#i LOVE baiheng

[r3nblade]

[miothle]

the high cloud quintet⚔️

[mayopocket]

goofy fox and ANGY lady is the best dynamic

[thisbitchcantdraw]

Genuinely tweaking because it’s 4 in the morning rn and I’ve been drawing this all day, literally the second I was free I was drawing.

AND IT TOOK ME 6 HOURS WHATTT

So as some of you know I’m a big fan of a FanFiction made by @theellipelli and it’s epic and great and it’s yanqing and Jing yuan and time travel and family issues GO READ IT IM GREAT AT PROMOTING THIS HAHAH.

So like… I didn’t read the new chapter and I’m scared to do so BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN TW DEATH??? STOP.. I better not cry

Anyway so I had the idea on what the idea was but I didn’t know how to make it right so I ended up with this, here’s the starter sketch with colour

Now MEGA TRANSFORM RENDER BOOM WOW heheh thank you thank you👏👏👏👏

If you can’t tell Baiheng is drunk and in my head she should be kept at least 5 miles away from any person when she’s drunk

Jinglius hand looks weird but look at yanqing he looks great #neverdoingmysondirty

The atrocious hand grip on yanqing head I head to learn how to draw hand can someone teach me

Ik it’s really hard to tell what’s going on with df and yingxing but I wanted to fit all the quintet in (they are just whispering to each other which is pretty much “bro can we please leave” “nah”) Df is so circle I’m sorry idk what happened I’m tweaking again

Sorry that jy, yq and baiheng look so much better than everyone else that’s the difference between start vs finish

And if anyone is out there “6 hours for that?? Man you got to be joking” well Uhm actually I’m a very slow artist

I think I spent the smallest time on yingxing

But I think I spent at least like an hour on the sketch sigh can I get a pat on the back

ALSO DRAWING THEM WAS SO HARD BECAUSE OF THE SMALL AMOUNT OF REFERENCES I HAD..

I wanted to do cloud night Jing yuan but the design was different from the fic one so I had to live of that one art the author of the fanfic did (go check out her tumblr tagged her above she’s great support her on every platform possible or you’ll die)

Anyway ik not a lot of people are reading this but I would like to thank art Jesus, art God and Beyoncé for giving me the motivation to finish this in one day

Uhm that’s the end make sure to support the author love you all bye,!

Scared to post this second thoughts are gonna be the end of me

[neaa25]

i will cut down even the stars in the sky

[paperglader]

So… I did jingliu’s companion mission…

you’re telling me that the only thing that’s been keeping this woman alive is hatred and a promise she made to someone she loved like eons ago… and that the reincarnation of that same woman who she made the promise to told her that she could cure her mental turmoil if only she let herself rid of the torments of the past, and jingliu was like “nope, my pain is the only thing that’s keeping the memory of my loved one alive, so I shall bare it till the stars go dark” TO HER FACE. And then proceded to tell her that even though she couldn’t physically do anything to aid her illness, just by being near her once again, she healed more than any medicine could’ve ever done.

So, she’s doomed by immortality to live her life infinitely with the grief of the loss of the one she loved + the loss of her own sanity, and the guilt of the deeds made whilst she wasn’t lucid in her own body. Believing herself a sinner and a criminal, with no memories of the good times, all stolen by her own mind- with only hatred left towards the people that she once called her friends. A revenge that could never be fulfilled by her own blade. So, she seeks for one last final respite before being locked away at last, to serve her due. She tries one final time to draw blood, to diminish, to sever- to grant a favor, to end a life. And throughout that last display of violence she gets, once again, to see a flash of the face that she had missed so dearly, of a soul she once loved that until then had been stored amongst forgotten phantoms of what once was. In the end neither of them get what they sought. Either way, they are doomed to keep trying still, for eternity. To hate each other. To mourn. To hate themselves, to punish themselves, to punish each other. To kill. To die. To be reborn, yet again, with the same weight on their shoulders and a feeble mind that’s just on the verge of collapse. Sick and tired. Forever.

[topaz-witch-tea]

hello hello hello hello

Hi I would like to know some happy birthday headcanons for Yanqing thank you :)

Hello!!!!

Always so happy to hear from you!!!!

I am answering this the day before my birthday so this is very fun for me!!!😁

Yanqing's birthday is the day Jing Yuan found him and brought him home. They don't know who is parents are nor are there any records of him so his birthday is the day he came into their lives.

