Chapter Text
*****
"Husband?”
Sha Hualing called after the naked man, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back facing her.
She pouted upon receiving no answer—an expression only reserved for her demon husband to look at. Even so, Luo Binghe did not turn to look at her, which gave her a spike of displeasure. Feeling a flare of anger, she gripped the blanket that covered her naked form tightly.
“Has it not healed yet?” she asked outright with a hint of impatience in her tone. Gone was the tamed Demon Saintess from the whole day of dual cultivating.
Luo Binghe’s shoulders twitched. He wordlessly turned his head, looking at his wife with a pair of crimson rubies that glisten in the dawn light through the window. Sha Hualing could not determine a single thought from that lukewarm yet cold gaze.
They've been dual cultivating for—what? Dawn to dusk? A whole day. She licked her lips at the thought of the innumerable rounds they've had. As a demon, a saintess at that, of course she could last a whole day… not without passing out a few times, ahem.
And whenever Luo Binghe finished after sliding himself out, there would always be a moment of stillness before his cock hardened once more.
Unlike their routine, Luo Binghe would curse out in frustration before ravaging her body again.
Only a few select wives in the palace are aware of his… predicament, since a week ago.
The longest her husband had during an intercourse with his wives was three days in a row—and that was only once, when Xin Mo was truly insatiated.
It had been thirteen days. Nearly two weeks.
Sha Hualing had heard that her husband couldn't even perform his duties and attend his demonic court properly without going into rut not even an hour after exiting a wife’s chamber. She had cackled heartily at the news at first, before a small feeling of… pity, if one may call it, rose within her chest.
“My poor husband,” she tutted mockingly, back to her usual personality. The saintess shifted to lie on her side and lift her blanket. “Here. Let this Ling’er indulge you. Perhaps your cock will finally be satisfied after just a few more rounds.”
At last, some life came into her husband's eyes and he shook his head, muttering, “That's what Tang’er said. That's what Yingying said. That's not what Yun-mei said!”
He abruptly stood up and pulled his discarded robes over himself. Sha Hualing gobsmackedly watched.
“And where would you find another Heavenly Demon? You're the last of your kind. Even your Mobei had reported futile,” she said while sitting up, not bothering to cover her exposed bosom.
Luo Binghe only glanced at her as he finished tying the sash around his waist. It did not, however, succeed in covering his apparent bulge. “No. There's still one left,” he hissed in disgust, shuddering.
Sha Hualing blinked. She crossed her arms. “And who might that be?”
“That person,” he spat as he hastily wore not one, not two, but three more layers of thick clothing. The season in the human realm is currently summer, and it's constantly warm in the Demon Realm (except for the northern region). Then, as if that wasn't enough, he hung a raven black cape over his wide shoulders.
The Demon Saintess chuckled. “You spoke as if this woman takes the form of a worm.”
All in his many layers of thick clothing, Luo Binghe gazed disinterestedly at his wife. He sneered, “Might as well be.”
He held up a hand. Xin Mo, that had been resting by the collapsed and destroyed bed, instantly flew into his grip. With a schwing, the blade unsheathed and teared a rift into existence in Sha Hualing’s chamber. Without even giving another word, he departed into the portal.
It closed behind him, leaving a Demon Saintess who clicked her tongue in irritation.
***
A sword tip pointed into his throat the moment Luo Binghe stepped out of the rift that eventually closed behind him.
His eyes flashed red, even as he glanced down impassively. Slowly, his eyes trailed up to see two figures in the dimness of the light in the room. Involuntarily, his heart stuttered at the sight of Shen Qingqiu. The man stood slightly behind the imposter, abyssal black eyes hinting caution and extreme wariness, perhaps even shock, though the Demon Emperor couldn't exactly be sure from how jaded that sickeningly familiar face is.
At catching his stare, those eyes narrowed behind the fan—plain white, with the prominent painting of bamboos waving in the hazy morning wind.
“You.” his own voice, draped in familiar winterfrost and blazing sun, caught his attention. “Do not lay your eyes upon him.”
He had almost forgotten about Zheng Yang, his own Zheng Yang, pointing threateningly towards his throat until it inched forward, just ever so slightly.
Other Luo Binghe stared at him with utmost hatred known to mankind. Luo Binghe equalled him with a scathing glare.
Kill him. Xin Mo, still in his grip, vibrated in glee. Ah, he would love to, but that, sadly, would put a dent in his plan.
“That was unfortunate,” he drawled out, “I don't desire to look at the unsightly face only a mother could love instead.”
The Other Luo Binghe blinked rapidly before anger overtook his features.
Before his apparent lover could splutter out a reply, Shen Qingqiu voiced calmly, “Are you implying you do not possess mirrors in your palace?”
Luo Binghe snapped a glare towards this kind, soft, gentle, anomaly Shizun. The man’s pathetic lover-imposter immediately moved to stand in front of him, not lowering his blade in the slightest. The Shen Qingqiu he knew would never cower behind some man like a certain rat—yet, here he is, apparently having enough thick face to not. Seem. Humiliated.
Curious.
“We do not look alike,” Luo Binghe replied, smiling. There's some truth to his words. After that encounter with the look alike, he had taken the habit to straighten his hair with Yingying's hair care tools. Gone was the raging sea waves underneath the rainstorm-like hair. Not only that, he tied it up into a high ponytail, finding the style more practical and tidy.
It gave him a feeling of triumph—especially after looking at the funny wretch standing before him. It looked like a sheep, or a maneating goblin demon with that birdnest of a hair, depending on who one may ask. He feels… like the better one, to put it into words.
However, his heart was filled with an uncomfortable, screaming feeling when Shen Qingqiu only hummed. Xin Mo writhed and vibrated in his mind, full of offense and anger. Kill that man who thinks he's above everyone els—
“Sheathe your sword!” the imposter barked.
Luo Binghe glared at him. “And have your excuse of a sword impale my neck?”
“Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu immediately tapped the other man’s shoulder with a folded fan. Intrigued, Luo Binghe watched as his failure counterpart glance with softened eyes at the green-robed man, hesitantly nod, and slowly lower down Zheng Yang until it pointed to the floor.
Unable to hold it back anymore, Luo Binghe sniped, “Unbelievable. You fold at the command of this man? You, an emperor?”
Shen Qingqiu’s aloof eyes narrowed into a chilling stare and his lamb lover lifted his head defiantly.
Said lamb lover responded, “Shut your mouth before I throw you back to your rabbit nest.”
“You don't have your own Xin Mo anymore. Destroyed it, didn't you?” Luo Binghe smirked, eyes and huadian flashing crimson in the semi-darkness of the bamboo house. With the minute twitch of the couple’s arms, he supposed that was a yes. After all, when he arrives into this world, he couldn't hear the second whisper of the other Xin Mo. The only logical explanation he came to was that the blade had been shattered into pieces. Slowly, purposely dragging his movement, Luo Binghe sheathed his Xin Mo, barely hiding the glee in his expression when the pathetic couple tensed at the sound it made.
Schiiiiingg……
It made for a comical sight.
Clack.
“Pity. Your theory of barring me out by doing that has been disproven.” The Demon Emperor held up his hands with mock innocence.
As long as he knows the coordination and imagines how the place looks, Xin Mo might as well bring him to the Heavenly Realm. A very convenient feature, if only it doesn't come with an annoying price.
“So this master sees. What's your goal of coming here?” Shen Qingqiu immediately asked, coming out from his hiding place. He ignored the sharp whisper of “Shizun!” that exited the mouth of his wimp disciple.
