Chapter Text
Yue Qingyuan sighs and sits back, pushing away from his desk. It’s stacked high with scrolls. The paperwork is neverending. His eyes are tired from reading through the mountain of correspondence for the greater part of the afternoon, and it’s time he took a break. With no witnesses to chide him, he digs the heel of his hands into the sockets of his closed eyes and rubs. Bliss.
A hesitant knock on his door draws another, more resigned sigh from him, and he regretfully stops rubbing his eyes and schools his expression. “Enter,” he calls calmly.
Oh, he thinks in surprise as Shang Qinghua enters. Shang Shidi is a rather uncommon visitor on Qiong Ding peak. He looks anxious, though that seems to be his default setting, so Yue Qingyuan isn’t too worried. “Shidi,” he greets. “What is it?”
Tense knuckles squeeze and release the scrolls Shang Qinghua is gripping in front of his robes. “Zhangmen Shixiong,” Shang Qinghua says hesitantly, “This one happened to intercept a message from near the demon realm borderlands. I-once this one read it, he thought Sect Leader should see it immediately as this master was unsure what action should be taken.”
Brows drawing together in concern, Yue Qingyuan holds out a hand. Hastily, Shang Qinghua stumbles forward and drops the scroll into his hands. “Please, sit,” Yue Qingyuan tells his anxious Shidi.
Opening the scroll, Yue Qingyuan’s eyes grow larger as he reads the contents. “What is the meaning of this?” he says without meaning to. A cold flush sweeps through his body, and his heart rate increases. Shen Qingqiu, a hostage? He feels the pulsing of his qi echoed in Xuan Su, safely in its sheath at his side.
“Yue-Shixiong, as far as this one knows, all the Peak Lords are present and accounted for. This one specifically checked before coming to you with this matter.”
Yue Qingyuan stands and straps Xuan Su as well as his secondary sword to his belt. “Let us go to Qing Jing peak immediately,” he says, and strides off without waiting for a response.
“Do… do you want me to send a quick message to Shen Shixiong?” Shang Qinghua yelps from a few paces behind him. “It’s no trouble, really-”
“Nonsense,” Yue Qingyuan says firmly, not slowing his pace in the least. “Come along, Shang Shidi, make haste.” He needs to make sure Shen Qingqiu is safe!
They cross the rainbow bridge into Qing Jing peak, marching directly to the bamboo house. Yue Qingyuan ascends the stairs but before he can even knock on the door, it’s yanked open aggressively and Shen Qingqiu greets them both with a cold glare. “What brings the sect leader and Shang Shidi to this one’s doorstep without warning?” Shen Qingqiu demands, knuckles white on the doorframe. He is the very picture of an aloof immortal, hair perfectly styled in a heavy crown with a silver pin, elegant robes with the collars perfectly layered. He’s perfect, right down to his neatly trimmed nails.
Yue Qingyuan is too relieved to care about Shen Qingqiu’s displeasure. “Shen Shidi,” he says in relief. “You’re all right.” He reaches out, wanting to touch, to reassure himself that his favorite martial brother is still alive and well. Shen Qingqiu irritably knocks his hand away before it even reaches his shoulder.
“Did Zhangmen Shixiong expect this master to be elsewhere?” Shen Qingqiu drawls. His jade green eyes fix on Shang Qinghua and spear him. “What has Shang Shidi been telling Yue Shixiong to get him so upset?”
“It’s not my fault!” Shang Qinghua protests. “This master told Sect Leader that Shen Shixiong was fine-”
“Shen Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan starts, but Shen Qingqiu holds up a hand, and the Sect Leader wilts.
“Show me.” Shen Qingqiu intones imperiously. He presses his lips together and abruptly decides, “This master supposes you two should come in.” He steps back to grudgingly allow them entrance into his home.
Yue Qingyuan watches Shen Qingqiu read through the scroll. Essentially, it’s a ransom demand. The scroll states that the Qing Jing Peak lord has been held for the last week, and if the ransomer’s demands are not met immediately, that Shen Qingqiu will be put to death for his crimes.
Unspecified crimes, no less.
After settling at the low tea table, Shen Qingqiu lays the scroll aside and pins Yue Qingyuan with fierce glare. “Did Zhangmen Shixiong think this master so weak to be captured by some random idiot who can’t even tell one man from another?”
