Chapter 1: Broken Shards
Chapter Text
Luo Binghe grimaced as he walked through the hallways of his palace, ignoring the various servants and wives he encountered as he ventured deeper and deeper down until he reached the familiar entrance of the water prison.
Going into the dark room, he ventured to the center where the lone prisoner lay.
Shen Qingqiu was a mess, practically a pile of mush that was once flesh: his limbs were long since gone and one of his eyes was missing, his mouth empty of both tongue and most of his teeth, with only a thin piece of cloth preserving his modesty between his legs.
The Emperor looked down at him, seeing how vacant his Shizun’s last remaining eye was, and knelt down to touch his forehead, noticing how his teacher no longer even reacted to his touch as he just stared at the broken shards of Xuan Su.
The half-demon frowned at the lack of reaction, trying again by shaking the limbless form to get some sort of reaction out of him.
Again, there was nothing, not even a spark of recognition flickered in Shen Qingqiu’s remaining green eye.
It was unsettling to Luo Binghe, it was like staring at a lifeless doll.
So the Emperor of the Three Realms tried something else: he picked up some of the larger shards of Xuan Su and sprinkled them onto his prisoner.
The shards of the formidable blade remained razor sharp even in such a ruined state, and it sliced through the dirtied skin like a hot knife through butter.
This got a reaction out of Shen Qingqiu at last, just twitches of pain and the most muffled of whimpers, but a reaction all the less.
But then Luo Binghe caught a glimpse of his Shizun’s eye, finding it akin to a pet who was confused why its owner had kicked it.
There was just confusion in his eye, no scorn, no sneering remarks, just fear and confusion.
Taken aback by pure disbelief, Luo Binghe again placed a hand on the top of Shen Qingqiu’s dirty, matted hair and looked into his mind.
For the first time, the Heavenly Demon found no resistance to the intrusion to his mind, no stubborn iron walls that blocked both him and Meng Mo so utterly for all this time.
And when he got within, he found nothing in his former teacher’s mind but an empty mindscape littered with fragments of memories -mere whispers of things: “street rat”, “Xiao Jiu”, and “worthless”.
Luo Binghe could not even process these whispers he heard, too shocked by the pure emptiness that was now his Shizun’s mind.
He had done it…he had finally, truly broken Shen Qingqiu beyond repair.
So why was he not happy?
He should be celebrating his victory over the teacher that had bullied him through his adolescence, the source of his misery in the sect.
Why was he not celebrating? He should be elated and having a celebratory orgy with all his wives for this ultimate victory.
And yet he was hollow, there was no satisfaction to be found within himself.
Luo Binghe stood back up straight, looking down at the mindbroken quadriplegic amputee on the floor, his mind going back to his brief visit to that other reality where he had fought with that lesser Luo Binghe that had cried and clung to that bafflingly kind Shizun like a lovestruck moron.
That version of himself had been pathetic but was also so much happier than he himself was, and that was undoubtedly caused by that Shizun.
That Shizun, who had refused to come with him, was the first time anyone had ever rejected his advances.
If his Shizun truly did not remember anything, could he make his Shizun act like that kind Shizun?
He still recalled how that kind Shizun had removed his shoes, tried to make him comfortable, tended to his wounds, ‘defended him’ from that alive Liu Qingge, brushed his hair and patted his head, that book he had read written by that other Liu Mingyan, those kisses they shared, how that all had filled him with a warmth no amount of sex or killing ever had before.
Would Shizun treat him like that now?
The thought of feeling such warmth again was enough to spur the Emperor into action, unchaining Shen Qingqiu’s neck and waist and carrying him bridal style; a mere slice of Xin Mo took them from the depths of the Water Prison and into the master bedroom.
Immediately, Luo Binghe carried his Shizun to the bathroom and was delighted to see his servants had already prepared his nightly bath.
He took the scrap of fabric remaining on Shen Qingqiu’s body off and set him into the barely steaming water, noticing the organ in between the crux of what remained of his thighs with delight but made absolutely no move to touch it.
Instead, he merely acted the perfect disciple as he helped his Shizun clean all the grime and dirt and crusted blood off of his form.
His Shizun’s silky black locks were matted with tangles and blood and were incredibly greasy from years without a clean, but Binghe patiently combed each and every strand until it was returned to its former glory.
Once his body was fully clean, he took Shen Qingqiu from the dirtied tub and set him onto a chair, drying him off with a soft towel before dressing him in a set of his own robes until he could have a tailor make clothes just for his Shizun.
With his Shizun dressed, the half-demon then set about undoing the tortures he had put his Shizun through so that he could get the headpats he now craved.
His bloodmites could heal the missing eye and tongue easily within a handful of hours, a day at most.
And he still had the teeth he had plucked from his Shizun’s gums, he could put them back in place and the bloodmites would reattach them properly as if they were never removed.
The issue was the missing limbs.
The bones were missing, the flesh long rotted, nerves and tendons and veins had since adjusted to being stumps.
While Luo Binghe had regenerated his own limbs before, easily dozens of times, and healed his wives easily when they had been harmed in front of him or for his sake, he had never before regenerated years-old wounds like this and he was not sure if he was even capable of doing such.
So instead he began to ponder other possibilities and soon an idea came to him: some of the demons in his armies had missing limbs as well and most of them had prosthetics.
He would call upon a demon prosthetist immediately, one skilled enough to make limbs that could bend and curl to the wearer’s thoughts.
Pleased with the thought, the Emperor looked back to his Shizun again, watching him sleep, excited for what was soon to come.
Chapter 2: Kintsugi
Notes:
Or, in which the Bingmeification process begins.
Chapter Text
By the following day, Luo Binghe had Mobei-Jun locate the best demon prosthetist and had them brought to his palace immediately.
Said prosthetist then spent an hour measuring each of Shen Qingqiu’s stumps and calculating how tall he used to be in order to make the special prosthetics.
Shen Qingqiu himself, since being brought into Luo Binghe’s room, had been kept in a coma so he could avoid the stresses and pain of his body being repaired.
Within a week, the four prosthetic limbs were brought back and fitted to their new owner.
Each limb was made out of bone porcelain, enchanted to be durable against nearly anything and to not irritate the stumps they were attached to.
And, with the skill (and price -though Luo Binghe had spared no expense and had made sure everything that would touch his Shizun would be of the highest quality-) of the prosthetist, each limb had flexible joints that would move with a mere thought as if it were truly a flesh and blood one, just as it would give the sensations of touch.
Though the porcelain limbs themselves were decorated with pure golden designs, having swirls, flowers, bamboo stalks, and other filigree throughout, and each little joint –from each finger’s three joints, the toe joints, the ankles and wrists, knees and elbows– had gold-plated hardware -he had preferred to get it solid gold, but the prosthetist advised against it due to the softness of the metal and its tendency to wear away with daily use.
When this was done, Luo Binghe had the main seamstress in his employ come and measure Shen Qingqiu and ordered her to have her army of helpers make a wardrobe worthy of his Shizun.
All of the clothing for himself, his wives, and his children were all put on hold as this wardrobe was made, and within three days they had made twenty complete outfits.
As soon as the first outfit was ready, Luo Binghe dressed his Shizun himself, dressing him in each and every layer and putting the new shoes onto his porcelain feet.
With this complete and his Shizun once again whole, the Emperor of the Three Realms flicks his wrist, and the bloodmites in his Shizun immediately reverse the coma.
It takes twenty minutes for Shen Qingqiu to wake, to move as shakily as a newborn deer, but he slowly pulls himself up into a sitting position with his hands.
Shen Qingqiu moved his head towards Luo Binghe, his gaze restored to having two eyes, his lips parting, “W-Who are you?”
Luo Binghe took hold of one of Shen Qingqiu’s porcelain hands and cupped it betwixt his own hands, pouting as he played the part of the heartbroken disciple, “Don’t you remember me, Shizun? It is me, Luo Binghe.”
No recognition appeared in Shen Qingqiu’s pale jade eyes, as if he was being introduced to a stranger, pulling his hand slightly away instinctively like he was still scared.
“You were captured on your way here. This lord apologizes that it took so long to locate you; I truly tried my best.” The Heavenly Demon said, rubbing circles onto his palm, the cool porcelain slowly heating with his own body temperature, “The kidnapper had you for years, torturing you, mutilating you, I should not be surprised that you do not remember anything. But do not worry, this one will ensure no one will ever hurt you again, Shizun.”
It was a half-truth; he had captured his Shizun by having him arrested all those years ago when he first took over Huan Hua Palace, it had taken a long time to locate this persona he had hoed to nurture out of his Shizun after seeing that alternate reality, he had tortured his Shizun so brutly, and he would make sure he would never be harmed.
Shizun just did not need to know that he had been the kidnapper.
“Why do you keep calling me ‘Shizun’?” Shen Qingqiu asked in a small voice, like he was scared of speaking
“Because you are my Shizun.” Luo Binghe replied, “I had you brought here after our sect…dissolved…so you could be my advisor. You were a brilliant strategist.”
Shen Qingqiu just frowned, clearly not recalling this at all.
“Everything will be okay, Shizun, with luck, your memories will return over time.” Luo Binghe replied to try and reassure him, though he truly hoped otherwise, “Regardless, this lord will care for you.”
“I…” Shen Qingqiu started, trying to piece his thoughts together, “I am sorry, I do not remember you, it must be upsetting for you.”
The Emperor’s eyes watered immediately despite himself; those first three words were something he had wanted to hear for years, and while they were not an apology for the abuse he had suffered at his master’s hands, it was enough just to hear those words.
He forced the tears away, not wanting to be a cry baby like that lesser Luo Binghe he had met, clinging to Shizun and sobbing like a moron.
“We can make new memories, Shizun, this one is just glad to have you here alive.” Luo Binghe smiled, “I hope this does not overwhelm you, but I brought someone else here to see you.”
“Who?” Shen Qingqiu inquired, a thin eyebrow rising
“My wife, she was one of your students as well.” He replied, going to the bedroom door and opening it to reveal Ning Yingying, who had been waiting outside
Ning Yingying rushed into the room, running straight to Shen Qingqiu and hugging him tightly, sobbing into his chest, “I am sorry, Shizun! Yingying is sorry! I wanted to help you! I did, I promise! I just did not know how!”
Shen Qingqiu put a hand to her hair on instinct, stroking the silky locks of her black hair.
The sobbing girl eventually looked up at him, her hazel eyes meeting his pale jade ones, tears still streaming down her face.
“Don’t cry, Ying-er.” Shen Qingqiu said, wiping her tears away
“Shizun remembers me?” Ning Yingying asked, hope filling her voice
“No.” He replied, cupping her head in his porcelain hands, “But I remember that I love you.”
Ning Yingying immediately burst into tears again at his words, sobbing even harder than she had before, with occasional mumbled “Shizun” as she cried.
Luo Binghe was filled with jealousy as he watched this unfold, seeing how loving and tender Shen Qingqiu was with Ning Yingying.
Not because he thought his Shizun was attracted to his First Wife, he knew that was not the case; Ning Yingying had insisted otherwise after the trial, that Shizun had only ever treated her as a spoiled daughter and doted on her and had never touched her beyond occasionally brushing her hair and letting her hug him, and had been upset with Luo Binghe at the time for accusing Shizun of abusing her in that way.
Their relationship had fractured a bit after the trial, of that accusation, and while Ning Yingying still loved him, things had never been exactly the same as it had been prior to that.
“He never did anything like that to me, A-Luo!” She had sobbed at him after the trial, “Ever! Shizun was cruel to you, and it was not fair, but he was not a lecher! And he is not a whoremonger either! He has taken me with him before, all he does is buy their time and drink tea and gossip with them! Why lie?!”
He had not had a good answer for her then; what was another accusation for a cruel man to add on top of so many others?
And that was why he had brought her to see Shizun now, to see that he was trying to fix everything, and because he also knew that he could not keep Shen Qingqiu isolated forever –as much as he may wish to.
Because he knew that healthy people needed human interaction to be happy, even introverts like Shizun, and he hoped that once he knew his Shizun was kind and loving like that other Shizun he could introduce him to all of his wives and let him have women to talk to like he had those prostitutes.
***
For the weeks that followed, Shen Qingqiu did not really do anything besides relearn how to walk, learn how to use his new arms, and fine-tune the use of his fingers like practicing writing and grabbing things.
He was eventually moved out of Luo Binghe’s room and put into the room next door so that he could have privacy –even though the Emperor wished to keep him in his own room, he did have the awareness that he could not force interaction, or it could potentially push Shizun away.
Though he called it a ‘bedroom’ it could very well function as a home as it had five rooms: the main bedroom, a sitting room with lavish couches and bookshelves and a coffetable, a private bath, a closet full of clothing amd jewelry and shoes and fans that the Emperor had bought for him, and an atrium where he could get sunlight and fresh air.
Ning Yingying visited Shen Qingqiu every single day without fail, spending at least three hours with him just talking or playing games with him, and trying to get him to remember her.
Luo Binghe did notice that Shen Qingqiu did seem to be becoming comfortable with this, not flinching when he touched his shoulders or hands, sometimes even smiling when he saw him enter his room.
He made Shizun’s every meal, making his snacks and teas as well, each prepared with love as he grew happier and happier every time he saw his smile.
One afternoon, Shen Qingqiu had even given him a head pat after he had served him tea.
Of course, Shizun had not even been looking at him when it happened, too busy talking with Ning Yingying about the adventures he had taken her on, but it had happened and Binghe had nearly dropped the teapot he had been holding.
The feeling of euphoria that headpat had given him lasted him all day and everyone noticed how joyful he had been, even doing the governing work he dreaded.
Chapter 3: Bumps on the Road
Notes:
There is going to be a lot of OC's dropped at the end of the chapter, I will leave a character guide at the end notes of this chapter and the beginning of subsequent chapters.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Shen Qingqiu was silent as he sat on the wooden rocking chair in the atrium of his lavish quarters, fanning himself slowly with one of his new painted fans as he looked out at the mountainous forest terrain.
He eventually pulled his gaze from the sunrise and towards his own hands, looking at the porcelain limb.
The beast had good taste, he had to admit.
It was rather annoying, having to play nice and pretend to be oblivious and helpless with the beast that had been slowly torturing him for who even knows how long, but he had always been a survivor -like a cockroach that can't quite seem to die- and he could play pretend with the demon just as he played pretend with Qiu Jianluo.
