#(burned Cang Qiong to the ground)

[supposethismatters]

Was someone going to tell me that all of the crimes Shen Jiu was imprisoned for Bingge was guilty of or was I just supposed to pick it out of the subtext?

[disgracefulthings]

Some Cultivator: Why would you let that traitor back into your sect after he sold you out to demons?

Yue Qingyuan: Shang Qinghua may be a traitor, but he's also something much more important than that

Shang Qinghua: Useful?

Yue Qingyuan: He's baby

Shang Qinghua: WTF dude, I'm older than all of you!

Mu Qingfang: Someone so innocent could not be held accountable for their wrongdoings

Shang Qinghua: I literally caused the deaths of many children

Qi Qingqi: That precious boy would never do anything to purposely hurt the sect

Shang Qinghua: I swear I will burn Cang Qiong to the ground (I've technically done it before)

[red-garden]

Time travel au where Shen Jiu is the only one who doesn't remember, but everyone else does. So Yue Qingyuan saves him early, like in a couple of months after he was sold to the Qiu house, with the entire backing of Cang Qiong. Sj is happy, but there is a bit of a problem.

Shen Jiu wants to take Qiu Haitang back with them.

While Qiu Jianluo never crossed any lines, he was still being too much of a creep to him. Shen Jiu also notices that his behavior was also being directed at his sister. And since she was kind to him, he wants to get her out and away from her brother before things escalate.

Imagine baby SJ looking directly into YQY eyes and saying, "She needs saving too, Qi-Ge".

Yue Qingyuan, who wants to refuse because this woman helped ruined Xiao Jiu's life, immediately crumbles. However, Qiu Haitang also remembers and wants nothing to do with Shen Jiu or Cang Qiong, so she refuses. So, Shen Jiu has no choice but to leave her there, but not before letting her know that if she ever needs help to find him.

Imagine baby SJ going up to Qi Qingqi, looking up at her with innocent eyes full of awe and calling her Qi-Shijie, to ask if Qiu Haitang could have a place in her peak in the event she comes to Cang Qiong in search of refuge. Occasionally, he'll also ask her if she can look in on her once in a while if she has a mission near the area (Which she doesn't, even if she agrees, because she doesn't particularly like Qiu Haitang either).

Years later, Qiu Haitang does show up, haunted by the true monstrous faces of her family and the reality of her actions in their first life, after she herself burns the Qiu House to the ground. Shen Jiu accepts her with open arms, but everyone else doesn't. But, they tolerate her for SJ's sake since he deeply cares about her and wishes to repay her kindness.

Qiu Haitang effectively becomes an overprotective sister, partly due to guilt but also because Shen Jiu, who is not bitter and with a hell of a lot less trauma, is just a bratty little brother who is just too lovable.

SHIT EATING BRAT DISCIPLE SHEN JIU SAVE ME!!!

If all of Cang Qiong already knew he was a slave, he would have no reason to put on airs, free to be that little bitch of an urchin who throws rocks at Bai Zhan kids. I actually don’t think he would chose Qing Jing, at least initially. He just got his Qi-ge back!!! He’s staying in Qi-ge’s head disciple house, and if anyone tries to remove him, they’ll just get married so they can’t force him out!

Most everyone would hate him about as much if for his shitty personality this time rather than his bad reputation. But Qi Qingqi? Instant besties. Besties in crime. Besties in delinquency. I thing Qi Qingqi would feel soooooo bad about everything she thought about Shen Qingqiu she would spoil him endlessly. Xiao Jiu wants candy? Okay, jiejie will buy you candy. No one ever told her he used to be so little!!!!!!!!!!

[allpiesforourown]

Protagonist Shen Yuan would win the people over by how kind he was and how he continued to keep trying to do good no matter what happened in the story. His heart would always be in the right place no matter what happened to him. He would never give up and that’s what Binghe would definitely admire about him- *gets tackled but the guards before I could continue*

So true...

14 yo Binghe: it's time for lessons but shixiong and shizun left me too injured to move..

Binghe: *remembers chapter where shen yuan had to go through physical therapy after being sick and bedbound for so long*

Binghe staggering to his feet: I CAN DO IT

But also does this mean binghe would choose to be a better person and follow shen yuan's ideals of forgiveness? Or would he go "you took away my book about shen yuan" and be even more furious while burning cang qiong to the ground

[tossawary]

Qijiu's reunion at the Immortal Alliance Conference could have so easily gone differently. If Yue Qi had had the time to express joy over Shen Jiu's survival, before Shen Jiu got angry at apparently being abandoned for a better life, and before Yue Qi then assumed that the failed rescue was the unforgivable harm rather than the apparent failure to return at all, they might have gotten somewhere.

But, you know, another way things could have gone differently is Yue Qi and Shen Jiu not coming face-to-face and recognizing each other at the same time. It could have been one or the other.

Wu Yanzi presumably can't slip into the conference because he's (not invited and also) a wanted criminal, but he might have been able to send his apprentice in to walk around, with Shen Jiu pretending to be just another random disciple among the crowd. If Shen Jiu had disguised himself to enter the conference early, he could have easily seen Head Disciple of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect Yue Qingyuan in a position of dutiful prominence during some opening speech, without Yue Qi noticing him in return.

The conclusions that Shen Jiu would jump to without any indication Yue Qi even remembers him? Bad. Obviously, the only thing to do there is take furious revenge and completely ruin this Yue Qingyuan's beautiful new life somehow.

Likewise, if Shen Jiu had been wandering around the conference to scope out the valuables, Yue Qi could have seen him through the crowd without being noticed in return. Maybe CQMS's head disciple is better situated making the mingling rounds rather than standing up somewhere with the talking heads. Before Shen Jiu knows what's happening here, he's being accosted in a quiet corner by some young master on the verge of crying on his stolen uniform. He just barely manages not to stab this guy about it.

"Xiao-Jiu, you're alive! I came back for you but I was too late and found that awful place burned to the ground! Nobody knew where you'd gone. You're a disciple of Huan Hua Palace now? I'm so happy for you!" this person says, beaming with ugly joy- wait, is this...? "I'm so sorry that Qi-Ge was so useless."

Shen Jiu barely manages to stumble out of this conversation without passing out. Yue Qi gets dragged away by some Cang Qiong master for some social responsibility, clinging to Shen Jiu's hands and swearing to find him later, and he thinks Shen Jiu is a Huan Hua Palace disciple. What was Shen Jiu supposed to say to that assumption? That he's actually lying scum?!

