#small shushu

[dasisugarun]

Standing Next To You

[nosebleed-archive]

[spriteofmushrooms]

As Nie Huaisang poured their tea, Jiang Cheng rubbed his thumb against the carved wooden box in his lap and tried not to fret over what the other man was thinking. He knew what he looked like: the white streak at his temple announced it all. Jiang Cheng's cultivation was failing, and with the discussion conference tomorrow, it would be impossible to hide. Not even the reputation of Sandu Shengshou could shield him from being known now.

"Jiang-xiong, if you brought me a present, you have to give it to me," Nie Huaisang said behind his fan. His eyes seemed amused, at least, maybe.

"I know that," Jiang Cheng said, flustered and annoyed for being so. He placed it on the table between them.

Nie Huaisang tapped his hand with the closed fan where he hadn't yet pulled it away, and Jiang Cheng snatched it back to his lap. "It's a beautiful box, Jiang-xiong, but you can't keep it, either!"

"We're supposed to drink tea first," Jiang Cheng groused as Nie Huaisang's dainty fingers opened the lid.

"No, I distinctly recall the Gusu edict that states gifts are more important than anything," Nie Huaisang said. "If it's on their wall, you know it's orthodoxy itself. Oh, what are these?"

In his hands, the brilliant pressed ink cakes were even more beautiful. He was holding the azure bird, and his skin glowed against it. "One of the painters in Lotus Cove has... eccentric ideas. She's been experimenting with pigment and ash combinations. These are her more stable creations, but even then, they're not as permanent as standard ink. But, well." Jiang Cheng pulled a small book out of his sleeve and handed it over. "Here."

Nie Huaisang pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, darted a glance at Jiang Cheng's face, and then set the ink cake back into the box. "I don't have enough hands," he whined, but he took the book graciously. Page by page, his expression grew sharper; a slight flush brightened his cheeks. "A generous gift, Jiang-xiong."

Jiang Cheng swallowed. "She said the pink is especially fleeting, so you shouldn't hang anything with it in direct sunlight," he said gruffly. "Some of them have inclusions that make them act unpredictably in water. It's... You'll have to work with them a lot. To know how they'll perform."

"This kingfisher shimmers with true to life colors," Nie Huaisang murmured. After a moment of silence, he said, "I haven't painted in a long time."

"I know," Jiang Cheng said miserably. At the other's look, he added, "The fans from the last few years weren't your style."

Instantly, Nie Huaisang's fan was between them again. Jiang Cheng looked away, neck hot.

After a tense silence, Nie Huaisang said, "Jiang-xiong, would you tell me if something was wrong?"

"You know something is."

"Can something be done?" Nie Huaisang paused. "Gusu healers, perhaps?"

Jiang Cheng scoffed. "What Lan would help me? Hanguang-jun has never hidden his disdain for me, and Zewu-jun seems determined to live on darkness and silence forever. The Lans who would graciously ignore the feelings of one can't forgive me for being associated with Jin Guangyao and Guanyin Temple, for not noticing a-Ling's xiao-shushu was a treacherous minx who had beguiled the First Jade and would hurt his precious feelings later. As if I've ever picked up on anything like that before."

"How is Jin-zongzhu?" It was hard to read Nie Huaisang's tone, but that wasn't new.

Jiang Cheng fiddled with Zidian, tugging the chain. "He has his friends, his duties, and his shibo."

"Not his jiujiu?"

"You know how Wei Wuxian is," Jiang Cheng said.

Another pause. "I suppose I do." Nie Huaisang picked up and repositioned ink cakes for a moment before asking, "Does he know?"

"Unless the Jin spies defected, yes."

Nie Huaisang rapped his knuckles with the fan, and Jiang Cheng looked up at him. "He should have heard it from you."

"You don't get to tell me how to die," Jiang Cheng snapped.

Nie Huaisang looked bored. "Oh? Then why are you here?"

"This is why tea is supposed to be drunk first," Jiang Cheng said peevishly. "The entire pot is cold now."

Nie Huaisang draped himself over the couch and fanned himself. "You're a thorough person, Jiang-xiong. You must have an heir to announce tomorrow; likely, one of your usual retinue to these things. Not your head disciple, for as dear as that boy is, he doesn't have the head for politics, and politics and reputation have kept YunmengJiang safe. Chen Helin?" At Jiang Cheng's sharp look, he added, "I pay attention to you, too, Jiang-xiong."

"If you know everything, why ask?"

"No one can know everything," Nie Huaisang said gently. "I very often know nothing and must hope for the best. QingheNie hasn't fallen yet, which suggests even caged birds in pavilions aren't always prey." He looked at the box. "You want me to paint again. Why now?"

"After," Jiang Cheng started. He wasn't used to seeing Nie Huaisang's entire face. He wasn't used to seeing Nie Huaisang in soft, unembroidered robes. He wasn't used to seeing Nie Huaisang's hair down from its braids. "After," he repeated, "I didn't ask about your leg."

Nie Huaisang waited, but then murmured, "It healed."

Jiang Cheng swallowed. "I was selfish. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to think about Chifeng-zun's body or what seeing it in pieces would do to you, because I can't—things are better when you don't think about them. But you stopped painting when he died, Nie-xiong, and all I did back then was scold you for not knowing how to triage your sect in its grief. In your grief." Here, the traitor that used to be his body swelled, and the foreign wave of mourning filled him once again. "You should paint," Jiang Cheng said through tears.

"Oh." Nie Huaisang opened his mouth, and then he closed it, simply looking at Jiang Cheng. "Come here," he said, patting the couch.

Obediently, Jiang Cheng moved to sit next to him.

"Good, good. Put your face here, please."

Jiang Cheng hesitated, but was it wrong to seek comfort when invited? He hadn't asked for it. Nie Huaisang probably didn't know how much he needed it, so it wasn't like he pressured him into it. He fell forward and pressed his face into Nie Huaisang's neck. Engulfed by the complex herbal and spice blend preferred in Qinghe incense and Nie Huaisang's sweet, peppery chrysanthemum, he simply breathed.

"You helped me a lot back then, Jiang-xiong." Nie Huaisang was a little cooler than him, since their cultivation levels were so different, but it was refreshing on his heated cheeks. "Maybe you were stringent, but someone fussing at me to take care of my duties was comforting." His hand moved to the back of Jiang Cheng's head. "I'm sorry I didn't go to Lotus Pier and make a complete nuisance of myself when you needed one."

"I didn't expect you to."

"Why?"

"They said I killed your friend."

Nie Huaisang's hand tightened in his hair. "Weren't you my friend?"

Jiang Cheng didn't want to say that he didn't know, so he said nothing.

[nyamadermont]

Phantom Pain

Angstpril 2024: Day 10

Rohan was the first to notice when Lin rubbed her forehead. Pema watched him toddle over to her, crawl up beside her on the cushion, and worm his way under her arm until she took her hand down to steady him in her lap. His mother thought she might just melt at the way Rohan lifted ShuShu up to give Lin a kiss on the forehead.

***

The volume of Jinora and Meelo’s argument crested as they chased each other along the breezeway leading to the family’s quarters. The game’s rules were important, after all. Air Nomad heritage was at stake in these things. Would they respect tradition, or strike out onto new paths? 

But when Meelo’s scooter spun him far enough along to see Lin bent over the railing, looking off into the trees behind the house, rubbing her forehead, he froze and plopped to the ground. Jinora, caught completely off guard, slammed into his back, causing them to tumble over each other for several lengths. 

The ruckus snapped her attention to them, but her face looked strange. The children looked at each other, and ran over to hug her.

Uncharacteristically, she knelt between them, and hugged them back.

***

Ikki did not want to clean her room. That was boring.

A quick glance outside told her that no one was walking around below, so she whipped out her glider, and jumped through the window.

The currents carried her around the main tower until she was looking out over the meditation courtyard. In the distance, she could see Lin’s black form stepping to the top of the Thousand Steps. She banked against the breezes to go say hello to the Chief. 

The clomp of Lin’s boots rang out from the stone, loudly enough that Ikki could hear every step Lin took. Until she stopped cold.

Ikki noticed that she was facing the dormitories, a place Ikki knew that Lin knew as well as any of them did. Playing badgermole hunt with Lin was never any fun because she knew every place there was to hide. Even on the roof!

But then Lin seemed to get small, and Ikki got worried. She angled her glider to bring her close.

Lin was on her knees on the pavement, one hand limp in her lap. The other was rubbing at a spot in the middle of her forehead.

Ikki floated down in front of Lin, who looked almost shocked.

Ikki could feel all the questions she wanted to ask, but they all felt wrong. She knelt in front of Lin, and reached up to take the troublesome hand away from Lin’s face. Gently, she kissed the fingertips on that hand before pulling it down to touch the stone under their knees.

Lin gasped and sighed, and bowed her head. Beneath her knees, Ikki could feel little tremors in the stone, and she wondered if that was what Lin felt all the time.

She covered Lin’s hand with her own, stretched up, and placed a tiny kiss on Lin’s forehead.

***

The heavy thump woke Kya with a start.

She rolled over and reached to the other side of the bed. Not finding Lin, she sat up.

“I won’t tell you anything, you monster!” Lin roared from her knees, staring wildly up at…

Nothing that Kya could see.

And suddenly, Lin slumped bonelessly to the side.

Kya scrambled from the bed, flailing for whether to turn on the lights or try to shake her awake, or let her sleep or bring her back gently, or…

She knelt in front of Lin, close enough to touch, but holding back, just a moment longer.

Lin stirred, and slammed the heel of her hand against her forehead, pressing and groaning.

Kya leaned forward and tried to pull the hand away from Lin’s face. Lin resisted, seeming to press even harder.

“Lin, Lin, it’s Kya, honey. Please wake up. You’re having a nightmare. Can you talk to me? Please let me take your hand.”

Suddenly, Lin went limp, the hand dropping away from her face for a moment. She grimaced and curled into a tight ball, bringing her fingers back up to her forehead.

Kya reached down to try to tug her up by the shoulders.

Lin gasped. Her eyes snapped open, and Kya could see the confusion and fear in her face.

“Lin, it’s just me, just Kya. You’re at home. We’re together. Can you sit up? Do you want a light? Feel your pajamas.”

She helped Lin put her back to the side of the bed, then wriggled around on her knees to reach Lin’s nightstand. The familiar meteorite was heavy and cold in her hands, but she knew it would feel different to Lin.

She could tell the instant Lin felt the rock with her bending, not just her hands. Her eyes widened, but her shoulders slumped, and her head fell back against the bed.

Lin let her hands fall to her lap, cradling the meteorite in her two cupped hands.

Her voice was hoarse when she whispered, “It’s just a phantom pain.”

Kya brushed back her hair, reassuring her, “Pain is pain. Pain is real. Even if he isn’t here to hurt you, ever again.”

“Why does it still hurt? He’s dead. I know he’s dead,” she said, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Kya caressed her cheek. “I don’t know. Maybe think about what Korra’s touch felt like when she restored your bending.”

Lin inhaled and held her breath. She opened her mouth and released the breath without exhaling, exactly. Kya pulled back to let Lin lift her head from the mattress.

“Did I ever tell you that it felt like your dad gave me a kiss? He used to do that when I was very little, and that’s what Korra’s touch felt like.” Her watery eyes looked down to the rock in her hand. It shimmered and undulated, changing shapes in a steady rhythm.

Kya reached out her hand again to rub Lin’s elbow.

“Then let his phantom kiss wipe away the phantom’s pain.”

She leaned up on her knees, and placed a gentle kiss on her brow.

[poemsfor-her]

A GUIDE TO FINDING YOUR OWN STYLE: PART II. FRENCH GIRLY ୨୧ ׅ ۫ 𖹭

French Girly (フレンチガーリー) is a substyle of Japanese girly kei fashion as well as an aesthetic created by and popular among young women in Japan. It is an elegant and feminine aesthetic that utilizes imagery associated with antique French Haussmann architecture and material culture, combined with whimsical and kawaii details. This type of fashion is largely inspired by luxury brands and prep, but takes on an extremely girly look that is fairly unique to Japanese culture. French Girly is also based on the clothing of various small brands which gained notoriety for creating and catering to this aesthetic, largely by the brand Épine.