Finally. Luo Binghe’s smile widened, showing off his sharp canines. “I'm glad you asked. I am here to meet someone.”
The couple tensed even more. It's comical how they seemed go be in sync, always. That Other Luo Binghe shifted to stand in front of his kind, gentle, insufferable Shizun once again. He snarled, “Pervert mongrel! Do not touch him! Leave this place or I'll make you!”
Silence enveloped the room. The tension was so thick it can be cut with a butter knife.
The grin from Luo Binghe's mouth slowly dropped into a furious, heavy frown. He grasped the edges of his cape and crossed his arms, enveloping his body—and his crotch—with it, making himself appear like an overgrown bat on a Tuesday.
A spike of heat suddenly stabbed him somewhere he wouldn't like to mention and he held back a groan, closing his eyes with gritted teeth. Xin Mo screamed, though its voice slightly more muffled in its ornate sheath.
Why must this happen to him?
He was so ready to forget about this place, this Shizun.
Prepared to dismiss it as a mere dream, or a hallucination from fighting a demon.
So prepared.
“Luo Binghe?”
So…
Luo Binghe snapped his blood-red eyes open and a bout of dizziness diffused into his blurring vision. He stumbled, but managed to stand right back on his feet. He faintly registered Shen Qingqiu holding up a twitching hand from behind that little runt, but he shrugged it off as a trick of the mind.
It'd be nice if it was real, though.
Eventually, his concentration recovered (if not partially) and Luo Binghe leveled the imposter’s surprised-confused-wary look with a glare as sharp as Xin Mo’s edge. His breath turned heavy when he looked at the standing reflection of his own self, protecting his Shizun from harm.
He gnashed his teeth. The Demon Emperor felt as if a warhammer was hanging down his arm, weighing it, as he lifted it to point a finger.
At the Other Luo Binghe.
“A challenge,” the other Luo Binghe assumed foolishly (and understandably), lifting his sword once again. Luo Binghe wished that was the case.
Alas.
Shen Qingqiu gripped the man’s shoulder. It looked tight. He hissed a warning, “Don't fight in my house or anywhere in Qing Jing!”
Luo Binghe crossed his arms once again, cape returning to cover his unfortunate illness down there. “As much as this Lord would love to defeat that one in a fight—” the imposter twitched with barely-contained fury, “—he, unfortunately, has a favor to ask of that man.”
“And what would that be?” The Other Luo Binghe had lowered his blade back. However, his hand still trembled with strength around the sword hilt.
An unwanted image entered Luo Binghe's mind and he briskly shook it off. It's best to not get distracted. “What do you know about the Midnight Grave Tassel Mushrooms?”
“The what?” The imposter blinked in confusion. That man is certainly unaware of the existence of said mushrooms—much like Luo Binghe, thirteen days ago. Shen Qingqiu, however…
At first, he seemed to be deep in thought. Luo Binghe felt he could stare at that face for a whole another day, unblinking. Until suddenly, the fan in the Peak Lord’s grip slipped off. The man managed to catch it before it landed on the floor.
At the couple pairs of scarlet irises landing on his figure, he snapped his fan open to fan himself in a speed that was faster than normal, especially in the night time as shown outside the window.
A manic glint appeared in Luo Binghe's slitted gaze. Oh, Shen Qingqiu knew something. Of course the scholar would, having done many kinds of research before.
“Shizun?”
Unanswering his disciple’s worried tone, Shen Qingqiu coughed into his fist, turning his eyes away from contact. Luo Binghe caught the hint of redness on the man’s ears. His body language spoke of different volumes. One of them being… nervousness? Interesting. The Shen Qingqiu he knew of was the epitome of Unreadable, even to the Demon Emperor himself. And this particular person that stands in this very room…
“You—” Shen Qingqiu ineloquently started. He cleared his throat. “You are certain? The Midnight Grave Tassel Mushrooms?”
Luo Binghe studied the man for a moment. He nodded.
“Not the Daylight Grave Tassel Mushrooms?”
The Other Luo Binghe's gaze turned even more incomprehending, brain working in speed to search his memories. Meanwhile, Luo Binghe exhaled a sharp breath at the excited vibration of Xin Mo on his waist. “Yes! Do credit me some intelligence and enhanced hearing, Shizun.”
The imposter had no chance to react negatively against Luo Binghe's harsh tone when Shen Qingqiu cut him off by walking up to the open window in a few large strides. Both Demon Emperors stared in bafflement as the Peak Lord slammed the windows shut, and then padlocked them. He moved across the room again, going around the two half-demons and locking the door. Amidst the unwelcome heat in his mind, a sense of unease filled him. What was this Shizun going on around, locking the door and window for? As if that wasn't enough, talismans flew from his outstretched hand, attaching to the walls, creating a barrier in the whole room.
Luo Binghe's heartbeat skyrocketed before he forced himself to calm down, taking multiple deep breaths. A short burst of adrenaline rushed through his veins. The problem is—he couldn't fathom whether it was his fight-or-flight sense or a familiar kind of excitement.
He's leaning towards the latter, with how painful his cock had been ever since he arrived here.
At last, Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders relaxed (albeit not completely) and he turned around so fast his robes swished dramatically around him. Entranced, Luo Binghe could only stare blankly (and a bit hungrily) before the man spoke up.
“I believe,” he paused, choosing his next words carefully, “that you are in need of urgent help.” He glanced at the Other Luo Binghe. “From my husband.”
‘...They’re married?’
Luo Binghe knew he needed the Other Luo Binghe for this. What he didn't know—was that these two had married.
Since when?
This world never fails to baffle him. He ignored the pang of pain in his heart. It was most likely the poison acting up again.
“Luo Binghe.” The Peak Lord suddenly snapped his gaze towards his pathetic husband. “Tell this master how you came into contact with this particularly potent poison.”
Luo Binghe blinked out of his trance, before telling him of what he remembers.
That day, he returned to his private chambers in Huan Hua Palace after concluding a dispute between two demon clans in the Demon Realm. It had been a long day and he was frankly, mentally exhausted.
Xin Mo was hungry. It hadn't been fed well enough during the day since he had gone through the mission by the negotiation route. There wasn't enough blood splashed onto the ground. The only other way to satiate his sword was dual cultivation. Full of lust, full of passion.
His twentieth wife from Tian Yi Overlook was chosen for the night. It had been very exciting, and they were only halfway through when she suddenly spoke up.
“My Lord… I have an excellent plant that might boost your energy,” she admitted shyly.
Luo Binghe doesn't need a booster. He could even go on for days and his stamina was much greater than his wife. However, he decided to humor her and grinned. “Oh? Do surprise this husband, my dear wife.”
“This one has a plant from her collection—the Midnight Grave Tassel Mushrooms. They only grow during the blue moon’s eclipse, and they provide as an excellent help for dual cultivation. Once grown, they will last a hundred years before turning into golden dust.”
She moved to the edge of the bed and grabbed a small bowl of said plant. Like its name, the mushrooms were black in color and they were shaped like a tassel—a finger-length thin stem and coin-shaped head. Dots of white decorated the head of those small mushrooms, like the twinkling of indifferent stars during the darkest hour.
“Please let this wife spoil you, Husband.”
Luo Binghe's grin widened and he opened his mouth, feeling her delicate, petite fingers brush against his soft lips and tasting the sweetness of the mushrooms on his tongue…
“After that, my manhood refused to go down. It has been disturbing this Lord’s duties in the palace and I couldn't show up without fooling myself.” He huffed, frustrated, suddenly finding a pattern on the floor interesting to analyze.
