Work Text:
Qian Cao is Scary
Or: “Beiye’s Reform School for Wayward Bai Zhan Brats”
A Shijie One-Shot
By Sif Shadowheart
“This Master apologizes, shizhi.” Peak Lord Deng Rongru bowed his head as he gave one of his favorite - if most troublesome - martial nieces the poor news, pushing the plate of her favored ginger-peach cakes towards her in a wordless prompt to eat as she sipped on her second cup of tea. One that wasn’t medicinal this time, but a delicate white peony to help her wash down the unfortunate news that matched well in its nutty tones to the cakes. “However, even with the gains made through shizhi’s most recent Heavenly Tribulation, due to Beiye-shizhi’s ongoing struggles with storing yang-qi, this Master cannot approve shizhi for a Muscle and Bone Reforging. The risk to shizhi’s health is far too great without shizhi’s body being able to draw upon a deep well of yang-qi reserves to assist with the process.”
Zhù Beiye, transmigrator and of late a senior disciple of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s Qing Jing Peak, took the blow to her future as a martial cultivator with the stoic poise expected from the direct student of Lord of Qing Jing Peak.
At least Deng-shishu had always been honest with her when it came to the effects of her early cultivation… let’s call them problems - had and would continue to have upon her in the future.
The Peak Lord of Qian Cao and one of the finest and most skilled healers in the jianghu had saved her cultivation - if not her life - more than once.
If Deng-shishu said that it was a no-go - at least for now, she wasn’t deaf to the subtext of how he was phrasing his refusal to approve her for one of the significant milestone rituals of a high-level martial cultivator’s life - then it was a no-go. No one would dare naysay him. Not his martial siblings, including even the sect leader, and certainly not Beiye herself.
There would be a way around it, there always was, Beiye had come to discover in her time living in this strange high-magic horny-on-main cultivation universe since she woke up on someone else’s (now her own, after several years of coming to terms with her new reality) body.
“If the issue lies in the storage of yang-qi,” Beiye focused on the issue at hand instead of ones well-resolved. “What would Deng-shishu suggest for this disciple going forward to ameliorate the problem as best as possible and perhaps allow the Reforging in time?”
In theory, Beiye could skip the Reforging altogether. Not every martial or physical cultivator would undergo such a high-level ritual. Due to the expense of required materials if nothing else, a factor which alone tended to limit the ability of a cultivator to both take on and survive the ritual to the wealthiest or most powerful (or well connected) cultivation sects or clans. A fact which ensured that only those disciples who were willing to swear service in turn would be allowed to undergo the process, as otherwise it was a waste of resources - to be blunt - on a cultivator who wouldn’t stay and repay the sect or clan through their service or renown for their patron taking on the prohibitive expense of sponsoring the Reforging.
Peak Lords - or their successors, properly - who favored martial or physical cultivation always underwent a Reforging. It was how they could stand toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow with the highest ranking demons or beasts, as the Reforging was named quite literally. It reforged a cultivator’s physical body to be stronger and more resilient than could be accomplished with a cultivator’s qi, physical exercise, and strength training alone. Beiye imagined that in the future it would be Yue Qi, Wei Huan, Qin Long, Liu Míngyīn, and maybe Mu Zhenzhen (as she wasn’t sure what type of cultivator the latter was, or most of the future peak lords, honestly) who would be sitting in Deng-shishu’s office having a discussion regarding their own Reforging with the healing master of Cang Qiong. Or other high-level Bai Zhan, Xun Fu, and Wan Jian disciples, at least off the top of her head.
There were undoubtedly others. Outliers like herself who were of a martial or physical bent naturally even if the path of their peak laid elsewhere. Or simply Beiye overlooking nuances of various cultivation paths of the other peaks.
The Reforging was a catch-22. It increased the strength of a physical cultivator exponentially. Created distinctly strong monsters of inhuman ability in comparison even to the next-most-powerful physical cultivator. The catch was, that a cultivator already had to have strength both of body and qi to survive the process or otherwise run the risk of the sort of long term damage that even a high-magic universe couldn’t fix.
In Beiye’s case, it was her bond with Xuan Su kicking up a roadblock - again.
