#protective shen yuan

[venshichan]

So I was bored, last night, and had an idea–what if I wrote some oneshots in Disney AU's, Scum Villain/SVSSS Edition? So here I am now, sharing this au that I made!

(If I ever get the motivation, I will make an actual collection of this AU in AO3, but for now, I'll leave it here.)

Story prompt: In which MoShang stars as the main characters of the Cinderella AU: Shang Qinghua as Cinderella and Mobei Jun as the Crown Prince, where everyone is human and mortal.

The Prince and the Ham–Airplane

(A Cinderella-Inspired MoShang AU)

Shang Qinghua had long since accepted his fate as the most overworked, underappreciated, and unwilling servant in the household of Prime Minister Shen. If he had known that getting adopted by a wealthy family after being orphaned young meant this, he might have chosen the streets instead.

At least the streets wouldn’t have come with his “brothers”, Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan! While there were probably more horrible things than said brothers, he'd really rather choose to be away from them than be ordered to slave around all day!

Ever since his dearest Mother died, this random noble–who turned out to be Prime Minister Shen Qingqiu–picked him up from the streets, asking if he wants to be his son, telling him the privileges he'd get to enjoy if he agrees.

Blinded by the tempting luxury and comforts that a beggar wouldn't be able to have access to, Shang Qinghua immediately agreed.

(Well, anyone would agree to such a thing, of course! It was understandable that he would fall for such an obvious scam! Being an author who got transmigrated in some weird Cinderella au of PIDW doesn't mean he'd immediately be able to support himself, yes, even if he did write stories again for a living! Paper was expensive, and so were writing materials! Even having them published was hard! He was barely scraping by with the funds that he got from a half assed novel that he sold!)

Shang Qinghua should have known that there was a catch–such a deal was too good to be true! And why did he fall for such an obvious trick?! He was fooled to work for the Shen family, where he toiled and laboured as the only servant in the big assed mansion! Of course he's upset!

Now, this would have been fine and all, really, he could smile through the pain and the suffering while keeping a pleasantly smiling outward appearance….but did he have to actually be related to the bastard Shen Qingqiu?! No, wait, technically, he's the one who's the bastard that his ‘father’ sired.

What was this messed up au?! Three Shens?! Shen Jiu and Shen Qingqiu are the one and the same in PIDW, but somehow, it was different here!

Stupid au. Stupid plot. Why the hell was he even given a second chance in life when it's all shitty?! It doesn't help that the man had went from a warm, tenderly smiling man who told him he was his father, to a cold, uncaring one with an unsettling gaze always trained towards him whenever he'd get a glimpes of his bastard of a father!

It was all a facade! The bastard was two faced! Horrible, horrible man!

….To be fair, Shen Jiu mostly ignored him even if his words can be sharp, and unless he needed tea, but Shen Yuan? That little menace loved to torment him. He had a real talent for making Shang Qinghua’s life miserable, mostly by stealing his work and presenting it as his own. He even had the gall to act like he was the poor, hardworking one.

Which was why, when the royal decree announced a grand ball for the Crown Prince’s betrothal selection, Shang Qinghua laughed so hard he nearly dropped the dishes.

(Again, he doesn't get why the Shen siblings keep seeking him out! Like, if they hated him so much for being the bastard that their ‘Father’ had sired, why do they keep dragging him everywhere and talking to him?! Couldn’t they just‐well, ignore his existence? That wasn't even hard! Not to mention, he has a lot of chores to do, and no time for distractions.

Hell, he even does Prime Minister Shen's paperwork when he DOESN’T even need to do it! Why was he even doing this?! It wasn’t his job! He already has to make sure they have their meals–mind you, he wasn’t even a cook–and clean their big assed, useless mansion, do the laundry, garden, sew, and all those thankless shit! Wasn’t he supposed to live in comfort and luxury? Then why, oh why, was he here and doing all this?! He was practically a fucking slave! He wants out! The only reason why he hasn't left, is because Prime Minister Shen promised to pay him his wages, and YET he had received NOTHING.)

“You? Attending a royal ball?” he wheezed, looking at Shen Yuan, who was vainly fanning himself “What are you gonna do, charm your way into the prince’s heart?”

“I don’t need to charm him,” Shen Yuan sniffed. “It’s practically a given that I’ll win.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m me.”

Shang Qinghua gagged.

Shen Jiu, snorting softly as he began flipping through a book, muttered, “You’re delusional.”

Shen Yuan let an indignant squawk.

_____________________

Shang Qinghua, of course, was NOT invited to the ball. He was expected to stay home and scrub the floors–already done–while his dear brothers attended in their finest robes.

But fate (or possibly some very determined 'elderly' matchmakers) had other plans.

Just as he was about to collapse into his sad little cot for the night, the back door of the estate swung open, revealing a group of unfamiliar old ladies—wait, no. Those were definitely Qi Qingqi and Liu Mingyan wearing grandma clothes!

Shang Qinghua quickly sat up, staring in disbelief.

What were they even doing here?!

“Who—? What—?”