A minute went by without any sound.
Until the Other Luo Binghe started, “You really are the most foolish dastard in all of the three realms."
Luo Binghe did not bother to spare him his attention. He waited with still-crossed arms, staring at Shen Qingqiu quietly. The man had been frozen ever since Luo Binghe finished his storytelling. The latter couldn't simply deduce the thoughts behind that cold facade. What a bizarre Shizun. One moment he's as easy to read as the back of his hand, the next he turned into a block of jade that can only be found in the coldest depths of a cave.
“Well?” he pressed, impatience in his tone. He is suffering, wallowed in pain as he stood stiffly in this room with tomato red ears. No, he is not flustered at all. He is disturbed. And none of these bastards are doing something. He shifted, one foot to another.
At that, Shen Qingqiu snapped out of his thoughts and leaned back against the door, crossing his arms. Luo Binghe thought that the man's attempt to channel a confident act looked… inviting.
Hunger and desperation warred within his mind. He pummeled them down. This conversation isn't over.
“Lord Luo Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu called, “do you promise this master that in any circumstances, no matter what we say, you would not go on a rampage when I explain to you about the effects of these mushrooms?”
That sense of unease intensified. He pursed his lips and frowned. A quick glance to the imposter showed that the man is still staring (if not glaring) at him.
Swallowing down his rising madness, Luo Binghe forced himself to nod. It proved to be easier than he thought.
“Good.” Shen Qingqiu’s brows slightly furrowed. “The Grave Tassel Mushroom is one of the few existing plants that is able to poison a Heavenly Demon when digested.”
Luo Binghe's eyes flashed in rage, Xin Mo vibrating in its sheath. Poison? If that's true, then his wife had poisoned him! His fists clenched behind the cape. He had given her every luxury a beggar could only dream of—wealth, reputation, title, delicious meals, the promised safety of her sect—and she repaid him by—!
How dare!
The Other Luo Binghe twitched at sensing his killing intent and Shen Qingqiu held up a hand, diligently not misunderstanding his enraged expression. “Calm down. Let this master continue. As you may well know, there are two types of Grave Tassel Mushrooms—the Midnight type, and the Daylight type. The cure to that mushroom once a Heavenly Demon is poisoned with it… the cure is—” he swallowed thickly, glancing at the Other Luo Binghe.
“Shizun, if you don't want to, you don't need to tell him,” the funny husband replied evenly.
Luo Binghe grinned. “My life is on the line and you're brushing it off? How magnanimous of you.”
“You can shut up. Your life is not on the line. At most, you'll be walking around the palace with a funny bulge in your pants. Your servants will get used to it, anyway.”
He inhaled sharply, about to refute the statement with a pummeling fist to the face—
“Silence!” Shen Qingqiu’s whole face is red now—an expression Luo Binghe had only ever seen when the Shen Qingqiu he knew of was angry. “Luo Binghe, how long has it been since you ate the mushroom?”
“Thirteen days ago.”
“Thirteen—!” Shen Qingqiu massaged his forehead, feeling a migraine forming. Luo Binghe couldn't understand. Yes, it did go untreated for thirteen days, but it had been nothing threatening. Then, the Peak Lord lifted his head and looked straight at Luo Binghe, answering the unspoken question. “When the cure isn't delivered, the poisoned will instantly die after exactly fourteen days.”
“What—” Luo Binghe almost choked on his spit. He will die— tonight?!
Preposterous! It felt like a bucket of cold water had been doused on him. Him, the Heavenly Demon Emperor, dying from a random poisonous mushroom that gives him constant boner for two straight weeks?! A humiliating end!
“You have asked for my Binghe's help, coming to see him. I assume you know very well what the cure method is.”
He stiffened, his train of thoughts braking to a halt.
“...Yes.”
The Other Luo Binghe had been switching his gaze between the two men. He couldn't hold his curiosity anymore and asked with urgency, “Shizun, this cure method you speak of…”
Luo Binghe faced himself away from the apparently-married couple, feeling heat rise back to his ears.
Which is better, to live or to die?
“Dual cultivation with a Heavenly Demon.” The Peak Lord's voice entered his ears.
The room came to a quiet stillness. He could feel the imposter’s gaze slowly trail back towards him him.
The thought of dual cultivation should be normal to Luo Binghe. It was an activity so normal that he might even treat it as a meal on a Thursday. The thought of dual cultivation with a man, however… And that man is a Heavenly Demon. As if the heavens were not done toying with him, that particular man had to be another version of himself who's a crybaby.
Luo Binghe bravely turned his head towards the crybaby, who had turned into a frozen statue. “Don't worry, Binghe,” he smirked when the other man whipped his head to glare at him. “This Lord will take care of you.”
“You—” He started to raise Zheng Yang once more, face completely tainted with scarlet blush. Luo Binghe tensed, hand preparing to hold Xin Mo—
“Hold on,” Shen Qingqiu intercepted them.
“But, Shizun—”
“See, the issue is—” the kind Shizun snapped open his fan and completely hid the lower half of his face behind it, leaving only the eyes visible, “if one is poisoned by the Daylight Mushrooms, they have to— to plant their seed a hundred times in a fellow Heavenly Demon.” He gazed woodenly at Luo Binghe, whose brain is coming to a dangerous conclusion. “With the Midnight Mushrooms, the poisoned will be the one to receive it.”
Luo Binghe, “......”
Other Luo Binghe, “......”
A sense of burgeoning horror flooded Luo Binghe's sensed to the point of drowning out Xin Mo’s screams. His face went pallid and he suddenly felt, for the first time in forever, his legs turn jelly beneath him. No, wait, there must be something wrong—
Even as Shen Qingqiu and that— that imposter started to speak amongst themselves, hushing out words that vaguely sounded like “cheating”, “still you”, or “of three”, Luo Binghe's ears still rang with static.
Is this an illusion? A dream? It must be. There was absolutely no way of this happening. Is the dreamscape crashing? He shouldn't have let Meng Mo go so soon when the man had regained his own body, and now he doesn't have anyone to guide him anymore. Perhaps, if he tries hard enough, he will wake up—
“Luo Binghe?”
Said man snapped out of his trance, blinking a couple of times, letting out an ineloquent, “Huh?”
The two people in front of him were staring with equal unreadable gazes. No more glaring. It somehow felt worse and he preferred the glaring. He shifted to reposition his arms, even though his prominent bulge had already been covered under layers of clothing plus a cape. He involuntarily took a wary step back, somewhat feeling bare in front of these two entities that should've never existed.
Shen Qingqiu started to voice, “My… My Binghe has agreed to—”
“YOU’RE LYING!” he cut him off with a yell, taking another step back.
“DON'T YELL AT HIM!” the Other Luo Binghe instantly shouted back, standing in front of his lover while baring his canines.
“As I have told you—” Shen Qingqiu closed his fan with a snap, slamming it in his palm, “—this world's Luo Binghe has agreed to help you, under one condition.”
Luo Binghe, panting, slowly lifted his gaze to meet jet-black orbs. “What. Is it?” he gritted out.
Shen Qingqiu stepped aside from his pathetic crybaby disciple’s behind, seemingly stubborn and prideful. “You are not, in any way, bother any of us anymore once this matter is settled. This also includes not forcing us to go with you back to your world.” Luo Binghe almost let out a heartbroken, choked whimper. Almost. “We agreed to aid your healing only because you are in mortal peril and,” out of nowhere, the Peak Lord's gaze softened a fraction, “this master does not wish to leave a Luo Binghe to die.”
