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Chapter Text

“Yuan-di?” A soft voice trails off quietly. Shen Yuan feels like he’s been hit by a truck. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t, but who knows? Maybe a truck somehow managed to sneak into his isolated hospital room and crush him in his sleep. Either way, the fact is that he’s in pain. Lots of it; too much pain for simple food poisoning, which means something else must be the cause. Something worse? Has he actually managed to survive long enough to experience something worse than the last twelve years of his life had been? Shocking.

“A-Yuan!” Another voice calls out, using more force than the previous one had, and Shen Yuan finally manages to pry his eyes open. What he sees isn’t new exactly, but it’s also a view Shen Yuan thought he’d only ever see in dramas or read about in trashy web novels. Two startlingly dirty children are hovering around where Shen Yuan lies. The glaring child on the left is definitely the angry speaker, so the boy on the right must be the earlier sweet talker. They both have at least shoulder length hair, though the gentler child has his in a bun, as opposed to the smaller child’s ‘half up, half down’ top knot.

“Hm?” Shen Yuan manages to cough out. He probably shouldn’t try speaking again, as evidenced by the new blood splatter on his… robes? 

“A-Yuan, why can’t you just be good!” The mean one says in a legitimately concerned way. Shen Yuan reassesses his opinion of the child. Maybe, stressed is a better adjective than mean or angry?

Still, Shen Yuan can’t quite accept what’s going on. After all, the last thing he remembers is angrily shoving apparently expired noodles down his throat and then being rushed to the hospital by his neighbor. How’d he end up here? Wherever here may be.

{Ding!}

What? Shen Yuan thinks dazedly, his eyes beginning to close once more.

{Connecting…}

{Connection established! Host Shen Yuan is now bound to the role of Shen Yuan, Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu ’s younger brother!}

{Activation Phras-}

Shen Yuan is unconscious before he can hear the rest.

-/-

When Shen Yuan wakes up, two things surprise him. One, he’s still alive. Two, he’s no longer lying on a leafy forest floor, and, judging by the hair in his face and the hands under his knees, he’s being piggybacked? 

“A-Yuan, are you awake?” the child’s voice is extremely quiet, but Shen Yuan manages to catch the words regardless.

“Where are we?” Shen Yuan responds carefully. When he doesn’t spit up blood once again, he feels a bit more confident about speaking.

{Host is currently travelling through the Chu Xiaolian forest! While not mentioned in Proud Immortal Demon Way , Chu Xiaolian has a significant role in the shaping of the future plot. It was in this forest that Minor Role: Shen Yuan was originally intended to die. Of course, this system will do whatever Host asks in order to avert that fate!}

“Chu Forest,” the boy huffs. Shen Yuan wants to ask for his name, but, at the same time, he feels like asking would really freak the kid out, so he just hums his agreement and decides to mentally refer to him as gege for now.

So… Shen Yuan sighs heavily into his gege’s neck, he’s been transmigrated? Into Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’s dumpster fire of a novel? This must be some sort of heavenly punishment. Maybe Shen Yuan kicked a puppy in his past life.

“Gege,” Shen Yuan calls out, his face pretty much entirely masked by greasy black hair. “Where are we going?”

Shen Yuan can feel the exact moment that his gege stops moving. He then mutters, “somewhere nice,” and continues walking. Shen Yuan wonders where the other boy went, but it’s not as if he can check. Or ask, seeing as he doesn’t know the other boy’s name either...

{Host can always ask this system! Critical Character: Yue Qi is currently moving at a steady pace twenty meters ahead of Host and Critical Character: Shen Jiu. This system suspects that he is acting as a ‘scout’.}

System? Shen Yuan reaches out. Clearly, he’s not in his world anymore, so he isn’t going to fight the transmigration. Sure, he should probably be freaking out more about this, but what’s the point? It’s not like Shen Yuan left anything behind by coming here. The only major complaint he has is that it’s PIDW . Anyway, as every self-respecting web novel fan knows, the first thing a transmigrator should learn is the rules. Since Shen Yuan’s already here, he doesn’t really want to accidentally get kicked back to his o.g. body. His old, probably dead, body. Why am I here?

{As this system previously stated, Host was logged in after speaking the activation phrase: ‘Stupid author, Stupid novel.’ Host’s goal is to improve overall reader satisfaction, fill plot holes, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, reform Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu. In order to accomplish this goal, Host will be given tasks to complete. Each task will offer a different amount of C points in reward.}

Wait, what are C points? Shen Yuan snuggles further into Shen Jiu’s back and ignores the fact that he’s letting someone like ⅕ his age give him a piggyback ride. 

{Did Host not listen to anything this system said earlier? QAQ}

Are you referring to when I was unconscious? Shen Yuan thinks dryly in response.

{...}

{C points are points given for... being likable and acting in-character. Would Host like an overview of his profile?}

Sure. Shen Yuan politely refrains from pointing out the system’s long pause. They both already know Shen Yuan’s words were correct, he doesn’t need to rub it in even more.

{Host: Shen Yuan

Role: Shen Yuan

Title(s): A-Yuan, Yuan-di

Skills: [Crocodile Tears], [Sickly Beauty Halo*]

Inventory: [EMPTY]

C Points: 100

*Skill may not be viable yet, Host is below the min. age for proper use*}

Crocodile Tears! Sickly Beauty..? What? Can either of those names be considered proper titles? Aren’t those more like nicknames! How old even am I? And how old are Shen Jiu and Yue Qi? 

{Skills are skills, and titles are titles, Host. Your current body, Minor Role: Shen Yuan, is four years of age. Critical Character: Shen Jiu is age seven. Critical Character: Yue Qi is between eight and nine years old.}

And is there anything I should know? You said I die in the forest, right? How?

{This system cannot reveal everything, but Upcoming Plot Points include: ‘A Promise between Brothers’, ‘The Ravaging Fever’, and ‘Captured’. Minor Role: Shen Yuan is necessary for all of these events, and only these. Once these Plot Points have been completed, Host may do whatever he feels is best in his quest to improve Proud Immortal Demon Way! }

Okay, seems simple enough. Shen Yuan quietly yawns as his eyes fall shut once again.

-/-

“How is he, Xiao Jiu?” 

“Better, I guess, but still not good . Look at him!” Shen Yuan wakes up somewhere around Shen Jiu’s third or fourth word, barely catching the gist of what his new older brother had said. 

“Gege?” Shen Yuan calls as he realizes where he is once again. Still in PIDW, still in the Chu Forest, still in pain, but this time, instead of hanging off his brother’s back, Shen Yuan finds himself using Shen Jiu’s lap as a pillow. 

“Yuan-di?” Yue Qi leans in to pet his head, and it actually sort of hurts, but Shen Yuan doesn’t really care anymore. Everything hurts, what’s new? “Do you still feel tired?”

“Hmmm.”

“Tch,” Shen Jiu, and, actually, Shen Yuan’s going to call him Jiu-gege from this point onwards… scoffs at the older boy’s question. “Of course, he’s still tired! Why else would he still be laying on me?”

“Y’er comfy, Jiu-gege,” Shen Yuan mumbles as he curls his newly miniaturized body around his brother’s. Yue Qi laughs at the picture the two Shens paint. Shen Jiu glares at him hotly, but refrains from yelling, so as not to startle his didi.

“Gege?” Shen Yuan asks before he falls asleep again.

Shen Jiu quickly replies, “What is it, A-Yuan?”

“...promise...won’t ‘appen ag’n, ‘kay? A-Yuan’ll be g’d.”

Yue Qi smiles gently as Shen Jiu tries to come up with a proper response.

“It’s a promise then, Yuan-er! If this happens again, you can’t be my didi anymore!”

“A promise between brothers,” Yue Qi adds as he finally sits next to Shen Jiu. Neither of the older boys know enough about Cultivation to light the damp wood around them, so they can’t start a fire, and even if they did know how, they still wouldn’t be able to because a fire would be like an open invitation for demonic beasts and even more demonic humans. Instead, the three children huddle together. Body heat warms them enough to make it through the colder fall nights. However, it will not be enough for winter.

That’s why they started towards civilization again after barely escaping slave traders two towns over. 

It’s just a risk we’re gonna have to take , Shen Jiu had declared with zero hesitation. After all, the first casualty of the sharpening weather and dropping temperatures would be A-Yuan, and neither of the older boys will let that happen. 

They’re still in control of their own actions, if nothing else.

-/-

Just before Shen Yuan drops into sleep for like the third time, he hears a telling beep signifying the completion of a task. One down, he thinks, two to go.

-/-

Unfortunately, the completion of task two is much more sudden and uncontrolled. As Shen Yuan wakes up, his body burning like a thousand suns, the hit-by-truck feeling returning full force, he hears a congratulatory beep from the system. 

Apparently, ‘The Ravaging Fever’ was in reference to Shen Yuan. 

Fuck.

-/-

“Didi! A-Yuan!” A hand runs through Shen Yuan’s sweaty hair, but he can’t feel it over the whole-body ache of his fever. The words, too, become lost in Shen Yuan’s dazed mind.

All he can think about is how ravaged, and not in a good way, he feels. 

Time passes slowly and quickly and jaggedly all at once.

-/-

“Watch him! You know I’m faster than you, Qi-ge! I can run to Chu Fai and come back with medicine in half the time it’ll take you.”

“Xiao Jiu, you-”

“He doesn’t have enough time left for us to waste it arguing! I’m going. Watch him, Qi-ge, or I’ll never forgive you!”

-/-

Yue Qi watches the younger Shen. Watches his skin pale and redden in turns. Watches him struggle to keep breathing. Watches as the four year old inches closer and closer to an edge no one can pull him back from. 

Xiao Jiu isn’t going to make it, Yue Qi thinks while smoothing Yuan-di’s hair back off his forehead. Yuan-di isn’t going to last long enough, even if Xiao Jiu does half the time Yue Qi expects the journey to take. 

Shen Yuan whimpers quietly as he curls into himself, looking an awful lot like a pill bug.

Yue Qi laughs even though tears are starting to build in his eyes. 

And still, he can’t help but think, Xiao Jiu isn’t going to make it.

-/-

Shen Yuan blinks his eyes open, body still staging a coup, and finds himself alone. 

{Ding!}

{Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! Host has now completed his three tasks!

+300 C points}

A twisted growl roars it’s way out of the surrounding trees. And now, I die, right? This didn’t last long at all…

{Host! Don’t give up! This system will help! Would Host like to purchase an Extreme Scenario Pusher for the heavily discounted price of 350 C Points?}

Will it stop me from being eaten by whatever’s out there?

{Yes!}

Will it keep me from dying of the fever?

{Of course!}

Then do it! Shen Yuan can feel demonic energy oozing out of the woods to his right. He knows the animal must have set its sights on him by this point, but it’s not like he has the strength to do anything about it. Another growl echoes, obviously much closer this time. 

{Initializing Extreme Scenario Pusher… 20.. 43...56...74%}

Can you hurry it up a bit? Shen Yuan screams mentally. There’s a visible black form only about ten meters before him. It pauses briefly. Shen Yuan holds his breath. Maybe, it hasn’t picked whether or not it really wants to eat him?

{81… 86… 90%}

It makes up its mind pretty fast, though, choosing to leap straight at him. 

And Shen Yuan feels spit on his face moments after he hears: {Purchase complete! ESP activated!}

Shen Yuan flinches back as a glowing blade swipes out, easily blocking the beast’s teeth from reaching him. Shit, he’s still alive! Thank fuck! 

A hand catches his small form as he falls backwards in a dead faint.

Chapter Text

When Shen Yuan next opens his eyes, he’s no longer surrounded by trees—which is a huge shock considering the setting he’s been transmigrated into. A warmth rests against his back and side, not a person, but maybe an animal? Wait… what????

System! You said I would survive the beast! Why is it laying next to me now!

{This system has no idea what Host is referring to, isn’t Host lounging with a perfectly safe spiritual beast? Spiritually bound beasts don’t attack unless ordered, Host!}

WTF? How was I supposed to know that! Shen Yuan refrains from yelling at the system further because he knows what little good it’ll do. No use talking to an idiot.

Shen Yuan shifts minutely, a spiritual beast, ah?

That’s… so cool ?!? He wants one! Ooo, is it soft? It’s certainly comfy to lay on! Shen Yuan wiggles around until he can see the beast. A large brown dog-like creature blinks up at him with bemusement in its eyes; all six of them. Overall, it resembles a large sheepdog, excluding the six entirely white eyes and the bright blue mouth. Ah! And it’s so cute! 

The dog licks him with its cobalt tongue, and Shen Yuan barely holds back a squeal. Look at that, it likes him! 

Actually, maybe… it likes him a bit too much, Shen Yuan reflects as he finds himself pressed onto whatever flat surface lies below him by the full weight of a beast three times his size. 

“Haha! Seems like Xiao Zhu thinks you’re her new bed!” The comfortably deep voice surprises Shen Yuan, but he can’t really respond given the HUGE FREAKING DOG on his CHEST. Actually, not just his chest! His whole body! 

His… body? Shen Yuan pauses for a moment. He doesn’t hurt anymore? Like at all? Except for the obvious pressure being applied by the spirit beast. Where’d the constant ache go? The fever pain? How can it just be gone???? Did the system use some kind of OP cheat??

“Zhu Zhu! Get off ‘im!” Another voice commands sternly, much less amused than the first man. Once the spider-dog lifts itself off of his body, giving him a longing glance as it goes, Shen Yuan finally decides to take further note of his surroundings—not just the lack of trees.

He sits up on what may be the most uncomfortable bed ever just as an incredibly… handsome woman stops in front of him. She looks down at him with assessment in her eyes, Shen Yuan just holds her gaze and hopes he passes her test. Whatever the test may be. She comes to her decision rather quickly with a succinct nod. 

“Zhu Zhu likes you,” she says, a roguish smile crossing her face. Shen Yuan’s rather flustered, but he still manages to gently agree. “Zhu Zhu has good taste.”

Shen Yuan blinks in shock, hands tightening in his lap. His robes are curiously clean, as is his skin. Whatever the system did, it seems to have worked out well. 

{Anytime, Host! This system lives to serve!}

Shen Yuan ignores it. The woman reaches out a hand, and he has a brief moment of fearing that she’ll just end him right there before she simply pays his head. She freaking patted his head! Like a dog! Or a child! What the heck!

Wel, actually… he kind of is a child, so it’s not really that surprising, but still! He’s like twenty something, he doesn’t need head pats! Head pats are not wanted!

She further ruffles his, miraculously washed and free of tangles, hair, and Shen Yuan is forced to change his mind. Begrudgingly, he accepts that, okay, for now, she can or his head. Just for now though! She shouldn’t start getting any long term ideas, alright? Shen Yuan still has his pride as a man, even if he’s currently in the body of a four year old!

“Those are some fiery eyes you got there, kid,” the man who spoke earlier draws Shen Yuan’s attention with this statement. The woman is still petting his head. Like a dog, he huffs. “Good thing she brought you here when she did!”

“Yes,” the woman adds seriously as she finally (finally!) pulls her hand away. “No one else would've been able to treat that fever…”

“Of course!” The man picks up her hanging statement with the ease of longtime friends, “for who can beat the Qian Cao Peak Lord when it comes to medicine?”

“No one,” an elegant sounding voice answers the rhetorical question unhesitatingly. Shen Yuan is too fucking shook by the new information (he’s apparently on Qian Cao??? the peak in Cang Qiong???) to fully appreciate the beauty of the room’s newest addition. 

“You certainly know your worth!” The woman with the big hands and remarkably heroic appearance laughs out. Shen Yuan just blinks a few times in confusion. So… the elegant woman is Qian Cao’s Peak Lord? And the Protagonist-like woman brought him here..? Shen Yuan still has no clue who the man is, but two out of three isn’t too bad. Not when Shen Yuan’s just happy to not be dead. From food poisoning, or from being ripped apart by a demon. 

“She always has!” The man barks out with a laugh. Shen Yuan is still Confused™, but he’s beginning to just go with the flow. After all, he’s comfortably alive, not in pain, and not dirty af anymore. What else could he ask for? 

“Ah,” the Peak Lord interjects, Shen Yuan notices not only how alert she looks, but also how uninterested she sounds. Her black hair is done up in a simple top knot, but she still manages to look higher class than anyone else in the room. Though, maybe that says less about her, and more about the other two… “The boy still looks like he’s moments away from an eternal sleep.”

“Will he be alright?” Handsome-Jie asks, concern layering her voice. Shen Yuan feels so fond of this woman already, and it’s not only because she saved his life! She’s just extremely charismatic, okay? Whatever. 

“Not if by alright, you mean able to leave that bed anytime soon.”

“Oh,” and Handsome-Jie’s whole figure seems to slump with her small disappointed sound. Shen Yuan is sorta curious how such a big lady can look so sad, so quickly. It’s simply… not natural. “So, I will have to leave him here?”

“For now, at least.”

The man pipes up once again, a smile cuts across his face, “I can keep him company for you, Shixiong!”

“Ah. Okay. I suppose that’s alright, but are you not a Peak Lord now? Do you not have responsibilities?” Shen Yuan takes the words in like a sponge and mentally adds Peak Lord to the man’s short informational column. Of which peak, though?

“Hah! Shixiong speaks like this shidi has any reason to spend his time on Bai Zhan, in the first place.” Well, Shen Yuan thinks, that answers that question. 

“Li Hanzu, have you no disciples?” 

“None worth my time, Shixiong. They’re all so… weak.” 

“But doesn’t that just mean Shidi needs to train them more?”

Shen Yuan can visibly see the man evaluate Handsome-Jie’s suggestion. After a long pause, he sighs like a spoiled child. “Fine! This shidi will train them. Still, I can easily accompany our tiny guest while also maintaining an adequate teaching schedule.”

“We’ll see about that,” Elegant-Jie skeptically replies. She moves over to Shen Yuan and takes hold of his wrist. With a sigh, she says, “Honestly, this master is surprised the child even survived the trip here. Fu-Jie, you said you found him in Chu Xiaolian Forest?”

Handsome-Jie nods.

“Then, by all rights, he should be dead.” Shen Yuan freezes at her words. What does she mean??? Why does she sound so… disappointed!! Does she wish him dead? He’s only (physically) four! WTF!

“Oh?” The Bai Zhan Peak Lord questions. “He must have a strong system then.”

System??? How does he know! Shen Yuan screams, his eyes going humorously wide. When Elegant-Jie continues holding his wrist, obviously expecting his pulse, he remembers that ‘system’ probably isn’t in reference to anything other than his health. Hopefully, he thinks pathetically, she didn’t just feel that massive spike.

“It’s interesting, Shixiong. Externally, he has the looks of a child doomed to an early grave, but internally, his body is fighting off illness faster than some cultivators I know.”

“Cultivators?” Shen Yuan quickly asks, looking up at the Qian Cao Peak Lord with curiosity all over his face. He finally has a chance to get some answers, and he’s not letting go even if he has to use his teeth!

“Yes, cultivators,” Elegant-Jie says to him. She releases his wrist and quickly returns to her place by the room’s doorway. Shen Yuan waits for further explanation, but recieves none. He looks back at the bed’s incredibly plain sheets. He pouts slightly. He waits.

“You most likely have a very high affinity for cultivation, it’s lucky that Fu-Jie found you when she did. Now you might just live long enough to become an immortal,” and with that, she leaves, her minimalistic robes billowing behind her. 

Shen Yuan goes still… he has a high affinity for cultivation? That’s like… what??? Isn’t Shen Yuan supposed to be a weak throw away character with an immune system of glass?? Isn’t Shen Yuan supposed to be such a minor canon fodder npc that Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky didn’t even mention him once? Why would he have a potentially high aptitude for cultivation! It doesn’t make sense!

“Hmm?” Li Hanzu perks up at Elegant-Jie’s parting words. With a mildly intimidating look sent Shen Yuan’s way, he draws out, “Interesting.”

“No,” Handsome-Jie says sternly before Li Hanzu can further explore whatever idea just popped into his head. Shen Yuan owes this woman so much! “He’s still a child. Shidi will have to wait.”

“Aiyah, what does Shixiong take me for? A demon?” Privately, Shen Yuan thinks that he rather fits the role. Handsome-Jie just sighs and sits next to Xiao Zhu on the floor. Shen Yuan observes the room from his hospital bed. What now? 

A long, drawn out silence passes as Shen Yun tries to come up with something appropriate for a four year old to say, then Li Hanzu quietly whispers, “I’d wait until the boy was at least six.”

Handsome-Jie simply sighs once more. Xiao Zhu places its head in her lap, all six eyes half-lidded in laziness. The Bai Zhan Peak Lord laughs.

“Li Hanzu,” Handsome-Jie eventually begins. “I need to leave soon. Zhu Zhu cannot stay put much longer, Shidi knows how she is. Before I go, Shidi must promise to take care of—“ she pauses abruptly, suddenly looking up at him, “Child! What is your name?”

“Ah!” Shen Yuan squeaks. “Yuan! Umm, Shen, ah! Yuan!”

“Okay,” she says. “Shidi must take good care of A’Yuan. No training until he is ready. Nothing stressful until Yan-Mei allows it. And no strategy lessons of any sort.”

Li Hanzu whines loudly in apparent petulance. Shen Yuan tries not to laugh at the sight of an obviously powerful Peak Lord acting like a child. “Not even my classic sleeping strategies?”

Handsome-Jiu glares at the Peak Lord, “Especially not the sleeping strategies.”

“Ah, what a tragedy it is that our guest will never sleep as well as he could if you let me teach him… alas, I am but an ant below my Shixiong’s mighty boot, and I will listen. Rest easy, A’Yuan will be in good hands.”

Hmmm, Shen Yuan isn’t actually too sure about that… but if that’s what Handsome-Jie wants, then that’s what she’ll get. After all, she saved Shen Yuan’s life, and also, he has literally nothing better to do that won’t end up with him super dead.

#cultivationworldproblems

-/-

As soon as Xiao Zhu and Handsome-Jie leave, Li Hanzu turns to Shen Yuan with the scariest grin on his face. “Would you like to know the best tips for getting the optimal night of sleep?”

And Shen Yuan can’t help but nod, damn his easily susceptible personality! Being soft is so inconvenient! What the fuck! If only Shen Yuan were like his Jiu-gege! 

-/-

...Shen Jiu, what’s he doing now? Is he worried about Shen Yuan? Does Jiu-gege think he’s dead? That’s probably for the best, Shen Yuan thinks carefully. After all, Shen Yuan’s ‘death’ apparently has a big influence on canon PIDW. Shen Yuan doesn’t want to mess up canon that much, not if he has to deal with the aftermath of whatever he changes...

{This system would like to give Host a friendly reminder that Host’s goal is, in fact, to change Proud Immortal Demon Way’s plot. Within reason, of course.}

Shut up!

Chapter Text

“Yan-Mei,” Li Hanzu whines, using his sword as a weapon of mass annoyance. Shen Yuan might just transmigrate again out of sheer irritation towards his hopefully temporary guardian. “Is A’Yuan healthy enough to leave yet?”

The Qian Cao Peak Lord, a lovely, if slightly cold, woman named Yan Hanshi smacks away the sword like it’s not currently being held by the Lord of Bai Zhan. She glares at him, and Shen Yuan can promise that he doesn’t get any sort of enjoyment out of watching Li Hanzu being treated like a bug, but then he’d be lying, and finishes her check up of Shen Yuan. Ten minutes later, she releases a sigh and nods once. That’s all it takes, Shen Yuan reflects miserably as Li Hanzu immediately perks up.

“Yan-Mei, Yan-Mei, you really know how to make a man wait!”

Li Hanzu gets a taste of his own medicine when Yan Hanshi quickly jabs his ribs with her own sword’s hilt, “Don’t call me that.”

Li Hanzu’s lips drop into a pout, though it’s clearly not genuine, as he rubs his now lightly stinging side. “You let Shixiong call you that!”

“That is because Chen Fu is deserving of my respect,” Yan Hanshi sniffs imperiously while packing up her belongings and preparing to leave the room Shen Yuan has called home for the past two weeks. The added ‘unlike you’ is silent, but not unheard. Shen Yuan stifles a giggle. Li Hanzu sends him a betrayed glance, but Shen Yuan feels no pity. Li Hanzu has managed to spend almost every one of Shen Yuan’s waking minutes camped out by his bedside, yacking his ear off like a particularly enthusiastic salesperson. 

“Fine! Peak Lord Yan, can this master bring A’Yuan to Bai Zhan now?” Li Hanzu lays the pleading tone on so thick, Shen Yuan can see Yan Hanshi swallow back a gag. 

“So long as Peak Lord Li refrains from any strenuous activities, then bringing the child to Bai Zhan shouldn’t be an issue.” This time, Shen Yuan is the one giving the betrayed glance, but his is pointed towards the Qian Cao Peak Lord. She simply ignores him and calmly exits the room. Li Hanzu excitedly turns to Shen Yuan. They stare at each momentarily, Shen Yuan gulps in fear. Going with the battle obsessed Peak Lord is unavoidable at this point, but that doesn’t mean Shen Yuan has accepted it, alright? Shen Yuan values his personal space and his nap time which will both 100% be at risk on Bai Zhan. 

“A’Yuan,” Li Hanzu says in a mock-serious voice, eyes glittering with poorly concealed excitement. “How old are you again?”

“Uhhhh,” Shen Yuan hesitates.

{Informing Host of his recent birthday. Host’s body is now five!}

“Five?”

“Interesting…. You know, A’Yuan, this master began to learn the art of the sword long before I could cultivate properly.” Shen Yuan does not like where this is leading, but his thin face is helpless against such a bulldozer of a speaker. Saying anything in opposition would require cutting the Peak Lord off, and Shen Yuan is incapable of that, especially now that he’s in a five year old’s body. “Five seems like a good age to begin lessons… at least ones on theory… so? How does it sound, A’Yuan? Would A’Yuan like to learn from this master?”

Shen Yuan’s body shakes with apprehension, buuuuuuuuut… the transmigrator hesitates to immediately refuse. After all, isn’t this like the perfect way to train enough to entirely abandon his sickly state? And, maybe being good with a sword will help him fix plot points? And avoid possible death flags? Shen Yuan raises his head to look into Li Hanzu’s eyes, “Mn.”

A worryingly wide grin splits Li Hanzu’s face, “Good! I like A’Yuan’s fire! Now, let’s go home, ah?”

Shen Yuan sighs internally. Hopefully, the future rewards will outweigh the pain he’s about to experience… hopefully.

-/-

As weeks pass, Shen Yuan learns to ignore the energetic ramblings of the Peak Lord that’s apparently taken an interest in him. All in all, the man’s actually a pretty decent teacher. He can tell when Shen Yuan’s only pretending to understand something in order to not lose face, and he can tell when Shen Yuan’s clearly disinterested in a subject. It makes no sense to Shen Yuan that Li Hanzu is so unwilling to teach and train his disciples when he clearly has the ability to do so???? If he can teach a (physically) five year old advanced sword types and forms, why can he not just show his disciples a move or two every once in a while? Why must all teaching be done through brutal beat-downs once a month?

Three months in, after finally perfecting a fairly simple jab, Shen Yuan finally asks, “Why do you only teach me?”

“Why is A’Yuan the only disciple that doesn’t need everything repeated at least ten times?” Li Hanzu groans in response, obviously either ignoring or not noticing the fact that Shen Yuan talks much too fluently for a five year old, even an advanced one. Shen Yuan lays down next to his lounging teacher and looks at the morning sky in confusion. 

“Shifu can’t be serious, A’Yuan asks for repeats all the time!” Li Hanzu gives him a skeptical look and rolls onto his side to fully face Shen Yuan.

“A’Yuan,” the Peak Lord starts, voice completely stable and words blunt, “in three months, this master has taught you the basics of sword fighting, meditation, calligraphy, mathematics, and archery. Despite not having the needed physicality to properly practice two of those, A’Yuan has excelled. Your calligraphy is somehow almost better than mine, A’Yuan.” Shen Yuan guiltily looks to the side, awww, look at the birds! How cute! He absolutely isn’t thinking about the fact that he’s taken years of lessons on traditional calligraphy because of his mother’s long time obsession. He absolutely isn’t thinking about the fact that he probably knows more about mathematics than Li Hanzu ever will, due to his world’s advancements in the subject… 

“Ah… but just last week, Shifu had to spend two hours straight explaining the methods of spirit cleansing!” Li Hanzu still looks unimpressed, even as Shen Yuan sits up in an attempt to make himself more convincing.

“Most disciples spend a month on the rituals of spirit and soul cleansing.” Shen Yuan squeaks… has he really done so well???? He’s even been trying not to memorize things as quickly, or listen as well because he’s supposed to be five! But… but! Everything is just so cool? And interesting! And Shen Yuan can’t bring himself to just ignore the opportunity he’s been given to learn about all this crazy cultivation shit! 

“Surely,” Shen Yuan starts uncertainly, “Shifu has at least one disciple who can keep up with his teaching?”

“Nope,” Li Hanzu replies lazily, closing his eyes as he lies back into the grass.

Shen Yuan’s starting to get a bit desperate, how can a five year old be the only good disciple of Bai Zhan Peak??? He’s not even old enough to cultivate! He’s not even old enough to actually join Cang Qiong as a disciple! He’s not even particularly interested in battle! “Does Shifu have no Head Disciple?”

Li Hanzu blinks one eye open and gives Shen Yuan a once over, “Not yet.”

And Shen Yuan has no idea how he’s supposed to reply to that.

System?! He cries desperately.

{Yes, Host?}

What happens if Li Hanzu makes me his head disciple???

{Minor Character: Liu Qingge will never become Bai Zhan’s Peak Lord.}

Is that allowed????? Shen Yuan panics.

{This system is unsure. Would Host like to try it and find out?}

Shen Yuan cries mentally as he reads those words. Why would I??? 

{Would Host like this system to remind him of his goal?}

Right, right. Improve the plot, reform Shen Qingqiu- wait… is… Shen Jiu… the child version of Shen Qingqiu?!

{Of course, did Host not realize? This system did tell Host.}

Shit! Wtf am I supposed to do now?

{Host can do whatever he would like! Host currently has no restrictions! Good luck!}

Shen Yuan stares blankly at Li Hanzu. How… is Shen Yuan supposed to reform Jiu-gege when he has no idea where the boy is??????  

“Is A’Yuan done with his interrogation?” Shen Yuan nods mutely. “Then, would A’Yuan like to accompany me to a… meeting of sorts?”

“Yes, Shifu,” Shen Yuan mindlessly agrees, and Li Hanzu looks like a child on New Year’s.

“Ah, A’Yuan! You have no idea how jealous Peak Lord Tie is going to be!”

-/-

“Li Hanzu,” A man dressed in light green and white greets them as soon as they step down from the Bai Zhan Peak Lord’s sword. Obviously, he’s another Peak Lord, and Shen Yuan’s leaning towards Qing Jing because of the colors. Also, maybe… because of how fancy and stuffy the man looks. Like, Shen Yuan thinks Li Hanzu is annoying, don’t get him wrong, but he’s also unsure if he could survive in such a rigid atmosphere as what now surrounds the three of them.

Li Hanzu shoots back, “Tie Hanjin. Ready for our duel?”

Tie Hanjin scoffs and immediately zeroes in on Shen Yuan, despite his efforts to avoid being seen, i.e. hiding behind his Shifu’s legs. “And why have you brought a child along? Have you tired of losing so much that you sought a way to distract me while we fight?”

“Of course not!” Li Hanzu replies quickly, pushing Shen Yuan forward. “And who exactly loses our battles? Certainly not this master. Anyway, Hanjin, I’d like you to meet my newest disciple! Shen A’Yuan!”

“That child cannot possibly be your disciple.” Shen Yuan both agrees with the statement and takes a small bit of offense to it. Like, duh, he’s wayyyyy too young to be an official disciple, but also! Shen Yuan can totally be a proper Head Disciple if he wants to! Just give him a few years, ah! 

“Maybe not now! But this master can wait. A’Yuan is worth it, he’ll be the next Bai Zhan Peak Lord, I swear.”

“Sure,” Tie Hanjin agrees, clearly not caring anymore. “Now, the fight?”

“Oh, yeah!” Li Hanzu picks Shen Yuan up by the armpits and easily places him in the canopy of bamboo trees to their right. Then, the two Peak Lords move a good ways over into a large field. Far enough away for Shen Yuan to see, but not to be hit. Clearly, this is something the Peak Lords do frequently as Shen Yuan can see scores in the meadow and surrounding trees. Huh, he had no idea that Qing Jing and Bai Zhan got along so well…

-/-

By Shen Yuan’s next birthday, he has accepted his new life and Shifu. What he cannot accept, is the fact that his Jiu-gege is apparently going through a blackening arc, and Shen Yuan can do nothing to stop it! After revealing Shen Jiu’s current whereabouts and future experiences as a reward for surviving his first full year, the system smartly shut up.

Apparently, messing with Shen Jiu’s blackening events is okay-ish , but Shen Yuan can’t actually do anything yet…. Because… well, he’s six. He also has no idea where Shen Jiu is in terms of Shen Yuan’s own location. So… no rescue attempt is in Shen Yuan or Shen Jiu’s near future… All Shen Yuan can do is try and convince his Shifu to start his cultivation training a bit early. Maybe, more than a bit… okay, so like four or five years early… but that’s it, okay?

-/-

“Shifu?” Shen Yuan asks as he and Li Hanzu stare at the picturesque sky together on Bai Zhan’s training field. Sword clashes and shouting can be heard from all around, but both are long used to it. Actually, Shen Yuan was super surprised the first time he fell asleep amidst the sounds of battle, and a bit concerned, but Li Hanzu had just laughed and told him he was a true disciple of Bai Zhan, rules be damned. From that point on, cloud watching after form practice became a regular occurrence. Shen Yuan sorta hates to admit it, but he’s maybe become pretty fond of the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. After getting past the man’s slightly exhausting energetic disposition, Shen Yuan’s really come to respect Li Hanzu’s values and his personality. 

“Yes, A’Yuan?” The Peak Lord responds, not even once looking Shen Yuan’s way.

“A’Yuan wants to learn cultiva-” Shen Yuan can’t say anymore because Li Hanzu’s smacked a hand over his mouth. His eyes are still not open, but he’s clearly no longer relaxing.

“Agh,” Li Hanzu groans loudly. Soon after, he grumbles, “Don’t tempt me, you little brat. Honestly, Shixiong should be proud of my self-restraint.”

“Mmf?” Shen Yuan’s confused utterance is lost. Li Hanzu still has not removed his hand…

“Does A’Yuan want to torture his Shifu? Doesn’t A’Yuan realize how badly this master would like to teach his favorite disciple cultivation?”

Shen Yuan blinks twice in quick succession, he thinks, then what's the problem here?

“Alas, A’Yuan is much too young. Maybe in two years, okay? Just wait a couple years, then Shifu will teach you.”

Chapter Text

“So you’re Shen A’Yuan? You?” 

“Uh, yes?” Shen Yuan replies, not looking up from the texts on channeling Qi rolled out in front of him. Honestly, interacting with the peak’s disciples is the last thing on Shen Yuan’s to do list. Everyone on Bai Zhan, excluding Shifu, are too, for lack of a better term, immature. And, yes, Shen Yuan realizes how ridiculous that thought is, given his physical age. Still, the truth remains; Bai Zhan disciples are very, very stupid. Or at least too battle oriented for Shen Yuan to create any lasting impression past the surface dumb.

“You seem a bit too young to be the Bai Zhan brutes new leader!” At those words, Shen Yuan finally looks up. Three disciples stand in front of him, all dressed in striking green and white robes. Ah, Shen Yuan thinks, Qing Jing disciples. The ring-leader looking boy glances down at what Shen Yuan had been trying to study and snorts in such an ugly way, Shen Yuan is sure Tie Hanjin would’ve had a fit had he seen it, “I’m surprised you can even read.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose I am pretty young…” Shen Yuan privately adds, but I could still whoop you, so watch your mouth, bitch. He mentally estimates the three disciples’ ages to most likely be around thirteen or fourteen, probably just rich (pathetic) young masters trying to find Bai Zhan’s weak link. Too bad… ‘cause Shen Yuan ain’t it. “Can I help you three?”

They look just a bit intimidated at his cool composure, but if proud rich boys are good at anything, they’re good at ignoring warnings. Shen Yuan would know, he used to be one. Quickly reining in his momentary fear, Ring Leader gives Shen Yuan a quick once over, “Hah, how arrogant to think that you could help us!”

Not really, Shen Yuan sighs internally. Externally, he says, “I apologize for my incorrect assumption, but this shidi would like to remind his shixiongs that they were the ones to approach him.”

“Tch,” Ring Leader scoffs, and Shen Yuan subtly rolls his eyes, “whatever.”

And then Shen Yuan watches as the three Qing Jing disciples march off into the distance, quickly becoming tiny specks in the horizon. 

Shen Yuan goes back to reading his scrolls.

-/-

“Shi-shidi?” A voice stutters out from behind Shen Yuan’s current napping place. Li Hanzu has taught him many, many things, but none have stuck as thoroughly as naps after battle (...or practice). Honestly, Shen Yuan’s begun to adopt the practice as his own, even extending the power naps’ reach to after particularly long sessions of mere studying. Look, Li Hanzu, at the monster you have created.

“Shidi?” This time the call comes from in front of him.

Shen Yuan sighs and his eyes reluctantly open, a cute face is way too close for comfort, and Shen Yuan has to physically restrain himself from K.O.-ing the disciple leaning over him. Instead of the violent action, he settles for quickly scooting backwards, doubtlessly smearing grass stains all over his robes, and sitting up. He gives the teen in front of him a suspicious glare, and thinks, at least this one actually belongs here. The disciple seems to gradually grow even more uncomfortable the longer Shen Yuan stares, and finally, Shen Yuan responds with, “yes?”

Visibly relaxing, the teenage boy gives Shen Yuan a soft smile, “Shizun asked me to help Shidi with your training while he’s on his mission.”

“Did he?” Shen Yuan asks, a little bit of genuine curiosity creeping into his tone. Most of the time when Shifu goes on a monster hunt, he just leaves Shen Yuan to his own devices, which is a-okay with Shen Yuan, but now he’s making a disciple train with Shen Yuan? And a much older one too? How is this fair for the disciple???? Shen Yuan is (physically) six! 

“Yes,” the disciple nods once, and he doesn’t actually look too put out, so Shen Yuan stands up, only lightly dusting off his robes, after all, those stains aren’t going to come out no matter how thoroughly he wipes them with his hands.

“Alright, what are going to do?” Shen Yuan asks. Not even bothering to ask the disciple’s name. He would tell Shen Yuan on his own, or he wouldn’t tell him at all. It doesn’t really matter if Shen Yuan knows his name because he’s just going to refer to him by a nickname either way. Remembering NPC’s names is way too hard when there’s as many insignificant characters swarming Cang Qiong Mountain as there is.

“Shifu suggested I teach Shidi about Bai Zhan peak’s system of lessons and succession. He also added that I should bring you to Qing Jing’s library at some point.” And Shen Yuan’s whole body is now vibrating with excitement. Qing Jing peak’s library? The scholarly peak’s library???? How fucking cool is that!!! He also conveniently ignores the fact that Li Hanzu is obviously grooming Shen Yuan to be his Head Disciple.

If Shen Yuan doesn’t acknowledge his problems, they go away. Sorta. 

Anyway! Library! Learning, yay!

“Lead the way, Shixiong,” Shen Yuan says, following the much taller disciple like a duckling would follow its mother.

-/-

Shen Yuan was right, the Qing Jing library is magnificent! Holy shit! There’s like a million bestiaries! (Though, Shen Yuan does briefly curse Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky when he catches the beasts’ overall lackluster names.) And at least a couple hundred books on magical plants! (Shen Yuan once again curses Airplane when he reads through the twentieth description of a plant that produces some sort of sex pollen.)

“Pardon this shixiong, but Shidi may have to make his way back to Bai Zhan on his own. I have to be on Qian Cao for a meeting very soon, and I cannot miss it.” 

Shen Yuan looks up from his book pile, eyelashes batting innocently as if the (still unnamed) disciple’s delay is entirely unrelated to him. With a hum, he says, “ah, this shidi wishes Shixiong a safe flight then.”

-:-

Maybe, possibly, Shen Yuan should’ve considered the fact that he has no spiritual power to speak of, the body of a child, and the sense of urgency of a cultivator that’s long since reached immortality, before letting his ride home just slip away like an eel. In his defense, the books were really distracting…

Still, regrets have no way of helping Shen Yuan out of his current predicament. The way he sees it, the whole situation was basically unavoidable because even if Shen Yuan had said something, there’s no guarantee Tutor-Ge would’ve stayed to bring him home. Therefore, the fact that Shen Yuan is currently lost in Qing Jing’s staple bamboo trees is simply not his fault. Yeah , that’s the story Shen Yuan’s gonna stick with. It’s the truth after all, haha…

...Shen Yuan is gonna die! On the mountain that should’ve been his safe haven until Luo Binghe showed up! What is this ironic turn of events?! What the fuck! How unfair is life??? That Shen Yuan is now cursed to yet another incredibly pathetic death????

Shen Yuan sits down next to a particularly sturdy looking bamboo. His robes are probably already beyond saving from all the earlier grass stains and now the forest induced tears. Shifu is probably going to have to buy him new robes. Entirely new ones, too, because Bai Zhan doesn’t keep a stock of his size. After all, no other disciple is even nearly as small as Shen Yuan given that Shen Yuan is still six. Anyway, the point is, sitting down in the decaying leaves under the tree isn’t going to do anything worse to his robes than what’s already been done. 

Once Shen Yuan has curled up with his back against the bamboo, he begins to think about how he managed to get so far off the trail. Originally, he had been going the right way, but then he had seen a Frog-faced Leopard Snake, and he couldn’t just not go look at it. And then the FFLS had lunged at Shen Yuan, (which, rude, you know? All he wanted to do was look, okay!) and that caused him to dodge backwards and then fall down a short but relatively steep hill. 

In the end, Shen Yuan had been stuck, and too new to the forest to locate an alternative path successfully, though he had managed to locate many magical creatures (including, but not limited to, the FFLS) extremely successfully. Unfortunately, the other magical creatures were about as friendly as the FFLS, i.e. not at all, and now Shen Yuan is not only fantastically lost, but also absolutely exhausted.

Mentally, Shen Yuan takes back the thing about Shifu having to buy him new robes. ‘Cause like, why would he even need them? Shen Yuan is about to DIE, after all.

WTF, Shen Yuan thinks bitterly as his eyes close without permission.

-/-

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Chapter Text

Okay, so maybe Shen Yuan has a bit of a problem. Maybe, just maybe, he goes unconscious at inconvenient times like waaaayyyy too often, but, honestly, it’s not really his fault… he’s six, okay? Six year olds fall asleep easily when tired, especially when stressed as well, sooo, yeah. Not entirely his fault. 

Still, the fact remains. Shen Yuan probably shouldn’t’ve fallen asleep in the Qing Jing Bamboo Forest. Actually, not probably. Definitely. He definitely shouldn’t’ve fallen asleep in the Qing Jing Bamboo Forest because now, faced with a very tall, possibly hostile cultivator, Shen Yuan has a lot of regrets.

-/-

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The cultivator drawls, loose hair falling into his face as he leans forward to get a better look at Shen Yuan. He’s wearing the thinnest robes Shen Yuan has ever seen in this universe. Probably just inner robes… but like really high quality ones.

“Aren’t you Hanzu’s Head Disciple?” And Shen Yuan freezes. The only person who would refer to Shifu as Hanzu, have free reign of Qing Jing, and feel at home enough to let his hair down, is the Qing Jing Peak Lord. Knowing that, Shen Yuan still doesn’t know how to react. Because like, the man is someone Shen Yuan knows, but also, he’s the Peak Lord that made the OG Shen Qingqiu, so maybe, Shen Yuan would be better off with a random rogue cultivator he didn’t know.

“Mm,” Shen Yuan eventually decides on. Nerves causing a slight tremor to shake through his entirely too small body. Tie Hanjin merely watches, head tilted slightly to the side causing even more hair to fall in a waterfall around his face. 

“Why do you look so scared?” The Peak Lord inquires with an all-too-pleased tone. Shen Yuan simply shrugs, too tired to do much else, but Tie Hanjin carries on as if Shen Yuan had responded appropriately, “and why are you, a ward of Bai Zhan peak, in my forest, only meters from my house? Hasn’t Hanzu instilled any manners in you?”

Shen Yuan doesn’t respond, Tie Hanjin snorts, “ah, I shouldn’t have asked. Of course, that brute hasn’t taught you anything actually important.”

“Yes, he has!” Shen Yuan shoots, against his better judgement. Like, sure, Li Hanzu is kind of a pain, and more battle obsessed than anything else, but he’s still a good teacher, and he’s Shen Yuan’s Shifu . Yet, instead of the yelp offending Tie Hanjin, it only seems to amuse the man further. 

“Hmmm, I’ll believe it when I see it…” and, with those words, the Qing Jing Peak Lord straightens up from his previous crouch. His hair brushes along Shen Yuan’s knees with the movement. Shen Yuan has no idea what he’s meant to do at this point. Cry? Run away? Hug the man’s thighs? But then his thoughts are once again interrupted by Tie Hanjin. 

“What?!” Shen Yuan squeaks out as the Qing Jing Peak Lord straight up grabs him. With ease that’s almost offensive, Tie Hanjin carries Shen Yuan all the way to the Peak Lord’s previously mentioned home. 

“With such an inept teacher, someone has to teach you manners.”

-/-

Aight so, Shen Yuan is really confused. Like so very confused. Why the fuck is the Peak Lord of Qing Jing not only NOT kicking him straight off the peak, but also pouring him tea??? This makes no sense??? Has Shen Yuan somehow transmigrated again???? Or maybe, Shen Yuan carefully squints at Tie Hanjin, the man is just possessed..?

“First lesson, always keep your face clear: no idiotic expressions,” the Peak Lord pointedly adds the last bit, shooting an assessing look at Shen Yuan. To which Shen Yuan quickly straightens both his face and his back. Tie Hanjin smiles approvingly in response. “Very good, it seems as though Shen A’Yuan is not a lost cause after all.”

Shen Yuan still doesn’t get it, but whatever. If this man wants to teach him ancient manners, so be it. As long as he’s not gonna eat Shen Yuan or something, then everything’s pretty much chill. Learning isn’t exactly something Shen Yuan is ever going to say no to…

And that’s how Shen Yuan ends up spending the whole two weeks Li Hanzu’s off-peak on Qing Jing with an actually-not-as-bad-as-expected Peak Lord teaching him a great many things he never would’ve thought to learn on his own.

It’s actually… kinda fun?

-/-

For example, Tie Hanjin is an expert on managing appearances, and now, Shen Yuan is apparently his un-official Head Disciple in the subject. Despite the loose hair and thin robes Shen Yuan was first acquainted with, the Qing Jing Peak Lord is anything but casual in public. 

In fact, the first morning after the forest encounter, Shen Yuan was stopped from leaving the extravagant bamboo palace by an equally extravagant Peak Lord. 

-/-

“Ah, ah, ah,” Tie Hanjin tuts, “how could Shen A’Yuan even think of leaving my home looking like that?”

Shen Yuan looks down at his stained and ripped robes and lets out a sigh far too exhausted for a normal six year old. Tie Hanjin smiles slyly before dragging him into a sideroom specifically for bathing. He then not-so-gently pushes the child onto a small footstool with a single command, “Undress.”

Shen Yuan freezes for a second and gives the older man a skeptical glance. Tie Hanjin merely turns around and walks out of the room with a lofty, “Remember the first rule.”

Reluctantly, Shen Yuan follows the cultivator’s direction. Following that is a painfully long moment where Shen Yuan struggles to figure out how the bath works. Eventually, he realizes that it’s literally already full of warm water, and that he’s maybe becoming mentally closer to six with every passing day… best not to think of that for too long though.

After Shen Yuan’s cleaner than he’s been since first transmigrating, Tie Hanjin returns with a small set of Qing Jing disciples’ robes. They’re weirdly well fitted to Shen Yuan’s size, and for a second, he wonders if Li Hanzu had somehow set the whole thing up before remembering that his Shifu is way too uninterested in schemes to carry out such an oddly underhanded plan. 

“Put them on, this master trusts A’Yuan knows how.” And then Shen Yuan is covered in the robes, managing to catch them just before they make contact with the used bath water. Tie Hanjin huffs lightly, possibly in amusement, but Shen Yuan isn’t sure, “Hurry up now, A’Yuan. We do not have all day.”

“Yes, Shizun,” Shen Yuan agrees unthinkingly, tone a bit put out, and Tie Hanjin lets out a very unexpected squawk which he quickly covers with a cough. 

“Once A’Yuan is done, he will meet this master in the study,” and with that, Shen Yuan is once again left to his own devices. It’s actually kinda funny, Shen Yuan thinks as he climbs out of the tub. Tie Hanjin seems like he’s stuck up, but he’s actually just extremely formal. Well, when he’s in public. Last night, with only Shen Yuan as company, the Peak Lord was a bit of a mess. Not like a slob or an anxiety ridden teen, but like a breadwinner mom celebrating her first day off in a while by kicking back with a bottle (or three) of wine. Hmmm, or maybe a celebrity relaxing in their dressing room right after an interview? Well, whatever. 

The robes are much harder to put on than Shen Yuan originally guessed, so meeting Tie Hanjin in the study takes slightly longer than ideal, but he makes it eventually, and when he does, Shen Yuan is met by a very composed looking Peak Lord and the shimmery mint ribbon in his hand. It barely even gives him pause at this point. What’s an unnaturally glowing hair tie to a hostile FFLS? Nothing, that’s what. 

“Sit down?” Tie Hanjin actually asks Shen Yuan this time, instead of ordering him around like usual. Shen Yuan easily complies, gently sitting down in front of the man’s hands. Hopefully, the cultivator doesn’t choose to like… yank out Shen Yuan’s hair or anything. That’d suck so hard. “Any upright cultivator must look the part. Well dressed and perfectly groomed, an immortal will always give an air of elegance and mystique.”

“Always?” Shen Yuan asks skeptically, thinking of the night before. His question makes the hands in his hair pause briefly. Tie Hanjin is probably thinking of exactly the same thing…

“Not always , only when there are certain people around,” Tie Hanjin concedes after a moment of silence. Shen Yuan begins to nod before remembering with the hands are near his head in the first place. “People that will expect a specific version of an immortal. The version they think of. And cultivators such as us must live up to expectations, no?”

“This one is no cultivator, Shizun,” Shen Yuan feels to need to clarify. Li Hanzu refused to teach him early, and Shen Yuan respects that, so he’s not gonna start going around telling people he’s a cultivator. Tie Hanjin merely hums and continues brushing and twisting Shen Yuan’s relatively straight black hair.

“Ah, but A’Yuan will be. One day. And so he must act like it.”

-/-

Around a week into Shen Yuan’s abrupt relocation, Tie Hanjin took his lessons on the road. The rainbow road. Or, well… the rainbow bridge. ...to Qiong Ding, okay? They went to Qiong Ding.

-/-

“Above all else, a cultivator must have strong connections with their martial siblings.” Shen Yuan nods along with Tie Hanjin’s lesson, not entirely paying attention, but not tuning him out either. Not that Tie Hanjin would actually be all that bothered if he were. Shen Yuan is fairly certain that even if he straight up died, Tie Hanjin would gracefully finish his speech for appearances’ sake alone. “That is why this master has brought A’Yuan along to meet Zhangmen-shixiong.”

“Sect Leader?” Shen A’Yuan asks, eyes blinking wildly. He gets to meet Yue Qingyuan’s future Shizun???? As in, the man that trained one of the strongest, one of the only actual threats to Luo Binghe, one of the most badass NPC cultivators in PIDW??? Ahhh, that’s so cool!!!

Tie Hanjin hums and quickly tames all of Shen Yuan’s persistent fly-aways in one fell swoop. For all that the Peak Lord’s shown him how to do his own hair at least five separate times, Shen Yuan still struggles to correctly get it into the approved silver crown. Why can’t he just do a basic ponytail, ah?!? It works for Li Hanzu… Alas, Shen Yuan’s newly acquired Shizun will settle for no less than two hair ornaments worn at all times (in the company of others). A ribbon and crown or pin are always necessary in Tie Hanjin’s books. Sure, it looks cool, but Shen Yuan does not appreciate the extra work. As soon as he goes back to Bai Zhan, Shen Yun can guarantee that the ponytail will make a resurgence. 

Just as they cross over into Qiong Ding, an elegant looking man meets them. He smiles mildly and looks at Shen Yuan with veiled interest, “is this the disciple Li-shidi is so proud of? But, why is he with Tie-shidi?”

Shen Yuan knows it’s not his place to answer, but he nearly squeaks out something unintelligible anyways, just because of the sudden pressure exuded by such an outwardly gentle looking man. Appearance wise, no one would ever guess that Tie Hanjin had the softer presence, but appearances can be deceiving. The Sect Leader? Fucking intimidating. Princely looks aside. 

“Xie Handao, meet Shen A’Yuan. This master expects he will be lord of a peak one day,” and Tie Hanjin does not specify which, a mysterious smile curving his lips. 

-/-

Two weeks pass much quicker than Shen A’Yuan had expected them to, even considering access to an all new library. Apparently, being taught by the scholarly peak’s Lord is an excellent way to pass time. 

In fact, time passes so quickly that Shen Yuan forgets when exactly he’s supposed to return to Bai Zhan. It’s not until a furious looking Li Hanzu appears outside the bamboo palace on Qing Jing that Shen Yuan is reminded of his true place on Cang Qiong. 

Li Hanzu’s opening shouts are, “Are you trying to steal my Head Disciple, Hanjin?! How sneaky... Well, I won’t let you have him! Fight me!”

“Ready to lose, Hanzu?” Tie Hanjin asks, a smug ass grin plastered on his face. 

Shen Yuan just observes, quietly mourning the tragic death of rule number one.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan has an immortal Shifu, Li Hanzu, and an equally immortal Shizun, Tie Hanjin, and yet, somehow, he still knows next to nothing about cultivation. However, he is practically an expert in three things.

One, finding the perfect place to nap on any training field, up to, and including, Qiong Ding’s. 

Two, looking like a proper immortal six year old at almost all times, Tie Hanjin even had a gleaming bamboo fan crafted specifically for his still tiny hands.

Three, telling which Peak Lord will win the next duel. 

It’s an interesting skill set, but Shen Yuan accepts it with only minor complaints. He also accepts the fact that he now spends almost as much time on Qing Jing as he does on Bai Zhan, despite Li Hanzu’s best efforts.

-/-

“Do you like him more than me now, A’Yuan? Is Hanjin A’Yuan’s new Shifu?” Li Hanzu pouts as they trek back to Bai Zhan. Shen Yuan is only slightly tempted to say yes.

“Shifu is my only shifu. But if Shifu is so concerned about losing this one as a disciple, perhaps he could start teaching A’Yuan cultivat-“ Li Hanzu covers his mouth. The Peak Lord has a ridiculously over-dramatic frown marring his cheeks.

“What did this master tell you, ah? Two years. No sooner.” 

Well, there goes all of Shen Yuan’s plans. What the fuck is he gonna do in the meantime???

-/-

Apparently, Shen Yuan soon realizes, there’s a lot to learn, even if you can’t quite cultivate yet. 

-/-

“A’Yuan, the Liu Clan heir chose his first blade when he was two. At three, he knows much more than you do. We have much to do if you want to catch up.” Shen Yuan side eyes his shifu with extreme prejudice. Liu Clan heir? Doesn’t he mean the future Liu Qingge? How can Shen Yuan possibly be expected to catch up to the future War God of Bai Zhan peak?! That doesn’t make narrative sense! Alas, he sighs despondently, plot was never one of PIDW’s strong points. 

“What will we start with Shifu?” Shen Yuan questions, his practice sword tightly held. Li Hanzu smiles and grabs his own practice from the display, not caring that the hilt is clearly too small for him. Ah, to be a martial god, skilled with any weapon no matter how unfitting. 

“We will start with blocking and jabbing. Practicing forms for hours is one thing, actually putting those forms into action is another. So,” Li Hanzu settles himself into a very simple stance, perfect for quick forward movements, “I’ll jab, and A’Yuan will block.”

And that’s how Shen Yuan learns that the title of War God isn’t just for show. 

It’s also how he ends up seeing Qian Cao’s Yan Hanshi again.

-/-

Hey, System? Shen Yuan calls out mentally.

{Yes, Host?}

The sky is dark above him, and Li Hanzu is most likely asleep at his side. Now’s the perfect time to (hopefully) get some answers. Especially because the System’s been awfully quiet recently.

{If Host doesn’t recall, let this system remind him that Host is the one who muted this system. (⌒_⌒;)}

What? When did I do that?

{Shortly after Host’s most recent birthday... Would Host like to see his updated profile?}

I guess? Shen Yuan replies hesitantly, after all, knowledge is power, and he’d rather know now if his points are getting low.

{Host: Shen Yuan

Role: Shen Yuan

Title(s): A-Yuan, Yuan-di, A’Yuan

Skills: [Crocodile Tears], [Sickly Beauty Halo*], [Scholarly Aura*], [Gentle Intimidation*], [Memory Enhancement] 

Inventory: [Bamboo Fan], [Practice Sword], [Ribbon]

C Points: 2365

*Skill may not be viable yet, Host is below the min. age for proper use*}

{Would Host also like an assessment of his current Stats?}

Stats? Shen Yuan asks. The word brings many things to mind, most are video game related, but normally, transmigrators wouldn’t be given them???? But none of this has been normal, so Shen Yuan just sighs and adds, go ahead.

{Strength: ⅕

Wisdom: ⅘ 

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: ⅘ 

Speed: ⅗ 

Endurance: ⅖ 

Observation: ⅕ 

Will Power: ⅗ 

Cultivation: ⅕ 

As Host continues to power up, physically, spiritually, and mentally, these Stats will fluctuate.}

Wait, wait, wait! Earlier… how many points did you say I have???

{Host is currently in possession of 2365 C Points.}

Isn’t that like, a lot?!

{Host has done a good job making allies. Keep up the hard work!}

Wtf?

-/-

Shen Yuan is six. Well, closer to seven now actually, but still six. As a six year old, Shen Yuan has many limitations other disciples do not. However, he also has a massive head start when it comes to the theory work that accompanies cultivation and the important arts. Maybe Liu Qingge started the sword before him, but is he currently being taught by, not one, but two Peak Lords? Shen Yuan doesn’t think so. And anyways, it’s not like Shen Yuan really cares if he’s more advanced than the future War God. In fact, Shen Yuan would prefer to be forever weaker than Liu Qingge, if only for the lessened future workload. Shen Yuan can’t imagine how many responsibilities he’d have if he actually became a Peak Lord. Just thinking about it makes Shen Yuan shiver.

Although, maybe Bai Zhan doesn’t have as many administrative duties? Li Hanzu certainly never seems to be doing any paperwork… 

And actually, for that matter, neither does Tie Hanjin. 

Maybe it’s just them??? Maybe they just do it so quickly, Shen Yuan misses the whole process??? 

One gloomy afternoon on Qing Jing, Shen Yuan finally decides to ask.

“Oh?” Tie Hanjin raises a delicate brow, proper immortal image long discarded. Shen Yuan will never be totally used to how different his Shizun looks in private vs public. Not even if he does have an immortal’s lifespan ahead of him…

“A’Yuan, an essential part of being a Peak Lord is delegation. An effective leader must know who can do the job the best and make things happen. Paperwork is, of course, an unfortunate side effect of being a Peak Lord, but oftentimes, most of it needn’t be handled by the Peak Lord themselves,” Tie Hanjin smiles sharply, the look sitting oddly on his typically cold features. “That’s what the disciples are for.”

Instantly, Shen Yuan realizes that yes, being a Peak Lord is hard, but also, being a Head Disciple is probably much worse. Shen Yuan can’t let himself become one, he’d never recover. 

-/-

“Hmmmm, I wonder where he is now… maybe already with the Qiu Family?” Shen Yuan stares at the clouds, sweat pouring down his face in streams. Normally, he’d reach up and wipe it off, but he’s way too tired for that right now. Ever since beginning his daily spars with Li Hanzu, Shen Yuan has been worked half to death. 

In response to the question Shen Yuan didn’t realize he had actually voiced, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord hums curiously. He asks, “who?”

And Shen Yuan freezes, though it’s nearly impossible to notice, given how motionless he already was. He thinks. And thinks. And… maybe Shen Yuan can ask for help? Maybe, his Jiu-gege, who he really only spent like a week with, but feels so strongly for, could actually be rescued like super early????

But… what would that mean in terms of plot? If Shen Jiu doesn’t go through nearly any of his blackening, would he even become Shen Qingqiu?? Would he have the desire to? Shen Yuan isn’t sure. All he knows is that, one way or another, Shen Jiu is going to end up on Cang Qiong. Why does the method matter? Can’t Shen Yuan maybe just… skip the whole Qiu massacre thing? 

“My gege,” Shen Yuan hesitantly offers, his face still quickly cycling through different expressions. Li Hanzu watches, and a quiet ‘oh’ leaves his mouth. 

“A’Yuan has a brother? What happened?”

“I don’t know, Shifu. One second, he was with me, and the next, Handsome-Jie was saving me from a demon. I wish… I just really want to see him again,” and maybe, possibly, help him escape from his planned tragic backstory. And maybe, Shen Yuan might be tearing up a bit. It doesn’t matter. He’s six. Give him a break, ah!

“Why did A’Yuan not tell this master? Does A’Yuan not think his shifu is capable of finding a lost child?” Shen Yuan jerks his watery gaze up to meet Li Hanzu’s. The Peak Lord looks serious, and for a second, Shen Yuan understands why so many people respect his shifu. Then Li Hanzu snorts and completely destroys Shen Yuan’s carefully braided hairstyle with more than a few somewhat aggressive head pats, and Shen Yuan is once again baffled by the thought of anyone seeing Li Hanzu as a real, reasonable adult. Obviously, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord is a six year old in an adult’s body. 

...Maybe Shen Yuan and him can trade.

-/-

A few days after the ‘gege’ conversation, Li Hanzu set out on a quest. Officially, it was to find a rare herb for Qian Cao to add to its garden. Unofficially, it was to find his youngest disciple’s older brother. 

Shen Yuan couldn’t feel anything but apprehension and hope. Li Hanzu is a Peak Lord. If anyone could find Jiu-gege, Bai Zhan’s lord could. But… what if the system changes its mind and decides that Shen Jiu must be properly blackened after all? What if the world of PIDW itself rejects the thought of Shen Jiu being rescued? 

So many things could go wrong, and two of Shen Yuan’s favorite people are involved. After transmigrating, Shen Yuan has avoided thinking of his family. Thinking about the parents that had long been more of a distant concept than an actual presence in his life. Thinking about the siblings he himself had pushed away, too guilty for putting them through his shit. 