“No time to explain,” the one in front said, dragging him out by the sleeve–obviously Qi Qingqi. “You’re going to the ball.”

“What? No! I don’t want to go to the ball! I'm tired! I want to rest! I just had a full day, and you guys are NOT about to ruin it!”

“Nonsense,” The disguised Liu Mingyan declared. “It’s your destiny.”

“My destiny is to not die of exhaustion before I’m thirty, thanks.”

He replied flatly, flopping back down his cot, and throwing his blanket over his head with a grumble.

But they ignored him; they yanked off his favourite blankie–"Hey! How dare you–rude!”–pushed him off the bed, before shoving him into the most beautiful, royal blue robe that felt more expensive than his entire existence and thrusting a pair of glass shoes into his hands.

Shang Qinghua paled as he looked at them, his hands trembling a little.

“Oh Heavens–this really is a Cinderella AU?! The fuck am I supposed to do?! And is this glass?!” He muttered in horror and anxiety.

The ‘old’ women ignored the first part of what he said: A-Hua had always been that way, saying such silly, and weird things.

“We don’t have any other shoes other than glass, A-Hua.”

“Why would I want to use glass shoes?! I'd break these before I even make it to the castle!” Shang Qinghua wailed. “I have normal ones!”

“A-Hua....no way in hell are you wearing those things you call shoes. Don't be silly! We don't approve of it!”

“I just wanted to stay at home,read my books, and write stories! No! Let me go! I don't wanna go to the ball! I just want to rest, dammit! The Shens will kill me if I go!”

The ladies did not dignify that with a response before hauling him into a carriage and sending him off to the palace.

_____________________

Prince Mobei Jun was bored.

The entire ballroom was filled with noblewomen (and some noblemen) desperately throwing themselves at him. And for what? His title? His wealth? His face?

Okay, fine, the face he could understand. He knew he was good looking, he wasn’t stupid–his mother kept telling him how good looking he was. But still.

He was just about to escape when someone stumbled–not even elegantly or gracefully–into the ballroom.

The entire hall turned silent for a few moments as all turned to watch the slightly –but artfully–disheveled, beautiful man stumbled inside, looking wildly out of place in the elegant ball with his jittery energy. He nearly faceplanted before catching himself on a passing noblewoman’s sleeve, who shrieked and flung him off.

‘Oh, what an adorable, pretty little thing….’

Mobei Jun stared.

Those were his signature colours. Blue and silver were his colour, everyone knew that, hence they would sometimes dress up in robes that were in his colours, just to catch his attention.

It never fit any of them, really.

And yet…here was this adorable creature, donning his colours,wearing the most beautiful robes that made him look unreal in an ethereal sense–and it just fits him well! As if…as if he was meant to wear his colours alone.

…As if he was meant to be Mobei Jun’s.

The thought made Mobei Jun shiver, his stare intensifying.

Shang Qinghua, still trying to figure out where exactly in the nine layers of hell he had ended up, looked up—and locked eyes with the prince.

“Oh,” he whimpered, shrinking into himself at the very tall, tall man. “Oh no.”

‘What an oddly adorable man….pretty….’ The prince couldn’t help but admire him as he found himself in front of the shorter man.

He ignored the gasps around him, his attention, fully focused on this fascinating man.

Mobei Jun, intrigued, strode forward. “Who are you?”

Shang Qinghua’s brain short-circuited. He could not–could not let Shen Yuan or Shen Jiu or worse–Shen Qingqiu, recognize him!

“I—” he blurted, “—am Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky.”

Shang Qinghua despaired–of course he was dumb enough to share his author name to the other! Dumb, dumb, dumb!

Mobei Jun frowned.

‘A strange name from an equally strange man. Why is it that long? Even nobles don't have such a long name. Even I don’t have a long name like that.’

“…Your name is Airplane?”

Shang Qinghua internally screamed. “Yes.”

Mobei Jun, for some reason, seemed even more interested in this odd man who seemed to remind him of his pet hamster in his childhood.

He was small, pretty, and adorable. Mobei Jun, for the first time in his life, found something he truly wanted. (That is, after all those years of being sad at the loss of his dearest Mother and his hamster. Those were his only dear ones, really.)

“Dance with me.” He all but demanded the nervous shorter man.

“What?! Me?! I can't dance!”

“Dance with me.”

“O-okay!”

Shang Qinghua didn’t have a single graceful bone in his body, but he wasn’t about to die in front of an entire royal court. So he let Mobei Jun pull him onto the dance floor, where he stepped on the prince’s foot exactly three times, wincing fearfully, as if expecting to be punished for it or scolded.

Mobei Jun didn’t let go.

This was bad. The prince was his type.

And because the prince was actually… kind of nice? Not to mention, kind and hot. And Shang Qinghua had never been the main character before, never been with a guy like this, never held hands like this.

He had never even been with a guy before, as he died a lonely, virgin man who never even got to experience dating someone, or even being loved or falling in love.

Instead, he wrote a story where his perfect man, his ideal man exists, which was in the story of PIDW– and in this weird Cinderalla AU, said man exists in it too!