He chuckled. A low, guttural sound. “I am not him.”
“No, you aren't, but you are Luo Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu took a step forward, ignoring his own disciple's warnings. “You are a version of him—so I see no reason to not help you.”
Luo Binghe almost wanted to laugh at that determined face. What a funny notion! This world's everything was so laughable it was a wonder how everyone isn't doomed already. This world—it’s so upside down! No wonder this other version of him is so pathetic!
He took a short, stuttering breath, before asking another question, “And you? Since you are married, shouldn't you be bothered by me having an intercourse with your husband?” he spat out the title as if the definition was “a thousand legged parasite”.
Shen Qingqiu lifted two hands, shrugging it off. “I have given my consent. Besides, you are in urgent need of help. Does it really count as cheating if it can also be called pleasuring oneself?”
“...” He has no words left.
After silently listening for a while, that Other Luo Binghe deadpanned, “This disciple happens to fail finding pleasure in what we're about to do, Shizun. Requesting punishment.”
The Demon Emperor’s eyes flashed with irritation. “Aren't you an ungrateful one? You have the privilege of bedding the Emperor of the Demon Realm, yet you're still whining like a child.”
The piece of sodding garbage remarked, “Why won't I be displeased when the man I'm about to bed isn't my Shizun?”
“Enough!” Shen Qingqiu is done with the conversation. His cheeks were tinted red, visible even at the dimness of the room. “Luo Binghe, open the rift to the Underground Palace, the private chamber.”
Luo Binghe studied the man for a few seconds. He then unsheathed Xin Mo—
“My Binghe's chamber.”
He fought off the urge to childishly roll his eyes and teared the air. The portal opened, illuminating the room with soft light. It looked pure white, with small clouds of black swirling around the entrance.
“While the both of you settle this matter amongst yourselves, this master will wait in Cang Qiong. Or, if it takes longer than we think, this master will go by himself to check on the situation.”
“You're not coming?” The Other Luo Binghe balked, dumbfounded.
Shen Qingqiu smiled. It was nighttime, but Luo Binghe suddenly felt as if dawn had arrived earlier. “I still have a Peak Lords meeting to attend come morning and Qing Jing disciples to teach. I will be here when you are finished.”
The Other Luo Binghe looked upset. Grief-stricken, even. How childish, Luo Binghe scoffed.
That sound caught his attention and the sorry excuse of a Luo Binghe glared at him. The latter turned back to his Shizun. “This disciple agrees. This disciple thinks that version of me isn't beyond assaulting Shizun.”
“Why, you think of me?” Luo Binghe gave a mock grin, lifting his head to look down on the man. “How… touching of you.”
He received an instant answer. “Scram.”
Shen Qingqiu tapped his wretch husband’s shoulder and pushed him forward. “Take your time, promise this master not to rush. Nothing much will happen even if you take a month. If you can't trust Cang Qiong to protect me, then trust this master that he can take care of himself.”
The Other Luo Binghe suddenly pulled his master into an embrace.
Luo Binghe watched in abject silence with an unreadable stare. He did not speak a word, even as the couple separated and the Other Luo Binghe started walking towards the portal… when the man halted in his tracks and stepped aside. Luo Binghe narrowed his eyes, confused.
In response, that bastard smiled with the fakest cheer Luo Binghe had ever seen in his own face and gestured with a clawed hand. “Ladies first.”
Luo Binghe, “...”
There was a faint snort from the other side of the room and he snapped his head to see Shen Qingqiu hiding his whole face behind a reopened fan.
Furious, but wanting to get this shit over with quickly, Luo Binghe stepped at once into the portal before his thread snaps and he loses his control over himself. He made sure to dramatically swish his cape and flick his ponytail until they thwacked his counterpart in the face, leaving the infuriating couple behind.
Or so he thought. The rift only closed once the Other Luo Binghe had stepped through, following him. What a shame. At least he landed a hit, judging by the killing intent that's stabbing into his back. That dastard surely didn't expect him to match his show of pettiness.
***
One week later., somewhere outside the fake bamboo house in the Underground Palace at night.
“—and what are you burning? Wait, is that a whole bed?”
“It is, Shizun,” Other Luo Binghe answered distractedly, sitting on a slab of stone beside his standing Shizun.
Other Shen Qingqiu turned to face him, fanning himself at leisure pace. “And where's the headboard?”
Other Luo Binghe looked away, a tentative look glinting in his eyes.
Shizun raised a brow. When Other Luo Binghe looked back at him, the man’s eyes narrowed in what could be called amusement.
“A trophy, I presume?”
The Demon Emperor scoffed playfully. “Shizun, this disciple defeated that Luo Binghe in something. He deserves a trophy.”
“Ah, yes, yes.” Other Shen Qingqiu folded his fan and pressed the tip to his widening lips. “This master is proud of his disciple, all right. Disciple Luo has won against his enemy, even if it's in bed.”
Other Luo Binghe's cheeks flushed. A panicked expression crossed over his face. “Shizun, I—”
“Oh, please.” He twacked his disciple in the back of the head. “We've gone over this, Binghe. I wouldn’t have let you assist him were I uncomfortable with the notion of you— ahem, settling a private matter with your alternate self.”
Other Luo Binghe's mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, face now pallid. He shifted from one foot to another in nervousness. After a long while, he murmured, “I didn't refuse your request. I had the choice to.”
“And yet?” Shizun asked back easily.
“I left—” he almost choked on his spit, “left… l-love bites. On him.”
The Other Shen Qingqiu's face reddened and he opened his fan to feel the rush of cold air. “Oh?”
His sweet disciple hesitantly looked up at him and said, “I played with his nipples.”
An unwanted image flickered in Other Shen Qingqiu's mind and he huffed with a pinkish blush on his cheeks, brushing it off. “Don't say that so casually.”
“I smelled his scent.”
“...What did you find?” Finally, something normal.
“Wood accord, iris.” Luo Binghe’s shoulders slumped down. “We have different colognes. This disciple thinks it has something to do with our different lovers.”
“Interesting.” He raised a brow.
“I put Xin Mo’s hilt in him—”
“You WHAT?!” Other Shen Qingqiu fully turned to his direction, dropping his fan in the process. His disciple managed to catch it in time before it hit the ground, offering it up to his Shizun by lifting his arm high yet dropping his head to the ground. A fingerless-gloved hand woodenly took it and snapped the fan open.
Other Shen Qingqiu fanned himself rapidly, face tomato red. Just when he thought the confessions would turn back to a more normal direction! “Lift your head, Binghe.”
The Other Luo Binghe slowly did, but his eyes were still pinned to the ground.
It was even a miracle that Luo Binghe himself agreed to it! Most likely because he was threatened. Other Shen Qingqiu sighed and his disciple wilted even more. “You’re implying… that you used his Xin Mo as a— a dildo?”
It's comical how they both used the same incredulous tone, when Luo Binghe was his mirrorself.
“Nothing bad happened, Shizun,” Other Luo Binghe immediately assured him. He then added embarrassingly, “And I… I told him to call me Gege if he wants us to continue dual cultivating.”
Desperate to distract himself from the arousing image of his disciple (it's technically Luo Binghe) being penetrated by a demonic sword, Other Shen Qingqiu inclined his head. “He’s more like Bing-ge than you are Bing-ge, but you managed to reverse the role. Well done.”
