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Chapter Text

Shen Qingqiu paused at a sound in the surrounding bamboo grove and startled when it was nothing more than a cat which walked out. His shoulders untensed, hand drawing away from his sword hilt. He had worried it would be an ambush from his shixiongs, or a Bai Zhan raid out so deep amidst the forest. He hadn't expected a cat. 

The cat was not starved the way most on the streets tended to be, corded with muscle and visible bones. It was a rather plump cat, if not fully grown, and its grey, splotchy-white fur looked clean and silky soft. 

Shen Qingqiu crouched, reaching a hand for the cat. It yowled, but did not protest much as Shen Qingqiu petted and turned it this way and that, commenting drily that it was a rather cute, pampered thing. 

Most cats scurried away at unfamiliar hands, but this one was naive enough for him to grab. 

When the cat dared wriggle in his grasp, leaning its back against his arm, Shen Qingqiu frowned. 

It's a boy, Shen Qingqiu thought with narrowed eyes and sudden, incredible distaste. 

He considered dropping the cat. 

“It'll need to be neutered,” Shen Qingqiu muttered absently as he petted the cat’s sides. 

The cat yowled in what sounded like alarm, which Shen Qingqiu found deeply amusing.  

“Such a pretty little thing should have known better than to let someone get their hands on you,” Shen Qingqiu scolded. If the cat hadn't wanted to be caught, he morbidly thought, then why did it stay? 

Shen Qingqiu patted and prodded at it for a whole minute and yet it still had not run off. 

Shen Qingqiu adjusted the cat so he wasn't holding it by the scruff of its neck. He picked the cat delicately, making a cradle in his arms, and decided to take it to his woodshed. 

Shen Qingqiu wondered if the cat had gone through any hardships at all, or if it was well-fed so high in the mountains. It had no collar or mark of ownership, so he wondered if it had ever been beaten or left to die. Perhaps it had been abandoned, recently enough that it hadn't lost the life in its eyes. 

The pleasantness of a solitary walk and of finding a cute cat on the peak declined. Shen Qingqiu wandered the abandoned paths through the bamboo forest absently scratching the fur behind the cat's ears until it was dark. 

Then he returned to the woodshed, where he had little food and water to offer. 

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Shen Qingqiu's cat was a vicious little thing, always watching him warily but following him around nonetheless. When Shen Qingqiu attended class it waited hidden away, and when class ended it found its way back to his side. When older disciples of Qing Jing chased Shen Qingqiu down, the cat knew to run away.  

The cat was welcome to come and go whenever it wanted, Shen Qingqiu had told it. Being a cat, it hadn't understood a word of what he said. Shen Qingqiu hoped the concept got across nonetheless. 

He was not fond of men, but Shen Qingqiu felt more kinship with this male cat than he did with even Yue Qingyuan. 

Qi-ge might be able to shake off the dirt he was raised in but Shen Qingqiu would not deny what he was, even if he hated being looked at like an animal. Who better to spend my time with than another beast? Shen Qingqiu thought. At least if the cat judged him it would not be based on exaggerated peak rumours.

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Qing Jing peak was vibrant during the day, the sounds of scholarly arts constantly straying across the peak. At night, the peak took on a more sombre mood. Shen Qingqiu found it easier to concentrate on his duties in silence, and so kept most of his written work for the night. 

During the day Shen Qingqiu focused more on his own studies, chores, and teaching responsibilities, and at night he finalised written assignments and feedback for junior disciple’s work. 

Ever since getting a cat, which he refused to name out of a stubborn sense of unity (‘I was given a number for a name, I doubt a cat would do well under those circumstances’), his night shifts had gotten less stressful. Whenever the cat would wake from a nap it would wander over to Shen Qingqiu and snuggle into his lap, dragging his attention away from work. 

Shen Qingqiu imagined something as lazy as a cat could not imagine why Shen Qingqiu did not laze around as much as a cat might. Whenever the cat tried scratching at his ankles or pulling him towards the scraps of cloth Shen Qingqiu used as a bed, he ignored it. 

“Your bed is over there,” he would remind the cat, pointing to the smaller bundle of clothes and single pillow he had arranged for the cat to sleep on. 

When Shen Qingqiu visited the Warm Red Pavillion, the cat followed along, meowing in distress as if it wanted the comfort of the wood shed instead of the teahouse establishment. Ridiculous, Shen Qingqiu thought, but who was he to judge a fellow beast? 

Perhaps the cat really hated the smell of tea or the sound of music. Though, if that were the case, he wondered why it would choose to live with him in a wood shed on Qing Jing peak. 

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Shen Qingqiu didn’t want his woodshed to get dirtier than it needed to be. Though the cat had the awful tendency to shed (just another reason to castrate the damned animal), bathing it helped a little.

Shen Qingqiu had little bottles of soapy oil he would slather onto the beast. Enjoying its suffering as he lathered the cat and dunked him into the bathing pools was truly the brightest point in some of Shen Qingqiu’s days. The awful screeching yowls and scratching truly spoke to Shen Qingqiu’s heart, a non-intrusive presence he became used to indulging in his space. 