Back when Yanqing was in school, before he joined the Cloud Knights, he would have a birthday party with friends on the closest weekend and celebrate only with his family on the day of his actual birthday.

A typical birthday for Yanqing involves him getting the day off from his duties spending the day in the market. Yingxing will sometimes join him and it's usually when he will buy whatever sword Yanqing wants. Meanwhile, Jingliu and Baiheng take the reins in planning and decorating. Back during the days of the HCQ, Baiheng planned birthday parties for everyone and now that war is not an issue, she really goes all out.

During the evening, Yanqing will celebrate dinner with his family, Bailu, Yukong, Qingni, Tingyun, and Fu Xuan. The kitchen staff go all out when it comes to preparing dinner and the flavor of the cake changes every year so it's a surprise for Yanqing as well. Bailu also looks forward to the surprise cake flavor and blocks her calendar out months in advance.

His favorite cakes so far is his 8th birthday cake which was a strawberry and lemon cake and his 13th birthday cake which was chocolate and coffee. He loves all his cakes and he always looks forward to the surprise flavors.

Gifts come last and are usually the most anticipated affair for the younger children. A lot of Yanqing's gifts are swords, sheaths, and other sword related items.

The people who don't give Yanqing swords are Fu Xuan, who usually gives Yanqing books and scrolls for his flute playing; Baiheng, who gets him the latest toys and gadgets (one year he got a cycrane that was able to fly downstairs, get him snacks, and bring them back up); and Tingyun, who gets him trashy wuxia romance novels so they can laugh about it together.

Grandpa Huaiyan usually can't attend but he does send his finest sword to Yanqing every year.

The kids will play together until they completely knock. Yukong will have to carry Qingni and Tingyun home while Bailu sleeps over. The adults can usually tell when it's time to go home since the living room will get mysteriously quiet and the kids are either sleeping on the floor or couch.

For the adults, it's a time for them to get together and drink as much as they want. Half the time they are complaining about work and the other half is them talking about how their children are, except for Fu Xuan, who is enjoying her single, childfree life. :)

For Yanqing's dads, they are always bittersweet about his birthdays. They love that he's growing up and they are always more than happy to celebrate him but him growing up means they can't keep arounds and protect him like they used to.

Thank you for sending me the ask and feel free to send in more!!!

[themindcrowave]

recurring jing yuan thoughts #2... a spiderverse AU

so i've been thinking about spiderverse jing yuan lately..... trying to decide whether he's a spider or a gwen/MJ

- if he was a spider he'd be able to travel dimensions,,, he'd definitely have a backstory similar to miguel o'hara's about trying to find a reality where everyone he loved was back together again, but unlike miguel, once that reality inevitably goes wrong he either:

- decides to really focus on his emotional healing and grief processing or

- becomes a compartmentalization master like he is in the game

because either way he knows he can't properly help others and be a leading figure if he can't move past his own grief first. he would rather gnaw through his own arm than push his old emotional scars onto the young spiders he's met and formed family with along his journey. he might have lost his first found family but he'll be damned if he loses his chance at another.

- and then just like in-game, jing yuan will meet the people of his past again... i'm thinking dan heng is a spider from a parallel universe where dan feng's weakened consciousness ended up after he was completely wiped from jing yuan's dimension, so basically dan heng was always his own person of course but then he started having visions of a lifetime parallel to his own lived by someone who looked exactly like him (insert my gwen stacy theory bc WOW does it fit him)

- blade would be kinda like the usual spiderman villain setup where his undying situation is all because of a terrible science accident and his main motivation is to find the ones involved in what happened to him (the og high cloud quintet friend group) and exact vengeance so that maybe he can finally disappear in peace (basically the same as in-game)

- baiheng's death was probably jing yuan's first devastating "canon event". i think he wasn't around to save her when she died (and he couldn't have been, he didn't even know where she was or what happened to her until he heard the news) and that guilt will forever eat away at him... i'm thinking she died in an aircraft accident but i haven't decided what kind yet

- dan feng was a genius scientist. he experimented with a lot of things that he probably shouldn't have and always pushed the boundaries of scientific possibility,, especially after baiheng died. he started secluding himself in his lab and only yingxing ever had any success at visiting him there for any substantial period of time... which is exactly how yingxing got caught up in dan feng's plan to bring baiheng back (think kingpin bringing his family back with the alchemax super-collider) and subsequently cue the horrible accident which turned him into the immortal blade

