizun felt his blood run cold before he unceremoniously flung his blankets off and stumbled towards the door.

His mind raced as to what was happening, and who was screaming. Had Ming Fan continued to bully Luo Binghe during his shizun’s absence and gone too far!? That idiot! Was he trying to condemn them both!? The shizun should have said something sooner, but his mind had been too occupied to think of it! He was a damn fool, and so was that head disciple of his!

And what the hell were the two of them doing up in the middle of the night like this, anyway!? It was well beyond curfew!

Shen Jiu flung the door open, grasping the frame to steady himself. He looked positively disheveled, his long hair a ruffled mess, but he didn’t care. “Stop it this instant-!”

The scum villain paused in mid-bark to find himself staring at Luo Binghe, who was standing in front of the door with nary a care in the world. The disciple stopped and turned to stare at his shizun in confusion.

Shen Jiu blinked then glanced past Luo Binghe to see several people fleeing into the bamboo groves. He couldn’t make out much about their appearance, save that they were clearly injured - limping and hobbling along in their haste.

The shizun hesitated as questions began to form before he shook his head, refocusing his thoughts on Luo Binghe. He reached over to sharply snatch his disciple’s arm, who gave him a small blink.

“Where are you injured!?” Shen Jiu demanded in a panic as he felt up the arm, checking the bones for any sign of breakage. Finding none, the shizun paused before he turned his attention to the other arm. As he reached forward, Luo Binghe offered the arm obediently. The shizun hesitated, glancing at the boy, before he went to check the offered arm. Finding absolutely nothing wrong, bewilderment replaced the panic and concern that had previously consumed his face.

“What?” the peak lord muttered before he glanced down at the boy’s legs. “Then-?”

[+100 Satisfaction Points!]

Shen Jiu nearly jumped at the notification and looked up sharply, his expression going blank as he noted with confusion how happy the disciple looked at that moment. The boy’s smile was wide and positively beaming, for reasons that completely escaped the peak lord.

“This disciple is not injured, Shizun,” Bingge said, brightly.

“No?” Shen Jiu murmured. “But then, that scream…”

“That would have been Ji-shixiong, Shizun,” Bingge replied, with a sage nod. “This disciple is completely unharmed.”

“Ji… shixiong?” the shizun repeated slowly before his eyes widened in realization. “As in… Ji Jue!? Of Bai Zhan Peak!?”

Bingge nodded. “Yes, Shizun. Bai Zhan Peak came to meet with Shizun, despite the inappropriateness of such a request at this time of night,” The disciple’s eyes then took a particularly sharp look to them. “They would not accept being turned away and attempted to argue with this disciple, who firmly informed them that Shizun was not available for visitors at this time and the subject was not open for discussion.”

Shen Jiu opened his mouth and then closed it. Ji Jue was a grown man - he was of the same generation of disciples as Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge. In fact, it wasn’t hard to imagine precisely what had been about to happen, as conflict was no stranger between the two of them. Indeed, similar ambushes had happened during their head disciple days, but they had stopped once Liu Qingge and Shen Jiu had become peak lords.

By the gods, he had really kicked the proverbial hornet’s nest this time, hadn’t he? At the very least, he could be confident that Liu Qingge wouldn’t come thundering over from Bai Zhan Peak, as his honor absolutely wouldn’t allow him to take part in such a disgusting squabble. While he never before had problems taking Shen Jiu to task physically, he wouldn’t lower himself to attack a sick man.

Though even admitting to being in such a state made Shen Jiu’s stomach churn.

But besides all that, Ji Jue was - again - a fully grown man. For Luo Binghe to beat him away so effortlessly, with nary an injury to speak of… this boy really was a damn prodigy, wasn’t he!?

Spirit, this was just too unfair!

Shen Jiu took a deep breath before exhaling, as if he were trying to expel such dangerously destructive thoughts from his body. After all, they were solely the reason he had dug his own grave in the first place!

“In the future…,” the scum villain said slowly. “In the future, if this happens again, do not engage with them. Quickly find one of your shixiong and inform them.”

“...Again?” Bingge asked slowly. The peak lord’s reaction to the ambush was bizarre. The very idea of a different peak attempting to attack a peak lord should have been unthinkable, and Shen Jiu’s reaction should have been a bit more stupefied at their audacity. And yet not only did he seem to accept the situation at face value far too readily, but actually assumed it might happen again? “Shizun, has this… happened before?”

Shen Jiu hesitated before he schooled his expression into something more neutral. “It is merely old affairs, and nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Something dangerous flickered through Bingge’s eyes, which caused the shizun to pause again. As the peak lord stared at his disciple, Binghe seemed to be thinking for a moment before his expression gave way to something more serene.

“Shizun, you should go back to bed,” Bingge said, respectfully. “You should not be out and about at this hour. You may catch a cold.”

Shen Jiu was about to retort when he was interrupted by his disciple removing his outer robe, moving to place it around his shizun’s shoulders. It was then that the peak lord realized he was standing in the open wearing only his inner robes. The man’s face turned scarlet red as he grasped the outer robe, pulling it tightly around him to hide his state of undress. It wasn’t nearly big enough, but gave him at least some cover so that his undergarments weren’t on full display!

“Let us get you back to bed, Shizun,” Bingge said as he gently grasped his shizun’s arm, and began guiding him back inside the Bamboo House. The peak lord offered no resistance as his face boiled with mortification, his hands trembling as they gripped the outer robes tightly. Bingge wanted to smirk at the cute display but kept his face as serene as possible lest it incite Shen Jiu to explode on him.

As he walked, Binghe’s mind began to wander. This sort of scenario was hardly new - only the outcome was different. While growing up, he had to deal with torment from all around him, be it his shizun or shixiong and even his shixiong from other peaks. It often felt like all of Cang Qiong Mountain had been against him.

It was one of the many reasons he had burned the whole place to the ground. But unlike then, he wasn’t an untrained child being relentlessly bullied by those older and stronger than him. Things would obviously be different now.

Back then, he never understood why - why it all happened, why he had to deal with such abuse. It just felt like pointless vindictiveness, with no explanation. But to have it happen again, this time with his shizun as the target… and that talk of ‘old affairs’?

Had this happened often, back then? Had Shen Jiu himself experienced that sort of treatment from the other peaks, growing up? Ji Jue had been far too familiar, far too brazen with his plans to assault a peak lord. And clearly, they hadn’t thought anything about attacking a seemingly defenseless shidi, had they?

Had they targeted him, not because of who he was, but who his shizun was? Had he been harassed so long ago simply because he was Shen Qingqiu’s disciple? It didn’t explain Shen Jiu’s viciousness and what he incited his own peak to do, but it cast a possible new light on everyone else’s. Grudges made far more sense than engaging in child abuse for the sake of it.

Old affairs, indeed.

“Shizun,” Bingge thought with a sigh. “You just bring out the worst in everyone, don’t you? Even when you’re actively trying not to.”

His scum villain really did have his work cut out for him.

As Shen Jiu climbed back into bed, he removed his disciple’s outer robes and returned them with a stiff toss of his right hand. Bingge easily caught the outer robe, unable to help breaking out in a small smile, before he turned and began putting the garment back on.

The peak lord sighed as he slipped under the covers, pulling them up over his body. Once settled, he glanced over to confirm that the beast had left, as he hadn’t heard the door open and close. To his shock, Bingge had not only not left but had made himself comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the door.

Shen Jiu furrowed his brow. “What are you doing?”

“Please ignore this disciple, Shizun,” Bingge replied as he closed his eyes. “This one will meditate quietly and not disturb your slumber.”

“In my house?” Shen Jiu asked, arching an eyebrow. “In front of my door?”

“Yes,” Bingge replied. “For as long as he needs to.”

The shizun went dead silent at that. His eyes darted towards the door, then back to the disciple. It was impossible for him not to catch the implication - as long as he ‘needs’ to. In other words, as long as it took to be certain that the Bai Zhan Peak disciples would not return with reinforcements.

Shen Jiu grimaced as he let out a mental curse, pinching the bridge of his nose. Admittedly, it had been a concern of his as well. It was fairly typical, back in the day, for the disciples to run back to their peak and return with increased numbers to avenge themselves. For all their talk of discipline and honor, none of them were apparently above a beatdown like a gang of thugs.

And honestly, that was precisely what they were - thugs.

The shizun gave a sharp shake of his head, then grunted. “There is no need for you to do that.” When it was clear that the disciple wasn’t obeying him and, in fact, seemed to be actively ignoring him, Shen Jiu felt a surge of anger. Since when did this brat get the guts to disregard his shizun so openly!? Apparently not beating him for several days allowed him to get a little full of himself! “Go to sleep, boy!”

“This disciple might get attacked on his way back to the woodshed,” Bingge said, as earnestly as he could muster. While it was certainly a possibility, it was not one that he was overly concerned about. Still, best to play it up and see how his shizun reacted. “If that were to happen, this late at night, then this disciple would not be able to alert his shixiong or Shizun.”

Shen Jiu paused. The disciples’ target had originally been him, but admittedly the beast may have changed that. There was no way the Bai Zhan Peak disciples would allow a fourteen year old brat get away with beating several of them so brutally. They were just as likely - no, very likely - to go right after the disciple to avenge themselves.

That wasn't the scum villain’s fault, was it!? He didn’t ask the boy to stick his neck out!

…No, the brutes absolutely wouldn’t see it that way. They’d see the beast as an extension of himself, and it’d only stoke their fury at the Qing Jing Peak Lord. He was, after all, Shen Qingqiu’s disciple - and one who had actively stepped forward to protect the man. And of course, once they had finished with the beast, they’d undoubtedly repay their ire upon Shen Jiu a hundredfold.

And him with his body like this! He would be completely at the mercy of those bastards, who had ample axes to grind against the Peak Lord. The very idea made his blood run cold, a chill that somehow managed to survive the heat of his fever.

Damn you, Spirit!

Shen Jiu clasped his hands together as he closed his eyes, holding his pressed hands against his lips as he breathed heavily through his nose. No, it wasn’t the Spirit’s fault. It was, and always would be, his fault and his alone. He had a wondrous talent of making everything a damn mess, and it seemed to be working in full swing at the moment.

No, the fact was, he needed the boy there. Both for his sake as well as for the sake of everyone who depended on him to not screw things up, and drive the boy further along the road to beasthood. And it was absolutely not because he needed the boy for protection! The boy was the one that needed protection, not him! It absolutely wasn’t about him!

He’d sooner bite his own tongue off and drown in his own blood than ever acknowledge something so utterly ridiculous!

“Then,” Shen Jiu said, slowly. “Then, at the very least… rest in the bed in the side room.”

Bingge stiffened at that and looked up sharply, whirling to stare at the scum villain. “What?”

“The side room,” Shen Jiu repeated, his voice rough. “There is a bed. Rest there for the night. That way, I will be able to protect you should anything else happen.”

Bingge nearly facefaulted before he caught himself. The idea that Shen Jiu would protect him when the scum couldn’t even protect himself was laughable. But he wasn’t willing to focus on that for too long, not when he had something far more important in mind - he was being allowed access to the side room.

The side room that had been the other Binghe’s bedroom. The side room that would now be his bedroom. Even if Shen Jiu meant it only for the night, he’d make it work. He’d find a way, an excuse to stay there indefinitely. This was the opportunity he needed!

“Yes, Shizun,” Bingge said, trying to keep his excitement out of his voice. “Then I will be able to make you breakfast bright and early in the morning!”

Shen Jiu let out a grunt before he rolled over so that his back was to the disciple, pulling the blanket up so that it nearly covered his head. He tried not to focus on the fact that he had just invited the boy to stay in his safe space. He hadn’t felt this invaded since his days as a head disciple forced into communal lodgings.

Could it truly be called an invasion when he offered the room to the beast? But no matter the logic, vulnerability crawled along his skin like insects, making him nauseous.

“Good,” Shen Jiu grunted, trying to shove down his bile and keep his response calm. “Then go to sleep.”

With the scum villain now looking away, the former demon lord didn’t bother to suppress the massive grin that spread across his face. “Yes, Shizun! Goodnight!”

[+200 Satisfaction points!]

Shen Jiu merely grunted in response as he pulled the blanket totally over his head.

Chapter Text

The scent of fresh dough frying in the kitchen filled the air, drifting from the Bamboo House’s kitchen into the bedroom. It was enough to slowly rouse the slumbering Shen Jiu from his deep sleep, the shizun groggily fluttering his eyes open as his stomach gave a plaintive growl.

Shen Jiu grunted before he slowly sat up, glancing about the room blurrily. After the failed ambush, he had trouble falling back asleep. Between the adrenaline of a possible second assault and the fact that someone - the beast himself no less - was in his house, it made it all but impossible to fall asleep of his own accord. He had spent hours just staring at the ceiling, his body tense as every sound made him jump in place. It wasn’t until his body had essentially given up, too exhausted to continue, that the shizun was finally able to pass out.

Thankfully, it seemed the other shoe hadn’t dropped during the night, so the lapse in discipline hadn’t earned him a rude awakening.

The scum villain sighed before he turned to slowly drape his legs over the side of the bed. Gingerly, he tested his feet on the floor and was pleased to note that he had more strength in his legs than he had the day before. Thankful for small fortunes, he slowly climbed out of bed and approached the armoire.

Mindful of the boy in the kitchen, he quickly changed into his teal robes. He was fully dressed and sitting at his vanity, attempting to put his coronet on, by the time Binghe emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of piping hot food.

Bingge glanced over at Shen Jiu as he set the tray down at the table. Then, without waiting for an invitation, he promptly headed over up behind the man and proceeded to assist his shizun with his coronet. “Good morning, Shizun~!”

Shen Jiu tensed slightly. His first instinct was to bark at the boy to get away, but he nearly bit his tongue - literally - to keep the words from coming out of his mouth. He kept repeating ‘be a good shizun’ endlessly in his head, even as bile built up in his throat at how bold, how brazen, his disciple was being. “...I trust you slept well?”

“Very well,” Bingge said, cheerfully. There was so much cheer in his voice that the shizun wanted to vomit, but he kept it down the best he could. The disciple didn’t seem to notice the peak lord’s discomfort, and continued with smoothing out the man’s hair after fastening the hairpeace. “Zhangmen-shixiong came by earlier, Shizun. He wanted to speak with you, but you were still asleep, so he said he would return later.”

Shen Jiu stiffened at that. “Did he now?”

“Zhangmen-shixiong asked if anything had happened last night,” Bingge said, lightly.

Shen Jiu’s face pulled into a grimace. “And what did you tell him?”

“I told Zhangmen-shixiong that I had turned away late-night visitors from Shizun’s doors,” the disciple replied, with a smile that seemed to imply absolute innocence in what he was saying. “Beyond that, the night was quite peaceful.”

‘Beyond that’!? ‘Beyond that’, his ass! As if a late night assault from another peak was something to so casually dismiss! The boy may as well have been talking about the weather, with the way he was talking!

…But then again, considering how thoroughly he had trounced the Bai Zhan intruders, perhaps his disciple really didn’t think it was anything worth mentioning? Shen Jiu wasn’t certain how he should feel about that.

Luo Binghe had always been good, gifted even. But this seemed just too much! He had no memory of the boy being able to take out an adult disciple from Bai Zhan Peak! If he could do all that, why hadn’t he ever tried to defend himself!?

…Then again, there were moments where he went well beyond Shen Jiu’s expectations, weren’t there? The boy had endured quite a bit of pain under his shizun’s relentless vindictiveness in the form of ‘training’. And hadn’t he once thrown the boy into battle against a demon many times his size? Back when a group of them had assaulted the mountain sect to make a name for themselves? Luo Binghe had been a bit older then to be sure, but a demon was still a demon, and yet the beast still somehow managed to not only survive but win.

And what of the false training manual? Anyone else would’ve been suffering ruptured organs. And yet, Luo Binghe not only never did but somehow still managed to turn out into the most powerful cultivator the world had ever known. In this sort of context, was the current situation really that surprising? Admittedly the beast had joined Huan Hua Palace by that point, but the fact remained that he still achieved that level of success despite the setbacks Shen Jiu had inflicted on his cultivation.

Setbacks that should have haunted him, just like they had Shen Jiu.

It was the main reason Shen Jiu hated him right from the start. The boy had everything - good potential, good attitude, good cultivation, good timing. It was clear that the boy was being set up for great success, and eventually did just that. Even if those things included burning Cang Qiong Mountain to the ground. And he had been praised for it, with the whole world swallowing his bullshit like baby birds being fed worms.

It was everything that Shen Jiu would have - should have - received. He had the potential, he had the cultivation, he had the desire and work ethic… but the timing? That was the one thing he didn’t have. Qiu Jianluo and Wu Yanzi made sure of that. His entire cultivation life had been destroyed before it had even begun, by timing.

Shen Jiu had accomplished a great many things, despite his handicaps. He achieved his core formation stage in an astoundingly short amount of time, became the peak lord of the second ranked peak of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and cultivated into a powerful cultivator in his own right.

It was never enough, it would never be enough. His deeds were impressive, but… There was always, always that little caveat behind every single one of his accomplishments - that he could have been so much more, if only.

If only he had started on time. If only he hadn’t wasted his time with that charlatan Wu Yanzi. If only he had been able to escape Qiu Jianluo earlier. If only he had been in a position to escape with Qi-ge. If only Qi-ge had been able to come back for him. If only.

If only.

Shen Jiu could never forget it. No one would ever allow him to forget it. From muttered whispers behind his back to Liu Qingge outright throwing it in his face, the scum villain was reminded time and time again of what he could have been but never would be. And in the end, his hatred born from that fact ensured that no one else would ever be anything, either.

But he was supposed to change that. To take this hatred and, if not throw it away, at least keep it under control enough to keep it from burning him and the whole mountain to ash in the form of Luo Binghe’s revenge.

And that meant not dwelling on such dangerous trains of thought like these, you damn fool of a man!

Shen Jiu sighed as he closed his eyes. He kept his hands in his lap where Luo Binghe couldn’t see and reached his left over to give his right hand a sharp pinch. “...No matter. I assume he must have already heard about what happened, if he came to ask such a thing.”

It wasn’t as if it was his job to hide what had happened, or cover for the idiots. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, except for apparently inciting the whole damn mess to begin with.

Part of him was vaguely curious as to what Yue Qingyuan must have thought at seeing the beast in his home like this, so casual as if he belonged there. But that was clearly the part of him that loved rubbing salt in wounds and picking off proverbial scabs with self-destructive glee, so he summarily dismissed it as something he was better off not knowing.

Giving his head a small shake, the shizun moved to stand up. He paused when Bingge helped move the chair out of his way. Shen Jiu glanced at the disciple before heading over to the table with careful steps before sitting down.

Bingge pushed the chair back into place as he watched Shen Jiu begin to eat his breakfast, the man taking great care to act as if he weren’t greatly enjoying the delicious food. But there were still signs, and the former demon lord devoured them all as ravenously as his shizun did his meal.

So naturally, he was more than a little irritated to see the lord of Qiong Ding Peak return to the Bamboo House, interrupting his shizun’s breakfast. He was pleased to see that Shen Jiu didn’t bother to get up to greet the sect leader, still eating his food - not that Yue Qingyuan seemed to mind the disrespect his peak lord was throwing at him.

The bastard never seemed to mind.

“Good morning, shidi,” Yue Qingyuan said as he approached the little table. “Did you sleep well?”

Shen Jiu hesitated, mouth full of food, as he tried to think of how to respond.

Unfortunately, his hesitation was answer enough. Yue Qingyuan sighed heavily before he fidgeted with the collar of his robes, looking out the window as he seemed to be debating something. After a moment, he turned back to his junior, a smile on his face.

“Perhaps… a small trip into town will improve your health,” Yue Qingyuan began, choosing his words carefully. “You rarely go to town anymore, after all. Taking a step away from the stress of your duties may be precisely what you need.”

Shen Jiu looked up sharply, the action causing the sect lord to flinch slightly before he quickly recovered and raised his hands soothingly.

“I’ve spoken to Mu-shidi,” Yue Qingyuan said. “He agrees that a change of scenery would do you some good. You’ll get some fresh air away from the peak.”

Shen Jiu’s expression deadpanned as he stared at Yue Qingyuan. What was this stupid man babbling about now? People didn’t go into town for ‘fresh air’. There was nothing ‘fresh’ about the air found in a stuffy city overflowing with people.

No, when someone wanted ‘fresh air’, they went to the mountains. Which was where they currently were. There was fresh air in abundance all around them, at any given point! He couldn’t even leave the Bamboo House without walking face-first into fresh air!

…Unless, of course, it wasn’t about ‘fresh air’.

The longer Shen Jiu stared at his shixiong, the more Yue Qingyuan began to squirm in place, and thus the more the Qing Jing Peak lord’s suspicions were confirmed. This wasn’t about ‘getting fresh air’ or ‘a change of scenery’. There was only one thing this could be about.

Bai Zhan Peak.

Shen Jiu exhaled through his nose. In the past, Qingyuan had intercepted Bai Zhan Peak on several occasions when they took their retaliation too far. That was back in the past when they were younger and more reckless, and that behavior should have stayed in the past. It seems he was the only one who had actually grown the hell up.

Though he was well aware of the irony of him thinking that.

[Quest has been issued.]

[Issuer: Yue Qingyuan.]

[Location: Shuang Hu City.]

[Quest: Lay low until tensions have been resolved.]

[Accept / Reject?]

“Even you’re getting involved now, Spirit?” Shen Jiu asked, wearily. “So the situation is that serious, is it?” The peak lord let out a heavy sigh. “The tension must be quite bad if everyone else has noticed it, especially to the point that Yue Qingyuan wants me off the mountain.”

The scum villain really hadn’t intended to cause any problems this time, but once again, he was making a massive mess for Yue Qingyuan to clean up. And if that was the case, he had absolutely no business protesting a temporary expulsion from his peak - it was only going to be until Bai Zhan Peak’s temper had cooled.

“Very well, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shen Jiu said, with no small amount of exasperation in his voice. “I trust you have taken care of the arrangements for my stay?”

Relief flooded Yue Qingyuan’s face as he smiled. Clearly, he had expected his shidi to kick up more of a fuss, and was thrilled to be proven wrong. “Yes, of course. We’ve made arrangements at a lovely inn, with plenty of room for you and your disciples.”

“Ah, so my disciples have to go, too?” Shen Jiu said, lightly. “I suppose I will think of something to ensure that their training doesn’t suffer from this little excursion of yours.”

What a nuisance. It would seem that Yue Qingyuan was removing all targets for Bai Zhan Pean’s ire. He always was a bit soft, but it told the scum villain that Liu Qingge must have already gone into seclusion to train in the caves. Otherwise, the brute would’ve beat the nonsense right out of his disciples.

…Or he would’ve come charging to challenge Luo Binghe himself. Not to punish him for protecting Shen Jiu, but because he’d be curious how a fourteen year old boy could beat several adults so effortlessly. The last thing the scum villain needed was having Liu Qingge condemn himself to the beast’s wrath! Shen Jiu was trying to save him, not kill him another way!

Shen Jiu gave a small shake of his head as he felt a headache starting to form. Well, if nothing else, he could be certain that when Ji Jue next attacked the Bamboo House, he would find out his target had left the mountain and would have enough sense to keep his nonsense restricted to the peaks. The fool surely must have remembered how much face he had lost the last time he got the outside world involved in their squabbles.

Getting his ass beat at a brothel wasn’t something he could wash away that easily, but breaking into an inn to attack an ill Peak Lord? Nothing would be able to save him.

Whatever. This was fine. It gave Liu Qingge plenty of time to delve too deep into his cultivation. By the time this little ‘vacation’ was over, the brute would surely be well settled in his qi deviation, too helpless to protect himself from the scum villain’s efforts to save him.

And he would save him this time.

A smile spread across Shen Jiu’s face, looking far more twisted than it had any business to, given what the scum villain was thinking about. It gave the other occupants of the room reason to pause, but he didn’t notice as he was far too consumed by his thoughts.

Just you wait, Liu Qingge!

---

The stables of Qing Jing Peak bustled with activity as the disciples scurried about to prepare for their shizun’s trip. Between preparing the carriage and getting the horses ready, there was much to be done. And with such short notice, it meant all preparations had to be done as soon as possible. For a ‘leisurely trip’, it was shaping up to be rather stressful and chaotic.

Bingge was busy inside the carriage itself, having taken it upon himself to prepare it for his sickly shizun. He had just finished airing out the curtains, which had taken on a bit of a musty smell, and was currently patting down the cushions for the same reason. It spoke of how little the carriage was used, but that was a given considering who they were talking about.

Shen Jiu was always quite the recluse, preferring the quiet solitude of his Bamboo House to the company of others. If he had a choice between socializing and not, he would not only choose the not but would use as much acidic behavior as needed to ensure that said social opportunities were not offered to him a second time. The man would probably rip off his own nose if he thought it would excuse him from having to socialize like a normal human being.

Luo Binghe sighed before he placed the cushions back where they belonged, then set about checking the rest of the carriage. He had already packed a little travel lunch for the shizun, which he placed by the incense burner so that it couldn’t be missed. Satisfied that everything was ready, the disciple finally left the carriage. He spared a brief glance at the older disciple who would act as Shen Jiu’s driver, who was currently hooking up two white horses to the carriage, before heading to the stables.

As Bingge made his way to the stables, he found Ming Fan and the remaining disciples beginning to saddle up. The former demon lord paused only a moment to help Ning Yingying up on her horse before going to find his own. As he approached the stable door, Ming Fan suddenly stood in his way, blocking the entrance with both his body and his horse as he held its reins.

“Unfortunately, we’re currently short on horses, so Shidi will have to go without for this trip,” Ming Fan said with an air of authority. “Though, while it may be an inconvenience, it actually works out for the best! Shidi can use this opportunity to train his poor foundation.”

Luo Binghe’s expression flattened. He tilted his head past the head disciple to peer inside the stable, where there were still more than enough horses for all the disciples. It was obvious to everyone with a pair of eyes that this was just more bullying from the head disciple.

After the tree incident, surely it hadn’t gone unnoticed how shaken Ming Fan had become by the whole experience. Now that enough time had passed and the initial fear had been forgotten, it seemed that the toad had regained his courage, or had applied enough denial to feel like he had. This was clearly Ming Fan’s attempt to regain his standing before his juniors, and his foothold on Luo Binghe’s throat.

Unfortunately for him, Bingge was not the flustered white lotus that the toad was used to, willing to be trampled in the mud underfoot.

“Shixiong,” Bingge said, with a blink. “As head disciple, is it not your responsibility to ensure such things do not happen?” His voice was draped in a shawl of innocence that only barely obscured the venom dripping from every word.

At Ming Fan’s shocked expression, the former demon lord furrowed his brow into a thoughtful expression. “This one understands the great many responsibilities that come with being head disciple, but shouldn’t Shixiong be taking things more seriously? For Shizun’s sake, if nothing else?” He then arched his eyebrows up. “Perhaps it is Shixiong who should go without a horse? As penance, and to give himself time to reflect upon his shortcomings.”

As Ming Fan gaped at Luo Binghe, his shidi flashed him a razor-sharp smile before snatching the reins of the horse right out of his senior’s hands, then swiftly climbing aboard.

“Or,” Bingge said as he peered down at the stupefied head disciple as he sat comfortably in the saddle. “Perhaps Shixiong will suddenly remember that he is not quite so short on horses as he first believed, hm?” He then paused before adding cheerfully. “As for this one’s foundation, Bai Zhan Peak did not find it to be so poor when this disciple chased them away from Shizun, but Shixiong’s concerns will be taken under consideration.”

Ming Fan could do nothing except flounder in front of Bingge, as his footing became that much more precarious. Even when his first instinct was to lash out, his instincts seemed to rebel at the very idea. Rather than chasing a bleating lamb with a stick, he found himself looking into the gullet of a wolf. And every fiber of his being told him that the wolf was just waiting for a pretense to bite.

Just what the hell happened to his shidi!?

“Wow, A-Luo!” Ning Yingying gasped as she drew her horse closer to her shidi. “So it’s true? You really did chase some people from Bai Zhan Peak away from Shizun’s house!?”

Bingge nodded as he gave Yingying a smile before he paused and glanced over to watch Yue Qingyuan assisting Shen Jiu to the carriage. He felt himself bristle, his smile falling from his face. He had wanted to be the one to escort Shen Jiu, but he knew better than to push too hard - his scum villain needed at least some room to breathe without finding Luo Binghe always in his face.

Still, the former demon lord took some satisfaction in how completely put out the peak lord looked by the whole affair. And that satisfaction only increased when he saw the way Shen Jiu’s face lit up when he saw the little travel lunch box his disciple had left for him. Bingge watched as the peak lord carefully opened it to see what was inside, before sneaking one of the little pastries that was supposed to be for the trip.

Bingge grinned before he glanced to see that Ning Yingying had also been watching. The girl covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a giggle, glancing slyly at her shidi. The former demon lord’s smile widened as he gave a small wink.

---

The trip to town was fairly uneventful, passing by quickly for the group of Qing Jing Peak disciples - but especially for Shen Jiu. The peak lord had finished his travel lunch very quickly, unable to help himself. Unfortunately, with the snacks gone, it meant he had to find something else to occupy the rest of his time with. And so, he turned to meditation, sitting quietly on his cushion.

To the untrained eye, it looked as though Shen Jiu had spent the majority of his time meditating like a proper cultivator. However, the truly astute would have noticed the way his body slouched or how his head wobbled whenever the carriage hit a rough bit of road, causing the man to stiffen with a jerk before relaxing once more. Their peak lord was merely pretending to meditate, and was instead trying to nap while sitting straight up. It probably would’ve been far more comfortable to simply lie down in the carriage and get some proper sleep, but as always, the scum villain had to make things far more difficult for himself than he needed to be - all in the name of appearances.

As such, the trip passed with a blink of an eye and a crick in the neck.

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the inn that would serve as their accommodations. Shen Jiu grimaced as he wiped the rest of the sleep out of his eyes. He just managed to make himself look presentable when Ming Fan pulled back the curtains at the front.

“Shizun, we have arrived!” Ming Fan declared.

Shen Jiu gave a small nod of his head before he picked up his fan. With the grace and dignity expected of his station, the peak lord carefully exited his carriage, discreetly using his free hand to support himself as he did so.

As the disciples dealt with unpacking the luggage, the peak lord went inside the inn to find their host. The inn itself looked rather respectable, not too ostentatious as befitting of his position, but still luxurious enough that it was clear Yue Qingyuan was paying quite a bit for this stay.

The man’s guilt was showing.

Shen Jiu let out a small hum in the back of his throat as he glanced around the reception area before his eyes settled on their host, a portly and finely dressed innkeeper. The man hurried to greet him, with an urgency and eagerness that seemed a bit out of place for the occasion.

“Honored guest, please allow me to extend my most humble gratitude for your arrival,” the innkeeper said, bowing deeply. “We are ever thankful that Cang Qiong Mountain has come to assist us in our hour of need.”

Shen Jiu gave a small blink. “What?”

The innkeeper paused. He looked more than a little flustered under the weight of Shen Jiu’s uncomprehending stare. “Did… did you not come at the behest of Old Master Chen to save us from our troubles?”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Jiu said with a sharp snap of his fan, opening it before fluttering it in front of his face. “Speak plainly.”

The innkeeper flinched before he bowed deeply again, this time apologetically. “I-Immortal Master, I apologize for my misunderstanding! You see, our city has been plagued by a series of horrific murders - young women, their skin stripped from their bodies. T-the local authorities have gained no ground in discovering the identity of this killer, let alone stopping them. We have been living in fear every day that our own daughters or wives might soon fall victim to this unstoppable menace. I had heard that Old Master Chen had put out a call for help after several of his concubines had fallen victim and I, in my ignorance, had assumed-”

The sound of chuckling caused the innkeeper to stop, and he lifted his head to see Shen Jiu beginning to cackle, even as he reached up his free hand to cover his face. The innkeeper was stupefied by the reaction, as nothing he said had warranted laughter. But then, the man couldn’t possibly be privy to the sheer irony, the sheer horrific irony, that Shen Jiu found himself in.

His illustrious sect leader, so desperate to keep him safe, had sent him off to a remote city only to deliver him directly into the middle of a clusterfuck! He had traded a bunch of brainless barbarians for a psychopath! And it was clear that Yue Qingyuan had no clue what he had done and where he had sent his precious Xiao Jiu, as there was no way the sect leader would’ve sent the weakened peak lord into a city plagued by a murderer. A murderer that, in fact, sounded more than a little demonic in nature, if his suspicions were correct!

You damn fool of a man, Yue Qingyuan! If I’m not going to be the death of me, then you certainly will be!

Slowly, the peak lord managed to still his self-depreciative - and inappropriate - laughter to a wry grimace, shaking his head slowly. “Innkeeper, it would seem that my sect has chosen the most opportune time and place to send this master on holiday - for you, at any rate.”

“Ah?” the innkeeper blinked slowly before furrowing his brow as he struggled to comprehend what was happening before his eyes lit up. “I-Immortal Master! Y-you mean-!?”

Shen Jiu closed his fan with a mighty snap before tapping it against his chin. “Ming Fan.”

“Yes, Shizun!” Ming Fan barked to acknowledge his peak lord, bowing respectfully with his hands clenched together. He stood in the doorway with the man’s luggage, having walked in with the other disciples during the conversation and opting to stay quiet so as to not interrupt.

“Go see this ‘Old Master Chen’ and request further information,” Shen Jiu said. “Once you have done so, take a talisman to examine one of the corpses - or their graves, if none are available. If this master’s suspicions are correct, we may be looking at something far worse than a ‘mere’ murderer.”

“Yes, Shizun!” Ming Fan repeated himself as he gave a sharp bow. He turned to bark orders at the other disciples to tend to the luggage in his absence, then paused when he saw Luo Binghe and Ning Yingying had already set about doing just that. Bingge hefted the heavy trunk as if it weighed nothing at all while Yingying carried the smaller luggage, the duo already halfway up the stairs to Shen Jiu’s lodgings without even a glance at the head disciple.

Ming Fan hesitated, then frowned as he cast Luo Binghe a glare before hurrying out the door of the inn. As the boy left, Shen Jiu made to follow his disciples to his room, discreetly using the wall to support himself as he went. He went slowly, eventually catching up to Luo Binghe and Yingying as the two disciples unloaded his luggage for him.

Shen Jiu stopped in the doorframe and surveyed the room. As to be expected, it was the nicest room of the inn, with a large canopy bed and balcony overlooking the inn courtyard and the city market beyond it. The balcony was supposed to be a prime feature, but the Qing Jing Peak Lord wasn’t particularly thrilled by it. The sights and sounds of other people were something he could absolutely do without.

Shakily, Shen Jiu approached the balcony before grabbing the curtains, pulling them closed. The curtains weren’t perfect by any means, but it at least muffled the annoying sounds a little. Not enough, but a little. The man let out a sigh as he lowered his hands in defeat. More than ever, he missed the calm silence of Qing Jing Peak.

“Shizun?” Yingying’s voice called to her teacher, prompting Shen Jiu to glance back to her. “Does this mean that Yingying cannot visit the market?”

Shen Jiu frowned. He would prefer that his dear disciple not go wandering a market being plagued by a possibly demonic murderer, but the disappointment in her face made him wonder if he was being too paranoid. After all, this killer was a predator lurking in the shadows, seemingly leaving no clues behind for the locals to follow. Logic would dictate then that attacking in broad daylight in a crowded gathering of people would simply not happen.

Besides, it wasn’t as if the city was all that safe to begin with. Be it pickpockets, thieves, thugs, human traffickers, rapists, or regular murderers, a crowd could have any combination or number of threats at any given moment. You could walk past your own murderer and not even know it, not until the knife was already at your throat.

Shen Jiu’s entire life, from start to finish, had taught him that basic truth. Even one thought to be your friend could turn on you, and no good deed ever went unpunished.

The peak lord gave a small shake of his head to dispel the morbid thoughts, then finally turned to face Yingying properly. “Only if you bring someone with you. And!” He paused to raise a finger, pointing it at the girl. “And! You are to stay in the highly populated areas! No back alleys, no side paths! Is that understood?”

“Yes, Shizun!” Yingying chirped with a bright smile, before she turned to Luo Binghe who met her gaze with a smile of his own. “A-Luo will make sure nothing happens! Right, A-Luo?”

“Of course,” Bingge said with a nod and respectful bow.

Shen Jiu felt his cheek twitch. He should’ve known that she’d invite the beast, she always did. His warnings to avoid the bastard always fell on deaf ears, even now. Still, perhaps in this case, it wasn’t a bad idea. If the beast could trash three Bai Zhan Peak disciples so easily, including one many years his senior, then theoretically he should prove a good meat shield for Yingying.

Still, so as not to upset the spirit, he needed to make at least a token effort in ensuring the boy’s safety and well-being.

“You are to flee at the first sign of trouble,” Shen Jiu said, stiffly. “Do you understand?”

“Of course, Shizun,” Luo Binghe said, still bowing. He couldn’t help but notice that Shen Jiu hadn’t immediately forbid Yingying from spending time with him, as he typically did in the past. In fact, the peak lord had kept decidedly quiet about the situation, despite previously raining down fire and blood at the mere thought of his precious disciple socializing with ‘the beast’.

…Perhaps he was thinking back to their future, when Bingge had made his childhood friend and supporter one of his wives? Luo Binghe wasn’t sure how to feel about that. If the man thought he could appease ‘the beast’ by offering him Yingying, he was even more scum than Bingge thought. And incorrect scum at that, as Binghe was interested in something much more.

Much, much more.

As Yingying skipped out of the room, beaming with excitement, Bingge made to follow after her. As he slowly closed the door, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes as he went, watching as Shen Jiu practically flopped down on the bed in exhaustion, clearly having spent much of his energy simply to maintain face in front of his disciples. He rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, before going still.

Bingge narrowed his eyes before he firmly shut the door, giving the man his privacy. He then turned to focus on his childhood friend, following after her as a dutiful shidi would.

The market was very lively, full of people going about their day despite the doom and gloom the innkeeper had spun. It was only natural - humans were good at moving forward in the face of adversity. Besides, much like the peak lord had said, there was safety to be found in numbers.

They didn’t have to outrun the murderer, only outrun their neighbor.

Bingge chuckled darkly to himself as he followed after Yingying. His shijie was completely oblivious to his cynical internal commentary, focusing instead on the wares for sale. He couldn’t blame her, as such markets were a rare occurrence in the secluded peaks of their sect. But even after she had joined his harem, it was still a favorite pastime of hers - and many of his wives - to go shopping like this.

Still, without the deep pockets of Huan Hua Palace, she’d have to keep her expectations manageable!

“There’s just so much!” Yingying giggled, in true rural-girl fashion, before she clasped her hands behind her and spun about on her heels to smile at Binghe. “Should we find a little souvenir for Shizun~?”

Binghe was about to open his mouth in response when a shriek pierced the air.

“Monster!”

Bingge and Yingying both turned to stare as chaos descended upon the market. The crowd scrambled in all directions, screaming in panic, to escape what looked like a moving storm cloud. Thick black miasma swirled about, surging forward as people fled from it in terror. As it drew closer to the two disciples, it suddenly seemed to dissipate, poofing out of existence save for a small flickering puff of smoke that drifted to the ground in front of them.

“W-what?” Yingying gasped as she cringed back instinctively, stepping behind Binghe as she stared down at the cloud. “What’s that…?”

However, rather than step forward to inspect the waft of smoke as the Skinner Demon clearly expected Bingge to do, the disciple instead moved backwards to place himself between Yingying and the demon directly behind them. He slowly turned to lock eyes with the demon, despite said demon still being in its incorporal form and thus supposedly invisible to the human eye. A chill ran through its immaterial body as if it were staring into the eyes of death itself.

Every fiber of its being was saying one thing, and one thing only - NOPE.

Nope, nope, nope, nope. No, naw, nah, nuh uh, not happening, no way, do not.

The Skinner Demon quickly flew backwards, once again a dark cloud, before putting distance between itself and the terrifying disciple glaring at it. Diving past the cowering villagers, it flew upwards to the rooftops. And yet, no matter where it went, it felt as if the eyes of death were following along.

Glancing back, the demon was able to confirm that even though the disciple remained in place, Bingge’s eyes were still locked upon it with a threatening hostility that didn’t seem possible from a human. The Skinner Demon didn’t know who he was, but its instincts told it the boy was dangerous, and that escape was its only option.

It had to get away from those eyes!

The wispy demon wove through the city rooftops, trying desperately to escape. In a fit of desperation, it flung itself into a balcony, past the curtains into a well-furnished room.

The Skinner Demon paused for a moment as it gathered its bearings just in time for its focus to fall on Shen Jiu, who had been jarred awake by the sound of the sudden entry. The peak lord groggily sat up on his bed and turned to gawk at the intruder. The Skinner Demon and Shen Jiu stared at each other for several moments of silence as it slowly filtered in what was happening.

Shen Jiu gave a small blink, his expression blank. “Eh?”

The Peak Lord had no time to react beyond that, as his vision was suddenly clouded by a blast of black smoke. He was knocked backwards onto the bed as he felt as though all air had been forced out of his body. The last thing Shen Jiu heard before he passed out was the chime of the spirit sending him a notification.

[Achievement unlocked: Suffering From Success!]

And then, there was nothing.

Chapter Text

Under the cover of darkness, the bamboo grove that thrived on Qing Jing Peak became a veritable maze. And with the moon currently hiding behind the clouds of the overcast night sky, that was one less source of light to guide visitors through. Something that was typically a trial even in the day became a far more gargantuan - and dangerous - ordeal in the dead of night.

Bingmei didn’t have such problems, however. He knew Qing Jing Peak intimately, far better than anyone else. Even when plunged into complete darkness, the demon lord could make his way through the grove with the expertise of a well-practiced local. He may as well have been a shadow himself, blending into the background like a specter.

And it seemed that fact proved true even in another world.

Luo Binghe thought he had known what to expect when he ventured into the other world for the third time. The first and second visit had been to an identical world - one where Qing Jing Peak had been ravaged, along with the rest of the Cang Qiong Mountain sect. The only cultivation sect to have survived the massacre was Huan Hua Palace, where his alternate self ruled nigh uncontested.

But unlike his own world, that Luo Binghe had lost his shizun. …No, that Luo Binghe had murdered his shizun. The bastard had murdered the rest of his shidi and shixiong as well, but that act was the worst of it - the truly unforgivable.

What the other Shen Qingqiu had endured, what suffering he had been subjected to in that dark and dank cellar beneath the palace, it was beyond unforgiveable as far as Bingmei was concerned. The state of the peak lord’s body had left very little to the imagination, so the demon lord knew exactly what his counterpart had done.

It made Luo Binghe want to do the same to ‘himself’, to make him taste his own handiwork. Even more so after the bastard tried to steal Bingmei’s shizun, after doing who-knows-what to his precious husband when they had accidentally met in a dream realm. And the fact that the other Luo Binghe kept coming back to sniff around his shizun meant that Bingge clearly hadn’t learned his lesson. He needed a far more permanent lesson, and Bingmei was more than willing to teach it.

At least, that was his intention when he took Xin Mo out of its sealed storage once more. But those intentions temporarily fell to the wayside the moment he found himself surrounded by lush green and life instead of burnt ash and devastation.

Briefly, the demon lord found himself gawking around Qing Jing Peak, wondering if he had accidentally gone somewhere else. But he had told Xin Mo where he wanted to go, and the knife answered. He knew the demonic once-sword well enough to know that it didn’t make mistakes - this had to be where he wanted to go. Xin Mo had taken him back to that other Binghe’s world. It just… wasn’t ruined anymore.

As if that wasn’t strange enough all on its own, it seemed as though everyone was suddenly younger than they had been the last two visits - far younger than they should have been. Bingmei wandered across the peaks, keeping himself hidden to observe as he tried to gather his bearings. He had been greeted by the sight of a world that had regressed several years, with those supposedly dead having come back to life.

Qing Jing Peak itself was mostly empty for some reason, though not in a ‘desolate destruction’ sort of way. The buildings were still standing, and the caretakers didn’t act as if anything was out of place or unexpected. Even the Bamboo House looked as though it was ‘lived in’, as if the occupant was merely away for the moment if the well-stocked kitchen was anything to go by. In fact, the state of the oven suggested it had been used just that morning. It called to mind what his Shen Qingqiu had said about his counterpart ‘suddenly being alive again’, and while it filled Bingmei’s heart with some relief, it didn’t completely ease his concerns.

But what truly sealed the deal was the presence of the Old Palace Master, once again ruling over Huan Hua Palace. Luo Binghe was nowhere to be seen, nor were any of his demon followers. It was as if he had never risen to power - not yet, anyway - and everything was as it had been years before.

Bingmei frowned. What did that asshole do? It might have just been his bias against the bastard talking, but every fiber of his being told him that the other Luo Binghe was responsible somehow, that he had done something. And the fact that he hadn’t found him, or his shizun, wasn’t very comforting either.

The sound of movement cut off any further musing, prompting the demon lord to step back further into the shadows as he carefully turned his head towards the source of the sounds. Fumbling through the darkness, like a pack of blind cows, was a large herd of Bai Zhan Peak disciples. They were clearly unfamiliar with the bamboo grove, but seemed determined to plow forward despite that handicap.

The sight alone gave Bingmei pause. Bai Zhan Peak rarely had business on Qing Jing Peak to begin with, let alone in the dead of night. Certainly, their presence was hardly a welcome one as far as Binghe was concerned. It often meant that they were coming to bully him in some form. They used to trash him quite thoroughly as a child, for reasons that were never fully clear to him. And after everything that had happened, the current-day Bai Zhan Peak made it a point to make their displeasure at his existence known.

They weren’t nearly the threat to him now that they had been then. The hardest part was actually trying to actively avoid massacring them, more for his shizun’s sake than their own. Even though Shen Qingqiu had told him it was fine to defend himself within reason, he didn’t want to cause any more trouble for his shizun than he already had.

It seemed that some things just never changed. Bingmei almost felt a pang of sympathy for his counterpart, until he remembered what a piece of shit he was. The bastard’s beatings at the hands of Bai Zhan Peak wouldn’t wash away the pain he had inflicted on their shizun, but it’d be a damn good start.

Still, it was a rather sizable number of Bai Zhan Peak disciples sneaking through Qing Jing Peak. It was pretty excessive, actually. Given the youthfulness of his generation’s peak disciples that Bingmei had managed to glimpse in his surveillance, wouldn’t it put this world’s Binghe at a similarly young age? Assuming he had undergone the same transformation as everyone else, at any rate. Did Bai Zhan Peak really need nearly every disciple in their sect to beat up a fresh-faced teenager?

Luo Binghe furrowed his brow as he listened, keeping his position within the shadows of the bamboo. He went completely unnoticed by the gaggle of disciples, who muttered amongst themselves with open hostility.

The grumbling seemed typical of the Bai Zhan Peak disciples, and far too familiar to the demon lord. From the way the ‘visitors’ were griping, it was clear that this world’s Luo Binghe was on no better terms than he was with his own. Of course, that shouldn’t have been a surprise, given that this Luo Binghe had literally killed them all and destroyed their peak the last time Bingmei visited.

Not that he had any idea what to make of that. For all he knew, these disciples were oblivious to that fate, which had seemingly been undone with no rhyme or reason to it. At the very least, Binghe surmised that they most likely didn’t remember, given that it wasn’t a topic of their complaints. Instead, it seemed mostly focused around how powerful he was despite his age, which resolved at least that mystery, and his audacity for not knowing his place.

Binghe resisted the urge to snort through his nose, instead remaining completely motionless as he watched the oblivious intruders. It was the typical bluster he had come to expect from his shixiong. Whatever this Binghe had done, he had surely brought down the wrath of Bai Zhan upon him.

“I don’t care what Zhangmen-shixiong says, there’s no way we’re leaving tonight without avenging Ji-shixiong and the others! Every hour they’ve had to spend under Qian Cao Peak’s care is an hour that will be paid for - with pain!”

“Don’t forget Liu-shixiong!”

A chorus of agreement came from the other disciples, as Binghe arched an eyebrow. Did something happen to Liu-shishu? It was hard to imagine, given everything he knew about his war god of Bai Zhan Peak. And he certainly couldn’t see himself being able to so much as scratch the man prior to his experiences in the Abyss.

“We’ll see how smug that punk is after we break both his legs and make him prostrate himself before us!”

Another chorus of agreement swiftly followed. The boys were clearly spinning themselves up into a bit of a feverish frenzy as anger and adrenaline rose upwards the closer they got to their destination. Such self-stimulated aggression never boded well for anyone.

Considering their target, it seemed more than a little outrageous to the demon lord. Weren’t they just blustering about terrorizing a child? Even with his animosity towards his other self, it didn’t sit entirely right with him - especially given that he couldn’t be sure that Bingge remembered what he had done! Not to mention that many of the disciples were men, should clearly have known better. How utterly pathetic-

“And then we’ll do the same to that damn bastard Shen Qingqiu and make sure they both know never to mess with Bai Zhan Peak ever again!”

Luo Binghe stiffened at that, his eyes widening as his pupils shrank into dots.

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Throw him in the mud for good measure! Really make him wallow in it like the stupid pig he is!”

“You mean a stuck pig, right?”

“Haha, yeah! Qing Jing Peak? More like-”

At that moment, a shiver collectively rippled through the gathered disciples as a wave of malice drifted through the bamboo grove like a tide rolling in. The disciples glanced around sharply, searching for the origin of the bone-chilling hostility. The sensation made the all-encompassing darkness all the more suffocating, as if it were suddenly a threat looming to consume them.

One of the disciples glanced backwards just in time to see a pair of glowing red eyes and a flickering red mark of sin appear within the grove behind them.

“What-!?” the disciple yelped as he jerked back, the color draining from his face. The baleful eyes glared down at him like smoldering coals, blackness surrounding sizzling red. There was only one explanation he could think of, and he blurted it out almost instinctively. “Demon!?”

The word had a rippling effect. The other disciples were already on edge, but upon hearing the word ‘demon’, they immediately assumed battle stances, drawing their swords as they whirled about to face their foe. All thoughts of terrorizing the lord of Qing Jing Peak and his pitiful disciple were forgotten, as they instead focused on the looming enemy that appeared within the bamboo grove.

“A demon!? Here!?”

“How dare you intrude on Cang Qiong Mountain!”

“How did he get the drop on us so easily!?”

“I didn’t even sense him at all!”

“You made quite the mistake showing yourself to Bai Zhan Peak, demon!”

“One you won’t live to regret!”

None of the Bai Zhan Peak disciples recognized Binghe - but there was no way they could have. The boy they knew was short and stringy, a delicate little sprout that hadn’t yet bloomed. But Bingmei had long since grown into a man, tall in height and well-formed. He was every bit the image of a demon lord shrouded in an aura of menace, and the mere sight of him set the intruders’ teeth on edge.

Bingmei stared down at the would-be assailants of his teacher, his mentor, his husband, his shizun. In his mind, he heard the man’s voice telling him that it was okay to defend himself, to teach Bai Zhan Peak a lesson when they came calling for trouble, if only he made certain not to kill anyone. He imagined those instructions still applied, even in this other world. So long as he didn’t kill these bastards, he was free to teach them the lesson they so clearly deserved.

…And you’d be surprised what you could live through.

---

A trail of prickling nails ran along Shen Jiu’s skin. They were feather soft, but still very noticeable as they traced the contours of his face. Along his jaw, across his cheek bones, the length of his brow - the touch was seeking out every feature of his face, exploring them intimately.

Shen Jiu might have even found the touch tender, if he hadn’t been so utterly repulsed by it. And so naturally, the only appropriate response was to immediately lash out his foot, attempting to kick his molester before he had even opened his eyes. His hands would’ve joined in the fracas but they seemed to be immobilized behind them, tied with a tight cord around his wrists.

Unfortunately, his foot couldn’t accomplish nearly as much damage as he would have liked, as his assailant immediately latched onto his ankle, hefting it upwards slightly and out of the way. The peak lord opened his eyes, glaring balefully into the beautiful face of an unknown woman.

Or at least, she might have passed for a woman if not for the blood red cracks in her pale skin and the single red demon horn protruding from her right brow, where the skin was beginning to deteriorate. Even her eyes had surrendered any attempt at subterfuge, as they had been replaced by the piercing eyes of a demon. Given her appearance and what he knew from the innkeeper, Shen Jiu was confident he was dealing with a Skinner Demon.

And of all the luck, the damn thing came right to him!

“Tsk,” the Skinner Demon said, with a click of her tongue, as she held Shen Jiu’s leg off to the side, her grip firm on his ankle. Her red nails were long and razor sharp, clearly the source of the prickling he had felt against his skin. “So the great Immortal Master of Qing Jing Peak’s first response is violence? Are you not supposed to be the peak of culture and art? And yet you behave like a savage brute? How shameful~!”

“I’ll hear no complaints from a disgusting parasite preying on helpless girls,” Shen Jiu growled. “Are you so weak that you cannot aim for something with a bit more bite?”

“Funny you should ask,” the demon drawled as she tapped her fingers against the peak lord’s ankles, before arching her eyebrow up as she smirked. “It seems I’ll be trading up this time, hm~?”

Shen Jiu felt a shiver run up his spine as he tensed. His lips curled up into a snarl as he glowered death at the demon, which would’ve been far more impressive if he hadn’t been stripped down to his underpants and tied to a pillar in what appeared to be the basement of a mansion. And given the lack of qi flow he felt, he could only surmise that immortal-binding ropes were keeping his wrists firmly tied.

…Not that they had been strictly necessary given his current condition, but that was beside the point.

“It’s been quite some time since I’ve taken the form of a man,” the Skinner Demon said, wistfully. “And one with such a prestigious pedigree, at that!” The demon paused before narrowing her eyes. “I will have to do something about that disciple of yours, however.”

Shen Jiu paused at that, his eyes widening slightly. Several disciples came to mind almost immediately. The demon couldn’t have been talking about Yingying, as the amount of derision and malice didn’t make sense for a future target. It was possible that she meant Ming Fan, as he had sent the boy to investigate the demon. That would certainly warrant some ire. Perhaps that was what she was talking about?

The Skinner Demon clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Your qi is rather… questionable for an immortal master. I hardly even needed Immortal-binding cable to restrain you. Barely worth a meal, wouldn’t you say? A small snack, perhaps.”

Shen Jiu stiffened, his eyebrows shooting straight up. Did… did he hear what he thought he heard? Did this demon wretch just… judge him!?

“I suppose all the rumors about you were correct after all,” the Skinner Demon continued as she tapped her fingers against the peak lord’s ankle and flashed him a smirk. “Taking in superior bred disciples to hide behind, hm? So you can hide your inadequacies behind them?” The demon let out a sharp laugh. “That suits me just fine. No one will ever notice my damaged martial aspect when yours is no better!”

Shen Jiu stared at the demon, his eyes wide with a particular shine in them. His cheek gave a small twitch, which was the only warning the demon got before the peak lord suddenly lunged forward to slam his face into hers. A loud crunch issued from the impact, and blood sprayed forward from the demon’s broken nose.

The Skinner Demon yelped in surprise as blood gushed out from her nose, coating her hands and splattering on the peak lord’s chest. She unthinkingly released the peak lord’s ankle as she went to cover her face with her hands. This proved to be a mistake, as Shen Jiu’s free leg snatched out to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer. The demon squirmed as she tried to get away, turning around to grab the leg that had suddenly snagged her waist.

This proved to be yet another mistake, as she seemed to have forgotten a simple fact - Shen Jiu had two legs. The second leg immediately moved to hook around her neck, so that her throat was pressed against the back of his knee.

And with both legs in place, the peak lord began to squeeze.

The Skinner Demon gagged against the peak lord’s knee. She struggled to grab at the leg that held her throat, digging her nails in. It seemed, however, that she should have removed his underpants along with the rest of his attire, as the cloth offered some protection against her needle-sharp nails. Regardless of which leg she grabbed, the pants protected his bare skin.

Shen Jiu grit his teeth, lips curled up in a feral snarl, as he used his left leg to hold the demon in place while the other tried to crush her throat. It wasn’t the most dignified way to kill a demon, but he didn’t care.

He just wanted her to die!

[Achievement unlocked: One Hell Of A Confused Boner 2: Electric Boogaloo!]

[Achievement unlocked: God, I Wish That Were Me!]

[+200 Satisfaction Points!]

Shen Jiu stiffened at the sound of the notifications blared through his head. “Tch-!?”

The scum villain barely had a moment to realize what had just happened before he suddenly felt the demon begin to shift in his grasp. He glanced down in shock as the Skinner Demon apparently just remembered her ability to transform into billowing smoke, and decided to do just that. The peak lord could only watch helplessly as his captive slipped through his legs with ease before reforming just out of reach, gasping for air as her hands protectively covered her throat.

Bullshit!

This was bullshit!

All Shen Jiu could think was what absolute bullshit the developing events were. If the demon had the ability to become incorporeal the entire time, why didn’t she use it before now!? He vaguely remembered that the demon had looked less-than solid during their initial meeting, but he had been ambushed from a dead sleep at the time! What was her excuse!? He couldn’t be expected to remember that shit, when apparently even she couldn’t!

Why did she allow herself to get choked like that!? What was the point of that!? What was the point of this!? What was the point of any of this!?

[Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers!]

What the fuck was that supposed to mean!?

Shen Jiu was seething, but not as much as the Skinner Demon. As she managed to catch her breath, the demon whipped her head about to glare at her prisoner. There was an intense fire in her eyes that was only heightened by her bright red blood splattered all along the lower half of her face.

The peak lord grimaced, his lips pulled tight, as he tensed. He was still very much defenseless, tied to the basement pillar, and the element of surprise was completely gone. As he tried to rack his brain for his options, he felt a cold sweat along his skin as the Skinner Demon drew closer, her movements slow and menacing.

As the Skinner Demon approached, she curled her lips up to flash her razor sharp teeth. She relished the increasing fear in her prey’s eyes as she decreased the distance between them with each measured step, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough - not until he bled just as much as she had.

Shen Jiu found it difficult to breathe as panic swelled up inside of him, like a storm surge. Was this seriously happening!? After everything he had gone through, after everything he had endured, was he really going to die like this to some nameless cannon fodder of a demon!? He couldn’t even take comfort in the idea that his death would spare Yue Qingyuan from his fate, as this demon would be wearing his skin to wreak havoc on all of Cang Qiong Mountain!

“Spirit, is there nothing you can do!?” Shen Jiu asked, with a hint of desperation in his voice. “You brought me back from the dead, didn’t you!? You brought everyone back! For gods’ sake, you undid time itself! Surely you can do something!?”

[No Scenario Pushers available at this time.]

[Please do your best!]

“Do my best!?” Shen Jiu all but shrieked. “Do my best how!? My damn arms are tied and my qi is being suppressed! What am I supposed to ‘do my best’ at!?”

[Believe in yourself!]

[You can do it!]

[ ᕕ(^o^)ᕗ ]

Shen Jiu began to thrash in his bindings, for what little it amounted to. “You bastard! You bastard! I’ll haunt you for the rest of your damn days, Spirit! Do you hear me!?”

The demon drew her hand back as Shen Jiu flinched, a twisted grin spreading across her broken face. However, before she could lash out and rip the bastard’s face right off his bones, she noticed a bit of movement out of the corner of her eyes.

The Skinner Demon instinctively glanced over just in time to lock eyes with Luo Binghe. She immediately recognized the stare as that of the horrifying disciple she had met in the marketplace, and horror flooded through her body.

There was no chance to escape before Bingge swung his arm around, planting his open palm right against her stomach - and setting off the spiritual blast it had held. The Skinner Demon let out a shriek of pain and blood as the attack tore through her body like tissue before blasting out her back.

Shen Jiu stared in shock, completely numb, as the demon scattered into dust right in front of him. The peak lord was in a daze as the scene unfolded in front of him, unable to comprehend. What just happened?

[+50 Satisfaction Points!]

[+100 Badass Points!]

“Spirit,” Shen Jiu said, his voice weak. “Kindly shut the fuck up.”

“Shizun!” Yingying’s voice went off in the peak lord’s ear. He shakily turned his head to see his young disciple rushing over, concern flooding her teary eyes. She knelt down to begin untying his hands. “Shizun, are you alright!?”

Shen Jiu furrowed his brow. Was he alright? Did he look alright? Did he feel alright? …Well, he wasn’t dead, so that had to be a rough equivalent to ‘alright’ - close enough, he supposed. With the way his head was spinning, he wasn’t really sure, so he decided it was best to play it safe and lie through his teeth. “I… I am fine, Yingying. Are you… are you alright?”

Yingying gave a sharp nod. “Yes! A-Luo protected us! He made sure that awful demon never got close!”

“Good,” Shen Jiu said, his voice dazed. He brought his now free hands about to press them against his chest, trying to calm his heart as it thundered so aggressively that he could feel it in his head. “Good, good. That’s… good.”

At that moment, Bingge arrived at the man’s side, with Shen Jiu’s clothes in tow. He grabbed the outer robe and swiftly wrapped it around the man, using it as a wrap rather than properly dressing the scum villain. Then, without waiting for an invitation, he swiftly swept his shizun up into his arms, carrying him bridal style.

While there was decidedly a size difference between himself and the adult scum villain, the man weighed considerably less than the mountain of logs he had carted across the sect days before. In fact, the former demon lord was struck by how little his shizun seemed to weigh in his arms. Like this, the scum villain didn’t feel even remotely as imposing as he had so many years ago, looming over him with his scalding tea.

Perception really was everything, wasn’t it?

“Let’s get you back to your room to rest, Shizun,” Bingge said, in a debonair manner unbefitting of a fourteen year old.

“What the hell,” Shen Jiu thought, groggily. “This brat… how can he…?”

[+100 Coolness Points!]

“Spirit, I thought I told you to shut up,” Shen Jiu muttered, though there was no real energy to it. The room began to spin before darkness bled in from the corners, until it consumed everything. His eyes rolled into the back of his head before he passed out, slumping into Bingge’s arms.

---

Mobei-jun’s footsteps echoed loudly in the otherwise quiet corridor as he made his way through Huan Hua Palace. Most everyone had already gone to bed, so the only souls still awake were the guards standing about like stern sentinels. Because of that, there was a stillness, a silence that permeated every corner of the normally robust palace.

It was exactly how he liked it.

Even his human, Shang Qinghua, was asleep at this time of night. Many times it seemed like the peak lord never slept, never had time to sleep, but he inevitably found a way to sneak a couple hours in here and there. And as the source of roughly 40% of the chaos in Mobei-jun’s life, Shang’s downtime meant an automatic decline in shenanigans and nonsense.

Not that the ice demon minded, by any means. But everything in moderation, as it were.

Mobei-jun continued along his way, passing Luo Binghe’s innermost private chamber before he stopped. He glanced to the side, noting that the door was slightly ajar with light trailing out. The ice demon paused before narrowing his eyes.

Drawing himself up, Mobei-jun drew closer to the door before slowly opening it, peering inside. He was greeted by the sight of Luo Binghe moving things about, rearranging as he cleared the area around the back wall.

Luo Binghe stopped what he was doing instantly and glanced up, meeting Mobei-jun’s gaze with a harsh glare. Upon seeing who it was, his expression softened. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Mobei-jun said, visibly relaxing as he lowered his hands, releasing the ice magic he had been gathering there. “Back already?”

Luo Binghe nodded before he returned to rearranging the room, letting out a hum of acknowledgement.

“Killed him, then?” the ice demon asked.

“Not yet,” Bingmei replied. He couldn’t see Mobei-jun’s eyebrow quirk, but seemed to know it happened regardless. “Something strange is going on. I’d almost think it was some kind of shared qi deviation that de-aged everyone at the same time, if such a thing was even possible, but it affected his entire world too. It’s as if everything went back in time, to before my - or rather, his - ascension to power. I’m waiting to see if he even remembers what he did.”

“Ah,” Mobei-jun said with an air of understanding. “Right. Wouldn’t be very effective if he doesn’t remember why you’re killing him.”

The corners of Bingmei’s mouth twitched in an almost smile. Leave it to the seemingly unflappable ice demon to accept such a statement without protest. “Right.”

Mobei-jun nodded his head, then blinked when he noticed his lord hefting up a nameplate. Specifically, it was a nameplate that read a very familiar name - Bai Zhan Hall. The ice demon blinked once, twice, and a third time before he arched an eyebrow again. “Souvenir?”

A large smirk spread across Bingmei’s face as he attached the nameplate to the wall, front and center for everyone to see - or at least, for him to see every time he entered his inner chamber. The demon lord stepped back to regard his handiwork, crossing his arms, before finally glancing over his shoulder to flash his general a smile.

“Well, I couldn’t come back empty handed, now could I?”

Chapter Text

Bai Zhan Hall was near bursting at capacity, filled with makeshift beds to accommodate all the injured disciples. Qian Cao Peak simply didn’t have the room for so many patients at once, so it was decided to take over the hall as a temporary clinic. Mu Qingfang and his disciples were tending to the injured as best they could, rushing from cot to cot.

No one had died from the demon’s ambush, but the injuries were immeasurable and almost sadistic in nature. Meticulous and calculated, it implied a great many things not only about the strength the demon possessed but also their intelligence and self-control. It cast a dark shadow over the entire incident, one that was impossible to ignore. With that knowledge in mind, their survival went  from being a stroke of good fortune into an outright insult. They did not escape death, they were granted life.

The demon may as well have saved the effort and simply spit directly in their faces for all this act of ‘mercy’ amounted to!

That insult aside, the very idea that the most battle-favored peak had been reduced to such a state by a single demon was inconceivable. The injured moaned, wailed, and gnashed their teeth with impotent rage and resentment, as not only their bodies were injured but the very pride of Bai Zhan Peak as well.

After routing them so thoroughly, the demon had the audacity to turn his sights to their defenseless hall and stole their peak’s nameplate! Its absence was a hemorrhaging wound, a constant reminder of their defeat. The wall was barren where it had once hung, which had become a symbol of failure in the eyes of not only every disciple of Bai Zhan Peak but every visitor who wandered through.

That theft, the theft of their pride and dignity, was the most poignant injury of them all.

And just as suddenly as the demon had appeared, he was gone. Despite the other peaks mobilizing to search for their common enemy, none had any success in finding a single trace of the monster who had nearly obliterated an entire peak in a single night. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air, along with his trophy.

Insults upon insults, and woes upon woes! Surely no other peak had unfairly suffered more than Bai Zhan Peak had, not even if you searched through the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain’s history!

A loud bang interrupted any further moaning and bellyaching, as the doors to Bai Zhan Hall nearly flew off their hinges from the force of their opening. All eyes fell at the source, everyone frozen in place. Had the demon returned to finish the job!?

Standing in the doorway was Liu Qingge. The man who should have been in the middle of cultivating within the depths of the Ling Xi Caves was positively seething, his breathing labored as it fought against the fury that clenched his entire frame rigidly. Yue Qingyuan could be seen standing behind his shidi, frowning in disapproval, but all attention was focused exclusively on their war god. His eyes blazed with a fire that they had never seen before, and it was focused exclusively on his disciples.

At that very moment, the disciples realized that they would have preferred the demon.

---

Morning had long since come and gone by the time Shen Jiu was roused from slumber. The sounds of the market were barely muffled by the balcony curtains, filling the room with sounds of life as the people returned to daily business without fear. The sounds managed to pierce through the fog in the peak lord’s brain, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Shen Jiu was immediately greeted by only half of the room - the other half was in darkness. The peak lord paused and gave a small blink. After a moment, he furrowed his brow and scanned the room, his eyes drifting from side to side. As expected, the darkness followed. A thought quickly dawned on him and the scum villain reached over to lightly poke at his right eye. His finger could feel the eyelid, but the eye itself was unresponsive and didn’t recognize the touch. He may as well have been touching air, for all it cared.