Other Luo Binghe smiled at the praise. Ah, his smile resembled the sun in this eventful night. “This disciple called him Bing-mei. Sometimes Meimei.”
Shizun chuckled. “Of course you did.”
“The term stuck with him and he kept calling me Gege in the later rounds.”
Other Shen Qingqiu nodded thoughtfully. He has a faint suspicion this Luo Binghe has a gege kink… or he just had no idea what to call his alternate self.
“And…” Other Luo Binghe suddenly was out of breath. He looked down once more. “Shizun, he…”
“Hm?”
“He kissed me.”
There was a pause, before his Shizun offered, “Good job? You managed to make him like you. Knowing him, he would've thrown himself off a cliff before he kissed his, hmm, rival.” He nodded to himself.
“What?” Other Luo Binghe snapped his head up, staring at his Shizun in shock. “Shizun, he kissed me!”
The Other Shen Qingqiu blinked his beautiful raven black eyes, before nodding his head. “I’ve considered that a possibility and I've accepted the fact that it would happen, whether accidentally or not. Unless you were not okay with it…” His eyes narrowed into slits.
“Shizun, no!” His disciple stood up completely, looming over him in height. The man started to pace around. “We kissed—I mean, he kissed me, but I just let him do so, and it felt weird but I didn't stop him, somewhat.”
“Is it?” Other Shen Qingqiu's steady gaze met him, halting him in his tracks. “Tell this master, did you feel the same thing when you kissed me?”
When his words have been processed in, horror burgeoned into Other Luo Binghe's features.
Instantly, tears wet his eyes. He clenched his fists as he squeezed his eyes shut. “Shizun, this disciple begs for apologies…”
“Nonsense.” His Shizun immediately approached to gather him into his arms, wiping his tears away. “Why would you apologize? I already said that I'm accepting whatever results out of it, haven't I?”
“This disciple had swore to himself not to indulge himself in unnecessary emotions.” Other Luo Binghe sniffled pitifully on his shoulder. “This disciple is a failure. Requesting Shizun for punishment.”
“Don't be ridiculous. It's impossible to not grow some feelings after dual cultivating a hundred times in a row with someone.” Other Shen Qingqiu patted his back.
His disciple wrinkled his nose. “That's different! Shizun, this disciple can perfectly imagine himself projectile vomiting after dual cultivating a hundred times with somebody like Ming-Shixiong.”
His Shizun let go of the hug and thwacked his forehead with his fan. He did not seem impressed. “Respect for your Shixiong. He's the head disciple of Qing Jing. And no, you’ll never ever dual cultivate with him.”
“See, Shizun?” Other Luo Binghe’s brows furrowed in a pout. “You’re upset at the thought of this disciple dual cultivating with Ming-Shixiong. You're not upset when I actually dual cultivated with that Luo Binghe.”
Stepping back, Other Shen Qingqiu fought off the urge to run his palms down his face until he dragged the rims of his eyes downward. Instead, he fanned himself languidly.
“This master mentioned that night that he is not opposed to a marriage of three, remember?”
“No, we can't.” Other Luo Binghe shook his head firmly, the flames of the bed beside him illuminating his jawline. “This disciple wants to be with Shizun.”
“I am not saying you're only married to him. Two is sometimes better than one.”
“Shizun, I would never marry somebody else other than you, even if it's an alternate version of you—because it’s not really you either. Shizun, this disciple promises that he will forget that Luo Binghe and make penance for himself. He will even burn the headboard.”
Other Shen Qingqiu was touched by the words. His little sheep really is an epitome of true love, isn't he? He raised his brows. “Regardless, this master advises his disciple to not be in denial.”
Other Luo Binghe was speechless for a moment, before answering, “That’s cheating!”
“Is it? When it's another you, and when I've already, explicitly, loudly expressed that I am not opposed to a polyamorous relationship?” His Shizun lifted up a finger, tapping the edge of his fan on his chin. “Imagine if it's the other way.”
“Shizun would not.” Jealousy took over his features before he forced himself to smoothen them.
“You’d never know. Think about it, Binghe. Imagine. Would you be opposed if I want to have two spouses?”
“...As long as it makes Shizun happy.” Though Other Luo Binghe was upset at the thought of sharing his Shizun with someone else (whom he hopes shall never exist), he couldn't really deny Shizun anything, could he? Shizun will just be mad at him. Still, the demon in him is screaming at the thought of Shizun being possessed by someone else other than him.
(But what if he could possess that someone too?)
Just no.
“See? Besides…” Other Shen Qingqiu shifted to hide the lower half of his face behind the fan, looking away to show his flushed ear. “This master thinks… that Luo Binghe was a good kisser.”
“This disciple swears that he’ll never let anyone besides himself kiss Shizun.” He paused, shifting on his foot as his gaze drifted down. “...Unless Shizun wanted them to.”
“If you don't want him to kiss this master, then let him kiss you.”
Once again, Other Luo Binghe was left speechless at the rare show of shamelessness from his Shizun tonight. He blinked his long lashes a few times, caught so off guard. When he finally processed that statement, he flusteredly responded, “I doubt Shizun will be happy. Shizun might get jealous and… and Binghe couldn't do that to Shizun.”
Other Shen Qingqiu sighed, shaking his head. The disciple’s heart panged at the notion of upsetting Shizun somehow, but truly… the things his Shizun said are still difficult to make sense of! Is Shizun drunk on wine? He sniffed the air suspiciously, but he only found himself drunken into the minty and bamboo scent of Shizun… He shook his head.
“Binghe, you had looked so—” Shizun sighed. “We’ll discuss that later. This is not over.” Shizun waved his hand in conclusion, to Other Luo Binghe's bitter relief. Bitter? It must be because he really had made Shizun upset. “Back to the topic, what else have you found?”
The Demon Emperor looked back on his memories. Something instantly popped up. “This disciple remembers that Luo Binghe pressed our foreheads together.” He didn't mention that he was crying. His Shizun didn't need to know that and he'd be upset about being not present while his dearest disciple had a random episode. “Our forehead marks flashed bright white. The next thing we knew, an electrifying sensation went through our spine, like an electric shock. Though, this disciple couldn't sense any malicious energy nor anything else out of place after that.”
Instantly, his Shizun’s eyes widened word after word and alarm bells rang in Other Luo Binghe's head at his master’s expression.
“Tell this master more.”
***
“Welcome back, My Lord.” A servant bowed his head as Luo Binghe passed by him. He gave a curt nod for the thousandth time for the day.
He'd been gone for a week. A week! Surely a single round wouldn't take that much time, right? Surely he would have finished more than half a hundred rounds in the span of a day without a refractory period, right?
Apparently, not.
No wonder he and his other self had been so worn out by the end of it, even with the help of replenishment elixirs. He'd been baffled when he'd arrived back in this (empty, grey, lifeless) world last night and heard about the date from a passing servant outside his bedchamber.
He immediately bathed himself upon returning. However, before he even dipped himself into the water, he hesitated just ever so slightly. He was… unwilling to let go of the lingering scent of bergamot, rosemary, and minty bamboo.
However, he was too eager to rid himself of the stickiness on his skin and hair, so he doused himself after dipping down some soaps that smelled exactly like the three. He was only drowning himself in bubbles and foam until a maid of the palace had… stumbled herself into the bath chamber, somehow.