If transmigrating had any distinct positives, it was the second chance at having a family, and  Shen Yuan will do whatever he can in order to keep what he has. The issue lies in how pathetically little he is capable of. How weak his six year old body still is. And isn’t that a thought? Right now, Shen Yuan is weak. He considers himself pretty useless. But, if he had been this strong, this healthy, in his previous life, maybe Shen Yuan wouldn’t have died of fucking food poisoning. 

“A’Yuan,” Tie Hanjin calls, snapping him from his down spiraling thoughts. “This master has heard that you would like to learn cultivation early…?”

Shen Yuan nods, a blank look remaining on his face. Tie Hanjin stares. Earlier, they had visited Qian Cao. Not Qiong Ding, considering the fact that Shen Yuan is still like high-key terrified of Xie Handao… anyway. Because Tie Hanjin will never be seen in public when he looks anything less than perfect, he isn’t too casually dressed yet. He hasn’t had enough time to take off all of his outer robes… just most of them. And his hair crown is still bravely holding his thick brown-black hair. Shen Yuan finds the half messy look sort of funny, but for some reason, he can’t find it in himself to laugh. Maybe he’s sick? God, Shen Yuan hopes he’s not sick.

“Ah, I see. A’Yuan has someone he wants to protect, ah?”

Shen Yuan’s eyes sharpen just a bit, and he finally puts his full attention on his shizun. Tie Hanjin smiles, ridiculously gentle for someone who probably has an exceedingly bad case of facial paralysis. “Mn, Shizun. This one is… weak... and tired of being incapable. Of being the one to drag others down.”

Normally, it would be ridiculous to hear words like that coming from a certified child genius, but Shen A’Yuan isn’t really six. He’s already spent a lifetime, no matter how ultimately short it may have been, being a burden. He doesn’t want to be that person anymore. Shen Yun doesn’t want to be weak.

“What if this master had something that could help A’Yuan start cultivating right now?”

Shen Yuan might be crying, just a bit, but he doesn’t know why, so he ignores it. Repression is key after all. Instead of wiping them away, he just blinks rapidly, trying to understand what his shizun just said. He whispers, “A’Yuan would be very… happy.”

“Happy?” Tie Hanjin asks. His brows once again smoothing out. In seconds, he returns to the Great Master persona he usually adopts. Shen Yuan watches, sniffling lightly. Tie Hanjin reaches out and pats his head softly. Despite the lack of smile, Shen Yuan can feel the affection aimed his way. 

“Happy,” he agrees.

-/-

And the next day, after a night spent...cuddling (Shen Yuan wishes there were a better way to describe it, but he finds his vocabulary lacking...) in the Peak Lord’s tea room instead of sleeping, Tie Hanjin begins to tell him about an incredibly powerful Qi stabilizing fruit. If made into a wine, which gives both of them momentary pause because Shen Yuan is like six, the fruit acts as a preemptive Qi Deviation shield, it’s effects can last up to three years. 

As the main threat to cultivating too early is Qi Deviation, the fruit would, essentially, allow him to safely begin at any time. Normally, the fruit would probably take years and years to find because, like a bunch of other ridiculous magic plants, this fruit only ripens once every twenty years, however, Tie Hanjin just so happens to have been gifted a bottle of the wine not so long ago by Shen Yuan’s least favorite Peak Lord.

Seldom have things gone so smoothly in Shen Yuan’s life, but he’s not going to look a gift fruit in the mouth. 

If it means he can actually help his Jiu-gege and shifu, then Shen Yuan literally gives zero shits about the possible consequences.

-/-

“Drink slowly,” Tie Hanjin says, pouring out a cup of the sparkly???? blue????? wine. Shen Yuan grabs the cup in his small hands, and with a mental whisper of ‘down the hatch’, he knocks it back in one go. The action is vaguely reminiscent of an alcoholic rogue cultivator Tie Hanjin once knew. After Shen Yuan finishes, the two sit in silence.

They wait for an awfully long time before something finally happens, but once it does? 

Oh, boy, did Shen Yuan wish it hadn't. Fuuuuuucccckkkk.

Chapter Text

-/-

Shen Yuan is almost eight. About a year ago, he drank some magic wine. What happened after that, he can’t quite remember. (That’s a lie. He can definitely remember, he just chooses not to.) Regardless, after he was released from Qian Cao, his cultivation lessons began in earnest. Tie Hanjin is an excellent Shizun when he wants to be, and Shen Yuan is lucky to have him. But… he wanted to be taught by his shifu. Shen Yuan wanted Li Hanzu to teach him cultivation. 

But… ever since leaving to find Shen Jiu, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord hasn’t returned. No notes were sent. No messages relayed. Nothing from Li Hanzu at all. 

Some disciples are beginning to talk. Some say Li Hanzu is merely taking an extended leave. Some say he’s a deserter. Some say he’s dead.

Shen Yuan doesn’t know what to think. But he can’t help but arrive at the conclusion that whatever is causing the radio silence is Shen Yuan’s fault. However, instead of ruminating on that, Shen Yuan lets Tie Hanjin distract him with new moves. New techniques the Peak Lord has never taught another disciple.

Shen Yuan cultivates.

Shen Yuan waits.

And sometimes, when he’s all by himself on the Bai Zhan training field, Shen Yuan cries.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan is the de facto leader of the Bai Zhan disciples. Like, he doesn’t do paperwork or anything, but no one dares defy him. Li Hanzu thought of Shen Yuan as his head disciple, and with Li Hanzu still missing, Shen Yuan assumed responsibility. 

Shen Yuan hates it. 

-/-

Shen Yuan is eight. Li Hanzu has been missing for over a year. Shen Jiu is probably eleven or twelve by now, but Shen Yuan doesn’t want to think about his Jiu-gege. Doesn’t want to think about the Peak Lord he sent on an apparently impossible quest. 

... Anyway, Shen Yuan is progressing in his cultivation by leaps and bounds. Li Hanzu would most certainly be proud. Will be proud. When he comes back to Cang Qiong, Li Hanzu will be very proud of Shen Yuan.

That’s the thought that keeps Shen Yuan cultivating. 

-/-

“A’Yuan,” Tie Hanjin begins, his voice cold—his eyes even colder. They’re crossing the rainbow bridge between Bai Zhan and Qing Jing. Tie Hanjin doesn’t disappoint onlookers with the incredibly lofty image he presents, but Shen Yuan knows better. Only moments earlier, the Peak Lord had come to Shen Yuan’s room to retrieve him for more training. However, despite only waking from his nap a handful of minutes ago, Shen Yuan is also groomed very well. He’s actually getting pretty good at the hair style Shizun insists on, no matter how terrible his first few attempts were. Funnily enough, Shen Yuan thinks he’s better at learning swordsmanship than he is at styling hair… hahaha. 

“A’Yuan?” Tie Hanjin repeats, lips twitching slightly. The Peak Lord doesn’t allow any more expression in front of his disciples, but Shen Yuan recognizes the twitch. Tie Hanjin is concerned about something. Shen Yuan turns to look at his shizun, eyebrows raised. If this were an anime, there’d most certainly be a question mark hanging above his head.

“Have you thought about coming to live with this master on Qing Jing?”

Shen Yuan freezes at the question. Tie Hanjin stops as well, a conflicted light entering his normally closed off eyes. Shen Yuan can feel the smallest of tremors go through his hands. He blurts, “Shizun wants this one to leave Bai Zhan?”

There might be tears in his eyes, but Tie Hanjin won’t tell, and Shen Yuan is determined to never bring it up again either, so what does it matter?

The Peak Lord hesitates for approximately 3.2 seconds before resolutely nodding once. Shen Yuan can tell how concerned and serious his shizun is, but that doesn’t lessen the irritation he suddenly feels. Because… because how could Tie Hanjin ask Shen Yuan to leave his shifu’s house? How could Shen Yuan move without telling his shifu? Li Hanzu will never forgive Shen Yuan if he so easily abandons Bai Zhan. 

“Shizun must ask Shifu first.” 

Tie Hanjin’s lips tighten into an even icier line. 

They keep walking.

-/-

“Are you the Bai Zhan kid?” A girl around his age stands before Shen Yuan while he peruses the aisles of Qing JIng’s library. She gives Shen Yuan pause for two reasons. The obvious being the fact that she is in his way… he just wants to read the newest bestiary, okay? Nothing bad. The less obvious, but still extremely noticeable, reason being that she’s his age. Shen Yuan has never met another disciple as young as himself, and his curiosity is immediately piqued.

Shen Yuan sighs lightly, mentally deciding to forgo the books he had originally come for. Then, he smiles gently, a trick he’s learned from his shizun. Sometimes, a small crack in ice can go much further than a full river. Don’t be overly energetic or caring. It’s not fitting of an immortal cultivator. However, showing some emotion in order to manipulate is definitely allowed. Tie Hanjin even encourages it with sly smiles and elusive winks that only Shen Yuan catches. Shen Yuan has even somehow leveled up a few of his skills by following his shizun’s teachings. Anyway, the point is, Shen Yuan turns the ‘cold, but gentle’ look on high and replies, “Yes, this one is Shen Yuan of Bai Zhan. And who would this miss be?”

The probably-nine-year-old girl squints distrustfully at him, but she was the one to stop him in the first place, so Shen Yuan feels no guilt in making her uncomfortable. He’s an expert in the waiting game. After all, that’s the only thing he seems capable of. The body means nothing when the soul is weak, he sneers mentally. Eventually, she seems to give up with being on guard against him, “This one is Qi Lifeng. Would Shen Yuan like to train with this one?”

What Shen Yuan would like to do is curl up into a ball and melt into nothingness, but that’s neither here nor there. After a period of shocked silence, Shen Yuan closes his mouth with a tiny gulp. His eyes feel suspiciously wet, but he chalks it up to allergies. Despite the fact that this body has never once experienced such a thing before. Training, with another disciple? Shen Yuan has never done that before, not really. However, just the thought of cultivating beside this equally young disciple brings up memories of his shifu that he’d much rather repress until deemed absolutely necessary.

Li Hanzu loved-- loves training with Shen Yuan. Despite the clear, uncrossable power gap, Li Hanzu enjoys beating Shen Yuan down only for the boy to pop right back up, right as rain. It’s like whack-a-mole, but Shen Yuan is the mole, and Li Hanzu is the plastic mallet inflicting devastating hits and imparting priceless practical form knowledge. 

While Tie Hanjin teaches Shen Yuan very well, and Shen Yuan respects the Peak Lord greatly, Li Hanzu will always be Shen Yuan’s shifu. Will always be Shen Yuan’s favorite teacher. Will always be Shen Yuan’s favorite sparring partner. Not that Tie Hanjin sparred with Shen Yuan. That’s like throwing a party for disaster’s birthday, and making sure the guest of honor shows up last. Yeah, Shen Yuan has no idea where that comparison is going, but what he means is simple. If Tie Hanjin ‘sparred’ with Shen Yuan, Shen Yuan would most certainly end up stuck in Qian Cao for months once again. 

Though it may seem odd that the Qing Jing Peak Lord is more likely to grievously injure a young disciple than the literal Battle Lord War God, it’s the honest truth. Tie Hanjin has no concept of what a child can take physically and spiritually. Absolutely none. Shen Yuan was originally pushed by the Peak Lord to cultivate at a speed beyond even his ability to adjust to. That is, until Shen Yuan experienced his first, extremely mild, Qi Deviation. With the magic wine still in effect, Shen Yuan should’ve been unable to actually Qi Deviate for at least a few years. The fact that he had deviated, despite the wine’s powerful effects, proves how strongly his body had been rebelling against the quick changes. If Shen Yuan hadn’t’ve chugged that magic wine, the deviation definitely would’ve killed him. As it was, the deviation merely upset his stomach and gave him a blistering headache.

After that, Tie Hanjin’s attitude and methods did a full 180. Still… Li Hanzu is definitely better at understanding Shen Yuan’s limits. 

“Shen Yuan?” Qi Lifeng repeats, clearly getting frustrated at his lack of response. Shen Yuan blinks a few times, coming back to himself. 

“Uh, yes! This one would love to train with you,” Shen Yuan finally manages to spit out. “Should we go to Bai Zhan?”

Qi Lifeng considers his words seriously before nodding. Shen Yuan smiles at the reluctantly pleased look that spreads across her childish (though, maybe Shen Yuan shouldn’t be calling others childish looking, given his.. eh-hem, current state…) features. She barely manages to cover the excitement evident in her eyes as she announces, “Lead the way, Didi!”

And Shen Yuan does, despite his dubious feelings towards the new title. He quietly mutters to himself, “Didi? Since when did I get a Jiejie, ah? Shouldn’t it be Shidi if anything?”

“What?” Qi Lifeng asks, not understanding any of his mutters, but curious all the same.

“Ah, it’s nothing...” Shen Yuan says softly as he looks away from her bright eyes.

-/-

And that’s how Shen Yuan collects a limited edition, shiny [big sister]. 

-/-

“Shizun?” Shen Yuan murmurs, his body aches, but the hands in his hair chase the actual pain away with a stream of spiritual energy. Tie Hanjin hums in acknowledgement, his mouth too occupied to form anything more articulate than that. “Do you think Shifu is dead?”

A comb and hair pin smack into Shen Yuan’s tilted face, momentarily stunning the crap out of him. With a newly free mouth, Tie Hanjin scoffs. He pulls on Shen Yuan’s quickly growing hair and keeps tugging until Shen Yuan is slightly bent backwards, and he can see the Peak Lord’s face, despite the awkward angle. Tie Hanjin has a clenched jaw, and extremely bright tear lines. With the sharp pain in his head, and the sharper pain in his heart, Shen Yuan can’t do anything other than stare at his shizun.

“Li Hanzu. Would. Never. Just... die like that. Does A’Yuan think his shifu weak? Does A’Yuan think this master weak too? Because Li Hanzu is this one’s equal, no matter how unpleasant that fact may be, and if he is unreliable, so am I.”

Shen Yuan can feel tears build up in his eyes once more. He pretends it’s because of the hair pulling. Tie Hanjin releases his head quickly enough, but then he leans over and encloses Shen Yuan in his arms, loose hair falling around them both. Every tear that drips from Shen Yuan’s eyes is matched by a drop hitting the hands now holding his own tightly. Tie Hanjin is crying too, but Shen Yuan can’t even stop himself, how is he supposed to comfort his shizun? He helplessly whispers, “No, Shifu is strong, just like Shizun! The strongest.”

“Exactly,” Tie Hanjin replies, his voice not as clear as usual. “Shifu is not dead. He will return, A’Yuan. We must merely wait.”

That might be the truth, Shen Yuan reflects, but they’re both still crying. Why would they cry so much if they were so certain Li Hanzu was alright? 

After all, it’s the unknown that hurts the most.

-/-

Shen Yuan lives by himself now, in an empty home built by an absent Peak Lord. 

He spends most of his time on Qing Jing though, sometimes he even ends up sleeping next to his shizun. Really, Shen Yuan lives with his shizun. Still, officially, he lives on Bai Zhan. Officially, Shen Yuan lives in Li Hanzu’s comfortably small house. Officially, Li Hanzu is the one looking after Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan loves his shizun dearly, and doesn’t want to make him upset by refusing to fully move over, but he can’t do it. Shen Yuan can’t lose the last official connection he has with the shifu he hasn’t seen in two years and counting. AS far as Shen Yuan is concerned, when Li Hanzu walks through the small home’s doors, Shen Yuan will be there, and if he never does? Shen Yuan will still be there, maintaining the grounds and honoring his lost shifu with his steadily growing cultivation. 

Shen Yuan no longer cares about the plot, or stealing Liu Qingge’s future position. If it means carrying out his shifu’s final wish, Shen Yuan will become Bai Zhan’s Peak Lord. But, first, he has to be the best. How else will he one day be worthy of holding the highest position in the strongest martial peak of Cang Qiong?

Fuck Liu Qingge. Fuck the plot. Fuck the system.

Shen Yuan gives zero shits at this point. 

Li Hanzu wanted him to be his Head Disciple, so Shen Yuan is going to be the best goddamn Head Disciple in the history of Cang Qiong.

-/-

When Shen Yuan turns nine, he receives two gifts. 

From Tie Hanjin comes a beautifully carved war fan. The golden bamboo used for the ribs is apparently grown in the most inhospitable parts of the demon realm. The wood is said to contain such abundant spiritual energy that it would tear itself apart in any other environment. Like a huge snake that would suffocate from the pressure of its own body weight if it left the swamp waters of its birth. With such a testy wood, fans are nearly impossible to make. Shen Yuan’s was crafted by an elusive and nomadic spider demon clan renowned for their crafting and weaving. The silks of the fan are also not to be considered normal. The glistening material may feel soft to the touch, but it carries an unprecedented strength, enough to cut through average, non-spiritual, swords. 

When Tie Hanjin gives it to Shen Yuan, he smiles elegantly and whispers that this fan can accompany him wherever he may go, that it will grow as he does. Shen Yuan almost cries on the spot.

The second gift Shen Yuan receives is unexpected, but no less welcome. From the system Shen Yuan himself had muted years ago, comes a short message.

{Host has successfully averted Plot Point: ‘Damaged Cultivation’}

{Keep up the good work, Host! Villain blackening -11%}

Shen Yuan stiffens like the dead as he reads those words. He replies mentally, ‘Damaged Cultivation’?

{Yes! In the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu starts cultivation too late to make the most of his innate potential, and he is thus blinded by jealousy whenever he sees others who don’t have such a disadvantage, yet remain spiritually weak!}

{By arranging the meeting of Critical Character: Shen Jiu and Minor Role: Li Hanzu, Host has allowed Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu to begin building his foundation at the proper age!}

They’re together? Jiu-gege and Shifu are together? And they’re okay?

{The meeting of characters actually occurred many months ago, but the mute function stopped this system’s announcement…}

{Fortunately, Birthday Announcements are special, and unable to be muted!}

Months ago? Then where are they now?!

{This system cannot reveal the location of Minor Role: Li Hanzu as his location is out of range. Critical Character: Shen Jiu is currently in the hands of slave traders near the town of Guifang Li. Upcoming Plot Points: ‘Shaping more than the FUTURE’, ‘Yeet’, and ‘Captured, pt. 2’ }

But.. they’re both alive?

{Of course! Host need not worry, a villain’s halo is often even more effective than a protagonist’s. After all, where is the satisfaction if the villain dies before the hero gets revenge?}

Shen Yuan completely understands the system’s point, but he also refuses to openly agree, so he just doesn’t reply.

{As for Minor Role: Li Hanzu, his canon ending cannot be changed naturally by novel events.}

Canon ending? But Li Hanzu wasn’t even a legit character on PIDW, I wouldn’t have forgotten a character like him.

{Does Host not remember the third chapter on Sect Politics? In the fourth paragraph of page 91, it clearly states Minor Role: Li Hanzu’s fate.}

One paragraph? He got one paragraph? Only one? How is that fair… Shen Yuan curses Airplane a few times before continuing to interrogate the system. Read me the paragraph!

{Honestly, Host, it’s more of a line…}

A line! One LINE! Shen Yuan’s shifu deserves more! Just. Read. It!

{“On the battle peak of Cang Qiong, the title of Peak Lord is passed on through combat: lethal combat. Liu Qingge defeated his master, Li Hanzu, and one day, his Head Disciple was meant to defeat him. Too bad Shen Qingqiu beat them to the punch.”}

Shen Yuan quietly whispers WTF to the silent, empty space closing in on him from every side. How is Shen Yuan going to change his shifu’s apparently unchangeable fate?

Chapter Text

“What’s wrong with our A’Yuan?”

A blank stare, a blink, then, “This master has no clue.”

The peak lords look at each other. Yan Hanshi and Tie Hanjin aren’t exactly friends, and they don’t see much of each other outside of meetings. Yan Hanshi can usually be found on her own peak with her disciples or on Xian Shu, visiting with Shi Hanxin, while Tie Hanjin interacts almost exclusively with Li Hanzu and Xie Handao. However, they have one thing in common besides being peak lords: Shen A’Yuan.

“What will we do?” Tie Hanjin asks. Yan Hanshi looks back to the child laying on her best hospital bed. No movements can be seen.

“This master has no idea.”

“Then it is simply a matter of waiting.”

Yan Hanshi and Tie Hanjin both maintain perfect poker faces. The Qian Cao Peak Lord shortly replies, “Seems so.”

They sigh almost simultaneously. 

-/-

“Ah! Is this one’s Didi alright? Shen-di and this one always spar on Bai Zhan, but today, Shen-di is nowhere this one can find!” Qi Lifeng might be one of the youngest disciples on Cang Qiong, but she’s finally found herself a didi! How can she just let him disappear? The image of a ten year old glaring a peak lord into submission is one Shen Yuan will never forget—too bad he’s a little too busy to appreciate it fully.

Shen Yuan thought that after recovering from the intense fever of his ‘youth’, he would never feel this way again. Like he isn’t in control of his own body. Like he’s only one shallow breath away from suffocating. It just doesn’t seem fair, okay? Shen Yuan spent 20 something years in a sickly body, shouldn’t this cultivation world be his escape from illness? Shen Yuan might be nine, but he’s already been cultivating for quite a while. Getting this sick out of nowhere makes absolutely zero sense!

‘Grief’ Yan Hanshi had whispered a few hours ago before disappearing into the ether (her office). The word made Tie Hanjin tense up, easily deducing her meaning. Shen Yuan, however, does not agree with the assessment. Grief? That’s what’s making Shen Yuan sick, despite his cultivation? Sounds like total BS. ...except, this is the world Airplane created. Shen Yuan can distinctly recall at least three ‘immortal beauties’ said to have died of heartbreak. Holy shit, Shen Yuan isn’t going to die is he?! He’s just a bit sad, ah! He’ll recover in the future! Death isn’t necessary! Tie Hanjin would be devastated if the only disciple both he and Li Hanzu had actually personally taught just up and expired. Well, maybe not devastated, but definitely upset!

“Shen-di?” Qi Lifeng calls. She’s somehow wiggled her way past Tie Hanjin. Shen Yuan can only blink sluggishly up at her. His whole body hurts, just like with the fever, but instead of heat and delirium, Shen Yuan feels like his chest is being stabbed repeatedly by the sword master Li Hanzu once jokingly tried to convince Shen Yuan to spar with. 

“Qi Lifeng,” Tie Hanjin speaks out from where he hasn’t moved for at least an hour. Shen Yuan tries to figure out his shizun’s mood based only on the peak lord’s tone, but he’s not nearly as successful as he usually is. His shizun’s voice gives nothing away. “Your Shen-di needs to rest for a while, but he will be back to training with you soon enough.”

“Ah, this one has to go? But Shen-di looks lonely! How could a proper Jiejie ever let her Didi be lonely?” Qi Lifeng is weirdly attached to Shen Yuan already, but what’s he supposed to do about it? He’s certainly not in the position to reject her offers of friendship. Also… he sorta doesn’t want to. Sparring with the ten year old is fun and much more evenly matched then most of the battles Shen Yuan has, and, for some reason, Shen Yuan feels like he should know who she is. Shen Yuan tries to recall everything he knows about future characters, because surely Qi Lifeng must be a powerful figure in the future. The only possibility is the next lord of Xian Shu, Qi Qingqi, but... Shen Yuan doesn’t see this overly devoted ‘Jiejie’ as the cool type.  

Shen Yuan manages to pull his lips into the approximation of a smile, and Qi Lifeng brightens immediately at the gesture. Funnily enough, watching her be excited, and forcing himself to express joy in some way, seems to make his body lighter? One second, the ache and pain is crawling closer and closer to the limit of Shen Yuan’s tolerance, and the next, Shen Yuan feels as if he were only afflicted by a minor cold. Tie Hanjin walks over to the two children as if he can instantly tell Shen Yuan’s condition is improving. He places one of his calloused, yet elegant hands on Shen Yuan’s wrist, checking the state of Shen Yuan’s meridians with a weak stream of Qi. 

Eventually, Shen Yuan feels well enough to actually speak. With a light cough, he asks, “Why is this disciple on Qian Cao?”

“When this master went to Bai Zhan to collect A’Yuan for his lessons, I found him curled up on a certain peak lord’s bed, clearly in distress. What sort of Shizun would this master be if I did not bring A’Yuan to Qian Cao?” Shen Yuan is immediately cowed by the reproach in his shizun’s voice, no longer even remotely tempted to play dumb. However, before Shen Yuan can apologize to his shizun and seek forgiveness, Yan Hanshi regally returns as if she too can sense her patient’s recovery. The occupants of the room momentarily silence at her arrival. For such a serious and cool peak lord, Yan Hanshi sure does have a domineering aura.

“So Shen A’Yuan has faced and defeated some of his heart demons? Good. Fu-Jie would be extremely upset if the child she rescued, whom she even planned to visit, died of heartbreak mere weeks before her arrival.” Shen Yuan looks at the Qian Cao Peak Lord for a bit longer than he normally would, but it’s not exactly his fault! He’s just shocked, ah.

“Handsome-Jie?” He mutters in a mild daze. 

Yan Hanshi considers him, checks his meridians, and finally, after around ten minutes of nothing, she replies, “Yes. Fu-Jie is coming to Cang Qiong for many reasons, one of which is to see you.”

Tie Hanjin is probably a bit confused because he wasn’t a part of the original trio involved in Shen Yuan’s arrival. However, he doesn’t let his lack of knowledge show on his face even slightly. It’s actually sort of eerie to see two different peak lords with facial paralysis right next to each other. Though, the comparison does go to highlight the difference in their poker faces. Yan Hanshi’s seems more like her natural disposition, while Tie Hanjin’s is clearly a show of great self-discipline. Shen Yuan never would’ve paid enough attention to be able to tell, but with the two expressions being the only thing he can currently see, some observations are inevitable.

After another moment of physical and spiritual examination, Yan Hanshi nods to herself before declaring Shen Yuan fit to leave her peak. However, she does stop the trio on their way out. 

She leans down so that Shen Yuan is the only one she’s speaking to, even though Tie Hanjin can almost certainly hear her as well, “Heart demons are powerful foes. Not only are they dangerous, they are persistent, A’Yuan. Just because they have temporarily let go, does not mean you should be lax. If A’Yuan feels as if they are preparing another attack, he should speak with this master or his shizun. Fu-Jie is not the only one who would be disappointed if you were injured, Li Hanzu would be as well.”

Shen Yuan lowers his gaze to the ground and tightens his fingers’ grip on his sleeves. He nods reluctantly. Yan Hanshi raises an eyebrow before elegantly retreating to her office which undoubtedly holds enough paperwork to last for the rest of the week. 

Tie Hanjin escorts the two children to Qing Jing. A peak that, ironically, neither of the children actually live on. Shen Yuan prefers this to Bai Zhan at the moment though, and he’s pretty sure Qi Lifeng is going to be happy no matter where they go as long, as they go together. Ah, only NPCs can be so carefree…

Still, the sentiment makes Shen Yuan feel a little touched.

-/-

“Everytime I comb A’Yuan’s hair, it seems to become even more wild,” Tie Hanjin observes as he prepares his favorite, and only, personal disciple for the events of the day. At the words, Shen Yuan immediately starts to pull away. If his hair is too messy, Shizun doesn’t have to help him. Before he can go far enough to disturb the intricate braids the peak lord has already long begun, Tie Hanjin traps Shen Yuan in with his knees. If anyone were to see the two right now, they would be shocked at the childish demeanor of an immortal cultivator famed for his upright and serious ‘personality’. Shen Yuan is too lazy to actually struggle to escape the hold… or even care, really. 

“A’Yuan should know by now that ignorance solves nothing when it comes to inhabitants of the wild. Especially with all the books I see you reading, ah? If we let your beastly hair continue on this path, it may never be tangle-free again. When A’Yuan’s hair is as long as this master’s, would he prefer it snarled or tame?” Shen Yuan sighs. Tie Hanjin makes a good point, but he doesn’t even want to think about his hair being that long, ah! Even a little past shoulder length feels too long… ah, short hair really is more convenient… screw the immortal aesthetic, alright? 

“Tame,” Shen Yuan eventually relents, leaning back easily to allow for his shizun to continue. Honestly, he thinks that the whole process is probably a little futile. His hair is the type that likes being straight, but is much too distracted to manage it most of the time. As it grows longer, it grows even easier to tangle. It’s thick, but still light enough to blow around in every breeze ever. In conclusion, Shen Yuan’s hair might look really pretty when it's oiled and done up, but it’s ridiculously high maintenance, and he’s way too lazy to deal with it. Good thing his shizun is always there when Shen Yuan needs to look particularly presentable. The day his shizun steps down from his role as peak lord is the day Shen Yuan cuts all of his hair off… well, probably not, but Shen Yuan can dream.

“That is what this master assumed, but Shen A’Yuan has surprised his shizun many times in the past.” Shen Yuan rolls his eyes lightly at the sass he can hear coming from the peak lord’s mouth. He doesn’t reply though, already beginning to drift into his dreamscape.

-/-

“Is this our A’Yuan? He has grown so much! Yan-Mei, how could you’ve forgotten to mention that A’Yuan is already this big!” Handsome-Jie is a force of nature, and her spirit beast is no slouch either. Shen Yuan is almost instantly scooped up into the heroic woman’s arms. At first, he tenses in preparation for a fight; however, he goes limp after realizing how impossible escape really is. Even carrying the practically dead weight that is Shen Yuan, Chen Fu walks on next to her shimei unburdened. As an honored guest here for an official visit, the rogue cultivator is expected to attend an informational meeting on Qiong Ding.

Shen Yuan is less than excited to face Xie Handao again, but, in this case, the pros outweigh the cons. Also, he’s pretty sure Handsome-Jie has decided that he’s accompanying her whether he likes it or not. 

...Li Hanzu must’ve gotten his determined and sometimes unrelenting attitude from Handsome-Jie. It’s certainly similar enough. 

Shen Yuan does not flinch at the memory of his shifu, but it’s a close thing.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, Shen Yuan gets visions of a past he knows he’s never actually experienced. They’re only short glimpses of piggyback rides, illness, and blurry parents walking away, but they tell a story Shen Yuan knows a five year old shouldn’t be able to remember. Sure, he’s actually twenty plus, but his brain hasn’t even reached double digits, and these snippets of memory are presumably from before Shen Yuan took over.

It doesn’t make sense, but nothing really does, so Shen Yuan just learns to accept the occasional dream of another’s past. Even if every new memory brings along more emotion than Shen Yuan is comfortable with feeling or even thinking about.

Repression has always been one of Shen Yuan’s oldest friends, but these flashes of terror, anxiety, and illness ring too close to his original life for him to entirely black them out. Also, the short comfort offered by an even tinier Jiu-gege patting his head (even if it isn’t really his head) or holding his hand (even if it’s not really his hand) is too good to give up just like that. 

Shen Yuan might actually be so extremely determined to save Shen Jiu because of the dreams and visions. Originally, Shen Qingqiu was the worst sort of man. A villain with no redeeming features better off castrated then breathing freely. After transmigrating, Shen Yuan was able to see the truth behind the title of ‘scum villain’. However, even then, Shen Yuan wasn’t overly attached. Wasn’t dead set on saving and reforming the character because Shen Jiu was just that--a character. Now though? With memories of whispered consolation and endless defense, Shen Jiu is more than a somewhat pitiable soon-to-be villain. He’s Shen Yuan’s Jiu-gege. Even if Shen Yuan isn’t really his didi.

How can Shen Yuan just sit back and cultivate peacefully while his Jiu-gege is going through a blackening arc the likes of which he can never return from?

Still, Shen Yuan regrets involving his shifu. If only he was strong enough to act on his own… maybe Handsome-Jie and Shizun wouldn’t be without their friend right now. Maybe Bai Zhan wouldn’t be without a Peak Lord. 

And maybe Shen Yuan wouldn’t currently be in the arms of the action hero like rogue cultivator that saved him years ago, held like a particularly lively bag of rice.

-/-

The meeting on Qiong Ding is about as exciting as Shen Yuan expected. The only positive to the situation is that Shen Yuan gets to sit next to Xiao Zhu. Now that Shen Yuan is no longer five, he’s actually big enough to withstand the weight of the spider dog. Meaning, Shen Yuan gets spider puppy snuggles! The large amount of brown hair now sticking to Shen Yuan’s very expensive robes is immaterial… he can just find a talisman to remove it, Shen Yuan’s got this!

Tie Hanjin may or may not be sending a mildly (extremely) disappointed glance his way, but Shen Yuan’s best skill is undoubtedly his willful ignorance. He keeps playing with Xiao Zhu. Tie Hnajin’s eyes gradually begin to soften, but Shen Yuan doesn’t notice.

“Immortal Master Chen,” Xie Handao greets. Shen Yuan purposefully attempts to tune him out. Chen Fu sits a bit straighter in her chair, but not to the point of actually looking respectful. Somehow, she must hold something over the Sect Leader. 

If she felt any pressure at all, Handsome-Jie wouldn’t be so flippant with her reply, “No more Shijie, ah?” 

Xie Handao’s mouth tightens into a thin line, beginning to resemble a particularly ruffled Qi Lifeng rather than a distinguished Sect Leader. He shoots back, in an incredibly passive aggressive tone, “How could a rogue cultivator be considered my martial sibling?”

Yan Hanshi stiffens so visibly that Shen Yuan immediately notices. Usually, the Qian Cao Peak Lord is the most inattentive to worldly matters. For Yan Hanshi to react so obviously, there must be more to Xie Handao’s words than Shen Yuan first thought. Perhaps the Peak Lords involved have a complicated history with Handsome-Jie? That would explain the familiar address that Yan Hanshi, Handsome-Jie, and Li Hanzu share… but why would Handsome-Jie be at odds with Xie Handao? She’s not nearly as sensitive to intimidation as Shen Yuan!

“Do the sixty years spent as Master Chen’s Shidi on Qiong Ding mean nothing to Zhangmen-shixiong?” Honestly, Shen Yuan didn’t expect a defense to come from that corner of the room. Yan Hanshi would make sense, so would Handsome-Jie herself, but the mousy looking Peak Lord in the corner? Shen Yuan is thoroughly surprised.

“Peak Lord Wu,” Xie Handao sharply replies, “speaks as if she has any idea what she is talking about.”

The unusually short Peak Lord shrinks back at the censure, obviously unwilling to voice any more dissent. Just as the tension in the room begins to rise unfettered, Handsome-Jie lets out a hearty laugh, slamming her palm against her knee. She smiles, and says, “Xie-shidi! Domineering as ever, I see!”

Xie Handao coughs inelegantly before he can stop himself, and Shen Yuan quietly snorts at the picture he makes. Can any of these Peak Lords exist without breaking rule number one?  

“Is there anything actually important to be said?” A rough (but still beautiful, Shen Yuan laments) man shoots out from the opposite end of the hall. His hands are tinged black, but his skin is obviously cleaner than freshly laid snow. Ah, cultivation settings. 

“This master has matters to attend to as well, so if we could hurry this up…” another Peak Lord calls out. From her place right next to Yan Hanshi, and her general demeanor, Shen Yuan figures that she’s the lord of Xian Shu. He can’t quite remember her name, but it definitely starts with an S…. probably. 

“Ah, yes,” Xie Handao gathers himself back into a proper immortal. “There is one issue to discuss before Shidi and Shimei can leave.”

Everyone pauses in silence, waiting for the Sect Leader to continue; however, it’s Tie Hanjin that speaks, not Xie Handao, “Peak Lord Li.”

Xie Handao nods, Handsome-Jie shifts almost uncomfortably, and Shen Yuan freezes, much like Yan Hanshi had previously.

The meeting is about… Shifu?

-/-

As a nine year old, most disciples have only just begun meditating in preparation for foundation building. Their cultivation levels are oftentimes so low that even a master cannot sense Qi from them. 

Qi Lifeng is a special case. She’s always had a very wild flow of Qi causing her to begin cultivation much earlier than most out of need for control over it.

Shen Yuan, as much as he hates it, is also in the same camp as her. Because he’s been living on Cang Qiong for over four years, he’s obviously picked some things up. In addition to that, Shen Yuan also started cultivation early due to a magical wine that he wishes he could forget.

However, no matter how special, in the end, they’re still like nine.

...Nine year olds can’t go on quests to rescue their teachers.

-/-

Two hours. That’s how long it takes for Shen Yuan to plead his case to his shizun. 

Two hours and one skill on full blast. Shen Yuan may have his pride as a man, but he also has a missing shifu and that really lowers just about anyone’s bottom line.

Anything that can help him out is useful, no matter how embarrassing. And holy shit! Crocodile tears are so powerful! It’s like Charizard using Fire Spin on Bayleef! Super Effective! 

System?

{Yes, Host?}

Can you show me my stats again? I wanna know how effed I am.

{ Strength: ⅖ 

Wisdom: ⅘ 

Intelligence: 5

Dexterity: ⅘ 

Speed: ⅗ 

Endurance: ⅗ 

Observation: ⅕ 

Will Power: ⅘ 

Cultivation: ⅖ 

As Host continues to power up, physically, spiritually, and mentally, these Stats will fluctuate. }

I know, I know… Fuuuuuuuck, he’s still a two in cultivation and strength? That doesn’t exactly bode well for his rescue mission… hmmm, good thing he’s not going alone! With OP cultivators like Shizun and Handsome-Jie to carry him, does it really matter if Shen Yuan’s a bit weak? No, it doesn’t! Shen Yuan can be a salted fish, and no one will care! Not even Shen Yuan himself...nothing matters if he gets to be there when they rescue his shifu!

-/-

“Would A’Yuan like to ride Xiao Zhu? Or would he rather walk?” 

At the base of Cang Qiong, three cultivators and a spirit beast make a very interesting scene. Shen Yuan’s hair is held up by a shimmery mint ribbon like always, but the fancier updo has been traded in for a more practical, Bai Zhan-style ponytail. Tie Hanjin looks as put together as ever, and Chen Fu’s heroic demeanor draws admiration from any observer. That’s not the thing that Shen Yuan’s talking about though.

The ‘interesting scene’ has way more to do with the spirit beast excitedly weaving through the group of three. Tufts of chocolate brown fur fly with every move the spider dog makes, and Tie Hanjin’s eyes darken further and further as each strand of dog hair lands on not only his own robes, but also on Shen Yuan’s. 

Shen Yuan isn’t particularly bothered by the hair though, and clearly, Chen Fu isn’t either. Handsome-Jie whistles happily off-key as she waits for Shen Yuan to decide. Finally, with a sigh, Shen Yuan crumbles underneath the silent pressure of his shizun and refuses the offer to ride Zhu Zhu. Tie Hanjin smiles approvingly. 

Then, they started walking. There’s a long road ahead of them after all, and evidently, Li Hanzu isn’t going to save himself. 

-/-

In order to try and rescue his shifu, first, they must locate where he was last known to be. When Shen Yuan asks Handsome-Jie where they’re going first, she grins viciously.

“The Death Town of Jian.” Shen Yuan blinks in confusion. Chen Fu laughs and explains further, “Jian is a ghost town well known for its close vicinity to a small demonic sect. Li-shidi and I fought them many years ago and decimated their ranks. Ah, I never expected them to rebuild so well…”

“Even the weakest root may eventually grow into a great tree,” Tie Hanjin says. His eyebrows are perfectly groomed, but the elegant effect they usually offer is slightly lost when he furrows them so deeply. Shen Yuan shuffles his way over to the Peak Lord’s side, eventually stopping once he’s in grabbing range. 

“Shizun,” Shen Yuan starts, a plaintive note to his tone, “this one is hungry.”

He’s not. Hungry, that is. Well, not overly so. But of all the things Shen Yuan can think to say as a way of distracting Tie Hanjin from his concerns, food seems like the best option. If he says he’s tired, they might make him go home. If he says he’s scared, they’ll definitely take him home. If he says he’s bored, Tie Hanjin might train him into the ground… and then send him home. Hunger is a temporary and easy to fix problem. So, even though Shen Yuan could definitely go a while before needing to eat, he lets his eyes fill with moisture. Crocodile tears primed and ready to be released at his order.

They end up being unnecessary though as Tie Hanjin quickly agrees to stop at the next village for supplies. Chen Fu merrily goes along with the plan, seemingly unbothered by the detour.

After a while, Shen Yuan is happily crunching candied haw between his surprising sharp baby teeth. Tie Hanjin is combing his fingers through Shen Yuan’s hair, redoing the ponytail quickly while he still has the time. Soon, he pulls the messy but sturdy hairstyle out of place. Shen Yuan makes zero noise, other than his loud crunching, in response to his shizun’s actions. He’s already long become accustomed to Tie Hanjin pulling him aside and fixing something about his appearance. His hair, his robes, his fan—you name it, Tie Hanjin’s fixed it. 

Handsome-Jie is off somewhere, Shen Yuan doesn’t know the exact place, but he does know that she’s looking for something specific. Apparently, there’s a legend in this small town that an enchanted river flows through the east border forest. Chen Fu wanted to see how accurate the legend was, and she quickly ran off. So, technically, Shen Yuan sort of knows where she is, but not like an exact location… anyways.

“Is Handsome-Jie going to be alright without Zhu Zhu?” Shen Yuan questions after he notices the spider dog loping their way from off in the distance. Tie Hanjin’s hands freeze. A long piece of glossy black hair falls into Shen Yuan’s face, quickly becoming stuck to his syrupy lips. 

“Xiao Zhu isn’t with Master Chen?” The Peak Lord says with surprising gravel in his smooth voice.

“Nope,” Shen Yuan replies, trying to remove the hair from his mouth. “Zhu Zhu’s right there!”

Tie Hanjin completely releases Shen Yuan’s hair, effectively ruining all of their hard work. His own efforts to tie it back, and also Shen Yuan’s attempts to extract it from his lips. Tie Hanjin mutters something to himself, and Shen Yuan hums questioningly. While his shizun isn’t the most talkative, Tie Hanjin is always extremely eloquent when he does choose to use his voice. Tie Hanjin does not mutter. Shen Yuan turns his head to look at the Peak Lord. Tie Hanjin’s face is pale, and he quietly says two words: “Not. Good.”

Chapter Text

“What?” Shen Yuan questions, his head unconsciously tilting to the left. As far as he knows, Xiao Zhu doesn’t signal any imminent apocalypses? 

“Xiao Zhu is a spirit beast bound to Immortal Chen. For a bound spirit beast to leave their master… the two must be in more danger than they alone can face.” As Tie Hanjin’s words seem to echo in Shen Yuan’s momentarily empty head, Xiao Zhu manages to make her way to them. She comes to a stop that sends pebbles into Shen Yuan’s already ridiculously messy hair. Both cultivators choose to ignore it in favor of interrogating the spirit beast. 

Shen Yuan comes online, his circuits fully amped. WTF. They’re already on a mission to find one badass cultivator, and now they have to go save another! Why is it always the ones with the most capabilities that disappear?! Shen Yuan side-eyes his shizun, half expecting him to take off as well. He does not. Instead, Tie Hanjin places a hand on Zhu Zhu’s head and closes his eyes tightly. A barely visible stream of condensed Qi circles its way up the Peak Lord’s arm, only stopping once it reaches Tie Hanjin’s head. The aura of energy given off by the Qi is enough to make Shen Yuan’s hair stand on end. Wisely, Shen Yuan decides to wait before asking his shizun what they’re going to do.

“Demonic cultivators?” Tie Hanjin whispers blankly as the Qi retreats back down his arm and then dissipates. Zhu Zhu happily yelps in response. When the Peak Lord finally lifts his hand and opens his eyes, a ring of gold sparkles around his pupils before dying down. 

“What was that, Shizun?” Shen Yuan tentatively asks. He’s unsure if what he just saw what what he thinks he saw… a discount version of Mo Dao Zu Shi’s empathy.

“A dangerous skill that A’Yuan is still too young to learn,” Tie Hanjin promptly replies. Shen Yuan scoffs mentally… how is twenty-something too young?!! Outwardly, he presents a somber face of acceptance and nods once. It is precisely this nod that brings Shen Yuan’s hair back into focus. 

Quickly, Tie Hanjin pulls it back into something sort of resembling order, ignoring the pebbles and caramelized sugar. Once he’s finished, and Shen Yuan can breathe easily again, Tie Hanjin expands on his earlier statement, “What I just used is called Empathy, it’s primary use is to communicate with those that cannot reply normally. Spiritual beasts, magical creatures, even lingering souls. However, it comes with the risk of possession and great mental agony. The only person other than myself that I know to have perfected this skill is this master’s grandmaster. Not even my own master was able to guarantee its success.”

“Oh,” Shen Yuan says. So it is a knock off of Empathy… not even a knock off! It’s actual plagiarism! How dare Airplane steal from such a masterpiece! Though… maybe if the author had stolen more… PIDW wouldn’t’ve been such a trashy novel..?

“Yes,” Tie Hanjin trails off lightly. “This master never intended to pass on the skill, but maybe, one day, I will have a disciple strong enough to control it.”

“This disciple understands, Shizun!” Shen Yuan does not understand. Why was the last bit said in such a tone? Why did his shizun give him that look? But instead of spending any more time questioning mysteries he may never decipher, Shen Yuan asks, “Demonic cultivators?”

“It seems as though the clan we were looking for found us first. Or, rather, they found Immortal Chen first. She requests aid immediately as she is outnumbered eight to one.”

“Then we cannot wait, Shizun!”

Tie Hanjin looks mildly put out by Shen Yuan’s enthusiasm to help, but he silently gives in after a moment of contemplation. 

Together, with Zhu Zhu of course, a master and disciple go to rescue a rogue cultivator.

-/-

“Zhu Zhu!” Handsome-Jie scolds roughly as they finally reach the forest she disappeared into much earlier. A shing vibrates through the air as she twists her sword hand in order to throw off the opposing cultivator’s longsword. She then strikes out in the same move, knocking the other cultivator’s weapon far away. “I told you to stay put! Eight to one is nothing when the opponents are this weak!”

Shen Yuan almost wants to insist that eight to one is definitely something, but he can count at least six cultivators already sprawled across the destruction caused by a wide swipe of spiritual energy, and he knows that nothing short of another master immortal cultivator can make Handsome-Jie pause for more than half a second. Even Xie Handao holds no intimidation factor for Shen Yuan’s Handsome-Jie. 

“Master Chen, ” Tie Hanjin censures immediately, lips held tightly in a solemn line despite the fact that Shen Yuan can tell that the Peak Lord is more than slightly amused. Still, Chen Fu merely grins and quickly restrains the remaining demonic cultivator.

Struggling even with Handsome-Jie’s spiritual blade against her neck, the demonic cultivator spits red tinged fluid towards Tie Hanjin. She grins, showing off blood stained teeth, “Maybe the eight of us are too weak to defeat a cultivator of your status, Master Chen, but our Da-shixiong certainly handled your shidi well enough!”

“Da-shixiong?” Shen Yuan asks without thinking. Tie Hanjin shoots him a glare, and Chen Fu ignores his question. The demonic cultivator, on the other hand, does not ignore him at all.

“Ahhh! You must be Young Master Shen! You’ll be happy to know that your Shifu is safely in the hands of my shixiong, Yue Hua!”

Shen Yuan pauses. A snort makes its way out of his mouth, “...Moon Flower?”

“Yue Hua!” The cultivator repeats, sending another round of spit into the air. Shen Yuan tries to keep his laughter inside. A supposedly powerful evil cultivator! Essentially the equivalent of a human Demon Lord! Named… Moon! Flower! Is that supposed to be scary???

“A name I’ve heard before,” Chen Fu reflects easily. She smiles jaggedly in an incredibly roguish way, completely succumbing to the action hero stereotype… then she twists the demonic cultivator’s neck, and Shen Yuan’s eyes go wide. The snap of bone cracks through the settling leaves of the forest, once again sending some bits of torn up grass into the air. 

Tie Hanjin doesn’t seem overly bothered, and that sort of scares Shen Yuan. Maybe it’s just because he’s not an accomplished immortal cultivator from ancient China, but the blatant lack of remorse, even for a death that was probably deserved, spooks Shen Yuan more than a bit. While Shen Yuan is still in a state of conflict over his old views and his new setting, Tie Hanjin begins planning what to do next, “If Yue Hua is the one who took Li Hanzu, we must hurry. If what she has planned is what this one thinks, then we only have a week before Li Hanzu’s relative ‘safety’ is compromised.”

“What’s she going to do?”

“Body Swap,” Handsome-Jie says, sheathing her sword in one smooth motion. Shen Yuan freezes. He remembers that ritual from PIDW! During the time right after Luo Binghe had left the abyss, a demonic sect had pursued him relentlessly in order to try and use his body as a vessel for their ailing Sect Leader. It didn’t work of course, but Shen Yuan still distinctly remembers the plot point. And also remembers skipping the part where Bingge had papapa’d the ‘ailing Sect Leader’ instead of giving the woman his body… and now that Shen Yuan thinks about it, the Sect Leader’s name was something ridiculous like Moon Flower!

“Which can only be done on the blood moon of the fourth lunar cycle,” Tie Hanjin adds. 

Shen Yuan blinks, “and that’s next week?”

“No,” the Peak Lord says with zero intonation. “It’s in three months, however, preparations begin early. Preparations that include the destruction of Li Hanzu’s soul.”

Shit.

-/-

Jue Shi. A sword without equals. From the life blood of a demon clan, and the resentful energy of a revenge served quickly. A temperamental sword spirit that refuses to be used. A sword spirit that will not allow any more unnecessary blood to be shed by its blade.

Shen Yuan just thought it looked cool, okay?! He didn’t know it was fucking cursed!

“A’Yuan should be more careful when he picks up weaponry in the treasure room of an unfamiliar demonic cultivation sect,” Li Hanzu jokes, head lulling back against the wall. Shen Yuan is breathing heavily over the room’s recently slain guard. The guard Shen Yuan just killed! 

What the fuck is going on right now???

-/-

“So… what will we do, Shizun?” Shen Yuan asks, totally not freaking out. Handsome-Jie has long released the cultivator’s head, the limp body collapsing instantly without her strong grip. A few muffled groans float up from the demonic cultivators that have yet to succumb to their injuries. Shen Yuan tunes them out, staring expectantly at his shizun.

“We must go about this in a secretive manner. Even if Yue Hua is only strong enough to fight one of us at a time, going into her territory blind is beyond dangerous. So, one of us will sneak in, one will make a distraction, and one will… hmmm,” Tie Hanjin hums for a moment, probably debating the likelihood of Shen Yuan’s immediate return home. 

“This one can sneak in too!” Shen Yuan quickly shoots, unwilling to be excluded from the actual rescue plans. 

Handsome-Jie smiles at his energy, “Well, A’Yuan will most likely be safer with one of us than on his own. I will make the diversion, of course. I trust that Master Tie is capable of finding, freeing, and escaping with Li-shidi while also protecting our A’Yuan?”

“Do not doubt my capabilities. This one may not have known Master Chen during her time spent on Cang Qiong, but I have heard about you from Hanzu, as I am sure you have heard about me,” and if Tie Hanjin weren’t an extremely self restrained immortal, he’d probably roll his eyes as he coldly spits out the last line. Shen Yuan’s actually, maybe, a bit disappointed that his shizun isn’t letting go at all during this trip, but it goes to show how deeply Tie Hanjin values his appearance in front of those he does not completely trust not to harm him. 

“Yes! Li-shidi loved to talk about you and A’Yuan! In fact, that’s why I first started worrying about him. His frequent letters suddenly stopped. I feared the worst. Maybe his enemies had finally caught up to him,” Handsome-Jie smiles darkly. Her eyes lighten as she looks at Shen Yuan though. “Maybe he’d finally found someone to take on his title. Who knows? That is when I reached out to Yan-Mei. This one is shocked that you had not done something to find him much earlier.”

Shen Yuan can feel the tension building and vibrating through the air. It almost gives him an impression of the ex meeting the current. The thought alone makes him giggle once. The two immortal masters look towards him immediately, easily breaking the staring contest they inadvertently started during Handsome-Jie’s speech. Tie Hanjin smiles, well, he doesn’t really, but Shen Yuan can tell that if it were just the two of them, he would. With a light sigh, the Peak Lord reaches out to pet Shen Yuan’s rather messy hair, “Let us return to town. A’Yuan should rest before we continue. Now that we know exactly where to go, our travel time will be lessened by more than half.”

“Whatever Master Tie thinks is best,” Handsome-Jie playfully replies. She’s stroking Zhu Zhu’s face with the same hands she just used to break a demonic cultivator’s neck, but no one seems bothered! Shen Yuan’s too stressed to care much at this point, and the other two had never minded the death in the first place. 

The scene they leave behind in the partly leveled forest is one Shen Yuan will not forget any time soon. The lesson he’s learned on cultural differences is now engraved in his mind. 

Shen Yuan’s three views are slowly but surely shifting.

-/-

When Shen Yuan had originally imagined sneaking into a demonic sect, he’d never thought actually entering it would be the easy part. However, he and his shizun pass through the protective wards without even the slightest delay. Distantly, Shen Yuan can hear the overpowering buzz of Handsome-Jie’s Qi infused attacks. Tie Hanjin leads him by the hand, not allowing him to really take in much of his surroundings, so all he can really do is try and listen. Beneath the sounds of nighttime and energy waves, a soft shuffling can be heard. 

Tie Hanjin and Shen Yuan exchange a wary look as soon as they hear it. Their current trajectory puts whatever is making the noise right in their path. Depending on the source, this could mean the end to their rescue attempt, or at least, the postponement of it. Or maybe just a change of plans? Shen Yuan doesn’t want to imagine leaving his shifu here any longer--especially after they’ve already come so close to saving him.

That’s right, Shen Yuan decides suddenly. No matter what the cause is, we can deal with it! Shizun is a Peak Lord! One of the strongest cultivators of his generation! Not some irrelevant canon fodder!

“A’Yuan,” Tie Hanjin whispers as the sound gets louder and louder, clearly signifying the shortened distance from them. An eerie growl twines in with the dragging sound, making Shen Yuan’s arm hair rise. “Go left. This master will go right. According to the spiritual traces left in these halls, Li Hanzu is being kept in the second to last door of the next hallway. Can this master trust A’Yuan with finding his shifu? With keeping himself and his master safe?”

Shen Yuan shakily nods, trying not to fully analyze his shizun’s choices. With trembling fingers, Shen Yuan salutes like a proper disciple, “Master can trust A’Yuan.”

“I already know,” Tie Hanjin smiles softly, obviously not restraining his face this time. “Be careful.”

“Yes!” Shen Yuan agrees, breaking out of his respectful parting bow. Tie Hanjin pats his head one last time. The Peak Lord then draws his sword and turns right. Shen Yuan watches his retreating figure for a moment before following his shizun’s directions.

-/-

The room Tie Hanjin told him to go to is currently blocked by two extremely intimidating cultivators. As soon as Shen Yuan sees them, he acts without thinking, practically throwing himself into the nearest empty room. Well, empty being a relative term. Empty of people, yes. But full of artifacts and gold and ominous looking weapons.

A particular sword immediately catches Shen Yuan’s eye. For a second, he wonders if, perhaps, Xin Mo hasn’t been dropped into the Endless Abyss yet. However, his senses quickly return to him. Xin Mo would never be so plain. 

The sword’s hilt glows a peaceful blue in places, clearly forming some set of runes. Shen Yuan comes to a stop right in front of the stand holding it up. There’s two characters engraved on the only visible part of its mostly sheathed blade. 

Jue Shi. Peerless.

A peerless sword, ah?  

Shen Yuan snorts meanly, a dick joke? Seriously, Airplane?

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan distinctly remembers multiple comments he’d left in his previous life criticising this exact cliche, but… he feels an instinctive draw to the sword, dick joke name or not. Before he can think about how much he definitely should not be doing what he’s doing, his fingers are already stretched out in a careful, yet graceful motion. Shen Yuan lays his hand on Jue Shi’s hilt and watches as the blue glow of the runes suddenly flickers out in one uniform wave.

Silly Child. The words almost make Shen Yuan drop the sword, but his impeccable manners and otherworldly demeanor, forcefully instilled by Tie Hanjin, allow his grip to remain strong. The voice isn’t really speaking, it’s more like how the system talks to him. Shen Yuan waits for more, but no more projected thoughts come, only a gentle warmth that flows lazily through his meridians. He’s not 100% sure, but Shen Yuan is willing to bet money that both the words and the energy share a source: Jue Shi. 

System? Shen Yuan calls uncertainly. He waits for a minute, but no response follows. A displeased thrum echoes through his dantian, leaving an uncomfortable ache in his still developing golden core. 

Quiet. 

...What?

Be. Quiet. Shhhhhh, Jue Shi insists. The system still hasn’t piped up. Suddenly, an idea begins forming in Shen Yuan’s mind. Maybe the sword… has forcefully silenced the system?

Against his instincts, Shen Yuan sets Jue Shi back onto the display podium. As soon as his hand releases the hilt, a familiar voice sounds out in his mind.

{Host! Be careful! A dangerous artifact has been detected!}

Really? Is the ‘artifact’ a sword by chance?

{The danger has been identified as Disturbance Level 5: Demon Sword Jue Shi. Please be aware of the risk this item presents to Host’s end goal! If not properly handled, Disturbance Level 5: Demon Sword Jue Shi can affect many future Plot Points!}

Holy Shit! Shen Yuan blinks in shock at the new information, a hundred follow up questions already floating into his head, but before he can ask even one, a growl shakes everything in the room. Gold goes tumbling to the stone floor beneath his feet. Prized swords and spears and magical tools of all sorts fall in unorganized heaps around him. The only exception being the slightly unsheathed sword before him. Jue Shi. 

Shen Yuan once again reaches out for the sword unthinkingly. Within a second, he’s pulled the blade entirely from its sheath. The silver momentarily shines a brilliant crimson, the color gone so quick Shen Yuan’s tempted to say he imagined it. The calm warmth from earlier returns as the sword grows impossibly lighter in his hand. Despite all the warnings from not only the system, but also the rational part of his own mind, Shen Yuan feels a connection begin to form between his spirit and the sword’s.

Good. Silly Child, properly protect yourself.

Shen Yuan flinches, not from Jue Shi’s words, but from the crunch of metal he hears just behind him. Clearly, the treasure room isn’t as empty as Shen Yuan previously assumed. Fuck. 

-/-

It’s as Shen Yuan is dodging green fireballs as he tries to escape A. Freaking. DRAGON. that he remembers a line in one of the earlier chapters of PIDW before everything was merely an excuse to write ridiculously unrealistic papapa scenes. 

As a way of foreshadowing Luo Binghe’s future ownership of Xin Mo, Airplane had mentioned there being three demonic swords of note in the shitty book’s world. One, the heart lost to the abyss, Xin Mo. Two, the soul lost to the heavens, Ling Hun. Three, the beauty lost to the beast, Jue Shi.

How the fuck he did not immediately connect that, Shen Yuan will never know! But in the little tidbit following that bullshit sword profile, Shen Yuan actually found some interesting world building. World building that Airplane quickly tossed to the side and eventually retconned just like every other original and un-sex related detail of PIDW. 

If Shen Yuan remembers correctly, and he fucking does, reading something so bad that your eyes start tearing up at the mere thought of its name will cause an unhealthy attachment to any good parts of the ordeal (not that there were many), all three of the swords were said to be of around equal renown. However, they were all basically impossible to wield or find.

Xin Mo had a history of turning on its user, and it was left in the Endless Abyss for so long that no one expected its return. Ling Hun had caused so much death that a hundred martial gods had descended just to seal it and remove it from any even relatively mortal hands. Jue Shi was notoriously bad tempered, unwilling to be touched by even the strongest demons, and eventually consumed by a growing green owl-dragon. 

A growing green owl-dragon quite similar to the one currently trying to fry Shen Yuan! On the bright side, knowing what kind of dragon it is can help Shen Yuan figure out how to defeat or escape it. On the equally bright (but for much less happy, more fire-related, reasons) side, knowing that the dragon is one of only ten owl-dragons left in existence, one of even less monsters a fully developed Bing-ge actually struggled to kill, does not help even remotely! All it tells Shen Yuan is that if he can’t run fast enough, he’ll become just another soul trapped forever within the mystic hide of the owl-dragon! 

Forget beating it, Shen Yuan will be lucky if he can even reincarnate after this not-so-friendly interaction!

Jue Shi. Shen Yuan stiffens, barely moving in time to dodge the next attack. 

YES. And I’m A’Yuan, ah? Now we’re introduced! Nice to meet you, sorry for the rush, but I’m kind of busy right now! Shen Yuan pulls his body into the kind of mid-air twist he’s never successfully managed before, and only really seen in epic xianxia dramas. And on the training fields of Bai Zhan. And in the demolished bamboo forests of Qing Jing… alright, so it’s not as crazy as it seems. But Shen Yuan’s allowed to be a little proud of himself for the accomplishment given his current circumstances!

Silly Child. That was no introduction. It was a reminder.

Of what!

Why run when you can fly?

And suddenly, Shen Yuan feels a bit stupid for not thinking of that himself. While still managing a pretty solid sprint, Shen Yuan leaps as high as his nine year old body will let him go. Jue Shi moves in an elegant but very efficient way, easily positioning itself beneath his feet. As soon as his boots hit the blade, Shen Yuan can feel his whole ass body get yanked forward at a breakneck speed. 

He’s pretty sure a nine year isn’t supposed to be capable of going this fast on a spiritual sword, but he’s also almost certain that he isn’t the one powering the sword’s movements. Shen Yuan feels practically zero strain on his meridians. If anything, he might actually be absorbing Jue Shi’s Qi. Everything he’s ever learned about spiritual tools and bound swords protests that thought, but Shen Yuan can feel the flow of unfamiliar Qi; it’s definitely not just his own energy cycling through and being amplified by the sword. 

Shen Yuan gains a new respect for Luo Binghe. If Jue Shi has its own Qi, its own personality and self sustaining power, then Xin Mo probably does too. Its dark influence must be even greater than he imagined when reading PIDW!

Even though it’s practically impossible to telepathically scoff, Jue Shi manages it. Xin Mo is nothing like Jue Shi. Jue Shi is peerless. The only sword like this one, is this one. That malicious brat does not even begin to compare, Silly Child.

Shen Yuan barely keeps his snort in, a grin splitting his face even as he tilts this way and that, barely escaping injury time and time again. 

Jue Shi is tired. Be fast.

And then Shen Yuan is diving quickly towards the room’s exit, an owl-dragon hot on his figurative heels. Jue Shi keeps up the impossibly energized pace until he’s right outside the treasure room’s entry. As soon as Shen Yuan passes through the doorway, the sword smashes to the ground, not at all sparing Shen Yuan the pain of impact.

Jue Shi will sleep now.

A tremor of intense fear shoots down to the very core of Shen Yuan’s being, but before he can have any sort of breakdown or panic attack, he realizes that the owl-dragon is no longer chasing him. It’s merely glaring at him from the confines of the room filled with gold. There must be some sort of seal or array put in place to keep it in. Shen Yuan’s shoulders sink with relief as he sort of melts to the ground. However, before he can really relax, he remembers exactly why he had hidden in the first place.

Li Hanzu’s guards!

-/-

And that’s how Shen Yuan ended up here, blood decorating his new sword and his new travelling robes. Tie Hanjin would be so disappointed! 

