Chapter Text
Narrowly dodging the swing of a Formless Demon’s claws, Shen Yuan has no choice but to curse inside his own head, too breathless and exhausted to do much else. The demon he is currently chasing is some sort of a hybrid that has gained consciousness in yet another ritualistic mess over in the South. Usually, Shen Yuan goes straight after the root cause ─ usually the demon elders of tribes that have been starving for way too long ─ before handling the Formless Demons themselves, except this time, he has no idea who is behind it.
In fact, to catch this one, he has relied not on the System’s lacking hints nor Xin Mo’s treacherous advice, but instead on pure cooperation with the Taotie demon clan. It’s not exactly ideal, to team up with one of the most dangerous man-eating demon clans in the Southern Realm, but they’ve sought his help first in resolving this, and as long as they could provide reliable information for Shen Yuan to follow, he didn’t really care much who he had to rely on to finish it.
The elder of the Taotie demon clan, meanwhile, had confirmed something that Shen Yuan had suspected for a while, anyway ─ the generals of his clan wanted to revive their fallen comrades and ended up crunchy dinner instead. It is more honest than most demon clans felt like they could afford, especially when it was Shen Yuan asking questions. Other crucial details, such as the fact that the instructions on how to perform the ritual, once again, trace back to damn Skinner, are simply to be expected.
Damn Skinner, looks like, seems to have made it his life mission to go around spilling nonsense about these dangerous, disgusting practices all over the demon realm like it’s nobody’s business. Whether or not a shard of Xin Mo is a standard part of the process is beyond what Shen Yuan has been able to figure out, so far. At first, he was convinced it would not work without Xin Mo. However, the Taotie demon clan passed what little knowledge they could to him on the ritual steps, too, and none of them have ever mentioned anything the likes of a dimension-cutting, world-breaking plot device.
It doesn’t mean anything, either, because Formless Demons keep popping up all over the Southern Demon Realm one way or another, further worsening the poverty and famine already abound. Shen Yuan has done his best to stay away from the underground slums ─ and perhaps it’s for the better. Now that he’s gotten to see them first hand, he’s almost tempted to go wrangle Tianlang Jun out of his confinement a few years too early and sic the sowers out on some naughty bastard cultivators that seem to be assisting this chaos.
Because no matter what, this ritual is of no demonic origin. The demons know it, the System knows it, Shen Yuan knows it. This ritual thing that makes dead demons formless is entirely rooted in cultivator practices and it is pissing him off that there are actual cultivators out there, actively assisting Skinner in spreading it further.
Unfortunately, until he gets rid of this nasty piece of work, Shen Yuan can’t get started on figuring it out, either. Taotie demons are rapacious creatures with the body of a goat and the face and hands of a man, with eyes under its armpits and a lion's maw in their bellies. They feed on humans in some of the most disgusting practices ─ or they used to, until Tianlang Jun subdued them and made them into his glorified prison maintenance staff, a slight against the gluttonous race greater than any other. This particular clan is probably the closest to getting the biggest pie slice of Nan Jiang’s territories ─ except a third of them got slaughtered by this one general of their own clan. The same one that Shen Yuan has been repeatedly failing to catch.
Ever since its inception, this Taotie general has been tearing through the Southern Realm’s edges, decimating the slums and reveling in destruction, while at the same time knowing exactly what dangers the chasm with the miasma poses for him. He will not go near it, no matter how hard Shen Yuan tries to lure him.
Still, Shen Yuan has been very careful in his approach this time around. The Formless Demon has initially had little interest in attacking him, but Shen Yuan has been pushing the damn thing closer to the imperceptible edges of the cliffs by means of small amounts of contained miasma within his talismans, just to piss him off. Then, using the narrow paths and difficult terrain as natural cover, lead him exactly where he wants the demon caught. It is the most remote part of the Southern Realm that he’s explored so far, and the only terrain which allows not for anyone to spot the steadily rising miasma before it’s too late. Now, it’s just a few steps left.
