#shangyuezhi

[evolutionsbedingt]

Wip Wednesday Snippet

I have slain the headache! (At least temporarily). And since I'm currently editing the ShangYueZhi you'll get a snippet from Yuanzhi's pov for once. This is set before the rest of the snippets you've read so far!

★★★

[Xue-tongzi finds Yuanzhi sitting on a rock outside of Yue manor, quotes Li Bai's Autumn Breeze at him and then joins him to share a bottle of wine. They get to talking about the recent and long-ago past.]

“So do you remember the beginning of all this?” Yuanzhi asks tentatively when Xue-tongzi hasn’t continued talking. “Like the Feng clan and why they may have left?”

“I’m afraid not,” Xue-tongzi says ruefully. “I believe we must have decided that it wasn’t important anymore and didn’t continue speaking of it. So much happens in one four-year cycle and for me it’s been twenty-five since we settled in Jiuchen Valley.”

“Gege would tell me to treat you with even more respect if he knew,” Yuanzhi says, and it makes Xue-tongzi laugh. 

“According to my body and my memory I’ll only turn eighteen this new year,” he says with a sparkle in his eyes. “If we weren’t both aware of my skill, I’d even have to call you xiongzhang.”

“Your age has caught up quickly with you,” Yuanzhi says, wincing a moment later. “Please forgive this disciple.”

“Hm,” Xue-tongzi says, still with an undeniable air of mischievousness about him. “Enough about me. Why are you sitting here like a lovelorn wife waiting for her husband to come home?”

Yuanzhi rolls his eyes, though he makes sure that Xue-tongzi can’t see it at least. “I’m waiting for Yue-zhanglao to get back from guarding Gege and I wanted to get some fresh air until then.”

“Ah, so you are being a lovelorn wife,” Xue-tongzi says with a laugh, raising the bottle in a sarcastic toast. “Waiting for my shidi to return and sighing about how everything could have been different. I didn’t realise that Zhi-gongzi is such a romantic.”

“I will push you off this boulder, ancestor or not,” Yuanzhi warns, shoving at Xue-tongzi’s shoulder. “And I’m sure Yue-zhanglao would be appalled to hear you suggest something like this.”

“You’re welcome to try and dislodge me,” Xue-tongzi says, still smiling far too brightly. “And, look, there comes your husband!”

To Yuanzhi’s utter embarrassment he whips his head around immediately and, sure enough, there’s a white-clothed figure making its way to them. He hears Xue-tongzi snicker and only spares him one poisonous glance before he gets up and jumps off the rock. His landing is a little wobbly, but he doesn’t care as long as he can personally welcome Yue-zhanglao back.

When the Elder reaches him, Yuanzhi smiles and salutes him, though he manages to refrain from asking about how Shangjue-ge is doing. If Xue-tongzi already thought Yuanzhi is interested in Yue-zhanglao just because he waited for him to return, he doesn’t want to imagine what he’d think if he realised the extent of Yuanzhi’s concern for Shangjue.

“Shixiong, how unexpected,” Yue-zhanglao says mildly when he looks up and sees who kept Yuanzhi company. “I was starting to think you’d grown roots in Xue manor.”

“Well, I’d heard there was a tragic hero mourning the absence of this Elder like a wife who sent her husband off to war, so of course I had to come and take a look,” Xue-tongzi says as he lands next to Yuanzhi, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “A truly interesting young man you’ve taken as your- What story did you tell Xue-zhanglao and the others? That you claimed him as your disciple? That’s certainly one way to put it.”

“Shixiong!” Yue-zhanglao exclaims, clearly flustered and with a blush burning high on his cheeks. “I assure you, Zhi-gongzi simply needed some time away from the fronthill and I thought it’d be an opportunity to further both of our cultivation of herbs and poisons.”

“I see,” Xue-tongzi says, all but radiating scepticism. “You should come by to drink some time, now that I have a body that can handle it. Bring Zhi-gongzi. I’m sure it’d be fun and I promise I won’t tell anyone if he breaks his seclusion.”

“Shixiong is too kind,” Yue-zhanglao says with an entirely insincere smile. “I’ll trouble you for your hospitality some other day.” He turns to Yuanzhi, softening. “Let’s go back before Xue-shixiong gets some other bright idea.”

