#(as almost always in cang qiong actually???)

[diushek]

The Shen Qingqiu who has a strong qi deviation and becomes a child of 7, 8 years old? but he talks about weird things like Pokemon, TV, internet, chocolate cookies, his brothers and where they are and where is his mom.

At this moment, Luo Binghe has already fallen into the Abyss- so, there is a bit of relief about Shen Qingqiu not mourning, but that child is a terror of nature. He goes barefoot everywhere, he has no decorum in his dress, he talks nonstop as if he had a sugar overdose- he says that Liu Qingge is pretty like a Barbie, no matter who the hell that Barbie-jie is (Liu Qingge even gets offended, has he been compared to some COURTESAN?), that Qi Qingqi scares him if she does THAT look (and finally challenge her to flex her arm muscles just to hang from them, and she is PROUD), he rejects Yue Qingyuan's hugs by saying that his clothes are ugly and stiff, but then only accepts cuddles because he says that he has puppy eyes and it's not fair. He tries to flee or attack when Mu Qingfang comes near, saying he smells like a bad weird doctor, and only lets him come closer when Mu Qingfang promises that there will be no needles involved (he also talks a lot about something called a UCI, weird operations - how the hell HAD HIS HEART BEEN REPLACED? what the fuck was a pacemaker - and how horrible hospital food is). And definitely NONE OF THEM can deal with the demanding, loud, complainer, critic, easily bored chaos that is that child.

The only one who seems to know what the hell to do with that little Shen Qingqiu? Of course, Shang Qinghua.

He sings to him in an unknown language lively songs to which the child responds by squealing with joy and following the melodies, they talk about something called Pokemon for hours, he apologizes for not having chocolate cookies (he offers him milk candies as compensation), he says they have no internet reception up there and what's the point of having a TV if they don't have good shows?? Entertains the boy for HOURS telling him about monsters and plants, both clearly made-up stories and real stories from that world. He makes him run chasing flying folded paper to exhaust their energy, and even cooks his meals making meals that none of the other Peak Lords have ever seen (much to the chagrin of disciples Ming Fan and Ning Yingying - they also want to spoil little Shizun!!! But the child only makes ugly faces when he sees white rice!!!)

All the Peak Lords are perplexed who happens to be the only one who knows what to do after all. Apparently and thank goodness, it is temporary; soon Shen Qingqiu's qi will circulate normally and his body will return to adulthood as well as his mind. In the meantime, the sect basically leaves him in Shang Qinghua's hands - although they visit him almost daily.

And Mobei Jun, who sees much of all that because the child Shen Qingqiu - or Yuanyuan - does not leave the side of his spy no matter where he go or what he has to do, just think how much he wants to put babies in Qinghua. Many of them. He will find out how, and soon.

[l33n1s]

No but Shen Twins AU where Shen Yuan is technically a member of Cang Qiong Mt sect but he's almost never there cause he's too busy traveling and studying/documenting all of the cool plants and animals.

But when he Does spend time at the sect it's Qing Jing Peak's emotional equivalent to Christmas, cause Shen Jiu is actually in a good mood (as good as his moods get at least) and Shen Yuan has picked up a habit of bringing sweets for the disciples. He just shows up and suddenly the bamboo house doesn't seem so empty, Shen Jiu actually seems comfortable for once, and the whole peak's atmosphere seems to shift.

And, it's always a very jaring experience for new disciples the first time they meet Shen Yuan. Cause there's this guy who looks exactly like their teacher but is so much less severe. His posture is a little more relaxed, he Actually smiles at them every once in a while, he doesn't get annoyed when they ask about his adventures and is instead very willing to share his stories (if he dresses them up a little who's to blame him). For many of them it stuns them to see Anyone be so casual with their teacher and be left alive after; to see him argue with someone in a way that is actually harmless rather than scathing.

It doesn't help though that noone actually knows When Shen Yuan will ever show up or how long he'll actually stay. It definitely varies, sometimes he'll just be passing through the area on his way to some other cool place, sometimes he stays for a few months in order to teach a couple classes on useful plants and dangerous animals.

Often during his visits, he visits the other peaks too. He talks with Mu Qingfang about about medicinal plants while he's treated for any injuries he has (it's not his fault he's accident prone, and if he fell of that cliff while trying to follow a very cool bird-thing no one needs to know). He has tea with Yue Qingyuan (who met him for the first time and said "our younger brother"); Shen Jiu is decidedly not happy about this but "oh well he'll live"

[anqelbean]

SHIZUN LBH AND DISCIPLE SY??? PLEASE TELL US MORE I'M FERAL

I, too, am feral over these two nonnie, so I shall continue cause you asked so nicely <3

So, the PIDW of this universe follows the immortal lord Luo Binghe, Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak, Demon Emperor on the side (shhhhh, that part's a secret).

Binghe is (seemingly) righteous and noble, but in truth he's always 1 step away from destroying Cang Qiong Mountain. His thread of hope for humanity is about to snap, which is not at all helped by Xin Mo, who has almost taken his mind over completely.

Enter Shen Yuan, transmigrator extraordinaire, disciple of Qing Jing Peak. The person that's supposed to expose Luo Binghe's demonic heritage to the world and kickstart the conquering of the Human Realm by the Demon Emperor, leading to Shen Yuan's eventually becoming a human stick.

Well, he doesn't want to die like that! Who would! So thigh hugging it is!

Thankfully the System in this world isn't as strict as in canon, so he does have one way of saving himself: if Shen Jiu had become Head Disciple, he would not have wanted to expose Luo Binghe.

He tries his darned best to get close to Luo Binghe, although clumsily. He always ends up walking into things when he's around 'cause he was gawking at him. Which, he reasons, is a perfectly normal thing for a disciple to do! To admire his Shizun! Especially since his Shizun was THE protagonist!

Luo Binghe doesn't know what to think of him at first. Clumsy, starry-eyed, always with his nose in the books like he's trying to memorise all the characters, not just its contents, talented enough, but lacking in experience, perfect recipe for disaster. He needs to keep an eye on him if he doesn't want to deal with a dead disciple.

But. It's strange. No one's ever looked at him like that. He knows his disciples admire him, but all of them are so terrified of him they don't dare to get close, lest they end up doing more chores as punishment. But, this Shen Yuan. It's like. Like he's not scared? Like Luo Binghe is...someone worthy of hero-worship. He can't even admit it to himself, but he cannot help but preen under his clumsy disciple's adoring gaze.

Then, a candle accidentally falls in Shen Yuan's dorm, and there's no room for him left. All his roommates went to their friends' rooms, but Shen Yuan didn't have any close friends on the peak! Where should he go???

Luo Binghe…feels he needs to play the good Shizun. It's just an act, of course. He doesn't actually care for the boy. He needs to play the cool, distant immortal, kind enough to take in a stray. He has Shen Yuan move into his side room, BUT only temporarily.

And so it begins.

Luo Binghe finds himself enjoying having someone to cook for again. He himself doesn't need to eat, so he only really does it when trying to woo a demoness into his bed. But with Shen Yuan, it's different. He hasn't cooked for someone just for them to satiate their hunger since his mother. It almost feels…intimate. Seeing Shen Yuan not eat his food so much as inhale it, hearing the sincere praise from the child's mouth… It's all too much.

It doesn't help that the boy is actually quite shameless. Taking off all his layers except one the moment he's home, even his pants! He is just prancing around with all his skin for the world to see! It makes him want to scold him, to take his layers and dress him back up himself just so he doesn't have the image of those long, long legs of Shen Yuan's stuck in his mind. So he does, “Disciple Shen should be more mindful of his appearance,” he says, desperately trying to ignore Shen Yuan's pretty red face as he stammers 'shizun' while Luo Binghe ties his robes, “Anyone could walk in, it's indecent.” And incredibly distracting, he doesn't say.

Few months pass, Luo Binghe realises one thing: this boy is the only person worthy of respect on his entire peak. If something were to happen to him, he would raze the entire mountain to the ground, himself included.

He tries everything just to touch the boy. He fixes his robes, put his hands on his shoulders, picks him up during nighthunts when things get intense, and if he touches him a little more than necessary while correcting his sword forms, well, no one notices.

For once, something has moved his cold, dead heart and Luo Binghe is a hungry soul, bleeding for more, unwilling to let go of this new tiny light he's found, wishing to devour and devour, till no one else can steal it from him, like everything else good in his miserable, lonely life.

Visual representation of this au

[fairsweetlonging]

Okay but Mocking bird demon SY (has shapeshifting powers) pretending to be SQQ to help LBH. No system, SJ lives, just SY will not let his protagonist be miserable. He optionally also wife beams LQG who is extremely confused and horny as to why SQQ is playing hot and cold with him

i LOVE that idea oh my goodneeees!!! all the shen yuan bird aus are a GIFT that keeps on GIVING!!

as a bird he can easily live on mount cang qiong and get around unnoticed, because what peak lord or disciple is going to look twice at a small, grey silver bird? it allows him to stay close to luo binghe and help him in every way he can, from giving him food he carries in his little talons or beak, singing to him when he's down, keeping him company in the forest, to making silly mimic sounds to make him laugh.

i looked up a little about mockingbirds and apparently they're extremely territorial when raising hatchlings and their nest (attacking even cats, hawks and humans), which is perfect because luo binghe is (definitely!) a helpless hatchling in need of protecting, i mean, technically his wings haven't even properly grown in yet, he can't fly! so cue ming fang and other bullies getting relentlessly attacked when they try to come near binghe.

and then the shapeshifting: from what i've gathered, mockingbirds sing regularely at night, so i can imagine shen yuan waiting until nightfall and shen jiu goes to bed when he makes his move. he dons the master's form, goes to the woodshed, and takes binghe out to train in the forest with a real manual. of course, binghe is immediately enamoured with the man shen qingqiu becomes when night falls, maybe he even starts to think it's a "werewolf" thing where he changes when the moon comes up, because there isn't really any explanation to why the soft words, gentle touches and kind eyes turn into sneers, violence and glares as soon as the sun is up!

bc he does have the protagonist halo, and even in canon binghe knew something was up, i think he figures it out eventually when he starts alluding to certain events that never happened but that his "shizun" plays along with. also the bird has the exact same way of petting his head/ruffling his hair as his night-shizun does. one and one equals two, after all.

and liu qingge yeeeessss!! if in this au shen yuan saved him in the caves as well, he's probably getting such a headache from the complete 180s shen qingqiu keeps making!! one moment everything is great, shen qingqiu is tending to his wounds with such gentleness and a kind smile, and when liu qingge runs into him at night (when shen qingqiu always looks kind of... hurried, for some reason, almost a little nervous), they share a smile and a laugh and one time shen qingqiu even hugged him; but then when liu qingge tries to sit next to him at the meetings suddenly he's getting snarled at, called a dumb dirty beast and to sit elsewhere?? hello??? never mind getting invited into the bamboo house, or shen qingqiu accepting his (dead animal) gifts.

i also think it'd be so really funny if shen yuan ended up not caring about continuation errors or consistent character behavior, and just goes all out on the OCC by being kind to everyone in shen qingqiu's form; flirting with liu qingge, cuddling with yue qingyuan, spoiling luo binghe rotten, gifting mu qingfang all kinds of rare herbs that he can find easily in his demon bird form, and generally being a moon-saint that everyone comes to realize isn't actually shen qingqiu, but since he's doing good for the community and not harming anyone, they kind of just..... leave it. the peak lords have a meeting about it (sans shen jiu of course), and they decide the night-qingqiu can stay.

tho i do think yue qingyuan would ask shen yuan to don a different form.

also also, shen yuan getting up to all kinds of mischief by mimicking other peak lords' voices: calling to disciples with their shizun's voice, watching them get all confused because no one's there?? or making shang qinghua go around in circles because he keeps saying "this way, shang qinghua, hurry up!" in an angry liu qingge voice. and also making shen jiu open the door to no one when he mimics yue qingyuan's voice. there's a LOT he can do with it🤭

[lacamorte]

~ if you're gonna be the death of me

(in for a long and suuuuper messy one today, folks, pls bear with me)

In the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way, the Protagonist is Luo Binghe, destined to battle and conquer and eternally emerge victorious against all he raised his blade against.

Shen Qingqiu is the Calamity, whose meridians are so tangled and damaged that he drains the life force of all he touches. He will bring the world to an end.

aka: PIDW is not a stallion novel, but rather a power-of-friendship story where the main antagonist is SQQ who, as one of the most powerful cultivators, has a qi deviation so terrible that he almost ends the world until LBH kills him.

So when SY transmigrates into SQQ, he thinks about the role he has to play as SQQ, the Calamity. The thought of hurting anyone in Cang Qiong makes him sick to his stomach. He almost enters a qi deviation at the thought, and has to enter seclusion in the LingXi Caves to stabilize himself. After preventing LQG's death, he decides to go to great lengths to not stress himself out. Thus, he concludes that in order to achieve a stress-free life, he has to leave Cang Qiong.

Brilliant idea! Except, when SY goes to Qiong Ding to speak to YQY about his retirement, YQY blatantly refuses him. SY tries again the next day, but he's refused every time. The Sect Leader, who used to seek out SQQ often, miraculously began avoiding him.

Well. SY has always been better at asking for forgiveness than permission.

He leaves the sect in the middle of the night, with all the documents for his resignation on his desk. He becomes a wandering cultivator, evading cqm's every attempt to bring him back.

Furious at his behavior, the System figures that if telling SY no won't stop him, perhaps showing him how hopeless the situation is will. And so during his time away, SY tries again and again to resist the plot. again and again, the System foils his every attempt. its favorite method is isolating SY — anyone the man wants to befriend always mysteriously ends up suffering or dying. SY had always loved PIDW for the beauty of its world — he'd never anticipated how witnessing it all alone after weeks of camaraderie and laughter for companh could be so harrowing.

he never finds out whether it was all because of his role as the Calamity, or the interference of the System. that damned thing stopped speaking to him ages ago.

