#which means yuuken makes LIAN OU PAI GU TANG XD

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Captain of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS x TWST AU) - Jiang Yanli’s Phoenix Mountain Moment but It’s Yuuken Instead

I want to write the whole Phoenix Mountain Hunt but I have no energy to write the whole episode. So, I just write Yanli best scene. Either this or The Untamed "I used to see you as my lifelong bosom friend" scene, but the latter will be only after I have more context.

The Sunshot Campaign had passed and peace had arrived. Whispers among the streets about his brother's new unusual cultivation method, but Yuuken still stands by his belief. Both of his siblings are the only family left, thus he will stand by their side as they rebuilt their fallen House Crowley of Dawn.

It was during this time that House Kingscholar of Afterglow decided to hold a Crowd-Hunt at Phoenix Mountain, inviting all the remaining four Great House. This was also one of the few that Yuuken can attend since he was personally invited by First Lady Claudia Kingscholar, the mother of Leona Kingscholar, his former fiance. Though Yuuken could've guessed why she did that.

Even so, that didn't make walking down the forest path with Leona by his side to be less awkward. Lucky for them, there weren't any monsters around, though Yuuken guessed that it had something to do with the sound of a flute earlier.

"Looks like we have ourselves a human-size snake."

Yuuken snapped out of his thought to look at Leona. "What?"

"A monster from the southern isle." The young lord crouched down. His fingers brush away some grass, revealing the shedded green scales that were too big for Yuuken's liking. "It'll just have a height-measuring contest when you encounter it. If it's taller than you, it'll swallow you up. Looks tough but it's nothing compared to us."

Yuuken's eyes widened slightly. "Us?"

Leona glanced back, but Yuuken quickly looked away. "Surely you can take care of yourself."

Yuuken unconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword, Enma. "Oh. Of course." It wasn't that Yuuken didn't know how to fight. He had his spiritual sword and studied along with his siblings and Leona at Cloud Reccesses. But his spiritual power and experience in hunting are less than theirs, in addition to never being allowed to participate in the battlefield.

Leona was quiet for a while before getting up and started walking again. Yuuken followed with a few steps behind him.

"I can bring you to Afterglow Savannah's private hunting ground for next month's hunt," Leona said again. "You can catch many rare preys there."

Yuuken just hummed. Seemed like that wasn't the right response as Leona turned around and Yuuken immediately looked to the ground. "Not liking that idea? Don't you want to go hunting once in a while?"

Yuuken shook his head. "It's not that, but..."

"Or you just don't want to be with me?"

His breath hitched. "It's complicated." Yuuken might not be the smartest, but he understands himself. And he understand that he fancied Leona for the longest time. The two of them were engaged because both of their mothers were best friends. It was only natural for the two House to strengthen their bond. With Yuuka being born with a naturally stronger golden core, thus securing her role as the future leader of the House, Yuuken's role is to alliance through marriage. He understood that since he was little and as he grew older, his admiration and crush for Leona grew. He knew Leona had trouble expressing himself, leading to many misunderstandings like the incident that caused Jonah to get expelled from fighting with Leona and leading to them breaking their engagement.

"Is there anything about him that can make me happy?"

"You son a bitch!"

Leona clicked his tongue and Yuuken dared himself to look up. Leona wasn't looking at him. His eyes were closed and his head turned another way.

"Whatever," he said. "I wasn't going you invite you on this hunt anyway. Forget about it."

Yuuken hummed again. He had his guesses. "Please, excuse me." He turned around, going back to the path he went through, trying not to feel disappointed. Back then, even before their engagement broke, he wondered if Leona actually like being with him. But maybe it was Yuuken who isn't worth being by his side. Maybe that was why he didn't even realize the exploding cliff until Leona screamed his name.

"YUUKEN!"

Yuuken almost looked up too late as the human-size snake rose, possibly taller than the stairs leading to Cloud Reccess. Before he could reach for his sword, Jonah suddenly appeared in front of him, raising his hand as his golden eye glowed to summon his power. It protected them and attacked the snake at the same time, slicing through the thick skin as it screeched. An arrow suddenly flew through the air, hitting the bullseye right in the snake's eye. With a final loud screech, the snake fell down, causing the ground to shake. Yuuken turned around toward where the arrow came from, finding Riddle Rosehearts with his bow raised.

"What's going on?!"

Looking up, Yuuken could see Claudia, along with some of their House disciples, jumping down from her sword and quickly running toward Yuuken. Her hands were on his upper arm out of concern. "Yuuken, dear. Are you alright?"

Yuuken tried to calm her. "I'm fine, First Lady Claudia."

"Did the brat bully you again?"

"Mother!" Leona exclaimed, clearly not happy with the accusation. But Yuuken couldn't look up to defend him, not when Leona did in a way.

Claudia huffed, turning toward her son. "Leona Kingscholar! Do I need to spank you again?!"

"It doesn't matter what Sir Kingscholar said," Jonah said, positioning himself between Yuuken and the Kingscholars. "From now on, he and Yuuken-oniisama will walk on their own separate ways."

"Now see here, Sir Argentum." A Kingscholar disciple came forward, standing next to the snake corpse with a look of annoyance despite his regal posture. Yuuken knew him. Farena Kingscholar, Leona's brother. "Aren't you being too arrogant for talking to your elder like this?"

Jonah scoffed at him. "I'm trying to go against First Lady Kingscholar. But your brother has bullied oniisama several times. How am I the arrogant one here?"

