Chapter Text
Shen Qingqiu Background
Shen Qingqiu comes home furious from the most recent peak lord meeting where again he was showered with complaints and criticisms regarding his plans for their missions. He goes to grab a small box that he has kept preciously all these years and is about to throw it mercilessly onto the ground. But he found himself unable to as always and he slumps down onto the ground sobbing
Why does he keep doing this to himself? He asks the same question he has been asking himself for years.
He opens the box to pick up the precious piece of treasure he was given so many years ago. A simple but beautiful green pastel-colored silk ribbon with unique golden patterns of the wind embroidered that would shine radiantly the moment the light hits it.
This is the only truly genuine gift he has ever received in his entire life by the only person who truly saw him for who he was and actually liked him the little girl Shen Jiu. A girl that died the moment she was forced to turn away from the hand that was desperately trying to reach out to her even though all she wished was to grab ahold of it and never let go.
But how could she with the monster breathing down her neck threatening to reveal the truth about her true status and identity as a stand-in for her mistress? A slave couldn't dream of ever getting married to a nobleman much less a high-ranking and prestigious one at that. Even if the boy was only the second son he was still a child of the main branch family and a legitimate heir who was entitled to part of the vast Liu family fortune.
The reason Shen Jiu even got to meet the boy and spend that short but unforgettable summer with him as she did was a miracle in itself. A miracle she owed to her mistress not wanting to attend the marriage interview that the retired elderly Qiu matriarch had accepted on her behalf
The young mistress had her heart set on marrying her brother's attendant a young slave whom he had rescued out of the slums out of the generosity of his heart and freed once he learned of his younger sister's fancy for the beautiful jade-eyed child. Her brother promised her that she would one day be able to wed Shen Jiu but must keep it a secret from everyone else lest they bring down a rain of criticism and bashing onto themselves by the high society elites who thought commoners to be beneath them. Qiu Jianluo told her he needed to finish the adoption procedures to have Shen Jiu registered as an adopted child they brought over from the branch family this way they would be able to freely marry without a single shame.
The young mistress didn't notice the lecherous way her dearest kind elder brother looked at her as he began to prepare for his malicious plan to trap her inside the household forever with him. That included training the pathetic little mutt he picked up to his heart's content. He could see that it was only a matter of time before she grew up to be an extraordinary beauty and wanted to savor each moment of it for himself.
Shen Jiu was absolutely disgusted and only wished that Qi-Ge would hopefully come to pick her up sooner or later as she endured being trained by her master. So far she managed to keep her virginity barely intact. But it was only a matter of time before the monster took it and he did in the cruelest of manner.
He was absolutely furious when he learned how his father allowed the marriage interview between his sister and the infamous barbaric second son of the Liu family under the pressure of the elderly matriarch to happen without his notice. Not only that they were getting swellingly along to the point the Liu family was seriously considering allowing them to get engaged.
That is if Qiu Jianluo had anything to say about it.
However, when he went to confront his sister about it she was completely confused asking her brother why he was so upset. That's when it was revealed how Qiu Haitang had skipped the interview and the servants in their franticness used Shen Jiu to temporarily replace her for the time being. Qiu Jianluo couldn't believe it and almost wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculous debacle of that goddamn infuriating brat being fooled by a mere slave.
He always knew the brat was a complete retard and now he had proof of it.
The young master went to pick up and escort his dearly beloved 'sister' back to the mansion wanting to relish himself in the sight only to be left completely infuriated once he got there and witnessed the pair. He could even tell from afar how much fun the two children were having as they bantered back and forth with big bright smiles on their faces. Even under the veil, it was easy to see how much the pathetic slave was enjoying herself shining under the attention of that retard who was completely mesmerized by her beauty.
All Qiu Jianluo could feel was the red hot molten fury at how his possession had shown an expression that nobody in the mansion including himself had ever seen before to that goddamn fucking brat of all people! He immediately grabbed the arms of the girl who was about to shout until she realized who it was that grabbed her and she became silent as a mouse
Good, she still knew her place the young master thought.