Shang Qinghua could never believe his luck! And he gets to dance with him, even if he was horrible at it and even if he was a nervous ball of jittery mess.

But he knew, he could never be with this man. He was ugly, and he was just the hated bastard of the Shen family. He had no power–nothing to his name, nothing to offer other than his,say, intellect that paled in comparison with the Shens….there was no way the prince would look his way, so really, despite his pleasure at being able to get a closer look at this enchanting and beautiful man, it was an unreachable dream.

Just as he was pondering over this, he felt an intense gaze on him.

Then, across the ballroom, he saw Shen Jiu staring at him, eyes narrowing in suspicion, as was Shen Yuan–not in recognition yet, as they were likely trying to figure out who he is still.

“Shit.”

“What?” Mobei Jun asked.

“I-I gotta go!”

“No.”

Mobei Jun tightened his grip on both the hand that he held, and his hand that rested on Airplane's waist as the other struggled to leave.

“I really must go! Sorry, not sorry, My King!”

And just like that, with a sudden burst of strength, Shang Qinghua bolted.

_____________________

Mobei Jun was irritated.

No one had ever run away from him before.

…Unless, well, you counted all those times that he chased people off his castle, nobles be damned–they were too annoying and all of them scheme too much.

He can practically smell their filthy plans from more than a mile away.

Let it be said that he was never the type of prince that women dreamed of. He was charming, but never friendly. He was polite, but never warm. He was always cold and politely stiff with everyone, and never trusted them.

Everyone is suspicious to him–unless they were Shen Jiu, the Prime Minister Shen's son–who was at least open about what he wants whenever he conducted a business with Mobei Jun, or whenever he wanted a deal made, even if he was sly and liked to scheme just to get what he wants.

(He was still under investigation, of course. Mobei Jun would be a fool to fully ignore a possible threat.)

The next morning, when his guards brought him a shoe they found on the steps, he barely spared it a glance before ordering them to search the entire kingdom.

They are to look for him, even if it takes a long time.

He wasn’t looking for a shoe’s owner.

He was looking for Airplane.

_____________________

Meanwhile, Shang Qinghua had just finished scrubbing the floor when the front doors slammed open.

A line of royal guards stepped in, led by none other than Crown Prince Mobei Jun himself.

Shang Qinghua choked:both from shock at seeing them and mild outrage at the fact that–

“I just cleaned the floors! Stop! Noo! Don't step in any further!”

He shrieked, but alas, he was ignored–and now his beautiful, newly cleaned floors, was now sullied by boot prints caked with dirt and mud. Shang Qinghua groaned, watching in despair as his hard work went to waste.

(It's been a month since he last saw the handsome prince–he was still infuriatingly good looking, it was unfair!)

Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan, perfectly dressed as always–they came down the second floor after hearing the commotion.

Shen Qingqiu, their bastard father, immediately stepped forward.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince,” Shen Qingqiu said, smiling. “You’re looking for—”

Mobei Jun ignored him and walked right past him to get to a certain hamster, leaving him gobsmacked Prime Minister.

“Airplane.”

Shen Yuan felt his brows shot upwards at the name, as did Shen Jiu: both of them turned to look at Shang Qinghua.

Shang Qinghua, himself, swore his soul left his body.

“Ahahaha, never heard of him!” He nervously exclaimed, stepping back and away from the tall prince. His ‘father’ was quick to step in between them, from behind Shang Qinghua, smiling.

“As my son had said, there is no one matching the description. Perhaps you mistook the…pretty gentlemen that you met, for my son? It is understandable, my son has similar features as the gentleman from last night.”

Shang Qinghua sweated cold sweat as he felt Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu glaring at him, and he trembled in his shoes.

Mobei Jun raised an eyebrow. “You left your shoe.”

“That could be anyone’s shoe.”

Mobei Jun took one step forward, looming over him.

“Put it on.”

Shang Qinghua looked around for an escape. “Listen, do we have to—”

Mobei Jun bent down and, without a word, grabbed onto the current one that Shang Qinghua was wearing–who yelped in surprise at the action and the fact that the prince took it upon himself to do it–then threw the sorry excuse of a shoe over his shoulder, only to replace it with the glass one, and slid the shoe onto his foot.

The entire room went silent.

Shen Yuan gawked. Shen Jiu sighed and muttered, “Finally, some peace.”

While Shen Qingqiu made an outraged growl and some protests.

"Your Highness, that is impossible! He is not–he will not be–!"

"I decide what I will, or won't do. Who are you to order the Crown Prince around? Guards–seize the criminal."

"Your Highness?! What did I do?!" Shen Qingqiu wailed and protested.

"My dearest subjects, Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan have reported to me about your nefarious plans and lecherous motives towards your own son, Shang Qinghua. As well as the selling of your kingdom's national secrets to it's enemies–for that, you are to be executed tonight."

"Your Highness! It's all a lie! I was framed! Please!"

Mobei Jun ignored him as the now ex- Prime Minister was dragged kicking and screaming away from the Shen Manor.

Strangely enough, Shen Jiu had a glint of cold satisfaction in his eyes, and Shen Yuan looked relieved.

