#yue qingyuan/shen jiu/liu qingge

[teufelsabbiss]

Story-idea: de-aged OG!SQQ

(eventual Liu Qingge/Yue Qingyuan/Shen Qingqiu)

Can't be the only one who'd love to see a de-aged, amnesiac Shen Qingqiu bite someone's hand out of possessive over-protectiveness, because they dared to threaten (or just touch) Yue Qingyuan. Especially if most of the other peak lords see this.

Anyway, this is what sparked this story idea.

Shen Qingqiu hasn't been well for a while already and then gets into a big argument during a peak lord meeting, which causes him to suffer a qi-deviation. He ends up de-aged to his 12 or 13 year old self and only remembers what happened up to that point.

And holy shit, this is very clearly the opposite of a spoiled rich kid. He's malnourished, neglected and possibly mistreated. He also clearly speaks (and curses) like a street urchin. It's a pretty big shock to his fellow peak lords.

Except for Yue Qingyuan, who immediately tries shielding him from the others. Which isn't going too well at first, seeing how tall, strong men usually spell danger to Shen Jiu. Some of the others try with the best of intentions to get a hold of him to prevent more harm, like him tripping off the rainbow bridge or having an even worse qi-deviation etc. But naturally he's trying to run away from everyone who does. It gets very chaotic, until Yue Qingyuan draws Xuan Su an inch out of its sheath and stops any further shenanigans.

After that, Shen Jiu has a good look at his face and recognizes him as the adult Qi-ge. That Shen Jiu is still wearing (and tripping over) his own too big robes makes it easier for him to believe that he somehow de-aged. Then he pretty much hides in Yue Qingyuan's embrace.

Everyone always questioned why the sect leader is so partial toward Shen Qingqiu and how they first met. Now, with how they interact, they strongly suspect the two grew up together. Which means everyone realizes that Yue Qingyuan is likely a former street child as well. Contrary to Yue Qingyuan's expectations this actually makes them more appreciative of his accomplishments and friendship.

But now Mu Qingfang has to make sure drawing Xuan Su didn't cause lingering damage. Which in turn makes Shen Qingqiu question what's wrong. He's only getting an abridged version, but that's already enough for extreme concern and vile curses against Yue Qingyuan's shizun. Everyone is really shocked and baffled how much he actually cares about the person he usually couldn't even speak five phrases to before flying off the handle.

As for Shen Qingqiu, his qi-deviation was severe. No one can say for sure whether the de-aging will revert back or is permanent. For the time being it's best to assume it's the latter. He has to completely start over with his cultivation. And here comes the next big surprise for the others – Shen Qingqiu has outstanding talent. No wonder he was so salty about his comparably mediocre abilities before...

He can't perform his peak lord duties until he trained up to it again. Qing Jing is run by teachers, hallmasters and occasionally the other peak lords. There are no new disciples accepted and Shen Qingqiu is re-tracing and re-learning most things from his personal library. Most of the time he is on Qiong Ding, partly because he wants to be close to Qi-ge and partly because Yue Qingyuan is too worried to leave him alone on Qing Jing. It's also awesome for both to just enjoy being together without the misunderstandings and resentment poisoning them. Finally everything seems to go well.

Shen Qingqiu can't help admiring his Qi-ge. He's become so much more attractive as an adult. He already was in love before, but now these feelings get a lot more pronounced over the years.

Then Liu Qingge decides to teach Shen Qingqiu proper fight etiquette and gets more than he bargained for. Because Shen Qingqiu unexpectedly develops feelings for him as well. Instead of a treacherous viper threatening to kill him, he now seemingly has a smitten troublesome gremlin hell-bent on future marriage to deal with. Hearing that Shen Qingqiu is exclusively into men is yet again flipping assumptions about him.

Shen Qingqiu is rather torn about having feelings for someone other than Qi-ge in the beginning. But then he decides he wants both! He has always been greedy, why stop now? It doesn't take much convincing for Yue Qingyuan to agree to marry him later. Liu Qingge is a harder nut to crack, but he's immortal and Shen Qingqiu will be soon again as well, so he's ready for a long courtship.

