Chapter Text
Shen Yuan knew that his life was nearing an end. He knew that one day his sickly frail body would eventually give out and fail to support him, he was prepared. He’d already come to terms with it not many years after he had been told his life would be cut short. However, it did not mean he would pass without regrets. He’d always regret not having been able to go out and see the world, instead being confined to his hospital bed. He had begged his family to at least take him to a beach before it was his time. They refused. He’d never know what the sand beneath his feet would feel like. Nor would he know what the sea smelled like.
So, he instead found comfort in novels. Every kind that he could get his hands on. He blew his parent's money on the online copies of many books, even setting up an account where he’d freely be able to criticize what he read under the user Peerless Cucumber. He had gotten a good laugh out of the username when he first came up with it.
The most recent victim of his criticism was a Stallion Novel called Proud Immortal Demon Way.
It was shit. Shen Yuan hated every little thing about it. He’d spent weeks binge-reading it, hoping that it may one day get better. It didn’t. Every time that the story seemed to be taking a turn to intriguing worldbuilding? The next chapter would be horrendous porn all for the sake of some cheap plot development. The women were there for no reason other than to be used for papapa! They had no depth in their character and they lacked any common sense! The men were almost no better, only existing to be killed off. It was safe to say that Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky was one of the worst writers to exist in Shen Yuan’s opinion. And he sure made it known.
What better was there to do for a chronically ill 19-year-old confined to a hospital bed than to flame a trashy novel and its shitty author? What else would he do? His family rejected his wishes as if he would live any longer so he had to vent his anger somehow! Even if it meant becoming the novel's most well-known anti-fan.
He had just eaten some yogurt, ignoring the funny smell that was coming from it. He was too lazy to get up and get something more fresh okay!? Shortly after eating, he opened his phone to see that the final chapter of PIDW had been uploaded.
It was shit. Shen Yuan didn’t know what he’d been expecting. His nails clacked fast against his phone’s screen, a lengthy hate comment appearing on his screen as he bashed every little thing that he could.
In the middle of his comment, he felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over him. It wasn’t anything new, he should’ve been able to drink some water and get over it. But it didn’t go away. Sharp pains in his stomach arose and his phone slipped out of his hand, falling to the floor with a clack! He hissed in a mix of annoyance and pain, trying to turn his body so he could get off the bed and grab the phone.
But as soon as he got off of the bed, the world spun. The nausea hit him 10 times worse while his knees buckled under him. He couldn’t stop himself from vomiting, the sound of his heart monitor speeding up causing his disorientation to worsen.
Through his blurred vision, he saw nurses rushing to his side. It was a futile effort. He could feel his body finally giving up on him. Of course this would happen after he read the most rage-inducing novel ending to exist. Come on, the world couldn’t even let him die peacefully after giving him a miserable life?
Stupid novel, stupid author!
+++
It was cold. Hot at the same time. He could hear someone softly speaking to him. Shen Yuan couldn’t make out the words that were being spoken to him but he felt as though he should trust this person. His body felt warm, unnaturally so. A fever? He should be used to those. So why did his body feel like it was experiencing one for the first time? He couldn’t open his eyes. The light hurt too much for him to bear. He curled in on himself, barely noticing how his body was too small to be his. He felt arms envelop him, a hand gently stroking his hair. That’s weird, when did his hair get so long? He doesn’t know. There was a voice humming to him, comforting as he sank back into sleep.
+++
“A-Yuan.”
“A-Yuan?”
“Xiao-Jiu, don’t worry. He’s just resting.”
“His fever broke, he should be awake by now.”
“It took a toll on him, he needs extra rest as he recovers.’
The boy sighed. “You’re right, Qi-Ge.” A hand ran through his hair, letting him sink into a more comfortable sleep.
+++
When Shen Yuan finally regained consciousness, he was being carried. But the boy seemed far too young to be able to carry a 19-year-old. He looked to the right and another boy was walking alongside them. They met each other's gaze, seemingly startling the boy. “Xiao-Yuan! You’re awake!” The boy beamed.
The one carrying him immediately halted to a stop, quickly adjusting Shen Yuan’s position so he was on the boy’s hip instead. “A-Yuan, how are you feeling?” He was questioned, a hand coming to rest on his forehead.
Shen Yuan hesitated. Who were these boys? They seemed to know him but, despite the familiarity he felt, he didn’t know them.