Mobei Jun straightened, turning to Shang Qinghua. “You’re coming with me.”

“Wait, wait, wait—”

But Mobei Jun had already picked him up, carrying him out of the mansion like a sack of rice.

Shang Qinghua, flailing, groaned. “This is not how it’s supposed to go!”

Mobei Jun hummed. “I disagree.”

“Put me down!”

“No.”

“Why are you even doing this?!”

Mobei Jun smirked. “I like you.”

Shang Qinghua stared at him.

Then, with all the dignity of a man who had just lost a battle he didn’t even know he was fighting, he groaned and let his head drop onto the prince’s shoulder.

“…Fine.”

Mobei Jun nodded, satisfied.

And just like that, they rode off into the sunset.

_____________________

Extra:

“You want me to what?”

Mobei Jun's eyebrows almost flew up to his hairline.

A snap of a fan against an open palm.

“Get rid of my Father. Clearly, he is suspicious; he is a slimy traitor, and must be apprehended.”

Shen Jiu calmly stated, walking around slowly in the meeting room.

“You would betray your Father? On what grounds? And pray tell, why would I willingly do such a thing?”

Mobei Jun, crossed his arms, leaning back against his plush chair as Shen Jiu circled back towards him.

“He has been sneaking around, leaking the secrets of the kingdom to its enemies. Surely, that should be enough,no? And if you wanted proof, then you have them resting before you on the table.”

“.....What is it that you seek to achieve by informing me of all these?”

“The deal will not be one-sided. You have been looking for a month, yet you still have not found your beloved mystery future consort. If you appoint me to be the Prime Minister by getting rid of my Father, I will get rid of all spies and enemies that you have– then I will tell you the identity of your beloved, as well as his location.”

Mobei Jun quickly stood up from his chair at that, slamming his palms on the table and sending papers flying. He glared at Shen Jiu, who evenly glared back at him, returning the challenge.

“Where.”

“Be at ease, Your Highness. I am not here to threaten you–”

“Stop dawdling and do not lie. Where is he?”

Snap!

"..."

Shen Jiu flicked his fan open with a loud snap, gazing at him with a calculating gaze, his sharp dark eyes searching him.

“....At the Shen Manor. Shang Qinghua...he is my half brother. Shen Yuan and I have worked hard for years to keep our lecherous Father's hands off of him, and any other slimy beings. If you plan to marry him, I demand that you will not hurt him. Shang Qinghua's mother had entrusted him to us, long before he met Father, and I will not betray her trust. A-Hua is…dense. He thinks we are bullying him, but we are, in fact, hiding him away from Father as much as we could. Father was…obsessed with A-Hua's mother, hence the reason he will act in the same way towards him. A-Yuan and I had to pretend that we're always bullying A-Hua, just to keep getting in Father's way. If….you plan to marry him, you must make sure my Father is executed before you wed A-Hua. He will attempt to ruin things if he is not executed.”

“....”

There was silence as Mobei Jun contemplated this. To be fair, he had thought that those rumours of the Shen Twins being terrible were true: he had never heard of Shang Qinghua, only that Prime Minister Shen Qingqiu had taken in a bastard that he had sired with a merchant's daughter after said daughter died, and did not pay attention to it anymore.

While it was normal for nobles to shun and bully any bastards that their fathers have, it was rumoured that the Shen Twins were even more cruel of their treatment towards the new addition to the family, so everyone somehow pitied the new sibling, even if he was a bastard.

…Now he knew, the Shen Twins were just being protective of their kin–even if said kin has only half of their blood–and were actually honourable. The two really were geniuses.

“...Very well. Your father will be arrested on the very same day I arrive at your doorstep, then executed in the evening.”

Shen Jiu grinned widely, fan lowered slightly.

“Excellent. A pleasure doing business with you, Your Highness, Crown Prince Mobei Jun~.”

Shen Jiu all but purred, pleased.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Should I do another version with the roles reverse? 🤔

[fairsweetlonging]

headcanon that shen qingqiu (yuan) once yanked his plate away when someone reached for it and yue qingyuan got all teary eyed about it because his xiao jiu still has food insecurities and the memory loss must have made it worse, and he keeps getting shen yuan snacks and treats that he can squirrel away because yue qingyuan knows what it's like to worry about where your next meal comes from, and he's trying to help by ensuring that shen qingqiu is never without

meanwhile shen yuan has never truly been hungry but he did have two older brothers and a younger sister who would shamelessly steal things from his plate when they grew up and the instinct to protect his food has never left him so he WILL bite someone when they reach for his protagonist-made spring rolls

[everytimewetouch-dot-mp3]

i love the idea of sy transmigrating into svsss and being hailed as a seer or some sort of demigod or something. even better if he’s a disciple. he lets one weird thing abt the plot slip, it comes to pass, and suddenly he’s elevated in the sect, yqy is consulting him on major happenings, and sqq becomes fiercely possessive because that’s his head disciple, tyvm. he’s not spectacularly talented in martial arts or swordsmanship, but he’s incredibly skilled with musical and spiritual cultivation

he’s poisoned by without a cure during the demon invasion when elder hammer tries his stupid sneak attack on lbh. after that, lbh becomes his unofficial assistant, because all sy really wants to do is hang out and vibe, but he’s too valuable to the sect to be put on bed rest and somebody’s gotta make sure he takes his meds and doesn’t collapse alone on a mission. and sqq treats sy’s poisoning as lbh’s fault (lbh does too, sadly), so he makes sy lbh’s responsibility

[archerdepartures116]

apocolypse au cause i weirdly have an obsession with these

[roploem]

Some Shen Yuan Toddler AU:

What if Shen Yuan suddenly poofed into existence as a toddler in PIDW after he died?