“So,” Li Hanzu starts, a hazy quality to his voice. “Is A’Yuan here to rescue this master?”

“Yes, Shifu!” Shen Yuan wipes Jue Shi off on his robes, reasoning that they’re already probably wrecked anyway, so really… what’s a little bit more blood going to do? 

Li Hanzu smiles, his eyes dim but obviously pleased none-the-less. “A’Yuan is such a filial child, ah?”

“Yes, Shifu!”

“As this master’s child, should A’Yuan really refer to me as ‘Shifu’?”

“Ah?” Shen Yuan pauses, distinctly caught off guard. A blush crawls up his cheeks. Li Hanzu laughs, beginning to stand, or at least attempting to. Shen Yuan does his best to help, and the Peak Lord ends up almost completely relying on him for support. 

“Call me Baba, A’Yuan!”

-/-

When Shen Yuan finally wakes up next to his shifu again, Li Hanzu isn’t his shifu anymore. He’s Shen Yuan’s baba. Shen Yuan’s baba that is incredibly excited to start teaching him actual cultivation tricks.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen A’Yuan! I’ve missed so much! A’Yuan already has two spiritual weapons! A’Yuan is already the most advanced cultivator his age! What else has A’Yuan managed to accomplish in my absence, ah! Has A’Yuan already found love?” Li Hanzu may be talking a whole lot of nonsense, but he’s also absolutely destroying his soon-to-be Head Disciple/adoptive son. Shen Yuan wants to cry internally at how exhausted he is, but he’s too happy to have his… baba… home. 

He can make it through some sparring if it means spending time with the person who took him in from the start.

-/-

As Shen Yuan cloud watches with his shifu/baba for the first time in nearly four years, he finally asks Li Hanzu about his Jiu-gege.

“Ah, Shen Jiu.” Li Hanzu’s eyes are closed, just as interested in the sky as he is in training the majority of his disciples. “A real firecracker, and he’s got quite a bit of talent with Qi manipulation. This one wishes he could have done more to teach A’Yuan’s gege and his friend. They both have the potential to outclass even Xie Handao and Shixiong. The circumstances involving Yue Hua are incredibly regretful.”

“They were well? Jiu-gege and Qi-ge?” Shen Yuan asks, turning on his side to watch his baba’s face. Li Hanzu’s nose twitches, and one eye cracks open sneakily. 

“Yes,” the Peak Lord draws out his answer. “But not as well as A’Yuan!”

And Shen Yuan knows it's meant as a joke, but the reminder of his comparatively good fortune makes him instantly guilty for not going out to rescue his Jiu-gege right now. 

Li Hanzu can probably sense the shift in his mood as he quickly ruffles Shen Yuan’s hair gently. He smiles and once again shuts the barely open eyelid. “A’Yuan doesn’t need to ask so many questions though! I’m sure you’ll see them again soon.”

...and Shen Yuan hopes he's right.

Chapter Text

Finding Li Hanzu and… killing the guard isn’t the end of Shen Yuan’s job outline. After finding his shifu, he’s meant to bring him to Tie Hanjin. Tie Hanjin who’s probably still battling a monster right now! What if there’s another dragon?!

“A’Yuan?” Li Hanzu mutters, eyelids beginning to droop shut. Shen Yuan is basically entirely supporting his weight at this point, and the man isn’t exactly light, okay! “Where’s Hanjin, ah? Shouldn’t Peak Lord Tie be here to rescue me as well?”

“He is. Shizun’s just a bit preoccupied at the moment, and this disciple plans to assist.” Shen Yuan stumbles over the blood pooling on the stone floors, grimacing before he can stop himself. With the grace only a disciple of Qing Jing’s Peak Lord can maintain, Shen Yuan manages to stay upright. It’s a close call though, and Li Hanzu grumbles quietly at the light jostling. The Peak Lord is probably heavily injured… Shen Yuan is so fucking screwed! He had really hoped that, once freed, Li Hanzu would be coming in clutch! That he’d be the last minute power addition that helps Shen Yuan get all four of them out of the demonic cultivators’ grasp! Alas, earwax.  

“Come on, Shifu. We just have to make it to Handsome-Jie or Shizun, ah. Can’t you hear that, Shifu?” A thunder like clash echoes through the hall Shen Yuan has just stumbled into. A purr of spiritual energy follows, and Shen Yuan smiles. “Shizun must be this way.”

“Mn, Hanjin,” Li Hanzu giggles drunkenly. “Tie-shixiong, haha!”

Shen Yuan merely hums, continuing to pull his shifu along. 

Finally, a huge green silhouette comes into view. Two huge ass tails whip around the surprisingly beautiful training grounds the two now find themselves in. Tie Hanjin stands alone against the beast, elegant even when dodging most likely bone crushing strikes. Shen Yuan freezes for a moment in awe. His shizun is so fucking cool! But then the reality of the situation crashes back down onto him, and Shen Yuan immediately starts looking for a place to put his shifu while he tries to help his shizun. A patch of thick trees growing on the side of the field catches Shen Yuan’s eye right away.

“Just stay here for a moment, Shifu!” Shen Yuan shouts as he places his mostly unconscious master down against one of the blackened willows. And then, like the unfilial son he apparently is now, Shen Yuan temporarily abandons Li Hanzu. 

-/-

“Shizun!” Tie Hanjin whips around, immediately trying to locate his wayward disciple. Shen Yuan isn’t exactly sneaky, so the task is incredibly easy. The Peak Lord is almost flattened by an armored tail in his moment of inattentiveness, and he would’ve been dead had Shen Yuan’s sword not suddenly decided to act. 

Jue Shi sweeps out like a particularly determined butler, somehow managing to slice through the thick hide of the not-quite-dragon’s tail as easily as one would cut through cake. By the way, Shen Yuan isn’t just being unspecific when he says not-quite-dragon. That’s its literal name—courtesy of one Airplane-bro. The thing’s essentially just a huge ass reptilian nine tails. Obviously, the one Tie Hanjin and Shen Yuan currently stand toe to toe with isn’t fully grown. The two tails aren’t very powerful at all when Shen Yuan compares them to the eight tailed not-quite-dragon from Bing-ge’s travels through the demon realm. 

Yeah, he’s actually probably pretty lucky. Still, not-quite-dragons fucking suck for one reason and one reason only. They’re nearly impossible to actually kill! 

Decapitation? Not-quite-dragons are apparently related to cockroaches because they can live for up to two weeks without a head, and, more often than not, are completely capable of regrowing said lost head.

Dismemberment? Just like a lizard after detaching its tail, the not-quite-dragon can regenerate its limbs on a nearly godly level. 

Death by fire? Fun fact, the scales of the not-quite-dragon are frequently used in flame retardant armor…

And the list goes on forever. 

The first time Shen Yuan heard a description of the beast, he immediately sighed. Despite the coolness inherent with an impossibly strong beast, all Shen Yuan could think of at the time, was how the dumbfuck of an author would manage to turn the whole encounter into another wholly unnecessary papapa scene.

Now, Shen Yuan feels a flicker of that long dead interest. Too bad that Jue Shi is already way ahead of him, completely decimating the supposedly OP beast without any input from Shen Yuan whatsoever. 

Sigh, the troubles of having an OP sword tag along with you.

Tie Hanjin stares in abject shock as an unknown sword moving faster than he ever thought possible begins slicing and dicing the monster he’d already been fighting, with no luck, for around an hour. His little A’Yuan stands next to him, looking no more surprised than usual. Clearly, the sword is not a new thing for him. 

“A’Yuan?” Tie Hanjin asks, admirably calm for the given situation. “What’s going on?”

Shen Yuan automatically freezes at the tone, even though the question is perfectly reasonable. He manages to pull himself together pretty quickly, responding dutifully with, “Just helping Shizun the best this disciple can.”

Chapter Text

“And where did the sword come from?” Tie Hanjin asks, eyes following Jue Shi’s every sweep and stab. Shen Yuan mumbles incoherently. The Peak Lord hums and questions him further, “Is A’Yuan trying to hide something from his shizun?”

“Never,” Shen Yuan follows the word up with a convincingly light laugh, but he can tell that his shizun doesn’t really believe him. Unfortunately, he’s been caught… well, it’s not like he actually thought he could get away with bringing a random ass sword spirit home. “Shizun should know by now that this one would not keep secrets. I just thought that we could talk about it later…”

“A topic for our return then,” Tie Hanjin agrees easily. The sounds of metal cutting through metal can still be heard for miles around, but neither cultivator seems particularly bothered at this point. And when the not-quite-dragon’s second tail comes smashing down in front of them, Shen Yuan doesn’t even blink. He does reach up to wipe the splatter of purple blood from his face though. Tie Hanjin somehow manages to look regal even with monster blood all over his clothes, and Shen Yuan spends a very brief moment thinking about how cool his shizun is. 

“Would A’Yuan prefer to discuss Hanzu instead?” Shen Yuan blinks at the question, his eyelashes still lightly coated with lavender goo. Tie Hanjin isn’t even looking at him, but Shen Yuan can feel the intent behind his words. 

With a somewhat more nervous laugh, Shen Yuan starts to tell his shizun about putting Li Hanzu down near the trees, but a loud crack and a booming laugh neatly interrupt him. Two sets of dark eyes quickly turn towards the source of the noise, instantly deciding to leave the monster to Jue Shi. 

Shen Yuan chokes as soon as he sees what made the noise, or rather, who. 

Smack dab in the middle of the trees Shen Yuan had placed his shifu by earlier, a woman stands. In normal circumstances, Shen Yuan thinks he’d probably consider her beautiful. However, with matted hair and designs carved into her body, the ‘beauty’ was a bit underwhelming. It probably doesn’t help her case that Li Hanzu looks particularly sick when held up against her bloody visage. Scratch that, Shen Yuan needs to be more confident! It definitely doesn’t help.

She coughs harshly, cutting off her raspy chuckles, “All of this work to save your Peak Lord, and I’m still going to complete the ritual!”

It takes Shen Yuan all of .5 seconds to realize that she’s most likely Yue Hua, and if she’s Yue Hua, the best way to deal with her… is to get her to monologue! And so, he boldly shouts, “But why! Why are you doing this?”

“People born into healthy bodies will never understand!” Shen Yuan snorts at the irony of a fictional demonic cultivator telling him that. Despite the ridicule he wants to unleash at her words, Shen Yuan knows that a villain’s monologue is always the hero’s chance to rescue the victim, so he just waits for his opening. He waits, and he sorta listens? 

“You’ll never face a future without cultivation! You’d never even think it possible!” Excuse you, but Shen Yuan has not only faced a future without cultivation, he’s lived it for over twenty agonizing years! “But me? I have to keep pushing even when I know that my body will not be able to contain my spirit for much longer! Every day I spent ignoring that it could be my last--that my meridians might suddenly decide to melt, instantly destroying my foundation and core!”

Shen Yuan blinks back his conflicting emotions, trying really hard not to let any of them slip out. On one hand, what she’s describing probably does totally suck. On the other, why not just search for a meridian stabilizing ritual? One definitely exists, Luo Binghe finds it within thirty chapters! Why the fuck did she choose to do a body swap! And with Shen Yuan’s shifu no less! 

Tie Hanjin interjects for the first time, his voice a knife slicing directly towards the heart of her reasoning, “It is a well-known fact that Sect Leader Yue suffers from an unstable foundation caused by early cultivation. Li Hanzu has nothing to do with it!”

Yue Hua reacts immediately, a crazed aura rolling off her in thick waves, “Li Hanzu has everything to do with it!”

“How!” Tie Hanjin shoots back, no hesitation whatsoever. 

“People like him--people that don’t even have to try to become strong… they don’t deserve the bodies they’re born in!” One of Yue Hua’s clawed hands is creeping closer and closer to Li Hanzu’s throat as she speaks. With the other, she’s firmly holding onto his waist. Li Hanzu might be able to escape under normal circumstances, but with some sort of spirit drug racing through his meridians, he’s trapped. Shen Yuan can’t do anything! Jue Shi is still busy with the not-quite-dragon and he’s too weak to stop her himself. Tie Hanjin is also restrained, but not by his body. Instead, it is the sharp nails threatening to rip Li Hanzu’s throat out that stall him.

Because he cannot act, Tie Hanjin speaks, “And you do?”

“Yes!” Yue Hua’s eyes begin to glow silver, blood drips from the points of contact between her and Li Hanzu. “And that’s why I’m taking it!”

A flash catches Shen Yuan’s eye, but a single loud ‘ha’ catches everyone’s attention. 

“So quick to declare your victory?” Handsome-Jie!!!! Just on time!! A true action hero, ah!

With Chen Fu’s sword against her patterned neck, Yue Hua freezes, her previously glowing eyes quickly dimming to pale blue. Li Hanzu slumps to the ground as soon as the demonic cultivator releases her hold. Shen Yuan almost feels sad when he watches Handsome-Jie’s blade go through the Sect Leader’s skin and bone like a boat through water, but she did kidnap his shifu for like years, so… yeah.

As Yue Hua’s head hits the ground, the not-quite-dragon’s head also lands. Red and purple mixing in spots. 

...and Shen Yuan’s gonna pretend that no one just got beheaded. That no King Henry VIII like shit just happened. Repress. Repress. Repress. That’s Shen Yuan’s motto alright! 

-/-

With Li Hanzu free and Handsome-Jue at full power, returning to Cang Qiong victorious is an extremely simple feat. Yan Hanshi looks positively livid when she sees the state of their group, but even a casual observer could tell that she’s more relieved at their arrival than upset at their appearance.

“Fu-jie, Immortal Master Tie,” she bows once at the rogue cultivator and the only conscious Peak Lord, “thank you for keeping Li-shixiong safe. This master will prepare a bed for him right away.”

“Thank you, Peak Lord Yan,” Tie Hanjin also salutes, though not as low. Shen Yuan blinks sleepily as he struggles to watch the weirdly formal interactions taking place in front of him. For a moment, he’s pretty sure he drifted off standing up, but quickly enough, Yan Hanshi gives him a significant look that breaks Shen Yuan out of his stupor. Li Hanzu is draped across Handsome-Jie’s back, Zhu Zhu panting at his heels.

Just as Shen Yuan is about to pass the fuck out, a pain flares up from his chest. His already shaky muscles weakening even further, the physically nine year old boy stumbles obviously. The burning sensation definitely wakes him up, but Shen Yuan would’ve much preferred simply passing out, thanks!

“A’Yuan?” Tie Hanjin asks, not sounding even remotely tired despite fighting a not-quite-dragon for an hour or more and then flying the entire way back to the mountain with Shen Yuan as an unbalanced passenger on his sword. “Are you okay?”

“I.. don’t know, Shizun. It just hurts so much?” Shen Yuan squeaks out. Sweat beads roll down from his hairline, easily soaking into the stained collar of his already trashed robes.

“A delayed heart demon attack,” Yan Hanshi says, more of a statement then a question.

And then Shen Yuan finally gets his chance to pass. the fuck. out. 

Thank god.

Chapter Text

Light filters gently through the bamboo shutters characteristic of Qing Jing. The sun is a gentle heat in direct juxtaposition with the ice in Shen Yuan’s heart. Tie Hanjin pours a cup of steaming green tea, and it’s warm too. 

“Shifu hasn’t woken up?” Shen Yuan asks, not lifting his eyes from the sitting table in front of him. Tie Hanjin pulls his hand away, cutting off the flow of the pot. The Peak Lord looks his part, despite the privacy of their setting. His professional aura presses onto Shen Yuan with a weight so heavy, he almost bursts into tears on the spot. He doesn’t, obviously, but it’s clear that the subject matter is beyond serious. 

“Mn, Hanzu has yet to wake. Yan-mei is with him right now, and once A’Yuan recovers fully, we will also go to Qian Cao. Now, A’Yuan would do well to remember rule one.” 

Shen Yuan reflexively straightens his face before scoffing in affront, “Rule one only applies if the expression is idiotic. This one did not look like an idiot. This one only looked concerned!”

Tie Hanjin hides a tiny smirk behind the rim of his tea cup. Shen Yuan blinks once before copying his shizun. Smile and all. 

After his out of the blue heart demon attack, Yan Hanshi checked Shen Yuan’s meridians, and though the pain was serious, his condition was not. What one needs after heart demons make an appearance is comfort, not medical or spiritual help. Thus, the almost ten year old was brought to Qing Jing instead of Qian Cao. 

Apparently, a full day’s already passed.

Of course, Shen Yuan wasn’t conscious for any of that, so he’s mostly just guessing what happened at this point. Guessing, and also cursing fervently because he didn’t get to go with his newly rescued shifu! Going to Qian Cao together would’ve been so convenient! 

Like this, it takes Shen Yuan nearly an hour, and three emptied cups of tea, to convince the Peak Lord of his regained health. Finally though, the party of two make their way to the medical peak.

Yan Hanshi meets them at the entrance of the main building. It’s probably part of being the Peak Lord of the cultivation equivalent to an emergency room, but the speed at which she always finds them is still a bit unnerving to Shen Yuan. Even after like five years of almost weekly visits.

“Peak Lord Yan,” Tie Hanjin says. Yan Hanshi quietly returns the greeting, easily steering them towards the room Shen Yuan always used to stay in when he was younger and less healthy (and was still receiving bruising weekly lessons from his shifu…). This is the first time he’ll be visiting the room as something other than a patient. It’d probably be exciting for him if he wasn’t already fully maxed out emotion wise. Shen Yuan’s too nervous about his shifu’s health to be excited at the unexpected role reversal.

As they step inside the room and Tie Hanjin b-lines for the bed, Shen Yuan’s breath catches slightly. Though perhaps he should’ve seen this coming, the silent tears beginning their descent down his shizun’s face still manage to shake Shen Yuan to his core. Yan Hanshi thoughtfully hangs back as if quietly guarding the door. 

Shen Yuan strides forward after another pause, easily grabbing one of his shizun’s warm hands. The one not grasping tightly onto his shifu’s limp fingers of course. With a deep breath in, he starts trying his hand at offering comfort, “Shifu will be alright soon, Shizun. How could a cultivator as strong as my shifu stay unconscious for much longer?”

Of course, as soon as he finishes speaking, Shen Yuan’s point is proven, and his comforting becomes entirely unnecessary. 

Li Hanzu’s once motionless fingers begin to twitch along with his eyelids. And, even before his eyes actually open, before he actually wakes, Li Hanzu grumbles, “Baba.”

Tie Hanjin tilts his head ever so slightly, one stray piece of his pinned bangs falling into his eyes. He mutters a question that Shen Yuan also happens to wanna hear the answer to, “What?”

Finally, Li Hanzu’s eyelids peel back, seemingly revealing his dark eyes in slow motion. He says, more confidently this time, “Call this master Baba, A’Yuan!”

And then, after his words take a moment to sink in, the cultivator falls right back to sleep. 

Tie Hanjin uncharacteristically laughs. Shen Yuan just sighs.

-/-

When Tie Hanjin and Shen Yuan finally leave Qian Cao, ideally for the last time, Li Hanzu walks with them. Despite the Peak Lord’s terrible state on first arrival, his recovery speed is ridiculously fast. Sigh, it’s not like Shen Yuan’s jealous or anything… he’s just a little salty, okay? 

“A’Yuan, a long time has passed since this master last saw you! Is this A’Yuan’s new sword?” Li Hanzu reaches out in order to unsheath Jue Shi, but Shen Yuan manages to subtly evade. He’s still a little unsure about the sword’s temperament. After saying it was going to nap, the sword woke up and dominated a not-quite-dragon. Shen Yuan’s been letting Jue Shi do whatever it wants since he retrieved it from the pile of monster gore. Mostly, it’s just been silent. However, it clearly has opinions about most people Shen Yuan meets. 

For example, Jue Shi seems rather benevolent towards Yan Hanshi, but it hates her Head Disciple. Any time the young adult passes by on his rounds, a viciously harsh humming resonates from the sword directly to Shen Yuan’s mind. Despite Jue Shi’s clear likes and dislikes, it hasn’t actually spoken any of its opinions to Shen Yuan. In fact, after essentially falling into a coma post-not-quite-dragon-slaying, Jue Shi hasn’t said anything at all. 

Point is, Shen Yuan isn’t sure how Jue Shi’ll react if he lets his *cough* baba *cough* touch it. The whole thing could go either way, but if worst comes to worst, Jue Shi could go berserk and like, chop off all three of their heads! Shen Yuan has no idea! Anything could happen! So, he wisely chooses to block the attempt at contact.

Li Hanzu raises a very heroic eyebrow, laughter evident in his eyes, “Has A’Yuan improved so much that he expects me to not be able to keep up? Or is it simply that A’Yuan has underestimated my recovery?”

And before he can fully take in the words, and therefore react to the threat layered in them, Li Hanzu has already taken hold of Jue Shi. 

Shen Yuan holds his breath, eyes going wide, waiting for the worst… and… nothing happens? The runes don’t even light up like when Shen Yuan first held it. The Peak Lord inspects the relatively plain, but extremely high quality, blade. He lingers on the inscription near the hilt, “Jue Shi, ah? What an auspicious name!”

He then smoothly closes the sheath, tossing Jue Shi back almost too quickly for Shen Yuan to catch properly, “This sword will serve you well, A’Yuan. It’s not everyday that one finds a high class spiritual weapon like this… hmmm, how about we celebrate, ah? Hanjin doesn’t mind.”

Shen Yuan sort of wants to cry as he tucks Jue Shi back into his cloth belt. Out of all of the things to be celebrating, finding Jue Shi shouldn’t top the list! Tie Hanjin just pats his head, silently agreeing with the suggestion. So, instead of petulantly voicing his grievances, Shen Yuan merely nods with glassy eyes trained on his new dad. Or, maybe, dads?

-/-

Turns out, having a legendary demon sword isn’t really that different from having no sword at all… because Jue Shi doesn’t fucking let Shen Yuan use it! Training? Not important enough. Sparring? Needless violence. Cultivation forms? Same effect can be accomplished with a regular training sword… 

And so, Shen Yuan eventually stops asking. It only takes like a month before he accepts the fact that Jue Shi is going to be essentially useless in any non-life-or-death situation. On the bright side, he’s getting really good at using his battle fan! Though the fan is undoubtedly less powerful than Jue Shi, it is so much easier to work with… Shen Yuan seriously doesn’t understand why people think so highly of sword spirits. Aren’t they just added work? Instead of merely synchronizing with his sword, he has to get along with it too… and make it listen to him. Yeah, Jue Shi’s never going to just listen to him… Shen Yuan feels a bit cheated, but also, at least Jue Shi isn’t actively trying to absorb his soul which is more than can be said of some other demonic swords. 

Still, the fact that he spends more time using his fan in spars than his sword catches more than a few people’s attention. 

Qi Lifeng gives him funny looks whenever he responds to her impromptu spars by drawing his demonic bamboo battle fan. Li Hanzu whines playfully every time he refuses to use his sword, but he accepts it easily enough. The only person Shen Yuan’s actually more than a little wary of is his shizun. 

Tie Hanjin’s specialty is demons. Demon beasts, demonic weaponry, demons themselves obviously, but, point is, if anyone is going to figure out the secret behind Jue Shi’s refusal to be used, it’s gonna be his shizun. His upright, immortal cultivator shizun… his Qing Jing Peak Lord shizun… hahaha… hopefully, even if he does realize exactly what Jue Shi is, he won’t be mad at Shen Yuan, ah? After all, it isn’t really his fault that the sword he picked up at random just happens to be one of three legendary demonic weapons…

Well, Shen Yuan’s just gonna figure it out when/if the time comes. For now, no one knows, and if no one knows, Shen Yuan doesn’t have to explain anything to anyone!

-/-

It’s while Shen Yuan is practicing his new fan forms and stances that he first hears news of Yan Hanshi’s newest disciple. Apparently, the boy is a year younger than most new disciples joining Cang Qiong, which still makes him a year older than Shen Yuan’s current body, but that little thing alone is enough to make Qi Lifeng excited, and the fact that he comes from the very distinguished merchant family Zhang doesn’t seem to add or detract anything from her good mood. 

A Qi Lifeng in a good mood is a force that Shen Yuan still hasn’t entirely adjusted to… honestly, if Qi Lifeng weren’t already very attached to her life on Xian Shu, Shen Yuan would recommend her as a prospective student to his dad. They have the same sort of indomitable energy, Shen Yuan thinks they’d get along. 

“He can spar with us, Shen-di!” Qi Lifeng’s eyes sparkle with unrestrained glee. Shen Yuan tucks away his spotless and, as of yet, nameless fan. He knows that at this point, resistance is futile… Qi Lifeng has brute strength on her side, something that Shen Yuan just might always lack. So, instead of trying to talk her out of visiting Qian Cao, Shen Yuan merely checks to make sure Jue Shi is still calmly tied to his waist before leading the way.

-/-

“Can this disciple help you?” A calm eleven year old asks after being intensely stared at for a solid ten minutes. The taller of his stalkers pops up from her place in the sparse tree line. The second one takes a bit longer of a pause before he, too, reveals himself. Zhang Mu takes a moment just to observe the two. Their robes are obviously different, most likely signifying the peaks they come from. The girl looks right around the same age he is, but the boy is much more obviously younger. Zhang Mu wonders why they’re here… clearly, they’re both well-known disciples or they wouldn’t be allowed free range of the peaks. Why would talented young cultivators be interested in Zhang Mu?

“This one’s didi is accompanying this one to invite Zhang-shidi to our weekly spar!”  The girl speaks brightly, not a trace of apprehension in her voice. She’s obviously not shy in the least bit. Zhang Mu respects her confidence. 

With a good natured look on his still rounded features, Zhang Mu asks, “And just what is this one’s name?”

“Ah, this one is Qi Lifeng!” She shallowly salutes, too eager to hear his answer to do much else but stare expectantly.

“And this one?” Zhang Mu directs towards the boy. A sword hangs from his waist, as does a bamboo fan. From the style of his hair and demeanor, Zhang Mu guesses that he’s from Qing Jing… but his robes practically scream Bai Zhan, so Zhang Mu is uncertain. Qi Lifeng is much easier to pin down as a disciple of Xian Shu, though, if it weren’t for the purple accents to her clothing, Zhang Mu might’ve guessed Bai Zhan for her, too.

“Shen Yuan,” the boy then performs a much more formal bow, only continuing his sentence after he straightens back up, “and what is Disciple Zhang’s full name?”

“Ah,” Zhang Mu had just assumed they knew it, what with the whole staring thing. “This disciple’s name is Zhang Mu.”

“And Zhang Mu’s answer is?” Shen Yuan asks in a surprising show of interest. Originally, Zhang Mu had just thought him an unwilling tag-a-long of Qi Lifeng’s… clearly, Zhang Mu has an issue with early assumptions clouding his judgement.

With a light sigh (that Shen Yuan 1000% relates to), Zhang Mu makes sure that the training field is clear. He’d been meditating before the two made their appearance. As an official disciple of Qian Cao, Zhang Mu must not only refine his medical practice, but also his spiritual awareness. Meditation was just his first attempt to find something to help him cultivate… maybe sparring would work, too? 

And on that note, the future Peak Lord of Qian Cao laughs out an agreement.

-/-

See, the thing is. It’s not that Shen Yuan ever forgets his gege because he doesn’t. Instead, it’s that, at times, he forgets that he only has a limited window of opportunity before Shen Jiu manages to escape by himself. Traumatized and bloody. Time passes without him noticing, months go by in every flick of his fan. Shen Jiu’s fate creeping ever closer to canon.

Decisively, Shen Yuan mentally declares that he can’t let that happen as he blocks Zhang Mu’s quick but predictable strike. A fan vs a sword might seem unfair, but as the two continue their fight, even a villager uneducated in the martial arts would be able to point out the fact that Shen Yuan’s winning. By a lot.

It’s as he has to hold back his power in order to leave the older boy unharmed that Shen Yuan realizes something. Something more important than his current surroundings…

At Shen Yuan’s current level, he can go toe to toe with a normal man twice his age. As long as his opponent isn’t another cultivator, Shen Yuan’s pretty confident in his ability to beat just about anyone. Does he really have to wait any longer? What’s the point of delaying? The Qiu clan is known for their wealth, not their spiritual prowess. Shen Yuan can probably sneak in and out of the compound without alerting anyone… 

Technically, Shen Jiu isn’t supposed to escape for another year or two… but Shen Yuan hasn’t really been following the plot in the first place so… why should he wait? Shen Yuan turns eleven tomorrow, and after the celebrations cease, he’s going to rescue his Jiu-gege. 

Qi Lifeng laughs at his distracted appearance, offering a hand to the fallen Zhang Mu in his stead. As she stabilizes the oldest member of their group, she reflects on the past year. Soon, she’ll finally be old enough to attend actual lessons with her actual martial sister! But, somehow, the thought doesn’t make her smile. What may have been an exciting time in any other situation, is soured by the thought of losing what she already has with her brothers. If she starts taking lessons, Qi Lifeng’s free time will be almost non-existent, and there’s no guarantee that the breaks she does have will line up with Zhang Mu’s. 

Daily visits will turn to weekly visits. Weekly spars might devolve into monthly spars. Then what happens? What if she never sees them again? What if they leave the Sect and she doesn't even know? Qi Lifeng is scared. She’s never really had any other friends. Just Shen-di and Zhang-di. If she loses them, she’ll be well and truly alone. 

A squeeze to her shoulder brings Qi Lifeng back to the present, Zhang Mu looks worried, as does Shen Yuan. She bursts out into tears immediately, throwing an arm around each of her didi’s necks. Through unexpected sobs, she manages to say, “This one doesn’t want us to be separated! Even if we’re busy cultivators! This one doesn’t want to end up like Yue Qi!”

“What?” Shen Yuan and Zhang Mu speak simultaneously. Fortunately, Qi Lifeng’s whimpers are quieting rather quickly. Shen Yuan adds to his question in a panic, “Yue Qi? How do you know that name?”

“Hm?” Qi Lifeng sniffles. She then smears her sticky face all over Shen Yuan’s previously pristine robes. After a second of tense silence, she mutters, “Doesn’t everyone know Xie Handao’s new disciple? He’s famous after all.”

“What?” Shen Yuan stutters. Zhang Mu pulls away from the group hug, retying his hair in an effort to tame the fly aways. He looks very calm as if he too knows Yue Qi.

“Oh, yeah!” Qi Lifeng says brightly, eyes now completely dry. “Shen-di was on a mission with his shifu at the time, wasn’t he?”

Realization sparks in Zhang Mu’s eyes, a look of shock on his face. Shen Yuan is too distracted to further examine him though, Yue Qi is here? On Cang Qiong? Already? 

“But.. why haven’t I seen him, then?” Shen Yuan completely forgets his usual formalities. Qi Lifeng blinks at the change in his demeanor.

Zhang Mu clears his throat nervously, eventually replying in one breath, “Yue Qi went into solitary cultivation mere days after arriving.”

Chapter Text

As Shen Yuan stumbles off Jue Shi, he thinks about what all this means. Why is Yue Qi on Cang Qiong so early? Why isn’t he with Jiu-gege?? Has Shen Yuan already missed his chance to save his gege from becoming the #1 Scum Villain of PIDW? 

The wide open spiritual cavern looms intimidatingly as Shen Yuan pauses briefly at the entrance. Qi-ge is in the spirit caves. Qi-ge will know what’s happening with Jiu-gege.

Shen Yuan’s scared of what Yue Qi will say. Shen Yuan’s scared of what gossip Qi Lifeng and Zhang Mu passed on about the newest Qiong Ding disciple. Shen Yuan’s so scared. 

But he forces his feet to move, speed quickly picking up from an unsteady walk to a breathless sprint. 

Lifeng’s words run through his head, ‘This one doesn’t want to end up like Yue Qi!’

Shen Yuan had eventually asked what she meant by that, but Zhang Mu was the one to answer. He solemnly said, ‘The reason he was accepted by Sect Leader Xie.’

‘He has someone he wants to save, someone that will never forgive him, but still, he cannot leave them behind. Sect Leader Xie took him on as a disciple, despite being passed the usual accepted age, on the condition that he would take enough time in solitary cultivation to figure out his foundation. And to get his emotions together… regrets aren’t something such a young cultivator should have, he said. At least, that’s what I think happened,’ Lifeng had concluded with sad eyes. Shen Yuan still can’t remember exactly what happened after she finished speaking, but now, he’s running through the unfamiliar tunnels of the Lingxi Caves. Jue Shi glowing a tranquil blue at his side, humming growing louder every once in a while. Soon, Shen Yuan realizes that the sword’s actually playing a sort of hot-and-cold game with him. A deep hum when he makes the right turn, silence when he doesn’t. 

Eventually, Shen Yuan doesn’t need the directions anymore. He can feel the circulating Qi on his own now. No weirdly cooperative demonic sword necessary… seriously, Jue Shi like never does anything for Shen Yuan anymore, so even the slightest aid is pretty wild. 

Jue Shi cannot always sleep, the sword says suddenly. Shen Yuan scoffs mentally as he slowly approaches the place he’s almost certain to find Qi-ge. That’s total bullshit, he thinks. Jue Shi has already proven that sleeping all the time is not only entirely possible, but also most likely quite enjoyable.

A loud exhale of breath reminds Shen Yuan of his surroundings. He isn’t on Bai Zhan packing for an adventure with his dad, and he most definitely isn’t studying forms on Qing Jing with his shizun. Right now, Shen Yuan is deep within the Lingxi Caves. At this very moment, Shen Yuan is seconds away from knowing what happened to Shen Jiu. Shen Yuan’s spent years trying to figure out what’s going on with his Jiu-gege, and now’s the chance to find out! So why is he still hesitating? Why isn’t Shen Yuan already questioning the teenager meditating in front of him? Oh, yeah. He already knows the answer to that train of thought—Shen Yuan’s a coward. 

A bitter laugh catches him by surprise. Qi-ge is sitting right in the middle of the cave, body held in lotus position with less poise than Shen Yuan would expect from a future Sect Leader. Then again, he’s obviously still a teenager. Barely older than Shen Yuan’s body. How can he be anything like PIDW’s Yue Qingyuan? Not that the man in the book was any better. All that Yue Qi did was allow a damaged man to perpetuate the cycle of abuse and then proceed to fall into a death trap set by the very disciple he once failed to protect. Shen Yuan honestly probably prefers this less refined Qi-ge to that almost inhuman character portrayed in Airplane’s trash. 

When Shen Yuan first sensed it, Yue Qi’s energy was, though intense and overflowing, rather calm. Now, as he tries to say something, anything, to draw the teen’s attention to him, a wild fluctuation makes itself known. Almost as if Yue Qi’s having a deviation… wait, fuck! That’s probably exactly what’s happening!

“Yue Qi!” Shen Yuan calls out unthinkingly. The teen’s tightly closed eyes pop open, a dazed look floating through the black irises. And yet, despite the newly opened eyes, Shen Yuan’s almost certain Qi-ge can’t really see him. 

“Don’t you dare die, ah!” Shen Yuan starts to panic. However, his hands are steady when he presses them into the other boy’s back. Shen Yuan might only be ten (basically eleven though!), but his control is unnaturally exact. Using his Qi to stop a deviation is relatively simple for him… as long as there’s no conflict with the other cultivator's spiritual energy. Which, in this case, there definitely isn’t… hahaha, Shen Yuan is good at many things, lying to himself being one of them, but even he cannot deny the sharp jab of Qi that meets his attempts to stabilize Qi-ge’s rebelling meridians.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Shen Yuan chants endlessly, biting his tongue at least twice as he does. He doesn’t feel the pain, and his brain doesn’t register the taste of copper in his mouth. All that Shen Yuan knows is the clash of opposing spiritual energies. The fast-paced ebb and flow of incompatible Qi. Even one misstep can lead to Shen Yuan also falling into a deviation, and then it won’t just be Yue Qi facing the fate of death.

Finally though, as Shen Yuan is just about out of energy, the wild fluctuations settle. Yue Qi begins sorting out his Qi with the help of Shen Yuan’s desperate guide. With an entirely too world weary sigh, Shen Yuan crashes down to the stone floor. His touch on Qi-ge’s back probably left deep bruises, but he can’t quite find it in himself to care. He’s too freaking exhausted, ah. 

A sharp intake of breath sounds out from somewhere above him, “A-Yuan?”

“Qi-ge,” Shen Yuan mumbles in reply, eyes slipping shut against his will. And, just before losing the last thread of consciousness he possesses, Shen Yuan manages to ask, “Where’s my gege?”

-/-

“If Qi-ge keeps that up, he’ll get wrinkles,” Shen Yuan sits up steadily, a smile on his face despite the fact that mere hours ago he had exhausted nearly all of his spiritual energy. Yue Qi is kneeling next to where Shen Yuan had collapsed earlier. 

“Yuan-di!” Yue Qi coughs lightly, most likely still suffering from his close call. Shen Yuan stands up effortlessly, pulling Qi-ge with him as he goes. Shen Yuan doesn’t like the fact that seeing Yue Qi so concerned seems sort of natural… as if the teenager is meant to be constantly stressed. Shen Yuan doesn’t think anyone deserves that, but sometimes that’s how it goes. Sometimes life’s just constantly fucking stressful, ah. Nothing to do about that. 

Shen Yuan checks his own meridians first, feeling for how much Qi he’s regained. A surprisingly large reserve of energy greets him, and so he turns his attention to the (physically) older boy’s veins. The results are relatively positive, especially given the fact that Yue Qi’s received practically no formal training and just suffered through a serious Qi Deviation. Shen Yuan would’ve settled for not destroyed meridians, but Yue Qi’s done him proud. The guy’s spiritual veins are virtually unscathed—if a bit chaotic. “Good, Qi-ge is okay. Now, where is Jiu-gege?”

Shen Yuan’s eyes are shining with determination, and if one saw him, they might be inclined to call him a particularly motivated protagonist… good thing Yue Qi’s the only one in the cave with him. 

“This one-“ Yue Qi starts, and he hesitates for a very brief moment before continuing, “this one had to leave him behind, Yuan-di! A-Jiu is trapped in that house and this one cannot do anything! My cultivation is not correct, it is not strong enough for me to save him! This one left A-Jiu!”

And before Shen Yuan is completely caught up to the teen’s words, Yue Qi bursts into (manly) tears. Without a moment’s delay, Shen Yuan reaches out to hug him. Maybe if he were less shook, a hug wouldn't've been his first choice… but panic leads to rushed decisions. Soon, Shen Yuan realizes that it’s not only his robes that are wet from tears, it’s also his own cheeks. However, instead of paying much attention to the fact that he’s fucking crying, Shen Yuan gets to the heart of the matter, “Qi-ge may not be strong enough… but this disciple is. Tell me where my ge is.” 

Yue Qi sobs once more, much quieter in a sort of choked off way. Then, he whispers, “the Qiu Compound, near the forest we last saw each other. If you can do it, please go. I can’t let A-Jiu go through more pain because of me! Please… I’m too weak. Please, Yuan-di.”

“This one will save Jiu-gege. I will save him. Just wait here, ah? Keep cultivating, or Xie Handao might just kick you off Cang Qiong before I return,” Shen Yuan adds lightly, pushing Yue Qi backwards into a more proper posture. Ignoring the red eyes and temporary stress lines, Yue Qi is the epitome of what young disciples should aspire to be, well, young Head Disciples that is. And actually, maybe the stress lines do fit the look… Shen Yuan just nods once, steadying the future Yue Qingyuan before turning away in a flurry of rather messy Bai Zhan robes. 

Already, hundreds of plans are flitting through his head. Each one more dramatic and implausible than the last. Jue Shi seems to laugh at them, but with one slip, the sword is unsheathed and floating in front of him. Clearly, Jue Shi is willing to help Shen Yuan with this. Even if it is quite tiring…

-/-

It’s only as Jue Shi has already taken him soaring past all of Cang Qiong’s barriers that Shen Yuan realizes he’s missed two very big things. One, he never freaking asked why Yue Qi was here without Jiu-gege??? Like, why’d they split up? How exactly did they decide that would be a good idea??? And two, he totally forgot to tell someone where he’s going… 

Shit.

-/-

Meanwhile, back at the mountain…

“Master Li!” A small girl shouts, voice unbelievably strong for such a young child. Li Hanzu lifts an eyebrow despite knowing that she will not (can not) appreciate the gesture. However, he doesn’t do anything other than that. Disciples are way too much work, and so not his problem. The only disciple Hanzu cares for at all is A’Yuan, and that’s probably because of how un-childlike, while still managing to be pure and innocent 99% of the time, the ten year old acts.

Eventually, a hushed voice, that Hanzu identifies as belonging to the second oldest disciple on Bai Zhan, points the girl in his direction. Hanzu still doesn’t make any moves to acknowledge her. If the child wants something from him, she’ll have to act on her own and ask all by herself! This is the rule of Bai Zhan! The weak will never succeed, and the strong will never abandon their beliefs and loyalties. This is the fundamental base of any cultivator, in Li Hanzu’s opinion. One can have endless talent, and still be weak. However, one can also be born practically powerless, and still end up strong. It all depends on the mind. Li Hanzu can tell one’s strength at a mere glance, and he’s known A’Yuan is going to be unshakeable one day almost as long as he’s known the boy himself. Just one look in those dark green eyes and Hanzu could feel the hidden strength. The subtle yet unbending loyalty. Now that Hanzu thinks of it, maybe that’s why he feels differently about his favorite disciple. Maybe it's his eyes. The eyes of a truly strong opponent. Li Hanzu gets giddy just thinking about it! 

Finally, two sets of footsteps stop before him. One of the two is clearly out of breath. Li Hanzu still doesn’t open his eyes. He will not make the first move. Even if he can already tell that the girl is probably far from mild-mannered. Once the heavier of the two sounds calm again, the girl speaks. She says, “This one’s didi ran away somewhere!”

“Oh?” Li Hanzu asks, curiosity lighting up not only his opening eyes but also his voice. It’s been a very long time since one of his disciples asked him for help on something like this. Haha, scratch that. It’s been a very long time since any of his disciples dared ask for help on anything. “And who would this one’s didi be?”

“Shen Yuan!” 

If Li Hanzu had been mildly bemused by the girl up until now, then surely, Li Hanzu is extremely interested after her response. His lazy eyes shoot open. In less than a second, he’s jumped straight to his feet, facing the two children that he’s now realized definitely don’t come from Bai Zhan. One looks to be from Qian Cao while the girl is definitely a disciple of that old ram, Shi Hanxin. With a deadly serious air about him, Li Hanzu asks one question: “What. Happened.”

-/-

Of course, Shen Yuan has no idea what trouble he’s going to encounter when he returns home. Instead, he forcefully pushes his Cang Qiong related concerns to the back of his head. All he needs to worry about, for now, is how he’s going to save his (not) brother. Jue Shi’s been weirdly helpful so far, but Shen Yuan knows that the sword won’t participate in any actual fight. The only reason Jue Shi had stepped in on the previous occasion with the Not-Quite-Dragon was because their lives were almost certainly on the line. Life or death, Jue Shi can help. Otherwise? Meh. 

So, that leaves Shen Yuan’s still unnamed battle fan. Okay, this won’t be too bad. If OG Shen Jiu can escape without any cultivation whatsoever and no spiritual weapon, then surely, Shen Yuan, who’s been training for years now, can tackle the issue swordless. Not to mention the fact that he really needs more practical experience with his fan! He still hasn’t even connected with it enough to give it a name… maybe he will after this trip? Shen Yuan looks down at the gleaming battle fan attached to his belt. It seems sad, but still rather proud. Suddenly, Shen Yuan feels super guilty. 

“I’ll give you a name soon, ah? Promise!” He whispers comfortingly towards the fan. The fan that almost certainly does not have a spirit yet… and almost certainly cannot hear/understand him… but it’s the thought that counts, right? Shen Yuan can feel Jue Shi laughing at his thoughts even though the sword doesn’t hum or glow like usual. Clearly, Jue Shi does not get how bad he feels about letting his fan go nameless for like years… ah. Maybe Shen Yuan should just name it, now? He is about to go storm a fancy ass mansion with only his fan for a weapon… It would make sense to connect with it a bit more deeply before battle. For like, good luck..?

“Ah,” Shen Yuan blinks slowly a few times, pulling the fan off his belt and inspecting the bamboo and silk as he has hundreds of times before. “Maybe something simple? Not too flashy.. Like, I don’t know... Jue Shi.”

Jue Shi does actually hum this time, but it is clearly not a hum of shame or embarrassment. Instead, it is a hum of ‘hey, wtf, my name is awesome’. Shen Yuan laughs. Suddenly though, a name comes to him.

Flicking the fan open and closed once, he gently whispers, “All along, continuously, always by my side… Yong Yuan.”

Chapter Text

As Shen Yuan says the words softly, an odd sensation occurs under his finger tips. Quickly, he flicks the fan back open, staring intently at the spot on the bamboo his fingers had previously occupied. They say seeing is believing, but as Shen Yuan watches brush-stroke like carvings appear one at a time, gradually spelling out Yong Yuan, he sorta doesn’t wanna accept it. However, if nothing else, Shen Yuan is adaptable (and particularly good at compartmentalization), a magically carved fan is the least weird thing he’s seen today. Also, what’s a self mutilating fan got on a sword with a superiority complex? Nothing, that’s what.

In fact, the carvings are sort of like a toddler getting really excited after learning how to write their own name. Honestly, Shen Yuan thinks Yong Yuan’s a bit cute. Also, the whole occurrence leads him to believe that the fan may not be as inanimate as he once assumed. 

Sure, Yong Yuan isn’t flying off on its own, snarking at Shen Yuan like a smug senior, but really, not many sword spirits are that active either. In fact, Shen Yuan can’t name even one sword with half as much independent BDE as Jue Shi. Truly, the sword lives up to its name. 

A tree line emerges on the cloudy horizon, and, even though Shen Yuan is like 1000% sure he shouldn’t be able to, the greenery is weirdly recognizable. 

The Chu Forest, Shen Yuan thinks, Jue Shi slowly descending from its dazzlingly high flight. Chu Xiaolian--the place OG Shen Yuan was meant to die. A location literally named after its ability to wipe the smile off your face. When his feet finally touch the forest floor after years of absence, a chill jolts straight up his spine through the boots gifted to him by his shizun. It’s like his body instinctively knows that it shouldn’t be here. 

“Hey, Jue Shi?” Shen Yuan asks for lack of a better alternative, or really, any alternative. “How do I get out of here?”

Is Jue Shi a map now as well as a spiritual weapon? Shen Yuan blinks once. With everything Jue Shi can do, why wouldn’t navigation be part of the package? After all, it managed to bring him this far.

The sword softly hums once as it swiftly resheathes itself. Silly Child, how could Jue Shi not know where this forest is? After all, it is not a location unfamiliar to you.

Wait, Shen Yuan thinks, then he says out loud, “You can bring me anywhere I’ve already been?”

Of course, why not? And yeah, it’s shit like that that convinces Shen Yuan the sword can do anything. Now, Jue Shi sleeps. Tired. 

Well, fuck. Shen Yuan surveys the foliage around him in a full circle. No clear paths can be seen, and no particular direction sticks out to him. Evidently, he might be walking for a while… 

Without noticing, Shen Yuan begins gently flicking Yong Yuan open and closed. An unconscious movement most likely inspired by the monotony of slowly traveling through an eerily silent forest. However, as he goes, the fan gets harder and harder to open. Finally, Yong Yuan doesn’t spread at all, and Shen Yuan looks down. Not only are the bamboo ribs tightly clasped, the whole fan is ramrod straight, vibrating with an almost uncontrollable glee. Now that he’s actually paying attention to it, Shen Yuan notices that the fan is pointing at an odd angle. Normally, it would be at a soft diagonal from lack of input on his part, but now, Yong Yuan points directly left. 

The gesture gives him pause. This could mean a whole shit ton of things, especially when the author of the book he’s in is as fucking dumb as Airplane. Yong Yuan could be leading him to some ancient relic, but it could also be leading him to his doom. Or, it could mean absolutely nothing either than the fact that Shen Yuan has managed to gain yet another restless weapon spirit. Still, something tells him that isn’t the case. 

“Yong Yuan,” Shen Yuan whispers contemplatively. His eyes are entirely focused on the direction pointed out by the fan. Finally, he goes with his gut, feet quickly adjusting his path. As he turns, his wrist moves as well, maintaining it’s pointing direction as a compass’s needle would. He says, much more confidently this time, “I’m trusting you.”

-/-

After hundreds of miles crossed via sword flight, Shen Yuan should not be following the directions of a battle fan through a well-known demonic hot spot. It doesn’t seem right. Why can’t this part be easy, ah?! He hasn’t even gotten to the actual rescue bit! With the way it’s going… sooner or later Shen Yuan is gonna be the one in need of help!

Now, Shen Yuan is definitely stronger than the average ten year old, but even he gets tired eventually. After six hours of walking through the Chu Forest, narrowly avoiding roots and branches, Shen Yuan is so done. His feet ache, his head hurts from the strain of his tight ponytail, and, above all, he’s so freaking hungry. 

Maybe, he should’ve planned this whole trip better. Or really, just planned anything at all… Shen Yuan has no idea exactly how long it’s been since he left Cang Qiong, but he does know one thing; the sun is slowly dipping closer and closer to the earth. Within a few hours, the forest will be cast entirely in moonlight, shadows forming where they logically shouldn’t be able to, once silent plants coming to rustling awareness, and demonic beasts lazily prowling their individual territories in search of prey. 

Based on Shen Yuan’s own awareness of his skill level, if he doesn’t manage to leave before night falls... he’ll die… and also probably be dinner for at least one lucky monster! Sure, Yong Yuan might be leading him out of the woods, but how much further does he have to go? Is he even going to make it? Shen Yuan’s starting to get a bit nervous. This specific anxiety is something incredibly familiar to him. Every time he’d be wheeled in for a new operation during his first life, this is exactly how he would feel. 

Hospital living isn’t fun, and Shen Yuan isn’t gonna lie and say it is, but the days he spent at home between big surgeries and treatments were a far greater challenge. Lying in bed at home, alternating between staring at a drab carpet and reading trashy webnovels, is somehow so much worse than doing the exact same thing in a hospital room. It’s something about the connotations of each location, he supposes. Hospital stays are supposed to be miserable, painful times. Weekend visits to the main house shouldn’t have the same feeling, but for Shen Yuan, they did, and that’s probably why he dreaded them so much. 

In fact, as soon as his health steadied enough for him to actually act like a normal person, the first thing Shen Yuan did was get his own apartment. At least that way, none of his family would be forced to watch him ultimately wither away. Still, the days before big operations always felt the same. 

No matter what Shen Yuan did, no matter how far away he pushed his siblings and parents, the fact that his death would affect them remained unchanged. So, as he watched the sterile environment pass by on his way to the operating room, Shen Yuan always had one of two lines of thought running through his head. 

First, what if this surgery is enough to finally make my constitution strengthen? How will they react? Would they want me to come back?

And then there was the more realistic side of him raising its ugly head, what if this is it? What if I finally kick the bucket? Would they even care anymore?

However, the content of his musing didn’t matter so much as the fear that went along with it. The sheer terror of the ‘what if’s causing a unique anxiety to settle into his fragile bones. Above all else, Shen Yuan doesn’t want to be a burden. He doesn’t want to be the reason people around him are unhappy. 

And yet, his whole life, that's all he seemed to be. Just a source of unending misery and endless responsibility for his family. 

So, yes. The anxiety Shen Yuan feels now is familiar. Almost too familiar, actually. And finally, it’s beginning to dawn on him that he’s really fucked up. Shen Yuan didn’t tell anyone where he’s going, and the only one that does know is currently in indefinite seclusion. He also isn’t even remotely prepared for a long trip. He didn’t bring food, he didn't bring water... he didn't bring anything other than the clothes on his back, Yong Yuan, and Jue Shi. And now, if he can’t find a way out of this stupid fucking forest, Shen Yuan’s just going to die. 

Pathetic and alone. Once again.

Really, Shen Yuan should’ve known that this would happen. He should’ve known that all he does is cause problems. All he does is create trouble for his loved ones. Shen Yuan is like the personified version of an addiction. At first, he seems harmless enough, but then, when people actually begin to care about him… he snatches every chance of happiness away from them. 

In Shen Yuan’s first life, he was nothing more than an unfilial financial obligation to his parents. It’s actually sort of funny that Shen Yuan thought for even a second that he wouldn’t disappoint his new dad and shizun the same way he did his original parents. Dying like this, Shen Yuan thinks, abruptly coming to a stop and spitefully regarding the dimming sky, I guess this was my fate all along. 

Li Hanzu was kidnapped for years because of a request from Shen Yuan. Tie Hanjin faced years without his best friend because of Shen Yuan. Li Hanzu might never name someone his Head Disciple now because of how fucking dissapointing Shen Yuan ended up. And Shen Yuan probably permanently strained the relationship between Xie Handao and Tie Hanjin! With all that he’s done in the past six years, how else would Shen Yuan top his misdeeds other than getting himself killed in the very same place he was first rescued?

Shen Yuan is stupid. An idiot no better than Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky. He’s just so fucking dumb! Why didn’t Shen Yuan bring someone with him? Why didn’t he tell his shifu or shizun? Why can’t he just find a way out of this God. Damn. Forest!

With Shen Yuan’s suddenly frenzied thoughts comes a painful tremor originating from the center of his chest. The pain brings clarity though, and just before Shen Yuan’s buckling knees hit the ground, he hears two things.

One, a distorted electric shriek. It sounds vaguely like words that have been run through a voice changer one too many times.

Two, a shrill screech from the direction Yong Yuan is still determined to point out.

The thud of bones hitting the ground echoes through the not quite black forest. Shen Yuan forces himself to breathe through the pain he can now clearly identify as heart demons, and with no regard to how agonizing it will feel, he forces his chin up in an attempt to find the source of the human sounding shout.

Harsh breaths rack his almost eleven year old body, and Shen Yuan can barely focus enough to ascertain that the figure in front of him is a girl right around his age. All he can do is hope that she isn’t a demon in disguise and try to control his sideways tumble to the debris littered floor.

As the side of Shen Yuan’s ribs hit the ground, he hears a dramatic gasp. The girl is in front of him in seconds, and right before he finally succumbs to the pain, she says, “Xiao Jiu?”

-/-

“But A-Luo! Doesn’t he look just like A-Jiu? We have to keep him!” Shen Yuan stiffens greatly at the shout that greets him when he first wakes up. With great difficulty, he manages to not visibly cringe. His body aches, but the lack of debilitating burning suggests that his heart demons have at least temporarily abated. 

“Tang-er,” an older male’s voice replies in what Shen Yuan thinks is supposed to be exasperated affection, but comes across a bit too creepy to actually hit the mark. “How can we just take in a random street rat? The Qiu Manor doesn’t house free loaders. Everyone must earn their keep, Tang-er.” 

At the final words of the man that most likely kick-started the OG SQQ’s blackening, Shen Yuan can’t continue fake sleeping. His disgust for the other man is too strong. Instead, he goes for a good, old fashioned, innocent-until-proven-guilty attitude, his voice is as gentle and weak as he can possibly make it as he coughs out, “Where is this one?”

“Tang-er brought you to her brother! You look so much like Xiao Jiu, you know! Aiyah, Tang-er thinks that if you were one or two years older, you might be twins! Do you know A-Jiu? A-Jiu is the best at braiding hair, you know.” Shen Yuan blinks blankly at the girl excitedly rambling by his side. She must be the one who saved him, and, by the state of his destroyed clothes and almost certainly matted hair, dragged him straight to the Qiu Manor. 

Holy. Fuck. Shen Yuan mentally wheezes. Maybe God exists after all! To think, I was so sure I'd die! Only for my destination to literally come to me! 

“A-Jiu?” Shen Yuan questions softly, his voice raspy but probably a bit too steady for a supposedly seriously injured eleven year old… but, eh. Good enough. 

The girl, Tang-er, leans forward so far that an elegant braid sweeps its way straight over her shoulder. The intricate rounded design suggests at least six separate sections in the braid. Whoever did it must really be skilled. She excitedly pronounces, “Xiao Jiu is the best! He can read really well! And he’s really smart! And he’s way better at doing my hair than A-Luo is…”

“Haha, that’s enough, Tang-er. I’m sure that your A-Jiu could use you more than this little guest can. Perhaps, if you're lucky, he’ll teach you another poem,” Qiu Jianluo persuades his sister to leave so efficiently despite her obvious interest in Shen Yuan (she did drag him at least a mile through the demonic forest, so…) that any witness would get chills. Butter wouldn't melt in this man’s mouth. If it were anyone else, Shen Yuan might find it in himself to be impressed by Qiu Jianluo’s ability to keep up his doting older brother act, but there’s no possible way that Shen Yuan can find anything admirable in a man that holds impure thoughts for his own sister. Not to mention the years of abuse Shen Jiu has and would’ve continued to experience at his hands… So, yeah. Very much not impressed. However, Shen Yuan doesn’t let any of his dislike reach his face. With Tie Hanjin as his shizun, Shen Yuan has long mastered the art of withholding emotional cues. 

If Qiu Jianluo is a great pretender, then Shen Yuan has long ascended to the lying heavens.

Batting his naturally watery eyes, Shen Yuan asks, “Would this one be able to get a small drink? This one’s throat is very dry, Honorable Sir.”

An amused sparkle flashes through Qiu Jianluo’s menacing eyes, he reaches out a hand, easily grabbing a glass of water from somewhere outside Shen Yuan’s field of view. The teenager offers him the cup, and Shen Yuan doesn’t show any sort of reaction beyond gratitude. None of his apprehension, tension, or obvious anticipation make an appearance in his body language, tone, or facial expression. From an outside point of view, Shen Yuan looks like nothing more than a pure white lotus. Eventually, Qiu Jianluo breaks the silence, “You may call this master Jianluo. My family name is Qiu, and this is my clan’s manor. Despite my sister’s naivete, she was right about one thing. You do look an awful lot like our family’s Xiao Jiu.”

“This one’s name is Li Jin, Master Jianluo, and this one is sorry, but Li Jin does not know anyone with the name Xiao Jiu,” Shen Yuan demurs carefully, fully aware that one wrong word will shift the situation in a way he doesn’t want it to. Because of the magic wine Shen Yuan drank years ago, his spiritual energy is incredibly hard to sense without touching his skin directly. Qiu Jianluo, on the other hand, had no such thing, thus his cultivation level is plain to see. 

Unfortunately, the man does have some Qi cycling his spiritual veins slowly, and Shen Yuan is sure that, as a young master of a wealthy family, he must have some sword skills. Therefore, though he’s nearly 100% sure he can still win, Shen Yuan decides to continue on with the harmless charade. Just until he finds Jiu-gege, that is. Then, all bets are off, and Qiu Jianluo will pay for his crimes. 

“Is that so?” Qiu Jianluo asks rhetorically, completely ignorant to Shen Yuan’s darkening thoughts. “Then surely, Li Jin wouldn’t mind if my favorite slave joined us while we talk?”

“What?” Shen Yuan asks, eyes going wide in genuine shock. Nothing else slips, but mentally, he’s already vehemently cursed his own reactions a hundred times over. 

“Oh! And my dear Tang-er was right about one more thing. Xiao Jiu is just the best, isn’t he?” Qiu Jianluo leans forward in the same manner Qiu Haitang did no more than twenty minutes ago. On him, it’s anything but cute. Shen Yuan allows himself to lean back. Given the circumstances, it’d probably be way more conspicuous if he didn’t. “Surely, Li Jin can’t blame me if I want to show off my most prized possession, can he?”

For a moment, Shen Yuan has no idea how he should react. He’s too blindsided by the maturity of Qiu Jianluo’s statements. The teenager, no matter how you look at it, doesn’t sound like he’s talking to an eleven year old. He sounds like he’s talking to someone his own age that he views as an equal. Like, sure, that’s how Tie Hanjin and Li Hanzu talk to him as well… but they already know Shen Yuan’s mental level. They know he can follow their more mature thought processes. It makes sense for them to ignore his physical age when conversing with Shen Yuan.

...but why the fuck is Qiu Jianluo talking to him like this?! They’ve most certainly never met! Also, wtf is with Qiu Jianluo implying that he knows Shen Yuan is lying about his name? Can’t he just go ahead and say it if he believes it! 

“This one,” Shen Yuan hesitates with confusion in his soft eyes. After a brief pause to collect his scattered thoughts, he placatingly replies with, “Li Jin cannot possibly presume to blame Master Jianluo for anything, and most certainly not for showing off something Master Jianluo is proud of.”

“Hm,” he definitely doesn’t believe Shen Yuan, “then this is the perfect time for my Xiao Jiu to bring me and my guest tea.”

Shen Yuan holds his breath as he watches the teenager ring a delicate silver bell, infusing Qi as he does, causing an echoing chime to spill forth into not only the room they lie in, but also, surely, almost every other room in the manor as well. There is no doubt that Shen Jiu heard it. Which means… this is it.

This is Shen Yuan’s chance! As soon as he confirms his Jiu-gege’s location, Shen Yuan can neutralize the human scum named Qiu Jianluo.

“Oh, and one more thing,” the human scum himself interrupts Shen Yuan’s plotting once again, “I know why you’re here, A-Yuan. ”

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan’s heart rate spikes, his eyes dilating more than they ever have before, but he does not react. He holds his body in a tense yet relaxed way, imitating the posture of a child that has no clue what’s happening. He breathes shakily in a mockery of fear, and says, “This one is sorry, but Li Jin still does not understand what Master Jianluo speaks of.”

“Hmmm, very convincing,” Qiu Jianluo drawls leaning back in his seat, effectively landing him in his starting position. He’s got one long arm rested on his bent knees, the hand now propping his head up lazily. Even with the change in pose, he radiates a creepy aura. 0/10, Shen Yuan would not recommend. Then, the teen continues, “Anyone else would have fallen for it, I am sure. But there is a reason my Qiu Clan has prospered for so long, and it is not just because we are lucky.”

Shen Yuan sorta wants to keep playing dumb, but at this point, he has no chance of convincing Qiu Jianluo that he isn’t who he thinks he is, so what’s the point in keeping appearances? All Shen Yuan has to consciously continue projecting is a sense of weakness. 

“The direct bloodline has an interesting power. One touch, and we can hear others’ thoughts. From the moment our hands touched,” Shiiiiiiit, Shen Yuan screams mentally. OFC Qiu Jianluo would be a touch telepath! And ofc Shen Yuan’s first move would be to accidentally touch him! Curse him and his need for water! Shen Yuan’s never asking for water again! Qiu Jianluo doesn’t give him any more time to think, leaning back in before Shen Yuan can react. He says, “I knew who you were. Though, I guess you’re not really our Xiao Jiu’s A-Yuan, after all, you’re merely an imposter, ah?”

Foot steps are steadily growing louder. They aren’t particularly loud, but they speak of someone at least ten centimeters taller than Shen Yuan and maybe one kg heavier. Shen Jiu, his mind fills in automatically. Shen Yuan is shaking, he can feel Yong Yuan colliding with his ribs ever so slightly with every minute shift. Suddenly, a thought smashes into his head. Why is he still waiting? He has a weapon. He has Yong Yuan, and now, he knows where his gege is… so why is he still doing nothing? Qiu Jianluo’s only use was helping Shen Yuan find his Jiu-gege faster. 