“Brat,” Xue-tongzi grumbles but then he sighs and cups his hands at them. “I’ll leave first and let you two return home.”

Before Yuanzhi has even fully finished inclining his head, Xue-tongzi has vanished in a cloud of quickly melting snowflakes. 

“Show-off,” Yue-zhanglao mutters, shaking his head. When he looks at Yuanzhi, there’s a smile in his eyes though. “Let’s go home, shall we?”

[evolutionsbedingt]

For this WIP Wednesday have another piece of this MJTY fic, though it's quite a bit earlier in the story than the one from last week!

★★★

“Zhanglao, ge. What seems to be the matter?” he asks, coming to stand next to Yue-zhanglao and doing his level best to calmly meet Shangjue-ge’s eyes.

They’re the same as they were four months ago and Yuanzhi tries not to let that distract him, tries, valiantly, to keep his mind from gallivanting off onto a magpie bridge. It’s made much harder by the way Shangjue-ge’s eyes soften with both sadness and relief and Yuanzhi clenches the fist behind his back until the leather of his glove bites into his hand.

“Jue-gongzi is rather adamant that he needs to see you,” Yue-zhanglao says, his voice still terribly cold and far from the unaffected tone he likes to use. “I don’t see why I should let him, considering your seclusion was entrusted to me and will continue for another three days.”

“Yue-zhanglao is being far too protective,” Shangjue-ge says lowly, sounding strained. Then his eyes flick back to Yuanzhi, giving him a quick once over. Something catches his eyes and before Yuanzhi knows what’s happening, Shangjue-ge has gripped his arm and pulled him to his side. “Didi, what happened here?”

His question is accompanied by a finger tracing Yuanzhi’s neck and the flare of pain drives a telling heat into his cheeks. Of all the ways Shangjue-ge had to find out, this is the one that Yuanzhi had least hoped for.

[evolutionsbedingt]

Wip Wednesday Snippet!

Have a snippet fresh off the press from yesterday's writing marathon which also saw me crossing 20k written for this month despite having been on a festival this weekend!! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I would warn for spoilers but... that's what these snippets are for anyway, right? So, without further ado, enjoy the return of Shangguan Qian! ;)

★★★

Of course, since Zijian was placed to Shangjue’s left he’s now sitting right across from Shangguan Qian and he struggles to contain his glower when his eyes fall on her face. At first she doesn’t spare him so much as a glance and when she does her spine stiffens minutely, her eyebrows twitching as if she has to keep herself from frowning. 

Zijian smiles serenely at her and then turns to whisper into Shangjue’s direction, “It seems she was really quite convinced you brought Yuanzhi and not me.”

Shangjue hums, his eyes fixed on the ground between their tables. “The last thing she knew was that we stood in opposition to one another, even before the whole charade began. And I still think she figured out my feelings for Yuanzhi, at least to some degree.”

“It’s possible,” Zijian agrees softly and glances at the Minister. “Though I do wonder why she didn’t believe her own husband.”

“He doesn’t fully believe her, she doesn’t fully believe him.” Shangjue huffs a laugh. “What a pair they make. Even we are a better couple than that.”

Zijian blushes and clears his throat. He takes care to speak a little louder when he replies, “This one is glad to hear Shang’er thinks so.”

Shangjue smirks, looking up at Zijian and leans in very obviously to say, not quite quietly enough to not be overheard by the attending servant, “How could I dare to think anything else with a wife this lovely at my side?”

Zijian is almost tempted to reach out and press one of the many bruises he left on Shangjue’s body earlier in retaliation for this bold statement but he restrains himself. “Behave yourself,” Zijian instead hisses, the words softened by his smile which isn’t half as false as it probably should be for this to still be a pretence. 

Shangjue laughs and straightens back up in his seat.

Apparently their exchange caught Wu Chenxi’s attention and his sharp eyes are flicking between them as he asks, “So, Gong-daren brought this Yue-gongzi with him from Gong sect. He must be quite important to travel this far with you.”

Zijian swallows. If this were the emperor they’d have repeated their explanation that he is an expert in Wufeng’s poisons and also happens to know quite a bit about the organisation itself. But this is a general of the dynasty and one who seems to be quite close to Liu-daren to boot so they'll have to pretend to be lovers deeply dedicated to one another. He’s suddenly glad that he isn’t the one who has to explain this to the general. 