Like, no system (because I don’t see how that would help or whatever…).

He just suddenly fell into the middle of an important Cang Qiong Peak Lord Meeting and stopped the arguing with his sudden appearance.

Everyone just freezes at the sight of some toddler sitting in the middle of their table looking dazed and confused. Everyone’s minds are going in different directions:

LQG: Demon baby!! Must kill!!

SQH: SYSTEMM!!!! THIS DIDNT HAPPEN IN MY NOVELLL!!! DONT TAKE MY POINTSSS!! THIS WASNT MY FAULTTTT!!!

SQQ: Where did this… thing… come from???

Then after the initial shock, MQF checks for injuries and demonic qi, WQW’s sword also being used to check for anything they can’t detect.

Then after all of the testing they just settle on the story the kid told them. (Which was mainly bullshitting so he doesn’t get killed.) it basically summarizes to a demon attacking his village and the demon hitting him with magic and him appearing here the next minute. (He tells them his parents died so that they don’t try and return him to some nonexistent parents)

And I imagine after that all of the peak lords slowly become more and more attached to their chronically ill mystery toddler and now all of the disciples are witnessing the Peak Lords act like divorcees who are still fighting a custody battle.

Also, I think that Shen Yuan appears a couple years before Binghe does. So when Shen yuan meets a cute little bun waiting to join Cang Qiong a few years later, he tells his guardians about him. Which makes them go into protective mode immediately.

I believe in the end there are 3 most likely candidates for Shen Yuan’s custody:

YQY: He is the sect leader….

SQH: He and the kid found out they are from the same hometown! Plus, they can speak the same language and can communicate easily!

MQF: Our poor baby has a chronic illness!! He needs to be under constant surveillance!

SQQ is close 4th, but he just isn’t that great with kids.

(The way I would kill for a fic of this, but I’m too lazy… actually… I might… idk, don’t hold me to it.)

[sunderwight]

Bingyuan modern ABO AU where Shen Yuan tutors sweet white lotus Luo Binghe and dutifully sends him off to university all prepped and ready to take the world by storm, and then three years later Omega Binghe shows up on his doorstep with a baby, all washed out with his prospects ruined and the father in the wind.

Beta Shen Yuan, furious, is determined to look after Luo Binghe and his adorable baby whilst tracking down the feckless Alpha involved and then... castrating him? Forcing him to step up? One of the two at least!

Only it turns out:

-Baby isn't actually Luo Binghe's

-Luo Binghe isn't an Omega

-Binghe also didn't wash out and in fact just came into a massive inheritance

He didn't even know Shen Yuan was living at the apartment he went to, he was bringing the baby to Shen Jiu in order to blackmail him. The baby is SJ's and Omega Yue Qingyuan's, and had been quietly sent away to avoid scandal. As the next phase of Luo Binghe's hundred-step plan to marrying Shen Laoshi, cuddling the baby in a vaguely sinister fashion while making thinly-veiled threats was vital to blocking Shen Jiu's inevitable attempts to interfere with Binghe's pursuit of his younger brother.

But then Shen Yuan opened the door and promptly drew all the wrong conclusions, and now Binghe is rethinking his entire strategy, furiously googling Alpha-to-Omega transition options and making Mobei Jun make Shang Qinghua find out how to fake a birth certificate for a stolen baby.

[cintiri]

Thinking about my big brother ghost Yuan au again, specifically the relationship between Shen Yuan and Yue Qi, because you know there's no way Shen Jiu doesn't tell his Qi-Ge about his tag along.

At first, Yue Qi was probably somehow MORE suspicious of Shen Yuan than Shen Jiu was, because who's this freeloader in his Xiao Jiu's head!!! What does he want with poor Xiao Jiu? You can't have him, evil ghost!!!

Eventually, he and Shen Jiu get used to Shen Yuan though, and Yue Qi starts to actually really appreciate Shen Yuan's presence. There have been multiple times where Shen Yuan has convinced Shen Jiu to seek out Yue Qi for help with things he otherwise would have hidden, and clearly SY is keeping SJ safe with his interference, as SJ has been getting caught less, getting hurt less, and getting into less fights than usual.

What really ends up solidifying the bond between Yue Qi and Shen Yuan, though, is when their Si-Jie was sold. Wu-ge had died the winter before, and Liu-Jie had run away, so after Si-Jie, Yue Qi was the oldest, and therefore it was his job to protect the younger slaves like Wu-Jie had. Xiao Jiu was inconsolable, having retreated into his mind and leaving Shen Yuan most of the control, and Yue Qi didn't have time to mourn or anyone to hide behind.