When Luo Binghe joins the sect, he's accepted into Qiong Ding. He and Shen Qingqiu have a complicated relationship. Luo Binghe is very confused and a bit intimidated by knowing this teenager, who is only a few years older than him, is a peak lord who had an accident. And Shen Qingqiu thinks Luo Binghe is too naive and a pushover who needs to learn to stand up for himself. His brand of tough love and help is sadly sparking feelings in Luo Binghe that will ultimately stay unrequited.

Shen Qingqiu's courtship of Liu Qingge naturally includes gifts. Among other things a trinket of some kind that alerts him should Liu Qingge be in trouble. He has to more or less be bullied into taking it with him into the Lingxi caves, but it ends up saving his life. Shen Qingqiu knows something bad happens the moment the qi-deviation starts and he can alert Yue Qingyuan to go in and help. This finally fully convinces Liu Qingge that the courting isn't a long-running ploy. He's more receptive to the courting after this, even though the whole situation is still very strange.

Sha Hualing attacks the sect and is pretty handily defeated in the three matches. Shen Qingqiu wins the first fight, Luo Binghe is eager to impress him and barges in to fight Sha Hualing. Since he's very well trained, he wins. Shen Qingqiu sent a message to Liu Qingge as soon as the attack happened and he rushes out of seclusion to arrive just in time to easily win the third match and, with the combined attack of the others, chase the rest of the demons away.

Shen Qingqiu is drawn into Luo Binghe's dream realm and aids him, thus inadvertently strengthening Luo Binghe's romantic feelings towards him. Shen Qingqiu has no idea this is the case.

Shen Qingqiu accompanies Liu Qingge on his hunts and missions quite often. It's good practice for Shen Qingqiu's duties and opportunity to get closer. Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge get more fond of each other as well during this time. This makes Shen Qingqiu stress over losing both at first, but once they reassure him they intend to marry him as well as each other, this is alright for him.

Years later, both Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe are attending the Immortal Alliance Conference. Binghe's seal breaks and a cultivator from another sect attacks Binghe upon seeing him. Shen Qingqiu by chance arrives and knocks the cultivator out from behind. After thinking of ways to get Binghe out and realizing there's no way this could work without others noticing that he's a demon and getting the wrong ideas, he urges Binghe to jump into the Endless Abyss. His main concern is not so much Luo Binghe staying alive, but keeping Qi-ge and Liu Qingge safe. He's sure that would be in jeopardy with the sect under scrutiny for harboring a demon and consequently being suspected of responsibility for sabotaging the conference. Eventually Binghe does as he says.

When Shen Qingqiu turns 20 or 21 he is ready to take charge of Qing Jing peak again. Soon after, he, Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge marry.

Binghe comes back after three years and intends to propose to Shen Qingqiu, only to find he's too late.

Obviously this could lead to more drama or even another addition to the marriage. But I personally am really fond of Binghe/Vinegar and him pining in vain, so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[soursoppi]

a squish a day keeps the scrunkly cuddly

[leelajun]

Finally finished this after ages ಥ‿ಥ

☆Twitter Version☆

Original Template by @popipurin

[tbgkaru-woh]

1st set of svsss characters done!

SJ - LQG - YQY - MBJ - GYX - LBH (OG) - young LBH

[aphel1on]

svsss tpmeme 4/4 (for now)

[fairsweetlonging]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

he looks up. it's shen jiu.

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

oh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

when he says yes shen jiu looks furious.

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

.

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

[tempo-takoyaki]

From an anonymous freeform prompt for SVSSS Action, may I present to you... Delicious in the Abyss! A SVSSS x DunMeshi AU!

More info about the different characters (with some sketches) under the "read more" :

In Delicious in the Abyss, we follow various groups of adventurers as they explore the "abyss" a mysterious place filled with various fauna and monsters. No matter their race or age, most of them have the same goal: becoming the master of the abyss... However, some have a very different idea of how one should explore the abyss. Take for example a certain group led by an elf named Shen Yuan who desires one thing only... eat as many different monsters as possible!