The aesthetic closely follows parisian fashion while also incorporating Japanese influence. The fashion style itself focuses on elegance and femininity, including colors like tan, black, white, gold, and pink. Outfits can consist of:

— bows and ribbons.

— gold or pearl jewlery.

— knee high skirts.

— high stocking.

— berets.

— dresses with lace adornments.

FRENCH GIRLY FASHION BRANDS:

— épine.

— bibiy.

— miumiu.

— yesstyle.

— sandy liang.

— ozlana.

— wooyoungmi.

— shushu tong.

FRENCH GIRLY MOVIES AND TV SHOWS:

— gossip girl.

— gilmore girls.

— scream queens.

— shitsuren chocolatier.

— why gentlemen prefer blondes.

— roman holiday.

— breakfast at tiffany's.

FRENCH GIRLY SONGS TO LISTEN TO:

— national anthem, lolita, salvatore, young and beautiful, west coast, black beauty, money power glory, cinnamon girl and carmen by lana del rey.

— paris - sabrina carpenter.

— i am - ive.

— i'm so sick - apink.

which one do you prefer? the y2k style or french girly? i personally prefer french girly because it's my own style and i am so in love with it. but i instead of taking inspiration from japan i really like chinese french girly! also, this is my third time editing this post so i am very MUCH TIRED OF THIS. all of the information is provided here

with love, 𝒯

[stiltonbasket]

For wen!wwx: "I may have made a mistake in taking you to Nightless City, A-Ying" were the last words Wen-shushu had spoken to him, a little more than a fortnight after he was slain in battle. Contrary to popular belief, it was Wen Zhuliu who saved A-Ying and took him to Nightless City. Wen Rouhan raised him to be a weapon, but Wen Zhuliu raised him as a son.

(link to part 1)

By the winter Wei Wuxian turned thirty-six, Qishan Wen had been at war for two years; but in those two years, very little had changed behind the walls of the Nightless City.

The wine ran as freely as it always did, and even the lowest-ranking guest disciples were allotted more treasures and fine foods than most well-to-do commoners would see in a year. The rare few of the clan who had spent time in the halls of the mortal emperor—Wei Wuxian among them, for his master wanted the emperor to know something of the raw power that lurked in Qishan, in case he ever thought of claiming even an inch of Wen territory for his own—were aware Wen Ruohan's sect banquets were far richer than anything the imperial court had to offer: and even if the war were to last another decade, the cities clustered around the great Sun Palace in Bu Ye Tian would flow with gold for ten times that span at the least.

Strength counted for much in the Jianghu, and for a great deal more outside it—and Wen Ruohan treasured the cultivators who labored for him as he treasured his own saber, so long as their younger selves had proved loyal enough to be permitted to reach adulthood.

Of the four children Wen Zhuliu brought back to Bu Ye Tian some thirty-odd years ago, only one had achieved that honor: the youngest, Wei Ying, plucked from the streets in upper Yiling some months before his fifth birthday.

He had grown up well, Wen Zhuliu thought, as he watched Wei Wuxian move across the banquet hall with a double-eared wine cup in his hand. The handmaidens at the Wei-fu had braided his hair with gold, so that the full, shining mass of it reflected the light from the lamps on the walls like a mirror; and though Wen Ruohan recalled him from Langya nearly six months ago now, he had not yet lost the watchful bearing of a general waiting under cover of darkness for his enemy to strike.

"Zhao-shushu," he said, toasting him with his half-empty cup of wine as Wen Zhuliu drew closer. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since..."

"It's been nearly a year, I think," Wen Zhuliu replied, inclining his head. "When we were stationed together in Jiangling."

A shadow crossed Wei Wuxian's face; and too late, Wen Zhuliu remembered that Jiangling was where his erstwhile ward bore witness to the execution of Yu Hengshan, in spite of Wen Zhuliu's best efforts to ensure that he was occupied elsewhere at the hour of Yu Hengshan's death.

He was absurdly soft-hearted for a man who had spent the last two years between war fronts and Wen Ruohan's great strategy chamber, and it discomfited Wen Zhuliu immensely.

"How is A-Yuan?" he said softly, for Wei Wuxian's yang son was one of the few subjects they could speak of without stirring the dreadful shuttered look in Wei Wuxian's eyes—though that had been present in some form or other from the day he was sworn into Wen Ruohan's service, and would likely never leave him throughout the remainder of his life.

"He is well," Wei Wuxian answered, nodding towards the artificial stream carved into the ground of the garden adjoining the feasting hall. Wen Zhuliu turned and saw a gaggle of youths and young girls kneeling by the water's edge, scribbling verses of poetry onto plain white lanterns; and then, following the line of his ward's outstretched hand, he saw that the boy at the front of the group looked like a smaller, light-hearted version of Wei Ying.

"How old is he?"

"Eighteen." Wei Wuxian's hand tightened around the base of his cup. "He's nearly old enough to wear a proper guan, if you can believe it."

Ah, Wen Zhuliu realized, with no small amount of pity—for if the war did not end within these next two years, Wen Yuan would be among the new soldiers sent to war, perhaps as part of his own father's regiment.

He reached out and grasped Wei Wuxian's arm.

"A-Ying," he said urgently. "This war will not last long enough to draw your A-Yuan into it. You know Lanling Jin cannot endure for much longer, what with Meng Yao—and once Lanling falls, Yunmeng will crumble soon after. Yu Hengshan was Yunmeng Jiang's greatest backer, and now that he has been slain—"

"Yes, but what then?"

Wen Zhuliu paused, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Once the Jianghu has been brought under our colors, what then?" Wei Wuxian murmured, before taking a long drink of wine. "The Jin might live peacefully under Junshang's rule—they will have no choice, for they are not strong enough to do otherwise—but the Jiang will abandon their clan seat if needs must, and flee to rebuild elsewhere. And once they rise to prominence again, what will our lord do next?"

And what will you do? his eyes seemed to say; and though Wen Zhuliu had vowed to murder Yu Hengshan when he was a child of sixteen, his ears were suddenly filled with the screams of the civilian woman who had discovered the man's decapitated corpse in a rowboat on Lake Lianhua.

He had not lingered long enough to listen to the screams of Yu Hengshan's sister, for fear that his heart would break at the knowledge that Yu Ziyuan grieved this brother of hers despite all he had done to them both—but now, the echoes of her cries were so clear in his mind that he was half-convinced he had heard them in truth, all those months ago.

"I will do whatever Wen-zongzhu commands me to do," Wen Zhuliu said at last. "I was sworn to him for life, just as you were."

In answer, the fingers of Wei Wuxian's right hand rose and fluttered restlessly over his shoulder: the left shoulder, where his wide collar hid the set of obedience sigils that Wen Ruohan carved into his flesh on the day he came of age.

"Yes," he whispered, his gaze straying once more to his son. "I am sworn to him for life—just as you are."

They parted not long after that, for Wen Zhuliu had only come back to the Nightless City for Wei Wuxian's birthday banquet, and he was due to return to Hejian early the next day. He had other generals to greet, and Wei Wuxian had gone off to judge the results of the winding-stream contest taking place in the garden; but shortly before dawn, Wen Zhuliu sought Wei Wuxian out once again and drew the younger man into his arms.

"Happy birthday," he said. "May you have ten lifetimes' worth of them, my child."

Wei Wuxian smiled tearfully—and suddenly, Wen Zhuliu was certain that after tonight, he would never lay eyes on this ward of his again.

"I wish it had not been like this," he blurted. "If I had not brought you back to the Nightless City all those years ago, then perhaps..."

Wei Wuxian's eyes flickered toward the throne at the front of the hall.

"What other purpose could I have served than this one?" he said quietly. "You had your revenge, and I was given the honor of serving Junshang. That is the end of it."

And with that, he kissed Wen Zhuliu on the brow, and vanished into the night.

Wen Zhuliu never did see him again, for he met his death on the Hejian front within the next fortnight; and when his jian was brought back to the Bu Ye Tian, it was sent to Wei Wuxian's residence, the High General's manor, where it would remain until the Wei-fu went up in flames with its master still locked inside it.

[bluegumballmf]

🦋The Moonstone Twins🪷- an overveiw : 𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖✩࿐࿔

1/2 lore threads

Okay so basically In example to what the twins are, you know how in dofus book one: Julith, the two dofus are entrusted to joris to gaurd?? The Moonstone twins are like that but with the entirety of the eliatrope dofus in every life they live.

Basically, the two were originally created just to protect And nurture the dofus and the eliatrope council, but they could have lives outside of their jobs, which lasted for two lives and they were more appreciated and actually acknowledged by the eliatropes and dragons.

But qilby orchestrated a tragedy so awful, that the already intense need to protect the dofus got to a level so bad that it makes the moonstone twins sick whenever they are used. Now, the moonstone twins are spiritually connected to the eliatrope dofus, & the council by extent-

-& can track their location & power levels, as well as if they’re containing someone or not. The twins have a weird reincarnation cycle; only reincarnating whenever there is a danger to the dofus, no matter how small. This cycle is impacted by using the dofus excessively.

The use of the dofus before they are born delays their birth, sometimes by centuries, and throws them off kilter. However, in such lives, their own dofus will hold more power, & thus; they will too. Their dofus is special in the sense that it dissolves when not occupied.

Their dofus CAN be used like the other’s, but it harms the twins inside, and isn’t as powerful as the council’s. The moonstone dofus is a reoccurring legend in The eliatrope’s stories, and is generally considered a bad omen, and to be immediately given up to the council-

As it is born to different parents in every life time- always with at least one draconic parent.

The twins each have separate gifts that balance each other out. Nazalath has stasis transfer, & Cleomyn has foresight. Both twins share the ability to manipulate their respective energies into any kind of weapon they can think of, as long as they’ve seen it before.

They are also made up entirely of their respective energies, with Naz being entirely stasis, & Myn being entirely wakfu; a perfect balance. These gifts come with a price however, with myn having her sight sapped when she uses wakfu, doomed to go blind.

Naz’s situation is different, as he is continuously burning alive, at a temperature of 215 degrees Fahrenheit, burning anyone except myn, who’s grown used to his heat throughout reincarnations. Naz’s temperature zig-zags with his health & is EXTREMELY important to keep constant.

In the twins’ current life, they’ve very young, being roughly eight to nine years at the start and end. Their life takes place in an alternate timeline/reality, and is nicknamed the Cra arc, after the goddess, as she’s fallen from grace.

In this life, The twins are raised and mentored by Chibi and Grougal, until myn begins having dreams & visions about the dofus being used to reinstate a god back to power on the world of twelve. Chibi & grougal weren’t the best caretakers-

As the ancient texts about myn & naz are innexcessible, so only their legend remains, a legend promising doom & uncertainty for their people. Chibi & Grougal act accordingly, so Myn and Naz are semi-neglected, confined to a crumbling shrine. That is, until Myn has the visions.

Even with a reasonable excuse, the twins aren’t let go very easily, & end up escaping on their own, with little to no supplies. Basically, their season 1 arc starts with them wandering around the world of twelve, exploring and trying to find the dofus by sensation alone.

Along the way to find the dofus, the twins meet many people that they become friends with, forming a group that Naz jokingly names “The Arcane of the Dofus.”

This group consists of Pompona the eniripsa, Chekhovia the iop, Kronos the xelor, & Elinor the enutrof. Chekhovia & Elinor also have 2 shushus, named Iago and Phennex. The group has a ton of silly misadventures, & mess around until the twins fall ill from a spike in dofus usage.

The cra arc culminates in Myn losing her sight entirely and having her wings exposed to everyone without her consent, crushing her. Naz learns about their ability to form weapons out of their respective energies, & the twins agree to let cra re-ascend, just not using the dofus.

The arcane parts ways, with Myn & Naz reluctantly returning to the Eliatrope’s sanctuary with the dofus they had regained, only to find that there had been a raid, & Chibi & Grougal had been killed.

In an attempt to smooth things over, two demigods were sent, Odate Ombragé, a feca, & Atoroi, a ecaflip. They feel bad for the twins, and offer to take them in and care for them as their own. Having no other choice, the twins accept, & leave the only home they’d ever known.

This proves a good choice, as Atoroi and Odate genuinely love the twins, & treat them as if they were their own kids, eventually letting them serve as a ringbearer & flower girl in their wedding. The twins & Atoroi take on Odate’s surname, & later gain middle names of their own.