He was only ten years old.

Yue Qi was limping back to the building and surrounding alleyways the slave masters had claimed as their own, carrying the Bao he had run on his twisted ankle to get for the other slave children. They needed to eat in order to stay healthy, to stay healthy in order to survive.

It was getting dark, but if he hurried now he would be able to slip out and go beg in the red light district. He knew some ladies who had taken a liking to Xiao Jiu and himself, they wouldn't chase him away, and then he could make up the money from Shiba missing today because of her sickness, and from Shiwu who was too busy mourning Si-Jie, and-

"Xiao Qi?" It was the familiar too-soft version of his Xiao Jiu's voice. Shen Yuan, then. He paused, turning towards him. "Yes?"

"You've been gone since before morning, Xiao Qi. And what happened to your leg?"

"it's alright, Shen-Xiangsheng. I've just been getting food for the others, and I'm going to go to the red light district-" he heard Shen Yuan tisk, before stepping forwards and putting a hand on Yue Qi's shoulder.

"Not on that leg you aren't. Come sit down, I'll bring the Bao to the others and help you with that leg."

Yue Qi felt his face scrunch up, his brow furrowing as he looked down at the man in the body of his closest friend. "If I don't, then Shiba and Shiwu are going to get beaten! And maybe even you too! And then Shiba won't recover from her sickness!" Yue Qi shouted, balling up his fists.

"Is that what you really want? To ruin the lives of some slave children while acting nice? Cause if that's true, you're a really pathetic ghost!"

Yue Qi froze. He just yelled at an adult. Sure, maybe that adult was in Xiao Jiu's body, and so he was little, but Xiao Jiu could be really strong when he wanted to, and Xiao Jiu had been so sad when Si-Jie went away, would he even notice that his tag along was beating up his Qi-Ge? Or maybe even if he did he wouldn't intervene, because Yue Qi was an awful little brat who raised his voice and barked like a dog at someone who was better than him, and-

And Shen Yuan's face didn't twist in anger like the slavers or the men in the markets might have. Instead, his face was filled with pity. No, not pity. Sympathy.

Maybe Shen Yuan was an adult, but he was also a ghost. A ghost that was stuck in the body of a little street kid like Yue Qi. So maybe he wouldn't beat him. Maybe Shen Yuan would just be sad for him, because he knew how bad it was out here, and maybe he wouldn't make it worse. Maybe he would just leave Yue Qi alone.

So caught up in his thoughts, Yue Qi didn't notice Shen Yuan had moved until he felt the warm arms around him. He froze.

Shen Yuan's hugs didn't feel like Si-Jie's. They weren't as warm and gentle, his hand didn't run over Yue Qi's back gently with shushing sounds coming from his mouth. They didn't feel like Xiao Jiu's either. Xiao Jiu was all sharp knees and elbows, chipped nails digging into his skin as if at any second Yue Qi would disappear if he didn't hold on.

Shen Yuan's hug was tight, and though he was shorter, he used a hand on the back of Yue Qi's head to tuck his face into his shoulder. The other hand rubbed gentle circles on his back, slowly pulling Yue Qi's mind back into his body.

Distantly, he heard Shen Yuan speaking. "That's right, breathe in, and out. You're doing so well, Xiao Qi. It's okay, I have you, you'll be alright."

His hands tightened into little fists in Shen Yuan's clothes and he felt himself lean against him, letting out a sudden sob he hadn't even realized had been caught in his chest. Before he knew it, he was sitting down, laying on Shen Yuan's chest and sobbing into his shoulder, holding on for dear life and shaking like a leaf in the wind. Shen Yuan was speaking, and it sounded soothing, but Yue Qi couldn't tell what he was saying through his sobs.

"Yuan-ge-" he whimpered, his voice cracking as he tried to burrow further into Shen Yuan.

"Shh, It's okay, it's okay, your Yuan-ge is here."

Yue Qi cried for a long time, until the sun had set and he had fully exhausted himself. Yuan-ge pulled him onto his back, somehow managing to carry him despite his small stature, and carried him into the alleyway where he and Xiao Jiu slept. He placed Yue Qi down, before pulling out the bricks that they hid their straw mat behind, pulling it out and laying it on the ground.

He watched as Yuan-ge placed one of the bricks at the end of the mat, before pulling Yue Qi onto it and pushing his sprained ankle up, placing the foot onto the brick.

"Keep your foot elevated, like this, okay? I'm going to go to the red light district. I'll get the money that Shiba and Shiwu need. You just rest, alright? He said. Yue Qi opened his mouth to protest, and suddenly found a warm Bao bun pushed into his mouth. At the taste, he couldn't help but grab it and begin to chew, but as he ate, he looked up and complained, "These were supposed to be for the others!"

Yuan-Ge sighed. "You're a growing boy, eat it. I'll get another Bao to make up for this one, okay?" Yue Qi could only glumly nod, and continue eating his bun.

