Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Arc 1 - The Enemy is His Fiancee
When Liu Qingge caught sight of the young woman sitting next to his sister, he actually cringed and swayed in place, as if fighting the impulse to run.
Fascinating!
Shen Qingqiu, who had arranged to ‘visit Qi-shimei’ specifically then with the hopes of seeing this special event, felt very pleased with his own foresight. His timing had been perfect.
Like any sect worth its name, Cang Qiong excelled at spreading gossip. No matter what happened, no matter how small or mundane the news, all twelve peaks would be aware by the end of the next meal, or else the disciples would kneel in front of their halls for failing the great gossip legacy of their predecessors.
That was why the entire sect had known almost as soon as she arrived that a young woman had come looking for Liu Qingge. He had naturally been absent at the time, but instead of being discouraged, she had taken up temporary residence at Xian Shu Peak while waiting for him to return.
Young women having an interest in Bai Zhan’s War God was not precisely unexpected or even rare, but this one had a special ace card — her Duanmu family was close to the Liu family. In other words, she was a childhood friend!
In fact, she was a childhood sweetheart who’d had her heart set on ‘Liu-gege’ for years.
...Fishing for this information had netted Shen Qingqiu some very odd looks from Mu Qingfang — because, apparently, the original goods Shen Qingqiu had relentlessly mocked Liu Qingge about it when they both ran into this Duanmu Yao at the Immortal Sword Conference before last — and a gentle ‘suggestion’ to visit Wei Qingwei and his possession detecting sword again. Touching upon things related to the shared backstory was dangerous indeed.
But he couldn’t help it! This was an event completely absent in the novel, since Liu Qingge would have long since passed away in the original work.
Seeing that Great Master Liu square off against a love-struck maiden, who could resist? Not this former reader, certainly.
So when he heard that Liu Qingge had returned, Shen Qingqiu decided that it was the perfect time to bring some tea leaves over to Xian Shu and immediately hurried over, excuse in hand and faithful favorite disciple in tow.
He had actually beaten Liu Qingge there by just enough time for Luo Binghe to brew the excuse tea for his master, Qi Qingqi, Liu Mingyan, and the infamous Duanmu Yao herself. They had just taken their first sips when the great War God stalked into the sitting room.
And gave the reaction of a man confronted by his worst fear. Who knew Great Master Liu had fears at all?
Shen Qingqiu hid his smile behind his teacup. Qi Qingqi shot him a disgusted look. Liu Mingyan closed her eyes and appeared to pray — for patience, or maybe for her brother.
“Liu-gege!” Duanmu Yao exclaimed, rising to her feet with an adoring smile. “Liu-gege, you’re here!”
In a flash, she darted around the couch to appear at Liu Qingge’s side. Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrows climbed as she proceeded to fearlessly latch on to his arm and beam up at him.
Liu Qingge’s expression was like quickly cracking stone, by contrast, both frozen and unable to withstand the assault. It was funny... but also a little pitiful. This man really had nothing but fighting in his brain. Having his sword arm suddenly embraced between the soft mounds of an enthusiastic beauty, he was completely out of his depth.
Not particularly subtly, but far less forcefully than usual, he tried to tug his arm free.
Duanmu Yao’s grip only tightened. Vaguely, Shen Qingqiu could tell that her cultivation was actually quite high, so it wouldn’t be possible to get free without an outright struggle. Looking up at Liu Qingge with a fixed, unwavering smile, she pressed even closer until she was all but leaning her head against his shoulder. ...This sweet couple gesture let off an incredible amount of intimidating pressure. This opponent was no joke.
Well. Trying to seduce or maybe intimidate Liu Qingge into a relationship would indeed take great fighting spirit.
“It’s been so long! You must have been busy with your duties, Liu-gege,” Duanmu Yao gushed. “Last time she came out of closed door cultivation, Auntie said she hasn’t seen you in years. But she was very proud when I told her about all your achievements!”
Liu Qingge twitched one eyebrow slightly. Seemingly understanding the meaning behind his look, Duanmu Yao pursed her lips and averted her eyes.
“...And she scolded me for not advancing my cultivation enough,” she admitted sulkily. The only thing missing was scuffing her toe against the ground. Even though Shen Qingqiu estimated her to be well over the vague maybe-20 age she looked, she definitely hit the cute aesthetic hard. “When she was my age, Auntie had already brought down a demonic sect and found her fated rival...”