Shen Yuan's party :

Shen Yuan: Elf, 87 y/o, Mage. His wish is to eat and study as many monsters as possible. He started exploring the abyss about twenty years ago, but had to stop abruptly after taking in Luo Binghe. On the surface, his studies seem to merely be for the sake of curiosity... But are they?

Luo Binghe: Tiefling, 63 y/o, Tank (and cook). Thrown into the abyss at the age of 38 (since tieflings are a long-lived race, it means he was about 14), he got stuck in the lowest levels for few years before Shen Yuan saved him. He regards him as his savior (and one true love) and would do anything for him... even if it means cooking the monsters (he hates it, he hates it so much).

Shang Qinghua: Gnome, 87 y/o, Healer. Shen Yuan's oldest friend and the author of many infamous books. He stopped writing them about twenty years ago though, after he started to explore the abyss with Shen Yuan. He seems to be looking for something in the abyss, or rather: someone.

Liu Qingge: Tallman, 26 y/o, Swordsman. One of Shen Yuan's friends. He used to be part of the Cang Qiong guild but left it after a disagreement with one of his colleagues. Now he works for Shen Yuan with his younger sister, Liu Mingyan. "Uh? My goal? Get stronger. Mh."

Liu Mingyan: Tallman, 24 y/o, Swordswoman. Liu Qingge's younger sister, she accompanies him on each of his missions. She got an offer to work with Cang Qion mountain once but refused it once she learned her brother had left the guild. She's quiet but efficient, however, Shang Qinghua suspects that she might stick around for other reasons...

Cang Qiong Guild:

Yue Qingyuan: Tallman, 48 y/o, Tank. The leader of Cang Qiong, he's a respected individual amongst adventurers. However, he seems leniant on the vices of his vice-leader: Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu: Tallman, 40 y/o, Swordman. Vice-leader of Cang Qiong. He's the reason Cang Qiong is exclusively made of tallmen, as he has a strong distate for any other races, especially elves. The only exception to this rule is his adopted daughter: Ning Yingying, a dwarf. He's the one who abandoned Luo Binghe into the abyss after discovering his true nature.

Mu Qingfang: Tallman, 29 y/o, Healer. The group's medic.

Qi Qingqi: Tallman, 31 y/o, Swordswoman. She wanted to create a branch specifically for women in Cang Qiong Guild's but because of Shen Qingqiu's veto on recruiting other races she couldn't make it work.

Ming Fan: Tallman, 19 y/o, Mage. A cowardly young adventurer. He has a crush on Ning Yingying.

Ning Yingying: Dwarf, 51 y/o, Tank. Despite being older than him, she's Shen Qingqiu's adopted daughter whom he took in when she was merely 30 y/o. She likes her father a lot, however she can't forgive him for what he has done to Luo Binghe. (She'll leave Cang Qiong to join Shen Yuan's part at some point).

(Side note, Cang Qiong is still specialized in cultivation, hence why most of them look so young)

The Tieflings hideout:

Tieflings are a race that I made up for this AU specifically, inspired by D&D. They're inhabitant of the dungeon, tall and sturdy, with pointy ears akin to elves, horns of various shapes and tails. They can also use magic like elves, tallmen or gnomes, however their magic rely on its own set of rules.

Mobei-Jun: Tiefling, 92 y/o, King of the Northern tribe. Leader of one of the numerous tiefling tribes hidden in the abyss, he met Shang Qinghua twenty years ago in the abyss and has made him swear his loyalty to him since then. He has sensed change in the abyss since Luo Binghe's arrival, and decided to trust Shen Yuan's party to solve this issue... With the compensation of Shang Qinghua.

Sha Hualing: Half-ogre half-halfoot, 15 y/o, Princess of the Eastern tribe. Adopted daughter of the king of the eastern tribe, she's a bastard born from the forbidden union between an ogre and a half-foot and was abandoned into the abyss at birth. Of short stature, with a short life spawn, she makes up for it with her keen senses and her strength. She later on joins Shen Yuan's party.