He had somewhat panicked and gathered the bubbles and foam to cover himself, all the while threatening murder upon her until the poor, crying girl ran out while dropping the towels (he wouldn't actually do so but he suspected he really would if that girl wouldn't stop blushing and stumbling over her words instead of sprinting out immediately). Blame it on his conflicted and disturbed mind.
That was last night.
He moved with measured steps through the palace halls, his footsteps echoing faintly against the polished marble floors. The air was heavy with incense and the faint hum of distant court activity, but here, the long corridors were silent, lit only by the dim glow of lanterns hanging from gilded brackets. Intricate tapestries adorned the fake walls, depicting tales of past false glory, their vibrant colors muted in the flickering light.
Fake, fake, fake. Everything screamed of fake.
“My Lady, please calm down!”
“NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!” A scream erupted from inside the room ahead. He curiously approached it until he realized—ah, this is Qiu Haitang’s room.
Qiu Haitang’s wordless screams were further heard in her chamber. He broke the sealings to her doors with ease and opened it wide.
Her chamber was a chaotic wreck, its once-majestic splendor reduced to a scene of disarray. Splintered wood and shattered porcelain littered the floor, remnants of ornate furniture and delicate tea sets hurled in anger. Silk tapestries hung crookedly from the walls, some torn as though clawed by an unseen beast. The low table at the far side of the room lay overturned, its lacquered surface scarred by deep gouges, while scrolls and inkstones were scattered haphazardly, their contents smeared or spilled. Lanterns swung unevenly from their mounts, casting jagged shadows across the wreckage.
“Lord— Lord Luo!” The maid at Qiu Haitang's side immediately fell to her knees, bowing her head.
Luo Binghe did not bother with her. Instead, he laid his eyes upon the mistress.
Qiu Haitang was in her inner robes, hung haphazardly along her trembling figure. Her long hair went untied, creating a long mess across her back. Cold sweat littered her forehead as her bloodshot eyes drifted up towards the Demon Emperor's face.
“Husband!” she exclaimed fearfully, wrapping her shaking arms around herself, “A— A Dream Demon attacked me, Husband! He—”
Normally, he would've gone straight to her and take her into his embrace. Now, Luo Binghe only inclined his head, still standing at the door.
Qiu Haitang realized that as well and choked, “Husband, won't you.. hug this Tang’er? I'm scared!”
He sighed. He's… really not in the mood anymore. He likes Qiu Haitang, yes, but not to the extreme extent that Other Luo Binghe showed towards the kind, gentle Shizun. He only ever married her for her protection and also because Xin Mo likes her. She's… looking for love from someone who could only give her false smiles and whispers. Face as cold as jade, Luo Binghe stepped through the doorframe and instead of hugging her like she asked for him to, he only put a solid hand on her shoulder. Even when she leaned in for a hug, he tightened his grip, grounding her standing in place. Her face looked betrayed as she looked up at him.
“Maiden,” he turned to the kneeling maid, “excuse yourself.”
“Yes. Yes, My Lord!” The maid stood up to give him a bow and hurriedly went out of the room that was full of tension.
“Haitang, what is this?” He gestured with his hand at the wreck of a room. He did expect a huge reaction out of her—but not to this extent. Now he thinks she's not ready to be a mother (it’s a good thing Luo Binghe always used protection even after marrying—he wasn't ready for children yet).
Instead of answering his question, Qiu Haitang focused on something else. “Haitang? Not Tang’er? What, am I ugly to you now?”
“Haitang,” he growled—he had never done so towards any of his wives, “what is this?”
“IT’S THE DREAM DEMON!” She stomped her feet. “It’s the Dream Demon, I know it! He—” Her face was fully red from anger and frustration, and sadness and shock. “He showed me these fake memories in the form of detailed dreams! A-Luo would never do that! He's kind and compassionate!!” Her breaths became heavier. “Nonononono! They're LYING! Everyone’s a liar!”
“Who?”
“EVERYONE!”
His eyes narrowed in what could only be called amusement, though Qiu Haitang isn't close enough with him to properly guess the emotion. All she knew was that her husband was frowning. “Even Qiu Jianluo?”
“NO!!” she immediately refuted, shaking herself from her husband’s hold, stepping back. “A-Luo would never! That motherfucker Shen Jiu bit the hand that fed him like a rabid dog, when all my brother did was feed him, teach him, spoil him—! Even when I was gone, he— my brother couldn't have… have done that behind my back!”
“Done what?” He played the innocent, attaching confusion to his expression.
She struggled to get the words out, “Ab-Abused Shen Jiu!”
Before Luo Binghe could respond, Qiu Haitang continued to pace around the room. “It's just impossible! A-Luo is the kindest person on earth—he is! He is!! He loves me and he must've loved Shen Jiu too, otherwise why—” she started to sob, halting in her tracks. “Was that why Shen Jiu kept calling himself clumsy? No, he must be! He must be clumsy— I CAN’T!” She went to tackle Luo Binghe’s torso with her arms, crying into his chest.
“A-Luo, A-Luo, why??!!” she wailed, her voice muffled.
Luo Binghe only stood there, clueless on what to do. Before, whenever his wives cried, he would always do the thing Qiu Haitang was about to do right now to distract their minds.
“Husband…” She started to undress herself, slipping off her inner robes from her shoulders, “Please, Tang’er needs comfort…”
“Not like this.” He immediately dressed her back, putting her robes back on with firm hands.
Qiu Haitang looked up at him with a mixture of shock, confusion, and heartbreak. “What…” she breathed brokenly, struggling to process his rejection. “What?”
He firmly shook his head, gently pushing her away by the shoulders. “Haitang, having intercourse to distract oneself from a problem is only running away from it,” said the hypocrite (in his defense, he was about to die). “Huan Hua Palace has an exceptional aptitude for the Daoist art of concealment and, therefore, is very skilled with maze arrays. Some Dream Demon can't quite possibly bypass it without this Lord sensing it, can it?”
“But—”
“My advice would be to verify the truth from Shen Jiu himself. He, after all, was the one who spent the most time with your brother. Have you ever looked into his side?” He held back the overwhelming urge to frown at the mere mention of that man’s name. It slightly helped that he could pretend he was talking about the Other Shen Qingqiu.
The more Qiu Haitang listened, the more incredulous she looked. Dark lines wrinkled over her face as she struggled to believe her ears. “No?!” She backed away from her husband— no, this isn't her husband anymore! “Why would I?! He ruined my life!” she yelled back raspily.
“Regardless,” he answered plainly. He himself really couldn't believe that he was defending this monster.
“He killed everyone—I witnessed it myself, don't you know?! You've seen firsthand what he's also capable of! Don't tell me you've f-for-forgiven him?!”
“What?” His posture straightened and suddenly, he seemed much bigger than he was previously. A dangerous glint crossed over Luo Binghe's eyes as his mark and irises flashed red. “You're saying… I've forgiven him?” He started to laugh humorlessly. “In your dreams!”
“Then why—”
“I DON'T KNOW!” he roared. The porcelain teacups on the floor shattered into bits with the force of his pressure.
Qiu Haitang’s glossy eyes stared up at him uncomprehendingly, like he was a stranger. He might as well be, with how much he feels like a stranger to himself at the current moment.
“I hate that man.” He trembled with rage. “You and I despise him. That's an undeniable fact. He's a monster—that’s undeniable too, but—” he chuckled. “I am one as well, aren't I?”
Another bitter chuckle erupted from his mouth. He met her eyes. “If he's the reason I'm the way that I am now, someone else is also the reason he's the way he is. All I ask,” he voiced firmly before she could interrupt, “is that you ask him.”
