Chapter Text
Shen Qingqiu normally wasn’t someone who was at the beck and call of others, but that night he found himself at the doors of the Warm Red Pavilion after receiving a letter from the Madam.
”A-Jiu,” one of the courtesans rushed over when they saw him pushing open the door. “You’ve arrived. I’ll send for—“
”There’s no need. I’ve heard of his arrival,” the Madam of the Red Pavilion came into view with a swift walk. “I don’t have much time to explain, and I don’t want to leave these unwanted visitors in the hands of my sisters for long. Come along,” she beckoned him into an unused room. “Lin-meimei, if you could fetch us some tea and check on the girls while I’m gone? And bring me the child. I don’t want him in that room listening to that nonsense any longer.”
The courtesan nodded and made haste further inside the brothel. The door shut behind the two, and Shen Qingqiu was directed to a table to sit. “I’m sorry to call you from your peak on such short notice. I’m afraid I knew of no one else who could help in a matter such as this.”
”What is the matter?” Shen Qingqiu questioned. He would be lying if he said it did not matter to be summoned in the middle of the night, but the warmth the ladies had offered him over the years superseded the initial annoyance.
”The reason I called you down is because it is a sensitive matter. But despite how sensitive it is, I can not allow things to continue the way things have been proceeding.” At the end of her sentence, a loud thud came from overhead which caused them both to look upwards. A man had raised his voice in anger, and Shen Qingqiu felt his hand reach for the hilt of his sword.
”As you can tell,” the Mistress spoke over the noise, “there was an incident today. A man we have never served before came in demanding service, but he was far more exuberant than others. He tried to take one of my girls by force, and one of the children here had tried to stop him. He injured the man in doing so, and now he demands punitive compensation from the boy instead.”
”And the boy is too young to perform them,” Shen Qingqiu guessed.
”That is one reason,” she agreed. “But the main reason I won’t allow it is because the boy cannot speak. It is already bad enough for a child to be subjected to a home such as this, but a mute boy who cannot speak to others about the injustices others may inflict onto them is too cruel. I tried to turn the customer away, but he demanded a reason for his uncompensation and there is only one explanation I can give where everyone walks away from this unscathed. Honestly, I’ve been meaning to introduce the two of you long before this incident, but I could never find a way to broach the topic.”
At that moment there was a knock on the door. “Madam, I’ve brought him.”
As the courtesan stepped inside with the boy at her hip, Shen Qingqiu finally understood why he was the one the Warm Red Pavilion called. The resemblance between himself and the child was uncanny. The vibrant green hue to his eyes, along with the jet black hair that was secured up with a red ribbon, reminded Shen Qingqiu of his own appearance. Although the boy was missing the sharp facial features hidden beneath stubborn baby fat, if the boy’s stare changed from one of curiosity to a harsher look, they could easily be mistaken as brothers. Or even worse—
“In order to ease the tension, I told the customer that Shen Yuan’s father was of most importance.”
Shen Qingqiu could laugh if he wasn’t simmering in irritation. They wanted him to claim a broken bastard child who wasn’t even his.
”We hoped that maybe you would bring him as a disciple onto your peak, but we can’t contain any gossip that may follow.”
She was right. It was already bad enough for the Peak Lord to bring a child onto his peak without having them undergo the usual initiation process to get in. But for him to do that to a child that looked exactly like him, bearing the same last name would get people talking. Especially if word got out about him claiming some random bastard son at the brothel tonight.
Before Shen Qingqiu could conjure up a response, there was a loud bang again from upstairs along with some more yelling that followed. “If you could excuse me for a minute, my absence has gone for too long, and there is a rowdy man whom I need to placate before he disturbs more guests. It’s bad for business,” the Madam excused herself. “I’ll leave Shen Yuan here for you two to talk. Lui-meimei, leave A-Yuan with some ink and paper so he can write.”
Lui reached into a drawer and Qingqiu a brush, along with paper and ink and set it in front of the boy. She gave the boy a squeeze on his shoulder and Shen Qingqiu a warm smile before trailing out behind the Madam.
As the door closed, Shen Qingqiu had a scowl fixed on the boy, but he did not receive a glance back as he kept his head lowered on the paper in front of him. “Shen Yuan,” he called to him just as sharply as the movement he made to open his fan to hide his face. “I’ve heard that you’ve caused trouble today, but I have yet to hear any details. You cannot speak but I pray you can write. If you draw me pictures and leave it to me to decipher them, I will walk out so I do not have to waste any more of my time here today.”
The boy nodded as he took the brush into his hands. As he pulled back his sleeves in order not to dirty them, Shen Qingqiu noticed the drying inky stains on his hands. He must’ve had to write plenty today.