Just as Shen Yuan is about to grab Yong Yuan from the inside of his tattered robes, a large hand attaches itself to his wrist. Grip tightening beyond what Shen Yuan expected, Qiu Jianluo restrains his whole arm with the one move. Now, though, the teen is close enough for Shen Yuan to feel breaths against his neck. Qiu Jianluo whispers into his skin, “Ah, you might not be A-Yuan, but you look the part. Knowing that you’re actually older than me just adds to it... Ahhh, A-Yuan might be a good replacement for Xiao Jiu.”

Shen Yuan probably looks like a confused puppy. His emotions clear in his eyes despite his usual control. It all clicks after the teen adds, “Our family’s Xiao Jiu’s a little too tall for my tastes now anyway, he’s just not as cute anymore.”

With a dry mouth and a sudden burst of energy, Shen Yuan managed to aim a Qi infused palm strike straight at Qiu Jianluo’s unprotected dantian. As the man wasn’t expecting it, he stumbles back dramatically, a thin trail of blood dripping down from the left corner of his mouth. A look of shock pervades his face effectively blocking any other expression that might have attempted to conquer it. Shen Yuan drags himself to his feet, vision flickering momentarily from the movement. 

He yanks Yong Yuan from the place Qiu Haitang must’ve tucked it before dragging him to this manor. With a flick of devastatingly sharpened Qi, Shen Yuan strikes out at the still recovering freak on the floor. The sudden use of so much energy makes him nauseated temporarily, but Shen Yuan knows it will soon pass. Exhaustion always does. His new body actually regenerates energy way faster than most people do. Even faster than Li Hanzu does. ...Shen Yuan still doesn’t heal very fast though. 

Qiu Jianluo lays prone on the floor of what Shen Yuan believes may be a tea room or perhaps a study. Shen Yuan observes him blankly, checking for any signs of life. The teen’s body doesn’t so much as twitch, but Shen Yuan still feels like the whole thing’s just too easy. One sweep of Yong Yuan? That’s all it takes? Who is he---Saitama???? 

However, just before Shen Yuan can really start roasting Qiu Jianluo’s apparently lackluster capabilities, the sliding of a door alerts him to what he’s been waiting for this whole time.

“Jiu-gege!” Shen Yuan blurts, voice cracking with the emotion put behind it. He turns to stare at the doorway, expecting to see the same gege he remembers, just… a bit taller, you know? Of course, that’s not what he gets. Instead, he sees two children. There’s Qiu Haitang, her hair flowing around her shoulders and her hand gripping the wrist of the other kid. The boy that’s almost certainly Jiu-gege… but Shen Yuan doesn’t see it. All he sees is a struggling boy with no desire to live much longer, all hope burnt from the inside out through years of physical and mental torture. The only resemblance Shen Jiu has with the boy in front of Shen Yuan now, is his face.

Qiu Haitang quickly drops the boy’s wrist, gasping as she sees her brother’s limp form splayed out across the room. Shen Jiu also gasps, though, his is undoubtedly more cautious joy than anything even remotely like sadness. Finally, it seems as if Shen Yuan’s words register in the two newcomers’ minds. Both turn to Shen Yuan within seconds.

Qiu Haitang speaks first, “You! What did you do to Tang-er’s A-Luo!”

But neither Shen pays her any mind, much too caught up in staring at each other. While Shen Jiu is nearly unrecognizable after everything he’s been through, then so is Shen Yuan. Gone is the most likely terminally ill toddler, replaced with a healthy and happy looking tween. Shen Jiu nearly faints, but his past years spent at the Qiu Manor have taught him fainting is the worst possible reaction to have. If Shen Jiu is unconscious, he’s fair game. Anything could happen, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. So, rather than following through with the urge to pass out, he growls out, “Who are you?!”

“Jiu-gege?” Shen Yuan asks tentatively. Yong Yuan is already tucked back into his robes, so, with empty hands held out in front of him, the eleven year old moves towards his gege. Shen Jiu flinches. It’s a tiny motion but it's obvious to Shen Yuan. The (physically) younger boy freezes in place, no longer interested in approaching the older boy. At least, not for now. 

“No,” Shen Jiu says, hands shaking and eyes promising fiery retribution for whoever provokes him. “You don’t get to call me that! I don’t know you. You aren’t my didi! How dare you?”

Every word is dripping in poison, but Shen Yuan understands that there is much more pain laced in. For every drop of anger, there is a cup of anguish. Shen Yuan sees that now… but he has no idea what he’s supposed to do! How the fuck does he convince an extremely traumatized fourteen year old that he’s his brother???? How does that work???? 

“Jiu-gege! I haven’t once forgotten you! The years I’ve spent without you will never override the days I remember riding on your back. A fever scorching so hot I couldn't breathe… so painful I couldn't think of anything other than the gege struggling to carry me. This one, this one is here for you, Jiu-gege! A-Yuan might have been a burden before, but now this one can help, Gege!” Shen Yuan might not be being 100% truthful, but he knows that, if the real one were here, this is what OG Shen Yuan would say. Shen Jiu blinks rapidly a few times, eyes beginning to water. 

Despite clearly still struggling to accept the situation, Shen Jiu reaches a single hand out to touch Shen Yuan’s cheek. With the pressure one would apply to a baby bird, he strokes the boy’s sorta dirt streaked cheek. Finally, he seems to come to a conclusion. Shen Jiu envelopes Shen Yuan in a hug so tight, neither of them can actually breath. He sobs quietly, repeating the words ‘it’s really you’ over and over. Shen Yuan returns the gesture, soon beginning to cry himself.

Clearly, the original host’s memories must be more integrated than he thought. Why else would Shen Yuan be reacting so much? And, with that mindset, Shen Yuan can forgive himself if he’s a bit more emotional than a cultivator really should be. 

(For every choked ‘it’s you’, there is a ‘this one’s here, Gege’ in response.)

Chapter Text

Tie Hanjin and Li Hanzu are having what their A’Yuan might refer to as a staring contest. A battle of wills per say. A silent competition between the Peak Lords. Whoever speaks first loses. Whoever moves first loses. Whoever goes running after A’Yuan first? That’s right, they lose.

Of course, both immortals are feeling much more pressure than their countenances may suggest. With all of his being, Tie Hanjin wishes to fly after his (future) Head Disciple. However, one thing is stopping him.

An inescapable factor even Li Hanzu can’t come up with a work around for. 

They have no idea where Shen A’Yuan is.

-/-

Qiu Haitang originally goes unnoticed in the corner next to her brother; however, that doesn’t last long. Qiu Haitang makes herself known by dropping to the ground with a wail. Shen Jiu jerks back from Shen Yuan in instinctual panic at the noise. It’s a given that when the Young Miss is unhappy, the Young Master is unhappy as well, and when Qiu Jianluo is unhappy… Shen Jiu shudders. 

Shen Yuan notices, but all he can actively offer is a light hand squeeze before he has to handle the situation his whole vigilante-esque murder/self defense thing caused. Jue Shi hums laughingly from a place Shen Yuan can’t seem to identify, and Yong Yuan is a reassuring weight at his waist. Where the sword is like an OP best friend, the fan is more like an overly gentle twin. Both are there for the ups and downs, but one is much more likely to tease him.

With the support provided by his weapons, and also his newly (mostly) rescued gege, Shen Yuan confidently approaches the two siblings. Before he’s in reach of either of them, he frees the remaining bits of Qi he has in an attempt to make sure Qiu Jianluo is actually as dead as he looks. It’s only when no sign of opposing spiritual energy greets him that Shen Yuan finally takes the last step towards Qiu Haitang and her recently deceased brother. 

“Get away from Tang-er!” the girl screeches quite well, even through her continuous sobs. Before Shen Yuan has a chance to do anything other than cringe a bit at the volume of her words, Shen Jiu pulls him back by the left shoulder. 

Shen Yuan’s Jiu-gege looks very tense, which is a given, but also sort of uncomfortable. Like he isn’t sure how to feel about what’s already happened and what is about to happen. Shen Yuan blinks slowly, turning to look straight into his older brother’s eyes. Somehow, despite knowing that Shen Jiu is nowhere near becoming the scum villain Shen Qingqiu yet, Shen Yuan finds it jarring for there to still be so much obvious emotion in the teenager’s eyes. 

Tie Hanjin has taught Shen Yuan very well, and he is therefore extremely well-educated on the subject of reading facial cues to assess emotional states. In the years that Li Hanzu was missing, Shen Yuan became well-versed in the observational aspects of being an immortal cultivator (according to his shizun, at least). While some missing facts are expected and therefore excusable, Shen Yuan can only be considered inept if he dares to forget the number one fact Tie Hanjin once spent three days repeatedly drilling into his head. If Shen Yuan were to only remember one thing from the months spent on body language and emotional cues, it’s this--the eyes really are the window to the soul. 

Sure, it might sound cliche, because it is *coughcough*, but it’s so very true. Even the best liars have problems masking the feelings visible in their gaze. Incidentally, eyes are also the best marker for the degeneration of a person’s morals and mental health. Shen Qingqiu is originally supposed to be the villain type with sly and icy eyes to match his scum persona. Shen Jiu’s, on the other hand, are far from cold. They’re more cautious than most teens his age, and they’re definitely more jaded, but the forest green irises radiate more genuine attachment and affection than any reader of PIDW would’ve ever been able to guess. 

And, as Shen Yuan reads his brother’s mind through his eyes, he realizes that what he had been about to do isn’t the action Jiu-gege would prefer he take. Originally, Shen Yuan decided that, because of her later plot importance, he should take the chance to kill her if he got it. He knows that it seems more than a bit heartless… but Shen Yuan’s read the scene where Shen Qingqiu gets accused more times than any other scene in the whole book! He probably knows better than anyone else (yes, even better than airplane-bro!) how integral her statement is to Shen Qingqiu’s downfall! Sure… at the time, he had been rejoicing, but now! Now, he knows a threat when he sees one. 

But.

Shen Jiu cares about her. He cares about the little miss enough to not want her dead. 

And Shen Yuan can’t bear to disappoint a brother that isn't even really his.

Instead, he laces Shen Jiu’s fingers together with his own and starts pulling the older boy towards where he thinks the exit might be. Eventually, noise starts to rise around the manor wing they’d almost immediately evacuated.

“Hurry,” Shen Yuan says, moving faster even against the wishes of his tiring muscles. Shen Jiu also seems to be moving out of pure will power, no real strength left in his too thin body.

“Yuan-di, Yuan-er,” Shen Jiu gasps, beginning to slow down. Apparently, Shen Yuan wasn’t clear enough in his request… however, before he can get too salty about the reverse outcome of his order, Shen Jiu continues speaking in his slightly shaky, adolescent voice, “if this one had not stopped A-Yuan, what would Didi have done?”

Shen Yuan freezes. Hadn’t Shen Jiu already figured out his plans??? Or maybe, he’s looking for confirmation??? So, despite his misgivings, Shen Yuan lays it out plainly, “This di would have ended Qiu Haitang’s life, and then burned the whole estate to the ground.”

“Haitang’s survival… doesn’t necessarily rule out the second part of A-Yuan’s plans, does it?” Shen Jiu’s previously hesitant and raspy voice steadies as he speaks, no one who heard him would be able to guess that he had literally just escaped years of slavery… nothing about the calculative and pragmatic statement screams subservience. The comparison of now’s Shen Jiu to the Shen Jiu of a mere twenty minutes ago is ridiculously jarring. 

But, despite his shock at the suggestion, Shen Yuan still tries to figure out a way to burn the manor while also allowing Qiu Haitang to escape. First, he asks, “Is there anyone else in the Qiu employ that Jiu-gege wants to save?”

A dark look crosses the teen face, and that’s all Shen Yuan needs as an answer. Casually, he voices his idea, “So, do you think Haitang would be capable of escaping if an inferno were to start to the east, north, and west of her wing?”

Shen Jiu smiles sharply, and Shen Yuan finally sees how this boy could’ve one day become a villain, replying quickly, but extremely calmly with, “Haitang may be naive and oblivious to Master Jianluo's true character, but she is anything but weak. If anyone were to be expected to escape an open ring of fire, it’s her.”

Shen Yuan easily hears the words he leaves out, ‘and only her.’ 

Of course, he doesn’t feel the need to point them out. His brother’s intentions are clear.

Qiu Haitang can live, but no one else is allowed that option.

-/-

Jue Shi is a very advanced entity. Even when compared to other legendary spiritual weapons and treasure swords, Jue Shi exists in a league of its own. Truly, no other name would fit it quite as perfectly as ‘Peerless’. Shen Yuan has long been aware of how badass his sort of sword is; however, it never seems to run out of new abilities to surprise him with. 

For example, Shen Yuan has just found out that Jue Shi can, in fact, condense itself into a sword mark. A sword mark that sits right under his left eye. Just a thin crimson mark to follow the gentle slope of his tear line. Almost like an elongated J.

Now, that may not sound suuuper impressive compared to some of the other things Jue Shi has done, but it’s actually pretty wild in this situation specifically. In order to successfully condense a spiritual weapon and create a visible mark, both parties must be in agreement as to the nature of their relationship. There must also be a completely harmonious exchange of Qi, and! They have to be compatible... personality wise. Many great cultivators have had to settle for normal methods of transporting their swords because of a failure to meet any one of these requirements…

Sword marks are super rare, okay? And Jue Shi did it without a word! Without even telling him! Wtffff???? Does it have 100% compatibility??? Is Shen Yuan the weak link in their drift??? He should’ve known… 

But! The sword mark isn’t the only new thing Jue Shi can do! ...it’s just the most bullshit one. 

Apparently, Jue Shi also has the ability to release heat… very, very, very intense heat. As in the ‘touch a paper, and the paper bursts into flame’ kind of heat. While surprising, Shen Yuan quickly puts the newly discovered ability to use, sprinting down overly gaudy halls and leaving trails of flaming tears in the walls as he goes. Some part of Shen Yuan really wants to laugh evilly while he wrecks his havoc, but that sort of thing definitely doesn’t fit the image of a dignified immortal his shizun so desperately wants him to embody… so he holds it in with great difficulty. 

Shen Jiu is waiting for him outside after he completes his circuit of the last wing of the Qiu manor. The quickly spread fire warms the surrounding air for miles. Red flames bathe them in a surprisingly gentle orange hue. Shen Jiu looks as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. Shen Yuan smiles. 

And then Jue Shi appears out of nowhere (well, out of the friggin’ sword mark, actually, but same difference), instantly ruining the moment. Like an ambivalent overlord, the sword floats around eye level for Shen Yuan. After ensuring all of his attention is on it, Jue Shi sinks enough for him to board it, but before he does anything else, Shen Yuan has something important to tell Shen Jiu.

“Jiu-gege is free now, ah. He can do whatever he wants! ...but A-Yuan hopes that Jiu-gege will come with him,” Shen Yuan holds out a hand, the smooth white palm littered with patches of callus not-at-all characteristic of a normal eleven year old’s hands. He adds on, after only a moment’s pause, “Come be a cultivator, Jiu-gege!”

...Shen Jiu takes his hand. 

(But no one really expected him to do anything else. After all, who wouldn’t take the chance to live out their dreams? Who wouldn’t choose to follow the family member that just saved them? Definitely not Shen Jiu, that’s who.)

-/-

Li Hanzu breaks first, jolting up from the tea table and drawing his sword, but Tie Hanjin isn’t exactly far behind. Disregarding their lack of information, the Peak Lords are so done with just waiting. 

Li Hanzu’s always been impatient… as almost all Bai Zhan members are. 

As for Tie Hanjin, a normally patient-to-the-extreme man, he already spent years waiting for a loved one to return, only to almost lose them because he waited too long. Tie Hanjin is not going to be too late for A’Yuan!

However, before either of them can get very far, a purple streak flashes through the sky, heading directly for them.

“A’Yuan?” Li Hanzu asks dumbfoundedly, and he even gets his answer surprisingly quickly! Of course, the answer comes in the form of two children body slamming him into the unsurprisingly uncomfortable grounds of Qing Jing’s part of the rainbow bridge.

“A'Die?” Shen Yuan mumbles, nearing the point of unconsciousness. Shen Jiu already reached it long ago…

Tie Hanjin watches on with concern. Li Hanzu just groans. After all, even an immortal cultivator is gonna feel pain after getting two decently sized children yeeted at him by a demon sword. …and if Jue Shi were anything other than a red J on Shen Yuan’s face at this point, it’d most certainly be laughing its metaphorical ass off. 

Shiiit, Shen Yuan thinks dazedly, thank fuck that it’s not out anymore.

Chapter Text

“And what exactly was our A’Yuan thinking when he flew off on his own like that?” Li Hanzu starts in immediately with the mom-ing. Shen Yuan’s honestly a bit shook because he really would’ve expected this reaction from his shizun rather than his shifu… Though, Shen Yuan slides a look over at Tie Hanjin, it actually sort of makes sense. 

Tie Hanjin is basically a poster child for the ‘stoic immortal cultivator’ trope. Well, he is until he lets himself go… hair loose, tea poured, outer robes not-so-artfully discarded around his sitting room. Shen Yuan’s gotten used to the gap, or at least, he thought he had. Now, watching as his shizun retreats back into the cold Peak Lord persona because of Shen Jiu’s presence in front of him, Shen Yuan finds that the switch still sorta unnerves him. 

However, Shen Yuan has more important things to deal with, so he wipes all the discomfort from his mind and focuses back on his brother. Shen Jiu woke up like two minutes after Li Hanzu finally managed to free himself from the child pile, and now, in the face of two fully grown immortal cultivators, the softness Shen Yuan could still see even when they were literally running away from a burning building is almost completely masked. 

Shen Yuan snorts, glancing once more at Tie Hanjin’s dour looks and then back at Shen Jiu’s clearly disingenuous tranquility, a laugh threatens to escape his mouth at the comparison.

Hey, what’s the difference between a Peak Lord and a traumatized teen? Only about 30 cm. 

Li Hanzu is staring, Shen Yuan realizes. He’s blatantly staring… so obviously, he’s waiting for some kind of answer on Shen Yuan’s part… but what was his question????? Playing it safe, he goes with the classic, “This one is sorry, Shifu. This disciple didn’t think before acting! But please, do not punish this one’s gege for my mistake, ah.”

If the system were not being tyrannized by Jue Shi as always, Shen Yuan is 100% sure he would’ve heard the ding of successfully activating a skill. Crocodile tears for the win! The shame Shen Yuan originally felt at resorting to crying to get his way has all but been replaced by a sort of ‘do what it takes’ attitude. Hey, don’t hate, ah! He’s just adapting to his new setting! Making do with what he has!

Even a casual observer would be able to point out the exact moment Li Hanzu notices Shen Yuan’s watery eyes. In two seconds flat, the War God has his A’Yuan tightly hugged to his chest. He sighs dramatically before huffing once and declaring, “How could this master possibly turn my A’Yuan’s gege away? How could this master blame A’Yuan? No, A’Yuan isn’t in trouble. I’m just glad A’Yuan isn’t hurt. Now, a trip to Qian Cao, ah?”

Tie Hanjin raises his eyebrows, and Shen Jiu looks vaguely uncomfortable at being so out of the loop. Shen Yuan immediately begins to placate his shifu’s concerns, “Shifu needn’t work! This one is completely unharmed!”

“The visit—it’s not for you,” Li Hanzu sniffles, pulling away from the eleven year old. He puts a hand to his ribs and lightly grimaces at the touch, “It’s for me.”

-/-

“So... I just circulate my Qi through this glass?” Shen Jiu whispers to Shen Yuan, eyes sorta shifty. Shen Yuan stares at the cloudy liquid held in his gege’s hands, he’s never even heard about this type of evaluation before! At least, not in PIDW! 

To make a comparison, the whole test seems like something out of Hunter x Hunter??? 

Shen Yuan doesn’t understand why his gege has to do this whole thing because he, himself, certainly didn’t, but as an eleven year old that the Sect Leader still doesn’t particularly like, Shen Yuan’s opinions mean next to nothing to Xie Handao. Thus, the Sect Leader happily ordered Shen Jiu to do this test-thingy with absolutely no qualms!

Shen Jiu patiently awaits his didi’s response as he swirls the water in the glass with each of his unintentional hand tremors. Finally, Shen Yuan replies, “Yes, that sounds about right.”

“Oh? About right? Didi isn’t sure?” Shen Jiu drawls, finally breaking his staring contest with the glass to instead blink at Shen Yuan in amusement. His hands are still. 

Shen Yuan coughs lightly, “This didi is sure, Jiu-gege! Gege can trust this one!”

“Alright,” Shen Jiu glances to the left where Xie Handao imposingly stands. Tie Hanjin and Li Hanzu were told to remain outside the treasure room of Qiong Ding, but Shen Yuan, as a ‘harmless’ child and also a relative of the examinee, got to stay. It’s really rather fortunate that Xie Handao assented to this small concession or Shen Yuan would’ve raised hell, okay? (It’s actually probably more accurate to say that Jue Shi would be the one raising hell…)

“Begin now, child,” Xie Handao directs, voice clear even at a distance. Shen Jiu furrows his brows, a tiny piece of hair falling straight into his face at the movement. Shen Yuan absently notes that his gege’s hair is around two shades darker than his own. Shen Jiu sports a head full of undeniably jet black hair while Shen Yuan can only claim his to be exceedingly dark brown. Ahhh, how unfair. 

Suddenly, a swirl appears in the cup. Everyone in the large treasure room immediately focuses on the movement, all three of them that is. Xie Handao speaks first, words barely distracting the brothers from the gentle whirlwind in Shen Jiu’s hand, “Ah, an air affinity. Hmm, maybe also a talent for wood?”

Shen Yuan doesn’t totally understand the Scet Leader’s words, but he does get the gist of it. Shen Jiu probably has a dual spiritual root, mainly based in air. It’s sort of interesting actually! Because PIDW never seemed to operate on the spirit root system that many other xianxia novels did. 

“Disciple Shen has a unique disposition,” Xie Handao continues after a second of contemplation. “The only Peak Lord with an affinity for wood would be Qing Jing’s Tie Hanjin. Normally, disciples would be chosen during a ceremony to assess potential for cultivation. However, given the extenuating circumstances, this immortal master is just going to assign Disciple Shen to Qing Jing. Good fortune is sure to follow you with my Tie-shidi as your shizun.”

Shen Jiu cuts off the Qi flow to the cup and sets it down. The glass clinks sharply at the quick movement and the light impact against the small jade pedestal meant to hold it. Shen Yuan looks at Xie Handao with judgement in his eyes. Although Shen Jiu going to Qing Jing was a long forgone conclusion, Shen Yuan’s still a bit salty at the Sect Leader’s decision. 

“Then, Qing Jing it is,” Shen Jiu agrees lightly, not once making eye-contact with the much older, much more powerful cultivator. Meanwhile, Shen Yuan rolls his eyes at the man, his usual fear momentarily forgotten. 

Xie Handao just exits the room calmly, obviously intending the two to follow. Shen Jiu easily walks after him, as if determined to make a good impression on the Sect Leader. Shen Yuan bites his lip in annoyance, but he goes along as well.

-/-

“This. Is. So. Unfair!” Qi Lifeng groans from her place against the sole living tree on Bai Zhan’s training ground. Zhang Mu gives her a questioning glance, and then she essentially pukes her feelings at him, “This one’s didi! He’s never free anymore!”

The two look over at the four figures standing near the center of the desolate plateau. Two Peak Lords and two Shens are currently training. Well, the brothers are training, Tie Hanjin and Li Hanzu are merely observing. Occasionally, one or both of them will yell out a correction.

For example, look at what’s happening now...

“Shen Jiu!” Li Hanzu scolds, stopping their fan vs wooden staff spar. Shen Jiu’s sweating a lot, and for a second, the only emotion Shen Yuan can read from him is fear. But then, the tension abates, leaving behind the tight, but calm control Shen Jiu usually holds his body with. 

“Stability is the basis of any martial art! Cultivation is also no exception! For one so talented, your inner balance should not be so chaotic! Hanjin!” Li Hanzu turns to his default sparring partner with blazing passion in his eyes. “Your disciple needs to meditate more before he continues to advance his cultivation! It’s so like Hanjin to send one of your innocent little disciples into Qi Deviation, hah.”

Shen Jiu grits his teeth, and Tie Hanjin merely scoffs at the insult. Their ruffled attitudes kinda remind Shen Yuan of this cat he saw a few weeks ago. It bit him.

“Shifu, I have something to ask!” Shen Yuan declares, seemingly out of nowhere. In his opinion though, the interruption makes perfect sense! Because he had been training with his brother everyday for the last two weeks, Shen Yuan hadn’t ever really felt the strain of maintaining an inter-peak familial relationship. However, something tells him that it won’t be fun… So, despite Shen Yuan’s unending filial loyalty, he still insists, “This one… would like to join his Jiu-gege as a disciple of Qing Jing!”

“What?” Li Hanzu asks in a daze. Simultaneously, Tie Hanjin coughs loudly. Even Shen Jiu looks surprised.

But Shen Yuan is determined, okay? And really, he shouldn’t risk earning the title of Head Disciple… he doesn’t want to possibly kill his dad, alright! Also, it’s just common sense that Shen Yuan stay close to Shen Jiu! After all, it’s his job to prevent the blackening of Shen Qingqiu!

“This one,” Shen Yuan looks his Shifu dead in the eye, “asks his master politely, can this one follow his Jiu-gege?”

Tie Hanjin: “Of course!”

Li Hanzu: “Hell no!”

Shen Jiu: (⸝⸝•́દ•̀⸝⸝)

Chapter Text

“Didi!” Qi Lifeng lays a heavy hand on Shen Yuan’s shoulder, easily stopping him in his steps. Maybe one day, Shen Yuan will be stronger than his jiejie, but somehow, he doesn’t see that happening any time soon. 

“Hm?” Shen Yuan replies, turning before Qi Lifeng gets the idea to turn him herself. His hair is up in its usual smoothened Qing Jing style top knot, but his robes are different from how they used to be! Now, the Bai Zhan colors have been replaced by white and green. Not gonna lie, Li Hanzu straight up cried when he first saw Shen Yuan shed his peak’s robes. 

It’s been two months since Shen Yuan switched peaks, and Li Hanzu still hasn’t entirely forgiven him. Shen Yuan figures he’ll give his shifu another month before forcing a reconciliation. 

On the bright side, Shen Yuan’s shizun is looking quite pleased these days. 

“Shen-di! How come this one never sees Didi anymore! Is Didi too busy for this jiejie?” Qi Lifeng looks genuinely upset, and suddenly, Shen Yuan panics just a bit. Of course, he doesn’t let it show, but it’s there okay! What if Lifeng cries??? What’s he supposed to do then??? Where’s Zhang Mu??? Isn’t he the one who usually calms their jiejie???

“No! Well, yes. This one has been busy recently… but not on purpose! Didi’s simply been helping Jiu-gege adjust to Cang Qiong.” Qi Lifeng’s eyes brighten maliciously at his words, seemingly triggered by something he said. 

“Jiu-gege?” Qi Lifeng says, voice worryingly calm. “Gege? Didi spends all of his time with Shen Jiu these days, but this one doesn’t remember Didi having a gege anytime before now! Where did he come from? Why hasn’t he been with you? Why is he more important than us? Why does this Jiu-gege deserve Didi?”

“What?” Shen Yuan asks dumbly, completely blindsided by Lifeng’s sudden attack on Shen Jiu’s character. Like sure, Qi Lifeng’s always been protective of their friendship, but she’s also the one that forced Zhang Mu to join them in their spars, and her strong enmity towards Shen Jiu is particularly inexplicable. What has Shen Yuan’s Jiu-gege done other than require a thorough introduction to Cang Qiong? He isn’t exactly a Scum Villain yet, Lifeng! No need to be so on-guard, ah! “Jiu-gege has always been with me! ...even when he couldn’t actually follow me.”

“This one doesn’t understand!” Qi Lifeng strongly reminds Shen Yuan of Li Hanzu at this moment. The petulance used to hide undeniable pain. Qi Lifeng isn’t exaggerating, Shen Yuan realizes. She’s genuinely scared that he’s going to abandon her and Zhang Mu for his gege. Though, it isn’t really all that surprising in the grand scheme of things. Months and months ago, she had cried while pulling Zhang Mu and Shen Yuan into a group hug, desperately making a request to always stay together. Feeling threatened by Shen Jiu’s appearance isn’t too far from that, so Shen Yuan probably should’ve long been prepared for this reaction of hers. 

In a moment of shocking emotional intelligence, Shen Yuan puzzles out exactly what Qi Lifeng is looking for here. It isn’t an answer, it isn’t platitudes. She just wants Shen Yuan to stop drifting away from her and Zhang Mu. She’s just scared, and there’s nothing in this world that Shen Yuan can relate to more than fear. Even if he doesn’t like to ruminate on his own worries. So, with the knowledge of her intentions, Shen Yuan softly whispers, “Jiejie doesn’t need to understand Jiu-gege. All Jiejie needs to know is that soon, this didi won’t be so busy anymore, ah? Soon, we can go back to weekly--no, daily spars. This one just needs to help his gege first. Jiu-gege is the only reason this one managed to live long enough to make it to Cang Qiong, Jiejie. I cannot let that care go unpaid. That is all Jiejie has to understand.”

Qi Lifeng’s eyes tear up as she scoffs loudly, “How soon is soon, Didi? This Jie isn’t very patient.”

“Soon,” Shen Yuan promises, immediately interpreting her words as less of, ‘hurry tf up or else’ and more of, ‘I guess I can wait…’ “In fact, would Li-jiejie like to meet Jiu-gege right now?”

“Now?” Qi Lifeng actually bites her lip in a rare show of nerves, and Shen Yuan just laughs as he drags her towards the rainbow bridge. He’d been heading to Qing Jing anyway, bringing Qi Lifeng to meet Shen Jiu can’t possibly hurt. Hopefully.

“Now.”

-/-

“And who is this?” Shen Jiu asks, tension radiating from every muscle in his body. His fingers are stiff around his practice sword, and his hair is messier than usual, but Shen Yuan knows that his gege is more surprised at the interruption than stressed or upset, so he doesn’t do much beyond energetically introducing his gege to his jiejie. 

“This one thinks you two will get along quite well,” Shen Yuan finishes the introductions with a little salute to both of them, not even attempting to hide his excited smile.

“Shen-di thinks we’ll get along?” Qi Lifeng raises an eyebrow, any previous nerves long gone. She gives Shen Jiu a skeptical once over, “Only if he can best this disciple in a duel.”

“Oh?” Shen Jiu hums, confidence in his bearing far more than the usual newly appointed Qing Jing disciple. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Be more sure of yourself, Jiu-shixiong,” Qi Lifeng mockingly pulls out the honorific, making it clear how much she really respects him. “Waiting was never an option.”

Shen Yuan sighs heartily when he sees the responding glint in Shen Jiu’s normally cold eyes, but, despite his naturally lazy disposition, he easily retreats towards the tree line of Qing Jing’s training field. Shen Yuan can handle refereeing a duel between his older siblings if he must. After all, the only sure fire path to gaining Shen Jiu’s respect is to show him strong capability, and the fastest way to worm into Qi Lifeng’s heart is a flat-out show of strength. Sparring just so happens to fulfill both of those roles.

Shen Yuan is 100% positive that, no matter who wins, Qi Lifeng and Shen Jiu will end up friends. Whether they willingly accept it or not. And to him, his family getting along is more important than a nap…. Even if a nap does sound really good right now.

-/-

To be completely honest, between coaxing his fully grown immortal shifu into forgiving him for his grievous betrayal, coaxing his jiejie and gege into a tentative friendship, and gently reminding Zhang Mu of all the positives of putting up with them, Shen Yuan hasn’t had much time at all to think about his Qi-ge. 

Of course, he totally didn’t purposely forget to mention Yue Qi to Shen Jiu! It just… slipped his mind… for a whole… year? Yeah, Shen Yuan isn’t even convincing himself. Much less the softly heartbroken teenager in front of him. 

“Oh, yeah,” Shen Yuan mouths silently to himself, looking Yue Qi dead in the eyes as guilt gnaws at his core. He turns to the meditating Zhang Mu at his side, desperately sending out help me vibes before quickly glancing back to Yue Qi. 

“Yuan-di,” Yue Qi gently calls, “Qi-ge listened to your advice. My foundation is more stable than ever after the Deviation. This shixiong only now managed to leave the caves, and I have only heard whispers, but… is A-Jiu, okay? Is he studying with you?”

A cold voice interrupts Shen Yuan before he can respond, “A-Jiu is perfectly fine, and he doesn’t need you to worry about him.”

“A-Jiu?” Qi-ge spins around, speed that of a proper Head Disciple. Shen Yuan watches in unconcealed interest. Honestly, the relationship between Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu was one of the most confusing parts of PIDW. A frustrating part too. Shen Yuan’s never understood why Yue Qingyuan let Shen Qingqiu get away with everything he did, so now is a perfect chance to observe the two future Peak Lords first interaction after the whole Qiu incident. 

“Yue Qi,” Shen Jiu shoots back, much less enthused. Qi Lifeng follows behind, glaring at Yue Qi over Shen Jiu’s shoulder. Funnily enough, after months, Qi Lifeng’s distaste for Shen Jiu has softened into the same sort of protectiveness she shows for Shen Yuan and Zhang Mu.

“And A-Jiu is doing well?” Yue Qi asks, voice softer than Shen Yuan’s ever heard it, which is definitely saying something because Yue Qi’s never been a particularly commanding speaker. 

“Of course our Jiu-ge is doing well, no thanks to you,” Qi Lifeng spits, further narrowing her already sharp eyes. Shen Yuan finally decides he has to step in. While watching the trio go back and forth is interesting, he knows how much Yue Qi regrets the whole Qiu thing. Shen Yuan also knows that Shen Jiu isn’t really mad, he’s just hurt that Yue Qi didn’t visit him sooner… that Yue Qi didn’t rescue him.

Everything that happens in PIDW, Shen Yuan decides, can be prevented in one conversation… all that blackening into a villain can be tossed out the window… as long as Shen Jiu and Yue Qi actually fucking talk. it. out. And clearly, they aren’t going to do it on their own, especially not with Qi Lifeng antagonizing the situation even further. 

“Li-jiejie, Zhang-shidi seems like he could use a sparring partner…” Shen Yuan gestures meaningfully at said teenager. “Maybe you could help him?”

Qi Lifeng pauses, quickly realizing that Shen Yuan’s really just subtly asking her to leave, before huffing and doing just that, “Come on, Zhang-shidi!”

Zhang Mu looks particularly long-suffering as Qi Lifeng pulls him away for their fourth round of the day. Shen Yuan can only smile apologetically in response.

“So,” he starts hesitantly, standing in a carefully neutral position. Shen Yuan really doesn’t wanna mess this up, okay? “This one has something to admit.”

“Yes, Yuan-di?” Yue Qi asks, clearly appreciating the interruption. Shen Jiu just gives him a look that Shen Yuan takes as a ‘go ahead’.

“It is this one's fault that Jiu-gege is upset,” Shen Yuan begins, knowing full well that he’s just barely telling the truth, “This one forgot to tell him of the situation. Jiu-gege has no idea about your Qi Deviation, Qi-ge.”

“Qi… Deviation?” Shen Jiu mutters, looking at Yue Qi with decidedly less anger, and decidedly more concern. 

“Yes,” Shen Yuan easily beats Yue Qi to the punch, answering quickly before the older boy gets a chance to speak, “that’s why he could not come with me to save you.”

“Really?” Shen Jiu whispers, finally aiming something hopeful instead of critical at Yue Qi. This is the answer that will decide their future relationship, Shen Yuan suddenly realizes. Depending on what Qi-ge says… they can be estranged for all their immortal lives, or they can regain the closeness that childhood friends always seem to have. 

Yue Qi blinks, looking away from Shen Jiu. Shen Jiu wilts momentarily before icing over once again, fully prepared to verbally flay the cowardly teenager standing before him. But then, just as Shen Yuan really starts panicking, Yue Qi nods.

And then, the only sound Shen Jiu can get out is a fragile, “oh.”

-/-

“Wanna make a bet?” Shen Yuan offers as he stands shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Mu and Qi Lifeng. Ahead of them walks Shen Jiu and Yue Qi, completely lost in their own two person world. 

Lifeng smiles, glancing at her didi before wrapping an unfairly muscular arm around Shen Yuan’s still too thin shoulders, “About?”

“How long it’ll take them to realize they’re in love?” Zhang Mu offers, no doubt in his voice. Qi Lifeng and Shen Yuan stop walking to stare at the oldest member of their group in awe.

Finally, Lifeng smugly retorts with, “This one was going to say fuck.”

And suddenly, Shen Yuan regrets even bringing up the topic in the first place. He begins moving forward again in an effort to break free from the two delinquents he calls friends; however, Qi Lifeng merely tightens her grip around his shoulders, effectively keeping him exactly where he is. She smirks before whispering, “a year, max.”

“My gege is only 15!” Shen Yuan quietly shouts, covering his ears as if he isn’t mentally like thirty. 

“So?” Lifeng seems unaffected by his concerns, and Zhang Mu casually adds, “Love is love. Age is just a number.”

And actually, yeah, maybe now's the time for Shen Yuan to start looking for new friends.

Just don’t tell Lifeng.

Chapter Text

One of the only reasons Shen Yuan actually kept up with every single shitty chapter of PIDW was the monsters. While a lot of the beasts were badly named cliches, some were genuinely cool. For example, the Fox of Nine Trials. 

Despite the relatively derivative title and appearance, the actual animal itself was a pretty interesting side adventure.

As the name would suggest, this spirit beast strongly resembles the classic nine tailed fox. However, the slight changes are what really makes Shen Yuan excited. The Fox of Nine Trials must attain nine tails in order to have a shot at immortality. Unlike the nine tails, which earns tails through cultivation, the Nine Trials must do one of three things to gain more tails. First, a fox may simply cultivate. Eventually, they would gain tails just like a nine tails, but that’s the least efficient path for a Nine Trials to take. Instead, most go for the other two options. 

The easiest would be going through a ‘tribulation’. Not a heavenly tribulation, but an act requiring deep sacrifice that benefits someone or something else. In one move, some Nine Trials can gain up to three tails. Little to no effort is required, only the ability to withstand suffering. 

Of course, not all Nine Trials are willing to sacrifice themselves. Plenty of foxes go for the last option, winning battles of great difficulty. Or really, just winning battles against other creatures with any cultivation whatsoever. It’s a slightly more slow going route, but it’s the simplest for a spiritual beast like the Fox of Nine Trials. Just go on a rampage across the Jianghu and bam, there’s them nine tails. 

That’s not the end of the story though. After getting a complete set of tails, a Nine Trials must go through a legit heavenly tribulation. If they pass, then immortality awaits them along with an optional human form, and if they fail… well, then they become a Fox of Nine Torments. 

A Fox of Nine Torments is a ferocious, earth-bound beast that any smart cultivator knows to be wary of. In fact, a Fox of Nine Torments is strong enough to fight Binghe to a draw for like eighty chapters straight! That’s like three papapa scenes! Almost no battle in PIDW stretched on that long! Though, it was a Binghe fresh out of the abyss, so Shen Yuan isn’t 100% sure where that puts the fox’s true strength level.

However, as he stares straight into a set of deep emerald eyes, thick drool falling drop by drop onto his Qing Jing robes, Shen Yuan can’t help but think that they must be… Really. Fucking. Strong.

-/-

“My A’Yuan no longer cares for his shifu. His A-die.” Shen Yuan rolls eyes despite knowing that Li Hanzu won’t be able to see it. Recently, Li Hanzu has been much more vocally salty at Shen Yuan. Maybe it’s because Shen Yuan now no longer honors Bai Zhan by wearing its colors or styles. Or maybe it’s because Shen Yuan is turning thirteen in two weeks, and Tie Hanjin hasn’t even once mentioned letting Li Hanzu help plan the celebration. Either way, Shen Yuan can’t really do much about it. 

“Shifu,” Shen Yuan sighs, decidedly not opening his eyes or raising his head from the pillow of his arms. The Bai Zhan field is still the comfiest place to nap, change his mind. “This disciple will always care for his master, no matter how irritating Shifu may be…”

“A’Yuan!” Li Hanzu scolds jokingly, easily flopping down next to the prone soon to be teenager. “How could you call this master irritating?”

“Oh? Is that what this one said? Ah, Shifu will have to forgive me. This disciple must have misspoke. I meant immature…” Shen Yuan pauses briefly to let his diss sink in before turning a tiny smirk his shifu’s way and correcting himself a second time, “oh, look at that. I’ve made another mistake. This disciple obviously meant impressive.”

Li Hanzu snorts once before letting the insult go completely over his head. Then, he looks up at the darkening sky, “Well then, if this master is so impressive, would A’Yuan like to experience the full effect of my glory? I’m going for a trip to Huan Hua, and surprisingly, Bai Zhan still lacks a Head Disciple. Would A’Yuan be willing to fill in?”

“Oh? And why is Shifu going to Huan Hua?” Shen Yuan’s feeling particularly lazy today, and a trip to Huan Hua is just about the last thing he wants to do. The dying rays of sun sparkle across Shen Yuan’s skin, and the warming effect sends a wave of relaxation through his exhausted body. Ah, napping after sparring truly is the most satisfying.

“There have been reports of a six tailed Nine Trials lurking around the palace. The new Palace Master is getting a bit nervous, and he requested help from Cang Qiong. Obviously, as one of our closest allies, we must not let them down. Thus, this War God has been tasked with investigating.”

Shen Yuan jerks up into a proper sitting posture, eyes sparkling more than the sun, “a Nine Trials?”

Li Hanzu laughs, once again taking his rightful place as the indolent and vague master Shen Yuan knows and sort of loves sort of hates. “Now A’Yuan is interested? This master sees how it is.”

“Shifu…” Shen Yuan starts, prepared to turn on the water works if he must. If the system taught him anything before its untimely silencing, it’s the effectiveness of crocodile tears. Li Hanzu opens one eye, giving his disciple a glance full of mock disappointment. 

“Who’s Shifu, ah?”

“A-Die?” Shen Yuan tries again. Li Hanzu sits up in response, smiling for the whole world to see. In one second, he goes from teasing to affectionate. Shen Yuan sort of wants to complain to Tie Hanjin… or maybe Yan Hanshi? She’d probably have more to commiserate with him about. For some reason, Tie Hanjin actually seems to enjoy Li Hanzu’s terrible personality… on occasion. 

“Yes, dear A’Yuan?”

“This one would love to hear about the Nine Trials…” Shen Yuan trails off hopefully.

Li Hanzu just laughs.

-/-

For Shen Yuan’s second thirteenth birthday, he gets two big surprises. 

One, Tie Hanjin names him Qing Jing’s Head Disciple. Not just him though, Shen Jiu gets the title as well. Rumors run through the whole Scet rather quickly, so many whispers slink around every time either of the Shen brothers walk by. Shen A’Yuan doesn’t mind it though. As long as Shen Jiu and Tie Hanjin are happy, then he is too.

Two, Li Hanzu volunteers to take him on his trip to make a name for himself as an official Qing Jing disciple. Of course, it’s not like Shen Yuan really wants to make a name for himself…  but Li Hanzu seemed super excited, so Shen Yuan couldn’t find it in him to refuse.

So, on the day Shen Yuan becomes a teenager (for the second time, ugh), Li Hanzu and he set out for Huan Hua in search of a slightly more than half-grown Nine Trials. 

Unfortunately, that isn’t at all what they end up finding. Instead, they have a full blown Fox of Nine Torments on their hands…

And Li Hanzu may or may not also have a few extremely serious injuries… given the way he was thrown into the cliff side at Shen Yuan’s back. This theory is also made more likely by the fact that Li Hanzu has yet to get back up, merely laying in a crater formed by his own body weight smacking the smooth stone face. The lack of movement on the Peak Lord’s part is making Shen Yuan a bit nervous actually. Because… if he doesn’t wake up soon, Shen Yuan’s gonna have to fight the Nine Torments alone… 

The stench of a dog’s breath overwhelms all of Shen Yuan’s senses. In a second, he’s reminded of the drooling monster in front of him. 

Shit, Shen Yuan thinks dazedly, we’re so fucked.

And, by the way Yong Yuan hesitantly buzzes in his nearly painfully tight grasp, Shen Yuan is inclined to believe the battle fan agrees with the assessment. 

Chapter Text

So, here’s the thing, after getting Jue Shi, in any dangerous situation, Shen Yuan’s always a little assured of his victory. Because hey, if ever there is something he can’t face (which you know, the options for unfaceable things are reducing day by day, so that’s kinda cool), he’s got his OP demon sword as backup, and usually, OP demon sword beats just about anything. 

However. If Jue Shi is said to have any weakness, other than its own obvious personality flaws, it’d probably be monster spit. 

For example, in the OG PIDW, Jue Shi gets eaten, and thereby destroyed, by an Owl Dragon. All that saliva and stomach acid just reacts poorly with Jue Shi’s special constitution.

So, normally, Shen Yuan would panic a little when facing the Fox of Nine Torments, but he wouldn’t have a full on heart attack. Now though? When Jue Shi takes one look at the ropes of drool hanging from the beast’s jaws and nopes itself into a sword mark? Yeah, Shen Yuan is feeling a tiny bit like he just chugged four Monsters. His heart’s definitely taking a beating right about now. Just like Li Hanzu!

“Smells like,” the Nine Torments growls, quickly pulling Shen Yuan out of his spiraling thoughts, Li Hanzu groans in the background. “A Spiked Blue Dragon Berry… haven’t had one in years… what a… treat.”

Shen Yuan gulps, desperately trying to recall wtf a spiked blue dragon berry is????? Nothing is coming to mind… and why would Shen Yuan even smell like a berry?? That doesn’t make sense! Well, whatever it is, smelling like it clearly isn’t a good thing. Shen Yuan’s throat bobs up and down again as the fox leans in further. Soon, it’s head is level with his. 

The fox blinks once, its emerald eyes flash as it licks its lips threateningly, “I… am going to… enjoy eating you.”

For a moment after the beast’s words finish, there is a stalemate of stillness. Neither the fox nor Shen Yuan move for a good minute, until suddenly, they both do. Shen Yuan sweeps Yong Yuan in a sharp curve and retreats backwards as fast as possible. In the exact spot he used to stand, a pool of spit forms. The fox, having missed him completely with its bite, roars angrily. 

Without a moment’s hesitation, Shen Yuan darts forward. Now, any onlooker would gawk at his audacity, however, Shen Yuan knows that this is the only way he can last till Li Hanzu wakes up. He knows his abilities well, and he can safely say that he is slower, weaker, and less sturdy than a Fox of Nine Torments. For that matter, he’s probably weaker than a Fox of One Torment… so, the only thing he’s got going for him is his size. 

The Fox of Nine Torments relies heavily on its insta kill hits and the indisputable power of its nine tails. However, in order to KO Shen Yuan, it has to actually hit him. 

Dodging was one one of the first things Li Hanzu taught him, and it’s also the only skill even Shen Yuan can’t deny that he’s a natural at. Dodging can be done one of two ways. The passive version, running away with every move. The willingness to give up ground in order to avoid impact. That isn’t possible for him right now though. Shen Yuan has effectively zero ground to give up, what with Li Hanzu and a cliff face behind him. 

So… that leaves option two, ah. 

Shen Yuan lands gracefully on the fox’s nose. 

See, this is the not passive version of dodging. The kind that’s really just a veil for slowly gaining ground. And, in Shen Yuan’s current position, the kind that’s all about getting so close to your opponent that they can’t hit you without hitting themselves. This really only works when there’s a big size difference. Hence, Shen Yuan’s only advantage being his small stature… 

The Nine Torments stills for a second, as if to help him steady himself, before it finally figures out why he’s suddenly standing on it. “Stinky human!”

Shen Yuan avoids the tail swipe easily, dropping down to crouch between its huge black ears. Not gonna lie, the Nine Torments’ fur is shockingly soft. Like, the sort of soft one could wrap themselves in and proceed to nap their whole life away, that kind of soft. Shen Yuan let’s himself pat it once before moving quickly out of the way of a second tail’s attack.

With the fox raising its hackles and thrashing its tails every which way, Shen Yuan needs nearly 100% of his focus just to stay on its back. 

“Get! Off!” The fox gets into a crouch. In any other situation, one might think it was about to jump away. However, with what Shen Yuan knows about animals and beasts, he can gel that the fox is preparing something much more irritating for his plans. It’s about to listen to Tay Tay and literally shake it off. It being Shen Yuan, of course.

And Shen Yuan obviously can’t let it do that. So, instead of tightening his grasp like any semi sane person would try to do, Shen Yuan releases the fur in his hands. After letting go, it takes half a second for his feet to hit the ground. The fox doesn’t seem to notice his departure, and Shen Yuan uses its moment of inattentiveness to rush towards Li Hanzu. 

The Peak Lord looks just about the same as he did when he was first thrown, but Shen Yuan can tell how close his shifu is to waking up.

Okay, Shen Yuan nods to himself, he just needs fifteen minutes. I can give him that. Hopefully.

Eventually, the fox finishes its movements and glances around to find the pesky intruder. It’s quite lively, but Shen Yuan gives it a hard time once again as he uses Yong Yuan to blow all of the valley floor’s debris into the air. The motion simultaneously creates a cover to hide his position and gives the fox something to sneeze at. Which, you know, may not have been the best idea given that the fox is already grossly slobbery… the sneezing doesn’t help, and soon, Shen Yuan finds himself sweaty, snotty, and dusty as hell. 

“Just stay still!” The Nine Torments shouts as a paw crashes down right next to Shen Yuan. Looking at how close the strike was to hitting him, Shen Yuan kinda wants to cry tears of blood at how unfair this whole situation is. He didn’t sign up for this! Well, technically, he did… but he didn’t expect the fox to be a Nine Torments instead of a Nine Trials! Unfair! 

Where is the justice??? Shen Yuan sobs internally as he rushes at the Nine Torments once again. Yong Yuan warms briefly in solidarity, and Shen Yuan tightens his grip in response. At least, they’re in this together…

Only five more minutes. That’s all Shen Yuan needs to stall for. Alright. That’s not too hard, ah! Shen Yuan is the (co) Head Disciple of Qing Jing! It would be shameful if he couldn’t even last fifteen minutes against an earthly beast like the Nine Torments! He still has his pride, ah!

The Nien Torments quickly slides out of range as Shen Yuan approaches. The shift instantly negates all of his plans, and for a second, Shen Yuan’s mind stalls. Like a buffering computer, he pathetically searches for a backup. 

“Do you… think you can… wear me out? Foolish! Stinky human! I’m going to eat you!” The fox uses six of its tails to create a makeshift launchpad that gives it the momentum needs to pounce right in front of Shen Yuan. The last two tails provide an inescapable barrier to keep Shen Yuan from escaping. And its mouth? Well, it’s finally being put to use for something other than talking and drooling! The black tongue radiates heat as it comes closer and closer to Shen Yuan’s face. Fun fact, a Nine Torments tongue is also black! Shen Yuan’ll definitely have to note that down, that is if he doesn’t get eaten! And that’s a pretty big IF at this point!

But then, right as Shen Yuan is about to close his eyes and accept his fate, both tails trapping him fall away! One in a burnt mess of charred fur, and the other with a bloody squish of sliced meat. 

The Fox of Nine Torments shuts its mouth violently and then screeches as two of its tails are destroyed beyond repair. Red tears well up in its green eyes as if it truly is going through nine torments. Shen Yuan almost feels bad. Almost. It did try to eat him after all.

“A’Yuan!” Li Hanzu shouts, instantly drawing Shen Yuan’s attention towards his shifu. It’s then that he notices a presence near the Nine Torments. It’s a large snake-like beast that moves as if it only has minutes to spare fighting this beast. 

It briefly meets his eyes before nodding its huge green head in greeting and continuing to rip into the fox in front of it.

“Stop!” The fox screams, more blood flowing from its eyes. Only two of its tails remain, the other seven discarded in a circle around it in varying states of decay. “Stop stop stop! My tails! I’ll… I'm going to lose them all because of you! What did I do? Why do I deserve this! You entered my territory! Stinky human! Come back and let me eat you!”

Li Hanzu stares with a perplexed look in his eyes. Of the seven tails removed, only one is nearly pristine and it’s the one he cut off. All of the ones removed by the snake are blackened and ashy, as if burnt, but the snake clearly hasn’t used any flame. Poison, perhaps? 

But, before either of the cultivators get a chance to come to any definite conclusions, the fox’s eighth tail is torn off and a burst of red light blinds all of the valley’s occupants. 

Once Shen Yuan’s vision returns, there are two huge bodies in front of him. The fox lies dead in a pile of its own blood, only one black and red tail remaining. The snake seems to have used all its energy and passed out. 

Shen Yuan cautiously moves forward. It doesn’t move, and so he lets himself go even further. Close enough to touch its head. An intricate red mark sits on its forehead and Shen Yuan hums in interest. What does this demon mark mean? It doesn’t match anything he remembers from the book. Maybe this monster was meant to die in the battle against the Nine Torments, but Shen Yuan and his shifu’s interference was the push it needed to win? Well, he’ll probably never really know. After all, the only one who might know is Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, and Shen Yuan’s, thankfully, never gonna have to deal with him again. Though… it would be nice to have someone to bitch at about all the bullshit worldbuilding around him. Ahh, having someone to insult online would be so nice… for that matter, just having the internet at all would be nice. 

Li Hanzu places a hand on his shoulder, alerting Shen Yuan to his shifu’s position behind his back. He makes a thoughtful sound before patting Shen Yuan’s head. He then thinks aloud, somewhat mirroring Shen Yuan’s own speculations. Well, minus the whole Airplane thing…

“Would A’Yuan like to bring it back to Cang Qiong with us?” Li Hanzu finally asks, releasing Shen Yuan’s now even messier hair as he does. At the question, Shen Yuan turns to look at his shifu before glancing back at the snake beast. 

After a minute or two of contemplation, he shakes his head. “It would probably have issues cultivating in a pure spiritual field like Cang Qiong, the demon realm would be better. Let’s just heal it, and then leave it be, Shifu.”

“Call me Baba, and this master will gladly heal the beast,” Li Hanzu sings out mischievously.

Shen Yuan rolls his eyes, “Hmph, this disciple can heal it myself, Shifu.”

“A’Yuan…”

“A-Die.”

“I’ll tell Hanjin…”

“Oh? And Shifu expects this one’s shizun to punish this disciple? For what, Shifu?” Shen Yuan blinks innocently as he reaches out to give the snake his spiritual power in a gentle stream so as not to disturb its own demonic Qi.

“Snake,” Li Hanzu whispers bemusedly, and it's clear the Peak Lord isn’t talking about the actual snake. Shen Yuan grins.

-/-

“What happened?” Yan Hanshi demands as they step down onto Qian Cao after their particularly eventful adventure.

“Uh..” Shen Yuan starts, obviously looking nothing like the little teenage immortal he’s supposed to embody. 

Li Hanzu looks no better in his tattered and dusty robes, but at least he can pull himself together enough to say, “An unexpected surprise?”

“Yeah, that,” Shen Yuan agrees, sounding almost exactly like a zombie. He’s so tired. So Tired. Ah. So very, very tired… and Yong Yuan wholeheartedly agrees! Jue Shi, though, seems extremely well rested… Huh, Shen Yuan wonders why… oh, that's right! Because the sword just abandoned him at the first sight of drool! Wtf, Jue Shi!

The sword petulantly replies, Everyone has weaknesses! Shut up, Silly Child!

Chapter Text

When Li Hanzu reports to Xie Handao about the situation regarding the Fox of Nine Torments, the Sect Leader’s eyebrows scrunch together. Shen Yuan, standing next to his shifu like an unnecessary accessory, can’t tell exactly what the man must be thinking, but whatever it is, Xie Handao ends up asking just one question, “Did Huan Hua Palace lie to us?”

Li Hanzu doesn’t answer, and Shen Yuan suspects it’s only because he’s not 100% sure, not because of any inherent sense of restraint or propriety. 

“Hm, this is a much bolder move than I expected from the new Palace Master. It is good neither of you were injured,” Xie Handao gives the two another quick glance, pausing briefly when he sees Shen Yuan’s red mark before continuing to survey them with no question, “This Xie-shixiong thanks Li-shidi for his efforts, and Shen A’Yuan, you have proven yourself a worthier Head Disciple than I gave you credit for the first time Tie-shidi announced his intentions. Very good. Now, you may both leave.”

And so they leave, both distracted by different parts of Xie Handao’s speech.

-/-

Li Hanzu may be a seemingly lazy teacher, and he’s by no means denying that title, however, he’s not a lazy Peak Lord. Any duty passed to him by the Sect Leader is completed without delay. In fact, out of all twelve Peak Lords, Li Hanzu is probably one of the most efficient. The thing is, he has to be told what to do. Li Hanzu almost never takes initiative on his own because he’s so far removed from the daily ongoings of the sect that he has no idea what needs to be done. So sometimes, it might seem as if he hasn’t a care in the world, but really, he’s just incredibly uninformed. 

Thus, when Tie Hanjin retrieves Shen A’Yuan in a panicked flurry as soon as they leave Qiong Ding on the rainbow bridge, Li Hanzu is left in a daze. He must be missing something, but he can’t figure out what it is. Did he forget something about his favorite (not)disciple’s official introduction to the Jianghu? Was Li Hanzu expected to set up a time for Shen A’Yuan to get a sword from Wan Jian Peak? No, that can’t be it. Shen A’Yuan already has Jue Shi, after all. And it can’t be something to do with their most recent trip to Huan Hua. Tie Hanjin was barely related to the planning of it, and Li Hanzu just gave Xie Handao a summary of what happened, so there would be no reason for Hanjin to steal his Head Disciple back.

So… why?

Then, it hits him.

Disciple Selection.  

-/-

Cang Qiong is widely known to be the most powerful Sect in the Jianghu. Of course, in order to maintain its position of superiority, Cang Qiong has to keep churning out a steady flow of talented cultivators. And that means Cang Qiong must continue to accept new talented disciples. And to do that, Cang Qiong holds Disciple Selection every two years. 

Shen Yuan has indirectly been involved with two selection ceremonies already, but never has he been expected to participate as much as he is now. Tie Hanjin gives him a spectacularly effective side eye from his perch on the Peak Lords’ balcony which is impressive given the fact that Shen Yuan isn’t right next to him, or really, anywhere near him. 

Instead of standing next to his shizun like usual, Shen Yuan is down in the dirt watching sweaty children desperately plant bamboo. The whole process is rather unpleasant, but at least the bamboo shoots’ neutral scent provides a nice cover for the prospective disciples’ practically offensive stench. The only positive to the whole thing is the people by his side. 

Misery loves company, and Shen Yuan really appreciates the other Head Disciples suffering with him. Qi Lifeng stands alone, looking truly immortal in her Peak’s classic white and purple. Shen Jiu and Yue Qi also strike rather lofty figures, but that’s most likely due to their frosty countenances rather than their robes. Zhang Mu was offered a position in Qian Cao’s welcoming/recruiting team, but as a regular disciple, he had the option to refuse and he took it. And Shen Yuan can’t even hate him for it. If he was given the chance to not do this, he would also take it without hesitation. 

“Shen-di?” Lifeng asks, sidling up to him so smoothly Shen Yuan’s like 90% no one notices other than him. He turns his head to acknowledge her momentarily and then looks back at the struggling kids. She takes the motion as the encouragement he intended it to be and cheerfully continues, “Li-shishu asked Shen-di to pick the disciples best fitted for Bai Zhan, right? As he still lacks a Head Disciple?”

“Lifeng is correct, ah. And you are here on behalf of Peak Lord Shi?” Shen Yuan’s eyes don’t leave the crowd in front of him even once.

“Of course! So… who has caught my didi’s attention so far?” Qi Lifeng leans down to match his still slightly lacking height, placing herself so she can see whatever, or rather whoever, he chooses to watch, and Shen Yuan graciously decides not to elbow her in the throat. 

“The boy three rows down with the glare,” Shen Yuan waits till he’s totally sure Qi Lifeng knows exactly whom he’s referring to. “I think my shifu will appreciate his focus.”

“Isn’t that the Liu Clan’s heir?” Lifeng asks, dropping her head onto Shen Yuan’s shoulder and leaning in. To outsiders, she’s probably just about entirely lost her otherworldly aura, but Shen Yuan’s pretty sure she doesn’t give a shit. To be fair, it’s kinda hard to expect a bunch of 13-17 year olds to be hardened immortals, even if they are Head Disciples. 

“Is it?” Shen Yuan’s eyebrow raises without much input from him at all. Liu Qingge is finally showing up? How old even is he? Twelve? Well, him showing up now does make sense… but Shen Yuan is still shook! Because! Because Liu Qingge showing up has some serious plot ramifications! Liu Qingge is supposed to kill Li Hanzu! Shit!

“Yup! This one believes his name is… Liu Xing?”

Shen Yuan absently replies, “Ahhh, that sounds right.”

Qi Lifeng lifts her head away from him, nodding as she does. As soon as she steps away from him, both of their images regain the icy superiority characteristic of talented cultivators. Shen Yuan holds back the urge to laugh at the change. He’s got other things to concentrate on, after all. For example, how the fuck is he supposed to avoid his dad/shifu’s canon death??

Should he just… not invite Liu Qingge to Bai Zhan??? Well, he’s Liu Xing right now… and if Shen Yuan doesn’t take him in, he’ll never become Liu Qingge at all. How would that affect the future plot?? Like, obviously, Li Hanzu’s life is more important than the future War God getting his deserved title, but what if keeping Liu Xing off the peak just means someone else steps up in his place? 

Maybe, the only option Shen Yuan has… is to follow canon for a bit? And just keep track of the plot progression? And when the time comes, save his shifu then..? Maybe? That’s the best plan Shen Yuan can come up with at this point, so it’ll have to do.

Resolutely, he nods once to himself. 

With that decision made, he’s fulfilled his duty as (unofficial) acting Head Disciple of Bai Zhan. He’s found Bai Zhan their perfect new disciple. 

Li Hanzu better be happy.

-/-

Tie Hanjin’s hair just barely misses falling into Shen Yuan’s tea cup when he lets it down in one solid waterfall. His face is mildly peeved, but he gives off an overall pleased vibe. Shen Yuan serenely sips his hair free tea.

“My A’Yuan’s older brother did a good job today, but from what I’ve heard, Hanzu received the disciple with the most potential. Was Liu Xing claimed by Shen A’Yuan? For Hanzu? And not this master…” Tie Hanjin sighs. His robes are in full disarray, but his features are just as refined as always. From his tone, Shen Yuan knows the Peak Lord’s not actually upset. 

“My bad,” Shen Yuan blinks once, letting his reply blow cooling air over his cup. Tie Hanjin just smiles in reply, the kind that sort of warms his normally frozen face, and Shen Yuan basks in the affectionate expression, enjoying the fact that his shizun never really gets mad at him. If he did, Shen Yuan would be much more cautious during his nearly daily talks with the man. 