- oh and then of course jing yuan, being spiderman, has to track down and apprehend dan feng for what he did and decide his sentence (life imprisonment) but dan feng's family clan had him assassinated in prison for reasons jing yuan was never able to completely uncover (and a nagging little part of him will always feel like dan feng's fate was his fault)

- i think jingliu was jing yuan's superhero mentor... not sure if she was a spider too, or just another masked hero in the area who took him under her wing when he was new to his powers. just like in-game, she was the one who introduced him to the rest of the group, and just like in-game she will go completely berserk and become a vigilante with no clear morals or objectives after baiheng dies. like with dan feng, jing yuan has to track her down and try to get her back. unlike with dan feng, jingliu decides that given her shattered mental state the safest option for society as a whole would be for jing yuan to defeat her then and there, once and for all, simultaneously saving the day and proving his graduation from her mentorship. and, well. he did.

- there's yanqing (young spider, official mentee, and unofficial son of jing yuan) thoughts rattling around in here too, but words are difficult so unfortunately you'll have to put your full imagination to work here and just try to feel the "i'm-putting-this-character-in-a-jar-and-shaking-it-like-a-mixed-drink" vibes for yourself! cheers

[lowkeyren]

ren we need to talk.

i find the fact that you put a false text message between you and dan heng, my wife, on your pinned post. i know that he’s gorjehorse but we need to establish that i married him first. i hope this letter finds you well and you don’t cry over sugar cookies (sorry if you don’t like those) when i break this news to you. if the false statements are not off of your pinned in 24578 business hours i will have to take this to the court of jellybeans and we both don’t want that.

/silly

i accidentally unfollowed you while trying to submit this BYE

greetings bell, to start off im glad we agree that the wife is gorjus. but,

i'll have you know that we've been married for 49 years, you weren't even an embryo then. thus it is not possible that you married him first.

plus that text message was 100% real AND factual, it is NOT misinformation nor misleading. anyway, you tried, but ill see you in the highest courts of jelylbeans, user mitsvriii.

womp womp, lowkeyren.

BELLTRAYAL??? sentenced to +15 more years for that last offence :/

[youngcreamcheese]

I recently did the whole Jingliu companion quest and OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT MY FEELINGS TOWARDS JING YUAN

I really love Jing Yuan during the end I felt so bad for him like the whole time I was doing the whole quest I was just thinking about how Jing Yuan must feel cause these were once all his closet friends in the Luofu practically his family and I get all of them have their own problems and issues but I feel like so many people overlook Jing Yuan he's the only one out of all the quintet to still remain normal and basically watch all his friends drift away to insanity, anger, or not even remember any of them, he had to witness Jingliu leave the Luofu after literally losing her mind and going on a murder spree, Baiheng be kia in the war with Shuhu, Blade be shunned from the Luofu and be forced to have immortality after helping Dan Feng, and watch Dan Feng be forced to be punished and reincarnated against his own will along with having to BANISH HIM FROM THE LUOFU HIMSELF and somehow he just manages to be composed like oh MY god he witnessed all his friends separate and the only people he could call family are now almost complete strangers and he can't do anything about it because what's done is done now he's seeing Dan Heng leave the Luofu and go back on the express, Blade continue living an endless life of immortality, and Jingliu finally be punished for her crimes I can only imagine the pain he felt when they all parted ways at the end.

[onelastchorus]

hc that baiheng had just the biggest older sister vibes. like, yingxing was her baby. she teased the hell out of him over everything and they got lunch together several times a week when she was on the luofu, her dragging him out of the forge blabbering about the latest intergalatic gossip and how he needs to get out more and eat his meals. she was endlessly endeared by jing yuan, always indulging him in seemingly unrealistic ambitions and telling him equally fantastical stories of her journeys across the stars and narrow escapes from peril and despite dan feng technically being older than her, she wasn't ever intimidated by him nor his title. instead she looked at him and saw a kind of humanity he never let himself see in himself. she would've tried to shouldered so many of his burdens if he ever let her in.