Shen Jiu now has to survive this conference without Yue Qi finding out the truth and without Wu Yanzi finding out about Yue Qi. Upping the tension of this fic idea: maybe Wu Yanzi does find out that Shen Jiu knows the head disciple of CQMS. (Maybe Wu Yanzi was lurking around the edges in disguise as well. Maybe Wu Yanzi witnesses some later conversation between Qijiu.) Wu Yanzi now wants to use Shen Jiu as an "in" to rob or otherwise harm CQMS.

If Shen Jiu is the one who saw Yue Qi first and jumped to angry conclusions and revenge plans about it, maybe the spiteful Shen Jiu likes the idea of reuniting with Yue Qi just to fuck him over like that. He's going to regret that pretty quickly, though.

[moonlightobsessions]

Meowyuan scumcum au.

Shen yuan transmitigates as he does

Dumb fuck novel, of course he dies reading that piece of shit. But isnt death supposed to be nothingness? Why is he still thinking. Slowly opening his eyes hes surrounded by a forest filled with massive plants, he seemed to be in a small den between roots of one of these massive trees. He lies there contemplating what to do. Obviously he got isekaied but to where. He tried to get up and walk when he realized the problem. He was a cat, a kitten.

He doesn’t realize he is a spiritual beast, one sought after by cultivators to be companions. He does hate being a cat quickly, having to hunt and eat raw meat is not fun. Thankfully he stumbles across a village. There he meets two street kids, jiu and qi, and reasonably gets attached to them. Qi-ge feeds him and jiu-ge protects him.

Sadly the Qiu manor still happens. Shen yuan sees the last moments yue qi and shen jiu have before yue wi goes to join cang qiong. Yuan stays with jiu, hoping to help him escape but hes discovered by Qiu Jianlou and recognized as the rare and valuable beast he is. He’s captured to be sold to whatever cultivator passes by. Shen jiu helps him escape, and unknowingly to shen jiu, shen yuan bonds them due to his spiritual beast instincts. They wont see each other for many years.

Shen yuan looks back through the small hole in the wall, Jiu-ge pushing him to run. Reasonably he knows he should run, but he follows an instinct he never had before. He rubs his head against Shen jius hands, the small jewel in his forehead touching his skin. A small jolt of qi reach out. The qi cycles as he feels them connect and their qi becoming intertwined. He licks the hand one last time before he runs into the forest.

The manor burning and wan yanzu still happen. Though damage to shen jius cultivation base never become as bad from the demonic cultivation as the connection between the two rejected the demonic energies. Shen yuan runs around for a long time. He is searching for yue qi first, but got sidetracked a lot. Especially since he avoided most cultivators. Soon he have up on yue qi, years have past and finding a way into cang qiong as a beast is near impossible, if he was even there.

He felt exhausted and found a small area rich in qi to take a small nap. That small cat nap would last ten years, when he woke and headed to the village he heard whispers of the new qing generation of peak lords. He felt into the connection he had and decided to follow it, to reunite with shen jiu.

At this point many of the rumours around shen qingqiu had taken root, he ignored them too. Opting to focus on missions and his research. There had been many studies on spiritual beast companions but few on the one he was interested in. The Jeweled qi cat was extremely rare, as a kitten they form a bond forged with qi with a person or a place and rely on them for protection. They grow uniquely to the qi they absorb and many cultivators desire one for their bond that is said to prove a noble soul and improve cultivation.

He only realized he was bonded to the small kitten he saved when his shizun inspected his qi. Even if he knew that bond existed, he never could use it to find the cat. He only could venture out often to search. That bastard yue qingyuan never came and he wont do the same for xiao yuan.

When they reunite its in a large town. Shen yuan felt the bond resonate and ran towards shen jiu. Shen Qingqiu was on a mission to deal with a sighting of a moonscortched black viper when a tugging in his qi made him turn around.

Shen yuan had hardly grown, not having access to shen jiu’s qi. Still fluffy and small but with all his might he decided jumping right into shen jius arms. It was a sight to see as a peak lord was knocked to the ground by a kitten that looked no older then three months. Shen yuan refused to be put down, clinging to shen jius clothes.

Of course Cang Qiong was shocked when the notorious peak lord came back with the Jeweled Qi cat that refused to leave his arms (shen jiu tried but shen yuan would yowl everytime he was put down(shen yuan could not afford losing Jiu-ge)). Of course shen yuan realizes this is the scum villain and decides that cannon is for losers and shen qingqiu couldn’t have been that bad.

So here we get looks for the list of tropes i enjoy Shen jiu improved relations with his martial siblings, rumors proven false and people feel shame, shen yuan bullying shen jiu into a better person and teacher, qijiu reconciliation.

And during this shen yuan is DESPERATE to cultivate a human form. Shen Jiu is hiding all the books in places he cant get to after one too many books had pages torn (some literature DESERVES to be destroyed).

He finally succeeded! Human hands! Thankfully he was still in the bamboo house as he made his way on wombly legs to Jiu-ge’s room. He might have seen Jiu-ge putting on those complicated robes many times but he never put any on before (He was a modern man! No where near as many layers). Just putting on one robe seemed enough. And Jiu-ge had a mirror! Seeing himself was a shock. Honestly he didn’t know what to expect, would he look like his old self or someone completely different. Long white hair, his cat ears and split tail, jade green eyes match the jade where a huadian would be, his face looks eight parts his old self, one part feline with his fangs and eyes, and one part shen jiu, sharpening his features (did bonding with Jiu-ge influence it?).

Shen jiu does find shen yuan scandalously clad reading yellow books in his bed. This does awaken something in him. (Shen jiu does trick shen yuan into marriage before shen yuan realizes his own attraction)

[lordrandreaming]

Been thinking about AU's while my wonderful partner reads and edits my new fic for me,

First it was Adult Slave Jiu, where Bingge hops timelines after getting his ass kicked by Bingmei, and spies the opportunity to make this Shizun (who isn't even a Cultivator) /his/ and ultimately gets wifebeamed (successfully fucking up everything he thought about SJ)

But NOW, what if we table the table, bring LBH into the picture when SJ is still Xiao Jiu in the Qiu Manor, and after having been abandoned by Yue-Qi, LBH 'just so happens' to get taken in as a new slave. (This AU can be Bingge hopping back in time, or just straight up LBH. Everything's the same but LBH is born earlier.)

He meets SJ, who's so suspicious of him at first, but quickly becomes attached because he's SJ's little sliver of light. They go through hell together, they are never seen separate after SJ burns down the Qiu Manor.