So many other of the peak lords find Shen Qingqiu’s manner off putting. He’s too cold, too sharp, they tell Yue Qingyuan as if that’s something he dislikes. He can’t exactly tell people why, but he loves every single sharp edge the man has. Shen Qingqiu could strip every piece of flesh from his body and Yue Qingyuan would permit it all. He owes it to the man after all, after his complete and utter failure to retrieve him from his time under the thumb of the Qiu family.
What they don’t understand is that what matters is that Shen Qingqiu is alive and in front of him, healthy and thriving if not happy. He’s not happy, Yue Qingyuan knows this. But Shen Qingqiu is here, and just his presence makes all of his sharp edges, his temper and fury, all of it worth the price.
“Shen Shidi,” Yue Qingyuan says helplessly, leaning forward. “This master needed to know you were safe.”
Shen Qingqiu snorts inelegantly, like the idea is ridiculous. “This master is fine. You should be concerned about the idiot that they mistook for this master. Shall we leave him to his fate then?” He inquires blandly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“But Shen Shixiong-” Shang Qinghua says at the same time Yue Qingyuan says, “Shen Shidi-”
“Enough of this nonsense. If some poor soul looks enough like this master to be kidnapped in his place, then this master supposes that the only thing to do is go investigate himself.”
Yue Qingyuan does not allow himself to smile. Of course Shen Qingqiu wanted to go help someone whose only crime, most likely, was a passing resemblance.
“Maybe you have a secret twin brother?” Shang Qinghua attempts to joke, but nobody laughs.
Yue Qingyuan’s eyes meet Shen Qingqiu’s. No, they both know. There was no secret brother. Yue Qingyuan had found a baby abandoned in a ditch and taken it upon himself to try and save the child’s life when he was a child himself. Although Shen Qingqiu’s expression is deceptively smooth, his eyes are troubled. “Shang Shidi, prepare a response and let the kidnapper know that Cang Qiong sect will come and retrieve the Qing Jing peak lord.
Lips twisting in a terrible smirk, Shen Qingqiu says, “Yes, of course. It would be awful for someone to wait around for a rescue that never came.”
_____________
Okay. Let’s be clear about one thing, Shen Yuan thinks. He has no idea what the hell is going on. All right, yeah, he died he is aware, but then he just-woke up! In a completely different body! With hair down to his ass, what the fuck? Wearing some kind of, what are they? Robes?
He remembers choking on a pork bun. He’d been reading something….something….fuck! He can’t remember. What he does remember is the burning in his chest, the lack of air, the way his consciousness had faded…and then…Nothing! No pearly gates, no Naihe bridge, no meng-po soup!
Just waking up on the floor of a small locked room-a shed maybe?- with some kind of red rope tightly binding his arms to his torso. There’s no windows, but the wood slats have enough space between them that he can see some light peeking through.He’s not sure how long it took for him to manage to sit up. Turns out this new body of his actually does have some good core strength, who knew?
Seriously, did he like, transmigrate or something? Wouldn’t he at least get a System to tell him what the fuck is happening if he did? How long has his body been here anyway? Did it die of hunger? Someone throw him a bone for fucks sake!
After mentally ranting for a while longer, Shen Yuan accepts the fact that he has no control over the current situation. Fine. He might as well close his eyes and rest then.
He only realizes that he fell asleep when he startles awake, voices directly outside his little shed or whatever. Abruptly, the door rips off the hinges and the influx of light from outside blinds him badly. Squeezing his eyes shut, Shen Yuan calls out, “Who’s there?”
Silence greets him. Then, a shing in the air that’s more vibration than sound and the ropes binding him fall away from his arms.
Suddenly able to take a proper breath again, Shen Yuan holds up a hand in front of his eyes and cracks them open. There’s two men in front of him. Two very pretty men. Their robes look fancy. The taller man wears black and silver and the slightly shorter man wears green and white. This man has light green eyes and an expressionless face. They both wear painful looking heavy hair pieces. The green eyed man stares at him for a moment then says, “Shen Qingqiu?”
Shen Yuan makes a face. “It’s Shen Yuan,” he says. Eyes darting between his two saviors, he asks, “Who are you guys?”
The taller man in black clears his throat and says, “This master is Yue Qingyuan, the Sect Leader of the Cang Qiong mountain sect. This is my martial brother, Shen Qingqiu.”
Shen Qingqiu just stares at Shen Yuan. “Are you okay?” Shen Yuan finally asks Shen Qingqiu. That name sounds really familiar. “Have we met before?” he adds.
“You tell me,” Shen Qingqiu says coldly, eyes narrowing.