With Qiu Jianluo, he had to be eager to please and submissive like a dog, never breaking the broken character lest he truly break, always playing along to whatever whim that monster had.
But with the beast, he had to just act confused and keep his mindscape utterly clear.
For having done the most physical harm, Shen Qingqiu knew Luo Binghe had woefully failed at even accomplishing half of the psychological torture Qiu Jianluo had put him through.
Well, there was one thing Luo Binghe had done that Qiu Jianluo had not…Shen Qingqiu had to concede on that as he recalled the feeling of Xuan Su’s shards on his skin.
Brushing thoughts of his foolish Qi-ge aside, not ready to fully acknowledge his death, Shen Qingqiu thought again about the beast.
In the false story the beast was using, he was supposedly being brought here to be an advisor after their sect had ‘dissolved’ -a funny way to say he had burned it down and killed basically everyone- and so he would just continue to play along.
Play along, play the part of the doting shizun who was happy to help where he could, until he found enough information to find out how to kill a heavenly demon.
After that, Shen Qingqiu did not really care what happened to himself, he just wanted revenge.
Before his thoughts could continue, he heard the door near him open and saw Ning Yingying coming outside to join him followed by a little girl who seemed to be about three or four years old.
As soon as his pale green eyes landed on the little girl, Shen Qingqiu knew who she was.
She had a dark brown hair that bordered on black, the middle of her forehead bore that same zuiyin the beast had, and she was dolled up in pink robes.
But the little girl’s hair was also styled the same as her mother’s, and she had that same bright smile.
“Shizun.” Ning Yingying greeted, “This is my daughter. First Princess Luo Yingmei.”
Yingmei, a name that meant ‘glittering plum blossom’, it was a beautiful name.
“She is beautiful.” Shen Qingqiu said, a small smile on his lips, “Is she the eldest?”
“No, she’s A-Luo’s eighth born.” Ning Yingying replied, “But she’s First Princess because I am the First Wife. I think she has eight little siblings now.”
“Sixteen children, how fruitful.” Shen Qingqiu hummed, still fanning himself, “Is she your only child, Ying-er?”
“She is, this wife has only been blessed with pregnancy once.” Ning Yingying confirmed, setting a hand on her daughter’s head softly, “But A-Yingmei is to turn four this winter.”
Said little girl was half-hidden behind her mother, looking at Shen Qingqiu like he was a monster set to pounce on her.
“Don’t be scared, sweet girl.” Ning Yingying whispered to her daughter, “He used to be mine and baba’s shizun, he will not hurt you.”
Shen Qingqiu lowered his fan, closing it with one flick of a golden wrist joint and setting it on his lap; she was right, naturally, he would not hurt the daughter of his favorite disciple even if she was also the daughter of his most hated student.
“How come he looks like one of the dollies baba gave me?” Luo Yingmei asked, her little voice nearly silent
He answered before his former student could, “This one was hurt very badly and lost my limbs, so I have new arms and legs like a porcelain doll’s.”
A look appeared in Luo Yingmei’s eyes, something soft and nearly brimmed with tears, slowly stepping away from her mother and towards the seated man, “Are you better now, xiansheng?”
Shen Qingqiu reached out his other hand and softly patted the top of her head, “Yes, I am.”
She smiled in reply, and Shen Qingqiu could not help but remember seeing the same smile on her mother when she was a little girl too -older than Yingmei was now, but still young.
After that, Luo Yingmei seemed to warm up to him immediately and told him about all of her favorite things and how baba sometimes brought her candies or toys or other gifts when he returned from adventures -at some point even climbing onto his lap.
“How kind of him.” Shen Qingqiu replied, playing the part of the amnesiac, “Does he bring your siblings gifts too?”
“I dunno.” Luo Yingmei shrugged, softly swinging her feet as she sat on his lap, inspecting his fan with her little hands
Shen Qingqiu rocked the chair slightly, “Are you not close with your siblings? Surely there is one close to your age among the fifteen of them?”
“Their mommies are not friends with my mommy.” Luo Yingmei answered, “So their mommies don’t let them play with me.”
“How sad.” Shen Qingqiu sympathetically replied, a plan forming in his head as he slowly ran his fingers through her wavy locks
That would be the catalyst of his plan then; first, he needed permission to leave this room, and he could try to convince the beast to let him do that under the guise of waiting to teach the beast’s spawn to try and ‘regain any memories’.
***
Hours later, after Ning Yingying and Luo Yingmei left Shen Qingqiu’s room, Luo Binghe arrived carrying a tray.
“Shizun, this lord brought you dinner and tea.” The Emperor of the Three Realms said with a smile, setting the tray down on the table near his teacher and removing the lid, “Chicken congee.”
Shen Qingqiu picked up the spoon within the bowl and blew on its steaming contents, taking a bite.
It was delicious, of course, every meal the beast made was; snow white rice, diced spring onion, minced chicken, and just enough shredded ginger; especially after who knows how long of eating nothing at all in the Water Prison and before that the bland vegetarian dishes at Qing Jing Peak.
“Thank you.” Shen Qingqiu said as he continued to eat, not needing to look up to see how the beast was staring at him
After the bowl was empty, Shen Qingqiu set it back down and finally looked at Luo Binghe, “Ning Yingying visited me again today, she brought the First Princess with her.”
“I see, did you enjoy their company, Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked
“I did.” Shen Qingqiu confirmed before adding, “Though the princess told me something upsetting.”
Luo Binghe paused in place, as if frozen solid, “What did Yingmei say, Shizun?”
“She told me she has no relationship with her siblings, that they are strangers to her. Why is that?” Shen Qingqiu inquired, his head tilting slightly
“Harem squabbling, and they are caught in the midst of it.” Luo Binghe explained with a sigh, “I try to keep them from it, but I am often gone.”
“I have a request, then, your majesty.” Shen Qingqiu stated, “This one would like to try teaching the children to see if it helps in restoring my memories and try to kindle friendship among the siblings, to give them a place where their mothers’ squabblings cannot interfere.”
Luo Binghe paused again as if he were deeply conflicted about such, but then agreed and said he would have a space set up to function as a suitable classroom.
***
After serving his Shizun his dinner, the Emperor of the Three Realms left the room for Shen Qingqiu to rest and had servants alert a few of his wives that he wished to see them.
The first to arrive was Hua Yuelian, the Little Palace Mistress, who bowed respectfully to him before draping herself all over him, seductively asking, “Does my husband wish for this wife’s company tonight?~”
He merely chuckled and told her to be patient, that there was a matter he wished to discuss before any fun was to be had.
The next three to arrive were Liu Yuyan, Zhang Ruyin, and Chen Shuhua -the Three Taoist Nuns.
Next to arrive were the sisters, Qin Wanyue and Qin Wanrong.
Then was Liu Mingyan, and Ning Yingying followed a few moments after.
After them was Mo Shanshan, a human temple scribe who once guarded the forbidden section of a minor sect’s library and artifacts that he had met when searching for the Silver Dragon Soul-Locking Chain.
Then was Hei Yusheng, a half-demon half-pheonix who he had met during his time in the Abyss and had offered him food and a safe place to heal after he woke up from being tossed down.
Swiftly following was Yan Rulan, a fire demon from a disgraced clan that he had rescued from drowning.
Wu Xiaolian was next, a snake demon that had cultivated demonic energy enough to gain human form, whom he had met when chasing rumors about his still-missing father.
Lan Xinyao -a minor goddess of healing- followed after, holding the arm of the pregnant Su Zhaoying -a huli jing he had rescued from an exotic demon seller-, along with Feng Zhiruo -a crane spirit.
“You called for us, husband?” Liu Mingyan, the Head of the Harem, asked, “You asked for all of the mothers. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, I merely wished to discuss a matter about the children.” Luo Binghe answered, helping the pregnant Huli Jing sit on a nearby chaise
Hua Yuelian smiled, thinking her wish for the children’s rankings regarding succession was changing, “Tell us, husband.”
“Tomorrow, before lunch, I wish for all of the children to be brought together to be introduced to my Shizun.” Luo Binghe stated, “And following after, the older children will start lessons with him.”
All of the wives, save Ning Yingying, were shocked.
Liu Mingyan protested immediately, “Your Shizun? Husband, you cannot mean that murderous lecher Shen Qingqiu?”
“He has been punished enough.” The emperor replied, “He has lost his memory; he is not the same person anymore.”
“He killed my brother, our son’s uncle!” Liu Minyan reminded
“And he has paid for it with many pounds of flesh and years of torment.” Luo Binghe replied, “Now is the time for me to get what I have always wanted from him.” His gaze darkened, and chills went down all of their spines, “And should any of you ruin this for me, there will be hell to pay.”
Notes:
Bingge Spawn (So Far):
Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from trafficking
Chapter 4: The Little Beasts
Notes:
Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:
Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from traffickingBingge Spawn:
Luo Tianyu
[heavenly universe]
(Sha Hualing’s son)
{Crown Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Pureblooded Demon}
(5 1/2 years old)Luo Junhao
[handsome & heroic]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ son) {twin}
{Second Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Luo Meilin
[beautiful jade tinkling]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ daughter)
{twin}
{Second Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Lou Qingge
[named for Liu Qingge]
(Liu Mingyan’s son)
{Third Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Zihan
[refined & graceful]
(Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fourth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Shuwei
[elegant rose of the books]
(Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun’s daughter)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Third Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Haoran
[vast & dignified]
(Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fifth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Luo Qianyu
[graceful beauty in the rain]
(Qin Wanyue’s daughter)
{Fourth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 years old)Luo Ruoxi
[like morning sunlight]
(Yan Rulan’s daughter)
{Fifth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Fire Demon}
(2 1/2 years old)Luo Yichen
[also a new dawn]
(Hei Yusheng’s son)
{Sixth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 25% Demon, 25% Phoenix}
(2 years old)Luo Chengwei
[to carry on & preserve]
(Qin Wanrong’s son)
{Seventh Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(1 1/2 years old)Luo Xinyue
[joyful heart]
(Wu Xiaolian’s daughter)
{Sixth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Snake Demon}
(1 year old)Luo Yiran
[graceful as ever]
(Feng Zhiruo’s daughter)
{Seventh Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Crane Spirit}
(9 months old)Luo Mingxuan
[enlightened & noble]
(Mo Shanshan’s son)
{Eighth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(6 months old)Luo Lianhua
[lotus blossom]
(Lan Xinyao’s daughter)
{Eighth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Goddess}
(Newborn)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The following morning, several hours after breakfast but still some time before lunch, Shen Qingqiu was strumming the strings of the guqin he had been brought some time ago.
A somber but melodious tune filled the room, only interrupted by the sound of the door to the room opening.
Shen Qingqiu looked towards the door and saw Luo Binghe walk in.
“Shizun.” The Emperor of the Three Realms greeted, “This lord has had all of his children and their mothers assembled for you in the prepared classroom.”
The former Peak Lord nodded and stood up, metal joints gently clacking together, opening his fan and covering his face as he followed Luo Binghe out of the room for the first time in weeks.
The hallways of what was once Huan Hua Palace were all stained or painted dark red that neared maroon, with black marble floors; a far cry from the golden walls and white quartz flooring of the former sect; everything was dark, only illuminated by silver crystals littering the walls that seemed to emit their own light -as was popular in the demon realm.
It did not take long to walk from Shen Qingqiu’s room to the classroom, merely down a hallway and around a corner to a large, dark wooden door.
There, he was greeted by the sight of sixteen children and an equal number of women, with the oldest child being roughly six or seven and the youngest a newborn baby.
Each child was with their mother, presumably, and each was standing as far as they could from the other mother-child pairs.
“My children, line up in age order, shoulder-to-shoulder.” Luo Binghe ordered, “Mothers, stand behind them.”
He was swiftly obeyed, and each child stood in a straight line that spanned half the room, with the corresponding mother standing directly behind them -save the babies that were too young to walk, who were being held.
The first was a boy that was roughly six, who seemed to be a clone of his father with his wavy brown hair and red eyes, but he was dressed similar to his mother -who Shen Qingqiu recognized as Sha Hualing- with his short black robes and his gauzy red -the same shade as his zuiyin- outermost robe that was longer on both his arms and nearly hit the floor.
“I’m Crown Prince Luo Tianyu, xiansheng.” The little boy greeted, his playful tone reminding Shen Qingqiu of Sha Hualing’s when she spoke to him during the ‘competition’, “I’ll be six soon!”
Knowing he had a role to play, Shen Qingqiu reached forward with the hand not holding his fan and patted the boy’s head.
As soon as his hand made contact with his head, the Crown Prince’s red eyes widened and he immediately pressed his head closer like an overexcited dog.
“Sha Hualing, Saintess of the Demon Realm and Second General.” The boy’s mother greeted
The Saintess had grown more beautiful since he had met her when she was fifteen, having lost the last bits of childhood clinging to her and her features having become more defined, as well as her clothing having become more revealing and leaving only her most intimate areas to the imagination.
The next two children were holding hands, the first being and little boy and the other being a little girl who were both about the same age as their elder brother.
Both were in matching ornate pink robes and golden jewlery, looking very uncomfortable in the heavy clothing that matched their mother’s own, the pale color of their robes seeming to make their zuiyins pop.
“Second Prince Luo Junhao, xiansheng.” The boy stated formally, with a slight bow
“Second Princess Luo Meilin, xiansheng.” The girl echoed, doing the same
“We’re five.” They simultaneously said in a seemingly practiced unison
Then their mother spoke, “Hua Yuelian, the Palace Mistress.”
Shen Qingqiu recognized her from his trial as well as his arrest, and he knew her tone was dripping with false politeness, but he patted the twins’ heads just as he had Luo Tianyu’s and moved to the next child.
The next child was the first that did not look like Luo Binghe, being the spitting image of Liu Qingge, even in the silver white robes he typically wore with black pants and ponytail with the front strand, but as a small child and a zuiyin on his forehead.
“Third Prince Lou Qingge, I’m gonna be five later this year.” The little boy said, his voice even similar to his namesake’s
“Liu Mingyan.” His mother said as briefly as possible, barely masking her hatred
Shen Qingqiu wanted to roll his eyes at her behavior, but stopped himself, reaching out to pat the boy’s head as he had the others, but Liu Mingyan pulled him away.
