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Chapter Text

Mu Qing continuously paced around his bedroom in Xuan Zhen Palace, his mind all over the place. He still wasn't sure how to cover it up, as nothing really would. 

The deep, dark black shackle crawled around his wrist, and he was unable to do anything about it. The pulsing pain of his wrist stretched out in his arm from his fingers to his forearms. He had the mark for around a week now, it never hurt any less. It was a constant state of pain.

Mu Qing's fingers twitched, annoyed as the familiar knocking pattern sounded on the other side of his private bedroom chambers.

Of course, he recognized the knocks. He had been with the dummy for 800 years! Why wouldn't he?

"General Ju Yang, please turn around and leave before my disciples have to get involved." Mu Qing snarked out, trying to get Feng Xin to leave before he'd even opened the door.

"Mu Qing, open the goddamn door before I break it down." Feng Xin sounded agitated, upset even.

The audacity, Mu Qing pondered. How does this dumbass have so much audacity to walk in to my palace and get angry at me of all people?

Mu Qing pushed his sleeve down over the shackle quickly before...

Mu Qing twisted the door handle and swung the door open, expecting to see only Feng Xin—not Xie Lian as well. "Dianxia?" Mu Qing said with confusion, surprised at seeing him.

"Mu Qing, thank you for opening the door!" Xie Lian's voice was soft, rarely did Mu Qing ever hear him mad. 

"Why are you here?" Straight to the point, as Mu Qing tried to keep it. 

"Dianxia needs you to fix Ruoye," Feng Xin cut in. "Let us in."

"No, find someone else to go fix him." Mu Qing scowled, but he was already snatching the silk band from Xie Lian's grasp before they had the chance to walk off.

Mu Qing went back into his chambers to find a needle and thread. Feng Xin and Xie Lian entered after Mu Qing, opting to sit on the plush chairs that were already set up—Mu Qing was talking to a disciple not long before, but Mu Qing told the disciple to leave—and Mu Qing didn't feel like putting the chairs away.

After a moment of rummaging through Mu Qing's desk, Mu Qing had acquired the 70/10 needle and the thin and pristine white thread that he needed to fix the band of silk.

"You two are staying here while I fix this? It'll take a while." Mu Qing questioned, suspicious that the two had ulterior motives for being here in his palace. Damn it, I should've told the guards to not let anyone in the palace, Mu Qing berated himself.

Mu Qing sat down and waited impatiently for an answer, but none came. "Well?"

"Yes, we are. Mu Qing..." Xie Lian began, but couldn't bear to finish.

"You've been acting weird...off, in a way," Feng Xin finished for him.

"Oh, fuck off, Feng Xin. I'm not acting weird. You're thinking too hard about it." Mu Qing snarled, not caring how sharp his tone was.

"We're worried about you, please just tell us what's wrong," Xie Lian cried out. He seemed very hurt by Mu Qing's words, so Mu Qing closed his mouth, biting his tongue till it hurt.

"It's nothing, Dianxia." Mu Qing forced out through his teeth. Mu Qing was simply standing there in front of his desk, not daring to face them until he finally walked over and sat on his bed with the needle and thread, beginning to repair Ruoye quietly.

The silence was loud, overbearing, and thick. One could cut through it only with a powerful sword. Xie Lian opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when he couldn't find the words.

Upset, Mu Qing pricked his fingers a few times, but continued nonetheless, he didn't care. He was in the zone for a long while, he didn't know how long, (neither did he care.) The only thing that brought him out of it was when he felt a hand gently settle on his wrist. The cursed shackle wrist. Mu Qing almost let out a pained sound, but he forced it down.

"Mu Qing, you've pricked your fingers more than a few times. You need to take a break." Feng Xin stated without stutter, not allowing him to protest.

Mu Qing scoffed and pulled his wrist from Xie Lian's grasp, rolling his eyes. "Fine. If you want me to so bad, I suppose I can." He was very reluctant to stop. He wanted it to be done with, but he never got what he yearned for, so he accepted it.

"Good," Xie Lian smiled at him. Mu Qing knew it wasn't a real smile. He just... he just knew it.

Chapter Text

Mu Qing hated opening up. So why did Xie Lian decide to try to make him open up? He wasn't good with that. He never has, not even back in Xianle. All he had left back then was his mother.

Mu Qing hid behind his stoic, aloof, and arrogant personality. He hated vulnerability. So he hid, and that's all he was comfortable with.

"Qing-er, please just confess what's wrong!" Xie Lian cried out, exhausted from trying to convince him.

"Just leave. You don't need an answer. I'll be done with Ruoye by tomorrow afternoon."

And so, Xie Lian and Feng Xin—very hesitantly—left. Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, shocked and pleasantly surprised that they had finally left.

°•▪︎{}▪︎•°

Mu Qing felt the cursed shackle tighten–or maybe it was his imagination? He returned to the silk band and continued working on it till the sun dipped and the moon rose.