However, peace doesn’t last longer than their tenth birthday, as Myn suddenly gets multiple visions of an anonymous old eliatrope. She begs Naz to take a dofus & go to the woods nearby, & reluctantly, the dragonet agrees, stealing the dofus from the care of their parents.

They go out at midnight, & similarly to how yugo & adamai hatched chibi & grougal, end up hatching Mina & Phaeris, as well as releasing qilby from his second imprisonment in the white void. This feat is a difficult one, as the twins end up draining their own energy very rapidly.

Odate & Atoroi scramble to find their kids, after hearing a blast of wakfu, & when they find them, introduce themselves to Qilby after making sure the twins are okay.

They then give Mina & Phaeris to one of their neighbors, entrusting the responsibility of care to them, with Naz promising to visit phaeris often. Qilby is allowed to stay with The ombrage family, and he does so for around a year. He gets close with all of them besides Naz-

-who finds qilby to be suspicious and weird. This leads to Naz being isolated from his family for almost a year, as Atoroi & Odate are close with Qilby, friends even, & Myn is with him constantly. Eventually, Qilby offers to take Myn to see the zinit, & Naz snaps.

Him & Myn get into a huge fight, which culminates in Myn leaving with Qilby, rendering the rest of the Ombragé family shellshocked. The twins block their mental connection, & this continues for three years.

During that time, Qilby grows increasingly manipulative, even leading to Myn getting stuck in the white void for two years, while qilby acquires all the dofus. The twins grow more and more sick, with dofus fevers running rampant.

Eventually, with their mental states failing, their mental block falls, & Naz begs his parents to let him go after Myn. Begrudgingly, they do, & Naz calls the Arcane, & they go find the Zinit. The zinit has gained some guardians, & the arcane stays behind while Naz goes to Myn.

The twins have another confrontation which turns into a fight, & eventually, Myn breaks down crying, pausing the fight & telling Naz everything that had happened. Naz attempts to comfort her, & then says that it’s qilby’s fault, not hers, & that they should go fight him instead.

When they go do that, the arcane rushes in & helps them fight Qilby, who’s powered up by Shinonome’s dofus. Naz & Myn take the dofus back, & use them to put Qilby back in the white void. This much usage of the dofus takes it’s toll however, & the twins fall ill & are rushed home.

For the most part, the rest of the twin’s childhood is normal by village standards, & they help their parents with their shops- Naz learns to blacksmith & scuplt, & Myn learns how to scam people, &how to run a shop. Myn also shoplifts a beow meow named “Phay” because of Mina.

Multiple years later, Naz leaves the household in a rage. Months earlier, he’d discovered his other gift: stasis transfer. You see, Naz is not an ordinary stasis user, in fact, he is more akin to a Necrome, with stasis replacing plasma in his blood, which turns it purple.

He finds this fact out in a few ways- due to cuts and scrapes when he play-fights with Myn, Mina & Phaeris , & because of a more tragic event. In a particularly desperate time, Naz’s village is attacked by a few rogue eliotropes, who end up murdering Odate.

When he finds his mother dead, Naz flies into an uncontrollable rage and murders all of those eliotropes without a second thought, using his stasis in a gruesome display. Naz is injured in return, and when the eliotropes are dealt with, holds odate’s body and weeps.

In the midst of Naz’s smoky tears and grief, he doesn’t really see or feel one of his injured fingers slipping into odate’s wounds, and doesn’t realize that he transfuses stasis into her body, which is quickly converted to wakfu, reviving her, albeit giving her stasis poisoning.

Naz is so happy about his mother being revived that he neglects to see the village’s horror at the gruesome display, though when he comes to his senses, the villagers who he’d at one point helped, are now calling him an animal and savage, fearful of his display of stasis

This enrages Naz, and as a result he argues with the villagers until myn takes their side, defending them. Naz is shocked and betrayed and as such, declares that he doesn’t need this village and that it doesn’t suit a dragon anyway, deciding that he’s leaving-

-& won’t return until stasis is as normalized as wakfu is. He burns the dead eliotrope’s bodies, and goes to say goodbye to odate and atoroi, saying that he’s sorry, but he needs to do this, telling them that he loves them. He packs his bags & endures multiple arguments with myn-

but he doesn’t say goodbye, blocking off their mental connection and setting off. Naz’s anger and display of power catches the attention of a deity that he took after, the great dragon.

The great dragon remembers naz, who had consistently been one of his favorites, due to him openly using stasis, the energy that dragon was made of. He visits Naz in a dream and-

-offers him a solution; a way they can both benefit. Dragon wants to be known again, wants to be worshipped for once. He suggests Naz get stasis to be worshipped, so it may be normalized. Naz agrees, but says it will take time. Dragon agrees, and offers Naz a direction to go in.

Naz continues on his way, and begins to learn more about his gifts. Stasis transfer comes in handy a lot, and Naz begins to understand it more. For Naz to transfer stasis, He must cut open his flesh, and stick it in an open wound and wait until his blood goes into the wound.

This continues until a purple burn mark is evident in the receiver’s arm. Stasis transfer is tiring for Naz & for the receiver, but it can revive and heal, & so Naz uses it. It takes a bit, but the body sometimes converts the stasis injected into wakfu, or the stasis takes over-

-And the receiver finds themself feeling hungry, though they don’t know for what. Naz begins to become a legend- a dragon that can defy even death itself, & quickly forms a cult following, purely by chance. This cult begins to refer to themselves as “The Brotherhood of Stasis.”

He is quickly thrust into the role of a leader & a god at only fifteen, & fully ascends at sixteen years old. Naz grows up very quickly, & the brotherhood of stasis spreads even quicker, becoming an actual religious brotherhood. Naz is revered & loved, & he continues his pursuit.

But godhood is not what is promised- it turns Naz’s blood into molten gold, & burdens him with stasis chains that sap at his very being sometimes, & leads him into six relationships where Naz ends up being sexually coerced, multiple times. But he grows up & carries his burden.

Naz all but loses his mind, with all the pressure weighing on him, and he decides that it’s time to face myn, once and for all, so he gathers all of the eliatrope dofus, allowing myn to track him.

Now, myn has been tracking naz the entire time, as his brotherhood moves a lot. Myn’s gifts have been torturing her, leading to her being unable to eat, sleep or even function normally, her blood being mingled with wakfu and her tears pushed out of the way for her wakfu.

She’d been searching for naz nonstop, only sleeping for short increments of time. When she finally finds him, the two of them get into a battle, and Naz ends up using a stasis blast so powerful that it puts myn into a coma and permanently scars her. Ashamed and horrified by his-

-actions, hides myn in a shrine concealed in a cave, along with the eliatrope dofus, and stops the brotherhood from moving. He stays there with myn for about a year, until the great dragon finally gets bored and comes down to him, taking the form of Atoroi.

Dragon mocks Naz, encouraging him to keep going on their path, saying that they can help myn after Naz finishes. Naz is inconsolable however, & denies dragon’s offer. Dragon becomes furious, & in turn, the dofus react, sending Naz and myn back to the past, around three months-

-before the events of the wakfu ova. Myn wakes up a short while after, and her and Naz reconcile, right as harebourg spots them. Harebourg finds them interesting, and catches the two off guard, freezing myn, and tiring naz enough to the point where he’s unable to fight, due to-

-overusage of the dofus and the extertion of the fight. Harebourg freezes him too, and takes the two of them to frigost, right next to joris and his sons, where they remain until the first ova.

For the moonstone twins, the Ovas proceed pretty much the same, except for a few small details.

When the twins are unthawed, Naz helps warm myn up, & then they attack the brotherhood, Naz going for joris, his sons, & dally, & myn for the rest, mistaking them for people trying to harm them & the dofus. They only stop when Yugo, talking in shaky elialish, commands them to.

Now, Myn and Naz are from a different time, & thus there is a bit of a language barrier, but after a bit, Yugo manages to get them to stop attacking, & the dofus make their way to the guardians. After a while, they get accustomed to the dofus, & by extent, a bit of-

-Yugo’s language. Myn talks for the both of them, making sure that everything concerning the dofus is okay, and then informs the brotherhood that she & Naz are the guardians of the eliatrope dofus. Yugo is shocked, but seems to understand, & everything else continues normally-

Except Adamai and echo’s scene. Naz lands on the statue of cra, and when echo offers the dofus to Adamaï, he steals them away and reveals himself as the dofus’s sacred guardian. Echo smiles at him, then implies that he knows the dangers of the dofus, to which Naz nods.

Echo then proceeds to explain to adamai what those risks would be, & asks Naz to give the dofus to Adamaï. He refuses, & thus, him & Adamaï get into a brawl, in which echo & sipho take their leave. Eventually, Naz and Adamaï reach a truce, & fly back to the sadida kingdom

Everything else proceeds as normal, besides naz being talked about besides echo and yugo fighting him and myn after taking the dofus from adamai. At the end of the Ova, yugo entrusts the dofus to goultard, saying that it’s until the guardians can come and keep them safe.

After the ova, The twins attempt to make a home in the sadida forest, it isn’t easy, as Myn’s wakfu had been acting up since her coma, resulting in her being unable to form anything but a lance and a shield. Why yugo finds Myn, she almost ends up decapitating him.

Yugo apologizes for his actions, asking if Myn and Naz would like to come stay with him and alibert, as adamai had left, and grougal needed a dragon to mentor him, as well as being understaffed in the inn. Myn says she’d talk to naz about it, and reluctantly, he agrees.

The twins move in shortly after, & find out just how awful myn’s cooking is, so she sticks to helping serve the food alibert makes, & Naz helps in the kitchen when he’s at the inn. When he isn’t at the inn, him and yugo search for adamai & the dofus, & eventually, Naz finds him.

Naz confronts Adamai, and upon seeing that Adamai has a dofus with him, attacks him, interrogating him on where he got the dofus from. Adamai refuses to tell Naz, and only does so when Naz starts to strangle him. His answer is cryptic, and speaks of a better brotherhood.

Confused & a bit disgruntled, Naz lets Adamai go, but takes the dofus, refusing to give it back to Adamai. Adamai lunges at him, & they get into a brawl again, until Naz decides enough is enough. He burns a part of Adamai’s tail to get him off, & offers to make a compromise.

If Adamai tells him how & where he got the dofus, Naz would return it, & join the brotherhood Adamai had talked about, taking his place as the dofus’s rightful guardian. Adamai considers it for a bit, but agrees, telling Naz of how he got the dofus from Goultard’s care. Naz is-

-secretly pleased, still being upset about yugo’s handling of the dofus & entrusting them goultard, and says he’ll meet Adamai at this exact spot in two week’s time. Adamai agrees, & Naz returns the dofus, then goes back to alibert’s inn. He informs the others that he’s leaving-

& promises to stay in touch with Myn. When the time comes, he goes to Adamai, & is taken directly to the tower of dreams, where he is greeted by Echo. She recognizes Naz & welcomes him, saying he would be a valuable asset to the brotherhood, & commends Adamai for gaining his aid.

Naz is introduced to Oropo, and the two immediately clash heads, resulting in Naz having to share a level with Adamai. Naz doesn’t seem to care, and a year passes. Eventually though, when the time comes for Adamai to absorb the dofus, Naz takes on three of them-

-Hoping to lighten the burden. In doing so, him and Adamai get closer, and start to rely on eachother more, As Naz falls ill, and is forced to tell Adamai about his dofus fevers, and the stasis chains they sometimes trigger, inviting adamai to be vulnerable with Naz as well.

For season three, it basically plays out as usual besides the inclusion of Myn and Naz until the end, besides the pacing of the season and the weird love triangle plot being removed

Myn and Naz are reunited a bit before the finale, and this sets yugo and Adamai off, so they fight. But nothing changes besides that. In the end, when every member of the brotherhood of the forgotten has been gathered, oropo tells them his plan, and Myn sides with him

She wants to believe he is yugo & that he can help, as he had shown up in the temporal bubble & tried to comfort her, but she had lunged at him with her axe. Myn wants to give him one more chance, & she stays stubborn until echo decides to give in to her guilt & tell everything

Oropo is horrified, and Myn is too, trying to remain civil, but questioning him all the same. Naz loses his temper however, and yells at oropo, calling out all his mistakes. Naz and Oropo hadn’t had the best relationship throughout season three, with Oropo often treating Naz like he wasn’t there, or a stupid old dog. Naz is fed up, & decides to attack Oropo, but ends up being blocked by Adamai. The two argue intensely, but don’t actually physically fight. Adamai mentions a promise of shared tomorrows, & Naz yells at him that those tomorrows wouldn’t be achieved if Oropo did what he was planning, & states that he knows from his own experience what Oropo’s over-ambition would bring.