The next three children were all huddled together, holding hands, two little boys on either side of a little girl, and all were clad in a deep sapphire blue that somehow complemented their zuiyin.
His first thought was that they were triplets, but the three women standing behind them indicated otherwise.
Shen Qingqiu looked to the first boy of the trio to introduce himself, but it was the little girl who spoke first, “That’s Fourth Prince Luo Zihan, I’m Third Princess Luo Shuwei, and that’s Fifth Prince Luo Haoran. We’re four and we’re triplets!”
“Triplets?” Shen Qingqiu asked, looking to the three mothers who were all clad in a specific pale blue that implied they were once Tian Yi Overlook nuns
“They were born and conceived on the same days, Senior Shen.” The first former nun said, a slight blush on her cheeks, “I’m Zihan’s mother, Zhang Ruyin. Chen Shuhua is Shuwei’s mother. And Liu Yuyan is Haoran’s mother. We were once part of Tian Yi Overlook before meeting our husband.”
“‘Liu’?” Shen Qingqiu questioned, glancing over to Liu Mingyan before looking to Liu Yuyan, “Coincidence or relation?”
“Coincidence, Senior Shen.” Liu Yuyan, “Though it is possible that we are very distant cousins, this one shall look into it.”
Next in line was Luo Yingmei, Ning Yingying’s daughter, and the First Princess.
Shen Qingqiu ruffled her hair affectionately, “I already know you, sweet girl.”
Luo Yingmei giggled at that, putting her hands over his, “I missed you!”
The next was a little girl with black hair and her red eyes were flecked with gold, offering him a smile, “I’m Fourth Princess Luo Qianyu, I’m three!”
“Qin Wanyue of Huan Hua Sect.” The gold-clad woman behind her greeted
Next was a little girl in black robes with orange, red, and yellow flame embroidery with a glowing red zuiyin, her brown hair nearly black and seeming to lightly smoke.
“I’m Fifth Princess Luo Ruoxi, xiansheng.” The toddler greeted with a slight lisp, “I’m two and a half!”
“Lady Yan Rulan, of the Fire Sage Clan.” The ashen-skinned demon behind her greeted, clad in revealing thin black robes with similar embroidery as her daughter, two black horns on her head, as well as smoke emitting from her
It was only after seeing Yan Rulan’s curved horns that she noticed the nub-like horns barely poking out from Luo Ruoxi’s curls.
Next was a little boy, a toddler, but Shen Qingqiu immediately noticed that his back held a pair of black wings.
He couldn’t see much of his face as he was half-hiding against his mother’s side.
“My son is Sixth Prince Luo Yichen.” The boy’s mother introduced, her hand resting on her son’s head, “Please forgive him, he is two years old and incredibly shy.”
She then introduced herself, “This one is Hei Yusheng, Half Abyssal Phoenix and Half Demon.”
Hei Yusheng also had a pair of wings on her back, but where her son’s was black hers was as fiery orange as her hair, and her orange eyes were seemingly alight with eternal flame.
Next was a little boy who was basically a copy of Luo Qianyu, except he was very obviously a toddler.
The little boy stumbled through his words, but Shen Qingqiu made out that he was the Seventh Prince -as the little boy held up seven fingers proudly- Luo Chengwei, and that he was one and a half years old, “which was almost two!” he had been informed.
His mother, Qin Wanrong, was also from Huan Hua sect, was the sister of Qin Wanyue, and had nothing else remarkable about her.
The next child was a little girl held on her mother’s hip, chubby hands clutching onto her robes, she had red scales along the sides of her face, and her red eyes had black slitted pupils.
“My daughter is Sixth Princess Luo Xinyue, she recently turned a year old.” The mother, a snake demon with a forked tongue and green scales along the sides of her face said, “This one is Wu Xiaolian.”
Next was a woman holding a baby who was nearly a toddler, said child was smiling at him and tried to reach for his fan, and her zuiyin seemed oversized compared to her siblings’.
The mother was clad in all grey with her robes turning black at the hems, and she had a prominent red huadian on her forehead, “My daughter is Seventh Princess Luo Yiran, and she is nine months old. I am Feng Zhiruo, a crane spirit.”
Next was a baby who was sleeping in his mother’s arms, drooling onto her robes with a prominent wet patch.
“Eighth Prince Luo Mingxuan, xiansheng, he is six months old as of today.” His mother introduced, “This one is Mo Shanshan, once a humble temple scribe.”
And humble indeed she seemed, plainly dressed compared to most of the others, with ink-stained hands and her mousy brown eyes hidden behind glasses.
Finally was a woman clad in a pale purple robe wearing silver jewelry, her hair darker than ink and her features unnaturally beautiful, holding a bundle wrapped in blankets, “I am LanXinyao, a goddess of healing. This is my daughter, Eighth Princess Luo Lianhua, she is just under a month old.”
The majority of the children were far too young for him to teach; technically, all of them were when Cang Qiong had accepted eight-year-olds at the absolute youngest, and even that was rare as they typically took ten-year-olds.
Shen Qingqiu outright refused to teach anyone under five, he was not a nursemaid after all, so he walked back to the ‘head’ of the line where the older children were.
He pointed his fan at Luo Tianyu, “You,” then Luo Junhao, “you,”, then at Luo Meilin, ‘you,”, and then Luo Qingge, “And you. Will have lessons with me today.”
The rest of the children and all of the mothers left, though Luo Yingmei did rush to Shen Qingqiu briefly to hug his side before following her mother away.
Liu Mingyan did hover by the doorway, not fully leaving, clearly uncomfortable leaving her son alone with his uncle’s murderer.
Lou Binghe also did not seem to wish to leave the lesson, sitting on a chair against the wall so he could watch without being in the way.
Shen Qingqiu did not seem to mind, tucking his fan into his sleeve and showing his four new ‘students’ basic stances and breathing techniques, just the bare minimum to see where they were at more than anything else.
***
After the brief lesson that had lasted just under an hour, the rest of the children bowed to him respectfully, calling him ‘Shizun’ instead of ‘xiansheng’ and went to do whatever.
Liu Mingyan immediately disappeared with her son, leaving Luo Binghe alone with Shen Qingqiu.
“Did you remember anything, Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked, curious
“The techniques, they are so well ingrained it seems that the body remembers even when the mind forgets.” Shen Qingqiu said, covering his lower face with his fan
Luo Binghe smiled at him, “Shizun is most wise. Let this lord prepare your lunch, please wait in your quarters.”
Shen Qingqiu agreed, not wanting to test the beast’s boundaries just yet until he was more relaxed with this new arrangement.
As they walked back to Shen Qingqiu’s room, the shorter man noticed something peculiar.
Luo Binghe’s hair was as straight as a pin, yet there was a single bit that seemed to be curly, it was such a small bit that he only noticed it because he was standing so close.
He recalled the beast’s hair being wavy when he was young, but it had straightened when he was older, so it was strange to have just one curl.
Notes:
Nature is healing and the Bingmeification continues.
Chapter 5: The Heir and the Prospective Empress
Notes:
Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:
Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from traffickingBingge Spawn:
Luo Tianyu
[heavenly universe]
(Sha Hualing’s son)
{Crown Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Pureblooded Demon}
(5 1/2 years old)Luo Junhao
[handsome & heroic]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ son) {twin}
{Second Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Luo Meilin
[beautiful jade tinkling]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ daughter)
{twin}
{Second Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Lou Qingge
[named for Liu Qingge]
(Liu Mingyan’s son)
{Third Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Zihan
[refined & graceful]
(Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fourth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Shuwei
[elegant rose of the books]
(Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun’s daughter)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Third Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Haoran
[vast & dignified]
(Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fifth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Luo Qianyu
[graceful beauty in the rain]
(Qin Wanyue’s daughter)
{Fourth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 years old)Luo Ruoxi
[like morning sunlight]
(Yan Rulan’s daughter)
{Fifth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Fire Demon}
(2 1/2 years old)Luo Yichen
[also a new dawn]
(Hei Yusheng’s son)
{Sixth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 25% Demon, 25% Phoenix}
(2 years old)Luo Chengwei
[to carry on & preserve]
(Qin Wanrong’s son)
{Seventh Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(1 1/2 years old)Luo Xinyue
[joyful heart]
(Wu Xiaolian’s daughter)
{Sixth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Snake Demon}
(1 year old)Luo Yiran
[graceful as ever]
(Feng Zhiruo’s daughter)
{Seventh Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Crane Spirit}
(9 months old)Luo Mingxuan
[enlightened & noble]
(Mo Shanshan’s son)
{Eighth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(6 months old)Luo Lianhua
[lotus blossom]
(Lan Xinyao’s daughter)
{Eighth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Goddess}
(Newborn)
Chapter Text
Crown Prince Luo Tianyu, despite being nearly six years old, had always been an observant child and very mature for his age.
It was undoubtedly due to the fact that he was three-quarters demon, whereas the majority of his half-siblings were only a quarter demon, as demon children matured much quicker compared to their human counterparts due to the brutality of the demon realm.
So, while he had the body of a six-year-old, mentally, he was close to ten or eleven.
As such, Luo Tianyu knew about the harem drama that eternally existed and how almost all of his father’s other wives were jealous of his mother.
Sha Hualing was a prodigy among demons, having become the youngest Saintess in recorded history at fourteen, and she was father’s left hand -as Mobei-Jun was his right hand.
And, among that, she was also the mother of the crown prince; all of those factors together made her the most likely candidate to become the Empress.
There were other contenders as well for such a rank: most notably Ning Yingying -father’s first wife and first love, who he had made all the prior members of the harem wait for him to marry her before marrying them purely so she could have the title of First Wife-, Liu Mingyan -the strongest female cultivator of her generation and a peerless beauty from a very notable noble family who was also the head of the harem- and Hua Yuelian -father’s second wife and the Palace Mistress, the presumed heir of the now dissolved Huan Hua Sect.
For a long time, Luo Tianyu was of the opinion that his father would never make any of his wives his empress, but recently his opinion had begun to change.
Because he had seen the way his father had looked at Shizun.
It had all started on that strange day in which father’s hair was wildly curly and he rebuked the attentions of everyone in pursuit for Shizun and the next day father’s hair was normal and he just seemed angry and sad.
Luo Tianyu wanted Shen Qingqiu to become the Empress, especially after getting so many headpats when he did well in lessons or came across the man in the library or hallways.
There just seemed to be two issues with his plan; technically three, but he was only working on two.
The first was that there was a history between Shizun and father that no one talked about.
And the second was that Shen Qingqiu may not be interested in men.
The third one was that the harem would potentially riot at a man becoming Empress without ever being just a wife, but that was a non-issue to him when everything his father ordered always happened.
As he did not know what this history was and his mother would not tell him, Luo Tianyu was only focused on that second issue.
The crown prince knew his father was somewhat into men, that he had a handful -not even a dozen out of the three thousand- ‘malewives’ who were just very effeminate, impotent men and were basically indistinguishable among the harem.
So with his father’s tastes not being an issue, all that was left was to gauge if Shizun’s was.
And so, Luo Tianyu knew that to figure this out, he had to spend more time with Shizun outside of lessons.
The perfect way to do that? Join his little half-sister, Luo Yingmei, on her daily visits to spend time with Shen Qingqiu.
***
“Why is gege comin’ with me to see, lao ye ?” Yingmei asked, holding her eldest brother’s hand as they walked
Luo Tianyu’s eyebrow rose at the term of address as ‘ lao ye ’ meant both lord master and maternal grandfather.
The crown prince knew that Shen Qingqiu could not be Ning Yingying’s father as they looked nothing alike, so either the mysterious past included Shizun adopting Ning Yingying, or something else yet to be discovered.
“Because I want to see Shizun too.” Luo Tianyu replied simply, because that was true
The nearly four-year-old easily accepted that answer and continued holding her gege’s hand.
Guards easily let them into Shen Qingqiu’s private rooms, and they found the man sitting in his private outdoor area, fanning himself while sitting on the rocking chair, using his qi to hold a book in the air while he read it.
As the sibling pair approached, the older of the two noted that it was a book about the different sentient species of demons, which made sense since all of his students were partially demon in different percentages and slightly varying varieties.
“Lao ye!” Luo Yingmei greeted him excitedly, dragging Luo Tianyu along as she ran towards him
“Good morning, Ying-er.” Shen Qingqiu greeted, not looking up from his book
Luo Tianyu glanced at the page he was reading, seeing that it was about the biology of heavenly demons.
“Good afternoon, Shizun.” Luo Tianyu greeted, bowing respectfully
Shen Qingqiu just made a sound of acknowledgment and reached out with his free hand, patting the top of the crown prince’s curls, without ever looking away from what he was reading.
The hand pulled away far too soon for Luo Tianyu’s liking, but he could have purred with satisfaction from the headpat.
Luo Yingmei began to climb onto the cultivator’s lap, babbling to him about what she had been up to today.
After she finished, she asked him what he was doing.
“Reading.” Was the one-word reply she got back
The little girl seemed pleased by that answer, squirming on his lap so she could see the pages, “Can lao ye please read to Ying-er?”
The book snapped shut, and Shen Qingqiu shrugged, “The book is not that interesting. Ying-er should show me that dance she said she is learning.”
The four-year-old got excited, slipping off of Shizun’s lap to show him the simple dance she was learning from her tutor.
She was not very good at it yet, as she was only just learning it, but she gave a valiant attempt, and even when she stumbled, she continued through.
“Very good.” Shen Qingqiu praised her when she finished, rewarding her with a head pat, “You still have much to improve on, but it was a very impressive try.”
Before anything else could be said, the thunderous sound of clattering metal was heard, and all three of them turned.
Standing at the doorway between the bedroom and the outdoor area was the Emperor of the Three Realms, having dropped the silver tray of food and tea he had been holding.
The ruined lunch and shattered dishes lay on the wooden floor of the veranda, Luo Binghe’s red eyes widened in pure shock.
After several seconds, Luo Binghe seemed to regain his composure and said, “Forgive this clumsy one, Shizun, this lord will remake your meal and have a servant clean this mess.”
“Bring enough for four.” Shen Qingqiu told him without even looking at him
“Of course, Shizun.” Luo Binghe replied
As the Emperor seemed to rush away, Luo Tianyu noticed how much curlier his father’s hair looked than it had been a month ago, though nowhere near how curly it had been that strange day.
The crown prince smiled, he knew he was at least halfway through his plan to make Shizun empress, as he knew with that look father had given Shizun that, without a doubt, Luo Binghe was in love with Shen Qingqiu.
The remaining issue was getting Shen Qingqiu to fall in love with Luo Binghe.
And, naturally, was also how?
***
Shen Qingqiu stood up from his rocking chair and flipped the book he had been reading upside down so the title was no longer easy to see.
He then led the two kids with him over to the little table and chairs he had in his private garden, deciding that they would have lunch here whenever the beast returned with food.
The former Peak Lord was rather annoyed to have his research interrupted; he had been deep in reading about the biology of Heavenly Demons, searching for a weakness, when Tianyu and Yingmei barged in.
While he did not object to their company as Yingmei was his beloved ‘granddaughter’ and Tianyu was not annoying, they had simply had bad timing.
Regardless, he had a role to play in front of the beast and thus had to have lunch with him and the children.
***
Luo Binghe returned with food about twenty minutes later, serving his shizun first and then the two kids before sitting down himself.
The four of them ate the delicious meal, having fragrant and spicy mapo tofu with fluffy white rice and a smashed cucumber salad with a garlicky soy sauce and rice vinegar dressing.
“Baba is the best cooker!” Luo Yingmei beamed, her lower face messy with the sauce from the tofu
“Cook, or ‘best at cooking’. ‘Cooker’ is not a real word in this context.” Shen Qingqiu corrected, rubbing her face with the napkin
The little girl thanked her ‘ lao ye ’ for wiping her face and corrected herself, telling her father, “Baba is the best at cooking!”
“Thank you, baobei .” Luo Binghe replied, smiling brightly
“Thank you for cooking for us, father.” Luo Tianyu said as well
“Of course, we should do this again soon.” Luo Binghe replied
Though the emperor began to wonder why he had never done this before, not just with Shizun but with his children at all, whether it be individually, with their mothers, or all together as a family.
For the past half-decade, Luo Binghe had assumed he was a good father, that he occasionally spent time with his kids and gave them gifts every now and then and that was enough, but it was only now that he realized that he had been a bad father.
How was his eldest six years old and yet this was his first time sharing a meal with him, much less cooking for him?
He had to be better, not just to show Shizun his best, but because they were his family.
Especially since it seemed his plan was truly working, Shizun was acting like that kind Shizun more and more.
Though, it made Luo Binghe wonder what had happened in Shizun’s memories that had prevented this behavior from happening when he was his disciple.
Seeing Shizun give Yingmei praise and head pats even when she failed was a balm in the emperor’s soul that he never realized he wanted to see.
Chapter 6: The Harem
Notes:
Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:
Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from traffickingJin Xun'er
Peasant turned famous courtesanMing Yelan
Former wandering cultivator, student of Baoshen SanrenBingge Spawn:
Luo Tianyu
[heavenly universe]
(Sha Hualing’s son)
{Crown Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Pureblooded Demon}
(5 1/2 years old)Luo Junhao
[handsome & heroic]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ son) {twin}
{Second Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Luo Meilin
[beautiful jade tinkling]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ daughter)
{twin}
{Second Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Lou Qingge
[named for Liu Qingge]
(Liu Mingyan’s son)
{Third Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Zihan
[refined & graceful]
(Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fourth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Shuwei
[elegant rose of the books]
(Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun’s daughter)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Third Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Haoran
[vast & dignified]
(Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fifth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Luo Qianyu
[graceful beauty in the rain]
(Qin Wanyue’s daughter)
{Fourth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 years old)Luo Ruoxi
[like morning sunlight]
(Yan Rulan’s daughter)
{Fifth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Fire Demon}
(2 1/2 years old)Luo Yichen
[also a new dawn]
(Hei Yusheng’s son)
{Sixth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 25% Demon, 25% Phoenix}
(2 years old)Luo Chengwei
[to carry on & preserve]
(Qin Wanrong’s son)
{Seventh Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(1 1/2 years old)Luo Xinyue
[joyful heart]
(Wu Xiaolian’s daughter)
{Sixth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Snake Demon}
(1 year old)Luo Yiran
[graceful as ever]
(Feng Zhiruo’s daughter)
{Seventh Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Crane Spirit}
(9 months old)Luo Mingxuan
[enlightened & noble]
(Mo Shanshan’s son)
{Eighth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(6 months old)Luo Lianhua
[lotus blossom]
(Lan Xinyao’s daughter)
{Eighth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Goddess}
(Newborn)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A few days passed rather uneventfully, and Shen Qingqiu found himself no closer to finding a way to kill Luo Binghe despite reading through the entirety of the book several times and scouring the library for more books on Heavenly Demons.
With that avenue closed to him, he now had to figure out a way to find more books on the subject, but for now, he would just have to use his own observations.
The easiest way to accomplish that, naturally, was to observe his students and see if they ever hurt themselves, and see what had caused that.
Unfortunately, all of the little beasts seemed to be incredibly resilient, and any bumps or bruises they got healed within moments.
So for now, he was utterly out of luck.
***
One afternoon, so early in the afternoon that he had only just finished eating his lunch, the former Peak Lord was lounging in his private sitting room when Luo Binghe came up to him.
“Shizun.” The Emperor greeted with a slight but respectful bow
“Yes, your majesty?” Shen Qingqiu asked, biting his tongue as he addressed him properly
“This lord was wondering if you like to partake in an activity you used to do frequently?” Luo Binghe asked
Shen Qingqiu straightened in his seat, his eyebrow raising ever so slightly as he slowly fanned himself, “What activity would that be?”
“You used to enjoy gossiping with women in the village by our peak.” Luo Binghe answered, leaving out the fact that said women were prostitutes in a brothel and that the gossiping had led to rumors of perversion, “If it would please you, or perhaps help with your memories, I could arrange for some of my harem to spend time with you.”
The green-eyed man did not answer for several moments, seemingly deep in thought, before agreeing.
***
Roughly an hour later, Luo Binghe returned to tell Shen Qingqiu that he had prepared a gossiping space.
They went to an area of the palace where the former Peak Lord had never been, the Fragrant Pavilion, where the harem lived.
Walking into the Fragrant Pavilion, the black painted hallways gradually turned into a deep amourous red, leading into a massive room the size of a small village where there were dozens of cushions, chairs and tables and games for the members of the harem to come and lounge about and spend time together, as well as a dozen or so hallways along the walls that presumably led to the harem member’s quarters.
But the massive room was nearly empty, with only five women sitting together at one of the large tables, while the rest of the massive room lay empty.
Three of the five women Shen Qingqiu already knew: Ning Yingying, Sha Hualing, and Hua Yuelian -the Palace Mistress.
The other two were new to Shen Qingiu: the first was an older woman, not an old woman by any means, but older looking than the others at the table, with a few wrinkles starting to appear as smile lines and crows' feet, but lucious black hair styled elegantly, clad in a low-cut pale grey robe that showed off her ample cleavage and striking maroon eyes; the second was a younger looking woman, but her brown eyes looked so much older, and she was clad simply in white robes that had silver embroidery along the hems of the sleeves and neckline with her black hair in a simple up-knot.
“It is an honor to meet the shizun of my husband.” The second woman said, putting her hands together with her arms straight but bent at the elbows, bowing, “This one is Ming Yelan, a former student of Baoshen Sanren before I left the Celestial Mountain to become a wandering cultivator.”
That greatly impressed Shen Qingqiu, as he had never heard of any of the disciples of the immortal master of the Celestial Mountain ever leaving, especially since it was well known that they were forbidden from ever returning if they left.
“This one does not have nearly as impressive as a background.” The first woman said, “This one is Jin Xun’er, formerly a courtesan.”
Shen Qingqiu sat at the sixth seat at the table, “It is nice to meet you both.”
Luo Binghe smiled at the sight of his Shizun seemingly relaxing with the women, saying, “I will take my leave now. Please have fun.”
***
Despite himself, Shen Qingqiu had greatly missed his gossiping and playing games with his brothel jiejies , and so he did end up having a great time.
Though he did remember how eagerly Hua Yuelian had spoken out against him at his trial, eager to cozy up to her husband by slandering someone she had only known tangentially, and that she was now trying to get into Shen Qingqiu’s good graces as another way to cozy up to the beast, Shen Qingqiu did not really have a grudge against her as he had no relationship to her at all.
And, she did have so much good gossip not only on the other members of the harem but also on Luo Binghe himself.
“It sounds like his majesty used to be quite the adventurer.” Shen Qingqiu said, fanning himself as he spoke to the Palace Mistress
“Oh yes, sometimes we could go months at a time without seeing him , and he would return with a dozen new wives.” Hua Yuelian said, “It was only when he rescued you that he stopped.”
“Truly, just because of my presence?” Shen Qingqiu mused
Ming Yelan laughed a bit, “I would guess it was because he did not wish to shame your teachings by being so openly a vagabond.”
Ning Yingying nodded, “A-Luo has been working on governance so much more than usual because he wants to appear filial and responsible to Shizun.”
Shen Qingqiu hid a smile behind his fan, “How many wives does my disciple have?”
“I believe the last count was two thousand, nine hundred and thirty-five.” Sha Hualing stated, “But it is hard to keep track of everyone, and that number is such a mouthful that everyone just says three thousand.”
“So many.” Shen Qingqiu replied, “And he truly visits them all regularly?”
“It is supposed to be equal, but he visits favorites more than others, and some much, much less than others.” Jin Xun’er said
Hua Yuelian nodded, “I heard that some of the wives have not been visited or called upon all year.”
An idea sparked in the former Peak Lord’s head when she said that, if he could convince the beast to downsize his harem, then there would be fewer witnesses to stop him when he eventually figured out how to kill him.
The expertly fake smile he had been wearing the whole conversation became real with that thought.
Just as he was thinking that, the group of gossipers heard a woman shouting, all eyes turned towards the hallway where they saw a violet-clad woman that Shen Qingqiu instantly recognized as Qiu Haitang.
“SHEN JIU!” Qiu Haitang shouted, looking directly at Shen Qingqiu, “CEASE WHATEVER EVIL ENCHANTMENT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY HUSBAND, YOU MONSTER!”
“Enchantment?” Shen Qingqiu said, acting like he had no idea who she was
“YOU MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO HIM! TO MAKE HIM TREAT A MONSTER LIKE YOU WITH ANYTHING BESIDES TORTURE! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!” Qiu Haitang said, attempting to attack him
Shen Qingqiu did not attempt to defend himself, knowing that whatever sentimentality the beast currently had for him would end up making this work in his favor.
Before Qiu Haitang could lay a single blow on him, Sha Hualing leaped across the table and tackled his would-be attacker.
Within moments, the Demon Saintess had Qiu Haitang pinned to the ground and tied up like a hog with her feet and wrists tied together behind her back.
The shouting and sounds of the scuffle must have alerted guards, as Luo Binghe arrived a few minutes later and looked furious at the sight of Qiu Haitang.
“Shizun, are you okay?!” Luo Binghe asked, rushing to Shen Qingqiu’s side
“I am unharmed.” The former Peak Lord replied, “Though I am confused about why I have been accused of murder.”
“Lies and slander, Shizun, I will see that she is punished for this.” The Emperor of the Three Realms assured
Knowing she was screwed, Qiu Haitang shouted, “I AM NOT LYING! YOU MURDERED MY BROTHER! AFTER HE SHOWED YOU NOTHING BUT KINDNESS AND YOU BETRAYED HIM!”
“‘Kindness’ is a strange way to describe being enslaved.” Shen Qingqiu thought to himself
Or so he thought, until he saw Luo Binghe staring at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates, realizing he had said that aloud.
“You remembered something, Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked, his voice soft
Shen Qingqiu immediately played dumb, “I…I am not certain. I suddenly said that, but I am unsure why.”
Luo Binghe accepted that answer for now and went to handle his aggressive wife.
***
Luo Binghe dragged Qiu Haitang by the hair down to the Water Prison, tossing her in one of the many cells within.
“Husband! Stop!” Qiu Haitang begged, “Shen Jiu is twisting your mind! Have you forgotten all he has done!?”
The Emperor had no patience for her begging, demanding, “You never mentioned he was your brother’s slave.”
“It was not important, gege never treated him like a slave.” Qiu Haitang insisted, “He even engaged him to me! That is how well he was treated by us, and yet he killed my brother and burned down our home!”
But Luo Binghe was not listening at all to the excuses, as the context of everything had just been altered with the confirmation of slavery.
Before, he had just assumed that Shizun was of a lower class and had been elevated by his engagement to Qiu Haitang, and had bitten the hand that fed him by killing Qiu Jianluo.
Though if Shen Qingqiu had truly been Qiu Jianluo’s slave -which Qiu Haitang had just confirmed- then it did not matter what nice clothes and niceties he got; a slave was a slave.
It was obvious to Luo Binghe that the engagement had been nothing but a way to put Shen Qingqiu into a debt impossible to repay, a way to stop him from ever escaping slavery; no wonder he had resorted to murder.
Though he knew that there was still something missing, he could sense it, and clearly, Qiu Haitang was too oblivious to know what it was.
Luo Binghe looked at her with hatred, “You are no longer my wife, I banish you from my harem for attacking my Shizun. You will stay here until I let you die.”
“NO! NO! HUSBAND, NO! YOU ARE NOT THINKING CLEARLY!” Qiu Haitang begged, sobbing and screaming
Using Xin Mo, Luo Binghe sliced into the air and stepped through the rift made to return to where his Shizun was.
He found him still in the Fragrant Pavilion, Ning Yingying hugging Shizun in an attempt to comfort him.
“This lord deeply apologizes for what happened, Shizun.” Luo Binghe said as he approached them, bowing deeper than he had in nearly a decade, “This one is deeply ashamed of his former wife’s behavior.”
“Former?” Shen Qingqiu asked
“I divorced her for such disgraceful actions, though she deserves worse.” Luo Binghe replied, standing up straight
Shen Qingqiu waved his hand, as if the situation had not bothered him, “She was unsuccessful with the attempt.”
Luo Binghe nodded, knowing that was the only reason he had not killed her instantly.
Notes:
Some of y'all undoubtedly noticed the MDZS reference. But this is not a crossover, nor do I think that the MXTX worlds exist in the same world, I just headcanon that the Celestial Mountain connects the three worlds and that Baoshen Sanren had disciples from all three worlds, and when/if they leave, they return to their own world. I have literally no evidence or reason for this besides thinking it's fun.
Chapter Text
After escorting his Shizun back into his quarters, Luo Binghe made his way back into the Water Prison and into Shen Qingqiu’s former cell.
Laying on the floor where it had been left were the shards of Xuan Su.
Carefully picking up each of the shards and fragments, the Emperor of the Three Realms placed them all in a cut-proof pouch and used Xin Mo to return to his private quarters.
Setting the pouch onto a table within his quarters, he carefully reformed the sword’s shards back into its proper shape like assembling a puzzle.
This tedious task took several hours, but it did not feel as such to Luo Binghe, his labor being rewarded with the form of the shattered sword again.
Yue Qingyuan was long dead, but like all bonded swords a piece of his soul would always remain bound to the metal.
And with how close the late Sect Leader was to his Shizun, and how Shen Qingqiu’s mind had broken only after his death, the Emperor was fairly sure that this would be the best way to find more about his elusive Shizun’s past.
Using some qi, Luo Binghe ran his fingers along the metal and took hold of the soul meshed in.
***
Within moments, Luo Binghe found himself standing in the streets of a random town, similar to how the dream realm was.
And, a bit of glancing around, he found Yue Qingyuan.
The former Sect Leader was a child, maybe around ten years old at absolute most, dressed in filthy ill-fitting robes sitting against the wall of a building in the shadows of an alley.
But what truly enraptured Luo Binghe’s attention was the smaller form leaning against Yue Qingyuan, a shorter boy with messy black hair and ratty robes and the most familar green eyes.
Not only was Shen Qingqiu not a spoiled young master like he had long assumed, not only had he been a slave like he had recently discovered, but he had also been a street rat.
“Qi-ge, I’m hungry.” The young Shen Qingqiu mumbled, looking out towards the street through where Luo Binghe was standing and towards a food stall
“ Me too. ” The equally young Yue Qingyuan -Yue Qi, Luo Binghe mentyally corrected- agreed
“ Let’s go see if the Chens servants threw out anything .” The shorter child suggested
But the taller of the duo shook his head, “ Xiao-Jiu got beat last time. ”
Shen Qingqiu -Shen Jiu- rolled his eyes, “ Only because we got caught by those stupid servants last time. We can just be sneakier. ”
The scene faded away and Luo Binghe now found himself in a different street and Yue Qi and Shen Jiu were a little older, maybe twelve, still street rats which surprised Luo Binghe as he had assumed that the pair would be with the sect by now.
Instead, Yue Qi was nearly run over by the hooves of a horse rode by a richly dressed young man -somewhere between seventeen and twenty- by trying to save another street urchin.
But before the horse could, Luo Binghe watched as Shen Jiu used inherent qi to transform a scrap of metal into a blade that he then used to stab the leg of the horse.
The horse and its rider turned, the horse bucking and thrashing in pain, but the rider stayed put.
The richly dressed man roared out, “ Who did that?! Who did it?! ”
But the street urchin who Yue Qi had saved immediately pointed at Shen Jiu, “ It was him Qiu-gongzi !”
Qiu , Luo Binghe immediately realized, knowing this young man must be Qiu Jianluo.
Qiu Jianluo looked furious, grabbing Shen Jiu by the hair and dragging him away.
Yue Qi, to his credit, tried to rush after them but was quickly outpaced by the calmed horse.
But before Luo Binghe could follow after to see what happened to his Shizun, the scene faded away.
Here he saw Yue Qingyuan join Cang Qiong Sect and his time in Ling Xi Caves when he was trapped within by his shizun with only a sword after trying to leave the mountain to go save Shen Jiu.
Luo Binghe watched as Yue Qingyuan clawed at the stone until his fingers were raw, threw his sword around desperately lookin for an escape without a care for how he hurt himself; how this torture lasted an eternity as days turned into months.
With his sword fully bonded to his sword, even his life force, fed by desperation, Yue Qingyuan become the head disciple of Qiong Ding Peak by fifteen, naturally being chosen for an Immortal Alliance Confrence.
During this conference, Yue Qingyuan was wandering the forests and heard shouting and went to help, seeing two black clad figures, one in the distance.
The farther away first was an older man who was maybe in his thirties or forties but the second was Shen Jiu, surrounded by bodies of various disciples they had killed and were robbing.
This part of his Shizun’s history was utterly foreign to Luo Binghe so he just watched in shock.
Yue Qingyuan clearly had not noticed or cared about the bodies of his peers, stepping closer to Shen Qiu.
“ Stay away! ” Shen Jiu shouted at him, going to the ground and snatched an emergency firework off a body and fired it into the sky
Yue Qingyuan still walked closer and tried to say something but was interrupted by the sound of chuckling.
The older man had come closer, laughing a bit, “ My dear disciple, who is he? He’s scared you so terribly. So you do know what it is to be afraid .”
Shen Jiu quickly dropped the firework casing silently to the ground before turning, “ Shifu, I’m not afraid of him. I made a mistake just now; I wasn’t paying proper attention, which gave this lot on the ground the chance to release a firework. What I’m afraid of is that someone will show up soon! ”
The man that Shen Jiu called ‘shifu’ humphed, “ When I saw that firework, I guessed that was the case. You’ve always been quick and nimble. What happened this time?! If they were going to set off fireworks, why didn’t you chop off their hands? ”
Shen Jiu’s head lowered, acting shameful, “ It’s all this disciple’s fault. We should go at once. If those old men get here, we won’t be able to leave even if we try. ”
Yue Qingyuan blocked their exit, raising his sword, “ I can’t let you leave. ”
Shen Jiu gave him a furious look but his shifu seemed amused before scoffing, “ From Cang Qiong Mountain –and even Qiong Ding Peak. The Xuan Su Sword, Yue Qingyuan? ”
“ Shifu, since he’s from Cang Qiong Mountain, we won’t be able to kill him swiftly. It will be better for us to escape, and fast. Once everyone arrives, we’ll be finished! ” Shen Jiu urged
His shifu sneered, “ Cang Qiong Mountain may possess grand prestige, but I need not stoop so far as to fear a junior cultivator. Besides, he came seeking death himself! ”
Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu’s shifu began to fight but they seemed evenly matched, until the older man reached into his pocket, in which Shen Jiu stabbed him in the back.
With the shifu dead, Yue Qingyuan grabbed Shen Jiu’s hand and sprinted away deeper into the dense forest.
When they stopped, they both panted a bit before looking at each other.
The taller of the pair seemed excited but the shorter spoke first, furious, “ You joined Cang Qiong Mountain? ”
Upon getting no answer, Shen Jiu continued, “ You’ve become Qiong Ding Peak’s head disciple? Not bad. Why didn’t you come back to look for me? ”
“ I… ” Yue Qingyuan mumbled
But his sentence never continued and Shen Jiu lost patience, “ Why aren’t you saying anything? I’m still waiting. I’ve already waited so many years, after all. Waiting a little longer will be nothing. ”
Eventually, Yue Qingyuan seemedto find his tongue, “ Sorry. It’s Qi-ge who let you down .”
Instantly, Shen Jiu was enraged, “ Sorry, sorry, sorry…all you’ve ever known to do is say sorry. It’s utterly useless. ”
Just as all the others, this scene too faded away, and many decades had passed and Luo Binghe now found himself in the Water Prison, with Yue Qingyuan knelt by Shen Qingqiu’s unconscious form.
Luo Binghe watched as his Shizun woke and noticed Yue Qingyuan’s presence, “ How did you get in? ”
Yue Qingyuan sighed, pressing a hand to Shen Qingqiu’s twisted arm, passing qi to try and heal him, “ Stop talking. Focus. ”
Shen Qingqiu’s teeth clenched, the process of his twisted arms healing incredibly painful, “ That little bastard Luo Binghe sure has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. ”
“ Shidi, we've already come this far, so why do you still refuse to consider your wrongdoings? ” Yue Qingyuan sighed
Shen Qingqiu bitterly asked, “ What wrongdoings? Zhangmen-shixiong, please tell me, what is Luo Binghe if not a bastard? You just wait. He won’t be satisfied only taking it out on me. If, in the future, some tumultuous storm upsets the cultivation world, then the only thing I will have done wrong was fail to cut him down at the start. ”
Yue Qingyuan shook his head and asked, “ Did you really kill Liu-shidi? ”
Shen Qingqiu didn’t look at his face at all, abruptly yanked his hand out of Yue Qingyuan's grip before sitting up.
“ You repeatedly said that you’d kill him one day. But I never thought that you would actually do it. ” Yue Qingyuan softly said
“ Aren’t you thinking it now? He’s already been killed. Does Zhangmen-shixiong not think it too late to rebuke this humble Shen at this point? Or do you wish to cleanse the sect? ” Shen Qingqiu coldly replied
“ I have no right to rebuke you. ” Yue Qingyuan said
“ Then what are you trying to do?! ” Shen Qingqiu furiously asked
“ Has Shidi ever considered that, it you hadn't treated Luo Binghe like that in the beginning, everything that unfolded today never would have happened? ”
Shen Qingqiu burst into laughter, “ Why does Zhangmen-shixiong say such ludicrous things? What’s happened has happened! I’ve already ‘considered’ it hundreds and thousands of times! There is no ‘if’, no ‘in the beginning’ —there was never any chance of redemption! ”
“There was.” The Emperor said for no one, knowing he could not be heard, “Many chances, any moment of kindness would have been enough.”
Yue Qingyuan slowly raised his face, woodenly staring blankly at Shen Qingqiu, looking so browbeaten and defeated.
“ You should go. I’ll tell you this: Even if all of this could be redone from the beginning, in the end, the conclusion would remain the same. My heart is full of malice, my insides hatred and resentment. Today, Luo Binghe wishes for me to die horribly, and I only have myself to blame. ” Shen Qingqiu stated
“ Do you still hold such hatred within yourself? ” Yue Qingyuan asked, his eyes soft with pity
Shen Qinggiu laughed again, “ Only when I see other people unhappy can I be happy myself. What do you think? ”
Luo Binghe knew that to be a falsehood, as Shizun always seemed happy when Ning Yingying was badgering him with affection.
Yue Qingyuan offered Xuan Su to Shen Qingqiu, “I f you still hold such hatred, draw Xuan Su and take my life. ”
Shen Qingqiu scoffed, “ You ask me to kill you here, Sect Leader Yue? Are you unsatisfied with the crimes Luo Binghe’s already charged me with? You think them too few? Besides, who do you think you are? My hatred will be resolved as long as I kill you? I’m far beyond cure; I hate everything. Don’t blame this humble Shen for any disrespect or mockery, but if Sect Leader Yue considers himself that very cure, he thinks too highly of himself! ”
Yue Qingyuan did not withdraw his hands his courage bolstered, “ Xiao-Jiu, I- ”
“ Don't call me that! ” Shen Qingqiu snarled
Slowly, Yue Qingyuan's hands slumped, the sword lowering with them, instead going to hold Shen Qingqiu's hand again and sent more spiritual enengy, and never again opened his mouth to speak.
“ I thank Zhangmen-shixiong for his generosity. Now get lost. Never appear before me ever again. ” Shen Qingqiu said,
Yue Qingyuan put Xuan Su back on his waist, then complied with Shen Qingqiu's wish and slowly walked out.
Once the Sect Leader exited the Water Prison, the scene went black again and Luo Binghe found himself watching Yue Qingyuan nearing Huan Hua Palace to try and rescue Shen Qingqiu after receiving the box holding his legs.
And he saw himself smiling in victory, drawing a bow and arrow.
He watched as the arrow flew and hit its mark right in Yue Qingyuan’s heart.
But the Sect Leader did not fall, still running even with the arrow in his chest.
Yue Qingyuan only made it ten more steps before ten thousand more arrows followed from all the hidden archers.
***
Luo Binghe emerged from the memories, staring down at the broken shards of Xuan Su, having so many more questions than answers.
He desperately wanted to know Shizun’s side of the story, to fill in all the blanks left.
There was something major just outside his knowledge and he wanted nothing more than to know it.
But for now, he had to settle for what he had saw.
Standing up, Luo Binghe left his quarters and made his way towards the kitchens to make Shizun dinner.
As he left his room, he passed a mirror, not noticing how his hair was no longer at all straight but rather wavy with a few curls.
Notes:
The qijiu extra my beloved. And poor Bingge getting only Qi-ge's side.
Bingmeification is like 75% done lol, no more straight hair.
Chapter 8: An Exception
Notes:
Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:
Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
Qiu Haitang
(Divorced, in Water Prison)OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from traffickingJin Xun'er
Peasant turned famous courtesanMing Yelan
Former wandering cultivator, student of Baoshen SanrenBingge Spawn:
Luo Tianyu
[heavenly universe]
(Sha Hualing’s son)
{Crown Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Pureblooded Demon}
(5 1/2 years old)Luo Junhao
[handsome & heroic]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ son) {twin}
{Second Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Luo Meilin
[beautiful jade tinkling]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ daughter)
{twin}
{Second Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Lou Qingge
[named for Liu Qingge]
(Liu Mingyan’s son)
{Third Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Zihan
[refined & graceful]
(Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fourth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Shuwei
[elegant rose of the books]
(Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun’s daughter)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Third Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Haoran
[vast & dignified]
(Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fifth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Luo Qianyu
[graceful beauty in the rain]
(Qin Wanyue’s daughter)
{Fourth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 years old)Luo Ruoxi
[like morning sunlight]
(Yan Rulan’s daughter)
{Fifth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Fire Demon}
(2 1/2 years old)Luo Yichen
[also a new dawn]
(Hei Yusheng’s son)
{Sixth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 25% Demon, 25% Phoenix}
(2 years old)Luo Chengwei
[to carry on & preserve]
(Qin Wanrong’s son)
{Seventh Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(1 1/2 years old)Luo Xinyue
[joyful heart]
(Wu Xiaolian’s daughter)
{Sixth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Snake Demon}
(1 year old)Luo Yiran
[graceful as ever]
(Feng Zhiruo’s daughter)
{Seventh Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Crane Spirit}
(10 months old)Luo Mingxuan
[enlightened & noble]
(Mo Shanshan’s son)
{Eighth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(7 months old)Luo Lianhua
[lotus blossom]
(Lan Xinyao’s daughter)
{Eighth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Goddess}
(1 month old)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A week passed without much notice, as everyone had settled into a routine.
Shen Qingqiu spent most days doing one of three things: gossiping with Ning Yingying, Sha Hualing, Hua Yuelian, Jin Xun’er, and Ming Yelan; teaching his few students; or reading in his quarters searching for ways to kill the beast.
Currently, the former Peak Lord found himself doing that second thing, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his classroom with his guqin on his lap.
Sitting before him were his four students: Luo Tianyu, Luo Junhao, Luo Meilin, and Luo Qingge.
Each of his students were paying close attention to his skillful plucking of the strings so they could attempt to recreate it once he was done, unaware he was playing the most basic song in his expansive repertoire.
Also in attendance were the beast’s other children, excluding the youngest six as the former Peak Lord refused to watch infants as he was not a nursemaid.
Sitting beside him, with her little head resting against his side, was Luo Yingmei.
Shen Qingqiu was unashamed of picking favorites, just as he had openly favored the girl’s mother as Peak Lord; he thought parents and teachers who claimed not to have favorites were liars and setting the children up for failure as life always had those it favored above others.
Though, Shen Qingqiu found he didn’t mind having the toddlers with him as they didn’t seem to be causing much fuss, just watching him play the piece.
All ten children were staring at him with wide eyes, as if they were watching him hang the very stars in the sky.
Once he finished performing the beginner piece, Shen Qingqiu looked to the eldest of the children and told him to attempt to play the song.
Luo Tianyu nodded and started to clumsily play.
Shen Qingqiu internally cringed at how badly the crown prince was performing, hiding his expression behind his fan immediately, but as the point of the lesson was to see if they knew the strings and could identify the different strings by sound alone he said nothing.
While mentally grading the eldest prince’s work, Shen Qingqiu ran the porcelain fingers of his free hand along Luo Yingmei’s silky wavy hair, getting the stray strands out of her face.
He could not help favoring the young girl when she looked so much like her mother, and how warm his cold dead heart felt when she called him ‘ lao ye ’.
Another warmth touched his other side, and Shen Qingqiu noticed that the youngest of the children in attendance, Luo Ruoxi -who was nearly three years old-, had laid her head on his thigh.
Using a bit of qi to hold his fan in place, the former Peak Lord used his now free hand to pat the little girl’s head, dispelling the light smoke imitating off her and exposing her nub-like horns.
The rest of the young children that were not his students, the ‘triplets’ and Luo Qianyu, seemed to take him patting Luo Ruoxi’s hair instead of rebuking her affections was an invitation to also bog him with attention.
Luo Qianyu immediately crawled into his lap while the ‘triplets’ hugged his back and the back of his neck.
Shen Qingqiu scoffed at the blatant disrespect for his station and their lack of decorum, but did not tell them to stop, just acting unbothered and continuing the lesson.
“Little beasts..the whole lot of you.” Shen Qingqiu said, though his tone was more fond than annoyed and the children just laughed in reply like they found his inconvenience hilarious
Behind him, out of sight, Luo Binghe had walked into the classroom just moments before, his red eyes wide.
Luo Tianyu finished his song around that time, so Shen Qingqiu told him, “You must be more mindful of the strings, you consistently plucked the back two strings when trying to play the middle one.”
“Yes, shizun.” The Crown Prince replied
It was only then that Luo Binghe was noticed and he was greeted by all his offspring, but none of the ones hugging Shen Qingqiu moved.
“What brings you to this humble teacher’s classroom, your majesty?” Shen Qingqiu asked, making no move to shake off the six toddlers hugging and/or cuddling him
“Mere curiosity.” Luo Binghe replied, a smile on his lips
Shen Qingqiu seemed amused by that, “A mere music lesson could drag you away from ruling your empire?”
Luo Binghe chuckled slightly, his right arm bending to rub the back of his own neck, “Guilty as charged, shizun.”
“I was hoping to see you today.” Shen Qingqiu added, lowing his fan via qi since his hands were still busy
The Emperor of the Three Realms perked right up at that, “You did, shizun?”
“Indeed, let’s speak in my quarters.” Shen Qingqiu replied, starting to stand
Though he did face significant resistance as the children did not wish to let go of him, but ultimately did.
***
His quarters were just barely down the hallway, and Shen Qingqiu told the children to go play outside in his private garden while he spoke with their father.
Once the ten of them were outside, Shen Qingqiu sat on a chaise and Luo Binghe sat across from him at a chair.
“Is something the matter, shizun?” Luo Binghe inquired
“Nothing is wrong, but there is a matter that has been concerning me.” Shen Qingqiu began, “I was told that you have two thousand, nine hundred and thirty-four wives. Is that correct?”
“It is, shizun.”
“I must admit my confusion about such a number, I am well aware that kings and emperors through time have substantial harems but to have nearly three thousand brides…it must be a logistical nightmare.”
“It can be.”
“I was also told that you have not visited some of your wives in well over a year.”
“I have been amiss of my marital duties to some of them.”
“Which proves my point.”
“This lord would be grateful for shizun’s advice.”
“Downsize your harem substantially. Anyone you have not slept with in over six months should be sent home with a divorce settlement and your blessing to remarry -including a dowry for said new husband when they marry.”
Luo Binghe did the mentally math quickly, “That would be about a third of them.”
“Additionally, you should divorce any who you have only slept with a handful of times.”
“That would be another few hundred.”
“Ideally, the harem should not exceed one thousand.” Shen Qingqiu stated, “And of those that remain should be organized into a proper hierarchy.”
“I thought it best to avoid a ranking to prevent sqaubbling.”
“Making all of them rankless, or rather sharing an unspoken rank, is leading to more drama, your majesty. A goddess, a princess and a farmer’s daughter should not be on equal standing.” Shen Qingqiu stated, “Traditionally, an imperial harem has roughly six ranks: empress, noble consort, consort, concubine, noble ladies and attendants. Since you seem to not wish for an empress, I believe just three ranks would suit your needs: noble consort, consort and concubine. The noble consorts can be the mothers of your children, consort for the noble women, cultivators and goddesses, and concubine for everyone else.”
Luo Binghe seemed to consider his words, being deep in thought until eventually saying, “Shizun is most wise. This lord will greatly ponder shizun’s suggestion.”
“Good.” Shen Qingqiu said, snapping his fan open with a flick of a gold-plated wrist, lightly fanning himself
Luo Binghe glanced towards the window, seeing his children running around and playing together for the first time, “Shizun must feel pride to have accomplished uniting the children.”
Shen Qingqiu looked outside as well, “It seems so.”
***
By the weeks end, the harem was informed of the Emperor’s wish to downsize.
Those being divorced were informed privately to avoid embarrassment and given a very generous amount of gold and a written decree granting them their now ex-husband’s blessing to remarry as well as a promise of a dowry payment if they chose to remarry.
The once massive harem of two thousand, nine hundred and thirty-four was down to nine hundred and eighty-six.
And of those that remained, all were now a bit on edge as they also worried about being dismissed as well.
But of those nine hundred and eighty-six: sixteen of them were now Noble Consorts, three hundred were Consorts and the remaining six hundred and seventy were concubines.
Of the sixteen Noble Consorts, four of them retained the special titles they already had: Sha Hualing was still the Second General that worked with Mobei-Jun to lead the armies, Liu Mingyan was still the Head of the Harem and managing the squabbles among them, Hua Yuelian was still the Palace Mistress responsible for ordering supplies and organizing events held in the palace, and Ning Yingying would forever be the very First Wife.
Shen Qingqiu, however, was very satisfied with how he had eliminated roughly two-thirds of the harem for the sake of his own plans; though, with how easily the beast had caved to his whims it did make him wonder what other requests he could make before the beast put his foot down.
On the other hand, Luo Binghe thought his own plans were going perfectly and assumed shizun wanting to trim down the harem was a sign that his feelings were slowly being reciprocated and was trying to get rid of competition for his affections.
Though, the Emperor of the Three Realms had an insatiable desire to answer the questions brought forth by his viewing of Yue Qingyuan’s memories, and he had tasked Meng Mo with searching for anyway to see shizun’s perspective of the events.
The dream demon had so far come up with nothing, just as he had failed with getting into Shen Qingqiu’s mind at all during his imprisonment, but Luo Binghe refused to give up hope.
Because despite finally having a kinder shizun, he still desperately wanted to know what had happened in the past that prevented his shizun from being like that kind shizun he had met in that other world.
Notes:
he seems to not want an empress, says the unknowing empress-to-be.
shen jiu is such a step-milf, i love him.
and ofc bingge downsized his harem because shizun said so. he would have gotten rid of the entire harem is shizun told him to.
bingmeification is like 85%, everyone in confused by why the emperor has curly wavy hair when it was straight a few months ago.
Chapter 9: Serpents Slithering
Notes:
Bingge Harem (So Far):
Canon Characters:
Ning Yingying (First Wife)
Sha Hualing (General)
Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress
Qin Wanyue
Qin Wanrong
Liu Mingyan (Head of Harem)
Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun
Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun
Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun
Qiu Haitang
(Divorced, in Water Prison)OCs:
Yan Rulan
Fire Demon from a disgraced clanHei Yusheng
Half-demon and half-phoenix
Saved Bingge when he first woke up in the Endless AbyssWu Xiaolian
Snake Demon, distant relation to Zhuzhi-lang
Bingge met her when searching for rumors about Tianlang-JunFeng Zhiruo
Crane SpiritMo Shanshan
Temple Scribe for minor sect
Met Bingge when he was searching for Silver Dragon Soul-Locking ChainLan Xinyao
Minor Healing GoddessSu Zhaoying
Huli Jing/Fox Spirit
Bingge saved her from traffickingJin Xun'er
Peasant turned famous courtesanMing Yelan
Former wandering cultivator, student of Baoshen SanrenBingge Spawn:
Luo Tianyu
[heavenly universe]
(Sha Hualing’s son)
{Crown Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Pureblooded Demon}
(6 years old)Luo Junhao
[handsome & heroic]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ son) {twin}
{Second Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 1/2 years old)Luo Meilin
[beautiful jade tinkling]
(Hua Yuelian/Little Palace Mistress’ daughter)
{twin}
{Second Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 1/2 years old)Lou Qingge
[named for Liu Qingge]
(Liu Mingyan’s son)
{Third Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(5 years old)Luo Zihan
[refined & graceful]
(Zhang Ruyin/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fourth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Shuwei
[elegant rose of the books]
(Chen Shuhua/Taoist Nun’s daughter)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Third Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Haoran
[vast & dignified]
(Liu Yuyan/Taoist Nun’s son)
{tripletish/conceived&born same day}
{Fifth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 1/2 years old)Luo Yingmei
[glittering plum blossom]
(Ning Yingying’s daughter)
{First Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(4 years old)Luo Qianyu
[graceful beauty in the rain]
(Qin Wanyue’s daughter)
{Fourth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(3 1/2 years old)Luo Ruoxi
[like morning sunlight]
(Yan Rulan’s daughter)
{Fifth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Fire Demon}
(3 years old)Luo Yichen
[also a new dawn]
(Hei Yusheng’s son)
{Sixth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 25% Demon, 25% Phoenix}
(2 1/2 years old)Luo Chengwei
[to carry on & preserve]
(Qin Wanrong’s son)
{Seventh Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(2 years old)Luo Xinyue
[joyful heart]
(Wu Xiaolian’s daughter)
{Sixth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Snake Demon}
(1 1/2 year old)Luo Yiran
[graceful as ever]
(Feng Zhiruo’s daughter)
{Seventh Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Crane Spirit}
(1 year old)Luo Mingxuan
[enlightened & noble]
(Mo Shanshan’s son)
{Eighth Prince}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 75% Human}
(10 months old)Luo Lianhua
[lotus blossom]
(Lan Xinyao’s daughter)
{Eighth Princess}
{25% Heavenly Demon, 25% Human, 50% Goddess}
(3 months old)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Two months passed swiftly and Shen Qingqiu found himself no closer to finding a way to kill the beast.
Though, not that he would ever admit it, he had not exactly spent much time recently looking for any tomes that may have a way; he had been far too busy between teaching his students, spending time with Ning Yingying and Luo Yingmei, gossiping with his new ‘friends’ (or harem meimeis, he occassionaly thought of them, which always made him miss his brothel jiejies), and being harassed -read: badgered with attention- by the rest of the little beasts who seemed to think him letting them join one lesson now meant they could bother him all the time.
And that did not even include the beast himself, Luo Binghe, serving him his every meal and snacks and tea throughout the day like the former Peak Lord was not an expert in inedia; and recently he had started coming to see him even more seeking advice on running his empire -eating up hours at a time, how was he ever supposed to find time to research.
Of course, Shen Qingqiu was still acting as if everything was going exactly as planned, he would never ever admit that he was growing satisfied with the way his life was currently.
***
Guests from all over the empire arrived in the days that followed, all here to celebrate the Fifth Year Anniversary of the Merging of the Three Realms as well as the Tenth Year Annivarsary of Luo Binghe being Emperor of the Demon Realm.
The entire palace was lavishly decorated and there was plenty of space for all the guests to stay, but Shen Qingqiu began hearing rumors of a special guest possibly being in attendance and Shen Qingqiu wished to find out who.
***
By the time the celebration began, the Peak Lord was yet to hear anyone special be announced or flocked about, so his question remained unanswered and the rumor might just be a rumor.
The feast was undisputedly lavish, filled with tantalizing aromas of roasted and stewed meats of seemingly a thousand varieties, more side dishes than a stomach could possibly try, utterly decadent desserts and velvety wines and fragrant liquors from all over the realms.
(The wine Shen Qingqiu was currently drinking was by far the best he had ever sampled before: a deep red wine that tasted of tart cherries with faint notes of chocolate that he was told was made in the Celestial Realm.)
Naturally, the former Peak Lord found himself sat directly beside Luo Binghe at the celebration, since he was his official unofficial ‘closest advisor’ and Shizun.
Which meant he just sipped at his wine and watched as all the guests at some point came over almost like a parade to offer their sovereign congratulations and offer him various gifts that started to pile up in a mockery of a mountain behind them.