LBH is a kid roaming the streets freshly bereaved when he meets SY, a gaunt looking man who gives him his food. eventually, LBH starts trailing SY, and SY tries to dissuade him, but he persists. whenever SY switches towns, LBH follows. he sometimes catches a man wearing white talking to SY, and every time the man leaves, looking more stony than when he arrived. LBH develops a habit of stealing some food for SY, and SY scolds him but LBH wont take no for an answer and they compromise by splitting the food between them. eventually LBH gets into serious trouble when he gets caught stealing and SY saves him. SY is remarkably quiet as he gently pats LBH's head as he cries.

eventually, SY stops trying to convince LBH to stop following him. instead of camping out in the forest, SY enters inns and makes LBH take the bed. this is how LBH learns that SY is actually loaded. but then if he's so rich, why does he never buy himself food? inedia can only sustain someone for so long. turns out, the only meals SY has are the ones LBH steals for him, and even those he tries to turn down. so at the inn, LBH insists on splitting everything in the meal SY gets him.

the white robed man visits again, and LBH is wary of him bc of how gruffly he speaks to SQQ. still, no matter how gruff he might be, SQQ is far more uncooperative. in all the time LBH has known him, he typically responds in one word only, often not replying to anything he doesn't consider particularly important, which is most things. the white robed man asks that question again — why? the same one he's been asking every visit. SQQ stares at him soullessly, before suddenly reaching out and patting the man's head.

"i'm sorry," he whispers. somehow, LBH thinks both he and the white robed man will never get the answer to that question.

as SQQ spaces out again, as he often does, the man drags LBH outside and LBH is of course wary and fights back. that is, until the man lets go of him and tosses him a particularly sturdy branch, a similar one held in his own hands.

"hit me," he says. LBH stares, incredulous. he throws the stick at the man, who deflects it and it whacks LBH square in the face. this ignites his anger and he spends the rest of the afternoon trying to land a hit on LQG.

then, when LBH finally collapses from exhaustion, the man gives him a waterskin.

"same place, same time, tomorrow." he says.

"fuck you," LBH swears hotly. he does turn up the next day. he leaves with more bruises than the day before, and a bag full of clothes to replace the ones the man rips on accident.

this becomes routine. one that LBH begrudgingly look forward to, bc these days, the only time SQQ looks anything other than disinterested and aloof is when he's treating his wounds. most of the time he just glowers and frowns, but when LBH is lucky, he can get a few angry mutters about "stupid liu qingge" and "careless brute".

so the next time LBH goes to the site, he has a name to cuss out. he leaves with more bruises, and SQQ has never had more to say.

LBH doesnt think much of it until he finds himself supporting SQQ on one of his missions, when he can stand on equal footing with the monsters his master battles on the regular. when SQQ looks at him, he looks annoyed.

"now i have to get you a sword," he grumbles. LBH feels bad until SQQ spends 5 hours going through each and every little tidbit and detail about his commission with the blacksmith, whos all but ecstatic to craft a blade for the mysterious cultivator who solves any problem in exchange for concealing his presence. at least, that's all SQQ asks for, but the residents eventually learned that its easier to dump the gold and fruits and furs onto the cultivator's little disciple with the sparkling eyes. they'd tried complying with SQQ's request to keep his whereabouts a secret at first, but after seeing how LQG trailed after SQQ like a particularly lost, particularly strong puppy, they couldn't help but make an exception for him.

idk what happens exactly, but i do know i want LBH to grow up and become a strong disciple under SQQ's tutelage. he wants to prove himself to his Shizun during the immortal alliance conference, and rife with resignation and a mourning LBH will never understand, SQQ agrees and they go. and when the demon invasion happens, the peak lords happen to be confronting SQQ, and he stays silent as they yell at him, demanding an explanation.

that is, until SQQ reaches out to touch one of the beasts leaping towards him—

—and it disintegrates into dust beneath his touch.

"a demon will become the hero," he murmurs. "and a human, the villain."

in the end, the System really did manage to teach him a lesson.

i think ill make it so the endless abyss is sort of ecstatic to be so close to the Calamity — the excitement of which unlocks LBH's demon inheritance. in the og novel, SQQ sent down LBH. Here, SY takes his face in his hands, tenderly wipes the demon mark from his forehead and conceals it, and chooses to go down to the abyss. LBH cries out, cries his shizun's name —

but when SQQ turns around to look at him, LBH's breath is caught in his throat.

'that is not my Shizun,' his heart whispers traitorously. his Shizun had been stoic and quiet, yes, but his eyes always held something unyielding.

yet when SQQ looks at LBH, LBH sees something broken. LBH sees something turned to dust, something withered, something as fleeting as a dream.

LBH wonders how someone alive could look so dead. in the end, SQQ turns around, and falls into the abyss.

not understanding, and not wanting to risk telling people what happened, LBH tells everyone SQQ was dragged into the abyss... and likely dead. it's a lie he tells so many times he begins to believe it himself.

in the end, LQG has to drag LBH to bai zhan peak kicking and screaming. it's weeks before LBH can do anything besides scream, cry or hurt. he can't even eat without insisting on giving it to his Shizun, or making tea in case he comes back. in his grief, LBH becomes a model member of BZP, and while his sect siblings don't understand the gloom that clings to him, they see his resolve and respect it immensely.

to honor SQQ's memory, LBH goes around various towns helping the hungry and the needy. he plays SY's guqin — he can't play quite as well as SY, but that might be bc he can't stop himself from crying every few notes — and he spars with LQG. maybe they bond over their shared grief. maybs bingliushen, idk. maybe LBH believed SY dead until LQG gave him a look and said "he's alive." something about the cold certainty in his voice, as if it couldn't be anything but the truth, helps strengthen LBH.

LBH befriends LMY when she finds one of the poems MQF asked him to make for his 'therapy'. he befriends NYY when he helps her take care of the garden that SQQ apparently left behind when he left CQM. he even befriends YQY, who seems to find comfort in the presence of someone mourning as much as him. no one can deny LBH, not when his fumbling with formalities juxtaposes so beautifully with his perfect tea brewing, not when the food he makes particularly well match the tastes of the qing jing peak lord exactly, not when his less than ideal upbringing doesnt conceal how he is so clearly SQQ's.

no one can say no to the Protagonist.

there are rumors of HHP investigating abyss rifts. LBH and LQG are cautiously interested, at least, until HHP announces that they've caught a Heavenly Demon. LBH, aware of his heritage, feels like he has to go. YQY, LQG and co. bring him along.

"where do you have him trapped?" YQY inquires.

The HHPM laughs, waving dismissively. "well, in truth, the demon was suppressed by immortal binding cables and some of our best talismans. as long as you don't disturb it, it doesn't bite, so i thought it best to let it roam around. its hardly going anywhere in the state that it's in."

the words spark suspicion amidst the cang qiong delegation. still, nothing prepares them for the tall, lonely figure roaming the gardens, golden ropes binding his wrists like bracelets rather than suppressants.

SQQ won't even look at them.

[sillygoofyqueer]

WEI QINGWEI MY BABY LET'S GOOOOO

So, while at An Ding Peak, Wei Yi meets the little mouse of a (basically) head disciple, and never in his life has he seen a guy more in need of a goddamn friend to help out with the frankly criminal amount of work being dumped onto him - it was like Shang Su (素) was doing most of the duties of the peak lord already! Without the benefits!! When he talked to Shifu about it, the man had winced and claimed that Shang Su's shizun was "a real piece of work". Now, Wei Yi wasn't oblivious to what that meant, so he decided to spend a little bit more of his time over at An Ding, even when he was allowed to go back to Bai Zhan once again (with severe apologies from Wanfei's shizun ((and cool monster parts that he was gonna use in his next projects))), helping out as much as he possibly could with Shang Su's (reluctant) guidance. Instead of his friends letting him do his own thing, after the next few visits to An Ding, he wandered to Shang Su's quarters and finds Yanfei looming over a petrified looking Shang Su with a sceptical looking A-Zhang in the background. It was rare that their schedules always fit so perfectly together, but they always made sure to give Shang Su a bit of a hand whenever he needed it. Even if that was sometimes getting into polite arguments with the An Ding peak lord. At least Shifu found it funny; apparently there were pointed comments about the efficiency of a head disciple constantly being off peak in the peak lord meetings. All that aside, he truly was being handed more duties as head disciple, meaning it was even harder to spend time with his friends - but he was learning sect secrets, so it was probably for the best that he couldn't be around his friends much because he would tell them literally everything that he was learning. He couldn't help it, he never had secrets to tell or share!! Like Zui Xian Peak. The well-known wine production peak, often used as a way for other sects to criticise the "frivolity" of Cang Qiong. After all, what was the point of a peak dedicated to festivities planning and wine making if not to abuse such a power for lazing around? It was to throw people off the scent of the espionage and political murder that was planned and organised there, the 'dopey, carefree disciples' actually some of the most put together people upon the sect, efficient and detail oriented because one single misstep could lead to their deaths and the sect's secret coming pouring out within seconds. The only reason that Wei Yi was allowed to be aware of such a huge secret was because the Wan Jian Peak Lord was in charge of being the sole supplier of all of the weapons for Zui Xian. Pretty stressful to take into account, but at least the head disciple, Shui Muyang, had become far less distant now that he knows of their peak's secret. They were undeniably strange but also very fun - it's like they were the same carefree, relaxed disciple from before, but now with a harsher edge to it. More...cutthroat. They seemed pleased to have someone they could be themself with. He had mentioned Shang Su's shizun's reign of terror upon An Ding to them once when they were visiting the forges to check on his progress making concealable weapons (all designed by him), and they had almost casually started planning how to make their death seem like a qi deviation. Wei Yi enjoyed having friends, there was no doubt about it, but he seemed to attract the most unique ones! There was Mu Zhang, extremely obsessed with the flora of their world (and dead bodies for some reason), then Liu Yanfei, someone who seemed determined to fight everything that so much as moves near him (how he bonds, maybe?), not to mention Shang Su, who seems seconds away from having a qi deviation and passing out from exhaustion simultaneously (like a little hamster..), and now Shui Muyang! He loved his friends very much, but he hoped that the next friend would be at least a measure of normalcy that he could compare to his other friends... (Hey guys, more here if you're interested in Shui Muyang!)

[lizhly-writes]

anyway so i was thinking of fandom ships. you know, the fandom otp, the fandom Evergiven, etc. but specifically, i was thinking of little ships. like pool noodles. and i was left there thinking, hmm, what's an obscure ship i'm sure no one has ever written before? and i decided the answer was: crossover ships. with two characters that don't actually have canon personalities. so. here's some theoretical set up.

On Cang Qiong, the peaks most open to entry are Bai Zhan and An Ding. Anyone can join Bai Zhan, if they're willing to get beaten for it; anyone can join An Ding, if they're willing to work.

Mo Xuanyu does not want to get beaten, so he's grateful that his father decides to call in a favor from the Lord of An Ding.

By all rights, he should be in Huan Hua. His mother expected that Jin Guangshan would take him into Huan Hua, as an inner disciple of some kind. There's something to be said about blood relations, after all.

But instead... An Ding.

"Things will be difficult in Huan Hua," Jin Guangshan says, his voice as warm as Mo Xuanyu always imagined. "I promise, you'll be much more comfortable on Cang Qiong." He pats Mo Xuanyu's shoulder, which is the most contact he's had with his father in his entire life.

It is, as Peak Lord Shang tells him, the most contact he will ever have with his father in his entire life.

"Your father doesn't want you," Shang Qinghua says, almost offhandedly.

"...What?" Mo Xuanyu says weakly.

"Address your master respectfully," Shang Qinghua says, and then: "That man will have difficulty with his cultivation partner, if he acknowledges a bastard and brings him into Huan Hua, but your mother has too high of a standing for him to completely ignore her, and thus, you. So--" a smile cuts across his face -- "he gave you to me."

[dancingaura925]

As an experiencedTM danmei reader, I've come across many genres, and I feel like that the one genre that the SVSSS fandom needs to exploit is the interstellar genre. Why? Because it'd be fucking hilarious. Hear me out:

In the original work, Luo Binghe is - instead of part demon part human - is part zerg part human. Zerg, if you aren't familiar, is basically the interstellar genre's version of reallyyyyyy strong aliens, and depending on the author, can range from actual literal beasts to human-like creatures with insect features to just straight up humans with nice-ass wings, which can then have different degrees of autonomy due to this hivemind they've got with the Zerg Queen. Basically, nobody has any clue on what a proper Zerg should be, but nobody cares :D

In addition, these stories often have a human empire dedicated to fighting against these Zerg. This may include a main planet where the emperor lives and other planets with different nobles, territories, military bases, etc. It almost always has a research lab on the main planet that usually have some sort of dastardly scheme related to the main plot. On top of that, these empires are very militaristic, with mechas and combat and mental power and all sorts of interstellar travel

...

Do you see where this is going?

Once upon a time, Tianlang-Jun (perhaps the descendant from the Zerg Queen) and Su Xiyan (a researcher) fell in love with each other in the research facility. SXY was assigned to TLJ because the research facility wanted to know how to harness the Zerg Queen's power to once-and-for-all wipe out the Zerg race. However, once the two got together, they started to plot how to get out and along the way, LBH was conceived. OPM, the ex-head researcher got FURIOUS and badabing badaboom, you've got SXY on the run before sending LBH to another place to survive.