He told his sister to pack up because they were now leaving. Shen Jiu really didn't want to leave and she wished she could stay there for once where she was happy and enjoying herself as though she was a normal girl. Qiu Jianluo then whispered into her ear reminding her of her true identity and her purpose in the Qiu Family. Shen Jiu reluctantly left with that and went to bid farewell to the young master.
He asked her when he'll be able to meet with her again to which she could only reply with silence. Understanding what that silence meant he gave her a small simple ordained box with a ribbon inside telling her it was a gift for her to remember their short summer by.
He also told her it would act as a symbol for him to recognize her with should they ever cross their path once again. If at the time she was still unwed no even if she was he would elope with her to the ends of the world for her. He promised that he would remain single for the rest of his life and wait for the day they meet again and he becomes a man worthy of such a fussy sassy but extraordinary woman
Shen Jiu didn't know what came over her at that moment but by the time she noticed she was covering the young master's eyes whilst lifting her veil for a short moment to give him her first one and only true kiss. She whispered to him thank you and told him how much his words meant to her but it was best for him to forget about a wretched woman like her. However, she would cherish the fun days they had during their short summer together.
With that, the two parted never to see each other again or that was what Shen Jiu thought to herself at least.
The moment she returned to the mansion Qiu Jianluo forced her onto his bed and raped her taking what was left of the little girl she once was... She even conceived a child from that incident which she miscarried under her master's constant abuse. The cycle would continue like this until Shen Jiu couldn't take it anymore and she snapped when she heard the disgusting monster's plan to make his own sister his bride once he was formally named as count in the place of the late Qiu Patriarch whom he had killed days before when he heard of the count's plans to take in a new wife to birth him more heirs.
With that the slave number 9 died in the mansion she had inadvertently set on fire during her devastating qi deviation that finally snapped open under all the pressure and abuse she was under. The only thing that remained of the little girl was the ribbon she went back to retrieve out of the burning woodshed for reasons she couldn't understand herself. She followed the one man who gave her a willing hand not knowing the secret she guarded furiously with her life
Since then she eternally dawned the robes of the man she is currently now.
Nobody except for Qi... Yue Qingyuan knew that she was a woman not even that disgusting scum of her former master of hers or the previous Qing Jing Peak Lord knew much less her idiotic spoiled naive martial siblings.
Well not that she could blame them... she was hardly the most feminine woman out there. She didn't have a voluptuous figure as Qi Qingqi did and had wide shoulders and a lean figure that suggested she was more of a man if anything. Her breasts were smaller in comparison to the woman around her which made them easier to hide. She was both thankful and saddened for it...
It didn't take much for her to recognize the annoying brute as the young master Liu Mingchen she had met so long ago. Of course, the brute didn't recognize her one bit keeping his end of the bargain of forgetting her as she had asked him all those summers ago. Even though it was what she asked for she couldn't help but feel the slight tinge of the pain of the reminder that her existence probably was insignificant to the brute compared to the many people he met and other experiences he surely had in his life.
And how could she blame him?
Other than the fact she was still a virgin back then and had given him her first kiss, she had nothing worthwhile to offer him. She was just a sassy annoying rude street kid who had the audacity to call the young master a spoiled brat. Much less the kid never even saw her face with all the veils she was forced to wear to cover her entire face with, Her long bangs were cleverly arranged to make it so the young master wouldn't see her jade green eyes and to have the rest of the Liu family find out about the switch. The two children only ever called each other by the respective nicknames they had come up for themselves.
As much as Liu Mingchen now known as Qingge was aware the young girl he had played with was the young daughter of the once illustrious Qiu Count household. If not then she was just one of the many girls he was introduced to in the group of marriage candidates for the third son of the Ducal Liu Family.
Even so, she hoped they could be something like friends and while they weren't exactly one they still had a relatively good relationship with one another sharing their great rivalry with one another. Until that Well mission happened and everything went spiraling downwards...
The rumors of her trying to kill her own martial sibling spread throughout the sect along with her notorious visits to the brothels to prey on the misfortunate women who were forced to reside there. There had been rumors of it before but not a lot of people paid much attention to it before since it wasn't exactly that rare for a disciple to visit the brothel. However, it had worsened when Liu Qingge went to confront her about it in front of a huge crowd and those Bai Zhan gossip mongers laid waste to her reputation
In the end, those rumors were what caused her already reluctant martial siblings to pull away from her even more leading to the situation as it is today.