And just then, Xin Mo’s shard piece trapped in a paper talisman wrapped around Shen Yuan’s wrist decides to act up, burning his skin like some sort of an alarm clock from hell.
“The hell do you want?!” Shen Yuan all but cries out. “We already took down the hungry bastard, so aren’t you happy? Be patient a bit, we’ve almost got this one too─”
But then, the System notification flashes in his vision, just as wild.
[System Warning! System Warning! Failure to establish a secure connection to the Source of All Power! Outside interference required!]
[Story mission <Sha Hualing’s Invasion> arc is about to enter its final stages! Mission objective: raise Luo Binghe’s reputation points by 200! Otherwise, punishment is a loss of 1000 B-points!]
[System Warning! System Error! Establishing secure connection to the Source of All Power status: TOTAL FAILURE! Retry in 3, 2, 1…]
Oh, screw your mother! What is it with this notification bombarding?! I’m in the middle of something! Do I look like I can make my way over to Cang Qiong Mountain now?! Screw reputation points and secure connections!
The System warning flashes brightly, but what flashes even brighter is the searing pain on his wrist as Xin Mo all but burns itself into his skin, burning away the entirety of the protective talisman around it in an instant. Shen Yuan pulls another one to protect his aching wrist, but this one barely helps. Clearly, one thing that both these world breaking devices have in common is their obsessive need to protect Luo Binghe’s non-existent rep.
Come to think of it, if both these things are acting up, then what is wrong with Luo Binghe?! THE HELL?! SYSTEM!
[System notice! Establishing a secure connection with the Source of All Power failed! Retry #3 in 3, 2, 1…]
I know that, I can fucking see it! WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?!
A list of errors opens up in front of him, too long to keep track of while Shen Yuan is actively hiding between two narrow rocks, trying to get the Formless Demon to come his way! He skims over it and when he sees nothing but numbers and a whole lot of rubbish, he almost throws a gasket. Luo Binghe is in danger. What damn nonsense is this?!
Suddenly, the flashing pain on his wrist intensifies tenfold and Shen Yuan wants to hit the cancel button that much more desperately. The last time reputation points were at stake, Shen Yuan got Luo Binghe the Original ripping his limbs off one by one. So why would he rush back now? To get his limbs ripped off a second time? Why is he in such a hurry to his death?
It’s just a story, with characters doing what characters should do! Shen Yuan finally managed to get himself out of the spotlight and push that onto somebody else, finally managed to wrestle himself out of Xin Mo’s nasty influence, if only barely, so why is the universe as a whole so eager to push him back into the chaos knowing what danger awaits?
But you already know. You cannot see him in pain again. You cannot see him suffer. Because if you do, the one who will suffer most is yourself─
Fuck.
Shen Yuan shakes his head, ignoring Xin Mo’s distinctive voice inside it to the best of his ability. But no matter how little he wants to listen to Xin Mo’s nonsense, the fact remains ─ Luo Binghe is in danger. What the hell is going on?! Could Sha Hualing have found a way around his plot armor somehow? Bullshit! The Protagonist’s Plot Armor is as unshakable as the law of the universe! Something else has got to be at stake!
The pain on his wrist flashes again and in front of him, a light of a portal flashes in a piece of rock. Xin Mo, turns out, cares more for its master’s reputation too, as opposed to the Formless Demon that Shen Yuan promised to feed him. In shock, Shen Yuan stares at the shard piece on his wrist. “You can do that? You? A miniature piece? Are enough for a wholeass functional portal?!”
If anything, the dark purplish light on his wrist seems to glow with self-satisfaction.
Fine, then. Forget the plan, forget everything. Without a moment of hesitation, Shen Yuan picks up Xiu Ya and takes off, ignoring the roaring of the Formless Demon that comes from somewhere behind him.
He expects to come out on the other side of the portal, where Cang Qiong Mountain awaits, just outside the protective wards. Except, that’s not what happens. The passage opens up into some sort of a dark, reddish smoke that is almost like acid, stinking and awful, yet familiar all the same. Tumultuous demonic energy rages all around him, countless wails and cries and whines piercing his ears like drums. Black fog blinds him.