He must have been looking at them with a stupidly confused expression because the one holding him scoffed. “Well? Speak to your gege already! You were unconscious for nearly a week due to that fever, A-Yuan.”
His gege? But the boy didn’t look like either of his older brothers. Hell, the boy looked to be not even old enough! “‘m fine.” The voice that came out of his body wasn’t his. His body went rigid. His body? No, this body didn’t feel like his. He looked down, met with the sight of a body that couldn’t be older than three years old.
“Xiao-Yuan? What’s the matter?” The boy walking beside them wiped at Shen Yuan’s face, only then did he realize that he had begun crying. What was he crying for? He wasn’t the type to cry, even with the amount of distress and confusion he was feeling. He’s always been good at keeping a cool head, learning how to after receiving his diagnosis. It prevented his family from looking at him with pity. Kind of.
“Qi-ge, what’s the matter with him?” The boy who was holding him asked the other with furrowed eyebrows.
“Ah, Xiao-Jiu he may be disorientated after such a harsh fever.”
Qi-ge? Xiao-Jiu? Who were they? Why couldn’t he remember? He tried and tried to search his memory but nothing came up. Sobs tore through him as he slowly realized, he couldn’t remember much of anything. Who was he? His name was Shen Yuan, wasn’t he 19 years old? But his size said otherwise– his everything said otherwise. This wasn’t his world, his body, these absolutely weren’t his brothers. But despite that, he clung to the boy holding him. He buried his face into the crook of– his gege’s? Neck.
His gege. His mind tried telling him that wasn’t right, but it had to be right. Qi-ge, the name felt right to him. He didn’t know where he was or who these two were but they were safe. The safety and comfort he felt as both of them wrapped their arms around him, holding him in a tight embrace, was real.
+++
Shen Jiu and Yue Qi were their names, Shen Yuan learned. He was Shen Jiu’s younger brother by many years. Their parents had either died or thrown them to the streets, leaving the brothers to become victims of human trafficking. Despite how young Shen Yuan was, he was not spared from receiving the slave brand that resided on his lower back. He guessed that Shen Jiu also had the brand, along with Yue Qi. And just Shen Yuan’s luck, this body was sickly as well. Prone to getting high fevers that would leave him on bed rest for days at a time. Maybe it would get better as he got older in this life.
Shen Yuan couldn’t remember much. All of his memories from his previous life were hazy, it scared him. His memories had been fine, intact until he had woken up. He sought comfort from his older brother who was more than willing to give it despite not knowing the reason why. More than often there would be times Shen Yuan would burst into tears, thinking too hard about his muddy memories. He, Shen Jiu, and Yue Qi would end up in a group hug until Shen Yuan had calmed. It was like this for months.
Shen Yuan grew attached quickly. It was okay for that to happen, right? He didn’t know what happened to the true Shen Yuan, but he was here now. There was likely no way for him to return to his world and these two were oh so caring. Despite their conditions, Shen Yuan was constantly doted on. Loved. How could he not grow to love them the same? Maybe it was because he now had the literal brain of a 3-year-old, but he didn’t find anything wrong with shamelessly claiming Shen Jiu and Yue Qi as his new brothers.
+++
“Gegeeee pick me up!” Shen Yuan whined, his feet hurting as he tried to keep up with his brother.
Shen Jiu looked down at him, a smirk on his face. “I thought you wanted to be a big kid and walk? What happened to that? You were very adamant that you could walk yourself…”
Shen Yuan pouted. “Pleeeasseee!!!” He begged. “My feet hurt!”
Yue Qi laughed softly. “Oh Xiao-Jiu, don’t you think he’s learned his lesson by now?”
“Oh, barely!” Shen Jiu scoffed.
Shen Yuan could see that he wasn’t going to win this so he quickly turned to Yue Qi. “Qi-ge…” He put on his best puppy dog eyes, feeling silent glee when he saw the older boy falter. Moments later, Yue Qi gave in and lifted Shen Yuan onto his hip.
Shen Jiu rolled his eyes. “You spoil him too much! It’s going to get to his head!”
Yue Qi let out a sigh. “Xiao-Yuan is only three, even if he wanted to his legs are too short to be walking for so long.” He defended as Shen Yuan rested his head on the boy's chest, taking the chance to close his eyes and get some rest. “See? He’s all tired now.”
Shen Jiu grumbled quietly about something, not arguing any longer once he realized it was a futile effort.