With the majority of Ruoye repaired, Mu Qing stopped, tail down, and tied the knot together. He was almost finished and swore to finish that then get to his prayers.

Mu Qing got ready for bed, stripping off his extra layers until he was only left with his underrobe. He'd sleep in that for the night, he was exhausted.

He practically fell on the bed and closed his eyes. Sleep came quite easily that night.

Although he slept well, he felt even more miserable in the morning when he awoke, which was shortly before sunrise. Mu Qing quickly got up and got dressed to do everything he needed to. 

Mu Qing immediately grabbed the needle and thread again and started the up stitch to fix Xie Lian's silk band. 

By the time he finished, the sun had been out for around two hours. Afternoon had yet to fall into place, so Mu Qing left Xuan Zhen palace and went to Xianle palace. He knocked thrice. Knock, knock, knock.

It was a moment before Xie Lian answered. A certain Crimson Rain was accompanied by him. Xie Lian was slightly flushed and out of breath. It was very clear what had happened... yuck.

"Ah, Mu Qing! What brings you here?" Xie Lian's cheeks and ears flushed slightly more.

"I have your silk band," Mu Qing stated simply, shoving Ruoye into his hands. Xie Lian smiled at him but Mu Qing just rolled his eyes and scoffed, not believing the smile was real.

Mu Qing turned on his heels 180°. "Wait," Xie Lian protested his leave. "Don't leave, come in, please."

"No." Mu Qing scowled. He didn't stop. He started walking.

"You should listen to gege," Hua Cheng cut in. "He knows."

"He knows... what?" Mu Qing immediately stopped in his tracks. "Fine, only for a little while, I have prayers–"

Before Mu Qing could even finish, Xie Lian was already dragging him inside his palace, but he grabbed the unshackled wrist, so it didn't hurt. Thank the gods–wait, he is a god... never mind.

Mu Qing let Xie Lian drag him inside with only a roll of the eyes. Xie Lian ended up dragging him to the couch and pushing him down onto it.

"Why the couch? You have a dining table, Dianxia." Mu Qing asked with suspicion.

"Let me see your hand–no, the other one."

Mu Qing held up his right wrist, the shackled one, to Xie Lian. It was also the one he pricked many times yesterday evening. Very conveniently, his sleeve slid down to reveal a trace of black. Mu Qing's heart jumped out of his chest. 

Xie Lian's eyes widened as he held onto his hand tighter, not letting Mu Qing pull away. "Qing-er, what is this?" Xie Lian pulled the sleeve down further to show the entire shackle.

Mu Qing held his breath, not responding.

"Mu Qing, answer gege. Now." Hua Cheng glared at him.

"Nothing! It's none of your business." Mu Qing scowled, trying to pull away, although it became fruitless.

"Why do you have a cursed shackle, Mu Qing?" Xie Lian asked, voice soft. He was patiently waiting to try to get a response from him.

"I made Jun Wu mad, okay?" Mu Qing blurted out.

Xie Lian AND Hua Cheng seemed quite surprised, but Hua Cheng just a bit less, as he always seemed impassive.

He then continued, "I was... protecting you." Mu Qing managed out, embarrassed to the point where the tips of his ears turned red.

"Qing-er, you made Jun Wu mad... for me?" Xie Lian was grinning happily. "Awe... I knew you had a soft-spot!" Xie Lian tackled Mu Qing into a hug.

Hua Cheng seemingly was glaring again, not very happy that the love of his life was hugging Mu Qing, who he hated.

They stayed like that for far longer than Mu Qing or Hua Cheng wanted.

°•▪︎{}▪︎•°

"Bye, Dianxia." Mu Qing turned around, walking off.

Xie Lian just happily waved him goodbye.

Mu Qing was headed straight for his palace, not wanting to run into any heavenly officials. He really didn't want to. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed when he remembered how much he secretly yearned and enjoyed that hug.

Chapter Text

Mu Qing was a light sleeper, which was self-explanatory, to say the least. So when he opened his eyes to see Feng Xin sitting over him with his head in Feng Xin's lap, Mu Qing startled.

Mu Qing went to sit up, but was held back by Feng Xin, in turn, he rolled his eyes. "Get your filthy hands off of me."

"Mu Qing, we need to talk. Now." Feng Xin sounded genuinely serious. He was never this serious, not even when they fought...that's kind of hot...

Mu Qing raised a brow and asked, "About what, exactly?"

"What is this, Qing?" Feng Xin grabbed his right wrist and raised it. He did it so gently...wow. Mu Qing, snap out of it.

Mu Qing felt his face burn up, but out of embarrassment or...something else, he didn't know.

"None of your business, Ju Yang." Mu Qing kept his voice clipped and cold.

"It is my business, Qing-er. You know, you always push us away, we're trying to help you!" Feng Xin sounded annoyed as he continued, "We can't help if all you're going to do is build more walls!"

