#i think about mu qing every other hour of the day

[yumemiruuuu]

Mu Qing gives off very MARINA vibes

[dazaiandhislovelybandages]

hii~ i hope you’re having a good day/night! i was wondering if you could do Mu Qing from TGCF with the prompt #16. "Don't ever say that name again"? idk why but i can definitely see him being a petty and jealous significant other (gn reader if can please) thank youu <3

A Tiny Bit Of Jealousy {Mu Qing}

A/n: thank you for requesting and I hope you like the outcome. I just wanted to say that a) I am lowkey loving this coloured layout since the photo is for the tgcf manhua and b) I am still three books in tgcf so I am incredibly sorry if this isn't an indepth writing or if his character isn't fully accurate

Pairing: Mu Qing x gn!reader

Trigger warnings: jealousy

You never realised how and when you got in a relationship with Mu Qing and there had been times when you couldn't help but wonder and question the circumstances under which the relationship came to exist. Not in a bad way of course, never in a bad way. But when originally you thought Mu Qing was just not ready to open up to you yet, as the months and years passed by, you realised that he wasn't hiding anything from you.

It was on odd feeling, being with him. After meeting Xie Lian and Hua Cheng and witnessing some parts of their relationship you could say with great certainty that he wasn't as open with you as those two were with each other. He wasn't neglecting you but he wasn't all touchy either. He was just there and if you happened to want cuddles or kisses, you would have to ask.

On that note, he wasn't bad at picking up signs, especially when it came to you. He knew your reactions -he could predict them even-, your likes, your dislikes, your routine. He knew everything because you were open with him. And it went without saying that when it came to you, Mu Qing was an excellent listener. He could sit down and listen to you mumble about the latest gossip in the Heavenly Realm for hours. Did he care? No. But you were the one talking so he would listen to you even if his ears somehow disappear.

Naturally, he also knew every single one of your friends in the Heavenly Realm; and the ones you didn't like that much.

And god he was jealous.

He was jealous of a very few selected people but not in the toxic way. He would never try and get you away from them since he knew that their and your intentions were pure but he couldn't help but envy the fact that they could give you something he thought he couldn't: a good and fun time.

In his mind, Mu Qing thought he was boring you and perhaps that was the only thing he had never been honest with you about. He could never easily laugh, express his feelings without being asked and most of the time he was a little too focused on his work.

And then the day he begged and prayed not to come actually came. He saw you laughing with another god. Now, on the surface there was nothing wrong with it. He had seen you laugh at something another god or goddess had said a million times and it never bothered him.

But this god was Feng Xin.

"Hey!" Your melodic voice echoed around the room as you walked through the pink silk curtains. You didn't have to ask, it was as clear as day that there was something wrong with him. And you didn't have to ask what was wrong either since when the two of you started dating you made a silent agreement: Mu Qing would always tell you in his own time what was wrong.

"Hello." He responded gruffly.

"I just came to check in since I have to do some paperwork." You walked up to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek; a kiss to which he didn't react. "Oh! Feng Xin-"

"Don't ever say that name again!"

His tone was harsh and angry but he didn't raise his voice. Him pulling away was enough to realise that most probably you had said something wrong.

"We'll talk later," was all you said and walked away.

Mu Qing sighed and sat back down at the soft pillow on the floor, closing his eyes. You hadn't done anything wrong, that small part of his brain that could think clearly said so. Laughing and talking with Feng Xin was okay. Not once had Mu Qing thought about controlling you and he would rather die than do it. But it felt like a betrayal of some kind. You knew about his bad relationship with Feng Xin so why on earth did you have to bring him up?

Though if he had to be completely honest with himself... it wasn't the fact that he and Feng Xin were practically enemies that made him angry. It was the fact that not once had he made you laugh like that. He wanted to hear that unique sound he had never heard before once again with all his heart but he didn't want it if he wasn't the one causing it. What good was a partner who didn't make you laugh with all your heart?

"I am sorry," he whispered. He had gathered the courage and later that day, at night to be precise, he had walked all the way to your palace just to apologise. You didn't deserve someone who was as petty as him and he knew it but he needed you.

"I know," you whispered back and took that one step, closing the distance between the two of you with a hug. "You always say things you don't mean when you're angry."

In an ideal world, he would have preferred it if you didn't comment on it. But you did and the truth hurt a little but he deserved it.

Gently, he wrapped his arms around you and placed a soft kiss on your temple. "Should I make up for it? What did that bastard want?"

"You know... I am pretty sure that if I tell you, you'll get angry again."

[sweepingboy]

The gods don't need sleep, but Mu Qing feels like he's going to go insane if he doesn't lie down for a couple hours. It's been a very fucking long day, from the former Heavenly Emperor's mental games, during which he was reminded of all his sins, to Hua Cheng's death. His body, all burned and cut, aching, the wounds reluctantly healing.

Mu Qing wants to sleep and he's going to lie down and whoever wakes him up from his well deserved dream has only himself to blame, thinks he drifting away.

A rustle brings him back to consciousness. Mu Qing opens his eyes and realizes that someone is holding an object near his face. He abruptly grabs the intruder's hand and glares. The person - Feng Xin - is clearly discouraged, eyes wide in shock.

"What the hell are you doing" Mu Qing hisses.

"I-" the god is panicking, his face getting redder with every passing second. General Xuan Zhen narrows his eyes and his gase travels down the other god's arm; in his hand there is a misty mirror.

"Were you checking my breath?"

Feng Xin surrenders "You looked awful" he snaps "had to make sure you're still alive"

Mu Qing feels the corners of his mouth twitching slightly "Were you worried about me, general?"

Feng Xin clicks his tongue and shakes the man's grip off his arm "That's what f-f-friends tend to do, yes, fuck you" he huffs.

"Well, I'm not planning to die any soon, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Feng Xin rolls his eyes." Good" he says and exits the room leaving Mu Qing with something warm in his chest. He shakes his head and lies back down on the bed. He should get some sleep after all - he's already going crazy.