[r3nblade]

[avnasace]

genuinely think its so cool how in all of the so far playable members of the high cloud quintets character demo music, they all have that one theme that we first hear at the start of jing yuans.

in jing yuans it starts with it being really loud and prevalent but becoming more almost refined or elegant?

in blades we hear it subtly but distorted or possibly inverted? i cant tell. it fades out into calm during the scene with yingxing but then reappears (in a different way) at the part in the trailer where dan heng appears, maybe a representation of memories triggering mara?

in jingliu its even subtler and simplified, the conclusion i draw maybe is her emotions kind of freezing off and her getting more distant, almost mirrored in blades obsession.

i also thought of it as perhaps the theme isnt so much the high cloud quintet theme but just the jing yuan theme and it being equated to their perception of jy or something? as for jinglius being subtler, jy did mention they were never particularly close as shes quite closed off (this idea would probably fit with what i said about the others)

dan heng only seems to have a very quiet echo of it for a few seconds, it disappears but it then reappears and gets louder? which to me is giving the idea of df disappearing and dh embracing his heritage and making it his own kinda thing? or in regards to jy it could be the glimpse of jy he saw when jy freed him, and it turning into genuine trust or something?

im probably overanalysing but anyway, i love this game and its music, the beautiful piece of music from the lunar new year short with all its intertwining themes from both other animated shorts plus a few character themes inspired this basically and it spiralled from there asksjdjwis

[artheresy]

God I thought Blade’s hair was hard to draw with those like two layers of Anime Hair Vents

But Jing Yuan?s oh my GOD why is his hair like that, it’s so painful to try to draw and make sense of… JY my man, why are you making my life so hard

[wooawi]

‼️Honkai Star Rail Spoilers‼️

Ok, if I’m getting this right, Blade is chasing down Dan Heng not because Dan Feng did something bad to him, but because he thinks Dan Feng is running away from his crimes. They both planned out creating new Vidyadhara life and performed their (highly illegal and taboo) experiment on Baiheng (“the beloved”) when she was killed in battle because they didn’t want to lose her. She was then reborn as Bailu (“an abomination”), a half Foxian or human(?), half Vidyadhara creature. And somehow, that ended with Yingxing becoming Blade (mara-struck) and Dan Feng getting caught and punished.

So Blade being mara-struck and subsequently losing his mind made him either forget or miss Dan Feng’s punishment (imprisonment and forced molting). As a result, he thinks Dan Feng absconded the scene of the crime to live as Dan Heng. Now he’s chasing down Dan Heng to make sure the proper punishment is dealt.

At the same time, Jingliu’s chasing him, as we can see from Yanqing’s story quest. Sometime between Blade waking up with immortality to him losing his mind, Jingliu killed him thousands of times. She tortured him for ages, reason unknown. (Might have something to do with Yingxing being partly responsible for Baiheng’s resurrection as a monster, the same monster Jingliu had to kill. Or, could just be for funsies lmao).

Every time Blade and Jingliu meet up (or she finds him), they spar to the death. And each and every time, Blade survives and either escapes or is let go.

Speaking of Jingliu, there’s also her phrase Blade keeps repeating. Of 5 (the High Cloud Quintet), 3 must pay a price for committing the sin of immortality. Blade/Yingxing with immortality and becoming mara-struck, Dan Feng with imprisonment and forced molting, and Baiheng with becoming an abomination. But Blade thinks Dan Feng hasn’t paid yet.

.

.

.

Damn, I know Blade’s going insane and is barely hanging on to his memories, but come on man. Who fakes their own death to escape a crime and starts a new life with only one letter of their name changed?

[jar-of-maise]

hcq: jing yuan & yingxing drabble

“What kind of women do you like, Shi-xiong?” Jing Yuan asks one day, when he has a rare free day. He is sitting on one of Yingxing’s workbenches, that annoying little brat. It’s not even like Yingxing has invited him before, it just so happens that Jing Yuan came once, once and wasn’t immediately evicted by Yingxing. Now he won’t leave. 

Maybe Yingxing is also a convenient babysitter. Jingliu probably thinks so, given how she doesn’t reprimand Jing Yuan for idling around the Artisanship Commission…until he’s slacking off on official training. 

“What sort of question is that?” YIngxing asks in bewilderment, nearly hitting his thumb with his hammer in surprise. Though he misses just slightly, he still glares at the fluffy, white-haired boy who shrugs and says, “you didn’t hit yourself though. Isn’t that proof of your forging prowess?” Yingxing would be flattered…but this is Jing Yuan who’s complimenting him, which is like being mocked more than anything else.

“That was luck you brat,” Yingxing snorts, paying closer attention to his work this time when he examines the metal. Deciding that he was going to ignore that unruly child for real this time. 