Every one of her martial siblings including Yue Qingyuan despised her and had voiced their opposition loudly to her becoming the next Qing Jing Peak Lord. However, her Shizun put his feet down insisting that he didn't have the time or leisure to choose another disciple and train them to become as competent as his current head disciple, and the conversation was finished
Shen Qingqiu honestly had no idea why she kept staying in this place where she was despised by everyone and even tried to leave on several occasions only to be pulled back by her sobbing backstabbing former sworn brother...
He told her that she owed it to him for her to stay out of the old vow she had made to him so long ago when they were still just Xiao Jiu and Qi-Ge. The man had the audacity to state that she had a responsibility to stay and keep her vows even though he broke his promise first.
He said that if she were to do anything to break that vow then he would be left with no choice but to make certain she keeps it by throwing away everything he worked hard for. He was even willing to throw away the noble title he earned when it was discovered he was the missing young master of the Yue Marquise family.
The previous Sect Leader ordered his Shidi to en place several charms and spells on his head disciple to ensure that the future Qing Jing peak lord world never betray or leave the sect to keep his own head disciple by his side. If she was stronger and wasn't so damaged she could have broken the chain tying her down and broken free of them but she wasn't...
Thus she was forever bound to Cang Qiong regardless of her will for as long as her body kept moving.
She didn't even have the freedom to take her own life unless it was for the sake of her sect leader or martial siblings... And she doubt Yue Qingyuan would even give her the honor to do so
Born as a slave, live as a slave, and die as a slave. That was her fate...
The only comfort she had was at least she was well-fed and well-dressed one at the very least...
Even if everything she owned here reflected far from whom she truly was at least she had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep on.
At least she had the freedom to choose her own disciples to a certain extent if anything comes to consolation. All her hall masters were leftovers of her old Qing Jing martial siblings who were willing to stay out of loyalty to their former Shizun and mostly keep an eye on the new one for the sake of the Peak's reputation. Most of her disciples were chosen by them for her based on how much their families would benefit the sect. Very few disciples were the ones she actually chose and picked up for herself.
Like the young girl, Ning Yingying she took in and raised all on her own after being begged by her dying mother to take care of her.
Jun Xin, the orphan boy she picked off the streets. Her most proud senior disciple to who she very much wanted to give the mantle of head disciple but couldn't in fear of the dangers she would be putting him through should she do so.
Shen Qingqiu lost count of the times she nearly lost her life from the numerous assassination attempts by her very own martial siblings once her Shizun chose her to be his succeeding disciple. One of them came very close to discovering her secret but lost his life being mauled by his own trap he had set up for his martial 'brother'. Oh yeah, she was blamed for that one too...
She was accused of leaving her marital brother for dead when it was that disciple's own carelessness that got him killed. Same with all the others although some of them Shen Qingqiu managed to save in a bare nick of time while some weren't lucky and had either become crippled or lost their lives. Every one of them left the sects afterward once Shen Qingqiu ascended to his position stating they didn't want to be under the order and command of lecherous scum
Shen Qingqiu couldn't bear to put the boy through the same fate she was now under and gave the mantle to a boy she barely deemed competent enough. Jun Xin understood and thanked his master for everything he did for him when he left the sect to go out to become independent on his own. He stated he would one day build his own school that would welcome children from all different backgrounds to give them an opportunity to change their lives just as Shizun had done for him. He told Shen Qingqiu he would be welcome to visit any time and stay there for as long as he wished. Last Shen Qingqiu heard of the boy he was traveling down to the southern isles to seek more knowledge and wisdom about the world
All the other disciples Shen Qingqiu had picked up and raised with her hands left her one by one same as their senior martial brother treading their own path in the world while their master had no choice but to remain in the sect as the chains continued to weigh her down even more.
On not one many so occasions her former students would beg their master to leave with them telling her the wonders of the outside world she desperately wish she could go see but couldn't because her responsibility and duty lay here. Her former students still wouldn't give up despite their master's answer and would ask her each time with every letter they sent her.