Soon after Shen Yuan left, he felt himself slip into sleep, exhausted.

-

"Qi-ge, Qi-ge wake up!" He heard a familiar voice whisper shout in his ear. "Xiao Jiu?" He murmured, still hazy with sleep.

"Yuan got us some stuff, but he told me I should be the one out here to give it to you. Here." He blinked, as half a stick of tanghulu was shoved in his face. Squinting in the dark, he could make out a few bits of crystalized sugar stuck to Xiao Jiu's cheeks.

"Hmmmkay." He murmured, taking the stick and going to have a bite, when he felt a sudden rush of cold on his ankle. He yelped in surprise, but strangely, his ankle felt much better. Looking down, he saw Xiao Jiu using cloth scraps with a strange blueish paste on them to bind his ankle.

"Wha-"

"Yuan says it's called the winter's night lily of ice pack. Or something"

"Everwinters night lily! It's just basically an ice pack." Chimed Shen Yuan, making little sense as usual, before he faded away once more."

"Okay, that. The colds sposed' to help with your leg. Somehow. And also keep it elevated or something."

"It does feel better than it did before." Yue Qi agrees.

"Good. Keep it that way. Oh, also Yuan made a deal with some courtesans. Made a whole bunch of posters for some brothel called the Autumns Iris. They gave us some coins, so he said not to worry. Oh, and he got the Bao."

Yue Qi let out a long breath, as Xiao Jiu climbed onto the mat, flopping halfway on top of Yue Qi and accidentally elbowing him in the ribs. "I'm going to sleep now." He said, before curling up like a hissy cat.

Yue Qi stayed awake for a while longer. Yuan-ge did it. He did exactly what Yue Qi needed, maybe even better than Yue Qi could have. He didn't get mad when Yue Qi yelled at him. He helped him fix his ankle, even though it really wasn't that bad.

He cared. He wanted to protect him. And he was older, and smarter, and stronger than any of the other slaves had ever been.

Maybe, even though Si-Jie was gone, with Yuan-ge here, he and Xiao Jiu would be okay.

[transmigrationisunderrated]

Luo Binghe escapes the Endless Abyss and goes to spy on the master who abandoned him, discovering in his absence, Shen Qingqiu has invited a woman to live with him, possibly more.

He tries (and fails) to not take this personally and burns with jealousy over this unexpected and very dangerous rival for his beloved shizun's heart. it only gets worse when he goes to Jinlan City, in hopes of seeing Shen Qingqiu again, only to see he brought that woman with him. Shen Qingqiu is glad her disciple is so trans inclusive but even your scummy shizun has a name, Binghe!

[crowlyne]

based on this post : https://www.tumblr.com/rarepears/740169255226638336/a-nearby-country-just-had-a-new-monarch-ascend-the?source=share

i love this au sm i cant resist to draw it,,,

sy as an emperor is such a funny concept

[boarloved-art]

damn binghe is ur shizun single..?

[secriden]

ok OK HEAR ME OUT THO-- what if... because Liu Qingge was never meant to survive past the qi deviation in PIDM, he's the only non-transmigrator character who can see the influence of the system on the world?

i'm thinking it plays out something like this: lqg emerges from the Ling Xi caves to find he can see these... strings of what looks like energy flowing around. he can't really tell what it is, and at first he thinks its a new quirk of his latest breakthrough but when he rushes to help defend Qiong Ding Peak from the demon invasion, he realises that certain people have these auras of energy around that are especially pronounced. like he's mostly preoccupied with fighting off the demon invasion but distantly he notices that lbh has this golden glow (ie. protagonist golden halo) around him although its threaded through with dark red energy. curious. sqq also has this inexplicable dark energy around him that occasionally flashes bright blue when he seems to freeze and go absent minded. even stranger.

when mqf comes along, lqg asks about possession and mentions the strange energy but mqf assures him that they'd already tested it and that there's nothing wrong aside from the new poison in sqq's system. yqy also acts as if everything is normal even though everything is clearly NOT normal because sqq is acting very weird. but also all his weirdness happens around these pulses of blue and lqg starts wondering sqq's being forced into acting the way he is.

(yqy also has a dark aura about him although its different from sqq's. it's also very reactive towards sqq like they're tied together somehow and lqg finds it very disturbing.)

in this situation, i think sqq and lqg would have way more interactions because lqg's suspicious of sqq but also worried?? cuz he can tell that sqq is being manipulated/affected in some way. he starts hunting for monsters/beasts that help with fighting off possession or curing curses but none of them seem to have any effect. he notices the almost unnatural way sqq will act in contrary ways and how they're always attached to that same pulse of blue that only lqg can seem to see. he notices the weird way the aura's clash when sqq interacts with lbh or yqy and starts feeling protective because he can tell sqq is trying to cause as little harm as possible.

he starts wondering why no one else seems to care that something is clearly not alright with sqq. even if they can't see the aura and the energy bursts, surely its obvious just from what they know about sqq. he starts to become angry. then he becomes determined. because if no one else can see that some unknown entity is hurting sqq, then its just going to have to be lqg that saves him.