[kanonavi]

hello tumblr user kanonavi who is 1/3rd of the reason i started rereading tgcf. i have come to collect my personal apology for the emotional damages inflicted upon me for the past 5 days. and i have also come with THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS (mostly feelings)

- icb i put off this reread so long hualian are so romance. theyre jsut Romance......... absolutely floored by every throwaway bit of dialogue they had....... in shambles forever....,

- sqx arc was not as painful as the first few times i read it bc i now stand with my cancelled wife (he xuan) I STILL LOVE SQX AND THEY DESERVE EVERYTHING GOOD. BUT HX WAS REAL FOR ALL OF THAT. i love revenge

- i wanna know your thoughts on ling wen bc u mentioned having mixed feelings on her but i loved her so bad all the way to the end so im curious ljdkdjf

- i am not immune to backstory arc pt2. read it last last (?) night at like 3am and cried myself to sleep its just so gutting every timeeeeeee.... the hc plot that builds in that arc is ofc one of my favorites in the entire novel though :')

- the chapter w the cave of statues took me like 2+ hours to get through because i was feeling so insane abt it

i feel bad dropping this block of text in ur askbox sorry. will leave it there for now LOL

Omg hiiiii tumblr user stardust-make-a-wish welcome back from the yaoi cocaine pit :3 I know you're here to collect emotional damages, but I must make it known that I'm not even remotely sorry <3

Also you should feel bad for yourself instead of for me because I can only respond to huge blocks of text with even bigger blocks of text, so (TGCF Spoilers Ahead) and also I am so sorry lmaooooo

UGH you're so right that hualian is the most romance forever they are just so *clenches fists and sobs*....... They're always there for each other and they're so in love and they've been through so much and I just want them to be able to rest because it's what they deserve.

I will never once say that Hu Xuan wasn't justified in everything he did cuz like. Shi Wudu had it coming what a piece of shit. But at the same time Qingxuan is my wife and I will not tolerate my wife being harmed. So like revenge slay yes but also I am still cancelling He Xuan and spraying him with the water bottle (even though he is already very very damp).

Yesyesyes Ling Wen. So my thought about Ling Wen is that she kinda girlbossed a little too close to the sun, but at the same time you look at her circumstances both past and present and have to understand why she did all of that. It already would have been hard enough for her to gain any kind of recognition as a woman, much less in the Heavenly Court, so her ruthlessness is completely understandable. But at the same time, I don't really think the Brocade Immortal deserved what she did to him nor was taking Bai Wuxiang's side in the final conflict a real cool thing of her to do. I can't fully be a hater though because her own thoughts about everything are clearly so nuanced (See: The final convo she had with Xie Lian about the Brocade Immortal, which I am still thinking so incredibly hard about to this day).

I think that Ling Wen is interesting in the same way that I find other characters like Mu Qing, He Xuan, and Yin Yu interesting. It's in the sense that even if I don't really agree with all of the actions that they took, it's very easy to look at them and come to an understanding of why they did what they did. And I have varying degrees of like for all of the characters I just listed, but that doesn't change the fact that they're all Compelling. So it's almost like a begrudging respect that I feel for Ling Wen, if I were to boil it down into simple terms.

aaaaaaaaaa The Horrors(tm) :sob: Even though I could talk about Xie Lian's arc through that part of his backstory for a million years, you're so right that Hua Cheng's arc through it is also so interesting to watch. It really goes to prove that Hua Cheng is different from everyone else in Xie Lian's life up until this point, because yes there's the very obvious throughline of Hua Cheng wanting to protect Xie Lian (rather than expecting his protection), but even more importantly that feeling never changes even when Xie Lian has his mini corruption arc.

Like, Hua Cheng fell in love with the pure and virtuous Crown Prince of Xianle but not for that quality. Instead of being ashamed and looking at Xie Lian with scorn when he was like "What if I kill everyone actually" Hua Cheng is like "Then let me be your sword". There's the element of not wanting Xie Lian to dirty himself that Hua Cheng carries for the entire story but the point is in that he is not a voice who would tell Xie Lian to stop having those thoughts if it's truly what he wants (Unlike what his parents or Feng Xin and Mu Qing would probably say).

I'm going to write an essay about their character dynamic one day istg I am chewing through the drywall

The cave statues chapter......... *passes away*. Like on one hand that chapter is so funny because yes Hua Cheng is just an absolute certified freak (POV my roommate telling me earlier on in my reading that HC is a porn addict and me being like "pssht noooo" but then getting to this chapter several months later and being like "O h.") but on the other hand THE CONFESSION??????? Like. All I can do is gesture wildly at the storyboard animatic that someone made of that scene on YouTube while absolutely fucking sobbing. There is a reason why the cover of volume 6 felt somehow more intimate than the cover of volume 4 where they're literally making out.

Anyway I'm patting Hua Cheng on the head like It's okay buddy Xie Lian loves you because you're a certified freak, he's seen too much of this world to be weirded out even a little bit. Which is why those two are perfect for each other <3

I'm glad you had so much fun on your reread, have fun with the brainworms :3

[princessshikky]

In case there is another person here who for some reason wanted a TGCF/TUA fusion plotbunny... This is loosely inspired by the TGCF fanfic Nude Dinner by the incredible hoarder_of_stories (btw, I highly recommend to check out their other works: very sweet and comforting, also you can just feel that the author is enjoying their work, it's always cool when the text transfers that feeling).

So. Jun Wu is the eccentric billionaire who buys and adopts seven kids with superpowers and they grow up in a toxic environment.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin are number one and number two respectively. They are constantly arguing with each other and with everyone else around them except for Xie Lian. When Xie Lian left home to live on his own, fengqing left with him, but Mu Qing couldn't handle this life for long and wanted to come back home, which lead to his argument and subsequent breakup with Feng Xin and Xie Lian. Mu Qing also spent years trying to "make amends" for his "mistake" and win back Jun Wu's favor. He's the only one who stayed with Jun Wu until the end.