Fast forward a lot, LBH shows up at the Cang Qiong Military Academy, which is split up in different divisions under different commanders. For LBH, he goes to the Qing Jing division where he is led under General Shen Qingqiu, someone who often boasts of his own mental power and lies and takes other people's credit to get to the lofty position he is today.

When LBH is training, he starts standing out in unusual ways. His physical prowess is through the roof, but his mental power is abysmal, which is bad because that's kinda how you use mechas, and often, physical strength can be enhanced with mental power (kinda like cultivation). So LBH is bullied, harassed, etc, and all the while, SQQ is like "this dude is a beast/derogatory".

Insert a long few years, including a Zerg invasion with none other than Sha Hualing. You go, girl.

When the Empire's Military Academy Tournament (could not think up a name rn) shows up, he's sent to go and instead of being sent into the Abyss, he's sent through a wormhole to a Zerg-infested place, where he learns more and stuff. Wowee!

He comes back with revenge on humans and stuff and integrates both the humans and Zergs under his iron fist. The fight against the emperor takes up like a hundred chapters or whatever.

So that's the OG version. Now, let's insert a millenial mess that is SY as SQQ and see how he handles being in the military. He better put to use that military training Chinese kids are put through.

On the other hand, if you wanted to take a completely DIFFERENT direction, have LBH be a test subject in the lab and have SY transmigrate into a researcher. LBH was supposed to be a human weapon, designed from intentional breeding. SY, knowing LBH will break out and cutely demolish the human race, tries to befriend him, teaches him everything. LBH, despite being a weapon designed to destroy the Zerg race, falls in love. And then he breaks out. Cue drama and kidnapping.

[acim-ed-ortsac]

me and the devil, walking side by side

What is the meaning of life? To enjoy it? To live it? Or perhaps the true question to be asked is how to enjoy it. If that’s the case, then you’re going to raise chaos and hell in this new world you were reborn in.

What’s truly stopping you from causing chaos? Humans? They’re mortal like you, putting up ethics and boundaries to ensure the safety of not only other people, (they say), but mostly ensure their own safety. Living is finding happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. Others will say it’s living your life to the fullest!

Now that you thought about it, were you even human anymore? Now that you were reborn, you noticed that you don’t fully have your humanity…but what exactly is humanity? Something that makes one human? Then what does it mean to be human? To be more evolved than animals? To have advanced intelligence? But humans have always retained their animal instincts, causing what humans call ‘Monstrosities’ and ‘Crimes’. If this is truly human, following your instincts and wants, then perhaps you’re the most humane creature ever to exist.

You looked at the ghostly warrior cultivator in bland indifference, head tilted in some interest. Liu Qingge was certainly beautiful, with a delicate, almost feminine face that contrasted with the bulky physique of his body. His lips turned upside-down into a scowl as he looked back at you.

Underneath him is a skeleton with tattered clothes, his actual physical sword, Chen Luan, laid untouched for years.

Your lips quirked as you let out a mocking croon from the back of your throat, circling the ghost. “How very…interesting.” Your foot kicked at his bones, making him snarl at you in return. “How is it that the Famed Warrior of Justice, the famous War god of Baizhan, is the first one to die amongst the Qing generation of Peak Lords?”

When you completed the circle, you smiled at him with your teeth. “Especially that ‘Scum’ Shen Qingqiu—“

“Don’t call him a scum!” Liu Qingge made a hand for his sword, only to realize he didn’t have his spiritual sword with him.

You raised a brow in bemusement, “Why? Isn’t that what you called him all these years?” You taunted, following him when he made a turn away from you. “ ‘The Lecherous Shen Qingqiu’, ‘The Scum Lord’, ‘The Lazy Lord’, isn’t that what you called him in all your years of living in Cang Qiong?”

The man made a sound of gritting teeth at your continued mocking.

Delightful sadism bubbled in your chest as a hollowed laugh reverberated in your chest, “What of the change of heart? War god Liu Qingge?”

His fists, which were clenching the whole time, suddenly released as his shoulders slumped. In a quick second, his whole demeanor becomes one of defeat and guilt. Your interest peaked again, your smile growing wider.

“I…was wrong.” Liu Qingge finally said after those long minutes of silence. “I was wrong about him — everyone at the sect was wrong. But I never thought of seeing the full truth.”

You sneered at him, walking in front of him. “None of you did,” Your fingers twitched in rising irritation as the topic came to this. “You Qing generation just loved to gossip and snark at the latest rumors that you all never tried to investigate the truth. For all your talk about righteousness and justice, you are the last person to be talking about that in this current situation.

As a man in another world said, ‘If a man looks for the sin of other people, then that man has sinned.’”

You stepped back from the ghost, looking at him with narrowed eyes and head tilted back. “Thanks to your martial brother and sisters nonsense, you effectively gave that old coot from Huanhua leverage to use against your sect. And as a result, you lost your strategist.”

“You don’t have to say something that I don’t know.” Gritted the ghost.

You scoffed, “So, tell me what changed your mind?”

“…” Liu Qingge glared at you with all his irritation and anger before spitting out “I followed him after I died, to make sure he didn’t do anything, and finally saw what he actually is like.” At that, his voice became softer, as if the realization still made him in disbelief. “He doesn’t go to the brothels for sexual pleasure, he goes there to sleep. The workers there welcome him as if he was their brother…and he teaches them how to write, paint, and music.”

You clasped your hands behind your back, “So you were wrong about him being a lecher.”

“All of us were,”

“Well, not all of us.”

“…Right.”

You grinned after huffing a laugh, “This will be fun.”

Liu Qingge glared at you, “What will—“

“If I restored your body, will you follow me to explore the plains?”

The ghost looked at you wide-eyed, shocked at your proposal. “What…”

Your lips quirk, “I’m planning to meet the Heavenly Emperor along the way, and possibly fix some wrongs that need to be right.”

At the end of your sentence, your voice became lower and there were hints of garbled sounds beneath it. Liu Qingge looked at you warily, as if getting the hint that you’re not fully human. “Who are you?”

“Ah ah,” You smiled while wagging your finger, like a teacher scolding a student. “The correct question should be,” Your eyes changed color and pupils, ink changed from the moisture that was rolling down your cheeks, and your smile became wider until it was cheek to cheek. “What am I?”

You took delight in the ghost’s horrified and morbidly astonished reaction, retreating your finger before your features rippled back to your human form. “Now, about that offer…”

——

“Ah, it seems more dreary than I imagined.”

“What are you talking about? Have you been living under a rock?”

“Don’t blame me, It took me a while for me to manifest my physical form.”

“A form that’s ever-changing and inhumane.”

“At least I have a human form.”

“Still—“

“Who was the one who gave you the body again?”

“…”

Your lips curled into something similar to a simpering smile, “Don’t frown, that’s just gonna make you unapproachable…well, more unapproachable at this point.”

Liu Qingge huffed, turning away. His body, which you rebuilt with dust and bones, was brand new. His skin didn’t have the scars he had obtained when he was alive, much to his discomfort but to your indifference. Muscular but his stance suggests the experience of fighting. You rolled your shoulders back as you took in the scenery as you made your way to the Huanhua palace.

Where Luo Binghe is, and possibly, Shen Jiu and the harem.

You being a reader of SVSSS, knew of the original timeline and what happened there. You wonder how far in the Post-Original are you; perhaps Shen Jiu is dead right now after swallowing Xuan Su shards…maybe. You haven’t wandered around long enough to go to the villages, your first destination was Cang Qiong since it was the nearest place where your body spawned. 

The rest of the time, you were a watcher over Shen Jiu because come on…he deserved better.

A nudge shook you out of your thoughts, making you see the entrance of Huanhua territory, which was the forest of Bailu. Where Tianlang-Jun is sealed. You wonder if his body is still intact or if it decomposed along the events. 

You hummed for a moment before pulling Liu Qingge away from the territory. “Hey–!?” The man resisted your hold but proved to be futile. “I thought you were gonna see that demon spawn and save Shen Qingqiu!?”

“I will,” you replied, “But first, let’s go to a nearby village to eat and rest. Your body is still getting used to being alive right now, so take it slow before you get into any scats.”

“I practice inedia so eating is unnecessary–” the warrior urged.

“And you’ve been a ghost for how many years? With no physical body?” You shot back.

Your bickering continued until you made it to a village and went to an inn, you paid for the rooms. Later you watched as Liu Qingge practically inhaled three bowls of congee while you were still eating your one bowl, you grinned smugly. “See what years of having a body does to you? You get to taste food again!”

“Shut up,” Liu Qingge grumbled before downing an entire of his third bowl.

“Liu Qingge, manners.” you chided the warrior, taking a sip from your congee bowl. As you ate, your ears tuned in on the conversation of the residents of the inn, which was a mix of humans and demons.

“The crops are going good this year…”

“Hey, who are the beauties over there?”

“Isn’t that the Baizhan War god!?”

“I thought he was dead–”

“Killed by Shen Qingqiu, in fact!”

“Were they wrong?”

…you thought that they wouldn’t recognize Liu Qingge after being dead for years, yet they surprised you wrong. 

“Wonder if this will reach the emperor’s ears…” you muttered before drinking your tea. Liu Qingge let out a satisfied exhale, with four bowls piled up on the side. You deadpanned before exhaling, fishing out your pouch of money. “Be thankful I can pay for this.”

The revived man let out a grunt.

After dinner, you two went to your rooms to retire for the night. It’s been a while since you last slept, having been a transparent spirit for the rest of the journey of the original PIDW. It wasn’t until some entity had granted you abilities that were inhumane, some were familiar with characters that were antagonists from certain entertainments in your old world. And because the ‘story’ ended and you have no system, you could now do anything you wanted in this world!

First, you’ll have to bring Liu Qingge to the palace of Luo Binghe and let him clear up what happened in Lingxi caves and in the brothels, being a witness and all. 

Luckily for you and Liu Qingge, you didn’t have to go to the Palace. Luo Binghe and Liu Mingyan came to you…with fucking guards. It caused quite a commotion in the village, they bowed down and looked away in fear with some demons in awe. You and your companion had just exited the inn when the emperor himself and one of his wives entered the village.

You now had a stare-off with the freaking Emperor Luo Binghe himself and his wife, Liu Mingyan, who was looking at her very much alive brother in disbelief. “Brother?”

The said man only glared at her in response making her falter. Ignoring the rising tension, you decided to take a look at the couple. Liu Mingyan was as beautiful as her brother, you could tell as much even with her veil covering her face. Her robes were purple with red which matched her overall aura and color scheme. 

When your eyes moved to Luo Binghe, you were almost startled at how he was staring at you, red eyes shining with interest, whether it was your unique appearance or perhaps he sensed that you were not completely human either. Still, he is as beautifully handsome as described in the novel and drawn in the illustrations.

Your attention was grabbed when Liu Qingge shouted, “Killed!? Shixiong tried to save me!”

“What!?” Liu Mingyan stepped back, surprised at the outburst from her brother. You took this as a sign to move the sidelines, as this conversation had nothing to do with you.  Still, it doesn’t stop the sadistic glee when watching the faces of his sister and Luo Binghe morphed into shock and disbelief at the reveal.

Though seeing the crowd you were gathering, you pulled Liu Qingge’s robe to get his attention, “I think we should do this in a more secluded.” You then looked at Luo Binghe, the main man of this finished ‘story’. “Perhaps Junshang would be benevolent enough to let us discuss this in his palace?”

——

The ride to the Huanhua palace was tense, but you ignored it since it didn’t bother you that much. You walked with casual grace when you entered after Luo Binghe and his wife, Liu Qingge followed you with a look that can bury someone 6 feet under. The doors opened for the four of you and demons and humans gathered around with curiosity at the newcomers.

You smiled lips closed at the audience you gathered. Some of Luo Binghe’s wives have also come, one of them being Qiu Haitang…

Perfect for the reveal of the ‘Scum Villain’.

Junshang then sat on his throne with his main wife at his side, on the other side came the famous Sha Hualing with her barely covered and jingling bells. Liu Qingge’s face went from red to green beside you, much to your amusement. 

“So,” Luo Binghe said from his place on the throne. “What do you mean by my shizun trying to save you?” He says the word shizun with so much venom you wonder if his words were made of the actual stuff.

“It’s the truth,” Liu Qingge stepped forward, determined to right the wrong he had made. You let him. “As the victim, I’m here to say that Shen Qingqiu didn’t kill me.”

Whispers grace your ears, astonished at the proclamation of the supposed dead Baizhan War god. Your smile soon became full of teeth. Liu Mingyan was unconvinced, “But brother, You and Shen Qingqiu have been bitter rivals for the longest time–he even tried to kill you in that one mission!”

Before they could agree with the supposed evidence, you stepped up laughing. “Well, rumors and pieces of evidence have to be thoroughly investigated before confirming. If you’re willing, will you bring Shen Qingqiu to the throne room, Junshang? Or did you already kill him out of anger?”

The lack of respect towards the Emperor had people looking at you in disbelief, readying for the Half Heavenly Demon to attack you, but as you stared down Luo Binghe, with all glee, joy, and some sort of wrong excitement that made the man wary of you, Luo Binghe relented. “Bring Shen Qingqiu.”

Your smile widened until it was cheek-to-cheek as rounds of gasps sounded in the court. Your veins thrummed at the stirring chaos you’re about to ensue. Soon, the called man was carried in a jar, long inky locks of hair flowing over the jar with limbs cut, and sickly pale skin but the same acid green eyes glared at Luo Binghe. Those same green eyes then looked in shock at the very much alive Liu Qingge.

Immediately, the warrior kotowed in front of the disabled man in the jar, shocking all who were present. “Shen Qingqiu, I have done a great sin by accusing you over and over without understanding the situation. I have run your reputation through the mud and made it a weapon against Cang Qiong. As payment for this sin, I will do anything to—”

You kicked Liu Qingge in the butt, “Apologize later, there will be more to apologize when I show you all later.”