Because of how her bond to the legendary sword came about, and the qi deviation bonding to it caused, in addition to the way it flooded her system with yin-qi, taking a formerly-balanced cultivator and making her a dominantly yin-based one, she had almost totally lost the ability to produce and store yang-qi, forcing her to gather it from outside sources or by pushing her body far beyond what was normal for a yin cultivator.
Yang-qi, which had dominion over the body and physical the way yin-qi was of the mind and ephemeral.
Deng-shishu and Mu-shidi had been treating Beiye for her problems cultivating yang-qi since before she even woke up from her Xuan Su-inspired coma, and as a result she had hoped, albeit faintly, that between them they might have another work-around hiding in their qiankun sleeves that would allow her, in time, to undergo the not-required but extremely helpful Reforging.
“Next year, I will strongly encourage, though not insist,” Deng Rongru broached the first potential solution with the delicacy that such a subject, despite it being a wide-spread phenomenon and practice, required. “That shizhi attends a course on dual-cultivation theory and ethics before considering undergoing a course of therapeutic dual-cultivation for at least three months before we discuss the Reforging once more. While utilizing dual-cultivation either on a short-term basis or through taking a long-term cultivation partner will not conquer your issues with yang-qi absorption and storage, it will certainly help.”
Considering the properties of both Heavenly Demon blood and/or dual-cultivation with a Heavenly Demon that Beiye remembered from the source material, she wasn’t certain about Deng-shishu’s certainty.
That didn’t mean she was about to go off and throw herself at Tianlang-jun or Zhuzhi-lang, being the only Heavenly Demons, whole or part, that she knew of. Not a chance. Tianlang-jun was either a manwhore or a stage ten clinger from what she remembered and Shang-shidi had told her since their first encounter with the demon lord. Neither of them had any notion of what Zhuzhi-lang might be like when it came to attraction or sex, if he was interested in such things at all. Putting aside the risk of her being deemed a traitor to Cang Qiong, if not cultivation society as a whole, it was a far from promising prospect if she wanted to live anything resembling a peaceful life.
“And if I don’t?” Beiye asked, biting into a cake for emphasis. Beiye’s question was more out of genuine curiosity than any distaste for the reality that fucking - to be blunt - would serve an actual medical purpose in her case. Just like it did for any cultivator who got hit with one of hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of aphrodisiac poisons that thrived in the strange world of Beiye’s second life.
Aphrodisiac poisons that were the exception to the cultural age-of-consent regarding sex, hand-in-hand with marriage, which Beiye thought was nothing short of stupid. Here, you’re not old enough to decide whether or not you want to fuck someone for recreation, but you’re going to marry anyway. No one cares that you’re fourteen. Or thirteen. Or. Even. Younger. Just hurry up and get married and pop out some babies. Fucking. Stupid. It was the same sort of nonsensical side-eye/double-standard regarding sex and romance and marriage and duty that she remembered from her first life all over again, and only slightly less insulting than having a legal drinking age be three to five years after the age to sign one’s life away to military service.
Outraged sensibilities or not, Beiye fully intended to at least try dual-cultivation for medical treatment of her yang-qi issues - she genuinely didn’t have the time to think about romance or relationships, shizun kept her far too busy for that - she just wanted to know what other potential treatments might exist.
Treatments, not cures, as from everything Deng-shishu and her own shizun had told her since bonding with Xuan Su, there was no such thing as a cure for her situation - long shots involving Heavenly Demons aside. Xuan Su had irrevocably changed her. Made a yin cultivator out of her during their bonding rather than the relatively-balanced cultivator she’d been before the disaster in the Wan Jian sword halls. She would never be cured of her issues with yang-qi. Only treated for it, and if such was the case, Beiye wanted to know what all the potential treatments were, even if dual-cultivation was the easiest answer at hand.
“I thought you might ask.” Deng-shishu smiled, dropping completely out of formal registers and into more casual conversation as he handed over a scroll he promptly produced from inside his sleeve. “So I had a’Zhen prepare a comprehensive list of all the ingredients - rare and otherwise - that can be used to help balance qi, counter yin dominance, encourage yang, and so on, either alone or through an alchemical treatment.” He waved a hand idly as he enjoyed one of the cakes himself, Beiye quick to take the scroll and begin perusing the contents. Then he added: “given how shizhi’s luck turns, I didn’t want to overlook any possible avenues of treatment, no matter how rare, on the off chance that shizhi might just find them whether or not she started actively looking for them.”