The first Tieflings:

Tianlang-Jun: Tiefling, ??? y/o, Master of the Abyss. The master of the abyss, his powers are beyond anything imaginable. He claims to have eaten what has given him those powers and since then has known hunger beyond what any mortal could endure. He has once fell in love with a tallman woman by the name of Su Xiyan, but she has left the abyss years ago, and he doesn't know what her whereabouts are... The only thing he knows is that she's the only one capable of satisfying this hunger that eats him from the inside.

Zhuzhi-Lang: Beastman (snake), ??? y/o, Guardian of the abyss. Tasked by the Abyss' Master to protect its inhabitants, he'll kill anyone who gets in his ways indiscriminately at the exception of Shen Yuan, who saved him years ago when exploring the abyss for the first time. He only obeys the Abyss' Master orders, and because of that, has forced the Tieflings deeper and deeper into the abyss regardless of how they felt about it. As a chimera, he's more snake than the tiefling his soul has been mixed with.

Other groups:

Huan Hua's guild (the governor's guild): The one guild financed by the governor of the state in which the abyss is located. Its members are from various races. Despite the guild stating they're open to anyone, only those from a wealthy background can become a part of it.

Zhao Hua's guild: Specialized in magic. They have rounds to reanimate unlucky adventurers in the abyss.

Tian Yi's guild: Specialized in training new adventurers.

And that's it for now! What awaits them in the abyss? Many adventures and delicious cooking, that is, if Luo Binghe can handle it.

"Freed from the abyss at long last... Forced to cook the monsters with seasoning this time. I've been cursed there's no other way to explain it... Damn it, it's good though, I really am a great cook."

[ineffectualdemon]

Why they got canceled - SVSSS Influencer AU

Airplane "Drama" Youtuber- He wrote smut for a living in the past and that was enough for some people. But also the money laundering and money scams. He does not care

Shen Yuan Video Essayist- got in too deep about dumb fandom drama, panicked, faked his own death. Eventually comes out years later when he's making internet essays about monsters and his past is mostly forgiven because he seems sorry

Shen Jiu Troll Channel: first for hiring a hit on Liu Qingge which he didn't do and then later and more severally for throwing hot food at a customer service employee (Luo Binghe before he started his channel ). It doesn't hurt his career because he makes money by being hated

Yue Qingyuan ASMR channel: for defending Shen Jiu

Luo Binghe Cooking Channel: for stalking Shen Yuan (revealed by Shen Jiu) which leads to Shen Yuan being half canceled and Luo Binghe being half uncancelled when they start dating because of the stalking

Liu Qingge Martial Arts Channel: for punching Shen Jiu even though people thought he deserved it and later for refusing to apologise for breaking a statue by kicking it

Zhuzhi-lang Nature Channel: for stalking Shen Yuan but is forgiven because he's just so cute

Tianlang-jun Book Review Channel: for reading erotic RPF of his own son

Liu Mingyan Book Review Channel: for writing erotic RPF of Bingqiu

Sha Hualing beauty channel: for having her nudes leaked because she definitely leaked them herself. She didn't even deny it

Mobei Jun Ice Carving Channel: killed a man

[greeniegaes]

Screaming crying sobbing

Over a courtesan Shen Yuan.

Maybe he knew YQY and SJ when they were kids, maybe not. Either way SY ends up working at the warm red pavilion and ends up interacting with SJ

First it’s just small things, delivering tea for his jiejies, putting instruments back when they are done, dropping off various things.

Then he starts actually talking to SJ and SJ surprisingly doesn’t hate him just for being a guy (I’ve been thinking trans yuan here but also like cos yuan works, I this trans is funnier cause SJ is like ‘damn you CHOSE to be a man? L move bro’)

They start getting along more and more, working together on music SJ has to turn in for his peak, actually chatting comfortably, stuff like that. SJ realizes SY is an absolute monster freak and always tells him about the stuff he’s seen, long chats lounging on the same bed into the night.

Until one day YQY and LQG burst in.

