Chapter Text
Shen Jiu did not like Peak Lord meetings.
“Fucking hell,” he spat, riding his sword in the sky. “Are they that incapable? Can’t survive without each other for a few weeks?”
He especially did not like unprecedented meetings. Like the emergency meeting that had been called a single shi ago. Seriously! He was planning to go off the mountain, to visit his jiejies, to rest– but now he was spending his afternoon with useless brutes.
(And with Qi-ge. That was always the worst part. Being in a room full of men was tolerable, people who hated him? Fine! But the person he once loved..?)
As he landed on Qiong Ding, (and wasn’t that ironic? That he had to come to Qi-ge’s peak, had to chase Qi-ge, as if he hadn’t spent his whole fucking life chasing–) Shen Jiu tucked Xiu Ya back into his sheath, and began walking in. Around him, the other Peak Lords had begun to reach as well, and he promptly ignored their existence, just as they ignored his, the way you ignore a pest on the carpet.
Strangely, though, Qi-ge wasn’t standing at the meeting hall gates to greet them. He usually did, sometimes even holding the door open, as if such menial tasks weren’t below a Peak Lord– let alone a sect leader.
Shen Jiu walked past the doors, to his seat, only to find… a senior disciple, sat at the head of the table, in the Sect Leader’s chair…
Cradling a baby.
He froze.
At the same time, someone let out a gasp behind him. The Peak Lords began entering, panicked as they took their seat,
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“Where’s Sect Leader Yue? Don’t tell me. Is that–”
“How could this have–”
Only Mu Qingfang seemed unsurprised. “Pollen of Regression,” he explained, “Indeed, Sect Leader Yue has regressed into his infant form.
Over the course of the next month, he will slowly age each week, until his body is at a cultivation level more powerful than that of the pollen, after which he will absorb it with no long-term effects.”
The room went to shit.
“A whole month. We don’t have a Sect leader. For a whole month.”
“An Ding Peak cannot take on this extra paperwork–”
“More importantly–” Shen Qingqiu started. But no one seemed to listen. Qi-ge had a voice that made people listen, Qi-ge always made the other Peak Lords quiet down when the room was too noisy, Qi-ge was–
A child.
His Qi-ge had gone and gotten himself cursed into a fucking. Child.
It has been years since Shen Jiu was taken as a noble cultivator, years of training himself out of informal, slaver-speak, but right now? He really wanted to scream all sorts of profanities at Yue Qi.
Again, he tried, “More importantly,” and this time they shut the fuck up. “Sect Leader Yue is in a vulnerable state. We cannot let news spread, and we cannot leave him to senior disciples.”
Basically, one of us has to watch him!
Each Peak Lord began giving their excuses. Some made sense. Naturally, Bai Zhan was out; those brutes did not know how to parent a child, and their Peak Lord was even worse – almost like an absent, deadbeat dad.
Qian Cao was also constantly at full capacity. It was better for them to focus on saving lives, rather than be on constant babysitting duty.
Xian Shu was a no. An Ding was a choice, but Shang Qinghua looked like he dreaded the possibility. And anyway, wasn’t there a clear, much suited answer?
“I can take him,” Shen Qingqiu said.
Instantly, all the Peak Lords who insisted they couldn’t take care of Sect Leader Yue, were now suddenly free.
The audacity! The impudence! The nerve of the lot!!! These fools who treated their Sect Leader like a burden, treated his safety like a joke. Shen Jiu, though? He would never let Qi-ge be hurt. He hadn’t, all those years ago, with the slavers, and he certainly wouldn’t now!
(How dare they suggest he wasn't fit to care for a child? As if he was some sort of abuser, like the slavers, like Qiu Jianluo, like Wu Yanzi. )
(How dare they be right?)
Besides, as Qi-ge grew, he risked spilling their secret. A 5-year-old Qi-ge blurting out ‘But I’m a slave?’ would be bad for the both of them. This was an act of self-preservation. A completely selfish act of self-preservation.