The dull tone of the last remark in particular spoke of a reprimand heard far too many times.
Unsurprising. The ‘auntie’ she was referring to, the Liu clan matriarch, was incredibly fierce — the arc where she descended from her secluded cultivation to pass judgement on Luo Binghe as her daughter’s beau had been incredibly popular through her sheer force of presence. A not so small group of the truly degenerate had called for a mother-daughter sandwich.
Her son and daughter had inherited Liu Qishuang’s heroic temperament. Without a drop of sympathy, Liu Qingge nodded in agreement with his mother. Liu Mingyan mirrored him.
This girl clearly didn’t want a rival, she wanted a husband, Shen Qingqiu thought. But unfortunately, she was fishing in the entirely wrong pond.
On the other hand, if she had the mother’s approval — well, well, well...
Qi Qingqi kicked him under the take, shooting Shen Qingqiu another disgusted look. Had his spectator’s interest been showing too obviously?
“But you know, Liu-gege,” Duanmu Yao went on, biting her lip, “I also asked Auntie about our eng—”
Shen Qingqiu could have sworn Liu Qingge’s hair stood on end, his ponytail bristling like the real tail of a spooked cat. “Focus on your cultivation,” he cut her off abruptly and obviously.
But that word she started to say, the one that made Liu Qingge do something very much like panic...
Just like before, Duanmu Yao only tightened her grip on his arm and continued to smile, bland and unwavering. “I asked her about our en-gage-ment,” she pronounced loudly and distinctly.
Shen Qingqiu flipped his fan open, hiding his face just in time. Fine tremors ran through his shoulders as he struggled to hide his laughter.
Engagement? Engagement!! Liu Qingge was engaged, to this meng-selling girl?
His eyes darted to Liu Mingyan, to check her reaction for comparison, but what he saw made some of Shen Qingqiu’s amusement drain away. It was hard to judge her expression behind her veil, but her eyebrows were furrowed in a way that spoke of genuine internal conflict as she stared fixedly down at the hard wood of the tea table.
Although Duanmu Yao was a good amount older than her, Shen Qingqiu had somewhat assumed they were friends, being two young female cultivators of close families. After all, hadn’t Duanmu Yao stayed at Xian Shu Peak with Liu Mingyan for the last while?
And yet, that wasn’t an expression of support at all.
“That’s why I came to see you,” Duanmu Yao continued, when Liu Qingge didn’t try to object again. “Because Auntie gave her go ahead.”
Shen Qingqiu’s eyes snapped back to her.
“The wedding will be in three months,” she confirmed.
...
Wait.
What kind of sudden development was this?
“Yao-jie, that’s going too far,” Liu Mingyan spoke up quickly — since Liu Qingge didn’t seem capable of it, his entire body stiff.
Finally stepping away from him, Duanmu Yao reached into her sleeve and pulled out a folded paper that she held out to Liu Qingge. “It’s Auntie’s decision,” she said. “It’s all in this letter.”
When he reached for it, Liu Qingge seemed to almost miss, his hand unsteady. As he unfolded the letter and slowly read the contents, Shen Qingqiu watched his expression — the way he went pale and looked about to break out in cold sweat.
“Brother?” Liu Mingyan prompted.
“It’s,” Liu Qingge forced out the words, “true.”
He didn’t say anything else, only staring at the letter, as if hoping it would somehow change contents.
Liu Mingyan turned, nearly glaring. “Yao-jie, what did you say to her? There’s no need to rush.”
“Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t ask Auntie to set a date,” Duanmu Yao shot back, her pretty face creasing unhappily for the first time. “It’s just... I asked her for pointers like usual—” which meant a practice match, “—and well, you haven’t heard yet, but I’ve finally mastered Tian Xing. Father even confirmed me as the successor. I guess Auntie decided there’s no point in waiting anymore.”
Oh, the Tian Xing sword. Right, Duanmu family... It finally started to come back to Shen Qingqiu.
This had been a thing in the novel. This cultivation family’s claim to fame was that they had been entrusted with a powerful sword of legend, Tian Xing. They also practiced a unique sword style... or something like that.
More importantly in the context of a stallion novel’s setting, one of Luo Binghe’s wives had been from this clan. Not this girl, thankfully, but a relative. A sister, Shen Qingqiu thought, remembering the complex that Duanmu... Yi? Yin? had about her more talented older sister who went into seclusion because of grief — over her fiance’s death, it seemed.