Shen Qingqiu loved learning the arts and did so with such fervour that his shizun had acknowledged him before his official entry to the peak, but even he tired of doing the same schedule day after day. He could go on missions alone, but had no motivation for it. He could visit other peaks when his duties called for it, but there was no one he would spend time with.

“Stop moving or I’ll kill you,” Shen Qingqiu sighed when the cat struggled too much in his grasp. Perhaps he was squeezing it a little hard against his chest, but it was late afternoon and he didn’t have any other company as he walked around the bamboo forest in the dark. 

It wasn’t that the cat would often comply with his simple demands, but the peace of mind the creature gave him was unique. No one had reprimanded him for keeping a cat. When months passed without an owner showing up, Shen Qingqiu embroidered a ribbon to go around its neck.

It was a cute, useless creature that kept him company.

Unwittingly, Shen Qingqiu decided the cat was the best possession he had.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge was not a physically affectionate man. He had no real desires besides whatever came out under the occasional aphrodisiac, and even then he had never indulged in friendship the way he knew others did. 

He spent most of his growing years training and focusing on learning as many martial forms as he could. He spent the remainder of his disciplehood volunteering for missions, quests, and monster parts that needed collection. Since he would sign up alone, he was usually assigned different martial siblings when it wasn't a solo mission. This meant Liu Qingge didn't have any close friends on Bai Zhan, even if he knew a lot of faces in passing. 

So Liu Qingge was not close with anyone and affection was far out of the question. Liu Qingge knew his face was thick and his words blunt. He was practical and reduced the time spent talking idly because it was a waste of words. Unnecessary. 

He learnt survival skills and martial forms and the combat and harvesting information of the common beasts. 

While Liu Qingge was also often sent out on flower retrieval missions, depending on the areas he would pass through, plants were not his speciality. He knew the bright ones were usually dangerous and the dull-looking ones mostly harmless, and that these warnings had to be flipped for many demonic species. 

The point being that Liu Qingge had absolutely not recognised the bundle of small purple petals growing between the dirt and back wall outside his residence when the creeping vine was young, and he definitely didn't pay it any mind when he inevitably walked past the patch, even though it now spanned half the wall. 

Bai Zhan didn't grow many colourful plants due to the rubble, stone buildings and rocks that made up the warrior peak. Also, the training tended to kill off most things that grew. Until that moment the purple was a nice bit of colour to the peak that was already so dull.

When Liu Qingge regained consciousness he felt drunk on Zui Xian wine and disoriented beyond measure. It did not take long for him to realise he had fainted behind his cottage, and that he was now a cat.

The plants weren't demonic in nature, so his meridians seemed intact if out of reach, and he thankfully appeared to be a regular cat. 

It was not practical for the Bai Zhan Head Disciple to be a cat. 

He had fled down the peak, hoping to cross Qing Jing to reach Qian Cao, where someone would realise he had interacted with a transformation pollen. 

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On foot, the peaks were further away than Liu Qingge remembered. Admittedly, Liu Qingge did not climb up and down the peaks often. 

The way down was rough on his paws while trees and grasses threatened to catch against his delicate cat skin. When he reached near enough to the bottom to hear the flowing water, he stopped to rest. 

The dirt floor was uncomfortable and he was hungry, so hungry. He couldn't circulate his qi, which meant unless he was cured soon he would continue to starve. 

His claws appeared and retracted at seemingly random, which made the trek extra inconvenient. How did cats get around like this? 

Liu Qingge settled on a warm rock in the sunlight and decided it was adequate. Better than the ground, certainly, to rest his paws before making the journey uphill.

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Liu Qingge's muscles ached from the climb up the peak even worse. The sun was already going down. He had barely made it to Qing Jing and knew he would never make it to Qian Cao that night. 

He tirelessly trekked up until the cliff-faces and rocks made way to the edge of the bamboo forests, finding it harder and harder to see the imposing stalks when there was nothing but moonlight to guide him.

Eventually, he came upon a path. 

On the path was Shen Qingqiu. 

Liu Qingge felt his fur rise and claws come out. He wanted to bare his teeth but logically didn’t want to fight when he was a cat, so he restrained himself, even as rough hands grabbed and groped at him, and that familiar voice judged him.

“So fat and soft,” Shen Qingqiu muttered. 

 “Fat?!” Liu Qingge complained, “SOFT?!” 

Shen Qingqiu continued to manhandle him despite complaints. Quickly, Liu Qingge found he could reposition in comfortable ways to make the experience nicer. Liu Qingge was not a physically affectionate person. Outside of combat, most people stayed away from him. So much random touch was new but not unwelcome; It didn't feel bad. He snuggled his furry face into Shen Qingqiu’s elbow, able to habitually ignore the Qing Jing disciple's scolding comments. 

A calm haze settled over Liu Qingge’s mind, lulling him towards sleep…

“It'll need to be neutered,” Shen Qingqiu muttered as he petted Liu Qingge’s sides and held him up. 