Feng Xin quickly started an affair with a girl his age (Jian Lang), she got pregnant, Jun Wu found out and tried to pay her to keep the baby, give it to Jun Wu and never see the child again (he wanted to see whether the second generation would inherit the special abilities). Jian Lang wanted nothing to do with it, had an abortion, confronted Feng Xin about the whole story and broke up with him. They never saw each other after that. In the present timeline Feng Xin works as a coach in a local gym, he also participates in fighting matches sometimes.

Yin Yu is number three. He constantly felt underappreciated and ignored, angry that Quan Yizhen was praised more than him. Eventually he got so angry he had a fight with Quan Yizhen and ran away. In the present he works for Hua Cheng (who wanted to be closer to Xie Lian and grabbed the chance to meet Xie Lian's sibling, that didn't go as planned).

Quan Yizhen is number four. He adored Yin Yu, so after Yin Yu left Quan Yizhen also didn't stay home for long. He became a successful and popular athlete with a ton of endorsements. He also doesn't hold any resentments against his siblings.

Shi Qingxuan is number five, he can speak with the souls of the deceased. His ability is pretty useless in combat, so he didn't go to the missions all that often. When Shi Qingxuan was still a teenager his biological older brother, Shi Wudu, started looking for him and demanded the right to see him (Shi Wudu could only do it once he was of legal age, which is why it took so long). Jun Wu refused, so Shi Wudu started a crusade, went to the papers, to the Committee for the Affairs of Minors and to court -- all to get Shi Qingxuan away from the abusive environment. He eventually succeeded. The rest of the siblings desperately envy Shi Qingxuan since they don't have loving biological family willing to go through hell for them. Nevertheless, Shi Qingxuan is such a likable person it's hard to resent him. He is another family members who doesn't hold any grudges against his siblings and loves them all equally (except for Shi Wudu, who is his absolute favorite).

He Xuan is number six (deceased). Shi Qingxuan is the only one able to see him and communicate with him. He Xuan absolutely despises Shi Wudu because of jealousy: he used to be closest to Shi Qingxuan and believes Shi Qingxuan doesn't pay him as much attention now.

Xie Lian is number seven and Jun Wu's favorite, which didn't win him any favors among the other siblings (actually Jun Wu made a conscious attempt to isolate Xie Lian from the rest of the family and make him dependent on Jun Wu's approval precisely because Xie Lian is really his favorite). Xie Lian didn't have super abilities but still wanted to be a superhero and save people like the rest of his siblings, which lead to him constatly arguing with Jun Wu. Eventually he was the first to leave the Academy. He lived with fengqing at first, then they broke up and went their own separate ways. The first year on his own was the most difficult, as Xie Lian couldn't find any job and barely had any food to eat. Officially it was because the whole family was homeschooled and Xie Lian lacked any certificate of education, but actually Jun Wu secretly did everything in his power to ensure no one would hire Xie Lian, hoping Xie Lian would "come to his senses" and come back home. However, Xie Lian was stubborn enough to survive and eventually get a stable job. He still doesn't have higher education because it's expensive and time-consuming, but his living conditions are better in the present.

At the start of the plot Jun Wu suddenly dies and the whole family (including Shi Wudu as Shi Qingxuan's moral support) comes to the funeral. Mu Qing tries to say that something about the death is suspicious (some of Jun Wu's documents are missing), but no one is willing to support him (to be fair, even if Jun Wu died from fifty knife wounds, the siblings would be like "eh, what a tragic accident, nothing suspicious here"). There are no timey-wimey shenanigans, just Mu Qing trying to investigate Jun Wu's death and the rest of the family reluctantly working with him or refusing to cooperate (i.e. Yin Yu doesn't tell where he spent the night of Jun Wu's death or where he works because he hasn't seen his siblings in years, they're practically strangers, and he doesn't want these strangers to come to his workplace or something, esp. since he works for a stalker obsessed with one of the aforementioned siblings). The family communicates, unearthes some old grudges and family secrets (fengqing spend two hours yelling at each other over a broken gameboy personally gifted by Jun Wu).

Xie Lian goes for a walk and accidentally meets a guy named San Lang (it was raining, Xie Lian didn't have an umbrella, so San Lang walked him to his apartment, Xie Lian invited him in and made him tea etc). They start dating. San Lang is very supportive of Xie Lian, spends a lot of time with him, makes him insanely personalised gifts. Fengqing are suspicious and try to convince Xie Lian that this guy is weird and his social network profiles seem fake. They even break into San Lang's appartment but find nothing out of the ordinary (they didn't have time to sneak into the attic and discover the Xie Lian Stalker Shrine).

Xie Lian starts seeing nightmares of a man in white clothes and white mask. He used to have these nightmares often in the past, when he was a child, then Jun Wu administered him some pills and the nightmares stopped. Xie Lian thinks this is his psyche's reaction to Jun Wu's death. When San Lang finds out, he offers to pay for the therapist sessions (Xie Lian refuses) and maybe adjust the dosage of the medicine (Xie Lian agrees to try). Soon Xie Lian runs out of the pills, forgets to get a new bottle, and San Lang convinces him to try to quit. Xie Lian feels better and also starts to suspect that he may have superpowers after all. San Lang and Xie Lian work together to try and develop Xie Lian's abilities. It doesn't really go anywhere until a tragic accident: Xie Lian and San Lang are attacked at the street, San Lang is injured (and looses his eye in the fight), Xie Lian uses his abilities to protect San Lang. San Lang now wears an eyepatch.

Fengqing still keep their investigation, find out that Yin Yu works for "San Lang" and that "San Lang"'s name is actually Hua Cheng. They come to Xie Lian with this information, but Xie Lian refuses to believe them. Fengqing and Xie Lian have a huge argument, remember every one of their old grudges, Xie Lian hotly says that San Lang is way better to him than his family and even helps him develop his abilities. Hua Cheng arrives in the middle of the argument, takes Xie Lian's side and throws fengqing out. In a conversation with Xie Lian he either denies the accusations or gives a rational explanation (i.e. "San Lang is my childhood nickname, I like it better than my name, that's why I never used my actual name with you").