“Next time, this master expects Shen A’Yuan to return with a talented new junior. If he fails to do so,” Tie Hanjin pours himself a cup of the still simmering jasmine tea. “A’Yuan will have to make up for it in another, more… official way. With much more paperwork…”

“This disciple understands,” Shen Yuan cuts his shizun off before he gets carried away. 

“Good,” Tie Hanjin brushes his curtain of hair behind his shoulder, “Very good.”

-/-

After becoming Head Disciple of Qing Jing, Shen Yuan has way more responsibilities than before. Though, given the fact that he is one of two Head Disciples, he’s sure it could be a lot worse. For example, Yue Qi can only visit Shen Yuan and his brother (mostly Shen Jiu though) once a week max, and even Qi Lifeng faces scheduling conflicts for their regular spars because of her own workload.

However, the increased difficulty in planning hasn’t stopped Lifeng from forcing (not that it takes much convincing) Shen Yuan to fight with her at least twice a week. In fact, today is one of those (not so) rare free days that she takes full advantage of by riding her newly made sword all the way to Qing Jing. 

It’s been a full month since Disciple Selection finished., and so far, Shen Yuan has seen neither hide nor hair of the young Liu Qingge. Though, he has heard quite a bit of gossip about a feud between him and Shen Jiu. When he hears that particular tid bit, he tries so hard to be surprised, but even he, a natural bull-shitter, can’t pull it off. Shen Jiu is just so… testy? Snarky? Antagonistic? They all fit, but none completely encompass Shen Jiu’s personality better than the word ‘snide’ does. And, if Shen Yuan didn’t deeply care for his ill-gained gege, even he might be tempted to label the man as a total asshole, but, alas, Shen Yuan knows Shen Jiu better than most, and while the teen can be an ass, he’s also loyal and deeply affectionate if you can get past the dickish exterior. 

So really, it’s no surprise at all that the supposedly ultra righteous Liu Xing can’t stand him, and the fact that canon Shen Qingqiu totally killed Liu Qingge just cements that assertion in Shen Yuan’s mind. 

A slash of Qi Lifeng’s glowing blade that comes just a titch bit too close to Shen Yuan’s freshly braided hair brings him back to their duel rather than his ponderings on the newest future Peak Lord to appear. Lifeng grins brightly as sweat drips its way down her flawless porcelain skin. Oh, and that’s another thing Shen Yuan still doesn’t get! How the hell is she still so fucking pale??? Qi Lifeng’s out in the sun more often than the dirt of Bai Zhan’s training field is! Does her skin just not care? Is this the effect of some sort of future harem member halo? And don’t even get him started on the thought that one of his best friends (and isn’t that a shock, he has friends now...) will eventually be just a number in a harem large enough to populate a small city all by themselves. Shen Yuan just tries not to think about it. 

“Don’t get distracted, Shen-di! How much can your little fan do if you’re too slow to catch my strikes!” Qi Lifeng shouts, face still blindingly satisfied. Zhang Mu sits off to the side, meditating more deeply than usual. He’d probably been told off by Qian Cao’s Head Disciple once again for his slow growing cultivation. Shen Yuan doesn’t understand the man’s need to bully his juniors, especially since he has no room to talk. The current Head Disciple of the medical peak is so inept, Shen Yuan is seriously questioning Yan Hanshi’s decision making skills. Anyway, it’s a known fact that the sleazy little Head Disciple of Qian Cao has a bone to pick with Zhang Mu, even if Zhang Mu refuses to explain why to Shen Yuan or Qi Lifeng. But that’s a question for another time because right now, Lifeng is brute forcing her way past his defenses, and Shen Yuan has to actually focus for a moment. 

“Too slow?” Shen Yuan laughs as he flicks Yong Yuan out to catch Lifeng’s sword. The fan snaps shut in one clean move used to disarm Lifeng in seconds. Over time, Shen Yuan has become adept at using his fan rather than a sword. Honestly, he probably prefers it to regular sword fighting because of how adaptable the martial art is. Fans can be just about anything, and they’re usually faster than swords. “Lifeng-jiejie forgets that she might have strength on her side, but this didi has speed!”

And in seconds, Shen Yuan holds his fan spread out mere centimeters from Qi Lifeng’s neck.

“Speed, huh?” She laughs once before pushing his hand away and wiping her damp face with the arm of her robe. “Well, one as inattentive as Shen-di needs to have fast reflexes or opponents will merely need to be silent in order to win!”

“That might be true,” Shen Yuan laughs along just like his jiejie, but his face is still dry. “But at least this one doesn’t need to find secret cultivation methods to win!”

“Shen Yuan!” Qi Lifeng shouts. Her arm, still bearing a visible wet spot from her earlier action, wraps itself around his shoulders. “This one doesn’t need secret cultivation methods to win. It’s just that normal ones are too boring!”

“Ha! Boredom isn’t a crime, Lifeng-jie.” Shen Yuan glances towards the third part of their trio, but instead of one sitting figure, he sees three people. Zhang Mu, no longer circulating his Qi endlessly, is standing in the middle of two boys. Neither can possibly be considered men, though Shen Yuan really shouldn’t be throwing stones from his own, barely thirteen year old, glass house. One wears the classic colors of Bai Zhan, the other, the light tones of Qing Jing.

Liu Xing and Shen Jiu, Shen Yuan’s brain supplies rather confidently. 

“Scum!”

“Idiot.”

“Calm down,” Zhang Mu speaks in the way of one exhausted with their fate, and Shen Yuan really, truly, feels bad for him, but better someone genuinely calm and polite than someone like Shen Yuan himself that’s just barely holding back his sarcastic comments 95% of the time. 

“Jiu-gege?” Shen Yuan asks, one eyebrow perfectly arched just like his shizun taught him.

“Tch, ignore this imbecile, A-Yuan. He’s just mad he lost.” Liu Xing’s whole face turns red in one wave of color, and Shen Yuan momentarily worries that the boy is actually literally about to explode. 

“You cheated!” Liu Xing yells. “You lying scum! Just admit that you cheated!”

“Jiu-shixiong cheated?” Qi Lifeng asks, sounding genuinely interested and not fazed by the accusation even a bit. 

“Why would I need to cheat to beat a child fresh from his mother’s arms?” Shen Jiu looks so unaffected by the going-ons that Shen Yuan’s almost 100% certain Tie Hanjin would pat him on the head if he saw. 

“Child???” Liu Xing chokes out, his face going nearly purple from rage, and before he can seriously blow a gasket or something, Shen Yuan just steps right next to Zhang Mu and entirely blocks his sight of Shen Jiu. The Bai Zhan disciple blinks once in confusion, face smoothing out immediately, “are you Shen A’Yuan of Qing Jing?”

“Yes.”

The boy lights up, “Fight me!”

Shen Yuan: WTF

Zhang Mu: (ﾉ￣д￣)ﾉ

Shen Jiu: (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)

Qi Lifeng: (∩`ω´)⊃))

Liu Xing basically sparkles.

Shen Yuan: …(-﹏-。)

Liu Xing’s eyes are like two Night Pearls against the dimming evening sky, and Shen Yuan looks away for a second before finally replying, “No way.”

Everyone: (ﾟДﾟ?)

Chapter Text

Two weeks after Shen Yuan’s refusal, Liu Xing’s back at it again with much more energy, “I request a duel!”

But still, Shen Yuan firmly replies, “No.”

-/-

“Shen-shixiong! Fight me!”

“Absolutely not.”

-/-

“Teach me the ways of Qing Jing!”

Shen Yuan sighs, reading over the report he was given moments ago by his shizun about weaker disciples of their peak being beaten by the newest disciple of Bai Zhan. “Haven’t you learned enough already?”

-/-

“Maybe, A’Yuan should just accept?” Tie Hanjin suggests. On the gilded porch of the Peak Lord’s home, Shen Yuan, his shizun, and his gege recline semi casually. When in public, neither Tie Hanjin nor Shen Jiu can completely relax, so they can’t be said to truly embody the word casual, but they’re as close as two overly stoic and prestigious cultivators can get.

“Why give in to that disgusting tripe? He’ll relent eventually,” Shen Jiu sneers. Tie Hanjin side-eyes him, and the teenager instantly fixes his spiteful expression into something more frosty than sharp. 

“That isn’t always the case, Head Disciple Shen. Peak Lord Li, for example, pestered this master for two years straight until I agreed to go night hunting with him …and Liu Xing, too, seems like the stubborn type.”

“So, Shizun thinks this disciple should just… agree to spar with Liu-shidi?” 

Tie Hanjin nods once, not a hair out of place, and Shen Jiu, no matter how distasteful he finds the boy in question, acts as his mirror. They both look unaffected by worldly matters. They look immortal, untouchable. Shen Yuan knows the truth though, and so he snorts at the picture they present. 

“Well, if Shizun says so,” Shen Yuan agrees half-heartedly. Inwardly, he scolds Airplane to the best of his ability. Why do all of these PIDW characters  have to enjoy battle so much? Why does Shen Yuan have to deal with them frothing at the reins? He just wants to quietly cultivate himself into the sort of character that the protagonist receives help from once and never gets mentioned again! Why does Shen Yuan have to be involved with so many future Peak Lords… well, it is sort of his own fault really. He did kinda choose to make friends… and he did kinda willingly get involved with plot points that didn’t really involve him… but! If Airplane had just written a better fucking novel in the first place, then none of this would’ve happened! So there! Still not actually Shen Yuan’s fault!

“Hm,” Shen Jiu turns away from him, grabbing his sword Xiu Ya (and wow, is it just as badass as Shen Yuan expected!) along the way. Shen Yuan waves at him as he gets up and leaves, most likely off to do some Head Disciple things that Shen Yuan has somehow completely forgotten the existence of. It’s a good thing that Shen Jiu is all over it, his diligence means Shen Yuan has more time for napping, reading new issues of his favorite monster journals, and drinking tea with his shizun. He knows that he should probably split the workload more evenly with his brother, but he also recognizes the fact that Shen Jiu much prefers the paperwork and organizing over the actual human connection part of being a Head Disciple, so he lets the work division stay as is. Shen Jiu is the whole backstage crew and Shen Yuan is the leading (only) actor, both working together in an effort to make the director (Tie Hanjin) pleased.

-/-

Despite reluctantly agreeing to follow his shizun’s advice, Shen Yuan does not automatically seek out his current annoyance and future problem. Instead, he goes to talk to Yan Hanshi. As a regular disciple, the main connections Shen Yuan needs to have are with his shizun and his shifu. However, Shen Yuan is a Head Disciple, and so he must also be fairly close with his shizun’s shidis and shimeis. (Not his shizun’s shixiong though because, to this day, Shen Yuan is still put off by Xie Handao…) He also just has a few questions for her.

“About the Heart Demons?” Shen Yuan nods once, and so she continues. “Well, Heart Demons come in many different intensities, frequencies, and vulnerabilities. One may experience Heart Demons once and never be afflicted again while another may be attacked every time they try to rest their eyes for more than a moment. So far, Shen A’Yuan seems to exhibit a mild, yet chronic case, and this master believes it to be a non concern at the moment.”

“But,” Shen Yuan pauses briefly to let her pass him. She quickly grabs two stems of the plant he was blocking mere seconds ago. She hums in what could be a sign to continue, but could also, just as likely, be a noise to confirm that she had picked the right herb. Regardless, he continues once she’s done, “does that mean there will always be a chance for them to return?”

“Yes,” Yan Hanshi turns to look him in the eyes, ignoring the spiritual ivy climbing up into her robes. “However, given a proper catalyst, nearly everyone is at risk of Heart Demons, so Disciple Shen needn’t worry himself overly much. All will be well if you maintain a calm mind.”

“Hm,” Shen Yuan agrees distractedly, perfectly imitating his brother’s earlier noise without even trying. “Thank you, Peak Lord Yan.”

“No need for thanks, Disciple Shen. It is, after all, this master’s job to provide medical knowledge for the inhabitants of the Sect.”

-/-

Of course, Shen Yuan can’t escape his fate for long. No, he’s not dying or anything. Really, he’s referring to the whole dueling thing with Liu Xing. If visiting Yan Hanshi was for the purpose of hiding (and gathering information about his health), then leaving her peak is akin to his location almost immediately being leaked. As soon as Shen Yuan steps onto the Rainbow Bridge (yes, he’s still letting his sword get away with making him walk everywhere…. Well, letting may not be the most accurate term. After all, he doesn’t have much of a say in it at all.), he’s face to face with an overly excited twelve year old. 

“Fight me, Shen-shixiong!”

“Fine,” Shen Yuan easily replies, automatically adjusting his route to bring him to Bai Zhan instead of his original destination of Qing Jing. Liu Xing freezes for a moment as if he hadn’t expected an agreement before happily turning around to trail after Shen Yuan. 

What happens next becomes a habit that takes years and years for Shen Yuan to shake. Nearly daily duels… daily… daily… daily.

It’s the beginning of what can only loosely be described as a great friendship, but Shen Yuan’s honestly a bit too lazy to come up with something better to call it, so he sticks to that. 

And like that, caught between the duties of a Head Disciple, the responsibilities of a best friend, and the activity of a sparring partner, Shen Yuan passes three years in the blink of an eye. 

Chapter Text

Being a teenager again comes with its perks. For example, Shen Yuan can now leave the Sect by himself without incurring the wrath of god, or really just the wrath of Tie Hanjin and Li Hanzu. He can also order around his fellow Qing Jing disciples with the full authority of a Head Disciple without getting disbelieving glances from all witnesses. However, with that comes the not-so-pleasant experience of full fledged growing pains. Like… holy shit. During his first life, illness prevented a lot of the leveling up on his body’s part, so after the age of thirteen, he had grown just about as much as he was going to, leaving his height pathetically below average. Now though, with the health of a practicing cultivator, nothing was standing in the way of his bamboo like bones’ growth. 

Originally, he was a great deal shorter than Qi Lifeng. However, around his fifteenth birthday, his whole body decided to take a break for some self improvement and he grew 20 cm in one summer, taking him from normal for his age to tall in one fell swoop. Of course, his older brother and Qi-ge still have him beat, but Shen Yuan isn’t entirely sure he won’t be catching up… to Shen Jiu at least. 

But a growth spurt like that comes with a lot of pain. Everyday, Shen Yuan would just lay around, soaking in the sun and ignoring the stretch of bone and muscle. Finally after three months, it seemed to calm down, and his strenuous training continued. Strenuous because he had to basically relearn how to use his overly long limbs! And! Basically as soon as he restarted training, the battle maniacs he calls friends started right back in with the regular sparring. Qi Lifeng, Shen Yuan understands, but Liu Xing? He’s going through growing pains too! Wtf! How has he got so much energy to waste just following Shen Yuan around??

And for a few months there, right after the worst of Shen Yuan’s changes, Jue Shi refused to go into its sword mark! Meaning, Shen Yuan, who’d already grown very used to not carrying a sword, had to drag it around all the time! Not only that, but whenever he forgot it somewhere, Liu Xing would inevitably find it, bring it to him, and use that as an excuse to request another duel! Good thing that Jue Shi finally relented on the sword mark thing after Shen Yuan turned sixteen. Now, Liu Xing has nothing to exploit other than Shen Yuan’s own good nature…

Anyway. Uhhh, along with growing bigger, taller, and stronger, all of the Head Disciples, including one recently promoted Liu Xing, are being asked to begin planning the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference. Shen Yuan is less than excited, on the surface at least. In his own mind, he lets his inner fan boy go wild! Because this! The Immortal Alliance Conference! Is one of the coolest arcs of the whole web novel! It has everything! Monsters! Plants! Competition! Girls… if you like that! And it’s the turning point for Bingge! Though that doesn’t really apply this time around because Shen Yuan’s pretty sure Luo Binghe hasn’t even been born yet. 

However, it’s also a time of bullying. Because the Head Disciples are mostly in charge of the whole thing, including who gets to go, fairness goes out the window for a lot of the peaks. Usually not the strength oriented peaks like Bai Zhan and Xian Shu, nor the occupation oriented peaks like Wan Jian and An Ding. Instead, it is the scholarly peaks like Qiong Ding and Qing Jing that go through the most tense times. Well, that’s how it is for most Conferences. This year, though, with Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan in charge of Qing Jing, and the ultra upright Yue Qi dealing with Qiong Ding, Qian Cao is on its worst behavior. 

Usually, Qian Cao isn’t a big participant in the Immortal Alliance Conference. Because of the Peak’s main focus being the medical arts, most disciples are rather disinterested in fighting. Yet, this year, their limited number of spots are being fought over like gold, and the Head Disciple is encouraging it. In fact, he’s egging them on and collecting the spoils as they go. Normally, Zhang Mu, who’s more proficient in the martial arts than most Wan Jian disciples, would be guaranteed a spot. But, with the bribery based system going on this year, his odds have dropped as far as slim to none. While he does come from a wealthy merchant family, Zhang Mu has no true connection with them anymore, and so he has almost no money to his name. Without money, knowing the Head Disciple and his grudge against him, Zhang Mu will be stuck on the Peak when the Conference comes around.

“How is that fair?” Qi Lifeng demands. Shen Yuan agrees, but much more quietly. Zhang Mu looks away miserably from his place in the shade of his favorite tree. The three are huddled in the deepest part of Qing Jing’s bamboo forest, where the trees are so old, they can be leaned against like oaks.

“It’s not,” Zhang Mu replies with a sigh. “But without a way to prove my worth to my shizun, nothing can stop He-shixiong from excluding me.”

“Wait,” Shen Yuan stops picking at the grass near the edge of his spread out robes, “a way to prove yourself?”

Zhang Mu blinks once before sighing again, for much longer this time, “yes, Shen-shixiong. If a disciple of Qian Cao can bring an herb of level seven or higher rarity, Peak Lord Yan will guarantee them a place in the Conference.”

“Well, why didn’t you say that earlier, Zhang-shidi!” Qi Lifeng hops to her feet without any more words. Within seconds, she’s flying away on her sword. The two boys watch her go for a moment before Shen Yuan explains her sudden departure. 

“A plant of level seven rarity? Mu-shidi should know better than to underestimate his seniors. If a group including two Head Disciples and one extremely skilled medic cannot find a level seven plant, then no one can. Get up, we’re going flower picking!”

And then, in a state of light confusion, Zhang Mu allows Shen Yuan to drag him along to Peak Lord Tie’s home. 

-/-

“Why’s he here?” Two voices chime out at the same time. Shen Yuan just sighs. For all that his two best friends have very similar personalities, Qi Lifeng finds Liu Xing’s presence extremely unneeded at all times. As for the second person unhappy at the sight of Liu Xing, well, that’s a dead give away. Shen Jiu hates Liu Xing to this day. Though, the animosity between those two is at least mutual. 

“Does it matter? Another Head Disciple can't exactly hurt…” Shen Yuan trails off as he sees the expression on his brother’s face. “What’s wrong, Jiu-gege?”

“Oh, so Didi does remember who this one is. This one thought that, since A’Yuan seems to have completely forgotten Qi-ge, this gege would be next on the list.” And honestly, Shne Yuan was not expecting the pettiness that just left Shen Jiu’s mouth. He should’ve, but he didn’t…

“Gege,” Shen Yuan starts, “Qi-ge is busy, okay? He can’t just abandon his duties to come with us.”

“And why not? If you and Lifeng can go, then why can’t Qi-ge? Are you two not also Head Disciples?” It really speaks to how much Shen Jiu dislikes Liu Xing that, even when bitching at Shen Yuan, he won’t use the youngest Head Disciple to support his point. Shen Yuan merely rolls his eyes at his older brother’s antics, already very used to how his mouth works. 

“Gege knows well the difference between Qi-ge’s responsibilities and ours.”

And, at that, Shen Jiu can’t keep making a fuss, so he just huffs once and then glares at Liu Xing like his mere existence is an unbearable annoyance. To be fair though, Liu Xing is glaring back just as hostilely. 

“So, where has Lifeng-shijie decided to go?” Zhang Mu asks once he’s sure the Shen brothers have finished arguing. Though, the whole back and forth was really much too calm to be considered an argument, so maybe more like a very snappy discussion..? 

In response to her shidi’s question, Qi Lifeng lifts her dazzling purple sword in a seemingly random direction and declares, “That way!”

Luckily enough, Jue Shi’s been in a relatively good mood recently, so when every single teenager around him pulls their sword out to fly, Shen Yuan’s also appears.

-/-

“Chu Forest?” Shen Yuan hears his brother murmur as they near a large green mass. They’ve been flying for a while already, and if it weren’t for his sword’s suddenly chatty mood, Shen Yuan would probably be falling asleep on his feet, so he nearly misses the words when they’re uttered. However, he catches them, and he sends his brother a concerned look before glancing back at their approaching destination.

Qi Lifeng descends first, but Shen Yuan isn’t far behind her, and Liu Xing, of course, follows right after him. Zhang Mu takes his time dismounting, but for once, he isn’t the last one to land. With a dazed look, Shen Jiu hangs in the air, Xiu Ya completely stable under his feet despite her master’s inattentive state. 

“Jiu-gege?” Shen Yuan calls, and Shen Jiu visibly flinches at the name. However, after a second, he pulls himself together and jumps off Xiu Ya. With Shen Jiu’s departure from the blade, it smoothly moves itself into the sheath hanging on his belt. 

“It’s nothing, A’Yuan. Let’s go,” and the last part is directed at the whole group, not just Shen Yuan. Qi Lifeng nods happily as she takes off into the forest. Liu Xing looks back almost wearily before ultimately deciding to give them some space and catch up with Qi Lifeng. Zhang Mu simply follows after the shortest and most violent members of their group, not giving the brothers more than a brief glance full of restrained curiosity. 

However, despite their new privacy, Shen Jiu refuses to speak, and Shen Yuan unquestioningly follows suit. They walk in unnerving silence until they catch up with the other three. 

As the five set up camp, Shen Jiu still seems distracted, but now, even Qi Lifeng can tell that Shen Yuan is acting just as strangely. Just as she’s thinking about how to break the awkward mood of the group, Qi Lifeng notices something. She counts the people surrounding her. Including herself, only three people sit around the fire. 

Qi Lifeng blinks once, moving her head to look around the camp site. No one’s hiding anywhere, and she stands before she can even consider what that might mean. 

“Shen-di!” At the loud yell, Shen Yuan’s head snaps up to meet her eyes over the flickering of the flames. Only panic sits in her golden brown gaze. She continues at the exact same volume as before, if not louder, “Zhang-shidi and Liu-shidi are gone!”

Chapter Text

“What?” Shen Yuan stammers. His bearing totally unlike that of a respectable Head Disciple. To be fair though, none of the members of their group have been particularly respectable today. Chu Forest just seems to bring out the worst in people. 

“Something must’ve taken them, Didi!” Qi Lifeng looks like a child just informed that the world is ending tomorrow. Her eyes are teary like they haven’t been for years, and Shen Yuan stands to match her, also growing panicked because of her words and the implications within them. Shen Jiu takes a second longer to respond, but as soon as he does, he follows along with their frantic actions, standing and looking around just like any senior disciple responsible for the safety of a trip would when two people just up and disappear. 

Okay, but like, Shen Yuan is genuinely so confused right now. Going by horror movie tropes, because that’s definitely the closest genre to their current situation, Liu Qingge and Mu Qingfan definitely shouldn’t have been taken first! Even going by action and adventure standards, they shouldn’t have been the first victims! Sure, if you’re talking pure cultivation level, Liu Xing’s the weakest, but that doesn’t stop him from being able to fight Shen Jiu to draw when desired. Zhang Mu, on the other hand, boasts a rather high cultivation base, much better than Shen Jiu and Liu Xing, for now at least, so he wouldn’t be the first target either, despite his less than perfect martial abilities. 

Honestly, the one giving off the most vulnerable air would probably be Shen Jiu. He’s been distracted since the moment he set eyes on Chu Forest, his foundation, though quickly growing, is still rather unstable and the instability can be seen from a mile away, in addition to these two blatant reasons, Shen Jiu also has the most use as a cultivation boost because of his constitution. His spiritual veins are smooth, and he has more than enough potential to work as a human cauldron. Thus, if Shen Yuan were the monster/evil cultivator taking prisoners, Shen Jiu would be easy-pickings. 

So... why wasn’t he taken? And for that matter, why did the monster take two people? If it was going for stealth, one would be the way to go. And if it was going for numbers, why not just outright attack them? Surely, dealing with only Zhang Mu and Liu Xing can’t be much easier than directly taking on the group of five. Like sure, Shen Yuan and Qi Lifeng do represent much more skilled and powerful targets than the others, but if the creature could take Zhang-shidi and Liu-shidi without making any fuss at all, then it could more than likely deal with Shen Yuan and Qi Lifeng one way or another. 

The only possible reason Shen Yuan can think of for it to take Zhang Mu and Liu Xing specifically, would be their size? Not including the obviously alert and well-disciplined (basically unkidnappable) Qi Lifeng, Zhang Mu and Liu Xing are the smallest members of the group. Shen Jiu stands at a solid 182 cm, and he’s by no means scrawny. Shen Yuan himself is already 180 cm, and of the five, he probably weighs the most purely because of the muscles he’s been forced to acquire over the years. Zhang Mu, however, represents for the norms with his not too short, not too tall height of 176 cm. He’s not all that built yet either due to his natural inclination towards medical pursuits rather than physical ones. Liu Xing, of course, holds the title of smallest. Compared to their group full of nearly completely grown teens, his younger age and late bloomer identity  cause him to fall far behind the average height of the group at a shocking 170 cm. Along with that, he’s also definitely what some might call a pretty boy, which let’s be real, Shen Yuan totally was not expecting from the description laid out in PIDW. Because of that, he probably weighs no more than 52 kgs (115 lbs).

It’s the only common trait between their A-Xing and A-Mu. They don’t use the same cultivation method, their talent levels are vastly different, and their elemental affinities don’t match up. Zhang Mu leans towards water, while Liu Xing possesses a strong lightning root. However, if that really is the reason, then that probably means whatever took them didn’t have the strength to take anyone else, not that they didn’t have the desire to. The need for a reduced baggage weight also implies that whatever took them probably didn’t need to go far. For a monster that isn’t in possession of over the top strength to take two disciples from a group it knows will attempt to rescue them after they realize it’s struck and then travel a far distance, is simply impossible. No one in their right mind would take that risk. A long journey just offers a variety of opportunities for a kidnapping to be thwarted. Not that Shen Yuan speaks from experience or anything hahaha… Anyway. 

There’s only one small issue with his conclusion. All of his deductions are completely reliant on one assumption, that the monster intends to keep his shidis. If the beast just took advantage of their distraction to directly gobble the two up, then Shen Yuan’s screwed, and Zhang Mu and Liu Xing are probably already long dead. However, Shen Yuan’s always been very good at not thinking about shit like that, and so, he instead focuses on his other, just as likely, theory. 

The monster took them because they were easy, relatively light targets, and the beast’s lair must be nearby. Definitely within a few hundred meters. 

With that thought in mind, Shen Yuan decisively recites his thoughts to his brother and best friend. They seem to agree, and so the three begin searching for whatever traces the monster may have left behind. If they can find tracks, finding their shidis will naturally follow.

-/-

Zhang Mu, at the tender age of seventeen, has faced so few life or death situations that he can count them on one hand. In fact, until today, he didn’t need to count at all. Sure, he’s lived with bullying, neglect, and scheming rats aiming for his position as heir to the Zhang Clan his whole life, but none of the fear and anger caused by that compares to how he feels right now. In his own opinion, Zhang Mu is incredibly well-adjusted. Especially when compared to emotional blockheads like his Qi-shijie and Shen-shixiong. Of course, he’s also far more stable than his overtly traumatized Yue and Jiu shixiongs. So really, he can’t be blamed for kinda losing it just this once. 

As he struggles in the vines wrapping him one by one, razor sharp leaves brushing by his cheeks with each breath, drawing blood everytime they do, Zhang Mu can feel himself crying, hyperventilating despite the knowledge that quickened breath will allow the plant to constrict itself faster, will cause the leaves to cut him even deeper. He can’t help but feel that the unconscious Liu Xing at his side is much luckier than him. If this is how Zhang Mu is to die, even after escaping the clutches of his family, even after pushing through He-shixiong’s clear act of suppressing his advancements, then so be it. But the gods should at least allow him to be asleep for it! Facing the pain of a thousand cuts, and the slowly increasing pressure on his ribs, Zhang Mu can’t hold back his tears. 

However, it is through those tears that he catches a glimpse of a glossy blade thinner than he’d even seen before. Zhang Mu almost doesn’t realize it's a sword. Throughout the blade’s surface, there are countless streaks of blue and green. They give off the appearance of cracks, but they obviously aren’t affecting the integrity of the impossibly fragile looking blade. Zhang Mu is nothing if not well-adjusted. He cries when he’s sad and laughs when he’s happy. He doesn’t keep things inside, he doesn’t let grudges fester, and he doesn’t let the dealings of petty people cause his own world view to collapse. Zhang Mu also doesn’t let signs from the heavens go unnoticed. 

When life gives him absent parents, Zhang Mu learns to fend for himself. When life gives him a manor full of other Zhangs vying for his favor and influence, Zhang Mu learns who not to trust. When life throws obstacle after obstacle straight in his face, Zhang Mu adjusts his path and keeps walking. Life may be difficult, but Zhang Mu isn’t one to give up. As it turns out, that perseverance wasn’t for naught.

After years of struggling in the Zhang Manor, Zhang Mu’s fate changes and a wandering cultivator takes a liking to him, inviting him to study at Cang Qiong as her disciple. After years of loneliness, his self-imposed isolation is brought to end by two warm smiles and daily duels. And now, suffocated by a level ten Ivy Blood Sipper, the gods offer him a way to escape, if he’s willing to push himself harder than ever before.

Cultivation is all about making peace with the surrounding earth and the galaxy inside one’s self. That’s why Zhang Mu likes it. Zhang Mu’s actually rather partial to the peace making path. And now, as a reward for his diligence, he’s being given a way to keep living. To keep making peace. To keep helping the people he cares about. 

The vines have encased nearly his whole torso, climbing dangerously close to his delicate neck, blood is basically seeping from his every pore, and yet, Zhang Mu doesn’t feel the pain. Hasn’t felt it even a bit since laying eyes on the nearly transparent blade in front of him. A voice echoes through his head, but all it says is, ‘Call for me.’

But Zhang Mu doesn’t know its name.

‘Yes, you do,’ it whispers in return, apparently completely capable of reading his mind.

The vines have just barely reached his collar bones, and Liu Xing’s in a state barely better than his own. They clearly doomed, and yet, when Zhang Mu hears the voice of the sword, he feels as if everything will be okay, and so, unbeknownst to him, his mouth utters a name that hasn’t graced the mortal realm for at least a hundred years, “Ling. Hun. ”

-/-

Eventually, Shen Jiu finds some scrapes on a few trees. Following them, the three soon come upon a sight that no one could’ve guessed. At least a hundred Ivy Blood Sippers are writhing in the lush greenery covering Chu Xiolian’s floors. In any other situations, a Peak Lord would immediately need to be called to deal with over ten Ivy blood Sipper plants---let alone a hundred of them. However, somehow, none of them represent any kind of threat to the three because every single one has been sliced expertly from the root. Once an Ivy Blood Sipper is disconnected from what is essentially its brain, it becomes incapable of weaponizing itself leaving behind what can only be considered a living ingredient for alchemy. As a rank ten plant beast, it’s one of the herbs even Cang Qiong struggles to keep a full stock of. 

Shen Yuan literally cannot fully process the scene his eyes are watching.

A Peak Lord level cultivator can face a max of maybe eighty Blood Sippers by themselves, any more is a risk most aren’t willing to take. Shen Yuan himself is confident that he could only deal with around five at once before becoming overwhelmed. 

But something killed a hundred on its own, rather easily too if the time between when the two disappeared and when Shen Yuan, Shen Jiu, and Qi Lifeng showed up is taken into account. Whatever did it only had around twenty minutes. 

Silly Child, something like this would only take five minutes. The being that did this left long ago.

Jue Shi? You know what saved Zhang Mu and Liu Xing? Shen Yuan asks, utterly incapable of restraining the flat tone of ‘why am I not surprised’ apparent in every word.

The sword laughs once, and the red mark on his face tingles warmly, Of course, Jue Shi knows many powerful beings. It’s just that Jue Shi’s already outlived most of the weapons from Jue Shi’s generation. Only two swords remain. Jue Shi is peerless, but those two come the closest. Jue Shi never expected to see him again…

After the spirit trails off, Shen Yuan tries to ask it more questions, but all he receives is silence. Jue Shi’s probably asleep again. Faced with no clear answer to the mystery, all Shen Yuan can do is make sure his two shidis are okay. Well, that and collect all of the severed Blood Sippers. 

Zhang Mu and Liu Xing are beyond exhausted, and neither wakes up for a whole day after the ordeal. Due to the real issue of excess dead weight, the group is still camped out in the Chu Forest. However, this time, they’ve made sure the surrounding three hundred meters area is clear of any overgrown beast or plant nests. Not only that, but someone is always on guard watching for any stray vines creeping into their campsite where they shouldn’t be.

Li Xing gets up first, eyes cloudy and particularly cute. Shen Yuan snorts at the image made by the future War God of Bai Zhan. Rather than a War God, Shen Yuan thinks he looks more like a vaguely aggrieved cat just woken from a nap. 

“What happened, Shen-shixiong?” the said aggrieved cat asks with a yawn hidden behind his hand. 

“Liu-shidi and Zhang-shidi were taken by a group of Ivy Blood Sippers, but you’re okay now. Shidi should be more careful from now on, ah,” Shen Yuan smiles and pats his shidi’s messy hair.

Before the flustered Liu Xing can respond, Zhang Mu sits up with a huge gasp, “I’m not dead!”

“Nope,” Shen Yuan replies calmly, reaching a hand out to measure Zhang Mu’s pulse. 

“I didn’t die,” Zhang Mu whispers to himself incredulously, staring at his wide palms as he does. “Then, if this one didn’t die, it must mean the gods have something in mind for my future. Thus, I will work even harder in the future!”

“Good,” Qi Lifeng says as she too joins the conversation. “Mumu will have to work very hard in the future. After all, he’ll soon be Head Disciple of one of the most important Peaks to Cang Qiong.”

“What? Head Disciple?”

“Well, of course,” Shen Jiu sneers, “How could someone I consider a friend not be the best? And who our age is better than a Head Disciple?”

“No one… but this shidi is too dumb, I don’t understand what you two mean,” Zhang Mu clenches his hinds into fists, and Liu Xing pats him on the shoulder once in his own form of brute comfort.

“What they mean is, after excelling at the Immortal Alliance Conference, we expect Zhang-shidi to snatch the Head Disciple position from He Shao.” Shen Yuan pulls out Yong Yuan in order to flutter it in his face, adding a layer of mysterious aloofness to his already super fucking cool lines.

“But…” Zhang Mu struggles momentarily, “we never found a level seven plant? How am I supposed to participate in the Conference? He-shixiong will not simply allow that.”

“While shidi is correct in our failure to locate a level seven plant, surely Peak Lord Yan will accept a rank ten plant in its place?” Shen Yuan shows Zhang Mu his qiankun bag full of squirming Ivy Blood Sippers. 

-/-

As the group is finally exiting Chu Xiaolian, Shen Yuan catches his brother by the bicep, easily causing the two to fall behind the entire group. With a determined look on his face, Shen Yuan starts with a time tested classic, “We need to talk.”

“A-Yuan is correct,” Shen Jiu replies, finally seeming to be willing to open up. 

However, they don’t get a chance to discuss anything before a new voice rings out over the clearing marking the end of the Chu Forest, “Talking? This Lord loves talking.”

Chapter Text

“Who?” Shen Yuan whispers in complete confusion, and Shen Jiu sends him a look to match. Clearly, neither of the brothers are familiar with the extremely built ‘lord’ exiting the forest after them. Said lord merely grins at their confusion before gesturing vaguely and calling what seems to be his assistant (?) to come forward. 

“Excuse my lack of manners, I forgot to introduce myself! This Lord goes by Tian, Lord Tian, and this is my nephew, Zhi-er,” the man, apparently called Lord Tian, makes another odd gesture, seemingly just to draw the two’s eyes to the lanky young man behind him, and said young man nods awkwardly when they do exactly that. “This Lord was simply too excited at the prospect of chatting! It’s not everyday that one runs into such handsome and well-spoken travellers such as yourselves!” 

“Oh,” Shen Yuan replies, nearly struck dumb. However, as ingrained into his innermost soul the idea of constant poise is, he manages to remain really quite elegant looking even in his mild stupor. The issue is this, Shen Yuan’s read every single, eye searing, mind-numbing page of Proud Immortal Demon Way, but he’s never heard of a ‘Lord Tian’. Which, given the man’s obviously non-cannon fodder/side character looks, means one of two things. One, the man isn’t in PIDW. He somehow missed out on all of Bingge’s adventures, and remained nameless despite his clearly powerful aura. That, or he’s lying about his name. Shen Yuan isn’t quite sure on either front, but both options are rather suspicious. 

Still, the man seems harmlessly friendly for now, so Shen Yuan shouldn’t spurn the affable air he emits, so after a moment of thinking, he smiles gently and offers his own introduction, “This one is named Shen Yuan, and this is Shen Jiu, my older brother. We are but humble disciples from Cang Qiong’s Qing Jing Peak.”

“Oh? Cang Qiong, you say… it couldn’t be that you are Cang Qiong’s famous Shen A’Yuan?” Lord Tian's lips curl upwards lightly as he speaks, like Shen Yuan’s identity really did surprise him. It’s too early to make any judgements quite yet, but Shen Yuan’s beginning to believe the man really did just happen to run into them and decide to stop and chat. He just seems too good natured to be holding malicious intentions. “Well, if that’s the case, then surely, you two must’ve had something to do with the destruction of the Ivy Blood Sipper nest, not five li from here!”

Shen Jiu tenses, and Shen Yuan shares a skeptical glance with him. What to do… should they admit or deny it? Eventually, after a somewhat tense moment of silence, Shen Jiu speaks up, “Lord Tian could say that, yes. Unfortunately, Lord Tian would be wrong if he believes it was us lowly disciples that killed them.”

Shen Yuan nods happily, ostensibly agreeing with his brother’s words. He’s completely okay with leaving the conversation up to Shen Jiu. While his brother has only been taught by Tie Hanjin for a fraction of the time Shen Yuan has, he’s always taken every lesson to heart, and so, when he wants to be, Shen Jiu is an even better sweet talker than Shen Yuan is. Sure, Shen Jiu can tend to be rather rude to people his own age and status, but around those more powerful than him, he goes from bratty to respectful in 2.5 seconds. In fact, he knows how to give ultra polite non-answers with the best of them. Shen Yuan can’t name a single fictional ‘wise, sage master’ type character that could out vague his brother. For example, the answer Shen Jiu just gave. His words confirm the existence of a relationship between them and the plant nest’s eradication, while, at the same time, offering nothing but questions on what exactly that relationship is. 

However, despite the lack of a clear response, Lord Tian seems just as pleased as he was at the beginning of their ‘talk’. Happily, the lord mock bows with a wide smile on his face, “Regardless of your level of involvement, this Lord thanks the Shen brothers for their aid in pest removal. I had been meaning to wipe those weeds out long ago, but this Lord has been much too busy lately. Imagine my surprise when I finally got around to it only to find each one already cut down at the roots!”

“Yes,” Shen Jiu smiles too, though Shen Yuan can see right through it’s plasticity, “what a shock it must’ve been. However, surely, a finished task is better than an unfinished one?”

“Exactly!” Lord Tian straightens out from his half salute. He still looks rather amused, but with one whisper from his nephew, his face changes drastically. The man’s incredibly good looking features morph into a picture of reluctance, eyes blinking once at ‘Zhi-er’ as if to ask ‘do I have to?’ Shen Yuan watches on with dull curiosity as the man’s nephew nods shortly in confirmation and Lord Tian swivels his head back to look at the two Shens once more. “Alas, this Lord must cut our wonderful chat short! Business never seems to end for one of my status, ah. Well, let me say just one more thing, Shen Yuan!”

However, just as he’s about to continue speaking, Qi Lifeng shouts to see what's taking them so long. So, instead of saying whatever he originally meant to, Lord Tian merely smiles and waves, disappearing abruptly with two final sentences, “Thanking you for the talk and the pest control! This Lord will pay it back when we meet again, ah!”

Qi Lifeng makes her way over to the brothers after a while of no response. She looks at their complicated expressions and throws her arms around their shoulders, completely ignoring the height gap that's totally not in her favor. “Let’s go! You two can talk when we get back! This one will make sure of it!”

-/-

Shen Yuan has a friend group. A legit friend group. And he’s pretty sure he might actually be the leader of it? Well, co-leader because Lifeng, duh. However, this is something that’s never happened before in either one of his lives. Shen Yuan’s never been the ‘leader’ type. He’s the grouchy critic, the first to die in any horror movie ever! 

And yet, when he sees the teary smile on Zhang Mu’s face as he announces his participation in the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference, he feels some pretty parental emotions. Okay, okay! Shen Yuan feels super fucking proud, alright? Got an issue with that? Cause anyone that does can bring it to their group’s official older sister, Qi Lifeng! And Shen Yuan can safely say that, even with his new growth spurt, Lifeng is still physically stronger than him by quite a bit. 

“We’re all going! So, it’s a competition, alright! If anyone’s winning this conference, it’ll be one of us!” Lifeng declares confidently. 

Five Head Disciples and one of the top disciples from Qian Cao stand in a circle. Around them are countless disciples also waiting to enter the site acting as the stage for this year’s Immortal Alliance Conference. Their individual Peak Lords have already gone off to make bets and connections with other powerful figures in the Jianghu.

Despite how casual they make it seem, the grouping of Cang Qiong’s most talented up and coming cultivators is wild enough to draw constant looks. One Head Disciple is rare enough, but five? Well, that’s a bit too much for normal teenagers to ignore. Especially because the Shen Jiu and the Liu Xing are acting peacefully while in the same group! Who would’ve been able to foresee this outcome? No one, that’s who! Shen Jiu and Liu Xing can be seen at each other’s throats every time they can be seen together at all! The two Head Disciples are said to be a living embodiment of the feud between Qing Jing and Bai Zhan! 

Not only them, but even the practically never seen Yue Qi stands with this group! He acts more like a ghost than a cultivator most of the time, and yet, Yue Qi apparently not only personally knows the rest of the extremely well-known Head Disciples, he also gets along with them well??? 

Needless to say, more than a few people fix their gazes on the dazzling group of put together Head Disciples and never glance away, their stares ranging from astonished to jealous to adoring. In the end, though, their looks don't really matter. 

After all, none of the huddling six have ever been particularly mindful of extras.

Chapter Text

Over the years, lots of drama has gone down between the Peak Lords of Cang Qiong---even well before they officially became Peak Lords. It’s practically a tradition for arguments to break out within twenty minutes of any sect wide meeting with required attendance. Whether it be a ‘discussion’ about some act of disrespect one lord performed towards another, or a tense talk over their years as disciples and their time as Chen Fu’s shidis and shimeis, they almost never manage to settle the original topic of the meeting before someone storms off. Of course, none of these petty disagreements between friends can compare to the sheer hostility Cang Qiong shares with Huan Hua Palace. 

Sure, Cang Qiong and Huan Hua occupy the spots of the two most powerful sects in the Jianghu, but that doesn’t mean they like each other. In fact, until recently, two alliance conferences were held. One with Cang Qiong and all of its allies, and another with Huan Hua and its posse. However, after years of separation, the last generation of Cang Qiong’s lords, the An generation, decided enough was enough and chose to put the two sect’s differences aside and combine the yearly activities into the huge, bi-yearly event it is today. 

Still, deep-seated dislike can’t be rewritten in such a short period of time, and the Immortal Alliance Conference remains an event with what most would consider a pretty stiff atmosphere. However, that by no means dampens the excitement Tie Hanjin feels when he sees his disciples (particularly his favorite) standing at the ready, just waiting for the shield to open and the hunt to start. The whole time Hanjin’s been a Peak Lord, he’s never felt quite as proud as this moment, and, seeing Hanzu’s wide, focused gaze and lazy smile, something tells Hanjin he’s not the only one. 

Without so much as a smile, for no one knows how closely they are being watched in settings like these, Tie Hanjin lifts a single, furtive hand to tug at Li Hanzu’s tight sleeve. He whispers, still keeping his face remarkably motionless, “And who is Li-shidi betting on?”

“Don’t know,” the War God replies smoothly with affection glowing in his eyes. “Would it be inappropriate to place stones on a disciple from another peak?”

“Does Peak Lord Li not have any promising disciples of his own?” Yan Hanshi breaks in, instantly shattering the little isolated bubble the two men had created. “Just because Shen A’Yuan is your favorite, doesn’t mean Bai Zhan’s Head Disciple should be forsaken so easily.”

“Yan-mei, Yan-mei! How cruel to limit this master’s actions like that!” In return for his laments, Li Hanzu receives a sword hilt to the kidney.

“Don’t call me that,” Yan Hanshi reminds him with a straight face. From the outside, the three Peak Lords must be quite the sight. Yan Hanshi is stone faced as always, and Tie Hanjin also maintains a rather cold visage. Li Hanzu, though, paints a striking difference to the composed immortals on either side of him. With reddened eyes and slight hunch due to his aching stomach, he gives off a much less lofty feel.

“Peak Lord Yan,” Tie Hanjin offers, as if to apologize for Hanzu’s mistakes. “Who will you place your hopes on?”

Yan Hanshi looks around casually, as if to make sure no one else hears her next words despite knowing that anyone with the urge could listen in without much trouble at all given the limited space and high occupancy. After a moment, she seems to change her mind and, instead of speaking, she pulls out a slip. On it is a number, a rank, and a name. Tie Hanjin raises a single brow as he’s apt to do, but Li Hanzu is the first to verbally react, “Oh? Has Peak Lord Yan given up on her Head Disciple? If this master remembers correctly, Yan-shimei has always bet on Disciple He, no matter how many spirit stones it lost her…”

Tie Hanjin probably would’ve laughed if there were less people, but with the circumstances as they are, he merely squints silently in amusement and watches as Yan Hanshi’s eyes sparkle with restrained violence. 

“Why does it matter if this immortal master decides another one of Qian Cao’s disciples is deserving of my attention? At least I can trust my own students enough to bet on them and not Qing Jing’s Head Disciple.” And with that roast, she flips her sleeve dramatically and walks away, ostensibly to join Xian Shu’s Lord Shi and An Ding’s Lord Wu. However, the remaining immortals know better, and if anyone were to ask, they would be able to easily relay the whole story of the infamous Peak Lord Yan running away in embarrassment. 

“So? Will Hanzu follow his shimei’s advice and bet on Disciple Liu?”

Li Hanzu laughs at the entertainment he can hear sparkling in every one of Tie Hanjin’s words. He leans back onto the ledge acting as a boundary between the viewing area and the alliance’s arena itself. His eyes are closed, but he can still sense exactly where the other man stands. Tie Hanjin can’t help but smile ever so slightly at his relaxed posture, and that tiny smile only grows when the man finally replies, “Of course, this master will. However, has Hanjin figured out which one of his Head Disciples to support?”

In a rare act of childishness, Tie Hanjin softly answers his friend, “Hm, not telling.”

-/-

Shen Yuan might just take a nap. Honestly, he could care less about actually winning the Conference. However, he knows that if he doesn’t at least break into the top five, his shizun and his shifu will either kill him directly, or they’ll train him to death. Either way, laziness will most certainly be rewarded with a brutal end. Therefore, the first thing he does when the bell tolls and the shield falls, is fly straight to the other end of the arena. Most disciples will go for the beasts closest to them in order to begin collecting beads right away, so the first half of the valley will likely be flooded with cultivators, and it’ll probably be picked clean soon enough. 

So instead of fighting others for a rather limited amount of points, he goes for the farthest point away. After hunting around there for a while, Shen Yuan will make his way back to the entrance, collecting any stray beads he can. Hopefully, he can build up enough of a point base to finish up early and rest for the last hour or so. Because obviously, naps are always the best after hard work! Shen Yuan sighs after thinking that, knowing that his shifu has thoroughly infected his own values and work ethic. Where did the lazy, hypercritical nerd go? Where did this self controlled Head Disciple come from, ah??? Shen Yuan really doesn’t know.

“Let’s hurry this up,” he groans to himself, mentally prodding Jue Shi in an effort to request a higher flying speed. Perhaps Jue Shi’s still in a relatively good mood because of the run in it had with its friend a little while ago, but the sword agrees easily enough and happily picks up the pace.

His plan shows its validity pretty quickly. The first two hours of the Conference, Shen Yuan has absolutely zero run-ins with other disciples, from Cang Qiong or otherwise. It’s only after wiping out a whole nest of Frog-faced Leopard Snakes and crossing the line between the different biomes that he finally meets another cultivator, and when he does, he sees three instead of one. Two wear the uniforms of Huan Hua, yellow and white. The other is dressed simply in white and red. Shen Yuan can tell that one of the two Huan Hua disciples is a girl and the other must be a younger boy, but the third is a mystery to him. The cultivator has glossy black hair, but in the sun of the enclosed desert, it shimmers crimson. They stand around the same height as Shen Yuan while the two Huan Hua disciples are much shorter.

Before Shen Yuan can observe any further, he hears the sobs of the two Huan Hua Disciples. Clearly, the two must’ve stumbled upon something outside of their skill levels, and the third cultivator decided to help them out. However, by the looks of it, even they are struggling to beat the beast Shen Yuan believes to be a Two-Headed Scorpion Ox. 

Two-Headed Scorpion Oxen are mostly peaceful creatures, but when angered, they become drooling, blood thirsty predators with no understanding of the word mercy. Of course, they aren’t unbeatable, nor are they even particularly powerful, their main danger and difficulty comes from their hide and their venom. On the creature's whole body, only one weak spot exists: the tongue. However, in order to restrain the tongue to calm it, or remove it to kill it, one must first bypass their mouth full of impenetrable, laptop sized teeth. And one must do so while avoiding all of its powerful attempted stings. Over all, it makes for a time consuming and frustrating task. A perfectly appropriate inclusion for the Immortal Alliance Conference, but a terrible foe for an uninformed opponent.

These three must be on the uninformed side of things, Shen Yuan speculates, given the aura output by the person in white and red, cracking through the Two-Headed Scorpion Ox’s teeth shouldn’t be a difficult task. The only reasonable explanation would be ignorance, and so, Shen Yuan decides to step in.

And by step in, he means jump in. 

Shen Yuan flings himself onto the back of the Two-Headed Scorpion Ox with one push from his left leg. Jue Shi is sealed in the red mark on his face, but Shen Yuan isn’t worried. All he’s gotta do is restrain the beast’s head and relay information, he doesn’t need a sword for that. “The weak spot is the tongue! Break through its teeth, and you can either stab it, or you can grab it! Just be quick, ah!”

Instead of staring in confusion, the disciple merely nods once, repeating Shen Yuan’s words, “Stab or grab, got it!”

Shen Yuan has to tighten his grip on Yong Yuan as he uses the fan to throttle the Scorpion Ox. He has a brief moment of concern that he’ll fly off before the other cultivator can act, but his worries are invalidated almost immediately when the teenager dashes forward and swings their sword with a vengeance, breaking through the Ox’s teeth in one swing and reaching out to grab its black tongue with their free hand.

After a few seconds of tense silence, the Two-Headed Scorpion Ox stiffens and falls to its huge knees, causing a puff of dust and sand to float up into the air. Shen Yuan coughs and then hops off. The whole process takes less than a minute, and both cultivators receive half the creature’s worth in beads for the non-lethal defeat. 

If a participant kills a beast, they recieve full points. If they restrain it permanently, they receive half. The points for restraining creatures can be shared by a group whereas otherwise, only the one to strike the final blow gets any beads. Because of this condition, when disciples team up with one another, they usually choose to calm and capture beasts rather than kill. 

Shen Yuan doesn’t really have a preference either way. Killing or calming, they’re the same to him at this point. Killing’s just more lucrative, so that’s what he goes for. That thought gives him momentary pause. Has he really changed so much since transmigrating? Has death really become such a simple matter to him? Shen Yuan doesn’t know how to feel about that, but he does know how to pack his ponderings tightly into a box and yeet it to the back of his mind, so that’s what he goes for.

“Thanks for the help!” The cultivator dressed in mostly white salutes once, a smile stretched across their face. As Shen Yuan stares into their gold eyes, he still can’t decide if the teen is a boy or a girl. Fuck universally tall and beautiful immortals. If a female cultivator is even slightly taller than usual, a bit flatter than usual, and the owner of a slightly deeper than usual voice, they seem exactly like a well-groomed pretty boy! Shen Yuan just can’t tell! But he doesn’t let his confusion show! He’s still Qing Jing’s Head Disciple (one of them, at least), how can he dare show such dumb emotions??? He can’t! Instead, he nods politely in response and offers his name.

“Shen Yuan? From Cang Qiong? I’ve heard of you, but I must admit, your appearance has always confused me. Where are you from, Shen Yuan?” The cultivator seems genuinely interested, and Shen Yuan doesn’t really want to let them down, but he also has no intention of telling them anything of his sketchy past. 

“Shouldn’t you tell me your name before asking me that?” Shen Yuan offers easily as a distraction from the uncomfortable questioning. 

“Oh! How rude of me,” the teen laughs loudly, not too rough but not too light. It’s only after they wind down a bit that they manage to say, “This one is named Tong Daoji! I’m a simple rogue cultivator though, so Shen-shixiong probably won’t recognize the name!”

And they’re right, Tong Daoji isn’t ringing any bells for Shen Yuan. Nothing in his knowledge of the current world events or his knowledge of future PIDW characters mentions someone named Tong Daoji.

“Making new friends is always fun,” Shen Yuan offers with pleasure on his face, giving off pure, unadulterated ‘gentle older brother’ vibes. Over the few years spent with his little group of friends, he’s been placed in a lot of tense situations, and this scholarly gentleman persona has yet to fail him. “Alas, time is running, and this shixiong must go before I fall behind!”

Shen Yuan summons Jue Shi with his long-perfected ‘good person’ smile on. As he gets on, he looks towards the previously neglected Huan Hua disciples. The two remain in a huddle. Their tears have dried, but Shen Yuan can tell that the fear has yet to totally pass for them. They probably won’t be able to pull themselves together enough to get many points, but Shen Yuan couldn’t care less about them anyways. He only helped them this time because he wasn’t doing anything, and he had no reason not to. They shouldn’t get used to being rescued. Not in a world like this. Not when rescue is never guaranteed.

As Shen Yuan flies away, light green robes fluttering behind him, Tong Daoji stares after him, gold eyes sharp and considering. The look of a cat discovering a toy they never knew they had. 

“Shen Yuan? Shen Yuan, ba.” Tong Daoji repeats, meticulously cleaning the sword previously used to split the Two-Headed Scorpion Ox’s teeth. “Why did I never hear of him before?”

-/-

Shen Yuan is a pretty put together guy. For a transmigrator, he’s already incredibly invested in this new life of his. For a teenager, he’s pretty fucking serious about his cultivation. And as a friend/adopted son/brother, he’s absolutely trying his best to maintain those relationships. See? He’s got his bases covered. Shen Yuan is a successful person, okay? So, surely, a break every once in a while is alright? Yeah. At least, that’s what Shen Yuan tells himself as he perches high in the branches of a thousand year oak. Time to take a nap.

However, before he can settle in any further, a loud growl echoes through the forest section of the valley. Shen Yuan’s eyes pop open and his spine straightens. That growl… he’s heard it before. Years ago, before he was a promising cultivator, he was a sickly child riding out the tail end of a deadly fever. The only reason he’s survived until now is because of Chen Fu’s timely rescue. Of course, that begs the question, what did Chen Fu, Shen Yuan’s Handsome-Jie, need to rescue him from?

Shen Yuan isn’t sure. He’s always been interested in beasts and plants and spirits, but this one creature is still unidentifiable to him. He’s never actually seen it, so researching is impossible, not to mention the lack of desire to investigate the animal that almost killed Shen Yuan right after he became this world’s Shen Yuan. All he knows about the beast he met that night is its growl. With a call like that, no one could forget.

So, when a snarl louder than the sirens of an ambulance tears through the tense silence yet again, Shen Yuan knows without a shadow of a doubt that the creature prowling the woods right now is one and the same as the beast that plays a recurring role in Shen Yuan’s occasional nightmares.

Before he can do much of anything in response to the sudden threat the growl represents, an even more sudden flash of pain makes Shen Yuan grab at his chest. Heart Demons.

Chapter Text

Heart Demons are a particularly annoying affliction, in Shen Yuan’s opinion. They come and go as they please, not exactly prolonged, but not really a quickly dealt with issue either. Sometimes, the chest pains become so strong that Shen Yuan can’t help but pass out, and yet, other attacks may only come with a slight throbbing to announce their arrival. Also, as if to go along with their inconsistencies, there’s no exact way to calm them. Sure, if left for long enough, they’ll retreat on their own. However, Shen Yuan doesn’t usually have the time or mental fortitude to just wait around in pain. Talk about annoying, ah.

The level of pain today though, faced with the growls Shen Yuan has yet to forget even through all these years, is surprisingly manageable. Okay, it is pretty unbearable, but compared to the first attack caused by Li Hanzu’s prolonged absence, Shen Yuan can safely declare this wave of Heart Demons relatively tame. Which is good, given the monster currently prowling the ground beneath Shen Yuan’s chosen tree branch.

With a hand clenched tightly in the front of his robes, Shen Yuan breathes deeply through the pain. He shifts his eyes downwards, trying to find the source of all his ‘childhood’ nightmares. Shen Yuan doesn’t see anything, and he starts to question whether or not he might’ve been hearing things, but then another ground-shaking roar makes nearly all the leaves surrounding him vibrate lightly. It’s almost as if the tree is just as frightened as he is.

Alas, the tree won’t have to fight for its life. Shen Yuan isn’t sure he can say the same for himself. Though, he has still yet to catch a glimpse of the creature. Rationally, Shen Yuan knows that nothing in the valley is something he should really be afraid of. He knows his own strength, and he knows that he represents one of the best in his age group, so nothing chosen to be hunted during the conference should be able to faze him much at all. However, Shen Yuan’s fear feels anything but rational at this point. 

The fears that used to control his every living moment start to creep back in, increasing the pain in his chest by the second. Shen Yuan’s training has apparently meant nothing. The one time it matters, when he’s supposed to be showing his masters how much their teaching has paid off, he’s still just as weak as he was when he first transmigrated. His muscles are stiff in terror just because of a decade old memory. How pathetic is he? Why is he letting this get to him so much? Didn’t Shen Yuan get over it after reuniting with both of his ge? 

Apparently not. With a mere growl, he’s sent back to the blurry fever dream that was his last system given mission.

Shen Yuan halfway remembers when his brother was first determined to run into town for medicine, and he also remembers the look of hopelessness on Yue Qi’s face when Jiu-ge left. However, the memory that strikes him the hardest, is waking up fever-ridden and alone. And actually, maybe that’s why Shen Yuan hasn’t fully moved on. Shen Yuan knows that Shen Jiu and Yue Qi originally cared for the other Shen Yuan, not him, so really he shouldn’t be bothered by the fact that Yue Qi abandoned him. But, it still bugs him. Why did Yue Qi leave? Did something happen that was more important than watching Shen Yuan’s final moments? Shen Yuan almost feels offended on OG Shen Yuan’s behalf. 

The Heart Demons loosen their grip on Shen Yuan, as if rewarding him for actually trying to figure his shit out instead of just repressing everything again. With that slight reprieve, Shen Yuan manages to convince himself that it’ll all be fine as long as he can scare the monster off. Maybe doing so will even act as a sort of therapeutic experience. It’ll be like Shen Yuan’s getting closure for his shitty start in this shitty novel world. And so, in a fit of bravery mixed with stupidity caused by continuous mental and physical pain, Shen Yuan jumps down from his tree branch. His teeth are clenched, but he’s quick to draw Yong Yuan with his free hand. 

The last snarl had cut off mere seconds ago, but without the noise to follow, Shen Yuan has no way of locating the beast. After all, he still hasn’t seen anything. 

Suddenly, a twig snaps around two meters behind him. Shen Yuan spins, wasting no time in swinging his fan in a sharp arc. A fine layer of nearly white Qi sweeps out across the air, cutting through trees like butter. Thankfully, the radius is rather small, and no trees are felled by the move, however, the cultivator that had just snapped the twig was feeling a little bit, uhhh, worse for wear. 

Shen Yuan sees the face of the teenager standing a short distance from him, and he covers his mouth with the fan he just used to rip through the forest with ease. Well, apparently, not just the forest. Also, maybe… Jiu-gege’s outer robes?

“Are you crazy?!” Shen Jiu growls, no less intimidating than the previous creature had been. Shen Yuan lays the hand holding Yong Yuan flat on his chest. His hazel eyes are wide and innocent looking, as if he hadn’t just destroyed his brother’s outfit by accident. 

“This didi merely thought there was a monster…” Shen Yuan offers truthfully, purposefully failing to lower his fan and show his mouth to Shen Jiu. Seeing the large smirk he’s currently sporting probably won’t make Shen Jiu any less upset than he already is. In fact, it’ll probably just make him even more pissed off.

“What’s wrong with Yuan-di?” Shen Jiu asks, still sounding vaguely miffed. However, behind the irritation, Shen Yuan is certain he can hear concern. 

“Thinking about the past, ah,” Shen Yuan replies, for once not thinking as he speaks. No verbal filter makes for a very honest Shen Yuan, and despite regretting the admission as soon as it leaves his mouth, Shen Yuan can’t really bring himself to be upset at the slip. Maybe.. It’s time that they actually talk about it. Is ten years long enough? Shen Yuan thinks it might be.

-/-

“My disciple’s winning…” Peak Lord Shi sighs happily to herself. Qi Lifeng had been too young to participate in the last Immortal Alliance Conference, just barely missing the margin by three days. However, the nearly seventeen year old couldn’t be held back this year even if the officials wanted to. Along with Shi Hanxin’s Head Disciple, a few other well-known names around Cang Qiong are also participating in the Conference for the first time. Namely, Qing Jing’s Shen Yuan and Qian Cao’s Zhang Mu. 

Because of the fresh faces, the bets this time have been all over the place. There’s no clear expected winner, but there is an almost certain top ten. The circumstances of the Conference’s participants have never been so unsure. In fact, the last three Immortal Alliance Conferences were won, by a large margin, by the same disciple. Huan Hua’s Su Xiyan. However, with her age now falling above the max limit, the champion title is practically up for grabs. 

Personally, Shi Hanxin thinks the title should stay in a woman’s hands. Not just because her disciple’s the best! But also because it goes to keep all of her martial brothers’ egos manageable. Yes, that's why. Nothing to do with her fondness for the disciple she practically raised herself, nothing to do with Qi Lifeng at all, really.