Oropo is fed up, and decides to silence Naz, but Echo gets a word in first. She confirms what Naz is saying, & Adamai is horrified & reacts in the same way as the show, leading Oropo to releasing the wakfu balls, restraining Naz, adamai & echo. Naz can’t seem to handle the overload of wakfu, but he struggles against it for a while until he inevitably passes out. Myn is horrified, & begs oropo to let Naz go & Oropo agrees on the condition that Myn would help him. Reluctantly, she agrees, and attempts to rush to Naz’s side, but Oropo restrains her, saying that there will be time later. Everything else plays out vaguely the same, & when a fight breaks out, myn rushes to Naz’s side

Naz has since regained consciousness,  & myn helps him get away from all the fighting, Naz takes a moment to rest, then decides that they should go help the brotherhood of the forgotten’s members, which is what they attempt to do until echo makes her final stand & the twins are sent to inglorioum. They pass out on the way there, and when they get up- far before anyone else, Naz’s chains have formed again, and he must go back to sleep to rest them away. This concludes the s3 arc. 

When Naz and Myn wake up again, everyone else is awake, exploring the area. The twins spot their parents, and run up to them, having a small reunion while everyone else is occupied with the books & Nora. Eventually, spotting Adamai, the Ombragé’s follow after the refugees And make their way to lokus’s temple. When lokus hurts adamai, Naz is immediately on the defensive, going as far to yell at yugo, asking what he’s done to Adamai. As Adamai comes out of it though, Naz calms down enough to mutter a reluctant apology to yugo, and Myn-

attempts to see if Lokus is sentient. Her attempts fail, and she ends up scouting around using wakfu vision. As they head into eliatrope’s temple, myn remarks that it looks familiar, and it probably does to her, as she has had a vision of meeting with eliatrope before, similarly to how Naz had dreams where he met with the great dragon. Eliatrope remarks on their changes, particularly over Naz having more of a spark then before. 

She calls him little godling, and remarks on his molten blood. He obviously doesn’t like that, and flies out of her grasp, wrapping his wings around himself. Myn on the other hand, is commented on, saying that she remembers myn from their conversation earlier. She sets myn down next to naz, and then everyone starts going back to their respective kingdoms. 

Later, when there’s the danger that Adamai and Nora go to face, Naz goes with them, and doesn’t help nora at all, simply watching. He leaves with adamai, sending myn a simple “take care” message through their mental connection, and then him and adamai go off on their own. 

I should mention that when qilby is brought forward, Naz and myn have differing reactions, with myn hesitantly going over to qilby to hug him, and Naz yelling at them both. Myn suffers from stockholm syndrome, and naz is aware of it, so he’s upset.

However, since myn and naz are from a future timeline and are now in the past, qilby doesn’t actually remember their current life, only the past ones.

Naz and adamai collect the eliatrope dofus, and Naz helps adamai get used to having them in his body again, however, he doesn’t split them with adamai this time, saying he doesn’t want to stop being alert for a second.

They have a moment together, & Naz tries to put a flower behind adamai’s ear & fails. They have a discussion over naz’s curse, & Naz asks Adamai if he really wants to share their tomorrows. They talk about the future and what they want for a while, and then they fall asleep.

When Adamai gets to the beach where the necromes are, Naz helps him fight the necromes, and then tries to break him out of the stasis bubble they trap him in. He doesn’t follow Adamai into the ocean when lance dur arrives, and stays silent but supportive most of the time.

Meanwhile, Yugo goes to alibert’s inn again, & Myn is there too. She says hello to alibert, but mainly is there for grougal & chibi, who greet her excitedly. Grougal asks where naz & adamai are, & myn has to say that they still aren’t back yet.

Yugo tells everything to alibert, & then the necromes attack. Myn struggles, as she’s used to attacking with wakfu, & freaks out when she realizes she can’t see the necromes’ wakfu. Yugo & myn try their best to hold off the necromes, & then qilby and nora come, bringing them 

Then, when Nora and yugo go to get all of the kingdoms, Myn comes with, as she misses exploring the world & hasn’t actually been in a kingdom before sadida. & When Yugo goes to the council’s meeting with eliatrope, Myn accompanies him, acting as a support for yugo’s story.

Amalia notices, & all three of them share a tender moment. The council of twelve’s meeting goes on as normal, with a lot of them questioning why Myn is there, leading to her declaring that she is the guardian of the eliatrope dofus alongside her twin brother.

The kingdoms clearly don’t like that, as the dofus have caused so many problems already, & Yugo has to smooth things over. Myn is understandably upset, & when the time comes for them to go to Sadida, she comes too, but refuses to speak to armand, only saying hello to amalia.

Myn helps them fight off the necromes when the time comes, & struggles a bit, as a few try to feed on her due to her excessive wakfu, leaving her terrified. After, she comes with yugo to retrieve adamai & naz, & hugs Naz, detailing what happened to her in their shared connection.

They all return to sadida, & go to the necrome portal. It all proceeds the same as canon, up until qilby uses the dofus. The twins instantly collapse, & Nora grabs her hand, hauling her back with her, but unfortunately, Naz is left behind, as no one saw him fall sick and pass out

Yugo is there with him, but Naz doesn’t realize until too late. Myn is unconscious when everyone returns to eliatrope’s temple, and she’s given to eliatrope to nurse, falling asleep in her hair, like the rest of her children.

Naz struggles to stay awake in the times he is in the necroworld, but he does stay awake for a bit, mainly because the necromes tear off part of his wing, as they can’t figure out if he contains wakfu or stasis. Toross realizes that Naz is similar to him & forces him to join him.

This is where naz’s curse comes into play. Naz’s temperature is extremely hot so that he can be distracted for the hunger for wakfu, as wakfu is physically impossible for him to touch or consume without hurting him. Essentially, Naz is a naturally occurring Necrome.

Toross recognizes this, and slowly begins to mold Naz to his side. Him and yugo stay in the necroworld for around a year together, before yugo breaks free, and Naz helps him escape.

As punishment, Naz’s hair is forcibly cut off, and he has a mental breakdown in front of toross, detailing everything he knows about everyone and everything he knows, desperate to remember his own identity, even without his hair.

He stays in the necroworld for a few more years, acting as Toross’s guardian prince, like efrim. Those are some of the worst years of his life, as Naz’s temperature decreases due to dofus fevers and a lack of actual food besides wakfu.

He gains a hunger for wakfu, and when he goes into the upper world, often kills his prey after draining their wakfu, consuming every part of them save for their bones.

Basically, he completely reverts to being feral. When toross decides to attack the sadida kingdom and eliatrope herself, Naz is right by his side, attacking anyone and everyone who isn’t a necrome.

Myn had only recently recovered & been let out of eliatrope’s hair when yugo returns, & she tries to help him get comfortable. She doesn’t know where Naz is, & she & Adamai have bonded over their shared loss, and when yugo comes back, they both dare to hope that Naz had returned.

They both have to realize that he had willingly decided to stay behind, as he didn’t feel he could atone for what he’d done to Yugo. When the necromes attack, she comes with Yugo to fight toross and find Naz.

This is where things get tricky, as I’m still figuring out the lore for myn, but , Eventually, Naz is pushed into a portal, and returns to the world of twelve, slipping into a coma from the nature of his imprisonment, where he sleeps for months on end.

Eventually, he recovers though, and leans on Adamai enough to be able to attend Yugo and Amalia’s wedding, and eventually become the Sadida-Eliatrope’s head general.

During this time, him and Adamai grow closer again, and eventually, Naz proposes in a playful sparring match, and they get married. 

And that is the story thus far! I’ll update it when I have more! i hope you enjoyed!

[least-carpet]

If you want, 10, 11, 12, 13! (mdzs)

Hello!

I answered 10 here, but here are the other ones!

11. What is your most sinful headcanon?

It occurs to me that I don't really know what this means. Like, sexiest? Most violent? Are thoughts sinful?

Once again, I bow to Ms. MXTX. I can't compete. But I guess, off the top of my head, I would say that Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's relationship was Weird. I can accept many expressions of that Weirdness, but as teenagers they should be Weird and Intense about each other in a way that's invisible and quite natural to them and a little strange to other people, not straightforwardly romantic but also not immediately familial. This can run the gamut from "Wei Wuxian climbs into Jiang Cheng's bed whenever he's lonely and wants a cuddle" to "they have wrestling matches where they take turns holding each other down" to skinny-dipping together to "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." If they were teens now, Wei Wuxian would take chewed gum out of Jiang Cheng's mouth to share and not even think about it. He would drunkenly sit in the bathtub at a party and watch Jiang Cheng pee instead of pausing the conversation. (Tell me you have seen some intense teenage friendships without telling me you've seen some intense teenage friendships.)

Oh, and Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang fooled around a little while drunk in the Cloud Recesses. The exact amount/degree is flexible.

12. What is your cutest headcanon?

Jin Ling may not have many friends his age, but that's because there was period where most people in new Jiang Sect were generally not having babies post-war. There just aren't that many kids his age in the sect. But he's doted on by the older disciples, who have contributed in no small way to his spoiling.

ALTERNATELY THAT WEN QING IS ALIVE. NO BODY, NO CRIME. (This is maybe just denial.)

13. What is your heart-breakingist headcanon?

Hmm, I'm not sure! How about this: Jin Ling liked Lan Xichen a lot, and—once things slow down a little after the main story—he worries about what happened to him. Not that he can do anything about it, and his seclusion is not even in the top three worst things that have happened lately, but he misses his xiao-shushu's nice friend around Jinlintai quite a bit.

Ask me fandom trash questions!

[ruanbaijie]

During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

Please do not repost this anywhere else or retranslate it!

MAIN DIRECTORY ☾ READ ON AO3 ☾ PREVIOUS CHAPTER

That very day, outside the chapel, Mi Lan got her wish and met Shen Zhiheng.

Shen Zhiheng arrived in a hurry, asking the moment he alighted from the car and saw Mi Lan, “What’s the matter?”

There was anxiousness in his voice, and Mi Lan immediately suspected that she had given him a fright. When it came to Shen Zhiheng, she “treasured” him a lot, as if she had saved him once, and he was now hers. Or at least, she owned a small share of his person. Ever since she was a child, it always felt as if she was just temporarily staying in this world, with nothing to her name, and could leave whenever she wanted to. Shen Zhiheng was the one who gave her a small connection to this world. To a certain extent, Shen Zhiheng himself seemed like her private property.

She smiled softly at Shen Zhiheng, replying, “I’m fine. It’s not about me.”

Shen Zhiheng measured her, noticing that there were no new wounds on her face and hands, and that her complexion was not that bad. It was only then when he guided her into the car.

“If it’s not about you, then who is it about?”

“It’s Li-shushu,” she replied. “The one we met at the entrance of Victoria Hospital.”

Shen Zhiheng stared at her suspiciously, “What… about him?”

 If Mi Lan could see, that suspicion in Shen Zhiheng’s eyes would have probably made her heart run cold. It was blatant suspicion, accompanied by blatant scrutiny, as if she were a slowly unravelling mystery in the midst of revealing its true face one layer by one layer.

Her blind eyes protected her at this moment, and she answered honestly, “He came to find me, asking me to pass a message to you. He said that he wants to reconcile with you, and even wants me to mediate.”

“Then how do you intend to mediate?”

“I’m only passing his message, I won’t mediate.”

“Why are you doing as he asks? That brat is not a good person.”

“He’ll ultimately find someone else to pass you his message. Instead of someone else, it might as well be me. At least, I won’t be in cahoots with him and lie to you.”

“This is not something you should be interfering in.”

Mi Lan grew silent.

Shen Zhiheng spoke again, an undercurrent of anger faint in his voice, “You’re right, he’ll ultimately find someone else to pass me his message. Even if it’s not you, it’ll be someone else. But you were willing to do it for me, and so he now knows that both of us still remain in contact with each other. He’ll also know that your opinions and words matter to me, and he’ll even be able to find out that you were the one who saved me that night! Do you believe or not that his eyes and ears are hiding outside right now? Do you believe or not that he’ll continue coming to you in the future, and even use you to threaten me?”