[wafywaify]

god do I live for confident shen qingqiu (the yuan flavor)

like when he finally gets comfortable enough to act more like shen yuan rather than jiu infront of the other peak lords

the small habits he allows to come back- letting the immortal facade sort of just fade a bit AUGH

(If anyone has any fic recs I WILL GLADLY TAKE THEM)

[fairsweetlonging]

time travel au where liu qingge and shen qingqiu (yuan) end up accidentally traveling a decade back in time before luo binghe was amitted to qing jing peak and before shen qingqiu had his qi deviation, but after their generation has risen to peak lords.

which means, shen yuan realizes quickly, as they're accosted by said peak lords, that he will have to face shen jiu.

as they're being cleared for demonic energy and the likes, mu qingfang of course instantly detects the poison without a cure eating away at shen yuan's meridians. liu qingge pulls a copy of the treatment plan out of his sleeve (shen yuan blushes a bit, did liu qingge always keep that on hand?), and just like in the current timeline, they agree to keep it under wraps.

shen jiu tries various times to get a moment alone with shen yuan, but he never quite manages because liu qingge is there, who is also... nice?? to him?? for some reason?? shen jiu gets a bit flustered at the solemn politeness and skitters off.

it comes out pretty quickly that shen yuan has "memory loss", and thus can't remember anything that's currently taking place in this time. shen yuan expects scorn, hatred and disdain from shen jiu, expects to be grabbed and interrogated, to arouse suspicion.

but shen jiu looks....... sad???

being transported here threw shen yuan's qi off-balance (even liu qingge had to sit down, which means it's bad), and his cultivation is already so unstable, so when the peak lords are all squabbling and arguing and threatening and raising their voice, he can feel his body shut down. he sees yue qingyuan start to move towards him, which, knowing the future yue qingyuan, he really isn't up for right now—but before the sect leader can get to him someone else is at his back, transferring him qi, holding him up gently by his shoulders, then coaxing him up, leading him outside

shen yuan's been fed qi by every peak lord at least once. he doesn't recognize this one. that means it can only be one person.

he looks up. it's shen jiu.

and it's bizarre, getting fussed over by the scum villain, having gentle hands run along his back, his hair, that clear, soothing voice calming him down. and somehow shen jiu knows exactly what to do?? somehow it works perfectly on him?? it's almost as if shen jiu has known him his whole—

oh.

bodies, like homes, hold memories, even if the original occupants are no longer there. it's the milestone marks on the doorpost that chart a child's growth, blurry photographs faded by time, scuffed floors from well-walked paths, and tiny holes in the walls where pictures once hung.

shen jiu takes him to the bamboo house, pours him tea, and asks, calmly, what he remembers from their childhood.

it's not his childhood, so shen yuan doesn't actually remember anything, but the body he's in does. the memories it holds are emotional rather than visual; he remembers being alone, scared, and hungry. he remembers anger, pain. a dark room. loud voices. he remembers his heart skipping a beat when heavy boots stomp his way. the sound of a whip.

he doesn't have to lie. the memories aren't his own, and they're from long ago, which means shen jiu has them too. and, he supposes, this is his only chance to find out what really happened.

but shen jiu doesn't say anything about it. he just nods and stares, intensely. then he asks shen yuan if he remembers yue qingyuan. shen yuan says no, he doesn't. the conversation takes a very strange turn after that. shen yuan can't help but feel a little queasy when shen jiu asks him if yue qingyuan has taken advantage of his memory loss.

"has he come into your home? has he brought you gifts, sweets? does he invite you for tea? did you accept?"

he has. shen yuan doesn't know why that would be a problem, the sect leader has been nothing but kind and helpful and patient. and generous, too.

when he says yes shen jiu looks furious.

liu qingge (his one) comes to pick him up, and his time with shen jiu is cut short. somewhere he's glad, cuddling into liu qingge's back as he holds him while they fly. he feels a little bad for yue qingyuan, knowing he's probably caused a big fight, but it doesn't sit right with him. he wishes he knew what happened.

.

liu qingge, meanwhile, is having the time of his life fighting himself. it's good practice!

[starry-bi-sky]

pouring one out for luo binghe in my disciple SQQ fic, poor guy has taken a backseat here. we're nearly 30k words deep and he hasn't even shown his face once. it'll be much longer before he even actually talks to Shen Qingqiu.

(i say im pouring one out but in reality im sitting in my director's chair chewing on a cigar and wearing a beret as he tearily and unsuccessfully pleads with me for more scenes with Shen Qingqiu)

[rhiangalaxy]

Ruthlessness Is Mercy Upon Ourselves

[ID: A Scum Villain Drawing. A young Shen Jiu stands at the forefront, half of his face is shrouded and he is covered in various injuries and blood. With his clothes and hair in various states of stained and disheveled. He is pointing a blood covered sword towards the ground in his right hand and his left hand is clenched into a fist. He is bleeding from his eyes, nose and ears, appearing to be in the midst of a qi deviation. Behind him is a circular doorway that is full of fire and smoke. Blood stains the floor. End ID]

[anekogia]

Me after 5.1 Archon Quest: