Chapter Text
„Why do you look like Qi-ge?“
„That’s a silly question. I look like Baba.“
„This is not a place where you are supposed to be, little one.“
„Why are you here? I want to go home. You promised to read the beast encyclopaedia...“
Shen Jiu wanted to wipe those small tears away, but he couldn’t.
When Shen Qingqiu woke up that morning, he felt exhausted and confused. He couldn’t remember what he dreamed the night before, but he felt like it was something important. He wanted to recall it, but no matter what he did, there was nothing he could remember.
Maybe he was making a fuss about nothing.
Shen Qingqiu was on a research mission to complete research about the Stone Circle Tree. He stumbled on it when he researched for plants that could naturally guard entrances to secret passageways to Cang Qiong mountain. It was said that this tree had the ability to turn people with malicious intent into stone for a month, but other than that he hadn´t found anything else about it. There were unclear records about it´s whereabouts, but it was said to be on the border to the southern demon realm, where it was generally warmer. It took many months for Shen Qingqiu to find it, but when he finally found it, it was in a cave deep in a mountain. Light poured in from above, the spring green leaves of the tree shimmering blue in a certain angle of light. It looked a lot like a weeping willow, the branches stretching wide in the cavern. Around it were multiple round stones with carvings on them, symbols that were repetitive and in order, seen on all of the stones that surrounded the tree. Shen Qingqiu counted thirty of those stones, some only as high that it was the size of a chicken egg, others were large enough that it was the size of a larger vase.
Shen Qingqiu picked one of the smaller ones up and scrutinized it. Where did they come from? What is the connection between the tree and those stones? They looked man made, but it was apparent that no human set foot in here before Shen Qingqiu arrived, so how come they have those strange symbols? It looked like a language, but Shen Qingqiu had no idea as to how to translate what it said. Was it possible that it was the language of the tree? Had it a consciousness? It wouldn´t be the first plant that was a concious being, being able to communicate with the world around it.
He spend a lot of time in this cave. The stones were all in different sizes, some had moss all across them. He left the stones to study sometime else and mostly only analysed the tree. There was no fruit or blossom, but in the bark of the tree was something that looked like it´s seeds. Shen Qingqiu contemplated if he could cut it out without harming the tree, else it might misunderstand his intentions and turn him into stone. He sat in a lotus position beside one of the bigger stones, one that he could carry with both his hands. A dagger was in his hand, flipping around in restless hands as he thought deeply about it. He had already cut himself in carelessness, but he didn´t pay it any mind in his endevor to reach a conclusion.
If he harmed the tree in any way, was it considered `malicious intent´? Probably. If he wanted to take the seeds, could he manipulate the wind with Qi so the seeds could fall out. There were none on the ground, he already looked around. How did it reproduce? Will it wither and die and a new tree grew in its place, using the dead tree as nutrition? Shen Qingqiu thought that it was no wonder why there weren’t many recordings about the Stone Circle Tree, since it was confusing and contradicting.
He supported himself on the rock beside him to stand up and try the method with Qi. He thought that the worst that could happen would be that he was turned into stone for a month. Hopefully only in the worst-case scenario.
Shen Qingqiu only walked a few steps before he stopped in his tracks, feeling that the air shifted inside the cavern. The leaves that only shimmered blue before were now glowing in many colours, too much to recount all of them. He didn´t feel like it was a defence, but he felt a strange inviting pull.
Not to the tree, no.
Behind him.
Looking back, he saw the stone where he sat beside for a while. The seemingly carved symbols which he came familiar with, glowed like the leaves in many colours. On top he saw that there was a drop of red, where his hand had touched the stone. Looking down on his hand, he saw that the small cut was still healing, the blood on it smeared slightly.
The Qing Jing peak lord was missing for almost five years now. Some say that he left the sect in shame, others say that he was killed by a monster. Investigations lead to nothing; nobody found a strand of hair where Shen Qingqiu was supposed to look for some tree on the southern demon borders. They sent out search parties when they didn´t receive any reports anymore, but none were really looking for him, thinking of good riddance. Since the Lord was missing, the Hall Masters were left in charge of teaching all and everything to the disciples left behind. Many debated if they should relocate them to other peaks, but the sect leader only got furious at the presumptuous statements. Shen Qingqiu will be found, he said. He himself searched for the Qing Jing peak lord the most. Most people only bothered to search for the missing peak lord in fear that their sect leader was about to Qi deviate if he spent another day in his fruitless search for his second in command.
Even Liu Qingge, who was famously on bad terms with his fellow peak lord, went out to search for him. Maybe he thought that Shen Qingqiu abandoned his duties to pursue a dishonourable path and wanted to hold him accountable.
All the while a certain mousy man is silently panicking, because what do you mean Shen Qingqiu is missing??
Everything was progressing smoothly according to the story he had written, and now you mean to tell him that the main villain is nowhere to be found?? When he should be terrorizing Qing Jing peak??
Nonono, what does the system mean "there are no bugs detected, the story proceeds like intended" because NO HE DID NOT INTEND THIS?! Shen Qingqiu was never supposed to mysteriously disappear! Okay, to be fair, this was before the start of the story and there was maybe something that he had thought of and just forgot it? Haaahhhh... this is far too much!
-Wait.
He realized that Tianlang-Juns sealing happened when he was already a peak lord. Shouldn´t it have happened when they were still disciples, where their masters would lead the sealing?
Eh.
Wasn´t probably not as bad, the result of it was the same anyway. Only it happened just three years ago, so they had approximately seven years to get Shen Qingqiu´s ass back to Qing Jing peak to do his job as a peak lord/scum villain!