Wonderful. So this nonsense really did decide to show up again, confirming his fears had been well-founded. He was only fortunate that it hadn’t acted up during his confrontation with the Skinner Demon. The situation had been bad enough without randomly disappearing limbs.

…Not that it would have made a difference. The entire situation had been a disaster, from start to finish. His efforts had been useless, and more than a little mortifying, and he was ultimately unable to protect himself either way.

The Beast had ended up saving him, for goodness sake! What sort of peak lord was he that he needed a child’s protection!? He may as well just lose all his arms and legs again, for all the damn good it did!

Wait. No! Don’t. By the gods, things were difficult enough! Don’t think that evil into existence! He needed to stop provoking the world into assisting in his suffering, he didn’t need the damn help!

Shen Jiu sighed as he covered his eye with the palm of his right hand. He would need to pump qi into it in order to try and make his body recognize the eye again, but he would have to first actually gather enough qi to be able to do it in the first place. “Enough already…”

“Shizun?”

Shen Jiu nearly jumped out of his skin, his adrenaline spiking, before he turned his head sharply to see Luo Binghe watching him, holding a tray of fresh congee. The peak lord yanked his hand down, trying to not call attention to his inert eye any more than he already had. “Ah. Is it… time for breakfast, then?”

“Lunch, actually, but congee is best for settling the stomach,” Luo Binghe said before he carried the tray over to the bed. The tray itself had little legs, making it specifically designed to substitute for a table. It was those little wooden legs that held the tray up as it was set to the side of the bed, out of the way. “Shizun, let me help you sit up so that you may get some food in you.”

“That won’t be necessary-” Shen Jiu began to protest before he let out a squeak as the disciple moved to manhandle him anyway, helping the shizun into a seated position. The peak lord locked his jaw even as irritation came rushing up his throat.

What the hell was the point of asking if you were just going to do it anyway!? You cocky little brat!

Bingge didn’t seem to notice - or care - about his shizun’s annoyance. Instead, he went to grab the tray, carefully setting it over Shen Jiu’s lap. The scum villain exhaled sharply through his nose as he looked down at the delicious arrangement of food, and he allowed the smells to mollify his anger for the moment.

As the disciple moved away from his shizun’s side, Shen Jiu reached for the spoon on the tray and focused instead on gulping down the much needed sustenance his body was craving. He was so focused on eating that he didn’t pay any mind to Bingge as he disappeared from his peripheral vision.

What he couldn’t see, and would have been able to see if his eye had been functioning, was the former demon lord coming around to the other side of the bed. But because his eye wasn’t working, Shen Jiu wasn’t able to see Bingge standing directly in his blindspot, looking at him with a piercing stare.

Luo Binghe narrowed his eyes slightly before he reached forward, his movements slow and calculated. Shen Jiu should have seen Bingge’s hand immediately, with the way his eye was gazing outward. But it was unfocused, and didn’t even so much as twitch in response to the fingers that were suddenly inches from it.

Bingge carefully turned his hand from side to side, wiggling his fingers to try and elicit some kind of reaction, before he brushed his fingers right across the peak lord’s eyelashes in a feather-soft touch. Shen Jiu nearly choked on his food, startled by the sudden sensation, and yanked his head all the way about to find the source.

The peak lord was greeted by Binghe’s smiling face, both of his hands clasped together and obediently pressed against his chest. The disciple looked to have the air of absolute innocence before furrowing his brow with concern.

“Shizun, is something wrong?” the disciple asked. “Is the food too hot?”

“Uh…” Shen Jiu hesitated, frowning as he struggled to comprehend what had happened - or if anything had happened. Had the brat done something or did he imagine it? And should he call it out and risk drawing attention, and in turn exposing himself?

After a moment’s hesitation, the peak lord decided to play it safe.

“...It’s fine,” Shen Jiu said, slowly. “Nothing is wrong.”

Bingge tilted his head slightly as there seemed to be a slight shift in his expression, though Shen Jiu wasn’t able to fully grasp its meaning. However, something about it made him feel as though he had accidentally exposed himself or been caught in a lie, even if he didn’t understand how or why. It made him uneasy, and he quickly returned to eating his food to avoid having said uneasiness show on his face.

“Shizun,” Bingge said, his voice even. “Did that demon hurt you?”

“No,” Shen Jiu said, struggling to keep his own voice even to match. “Why do you ask?”

“Because it looks like your eye is about to fall out.”

Shen Jiu jerked at that, a tremor of terror running up his spine as he whipped about to stare at Binghe. “What?!”

Is that what it looked like!? When he had placed his hand over the eye, he hadn’t felt anything strange. Admittedly, he didn’t have a mirror handy to see for himself, but surely he would have felt it if his eye was sagging out of its socket! Wouldn’t he!? Surely!?

And for the brat to say such a thing so calmly! What was wrong with the damn beast!?

“Careful, careful~!” Bingge said as he grabbed the tray of partially eaten food, moving it over to the table and out of the way. “Let’s just put this aside for now…”

Shen Jiu reached up to feel around his inert eye, his heart thundering in his chest. He had already lost it once, he didn’t need to lose it again! “D-damn it…”

“Here, Shizun,” Bingge said as he drew closer, guiding his shizun’s hands aside so that he could place his fingers around the eye in question, pressing the tips into the skin of his face. “Do you feel that?”

“I…,” Shen Jiu hesitated before he gave a small nod. “Yes, I do.”

“But you don’t see it?” Bingge asked, rather pointedly.

The peak lord said nothing, his jaw clenching shut.

Bingge didn’t press the subject. He instead shifted his hand to manually lower his shizun’s eyelid so that he could cup his palm against the scum villain’s eye. He felt Shen Jiu quiver slightly under his touch but didn’t let it stop him, instead focusing on pumping his qi into the peak lord.

Shen Jiu stiffened as he felt the qi going into his eye, catching him completely off-guard. “Where… where did you learn that?”

“Shizun taught me,” Bingge said lightly as he focused on maintaining a gentle flow. “Does Shizun not remember?”

Shen Jiu opened his mouth before snapping it closed with an audible click. He had no idea what Luo Binghe was talking about, but he couldn’t exactly argue it. Luo Binghe had to have learned it from somewhere, and if not from him, then who? And what would the beast gain by lying about it, especially when he was openly using the technique he was supposedly taught?

Even if he had lived this life previously, there were dozens of years of suffering separating his past from his present, so it was impossible for him to be certain of anything around this point in time except his strongest of memories. It didn’t help that he was actively changing his past, as he certainly had no memory of this little excursion or the Skinner Demon itself. This very situation was proof that he had altered the course of the river that was his life, and may the gods help him where that rushing water intended to go.

It seemed he was just going to have to get used to feeling constantly on the back foot, faking his way until he felt secure enough in his situation. It was nothing new; he had done it when he went from a thieving street rat to a respectable disciple, so he would do it again now.

He could only hope that this time, he wouldn’t create a beast that would rip the rug out from under him and send him careening into oblivion once again.

“A-ah, yes,” Shen Jiu said, hesitantly. “Of course.”

The corners of Bingge’s mouth quirked up into a little smirk. He turned his head quickly so that Shen Jiu couldn’t see it, taking advantage of the man’s literal blind spot. For someone who prided himself on being able to hide his real face, Shen Jiu was rather bad at it.

The two remained in silence as the disciple focused on pouring his qi into his shizun’s eye. It took several moments of flow before he felt the meridians in Shen Jiu’s face begin to respond. And when they did, the former demon lord immediately felt the surge of agony that pulsed through the peak lord’s face.

To his credit, Shen Jiu did his best to stifle his reaction, clenching his teeth so that only a hiss could escape him. However, Bingge could feel the pain throbbing against his hand. The disciple hesitated, about to draw his hand away, before the peak lord suddenly reached out to grasp his wrist.

“D-don’t…,” Shen Jiu choked out, through his clenched teeth. His breathing hitched with every word, as if he were fighting down vomit with each breath. “Don’t. S-stop. Just… g-get over with… otherwise… prolong…!”

Bingge frowned before he leaned in, once again pressing his hand against his shizun’s eye. His other hand went to touch the top of Shen Jiu’s head gently, stroking it soothingly. “Alright, Shizun. If it’s too much, tell me immediately. Understand?”

Shen Jiu’s breathing was rough as he clenched his teeth, both his eyes squeezed shut as tears started to flow without his permission. His grip on Bingge’s wrist became like a vice, but the former demon lord didn’t complain. He had experienced much worse before, and this time the pain being inflicted wasn’t intentional.

Instead, Luo Binghe focused on keeping his qi flowing into the peak lord, calm and tranquil to try and even out the raging spasms of the man’s own qi. It made him lament his dormant demonic blood, as he could have used his blood mites to forcibly subdue the storm, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. All he could do was stand by and hold his shizun as the man weathered the pain in suffering silence.

The moment passed quickly enough, even though it felt far too long, and Shen Jiu was left panting heavily as sweat and tears mingled on his face. He furrowed his brow as he blinked slowly, both eyes coming back into focus, before he closed them and let out a weary sigh.

The peak lord jumped slightly when he felt a soft fabric against his face. He opened his eyes to see Bingge gently dabbing away the sweat and tears with the hand towel he had brought with his shizun’s breakfast. Shen Jiu hesitated before he looked away, struggling to keep his expression impassive as if the previous moment hadn’t actually happened.

“Well, then, Shizun,” Bingge said as he drew the handcloth back, smiling innocently. “You should finish breakfast before your food gets cold.”

Shen Jiu’s eyes darted over to his disciple, taken aback at how quickly the boy was changing the subject without even being told. Surely he was curious about what had just happened, and had questions? Not that Shen Jiu would have answered them, of course, and he certainly had no problem with pretending the whole incident - not just his eye, but the entirety of the trip and even the Skinner Demon itself - had never happened. But had the brat no curiosity at all, no commentary to give? Not even a little outward smugness at helping his oh so mighty shizun, who had fallen so far from grace and glory?

The scum villain frowned, then glanced over to the table where his food had been moved out of the way. He watched as the boy brought it back to his side, placing it in his lap once more. The whole situation felt off, their dynamic felt off. But even as he thought that, he still couldn’t be certain how much of it was just his own perception of the Luo Binghe he remembered versus the Luo Binghe of now.

He had always accused the boy of being too disrespectful and arrogant in the past, but he admittedly took even a sideways glance as a personal insult, so that hardly meant anything. How much was his own memories that he was imposing on the brat, and how much was actually him? That was the inherent problem with time travel such as this - or he imagined it would be if this kind of situation wasn’t so damn ridiculously implausible and asinine to begin with.

Shen Jiu let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Whatever. He didn’t care anymore. His head hurt too much for this nonsense, and he quite frankly had his fill of nonsense these past few days. Besides, even if the boy was being a little too forward in his behavior, the peak lord wasn’t at liberty to be prickly and punish him for it - not this time.

Besides, the boy had saved his life, regardless of how infuriating that fact may be. That earned him at least a little leniency, did it not?

With that resolved, Shen Jiu shakily reached over to grab the spoon before resuming eating. “By the way, has any word been sent back to Qiong Ding Peak regarding the demon attack?”

“Yes, Shizun,” Bingge replied, obediently. “Shixiong sent word immediately after speaking with Old Master Chen, and again when Shizun was taken back to his hotel room to rest.”

“Good,” Shen Jiu said with a nod before a sly smile crossed his face. He was certain that Ming Fan would try to be delicate in mentioning his shizun’s state out of respect for his pride, but any mention at all was sure to rile Yue Qingyuan up into a panic.

And while Shen Jiu normally wouldn’t appreciate the slight against his face, in this instance, he was willing to accept a small injury when it meant an even greater injury inflicted on his idiot of a sect leader. Perhaps this would teach the man to be less of a fool - or not. But either way, it made Shen Jiu feel better about the whole thing! He would not be suffering alone!

This is what you get, Yue Qingyuan!

---

Qiong Ding Hall was a-bustle with activity. Normally, the hall acted as the heart of the entire Cang Qiong Mountain sect, where all peak lord meetings were held as well as any other major events. But at this moment, it looked far more like a war room, with the massive meeting table covered by an equally massive map.

Stern-faced cultivators fussed over the maps, peak lords and older disciples alike, talking to each other in urgent tones as they pointed out various points of interest while others updated the map with the latest information. The war god Liu Qingge and the sword master Wei Qingwei seemed to be doing most of the strategizing, though Qi Qingqi was quick to add her own opinions as always. Yue Qingyuan watched the entire scene with a grimace, surveying the whole room from the head of the table.

The only two peak lords not in attendance were those of Qing Jing Peak and An Ding Peak. The first was away due to his imposed holiday, and could be excused for that reason. As for the second peak, well…

…No one ever really remembered them during such emergencies, let alone expected them to take part in such business in the first place.

For that reason, no one batted an eye when Shang Qinghua burst into the hall, arms filled with various sealed scrolls. He beamed brightly, seemingly impervious to the dour gloom that hung over the hall like a cloud. “Mail caaaall~!”

The An Ding Peak Lord fluttered around the room like a sparrow, delivering the scrolls to their intended recipient with a bright smile and an enormous amount of cheer that seemed inappropriate for the situation.

“Aaaaand we have a couple for Wei-shixiong,” Qinghua said as he dropped scrolls by the peak lords as he passed them by. “And then something for Qi-shimei~!”

“Mm,” Wei Qingwei said in absent acknowledgement, though he never removed his eyes from the maps.

Qi Qingqi didn’t even bother to do more than nod as she focused on gesturing her pointer finger along a possible path through the mountains where their demon target might have gone, discussing its strategic value and the assistance it could provide their target in escaping back to the demon realm.

“Oh, and an entire arsenal of letters for our dear Liu-shidi!” Shang Qinghua said as he hopped over to the war god next. “Some well overdue, I might add! Do you have any idea how hard you make it on your poor shixiong, making this one try to chase you down every time there is a letter to deliver?”

“Throw them away,” Liu Qingge said, stiffly. It was clear from his tone that he was in no mood. Not that he was particularly ever in the mood, of course. But if there was ever a point that he could be in the mood, it sure as hell wasn’t right now.

“Liu-shidi, won’t you even look at them?” Shang Qinghua asked, with seeming great distress. “Think of your precious admirers who spent hours by candlelight writing you a heartfelt confession-”

Liu Qingge wordlessly reached over to grasp the hilt of his sword as it sat in its sheath by his side, even though he never looked up from what he was doing. His expression was positively glacial, bringing a chill to those closest to him.

“Yes, yes, yes, I understand,” Shang Qinghua said with a sigh as he swiftly moved past his junior martial brother. “Into the fire they go. We shall save on kindling today!”

Liu Qingge seemed placated, his hand moving back in place so that he could resume crossing his arms. His expression, however, was still just as frigid with no sign of melting.

“Moving on, moving on,” Shang Qinghua said as he maneuvered around the room, drifting in and out and around cultivators with the ease of someone with far too much experience in doing so. He handed out scrolls as he passed, before he finally made his way to the front of the room. “Here and here and here, and… oh! It looks like we have some messages for Zhangmen-shixiong! With Qing Jing Peak’s seal, no less!”

Yue Qingyuan jerked at that and whipped his head about to stare at his An Ding Peak Lord. “What?”

“It would seem Shen-shixiong didn’t take long to get settled in, did he?” Qinghua said cheerfully as he handed the two scrolls over to his sect leader. “I suppose he’s complaining about the accommodations, hm? But it couldn’t be helped. Most patrons prefer to be among the hustle and bustle, so hotels are naturally built with that in mind!”

Liu Qingge’s cheek twitched. He shifted his gaze over to the few able-bodied disciples of Bai Zhan Peak that were still in good enough condition to attend the conference with him. To their credit, they had the good sense to keep their heads down and their eyes lowered.

“Shen-shixiong’s preferences are the outlier, to say the very least,” Shen Qinghua continued as he turned his back to Yue Qingyuan, who was hurriedly making to open the two scrolls. “But I did the best with what I had, as I’m sure Zhangmen-shixiong knows. In order to find something secluded on the outskirts of town, I’d may as well be booking a barn, and I’m sure Shen-shixiong would complain just as much about that!”

Yue Qingyuan said nothing as he began to read the scrolls, his eyebrows furrowing. And then, just as quickly as if he had been struck by lightning, all the color drained from the sect leader’s face as he sucked in his breath.

Only the An Ding Peak Lord seemed oblivious to the sudden change in Yue Qingyuan’s demeanor, his back to the man. As everyone stopped and turned towards their sect leader, the logistics peak lord made a quizzical humming noise as he pulled out another scroll from among the pile.

“Hoho? Looks like there’s another scroll here, addressed to Cang Qiong Mountain itself,” Shang Qinghua said, with a small blink. “I suppose they simply didn’t know who to address it to. Let’s see if this is something to bother Zhangmen-shixiong with, or if I can find it a more suitable home.”

The An Ding Peak Lord made a great show of opening the scroll and skimming through it. “Hmhmhm, I see, I see… apparently there’s a madman in Shuang Hu City, massacring young women. Stripping their skin right off their bodies and discarding the corpses. How dreadful!”

Yue Qingyuan flinched, as if he had been struck by an arrow, and he nearly dropped the scrolls in his hands.

“The local land lord is requesting aid. He must suspect it’s a demon, if he’s turning to our sect instead of the local authorities,” Shang Qinghua said thoughtfully, before he paused and tapped his chin with his pointer finger. “Hm? Shuang Hu City? Shuang Hu City… why does that sound familiar…?”

It was then that the peak lord noticed the silence that had descended on the room. He stopped and glanced around to see that all the eyes of the other peak lords were upon him. He furrowed his brow before he turned to see Yue Qingyuan was also staring at him, the sect leader’s face as pale as freshly fallen snow.

Shang Qinghua blinked repeatedly before his eyes widened. “...Oh.”

Chapter Text

After everything that had happened, not just recently but his entire life up until this point, Shen Jiu deserved a small moment of peace. At least, he certainly thought so, even if no one else seemed to agree. He had ‘officially’ been sent on a holiday, and he’d damn well earned it by this point.

As such, he allowed himself to feel absolutely no shame whatsoever in taking the opportunity to spend the entire day sitting in bed, doing absolutely nothing of importance. No training, no posturing, just lounging around like a lady of leisure with a book in his hands and a tray of tea and snacks by his bedside. Even eating in bed was not off the table, so to speak.

Truly, the depravity knew no bounds.

Shen Jiu had given vague training-like instructions to his disciples to keep them busy during his brief moment of irresponsible repose, and for the most part they seemed to be working, but it didn’t stop Bingge from popping in every so often. Luo Binghe had been very attentive during this time, checking to ensure his shizun’s pillow was properly fluffed and his tea had not gone cold nor his supply of munchables decreased to unacceptable levels.

The scum villain probably should have felt ashamed by the whole situation, but he was pretty damn done with everything for the moment. He’d save those feelings for later when he had the energy to process them with the appropriate amount of indignation and self-loathing. Besides, the idea of the brat pampering him, and how the future beast would surely have reacted if he knew, was like balm for his soul.

Petty balm, but balm nevertheless.

Without looking away from his book, Shen Jiu reached over to take one of the delicate tea pastries off the plate on the night table beside him before popping it in his mouth. He idly licked at his fingers to clean up the bits of sugar that lingered there after escaping the top of the pastry’s dusted top, before carefully turning the page of his book.

At that moment, the hotel room door swung open as Yue Qingyuan all but burst into the room, his panic palpable. “Xiao Jiu-!”

WHAP!

Yue Qingyuan froze as a book hit him solidly in the face before falling down to the ground, where it landed with an unceremonious flop. The sect leader blinked several times before looking down at the book, then across the room to where Shen Jiu was sitting in bed. The peak lord was glaring at him, his fingers steepled.

“A thousand apologies, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shen Jiu said, his tone icy. “It would seem that my book slipped right out of my hands.”

Yue Qingyuan blinked again before he facefaulted. What sort of reading could result in a book becoming a projectile!? It was then that he realized what he had done - or more specifically, what he had said. “…Oh.”

“I was simply so startled, you see,” Shen Jiu continued as he tilted his head to the side, offering his sect leader a sharp smile. “I was certain that the Skinner Demon had come back from the dead to claim my supple skin for its own once more. I was so overcome by fear that I simply don’t know what came over me.”

Yue Qingyuan grimaced, his expression becoming pained as he could offer no retort. The sight sent a jolt of guilt through the scum villain, as if he had kicked a puppy. It was an expression that Shen Jiu was used to seeing after every single one of their past interactions, and one that had honestly become quite painful when the man’s death ensured he would never see it again.

The sect leader looked so miserable, surely he had been punished enough? By all rights, his death should have excused him of all indiscretions going forward into perpetuity, should it not? The man had more than earned forgiveness, least of all from a scum villain like Shen Jiu who was undeserving of any himself.

That thought was enough to cool Shen Jiu’s anger for the moment, and his expression softened. He let out a heavy sigh before he extended his hand outward. “Nevermind. May I have my book back, please?”

Yue Qingyuan obediently picked the book off the floor. He checked the bindings to make sure it wasn’t damaged before approaching the bed to place it in the peak lord’s outstretched hand. “Shidi, are you…? Did the demon…?”

“No, thankfully,” Shen Jiu said, with another sigh. “I cannot say much for my face at this point, but my body is no worse for wear. The boy killed the demon before it could do me much harm.”

“The boy?” Yue Qingyuan repeated before his eyes widened. “Luo Binghe did?”

Shen Jiu nodded. “Yes. He… protected me.” The words sounded so foreign, so wrong, against his tongue but the fact remained that the words were true. The boy had protected him. More than that, after the fact when his eye had gone dark, the boy had…

…No, there was no reason to go into that.

Yue Qingyuan was surprised at the information and he seemed to be considering what it meant and, watching his peak lord’s reaction, how Shen Jiu himself must have felt about that fact. After a moment, he gave a small nod. “The boy did his peak proud, then.”

Shen Jiu was silent a moment before he nodded ever so slightly. “Yes, he did.”

“I am beyond relieved that you are safe and have suffered no harm,” Yue Qingyuan said, his voice going soft and apologetic. “I would never have sent you to this place had I had known-”

“I know,” Shen Jiu said, interrupting the sect leader.

Yue Qingyuan paused and stared at his shidi, noting the complicated expression on the man’s face. Shen Jiu’s emotions were as capricious as always, though the pendulum seemed to be swinging away from anger and aggression more than usual these days.

The sect leader should have been happy about the change. Combined with his new-found concern for Liu Qingge, it could have been a sign of personal and spiritual growth - that Shen Jiu was finally finding peace within himself and the world. However, Yue Qingyuann couldn’t help but feel it was directly related to the lingering qi deviation that had nearly killed the man and even now refused to leave him be.

Shen Jiu was suffering, as always, and Yue Qingyuan wished more than anything that he could actually do something to help his shidi. It felt like he was once again failing the man, though it seemed that his Xiao Jiu wasn’t blaming him for it, and was even easing his heart enough to allow his Qi-ge in once more.

If nothing else, that alone gave Yue Qingyuan reason to feel relief and gratitude. Even if the reason was because Shen Jiu was desperate for the sect leader’s comfort and reassurance during this terrifying time. He would still offer it willingly, and as much as the other man needed.

He owed Shen Jiu that much.

“Shang-shidi sends his deepest apologies for what happened,” Yue Qingyuan said, gently changing the subject to spare Shen Jiu from dwelling on the moment any longer. “It seems that Old Master Chen’s request wasn’t properly sorted as a priority and was mixed in with the regular mail. He insists that he will bring the finest tea he can find and visit you himself, so that he can apologize properly,” the sect leader paused before offering a small smile. “If you will allow it, of course.”

Shen Jiu stiffened. A distant bell rang in his head, one that he hadn’t heard in many years. Shang Qinghua, the An Ding Peak Lord, who was also known as the traitor who betrayed the cultivation world to the demons, only to get his head handed to him when he had been exposed. Goodbye, good riddance, and into the ground you go!

That’s right, that son of a bitch was still alive during this time!

The scum villain’s mouth pulled into a tight frown. He had always suspected the man, ever since he had somehow escaped a demon ambush alive when no other disciple had - especially with seemingly no purpose for it. But as always, he had been chastised for his suspicions - by Yue Qingyuan himself, no less - and was forced to let the matter drop.

After all, he had no proof and Qinghua was so utterly pathetic that most everyone felt sorry for him - including the An Ding Peak Lord at that time, to the point of appointing Shang to the head disciple position and later as peak lord itself. And, with Shen Jiu’s reputation among his peers as it was, he was far more likely to be viewed with suspicion than the simpering tool.

And he had been right! He had been absolutely right the whole damn time! Not that anyone had actually acknowledged that fact, much like all the other times he had been right. In their minds, he was an asshole, and being right didn’t change that. It just made him ‘an asshole who had been right’. Still an asshole, just a correct one.

Story of his life.

…Regardless, with this new information, everything suddenly made so much more sense. A simple mistake, merely missorted mail?

Bullshit! Absolute bullshit!

This was no mistake, it was intentional. The letter from Old Master Chen probably wouldn’t have even shown up at all, had Shen Jiu not survived the encounter! Neither would Ming Fan’s two letters, for that matter.

Lost in the wind, or in a ditch somewhere! How strange, indeed! But once Shen Jiu had survived, Shang Qinghua had no choice but to ‘deliver’ them with some nonsense excuse, and everyone swallowed it like a fish going after a worm on a hook!

But again, just like before, Shen Jiu had no proof. What good were memories when he couldn’t hold them in his hand and present them? And if he couldn’t convince them that Liu Qingge’s life was in danger, what hope did he have of convincing them that Shang Qinghua was a threat to the entire cultivation world? Shang Qinghua, the An Ding Peak Lord?

Shen Jiu breathed a heavy sigh through his nose. Still, it didn’t answer the question of why - why now? He had no memory of Shang Qinghua ever trying to kill him before, so why the sudden change? He refused to believe he misunderstood the situation - it was far too coincidental. So why was he suddenly a target? It wasn’t a secret that he always suspected the bastard, he had outright confronted him during the actual event!

So if merely being suspected was not reason enough, what changed? What warranted Shen Jiu’s death now? It seems he had only one option to get answers.

“I will allow it,” Shen Jiu grunted.

“Wonderful!” Yue Qingyuan said, smiling. “I will let Shang-shidi know.”

Shen Jiu nodded. He wasn’t afraid of Shang Qinghua, so there was no reason to avoid a direct confrontation. Even with his body as it was, he was still far stronger than the pathetic man. Even a fresh-faced disciple had better cultivation than An Ding Peak, peak lord or not!

“That said, I assume Zhangmen-shixiong intends to bring this ‘holiday’ to a close and return this one to Qing Jing Peak?” Shen Jiu said, with a wry smile. “I scarcely got to enjoy it, but I suppose idleness-”

Yue Qingyuan stiffened, his face going tight.

The scum villain immediately noticed and paused mid-sentence, lifting his head to stare at his sect leader’s face. He frowned as he noticed the tension lines, then furrowed his brow. “Zhangmen-shixiong?”

“It… would be best that you continue with the rest of your holiday, for now,” Yue Qingyuan said. “Until certain… matters have been resolved.”

“Matters?” Shen Jiu repeated before he scowled. For goodness sake, is it this nonsense again? After everything that happened? “Zhangmen-shixiong, if this is about Liu Qingge and Bai Zhan Peak, I swear to you that I am not trying to-!”

“No, no, no,” Yue Qingyuan said with a shake of his head, his hands gesturing in the negative. “It’s not that.”

“Not that?” Shen Jiu repeated again. He narrowed his eyes as he searched the man’s face for falsehoods and, when finding none, frowned. He felt an ominous pit growing in his stomach, and he didn’t particularly like it. Had Liu Qingge already experienced his qi deviation? Surely he wasn’t too late!? “Something else has happened?”

Yue Qingyuan hesitated before he let out a weary sigh. “A demon was sighted on Qing Jing Peak.”

Shen Jiu’s expression went completely blank. Of all the words he had expected to come out of Yue Qingyuan’s mouth, the ones that ultimately did were not among them. The man may as well have been speaking a foreign language by this point, for all the scum villain could comprehend him. “...What?”

“It came out of the shadows of the bamboo grove and completely decimated nearly every single disciple of Bai Zhan Peak,” Yue Qingyuan said, his expression grim.”Surprisingly, it killed no one, but their injuries were extensive. It then disappeared into the shadows once more, taking the nameplate of Bai Zhan Hall with it.”

Shen Jiu’s face twitched. He wanted to ask why the hell ‘nearly every single disciple’ of Bai Zhan Peak was in his bamboo groves to begin with, but he knew it would be a rhetorical question. He knew damn well why. It seemed Yue Qingyuan’s concerns had been well-founded.

What a bunch of absolute idiots. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel any sympathy for them - especially since they escaped with their lives. They got exactly what was coming to them, and maybe the experience would beat some damn sense - and humility - into their thick heads.

Still, an unknown demon prowling his peak was… problematic, to say the very least.

“Do they know what kind of demon it was?” Shen Jiu asked.

“No,” Yue Qingyuan said, grimacing. “It came at them too quickly, so they were not able to get a good look at it. We have every able-bodied cultivator looking for this demon, but so far we have come up with nothing.”

Shen Jiu’s lips pulled into a tight line. Clearly that ‘able-bodied’ quip was aimed at him, but he opted not to comment on it. He doubted his book could survive another blow to Yue Qingyuan’s face, anyway.

It was then that something went off in Shen Jiu’s head and he paused. “...Wait. Every able-bodied cultivator?” The peak lord shifted his gaze to stare pointedly at Yue Qingyuan. “Including Liu Qingge?”

“...Yes,” Yue Qingyuan said, reluctantly. “I  had no choice but to disturb his training. His peak was ambushed, after all, and his disciples nearly wiped out. I had an obligation to let him know, and he is taking this attack very personally. That and well…,” the sect leader paused before making a small waving gesture with his right hand. “...Everything else that was happening in his absence.”

Shen Jiu’s expression went blank again. So Liu Qingge was forced to leave the Ling Xi Caves, his training interrupted? He never got to the point of suffering his qi deviation? So in the end… the scum villain actually got exactly what he had wanted?!

Shen Jiu simply stared at Yue Qingyuan for several moments before he found himself beginning to laugh. It was slow at first but it quickly turned into cackles, the laughter so powerful that it made his sides hurt.

Yue Qingyuan gaped at Shen Jiu as the man flopped back into bed, holding his sides as he struggled to breathe through his laughter. “Shidi?”

“Zhangmen-shixiong, oh Zhangmen-shixiong…!” Shen Jiu gasped out between his laughter, tears forming in his eyes. “My life… my life seems to be… nothing more than one massive joke at my expense! I dare… I dare anyone to disagree! I dare every single one of you…!”

Yue Qingyuan blinked before his expression grew pained. He moved to sit down on the bed beside Shen Jiu and reached over to touch his knee. “Shidi… I…”

Shen Jiu shook his head as he reached up to wipe at his tears. “No, no… nothing. It’s nothing. I am used to this. I… I have to be, don’t I? I don’t have a choice!” He paused to slap his hands against his cheeks. “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter… Liu Qingge is still alive, so nothing else matters…”

Yue Qingyuan patted his shidi’s knee gently. “Once we have found the demon, or have determined that it truly is gone, you will be able to return to Qing Jing Peak. In the meantime, please take this moment to rest.”

The sect leader opted not to mention that Liu Qingge had every intention of returning to his training after having dealt with the demon. It felt like it would be pointlessly cruel and make Shen Jiu worry about his shidi once more. And while it was touching that Shen Jiu was showing such concern for the man he had shown nothing but hatred towards for so long, the peak lord had enough to deal with as it was without having his delusion stirred up again.

So long as Shen Jiu was satisfied for the moment, the sect leader would leave the matter be. What his shidi didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.

In the hallway, out of sight, Bingge leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Hearing his shizun acknowledge and praise him, reluctantly as it may have been, was exceedingly gratifying. But he couldn’t focus on that, not with the news about the ‘demon sighting’ so close to home.

Luo Binghe frowned as he mulled over the facts, idly tapping his finger against his arm. There was only one demon he knew that could appear and disappear so suddenly, and possessed the power to trounce the Bai Zhan disciples.

“Mobei-jun,” Bingge muttered.

The whole ‘not killing them’ thing was difficult to understand, but that was par for the course when the ice demon was involved. Most times, not even the gods knew what went through that man’s mind. In his previous past, he hadn’t met Mobei-jun until much later, and so he had no idea what his second-in-command was getting up to prior to their meeting.

As he vaguely recalled, Mobei-jun had been involved in planning and carrying out the demon invasion of the Immortal Alliance Conference. It was still several years off, but it had been a massive undertaking, one that theoretically they would have been preparing for at that very moment.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Qing Jing Peak specifically. Bingge himself had no memory of ever encountering a demon prowling the bamboo groves, so this was an entirely new situation. One that, unfortunately, defied logic as far as he could see. He simply couldn’t fathom what interest the ice demon would have in Qing Jing Peak at this point in time…

…Unless Mobei-jun had sensed him somehow?

Bingge’s eyebrows shot up. He wasn’t sure how it could have happened, but this was Mobei-jun - he was both exceedingly astute and astoundingly dense, and sometimes both at the same time. It was entirely possible Mobei-jun had sensed him and came to look for him, only to accidentally walk face-first into the Bai Zhan ambush. It didn’t explain why he didn’t take the chance to kill every last one of them, but it could explain how it all happened in the first place.

Of course, he could be utterly and completely wrong. And if he was wrong, that meant he had an entirely different problem - a demon he needed to track down and take care of lest it interfere with his scum villain’s rehabilitation. But whether he was or wasn’t wrong, and whether Mobei-jun had or hadn’t noticed him so soon… it would be easy enough to find out, wouldn’t it?

A crooked smile appeared on Bingge’s face. It seems he might have just found a solution to his locked demon blood. Sure, it would be far earlier than it was supposed to happen, well before his hateful trip into the Abyss…

But that was everyone else’s problem, wasn’t it?

---

In another world, Shen Qingqiu was in a rather good mood as he made his way back to the Bamboo House. He walked slowly along the path through the peak, enjoying the lovely weather under the guise of ‘supervising’ the going-ons of his disciples. Could he really be blamed, with the sun bright in the sky and a breeze rustling the bamboo so gently? It made his heart feel light as a feather, and put a little spring in his step.

As the peak lord drew closer to his home, he soon spotted a visitor who had apparently been making himself busy while the owner was absent - Shang Qinghua. The An Ding Peak Lord was carrying small boxes, taking them off a small wooden handcart before disappearing inside the Bamboo House for a moment only to emerge once again.

Qinghua seemed to be on his last trip of boxes when he noticed Shen Qingqiu’s return. He paused and looked up before offering the other man a smile. “Bro! Welcome home~!”

“Might I ask what all this is about?” Shen Qingqiu asked as he quirked an eyebrow at the handcart, then the boxes in Shang Qinghua’s arms. “Did I order something?” He had no memory of it, but that didn’t necessarily mean he hadn’t. Still, something about it felt more than a little ominous.

“Nope!” Shang Qinghua chirped before he turned on his heels, heading inside the Bamboo House. “Bingmei did~!”

Shen Qingqiu paused at that, his eyebrows going straight up, before he hurried after the other transmigrator. The ominous feeling was intensifying, giving him goosebumps along his back. “Bingmei did…? What did he order?”

Shang Qinghua stopped and turned on his heels to flash his cohort a bright smile. He set the small boxes he was carrying down on the vanity before making a great show and flourish of opening the top box.

As the peak lord lifted the wooden top, Shen Qingqiu leaned forward to peer inside. He was immediately greeted by the sight of nine neatly packed glass medicinal jars. Each and every one was filled to the top with a familiar pink ointment.

A very familiar pink ointment.

Shen Qingqiu straightened up like a steel rod, his face tinting to the same color as the ointment. He jerked his head about to gawk at the An Ding Peak lord, who was smirking at him and clearly enjoying his reaction.

“Bro, are you serious!?” Shen Qingqiu managed to choke out. “This much!?”

Shang Qinghua’s expression became rather innocent, which made a shiver of dread run up the other man’s spine. “‘This much’, bro?” His smile returned, spreading across his face. “Cucumber-bro, I think there’s something you need to see.”

Shang Qinghua picked up his cargo before he moved past Shen Qingqiu, into the kitchen, before heading straight for the storage room in the back. The Qing Jing Peak Lord followed, his sense of dread rising with each step.

Once again, the An Ding Peak Lord made a show of opening the door into the storage before gesturing his head, inviting the other transmigrator to step inside. Reluctantly, Shen Qingqiu did as he was asked and cautiously peered inside the storage room.

…Only to find it filled to bursting with similar wooden boxes, presumably each one containing its own set of nine jars filled with lubrication. The small boxes were stacked against the back wall of the room, nearly reaching the ceiling.

Shen Qingqiu openly gaped as Shang Qinghua walked past him, placing the boxes he was carrying with the others before turning to join his bro by the door so that they could survey the display of debauchery together.

The shizun mentally did the math on how many jars of lubricant they were talking about, based on the nine in each case against the number of cases he saw. As realization dawned, so too did his blush as it deepened until it spread to his ears and down his neck.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord sputtered for a moment before he made an almost flailing gesture, sweeping it towards the mountain of lube. “What the hell, what the hell, what the hell!? Airplane-bro! You can barely walk into the damn room! Isn’t this completely excessive!?”

“Bro, bro, bro… my dear Cucumber-bro,” Shang Qinghua said with a laugh as he reached over to pat Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder, before he leaned in close. “This is just the first batch.”

Shen Qingqiu stiffened at that, his eyes darting over to the other transmigrator. “...What?”

“Just wait until you see the rest of it,” Shang Qinghua said, with a mischievous grin on his face. “Bingmei is having rooms set up at Huan Hua Palace specifically to hold it all.”

Shen Qingqiu’s jaw dropped down, allowing his mouth to hang open, as his eyes widened almost comically. Visions of lubricant filled his mind, an entire mountain of jars stretching high into the sky.

Just like the Heavenly Pillar it was meant to be used on.

Shang Qinghua chuckled before he turned as if to leave, though not before reaching down to give Shen Qingqiu’s behind a whack. Shen Qingqiu jumped with a yelp before he yanked his hands around to cover his rump, and whipped around to stare at his cohort.

Shen Qingqiu gaped as Shan Qinghua clasped his hands together as if in prayer, and then gave the other man a wink.

“I’ll pray for you, Cucumber-bro,” Shang Qinghua said, grinning. “You and your ass.”

Shen Qingqui quivered as he felt a bubbling of rage and embarrassment shoot up from his belly right into his face, turning it scarlet red. The peak lord let out a shriek as he whipped out his fan to try and whack Shang Qinghua, but the An Ding Peak Lord had anticipated it and was already bolting to the front door.

“You bastard!” Shen Qingqiu screamed as he chased after the other man, waving his fan around like a weapon. “Get back here!”

Shang Qinghua cackled as he grabbed the wooden handcart before he began pulling it away as quickly as he could. “Give my regards to Bingmei, won’t you?”

Shen Qingqui hefted the hem of his peak lord robes with one hand so that he could run better without tripping, the other still shaking his fan about like a flail. He didn’t even care about the commotion he was making as he raced down the path to the Bamboo House, in hot pursuit of the An Ding Peak Lord.

“Get your ass back here, Airplane-bro!”

Chapter Text

Shuang Hu City had surged back to life, loud and busy like any city should be. It was as if the terror that had gripped the city was long forgotten, scattered to the wind - just like the Skinner Demon’s corpse.

Goodbye, good riddance, and a good time for business to flourish!

Shang Qinghua hummed to himself as he all but skipped through the busy streets, smiling from ear to ear as he took in the sights. As the peak lord with the most intimate relationship with the outside world, scenes like the ones around him were nothing new. As such, it was far too easy for him to just blend in with the crowd, just another person among the sea of faces.

Whether or not that was something to be happy about depended on the circumstances.

The An Ding Peak Lord came to a stop in front of the hotel he had rented for his dear shixiong. He glanced upwards to find the balcony that led to Shen Jiu’s room, and noted with a grin that it had been completely blocked off by what appeared to be a large blanket. Someone had unceremoniously hung the heavy bedding up, without any consideration for what it must look like to the passersby below.

Anti-social to a fault, that man. To the point that even the sounds of other humans was a nuisance rather than a comfort. He could only imagine how much discomfort the lord of Qing Jing Peak must have been enduring these past few days.

The thought filled Shang Qinghua’s heart with joy~!

The peak lord let out a little whistle as he walked inside, lacing his fingers together as he placed them behind his back. He glanced at the various Qing Jing disciples as he passed, most not even paying him any attention, before heading up the stairs.

Shang Qinghua gave a small knock before opening the door to Shen Jiu’s room, not even waiting for a response as he peered his head inside. “Good morning, Shen-shixiong~! How are you doing this fine day?”

To say the reception was frosty would have been an understatement - it was positively glacial. The An Ding Peak Lord half expected to see snow drifting down from the ceiling, with how cold Shen Jiu’s stare was from across the room. The man was sitting in bed, his fingers laced as they rested in his lap, as he stared at the other man with a gaze that should have frozen him to his very bones.

Instead, Shang Qinghua returned the stare with a bright, sunny smile as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Doing well, I see!”

“Yes, quite well,” Shen Jiu replied. “Given the circumstances.”

“So I hear, so I hear!” Qinghua said with a nod as his expression grew solemn. “I cannot apologize enough, Shen-shixiong. It was a careless mistake that almost cost Cang Qiong Mountain dearly. I take full responsibility for my peak and I assure you that I will implement measures to ensure this never happens again.”

Shen Jiu gave a small nod of his head of acknowledgement but said nothing.

Shang Qinghua crossed the room to where a large wooden console table sat against the wall, proudly displaying a lovely tea set - cast iron with flowery print, complete with drinking bowls and a kettle - for the guests to enjoy. He swiftly carried the tea set over to the small kitchen area in one of the side rooms.

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes once the man was out of sight, his jaw clenching. Shang Qinghua was quick with his mouth and even quicker with his feet, so the peak lord knew he needed to be careful in how he approached the subject. Unfortunately, diplomacy was not his strong point - obviously.

“I brought some tea that I hope is to your liking, Shen-shixiong,” Shang Qinghua said, his voice calling out from the small kitchen. “It’s rather rare and a bit exotic, and took quite a bit of effort to source. It’ll be interesting to compare it to your usual blend, hm~?”

Shen Jiu let out a snort through his nose. As if he could be placated with mere tea - no matter how expensive it may be. If he could be bought with luxuries, things would have ended very differently for the Qiu household. Others might have fallen for the rat’s song and dance, but he wasn’t so fickle and frivolous.

Moments ticked by before the sound of the kettle singing signaled the end of Shang Qinghua’s preparations. The peak lord soon returned to the room proper with the tea set, steam rising up from the kettle. With great care and reverence, he poured them both a portion of the tea before gesturing to the table.

Shen Jiu paused before he reluctantly got up from the bed, moving slowly across the room. He attempted to maintain an air of indifference as he walked, as if his pace was due to attitude rather than aptitude. He barely spared Shang Qinghua a glance when his shidi pulled out the chair for him to sit, then went about to the other side of the table for his own seat.

Once settled in their positions, Shen Jiu swiftly turned his attention to the tea. It had a nice aroma, at the very least. While he wasn’t in the mood for tea, he’d have to play along for now until he managed to catch the rat in a proverbial trap. He didn’t want to tip off his prey just yet, and give him an opportunity to escape.

Shang Qinghua smiled as he watched Shen Jiu pick up the tea bowl, before the An Ding Peak Lord suddenly froze, his body going stiff. His eyebrows shot straight up as his eyes widened, darting off to his side into empty space. They seemed to be reading something no one else could see before narrowing. Just as the Qing Jing Peak Lord was about to drink the tea, his shidi lashed his hand out to cover the bowl completely.

Shen Jiu jerked as he suddenly found his lips blocked by the other man’s hand. “Geh-!?”

“A thousand apologies, Shen-shixong,” Shang Qinghua said, his smile back in full force as he kept his hand firmly in place. “I just realized I forgot an important step or two in preparing your tea.”

Shen Jiu’s expression grew incredulous. “What?”

The An Ding peak lord swiftly removed the bowl right from Shen Jiu’s hands without waiting for the man’s consent. He snatched the rest of the set, taking the tray back towards the kitchen area. “We can’t very well have the esteemed Shen Qingqiu drink soggy leaf water, now can we?”

Shen Jiu was bewildered as he watched Shang Qinghua all but flee the room with the tea set before he let out a low snort. He hadn’t had high expectations for the man to begin with. Shang Qinghua was mediocre at best when it came to his cultivation, but this was to be expected for a peak lord that was little more than a glorified errand boy. No one expected much from him, or his entire peak.

But for the man to not even be able to brew tea properly? It was no wonder the rat had to outsource his murder, and crawled in bed with demons to get any kind of power. What a useless sack of flesh.

Shen Jiu paused as he noticed the sound of intense scrubbing and furrowed his brow. Just how badly had he ruined the brew? Wasn’t he the one emphasizing how expensive the tea was, only to waste it just like that?!

What utter nonsense. And people called him a ‘spoiled little master’. But he doubted Shang Qinghua would even show a single sliver of self-reflection.

Having thoroughly cleaned the tea set, Shang Qinghua soon returned with an oblivious skip in his step. The man was all smiles as he set the tray down on the table before pouring them both another helping of tea.

“So, Shen-shixiong,” Shang Qinghua said as he sat down, lacing his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the table. He watched as Shen Jiu took a tentative sip of his tea, half wary of another interruption. “How long have you had a System?”

Shen Jiu promptly spit his tea all over the table, with a startled ‘pffft’.

“Was it before or after you became a giant pickle?” Shang Qinghua asked, so innocently as his eyebrows arched upward.

Shen Jiu coughed as he tried to clear his throat of the tea that he had swallowed down the wrong tube. He smacked his right hand against his chest while his left fumbled to put down the tea bowl. Once discarded, he gripped the edge of the table to prop himself up as he continued to gag and sputter.

Shang Qinghua smiled brightly as he watched Shen Jiu struggle to recover. He patiently waited until the other peak lord was finally able to stop his coughing.

Shakily, Shen Jiu wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand before lifting his head to stare at the An Ding Peak Lord in shock. The man returned the stare with a smirk.

“You see, that’s the only reason I can think of why I’d be issued such a severe warning against putting you in the ground,” the An Ding Peak Lord said as he lazily reached his right hand over to trace the edge of his tea bowl, moving in a slow circle. “Which is quite amusing, if you think about it. Sending you to a demon-plagued city wasn’t enough to warrant such a stern warning, but apparently trying to feed you poisoned tea was just one step too far~!”

Shen Jiu felt all the color drain from his face as he stared at Shang Qinghua. His eyes darted down at the tea, then back again, as it settled in what had just about nearly happened to him. “You… what!?”

“Mmhmm,” Shang Qinghua said with a small nod, far too cheerful for what he had just confessed to. “Nearly had you, too.”

Shen Jiu gawked at the other peak lord before he struggled to find his voice.“W… what!? Why!?”

“‘Why’?” Shang Qinghua repeated with a quirk of an eyebrow. “Come now, surely you can think of many reasons why. Or at the very least, one reason in particular why, hm~?” The An Ding Peak’s eyes widened as he leaned in close. “A particular very large reason why, three years from now?”

Shen Jiu said nothing for several moments, his brain churning as it struggled to get the reference, before something bubbled up to the surface. “…The Immortal Alliance Conference.”

“Mmhmm,” Shang Qinghua said as he rested his chin on his laced fingers, his cheshire grin still present on his face. “Surely, during those theatrics you put on while trying to save Liu-shidi from his fate, you didn’t forget about that little situation… did you?”

Shen Jiu gave a small blink, before his eyes widened. Ah, that was right. Shang Qinghua had been there during that fiasco of a confrontation at the peak meeting, hadn’t he?

Shang Qinghua’s lips curled up in a sneer. “That’s what tipped me off, you know. That you remembered Liu-shidi died, and how he died. And I thought to myself, if you remembered that…,” the An Ding Peak Lord drawled before his voice dropped to a low rattle, like a snake. “…What else did you remember?”

Shen Jiu grimaced. It was true that he had been focusing more on himself and the fateful event that had happened at the Immortal Alliance Conference, leading to Luo Binghe’s consecration as a demon lord of unparalleled power and unyielding hatred. While all that was happening, something else had been occurring as well - the massacre of disciples by the demons who had infiltrated the conference with the intent to ambush the newest generation like lambs to the slaughter.

And the one responsible for all of it was Shang Qinghua.

Though, upon being exposed for his involvement, the rat had paid the ultimate price - at the hands of his own benefactor, no less. Shen Jiu only vaguely remembered it, however, as he had been occupied by his own problems since then. And really, what was there to care about? It was just one more example of how selling your soul would always come back to haunt you. A cautionary tale, and nothing more.

“One thing I’ve learned from my time with my System is that when it gives you a mission, you must do your best to avoid any mistakes and don’t try to be cheeky with its instructions,” Shang Qinghua said, thoughtfully. His expression became dark. “There is no forgiveness, Shen-shixiong. There is no mercy. If you fail, you will die, and the System won’t care in the slightest. There will be no tears for you, only a freshly made corpse.”

Shen Jiu felt his blood run cold and he gave a small shiver. “Eh?”

“So don’t try to be sly about it, hm~? You don’t want to suddenly find out that you’re not nearly as clever as you thought you were,” Shang Qinghua’s smile returned, like a ray of sun amongst a thunderstorm, before he reached over to poke Shen Jiu’s nose. “When you think about it, while you may be my shixiong when it comes to the peaks, I am your shixiong when it comes to the System! Perhaps I should call you shidi going forward~?”

“S-sh-!?” Shen Jiu sputtered, outrage clear on his face. “Shidi!?”  The sheer disrespect coming from the man felt like needles pricking into his skin. And worst of all, he had no doubt that it was intentional.

“Still, this leaves me in a bit of a situation,” Shang Qinghua said as he tilted his head to the side, puckering his lips in a pout as he furrowed his brow. “I’m making every effort to avoid dying this time. You see, I didn’t particularly enjoy it last time,” The An Ding Peak Lord arched an eyebrow as his pout shifted back into a smirk. “I’m sure you can understand. Far too well, perhaps~?”

Shen Jiu pulled his lips tight into a scowl as his fingers curled into fists, grasping at his knees through his robes.

“And in order to do that, I need to ensure that I don’t fail any missions this time,” Shang Qinghua said. “Which means, I need to avoid being exposed as a traitor.”

“Or you could simply abandon your pursuit of power and retire to a nice, quiet hermitage,” Shen Jiu said, his tone snide.

Shang Qinghua let out a sharp laugh. “Oh, shidi, you’re so silly. As if it could ever be that simple!” He then leaned forward. “Why don’t you just retire from Qing Jing Peak, if you’re so concerned about getting carved into a stick again~?”

Shen Jiu paused before he grimaced again, a slight tremor running up his body.

“Exactly,” Shang Qinghua said, sneering as he tapped his left pointer finger against the table. “We both have our roles, shidi. And we’re not allowed to abandon them, for any reason.”

Shen Jiu closed his eyes as he exhaled through his nose. He still remembered how he had asked about just that when he first awoke to his current situation - leaving the peak, to spare everyone their fates. It had been shot down instantly, for reasons he still didn’t fully understand.

“I assume your role is to continue on in your position as Peak Lord, and pretend that you’re actually capable of human interaction,” Shang Qinghua continued as he gave a vague roll of his left hand, earning him a glower from the other peak lord. “And my role is to please my king, and keep him happy. And what will make my king happy…,” the An Ding Peak Lord curled up his lips to flash his teeth in a near snarl. “...Is having his revenge at the Immortal Alliance Conference.”

Shen Jiu’s eyes widened. “Is that why you are attempting to stop me from saving Liu Qingge!?”

“I don’t give a shit about Liu-shidi,” Shang Qinghua said, his expression deadpan. “Not - a - single - shit. Save him, if you want,” he paused before he grinned with no small amount of malice. “If you can.”

“What?” Shen Jiu stared at the traitorous rat, stunned by his response. “But if I save him, he will be able to attend the Immortal Alliance Conference!”

“Correct~!” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “And?”

“And he’ll step in to protect the disciples of Cang Qiong Mountain from the demons!” Shen Jiu said as he made a wide gesture with his hands. “He’ll totally disrupt the invasion!”

“Let him,” Shang Qinghua said with a small shrug. At the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s incredulous stare, the traitor gave an even more exaggerated shrug. “Cang Qiong Mountain is not and will not be a direct target of my king. The other demons might want to take a bite or two out of our sect, but my king has his eyes on grinding his axe into a different sect’s back. Let Liu-shidi go around and protect our own from the demons, it’ll keep him far too busy to worry about the other sects’ business.”

“A different sect?” Shen Jiu murmured, with a frown. There were four major sects total, with Cang Qiong Mountain being one of them. The others included Zhao Hua Temple and Tian Yu Overlook, but he couldn’t fathom such a hate-filled grudge with a bunch of Taoist nuns or Buddhist monks. That only left one sect. “...Huan Hua Palace.”

“Got it in one~!” Shang Qinghua said, brightly. “But I knew you would. After all, you must have a bit of a grudge against them yourself. They were, after all, absolutely instrumental in your precious disciple’s rise to power and your subsequent torturous end. Were they not?”

Shen Jiu’s hands trembled slightly.

The An Ding Peak Lord chuckled. “They seemed to take a particular glee in it, didn’t they? Your torment and torture, humiliation, and subsequent pickling… they took to the whole sordid affair like pigs to mud, and they wallowed in it.”

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched. It was true, he couldn’t deny it. For reasons he couldn’t fully understand, Huan Hua Palace had lunged at the opportunity to support Luo Binghe and in turn his path of vengeance. They had been exceptionally vile to the peak lord, helping his former disciple orchestrate his entire destruction with a fervor that felt almost personal.

And in the end, they had succeeded.

But… that was the Huan Hua Palace of the future, with their bastard of a Palace Master. These young disciples, fledglings just learning to cultivate - did they deserve what was waiting for them? These were demons the two peak lords were talking about.

Human affairs aside, demons were still demons.

“Come now, shidi,” Shang Qinghua cut in, lightly chiding. “Surely you’re not worried about them? When they certainly showed not a single shred of care for you?” He shook his head slightly as Shen Jiu focused his glare on the traitor once more. The An Ding Peak Lord’s expression became sly. “Who’s more important to you right now, shidi? Huan Hua Palace… or your precious Qi-ge?”

Shen Jiu stiffened at that, his eyebrows shooting straight up. “You-!?”

“Look, all I’m asking is that we both stay out of each other’s way,” Shang Qinghua said as he made a wide sweeping gesture with his hands, an easygoing smile slithering across his face. “You mind your business, and I’ll mind mine. We have our own missions, and they don’t have to intersect.”

The scum villain pulled his lips tight, as if he had accidentally swallowed a bug.

“I’ll remind you that your disciple and my king had something that resembled a friendship between them, after all,” Shang Qinghua said. “And if I were a betting man, I’d wager it’s a matter of when rather than if that ‘friendship’ will rekindle itself once again. So why can’t we be friends~?”

Shen Jiu’s look of revulsion was clear on his face, which prompted Shang Qinghua to laugh before he leaned forward to lace his fingers together again.

“I can be a very valuable friend, or your absolute worst enemy,” Shang Qinghua said, grinning. “And allow me to state this up front - I am not above some good old fashioned mutually assured destruction.”

In that moment, the An Ding Peak Lord’s eyes took a sharp glint. “If I’m going down, I’m going to take you with me, Shen Qingqiu. And since I know you don’t value your life nearly as much as you should, that means I’ll need to drag everyone else down with us. Yingying, Liu Qingge, the rest of Cang Qiong Mountain…,” Qinghua narrowed his eyes as his voice dropped low into a hiss. “...And especially Yue Qingyuan.”

Shen Jiu went rigid, his face going pale. He had gone into this meeting thinking himself a cat hunting down a rat, but now more than ever he realized how much of an absolute fool he had been. As much as he had talked about everyone else falling for the idiot’s nonsense, it seemed he had been played just as much. The man in front of him was not a rat, but a snake.

And that snake was looming over him, just waiting for an excuse to bite.

Shang Qinghua held Shen Jiu’s gaze for several moments, the room lapsing into a suffocating silence, before the man’s smile returned as if nothing had happened. “Tell you what, as a token of goodwill, I’ll give you something that will help you with your little quest to save Liu-shidi.”

Shen Jiu furrowed his brow. He watched as the other peak lord reached into his robe before pulling out a small jar of pills from somewhere within the folds, then placing it on the table. “That is…?”

“They’re Spirit Herb pills,” Shang Qinghua said as he gave the glass bottle a small shake, making the pills rattle softly. “They’re used to regulate qi in instances where the patient is not able to do so on their own. They’re quick and effective, though exceedingly habit forming and can damage your cultivation. Your body might begin to rely on the assistance a bit too much and forget how to regulate your qi on its own. They’re strictly regulated through a prescription just for that reason,” The An Ding Peak Lord’s smile widened. “That and the fact that, if taken in the wrong amounts, they can cause a qi deviation. Much like the one I attempted to trigger in you just now.”

Shen Jiu’s face twisted into an indignant expression, prompting Shang Qinghua to let out a burst of laughter. “Oh, come now! It would’ve been the perfect crime! You’re already plagued by qi deviations, to the point that you have an actual reputation for it! Absolutely no one would have suspected anything if you suddenly died from one, especially after that whole display of yours at the peak meeting and this demon fiasco.”

Shen Jiu grimaced and looked down at the bottle of pills as Shang Qinghua slowly slid it across the table towards him. He really couldn’t argue the point at all, as it certainly fit neatly into place like a puzzle, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “...Liu Qingge has already been saved, hasn’t he? His training was interrupted by Zhangmen-shixiong.”

Shang Qinghua’s expression deadpanned. “Shidi-”

“Shixiong,” Shen Jiu corrected as he lifted his head, his eyes flashing defiantly.

“Shidi,” Shang Qinghua repeated, with a smirk. “Do you really think that Liu-shidi isn’t going to immediately go right back into those caves the very second his dumb ass is able to?”

Shen Jiu paused at that, his eyes widening. After a moment of consideration, he spat out a curse as he covered his face with his hands. The scum villain flinched when he felt Shang Qinghua reach over to pat the top of his head soothingly.

“When it comes to story beats, there’s not much you can do, I’m afraid,” Shang Qinghua said with a wistful sigh. “Believe me, I’ve tried. If they are meant to happen, they will happen.”

Shen Jiu lowered his hands enough to glare through his fingers at the other peak lord.

 “Even if you try to delay them, they’ll still be waiting behind the curtain, ready to take center stage when you least expect them to,” Shang said, sagely. “All you can do is try to manage the situation as it happens, and hope you escape with your head.”

“Except this is real life, not a story,” Shen Jiu growled.

Shang Qinghua tilted his head as he fixed the scum villain with a strange, smug little smile. He slowly leaned back into his chair and set his laced fingers on his lap. “Hm.”

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched again. Something about the man’s expression set his teeth on edge. It almost felt like he was being judged, or looked down upon as ignorant. Neither of which were things he would normally tolerate, and the impulse to fling his tea right in the other man’s face was almost overpowering.

Almost.

The scum villain let out a hiss of fury through his teeth, like a kettle letting out steam, and snatched the pill bottle off the table. He glowered at the pills with resentment, his hands shaking slightly. “Bastard…”

“Don’t overthink it, shidi,” Shang Qinghua said. “Just take a pill before you head into the caves. It will give you enough time - and qi stability - to get in there and knock some sense into that battle-addled buffoon.”

Shen Jiu stared intently at the pills, his grip tightening on the bottle.

The An Ding Peak Lord hiked his right leg to drape it over his left knee as he gave a small nod. “You’ll probably crash rather hard after the fact, but that’s a future Shen Qingqiu problem, hm? It won’t be anything that you shouldn’t already be used to, and our cute little shidi will have avoided his early grave~!”

Shen Jiu didn’t say anything in response, but he didn’t need to. A string of notifications sounded off in Shang Qinghua’s head, the System answering for the scum villain.

[+100 Badass Points!]

[New Relationship Unlocked: Shen Qingqiu!]

[Starting Relationship Status: It’s Complicated.]

[Shen Qingqiu’s Relationship Tree has been unlocked!]

[+300 Knowledge Points!]

[Achievement unlocked: Friends In High AND Low Places!]

[Achievement unlocked: Over A Barrel!]

[+200 Additional Knowledge Points!]

[New Lore is available for purchase in the Lore Library!]

Shang Qinghua couldn’t help a smirk as he tilted his head, looking far too comfortable - and smug - in his chair. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, shidi.”

Chapter Text

The inn courtyard was specifically designed for the enjoyment of the inn’s patrons. With peaceful pathways through well-manicured gardens, it was meant to create a small moment of respite for the travelers, a haven from the weariness of the world and from the city around them. For that reason, it wasn’t designed to meet the training needs of a gathering of disciples.

But it would have to do.

Most of the disciples separated into groups, with younger disciples crowding around an elder one like ducklings following their mother. Each group took a section of garden to try and get some training drills going, despite the distractions all around them. It made quite a sight for passersby, who themselves were quite the distraction with many stopping to watch with fascination as they got a peek at what was typically a very secretive world high in the mountains.

But most of all, they got a peek of the little hero who destroyed the demon that had been plaguing their way of life.

Like the other disciples, Bingge was going through his training routine, off by himself near one of the little koi ponds.  He performed the motions with his sword, keeping his movements precise and controlled, as he disregarded the gawking eyes of the townsfolk, and even those of his fellow disciples.

Not to say that it didn’t feel rather nice. To feel their prying eyes, stealing glances like he was a celebrity while others tried to catch glimpses of his training to see if it contained the secrets of his success - Bingge was aware of it all. Their awe, confusion, and jealousy that such a young disciple could accomplish such a great feat was the kind of attention he craved, he deserved. And in the past, he would’ve been thrilled by it. But now? It wasn’t the attention he wanted. He didn’t want it from them.

He wanted it from his shizun.

Binghe paused at the end of his training set and glanced up, towards the balcony that he had helpfully covered with a heavy blanket for Shen Jiu. He couldn’t put it out of his mind, his thoughts kept going back to Shen Jiu’s injury.

The former demon lord hadn’t seen the Skinner Demon actually injure the scum villain, and while it was possible something could have happened prior to his arrival, the injury itself didn’t feel like something that had been demon inflicted. He would’ve sensed some residual demonic qi at the very least, but he only sensed Shen Jiu’s qi.

Back during their previous future, he had investigated the scum villain very thoroughly, with the enthusiastic assistance of the Old Palace Master. All in an effort to orchestrate his revenge, Bingge had dug up every single detail he could, no matter how obscure. It was how he had found out about Qiu Haitang, and more specifically the murder of her family.

And while dredging the slimy depths of Shen Jiu’s past, he had come across more than a few gossiping whispers about the scum villain’s ‘problem’ - his qi deviation problem. Thanks to rushing his core formation, the man was prone to qi deviations like a flea-bitten dog was prone to scratching. It explained why everyone else at the sect was so quick to accept Shen Jiu’s current state, and not question it.

But Bingge was questioning it. ‘That’s just how he is’ seemed like an easy answer, but something didn’t quite sit right with him. If it was simply a matter of a qi deviation, then it should’ve resolved itself after Binghe had used his own qi to flush the scum’s meridians.

And yet it hadn’t - the whole thing had been temporary at best. Something was actively causing a continued disturbance in the man’s qi flow, mangling his qi and making a mess of his meridians. Bingge had addressed the symptoms but not the cause, and until he managed that, his shizun’s health wouldn’t improve.

And Bingge had a very good idea what that cause was. He had suspected it when they first ended up in this time period, though he had assumed it would be something the scum villain would eventually adjust to, like he had. But it was clear that he hadn’t, and that it was something that continued to linger even now.

It would seem that Bingge’s fingerprints weren’t quite that easy to wash away, like blood stains splattered across silk upholstery. The thought would have pleased him in the past, but it was just a damn nuisance to him now!

Binghe let out a frustrated sigh as he crossed his arms. “Spirit, do you have any more tricks up your metaphorical sleeves that might fix this?”

He’d consider wiping the man’s memories, but knew that’d do far more damage than good. For starters, the scum villain wouldn’t remember what he was trying so hard to avoid. Without that, there’d be nothing to stop Shen Jiu from treading down that well-trodden path all over again.

[Scenario pusher currently in progress.]

[Please look forward to the results!]

Bingge blinked at that before furrowing his brow. He was about to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean when he suddenly noticed someone walking out of the hotel - Shang Qinghua, the Peak Lord of An Ding Peak.

The disciple stopped and turned to stare at the peak lord as he walked out of the hotel through the gardens, with a large grin and a merry skip in his step. Bingge hadn’t known the man well during his time as a disciple - he tended to avoid his sect brethren like the plague. Everything he knew about the man came from after his death.

Shang Qinghua had been an operative who had betrayed his sect to the demons for power. He had been instrumental in orchestrating the demon assault during the Immortal Alliance Conference, and ultimately had been killed by Mobei-jun the moment his involvement had been exposed.

Somehow, the peak lord had avoided death in that other world with that other Mobei-jun, but that meant absolutely nothing to his world. In his world, Shang Qinghua was a traitor and a snake, manipulative and treacherous down to his very core.

Like hell he wanted someone like that around his shizun! Shen Jiu had enough trouble being his own bad influence, he sure as hell didn’t need the ‘assistance’ of a conniving, backstabbing ass-licker!

Shang Qinghua hummed as he headed to the entrance, overall pleased with his meeting despite the lack of an intended corpse. However, his good mood was suddenly interrupted when he felt a glare settle upon him, like the icy touch of death. The An Ding Peak Lord looked up in alarm just in time to lock eyes with Luo Binghe, who was staring at him from across the courtyard garden.

The traitor blanched before he quickly placed his sunny smile back on his face. However, it did nothing to soften Bingge’s expression, the boy’s eyes stabbing into him like knives. Those were not the eyes of a lamb, but rather the eyes of a wolf.

Ah. So that’s how it was.

“I see,” Shang Qinghua thought as he chuckled awkwardly. “And is he going to-?”

No sooner had the peak lord thought it did Bingge finally break eye contact to go rushing inside the hotel. It didn’t take the Lore Library to know that the disciple was going to check on his shizun, and what he would have found had Shang Qinghua followed through on his plan.

Those eyes told him one thing very clearly - no amount of plausibility or deniability would have saved him.

“Well, then!” Shang Qinghua said ruefully as he shook his head, quickening his pace to leave. “Thank you very much for that warning, System. I would not have enjoyed that little surprise.”

[You are welcome, valued user.]

[Please be more careful in the future.]

“Oh, believe me, I intend to be,” Shang Qinghua replied, with a nod. “But what a horrifying stare! Certainly not something I’d expect from a little bleating lamb,” The Peak Lord’s eyes narrowed slightly. “At least, not before his trip. Am I to believe that he also has a System?”

[That information is not accessible at this time.]

[Would you like to unlock it for 15,000,000 Knowledge Points?]

Shang Qinghua’s eyebrows shot straight up as he nearly choked on his tongue before he let out another chuckle. “System, my dear… have some professional advice from one conniving salesman to another. Try to be a little more subtle. That price alone told me exactly what I needed to know.”

[ ∑(ΦдΦlll ]

Bingge wasted no time in arriving at his shizun’s room, practically leaping up the steps three at a time. He immediately threw the door open, dark thoughts swirling in his head as to what he would do to that rat if he had found any harm upon his scum villain.