The next day, once Mu Qing had a chance to calm down, he starts thinking: how come Xie Lian has abilities now? He decides Jun Wu must have known something and tries to look at Jun Wu's documents, finds evidence of Jun Wu knowing, but most of the information was in the documents that are missing. The other siblings deny having anything to do with it. Mu Qing turns to Ling Wen -- the AI developed by Jun Wu. Mu Qing, Ling Wen and Feng Xin manage to break into Jun Wu's computer, decode his files and access the security camera records.

Turns out, Jun Wu also had superpowers: he could get into other people's dreams and control their minds. He was the one who sent Xie Lian nightmares and made everyone forget Xie Lian had powers. He also documented everything and placed hidden cameras all over the house. Fengqing watch the records of the day Jun Wu died (there is only image but no sound) and see Hua Cheng break into Jun Wu's study room, find and read some of the documents. Jun Wu enters the room, it looks like he and Hua Cheng have an argument, Hua Cheng storms out taking the documents with him. After he leaves, Jun Wu clutches his chest and falls on the floor.

Fengqing go to speak to Xie Lian again, this time with the records. Xie Lian is shocked, but he believes them now. Together they search Hua Cheng's house, find Jun Wu's documents, which hold detailed descriptions of Xie Lian's abilities and how to access them. They also find the stalker shrine with paintings of Xie Lian, pictures of Xie Lian obviously taken without his knowledge, a couple of statues and some pornographic images of Xie Lian. Fengqing demand Xie Lian dumps "this creep" right this second, but Xie Lian still insists there must be a proper explanation. He even tries to call Hua Cheng. Eventually they reach a compromise: they need to go to Yin Yu and speak to him, since he works for Hua Cheng and must know something.

Yin Yu tells them the following: a long time ago, when Xie Lian was trying to be a superhero, he saved a young Hua Cheng. Ever since that time Hua Cheng became obsessed with Xie Lian, started gathering all available information about the Umbrella Academy, but there was nothing about Xie Lian there. After Shi Wudu's campain against Jun Wu the Academy's dirty laundry got into papers, Hua Cheng figured Xie Lian had been abused and it was Hua Cheng's turn to save him. However, by the time Hua Cheng finally had all the money and resources Xie Lian had long left the house and built himself a new life. Hua Cheng found him and started stalking him, taking pictures etc. He didn't try to meet Xie Lian in person because he was ashamed: he failed and didn't help Xie Lian when Xie Lian needed it most. Hua Cheng still employed Yin Yu and regularly questioned him about Xie Lian because he wanted to know every little detail. One of their conversations made him think of something he didn't share and start a secret project Yin Yu wasn't involved in. That's all he knows.

Fengqing are furious with Yin Yu for doing something like that to his sibling. Yin Yu yells at them, saying that even though Mu Qing, Feng Xin and Xie Lian had each other when they left they couldn't hold out long, and Yin Yu was completely on his own and Hua Cheng saved him. Fengqing don't know Hua Cheng, he's actually a good person, they shouldn't judge him by his hobbies. Xie Lian interferes saying they need to talk to Hua Cheng anyway, to question him about the circumstances of Jun Wu's death. Xie Lian calls Hua Cheng and invites him to the Academy mansion, fengqing gather the rest of their siblings. Together they interrogate Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng doesn't deny the stalking but he denies being responsible for Jun Wu's death. According to him, his conversation with Yin Yu helped him guess Jun Wu was super shady, Hua Cheng managed to hack his computer, couldn't decypher the files but accessed the camera records and saw where Jun Wu kept his documents. He broke into Jun Wu's room, read his diaries, found out about Xie Lian's abilities and confronted Jun Wu about it, promising to disclose that information to Xie Lian. Hua Cheng "accidentally" ran into Xie Lian at the street, stole his medicine, hired some thugs to beat him in front of Xie Lian -- all to help Xie Lian unlock his powers.

Fengqing still believe Hua Cheng must be somehow responsible for Jun Wu's death. Yin Yu stands up for Hua Cheng and suggests Shi Qingxuan uses his ability to talk to Jun Wu's ghost and find out for certain. Shi Wudu is against that: he doesn't want Shi Qingxuan to talk to his abusive father, and it's hard for Shi Qingxuan to use his powers. However, Shi Qingxuan is willing to give it a try, mostly for Xie Lian's sake. He cannot summon Jun Wu's ghost, but he talks to the ghosts of Jun Wu's former friends, whom Jun Wu murdered and buried in the mansion's garden. The ghosts have haunted the mansion for a long time and have seen the confrontation with their own eyes. They confirm Hua Cheng's version of events.

Fengqing are still against Hua Cheng and don't want him anywhere near Xie Lian, but Xie Lian says he's not a child anymore, he won't let anyone else make decisions for him, and if fengqing want to stay in his life, they need to accept that. He's fine with having Hua Cheng as a partner, and his opinion is the only one that matters in this regard.

Hualian leave. A few days later Feng Xin comes to talk to Mu Qing: he believes Jun Wu died because he couldn't stand the thought of losing Xie Lian's love forever. Mu Qing has a different theory: Jun Wu deliberately stopped his own heart and killed himself, because he wanted Xie Lian to feel guilty for his death and to come back to the Academy because of that. Xie Lian personally thinks it doesn't matter: he has stopped looking for Jun Wu's approval a long time ago. Whatever Jun Wu's motives, he will not be able to ruin Xie Lian's life.

...

Cue the second season where the whole gang timetravels to 800 years ago, Xie Lian becomes an evil overlord with Hua Cheng being his right hand, Ling Wen tries to get a human body, Lang Qianqiu can copy other people's superabilities and Jun Wu turns out to be a literal alien.

Miscellaneous:

Mu Qing and Feng Xin are based on Luther and Diego, so their superpowers are superstrength and the ability to control projectiles respectively. Yin Yu can turn invisible, Quan Yizhen has superspeed, Shi Qingxuan speaks to the dead, He Xuan could summon tentacles, and Xie Lian is based on Vanya so he controls sound waves.