Liu Qingge, for his part, whipped his head and was about to explode over your disrespect when Qiu Haitang screamed from where she was. “ What is that villain doing here!?” her eyes held mad fury.

You just glanced at her with disinterest, “Why, to clear his name, of course.”

You raised a brow when she stomped up to you, “What is there to clear!? That man–” she points at Shen Qingqiu, who looks at her with conflicting emotions while holding his poker face. “--who was a slave taken in my brother and my fiance, had killed and burned everything I had! He’s a monster! A heartless fiend! An immoral—”

“Ah, but that’s the best part, little A-Tang.” you stepped forward, hands clasped behind. “For Shen Jiu did you a service of getting rid of your disgusting family.” Her face grew red when you insulted her family with vitriol. “How dare—”

You laughed at her face, “Oh, poor, sweet, coddled, naive A-Tang. You truly thought your brother was as honorable as he seemed?” You batted your eyelashes mockingly before grinning with sharp teeth. “Oh, how wrong you are. But first…”

You turned away from her to Shen Jiu, walking up to him before kneeling. Slashing your arm, you said to him “Open wide,” before grabbing his jaw and forcing him to open his mouth. Shen Jiu struggled as blood from your arm poured into his mouth, making him drink. You watched him struggle against you before deeming the amount he drank enough, healing your arm before smacking the jar with a loud twang. The jar broke into two, much to the shock of the people, letting Shen Jiu squirm in pain on the floor. He gasped and made strangled noises from his throat.

“Shen Qingqiu!?” Liu Qingge rushed forward to his fallen shixiong but was stopped by you. “What did you do—”

“Just watched.”

Those who were near retreated back when the first limp sprouted out of the nubs where his arms were, shrieking and screaming in horror and fear. The next three limbs sprouted the same manner, flesh from the nubs splattering away and into the people in its path. The moment he had all four limbs back, you willed a nearby cloth to morph and form into a simple robe to wear to cover Shen Qingqiu’s modesty. 

You looked down at Shen Jiu, who clutched his head in pain, drool dripping down his chin as his eyes went to you. “What did you do to me!?” His eyes were now lime green with slits for pupils, his skin now deathly pale, fingers sharpened to claws, and when he opened his mouth teeth were sharp as canines.

You ginned down at him, “I suppose in another world, you would’ve been called a demon. But in this world, you would be an anomaly.”

He rasped in response, “Hungry…”

You hummed before turning to a nearby servant, “Get some human meat.”

A slam brought your attention, and you turned to Luo Binghe who looked at you with burning eyes “What are you!? And why would you need human meat!?”

“Junshang, I am a cryptid at best, and as for the human meat…” you tapped your chin. “Well, that would be Shen Jiu’s diet for the years to come in his new species. The creatures I turned him into consume human blood to gain power and sustain their life. Although the demon blood here could also be used for his diet.”

Liu Mingyan’s face drained of color while Sha Hualing wrinkled her nose in disgust. Luo Binghe gritted his teeth.

Liu Qingge drew his sword, “I trusted you! And you made him into a monster!”

You raised a hand at the warrior, “Calm down you brute, it’s up to Shen Jiu if he’s willing to eat it. There are alternatives, but it depends on his will to not eat humans or demons alike.”

Seeing that the human servant hadn’t moved one bit, you took their arm and ripped a wound on it that made them scream in the process. The sound and smell of blood had Shen Jiu whipped to look and drooling at the bleeding mortal. Against the struggles and sobs, you pushed the bleeding arm towards him. “Well, you have a choice A-Jiu. What will you choose?”

The man now turned demon anomaly struggled to retain his wits and common sense, eyes shook with pure hunger while his teeth gritted. You stared at him with patience, waiting for his answer. Finally, A-Jiu turned his head away from the sight of blood. Satisfied, you let go of the sobbing servant’s hand and healed it. “Strong will retain, I see.”

“Don’t ever do that again!?” Shen Jiu snarled.

“I promise,” you smiled before looking at the audience. “Now, shall we get started?”

——

Luo Binghe watched from his throne as the creature that is you summoned thousands of mirror shards to form one shard in place, big enough for all to see.  What are you… he wondered as you held that grin that seemed so carefree. His shizun stood up, his legs shook from the long overdue of being used. His formerly dead shishu helped him.

The Emperor wasn’t sure what was a cryptid, but he knew that you were powerful. Powerful enough to make his shizun into a whole new species. Powerful enough to resurrect his Liu Qingge from the dead. And powerful enough that Meng Mo advised Luo Binghe to not provoke you before this all goes down.

The mirror changed color before it showed a scene, a shack that looked polished and well-built. Once looked inside, it showed a young man in elaborate robes beating a young child that couldn’t be nine years old. A gasp from Qiu Haitang and the resemblance to her confirmed that the young man is in fact her ‘honorable’ brother. Or as ‘honorable’ could be when the emperor watched the blatant abuse that was brought down on the boy. A flash of green from those eyes made Luo Binghe’s gut sink. No…

——

“I didn’t ask you for this…”

You glanced at Shen Jiu, who looked away from you. Liu Qingge stood beside him, ready to catch him should he be unstable again. You narrowed your eyes, “You never tried to defend yourself, even knowing your reputation was in ruins.” A flinch from the warrior. “But that doesn’t mean that I’ll stand for it. You’re not wholly at fault, there have to be faults revealed for the true picture to come whole.”

The anomaly gritted his teeth, “But to display my past for them to see—”

“In other realities, your past would revealed to them at your trial in the Water Prison,” you said with eyes on the shard that displayed how Shen Jiu Qi deviated and killed all the men in the Qiu estate but saved the women and children. “I hate misunderstandings. I hate lies, and I hate pretentiousness. I longed for the faces of the false to despair when they are revealed.”

Shen Jiu didn’t respond when he saw your eyes burned with anger despite your passive and calm disposition, a fire that burned like the one shown in the shard. Sometimes, your form flickered during the storm of emotions in you such as a drip of ink from your head instead of sweat, or when your eyes change color from white to black. It befuddled Shen Jiu before when you were just a mere apparition that appeared before him one night when he was still a slave in the Qiu house.

A glance at Qiu Haitang showed the horror dawning on her face like the sunrise.

“No…no no NONONONO! YOU’RE LYING—!”

A slap resounded.

You sneered down at her with disgust and indifference as a master would to a servant or slave. “Impudent brat.” You said with vitriol.

You then grabbed her by the hair, wrenching a shriek of pain from the woman. “Since you love your ‘dear brother’ so much, I’ll have you reunite with him.” 

Crack from the ground before the center of the Throne room started to split into two, from the crack was hellish red light along with arms of bone and rotting skin. The smell assaulted the nose of every human and demon, the screams and shrieks of the dead wailed into the ears of every living creature…

Except you.

Then, amongst the screams and shrieking, a voice that stood out amongst the dead—a coherent voice that could speak—reverbated from the pits of hell. “Qiu Haitang! Bring me Qiu Haitang!” The voice of her brother demanded.

You watched in delicious delight as all the color drained form her face when she realized what you’re about to do. “No…no please! Please! Anything but—“

Ignoring her pleas, you drag her to the crack that opened to hell itself, Qiu Haitang screaming and struggling for her life. Alas, it was futile as you threw her down, her screams echoing in the room, a spectacle that made you known as the Judge and Executor.

As the crack slowly mends together, you grin in satisfaction. “One down, one more to go.”

———

“Where are you taking me!?” 

The Old Palace Master, bound by immortal coils, was forced to walk with Mobei-Jun behind him. Luo Binghe was behind you along with the Little Palace Mistress, who was fuming with rage and would’ve whipped you if it weren’t for her husband’s blood parasites, and Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge. Nature made way for you as the Bailu Mountain forest responded to your call.

You ignored the complaining and threats from the father-daughter duo, grinning in pleasure at the sight of a familiar deformed half-snake and half-human creature. “Zhuzhi-lang! It’s been a while!”

The snake who was relax when greeting you, tensed up and went into a defensive position upon noticing the newcomers with you.

You chuckled, rubbing his head in reassurance. “At ease, General. Your cousin along with his wives, shizun, and shush are here for the trial of the old palace master.”

A doubtful look crossed his glazed eyes. You rolled your eyes as you imbued demonic qi into him, letting him transform into his human form. Gasps behind you as you take a leaf from a tree to reform it into a simple robe for the snake general to wear.

“Many thanks, Yichang dashi.” The reserved general bowed in gratitude. You waved dismissively, “Now now, where is your uncle?”

“A visitor by the Great Yichang themselves? Have you gotten your physical form already?”

You walked towards the source where Tianlang-jun's head was sticking out of the mountain, the rocks formed around his neck and multiple talismans slapped around him. “Ah, Tianlang-Jun. It’s been a while.”

“Why it has,” his smile sharpens to one of viciousness and well-hidden anger. “And it seems you have guests.”

You spared a glance at them before  you lookin back at him. “Well, your son with Su Xiyan survived and declared himself Emperor for one.” A strangled noise from Luo Binghe while the Old Palace Master was foaming with rage “Now we’re here for the trial of the Old Palace Master for his crimes against Jianghu and you.”

“What crimes!?” The old geezers daughter shrill voice hurt your ears. “My honorable father never committed any crimes!”

“Hah, that’s where you’re wrong. Brat number 2.”

Palace Mistress’s face contorted into something unpleasant till you interrupted. “First case of order,” you smiled as you walked towards the old master himself, looking down on him with sadistic intentions. “The lechery of the old palace master.”

Gasps from the few servants you brought along with you were heard while protests from his daughter. Shen Jiu furrowed his brow but made no attempt to stop you, Liu Qingge seemed surprised at the accusation.

“What lechery!?” Palace mistress cried.

“His lechery towards Su Xiyan,” you explained. “He had—and still is—lusted after his former head disciple and was driven with jealousy when he found out that she was romantically involved with the Southern Emperor of the Demon Realm, Tianlang-Jun.”

“So that whole thing about overthrowing the human realm was a lie…” Liu Qingge glared viciously at the Old Palace Master. “You had the whole cultivation world seal Tianlang-Jun because of your unrequited love!?”

The said master growled like the animal he is. “You believe the words of this fiend!?”

“I believe everything they said over a lecher!”

You sniggered before looking at Luo Binghe, “I suppose you could say that the Old Palace Master is the reason you ended up as an orphan.”

You spotted his fist shaking.

“Jealous, he imprisoned your mother in the palace while the cultivation world sealed your father. It wasn’t till the Old Palace Master gave her the choice to drink poison that’ll kill demons so she’ll see Tianlang-Jun. By the time she came out…”

“He was already sealed…” he finished hollowly. He then turned to the man who he thought was a family figure now turned into a monster. 

Old Palace Master, who saw that everyone believed everything you said, snarled, “How did you know of this!? How—!?”

“I’ve watched,” you replied. “I was also the reason why Su Xiyan was able to deliver Little Luo Binghe safely.”

The old man gave a wild cry and tried to lunge at you but was held by Mobei-Jun. You looked at him with building anticipation, turning to Tianlang-Jun. You walked to his imprisoned state before placing a hand on a seal. Cracks and ridges then formed before the stone around the heavenly demon crumbled to dust. A touch of your hand on his now free body and demonic qi flooded in him, renewing his temple and replenishing his strength. When the dust cleared, his eyes of red released hatred and anger that was directed to the old man in binds.

You placed a hand on his chest before he could move towards the Old Palace Master, “Now now, let me exact his judgment before you can have your fun with him.”

A hand on your wrist and a devastatingly handsome face near yours, “You better make it fast, Yichang.”

Giggling, you turned to the audience around you. “By the crimes of lechery, false accusations, and the death of his own disciple. The old palace master is found guilty. “ You smiled with your teeth, “Usually the punishment would fall on his person…but…”

You turned to his daughter instead, “Perhaps his daughter would like to endure it instead?”

Immediately, she made a move to grab her whip but from the trees, humanoid creatures appeared and grabbed hold of her.  Their ethereal beauty did nothing to deter the palace mistress to try to escape, yelling and screaming. “Let me go! You demonic creatures! Foul beasts—“

“Ah, how rude,” you sneered at her before grabbing her chin and made her look at you. “Now, let’s see how you’ll die.”

Upon looking you saw she was crying tears, wailing in fear. Behind you, her father screamed in rage. Your eyes turned into a gray kaleidoscopic vision to behold, locking her gaze in place as her dark eyes soon turned gray and kaleidoscopic as yours.

Her posture relaxed into something of defeat and a smile graced her lips. Letting her go, the dryads and you, you watched as she turned to her father with a smile. “Father, it’s beautiful.”

She then took out her whip and wrapped it around her neck, strangling herself with it.

Her father cried in horror as she continued to commit suicide, anybody who made a move to help were stopped by you. You saw the horror, fear, and shock at what’s happening. It wasn’t until the palace mistress turned blue and collapsed did she finally die. Blood spilling from her neck.

You ignored the father who turned insane and glanced at the three Heavenly Demons, “Do as you like with him.”

—

Luo Binghe twitched uncomfortably at your presence, Xin Mo in your hands as you inspected the blade. Surprisingly, the demonic blade seemed to respond to you quite well, and you don’t seem to be affected by it at all.

Though, while uncomfortable and uncertain of your abilities and whole inhumaneness, he’s certainly grateful for you unveiling the truth.

He learned that he was loved by both mothers, and his father wasn’t as evil as he thought. Though he can’t believe how utterly silly he is. His cousin was easy to tolerate, timid yet deadly when needed.

And there was an ongoing healing process between him and his shizun, monitored by you. You supervised these “Therapy sessions”, as you called it, and became the middleman between them. He got to understand his shizun more and his shizun started to lower his wall of shards. Though you told them it will take a long time before the both of them could fully heal.