The two of them try to survive by themselves, only able to go so far with the absolute nothing they have.. So LBH and SJ are picked up by Wu Yanzi (Who's been watching, of course.) They go through everything together, and after WYZ dies by SJ's hand, they promptly get accepted into Cang Qiong.

LBH refuses to be anywhere else but where SJ is, and SJ can say the same. So as Disciples, they are glued to eachother and are basically never seen without the other. They sleep in the same bed, eat the same meals, anything and everything they do together.

SJ doesn't like someone? LBH doesn't like them either. LQG thinks those two have it out for him (and he's right to think so lmao) but it's all in all hijacking Binghe's brain because SJ is so dependent on him, and in turn HE'S ALSO SUPER DEPENDENT ON SJ. Literally NEEDS to see him, know he's okay.

If and when they are separate, they still find ways to check on eachother. Even if LBH ends up on another Peak as a Disciple elsewhere, one of them pops up to make sure the other is okay. Still anxious about being separate! But it's better knowing /he's/ okay.

Like I said earlier, everything is the same but LBH was just born earlier in the plot. So Immortal Alliance Conference happens just as it did originally. Abyss opens up, demon's come out, and LBH falls. However.. This time, it's intentional.

LBH and SJ were fighting back to back at one point, but ultimately get separated in the chaos. LBH stands on a overhang that overlooks the depth of the Abyss, he knows he must fall in order for this to work. So he makes it look like an accident, his sword is shattered, and the ground is cracking beneath his feet.

"Sorry, A-Jiu.."

He whispers, before the ground gives way below him. As SJ turns, his eyes go wide because LBH is already falling. He can't even move, no sound comes from him. SJ can't find it in him to scrabble to the edge of the Abyss, scream out for Xiao-Bing. He just collapses to his knees, hands going on either side of his head as the reality sinks in.

SJ blames himself for Xiao-Bing's supposed death. He uptakes being Peak Lord, and becomes how we know him. The cold, distant Shizun who wears a mask of indifference, yet brews a raging storm within himself.

For year's, he just keeps thinking about Xiao-Bing. How dare he.. How dare he do this to him! But it's his fault-

He spends the next 5 years mourning.

Imagine how fucked up he is when LBH comes back as Demon Emperor. He's SO mad at him, punching him, slapping him, crying, and hugging him. He doesn't even CARE he's a demon, he cares that he's alive. (He does question it later however. 'Did you know? How long have you known? Have you always been this way?' ect.)

So, now what?

We can either keep with the storyline, and LBH remains passive so long as he can be with his A-Jiu, OR, bare with me here, LBH also becomes a Peak Lord. You know, for posterity and to stay close to SJ.

He immediately regrets it, because now hes TRIPLE responsible for SJ, the Demon Realm, and now his own Peak! But, he's happy. (Maybe uniting the 3 realms?)

So, now, SJ is upset because he doesn't get to see Binghe as often. (They are both upset by this, they are horribly clingy to one another.) sO, LBH 1.) asks SJ to marry him, /possibly asking like 20 time before now, flustering SJ and getting a 'I don't know right now, I don't have an answer, but I do love you' *cue angry Bing tears*/ and 2.) proposes that they have a baby. Then SJ wont be alone!

It takes ALOT of convincing (months of bothering SJ and pleading) before SJ finally caves and they start trying.

I think I cracked the code for Happy BingJiu, or I'm cracking my head open like an egg on cement BECAUSE I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY.

Yes this will be a fic at some point. I have 10 other AU Idea's I will be getting around to sharing at some point, maybe later today, maybe tomorrow! We will see. My Idea's are only coherent to me, I have to think about how I want to word it so it's legible lmao

Am I onto something with this AU?? Am I just delusional about B9/BingJiu? Yes, and yes.

[archerdepartures116]

pet cafe au story snippet

I can't write for shit but I've wanted to write something about the au for a while now

and cause content has been a little dry lately..

anyways cat jiu and bun qingge!

Burning.

 There are flames everywhere. What is happening?

It hurts.

 IT HURTS. 

What is happening?!

My meridians. 

it's like lava under my skin… 

…

The pain has faded.

What?

.

..

…

I hear ringing…

Shen Jiu jolted upright to the feeling of movement and subtle rocking. 

He was…..being carried?

Shen Jiu blinked and tried to get his vision to focus. His heart was pounding. 

When he woke up after a qi deviation he was sure was lethal, he noticed something wrong right away. He was proven correct a second after when he lifted a hand and what came into view was a white paw. He had been turned into a cat. 

What the hell?

The second thing he noticed that was off was the surroundings he was in. He was in some sort of cage, though the sides of the box were made of some weird material that had a shiny, slippery smooth texture. Only the exit to the cage was made of some metal. 

“Oh curse the heavens.” he sneered as he pawed and clawed at the door until a human's face came into view.

A face that looked strikingly familiar to him. 

It wasn’t a direct one to one copy but the human had his sharp eyes and narrow mouth, his high cheekbones and pointy nose. The human wore clear glasses around his eyes. The human’s clothes looked strange and underdressed. 

What was going on? He was sure he never had any family.

He hissed, his fur puffing up in suspicion. 

“Ansty aren’t we? Let's get you out now.” The human frowned and unlocked the door to his cage.

Shen Jiu jumped out the second the lock sprung free and took a glance at his surroundings. There was a huge mat that covered the entire floor and multiple soft looking pillows that surrounded the corners of the room. When he turned to look at the human, he was talking to another person. When the other human in the room looked down, Shen Jiu was struck by his face.

That was the face of a traitor. Shen Jiu seethed. 

He hissed and the fur on his back raised in agitation. The man looked rather shocked by his reaction.

“Oh dang, I guess he really doesn’t like me huh bro?”

“Of course, you look stupid.” The four eyes smirked. 

“Awe dudeeeee-”. Bemoaned the ratty looking man. 

“We have a lot of animals to unload here, get to work or I'm not paying you.” 

“We own the cafe together wha-”

The traitor lookalike was cut off by four eyes when he turned and put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. Four eyes then brought out a cage, which was carefully lowered to the ground. He seemed to be holding his breath. 

From what Shen Jiu could see, the interior of the cage contained a lot of hay and padding. The man set that cage in front of a wall and unlocked the door to it. 

“Be quiet, this little guy is very skittish.” the visually impaired one whispered to his companion. 