“I imagine in the meantime,” Beiye commented half-absently, reaching out to grab another cake and nibble on it while she concurrently devoured her shishu’s shopping-list-by-another-name. “That I’ll continue my current treatments?”
“Mmm.” Deng Rongru hummed in agreement, sipping on his own cup of perfectly brewed tea. “Unless or until shizhi takes a cultivation partner and sees a difference in her cultivation of yang qi, the current treatment is the best we can do barring rare ingredients for other treatment avenues. It works.” His tone might as well be a verbal shrug. “Shizhi hasn’t sickened or seen any loss of physical or martial ability due to struggles with yang qi. Another seclusion in the Lotus Lake Cavern might be in order.” He hypothesized. “As the gains in balancing shizhi’s qi from her original seclusion there were far more significant than expected. Dual-cultivation may be the most complete treatment option we have for qi imbalance, but it's not the only one.”
“Thanking Deng-shishu for his diligent care.” Beiye gave the Qian Cao Peak Lord a respectful bow after she slipped his shopping list into her sleeve. “I will see what I can do about the optional treatment ingredients once Shizun releases me for night hunting.”
“Make sure you stop and speak to a’Zhen on your way out, shizhi.” The peak lord reminded her. “He has thoughts about your recent proposal he’d liked to share with you.”
“Yes, shishu.”
“Good child, go on now.” He paused, thinking about that proposal with a hidden smile threatening to curve up his lips. “And shizhi?”
“Yes, shishu?”
“Good luck.”
It was a new idea.
Well…
New/old.
New to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, but old to both Zhu Beiye and Shang Bo when she told her fellow transmigrator of her plan to “punish” Cao-shishu’s “unruly pack of pups” with an age-old adage from her first life.
Forcing them to walk a mile (metaphorically) in the shoes of those they would otherwise attack, look down upon, or inconvenience because the Bai Zhan juniors - and maybe cultivators in general - simply didn’t have the knowledge or capacity to see the value and strength of those outside their own perspective.
“Cross Training.” Was Shang Bo’s deadpan reaction to Beiye’s plan. “You’re going to put the little shits through cross training.”
“Whatever works, Shang-shidi.”
“The fucked part is it might actually work. Might. You’re insane, Sis. A genius. But insane.”
Enough time had passed, almost three months in total, between Liu Míngyīn and several other junior disciples of Bai Zhan Peak being caught in the act of ambushing their Qing Jing shixiongs that Míngyīn was starting to think that Zhu-shijie would never follow through on completing their punishment. The xun after their punishment began, Shizun informed them that Zhu-shijie had decided on the scope of what their punishment for ambushing her peak juniors, but that due to her own responsibilities she wouldn’t be able to carry it out immediately. Several of the others grumbled and complained over how long their punishment was dragging out, as Shizun had stuck to his word: until Zhu-shijie could oversee the rest of their punishment personally, they continued with running extra weighted laps every morning and evening as well as their restriction to Bai Zhan.
Míngyīn thought they were being foolish to grumble at all, as Shizun would have been within his rights to assign a much more punitive course for their infractions that shamed him.
And it wasn’t as if the assignment of extra laps took away from their cultivation, as they were all physical cultivators.
As a result when he and the others were called to form up on the main training field, Míngyīn wasn’t as relieved as the others. Unlike others, he may not speak much, but when a subject interested him, he did listen - and he’d been listening much when the topic turned to Zhu-shijie ever since Shizun had introduced her. Míngyīn didn’t often understand others when they weren’t honest with their actions and words, unlike beasts and monsters that were easy for him to predict, but this time he thought he knew what was going on. Dun-shixiong and Ji Jue and the others were relieved that Zhu-shijie finally had time to oversee their punishment because they assumed, given that she was only a Qing Jing disciple despite what Shizun had said of her, that her punishment would be swift and easy to complete.
That once it was done and over with, everyone would forget their infraction and life could return to being easier on them once more.