Liu Qingge startled to full wakefulness, alarmed and conscious of how exposed and vulnerable he truly was in this form. 

He yowled a firm “NO! PUT ME DOWN SHEN QINGQIU!”, but Shen Qingqiu only tutted and resettled Liu Qingge in his arms. This time, it really was a proper way to hold a cat. 

Liu Qingge fought as much as he could, unwilling to contemplate whether someone might actually neuter him. He wasn’t actually a cat! 

(But he was tired! His cat body argued.)

“Such a pretty little thing should have known better than to let someone get their hands on you,” Shen Qingqiu sneered. 

Liu Qingge always hated the way Shen Qingqiu talked. It was a waste of words and air, but as a cat, what could Liu Qingge do? 

Being held was calming, which Liu Qingge was not at all used to. Being called pretty was also shocking to him, because while it was usually an objective truth, people rarely dared say so to his face.  

He was tired and hungry and needed a place to stay for the night and being watched by Shen Qingqiu was not the worst option while on Qing Jing peak. Liu Qingge’s other choice would be to sleep in the bamboo forest alone…

Shen Qingqiu walked around, and Liu Qingge was drawn into sleep. 

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Liu Qingge woke slowly, aware of Shen Qingqiu holding him on one arm instead of two. A door creaked open, and Liu Qingge opened his eyes to see where he had been brought. The first thing Liu Qingge noted was that this didn't look like the Qing Jing dormitories at all. 

The shed was dark and cramped and half of it was filled with piles of chopped wood. There was a makeshift table made out of some of the chopped wood pieces, which Liu Qingge only recognised as a table because there were books piled on it.  

“Huh,” Liu Qingge thought out loud. “This is not bad as a hideout, even if it's a little cramped it's still a passable place for a cat to live.” 

Liu Qingge jumped down from Shen Qingqiu’s arms to look around the small room. 

There was even a catbed on the floor, made up of spare robes and a blanket! 

Liu Qingge was suspicious. Why did Shen Qingqiu have these things all ready for him? 

The clatter of a shallow pot on the dirt and stone floor drew Liu Qingge’s attention. 

“You must be hungry,” Shen Qingqiu muttered. “Such a pampered thing, this had better be enough for now, if there are complaints you can leave with them.”

In the dish were some small pieces of cooked and dried meat. 

Liu Qingge ate them quickly, stomach content. His chest rumbled at being fed, and Liu Qingge supposed it would not be worth fighting the cat instincts for such small things. Though, his chest did feel odd when vibrating, it did not feel bad. 

It was unexpectedly kind of Shen Qingqiu to feed the random cat he found, and Liu Qingge watched him pour half of a water jar into the bowl as well. 

“I won't spare any more for you, so don't ask,” Shen Qingqiu muttered. 

Liu Qingge lapped up the water, doing his best not to be clumsy with his tongue. 

Meanwhile, Shen Qingqiu was winding down, having loosened his hair and taken off his outer robes. 

Liu Qingge didn't think about any of that until he finished the water and looked up to find the Qing Jing head disciple seated behind the desk in nothing but his inner robes! Not even his hair tied up with the usual ribbon! 

Liu Qingge, who had expected Shen Qingqiu to leave him in the shed to continue doing his own cat things, was a little startled! He supposed it wasn't his business if the Qing Jing head disciple wanted to be productive at this hour and chose to do it in a wood shed. 

Liu Qingge turned away. He curled up on the layers of robes and blanket that made up a little sleeping space, and went to sleep. 

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Shen Qingqiu must have retired late and then gotten up early, because Liu Qingge woke up to him still writing things in the woodshed. A glance to the rays of sunlight making it into the woodshed revealed a shade of sky that meant the sun was still rising.

“Boring scholarly schedules,” Liu Qingge scowled. “He could be using this time for something useful, like cultivating!” 

That’s what Liu Qingge did, if he ever woke up early. 

Liu Qingge stretched to his heart’s content, rolling around in the surprisingly comfortable cat-bed. Then, he decided to prowl around the woodshed-cathouse, exploring the nooks and corners. There were not many. Weirdly, Shen Qingqiu seemed to be storing not only writing supplies here but also a spare change of clothes. 

He hadn't expected Shen Qingqiu to be so accommodating and already have a setup for Liu Qingge to live in, but he chose not to question it. Perhaps Shen Qingqiu picked up a lot of cats, stroking them all along their back and giving them absent-minded chin scritches. 

Liu Qingge shook his head. Clearly, the cat instincts are the reason the physical contact felt so good. Liu Qingge doubted it had anything to do with the fact usually only touched people to fight with them.

He should probably continue his journey to Qian Cao peak, but just thinking of the long journey down Qing Jing and then up another mountain peak made his small cat legs ache. He was also hungry again. 

“Shen Qingqiu!” Liu Qingge demanded, jumping up to the table Shen Qingqiu’s work was on. He craned his neck to look for the flat bowl he had been given meat in last night, but could not see it. “Do you have more food?” 