Not wanting to continue the circling conversation further, he left the room in big strides, leaving a stunned woman inside her chamber. He stepped through the treshold, and he managed to take a few more steps through the hall when her voice, tinged with glaciers, called from behind.
“Luo Binghe.”
He stopped, turning his head to look back with expression devoid of emotion.
Qiu Haitang, at that moment, faintly resembled Shen Jiu as she stood tall in the doorway despite her petite body. Her face was as stone as jade, head lifted high, and when she spoke, her voice was as freezing as a cold lake.
A shadow of the pure, bright-hearted child in Shen Jiu’s memories.
Just like the little beast.
“You were supposed to be on my side.”
He replied quietly, “I am.”
“No you aren't,” she spat with venom. It was the first time she ever spoke like this towards him. “If you were on my side, you wouldn't have made everything harder for me.”
“Deny all you want.” He fully turned to face her.
“...It was you, wasn't it?” A hint of recognition appeared in her eyes. “You're the one who sent those dreams. Otherwise, why would you be so calm about this?”
“Perhaps.” He shrugged his shoulders.
The woman's face descended into rage. Then, as if she was doused in cold water, that venom returned into her eyes.
“I should've known. Once a demon, always a demon.” She whipped away to step back into her room. “Prepare to sign the divorce agreement.”
The doors slammed close behind her.
Without a word, Luo Binghe stiffly continued walking away. He passed by some other servants and Huan Hua Palace disciples, ignoring their passing greetings. He passed through extravagant halls and courtyards, boots clicking soundlessly against the polished marble floors. Towering columns lined the hall, their golden carvings shimmering in the morning sunlight. His unfocused gaze swept over disciples who were practicing sword forms in the distant training field.
When he reached his private chamber in the west wing, the low table at the center of the room was cut into two. It collapsed.
Xin Mo’s jet black blade glimmered, catching the light that seeped through the slit in the window. Luo Binghe breathed slightly heavily, staring down at it with a complicated expression.
His sword hadn't turned on him and there hasn't been any backlash after… its dignity had been crushed by Other Luo Binghe. After one hundred rounds of dual cultivation in a row, it had been so full that it most likely wouldn't be hungry for many months. If he doesn't use too much of its power, it might even last up to a whole year.
His brows twitched and he felt blood rush into his cheeks. There was no more use thinking about that. The matter is settled.
However, when his gaze landed in the mirror at the far end of the room, he swiftly sheathed Xin Mo and approached it.
It was impossible to look in the mirror when he felt as if the Other Luo Binghe's eyes were staring back at him.
“Remember,” he slowly murmured, a memory flashing in his mind, “as much as you are a demon, you still have human blood.”
He felt outright ridiculous for talking to himself. An embarrassed flush appeared in his ears and he huffed, snapping his head away.
Only to land his eyes upon the discarded fabric just near his foot. With stiffened limbs, he gingerly picked it up, holding it with both hands as he carefully examined the cape. His fingertips brushed over the fine, silken fabric. His keen eyes traced the intricate embroidery along the hems—crimson threads woven into patterns of coiling bamboo.
He whipped his head back to the mirror in front of him and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
“Come out!” he barked at his reflection after slinging the cape over his left arm. He'd half-expected his reflection to rebel and move on its own, gaining its own sentience.
It followed his movements, just like a normal reflection would.
Gritting his teeth, he knocked his knuckles harshly on the mirror’s bronze surface. The reflection met his knuckles. Luo Binghe clicked his tongue and intensely stared at the mirror, hoping for something to be different. For something to happen.
It was only an hour of nothing later did he finally move away from the mirror. He has a trial to attend.
***
The trial went… only a nutjob would call it calm and smooth. At best, it was eventful. At worst, it was mind-blowing.
Qiu Haitang had outright asked Shen Jiu in the middle of the trial about the abuse he'd gone through in her household. Everyone, including the Peak Lords who attended, were stupefied to no degree. Shen Jiu had gone frozen—barely speaking a word nor even meeting anyone's eyes. Luo Binghe duly noted that Yue Qingyuan—that man’s apparent ‘Qi-ge’—had also went as pale as parchment.
Neither Luo Binghe or Yue Qingyuan himself intervened when the Old Palace Master suggested to use the infamous Veilpiercing Heaven’s Whisper Draught on Shen Jiu. The draught was made from extracted essence of the rare psych-affecting plants such as Shadowroot Herbs and Blooming Dreamweaver Lilies. When combined, those plants would result in a potent truth serum that may be dangerous in the wrong hands. Such was why the recipe is heavily guarded by the four major sects and is considered illegal—only ever used on trials where all evidence lead to nothing and the defendant wasn't cooperating.
Shen Jiu had expectedly put up a fight when the draught was delivered. He had shockingly fought off his Immortal-binding Cables and almost managed kick the draught from Disciple Gongyi Xiao’s hands when Liu Mingyan swooped in to violently tackle him down to the ground, forcing the blue-tinted liquid into his mouth.
Luo Binghe witnessed in abject interest as the dazed Shen Jiu was forced back into his seat in the middle of the courtroom amongst a hundred watchers. His shoulders were pinned by the Gongyi brothers, one of them being Gongyi Guang, further pressing him down the seat.
When everyone is settled back already, Old Palace Master asked gleefully, “Did you kill Peak Lord of Bai Zhan, Liu Qingge?”
The answer was a firm, “No.”
A wave of disbelief rippled through the crowd (Luo Binghe himself not spared from it) and a quick glance to Yue Qingyuan showed that the man’s shoulders sagged in unhidden relief. As everyone started murmuring, Liu Mingyan herself had become stock still.
“Have you, before his death, ever intended to cause his end?”
Shen Jiu's foggy eyes trailed up to the Old Palace Master before his quiet voice echoed across the courtroom.
“I have never wished death upon him.”
“...Then how did he die?” Liu Mingyan asked, face pallid.
“Qi Deviation, he—” Some light flickered in his abyssal black irises. Shen Jiu started to tremble. “He—”
Old Palace Master interrupted him, “Don't fight against it, Master Shen. It will only break your mind.”
“He… stabbed himself because he realized he was about to pull me along into Qi Deviation.” He gasped, eyes widening.
The room went completely still. The Peak Lords were stunned.
"...What?" Liu Mingyan implored, her body started trembling all over.
Shen Jiu repeated with a dull voice, "He killed himself in his Qi Deviation."
Abruptly, a short yet agonized scream erupted from Liu Mingyan’s throat. All eyes snapped towards her as she ran out of the courtroom, Peak Lordess Qi Qingqi chasing after her with a frantic, “Mingyan!”
After that, more revelations followed.
Just as Luo Binghe had known, Shen Jiu answered Qiu Haitang’s barrage of questions asked through the Old Palace Master’s fancy mouth. Yes, he killed Qiu Jianluo and the servants, but he spared the girls and maids, letting them run away. Yes, he was the cause of the burning. No, his times alone with Qiu Jianluo were far from pleasant.
And from there, Qiu Haitang took over.
“Was my brother kind to you?” she asked, a faint hint of hope in her voice.
At first, Shen Jiu shook his head as his brows furrowed. “Shut— N— Nnnno,” he hissed. “He despises me and thinks I'm a beast. He was far from kind.”
Luo Binghe crossed his arms, tapping them. A blank expression appeared in his face.
“...What about those bruises and wounds? And cuts?”