Míngyīn didn’t think that was the way events were going to turn out, but he didn’t bother warning them having distanced himself from their company after discovering the hard way that they weren’t as upright and honorable as he’d previously assumed all members of a righteous sect must be.
From what their seniors had said around him, Zhu-shijie was not a soft-touch and had been genuinely angry over their actions in importuning the Qing Jing juniors for spars.
He’d seen for himself that she was no one to underestimate when he’d watched - hidden in the trees so he wouldn’t be chased away - Zhu-shijie spar and train with Bai Zhan’s own Mǎ-shixiong and Hú-shijie. Hú-shijie was one of the strongest female cultivators on Bai Zhan Peak, he’d tried to spar with her not long after he climbed the mountain and been knocked out in two blows. If Zhu-shijie was regularly sparring with her, and based on the scant number of times he’d managed to watch them that seemed so, then even without Shizun liking her, Míngyīn would know that Zhu-shijie was strong since he still couldn’t fight Hú-shijie to a draw let alone take a win. Yet. Mǎ-shixiong was stronger still, one of the former disciples from Bai Zhan who’d placed in the top ranks of the IAC competition and been promoted to sect cultivator. Even more impressive, Mǎ-shixiong had been one of only two disciples from Bai Zhan to place higher than Zhu-shijie, and did a better job holding his own against her when he stepped into the sparring ring than Hú-shijie.
Neither Mǎ-shixiong or Hú-shijie lost to Zhu-shijie, at least not that Liu Míngyīn had witnessed, but fighting her wasn’t easy for them either like it was against the junior and new senior disciples of their own peak.
Liu Míngyīn had only seen Shizun train Zhu-shijie personally once, after a group training session that Zhu-shijie had joined as she did at least once a xun in addition to her other training on Bai Zhan, and he’d only managed to linger for a moment or two before Mǎ-shixiong had tossed him into a practice ring against Dun-shixiong and Ji Jue, but what he’d seen was more than enough to make him wary of fighting Zhu-shijie until he grew stronger.
No, Liu Míngyīn did not think that their punishment under Zhu-shijie’s auspices was going to be easy or painless.
If the others were so deluded, then he pitied them but had no sympathy for their stupidity after their dishonorable behavior in lying to Shizun.
“These are my unmannered pups?” Zhu Beiye cast her eyes over the line of sulky - for the most part, if she didn’t know better she’d think that Liu-future-Qingge looked eager - juniors she’d come to take off of Cao-shishu’s hands for a time.
“Yours.” Cao Rongwei folded his arms over his broad chest with a crisp nod, even if he was a bit bemused by his shizhi’s plans.
a’Ye was supposed to be punishing his young idiots, not herself.
And yet, with the plan she’d put forward that intrigued those among the peak lords who didn’t dismiss it as a waste of time, Peak Lord Cao thought that she’d set herself up for far more frustration and pain than his unruly pups.
“Listen up!” Cao Rongwei barked at his disciples, who flinched at the sound and volume of his voice. Good. If nothing else, their recent long spate of punishment duty had left them with a healthy fear of his displeasure. “For the next three months,” his smile was sadistic as their heads as one shot up and he was faced with wide, disbelieving, panicked eyes. “You will belong to Senior Disciple Zhu Beiye. Under her supervision, you will attend a month of training on Qing Jing Peak.” He relished watching as emotions rioted over their formerly-sulky faces, even stoic Liu Míngyīn breaking form in his confusion. “A month on An Ding Peak, and a month on Qian Cao.” His grin turned into a scowl. “As a review of reports has shown a dramatic increase on the burden that Bai Zhan Peak has become on our fellow peaks of Cang Qiong in recent years. You will learn what they learn. Do what they do, live in their dorms, wear their uniforms, and be model disciples.” He snorted when a single dark look had Disciple Ji shutting his mouth, not having forgotten who’d been one of the ringleaders of recent poor behavior for all that it wasn’t truly a new problem. Simply the latest incarnation of inner-sect rivalry breaking out. At least Qing Jing and Xian Shu’s rivalry rarely led to property damage. “You will also be subject to their disciplinary actions if you misbehave and bring further shame down onto This Lord’s Bai Zhan Peak, and potentially an extension of your time learning from the other peaks in order that you will no longer create burdens for your shijies and shixiongs to bear and clean up after.”