SJ is instantly in protect mode, hissing and spitting at his sect siblings as SY groggily wakes up, watching them bicker. Eventually LQG says something along the lines of ‘well if you weren’t messing around we’d already be tracking down such and such beast’ to which SY perks up out of bed, quickly throwing on his clothes before anyone can so much as blink and is just

“Well let’s get going then.”

SJ quickly tries to stop the man, annoyed that his di would even entertain the thought of talking with LQG. SY though, does not give a fuck, throwing SJ a zither to use for musical cultivation, telling the jiejies bye and making them go out on their little adventure.

LQG and YQY are so confused, looking at this freaky little twink drooling over various things about monsters all the while SJ is giving them death glares and huffing.

YQY is extremely jealous watching SJ and this dude too, like bro! That’s his emotionally unavailable Shen! Get your own! He’s upset at how easily they get along, how SJ doesn’t care if his hand is pulled along or if SY tugs on him to whisper something. Anytime YQY had ever attempted such a thing SJ would pull or flinch away, making him stop

LQG meanwhile is just… confused. On one hand his moral code states that any courtesan isn’t a good person to be around. On the other hand this cute guy is getting excited over monster guts in a way he’s never seen before and it’s quiet fascinating to hear him do enough talking for the rest of the group.

I feel like eventually LQG and SJ are totally in love with SY and YQY is in love with SJ so they end up awkwardly paired together, all vying for another’s attention and stuff.

(If SY ever met airplane here he’d be so pissed by the way, chasing him around like a rhino and yelling about how he had to deal away with his pride (SY made the choice of going to the brothel, he doesn’t even do sex work though.) and the others just watch him like ‘wow, look at him acting so feral, kinda hot tbh)

[seaside-tropical-sun]

Who’s laughing now huh >:)

Also lesbians

Swimsuit catalogue - 1

[danmomomei]

this took longer than i thought it would

[remi-harbinger]

When SJ first joined the sect he was been petty in ways that made complete sense to him and not to anyone else at all. He whispered answers to the people that get called on because he thought that it was the height of embarrassment to accept help from others. He'd be internally giggling at the thought of the turmoil going on in The Damned's minds and they'd just flash him a relieved grin and repeat the answer word for word. He's so confused he tries it out every single class. He gets a reputation for being There For You, and now people start coming to him with their problems.

He's hit with an epiphany. Yes. He's managed to manipulate them into trusting him. He doesn't know how but he's not going to doubt it. With this, half the sect become his personal bodyguard/shadows. When he started sneaking to Warm Red Pavilion a shijie saw him and instead of spreading nasty rumours etc etc she sat down with him and coaxed him into telling on why he wanted to go (he said its bc they need medicines and he technically isnt lying!)

So now he has yet another layer to his reputation. He's the xianxia version of Florence Nightingale, bringing love light and happiness to the unfortunate. (SJ doesn't even care at this point as long as no one stops him he can bear with the people coming up to him and going on and on about how he's righteous)

When he was reading and a bird landed on his hand (he wove the type of seeds that birds like into his little bracelet because he thought they were pretty), instead of people saying he cultivates the demonic path, disciples started whispering about how Head Disciple Shen is so beautiful that birds and butterflies follow in his footsteps. Okay, so maybe one time the shijie's wove him a flower crown and he put it on and the butterflies got attracted to the flowers. He was in a FLOWER GARDEN. There were SO MANY available flowers why?? just why??

Everyone (Liu Qingge) is convinced that SJ is some secret flower nymph that's sent to... steal sect secrets or something... Anyways the conclusion is that he absolutely!!! must !!! hang around SJ to ensure that he doesn't do anything wrong!!! And to keep suspicion away he has to bring increasingly elaborate and beautiful gifts of course!!! Yue Qingyuan why are you coming closer yue qingyuan stay awa-

[thirstywaffles]

Guess who drew this instead of doing my thesis haha.....

Template by pompipurin !!