“Zijian-xiong is indeed quite important to me,” Shangjue answers, casting a fond look at him. “I could not have left him at home anymore than my sword or my horse. His knowledge on the matters we’re here to discuss is invaluable and his company is greatly appreciated.”

“You say his knowledge is invaluable and yet I’ve not heard this man say more than a few sentences the whole time we were in that meeting,” Wu Chenxi says with a disbelieving laugh. 

“When words are not needed, why waste them?” Zijian asks, folding his hands in his lap. “Shang’er knows the subject.”

The general seems a little stumped, but before he can find something to say, Liu Fuling speaks up. 

“Well said, Yue-gongzi. I had not realised you were a man of learning.” He raises his cup in a toast and Zijian inclines his head. 

“The pursuit of knowledge is the highest of all,” he says, refusing to touch his cup and return the gesture. He’s still feeling rather petty about the ambush at the minister’s home. “But neither the stork tower¹ nor deep within the clouds² seem appealing places to be for me.”

_________________________

¹ - On the Stork Tower by Wang Zhihuan

² - Visiting the Absent Hermit by Jia Dao

[evolutionsbedingt]

Wip Wednesday Snippet

Hello and welcome back! Now that I've finally settled on a zi for Yue-zhanglao/Elder Yue I can share a bit more of what I've been working on more recently!

Much of yesterday and today was spent buried in naming guides and websites, poetry books and two separate Chinese dictionaries. I'll infodump on Yue-zhanglao’s ming and zi on another post though!

Our heroes have recently arrived in the capital and moved into a residence provided by the man who invited them!

★★★

Within the first few days of their journey, Shangjue and Zijian-xiongzhang agreed to keep their civilian disguise while they are in the city and they stick to this plan now. But the servants of the manor seem to know too little of their identity and Shangjue doesn’t quite know what to make of their confusion in addressing them until the manservant assigned to him finally asks a rather illuminating question.

“This lowly one begs Gong-daren’s forgiveness for asking so brazenly, but may this servant know which station Gong-daren’s esteemed xiongzhang has? This servant was not instructed to expect someone other than Gong-daren.” The man looks truly contrite, wringing his hands as surreptitiously as he can, and Shangjue can't fault him for asking.

It also dawns on him then that his reverent treatment of Zijian-xiongzhang as his Elder and Zijian-xiongzhang’s deference towards him as the one more experienced with the outside world and the leader of this particular expedition must leave the servants at a loss as to who is in charge of the household, if it can be called that. They’ve both been directing the disciples of Jue manor and the Jade Guardians and, having many weeks of practice now, their orders didn’t contradict each other, so the servants had no chance to observe whose order would supersede the other’s. And both the disciples and the Jade Guardians have gotten used to calling them both "Shaoye" now, only switching to Yue- or Jue-gongzi if it can't be avoided.

Shangjue realises they never discussed how to deal with this particular situation beyond deciding to pretend to be civilians. Well. Hopefully, the manservant will accept the truth and Zijian-xiongzhang won’t mind Shangjue telling it. “He’s my older paternal cousin who ranks above me in matters of the family, but I’m in charge of the public facing side of our business and the matters of this journey.”

The manservant’s face hasn't quite decided on an emotion to settle on yet when they're approached by someone.

“Mei-guanjia, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Zijian-xiongzhang says, seemingly oblivious to the situation he has just stepped into, smiling mildly at Mei-guanjia when he startles at being addressed. “But I was told that you were the one to speak to in regards to the meal plan for both Shang’er and I. I’m afraid there are a few adjustments that need to be made, for Shang’er in particular.”

“I- Of course, yes, this servant will be right with-” he struggles for a moment, his mouth opening and closing a number of times before he weakly settles on the formal, “you.”

“Will xiongzhang join me for dinner? There are a few matters I’d like to discuss with you before we retire,” Shangjue says, turning to Zijian-xiongzhang and hoping that his amusement at the servant’s struggle isn’t too obvious.