Xin Mo has opened a passage, sure. But that passage leads not back to his sect, but straight into the Endless Abyss instead, AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
Xiu Ya flies forward regardless, swiftly dodging the many demonic arms that attempt to grab him from the air, but the very air he inhales is acid to his lungs. It burns inside, making it nearly impossible to breathe at all, no matter how much he circulates spiritual power around to make its impact less drastic. Ah, this has got to be payback for the time he pushed Luo Binghe into this hell, and it’s only natural. Karma is a bitch.
The damn Xin Mo is just like the System! Both the damn things! They’re exactly like a fraudulent insurance company, writing out all the nasty contract details into the smallest font and printing it out at the very bottom where nobody will ever read. If the damn System ever offers him a loan again, and if Xin Mo ever opens a friggin portal without his input, Shen Yuan would be better off just offing himself first.
Assuming he even makes it through the Abyss alive, given how dizzy he is just inhaling the awful air all around him. It burns the inside of his mouth, throat and lungs, obstructing his movement and slowing him down greatly. His spiritual power is not a deterrent to it at all.
[System warning! User Account 002 life points rapidly decreasing! Alert! Alert! Eyes on the exit point!]
Exit point?
Does Endless Abyss even have an exit point?
Shen Yuan squints, but he can’t see anything ahead of him, just an intersection of dark fog that makes his eyes water and crimson ghost light which effectively blinds him. How does one even notice an exit point in this madness?
Instantly, something burns at his wrist. Ah. Right. World breaking plot device seems to have run all out of its own power, opening a one-way passage straight to hell. Lifting that hand, which feels heavier than ever before, Shen Yuan focuses all his spiritual power directly towards the Xin Mo shard on his wrist in ways he’s already done countless times already, every time he needed a little naughty assistance.
“Get me out of here!” he roars, bracing for who even knows what at this point.
The System’s exit point countdown matches up almost exactly to the ragged breaths Shen Yuan takes ─ until blinding, red light tickles his skin and blinds his eyes ─ and then it’s all gone.
The pain, the light, the alarms in his ears, the flashing dialogue windows in his eyes. The air he inhales is fresh and the wind that blows against his face is chilly. Shen Yuan blinks rapidly, to get rid of the tears in the corners of his eyes, and for his efforts, he is rewarded with a beautiful arrangement of a million dazzling lights in the starry night sky. The wind around him is getting wilder, rageful and whipping, like he’s flown straight into a storm… but that can’t be. There’s not a single cloud in the sky, not a single trace of any storm around him… is that not Cang Qiong Mountain’s twelve peaks rising in the distance? But… why are they tilted the wrong way?
Or not.
It’s him. He’s the one tilting wrong, freefalling out of the sky.
FUUUUUUUUUUUU─
With a speedy hand gesture, Shen Yuan summons Xiu Ya to catch him moments before he hits the ground and makes himself into a bloody pancake. Not that almost landing on the wrong side of the sword is any better. It’s a narrow one, really, and Shen Yuan only barely catches his balance. Once he does, he doesn’t immediately dare to fly ─ or even move. For a moment, he simply hovers in the air, dizzy and lightheaded, taking in deep, uncontrollable breaths to calm his raging heart.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He should have known the damn thing would drop him straight out of the sky. Of course the Endless Abyss couldn’t just open like a hole in the ground like the last time. Of course not! Shen Yuan wants to hit something!
[System notice! Secure connection with the System Power Source successfully reestablished! Thank you for your patience! System is now back online!]
THE FUCK?! Then what was all this for?! What the actual fuck?!
But Shen Yuan’s answer this time is not in the form of a popup window. Instead, it is a bone eagle demon flying high over his head, carrying on its massive body a madly cackling Sha Hualing with blood rolling along her arm, as though she’s come out of the battle an absolute victor.
Then the notification blares up, bright as ever.
[System Warning! Story mission <Sha Hualing’s Invasion> arc has entered its final stage! Mission objective: raise Luo Binghe’s reputation points by 200! Otherwise, punishment is a loss of 2000 B-points!]