The only thing that kept her barely standing right now was the child she picked up and raised as a replacement for all the children she lost at the hands of those monsters...
As well as the ribbon that she couldn't bear herself to throw away no matter how many times she tried. A part of her still desperately onto the remnants of the young innocent girl she once was along with the memories of that bright gentle warm summer.
She cried herself to sleep as she held the box tightly to her chest wishing every time she could go back to that moment for even just a tiny second
Liu Qingge Background
Liu Qingge lays down on his bed as he looked at the beautiful jade flower hairpin in his hands
It's been years since he's been searching for that girl but he couldn't find a single trace of her anywhere. He knows she told him to forget her but how could he? She meant the world to him since the moment he unceremoniously got kicked by her into the pond and got called a spoiled brat. He couldn't forget the sound of her boisterous laughter when the frog decided to land right on his head and pee all over his wet hair.
She was far from every other graceful humble well-mannered poised lady he met but at that moment he couldn't help but feel she outshined all of them. He liked how he could banter back and forth with her without any restrictions as though they were just normal children.
Liu Mingchen had very few friends his age back then if at all. All of them were ass kissers who thought nothing but to mooch off of his family's grace. It was hard to be polite and try to act friendly with them when he could see the greed popping right out of their eye. The girl would say 'eww' when she met some of them to which he very much agreed with.
The young girl wasn't delicate at all if anything she was more of a tomboy always curious about her surroundings and getting the boy to join her most recent adventures. She taught him a lot of things that a young master like him normally wouldn't have been allowed to learn especially the colorful list of curse words.
She was so free and unrestricted it was as if nothing in the world could ever chain her down.
Liu Mingchen loved her wild and free spirit.
He learned the joys of searching and finding new things because of her and helped opened his eyes to a world full of wonders. She was the one who made the Bai Zhan War God a mission adventure-loving man he is now.
He could tell that the girl liked spending time with him too from the joy in her tone every time she spoke to him.
Liu Mingchen was beyond happy when he heard how his parents were considering allowing both of them to become engaged. If it was any other lady then he would have run up for the hills but if it was her he didn't mind spending the rest of his life with such an extraordinary person. He even considered giving up his dreams to become a cultivator at the prestigious Cang Qiong Mountain Sect just so he could lay out his plans to become an adventurer to travel the world along with the person who would one day become his wife.
He gathered what he could from his pocket money to buy a courting gift for his best friend and future wife. Unfortunately, all he could buy was one measly ribbon but his Fuqin told him what mattered was whether it came from the heart or not. So long as Liu Mingchen was sincere with his gift the receiver would understand his feelings.
He looked forward to giving the gift and announcing his intentions to court the young maiden. Yet everything ended cruelly when the young maiden's brother came to pick her up and take her away.
He could see the fear seeping out from her body as her brother grabbed her by the arms asking her what it was she was doing. It was there he witnessed for the first time just how vulnerable and fragile the young maiden was as she was dragged away from him by her brother. He tried to stop him only for the older teenage boy to tell him how it was about time his sister returned home with him and that it was inappropriate for her to spend any more time with a young master such as himself.
The girl begged and pleaded with her brother to allow her to bid the boy farewell which he decided to reluctantly allow when he noticed the Liu family servants watching him. All the boy could do was give her the ribbon and state his intentions to her before she left leaving a small kiss on his lips and giving him those parting words.
Since then he worked hard to become a great man who could stand by the woman's side. He left for Cang Qiong with the intention of returning as a proud independent man. He refused every single marriage interview his parents recommended him to go to. He would constantly repeat the same words each time that he would ever only marry one woman and that was the girl he met.
The Liu patriarch felt very conflicted... It's true at one point they seriously did consider allowing their son to become engaged with that girl until the background check on her family came through and revealed just how much of disastrous and heinous people they were. He didn't want his son to become affiliated with such a family no matter how innocent the young maiden was which they highly doubt after hearing the rumors of the rich pampered spoiled lady who constantly threw tantrums whenever she couldn't get what she wanted.
If only his friend hadn't been so brutally betrayed on the battlefield and his family weren't missing he would have introduced his son to his originally attended arranged marriage partner whom he was certain he would come to like if the young child was anything like her father...