Mi Lan froze. She had never considered what Shen Zhiheng had just said.

“I won’t let him use me to threaten you,” she said. “I won’t go for choir classes in the future. I’ll hide at home and refuse to leave. He wouldn’t dare to barge into my house to find me.”

Shen Zhiheng sighed. “I arranged the choir classes for you with the hope that you could come out and see the world, make some friends, and live well. In the future, when you leave your family, you can also pass your own days happily.”

“I know,” Mi Lan replied softly. “But, in the past, I hid in the house because I had nowhere else to go. Now, I’ll hide in my house because I want to help you. Both cases are similar because I’m hiding at home, but they’re different because my feelings are different. I’m willing.”

“Do you still remember my phone number?”

“Yes, you gave it to me in the past.”

“If there’s a need, find a way to call me. If it’s not convenient at home, then find a random store. A café or a grocery store. As long as it’s a place that has a telephone installed, you can borrow it, just give them some money. The money that I gave you after you left the hospital, have you kept it well?”

“Yes.”

Shen Zhiheng extended his hand to ruffle her hair. He really wanted to save her, but her father was General Mi, and if he were to really abduct her and flee, General Mi would be humiliated and would definitely not spare him. Besides, after abducting her and fleeing, what next? Would he set up a residence and support her like a mistress [1] , letting her live alone? Or would he keep her by his side? This young lady seemed to have a third eye. If he kept her by his side, it wouldn’t take her a few months to discover all of his secrets.

Shen Zhiheng suddenly felt a twinge of regret. He should not have been so friendly with her these few days. His intentions were good, but the outcome might end up harming her. He was destined to be a harbinger of misfortune and destruction for his entire life. That he could get to know a dumb, happy-go-lucky Situ Weilian was already an unexpected joy, he should have been satisfied with that.

“Run along. Cry as you go back, pretend that I just scolded you.”

Understanding what he meant, Mi Lan pushed the car door open and fumbled out herself. Just as the wind hit her face, she opened her mouth and lowered her head, starting to heave in huge sobs. As she walked alone to the chapel, she even specifically used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. Shen Zhiheng watched her enter the chapel in amazement, because he realised that Mi Lan was both beautiful and intelligent, understanding him in a second and not needing any further explanation, as if she were his close friend who could implicitly understand his thoughts and feelings [2] .

However, Mi Lan did not make good on her promise. The afternoon of the second day, she went to the chapel again.

Li Yingliang found a chance to get a hold of her outside the chapel. In a daze, she froze, and spoke with her head lowered, “Li-shushu, don’t come and find me anymore. I can’t help you.”

Li Yingliang asked her, “Did you pass my message to Shen Zhiheng?”

Mi Lan’s face was ashen. “Mr. Shen is not happy.” She sobbed, “He said I was a busybody and scolded me.”

Extending her walking cane, she found where Li Yingliang was standing, and looped around him in a hurry to return to the little classroom where her choir class was held. 

Then, starting from the third day, she no longer left the house. Li Yingliang did not know just how Shen Zhiheng had scolded her, he only felt that this Young Mistress Mi had suffered a terrible blow. He could not get over this line of thought. This Young Mistress Mi had always lived a miserable life, and had finally gotten the chance to leave her house everyday to go to the choir and have some fun, but this had all been ruined by him, who had not gained anything out of the process either. If he had known earlier that she did not have much say with Shen Zhiheng, he would not have approached her.

Li Yingliang gave up with Mi Lan, and decided to try to find a new path. When it came to Shen Zhiheng, the closer he got to him, the harder it was for him to disentangle himself from him. All day long, he would be brooding over this demon surnamed Shen.

Unexpectedly, one afternoon, Shen Zhiheng invited himself, showing up on initiative at the main gates of his Development Committee.

Hearing that Shen Zhiheng had come, Li Yingliang could not believe it at first. Shen Zhiheng was always very cautious and rarely left the concession zone. He had no reason to take the risk and run over to where he was; what difference did this have from walking straight into a trap?

It was only when he went to take a look and welcome him that he realised that Shen Zhiheng had not gone insane. This time, he had brought with him some twenty to thirty people, and their cars, parked outside the Development Committee, made up a huge contingent. The backseat window of the car in the lead opened, and Shen Zhiheng himself hung his elbow outside the window, tilting his head and looking up. As a pair of glasses, tinted the colour of smoky quartz, sat on his nose bridge, no one knew exactly what he was looking at. 

Li Yingliang revealed a smile in advance, welcoming loudly, “Mr. Shen, what a rare guest.”

Shen Zhiheng raised his hand to remove his glasses, nodding at him, “Chairman Li.”

Li Yingliang looked at him with a smile. His smile was so wide that his eyebrows were curved, the corners of his lips were upturned, and his teeth were revealed. There was nothing but joy on his face. Judging by his smile that was so full of delight, Shen Zhiheng figured that this would be followed by a round of pleasantries, and so he waited quietly, intending to let him speak his fill before he started talking himself. After all, he knew that in negotiations, striking first did not necessarily give one the upper hand.

He thought this way, and so too did Li Yingliang, so the two of them stared at each other. Li Yingliang stood still in the cold wind, smiling till his front teeth were freezing, yet still not knowing why Shen Zhiheng kept staring at him without saying a word. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng was equally clueless, and began to suspect that this smile of Li Yingliang’s had become frozen on his face because of the freezing wind.

In the end, Li Yingliang’s smile slowly faded, and neither could Shen Zhiheng bear with it any longer, “Why don’t you invite me in to have a seat?”

Li Yingliang opened the door of the car, his attitude still as respectful as before, “I couldn’t ask for more. Please, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Zhiheng extended a hand towards the driver in the front, who understood and immediately pulled out a Browning pistol from under the seat and handed it to him. He tucked the pistol into his coat, and then got out of the car.

“Chairman Li, this time, I’ve come prepared. If you still dare to pull any tricks inside, I’ll kill you.”

Li Yingliang laughed loudly, “Based on Mr. Shen’s abilities, do you still need a gun to kill me?”

Then, he gestured towards the gate, “Please.”

Shen Zhiheng strode in as Li Yingliang guided him to his office. Meanwhile, Li Guisheng led a group of men to hide in ambush outside the windows. If anything happened in the room, they would immediately smash the windows and barge in. Even so, after Li Yingliang closed the door, his heart still slowly rose to his throat.

Shen Zhiheng walked one round around his office. Since he was here, he might as well take a look at the headquarters of this Chinese traitor.

Li Yingliang personally poured a cup of hot tea and placed it on the coffee table, saying, “Mr. Shen, please have a seat. I’m truly very pleasantly surprised that you’ve taken the time to come today. I was of the impression that Mr. Shen hated me, and we would never have the chance to resolve our misunderstandings and shake hands and speak in peace.”

Shen Zhiheng turned around in front of the large desk, facing Li Yingliang, “Whether we make peace or not, that’s something that’s between you and me. You should not have urged Young Mistress Mi to be a middle-man. If General Mi found out about this, how do you think he would react?”

Li Yingliang replied, “Mr. Shen wouldn’t complain about me to General Mi, would you?” Then, he grinned, “But, even if General Mi found out about this, I would have an explanation for him. After all, Mr. Shen’s and Young Mistress Mi’s relationship is a little… how do I put it? Haha, not that normal!”

At this point, he stared directly at Shen Zhiheng, “Mr. Shen, it’s rare for us to get the chance to have a peaceful conversation like this. I once dealt you a heavy blow, and neither did you spare me. That you didn’t die is proof of your good fortune, that I didn’t die is also proof of my good fortune. Since the heavens have arranged it such that you and I are both alive to stand here today to speak to one another, I think that we should accept and treasure this chance. I know you look down on me. That’s okay. Many people look down on me, you’re not the only one. You’ve never pointed at my nose and scolded me before, that’s already proof of you giving me face. Recently, you’ve also seen my attitude; I was really trying every method to get close to you, to mend ties with you, but you never gave me the chance. So, I had no choice but to try anything in desperation and seek out Young Mistress Mi. I know that you give her face, and you owe her a favour. But you can rest assured that I’ve never threatened or scared her. What’s the point of me scaring a young lady? I just asked her to help me pass you a message. But it seems like you didn’t give her face. These few days, Young Mistress Mi has not appeared in public at all.”

Shen Zhiheng said, “You’ve gotten it the wrong way round. It’s not that I owe her a favour, she is the one who owes me a favour. Without me, she would have died in the hospital last month.”

Li Yingliang raised his head and thought, and then smiled, “Yes, yes, you have a point. If you hadn’t been there to take care of her, perhaps she really would have died of her illness. And that night, if she hadn’t been there to save you, you probably would still be able to live.” He waved his hands towards Shen Zhiheng, “Don’t be mistaken, I’m being frank here, I mean you absolutely no ill intention.”

Shen Zhiheng could hear through it, Li Yingliang was testing him. This rascal was not stupid. Everything he said was accurate, yet, Shen Zhiheng was just the type of person who was not afraid of being tested.

Meeting his gaze, Li Yingliang took a few tentative steps in his direction. “Mr. Shen, can you tell me, how on earth did you… why are you…”

For a moment, he did not know how to phrase his question. “What I mean is… logically speaking, you definitely died without a doubt. But after disappearing for a month, you reappeared, having not died at all. How?”

Shen Zhiheng shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I’m truly extremely curious.”

Shen Zhiheng suddenly smiled. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes! Can you tell me?”

Shen Zhiheng sighed, “Then you must keep it a secret for me.”

“Of course!”

“I don’t trust you, you must swear on your life.”

Li Yingliang raised his hand and straightened three fingers, “I, Li Yingliang, swear that whatever Mr. Shen tells me today, I will keep it a secret until the end. If I go back on my word, I will be punished by the heavens and get struck by lightning!”

Shen Zhiheng raised a finger and pointed at him, “You will also die without descendants and be sent to the eighteenth level of hell when you die, never to reincarnate for eternity.”

Li Yingliang really used all of his patience on Shen Zhiheng. “Okay, okay, I’ll die without descendants and be sent to the eighteenth level of hell, never to reincarnate for eternity.”

Shen Zhiheng turned his head to glance at the windows, then walked towards Li Yingliang. Li Yingliang suspected that he could sense the people waiting in ambush outside the windows. Seeing him approach him closer and closer, Li Yingliang’s calves seemed to cramp a little. But if he turned around and ran now, everything he had done these past few days would go down the drain.

Shen Zhiheng stopped in front of him. Because he was taller than him by half a head, Li Yingliang pretty much just fell into his shadow. Shen Zhiheng lowered, moving to the side of his ear, and said in a low voice, “Actually, I’m a demon.”

Then, he straightened his body, stared at Li Yingliang, and nodded his head once with certainty. “A demon.”

Li Yingliang was tongue-tied. “No–Mr. Shen, can you stop joking around with me? I’ve even already sworn on my life, and yet you’re telling me now that you’re a demon. You’re not being serious.”

Shen Zhiheng said seriously, from the bottom of his heart, “I’m really a demon. If you don’t believe me, come to my house tonight, I’ll reveal my true form to you.”

“That I don’t dare.”

“What’s there to be scared of, it’s not like I can eat you.”

Upon saying that, he could not help but swallow his saliva. He was due for a meal tonight, and so now, the second he smelled the breath of a live person, his hunger would grow. Li Yingliang glanced at the way his Adam’s apple moved up and down, and immediately felt his hairs standing. Until now, he did not believe a single word of what Shen Zhiheng said. Perhaps, demons really existed in this world, but Shen Zhiheng was definitely not something as simple as a demon.

His mouth dry, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, “Then, what’s your true form?”

“I’ve been human for so long, I can’t remember. If you’re interested, why don’t you just see for yourself?”

Shen Zhiheng’s tone was lively, and so Li Yingliang also put on a false smile, “But to tell you the truth, I really feel like you want to eat me.”

Shen Zhiheng extended a hand and patted his shoulder. “It’s good that Chairman Li is so cautious. It’s better to be safe than sorry. But Chairman Li can rest assured, if you just concern yourself with rising through the ranks, while I just concern myself with making money, both of us minding our own business, then I wouldn’t eat you. But if you really can’t contain your curiosity and insist on playing tricks on me, then don’t blame me for a moment’s rashness.”