What do you mean the mission is in its final stage when Sha Hualing literally just flew off? What’s with the moving goalpost, damn it? How is Luo Binghe suddenly fine and Sha Hualing gone and the reputation points of all things are at stake?! AAARGH!
Shen Yuan stares, beyond befuddled. He has inadvertently landed not too far from Cang Qiong Mountain, but even as he looks at it from here on, this… can’t be anything good. This invasion happened too early in the story, and not only that, Sha Hualing’s mad laughter is still echoing in his ears. What the hell happened over there?
Pushing the awful need to bend over and just retch from the tumbling ride through the Endless Abyss, Shen Yuan sets course for Cang Qiong Mountain. Even from afar, he can see that all the protective wards have been torn apart, leaving no protection whatsoever behind. The barrier that should have been able to determine whether he is a friend or a foe may as well have never existed, allowing everything through with no regards for what it may be. Smoke is rising from multiple settlements all over the mountain. In some sections, the Rainbow Bridge is no more.
Shen Yuan mercilessly slays the few rare demons still trying to escape the Mountain that he comes across, targeting specifically those he notices have cultivator blood all over them. Battle seems to have mostly come to a standstill, however. His eyes linger on the largest wall of smoke climbing into the heavens, coming from Qiong Ding Peak, the damages the tallest peak incurred several times worse than all the others combined. But what follows the smoke is something that not even Shen Yuan could have prepared for.
A pillar of blinding crimson light explodes out of Qiong Ding Peak with no warning, not far from the Lingxi caves, sending a blast of wind stronger than a hurricane everywhere around. Shen Yuan covers his face with his sleeve to protect it from the dust, debris and the rocks that shoot out like tiny projectiles, so he only manages to catch it with a corner of his eye, the moment when the light finally fades.
Shen Yuan is no genius, but he needs not be one to recognize that blinding light as an immense wave of pure demonic power, all cast away. Many confusing thoughts swirl in his head, intersecting with questions and speculation with no basis. The Xin Mo shard on his wrist feels like it’s been picked out of a volcano against his skin. The protective talisman has once again burned away and the shard is back to attempting to embed itself into his skin. Shen Yuan ignores all of it in favor of flying faster.
The dust on Qiong Ding Peak has yet to settle. Most people there seem to have been out of the range of the blast, but they’re either too blinded or shocked; most of them don’t even notice when Shen Yuan flies a mere foot over their heads. Others, who seem to have been closer to the epicenter of the blast, seem to have been straight up blown away. There are many people all over the peak on the ground, dazed and confused, but there is only one person who seems to be doing their damndest to get up and head to the center of the blast with urgency.
Liu Mingyan is grabbed and restrained back by means of Mu Qingfang holding her around the waist before she can get anywhere near, however, and all Shen Yuan catches is her piercing eyes, glowing with a faint tinge of white and red as she sees him.
“Shibo!” she shouts, as though desperately trying to warn him of something, but there’s no time to wonder what.
Shen Yuan jumps off of Xiu Ya and lands smack in the middle of the giant cloud of dust that has yet to settle. He can barely see through the mist, but it feels as though all of Qiong Ding vegetation within the limits of some sort of an array has been burnt to ash, and even a small stretch outside it. Under his feet, the marks of the array seem to have been burnt into the ground. Shen Yuan jumps over it, hurrying towards the center.
In the midst of all the ash, two people lay on the ground.
Shen Yuan doesn’t need to make a guess as to who it is. If he’d bet a thousand gold, he’d get ten thousand back. If he bet a hundred thousand, he’d get millions. In the midst of the still smoking ground of Qiong Ding Peak, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge lie down in almost identical positions to the ones they were in when Shen Yuan found them on Bailu Mountain. Their robes singed, smoking slightly. One look, fortunately, confirms that they’re both breathing. Choking on all the ash around them, really, but Shen Yuan doesn’t dare rejoice too early.