As he watched, Shen Qingqiu felt a little hand touch his shoulder and turned, seeing Luo Yingmei had snuck away from the nannies watching the children across the room where all the heirs were sat with the children of the guests.
“Hi, lao ye.” Luo Yingmei giggled
“Did you sneak your way over here, Ying-er?” He asked her, amusement in his tone even though he already knew she had
She nodded her head, still all giggly, “I was sneaky! I wanted to sit with baba and lao ye.”
Shen Qingqiu decided to allow her to for now, letting her climb onto his lap like she tended to do.
“What lao ye drinking?” The four year old asked
“Wine.” He replied simply
“Can Ying-er try?” The little girl asked
The former Peak Lord pondered it: at Cang Qiong Mountain they had allowed the disciples very watered wine with dinner while the older disciples and adults had normal wine, and the youngest disciples were roughly eight years old and she was half their age.
So, Shen Qingqiu reached for his nearly full water cup that was beside his wine chalice and poured in a splash -little more than a few drops- of his wine into it and mixed it with a chopstick, letting her drink that.
Cheerful to be allowed, Luo Yingmei happily took the water glass and began to drink her ‘wine’.
After her first big gulp, she immediately scrunched her face and stuck out her tongue, “Sour!”
“That is why wine is for adults.” He replied, offering her a piece of meat off his plate to rid herself of the taste
Once freed from the sour taste, Luo Yingmei wiggled off his lap and went back over to the children’s table, disappointed that the adults’ food was not better like she had imagined.
With his favorite ‘student’ -his granddaughter, his heart said but his mind denied, just as he never mentally acknowledged Ning Yingying as his heart’s daughter- back to her own seat, Shen Qingqiu turned his attention back to whoever the beast was talking to now, gathering information.
Apparently, the beast was currently speaking with the father of a former harem member who had been divorced, and said father was greatly offended that his daughter -a princess, apparently- had been cast aside.
“Your daughter received a lofty settlement, permission to remarry and a promise from the Emperor that he would pay her dowry befitting her station.” Shen Qingqiu told the man, pulling his fan from his sleeve and opening it with a flick, “What else could you want?”
The man sputtered, clearly shocked to be spoken to like that -clearly unused to not getting his way like all the spoiled nobles Shen Qingqiu despised, “Who are you?”
Shen Qingqiu was about to answer with a sharp answer, but Luo Binghe beat him to it, “He is my chief advisor and you will honor him with respect or lose your tongue.”
The former Peak Lord was very pleased with that answer so he did not add anything, just enjoying the shocked expression that good-for-nothing nobleman made.
When he did not leave, Shen Qingqiu laughed a bit, “Skitter off now, you are wasting the Emperor’s time.”
That made the man walk away.
***
The celebration continued and eventually performers came out to entertain the massive crowd, with some play that Shen Qingqiu was barely paying attention too.
Instead he was watching the crowd, looking for anyone suspicious or could be this so called ‘special guest’.
Occasionally he would glance back to the play, especially when the troupe of actors would use effects like fire and water and winds.
One of the actors began to string his bow, pulling the arrow back and getting it into an apple between another actor’s teeth without harming him.
The crowd gasped and cheered, but as the actor began to do another trick, he spun around and pointed his bow directly towards Shen Qingqiu.
The arrow flew directly towards Shen Qingqiu’s face with qi assisted speed; Shen Qingqiu tried to get out of the way and Luo Binghe immediately moved to protect him, but the one who stopped the arrow was someone else completely.
A man clad in green and brown robes, with messy black hair, green scales along his face and snakes around his neck and wrists grabbed the arrow midflight.
Mobei-Jun used his own powers to freeze the attempted-assassin and the rest of his troupe in place.
Luo Binghe had Xin Mo unsheathed, holding the legendary blade while standing protectively in front of Shen Qingqiu, looking at this unknown savior, “Who are you?”
“This one is called Zhuzhi-lang, your majesty.” The man said, his green zuiyin and scales glittering in the lantern-light, “My mother was Tianrui-ji and my uncle is Tianlang-jun, your father.”
Both Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe noticed the use of ‘is’ in his sentence, meaning that this man’s uncle was still alive.
Luo Binghe went closer, reseathing Xin Mo, clasping Zhuzhi-lang on the shoulder, “Then I welcome you, cousin. Let’s speak privately shortly.”
Zhuzhi-lang nodded, and Luo Binghe returned to Shen Qingqiu next, “Are you unharmed, Shizun?”
“I am fine.” Shen Qingqiu replied, beginning to stand
But, as he stood, the former Peak Lord stumbled and nearly collapsed if not for the Emperor grabbing his arm.
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe repeated, greatly concerned
“I am fine.” Shen Qingqiu repeated, starting to cough
Blood dripped down his chin from the force of the cough and he fully collapsed this time, Luo Binghe slowing his fall.
“Shizun!” The Emperor of the Three Realms exclaimed
Shen Qingqiu was unconscious before he hit the floor and foam began to spill from his mouth, his entire body beginning to twitch: he was poisoned.
Ning Yingying cried out from her seat among the rest of the harem, getting up and rushing over, “SHIZUN!”
Luo Binghe tilted Shen Qingqiu’s head so he did not asphyxiate on the bloody foam, immediately using his blood mites to try and end the seizure and counteract the poison.
As soon as the blood mites had Shen Qingqiu stablized, not cured but no longer in immediate danger, Luo Binghe ordered his generals to not let anyone in or out of the palace until he found whoever poisoned his Shizun.
Both Mobei-Jun and Sha Hualing immediately relayed his command to the guards and within half an hour the entire palace was on lockdown.
Luo Binghe carried his shizun bridal style in his arms, carrying him back to his quarters while simultaneously using his bloodmites to try and flush the poison from his sytem fully.
Two assassination attempts on his Shizun’s life in one night utterly infuriated him, and he would not rest until he found the culprits -he already knew the actor-assassin was just a hired killed and not the mastermind.
It took several hours of utter focus and careful management of his blood mites, but Luo Binghe succeeded in curing Shen Qingqiu.
When it was done, a voice spoke in the Emperor’s head, a voice he knew well as Meng Mo’s, “His guard is down, you should be able to look in his head now.”
Luo Binghe froze when he heard the Dream Demon say that, looking down at his Shizun’s sleeping form.
He wanted nothing more than to look into Shizun’s memories now, see if they even still existed after his amnesia, but he also needed to figure out who had tried to kill his Shizun.
“Keep him in deep sleep until I return.” Luo Binghe mentally told the older demon
The Emperor grabbed his Shizun’s porcelain hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, “This lord will be back soon Shizun.”
With that, he left the room and had guards at every entrance of Shen Qingqiu’s quarters.
***
His first stop was the Water Prison, where Mobei-Jun had brought the troupe of actors to be interrogated.
The First General was already there, freezing the actor’s limbs so that they would become more and more crippled the longer they did not answer.
Luo Binghe did not have any patience currently, solving this plot was keeping him from his Shizun, so he pulled Xin Mo from its sheath and placed it against the actor who had tried to shoot his Shizun’s neck, “Who hired you?”
Perhaps it was the look of pure fury on the Emperor’s face, or perhaps it was the feeling of his anger being radiated off the legendary parasitic blade, but the previously tight-lipped actor turned hitman panickedly replied, “I don’t know! He never gave his name!”
“Did you see his face?” Luo Binghe asked, starting to dig the blade against the crook of the actor’s neck
“I did! I did!”
“Was he here tonight?”
“Yes!”
Putting his blade away, the Emperor of the Three Realms grabbed the actor by his hair and yanked him towards the exit of the prison, not caring about the resulting snap of ice that came, separating the actor’s feet -still frozen to the floor- from his legs.
All of the guests were still kept corralled by the guards in the massive dining room, and Luo Binghe dropped the actor -who was whimpering pathetically in pain and bleeding heavily from his leg stumps- to the group, “Who was it?”
The bleeding, whimpering man looked out into the crowd, pointing at one man that Binghe recognized from earlier -the one who was mad about his daughter being divorced.
The accused man immediately tried to deny it, but the guards had already seized him.
Luo Binghe then stabbed the would-be assassin of an actor in the head with Xin Mo.
With the first assassination attempt solved, he then had to figure out how his shizun was poisoned.
He went back over to where he and Shen Qingqiu had been seated, picking up the wine chalice and sniffing it, instantly, he knew the poison was in it; he had been served the same wine and his own had not been as bitter smelling.
But, the servant that had poured their wine had done their chalices one after the other and his glass had not been poisoned -he would have known so instantly- which meant the poison had not been in the wine directly, but in the chalice.
So he had the guards collect all the servants who had set out the diningware for the feast.
When they were brought before im, he immediately demanded then to tell him who set the head of the table where he and his chief advisor had been seated.
At first all of the servants stayed silent, but when he threatened to start killing them one-by-one until he had an answer, they quickly started turning on each other.
Within moments he had his answer, it was one of the newer maids.
The maid dropped to her knees and sobbed pathetically at him, “Your majesty, please, I did not know it was poison, I swear! She told me it would just cause indigestion!”
Luo Binghe grabbed her by the wrist and could tell by her heartbeat that she was being truthful, but that did not matter to him because she had willingly sought to harm his shizun even if she had not known how serious it was.
“Who is ‘she’?” He demanded to know
The maid continued sobbing, but managed to say, “Noble Consort Liu Mingyan, your majesty.”
In the crowd, among the rest of the children, Lou Qingge looked at his mother with pure shock, “You tried to kill Shizun, mama?”
Liu Mingyan said nothing in her own defense, because it was true and she knew being caught would be a death sentence.
Guards quickly arrested both her and her maid accomplice to the Water Prison.
With the mysteries solved, Luo Binghe quickly made his way back towards his Shizun’s quarters.
Notes:
I think that the Heavenly Demons Emperor's children were all named "Tian"something-jun or -ji, but descendants of those not the emperor got different names, hence Tianlang-jun naming Zhuzhi-lang without the "Tian". And obviously, Luo Binghe's washerwoman mother could not possibly know that, and by the time Luo Binghe became emperor, he had no connection to his paternal family and did not take a new name nor did he continue that tradition with his own children, and instead continued using the name the mother he knew gave him.
And of course Bingge solved the plot right away, even when Mobei-Jun's interrogations failed, the stallion protagonist is supposed to breeze through any problem in Master Airplane's world. It was super easy for him, barely an inconvenience.
Chapter 10: Look at the Way You Were Raised, No One Would be Normal After That
Notes:
None of the kids or harem appear this chapter so I'm not listing them.
TRIGGER WARNING: NON-GRAPHIC PAST RAPE, it's not Bingjiu, it's Qiu Jianluo being the actual worst person.
The title comes from that one TikTok audio because it is so Shen Jiu coded.
Enjoy the longest chapter yet.
Chapter Text
As soon as the would-be assassins were dealt with, Luo Binghe rushed back to his Shizun’s quarters to see his memories at long last.
Seconds after he shut the door behind him, the Emperor heard Meng Mo’s voice in his mind, “ He is still in deep sleep, the deepest he has been in since you have had me looking for a way into his head, you will be able to view his memories with ease. This one must warn you, you will not like what you will find. ”
“Did you look?” Luo Binghe asked, his anger starting to stir
“ This one did not, but I did catch a glance by accident while keeping him asleep. ” Meng Mo immediately defended
“Leave me then, I will look in his mind alone. Just keep him asleep while this lord looks.” The Heavenly Demon ordered
Luo Binghe sat on the edge of the bed, taking Shen Qingqiu’s porcelain hand in his own, closing his eyes as he began to search his mind.
***
As soon as he entered Shen Qingqiu’s memories, Luo Binghe knew that it was different than his viewing of Yue Qingyuan’s memories: this time he was not an invisible bystander, but instead he was looking through his Shizun’s eyes.
He watched as Shen Qingqiu -or rather, Shen Jiu- dug through the trash behind a large home, looking for anything edible to fill his achingly empty belly.
There was nothing but animal bones and rotten fish, leaking juices onto everything else, but Shen Jiu found a half-moldy radish and started to shove it into the pocket of his tattered robe.
Just as he was beginning to leave, Shen Jiu was noticed by servants who tried throwing the contents of waste basins at him but he managed to dodge it and ran off.
Shen Jiu ran through the maze-like streets of the city, until eventually he turned into a tiny ally where nine other children were waiting: the oldest being Yue Qi.
“Did you find anything, Jiu-ge?” The youngest looking of the group asked
He nodded and pulled the half-moldy radish from his pocket.
“Today is a good day then, we all found something.” Yue Qi said, trying to cheer everyone up
One of the children produced a broken knife to cut off the rotten part of the radish and the ten street rats began to eat together and talk about where they had found food and who to avoid.
While the streetrats ate, Luo Binghe occasionally heard them say each other’s names: Wang Yi , Zhao Er , Chen San , He Si , Gao Wu , Xu Liu , Huang Ba , and Yang Shi .
And when added with Shen Jiu and Yue Qi , it painted a very dark picture for the Emperor; the group of children did not have names, they had surnames and numbers.
It did not look like that they were numbered by age, as Yue Qi was the oldest of the bunch and was numbered ‘seven’ while the youngest looking had been ‘eight’, so it had to be in order of when they had been enslaved prior to being streetrats.
Time seemed to fast forward as the group of ten began to age and one by one all the children died from starvation, sickness, being beaten, or other tragic accidents or were otherwise sold until the only ones left were Shen Jiu and Yue Qi.
Before long, Luo Binghe witnessed the scene he had already seen from Yue Qi’s perspective, seeing when Qiu Jianluo dragged Shen Jiu away and the world went black.
***
When Luo Binghe was able to see again, he was watching still through Shen Jiu’s eyes as a violet-clad man he knew was Qiu Jianluo looked at him with a sadistic expression, their surroundings being a lavish manor.
Suddenly, he slapped Shen Jiu in the face, and then again.
But Shen Jiu did not retaliate, did not spit or curse, just hung his face and let himself be slapped over and over again until Qiu Jianluo was bored of it and his face was all red.
Qiu Jianluo gripped Shen Jiu by the chin, looking over the bruises already starting to blossom, “Tell my sister you fell down the stairs if she asks.”
Shen Jiu nodded and said nothing.
Luo Binghe was in a state of utter shock, he had never seen his Shizun seem this defeated and browbeaten.