Now that Shen Yuan thinks about it, doesn’t Cang Qiong sound familiar too? “Yeah, well, I just woke up here and found myself tied up, I don’t even know where this is.” He looks around at his shed and then decides to try and stand up. It’s wobbly at first, like his legs are too long or something. Swaying for a moment, Shen Qingqiu steadies him with a shockingly strong hand on his bicep. “Hey, maybe we’re related,” he says, making a joke about their family names. It’s one of the most common surnames around.
Instead of cracking a smile, Shen Qingqiu just looks constipated. He turns to the guy in black, Yue something? And says, “We should take him back to the sect with us.”
Yue Something looks like this is a grand idea. “Of course.” He looks like the warm older brother type. Shen Yuan likes him immediately.
After a brief stare-off in which Yue Something and Shen Qingqiu had a silent conversation, Shen Qingqiu meets Shen Yuan’s eyes and tells him, “You may ride with this master back to our sect.”
Frowning, Shen Yuan says warningly, “I don’t know how to ride horses.”
“You misunderstand,” Shen Qingqiu says impatiently. He draws a huge sword from absolutely nowhere. “We will ride my sword.”
Shen Yuan laughs. Seeing that neither of his new acquaintances are amused, the smile falls right off his face. “What- you’re serious? I’m not flying in the air on a sword, are you crazy?”
Offended, Shen Qingqiu straightens. “This master would not let you fall.” He does something and the sword just…floats in the air. He steps up onto the sword. “Shen Yuan, come up.”
“I appreciate the offer, but maybe I’ll just hang out here-”
His feet leave the ground as Yue Something lifts him off the ground and plunks him on Shen Qingqiu’s sword. Shen Yuan squeaks and quickly shifts his feet trying not to fall. He gropes and flings his arms around Shen Qingqiu’s waist. “Hey, man, that’s not cool-”
“Idiot boy, do you not realize that someone held you captive and threatened to kill you, thinking you were me?”
“WHAT!” Shen Yuan squawks. “Why would someone think I was you?”
He practically hears Shen Qingqiu grinding his teeth. “It is obvious,” he snarls. “Stop playing dumb.”
“Fuck you,” Shen Yuan snaps, “I’m not playing! I literally just woke up here, do you think I just happen to have a mirror up my ass?”
Yue Qingyuan holds up a hand, stalling the vitriol from Shen Qingqiu. “Shen Yuan, are you telling us…that you don’t know what you look like?”
Rolling his eyes and huffing, Shen Yuan says, “No, what I’m saying is that I just woke up here, and I don’t remember anything else.” He pauses then adds in a calmer tone, “I don’t know what I look like, I don’t know if I have any family here alive, and I don’t even know where here is!”
“Besides,” he mutters, thinking it too low to be heard, “I didn’t have ass length hair when I died, and I sure as hell wasn’t wearing robes.”
The displaced millennial is so caught up feeling sorry for himself, he just lowers his head until his forehead is resting on Shen Qingqiu’s back. He misses the exchanged glances between the two Peak lords.
He has a past, he knows it. Wherever he died, he must have family there. Now he’s…where ever and he doesn’t even have a cell phone let alone anything else important. If he really did transmigrate then why doesn’t he know what kind of book or movie he’s in? Yue Something is a sect leader implying this is a cultivation setting. The flying swords is a xianxia thing.
How come the only thing he remembers about his other life is the way he died?
Time passes slowly while they fly back to Yue Something and Shen Qingqiu’s sect. It only belatedly occurs to Shen Yuan that it’s possible they may decide to toss him back out on the streets if he doesn’t give them the correct answers. They haven’t said much at all to him, actually, but Shen Yuan feels pretty sure that will change whenever they arrive. Oh god. What if they try to torture information out of him that he doesn’t have?
Panicking quietly, he keeps his face buried in Shen Qingqiu’s robes. The last time he’d looked down he’d come dangerously close to vomiting. His knuckles were clenched in the fabric and he just focused on taking one breath after another.
“Are you all right?” Shen Qingqiu asked at one point, sounding strange over the wind.
Resisting the urge to groan, Shen Yuan mutters, “Yeah, it’s nothing, just a minor panic attack and airsickness.”
Shen Qingqiu doesn’t respond, so Shen Yuan assumes the other man didn’t hear him.
For some reason after that Shen Qingqiu lifts them higher into the air, right into the cloud cover. It should be cold and hard to breathe, but when Shen Yuan peeks out from behind his fistful of robes, he sees a glimmering green bubble around them. It must be keeping the air warm and oxygenated, he thinks. “Thank you, gege,” he whispers.