At this point, he lowered his voice, “Chairman Li, let me tell you, what person I am isn’t important; what’s important is whether you can live well or not.”

Li Yingliang raised his head to look at him, “So, you came here today to warn me.”

Shen Zhiheng shook his head continuously. “I’m not that kind. I never give any warnings before doing things. Wouldn’t you be wary once I give you a warning? I’m not that stupid.”

As he said this, his voice bore traces of anger as he smiled, and it was fairly gentle and kind, as if he were nagging at his little brother about the housework. Li Yingliang’s character was already quite volatile; who knew that Shen Zhiheng was actually one level above him.

Seeing Shen Zhiheng retrieve that pair of tinted glasses from his pocket, as if he was about to leave, he said in a hurry, “Can I invite you again for dinner? It just happens that it’s no longer early now, it’s just the right time.”

Shen Zhiheng put on his glasses. “I don’t eat food, I eat people.”

Then, he raised his hand and pulled Li Yingliang by his shoulder, making him turn around. With his arm draped across his shoulders, he pushed the door open, saying, “I’ll trouble you to see me out.”

The force he exerted was startlingly large, and Li Yingliang could not help but walk forward. “Mr. Shen, I feel that we should continue talking. The Japanese really want to be friends with you. I, too, personally–”

“Shut up!”, Shen Zhiheng suddenly turned towards him and roared.

With his abrupt change in demeanour, even though Li Yingliang could not see his eyes, he could see his ferocious expression, like he had lost his temper. Previously, he had been babbling pleasantly and amicably, and his temper had been better than anyone else’s. Li Yingliang had not thought that he would roar in anger without any warning. Stepping out of the doors of the committee, he watched agape as Shen Zhiheng slid into his car and left.

Li Guisheng ran up from behind him, muttering angrily, “Sir, he actually dared to yell at you.”

Li Yingliang glared. “Is it strange that he yelled at me? He even dares to kill me!”

Leaving the Japanese concession zone, Shen Zhiheng went straight to Keats Hospital.

Every alternate day, Situ Weilian would bring blood for him. And every two days, just before having his meal, he would be starving. At this time, if he was alone in a quiet place and did not get agitated by anything, nothing much would happen. But if he was suffering from starvation and a warm, fragrant live human was put in front of him, the flames of hunger would burn him to madness.

Earlier, Li Yingliang’s endless chatter had made him see red. He had tried to endure it, but in the end, he had still snapped, and had shut the bastard up with a single roar.

Seeing Shen Zhiheng’s car from inside the hospital, Situ Weilian immediately grabbed his canvas satchel and ran out, two heavy glass bottles knocking against each other in it. He opened the car door and looked at Shen Zhiheng, and as if he could read Shen Zhiheng’s mind, he placed the satchel in the car.

“You go first, I’ll come and find you tonight!”

Shen Zhiheng only glanced once at him, before instructing the driver to drive off. Arriving home a short while later, he held the canvas satchel and raced up the stairs, dashing into his bedroom.

Taking deep gulps, he drained the two large bottles of icy cold blood.

Then, he went limp in satisfaction and bliss. In the middle of his daze, he faintly felt a twinge of sorrow. He knew that he was deteriorating at an increasing rate. Perhaps, one day, he would lose his wisdom, his thoughts, his speech, leaving behind only a bloodthirsty hunger.

But he had not been born a monster. When he was fourteen, he had passed the first examination to be an official, and he had once been a talented youth with a bright future.

It was a pity that he had been a human only until the age of fourteen.

After getting off work, Situ Weilian went straight to the Shen mansion. When he entered, Shen Zhiheng had just regained his consciousness, coming down the stairs to welcome him. Situ Weilian brought the cold in with him as he stood in the building, looking around. He saw that Shen Zhiheng had evidently just taken a bath, and was now adjusting the collar of his changpao as he descended the stairs.

Looking down, Shen Zhiheng nodded and asked, “Have you had your dinner?”

“No, I ran over as soon as I got off work.”

Shen Zhiheng lifted a hand and pointed at the telephone on the wall beside the door. Situ Weilian understood. He turned around to grab the telephone, giving the nearby restaurant a call and ordering a table of dishes.

Putting down the phone, he saw that Shen Zhiheng had already walked to the sofa and was seated down there. He moved over, asking, “You were hungry in the afternoon?”

Shen Zhiheng was busy finding his cigar and a matchstick. “I was hungry.”

Situ Weilian ruffled his curly hair with a hand. “You got hungry early?”

Shen Zhiheng lit his cigar, inhaling deeply. “Weilian, one day, if, because of my hunger, I end up attacking a live person, what would you do?”

Situ Weilian felt that he was saying this a little decorously and stiffly. He smiled at once, “What would I do? What else could I do? Of course I would think of a way to find you food!”

“You won’t be afraid of me?”

Situ Weilian immediately shook his head. “You won’t suck my blood, I trust you.”

Shen Zhiheng laughed. “I don’t even trust myself, on what basis do you trust me?”

“Because we’re good friends, we care for each other [3] .”

Shen Zhiheng suddenly changed the topic, “Do you have enough money?”

“What? Are you offering me financial assistance?”

“I can offer you financial assistance, but you must help me think of an idea.”

“Go ahead!”

“When Mi Lan is at home, she can’t pass her days well. I arranged it such that she could attend choir lessons everyday and relax, but because Li Yingliang found out about our relationship and wanted to target her, it’s no longer convenient for her to leave the house. I’m very worried that she’ll get bored at home, and that she’ll also get abused by her mother.”

Situ Weilian slouched on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. After staying silent for some time, he slapped his thigh. “Why don’t you go and tell Mrs. Mi that if she beats her daughter again, you’ll give her a taste of how formidable you are!”

“Nonsense, what do you mean taste? Do I give her a beating as well?”

Situ Weilian revealed a cunning smile. “Who said anything about beating her? Isn’t it enough to just give her a fright?”

Shen Zhiheng thought, I’ve done nothing much today, but I’ve just been scaring people. I scared Li Yingliang this afternoon, and now could it be that I’ll have to go and scare Mrs. Mi?

Situ Weilian began animatedly narrating his ingenious plan, and the more he listened, the deeper Shen Zhiheng’s frown grew.

“No way, no way. That’s a child’s game. I can’t do that.”

“Do it or not, it’s up to you. In any case, I’m not friends with Mi Lan. If her mother beats her child, I’m not the one who feels the pain.”

Shen Zhiheng laughed bitterly, still feeling that this plan of Situ Weilian’s was like a child’s prank and he was simply too embarrassed to carry it out.

Situ Weilian added on, mumbling, “Actually, you’re treating the symptoms, but not the cause. As long as she still stays in that house, you won’t be able to save her.”

“I’m simply repaying a favour,” Shen Zhiheng said.

“Without her, you won’t die. If you could die, you would have died a long time ago.”

Shen Zhiheng stared at the burning end of the cigar, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him.

The restaurant waiter sent the dishes over and Situ Weilian had a huge feast. Full and tired, he stayed the night at the Shen mansion. At dawn, he was pushed awake by Shen Zhiheng. Then, as if they were playing around, the two of them got to work.

As they were preparing, Shen Zhiheng still felt fairly embarrassed. After busying themselves for a while, he stopped, and said to Situ Weilian, his face reddening, “Actually, I’m quite old.”

Situ Weilian laughed and “tsk”ed, “It’s alright, you look young.”

“For an old man like me to do something like this, it’s really unseemly.”

Situ Weilian squatted on the floor, laughing so hard his face had also become red. “Stop nagging, if you nag any more the sun is going to rise. Besides, what’s wrong with this? The Westerners celebrate Halloween, and even put on make-up like this on purpose!”

Shen Zhiheng stood in front of the full-length mirror. The person in the mirror was dressed in a white gown [4] , which was stained with streaks of blood. This blood happened to be the remnants from the blood bottles. Other than that, his usually meticulous hair had been messed up by Situ Weilian, and Situ Weilian had used the leftovers from his own meal to put on make-up for him. After soaking some dry bread in soup and mashing it into a glutinous paste, Situ Weilian had spread it across his face, and then dug out a packet of white powder from his leather bag and blown it across his head and face. Once the make-up was complete, Shen Zhiheng truly no longer looked like a human. He also kept gagging, the smell of food making him extremely uncomfortable.

Finally, after drenching half of his face with bright red strawberry jam, Situ Weilian turned off the lights, suppressing his snickers as he and Shen Zhiheng went their separate ways. He had driven the hospital car over, so he drove the car when he left now. He appeared to be leaving, but he actually drove the car to the back door of the mansion to pick Shen Zhiheng up.

The two of them hid from the patrol officers, driving speedily to the Mi mansion. Situ Weilian’s driving skills were quite good, and before long, he was already quietly parking the car by a wall behind the Mi mansion.

With one hand on the steering wheel and the other clamped over his mouth, he said, laughing, “Haha, Shen-xiong, go, quickly. Haha! If not, you’re going to lose your face!”

Shen Zhiheng did not dare to make any expression, but even when he was expressionless, there were still half-dried flecks of bread that dropped off from his face. He clearly knew that Situ Weilian was making use of this opportunity to find joy at his expense. Pointing at him, he made a warning gesture, and then pushed open the car door and got out of the car. Situ Weilian collapsed onto the passenger seat, extending his neck to see his silhouette. He saw him walk up to the wall. That wall was higher than him, he had to raise both of his arms high up in order to reach its top.

So, he raised both of his arms high to reach the top of the wall, and easily jumped across it, flipping himself over the wall.

For Shen Zhiheng to enter the Mi mansion, it was really effortless.

The security of this area was very good, and under Mrs. Mi’s lead, everyone in the Mi mansion lived their days muddle-headedly. If the old maids remembered to close and lock the main gates at night, that could already be considered as something done conscientiously. Shen Zhiheng pried open a window and jumped in. Previously, when he was chatting with Mi Lan, he had gained a slight understanding of the Mi mansion. So, he went directly to the second floor, entering Mrs. Mi’s bedroom.

He carefully opened the door and closed the window, and the cold wind instantly blew the curtains around, the window shutters banging around noisily as they opened and closed. In her drunken sleep, Mrs. Mi opened her eyes, only to see that a dark wind was blowing around in her room and in the pale moonlight, a tall and large figure stood before her bed. His face was an uneven mess of blood and flesh, and he was looking at her with his head lowered.

Terrified out of her wits, she opened her mouth and was about to scream, but that person suddenly raised his hand and single-handedly covered her mouth. His other large, cold hand wrapped around her neck.

That person said in a trembling, strange voice, “I am the great-grandfather of the Mi family. You evil, poisonous wench, torturing my Mi family’s descendant every day and night. Tonight, my spirit has returned just to take your wretched life.”

Mrs. Mi shook her head as if her life depended on it, becoming a shivering ball on her bed.

Then, that person said, “Since you are my descendant’s biological mother, if you repent and mend your ways, I will spare you this one time. If you dare to do it again in the future, I will definitely bring you before the ancestors of the Mi family and make you suffer in the Hell of the Blood Pool [5] !”

Then, the large, cold hand was gone, and that person flew up and out of the window. When Mrs. Mi was able to move her muscles and drag herself off the bed, the area outside the window and outside the building had long become silent again. Occasionally, a few sounds rang out as cars drove past in the distance.

Shen Zhiheng was extremely embarrassed. The second he escaped back to the car, he used his lapel to madly wipe his face and hair. After wiping for some time, he suddenly realised that Situ Weilian had disappeared.

The next second, the car door opened, and Situ Weilian jumped into the car, bringing the cold wind with him. “You’re back? So fast?”

Shen Zhiheng relaxed, and continued to wipe himself madly. “What were you doing?”

Situ Weilian started the engine, and first drove off the small lane that the Mi mansion was on. “I went to pee–”

He suddenly noticed what Shen Zhiheng was doing.

“Ai, ai, ai, stop, stop, stop. You’re making my car dirty. How can I drive it back to the hospital later? Our hospital only has this one car, my cousin would eat me!”

Shen Zhiheng ignored him, pushing the door open and jumping out. Bending down, he started retching. Just as his insides were doing somersaults, patrol whistles suddenly started echoing from nearby. He dove back into the car in a hurry.