The trio were making their way back to where they would rest at night, a nice secluded alleyway that was warm-ish. His Gege had to fight the rest of the children for it. It was scary to see him bloodied up after the fight. Though, the other children looked to be in a much worse state. Yue Qi showed him how to bandage up wounds after that happened, saying it was an essential skill for him to have. “He needs to learn how to fight. Defense at the least.” Shen Jiu said as they walked into the alley.
Yue Qi sighed. “He’s only 3, Xiao-Jiu. He’s far too young.”
Shen Jiu scoffed. “What are you going to do if one day I get sold? A-Yuan won’t know how to defend himself and you’re too scared to fight dirty!” He crossed his arms.
“Don’t talk like that. You won’t get sold.” Yue Qi used a rare stern tone with Shen Jiu.
Shen Yuan glanced between the two, growing nervous at the aggression this conversation was bringing. He didn’t want his Gege to be sold, but he had to accept that it was always possible. It was possible for any of them to be sold and it was scary to think about. Thus, causing him to burst into tears.
Whatever argument that would have resulted from the conversation was immediately shot down as Shen Jiu and Yue Qi’s attention snapped to Shen Yuan. “I don’t want Gege to leave…” He sobbed.
Shen Jiu was already taking Shen Yuan into his arms. “Oh A-Yuan, I’m not leaving.” He coaxed, a guilty expression on his face. “It would take 100 cultivators to split me from you.” Shen Yuan hiccuped as he cried, burying his face in the crook of Shen Jiu’s neck. Shen Jiu patted his back while simultaneously bouncing him gently, whispering comforting words to his younger brother. “Didi, do you want to see something cool?” He asked once Shen Yuan’s cries started to calm.
Shen Yuan rubbed his eyes, looking up at his gege before nodding. “I do.”
Yue Qi following close behind, Shen Jiu sat down in a corner of the alleyway. He placed Shen Yuan on his lap before pulling a few leaves out of his pocket. Shen Yuan watched as Shen Jiu held it out before the leaf suddenly went from soft and flimsy to razor sharp. It drew a gasp out of the 3-year-old, his eyes wide and sparkling. Yue Qi had a wary smile on his face as he sat next to the two, wrapping a dingy blanket around the brothers. “Gege, gege! How did you do that!?” Shen Yuan held the leaf in his hand, shocked at how it was rock hard.
Shen Jiu hummed, pleased that he managed to distract Shen Yuan. “Didi, do you know what qi is?”
Shen Yuan paused, thinking for a moment. “Magic!” He stated with a giggle.
Shen Jiu smiled, brushing the hair out of Shen Yuan’s eyes. “Close. It’s a type of energy that you can use to do super cool things, like what I just did with the leaf.” He started. “It can also be used to speed up someone’s healing or even give you the ability to use and fly on a spiritual sword–”
Shen Yuan interrupted, gasping. “I want a sword!” He exclaimed, causing both of the older boys to burst out laughing.
“Maybe one day, Xiao-Yuan.” Yue Qi told him, gently pinching Shen Yuan’s cheek to make him giggle.
“Mmm, I can already see it. My little A-Yuan being the best cultivator and swordsman there is.” Shen Jiu said, peppering Shen Yuan’s face with kisses.
Shen Yuan shrieked at the sudden pinch and kiss attacks before bursting out into laughter. “I’ll be the best ever! Then gege and Qi-Ge can live in comfort forever… because I’ll have loads of money!!!”
Shen Jiu pulled him close. “That would be nice, A-Yuan.” Shen Yuan couldn’t see the sad smile that his brother and Yue Qi shared. He remained blissfully unaware as he snuggled up to Shen Jiu, yawning as his eyes drooped shut. Shen Jiu leaned against Yue Qi who wrapped his arms around them in return. “That would be nice.”
+++
By now, it had been close to a year since Shen Yuan transmigrated. It was winter again, causing his frail body to grow sick once again. They used the blanket to create a sort of sling that carried Shen Yuan as they went out, begging for food and money. Shen Yuan had slowly begun picking up on Shen Jiu’s skills, figuring out how to make himself fake cry and with Shen Jiu’s teaching even learning how to do the leaf trick. Though, he wasn’t all that good with it due to how young he was. Give him a break, he’s still very much only 4 years old! Granted, with how sickly he was, he couldn’t do much of anything but latch onto his brother appearing pitiful and sick.