Liu Shishu and his sister decided to travel to reconnect and a journey of self-healing. The harem is disbanded but Sha Hualing is still one of his generals.  

Mobile-Jun, on the other hand, seemed to take a liking to you. The Emperor doesn’t know if it’s the repeated fights between the two of you or it’s because you interact with him a lot.

Luo Binghe didn’t like that. At all. And he could tell his shizun felt the same. You were the one source of love and safety they ever had and being an orphan and a street rat, they were greedy for that love.

Though, watching you swing Xin Mo experimentally, Luo Binghe decided that it might not be bad if you held Xin Mo instead. It lessens the headache in his skull.

—

“Have you heard of the Judge? They came out of nowhere. They aren’t human nor demon. They’re an anomaly. They say they’re a king of hell, others say they’re chaos incarnated. But really, cucumber-bro, I imagine that they’re the devil themselves.”

[whitepawn]

Moshang superhero!au

Shang Qinghua wasn't lucky by common standards. Well there was always the need to dig deeper then it comes to Shang Qinghua. At first he seems like someone who would be envied dy less fortunate: had a really really nice place in Cang Qiong, was gifted with power of changing reality, got to hand out with the coolest people possible. That was the first layer. The second is: a guy with ability that is hard to get the use of, tons of work, no personal life, even in close future. Then comes the third layer: a man of a grate wit, who successfully mastered seemingly lame ability and fully deserved his place among the strongest. Fourth: ah wait he's a nerd and forever alone. Fifth: he has a crush on WHO?

And the list can go on and on. Shang Qinghua was a mistery. Was he a traitor for allying with supervillain Mobei-jun? Was he really all this nerdy? Is he like gay or something?

And here we have Mobei-jun. People don't seem to have problems with reading him. Approximately you'll need about three seconds to understand all you need to know about him. He's dangerous, powerful, brutal, hot (in a cold way) and wouldn't even notice if he crushed you dead. That's basically how he is. But there's always room for more. Even to his own surprise. Mobei-jun is currently on his way of developing into a mature adult, rather than overpowered giant angsty teen. He's soon to find out that he can be caring, patient, thoughtful, protective and even weak.

But now all we have is Shang Qinghua, exhaustedly falling on his soft amazing bed. Or is he? The very moment he expected himself to be buried in his blanket he seemingly just feel right through his bed, blanket wrapping around him like a trash bag. His fall wasn't to long though. He only had time to group himself a little, before his back met the bouncy material. Shang Qinghua started wiggling himself free and after he did, he started with a great shock at Mobei-jun, who was staring back at him. His slightly raised brows were giving away how much he was took off guard. Mobei-jun seemed just to casually sit on his couch with an open laptop, home clothing – really fancy ones – on.

"I.." started Shang Qinghua. "I told you many times to not open portals in my apartment." He saw Mobei-jun furrowing and instantly lost all his attitude. "Am I needed, Dawang?"

Mobei-juns furrow deepened. "Yes." Was all he said, as he opened something on his laptop and gave it over to Shang Qinghua. In reality, he was very much surprised by his power's outburst. He didn't had this random portal opening situations since he was in middle school. Was he dripping so deep in his thoughts it came to thinking about Qinghua and actually summoning him?

"Ugh, I know this is no problem for you, Dawang" whined Shang Qinghua, wrapping himself up with his blanket. His fingers though started typing as he leaned over Mobei's laptop and started working. "I was so close to sleeping my hunger over." He muttered to himself as if didn't even noticing Mobei-jun was paying him all his attention.

It wasn't really late, especially for Shang Qinghua who would easily spend half of the night scrolling through his phone or writing something. The fact that he really was going to sleep meant that today he really wore himself off. Mobei-jun almost felt guilty for taking sleep Shang Qinghua was aiming for away by this embarrassing accident. Maybe he should've send him back. But he didn't want him to leave. The all reason why he mindlessly opened a portal to Shang Qinghuas apartment was because he wanted him to be here. Just to silently admire his presence. But it turned... Exactly like he wanted. Shang Qinghua was here, and Mobei-jun got to just feel good in his company. But Shang Qinghua was exhausted, tired and hungry, probably sleep deprived too.

That's definitely not how Mobei-jun want him to feel. He opened the delivery app on his phone and ordered some noodles Shang Qinghua liked. He then stood up from the couch and went into his bedroom to make a call. Mobei-jun called one of his minions for them to organise the fastest delivery possible, and after ten minutes a really terrified delivery worker was at his door.

Shang Qinghua haven't moved since he started working so, then Mobei-jun placed a plastic bowl of noodles on the table, his head tilted up and his eyes went wide and glowy.

"You should eat." Stated Mobei-jun sitting back on the couch near Shang Qinghua.

"Dawang!" Shouted Shang Qinghua while looking like all life was slowly returning back to him. "Thank you. This lowly one will never forget you kindness."

Mobei-jun let out a quiet grumpy growl wich made Shang Qinghua huff a laugh in amusement as took a mouthful of noodles. Mobei-jun had ordered himself some grilled meat with vegetables so Shang Qinghua wouldn't be embarrassed of being only one who eats. It was fine, Mobei-jun would gladly spend some extra time in the gym tomorrow.

They ate in comforting silence. Mobei-jun was dealing with some usual mess his subordinates would cause in this time of night by sending several messages to the most responsible ones. Shang Qinghua did pretty much the same but he somehow had the ability to get Mobei's men moving even faster. That was one of many reasons why Mobei-jun valued him as ally.

An hour and a half passed as they sat unmoving, to preoccupied with work. Shang Qinghua usually disliked doing something for long time without change, especially work. But he treated ruling mob as a really nice hobby. More of it, having fully concentrated Mobei-jun near him helped steadying Shang Qinghua's wild mind so he could work for that long without being distracted.

For Mobei-jun, who totally preferred actually being on the field than commanding over a bunch of idiots, he tolerated it many times better then Shang Qinghua was beside him. His pure interest in making Mobei's men doing things reminded Mobei-jun that controlling all of them is actually cool and not pain in the ass all the time. He found the feeling flattering. So he was pretty productive this evening until he noticed that something went strange. He lifted his eyes from his phone and noticed that Shang Qinghua seemingly had fallen asleep wrapped up in his blanket, open laptop in his hands.

Mobei-jun looked around himself as if searching for something to tell him what to do now. He helplessly clenched and unclenched his fists while looking at peacefully sleeping Shang Qinghua. He then took his phone and sent new message but in entirely different tone. And to new contact. To Luo Binghe.

'My hero fell asleep on my couch, what do I do?' he typed.

'OMG Mobei go send me a pic NOW' Luo Binghe was as easily hyped about anything that had a slightest connection to Shen Yuan.

'Why?'

'BECAUSE!! You want my advice or no?'

Mobei-jun hesitated for a couple moments before taking an awkward shaky photo of sleeping Shang Qinghua and send it to Luo Binghe feeling his face warming up in response of this act. He then deleted the photo from his phone, letting Luo Binghe do whatever he wanted.

'Awww he's cute. Not as cute as Shizun tho... Anyways look at Shizun!' And Luo Binghe send him about 30 photos of Shen Yuan lying here and there asleep. Mobei-jun rolled his eyes and let out an irritated growl.

'Okay. You seem to be experienced in such things, good, now tell me what to do.'

'Yeah right. So it's all simple, your little guy looks pretty little so just scoop him and tuck him in. Double check if he's comfortable enough and leave a glass of water beside the bed.' Okay that was cheesy.

Mobei-jun just throwed his phone away.

It never was so difficult in the past. When things like this happened to his exes he always was okay with just leaving them where they were. But this wasn't the same. This was Shang Qinghua. His back already was a mess, he complained about it hurting from his office chair all the time. Mobei-jun just couldn't let him sleep like this, so his limbs will be numb then he wake up. Shang Qinghua wasn't like him, he wasn't built for being in uncomfortable position for a long time. He almost was fragile. It was knowledge that get Mobei-jun to long to get, so he made sure he learned it well.

He realised he was staying unmoving, towering over Shang Qinghua, practically starting at him for too long to be appropriate.

Finally he pulled himself together and reached out to take sleeping Shang Qinghua in his hands. As he carefully lifted him up, he noticed a few things. Shang Qinghua was heavy. Well of course he was, Shang Qinghua was a bit overweight, and now sleeping he made a real dead weight of himself. It wasn't like Mobei-jun had a struggle with holding him. Pretty much opposite. Mobei-jun had lifted many thing way heavier, so that wasn't the case. It just felt right to hold him. Shang Qinghua was warm and soft to the touch and actually feeling him in his arms was strangely comforting.

Mobei-jun cut himself on the place and opened a portal in Shang Qinghua's apartment. He didn't tucked him in, but he did make sure a glass of water was standing near his bed.

[tls123]

Oh my god HOW DID YOU LIKE SVSSS!!!!!

i liked it more than i thought i would but overall less than i might have given the potential of the story, i think in general i really enjoyed the characters (mxtx never goes wrong with characters, she creates them in a way that makes me feel unhinged) and the world building but the pay off to the set up—which i really liked!—felt a bit........ i mean, just alright.

the dynamics too are pure mxtx, personally the bin/gqiu dynamic specifically really was the least interesting part of the whole story. to me!! but individually i loved both characters. my interest was just elsewhere because """elsewhere""" felt way more fascinating idk how to explain it

was very, very happy about the extra with airplane and the yue qingyuan / shen jiu one because that's exactly what i wanted more of in the story itself as well as just more shen yuan/qingqiu interacting with cang qiong mountain

maybe it's my orv brain but like i told jana a while back i think i would have enjoyed svsss way more if it was more about shen yuan (loner; hater; etc) suddenly finding himself among all of these people (disciples looking up to him; sect siblings relying on him one way or another; common folk admiring him; etc etc) and starting to.... live? again?

Shen Qingqiu hadn't noticed that, unconsciously, he no longer considered the disciples around him (...) to be mob characters the novel had described in a scant number of words.

^from volume one, he starts seeing them almost immediately because he's not actually that separate and he genuinely cares. all the time. about everything. even before that we get:

This was only a book, and all the people were constructs, imaginary characters. Logically, Shen Qingqiu was very clear on this fact...but when a character was actually being taunted and bullied right before his eyes, it was just flat-out unrealistic to expect him to be completely unmoved.

like why are you lying, shen yuan (<- svsss tagline if there ever was one)

just the idea of this really lonely detached guy finding a community, i know it's not the story mxtx was trying to tell but again, with the set up i really wanted to see it go in that direction.

there's one line from vol two where liu qingge goes "you fear becoming a burden to cang qiong mountain (...) but cang qiong mountain fears not your burden"

and basically what i'm saying is that i wish the story had been about THAT

(and also ning yingying's lines in that same chapter about shizun always taking on everything himself and why is it always you like that whole moment with the cang qiong mountain almost begging him to see that they care. idek what i'm saying but you know)

(also foaming at the mouth that we only got tiny tiny glimpses of shen yuan's life from before, those handful of times he mentioned his siblings i wanted to take a bite out of my kindle. tell me more!! dear fucking lord tell me more!! keep talking! elaborate!! he really felt very "kim dokja and his fourth wall" at times, sorry once more about the orv brain)

tldr: i guess i wanted a story about shen yuan/qingqiu but mxtx created svsss to be a story about bin/gqiu. and i just have to be okay with that.

[unusualindigo]

Preview of the next chapter

Binghe’s temples throb with irritation and pain as he stares down the resolute Liu Qingge. The ‘War God’ of Cang Qiong’s Bai Zhan peak has once again overstepped his bounds, and, as always, it falls to Binghe to make it right.

Qi Qingqi, the veritable fortress of a woman that leads the all-female Xian Shu peak, stares down her nose at Binghe, as impeccable and fiercesome as ever. He should feel more intimidated, perhaps. Really though, he’s just thankful that she’s already laid out the budget for the repairs to her peak after Liu Qingge’s latest outburst.

Qi Qingqi huffs, “Are you with us, Shang-shixiong?” She taps the papers on his still overwhelmed desk. “We of Xian Shu peak really do need these repairs done soon, lest Sha Hualing make good on her promise to the rest of her demon sisters to have a joint visit with us.”

Liu Qingge stiffens, glaring at Qi Qingqi before turning that self-righteous ire towards Binghe. Aiya, how troublesome these beauties are.

Liu Qingge bites out, “Qi-shijie should know better than to just let that demon around her peak, right, Shang-shixiong?”

Binghe stares at the pair with the expected nervous façade, all the while swallowing the scouring tirade he truly wishes to give the Bai Zhan peak lord. Oh, to have Cucumber’s immunity…

Binghe shakingly hums, “Liu-shidi, don’t you think it’s rather rude to just assume that Qi-shimei is incapable of handling her own peak?”

Qi Qingqi triumphantly huffs, “Exactly. Liu-shidi should remember well that Liu Mingyan chose my peak for a reason. What she does with that troublesome demon saintess now that we’re trying to negotiate is her business, not his.”

Liu Qingge’s fist slams onto Binghe’s now splintering desk like a gavel as he growls. “Liu Mingyan should have better instruction! Should we just sit idly by as she’s stolen away like Shen-shixiong?”

Binghe grits his teeth as subtly as he can, his brow twitching minutely, the slight movement far beneath the notice of these hotheads he calls martial siblings.

Sometimes, he almost wishes that Liu Qingge really had succumbed to that qi deviation. Really would’ve made the bills easier to handle, and resulted in about a third of his paperwork vanishing overnight.

But that’s cruel to even consider, isn’t it? Goodness, he almost sounds like the original goods version of his most unfilial son.