Slowly, Shen Qingqiu’s hand paused writing and his eyes strayed from the page to Liu Qingge. 

“Beast, get your paws off my work.” The voice he used was not angry or full of hatred like Liu Qingge was used to hearing. Shen Qingqiu sounded concerningly uninterested in the matter, despite sweeping a hand that forced Liu Qingge to jump down. 

Liu Qingge growled, going around the table to scratch a hand against Shen Qingqiu’s folded leg. His claws came out involuntarily, so Liu Qingge was forced to awkwardly pat the thigh instead of risk fully scratching his food source. 

Shen Qingqiu sighed, finally putting his brush away. 

“Fine,” he snapped, “We will get your food.”

Despite Shen Qingqiu’s bad mood he did get dressed and leave the woodshed. Liu Qingge followed, trotting behind him happily. He didn’t get to visit Qing Jing peak often, there was a lot of greenery which he liked. 

Liu Qingge quickly realised that although Shen Qingqiu was scum, he was not cruel to the random cat he had found. Liu Qingge found great pleasure in rubbing against his legs as he walked because it directed a look of disgust down at him, but Shen Qingqiu also managed not to step on Liu Qingge’s little cat body even if there were close calls. 

Liu Qingge watched Shen Qingqiu enter the dining hall and return with a large paper packet. 

They walked down some path to a pavilion where Shen Qingqiu took a seat and then held a piece of meat out for Liu Qingge to eat. 

As Liu Qingge was starving and also a cat he thought nothing of licking the food off his hands until his rough tongue brushed flat against the palm for the fifth time, trying to get all the seasoning.  

Liu Qingge startled and yelped, jumping away from his rival immediately. “Shen Qingqiu! Why would you—What are you doing? Why don’t I get a bowl?!” 

The strange expression (Why did Shen Qingqiu look soft?) vanished instantly. His protests were heard, and Shen Qingqiu’s unimpressed expression returned. 

“There is no other food if you don’t like it. Greedy, spoiled cat, can’t you be happy you have food at all?” 

Liu Qingge seethed, anger and embarrassment flashing through him. “A bowl, Shen Qingqiu! Don’t treat me like some common housecat!” 

The meaning never got across, and Liu Qingge resigned himself to eating out of Shen Qingqiu’s hand for now. At least in this abandoned pavilion so early in the morning there were no witnesses, or who knew how Liu Qingge would have ever recovered.  

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Liu Qingge decided it would be fine to spend a few days recovering on Qing Jing peak. There was already a place to stay and food to eat, after all. Why not take advantage of his oblivious rival being tricked for once? It wasn’t like Liu Qingge could tell him who he was, anyway… That would just be humiliating for them both. 

So Liu Qingge spent his time curling up into a ball or stretching out his limbs in the warm sun, when he wasn’t following Shen Qingqiu around. Liu Qingge thought of it as practice for missions that required spywork as he put together Shen Qingqiu’s schedule—So far, it was classes in the day and paperwork during the night. 

Shen Qingqiu was also a little pathetic when it came to interacting with any of his shixiongs. They didn’t like him much, and Liu Qingge left him on multiple occasions, annoyed that he was letting himself get beaten up. Liu Qingge was very good at measuring martial power by sight and even with his spiritual energy locked could tell those other snobby rich kids had hardly any potential. What was the point in sneering and rude verbal remarks if he was only using defensive moves?

Later in the woodshed Liu Qingge climbed up Shen Qingqiu and licked the large, fading bruise on his cheek. Shen Qingqiu was not amused, but Liu Qingge thought it served him right. How did it look if Liu Qingge had such a weak rival? Why not use his foul, violent attacks on his Qing Jing martial siblings? 

“You are welcome to come and go whenever you want, wherever you wish,” Shen Qingqiu scoffed. “Take your criticisms elsewhere.” 

Shen Qingqiu pretended to understand Liu Qingge sometimes. Liu Qingge found this very funny, because while his guesses could be accurate enough, most of the time they were not.

“Silly beast, keep licking my face and I’ll neuter you myself,” he grumbled.

Liu Qingge squawked, indignant at the now-familiar threat. It reminded him of the threats to kill him, except Shen Qingqiu used this far more often than Liu Qingge had thought, and he could no longer take it seriously. 

“Men are scum of the realm,” Shen Qingqiu would murmur to himself sometimes, while petting along Liu Qingge's back. Liu Qingge would only mrrrp in response. 

“Deserve to die, every one of them,” he would whisper, while sneering at his older shixiongs. 

He heard the same sort of delivery of threats, even to the younger shidimei he got along very well with. He taught them some classes on calligraphy, reading, and art, and the kids seemed to look up to him a lot, which Liu Qingge found surprising after the way the older students would snub him. 

Qing Jing’s landscape was confusing like that. It was clear some politics were in play, because Shen Qingqiu muttered about as much; For some reason, his Shizun didn’t want him fighting older students. On Bai Zhan, Liu Qingge would just beat up any disciples who tried to hit him. 