They were in a different town now. Like before, Shen Jiu had found the warmest alleyway there and fought anyone who dared try to take it from them. They’d been here a few weeks, Shen Yuan growing sicker and sicker.
Shen Jiu held his younger brother close to his chest, soothing the boy the best he could as Shen Yuan dry heaved. If Shen Yuan wasn’t sleeping, then he would be crying. Shen Jiu could tell that every time Shen Yuan coughed, it hurt him. He wanted nothing more than to get rid of this sickness for his baby brother. But that wasn’t an easy task while living on the streets in the winter, with no access to medicine. Shen Jiu lost count of how many times he had told Yue Qi, “I’m scared, Qi-Ge. He barely made it through last winter, he seems worse this time. What if he doesn’t make it through?”
Yue Qi would try to comfort him despite thinking the same thing. At night, they would put Shen Yuan in between them and press against him to give him all of the warmth they could. There were even nights where they wrapped only him in their blanket.
They had to go out begging, but it was too cold outside of the alleyway for Shen Yuan. Leaving him alone wasn’t an option due to the other kids waiting for a chance to jump in and claim the alleyway for themselves. They also couldn’t set up outside of the alleyway since it was in a secluded place, not many people would pass by. They eventually decided on taking Shen Yuan with them, wrapping him in the blanket and holding him close while hoping he’d be warm enough to not worsen the current fever he had.
As they left, Shen Jiu couldn’t help but feel as if this would be the last time he would see the alleyway.
+++
He didn’t know where it all went wrong.
Was it wrong for him to have helped that boy? He was going to be run over by that carriage. How was he supposed to stand by and watch it happen?
He should’ve let it happen. His priority should’ve been Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan. Shen Jiu used the leaf trick and the boy they saved in turn ratted him out. He should’ve listened to Shen Jiu. This was his fault.
Yue Qi stood in place, tears running down his face as he clutched a bawling Shen Yuan in his arms. Shen Jiu had been sold. He’d been taken. It wasn’t fair.
He watched the carriage that took his Xiao-Jiu roll away. This was his fault. Their family was broken up because of Yue Qi’s foolishness. His impulsivity.
There was no one to tell him otherwise. So what else could he believe but that? No one would tell Yue Qi that he was just a child, a child with a good heart. That he was just trying to help someone in need as someone who was also in need.
No one would tell him that he deserved to have a normal childhood. That he should have never been forced to mature at such a young age, never been forced to fight for his life. He’d have been content if he’d just gotten at least a slightly better life with his Xiao-Jiu and Xiao-Yuan. If they had full stomachs and a home to themselves, he would’ve been content for life. But the Heavens had other plans.
So here he was. Shen Yuan was scream crying for his older brother while Yue Qi tried so hard to comfort him. But there was no way for him to. He’d failed Shen Yuan. He’d failed Shen Jiu. What good was he?
+++
Two weeks. It’d been two weeks since Shen Jiu was sold. Shen Yuan was scared and he missed his brother so so much. He missed the lullabies that he would sing to him, he missed the group hugs, he missed being teased by him, he missed his brother. It was cruel. It was cruel of the world to do this to him, to do this to their family.
Shen Yuan still didn’t remember much of his past life. What he did remember, though, was that he didn’t have such a loving family there. No one took care of him like Shen Jiu and Yue Qi did. He vaguely remembered his parents used to before his mother became pregnant with his younger sister.
He loved his meimei. Very much. In fact, she was the only one who consistently visited up to the point he died. His older brothers were too busy with the company, not caring about the child who took all of their parent's time and money away from them. But his sister, oh his sister. As she grew, she loved Shen Yuan so much. He spoiled her rotten with the pity money his parents would give him. Even though he was in the hospital nearly 24/7, she visited all the time much to their parent's dismay. He wondered how she was doing without him. She was likely devastated, the way Shen Yuan was devastated now as he lost his older brother. Perhaps more, knowing she wouldn’t see him ever again. Then again, Shen Yuan wasn’t sure he’d ever see Shen Jiu again either. But at least there was a possibility. A little bit of hope.
Shen Yuan had another fever soon after his previous one broke. He never thought he’d see Yue Qi grow violent but over the weeks Shen Jiu was gone, the children with them thought they’d try and get their alleyway. Yue Qi had to fight dirty. He had no other choice when Shen Yuan’s life was likely on the line. Luckily, he had the element of surprise on his side. None of the other children knew that Yue Qi could be just as terrifying as Shen Jiu, if not more. Shen Yuan didn’t like this side of him. Even though Yue Qi would always go back to being kind with Shen Yuan, it still scared him to see him hurt from fighting other kids. He vowed to get stronger so he could protect his Qi-Ge.