Instead, Binghe waves a hand limply through the air, hemming and hawing as he chuckles. “Ah, Liu-shidi, that’s not what Qi-shimei is suggesting at all!” He smiles forcefully, masking his anger with nerves, as always. “Qi-shimei merely means that staying on good footing with Sha Hualing is a good move for the sect while we recover from the confrontation with Tianlang-Jun.”

Qi Qingqi smiles mercilessly as Liu Qingge’s ire grows. “Shang-shixiong is right again, Liu-shidi. I won’t up and let Sha Hualing steal Liu Mingyan from us so easily. You really should reign in that temper. You’d think Luo Binghe’s victories have chipped away at your maturity along with your reputation, war god.”

Binghe bites back a vicious grin at that. Ah, Qi Qingqi really is just as ruthless as he’d hoped her to be when he’d written her concept down so long ago. A true big sister to put the rest of the peak lords in their place from time to time. Just like he’d longed for an older sister to reign him in when he went too far.

Liu Qingge’s brow furrows dangerously, and so Binghe drops the mask slightly, only letting the ‘War God’ feel a fraction of his true ire. “I approve this budget whole-heartedly, Qi-shimei. See that Yang-shidi gets on it immediately.”

Qi Qingqi snatches the copy of her budget happily, bowing graciously. “Thank you for seeing reason, Shang-shixiong.”

With that, she flairs her purple robes and vanishes as quickly as a gale. Ah, what a wonderful martial sister he has. So quick to actually get work done.

Binghe stares at Liu Qingge, letting the fire of his fury shine but slightly through the curtain of nerves. It makes the man double take. “Liu-shidi, please accept this one’s apologies, but you see, there’s a beast wandering close to a border town, and now that you’ve given me so much paperwork, I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle both tasks.”

Liu Qingge’s eyes widen in disbelief.

Binghe allows just a few more whispers of the flame into his voice. “Please, won’t you help your poor shixiong, Liu-shidi?”

Liu Qingge has never left his office faster. Perhaps a bit too much flame was aired out. Aiya, how troublesome.

[lryghe]

SVSSS thoughts; luo binghe’s mbti

by general consensus he’s an ESFJ but after thorough analysis he’s totally an ISFP. i’ve decided to post my essay (rant? argument? spam?) here because i wanted to archive the thoughts i have.

please be nice :)

Luo Binghe, being the manipulative bastard he is, has fooled you all (not unlike how he fools his husband daily), into thinking he is an ESFJ, when it is as clear as day that he is an ISFP.

Fe > Fi

In terms of Luo Binghe, the largest (and subsequently most obvious) difference between his perceived Fe, and his actual Fi, relates back to the basic premise of functions;

Although referred to as ‘feeling’, Fi, contrarily, is not based on those deep emotions, but rather on the values that come from within. It’s a decision-making process that is based on one’s own moral code, the strict observance of one’s ethics and relates to how the treat others. Fe, on the other hand, is a communication that is focused outwardly and is primarily based on conforming to society’s mould by mirroring the behaviours of those around them. I’ve seen a million (admittedly stupid) arguments on how Binghe uses his “Fe” like this, and that he’s a people pleaser that is constantly striving for the praise of everyone around him. To which I can say with certainty that, while he definitely has people-pleasing tendencies, they all focus themselves around one person, Shen Qingqiu. This itself is a key distinction in the Fe vs Fi argument. While FeSi users appeal to almost everyone to maintain a positive reputation, Fi users will focus their attentions onto people they like or are hoping to get to know better, say perhaps, a love interest. And while both people-please, Fi users will be more intense and will often reserve their people-pleasing habits for that “special” person. Binghe is noted, by even the ever-unobservant Shen Qingqiu, to change his behaviours around Qingqiu. He displays a lack of care towards anyone that isn’t Qingqiu, even when he was a well-liked disciple of Cang Qiong Peak, not caring about displaying a ‘nicer’ side of himself to anyone, save for if he thinks Shen Qingqiu would be upset should he treat people the way he wants to treat them. That is to say, with total indifference (which is shown by shown by his attitudes towards Liu Mingyan and Liu Qingge when he deems them threats to his relationship with Shen Qingqiu, and the Qin sisters’ treatment when Shen Qingqiu isn't around to praise him, these people being in relative positions of power over him, yet he continues to treat them indifferently). Shen Qingqiu picks up on a particularly over example of this, where he notices that Binghe’s “expression changed faster than a flipped page” and that he had been “all tender affection the moment before, but in the next, contempt filled his features”, which falls directly into the Fi people-pleasing basket, not caring about making himself look good to anyone that isn’t Qingqiu.

Fi user’s faces also tend to betray them when they’re trying to hide their emotions, and despite Binghe seeming to try very hard to leave a good impression on others for the sake of his beloved Shizun, he is generally horrid at hiding things from him, even stating it himself (“I didn’t want to ... but I can never control myself in front of Shizun”). The Shizun in question is (by general consensus) an INTP, which means his inferior function is Fe. The fact that he can read Binghe so easily despite his dreadful Fe, says a lot about the transparency of Binghe’s emotions. Fe users will not struggle with this so much as an Fi user would, simply because instead of needing to hide their emotions, Fe users will not feel them as deeply as an Fi user would. Fe users hide themselves for the sake of others, but also because they struggle to comprehend those emotions in the first place. Luo Binghe, like any Fi dom, attempts to put on that polite mask, and for the most part is successful, but in relation to Qingqiu, always fails due to the depth of his emotions regarding him. Binghe doesn’t struggle with this at all, and nor does he use this feature in an attempt to appeal to others (or namely, his Shizun). When Binghe wants something, he doesn’t try to appeal to others or emphasise his care towards their feelings. So how does he get the emotional reaction that he so clearly desires you ask? By drawing appeal with his own emotions. To put it simply, Binghe manipulates others through the presentation of his own emotions to get what he wants (crying all over Qingqiu when he wants something, projecting his anger to dominate others etc), in comparison to the more common Fe desire to appeal to other’s emotions through empathy (or in an unhealthy way, coercion and deterrence. An Fe will pretend they’re giving you well-meaning advice, which is entirely superficial, whereas Fi cries until you give them what they want). Binghe is well aware of the lack of control he faces in regards to his emotions, and weaponizes this to his advantage.

But that’s not the end of the evidence of Binghe’s Fi behaviours. Yet another large indicator of Binghe’s Fi, is his belief systems. Of course, having Shen Qingqiu as the largely unreliable narrator he is, discerning Binghe’s personal morals and behaviours is rather difficult, but we have some clear-cut things that can’t really be changed through perspective. For example, take Binghe’s ‘minor’ tantrum that involved destroying the realms at the end of the novel. An Fi dom’s belief systems often stem from personal feelings and experiences, a certain “black and white” view on behaviours and morals will often be applied when thinking about ethics of oneself and others, meaning that when Binghe decides to destroy the world since they had hurt him for being poor, for being a demon, for just being so unlovable that everyone around him abandoned him, the shades of grey within the spectrum aren’t considered and the realms are wholly pushed into the ‘evil’ category. Binghe is also very decisive when it comes to his morals and the subsequent actions he takes because of his aforementioned views. An Fi user like Binghe will judge others based off what they’ve seen of them, rather than the common Fe desire to align their morals with the group to connect with them and maintain harmony in that social sphere, explaining rather plainly his thought process that mostly went along the lines of “the world deserves to be destroyed, it was so cruel to me for something entirely out of my control” (Fi users are more likely to disrupt this social harmony when faced with injustice, which is exactly what Binghe does time and time again)). Binghe takes this judgement and decisively begins his plan to end the world, taking control of Huan Hua Palace, misleading the cultivation assembly into believing Tianlang-jun is to blame for the eventual world destroying rift caused by Xin Mo, and all around, getting straight to business. No time for dilly-dallying when your Luo Binghe and you’re trying to eliminate the world for being wholly evil!

Si > Se

I’ve seen far too many blatantly stereotypical arguments for Si on this profile and felt the need to remind everyone that despite having a large focus on the past (which is where most of the Si arguments come from), Binghe ultimately uses those memories to work towards a future where “evil” (read; the realms he’s classified as such) is eradicated, a massive indication of his Fi working together with Ni, his tertiary function.

To dive back into the basics of Se, some common behaviours of an Se user are as follows; taking action before thinking about future consequences, manipulation or use of the ‘system’ to one’s advantage and jumping at the chance to be active/ do something exciting.

Despite Binghe actively working towards creating a future where evil is eliminated, many of Binghe’s actions are rather impulsive. A good example of this impulsivity is his reaction to the accusations thrown at Shen Qingqiu in Jinlan city. Rather quickly does he take control of the situation and presents the assembled people with a solution (one that only worked in his favour). Another is the use of the Black Moon Rhinoceros Phythons from the Holy Mausoleum arc. Luo Binghe’s general thought behind that stroke of genius was something like, can’t get into the Holy Mausoleum? Find something big, find it fast, and just to knock down the walls (because there is absolutely nothing that can go wrong with that!).

In reference to the manipulation/use of the system for his benefit, I find that to be the best example of his Se, and since he’s someone who has been exploited by the way the cultivation world works before, he clearly understands the perfect way to make it align with his goals. He uses the prejudice and leftover fear everyone holds for Tianlang-jun to mask his own puppet work in destroying the realms at the end of the novel. He takes control of Huan Hua Palace and uses their name and respect to draw sympathy and support to him through the Jinlan city and Water Prison arc, even using his own status as a poor disciple who was harmed by his Shizun to his advantage. He realises he’s essentially invincible by the end of the novel, his only weakness himself, and takes the narrative into his own hands and forces it to bend to his desire for destruction, eliminating anyone who stands in his way (including his beloved Shizun).

In reference to Binghe’s clear desire to be doing something, anything, that’s probably where many get his perceived Si from, since everyone is saying his desire to keep things clean is an Si thing (a blatant stereotype, and a harmful one too). Binghe is usually doing something, whether it be cooking for Shen Qingqiu, training at Qing Jing Peak even when his instruction manual was useless when he was a disciple, cleaning the Bamboo house at Qing Jing Peak, simply adjusting his sleeves every 5 seconds, or even going off to fight the Bai Zhan disciples. This clear willingness to be doing something, anything, is so incredibly Se, especially when combined with his near constant assessment of everything around him (even in his own dreamscape!), and his protagonist golden finger fighting skills. Quite the force to be reckoned with he is.

Ne > Ni

I’ll keep this one small since it’s a Tertiary function and this post is getting too long anyway. Probably the biggest indication of Binghe’s Ni Tert is his ‘grand’ visions of the future, like a world that doesn’t exist anymore since it’s evil (again, back to the Fi). Even as a young disciple at Qing Jing Peak, Binghe always aspired to be by his Shizun’s side, something even he recognised as delusional and rather difficult to achieve, but a vision of the future, nonetheless. Then Shen Qingqiu’s death/reincarnation/death/reincarnation cycle abruptly put a spanner in the works, and Luo Binghe’s grandiose ideas started bubbling down to ‘destroy the realms’, which, had it been anyone else, would have been impossible. But he’s Luo Binghe, the protagonist who has these aspirations towards worldly eradication, and the only thing stopping him was quite literally himself, a terrifying realisation for the reader. You spend the whole novel dreading Luo Binghe becoming the antagonist, and just when you think he’s been pulled out of it due to the pressure put on him by the cultivation world? He smiles and adjusts his sleeves and begins to end the world. His Ni presents itself in subtler ways, usually through the use of his Fi. That running commentary in the back of his mind that supplies him with subjective observations, often works together with his Fi to hand judgement to the world and the people within it, most plainly shown when he <3

Of course, Binghe’s use of his functions is the indication of a very (!) unhealthy ISFP, which is why he’s so often mischaracterised by the fandom. You could make an argument for INFP, which would be more believable than ESFJ. I might comeback to make another post on his instinctual variant since I have some thoughts on that too.

Words: 2071 

Reading time: 7 mins 

[sillygoofyqueer]

Okay okay, so I introduced y'all to the idea of Shui Muyang (courtesy name Shui Qingbo), and this is part one of the rambling!!!!

So, Shui Muyang does not gender. They took one look at it and decided "no thanks, that's not for me" so they do their own thing (much to the chagrin of their father, but woes him, they guess). The peak lords constantly have discussions on how to address them - shidi or shimei - but they really could not care less and has made that clear, so some people genuinely believe that there are two peak lords co-running Zui Xian Peak when it's actually just Muyang. Let's get appearance out of the way before we get into the juicy stuff (or even more juicy stuff if you like appearance)! Shui Qingbo once had normal black hair, but one wrong plant when trying a new experimental wine and they ended up wildly out of sorts in Qian Cao with pale blue hair that they seem positively delighted by. Their eyes are a light blue, still soft and welcoming despite the almost naturally icy tone to them. They wear only the most stylish cuts of their brown and gold robes, and will not be caught dead getting any dirt on their robes. SO, Muyang grew up in a relatively wealthy family, a hospitality business under their control, the only child. Unfortunately for their father, they were always more interested in following their mother around the kitchen and yapping away to other guests than they were learning the ropes of the business - something made worse by the fact that they didn't even remotely buy into conforming into gender from a young age. They were most certainly a strange child, with a strange sensitivity to resentful energy that everyone believed to be brought from the fact that their birth was not at all an easy one, with Muyang almost dying in the process due to being premature. This gave them what was cited as a "connection" to the other realm, and it succeeded immensely in creeping their parents out if nothing else, zoning out and staring at things that nobody else could see, sometimes even talking to what they could see. When a travelling cultivator witnessed this one day, she spoke to their parents about how there were entrance exams for Cang Qiong soon, and that cultivators would certainly appreciate a skill like that. To say that their parents were more than willing to send Muyang off would be an understatement (their mother did love them, but...they were incredibly odd), and their father even made a comment about them returning as a 'respectable gentleman that didn't freak everyone out', whatever that meant. Maybe some children would be upset at being sent away by their parents, but Muyang had always been left to their own devices as a child, pushed to helping with the business and then ushered off to the side when they began acting too weird for everyone's liking. So, they went to the entrance exams with little fuss, following the hoards of children and watching the resentful energy lingering around the borders of the gates with a mild sort of interest. When they found out that they had to dig holes to try and gain the attention of peak lords, they weren't that bothered with getting dirty or anything, but they quickly became bored. Honestly, it wasn't as though a peak lord was going to be drawn to a child that confused and creeped out even their own parents, so they instead busied themself with scavenging through all of the herbs and berries they had just growing randomly at the outskirts of the field, which is where they were situated. Listen, mushing up a bunch of different herbs and berries into their...relatively deep hole seemed like a good idea at the time - I mean, how were they supposed to know that 'fire-cracker berries' didn't refer to the spiciness level?? When they crushed down the berries, there was a very loud bang. Shui Muyang could say, with incredible delight, that they and the surrounding participants (and some An Ding disciples collecting chosen children) were absolutely covered in warm and sticky mud. They were even more delighted when one of the peak lords stood up and languidly pointed to where Muyang stood, announcing "I want that one" as an An Ding disciple (still covered in mud) turned to them.