The threat of dismissal from the peak altogether ran under his words, not spoken but understood nonetheless.
Being dismissed from Cang Qiong prior to the eight-year term running out didn’t happen often but it wasn’t unheard of either, simply rare and for major infractions.
“Disciple Zhu,” Cao Rongwei turned towards his shizhi and gave a small salute. “This Lord entrusts his students into your care.”
“Thanking Peak Lord Cao,” Beiye returned his salute with one much lower and more respectful as her Cao-shishu turned his problem children over to her and then took his leave. “This disciple shall endeavor to train them well.”
Under Beiye’s gimlet eye, the seven Bai Zhan juniors were escorted first to their dormitory where they were instructed to leave all but their most important personal possessions behind, then directly to their new temporary dorms in the Qing Jing male junior hall.
Where they were handed off to a Junior Disciple Han, the oldest junior male present, and separated out and integrated into rooming with the five newest male junior disciples of Qing Jing Peak - at least for the next month.
They were assigned four rooms, with at least one Qing Jing junior placed in each of the four rooms.
Liu Míngyīn was the “lucky” Bai Zhan junior who roomed with two Qing Jing juniors, though (at least in front of Zhu-shijie, whether it will remain true after her eyes were no longer watching he didn’t know) at least his temporary roommates in Wei Sheng and Xiao’Heng didn’t seem to be holding a grudge.
Dun-shixiong and Luó-shixiong were roomed with a boy introduced as Xiao’Lin, Ji-shixiong and Liáng-shixiong were with a Hú Rong, while Sòng-shixiong and Zhèng-shixiong were grouped with a Dù Gang.
The Qing Jing boys showed their temporary roommates where to find their new (temporary, temporary!) uniforms and helped those who needed it, even if they didn’t want to admit it with red faces and puffed cheeks, figure out how to order and tie the multiple flowing layers of light linen and silks. Liu Míngyīn was fine as they weren’t that different from the formal clothing he’d had to wear at home during banquets, but he watched with puzzlement as several of his Bai Zhan shixiongs struggled before their Qing Jing shixiongs stepped in to help them. Other than himself, it seemed only Liang-shixiong was familiar enough with such attire to manage the entire Qing Jing uniform alone and without needing adjustments.
By the time the Qing Jing juniors were done helping their new dorm-mates get dressed, and showed them all the bathing facilities and where to find hygiene products, etc. and escorted them back to Shijie, there were red-faces and clenched hands all around.
None of the Qing Jing shixiongs had outright mocked or insulted them, but more than once Liu Míngyīn had caught a sly look on one of their faces as they made a sweet-voiced suggestion - especially towards Ji-shixiong and Dun-shixiong - that had the older Bai Zhan boys puffing up before a sharp reminder from Han-shixiong towards both the other Qing Jing boys and the Bai Zhan contingent, would cut off a fight before it could start.
Even if he was still a junior like them, there was no denying that Han-shixiong was several years’ their senior in addition to being from a senior peak, and none of them, including his own shidis, seemed inclined to test his temper.
“They’re all yours, Zhu-shijie.” Han Bolin turned the hornet’s nest of juniors back into the care of his martial sister. From merely watching over them for the shichen it took to sort them out into dorms and uniforms, she had her work cut out for her. And it seemed like their own shidis weren’t yet inclined to help her beyond a cool tolerance for the brutes. “Good luck.”
With a gesture, he took their own Qing Jing junior males, other than Shen-shidi who was having a private lesson with Calligraphy Master Tang, to the sparring field.
No one had thought that putting Shen-shidi through having a roommate - even temporarily - would go well or result in anything other than bloodshed.
The Bai Zhan juniors would be joining the Qing Jing juniors in lessons full-time starting the next day - that was soon enough for the current detente to be tested with the addition of Shen-shidi and his vicious temper.