An eternity later, Shen Qingqiu says, “We have nearly arrived at Cang Qiong.” He hesitated, adding, “Shen Yuan, keep your eyes closed for now.”
Shen Yuan laughs a tense, high pitched giggle. “Oh, I will.” He keeps clutching Shen Qingqiu’s robes like his life depends on it-because it did!
His ears popped a few times on the way down.
“We are near the ground,” Shen Qingqiu announced.
Expecting to be at roof top height at least, Shen Yuan opened his eyes. They were hovering just a few centimeters above the ground. “Oh, thank God.” He was never so grateful to set his feet back down on the earth. He’s never been so relieved in his life! Well. That he can remember anyway.
Yue Something looked amused, positively beaming as he watched Shen Qingqiu help Shen Yuan down from his sword.
“Yue-ge,” Shen Yuan said, but then stopped as Yue Something started coughing. He glanced at Shen Qingqiu for help but the man in green just looked pissed. “What? Shen-gege, I couldn’t remember his name. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Looking like he was sucking on a lemon, Shen Qingqiu gritted out, “It’s Yue Qingyuan, the Sect Leader, show a little respect, brat.”
However Yue Qingyuan held up a hand, forestalling further scolding. “It’s fine, Shen Shidi. Shen, ah, Shen-di can refer to this one as such.” His eyes crinkle with his smile.
“Shen Yuan, come with me.” Shen Qingqiu turned on his heel and stalked off. Shen Yuan looked to the sect leader for help but Yue Qingyuan just chucked and made a shoo-ing gesture at him. Well. Okay then.
Shen Yuan follows Shen Qingqiu until the walkway they’re on turns into a bridge of light. A Rainbow bridge. He watches in shock as Shen Qingqiu just strides out onto the beams of colored light. Before he gets more than a few steps away, he spins around and glares at Shen Yuan.
“Shen Yuan. Come!” He orders, frowning.
“I’m not a dog,” Shen Yuan mutters. Louder, he says, “I’m good here, thanks.” He looks down where the toes of his shoes hover over the rainbow beams.
Shen Qingqiu growls and stomps back over to him. Shen Yuan can’t help flinching back, and Shen Qingqiu’s face grows darker. “This master will carry you like a child if need be, but you will come with me!”
Looking past Shen Qingqiu to the bridge of light, Shen Yuan honestly can’t decide which one is scarier. He understands just fine that Shen Qingqiu doesn’t seem to be scared of anything, but Shen Yuan knows that rainbows are just beams of light refracting colors. He doesn’t want to fall to his death, thanks!
Something must show on his face, because Shen Qingqiu sighs deeply. More calmly, he says, “The bridge is safe, this master assures you.” He looks directly into Shen Yuan’s eyes and says seriously. “This master will not let you fall.”
Shen Yuan swallows and looks down at the glimmering rainbow hovering in the air. “Where I’m from rainbows are just pretty things in the sky after it rains. You can’t walk on them.”
Shen Qingqiu inclines his head regally, hands hidden in his sleeves. “It is much the same here as well. As far as this master knows, the rainbow bridges of the Cang Qiong sect are the only ones in existence.” His shoulders relax slightly. “It shouldn’t have surprised this master that Shen Yuan was…concerned.”
Defensively, Shen Yuan crosses his arms across his chest. He looks away. “I don’t think you’d be any better if I stuck you in an elevator and made you go up a hundred floors,” he mutters. There’s a sudden sensation of warmth on his arm, and he glances up, finding Shen Qingqiu’s long fingers around his upper arm.
“Come along, Shen Yuan. We need to have you examined by our sect physician, Mu Qingfang.”
Throwing his head back, Shen Yuan whines, “Ugh okay, but why? I’m telling you, I feel fine! Better than I did before, to be honest.” Eventually he peeks over at Shen Qingqiu, who looks contemplative. Now that he doesn’t look so angry, he’s very attractive. In an aesthetic way! Listen, Shen Yuan isn’t gay but he has eyes, for fuck’s sake. Shen Qingqiu…is kind of hot. In a sort of stuck up professor way.
Moving on!
Closing his eyes, he reaches out with a foot and feels for something solid under his toes. Sure enough, the ball of his foot strikes something solid. Carefully, he put weight on the foot resting on rainbows. When the light remains solid under him, he shuffles out onto the bridge. Through this all, Shen Qingqiu watches him with narrowed eyes. “I’m sorry, Shen -ge, I really don’t want to die again.”