As a child, Xie Lian was closest to fengqing, Quan Yizhen adored Yin Yu (he still does), Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan were inseparable. In the present Shi Qingxuan is the only one in touch with all of the other siblings. Quan Yizhen is close to Xie Lian and constantly tries to give him money (he is also looking for Yin Yu). No one else is on speaking terms.

BTW, Xie Lian is trans, because a) why not, b) it was inspired by a fic with trans!Xie Lian and c) Xie Lian's plotline is based on Vanya's and Vanya is trans, fight me on this.

[aprilfayelikes]

So I’m reading TGCF... (part 4)

Welcome to the 4th part of my TGCF readthrough. I’ve just finished the first book, and let me tell you, this is the cruelest ending ever! So naturally, I had to continue my lovely suffering with the second book... (If you can’t tell, I really love this story:D) Warning: SPOILERS!  Stick around if you have already read TGCF from chapter 58 to chapter 74

Chapter 58

(We’re back in the past at the Shangyuan Festival. The crown prince is late but he plays the part of the God-Pleasing Martial Warrior, so the Guoshi is very angry. Mu Qing who plays the ghost reports that Xie Lian promised to be there on time and they should just start the show. So they do. The crown prince arrives and everything goes according to plan, but a small child falls from the city wall, and Xie Lian abandons the play and his mask to save him) - FCUK! You’re joking, right?! We’re reminiscing?! Right now?! No way! Please, no! Why now? After that awful cliff-hanger?! This is torture! - Not like I wouldn’t be interested in the backstory, but still... - FUCK! Let me cry in the corner for a short minute or hour or day..... T.T - ‘K, I’m done. - No, I’m not! *goes back to the corner to cry* T.T - This amount of praise must put a lot of pressure on someone. I’d break under the weight. Like you constantly have to live up to the expectations. And the expectations are sky-high. - Nice catch!:D

Chapter 59

(Not only does he lose his mask, the parade circles the city three times, which only guarantees three years of peace for the country, so the Guoshi is not happy. But it turns out, that the crown prince did send a message about why he will be late, but the Guoshi was busy playing cards and his subordinates hate Mu Qing thus they didn’t let him through. The kid he saved is kind of weird, but they let him go) - Xie Lian is very spoiled. He’s a nice and naive prince who’s completely detached from reality. - I love these three together. They are fun:D Xie Lian is fun. He’s too carefree and definitely spoiled but fun:)

Chapter 60

(The bad omens keep piling up. The kid dirtied Xie Lian’s clothes and he also lost one of his earrings during the performance. Feng Xin and Mu Qing get into an argument. Mu Qing thinks the other one is accusing him of stealing and storms off. Xie Lian tells Feng Xin about how he got to know Mu Qing.) - So he was supposed to be looking fluid in gender as a god? I love this idea. And it somehow suits Xie Lian, as well:D - Also he pierced his ears just for the performance:) - ‘He really didn’t bring a lot with him. Only two carriages full of books, and two hundred treasured swords.’ Pft... yeah, that’s not much AT ALL.

Chapter 61-64

(They go after Mu Qing and see him being bullied. Xie Lian not only helps him out but invites him to keep him company while visiting the palace. In the palace, we realize that although he loves his mom, his not on great terms with his father. Qi Rong is also a little troublemaker. He got a carriage for his birthday and he almost trampled pedestrians but doesn’t even care about it. The crown prince demands his mother to confiscate the cart. Qi Rong throws a fit and almost charges at Mu Qing. Then later when Xie Lian offers to visit Mu Qing’s mom, they see Qi Rong dragging a human body behind his carriage. The boys stop him and Xie Lian finds out, he captured the kid he rescued and whom his cousin blames for the misfortune of the Shangyuan Festival. While Qi Rong tries to attack the kid, Feng Xin breaks his hand)   - Mu Qing is being bullied. I start to understand where his complexes are coming from. - How can the crown prince casually stroll around in the slums? Does no one want to capture him? Does no one recognize him? Does no one want to steal from him? - Qi Rong was also disgusting as a human. - Poor kid! His name is Hong, that’s cute. :) Hong Hong-er:D - When did this happen? When did I get to the 64th chapter? These chapters went by so fast.

Chapter 65

(They take the kid back to the palace, he’s called Hong and is 10 years old. The king, however, demands Feng Xin to be punished for raising his hand on a member of the royal family. So Feng Xin has to break his on hand as an atonement) - Oh, the unimaginable hardships of a prince... (He definitely has an incredibly easy life, tbh) - Uh... Feng Xin’s hand is broken. Poor angry boy.

Chapter 66

(They head back to Mount Taicang, but the crowd circles them. Instead of blaming him for what happened at the festival, the people are cheering for Xie Lian. He feels he did the right thing saving the kid. So when the Guoshi says otherwise...) - Say what?! So he either kneels before the wall and prays, or the child should lose one of his senses? Why? This makes absolutely zero sense. Chapter 67

(... he cannot accept any penalty and cannot let them punish the kid either. But suddenly, as he is being lectured, all the evil ghosts they kept imprisoned get out and start to circle the kid. The Guoshi says that the kid carries bad luck and no one should touch him, but Xie Lian still holds him and comforts him.) - It’s not your fault, baby Hong, don”t cry! Poor kid! I really can’t. - Sry I don’t know what to write. These chapters are not funny, and you can feel that misery is coming.

Chapter 68

(Xie Lian cannot accept that the kid was born to be unlucky and the Guoshi tries to lecture him again. But he’s stubborn and is willing to oppose even the heavens if he knows, he’s right. The Guoshi feels the crown prince needs more worldly experience, so he lets him descend the mountain to go on an adventure. The kid escapes that night, and not much later Xie Lian ascends) - Yeah, that master is saying something... Xie Lian is very compassionate and lovely and good-natured and stubborn, but also incredibly naive and wants to shoulder everything on his own. This road leads to tragedy.

