Chapter Text
Epilogue: Five years later
Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu are enjoying some wine on Mu Qingfang’s back porch, when they hear Yuan-er arrive home. At fourteen, the boy has grown significantly taller. He’s lanky, though, and prone to tripping over his newly large limbs.
Mu Yuan had ultimately committed to cultivating as a healer of Qian Cao peak. Fortunately, Qian Cao used spiritual cultivation so the young man suffered no ill effects from beginning his journey using Qing Jing materials.
Shen Qingqiu liked to say it made the boy a little more versatile. He personally taught his brother how to play guqin, and provided him with texts so he could study musical cultivation if he wished.
Even after all this time, Mu Qingfang found it was still quite difficult keeping Yuan-er in books.
The bookstore that Shen Qingqiu and Mu Yuan used to patronize was naturally torn down, and it was more than a year before a Qing Jing Hallmaster decided to retire and move down the mountain to try his luck at selling books. Wen Kang, had been responsible for teaching calligraphy as well as history and had a relatively large personal book collection.
Shen Qingqiu introduced Mu Yuan to the Hallmaster, and an unusual friendship was born. To this day, Mu Yuan visited the older man at least once a month to exchange books. Truly, he was one of the most frequent customers at the new bookshop.
Mu Qingfang confided that Yuan-er has always been good with the elderly, and Shen Qingqiu thought he might never recover from the ensuing laughing fit.
“Please,” Shen Qingqiu said, “Never say that to Wen Kang, or allow him to find out that you called him elderly.”
Mystified, Mu Qingfang replied, “He’s well over two hundred. Of course he’s elderly.”
Mu Yuan eventually comes to see them both, leaning against the railing while he talks about his day. “Baba, Jiu-ge, you won’t believe it! I met the coolest person today!”
Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu exchange glances. Mu Qingfang says, “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Yuan-er says brightly. “He’s from Bai Zhan-”
Shen Qingqiu sighs, and Mu Qingfang prods him with a fingertip to the ribs.
“Don’t look like that, Jiu-ge, they’re not all meatheads, just most of them. Anyway, he came to the Healing Pavilion because some of the other boys tried to bully him, and you know what?”
“What?” Mu Qingfang asks.
“He beat them all up! Every single one of them, and there were like--I don’t know, three or four. Can you believe that? Maybe he’ll be as strong as Liu Shishu!” Mu Yuan pauses to take a breath.
“Let us all pray that this paragon of virtue is less blockheaded than Liu Shidi,” Shen Qingqiu says, swirling his cup of wine idly.
Mu Yuan rolls his eyes, and Mu Qingfang hides a smile. “Jiu-ge, you don’t get it,” Yuan-er complains. “Liu Shishu himself brought him in, and told us to make sure we fixed him up, because Liu Shishu had big plans for him!”
“Oh, and he said that he might cook for me, someday!” Mu Yuan says, out of nowhere.
Shen Qingqiu blinks. “Liu Qingge?”
“No! Jiu-ge, keep up! I mean my new friend,” Mu Yuan crosses his arms over his chest and looks inpatient the way only teenagers can. “Anyway, he’s super cool. And he’s got this really nice wavy hair, or maybe it’s curly?” Mu Yuan scrunches his face up in thought. “He just looks like the perfect Bai Zhan disciple, you know?”
Mu Qingfang finishes his wine and sets his cup down on the table next to him. “I see. And does this young man have a name, perhaps?”
Mu Yuan grins. “His name is Luo Binghe.”
Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu listen while Mu Yuan expounds upon this Luo Binghe’s many (seemingly endless,) virtues. Finally, the boy finishes this stream of consciousness with, “-And he asked me if we could meet sometimes and talk some more, so naturally I said, yes! Awesome, right?” He doesn’t wait for a response. “Okay, well, I’m gonna go get changed!”
He disappears back into the house.
Shen Qingqiu leans forward. “Fang-er, do you think Yuan-er has any idea he has a crush on this boy?”
Pained, Mu Qingfang says, “Not a chance.” He pinches the bridge of his nose and then meets Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. “He’s never shown any interest before in anyone his own age. Boys or girls.”
“Hmm,” Shen Qingqiu says, pensieve. “We will need to keep a close eye on this Luo Binghe.”