[forgottenvice]

Moshang Sound of Music

Another Twitter thread

🎶How do you solve a problem like Shang Qingua? How do you write a plot and pin it down!🎶

Mobei Jun has a small wealth of half siblings from his mother's side, she was very much involved in her own bride stealing and pulled a TLJ finding a human.

She gets killed shortly after MBJ meets SQH leaving the northern heir with seven half human half siblings.

MBJ isn't great at affection but he doesn't want to leave his half siblings to the mercy of other demons. They don't threaten his position and his mother specifically asked him to take care of them if anything happened to her.

So he recruits the only human he knows to help.

Why would SQH help? Well there was a specific culling of these specific kids that he used as a throwaway worldbuiling tidbit for PIDW and knowing what could happen to these ACTUAL CHILDREN he offers to help .

He abandons Cang Qiong to some secret demonic estate to help Mobei Jun raise his half siblings. How hard could it be right? they are just kids, and unlike LBH they're not heavenly demons how bad could it be?

Well not great, MBJ basically abandoned him with the kiddos while he goes to deal with his father's issues and the kids are literal demons. Even if they're only half they are well aware of their demonic side and absolute terrors.

He wishes the pranks were frogs and snakes in his bed, or as simple as the kids trying to confuse who is who.

Twice he's almost decapitated and if the toddler doesn't stop challenging to a fight he's gonna lose a finger. WHY DO THEY LISTEN TO MOBEI JUN AND NOT HIM?

He reaches his breaking point when the oldest nearly impales him while he was trying to properly ward their estate and protect the kiddos. He didn't blame the kid not really but when Mobei Jun finally returns to the house he asks the demon to help out more, or at the very least help discipline the kids.

 Mobei Jun tired from dealing with the machinations of his father's court, igored Shang Qinghua's request and the cultivator finally snaps.

He starts yelling at MBJ about how the kids deserve better. He can only help with their human side but without a demon to teach them to control their demonic powers, and if Mobei Jun refuses to do that he's out.

He grabs his sword and flies away from the estate.

He doesn't make it far before MBJ teleports him back. Shang Qinghua is about to go on another tirade but he stops.

 MBJ is just holding onto his sleeve and he isn't looking SQH in the eye. As if he's embarrassed.

"Please, there's no one else I can trust."

MBJs rough gravelly voice lowered to a whisper tugs at Shang Qinghua's heart and despite the fact their little shits the kiddos really don't have much else.

"You'll help more?"

"Mmn."

The giant demon looks so small and lost and SQH could never say no to his favourite.

"Fine. If you bring some of your court work to me I can help with that too."

Mobei Jun's eyes widened at that, the relief plastered across his usually stoic face. It makes SQH just how young MBJ actually was.

He was a fool to think he could ever walk away.

The kiddos of course witness this whole exchange. The older ones feel a little bad about things, the younger ones are impressed by SQHs flying sword and he must be powerful because he made MBJ cave, which demons never do.

Mobei Jun had to return to the court but he promised to return more often, specifically to train his siblings.

SQH resigns himself for another few days with the hellions, unfortunately after MBJ leaves a winter storm sets in, and unlike MBJ his siblings are NOT ice demons.

This of course starts with the youngest, barely more than a baby 4 maybe 5 years old sneaking into SQHs room looking for warmth. SQH gets a surprise but after promising not to bite SQH anymore he lets the toddler stay.

The estate isn't poorly maintained but small demons cause a lot of damage and one cannot always repair cracks quickly, so the triplets (11 yo)are the next to see comfort in SQHs room. They broke their own windows and have almost no protection from the wind in their room.

SQH reluctantly agrees to let them stay in his room, MBJ was generous enough to give him the largest one, with a build in fireplace even. The kiddos are restless so he decides to tell them a story.

The first one he's every put together since entering PIDW.

This eventually draws two more of the kids who were 'patrolling the halls for threats' (SQH talismans are good, there really was no need) and eventually they're making themselves comfortable too. SQH is appreciating the shift in the little half-demons .

The eldest of the brood (15 of course) tries to sneak out, but since SQHs talismans are so good their immediately teleported to his room, and rather than berate them (because it's happened before) SQH just hands them a pillow and continues his story.

He calls it a sleepover and does his best to entertain, for some reason (fear maybe?) the kiddos are a lot more cooperative, though he doesn't expect it to last past the storm.

 MBJ returns the next day to find them all happily sprawled across his room sleeping adorably

[deadn30n]

                  Liu  Qingge  still  recalls  a  time  where  he  and  Shen  Qingqiu  had  hated  each  other  to  the  bone.  the  memories  as  fresh  as  if  they  were  made  just  the  other  day.  perhaps  it's  because  they'd  spent  so  many  years  at  each  other's  throats,  that  Liu  Qingge  was  able  to  call  them  to  the  forefront  of  his  mind  when  he  wanted  to.  they  were  young  in  those  days   –   boys  barely  above  the  age  of  nine,  yet  almost  always  at  each  other's  throats.  disciples  in  Cang  Qiong  Sect  were  typically  chosen  when  they  were  at  the  prime  age  to  learn  cultivation,  and  Liu  Qingge  had  already  made  great  strides  before  he  even  arrived,  leading  him  to  believe  that  Shen  Qingqiu   –   who  still  struggled  even  at  mid-core  cultivation,  was  probably  excessively  jealous.  at  that  time,  Liu  Qingge  possessed  a  considerable  amount  of  talent  that  weighed  higher  than  what  Shen  Qingqiu  did.  it  was  precisely  this,  and  many  others,  that  probably  brought  the  two  of  them  to  eventual  blows  the  entire  time  they  were  growing  up.  even  though  they'd  each  chosen  different  peaks,  it  didn't  stop  them  from  seeing  one  another  from  time  to  time.  though  if  you  asked  Liu  Qingge's  opinion  on  the  matter  in  those  days,  he  would've  said  he  could've  gone  his  entire  life  without  ever  seeing  Shen  Qingqiu's  ugly  face.   &&   as  the  two  of  them  got  older,  things  only  worsened  exponentially.  Shen  Qingqiu  had  somehow  excelled  in  the  art  of  wordplay,  utilizing  it  as  leverage  in  digging  his  way  beneath  Liu  Qingge's  skin.  as  they  reached  adulthood   –   and  later  became  masters  of  their  respective  peaks   –   neither  saw  any  relief  from  their  eternal  rivalry.

                  ….  so  when  exactly  did  everything  turn  out  this  way?  why  had  the  two  people  who  despised  each  other  the  most  suddenly  find  themselves  rolling  around  on  the  dirt,  lips  pressed  together,  cheeks  damp  with  their  tears?  there  was  a  very  obvious  answer  to  that  question,  but  don't  you  dare  try  to  pry  it  out  of  Liu  Qingge  unless  you  wanted  Cheng  Luan  spearing  your  throat.  he'd  sooner  suffer  another  Qi  Deviation  than  openly  admit  his  loyalty  was  won  through  the  art  of  salvation.  that  his  most  destested   –   most  despicable   –   most  untrustworthy  opponent  had  stepped  up  to  the  plate  and  salvaged  his  soul  before  it  became  shattered  into  nothingness.  once,  Yue  Qingyuan  had  advised  Shen  Qingqiu  into  being  nicer  to  Liu  Qingge  –   that  he  could  earn  his  loyalty  through  such  means,  but  what  possessed  him  to  actually  accept  a  suggestion  from  the  person  he  repeatedly  viewed  as  an  annoyanced?  why  did  his  attitude  suddenly  change  over  night?  why  did  he  have  to  look  at  Liu  Qingge  with  those  eyes,  speak  those  pretty  words  while  pressing  his  hand  over  his  heart,  and  feed  him  energy,  stabilizing  his  meridians  and  reversing  the  effects  of  Qi  Deviation?  why  was  Shen  Qingqiu  so  damn  talented  at  being  the  thing  he  hates  the  most,  and  the  thing  he  desires  the  most?  how  was  any  of  this  fair  to  him?  at  this  rate,  Bai  Zhan  Peak's  lord  could've  punched  several  holes  into  a  single  mountain  from  the  sheer  frustration  aroused  by  his  thoughts.  it's  always  violence  with  him   –   incessant,  unyielding,  unrelenting.  what  a  surprise  it  was  that  this  brutal  thing  could  also  be  as  soft  as  a  newly  bloomed  flower.

                  “  it's  precisely  because  you  don't  lie  that  i  don't  want  to  hear  you  say  those  things.  i  don't  want  to  hear  you  make  those  promises.  ”   because  at  the  end  of  it  all   –   when  yearning  coaleses  into  sorrow   –   Liu  Qingge  knows  he  will  still  be  alone.  but  is  it  so  wrong  then,  in  this  moment,  that  he  should  want  for  Shen  Qingqiu  to  just  himself?  is  it  a  sin  that  the  next  time  they  kiss,  he  devours  those  lips  pressed  sweetly  against  his  own,  the  taste  of  tears  and  blood  mixed  between?  the  first  kiss  shared  between  them  had  been  his  first   –   quite  literally.  Liu  Qingge  had  supplemented  this  rare  gift  to  the  one  he  felt  deserved  it  the  most.  there  was  no  technique  behind  the  gesture;  he  was  clumsy  and  disorganized,  and  all  over  just  a  disaster,  yet  it  achieved  the  results  he  was  receiving  right  now.  Shen  Qingqiu  was  kissing  him  again.  over  and  over,  apologies  woven  in  between  each  tepid  breath  they  took  at  every  pause.  he  was  apologizing  to  Liu  Qingge,  and  Liu  Qingge  could  do  nothing  but  continue  to  weep.   “  you  want  to  know  what'll  happen  to  me  when  you  leave?  ”   his  voice  quivers  as  he  seeks  respite  from  their  fervant  clash  of  mouth  on  mouth.   “  i'll  mourn  the  absence  of  you.  “   for  what  else  was  there  that  he  could  do,  than  sit  alone  at  the  height  of  midnight,  gazing  longingly  at  the  cold  moon  above  him?   ”  i'll  carry  on  my  duties  like  nothing's  changed.  "   i'll  carry  the  hollow  space  left  behind  when  you're  gone.  i'll  carry  it  in  my  hands,  and  treasure  it  wherever  i  go.

                  in  truth,  Liu  Qingge  despises  how  vulnerable  he's  become  because  of  Shen  Qingqiu.  his  every  nerve  is  thrumming  violently  with  anxiety   –   his  heart  thrashes  madly  behind  the  cage  of  his  ribs,  begging  to  be  set  free.  to  escape  the  prison  his  emotions  constructed  around  it.  he  doesn't  want  to  be  this  transparent  with  Shen  Qingqiu.  he  doesn't  want  to  bare  everything  he's  feeling  so  openly  to  him.  he  wants  to  lie   –   to  flee   –   to  disappear  and  act  like  this  scene  never  happened.  maybe  if  he  ignored  it  enough,  it'd  all  go  away,  but  he'd  be  doing  a  disservice  to  not  just  Shen  Qingqiu,  but  himself  as  well.  you  could  lie  with  your  lips  all  you  like,  but  the  light  in  your  heart  couldn't.   &&   Liu  Qingge  has  found  a  single  candle  lit  in  there;  it's  meager  flame  somehow  withstanding  the  savage  wind  of  his  emotions  billowing  around  in  there.  a  few  more  tears  streak  down  his  cheeks  and  he  seeks  out  Shen  Qingqiu's  lips,  kissing  him  once  more  with  urgency.  he  can't  hide  it  anymore   –   even  if  he  longed  to,  the  other  would  see  right  through  it.  he  knew  it  all   –   he  knew  everything.  Liu  Qingge  was  exposed  through  and  through.