His hand finds Luo Binghe’s back first, and all he can tell is that whatever the hell happened, Luo Binghe is most certainly not fine. He’s burning up, the flow of his Qi erratic and unstable, but also pitifully, pitifully weak. The demon mark on his forehead seems to be fading away, having left a burn scar on the skin, raw and painful to touch. Shen Yuan tries to offer some of his spiritual energy, but finds that it only seems to make the situation worse, so he retracts it quickly. Something very strange is happening with his meridians and it’s best not to mess with it until someone actually knowledgeable can have a feel for it. In the meantime, Luo Binghe is completely out of it. Alive, but listless and unconscious, completely unresponsive.
Inside Shen Yuan, rage burns. Who dared to do this? Who dares hurt─
But he bites his cheek on the inside until it draws blood, snapping away from Xin Mo’s rage. Hell, his own, further fueled by Xin Mo’s aggression, damn it all. Because Shen Yuan is furious, too, and doesn’t even care to deny it! Except, responsibility is irrelevant right now, damn it! Luo Binghe’s wellbeing matters more!
Even so, his head inadvertently snaps over towards Liu Qingge, his hands trembling with dark, violent urges that don’t belong to him. Liu Qingge, for his part, after that bout of a coughing fit, seems clearly awake. He’s struggling to get up, arms faltering under his weight a few times.
“Shidi?” Shen Yuan moves over to him, shoving Xin Mo and its violent tendencies away in favor of inspecting Liu Qingge for any injuries and helping him sit, but finds none. All power seems drained out of him, too, leaving him pale and unsteady, but at the same time, more clear headed than anyone could have guessed. He looks at Shen Yuan almost like he can’t quite believe what he is seeing.
“Shen… Shen Yuan?”
Funny, This is the first time anyone’s said that name in so long and all Shen Yuan really wants is to deny it. He says, “That’s right. Seems like quite a bit has happened since I left. Would Shidi mind giving this one a quick summary?”
At a loss, Liu Qingge shakes his head dumbly, still leaning on Shen Yuan for support. Eventually, however, his eyes dart away from Shen Yuan and move onto the masses slowly gathering around them, instantly sharpening into blades. “Luo Binghe─”
Protectively, Shen Yuan darts in between the two, blocking Liu Qingge’s arm and pretending like he doesn’t feel the need to break it, just to get this person away from Luo Binghe. Which is fucking stupid. Liu Qingge is obviously not trying to hurt him, Xin Mo you dumbass!
But Shen Yuan’s grip on Liu Qingge’s arm remains firm. “Got him right here. Worry not, Liu-shidi. I’ve got this.”
“No, he─”
But Shen Yuan doesn’t need this hasty, unfinished explanation. He’d rather piece together the whole picture later on, once the situation has settled, once his own mind settles a little. For now, he doesn’t need more than his own two eyes to see that whatever must have happened here, it has drawn quite a bit of negative attention to his poor disciple and has instantly made Xin Mo into a wild, unrestrained monster wreaking havoc in his head.
Seriously, that hopeless white lotus. Will the universe ever stop treating him as everybody’s punching bag? What good is it, thoroughly torturing your Protagonist in all the ways under the sky? Really, what gives? What has Luo Binghe done to deserve such rubbish treatment when he himself is barely holding on to his life?!
Suddenly, someone moves, and Shen Yuan knocks a spear out of the air with Xiu Ya before he even knows what it is. Instantly, his eyes narrow. The people have yet to stop gathering and the dust hasn’t settled yet. He can barely see who threw that weapon… but that doesn’t mean he can’t tell.
“Is someone going to explain to me why Zui Xian Peak Lord is after my disciple’s life?” Shen Yuan asks icily, as if he isn’t a not-quite-Peak Lord who’s been absent from his post for months on end. Ahem. He is still officially the senior to all of these people here so they better all keep it in mind before someone calls him out on it. In fact, since Sect Leader Yue obviously isn’t present, the person with the most seniority is Shen Yuan. Even if they want to complain about his interference, they better have some damn good explanation to make up for it.
Nobody steps up to say anything for the longest time.