Situ Weilian was also shocked. “They can’t be here to catch us, right?”

Shen Zhiheng was too weak to reply. Just at this moment, a patrol officer on a bicycle rode past them at the speed of lighting, shouting loudly as he went, “Guards! A demon’s on the loose!”

Situ Weilian waited until the patrol officer disappeared, before asking in a whisper, “A demon? It can’t be the one in the newspapers? What’s that, the weasel demon? The one that sucks blood.”

Shen Zhiheng paused. “I don’t know. Perhaps?”

“Sucks blood… Say, this so-called weasel demon, do you think it could be that brother you’ve been trying to find all along?”

“I still don’t know.”

Situ Weilian suddenly became spirited. “I have an idea! From tomorrow onwards, don’t sleep at night. You should come here and saunter around, and wait for that demon to come over and suck your blood. When he makes his move against you, you’ll make use of the opportunity to catch him and clarify things with him.”

Shen Zhiheng sighed, casually saying, “But what if he’s really just a demon, then what?”

“Aiyo, this old brother, what do you mean ‘just a demon’? You’re already in this state, and you’re still looking down on demons?”

“What do you mean ‘this state’? I’m even lesser than a demon?”

“You’re a vampire–”

“Shut up!”

Situ Weilian shut his mouth, driving the car straight back to the Shen mansion. When the car came to a stop at the back door of the Shen mansion, he could not help but turn around again to Shen Zhiheng, “Have you ever thought that you’re also a demon?”

Shen Zhiheng also turned to him. “No.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Shen Zhiheng opened his mouth, “It’s just that my luck is bad, and got struck by this rare misfortune–”

Situ Weilian finished his words for him. “Fortunately, you met me, and all things considered, you gained a friend who knows your heart like you do.”

Shen Zhiheng nodded his head earnestly. “Yes.”

With Shen Zhiheng, Situ Weilian was never serious, and never expressed his personal thoughts. Now, in the silence of the night, he turned back to the front, and suddenly said, “I will always be a doctor. If I can’t be a doctor, I’ll be a butcher. I will supply you with blood, and I won’t let you starve to the point that you’ll attack people. I will… I will be responsible for you until the end.”

Shen Zhiheng smiled, one hand pushing open the door while the other patting Situ Weilian’s shoulder. “Okay, okay, I know. Even if you don’t say it, I know.”

------------------------------------------------------------

I translated 外宅 (wài zhǎi) very loosely as “mistress” as this is probably the closest word in modern day. It literally means “external house” and refers to the women that some men “kept” and supported during the days when they could still marry one wife and have multiple concubines. These women and their children usually did not live together with the man’s main family in the same compound, hence “external”.

My wordy attempt at translating 知音 (zhī yīn), which I’ve seen translated as “bosom friend” or “soulmate” before, but I felt that none of these really accurately reflect Shen Zhiheng’s and Mi Lan’s relationship here. 知音 literally means “know sound”, and refers to someone who knows you so well, more than you know yourself. It does not necessarily have a romantic connotation. It originated from the legend of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi from the Spring and Autumn Period (~770-481 BCE). Yu Boya was very good at playing the qin, while Zhong Ziqi was very good at listening to the qin, and Zhong Ziqi could always understand what Yu Boya was thinking of just from how the latter played the qin alone. When Zhong Ziqi died, Yu Boya destroyed his precious qin and snapped its strings, vowing to never play the qin again, because he no longer had a zhiyin and there was no longer anyone who could understand him.

The phrase used here was 有感情, which literally means “have feelings” for each other. However, I did not use this as a translation because in Chinese, it does not necessarily have a romantic connotation like it does in English.

As in changpao.

The thirteenth level of hell in Chinese mythology, where those who disrespect others are thrown into and submerged in a pool of blood.

[bitter-panacea]

About Goultard's Dissociative Identity Disorder

This post is a collection of thoughts, analysis, wild extrapolating, reading too much into small details, and pure speculation. Please forgive how messy this is, this whole post might be uncomprehensible.

Some things Goultard says about the system

- he created it to make immortality bearable

I truly dont believe he means he consciously created his alters. He can hardly control them. They were a creation of his mind as a means of coping with / surviving the various traumas he faced throughout his life.

- it's a curse given by his father

Either the "curse" he speaks of is immortality itself, or he holds his father and god responsible for what he's had to go through (without him ever protecting or saving him)

The Alters

Goultard : Apparently Normal Part, Host. He's aware of the system. But sometimes partially forgets about it and how it functions.

I assume he has pretty unreliable memory. Sometimes forgets where he is, how he got there, what he was supposed to do, he can forget about things that happened or that he did etc...

Classic dissociation + can enter a kind of hibernation/complete dormancy and sleep for weeks, months, years, when needed or out of boredom.

Vlad : Emotional Part. Formerly unaware of the system, now aware of it (or at least aware of goultard being the host) embodies anger, exteriorizes unresolved rage and resentment by violently lashing out until the body has calmed down.

Somewhat naturally takes a protective role without really meaning to, taking control when certain emotions become too much to bear for the host, redirecting the violence outward instead of inwards.

First fronting triggered by Algathe's death.

Vald : Between Fragment and Apparently Normal Part. Not aware of the system. Too little experience and time fronting to pass as a fully formed individual (but people usually assume he's just stupid). In a way, his role IS to be too stupid to feel sadness, or anything much. But could develop into a real ANP if given the chance.

Born out of a desire for numbness. Possibly related to missing the crimson dofus after it was taken away from the system?? The whole system seems very attached to the crimson dofus, yearning for its warmth, letting its power consume them from the inside out.

How they form

Vlad and Vald didnt suddenly appear because of a single event each triggering them into existence. Rather they formed slowly and over extended periods of time from more or less specific needs, locked away in the confines of the mind before being awakened and forced to front by a triggering event causing a switch.

The underlying cause of the disorder being the hundreds of years spent inhabitated by a symbiotic shushu, manipulating his emotions and sense of self, slowly fracturing it over time.

Other Alters ?

There could potentially be more alters staying in hiding, unbeknownst to Goultard (and the rest of the system)

The differences between the way goultard acts in dofus and in wakfu, specifically emotionally, could imply a split happened between dofus and wakfu. A new identity that hasnt fronted yet would have taken these aspects that the host no longer has.

Most probably caused by losing arty, goultard's love for him was what freed him from the demon after all.

Goultard now hides in order to cry, when he used to feel no shame crying nuzzled in Arty's arms.

This would have been exacerbated by Goultard being put into a role of mentor and caregiver to Tristepin, worsening his emotional repression (that a new emotional part could have formed to embody instead).

Tristepin being the reincarnation of his father, whom he has conflicted feelings about, and having his children brutally murdered in the past, explain why he'd want/need to keep him at a distance, wanting him to not think of him as family, only as his mentor/master.

Edit : I forgot to mention his habit of self-isolation, just imagine I did

[dasisugarun]

im in love with the way he is singing live

[nosebleed-archive]

[spriteofmushrooms]

Ask game: 1 chengqing

1. things you said at 3am

Two days after Wei Wuxian died, Jiang Cheng woke from a dream of the dirty Wen child who clung to his leg. Heart racing, skin clammy, he flew alone to the Burial Mounds and scoured the remains, all for nothing. And who could he ask? So the warmth of a little body haunted him on the nights he rocked Jin Ling.

Until a small Lan with a Gusu-softened Qishan accent tripped and fell into him during one of his visits to Lan Qiren, apologizing so desperately that Jiang Cheng couldn't help but focus on him. A sweet, anxious expression modifying Wen clan features. The earnest need to ensure all adults stayed calm barely obscured by Lan-trained restraint.

Just like a-jie, Jiang Cheng thought.

"Are you treated well?" Jiang Cheng asked, interrupting the boy. What was his name?

The little Lan blinked and nodded, going mute from Jiang Cheng's gruff voice.

Jiang Cheng's eyes stung, and he turned his face away. "Be careful."

At least Nie Mingjue was dead. In time, the boy's accent would fade, and the danger would pass. Perhaps his mother's features would develop in time, too, obscuring his resemblance to a skull mounted outside of Bujing Shi.

The nightmares continued anyway.

Two days after Jin Guangyao died, Jiang Cheng woke from a dream of starry black eyes. It was impossible, and yet Lan Sizhui lived and Wen Ning persisted. After another frantic flight, this time to Jinlin Tai, Jiang Cheng found himself in front of a groggy Jin Ling.

"There was a doctor," Jiang Cheng said.

Jin Ling blinked at him. "Okay."

"She might be alive," he gestured at the walls, "somewhere hidden."

Jin Ling was a good boy, so he only complained the necessary amount before dressing and organizing the search. Jiang Cheng held little hope--Jin Guangyao's memory was exceptional, so he had left few notes. Still, servants see more than most, and so Jiang Cheng carefully questioned people until they had several possibilities.

With Jin Ling and a small group of Jin cultivators, they searched the areas of Jinlin Tai that seemed most suspect. Most inspections led to nothing, the result of hindsight casting shadows over Jin Guangyao's every movement. Two ended with Jiang Cheng standing aside as Jin Ling beheld his grandfather's and shushu's legacies.

One, though. One led to a small, dark apartment that locked from the outside.

It was tidy. The first room was filled with shelves and a table. Jiang Cheng picked up the ink stick, rubbing his thumb against it. High quality. Ink he couldn't have afforded for the first seven years after the war.

Like everything else, it was covered in dust.

"Jiujiu," Jin Ling said, and then stopped.

Jiang Cheng ignored him, using a light talisman to check the books and scrolls. Decisive, bold strokes filled many. The writer's thoughts had flowed easily; her brush had not faltered.

"Jiujiu, I'm sorry."

Jiang Cheng shut the book in time for his tears to fall on the cover.

He'd thought she died the same day as Jiang Yanli, as Wei Wuxian. He'd thought Jin Guangshan had burned her with the rest. He had dreamed about it, about begging her to let him save her as she walked with Wen Ning to her death. Not once in sixteen years had she ever turned to him.

This, though.

"Do you want me to check the other room?"

"No," Jiang Cheng said.

A bed. A chest with Wen red robes. A pair of slippers.

Jiang Cheng knelt in the dust and clung to the robes.

"Who was she?"

My zhiji, Jiang Cheng thought, and said nothing.

[idleyuri]

Shuhua introducing her girlfriend to the (g)irls. no warnings just fluff. fem reader. Not proofread.

“I’m nervous, what if they don’t like me?” You said as you fidgeted with the hem of your long sleeve. “Don’t worry baby, they’re going to love you.” Shuhua said, taking one of your hands and giving it a gentle squeeze.

you nodded, taking a deep breath before shuhua opened the door to the cube building. Greeting a few of the staff members before heading to the group lounge where they usually hanged out.

“Guys!” Shuhua called to them with a smile. “Oh, hey shuhua. We were wondering where you went– who’s that next to you?” Yuqi said, you gave shuhua’s hand a small squeeze, one that she reciprocated. “This is Y/n, my girlfriend.” The room went silent for a bit, the rest of the group eyeing you up and down

the room was silent before you heard a voice say, “She’s pretty!” You looked over to see Minnie waving at you, the others nodded in agreement, you felt your face grow a bit red as you buried your face into shuhua’s shoulder. “I know right, she’s the prettiest.”

”shu..” You murmured causing her to giggle. “What? It’s the truth.” The others watched with amusement before Soyeon stood up and walked over to you and held out her hand “Nice to meet you Y/n, I hope our shushu is treating you well,”

“yah! Of course i do!” Shuhua said with a small pout, the room broke out into laughter before you said with a small smile. “Nice to meet you too, and don’t worry, she’s treating me well.” You said before taking her hand and shaking it.

“Good, good. Come, sit down, both of you.” Shuhua nodded before sitting the two of you down on the couch, miyeon greeted you with a small wave which you reciprocated. Suddenly you hear someone speak to you, “So, what are your intentions with my daughter.” Said yuqi, you blinked for a few seconds before saying in an equally serious voice. “I intend on making her the happiest woman alive.”

yuqi nodded before looking at shuhua with a small grin. “I like her,” Shuhua’s gaze flickered over to you as if silently telling you, ‘I told you so.’ You let out a small chuckle before playfully rolling your eyes.

you guys continued to talk until the sun began to set and when it was time for you to leave they all took turns bidding you goodbye. The car ride home was silent, but it was the good kind, occasionally sneaking glances over to your girlfriend as she picked at the promise ring you had bought her for your one month anniversary.