Jing Yuan watches him for a minute, nose scrunching up as he scrutinises Yingxing’s work. He doesn’t know the first thing about forging but that won’t stop him from running his mouth just to annoy the middle-aged man whenever he can. It’s fun, and gives him a lot more pleasure than studying scrolls. He’s already trying to think of a way to annoy Yingxing, he just needs a starting point…

“Sooo,” Jing Yuan begins, and Yingxing actually stops looking at his work to fix him with a deadpan stare, “I don’t want to hear it, Shi-di,” he grumbles, his frown only deepening when Jing Yuan’s cheeky amber eyes begin to sparkle with mischief. 

It’s not a look he minds seeing on most kids’ faces, but coming from Jing Yuan, who is a master schemer of pranks, it feels horrid. Like adding insult to injury. And as the victim of many of Jing Yuan and Baiheng pranks, or aeon-forbid a prank they’ve both planned, Yingxing isn’t keen on entertaining Jing Yuan’s antics. 

Well, he tolerates them anyway, because Jingliu will very sincerely murder him if anything happens to this irritating, fluffy ball of sunshine. Or at least, that’s what Yingxing tells himself, especially because he’s totally never ended up laughing over Jing Yuan’s antics before. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jing Yuan insists, the prolonged silence not enough to disturb his conviction. 

Yingxing blinks once, then, out of impulse, says, “answer mine first.” 

“That’s not how that works!” Jing Yuan exclaims, and Yingxing swears that he sees Jing Yuan’s hair become two times fluffier than it usually is when the boy puffs up in agitation. He almost wants to laugh but keeps the amusement tucked behind his lips, where it threatens to bubble over anyways. 

“I’m older, so you should respect your elders. Answer my question first.” Yingxing says, waiting for Jing Yuan to rise to his provocations. 

Obviously the bait is taken. Especially because Jing Yuan looks indignant, like he’s about to pull out his sword and poke one of Yingxing’s eyeballs out. With how Yingxing is taunting him, it might actually happen. 

“Hmph, fine.” Jing Yuan relents, crossing his arms over his chest like the petulant child that he is, “I’m just curious, I mean, surely you’d have a type right?” 

Yingxing feels a vein pop in his temple, “well definitely not a loud person then,” he says, it’s intended to be a direct hint to Jing Yuan, one that the child doesn’t pick up on. With Jing Yuan’s smarts it definitely wasn’t out of ignorance for the sarcastic quip. 

“And?” Jing Yuan says, attentively listening with a rapture that Yingxing wishes he could show in a time that wasn’t now. 

“What else?”

Jing Yuan looks at him incredulously, like he’s grown two heads, “there has to be more! An old man like you has got to have some kind of idea of their ideal partner or something!” 

“I– Did you just call me an old man?” Yingxing demands, picking up a prototype sword and pointing it at Jing Yuan threateningly. 

“So what if I did? I bet you like mature old ladies too!” Jing Yuan taunts, “old hags for the ancient old grandpa,” he tries to chant, though failing miserably because of the lack of rhyme. 

Yingxing hits Jing Yuan on the head with the flat side of his blade, “this is why you don’t slack off in your studies, young one,” he chides, “and my type aren’t old hags,” he says, putting extra emphasis on the last part. 

“So you do have a type!” Jing Yuan crones, eyes lighting up excitedly. 

Yingxing rolls his eyes, “everyone has their own preferences, it’s natural.” 

“That’s why you should tell me!” Suddenly Jing Yuan gasps, and Yingxing feels his stomach fall to the floor, “you aren’t ashamed of your type…are you?” 

Yingxing’s brow twitches, “am not,” he says shortly.

“Are you sure?” Jing Yuan’s eyebrows disappear into his snowy white fringe with obvious suspicion. 

“One hundred percent,” Yingxing deadpans, fixing the boy with a flat, unimpressed look. 

“So–” Jing Yuan begins, “no you’ve already used up your questions for the day. Shoo,” Yingxing interrupts, waving his hand dismissively. 

“Aw, at least spar with me,” Jing Yuan whines, “I’m so lonely,” he adds, like it will help his case. 

“Go bother Baiheng or Dan Feng,” Yingxing says, “I’m busy.” 

“You’re on a first name basis with Dan Feng?!” Jing Yuan exclaims, his round eyes betraying his surprise, “Aeons I thought you hated each other!” 

Yingxing smiles enigmatically, in the exact way that he knows will annoy Jing Yuan the most, “that’s why you pay attention kiddo.” 