He hears a sigh, and then there’s a line of warmth next to him and a solid arm weaving around his waist. “This master grows tired of the delay.”
Shen Yuan allows himself to be half led, half dragged all the way out onto the bridge. Like when he was up in the air, he really doesn’t want to look down. Or around at all. “What kind of bridge doesn’t have railings? That’s not safe,” he mutters.
Finally, finally they arrive on a different mountain peak. Furrowing his brow, Shen Yuan looks back at the way they came. From here, it looks like the last peak was way farther away than the distance they just walked. Weird. Was the rainbow bridge some kind of worm hole thing?
As they continue on the new walkway, Shen Yuan is struck by the looks that they are attracting from the locals. Teenagers and some actual children as well as adults literally stop and stare. Shen Yuan angles his head away from the rubberneckers, muttering, “Making me feel like a freak, what the hell.”
Shen Qingqiu makes a sound that can’t possibly be a chuckle-does the man ever smile? “This master does not blame them for looking.”
Yeah, that’s right because this body he’s in supposedly looks just like Shen Qingqiu. Shen Yuan can’t imagine it. Although he can’t remember what his body looked like before he died, he is absolutely positive he was not as good looking as Shen Qingqiu.
The staring only gets worse when they enter the healing pavilion. Disciples in dark green lead them to an exam room. Shen Yuan sits down in relief on one of the chairs while Shen Qingqiu prowls around the room, arms crossed looking stern.
As soon as Shen Yuan gets settled, another man enters the room, dark eyes flirting between Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan.
“Mu Qingfang,” Shen Qingqiu says tightly. “This is Shen Yuan. He needs a full exam.”
No, he doesn’t! “I feel fine,” he reminds Shen Qingqiu, who ignores him.
“He was found trapped in a shed with immortal binding cables on. We don’t know how long he was kept hostage.”
Mu Qingfang is a tall man with kind eyes, long black hair pulled up into a simple ponytail held together with the typical heavy hairpiece. He has a rather unfortunate mustache. He bows to Shen Yuan. “This master is Mu Qingfang, peak lord of Qian Cao peak. Does this master have Shen Yuan’s permission to conduct an exam?”
He opens his mouth, but Shen Qingqiu gives him a qwelling look. “Sure,” he says finally. When Mu Qingfang picks up his wrist, Shen Yuan is confused. “Wouldn’t a stethoscope be more helpful? Or a blood pressure cuff maybe?”
“Are you a physician?” Shen Qingqiu asks sharply.
“I’m just saying,” Shen Yuan defends himself.
“Well, don’t.” Shen Qingqiu takes a few steps closer. “Everytime you open your mouth we all just have more questions.”
A whoosh of minty coolness sweeps through his body, and Shen Yuan’s mouth drops open. He feels goosebumps rise on his arms and the back of his neck. “Oh that’s weird.”
“Well?” Shen Qingqiu prods, arms crossed and fingers tapping on his arms.
Mu Qingfang straightens. His eyes linger on Shen Yuan for a long moment before turning to Shen Qingqiu. “His cultivation system is intact if…undeveloped. He has mild malnutrition, dehydration and anemia.” The physician looks troubled for a moment then adds, “He bears some of the same distant injuries as Shen Shixiong.”
What? Shen Yuan thinks, not understanding that last bit. “What does that mean?” he asks. Neither man gives him an answer. He waves a hand. “Uh, hello?” Mu Qingfang finally makes eye contact and Shen Yuan asks again, “What does that mean?”
“It means you are my brother,” Shen Qingqiu says. His lips press together tightly. “My twin brother.”
“Hey man, I’m sorry, but I don’t have a twin brother.” Shen Yuan points out.
“Neither do I, and yet.” Shen Qingqiu retorts.
Shaking his head a little, Shen Yuan says, “Do you have a mirror?”
Mu Qingfang produces a strange mirror from nowhere and hands it over.
It.
The image is a little warped, but…that’s not his face. In amazement, he touches his face with his fingers. “But this isn’t what I look like,” he says dumbly. Looking back at the past few hours, Shen Yuan thinks, well, it wasn’t that he didn’t believe Shen Qingqiu it’s just that…the idea of him looking like, well, like a model or moviestar is …whew! Too strange! “I don’t think I’m supposed to be this handsome,” he remarks without thinking.
To his surprise, Shen Qingqiu’s cheeks pinken. Mu Qingfang hides a smile with his sleeves.