"How are you not arrogant one?" Farena landed his foot on the snake's head, twisting like he was squishing some ants underneath. "Catching a third of a prey. Not even leaving us the snake. Are you purposely showing off your demonic skill?" He sighed in disappointment. "The House Crowley's upbringing is nothing more but that."

"Farena!" Claudia warned.

But Jonah just chuckled. "Upbringings? Demonic?" His hand reached for the flute that was fastened on his belt where Captain's Order previously was. Yuuken watched his brother worriedly. He knew he wouldn't hurt anyone, however, no one know how far his new power could extend.

"Jonah." It seemed that Riddle had the same thought as him as he called him, but Jonah either didn't listen or purposely ignored him. He had a mocking smile on his face as he spun his flute with one hand, challenging Farena who watched him as if he was being insulted. 

"I may never bring my sword anymore, but I can still beat you any day with my so-called Demonic power." He stopped spinning his flute and his golden eye glowed as a warning. "You guys all are no match for me!"

Farena sucked in a breath. He gritted his teeth, his growls were audible, and his fists were curled. "Argentum!" He pointed at Jonah. "You're nothing but a servant's son! Don't get too cocky!"

Yuuken let out a gasp. He looked at Jonah almost quickly. His brother was silent for a second, but Yuuken knew his anger was brewing. "Oh." He chuckled. "So that's how you wanna play?"

Riddle was quick to step in first, grabbing Jonah's trembling hand that was holding his flute to avoid bringing it to his lips. "Jonah. Focus." But Jonah once again didn't listen to him, too furious to even acknowledge Riddle. Everyone could feel the air changing like the first sign of a dangerous storm as red auras trickled down his clenched fist.

Yuuken walked toward him, positioning himself in front of Jonah and putting a hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle yet grounding squeeze. "Jonah-kun." When he didn't get any response, Yuuken pressed a hand onto his cheek. "Jonah-kun, come back to me."

Jonah sucked in a breath and finally came out of his trance. He looked up at Yuuken with a panting breath. "Yuuken-niisama..."

Yuuken couldn't help but smile, relieve that Jonah was back again. "Stand behind me, okay?" he whispered. He turned around as he gently push Jonah behind him.

Yuuken stared Farena straight in the eyes, standing tall without any trace of fear. The young man in front of him had stepped the line. Jonah's parents had been a sore subject in their family, more often than not the arguments between his birth parents. But it never hinders Jonah's smile which Yuuken has loved ever since their first meeting. Even when his mother didn't like Jonah in the family, Yuuken made it his life goal to love his new adopted brother just like how he loved his birth sister.

"Sir Farena," he started. His voice was steady and not wanting to show any anger. "From what you said earlier, Jonah caught a third of the monsters in Phoenix Mountain. He was unruly and too cocky. He intentionally caused trouble for you." He bowed him. "I apologize to you all on his behalf."

"Oniisama!" Jonah cried, but Yuuken just glanced back and gave him a headshake.

Farena chuckled. "Sir Yuuken, you really are kind and understanding." He eyed Jonah who looked like he was ready to pounce at Farena if it wasn't for Riddle still holding his hand. "What your brother did was extremely inappropriate and made quite a fuss." He looked back at Yuuken, a victorious smile on his face. "But for Sir Yuuken and Lady Yuuka's sake, there's no need to apologize. House Crowley of Dawn and House Kingscholar of Afterglow are like siblings."

Yuuken nodded and continued with his chin raised high. "However, while I don't join in a hunt that often, I know that throughout the years of hunting, I've never heard of a rule that forbids someone from hunting too much prey. If Jonah broke a rule, which one was it?"

Farena blinked confusedly. "What?"

"Sir Yuuken, what you said might not be the best way to put it," an older Kingscholar disciple spoke up. "Although it was not written, everyone understands clearly and obeys them well."

"That's right," another younger one chimed in. "How much prey is in the area in total? Probably below five hundred. That's so little compared to the five thousand hunters attending this! And Argentum hog them for himself! What are we supposed to do?"

"It isn't his fault that others can't capture any prey," Yuuken spoke without looking at who spoke, still focusing on Farena who slowly became more annoyed at him. "Isn't the hunt all about a test of one's skill? Although the methods that Jonah-kun used are different from others, it's still his magical skill that he build on his own. Just because the others can no longer hunt that third of the prey, you can't say he follows an unorthodox path. In the end, hunting is hunting. There's no need to bring up about upbringings. Jonah-kun is a disciple of House Crowley of Dawn. He grew up with my sister and me and is as close as a brother is to me. I will not accept anyone calling him a 'servant's son'. A mockery toward him means a mockery toward our House."

Yuuken stepped forward until his chest nearly touched Farena's. He took a deep breath before releasing it through his nose. His heart was hammering hard behind his chest. He knew what he was doing was right. All for his little brother. "So, I hope that Sir Farena Kingscholar will apologize to Jonah Argentum of House Crowley of Dawn."

Farena was taken back, just like the others from the murmurs. Jonah looked like he was going to cry, while Riddle nodded at him with respect.

Claudia stepped forward, a hand on his arm and rubbing gently. "Yuuken, dear. It's a small matter. Don't be angry anymore."

Yuuken turned to her, smiling out of respect. "First Lady Claudia. Jonah-kun is my brother. I won't let anyone insult him."

He looked up to Jonah and smiled with a promise. Promise that no matter what, he will love his dearest brother.

And he still loves him until his final breath.