“Of course,” Zijian-xiongzhang says with an elegant nod, his face serene as ever. “I’ll just see about getting the dishes adjusted. And if you could have someone send our tea to the kitchen?”

“I’ll have it done,” Shangjue says, nodding to both Zijian-xiongzhang and Mei-guanjia. “If your question was answered, I’ll leave first.”

“Yes, Gong-daren, thank you for your explanation,” Mei-guanjia assures him hurriedly, folding his hands in a salute. “This lowly one won’t keep Gong-daren any longer.”

Despite his best efforts, Shangjue’s amused smile slips out and he quickly steps away, only barely hearing Mei-guanjia ask Zijian-xiongzhang whether there are any particular dishes from Fujian Gong-daren would miss. When he glances back he sees the faint look of confusion colouring Zijian-xiongzhang’s handsome face and he has to look away lest he start laughing.

[evolutionsbedingt]

Belated WIP Wednesday (MJTY Edition)

I meant to post this yesterday, but I wasn't feeling all that well in the evening and couldn't decide on a snippet.

Last weekend, I finished editing the Yuanzhi POV of the ShangYueZhi fic, which now has 28.8k and five chapters! This bit is from the very end of that pov and contains my headcanon for how the Fortnight Flies work!

★★★

“Yue-zhanglao. I will leave you two to it,” Shangjue-ge says, not even the slightest bit of emotion slipping into his voice before he nods at Yuanzhi, and bows to their Elder, and leaves, calling for the servants to follow him.

All too soon, Yuanzhi is left alone with Zijian-xiong and it makes him far more nervous than it should.

“Zhi-gongzhu,” Zijian-xiong says with a small smile dancing in the corners of his eyes. “Let us step into your laboratory for a moment.”

Yuanzhi agrees and leads the way. Once there, Zijian-xiong clears a spot on the workbench and places a paper wrapped package there.

“In this package, there is a poison, which is called Heart-Devouring Moon. Once consumed it will need a few days to take proper effect, but it is very potent,” Zijian-xiong explains, a spark of mischief in his eyes. “Your task in the Yue manor trial will be to detoxify the poison.”

Yuanzhi raises his eyebrow at Zijian-xiong. He can certainly see why the Elders agreed that he has passed this trial many times over and why Zijian said he wouldn’t need his supervision. “Are there any immediate effects upon taking it?”

“Mn,” Zijian says, inclining his head. “But the whole scope will only become clear after a few days.”

Yuanzhi nods thoughtfully and then steps up to the workbench to open the package. Inside, he finds two pills. “How generous,” he says with an amused glance at Zijian-xiong, who is clearly struggling to bite back a smile, and takes one of them with a sip of tea from the pot he prepared earlier. The taste and smell already give away two of the ingredients to his trained senses and when he sees the black line on his wrist he snorts.

He pulls a piece of paper close and writes down what he can already tell, before he concentrates and uses his internal skill to speed up the spread of the so-called poison. He waits for it to confirm his suspicion and then he chuckles to himself and writes down the last of the ingredients.

“Did I miss anything, Zijian-xiong?” he asks, turning to Zijian-xiong who is watching him with far too fond an expression on his face. It makes Yuanzhi yearn to be able to reach out and touch him again, so he turns his eyes away and studies the ingredient list.

“As expected, A-Yuan didn’t miss anything,” Zijian-xiong says after too long a moment suspended in silence and the praise makes Yuanzhi shiver deliciously. “Tell me your understanding of the effects.”

Yuanzhi complies with a nod. “It’s an elixir to advance one’s cultivation. It will force open the extraordinary meridians, resulting in a minor qi deviation and leaving one without any access to one’s neili for about four hours, hence the perceived toxicity. If the cultivator stays calm and doesn’t agitate the qi further by attempting to control it, the extraordinary meridians will close on their own, drawing the qi back into them as well. The reason for this are the Fortnight Flies within this elixir, who gnaw on the extraordinary meridians but take a fortnight to open them and die in the flood of qi. The constant defence against them also means the cultivator is constantly practising his cultivation.”

Zijian-xiong nods with a proud smile. “Very good. Do you think the symptoms you are experiencing right now will last?”