Chapter 69-70

(Three years later they are building the 8000th golden statue of the crown prince. Qi Rong also visits the shrine and offers prayers, but on the way out, he sees an unkempt man who wants to get to the royal palace then tries to fish out some golden coins of the shrine from the lake. He beats him. Xie Lian interferes; he pushes down his own statue, which is a very bad omen. The man is from Yong’An, the area is suffering from drought and he came for help from the king. He carries the body of his dead child on his back. Xie Lian helps him to burry the child) - I love how the tragedy of a nation is shown through the tragedy of one man. It is shocking and touching and just goes to show how much of a dick Qi Rong truly is. - I finally understand how the conflict between Yong’An and Xianle broke out. - But I also refuse to believe that there were no solutions whatsoever. I mean I get it, it’s hard, but the solution the king chose is definitely not the best one.

Chapter 71

(Xie Lian doesn’t know how to help. The Guoshi warns him that he is a god, not a crown prince, mortal matters shouldn’t concern him anymore. He also mentions that he believes Xie Lian ascended too soon. Since his bloodline is still alive he can’t help but to be concerned and that is going to bring bad luck on him and the kingdom, as well) - Why don’t you just ask some elemental god to help out. Aren’t you like... all in the god club? If you can’t help, somebody else can!  - Aaaand thank God he also realized this. At least the idea is there.

Chapter 72-73

(Xie Lian tries to collect information disguised as an ordinary human when it starts to pour down. He is mesmerized by the rain but hides in a small shrine that happens to be built for him. A small kid is a regular at that shrine. He changes the flower in the hand of the statue every day. Xie Lian becomes invisible and listens to the child’s prayer. The child asks him what should he live for. And he answers: Live for me. This child happens to be the same child he saved years ago.) - Small Hong is really cute~ - And Xie Lian is really stupid. I understand him and his desperation, but he is too young. His head is full of ideas. His childish. But he tries his best:( I feel for him.

Chapter 74

(As it turns out Xie Lian didn’t have the time to make friends with the other gods yet due to his fast ascension, so no one is willing to help him. He visits the Rain Master, who is not very nice, but he lends him his godly device. However, all this takes too long and a week passes) - Lord Rain Master seems like a dick, too. There are many dicks in this story.

[neoblogcrying]

Day 2: Bliss (a)- Domestic

@liushenweek 

It wasn’t to say that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t teach his own disciples how to fight, but there was something special about having another Peak Lord instruct your disciples. Especially if the other Peak Lord was THE Bai Zhan Peak Lord.

He’d managed to sweet talk his Shidi into instructing his disciples for a day or two upon seeing how many of them truly admired him. (Yes, Ming Fan, he didn’t miss the way you looked at your Liu-Shishu.)

The theory here is that it’s important for all cultivators to be able to fight, even if they were a part of Qing Jing Peak, which prioritized knowledge over fighting.

In the end, what use is your knowledge if you are unable to use it to protect yourself or others?

Likewise, what’s the use of having strength if you’re an absolute imbecile? It’s easy to defeat a meat-headed idiot if they are without thought.

Yes, in other words, they both served as guest instructors for each other’s Peaks. While his disciples enjoyed having the Bai Zhan Peak Lord instructing them… the same couldn’t be said about the disciples on Bai Zhan Peak.

Having those unruly disciples sit down to read scroll was no easy feat, but they all listened after a beating from Liu Qingge.

It is for their own good, they needed to have some basic understanding of demon kind—that was the explanation that was given to them. Also, the student who retained the most information could challenge either Peak Lord to a match, that was the ‘prize’ for the most studious disciple.

Being the fight-crazed disciples that they were, Shen Qingqiu knew that none would challenge him, so he could rest easy and give that right to Liu Qingge. He wouldn’t mind having to take on one of the Bai Zhan Peak’s disciples anyways, so it was a win-win situation for everyone.

What fight-crazed maniac wouldn’t enjoy fighting another fight-crazed maniac? It didn’t need explaining to know that Shen Qingqiu’s visit to Bai Zhan Peak went as well as he thought it would. Wrought with some difficulties, but nothing that couldn’t be handled with a bit of ‘persuasion’.

Shen Qingqiu honestly felt a bit jealous over the fact that the disciples of his own peak took well to Liu Qingge’s guest instructing. However, what he had over Liu Qingge was the fact that the disciples on Qing Jing Peak were all good eggs (while ignoring Ming Fan’s abuse of the protagonist, that is!).

As it was imperative for him to be a treasure trove of information, Shen Qingqiu took advantage of this time to review the literature in the library. It would do no one any good if he forgot important information in a life or death situation.

Aside from his personal room, he liked this place the best. The room was kept clean, and this was reflected in the air—it was fresh.

It was reminiscent of the libraries back on Earth.

Sitting next to a window that cast a natural light onto the scroll, he had a scroll laid across his lap, eyes gliding over all the words carefully brushed onto the delicate paper. There wasn’t a table situated at the back of the room, so Shen Qingqiu leaned up against the wall with nothing but his lap to serve as his table.

This wasn’t good for his back, but he was sure that doing this for only a couple of hours for one day wouldn’t cause too much damage. Therefore: it’s fine.

Whoever wrote this scroll took immense care to write beautifully. Shen Qingqiu never stopped praising every gentle curve and stroke.

It would be a lie to say it didn’t take getting used to, but it was the standard he had to live up to, and he secretly practiced how to emulate the writing style. As the stand-in for the proud Shen Qingqiu, he had to have a beautiful and scholarly style!

As a man who loved to read, the library was a wonderful place to pass the time in. There was so much information stored away in the scrolls lined neatly on the shelves.

He could already hear people preaching at him about how his posture wasn’t ergonomically proper, but this is a world of a novel. Ergonomics don’t exist here! IF he had any issue with his back, he only had to seek out Mu Qingfang and get it fixed!

Backtracking to the previous topic, the scroll he had sitting on his lap was an interesting one, as most of them were.