[kahazel]

I love this very serious novel and the its very serious characters. ✨️

[rhiangalaxy]

Shen Qingqiu's guide to causing emotional damage to your martial siblings (ft. a bonus under the cut)

[ID: A Scum Villain Comic. The first part depicts, from left to right, Shang Qinghua, Mu Qingfang, Yue Qingyuan, Liu Qingge and Qi Qingqi. SQH has his hands gripped together and looking nervously towards a system screen that has a shrugging kaomoji, a thought bubble leads from him saying "System WTF". MQF with his hands folded down in front of him looks on in surprise. YQY with his hands behind this back, looking slightly on the verge of tears says "Uh, What do you have there Shen-Shidi?". LQG looks on in angry confusion with '???' next to his face. QQQ has one hand curled towards her chest and the other on her hip looking vaguely disgusted/judgy. The next part depicts SJ!Shen Qingqiu holding a baby Plant!Yuan swaddled in his teal outer robe, and holding a closed fan in the other hand replying to YGY with a blank expression by going "... A Fan." End ID.]

[ID: A Scum Villain MSPaint Doodle. Characters in chibi style. YGY rests his chin in his hands and his elbows on a table, crying with a pitiful expression and saying "I can't believe Xiao Jiu had a baby with someone else. MQF with a hand on YQY's shoulder as if comforting him replies "Okay Shixiong lets get you to bed" with another box pointing to him that states "Knows damn well that Shen Yuan is the spitting image of YQY" End ID]

[coolshadowtwins]

Follow up to this! Part Three!

“You’re telling me,” Shen Qingqiu, the real one, said, sitting in his rightful spot as SiC, right next to Yue Qingyuan. “That you all had noticed that something was wrong and had tried every way to check for possession?”

He said it like he didn’t believe them.

“And brainwashing. And poison. And anything that could rattle the brain.” Wei Qingwei listened off.

“When nothing came back, we had to assume the only thing left- Amnesia.” Mu Qingfang said.

“I thought… we thought, that this was just you, without your painful memories.” Yue Qingyuan admitted, shamefully.

“See!” The imposter said brightly, from where he sat next to Shen Qingqiu. “I told you that it wasn’t all that it seemed. Except, hm. Was I really that bad at acting?”

“Yes.” The entire room said at once.

“So you were the one that saved my life?” Liu Qingge finally chimed in, looking at the two intensely. The imposter looked embarrassed.

“Yes, but that’s only… it was only me because of the timing.” He said. “Liu-Shidi, he would have saved your life too-“

The look on Liu Qingge’s face said what he thought about that.

“Wait, what if I like the other one better?” Asked a random peak lord from the back, who clearly hadn’t meant to be overheard. Shen Qingqiu scoffed, offended and angry.

“This isn’t happening again!” The imposter said, just as offended. Then he pointed at Shang Qinghua, who had his head laying on the table after his choking experience. “You! Tell them things! Go on!”

“Huh?!” Shang Qinghua’s head shot upwards, eyes wide. “Things? What things?”

“You know things!” The imposter insisted. “Secrets! Tell them so this doesn’t devolve again!”

“I would rather it devolve than have my secrets shared-“ Shen Qingqiu tried to interject, but the imposter was not having it.

“This is a matter of the fate of the world, ge. Now tell your secrets, Shang-Shidi, or I’m telling your secrets, right here and now!”

“Ge?!” Shen Qingqiu snapped, drowning out Shang Qinghua’s panicked whine. “Who’s your ‘ge’-?!”

“Shen-Shixiong wasn’t trying to kill you, Liu-Shidi, all those years ago!” Shang Qinghua cut in, voice loud and panicked. “There was a ghost about to attack you but he killed it before you turned around!”

“Huh?!” Liu Qingge snapped, looking between Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua.

“And Shen-Shixiong doesn’t go to brothels for the women, but just to sleep because he doesn’t trust anyone here-“

“Shut up if you value your life.” Shen Qingqiu said, deadly calm. Shang Qinghua gulped, and went a different direction.

“Yue-Shixiong went back for you but his Shizun-“

“Shang-Shidi, this is inappropriate-“ Yue Qingyuan tried to cut in, only to be stopped by Shen Qingqiu’s fan in his face.

“No, actually,” Shen Qingqiu said, “Keep talking if you value your life.”