In fact, the longer things remain at a standstill and the dust finally settles, the more Shen Yuan realizes how unusual this situation is, to say the least.
Cultivators from many different peaks, including his own, have gathered on Qiong Ding Peak, which looks like it's been run over by a bulldozer with its breaks malfunctioning and was then set on fire. Half the Qiong Ding Pavillion is just straight up rubble. Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe both have blood over their robes, they are both smack in the middle of an array, while a whole bunch of cultivators surround them like a flock of angry birds about to peck at them with their beaks and claws. Seriously. Even when the most immature brats argue in this sect, things rarely get so out of hand for someone to throw a weapon at an unconscious target.
More importantly, it’s Liu Qingge more than anyone who seems alert by this bout of aggression directed towards Luo Binghe. He is glaring at Zui Xian’s Wu Qinggang as though he’s a hair away from throttling the man. And that’s ─ that’s gotta be the most disturbing part of it all. Liu Qingge, defending Luo Binghe… from the entire Cang Qiong Mountain. Shen Yuan shudders slightly. Which fucking universal law was broken in his absence, exactly?
“Well?” he prompts, when the silence stretches for way too long to be anything but uncomfortable.
“Liu Qingge!” Qi Qingqi shouts in warning, drawing her weapon but doing nothing with it. It does alert everyone else, however, including Shen Yuan.
He sees what everyone else sees, and that is Liu Qingge as he places his palm against Luo Binghe’s chest, offering up a tiny amount of spiritual power. It is almost palpable to watch, with just the way Liu Qingge begins sweating a few moments in, like he’s only barely holding through the process. Something in Shen Yuan burns at the sight of it, and he’s tempted to throw something off the mountain. Preferably himself. For Liu Qingge, it’s working, for some stupid reason, but when Shen Yuan did the same thing moments ago, the result was Luo Binghe almost thrashing around. How is that fucking fair?
Shen Yuan takes that train of thought and tosses it into trash, fixating his eyes on Qi Qingqi instead.
The woman is unusually alert, unusually tense and skittish. Like she’s waiting for something to strike at Liu Qingge, something to blow up, and she is only doing this to be prepared for whatever it might be. But what is there to be worried about? There are no demons left here other than their dead bodies. What─
Shen Yuan’s eyes fly over Luo Binghe subconsciously, and he realizes what’s wrong.
To him, it’s almost a natural thing, to see the heavenly demon mark on the boy’s forehead.
To everyone else… well. It’s about as terrible of a betrayal as it gets.
Shen Yuan almost subconsciously moves to hide Luo Binghe behind him, but stops himself at the last moment. Not good, to interfere until he knows the details. Obviously, everyone else has already made up their mind on something, and until he knows what that something is, doing anything might cause more harm than good. Xin Mo screams at him to pull the boy into his arms, possessive and demanding and rageful, but Shen Yuan freezes, refusing to give in for even a moment.
Just as good that he doesn’t move, because Mu Qingfang does. He gets down on the ground next to Liu Qingge, inspecting Luo Binghe’s wrist and frowning instantly.
“What? Now what?” Liu Qingge snaps, like he can tell whatever it is, it can’t be good.
Mu Qingfang, at least, doesn’t look like he wants to burn someone at the stake, but he is clearly not thrilled about what he finds. He says, “Shen-shixiong, a moment, please?”
Shen Yuan’s stomach drops at suddenly being addressed, but his body moves almost eagerly to get into the fray. Before he knows it, he’s cradling Luo Binghe’s head in his lap, repositioning it so that he is more comfortable, his hands barely restrained from pulling the child into his arms like that’s the only place where he belongs.
“What is wrong with my disciple?” he asks, fingers gently running down the side of the boy’s face, down the skin which is burning up under a fever dangerously.
Mu Qingfang doesn’t answer. He looks down, and Shen Yuan takes the hint and inspects the spiritual power flow himself. But Mu Qingfang shakes his head, eyes traveling elsewhere, so Shen Yuan follows and… Ah…
Hello there, Heavenly Pillar.