“And my disciples are... fighting?” Tie Hanjin questions, no specific target in mind to receive his words. Cold eyes focused on the scene in front of him. Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu facing off in the forest biome of the valley. Shen Jiu’s clothes are horribly ripped, though they luckily still cover everything they need to, and Shen Yuan looks both amused and extremely tired. The two brothers haven’t gained many points in the past half hour, quickly being overtaken from their respective places in the top five. 

Tie Hanjin sighs lightly, the sound so soft it’s almost inaudible. Li Hanzu just laughs.

Chapter Text

“The past?” Shen Jiu repeats, fist clenching around Xiu Ya. Shen Yuan can practically hear the gears turning in his brother’s head. The Shen brothers are a lot of things, but good at communication is not one of them. Shen Yuan is self-aware enough to admit it, okay? Anyway, what that means for them is a lot of issues with repression and underlying, hidden trauma. It also means that Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu still have many, many things they haven’t talked about regarding their somewhat (read: extremely) chaotic childhoods. While most people would find that sort of lack of communication frustrating, Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan find it absolutely okay. 

However, Shen Yuan knows the multitude of negative effects unearthed PTSD can have, so he really tries to open up this time. Unfortunately, just as he’s about to explain his thoughts to his ge, a giant blue snake comes out of nowhere and swallows Shen Jiu whole!

Shen Yuan almost drops Yong Yuan. He doesn’t, of course, but it's a near thing.

Wtf????!!!?

The blue reptile stares blankly at Shen Yuan as it licks its scaly lips. It’s stomach is bulging with what Shen Yuan knows to be his brother, and yet it's acting as if it's done nothing wrong! 

Languidly, it stretches to its full height, muscular body capable of holding its own weight and Shen Jiu’s with no additional difficulty. It’s ever so slightly taller than Shen Yuan, but definitely not as tall as Shen Jiu, making it probably around 181 cm. Speaking of height… Shen Yuan actually recognizes this snake now! It’s a Centimeter Serpent! Based on coloring and size, Shen Yuan can also make a guess and say it’s a mostly matured Frozen Centimeter Serpent. 

Centimeter Serpents are a very odd species that seldom make it to adulthood because of their unique way of judging threats. In order for one to attack something, the person or creature must be taller than them. Many a snake had faced an enemy three times its size and managed to achieve a month’s worth of dinners in one go, or died trying.

As soon as the serpent finishes stretching and sees Shen Yuan’s inferior height, it gives an odd sort of pleased smirk. Accompanying the smile is one foul burp, loud enough to shake the trees. Shen Yuan’s face scrunches against his will. The snake chuffs once and lowers its swollen body back to the ground, making as if to leave.

It’s only as the Centimeter Serpent’s baby blue belly scales begin audibly scraping against the soft soil of the forest floor that Shen Yuan fully absorbs what just happened.

The snake’s escaping to go digest Shen Jiu! Shen Yuan can't just let that happen! Wtf!

And so, in the midst of the biggest cultivation based competition in the Jianghu, Shen Yuan completely disregards his original objective, earning points, and chases after the snake that just fucking ate. his. brother.

-/-

Liu Xing cannot stand Shen Jiu. There are many reasons for this dislike, but most of all, because of the older boy’s inclination towards cheap tricks and fancy avoidances. Liu Xing can’t stand people who act as if they have a right to be rude! The right to mock whoever they feel like… Liu Xing has met many people like that throughout his years as the heir of the Liu Clan, and he’s never liked a single one!

Also, he’s probably a horrible influence on Shen Yuan! But that’s neither here nor there…

Anyway, the point is, Liu Xing wouldn’t hesitate to declare his distaste for the older Shen brother to his face . However, when the Centimeter Serpent Liu Xing has been chasing for the last five li happens upon the very snobbish cultivator in question and wastes absolutely no time swallowing him, Liu Xing, despite his dislike, feels obligated to help rescue him. And not only because Shen Yuan is the one going after the beast, okay! Liu Xing just knows that the whole thing would never have happened if he hadn’t chased the snake out of its original nest… so it is sort of his responsibility to deal with the consequences.

Thus, when Shen Yuan goes running after the serpent, so does Liu Xing.

-/-

Qi Lifeng is the most advanced disciple of Cang Qiong. Cultivation speaking of course. She is also the only disciple in the whole mountain sect that receives daily lectures from Shen Yuan, the most academically advanced disciple of Cang Qiong. The topics range from interesting, in Shen Yuan’s mind, monsters to cool new moves for them to try out in their next sparring session. Because of these constant lessons, Qi Lifeng is certain that on the whole mountain, no other purely martial based cultivator knows more than her about various beasts. Therefore, earning points in the Immortal Alliance Conference is an overly simple matter.

Technically speaking, unless a dark horse from another Sect appears, Qi LIfeng only really has like two people she has to worry about beating her. Shen Yuan, obviously, and Shen Jiu, another equally martially skilled scholar. Yue Qi has no reason to try too hard, he’s already quite famous due to his solid performances in the last two Conferences, and he also doesn’t have nearly as much monster hunting experience because of the heavy duties inherent to his position as the future Sect Leader. Liu Xing is also in a position of less experience, and Zhang Mu? Well, everyone knows that he’ll be delayed by every unique plant growing in the valley. Besides them, no other disciples from Cang Qiong are particularly well-known, so she’s not worried about them. 

All in all, Qi Lifeng is pretty relaxed. She’s basically guaranteed a place in the top three, and honestly, she’s got a decent shot at number one. However, that doesn’t really matter to her very much. As long as she places in the top three, she couldn’t care less which exact spot she gets. 

Well, maybe she could… but only a little!

-/-

The Frozen Centimeter Serpent is surprisingly easy to fight when it doesn’t consider you a threat and therefore refuses to actually fight you. Shen Yuan and Liu Xing team up and manage to force the snake to regurgitate Shen Jiu in an attempt to lighten its load and escape faster. 

Shen Jiu coughs once, laying on the ground in a pool of stomach fluids, saliva, and blood. He raises one slimy hand and uses it to brush his soaked hair out of his face. Not a single part of his body is spared from the slime. Shen Yuan tries not to laugh as he holds a hand out for his brother.

“Sorry, A-Yuan, but this ge is going to need a moment,” Shen Jiu breathes deeply and evenly, and Shen Yuan isn’t sure if he’s in a sort of state of shock, or if he’s just genuinely somehow still calm. 

“Take your time,” Shen Yuan says, letting his hand fall back to his side. After speaking, he gives Liu Xing a look of allowance, silently stating that the other boy can go now if he’d like.

“Tch,” Liu Xing looks at Shen Jiu with a mixture of loathing and guilt. As he’s starting to leave, he just barely turns his head to call out one last thing, “Try not to get eaten again, Scum!”

Finally, Shen Yuan can’t hold back his amusement and lets it out in the form of breathless gasps. Shen Jiu opens his eyes for the first time after being un-eaten just to send an unimpressed glare at his didi.

By the time Shen Jiu’s fully recovered, the Immortal Alliance Conference is nearly over. In order to regain their places in the top five, they each need to increase by at least twenty points. In less than half an hour. 

They both have their own problems to worry about, and so they quickly separate. Meaning, the ‘talk’ ends up on the backburner. Again.

-/-

In the end, Shen Yuan’s long period of inaction paves the way for Qi Lifeng’s incontestable victory. With over 600 points, the winner is clear to just about anyone watching this year’s Conference. Shen Yuan, the second place finisher, ends up with around 600 even. 

However, what really draws attention is third place. In fact, for the first time in the history of the Immortal Alliance Conference, there is a tie between disciples in the top five. Liu Xing, the Head Disciple of Bai Zhan, and Shen Jiu, one of the Head Disciples of Qing Jing.

Additionally, the weirdness continues with fourth place being Yue Qi, the disciple training to become the next Sect Leader of Cang Qiong, and fifth place being Zhang Mu, a disciple from Qian Cao with practically zero renown to his name. These two getting the places they do is an oddity for completely opposite reasons. Yue Qi because he’s always been a steady second place to Su Xiyan, only to drop two places in his last conference ever? Makes just about the same amount of sense as a nameless disciple from the medical peak getting fifth…

Though, despite the unique turnout, not everyone is focused entirely on the mystifying results. In fact, there is a whole Sect just waiting to have a chance to speak!

Huan Hua’s Young Palace Master speaks up as soon as the ruckus over the interesting winners dies down. “There’s a new Demon Lord prowling around the border between our realms!”

At that moment though, Shen Yuan is already off on a mission assigned to him by his Shizun long before the Immortal Alliance Conference even started. Thus, he doesn’t hear even a word about the new threat.

-/-

The Immortal Alliance Conference is a time of showing off. Mostly for the various Sect Leaders, Peak Lords, and other important figures throughout the world of cultivation, but there have been a few notable disciples to earn their own bragging rights throughout the years. For example, there’s Huan Hua Palace’s Head Disciple, Su Xiyan. Su Xiyan, while nearly too old to even be a part of the current age group of disciples, is the name pretty much anyone, even an average, uneducated villager, will come up with if asked, ‘who’s the strongest disciple of the generation?’ And they’d probably be right, too. 

Su Xiyan participated in the Immortal Alliance Conference three times: when she was 16, when she was 18, and when she was 20. She also, coincidentally, won three times: when she was 16, when she was 18, and when she was 20. Of course, winning all of the Conferences she took part in isn’t the thing that made her so famous. It’s not as if a winning streak has never been done before. Immortal Master Chen Fu, formally a disciple of Cang Qiong, achieved the same long before Su Xiyan was even born. What makes her so memorable is her scores. Her first year, she collected more points than any winner ever has in the past. That Conference’s second place had less than half her score. Additionally, Su Xiyan kept that up, scoring higher and higher in the second and third Immortal Alliance Conferences.

However, funnily enough, the badass Head Disciple Shen Yuan frequently hears stories of from Qi Lifeng is never mentioned in Proud Immortal Demon Way. At least, the name isn’t even slightly familiar to Shen Yuan, a self-proclaimed expert on PIDW. Therefore, something must happen to her in the next stretch of ten or so years. Otherwise, her lack of role in the book makes no sense. Because of the end Shen Yuan knows might be coming her way, he’s always been rather hesitant to meet her. He doesn’t really wanna get attached. Doesn’t want another life in need of saving just sitting on his shoulders. 

That lack of interest is probably why it takes Shen Yuan so long to recognize her.

Chapter Text

Su Xiyan is sitting across from two men in a classic tea house. If not for her elegant and intricate robes, Shen Yuan probably wouldn't have realized her identity at all. The two with their backs to the entrance aren’t wearing nearly as eye-catching or memorable clothing, so Shen Yuan has no idea who they are. All he knows is that they must be powerful or important. Most likely both if Shen Yuan’s honest. 

Originally, Shen Yuan had planned to settle in the far right corner, so that he could watch the entrance while he sorted through the information his shizun had given him. Now though, with the attention drawing trio sitting near the large paper windows at the front, Shen Yuan quickly reroutes and heads towards a seat with a clear view of Su Xiyan’s table. 

When he sits down, Shen Yuan sends the group the most furtive glances he possibly can. After a couple minutes of this, Shen Yuan realizes that the two men with Huan Hua’s Head Disciple are actually oddly familiar… it’s Lord Tian and his nephew! Anyone else probably would’ve reacted more obviously to that fact, but Shen Yuan’s always been a rather outwardly reserved person, and so, he just curses mentally in confusion.

How do they know each other? What does Su Xiyan have to do with the weirdo who stopped him on his way out of Chu Xiaolian? Best of all, why’re they all nosing around the same fishing village as him?

Do they have something to do with Shen Yuan’s mission? But before Shen Yuan gets a chance to think too deeply on it, he hears a familiar name leave Su Xiyan’s mouth, “Xin Tianyu? You are certain he is who we are looking for?”

Shen Yuan coughs lightly, holding back the blood he suddenly really wants to spit out. Xin Tianyu?!!??!??! That’s who Shen Yuan’s supposed to find! They are looking for the same person! Unfortunately though, his cough easily draws the attention of Lord Tian. Normally in such a situation, Lord Tian might look over briefly in curiosity before returning to his discussion. However, when he looks over and makes direct eye-contact with Shen ‘Recognizable’ Yuan, the man pauses obviously before standing. “Why, if it isn’t Shen Yuan of Cang Qiong! This Lord knew we would meet again!”

Shen Yuan briefly curses his own lack of control before also standing to meet the man’s sudden enthusiasm, “Yes, it must be fate. What brings Lord Tian this way?”

“Right down to business, I see. Well, if that’s so… how about Shen Yuan joins us for a while? We might find our goals align…” At this point, the teenager knows Lord Tian is convincing his nephew and Su Xiyan more than Shen Yuan himself. Apparently, it’s a given that he’ll agree… which might actually be true, but Shen Yuan isn’t one to care for ‘maybe’s. 

Su Xiyan sighs, the irritated noise at a direct juxtaposition with her outwardly elegant appearance. Eventually, she gives Lord Tian some side eye and scoots over for Shen Yuan to sit on her side of the table. Due to the number of people suddenly increasing, Shen Yuan finds himself without a cushion to sit on, but he takes it like a man and only complains internally. Once Shen Yuan is seated, Lord Tian also reclaims his position, happening to end up directly across from Shen Yuan.

“Now, what were we talking about, my dear Xiyan?”

Zhi-er looks as if he wants to answer, but a sense of self-preservation keeps him from speaking up and ruining it for his uncle. After a moment of tense silence, Su Xiyan unhappily repeats herself, “Xin Tianyu. Is he really the one we need?”

“Of course, A-Yan. Xin Tianyu is the only one who can help us now.” Su Xiyan’s face darkens further at the address, but, surprisingly, she doesn’t throttle the man like Shen YUan expected her to. She merely pulls out a thin scroll from a space ring cleverly hidden by hanging her neck. It’s the work of seconds for her to roll the paper out, and Shen Yuan leans in to get a good look as the other two men place bright red stones on each side to weigh it down. It’s a map, but Shen Yuan’s never seen one quite like it. Instead of provinces and territories labeled, only gold and silver symbols cover the page. Shen Yuan’s also unsure of exactly what areas the map represents, but something tells him that it isn’t an entirely human creation.

Su Xiyan speaks coldly as she points out spots on the map, “We need to stabilize these three spots before trying to close any of the others. If Xin Tianyu is as capable as you say, then we need to find him before this one,” she circles the biggest golden marking on the paper, “collapses.”

“This Lord had the same thought.” 

Shen Yuan is still sort of lost, but as the two talk, he starts to piece together a possible explanation. Lord Tian and Su Xiyan are looking for the very same person Tie Hanjin sent him to find. 

Xin Tianyu isn’t a well-known name, most of his deeds and accomplishments lost to the constant flow of time, but Tie Hanjin still remembers his master telling stories of the man. Xin Tianyu was said to have once cultivated to the same level as a god, but instead of ascending, he chose to wander the world and expand his knowledge of one thing. Arrays. Specifically, sealing arrays. Therefore, Su Xiyan and Lord Tian probably have something in need of sealing. Something that most definitely has to do with the map on the table.

“So why did you invite this kid over?” Su Xiyan asks, voice pleasing even when overtly unfriendly. Shen Yuan shifts uneasily, unsure if he should have somehow declined Lord Tian’s earlier invitation (read: order). 

“Hmm, that, my dear YanYan, is because this Lord believes he might have some information on the elusive Xin Tianyu himself.” Lord Tian reaches out to rub Shen Yuan’s head, and in the process, he pulls out the hair pin Tie Hanjin had given him before the Immortal Alliance Conference. “If this is what I think it is, then no one has a better chance of finding Xin Tianyu than Shen Yuan does.”

“Oh,” Su Xiyan says softly, eyes trained on the hair stick in Lord Tian’s hand. Without looking at the teen by her side, she questions him, “How did you get Jin Heran’s jade pin?”

“Jin Heran?” Shen Yuan’s face remains admirably blank despite his confusion, but Su Xiyan scoffs derisively all the same.

“You don’t even know who Jin Heran is? That you could even make it this far is astounding. Lord Tian,” the title sounds like an insult when she says it, but the person being addressed seems happy anyway, so who is Shen Yuan to judge? “Why must we bring this… child? ”

“Xiyan, my lovely YanYan, this Lord owes Shen Yuan a favor, and maybe, he’ll have more use in the future? Maybe all he needs is a chance, ah? He can go find clues with Zhi-er while we work on this, ah? Saves time, certainly.”

“Fine,” Su Xiyan agrees, the matter apparently settled. Neither one of them stopping to consider Shen Yuan’s willingness… Alas, Shen Yuan is but a mere ant under Su Xiyan’s boot, and so he goes with it. 

But hey, on the bright side, Nephew Zhi seems just as awkward about the whole thing as Shen Yuan. So, there’s that?

-/-

Shen Yuan’s probably read over a hundred stories that can be boiled down to one thing. A small group of people hunting someone down. Whether it be to get revenge or help, it’s the same basic premise. However, those stories fail to mention exactly how difficult it is to narrow down any concrete evidence.

For example, Shen Yuan knows exactly two things about Xin Tianyu’s appearance. One, he’s tall. Two, he has long, black hair. Aaaannnd, that's about it. 

Do you know how hard it is to track someone down with only those descriptors in Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’ s version of ancient China? It’s practically impossible! Everyone has long, black hair! Basically all adult men are tall! How is Shen Yuan supposed to find anyone going by an unknown alias with only that to go off of?

“This isn’t working,” Shen Yuan mumbles to himself. Nephew Zhi is by his side, looking much less frustrated than him, and much more anxious. Shen Yuan looks at the man. Originally, he was planning to try and brainstorm with him, but seeing Nephew Zhi’s long, black hair just sets Shen Yuan off again. However, before Shen Yuan literally explodes in anger, Yong Yuan hums quietly at his side. 

That’s right! Shen Yuan remembers years ago when he was trying to find Shen Jiu, Yong Yuan helped him. He pulls the battle fan from his waist with a flourish, eyes sparkling with relief. Shen Yuan grabs his current partner in crime’s hand and instantly follows the fan’s directions. “Alright, new plan, Nephew Zhi!”

-/-

In hindsight, maybe following Yong Yuan’s directions on foot was a bad idea, but how was Shen Yuan to know that they’d be walking for so long? At least they’re both cultivators, probably… well, Shen Yuan isn’t sure what Nephew Zhi is, but cultivator is close enough… anyway. It’s good that neither of them are weak, or the whole trip would be wasted after only a few, possibly eight, maybe ten, hours of just walking. However, after a (very long) while, Shen Yuan notices a slight curve to the direction of Yong Yuan’s pointing.

They must be getting close if the fan feels the need to further specify direction! 

Though, instead of excitement growing as they go closer and closer, Shen Yuan begins to feel foreboding. Like they’re walking into something they shouldn’t be. Nephew Zhi looks much the same. The two stop on their path, listening to the silence of the forest they had been trekking through for the past two hours. The quiet is nowhere near peaceful though. Instead, it seems forced. Like the whole forest is holding its breath. 

Shen Yuan drops Nephew Zhi’s hand and instantly summons Jue Shi. 

Yong Yuan drops from its long held position, and Nephew Zhi sucks in a breath that sounds more like a hiss than a gasp. 

In between trees older than both of them combined, the two wait in tense anticipation. 

But nothing happens. 

Slowly, the sounds of life fade back in, and Shen Yuan starts to relax again. Nephew Zhi seems to calm down a bit as well. 

That is, until the very dirt beneath them falls away!

Shen Yuan curses at the sudden lack of solid ground, reaching out for Nephew Zhi before realizing that his hand is already occupied with one peerless sword. It’s just as he resigns himself to possibly losing the other man during their fall through absolute blackness that said man shifts from tall, dark, and nervous to huge ass snake. 

Funny, Shen Yuan seems to be seing a lot of those these days.

All jokes aside, the snake form really comes in handy. Without even trying, Nephew Zhi manages to grab onto Shen Yuan’s belt with his sword sized fangs. Taking the hint, Shen Yuan uses both arms to pull himself on top of Nephew Zhi’s head. After that, it’s up to his legs to hold him on. Good thing Shen Yuan knows a thing or two about staying on struggling beasts… this’ll be easy…

“Sorry if I’m a bit heavy,” Shen Yuan says as an afterthought. Nephew Zhi huffs in what might be amusement, and Shen Yuan laughs, “Right, right. Not the best time, ah?”

And then, to put the metaphorical cherry on their ten hour walk of a cake, they fall for what seems like a full day. In absolute darkness. With nothing to do. And no way out.

Honestly, it’s nothing but a relief when they finally smack down. Well, maybe it is also a bit of a pain for Nephew Zhi… given that he’s the one taking the brunt of the impact… Shen Yuan apologizes again to the snake human (?) as he jumps down from Nephew Zhi’s head.  

“Thanks,” Shen Yuan says awkwardly when the snake turns back into a human shape. Nephew Zhi’s breathing is uneven and shaky. The fall probably did a number on his snake form’s ribs. “Are you okay?”

Nephew Zhi smiles gently, shaking his head, “It is nothing that won’t heal.”

“Okay,” Shen Yuan is unconvinced, but they have other things to deal with, so he lets it go temporarily. Shen Yuan fixes his wildly tangled mess of hair as he looks around the hall they now find themselves in. “We must’ve walked into a trap array. Good news is, this means we’re close.”

“What should we do now, Young Master Shen?” Nephew Zhi asks, clearly letting Shen Yuan have control over their little duo. Shen Yuan assesses the snake man, and he really does seem much better than when he first shifted back.  Therefore, Shen Yuan doesn’t feel too bad for skipping a possible break time. Instead of resting, he directs them further into the unnaturally quiet golden room. 

At the far end of the sparkling hall, there lies two large, ornately carved doors. Other than that, Shen Yuan sees no other possible exit. 

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan touches the doors in front of them. The stone is carved so purposefully and intricately that Shen Yuan is sure they have some sort of array on them. However, Shen Yuan can only be considered an intermediate array maker at best, and he has absolutely no clue what the markings mean. The only thing he can tell is the general purpose of it, which is probably just a test of sorts. Shen Yuan can just barely parse out an extremely advanced array that’s supposed to test cultivation strength. 

Based purely on that, Shen Yuan motions for Nephew Zhi to come over. He says, “I think it’s only going to open if we put spiritual energy in when we push. How would you feel about getting the right while I take the left, Nephew Zhi?”

Nephew Zhi looks unbearably nervous after being asked, but he settles a hand on the right side door anyway. Shen Yuan smiles gently in thanks. Nephew Zhi is a good guy, Shen Yuan decides, half snake or not. “On three, okay?”

Nephew Zhi nods, hesitantly placing a second hand on the door. Shen Yuan blinks once before looking away from the man. He starts the countdown. 

Sparks fly when Shen Yuan gets to three, and Nephew Zhi looks very much worse for wear, but the doors not only opened, they also disappeared, so Shen Yuan is counting it as a success. Really, the whole array was quite interesting. The vanishing doors only add to Shen Yuan’s curiosity about the creator! In fact, Shen Yuan is actually really excited to meet Xin Tianyu at this point! Xin Tianyu might be able to tea---

“Young Master Shen,” Nephew Zhi whispers, laying one burnt hand on Shen Yuan’s shoulder, Shen Yuan looks up from where he had been staring blankly. “The hall is gone, we are in a completely separate room now.”

Shen Yuan glances around only to find that Nephew Zhi is absolutely correct. The gold opulence behind them has been replaced by a solid stone wall. In this new room, there are no doors, nor are there any decorations at all. The ground is just as bare as the walls, and the ceiling is just another abyss like where they originally entered from. However, before either of them have time to start panicking about the lack of exit, a simple podium rises in the middle of the room.

It’s a mere step or two away from them, and Shen Yuan quickly crosses the distance with little thought to the possible consequences of his actions. Nephew Zhi seems to want to hold him back, but eventually decides to let him do what he wants. After all, Shen Yuan is the one who’s been leading so far, what use is it to control him at this point?

The stand is empty when Shen Yuan first approaches, but after Nephew Zhi follows him, symbols appear on the clear marble. There are three lines. The first consists of two words and then an array. The second has two pictures and an array. The third is merely a heart, a cross, and a question mark.

“It’s a puzzle, Nephew Zhi!” Shen Yuan says excitedly. Not gonna lie, Shen Yuan loves shit like this! His favorite genre (besides his guilty pleasure, that is... goddamn stallion novels...) has always been horror game webnovels! If he had been healthier, nothing would’ve stopped Shen Yuan from going to escape rooms practically every weekend! 

Nephew Zhi carefully reads the first line outloud, “Work minus time equals a cleaning talisman?”

“Yes! It must mean that when work needs to be done, but you have no time, the only option is a cleansing array. Except,” Shen Yuan stares at the relatively simple symbol for a solid thirty seconds. “This array is wrong? The yin character here should be a yang.”

“Is it?” Nephew Zhi takes a second look and sees that it really is wrong. But, just as he’s about to agree, the array shifts before their very eyes. The yin becomes a yang and then the whole line glows gold. 

“We must’ve solved it then?” Shen Yuan asks himself more than Nephew Zhi. Nephew Zhi nods anyway. “So, the second line most likely has a mistake as well then…”

The next equation is slightly less straightforward. Instead of words, it has pictures. First, there’s a small shape that Shen Yuan suspects might be some sort of cat. After that, there’s a vague outline of a human and an animal. “Is it supposed to be a representation of the taming process? But that doesn’t require an array… Unless! It’s talking about soul binding?”

“That seems to be it,” Nephew Zhi agrees, pointing to the much more complex array at the end of the line. “This is clearly intended for some sort of binding.”

“Uhhh, but I’m not familiar with this array. How are we supposed to figure out the mistake?” Shen Yuan smooths his hair again, pulling Yong Yuan out afterwards just so his fidgeting hands have something to do.

Nephew Zhi seems just as stumped as him, but after a moment, the snake man quietly hums and says, “Young Master Shen clearly has some experience with arrays? Perhaps Young Master Shen could follow through the steps of how one might create an array like this from scratch? It might help figuring out which symbol is out of place…”

“I could try…” Shen Yuan flicks Yong Yuan in front of his mouth to hide his rather inappropriate excitement. “Well, if I were making a binding seal, I would start with the basic symbols of control. Then I would add a heartline through the east and west, and I would-”

Nephew Zhi stops him, “The heartline of this array is from north to south?”

“What? But that would cause discord between the two bound by it! That must be the mistake!” And sure enough, as soon as Shen Yuan finishes his words, the array corrects itself, and the second line turns gold just like the first.

“Ahh! We did it, Nephew Zhi! Badass!” Shen Yuan fails to hold in his enthusiasm this time, finally letting himself freak out like he’s been wanting to since he saw the puzzles. He grabs both of Nephew Zhi’s unnaturally cold hands and shakes the man a few times. Afterwards, he comes back to himself and regains his gentle older brother persona. Shen Yuan lets Nephew Zhi go and coughs lightly once to clear the air. “One more line to go...”

“Yes,” Nephew Zhi says softly, as if silently letting Shen Yuan get away with breaking his refined character role. Shen Yuan smiles in thanks and gets back to the puzzle.

“This one doesn’t make much sense though. For one, there’s no solution to fix. There’s also so many possible meanings to the heart and cross…” Shen Yuan flutters Yong Yuan a few times, and he carefully leaves any spiritual energy out of the motion. After all, Shen Yuan still remembers what the battle fan did to his brother’s clothes during the Immortal Alliance Conference. Shen Yuan shivers in amusement and fear at the memory, good thing he doesn’t usually use Yong Yuan as an actual hand fan… 

“Well, a heart usually means love? And a cross can mean negation?” Nephew Zhi begins brainstorming, admirably focused even when Shen Yuan himself gets distracted. Shen Yuan merely hums amiably before his brain processes the words spoken by the other man.

“If we go by those meanings though… then the question would be ‘what array fixes a broken heart?’ But that’s impossible. Arrays can’t change emotions, so why-” Shen Yuan doesn’t get to finish though, as the question mark disappears and a big zero appears instead. The line turns gold and the podium begins sinking back down almost immediately. “What?”

“Maybe that’s the answer? That there is no answer? It’s impossible?” Nephew Zhi offers, bending over Shen Yuan’s shoulder slightly to watch the movements going on in front of them better. The podium keeps going lower until eventually, it reveals a small staircase. 

“Maybe,” Shen Yuan replies uncertainly, somewhat unsatisfied with the ending to the game. However, he’s also not one to waste an opportunity, so he pulls Nephew Zhi with him into the stairwell as soon as the mechanism stops moving. “But, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. We completed it either way.”

The staircase isn’t really much of a staircase at all. It only has three steps, and once Shen Yuan and Nephew Zhi enter the narrow hallway it leads to, the stairs all retreat to their original position, effectively shutting Shen Yuan in. Unlike the previous two rooms, this hallway has an enclosed ceiling. However, instead of four solid walls, there are only two. Shen Yuan and Nephew Zhi have darkness in front of and behind them. The abyss is very similar to the tops of the previous rooms, and Shen Yuan eyes it suspiciously. 

A voice suddenly calls out, and Nephew Zhi startles enough for Shen Yuan, who’s standing in front of him, to feel it, “Ahead of you is nothing you know, behind you is everything you know you can’t have. The future is an illusion, and the past is a dream you can’t quite recall. If you can’t bear to move forwards, and you can’t go backwards, where will you go? If you can’t stand to move on, but you don’t dare to forget, what reason do you have to live at all?” 

Shen Yuan is shocked on so many levels. Not just because a disembodied voice just gave him a riddle out of nowhere, but also because said disembodied voice sounds ridiculously similar to Shen Jiu. He quietly mutters, “What?”

Nephew Zhi is still silently tense behind him, but the voice speaks up once again, “Where will you go? Why are you alive?”

“Where will I go?” Shen Yuan repeats, somehow knowing that the voice is asking him alone and not Nephew Zhi. “I have to go forward! Going backwards is impossible, and to stay still is man’s greatest fear! Advance bravely into the unknown, hasn’t everyone heard that before?”

The voice sounds irritated, like when Shen Jiu is this close to actually duking it out with Liu Xing, “Then why are you alive? What difference does it make for you to advance bravely into the unknown when no one is there waiting for you!”

“Because it’s the unknown! The future holds limitless potential! It’s impossible to know that you will be alone!” And as Shen Yuan yells that final line, using every inspirational bone in his body to turn the cheesy cliches that leave his mouth into a legitimate answer, the hall tilts. Now, instead of the darkness bracketing him front and back, it’s straight under his feet. 

“Really?!” Shen Yuan huffs angrily as he and Nephew Zhi fall for what seems like yet another eternity. Nephew Zhi sighs softly and shifts into his snake form, the moves are practiced and soon, Shen Yuan is sitting on the huge snake’s head once more.

-/-

Xin Tianyu is, in fact, tall, and he does, in fact, have long, black hair. Just the sight of it makes Shen Yuan a tiny bit peeved, but when he thinks about the fact that even if he did have remarkably unique features to go off of, Shen Yuan still wouldn’t have been able to find this man. Given the, you know, three step test he had to pass just to see the guy, Shen Yuan doubts any random villager would've been able to find him, let alone direct Shen Yuan his way. So, that helps Shen Yuan’s temper a little. 

However, what does not help Shen Yuan’s temper, though it actually just makes him confused rather than mad, is the fact that Xin Tianyu could be his and Shen Jiu’s long lost Da-ge!

“You’ve passed my tests, ah, so what do you want now?” Xin Tianyu lazily throws the sentence out right after they not-so-softly land before his throne. Shen Yuan unsteadily stands, but no matter how shaky he is, Nephew Zhi beats him by far. After all, this is already the second beating the man’s taken on their little trip. Surely, he’ll be able to take a nice, long break after this whole thing is over…? At least, Shen Yuan hopes that’s the case.

“This one would like to request Master Xin’s help,” Shen Yuan brings himself to bow for the weirdly Shen-like cultivator on the extravagant dias in front of him. Yet, before Shen Yuan’s head can lift back up to complete his request, his hair pin is pulled out for a second time. 

Xin Tianyu draws a breath through his teeth. “Did Jin Heran give you this? Did he send you?”

“No,” Shen Yuan replies, lifting his head despite the messy hair now surrounding his face. Confused, he adds, “Jin Heran is dead.”

“What?” Xin Tianyu asks, almost dropping the pin he was only just examining nostalgically. His voice is three time quieter than it’s been since Shen Yuan first heard it, and Shen Yuan almost doesn’t catch his next, devastated words, “Jin Heran can’t be dead! I just saw him!”

"But," Shen Yuan can't stop himself from responding, compelled to speak by some outside force. "Jin Heran's been dead for a hundred years!"

Chapter Text

Regret is the single most human emotion out there. Everyday, people run around doing their best to live a life with the least regrets. Xin Tianyu knows the truth though, that regrets are unavoidable no matter how careful you are. 

-/-

“That’s IMPOSSIBLE!” Shen Yuan doesn’t know how to react when the previously prideful, yet rather carefree man starts tearing at his own (long, black) hair. If Xin Tianyu used to resemble today’s Shen Jiu, then as of now, he more closely follows the look of a Shen Jiu that had to be convinced of Shen Yuan’s identity back at the Qiu Manor. Desperate and disbelieving. However, as opposed to his brother’s subsequent rescue, Shen Yuan knows that this disillusionment will only lead to more pain for the man. “Jin Heran is the closest cultivator to ascending in the whole Jianghu! If even he can die, then what hope do the rest of you snivelling humans have?!”

Xin Tianyu looks up at Shen Yuan and Nephew Zhi with red eyes and murder on his tongue, “Jin Heran, ah, Jin… hahahah! Heran! CAN’T JUST DIE LIKE THAT!”

The man stands and Shen Yuan falls to his knees at the sheer oppressive aura he exudes. Only his rather impressive arm strength keeps him from being pressed down completely. All at once, Shen Yuan realizes how inhuman Xin Tianyu truly is. Sure, he looks ordinary, but almost too normal, as if something external is convincing you to accept his appearance when you see him. That paired with the black lighting flowing off of the man’s blue robes and his previously alien phrasing, Shen Yuan is almost certain Xin Tianyu is at least half demon. 

“Did you think you could lie to me to gain my help? Did you, a stupid mortal, think you could trick me?! ME? HOW DID YOU GET THE HAIR PIN?! TELL ME NOW, OR DIE!” Xin Tianyu stops with his golden trim fluttering teasingly in front of Shen Yuan’s tense hands. He lifts a single sleeve, loose fabric flowing as he moves his arm and showing off terrifyingly sharp claws. Shen Yuan just barely catches a glimpse of them after managing to ever so slightly raise his head. The man’s other arm is outstretched powerfully in Nephew Zhi’s direction, and Shen Yuan hears a pitiful growl as the snake man is also brought to his knees. Though, Nephew Zhi seems to be dealing with the pressure much better than Shen Yuan. Perhaps because of his superior cultivation, or perhaps because of his superior blood. Either way, Shen Yuan begins to suspect that he may be the only actual human in the room!

With the ease of a Centimeter Serpent defeating a monster ten times its size, Shen Yuan manages to choke out a single sentence, “My master gave it to me!” Gone are his usual formalities and peaceable attitude. The only thing he can concern himself with now is saying what he can to survive! 

“And just where,” Xin Tianyu grabs a fistful of Shen Yuan’s own black hair, bringing the teenager’s face up to see his teary eyes. Xin Tianyu smiles softly, and if Shen Yuan couldn’t still feel the bone crushing force being applied to his whole body, he might’ve been tricked by the gentle look of the older man, “Did your master get it?” 

“His master?” Shen Yuan replies, a single tear finally finding its way onto his cheek. At this point, he’s genuinely guessing. However, Shen Yuan is still pretty confident that he’s correct. The pin definitely seems like an heirloom to be passed from master to disciple! 

“And who would that master be?” Xin Tianyu doesn’t let up, on the questioning or on the increasingly torturous spiritual weight. Shen Yuan coughs, a trickle of blood leaving his mouth. Xin Tianyu’s smile just grows, as does his grip strength.

“Yu,” Shen Yuan coughs again, beginning to lose focus as his lungs struggle to expand. “Y-yu huff A-an,” he grits his pink stained teeth, “Anran.”

All at once, Xin Tianyu’s face goes blank and his wrist goes slack, letting Shen Yuan fall face first onto the ground without any strength left to catch himself. Xin Tianyu lets out a quiet gasp, “Yu Anran? Yu Ran? Xiao Ran?”

“Yes,” Shen Yuan confirms, not daring to try lifting himself back up. Instead of struggling, he just accepts his new place on the floor of Xin Tianyu’s weird cave. “She was the Lord of Qing Jing Peak prior to my master.”

“And now?” Xin Tianyu asks, almost desperately.

“This one believes she ascended shortly after passing her post down to her disciple,” and despite the blood running down from his nose and mouth, Shen Yuan speaks politely once more. If soft words and serious answers are what it takes to calm the demon in the room, Shen Yuan can pull himself together enough to use the third person.

“Ranran… ascended?” Xin Tianyu mutters to himself. A series of emotions cross through his silver eyes, but Shen Yuan isn’t in any kind of position to read them. “No, Heran would’ve told me if our disciple ascended… unless… no. That can’t be… can it?”

“She ascended two years after the death of Jin Heran,” Shen Yuan takes a chance and sputters what may well be the last nail in his metaphorical coffin. It all depends on whether or not Xin Tianyu is still capable of listening to reason. 

“Oh,” Xin Tianyu whispers, letting up all of the pressure in one go. Shen Yuan stays on the cool stone even when the weight disappears, still too exhausted to move. Then, contrary to what Shen Yuan had feared would be his reaction, the formerly hostile demon sits down next to him, silently leaning back on his hands to watch the abyss above them. Eventually, in the quiet consisting only of his and Nephew Zhi ragged breaths, Xin Tianyu opens his mouth once again, “How did he die?”

This one, Shen Yuan isn’t sure of, but he has a good idea, “Some say he succumbed to serious injuries, but my master was always told that it was due to a broken heart.”

And again, all the demon lets out is a single, gut wrenchingly weak, “Oh.”

-/-

The thing with regret, though, is how sneaky it can be. You can do everything right, make all the proper choices, and still wish you had done something else. You can do something good, be proud of it for years, only to realize how blind you were for doing so. A happy memory can instantly be turned into a bitter pill of disappointment. 

All his life, Xin Tianyu had been convinced that meeting Jin Heran was the best thing to ever happen to him. Now though, old, out of the loop, and thoroughly alone, Xin Tianyu begins to wonder if maybe, it would’ve been better if he and Jin Heran had never crossed paths after all. Because… maybe, if Xin Tianyu had stayed in the demon realm like he was meant to, Jin Heran never would’ve been dragged down the way he was. Jin Heran probably would’ve ascended in record time, becoming one of the youngest cultivators to reach such a point. 

Instead, Jin Heran’s just another building block of today’s Jianghu. Just another name on a scroll. And that’s all because of Xin Tianyu. Xin Tianyu and his dirty fucking demon blood. 

“Demons aren’t meant to mix with humans after all, huh?” Xin Tinayu jokes, tone clearly leaning closer to self-deprecating rather than accusatory. Shen Yuan feels like he should say something to deny that, but before he can, the man continues in a seemingly faraway voice, “I think I always knew he was gone, one way or another. Because, if Heran was alive, no matter what I did to hurt him, he’d still look for me. That’s just who he is. Was, I suppose.”

Shen Yuan finally gets a chance to say something, and that same strong impulse returns, the one that caused him to reveal the truth about Jin Heran’s death in the first place, tiredly, he rolls over onto his back and speaks, “You asked before, where will I go? Why am I alive? Well, I think maybe the one who needs to answer that the most… is you .”

Xin Tianyu gives him a considering look before replying, “You know, I could kill you extremely easily, are you sure you want to test me like this?”

“No, this isn’t a test. There’s no right or wrong answer,” Shen Yuan offers cheekily, just barely making out Nephew Zhi’s figure slumped somewhere further towards where they originally enter---er… landed? Yeah, that’s about right. However, all jokes aside, Shen Yuan still has to say one more thing, “Xin Tianyu, you’ve been hidden away for more than a hundred years, do you plan to continue hiding for another century or two? Static while the world changes everyday.”

“Now, I’m sure it’s a test!” Xin Tianyu laughs, somewhat at odds with his temperament so far. “Ahh, Heran was always better at these sorts of things… I wonder what he would say? Haha, he’d probably call me a coward!” 

Abruptly, the demon turns to Shen Yuan, who is still laying flat on his back, blood trailing down his robes. He says, “What do you think?”

Shen Yuan blinks once, slightly confused with the sudden questioning, “Do I think what?”

“That I,” Xin Tianyu points at himself like a child might point at a cute animal saying ‘look, mom!’ “Am a coward?”

“Ha,” Shen Yuan scoffs, letting his eyes close just for a little while, “I can't make that call. I have no idea what happened back then. Besides the ending, that is.”

“Would you like to?” Xin Tianyu offers with a relaxed hand reaching in between them. 

Chapter Text

Xin Tianyu hasn’t always been as intimidating as he is now. In fact, when he first crossed from the demon realm into the human realm, his painfully naive appearance was enough to catch every scam artist in town’s attention. Thankfully, he was actually much less gullible than his looks led people to believe. However, just because he could always, inevitably, fight or talk his way out of any bad situation doesn’t mean he was never rescued by some shitty human cultivator dressed all in white like some kind of mortal saint.

For example, one time, just as Xin Tianyu was about to release a bit of his demonic aura to subdue the foolish thug that had trapped him in a dodgy alley, a man dressed in pure icy blue robes fell from the sky to land between him and the shifty human. Tianyu had been too shocked to react back then, not even when the man scared away the thief with just as little effort as it would’ve taken Tianyu to. In all actuality, Tianyu hadn’t even moved until the man was brushing his charcoal bangs out of his almost equally dark face (the sun was a lot stronger than Tianyu had expected it would be!). Tianyu vaguely remembers his mouth falling open as the cultivator ever so slightly leaned in before laughingly saying, “You should be more careful! This place is just crawling with monsters, human and demon alike.”

And then, the mystery man left. Robes streaking a pleasant combination with the orange and red of the setting sun. But, that wasn’t actually the first time Tianyu had seen that cultivator, nor would it be the last. Not even close.

-/-

Xin Tianyu is nothing if not talented. As a child, he had been the one to take up the title of East Lord after his mother had died. At the early age of ten, Tianyu was almost unanimously voted to be the worst little shit you could ever possibly offend. A Xin Tianyu seeking revenge was a Xin Tianyu seeking carnage. And a Xin Tianyu seeking carnage, well, that’s a fucker no one can stop. However, an excess of talent can’t do anything to solve an excess of curiosity. 

In fact, it’s much more likely to act as a sort of kindling for his interests. Once Tianyu found a beautiful breed of flower, but it only grew in the deep south. What’d he do? Well, of course, he declared war. They’d give up or lose soon enough, and Tianyu is good enough at waiting to get what he wants. He remembers the South Lord’s bloody face as he beat the shit out of him, and Tianyu’s still rather proud of how fast the other demon had gone from calling him a ‘worthless mutt’ to begging him to ‘Stop, please, East Lord! We’ll give East Lord the territory! Just stop, please!’

So… when one day, the human world called to his curious side, Tianyu didn’t think much further than, ‘finally, something new.’ 

Thus, Tianyu ripped a hole through the barrier between the worlds just as his mother had done a hundred some years ago when she had been looking for his future father. He did so without informing any of his subordinates and definitely without telling his master. The human world, he thought, would be a good vacation from her scoldings. 

Though most powerful demons could tear rifts in the border between realms, few could escape the barrier’s built in self-defense mechanism. Xin Tianyu was lucky in that the trip between worlds only stripped him of his more demonic features, namely his claws, fangs, and family crest, rather than stealing a portion of his power as was common with full blood demons. 

As Tianyu adjusted to his new, much less scary, appearance, he realized that his previously thick and well-crafted Lava Leopard robes were damaged beyond repair. Luckily, he had a set of Leopard Snake inner robes in addition to his regular Three Fates Spider silk pants. 

Dressed in a rather scandalously thin gold and black outfit, Tianyu staggered towards the first human village he could see. That’s when he first met the scoundrel. Jin Heran! 

Jin Heran had, supposedly, been tracking down a tree spirit gone darkside when he had seen Tianyu and his lacking choice of dress. Without saying anything other than a stoic ‘here’, Jin Heran had merely pulled an extravagant blue outer robe from a sparkling space necklace and thrown it at Xin Tianyu before flying off on his sword.

There, that’s how they met. Rather unexpected, hah?

If only that had been the end of it...

-/-

Tianyu is beyond pissed. He’s also, surprisingly, for the first time in his entire two hundred years, beyond screwed. In a standoff with a whole fleet of pretentious cultivators, how’s he supposed to safely activate his demon powers? Would he not just be immediately killed? Just instantly turned into a particularly pathetic demonic skewer. Alas, Tianyu has never had a single regret his whole life, and he isn’t prepared to start now. 

Soooo, all or nothing, ah? 

Except he doesn’t even get a chance to do anything, don’t even mention going all in! The stupid fucking cultivator comes out of nowhere, as he’s particularly apt to do, and lands in front of Tianyu! He even dares show his back to the East Lord of the Demon Realm! One of the top five fiercest Demons throughout both realms! 

“Excuse me, but what is the issue here?” The new arrival gives the group of men little to no face, hopping straight to the point without any formalities whatsoever.

“Master Jin! This matter is below such a venerated Master as yourself, no need to bother. This man is merely being questioned about some peculiarities that have been happening around him…” The leader of the cultivators dressed in various colors, obviously not all from the same sect, bows politely to who Tianyu supposes must be Jin Heran. Scoundrel fits better though. After all, this is the third time he’s involved himself in Tianyu’s matters! Tianyu doesn’t need help, thank you! He could’ve handled this! Tianyu carefully doesn’t think about how unsure he was of his odds just a few moments earlier.

There are tree lines around half a li to either side of their group. The merchant road they stand on is completely empty, not even mice dare to venture near their party. Tianyu supposes that’s really the only plus to his current situation. If it all goes downhill, like really fucking downhill, he can just release his full power and kill everyone here. Then, there won’t be anyone to tell others about his true identity, and it’ll be a fast enough attack that no one will be able to dodge. Well, no one but perhaps the well-dressed man facing away from him. Tianyu suspects that this Jin Heran fellow might be able to take a hit or two before perishing. 

Tianyu notices, eventually, the staredown between the two best dressed cultivators. Jin Heran really is determined to chase off his enemies for him, ah? Well, whatever. Tianyu supposes he can let the man have it. The demon wasn’t feeling particularly blood thirsty today anyway! 

Around an hour later, the only people (human or otherwise) left on the once crowded road are Xin Tianyu and the human, Jin Heran. Tianyu gives him a once over, paying more attention to his looks and clothing than he had the first two times. The man’s robes are around the same quality of most lesser Demon Lords, not quite up to snuff with Xin Tianyu’s own assortment of fabrics. After looking for a while, Tianyu finally pulls his gaze back up to meet the man’s mildly amused golden eyes. 

Tianyu scoffs, raising a single, extremely skeptical brow, “Why did you help me? Yet again.”

“No introduction? Just a question?” Jin Heran laughs, putting away his sword. 

“You didn’t introduce yourself to them, why should I introduce myself to you?” Tianyu picks at a loose thread on the shoulder of his shitty human robes.

Jin Heran watches the motion for a second, looking particularly entertained, “Well, they didn’t just save my life, did they?”

Tianyu narrows his eyes into a cutting silver glare. If this were the demon realm, and he was still going by the title of East Lord, Jin Heran would already be torn to shreds. However, this isn’t the demon realm, and right now, Tianyu is pretending to be a human. So… no tearing. Unfortunately. Instead, he sneers, “I didn’t need your help.”

“I see,” Jin Heran nods lightly a few times to himself. He then bows incredibly shallowly to Tianyu, mockery clear in the whole action, “Well then, I must apologize for interrupting your discussion, would you like me to call them back?”

Quick to end that line of joking, Tianyu snarls his own name. Jin Heran looks positively delighted at the response, lifting himself out of his fake ass salute. “Nice to meet you, Xin Tianyu. My name is Jin Heran. I believe we are tied together by fate!”

“What?” Tianyu instantly short circuits. 

Jin Heran smiles, a mischievous twinkle in his unnaturally bright eyes, “Let me accompany you?”

“No!” Tianyu denies as soon as his brain catches up. However, if the look on the human’s face is anything to go by, the demon’s rejection means absolutely nothing to Jin Heran. Tianyu realizes this, and bolts off, 100% of his demonic speed activated. Jin Heran merely mounts his sword and flies after him.

“Stop! Following! Me!” 

“But aren’t we traveling together?”

“No!”

-/-

As it turns out, having a respected human cultivator accompany him on his travels is more convenient than Tianyu originally thought. Not to mention the fact that Jin Heran’s actually proven to be less irritating than he first presented himself. Sure, he’s most definitely still a scoundrel, but he’s a useful scoundrel. 

“I want to learn!” Tianyu declares out of nowhere as they sit side by side outside of a pub. 

Jin Heran looks thoroughly amused and probably just as tipsy as Tianyu. He breathes out a light sigh and turns his head towards the deceivingly baby-faced demon, “Learn what, Lao Yu?”

“Cultivation!”

“Lao Yu… aren’t you a demon?” Jin Heran asks, trying to reign in his desire to laugh, afraid that Tianyu will take it as mocking.

“Only half,” Tianyu grumbles, putting a particularly long piece of his unruly bangs into his mouth. “Eyy cud steel twy!”

“Okay then,” the human agrees, never one to turn down such a willing disciple. “In return, you have to teach me about the demon world.”

Tianyu spits out the hair in his mouth, eyes sparkling, “Deal!”

-/-

That’s how the two go on to create the complex arrays allowing for easier travel between the realms. With their work, trade becomes possible between humans and demons. However, not everyone’s happy with the newfound freedom. In fact, most people aren’t. Still, neither Tianyu nor Heran are the type to give up after facing a bit of resistance. 

So, slowly, with the support of a Demon Lord and the nearly immortal benefactor to the biggest sect in the Jianghu, the townspeople bordering the stabilized rifts begin welcoming commerce with their more… uhhh, aggressive neighbors. 

After that, Tianyu and Heran move on to their next project. Hatching an egg.

-/-

“What should its name be?” Tianyu ponders, staring at the shining cyan egg in front of them. 

Jin Heran hums quietly, thinking deeply for a while. Eventually, he offers, “Shen Yu.”

“Shen Yu? Why?” Tianyu questions, voice nowhere near as hostile as it is with literally anyone else. Jin Heran wraps an arm around the half demon, smiling lazily in a way Tianyu will never be able to copy. 

“Shen Yu, isn’t it fitting? After all, it’s living off God Yu’s energy right now.” 

Tianyu blinks and then snorts, easily shrugging off his friend’s arm, “Well, it could’ve been living off of God Ran’s energy, but someone didn’t want to raise a parasite.” 

Jin Heran laughs in a rather unrestrained manner, completely unbefitting of his status as a living cultivation legend. “Fine, fine. Next time, I’ll hatch the egg, and we’ll name it Shen Ran.”

“What?” Tianyu mercilessly turns the human’s idea down. “There won’t be a next time!”

Jin Heran turns to look Tianyu dead in the eye, “So, Lao Yu is going to raise your next egg with someone else?”

“There isn’t a second egg!”

“Good, as your soulmate, I would be very upset if God Yu decided to hatch an egg with someone else.”

“Scram!”

-/-

As an incredibly eye-catching duo, Xin Tianyu and Jin Heran should probably disguise themselves when they enter towns. Except, why worry about potential troubles when they’re two of the most powerful men in the entire human realm? Trouble hides its face from them , not the other way around. Thus, the human and demon pair walk confidently into the lively fishing village near the base of Cang Qiong, absolutely no effort put into playing their appearances down. 

The shorter of the two whistles a well-known folk song slightly off tune, tossing a silver ball between his hands carelessly. The whistling cuts off abruptly as he stares blankly ahead. After a second, with a vaguely affronted tone, he huffs, “Why is it not hatching? It’s already been twenty years! It took less time to create the arrays for the border…”

Heran pats his friend’s shoulder once in a seemingly comforting gesture, but his words are rather too accusatory to truly do the trick, “Maybe, it’s because you throw it like that, Lao Yu.”

Tianyu sends him an unimpressed glare, but he stops tossing the egg nonetheless. Instead, he puts it into his robe and draws the sword at his waist to mess with in its place. The sword shines a delicate white, but its blade is far from flawless. It looks as if it couldn’t withstand even one hit, and Tianyu glares at it, too. He mutters angrily to himself, “Why does it look so weak? Couldn’t I have a scarier sword?”

Jin Heran shakes his head, continuing to walk forward, slowly putting distance between him and the still half-demon. Without looking back, he shrugs once and offers noncommittally, “God Yu wanted a sword. I just gave you what you wanted. Does it not work well with your energy?”

“It's fine,” Tianyu snarls sadly, knowing that he has no right to argue. Not after blowing up the first six swords Heran made him. So far, the fragile looking Ling Hun is the only sword that Xin Tianyu hadn’t immediately destroyed. Though, the first time he used it, the glassy surface had been marred by lightning like streaks of color. Both of them had then immediately assumed it to be a failure. That is, until it worked perfectly well the next time, and the time after. After that… well, Tianyu simply had to resign himself to keeping the extremely frail looking weapon. 

Taking a moment to mourn his loss of opportunity to look cool, Tianyu refrains from automatically catching up to Heran. Though, when he finally does get moving, Heran himself has already stopped. His back is tense, and his head is raised as if paying something rapt attention. In less than a second, Tianyu uses his demonic lightening movement skills and flashes to Heran’s side. Heran doesn’t acknowledge his appearance outwardly, merely whispering, “Someone is following us.” 

At those words, Tianyu lets his demonic sense spread out, covering the entire town. Sure enough, merely two houses away, there’s a human focused only on them. However, contrary to Tianyu’s expectations, it’s merely a child. He blinks suggestively to inform Heran of his plan, and the human nods once in agreement. Tianyu uses his flash step yet again in order to instantly arrive at the kid’s side. The small human hasn’t even noticed his presence when Tianyu reaches out a hand and pats the child like Heran always does to him. Except, unlike when Heran does it, his hand is much bigger than the human’s shoulder. Thus, the originally innocent action is easily shifted into a painfully aggressive scare for the child.

The human freezes, turning around with only fear in their eyes. At the sight of Tianyu, a pretty well-known Demon Lord, the kid falls heavily into the dirt. Tianyu scoffs, and the kid shakes even more obviously. Tears are running down their tiny little face and Tianyu has no idea what to do now. He hadn’t meant to scare them! He was just curious! In a moment of panic, Tianyu growls, “Shut up!”

And the human starts crying even more pathically!

Tianyu just stands silently, unsure of how to proceed. Fortunately, he’s saved by Jin Heran’s timely appearance. The man blankly stares at the frozen demon and sobbing child, he holds back an amused smile. After a second of settling his emotions, Heran leans down and softly says, “It’s okay, he won’t hurt you.”

“Obviously!” Tianyu adds angrily. The kid just looks confused.

Heran gives his favorite demon a very pointed look, and Tianyu quickly shuts up. Heran then focuses back on the still sniffling villager. “I’m Jin Heran, this is Xin Tianyu, and you would be?”

After a moment, the child wipes their face and stands up quickly. Seemingly affronted at the gentle treatment, they shout, “Xiao Ran knows who you are! You’re my target!”

“Target?” Tianyu asks, tilting his head slightly to the left. Heran straightens from his crouch, confident that his height is no longer at risk of scaring the other human.

“Of course!” The kid’s slightly reddened eyes are now burning in determination. “My name is Yu Ran! Please take me as your disciple, Immortal Master Jin!”

For once, Jin Heran is the one taken by surprise, and Xin Tianyu is the one left not-so-silently laughing in the background.

-/-

Yu Ran is an interesting addition to their group, she’s also a very entertaining way for Xin Tianyu to pass time. And yes, you heard that right. Xin Tianyu. Because, as much as she originally wanted to learn from Jin Heran, Yu Ran ends up favoring Tianyu’s internal cultivation rather than Heran’s sword cultivation. Thus, the half-demon ends up with a whole human as his first, and only, disciple.

Like this, the three happily venture across the Jianghu, defeating evil and saving innocents. Well, that’s what Jin Heran’s doing, at least. Tianyu and Ranran are much more inclined towards causing problems, not solving them.

“Are you sure you’re not secretly part demon, Ranran?” Heran questions, staring at the plotting children sitting across from him. 

Tianyu looks up with a gloating grin, “If she was, I’d be the first to know, Lao Ran!”

In her defense, Yu Ran doesn’t actually offer much encouragement towards her new favorite teacher. However, she also doesn’t stop him from bragging to the most mature member of their group. So, there is that.

“Lao Yu, you’re already this old, yet you still act like a child,” Heran shakes his head in projected disappointment. 

Tianyu knows him all too well though, and he can sense the human’s silent laughter from twenty li away! Therefore, he just smiles, all teeth and smugness, “Maybe, God Ran is merely an old soul, ah.”

Jin Heran sighs, smiling silently in reply.

-/-

All good things come to an end, though. 

Eventually, Yu Ran reaches the point that Tianyu can’t teach her anything else. She can’t learn his more demonic skills, after all, and he's already passed on all of his knowledge of  human cultivation. The few techniques she’s yet to master aren’t the sort that more instruction can teach. Tianyu’s unique empathy can only be perfected if one has a true feeling for how the transfer is supposed to go, and his more complex movement skills can only be improved through practice. 

Thus, in acknowledgement of her relentless search for knowledge, Tianyu and Heran steel their nerves and allow her to travel to the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. Yu Ran cries when she parts from them, and seeing the tears that once caused Tianyu’s brain to completely crash, he nearly pulls her back. However, Heran’s hand on his shoulder holds him still. 

It takes half a day for Tianyu to be able to move from his spot. 

It takes even longer for him to speak again. 

A full week later, when Heran starts talking arrays, Tianyu finally blinks back into full operation. He’s never felt such strong emotions before. He didn’t expect Yu Ran’s temporary leave to affect him so much. Tianyu’s eyes water for the first time in his whole life. Heran instantly stops talking, just warily watching the demon.

Tinayu sniffles quietly once, and unsteadily says, “Are humans always like this? So weak?”

“No,” Jin Heran negates softly. “It’s not just humans. Emotions are part of being alive. Even a demon can get sad sometimes.”

“Tch,” Tianyu disdainfully wipes the single tear off his cheek. “It’s disgusting.”

Jin Heran’s lips curl. After a moment, he restarts the conversation, and this time, it’s not one-sided. His lips pull higher, and Tianyu carefully ignores it. Together, they peacefully pass the days. 

And, before they know it, fifty years pass. Yu Ran is still happily studying at Cang Qiong, satisfied with her position as Peak Lord of Qing Jing. They occasionally visit her, and the ache of her absence begins to fade. Instead, irritation grows in the depths of Tianyu’s soul. Because… Because! The damn egg still has not hatched! 

Tianyu is beginning to wonder if the whole thing’s a scam. However, despite his doubts, he continues carrying it with him, giving it his energy every single day. 

“One day,” the half-demon mutters dangerously, darkly staring at the beautiful silver and blue egg, “You will hatch, Shen Yu, and one day, I will kill you for taking so long!”

“I don’t know if that’s the best incentive for him to hatch…” Heran speculates, polishing his sword. Tianyu scoffs. 

“Whatever!”

-/-

It happens nearly two hundred years after Xin Tianyu first crossed from the demon to the human world. It’s something Tianyu’s been nervously awaiting since his first step onto the human side. 

His master comes looking for him. 

It should be known, Tianyu’s master is the only demon in the world who can control him. It should also be known, Tianyu’s master is the closest thing to a parent his dark, half-demon self has ever had. For the first hundred and fifty years of his life, his master, Gui Bao, was the only one he could truly trust. Despite being the feared East Lord, Xin Tianyu is also a lowly half-demon who’s mother is long dead. His background’s rather poor, despite his inherent abilities, and so, in his early years, few wanted him around. His tutor though, she always seemed happy to see him.

However, Gui Bao is just like most other demons in her distaste for humans. If she had to name only one flaw of Xin Tianyu’s, it’d be his blood. If she didn’t feel so strongly for his mother, she’d probably ignore him just like everyone else. Tianyu never cared about her motivation for looking after him though, demons rarely care for emotional subjects like that. And Xin Tianyu, despite his filthy human half, is more demon than anything else. 

At least, that’s what Gui Bao has always told him.

Xin Tianyu is completely caught off guard when he’s shopping around for a present for Heran. Last month, Jin Heran had made a pair of hair pins for them. The pins search each other out, and if one is in trouble, the glorious, milky white jade hums and darkens according to how much distress the person is experiencing. Tianyu feels that it’s ridiculously unfair of his friend to make such a thing. After all, how the fuck is Tianyu supposed to match that? Much less beat it… 

But the point is, when Gui Bao appears, clawed fingers held awfully tight around his throat, Tianyu is more than slightly surprised. He also may have forgotten Ling Hun with Jin Heran when he left for his trip… but that's neither here nor there. He doesn’t need a sword anyway! He’s still a demon after all!

“There you are,” she says, her face showing more emotion than her voice. Her eyebrows are held down and together, and her normally black eyes are bright red. The stall owner Tianyu had only moments ago been talking to screams as the female demon tightens her grip and lifts Tianyu completely off his feet. 

Despite knowing that he could easily escape the hold, Tianyu lets himself be choked. He figures it might let the demoness blow off some steam, and it doesn’t bother him overly too much. Sure, it hurts, but he’s been through worse, and thus, things like this only matter if he’s truly at risk of death. He squeezes out a playfully polite, “Master Gui, the years have been kind to you!” 

Gui Bao throws him across the street in one move, and his body crushes a food stall as he lands. Picking off chunks of watermelon and honeydew, Tianyu releases a bit of his demonic energy. Gui Bao roars loudly, showing off her lethally sharp fangs, “Come back to the demon realm!”

“Don’t want to!” Tinayu declares with zero remorse. Then, he dodges left. Gui Bao’s incoming attack misses him by a hair. These actions are something Xin Tianyu’s familiar with. When he was still a rebellious, yet powerless, youth, he often came to disagree with his master. Xin Tianyu is the type to throw hands at any even slight provocation, and unfortunately, his master is the same. Thus, whenever even a slight argument broke out, there would be a fight. 

However, while Xin Tianyu knows that Gui Bao isn’t being serious in her act of attacking him, from an outside point of view, it looks like Gui Bao is aiming to kill.

That, is what Jin Heran sees when he finds them. He sees his soulmate dodging deadly strike after deadly strike. He sees his best, and only real, friend struggling to even counterattack. Thus, he immediately draws his sword and joins the fight. 

Xin Tianyu notices his actions a moment too late, and he shouts when the most powerful cultivator in the human realm strikes a serious blow to his master’s shoulder. Heran hears it, and pulls his blade back, quickly stepping away instead of continuing and most probably slaying the female demon. 