“Scram— scr— scra— clumsy.” Shen Jiu coughed up blood. It trickled down his chin, dripping into his inner robes.
“Qingqiu-Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan voiced worriedly, “Don't fight it. Please.”
Shen Jiu couldn't manage a glare. The curtain of fog had returned to his eyes. “He caused them, and told me to answer ‘clumsy’ whenever you asked.”
Luo Binghe halted his finger.
The girl almost choked on air as her eyes went glossy. “Then why did he engage us?”
“Sod off— sod— so— ssss—aid that he wants to keep you all by himself, doesn't want to marry you off to another family. He taught me the arts just so I wouldn't be a ‘sorry excuse of a husband’, as he had put it. He said— ssshut up, shut, ssssss—aid that after marrying, he’ll rape both of us and lock us up.” Shen Jiu gasped, horror seeping into his dazed gaze.
More shocked whispers resounded at the revelation of this supposed noble. The Gongyi brothers glanced at each other uneasily.
Qiu Haitang fainted right away, then carried out of the courtroom by her maids. Yue Qingyuan looked like he would have as well were he afraid of missing out on anything, clenching his hands on the balcony's fence.
The Old Palace Master continued after a while of composing himself.
“Do you admit to perform overly harsh discipline on Disciple Luo Binghe?”
Luo Binghe stared at Shen Jiu with an empty look.
The latter’s eyes was back to indifference as he looked forward into thin air. “Yes.”
“Explain.”
Shen Jiu took a moment to form his words. The faintest hint of a rueful smile appeared in his lips. “We have so much in common. We are so similar in many ways. He was so eager to please that I couldn't help myself.”
Crimson eyes narrowed into slits.
“I wondered…” Shen Jiu tilted his head, closing his eyes. “I wondered if I could break that naive, unyielding light in his eyes. Not only was I envious of his profound potential, I wanted to bring him down with me together. Wu Yanzi broke my spiritual foundation, so I channelled my resentment onto him. Qiu Jianluo shackled me with his chains. In return, I stabbed him fifty times that not even his mother could recognize him no more. At that moment, I faintly couldn't believe what I had become.” He chuckled bitterly. “I should credit him for that. I used all his techniques to properly form a little beast of my own, and Luo Binghe was the perfect vassal for that.”
More whispers and murmurs resounded, voices rolling in shock and disbelief. Yue Qingyuan board his head with closed eyes, looking more like he was the guilty one instead of Shen Jiu.
Old Palace Master’s expression had turned into a cold, brewing rage. He promptly nodded. “Have you had any ill will towards your female disciples? Specifically, Disciple Ning?”
Ning Yingying’s head perked up, revealing her tear-stricken eyes as she looked imploringly at her former Shizun, pressing her clasped hands onto her chest.
The answer was a resolute, “No.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief as she breathed out. She nodded gratefully to her group of female friends as they gently tapped her back and shoulders.
Old Palace Master's eyes narrowed into murderous slits, like he didn't receive the answer he was hoping for. “Then it is known that you often favor her and talk to Disciple Ning in private, even going as far as to give her private lessons. Reasoning?” he gritted out.
“I am her godfather.”
The silence was deafening. Even Ning Yingying's jaw had hung slack.
Luo Binghe had almost dropped his jaw as well.
“Men disgust me. I feel more at ease around women, because I know they'd never be capable of laying harm onto me.” Shen Jiu’s indifferent gaze drifted sluggishly towards the quietly-fuming Young Palace Mistress. “Though, I might have to revise my judgement.”
Everyone knew of the girl's tendency to violence through her spiritual whip. It was a very easy guess that she had confronted him in his cell.
A few more questions followed—to which Luo Binghe couldn't hear past the ringing in his ears. He felt like the world is slowly tilting upside down. He faintly recalled spoken words of “the best revenge” from someone in his memory and at once, he almost wanted to hack Shen Jiu right there and then if not for the Old Palace Master rolling his scroll.
“Since half of Master Shen’s allegations had been disproven, another trial will suffice for tomorrow in—”
“Qiong Ding Peak Hall.” Yue Qingyuan’s frost-like voice boomed and every widened eyes turned towards him. Uncaring of the looks even from his fellow Peak Lords, Yue Qingyuan descended down the balcony with the grace of an immortal, landing precisely with a light foot on the marble floor. He stepped forward, wordlessly commanding the Gongyi brothers to let go of Shen Jiu’s body. His presence alone demanded enough respect for the two to immediately back away. Under almost a hundred eyes, the sect leader caught Shen Jiu’s unconscious body in time just as it had slumped forward, pressing the man’s head to his shoulder.
He lifted his head to stare defiantly at the trembling Old Palace Master.
“Old Palace Master, seeing as Peak Lord Shen is still one of our own and he's been proven to not have murdered Liu-Shidi, this senior sees it fit to hold the second— final trial in Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.” Yue Qingyuan continued, “This senior has been lenient on your wishes to hold the trial here thus far. However, the use of Veilpiercing Heaven's Whisper Draught on my Shidi was illegal and Cang Qiong demands compensation, especially since the alleged had been proven to not be as guilty as charged.”
The old man’s face contorted into rage word by word. Despite being a hundred years younger than him, Yue Qingyuan dared to lord his higher-ranked position over him. Not only that, the man eliminated the privilege of Huan Hua Palace delivering punishment to Shen Jiu. That also eliminates Luo Binghe's as he's also a disciple of Huan Hua.
Partly.
“YUE QINGYUAN!” Old Palace Master slammed his hand down his table, destroying it into crumbling pieces as he stood up. “You dare revoke the rights of my Disciple Luo’s right to bring karma to his abusive Shizun?!”
Said man in black Qiong Ding robes stiffened and he turned to look at Luo Binghe. The latter had expected to see a wilting, pleading, pathetic expression. Instead, what he sees is resolve. Yue Qingyuan addressed the old man once more.
“I agree. Luo Binghe is only the living victim of Shen Qingqiu.”
“Then—”
“That doesn't change my decision to hold the trial in Cang Qiong. Shen-Shidi is still one of our own and Disciple Luo has not declared his backtrack even after returning from the Abyss, therefore marking him as of two sects at once.” He stood up fully while carrying Shen Jiu’s prone body in his arms.
“You—!” Old Palace Master then turned to Luo Binghe, glaring at him, silently pleading for support.
Luo binghe turned his cold gaze from the old man to look back at Yue Qingyuan. “Suit yourself,” he spoke for the first time in the courtroom. “I only care that he receives equal punishment for his actions. After that, I want nothing to do with him anymore.”
Old Palace Master dropped his jaw. “What?! Luo Binghe, after all I've done for y—”
“This one is attempting to prove that no matter how much that sorry excuse of a Shizun tries, I will never become what he wanted me to be and that all his efforts will bear fruitless, condemning him to a life of nothing but wasted efforts and misery.” His crimson eyes narrowed. “However, if he dares show his face before me again after his trial, I will multiply that misery by fiftyfold.”
The room fell into an astonished hush.
After a moment of stillness, Yue Qingyuan contemplated his words and resolutely nodded. “Cang Qiong Mountain promises to heed Lord Luo's words.”
There was no obvious tell on who was the first to leave. Yue Qingyuan, with an unconscious Shen Jiu in his arms, soon followed by his fellow Peak Lords—or Luo Binghe, with his raven-colored cape flowing in his trail. The only thing one's keen eyes could tell was the heaviness in how they walked and the sheer exhaustion in their shoulders.
*****