One moment there was absolute stillness. The next was whatever that was inside that cage bolted out, nearly crashing into the man’s leg. 

“aCK-” four eyes yelped as he tried to grab the bolting white blurb.

It was quite unseemly and humorous to watch the two fumbling humans try to catch the creature that was performing nearly impressive acrobatics to evade grabbing hands. 

“HE’S VERY SKITTISH FOR SURE-”, the traitor look alike said as he dived right into the carpet whilst trying to apprehend what Shen Jiu could now see was a bunny. 

When the two animals locked gazes, Shen Jiu knew immediately who it was.

Liu Qingge, Baizhan peak lord, Cang Qiong Mountain’s War God, had been reborn as a bunny. 

Shen Jiun was going to ascend to the heavens by laughing himself stupid. 

It seemed like Liu Qingge was very puzzled by this change of events and his momentary distraction allowed the traitor look alike to scoop him up and wrap his arms around Liu Qingge’s struggling form. 

This day couldn’t get better, Shen Jiu thought amusedly

One would think that Liu Qingge would have been reincarnated as a cat like him or some bigger predatory creature due to his hot and volatile personality and hunting prowess. Shen Jiu could almost appreciate the irony of this scene.  

[dark-elf-writes]

“Cang Qiong is lurking around," Wei Wuxian mentioned casually where he was sprawled over a branch above Shen Jiu's head, supposedly keeping watch through his closed eyelids while Shen Jiu cultivated. Or attempted to, anyway.

(Shen Jiu knew better than to fall for the lazy act. Even if his mate had his eyes closed and face turned into the weak sunlight that filtered through the branches, there was no doubt that his senses were honed to a keen edge, waiting to catch the slightest hint of something approaching them… or Shen Jiu reaching another plateau in his cultivation.

Hence why he had spoken now, seemingly out of nowhere, just as Shen Jiu had felt a cold sweat break out across the back of his neck.)

Shen Jiu sighed, unfolding his legs and allowing himself to lounge back against the tree, and looked up at A-Ying perched like some odd bird of prey among the leaves. "The Immortal Alliance Conference is taking place not far from here. It would be odd for Cang Qiong to not be present."

A hum and, in a flutter of leaves and black fabric, Wei Wuxian hooked his legs over the branch, allowing his torso to hang down so he could look Shen Jiu in the eye. "A sect like theirs would have plenty of cultivation manuals and be placed in a Qi dense area perfect for honing their cultivation."

Familiar anger rose in Shen Jiu's chest. Hot and thick as boiling oil as it spilled over his tongue. "So my husband wants to be rid of me so desperately he would hand deliver me to the very people he warned me away from?"

Wei Wuxian's infuriating smile didn't so much as waver. "This A-Ying is concerned for his husband's wellbeing and far too aware of his own humble means to offer assistance at such a critical juncture in his husband's cultivation. This lowly A-Ying believes all possibilities should be considered before they are hastily discarded."

Shen Jiu's eyes narrowed. "You would rather break your own legs than be tied to a sect."

That smile finally wavered, along with Wei Wuxian's perch on the branch. Shen Jiu lunged to catch him before he could hit the ground, settling the familiar weight of A-Ying into his lap. They sat in silence like that for several long moments, the rustling of leaves above them and their own hushed breathing the only sounds.

A stolen moment of peace, fragile as spun sugar.

Fragile as the glint in A-Ying's silver eyes.

Slender fingers traced over his jaw. Achingly gentle. A far cry from the deft surety with which Wei Wuxian called forth the dead or the elegant brutality with which he wielded his sword, little more than a hunk of scrap metal as it was.

"I would tie the leash around my throat myself if it meant forever with my husband at my side."

Shen Jiu would never allow it. Would burn down all of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect with his own blood-drenched hands before he allowed them the slightest claim over his A-Ying.

But he and A-Ying were two halves of one whole, for better or worse.

He had known that when he had sunk his teeth into Wei Wuxian's bonding gland. Had reveled in that fact as Wei Wuxian dug his own teeth into Shen Jiu's own.

"We don't need a sect. The two of us can make it on our own without their help."

That familiar sadness sparked in Wei Wuxian's eyes, aching and all-consuming as it always was.

(Shen Jiu didn't ask.

He would never make Wei Wuxian open that particular wound until he was ready.)

But even with that sadness threatening to consume him, A-Ying only hummed and tucked his head under Shen Jiu's chin with a sweet hum, chasing his the barest traces of his scent to its source "We should at least keep an eye on them, just in case. Rich sects like that never notice what useful trinkets they leave behind when they have a dozen more to replace them back home."

Shen Jiu knew A-Ying to well to believe that he would give up that easily, yet in the end it was Shen Jiu that allowed himself to be taken back to the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect by a concerned Qi-Ge Yue Qingyuan in order to keep those eyes he had once known so well now in the face of a future sect leader rather than the brother he remembered — the brother who had abandoned him to the very monster A-Ying had killed to free him — off of his mate.

[opalfairy]

The Ones Who Walk Away from PIDW

Ok so, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now (as in, since 2023) but never put it in words before—or at least I don’t remember doing so—and I think it’s finally time I write it down, so without further ado:

I think the world of PIDW works exactly like Omelas (from that one Ursula K. Le Guin short story)

(all my yapping under the cut bcos this is long)

With that I mean that it works throw a scapegoat system in which there must be an individual (or group) that suffers infinitely so that everyone else can have a happy and comfortable life.

I know that The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is already a criticism of the real world and the society we live in where many are exploited for some others to live comfortably, but that’s not what I am talking about here.

What I am talking about is a much smaller scale version, in which a city condones and encourages the suffering of a single person, a child, because the suffering of said child means that everybody else gets to have a good time.

Some may feel bad for the child, but they know that removing that child from the situation will mean a great calamity will fall upon the city. Those who disagree with the exchange of the child’s suffering for their own good fortune are free to leave and not come back.

What happens if you take the child away? Nobody knows, the story doesn’t tell us. Some speculate that the gone child can be replaced with a new one; some think that calamities, be it of natural or supernatural nature, will befall the city; some think it is a hoax, and some get so mad about it all that they write their own version, like that one guy, N.K. Jemisin, who wrote The Ones Who Stay and Fight¹.

Now with all that explained, let’s get to what really matters here: our blorbos.

So, the interesting thing here is that “the child” could be many of the story's characters, but there are two that I would like to point out in this post, starting with everyone's favorite stallion protagonist: Luo Binghe.