He didn't want his son's heart to be broken so he kept his mouth shut in silence hoping he would find a worthier person to be with.
Not knowing his parent's intention Liu Qingge followed through with all the training in Bai Zhan Peak and came out reigning as the peak lord's chosen succeeding head disciple. Once he was given permission to return home he declared his intention to find the girl to his parents.
At that point, the Liu patriarch could no longer keep the truth from his son and revealed the truth behind the young mistress of the Qiu family the girl he had met with. He also told him about the disgusting heinous crimes the Qiu family had committed while keeping the face of generous samaritans on the surface. They were all just a bunch of disgusting sadistic monsters who cared nothing but for sating their greed and hunger with the misery of others.
Even then Liu Qingge insisted that he did not care and would face those monsters all in a heartbeat if it meant he could be with her for the rest of his life.
Looking at the determination in his son's eyes he could see there was no point in deterring them. He made an arrangement for him to meet with the young mistress who was currently residing in a small temple, after the massacre of her family and all the male servants serving under them.
Liu Qingge was horrified to learn how the young maiden went through such a horrifying experience and immediately went to rush by her side as fast as he could. Even if her family was scum which he did indeed acknowledge after looking at all the evidence, they were still the young maiden's family.
However, when he arrived he quickly realized that the maiden screaming and crying loudly in front of him wasn't the girl he had met all those years ago...
She kept lying insisting that it was her recounting all the stories of the time they spent together. Stories he could tell she heard from the rumors or another third party.
He didn't believe her one single bit. He asked her what it was she exactly said and did when they bid their farewells together. When she couldn't answer that was the final straw for him and he called her out on her lie asking her where the young girl he met was, She was frightened out of her wits and answered she didn't know. All she knows is that she skipped the marriage interview and had the servants handle the rest. They must have sent some random servant or slave girl to act as her replacement
He threatened to give her the list of all the servants and slaves assigned to her household only for her to answer that the list burned in the fire.
She then tearingly confessed how all the traitorous female servants and child slaves left her behind to deal with the aftermath alone despite the kindness and generosity her family had shown to them all those years. Kindness and generosity his ass the imperial investigators discovered mountains and hoards of corpses underneath in the basement of the burnt remains as well as the experiment tables and torture devices that suggested the family was truly sick to the core.
The so-called high-quality medicine they were known for producing and selling had been made out of the living organs of their victims. There were corpses that had their spiritual veins ripped out of them suggesting that they had also been dealing with heretical cultivation clans or demonic cultivators
Liu Qingge was sick to the core when he went to check the mansion for himself and could only hope with every might that the girl was one of the people who managed to escape. The Liu patriarch felt pity for his son and agreed to help him with his search to the best of his abilities.
However, as the years kept dwindling hopes of finding that girl diminished one by one as Liu Qingge met with every person who managed to escape only for them to shake their heads not knowing who the young maiden was... It was as if though she had never existed
His parents insisted he give up on his fruitless endeavor and meet with one of the honorable ladies they had lining up for him. Liu Qingge refused that even if he could not find her he vowed to be eternally single until he met her. To shut any complaints from his fellow clan members and elders up he decided to ascend as the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan Peak.
Even to this day, he's still searching for the girl hoping to grab any clue about her.
Strangely though on the small rare occasions, he could see her through his icy cold viper martial brother Shen Qingqiu...
He knows ironic right? Of all the people he thought resembled her in the slightest, it had to be that backstabber of all people.
Liu Qingge always wonders why in the hell that man keeps on insisting on staying in the sect even though it was very clear he preferred to be anywhere but here. Not that he couldn't understand though, Cang Qiong Mountain was indeed a very suffocating place to be in. This is the other reason why Liu Qingge constantly left out on missions leaving his hall masters to handle the peak on his behalf.
Shen Qingqiu always acted like he had a stick shoved up his ass whenever he attended the peak lords meetings which he admits were extremely unpleasant. If Qi Qingqi weren't his cousin he wouldn't even talk to her for heaven's sake that woman was always so petty and haughty holding a grudge over every little goddamn freaking matter that nobody gives a fuck about!