“She’s my master-” Tianyu gets cut off by a blast of energy as Gui Bao pushes him thirty meters back. Jin Heran quickly understands, and so, instead of fighting back when Gui Bao’s attention turns to him, he merely puts his energy into dodging. Just like Xin Tianyu had done in the beginning. However, unlike when she was facing the half-demon she personally raised for over a hundred years, Gui Bao’s obviously acting with the intent to send the human who had stepped between Tianyu and her to the grave.

“Stop, Master Gui!” Tianyu shouts, flash stepping back to the rather one-sided altercation before him. He grabs one of her hands and pulls hard. Gui Bao briefly loses balance, but within a second or two, she’s fully stabilized, and once again attacking Jin Heran.

Tianyu tries again to reason with her, “He’s my friend!”

“Humans and demons can’t be friends!” Gui Bao snarls, ripping her claws through Heran’s side. Tianyu’s eyes widen at the blood, and finally, the half-demon realizes that he can’t reason with his master. She’s too set in her ways to allow even the thought of Tianyu having a human acquaintance. 

Jin Heran keeps trying to avoid the older demon’s moves, but Tianyu can see him slowing down, can see the blood running down from the four gouges along his waist line. All at once, Tianyu knows that he has to stop her. With force. Words won’t work, and Tianyu can’t keep hoping that she’ll just blow off steam and calm down on her own. If things keep on like this, Jin Heran will die. 

Jin Heran will die because he doesn’t want to hurt Tianyu’s master. Jin Heran will die because he’d rather do that than hurt Tianyu. 

And… Tianyu can’t just let Heran’s life end like that. 

So, Tianyu forcefully shakes the hesitation from his muscles. The half demon then flash steps into the other demon’s path. He growls inhumanly, and tackles her. Gui Bao roars back, and soon, they’re clawing at each other brutally. Tianyu vaguely notes how his claws, teeth, and family crest reappear. Apparently, it wasn’t the barrier that had stolen them, it was Tianyu’s human blood sealing them away unconsciously. His eyes, long grown just as scarlet as his master’s, narrow as he struggles to get the upper hand. 

For all that he has much more energy and talent than the older demon, Tianyu is by no means good enough to hold back while fighting a serious Gui Bao. Master Gui has hundreds of years of experience and sheer strength on him. Therefore, the master and disciple fight to the death in the middle of the once lively market street. Their earlier play fight pales in comparison to the intensity of this battle. 

Soon enough, Tianyu can’t think about anything other than how to survive the next blow. 

Soon enough, Tianyu can’t tell whose blood is whose. Tianyu can’t tell if his master is just running low on energy, or if she’s dying.

Demons live for fights like this, Tianyu reminds himself. Why isn’t he happy? Battle used to run in his veins. Why is this one causing pain in his heart like he’s never felt before? Has Gui Bao somehow struck him a deadly blow? But no, that would feel different. 

And soon enough, Tianyu is lying there, still as the dead. Still as his master. Still as Gui Bao’s cooling body next to him. He… he killed Master Gui. He killed Gui Bao. Gui Bao is dead now. Tianyu will never argue with her again. Tianyu will never eat her disgusting porridge again. He’ll never listen to another of her scoldings. 

Jin Heran stumbles over to them as soon as they stop, kneeling quickly by Xin Tianyu’s gasping form. Through his own pain, he manages to ask, “Are you okay?”

Tianyu doesn’t respond. Briefly, he wonders if emotions are truly a necessary part of being alive. If they are, it doesn’t seem quite fair. Xin Tianyu’s never felt such suffocating pain before. How could anyone live like this? Feeling like he does? 

He struggles to sit up, eyes still scarlet and entirely void of emotion. Jin Heran helps him, worry written in the wrinkle between his brows. 

Xin Tianyu sneers as he pushes his friend away. He doesn’t deserve help. Tianyu is the reason Heran is bleeding heavily. 

...Tianyu just killed his master! 

“Leave me alone!” Xin Tianyu shouts, the words reverberating across the whole town. Jin Heran stumbles back a bit, but lowers his head before nodding. For once, Heran does as he says, silently climbing onto his sword and leaving. For some reason, the capitulation doesn’t make Tianyu feel as good as he once thought it would. It just adds to the growing emptiness inside him.

-/-

After that, Xin Tianyu’s never seen again. After that, Jin Heran fades into the background, quietly dying nearly fifteen years later. After that, Yu Anran ascends, long feeling the aching loneliness her teachers once dealt with for years after she left. 

After that, Tie Hanjin becomes the new Peak Lord of Qing Jing, and the once rather chaotic demon realm is united under the name of Heavenly Demon Tianlang-Jun.

Lots of things happen afterwards, but Tianyu knows nothing of them. For years, he lives alone, reflecting on his mistakes. For years, Xin Tianyu lives a miserable, useless life.

But now, Shen Yuan’s here, having passed Tianyu’s tests, having told Tianyu what happened. 

Now, Tianyu thinks he might just have a shot at some sort of redemption.

And as such, he smiles sadly and asks, “So… am I a coward?”

-/-

Until being shown the memories by Xin Tianyu, Shen Yuan had never noticed the white hair pin in the demon’s hair. It’s the exact same as the pin he’d been given by his shizun. Except… the one Shen Yuan had been given was a shiny grey black, not white. 

“This one was Heran’s,” Xin Tianyu says absentmindedly, releasing Shen Yuan’s hand. He keeps talking, apparently unconcerned about Shen Yuan’s lack of response to his previous question. As the demon stares at it, the color begins lightening into nearly silver rather than nearly black. 

Shen Yuan has so many questions for the man, but he knows that only a few of them are safe to ask. He wants to know why Xin Tianyu refused to go find Jin Heran sometime during the fifteen years before he died. Surely, his hair pin must’ve been black and humming the whole time. But Shen Yuan can’t ask that, and he’s pretty sure the demon can’t answer it.

Taking a completely different route, he asks, “Did the egg ever hatch?”

Xin Tianyu laughs, unexpectedly loud in the silence of the hall, “I don’t know. I dropped it the day everything happened.”

“Oh,” Shen Yuan says, uncomfortable with the rather melancholy atmosphere. 

“Oh,” the demon echoes. “But that's okay, Shen Yu probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this place anyway.”

Shen Yuan hums quietly, looking back down at the silver hair pin. Eventually, he thinks of another safe question, “What happened to your sword?”

“Ling Hun?” Xin Tianyu lifts his head to glance at Shen Yuan before going back to the pin. “That sword was always more Heran’s than mine. I don’t know what he did with it afterwards, but I know he took it with him.”

The two sit in silence, Nephew Zhi watching on in inexhausted confusion. Eventually, he can’t help but break the quiet, “Lord Xin, we need your help.”

And fuck. Shen Yuan nearly forgot the reason they came here in the first place!

“Oh?” Xin Tianyu says, finally standing up from his reclined position on the floor. “With what?”

Nephew Zhi looks nervous the whole time, but somehow, he manages to keep his voice steady as he salutes to the powerful half-demon, “This one is asking on behalf of West Lord Tianlang-Jun, and he doesn’t mean to bother you, but the arrays that once held the rifts between the two realms open have been heavily damaged by some unknown outside force, and we don’t know how to fix them. Soon, the largest ones will fully collapse, and the barrier may never be able to open again.”

“That is quite the issue,” Xin Tianyu agrees easily, but his irreverent tone makes it obvious that he doesn’t really care if they collapse or not. “But I am afraid I will be of no use.”

Nephew Zhi straightens up and looks thoroughly confused, “But Lord Xin helped create them?”

“Yes,” the demon agrees once more, “but Lord Xin cannot leave this cave.”

“What?” Shen Yuan stutters, eyes slightly widening. 

Xin Tianyu’s smile from before grows slightly, and he sighs tiredly, “When I first made the arrays for this place, I tied myself here. Determined that I didn’t deserve to leave, and knowing that trapping myself here was the only way I could refrain from hurting anyone else in the future.”

At the demon’s words, Shen Yuan watches as the once white pin in Xin Tianyu’s hair blackens at an extremely rapid pace. But how? If it’s Xin Tianyu’s pin, it must be connected to Jin Heran, and Jin Heran is dead. How can it still change colors? 

“Haha! Heran must’ve tied himself to this pin!” The Demon Lord laughs and tightly grasps the silver jade. “Even as a spirit remnant, he can still save the day… well, I guess that answers my question, ah.”

“What?” Shen Yuan asks, completely lost. How did a world created by Airplane end up so complex???? Shen Yuan swears no gay, romeo and juliet shit happened in the original PIDW… 

“That I’m a coward! Keep up!” Xin Tianyu grins and turns roughly towards the still flat Shen Yuan. He offers him the hand not currently holding Jin Heran’s pin. “In thanks for bringing me this, I’ll give you my knowledge of arrays. With that, you should be able to help them out!”

“Uhhh,” Shen Yuan blanks for a second, this demon is way too abrupt! “Okay?”

“Good! And then you’ll leave!”

And just like that, Shen Yuan gains nearly five hundred years worth of knowledge on arrays. He also gains a giant bruise on his ass. Apparently, Xin Tianyu is too fond of making people fall! Even when kicking them out, they appear ten feet from the ground. Suffice to say, Shen Yuan isn’t a cat, and he definitely can’t always land on his feet.

-/-

Inside the array, Xin Tianyu pulls the pin from his own hair and holds it next to Jin Heran’s. He can feel the warmth of his friend, can feel the ghostly pat on his shoulder. 

The array no longer has one resident, it seems. Now, it has two. Both dressed in striking blue and gold. Xin Tianyu smiles one last time, the tears running down his face disappearing halfway as Heran’s spirit brushes them away. 

Tianyu doesn’t have much longer left, he can feel it. Using his own heart’s blood to create this array, his own life’s energy to keep it running, has taken its toll on his body. 

“God Ran,” Tianyu whispers to the seemingly empty hall. Silence greets him back, and yet, in his heart, Tianyu can hear an echoing ‘Lao Yu’ in response. 

Finally, he isn’t alone anymore.

Chapter Text

With his Bai Zhan style high pony and his classically Qing Jing colored robes, it’s obvious to any passing cultivator that Shen Yuan is a disciple of Cang Qiong. What they can’t figure out though, is what he’s doing with two possible rogue cultivators and a disciple of Huan Hua. 

However, absolutely no one is willing to approach the group to find out. Not with the intimidation factor of the tallest and shortest members of the group. Tianlang-Jun, of course, releases dangerous vibes unconsciously, so normally, he’d be cautiously avoided by any other customers at this sort of noodle stall, that isn’t anything new. Su Xiyan though, she’s definitely sending ‘don’t fuck with me, bitch’ vibes out on purpose. Ah, but it only makes Tianlang-Jun love her even more.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan pays them no mind. He doesn’t even slightly notice the lack of outside interruptions. Honestly, someone could probably punch him right in the face, and he’d still just shake it off and get back to work. For some reason, his mind is essentially blank but for the knowledge running through it in torrents. Perhaps because the sheer amount of it is too much to deal with quite yet, Shen Yuan’s brain has helpfully decided to temporarily delete everything else. While sorting through the necessary related information about the arrays that stabilize the border, Shen Yuan can’t even remember his own name. All he knows is the symbols in front of his eyes, and the thrilling tingle of making something interesting. 

His hands move almost faster than his mind does, and so, like that, Shen Yuan spends half a day drawing out the arrays for the trio. Finally, as the sun is beginning its descent down the somewhat cloudy heavens, Shen Yuan snaps out of his haze. Before him is a set of ten similar, yet distinctly unique, arrays. He has no recollection of finishing them, but he does feel the stretch of overwork in his hands and meridians. 

Maybe one day, the memories will be free, but for now, it seems that Shen Yuan will have to expend his inner forces every time he wants to flip through them. 

After completing his brief self-check, Shen Yuan looks up at the group still sitting next to him at the noodle bar. Apart from the six or so empty bowls in front of Tianlang-Jun, none of them ordered anything. Shen Yuan almost feels bad for the store’s owner. They probably should’ve picked a better place to do this, but Shen Yuan had no idea it would take so long!

“Is it done?” Su Xiyan interrupts. Shen Yuan startles mildly, but nods nonetheless. He then arranges the papers in such a way that each array corresponds to one slowly collapsing rift. 

“Good job, Shen Yuan! Truly, you have helped this Lord yet again. This Lord may never manage to repay all of your kindness, but remember, in the future, if you need help, you may ask me, Tianlang-Jun,” The demon enunciates all his words perfectly, but he especially punches the three syllables that make up his title. 

Shen Yuan smiles carefully, unsure whether he should accept the gratitude or not. After all, if Tianlang-Jun hadn’t sent Zhuzhi-Lang along with him, Shen Yuan probably wouldn’t have made it through the trials to reach Xin Tianyu in the first place. He’s almost certain that the first door needed a human and a demon to open it. By himself, Shen Yuan wouldn’t’ve even been able to pass the initial test of strength!

In fact, Shen Yuan already made sure Zhuzhi-Lang knew how much he had helped, but now, thinking of it again, Shen Yuan kind of wants to spit blood at the ridiculousness that is him using a Heavenly Demon as a landing pad...

-/-

“So,” Shen Yuan says, wiping the leaves off the back of his outer robe. “You two are demons?”

Nephew Zhi nods.

Shen Yuan continues, “and Lord Tian is actually Tianlang-Jun?”

“Yes.”

“Then who are you?”

“His nephew.”

Shen Yuan gives the demon a blank look as if to say ‘no shit’. Thankfully, the snake catches on after a few seconds of staring, and hurriedly amends, “This humble one is called Zhuzhi-Lang.”

“Zhuzhi-Lang, ah. Well, this one thanks Zhuzhi-Lang for all his help. Without you,” Shen Yuan speaks with feeling, bowing formally. “This one is afraid that Xin Tianyu would never have been able to receive Jin Heran’s hair pin.”

After that rather awkward conversation, Shen Yuan and the snake demon had silently made their way towards the place they last saw Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan.

Surprisingly, their practically blind journey yielded excellent results. Despite the lack of demonic presence in the tea house that started Shen Yuan’s whole adventure, Zhuzhi-Lang had been quick to catch sight of Tianlang-Jun’s eye-catching build. 

Shen Yuan had easily bulldozed their questions and dragged the trio to the nearest stall with seats and tables. Without much thought on if his actions were entirely appropriate, Shen Yuan had demanded Su Xiyan’s odd map. Thus, he began to mindlessly sketch out the arrays.

Now though, all those previously unanswered questions can be seen clearly hanging on the edge of Su Xiyan’s tongue. Shen Yuan doesn’t really know how much even he can explain to her, but he quietly resigns himself to at least trying. 

“Did you meet him?”

“Yes.”

“What was he like?”

“He seemed sad.”

Momentary silence… and then Su Xiyan couldn’t help continuing to shoot off her mouth like a rocket---completely shocking all three men with her. Su Xiyan, if one must know, is not the sort of person who gets excited about things. She’s also not one to talk more than necessary, so the sudden influx of words from her are so out of character that Tianlang-Jun can’t keep his jaw from slightly dropping. 

Eventually though, Su Xiyan falls into reflective silence, a hand held unthinkingly to her stomach. Shen Yuan notices the gesture and raises a single eyebrow just like his shizun always taught him. Tianlang-Jun sees the movement as well and smiles gently in return, staring at Su Xiyan as if she were the only light in his otherwise black world. 

With that small exchange, everything clicks for Shen Yuan. They’re together! Su Xiyan is pregnant with the West Lord’s child! With Tianlang-Jun’s child! Suddenly, Zhuzhi-Lang’s easy acceptance of their adventure makes so much sense! He was just tired of third-wheeling! 

Shen Yuan holds back his new found urge to guffaw loudly, simply deciding to shoot the snake demon a commiserating look instead. Zhuzhi-Lang seems both happy and exasperated, and Shen Yuan feels like he’s done his job well-enough. It’s probably about time for him to head back. His shizun’s still waiting for him, after all.

Shen Yuan stands gracefully, a shining, mint ribbon mixing well with his dark hair. He bows to the (apparently) happy couple and the snake demon (lightbulb) with a flourish, smile stretching easily over his face in a rather gentle way. Every one of his pores emitting the aura of a proper elder brother! Even though he’s probably the youngest of the group… well, no matter, it’s all in the mind set anyway, ah. 

After Shen Yuan straightens up, he bids the group goodbye.

“We’ll meet again!” Tianlang-Jun declares confidently as the teenager flies away on Jue Shi.

Shen Yuan snorts to himself before replying, “Maybe so!”

And then he’s off. 

-/-

It’s only after Shen Yuan’s completely finished summarizing his trip that he notices how oddly distracted his master is. Usually, Tie Hanjin has laser-like focus that can make even the most confident feel a bit unsure of themselves. Now though, that attention isn’t all on Shen Yuan’s report. It’s split between his words and whatever happens to be on the Peak Lord’s desk. 

“May this disciple ask what Shizun is looking at?” Shen Yuan inquires, mildly annoyed at the thought that he might have to explain the whole Xin Tianyu thing once more because his shizun wasn’t actually paying attention… but whatever. Shen Yuan is an adult! In a teenager’s body, sure, but still an adult! Therefore, he can deal with a little irritation… Not only that, but he’s also a cultivator, and cultivators don’t feel things easily. So yeah, Shen Yuan can let it go, even if he does end up having to retell the story for a third time…

“Just a small request from Huan Hua Palace…” Tie Hanjin trails off in a rare show of reluctance. Shen Yuan perks up at the name, mind immediately going to Su Xiyan and Tianlang-Jun. He then leans over slightly to get a good look at the so-called ‘request’ from Huan Hua. As far as Shen Yuan’s aware, Cang Qiong and Huan Hua’s relationship isn’t smooth to the point of asking for favors that aren’t life or death matters. Thus, whatever is on his shizun’s table must be pretty important.

“An array?” Shen Yuan’s eyebrow raises without his conscious permission. Tie Hanjin nods, vaguely bemused by his disciple’s rather uhhh, familiar facial tick. Now thoroughly interested, Shen Yuan bends over even more to study the paper better, “Is it a seal?”

“Yes…” Tie Hanjin rakes a hand through his artfully messy, loose hair. Shen Yuan pretends not to hear the subtle frustration in his shizun’s incredibly simple reply. “But this part just!”

“Oh,” Shen Yuan’s eyes glaze over slightly as his line of sight goes right to the part Tie Hanjin must be having issues with. The seal has a total of thirty-three layers, and within the twelfth and twenty-fifth levels lie crucial issues. Unthinkingly, Shen Yuan reaches out for the brush in his master’s hand, easily fixing the mistakes in two short strokes. “That should be better, ah.”

Tie Hanjin looks at the paper in shock, then glances back up at Shen Yuan with the slightest cracks visible in his typically stiff expression. Qing Jing’s Peak Lord watches the teenager lightly set his brush down, letting silence begin to stretch through the room before ever so slightly smiling as he praises Shen Yuan, “This Master has been working on this array for nearly the entire time Shen A’Yuan was gone. Now, in mere seconds, my dear disciple has solved the problem. This Master thanks Shen A’Yuan.”

“No need for thanks, it's only the least this one can do for Shizun. After all, Shizun is the one who sent me to find Master Xin in the first place.”

“Yes, yes,” and then, as if magic, Tie Hanjin’s icy focus returns; his gaze brings Shen Yuan completely back from his trip through Xin Tianyu’s gift. “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. If people were to know the knowledge A’Yuan now holds…”

“Of course, Shizun.” On that, Shen Yuan definitely isn’t lying. He really wasn’t, and still isn’t, thinking of telling anyone besides his shizun and possibly his shifu. “However, can this one ask what this seal is needed for? There are no records of such a complex sealing array throughout any of the books in the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain.”

Tie Hanjin scoffs, words slightly disdainful as he packs away the freshly fixed (and now dried) paper, “Huan Hua’s new Palace Master is already scheming and Xie Handao is too good natured to turn him down. Apparently, a dangerous new Demon Lord has appeared…” his next words are lost a bit in his grumbles and Shen Yuan doesn’t catch anything until his master says two words, ‘Shen Jiu’.

“Wait, wait. Where’s my Jiu-gege?” Shen Yuan cuts in, brain completely diverted from the suspicious phrase ‘new Demon Lord’.

Gracefully giving up his unprofessional cursing, Tie Hanjin shakes his head once, “This Master, of course, sent Head Disciple Shen Jiu on his own quest.”

“Oh…” Shen Yuan thinks for a moment. “Is he back yet?”

“No,” Tie Hanjin denies easily, and Shen Yuan has a bad feeling all of the sudden.

“And what exactly was Jiu-ge's task?”

“Finding the rogue cultivator Wu Yanzi.”

Shen Yuan: ...didn’t I avoid this???? Why is he showing up now??????  

“Sorry, Shizun! But this disciple must go!” And then he runs off, leaving only a mildly confused Peak Lord in his wake. After all, if this Wu Yanzi is the same Wu Yanzi from OG PIDW… Shen Yuan can’t let Shen Jiu face him alone!

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan really has a thing for jumping to conclusions, and, while the jumps can be, and often are, life saving, sometimes it just means Shen Yuan makes problems for himself far beyond what actually exists. 

“You’re okay?”

“Of course, A-Yuan, why would this ge not be?” Shen Jiu raises a single judgemental eyebrow, the rest of his face set in stone cold indifference. However, a glint of amusement lies in his green eyes, and Shen Yuan sort of wants to fight him for it.

Because, as it turns out, Shen Yuan had no reason at all for flying off to save his brother. Wu Yanzi isn’t the same Wu Yanzi from PIDW! They! Have! Different! Pronunciations! This Wu Yanzi is just some innocent fucking archer that Tie Hanjin just so happened to think Shen Jiu would get along with????!??

What the fuck????? 

Shen Yuan can feel his eye wanting to twitch, and only his years of training his facial muscles allow him to stifle the urge. Instead, he scoffs slightly and adjusts his hair ribbon. 

Shen Jiu’s expression cracks, and he rolls his eyes at Shen Yuan, “Didi must have missed this gege.”

“Tch,” Shen Yuan neither confirms nor denies. He can’t really tell Shen Jiu about the whole ‘this is all a trashy web novel’ thing, can he? Exactly. “Just pretend this one never came, ah.”

“That’s impossible, A-Yuan.”

Shen Yuan refuses to give up on saving face, “What about if this didi buys Jiu-gege lunch?”

Shen Jiu snorts meanly in response, but he ends up trailing after Shen Yuan’s determined figure anyways, a tiny smile finding its way onto his elegant features. 

-/-

When Shen Yuan first sits down at the table of the Xuan Cao tea house, he has a strange feeling. Not bad, per se, just odd. Like something is about to happen, but he can’t tell what. Shen Jiu also looks weirdly on edge, and that on its own is enough to have Shen Yuan’s whole spine go rigid. 

If there’s anything Shen Yuan has learned about his brother, it’s this: he’s never wrong when it comes to danger. So, if Shen Jiu is tense, Shen Yuan is tense, too. 

“Should we go?” Shen Yuan whispers under his breath, carefully not drinking the white tea brought out by the hostess. Shen Jiu is also refraining from ingesting the tea, so Shen Yuan feels even more justified in his extra caution. However, just as Shen Yuan’s about to expand on his question, an odd expression crosses the older Shen’s face before he seems to completely change his mind and knock back the cup of tea in his hand! 

Shen Yuan is instantly very confused, “Wait, what?”

“Don’t drink it!” A familiar voice shouts, clearly too late to stop Shen Jiu. The exclamation makes Shen Yuan look out at the suspiciously empty tea house, though, and soon, he meets eyes with someone he definitely didn’t expect to see on this trip. 

“Yue Qi?” Shen Yuan mutters, letting the green ceramic drop from his fingers. As the nearly clear liquid spills from the now cracked cup and creeps closer to the edge of the table, Shen Yuan realizes that Yue Qi isn’t alone. A tall figure stands by his side. Though, the second person is someone Shen Yuan knows as well. It’s the rogue cultivator who made it into the top ten of the Immortal Alliance Conference, Tong Daoji!

“Did you already have some, Shen-shixiong?” Then, the teen rushes over as if Shen Yuan and Tong Daoji are already old friends. “That tea is laced with spiritual energy!”

“Spiritual energy?” Shen Jiu manages to spit out angrily, he throws the cup with a look of disgust, “That must be why it had such a luring aura.”

“Xiao Jiu is right, the spiritual energy acts as a hypnotic form of bait, and once a cultivator drinks it, they cannot leave a certain range set by the owner.” Yue Qi speaks as if from experience, and Shen Yuan starts to get nervous. He glances between Shen Jiu and Yue Qi, waiting for either one to continue. They both look reluctant to say anything else.

Eventually, Shen Jiu gives in and continues to interrogate Yue Qi, “How far?”

“Just to the boundary of Xuan Cao.”

“Why?”

At that question, Yue Qi begins to look uncomfortable. His gentle countenance takes a turn for the worse as his eyes fill with something Shen Yuan can’t quite identify. They sit in silence again, until, surprisingly, Tong Daoji answers instead, “The owner of Xuan Cao is eating their golden cores.”

“What?!” Shen Yuan stutters, eyes unconsciously widening. 

Tong Daoji leans in, casually stopping the poisoned tea from ruining Shen Yuan’s robes with their own sleeve, and as their mouth gets closer to his ear, the rogue cultivator smirks, “That’s why this one was worried about if Shen-shixiong drank or not.”

“Did you two have some?” Shen Yuan shoots as soon as the other teen backs away again, and though his words clearly address both of the non-Shen cultivators, he only really directs them at Yue Qi. Mentally, he’s already writing the rogue cultivator off as a relatively harmless, actually slightly useful, creep. 

“Yes,” Yue Qi admits, head dropping slightly like a kicked puppy. 

Well, shit, Shen Yuan thinks, am I the only one with any sense of self preservation???? Why did they all drink the sketchy tea???? Compulsion isn’t that hard to resist!

“How long do you have?” Shen Yuan gets straight down to business, even as he continues to mentally diss the other three’s willpower. 

“It depends on the strength of the core,” Tong Daoji starts, “the stronger the core, the longer it takes, and the longer we have.”

“I probably have a few days left, but more unstable cores weaken faster,” Yue Qi doesn't directly say the words but even Tong Daoji, an absolute outsider, can tell that he’s specifically referencing Shen Jiu when he says ‘unstable’. 

“Tch,” Shen Jiu scoffs, a perfect imitation of Shen Yuan’s earlier irritation. He then growls, “Qi-ge should worry about himself. This shidi’s core is perfectly stable. ”

In a hurry to diffuse any possibly building tension, Shen Yuan continues his information gathering, “How has no one found this place?”

“The tea house has three entrances. An illusion covers it, and whoever enters automatically falls into one of the three groups; average, high potential, and fully realized. Only those that have strong, yet not quite finalized, golden cores are brought to this place to drink the tainted tea.” Yue Qi sighs quietly as he smoothes out his obviously well-made robes. After a moment of collecting himself, he keeps going, “This one’s master, Sect Leader Xie, asked me to investigate the disappearances centered in this town. I didn’t expect to encounter the issue directly on my first day here.”

After he finishes, Shen Yuan takes a second to thoroughly scan their surroundings. Xuan Cao boasts two separate levels, however, only a few tables are actually in use. At one sits a teenage girl who looks nigh catatonic, another seats two older (but still young) cultivators that seem to be trying to make peace with their apparent endings. Throughout the entire building, there are no staff. Even the hostess that first brought the pot of tea to their table had disappeared. 

The air has a sense of desolation and pathetic acceptance. It makes Shen Yuan sick.

“So?” Tong Daoji drawls expectantly.

Shen Yuan snaps out of his strangely off mood, focusing on the gold-eyed cultivator, “So, what?”

“What’s the plan, Shen-shixiong?” The rogue cultivator seems to be perfectly fine laying down to win and, against all futile hopes left in Shen Yuan’s head, Shen Jiu and Yue Qi give him the same expectant looks. 

“Well…” Shen Yuan begins. Fortunately for all of them, he does, in fact, have a plan.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, another group of four is gathered to discuss an extremely different problem. 

Around a small tea table, four Peak Lords sit in tense silence. On one side, there’s Li Hanzu and Tie Hanjin sitting close enough to touch. On the other, there’s Xie Handao and Yan Hanshi keeping a comfortably polite distance. 

As always, the only two willing to interact with each other professionally, Tie Hanjin and Xie Handao, lead the conversation. The Lord of Qing Jing is currently explaining where both of his Head Disciples have gone, “This master sent Qing Jing’s Head Disciples on retrieval missions. Shen A’Yuan returned mere hours ago, having completed his task; however, he left in a rush almost immediately afterwards in order to help his ge. Shen Jiu is taking longer, but with our A’Yuan’s aid, this master has few worries.” 

“Very good, I have also sent my Head Disciple on a mission. Yue Qi was to investigate a simple case of disappearances, but he has yet to return. In addition, he hasn’t checked in since arriving. I plan to give him another day before sending someone after him.” At the Sect Leader’s statement, Tie Hanjin nods once. The action is overly stiff, but that might just be because of the arm sneaking its way around his waist. Tie Hanjin sends a quick glare to Bai Zhan’s War God, but Li Hanzu just smiles and continues his movement. Eventually pulling the other man almost completely against his shoulder.

Yan Hanshi notices the looks on their faces and easily puts two and two together, immediately scoffing at her seniors’ immaturity. However, despite her apparent distaste for the duo, she still helps them out by drawing Xie Handao’s attention to herself. In the face of Xie Handao’s gently overbearing aura, Yan Hanshi simply blinks and brings up the main subject of their meeting, “Huan Hua is getting full of themselves.”

This topic actually manages to catch Li Hanzu’s incredibly rare interest, and the Bai Zhan Peak Lord easily shares his own thoughts on Huan Hua, “That’s something we already knew. They already tricked us into dealing with a Nine Torments for them… now we have to help them seal a Demon Lord we have no active problem with? Ridiculous.”

“I agree with Li-shidi; however, if we refuse to help, Huan Hua Palace will have an excuse to cause discourse between all the major Sects of the Jianghu.” Li Hanzu already knows this, of course, but that doesn’t mean he agrees with it. In fact, if he had the power to, he would not only refuse Huan Hua’s request, he would also actively prevent them from achieving their goal purely for the possible entertainment value it would offer. Unfortunately, Li Hanzu doesn’t have the power to do that. (￢_￢)

Seemingly, Li Hanzu’s expression gives him away because as soon as Tie Hanjin sees his rebellious eyes, he pulls a stack of papers from his inner robes. Variations of the same seal cover the pages. One version, though, looks more refined than the others. Tie Hanjin is the only one in the room who knows the actual creator of the seal; the other three assume it’s his own work. 

“This is the only seal that has any chance of holding a pure blooded Heavenly Demon for any substantial length of time. It has over thirty separate, yet intertwined, layers.” 

All four sets of eyes are fixed on the same thing: the array. 

“Are you sure this is the best solution?” Yan Hanshi confirms with Xie Handao, and after a moment of hesitation, the Sect Leader quietly hums in apparent agreement. There’s a minute or two of tense silence before anyone else speaks, and when someone does, it’s once again Yan Hanshi. Always the realist, the female Peak Lord looks down at the table in front of her, carefully ignoring the arrays, and deadpans, “It’ll be a learning experience for our disciples. How to gracefully give in to others’ demands.”

“Yan-mei!” Li Hanzu shouts, not in censure, but in amusement. Xie Handao’s hands clench on the table, in full sight of the other Peak Lords, and Tie Hanjin quickly adds on to his shimei’s statement, easily making it less of an insult, “It will be a good test of strength for our disciples, and afterwards, we can officially announce our successors.”

And with those words, the discussion is over.

-/-

“Are you sure this is the best course of action, Xiao Yuan?” Yue Qi sounds genuinely apprehensive, but he has no idea how closely his words parrot a certain Peak Lord’s. 

“What,” Shen Yuan blurts, tone sharper than ever before, “does Qi-ge not think I’ll come back?”

Shen Jiu’s eyes widen slightly at his younger brother’s open hostility, not sure what to do when Shen Yuan is the one getting bitchy.

At the provocation, Yue Qi freezes, completely unable to retort. Seeing the oldest member of their group tense up so much, Shen Yuan lets out a sigh and forcibly relaxes. “Anyway, this is the only way my plan will work. I’m the only one who didn’t drink the tea.”

“Okay,” Yue Qi agrees quietly, still mildly concerned that Shen Yuan will snap again. “Then how can we help?”

“Just stay here, and try to minimize the damage done to your cores,” at that, Shen Yuan gives Shen Jiu a very pointed look, clearly intending the words for him more than the other two. After reminding the three older teens of his plans, Shen Yuan tightly closes his eyes and sends his spiritual sense out in search of a weak point in the illusion. 

While simply destroying the illusion is well-within his capabilities and would probably be much quicker than finding a gap, it would also require detaching all external power sources. And, because the links between the victims’ cores and the crooked cultivator is so strong, in order to detach the ‘external’ power sources, Shen Yuan would have to manually break every link. However, if he were to do so, the backlash would likely destroy every single core being used as a power source, so yeah, definitely out of the cards. Hence, he desperately searches for a point in the array he can slip through. 

Finally, he feels a soft spot, and within one blink and the next, he’s gone. 

When Shen Yuan disappears, Shen Jiu gives Yue Qi a strange look. After a moment’s pause, he gives into his own curiosity, lightly asking, “What’d you do?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Yue Qi replies, head lowered and eyes saying something entirely different.

-/-

When Shen Yuan lands back on the street in front of the Xuan Cao tea house, his butt takes yet another beating, further proving his lack of feline ancestry. Actually, though, with the frequency he gets dropped these days, maybe Shen Yuan’ll be able to always land on his feet soon enough, anyways. However, the impact does nothing to keep his brain from noticing the lack of building in front of him. Xuan Cao has disappeared from his sight, and for a moment, Shen Yuan worries that he really won’t be able to get back inside.

Fortunately, he calms down rather easily, and quickly reaches out with his Qi to feel for where the tea house used to stand. Sure enough, despite the apparent lack of building, he can still feel the multilayered illusion. Xuan Cao is still right where it was previously, it’s merely hidden to him now that he’s escaped its reach. 

Shen Yuan scoffs lightly, as if Xuan Cao hiding will prevent him from getting back inside. Nothing can stop him from getting back in there. Unlike Yue Qi, Shen Yuan will never just abandon his family. To be honest, Shen Yuan really thought he had gotten over this during the Immortal Alliance Conference. Turns out, though, that he was never over it, he was just compartmentalizing really, really well. Just like always. Typical Shen Yuan.

With a shrug, Shen Yuan quietly shakes off his bad mood. There are more important things to focus on than his ridiculous grudge with Qi-ge. Such as saving his brother. And Qi-ge… and that rogue cultivator. 

“Why am I always the one who has to save everyone?” Shen Yuan complains under his breath. The sentence is only intended for himself, but a certain sword spirit decides to pitch in. 

Because you act reliable, Silly Child.

I act reliable? Can I not just be reliable?

To be or not to be… Jue Shi ponders mockingly. Child, do you need help?

No! I’ve got this. Shen Yuan shakes his head in emphasis despite knowing that the sword doesn’t give a shit about physical gestures. 

Do you? Well, let’s see. If you can rescue your friends by yourself, Jue Shi will give you a present, Silly Child.

“Fine, okay,” Shen Yuan agrees noncommittally. He then pushes strongly against what feels like the entrance to the section he just slipped out of. With a single word of prayer, Shen Yuan brute forces his way back in with a continuous flow of Qi to open the illusion’s metaphorical door. Feeling the illusion give in, Shen Yuan smiles smugly, “Gotcha.”

Within ten minutes of leaving, Shen Yuan renters the tea house. 

As before, the surroundings are hazy, and he sits down unthinkingly. If Shen Yuan weren’t on a mission, he’d probably let his guard down with such a heavy aura of contentment settling on his shoulders. However, he is on a mission, and there’s absolutely no way Shen Yuan is going to miss his chance to find the cultivator behind the Xuan Cao tea house. Based on that basic principle, Shen Yuan keeps his composure until the vaguely unnatural hostess enters the hall with a single tea set on a tray. 

Just as Shen Yuan guessed, re-entering the tea house triggers the hostess’s special tea delivery service. Earlier, he had just barely felt a spiritual signature from the hostess, so the best way to find the evil cultivator is to use the hostess as a sort of GPS sensor. That being said, Shen Yuan needs to somehow draw the spiritual energy from the hostess, and the only way he can think to do that… is to physically incapcitate her and then drain the foreign Qi from her meridians. 

Thus, as soon as the tray of tea touches his table, Shen Yuan stands faster than the average eye can track. He easily grips the woman’s arm, immediately beginning to use his own Qi to hunt down the evil cultivator's spiritual signature. It’s honestly quite the sight because, while Shen Yuan draws the minuscule traces of Qi into his own body, the hostess begins to melt before their very eyes. ‘They’ being the small crowd of teenage cultivators watching along. 

When Shen Yuan is finished, and the hostess’s deflated body slips from his grip, he opens his eyes, a slight sheen of water covering the hazel and white, and gasps loudly. Shen Jiu rushes forward as his brother seems to droop, quickly catching the younger Shen in his arms. He shouts, “A-Yuan?!”

Shen Yuan recovers quickly enough and jolts back up into his usual impeccably straight posture. His eyes flutter briefly before focusing once more, accidentally staring his brother down for a few seconds. Shen Jiu steadies Shen Yuan for a while longer before releasing him, just in case the teen were to stumble again. Shen Yuan doesn't, however, and so Shen Jiu reluctantly lets him go. Once freed, Shen Yuan turns abruptly, reaching out for something no one else can see. He growls quietly while using his Qi to scratch at the doorway he can sense the foreign energy emitting from. 

Again, Shen Yuan can’t be too harsh or he risks hurting his friends. Yet, he also can’t be too slow or he risks the other cultivator escaping and hiding. Risks, risks, risks. It seems like all Shen Yuan does on missions is assess risks. Assess risks and then completely disregard all of his analyses because something comes up that instantly forces his hand.

Just like now, as Shen Yuan’s eyes are unfocused and his senses are outstretched, he doesn’t get a chance to attack the illusion at all. Instead, a dense ball of Qi comes flying directly at his face. Without any time to react beyond inhaling sharply, Shen Yuan attempts to direct his Qi to form a shield instead of a tracker. He knows, feeling the somewhat demonic Qi come closer and closer, that the shield may not be fully formed in time, but it will at least prevent a majority of the prospective damage to his core. 

However, Shen Yuan’s hastily thrown up shield is never impacted by the tainted Qi. It never gets a chance to show its strength because something, or rather, someone, gets in the way first. 

-/-

As a three year old, Shen Jiu is rather precocious. However, he’s still only three, and thus, he doesn’t have a particularly spectacular grasp on what emotions are. And so, when he first lays his eyes on Shen Yuan’s pudgy little baby face, he has no idea what the warmth suddenly bubbling up within him actually is. All he understands is the sudden urge to grin, and hence, that is what he decides to do. 

Xiao Jiu reaches his own, still chubby with baby fat, hand out to meet his little brother’s. It’s as his fingers come into contact with the silken warmth of another child that Shen Jiu has a revelation. It doesn’t matter what emotions he’s feeling because, above all, Xiao Jiu knows that in the future, he’ll have lots of time to figure it out. After all, he’s already mentally decided that A-Yuan will never leave his sight! Ever. 

Shen Jiu isn’t prone to tantrums, but this time, he’s prepared to act up if he must. He has a little brother now, after all. Shen Jiu has to take care of him!

In the face of her oldest’s sudden surge of enthusiasm towards his new younger brother, Mama Shen just continues gently rocking A-Yuan with a big smile on her face. Like mother, like son, both Shen family members quickly create a comfortable, fuzzy atmosphere. In the wake of this, Shen Yuan must sense something because he, too, lets his lips tick upward in a rather silly looking, toothless grin. 

This sense of true family lasts for a long time, even through the aftermath of Papa Shen’s disappearance. In fact, it lasts up until Mama Shen reaches the end of her life. 

For two years, she works herself down to skin and bones. With only her, she can barely provide enough for her children. And yet, Mama Shen manages. She manages until her body can take no more. Hair dull and greasy, eyes half-lidded and resigned, she stretches her arms out to pull her babies into a tight embrace. 

Their once beautifully handmade hut had lost its luster over the years, falling into disrepair due to Mama Shen’s unintentional inattention. Inside, there is but one stack of bedding on which all three Shens normally slept. Now, they are once again gathered atop the hay and quilts, however, everything else is different. 

Shen Jiu adds his own arms to help gather them closer together. His eyes are closed tightly, but a few stray tears leak out anyway. He buries his face into Mama Shen’s neck. While the three year old Shen Yuan may not be able to understand exactly what is about to happen, Xiao Jiu can. In his six years, he’s seen more than most children, and the concept of death already occupies a section in his mind at all times. However, he never thought his fears would come true so soon. 

No child ever does. 

Though, from her gaze and manor, it is clear Mama Shen knew this was coming for a long while. Her eyes finally shut fully. Her embrace beginning to loosen, she hoarsely apologizes, “Mom is sorry, Da-Lang. Mom should’ve tried to last longer, ba. Now Da-Lang will have to watch Er-Lang all by yourself. But.. but Mom hopes Da-Lang won’t hate her too much. Mom still loves you both so much… Mom is sorry… sorry…”

She repeats the same three words a few more times, voice getting harder and harder to hear. Eventually, she exhales sharply, and stops making any noise at all. No talking, no apologizing, no breathing… no steady heart beat. 

Shen Jiu doesn’t let go, even though he knows that she’s gone already. Because, somehow, no amount of logical reasoning can make him stop wishing desperately that she’ll just wake up if he waits long enough. Shen Yuan clearly still doesn’t get it, but Shen Jiu finds that he can’t explain anything to his little brother. The words just tangle uselessly in his throat, laying pathetically unvoiced. 

Shen Jiu realizes something though. Looking into Shen Yuan’s blurry green eyes, he realizes that, to his beloved didi, the best thing he can give… is the gift of ignorance. 

However long it may last.

-/-

Shen Yuan is a particularly obedient child. Shen Jiu can’t deny that. However, his little brother is almost too obedient. Scratch that, Shen Jiu should be more confident. Shen Yuan is definitely far too obedient. As much as a rebellious child would be extremely difficult for Shen Jiu to handle on his own, his didi, an innocent and naive toddler, is just as bad. 

Shen Yuan will listen to just about anyone. He’ll follow anything that catches his eye, even if whatever it is leads him straight into danger. In addition to his terribly brainless daily actions, A-Yuan is also the owner of an overly frail body. His health’s prone to drastic and erratic swings between normal and near death. 

None of these factors make Shen Yuan easy to handle, but Shen Jiu refuses to leave him behind. 

It’s as Shen Jiu is struggling to evade capture by the sharp-eyed slavers that run the streets of his hometown that he meets Qi-ge. 

Shen Jiu and Yue Qi, working together, manage to escape off into the surrounding woods just in time. Shen Yuan dazedly lying on Shen Jiu’s thin back, his silence a clear indicator of his currently sorry state.

This Shen Yuan, the pathetically ill, yet still obedient and cute, the didi Shen Jiu practically raised for four years, will soon be gone, replaced by a new, unfamiliar Shen Yuan. 

But Shen Jiu doesn’t know that yet, for now, he just presses on into the woods. The sweat running down his face makes clear lines on his dirty skin. Normally, Shen Jiu would have long ago wiped the liquid off his forehead in disgust. This time though, his hands are already occupied with his A-Yuan. Obviously, carrying A-Yuan is more important.

Like that, with a determined yet melancholy air about them, the group of three spend the summer and fall months travelling to and then hiding out in the thick and eerie Chu Forest. During those months, Shen Yuan has moments where he can almost be considered healthy, but the majority of his days are spent in a confused haze. 

Looking into his unclear hazel eyes, Shen Jiu bites his bottom lip harshly, nearly drawing blood. It physically hurts Shen Jiu to know that he can’t do anything to help his brother. It’s all his mother asked of him, and yet- no. Shen Jiu has to be able to do something. Anything.

-/-

On a relatively good health day for Shen Yuan, the four year old stirs from his resting place in Shen Jiu’s lap. He mumbles, probably still half-asleep, “Gege?”

Qi-ge reacts before Shen Jiu can, patting the littlest one of their trio on the head and gently inquiring if he still felt tired. At the question, Shen Jiu sneers, “Of course, he’s still tired! Why else would he still be lying on me?”

Shen Yuan curls his body around Shen Jiu even more at his rather angry sounding exclamation. He then unclearly responds, “Y’er comfy, Jiu-gege.”

Shen Jiu freezes at the address, barely recognizing his own birth name. This is the first time Shen Yuan has ever called him anything other than ‘da-ge’. Shen Jiu doesn’t know how to feel, but he does know that if Qi-ge dares to continue his stupid laughter, he’ll turn their trio into a purely Shen Bros production.

He’s interrupted from his plotting by A-Yuan’s quiet, “Gege?”

With absolutely zero hesitation, Shen Jiu replies, “What is it, A-Yuan?”

“Promise… won’t happen again, kay? A-Yuan’ll be good.” Shen Jiu’s eyes tear up, easily understanding his didi’s words despite his terribly lax pronunciations. A-Yuan’s declaration clearly holds his truest feelings. The child wants nothing more than to make Shen Jiu happy, he wants to behave, but his own body refuses to listen. 

Completely choked by his brother’s equal devotion to Shen Jiu himself, the seven year old just barely manages to put together his own emotional declaration, “it’s a promise then, Yuan-er! If this happens again, you can’t be my didi anymore!”

Qi-ge irritatingly adds, “A promise between brothers.”

Shen Jiu ignores him for the rest of the night.

-/-

After Shen Yuan’s shocking moment of clarity, his condition takes an incredibly sharp turn for the worse. His few days of good health are quickly replaced by a sliding scale of bad and awful. 

Shen Jiu’s previously cautious attitude towards moving closer to town to live out the winter easily develops into a single instance of clear decision. 

It doesn’t matter if he faces danger going into town by himself with his developing cold, yet delicate features, Shen Jiu has to go. He has to go, and he has to go now. Despite Yue Qi’s objections, Shen Jiu knows that Shen Yuan has no chance at survival if he doesn’t get medicine or proper treatment. Thus, his so called decision is really no decision at all. After all, there isn’t really a question of which is more important: Shen Yuan’s life or Shen Jiu’s own safety. 

The answer is clear as day. Shen Yuan will always be more important. Always.

-/-

Before Shen Yuan is born, Shen Jiu’s favorite person in the world is his mother. After his didi comes into the world, the two people take up nearly equal sections of his heart. 

Obviously, when Mother Shen passes, Shen Jiu’s two person world narrows down to one. Shen Yuan. 

Almost as if protecting Shen Yuan will somehow bring his mother back, Shen Jiu begins to completely devote himself to his didi. 

Not a second passes where Shen Jiu isn’t thinking of how to better care for his A-Yuan. Even though his own age clearly isn’t up to snuff with most guardians, Shen Jiu’s rapidly developing six year old mind is beyond determined. 

Before he even realizes, Shen Jiu smoothly places Shen Yuan as the sole purpose for his existence. Thus, when Qi-ge stops him on his way back into the Chu Forest, a meager collection of medicine in his small hands, and says a single, monotonous sentence, Shen Jiu’s legs instantly give out, knees hitting the ground so hard he knows they’ll bruise later. 

His blank eyes begin to fill with long restrained tears. Shen Jiu has been holding them back since the morning after his mother died. As Shen Yuan’s only support in the whole world, Shen Jiu wanted to be untouchable, wanted to be strong for his didi. 

But now, hearing Qi-ge’s devastatingly simple words, he can’t hold it in any longer. It doesn’t matter much anyhow, Shen Jiu presses his hands to the ground, crushing the herbs he went through so much effort to get. The salty water falls to the dust under Shen Jiu’s hunched form, quietly beginning to form tiny mud puddles. It doesn’t matter because Shen Jiu has no reason to look strong. 

Not when Shen Yuan isn’t here to depend on him.  

-/-

In a state of unawareness, Shen Jiu puts up no resistance when the gang of slavers finds him. Yue Qi also lets himself be taken, clearly not as unaffected as his calm appearance may suggest. 

Like that, Shen Jiu finds himself becoming Xiao Jiu, Jiu meaning nine. Maybe, if he had more reason to rebel, if he had someone to protect, Shen Jiu might try to get away. After all, this isn’t his first time being caught by child traffickers. However, he feels nothing about his situation. Making do with what he has. Letting his light hands earn him a pathetic living. 

It’s only once Shen Jiu’s wrist is firmly held in the grip of an unknown immortal that his brain comes back online. Suddenly, it’s like the nightmare haze of the last four years lifts all at once. 

Looking into the eyes of the somewhat impressed man still holding him still with only one hand, Shen Jiu is instantly transported to the time before Shen Yuan was born. Before Father Shen left them. The unknown man’s stern, yet curious expression superimposes over the vague image Shen Jiu has always seen his father as. 

Shen Jiu was never close with his father. The man had no interest in Shen Jiu, and so, Shen Jiu had no interest in him. There were no issues with their respective attitudes, not until the day Father Shen walked away for the last time, and Mother Shen was left with the weight of two children on her shoulders. Suddenly, the fact of Shen Jiu’s father’s utter indifference towards him and his mother was the leading factor in Mama Shen’s slow physical decline. 

Really though, it doesn’t matter anymore. All the Shens are dead. Mother Shen, Father Shen, Shen Yuan… and Shen Jiu himself. All that’s left is Xiao Jiu. 

But, in the eyes of this stranger, Xiao Jiu can see more than his father’s disinterest. 

He can see the same sort of single-mindedness that Shen Yuan used to always display, and then, just like Shen Yuan always used to do, the stranger smiles widely, his eyes narrowing as his lips raise, “You have quite the talent for a child.”

“I’m not a child!” Xiao Jiu snarls, trying to keep the softening of his heart at the man’s similarities to his didi hidden with his short and scornful words. 

The stranger laughs, and the sound makes Xiao Jiu’s rainforest eyes darken. Releasing his wrist with one last chuckle, the man makes an offer Xiao Jiu would be an idiot to refuse, “Let this master teach you a few things, ah.”

And, against all of Xiao Jiu’s darkest thoughts, the ten year old shifts his burning gaze to the stranger’s feet. He then nods once, silently giving in to the man’s request.

-/-

That day, Xiao Jiu learns a few tricks. He learns how to cycle Qi. He learns the basics of refining energy into Qi. And most of all, Xiao Jiu learns that his life isn’t actually void of purpose just yet. 

Because… because if someone like Shen Yuan still exists in this world, Xiao Jiu thinks it’s not too much trouble to keep living on. Not to mention how happy Qi-ge looks when he hears the story from Xiao Jiu at the end of the night. 

And when Xiao Jiu starts to think that the encounter with the stranger is just a one off that he will never fully understand, the man appears again. This time though, he’s there to help Xiao Jiu. Like a real immortal, the man sweeps in between Xiao Jiu and the gang leader with a truly cruel, but fake gentle appearance. 

In just a sentence or two, the head of the city’s main criminal street gang himself cowers. Xiao Jiu watches on in admiration. He can only idly ponder on the benefits of having such an intimidating appearance as the man single handedly takes care of his problems. 

Xiao Jiu, of course, knows that as soon as the stranger is gone again, the men will return, but he can’t help but feel warm when he sees the childlike focus of the immortal. He briefly wonders if Shen Yuan would look like this… but no. Shen Yuan will never look like this stranger. Shen Yuan will never look a day over four. Stuck at the age he was when he died. 

Xiao Jiu freezes, unsure of what to say to the stranger. Luckily, Qi-ge steps in before he has the need to say anything, “Xiao Jiu! Are you okay?”

“Qi-ge should worry about himself.”

Yue Qi looks unbothered by his snide answer, “and is this the immortal cultivator Xiao Jiu spoke of a few days ago?”

“Who else?” Xiao Jiu turns his eyes away, unwilling to look directly at Qi-ge. 

“This one greets Immortal Master…?” Yue Qi trails off, clearly expecting the stranger to fill in the blank. 

“Li,” the man says, surprisingly choosing to do exactly that. “Immortal Master Li.”

“Then, thanks to Immortal Master Li for helping Xiao Jiu!”

“Xiao Jiu?” Master Li half-smirks, as if finding an interesting piece of information about a favorite topic. “What a cute name.”

“Cute?!” Xiao Jiu shouts, becoming enraged in a split second. Though, anyone with working eyes and at least a semi-functional brain could tell that his spirit isn’t really into it. At the feigned anger, Yue Qi genuinely tears up. Over the years after Shen Yuan’s final illness, Shen Jiu hasn’t expressed any emotion other than apathy. Seeing the tsundere Shen Jiu reappearing, even if only for a moment, makes Yue Qi’s heart hurt.

In a rather pleasant mood, Master Li decides to treat them to a meal. 

Over the table, he begins to tell them of Cang Qiong, “if you want to be cultivators, there’s no better place to start than Cang Qiong. This master can guarantee you two spots on whichever peak you would like.”

He then follows that up with the beginning of his intensive cultivation basics course, “You two are at the ideal age to begin building foundations. The best way to get a feel for your body’s natural Qi is meditation.”

And so he goes on, not letting either of the boys get a single word in edgewise. When the three finally leave the restaurant, Xiao Jiu’s mind and stomach are full. It’s a feeling Xiao Jiu hasn’t experienced for a very long time. 

Of course, nothing good lasts for long with Xiao Jiu around. 

Around an incense stick’s worth of time, Master Li is ambushed by a large group of hostile cultivators. He’s forcefully led away by the darkly dressed enemies. As he’s fighting against the group by himself, he laughs once and cocks his head back at the two boys. “It just now occurred to me that this master has yet to hear either of your full, esteemed names.”

Feeling apprehensive, yet somewhat alive for the first time in years, Xiao Jiu shouts his reply, “This one’s ge is Yue Qi, and this one is Shen Jiu!”

That’s right, Shen Jiu. He can’t just deny the fact that he’s survived until now. Shen Jiu can’t just hide his pathetic weakness behind the number nine. 

Master Li’s mouth goes round, his eyes widening greatly, “Shen Jiu?!”

But before he can say anything else, a portal opens beneath his feet, and he’s gone in a flurry of grey and white robes. 

After that, Master Li never shows up again.

-/-

Shen Jiu and Yue Qi live a careful life, balancing their developing cultivation with their still necessary careers as pickpockets. After Master Li left, the men did indeed come back to punish Shen Jiu. However, Shen Jiu isn’t so weak that one punishment can keep him down for long. 

(In fact, he sometimes thinks that he got all the healthy constitution genes, leaving none for Shen Yuan. But those thoughts only make him mad, so he tries not to let them go very far.)

Before a full season has passed, Yue Qi and Shen Jiu are widely known as the leaders of the street kids. 

But, with renown comes danger. After all, they’re in the light while the enemy waits in the shadow. 

Before he knows it, Shen Jiu catches the eye of Qiu Jianluo. By the time he realizes the incoming danger, Shen Jiu is already being sold. 

-/-

After coming to the Qiu Manor, Shen Jiu loses just about any sense of identity meeting Master Li had instilled in him. In the Qiu Manor, he is not Shen Jiu. He is Qiu Haitang’s playmate, her toy, poor Xiao Jiu. 

A few times, Qi-ge tries to rescue him. Tries to help Shen Jiu escape. But he can’t do much. After all, he’s only a year or so older than Shen Jiu. All his attempts do is cause Shen Jiu the pain of Qiu Jianluo’s personal punishments. 

Eventually, it comes to the point that Shen Jiu can’t stand to meet with the comparatively free Yue Qi anymore. It’s when Shen Jiu’s coldness reaches this point that Yue Qi knows his own presence is less than useless. As such, he sneaks into the Qiu Manor one last time. 

“I’m going to Cang Qiong, and I’ll become powerful enough to save you, Xiao Jiu. Wait for me.”

At those words, Shen Jiu let’s his tired eyes fall closed. A mocking laugh leaves his lips. Just as usual, Yue Qi runs away as soon as he isn’t helpful. But, Shen Jiu thinks bitterly, unhelpful doesn’t mean unnecessary. 

As much as Yue Qi exists as a golden example of the unfairness of Shen Jiu’s current situation, he also acts as the only connection Shen Jiu still has to his past. Without Qi-ge, Shen Jiu is well and truly alone in this world. 

With nothing but negative emotions in his heart, Shen Jiu bites out two words, “Get out.”

“But… Xiao Ji-“ “LEAVE!”

And so Yue Qi does. 

Heh. 

Coward.

-/-

When Shen Jiu sees Shen Yuan, his first thought is that he’s much too old. A-Yuan is only four, how could this nearly teenage boy be Shen Jiu’s didi?

His second thought is, hah, of course, Shen Yuan somehow managed to come back from the dead to save Shen Jiu long before Yue Qi did. 

Shen Yuan has always been simple-minded and fearlessly obedient. If Shen Jiu is in trouble, of course Shen Yuan will come save him. 

In comparison, the ever cowardly Yue Qi will never be able to relentlessly pursue a specific, nearly impossible, goal to the point of insanity. 

Then again, Shen Jiu isn’t sure if even he would be able to act as brazenly as his didi. After all, at the young age of eleven, Shen Yuan rushed off to save his ge, not even stopping to consider the risks. Not only did he try, he also succeeded. 

And… maybe that’s the real difference between Shen Jiu and his didi.

Shen Yuan succeeds, when all Shen Jiu does is try over and over again, only for the same results to repeat again and again. Everyone leaves him. No one has ever stayed with Shen Jiu. Not even Shen Yuan. In fact, especially not Shen Yuan. 

Even after following his brother to Cang Qiong, Shen Jiu looks at his situation with jaded eyes. He knows that the moment he relaxes, everything will fall through his hands. It might seem safe for now, but Shen Jiu knows better.

Shen Jiu knows the truth of the world. 

Even if he holds on with all his strength, Shen Jiu can’t stop the inevitable.

Everything good is fleeting. 

-/-

Over the years of being one of Qing Jing’s unofficial, then actually official, Head Disciples, Shen Jiu discovers some things he’d never realized before. 

One, while they technically share the same title, Shen Yuan is clearly superior to Shen Jiu in terms of influence and power. Tie Hanjin may seem like an iceberg to most, but when facing the lovable Shen Yuan, Shen Jiu can see an unobstructed softness in the Peak Lord’s freezing eyes. Tie Hanjin favors him, as most do, and Shen Jiu can’t even begrudge the Peak Lord his favoritism because… Shen Yuan is Shen Jiu’s favorite, too, okay?

Two, people might not actually be as bad as Shen Jiu always saw them. People meaning the one surnamed Yue in specific, but also including Shen Yuan’s clique made up of only prodigies.

Despite his naturally cowardly personality, Yue Qi is actually extremely loyal to Shen Jiu. Even if Yue Qi wasn’t the one to save him, Shen Jiu finds that he’s beginning to forgive the older teen. 

And three, life doesn’t have to be all about one thing. Shen Jiu can have more than one meaningful focus in his life. He can throw himself into his work as a Head Disciple, and still be protective over Shen Yuan. He can cultivate as much as he wants to, and still enjoy reading ridiculous romance novels.

Of course, despite these epiphanies, Shen Jiu can’t completely subdue his fears. Every day, he wakes up expecting the pillow to be pulled from beneath him. Every day, Shen Jiu fears the moment he’ll lose everything.

And everyday, nothing happens.

That is, until getting trapped in the Xuan Cao Tea House.

-/-

Hearing Shen Yuan, soft, gentle, cute and obedient Shen Yuan, fight with Yue Qi, Shen Jiu quickly cottons on to the fact that he must be missing something about that year Shen Yuan ‘died’ in the Chu Forest.

However, as the situation is currently more pressing than a rehashing of the past, Shen Jiu keeps his lips tightly shut. He doesn’t want to upset his didi, and he knows that when Shen Yuan is actually mad, he goes silent. He doesn’t scold or reproach others like he just did to Yue Qi. After all, scolding is like giving the guilty party a chance to make it up to him. It’s only when Shen Yuan goes silent that one knows he has decided to finish whatever the matter is in a timely fashion. 

So, when Shen Yuan repeats his plan and disappears from Xuan Cao, Shen Jiu doesn’t bother trying to interrogate Yue Qi further than a single question. He just sits in uncomfortable silence with the two other cultivators. 

When Shen Jiu first entered the tea house, his instincts immediately went haywire, and yet, as soon as the steam of the tea drifted his way, the danger sirens began to shut down. With a glare at the suspicious tea, for Shen Jiu did know it was probably laced with something not ideal, he couldn’t help but let himself be pulled in by the liquid calming scent. And, as such, he didn’t manage to resist the urge to drink the cup’s comfortably warm contents. 

It takes a moment, but Shen Jiu finally identifies the smell copied by the tea. It smelt like his mother. Like the happiness of the days right after Shen Yuan’s birth.

Yes, that’s it. 

However, in a weird way, the supposedly comforting scent made Shen Jiu even more tense. Even now, when all he can do is wait for his didi to save him once again, Shen Jiu is ready for anything to happen. 

Ready for the pillow to be pulled.

But… before Shen Jiu loses anything, he wants to try everything he can to change the outcome. He wants to keep something for once. Shen Jiu wants a constant in this fleeting world.

Thus, even when Shen Yuan himself is distracted by his own plans and misses the energy wave sweeping his way impossibly quickly, Shen Jiu is able to react. 

Shen Jiu thinks, moving faster than ever before, that this time, he’ll be the one pulling the pillow. 

-/-

“Jiu-gege!”

Chapter Text

Yan Hanshi is undoubtedly the busiest Peak Lord of Cang Qiong. She may not have the most power or influence, but if she quit, Cang Qiong would fall apart in less than a day. Add in her less than stellar Head Disciple, and Yan Hanshi has a lot of daily concerns. 

Yan Hanshi used to be able to commiserate with Wu Hanwu, the Lord of An Ding Peak, but all of that changed when the previously busy-to-tears Peak Lord found her Head Disciple, Shang Huayi. Head Disciple Shang soon took over all of the daily transactions and finances, and ever since then, Wu Hanwu has had copious amounts of free time. 

Yan Hanshi is jealous, though she’ll never admit it. Especially since her own Head Disciple is such a failure. 

Head Disciple He isn’t at all lacking in talent, and that’s why Yan Hanshi originally felt so confident choosing him. However, since Head Disciple He has gained the power of a Head Disciple, his inner corruption and laziness has shone through. Instead of doing tasks himself, he delegates them to his somewhat unqualified juniors. Not only that, he also purposefully suppresses Qian Cao’s most talented disciples. 

Thus, Yan Hanshi’s workload has not lessened even slightly since appointing a Head Disciple. In fact, it has actively increased because she now has to correct her disciples’ mistakes! 

But, rather than revoke Head Disciple He’s title and admit her own faulty decision, Yan Hanshi is just dealing. Until the day comes where another disciple, hopefully the ever hard working Zhang Mu, proves their worth beyond a shadow of a doubt, Yan Hanshi is willing to continue working like a dog. After all, if one wants a task to be done right, one must do the task themselves.