In Qing Jing Peak he was singled out as the scapegoat the moment Shen Qingqiu (Jiu) poured hot tea over his head. He must be isolated from everyone else, and he must be neglected. He is the one who the master of the peak can safely take his hatred on without repercussions. The other disciples are safe because Binghe is the one being beaten. They can also expiate their own frustrations using the same method: crushing this child under their hill.

Then, at the Immortal Alliance Conference, he is removed from his scapegoat position. At first everything seems to be fine, five whole years in which we do not know what really happened in Qing Jing Peak (maybe they found a new scapegoat, maybe not, who’s to say); and the Binghe returns. Except he is no longer the hopeless child that they could easily lock in the woodshed, but a destructive force that razes the entirety of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect to the ground.

It doesn’t end there, though. One could argue that just like Binghe under Shen Qingqiu, Shen Jiu under Bingge is also the Omelas’ scapegoat.

And how interesting, that Shen Jiu is cast in this role, as it is but a reprisal of his past under the tender care² of the Qiu. His role there, however different, ultimately was the telling of the same story:

An abused child, made to take over the ire of the master of the house over and over again. A child whose only purpose is to suffer so that others may be spared. In the end, that child also left Omelas, he left it and killed most everyone there, burning it to the ground.

Except this time Omelas is not the Qiu manor, nor Qing Jing Peak, but Bingge’s palace: a shining, shimmering bastion, where he and his many wives can be happy. Where, in a dungeon hidden in the palace’s bowels; dangling from chains and unable to speak or move, Shen Jiu suffers by himself.

Every time Bingge is irritated, he can descend to the dungeon and torture the other man. Just like he was Shen Qingqiu’s scapegoat for violence and ire, so now the roles have reversed. And Binghe is happy³, he is surrounded by affection, and if he feels like punching a wall, he can punch his prisoner instead.

Eventually, tho, Shen Jiu manages to escape the metaphorical Omelas’ basement once more. Not by being cast away nor by destroying the place, but by dying. The result of the child (the adult, here) leaving is the eventual merging of the realms, as Bingge now must find new characters to expiate his ire and pain.

And, interestingly, in a way the narrative itself can be seen as the Omelas basement, with Binghe never being able to leave. Suffering forever for the happiness of the readers of the novel. His whole existence is linked to the pleasure⁴ of those who do not really care about him⁵. Those who find his suffering too horrible are free to go. And yet, there is this one guy who just can’t let it go, except he is not N.K. Jemisin this time, but our most beloved Peerless Cucumber.

(I also want to talk about how Tianlang-Jun fits the Omelas narrative so well too, but this post was already long enough, so maybe there will be a sequel, who knows)

¹OP (hi! Hello! I’m OP!) has not read this one, y’all, so I can’t really delve into it.

²Terrible place, terrible service, 0/10.

³Or he thinks he is, but we all know how to read between the lines.

⁴not only sexual, it is a whole ass power fantasy after all.

⁵and, like, he is literally a character to them, so no fingers pointed, that would be hypocritical of me.

[fluffydemonshark]

The Children of Xie Lian; Prologue

Shen Jiu wakes up in Qiu Manor with memories of two lifetimes

[next]

It hit with a bang. Or at least that is the only way Jiu could explain it. He clutched at his aching head, a pain he could only compare to his still bleeding back. Jiu could only stumble through the wood shed until he collapsed on the makeshift bed he made of straw. His vision had blurred from the pain and he struggled to ground himself as things flashed through his mind. Biting down on his tongue to choke down the cries that threatened to escape him. Whether they came from the pain or the newfound torment in the images he wasn’t sure. 

The sudden rush of memories, of entire lifetimes. Lifetimes that might have been his, they looked like his. One where he waits, bears hell upon his shoulders until he cracks. Where he is turned as a cauldron for a demonic cultivator until he is reunited with Qi-ge. Where he continues to wallow in his own misery as he makes enemies out of everyone around him. Where is he relieved of his limbs and gets everyone killed, including his precious Qi-ge who tried to save him from his own mistakes. One of a strange world of iron carriages without horses, glowing tablets, and stoves without fire. A world where he was sickly but loved, loved by his two older brothers; Ru and Shilin and his precious little sister; Lihua, who he absolutely spoiled. A life where he died and came to this world, terrified and constantly trying to fight a future he was so sure would happen. One where he sacrificed himself for those he grew to call friends. But more importantly it showed him what would happen if he stayed. 

. 

He has to leave, QI-ge is going to get himself hurt trying to reach him if he stays here. But he can’t go to Cang Qiong either, he only ever brought those people misery and he won’t do it a 3rd time. He refuses to be a curse upon them any longer. It doesn’t matter if he has to go to the other end of the world to make it happen. He would have to cultivate, the world is far too dangerous for him not to and he won’t have any support this time. But before that he needs to find a way to contact Qi-ge, tell him not to return, to not look for him. Jiu took a deep breath. 

He needs to focus. Take things one at a time. Before he does anything he needs to get out. If he just runs away, Qiu Jianluo will chase him down. He needs to fake his death. He’s done it before, he can do it again. But how? It needs to be something that doesn’t leave a body, or at least not much of one. As Jiu plotted his escape, someone made their way to the shed. Torch in hand and tears on her face, Haitang promised that she would protect her brother from the monster in the shed. With the lock steadfast, Jiu wouldn’t be able to escape and with a single motion she lit it ablaze. It caught fire faster than she thought it would. The fire that once haunted her dreams, now protecting what she holds dear. 

—-----------------------------------------

Yue Qi ran. He couldn’t be late. Not again. Not when Xiao Jiu suffered so much for him already. It didn’t matter if he had a sword or not, he would burn that cursed mansion down himself if he had to. But he WILL protect him this time, he WILL make up for everytime he failed him before, he WILL make things right and make sure that Xiao Jiu never suffers again. 

He ran for three days straight on his cultivation and determination alone. By the time he arrived at the Qiu manor he was ready to collapse. But he powered through it, pounding on the door and demanding to see the master of the house. He was instead greeted by Qiu Haitang, a cold look on her face, “what are you doing here?”. Cold fury filled Yue Qi upon seeing her, but he swallowed it down as he said, “I want you to release Shen Jiu from his contract. I’m willing to buy it out if necessary.” He absolutely didn’t have the money to do that but if he could get enough time to find Xiao Jiu and get him out it didn’t matter. “That won’t be necessary. He’s dead and I killed him.”