Yuanzhi shakes his head. “They’re the result of my body not being used to these particular herbs yet. If I’m not mistaken most people would also experience paralysis, but I am in fact used to that one already since it’s in the sleep tonic Zijian-xiong designed for me. The only symptoms that will remain are those of the qi deviation.”

[evolutionsbedingt]

WIP Wednesday (MJTY Edition)

You know the best part of being sick? It affords you a hell of a lot more time for such things as fic editing, so I've actually made substantial progress again!!

Have a taste of Shangjue and Elder Yue meeting the emperor!

★★★

“So this is Gong Shangjue, the man who puts terror in the hearts of those aligned with Wufeng,” the emperor finally says, waving at the eunuch to leave them and Shangjue relaxes a fraction when the man closes the door behind himself even if he does take up his position right outside of it. “This emperor is afraid he hasn’t heard of Yue Xi, zi Zijian, before.”

Zijian-xiongzhang salutes the emperor. “This lowly subject has only recently become an Elder of the Gong sect and his branch of the sect does not usually have any contact with the outside world.”

The emperor hums. “This emperor’s sources say Yue Zijian is Gong Shangjue’s lover.”

“A pervasive misunderstanding we decided to use to our advantage to keep Wufeng in the dark about our movements,” Shangjue explains, leaving out his own role in its pervasiveness. “We assume that if they were to look for this humble subject, they’d expect him to have brought his shidi, who he is known to favour, or no one at all. And this humble subject is not known to cut his sleeve.”

“Does Yue Zijian have any proof of his association with the Gong sect? There are some portraits of Gong Shangjue, but none of his Elder.” The emperor is quite thorough in his questioning and Shangjue is starting to wonder whether he should have visited the palace on his own at first, to assure him of the veracity of their claims.

“This Elder has developed the famous anaesthetic sold by the Gong sect, Drunken Blood,” Zijian-xiongzhang says, straightening. “If your venerable self so wishes this humble servant can refine it under the observation of a trusted imperial physician. The formula is not known outside of the Yue branch of the Gong sect and as far as this humble servant knows no one in the jianghu has been able to recreate it.”

“Drunken Blood,” the emperor murmurs, tapping his fingers on his desk. “It was first sold some three years ago. Immediately after a Wufeng spy managed to breach the Gong family’s defences, if this emperor’s advisors are to be believed.”

“Yes. The spy was captured and this humble subject used her to test the anaesthetic until it reached perfection,” Zijian-xiongzhang says evenly.

Shangjue remembers with sudden clarity the young woman who broke into Yuanzhi’s workshop, who Zijian-xiongzhang found and then claimed before the former Zhiren-daren could have her tortured and executed. Was this his beloved, Yun Que? A few days after her death Zijian-xiongzhang turned up with white streaks in his hair and Shangjue wonders what happened, how they went from poison tester and physician to lovers. Wonders whether this is why Yuanzhi worried that their Elder’s heart might get stolen in the outside world. 

“He had hoped to keep her longer, since she was young and strong, a good condition for a poison tester, but sadly she didn’t survive the next experiment,” Zijian-xiongzhang says and Shangjue admires how unaffected he sounds. If this Yun Que truly was the lover he mourns so much that he considers his own life not worth living anymore, it must take incredible restraint to talk about her like this. “Wufeng reclaimed her body at the end of the three days and three nights she was left to hang outside the manor gates.”

[evolutionsbedingt]

WIP Wednesday

I posted one of these lines last Saturday but I felt that it should have some more context! This takes place at the very beginning of Shangjue's and Yue-zhanglao's journey!

CW: suicidal ideation

★★★

“I know you have every reason to hate me,” Yue-zhanglao breathes, trembling enough to shake his voice and create small waves in the bathwater.

Shangjue freezes.

“Do you know why I decided to come? Because I’m the most expendable of our sect. I’m the last of my family and I cannot imagine marrying a woman that isn’t my beloved Yun Que who has long passed from this realm into the next. Because of this I can do anything that is needed to keep you alive and allow you to return to Jiuchen Valley, without a single regret. The Yue family’s sword techniques are well-known and mastered by Zhiren-daren and Jue-gongzhu, and our knowledge on poisons and antidotes will live on in Yuanzhi and my disciples. This branch of the Yue family will die out and I can go on to find my love in a better life, knowing that I ensured your survival.”