Why is Shen Yuan not surprised that the most devastating state that Qiong Ding Peak has ever been in is somehow a result of the Protagonist getting a little hard? Ah, good old Proud Immortal Demon Way. Can’t go an arc without inconveniencing its main characters in the most shameful ways imaginable.
At least it seems Mu Qingfang isn’t trying to advertise it and no one else has paid enough attention to notice yet, not even Liu Qingge, who is sitting right there, staring at the kid’s face. Actually, Liu-shidi seems quite preoccupied thinking his spiritual energy is going to somehow fix this. It probably might, in a very different way than how he imagines. It could fix them both! One stone, two birds, that kind of thing! Which, plot development wise, could make sense.
Do it, and I’ll tear you to fucking pieces─
Ugh. For once, Shen Yuan is in full agreement with Xin Mo. Luo Binghe is a child! A literal child! System, a little propriety please! Not on this Shizun’s watch, thank you very much!
Thank goodness that Liu Qingge is the type who wouldn’t notice any romantic or sexual advances even if they slapped him on the face. Small blessings, small blessings. At some point, it seems to hit him he cannot keep up with the spiritual power transfer and he gives up on his own, a rare bout of self-awareness from him. But really, this is just not fair, that Shen Yuan has to be the one to step in and fix… whatever this is. Seriously. He knew coming back was a terrible idea. He knew it. Why does he do this to himself every single time?
“I’ll… take it over from here,” he says, before picking up the unconscious boy in his arms like a young maiden. There. At least this way, no one else needs to see. The dark, hungry urges that sprout up in the back of his head are better left ignored.
“Shen… Shen-shixiong,” Liu Qingge mutters, like a warning. But really, the fact that he willingly calls Shen Yuan shixiong is more alarming than anything else he could have said. Shen Yuan tenses up, waiting for an intruder to jump out from behind his Shidi and stab him in the back. It doesn’t happen, of course, but the sound of genuine respect from Liu Qingge is more unnerving than anything else he’s encountered as of yet.
Of course, what Liu Qingge is trying to warn him about is… well. The entirety of Qiong Ding Peak. Or rather, every single person in his sight, all of whom are all watching Luo Binghe like he is the public enemy number one!
“What is the meaning of this?” Shen Yuan demands, raising a single eyebrow at them.
Instantly, half the group quivers and sinks back, all his Qing Jing disciples included.
The rest, who remain stubborn, now glare at him instead of Luo Binghe, which, hey, objective achieved! Attention successfully redirected! To himself, damn it all.
“That demon is suspected to be the spy for the demon clan and the direct cause of the invasion that Shen-shixiong has just missed,” Zui Xian’s Peak Lord says, the rage in his voice barely controlled. “The demon saintess invaded and destroyed three peaks, including my own, all for the sake of getting this traitor out of Cang Qiong Mountain. So, Shen-shixiong, please step away from him and let us finish this properly.”
“And what proof does the demon saintess provide, to throw an accusation like that at one of Cang Qiong Sect’s disciples?” Shen Yuan asks, slightly narrowing his eyes.
Wu Qinggang’s spear is back in his hand and he seems to hate the notion of putting it away so much that he’d rather just stand there, looking like an idiot. “What proof do we need?” he growls. “The demon mark on his forehead is proof enough! We have a demon in our midst!”
“I told you to shut your damn mouth!” Liu Qingge explodes, unexpectedly. “If you’ve got nothing but a demon’s claim for this, then I might as well call you a spy!”
The gasps that echo among the gathered cultivators are downright scandalous. It’s almost funny. It’s also probably the only thing that prevents Xiu Ya from straight up slaughtering the man under Xin Mo’s influence, but eh. Shen Yuan works very hard to not think about that.
“Alright, settle down,” he says, but really, he’s not in the mood for this particular sitcom. His disciple needs… attention. And it feels so awful to even think that, knowing what kind of attention that is, but just… ugh. He really doesn’t want to be dealing with this. Xin Mo, however, wishes for nothing but. Not once did Shen Yuan ever think he himself would become a danger to his disciple’s innocence, but here he is, relying only on the nails he’s dug into his own skin to prevent himself from doing something he might resent himself over for the rest of his life.