As soon as she said those words, Yue Qi could feel the world crash down around him. He failed. He failed again and now Xiao Jiu is gone. The girl was saying something, taunting him, but it didn’t reach him. All that he could hear was Xiao Jiu’s voice echoing in his head, scolding him for going to save Shiwu and telling him to leave him behind because he was too sick to make the journey. Then came the voice of Shen Jiu, the boy who did whatever it took to survive under Wu Yanzi, who constantly got into fights with Liu Qingge and couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him. Then Shen Qingqiu who made snide remarks behind his fan and protected the sect with everything he had. Then the man who didn’t remember any of it, the man who gave and gave and gave without anything in return. All of them precious parts of his Xiao Jiu and all of them gone. Gone because he failed him again. 

Yue Qi doesn’t remember how he got back to the sect or why he even returned. The world was out of focus and dull. Faces blurred together but he could make out the black and white uniforms of Qiong Ding peak despite that. As he crossed the threshold he was greeted by his Shizun. Upon seeing him the soft smile quickly fell and he asked, “Disciple Yue, what’s wrong?” With one question, he completely collapsed. Tears shedding down his face as he screamed in agony. His qi flared up and seemed to explode in some half-mad attempt to self-destruct as he went into a qi-deviation.

[moonshinesonic-moonstarslight]

Back to oc Peak Lords for a bit!

Some of them *eyes the fifth peak lord* went and added themselves to a small story I have been working on the side, so Notes!

WARNING! If you are reading my story Secrets Hidden in Red Smoke on Ao3 and want to avoid spoilers for future chapters please pass along. (Will be hiding spoilers under Read More just in case.)

So where are the Other Three Peaks/Lords during PIDW/Svsss? Well...

Ming Qingyue (12th peak: agriculture/horticulture)- off working with the mortal world with the vast majority of her peak. Very little contact with the sect.

Yun Qingfeixing (11th peak: falconry)- peak mostly closed from the outside world, only heads out for mandatory missions or whichever ones take them north and far from the sect.

Min Qinghe (5th peak: An Ding's sister peak/Turks)- Dead... And the turning point of a lot of things pre-canon.

Okay so, the Airplane in my head isn't the type of person to just have one of his villains be evil simply because of being overworked and underappreciated. (Although those are perfectly fine reasons for villainy. (^^)) Especially when he can make it tragic~.

Thus, why would Shang Qinghua be willing to burn the whole sect to the ground? He first joined Mobei Jun because of the treatment of An Ding and of himself, sure. But he had plans regarding that alliance and wasn't completely sold on slaughtering the whole sect (from elder to child). So what would make him not resist Luo Binghe's command to destroy Cang Qiong and even hand over the information needed to have it succeed?

Feeling betrayed by the sect. But how would he be betrayed? The more reasonable the feeling the better. It's the tipping point after all. Make it dramatic!

The death and abandonment of his dearest person. That would be a dramatic turning point. (And a point of irony/contention in Svsss)

So Min Qinghe was crafted in Airplane's head as an answer to who and how while filling out the other peak lords. (He was working backwards from Shang Qinghua is a Peak Lord with demon connections so can be the spy. So didn't figure out all the details on how both Min Qinghe and Shang Qinghua became peak lords until long passed the destruction of Cang Qiong. So he just kept it in his head as fun background knowledge.) She's Shang Qinghua's single confidant and the only person he would bring himself to call friend and family. His other half. (Not necessarily romantic or anything like that. More like a co-dependant relationship that has no true boundaries or definition but makes them happy.)

(Airplane tried not to get attached. He knew what would happen to her... But it is really hard not to get attached to the person who is made to be everything you need and you are everything they need in return. It doesn't help that he is questioning if she isn't another transmigrator with how she talks and acts at times. He always ends up attached and closes his heart even more than the Og after her death.)

Now how is she the turning point? Well, her death for one. While on a mission with Yun Qingfeixing they run into a Black Moon Rhinoeros-Python. Now know that these two are out with a small group of disciples so even if they thought they could fight this beast they can't without risking the students. So they focus on getting away more than fighting. But this is a demonic beast currently furious and lashing out.

So, in desperation to save her friend and their disciples Min Qinghe takes a stand. Aiming to distract and lure the beast away from the group of fleeing disciples. Yun Qingfeixing goes with the disciples but lends her falcon, Hayabusa, to act as a second pair of eyes and as backup.

Min Qinghe ends up dying in this fight. She and Hayabusa were about to retreat as the beast was far enough from the others that they might be able to slip away now and everything would be fine.

But Hayabusa accidentally caught the beast's eye. And Min Qinghe who knows how precious the familiar is to her friend immediately jumps in to save the bird.

Hayabusa lives. But Ming Qinghe is speared through by the beast's horn.

Yun Qingfeixing gets her bird back with the report on what happened. Is devastated that her best friend is dead but ultimately makes the call as a peak lord to get the disciples back to the sect before reporting what happened so they can have the others come to help fight the beast.

Yue Qingyuan leaves to fight this beast along with Yun Qingfeixing, Liu Qingge, and Zhen Qingxun (Ku Xing). By the time they get to where the beast is it is slipping away into the Abyss via portal. So it is no longer a threat.

Yue Qingyuan makes the decision that they would not be searching for Min Qinghe's remains. As he believes that it is very possible the woman was pulled into the Abyss if there is any at all. Thus he wishes to keep his martial siblings from going on a wild goose chase and only get hurt. Never mind the fact they might run into the Black Moon Rhinoerous-Python and they would have another dead on their hands.

This is not a decision taken well. Yun Qingfeixing wanting to immediately go find her friend and lay her to rest. Liu Qingge understanding the logic (not that Yue Qingyuan actually explained his reasoning) but feeling honor-bound to at least look and see if they could find something to bury. Zhen Qingxun remaining neutral on the matter but does inquire if Yue Qingyuan realizes what he has done with this decision.

Because Yue Qingyuan had just made himself a massive target for Shang Qinghua to lash out at.

Yue Qingyuan acknowledges that and says he will handle it.

Little does he know Shang Qinghua's anger is a quiet thing that is hidden behind lies of acceptance, sad smiles, and An Ding's assistance being slowly pulled from the other peaks. Under the excuse that Shang Qinghua had to run two peaks now. When in truth he has been making the sect forced to learn how to do their basic chores themselves and started shuffling his disciples and Min Qinghe's disciples into a single unit with plans to break from the sect.