In the countless number of scrolls in this library, he was never bored with the information written inside. The plants that ‘Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’ mentioned in passing, the demons he set up to be the next plot point… but to later discard the idea (creating another plot hole in the process), or even things like ancient legends about mystical creatures were written about in the scrolls.

It was like… he was reading a ‘behind the scenes’ thread for the novel!

You’d have to be crazy to not get excited over this! No matter how much he read, everything was so interesting and fun!

In fact, in this very scroll, it detailed the poisonous b-

BAM!

The window stood directly opposite of the door, so he only needed to look up from the scroll to see Liu Qingge standing there proudly in the doorway. “Liu-Shidi… haven’t I asked you to open doors normally?” He lightly scolded his shidi as he saw that remained of the pitiable door that was once a proud ornate door to the library.

How are you going to apologize to the one who painstakingly crafted that door?

The other man ignored his words, walking past the broken door, pieces snapping underneath his feet. “You weren’t in your room.”

That is to say… his own door was given the same treatment.

Shen Qingqiu could only sigh at the thought, not wanting to think about what became of his door. They’d just replaced his door that morning, but it was kicked down in half a days’ time.

With a heavy heart, Shen Qingqiu rolled up the scroll he was reading, but Liu Qingge stopped him by placing his hand over Shen Qingqiu’s.

“You can continue.” Liu Qingge sat next to Shen Qingqiu with his sword by his side. His sitting posture was so proper and straight, it was hard to imagine he was very comfortable.

Only because he knew everyone was busy with their lessons that he even dared to read while leaning against the wall like he was doing previously.

“Are you sure?” Wouldn’t sitting there as he read scrolls be boring? Ignoring that, wasn’t he supposed to be teaching the disciples still? He could still see daylight shining through the window, so it wasn’t late enough to finish instructing them.

Who would’ve thought that the Bai Zhan peak lord would ignore his duties?

As if Liu Qingge could read what was running through Shen Qingqiu’s mind, he sighed, shaking his head. He casually leaned his back against the wall. “They are self-studying. I don’t want to interrupt your fun, so continue.” Meaning, it looked like Shen Qingqiu was enjoying the scroll he was reading, and he didn’t want to force him to stop reading on his account.

It was rare to see Shen Qingqiu looking happy over something, and it was such a waste to make him stop.

It could be considered boring, but he personally didn’t mind sitting next to Shen Qingqiu in complete silence. Keeping each other company was more than worth his time.

How cute was it of Liu Qingge for conceding to a scroll for the sake of Shen Qingqiu’s happiness? With a gentle smile appearing on his face, Shen Qingqiu reached for Liu Qingge’s hand, interlacing their fingers together. “Hold the other end of the scroll, Shidi. Let’s read together.”

By doing this, he could continue reading the scroll while also spending some quality time with Liu Qingge.

“I only have an hour.” A very meager attempt to remind Shen Qingqiu that he couldn’t stay for too long since he had to go back to instructing the disciples.

“Then read quickly. Afterwards, this Shixhiong can give Shidi a massage as thanks for teaching Qing Jing Peak’s disciples.”

“Hmph.”

Sounds like they had a deal.

[presumenothing]

萧景琰连环懵逼记 // the dumbfounded diaries of xiao jingyan, #3 translated from original post @​ lofter

((obligatory warning: misunderstanding continues. also Lin Chen being an ass.))

[previously: In one day, Sir Su had become his brother, and even shared a bed with him…]

Xiao Jingyan carefully opened his eyes – great! Brother wasn’t here! This was the Eastern Palace! I’m back!

After morning court, Xiao Jingyang summoned the senior minsters from all six divisions. He informed them that scouts at the borders and various countries had sent tipoffs that at the end of the tenth month this year, Da Yu, Northern Yan, Dong Hai, and Ye Qin had plans to invade Liang simultaneously, and tasked them with investigating the truth of this news and preparing beforehand.

Subsequently, Xiao Jingyan continued on to deliberate a plan of response back and forth with the ministers until sundown. On exhaustedly returning to the Eastern Palace, he called Lie Zhanying to a stop just as the latter was about to retreat, and said hesitantly: “Zhanying... you– you go and call Concubine Ning here.”

Lie Zhanying was shocked almost to tears. After all these years, His Highness had finally remembered that he, too, had concubines in his estate? After having made Zhanying constantly worry whether there was something wrong with His Highness’ body...

Brimming with anticipation, Lie Zhanying watched an embarrassed Concubine Ning enter, and excitedly stood guard outside the door. It was good, good that His Highness had finally seen the light. Forget younger children, other estates even already had a fair few grown ones – for a dignified Crown Prince to have not one son or daughter was most improper.

One quarter-hour later, a red-eyed Concubine Ning walked out. Lie Zhanying startled. Was His Highness... this– this fast? He hesitated a moment, and was still hesitating when he moved forward to knock on the door: “Your Highness, do you need me to call someone to bathe you?”

No answer came for ages. Lie Zhanying scratched his head and walked in worriedly. He was surprised to find the Crown Prince with his clothes askew, sitting on the bed with a depressed expression. An intense grief shrouded his very person, as if it couldn’t be dissipated by any means.

Several long moments later, the Crown Prince said, sorrowfully: “Zhanying, perhaps I do need to see a physician.”

On hearing this, Lie Zhanying paled, tumultuous waves of sadness in his heart.

So His Highness... really had something wrong with his body...

After dismissing court the next day, Xiao Jingyan called Meng Zhi to stop. Smiling slightly, he tilted his head and asked: “Meng-qing, you knew about Sir Su’s identity since long ago, did you not?”

Surprised, Meng Zhi hurriedly waved a hand: “Know– know what? Isn’t Sir Su just Sir Su?”

Xiao Jingyan didn’t miss the panic in Meng Zhi’s eyes, and his heart sank – these people really did team up to deceive me.

I... I almost caused Brother’s death...

I can’t blame Brother, that doesn’t mean I can’t blame all of you, does it!