He still holds a grudge against her for making him drunk just so she could get all the juicy gossip she wanted out of the man and spread them around as she liked even though it was none of her goddamn business!
Whatever problems he and Shen Qingqiu had it was between them and only them so everyone could just butt out of it for all he cared!
But no they insisted on butting in anyway and now they can barely hold a civil conversation with one another without it evolving into a brawl!
The only other martial sibling whom he barely tolerated was Mu Qingfang who acted completely neutral in the matter. Or at least he thinks he does. He has no idea what's going on in that healer's head most of the time and it actually kind of scares him
Shang Qinghua was... hmmm... a hamster? What? he really looked like a hamster munching on all those seeds every single meeting.
Yue Qingyuan now that was a man he could respect. Aside from his blatant favoritism of Shen Qingqiu, he was an honorable and just man. He was a good sect leader always making sure to look out for everyone's back most especially that scum's.
Yet that scum had the audacity to feel ungrateful and disrespect their humble modest sect leader at every turn. Honestly, he didn't understand why he had to constantly mock the sect leader on every given occasion.
Just today he mocked the sect leader for his poor tastes in quite literally everything (something that Liu Qingge had to agree to when he saw the gifts being handed to the Qing Jing Peak Lord that even he thought were completely over the top and gaudy as that girl long ago said 'eww') If he hates it so much just return it no need to insult him with every detail of it.
He didn't know how Shen Qingqiu couldn't even if she wanted to because of her obligations to the sect that made her unable to disobey her sect leader.
Although he couldn't say Zhangmen Shixing wasn't completely at fault. Doesn't he notice how uncomfortable and troubled the Peak lord looks every time he receives those tacky items? Normally when people feel uncomfortable you're supposed to stop his Muqin always used to lecture him as a child.
That was why Liu Qingge stopped bringing those beast carcasses to the viper in an attempt to reconcile with him.They both preferred fighting anyhow and that was how he settled things
One time though he swears he heard the Qing Jing Peak Lord let out a small puff of laughter when Shang Shixiong fell flat-faced on the ground with a bunch of dirt caught inside his mouth. That small puff reminded him of the girl he had been yearning to meet.
Sometimes he found himself wondering if his martial brother had someone he longed to meet as well when he saw the eyes that laid out for the distance... He then quickly dismissed the thought thinking there was no way that icy cold viper had anyone he cared about.
He puts the hairpin gently aside before going off to slumber
Yue Qingyuan Background
Yue Qingyuan looks at another pile of mountains of gifts sent to him by his supposed biological father...
He can understand his efforts of wanting to hold a relationship with his long-lost son. But Yue Qingyuan knew the real reason behind why his father sent him these gifts.
The new emperor didn't look at the Yue family with much favor with their recent failed conquests and failure to bring honor to their name unlike the previous emperor who didn't mind the Yue family basking upon their once-great former glory. It was mostly due to Yue Qingyuan's father's great achievements during the great siege of those foreigners from the outer lands where he discovered the culprit and traitor behind the huge embezzlement scheme of the missing army's funds and supplies. Because of the Marquise, the army was able to properly regroup and defeat those dastardly foreigners from invading their homeland.
However, since then the Marquise household hadn't had any great achievements to their name. If anything they've been more of a burden to the imperial court wasting a lot of their time and money. Not to mention the emperor had once been close to the family that was convicted for embezzlement, especially to the family head who was also a former minister and his former teacher
The emperor was getting sick of it and wanted to cut off the family for their disastrous performance despite the ministers' (who were close to his father) opposition. However, the emperor couldn't afford to have the minister go against him so early on in his reign and that was the only reason he kept the family. But he was seriously reaching his limits and that was when Yue Qingyuan conveniently appeared as the long-lost son of the Marquise between his late first wife and the head disciple of the illustrious Cang Qiong Mountain Sect of the immortal realm. Since then the emperor changed his tune wanting to benefit from his relationship with one of the great leaders of the cultivation world.
So far Yue Qingyuan has been doing what he can to reject his father's advances to hold any relationship with him.