Jing Yuan puffs up his cheeks. Yingxing takes a certain kind of pleasure in riling him up, and simply laughs, patting Jing Yuan’s shoulder in the most aggravating way he can. Before Yingxing can return to his work though, the child is immediately bouncing over to him, “can you spar with me?” 

“Why?” 

“You know, because…hey! Stop bullying me!” Jing Yuan exclaims when Yingxing turns away when he’s midway through his sentence and begins to polish a sword absently. 

“Mhm,” Yingxing says noncommittally, dodging Jing Yuan’s punch when the boy aims for his stomach, judging by the way Jing Yuan maintains his balance, his close combat must have improved once again. Yingxing has half a mind to ask Jingliu to stop training him so hard before Jing Yuan can outfight a whole Cloud Knight Squadron…not that he isn’t already a child prodigy.

“Come on, shi-xiong,” Jing Yuan pleads, finally managing to land a blow on Yingxing who laughs and parries the next one away with one hand. It’s utterly infuriating. 

Yingxing relents a little, “okay, but only if you say the magic word,” he says persuasively, in the way that adults would speak to a very young child. Apparently some call it parent-ese, a strange term but not illogical. 

Jing Yuan pouts, “why? Stop treating me like a child!” 

“You are one though.” Yingxing retorts, dodging the rain of punches that Jing Yuan tries to hit him with through fits of laughter. 

“Hmph.”

“I’ll only spar with you if you say it. C’mon, what’s the magic word?” 

“...”

Yingxing waits patiently, watching as the gears turn in Jing Yuan’s head as he comes up with and discards answers. He doesn’t know why it’s taking that silly boy so long, it’s only one word. Yingxing smiles to himself, maybe even a genius prodigy child finds some things challenging. Either way, he does not lack time, he is more than willing to wait. 

“...Please…”

Yingxing smiles, he’s already satisfied, but wonders how far he can push the boundaries, “please what?” 

“Please…spar with me, shi-xiong…” Jing Yuan says, with the affected air of reluctance, each word is dragged out of him like a gun is being held to his head. 

YIngxing relents, brushing his hands and removing his apron, “alright, shi-di.” He pats Jing Yuan’s head and watches fondly when the child immediately jumps up and rushes out the doors. He follows behind, as damage control, making sure to apologise to the disgruntled craftsmen who frown at the boy’s back.

When they finish sparring, the sky has darkened, the sun has long set beyond their horizons. Yingxing stops for a minute to admire the sky then continues walking, Jing Yuan is sleeping on his shoulder. He steps into the Cloud Knight dorms where most of the soldiers are already sleeping. The night has only just begun, but the boy in his arms sleeps as though dead to the world. 

The cool wind of the night blows across Yingxing’s cheeks, he makes sure the boy in his arms is covered before he opens a door. 

“I…” the boy mumbles, Yingxing pauses briefly to listen to the child, a tickle of fluffy white hair brushing across his cheek when his head turns.  

“I’ve finally won…” Jing Yuan says, still seized by the dream world where defeat does not exist and goodbyes are not endings. 

Yingxing smiles, compared to everyone else, Jingliu who is already the strongest, Baiheng who commands the astral seas, Dan Feng who is the High Elder of the Vidyadhara and Yingxing himself, this boy has been trying to improve himself everyday. A sun might have already set, and its warmth long lost from the Luofu, but here in his arms, is the sun. The only one the High-Cloud recognises.

He sets the boy down on his bed and lets himself be dragged down too when the boy’s grip does not falter. He waits patiently, for those unrelenting hands to loosen. Lying in the darkness, he pats the boy’s back comfortingly. 

"You will soon be better than everyone, and that will be only the beginning..." He says softly, Jing Yuan rests against his chest, one breath away from snoring. He might be annoying, might be a nosy little brat who doesn’t keep his attitude in check and is impulsive at the worst of times, but watching him now, Yingxing is content. 

Happy that he has such a shi-di. Maybe, he’ll even let Jing Yuan drool on him, just for tonight. 

The moon rises, peeks in through the window and leaves with a satisfied smile. When the sun rises again in the new morning, Jingliu stops at the door and beckons to someone, Baiheng smiles indulgently at them and hides Jingliu’s sword behind her so that the martial artist won’t raise it to hit the slumbering duo. Even Dan Feng lets a rare smile slip through his icy facade when he sees them. 

And neither Yingxing nor Jing Yuan are any wiser when they wake up.