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It took three days with Shen Qingqiu for Liu Qingge to decide he loved being a cat and needed nothing more out of life. Being a cat might have been clouding his usual ability to think. 

He usually loved training all the time but could admit the constant tension in his body leaving was probably for the best. He could still be active and run around, even hunt down small creatures on the peak. Didn’t shizun always tell him to take breaks?

He spent the time between classes lounging in the warm sun, thrilling at the heat soaking into his skin. There were many hard rocks to bask on and he was fed snacks constantly, which was so nice. 

Shen Qingqiu kept calling him pampered and spoilt, but then kept feeding him more. Liu Qingge didn’t care about the words at first, he expected the Qing Jing Head Disciple to be a liar anyway, but then the next time he was being fed Liu Qingge noticed how thin his wrists were. 

Liu Qingge kept a good eye on Shen Qingqiu, since the human was caring for him for now, and soon noticed that Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t really eat. Sips of tea, sometimes, and not more than a bite of food at other times. It was strange, because he definitely had food.

Liu Qingge watched him restock the dried meats and water gourd nearly every day, yet most of the supplies went towards Liu Qingge. 

Suspicious. 

There was no way Shen Qingqiu’s cultivation was so advanced that he didn't need to eat. Liu Qingge wondered why he was starving himself and tried telling Shen Qingqiu to eat with him. 

Sadly, the meowing was not getting through. It just encouraged Shen Qingqiu to hand-feed him more seasoned meat.

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Liu Qingge did realise that this woodshed was actually a hideout-sanctuary for Shen Qingqiu, and the bed Liu Qingge had made his own was… well… 

In the light of the night pearl, Shen Qingqiu’s face looked sallow, with deep shadows and dark purple bruises under his eyes. 

He was doing paperwork, or an assignment—scratching out calligraphy the way Liu Qingge had seen him doing every night and morning for the past week. He had, initially, assumed Shen Qingqiu was sleeping in-between, but it was very apparent when he retired to the woodshed, face clean of powder and looking worse for wear every night, that was not the case.

All Liu Qingge could do was meow mournfully in the hope that Shen Qingqiu would understand his cat’s wishes and go to sleep!

Going without food and sleep was a recipe for disaster for cultivation! 

Liu Qingge was actually relieved when he (finally!) saw his rival brushing off the cloth-bed to lay down in it himself after two weeks. (‘Might as well try to get some rest before it gets worse’.)

“Spoiled cat,” he hissed, when Liu Qingge curled up against his side. “Your bed is that one, over there.”

Despite the words, Shen Qingqiu—the harshest, scummiest shixiong Liu Qingge knew on the mountain—only moved an arm around the cat to tuck him closer. 

Liu Qingge purred, smug and satisfied. He had started to grow concerned about Shen Qingqiu’s terrible schedule! First of all he was using a wood storage shed as a dormitory, and then he was always working to the point he wouldn’t eat or sleep! Atrocious! 

Liu Qingge rubbed his face against Shen Qingqiu’s sleeping robe and fell asleep. 

Maybe two shichen later, Liu Qingge opened his eyes to the annoyed thought: What died?

The stench of blood in the air was too high for his sensitive kitty nose and he scowled as he sniffed around in the dark, until he realised where it was coming from. Pawing at Shen Qingqiu’s face, it was clear the blood was running from his eyes, nose, ears… 

Liu Qingge had never seen a qi deviation this close before. He watched Shen Qingqiu’s body twitch and jerk in sleep, unsure what to do. He jumped on his rivals’ chest, trying to wake him. When that didn't work he yowled as loud as he could. Finally, the deviation faded and Shen Qingqiu seemed to wake. 

Shen Qingqiu groaned, and sounded only a little annoyed. 

“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu noted. A heavy hand dropped onto Liu Qingge's head, ruffling the fur and scratching behind the ears. “You don't need to worry about this lowly one.” 

Shen Qingqiu's voice was hoarse and deep from sleep. Liu Qingge felt… bad. 

He knew qi deviations could be fatal, he knew they were painful and usually set back cultivation… but surely it was Shen Qingqiu's own actions that caused the deviation? If he was more diligent about food and sleep and those rumoured brothel visits…

Shen Qingqiu leaned on an elbow and sighed. He started to get out of the bed, saying something about paperwork to do, and Liu Qingge protested immediately. “You need medical attention! And sleep! What are you doing?!” 

“Mind your own business, beast,” Shen Qingqiu said. His voice sounded dead to Liu Qingge, the usual vitriolic passion absent. 

He did stop getting up in order to pet Liu Qingge some more, though when he eventually sat up it was to clean his face. When he stubbornly sat at his table to work more Liu Qingge stubbornly took over his lap in the hope the occasional clawing would teach him something. 

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After that, Liu Qingge was not the only one watching Shen Qingqiu. The peak lord of Qing Jing peak himself had taken one look at Shen Qingqiu the next morning and commanded he not show up for a week. 