Mu Qing scowled, pushing the hands Feng Xin placed off of him and sat up, Feng Xin let him.

"I want a good explanation for why you're here or you're leaving." Mu Qing didn't respond to Feng Xin's aggravated comment.

Feng Xin's eyes widened, and his brow furrowed just slightly, like when he was pondering something genuinely important.

"Well? Answer me," Mu Qing scowled.

"Qing-er, I talked to Dianxia."

"Get out."

"Mu Qing-"

"No!" Mu Qing interrupted him," "I don't give a fuck about your damn conversation with Dianxia! I don't want to hear it."

"Qing, come on..."

"Fine. You have one minute. One minute to explain everything."

"Huh? What!? Mu Qing, you-" Feng Xin sighed, realizing he was wasting time.

"He told me about the shackle. Dianxia, I mean. Why did Jun Wu give you that?"

"I won't tell you a thing." Mu Qing rolled his eyes—again—and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're so–ugh... never mind. Mu Qing, take care of yourself. I don't care about your shield, just bring it down. I want to see your face."

Feng Xin looked worried. For him. For Mu Qing. That was impossible. He hated him...right? Yeah. He hated him. Mu Qing bit his lip, sort of shocked by his comment.

All Mu Qing could respond, with a sigh, was, "Answer prayers with me."

Feng Xin's eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised. "Alright, Qing-er."

°•▪︎{}▪︎•°

"No, these are my prayers!"

"They are closer to my side on the border than yours!"

As Mu Qing fought with Feng Xin, he couldn't help but feel comforted. He missed this, even when he was accused of being Cuocuo's father. Then, he felt their fights were...too real. Too fired up.

"...Qing...he..."

Huh?

"Mu Qing?? Get your head out of the clouds, idiot!"

"I was thinking, which you seem to lack the function of!"

The prayers seemed to be discarded for the moment.

Feng Xin scowled, stepping closer to Mu Qing, Mu Qing stood his ground. "I can think!"

"Yeah, because you definitely chalked up the fact that Cuocuo was your child. Definitely." Mu Qing sarcastically remarked.

"That isn't what we're talking about!" Feng Xin shoved Mu Qing back. It felt so childish that Mu Qing almost started laughing.

Except, when his back hit the wall, he didn't feel like laughing anymore. "Yes it is, Ju Yang!" 

"Mu Qing." Feng Xin cornered him against the wall. Mu Qing could feel the heat rising in his face.

"You're so disgusting! Get off of me!" Mu Qing stated sharply.

Feng Xin raised an eyebrow. "How about no?"

Mu Qing scowled, "You pervert!"

"Pervert?" Feng Xin sounded so genuinely confused, but still refused to move.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you more, Qing." Feng Xin said it with no hatred, it sounded...affectionate.

"My cultivation forbids such...acts. Get off." Feng Xin obliged.

"..."

"Are you...hungry?" Feng Xin spoke up after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"No." Mu Qing's stomach disagreed, unfortunately. His stomach growled loudly.

"Let's go, Qing-er."

"Why should I go anywhere with you-?" Before Mu Qing could even finish, Feng Xin had grabbed his wrist, the unshackled one. He seemed to have differentiated between to two. That made Mu Qing feel something he didn't understand. His heart raced.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin walked to the kitchen of Xuan Zhen palace and Feng Xin pushed him down onto a chair.

"Now, what do you want?" Feng Xin asked. Mu Qing just grumbled in response.

"What was that? Speak up."

"I said, anything works. Gods." Mu Qing scowled, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Do you want congee or yuanxiao rice balls?" Feng Xin asked while rummaging through the cabinets in the kitchen, looking for ingredients.

"Congee," Mu Qing basically scoffed out, knowing Feng Xin barely knew how to cook. Surely he couldn't mess this up, right?

And so, for the three incense time, Feng Xin made Congee. Mu Qing was...patiently waiting for him to finish, staring at a small rip on his sleeve, he'd have to make a mental note to sew that up later.

Feng Xin handed him a bowl of plain congee aside from some spices thrown on top. It didn't look that bad, at least. It looked edible. "Now, eat."

"Thanks, I guess." Mu Qing clasped his hands together for a quick prayer—yes, he still did that as a god, it felt proper—and grabbed his chopsticks to begin eating.

Feng Xin sat down in the chair across from him with a bowl of his own, apparently Feng Xin was also hungry...

They ate in silence, pretty much, but it was comfortable. Mu Qing quietly appreciated these moments, not that he'd tell anyone that.

For some reason, the cursed shackle didn't hurt as much as normal, maybe he was just distracted.

Mu Qing stared at Feng Xin, thinking over what had happened earlier. Gods, he wanted to–never mind. That's not...appropriate, nor would his cultivation allow that.

Mu Qing didn't yearn...why would he?