“What did you think of them?” she said as she turned to look at you. “Mm.. they were surprisingly cool, soojin’s stories about you were entertaining.” Shuhua playfully hit your shoulder as you chuckled. “Kidding, kidding.. no but they’re really nice, I’m glad that they didn’t hate me,”

You looked to see a small grin plastered onto shuhua’s face. “I told youu,” shuhua said in a singsong voice, you playfully rolled your eyes at her. “Yeahyeah whatever,” She let out a small chuckle before saying, “I love you.” You paused for a bit before turning to look at her with a smile. “I love you too.”

[tcfactory]

Small WIP sneak peak from my so far unnamed "there are people who mourn for Shen Jiu actually" fic:

----

"Ming Fan, do you know anything about this?"

Once upon a time those words would have been a sign of impending punishment, but now they are said with a tone of genuine confusion. Ming Fan sets down the financial report he’s writing for his Shizun (Ming Fan had to learn really quickly how to do the peak’s paperwork after Shen Qingqiu changed. The man who never let him do much more than grind ink had drastically changed his approach after his loss of memory. Now Ming Fan much prefers when his Shizun delegates all of his work to him, because at least that way it gets done correctly.) and walks over to the other desk to take a look at the bit of correspondence spread out on the table.

Ah. His parents are demanding to know why Shen Qingiu stopped sending reports on the progress of Ming Fan’s sister. A sister who’s not a cultivator and as such was never actually enrolled in Cang Qiong Sect.

Ming Fan glances at his Shizun. He really should remind the man of the truth, that they cooked this scheme up together to get her out of a marriage to a rich, but violent man that likely would have killed her. That his sister is fine down in the city, working as the cook’s apprentice in the brothel - far below her station as a nobleman’s firstborn daughter, but the happiest she has ever been. That she’s being courted by the very nice and very boring man who owns the noodle stall. That they’ve been ferreting away the substantial sum of money Ming Fan’s father is paying for her education at Qing Jing and when her apprenticeship is over they are going to get married and open a restaurant together.

But Shen Qingqiu has lost a lot with his memories, among them the ability to convincingly lie to noblemen. If Ming Fan tells him the truth, his sister will be in trouble.

“Answering Shizun, this one’s jiejie has eloped with one of the Bai Zhan disciples. It happened when Shizun was recovering from his sudden fever, so this disciple didn’t want to bother him with things of low importance.”

Several expressions flicker rapidly over his Shizun’s face, his eyes shifting briefly to the right (a new tick, one Ming Fan can’t interpret well yet), but after a moment he schools his face. “I see. I will let Liu-shidi handle the fallout, then.”

Ming Fan exhales a breath of relief, makes his excuses and returns to his report. Liu-shishu will neither confirm nor deny that anything of the sort happened on his peak and then tell the Ming family to go to hell for good measure. Not unlike how Shizun would have done once upon a time, Ming Fan thinks bitterly as he picks up his brush and directs his attention back to the paperwork.

He forgets all about this until years later, when he finds himself standing in front of the bamboo house, holding a letter penned with his jiejie’s best calligraphy. It’s an invitation to her wedding, addressed to ‘her prickly but kindhearted benefactor’.

He should go in and give it to his Shizun, but this Shizun is not the person who lied so convincingly to the Ming patriarch that he broke off a potentially lucrative arranged marriage there and then. Not the one who stole her away from the jaws of danger and called in a personal favor to get her a job somewhere he was certain she would be safe.

Ming Fan clutches the letter so hard that the envelope crumples. He should hand it over, but he doesn’t want to.

Ning Yingying finds him there, paralyzed from indecision and it takes just a glance at the letter for her to understand what’s going on. “Is that the invitation for Qingqiu-shushu?”

Ming Fan nods and makes an attempt at smoothing out the envelope, but he has gripped it too tight and it remains sad and crumpled.

Yingying takes him by the hand and drags him off to… somewhere in the bamboo forest. He always let Yingying fetch their Shizun when he withdrew into the forest to paint because she knew the hidden paths the best. He still recognizes the ginkgo tree from the few occasions they went together.

There’s a haphazard pile of rocks at the root of the tree and next to it a bowl for incense sticks (there are many burned down and one currently burning, the smoke curling lazily like the tail of a happy cat) and a plate for offerings piled with folded paper birds. It makes him raise an eyebrow at his shimei.

“Shushu never liked wasting food, so I figured I’d give him something else he might enjoy,” she explains, rooting around in her qiankun sleeve until she pulls out a fire talisman. “I don’t know how this works, but you need to burn paper money to give it to the dead, so I figured it could work with other paper things too.” She directs a meaningful glance at the letter still held in his hand.

Ming Fan opens his mouth. He wants to tell her that it’s silly, that Shizun is alive and well, but he remembers something Mu-shishu once said and the words get stuck in his throat.

Most souls pass into the cycle of reincarnation long before a funeral can be arranged, he said, draping another blanket over Yingying and Shen Qingqiu, who have fallen asleep clinging to each other. It was the day of her mother’s funeral and the only time Ming Fan has ever seen Shizun fall asleep in company, just as drained by the loss as his niece. Funerals and mourning rites are not for the benefit of those who have passed, but for those who have stayed behind. It’s through ritual and remembrance that we grow to accept that someone who once filled a part of our life is no longer there. 

Sometimes it feels like nobody else is missing the way Shizun was before, but Ming Fan does. He misses the man, sharp and thin-faced and often unpleasant, who nonetheless chose mean, mediocre Ming Fan as his head disciple. As a future hallmaster; a future peer.

Mourning is for the benefit of those who remain.

Ming Fan holds out the envelope and watches as the corner catches fire along with the paper birds.

“Shizun. My sister is getting married next month.” His voice cracks. “She wanted to have you as a guest of honor. We would have loved to have you there.”

The flames consume the envelope. His hands shake.

People whisper about the empty seat at the wedding, but it matters little. That Shen Qingqiu is gone and there’s nobody worthy of filling his spot.

[celestialbruise]

for @dangerouslyxdelicate, for the Danmei Fanfic Nightclub~

prompt: BingJiuYuan with Shen Yuan as Bing and Shen Jiu's shizun (aka my fav flavor of bingjiuyuan <3)

Shen Qingqiu loved his disciples. Really, he did! Even if they were incorrigible scoundrels, they were his incorrigible scoundrels. 

But sometimes, as their Shizun, a little discipline was in order. 

“Why do you two only seem to see eye to eye when it comes to bullying your shushu?” Shen Qingqiu asks in his sternest tone of voice. “Why can’t any of that energy go into Night Hunts, hm?”

Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe were sat side by side each both refusing to look at other and not daring to even pass their eyes over Shen Qingqiu. Shen Jiu was glaring at his collapsed fingers as if they had committed some unforgivable sin against him, and Luo Binghe was staring out the window, eyes glassy with unshed tears.

“Because that little beast-” Shen Jiu cut himself off under Shen Qingqiu’s reproachful glare. “I mean, Luo-shidi,” he resumed, with gritted teeth. “Is so ferocious on Nigh Hunts. Killing that ghoul or that yao indiscriminately, it makes it hard to fight in a formation.”

“Oh, that’s rich,” Luo Binghe muttered underbreath, before straightening his spine and shooting Shen Qingqiu a pitful, watery look. “Shen-shixiong’s blows are so underhanded I never know who he’s targeting; Shizun, oftentimes I find myself having to defend myself from both the malicious spirit and my shixiong.”

“Oh it’s just like you to cry to Shizun-”

“You two need to learn how to work together,” Shen Qingqiu interrupted, resisting the urge to massage the headache attacking his temples away. That wasn’t very becoming of an immortal master. “Or, are you saying that I have failed you as a Shizun?”

Instantly, both of his disciples’ eyes widened, in incredulity, alarm, and vehement denial.

“Shizun, no!”

“Don’t ever even say that Shizun! That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

Amidst his disciples’ protestations, Shen Qingqiu flipped open his fan, if only to hide a tiny, wry smirk. 

For some reason, Shen Qingqiu had noticed that while his disciples seemed to dislike each other - and loathe just about everyone else - they were always very eager to please their Shizun. It had confused Shen Qingqiu, at first. Luo Binghe was no mystery - he was Shen Qingqiu’s little sheep, a pure white lotus of a boy, pure and unsullied and eager to please. He only wanted love, and Shen Qingqiu could give that to him in droves. He could never run dry of his love for Luo Binghe, love that burned fire-hot in his veins. 

Shen Jiu was a bit more mystifying. Shen Qingqiu was sure the boy hated him, resented having a Shizun who had such a strong spiritual core, despised being told what to do, even though that was quite literally in his job description. But Shen Jiu did not act as if he hated Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu knew what it looked like when Shen Jiu hated a person, after all. Was quite intimately acquainted with it, since that hatred extended to pretty much ninety percent of the population. But with Shen Qingqiu, Shen Jiu was different. Shen Jiu’s kindness, his care, was like a secret no one else could know. But Shen Qingqiu saw it, uncovered it in small, quiet moments. When Shen Jiu would polish Xiu Ya for him, unprompted. When he would buy the expensive, specialty blends of tea Shen Qingqiu preferred that his allowance really couldn’t afford. When he would go ahead of Shen Qingqiu on Night Hunts, protect him, shield him, even though Shen Qingqiu was plenty capable.

Shen Jiu would listen to Shen Qingqiu, to everything he said, no matter if it was trivial or mundane, a worthless joke or a priceless piece of imparted knowledge. He would listen with shining concentration in his eyes and a kind of rapt focus that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but find adorable - he’d never say such a thing aloud, though. Shen Jiu would probably throttle him. 

When faced with insult, Shen Qingqiu would counter with a smile and honey-sweet passive aggressiveness. Shen Jiu’s tongue would spin the most scathing, heinous words in the politest tone possible, in defense of his Shizun. Often, Shen Qingqiu thought it might be less painful for the other party were Shen Jiu to just kick them in the shins. Luo Binghe’s favored mode of attack was to simply stare at the offender until they nervously backed away. Sometimes, if the perceived slight against his Shizun was really too much for Luo Binghe to bear, he’d let a bit of demonic qi wisp out of the tips of his fingers. Only when he thought Shen Qingqiu wasn’t watching, of course. Whenever these two accompanied Shen Qingqiu anywhere, it was as if he walked with two bodyguards. Or, guard dogs. 

Shen Qingqiu thought the two had more in common than they realized. 

It had bemused Shen Qingqiu at first. How fiercely protective his disciples were. How strangely accommodating. Almost….doting? Now, he found it endearing, though his fellow peak lords would not agree. Shen Qingqiu surmised they were all just jealous of the deep, poignant bond he had with his disciples. What other master could boast having not one but two head disciples, hm? Who else could say they had disciples as devoted, as worshipful, as utterly and divinely made for Shen Qingqiu than his Luo Binghe and Shen Jiu?

“If Shizun wishes for his disciples to be more harmonious,” Shen Jiu spoke then, something cryptic about his tone that immediately raised Shen Qingqiu’s guard. “Then, there is something that could bring the two of us closer together.”

Shen Qingqiu was intrigued by this premise, despite the fact that he was probably going to regret it. “Oh?”

Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe traded conspiratorial glances - oh, so they had talked this over before?! - and then slowly, assuredly, both of them took each of Shen Qingqiu’s hands into their own. 

“You could accept these disciples’ hands in marriage,” Luo Binghe said, soft-spoken and earnest and sincere, breathtakingly so, and - what? What?? For a moment, Shen QIngqiu’s mind whited out. No, he must have misheard. Surely Binghe couldn’t mean-

“Beast! Didn’t we agree on courtship first?” Shen Jiu protested, shooting an entirely unrepentant Luo Binghe a glare, who simply shrugged. 

“We can’t court him after we’re married to him?” Luo Binghe retorted, tightening his grip. “Please, Shizun? I’d be the best husband.”

“Please Shizun, say yes,” Shen Jiu added, before Shen Qingqiu could stop to ask if Luo Binghe had been infected with one of those ridiculous magical flowers. 

And with those soft, glistening black eyes filled with so much love and care entreating, softly pleading-

Really, how could Shen Qingqiu have the heart to refuse his most beloved, devoted disciples?