“Get some rest. I don't want to see a brush or instrument in your hands. Visit your friends, spend time at the base of the mountains if you wish.”

Finally, some sense! Liu Qingge celebrated. 

He watched Shen Qingqiu march up to Bai Zhan, clearly frustrated and in want of a fight, and smugly followed him back across the rainbow bridge after being informed that Liu Qingge was not on the peak at the moment. 

As if Liu Qingge wanted to fight a haggard, half-dead man! No, no, no, Liu Qingge wanted a proper opponent on his best days so the fight would last a while. 

Shen Qingqiu carried Liu Qingge in his arms around the bamboo forest of Qing Jing peak that afternoon. The cool nightly air made Liu Qingge nuzzle in, half-asleep from the warm arms and soothing motions. 

Which is why Liu Qingge noticed late when Shen Qingqiu was leading them down the mountain. 

“No!” Liu Qingge yelled. It was well-known that when Shen Qingqiu went down the mountain, there was one place he would always visit. The brothel. 

“Shameless!” Liu Qingge scolded, trying to fit his jaw around an ankle to drag Shen Qingqiu back up the mountain. 

“THINK OF YOUR CULTIVATION!!” Liu Qingge hissed, clawing at Shen Qingqiu's lowest robes. 

And the weather was so cold these days and Shen Qingqiu was truly so skinny! Wouldn't it be better to go anywhere else?! How about a restaurant? How about some physical training, or better yet, why doesn't Shen Qingqiu try to get more sleep?!

Liu Qingge did his best to dissuade his rival from the brothel, following him right to the footsteps out the back of the building. Not that being at the back meant anything when they had already walked past the front! Liu Qingge despaired. 

A man unlatched the door, letting Shen Qingqiu in. Liu Qingge, bereft of his temporary owner, could only scratch at the doorstep, unwilling to enter. 

Liu Qingge was quickly scooped up by a woman with gauzy clothing and a giant chest she smooshed Liu Qingge against. 

“Argh!” Liu Qingge flailed, trying to maintain a respectful mental distance from the situation as she cooed and rocked him side to side like a baby. 

“A-Jiu, this one is so adorable!” 

Shen Qingqiu’s face looked weird. Relaxed, maybe, Liu Qingge thought. Less sharp lines and more exhaustion. 

“What's its name?” The man who opened the door sounded curious too. 

“Does he deserve a name?” Shen Qingqiu scoffed. 

“Everyone deserves a name, A-Jiu,” the woman consoled. Liu Qingge averted his eyes when she set a comforting hand on him. 

“I was given a number for a name, I doubt a cat would do well under those circumstances.”

Liu Qingge nodded sagely. He didn't want a cat name personally, since he already had a regular name to worry about. He spared a thought for the Shen family being so big that even someone as accomplished as Shen Qingqiu was referred to by line of birth order. And it was a long line, too. Nine sons! Ridiculous!! No wonder Shen Qingqiu was always in a brothel—the tendency must be genetic!!!

The lady smothered Liu Qingge into her breasts with renewed passion. 

“But he's such a cute kitty,” she bemoaned, leading Shen Qingqiu to a private room. 

“Unhand me!” Liu Qingge protested. “Where are your clothes!!” 

But Liu Qingge knew that this passionate woman must be one of the prostitutes, and was unlikely to gain clothes. 

Liu Qingge was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor of the room Shen Qingqiu was given. It was a rather simple room, now that Liu Qingge looked around. But you only needed a simple room to use the services here, Liu Qingge assumed. 

After futilely trying to open the door and only startling a little at Shen Qingqiu dressing down (he was used to seeing the man with open hair and sleep robes by now) Liu Qingge accepted his fate and curled up in a corner of the room, blocking everything from sight. 

“Are the perfumes too strong?” Shen Qingqiu wondered. “I didn’t make you follow me here.”

Shen Qingqiu then grabbed Liu Qingge around his waist and tucked him into the bed. Liu Qingge was fuming! He didn’t want to be here when Shen Qingqiu was… was… 

Two brothel workers entered the room, both greeting Shen Qingqiu with familiarity. One of them looked very young, around twelve years of age. Liu Qingge was so disgusted he almost missed the tray of food she was carrying.

It was an impressive spread of food, rice and some sort of meaty soup. There were side dishes as well, fried vegetables and other kinds of food you could easily buy on the streets. 

Liu Qingge watched from the bed, confused as Shen Qingqiu settled around the tray with the workers, and began to eat. Was this the normal service? Did perverted patrons usually eat a hearty meal with the girls they would sleep with?

Liu Qingge watched as the three people shared the food between them, staring at Shen Qingqiu with lack of understanding. In the weeks he had spent with Shen Qingqiu he barely ate two bites, and now, sitting in a brothel, he happily ate his share of the dishes presented?

The girls talked while eating too, and though Shen Qingqiu looked tired and troubled and didn’t speak as much, he still contributed enough to show he was not only paying attention, but recalled information from the last time he met these people.

“And Mei-jie’s been instructing me with the pipa now!” The younger one shared, beaming.