He says, “Luo Binghe is a disciple from my peak. If someone has a problem with him, they may come to me personally. Later, after I’ve made sure he’s no longer at risk of a Qi deviation.”
With that said, Shen Yuan wastes no time waiting for the crowd to part for him.
Xiu Ya lands in front of his feet at a single gesture and then flies him directly back to Qing Jing Peak, despite the many protesting gasps and shouts. He leaves everyone behind in the dust without a care in the world.
There is only one of the younger disciples present when he reaches his own Peak, a girl whose face Shen Yuan barely recognizes. She’s guarding the bamboo house with all the attention a skittish kid can muster, and when she sees Shen Yuan fly in on his sword, she nearly falls all over herself.
“Shiz─is it actually Shizun? Shizun!” she bursts into tears. “This disciple is so happy to see Shizun! Guarding here alone has been terrifying! Is the demon invasion finally over?!”
“Go rest now,” he says, and the girl is more than happy to run off. In fact, she is so happy that she doesn’t even look over her shoulder to ask what happened to Luo Binghe, which is fantastic, given how nosy his young disciples tend to be.
Shen Yuan takes the boy into the bamboo house and places him on the bed, throwing the covers over him as soon as he does. Luo Binghe is, as expected, completely out of it. His energy is fluctuating wildly, the seal fighting to subdue the demonic power that keeps trying to rise inside him, reinvigorated now that Xin Mo shard sits closer. In fact, his ragged breathing is almost perfectly in sync with the pulses of pain on Shen Yuan’s wrist. What kind of a connection can possibly exist between white lotus Binghe and Xin Mo is beyond him, but whatever it is, it’s not helping either one of them. It seems as though the demonic Qi in Luo Binghe’s body is completely out of control, rising too quickly for the seal to disperse it, while spiritual energy is only barely recovering. The result, apparently, is a very awful, very painful boner that’s throwing Luo Binghe into a feverish state. Ahhhh damn it all. Plot armor! Plot armor! How do we turn it back on?!
Right as he is trying to think of something to do that doesn’t include undressing his disciple, Mu Qingfang and Liu Qingge enter the bamboo house behind him. Before Shen Yuan can react, Liu Qingge rips the covers over from Luo Binghe. Unruly hands rummage all over the insides of Luo Binghe’s robes, and Shen Yuan’s scandalized need to raise a hand and send a blast of Qi into his Shidi’s face only lessens when Liu Qingge pulls out a Qiankun pouch from inside of the kid’s robes.
Jaw on the ground, Shen Yuan watches his shidi go through its contents intently until he fishes out… an incense burner? The thing doesn’t look like anything special, but Liu Qingge seems greatly relieved to see it in one piece. He sets it down on the bed next to Luo Binghe’s head, and a whole bunch of demonic energy is instantly sucked into it, somewhat improving the boy’s raging breaths and weakening the tremors shaking his young body.
Both Mu Qingfang and Shen Yuan openly gape at him, and Liu Qingge’s face is bright red. “Don’t fucking ask. I don’t know either.”
… Right.
That seems to be a staple around Luo Binghe, at this point.
Shen Yuan rubs at his aching temple, sighing deeply. Clearly, this won’t be enough to fix anything, since that stubborn Heavenly Pillar refuses to go down, but Shen Yuan was vigilant when he shifted Luo Binghe’s robes around. Unless they know to look for it, no one should notice… for now, at least. Immediate fire put out the simple way, he now turns around to the pair of intruders in his house and delivers a single, dangerous line.
“Explain.”
He’s not sure who he is addressing it to, exactly, but it might not matter, because when Liu Qingge and Mu Qingfang share a sheepish look between them, it’s clear that neither one of them knows where to start. Fine. Let’s go with the most important part first.
“Mu-shidi, start,” he orders, and watches the medic sweat bullets as soon as he realizes he’s up first.
“I, uh… um… argh.”
Mu Qingfang caves in and tells him everything.