Such that she no longer has any time to meet with Shi Hanxin or Wu Hanwu even if she were willing to put up with their unbearable smugness at their own shining successors. Not that Wu Hanwu tries to brag, Shi Hanxin definitely would, but Wu Hanwu isn’t really the type, the aura of pride simply leaks out unconsciously. Yan Hanshi is almost happy that she doesn’t have the time to spare to visit the other women. Almost, but not quite. 

Every day Yan Hanshi has to refile the same injury case for the third time because a disciple from her own Qian Cao Peak made a ridiculously simple paperwork error, she regrets her hasty choice of Head Disciple more and more.

No days hit quite as hard as visits to her Peak by other Peak Lords and Head Disciple’s though. Say a regular Bai Zhan disciple ends up on Qian Cao, it takes around half an hour to file the report. Bai Zhan’s Head Disciple takes triple that, and Bai Zhan’s Peak Lord? Could take up to an entire day! Just to file the paperwork! The time it takes to treat them isn’t even included in that estimate!

Thus, when familiar faces occasionally show up on Qian Cao, beaten half to death, Yan Hanshi almost invariably feels a deep-seated annoyance. 

Yet, that annoyance is nowhere to be found when Qiong Ding’s Head Disciple Yue quite literally crash lands directly outside the main building of Qian Cao. 

Instead, the two teens Yue Qi is clearly struggling to continue carrying bring Yan Hanshi only intense panic.

After all, she’s watched no disciple’s development as closely as Shen A’Yuan’s. As such, Yan Hanshi feels more responsibility for Shen A’Yuan’s health than anyone else’s. She remembers how weak the boy was when Chen Fu first brought him to Cang Qiong, and she remembers his frequent trips during his initial training period under Li Hanzu. 

Until now, Shen A’Yuan has never once made Yan Hanshi truly doubt him. Yan Hanshi has always been able to feel his strong will to live, strong will to improve. Even as a sickly toddler, Shen A’Yuan had stronger vitality than most non-cultivating adults. 

So, when Yan Hanshi rushes to help Head Disciple Yue, and she feels how weak Shen A’Yuan’s pulse is, her mind flips into autopilot, “This master will take Shen A’Yuan from Head Disciple Yue, please follow with Shen Jiu.”

-/-

“Jiu-gege!”

Don’t. Shen Yuan feels the impact of a body on his own chest. 

Why would you- Shen Yuan.exe has stopped responding. 

I didn’t need you to… I didn’t want you to! Shen Yuan’s own ragged breaths are all he can hear.

“Xiao Jiu? Xiao Yuan!” Yue Qi panics loudly. Shen Yuan looks up at him with confusion in his mossy eyes. 

However, after Shen Yuan blinks once, the world comes back with an ear-piercing screech of disorder. Shen Jiu is prone, weakly leaning against Shen Yuan. His golden core is quickly dimming, and Shen Yuan knows that, without help, his gege will soon lose any cultivation he currently has and any chance he has to regain it in the future. At the same time, he can feel the demonic cultivator re-charging, just waiting until he can end Shen Yuan’s resistance once and for all. 

Shen Yuan is physically right around sixteen. He started cultivating earlier than most others, but even then, his golden core is still relatively new. Too much stress on his meridians could easily lead to a Qi Deviation. However, mentally, Shen Yuan is much older. Thus, he’s already reached the point of knowing what his priorities are. 

Shen Yuan is willing to risk his cultivation to save his brother’s. Shen Jiu is the important character, he’s the one everyone needs in the future. Shen Yuan was always supposed to die in the Chu Xiaolian Forest, so what does it matter if he loses his cultivation today? The world will still go on, the plot lines will still be dealt with. Shen Yuan isn’t necessary. 

So. Shen Yuan makes a choice; he makes it within one beat of his heart and the next. A promise between brothers is something that never disappears even through long separation. Nearly twelve years ago, Shen Yuan swore to be good before succumbing to a potentially fatal fever, essentially immediately going back on his word. Since then, Shen Yuan’s worked so hard to make it up to his Jiu-gege. 

Now though, it seems he’ll have to break that oath once more. 

He wraps his left arm around Shen Jiu, and places his palm flat on his ge’s chest. With his right arm, he begins gathering Qi from the illusion around him. Shen Yuan can feel the rush of hostile energy, he intimately feels the frantic buzzing of his own Qi trying to stabilize the unknown power source. However, Shen Yuan puts a stop to his body’s natural defense. Instead, he uses that extra energy to form a circuit, using his gentle Qi to start patching Shen Jiu’s spiritual veins back together faster than they can collapse. 

As Shen Yuan forces his Qi into his brother, he easily morphs the incoming tainted energy into a rapidly strengthening attack. Before the demonic cultivator has a chance to launch a second offense, Shen Yuan’s already practically emptied the energy from the illusion, leaving only the most basic building blocks to avoid hurting the victims still tied to it. 

Then, without hesitating, Shen Yuan uses the cultivator’s own Qi to strike out at him. The black and purple mix of his and the cultivator’s Qi moves so much faster than the pulse that Shen Jiu intercepted. It rips through the pathetic boundary placed by the creator of Xuan Cao like one might rip through a freshly dropped leaf in the full reach of fall. 

The demonic cultivator doesn’t stand a chance. When he falls, so too does the last remaining trace of Xuan Cao’s once complex arrays. Yue Qi and Tong Daoji’s shoulders physically droop when the pressure of the power vacuum is removed from their cores. But when they look back over to the Shen brothers, the tension returns full force. 

Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are still in the same position as they were when the older teen first fell. Except, instead of Shen Yuan sitting shock-still, he’s a different kind of still. His Qi is still flowing strongly, continuing to repair Shen Jiu from the inside out. However, his own gentle yet confident appearance has greatly diminished. His eyes are half-lidded. The hand he previously held outstretched to gather energy has since fallen to hang limply at his side. On all accounts, he looks bad.

In fact, if it weren’t for the energy he’s still feeding into Shen Jiu, Yue Qi wouldn’t even be able to tell that he’s still alive. 

As such, when the dazzling display of healing ends and Shen Yuan falls forward together with Shen Jiu, Yue Qi draws in a single loud breath. 

It’s only his ingrained habits from being the Head Disciple of Qiong Ding that allow him to react accordingly, quickly taking both Shen brothers onto his sword and heading towards Cang Qiong at a breakneck speed.

Tong Daoji is left behind with the other dazed victims of the tea house. Speaking to no one in particular, the rogue cultivator sighs, “Well, that was certainly interesting, ba.”

-/-

While both Shen brothers are in critical condition upon their arrival to Qian Cao, one is much more urgently in need of treatment.

For a moment, Yan Hanshi isn’t even sure they’d both make it, let alone make it with their cultivation intact.

For two weeks, both Shen brothers lie unmoving in the nicest room Qian Cao’s immediate treatment wing has to offer. For two weeks straight, disciples from Bai Zhan, Qing Jing, Qiong Ding, and Qian Cao go in and out, using their Qi to try and improve the older Shen’s condition. The main problem with Shen Jiu’s unstable cultivation is his incredibly damaged meridians. The poor state of each vein was apparently, according to Yue Qi’s words, caused by an attack of incompatible, tainted Qi. However, with the first aid immediately given by his younger brother, his meridians have a good shot at recovery so long as they are given ample time and support via compatible Qi infusions. 

Shen Yuan, however, is in a much more complex state.

Shen Yuan’s meridians are barely holding their original shape, as if one touch of invading Qi could cause his whole system to collapse, yet his body lacks any trace of inner force. Yan Hanshi can’t think of any possible reason for Shen Yuan’s veins to remain wide open when there’s absolutely nothing following through them, but because they are staying open, Yan Hanshi doesn’t want to interfere in case she causes them to finally recognize the lack of Qi and react accordingly.

As such, there’s almost nothing Yan Hanshi can do to help him.

For two weeks, all they can do is wait.

They being the various immortal cultivators invested in Shen Yuan and, to a ever so slightly lesser extent, Shen Jiu's conditions. After about three days of keeping Li Hanzu from trying to ‘help’ his favorite disciple, Yan Hanshi issues a temporary ban of any Peak Lord besides herself and, if absolutely necessary, Sect Leader Xie.

That’s not the only thing that happens in the two weeks, many other events occur as well. 

First, Zhang Mu and Liu Xing return from their joint mission to defeat a monstrous, man-eating demonic plant. Surprisingly, neither are particularly worse for wear. In fact, Liu Xing’s cultivation seems much stronger than before they left.

Second, Qi Lifeng exits her seclusion, and Shi Hanxin almost cries at the whole level of improvement in her cultivation. With this jump, Qi Lifeng is now, officially, the Head Disciple with the highest level of cultivation in the entire Cang Qiong mountain.

And third, Cang Qiong receives news from Huan Hua about the return of their Head Disciple, Su Xiyan. Her appearance is but a catalyst for more and more plots against Tianlang-Jun, and Xie Handao believes the day they face the Demon Lord in battle will be within the next year. Possibly even within the next six months.

On the fifteenth day of the Shen brothers simultaneous comas, Shen Jiu jerks into awareness, and, about an hour after he’s forcefully moved from the two person room into a new, more appropriate, observation-based section of Qian Cao, Shen Yuan’s still peacefully untouched and entirely hollow spiritual veins go supernova. 

Yan Hanshi is in her office at the time, but she can still feel the exact moment Shen Yuan begins drawing in natural, ambient Qi at an alarming rate.

Chapter Text

When a star dies, if it’s big enough, it will collapse in on itself and form a black hole. This collapse is referred to as a supernova. 

When Shen Yuan’s meridians finally seem to realize the issue, they kick into high gear, quickly enacting a process very similar to that of a supernova. For a moment, they close themselves off entirely. If that’s where they stopped, Shen Yuan would never be able to cultivate again. Luckily, his spiritual veins then re-open, not at all similar in feeling and steadiness to their previous state. Instead, they are wavering, continuously fluctuating between dangerously wide and dangerously narrow. Along with that, they begin drawing in whatever Qi they can. 

This isn’t all that unusual, but the rate at which Shen Yuan’s body takes in the room’s natural spiritual energy is much faster than anyone should be able to do without careful and precise guidance. Shen Yuan, obviously, is in no state to guide Qi into his veins, thus, his meridians are drawing energy in entirely independently. Which is inherently impossible. Cultivation is not an unconscious effort, in fact, it’s widely seen as the most in-body, intensely meditative discipline in the world.

When Yan Hanshi attempts to examine Shen Yuan’s veins, her ultra thin but hardy strand of spiritual energy doesn’t have more than a second to assess his internal state before the teen’s over active meridians entirely absorb her probing Qi. The Qian Cao Peak Lord’s eyes widen even more. 

Never before has a patient been able to take her Qi. 

Yan Hanshi may not be the strongest Lord of Cang Qiong, but she’s always been the best at Qi manipulation. She has never, ever, lost out in a battle of spiritual control. If she doesn’t want to transfer her Qi, no one should be able to force her to, and yet, Shen Yuan’s comatose self just did exactly that. 

Yan Hanshi has no idea what is happening to the teenager before her. 

Shen Yuan makes no move to explain which is actually pretty reasonable, given that he’s still deeply entrenched in a state of oblivion. 

Thus, Yan Hanshi is forced to leave the room for fear that after draining the ambient Qi, Shen Yuan’s meridians will direct their attention to her. Confused, irritated, and, overall, incredibly concerned, Yan Hanshi returns to her office and sends an urgent message to Xie Handao. 

-/-

Peak Lord meetings have always been rather strained. Whether it’s to do with the messy relationships between certain Peak Lords, or just due to the nature of cultivators in general, usually preferring to do their own thing, either way, Cang Qiong’s sect-wide meetings are frequently avoided by many or, if truly mandatory, reluctantly attended by all.

Luckily, Xie Handao knows this better than anyone else, and so, especially when the topic is as hot as Huan Hua Palace, the first thing he does is make it very clear that, pardoning a few notable exceptions, not only must all Peak Lords attend, but they must also bring their Head Disciples. This choice on his part is because of numerous reasons, but nothing more so than the Head Disciples need for more experience actually acting as Peak Lords. 

Looking around the long table, Xie Handao makes eye contact with many strong gazes. Behind each Peak Lord, there stands a mildly confused teenager. Well, behind most Peak Lords. Tie Hanjin is conspicuously solitary. 

It’s a rather melancholy scene; the only Peak Lord with two Head Disciples sits alone at the meeting. 

Shen Yuan has yet to wake, and Shen Jiu is in emergency seclusion in an effort to stabilize his foundation once and for all. Thus, there exists an empty spot at Tie Hanjin’s back. A spot that hasn’t been there for nearly ten years, but that Xie Handao can still distinctly remember from their disciple days. The sight gives Xie Handao heart pains for his first shidi, and one of his only remaining friends. Xie Handao may not like Shen A’Yuan very much, but he can’t possibly deny how much Tie-shidi cares for him. 

However, Sect Leader Xie doesn’t allow himself time to further analyze the unique loneliness of a master missing his disciples. Instead, he continues his scan of the table.

In addition to Tie Hanjin, one more Peak Lord is also alone. Yan Hanshi. She sits as properly as ever, her head high and posture perfect, but Head Disciple He is nowhere to be found. At that, Xie Handao blinks once in confusion. In response, Yan Hanshi merely gives him a subtly challenging glance, and at once, Xie Handao feels compelled to look away. 

After examining the gathered cultivators, Xie Handao sighs, stands, and confidently begins the meeting. 

-/-

When Shen Yuan wakes up, he’s alone. For a moment, he thinks he’s transmigrated again. Death and rebirth, it seems like an endless cycle for Shen Yuan. Eventually though, his vision clears and a familiar ceiling comes into view. He’s on Qian Cao Peak, in the room he always used to stay in as a child. 

A fleeting thought passes through his head, it would've been better if he never woke up. Shen Yuan quickly shakes that idea away, along with the lingering grogginess of a possibly extremely long sleep. Shen Yuan has no idea how long he’s been out, but he knows it had to have been longer than a week.

Shen Yuan begins to circulate his Qi, a habit picked up from years of intense cultivation, and notices an anomaly. His energy feels different. It’s not as smooth as it used to be, and it’s much more turbulent. However, it’s not to the point of Qi Deviation, and Shen Yuan is confident he’ll be able to steady it with enough time. That’s not what truly shocks him. Instead, it is the fact that his cultivation seems to have risen a few levels..? 

“Peak Lord Yan?” Shen Yuan calls out in utter bewilderment. To his surprise, Yan Hanshi isn’t the one who responds, instead, it is a rather harried looking Zhang Mu.

“Y-you’re awake?!” The older boy stutters for a second before continuing, “Lifeng is going to cry when she hears that she missed this!”

 Shen Yuan deadpans at his friend’s words. Is that really what matters right now??? 

Alas, Shen Yuan’s friends have never been the most practical. “How long have I been asleep? What happened?”

Zhang Mu drops the brush still hanging from his fingers, rushing forward to hug Shen Yuan before he answers any questions. Shen Yuan goes stiff for a second, and after a pause, he returns the gesture. With his arms wrapped around the teenager’s chest, Shen Yuan snorts lightly and says, “What is this, ah? Where’s Zhang-shidi’s professional courtesy?”

Shen Yuan actually planned to tease him a bit more, but then he starts feeling tremors coming from the shorter teen, so in a panic, he begins lightly patting the other’s back, “W-wait, are you crying?! Zhang-shidi!”

“No,” Zhang Mu chokes out between sniffles, still refusing to raise his head from Shen Yuan’s shoulder, “this Shidi is simply ill, Shen-shixiong. A mere cold, bah.”

Shen Yuan doesn’t press him further, he just continues to awkwardly rub his back in silence. Eventually, the Qian Cao disciple seems to calm down enough to explain. Zhang Mu’s voice is hoarse, but his words are clear, “Shen-shixiong has been in a coma for more than a full season. In that time, Shen Jiu has entered seclusion, and the sect has prepared to help Huan Hua seal the new Demon Lord.”

“Demon Lord?” Shen Yuan repeats to himself, a sense of foreboding beginning to climb up into his throat. “What is this Lord’s name? Would it just happen to be-”

“Tianlang-Jun, a Heavenly Demon and the newest West Lord.”

And Shen Yuan thinks, ... yeah, that’s what I was afraid of.  

Chapter Text

“Shen-shixiong just woke up!”

Shen Yuan struggles in the older teen’s grasp, “So what! I need to be there!”

“Shen Yuan!” Zhang Mu sniffles, latching onto the taller boy with all his strength. As the current overseer of Qian Cao Peak, and the disciple Yan Hanshi personally entrusted Shen Yuan’s care to, how could he dare allow Shen Yuan to leave just like that? Not to mention how reluctant Zhang Mu is to let Shen Yuan leave his sight just in general. After all, the last time he went off on his own without Zhang Mu or Lifeng, he nearly self-destructed! 

“You know you can’t stop me, Zhang-shidi…” Shen Yuan trails off, beginning to pry the medical cultivator’s arms away from his chest. Zhang Mu is silent for a moment as Shen Yuan extracts himself from his grip. 

Shen Yuan actually starts to worry about his mental state, but then Zhang Mu takes a step back and straightens his posture. Though his eyes may be a bit pink and irritated, they are also full of resolution. Zhang Mu sighs lightly to himself before bowing to the recently, seemingly recovered Qing Jing Head Disciple. When he reaches an almost ninety degree angle, he says, “Then, please allow this shidi to accompany Shen-shixiong.”

Shen Yuan blinks once, but he doesn’t stay overly surprised for long. After all, Zhang Mu has always been a rather collected person. Honestly, the tears were a lot more surprising than his quickly found calm. With a lopsided smile, Shen Yuan does his best to enter into ‘big brother’ mode, but he finds his aura a bit lacking, perhaps because of his less than impeccable appearance, “Is Zhang-shidi sure he wants to do that? The trip might be dangerous, and there's a high likelihood of us getting into trouble when our Peak Lords find out…” 

“Shen-di,” Zhang Mu says, incredibly seriously despite the rare, ultra informal address, “If I were afraid of trouble, I don’t think I would’ve made it this long---after all, it seems to follow you and Lifeng around, and if it doesn’t, you two go and find it yourselves.”

Shen Yuan pauses, thinks his words over, and eventually nods in acquiesce, “Zhang-ge might be right, ah.”

“Of course, this one is. Someone has to speak reasonably in this family…”

Laughing, Shen Yuan uses one hand as a makeshift comb while the other summons Jue Shi. Once the sword is floating peacefully in front of him, Shen Yuan takes advantage of his newly free hand and pulls his sleep mussed hair into a semblance of order by ponytailing it in classic Bai Zhan fashion. He ties it off with the mint ribbon his shizun had given him years ago. The fabric’s shine has yet to wear off even after all this time, and the ribbon remains one of Shen Yuan’s favorite accessories. 

With his hair up and his pure white patient robes, Shen Yuan regains his unearthly and untouchable immortal air. He looks backwards at his shidi, smiling confidently as he steps onto Jue Shi and says, “Let’s go.” 

However, when Zhang Mu copies his action and also ascends on his own sword, Shen Yuan realizes that he has absolutely no idea where he’s going, “Does Zhang-shidi happen to know where our destination is?”

Zhang Mu is silent for a second, before uncertainly replying, “Uhh, no?”

Shen Yuan coughs once, turning to look off in the distance. In Zhang Mu’s eyes, the action looks like that of one trying to decide what to do next. In reality, Shen Yuan only wants to keep Zhang Mu from seeing his flush. 

Genetics! Pei! Shen Yuan spits mentally. Shen Jiu doesn’t blush, ah!

-/-

Cultivators, by far and large, are virtuous. At least, the powerful ones are. In order to cultivate most paths, one must be resolute in their beliefs and their desires or goals. Without a simple mindset, most average cultivators never surpass the core formation stage. That isn’t to say no one can cultivate with complex and undefinable motives. However, in order to achieve success even with a tangled mind, one must be extremely naturally gifted. A few examples of this are Shen Jiu, Yue Qi, and Shen Yuan.

Shen Jiu’s foundation suffers from his unclear desires, but his innate talent makes up for it well enough. However, the risk of Qi Deviating increases exponentially with every level he advances in his cultivation. 

The same can be said about Yue Qi. He has conflicting motives. His cowardice and his loyalty clash, and, without the timely intervention of Shen Yuan, his foundation would never have been able to support itself. He would’ve been reduced to tying his life-force to a sword in order to cultivate freely. 

Shen Yuan is perhaps the epitome of talent making up for mental obstacles. Though his inclination for cultivating is no stronger than his brother’s or Yue Qi’s, his strength lies in his mind’s ability to throw issues to the side. 

Uncertain motives? Shen Yuan is probably guilty. 

Unclear goals? Shen Yuan pleads the fifth. 

Does Shen Yuan care? Nope. He’ll think about shit like that when he gets to it.

Because of this extraordinary focus on the present and his cultivation, he’s essentially tricked himself into believing he has a simple mindset. Yet, his actions aren't without their side effects, Heart Demons being only one of the repercussions. In fact, the day Shen Yuan can no longer push his problems to the side is the day his cultivation can no longer be maintained. 

...and if that happens, the backlash will be enough to wipe out a city.

Though, again, these three are truly just anomalies born from the boundless talent some people are given from the beginning. Most of the powerful and quickly developing cultivators in the current Jianghu are as previously stated: rather simple. 

Comparing those from the same generation, Qi Lifeng and Liu Xing are ideal examples of the idea ‘simple is strong’. Both possess unfathomable talent and straightforward desires, and their paths to immortality have embodied that well.

Qi Lifeng was raised on Cang Qiong’s Xian Shu Peak. From birth, she’s been better than her peers. Her cultivation was stronger, and so was her understanding of the arts. Besides that, she had a normal childhood. Her shijies and master raised her fairly, and she never experienced any strife (other than a lack of equals her age). Thus, if she were to state her motivation to cultivate in as few words as possible, it’d probably be ‘to make her peak proud’, and nothing more.

Liu Xing was the heir apparent of the widely renowned Liu Clan. From the day he first picked up a sword, it was obvious he would become an existence far beyond any other child of his generation. Seeing his potential, the Liu Clan, specifically his mother and father, made the choice to send him to Cang Qiong to seek further instruction beyond that of their abilities. Cang Qiong’s the leading Cultivation Sect for a reason, and no amount of secret techniques and extra long practices could possibly benefit Liu Xing more than the personal instruction of the best swordsman alive, Immortal Master Li. 

Just like that, Liu Xing’s path to immortality was set, clear and smooth every step of the way. In terms of goals and desires, Liu Xing’s only wish is to be the strongest, and if that means eating losses left and right until he improves, then he’s okay with that.

Because of the superiority of the ‘simple desires, undeniable talent’ combination, the generation of cultivators currently seen to be the best is unsurprisingly full of eccentric, blunt, and highly stubborn individuals. 

As such, when faced with an issue like Huan Hua’s most recent problematic request, the opinions are incredibly varied and wholly contradictory. Alas, in Cang Qiong, the one with the final say is Xie Handao, and so he is the one with the power to decide their course of action in dealing with Huan Hua and the newest Demon Lord.

The reaction to his decision is just as varied as the original opinions, but every member of Cang Qiong must follow the Sect Leader’s orders. Even if they vehemently disagree.

When the meeting finishes, one trio splits from the pack of unsettled Peak Lords and Head Disciples. Wasting no time, they jump on their swords and make their way to Qing Jing which is, coincidentally, the only Peak that Xie Handao refuses to enter without announcing his arrival. 

Tie Hanjin’s home is silent without the Shen Brothers around, and the group follows suit unconsciously, noiselessly making their way into the oldest member’s study. 

Li Hanzu, having been a regular guest of Tie Hanjin’s for many years, instantly sits down casually, giving no mind to his actions. Yan Hanshi, on the other hand, gracefully chooses a spot that looks to normally seat one of the Shens.

When both guests are settled, Tie Hanjin sighs lightly. With great reluctance, Qing Jing’s Peak Lord begins, “You don’t agree.”

“Does Immortal Master Tie?” Yan Hanshi shoots back, voice full of subtle scorn. Expressionlessly, Tie Hanjin sighs yet again. Sensing their martial sister’s mild hostility, Li Hanzu jumps in to defend Hanjin, “If he agreed, why would he bring us here after the meeting?”

“Maybe, Immortal Master Tie wishes to convince us of Zhangmen-shixiong’s great wisdom,” Yan Hanshi offers instantly, her quick and vicious response contrary to her peacefully icy countenance. 

“Peak Lord Yan,” Tie Hanjin bites, volume the same as before, but aura much heavier. Li Hanzu side eyes Yan Hanshi in innocent mockery as if saying, ‘oooo, look who’s in trouble!’ Yan Hanshi rolls her eyes in silent disregard. After a moment, Tie Hanjin turns around to face the two sitting at his reading table. His eyes are foggy, but his words are sharp, “Do you think this master hates demons?”

Yan Hanshi freezes at the seemingly unprovoked question. Hesitantly, which is extremely uncharacteristic of the no nonsense Qian Cao Peak Lord, she nods her head one. Tie Hanjin scoffs, a show of extremely rare emotion playing on his face. Scornful in his own right, Hanjin tosses out a singular, deeply cutting, “Wrong.”

Thrown by the normally stony man’s anger, Yan Hanshi can’t help asking, “Peak Lord Tie… doesn’t hate demons?”

“Of course not. How could anyone, especially a cultivator from the righteous path, condemn a whole race based on the acts of a few?” Tie Hanjin momentarily stares his shimei down in overbearing silence. Once Yan Hanshi shows signs of discomfort, Hanjin looks to the side, eyes going unfocused. Bemusedly, he unnecessarily adds, “No, this master doesn’t hate demons.”

“Then,” Yan Hanshi stumbles with her words, another very odd occurrence for her, “why did Peak Lord Tie make the seal?”

Li Hanzu watches the verbal volley, paying close attention to Hanjin’s micro expressions, purposeful or not. The Qing Jing Peak Lord is standing farther into the room than the table sits, he’s backlit by the sun filtering through the oiled paper windows. If it weren’t for his deathly serious expression and tired eyes, Hanjin would almost certainly fit the look of a true Immortal. A figure like his belongs in the Heavenly Realm, Li Hanzu decides before going back to his observations of the argument as a whole, not just Tie Hanjin.

“Sometimes, there are more pressing matters than the wellbeing of one’s own conscience. If this master has to choose between my own comfort, and the comfort of my disciple…” It’s obvious who exactly Tie Hanjin’s ‘disciple’ is---Shen Yuan. Yan Hanshi’s eyes widen at the statement. “Surely, sealing a potentially dangerous Demon Lord is not the worst thing I would be capable of allowing.”

“So...” Li Hanzu cuts in once more, tone more than slightly shocked, “Hanjin really did call us here to convince us to go along with Huan Hua’s plan?!”

Tie Hanjin nods once in resigned shame.

Yan Hanshi grits her teeth and leaves in an elegant rush. Conversely, Li Hanzu remains in his seat, blinking at his soulmate in confusion. After the lightbulb is guaranteed to be out of hearing range, he questions his shixiong, “Why?”

Tie Hanjin closes his eyes and reaches out to ruffle the husky-like Peak Lord’s hair, “Because… we won’t be here much longer, and this is our last chance to protect our disciples from future threats.”

Li Hanzu isn’t exactly a fan of being treated like a dog, but, sensing Hanjin’s low mood, he allows the action. Leaning towards the other, he softly utters one last inquiry, “Is Shixiong really afraid A’Yuan won’t be able to deal with a new Demon Lord?”

“No,” Tie Hanjin is least afraid of that. Shen A’Yuan is, after all, the one who perfected the thirty-three layer seal. Hanjin laughs softly and his hand pauses in its motion, merely resting atop Hanzu’s head, “Not afraid.”

The Qing Jing Peak Lord eventually mutters a continuation, peering at Li Hanzu through his barely separated lashes, “But why should he have to?”

-/-

Yong Yuan gets its time to shine once again, acting as a compass for Tianlang-Jun’s location. When Shen Yuan first pulls the fan out, Zhang Mu is a bit unsure about his plan, but as the spiritual weapon soon shows its usefulness, the Qian Cao disciple’s confusion turns into amazement.

Zhang Mu nearly falls from his sword as he instantly asks, “Does Shen-shixiong’s fan already have a developed spirit?” 

Shen Yuan laughs in such a way that any listener would think him to be mysterious and elegant; however, his face is less than proper---his half smile is full of bemused smugness. Good thing Zhang Mu is behind him, and is thus unable to see his expression. “Not quite, Zhang-shidi.”

Originally, Shen Yuan really does intend to further explain the fan to Zhang Mu, but before he can, Jue Shi speaks up for the first time since Shen Yuan reentered the Xuan Cao tea house. Child, would you like Jue Shi to present your gift now?

To be honest, Shen Yuan totally forgot about the sword’s promise of a reward---what with the whole coma thing and Tianlang-Jun’s impending doom. Though, even if he had remembered, who could’ve guessed that Jue Shi would still consider his actions a successful rescue??? Not Shen Yuan, that’s who.  

Jue Shi does not like to be ignored, Silly Child.

Ahhhh, sorry? Shen Yuan returns mentally. Wasn’t on purpose, ah.

Of course, it wasn’t… Jue Shi intones lightly, clearly putting on the voice a parent would use to coax their child. Now, would you like Jue Shi to reveal your gift?

Alright then, go ahead? Shen Yuan is so utterly focused on the conversation in his head that he doesn’t notice Zhang Mu’s confused ‘Shen-shixiong?’

As Jue Shi has said, and as Silly Child knows, Jue Shi is peerless. Yet, there is one spirit near my level. Jue Shi pauses as if to let Shen Yuan stew in his own guesses for just a bit longer. 

However, the silence keeps stretching endlessly, until finally, Shen Yuan realizes that the sword really is waiting for input from him. Hesitantly, Shen Yuan offers his best answer, are you talking about Ling Hun?

Exactly, Child. 

Shen Yuan half smiles at the encouragement, the rest of his expression blank as ever. 

Good, you aren’t as silly as usual today.

Shen Yuan: .(*’へ’*). aggrieved.jpg

Ling Hun is… Jue Shi continues, unphased by Shen Yuan’s displeasure. The youngest of us, but Ling Hun is closest to matching Jue Shi.

Really? 

Yes, Child. Ling Hun is… special. Of the three of us, Ling Hun is the only one to gain a human form. Jue Shi actually sounds relatively proud of the other sword. 

Ling Hun… was made by Jin Heran, right? Shen Yuan inquires politely, knowing that adults almost always like to explain topics they enjoy to the younger generation, especially when said younger generation shows some beginning knowledge and/or interest. 

En, Jue Shi pauses yet again, and Shen Yuan is genuinely worried the sword might’ve fallen asleep, but then the spirit continues. In the years before Ling Hun’s creation, Jin Heran and Xin Tianyu were good friends with Jue Shi’s master. Jue Shi… never met Jin Heran or East Lord Xin, but in the short time Jue Shi spent with Master… Jue Shi could tell that Master cared for them deeply, and they probably cared for each other even more.

Ling Hun can be considered… the product of that affection. That brat, Xin Mo, was born from a lust for power, and Jue Shi came from a lust for revenge. Ling Hun though, was forged with love. Forged with love, and yet capable of committing endless atrocities. Ling Hun was once personally sealed by the gods, and yet, Ling Hun escaped.

Shen Yuan doesn’t mean to interrupt, but he can’t hold back his curiosity, but what does this have to do with me?

Child, Jue Shi begins, as rattled as a sword spirit could possibly sound, when Ling Hun freed himself, he painted a target onto his back. The gods will never allow Ling Hun to live freely. Jue Shi hadn’t met Ling Hun until that day in Chu Xiaolian. Jue Shi only heard snippets about him. After meeting Ling Hun, suddenly, Jue Shi feels lonely. 

Lonely? Shen Yuan repeats, beginning to feel as if the conversation was bound to veer off into a much less welcome, much more emotional territory. 

Jue Shi doesn’t let him down with its calm demeanor, and any panic Shen Yuan had about the sword somehow managing to start metaphysically crying vanishes. In place of melancholy, the weapon spirit sounds determined, yes, lonely. Silly Child, Jue Shi is Ling Hun’s elder. It is up to Jue Shi to help Ling Hun! Therefore… Child, please let Jue Shi—

“SHEN-SHIXIONG!” Zhang Mu shouts. Shen Yuan blinks back into the real world, any lingering thoughts on Jue Shi’s reasoning or request evaporate instantly. Shen Yuan is nothing if not single-minded, and right now, the scene before him requires his attention more than the peerless sword under his feet.

A huge, mountain-sized array glitters conspicuously in the air for a moment. The gold lines of pure Qi reflect in Shen Yuan’s shocked hazel gaze, turning his eyes more brown than green. However, just as suddenly as it appeared, the formation vanishes in a sweep of resonating energy. Shen Yuan blinks silently, quickly understanding what the projection’s arrival and departure mean. 

For an array to be projected so large and dense, at least ten Peak Lord level cultivators are needed as a power source. That, or one existence with an innate constitution like that of Xin Tianyu or Tianlang-Jun himself. Once in a generation powerhouses, even when pooling humans and demons together. What that means is for the array to appear like it just did, nearly all of the Jianghu’s top figures must be present. As for the formation’s dissolution… well, that means the array captured whatever it was created to seal. In this case, Tianlang-Jun.

For many Li around, Shen Yuan can only see the marks of a great struggle. The earth is scorched, and the area’s few surviving trees are covered in blood, demon and human alike. However, for all that there are signs of demons, there are almost no actual demons about. Really, for all that Shen Yuan can see as he quickly pushes Jue Shi to continue forward, the newly sealed Tianlang-Jun was the only demon in the whole valley. But how is that possible? Why would Tianlang-Jun ever face the top ranks of the top human cultivation Sects alone? Zhuzhi-Lang isn’t even in sight!

Wait, Shen Yuan thinks, his spontaneous decision pulling Jue Shi to a dead stop. If Zhuzhi-Lang isn’t here… then Tianlang-jun must’ve sent him away!

Some may be thinking that being sent away isn’t the only possible explanation for the snake demon’s poor attendance. However, Shen Yuan feels that he knows Zhuzhi-Lang after going on the trip to find Xin Tianyu with him, and from his experience, Zhuzhi-Lang would never, in a million years, willingly leave Tianlang-Jun when he’s in trouble. And for his part, Tianlang-jun would never allow Zhuzhi-Lang to be harmed unless he himself had already perished. Thus, if Zhuzhi-Lang isn’t there being sealed immediately after Tianlang-Jun, then Tianlang-Jun must’ve forced him to stay away! 

Surely, that means Zhuzhi-Lang is still okay for the time being? Regardless , Shen Yuan thinks to himself, resolve already steel-like, as he requests of Yong Yuan one more favor. 

As long as Nephew Zhi isn’t already sealed, we’re going to save him!

……Zhang Mu, who’d been ignored the whole trip over, and who is still faced with an intensely focused and silent Shen Yuan, cries soundless tears in his heart. Not knowing why Shen Yuan suddenly changed his mind about approaching the battle, all he can do is grit his teeth and use even more of his Qi to urge his sword to try and keep pace with Shen Yuan’s—even though Shen-shixiong’s already nearly out of sight. 

Chapter Text

When Shen Yuan was newly turned thirteen, he and his shifu went on a trip to find and trap a Fox of Nine Trials. The Nine Trials turned out to be a Nine Torments, and they both nearly died. However, a huge snake popped out of the woodworks to help them out. Though Shen Yuan left the snake behind after healing it, he's never forgotten the scene of a giant reptile ripping into an equally giant fox. The memory may have been dulled by Shen Yuan’s many following experiences with not quite as large snakes, but he can still clearly picture the parting image of the animal after he healed it.

Thus, when he sees the half human half monster before him, Shen Yuan can recognize both sides to the mismatched appearance. It’s the snake, and it’s Nephew Zhi.

“Zhuzhi-Lang?” Shen Yuan calls, fearing the chance of the snake demon not being able to respond.

The demon’s misformed body twitches heavily at the sound, and his neck swings around to face Shen Yuan. For a moment, joyful hope sits in the demon’s slitted eyes, he cries, “Junshang!” 

But then Zhuzhi-Lang sees Shen Yuan. His snake eyes go glassy, and Shen Yuan wants to say something, but before he can, the demon gasps out while viciously shaking his partly scaly and partly hairy head, “No… Junshang wouldn’t just...”

“I’m sorry,” Shen Yuan chokes out. Guilt pours in with every one of his breaths. If he hadn’t fixed his shizun’s work… “Tianlang-Jun’s been sealed.”

“But,” Zhuzhi-Lang whispers brokenly. “But Junshang promised to come back for this one after everything. Junshang never breaks his promises.”

Yet, as the snake demon speaks each new word of protest, Shen Yuan can see him losing confidence in his own assertions. Finally, Zhuzhi-Lang pauses, and blankly stares over Shen Yuan’s shoulder, “But…” he trails off listlessly. 

Then suddenly, Zhuzhi-Lang’s whole misshapen body tenses, his gaze sharpens and even the most casual observer would be able to tell the snake’s just made a decision. Shen Yuan mentally and physically prepares himself to react quickly to whatever the demon’s next action is, so when Zhuzhi-Lang moves forward with a determination even Shen Yuan himself has only shown on a few occasions, Shen Yuan’s is already firmly blocking his way. “You can’t, Nephew Zhi.”

“Please don’t try to stop this one, Young Master Shen.”

“You can’t,” Shen Yuan resolutely repeats.  

“This one must, Young Master Shen.”

“Most Respected Master Zhi misunderstands. This humble Shen is merely informing Nephew Zhi of his inability to do anything even if this Shen lets him go.” Formality is a form of armor in Shen Yuan’s hands, and the excessive terms of respect come out on their own whenever he faces an issue reason alone fails to solve. Shen Yuan knows that the change of address really doesn’t do much in the long term, but it lets him detach himself from the reality of whatever regrettable action he’s previously or presently taken. 

“What is Young Master Shen implying?” Zhuzhi-lang snarls in a shocking show of emotion from the normally gentle and introverted snake demon, and Shen Yuan stiffens his stance even more, preparing to take a hit. 

“Tianlang-Jun has been sealed, and as of now, there is no one alive capable of breaking it. Not Nephew Zhi, not this Shen, not even Xin Tianyu himself.”

“How does Young Master Shen know for certain?” The snake demon shoots, eyes quickly beginning to dim at the possibility that he may not be able to do anything at all to aid his uncle. 

“Because,” Shen Yuan grits his teeth, mind whirring at the max speed of a thousand Ferrari’s. He has no idea how to say this. After all, how does one tell a grieving acquaintance that you’re the reason they're grieving in the first place????? One doesn’t, that’s how!!!! And yet, that’s exactly what Shen Yuan has to do, losing that formal sense of emotional distance, “I’m the one who made the seal.”

-/-

Jue Shi is more than a weapon, and Jue Shi is more than a sword spirit.

Jue Shi is Jue Shi. 

A sword without equals. Peerless.

Jue Shi’s original master never intended to make Jue Shi. The Southern Zhu Clan’s Head, Jianrui-Jun, was a demon most associated with creation, innovation, and honor. Jianrui-Jun was also well-known to be laid-back and preferred to drop formalities wherever possible. He refused to let anyone in the Zhu Clan actually call him by his title, insisting on being called by his birth name, but Jue Shi wasn’t around for the carefree moments of Lord Zhu’s life, and thus, Jue Shi can only call Jianrui-Jun ‘master’. 

Jianrui-Jun was the sixth generation leader of the Zhu Clan. He was also the last. 

The Zhu were a prestigious demonic clan. Not only did they have status and power, they were also the original ruling family of the South. Though the third Lord Zhu decided to shift the clan’s focus away from ruling and instead direct it towards crafting, history will forever know the truth. 

The first South Lord established the Zhu Clan hundreds and hundreds of years before Jianrui-Jun took over, and the Zhu Clan should’ve survived for hundreds and hundreds of years after he passed. 

Yet, the Zhu were extinguished in a single night. Only one last flickering ember remained---Jianrui-Jun.

Lord Zhu was nearing a new level in his cultivation when the South Lord attacked. Bringing an army of nearly ten thousand demons, the South Lord crushed any chance of the Zhu Clan’s main family fighting back. It was an almost entirely one-sided affair. The South Lord’s forces killed demon after demon, and demon after demon, the Zhu family was killed. Yet, despite the slaughter’s utter ease, the South Lord knew the truth. If Jianrui-Jun wasn’t in seclusion, the outcome would’ve been wildly different.

What few common demons, and even fewer human cultivators, know is the sheer power of the three main Bloodlines. The Heavenly Demons, the Blood Demons, and the Ice Demons hold nearly unimaginable power. Of course, as the demon blood dilutes over the years, the Bloodlines’ inherent abilities decrease by leaps and bounds. In fact, in those days, there were but a fraction of the three Bloodlines’ original populations. A single line of pure Ice Demons remained in the North, a few pure-blooded Heavenly Demons hid away in the West, and exactly one true Blood Demon was left in the South---Jianrui-Jun. 

The difference between a pure Bloodline and a diluted Bloodline is as drastic as the difference between an immortal cultivator and a Qi-Refining disciple. Of course, Variants do exist. Variants can be considered to be roughly on par with the three Bloodlines, but they’re few and far between. In the last three generations, the only well-known Variant went by the name of Xin Tianyu.

Thus, in their generation, the only demon that stood a chance against Lord Zhu was East Lord Xin. 

Not that it mattered much in the end. After all, despite all of his strength, Jianrui-Jun was helpless to protect the Zhu Clan. Helpless due to his own pursuit of power, helpless due to his own act of neglect. Not only was Jianrui-Jun not present for the Zhu Clan’s massacre, he didn’t even find out until months after the fact when he finally exited seclusion. 

That moment, when Lord Zhu left seclusion only to be faced with the utter extinction of his Clan, was when Jue Shi first gained consciousness. 

Starting from Jue Shi’s creation, Jue Shi has always been a singularity. Jue Shi wasn’t a beloved weapon of the late Lord Zhu, Jue Shi was but a last resort. From the start, Jue Shi didn’t have a true connection with its master. Jue Shi may have been given access to Lord Zhou’s memories, but Jue Shi was never privy to his thoughts. 

Thus, from the beginning, Jue Shi had been alone. 

But Jue Shi doesn’t want to be alone. Jue Shi wants a friend, a companion, something beyond simply Jue Shi.

Shen Yuan is the first person with which Jue Shi has established a true connection, and through him, Jue Shi has discovered its own innate desire for accompaniment. 

Because of Shen Yuan, Jue Shi has realized how much it truly doesn’t want to be peerless anymore. Jue Shi wants an entity on its level, and Ling Hun is the perfect spirit for the job. 

Thus, Jue Shi makes a deal with its current master. If the Silly Child can manage on his own for once, Jue Shi will give him a present. Of course, Jue Shi only intends for the present to be used to help Ling Hun. Any benefit it may-or-may-not provide to the brat is merely an added bonus. 

Thus, when Jue Shi’s master finally wakes from his coma, Jue Shi wastes no time reminding him of Jue Shi’s gift. However, just as Jue Shi is about to give the brat Jue Shi’s most prized possession, the Silly Child gets distracted! 

Fine! Jue Shi does not need help after all! Jue Shi is peerless! Jue Shi will help Ling Hun all by itself, and the stinky brat can suffer on his own without Jue Shi’s secret cultivation method! Who cares if the brat struggles with excess Qi disorder in the future, he should have listened while he could! 

Jue Shi does not like to be ignored!

-/-

Shen Yuan hears Jue Shi mutter something, but it doesn’t register at all. With all of his focus on watching for Zhuzhi-Lang’s reaction, he doesn’t have the extra brain power needed to understand the sword spirit's words. Thus, he simply ignores them. Instead, Shen Yuan analyzes each minute shift in the snake demon’s stance, every jagged breath and microexpression.

“Y-young Master Shen,” Zhuzhi-Lang stutters, aura somewhat reverting to the Nephew Zhi Shen Yuan first met. Shen Yuan isn’t sure how to feel about the shift. On one hand, it's good because it means Zhuzhi-Lang probably isn’t going to try and get past him in an attempt to rescue Tianlang-Jun. On the other hand, facing the pitifully ugly face of Nephew Zhi practically increases Shen Yuan’s level of guilt to infinity. Shen Yuan has no idea what he should say anymore. Thankfully, the snake demon continues, obviously not finished with his thought, “...but why? Young Master Shen is a good person, why would you help seal Junshang?”

To that question, Shen Yuan has many answers. Many excuses. He didn‘t know it was for Tianlang-Jun. He didn’t do it on purpose. He just corrected the array without thinking. They’re all true, but Shen Yuan knows the truth isn’t enough sometimes. In this case, the truth is well-below what Zhuzhi-Lang and Tianlang-Jun deserve. 

Any pathetic explanation from Shen Yuan would be the same because nothing he says can possibly change the fact of the matter. Tianlang-Jun was only successfully sealed because of Shen Yuan. If Shen Yuan hadn't fixed his shizun’s arrays, the seal never would’ve worked against a Heavenly Demon at full-power, and even if it somehow did, Tianlang-Jun would doubtlessly be able to escape within a decade or two. Now though, Shen Yuan is fully aware of how long-lasting the seal he finalized is. And it’s his fault. 

Shen Yuan can’t just avoid taking responsibility for his mistake by excusing it with pretty words like ‘I didn’t mean to,’ so instead, he whispers all he can muster under the circumstances, “I’m sorry.” 

For a second, the snake demon’s features twist into a horrifying picture of outrage, but then, the fight seems to drain out of him, and his whole snake/human body droops. Zhuzhi-lang drops his gaze from Shen Yuan’s to stare at the leaf-littered bank of the nearby Lushui Lake. After a moment of painful silence, Zhuzhi-lang softly speaks, “Okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Shen Yuan repeats almost unintentionally, his voice getting more resolved as he adds, “but I’ll get him out, okay? Nephew Zhi, it might take twenty years to break the seal, but this humble Shen promises, I will free Tianlang-Jun!”

“A promise?” Zhuzhi-Lang murmurs, seemingly to no one but himself. “What use is a promise?”

Shen Yuan, caught in an awkward in-between state of wanting to act but being unsure how, hums and suddenly remembers a huge mystery in the whole Tianlang-Jun vs the world thing, “But what about Su Xiyan?”

Instantly, Zhuzhi-Lang’s face darkens like the sky before a tornado and he bites out, “Su. Xi. Yan.”

The demon takes a long breath, the air hissing through the gaps in his fang-like teeth like a true snake’s sigh might, “She’s the reason Junshang agreed to show up in the first place. She’s a liar.”

His words are certainly wild, but his tone is wildly certain. Shen Yuan knows the demon isn’t trying to lie. But… why would Su Xiyan betray them? Su Xiyan was clearly in love with Tianlang-Jun the last time Shen Yuan saw her! She’s pregnant too, right?? So... why the fuck would she help trap him??? Shen Yuan doesn’t get it.

However, a low trickle of conversation approaching the duo from the left allows him the perfect opportunity to think about Su Xiyan later. He grabs Zhuzhi-Lang’s uhh, hand(?) and pulls him towards the dense foliage near the edge of the lake. He tries to simultaneously communicate with Jue Shi, intending to ask the sword to help them return to Cang Qiong, but all he gets in return for his mental calls is silence. Shen Yuan quickly recalls ignoring the sword’s words earlier and contemplates the possibility that’s the reason he’s being given the cold shoulder. 

All too soon though, he gives up that line of thought as well. The conversation is getting louder, closer, and Shen Yuan doesn’t have time to think about how Jue Shi has the worst-timed temper tantrums/naps in the whole Jianghu. Just as Shen Yuan’s about to pull Yong Yuan from his robe and take his chances against the small group of approaching cultivators, a familiar voice travels well from a position much closer to him than the outsiders. 

“Sect Leader Xie requests your return to the main camp, your patrol has finished for the night,” the voice says calmly and confidently, and Shen Yuan straight up almost cries tears of gratitude. Zhang Mu!!! Shen Yuan mentally sobs as the once quickly approaching group turns around exactly as the Qian Cao disciple directs. The true MVP!!! Sorry for leaving you behind…

Once the Cang Qiong disciples are out of hearing range, Zhang Mu turns to the exact spot Shen Yuan pulled Zhuzhi-Lang with him to hide, and suggests goodnaturedly, “Shen-shixiong really should be happy this shidi came along.” 

And really, Shen Yuan definitely is!

-/-

As opposed to Shen Yuan’s recently received good news, somewhere close yet far, an entirely different kind of news is being relayed. 

In the water prison of Huan Hua, a single, hunched figure can be seen. Her skin is dirty and her hair is tangled, but her identity is still clear as day---it’s Su Xiyan!

She’s alone in ultra thick silence. That is, until another lone figure enters.

He, unlike her, looks inherently untrustworthy despite his newly changed robes and decently refreshing appearance. Su Xiyan is, in contrast to her cold demeanor, a very just person. She does what she knows to be right, and she protects what she needs to protect. If she had known Tianlang-Jun would end up sealed because of her letter, she never would have written a single word.

That’s why the Palace Master had to trick her so far, had to trap her in the most secure prison in the Jianghu. Because Su Xiyan is simply good. Su Xiyan isn’t the type to frame a demon in an insane grab for clout. Su Xiyan isn’t the Huan Hua Palace Master. 

But the Palace Master cares for her no less.

“Dear Xiyan,” he calls, tone too sweet to stomach, “Shizun has some good news!”

“What?” Su Xiyan rasps, not even slightly lifting her head. She’s too disappointed in her master’s previous lies to dare look him in the eye ever again, but the Palace Master understands her all too well, and that’s why he disables the acid walls in order to approach his dearest disciple. 

He grabs her chin tightly when he gets close enough, and he pulls her face upwards so he can see her beautifully marred appearance. Too bad she became like this for a demon! The Palace Master smiles wildly, the ambience about him nothing but grease and off puttingly strong desire as he practically purrs, “Tianlang-Jun's. Been. Sealed!”

Chapter Text

The aim of cultivation is immortality. 

Ascension. 

Very few reach that point, but Su Xiyan was never one to doubt herself. From a young age, Su Xiyan’s been far ahead of her peers. As such, she’s never really faced many obstacles. Her cultivation path has been smooth from the day Huan Hun accepted her to the day the Palace Master locked her away. 

Now though, Su Xiyan’s path is anything but clear. The answer to her current problem can’t be found by simply cultivating harder, by training longer, or by studying more. Now, the very same man that once generously took Su Xiyan under his wing is the one trapping her in Huan Hua’s infamous Water Prison. The first person Su Xiyan trusted whole-heartedly and served unconditionally is now crouched low in front of her, his face twisted in an expression Su Xiyan has never before seen on a respected cultivator, an expression rather suitable for the more despicable patrons of a second-rate brothel.

Su Xiyan has always believed herself to be destined for immortality. There’s nothing she can’t do, and there’s no one who can match her. 

Until Tianlang-Jun.

The new West Lord’s appearance garnered quite a few cultivator’s interest and concern, but none more so than Huan Hua’s Palace Master. Hearing constant whispered gossip about the demon’s majesty and influence, the Palace Master sent Su Xiyan to investigate the fuss. 

And that’s how Su Xiyan met her soulmate. At first, she kept up her cold exterior and unaffected attitude, but as Tianlang-Jun proved himself to be more and more talented, dedicated, and stubborn, Su Xiyan couldn’t help herself from softening slowly but surely. Until finally, one day, her blood rushing from the danger their little trio escaped only moments prior, she realized she was in love. 

From that moment on, Su Xiyan knew. If cultivation’s goal is immortality, she wants to live forever with Tianlang-Jun by her side.

Yet, everything changed when she reluctantly flew back to Huan Hua to explain the situation to her master. 

The Palace Master and Su Xiyan argued for three days and two nights about the Demon Lord. Eventually though, Su Xiyan begged her master to meet Tianlang-Jun before making any hasty decisions. The Palace Master hesitated briefly before agreeing with a strange look on his face. Thoroughly convinced of her master’s inherent goodness, Su Xiyan then sent a letter to the Demon Lord, asking to meet four months from then. 

Alas, Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan were never destined to be together, and instead of accompanying her master to meet her soulmate, Su Xiyan finds herself locked in Huan Hua’s Water Prison, cultivation sealed and helpless to stop her master's plans. 

Su Xiyan held a small bit of hope though, having witnessed the Heavenly Demon’s power. Maybe, he’ll be okay. Maybe, she’ll have a chance to escape soon, and then they’ll run away together (with Zhuzhi-Lang, of course.) 

It only takes three words to crush that hope, and with it, all of Su Xiyan’s desire to cultivate to immortality: Tianlang-Jun’s been sealed. 

Once again, Su Xiyan is without a pair.

Others may still hold onto the small chance of releasing the demon, but Su Xiyan isn’t stupid. She knows the odds of breaking the seal without killing the man inside are next to zero. 

Tianlang-Jun will never be free again, and with that, Su Xiyan solemnly declares that she will never ascend. Without her soulmate, what’s the point of living? Su Xiyan’s been working all her life, improving herself, and trying to make her elders, her master, proud. 

And for what? To indirectly kill the most important person in her life? To help a corrupt liar for years without knowing it? To accumulate regret equal only to her strength?

Su Xiyan’s master not only tricked her into trapping the love of her life, and the only other person she’s given her trust to, he’s also holding a small bottle in his wrinkled hands. 

Su Xiyan snaps back to reality as the Huan Hua Palace Master’s breath brushes wetly against her pale cheek. She can almost feel his lips move against her thin skin as he speaks, “The abomination inside you will be eliminated, my dear Xiyan. After you drink this, you can return to my side, ah? Reclaim your position, and put this whole demon business behind you.”

Clearly, Su Xiyan has missed something, and yet, the words deliver a chilling meaning nonetheless. Without knowing what the Palace Master said after his announcement about Tianlang-Jun, Su Xiyan has no idea what exactly the bottle’s contents are. However, she knows its purpose well. Her master intends for Su Xiyan to give up her child. To give up Tianlang-Jun’s child. No, that’s not quite right, Su Xiyan amends numbly. Her master intends for Su Xiyan to kill Tianlang-Jun’s child.

With conflict overtaking any reasonable thought processes, Su Xiyan closes her eyes silently. Her delicate throat moves once, a show of weakness Su Xiyan has never allowed before. The Palace Master watches on in fascination, wholly devoted to observing his obsession. After a second of stillness, Su Xiyan opens her eyes, determination stashed somewhere in their depths, and says, “Okay.”

Huan Hua’s Sect Leader smiles, crinkles appearing en masse as he uncorks the bottle. Su Xiyan realizes his intentions and opens her mouth to speed up the process. The Palace Master merely widens his grin and pours the medicine at a leisurely pace. 

“Now, we can be together just like before…” the Palace Master’s volume is low, as if the words are for himself rather than Su Xiyan. Su Xiyan just tries to keep the medicine down despite her gag-reflex’s desperate objection, too focused on creating a barrier between the potion and the child inside of her. 

The Palace Master slips his hand from her chin, standing up in a graceful manner unbefitting of what Su Xiyan now knows to be his actual demeanor. The man never once breaks eye contact with his disciple, despite gesturing for the two cultivators currently on guard to come over. He then sighs almost happily and orders them to escort their senior sister to her room and unseal her cultivation. 

Su Xiyan manages to bite her tongue through it all, keeping her disgust bottled up until she’s finally alone in the bedroom she once considered home. 

The thing with obsessions, is that they blind men to the truth. Su Xiyan never once truly acted as if she would listen to her master and stay by his side. Instead, she merely had to go through the motions of abortion to win her freedom. Of course, Su Xiyan never intended to truly end her child’s life. It is the only thing she has left of Tianlang-Jun, and she’ll protect it with her everything. 

She’s directly responsible for her lover’s horrible fate, Su Xiyan can’t deny that. All she can do now is try to break even. A wrong can only be undone by a right. Saving their child is the most just thing Su Xiyan thinks she’ll ever do, and her cultivation is nothing in comparison. 

Yes, the goal of cultivation is ascension. Su Xiyan thoroughly believed that, but now, feeling the medicine slowly eat away at her meridians, she knows that her cultivation was never meant to turn her into an immortal. 

Su Xiyan’s cultivation has always been a tool to protect her loved ones, and now, she’s ready to give it up. Tianlang-Jun would do the same. With her final decision reached, all Su Xiyan needs to do now is escape Huan Hua. Escape Huan Hua, and avoid recapture. But how? 

One option is constant movement, but the lack of rest can’t be ideal for her baby. Thus, Su Xiyan needs to go somewhere the Palace Master has no authority to search, no authority to detain her even if he finds her. 

There’s only one place she can think of that fits those requirements, and as it just so happens, Su Xiyan has an acquaintance with a well-respected place in the Mountain Sect. 

A destination in mind, Su Xiyan grabs her most sturdy cloak and straps her sword to her waist. When the night reaches its fingers across the sky, Su Xiyan makes her move. 

Within an incense stick’s time, she’s already putting distance between her and Huan Hua Palace. A consistent low level burning travels through her spiritual veins, but she ignores it, staring onwards as she forces her sword to go even faster. 

Su Xiyan will never be caught.

-/-

After his mother’s death, Shen Jiu had to grow up quick, and he had to grow up mean. Yet, Shen Yuan’s always been the exception to his tough defense. Shen Jiu has never once in his life managed to be truly angry at Shen Yuan. Worried, irritated, and jealous? Of course. But never mad. 

However, when Shen Jiu finally surfaces from the disorientation of waking up on Qian Cao and then immediately being herded to the Lingxi Caves, and he realizes what kind of bullshit Shen Yuan pulled, Shen Jiu begins to rethink his previously steadfast belief. 

Not only did Shen Yuan completely disregard Shen Jiu’s intention to protect him, he also entirely invalidated Shen Jiu’s sacrifice! Now, instead of only one of them being hurt, both the Shen Brothers’ cultivation foundations are shaky. In fact, Shen Jiu is starting to think blocking Shen Yuan at all was his first mistake, Shen Yuan probably would’ve been better off just taking the hit! Straining your meridians to the extent Shen Yuan must’ve in order to stabilize Shen Jiu’s own spiritual veins is so much worse than any not-immediately-fatal physical wound. Especially given Shen Yuan’s unusually sturdy physique. 

Don’t judge Shen Jiu’s didi based on his relatively lithe appearance and sickly history, Shen Yuan may heal rather slowly, but in order to seriously injure him in the first place, one would essentially have to self destruct right in front of him. Shen Jiu has seen his A’Yuan fighting with overzealous disciples from Bai Zhan (a few from Qing Jing, one or two from Xian Shu, none from Qian Cao---besides the ever suffering Zhang Mu). Their practice swords are not only unable to cut Shen Yuan, they can’t even leave marks! 

As a tacit agreement between the once estranged, and currently still somewhat traumatized, brothers, Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan never fight with swords or words. Sparring, staff against fan, is as far as they ever go. Fighting has always been something Shen Jiu does with the outside world--Shen Yuan isn’t an outsider. Shen Jiu will never hurt his brother, not when Shen Yuan is the only person Shen Jiu can fully trust in this world. 

Shen Jiu still holds tight to that promise, but when he finally exits seclusion, no longer at immediate risk of Qi Deviation, and finds out Shen Yuan not only woke up from his coma(!) while Shen Jiu was still cultivating, but also set off to an active battle ground without hesitation, Shen Jiu is pretty sure he can confidently say one thing: he’s livid. 

-/-

When Zhang Mu and Shen Yuan arrive on Qing Jing, still a day or two ahead of the other returning sect members, they find themselves face-to-face with a steaming Shen Jiu. Good thing Zhuzhi-Lang is currently hidden in Zhang Mu’s room on Qian Cao, or else Shen Jiu’s glare might have been enough to make the Heavenly Demon half breed into a truly heavenly existence. 

Shen Yuan and Zhang Mu’s first stop had been Qian Cao. Due to the speed of Yan Hanshi’s return, it was much more imperative to visit the medical peak while they still had the ability to sneak the snake demon in relatively unimpeded. Afterwards, they flew to Qing Jing. 

Zhang Mu didn’t necessarily have to go with Shen Yuan for the last leg of the journey, but with Jue Shi still moodily ignoring Shen Yuan, he much appreciated the older teen’s offer of a ride over. Despite thorough exhaustion, Zhang Mu managed to bring both himself and Shen Yuan a few peaks over. 

Yet, instead of peace when he lands, Zhang Mu is met with even more relationship drama. Yes, that’s right. Even more! On the way to Cang Qiong, Shen Yuan reluctantly spilled the beans about Tianlang-Jun, Su Xiyan, and Zhuzhi-Lang. Zhang Mu wants to say that he was shocked and appalled by the amount of information Shen Yuan had been keeping from him, but honestly, the whole revelation didn’t even cause a small ripple in Zhang Mu’s internal pool of serenity. 

This isn’t the first time Shen Yuan’s hidden something, and it most definitely won’t be the last. In the same vein, it isn’t like Zhang Mu himself isn’t hiding anything, so he really can’t be throwing stones. 

“Shen. Yuan. What did you do?!” Shen Jiu growls, successfully ripping Zhang Mu’s attention from his spiraling thoughts. Shen Yuan doesn’t look particularly affected by his brother’s seeming enmity. Instead, he looks distracted. They must make quite a trio. Furious, fatigued, and foggy. Zhang Mu just wants to go back to Qian Cao, calmly await Peak Lord Yan’s arrival, and possibly also take a nap… alas, he’s been with Shen Yuan this far, he can’t abandon his Shen-di quite yet. 

Alternatively, Shen Yuan is having much less upright intentions flood his mind. Forget abandoning a friend, right now, Shen Yuan would probably betray just about anyone if it meant getting a chance to curl up in the mostly silent Qing Jing library with a pile of papers on how to break arrays. 

He has very little time to begin acting against Tianlang-Jun’s seal before it solidifies its power, and attaches its existence to Tianlang-Jun’s own flesh. After which, Shen Yuan may still be able to free him, but the Demon Lord would then be rather constrained by his glaring lack of a functioning body.

“How dare you sacrifice your cultivation? How dare you take such a huge chance of permanently destroying your foundation just to stabilize mine… This ge didn’t ask for Yuan-di’s help!” Shen Jiu speaks with much venom and surety, probably stemming from deeply hidden concern and irritation, but Shen Yuan doesn’t agree with his brother’s words even remotely. Yet, before he gets a chance to refute Shen Jiu’s obviously hypocritical views, a loud crash interrupts the three’s momentary silence. 

Shen Yuan sees his brother’s sharp eyebrows rise in instant consternation, and he quickly twists his neck to get a good look of whatever caused the noise. Or should he say, who. Because there, no more than ten meters in front of him, lies an incredibly recognizable figure.

Su Xiyan. A very pregnant and very ragged Su Xiyan to be exact. 

Shen Jiu: (・・？)

Zhang Mu: (;-_-)ノ

Su Xiyan, “Young Master Shen, this one temporarily asks for your cooperation.”

Shen Yuan: (ﾉ＾◡＾)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