                  “   in  Bai  Zhan  Peak  behind  my  bamboo  house,  there's  a  small  memorial  i  erected  for  you  there.  ”   he  furrowed  his  brows  and  grit  his  teeth,  shutting  his  eyes  as  he  turned  his  head  to  the  side.   “  i  spent  countless  hours  there,  calling  out  to  your  soul  and  apologizing  that  i  couldn't  bring  your  body  home.  i  kowtowed  probably  a  thousand  times.  ”   and  even  after  Shen  Qingqiu  was  shown  to  be  alive,  Liu  Qingge  didn't  have  the  heart  to  dismantle  it.  in  a  way,  it  was  a  memoriam  to  the  man  he'd  fallen  in  love  with   –   to  the  man  he  felt  he  could  never  have.   “  the  only  other  person  who  knows  about  it  is  Zhangmen-shixiong.  ”   the  entire  time  he's  speaking,  he  doesn't  have  the  guts  to  look  Shen  Qingqiu  in  the  eyes.  so  his  gaze,  after  he's  re-opened  his  eyes,  is  fixated  on  everything  else  except  him.  but  his  hand…  his  hand  finds  Shen  Qingqiu's;  he  covers  his  palm  with  his  own,  intertwines  their  fingers,  squeezes  tightly.   “  after  that  bastard  took  your  body,  the  only  thing  that  was  left  of  you  was  that  fan.  i  couldn't  bring  myself  to  bury  it,  so  i  carried  it  with  me  instead.  maybe  it  was  my  way  of  promising  that  i'd  bring  you  home,  even  if  it  cost  me  my  life.  ”   &&   die  he  was  fully  prepared  to  do,  for  no  matter  what  evil  tricks  Luo  Binghe  would  pull  out  of  his  sleeve  to  repell  Liu  Qingge,  it  wouldn't  stop  him  from  coming  back  again  and  again.  desecrating  every  inch  of  his  network  he  could  get  his  hands  on.

                  “  if  you're  going  to  ask  me  to  give  it  back,  i  can't.  not  this  time.  if  you  plan  to  leave,  then  let  me  hold  onto  this.  your  shidi  humbly  requests  this.  "     it's  the  first   –   and  likely   –   only  time  Liu  Qingge  will  ever  refer  to  himself  in  such  an  inferior  manner,  but  if  Shen  Qingqiu  is  paying  attention,  then  he'll  be  able  to  discern  the  seriousness  in  his  voice.  the  plea  to  not  be  parted  from  something  that  brought  him  a  great  deal  of  comfort.

                  would  that  he  could  spend  an  eternity  laying  here  with  Shen  Qingqiu  on  the  ground,  but  they're  both  out  in  the  open  and  run  the  risk  of  being  found.  his  shixiong  has  laden  apology  after  apology  into  him,  and  Liu  Qingge  is  only  vaguely  satisfied  with  this  outcome.  he's  not  angry  anymore,  just  filled  with  an  unending  sorrow  that  spans  as  high  as  the  heavens  themselves.  Shen  Qingqiu  looks  so  pretty  while  he's  laying  there  on  the  ground,  red-faced  and  panting.  it  takes  a  man  of  incredible  willpower  not  to  just  consume  him  like  some  feral  animal;  fortunately  Liu  Qingge  is  one  of  those  men  with  an  almost  frustrating  amount  of  self-control.  it  is,  however,  thinly  tied  together  at  best  right  now.  he  parts  from  Shen  Qingqiu,  climbing  shakily  to  his  feet  after  he's  retrieved  Cheng  Luan.  the  sword  is  returned  to  it's  scabbard,  and  though  his  head's  still  spinning,  he  has  enough  strength  to  offer  his  hand  out  to  his  companion  to  help  him  get  up.   “  return  with  me  to  Bai  Zhan  Peak  for  right  now.  i'll  rest  if  you  lay  with  me,  i  promise.  "   &&   promises  are  not  a  fickle  thing  that  Liu  Qingge  flings  around  so  carelessly.  he's  always  said  what  he  means:  nothing  less,  nothing  more.  if  Shen  Qingqiu  wanted  him  to  rest,  then  Liu  Qingge  would  rest  once  his  credentials  are  met.  it's  highly  likely  when  Shen  Qingqiu  leaves,  Bai  Zhan  Peak  will  be  carved  anew  with  scars  from  Cheng  Luan.  his  disciples  may  not  see  him  for  a  time;  the  other  peak  lords  may  not  see  him  for  a  time.

                  since  they'll  be  returning  to  a  place  where  others  are  present,  Liu  Qingge  cleans  up  his  face.  in  a  matter  of  seconds  he  looks  as  if  he  hadn't  been  spitting  up  blood  or  weeping  at  all   –   stony-faced  and  ice  cold  once  more.  however,  one  of  his  hands  is  pressed  deftly  against  his  heart  as  it  clutches  onto  the  ornate  fan  hidden  beneath  the  mounds  of  his  robes.  what  words  trickle  from  his  mouth  fall  like  sharpened  icicles,  and  carry  a  blatant  absence  of  the  emotions  he'd  just  previously  loosened.   “  after  today,  forget  anything  i  said.  pretend  none  of  this  happened.  ”   his  eyes  narrow  and  he  shoots  a  serrated  stare  at  his  companion,  daring  him  to  object.   “  you're  a  fool  Shen  Qingqiu,  but  i'm  an  even  bigger  one.  ”   to  think  he  could  hope  to  keep  him  rooted  in  Cang  Qiong  was  almost  laughable.  he  remembers,  vaguely,  back  to  that  time  when  he  and  Shen  Qingqiu  had  battled  a  number  of  succubi,  and  the  talented  Madam  Meiyin  had  been  able  to  exhume  the  things  he  kept  buried  deeply  inside  himself.  at  that  time  he'd  been  terrified  that  Shen  Qingqiu  would  figure  it  all  out,  but  there  was  also  a  part  of  him  that  regrets  not  just  being  forthwith  about  the  whole  thing.  maybe  if  he'd  told  him  the  truth,  things  wouldn't  have  ended  up  the  way  they  were  now…

                  “  you  asked  what'll  become  of  me,  so  i  answer  you  this:  once  a  worthy  successor  for  Bai  Zhan  Peak  shows  up,  i  plan  to  go  into  seclusion  and  live  beyond  the  secular  world.  ”   he  passes  one  more  glance  at  his  companion  before  heading  in  the  direction  of  his  peak.  whether  Shen  Qingqiu  actually  followed  him  was  entirely  up  to  the  other  party.  even  if  he  wanted  to,  Liu  Qingge  couldn't  force  him,  and  he  wasn't  interested  in  putting  people  into  positions  they  weren't  willing  to  take.  but  a  strong  part  of  him  hoped  Shen  Qingqiu  wouldn't  abandon  him  just  yet.

It seemed inconceivable that behind that veneer of austerity and trenchant remarks existed a fondness for the qing jing peak lord. It was not that he was without merit, it was that same ineffable beauty that made shen yuan incessantly perplexed by that man’s abhorrent proclivities. Someone who harbored such power, blooming too late, was seen as defective by his own censorious eyes when all else venerated their shizun. If he were to step out of his own narrow purview would he not be struck with the revelation that many of his fellow cultivators found his subtle smiles charming or his infrequently given praise precious. He had spent so long standing upon the precipice of the abyss, staring after the plummeting body of his student, that all else fading into obscurity and he was left in perennial mourning until he returned. It was that same persistence, verging upon desperation, that prevented him from acknowledging his place amongst these people, not characters, not a convoluted narrative written by airplane bro but a life that he had meticulously formed with his own two hands. Their fight is reduced to this, Liu Qingge throwing unconvincing deterrents, his delicate wrist clasped between Shen Qingqiu’s lithe fingers, a firm, immuring grip. The punches had not landed, had never been intended to reach their mark to begin with, yet he’s searching the other’s countenance and finding vestiges of a vulnerability that profoundly unnerves him. Because it is not the expectant incandescent expression, rendered apoplectic by Shen Qingqiu’s foolishness but a chasmic sorrow that contorted his elegant brows and compelled his mouth into a feverish scowl. He was hurting, at first it had seemed like the remnants of that battle, having sustained wounds that had not closed, blood surging up his throat and coating his tongue but this, this was different. It was an excruciating, enduring pain that cast hungry, dark shadows over his exquisite features, transforming that aloof countenance into something harrowingly captivating.

He holds him there, suspended in this tenuous truce imposed upon him by Shen Qingqiu but his diatribes do not fall upon deaf ears. His accusations are not baseless, it seemed that he was eternally chasing the elusive shadows of his disciple, courting the precarious boundary between life and death as if it were his prerogative. Of course he was disturbed, how else could anyone make sense of those inane actions, imploding from within in order to appease the frenzied fire of Luo Binghe’s demonic power. There is a part of him that wants to dismiss it with a repudiating laugh, reiterating how impossible it was that his selfish desire to extricate that child had been anything but the repentant intentions of a failure of a teacher. But it wasn’t about that, not entirely, there is something helpless that etches itself into his gaze, his lashes caressed with a dampness redolent of sorrow, his frustration and anguish coalescing until he cannot bear that burden any longer. He had not expected this outcome, someone who had retained every plot hole, every character backstory, everything … when Liu Qingge kisses him so firmly, so desperately, he can no longer deny that his understanding of things was fallacious. Still, he doesn't resist, feeling the clamorous thrumming of his heart thrashing against the base of his throat, heat swelling to the peaks of his ivory cheeks. Slowly, things began to orient themselves with this new, unexpected knowledge. Each cursory glance that chose to linger, each reluctant wave that greeted him as their paths fortuitously crossed, each decisively fond expression that accompanied his own mellifluous laughter. It had been there all along, written beneath the furious current that was Luo Binghe’s suffering, his exigent call for compensation. As if that forfeited life might appease the restless beast that paced beneath his ribs, his teeth gnashing in indignant fury. Shen Qingqiu’s heart stutters erratically, unable to find a stable foothold in this present, as if he were slipping off the precipice and into the endless abyss himself. Pinned down, with the taste of acrid blood smeared across his lips, he’s finally permitted the latitude to breathe when he pulls back, his breath shallow and anxious.  Beneath him Shen Qingqiu is a debauched image, all they had done is kiss, a clumsy, wild kiss that dragged the breath from his lungs and left him to gasp titillatingly in his absence. A hand came to rest across his mouth, fingertips pressing into the plump jut of his bottom lip, his eyes wide and startled, features flushed a pretty roseate. How could he do anything but stumble gracelessly now ? How inequitable could he be ? expecting Shen Qingqiu to formulate some coherent, conclusive response when he had pilfered the very air from his trembling chest. ❝ Liu-shidi should know…❞ his retaliation is softened by his lust-addled brain or his quivering mouth, his own eyes mirror that lachrymose penchant but in a different, provocative way. It is a good thing he could not see himself or he would have perished from ignominy ! Does that peak lord not understand how improper that was ? Without so much as a warning ? Kissing him on the mouth ? All but sinking his teeth ravenously into Him ? Shen Qingqiu’s mind was a surging river of turmoil, his hand absently reaching up and brushing cautiously against his damp cheek. His own expression was momentarily unguarded, the vestiges of regret or sorrow compelling his lashes low, his elegant brows to draw to a furrow. ❝ This master does not say things he does not mean. ❞ but Liu Qingge isn’t wrong and he knows it, there was a part of his sanguinary heart that had to tend to that rebellious child, perhaps because he is indeed guilty, deserving of his martyrdom or perhaps out of an aberrant love that even he could not fully comprehend. 

It’s unbearable, the wretched rasp of his voice, the way traitorous tears fall from his lashes, the beration that Shen Qingqiu knows he deserves. Was this the legacy he had left behind ? negligent of all but his own disciple because he wanted to survive, because he understood the implicit consequences that no other had even a slither of understanding of ? It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, he cannot banish the unfairness of it all and it carves him into a wounded thing. ❝ I am not benevolent.❞ he murmurs, his once resolute voice feels terribly unreliable right now. ❝ But tell me.. what would become of you if I stay, what would that disciple become if I am to leave him ? which decision is the most reasonable, the one that I should make ? ❞ he cannot tell if the dampness leaving wet trails of anguish down his cheeks are his own or Liu Qingge’s but right now, it really did not matter. ❝ You kept it.. ❞ even his timbre now becomes tremulous, his other hand reaching out and wiping at a stray tear before seizing him by the jaw and pulling him back down, close enough that he could feel his words rather than merely hear the impression of them. ❝ All this time.. All this time ? ❞ As a peak lord his decorum was immaculate, he should be impervious to frivolous thoughts rife with sorrow but here he is, crying as if he were a hopeless child, as if he had been restraining and repressing for so long that he forgot how to relinquish that hold. When he does, he doesn’t know how he will prevent those tears from falling freely. Liu Qingge had waited for him, not unlike that troubled disciple, waited and waited and waited, believing he was dead, that he would never return to them, he had mourned and grieved and fought relentlessly until there was nothing left but the dregs of his sorrow.

 ❝ How can you expect this master to know your feelings if you don’t tell me ? Am I to read your mind ? ❞ he does not allow him room proper to initiate an argument and instead intentionally weaves those slender, deft fingers through his hair and brings him close enough that he could initiate the kiss this time. It is cruelly soft, despairingly beautiful, altered by the listless falling petals cavorting upon a fickle breeze, decorating the long strands of his hair as they fan out around him. He’s confused, terrified, his own feelings conjured and forced to breach the surface. Even as he is permitted to witness them only in fragments, stolen from a past he had too urgently strode through, thinking of the conclusion and not of the treasured moments that laid out before him. When he was mourning that child who had come to visit him, checked in on him, was an unfaltering monument before the immensity of his sorrows ? Who had sat and quietly drank tea with him, never demanding he give more than he could muster, never turning his back on Shen Qingqiu even when he seemed an apparition of the past and not the proud cultivator he had once known. How could he not loathe him now, engaged in a dismal conflict for the possession of his cadaver, knowing it was impossible but returning brandishing fervour every, single time. Tears readily collect at the soft extremities of his lashes and for once he doesn’t resist their lament, allowing them to fall as they see fit, his mouth still resting against the others, bloodied and aching and imbued with all the complicated emotions besieging him. ❝  I’m sorry.. I’m sorry....  ❞ he kisses him again, urgently. ❝ I am a fool. ❞