Qiu Jianluo then dropped Shen Jiu’s face and pushed him onto the floor, starting to kick at his sides while laughing about it.
Groans of pain escaped Shen Jiu’s lips but he did not scream or cry, like he had grown numb to it a long time ago.
A wicked glint appeared in Qiu Jianluo’s eye and he grabbed Shen Jiu by the hair and tossed him onto a table, hiking up his robes and ripping off his undergarments to expose his most intimate area.
Luo Binghe had no choice but watch through Shen Jiu’s eyes, his vision blurred by tears, as he was violated by this monster.
To his added horror, he noticed the background shift and change, that Qiu Jianluo’s clothing and hairstyles changed, showing that his shizun had been violated by this creature dozens of times.
Time sped up and on one occasion of the monster in human skin that was Qiu Jianluo was raping Shen Jiu and mentioned saying he wanted to father a child on him was what finally made Shen Jiu snap.
The fifteen year old slave, in a burst of instinctive spiritual energy -demonic energy, Luo Binghe noted- , slashed his nails along Qiu Jianluo’s neck like a tiger’s claws; blood burst forth like a waterfall and death came quickly.
Still incensed, Shen Jiu took Qiu Jianluo’s sword and killed every man -noble, servant and slave alike- and left only the women behind before setting the manor ablaze.
***
Shortly after escaping the blaze of Qiu Manor, mere steps outside, Shen Jiu was found by Wu Yanzi.
Luo Binghe watched as Wu Yanzi could sense Shen Qingqiu’s inheitant skill with demonic cultivation and decided to take him as a disciple.
For a year, Wu Yanzi taught Shen Jiu demonic cultivation, assassination, and how to craft cursed talismans.
But, within a few days of taking Shen Jiu in, the rogue cultivator made it known that his teachings were not free.
The price for this knowledge was simple yet extreme: his lifelong obedience.
If Wu Yanzi said jump, Shen Jiu had to jump; if Wu Yanzi said to kill someone, then Shen Jiu killed them.
And for that entire year, that was exactly how it worked.
Together, the master and disciple pair killed, tricked, scam and stole whatever Wu Yanzi pleased.
It ended with Yue Qi and Shen Jiu’s reunion that Luo Binghe had seen before, where Shen Jiu had betrayed his master to save Yue Qi’s life.
***
Decades went by quickly, of how Shen Jiu joined the sect, quickly became head disciple and was given the name Shen Qingqiu and ultimately became Peak Lord
And one day, all of the Peak Lords gathered to choose new disciples from the submitted lot, and Luo Binghe saw his younger self among them.
Ning Yingying was with Shizun, holding his hand and telling him that she wanted a new Shidi or Shimei like a spoiled daughter requesting a new sibling.
Shen Qingqiu let go of her hands and told her to go play while he picked one out, and naturally she obeyed him and went to collect flowers nearby.
And because he was seeing through his Shizun’s eyes, he could tell that Shen Qingqiu originally had his eye on taking Liu Mingyan -partially to spite Liu Qingge, partially because he found girls to be better students- but Qi Qingqi quickly claimed her first.
Shen Qingqiu looked at the rest of the potential disciples, looking for the most tolerable one as only boys remained, when Liu Qingge arrived.
“Excellent timing, Liu-shidi.” Yue Qingyuan greeted with a smile, “Why not take a look and see who's best?”
Liu Qingge glanced to the group of potential disciples who were all furiously digging holes, pointing at the one holding Lou Binghe “Talent-wise, him.”
“Does Liu-shidi want him?” Yue Qingyuan asked
“Those who wish to come to me will come themselves.” The Bai Zhan Peak Lord replied
Shen Qingqiu said, snapping his fan open with one fluid movement, “Good talent doesn't guarantee success.”
Liu Qingge quickly shot ack with the hints of a smirk, “But certainly more success than a nobody who only began proper cultivation at age sixteen.”
That was a low blow, Luo Binghe immediately noted, and it made him want to strangle the man for speaking so about his Shizun but alas he had been dead over a decade.
“Liu-shidi.” Yue Qingyuan sighed, his tone stern
Liu Qingge turned to leave, “I'm going to practice.”
“Liu-shidi isn't good with words.” Yue Qingyuan apologized in a resigned tone, “You've always known this, so you must not mind him.”
Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes and was about to make a sarcastic comment when Ning Yingying returned to him, flowers tied into her hair.
“Shizun, Shizun,” She giggled, hugging her arms tight around Shen Qingqiu’s waist, “Will Yingying get a shimei or a shidi?”
When Shen Qingqiu looked at her, his face relaxed the way it always did when he saw her, “Would Ying-er like a shidi?”
Ning Yingying nodded several times, so Shen Qingqiu looked to the hole Luo Binghe was digging, “I want that child.”
Yue Qingyuan was initially shocked but quickly allowed it and Ning Yingying giggled and rushed over to the hole to collect her new shidi.
Luo Binghe watched as his past self followed Ning Yingying until they arrived at Qing Jing Peak's Bamboo House, knowing what was to come, watching as Shen Qingqiu sat at the seat where he had always had his tea.
Shizun quickly sent Ning Yingying away with an excuse and Ming Fan quickly arrived and stood beside him, saying, “Starting from today, you will stay on Qing Jing Peak.”
The past Luo Binghe's face was flushed red with joy, kneeling to bow, and cheerfully saying, “Disciple Luo Binghe greets Shizun!”
Luo Binghe could feel the corner of Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitch, and he lowered the teacup from his lips, asking, “Tell me, why did you come to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect?”
The past Luo Binghe nervously replied with his practised answer, “This disciple has always admired the many immortal masters on the mountain, their persons and demeanors both. If he can enter the sect and find success in his learning, this disciple's mother in heaven will be able to find peace.”
Shen Qingqiu knew this was an polished and perfected answer that Luo Binghe had devised, so he asked, “You had a mother? What was your mother like?”
The young Luo Binghe smiled brightly, his eyes full of happiness tinged with grief, “Mother was the kindest person in all the world to me.”
Luo Binghe wanted to kick his past self for that answer after all he had seen, and he could feel the envy seeping off his Shizun like waves.
But that was not it, there was something else in the undercurrents of his envy, something that Shen Qingqiu clearly did not even notice in his memories: his own natural demonic cultivation picked up on Luo Binghe’s locked-away demonic nature and was naturally aggravated by it.
Simply put, just being in Luo Binghe’s presence was unconsciously activating his worst emotions.
Luo Binghe did not know whether to laugh or cry, he had finally found it.
Why he did not have a kind Shizun of his own growing up: it was his own fault.
Somehow that pathetic Luo Binghe he had met in the other world and fought and lost to somehow had not triggered the latent demonic energy in Shizun’s core like he had.
Shen Qingqiu stiffened and his tone was cold, “Indeed, you're at the best age for cultivating.”
Shizun stood and walked over to Luo Binghe, his steps measured and he tossed the lukewarm tea in his hand, cup and lid and all, onto his new disciple and turned and walked away without a second glance.
***
Time fast forwarded after that, the days monotonous as daily life occurred.
And Luo Binghe saw when Shizun had gone into seclusion in the caves.
He mediated for years, and as he came out of it he quickly found he was not alone and was attacked by Liu Qingge who was in the midst of a qi deviation.
Liu Qingge was incensed, little more than a feral animal, and Shen Qingqiu had no choice but to defend himself.
And as he weilded his blade in self-defnse, one unlucky slash was too deep and Liu Qingge bled out before Shen Qingqiu could fully comprehend what had happened.
This was not a cold blooded calculated murder like Liu Mingyan always claimed it was, but a frantic act of self-protection against a man who was called a ‘War God’.
***
Time skipped again, and Luo Binghe found himself watching as Shzun laid on the floor of his cell in the Water Prison.
With his remaining eye, Shen Qingqiu stared at the cell’s entrance, staring at it for an unknown number of days until Luo Binghe finally returned.
Luo Binghe watched as the past version of himself stepped over the hardened, blackened bloodstains on the ground, charmingly informing his Shizun, “Sect Leader Yue kept the appointment, as expected. I am truly grateful to that tactful yet sorrowful letter of blood Shizun wrote. Otherwise this disciple could never have succeeded so easily. Originally, this disciple wanted to bring Sect Leader Yue’s body back to show Shizun, but the arrows had been drenched in a rare poison. When he got close and touched them, even slightly, Sect Leader Yue just...alas, I could only retrieve his sword; let's call it a memento for Shizun.”
“Luo Binghe was lying. Luo Binghe was a shameless, treacherous little liar who spoke only falsehoods. His flagrant lies were uncountable. So this time, too, he had to be conniving away with some plot or scheme with which to deceive others.” Shen Qingqiu thought, hearing his own heart beat racing in his head
The not-so distant past Luo Binghe sat down on a chair off to the side, scraping at the leaves drifting within his steaming cup of tea and commented, “Heroes and famed swords come in pairs. Xuan Su is indeed an excellent blade, worthy of Sect Leader Yue. However, there's something even more wondrous about that sword. Sect Leader Yue’s cultivation has truly opened my eyes. While Shizan is enjoying his remaining days here, if you're bored with nothing to do, you can thoroughly ponder it. It is truly very interesting.”
Shen Qingqiu did not understand; in their last meeting with each other, he had done his utmost to be callous, cruel, and sarcastic.
He had been uncertain if that letter of blood would call him here as no normal, sane person would step into such a blatant, undisguised trap.
“I thought you weren't coming.” Shen Qingqiu thought
The past version of Luo Binghe smiled brightly, “Ah, right. Though Shizun’s letter of blood was awfully heart-wrenching, it was a bit sloppy and half-hearted. After all, it had been perfunctorily written for this disciple while under great duress. This disciple understands. Therefore, in order to express your sincerity, I had two other things specially sent with it.”
Shen Qingqiu understood: the beast had sent his two severed legs.
Oh the utter irony; once, he had waited days and nights for Qi-ge, and he had not come, and now, when he had never thought that he would, he just had to.
Shizun began to smile coldly, “Ha. Ha ha. Yue Qingyuan, ah, Yue Qingyuan.”
Luo Binghe watched as his past self became angry, “What are you smiling about?”
Shen Qingqiu ignored him but continued to laugh.
“Shen Qingqiu, do you think that pretending to be insane will work on me?” The past Luo Binghe hissed
“Luo Bin-g-he,” Shen Qingqiu mocked, enunciating every syllable, “you’re a bastard, you know that?”
The room became silent as the master and disciple pair looked at one another.
The past Luo Binghe’s lips twitched and his right hand caressed Shen Qingqiu’s left shoulder.
In utter horror, Luo Binghe watched as in Shizun’s vision, his past self turned into Qiu Jianluo.
‘Qiu Jianluo’ squeezed hard and blood sprayed from the would left behimd from ripping off Shen Qinggiu’s left arm.
Shen Qingqiu screamed and laughed, his breaths shuddered, “Luo Binghe, ha ha ha ha... Luo Binghe, you..”
Luo Binghe just watched as his past self, as ‘Qiu Jianluo’ as Shizun saw it, kicked him down to the floor as he had done so many countless times before.
Shizun’s vision blurred, the world around them turned white with his agony, but ‘Qiu Jianluo’ remained.
Despite what his mind saw, Shen Qingqiu logically knew it was Luo Binghe torturing him, and he suddenly stopped laughing and screaming as he said, “Luo Binghe, everything you have today you owe to taking me as your master, so shouldn't you thank me? Instead, you’re wholly unable to tell what's good for yourself. As expected, you're an ungrateful bastard, ha ha ha ha…”
‘Qiu Jianluo’ smiled sinisterly, softly replying, “Do you want to die? How can something like death come so cheaply? Shizun, you’ve committed many evils in your life. You hurt those with whom you had grievances and also those against whom you bore no grudges. Even when half in your grave, you managed to drag down a sect leader. If your death isn’t drawn out, if you don’t simultaneously endure everyone's else’s suffering at least once, how can you do right by them?”
After saying that, “Qiu Jianluo’ dropped Xuan Su’s fragments onto the ground.
When Shen Qingqiu instantly got silent at the sound of the metal clattering on the floor, his remaining eye widening and his breathing growing shallower as he saw it; he then shakily dragged himself forward with his one remaining arm towards those broken sword fragments.
There was nothing after that, Luo Binghe knew that this was the moment that had broken his Shizun’s mind.
And no further torture, not even his remaining arm being ripped off moments later, had done anything to a mind that had already run away.
***
Luo Binghe found himself kicked from his Shizun’s mind after that, looking down at his own hands in shock.
He had seen himself through Shen Qingqiu’s mind, seen how monstrous his Shizun thought him to be; Luo Binghe never wanted to see himself through Shizun’s eyes again.
The Emperor knew that there was more to see, that he could see his Shizun’s newest memories of what had happened since he had had amnesia, but he also knew that after seeing Qiu Jianluo take his place in some memories that his stomach could take no more.
The knowledge that at the end his Shizun saw him as no different than a rapist, sadistic, cruel monster was enough to make him want to plunge Xin Mo into his own chest.
Looking down at Shen Qingqiu’s still sleeping form, Luo Binghe reaffirmed his belief that he had to make everything right and undo all the damage he had done.
Though one thing had become blatantly clear to Luo Binghe after seeing all of those memories: every single person in his life had failed Shen Qingqiu in some way and had brushed him off as nothing more than scum because of his pickly personality that he used to shield himself from further harm.
Yue Qingyuan failed to return for him when he was needed and had needlessly come when he was not needed, never telling him why he had not come and just uselessly apologizing again and again; Qiu Haitang had failed -had refused - to see beyond the rose-tinted glass and see her brother was a monster who tortured everyone that was not her and tormented someone she claimed to love; Wu Yanzi had failed to see Shen Jiu as anything more than a pawn when he was a traumatized teenager who desperately needed help; the former Qing Jing Peak Lord also failed to see the pain his head student was clearly showing and thought of him as just mean; Shizun’s contemporaries either antogonized or ignored him; Ning Yingying was his beloved daughter by every measure but blood and despite her constant attempts to cheer him up, she had not spoken up for him when it mattered most.
And Luo Binghe himself…he had been so blinded by his own hatred, by his own self-pity, by his own jealousy, that he had not seen that his Shizun could not be what he had needed.
How could he expect kindness and love from a teacher who had never experienced it himself?
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