That Duanmu Yin? Ying? had ended up mastering Tian Xing just in time to use its spirit sealing properties to help Luo Binghe get the Xin Mo under control when he was sent on a rampage (again). Unfortunately, the mystic blade broke from the strain of the feat.
But if it was the older sister who took the sword instead, and she married Liu Qingge... Shen Qingqiu glanced behind him at his favored disciple, standing behind his chair with an expression of polite disinterest in the ongoing drama. Immediately noticing his master’s attention on him, Luo Binghe smiled and leaned in a little in anticipation of any request Shen Qingqiu might make.
Shaking his head slightly, Shen Qingqiu turned away.
“You mastered Tian Xing?” Liu Mingyan repeated, her tone oddly troubled. “But even so, three months is too soon.”
“Is there something to wait for?” Duanmu Yao shot back. “This was decided long ago by our families. It’s our duty.” Her lips thinned unhappily, as she looked at Liu Mingyan and Liu Qingge with a hint of being wronged. “Why are you so against this? Is there someone better for this than me? I will do my best to make Liu-gege happy, so can’t you give me a chance?”
In terms of making Liu Qingge happy, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t make any judgement about her capabilities. But she was right, her other credentials were the best suited. Their families were close, her own cultivation was certainly not low, she had even mastered a mystic weapon of great power. Whether they were returned or not, she had tender feelings for her fiance, and she didn’t back down even when faced with his unpersonable demeanor.
As far as arranged marriages went, it was... a good match. Such things were exceedingly common in this setting. To protest too much was unreasonable.
It was all logical, very logical.
However, what was with this atmosphere? This setup? Wasn’t it basically ‘reluctant beauty pressured against her will?’ Maybe it was because, in the end, he was a person from the modern era, but Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help feeling like something was squirming in his guts as he watched this scene play out.
In person, it wasn’t nearly as amusing as he had anticipated.
“I... understand,” Liu Qingge spoke up, with great effort. His face was almost ghostly white. “I will—”
Shen Qingqiu closed his fan with a loud snap that completely shattered the tension.
He hadn’t really known what he was doing, but the bewildered, hopeful look he received from Liu Qingge made him absolutely certain he needed to do something.
This was for the good of the plot and Luo Binghe’s future harem, he told himself.
“Young Miss Duanmu,” Shen Qingqiu said with a calm smile, “there is a slight problem with carrying through on your engagement. You see, Liu-shidi already has a... cultivation partner.”
Yes. The old ‘fake lover’ excuse — it was the only thing Shen Qingqiu could think of. Anyone who knew Liu Qingge would of course call bullshit immediately, where would this man get a cultivation partner? But judging by the way her eyes widened in shock and her mouth hung open, Duanmu Yao bought it hook, line, and sinker.
“W-what?! Liu-gege has a—?” she stammered in disbelief.
And then, with a mental leap truly worthy of a pretty girl in a stallion novel where the IQ average was 40, she flipped around and snarled in fury.
“YOU?! That’s why you came?!”
...Wait.
It... it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been subtle about his timing, and from her perspective, what reason did he have to be there for their drama? But it would be a different matter if he was actually involved.
‘Miss, you’ve misunderstood! This old man just came to spectate!’ Shen Qingqiu wailed mentally, while his expression froze in its usual bland mask.
“Sh-Shizun?! Then you and Liu-shishu are like that after all?” Luo Binghe added oil to the fire, staring at Shen Qingqiu with a face of supreme betrayal. There were, horrifyingly, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “I knew it, you were always acting so close...”
‘No, Binghe, you’re misunderstanding too! This teacher is trying to help you — if this girl gives up and goes into seclusion to sulk, your future wife (one of them) will be able to get that mystic sword...’
But unexpectedly, it was Liu Mingyan who dealt the final blow. She had been staring intensely at Shen Qingqiu since he spoke up, but now, brows furrowing, she seemed to come to a decision.
“That’s right,” she said, her tone entirely too steady for the misleading thing she was saying. “My brother and Shen-shibo... have become very close.”
‘Don’t say it like that!’
And then.
The worst, most terrible of all.
The System chimed in his mind.
[Liu Qingge flag obtained] it reported. [Secret route unlocked]
Excuse me, what? What??
What flag?! What secret route?! Had everyone, this entire world, gone mad?
“You’re wrong! There’s nothing like that!” Liu Qingge, who had been just as stunned as Shen Qingqiu, finally managed to regain the power speech. Unfortunately, by this point, his absolutely true protests sounded like a poor attempt at covering up the scandal. His frantic glare darted between his sister, Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu. “There’s nothing between us!”