“For the next month, you are all juniors of Qing Jing Peak.” Zhu Beiye informed them once again, if the change in peak, lodging, and uniform hadn’t made it clear enough. “Starting tomorrow you will rise at mǎo-shi with the rest of the Qing Jing juniors for physical exercise and sword work before breakfast. You will attend lessons from sì-shi through shēn-shi with a break for the noon meal. The evening meal is at half-yǒu-shi. Following the evening meal, you will be allowed time to complete work - or punishments - assigned during lessons or free time if you have no work to complete. Lights out at is at hài-shi. On alternating days, rather than lessons following the noon meal, you will have assigned chores to complete. Do you understand thus far?” She checked, as more than one set of unruly pup-eyes were starting to glaze over.
“Yes, shijie!” They all responded in unison, which was common from Bai Zhan disciples.
Whether they’d actually heard let alone comprehended what she’d said remained to be seen.
“Hn.” She hummed under her breath, unimpressed with several of them already. At least Liu Míngyīn was pretending to pay attention, even if he was bored stiff. They’d learn. Either to pay attention or to fake it better. “As you are under a punishment detail, while you will have a half-day for personal endeavors every five days, you are confined to Qing Jing Peak for the duration of your time here, and will likewise be confined to An Ding and Qian Cao peaks in turn.”
“Yes, shijie!” They were quick off the mark this time, rather than waiting for her to prompt them.
That was something at least, as while she seemed like a hardass to the uninitiated, compared to what the Qing Jing hallmasters and teaching masters, let alone Shizun, were capable of, Beiye knew she might as well be a marshmallow.
“We’ll see.” She said dryly. “Come.” She ordered, turning with a flare of her robes - the actual Qing Jing uniform for once rather than the martial robes that were her preference - and striding towards a teaching pavilion that she knew was empty at that hour. “Among the peaks of Cang Qiong,” she lectured as they went. “Our Qing Jing Peak is known for Mastery of the Four Arts, and the elegance and precision of our spiritual cultivation.” She shot a look over her shoulder, noting that she’d lost the attention of three of the seven brutes to taking in the sights of the peak. Better than all of them. “Precision is the fruit. Discipline is the root. Only through mastery of the self can true control of our qi be gained.” She came to a stop inside the teaching hall and gestured for them to spread out among the desks. “Tomorrow you join the Qing Jing juniors in lessons. Today we will discover where those lessons will need to begin to unearth precision, discipline, and mastery from within the raw clay of Bai Zhan Peak.”
One Month Later:
“Sis, if that one could kill you with a look, he’d do it in a second.” Shang Bo commented after he gave an introductory speech, much like Beiye’s own only geared towards An Ding’s pillars of accuracy leading to strength and speed, and took in the seven “pups” that she was trying to beat some sense of common cause with the rest of Cang Qiong into.
The ‘he’ in question, to his own surprise and against his assumptions, not being Liu Míngyīn, but an older Bai Zhan junior. Dun-something he thought. He hadn’t really cared about the names of the kiddos beyond the ones he recognized like Liu Míngyīn or Ji Jue. Both for being problems towards other peaks at one point or another. As well as the future peak lord, in Liu-shidi’s case.
“Classic bully.” She shrugged, having already given up on beating sense into that one. He’d sink or swim through the other peaks of his own accord. As it was, the little asshole had only avoided a major infraction on Qing Jing Peak because his fellow Bai Zhan disciples had kept him in line and refused to support any of his ideas for “pranks.” She gave a mental snort. As if she’d split up the three biggest potential problems and put them under the watch of the three most cunning - barring Shen-di - Qing Jing juniors on accident.
As if. Xiao’Lin was a former street-rat. If there was anyone who knew how to keep a watchful eye on a problem without being caught it was him. Dun-shithead hadn’t so much as broken wind on Qing Jing without there being eyes on him and keeping Beiye informed.
Putting Liu Míngyīn with Wei Sheng, who was as honorable as his cousin Wei Huan but with more political nous, and Xiao’Heng had been equally as calculated. A Qing Jing junior older than him to look up to and another former street-rat to teach him that not all cultivators came from savory backgrounds. If Xiao’Heng - the clever little opportunist - had jumped at the chance to play upon Liu Míngyīn’s honorable heartstrings and gotten etiquette training from someone who’d been learning it from the cradle, Beiye considered it a fair exchange for Xiao’Heng stripping away a few of Liu-future-Qingge’s social blinders when it came to his fellow cultivators.