After all, if they don't care for the people in charge of the little things, the caretakers of the sect (their so-called servants), then why should they give them anything more than the bare minimum? This is part of the reason Shen Qingqiu's abuse towards Luo Binghe wasn't talked about much besides Yue Qingyuan being an enabler. The other peaks did not know the full extent of it without An Ding and Qian Jiu gossiping about it.

Liu Qingge begins to train even more and ignoring his limits in his desperation to get stronger.

Yun Qingfeixing feels a deep never-ending guilt and ends up being locked away on her peak for a while in an attempt to keep her from disobeying Yue Qingyuan's order.

Ming Qingyue starts following Shang Qinghua's example and begins distancing her peak from the sect.

There is no funeral. There is no memorial. Those closest to Min Qinghe are furious but keep silent as they do not believe they would be heard or that their sect leader cares.

The outside world wonders what happened to one of the Lords, but no answer is ever given.

(Airplane is furious and laughing at the fact that of course, they would do anything for Shen Qingqiu. Cucumber-bro or not that man was always meant more to the sect. The hypocrisy is never called upon in Svsss [Because facing Luo Binghe was far more dangerous than searching the countryside for a dead body or facing a Black Moon Rhinoerous-Python.] and Airplane just stews in his grief before shoving it into a box and forcing himself to move on with this 'happy ending'.)

I did not mean for this silly side character (who ended up being a second Airplane at times) to be such a big deal in my worldbuilding/headcanons. ¯\(ツ)/¯ But here you go! ~(^^~)

[parisvalia]

quarterly reminder that when PIDW!binghe burned cang qiong to the ground the lost guanyin pendant most definitely burned with it. just a friendly reminder :)

[ineffectualdemon]

I just realised while writing my wip that it's a probably a really necessary thing plot wise that Yue Qingyuan could not explain why he failed to rescue Shen Jiu when they were reunited and later both head disciples

Because if Shen Jiu had learned about what really happened to his Qi-ge there wouldn't have been a Cang Qiong Mountain for Luo Binghe to later study at at all

Shen Jiu would have burned the sect to the ground even more thoroughly than Bingge did in the original story

There would be a valley where the mountain once stood

Even as it is in this fic it's going to be very hard for Yue Qingyuan to stop Shen Jiu from finding the former sect leader and destroying him and the rest of the former peak lords

Bingge picked up a lot from his Shizun

[rarepears]

The lqg fake death au with soulmate strings au,

Oh man when lqg gets to sqq and sees him I know for a fact he'd feel so helpless because he wouldn't know how to help him.

Maaaannnnnn this is really a great au, so much good angst

I also can't help but try to imagine ways this could turn into a hurt/comfort but I keep feeling like that'd be ooc, maybe a lot of hurt/ very little comfort.

Would sj just have a defeated air to him? Just bitter but wouldn't do anything about it because it's pointless in his eyes? His chest burning like acid had been poured on it and the weight of his grief would feel crushing to his soul, almost numbing with its intensity.

I want to say that lqg just takes sj away from hhp and cqs but I don't think lbh would let him just go. And lqg being more actions then words would probably start just fighting lbh.

I want sj to be happy, man, but the angst needs to happen ya know? Maybe lqg gets injured but gets sj out of there, I don't think for long, since I'm pretty sure lbh has blood parasites in sj but I'd like to believe they get to breathe for a moment.

Shen Jiu's love language: fan smacking and self-sacrifice Liu Qingge's love language: leaving dead and bloody beasts on pristine ground

There is no comfort, only dead animals and blundering each other... and yet that's apparently how these two idiots comfort each other?

ANYWAYS

There's NO way that PIDW only has 2 ways of reviving dead people. There has to be more secret ways - because plenty of Airplane's drafts turned out to exist in PIDW and there has to be more ways he thought of resurrected hot dead people to add to Luo Binghe's harem.

Maybe Liu Qingge hunts one or two down and that's how he rescues Shen Jiu in the end? By "killing" Shen Jiu and then allowing Shen Jiu to take on a new body, new identity and Liu Qingge leaves Cang Qiong sect for good.

(Also I don't recall what's in this AU anymore but I'm too lazy to read it out right now, so hopefully I didn't contract things too much.)

[More in #liu qingge faked his death in pidw to go on a secret mission au]

[sunderwight]

#ooo you could tie in tianlang jun at that point#just go completely off into the woods with it#if it’s been over five years and SQQ was paranoid about eventually being chopped into tiny cubes by whoever#then he might have gone after the sun dew mushroom and run into ZZl#that’s plenty of time for TLJ to get the mushroom body#kidnap SQQ#and overthrow the tenuous hold MBJ and SHQ had been building on the demon realm#picture the demon realm completely militarized with LBH’s insane dad at the helm#MBJ on the run and building an insurgence but floundering in his grief over losing SHQ#SQQ stuck as a prisoner and being unwillingly courted by ZZL#the cultivation sects (minus Huan Hua which mysteriously burned to the ground) gearing up for war#with Cang Qiong giving the loudest and most furious calls for retribution and the return of SQQ#and on top of all that the system is now demanding that SHQ put his stolen halo to use and kill MBJ in a twisted reflection of the original#the chaos!! the drama!! Shang Qinghua is beginning to wonder if it would have been easier to just play out PIDW instead of this clusterfuck! @the-night-gods-moon

Oh this is great!

Shang Qinghua keeps trying to dodge the system and for now part of that would probably mean avoiding Mobei Jun, who is actively trying to find him so that they can defeat TLJ together and get married and live happily ever after. Angst and miscommunication galore.

Meanwhile Luo Binghe is scouring the realms trying to find WHERE TLJ and ZZL stashed Shen Qingqiu, who... possibly escapes confinement via mushroom body? So then this SQQ-alike twink shows up and LBH is like "not now hormones, we're exclusively in love with Shizun" and so he keeps telling Plantzun that he's not interested, he already has a lover, while Cucumber is like that lady with the math symbols meme trying to figure out why Luo Binghe keeps saying this to him and also which of the canon wives he's actually interacted with enough to be this ride-or-die about it. Not that he cares of course! It's good that Binghe finally has a love interest! Maybe the system will fix itself and remember that he's the protagonist now! But meanwhile, Cucumber's gotta get that halo back from the other guy...

The system is having such a bad time. It is so broken lol, especially when SY goes in the plant body so it can't find him anymore either. SQH just keeps getting eldritch alerts that range from tutorial-mode user guides to demands that he chop off all of Mobei Jun's limbs. Good thing it still thinks he has infinite points (for now).