By the time he looked at Duanmu Yao, the girl was trembling with rage and tears. Whatever she saw in Liu Qingge’s expression seemed to only make her more certain of her mistaken assumption.
She whirled toward Shen Qingqiu, gnashing her teeth. “It’s because of you! I heard about you, Shen Qingqiu! You... you scum! I won’t let you get away with, with seducing Liu-gege!”
Turning on her heel, she fled.
“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu finally managed a sound, futilely lifting one hand as if to stop her.
...What just happened?
The one true spectator remaining, Qi Qingqi, smirked. “So it’s like that? You guys should have just told us,” she drawled. “I’ll let the sect head know about this... happy development.”
~.~.~
It had taken a while to calm down the tearful Luo Binghe, which required first seeing themselves off Xian Shu Peak, since Qi Qingqi’s mocking didn’t help at all. Liu Qingge had vanished at some point in the chaos — probably for the best. Frankly, Shen Qingqiu had been more than fed up with the entire business, so he had done what he always did.
He pretended it had never happened.
So what if Liu Qingge couldn’t look him in the face and perpetually stared at some point over his shoulder when it was time for the monthly ritual of cleaning out his meridians? So what if maybe Liu Qingge’s fingers twitched slightly when he grasped Shen Qingqiu’s wrist, as if he could barely stand touching him?
So what if Bai Zhan’s ruffians began to act more obnoxious and belligerent than ever, invading Qing Jing Peak over and over again to make a mess of his forest and his cute disciples?
So what if Luo Binghe never quite stopped sending Shen Qingqiu unhappy, slightly forlorn looks?
So what if Qi Qingqi was clearly not above gossip, no matter how much she rolled her eyes at Shen Qingqiu when she thought he was being nosy, and thus every Peak Lord was struggling not to snicker at their next meeting because they had all heard the juicy details of the ‘Shen Qingqiu, that scum, seduced our fair maiden Liu and broke up the engagement set up by his family with a nice cultivator girl of noble standing’ special show?
So what if the System dropped some ominous thing and then never mentioned it again?
So what? Did Shen Qingqiu care?
......Yes. He did, actually, but like hell he’d show it! All these things, he could tolerate and hope they would go away after a while. Before too long, some new scandal would replace this mess in everyone’s minds, he had thought.
What he did not account for was Liu Mingyan one day turning up at Qing Jing Peak and requesting to see him.
Closing his eyes, Shen Qingqiu did his best not to groan. He couldn’t have missed the way Ming Fan kept glancing at her with questions in his eyes as he led her to the pavilion where Shen Qingqiu was waiting. Nor did he miss the throngs of disciples that gathered along the path to catch a glimpse of the newest round of hot material for the grapevine.
A few months ago, he might have worried about how this would be interpreted in light of the original goods Shen Qingqiu’s poor reputation with women. Now, he knew the rumors would be all about another man.
Was this an improvement? It didn’t feel like one.
The look Luo Binghe shot Liu Mingyan as he set down her cut of tea was frigid and distinctly confrontational. This is your future wife, Binghe! Another thing gone completely wrong, Shen Qingqiu sighed internally. He took a long sip of the warm tea to soothe his nerves.
“Liu-shizhi, it’s a pleasure to have you here,” he said, setting down his cup, “but this teacher wonders about the reason for your visit.”
Unfazed by his bluntness — appreciating it if anything — Liu Mingyan nodded in acknowledgment. “This disciple... would like to ask for your help,” she admitted. “Shen-shibo, do you remember what happened at Xian Shu peak with Yao-jie?”
‘How could I forget?’ Shen Qingqiu wondered sourly.
“...Please!” Suddenly, she bowed her head. “Don’t clear up that misunderstanding! Please help me cancel my brother’s engagement!”
Oh.
Well, he hadn’t seen that one coming...
Luo Binghe bristled and glared at her. “How can you ask Shizun to do something like that?” he demanded. “Why should Shizun lie and let that woman drag his reputation through the mud just for—”
“Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu said shortly, making his disciple immediately fall silent, sulking. “I don’t mind lying to help Liu-shidi,” he went on. “But I suspect there is a reason you are here and he is not. Is this really what he wants?”