Seeing that Meng Zhi was still looking at him nervously, Xiao Jingya huffed coolly, and said perfunctorily: “It’s nothing, I’m just asking.”

Meng Zhi nodded uneasily, and watched Xiao Jingyan leave with growing alarm. This– this Crown Prince couldn’t have recognised Xiao Shu, right? The more he thought the more afraid he got, and he rushed towards the Su residence.

After meeting Meng Zhi, Mei Changsu quickly had Nie Duo and Xia Dong go hide at the Mu estate, in preparation for Xiao Jingyan to come and confront him. In his heart turned thousands of ideas and an unstoppable fear, as if he was on the guillotine, waiting only for the knife’s swing.

Every last person in the Su residence seemed to have been swept along by this atmosphere, and watched the visiting Xiao Jingyan as if they faced a great enemy. Xiao Jingyan looked at each of their expressions in turn, looked at Mei Changsu sitting across from him, face white as paper, and felt pain in his heart, burning bitterness rushing up to his throat.

This was his brother, was a relative bound to him my blood, was a person who went to such pains to protect him. And since he refused to let Jingyan know, he naturally had his own difficulties – then why should Jingyan expose the truth and sadden him?

“Sir.” Xiao Jingyan clenched his hands into fists, kept a death grip on his urge to acknowledge their relation, and said seriously: “Tipoffs from the borders have reported an urgent military matter, one you would not know of yet. Jingyan came today to discuss this very matter.”

Stunned, Mei Changsu quickly set aside that little bit of personal sentiment in his heart, his expression darkening as he kept asking for more details. Between the two of them, it was late at night before either knew it.

“Thank goodness for Your Highness’ scouts, or I fear that the country of Liang would be at risk of destruction.” Even though they’d worked out a plan of response, Mei Changsu stil felt the lingering trepidation, and couldn’t help the heartfelt words.

Xiao Jingyan nodded with warmth in his gaze. On discussing military matters, it was as if Brother cast off that body frail from illness – it was dazzling. He thought of that ‘future’ Brother, that General of the silver robes and long spear, gentle as jade, and couldn’t help feeling shaken.

Outside, the sky was dark. Xiao Jingyan took a good look at Mei Changsu, saw how he leaned tiredly towards the brazier, coughing unstoppably, and it was as if someone had sliced a chunk right off his beating heart.

I’ll protect him. Xiao Jingyan closed his eyes briefly. I’ll definitely find a way to treat him, I’ll definitely be able to protect him.

Mei Changsu rested for a long while, then suddenly laughed and said: “Your Highness is getting married in a few days. Allow me to congratulate you in advance here, Li Gang will send a present on my behalf when the time comes.”

Xiao Jingyan: “......”

Mei Changsu doubtfully looked at a suddenly-awkward Xiao Jingyan.

“Um... about that.” Xiao Jingyan scratched his head and prevaricated: “I– I might not be getting married...”

“Eh?” Mei Changsu sat up, surprised: “Why is that?”

Xiao Jingyan dropped his gaze, and silently bolstered his strength.

It’s fine, Xiao Jingyan, this is your brother... he’ll know sooner or later... there’s nothing to be embarrassed about...

Mei Changsu watched, completely mystified, as Xiao Jingyan’s face went from green to white, and slowly turned red, as he turned his head to look at the sky and earth but never at himself: “I...... that is, there’s an issue with my body...”

“What does that have to do with the wedding–” Mei Changsu stopped and widened his eyes abruptly: “Your Highness, you’re saying that–––”

“Yes......” Xiao Jingyan nodded in deep grief.

Mei Changsu: “......”

Good heavens! So Xiao Jingyan was actually... actually impotent, was he! No wonder! No wonder he’d never had any children, all these years! I’ve been such an idiot, I didn’t even think of this... Jingyan only found out now, don’t tell me all these years he’s been...

At the thought that Xiao Jingyan could be like him, still a virgin, Mei Changsu couldn’t help a small leap of happiness, and quickly stopped those dangerous thoughts of his in their tracks.

Jingyan is your best friend, how can you be like this! Mei Changsu scolded himself angrily – it must’ve been difficult for Jingyan, all these years...

Xiao Jingyan saw Mei Changsu look at him with a strange sort of tenderness, and suddenly understood that his brother was still unaware that he, too, was impotent as well.

Better not to tell him first, Xiao Jingyan thought worriedly. Brother’s health was so poor... there was no way he could withstand the hit of an ending family line... better to wait for a suitable opportunity and tell him later.

The two were silent for a while, each making their own plans.

“Ahem...” Mei Changsu started hesitantly, carefully considering how to say this so it wouldn’t harm Jingyan’s dignity: “For such a matter, finding a physician might– might not be too suitable... um... I have this quack doctor with me, his medical expertise is not too bad, how about... how about asking him to take a look at you?”

Xiao Jingyan’s face was red as a pig’s liver – he stared steadily at the brazier, as if there was something extremely interesting there, and only made a soft ‘hm’ of agreement.

Mei Changsu personally called Lin Chen over, firmly closed the room’s door, and told him everything with a stern expression – and stomped viciously and accurately on his foot, right when Lin Chen was about to start snickering.

Lin Chen looked at Mei Changsu frantically giving him warning glances, and his expression settled into solemnity for a second before starting to snicker again.

Mei Changsu and Xiao Jingyan both gave him the stink-eye immediately, and Lin Chen carelessly raised his hands in surrender. Looping one arm around Mei Changsu’s shoulders, he looked challegingly at Xiao Jingyan: “Let me introduce myself. I’m Lin Chen, Changsu’s... childhood friend, here to treat your sterility.”

“Ow––– you stepped on me again, Changsu!”

Brother’s childhood friend? Changsu? Xiao Jingyan raised an eyebrow, watched his brother struggle free with a face full of dislike, and laughed lightly – sparkling gaze flickering with a determination that he hadn’t even noticed himself: “Of course you already know who I am, so I won’t introduce myself. But, I’ll be... Ah Su’s best brother.”

So he really did know. Mei Changsu’s heart sank.

[next]