Shangjue is now shaking as well and before he knows what he’s doing, he has pulled Yue-zhanglao back against his chest, wrapping both arms around him and muffling a desperate noise in his shoulder. “How can you talk like this when our didi specifically asked me to see you home safely? Can you bear to break his heart? How can you bed him and not realise the bond you created? You dare to speak of dying for me? I will not grant you that privilege.”

Yue-zhanglao sighs and slumps in Shangjue’s hold. “Shangjue, don’t you think I’ve interfered enough? I was selfish and took what wasn’t mine, I-”

Shangjue raises his head and presses one hand over Yue-zhanglao’s mouth, forcibly shutting the Elder up. “You took what was freely offered to you. Had Yuanzhi not wanted your affections he would not have kissed you. Neither he nor I assign any guilt to you so there’s no punishment to be meted out. Not by me and certainly not by your own hand. And should you make any attempt to die for me, I will personally ensure your survival. You’re an Elder of this sect and only the third person that my didi has shown any kind of affection for in the past ten years. You do not get to die on this journey.”

He feels warm tears drop on his hand and draws Yue-zhanglao even closer, holding him as he cries silently, making a mental note that he’ll have to look out for self-sacrificing behaviour in the future. He honestly didn’t expect this and wonders, suddenly, whether the white strands in Yue-zhanglao’s hair are from grief for his beloved. Yue-zhanglao wouldn’t be the first person Shangjue saw go insane from grief, but whoever this Yun Que is and wherever Yue-zhanglao may have met her, Shangjue is almost certain that if their love ran this deeply, she’d never want to see him throw his life away. 

[evolutionsbedingt]

Wip Wednesday snippet!

I realised that for the first time in a long while I have something I can post as a snippet on this account so here it is! An excerpt from a My Journey To You fic I have picked up again after accepting my fate and letting it become poly xD

★★★

“Are you trying to protect my virtue, Shangjue?” Yue-zhanglao asks once they’re out of ear shot of the stall and Shangjue can’t for the life of him read his tone. 

“Apologies, xiongzhang, I didn’t realise you were-” Shangjue falters, not quite knowing how to politely say ‘I didn’t realise you were into middle-aged street vendors flirting with you to get your money’. 

Yue-zhanglao hums, nibbling on the rabbit’s ear. “I have taken no vow of chastity. As you well know.”

Shangjue stiffens at the clear jab and he has to bite back a terribly rude response. “This Shangjue apologises for his presumptiveness.”

“I’m well aware of the tactics of street vendors and shop owners,” Yue-zhanglao remarks, seemingly unbothered. “I realise Shangjue-di has done the bulk of purchases for our family so far, but there is indeed a town in our valley and I haven’t been a shaoye of the backhill in a while now.”

Shangjue says nothing, since he has no intention of letting the Elder know that it was Yuanzhi’s plea to protect him that made him act the way he did. He’d never have dared to presume the same naivité if it came to any other of their Elders and he realises now that it was a foolish thing to assume for Yue-zhanglao who had taken the world very much in stride so far.

“Perhaps we should part ways here for now,” Yue-zhanglao says after they’ve wandered aimlessly for a while, Shangjue stewing in the strange mixture of embarrassment and righteous indignation the Elder managed to summon in him. 

Shangjue looks up and startles when he sees Yue-zhanglao is eyeing a street lined with red lanterns. “Yue-zhang-” At Yue-zhanglao’s sharp look Shangjue hastily corrects himself, “Xiongzhang, I do not mind accompanying you.”

“Your betrothed is waiting for you at home,” Yue-zhanglao says with deliberate lightness, his gaze burning into Shangjue. “Give them some face.” 

Shangjue purses his lips and bows sharply. “Then I’ll return to the inn first,” he grinds out between clenched teeth and doesn’t wait for Yue-zhanglao’s response before he turns on his heel and heads off into the opposite direction with no plans to return to the inn until he isn’t at least drunk enough to ignore whatever state Yue-zhanglao is in when he returns. 

o0o

Despite his best attempts to bury his common sense at the bottom of a bottle of wine, Shangjue wakes easily when Yue-zhanglao enters their room late at night. He catches the cloying sweetness of a woman’s perfume, but when Yue-zhanglao lies down, no trace is left of it. Only the scent of the hair oil Yuanzhi had taken to using since returning from Yue manor accompanies the rustle of Yue-zhanglao’s blanket.