Shen Qingqiu huffed. “Probably better to start you with a plucking instrument…”

The older woman chuckled darkly, while the younger one sputtered but had no defense. She was only able to huff and swat at Shen Qingqiu with her fan—which Liu Qingge held his breath at. 

Hitting Shen Qingqiu? Unthinkable! 

Sure, Liu Qingge did it all the time, but that was because when the Qing Jing peak head disciple’s mood soured and he turned his inevitably violent anger on him, Liu Qingge could easily handle it! 

But from this girl, Shen Qingqiu did not seem bothered by the action. 

Liu Qingge frowned. 

He probably should have been less surprised when Shen Qingqiu ended up doing more teaching, even at the brothel. Workers came in and out of his room through the rest of the day, sharing tidbits of social gossip (Liu Qingge was uninterested in the information, but was at alert every time a colourful, flagrantly dressed woman entered the room). The younger girl from earlier brought a pipa to showcase what she was learning, and Shen Qingqiu inevitably ended up correcting her in places, but also, shockingly, complimenting her progress. 

The older woman stayed in the room most of the time as well, though she only held conversations and showed off a small ribbon she had been embroidering. A few other girls came to show what Liu Qingge could only describe as assigned writing practice, where he either approved or corrected their written calligraphy. There were far less, but a few men who visited too.

The only death threats Shen Qingqiu gave were laughed at as if they were jokes! 

Liu Qingge truly did not understand how a brothel worked. 

Liu Qingge almost got petted many times from different visiting women, even though he firmly stayed close to Shen Qingqiu in this foreign, strange place. Shen Qingqiu got their hands away by telling them ‘the cat is spoiled and will try to scratch you’ which Liu Qingge was indignant about but ultimately grateful for. He was used to his shixiong touching his cat body by now, but random women? No, thank you! Liu Qingge was a respectable person! He didn’t want random women petting him!!

When night fell, the two girls stayed, and Shen Qingqiu finally got into bed with them. 

To sleep. 

It was inappropriate and distasteful! 

But not as bad as what Liu Qingge had expected to happen. 

Eventually, when Liu Qingge was sure that all three of them were definitely asleep, he sat on Shen Qingqiu’s chest and went to sleep as well.

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Shen Qingqiu stayed at the brothel for the entire week.

If someone had told Liu Qingge such a crude fact before, he would have scowled and gone to search for Shen Qingqiu immediately to berate him for being unworthy of respect.  

Instead, Liu Qingge had watched some colour come to Shen Qingqiu's cheeks and the purple eyebags fade out of existence. He now looked the way he did when he would put makeup on to cover his lack of food and sleep, and Liu Qingge even thought he looked healthier and less skinny, if that was possible. 

Liu Qingge had also kept vigilant guard of the room Shen Qingqiu largely stayed sequestered in, and knew he hadn’t had any sex. Which was crazy! Shen Qingqiu was a mad man! He definitely had something wrong with his head if he was so relaxed and enjoying his time renting out a brothel room just to socialise! 

Not to mention he wore far less layers than usual, as if two layers of robes were normal for him! 

“Come again soon, Jie-ge,” the man at the door said as they left the brothel. “Eat well up on your mountain!”

Shen Qingqiu had smiled—something Liu Qingge had noted basically only happened a lot at the brothel—and walked towards the sect. 

Liu Qingge wanted to scratch up Shen Qingqiu’s calves, having the feeling that Shen Qingqiu would not be eating well at the sect at all. He probably wouldn’t be sleeping either! 

What was so different about the brothel?!

Shen Qingqiu would beat up anyone who dared call him familiarly, but it was fine for these mortals down the mountain to do it?

Liu Qingge loved being a cat pampered by Shen Qingqiu, but he still didn’t understand any of his actions at all! 

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Liu Qingge didn't know the layout of Qing Jing peak that well. The first few times Shen Qingqiu had gone to the steaming pools and started stripping, Liu Qingge had rushed off into the bamboo stalks to give him privacy.

But soon, Shen Qingqiu dragged him into the hot pools, insisting that licking himself wasn't clean enough. 

Liu Qingge had wailed and screamed and scratched and even tried biting Shen Qingqiu so that he could get away. Sadly, Shen Qingqiu took these attacks as motivation to truly torture Liu Qingge and dunk him in the water until he lost all will to fight. 

Drenched and sopping wet, Liu Qingge had only been allowed to sit at the hot pool ledge once he had already been thoroughly oiled, lathered, and scrubbed. 

It was only then, after the harrowing experience of being violated by soaps, that Liu Qingge took the time to actually observe Shen Qingqiu, who was still bathing.

He had been diligent about not looking when Shen Qingqiu changed his underrobes, the respect he would give any martial sibling while secretly being their cat, but now he was tired and forgot. So he was a little surprised to see it wasn’t the pristine jade beauty skin he expected of Shen Qingqiu’s back. 