“Sure you want to stay?” Shang Bo asked, not because he couldn’t use the help wrangling the Bai Zhan kids, but because he knew shijie had moved heaven and earth to make the cross-training work. Including putting back a round of Deng-shishu suggested secluded cultivation until afterward. Seclusion that shijie could use if the strain in her body language was any hint. “Once they’re grown they’ll have the power to bully me and my peak, but right now they’re just a bunch of young teen and pre-teen wannabe jerks.”
Beiye sighed, not able to dismiss his point, but not able to agree with the suggestion anyway.
“That was the deal with shizun and the other peak lords.” Beiye reminded him. “Since it was my idea, I have to oversee it. From start to finish.”
“Sucks.” Shang Bo said with a sage nod, then shot her a smirk. “You know Deng-shishu is going to jump at the chance to have you take that series on the ethics and best practices of dual-cultivation when he has you in his clutches right?”
“Shut up, Shang-shidi.”
One month later:
Shang-shidi was right…because of course he was.
And, unable to give Beiye any face at all, Deng-shishu had apparently decided to teach the current round of theoretical instruction on dual cultivation, including his “temporary” students in the Bai Zhan juniors and Beiye, himself.
Gah.
Kill her now, death would be preferable to the level of embarrassment she was about to endure - both personally and second-hand.
End of the Cross Training Experiment aka Zhu Beiye’s School for Bai Zhan Brutes:
“Well, pups, did you learn anything?” Cao Rongwei asked after Zhu-shizhi had officially turned his disciples back over into his care with all due formality and taken her leave.
That no one had been maimed, seriously punished, the experiment extended, or been dismissed he took as a good omen - or a testament to a’Ye’s resolve, he wasn’t sure which yet.
“Elegant isn’t the same thing as decorative.” Chao-er, Disciple Song, said, the most of the others nodding like he was speaking wisdom of the ages. “Or weak.”
It had only taken one instance of watching Ji Jue being beaten into the dirt by one of the “pretty, but useless” female cultivators of Qing Jing Peak for them to learn that lesson.
Shijie didn’t count, according to Dun-shixiong and Ji Jue, because she learned on Bai Zhan Peak and took lessons from their shizun.
An outlier…or so they’d thought.
Said-shizun smothered the urge to laugh at their awed-and-terrified expression, as he could only imagine the sort of lesson that’d been - and at whose hand it’d been delivered, as no one had ever accused a’Ye of being merely decorative in all her time training at Cang Qiong.
Not after she’d turned down Xian Shu during the initiate selection.
“Anything else?”
“An Ding disciples are sneaky.” Jue-er grumbled almost under his breath.
“Qian Cao is scary.” Another added with a wince.
"Shijie taught us Qi Barriers!" Bai-er, disciple Zheng, shouted enthused and grinning. "Then Shang-shixiong taught us how to make them weapons."
“I wanna fight Shijie!” Liu-er announced, to a round of groans from his fellows and a snort from Cao Rongwei.
“Didn’t she spar with you while you were on Qing Jing?” He asked perplexed, as he’d had reports of just that, as well as knowing that a’Ye assisted the Qing Jing swordmaster among her other duties.
“Yes.” Liu Míngyīn reported, only halfway managing to hide his sulk. “She beat me.”
“Every. Time.” a’Da, Disciple Liang, added in a deadpan. “And the idiot still won’t stop bothering her for spars.” He paused, then shot the other disciple a look. “Or Shen-shixiong, who loses most of the time.”
None of them could figure out what that was about, and maybe shizun would have an easier time of finding the answer.
“Liu-er?”
“Shen Jiu is tricky.” Liu Míngyīn explained with a shrug. “And sneaky. Winning against him is hard.”
But not impossible, not like shijie…for now.
Cao Rongwei cast his eyes to the heavens and sighed.
Of course.
Of course all that Liu-er learned over the last three months was that Qing Jing Peak cultivators made the most challenging sparring partners.
Really…what else was he expecting?
Though the rest of his unruly pups seemed appropriately respectful and cowed - for the most part - by their fellows…so there was that to uplift him.