They were walking through a crowd. Yue Qi tried insisting on carrying Shen Yuan but Shen Yuan wanted to walk more, restless after being carried for the entire duration of his fever. It was easy to convince Yue Qi, the guilt of Shen Jiu causing him to sway easier lately. He still held onto Yue Qi’s hand as they walked.
But that wouldn’t be enough during rush hour. He really should have let Yue Qi carry him. Their hands were broken apart easily, causing Shen Yuan to get swept away. He felt panic rise in his heart as he was bumped around. “Qi-Ge!” He tried shouting out. “Qi-Ge!?” Tears welled up in his eyes, breathing suddenly growing difficult to do.
He thought he heard the sound of Yue Qi’s voice calling for him but if he had really heard it, then it was too far away. Tears threatened to start pouring down his face as he tried to find a way out of the crowd. He was too small, too weak to shove through. It took him too long to finally run into an empty alley, bruises threatening to form everywhere he was run into. He curled up at the entrance of the alleyway, sobs tearing through his body as he tried to cry for his gege. He’d forgotten that his gege was no longer here, that it was only him and his Qi-Ge. He missed his brother. Can’t he come back? Why hasn’t he come back yet? He said he wouldn’t be taken away, so why had that happened?
Before he could process anything, hands suddenly grabbed at him. Terror froze his veins as he let out a scream. Whoever had grabbed him had lifted the back of his shirt, revealing the area that bore his slave brand. He was roughly turned to face who had ahold of him, greeted with the sight of a woman who had a maniacal expression. “ Perfect! You’re perfect!!” She squealed. “You look just like him!”
Shen Yuan wanted to flee, he wanted to kick and scream, but he was horrified. He couldn’t do anything, he felt like he was paralyzed. He watched as the woman snapped at the two men she was with to go find the people who were selling the children in this area.
His face paled. He was being bought. Bought. Bought like his brother. He struggled to breathe. He couldn’t leave Yue Qi, no not in his state. Not so soon after they lost Shen Jiu. He finally remembered to struggle. He had to get away from this woman. He had to find Yue Qi so they could book it out of this town.
He let out an earsplitting screech, writhing in the woman’s grasp. She looked furious but he had to get away.
“Shut your mouth!” She snapped, trying to cover the child's mouth and get him to stop moving.
But Shen Yuan wouldn’t let himself go down without a fight. He fished out a few leaves from his pocket, sharpening them like how his gege taught him, and flung them at her face. They couldn’t do much damage at all, but it still caught the woman off guard and caused her grip to loosen. He jerked his entire body and managed to slip out of her hands, falling to the ground. The hope that filled him for a moment was promptly sucked out of him as he was grabbed once again. He hadn’t anticipated the time it would take him to recover from the fall and the time it would take him to get up and run. The woman was ultimately faster and this time held Shen Yuan tightly to her chest, not leaving him any way to move his arms and try that trick again.
To Shen Yuan’s horror, she even seemed happy. Happier than before. “You’re perfect! So perfect!!” She giggled. “We’ll have to work on your obedience but that will be an easy task.”
No. No, this couldn’t happen. Shen Yuan tried to struggle but the woman was too strong. He choked out sobs as he resulted to crying for his Qi-Ge again. The woman tried coaxing him but the threatening tone that she couldn’t hide only scared him more and more. He could feel her long sharp nails as she rubbed his back, shuddering when he caught a glimpse of the crimson color they were painted.
“XIAO-YUAN!?” Yue Qi’s voice was finally nearby. Shen Yuan gasped, immediately screaming for his Qi-Ge as he resumed struggling in the woman’s arms.
“Fuck!” She growled. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit!”
Shen Yuan froze when he heard her, his blood turning to ice. Less than a second later, he felt something prick his neck and the world started to spin. He tried to cry out for Yue Qi again but everything in him was weakened. It came as nothing more than a whisper-yell.
The woman shushed him. “It’s alright baby, go to sleep.” She cooed. “My son, my baobei. Xia Lin. ”
Shen Yuan’s consciousness began slipping away from him, the sound of Yue Qi screaming his name being the last thing he would hear.