“Shang’er?” 

Shangjue doesn’t react to Yue-zhanglao’s whisper and after a moment, he feels a sigh stir the fine hairs at the back of his neck. 

“This Xi apologises for his earlier harsh words,” Yue-zhanglao murmurs. “I should not be annoyed at you for protecting me, nor should I punish you for doing so. I am your Elder, after all, and our Yuanzhi asked you to keep me safe.”

“Sleep, xiongzhang,” Shangjue says after a long moment. “Our journey is far from over and we leave early tomorrow.”

[evolutionsbedingt]

5 lines tag

Thank you for the tag @rose-tinted-vision (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

Rules: In a work of your choice, find five lines based on the prompts you are given, then change one of the prompts at the end!

All of these are from the ShangYueZhi!

A Line You Think is Hilarious

“The only thing I’m coming down with is a bad case of bratty xiongdi,” Zijian-xiongzhang grumbles, downing his tea and glaring at Shangjue.

A Sad Line

And still Yuanzhi’s voice wobbles dangerously when he moves to kneel properly, dragging his zhongyi closed around his middle, and says, “This unworthy disciple thanks this venerable Elder for his favour. He has committed an unspeakable act and callously disregarded Yue-zhanglao’s wishes for his own pleasure. Pl- Please punish me severely.”

A Furious Line

[from Shangjue to Yue-zhanglao/Zijian] “How can you talk like this when our didi specifically asked me to see you home safely? Can you bear to break his heart? How can you bed him and not realise the bond you created? You dare to speak of dying for me? I will not grant you that privilege.”

A Line About Food

Shangjue-ge may find himself too overwhelmed by all the scents and tastes to enjoy them but to Yuanzhi, who has honed his tongue to tease apart even the most stubborn poison, it's a feast and he's secretly quite glad that Yue-zhanglao doesn't share Shangjue-ge’s aversion [for rich, spicy food]. 

A Line About Family

"Jue-gongzhu would gladly sacrifice himself for this family but, as A-Fu put it, he’d live for the two of you and I think the same is true for Zijian."

Tagging: @perchingowl, @colubrina, @rowanofferelden, @hideyseek, @nutcasewithaknife, @impossibletruths - If you'd like to!

Your Prompts:

A Line You Think is Hilarious

A Sad Line

A Furious Line

A Line About Food

A Line That's Just So Pretty

[evolutionsbedingt]

Less than 5k words left on this pov. 2k to be added to the first one (because I've thought of a better opening during my nap today) and then it'll be done (°ロ°) I don't know what I'll do with my life afterwards (<- a lie)

[evolutionsbedingt]

Two-thirds of this monster of a fic are done!! Successfully threw the assassin at them to figure themselves out!! Only took about *checks notes* 23k!! Now I have another 20k to get them to finish the plot, go back home and have a probably very short discussion with their third ＼(٥⁀▽⁀ )／

[evolutionsbedingt]

WIP Title Meme

Thank you for tagging me @bbcphile!

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Current WIPs (by order of most-recently-written-in document):

HeHua (TGCF)

Xue Tongzi Villain Arc (My Journey To You)

ShangYueZhi (My Journey To You)

Review Li Xiangyi's Tomb (MLC)

The Spirit In Your Core (CQL) (Does it count as a WIP when it only needs another round of SpaG edits?)

Twilight of Conscience (The Devil Judge)

Tagging: @rose-tinted-vision, @shakespearerants, @perchingowl, @hideyseek, @colubrina and @nutcasewithaknife - If you'd like to!

[evolutionsbedingt]

I'm so so so pouty right now because it's too late for me to edit the ShangYueZhi (I edit by hand and it's after 11pm, so lights need to be off if I want to be able to go to bed by 1:30am) and I've written myself into a corner with the He Xuan fic but I don't really want to let that plot point go and none of my other fics spark joy :(((!

[evolutionsbedingt]

I'm guessing nobody will mind if the last pov of the ShangYueZhi is a bit longer than the rest because the boys (and Elder Yue in particular) are having lots of feelings to work through, right?