Shen Jiu had just finished hiding the jar of medicine away in his luggage when he heard the door open harshly, causing him to jump. He whipped around towards the door, shock clear on his face, before his eyes settled on Bingge.

“O-oh, it’s you,” Shen Jiu muttered, placing a hand over his chest to still his heart. “Don’t startle me like that, boy.”

Bingge furrowed his brow as he looked the scum villain over. The man looked pale and badly shaken, but no worse for wear. His meeting with his fellow peak lord had clearly rattled him, which was enough to get the former demon lord’s hackles raised.

The disciple’s eyes drifted over to the table, where the tea set that the hotel provided had been used - though it didn’t look like Shen Jiu had drunk much of it. And the other bowl, presumably Shang Qinghua’s, was completely untouched. In fact, most of it seemed to have been spilled on the table itself.

Bingge frowned, narrowing his eyes. He then schooled his expression and offered something far more innocent. “Was the tea not to your liking, shizun?”

“Hm?” Shen Jiu looked up at that, blinking, before he glanced over to the table instinctively. A dark expression appeared on his face as he thought about that damn tea, and the man who had brought it, before he let out a soft sigh. “No, I suppose it was not.”

“Shall I make you something better?” Bingge offered, sweetly.

The scum villain paused as he considered that, before his expression grew weary. “...Yes, I think I would like that.”

Bingge swiftly went over to clean up the tea set and accompanying bowls. He’d check the set and the drink itself to see if that rat had attempted anything, as he certainly wouldn’t put it past the An Ding Peak Lord. “Just rest a moment, shizun, and I will be right back!”

Shen Jiu made a small noise of acknowledgement before he went to sit back down at the table. He sighed again, as if trying to force the unpleasant feelings out of his body, before lowering his gaze to the table. He gave a small blink when he noticed the tea splatter across the surface of the table, where he had coughed it up after the initial ‘ambush’ of sorts. He quickly glanced back at Binghe, hoping the boy hadn’t noticed the mess, and wiped it up with the sleeve of his outer robe.

Better a dirty sleeve than his disciple think him some sort of trash who couldn’t drink tea without slobbering all over the place!

Of course, Binghe had noticed the mess and the way Shen Jiu had made to hide it. The disciple scowled from the small kitchen area, then looked down at the tea kettle. If he found even the tiniest trace of poison, he would have that rat’s head on a stick!

Oblivious to the murder-plotting former demon lord in the side room, Shen Jiu was occupied with his own thoughts of murder - specifically, the murder of the many hapless disciples at the Immortal Alliance Conference.

He had admittedly not given it much thought since he had reincarnated - preincarnated? - into his past self. Not because it wasn’t a concern, but because it was one of many concerns, and not the most pressing among them. It was, after all, still several years away while Liu Qingge’s qi deviation was looming closer and closer every day.

Not only that, but the event marked the breaking of Luo Binghe’s demonic seal and his descent into demonhood - a quite literal descent, thanks to his shizun throwing him into the abyss itself. It was the moment Shen Jiu had sealed his fate, as well as everyone else’s.

Shen Jiu groaned as he covered his face with his hands. Obviously, he would not be doing that again, but it still meant he had to deal with the whole ‘demon seal’ breaking while the other demons were massacring children.

Ideally, he should just prevent the whole affair from happening, but the idea that he could accomplish that was laughable at best. No one believed him about Liu Qingge and assumed the worst of his intentions, and that was in his own sect! How could he possibly convince the entire cultivation world of an impending demon invasion?

And that didn’t even account for any retaliation from Shang Qinghua. For all the scum villain knew, the An Ding Peak Lord would arrange it so that Cang Qiong Mountain was assumed to be complicit with him - after all, how else would Shen Jiu know about the impending demon attack? Shang had mentioned ‘mutual destruction’, and having their entire sect accused of demon collusion would do just that.

Which meant he had no choice but to try and address it himself. And yet, he couldn’t even save his own ass from a demon! How was he supposed to protect anyone from an entire horde of demons when he couldn’t even protect himself from one?

Maybe if he did some intensive training, pushed his cultivation as hard as he could during the next three years. But as he was, he couldn’t even cultivate in the first damn place, let alone push himself beyond his limits! His limits were so damn low by this point that they basically amounted to ‘try not to die to a damn leaf on a particularly blustery day’!

And while saving Liu Qingge would certainly help with the invasion, he had to actually save the son of a bitch first! As it stood, he was just as likely to die during the rescue attempt as Liu Qingge was!

Shen Jiu hissed through his teeth as he dug his fingers into his hair, gripping it painfully.

Damn it all!

“Shizun!”

Shen Jiu jerked at the sudden voice beside him. He looked up sharply just in time to see Luo Binghe reaching over to forcibly remove his hands from his hair. He frowned before noting his nails were a little red, denoting he had dug into more than just hair. “Oh.”

“Shizun, where does it hurt?” Bingge asked. “Is it your eye again?”

“Ah, n-no,” Shen Jiu muttered as he straightened up. Bingge’s closeness made him uneasy, but not nearly as much as the boy’s concern did. It was, quite frankly, a feeling that he didn’t know what to do with. “I… it’s not that. It’s nothing. This master was simply…” The scum villain trailed off, not sure of what to say.

Unfortunately for Shen Jiu, Bingge wasn’t willing to be brushed off so easily. He narrowed his eyes as they scoured for any sign of falsehood or pain, checking the older man’s eyes for even a hint of distortion or disorientation.

“’Simply’?” the disciple pressed.

“I… simply have many adult affairs that need to be addressed,” Shen Jiu said, slowly. “But it is of no consequence. You should focus on your training and leave these matters to this master.”

“Whatever these adult affairs are, they should wait until Shizun is better,” Bingge said, his expression stern. “Shizun is on holiday for his health, and that should be his only focus for now. Everything else can wait.”

Shen Jiu paused, once again taken aback at how sassy and smart-mouthed the boy was being. And yet, he couldn’t really argue with him, now could he? Especially not when the words were that of concern for his well being rather than mere backtalk.

Shen Jiu let out a soft, wry chuckle. “I… suppose so.”

“If there is anything that requires immediate attention, then this disciple will take care it,” Bingge said, matter-of-factly. “Shizun should just rest.”

By the gods, the confidence of that brat! In the past, such talk would have sent Shen Jiu into a rage. And yet while it certainly pricked his nerves, he also couldn’t deny that his confidence was absolutely deserved. By the time the boy had grown into beasthood, he had basically taken over the whole damn world, massacring everyone who opposed him.

The boy was really capable of anything, wasn’t he? The scum villain would have been spitting blood if the boy’s future self hadn’t already made him do just that many times during his imprisonment. The beast probably could take all the invading demons single-handedly, just as he had the damned Skinner Demon, and-

Shen Jiu stopped short at that, his eyes widening.

Bingge couldn’t help but feel his concern grow at the sight of the peak lord’s odd expression. “Shizun?” 

The scum villain hesitated as he slowly processed the thought he just had, chewing on it slowly like a cow digesting cud. After several long moments of awkward silence, the peak lord finally looked Binghe in the face. “Boy, are you still using that training manual I created for you?”

Bingge kept his face docile, even though he inwardly facefaulted at the question. Hell no was he still using that death trap! “Yes, Shizun.”

“Stop using it,” Shen Jiu said, sternly.

“Eh?” Binghe’s confusion was genuine this time, the boy blankly staring at the scum villain. “What?”

“It is clearly no longer a good fit for you,” Shen Jiu said, with an air reminiscent of an actual teacher. “You’ve advanced too far for it to be of any use. I will have to create something far more suited for your current abilities.”

Bingge barely kept his face under control, even as he found himself wondering what fresh sort of nonsense this scum villain was trying this time. Was he seriously making another attempt at assassinating him? Did he actually have the balls to try that again!?

…Or was he being genuine in trying to rectify his mistake?

Bingge paused as he considered the possibility. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to wait and see - see what the scum villain gave him. He had enough knowledge now to be able to recognize poor techniques from good ones. If it was another attempt at murder, he clearly needed to give the scum villain a little punishment. But if it was genuine…

…If he was being genuine…

Bingge shook his head slightly. No need to get ahead of himself. He’d wait and see, no reason to get his hopes up. Not that he was particularly hoping for anything, of course. This was Shen Jiu, a complete scum villain, after all.

It was just… that he suddenly found himself a little excited - and anxious - to see what he was about to receive from his shizun. For some reason.

Just a tiny bit.

---

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Ab-so-lutely nothing!

That was all Liu Qingge was coming up with as he combed the bamboo grove - a whole lot of nothing. No tracks, no scents or demonic qi trails beyond those at the initial site of the attack, nothing. If not for his disciple’s accounts, and more specifically their injuries, there would have been no evidence that a demon had even existed.

Liu Qingge let out a low growl in the back of his throat as he took a moment to stand among the emerald sea around him, stalks reaching high into the sky. They were perfect camouflage for the various fauna that made Qing Jing Peak their home. The fact that a demon had used that same camouflage against them was infuriating, an insult to not only to Qing Jing Peak but all the peaks as a whole.

And especially to Bai Zhan Peak, who had actually found the damn demon only to get routed so thoroughly that thousands of years of face had been dug up and thrown into the winds like weeds from a garden.

Liu Qinggue reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He had been tempted to demand what the hell Shen Jiu had been doing that he hadn’t noticed the intruder loitering in his nose, but there was no point in that. The man was clearly not in a condition that could be held accountable for his actions, or inactions.

The man could scarcely walk, how could he be expected to detect a demon, let alone chase it away from his peak!

But more than that, the war god couldn’t shake this terrible thought. One that had been plaguing him since he had left the caves, one that he hadn’t dared vocalize just yet. As if speaking it aloud would breathe its factualness into existence.

…What if this demon was the one behind Shen Jiu’s condition?

Liu Qingge grimaced, slowly lowering his hand so that it fell limply by his hip. Demons preying on a person’s mind was hardly unheard of. They consumed flesh and qi, like choosing between bread or rice, and not all of them employed direct tactics to obtain their meals. Some used outright violence, while others used subterfuge and affliction.

It would explain why Shen Jiu’s qi was suffering so wildly - he was being consumed. Be it through a disease, a curse, or mental possession, there were dozens of ways a demon could feast upon its prey with only the victim’s erratic behavior as a warning sign.

Delusions, hallucinations, dangerous qi fluctuations… all of them pointed to Shen Jiu.

And he had ignored it all! They all had, but he most of all!

All that rambling about Liu Qingge’s death, and how convinced he had been about all of it… it hadn’t been a threat at all, had it? It was so clear now what had caused it, where it had come from. What sort of nightmares had the peak lord been experiencing all this time? The very fact that he was showing actual genuine care and concern for someone other than himself should have raised the alarm outright!

Instead of paying attention to the warning signs, he had dismissed them and nearly left the man to his fate. It was only by pure luck - their reason for being there notwithstanding, which they would absolutely pay for - that his disciples had come across the demon, thwarting whatever it was it had been planning to do to Shen Jiu.

If not for that, would there still have been a Shen Jiu to talk about!?

The war god’s hand trembled as he gripped the hilt of his sword. With a furious flourish, he pulled out his sword and turned to swipe at a nearby cluster of bamboo. The sword cut through the plant effortlessly, causing the bamboo to cleanly topple backwards and collapse at the same time despite being several plants combined. It sent various birds and insects scattering into the air, startled as their perches were quite literally cut out from underneath them, before the husks hit the ground with a rustling ‘thunk’.

His mood somewhat mollified by the random burst of violence, Liu Qingge let out a sigh before placing his sword back into its sheath. He stepped through the new ‘path’ he had just cut into the natural maze, proceeding deeper in.

Enough. There was no point in dwelling further on past mistakes, as it did absolutely nothing to rectify them. And he would rectify them. Once he found the demon, he would avenge his disciples, his peak, and his mistake in one fell swoop. All debts would be settled and made equal, written in blood on the demon’s hide.

He would make certain of it.

Chapter Text

Documents of all sorts covered the tea table, from scrolls and preserved bamboo strips to bound books and anatomy drawings. There wasn’t even enough room for a single tea cup, with knowledge stacked upon more knowledge. It even spilled off onto the floor, where mountains of clutter were beginning to form.

It was actually rather impressive. All of them had been purchased on Shen Jiu’s behalf by Ming Fan, who was even at that moment off to find more documents per his shizun’s request. The fact that the head disciple was even able to find such information for sale in the small town spoke highly of his resourcefulness, the town’s ample resources despite its size, or both.

Either way, Shen Jiu had exactly what he needed.

The peak lord was hunched over the table, brush in hand and earnestly writing on sheets of paper as he arranged the knowledge into usable form for his beastly disciple. As soon as he finished one sheet, he set it aside to dry and moved onto the next.

The material around him was more for reference, as much of the information had long been memorized for his own cultivation journey. Still, it was good to refresh those long faded strands of memories, bringing them back to life.

It made him feel competent again, confident again. Even if his body wasn’t working, his mind still did. He hadn’t been stripped of that, at least. No one could compete with him when it came to knowledge, research, and sheer tenacity. If only a demon could be killed by knowledge.

Outside of using a book as a bludgeon, anyway.

Luo Binghe stood in the doorway to the room, his expression exasperated as he held a tray of little tea treats and pastries, freshly made. “...Shizun, you are supposed to be resting.”

“I am resting,” Shen Jiu replied, not looking up. “This master is very rested.”

Bingge’s cheek twitched slightly. This little brat of a man. Did he seriously have to drug the scum villain to make him actually rest? Tie him to the damn bed? Was this what Yue Qingyuan felt, dealing with this overgrown toddler? Well, unlike the sect leader, Bingge had no scruples against forcing the damn issue!

…Still, it was hard to get too angry, knowing what the scum villain was working on. From what Bingge could see from the drying pages of the unfinished manual, it all looked genuine. He didn’t see any tricks or flaws meant to destroy his innards like the old ‘training manual’.

Was Shen Jiu really… serious about this? Was the scum villain making a genuine effort to be a better shizun, an actual shizun?

Thinking like that, Bingge really couldn’t help but feel a little giddy.

“...Well, Shizun, I’ve brought you something to keep your energy up while you rest,” Bingge said as he entered the room, carrying the tray. “Perhaps you should take a rest from resting and get something in your stomach?”

Shen Jiu paused at that. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced over to Bingge and the tray of food in his hands. The disciple could almost literally see the gears churning in his shizun’s head as the scum villain debated which was more important - his current obsession or Bingge’s cooking.

To the surprise of no one, least of all Luo Binghe, the disciple’s cooking won.

Shen Jiu let out a sigh as he set down his brush before rising from his chair. He moved over to the bed with careful steps so as to not to fall, either due to his condition or the multitude of trip hazards that his reference material provided.

Bingge moved to meet Shen Jiu as he arrived at the bed, carefully setting the tray down on the man’s lap. His mask of innocence was still firmly in place, but inwardly he couldn’t help but smirk as his cooking did its magic once again.

Of course, he knew it would only be a temporary distraction at best. The scum villain didn’t know the meaning of ‘moderation’ - not even when his body was falling apart. Or was being torn apart.

…Regardless, all he could do was try to sneak in what rest he could trick his shizun into.

That aside, Luo Bingge was still very acutely aware of who had caused this current bout of obsession. He didn’t know what Shang Qinghua had said, but whatever it was, it put a fire in Shen Jiu’s belly and a goal in his heart.

Had the rat threatened his scum villain? Physical harm, or some sort of blackmail? The former demon lord wouldn’t put it past the bastard. He was still surprised that he hadn’t found any poison, after all.

Bingge couldn’t be absolutely certain that the traitor had attempted something, which was the only reason he wasn’t hunting the cretin down right away and spreading his intestines across the road. He couldn’t risk upsetting the status quo over hunches and suspicions.

However. If Binghe found out the bastard was in fact interfering with his shizun and the man’s rehabilitation, well…

…There was no force in this world that could save him.

---

The rhythmic clip-clop of the horses’ hooves against the road was nothing but white noise to Shang Qinghua, no different than the gentle swaying of the carriage as the peak lord was carted back to his peak. Past quiet forests and rolling hills, the disciples dutifully escorted their shizun back home.

It was exactly how Shang Qinghua liked it. It meant that the odds of someone disturbing him were quite low. Not even his quarters could afford him this level of privacy, given his king’s habit of appearing and disappearing without warning - as was his right, after all. But even Mobei-jun wouldn’t feel inclined to appear inside a moving carriage, especially with so many witnesses around; he was far more likely to just recline in his servant’s bed and wait for him to return.

And for that reason, this was the only time Shang Qinghua ever truly felt comfortable going through his System.

Ephemeral green screens filled the carriage, hovering in the air effortlessly as each displayed different information. One showed Shang Qinghua’s profile, displaying his picture along with the words ‘Novel Journeyman's code: UV003’ underneath it. It carried various biological information about himself, none of it particularly relevant to him.

The main information on that screen, the information he actually cared about, was his point balances. Neither his eye color, the length of his hair, his current weight, nor anything else mattered quite so much as those balances. Knowing he had gained an extra pound here or there from one too many snacks wouldn’t save him, after all. Only those points could, and the more the better.

They were worth their weight - and his - in gold.

The second screen, which was opened much wider than the others, was the relationship menu. In it, he could see his current status with everyone he had ‘unlocked’, which in and of itself was amazingly helpful. But it also allowed him to see that individual’s connections to others - people he knew, people he didn’t know, and everything in between. It allowed him to properly gauge both his and their standing in the complex web of bullshit that was Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s social structure.

And that information was absolutely invaluable, and provided him with a plethora of benefits that were indispensable for his role as a two-faced, manipulative little traitor.

Benefits such as discounts. Specifically, discounts on lore.

Speaking of, the third screen was dedicated entirely to the Lore Library, showing him what he had already purchased as well as what was currently for sale. For instance, he had bought quite a bit of Shen Jiu’s backstory, as well as that of Yue Qingyuan’s - and the rest of the peak, for that matter.

Well, everyone except for Liu Qingge.

At the time, it seemed only natural. Any spy worth their salt would want to know absolutely everything about his employers and superiors, and this method was much cleaner and involved far less mess than informants and subterfuge. Truly a boon that few would argue he ever deserved!

All thanks to the one who had previously occupied this ‘account’, this ‘life’ he had created and orchestrated, before flaking off to only the gods know where. Leaving behind an outline to follow, a legacy to fulfill, and a clusterfuck to fix.

The gods truly were fickle, and unendingly cruel. Or maybe just one god in particular.

All that aside, Shang Qinghua had briefly lamented wasting his hard-earned points on unlocking the scum villain’s lore when he had decided to murder him. It was the same reason he had skipped out on Liu Qingge’s lore, after all. Backstories were hardly relevant for corpses. But given how everything had turned out, he was ever so grateful he had decided to make the investment.

It just went to show that no one ever truly knew where the market would really go next. What might have seemed like trash stock could end up a hidden treasure.

“I suppose this means I’ll have to spend some points on Liu-shidi, and unlock whatever lore an empty-headed battle fiend might have,” Shang Qinghua muttered as he munched away on melon seeds, his free right hand tapping through the screens with the skill of an experienced tech nerd. He paused as he considered the thought before chuckling. “Well, perhaps after we see if shidi can actually succeed in saving him from the corpse pile. As they say, ‘count every cent and make every cent count’~!”

Especially when he was trying to save for the big purchases.

Speaking of which…

Shang Qinghua glanced over to Shen Jiu’s relationship tree before following to where it connected to Luo Binghe. Accessing the boy’s profile, he noted with no small amount of amusement that the 15,000,000 point lore was still locked, despite the An Ding Peak Lord knowing exactly what it was in reference to.

When the peak lord was normally able to figure out the lore on his own, the System would oblige and unlock the information for free. Not this time, it seemed. The System appeared quite adamant in maintaining the charade, like a child after being caught in a lie. And like a child, he was certain a large amount of sulking was involved, as well.

He supposed even Systems had their pride.

Moving on, the An Ding Peak Lord followed a new trail that sprouted from Luo Binghe, going all the way across the map of connections before it too made contact with another person - someone that was connected to not only Yue Qingyuan but also the Old Palace Master and many other esteemed cultivators from various sects across the world.

The heavenly demon sealed beneath the mountain.

“I knew it,” Shang Qinghua said, with a glint in his eyes. He tapped at the locked profile picture that represented the mysterious demon, causing it to flicker. “They are connected.”

The lore surrounding this demon was costly, astronomically costly. Even knowing he existed at all cost a proverbial arm and a leg; buying his actual identity would surely wipe out Qinghua’s entire collection of points, now and forever. Even the ridiculous ‘15,000,000’ bit of lore on that brat Luo Binghe seemed reasonable in comparison.

That alone told Shang Qinghua one thing - they were someone important, very important.

Shang Qinghua frowned as he rested his chin in his right hand, his fingers framing his face. He could see that he had earned a discount by ‘connecting’ to Luo Binghe through Shen Jiu, but the discount was functionally worthless, like spitting in the ocean.

He needed a bigger discount, much bigger.

Shang Qinghua shifted his eyes to his illustrious sect leader, whose profile picture greeted him with the vapid, congenial smile he always wore. He had pushed that relationship as far as it could go, without outright being the man’s precious ‘Xiao Jiu’. Besides, the sect leader’s effect on the price was rather minimal. The discount seemed to reflect the two individual’s connection to each other, which implied that Yue Qingyuan was tangibly connected at best.

Drifting over to the next connection, the An Ding Peak Lord couldn’t help but feel that he was in an even worse situation when it came to the Old Palace Master. The old fart had a much stronger influence, but building a rapport with him was difficult to say the very least.

It wasn’t simply because they were different sects, though it certainly didn’t help. The Old Palace Master was secretive to a fault, and locked down harder than the Water Prison. While it was true that they were cordial when it came to their economical relationship, it was still based entirely on money and could only go so far.

It had all the lasting commitment of an evening with a prostitute. Once the money goes dry, the bed goes empty!

Shang Qinghua made a noise in the back of his throat as his lips pulled tight in a grimace. So in the end, it still all came down to the sadistic little bastard of a ‘young master’. Luo Binghe seemed to have a similarly strong connection to this unknown demon as the Old Palace Master, as well as one with the old pervert himself. Two birds with one stone, and all. Forever and ever, everything was still all about Luo Binghe.

He supposed he should have expected that.

“I really… really would have preferred to stay as far away from that little psychopath as possible,” Shang Qinghua said with a sigh. “It’s hard enough dealing with my own, do I truly have to babysit a second little murder lord?”

He fully acknowledged everything he had said to Shen Jiu, especially the part about his king and Luo Binghe’s past friendship and the almost inevitability of said friendship being rekindled. But the An Ding Peak Lord had wanted to delay it as long as possible, or at least minimize it as much as he could. Just as Shen Jiu brought out the worst in everyone, Luo Binghe similarly did the same.

The sadistic brat had learned well from his master.

“Why, System? Why?” Shang Qinghua let out a whine as he let his head fall back to lean it against the wall of his carriage. “Why does everything have to revolve around Luo Binghe? Or his damned dick?”

[Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers!]

Shang Qinghua’s face became deadpan as he stared at the ceiling of his carriage. “Ah. Right. Of course.”

[ (・3・) ]

Shang Qinghua leaned forward again as he steepled his fingers around his nose, applying pressure to try and mitigate the headache he suddenly found himself with. “Well then. It looks like I have no choice.”

So much for having a couple years to secure his position before Luo Binghe took a massive shit on the status quo, and the world along with it. Even worse, it seemed like their illustrious future demon lord had his memories as well, and the peak lord was already in the hole as far as their relationship went.

Well, no matter. He didn’t need Luo Binghe to trust him, he just needed the bastard to find him useful. At the very least, useful enough to not see a reason to put him in the ground right out of the gate. It would be a ‘good’ starting point, and he had nowhere else to go but up!

Shang Qinghua tapped his fingers against his nose as he considered his options. He could try and use his ‘relationship’ with Shen Jiu to improve his standing, as utterly ridiculous as that sounded. In the past, terrorizing and abusing Shen Jiu was what earned favor with the blackhearted demon lord - but only so much, lest it incite jealousy instead, as the Old Palace Master had learned far too late.

But now, it seemed their relationship was the exact opposite, with Shen Jiu far more subdued than he should have been. It was easy to see why, given everything he now knew. Shen Jiu wanted to avoid his fate just as much as Shang Qinghua wanted to avoid his, so the socially stunted scum villain was making the effort to keep his venomous personality to himself and try to have something that somewhat resembled a proper relationship between shizun and disciple.

Even more, Luo Binghe was allowing him to do it, despite remembering everything Shen Jiu had done to him, and he in turn had done to Shen Jiu. It defied all understanding and expectation, proving once again how completely incomprehensible the bastard’s mind was.

…Though, did Shen Jiu even know that Luo Binghe also remembered?

Suddenly, a flurry of ephemeral screens burst into his view, completely filling the carriage so that he could see nothing but flashing, vibrant letters.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

Shang Qinghua quickly shot up his right hand, waving away the emphatic warnings. “Yes, yes, I know. You don’t need to warn me. As soon as I thought it, I knew what would happen if I stuck my nose into that hornet’s nest.”

Whatever game Luo Binghe or the System - or both - were playing at, and whatever they had planned for Shen Jiu, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. Not his monkeys, not his circus. They could do whatever they damn well wanted with the scum villain, so long as it didn’t interfere with the An Ding Peak Lord.

It would be one thing if he could have used the knowledge to his benefit somehow. But seeing the way the disciple had been staring at him with death lurking in his eyes, it was abundantly clear that the only thing he would get out of the whole affair was a trip into a pickle jar. 

He wanted to avoid his death, not exacerbate it.

[ (≖_≖ ) ]

“By the way,” Shang Qinghua said as he lowered his left hand to smirk at the System, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You just confirmed my suspicions about Luo Binghe, once again, without me having to pay for the information.”

[ Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;) ]

“In addition to confirming that Shen Qingqiu is unaware that his little lamb is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Shang Qinghua said, with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Again, without payment.”

[ ∑(ʘдʘ！！]

Shang Qinghua chuckled as an easygoing smile spread across his face. “What can I say? I wouldn’t be much of a spy if I wasn’t observant. If anything, I should be awarded points for doing such a good job~!”

[ ಠ益ಠ ]

“Too much?” Shang Qinghua asked before he gave an exaggerated shrug, with a wry smile. “Oh well~! It was worth a try.”

In response, all the screens disappeared, save for the initial screens Shang Qinghua had been using. The An Ding Peak Lord chuckled quietly as the almighty System retreated to sulk again, before turning his attention back to the screens - and specifically, the relationship screen.

“Well, this tells me that I need to be very careful when dealing with Shen-shidi,” Shang Qinghua said. “At least until I have a better feel for what that ‘protagonist’ of yours is thinking, and can gauge what he will and won’t tolerate. Until then, I’ll need to try and worm myself into his good graces, as debatable as it is whether such a thing even exists. Which puts me back at square one, and with only one option left to me…”

Mobei-jun.

“I really can’t help but see the irony that I’ve been trying to keep them separated as long as possible, only for circumstances to suddenly force me to do the exact opposite,” Shang Qinghua said as he slouched in his seat, shaking his head. “Though thankfully, the current situation has given me a perfect opportunity to arrange it… but I can’t help but feel that your entire existence is fueled by either irony or spite, my dear System.”

[What must be, will be. What cannot be, will not be.]

[What could be, might be. What is, might not be.]

[With that in mind, please enjoy your journey!]

[And do your best not to get yourself killed this time!]

The corner of Shang Qinghua’s mouth twitched slightly. “Spite it is.”

---

Ming Fan carefully made his way up the stairs of the inn, carrying his cargo of freshly-bought reference material for his shizun. It was getting harder and harder to find anything new, but the head disciple was determined to ensure that he didn’t return empty-handed. Not until he had searched every last nook and cranny, alley and corridor, that the town had to offer.

This was, after all, a task that his shizun had exclusively entrusted him with.

Ming Fan couldn’t help but feel a little smug about it all. Such an important task was proof that his position as head disciple was still very much without challenge. While it was true that the trash Luo Binghe had been spending far more time than usual in their shizun’s presence, without suffering any punishment for it or his newfound attitude problem, it didn’t change anything. He was still the head disciple, and Shen Qingqiu’s most trusted disciple.

…Even if that brat was currently the only one anyone wanted to talk about. All because he was lucky enough to stumble into the demon’s lair and save their shizun. Meanwhile, Ming Fan had already been on that trail from the very beginning, following their quarry thanks to their shizun’s guidance! It was only through sheer dumb luck that Binghe got to the demon first!

As galling as it was, the head disciple had to swallow the bile in his throat and give his shidi his moment - his small, insignificant moment - as the elder disciple had actual duties to perform.

Besides, he doubted anyone would even be talking about it for much longer. Once a subject became old news, few bothered to remember them before moving on to the next big topic. Once they had returned to their peak and, the gods willing, their shizun recovered from his awful ailment, such cheap gossip would be forgotten.

And then, everything would finally go back to normal.

“Shizun, I have returned with-” Ming Fan said as he opened the door to Shen Jiu’s room, only to stop short at the sight in front of him. “-more?”

The shizun in question was passed out on his bed slumbering deeply though in a seemingly uncomfortable position, half-sitting up as his head was sagging to the side. Bits of crumbs were still on his face from where he had been apparently eating, though Luo Binghe was in the process of wiping them away with his fingers just as the head disciple walked in.

Bingge paused before turning to look at the head disciple, his expression border-line hostile. There was an air of revulsion, as if the boy were looking at an insect that had suddenly learned to walk and talk.

The sheer disrespect, not just to him but to their shizun as the boy dared to touch him so intimately, surely would’ve sent Ming Fan into a rage if something about it hadn’t set his teeth on edge. The boy couldn’t quite place it, but something in Luo Binghe’s stare made his skin crawl. It was as if he were watching his own death through the other boy’s eyes.

“Back with more?” Bingge asked, his tone deceptively light, before returning his attention back to the slumbering Shen Jiu. No longer looking at Ming Fan, the disciple set about re-arranging their shizun on the bed into a more comfortable position, as if he had any business manhandling the peak lord. “Thank you for the hard work. Set it on the table with the rest, and Shizun will go through it once he has finished resting.”

Ming Fan hesitated, stuck in place as a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions swelled up inside of him. As head disciple, he absolutely should have taken issue with the way his shidi had just spoken to him. It was just one more drop in an ocean of indignities that, in the past, would absolutely have earned the boy dozens of lashes at the very least. Delivered by himself, more times than he could even count!

And yet, despite all of that, he couldn’t find the words, or muster the courage to deliver those well-deserved punishments in the face of the disciple before him. It was almost on an instinctive level, that something was wrong and he couldn’t figure out what.

“I…,” Ming Fan began as he faltered, then looked away swiftly as he carried the books towards the table, acting as if it had been his idea the whole time. “I trust Shizun is resting well, then? Make sure you do as he tells you and don’t cause him any trouble!”

“Of course,” Bingge said, sweet as honey, as he bowed with the traditional palm over fist hand gesture of respect.

The response sounded respectful, but Ming Fan couldn’t help but feel like there was a deep undercurrent of contempt. Or was he just imagining it?

And even if he wasn’t, what did he dare to do about it?

Ming Fan carefully set the books down on the table, glancing around at the mess of materials that already covered it and the floor around it. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the documents his shizun had been seemingly in the middle of writing and, in a moment of curiosity, reached for one of the pages…

 …Only to stop dead when he felt a sudden chill run up his spine.

The head disciple nearly jumped out of his skin, straightening up like a pillar with a small gasp, before he whirled about. His eyes locked with Luo Binghe’s, who was once again staring at him with eyes full of malice. It took the elder disciple’s breath away, as if he wasn’t even certain if he should dare to breathe.

“This disciple doesn’t think shixiong should touch Shizun’s writings without his permission,” Bingge said, his voice low. “Shizun might not like it.”

“Uh,” Ming Fan faltered before he bristled. “O-of course! I know that! I would never touch anything of Shizun’s without his permission!” He swept his arm around the room. “And don’t you even think of messing with any of these books! Shizun has them exactly where he wants them, so leave them as they are! Do you understand!?”

“Yes, shixiong,” Bingge said obediently, even though his face was anything but docile.

Ming Fan pulled his lips into a grimace before he turned sharply on his heels, heading to the door. It wasn’t as if he was fleeing the sudden tension in the room, or trying to escape his incomprehensible shidi. That was absolutely not the case! No, he simply had more books to gather, he was sure of it. And he certainly didn’t have time to waste on his useless shidi! Absolutely no time to waste at all!

Bingge watched as Ming Fan retreated from the room. Only when the head disciple was gone did his expression finally soften. He turned to Shen Jiu, who was still blissfully oblivious to what had just happened around him, and reached over to tuck the peak lord into bed.

On an impulse, the disciple brushed his fingers against Shen Jiu’s brow, moving aside his long bangs, before gently touching the side of his face.

“No one touches what’s mine,” Bingge muttered.

No one.

Chapter Text

Shen Jiu let out a sigh as he rolled over in his bed, flopping onto his side. As he settled back down and tried to drift off to sleep again, something in the back of his mind sounded off. Slowly, the alarm managed to break its way through the fog and the scum villain groggily opened his eyes, furrowing his brow with a frown.

What he found was his own face staring right back at him, with a curious expression and a quizzical tilt of his head.

Shen Jiu gave a blink as ‘he’ stared back at himself, then jumped with a yelp. Instinctively, he reached over to grab his pillow, swinging it about to smack his doppelganger right in the face. It was only after his other self gave a yelp of his own and fell backwards did the scum villain realize what was happening.

“A-Yuan?!” Shen Jiu blurted out as he scrambled off the bed towards his fallen other self.

“‘A-Yuan’ he says,” Shen Yuan muttered as he felt his nose with a grimace, checking to make sure it hadn’t been knocked off. “After trying to murder me with a pillow.”

“What are you doing here!?” Shen Jiu demanded, even as he helped his other self up from the floor. “You-!” The scum villain paused in mid-rant as he noticed their surroundings, more specifically that he was back at the Bamboo House and not his hotel room. “...Oh. A dream.”

“I just arrived, as it were,” Shen Yuan said as he smoothed out his robes from his tumble. “And I found you already here, sleeping on the bed.”

Shen Jiu frowned as he mulled over the situation before it finally clicked in his head what had happened, and he let out a curse under his breath. He had been hesitant to take the beast’s offered treats, as he had feared giving his body a moment’s reprieve would allow it to betray him and in turn ruin his momentum.

It seemed his fears were, in fact, well-placed.

“I will have to redouble my efforts once I wake up,” Shen Jiu muttered. “To make up for lost time.”

“Lost time?” Shen Yuan asked curiously. “For what?”

Shen Jiu hesitated, as he hadn’t meant to be heard, before he looked away. “Nothing for you to concern yourself with.”

Shen Yuan blinked before he arched an eyebrow. “Clearly it must be something if the System felt you needed a counseling session over it.”

Shen Jiu’s eyes darted towards the hovering ephemeral screen in question, before narrowing as the spirit returned the stare with an emoji.

[ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ]

Shen Jiu made an irritated noise in the back of his throat before waving the screen away. “I have the situation under control, I don’t need you dragging others into my business!”

Shen Yuan tilted his head as he watched the scum villain scold his System - he assumed, at any rate, given his inability to see it. He considered the major plot points of Proud Immortal Demon Way, and which ones were ‘due’, so to speak.  Liu Qingge’s qi deviation was something they had already discussed. It should have happened by now, shouldn’t it?

“This isn’t about Liu-shidi, is it?” Shen Yuan asked.

The scum villain stopped as he considered his reaction to the question before he shook his head, folding his arms. “No. That has been… delayed, for various reasons.”

“‘Delayed’?” Shen Yuan repeated. He recalled similar situations in his own world, where plot points had seemingly been forgotten only to surface when he least expected them. But unlike Bingmei’s qi deviation into a child, Liu Qingge’s death was a major plot point in the scum villain’s backstory! How could that possibly be delayed!?

Seeing Shen Yuan’s incredulous face, Shen Jiu let out a weary sigh. He could tell that his counterpart wasn’t going to let the matter drop. It made sense, given he certainly wouldn’t have. “Something came up that forced Liu Qingge to temporarily halt his training. I had hoped it would be enough to spare him from the entire situation, but it would seem that hope was misplaced. As always.”

“It must have been quite serious if Liu-shidi was willing to interrupt his training over it,” Shen Yuan said, with a furrowed brow. “He can be very stubborn when it comes to his cultivation.”

Shen Jiu’s expression became unreadable for a moment before he relented, and sighed again. “A demon appeared on Qing Jing Peak.”

“Eh?” Shen Yuan’s eyes widened as he stared at the scum villain. “What?!”

“His disciples were ambushed in the bamboo groves while enroute, and the demon gave them the beating of their lives,” Shen Jiu said, far too lightly for the subject. “Before disappearing into the night, leaving them to stew in their failures.”

“Enroute? To where!? What business did Bai Zhan have-?” Shen Yuan began before he stopped short, seeing the dark expression on Shen Jiu’s face. “Don’t tell me…”

The shizun’s first thought was for Binghe, as the Bai Zhan Peak disciples had a bullying habit in his world as well. While he had punished them - indirectly, with Liu Qingge’s assistance - they still had far too much animosity towards Luo Binghe. And that was before Bingmei’s blackening and the chaos that ensued afterwards. It was somewhat natural, almost instinctive, for a bit character to gravitate towards the protagonist, but that still didn’t excuse it!

“It seems they took issue with how I spoke to their precious peak lord,” Shen Jiu said, with a sneering curl of his lips. He paused when he noticed his fan on the nightstand and reached over to grab it, giving it a few flicks before snapping it open in front of his face. “..And intended to take that issue up with me directly.”

Shen Yuan gaped at Shen Jiu. He had always known about Binghe’s natural talent for drawing aggro from those around him, but for the scum villain to out-aggro the protagonist!? He supposed it made sense given his importance to Bingge’s backstory and subsequent blackening, but it was a bit much for him to even draw the ire of the cannon fodder!

…Wait, didn’t that mean he was also drawing all that aggro, all this time!? Same body, same role, after all! It sure as hell would explain a lot!

“That is… beyond brazen,” Shen Yuan said, as he felt himself having a bit of an existential crisis. “What did Liu-shidi think of all this? I can’t fathom him allowing it!”

“He was in the middle of training when it happened,” Shen Jiu said, with snort. “Otherwise, I am sure he would have led the charge.”

Shen Yuan stared at the scum villain, his brow crinkling slightly. It was clear that there was a large amount of animosity between Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge, with the scum villain assuming the worst in the war god. And honestly, he imagined that his shidi was the exact same way, which was why Shen Jiu’s warning exploded so spectacularly in his face.

And yet in spite of that, Shen Jiu still wanted to save the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. Not to clear himself or to prevent his fate, but because he wanted to prevent Liu Qingge’s fate.

“‘Capricious’ doesn’t even begin to describe this man,” Shen Yuan thought with a small, wry smile. “I wonder if he even understands what he’s doing half the time.”

“Once they’ve killed the demon, or are confident that he has truly fled, I will be returning to Qing Jing Peak and Liu Qingge will go back to cultivating his death,” Shen Jiu said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I have no choice but to bide my time until then.”

“How can they be confident that it won’t return?” Shen Yuan asked, concern clear on his face. “If they’re not able to find and kill the demon, then you really won’t have any confidence that it will stay away after the chaos has simmered down.”

“I am aware,” Shen Jiu said. “But they cannot keep me in Shuang Hu City forever.”

The scum villain paused when he noticed Shen Yuan stiffening at the name of the town, his lips pulling tight. The change in demeanor was instantaneous, and exceedingly obvious. It was enough to make the scum villain suspicious. “...What is it?”

“N-nothing,” Shen Yuan replied, trying to ease his posture even as the tension remained in his shoulders. “It’s nothing.”

“Liar,” Shen Jiu said, his eyes narrowing, before he used his fan to point accusingly at the transmigrator. “Your face is too thin, boy. You won’t convince anyone, least of all me, with a face like that!”

“Need I remind you, once again, that this is your face, too?” Shen Yuan thought helplessly before he let out a polite cough, covering his mouth with his fan. “I-it’s just that I have some… unpleasant memories about Shuang Hu City, that’s all.”

“‘Unpleasant’ you say,” Shen Jiu said slowly, pulling his fan back to tap it against his chin. “...As unpleasant as a Skinner Demon, perhaps?”

Shen Yuan’s jaw nearly dropped. He thought the whole affair with the Skinner Demon had been nothing more than a tutorial quest specifically for him! It had never been mentioned in the canon for Proud Immortal Demon’s Way at all, which had implied to him that the entire situation was just filler that the System came up with entirely. Nothing more than filler designed to patch the plot holes of the original plot or give the transmigrator instruction!

Why would the System need filler for the scum villain himself!? The man made his own problems, he didn’t need the System inventing any for him!

And he was totally aware of how hypocritical that line of thinking was!

“So you went through it as well,” Shen Jiu muttered, fluttering his fan slightly.

“W-well, my situation was… most likely different from yours,” Shen Yuan said, slowly. “I was sent to Shuang Hu City by my System for a training mission. We were meant to deal with the trouble happening there, which turned out to be the Skinner Demon. But given your… ah,”

The transmigrator paused as Shen Jiu shot him a pointed stare, then chose his next words carefully. “...Your current situation, I can’t imagine why the System would send you on such a dangerous mission. And I certainly can’t understand the logic behind sending you away from one demon into the arms of another.”

“It didn’t,” Shen Jiu replied, with a stiff snap of his fan. “That wretch Shang Qinghua did.”

“... Shang Qinghua?” Shen Yuan repeated before his eyes widened. “As in Shang Qinghua of An Ding Peak!?”

“That rat hid the original request for assistance,” Shen Jiu said, his tone dripping with disgust. “And then purposely arranged my stay in that town, hoping the demon would target and kill me.”

“Uh,” Shen Yuan could only mutter. “Oh. I see.”

That’s right, he would’ve been dealing with the original Shang Qinghua, wouldn’t he? Not Airplane-bro, who was always far more concerned with preserving his own existence to be overly concerned about ending anyone else’s. Not to say that he wouldn’t sell someone out if it would save his own skin, as the bastard had done so on more than one occasion. But to purposely and directly seek out someone’s murder? He doubted Airplane-bro had the guts, or the malice, necessary to go that far.

“Though I still can’t understand how he thought it would work, or why it actually did,” Shen Jiu said with a sigh. “Why did the Skinner Demon decide to abandon its established methods of targeting young women to attack me of all people…?”

“Wait, it…,” Shen Yuan said, slowly. “It attacked you?! And not Yingying!?”

“From what I understand, it originally tried to attack Yingying, but was chased away by the beast,” Shen Jiu said, with a scowl. “But how that resulted in taking me instead remains a mystery to me.”

Shen Yuan paused at that, with a blink. His Skinner Demon had attacked him because he was actively pursuing the demon in order to save Yingying, but it sounded like that wasn’t what happened with Shen Jiu. Instead, it sounded almost like…

No, it sounded very much like…

“Uh, System,” Shen Yuan thought, furrowing his brow. “That… that sounds like a wife plot. Why would Shen Jiu be part of a wife plot? Why would the scum villain take Yingying’s place in a wife plot!?”

[ ಠ_ಠ ]

At the System’s incredulous stare, Shen Yuan realized the absolute irony of what he had just said. He let out a small groan and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Oh. Right.”

Binghe was still Binghe, whether it was a gge or a mei.

But wait! That couldn’t be right, could it? While it was true that Bingmei had forsaken building his harem in favor of focusing exclusively on his shizun, Bingge absolutely had not! Bingge had pursued women, as expected of the protagonist of a stallion novel. His conquests were many and diverse, with his harem reaching numbers that were inconceivably ridiculous even by stallion standards.

And he should know! He had been forced to spend hours upon hours meeting every single one of them!

…And yet, who was it that had tried to force himself upon a living Shen Qingqiu after stumbling upon a world not his own? Who was it that then tried to kidnap said Shen Qingqiu to force him into his harem? Who was it that had fought so viciously to protect a corpse from his other self, who had come for rescue and revenge? Who was it that was now seemingly a young disciple again, with his very much living Shen Qingqiu, forcing wife plots upon him?

Just like Shen Yuan had all the wife plots redirected entirely unto himself?

“System, was this my fault?” Shen Yuan asked, helplessly. “Am I really responsible for a sexual awakening in both Binghes?”

Or did he just germinate a seed that was always there? Did Binghe always have a ‘thing’ for his shizun, and Shen Yuan had allowed it to blossom while Shen Jiu caused it to blacken? And did it even matter one way or another at this point?

One thing he knew for certain - the fans must surely be spewing blood, shooting skyward like fountains in an imperial garden.

Shen Yuan gave a shake of his head as he brought himself back to the topic. “That still doesn’t explain why. Why would Shang Qinghua try to kill you? I don’t recall him having any reason to try…”

No matter how much he wracked his brain, he couldn’t remember any time where the two villains of Proud Immortal Demon Way even interacted. Of course, he was sure there was some interaction when it came to the everyday duties and obligations of the sect, but Shen Jiu was hardly a social butterfly and Shang Qinghua had incentive to keep a low profile. The plot never called for the two villains to interact beyond basic courtesies.

“He realized that I also had my memories,” Shen Jiu said as he crossed his arms, using one to prop up his other arm as he lightly tapped his fan against his chin. “Which included memories of the Immortal Alliance Conference disaster, and his involvement in it.”

Shen Yuan stopped short. “...’Also’?”

“The only reason I am not dead is because the spirit intervened,” Shen Jiu said, with a grimace. “It would seem that his System did not approve of the attempt.”

“His what!?” Shen Yuan all but shrieked as he straightened up sharply. “That traitor also has a System!?”

What the hell was this? What the hell was this!? He understood why Shen Jiu had a System, as the whole situation seemed resolved around him ‘being a better Shizun’. But why did the traitor to the entire cultivation world also have a System!? When did that happen!? Why did that happen!? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to not only give such a backstabbing rat such an OP tool like a System but allow him to retain his memories!?

How was this not an absolute disaster!?

Airplane-bro, what the hell have you done!?

In another place, in a world not belonging to dreams, Shang Qinghua sat at his desk by candlelight. He let out a yawn, which suddenly turned into a mighty sneeze that shook his entire body, as well as sending the paperwork he had been working on flying in all directions. The peak lord could only yelp as he scrambled to recover his work, lest his long work night became even longer.

“Calm down, calm down,” Shen Jiu scolded with a wave of his right hand. While he sounded annoyed, though it carried no real weight. Instead, there was a hint of happiness, which he refused to acknowledge or address. “I am not currently in any danger, so there is no need for any concern. You are supposed to be a peak lord, are you not? Show a bit more self-control.”

Shen Yuan wanted to point out the sheer hypocrisy of that statement, but kept that thought firmly on his tongue. “How are you so calm about this? With his memories, won’t he find a way to not only avoid his fate but make everyone else’s that much worse? The damage he can do is practically endless!”

Shen Jiu smirked as he snapped open his fan to flutter it in front of his face. “It’s true that he can take advantage of his memories, but so can I. And in the end, memories are fairly useless if you lack the ability to effectively make use of them,” The scum villain paused before his smirk faltered into a grimace. “As I unfortunately learned first hand.”

Shen Yuan considered that before he slowly relaxed his posture. “That’s true. He still has to rely on others doing what he wants. And with the System protecting you from him, he most likely won’t make another attempt on your life.”

“So long as I stay out of his way, it would seem,” Shen Jiu said, with a grunt. “And while I cannot stand the idea of that bastard being allowed to do whatever he likes, I don’t have the means of stopping him right now. Not until the beast is further along in his training, at least.”

Shen Yuan immediately caught the implication, his eyes going wide. “You’re training Luo Binghe?”

Shen Jiu nodded, a grim expression on his face. “I was in the middle of creating a special training manual for the beast when I… experienced this unintended interruption.”

Shen Yuan kept his expression neutral, even though he was deadpanning mentally. He had already seen the scum villain’s idea of a ‘special training manual’, which he replaced with a genuine training manual that wasn’t designed to purposely thwart the disciple’s cultivation. Still, this one didn’t sound like another attempt at sabotage, even if Shen Jiu still couldn’t refer to his disciple as an actual person yet.

“I am not sure I entirely follow,” Shen Yuan said, careful with his words. “What does Luo Binghe’s training have to do with Shang Qinghua?”

“It is not about Shang Qinghua himself, but more about what he causes to happen,” Shen Jiu said before he flashed his counterpart a sharp grin. “I will use my beast to destroy his beasts.”

Shen Yuan furrowed his brow as the gears churned in his head before the connections clicked together. “The Immortal Alliance Conference!”

“That rat said that he wasn’t concerned about what happens during the actual invasion, which I suspect is true,” Shen Jiu said, looking down at his fan as he used it to gesture vaguely. “The whole event is more catering to the demons and their goals rather than any goal he might have. So whether it is a catastrophic success or a spectacular failure, it makes no difference to him. As long as he gets credit with his master for making it all happen and he’s not exposed as a spy, I am free to make a total mess of their invasion.”

“And you’re… going to use Luo Binghe to do that?” Shen Yuan asked.

“That beast’s power was obscene in spite of my efforts to curtail them,” Shen Jiu said. “Can you imagine what they would be like if I actually nurtured them? And not only nurtured them, but used them against his own kind?” The scum villain’s eyes seemed to be glowing with glee. “His previous future self would surely be beside himself with fury if he knew!”

The transmigrator gave a small blink. So rather than toss his hated disciple into the Abyss this time, the scum villain planned on actively using the protagonist to thwart the demon invasion? Was that even allowed? He knew it would work, as it was Luo Binghe after all, but that wasn’t the problem! Weren’t there plots that needed to happen, story beats that needed to be followed!? Wasn’t this a massive deviation from the plot!?

Where were the OOC warnings!? Could the scum villain even be OOC?!

“System,” Shen Yuan began, covering his face with his fan. “Can he even do that!?”

[User UV004 Shen Qingqiu’s mission is to become a better shizun.]

[Providing his disciple with a genuine training manual and actual guidance would align with this directive.]

[The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.]

[Please do your best to assist in Shen Qingqiu’s continuous improvement!]

[ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ ]

Shen Yuan’s cheek twitched slightly as his eyes narrowed.

Well. Isn’t that nice.

The transmigrator couldn’t help but feel jealous that the System seemed to have no intention of forcing Shen Jiu to fling his disciple into the Abyss, as it had with him. He had been threatened with automatic failure - and therefore automatic death - if he didn’t proceed as the plot intended, as Binghe’s growth as a stallion protagonist depended on it.

…Then again, if what he had seen during their first ‘counseling session’ meant what he thought it did, then the reason was less the System’s sudden charity and more the fact that it might not even be necessary anymore.

Shen Yuan wasn’t an expert on dreams by any stretch of the imagination. What he did know, he had learned from Binghe, who in turn had learned from the dream demon Meng Mo. From what he understood, they could manipulate their form any way they liked, but a person’s default form would often be their current perception of themselves. Unless, of course, the dream world itself influenced it otherwise.

That Luo Binghe he had seen had been an adult, which was why he assumed it was his Luo Binghe. However, Bingmei hadn’t been able to enter the dream world. With the System confirming that there are only two Binghes running about, that meant only one thing - the other Luo Binghe had to be Bingge.

And his perception of himself was as an adult, and not the white lotus he was currently supposed to be.

In other words, the original Shang Qinghua wasn’t the only one to ‘also’ remember.

“If he remembers everything, that means there’s no reason to chuck him into the Abyss,” Shen Yuan mused, crossing his arms as he tapped his fan against his mouth. “He’s already been there and endured that torment, so Shen Qingqiu doesn’t need to do it again. Even with the world seemingly reset, Bingge is still Bingge.”

So after the readers witnessed their blackened protagonist emerge from hell to wreak havoc on those that wronged him, they were now witnessing said blackened protagonist chase after his scum villain while subjecting him to wife plots. Specifically, the wife plots that were being usurped from their previously designated wives! Wives who, he might add, may or may not even become wives this time around! After all, why would he settle for wives when he could have his shizun!?

Talk about Sequelitis.

…Did he say fountains of blood? He meant waterfalls of blood, pouring down from the heavens in an attempt to drown the world like a biblical flood.

…Still, it wasn’t really about them, was it? The System didn’t seem overly concerned about the reader’s opinions, but more about Luo Binghe’s own satisfaction. Outside of a couple instances of pandering bullshit, the System generally favored plot cohesion and complexity. He had been specifically tasked with ‘fixing’ the plot, which ended with the entire story jumping sites and genre to become something more aligned with Airplane-bro’s original vision.

Even if it just so happened to also include Binghe seducing his scum villain.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Airplane-bro needed to worry about subscriptions or paying the bills anymore. Whether his audience was singing his praises or carrying pitchworks, none of that mattered at this point. The story could get downvoted to oblivion, for all it mattered. None of it could affect the An Ding Peak Lord anymore, nor did he seem all that concerned about it himself.

If this was what Luo Binghe wanted to be happy, then he had long since paid his due. It was true that Bingge had done a great many terrible things and there were those that would argue he didn’t deserve anything better than what he got. But whenever Shen Yuan thought about that miserable child covered in scalding tea that was just trying to make sense of a world that seemed bound and determined to hate him…

…It made Shen Yuan’s heart ache. Not just for his Bingmei, or for Bingge, but for every Luo Binghe that suffered for the sake of those that only wanted entertainment and never truly cared about him.

And he could never forget that, in the beginning, that had included him as well.

“A-Yuan?”

Shen Yuan blinked and looked up to see Shen Jiu looking at him, a hint of concern breaking through his normally harsh expression. The transmigrator pushed aside the dark thoughts with a shake of his head and offered the scum villain a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing.”

“Hm,” Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes as he stared at his counterpart.

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly at Shen Jiu’s dubious scowl. That’s right, this didn’t just affect Bingge, but also Shen Jiu and everyone else who had suffered in the original plot. It affected Ming Fan, Liu Qingge, Yue Qingyuan, the other peak lords… no, it affected the entirety of the sect save for those drawn into the protective embrace of the harem.

He was very familiar with Shen Jiu’s fate, as it was one that had awaited him for quite some time. Or at the very least, he thought it did, and he allowed that knowledge to drive him forward. Over a roof, into self-detonation, through a mushroom body, and along an ensuing series of shenanigans that ultimately led him safe into Bingmei’s arms.

…But that aside, Shen Jiu deserved a chance to survive just as much as he had. And if Bingge was willing to give his scum villain that chance, then who was he to argue? Even if he had no idea how the whole ‘wife plot’ thing was supposed to work out…

Or how the scum villain’s aggro powers were going to cause his best laid plans to blow up in his face.

But that’s what he was for, wasn’t it?

“I suppose I am a little jealous that you are going into the Immortal Alliance Conference in a much better position than I was,” Shen Yuan admitted. “But I also can’t help but worry. We tend to… attract a lot of trouble towards ourselves. To an absurd degree.”

Shen Jiu snorted through his nose. “When has my life not been a continuous series of events specifically designed to spite me?”

The corners of Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched up slightly as he noted the sheer irony of that statement. Still, Airplane-bro wasn’t writing the story anymore, so everything past that point was now in the hands of the world he had so lovingly crafted and the characters - no, the people - who lived there. “Both Liu-shidi’s presence and Binghe’s training should be a great help to you, but there is still plenty of room for things to go awry. Especially given…”

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched as he could tell immediately what Shen Yuan was alluding to, before sighing heavily as if expelling the anger and exasperation he felt. “...I know. I have a lot to prepare and account for, and not much time to do it,” The scum villain lowered his gaze as he covered the lower part of his face with his fan. “My body, most of all.”

Shen Yuan reached over to touch the scum villain’s free hand reassuringly as it hung limp at the man’s side. “At least you know what to do, and how to proceed from here. Now, it’s simply a matter of… actually doing.”

Shen Jiu chuckled before lifting his gaze to offer his counterpart a wry smile. “Which is often the hardest part, I’ll remind you.”

Shen Yuan returned the smile with a lopsided one of his own. “At least you won’t have to worry about growing mushroom bodies or faking your own death this time around.”

Shen Jiu’s expression grew blank. Did he hear what he just thought he did or had he suffered a sudden stroke? “...What?”

The transmigrator realized what he had done and jerked back, waving his hands as if trying to blow away the conversation before it could linger any longer. “N-nothing, nothing! Just hyperbole, that’s all… forget I said anything.”

Shen Jiu’s expression deadpanned. “Hm.”

Shen Yuan gave another awkward chuckle and shrug in the face of the scum villain’s suspicions. He wasn’t about to go into more details than he already blurted out, no matter how much the other man stared accusingly at him. There were just some things better left in the dark, never to be spoken of again.

Especially when it might open the doorway to introducing Zhuzhu-lang and Tianlang-jun’s existence, resurrecting that discarded plotline into Proud Immortal Demon’s Way’s tomfoolery.

Everything was convoluted enough without that added nonsense!

Chapter Text

Shang Qinghua cracked his neck and yawned as he slowly made his way through the halls of An Ding Peak to his living quarters. As always, the carriage ride was long and tedious, and his body made absolutely certain to remind him of that fact. He would’ve preferred using his sword if not for the whole ‘appearance of impropriety’ thing.

People were forever doing stupid shit to avoid looking ‘rude’ or ‘arrogant’ to the public eye. But Shang Qinghua knew better than anyone that it was all horseshit - it just regaled those attitudes to behind people’s backs or closed doors. How was it any more acceptable when it was done where others couldn’t see it? Weren’t the eyes of the gods still on you? Did that not account for anything?

…Then again, given who they were talking about, probably not!

“Whatever,” Shang Qinghua grunted as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes using the palm of his right hand. “It still gave me time for a break before my next shift, so…”

Speaking of his next shift…

To the surprise of no one, least of all him, the An Ding Peak Lord opened the door to his living quarters wide enough to see that it was not empty. But it wasn’t a disciple or a member of staff, who all knew far better than to be in their peak lord’s room without his knowledge or consent. It was someone who cared little about impropriety or consent, for neither applied to him. He went where he liked and did as he wanted, especially when it came to those that belonged to him.

And Shang Qinghua was very much aware of who he belonged to.

Mobei-jun reclined on the peak lord’s bed, his expression impassive as always. Like a massive snow leopard reclining on a rock without a care in the world, the ice demon was stretched out the entire length of the bed as comfortable as could be despite being deep within enemy territory. The bed barely could contain the muscular demon, but did its very best regardless.

What a spoiled, selfish little prince.

Or king, in this case.

At the door opening, the ice demon king glanced over to see his servant return and quirked an eyebrow. “You’re late.”

Shang Qinghua quickly stepped into his room, closing the door behind him and locking it. “A thousand apologies, my king. I was attending to some peak business that… unexpectedly delayed me.”

“Hm,” was all the response Mobei-jun gave.

“Yes, yes, it was most unfortunate,” Shang Qinghua said as he headed over towards the personal kitchen area of his room, as if the ice demon had given him more than a simple noise in response. “I had assumed it would be an easy ‘kill him and leave’ sort of situation, but sadly things are never so simple, are they?”

The An Ding Peak lord didn’t stop even as the demon turned to stare at him, his quirked eyebrow returning. Instead, Shang Qinghua set about setting a kettle on to boil as he pulled out the small container of tea from his robes. “But that is all the better for you, my king! Now I have plenty of exported tea left over, all for you. It’s extremely expensive, and in hindsight, it would’ve been too much of a waste for that fool. I doubt he would have had the palate to appreciate it. No matter how much silk and ribbon you use to dress it up, a street rat is still a street rat.”

Mobei-jun watched as Shang Qinghua prepared the tea for him, then sat up slowly as the bed creaked in protest beneath him. “A problem?”

“I thought so at the time, yes,” Shang Qinghua said, far too amicably for the conversation. “But it seems that I was mistaken. I had thought it was someone you intended to kill who managed to escape, so I planned to finish the job for you. But it seems it was an entirely different demon after all!”

Mobei-jun blinked. “...What?”

“Yes, yes,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “There was a demon sighting at Qing Jing Peak the other day - a very powerful demon, supposedly. If the witnesses were to be believed, at any rate. This demon came in suddenly and left just as suddenly, after beating most of Bai Zhan Peak’s disciples within an inch of their lives.”

Mobei-jun’s eyes widened slightly.

“Now, I thought to myself, there is only one demon that I know who would be so incredibly powerful as to move in like a shadow and leave such devastation behind him! And to the terrifying Bai Zhan Peak, of all peaks!” Shang Qinghua said as he put the boiling kettle on its tray and carried it and his finest tea bowl to the table at the center of the room. “My king, and only my king!”

Mobei-jun’s expression shifted again, his brow furrowing. He got up from the bed and went to sit at the table, crossing his arms. Every movement, every change in expression was glacial, as to be expected of the ice demon.

Shang Qinghua started to pour the ice demon his tea, very respectful in his posture. “Admittedly I didn’t understand why my king would have allowed them to live, but it’s not really my place to understand what my king does, now is it? But at the time, I assumed that my king had meant to mark the Qing Jing Peak Lord for death, who I had unfortunately moved to town earlier in the day at the sect leader’s behest. Had I known of your intentions, I surely would have delayed the move.”

Mobei-jun said nothing as he took the tea bowl and brought it up to his lips for a sip.

“So! I decided to fix my mistake by taking out the Qing Jing Peak Lord on your behalf,” Shang Qinghua said as he straightened up. “With a lovely offering of tea, rich in flavor. Rich enough to hide whatever poison I put in his drink~!”

The ice demon paused at that and glanced down at his drink almost instinctively.

“Still, as I am sure you are already aware, it turns out that the demon was in fact not my king! Not only that, this demon had already made a second attempt on my shixiong!” Shang Qinghua said with a sigh. “Followed him to town and everything! I am so glad I didn’t make my move, or surely it would’ve drawn out the situation even worse than it already was. The last thing I would ever want is to accidentally implicate my king in some other demon’s shenanigans!”

“So it was a demon, then,” Mobei-jun said.

“Yes, a Skinner Demon,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod, then let out an exasperated sigh. “And not a particularly strong one at that, if it was killed by a singular fresh-faced disciple so easily! Now it’s clear those idiots from Bai Zhan Peak were just exaggerating. I wouldn’t be surprised if they purposely worsened their injuries to try and justify their defeat! What an absolute waste of my - and my king’s - time.”

“It’s not the same demon,” Mobei-jun said.

Shang Qinghua looked shocked as he stared at the ice demon. “My king?”

“Skinner Demons rely on stealth and subterfuge to stalk their prey,” Mobei-jun said. “It would have stood no chance against Bai Zhan Peak’s disciples individually, let alone as a large group. And it wouldn’t have tried to begin with. It couldn’t be the demon that was found at Qing Jing Peak.”

“O-oh,” Shang Qinghua muttered before panic flooded his features. “W-wait, so it was my king after all-!?”

“No,” Mobei-jun said. “It was not me.”

The peak lord paused at that. “But if it wasn’t the Skinner Demon, and it wasn’t my king, then… that means there’s another demon prowling around!?”

“Mm,” Mobei-jun grunted in agreement.

“But this means they might come back and rile everyone up again!” Shang Qinghua said, with no small amount of hysterics - both in his voice and on his face. “Everyone has already been convinced that the demon has been dealt with, this will only make things more difficult for my king!”

Mobei-jun frowned ever-so-slightly as he looked down at the tea bowl, giving it a small swirl around.

Shang Qinghua reached up to clasp his hands against his chest in dismay, grasping the front of his robes. “What should I do!? Who would dare act on their own and cause my king trouble, with all the work he has put in for the invasion?!”

“I will look into it,” Mobei-jun said. “And this disciple that killed the Skinner Demon.”

Shang Qinghua looked so relieved that tears flooded his eyes. “My king!” Inwardly, his smirk was so wide it nearly reached his ears, as the sound of points being awarded pinged in the background from the system.

[Achievement unlocked: Like A Fiddle!]

[Achievement unlocked: Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!]

[+100 Knowledge Points!]

“Why, thank you, System,” Shang Qinghua thought. “I do try my best, after all.”

“By the way,” Mobei-jun said.

Shang Qinghua paused and looked at the ice demon expectantly. “My king?”

“My bowl is empty,” Mobei-jun said as he held the tea bowl up, lightly twirling it about to emphasize its emptiness before setting it on the table. “Pay more attention.”

“I-I apologize, my king!” the peak lord squeaked as he went to pour his king another cup. “Drink as much as you like!”

“Mm,” Mobei-jun made a small noise of acknowledgement as he crossed his arms. There was the barest hint of a smirk on the demon’s face, perceivable only to those that knew him best.

Of course Shang Qinghua noticed, but the System made absolutely certain to call it out.

[Achievement unlocked: Who’s The Fiddler Now?]

[+50 Knowledge Points!]

Shang Qinghua’s cheek twitched slightly. Somehow, even the notification of points wasn’t enough to take the edge off. In fact, it felt even worse. “System, my dear, you are a bit of an asshole. Did you know that?”

[ (≧ڡ≦*) ]

---

It had become quite the familiar scene for Shen Jiu to be hard at work at his table, painstakingly crafting a training manual surrounded by his resource material. By the time Ming Fan had completely picked the entire town clean, the documents had become a mountain in and of itself. It created quite the sight, with the regal looking Immortal Master secluded within his ‘mountain’, hard at work on his creation.

Though it begged the question of how he planned to get it all back to the peak when the time came! Then again, that was a problem for An Ding Peak to solve, wasn’t it?

In a way, Shen Jiu had his revenge on Shang Qinghua after all.

Of course, the scum villain wasn’t thinking about any of that. He had no room to worry about accommodations or even inadvertent pettiness, despite it being his favorite pastime. He was far too focused on his work, which was why he hadn’t noticed he had a visitor, until they finally spoke.

“Oi. Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

“I am resting,” Shen Jiu replied automatically, without looking up. “This master is very-” The scum villain cut his retort short as he recognized the voice. A jolt of shock ran up his spine before he whipped his head about.

Liu Qingge was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed with a disapproving scowl on his face - though Shen Jiu would demand to know how it was any different than his normal face. But all that aside, what the hell was he doing here!? It absolutely blew the scum villain’s mind that Liu Qingge would pay him a visit in any capacity.

…Not willingly, at any rate.

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes. “Did Zhangmen-shixiong send you?”

“No,” Liu Qingge said, stiffly. When Shen Jiu’s expression grew incredulous, a flicker of irritation flashed across the war god’s face. “He’s here too, but he didn’t ask me to come with him. I decided to come on my own.”

Shen Jiu gaped at his shidi, his brow unable to decide if it should be furrowed or arched and so fluctuated between the two erratically. After a moment, it settled into a more blank expression.

“I see,” Shen Jiu said. He did not, in fact, see.

“I’m going to escort you back to Qing Jing Peak personally,” Liu Qingge said, with a note of finality that insisted there was no room for argument.

Shen Jiu’s face seemingly went even more blank despite the sheer impracticality of it. After another pregnant pause, he reached his palm up to touch his brow. While it was warm, it was not any more than it had been since the beginning of this fiasco.

Liu Qingge’s cheek twitched but he let the moment slide without further comment. Instead, he uncrossed his arms enough to gesture around the room. “Get your disciples to pack up all this junk so we can leave. You can read your books when you’re back at your peak.”

Shen Jiu didn’t respond at first,as the situation felt too surreal to actually be what was happening. He couldn’t even really be angry about it as he typically would, as his brain was rejecting the entire situation outright.

Was this another dream? He didn’t see A-Yuan anywhere, but that didn’t mean anything. Perhaps it was a regular fever dream rather than one controlled by the spirit. After all, that was the only thing that could explain Liu Qingge being here, right then, right now, saying what he was saying.

Either that or he truly was having a stroke after all.

Liu Qingge stood in the doorway, silently watching his shixiong, who didn’t respond as he typically would - no anger, no bluster, not even indignation at being ordered around. Something about the scum villain’s non-reaction rankled the Bai Zhan peak lord far more than his typical behavior ever did.

“Oi,” the war god snapped, his patience wearing thin for reasons he couldn’t explain. “Did you hear me?”

“Give him a moment, shidi. A lot has happened to him in a very short period of time.”

The familiar voice seemed to snap Shen Jiu out of his stupor and he turned to see Yue Qingyuan approaching Liu Qingge - and the door - from in the hallway. The war god respectfully moved to the side, unblocking the door and allowing his sect leader to enter the room.

Ah, that’s right. Liu Qingge did say that their Zhangmen-shixiong was here, didn’t he? Well, even if the brute hadn’t told him, he should have expected it. It actually would’ve been more unusual for the man to not be there, given everything that had happened recently.

How the hell did such a sticky person become sect leader?

Shen Jiu hesitated before giving a small shake of his head. He was being unfair again. After everything he put the man through, whether he remembered it or not, Yue Qingyuan was allowed to be as sticky as he wanted.

“I… suppose this means you destroyed the demon?” Shen Jiu asked. At his words, Liu Qingge’s expression grew tight, which gave the scum villain the answer quickly enough. “...I see. Well, if you haven’t found it at this point, then there’s no helping it. I cannot - and will not - remain in this town hiding like a coward, chased away from my own peak at the mere thought of a demon’s return.” He had enough damn gossip as it was about him, the last thing he needed was for the other sects to question his abilities any more than they already had!

“Besides, it will be easier for me to watch over you with you back on the mountain,” Liu Qingge agreed, with a nod.

Shen Jiu blinked. Did he hear what he just thought he had? “Ha?”

“We’ve placed a large number of seals around the Bamboo House,” Yue Qingyuan cut in suddenly. “And in the bamboo grove itself.”

Shen Jiu faltered, debating if he wanted to press the brute on what he had said, before deciding against it. Instead, he made a noise of acknowledgement in the back of his throat. How wonderful, now he had a thousand eyesores to look forward to. Nothing could ruin the dignity of a place quite like paper talismans plastered all over like advertisements on a market wall.

“We’ve also added patrols to the list of duties for the senior disciples of each peak,” Yue Qingyuan continued. “This demon attack showed a great weakness in our sect’s defenses that we never really considered before, one that we can now address before it can result in any lost lives. If anything, we were lucky that we got away with such a flaw for so long. With these patrols, we can ensure another demon can never invade the sanctity of our peaks again.”

“Nor can any more delinquents sneak about in the dead of night, correct?” Shen Jiu asked, a slight edge in his voice. “Especially on peaks they don’t belong to?”

“That will never happen again,” Liu Qingge said, his voice low. “I made certain of it.”

Shen Jiu glanced over at the war god, tilting his head quizzically. Liu Qingge’s behavior was beyond strange, had been strange since the moment the brute had arrived. It was true that he could rarely figure out what the man was thinking - or if he was ever thinking anything - even on a good day. However, there just seemed to be something off-putting about his shidi’s demeanor that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Perhaps he is simply impatient to get back to training in the caves,” Shen Jiu thought. “But what is stopping him? Certainly he’d prefer I not be back on the mountain, so that I won’t be able to interfere so easily?”

What an absolute pain in the ass.

Though, since when has his very existence not been a pain in the ass? He couldn’t point at a single moment where life wasn’t a constant struggle, or a joke at his expense. And it didn’t seem like anything intended to improve, from what he was seeing. He couldn’t even be certain that he found any peace in death, as he had no real memory of what happened after he slipped away out of his ruined body. It felt more like he had fallen asleep, only to wake up in this nightmare.

…Assuming he was actually awake, and this was not just some elaborate dream he was trapped in by the beast. The moment that thought hit, it sent a chill through the scum villain’s body straight into his bones.

“Spirit, just to confirm,” Shen Jiu said, glancing towards the ephemeral screen as it seemed to appear in the air beside him. He brought up his fan to hide his face, so that no one could see his lips moving. “This is not a dream, correct?”

[Correct.]

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes. “Can you prove it?”

Up until this point, the scum villain had no choice but take a lot of what the spirit said at face value. However, he had to admit that he couldn’t deny the possibility that the Spirit was lying to him - about anything and everything. He didn’t even know what it was, or what it wanted, so how could he possibly trust anything it said? It had every incentive, after all, to keep him cooperative and already showed it was willing to employ threats to do it. Lying would hardly be beyond the pale in comparison.

[This System can administer an electrical shock into the user’s body.]

[If the user is in a state of sleep, said shock would be certain to wake them.]

[Should the user’s state not change, this would be positive confirmation of the user’s current perception of reality.]

[WARNING - application of electrical shock may cause loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, numbness, seizures, burns, muscle spasms, cardiac arrest, and death.]

[Would you like to proceed?]

[ Yes / No ]

Shen Jiu’s expression was incredulous for a moment before his cheek twitched slightly. “Spirit, are you here to help me or kill me?”

[ ( *¯ ³¯*)♡ ]

“Shidi, did you hear me?”

Shen Jiu nearly jumped out of his skin as his awareness returned to find Yue Qingyuan leaning down right in front of him so that they were eye-level. It made the scum villain acutely aware that the other two men must have been watching him this whole time he was conversing with the spirit, a fact that made his skin crawl.

And the way the sect leader and brute shared glances at each other certainly didn’t help! It - did - not - help!

The shizun grimaced as he pulled his fan closer to his face until it was practically touching his lips. “I apologize, I may have been momentarily distracted. Could Zhangmen-shixiong possibly repeat himself?”

The sect leader and war god shared another look, which only served to ruffle the scum villain even further. He clamped his jaw shut as tightly as he could, lest he say something to inadvertently drag the moment on a single second longer than it needed to.

“I said that given the… increase in luggage, it won’t all fit inside your carriage,” Yue Qingyuan said. “I would prefer that you spend the trip back recovering, but…,” the sect leader trailed off for a moment, before sighing. “If you must, you should choose what material you need for the moment so that you have something to occupy your time in the carriage, and I shall have An Ding Peak deliver the rest.”

Shen Jiu was thankful for his fan, as it hid his small smirk. Yue Qingyuan knew him quite well - certainly well enough to know that he was wasting his breath but he still made the decision to waste it regardless.

Yue Qingyuan was just far too nostalgic for his own good.

Still, the sooner they bid this hellhole goodbye and he got back to his peak, the better. While it was true that trouble followed him regardless of where he went, he vastly preferred dealing with it from the comfort of his own bed. At least he could make use of his library for his research, in quiet and solitude.

“Very well,” Shen Jiu said, with a small flutter of his fan. “I will inform Ming Fan.”

Bingge frowned as he remained perfectly still while crouched on the balcony, listening intently to the conversation going on within his scum villain’s room. The quilt ‘curtain’ provided him with perfect coverage, shielding him from the occupants of the room while also allowing him to use the overflow on the side to cover himself from passersby’s prying eyes.

While he certainly had no complaints about getting his shizun back to the peak, the whole ‘patrol’ business left much to be desired. Avoiding prying eyes was easy enough when most of the eyes were too focused on their own business to care about anyone else’s, but now he would have to contend with people whose entire purpose was to pry into his business. It seemed Mobei-jun made both their lives a lot more difficult.

Assuming the ice demon was even the one responsible for the attack, of course.  If not, that just meant there was a different demon out there that they both would need to punish for their new-found inconvenience. Bingge almost hoped it hadn’t been Mobei-jun, just so that he had a target to vent his irritation on.

Either way, he’d find out soon enough. He supposed this trip back to the mountain gave him a chance to ‘introduce’ himself to the ice demon. Now, all he needed was an opportunity. With patrols scurrying around, he couldn’t just outright ambush the ice demon the next time he showed his face around the peaks. He could go directly to Mobei-jun’s stronghold in the demon world, but that was just asking for trouble in this state.

While he had confidence in his abilities, he didn’t have confidence that his young body was yet able to fully make use of those abilities. So, the idea of lunging headfirst into a massive cluster of demons was less than appealing. Not until he had obtained his sword again, at any rate, which was a matter for another time.

All that aside…

Bingge narrowed his eyes as he glanced back towards the room, lifting the quilt back just enough to peer inside. He could barely see Liu Qingge as the war god was loitering in the doorway as if he belonged there.

Which he didn’t.

Bingge clenched his jaw. Something about the man bothered him. He still recalled the Liu Qingge of that other world, and how protective he had been of that Shen Qingqiu. He had even joined the rescue efforts to save the man, but that had made some amount of sense at the time.

That Shen Qingqiu wasn’t rotten inside, for whatever reason. But this Shen Qingqiu undeniably was, though they were currently working on cleaning that rot out. But that sure as hell wasn’t so other people could come sniffing around his scum villain! Where the hell had all that hostility gone!? All that hatred and distrust!? What the hell was he doing acting all protective towards a man who had literally killed him, accidentally or not!?

Honestly, Bingge was tempted to put the bastard into the ground himself, despite Shen Jiu’s apparent desire to avoid that outcome. However, he could thank that other demon for ruining that for him too. With everyone on high alert, there was no way he could get away with it and not completely destroy the mountain sect’s stability.

And the irony that he was even concerned about such a thing was not lost on him.

But it wasn’t about the peak or anyone else, it was about Shen Jiu’s rehabilitation. And for that, he needed a nice and quiet environment - something that murder was not compatible with. Besides, it was just as likely that Shen Jiu would get blamed for the death anyway, thanks to his actions at the peak meeting. Even if Liu Qingge had an ‘accident’, someone would still find a reason to suspect Shen Jiu of it. And really, could he even blame them for it? The scum cultivated that reputation himself.

Bingge exhaled through his nose in a heavy sigh. What a pain in the ass.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on that bastard,” the former demon lord thought. As if he didn’t already have enough on his plate as it was.

…Still, he absolutely couldn’t deny the progress they were making. Even now, he could see it, with Shen Jiu keeping his acidic tongue mostly under control - something he was sure Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge noticed as well. When forced to consider how far they’ve come, a few mountains to climb or swamps to trudge surely weren’t much to complain about. Good things were worth working for.

And by the gods, was Shen Jiu making him work for it.

Chapter Text

Once again, the disciples were sent into a flurry of activity as they prepared for a journey that they were not given ample warning for. And with the constant hovering of the war god of Bai Zhan Peak himself, watching with an impatience that grew with each second their departure was delayed, it made for an incredibly tense atmosphere.

For the disciples, the entire trip had been quite the change of scenery, a disruption - though minor - in their path towards cultivation. Even their attempts to keep up their lessons during their stay, the constant noise and business of civilization simply couldn’t compare to the calm and quiet seclusion of Qing Jing Peak. While it had been nice to experience city life after being isolated in the mountains since joining the sect, most welcomed the impending return to normalcy.

And no one welcomed it more than Shen Jiu himself.

The scum villain was vaguely aware of Yue Qingyuan talking to him, but the words were going in one ear and out the other. His brain was still so full of thoughts towards the training manual he was creating that there was no room for anything else. He could give nothing except half-assed noises of acknowledgement, the bare minimum from a supposedly active participant.

And yet somehow, it seemed to satisfy the sect leader. Perhaps because it wasn’t any different from how Shen Jiu usually interacted with his peers, the social recluse that he was. Perhaps it was because Yue Qingyuan welcomed any interaction that didn’t immediately end on the fourth exchange, even if it was only because the scum villain wasn’t paying attention. Perhaps it was because inattentiveness was preferable to outward hostility, as one would normally expect from the prickly peak lord.

Whatever the reason, Yue Qingyuan looked rather content as he escorted his shidi to his carriage before helping him inside. He was positively beaming when the scum villain absently accepted his offered hand without protest to enter the carriage, with no angry reaction for his show of generosity.

And all the better that Shen Jiu didn’t notice any of it, giving himself no chance to immediately rectify that lapse.

Shen Jiu shakily headed towards his seat, muttering under his breath to himself. He flopped down rather unceremoniously, where he was greeted by the books and scrolls he had specifically selected for this journey as well as his writing supplies. Grasping his calligraphy brush, the scum villain didn’t even acknowledge the sect leader closing the curtains and instead leaned forward to resume writing.

“Hm.”

The scum villain only stopped when he heard that sound right in front of him, a very familiar utterance in a very familiar voice. Shen Jiu paused in mid-stroke and lifted his head, suddenly aware of his surroundings.

And more particularly, aware of the fact that Liu Qingge was sitting in the carriage - his carriage - right across from him. The war god was cross-legged, with his arms similarly crossed, and staring down at Shen Jiu with his normally contemptuous stare instead tinged with mild curiosity.

Shen Jiu froze as he stared at his shidi, his mind taking several moments to process what his eyes were seeing before words finally came to him. “...Bwuh?”

Admittedly it wasn’t a real word, but it still counted. It seemed to encapsulate his thoughts and feelings on the situation quite well.

Sadly, the meaning was lost on Liu Qingge, who gave a small blink. “...Come again?”

The peak lord gave a small shake of his head before he scowled. “What are you doing?”

“I told you already,” Liu Qingge replied. “I am escorting you back.”

Shen Jiu blinked slowly before his eyebrows arched up. “Like this? In my carriage!?”

“How else would I escort you?” Liu Qingge asked, arching one of his own eyebrows.

“On your sword!” Shen Jiu said as he sat up to gesture vaguely, using his brush like a baton as he pointed.  “Or on foot, for all I care! Why do you have to be in my carriage!?”

“I would have to fly far too slowly for the carriage to keep up with me, it would be a waste of effort,” Liu Qingge said matter-of-factly. “Same with walking. This way, I am right here in case a demon attacks.”

“Here? In my carriage? Surrounded by disciples!?” Shen Jiu asked, incredulous. “Do you truly think a demon would dare to attack me here? And for that matter, just how many demons do you think are going to attack me!?”

“It has happened twice already,” Liu Qingge retorted, his expression grim.

The scum villain paused at that before he grimaced. He really couldn’t argue that point at all. So much paranoia and coddling had seemed ridiculous to him, but he couldn’t deny that not one but two demons had attempted to kill him in a short period of time - one in a busy city, and the other deep within the grounds of a cultivation sect. If a demon could be so brazen as to disregard both a crowd and certain death, why would he think a simple carriage ride would be any safer? Especially given that said ‘certain death’ had never happened.

“There will not be a third,” the war god said firmly, straightening up as he lifted his chin in open defiance.

Shen Jiu put his brush down so that he could reach up and massage his temples. Just what had he done to earn all this nonsense? Was it truly just his past actions coming to bite him, or was it just more of the usual and the universe was taking the piss out of him? And why would the demons care, for that matter?

Unless it was more of Shang Qinghua’s bullshit. He knew the Skinner Demon was the rat’s doing, so it stood to reason that the first demon was probably more of the same. Both happened after the peak meeting, after all. It was clear that the traitor was bound and determined to kill him to the point that he tried to take matters into his own hands, after all.

And just because Shang Qinghua had talked about leaving each other alone, what assurance did he have that the traitor meant any of it? The System had only stepped in when the intended assassination had become a direct attempt, so the spirit clearly didn’t think much of indirect attempts.

“Shizun?”

Shen Jiu paused and looked up to see Luo Binghe peering in through the side window, lifting the curtain. The scum villain blinked when their eyes met. “Hm?”

“I placed a travel lunch for you beside your seat,” Bingge said, with an air of perfect innocence. “I made sure to pack plenty to keep your energy up for the trip, so please help yourself.”

Everything was instantly forgotten in that moment as the scum villain’s eyes lit up. He quickly turned to search for the promised packed lunch, rooting around among his luggage to find his disciple’s offering with a rather improper amount of eagerness for an immortal master. He didn’t even notice the way Bingge turned to stare at Liu Qingge, who met the disciple’s glare with a confused blink.

Bingge held the war god’s gaze for several moments before finally drawing back behind the curtain very reluctantly, just as his shizun emerged from the mess with his treasure. It was a rather sizable packed lunch which the scum villain happily placed in his lap. He unwrapped it eagerly, exposing the delectables inside, before he stopped and noticed the way his shidi was staring at him.

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes. “I’m not giving you any.”

“I’m not going to take your food,” Liu Qingge said, his expression a little incredulous.

“Good, because I’m not giving you any,” Shen Jiu said.

Liu Qingge made a point of rolling his eyes this time. “I don’t want your food.”

“Good, because I’m not giving you any,” Shen Jiu repeated himself before he took a bite out of a steamed meat bun. His expression melted to pure bliss as he couldn’t help the happy noises that escaped him.

Liu Qingge practically gawked at Shen Jiu’s expression before he awkwardly looked away. “...That boy. Was he the one that killed the Skinner Demon?”

Shen Jiu blinked, his mouth slightly stuffed with food, before his scowl returned. “No.”

“‘No’?” Liu Qingge turned back to look at the Qing Jing Peak Lord, confusion clear on his face.

“You are not allowed to fight him!” Shen Jiu snapped as he pointed with the half-eaten meat bun in his hand, then realized what he was doing. He popped the rest of the morsel in his mouth before pointing with his finger this time. “Leave the boy alone!”

Liu Qingge’s cheek twitched and he was about to respond when the situation with his disciples immediately came to mind. The shame he felt instantly cooled his anger, and his expression softened. “I will not attack the boy. He did nothing wrong. If anything, he did exactly as he should have.”

Shen Jiu searched Liu Qingge’s expression, finding it inexplicable to him. At the very least, it wasn’t a face he expected on his shidi. It was enough to mollify the peak lord, whose own expression lost some of its harshness. “Yes, he did.”

Liu Qingge gave a small nod. “This year’s Immortal Alliance Conference is going to be very exciting with him participating.”

Shen Jiu did his best to hide the grimace that nearly twisted his face, then let out a sigh. The irony of the man’s statement notwithstanding, he didn’t want to have to deal with the conversation such an expression might bring.  “...Yes. Yes, it will be.”

The carriage lapsed into silence, which didn’t break even as it lurched a bit once the horses began to move. The scum villain stared down at the materials in front of him, before he finally looked up to meet Liu Qingge’s gaze.

“I’m still not giving you any of my food.”

“Forget about your damn food already!”

---

Night had settled over Cang Qiong Mountain by the time the caravan of disciples returned home to Qing Jing Peak. Liu Qingge watched the sun slowly set through brief glimpses every time the window curtains fluttered in the wind, until the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness was allowed to settle in. They would be arriving soon.

The war god turned his attention to Shen Jiu. The peak lord was slumbering peacefully, his arms crossed as they rested on the table and shouldered his slumped head. The man had tried to work diligently through the long trip, but journeying by default was often physically draining - and especially so for a man suffering from such a long lingering qi deviation.

About halfway through the trip, the scum villain had succumbed to the call of his exhaustion without noticing or meaning to. He had been unable to resist his shidi helping him lie down into a more comfortable position, nor threw a fit when Liu Qingge had removed his outer robe to drape it over his shixiong’s body.

Liu Qingge then spent the rest of the trip meditating, recovering his own strength while maintaining vigilance over the sleeping man. Now that they were nearly at their destination, the war god watched and waited for their arrival.

When the carriage finally came to a stop, Liu Qingge wasted no time in reclaiming his outer robe. Shen Jiu would be none the wiser, and he would be able to spare anyone that temper tantrum.

The entrance curtain was flung open as Bingge forced it aside. The disciple’s eyes settled on Shen Jiu’s slumbering form. He cast Liu Qingge another poisonous glare before moving to carefully help his shizun into a seated position.

“Shizun?” Bingge said, his voice gentle. “We are here.”

Shen Jiu awoke with a start, sitting up straight before he grimaced and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands. “W-whuh?”

“Come, shizun,” Bingge said, even as he guided Shen Jiu to his feet, steadying him as the immortal master wobbled on his feet. “Let this one get you to bed. You have had a rough day.”

The scum villain made a non-commital noise as he followed his disciple’s lead, not coherent enough to recognize that he was being manhandled and escorted by the beast. All that he knew was that ‘bed’ sounded nice - very, very nice.

Liu Qingge watched as Luo Binghe helped Shen Jiu away, giving the war god one last glower before disappearing from sight. The Bai Zhan Peak Lord might have considered the outward hostility as a challenge, if he hadn’t known where it was coming from. Given what his disciples had done, Qing Jing Peak had every reason to be suspicious and concerned for their shizun’s safety.

That just meant he had to work that much harder to repair their blemished face.

The war god gave a small stretch before he slipped out of the carriage into the night air. He glanced around to see the other disciples hurrying about unpacking and tending to the horses, before his eyes settled on several of his own disciples standing off to the side. They locked eyes with their peak leader and gave a close-fist bow of greeting.

Liu Qingge let out a noise of acknowledgement before he arched his back and rotated his arms, stretching out the muscles in his shoulder blades to warm them up. While Shen Jiu was off to bed, his night had just begun.

It was time for the patrols to begin.

Unnoticed by the gathered cultivators, Luo Binghe was crouched on the rooftop of Qing Jing Hall, hidden within the alcoves shrouded with shadows that grew steadily with each passing moment. The demon lord watched Bingge - and the sect leader, who trailed along like goldfish droppings - as the young disciple helped his shizun towards the bamboo grove, and the Bamboo House that awaited them there.

So this Shen Qingqiu really was alive again, just like his shizun had said. Though, even from a glance, he could tell that the man was weak and there was something not quite right about his qi. But given the state his body had been in, Bingmei wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Bingmei narrowed his eyes before shifting his attention to Liu Qingge. The demon lord had confirmed his suspicions about Bingge being younger like the rest of Qing Jing Peak, but he still didn’t know how much the boy knew - if he knew anything at all. At the very least, Binghe knew that he wouldn’t find out anything else tonight and he didn’t intend to linger long enough for anyone else to find anything, either.

Carefully, Luo Binghe drew Xin Mo from his belt. He held the knife in hand before slicing the darkness open with the precision of a doctor performing surgery before he slipped through the hole, disappearing entirely from view.

---

Shang Qinghua understood that Mobei-jun was an ice demon. That much was obvious just by looking at him. And it would stand to reason that as an ice demon, Mobei-jun’s home in the northern lands of the demon realm would be somewhere favorable to ice demons - and by extension, favorable towards ice and snow in general. And it would again stand to reason that the frigid king would make his base of operations, his stronghold, in his homeland. His homeland which, again, would only make sense to be a place of snow and ice. All of this, the An Ding Peak Lord understood perfectly.

But what he didn’t understand was why it had to be so fucking cold!?

Even bundled up in his thick winter robes, fluffy white fur doing its best as both trim and padding to keep him warm, was not enough to keep back the cold. And it was in the middle of summer, for goodness sake! The peak lord shouldn’t be leaving a trail of white mist as he breathed, like a fucking train, and shivering under his clothes as his exposed appendages and face turned red from the frost! Even the paper documents in his arms were beginning to curl from the cold!

And yet he did and was, a fluffy rat trembling in the cold. He hurried across the courtyard, walking as quickly as he dared while watching his feet for random patches of ice that might conspire to make him fall flat on his ass. Mobei-jun’s demon minions got enough joy from watching the small human scurry about as it was without giving them that kind of a show.

Even now, Shang Qinghua could feel their eyes following up, openly unfriendly and suspicious. He had long since gotten used to it that he barely cared about their simmering hostility. It wasn’t as if he gave a shit what any of them thought about him, so long as they kept their distance.

And kept their distance, they did. None of them would dare harm their king’s little rat - that privilege belonged exclusively to Mobei-jun. Even with their king not around and about, none would make a single move against his pet, which resulted in the current comical scene of a tiny human scurrying around a den of demons with impunity.

Honestly, given his mood, Shang would have liked it if someone had tried to mess with him. At least then he would have someone to vent his frustrations on, even if it would’ve been more subtle than the overt beatings that Mobei-jun was prone to giving out.

There was a certain kind of frustration that came from having all your pieces exactly where you wanted them but not being able to get things moving. Like waiting for the oven to warm up after gathering all the ingredients for dinner, or loitering outside the not yet open entrance of a shop on sales day to beat the other shoppers to that half-price produce, or watching a little old lady block the narrow path as she waddled unsteadily on her feet in front of you and etiquette forbade you from passing her by.

Or waiting for a certain hotheaded shidi to get - the - hell - away - from - Qing - Jing - Peak!!!

Shang Qinghua sighed, creating a small puff from where his warm breath met the cold air. He had no idea what had gotten into Liu Qingge, what thought had apparently planted itself in the barren field that was the war god’s mind, but the man seemed to have forgotten that he was the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan, not Qing Jing. He had gone from barely visiting Cang Qiong Mountain to practically never leaving.

And while that in and of itself should have been reason to celebrate for the disciples of his peak, who craved his attention like starved animals, Liu Qingge barely visited them. Instead, he was prowling all around Shen Jiu and his peak to the point that others were beginning to wonder if Qing Jing Peak had two lords!

Worst of all, it showed no signs of stopping! Several days had already passed since Shen Jiu returned to Qing Jing Peak from Shuang Hu City, with the scum villain settling down once more in his isolated haven. Everything had, for all intents and purposes, returned to normal for the residents.

So why the hell was Liu Qingge not going home!?

With that war god around, there was no way Mobei-jun could step even a single foot into the bamboo groves of Qing Jing Peak, far too smart to risk setting off hostilities when he was trying to placate them instead. And, in turn, that fateful meeting between edgelord demon kings could not happen. And don’t even get him started on the sheer irony of getting cockblocked on the one thing he had dreaded so long that he had come to begrudgingly accept as necessary! By Liu Qingge of all people!

Aren’t you supposed to be hating Shen Jiu!? What happened to actively avoiding him!? What of the simmering hatred and barely restrained contempt, the resentment of past misunderstandings that culminated in a hostility nearly as well-known as the one between the same villain and their illustrious Yue Qingyuan? As always, most bad relations in Cang Qiong Mountain came back to Shen Jiu!

And that Shen Jiu! What the hell was he doing, tolerating this nonsense!? Surely he wasn’t so neutered by his time as a fermented cucumber that he had lost every bit of edge on his sharp tongue! Where was the fire? Where was the brimstone? At least self-detonate a little?!

Damn it, Liu Qingge! Just go back into those caves and die like you’re supposed to!

Damn it, Shen Jiu! Chase the bastard off like you’re supposed to!

Shang Qinghua let out another sigh as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Despite all the mental hysterics and hyperbolic wailing, he knew damn well what was motivating Shen Jiu - it was the same thing that motivated him. He was just surprised that the scum villain cared enough about Liu Qingge to make the effort to save him, rather than focusing on his own skin. And in turn, that made the normally prickly peak lord tolerate far more than he ever would have, and created a situation that was more than a little inconvenient.

“Honestly, it’s that demon’s fault,” Shang Qinghua muttered. That idiot demon from the bamboo grove, who had made a mess of quite literally everything. He still didn’t know who their mystery demon was, and he honestly didn’t care. Everyone important was accounted for, so it really couldn’t have been anyone he needed to worry about.

But because he didn’t know, or more importantly, they didn’t know who the demon was, it meant that matter couldn’t entirely be laid to rest. The others were slowly beginning to wind down and accept the unsatisfyingly uncertain ‘resolution’, if it could even be called that, but it was clear Liu Qingge had no intention of resting until he had a head to mount on the gates of Bai Zhan Peak.

How by the gods was he supposed to provide enough of a satisfying resolution to pacify the brute of Bai Zhan and get him to leave? The An Ding Peak Lord may have been resourceful, but he wasn’t a damn miracle worker. Even he couldn’t pull a corpse out of thin air!

“Oi. Rat.”

The gruff voice was all the warning Shang Qinghua got before he was suddenly hoisted up by the collar of his robes. His arms tightened around the documents he held and kicked his feet instinctively as he suddenly found himself dangling in the air.

It took a moment for the peak lord to realize what was happening before he tucked his legs in and glanced up, over his shoulder. The traitor found his eyes trailing along a muscular arm until they settled on the face of an ox demon.

The ox demon’s hide was white all over with large dark blue horns stuck out on either side of his head, thick and curved upwards similar to that of typical non-demonic oxen. Not that Shang particularly wanted anything to do with those horns, demon or not. Even regular oxen could still gouge the guts out of anyone stupid enough to get too close, after all.

Much to the peak lord’s chagrin, the ox demon didn’t look even remotely cold wearing only his black and navy Kai Jia armor, which couldn’t have provided him any protection against the cold. Surely his bare tits would’ve been freezing against that iron!? But then again, as a bull, didn’t he technically already have a leather undercoat built in?

…Either way, it still pissed Shang off. But he certainly would never show that.

“Tie-Jian-lang, my lord!” Shang Qinghua greeted the ox’s blue glaring eyes with a bright smile, despite dangling in the air from the demon’s grip. “How good to see you on this fine day! Nice weather we are having, yes~?”

Tie-Jian-lang gave a mighty snort through his nose that made his golden nose ring jiggle slightly. “Don’t give me that shit. Where is our king? I can’t find him.”

“Hm? You have business with my king?” Shang Qinghua asked, with an innocent blink. “Whatever for?”

“That’s between me and him, rat,” Tie-Jian-lang growled, his lips curling up in a sneer.

Shang inwardly rolled his eyes, even as he kept his expression friendly. Of course the stupid cow was prowling around for Mobei-jun. It was the demon world’s worst kept secret that the ice demon had many rivals vying for the throne, chief among them his uncle, Linguang-jun.

This wasn’t anything new, or even remotely surprising. If anything, the demons seemed to just expect there to be some backstabbing here or there among their ranks when it came to those with power. And as the brother of the former dead king, it was even more expected that Linguang-jun would be sniffing around like a mongrel searching for a bone. Everyone knew it, Mobei-jun included, but no one ever did anything about it.

And similarly, everyone knew - or at least suspected - that Tie-Jian-lang was among the demons who curried their favor more towards Mobei-jun’s uncle than the current king of ice and snow. And as such, whatever business Tie-Jian-lang had with Mobei-jun was more a fishing expedition than anything of actual substance.

“My king is currently away on business he must attend to,” Shang Qinghua said, with the smoothness of a well-oiled machine. “But I will make certain to inform my king that you seek an audience with him when next I see him.”

“Not good enough! This is far too important to wait!” Tie-Jian-lang snapped. “Where is he? I will go to him myself!”

Shang Qinghua kept his face from deadpanning, instead keeping the reaction internal while his outward expression remained friendly and vapid. Why did everyone assume he knew exactly where Mobei-jun was, every single second of every single day? The man was like a cat, wandering around who knows where for whatever reason only to make appearances when he felt like it. Did they think he had put a bell on him, or something?

And how stupid did this cow think the peak lord was? Did the walking sack of beef actually think that Shang Qinghua would risk irritating Mobei-jun by helping the demon hunt down their ice king when he wasn’t interested in company? Which was often the case?

And just what did Tie-Jian-lang think he was going to do? Interrupt Mobei-jun’s business for a nice little chat? What a load of shit. More than likely, the ox demon intended to pick a fight, if not outright ambush the ice demon should the situation permit it! The damn impatient idiot. At least have some measure of prudence and keep your knives hidden until a good opportunity presents itself! That was just basic cut-thoat-ery 101!

If the cow wanted to get himself killed, he could do it himself and leave Shang out of it! Go on then and track down Mobei-jun yourself, and jump head first into a stupid confrontation! Piss off Mobei-jun, see what happens! If Tie-Jian-lang got himself killed doing something stupid, it would be his own doing!

It would be doing the peak lord a massive favor and remove one nuisance from the pile of nuisances that made it a point to complicate the An Ding Peak Lord’s life more than it already was. Not to mention the inconvenience it’d inflict on that moron, Linguang-jun. Too many conspirators ruined the heist, as it were, and the less influence that twit had, the better. Two cows with one stone!

And wouldn’t it be hilarious if he just so happened to accidentally wander his way to Qing Jing Peak while chasing Mobei-jun’s breadcrumb trail, and run right into Liu Qingge? The cow’d certainly regret his life choices then, wouldn’t he? It would serve him right.

It would definitely…

…It would most certainly…

…It would absolutely serve him right.

Shang Qinghua was silent for a moment as his eyes widened before his bright smile returned in full force. “I would love to help you, my lord, but my king is dealing with an exceptionally delicate situation at the moment and he absolutely must not be interrupted. It could have absolutely disastrous consequences, I’m sure you understand.”

Tie-Jian-lang hesitated at that as his own eyes widened, before narrowing slightly. “...Would it, now?”

“Yes, yes,” Shang Qinghua said with a sage nod. “I understand that my lord might not be overly familiar with espionage and the unique problems it brings, given that my lord is a decorated war hero who found his fame on the front lines rather than in the shadows like skulking rats such as myself.”

A flicker of pleasure appeared on the ox demon’s face, and pride at the acknowledgement of his accomplishments. Still, there was a hungry glint in his eyes as he listened intently to the human in his grasp.

“But when one is dealing with such things, subtlety and subterfuge are of paramount importance,” Shang continued. “Who knows what sort of disaster could happen should you inadvertently expose our king during his mission? I shudder to think!”

“Oh, yes,” Tie-Jian-lang agreed, airily. “I shudder to think as well.”

“I just hope he finishes his business on Qing Jing Peak as soon as possible,” the An Ding Peak Lord said with a long-suffering sigh. “The sooner everything returns to normal, the better it will be for the impending invasion.”

“...Qing Jing Peak, is it?” Tie-Jian-lang murmured.

Shang Qinghua froze as his expression clearly screamed that he had said something he couldn’t have. He then fumbled to recover, laughing awkwardly. “O-oh, ignore that, my lord. I was just talking nonsense - total nonsense! My king would most definitely not be at Qing Jing Peak, I assure you! He certainly would have no business there, so please forget that this humble one said anything!”

The ox demon was silent for several moments before an affable smile appeared on his face. He slowly placed the human back down on the ground, allowing Shang Qinghua to stand on his feet once more. “Oh, do not worry. I heard nothing. Why, what even were we speaking about? I have already forgotten!”

Shang Qinghua’s relief was palpable as he gave a deep, respectful bow. “Thank you, my lord, thank you! A thousand words of gratitude to you and your discretion.”

A smirk slithered its way across Tie-Jian-lang’s face as he turned to walk away, his tail snapping about behind him. It was dark and sinister, and just a bit ugly, but it was nothing compared to the smirk that the An Ding Peak Lord wore in his heart.

Slowly, Shang Qinghua rose from his bow and held the documents from his chest as he watched the ox demon walk away. The sounds of notifications going off in his head was like a beautiful melody that accented Tie-Jian-lang’s departure.

[+50 Badass Points!]

[+100 Knowledge Points!]

[Achievement unlocked: Like Leading A Cow To Slaughter!]

Shang Qinghua chuckled. “Thank you so very, very much, my lord.”

[Achievement unlocked: Like A Bull In A China Shop!]

Shang Qinghua paused at the last achievement, his eyes widening slightly before his expression deadpanned. “System, dear. That last one was rather bad, even for you.”

[ (✿ꈍ‿ꈍ) ]

Chapter Text

It was done.

It was finally done.

Shen Jiu couldn’t help but feel a swelling of pride and satisfaction in his chest as he looked down at his completed training manual, the carefully crafted pages neatly bound and ready for their intended disciple. It was proof - physical proof - that even if his body was betraying him, his mind was still just as sharp. His time in captivity and the ensuing torture hadn’t dulled its edge.

He had truly forgotten how much these small victories had meant to him.

“Now then,” Shen Jiu said as he carefully stood up, using the table to steady himself. “Time to deliver this to the beast and start his training.”

That’s right, he couldn’t rest on his laurels just yet. This was just the first step, the set up to a much greater battle ahead of him - training the beast into something that could save lives rather than destroy them. And considering he was involved, that would be a very tall order.

But Shen Jiu had no choice - not if he wanted to avert his fate, but more importantly the fate of those foolish enough to care about him. It may have been a mountain of an ordeal to overcome, but he would just have to take it one step at a time.

Even if it was a bit too literal for his liking.

Taking the manual off the table, Shen Jiu then straightened up before carefully moving towards the door. He had a rough idea of where the beast might be, given the time of day. He normally would be training, but after the scum villain had told him not to use the faulty training manual anymore, he spent most of his time doing chores - gathering firewood, carrying water, and other physically taxing tasks that would help him build his muscles in the meantime.

That fact contributed sharply to Shen Jiu’s rush to complete the manual. In addition to losing valuable training time, the beast was bringing back so much firewood that he wasn’t certain there’d be much forest left if he took too much longer.

Even when doing chores, that boy was a menace!

All his grumbling aside, it didn’t take long for the peak lord to find Luo Binghe. He only needed to make a couple inquiries before being pointed in the right direction - in the woods, halfway down the mountain. One would normally think such a location to be secluded enough to avoid attention, but clearly that would have been a wrong assumption. It seemed true that while words had no wings, they could still fly a thousand miles.

It was rather impressive, if a bit unnerving. Jealous eyes are often the most attentive eyes - he knew that better than anyone.

The actual difficult part of his search was the physical activity itself, not just the walking but the stairs themselves were a mountain of an ordeal for his body. It made him severely miss using his sword to fly about, but he didn’t dare risk it. His control over Xiu Ya was similar to his control over his qi - barely functional, at best. The last thing he needed was going careening through the air on a sword he couldn’t control, or planting face-first into the ground.

He would sooner use Xiu Ya to end himself directly, right then and there! He would rather splatter his blood all over the ground than what remained of his face - both physical and metaphorical!

Still, it meant the journey was taking much longer than he would have liked. At the rate he was going, the beast would be long gone by the time he got there. Like a toddler chasing after a firefly, running after fading lights on a dark summer night.

And in the end, his fears had been well-founded. But it seemed the fates decided to deliver Shen Jiu a small mercy as, rather than scurrying off into the wilderness, it seemed Luo Binghe had decided to take the very same stairs back to the top of the mountain. The beast was making his way up the steps, chatting with Ning Yingying, when the two disciples stopped and noticed who was on the steps far ahead of them, gingerly descending with great care and consternation.

“Shizun!?” Ning Yingying barely had time to blurt out Shen Jiu’s title before Bingge rushed forward, bounding up the stone steps with surprising swiftness.

Shen Jiu paused as he heard his name, having been watching his steps lest he slip and fall face first down the mountain - which also would have warranted immediate self-termination - just in time to see the boy he had been seeking rushing to greet him. “Hah?”

“Shizun!” Bingge wasted no time in grasping his shizun’s arms, helping him stand up and steady him on the steep mountain steps. “Shouldn’t you be resting!?”

Shen Jiu distinctly felt like he was being chastised and frowned, before giving a small shake of his head. He would allow the beast’s tone go for now. He’d consider it charity for having found the boy without having to go all the way to the bottom of the mountain, as it would’ve meant having to climb all the way back up…

“Are you okay, Shizun?” Yingying asked, more respectful than her shidi but still deeply concerned. “Your face is flushed! Are you hot?”

Shen Jiu glanced at his young disciple as he noted with irritation that they weren’t even remotely hiding their association with each other by this point. And while he still disliked it, it most likely boded well for his future. At the very least, Luo Binghe wouldn’t have reason to kill him over interfering with their relationship.

…He just had all the other reasons to kill him instead.

The scum villain grimaced and gave a small shake of his head before he straightened up, trying to regain some of his composure in front of his disciples. “I am fine, do not worry yourselves over me.”

“Of course, Shizun,” Bingge said with an air of obedience, even as he was looking over Shen Jiu’s body for signs or signals that would hint at any falsehoods the man was telling them.

“What are you doing out here, Shizun?” Yingying asked. “Can we help you with anything?”

“Actually, I was looking for you,” Shen Jiu continued as he turned to look meaningfully to Bingge. “Or more specifically you, boy.”

Bingge stopped at that and looked up to blink at the scum villain. “Me, Shizun?” It was then that he saw Shen Jiu reaching into his robes to pull out a neatly bound booklet. The former demon lord felt his heart skip a beat in his chest as his eyes widened. “I-is that-!?”

Shen Jiu nodded as he extended the training manual to the beast. “Your new training manual.”

Luo Binghe accepted the precious manual almost reverently as his hands began to shake slightly. He glanced over the pages, and the precious brush strokes they contained, before holding the book to his chest. “Shizun…”

“You will need to study it earnestly and devote yourself to your training,” Shen Jiu said, with a stern air as he took his fan out of his robes to flutter it in front of his face. “I took great consideration of your… current abilities, so I won’t accept any excuses for not meeting my expectations.”

The scum villain’s behavior was comical in its ridiculousness, and the lengths he’d go to avoid giving anyone the impression that might not actually be totally rotten. Bingge normally would’ve been tempted to call it out but it was impossible to focus on that pettiness when his heart felt like it was about to burst in his chest.

Bingge couldn’t help but beam as he clutched the book tightly. “Yes, Shizun!”

Shen Jiu gave a sharp nod before he arched an eyebrow. “Read it thoroughly. You will have to work twice as hard to make up for the time you lost these past few days.”

Bingge’s eyes glittered with excitement as he opened up the manual again to begin reading it, with that dazzle only increasing the more legitimate the instructions looked. It was slowly settling in that his scum villain had given him a training manual - a real training manual.

Finally, after everything he had gone through!

“Auuu… you’re so lucky, A-Luo,” Ning Yingying said with a slight pout, her arms crossed behind her back as she swayed in place slowly. “It must be nice to get a special training manual from Shizun!”

“Now, now,” Shen Jiu said as he turned to offer the young girl a small smile. “There’s no need to be jealous. The be-... the boy simply has special training needs that must be addressed if he is to reach his full potential.”

Yingying puffed her cheeks slightly before giving a small nod as her smile returned. “That’s true, Shizun. A-Luo is incredible, so normal training just isn’t enough!”

Shen Jiu’s cheek slightly but he managed to swallow the venom that instinctively began to form on his tongue. It was bitter and felt disgusting as it metaphorically slid back down his throat like mucus from a cold, but he knew better than to vocalize his thoughts.

Bingge was discreetly watching Shen Jiu’s reaction over the pages of his manual, noting the way the man said nothing - even if his face said everything - at the sound of his hated beast receiving praise from his precious disciple.

In the past, the scum villain would have flown into a rage, if not have him punished for the sheer audacity of being praised by Yingying, as if he had been directly responsible for it. Seeing Shen Jiu contain himself made the warmth in Luo Binghe’s heart surge. The scum could be taught!

A series of notifications suddenly rang out in Shen Jiu’s head, startling him out of the moment.

[+200 Satisfaction Points!]

Shen Jiu blinked as he furrowed his brow and glanced at the ephemeral screen to confirm what he had heard, then frowned. “Spirit, I’ve been meaning to ask. Whose satisfaction are you referring to with all these points?”

[Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers!]

Shen Jiu’s expression became bland. “And that means what, precisely?”

[ (ゝз╹) ]

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched again before he sighed, reaching up to touch his forehead as he felt a headache forming. “Spirit, you are either exceedingly obtuse or exceptionally unhelpful. Or both.”

[ (￢з￢) ]

“Shizun?”

Shen Jiu hesitated before grimacing, turning his attention back to his surroundings. He found both Ning Yingying and Bingge watching him intently, which reminded him that others could still see his reactions to the unseen spirit. The shizun let out a small cough as he slowly moved his fan to hide his face.

“Still here?” Shen Jiu asked, his voice tight. “Shouldn’t you be training?”

Bingge narrowed his eyes slightly as he scoured Shen Jiu’s face, noting the scum villain shifting uncomfortably under his scrutiny. After a moment, he gave a small nod. “Yes, Shizun! But while I go train, you should go back. The sun is very hot today, after all, and you need your rest.”

Shen Jiu blinked at that before he arched an eyebrow. “I am not so feeble that a little sun will harm me, boy.”

“Ning-shijie,” Bingge asked as he turned his puppy-dog eyes upon his shidi. “Could I ask you to help Shizun back to bed? I’m just worried that with the sun so hot and the steps so steep, he might fall and hurt himself.”

Shen Jiu felt his cheek twitch again, and he was beginning to wonder if he was having a stroke. “Boy, did you not hear me? I am not-”

“Of course!” Ning Yingying declared, with a sharp nod as she put her hands on her hips. “Leave Shizun to me!”

“Er,” Shen Jiu faltered as the girl suddenly turned to grasp his arm, smiling brightly up at him. “Yingying, wait, I…”

“Shizun,” Yingying said, her cheerful smile faltering on her face, as a hint of sadness managed to flicker through. “We haven’t had much time to spend together these past few weeks, have we? With you feeling so poorly… I’ve been really worried about you. Could we talk a little as we go…?”

Shen Jiu froze at that, as if his heart had been stabbed by little needles. The scum villain was silent for several moments before his expression softened and he reached over to slightly touch her arm with his free hand. “Of course, Yingying. What would you like to talk about?”

Bingge felt a twinge of complicated emotions at the sight of Shen Jiu and Yingying’s interaction. He had to remind himself that he was the one that orchestrated the scene, knowing full well that Shen Jiu wouldn’t be able to resist the pleas of his precious disciple and would return to bed where he belonged. It was just the fact that he wasn’t currently that precious disciple made the situation a bit difficult to swallow.

…Still, he was the one with the special training manual, specifically made by Shen Jiu’s own hands. And it was a real manual this time! That had to account for something, right? He would use it to train, to become everything his shizun hoped him to be, and more. Soon enough, he would be the one the scum villain would look so tenderly upon, with hidden smiles and gentle touches. He was getting there, he just needed to be patient.

Slowly, Bingge reached up his hand, his perspective from the stairs making it look as if he were grasping Shen Jiu as the man walked away from him. The former demon lord narrowed his eyes before clamping his hand shut.

He just needed to be patient.

---

From the very start, Tie-Jian-lang knew enough not to expect to find Mobei-jun so easily. Obviously the ice king wouldn’t be standing out in the open, declaring his presence to the humans while striding through their midst in open defiance. But to find neither hide nor hair, nor even a snowflake, of his target was more than a little frustrating.

Then again, what did he expect from someone who had more in common with shadows than daylight?

The oxen demon let out a snort through his nose that rattled his ring, flicking his ears to listen. Qing Jing Peak was peaceful, almost sickeningly so, with the sound of the wind rustling through bamboo accompanied by faint birdsong.

At least, there had been birdsong until he showed up, at any rate.

“That rat better not have lied to me,” Tie-Jian-lang growled. Though, he couldn’t imagine why he would do such a thing - especially given how panicked he had been about letting it slip. After all, surely he would want less demons on the peaks, not more? It would have been his ass on the line, not the demon’s. He was the one living a lie, needing to avoid unwanted attention.

No, no, Mobei-jun had to be here. The only question was where, and why. And yet he still had no answer and he had already been there for hours!

Tie-Jian-lang’s frustration only seemed to grow, as he was no closer to figuring anything out than he had been when he first snuck onto the peak. Even worse, he was running out of time. The longer he lingered about, the greater the chance of discovery - either by the peak or by Mobei-jun himself. He didn’t mind the peak so much, but trying to explain himself to Mobei-jun wasn’t very appealing. There was just no good excuse he could give for being there that wouldn’t make it look suspiciously like an ambush.

And given it was an ambush, that definitely didn’t bode well for him!

And yet the thought of giving up and leaving empty-handed was even less appealing. How would he even explain himself to Linguang-jun? He’d look - and feel - like an absolute fool! How could he leave with nothing to show for it?

It was then that the heavens seemed to decide to give the demon an answer, as comical as that thought might have been. The ox demon paused when he noticed a pair heading up the steep stairs of the mountain, passing through the bamboo on the way to the top.

Tie-Jian-lang’s eyes widened as he instantly recognized what he was seeing - the peak lord and one of his disciples were walking along, right in front of him. He didn’t know the man personally, but one look at his robes and adornments screamed his status so loudly that only the blind could not recognize him for who he was.

And while the demon’s first instinct was to flee, something about the peak lord made him stop. For such an imposing figure he cut from a distance, he walked with an uneasy limp, as if he were relying on the young girl beside him just to walk - though he was taking great pains to hide it. But the ox demon could see how unsteady the man was, both in his stance and his qi.

“Is he sick?” Tie-Jian-lang thought, narrowing his eyes. He vaguely recalled hearing something about the man, among other things, but he had never paid it too much attention. Perhaps he should have, but that was neither here nor there at this point. At the very least, he no longer felt inclined to flee just yet and instead watched as the duo continued onward without a care in the world.

The ox demon watched silently before his eyes fell on Ning Yingying, her smiling face fixated on her shizun as she guided him onward and upwards. She reminded Tie-Jian-lang of a sunflower, reaching up to the sun for warmth.

…Though, the peak lord looked more like the moon than the sun with his pasty-ass face.

Still, such a lovely little flower blooming on the peak. She was walking along so impishly, without a care in the world, just begging to be plucked. Wouldn’t she be a lovely prize for his efforts~?

At least, he thought so, until a small voice suddenly asked - wouldn’t that peak lord be a better prize?

Tie-Jian-lang was taken aback by the thought at first. Why the hell would he choose the peak lord over that cute girl!? Did his sleeves look cut to anyone!? He wasn’t even wearing sleeves!

But then, the more that he thought about it, the more he began to see the logic of it. The peak lord may have been sick, but he was still a peak lord. And not just any peak lord, but the peak lord of Qing Jing Peak - the second highest ranked peak of their entire sect. The second highest rank of the strongest cultivation sect in the world was absolutely not a position to sneeze at. The benefits to the demon’s reputation if he were to strike the man down were abundantly apparent. And while he may be sick, no, because he was sick…

…Wouldn’t this be a perfect opportunity?

Tie-Jian-lang’s eyes narrowed as his lips curled up into a sneer. Well, then. As one would say, perhaps it was time to take the bull by the horns. Or perhaps the bull should take his own horns, and not let this opportunity pass him by.

The sound of rustling bamboo alerted Shen Jiu that they were not alone. He glanced over somewhat casually, expecting to see a disciple emerging from the bamboo forest. He did not, however, expect to see a large white ox demon in Kai Jai armor emerging from the woods with a menacing grin on his face.

What was a demon doing on Qing Jing Peak!? Was this… was this the demon the Bai Zhan brutes had run into? It was still around!? How the hell had he remained on the peak with no one the wiser, after all the search efforts!? How had he avoided discovery until now!?

Why the hell was he even here in the first place!?

“W-what?” Ning Yingying squeaked as she stopped short, her face going pale. “Is that-!?”

Hearing the girl’s voice snapped Shen Jiu out of his stupor. How and why the demon was there didn’t matter, he wasn’t about to let him do whatever he liked! He was still a peak lord and this was his peak, and his disciple!

“You’ve made quite the mistake showing your face so brazenly, demon!” Shen Jiu snapped as he shoved the girl back, his other hand discarding his fan to draw Xiu Ya with a flash of qi. He pointed the sword towards the ox demon even as he glanced back instinctively towards the girl behind him. “Yingying, stay behind me!”

“Shizun, watch out!”

Shen Jiu gave a start at the sound of sheer panic in Ning Yingying’s voice, along with her equally panic-stricken expression. It was the only clue he got that he had misjudged the situation seconds before the demon’s fist rammed into his stomach.

The peak lord choked, spitting up instinctively as he hunched forward. He felt his sword fall from his limp fingers, clattering against the stone steps. Stars danced in his eyes as the world spun about him, before he realized he had been the target all along just before being hefted up like a bag of potatoes and slung over the ox demon’s shoulder.

Shen Jiu could only think of one thing as he felt himself surging upwards against his will, his body still unresponsive and reeling from the strike. The ground suddenly seemed to grow quite distant beneath them as the demon leapt away from the scene, leaving the horrified Yingying below.

WHAT. THE. HELL !?!

At that moment, the System sounded off with a notification.

[Achievement Unlocked: Damoiselle or Damoiseau? Equal Opportunity For Distress!]

Shen Jiu felt a fury surge up inside him, mingling with the vomit he was struggling to suppress from the blow to his stomach. He couldn’t psychically speak the words, but could absolutely mentally say them with the force of a volcanic explosion.

“FUCK YOU, SPIRIT!”

[ ☆~ (˃̵ڡ‘˶ ) ]

---

As Shang Qinghua left his carriage, he couldn’t help but sigh with relief and give a great stretch, basking in the warm summer sun. It made him so thankful to be free of the frigid tundra and back on his peak. Though he knew he’d change his tune once the heat of the day settled in, and he’d be missing that cold sweet kiss of frost when sweat was cascading down his back.

What could he say? He was a creature of comfort - not too warm, not too cold.

The peak lord had already discarded his winter clothing in the carriage, switching to his more appropriate summer attire. That was the problem with going between two extreme climates - if he had shown up wearing his winter garb on the blazing summer day, people would wonder if he had lost his damn mind. At least he could keep the clothes in his carriage and no one would question it, and instead merely took it as a sign of resourcefulness and preparedness for wherever his travels took him.

The hoops he had to go through to prevent people from suspecting anything was downright ridiculous, and yet he still somehow managed. He should get knowledge points just for that alone! Gold star for Shang Qinghua!

If only the System wasn’t so stingy.

Shang Qinghua cracked his neck with another sigh before he paused, noting that everyone around him seemed to be staring off into the distance at something. From the disciples and attendants to even the horses themselves, everyone was watching something with confusion and alarm.

The An Ding Peak Lord blinked before he turned his head to seek out what had caught their attention. His eyes immediately caught sight of a blurry object darting through the air, leaping away from Qing Jing Peak like a flea abandoning a shaggy dog. It was hard to tell what it was, especially from this distance, but there was one thing he did catch - the color.

White and blue, with a splash of teal.

He didn’t need eagle-eyes to know precisely what he was looking at.

“Hm,” Shang Qinghua’s expression deadpanned. No one had ever accused that dumb cow of being clever, so he didn’t need to go to such extreme efforts to disprove it. It was almost as if he had taken personal offense to the suggestion that he wasn’t a total moron, and needed to show otherwise.

Well, he certainly accomplished that! No one would dare accuse him of being even remotely intelligent ever again.

The An Ding Peak Lord watched, as did all the others around him and most likely those on the other peaks as well, while the blur surged through the sky, parkouring among the various rock formations that made up the landscape between peaks before disappearing into the dense woods at the foot of the mountain.

“It seems that I stand corrected, dear System,” Shang Qinghua said dryly. “That description of yours proved to be quite apt after all.”

[ (ಽ ͡ಸ ͜ʖ ಸ)ಽ ]

Chapter Text

All things considered, Tie-Jian-lang thought the whole excursion had gone rather well. It would’ve been better if he had found Mobei-jun, but at least he wasn’t walking away empty-handed. Who knows? Maybe he should have a pet Peak Lord, just like that ice brat! Wouldn’t that be hilarious?

Of course, that thought ended the moment he realized that his captive was biting him.

Tie-Jian-lang turned his head to eye Shen Jiu as the man was doing his best to dig his teeth into the ox demon’s arm, though the hide was proving far too tough to puncture.

“Oi,” Tie-Jian-lang said. “That’s not going to work, you-”

The demon was promptly interrupted by the scum villain’s foot right in his face, the force of the strike enough to throw his head backwards and cause small spots to dance in his vision. Tie-Jian-lang blinked several times to clear his sight before he bristled and promptly swung his captive upward, causing Shen Jiu to let out a startled yelp, before slamming him downward into the ground.

Shen Jiu let out a cry of pain before he crumbled into a heap on the ground, his head beginning to spin. He barely had a moment to roll onto his back, grimacing, before the demon moved to slam his hoof foot into the human’s chest and press downward. The peak lord choked and reached up to grasp at the demon’s ankles. He wasn’t sure how his ribs hadn’t shattered by this point, but it definitely felt like it would only be a matter of time if the ox demon kept the pressure up.

Tie-Jian-lang smirked as he leaned forward to sneer at his captive. “Resorting to biting and clawing? I’d expect that from a rat, not a peak lord. Where’s your face, trash?”

Shen Jiu grit his teeth as he glared up at the demon, both his hands gripping at the hoof. His lips curled up into a snarl before he swiftly shot his foot up again, aiming to kick some rocky mountain oysters only for the bull ox to shift out of the way, then press down harder on the pinned man’s chest.

“It would seem that you enjoy digging your grave with your own hands,” Tie-Jian-lang said with a quirk of his eyebrow. “That eager to die, are you?”

Shen Jiu hissed through his teeth as he found it difficult to breathe with the pressure the demon was applying to his chest. He was running out of time, with both the air in his lungs and the demon’s patience running out with each passing second. “D-damn it…”

“I could say the same about you, demon!”

Tie-Jian-lang looked up just in time to receive yet another foot to the face. The demon’s head jerked back slightly from the momentum, and his look of surprise quickly shifted to that of annoyance when the Bai Zhan disciple used his face as a launch pad to propel himself a safe distance back.

The ox demon slowly turned his head to stare at the Bai Zhan disciple, as well as the other two that swiftly joined the first’s side. All of them had drawn their swords and assumed battle stances, crouching in preparation of their next attack.

Tie-Jian-lang snorted through his nose, still standing perfectly still with his hoof on Shen Jiu’s chest, before he flicked his right hand out. With a burst of demonic qi, a long four-cornered iron rod appeared. He grasped the ornate handle before twirling the tie jian like a baton.

“Normally, I don’t play with little children. Too busy with adult work, as you might imagine,” Tie-Jian-lang with a sneer. “But if you boys are that eager for a spanking, who am I to say no?”

Shen Jiu grunted, struggling uselessly as the demon kept his hoof firmly planted to keep him from escaping. He side-eyed the iron rod, immediately recognizing it as a sword breaker weapon. If the disciples weren’t careful, their swords would be collateral damage.

But considering the demon no doubt meant to kill them, that was probably the least of their concerns. Assuming, of course, that the Bai Zhan brutes could even conceive the possibility that they might lose. And considering this was most likely the demon who had trounced them last time, that was merely more evidence of their empty headedness.

Just like their peak lord!

Still, he wasn’t just going to stand there - or rather, lie there - and let it happen. The scum villain pushed against the hoof, which didn’t budge in the slightest, and looked over in the direction of the three disciples. “C-careful! B-be careful! He will break your s-swords and-!”

Tie-Jian-lang applied a sharp jab of pressure, cutting off the peak lord and making him cough and gasp for air. “Oi. Don’t interrupt. Let the boys figure these things out for themselves. It’s the only way they’ll learn.”

Shen Jiu shot the demon a glare. “A-and what will they learn if they are dead!?”

Tie-Jian-lang flashed his captive a sharp grin. “A very valuable lesson.”

“You…!” the first Bai Zhan disciple seethed, the young man gripping his sword tightly as if he were wringing the demon’s neck. “Don’t look down on Bai Zhan Peak just because you got the better of us once!”

“Hm?” the ox demon tilted his head slightly to look at the disciple, then smirked. While he didn’t understand the accusation, he wasn’t one to get lost in the details when there was a fight to be had. Generally speaking, all matters were usually resolved by the time the blood had finished spilling across the ground. “Well, it’s a bit hard to avoid looking down on you when you’re so short and scrawny. Blame your mother and father for that.”

“Bastard!” the disciple snarled before he lunged forward to swing his blade.

Tie-Jian-lang didn’t even move to dodge, instead bringing his iron rod down with a crack - right on the boy’s sword and even the hand that held it. Both blade and bone shattered upon impact, eliciting a pained scream from the attacking Bai Zhan Peak disciple.

Shen Jiu cringed and watched helplessly as the disciple fell over onto the ground, clutching his hand. He was more than a little afraid that the demon would take the chance to cave the boy’s skull in.

Fortunately, the other disciples seemed to have similar fears which prompted the closest one to snatch his brethren from his crumbled heap on the ground and yank him to safety just as the ox demon raised his iron rod to strike. His target now out of reach, Tie-Jian-lang gave his iron rod a little twirl instead before resting it against his shoulder.

“Come on, boys,” the ox demon chided, giving his shoulder a small tap with his weapon. “This was supposed to be a rescue effort, wasn’t it? At this rate, who’s going to rescue you?”

At that moment, his head gave a small jerk forward when a foot suddenly smacked into the backside of his skill. Tie-Jian-lang paused before his expression deadpanned as he felt yet another person use his head as a springboard, and he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder.

The ox demon’s eyes immediately feasted on the beautiful visage of Liu Mingyan, the legendary willow of Xian Shu Peak. Even with her veil obstructing half her face, her beauty shone clearly through. The female disciple quickly took on her own battle stance, her sword ready in hand, as she glared at the demon. While she had not yet gotten her personal sword from Wan Jian Peak, her sword still glistened in the sun with a menace second only to the malice in her eyes.

Tie-Jian-lang blinked once, twice, and a third time before his eyebrows shot straight up. “...I was fairly angry. But now? Not so much.”

Shen Jiu’s face twisted with disgust and revulsion as he could see the way the demon’s eyes were drinking in the view like a drunkard at a bar. “Filthy lech!”

“Ironic, considering what I’ve heard about you,” Tie-Jian-lang said, though he didn’t once tear his eyes away from Liu Mingyan.

Shen Jiu hissed in anger and pounded his fist against Tie-Jian-lang’s ankle. “Say that again, beast!”

Tie-Jian-lang ignored Shen Jiu and instead flashed the beautiful disciple a smile. “Now, not to say I’m not thrilled to see you, but I do have to wonder where all these interruptions are coming from. It’s all more than a little coincidental.”

Liu Mingyan took her own turn to deadpan, though it was only hinted at by the crease of her brow. “You announced both your presence and your intentions to all of Cang Qiong Mountain, demon. There wasn’t a pair of eyes that didn’t see you leaping away from Qing Jing Peak with your quarry, and there won’t be a single sword not singing for your blood,” the disciple took that moment to twirl her sword before raising it up, ready to strike. “I was simply among the first to arrive!”

“...Oh,” Tie-Jian-lang said after a moment’s silence. “Well. That’s a bit inconvenient.”

The demon couldn’t help but wonder if Mobei-jun’s eyes weren’t among those that saw him. And if he was, Tie-Jian-lang would have a lot of explaining to do when he got back. He’d have to think of something convincing, or convincing enough that the ice king couldn’t outright call him a liar.

Oh well, that was future Tie-Jian-lang’s problem.

“Well, then!” the ox demon said, brightly. “Looks like this is your chance, girl! If you manage to take me out, you’ll earn quite a name for yourself! You couldn’t possibly allow this opportunity to pass you by, now could you?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Shen Jiu snapped. “He’s just trying to bait you! Get out of here and go find Liu-!” The scum villain was cut off again by the hoof pushing down on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

“What - did - I - tell - you?” Tie-Jian-lang asked, pumping his foot up and down to emphasize each word. “Do you want to die?”

Shen Jiu could only cough up a little blood as he dug his fingers into the ox’s ankles, his nails unable to even scratch the demon’s thick hide. He gathered the spit and blood pooling in his mouth before spitting it up at the ox demon’s face, with as much venom as he could muster. “F-fuck you…!”

While the projectile couldn’t get enough air to reach its target, the meaning was still very much understood. Tie-Jian-lang’s cheek twitched before a fire sparked in his eyes, and his lips curled up in a snarl. He swiftly moved forward with every intent of caving the scum villain’s chest in with a mighty stomp.

However, he never got that far, and instead found himself with a face full of splinters and debris as a wooden sword smashed solidly against his face. The momentum of the strike was far beyond what he was expecting, forcing the ox demon to stumble back, before he managed to catch himself. He grimaced as he wiped the wood shrapnel from his face, clearing his eyes only to see a newcomer had snatched Shen Jiu from under his hoof.

And by the gods, if looks could kill, he would truly be dead at that very moment.

Luo Binghe’s expression was nothing less than murderous, his eyes glistening with a hatred that could barely be contained. He half held, half shielded the scum villain with one arm, the other clenching and unclenching with barely restrained fury. That fury was the source of his strike, which had forced the demon back while simultaneously detonating his practice sword.

If only he had Xin Mo, or even Zheng Yang! If he only had a real sword, a real weapon, then the bastard would have been a pile of paste on the ground. Little more than manure for the grass and wildflowers! But he wasn’t about to let that stop him from breaking that cow’s neck!

Bingge recognized the ox demon as one of Mobei-jun’s lackeys, or rather a traitor pretending to be a lackey. He had never really cared too much, he made a point of not getting overly involved in Mobei-jun’s business unless specifically asked to - such as protecting him during his ascension. But here, and now? That consideration was gone, like a puff of smoke. If Mobei-jun had wanted to keep his cow around for longer, he should’ve kept a better rein on him!

Shen Jiu gasped for breath as he clung to Bingge’s shoulder, his legs wobbling beneath him as the disciple supported his shizun. He weakly reached up to wipe away the blood from his mouth, glaring at the ox demon, before he glanced back to see Ning Yingying had followed after her shidi - no doubt having alerted him to the attack - and was swiftly approaching.

“Shizun!” Yingying asked through her tears as she made to grab at her shizun’s back, clutching his robes. “Are you alright!?”

“Y-Yingying, stay back,” Shen Jiu managed to say, despite the tremble in his voice. He shifted his attention back to Binghe, his expression fierce. “A-and you too, boy! T-that beast is much stronger than the demon you fought before!”

Bingge paused at that as he felt a slight twinge in his heart at the scum villain calling someone else a beast. It wasn’t exactly the most endearing nickname, but it still had been his, hadn’t it!? So what was the scum doing using it for some random cow!?

[ ( ｰ̀εｰ́ ) ]

[ -50 Satisfaction points.]

Shen Jiu gave a start at that, his eyes widening. “What? What!? What nonsense is this, Spirit!? Why are you deducting points so suddenly!?”

Tie-Jian-lang steadied himself on his feet as he dusted away the last bit of wood from his cheek. He glanced over at the two Bai Zhan Peak disciples, then the beautiful Liu Mingyan, before returning his attention to Binghe. He could see the hatred in all of their eyes, though impotent it might have been. The fact that they didn’t seem willing to accept how impotent it was felt a little endearing, like angry chicks screeching at a snake to defend their mother hen. They’d still make a nice snack before dinner, at the very least!

Still, something about the newcomer bothered him. Something felt familiar, dangerously so, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. Not in a way that he felt like he personally knew the boy, but more that the boy had a feel about him that felt overly familiar. Something that didn’t feel right for a human child.  The boy was human, wasn’t he?

Whatever. It didn’t matter. The boy was about to be dead, and corpses were all the same to an undertaker.

Tie-Jian-lang raised his tie jian, his expression menacing as he loomed over the glowering disciple. Bingge held the demon’s stare in open defiance, daring the cow to make the first strike. The ox’s cheek twitched again and he decided to grant the boy his wish.

At least, he would have, if something in the back of his mind told him to move - right now. Trusting his instincts, the demon swiftly jerked to the side, turning about just in time to narrowly miss the sharp edge of Cheng Luan. Tie-Jian-lang’s eyes widened as the tip sliced the top of his snout, a spray of blood splattering from the cut, as Liu Qingge’s furious face slid into view.

The War God of Bai Zhan had arrived.

“Shit!” Tie-Jian-lang hissed before he swung his iron rod about, attempting to smash the peak lord’s pretty face in. “Shit, shit!”

Liu Qingge leaned back so that the weapon missed his face, though only barely as he didn’t want to put too much distance between himself and his enemy. Once the iron rod had whiffed past, he quickly stabbed forward with his sword, aiming for the demon’s throat.

Tie-Jian-lang himself leaned back, similar to how Liu Qingge had dodged, so that his throat avoided the blade. He took the opportunity to leap backwards, increasing the distance between himself and his attacker. He broke into a half sprint, though it proved to be a fairly fruitless effort as Liu Qingge chased right after him without hesitation.

Bingge watched the exchange with growing darkness in his heart. This should be his kill, not that bastard’s! He was the one that was wronged, he was the one who should protect his shizun! No one else, absolutely no one else!

Gritting his teeth, Luo Binghe made to move forward, only to stop briefly when he felt Shen Jiu dig his fingers into his robes. He stopped and turned his head slightly, his fury intensifying at the audacity of someone - especially the scum villain - attempting to deprive of his due.

Though those dark feelings immediately disappeared into the aether the very second he saw the panic and concern on his scum villain’s face, clear as day and undeniable.

“No! No!” Shen Jiu said, his expression wild with hysteria. “No - no - no!”

Bingge stared at Shen Jiu’s face before his expression softened and he reached over to grasp his shizun’s hands gently. “Shizun… I will be careful. I promise.”

[ ( ˘ ³˘) ]

[+100 Satisfaction Points!]

“Eh? What?’ Shen Jiu blinked, startled by the System’s notifications. It gave Binghe a chance to swiftly remove the scum villain’s hands from his robes, freeing himself. Realizing what had happened, Shen Jiu gave a start. “Wait, no!” Shen Jiu yelped as he tried to regain his grasp on the beast, only for the boy to slip away too quickly, leaving him grasping at air. “You’re not ready, you’re not ready-!”

“I’ll show you, Shizun!” Bingge called back as he rushed forward, chasing to catch up with Liu Qingge and Tie-Jian-lang. “I’ll protect you!”

“Damn it, boy!” Shen Jiu yelled after the retreating beast, struggling to follow only to collapse to his knees. Even worse, the two uninjured Bai Zhan Peak disciples had chosen to follow after the beast, leaving their comrade behind with the peak lord and Yingying. “Beast! Don’t you dare-!”

[+100 Satisfaction Points!]

“Spirit!” Shen Jiu shrieked, swinging his fists around at the ephemeral screen. “I demand a grading rubric for your ridiculous point system!”

“A-Luo, be careful!” Yingying called out as she took the disciple’s place in helping support their shizun, which prompted a raised fist from the boy as a response. She glanced over to see Liu Mingyan coming over to her side, taking a defensive position in front of her and the injured peak lord. The two shared a nod before looking back the way the demon had retreated, his pursuers hot on his hooves.

Liu Qingge was relentless. He refused to allow the demon a chance to gain any distance between them, matching him step for step. He continued to dodge the iron rod, shifting to the left or right as necessary, so that the weapon would closely fly by him, before attempting to return the strike in one of the unarmored areas on the demon’s body.

Quite frankly, it was becoming quite the pain in Tie-Jian-lang’s ass. It didn’t help that blood was gushing from his snout, though the injury itself wasn’t that deep - it was simply the nature of face wounds. Still, it gave him enough blood that he could swipe up some in his hand before flinging it at the war god.

Rather than recoil from the blood like others would, Liu Qingge ignored the fluid as it splattered against his own face and instead dove forward to strike again. Tie-Jian-lang grit his teeth as he swerved away, the blade hitting the Kai Jia near his shoulder and barely saving his neck.

“Hah!” Tie-Jian-lang said, even as he was moving backwards to put distance between them. “Not afraid of a little blood, are you? Even on that pretty face of yours?”

“There will be much more of your blood on me soon enough,” Liu Qingge said, his voice like ice as he moved after the demon.

“Tch,” Tie-Jian-lang clucked his tongue and was about to respond when someone solidly kicked at the back of his knee, causing it to buckle forward. The ox let out a yelp as he fell backwards, narrowly avoiding Liu Qingge’s sword, when he briefly caught a glimpse of Luo Bingge as the disciple drew back from his well-aimed kick.

The ox demon stumbled to catch himself, then jumped to the side as Liu Qingge lunged for him again. Rather than escaping the War God, he found himself running right into Bingge, who whipped his foot around to strike at his leg once more in an attempt to make him fall. The demon was able to catch a glimpse of the vicious smirk on the boy’s face as he nearly tumbled, his hooves fumbling for purchase.

That snot-nosed little bastard!

“Stay out of this!” Tie-Jian-lang snapped as he swung the iron rod around down on Bingge, intending to cave the boy’s face in.

Instead, Bingge caught the tie jian with his bare hands. The demon froze, his expression growing blank, as the disciple’s bones in his hands didn’t instantly turn to dust. Instead, they held like steel as the boy gripped the iron rod. The disciple took advantage of the stunned ox demon’s shock and wretched the weapon away, bringing it back over his head before swinging about to strike Tie-Jian-lang in the face.

Tie-Jian-lang felt his jaw shatter, blood gushing from his mouth. He barely had a chance to register what was happening, his mind unable to comprehend the ongoing events. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t ever have a chance to understand as Liu Qingge shoved his blade through the ox demon’s face at that moment, Cheng Luan easily sliding through his hide before bursting out the back of his skull.

The ox demon fell to the ground in a crumpled heap just as Qi Qingqi, Mu Qingfang, and Shang Qinghua arrived from different directions, flying in on their swords. The first two peak lords looked ready for battle while Shang Qinghua didn’t look particularly enthused to be there - like he was merely showing up for appearance’s sake but had no actual interest in contributing.

Not that anyone actually expected An Ding Peak to contribute.

As Qi Qingqi and Mu Qingfang hopped off their swords to take battle stances, they were quickly taken aback, not just by the sight of the demon but the fact that the battle had just ended. Shang Qinghua tilted his head and let out a hum as he put his sword away, watching as Liu Qingge leaned forward to step on the ox’s chest for leverage as he yanked his sword out of Tie-Jian-lang’s skull.

“Well,” Qi Qingqi said as she put her sword away. “I suppose we were too slow to help.”

“Or Liu-shidi is just too fast~!” Shang Qinghua said, cheerfully. “But can you really expect anything less from the War God of Bai Zhan?”

Liu Qingge made a small noise of acknowledgement as he looked down at the dead demon before glancing towards Bingge, who glared down at Tie-Jian-lang. The boy was still holding the demon’s tie jian, though his hand clutching the hilt was shaking with an anger that even death hadn’t seemed to cool.

“Is anyone injured?” Mu Qingfang asked. “Where is Shen Qingqiu?”

“Luo Binghe!”

Bingge stopped and looked up to see Shen Jiu stumbling towards them, with Ning Yingying helping him walk. The man’s movements were weak, his face pale as he kept coughing, with more than a little blood than the disciple felt comfortable with. Liu Mingyan was with them, following protectively, though her posture relaxed considerably once she saw the corpse formerly known as Tie-Jian-lang.

Swiftly, the disciple rushed over towards his shizun, so as to stop the man from trying to force himself any further. “Shizun!”

“Y-you!” Shen Jiu seethed as he fumbled to grab at Luo Binghe, securing him once more. “You damn… damn you! You-!” He fumbled his hands along the boy’s body, checking for injuries. “Where are you hurt!? Where!?”

[+100 Satisfaction Points!]

Shen Jiu paused as he felt a sudden sense of deja vu. He frowned, then looked up to see the beast’s smiling face, which caused the sense to grow even stronger. “Eh?”

“I’m not hurt, Shizun,” Bingge said, brightly. “This one apologies for worrying you.”

“Eh?” Shen Jiu gave a small blink, his anger momentarily quelled. He looked down to see his disciple holding the bastard cow’s weapon, then turned his head to see the ox’s corpse, where Liu Qingge was still standing over it. “...Oh.”

“Shen-shixiong!” Mu Qingfang said as he moved to the injured man’s side. Noting the blood around Shen Jiu’s mouth, he grimaced before taking hold of the man’s shoulders. “Help me get him back immediately!”

“Ah,” Shen Jiu sounded more than a little dazed. He hadn’t expected it to end so quickly, let alone with the boy seemingly not harmed at all. Once again, he had underestimated just how impossibly strong the beast was, with the beast only too happy to exceed those expectations.

The scum had apparently worked himself into a frenzy over nothing. His chest was aching, his lungs screaming in protest of the abuse he had just endured. He had forced himself to chase after the brute and beast and had nothing to show for it. He could’ve just stayed put and everything would’ve been fine!?

Besides, wouldn’t it have been better if the boy had been injured? He certainly couldn’t be blamed if the demon had killed the beast, could he? It would have solved a lot of his problems, that’s for damn sure! Why had he been so worried? Why had he pushed himself so hard? He just didn’t have an answer for that.

Shen Jiu became vaguely aware that the beast was manhandling him again, trying to escort him back to Qing Jing Peak. He didn’t even care anymore and sagged against the boy, forcing the disciple to carry most of his weight as he just didn’t have the strength anymore.

[ (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵) ]

[+100 Satisfaction Points!]

“Spirit,” Shen Jiu said, weakly. “Kindly jump off a cliff and die.”

Shang Qinghua couldn’t have been happier as he watched the situation unfold in front of him. The scene was quite literally everything he had hoped for. Tie-Jian-lang was bleeding profusely on the ground with a giant hole in his face, which was a massive improvement, while a satisfied Liu Qingge looked on.

Well, he assumed Liu Qingge was satisfied. The man was hard to read as he had, like, only three facial expressions. But at the very least, the tension seemed to be gone from the war god’s posture, and his face had shifted to his more neutral-angry face instead of his previous angry-angry face. He and his two uninjured disciples were fussing over the dead cow, with the third hobbling over to join while clutching his injured hand. They all were discussing things like ‘avenging’ and ‘restoring face’ so it seemed the sacrificial cow had done its job.

But best of all, he had accomplished yet another of his goals - a three-for-one, as it were. Everyone was so busy fussing over either the corpse or the injured Shen Jiu that no one else had noticed they had an audience. Even he might not have noticed, if he hadn’t felt the slight drop in temperature - barely perceivable, but he was familiar enough with it to know what it meant.

Turning his head slightly, he noticed Mobei-jun watching from the shadows. The Peak Lord didn’t know how much the demon had seen, but it clearly had been enough judging by the way the ice king was staring at Luo Binghe.

The notification from his System confirmed Shang Qinghua’s thoughts.

[Achievement Unlocked: A Fateful Coincidence!]

“System,” Shang Qinghua said, with a chuckle. “Can you really call it a coincidence when you strong-armed me into making it happen?”

[  ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭  ]

“Yes, yes, true enough,” Shang Qinghua said, sighing as he shook his head before he gave a shrug of his own. “Don’t sweat the details, hm? Story of my life.”

Besides, in the end, it didn’t really matter. It was going to happen one way or another, he was merely speeding up the process. There was no doubt that Luo Binghe and Mobei-Jun were going to meet, so the exact details were largely irrelevant. All it meant was that his schedule was about to become considerably more hectic. But he would rise to the challenge and adjust accordingly, as to be expected of the lord of An Ding Peak.

After all, he didn’t have a choice, did he?

Chapter Text

He wasn’t sure how or why it had happened, but it seemed that Shen Jiu was dreaming again. The shizun couldn’t even pinpoint the moment where he had slipped away from the waking into the unwaking world, only that one moment he was in his bedroom being fussed over by Mu Qingfang, and the next he was standing in a forest of lush bamboo, a faint breeze drifting over him and rustling the leaves so gently.

Shen Jiu sighed. It seemed it was that time again. He half expected it, given everything that had happened, and he honestly wasn’t particularly upset about it.

In fact, he rather felt like he wanted to see Shen Yuan, right that moment.

As if in response to his thoughts, the sound of a guqin being played reached his ears. The scum villain perked and listened to the elegant, solemn string music before turning to face the direction it seemed to be coming from. He followed after the beautiful sounds, heading deeper into the bamboo forest, before he arrived at a little pavilion by a large lake full of lotus blossoms.

Sitting in the center of the pavilion, playing the guqin, was Shen Yuan.

Shen Jiu tilted his head as he watched. There was something a bit disorienting to see his own face so gentle and full of peace. It was an expression he had certainly never seen in his own reflection, nor had he ever felt it. He supposed that was just the boon that had been bestowed upon his other self - his demons forgotten, there was nothing left to torment him.

The scum villain didn’t know if he would have considered that to be a good thing or a bad thing. The other man certainly looked peaceful enough, but remembering seemed far better than forgetting, and the uncertainty that surely would have come with not knowing or understanding where he had come from. After all, just because one didn’t remember the monsters in the dark lying in wait to devour them, that didn’t mean the monsters ceased to exist.

But seeing Shen Yuan as he was in that moment, Shen Jiu found himself feeling a little jealous.

Wordlessly, Shen Jiu moved over to the pavilion where his counterpart was playing. He carefully sat down beside the other man, who briefly glanced at him to acknowledge his presence before returning to playing the instrument. The scum villain then closed his eyes to listen.

The two Immortal Masters sat together without saying a word for several long moments, with only the sounds of the guqin filling the air. Eternity seemed to stretch peacefully onward until Shen Yuan finally finished his song, allowing the final note to linger before going still, the ensuing silence suddenly seeming that much more poignant.

“You were slightly off-key,” Shen Jiu said, not opening his eyes.

Shen Yuan facefaulted before he turned to look at Shen Jiu, a wry grin on his face. “Of course you would notice that.”

Shen Jiu gave the tiniest hint of a smirk in response.

Shen Yuan shook his head, his grin still on his face, before he looked out across the still water. It was a very tranquil setting, one meant to promote calmness - both spiritually and physically. And clearly, this setting was specifically chosen by the System for a reason.

“If our surroundings are anything to go by, it would seem that even more has happened since we last talked,” Shen Yuan said, with a sigh. Going over in his head the timeline Shen Jiu was currently experiencing, their previous conversations, and his knowledge of the literature, one thing immediately came to mind. “Is it Liu Qingge?”

“No,” Shen Jiu said, then paused. “Yes, and no. No, his qi deviation has not happened yet. However… he has been patrolling Qing Jing Peak incessantly. To the point that I have seen his face more these past few weeks than I have in the years leading up to this point.”

Shen Yuan blinked at that. “Weeks?” At the scum villain’s furrowed brow, the transmigrator shook his head. “It has scarcely been a day since we last spoke, at least from my perspective. Quite frankly, it feels like every time I go to bed, I am greeted by this scenery - and you with some new development.”

Shen Jiu was silent for several moments as he mulled over his counterpart’s words. It seemed to imply that the two of them were operating on completely different scales of time, for his weeks to translate to mere days for the other scum villain. And he certainly had no reason to doubt Shen Yuan’s words, so he had to take them at face value.

Even if that value was utterly ridiculous. But then the entire situation was utterly ridiculous from the very start. Complaining now would be like splitting hairs - he could go on forever nitpicking all these nonsensical details!

Shen Yuan had come to the same conclusion as Shen Jiu, but from a different angle. Given the situation, it seemed that he was operating under the ‘current’ time - which made sense, given that Shen Jiu’s world had reverted back to a previous state for whatever reason. The scum villain was essentially playing ‘catch up’, and thus was on a completely different time scale than his own. It stood to reason that they’d become synced once that world had caught back up with his world, but only time - heh - would tell.

If Proud Immortal Demon Way hadn’t been a clusterfuck of plot holes and hand-waved conveniences before, it sure as hell was one now!

“I see,” Shen Jiu said with a weary sigh. “Well, unfortunately, until demons stop trying to kidnap me, you will be seeing much more of me for the time being.”

Shen Yuan’s expression nearly facefaulted before he caught himself. Still, he couldn’t help but blurt out the single word that came to mind. “Again!?”

In hindsight, he probably should’ve expected that the shenanigans wouldn’t stop. They were, after all, wife plots. And as the name suggested, there were as many plots as there had been wives. But surely, System, you could’ve abandoned a couple of them now that fish was on the menu instead of meat? Surely!?

How was he supposed to reform the scum villain if he was spending most of his life being kidnapped!?

“Yes, again,” Shen Jiu said, with a scowl. “Though the beast and brute managed to kill it before it could do any lasting damage. Except for the remnants of my face, scattered across the winds of Cang Qiong Mountain.”

Shen Yuan was immediately trolling through his memories of all the wife plots he could remember, and the minor antagonists involved. Bingge had quite the rogue gallery, ever plentiful cannon fodder for his conquests. “Which demon was it this time?”

“A white ox demon,” Shen Jiu said. “We never got his name, but he wielded a tie jian.”

Shen Yuan’s expression went blank. Who the hell was that?!

“System,” Shen Yuan said. “You have more than enough cannon fodder to choose from. There’s no reason for you to dredge up something from the bottom of your shoe when Airplane-bro already provided you with a cornucopia of choices!”

Judging by the irritated expression on Shen Yuan’s face, Shen Jiu could safely surmise that the other shizun was arguing with his spirit. He could only imagine it was about him, given the timing of said argument. The idea made him feel a little happy, though he couldn’t explain why. Perhaps it was simply the fact that it was gratifying that someone else was indignant on his behalf. It wasn’t something that happened often.

Shen Jiu looked down at the guqin in his counterpart’s lap. He was silent for several moments before he reached over to take the instrument into his own lap, interrupting whatever argument Shen Yuan had been in the middle of.

Shen Yuan turned his head to watch the scum villain as the man tuned the instrument slightly, plucking at the strings to check his work. “Did you not want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly, no,” Shen Jiu admitted, softly. “For the moment, I don’t want to talk about anything. I simply… want everything to stop, just for the moment. So that I can actually breathe.”

Shen Yuan considered the other man’s words before a soft smile appeared on his face. “Well, that’s fine, then. It is just as important to take a moment to rest as it is to move forward.”

Shen Jiu gave a small nod as he began playing, the exact same song that his counterpart had. As his fingers slid over the strings, he could see the other shizun getting comfortable beside him to listen just as the scum villain had before. A small smile played on Shen Jiu’s lips, just as his fingers played the solemn music for his audience.

For the first time in a long while, he felt calm - at peace. Even though a storm was raging on in the outside world, in this place, there was nothing but serenity. It gave him a moment to relax, to allow the tension to leave his body, and not feel so constantly on edge.

And with Shen Yuan there, offering him silent support with his mere presence, he felt considerably less alone. It was a feeling he was most certainly not used to, but it was a pleasant one. He hated to admit it, but it seemed the spirit was right in sending him to this place. A brief moment of peace, that was all he needed.

Even if that peace was just a dream.

---

Plop. Plop. Plop.

Shen Jiu grimaced, shifting slightly in bed as his eyes wavered between remaining closed or opening. Something small was hitting his face, though a bit erratically. First on his forehead, then his cheek, then by his ear. When he felt something bounce off his nose, the scum villain couldn’t remain asleep any longer.

Groggily, Shen Jiu opened his eyes to see that he was in his bedroom once again. He paused, then glanced to see what had hit him only to find several melon seeds, both on his bed and on his chest from when their aim had been less than true. More than a little confused, the scum villain sat up and looked around in bewilderment before he noticed someone else was in the room.

Sitting at the table, holding a pouch of melon seeds, was Shang Qinghua.

“Good morning, shidi~!” Shang Qinghua said cheerfully before he popped a few of his seeds in his mouth. “I was wondering when you were going to wake-”

The An Ding Peak Lord quickly moved his head to the side, dodging the hairbrush that Shen Jiu had yanked off the nearby dresser to throw at him. The traitor turned his head to see the hairbrush clatter off the wall, having missed its target. He then returned his attention back to the scum villain, who had just tried to follow up the brush with his pillow only for it to flop unceremoniously halfway to the table.

“Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Shang Qinghua said. When he saw Shen Jiu fumbling for something else to throw, the traitor clucked his tongue. “Shidi, if you keep throwing things at me, I’ll leave and take them with me.”

“Leave, then, bastard!” Shen Jiu snarled, gripping the nightstand to steady himself as he leaned over to grab his coronet from where it lay on the armoire. It might not be the most aerodynamic of objects, but it might poke the bastard’s eye out if he threw it hard enough!

“Even though I came all this way to give you news on the latest developments regarding Liu Qingge’s impending qi deviation?” Shang Qinghua asked, oh-so innocently. His smile widened when he saw the scum villain freeze, his hand half cocked to toss his hair ornament. “It’s just as I told you before, shidi. I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy, and here I am, being the ever helpful source of information for the ever socially reclusive Shen Qingqiu.”

Shen Jiu hesitated before he lowered his arm, scowling. “What have you heard?”

“The other peak lords had a meeting to discuss recent events,” Shang Qinghua said with an idle twirl of his hand. “Minus you, of course.”

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched but he said nothing, his jaw clenching.

“With a corpse in hand, everyone feels quite a bit better about the safety of the peaks, though they’re going to continue with the patrols regardless,” Shang Qinghua said. “A bit of a pain in the ass for me, let me tell you. Your demon shenanigans have vastly inconvenienced me, shidi, and it looks like it’s going to become a permanent fixture in my future plans.”

“I weep for you,” Shen Jiu said dryly. “So everyone is satisfied, then? They’re certain this demon is the same one that attacked the Bai Zhan disciples?”

“Mostly,” Shang Qinghua said with a shrug.

“...’Mostly’?” Shen Jiu repeated, with a blink.

“Oh, Liu-shidi has some doubts, so he’s not entirely convinced that the demon he killed was the one initially targeting you,” Shang Qinghua said with a sigh. “But not enough doubts to really argue the point too much. I mean, it was still a demon that was targeting you and thus needed to die, but he’s reluctant to consider the matter truly resolved.”

Shen Jiu was stunned by that admission. If Liu Qingge was having doubts, it suddenly felt like he should also question the situation a bit more. If the brute, who never took too much time to think about anything, had noticed amiss then perhaps there was reason enough to at least consider it. “Did he say why?”

“For one, the demon was white,” Shang Qinghua said as he popped some seeds in his mouth. “Pure white. How the hell did his disciples not see a giant white cow in the darkness?”

Shen Jiu frowned.

“There was an argument that perhaps he wore more of that dark armor of his, covering his body to hide better at night, and he just didn’t see a point in going that far in broad daylight,” Shang Qinghua continued. “And it’s entirely possible. Not that we can ask him, all things considered…”

“He was noticeable enough in broad daylight, simply from his own actions,” Shen Jiu muttered. “He didn’t seem particularly concerned with subterfuge…”

“But he did manage to avoid detection until he finally made his move against you,” Shang Qinghua said as he pointed at the scum villain. “None of the patrols saw him sneak back onto Qing Jing Peak, assuming he hadn’t been hiding there this whole time.”

“That’s true,” Shen Jiu admitted, slowly. Be it hiding on the peak or slithering in through the cracks of their defenses, the demon had still managed to avoid detection and ambush the scum villain. Had he simply not cared anymore once he got his hands - or hooves - on his target?

“Secondly, his temperament didn’t seem quite right,” Shang Qinghua said. “He didn’t seem the type to beat those boys up and then leave them alive. Admittedly, he hadn’t killed anyone by the time Liu-shidi arrived, but we can’t say for certain it was for lack of trying. At the very least, from what the disciples said, he didn’t seem to be taking anyone seriously before our shidi ruined his good time. Who knows how many bodies there would’ve been if he had?”

Shen Jiu couldn’t really argue that point, either. The demon had been taking his dear, sweet time in killing the peak lord. Logically, he should have just killed Shen Jiu and been done with it. Why did he even bother to kidnap the man, when he could have simply crushed his skull? That ambushing punch alone could have broken him in half if the demon had really meant to kill him, instead of simply knocking the wind out of him.

It could’ve been that he was merely drawing the whole situation out, treating it like a game, until the scum villain had pushed the demon’s temper too far and prompted his near fatal chest-caving. Perhaps the demon had become a little too cocky after having gotten away with the previous ambush without incident, which resulted in his death.

“The other peak lords suspect Liu-shidi is just being his usual battle-obsessed self,” Shang Qinghua said, chuckling. “He is the War God of Bai Zhan Peak, after all. I suppose it would take more than a single demon to fully sate that bloodlust of his.”

“Do you think it is the same demon?” Shen Jiu asked, cautiously.

“Who can say?” Shang Qinghua answered, with a smile. “It was a demon, it was hiding in the bamboo grove, and it did attack you. Just how many demons are out there wanting your blood, and specifically your blood?”

Shen Jiu went quiet. He could only think of one demon, and that demon didn’t exist at this point and time. And, if he did as he was supposed to, it never would.

“Either way, Liu-shidi was convinced to resume his cultivation training, with the other Peak Lords promising to keep an eye on you,” Shang Qinghua said, then gave the scum villain a sly grin. “Isn’t that just something? Just so wholesome and heartwarming? Who ever thought Liu-shidi would be so concerned about Shen Qingqiu’s well-being like that? Though knowing you, the mere thought probably makes you want to vomit.”

Shen Jiu couldn’t deny that his stomach was churning a bit at the thought that everyone considered him so helpless as to need constant coddling - even more so that Liu Qingge was chief among them. And having that fact called out didn’t help, nor did the knowledge that he couldn’t in good faith disagree with their concerns.

And worse yet, his condition hadn’t improved in the slightest. Not that it had much of a chance to, with him being harassed by demons every which way he turned. And now with Liu Qingge’s qi deviation on the horizon, he was not in a particularly good position to do anything about it!

But he damn well intended to try.

“So you believe it is still going to happen, then,” Shen Jiu said.

“Like I said before, story beats that are meant to happen will happen, regardless of how long you delay them,” Shang Qinghua said. “Some divergences are allowed, a little variation if you will. A river might twist and turn here or there, and even branch off into little streams at the most inopportune times, but all rivers must eventually make their way to the sea.”

“Not all rivers are connected to the sea,” Shen Jiu said, with a little defiant edge in his eyes and tone.

Shang Qinghua chuckled. “And most do, my pedantic little shidi. But if you want to gamble on your river being the one to escape the trend, be my guest. I’m sure our shidi wouldn’t mind you gambling on his life - or yours.”

Shen Jiu grimaced before he pulled his mouth into a scowl, glaring at the traitor.

“I am just saying that Liu-shidi’s qi deviation is fated to happen,” Shang Qinghua said with a shrug. “But it remains to be seen whether his death is fated as well. And it is entirely your decision if you want to take that chance.”

“That, at least, I can be certain of,” Shen Jiu muttered, more to himself than the traitorous rat. “A-Yuan was able to save his Liu Qingge, so there’s no reason I cannot do the same.”

Shang Qinghua paused at that. “... A-Yuan?”

Shen Jiu immediately realized what he had done and bristled, glaring at the other peak lord. “Never you mind. That’s my business.”

“Hm,” Shang Qinghua said as he leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin. “Yuan… Yuan… that wouldn’t be a new nickname for your dear Qi-ge, so who-?”

The An Ding Peak Lord was immediately interrupted by a flying coronet, which he dodged by ducking down. He glanced back to see the hairpiece clang violently on the wall before turning his attention back to the seething scum villain.

“Never. You. Mind,” Shen Jiu growled, his eyes more than a little wild.

Shang Qinghua was silent for a moment before his affable smile returned and he raised his hands soothingly. “Yes, yes, I understand. Here I am, minding my own business! I am an expert at minding my business, let me assure you.”

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes.

“Well, it’s good news for you, then!” Shang Qinghua said, still smiling as if he hadn’t been nearly physically assaulted. “This means you can save Liu-shidi, you just need to push past whatever obstacles your body decides to give you! I assume you still have those pills I so generously gave you?”

The change in subject seemed to have mollified the scum villain, at least for the moment. He visibly relaxed and sat down on his bed, though his expression was still glowering. “...Yes, I do.”

“Good!” Shang Qinghua said, with a nod. “Just make sure to take one before you sneak off into the caves, and you’ll be in the best position you can be for this little rescue of yours. And might I recommend you leave at night? Around midnight, perhaps?”

“...Why?” Shen Jiu asked, suspiciously.

“I just so happen to have it on good authority when and where the patrol group will be during that time,” Shang Qinghua said, his grin widening. “And they’ll be over by Ku Xing Peak around midnight. In other words, nowhere near the Lingxi Caves and Liu Qingge.”

Shen Jiu’s expression deadpanned. “What is the point of patrols if you can tell where they are and when!?”

“Humans are creatures of habit, my good shidi,” Shang Qinghua said, with a laugh. “They just can’t help themselves. They desire structure and stability, especially in this sea of chaos that we call life. And besides…,” At this point, the An Ding Peak Lord’s smile grew sharp. “The mountains have been ‘safe’ for thousands of years. It was only until recently that you experienced problems.”

Shen Jiu exhaled heavily through his nose. It was only too easy to catch the metaphorical arrows being flung at him. ‘If only one person is having problems, then perhaps they themselves are the problem’ - or something like that. He imagined many of the disciples were more than a little put out at having extra duties due to the scum villain and the evil he attracted - or theoretically caused. As such, they were probably less than enthusiastic about the patrols and what they were intended to accomplish.

And honestly, did he have any business arguing against that line of thought?

“Well,” Shen Jiu said, stiffly. “Then perhaps it is time for you to take your leave, so that I can focus on gathering my strength for tonight. I have neither the time nor the energy to waste.”

“Of course, of course,” Shang Qinghua agreed, good-naturedly, before he stood up. “Get some beauty rest, shidi, and do your best tonight! Liu-shidi is counting on you, after all.”

The scum villain laid back down on his bed, promptly ignoring the traitor as he made to leave. The shizun didn’t even spare the rat a glance, even as Shang Qinghua himself looked back at Shen Jiu. Getting comfortable once more, it seemed the matter had slipped out of his mind to make room for more pressing matters.

Once outside the Bamboo House, Shang Qinghua stopped. With a snap of his wrist, a flurry of ephemeral screens appeared before him. Tapping through him, he quickly went to the Relationship screen, and turned his eyes to Shen Jiu.

Sure enough, there it was - a new connection had sprouted off from the Qing Jing Peak Lord. There was no face, no information at all beyond a blank icon with a name - ‘A-Yuan’. And judging by the Knowledge Points necessary to unlock said missing information, this person was important - exceedingly important. Expensively important, almost on par with the mysterious demon under the mountain.

But what was most interesting of all was the fact that this individual had a connection to not only Shen Jiu but Luo Binghe as well. A little line connected both of them to this ‘A-Yuan’, despite this person not appearing anywhere else on the chart - and that included Liu Qingge. It was almost like Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe had created a secret loop between them, a triangle if you will.

Shang Qinghua clucked his tongue as he tapped on the mysterious person, the icon flashing in response, before he glanced over his shoulder back at the Bamboo House.

“‘His Liu Qingge’, huh? How interesting…”

Chapter Text

“Oh, that guy,” Shang Qinghua said with an air of understanding as he rested his chin on his laced hands, his elbows propped on the table. “Yeah, I know who that is.”

“I should hope so, considering you wrote this atrocity of narrative constipation,” Shen Qingqui said with an arched eyebrow. “Even you can’t be that out of touch.”

Shang Qinghua pursed his lips for a moment as he frowned at the other transmigrator, before reaching down to pluck a small almond cookie off the plate sitting between them and flicked it at Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu caught the cookie in flight before taking a bite. “So who is he?”

“Someone in Mobei-jun’s plotline,” Shang Qinghua said. “I’m not sure why he’d be all the way over on Qing Jing Peak screwing around, though. I made a point to not cross the streams, so to speak, so he’d have no reason to be up in Bingge’s business.”

“Why is that?” Shen Qingqiu asked, curiously.

“It’d be too narratively confusing,” Shang Qinghua replied, with a shrug.

At that, the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s expression deadpanned. “Bro, ‘narratively confusing’ is the very definition of Proud Immortal Demon’s Way. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a spreadsheet to track all of your nonsense, and you still had trouble keeping things straight!”

“Bro, you wound me,” Shang Qinghua said, with hurt in his voice dripping with insincerity. “You can’t deny that my story has its own internal logic that it very strictly followed - and still does, for that matter!”

Shen Qingqiu’s cheek twitched before he sighed and reached up to pinch his brow, feeling a headache forming. “‘Satisfying the protagonist is satisfying the readers’.”

“Bin-go~!” Shang Qinghua said with a laugh.

Shen Qingqiu was quiet for a moment before his eyes widened. “Does that mean it could have been another assassination attempt?”

“Possibly,” Shang Qinghua replied, with another shrug. “It depends on how well he understands his System, and what it expects of him. And more importantly, what it would allow him to do. Given what happened with the last two assassination attempts, I imagine it’s far more likely that he realized his limits and wanted to take advantage of Bingge’s protagonist halo to take out a thorn in his side,” The An Ding Peak Lord then let out a laugh. “Pretty interesting idea, right? Weaponizing the protagonist like that. What a scummy idea! Wish I had thought of it~!”

Shen Qingqiu flinched, feeling like he had been stabbed right in the heart. He swiftly picked up a cookie and popped it into his mouth, as he didn’t trust it at that moment. Inwardly, however, he offered an apology to that poor white sheep from so long ago.

“Still,” Shang Qinghua continued, thoughtfully. “I wonder how much he knows… and why he even has one in the first place.”

“Can you ask the System?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

At that, the An Ding Peak Lord’s expression deadpanned. “Bro. Did you forget who - or rather, what - you are talking about? Have you ever known the System to be helpful in any way?”

Shen Qingqiu went quiet at that.

“Listen, bro, I get it,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “You’d think that, as the creator of this world, I’d get special privileges! It’s a logical assumption, right?” The transmigrator narrowed his eyes. “Well, you’d be wrong. The System loves taking the piss out of me just as much as everyone else. I get no respect, let me tell you!”

“So, in the end, you’re totally useless,” Shen Qingqiu said with a sigh.

“Bro, you cut me deep,” Shang Qinghua said with a small whine. “At least buy me dinner before you shoot me in the face like that!”

Shen Qingqiu made an exaggerated show of rolling his eyes. “Bro, keep that stuff between you and Mobei-jun. You don’t want any misunderstandings. You know how jealous some people can get.”

Shang Qinghua paused and quickly glanced around to confirm his sticky protagonist wasn’t around to hear, then let out a sigh as he slouched back in his chair. “Anyway, I can look into your demon on my end, and see if he suddenly gained some beef with ‘Shen Qingqiu’ that I didn’t write. You know how the System can be, bro, with all that ‘filling in the gaps’ stuff.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have needed to if you hadn’t left those gaps in the first place,” Shen Qingqiu said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Shang Qinghua returned the barb with an easygoing smile and a shrug. “What can I say? If my target audience was filled entirely with Cucumber-bros, maybe I could’ve written how I wanted from the start,” the An Ding Peak Lord paused as he seemed to realize what he had just said and grimaced. “More than one Cucumber-bro? Fuck, what a terrible thought. Let us never darken our thoughts with such horror ever again.”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression deadpanned before he stood up and leaned over the table to smack Shang Qinghua on the top of his head with his fan, eliciting an insincere ‘ow’ from the other transmigrator.

---

Time could be such a fickle thing. It was supposed to be this constant, unchanging progression forward, but its perception was anything but. Depending on an individual’s state of mind, it could be a trudging tortoise lumbering onward with an infuriating lack of urgency or a spritely hare surging forward as if a horde of predators were on its tail.

Or, in Shen Jiu’s case, both at the same damn time.

Lying in bed, the scum villain found himself dreading the passage of time while simultaneously anticipating it with an ever rising sense of apprehension. He needed the appointed time to arrive and yet dreaded it all the same, as the gargantuan task before him loomed like an imposing threat. He had tried to rest, tried to sleep in order to gather his energy, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking or worrying - he never could.

Until finally, whether he was ready or not, he had run out of time.

Moonlight trickled in through the windows, the only source of light in the Bamboo House. The scum villain watched from his bed as it slowly spread across the floor as the moon rose higher in the night sky. He hadn’t slept at all, though he made all the right pretenses.

Whatever, there was no point in fussing over it now. There would be time enough for sleep later - especially if he failed.

With a quiet grunt, Shen Jiu moved to sit up, draping his feet over the edge of the bed. Shakily, he stood up and made his way to his armoire. He quietly opened the drawer and reached into the very back, buried under all the accessories, to grab the glass jar of medicinal contraband that Shang Qinghua had given him.

It was time to see if the rat had truly been genuine, or was sending him to his death.

Shen Jiu opened the bottle before reaching in to take one of the small pills. He stared at it with a dubious expression, scrutinizing the medicine as if a flaw might reveal itself, before he reluctantly put it in his mouth and swallowed it. Almost immediately, Shen Jiu felt a wave of qi flowing through his mouth and into the rest of his body, like candy melting on his tongue.

The scum villain stood with a stupefied expression on his face as he felt his body begin to respond to the medicine he had taken. He hesitated for a moment before he tentatively released his hold on the armoire, testing to see if his legs could carry him. To his immense relief, his legs held firm without nary a wobble.

“So far, so good,” Shen Jiu muttered. “It seems that rat can tell the truth at least once in his life.”

The scum villain was about to put the bottle away when a thought occurred to him. Shen Jiu frowned and stared down at the bottle before he snatched out another pill, then sealed the bottle and stashed it away again.

It would be only too typical for him to arrive at the Lingxi Caves only for the medicine to begin to wear off. He wasn’t going to take any chances. So long as he had a spare pill on him, he wouldn’t have to worry about such a disaster this late in the game.

A very faint sound of movement caught Shen Jiu’s ear and he looked up sharply. He turned to glance towards the side room, where his disciple was supposed to be fast asleep. The scum villain tensed, half expecting the boy to step out and confront his shizun.

Tension lingered in the Bamboo House for several moments, and the sound did not repeat itself. Shen Jiu frowned before he cautiously moved over towards the entrance to the side room, keeping his steps light. He carefully peered around the side into the room, before his eyes settled on the sleeping form of Luo Binghe.

Bingge looked perfectly at peace, comfortable in his bed. His face was so serene, so obliviously innocent, that it was hard to reconcile that this brat would eventually become a beast. Or rather, would become a beast again should Shen Jiu screw everything up as he had before.

The fact that the beast was even sleeping in the side room at all had been a massive ordeal to adjust to. But adjust to it he had, for better or for worse. He was a survivor, and was used to adapting to his situations if it meant being able to move forward in some form or another - be it accepting the brat sleeping in his room or the total loss of his limbs in his dark and dank future-past prison. Though technically, he had ultimately failed to survive that last part.

Or had he, considering where he stood at that very moment?

Shen Jiu gave a small shake of his head. He didn’t have time for reminiscing like this - he was on borrowed time. He wasn’t going to waste the medicine, not when he still had to face down Liu Qingge.

Quietly, the scum villain stepped away from the entrance before going back to his armoire. He summoned Xiu Ya before taking hold of the weapon and placing it on the armoire. Without his weapon, he’d be helpless; however, there was also no way for his actions to be misconstrued.

Not this time.

Shen Jiu took a deep breath, steeling himself, before he turned to head to the door. He lingered only a moment longer, glancing towards the side room once more, before he slipped outside of the Bamboo House into the darkness and closed the door quietly behind him.

Silence lingered for a brief moment in the Bamboo House before a pair of black coals appeared from within the side room, glistening like eerie candles in the darkness.

---

With the borrowed wind beneath his wings, Shen Jiu was able to make it to the Lingxi Caves in record time. Just as Shang Qinghua had said, he saw neither hide nor hair of the patrols that should have stopped him at some point during his journey. But instead, he made the quiet trip across the peaks beneath the moonlight without a single soul noticing.

And now, the Qing Jing Peak Lord stood at the mouth of the caves, staring down his own impending doom - or worse, failure. As he gathered his nerves, he considered using the second pill just to be safe before deciding against it. It would be better to save it until he needed it than take it in advance and waste precious seconds it could have bought him.

Just like he was wasting seconds that very moment by hesitating.

Taking a deep breath before exhaling through his nose, Shen Jiu stepped forward and entered the foreboding caves where Liu Qingge awaited him. The first few caverns were quiet, peacefully so, but it did little to soothe the scum villain’s nerves. He knew, without a doubt, what was lurking within the depths, waiting for him.

After all, he had already encountered this horror before, so long ago.

In a different lifetime, Shen Jiu had entered these very caves for the exact same reason as Liu Qingge - to cultivate. These caves were the prized cultivation spot within all of Cang Qiong Mountain, and for that reason, one could only venture in them with the sect leader’s approval.

Shen Jiu had obtained said approval then, but he certainly didn’t have it now. Given his condition, he doubted Yue Qingyuan would ever allow him to step within the caves ever again. It was just one more insult upon a heap of insults he had been forced to endure ever since he first woke to this living nightmare.

However, he didn’t care so much about that at the moment. He wasn’t there to cultivate, after all. He was there to fix - to prevent - a mistake that had plagued him for the rest of his days. He was there specifically to save Liu Qingge, and no ‘protocol’ was going to stop him. Even Yue Qingyuan’s anger would be worth it if he succeeded.

It had been pure coincidence that he had chosen to train in the caves at the same time as Liu Qingge, not that anyone ever believed him. Unfortunately, that happenstance turned to tragedy as Liu Qingge suffered a qi deviation that ultimately took his life despite Shen Jiu’s best efforts. Or perhaps even because of them. After all, Shen Jiu seemed to have a talent for destroying everything he touched.

But not this time. He would save Liu Qingge, one way or another. Even if it meant that he would be the one to leave a body behind in the man’s place.

That would be the ideal outcome, wouldn’t it? If given a choice between the detestable Shen Qingqiu and their precious prodigy Liu Qingge, it was obvious who everyone would choose. Well, everyone except for one, and that fool clearly needed to be saved from himself for consistently choosing his own destruction.

So many things could be avoided if he never left these caves again. Not just with Liu Qingge or Yue Qingyuan, but with the beast himself. There was still time for the boy to seek a new shizun, a safer shizun on one of the other peaks. So many lives would remain untouched, unharmed, and he would rot in the ground where he belonged.

…No, he needed to stop such dark thinking. The last thing he needed was his pessimism invoking itself into being. Especially as he didn’t know how the spirit would react to his death - would it be considered a failure? The spirit couldn’t kill him when he was already dead - or maybe it could, for all he knew, since it was the one who revived him in the first place. But it could certainly punish everyone else for his mistakes. He wouldn’t put it past the hateful creature to be so vindictive.

He would know, being a shizun of vindictiveness himself!

“Don’t psych yourself out, you damn fool,” Shen Jiu muttered as he rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up - or hide their shaking. “Just focus on the task ahead of you… and ignore everything else.”

The scum villain walked deeper into the Lingxi Caves, with each still moment only heightening the tension in his body. Shen Jiu spared a glance at the walls of the cave interior as he passed, where decades old wounds were dug deep into the stone from other cultivators who surely had experienced a similar fate to Liu Qingge carved their epitaphs. The sight had disquieted his heart long ago when he first beheld them, and they certainly didn’t instill any peace in him now.

Only now did it occur to Shen Jiu that these caves acted as much a coffin for cultivators as it did a training ground, promising both success and death in equal measure.

“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” Shen Jiu chided himself, in exasperation. “One would expect more from an Immortal Master than such morbidness…” But then again, given how little he had to be positive about through his entire life, it was only natural that he would have an almost instinctive tendency to focus on the shadows rather than the light.

And it certainly didn’t help when that light only served to illuminate all the gouges and dried blood hidden among the crags and cracks of the would-be tomb around him! It was a rather horrid juxtaposition of beauty and gore, with plants huddled among the small beams of light - be it from the sun or moon - trickling down from distant openings on high while surrounded by such violence.

Shen Jiu ground his teeth lightly as his eyes scourged for even a single hint of his target, his patience growing thin. At the rate he was going, he would sooner die from the anxiety in his heart than from Cheng Luan’s sharp edge!

At that moment, the world seemed to take pity on him - or was just pouring salt on his wounds as usual - as the sound of an explosion destroyed the silence. The sound echoed through the caves, rumbling like thunder.

Shen Jiu turned his head in the direction it seemed to have come, his lips pulling tight in a grimace. He took a moment to breathe in deeply, then exhaled as much tension as he could, before he raced towards his fate.

It was a scene straight out of his nightmares, one that he had re-lived over and over in his dreams ever since that day. Liu Qingge was beside himself with rage, completely incoherent in his delirium. His eyes were blank, unseeing and unfocused, as his body heaved and spasmed erratically.

The source of the sound quickly became apparent as Liu Qingge lunged at the wall as if it were a living opponent, punching and clawing at it in between unstable qi blasts. His body had already begun to grow bruises from the abuse, as the cave was winning their fights more than the War God was. Even Cheng Luan looked worse for wear, the sword flashing about to fight stalactites and ceiling alike, slashing at stone with a clank and a clatter.

Shen Jiu faltered at the sight, a tremor running through him. There was much to be said about the wisdom of sticking one’s hand into the maw of a rabid dog, and whether it counted as courage or stupidity. However, he also knew it was well beyond the point of worrying about such things.

“Liu Qingge!” Shen Jiu called out, even though his voice broke slightly.

Liu Qingge whirled his head about in an instant, in the direction the sound had come from. Even with his glazed eyes, he still knew someone was there, and the hostility in his expression was oozing from his pores. The Bai Zhan Peak Lord even seemed to be drooling a bit, foaming at the mouth as spit mingled with blood.

At that moment, the Qing Jing Peak Lord thought the rabid dog comparison was far more apt than originally intended. However, he wasn’t able to do much more than muse such a thought when Liu Qingge lunged towards him, with a guttural snarl.

Shen Jiu twisted his body to the side to dodge, the maddened War God flying past him. Liu Qingge hit the ground roughly from the force of his pounce, causing the rock-hard floor to splinter slightly, before he turned his head about to glare after his retreating shixiong.

The scum villain barely took another step back before he had to duck his head, dodging Cheng Luan as the sword lunged at him. The sword sliced another gouge into the wall where his head had been moments before. Shen Jiu let out a curse under his breath as he scurried across the cave, trying to get himself out of harm’s way - as futile as that may have been.

“I don’t have anything!” Shen Jiu shouted as he lifted his hands above his head, showing his palms to Liu Qingge. “I don’t have anything on me! I don’t have Xiu Ya-!”

Liu Qingge seemed to take the display of hands as an invitation, jumping forward to close the distance between them so that he could slam his fist into Shen Jiu’s stomach. The scum villain choked, biting down to keep himself from spitting up blood - or dinner - and swiftly kicked out at the deranged shidi.

Shen Jiu may as well have been kicking a rock for all the good it did. His foot impacted solidly with Liu Qingge’s chest, and the man instantly latched onto his shixiong’s leg. The War God’s grip was painfully tight as he dug his nails into Shen Jiu’s leg before flinging him to the side, towards the wall.

Shen Jiu hit the wall with a yelp, pain rushing through his back as stars and spots danced in his eyes. He stumbled to his feet, propping himself up using the wall, when Liu Qingge slammed him solidly back against it with a haphazardly-aimed shoulder to his chest.

The scum villain felt the air get knocked out of him and he let out a gasp to try and suck some of it back in. However, he barely got down a breath before Liu Qingge’s hands wrapped around his neck.

Shen Jiu’s eyes widened as those hands tightened around his throat, cutting off any chance to regain his lost air. Panic settled in as he realized - and felt - just how dangerous the situation just became. Liu Qingge was glaring at him, their faces inches apart, as he was slowly choking the life out of him.

What should he do?! What could he do?! What was he supposed to do!? He had been completely overpowered this entire time! Admittedly he hadn’t fared that much better the first damn time, but he was doing even worse now than he had then! Bullshit! This was bullshit!

What was the point of those Spirit Herb pills, except to help him walk right into his own death!? Had Shang Qinghua known this would happen and only ‘helped’ him to set him up for a death that the rat couldn’t be held responsible for!? That bastard! I’ll haunt you forever!

Shen Jiu reached up to grasp at his shidi’s wrists, trying to wretch them free, but only succeeded in leaving long trails of red against the man’s skin from his nails. The hands remained firmly clasped around his throat, tightening like a vice.

It was impossible to breathe, even as the scum villain gasped and choked for air. Kicking at the other man did nothing, clawing at the other man did nothing, it was like he was attacking an unmoving statue. His vision was beginning to grow dark as spit trickled down the corner of his mouth, his eyes watering with tears.

Bullshit… this was all… bullshit! Everything he did… everything he tried to do… had amounted to nothing at all…!

This was bullshit!

A flurry of motion entered Shen Jiu’s vision. He might have mistaken it for his sight blurring if not for the way Liu Qingge cried out. The scum villain couldn’t see the entire exchange, only that suddenly the War God’s grip released its hold on his neck and Shen Jiu collapsed to the ground, panting and gulping down air.

Shen Jiu reached up to gently touch his throat, feeling where bruises were already beginning to form, and glanced over his shoulder shakily to see Liu Qingge sprawled out across the floor. He gave a start, shocked to see the War God in such a state. But not nearly as shocked to see who was standing over the man, responsible for said state.

Luo Binghe!?

Bingge loomed over the fallen Bai Zhan Peak Lord, his expression intense as he glowered down at his opponent. In his hand, he tightly held the demon’s tie jian rather than his disciple sword. Behind him, Cheng Luan was zipping about sporadically before turning to dive right at the disciple’s back.

The sight of the sword attacking was enough to startle Shen Jiu out of his stupor. He struggled to stand, reaching his hand out to the boy. “B-beast-!”

Bingge scarcely turned his head as he swung the tie jian about to strike the hovering sword straight on, as if he were swatting a fly out of the air. The sword shattered upon impact, sending a spray of shards through the cavern.

Shen Jiu flinched, but quickly reminded himself that swords could be restored - lives could not. Besides, it would serve Liu Qingge right to have to wait for his sword to be repaired, forced to loiter on Bai Zhan Peak like a child who had been grounded by his parents.

Still, they weren’t out of the woods yet!

Shen Jiu made to step forward towards the stunned Liu Qingge, only to feel his legs collapse underneath him. The scum villain let out a cry as he hit the ground again, then grimaced and glanced back balefully at his treacherous legs. It was then that he realized that it wasn’t that the dizziness or pain had overcome them briefly. It was more…

…It was more that he didn’t feel them at all.

It was as if he didn’t have legs in the first place.

Shen Jiu facefaulted as rage swelled up inside him.

Are you fucking kidding me!? You fucking body of mine! Now, of all times!? Piece of shit! You piece of shit !

Shen Jiu let out a stream of curses before he fumbled into his robe to find the Spirit Herb medicine. Clearly, now was the time to use it, and make his damned body do what it was supposed to do, what he damn needed it to do-

…Wait.

Shen Jiu froze and stared down at the pill, then glanced over to Liu Qingge. This was… exactly the situation this medicine was meant for. Not for Shen Jiu, but for Liu Qingge! This very moment was why this medicine existed in the first place!

The scum villain felt a rush of triumph in his chest before he began to drag himself across the floor, using his arms as his legs proved totally useless to him now. But so long as he could cross the distance between them, he didn’t need legs! He’d use his damn chin to drag himself if he needed to!

Bingge heard the scuffling and glanced over to see Shen Jiu crawling, and alarm immediately flooded his features, chasing away the fury he had felt. He instantly made to go to Shen Jiu’s side, attempting to intercept the man.  “Shizun-!?”

“Hold him!” Shen Jiu barked.

“What?” Bingge paused at that, his expression going blank.

“Hold him!” Shen Jiu repeated, breathlessly. “Liu Qingge! Hold him down!”

Bingge felt his anger return anew. The man was in such a state and was still concerned about the Bai Zhan bastard who did this to him!? Just who the hell was he to his shizun!? He should have caved the son of a bitch’s skull in-

“Hold him down!” Shen Jiu repeated, more desperately this time. He could see the Bai Zhan Peak Lord beginning to rise from where he had been struck down, his chance to heal him slipping through his fingers right in front of him. “Please!”

In that instant, all the hatred in Binghe’s heart faltered before disappearing into smoke. Seeing the shizun’s face, hearing the plea and the way his voice trembled, made the former demon lord’s heart swell. It was aimed at him, Shen Jiu was pleading with him. He had never heard that voice, not even when he had tortured the man so long ago. To hear that weakness, to see the scum villain exposing himself to his hated beast as he was at that moment.

Without thinking, Bingge moved to tackle Liu Qingge just as the War God nearly got back on his feet. Shoving the adult man into the ground and pinning him with surprising ease, Bingge made certain that Liu Qingge couldn’t escape the approaching Shen Jiu.

Liu Qingge let out a bestial howl as he was pinned, unable to escape a grip that had no business being so powerful, especially from such a young disciple. He turned his head to try and bite at Bingge, only for Shen Jiu to lunge and snatch his chin with one hand.

Holding as firmly as his shaking hand could, the scum villain shoved the Spirit Herb pill into Liu Qingge’s mouth. He was rewarded for his efforts with the War God biting down harshly on his fingers, which he had been too slow to retrieve from his shidi’s mouth.

Shen Jiu flinched as he felt the man’s teeth dig into his flesh, attempting to sever his fingers like a steel trap. But he didn’t care, as it meant the Spirit Herb pill couldn’t be spat out and was even at that moment dissolving on Liu Qingge’s tongue.

“Go ahead! Bite my fingers off!” Shen Jiu growled. “You’re still taking the damn medicine!”

Bingge didn’t appear to appreciate the sentiment, as he moved his right hand enough to apply pressure to Liu Qingge’s jaw, forcing it to release its grip on the scum villain’s fingers.

“Oh, well,” Shen Jiu muttered, as his bravado faltered for a moment as his bloodied digits slipped free from their prison. “That’s… fine too, I suppose.”

After all, it was better to have fingers than not have fingers.

Liu Qingge gnashed his teeth and howled his gurgled fury, both saliva and blood dripping from his mouth. However, it was too late, as the medicine had already begun to spread through his tongue into his body. Shen Jiu could see clarity slowly flow into his shidi’s eyes as his wanton hostility ebbed away.

And with it, came confusion.

“What?” Liu Qingge croaked, disoriented. His eyes came back into focus, and with it, they fell upon the scum villain before him. “...Sh… Shen Qingqiu!?”

Shen Jiu let out a small breath of laughter. “You stupid brute of a man…”

Then, it was as if all his energy had left his body at once, and Shen Jiu collapsed to the ground, half on Liu Qingge.

Bingge and Liu Qingge both reacted with shock at the same time, though Bingge was faster due to his lack of injuries. The disciple shoved Liu Qingge aside as if he were a sack of trash before scooping up Shen Jiu into his arms to gently cradle him.

“Shizun!” Bingge called out, his eyes scouring the man’s body for injuries and becoming increasingly furious with each bruise he found. “Shizun, are you alright!?”

Liu Qingge shook his head, clearing the rest of the fog that had addled it. He paused and glanced around the cave, stunned at its condition, before his eyes fell on the battered and bruised Shen Jiu. “...Oi! What happened!?”

“You happened!” Bingge growled as he turned his head to shoot a sideways glare at the War God. “You did this!”

Liu Qingge froze at that, all the color draining from his face despite having just returned. “What…?”

“Qi… qi deviation,” Shen Jiu muttered, his voice growing weaker by the moment. “Your qi deviation… but it’s over now… it’s okay now…”

The room around him was going dark, and he doubted it was simply because he felt his eye beginning to join his legs in forgetting its own existence. But at that moment, he didn’t give a shit anymore. He couldn’t be angry anymore.

He had done it.

And not just that, but because Luo Binghe had come for him. It was an overwhelming feeling, one that he couldn’t put into words. Since this whole ordeal began, he had felt endlessly helpless, abused and tormented. It felt so similar to how he had been so long ago, trapped in the Qiu house, when he had waited for someone to save him.

Yue Qingyuan never had. At least, not until years later, where he was promptly cut down into blood and dust. And by then, Shen Jiu hadn’t deserved it, didn’t deserve that gesture. It was debatable that he ever had.

But only now, it occurred to him, that ever since this torment had started anew, one person had come for him. Again, and again, and again. Each and every time things had gone awry, the beast had come for him. First the Bai Zhan disciples, then the Skinner Demon, then the ox demon, and now Liu Qingge. Each time, he had faced certain torment or even death, and Bingge had chosen to intervene.

By rights, the boy had every reason, every incentive to leave the scum villain to his fate. Even at this age, the disciple had every reason to despise his shizun. Shen Jiu certainly had done nothing to foster any good will between them. So why?

What had he ever done to deserve such protection?

“Okay!?” Bingge repeated, anger clear in his face. “How is this okay!? Look at you!”

“Doesn’t matter… it doesn’t matter,” Shen Jiu said, his eyes becoming increasingly unfocused. “I… I finally…”

“Doesn’t matter!?” Bingge again repeated, his outrage growing with each passing second. “What do you mean-?!”

The former demon lord froze when Shen Jiu reached up to brush his fingers across the disciple’s face, his touch gentle as a feather. The contact sent chills through Bingge’s body, and yet somehow simultaneously made him as warm as an inferno. The disciple stared down at Shen Jiu’s face, meeting the scum villain’s gaze in stunned silence.

“You… did good,” Shen Jiu, his voice a bare whisper as a small smile appeared on his face. Trembling, he touched his fingers against Luo Binghe’s cheek, brushing back a lock of hair. “My little beast… did good… because of you, I finally… finally did something right… I finally… saved someone, instead of… destroying… them… I finally…” At that point, streams of tears were trailing along the scum villain’s cheeks, dripping downward. “You… you came… for me…”

At that moment, his vision went dark, and he felt his body lose what little strength he had left. He felt his hand fall to the ground, with the rest of his body either nonexistent or numb.

He faintly heard his name being called out in desperation and panic, not just from his little beast but from Liu Qingge as well, but it was growing harder and harder to remain conscious as his body succumbed to his injuries.

The sound of the System notification rang in his ears, interrupting the moment like a faint bell sounding underwater.

[Congratulations! The scenario "Liu Qingge's Death" has been changed!]

And then, there was nothing.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, for Shang Qinghua, it was nothing short of a herculean trial to keep a vapid and ignorant expression on his face. No matter what was going on around him, the An Ding Peak Lord had to act like he had no idea what was happening and - above all - had absolutely no hand in it whatsoever. No matter the chaos, the rising tempers, the arguments, or the drama, Shang had to act like a concerned bystander even if he wanted so desperately to munch on melon seeds and take in the show as if he were attending a traveling circus.

Alas, a Peak Lord meeting was no place for such a spectacle - or a reaction to a spectacle, as it were. So the traitor had no choice but to keep his expression muddied with confusion and worry, with just the right amount of panic for seasoning, as he watched the absolute spectacle going on around him as if he weren’t loving every second of it.

But he was, by the gods, he was.

“He’s gone too far this time! This is inexcusable!”

“Zhangmen-shixiong has always been very lenient with Shen-shixiong but this is too much!”

“Here, here! There are some rules that simply cannot be broken so flippantly!”

“Well, technically, Shen-shixiong did not break any of the rules,” Mu Qingfang said, raising his hand to draw attention to himself. At the incredulous stare of his fellow peak lords, the Qian Cao lord smiled. “Shen-shixiong did not cultivate in the caves without permission, after all. The rules only state that one needs permission to cultivate in the Lingxi Caves. They don’t say anything about visiting them.”

“That’s just arguing semantics!” one of the other peak lords protested. “He snuck into the caves knowing full well he was doing something wrong!”

“Oh yes,” Qi Qingqi said, dryly. “How dare he save his shidi from a qi deviation. How horrible.”

Liu Qingge was slouching in his chair, a great scowl on his face. His head was tilted to the side so that he could rest his cheek against his knuckles. His face was propped up with his left arm as his elbow acted as a base against the armrest of his chair. At the sound of himself being referenced, his scowl darkened as his hand clenched into a fist against his face.

“We have no idea if that was his actual goal!” one of the other peak lords insisted. “For all we know, he-”

“He left Xiu Ya behind,” Liu Qingge said, his voice rough. Silence descended on the meeting hall as all eyes turned to the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, who seemed about ready to erupt in a fury - one aimed entirely at himself. A slight tremor ran through his body as the man clenched his jaw, his lips curling up into a snarl. “He left Xiu Ya behind! He was helpless! If that disciple of his hadn’t shown up when he had, I… I was going to…!”

“You were under a qi deviation, Liu-shixiong,” Mu Qingfang said, gently. “You cannot be held responsible for-”

“Then neither can he!” Liu Qingge snapped as he finally straightened up to slam his fist down. “He has been suffering from a qi deviation this entire time, hasn’t he!?”

Mu Qingfang went silent for a moment before he let out a small nod. “I agree.”

“If that is the case, how did he even manage it in the first place?” Wei Qingwei asked, with an exasperated throw of his hands. “He can barely even walk for long distances! How did he make it all the way to Qiong Ding Peak!?”

The question seemed to cause a murmur to go through the other peak lords, who nodded and looked to each other as if seeking an answer to the question. The An Ding Peak Lord himself clucked his tongue mentally before raising his hand.

“I was wondering, Mu-shidi,” Shang Qinghua said. “When was the last time you took stock of your inventory?”

“Hm?” Mu Qingfang paused at that and gave a small blink.

“Well, Shen-shixiong has visited your peak for a check-up a couple times, and you have visited him several times as well,” the An Ding Peak Lord said with an innocent expression on his face. “Is it possible he might have, well… helped himself to some medicine when you weren’t looking? Rifled through your bag or searched your shelves while you were otherwise occupied?”

Mu Qingfang furrowed his brows as he considered Shang’s words before his eyebrows shot straight up and all the color drained from his face. “...Of course!”

The traitorous rat kept his smirk deep within his heart as he sent a half-assed mental apology to Shen Jiu. This meant that even if they rooted through the man’s belongings and found the Spirit Herb pills, none would even suspect to think he had been given the contraband instead of taking them.

And if Shen Jiu knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t try to sling the rat under the wagon with him. The An Ding Peak Lord had a fairly good read on the Qing Jing Peak Lord - he wouldn’t risk his Qi-ge over a few pills. The thought probably wouldn’t even cross his mind, as the medicine had served its purpose.

Liu Qingge was alive, and Shen Jiu was probably feeling rather pleased with himself, even if his body was giving him hell for it.

“It just seems to me,” Shang Qinghua drawled out with an exaggerated shrug. “That if he put in the thought to keep his sword behind, he also must have thought about how he would even make it to the caves in the first place, let alone what to do when he got there.”

Qi Qingqi openly clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Both will need to be thoroughly examined to make sure there aren’t any side-effects they need to worry about.”

Yue Qingyuan, who had been silently brooding the whole time, finally seemed to snap awake and look up sharply. “Mu-shidi?”

“I’ve already examined them both, but I’ll take another more thorough look,” Mu Qingfang said as he glanced at the War God, who nodded his head in acknowledgement. “I have a rough idea of what medicine he might have stolen, and so long as there isn’t any continuous use, there should be no problems.”

“Good… good,” Yue Qingyuan said as he let out a weary sigh. “That’s good.”

“I agree!” Shang Qinghua nodded his head, then frowned. “Though, if he had medicine this whole time, why didn’t he use it earlier? He’s been suffering like this for weeks, hasn’t he?”

“The medicine in question is habit forming and can destroy your cultivation if taken too often,” Mu Qingfang said. “It’s only for emergencies, and it’s far better to rely on other qi stabilizing methods. Shen-shixiong must have known that and didn’t want to risk being discovered before he was ready.”

“I mean, he would be an expert on qi deviations,” one of the other peak lords muttered.

Yue Qingyuan reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, grimacing.

“He put all this effort into this plan, when he could have just told someone instead!” Wei Qingwei said. “It would have been far less dangerous!”

“Who would have believed him?” Shang Qinghua asked, his expression still innocent but his voice sharp like a knife. “He did tell us before, didn’t he? And no one believed him then, not even Zhangmen-shixiong.”

Yue Qingyuan flinched as if he had been stabbed.

“Sure, he could’ve used the medicine he stole to go find someone to tell about Liu-shidi’s qi deviation,” Shang Qinghua continued, with a casual roll of his right wrist. “But they wouldn’t have believed him. None of us would have, so don’t even bother to deny it. We would’ve sent Shen-shixiong back home with a tongue lashing and an ear twist, like an errant child, and left Liu-shidi alone.”

The other Peak Lords remained silent as they looked at each other, varying degrees of guilt and consternation on each of their faces. Liu Qingge was glaring down at the table, his entire body twisted tight like a taut wire.

“No one would have even thought anything was wrong until Liu-shidi was overdue to come out of the caves, several years later,” Shang Qinghua said with a shrug. “How many bones do you think the wild animals would have left for us by that point? Enough to even give Liu-shidi a proper burial, I wonder~?”

The An Ding Peak Lord turned his head to stare at Liu Qingge, a particularly pointed glint in his eyes. “I, for one, am quite thankful that Liu-shidi is currently with us right now, without any rats chewing the flesh from his skull,” Shang Qinghua paused before he arched his eyebrows up meaningfully. “And Shen-shixiong as well, for that matter!”

Liu Qingge looked up sharply at that, meeting the An Ding Peak Lord’s stare with an unreadable expression. Uneasiness rippled through the gathered Immortal Masters, some shifting awkwardly in their chairs and others keeping their heads down. Yue Qingyuan looked a little he was fighting down the urge to vomit while maintaining his composure.

Shang Qinghua let his words linger for a moment before he tilted his head and smiled. “Don’t you agree?”

Liu Qingge gave a small nod. “I do.”

“As do I,” Mu Qingfang said, solemnly.

“A rather astute observation from An Ding Peak,” Qi Qingqi said.

“Oh, well, you know,” Shang Qinghua said with an easygoing laugh. “Even a broken clock is right twice a day, is it not? Usually it’s just for breakfast and dinner, but I seem to have some very auspicious clouds on my horizon today!”

“Either that or you’ve used up all your good fortune, and your dinner will burn to ashes on the stove,” Qi Qingqi said, with a smirk. “And your rice bowl will fall on the floor.”

Shang Qinghua looked truly aghast at the suggestion. “Qi-shimei, how could you!? My poor dinner! My helpless rice! You’ve cursed me, surely you have!”

The exchange seemed to take some of the edge off the tension that had filled the meeting hall, with the other Peak Lords becoming more relaxed in their chairs. The color had returned to Yue Qingyuan’s face, though he still looked rather pensive.

“Well,” Wei Qingwei said. “I believe we all have used a rather large amount of good fortune today. The morning was greeted without tragedy or funerals to mar it, and for that, we need to be grateful.”

“Going forward, we should have the patrols include actually taking a look inside Lingxi Caves,” one of the other Peak Lords said. “To check to make sure no one is there that shouldn’t be, and anyone one that should be there doesn’t need assistance. That will make sure this never happens again.”

The An Ding Peak Lord mentally rolled his eyes. The action being suggested was a bit pointless as no one else was scripted to have any similar issues going forward, but the suggestion itself had done its job. It placated those that wanted Shen Jiu punished and allowed the subject to move on and be put to rest in the graveyard itself.

A murmur of agreement came from the assembled Peak Lords, nodding to themselves. Shang Qinghua watched everyone seemingly come together finally as he leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable once more now that the conversation has moved on the way he had wanted it to. Like building a trench to guide a river, his job was never over.

“How is Shen-shixiong, by the way?” Wei Qingwei asked.

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet,” Liu Qingge answered, very quickly. It made the other Peak Lords give pause, that the War God who had previously hated the Qing Jing Peak Lord would now be the one so closely intimate with his health and doings. “I will check on him again after the meeting.”

“I will join you,” Yue Qingyuan said.

“As will I,” Mu Qingfang said. “His qi deviation seems to have worsened, but if what we suspect is true, then now I have a better idea as to why and how to treat it.”

“Give him our regards for the rest of us!” Shang Qinghua piped up. “I doubt he’d appreciate too many more people coming to see him, no matter how well-intended.”

“Goodness, that man,” Qi Qingqi said with a sigh. “Sacrificing his already fragile health like this… who knew he could be so self-destructive? He needs to take better care of himself!”

“Yes,” Yue Qingyuan agreed. “He absolutely does.”

---

The Bamboo House was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of the bamboo in the breeze or the trill from a passing bird. Even the bed was perfectly still, where Shen Jiu rested almost as if he were in repose, with only the faint rise and fall of his chest hinting otherwise.

The comparison did little to soothe Luo Binghe.

By the bedside, Bingge sat on his knees as he held Shen Jiu’s hand in his own. His eyes closed, he focused on circulating the shizun’s qi as he attempted to untangle the mangled mess the man had made of his meridians. Thanks to his previous experience with the scum villain’s eye, he knew what to look for and in turn understood what he was dealing with.

Both legs this time, in addition to his eye. All the scum needed next was both of his arms, and then he’d have the full set.

There was no way this was a coincidence.

Bingge exhaled through his nose as he gently placed Shen Jiu’s hand back on the bed. He had spent most of the night using his qi to flush the other man’s meridians, alternating between limbs. He felt as if he were chipping away at a mountain with a chisel, but he wasn’t about to be dissuaded from his task. He was going to turn that mountain into a pile of dust, no matter how long it took.

But before that…

“...If any of the other Peak Lords see you,” Bingge said. “It will cause you a lot of problems.”

There was no response, at least not at first. But then, after a moment of pregnant pause, Mobei-jun stepped into view from the side room. The ice demon stared down at the disciple who still knelt by the bed, tending to the comatose peak lord. He took in the sight of the seemingly young boy, showing no fear or consternation towards the literal demon standing right behind him. The visitor spared the unconscious peak lord a small glance before returning his attention to Binghe, before he finally spoke.

“They are all occupied with their meeting,” Mobei-jun said. “They will not see me.”

“And the other disciples of this peak?” Bingge asked as he checked Shen Jiu’s calf, carefully feeling along the muscles.

A small smirk appeared on the ice demon’s face. “They are avoiding you.”

Luo Binghe paused at that before he let out a low chuckle. It was true that his mood hadn’t been the greatest, with even that imbecile Ming Fan having enough sense to stay away outside of giving some empty nonsense about ‘leaving Shizun in his care’ as if it was a duty he hadn’t already claimed ownership of.

As if he’d ever let anyone else touch his Shizun.

“True enough,” Bingge said with a small nod before he straightened up. “If this is about that cow, then-”

“He got what was coming to him,” Mobei-jun said. “He had no business being here.”

“He didn’t,” Luo Binghe agreed.

The two lapsed into silence again, with Bingge working away at his shizun while Mobei-jun watched in silence. The former demon lord was actually perfectly comfortable with the situation, as he was very familiar with Mobei-jun and his mannerisms. If anything, it felt like the ice demon was the one more disturbed by the situation, as much as one can ‘disturb’ the nigh unflappable demon of the north.

Still, it was enough - just enough - to give Mobei-jun pause before he finally spoke again.

“You are a demon,” Mobei-jun said. “And you are aware of it.”

Bingge nodded. “I am.”

“Then why are you here?” Mobei-jun asked. “This is not where you belong. You will not learn anything worthwhile here.” The contempt in his voice was palatable.

“I am biding my time, until the Immortal Alliance Conference,” Bingge said. “Until then, I am training myself, and my scum villain.”

It was the truth - he couldn’t move forward until that fateful event. Naturally, he had no intention of being flung like a sack of garbage into the Abyss this time, but the opening was his given opportunity to find and regain Xin Mo. He didn’t have any other method of entering that hateful realm, so he had no choice but to take the same doorway - the same path - he had taken in his previous lifetime.

Mobei-jun gave a small blink. “Training your…?” As the demon spoke, he moved his eyes over to the bed, where the peak lord was still seemingly dead to the world. “...Why?”

“Because he’s mine,” Bingge said.

Mobei-jun blinked again and stared down at Luo Binghe. There was something about the boy that was throwing him off. After mulling it over, he slowly began to realize what it was. The boy, who looked like a mere young sprout of a disciple, spoke to him in a way that not only hinted at someone much older - much more experienced - but also someone who knew him.

The boy had even mentioned the Immortal Alliance Conference, which seemed to imply that he knew far more than Mobei-jun had first anticipated. The disciple acted with an air of familiarity, despite this being the first time they’d ever met. And because of that, it felt overly natural to fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle that had found each other through sheer happenstance.

Was the boy even really a boy? Was his current state real or a mere shade to hide his true self? It was hardly uncommon for demons to do such things, especially when mingling in the human world. Or was he an old soul in a young body? Which again, was hardly unheard of in the demon realm. The only reason he didn’t suspect some form of demonic possession was because the boy before him felt far too… powerful for that. Anyone who tried would probably end up consumed instead.

Either way, there was something intriguing about this half-demon boy.

“Why would you waste your time with that?” Mobei-jun asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to find a different one?”

“No,” Bingge said, firmly. He was silent for a moment before he reached over to gently touch Shen Jiu’s face, trailing his fingers along the man’s cheek. His own cheek still remembered the scum’s touch the other night from where his fingers had traveled along the same path his had only moments ago. “It has to be him.”

Mobei-jun’s face shifted slightly into a frown.

“There may be dozens or even hundreds of flowers in the garden, all of which would be far more eager for my attention and far less work,” Bingge said as his fingers moved to tuck a lock of wayward hair behind his scum’s ear. “But why should I settle for hundreds of substitutes when I can have the one I want?”

Mobei-jun’s frown deepened as an odd look seemed to cross his face, not that Bingge could see it. “...Even if ‘the one’ is a conniving rat, without a sincere bone in his body?”

Bingge paused at that and it occurred to him that Mobei-jun wasn’t being generic in his questions anymore. A small smile played on his lips as he glanced over his shoulder. “Rats can be trained. They just need the right incentive.”

Mobei-jun’s expression went blank, which seemed to scream the words ‘you can do that?’ far louder than the demon’s own mouth ever could.

“It’s working on my scum villain,” Luo Binghe said before he turned his attention to Shen Jiu. “He used to be nothing but venomous towards me, throwing bile and abuse in equal measure. But now…,” the former demon lord said as he brushed his thumb against Shen Jiu’s lips. “‘My little beast’... I heard you, you know. I heard you.”

Mobei-jun tilted his head slightly.

“You silly little man,” Bingge said with a wry smile. “Of course I’m your little beast. Who else would be? Who else would dare?”

The ice demon watched as Bingge seemed to be positively beaming with a joy that couldn’t be contained. He gently fussed over the scum villain, who was absolutely none the wiser or surely he would’ve died a thousand times from the embarrassment of it all. After several long moments, Mobei-jun’s expression grew thoughtful.

“Hm,” Mobei-jun said.

---

Shang Qinghua hummed as he watched the attendant refill his tea cup, offering the junior a single-finger tap against the table in gratitude. As the attendant bowed before scurrying off to attend to the others, the An Ding Peak Lord took hold of his cup with both hands and took a small sip.

Around him, he heard the other peak lords continue their scuttlebutt about this and that, though he wasn’t particularly concerned with any of it by this point. He had already redirected the Shen Jiu topic into the direction he wanted, so his job had been accomplished and his day was looking rather good.

At least, it had been until he felt a sudden chill go up his spine.

The An Ding Peak Lord nearly dropped his tea cup, spilling a little of the drink onto the table. He barely managed to keep himself from spitting out the tea, his cheeks puffing up from withholding the liquid.

The rest of the room immediately noticed and all conversations ceased. The assembled Immortals turned to stare at the An Ding Peak Lord, with a mixture of amusement, disgust, and concern depending on whose eyes originated the stare. Shang Qinghua hesitated before he swallowed the tea still in his mouth, which suddenly tasted far too bitter.

“Shidi, are you alright?” Yue Qingyuan asked.

“A-a thousand apologies, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shang Qinghua managed to cough out. He spared the attendant who rushed over to clean the table an apologetic nod before returning his attention to the sect leader. “I-I… I may have drank a little too quickly.”

“You might have swallowed it down the wrong tube,” Mu Qingfang suggested. “You didn’t burn yourself, did you?”

“N-no, I don’t think so,” Shang Qinghua said before he gave another small cough.

“Take a moment to compose yourself,” Yue Qingyuan said, kindly. “Give yourself a moment to recover.”

“Y-yes, thank you, Zh-Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shang Qinghua said as he got up from the table before scurrying out of the room. He didn’t even care at the barely restrained snickers he heard from the less generous peak lords, as he had other pressing matters on his mind.

Once in the side room, Shang Qinghua whipped about. “System! System, what was that!? What’s happening!?”

[ (・∀・)? ]

“Don’t give me that!” Shang Qinghua snapped. “I know that feeling… that looming sense of dread! What’s happening?! What’s coming!?”

Nothing big should have been planned between the current time and the Immortal Alliance Conference years from then. Well, there was that so-called demon invasion from the impudent Sha Hualing, but that had nothing to do with him - just a teenage brat kicking up a fuss. So why, why did he have this sudden sense of impending doom? Did Shen Jiu change something!? Should the rat have stopped the scum villain and let Liu Qingge die after all!?

What the hell was going on!?

[ ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) ]

The System’s reaction did absolutely nothing to calm the An Ding Peak Lord. Instead, it fanned the fires of paranoia, igniting them into a wildfire. Shang Qinghua glanced anxiously back at the main room, where the others were waiting for him, before turning to stare at the screen in front of him. “Damn it, System! Say something!”

[Please look forward to the impending developments!]

[Do your best!]

[ (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑ ]

Shang Qinghua stared at the screen, positively incredulous, before the words finally settled in and the indignation they wrought came rushing out in a burst of his own choice words.

“‘Do your best’ MY ASS!!!”

Chapter Text

With the Peak Lord meeting over, the attendees scattered across Cang Qiong Mountain like leaves in a gust of wind. Be it heading back to their peaks or off to attend to other business, only a select few lingered behind, those that had agreed to check up on their wayward peer. The trio were talking amongst themselves, or rather Yue Qingyuan and Mu Qingfang were talking while Liu Qingge stared off broodingly into the distance, when the conversation was interrupted by the sight of a fourth individual approaching - Shang Qinghua.

“Hm?” Yue Qingyuan turned to see his junior martial brother joining them, a curious expression on his face. “Shidi? I thought you weren’t going to join us?”

“Oh, well,” Shang Qinghua said with a small shrug. “I thought perhaps I would play it by ear, you know? See how Shen-shixiong is feeling before I decide if he wouldn’t enjoy an extra visitor,” the An Ding Peak Lord then offered an airy smile. “Who knows? Maybe he’d actually enjoy a friendly face for once~!”

Yue Qingyuan’s expression spoke the doubt that his lips didn’t dare. Instead, he simply returned the smile with a fragile one of his own and gave a small nod. “As you wish.”

Shang Qinghua returned the nod as he continued to smile, though inwardly he felt as if there was nothing to smile about. Something had clearly changed and he didn’t know what, and that alone was absolutely terrifying. Glancing at the Lore Library didn’t help in the slightest, as apparently the change wasn’t something that’d typically be recorded there.

That meant, unfortunately, he had no choice but to do the legwork himself. And that meant starting with the most likely culprit - Shen Qingqiu. He’d take a look around that Bamboo House and check on the shizun and his little disciple. After all, he couldn’t rule out the little half-demon bastard was involved.

It would’ve been so much easier if he had simply killed that scum villain, but sadly the System hadn’t allowed him the luxury. And there was no point in even thinking of wishing death on Luo Binghe, not unless he wanted a thousand and one penalties raining down on him like hail in a blizzard.

No, Shang just needed to calm down and take each step at a time. Whatever was coming, he would have to deal with it. He was used to the System’s curve balls by now, or at least was familiar enough to recognize one when it was coming at him. He’d think of something.

He had to, didn’t he? It wasn’t like he had a choice.

Oblivious to the rather dark thoughts of the An Ding Peak Lord, the other Peak Lords proceeded to take their leave of Qiong Ding Hall and made their way to Qing Jing Peak across the rainbow bridges. The trip was uneventful, which was to be expected, as Yue Qingyuan and Mu Qingfang made some light talk with each other. Liu Qingge was as stoic and uncommunicative as always, but oddly enough Shang Qinghua wasn’t his typically cheerful and chatty self either. It was noticeable enough to warrant a couple glances and inquiries of well being, before politely allowing the matter to drop.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the Bamboo House, where they were greeted by tranquil stillness. It wasn’t until the quartet approached the front door that there were finally signs of life, as Luo Binghe all but flung the front door open. His expression was dark as his eyes settled on the intruders, and he seemed about ready to send them all away before he remembered himself and gave them a begrudging hand-over-fist bow in greeting.

“Shizun is not awake at this time,” Bingge said, his voice forcibly even despite the sharp edge that wanted to cut them like a hidden knife. “So this one must welcome you on Shizun’s behalf.”

The disciple didn’t wait for a response, turning sharply on his heels as he retreated back to Shen Jiu’s side. The peak lords spared each other a glance before entering the building, though Shang Qinghua hung back a bit as he scoured his surroundings with a sharp eye.

Nothing seemed outwardly amiss. Neat and tidy Bamboo House? Check. Practically a corpse Shen Qingqiu comatose on the bed? Check. Obsessively hovering disciple? Check. Enabler Qi-ge now joining in on the fussing? Check.

Everything seemed to be exactly as he expected it to be. But while he should be soothed by that fact, it only served to rankle him further. He would have preferred the problem to be obvious, so he could see it coming and address it!

A knife held at your throat was always better than a knife aimed at your back!

Mu Qingfang went to Shen Jiu’s bedside, reaching down to gently take the scum villain’s wrist so that he could feel the man’s pulse. Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan joined him, standing at the foot of the bed as they looked down at the slumbering peak lord.

Bingge watched the three as they crowded his shizun before he looked back at the only Peak Lord keeping his distance. Shang Qinghua instantly felt those eyes upon him and he quickly offered a disarming smile.

Judging by the glare he received in return, the An Ding Peak Lord was convinced his earlier assessment had been correct - Luo Binghe remembered him. And while that seemed to point at Bingge being the source of his dread, he couldn’t quite reconcile it.

After all, Bingge had known back at Shuang Hu City. If simply remembering him to be a traitor had been enough, would that not have been the time for this dread to come forth? If he had killed Shen Jiu then, it would have made sense that doom would have come for him - the System’s warning had told him as much. Which was precisely why he had acknowledged the warning and altered his plans.

So if Bingge was the source of this dread, what had changed? What was different now?

Bingge continued to openly glare at his supposed senior martial brother, without even a shred of reverence or respect that his position demanded. The other Peak Lords seemed completely oblivious to the tense exchange as they fussed over Shen Jiu, discussing his condition amongst themselves. That obliviousness of their audience gave the disciple the opportunity to move in closer, until he was standing directly beside Shang Qinghua.

Shang Qinghua felt the hair on the back of his neck hackle up with how close the boy was, but he forced himself to appear perfectly calm. He had been around enough demons to know to keep his composure around them - and he assumed that applied for half demons as well. Even when he felt the boy snatch his left wrist from his side and pull it behind his back, he gave no outward sign of distress.

At least, not until he felt something pressed into the palm of his hand. His fingers instinctively curled around the object and he instantly recognized cold glass against his skin.

The An Ding Peak Lord’s eyebrows shot straight up.

It was a glass bottle. And it didn’t take a genius to guess what it contained.

Immediately, Shang Qinghua shifted his head just enough to meet Bingge’s gaze. The demon bastard was still staring at him, his grip like a vice on the Peak Lord’s wrist. Even without the ‘disciple’ speaking the words, the traitor understood the meaning in the boy’s eyes very clearly.

That. Will Not. Happen. Twice.

Shang Qinghua clutched the glass bottle tightly in his hand before he gave a small, almost imperceivable nod of acknowledgement.

Bingge squeezed the traitor’s wrist slightly as he held Shang’s stare, before he finally seemed to accept the man’s answer and released his hold. He then turned away from Shang Qinghua, heading towards Shen Jiu’s bed.

Once again, it didn’t take a genius to understand - he was being dismissed.

Shang Qinghua swiftly shoved the bottle into his robes before the others could see it, then plastered his best smile on his face. “Zhangmen-shixiong… it’s a shame, but I suppose I’ll just take my leave,” When Yue Qingyuan turned to look at him, the traitor offered him an apologetic smile. “I do have quite a lot of work to do, and seeing that Shen-shixiong isn’t awake and shows no sign of rousing anytime soon, it wouldn’t make sense for me to simply linger here unable to help in any way. I would just be getting in Mu-shidi’s way.”

“When has that ever stopped An Ding Peak from being useless before?” Liu Qingge asked, without looking over.

“Oh, come now, Liu-shidi!” Shang Qinghua replied, cheerfully. “Surely, at the very least, my pretty smile should offer some value, hm?”

Liu Qingge let out a grunt in response.

“You may go, and I thank you for your consideration on Shen-shidi’s behalf,” Yue Qingyuan said as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Once we know something more, I will be sure to let everyone know.”

“Please do!” Shang Qinghua said before he bowed respectfully to his sect leader, palm over fist. “Now then, please excuse me.”

Bingge watched as the rat scurried from the room, his expression softening ever so slightly. If nothing else, Shang Qinghua was quick to catch on, unlike the others. He understood the situation, his situation, and responded appropriately without too much fuss or drama. It must have been why Mobei-jun kept him around for so long.

Good help was always hard to come by.

Luo Binghe turned his head back to the rest of the interlopers and was immediately greeted by the sight of Mu Qingfang going through Shen Jiu’s armoire drawers. The disciple bristled before allowing himself a small smirk and sense of victory. It seemed that he made the right decision after all, and just in time. The evidence was already out the door, with nary a trace left behind.

Keep looking, you won’t find a damn thing!

Bingge spared Mu Qingfang one last glance before he returned to Shen Jiu’s bedside, where his shizun was oblivious to what was going on around him. While he wanted to continue trying to untangle the man’s meridians, he would have to wait until his nosy ‘visitors’ had left. The less opportunities he gave for them to stick their noses in his business, the better.

Whatever, it would give him a chance to recover his qi before diving in again. He supposed he needed a break, every once and a while.

---

Airplane-bro was busy - though to be fair, he was always busy. There was always something to do, here and there, for his oh-so-needy king of the north. And that didn’t even include his duties as a peak lord. Honestly, he really had no business taking on any more trouble onto his already full plate.

But when someone from the same hometown asks for help, it would be cruel to turn them away. A favor paid is a favor owed, after all. And being able to use said favor to stir shit at the same time - what could be better?

Of course he was familiar with Tie-Jian-lang, and not simply because he created the demon. As a well-known secret ally of Linguang-jun, it was only natural that the ox demon would cross paths with Shang Qinghua in his pursuit to cause trouble for Mobei-jun. And while their relationship had been frosty to start with, it had turned downright glacial after the whole ‘situation’ during Mobei-jun’s ascension to the throne.

Linguang-jun had never forgiven him, not that Shang Qinghua felt all that forgiving himself, and their relationship had gone from bad to worse. And so naturally, all of Linguang-jun’s allies had to mirror that same attitude and aim it right at the An Ding Peak Lord. As much as they dared, at any rate. Whatever their feelings on the matter, there was still only so much they could do without earning Mobei-jun’s ire.

So business as usual, eh?

All that interpersonal nonsense aside, nothing had really come up on Shang Qinghua’s side. A few queries here and there, and he wasn’t any closer to finding an answer than he had been before. He couldn’t even really blame it on the demons being unwilling to work with him, as most just seemed confused by the question.

At the rate he was going, he would have better luck just confronting the ox demon himself and asking him outright. Unfortunately, that required tracking down Tie-Jian-lang on whatever business he was doing.

Or, y’know, he could just come to him.

“Oi, you!”

Shang Qinghua let out a small squeak as he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his robe and hefted up off the ground. He kicked his legs instinctively for a moment before tucking them in, accepting the futility of the effort.

The An Ding Peak Lord glanced over his shoulder to see the familiar face of Tie-Jian-lang glaring down at him, without a hint of friendliness on the white ox demon’s expression.

“Ah, my lord!” Shang Qinghua chirped, brightly. “How good to see you!”

“Don’t give me that shit!” Tie-Jian-lang snapped. “What are you doing, going around gossiping about me?”

“Gossip?” Shang Qinghua repeated with wide eyes. “Oh, no, no, nothing like that! I would never dream of spreading gossip, like some bored housewife! I was just asking around to try and confirm something interesting I heard!”

“That is literally the definition of gossip, you little rat!” Tie-Jian-lang snapped. “What had you supposedly heard!?”

“Oh, just that you might have some untoward intentions regarding a fellow Peak Lord of mine,” Shang Qinghua said, half covering his mouth with his hand as if he were whispering. At Tie-Jian-lang’s incredulous expression, the An Ding Peak Lord arched an eyebrow. “Towards Qing Jing Peak’s very own Shen Qingqiu?”

The ox demon stared at the human in silence for several moments, to the point that onlookers could almost see the gears churning in the demon’s head as he tried to process the words the human traitor had spoken. In the end, Tie-Jian-lang’s face scrunched up as he stared down at Shang Qinghua. “...Why would I give half a shit about him?”

“Oh, good,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “Very good. That’s good to hear!”

“What, concerned about your fellow peak lords?” Tie-Jian-lang asked with a curl of his lip. “The same ones you’ve been selling out this entire time?”

“No, of course not,” Shang Qinghua said with a smile, which made the ox demon facefault for a moment. “I was concerned about you, and what sort of trouble you might be bringing down upon yourself and our king!”

Tie-Jian-lang blinked slowly before he narrowed his eyes. “...Meaning what?”

“Well, you know how it is,” Shang Qinghua said. “It would bring a lot of trouble should any of it be true, and there would only so much that my king could do to stop any of it.”

Tie-Jian-lang furrowed his brow. He wasn’t sure what trouble the peak lord was referring to, but he also wasn’t certain if that was entirely a bad thing - for his purposes, at any rate. “...Trouble for our king, you mean?”

“Trouble for him, yes,” Shang Qinghua agreed. “But mostly you.”

“Me?” Tie-Jian-lang repeated, with another arch of his eyebrow. “In what way? Who would dare?”

“Well,” Shang Qinghua said with a casual shrug. “You know how he can be.”

“He who!?” Tie-Jian-lang demanded. “Speak plainly, you mealy-mouthed rat!”

“Luo Binghe,” Shang Qinghua said, with a bright smile.

Tie-Jian-lang immediately froze, his eyes going wide. The other demons around them even stopped to stare, abandoning their pretenses for eavesdropping and instead outright gawking at the An Ding Peak Lord.

“You know how my lord can be,” Shang Qinghua said with a small wave of his wrist. “He can be a bit… intense when it comes to certain people. Or one certain person in particular.”

“Wait… that…?” the ox demon murmured, the gears in his head once again beginning to turn with this new information. “Are you asking about… is that peak lord the one you’re talking about!?”

“My lord didn’t spend five years preserving his shizun’s corpse just to let some random cow sniff around him,” Shang Qinghua continued, his tone light but his eyes intense. “Even if you didn’t have any malicious intentions, just the very idea that you might have thought about his shizun at all would… well, end very badly, yes? For you.”

Tie-Jian-lang’s eyebrows shot straight up as it finally settled in just who they were talking about. The ox demon let out a yelp and instantly dropped Shang Qinghua, who hit the ground with a tiny ‘ow’. The demon general stepped back, raising his hands wardingly. “Never! I would never!”

“Good!” Shang Qinghua said from where he lay on the ground, before he sat up into a sitting position. “That’s good! For the best, even! Then clearly this was just a total misunderstanding and we can leave the whole business behind us, yes? Never to be spoken of again!”

“You’re damn right!” Tie-Jian-lang snapped, though there was a slight tremor in his voice. He stepped back again, pointing down at the An Ding Peak Lord. “You better not talk about it anymore, because I haven’t done shit! I’ve never even heard of that peak lord, you got me!? I have no idea who he is and never will!”

“Yes, yes, loud and clear!” Shang Qinghua agreed, so cheerfully. He continued to smile as the demon turned on his hooves and fled quickly, which only brightened said smile. It was amusing to watch, to say the very least.

But it did confirm that, as far as he could tell, Tie-Jian-lang had no intentions towards ‘Shen Qingqiu’. While it was true that it couldn’t be a proper one-to-one comparison, given there were apparently two worlds and thus things would naturally be different at least in some small capacity, but their inherent personalities would still be the same.

Tie-Jian-lang only had one axe to grind, and it wasn’t even his own. Linguang-jun was after Mobei-jun, now more than ever. Neither had time to get involved on peak politics, not unless it would give them something to use against the spiteful uncle’s most hated nephew. And it looked like the System saw no reason to invent any such reason, given the ox demon’s utter lack of initial interest.

So why had that other Tie-Jian-lang targeted ‘Shen Qingqiu’? At the very least, Mobei-jun should have been involved, but Shang Qinghua couldn’t fathom how. While it could simply be just an attempt to undermine his king's efforts at orchestrating the assault at the Immortal Alliance Conference that should have been ongoing at that time, that didn’t feel quite right. All the demons had been working hard and looking forward to the assault, so it hadn’t just been Mobei-jun’s pet project. Interfering with that would’ve upset far too many demons who were not Mobei-jun for Linguang-jun - and by extension Tie-Jian-lang - to risk it.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Shang Qinghua murmured as he stood up, dusting himself off. “If it had been one of the girls, I’d think it was just a wife plot but-”

The An Ding Peak Lord instantly froze at that, his eyebrows shooting straight up. His first instinct was to deny the possibility out of hand, as the utterly ridiculous nonsense it was.

Bingge had his entire harem intact, after all! It wasn’t like Bingmei, who had shunned all the bountiful flowers to chase a damn chrysanthemum like a lovesick maiden! Bingge had been every bit the stallion protagonist that Airplane-bro had written him to be! Cucumber-bro had confirmed this himself when he ran into the original goods the first time!

…Though, it was true that Bingge then kidnapped Cucumber-bro. And it did seem like Bingge planned on incorporating his captive ‘shizun’ into his harem. And then that whole affair somehow led to the entirety of Proud Immortal Demon’s Way reverting back to before the Immortal Alliance Conference… for some reason…

Which could mean…

Which might imply…

Which raised the possibility…

…That he had introduced both of them to the joys of being shizun-sexuals.

Shang Qinghua’s expression deadpanned. “...That motherfucker.”

---

Back in the other world, it wasn’t until he was almost to An Ding Peak that Shang Qinghua finally stopped running. And even then, it wasn’t due to lack of urgency but more the lack of ability of his lungs to keep up the pace for such an extended period of time. As he stood panting in the middle of the rainbow bridge, suspended over the deep chasm that separated the peaks, he felt as if someone - a specific someone - was still nipping at his feet. Though he was certain that by this point, it was just his nerves and not literal.

…Possibly.

With that unnerving thought in mind, the traitorous An Ding Peak Lord finished catching his breath and resumed his quick pace back to the relative safety of his peak. No one gave him a glance or even questioned his flustered state, not even when they passed him by on the rainbow bridges, and the rat made it back to his metaphorical stronghold in record time.

Shang Qinghua let out a deep sigh as he finally came to a stop right in front of his room, giving himself permission to feel relief at his perceived escape, before he opened the door and stepped inside.

…Only to be immediately greeted by the sight of Mobei-jun sitting at the table with his arms crossed, directly across from the doorway.

“Ghyeck-!?” Shang Qinghua let out a strangled noise, jerking back, before he caught himself and quickly stepped inside. He shut the door firmly behind him as he smoothed out his expression into a smile. “M-my king! How good to see you!”

“You’re late,” Mobei-jun said.

“Ah,” Shang Qinghua paused at that as he furrowed his brow, scanning his brain for anything he might have missed. He didn’t recall having a meeting scheduled after the one with his fellow martial brothers. But then again, it was Mobei-jun. If he decided he wanted a meeting, he would have one - scheduling be damned. “A-am I? A thousand apologies…”

“You were supposed to come straight back after the meeting,” Mobei-jun said. “Instead, you went to Qing Jing Peak.”

Shang Qinghua’s brow crease deepened as he struggled to analyze the current conversation and where it was supposed to be going. For starters, it was clear that the ice demon had been watching him, though he couldn’t fathom why. “O-oh, y-yes, I… went to check on my colleague-”

“The one you gave those pills to,” Mobei-jun said, his stare pointed.

The An Ding Peak Lord opened his mouth to speak before he clamped his jaw down tightly with an audible click. Of course - Qing Jing Peak. Mobei-jun hadn’t been stalking him, he had been stalking the peak, or more specifically, a certain person on that peak. And judging by what had happened at the Bamboo House, it was finally clear what had happened and what the sense of dread had meant.

The fated meeting had occurred.

Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun had met.

Fucking hell.

Mobei-jun was silent as he stared at Shang Qinghua for several moments before he finally uncrossed his arms and reached his right hand out, palm up. The traitorous peak lord stared blankly for a moment, uncertain of what Mobei-jun wanted, before a beaconing wiggle of the ice demon’s fingers clarified the intent of the gesture.

The An Ding Peak Lord jumped slightly before he almost instinctively reached into his robes to pull out the jar of spirit herb pills and put it in the ice demon’s hand. Mobei-jun clamped his fingers around the jar before pulling his hand back so that he could look at the contraband.

Mobei-jun regarded the bottle with an icy stare, giving it a small shake to hear the pills rattle inside, before he turned to stare at Shang once more. “Was he the one you originally intended to kill?” The demon gave the jar another shake. “With these?”

“Ah, you see,” Shang Qinghua began, beads of sweat beginning to trickle down the back of his neck. “I was-”

“Yes or no.” Mobei-jun said.

Shang Qinghua flinched, cutting himself off from his attempts to explain the situation. His sense of dread intensified, pooling in his stomach in the form of nausea that threatened to overcome him. “...Yes.”

Mobei-jun gave a small nod of acknowledgement as he looked at the jar of pills, so completely unassuming as they sat in his hand. He then glanced back to the peak lord, who looked to be growing increasingly pale - and perhaps even a little green around the ears. The ice demon held the human’s stare, noting the way the man was beginning to tremble, before he finally broke his gaze and placed the jar on the table in front of him.

“Going forward,” Mobei-jun said. “You are not to kill anyone - or attempt to kill anyone - without my express permission. Do you understand?”

Shang Qinghua’s expression went blank. “Hah?”

“Not directly, not indirectly,” Mobei-jun said, his voice firm. “No knives in the back, no knives in the front, no pills in their tea, no subtle suggestions that they might stupidly take as their own. Even if they are the ones actively hanging themselves, you are not to help them by holding the other end of the rope. Do you understand?”

Now Shang Qinghua really did feel like he was disappearing into the ground, as the floor may as well have been ripped away from underneath him. He couldn’t find his voice nor the strength to move his legs, even as his mind screamed at him to flee.

Fucking hell, had he actually figured out about Tie-Jian-lang too!? That oh-so specific example couldn’t have meant anything else, could it!? Was it really unraveling all at once like this?! And yet there hadn’t been a single warning message from the System!

‘Do his best’ indeed! What was he to do his best about!? Hadn’t he just walked into his own trial and execution!?

Was he really going to die here after everything he had done, everything he had tried to accomplish!? Did all those points, all that grinding, ultimately amount to nothing!?

“Do you understand?” Mobei-jun pressed, his voice like rumbling thunder.

Shang Qinghua swallowed hard before he managed a small squeak. “...Yes?”

The An Ding Peak Lord could feel the way Mobei-jun was staring at him, sending cold through his very veins and freezing his blood. He tensed when he saw the ice demon suddenly stand up before moving around the table towards him. Surely, if his legs hadn’t suddenly gone numb, he would have immediately fled out the door.

Unfortunately, all he could do was stand there as the demon drew close. As Mobei-jun reached out towards him, Shang Qinghua snapped his eyes shut in anticipation of what was undoubtedly going to be the feeling of his skull caving in.

So naturally, he was completely thunderstruck when he felt the ice demon place his hand on top of the peak lord’s head, giving his hair a little ruffle. The grip was firm and a bit too rough, like the owner was trying very hard to be gentle when he was clearly not used to it, but was still making an effort. It was awkward and almost rehearsed, as if he had been practicing, but entirely genuine.

In a single instant, all the frigid dread was replaced with an intense warmth that flooded his face before shooting through his bones. Shang Qinghua opened his eyes to gawk at Mobei-jun, who was looking down at him with what could almost… if you squint very hard…

…Be interpreted as a… smile?

“Good boy,” Mobei-jun said.

Shang Qinghua felt as if a burst of steam had suddenly erupted from the top of his head, threatening to melt Mobei-jun’s hand where it lay. His face turned a very deep shade of red as something bubbled up from his stomach and through his chest before bursting out of his mouth.

“TEA!” Shang Qinghua blurted out.

Mobei-jun blinked, his hand going still.

“Tea!” Shang Qinghua repeated, without screaming this time but still with incredible force. “For king!”

Mobei-jun gave another small blink before he watched the An Ding Peak Lord suddenly rush past him, scurrying to the kitchen alcove of the room. The ice demon watched without comment as the man was fumbling erratically with the kettle, nearly dropping it on his foot before catching it, then spilling water all over himself and the counter as he opened the spigot a bit too forcefully.

“Tea! King!” was all Shang Qinghua could say as he scrambled to make what looked to be shaping up into a rather disastrous cup of tea. “Tea for king!”

After several moments of silence, a small smirk crept across Mobei-jun’s face as he tilted his head to the side. “Hmph.”

Chapter Text

The sun had only just begun to rise above the horizon, its rays spilling across the floor of the darkened room like paint. On the bed, Shen Jiu was finally starting to show signs of life and stir from his deep slumber. The scum villain made a soft noise in the back of his throat as he slowly stretched his arms and legs out each in turn, his movements lethargic as if he had slept for a long time.

And in truth, he had.

Shen Jiu fumbled to sit up before he draped his legs over the side of the bed. He reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand. He then lifted his head to look around the room with a blurry stare that confirmed his brain hadn’t quite caught up with the rest of him just yet. His hand trailed from his eyes to touch the back of his neck, his fingers idly pressing into the stiff muscles that protested each movement.

Groggily, his thoughts bubbled up from the depths of his brain before forming. It was still rather early, wasn’t it? He didn’t expect the disciples to get up for their morning cultivation drills for at least another hour. At most, the attendants might be in the process of preparing the kitchen for breakfast, warming up the ovens and prepping the food.

Honestly, he’d prefer another hour of sleep himself, but something was bothering him - like he had forgotten something important. But what could possibly be so important at this time of day? What couldn’t wait until the sun was a bit higher in the sky?

Or maybe it didn’t have anything to do with the morning at all…?

Luo Binghe stood just out of sight in the little kitchen area of the Bamboo House, watching his shizun as the man seemed to be stumbling into awareness. He was pleased to see that the scum was able to use all his limbs, visible confirmation that all his work at flushing his meridians had been worth it.

Besides, it really was rather adorable. The sleepy little faces Shen Jiu was making, so vulnerable as he hadn’t fully woken up yet. It made the former demon lord want to pull the man into his arms and snuggle back under the covers. When he was like this, his shizun was likely to simply fall back asleep in his warm embrace…

…Or flail and bite him, which was why he wasn’t indulging in that urge. Not just yet.

Movement interrupted Luo Binghe’s musings and he glanced over to see Shen Jiu suddenly stumbling out of the bed with a strange urgency. The disciple noted the man’s expression, which seemed rather alarmed for some reason. It confused the former demon lord briefly before the answer came to him all at once.

“Oh. Right,” Bingge thought, his expression going deadpan as his mood had been unceremoniously ruined by the reminder. “The last thing he’d remember would be the whole Lingxi Caves situation. I suppose he’s going to go look for that Bai Zhan bastard-”

Luo Binghe’s thoughts came to a screeching halt at the sight of Shen Jiu stumbling across the room to the side room, to his room. The scum villain grasped the side of the door frame and looked inside. And if it wasn’t clear enough who the shizun was looking for, his next words removed all doubt.

“Binghe!?” Shen Jiu called out, craning his neck for any sign of the boy in question. “Where are you!?”

Bingge felt as if his heart was about to explode in his chest as he stared, his wide eyes taking in the sight of the scum villain - his scum villain - looking for him. Not for Liu Qingge, not for Yue Qingyuan, but for Luo Binghe.

Of course, Shen Jiu wasn’t privy to his audience. For all he could see, his disciple was nowhere to be seen. The shizun grimaced before he stumbled towards the front door, grabbing it before flinging it open.

“Binghe!” Shen Jiu called out, his voice a little hoarse from lack of use the past few days. “Beast! Where are you? Answer me!”

It was clear that his disciple’s absence was distressing the scum villain, something that would have seemed completely unthinkable in their past life - or even several weeks ago. Binghe couldn’t help but drink in the sight from his vantage point, like a parched man in a desert. However, he couldn’t enjoy it quite as much as he would have liked, as the man was clearly beginning to panic, as if it were a kettle about to boil over. With how fragile the man’s health was, Bingge couldn’t bring himself to tolerate it for even a moment longer.

“Shizun!” Bingge called from the kitchen area, stepping out into view so that the scum villain could see him. “Good morning! Would you like congee or porridge for breakfast?”

The scum villain nearly jumped out of his skin, grabbing the door to keep himself from toppling over, before he whirled around to see his smiling disciple. When Shen Jiu’s eyes fell upon Bingge, his relief was absolutely palpable. The sight of it sent a strong feeling through the former demon lord, like snow melting on a spring day. It took everything he had not to rush over, and instead remind himself to keep his innocent facade.

And more importantly, relish the fact - the unmitigated truth - that the look was meant for him, and no one else.

“Yes, yes, congee would be better,” Bingge said, as if Shen Jiu had answered him and he was agreeing with the man. “Something gentle for the stomach, while Shizun is still recovering.”

“Ah,” Shen Jiu hesitated for a moment before he seemed to recover, his composure relaxing slightly. Still, there was an edge of uneasiness in the way the scum villain was glancing around, his right hand reaching up to fidget with the collar of his under robes. “Yes…”

…Clearly, the scum wanted to ask about Liu Qingge and what happened at the Lingxi Caves, but lacked the nerves to do it. The thought brought an unpleasant twinge to Bingge’s otherwise glowing mood, but he was a magnanimous and benevolent sort. He could throw the Bai Zhan bastard a couple scraps, so long as they both knew the meal itself belonged to him and him alone.

“While Shizun eats his breakfast, this one shall inform Liu-shishu that Shizun is awake,” Luo Binghe said, with obedient grace. At the sound of the War God’s name, Shen Jiu immediately perked up, his eyes widening. A dark little flame flickered in Bingge’s heart, but the former demon lord swiftly extinguished them with a mental wave of his hand. “Liu-shishu was quite concerned about Shizun, so he will surely be thrilled to see Shizun awake.”

“So he’s… alive, then,” Shen Jiu murmured, his fingers clamping around the front of his under robes like a vice. “I… it wasn’t just a dream, I… I actually…”

“Shizun saved Liu-shishu, and everyone knows it,” Luo Binghe said, with a nod. “But now, Shizun needs to focus on himself and recover from what he had to endure for Liu-shishu’s sake,” The former demon lord gestured to the table meaningfully. “Please sit, Shizun, and wait for your breakfast. I will be done shortly!”

Shen Jiu glanced down at the table, then back over to the retreating backside of his disciple. He felt like all the tension in his body was coming undone, his legs beginning to shake. The scum villain stumbled to sit at the table, lest he collapse to the ground instead, and stared at the wall as it slowly settled in that it was all true.

He had won - he had saved Liu Qingge.

It wasn’t just a dream, it wasn’t just wishful thinking he had been clawing for. It hadn’t been some delusion while he succumbed to his injuries. He had actually succeeded and the nightmare, or at least that part of the nightmare, had finally been averted. Erased. Undone. His greatest regret had been prevented.

Even if he had needed the beast’s help…

No, because he had the beast’s help…

The beast had been willing to help…

Didn’t that also mean that there really was hope? That he might actually be able to do some good for this world, and for himself, and wasn’t condemned to the same fate he had sown himself before? Wasn’t all of it living proof, living proof, that he could actually do something right and wasn’t completely rotten?

Shen Jiu couldn’t help it. All at once, tears began to flow down his cheeks without his consent. A tremor ran up the scum villain’s spine as he set his elbows on the table, propping up his hands as he covered his face.

He didn’t know if he should be thanking the gods or spirits, or even one specific Spirit in particular for the opportunity they had decided to grant him. For the effort, the chance, that they had decided to fritter away on him. But at the very least, it seemed he hadn’t completely wasted it.

And for the first time in his life, he felt grateful to be alive.

---

It took Shen Jiu some time to recover his composure, and Luo Binghe’s fussing over him certainly didn’t help. The beast’s alarmed concern upon returning with breakfast to see his shizun in tears only heightened the man’s anxiety about the whole affair. It was only after the disciple finally left to alert the other peak lords - with much prodding, the cheeky brat - did the scum villain finally find a much needed chance to breathe, and for the excess emotions to finish leaking out with no witnesses to see his shameful display.

And breakfast certainly helped, too.

By the time Bingge returned, Shen Jiu was calm once more, quietly sipping his tea at the table while surrounded by empty bowls and plates. He was feeling full and content, which was something that he had very rarely ever experienced, and so was in a particularly subdued mood when both Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan returned with the disciple.

Bingge immediately moved into action, picking up the dishes and whisking them away to the kitchen. Still, even as he gave the impression of business, he made a distinctive point to keep an eye on the two ‘visitors’ who were intruding despite being invited. It seemed the art of politely declining had truly been lost.

Both peak lords took a moment to stare at Shen Jiu, taking in the sight of the normally contentious scum villain looking so… quiet. Docile, even. The man didn’t even scowl when he turned to see them enter his abode, slowly lowering his tea cup.

“Good morning,” Shen Jiu said. “It seems I caused everyone quite some concern.”

Yue Qingyuan felt a sense of alarm at the scene, though he reminded himself that surely it was just because Shen Jiu had been through quite an ordeal - yet again. At least the man hadn’t bothered to try and rise to greet them. That accounted for something, yes?

“Shidi, how are you feeling?” Yue Qingyuan asked, keeping his tone gentle.

Shen Jiu paused as he considered the question before he looked down at his tea. His first instinct was to bluster and bite at the mere suggestion that there might have been anything wrong, as such a question would clearly imply, but he found himself distinctly lacking the energy for it. Such was often the problem with being fueled purely by spite - though overwhelmingly powerful, it left little else once it finally petered out. “…Despite what one might think with all the sleeping I have apparently been doing these past few days, I feel… a bit tired still.”

“That’s understandable, given everything you’ve endured,” Yue Qingyuan said with a nod, the tension in his body easing as the man’s words confirmed his suspicions and soothed his concerns. “You should take things slowly and, if you feel the need to sleep more, do not hesitate to do so.”

Liu Qingge frowned as he watched the exchange, noting the scum villain’s demeanor. He should have been pleased at the change in the man’s behavior, but not like this. Not if that development came off the backs of suffering and sacrifice - for his sake.

He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.

“You need to rest,” Liu Qingge said, sharply. “You’ve done enough. You’ve hurt yourself enough.”

Shen Jiu paused at that before he furrowed his brow and lifted his head to cast his shidi a side-eye. “You say that as if I chose-”

“You chose to go into the Lingxi Caves,” Liu Qingge said.

Shen Jiu hesitated before he pulled his lips tight into a grimace. “…I did what needed to be done. That’s all.”

“You could have left me to rot,” Liu Qingge said, his eyes challenging Shen Jiu to refute him. “No one would have expected anything from you. I didn’t.”

“Whether you expected anything from me or not, it doesn’t matter,” Shen Jiu said as he looked away, his tone more than a little weary. “I am used to people expecting nothing from me, so it’s of no concern to me.”

Yue Qingyuan’s expression grew pained. He knew precisely what the scum villain was referring to, and fully understood his own part to play in the circumstances that lead to such a pessimistic outlook. Worst of all, he felt helpless to refute it.

He certainly didn’t have the right to.

Something about Shen Jiu’s answer boiled Liu Qingge’s blood, and not in the way he was used to. He felt a wave of shame, as it finally dawned on him just how much he had misunderstood the scum villain. He clenched his fists as a slight tremor ran up his arms.

“As you might have not noticed, things tend to go quite wrong when I get involved, regardless of my intentions,” Shen Jiu continued, not looking at either of his fellow peak lords. “My presence could have just as easily led to your death, so you shouldn’t overstate my involvement in saving you.”

“But you didn’t,” Liu Qingge said. “And I am still here because of it.”

“If anything, I did it just as much for myself as for you,” Shen Jiu said with a shake of his head. “Just consider it as me doing as I like, and move on already. There is nothing more to discuss.”

The War God narrowed his eyes as he stared pointedly at the Qing Jing Peak Lord, who in turn was actively avoiding his gaze. After a moment of silence, Liu Qingge nodded his head. “Very well. If you are just doing as you like, then I will do the same.”

Shen Jiu gave a small blink before he reluctantly turned his head to eye Liu Qingge, as something about the man’s phrasing felt off. He didn’t quite follow what the Bai Zhan Peak Lord was trying to say, but something about it didn’t sit right with him. Though how much of that was due to Liu Qingge’s own ineloquence was anyone’s guess. “…Do as you like, then, and-”

“Going forward, I will protect you,” Liu Qingge said, with a sage nod of his head. “I swear by my sword that no one will ever touch you again without facing the wrath of Bai Zhan Peak.”

Shen Jiu stopped to gawk at Liu Qingge, his eyebrows arching straight upward. From the kitchen, Luo Binghe nearly dropped the tea kettle and whirled about to give the war god a horrified stare of his own. The shizun and disciple seemed to be in unison, both in feeling and thoughts, as they blurted out at the same time.

“What!?”

Liu Qingge lifted his chin upwards, his expression challenging as he stared down at Shen Jiu. “You heard me.”

Shen Jiu struggled to form words for the moment as it fully settled in what the brute had just said. Absolutely aghast both at the suggestion itself and the implication that he needed that protection, anger surged up inside the scum villain and he found himself not quite so tired after all. Not when it came to this level of bullshit!

“The hell you will!” Shen Jiu snapped, scowling right at the War God.

“The hell I won’t,” Liu Qingge retorted, with an impassive shrug.

“The - hell - you - will,” Shen Jiu growled, narrowing his eyes.

“The - hell - I - won’t,” Liu Qingge said, tilting his head with a small smirk on his lips.

“I forbid it!” Shen Jiu slammed his hands on the table, causing his tea cup to rattle and nearly threaten to spill. “You are absolutely not allowed-”

“How will you stop me?” Liu Qingge asked, with an arch of his eyebrow.

Shen Jiu stopped at that as his eyebrows arched upwards. He was all too aware that even at his best, he was never able to defeat the war god - a fact that caused him unending ire prior to the man’s death. So what exactly did he expect to do in his current state? And judging by his shidi’s increasing smugness, the other man was clearly thinking the same thing.

“You bastard!” Shen Jiu snarled as he slammed his hands on the table again, this time actually spilling his tea as the cup wobbled and fell onto the floor. “I didn’t save your ass just for you to feel indebted to me!”

“I know,” Liu Qingge said, crossing his arms. “Which is why I am doing what I choose. Just as you did.”

That smug piece of shit! Just who the hell did he think he was talking to!?

Yue Qingyuan found himself smiling, he simply couldn’t help it. Even though the two were clearly arguing, it was different from all the previous confrontations. The peak lords were finally getting along, in their own way, and he dared to hope that their relationship would only continue to improve. Xiao Jiu had finally opened up to Liu Qingge, who was responding in turn.

Even if their kindness was a bit… interesting to see.

Bingge’s reaction to the scene was less charitable than the sect leader’s - and far less friendly. The former demon lord stared hard at the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, with eyes that would have surely burst the man into flames if he had the capability. It seemed he had gravely underestimated the War God, and the capacity of his devotion towards the man who had ironically been branded his killer in a previous time.

He had seen the signs in that other world’s Liu Qingge, but hadn’t taken them seriously. After all, who would have anticipated a victim’s potential good relations with their murderer? And yet, clearly he had been wrong - everyone had been wrong. Very, very wrong.

While he had suspected it, the recent events had all but confirmed the truth - Shen Jiu had been innocent of Liu Qingge’s death. And that same scenario might have played out the exact same way this time. Or perhaps the opposite, if Bingge hadn’t interfered. One of them had been fated to die in those caves, with Liu Qingge being the one to draw the short stick last time and Shen Jiu having nearly ‘won’ the honor this time.

And he couldn’t be entirely certain that the scum villain wouldn’t have been perfectly fine with that outcome.

Bingge grit his teeth, his jaw clenching at the thought. The very idea that his scum villain who had been abandoned by his colleagues for the sake of this man would now find himself under his care and protection, it would have been truly unthinkable - inconceivable. Shen Jiu had died being reviled by everyone, and he had been innocent of the primary charge that had condemned him to that state. What a twisted sense of irony, and Bingge was in no mood to enjoy it. He might have before, but not now.

Just who the hell was this Liu Qingge!? Even more, he felt regret at having saved the man from the caves. He should have left him to rot, just as he had before!

…But then, how would Shen Jiu have reacted to that? His pleading, his desperation, and the gratitude he felt towards his beast for helping him in his time of need. When put like that…

Bingge took a deep breath before he exhaled through his nose, attempting to regain his composure and keep his dutiful disciple mask on his face. It was fine, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He gained far more than he had lost by saving Liu Qingge, and small concessions were often necessary in exchange for even greater rewards. He would just have to keep a very close eye on the Bai Zhan Peak Lord.

Very, very close.

---

It had been several days since the peak lord meeting and all the shenanigans surrounding it, and Shang Qinghua was still no closer to understanding what the hell Mobei-jun had been thinking. Which in and of itself wasn’t saying much, as the ice demon’s state of mind was often beyond mortal understanding.

But still, what the hell was all that nonsense!?

It took everything the peak lord had not to audibly sigh as he stood beside Mobei-jun at the front of the long table, surrounded by the ice demon’s lackeys - ahem, generals - as they discussed the current goings-on in their realm. He always had to keep an innocuous expression on his face, despite the intense scrutiny he had to endure. Even Mobei-jun’s uncle Linguang-jun was there, the conniving demon keeping his own smile on his face while not bothering to hide the daggers in his eyes.

The two were quite the birds of a feather, and could have even bonded over their mutual treachery if not for the simple fact that Linguang-jun would have skinned him alive and made a pair of gloves out of him long ago if not for Mobei-jun’s protection. And it didn’t help that most of that ire was specifically because of that protection, and his constant support of the ice demon.

The other demons were never happy to see him, least of all at their important meetings, and honestly the feeling was mutual. They never seemed to understand why their leader allowed his human pet to stay so close, and be so integrated in their business. But of course they couldn’t; as far as they were concerned, Shang Qinghua had no business beyond standing there and looking pretty.

Honestly, he was the only one that was expected to stand. Everyone else had chairs! What exactly did they have to be salty about?

As if those reports they were combing over hadn’t been meticulously prepared by the very human they held in such low regard! But that was the story of his life, wasn’t it? No one ever paid attention to the work he did, even when the results were right in front of their face.

Even Mobei-jun took him for granted, using him as a tool without ever acknowledging just how much the An Ding Peak Lord did for him. He was constantly trying to prove his worth, what value his life had, to someone who constantly refused to see it or even offer him a bit of praise.

Mobei-jun’s smile was almost imperceivable, but he had noticed it. He knew the demon’s face well enough to know an anomaly when he saw one. Combined with the stiff, awkward heat-pat of a typically violent demon making the attempt to be gentle and…

Shang Qinghua pulled his lips tight and averted his eyes, looking away at a random wall as he didn’t trust himself at that moment to meet any demon’s gaze. He had been thinking a lot about that moment recently, more than he cared to admit.

It was all really pathetic, he was being pathetic. He had long since given up ever hearing any words of praise from anyone, be it the demons or Cang Qiong Mountain. All of his achievements were either ‘to be expected’ or treated as a freak accident - something to marvel at while simultaneously spitting down at him. A backhanded compliment at best, and a thinly veiled insult at worst.

And sometimes, they didn’t even bother with the veil at all!

But for him to gobble up that little bit of praise, that tiny bit of affection… how could he possibly describe it as anything but pathetic? Was he really that desperate for even the tiniest bit of acknowledgement that he’d just melt like butter on a skillet?

Well, whatever, it didn’t matter. The entire thing had been simply a fluke, anyway. He knew Mobei-jun very well, and the demon was not affectionate. He was cold and aloof, as one should expect from an ice demon. Whatever had possessed him to act so contrary to his very foundation was most likely a one-time thing. And like all whims, it would leave like a puff of morning mist in the air. He doubted he’d ever hear those words again, feel that touch again-

Shang Qinghua’s eyes widened as he stiffened, his thoughts interrupted by the feeling of a firm hand patting him lightly on the head. With the rest of his body frozenly rigid, only the peak lord’s eyes darted over to see Mobei-jun looking at him with what once again might have been construed as a smile.

“You worked hard,” Mobei-jun said, as if stating a fact. “The reports are thorough.”

Shang Qinghua didn’t know what to say, or if he even could say anything, so instead he let out a small noise of awkward agreement.

“Well done,” Mobei-jun said, tapping his fingers lightly against the human’s scalp.

It was as if Mobei-jun had pulled the lever of a slot machine, only for it to ring up the jackpot prize. But instead of coins, all that fell out of the machine were Shang Qinghua’s brains and capacity for thought, and with it any chance of intelligent conversation.

“Tea!” Shang Qinghua blurted out.

Mobei-jun seemed less startled by the An Ding Peak Lord’s outburst this time. In fact, he seemed to have expected it as he looked at the man with a knowing nod. “Yes. Tea.”

Trembling with a face so red that surely he was about to burst, Shang Qinghua turned sharply on his heels, darting away from the table. “Tea for king!”

To his credit, Shang Qinghua wasn’t the only one completely stupefied - and stupidefied - by what had just transpired. All the assembled demons gawked, some with their lower jaws actively hanging loose as they gaped open mouthed at their ice king. Linguang-jun looked like he could shatter in a stiff breeze, frozen solid from what had just transpired.

The assembled demons’ shock only seemed to intensify when Mobei-jun reclined in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. The ice demon tilted his head as if he were listening, until the sound of something being dropped clattered in from the other room along with flustered cursing and the word ‘tea’ being repeated over and over in a panicked tone. It seemed that, once again, the ice demon had a rather disastrous brew of tea to look forward to.

No one moved, spoke, or even breathed when a wry smirk broke out on Mobei-jun’s face, before he let out a small satisfied huff. “Hmph.”

Chapter Text

Winter had come yet again to Cang Qiong Mountain, and each of its mighty peaks found themselves buried under a heavy shawl of snow. Shen Jiu stood among the snow drifts, dressed in warm robes to protect him from the cold. He looked skyward to watch the snow as it continued to fall without signs of stopping. Time had marched ever forward, each day as fleeting as the snowflakes fluttering down from the fluffy white clouds above, only to melt in the scum villain’s open palm.

Several years had passed since Shen Jiu had found himself alive again, back in a time that had long become his memories. After his rescue of Liu Qingge and averting the man’s fate, things had finally begun to settle down. The Qing Jing Peak Lord had initially spent much of the time waiting for the other shoe to drop, as his life had been a constant stream of shenanigans up until that point. But all at once, the chaos seemed to have petered out after the confrontation at Lingxi Caves and something that resembled normalcy - or at least, the new ‘norm’ - set in within the Cang Qiong Mountain sect.

Still, Shen Jiu was very much aware that it was merely a calm before the storm. With each passing day, month, and year, the Immortal Alliance Conference crept ever closer. It was his new focus, his new dreadful goal to overcome, and he had spent the past few years training himself, his disciples, and one disciple in particular for that fateful day of carnage.

He would minimize as many casualties as possible, if he had anything to say about it.

If the beast had anything to say about it.

“Shizun!”

Shen Jiu jumped slightly, startled out of his morbid brooding. He glanced over his shoulder to see the beast in question, as if summoned by the mere thought of him. Bingge had grown quite a bit the fast few years, no longer a fresh-faced boy but a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. The scum villain liked to think the boy had grown well under his tutelage, his actual instruction instead of the previous nonsense he had done in his past life.

But the beast was still just as audacious as ever.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” Bingge demanded to know, scowling. He didn’t give his shizun a chance to respond before he pulled out a much heavier snow coat from under his arm and swiftly placed it on the man’s shoulders, bundling him up. “Coming out like this without the proper clothing! What if you catch a cold!?”

Shen Jiu made a small noise in the back of his throat as he looked down to adjust the coat over his current attire. Such a bossy little brat. Did he forget who he was speaking to? To an onlooker, one might mistake Luo Binghe for the shizun and Shen Jiu for the wayward disciple - if not for their attire. Bingge was such a little beast fussing over such a little thing, but he was Shen Jiu’s little beast.

Though, he supposed it did get a little colder than it had been this morning. With the sun disappearing behind the snow-filled clouds, it was only natural for the temperature to drop. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the tale-tell biting against his skin until the beast pointed it out.

The scum villain blinked as he was once again interrupted by the disciple, who suddenly snatched his hands with his own, feeling them intently.

“Your hands are freezing!” Bingge continued with his scolding as he pressed his hands against his shizun’s, using his own body heat to try and warm them. “And you didn’t even tell me that you were going anywhere! These mountains are dangerous in the winter! What if you had fallen into a snow drift!?”

Shen Jiu made another noise in his throat before a small smile appeared on his face. “Well, then I suppose you would have had no choice but to come and find me.”

Luo Bingge stopped at that, his heart skipping a beat, before his eyes darted up to see Shen Jiu’s face. At the sight of the man’s small smile, all his anger melted away into a warmth that completely consumed him from head to toe. He didn’t even notice the cold anymore, holding his shizun’s hands.

Shen Jiu seemed to realize what he had said and swiftly looked away, fixing a small scowl on his face to hide all traces of the previous smile. “Have you finished your duties for the day?”

Bingge felt deep regret at the smile disappearing, but reminded himself that fleeting wonders were precious specifically because they were so fleeting. “Not yet, Shizun.”

“Then why are you wasting time here?” Shen Jiu asked, with a crook of an eyebrow as he shot the beast a side-eye.

“Because part of this one’s duties is taking care of Shizun,” Bingge said with a bright smile. The sun may have been hiding behind the clouds, but even if it wasn’t, it couldn’t compare to the glow of the disciple’s smile. “Until Shizun is warm and safe, this one cannot say that he has completed his duties.”

Shen Jiu stared at Binghe for a moment before he was forced to squint from how dazzling the young man was being. No wonder everyone was always falling all over their own asses for the beast, both now and then! He had been able to play both women and men like a fiddle, and it seemed his skills were just as potent now as they had been then. Even he had felt his heart skip a beat at the charmer’s words, so it was no wonder the Old Palace Master had practically thrown himself at Luo Binghe’s feet and given him Huan Hua Palace so readily.

By the gods, this boy was dangerous!

“Shizun, let’s go back,” Bingge said, his smile practically sparkling like the snowflakes fluttering down around them. “I will cook you something that will warm you up!”

Shen Jiu pursed his lips for a moment, debating whether or not to argue with the disciple. After all, he still wasn’t a fan of being told what to do - and Bingge’s suggestion didn’t feel very much like one. He almost felt obligated to refuse, if only to reaffirm his position as the shizun in this scenario. But as visions of bubbling hot pot and roasted chestnuts flashed through his mind, his stubborn contrariness quickly lost the battle against his stomach. “...I suppose we might as well. It will only get colder.”

“Of course, Shizun!” Bingge chirped, seemingly so obedient despite Shen Jiu being the one to obey. Still, he knew far better than to call it out. In obtaining his victories, it was the kind thing to allow his scum villain to obtain a few of his own - even if it was just an illusion between themselves.

As Shen Jiu turned to head back to the Bamboo House, Luo Binghe quickly followed alongside him, keeping a sharp eye on his movements. The attention did not go unnoticed by the shizun, though he kept himself from reacting. It was a consequence of that night several years prior, when his body had abandoned all pretenses of wellness and exposed the full extent of his qi deviation to the beast. Since then, Bingge was much more attentive to his every movement, checking for signs of a resurgence.

And somehow, it was both equal parts infuriating and reassuring. At the very least, he would never have to worry about his legs giving out again, collapsing in a damn ditch or snowdrift somewhere. Bingge would find him.

Bingge would always find him. And preferably, before Liu Qingge also found him.

Shen Jiu gave his fan a small flick as he held it to his face, hiding the way his lips pulled tight. It was humiliating enough for his disciple to find him, but the boy at least seemed to have some sense of propriety and kept things to himself! Every time Liu Qingge found him struggling up some steps or needing to take a break, he was sure to have a visit from Mu Qingfang soon after! He understood that they were worried about him, but at least leave him some shred of face!

At least no one was ratting him out to Yue Qingyuan anymore. It may have taken several times of the oaf rushing over to Qing Jing Peak over the most minor of physical falters for them to understand why it was best to keep things on a ‘need to know’ basis, but they reached there eventually. If only for Yue Qingyuan’s own health, let alone Shen Jiu’s! That man was going to die of worry long before any arrows could reach him!

Shen Jiu exhaled through his nose. Still, his body was improving - finally. It had taken far longer than he would have liked, but his body was growing stronger. And with it, his state of mind had improved. In the past, he had always felt so alone and isolated on Qing Jing Peak - and he believed that was exactly how it should be. But these days, he had become more aware of everyone around him. And more importantly, that awareness didn’t bring him a sense of dread or anxiety as it once had - that he was being threatened at any given moment, by someone wanting to take everything from him.

Perhaps it was because he had already lost everything before, and it now held no real power over him. But while that was a nice thought, he knew that couldn’t be the case. If anything, it should’ve brought him more anxiety, more stress as his fears had been proven well-founded.

But here like this, at this time, he couldn’t help but feel… peaceful. Like the quietly slumbering peak around him, covered in snow. Even with the impending Immortal Alliance Conference looming, he was still able to find moments of quiet. He couldn’t imagine where this reassurance was coming from.

Or rather, he could, but didn’t understand why.

Shen Jiu glanced over his shoulder to see Bingge matching him step for step, ever watchful and attentive. Upon noticing the scum villain glancing at him, the disciple greeted his shizun with a bright smile, full of warmth. It was an expression he had grown accustomed to seeing on the beast’s face, one that he would never have thought he would ever perceive - let alone have it aimed at himself.

Certainly, he had seen a ‘smile’ many times in the dungeon, with his future-past tormentor grinning down at him. But it had been the expression of a victorious predator looking down at his hapless prey, beaten and broken. There had been no warmth, no kindness, only a promise that his suffering would never end. But the joke had ultimately been on the beast, when Shen Jiu died unexpectedly and without the beast’s consent.

…But then, here they were again, so who was the joke truly on?

Still, that smile had tormented Shen Jiu for many years before he had finally managed to escape. It had been burned into his mind, or so he had thought. But recently… he couldn’t really see that smile anymore. Even when his mind tried to call up images of that time, images of that beast, he found it increasingly difficult to do so. The face had become faded, worn even, like a stone washed smooth in a river. Instead, the only smile he could actually see with any clarity was the one currently on the beast’s face - the beast of the now.

All in all, it was a much better smile.

“Shizun, is something wrong?”

Shen Jiu jerked slightly as he realized he had drifted off, staring at his disciple’s face. At the crease of concern on Bingge’s brow, the scum villain shook his head and looked away. “No, this master was simply… reminiscing.”

“It is the season for such introspection,” Bingge said, dutifully.

“Yes,” Shen Jiu agreed with a snap of his fan, closing it before pressing it against his chin. “But too much introspection can lead one to get lost in the past, and forget to look forward into the future.”

“Right into a snowbank,” Bingge said as he guided his shizun with one hand away from a rather large pile of snow in front of him. Shen Jiu paused and feigned as if he hadn’t noticed either the implication nor the snow hazard, moving around both with dignified grace.

“Of course,” Shen Jiu said.

“This one shall get a broom and clear all the snow off of the paths,” Bingge said. “Shizun should not have to worry about walking around snow on his own peak!”

“Have Ming Fan do it,” Shen Jiu said, not looking at Bingge. He didn’t notice the flash of irritation on the beast’s face at the other boy’s name, and continued on blissfully unaware. “Otherwise, who will cook my hotpot and roasted chestnuts?”

Bingge blinked slowly before he fought back a laugh, hiding it under a bright smile. Well, at least he now knew exactly what was on the scum villain’s mind! “Of course, Shizun! And perhaps some red bean buns?”

A grin crept across Shen Jiu’s face as he visualized steamed buns as fluffy as the chilly clouds drifting over the peak, but filled with delicious red bean paste instead of snow. “Mmm, yes, with some hot dark tea.”

Bingge couldn’t help a chuckle this time, beaming from ear to ear. “Of course, Shizun. Whatever you wish~!”

---

Winter once again gave way to spring, as it had done since time immemorial, and soon Qing Jing Peak was bathed in its patron color of green. From the grass and flowers to the trees and bamboo, life had returned to the emerald peak among the clouds. Everywhere one looked, there were signs of spring.

The peak wasn’t the only place one could find signs of spring, as there was quite a bit of spring in Shang Qinghua’s steps as he made his way through Qing Jing Peak to his destination - the Bamboo House. As the An Ding Peak Lord approached the solitary abode nestled among the bamboo, he glanced about once before giving a swift knock on the door, only to open it without waiting for an answer.

“Shiiidiii~!” Shang Qinghua practically sang out, with a bright smile on his face. “Good afternoo-”

A tea cup flew across the room, narrowly missing the man’s head. He seemed to have anticipated the attack, as he tilted his head to the side just in time for the projectile to miss. His smile didn’t falter in the slightest.

“Too slow, shidi, and your aim is off,” Shang Qinghua said. “Have you not fully woken up from your hibernation yet?”

Sitting across the room at his tea table, with a scowl that promised pain and suffering in equal measure, was Shen Jiu. The scum villain clearly was not in the mood for visitors. Not that he really ever was. But he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood for this visitor in particular!

“What do you want, rat?” Shen Jiu demanded.

“Just coming to check up on you after this morning’s meeting,” Shang Qinghua said as he slipped into the house and closed the door behind him. “First one you’ve been able to attend in quite some time, hm? And only to be greeted by that bit of news… I was quite sure you’d be a bundle of nerves by now.”

Shen Jiu’s brow twitched slightly as he tried - and failed - to comprehend what the rat was chittering about now. Ignoring the jab about his only recent ability to resume his duties as a peak lord, he couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary from the morning meeting. Certainly not something that he’d feel any anxiety over. “...What are you babbling about?”

“About your precious Qi-ge-,” Shang Qinghua began. However, at the sight of Shen Jiu reaching for a second tea cup, he swiftly corrected himself. “About Zhangmen-shixiong leaving the mountains for several days to meet with the other sects regarding the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference.”

“What of it?” Shen Jiu asked, with an indifferent arch of his chin. “Why should that concern me? If anything, it would be a relief that I won’t have him breathing down my neck at every perceived stumble or falter!”

Shang Qinghua seemed to look genuinely confused for a moment before his eyebrows slowly arched upward. “...Shidi, you didn’t forget, did you?”

“I didn’t forget anything,” Shen Jiu said, harshly. “If this is about the Immortal Alliance Conference itself, I know that your damn invasion is coming up by the end of the year. I’ve been watching its shadow grow for years, I’m beyond the point of jumping at the mere sight of it.”

Shang Qinghua’s expression swiftly deadpanned. “I don’t believe it. You actually forgot.”

Shen Jiu’s cheek twitched violently as he grit his teeth. “I told you I-”

“Hmm,” Shang Qinghua said, pursing his lips. “Seems you really were just hibernating all winter, yes? Lounging around like a lazy cat, getting pampered by your disciple and his cooking?” When he saw Shen Jiu reaching for the other tea cup again, he swiftly raised his hands appeasingly. “Whoa, whoa, keep that up and you’ll run out of cups!”

“They come in sets,” Shen Jiu said, with a side-eyed glare. “It would be best that they all match.”

“So you may as well smash them all, then?” Shang Qinghua asked, with wide-eyed innocence. “Well, I can’t say that there isn’t some kind of logic in that, but…”

“If you showed half as much care in running your mouth as you do over the damn tea cups, then you wouldn’t need to worry about either!” Shen Jiu snapped as he waved the tea cup threateningly at his colleague.

“I’ll grant you that much,” Shang Qinghua said, with a laugh. “But Shidi, you really did forget something! Though I suppose it probably wasn’t too memorable for you as it was for everyone else.”

Shen Jiu paused as he considered the man’s words. Something about them rang true - for once - and a sense of dread began to pool up in his stomach. “And it’s not related to the Immortal Alliance Conference?”

“It is but it also isn’t,” Shang Qinghua said. “Rather, it’s about what happened while Zhangmen-shixiong was away from Qiong Ding Peak. Does that possibly ring any bells?”

Shen Jiu’s brow creased, as it certainly had. But the bells felt too distant, too blurred to bring any distinctive memories forward. And that, unfortunately, did little to soothe the dread building within him. “There was Liu Qingge’s death, and then…”

“And then, the attack,” Shang Qinghua finished, so helpfully.

“The atta-?” Shen Jiu repeated, his expression blank, before a crystal clear bong of a bell brought a rush of memories flooding forth. The scum villain choked before he slammed both his hands on the table, rattling it. “The attack!?”

That’s right! Right before the Immortal Alliance Conference, there had been another demon invasion - though ‘invasion’ might have been a stretch, given the circumstances. A young female demon had launched a surprise attack on the sect, attempting to steal the nameplate from Qiong Ding Peak while Yue Qingyuan was away.

He, and several others, had fought off the invaders at the time. It hadn’t been a particularly positive memory for him, as he had been criticized rather heavily for his methods while defending the peak. It was pretty typical for him - to do something worthy of praise only for others to find reason to complain about it and deny him the recognition he deserved. They hadn’t even been around to help defend the peak, but insisted on having opinions about how he handled the situation!

…Though, there had been that whole ‘thing’ with him pitting the young Luo Binghe against a much stronger demon. That had… certainly been a thing.

“There you go!” Shang Qinghua said, clapping his hands. “Now you remember!”

“You-!” Shen Jiu seethed, through gritted teeth. “Don’t give me that shit! Wasn’t that just more of your doing?!”

“No, actually!” Shang Qinghua said, lifting his right pointer finger in a wagging gesture. “I had - or will have - nothing to do with it!”

“Liar!” Shen Jiu barked.

“It’s true!” Shang Qinghua said with an exaggerated shrug. “Just because I’m associated with some demons, that doesn’t mean that I’m working with all of them. Even my own demon ‘master’ isn’t aware of this upcoming attack. In fact, he’ll be rather annoyed by it.”

“What?” Shen Jiu faltered at that, his eyes widening. “What do you mean?”

“It’s going to be really inconvenient for him,” Shang Qinghua said, with another shrug. “It’ll heighten tensions and make the sects more sensitive and aware of demon activity, which could’ve severely impacted his plans for the invasion. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, but it could have.”

Shen Jiu searched the other man’s expression for falsehood, and found none. “...Is that why you aren't bothering to stop it? You do realize that just because it didn’t affect anything before doesn’t mean it can’t now?”

“Oh, I’m very aware,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “But I’m also not inclined to prevent others from hanging themselves, especially when they’re providing their own rope. If our little Miss wants to strut her stuff and make a fool of herself, she’s more than welcome to. Besides, the odds are more in her favor than they were last time, so it can’t be entirely a mistake on her part, now can it?”

Shen Jiu narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re not planning on actually fighting them this time, are you?” Shang Qinghua asked as he gave a meaningful look towards the scum villain. “How embarrassing that would be!”

A flash of anger in Shen Jiu’s eyes was all the warning the traitor got before the second tea cup actually flew across the room right at his face. Shang Qinghua quickly stepped to the side, allowing the cup to hit the door and shatter with a spray of tea.

“See?” Shang Qinghua said as he gestured towards the door. “Far too slow! How do you expect to fight off a bunch of demons with those reflexes?”

“You little bastard, I’ll show you too slow!” Shen Jiu growled as he struggled to get on his feet. “I’ll wring your damn neck myself!”

“Easy, easy~!” Shang Qinghua said, raising his hands defensively once more as he backed away from the scum villain, circling the room. “I’m just saying, it would probably be best for you to wait right here while the whole ‘assault’ is going on, and just let them take the nameplate. It’s just a nameplate, after all, and I’m sure Zhangmen-shixiong would prefer losing it to you facing any harm. He’s always placed your safety over his pride, after all. And hardly anyone would blame you for it this time! Mostly.”

Shen Jiu hissed as he continued to chase after Shang Qinghua, stumbling around the room. Unfortunately, he couldn’t gain any ground between the two of them, which only served to emphasize that the rat was right in his concerns.

But that sure as hell didn’t mean Shen Jiu had to like it!

“I’ll figure something out!” Shen Jiu said as he pointed accusingly at the traitor. “That boy… he’s definitely not like he was before! He’ll have absolutely no problem with that wench or her goons, not this time! No one will have any complaints about letting him fight this time!”

“And you?” Shang Qinghua asked. “What will you do? Make your disciple fight the whole time while you stand there like a poser, doing nothing to help him? Fight and fail? Or even forfeit? In front of all those disciples, even?”

“I said I’ll figure something out!” Shen Jiu snapped, between gasps as he was finally forced to stop chasing the much more lithe and limber peak lord. He puffed and placed his hands on his knees before glowering past his bangs at the other man. “What about you!? Are you just going to sit around and do nothing, knowing what’s going to happen!?”

“It’s what I’m good at, after all,” Shang Qinghua said, grinning. “That and using people to get what I want. Such as you and now that beast of yours.”

“For someone so obsessed with surviving, you’re being far too lackadaisical regarding your own safety,” Shen Jiu said, icily. “What do you think would happen if someone else heard you just now? Like said beast, for instance?”

“Oh, believe me, I am acutely aware,” Shang Qinghua replied, chuckling. “And I make it a point to know where your little demon boy is at all times. I assure you, your beast won’t be around to hear anything for a while yet.”

“...How can you be certain of that?” Shen Jiu asked, an accusation not so subtly hidden in the question.

“I have my sources,” Shang Qinghua said with a shrug. Of course, that source was none other than Mobei-jun. He knew quite well that his ice demon king had not only awakened the half-demon spawn’s blood quite some time ago, much sooner than they should have been, but was working with him to hone said powers. It was something that the both of them had been doing for several years now, disappearing to train together outside the view of prying eyes.

At that very moment, the two of them were off doing some ridiculous demon-centric training montage involving blood, pain, and angry screaming. And that, in turn, meant only one thing for Shang Qinghua.

A FUCKING HOLIDAY!!!!!

 Shang Qinghua let out a wistful sigh, a smile on his face. It was really beautiful, to have several stretches of time every few days where he didn’t have to worry about what the two of them were doing or where they’d suddenly show up. Let them break rocks - and each other - while posturing and preening for several hours like absolute posers.

It was just unfortunate he had to spend such precious time in such poor company.

Shang Qinghua glanced over to see Shen Jiu flopping back down at the tea table, having given up on throttling him. Still, he wisely kept his distance as he wouldn’t put the scum villain past taking the opportunity when presented. “...Still, I’m sure you're right. Something will sort everything out, as it were, to ensure that this little attack goes the way it’s supposed to. All you need to do is make sure you’re on Qiong Ding Peak when it happens, before the rainbow bridges are taken out.”

Shen Jiu gave a small nod as he tapped his fingers against the table. He paused before he glanced over his shoulder at the An Ding Peak Lord. “I don’t suppose you have any of those pills left, after mine were all confiscated.”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t give you any,” Shang Qinghua said with a chuckle. When Shen Jiu shot him a pointed glare, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, shidi, but for me, that would be the equivalent of committing suicide. And that’s not hyperbole. I may as well just slit my own throat now to save myself from what would happen to me. You are absolutely on your own for this.”

Shen Jiu blinked before he frowned. It sounded very much like hyperbole, despite the An Ding Peak Lord’s protest to the contrary, but he didn’t have the energy to waste arguing. He knew it wasn’t something he could force, even if he wanted to. Instead, he let out a low sigh. “...I always am.”

“I wonder about that,” Shang Qinghua said, with a shrug. “Perhaps you’re actually a tree in the forest, and you just can’t see anything except your own roots. When you’re always looking down, it’s only natural that you won’t notice all the other trees huddling around you, using their canopies to protect you.”

Shen Jiu stiffened at that, as images of Yue Qingyuan pierced with thousands of arrows came to mind. He folded his hands together, lacing his fingers so that he could clutch them together to stop them from visibly shaking.

“I don’t need to hear platitudes from a traitor,” Shen Jiu said, his voice soft and trembling.

Shang Qinghua tilted his head as he watched the scum villain scowl down at the tea table, sulking. After a moment, his smile crept back across his face as he gave a small nod of agreement. “I suppose not.”

Chapter Text

All of Bai Zhan Peak was thunderstruck. No one had seen anything like it before, and no one was entirely certain that they would have wanted to see it even if they had known such a thing was possible. It defied all reason and logic, all past precedents and expectations, that the mere thought caused alarm and chaos through the Bai Zhan disciples.

Shen Jiu had come to visit Bai Zhan Peak.

What madness was this? Was this an auspicious affair or an ominous omen? Had the world turned upside down and madness had descended upon humanity, or had a divine intervention brought about a miracle that could only happen once every century? No one knew, or could understand.

And honestly, Shen Jiu didn’t understand what the hell he was doing, either.

Never had the scum villain felt so self-conscious as he had at that very moment, walking right into enemy territory as if he had any business to. And clearly, the disciples didn’t think he did, if their reactions to seeing him on their peak was anything to go by. Between the gawking and staring, Shen Jiu couldn’t help but feel unwelcome.

And he really couldn’t blame them.

“Well, the good news is that I won’t have to look for Liu Qingge,” the Qing Jing Peak Lord thought with a sigh. “I’m sure a couple of his disciples have scurried off to find him by now, so he will no doubt be coming to me soon enough.”

Unfortunately, that didn’t really make him feel any better.

As Shen Jiu ventured deeper into the enemy peak, making his way towards Bai Zhan Hall, he could feel the multitude of eyes upon him multiply with every step. Soon, it felt like every living being on the peak was staring at him - everyone except for the one person he was actually looking for. It seemed like the War God was nowhere to be seen.

Until suddenly, he was.

“Shen Qingqiu!”

At the sound of Liu Qingge’s voice, Shen Jiu looked upward to see the other man arrive on his sword, swerving downwards from the clouds. About halfway down to the ground, Liu Qingge jumped off his sword and did a free-fall downwards, before landing gracefully on his feet like a cat right in front of the Qing Jing Peak Lord.

Shen Jiu stiffened immediately, his lips pulling into a grimace. He had mentally prepared for this moment but now that the moment had actually come, he felt his resolve beginning to crack as his hackles started to rise instinctively.

“Are you hurt?” Liu Qingge asked.

“I… no,” Shen Jiu said. “I am fine.”

Liu Qingge frowned. He took a moment to look over the scum villain, checking for any hint of a falsehood, before the crease of his brow deepened. “Then what are you doing here?”

Shen Jiu’s first instinct was to snap at Liu Qingge and the implication - implied or perceived - that he shouldn’t be there. The fact was, he knew he shouldn’t be there, and arguing that point would be pointless. Especially when it meant running the risk of his nerves giving out on him. “Do you… have any plans to cultivate these next few months?”

Liu Qingge blinked, not only at the topic change but the topic itself. “Yes.”

“Will… you be staying on Cang Qiong Mountain?” Shen Jiu asked, his voice trembling slightly as he forced the words out. “And not running off somewhere remote or… inaccessible?”

Logically, it made sense to confirm if Liu Qingge would be around to help assist with the invasion. Obviously, that wasn’t an option last time, as the man was long dead by that point. But the War God was alive this time, and so theoretically would be around to assist.

Assuming, of course, he didn’t fuck off somewhere to cultivate in seclusion as he was usually so inclined to do. Though, ever since the incident at Lingxi Caves, Liu Qingge was doing so less and less frequently and instead choosing to linger close for whatever reason.

Still, Shen Jiu couldn’t help but feel bile billowing up from his stomach. He was able to handle the invasion himself last time, so the very idea that he couldn’t do so again made him want to retch. But to even suggest asking - needing - the brute’s help was enough to turn that bile into blood.

Surely this was just more punishment from his past life, forcing him to come crawling on his belly like a worm to beg! The more he thought about it, the more those thoughts invaded his mind, the more the scum villain’s skin began to crawl.

“This is for the disciples, for the peak,” Shen Jiu repeated in his head, even as his face began to turn a little green. “For all the peaks, but especially his! You owe that fool sect leader that much, at least!”

“Shen Qingqiu!”

Shen Jiu was startled out of his thoughts by the feeling of Liu Qingge moving close to press his hand against his shixiong’s forehead, clearly feeling his temperature. “Eh!?”

Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes as he stood close to the other man. “Your face is pale. Are you sick again?”

In that instant, all of the scum villain’s nerves detonated at once. He had been on the edge the whole time, but he simply couldn’t handle it anymore. Not the stares, not the accusations, and certainly not the self-condemnations going through his head like crows at a crime scene. All logic, all plans were abandoned at once as only one thought went through his mind and straight out his mouth with no regard or filter.

“Fuck off!” Shen Jiu blurted out. He stopped when he realized what he had done and, without another word, swiftly turned on his heels and bolted away from Liu Qingge as fast as his legs could carry him.

Liu Qingge gawked as the scene unfolded in front of him, attempting to comprehend what the hell had just happened.

“Aw, my poor shixiong lost his nerve in the end. So close, and yet so far.”

Liu Qingge stiffened, which was as close to nearly jumping out of his skin as someone like him could manage. He turned his head sharply to see Shang Qinghua standing beside him, the An Ding Peak Lord clucking his tongue as he crossed his arms and shook his head wryly.

“Well, Shen-shixiong tried,” Shang Qinghua said as he turned to smile at the War God of Bai Zhan Peak, as if he hadn’t just startled a leopard. “Surely we can give him points for that, hm?”

Liu Qingge’s eyes darted up and down Shang Qinghua before glancing about them, then back again at his shixiong. “Where did you come from?”

“Hm?” Shang Qinghua tilted his head slightly with an innocent expression on his face. “What do you mean, shidi? I’ve been here the whole time.”

It was Liu Qingge’s turn to look thunderstruck. He gaped at the other peak lord, if he could scarcely be called that, as his eyebrows shot straight up. “Since when!?”

“I saw Shen-shixiong heading to your peak, so I decided to follow him,” Shang Qinghua said, with a small blink. He acted as if he didn’t notice the increasing confusion on the Bai Zhan Peak Lord’s face, though he found it exceedingly amusing.

Of course, he understood the reason for his shidi’s confusion. Typically, the traitor blended into the scenery far too readily, like so much white noise in the background. No one ever paid him any attention unless they had reason to - unless they had use for him. Very useful for a traitor, but it definitely grated on the nerves given enough time.

‘Being taken for granted’ implied that at least something was being granted, however minutely. But for some, it felt like even acknowledging An Ding Peak had a reason to exist was a chore.

The disciples on Bai Zhan Peak were the most egregiously guilty of this, with their Peak Lord routinely ignoring Shang Qinghua’s very existence despite him being responsible for the fact that the War God and his ilk weren’t running around bare-naked and unwashed while eating berries off of bushes.

Then again, considering he was talking about Liu Qingge, the brute would probably be fine with that.

Still, to not notice Shang Qinghua at all? It seemed that Shen Jiu affected Liu Qingge’s single brain cell more than anticipated!

“Our poor shixiong is worrying far more about Zhangmen-shixiong’s departure than I first realized,” Shang Qinghua continued with a sigh as he clasped his left palm against his cheek, tilting his head to lean into it in a display of dismay. “Though I suppose his request should have tipped me off.”

“What?” Liu Qingge snapped out of his shock to focus his attention back on Shang Qinghua. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, you know, with Zhangmen-shixiong leaving the mountain for business matters?” Shang Qinghua said as he shook his head. “He mentioned it at the meeting. Surely Shidi recalls? For the Immortal Alliance Conference?”

“Oh,” Liu Qingge said, blandly. “That.”

“Yes. That,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod. “It seems Shen-shixiong is rather worried about Qiong Ding Peak in our sect leader’s absence. He seems pretty certain that something will happen.”

Liu Qingge’s eyebrows shot up again and he quickly glanced in the direction Shen Jiu had fled. “...Does he.”

“He must think it’s quite urgent if he came to the two of us for help!” Shang Qinghua said, then paused and pursed his lips. “Or rather, in your case, tried before losing his nerve. I wonder why he had an easier time asking for my help than he did yours?”

The War God snapped his attention back to the An Ding Peak Lord. “Your help? With what? Linens and toiletries?”

“More or less!” Shang Qinghua said with a laugh, as if the statement wasn’t a rather pointed barb that his shidi openly threw at him. “He wanted me to help him ‘borrow’ some medicine from Mu-shidi! Can you believe it? I suppose this confirms our suspicions back then, but-”

The An Ding Peak Lord yelped when he suddenly felt Liu Qingge grab the front of his robes, hoisting him upwards so that they were eye-level.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” Liu Qingge growled, his eyes blazing.

“S-shidi, calm down!” Shang Qinghua squeaked as he grasped at Liu Qingge’s arm, attempting to tug himself free with absolutely no effect. “Of course I said no! I would never dream of doing something so stupid!”

Liu Qingge held Shang Qinghua’s gaze for several moments before he seemed to accept the man’s words. He released the other peak lord before crossing his arms with a grunt. “Good.”

Shang Qinghua smoothed out his robes before he cast the brute an uneasy side-eye. “S-still, for Shen-shixiong to want to go so far, he must be really desperate. Though who knows what’s gotten into his head? Who would dare attack Qiong Ding Peak, even with its Peak Lord away? There’s still the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain to deal with!”

“He doesn’t need the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain,” Liu Qingge said with a small toss of his head, causing his hair to whip about slightly. “Just me.”

The An Ding Peak Lord was full of smiles, but he kept his smirk firmly buried in his heart. He couldn’t help but wonder what Luo Binghe would think if he heard that declaration. The world was better off not knowing.

“Hah! True enough!” Shang Qinghua said with a chuckle, earning him a glance from the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. “Still, it’s rather amazing, isn’t it? How far Shen-shixiong has come. That he’d attempt to ask you for help, it’s really quite an auspicious occasion!”

Liu Qingge made a noise of acknowledgement in his throat as he looked off in the distance, his expression thoughtful. While it was true that Shen Jiu had failed to ask him directly, he had still made the attempt, which was far more than the scum villain had ever tried in the past. And he could understand why. To express weakness by asking for help was pretty unthinkable for the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, and he was sure that Shen Jiu felt the same.

The fact that he was still willing to try was meaningful.

“Well, let’s both do our best to support Shen-shixiong and show him there’s nothing to be concerned about!” Shang Qinghua said, clapping his hands together before clenching them into fists. He glanced over his shoulder to flash his shidi a smile. “Yes?”

Liu Qingge tilted his head ever so slightly to look at Shang Qinghua before he gave an almost imperceivable nod.

But while the acknowledgement was nigh missable, the notification was not.

 [New Relationship Unlocked: Liu Qingge!]

[Starting Relationship Status: Not TOTALLY Useless.]

[Liu Qingge’s Relationship Tree has been unlocked!]

[+1000 Knowledge Points!]

[Achievement unlocked: Begrudging Acknowledgement Is Still Acknowledgement!]

It took everything Shang Qinghua had not to jump up and down and squeal like a delighted maiden. He had worked so hard for so long to make even the tiniest headway with the brute of Bai Zhan Peak, only to be mercilessly snubbed and dismissed out of hand every single time. No matter what he said or did, he couldn’t ever be worth the time of day or the breath of air he used to communicate with the bastard.

And yet, just like that, he was granted a tiny sliver of an opening. He held absolutely no illusions about it - it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Shen Jiu. Who the hell thought that the way to Liu Qingge’s good graces was through Shen Jiu!?

The two idiots fought like cats and dogs, to the point that no one expected them to even be civil with each other, let alone act as a bridge of communication between the two of them. And yet there it was, and there he was! The notifications were proof enough, he didn’t even care that he was just a step above useless in the War God’s eyes!

Progress was still progress!

Not to mention, with both Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge now prepped to be present for that demoness’ fateful little excursion, things were shaping up to be quite interesting.

“Dear System, it seems that I am yet again making your job much easier for you,” Shang Qinghua said, cheerfully. “Perhaps I could get a raise, hm? Or a little bonus, if things go as entertainingly as I think they might~?”

[ (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ ]

[Please look forward to it!]

---

A pregnant silence descended upon the Bamboo House, as Shen Jiu slouched forward, propping his elbows on the tea table as he covered his face with both hands. Across from him, Shen Yuan stared at the scum villain with a deadpan expression. He didn’t even have the energy to point out Shen Jiu’s hypocritically bad posture, as it was just low hanging fruit in the situation.

“...And then, you ran away,” Shen Yuan said, slowly.

Shen Jiu nodded, his face still covered.

“Just like that,” Shen Yuan pressed.

Shen Jiu nodded again before he flopped forward, crossing his arms on the table and burying his face into them instead.

Shen Yuan was silent for several moments before he let out a low sigh. “Well, the good news is that Liu-shidi was most likely far too confused to be offended, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

The scum villain’s only response was a muffled groan through his arms and a small shake of his head.

“Not only that,” Shen Yuan continued. “Your behavior was so bizarre that he’s sure to linger around the peaks just to keep an eye on you. Well, an even closer eye. That ensures he’ll be there for the attack.”

Another muffled groan told the transmigrator what Shen Jiu thought of that. It was able to instill enough pity in Shen Yuan that he let out a small sigh before reaching over to pat the scum villain reassuringly on the head.

“There, there,” Shen Yuan said, soothingly. “We should take our victories where we can. The how doesn’t matter, only the result.”

Shen Jiu gave a small sniff before raising his head to stare over his arms at Shen Yuan. “That sounds like something the An Ding rat would say.”

Shen Yuan paused as his eyebrows shot straight up before he gave the scum villain a frowning pout. “Don’t you think that’s a little mean, going for the throat like that? He wouldn’t be here trying to comfort you, now would he?”

“Hmph,” Shen Jiu snorted, though a small smile appeared on his face before he buried it in his arms once more. “No, I suppose he would be busy trying to find the right angle to stab me.”

“If not for the System, yes,” Shen Yuan agreed. “But that is one of the reasons why I believe it will work out. Your System seems to have different priorities. It has already thwarted multiple attempts on your life, so now should be no different. If anything, the System will use the situation to further its own plans.”

Shen Jiu let out a grunt before he slammed his arms down heavily on the table, making it rattle. “And why must those plans involve humiliating me!? It seems that almost everything the Spirit does involves putting me in questionable situations where I need to be rescued!”

“Those are called ‘wife plots’, dear scum villain,” Shen Yuan thought, but didn’t dare say. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Perhaps it’s more true to say that your ‘Spirit’ is setting up scenarios where you are rescued from those questionable situations, hm? Instead of leaving you to die as it would anyone else.”

He wasn’t stupid, the transmigrator knew that both were true - that the System was creating situations specifically where Shen Jiu needed to be rescued, while simultaneously orchestrating those very rescues. The System was creating solutions to the very problems it was creating, with the sole intention of supporting Bingge.

And apparently that current support took the form of bullying the shit out of Shen Jiu. It was something he, himself, was very familiar with. Even if he had inadvertently caused much of his own suffering. Then again, so was Shen Jiu.

It seemed that scum villains were experts at self-inflicted misery.

Shen Jiu let out a low growl. He didn’t want to be rescued, he didn’t want to have to rely on someone to help him. He had learned a long time ago that he could only depend on himself, that no one would ever help him… or ever want to help him. To have faith in someone that might never show up or, from a more recent trauma, show up too late and be cut down along with him.

The scum villain wasn’t worth it, was never worth it.

…And yet, for some reason, the beast thought he was.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord went quiet for a moment before his expression softened. Idly, his left hand began to fidget with the seam of his robes, tugging at them. “...I’m sure that the beast will have no trouble with his fight. He has already killed a demon, and assisted Liu Qingge with killing a second one. If anything, he won’t even give me the option to not include him in the duels, and will volunteer entirely on his own. And I doubt anyone would have any complaints should he take part - not this time.”

Shen Yuan let out a wry chuckle. If they had been talking about the white lotus Luo Binghe, he’d have plenty of reason to doubt that statement. But given it was Bingge in Binghe form, it was an entirely different matter. In fact, he suspected the former demon lord would try to wipe all the invaders out entirely on his own.

And that in and of itself came with its own issues, as in the original scenario, everyone had frowned quite severely at Shen Jiu throwing Luo Binghe against one demon. That act had been one of the very charges used against him! How would everyone react to that same scum villain throwing that poor theoretical lamb to slaughter against the entire demon invasion!? All the while he stood around and did nothing!

The fact that said lamb would be the one doing the slaughtering was entirely beside the point.

All that aside, the entire event was ultimately the protagonists’ introduction to two of his most prominent wives in his harem. There was no question as to whether or not Bingge would remember the upcoming event, as it was how he had caught the eye of both Sha Hualing and Liu Mingyan.

Now, whether or not the illustrious protagonist even gave a shit about either of the former flowers remained to be seen. But as a vehicle for earning points with the scum villain, protecting him and his reputation from the invaders? There was no denying that the event still had narrative value.

“With Binghe taking care of his fight easily, I imagine Liu Mingyan will deal with the demoness directly just like last time,” Shen Yuan said. “So it would seem that the only fight you need to be concerned about is yours.”

“‘Only,’” Shen Jiu muttered. Honestly, he didn’t know which thought upset him more - the idea that he could lose the duel in front of the entire peak, or the idea of Liu Qingge rushing in to rescue him like a damsel. Any remnants of face he might have had would be demolished no matter the outcome!

Just when he thought he couldn’t lose any more face, it seemed the world conspired to make him aware of dredges he didn’t even know existed, only to snatch them away!

With a frustrated snarl, Shen Jiu flung his arms upward into the sky as if he were tossing his thoughts away all around him. He then flopped forward and buried his face into his arms again. “I may as well throw myself on my own sword, for all the good it will do me!”

Shen Yuan let out a sigh and reached over to pat Shen Jiu’s head again. “There, there…”

They were just going around in circles by this point, but that was fine. Ultimately, no amount of planning could account for whatever shenanigans the System had in store for the poor scum villain. All the transmigrator could do was offer support and advice, no matter how ineffective it felt. Come what may, Shen Jiu would just have to deal with it.

Even with how dire Shen Jiu seemed to think the situation was, it truly wasn’t if you actually thought about it. Between Liu Qingge and Bingge, Shen Yuan simply couldn’t see any harm befalling the scum villain. At least, none of the physical sort. His pride, on the other hand, had taken quite a beating and seemed on course for another round of torment.

But then, this was nothing new for the scum villain, was it? When he was being tortured in the Water Prison, and beyond, Shen Jiu had endured a plethora of indignities that continued on until his death. Even with the world itself and the readers - including him - screaming for his torment and death, the man endured. In the end, the scum villain didn’t give his tormentor any lasting satisfaction. The man was clearly used to being dragged through the mud - and blood - and kept getting back up again. This would be no different.

“You’ll figure something out,” Shen Yuan said gently. “You’re very clever, and have endured far worse than this.”

Shen Jiu was quiet for a long moment before he gave a small nod. “...That’s true.”

“And who knows?” Shen Yuan said, tilting his head to the side as he gave the scum villain’s hair a small ruffle. “Perhaps the whole situation will resolve itself and you’ll be left feeling rather silly for worrying so much.”

Shen Jiu reached up to lightly swat away Shen Yuan’s hand before raising his head to shoot his counterpart a side-eye. “I’ll leave the wishful thinking to you. I have no intention of just sitting around and relying on hopes and dreams to fix my problems.”

“True enough,” Shen Yuan said with a chuckle, then leaned forward to poke at the scum villain’s nose. “Just continue to do your best, that’s all anyone can ask of you. Including yourself.”

Shen Jiu swatted away the hand a second time, then a third and a fourth as the transmigrator kept trying to poke him. When it was clear that his counterpart had no intention of stopping, the scum villain moved to snatch both of Shen Yuan’s hands, holding them tightly.

With his hands held hostage, Shen Yuan gave a small shrug and a smile. “Anyway, while it’s fine to take a moment to feel sorry for yourself now and then, don’t let it stop you from moving forward.”

Shen Jiu blinked before his expression grew somber and he nodded slightly. “I know.”

Shen Yuan returned the nod, before his smile turned into a mischievous grin. The sight of it made Shen Jiu frown, and then yelp when the transmigrator tried to free his hands, poking again.

“A-Yuan!” Shen Jiu barked as he fumbled to keep his grip, yanking the transmigrator’s hands away from his face. “S-stop! Stop, I said!”

“Not until you stop sulking,” Shen Yuan said with a laugh. He couldn’t help himself. Just seeing the infamously haughty and arrogant Shen Qingqiu looking so mopey in front of him, how could he resist poking those sulky cheeks!?

It reminded him of when Bingmei had reverted to a child due to a qi deviation. He just wanted to pinch those cheeks and wiggle them about! And the more Shen Jiu resisted, the more he wanted to do it - needed to do it. The scum villain was just so bulliable, and at least his bullying was without malice. Unlike literally everyone and everything else.

If it distracted the man from his woes and concerns, then clearly he was doing a good deed squishing those cheeks! And judging by the sound of a steady stream of points being awarded by the System, it clearly agreed!

“Who’s sulking!?” Shen Jiu protested. He then howled as he fell over when the transmigrator unexpectedly yanked him to the side before taking the opportunity to grab the peak lord’s cheeks. “You bastard!”

Outside the Bamboo House, Bingge leaned against the wall closest to the window. He stood with his arms crossed, tapping his left fingers against his right bicep as he bowed his head. He listened quietly as the two shizuns ‘squabbled’ inside, apparently knocking over furniture with their juvenile roughhousing.

After a moment, Bingge lifted his head before his previously neutral expression shifted into a small smirk.

“Hm.”

Chapter Text

Each day bled into another as time marched ever forward. What should have been peaceful days were filled instead with an ever increasing sense of dread. As Shen Jiu couldn’t remember the specific day of the assault, or if he had ever paid that close enough attention to know it in the first place, the Qing Jing Peak Lord spent each day on pins and needles. As each day passed with no development, the scum villain’s mood became increasingly worse.

By the end, Shen Jiu’s nerves were so frayed that the sight of smoke billowing up from Qiong Ding Peak filled him with immense joy and relief rather than consternation and panic, as it did everyone else. As disciples and attendants alike stood and gawked, Shen Jiu wasted no time in rushing over to the central peak. The scum villain only had a small amount of time to reach the rainbow bridge before the invading demons erected a barrier to keep out anyone who might try to interfere with their escapades. He’d be damned if he’d waste all this time fussing just to get locked out!

The Qing Jing Peak Lord hadn’t even noticed that he was being followed until he came across several demons in the process of trying to damage the rainbow bridge between his peak and Yue Qingyuan’s. At that point, he couldn’t even react - and neither could the demons - before Luo Binghe dove forward and blasted the attackers off the rainbow bridges into the gorge below.

“That’s what you get!” Ning Yingying shouted down at the falling demons, her hands on her hips. “Don’t try to get in Shizun’s way or A-Luo will make you regret it!”

Luo Binghe quirked a small smile at his childhood friend, then returned his attention to the flustered Shen Jiu. “Shizun? What now?”

Shen Jiu seemed to snap out of his stunned stupor and gave his disciple a stern frown. “We go.” The Qing Jing Peak proceeded to step forward before he stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the young female disciple when he noticed her beginning to follow. “Yingying, go back. Find Ming Fan and send him after us, then stay on the peak and watch over it in my absence.”

Ning Yingying frowned but reluctantly gave a small dutiful bow, before promptly discarding her shizun’s instructions the second his back was turned and followed after him across the bridge.

Bingge glanced back to watch Ning Yingying completely disregard their shizun but said nothing and smiled. In the past, he would’ve been more concerned about her safety, as it undoubtedly meant that trouble would soon follow. It always did, after all.

And his past concern had been for good reason - he hadn’t been nearly strong enough to protect her then. But that was then, this was now. And he was most certainly looking forward to this reunion, to settle old scores even if the other didn’t remember them.

Everyone else could panic as much as they liked. No harm would come to Ning Yingying, or his scum villain. He wouldn’t allow it.

It didn’t take long for Shen Jiu and his entourage to arrive at Qiong Ding Hall. The peak was in disarray, with the disciples struggling to figure out what was happening. However, it seemed that the scum villain had managed to reach the peak during the early stages of the ‘invasion’, as there were no demons in the area with the main force not putting in an appearance just yet. Judging by the smoke in the distance all around them and what he himself had come across, their attackers were still destroying the rainbow bridges connecting the peaks in order to isolate their target.

As strange as it was to feel relief about arriving early to the site of an impending battle, the Qing Jing Peak Lord couldn’t help but sigh with said relief before taking stock of his surroundings. He could see Liu Mingyan among the crowd as expected, so all combatants were accounted for. In addition, the scum villain saw Ming Fan arriving quickly with the rest of Qing Jing Peak’s disciples, having been able to make the trip after their bridge had been defended.

Of course, he immediately noticed Ning Yingying as she made no effort to hide herself and rushed over to Ming Fan to greet him - and no sign of remorse for ignoring her shizun’s instructions, either! Shen Jiu’s lips tightened into a scowl, but it was far too late to send her back now. Even if it was dangerous at Qiong Ding Hall, it was more dangerous everywhere else. He’d just have to keep an eye on her. He couldn’t even be surprised that she had decided to follow despite his instructions, as he really should have expected it.

However, at that moment, all other thoughts stopped short when he saw someone among the growing crowd that he hadn’t expected to see - Shang Qinghua.

Shen Jiu’s eyebrows shot straight up as he stared at the treacherous rat traitor, who stood among the disciples looking like he had swallowed an insect. In their previous life, Shen Qingqiu had been the only peak lord able to intercept the attackers - no one else had been there to help, beside the disciples. And that sure as hell included the useless An Ding Peak Lord! He still wasn’t even entirely convinced that the traitor hadn’t known about the attack then and had actively avoided the peak entirely, abandoning it to its fate.

Why was that bastard here!?

Shang Qinghua seemed to sense the eyes boring into him and turned to see Shen Jiu staring at him with open hostility. The An Ding Peak Lord pursed his lips into a pout. “Shixiong, if you keep making that face all the time, it might get stuck that way.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Shen Jiu demanded to know.

“That,” Shang Qinghua said, very slowly. “Is a very good question.”

The An Ding Peak Lord had no intention of actually attending the little event that Shen Jiu had been so concerned about. His presence, then and now, hadn’t been necessary and he certainly wasn’t inclined to participate even as an audience. He had done far more than required by simply helping secure Liu Qingge’s attendance!

And he had only done that much because he hoped to secure points or - hope beyond hope - possibly unlock a relationship with the brute. Which he had done! It was supposed to be a networking job, nothing more! Shang Qinghua had done his part!

So why the hell was he here!? That was a damn good question!

And unfortunately, the answer was simple - because his king told him to.

Shang Qinghua should have known better. He should’ve suspected something when the System told him to ‘please look forward to it’. The disembodied entity uttered that phrase often, like a generic statement that actually didn’t mean anything. An empty platitude, if you would. It usually didn’t mean anything! So why would he ever stop to ask - look forward to what?

Apparently the ‘what’ had been the sight of Mobei-jun waiting for him to return from Bai Zhan Peak, reclining on his bed once again. As soon as Shang Qinghua opened the door to his room, he caught sight of the ice demon in all his glory. His reflexes had long since been honed to react to this common ‘surprise’ and swiftly closed the door behind him to prevent others from seeing the demon.

“M-my king!” Shang Qinghua said with a nervous laugh. “How good to see you! How can I assist you today?”

Mobei-jun turned to look at the traitor, his expression impassive as always. “What will you be doing tomorrow?”

“Eh?” Shang Qinghua gave a small blink. “Tomorrow?”

The traitor frowned as he considered the question, and all angles as to why it might have been asked. Quite frankly, he would be completely off Cang Qiong Mountain by this very evening, so that he’d be far from the sect by the time the assault happened.

…Did the ice demon know about the attack? With that Luo Binghe aware of things, it was entirely possible the bastard decided to mention it to his best friend during one of their ‘training’ bouts, but it didn’t fit his expectations of the half-breed demon. Bingge’d have no incentive to stop the attack, not when it meant getting the attention of two of his wives.

So what was going on?

“I’ll be leaving this evening to travel and won’t be back until several days from now,” Shang Qinghua said slowly. “It’s just some typical peak business, so there’s nothing to be worried-”

“Don’t,” Mobei-jun said.

“...Don’t?” Shang Qinghua repeated, with a blink.

“I want you on Qiong Ding Peak tomorrow,” Mobei-jun said, meeting Shang Qinghua’s confused stare with a bland one of his own.

And so here he fucking was. On Qiong Ding Peak. Just like that. It had blown his mind and left him reeling, unable to comprehend entirely what was happening. It made no sense, and yet in his heart of hearts, he knew exactly who was responsible.

“Shang-xiansheng!” Bingge greeted the An Ding Peak Lord with immense enthusiasm reflected in his beaming smile, palm over fist as he bowed. “It is so good to see another peak lord is here to assist us! Surely the demons will regret this day!”

IT WAS FUCKING YOU, WASN’T IT!?

Shang Qinghua wanted to scream, he wanted to yell, he wanted to flail. But in the end, he couldn’t do any of those things - especially not to Luo Binghe. And the little bastard knew it. Instead, the traitor could only keep his placid smile firmly in place as he spouted platitudes and nonsense.

“An Ding Peak will do its best to protect Cang Qiong Mountain,” Shang Qinghua said, with a dutiful nod. “As is the duty of all peaks.”

Shen Jiu let out a derisive snort before he covered his face with his fan, peering over the edge with absolute disdain. “When it comes to An Ding Peak, both their presence and their absence amount to exactly the same - useless.”

Shang Qinghua’s cheek twitched slightly, though he kept his smile firmly in place. “Shen-shixiong, isn’t it a tad too ironic for you to be saying such things? Given your current condition?”

Shen Jiu stiffened as his eyebrows shot straight up before his face twisted into a glower, barely concealed by his fan. “Say that again, and there won’t be enough left for the demons after I’m through with you.”

Shang Qinghua was about to retort when he noticed the prickly stare he was receiving from the supposedly innocent little lamb beside the scum villain, and swiftly changed his mind. “Easy, easy! Remember, a front of calm and unity in front of the disciples, Shen-shixiong!”

At those words, Shen Jiu remembered that they had an audience and quickly glanced about to notice the uneasy faces of the disciples around them. While he would love to rip the traitor apart, the bastard was right - the two of them needed to act as a pillar to hold up the sect during this crisis. The others were looking to them for support and guidance, as debatable as that may have been, and fighting between each other would ruin that.

But the bastard better watch his back! This was far from over!

“It is because we have calm and unity that we can banter like this in a time of crisis,” Shen Jiu said cooly, with a flutter of his fan. “But I will accept my shidi’s counsel regardless.”

“‘Banter’ my ass,” Shang Qinghua thought with a wry chuckle. “Talking like that while your eyes are promising me a swift knife stab right into my ribs when I least expect it. No shame at all.”

Then again, he was really one to talk. The only difference was that Shen Jiu openly choreographed his hostility, while Shang Qinghua kept it in the shadows. Between the two of them, people would naturally be inclined to choose the knife in the side as opposed to the knife in the back. At least then they could see it coming.

Either way, it was a pointless distinction. No matter where the knife plunged, did it really matter to the victim when the outcome would inevitably be the same? Corpses didn’t often have opinions on things, after all.

Ultimately, any further discussion was also equally pointless.

After all, their guests had arrived.

Both Shang Qinghua and Shen Jiu looked up as a resounding crash and rumble signaled the last rainbow bridge being destroyed. The group of disciples currently crowding around the front of Qiong Ding Hall, which had grown quite sizeable, grew increasingly agitated as they huddled around the two peak lords like chicks to a hen.

And that was before they saw the large company of demons trotting their way, all methods of escape - or rescue - having been cut off from the main peak. As the horde of demons grew closer, Shen Jiu glanced at the traitorous rat, still suspicious that he wasn’t there to assist the demons in their attack despite his assurances of non-involvement. However, it was far too late to do anything about it now.

With a sigh, Shen Jiu gave a flourish of his fan, drawing the approaching demons’ attention to himself before bringing said fan about to flicker it idly in front of his face.

“Qiong Ding Peak is not accepting visitors today,” Shen Jiu said, his voice teeming with confidence and authority. “It would seem that you have all made your journey for nothing.”

A soft tingling of bells signaled the presence of the horde’s leader - the demoness Sha Hualing. A beautiful teenage girl well on her way to becoming an even more beautiful woman, Shen Jiu was familiar with her. When the beast took over - and destroyed - the world, she was right there with him, latched onto his arm. But it would have been a huge mistake to dismiss her as a mere arm ornament like the rest of the beast’s harem - she was more than capable in her own right.

She was, after all, still a demon.

“After we came all this way? Such a shame,” Sha Hualing said, her voice sweet like honey as she swayed her hips with each step to the forefront of her horde. “Has Cang Qiong Mountain no sense of hospitality? Or is it just Qiong Ding Peak?”

“Cang Qiong Mountain has never had much hospitality for invaders,” Shen Jiu said, his sharp eyes glaring over the edge of his fan as he held it to his face.

“Invaders? How harsh!” Sha Hualing said, placing her right hand over her voluptuous and barely clothed chest. “We mean no harm, esteemed elder. We have simply heard many things about the illustrious Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and came to see for ourselves, and perhaps spar with such incredible cultivators.”

Bingge’s expression was neutral, but inwardly he couldn’t help but smile. It was very nostalgic to see Sha Hualing again after so many years. She had been one of his favorite wives in addition to one of his most trusted generals, right below Mobei-jun. It was a little sad, for her sake, that things would never go back to the way they had been.

But the simple fact was that he didn’t need her anymore, not for that. And he didn’t regret it. What he had gained these past few years had made everything worth it, and he stood to gain even more with patience and time. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t still have use for her at all, but only as a general. She would never get what she had once wanted and most likely would want again.

There was no malice in it, it was what it was. And he held no illusions about it, either. If she had come across something better like he had, Bingge had no doubts that Sha Hualing would have done exactly the same thing.

It wasn’t personal, just how things were.

“‘Spar’?” Shen Jiu repeated with an arch of his eyebrow. “Were you ‘sparring’ with our rainbow bridges when you destroyed them? And what of the barrier you erected to prevent anyone from entering Qiong Ding Peak? If you came to ‘spar’, then surely you would accept any and all challengers, yes?”

Sha Hualing idly twirled her left pointer finger around one of her braids hugging the side of her face. Her eyes roamed up and down Shen Jiu’s form before settling on his face, meeting his gaze over his fan. A coyish smile appeared on the demoness’ face.

“And this immortal master is the esteemed Xiu Ya Sword, Senior Shen Qingqiu, yes?” Sha Hualing asked, so innocently. Her smile then widened sharply as she arched an eyebrow to match Shen Jiu’s. “Though… not so esteemed anymore, hm~?”

Shen Jiu stiffened as his eyebrows shot straight up. As the sheer audacity and implication of the demoness’ words filtered in, the scum villain felt bubbling hot rage fill his veins like magma. Not even his fan could hide the killing expression on his face.

“If you want to die so badly, Cang Qiong Mountain is more than happy to oblige,” Shen Jiu said, his words dripping with venom. He didn’t even care if his body wasn’t up to the task, he’d rip her eyes out with his bare hands!

A firm hand gripped the back of Shen Jiu’s robes and he very nearly turned around to strike whoever had dared to touch him. However, he was interrupted from his instinct by Bingge moving close, revealing himself to be the one gripping the back of his shizun’s clothes.

The disciple turned his body to the side, hiding his right hand as it steadied his scum villain, while putting himself forward to draw the demoness’ attention to him. As expected, Sha Hualing’s eyes immediately focused on the protagonist, just as it had done so many years ago.

But unlike then, he wasn’t a hapless little sheep bleating helplessly as he was tossed about by everyone else’s whims.

“If our visitors desire to spar, then let us spar,” Luo Binghe said, his voice loud and clear. “Three representatives, and three matches. Does that sound acceptable, demoness?”

Shen Jiu blinked before furrowing his brow, his anger momentarily quelled by his confusion. As expected, the beast volunteered himself for the matches this time, but that itself wasn’t the problem. In the past, he recalled the demoness being the one to suggest the matches in the first place. So what exactly was the beast doing? He was essentially usurping her role from her! Not that the demon would remember or be aware of that fact.

Was this what the rat traitor had meant by ‘story beats’ and their supposed inevitability?

Sha Hualing faltered for a moment, as something about the declaration felt odd. It was almost as if her own words had been stolen from her, though she couldn’t comprehend why she’d feel that way. However, the demoness quickly recovered and focused her attention on the handsome man in front of her, challenging her so openly with his beautifully defiant eyes.

Everything about this boy screamed for her attention, so who was she to deny him that?

“Matches?” Sha Hualing repeated, feigning as if she were thinking it over as she tapped her chin with her left pointer finger, then gave Bingge her best coquettish smile. “What a wonderful idea~! But Ling-er wonders, who should go first~?”

“The answer to that should be quite obvious,” Luo Binghe said, with a small smirk. “Instead, you should be asking who among your subordinates would dare step forward against me.”

A murmur ran through not only the demons but the disciples as well, as everyone assembled were shocked by Bingge’s audacity - save for the An Ding Peak Lord, who looked utterly unsurprised. They glanced at each other, muttering under their breaths in low and hushed tones. Sha Hualing took another opportunity to size up the disciple in front of her, her curiosity growing stronger by the second.

Shang Qinghua simply cleaned his ear with his pinky finger, looking rather bored of the whole charade.

“S-Shizun, is this really a good idea?” Ming Fan asked, hissing in Shen Jiu’s ear. “It’s true that he killed the Skinner Demon, and he did assist Liu-shishu in killing that other demon, but this is vastly different!”

Shen Jiu’s expression grew serene as he slowly fanned himself. “If Binghe wishes to step forward, then this master would be wrong to deny him. He has dedicated himself to his cultivation quite earnestly these past few years, so let us see for ourselves the results of his efforts.”

“A-Luo, be careful, okay?” Yingying said, her voice shaking slightly. She trusted the boy and wanted to believe in him as deeply as their shizun apparently did. She reminded herself that Binghe had already defeated two demons by now, so how could anyone truly doubt him? Least of all her?

And maybe if she repeated that enough, it would still the quaking in her heart.

Bingge gave a small nod to Yingying before he crossed his arms, returning his attention to the demons. “Well? What say you - any of you?”

“Such brazenness clearly deserves an answer.”

The owner of the voice stepped forward. He was a massive and muscular demon, as expected to be able to drag his huge iron hammer as he went, and was covered in spiked armor. His eyes were focused on Bingge, who met his stare with a grin and no sign of consternation at the sight of his opponent-to-be. It was enough to give Elder ‘Sky Hammer’ Tianchui pause, as it was certainly not a reaction he was used to. But in the end, the demon swiftly dismissed it for what it clearly was - naive arrogance.

“Before you start, be aware that the spikes on Elder ‘Sky Hammer’ Tianchui's armor are coated with an extremely deadly poison - to humans, at any rate,” Sha Hualing said, delicately covering her mouth with her hand. “There is no cure, so if you have any misgivings in face of our elder’s strength, now would be the time to back out~!”

“What!? Poison!?” Ming Fan repeated, aghast.

“What happened to all your talk about ‘sparring’!?” another disciple shouted out.

“A… A-Luo!” Yingying called out, clasping her hands together.

Anger rippled through the assembled disciples, along with an increasing sense of panic at Binghe’s foolishness, which only seemed to grow as the disciple didn’t seem bothered by the sudden revelation. Instead, Luo Binghe made a great show of rotating his shoulder, warming his right arm up.

“This one thanks you for the warning,” Bingge said, cooly. “But it is quite bold of you to assume that your elder would be able to touch me even with his breath, let alone anything else.”

Elder Tianchui narrowed his eyes. “Daring words, boy. I am going to enjoy smashing them - and you - into the ground.”

Binghe stepped forward, raising his right hand to gesture towards the elder demon. “Do it, then.”

It was all Elder Tianchui could take. His patience was gone and he immediately brought his hammer about, swinging the titanic weapon at the small slip of a boy who’d dare give him such an attitude. He expected the hammer to smash the boy like a watermelon, splattering his guts across the ground. He expected the other humans to scream and wail at the boy’s horrifying fate. He expected the ‘illustrious’ Shen Qingqiu balk as he realized he had sent his disciple to his death.

What he didn’t expect was for the brat to catch the hammer with his bare hand!

But that was precisely what Bingge did. He effortlessly reached up to catch the hammer as it swung down at him, effortlessly stopping it in his tracks. The hammer came to a jerking stop, causing Elder Tianchui to stumble and stare with open astonishment.

The brat hadn’t even used both hands, just the one! What was this nonsense!?

Bingge grinned at the shocked demon and wiggled his eyebrows right before he moved his hand to clamp down on the handle of the hammer. With one smooth motion, he whipped the hammer straight out of the demon’s hands, despite how comically huge it was in his own hands.

Elder Tianchui could only turn his head to stare as the flat side of his own weapon slammed into him, with an amount of force that seemed completely impossible for such a tiny human. The demon couldn’t even let out a scream as he went from Elder ‘Tianchui’ to ‘Chuiwan’, flying through the air like a struck ball from the game carrying that name, only to sail into the mountainside instead of a hole in the ground.

The entire peak was perfectly silent as Bingge gave the hammer a twirl before he plopped it against his shoulder, resting it there so casually. “It would seem that your elder has left the scene of our match. I believe that means I win.”

Sha Hualing said nothing as she stared at Luo Binghe, her eyes wide. It was an expression that others around her seemed to share, demon and human alike.

Even Shen Jiu couldn’t contain his shock. He had expected a victory, as the beast had rather obviously won last time as well. But the differences between the two matches were night and day! The beast had gone from flailing and stumbling his way to victory to outright dominating the match to the point that it genuinely felt one-sided! Was this the difference of actually training the beast?! Was this the outcome of his efforts!?

Just what sort of martial monster had he molded the boy into!?

“Well, then,” Bingge said, with a charming smile. “Shall we move on to the next match?”

The disciple’s words seemed to snap Sha Hualing awake and she stiffened. “O-of course! Though naturally, a different representative will step forward for both sides. If the same representative participates in all the three matches, it would hardly be fair, would it? We should give everyone a chance, so that we can truly learn from each other.”

Bingge let out an amused snort of laughter before he tossed the massive hammer to the side, allowing it to hit the ground with a tremor. “As you wish.”

Sha Hualing could barely hide the relief in her expression as Bingge stepped back, going to stand by his shizun once more. She could tell that the sight they had just witnessed had badly shaken the morale of her subordinates - after all, it had shaken her insides as well. Still, she couldn’t back down now, and with their biggest contender out of the way early, she could still come back with the last two matches.

“Ling-er will step forward for the next match,” Sha Hualing announced, making a show of stepping forward not only for her own nerves but for those she had brought with her. She wasn’t about to let any of them think she had become anxious or, the gods forbid, afraid of these humans.

Shen Jiu relaxed his body a little. As much as he wanted to slap the shit out of the demoness, he knew no one would expect - or approve of - him fighting the girl for her match. There was still the third match to contend with, but for now, he could simply watch the situation unfold.

“Well, then,” Shen Jiu said, with great authority in his voice. “Who will volunteer as our next representative?”

It was more of a rhetorical question, if last time was anything to go by. And judging by how she stepped up to try and save the Qing Jing Peak Lord so many years ago, he felt very secure in having that expectation.

And it seemed that Liu Mingyan had no intention of betraying those expectations.

“I will,” Liu Mingyan announced, emerging from the huddled crowd of disciples. She moved past Luo Binghe, sparing him a glance, before she came to a stop in front of Sha Hualing. As the demoness looked her over with a half-veiled sneer, the fully-veiled beauty clasped her hands around the hilt of her sword and bowed respectfully. “Liu Mingyan, of Xian Shu Peak.”

Sha Hualing let out a thoughtful hum before she smirked, flicking her braid-bang back with her hand. “Well, let us see if you’re hiding any skill under that veil of yours, hm~?”

Liu Mingyan switched into a battle position, pointing her sword towards the demoness. “We shall see.”

And with that, the two combatants lunged at each other. Liu Mingyan quickly brought her sword up to strike at Sha Hualing, who countered it with a blast of demonic qi before following up with a swift kick at the other girl’s face. As the sword wasn’t divine in nature, it had considerable trouble blocking the demon’s energy. Still, the disciple was able to avoid both it and the attack to her face, rolling to the side so that Sha Hualing flew past her.

Liu Mingyan quickly got to her feet and turned to face the demoness only to see her use her heel against the ground to backflip up and over the disciple, attempting to go for her exposed back. Thankfully, the flower of Xian Shu Peak anticipated the demon’s intent and spun about to interrupt her opponent’s access to her back, and readied her sword again.

Bingge watched the match with a rather neutral expression on his face. He could tell that the other disciples - and even the demons - were really enjoying the view of two beautiful women beating the shit out of each other. He should have felt the same, and perhaps even feel anger that others were creeping on his former wives. And yet, he really felt nothing. It wasn’t doing anything for him at all.

Instead, what was getting his heart racing was how close Shen Jiu was standing to him. The man was watching the fight but didn’t appear to be getting any joy out of it either. Instead, he seemed to be drawing closer and closer to the former demon lord. The man never said the words - and obviously never would - but Bingge could tell that the scum villain was seeking comfort and reassurance from his presence.

And that alone was worth far more than all the suggestively torn clothes and forbidden flashes of skin in the world.

Unfortunately, the match didn’t divert much from how it played out in their previous life. It was perfectly understandable; while formidable, Liu Mingyan was still no match for Sha Hualing. Between the differences in experience and the lack of a saintly weapon, the advantage was just clearly too stacked in favor of the newly minted ‘Demon Saintess’. The flower of Xian Shu Peak tried her best, but the outcome was still the same - her sword clattering to the ground, with Sha Hualing looming over her fallen opponent.

“Well now, that’s one win for us and one for Cang Qiong Mountain,” Sha Hualing said, with a smile like a cat who had eaten a canary. The victory had clearly done its job and not only renewed her enthusiasm but her subordinates as well, who cheered behind her.

Liu Mingyan got to her feet, retrieving her sword, before heading over to Shen Jiu, the most senior peak lord on the peak - though it was also just as likely that she had forgotten that Shang Qinghua was even there. She bowed, and her remorseful expression could be felt through her veil.

“This disciple requests punishment from Shen-shibo for her unacceptable performance,” Liu Mingyan said, bowing deeply. “I have reflected poorly upon my peak.”

Shen Jiu let out a small ‘hmph’. “And what, specifically, should I punish you for?” When Liu Mingyan paused and raised her head slightly, the scum villain continued with a dismissive wave of his fan. “I did not see anyone else besides this boy show such courage before our demonic ‘guests’! Twice now you have gone forth to confront demons, for the sake of others and our sect. No one has any right to judge you, and I certainly see no reason to do so.”

Liu Mingyan straightened up at that. “Shen-shibo…”

“Learn from the experience,” Shen Jiu replied with a sharp nod. “All failures shall become steps to help you ascend, bringing you ever upward until you can finally stand victorious and look down to see where you have come and what you have overcome.”

Bingge nodded sagely at his shizun’s words, even though inwardly he couldn’t help but think at how that very line of thinking had led the scum villain on a spiraling path of destruction and resentment downward rather than upward. Then again, considering where they were now, it gave the man’s words a ring of truth.

Peaks and valleys didn’t matter, it would seem. So long as they reached the mountain top in the end. Even if it took death and a rebirth of sorts to do it. It spoke a lot about how the scum villain was able to survive for as long as he did, no matter what he had to endure.

“Such sage words from Senior Shen Qingqiu!” Sha Hualing laughed, earning herself a razor-sharp glare from the scum villain. “And clearly you mean to show us your dedication to them, yes?”

Shen Jiu didn’t respond at first, his jaw clenching.

“This is the final round, after all, and while one of our elders clearly stepped up to fight, no elders of Cang Qiong Mountain have done the same,” Sha Hualing continued as she fluttered her eyelashes at Shen Jiu. “As of yet.”

Shen Jiu felt his stomach churn, but knew he couldn’t back down from the open challenge. His face, and the face of Cang Qiong Mountain, would never recover. Losing the match would be terrible enough, but refusing to even make the attempt would be even more unforgivable.

However, before he could step forward, Shen Jiu felt a tight grip at the back of his robes yet again, holding him perfectly still. He stopped short and glanced accusingly over to Bingge, who was standing beside him while simultaneously preventing him from moving.

“The demoness makes a good point, but has she forgotten something?” Bingge said. “There are currently two peak lords in attendance.”

“Huh?” Sha Hualing said with a small blink.

“...Huh?” Shang Qinghua said as he looked up sharply. In an instant, he suddenly felt all eyes upon him, as if the assembled people literally just remembered that he existed and was present despite being there the whole damn time. “Huh!?”

“Qing Jing Peak has already made its showing,” Bingge said, with a bright smile. “So it is only fair that An Ding Peak make a showing of its own. Is that not so, Shizun?”

Shen Jiu’s eyes widened before he turned to stare at the increasingly horrified Shang Qinghua, before a smirk slithered across his face. “Indeed. If this is truly an exchange of experiences, then it would not make sense for the same peak to act twice.”

Sha Hualing’s expression drew incredulous as she turned toward Shang Qinghua, looking him over as if he were a bug. “Him? You would leave the fate of your sect to him? The housekeeper?”

Shang Qinghua felt an itch of irritation, but he had far more pressing concerns - namely the entire situation. “S-System, what is happening? What is this nonsense!? I’m not even supposed to be here, so why am I being told to fight!?”

[Quest has been issued.]

[Issuer: Luo Binghe.]

[Location: Qiong Ding Peak.]

[Quest: Try not to die too quickly.]

Shang Qinghua’s heart jumped into a lurch, but still managed to keep his poker face in place. He didn’t dare let the mask slip for even a moment, with all eyes upon him with open disbelief and incredulity. 

“System, when I told Liu-shidi that ‘both’ of us would support Shen-shidi, I meant him,” Shang Qinghua thought. “The implied we was rhetorical.”

[Refusal to accept the quest will result in automatic failure and death.]

Shang Qinghua felt a chill run up his spine and swiftly turned his eyes towards Luo Binghe. To his increasing horror, the eyes on the disciple confirmed the System’s warning to be true. Bingge’s eyes were boring into his, clear and intense with an unspoken threat lingering between them.

You will do this, or I will kill you myself.

Shang Qinghua wanted to cry, but he knew he didn’t even have that luxury. It was no secret that he didn’t have much cultivation compared to the other peaks. It was true that he at least was able to achieve core formation, but that was a bare minimum requirement for becoming a Peak Lord!

What the hell did they expect him to do here, except die!?

Sha Hualing stared at Shang Qinghua for several moments before she let out a giggle. She had wanted to force Shen Jiu to fight, and expose his rumored infirmed condition to the demons, but she could always do that later - after they won this last match. This match would determine the victor, so who was she to reject such an easy victory?

“Very well! If Senior Shang Qinghua wishes to enter, then surely only another elder may be his opponent!” the demoness said, her sneer dripping all over her words. She turned and gestured towards her horde, who were clearly cackling openly at the developments. “Elder ‘Single Arm’ Dubi, would you be so kind?”

A stern dark purple demon with one arm stepped forward from the crowd. Judging by his expression, he was clearly not as amused as his compatriots by the turn of events. “Is this a joke?”

“If it is, I admit it may seem a rather poor one,” Shang Qinghua agreed, with an awkward laugh. “But such is life, is it not?”

“What is the problem?” Shen Jiu asked, with a quirk of his eyebrow. “You have one arm, he’s the lord of An Ding Peak… it’s an equal match, isn’t it? Surely you have no room for complaints.”

“Shen-shidi,” Shang Qinghua thought, with a twitch of his cheek. “Do you really think you are in a position to bully me like this? Getting rather cocky with that demon bastard on your arm, aren’t you? Just because I can’t kill you outright, that doesn’t mean I can’t make things very unpleasant for you! Perhaps you would enjoy wiping your ass with paper made of poison ivy, hm!?”

Elder Dubi let out a snort before he hefted up his beheading saber. “I’ll make this a nice and clean match… by nicely and cleanly cutting your head from your neck.”

Shang Qinghua swiftly drew his own sword, not that he had much faith in it saving him. He reluctantly stepped forward, as not doing so was actually far more dangerous by this point, and stared at his demonic opponent as he struggled to search his brain for ways to survive.

The An Ding Peak Lord didn’t even dare consider attempting to win, only how to not die instantly. Perhaps if he ran around the match, flailing and screaming? He didn’t really need to worry about his metaphorical face too much, as he never had any to begin with. He was far more concerned about his physical face!

Shang Qinghua could hear the dissatisfied murmuring of the sect behind him, with none of them happy with the fate of their sect placed in the hands of An Ding Peak. But even then, not a single one of the bastards dared step forward to take his place, so who the hell did they think they were to complain!?

He was the only one with the right to complain about this bullshit!

Elder Dubi didn’t give the frazzled peak lord a chance to stew in his impotent fury much longer, lunging forward to swing his blade up only to bring it downward at Shang Qinghua’s head. To his credit, the peak lord was able to block the attack with his own blade, the swords clashing noisily upon impact. Shang Qinghua grit his teeth as he held his sword with both hands, one on the hilt and other the back of the blade, while the demon pushed down with his singular arm.

“See?” Shen Jiu said, lightly. “His two arms versus yours’ one - an even match.”

“Senior Shen Qingqiu,” Sha Hualing said, just as lightly. “Is that truly something to brag about?”

“I’m in here fighting for my life and you bastards still think nothing of talking shit about me!” Shang Qinghua thought furiously as he pushed back to keep the blade away from his face, to the point that his muscles were screaming. “To my face, even!”

As the blade started to move in, inch by inch, the An Ding Peak Lord knew it was a losing battle. He quickly released his grip as he jumped to the side. Elder Dubi hadn’t expected the sudden lack of tension and fell forward slightly, his blade clanging against the ground, before he righted himself and chased after the scurrying peak lord.

“Ah, yes,” Shen Jiu said, sagely. “The secret An Ding Peak technique of running away.”

“Whose side are you on!?” Shang Qinghua demanded to know as he ran, scurrying to dodge as the elder demon kept swinging his sword, creating huge gashes in the ground.

“Ling-er wonders too,” Sha Hualing said, almost beginning to feel sorry for the An Ding Peak Lord.

Almost.

Elder Dubi’s patience, however, was running thin. He was rather rapidly growing tired of chasing after the An Ding Peak Lord, who proved to be a lot more lithe and quick than anticipated. He brought his sword up again before swinging it sideways in a slashing moment. “Stop running!”

Shang Qinghua couldn’t dodge in time so he had no choice but to spin about and block with his sword. And even then, he wasn’t sure it would be enough to save him from getting cleaved. A steady stream of cursing and pleading with the gods went through his head as his sword met his attacker’s.

A flash of white caught Shang Qinghua’s eye seconds before it happened. His sword struck the beheading saber before neatly cleaving straight through it, cutting the blade in half. Both the traitorous rat and the one-armed demon gawked at the outcome, even as the front end of the saber shattered like glass before landing several feet from them.

Shang Qinghua held his sword in his hand, panting. It was then that he noticed that his breath was coming up in a puff of mist. He was cold, his hands were cold, his sword was cold.

Everything was cold.

The An Ding Peak Lord’s heart pounded in his chest to the point that he could hear it in his ears and barely managed to resist looking around to find Mobei-Jun. No one knew or could possibly know what the sudden coldness meant, but he did. He absolutely did. The ice demon was there, he was watching.

And not only that, he had protected him.

Shang Qinghua’s mind raced as he gasped for breath, staring at the stupefied demon. His king must have placed a ward on his sword when he wasn’t looking! That was the only explanation! It was rather common for the peak lord to leave his sword lying around, as he never really had use for it - he was never expected to use it.

“Y-you… how did you…” Elder Dubi muttered, in disbelief. The rest of the peak was asking the same thing, some quietly while others quite vocally as their murmurs intensified. Even Shen Jiu had been stunned silent, his brow furrowed in open confusion.

Only Bingge seemed unsurprised by the outcome, and instead gave Sha Hualing a saucy smile. “It seems your elder has been disarmed. Shall we call the match now?”

“I… did I actually win?” Shang Qinghua asked, breathlessly.

The An Ding Peak Lord’s words seemed to draw Elder Dubi from the stupor he had been in. The sheer idea that he’d lose to An Ding Peak was too much. It was an insult that he would never be able to wipe clean, like a shit stain for all eternity. The demon let out a furious scream before diving forward at the small peak lord.

Shang Qinghua squeaked and cringed back, but the strike never came. Instead, Cheng Luan suddenly surged forward and landed between the two, plunging into the ground. The sight of the infamous sword startled Elder Dubi out of his rage and he quickly retreated, just as Liu Qingge jumped down in front of Shang Qinghua.

The War God had finally arrived.

“Demon,” Liu Qingge said, his voice and eyes carrying a growl of a leopard. “Who gave you permission to dirty our mountain with your presence?”

A euphoric cheer erupted from the gathered disciples, nearly deafening. And with that sudden surge of morale, all the remnants of the demon’s own morale shattered into the wind. It was bad enough for there to be one monster of a cultivator in that disciple, but the War God of Bai Zhan Peak too?! With one, they could probably overwhelm him in numbers, but two!? Too much, it was far too much!

“Ah, how rude,” Sha Hualing said, even as her voice quivered. “The match was not over, and you interrupted it! Surely that means Cang Qiong Mountain forfeits-”

The demoness was not able to finish her words before she was suddenly blasted by a surge of qi from the War God, with Liu Qingge staring impassively at her as she was blown away. He didn’t even react when her barely-considered clothes mysteriously self-detonated, sending bits of red fabric everywhere.

The look on Liu Qingge’s face spoke volumes about how little of a shit he gave about their matches, and how little he cared to consider the impropriety of it all.

“Then let us have one last match,” Liu Qingge said, summoning Cheng Luan back to him with an idle motion of his hand. “Every single one of you, against me. Starting now.”

A ripple of terror swept through the demons and all pretenses evaporated just like Sha Hualing’s clothing. They broke ranks in an instant, fleeing from the scene back the way they came. Even Sha Hualing hurried after them, draped in a cloak she had obtained somehow as she looked back in fury.

“This is not over!” Sha Hualing snapped over her shoulder as she fled. “Just you wait!”

Liu Qingge offered no spoken retort, instead sending his sword upwards into the sky before a brilliant glisten signaled a deluge of spiritual blasts as if pouring down from the clouds. The demons screamed and scattered under the attack, which pummeled them without mercy. Even more, the sight of Liu Qingge had renewed the fire of courage in the disciples’ hearts, and they quickly moved to chase after the fleeing demons, despite not one having the guts to step forward before.

After all that, now they were suddenly drawing their weapons!? Shang Qinghua mentally cursed them all as cowards, every damn one of them! Every single peak could look forward to itching assholes in the near future!

Including you, Luo Binghe! Standing by Shen Jiu looking so smug with himself! May you be prepared for an eternity of burning sensations in sensitive places!

The An Ding Peak Lord collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, hanging his head forward. He let out a heavy sigh before he noticed Liu Qingge moving to stand beside him, and lifted his head to see the Bai Zhan Peak Lord staring down at him with an unreadable expression.

Shang Qinghua gave a small blink before offering his shidi a smile. “Nice of you to finally show up, shidi.”

“Your performance was terrible,” Liu Qingge said, his voice even. “And embarrassing to watch. You need to practice more.”

Shang Qinghua clenched his jaw and his smile nearly broke, but he managed to keep it in place. Yet inwardly, he was pretty damn done with every single one of these bastards!

“Shidi,” the An Ding Peak Lord thought. “Is it my imagination, or are you bullying me more now than you did before we gained a ‘relationship’?”

“Don’t worry,” Liu Qingge continued, as if he didn’t notice the An Ding Peak Lord’s reaction - or even cared. “I will get you into fighting shape, so be prepared.”

Shang Qinghua couldn’t stop his face from faulting this time, as his mind screamed one thing and one thing only.

NO FUCKING THANK YOU!

[Quest successfully completed.]

[Liu Qingge Relationship Status Updated: 'Endearingly' Pathetic.]

[+100 Pity Points!]

[+200 Knowledge Points!]

GO TO FUCKING HELL, SYSTEM!

Chapter Text

Cang Qiong Mountain was perfectly quiet that moonlight night, tranquil and still as a lake’s surface. It was almost unimaginable to think it had been the scene of such chaos and destruction earlier in the day, but after the dust had settled, the denizens of the mountain had simply picked up the pieces and moved on with their day.

Humans were nothing if not resourceful.

Shen Jiu sighed as he sat at his armoire, slowly brushing his long hair. A good, long soak in the bath had cleansed his pores of all the lingering stress, both from the day itself and the build up to it, and he was vastly looking forward to a peaceful sleep. At least until the Immortal Alliance Conference got closer, at any rate.

The scum villain couldn’t hear anything in the side room. After filling the bath for his shizun and supplying him with hot water, the boy had gone to bed himself. Surely he was just as exhausted as the peak lord, if not more so, but he was apparently very good at hiding it.

Still, if there was one good thing about the day’s events - besides watching Shang Qinghua run around like an idiot - it was the demonstration of the boy’s current abilities. It really put his heart at ease, and the disaster at the Immortal Alliance Conference suddenly felt that much more manageable.

Of course, he would be lying if he didn’t feel at least a small tremor at how powerful the beast had become, but that was more residual from his past life. The boy didn’t show any sign of resentment or hatred to him, not this time, and had actively protected him on multiple occasions. That Luo Binghe had become nothing but a phantom by this point, lurking in the shadows of his memories and nothing more.

But there was always that tiny little whisper that reminded him how easily he could destroy everything once again. How easily that phantom of a monster could become a reality again. And while frustrating, it was good to still have it murmuring in his ear. It served as a reminder for him to keep his temper, his resentments, and his grudges in check. Or mostly in check, as much as he was physically capable of.

Shen Jiu set down his brush before slowly getting up and heading to his bed. Anyway, it was too late for such somber and sinister thoughts. Otherwise, it was wishing a bad night upon himself when his body was beyond ready for rest. Best to just take the positive outcome for what it was and sleep the rest of the day away.

With that final thought, the scum villain extinguished the candle on the nightstand by his bed before crawling under the covers. As darkness settled into the room, so too did the overwhelming call of sleep. Within moments, Shen Jiu felt himself drifting away into slumber.

The feeling of cold, slimy water splashing across his face startled Shen Jiu awake. The scum villain sputtered and coughed as he sat up, wiping at his eyes. His vision was blurry, much like his brain as it struggled to comprehend what the hell had just happened and who needed to pay dearly for it.

“Oi, trash!” a harsh voice rang in his ears. “Wake the fuck up! Who gave you permission to slack off!?”

“What do you think Young Master Qiu will do to you when he finds out?” a second voice sneered down at him. “Do you like getting beat? Stupid brat!”

The voices, and their words, were like another jolt of cold water to Shen Jiu’s body. His mouth went dry as a chill turned his blood to sludge before he slowly looked up, eyes wide and staring.

Looming over him, straight out of his memories, were two of Qiu Jianluo’s thugs. They themselves were unremarkable, noteworthy only due to who they served, but that was to be expected for a pair of hired goons. Their one purpose was to make Jianluo happy and exact his will when required.

And they had been exceptionally good at that.

Keyword - had been.

Shen Jiu’s eyes darted from face to face as he stared at his former tormentors, attempting to comprehend what was happening. The last time he had seen them, they were both bleeding out on the floor of the Qiu estate, thanks to their wounds. Wounds that he had given them.

How many years ago had that been? How long ago had he cut down Jianluo and his cronies, and burned everything to the ground? So what the hell were these two doing here now, sneering and spitting down at him?

After a moment, the scum villain looked down at his hands to see that they were much smaller - he was much smaller - and realization finally dawned.

“Ah,” Shen Jiu said. “I am dreaming.”

It seemed that he had been right to be concerned about cursing himself with a bad night, if this was the first thing he saw when going to sleep. He really needed to stop self-inflicting all this nonsense on himself, it was really getting tiring. Just one good night, that was all he asked for! Was that really so much?

Any further pondering was cut off by the feeling of the nearest thug grabbing Shen Jiu by his hair. The scum villain let out a cry of shock and reached up to grab at the hand as he was unceremoniously dragged across the floor, as if he were mere luggage to be manhandled.

And considering who they were supposed to be, that was precisely how they and their horrible young master thought of him.

Shen Jiu was dragged through the halls, unable to break free from the grip on his hair despite how he clawed at the hand. It wasn’t until he was finally ‘escorted’ to his destination that the man finally released his hold, only to toss Shen Jiu forward with a mighty flick of his arm. The scum villain let out a howl of shock as he tumbled forward, rolling slightly, before he came to a stop in the middle of an extravagant room.

Shen Jiu grimaced as he reached up to gingerly touch his scalp as it ached from the rough handling, then glanced uneasily around the room. He recognized it instantly, and how could he not? Like bloodied claw marks on cave walls, the memory of this room and its young master were etched into his soul.

The snap of a horse whip made Shen Jiu jump before he whipped his head about in the direction it had come from. To the surprise of no one, least of all him, there stood Qiu Jianluo. A handsome young man in fine violet colored clothing, he smirked as he idly tapped his horse whip against his hand. He looked just exactly like Shen Jiu had remembered him. At least, as he remembered him when he was alive.

The sight alone was enough to make Shen Jiu’s skin crawl and his insides burn. Even after so many years, the pain and hatred he felt at the bastard hadn’t ever been extinguished. And how could it, when the vulgar youth’s younger sister had continued the flames of hatred by aiding in his ultimate destruction on her brother’s behalf?

A look of irritation flickered across Jianluo’s face, as he clearly didn’t get the reaction he had wanted. He brought his whip back before snapping it in Shen Jiu’s face, who instinctively recoiled to dodge the strike. The action seemed to only enrage the spoiled young master even more, as he never would have allowed the little street rat to dodge in the past.

“You’re awfully brazen today, aren’t you,” Jianluo growled, gripping his horse whip with both hands before giving it a sharp snap for emphasis. “It would seem that you feel a bit too full of yourself, you ungrateful wretch. Perhaps I should remind you of your place?”

“You would always call me ungrateful, but I never really understood what specifically I was supposed to be grateful for,” Shen Jiu said, blandly. “You acted as if you were doing me a grand favor, as if I should count each beating as a blessing. Though given that this is a dream, I doubt you could actually give me a real answer.”

Jianluo’s eyebrows shot straight up as his face contorted with anger. “What did you say!?”

Shen Jiu met the young master’s glare with one of his own. “But given your vulgar, sick attitude, you probably did expect me to thank you for each abuse you decided to inflict on me and ask for seconds. Even my dream can’t fully capture the depths of your depravity.”

“You are dreaming if you think I won’t crack your damn skull open!”Jianluo snarled as he raised his horse whip threateningly. He brought it down swiftly to strike Shen Jiu, only to stop and stare in surprise when the scum caught it with his bare hand.

“So boastful and proud… you always did like to run your mouth, didn’t you?” Shen Jiu said, his tone cold. “But you certainly lost your tongue after I cut you to pieces. Bleeding out on the ground while you gagged on your own blood… you were pretty damn quiet then, weren’t you?”

Jianluo froze as he seemed taken aback by the retort, and Shen Jiu’s utter lack of fear. “What?”

“You’re dead,” Shen Jiu said firmly as he slowly stood up, his grip tight on the young master’s whip. “And I’m not interested in spending my dreams being bullied by a corpse.”

“Oh? Then perhaps Shizun would rather spend his dreams being bullied by me?”

Shen Jiu felt a chill run along his spine, his breathing catching in his lungs. In front of him, he could see Jianluo and his goons melt into an invisible wind like bits of smoke, leaving nothing behind. And with them, so too did his surroundings slowly melt away, the luxurious mansion replaced with the dark and grungy dungeon he had come to know so well.

The scum villain clenched his fists as he struggled to control his breathing, before slowly turning his head to look behind him. His eyes immediately fell on the smiling visage of Luo Binghe, the demon lord in all his full glory.

The light from the cell door seemed to give the former disciple the impression of an aura, but the darkness in his smile could only belong to a demon. The mere sight sent a visceral reaction through Shen Jiu’s body in spite of himself, and the scum villain instinctively stepped back while bringing his arms up defensively.

“Shizun,” Luo Binghe practically purred. “You’ve been enjoying your dream up until now, haven’t you~?”

“What part of seeing that bastard’s face can be considered enjoyable?” Shen Jiu snapped. “Or yours, for that matter! Things that no longer exist should stay where they belong!”

“I meant before that,” Luo Binghe said, with his infuriating smile still on his face. “The rest of your dream.”

Shen Jiu felt something in his heart twist as a beat of sweat trickled down his forehead. “...What?”

“Come now, surely you suspected it this whole time?” Luo Binghe asked, gesturing his arms out wide. “Liu-shishu being alive again? Zhangmen-shixiong being alive again? Don’t you think that sounds a bit too much like a fairy tale? And far too good for someone like you to deserve.”

A tremor ran up his spine as Shen Jiu began to find difficulty breathing. Admittedly, he had doubts initially that what he was seeing was another illusion - or delusion - as it was just so inconceivable. He had eventually come to accept it as reality, as it felt far too real, too convincing. And yet to hear those words coming from that face, it suddenly shook his faith in that conviction.

And that thought terrified him to his very core.

“T-that’s… but the Spirit!” Shen Jiu blurted out. “I’ve spoken to that Spirit so many times!”

“Isn’t that just proof that this is all the deluded dreams of a sick man?” Luo Binghe asked as he stepped forward, tilting his head slightly. His smile widened as Shen Jiu drew back away from him, step for step. “Isn’t the very premise of this world faulty to begin with?” The demon’s eyes glowed in the darkness, like scorching flames. “As if I would ever allow you to escape me, even by dying. Shizun, you should know better than that.”

“N-no! No, no, no!” Shen Jiu screamed out as he shook his head violently. “I-I was trying harder! I was actually doing better! I… I was fixing things! I was finally-!”

“You realized it, didn’t you? The flaw in that ‘reality’,” Luo Binghe continued as he stepped closer and closer, while the scum villain kept drawing back. “Your ‘weakness’... even if your mind was so desperate to forget, so willing to forget, your body never could. It was trying to tell you something this whole time. Your body remembered!”

“L-Liar! You’re lying! This is the dream! You’re not real! You’re not real!” Shen Jiu’s voice was hysterical now, as tears formed in his eyes. He lashed out to strike at the approaching demon, only to yelp when Luo Binghe snatched his arm by the wrist and yanked it upwards, pulling the scum villain close.

“Perhaps I should show you how real I am,” Luo Binghe said as he loomed over Shen Jiu, his grip like a vice. The demon gave the captive hand a painful squeeze, which caused a jolt through Shen Jiu’s body as he realized what Luo Binghe intended to do. He looked up in a panic and grabbed at the demon’s hand, even though he knew he was helpless to stop him.

“No no no no!” Shen Jiu screamed as he clawed at the demon’s hand, to no avail. Tears were pouring down his cheeks as his heart began to scream. “Luo Binghe!”

“You got too used to having them again,” Luo Binghe said with a laugh, dangling the scum villain about. “I put so much work into it, only for you to pretend it never happened? Isn’t that what this whole dream was, you pretending that you’re not a filthy piece of shit that deserved everything you got? Like you think undoing your sins will change them, wipe your hands clean? After everything you did to me? That’s pretty selfish of you, Shizun! It’s only right that I correct that thinking of yours-”

In that instant, everything seemed to stop before Shen Jiu’s eyes. One moment, that sneering demon’s face was right in front of him. The next minute, there was a distinct lack of a face as the head was solidly removed from its neck. The head flew across the room to the side before shattering like dust against the wall. The body stood for a moment, the hand going limp as it released the stunned Shen Jiu, before the whole carcass collapsed to the ground at the same time as the Qing Jing Peak Lord before disappearing into nothingness as well.

“A-ah?” Shen Jiu squeaked out, shaking badly through his tears and half-sobs. He slowly lifted his hands to stare at them, seeing that they were both still there, before turning his attention to the new presence that he had just noticed in the room. “H-hah!?”

It was… Luo Binghe!?

And yet, it was not the same Luo Binghe that had just disappeared. Instead, it was the disciple Luo Binghe, the one that he had become so familiar with these past few years. But what was the same was the look of unbridled fury on the boy’s face - that was an expression he would definitely have expected on the demon lord’s face.

However, it wasn’t aimed at Shen Jiu, as it typically had been back then. Rather, the boy was instead glaring at where the demon lord’s head had ‘splattered’, a quake running through his body as he clenched his fists. After a moment, Luo Binghe turned his attention to Shen Jiu.

Seeing Shen Jiu’s trembling, miserable face, Bingge seemed to remember himself and quickly schooled his expression. There was barely a pause before he moved forward, reaching to grasp Shen Jiu in his arms, despite the man instinctively cringing back.

“Shizun! Shizun, wake up!” Bingge called out, his voice seemingly reverberating through the cell despite the boy being right there. “Shizun, can you hear me!?”

Shen Jiu’s vision began to swim as the room seemingly melted around him, just like Luo Binghe’s body had. His head was throbbing and his legs gone weak, with the boy’s firm grip seemingly the only solid thing as his world melted away. With a whimper, the scum villain covered his face with his hands as he struggled to get his bearings.

What he didn’t see was the cell room suddenly rearranging itself, and instead becoming the inside of his Bamboo House. The entire room appeared out of nothingness, as if sculpted straight from the darkness.

By the time he did finally open his eyes, Shen Jiu found himself collapsed in the middle of his home, with the young Luo Binghe cradling his body with panic and concern clear on his face.

“Shizun,” Bingge let out a sigh of relief when Shen Jiu finally looked at him again. “Thank goodness you’re awake.”

“H-hah?” was all Shen Jiu could respond with, his head still swirling as confusion and disorientation reigned supreme. His eyes darted from Bingge’s face to the room, searching for answers that weren’t immediately forthcoming. “Huh…?”

“You were dreaming, Shizun,” Bingge said carefully, reaching up to gently brush back one of Shen Jiu’s long locks from his face. “You were just screaming and screaming in your sleep. It sounded terrible, I was so worried!”

Shen Jiu blinked once, twice, and then a third time before his eyes widened and the truth of the situation settled in. His hands shot out in a panic to touch the boy’s face, pressing his palms against Bingge’s cheeks.

Warm. They were warm.

That’s right. That’s right. That other Luo Binghe wasn’t warm. He wasn’t warm.

He wasn’t real.

This Luo Binghe was real.

Bingge gave a small blink but said nothing at first as the shizun felt his face with his cold, trembling hands. But when the scum villain began to sob again, his confusion turned to concern once more. “Shizun?!”

“You’re real,” Shen Jiu choked out. “This is real, this was all real…! I really…!”

Luo Binghe’s expression softened before he reached up to cover Shen Jiu’s hand with his own over his right cheek, his other hand still cradling the scum villain. “Shizun, you’ve been through so much, haven’t you? But everything is okay now.”

Shen Jiu coughed a little, struggling to breath through his tears as he gave a small nod. He all but collapsed against Luo Binghe, his body losing all remaining strength to even remain upright.

Bingge wrapped his arms around Shen Jiu, pulling him into a tight hug, before suddenly picking him up off the floor and over towards the bed. “Shizun, you need to rest.” He felt the scum villain utter a weak protest but shook his head. “Don’t worry, you will not have any more nightmares tonight. I swear to you.”

Shen Jiu only offered a soft murmur of a response, his body quickly succumbing to the fatigue his soul felt. By the time Bingge laid him down on the bed and tucked him in, the scum villain had already slipped off into slumber.

Bingge looked down at Shen Jiu, a pained grimace on his face. He gently reached down to wipe away the lingering tears from the man’s face and brushed away a few more stray locks of hair. He then turned on his heels and strode purposely to the entrance of the Bamboo House, his footsteps hard and heavy with an anger that couldn’t properly be conveyed - though thankfully Shen Jiu was too out of it to hear it.

Once outside, Bingge slowly closed the door to the Bamboo House behind him and let out a small sigh. In that instant, a murderous glower spread across his face. “...It’s entirely due to our past relationship that I haven’t killed you right here and now, shattering the remnants of your spirit into the winds like dust.” The disciple slowly turned his head, his eyes taking on a particularly unearthly glow. “But I won’t be so charitable next time.”

Standing at a distance was an elderly, well-dressed man in lavish looking robes. The man seemed thoughtful, though still intimidated enough to keep his distance, idly twirling his fingers through his beard as he looked at Binghe.

“…‘Past relationship’, you say,” the demon said, slowly. “I only targeted the human cultivator because I could not enter your dreams. Which is remarkable in and of itself, but not nearly so much as your claim that we have met before.”

Bingge smirked slightly. He knew exactly what his former mentor, the dream demon Meng Mo, was referring to. Sha Hualing had sent the demon after him last time, and he had been expecting the visit this time. He hadn’t, however, anticipated the demon switching targets upon finding himself unable to infiltrate his target’s dreams. “While this is our first meeting in this timeline, it is actually our second meeting overall. And in that past life, you taught me everything you knew.”

There was a pregnant pause from the elder demon before he nodded. “I see.”

It was Luo Binghe’s turn to express confusion this time, arching his eyebrow slowly. “You seem rather calm and accepting about this.”

“I recognize my techniques, which I have honed throughout my life and even at the expense of my life,” Meng Mo said. “Only two possibilities exist - that there is a second master of dreams in this world with my exact same knowledge… or you are telling the truth.”

Bingge tilted his head to the side. “Oh?”

“Both are impossible, so I have no choice but to go by my intuition rather than pure logic,” Meng Mo continued, with a casual rolling wave of his hand. “And my intuition is siding with you,” The demon paused before a crooked smile appeared on his face as he used his hand to gesture at himself. “Of course, it certainly helps that you were able to mold and maintain my appearance into my old face for me, implicitly confirming that you somehow know what I looked like prior to me losing my corporeal form.”

Luo Binghe seemed to relax at that, his grin less hostile and more amused. “Senior always was very observant.”

“It also explains your apparent mastery of the dream realm,” Meng Mo said as he looked around at their surroundings. “Not only keeping me out of yours but usurping control from me for this dream.”

“This one was always a dutiful student,” Luo Binghe agreed, so innocently.

“So I see,” Meng Mo agreed. “It’s clear that you have already learned most, if not all, that I have to teach. As such, you have nothing to gain by lying to me, as you already received everything I could have given you.”

“Which was Senior’s greatest desire, was it not? To ensure his knowledge did not die with him,” Bingge said. “It seems you accomplished your heartfelt goal and don’t even have the privilege of remembering any of it.”

“Indeed,” Meng Mo said. “Which is a bit disorienting, this senior will admit. And in a way, a bit like cheating - to accept credit for something that I cannot remember doing. But I can’t deny that you must have learned everything from me, so I suppose I have to accept it and be satisfied.”

“Oh?” Bingge asked, with a cheeky smile. “So Senior intends to retire, then?”

“Hah! Hardly,” Meng Mo said with a laugh. “It just means that the two of us can pick up where we left off and further your demonic cultivation. It’s clear that you need further refinement, especially given the current disparity between your physical state and your mental state.”

Bingge frowned at that before he let out a snort. “I will give you that.” It was something he had definitely noticed, and he had been trying to correct by training with Mobei-Jun, but he couldn’t deny a good demonic teacher would be helpful.

Meng Mo was quiet for a moment before he glanced back to the Bamboo House. With the newly provided information, it shed new light on the cultivator's seemingly disjointed memories, and how the man went from remembering his death at the hands of a mature and fully-grown Luo Binghe to being alive once more with the much younger version of that same boy. He had initially thought some sort of mental injury for the mangled memories, but now it was clear that was the reality of what had happened.

Even if he didn’t understand how such a thing could happen.

Bingge noticed Meng Mo’s gaze and understood the implication, even without having to follow it. “…The damage to his psyche from me killing my… that thing should be minimal. If anything, seeing that face die probably did him good, completely balancing it out.”

“The man is tenacious, if nothing else,” Meng Mo said. “Given everything I’ve seen, he should be able to recover quickly enough. It’s a testament to that tenacity that he has recovered as much as he has.”

Bingge went silent for a moment as he mulled over his thoughts, before lifting his head to meet Meng Mo’s gaze. “About that. I was meaning to ask…”

“If you are referring to his current condition in the waking world, the answer is yes,” Meng Mo said. “From what this senior could see, I strongly suspect it is entirely a mental issue rather than a physical one. As mentioned, his body ‘remembers’. No amount of medicine can heal a wound that does not truly exist.”

“…Which means that if his body ‘forgot’, then he would get better?” Bingge asked, carefully choosing his words.

Meng Mo looked at the young disciple before he gave a small nod. “That is something I can look into, yes. Once he has recovered and is able to handle a conversation with me. His cooperation would ultimately be necessary, in order to avoid any further damage. If you ultimately didn’t care about the outcome, that would be one thing, but it’s clear you want him in one piece rather than a thousand so the methods must be more… delicate.”

The elder demon couldn’t fully understand why the boy would want to waste so much care and concern for someone who, it seemed, treated him absolutely horribly for years. But he also couldn’t deny that efforts were being made by Shen Jiu, nor the very real possibility that everything that was happening was by Bingge’s design. Having torn the man apart quite literally, the boy was now trying to piece him back together, like mending broken porcelain with gold.

There was a fine line between love and hate, and the dream demon wasn’t interested in sticking his nose into it, especially when there was nothing to gain from it. Meng Mo knew far, far better to get involved. He was far too old for these sorts of shenanigans.

“Do it, then,” Bingge said. “And as compensation, we can renew our old agreement and I’ll allow you to use my body as your host. You should be more than taken care of with my current spiritual energy.”

Meng Mo offered the boy a crooked smile. It was still rather disorienting how the whole situation had turned out, as the dynamics between them had clearly settled in a way he hadn’t expected. But the familiarity that Binghe spoke with him made it far too easy to simply slip into the relationship as if it had been that way the entire time. It felt natural.

Besides, what choice did he have? Faced with either total obscurity or the current situation, he was hardly in a position to barter or banter. And it was clear that Luo Binghe knew that. He was at the boy’s mercy, and he had been the one to give him all the tools to accomplish that monumental feat.

He really couldn’t have been any more proud of his disciple.

“Agreed,” Meng Mo said.

Chapter Text

Luo Binghe was really beginning to regret forgiving his former and now once again current demonic mentor.

Such brooding thoughts were constantly running through Bingge’s head as he worked in the kitchen, cutting the vegetables with a bit more intensity than was actually needed. But it was the only safe output for those dark thoughts, as he had to keep his face and demeanor innocent and pure.

The disciple stopped mid-chop of a carrot and turned his head slightly, just enough that he could peer over his shoulder to the entrance leading into the main area of the Bamboo House. Standing there, huddled ‘out of view’ was none other than the scum villain himself, attempting to watch his disciple ‘unnoticed’.

Even if it was just Shen Jiu’s perception of being ‘unnoticed’.

From the moment the scum villain had woken up, he had been exceedingly needy, wanting to know Luo Binghe’s location at all times. Every time the disciple turned around, he would catch a glimpse of the Qing Jing Peak Lord ‘subtly’ peeking at him, as if he thought the disciple would disappear if he left Shen Jiu’s gaze for too long.

Bingge let out a soft sigh before he returned to cutting the vegetables in front of him, keeping up the appearance that he hadn’t noticed his persistent stalker.

The former demon lord had to cancel his training plans just to make sure he stayed close, loitering around the Bamboo House lest he risk Shen Jiu having a panic attack. He would’ve expected the shizun to make a comment or chastise him for slacking off, but the scum villain didn’t seem to care at all. Given the content of the nightmare, Luo Binghe could understand why.

And he didn’t like it, at all.

While he thought he would be able to enjoy Shen Jiu being so clingy, it was a visible reminder of what the dream demon had done the night before. It filled him with dread that the man’s psyche had been damaged far more than he anticipated, that the new cracks Mengo Mo had caused wouldn’t heal quite so readily.

And if that was the case, all past deals were off.

But he would give a bit more time, a bit more grace, before making any rash decisions.

Thankfully, as the day marched on, the scum villain began to relax. He seemed to finally begin to accept once again that his reality was, in fact, reality and he wasn’t having a prolonged delusion that could self-destruct at any moment. While he still lingered around Luo Binghe far more than normal, there was considerably less panic thinly hidden in each action.

By dinner time, Shen Jiu seemed more himself. Luo Binghe couldn’t help but feel immense relief as the scum villain ate his meal with his usual aloof facade, acting as if he hadn’t spent the entire day stalking his disciple. And he had no intention of ever calling that fact out, and instead took it as yet more proof of the scum villain’s enduring tenacity to overcome.

As bedtime came and Shen Jiu settled into sleep, completely spent from the day and the miserable dreams from the night before, the disciple watched with a sharp eye from the side room. He did feel a small twinge of irritation at how reluctant the scum villain seemed to be to fall asleep, but ultimately the man settled down in his bed to rest. Or at the very least, to make an attempt to rest.

Now it was all up to Senior Meng Mo.

And it was in the dream demon’s best interests not to screw anything else up.

---

Shen Jiu slowly became aware of a cold and hard floor against his back. The sensation filled him with a sense of dread and he resisted the urge to open his eyes, as if perhaps the dream couldn’t continue if he lied there and ignored it.

But ultimately, he knew better than that. It wasn’t as if that trick had ever helped him in reality, so why would it work in his dreams? At most, he might provoke his tormentor into delivering something he couldn’t ignore - like a swift kick to his sides.

Best to just get this over with.

The scum villain let out a weary sigh before he opened his eyes. His sight came into focus on the grimey and damp stone ceiling above him, easily confirming that he was back in that wretched cell. Shen Jiu let out a small grumble of irritation in the back of his throat before he slowly sat up and gave his former prison a baleful stare.

“You’re a lot calmer than I expected you to be.”

Shen Jiu immediately froze, a chill running along his spine. It wasn’t so much what was being said but rather the voice that was saying it - his own voice. The scum villain turned his head quickly in the direction the voice had come from, his eyes wide.

Sitting across from him on the floor was himself. But not in his current state, but rather how he had been when he died - mostly. ‘Shen Qingqiu’ sat across from himself while wearing tattered plain prisoner robes, with a somewhat sassy smirk on his face. There were visible bloody scars along his upper arms and thighs, where his limbs had been removed. However, said limbs had somehow been re-attached, stitched back on with red thread as if he were a patchwork doll.

It was, quite frankly, pretty disturbing.

“Is it because you’re used to this sort of thing?” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ asked. “Or perhaps simply better at hiding your emotions?” The other Shen Qingqiu paused before his smirk widened. “When you can be bothered to.”

“Are you another version of myself?” Shen Jiu asked, narrowing his eyes. “Like A-Yuan?”

‘Shen Qingqiu’ hesitated, as if confused by the question, before he gave a small shake of his head. “No, I am not. I am something else entirely, and simply took this form in hopes that it would calm you and allow us to talk.”

“‘Talk’?!” Shen Jiu repeated. “More than that, what precisely am I supposed to find calming about the sight of my own mutilated body, stitched together or not!?”

“That is a very good question,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ replied before gesturing his left hand forward to the scum villain, palm upwards. “And yet, here we are.”

Shen Jiu stared down at the palm in confusion before lifting his eyes to meet those of his double’s.

“You are calm, and we are talking,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said. “Care to explain?”

Shen Jiu was silent for a moment before he let out a snort and slapped his double’s hand away, though he remained seated on the floor. “I don’t need to explain anything to you.”

“Not even why you insist on using this memory to torture yourself?” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ asked, tilting his head slightly as he gestured his hand towards himself.

“I’m not torturing-,” Shen Jiu began before he gave a small yelp, interrupted from his protest by the sight of his counterpart’s left arm falling off, the stitches giving way so that the limb fell to the ground with a small ‘plop’.

“Your body disagrees,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said, with a wry smile.

Shen Jiu grimaced before he let out a little ‘tch’ under his breath. He looked away as the dropped arm seemed to flop like a fish on the ground, as if taunting him. The scum villain’s cheek twitched before his right foot lashed out to kick the appendage away.

‘Shen Qingqiu’ watched the arm get kicked, the limb rolling into the shadows and out of sight. He looked rather amused, despite the fact that it was his arm being manhandled, before he returned his attention to Shen Jiu.

“And why would you care?” Shen Jiu demanded to know.

“I don’t,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ replied.

The scum villain gave a small blink, his expression incredulous that his doppelganger would just outright confirm his accusation, before his expression deadpanned. “Then why are you wasting your breath?”

“Because there are those that do care,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ replied. At the unbelieving stare he got in response, the double let out a bark of laughter. “Come now! Surely you can think of at least one person who would care?”

“I can’t think of anyone who should,” Shen Jiu said darkly.

“I didn’t say ‘should’,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ chided him. “I said ‘would’.”

Shen Jiu’s lips pursed before he pulled them tight into a grimace. Truth be told, he could think of at least several people who seemed to care about him, far more than they had any business to. And that number only seemed to be growing the longer he continued with his so-called ‘quest’ to ‘be a good shizun’.

It was an overwhelming feeling, one that he didn’t really know how to deal with. Not to mention, it put more pressure on him not to screw everything up, lest the monumental pile of corpses grow even larger than it already was. It wasn’t just his own life on the line, so he couldn’t be so nonchalant about throwing himself away this time.

“You see?” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said as he pointed with his remaining right hand. “Even you have to acknowledge that those people exist.”

“...And what has any of that to do with you?” Shen Jiu asked, his tone icy.

“I suppose you could say that I owe a debt,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ replied with a lazy twirl of his hand, his posture rather casual for someone missing an arm. “And given my circumstances, I am very limited in ways to pay that debt,” An easy-going smile appeared on the double’s face, which looked alarmingly out of place to Shen Jiu. “I am simply fortunate that an opportunity such as this presented itself.”

“I am not even remotely interested in your ‘debt’ or whatever ‘fortune’ you seem to think you have,” Shen Jiu said, his lips curling up in a sneer. “If anything, it makes me less inclined to deal with you.”

“And would you be inclined towards having your cultivation back?” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ asked. When the scum villain stiffened, the double’s smile widened and he moved to verbally twist the knife. “To no longer be a burden to everyone around you? You know perfectly well that yesterday’s victory came not from your doing, but from those around you. How are you not ashamed of that? Without that boy and Liu Qingge-”

“Shut up!” Shen Jiu snapped, bristling. “You think I don’t realize that!? You think I am not aware!?” He had wracked his brain for what he could have done - should have done - and in the end, he could do nothing but rely on those around him.

And that very idea tore into his soul like rusty nails in his flesh.

“Then why are you not doing anything about it?” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ asked, with a tilt of his head. “Surely you don’t enjoy being a useless damsel, relying on those superior to-”

The double didn’t have a chance to finish as Shen Jiu grabbed a nearby broken stone to fling it at the man’s head. ‘Shen Qingqiu’ easily moved his head to the side, allowing the stone to hit the wall behind him.

“I am not here merely to antagonize you,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said.

“But you do admit you are antagonizing me!” Shen Jiu snapped as he held up another chunk of stone, threateningly.

“I am offering you an opportunity to put the past behind you,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said, calmly. “To move on from the rage and hatred that has consumed your life until now, and in turn consumed the lives of many innocent people.”

Shen Jiu hesitated, still holding the stone he had been about to throw.

“Your body will never heal if you continue like this,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said. “Do you not want to heal? To regain your cultivation? To be able to stand on your feet and defend yourself? And if not for your own sake, then what of those around you? Those people you actually care about? To at the very least, ease their burdens? Is wallowing in hatred worth all this?”

Shen Jiu went perfectly silent, his jaw clenching. Immediately, the words called to mind that of A-Yuan. That version of him had managed to secure a happy life, because he had been given an undeserved blessing in the form of a qi deviation. He had forgotten everything, and with it all the hatred, envy, and hurt that had been allowed to fester in his soul.

“I suppose you could say, I wasn’t aware that Shen Qingqiu was supposed to hate everyone, and especially himself.”

The scum villain felt a tremor run along his spine, his free hand clenched into a fist while his other hand clutched the stone so tightly it was beginning to crumble around his fingers.

“I had no knowledge of the wrongs committed against him, what had motivated him to be... who he was. So by the time I recovered them, it was too late.”

Shen Jiu closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before exhaling sharply through his nose.

“The hatred had been gone for too long to have any power.”

But in Shen Jiu’s case, that hatred still simmered below the surface. The lake might look tranquil, peaceful even, but a pollution seeped through the undercurrents, contaminating the depths beyond sight. Even worse, it was actively harming him, not just his efforts but his physical body. His lingering weakness was his own fault, and that was just as galling as the weakness itself.

“...What are you suggesting, imposter?” Shen Jiu asked as he opened his eyes again to glare at his double. He reached down to place the stone beside him, though it was still clearly within reach.

“Allow me to take away some of those memories,” ‘Shen Qingqiu’ said. “And if not take them, at least soften them a bit. Allow me to take that knife you’re wielding and dull the edges so that you can’t keep harming yourself with it.”

The scum villain stiffened slightly. He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea, or the phrasing, but he couldn’t deny that was entirely the point. Wasn’t this precisely what A-Yuan had meant?

…Still, there were some things he could never allow himself to forget. He couldn’t accept forgetting about Qiu Jianluo, and what he and his family had done and how the slave boy had shown his ‘gratitude’. As hateful as those memories had been, they were the roots that had cultivated his entire life. Without them, he couldn’t even begin to conceive who he would be or what he would do with himself.

When trimming a tree, it was best to simply trim the branches. Clearing any of the roots risked destroying the entire tree, and while there was something to be said about his current person not deserving to be preserved, he wasn’t willing to intentionally inflict that kind of self-destruction on himself.

Which was ironic, given his seeming affinity for self-destruction. It was one thing if it was done outside of his control, such as with A-Yuan. But this? It felt too cowardly. He couldn’t willingly run away from where he had been and what he had become. He owed at least that much to the lives he had destroyed with his malice.

But not all memories were equal. And in this situation, he needed to look at the long term, and what his goals were. And more specifically, what the Spirit’s goals for him were.

To be a better shizun.

Shen Jiu wrinkled his nose. He still didn’t fully grasp what such a vague mandate was supposed to mean, but at the very least, he understood it involved training the beast properly. And how could he expect to do that with a body that wouldn’t cooperate?

Not to mention, there was still the whole business of the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference…

“...Then I presume you know precisely which knife to dull, don’t you?” Shen Jiu asked, though the question was more rhetorical than actually aimed at his double. “After all, you’ve been sitting in its form this entire time, haven’t you?”

His double let out an amused snort before tilting his head to the side. “I won’t take it from you completely - you still need it to remember what you’re trying to avoid.”

“That memory isn’t the one driving me to avoid retracing my steps,” Shen Jiu said, his tone low. “It’s good that you weren’t trying to pretend to be another version of me. The fact that you don’t know that would have exposed you instantly.”

Shards of Xuan Su spilled across the filthy stone floor like blood, the once bright sword now dull and empty with no signs of life - just its master. A brutalized corpse enduring the misplaced wrath of a beast that his shidi had created, the man suffered because of the vain hope that he could save the scum villain from his deserved fate.

It never should have happened.

He would never let it happen again.

Shen Jiu let out a deep sigh before he noted his doppelganger’s confused look, then shook his head. “Regardless, I agree that it shouldn’t be removed completely. It just needs to be… obscured enough that my cursed body won’t keep recalling those exact moments and can accept my current state for what it is.”

‘Shen Qingqiu’ regarded Shen Jiu in silence for a moment before a crooked smile appeared on his face. “Well. It looks like we’ve come to an understanding. Shall we get on with it, then?”

“Stop wasting my time and get this over with,” Shen Jiu said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Do what you’ve come to do, then leave me alone.”

‘Shen Qingqiu’ gave a wry shake of his head, still smiling. “As you wish, my prickly little peak lord.”

Shen Jiu was about to retort when he was cut off by a sudden lightheadedness that seemed to come from nowhere. The scum villain faltered before he reached up to grasp at his head, snapping his eyes shut. He reeled for several moments before the dizziness seemed to pass, before a rush of anger took his place and he opened his eyes to glare accusingly at his double…

…Only to stop short in confusion, staring at the man wearing his face. Or rather, at the areas where his injuries had once been.

It wasn’t as if the injuries were gone, but more that they were suddenly obstructed. It was as if he were looking at a painting of himself, only for someone to have slapped mismatched paint roughshod over several key details until they were so obscured that they bordered on nigh unrecognizable. He could tell that something was there, and that it was some sort of injury, but he couldn’t make out anything specific.

In fact, as he sat there staring in confusion, he became aware that he actually wasn’t sure what was wrong. Something clearly had been, at least to the point that he could recognize the fact that he had been injured in some way, but every time he tried to recall the details, it was like trying to grasp the morning mist. It was as if someone had run their fingers through freshly written ink, smudging the words.

When he realized what he was doing, Shen Jiu mentally chided himself for trying to recall something that he quite literally was supposed to be forgetting, going against the entire point of this arrangement. But thankfully, it didn’t seem to do any harm. He may as well have been chasing shadows.

Which was very fitting of him, truth be told - chasing shadows was something he was very good at. But at least in this instance, the effort was seemingly harmless and beyond his ability.

Noting Shen Jiu’s somewhat bewildered expression, ‘Shen Qingqiu’ took it as a sign that his adjustments had been a success. He slowly stood up, regarding his own blurred features, before he offered the scum villain a smile.

“Let us see how it works, for now,” the doppelganger said. “If any adjustments need to be made, we can always-”

“Shut up and leave,” Shen Jiu said, his tone sharp. “I don’t need any more handouts, least of all from you.”

‘Shen Qingqiu’ quirked an eyebrow before he gave an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. “As you wish.”

The copy made a show of walking right past Shen Jiu and to the entrance of the cell, slipping outside. The scum villain made no effort to follow, not even with his eyes, as he focused instead on his own thoughts. He stared down at his own hands, slowly clenching and unclenching them into fists over and over.

As soon as he slipped out of view, Meng Mo discarded the facade and turned to see Luo Binghe waiting for him in the dark hallway. The disciple had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, his expression unreadable.

“It seems to have worked,” Meng Mo said, as if he didn’t know that the boy had been watching him - them both - the entire time. “A rather stubborn man, and prideful as well. It went a lot smoother than I thought it would.”

“You just have to know the right things to say,” Bingge said, finally lifting his head to look at the dream demon.

“And you certainly seemed to know the right wounds to poke,” Meng Mo said, reaching up to stroke his beard with his fingers. “Your advice was impeccable.”

“Of course I do,” Bingge said, with a small snort as he straightened up. “No one knows Shen Qingqiu better than me.” Something seemed to flash in the disciple’s eyes, like a barely concealed knife. “No one.”

Meng Mo sensed something dangerous in the boy’s words and demeanor and wisely decided to shift the subject into a slightly different direction. “That said, I am surprised he was willing to cooperate. Not only does he not strike me as a cooperative person, but rather vengeful as well. Few would be able to let go of such memories, even for their own benefit. Him? I would have expected him to cling to them until the very end, even if it meant being destroyed once again.”

“If I am willing to let go of everything he has done to me,” Luo Binghe said, his voice low. “Then he has no business not doing the same.”

Meng Mo said nothing beyond a small nod of acknowledgement. Internally, he thought that the boy sounded like a little petulant child in that moment, which fit his current physical appearance rather well, but he knew far better than to vocalize those thoughts.

A prickly disciple and his prickly shizun - what a dangerous duo.

Chapter Text

Morning came far more gently this time than it had the previous day, with Shen Jiu comfortably sprawled out in his bed with a peaceful look on his face. Bingge almost felt a little guilty about waking the man up - almost - but the longer the scum villain lingered in bed, the more impatient he became.

He wanted to see what affects, if any, the dream demon’s actions had on Shen Jiu’s physical body. And for that, he needed the man to wake up. Still, he had enough empathy for the exhausted man that he decided to go a more gentle route of rousing him - with the delicious scent of breakfast filling the Bamboo House.

As he expected, the aroma was more than enough to bring the sleepy shizun out of his slumber. It started with a twitch, then a grunt, before becoming a groan as the scum villain stretched his body out like a cat. Slowly, Shen Jiu reached up to cover his face, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, before finally lowering them with a flop at his sides as he stared blurrily up at the ceiling.

It took several more moments for the scum villain’s brain to fully process his surroundings. But it became abundantly obvious when it did, as Shen Jiu instantly jolted up into a sitting position. He looked around the room sharply before staring down at his legs, barely covered by the blanket. He swiftly yanked the blanket back before dangling his legs over the edge of the bed. He hesitated before gingerly testing them against the ground.

Feeling the sensation of the floor against his toes, Shen Jiu felt a wave of relief. Sadly, his cynicism quickly kicked in and pointed out the flaw in his current thinking. It wasn’t as if his body was always acting up. Just because he had use of them now, that didn’t mean much! It just meant that he wasn’t currently having any issues.

But what about later, when he least expected it?

Shen Jiu pursed his lips as he scowled, glaring down at them almost accusingly. There was only one way to be absolutely sure that the meddling interloper in his dreams had been telling the truth.

With a grunt, the scum villain got fully up out of bed before moving to the center of the room. He didn’t notice Bingge watching him, the disciple masking his presence with an experience that only years of practice from his previous life could provide. As such, Shen Jiu was unaware of his audience as he stood around in his undergarments, before carefully sitting down on the floor.

Shen Jiu exhaled deeply through his nose as he closed his eyes, focusing his attention inward - just like he had done so many times before. Calming his breathing, the shizun began to circulate his qi, feeling it flow through his meridians.

And it did.

It was responding. It was a bit slow in some places, lethargic like a muscle that hadn’t seen much use in a while, but it was responding! Before, he felt like a clogged creek, the water constantly obstructed by rocks or other debris. But at that moment, his qi was moving through his meridians with no obstacles to distort it.

Excitement bubbled up inside of Shen Jiu, ruining his concentration and disrupting his control over his qi, but he couldn’t even begin to care. The fact that he had enough control over his qi for it to be disrupted in the first place was just more for him to be excited about.

Giddy with excitement, Shen Jiu scrambled to his feet before rushing towards the door to the Bamboo House. He threw the door open and was about to hurry out when he heard a sharp clearing of a throat, bringing the scum villain back to reality.

Shen Jiu paused with a blink, then glanced over his shoulder to see Luo Binghe watching him from the kitchen entrance. The disciple looked bashfully embarrassed, half covering his face with his hands.

“S-Shizun, where are you going dressed, uh,” Bingge paused before he blushed delicately, like a demure maiden. “...D-dressed like that?”

The scum villain blinked again before it quickly dawned on him what the beast was referring to. His face tinted scarlet as he quickly abandoned the front door, slamming it closed, as he turned to spring towards his armoire. More specifically, the wardrobe next to it that housed his clothing.

“S-shouldn’t you be watching your cooking, boy!?” Shen Jiu demanded hotly, even as he flung open the wardrobe, using the door to shield himself from the boy’s view.

“Y-yes, Shizun!” Bingge yelped before he hurried back into the kitchen. Though, a smirk appeared on his face the second he turned away out of the scum villain’s eyesight.

The former demon lord was just as giddy as his shizun, immensely pleased to see how much the man’s mood had improved. Of course, he would have to keep an eye out for any unacceptable habits returning along with the scum villain’s health, but for now, he would take the change as a good thing.

Bingge returned to focusing on his cooking, but not completely. He still kept an ear out for Shen Jiu, listening to the man root around in his wardrobe and dress himself. He had a suspicion he knew what would happen next, and he was waiting for it.

True to his expectations, he heard footsteps followed by the front door opening again. Without missing a beat, the disciple called out from the kitchen.

“Shizun! Breakfast is ready!” he said, as if he weren’t totally aware of the man attempting to leave in a rush. He then listened intently for the response.

Silence.

Bingge’s smirk widened as he could imagine the conflicted expression on the scum villain’s face, as he was torn between his impulse to cultivate and the allure of breakfast. Of course, Luo Binghe had no doubts which would emerge triumphant. The fact that Shen Jiu even hesitated at all already told him who would inevitably win the battle.

There were several more moments of pregnant silence, before Shen Jiu finally spoke.

“Very well, bring it out,” Shen Jiu gruffly replied.

Bingge grinned triumphantly before he schooled his expression into something more docile and obedient, far more appropriate for a sheep of a disciple. He loaded the meal on the serving tray before carrying it out to the awaiting scum villain. Once again true to his expectations, Shen Jiu had already sat down at the table, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his meal.

Luo Binghe dutifully placed the tray down on the table before neatly arranging the food in front of his shizun. He noticed the way the man was twitching in place, clearly anxious and ready to go try out his body after so long. But in the end, Shen Jiu valued Bingge’s cooking over that desire, and the boy couldn’t help but consider it a win.

“Please enjoy, Shizun,” Bingge said as he bowed respectfully, backing away from the table once he was done.

Shen Jiu made a small noise of acknowledgement in the back of his throat as he waited for Bingge to leave, holding his fan over his face with seemingly great poise. However, the moment the boy was out of sight back in the kitchen, the scum villain all but lunged at the food, as if he were in a race to finish it as quickly as possible.

Bingge let out a small chuckle as he rolled his eyes. Honestly, it was moments like these that made him wonder who was the student and who was the teacher. He was seeing more and more sides to the scum villain that he never knew - or simply hadn’t noticed.

It was a little endearing, but also extremely frustrating. He knew immediately that he would have to stalk Shen Jiu from a distance to make sure he didn’t overextend himself in his eagerness to train. That meant postponing his own training by yet another day, just to make sure that his ‘shizun’ didn’t destroy himself unintentionally yet again.

Seriously though, who was the student and who was the teacher!?

---

Shang Qinghua wore his expertly crafted vapid little smile as he nodded his head, listening to the inane ramblings of a visiting merchant. Between the forced pleasantries and thinly-veiled attempts at manipulation, it was the same script every time. He could mentally recite it almost word for word before the other man even had a chance to finish speaking, but he still had to play the game despite the predictability of it all. He had to grind those relationship points, after all.

Being An Ding Peak really was suffering. He dared anyone to say otherwise.

And unfortunately, that day seemed inclined to prove Shang Qinghua’s thoughts true. After a certain point, the merchant’s expression seemed to shift. The An Ding Peak Lord noticed it rather quickly but, given that he couldn’t see any outward reason for it, dismissed it. After all, the points were going up and not down, so it had nothing to do with him.

However, as time - and their conversation - went on, the merchant was clearly becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The man struggled to keep his fake smile on his face, cracks showing up in the facade, as his eyes grew increasingly twitchy. When the merchant wasn’t even looking at Shang Qinghua at all, instead glancing back over his shoulder, it finally clued the An Ding Peak Lord in that something was wrong.

Shang Qinghua furrowed his brow before he glanced over his shoulder…

…And came nose-to-nose with a staring Liu Qingge.

The An Ding Peak Lord nearly leapt out of his skin, and did in fact jump slightly as he startled back from the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. He immediately brought his left hand up to clutch the front of his robes, as if to keep his heart from popping out of his chest, before he scrambled to piece his friendly smile back together.

“A-ah, Liu-shidi!” Shang Qinghua said, trying to sound cheerful despite his breathlessness. “A thousand apologies, I didn’t notice you were there!”

“I know,” Liu Qingge said, bluntly. “Your sense of awareness is lacking. If I had been a demon, you would be dead.”

Shang Qinghua’s cheek twitched slightly but he managed to smooth it out with a laugh. “Liu-shidi, I doubt a demon would even remember that An Ding Peak exists. Not unless they have a grocery list and are looking to place an order!”

The merchant gave a laugh in response. It seemed like a polite ‘laughing with you’ sort of laugh on the surface but Shang Qinghua knew better - it was a tacit agreement. It boiled his blood to be agreed with, denigrating himself like this, but he couldn’t complain when he was the one making the joke. Well, he could, but not out loud!

“The mountain is only as strong as its weakest peak,” Liu Qingge said, straightening up as he crossed his arms. “What will happen if you are the only peak lord around during a crisis? Run and flail as you did the other day?”

Shang Qinghua’s cheek twitched a little more prominently this time. “Liu-shidi, I seem to recall that I actually won my match. Did I not?” It was with Mobei-jun’s help, of course, but that was beside the point. No one else knew that, so why couldn’t he take full credit for it?

And the fact that Liu Qingge had to step in afterward Shang Qinghua’s ‘victory’, that was just splitting hairs, wasn’t it!?

“Somehow, yes,” Liu Qingge agreed with a nod. “Which means that, with proper training, you can improve yourself.”

“Not this shit again,” Shang Qinghua thought, his expression deadpanning slightly. He then quickly lifted his eyebrows up as he brought his smile back in full force. “Perhaps, perhaps! But I’m afraid the amount of time necessary for such improvement is just not possible! There’s just so much to do, you see… my schedule doesn’t really allow much room for such frivolous things. Tending to all of Cang Qiong Mountain’s many needs is a full-time job, you know.”

“I’d say all of this is frivolous,” Liu Qingge said, arching an eyebrow.

“It keeps food in your kitchens and toilet paper in your bathrooms, Liu-shidi,” Shang Qinghua said, chuckling. “I doubt you’d think it so frivolous if you run out of either.”

“You say that as if you can’t delegate some of this nonsense out,” Liu Qingge retorted. He turned his head to glance at some nearby disciples, who quickly shrunk away under his stare. “Aren’t they taking on any of the work? What is the point of them otherwise?”

“Yes, well, naturally they assist me,” Shang Qinghua said with a nod, before gesturing towards the merchant beside him. The bastard seemed to be smiling a bit too much, clearly enjoying the show. It set Shang’s teeth on edge, but there was not much to be done about it. “But when we have such important guests such as our esteemed visitor here, then it is only proper that the Peak Lord himself-”

Liu Qingge immediately turned his gaze to the merchant, whose jovial smile immediately wilted beneath the man’s piercing stare. “So he’s the problem, then?”

“Eh?” Shang Qinghua gave a blink.

“Ah?! Oh, no!” the merchant swiftly raised his hands in deflection, waving them from side to side. “No, no, no, of course not!”

“...Eh?” Shang Qinghua repeated, turning to side-eye the merchant.

“I would never dream of keeping the esteemed Peak Lord busy and away from furthering his cultivation!” the merchant said, tucking his hands in to bow respectfully. “After all, this one is very aware how much we all depend on honored cultivators such as yourselves for our lives. We can only stand to benefit from such diligence!”

Shang Qinghua’s mouth pulled tight as he stared at the little backstabber, who was literally flinging him at the feet of the battle-crazed brute. He was supposed to be the traitor, not the other way around! It was true that the bed went cold when the money ran out, but he was still paying the son of a bitch! What kind of service was this!?

Where was the camaraderie!?

“There, you see?” Liu Qingge said. “You have time now.”

“Th-that, well,” Shang Qinghua began, faltering. “It’s not like I can just rush out to train this instant, shidi. I haven’t even planned for-”

“I have,” Liu Qingge cut in.

“Eh?” Shang Qinghua found himself repeating again, his eyes wide.

“I created an entire training regime for you,” Liu Qingge said. “I took consideration of all your failures and made it specifically to address each one.”

The An Ding Peak Lord’s eyes widened even as his pupils shrank into dots. The idea of a training regime created by Liu Qingge was a horror he never thought would appear before him, and yet suddenly it had.

Forget the demons, this was a far greater threat than anything he could ever possibly face!

“You can start right now,” Liu Qingge said, with a sharp nod of his head.

Shang Qinghua stared at Liu Qingge, who was practically radiating satisfaction. His eyes darted towards the merchant, who was pointedly not looking at him and clearly had every intention of throwing him to the wolves - or his shidi, in this case. The An Ding Peak Lord’s eyes then drifted back to Liu Qingge.

Shang Qinghua was silent for a moment, his lips pulled tight, before he suddenly pointed past Liu Qingge. “...Ah! Shidi, look! What’s that!?”

Liu Qingge blinked and glanced over his shoulder. He was greeted by absolutely nothing but staring disciples and other servants, who were watching the interaction from a safe distance. Clearly, there was nothing that warranted his attention.

With a frown, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord turned back around to question his shixiong only to see that Shang Qinghua had taken off into a run, unceremoniously fleeing across the plaza as fast as his legs could carry him.

Shang Qinghua focused only on escape, abandoning his dignity as he lifted the hems of his robes to keep himself from tripping over them. His heart thundered in his chest, just like the sound of his footsteps against the stone plaza.

Unfortunately, while there were no sounds of pursuing footsteps, the looming sense of dread behind him told the An Ding Peak Lord that his efforts were futile. True enough, he barely made it halfway across the plaza before he was suddenly snagged from behind by the back of his robes, hoisted up like a young kitten. The traitor yelped and flailed about helplessly, not even needing to look back to know who had caught him.

Liu Qingge tilted his head as he regarded his kicking and flailing shixiong, holding the man effortlessly with one hand. “You are a little faster than I initially thought. Perhaps we can move that part of your training up several steps.”

“Wait-wait-wait-wait-!” Shang Qinghua protested before he howled as he was slung over Liu Qingge’s shoulder. “I said wait-!”

[You've received a compliment from Liu Qingge!]

[Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!]

[Important Things must be said three times!]

[+200 Knowledge Points!]

[+100 Endearingly Pathetic Points!]

“System!” Shang Qinghua screeched as he hit his fists against Liu Qingge’s back. “You are not - fucking - helping!”

The Bai Zhan Peak Lord summoned his sword with a casual flick of his wrist before hopping onto it, his cargo in tow. He didn’t even seem to mind the way the other man kicked and flailed, taking off into the sky amid the bewildered stares.

Out of sight among the shadows, Mobei-Jun watched the scene unfold. His arms crossed and his normally impassive expression, he watched as the Bai Zhan Peak Lord essentially kidnapped his servant and disappeared into the clouds. He was silent for a moment before the corners of his mouth curled up into a small smirk.

“Hm.”

Chapter Text

The return of Shen Jiu’s cultivation had been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing for obvious reasons, as it meant he could train his body at the same time he did Luo Binghe’s in order to prepare them for what waited ahead of them. But it equally cursed him, as it made the scum villain much more aware of how little time he had. And with much to do, it made what precious time he had fly by seemingly in an instant. Soon enough, there was no time left at all.

The Immortal Alliance Conference had come.

Shen Jiu didn’t feel ready, but to be fair, he doubted he would have ever felt ready for such a catastrophe of a day - even if he had centuries to prepare. And besides, he had long since learned that the world didn’t care about his timeline.

Sitting at the large meeting table, Shen Jiu fluttered his fan in front of his face a bit more than necessary. He couldn’t help it, as it was either that or twitch anxiously in his seat. At least one of them could be excused as idle - but dignified - behavior.

It was the last meeting before the Immortal Alliance Conference, after which they would immediately head out in their carriages to the appointed place. As such, it was absolutely mandatory for the peak lords to attend. It was meant to be a ‘morale booster’ of sorts, or at the very least a ‘be on your best behavior’ sort of entreaty.

And that statement was absolutely aimed at one Peak Lord in particular…

…Who was, in typical Liu Qingge fashion, late.

Shen Jiu exhaled through his nose as his jaw clenched. He was impatient to get the meeting over with, but at the same time, didn’t want it to ever end. That bizarre dichotomy did little to improve his mood.

He knew that Liu Qingge had to be around the mountain somewhere. Even after Shen Jiu’s cultivation had improved, much to the joy of the rest of the sect, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord didn’t cease his constant visits to Qing Jing Peak. The bastard had even forced the opportunity to spar with Shen Jiu a bit…

…But he didn’t want to talk about that, beyond the fact that he was still recovering. And he definitely didn’t want to talk about how gentle and patient Liu Qingge had been about the whole thing.

He definitely didn’t want to talk about it!

What he did want to talk about was the other truant peak lord - Shang Qinghua.

Turning his head to glance at the empty seat, Shen Jiu noticed that the other peak lords were doing the exact same thing. There was a good reason for that - the An Ding Peak Lord was often one of the first to arrive. Shang Qinghua was consistently punctual, one of the few things anyone could say positively about the rat.

“Do you suppose something has happened?” Yue Qingyuan asked.

Qi Qingqi scoffed under her breath. “He most likely just lost track of time during one of his ‘business deals’. I am surprised he isn’t late more often, with how scatterbrained he is.”

“Shang-shixiong is very much aware of how important this meeting is,” Mu Qingfang said. “And whatever his… temperament may be, he has always done his best meeting to the needs of the sect. If he is late, I am sure there is a good reason for it.”

“Perhaps I should head over to his peak to see,” Wei Qingwei said as he began to rise from his seat. “Just to make sure there’s no trouble-”

At that moment, the door to the entrance room flung open with a bang. The assembled cultivators jumped slightly in spite of themselves, despite already anticipating who had just arrived. It was, after all, Liu Qingge’s hallmark entrance.

And true enough, that was precisely who they saw stalking into the meeting room, without care or concern for his tardiness. But what they weren’t expecting to see was the very man they had just been talking about, right behind Liu Qingge.

Shang Qinghua looked like a total mess. The normally well-groomed An Ding Peak Lord looked as though a tornado had blown through his peak and swept him up in it, only to spit him back out. His hair and robes were disheveled, and his face flushed with sweat. He walked stiffly, as if his every muscle ached with each movement.

But more than anything, he looked thoroughly done - one hundred percent done with everyone’s bullshit. There were no smiles, no friendliness and cheer. Just the disgruntled expression of someone who simply had no fucks left to give.

“While on the road, make sure you continue doing the squats,” Liu Qingge said as he glanced at Shang Qinghua while he headed to his seat. “Just like I showed you.”

“Yes, shidi,” Shang Qinghua said, monotone. He didn’t even turn his head to look at Liu Qingge as he limped over to his seat.

“Don’t be intimidated by the motion of the carriage,” Liu Qingge continued as he sat down in his chair. “You can use the opportunity to improve your balance at the same time.”

“Yes, shidi,” Shang Qinghua said once again, just as monotone as before, before he plopped down heavily into his own chair. Once in the seat, he all but flopped backwards, allowing his arms to hang limply as he rested his head against the back of the chair.

Shen Jiu arched an eyebrow as he looked over to Shang Qinghua, his gaze meeting the corner of the traitor’s eye.

Shang Qinghua didn’t move his head, his voice low. “Say one word and I will shank you in your sleep.”

Shen Jiu’s eyebrows arched up before he politely looked away. While he was tempted to poke the rat, he ultimately knew better. Rat bites were, after all, known to be pretty dangerous. Who knew what sort of diseases lived in the bastard’s mouth? “I wouldn’t dream of it, shidi.”

Shang Qinghua let out a snort before he closed his eyes, slowly sinking into the soft cushions of the chair. He didn’t even seem to care about the way all the other peak lords - save Liu Qingge - were staring at him. All he wanted was the sweet and gentle comfort of his chair.

Yue Qingyuan and Mu Qingfang shared a concerned glance, while Wei Qingwei and Qi Qingqi just looked downright bewildered. Liu Qingge didn’t seem even remotely concerned, as if nothing had happened at all.

An awkward silence descended over the hall, as none of the peak lords seemed to know how to react to what had just happened. The silence lingered for several moments before finally, Mu Qingfang cleared his throat.

“Well, now that everyone is here, I suppose that the meeting can begin, yes?” the Qian Cao Peak Lord said. “Zhangmen-shixiong?”

Yue Qingyuan snapped to attention before he gave a nod. “Ah, yes. Of course.” The sect leader straightened up, replacing his expression with something more solemn and appropriate for the conversation. “The Immortal Alliance Conference is again upon us, a fact that I am sure you are all keenly aware of.”

“Quite the understatement, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shen Jiu said as he quirked an eyebrow, fluttering his fan in front of his face.

Yue Qingyuan paused before he offered his shidi a small smile, then returned his attention to the rest of the peak lords. “I know that you have all been training both yourselves and your disciples for this moment, and I want to thank you for your efforts. Your dedication has not gone unnoticed.”

The Qing Jing Peak Lord narrowed his eyes as he glanced over the edge of his fan at Shang Qinghua, who remained slouched in his chair with his eyes closed. The man’s very presence felt offensive in light of their sect leader’s words, as his very existence was contrary to everything Yue Qingyuan said.

While the others had been working hard for the sake of their sect’s honor, the rat bastard had been actively working behind the scenes with demons to orchestrate a catastrophic assault on the cultivation world. The very fact that the traitor could sit there among them, receiving such praise without even a single hint of shame spoke to the sheer depravity that saturated the man’s soul.

“That said,” Yue Qingyuan continued. “I feel it necessary to remind you all that the Immortal Alliance Conference is just that - a conference. As important as the name might imply, no one should risk their lives for glory or fame, which are both fleeting and of minimal importance to the path of cultivation. Please encourage your disciples to be mindful of their safety, and to not take any unnecessary risks.”

Shen Jiu paused, momentarily startled out of his brooding. If he didn’t know any better, he would almost think that warning was aimed directly at himself.

…No, on second thought, he absolutely did know better and that comment absolutely was aimed at him. The sideways glance he got from Yue Qingyuan, who then quickly looked away when their eyes met, only served to confirm it.

The scum villain flared his nostrils as he clenched his jaw, trying to keep the bile from pouring out of his mouth like he was so tempted. In the end, he knew that the warning was warranted given his past behavior, but that didn’t make it any more palatable!

Everyone else seemed to have come to a similar conclusion and braced themselves for the seemingly inevitable protest from their prickly shixiong. When none was forthcoming, beyond a scowl, the other peak lords seemed to pause in confusion instead and all turned to stare openly at Shen Jiu.

The stares did little to sooth the scum villain’s ruffled feathers, but he forced himself to swallow the words he had wanted to speak and instead settled on keeping his voice even. “Noted.”

Yue Qingyuan appeared pleased that he didn’t receive the outburst he had been dreading, but that didn’t stop him from continuing, apologetically. “There has been quite a bit of attention drawn towards Cang Qiong Mountain after the demon assault several months ago. I simply wish to emphasize that we should not go into this conference with any unneeded pressure.”

Shen Jiu fixed his shixiong with a pointed stare. The irony of it was that he did feel a lot of pressure, but not for the reasons the sect leader assumed. He knew full well that it wasn’t just a conference, but yet another demon invasion. It was absolutely something for him to worry about, if he had even the tiniest shred of decency. It wasn’t just a show for the cultivators to put on in front of an audience, but a matter of life and death for the many up-and-coming disciples who were being unknowingly sent to their possible deaths.

And all he could do was prepare the beast - and himself - for mitigating the carnage as best he could. The fact that Liu Qingge would be there this time as well was a small comfort.

The scum villain glanced over towards Shang Qinghua, and stiffened when he saw the traitor was staring at him. Though his eyes were half-lidded, they were razor sharp just like his own. The rat was just daring him to say something, as this was his final chance to do so before the slaughter began.

As tempting as it was, Shen Jiu knew better. He would be exchanging one slaughter for another, as he had no doubts that the rat fully meant his threat about ‘mutual destruction’. He averted his gaze and stared down at the table, clutching his fan tightly with his hands to hide their trembling of impotent anger.

“...Thank you for your concern, Zhangmen-shixiong,” Shen Jiu said, tersely. “I am sure that we all will keep your words in mind.”

Yue Qingyuan looked as if he wanted to say something, then swiftly decided against it. It was nothing less than a miracle that Shen Jiu had taken the comment as well as he had. Belaboring the point, or even attempting to justify himself, would only rub salt in the wound and risk testing the scum villain’s newfound patience until he gave a reaction more in line with what everyone had been expecting.

“...Thank you,” the sect leader said before he scanned his gaze across the table. “...Does anyone have anything they wish to add?”

Liu Qingge looked at Yue Qingyuan, his arms crossed. “Is all this really necessary? The disciples will be fighting some low-level demons. If they can’t even handle that much, they don’t have any business being there - or here - in the first place.”

Shen Jiu stiffened again. It took everything he had not to glance towards Shang Qinghua. It was true - there was only supposed to be a smattering of weak demons for the disciples to fight. Huan Hua Palace was hosting the conference and had supposedly gathered the demons, releasing them in a barrier-sealed area for the students to chase down and kill. There wasn’t supposed to be anything too dangerous, given the disciples were still a bunch of children.

Supposed to be.

What no one knew was that the demons had infiltrated the Immortal Alliance Conference, thanks to their treacherous lapdog Shang Qinghua. The supposedly low-level demons had been joined by much stronger, much more dangerous creatures that would have given even a seasoned immortal master trouble. But for a bunch of fresh-faced disciples?

It was meant to be - and had been - an absolute slaughter.

But as horrific as all of that had been, it wasn’t the only stain on that day. In the midst of the carnage, an even greater tragedy was conceived. In the sea of blood and screams, a demon of unparalleled rage and hatred was born.

And it had been all his fault.

Shen Jiu took a deep breath before he pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no point in wallowing on that subject. Things were different now, and he had absolutely no intention of casting Luo Binghe into the Abyss - not this time. At the very least, that tragedy could be avoided. Instead, he should be focusing on the other tragedy, the one he couldn’t avoid and only mitigate as best he could.

Naturally, the Peak Lords would rush to the disciples’ aid as soon as the massacre began. And thanks to his deal with that dream intruder, his body was better able to handle the task. But that wouldn’t be enough, it hadn’t been enough last time.

Thankfully, Liu Qingge was there to support him this time. That alone was a huge boost to their efforts. But it would still take time for the audience to realize what was happening, so he needed someone in the barrier itself that could help mitigate the damage until they arrived.

And that someone was Luo Binghe.

Shen Jiu pursed his lips slightly. It was a bit disorienting to find himself depending so deeply on a child that he had hated so completely, for so long. And yet here he was, not only training that boy but pinning his hopes on him. And both his hopes and his expectations were high, impossibly high. And yet time and time again, the boy had managed to meet and exceed them.

This timeline really was the strangest of all. But if it meant saving those he cared about - and even those he didn’t - then he had absolutely no room for complaints.

It was then that Shen Jiu noticed a silence had descended over the room. The scum villain paused and looked up from his brooding to see everyone staring at him. Realizing he must have been making quite the faces through his internal dialogue, his cheeks tinted slightly before he pulled his fan up to cover his face.

“Is something wrong, shidi?” Yue Qingyuan asked. The question could’ve been taken as passive aggressive, if it had come from anyone except their sect leader. But true to form, it was filled instead with genuine concern. It was something even Shen Jiu had to acknowledge, even if in the past he would’ve made an issue of it anyway.