But of course..
“I’ll take him,” Wei Qingwei offered. Everyone sighed in relief, as if he was some sort of martyr, putting himself in the way of the evil Shen Qingqiu and the helpless Yue Qingyuan.
Shen Jiu wanted to argue but…
He looked at the room full of Peak Lords, all glaring his direction.
What was the point? No one would take his side. Not even Qi-ge took his side anymore, and he used to always– he cut the thought off there. It had been a long, long time since anyone had ever supported him; he should be used to it.
WEEK 1
“Another fucking meeting…”
Shen Jiu was actually going to rage. He was going to pull his hair out, and scream. One meeting every sixty days was already enough. Why were they having two meetings within a week!? Can’t the Peak Lords figure it the fuck out themselves!???
(Another, more honest part of him, was worried. Another meeting meant another event with Baby Qi-ge. Had something gone wrong? Had he gotten hurt? Was he being taken care of, being read to, being spoiled with sweets– Qi-ge liked sweets, but he always gave his to Xiao Jiu–
Shen Jiu ignored that honest part of himself, because Shen Jiu was not an honest person.)
The moment he walked into the Peak Lord room, he wanted to walk right back out.
Because in the Sect Leader’s chair, with his tiny legs unable to touch the floor, a little ball of messy hair and wide brown eyes stared back at him. Qi-ge, that was Qi-ge staring back at him, his best friend, his first love, once upon a time that boy was his whole world–
“Xiao Jiu,” the boy said.
His voice was so… high. So… ah screw it. So cute!!!
“Xiao Jiu,” the boy said again, lip beginning to wobble. In an instant, he was jumping out of his chair, bawling “Xiao Jiu! Xiao Jiu! Xiao Jiu!”
And without thinking, Shen Jiu did what was absolutely uncharacteristic– he opened his arms wide and scooped Qi-ge up.
The whole room stilled.
Qi-ge bawled into his shoulder, no doubt getting snot all over his luxury robes. “Xiao Jiu…” he whined again, and it was so pitiful he had to laugh, patting the boy’s head.
“Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, is that the only thing you know how to say?”
“Xiao Jiu!” he said again, as if on cue. He began to pull, squeezing at Shen Jiu’s cheek, “Where were you!? I wasss.. was so– hic–”
“Shhh, Xiao Jiu is here now.” He carded his fingers through the curls, walking to his seat. “Now, what’s the agenda of this meeting?”
Someone vaguely mutters, “You’re holding the agenda…”
Wei Qingwei clears his throat. “The Sect Leader was wailing non-stop. This one offered food, clothing, toys, but nothing stopped him. He kept calling for–”
“Pardon,” Shen Jiu deadpanned, “You called an emergency meeting because you couldn’t parent a crying kid?”
“Shen Qingqiu,” he spoke gravely. “He cried for 9 hours straight, until his throat went dry, screaming and pleading for his Xiao Jiu.”
Shen Qingqiu froze.
He looked down at the angel in his arms. “...You were such a brat?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, burrying into his arms. “I couldn’t… couldn’t find Xiao Jiu so…”
Ah. Judging from his body, this Qi-ge must be what, five or six? That was around the age they started getting really co-dependent. Showering, sleeping, eating, they did it all together, never separated.
Of course, suddenly being alone would be terrifying.
(If it was 5-year-old Xiao Jiu who’d ended up suddenly alone, he would’ve mauled every disciple on Wan Jian Peak until they gave back his Qi-ge.)
“It’s okay. So long as Qi-ge promises to behave now.”
The child pulled back to look at him. “I promise,” he mumbled, “As long as they don’t take Xiao Jiu away..”
At that, Shen Jiu looked up at all the Peak Lords, as if to communicate: I fucking told you so.
With a sigh, the Peak Lords relented, and Wei Qingqei begged, “Please. Take him.”
And he took him. Xiao Jiu took Qi-ge, the way it rightfully should be.