If his father had truly thought him so dearly why did he not come searching for him all those years ago when Yue Qingyuan witnessed his mother being killed right in front of them after being attacked by those foreign soldier remnants who held a grudge against the Marquise?
It didn't take long for his father to elevate his second wife to the position of the first wife along with his younger brother who was named heir to the estate. Now he's saying just when he found his long-lost son how much he loved his mother and missed her very dearly and was glad that at least he had him as a reminder to his lost dearly beloved. How truly convenient...
But he couldn't deny that having a close relationship with the emperor benefited the sect in many ways. So far all the complaints filed against Cang Qiong have been conveniently swept under the rug so long as they compensated them for damages.
Well he wouldn't have had to deal with them in the first place if the Qing Jing Peak Lord fulfilled his role and kept their martial siblings under control like the previous peak lord.
He knows that Xiao Jiu has been trying her... he means his best to balance things as best as he possibly could. But his refusal of any form of cooperation with the rest of the sect members is driving Cang Qiong right under.
There is a limit to how much Yue Qingyuan can support his martial sibling
Xiao Jiu needed to shape up more and he's been pleading with her he means him to do so. However, as he grew older his temper simply grew worse to the point nobody had any means to control her anymore. Sometimes he wonders whether his former sworn sister should be standing in the position anymore
He has already tried calling back the head disciple before his martial sibling during their disciple days to come to support him. However, he refused on the account that he could not serve under such an unworthy hapless man who could barely keep the sect standing. He told Yue Qingyuan he would only return if he exiled the scum from the entirety of the cultivation world which he knew the sect master would not do at any costs.
It is at times like these that Yue Qingyuan entertains the thought of making his former sworn sister into his concubine. He could abdicate Shen Qingqiu as Peak Lord and have Shen Jiu stay here under the guise of his nameless pampered concubine. After all, it wouldn't be too strange for a peak lord to have a wife or concubine, and has been done several times in the past. His family and the emperor wouldn't mind it if he decides to take Shen Jiu as his concubine while keeping the position of the legal first wife open.
The marquise has been pushing for him to enter a courtship with Qi Qingqi who was a branch family member of the Liu family bloodline. The Xian Shu Peak Lord was indeed a good strong intelligent woman with all the poise and education of a noblewoman that even Yue Qingyuan couldn't deny would make the perfect wife.
She's been so far one of his biggest supporters inside the sect and had been one of the few to come to defend his honor when their fellow martial siblings questioned his lineage.The woman was also very professional and a realist to the core meaning Yue Qingyuan wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings as there would be none involved in the first place. He could see himself and his Shimei having a mutually beneficial professional relationship with one another whilst enjoying their own love life
However, he owed it to Xiao Jiu to come to make that decision on her own.
He had already broken his promise to her and forced her to stay in a place that he knew she hated to the core. But what else could he have done?
He already lost her once and he couldn't afford to lose her again. So he owed it to Xiao Jiu to let her do as she pleased for as long he could.
However, if the push and shoves come for it he may be left with no other choice...
The dream they talked about came into mind. He promised Xiao Jiu he would build a large house for them to live in and farm a field so they can fill their empty stomachs to their heart's content.
He remembers the young girl scoffing at him for that ridiculous dream pointing out how unrealistic the whole entire thing was for slaves like them. However, she told him it wouldn't be an entirely bad option if there ever came a day when they could become free from these chains
The young boy laughed asking what the best option would be she laughed saying it was ridiculous either way and they had talked enough about such stupid things.
To this day he still hadn't gotten the young maiden's answer from back then leaving him to wonder what kind of future the young girl once had pictured for herself
Shen Jiu's dream had been to roam the world as she pleased and experience the many pleasures, wonders, and adventures life had installed for her if she had been able to break free of her chains. If she was lucky and the heavens would grant her mercy she would meet a man who would only have eyes on her for the rest of their lives as they go on to build a warm little family that she could truly call her own.
Qi Ge would be there bawling his tears out as he sent her away to be wed off and give a good shovel talk to her husband whilst becoming the honorary uncle of her children while she became the honorary aunty of his children
However, that is something Yue Qingyuan would never come to know so he is left immersed in his own little fantasy for the night