SVSSS AU where Shen Yuan transmigrates as usual, except it's to find that his system is freaking out because it's been several years since Luo Binghe was supposed to show up at the sect trials to start his plot but so far there's been no sign of the protagonist, the Protagonist Halo Features aren't working correctly, and there's another transmigrator who arrived earlier, somehow hacked into the system, and erased its ability to track or punish him before disappearing into parts unknown (it was Airplane).

So Shen Yuan, now Shen Qingqiu, reasons that anyone who was trying to interfere with the plotline had either rescued or killed Luo Binghe while he was still young. Hoping for the former (but braced for the latter) he uses what scant knowledge the novel provided about Luo Binghe's origins, plus his new skills and some of the sect resources available, to track down Luo Binghe.

Turns out, in this version of events, some "random benefactor" showed up and gave Luo Binghe's mother some life-saving medicine. So she didn't die. But her health remained poor and Binghe never left her side, instead doing as much of her work as he was able to. So teenaged Binghe is basically a seemingly average, run-of-the-mill servant.

Shen Qingqiu is like "well this is pretty easy to fix actually" and approaches Luo Binghe as a wise immortal master type, says he sees Binghe's potential, and offers to take him on as a disciple. Luo Binghe is thrilled and kind of gobsmacked, but won't abandon his mother. Not a problem! Shen Qingqiu figured he wouldn't, so he offers to make arrangements to have Mama Luo comfortably set up in one of the villages at the base of the mountain. Sure, having her be alive and letting Binghe visit and write to her would be a deviation from the usual tragic backstory, but not a huge one! Shen Qingqiu is ready to mark this problem solved (and start dealing with all the other problems it creates for him) but the system is weirdly unsatisfied.

Turns out that even though Shen Qingqiu has found Luo Binghe (and a few discreet tests confirm that he has some sort of seal in place, and what are the odds of some other random orphan found on the Luo river, raised by a kindly-but-ill laundress, and named "Luo Binghe" exists in the same region?), the system still can't detect the Protagonist Halo Feature. The stupid glitching thing can't recognize the protagonist without it, so it keeps insisting that Shen Qingqiu locate him, even when he's kneeling right there and performing the tea ceremony for his initiation!

It's really annoying!

Especially since this means that the system won't actually safeguard Luo Binghe from harm. Which means it's up to Shen Qingqiu to make sure that his little white lotus disciple lives long enough to become the ruler of everything. This is easier said than done! Between the skinner demon side quest, and the demonic invasion, and various other side missions to build up the protagonist's potential, Luo Binghe is constantly getting into trouble and Shen Qingqiu keeps getting poisoned or injured trying to drag him back out of it in one piece!

Matters come to a head at the Immortal Alliance Conference (as they so often do). Shen Qingqiu is not planning to yeet Binghe, of course. Like this there's no guarantee of survival, and the system isn't even demanding it of him (because it still doesn't recognize the protagonist), but it seems to be demanding they turn up for the event anyway. Shen Qingqiu is a nervous wreck and fighting the urge to hover, because as expected, there is still a demonic invasion. Except this time Mobei Jun is there, and so is a mysterious cloaked figure who seems to be searching for something.

As soon as Shen Qingqiu claps eyes on the figure, the system chimes happily.

Protagonist Halo successfully located!

Turns out, part of Airplane's hacks involved stealing the halo and reassigning it to himself. Except that means that narrative destiny still wants him to hit certain plot beats, so he's been busily conquering the demonic realms -- in MBJ's name of course -- and mostly doing the bare minimum to satisfy the requirements while evading the system's efforts to regain contact. But now he's gotta go get Xin Mo somehow, except the minute Shen Qingqiu spots him so does the system.

The system, which immediately reassigns Airplane as the protagonist, and orders Shen Qingqiu to throw him into the Endless Abyss.

Which is like, better this rando than Binghe, so okay, but Mobei Jun is not cooperating plus the mysterious hooded stranger also seems pretty resistant to the idea (Airplane is NOT a heavenly demon, Protagonist Halo or no he's still actually a relatively squishy human cultivator, and he does not want to go into the hell pit), and between one thing and another Airplane manages to fall int the Abyss with Luo Binghe.

Not ideal. Which is to say, Shen Qingqiu is emotionally devastated and almost convinced that Luo Binghe has died for real and that Mysterious Halo Thief is going to come out somehow in a few years and chop off all his limbs, and Mobei Jun is extremely distressed because the man he intends to marry just fell into the Endless Abyss, and that seems like a difficult thing to somehow Evil Vizier your way out of.

The other peak lords arrive to keep Mobei Jun from killing Shen Qingqiu, and so everyone just kind of despairingly returns to their separate corners of the universe to wait and see what will happen.

Meanwhile, down in the Endless Abyss, Luo Binghe has unlocked his heavenly demon blood and is now constantly trying to kill Airplane. But thanks to the transferred protagonist halo it just doesn't work. The system interferes and creates a last-minute unlikely survival route for Airplane every time. They eventually reach an impasse where Airplane can't die but only Luo Binghe is strong enough to actually fight most of the creatures in the Abyss, and all this "fighting" between the two of them (generous description) keeps attracting big monsters.

So, Airplane offers a deal. He knows things about this place. Including how to get out. If Luo Binghe helps him fend off the monsters, then he'll help Luo Binghe survive and escape as well. He even offers to help him get away from Shen Qingqiu and make a place for himself in the demon realms! Luo Binghe tries to kill him again for that, so he drops that line of attempted bribery really quick and switches tactics. He knows more things! Things about Shen Qingqiu's past! Secrets he'll share if Luo Binghe helps him!

Is this the start of a beautiful new friendship?

No.

Turns out Luo Binghe and Airplane have exactly the correct combination of shared traits and differences to find one another mostly intolerable. But not intolerable to the point of not being able to manage teeth-clenched teamwork. By the time they get out of the Endless Abyss, Luo Binghe never wants to hear about cup noodles or tax collection or Mobei Jun's tits ever again, and Airplane feels much the same about anything at all to do with Shen Qingqiu (and either Shen Qingqiu is a fellow transmigrator now or else Luo Binghe has inserted a shockingly vivid delusion over the scum villain he wrote). But they're both alive and in joint custody of an evil sword.

Unfortunately, due to the bickering and the complexities of Shang Qinghua's sketchy memory for his own plots, it takes them even longer to get out of the Abyss than it took PIDW Luo Binghe to manage on his own.

And, uh. Well.

They don't find things in great shape, considering how they left them...