Furrowing her brow in determination, Liu Mingyan squared her shoulders and admitted, “No, he never asked me to do this. He believes in duty, and he greatly admires our mother in particular. If it’s her orders, he’ll do it even if he doesn’t want to.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded, having expected this. “Then, since this is a matter of your family, does an outsider like me have the right to interfere?” he said. “If that’s his decision... Are the two of them really that mismatched? She didn’t seem like a bad girl.”
Pushy, but how else would she get close to Liu Qingge? If they were to be married, at least one of them needed to take the initiative.
“They don’t match at all. You haven’t seen them interact much, but it only gets worse the more time they spend together. But that’s not the reason,” Liu Mingyan said. Finally reaching for her cup, she rested her fingers against the sides and ran her thumbs over the rim. The tea rippled lightly, disrupting the reflection of her veiled face on its surface.
Shen Qingqiu waited, letting her gather her thoughts.
“Our family... wanted to arrange a marriage for me as well,” she revealed, her tone quiet and subdued. “But my brother strongly opposed it. He said that... I should be able to choose my own path and who I travel that path with. In the end, Mother and the elders were unwilling to continue fighting him over it, so they just let it go.”
That was new. This was a character detail that hadn’t been in the novel at all. Although... choosing her own path and who she traveled that path with certainly suited Liu Mingyan’s strong, resolute character and the small flash of romantic softness that threaded through her strength.
Yes, she had even said something like that, hadn’t she? ‘You are the one I choose,’ she’d said to Liu Binghe when she gave him the lovers’ token sword tassel.
If only Bing-ge had chosen her in return! But alas, a stallion novel and its pandering couldn’t commit to a single winning love interest.
“I’m sure that’s what my brother really believes in his heart, and what he really wants,” Liu Mingyan said, looking up and meeting Shen Qingqiu’s gaze. “He protected me back then, and I want to protect him now. But... I still lack that strength. That’s why...”
This... Shen Qingqiu felt a little thrill of excitement. This was almost perfectly a scene of a beauty asking for help from the hero! So noble! So lovely!
“This teacher will lend you his strength,” he agreed before he even realised.
Liu Mingyan beamed — under her veil. But he could tell her entire countenance lit up with relief and gratitude. Truly, a magnificent sight. Sighing to himself in satisfaction, Shen Qingqiu lazily waved his fan.
At his shoulder, Luo Binghe made a face, then stood up straight like a soldier volunteering for a suicide mission. “If that is Shizun’s will, then this disciple will do his utmost to help!” he declared staunchly.
Shen Qingqiu patted him on the shoulder. “You just focus on staying away from those Bai Zhan ruffians,” he said. “Remember, you can just run away. They’ll probably be even more unruly for a while because of this.”
“Shizun, how can I run when they’re insulting you and attacking our Qing Jing Peak?” Luo Binghe protested, his lip jutting out mulishly. “They were saying that you don’t deserve Liu-shishu! That you corrupted him! How can Shizun possibly be unworthy of someone? Shizun is the most outstanding—”
Liu Mingyan set her cup down onto the table with a dull, resounding clunk. It was empty, even though Shen Qingqiu hadn’t caught a single glimpse of her veil shifting.
“That, I can help with,” she declared. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “The next they come, I’ll set them straight.”
Of that, Shen Qingqiu had little doubt. Those fighting-obsessed meat heads, confronted by their master’s beautiful younger sister? They’d collapse from an existential crisis just trying to figure out whether and how to fight her, because they knew nothing else. However...
“I’m afraid they don’t come on a schedule, and Binghe won’t be able to send you a message in time when they arrive,” Shen Qingqiu pointed out.
“Then I will come every day,” Liu Mingyan decided.
Qi Qingqi would kill him. “Your training?” Shen Qingqiu brought up weakly.
“I will train here. With Luo-shixiong,” she said calmly. “After all, during the invasion, he won his match.” Her eyebrows slanted down. “I lost mine. And now, even Yao-jie has mastered Tian Xing... I won’t fall behind.”
That was hardly a fair comparison. After all, Luo Binghe was the protagonist! And furthermore, his opponent had been just a demon elder, while Sha Hualing was a demon saint and their leader. Even with his halo, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t particularly sure what Luo Binghe’s odds against her would have been.
However, he didn’t want to say something to undermine his disciple’s accomplishments. So instead, Shen Qingqiu settled for, “Then I will leave him in your care, Liu-shizhi.”
It was settled. That day, over tea and sweets, a terrible accord was born.
~.~.~