Liu Qingge’s stomach dropped, then did some sort of twirl in his abdomen. There was less empty space and more layers of overlapping scars, of different types and makes. Whip lashes, Liu Qingge recognised—Shen Qingqiu’s cultivation must not be good enough to get rid of those if they were as deep as they looked—but there were raised patches of brown and pink skin from badly healed slashes and barbs as well. Bruises that were mostly healed but definitely not from sword training. 

When Shen Qingqiu turned around, Liu Qingge wanted to throw up. Down his chest were fewer scars, but there nonetheless. A particularly wide, reddish one reached from his collar to his navel as if someone had tried gutting him open. 

Liu Qingge knew lots of people who might want to, but who would actually be foolish enough to try?

Liu Qingge had never received enough injury to leave scars. When he reached the age where he would get sword injuries he quickly learned how to fight better, and reinforce his body with qi. When he did get injured, Qian Cao made sure no marks were left behind, even if Liu Qingge almost had an arm ripped off by some demonic beast. At their level of cultivation, even grave injuries could be healed. 

Liu Qingge couldn’t imagine receiving so many injuries, let alone the embarrassment of carrying them all on his body forever. Cultivators were supposed to be perfect, physically, as a reflection of their inner selves. Liu Qingge supposed they were old scars, from before Shen Qingqiu started cultivating. If they were recent, Qian Cao would have treated them…

Liu Qingge, still dripping wet, felt a little bad for the rival that took care of him so well as a cat. Even having brutally rubbed him clean, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t drowned him—which was a low bar, but more than Liu Qingge would have expected before. 

Thinking about the life Shen Qingqiu probably had before joining the sect, based on those scars, made Liu Qingge think it would have been so cool to meet him. What kind of dangerous things was he doing to have such devastating damage? Liu Qingge hoped it was something righteous, but even if it wasn’t, the concept of Shen Qingqiu having a double life he hid so well from himself, his martial rival, definitely excited Liu Qingge. 

Still sopping wet, Liu Qingge meowed his approval. He did feel bad about all the scars, and that it had taken becoming a cat to learn so much about his shixiong, but Liu Qingge didn’t think it was that big a deal. Maybe it was connected to the reason Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t eat and sleep, but what could Liu Qingge do about that?

Shen Qingqiu moved closer in the hot bath, sticking a hand out to scratch at Liu Qingge’s head. Liu Qingge, now used to this physical affection, melted into the gesture. 

“Patience,” he sighed, “You wretched thing, I’ll dry you when I’m done.”

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It was no exaggeration to say that Liu Qingge had grown too comfortable receiving the amount of physical affection he got as a cat. Shen Qingqiu never struck him as the sort of man to develop a close bond with anyone, but he wasn’t complaining. He wasn’t complaining, even though he hadn’t left on a nighthunt in… months. 

The closest Liu Qingge had gotten was catching the rats that ran around Qing Jing peak, which Shen Qingqiu gave him extra chin scritches for and told him he did an ‘adequate job’ (high praise from the Qing Jing Head Disciple!). In fact, Liu Qingge’s typical day was filled with eating, lazing about, following Shen Qingqiu to classes, lazing about while listening to Shen Qingqiu play music, eating snacks that Shen Qingqiu usually hid up his sleeves, lazing about in the woodshed, and then sleeping. In between, he would get petted, and his fur would be scented with oil, and if Shen Qingqiu felt like it he would rub his face into Liu Qingge’s grey fur which would make him purr. 

Liu Qingge’s brain was filled with cat thoughts. 

If Liu Qingge’s brain was filled with the want to bump his head into Shen Qingqiu’s leg then he would simply do it. No need to think about social expectations and the etiquette noble classes were adamant about.  

Recently Shen Qingqiu had tied a green ribbon around his neck and Liu Qingge loved that too! He was being a good cat that had earned a ribbon, the same way he earned and deserved all those head scratches! ('Be a good cat,' Shen Qingqiu said while tying it, and Liu Qingge had hissed. He was a good cat! The best cat! No cat on this peak was better than him! He was the only cat here!)

It was nice seeing Shen Qingqiu outside of their spars, too. 

Liu Qingge loved being a cat, and there was no way he could deny this fact. 

Until, one day, Bai Zhan conducted a raid on the quiet peak. Disciples were injured and Shen Qingqiu, who already bemoaned the amount of paperwork he had waiting, led a trail of injured disciples to Qian Cao peak.

Liu Qingge had completely forgotten that he had once wanted to go to Qian Cao peak at all, in order to cure his cat-ness. He paused at the edge of the rainbow bridge before entering the protective barrier of Qian Cao. Many ailments and curses would resolve themselves under the strong boundary of the healing peak, and Liu Qingge wasn’t sure if he wanted to… 

A rude, older outer disciple grabbed Liu Qingge and stepped onto the medicinal peak. 

To Liu Qingge’s frustration, he began to feel lightheaded immediately. Sensing this change, and recognising the outer disciple as one of the weaklings that would bully Shen Qingqiu, Liu Qingge felt no remorse in scratching the disciples’ arms and making his escape.