A man attacked Jiejie after she told him no. I stabbed the hand he used to touch her.
“What did you stab him with?”
He had a knife sheathed on his hip.
Shen Qingqiu hid a hint of a smile beneath his fan. “You attacked a man with his own weapon? What dishonor he must feel to have his own blade turned against him. No wonder he’s seeking indemnification.”
He may be seeking it, but he doesn’t deserve it.
Shen Qingqiu scoffed at the boy’s naivety. “You attacked a wealthy man with his own blade despite you having no status or money yourself, yet you’re complaining? He has every right to demand justice for what he had to endure.”
The boy looked up and the glare he got caused him to freeze. No longer did the boy hold a soft look to him. The sharp look was one he was familiar with because it was the same look he saw in his own reflections. It was an uncanny sight to witness.
Are you leading me to believe that just because a man has more money and was born into a higher status, that automatically makes him above respecting others? The same respect he dares to demand from others unconditionally?
Shen Qingqiu hummed once he read the paper. “You can’t speak, yet your words are sharper than most children your age.” Shen Qingqiu hardly gave compliments, not even to his own disciples, but he wasn’t expecting much when he was brought a mute child. His calligraphy was mediocre at best but he was a smart kid for someone being raised in a brothel. “I may not believe those words but most men who share a similar status as mine do. And in the end that is what makes those words true.”
The only reason they believe it is so is that they were born into status. Those with power and money never had to know what it feels like for those who go without it to struggle and survive. That’s why they hoard their spot at the top. Because while they’ve never had to experience life at the bottom, they know how they treat those whom they deem as below them. How can a man who’s lived his life a wealthy cultivator with thick pockets and a fancy sect to back him ever bring himself to acknowledge those he deems below him?
“Watch your words, boy,” Shen Qingqiu closed his fan with a sneer. “It seems I’ve been entertaining you too much if you think it is acceptable to lecture me.”
Shen Yuan shrank at his words. He seemed to remember he was talking to a Peak Lord and not an average customer. His brush hovered over his paper, hesitating slightly, before writing again. Those with status only care about morality when it protects them. The customer asks us to indemnify him, but if he had never acted with ill intentions, there wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. You should never act with the intention to cause harm because you believe you can get away with it. That’s why I stepped in. To make sure he remembers that actions have consequences.
In that moment Shen Qingqiu is brought back to a moment in time drenched in fire and blood as he watches the Qiu manor crumble to ash. He understood that sentiment better than anyone else.
I regret causing trouble for my jiejies, but if I had never stepped in, he would have done it again because he would have believed it was within his power to do it again. That’s why I can’t let him win.
Shen Qingqiu remembers how it felt to pull the sword from Qui Jianluo’s back. The satisfaction of watching the way the blood pooled from the wound, marking his back the same way the man marked his own. The boy was right. He couldn’t let them win.
“You want me to claim you as my own, but you can’t even serve me tea properly?”
That caused the boy to move. The boy almost seemed relieved to have been given a new task. Shen Qingqiu had plenty of children serve him tea, as it was a part of the initiation into Qing Jing Peak, but the boy’s movements reminded him of the children that came from wealthier backgrounds. He was practiced in this tradition, probably due to having to serve customers tea during his time at the Warm Pavilion.
Once his tea was placed in front of him, Shen Qingqiu took a sip. It wasn’t the worst cup of tea a child has served him, but it wasn’t anything that exceeded his expectations. The boy was now back to looking at the way his fingers wrung in his lap as he waited for criticism. “The tea needed to be brewed longer. You cannot rush a leaf into fusing with the water. Let that be the first lesson I teach you as your Shizun.”
The boy’s head shot up in surprise as he blinked in shock. His mouth hung open slightly as he was still reeling in surprise. “Don’t look so surprised. You just completed the tea ceremony. You’re now a disciple of Qing Jing. Your second lesson will be how to intimidate another. You cannot simply stab and run. That will only cause you more issues later on. That is why we are dealing with the aftermath right now. It’s best to nip matters like these early so they don’t drag out any longer than necessary. Close your mouth and come, boy," Shen Qingqiu rose to his feet with that.
The boy was still gaping in shock, but he quickly recovered by closing his mouth with an audible click and springing to his feet. “Show me where this customer is residing.”
The boy nodded and took the lead as he led him up a flight of stairs and towards a room in the front within proximity to where they were talking down below. It made sense for the ladies to want to isolate this argument in order not to disturb ordinary business. Shen Qingqiu could hear a man’s raised voice from inside the room, and deciding he had heard enough from this man for the night, he opened the door with a dramatic bang.
The Madam was inside with another courtesan, facing a man with gaudy jewelry and fine robes. Shen Qingqiu could see his gut peaking out despite the number of layers hiding it, and the expensive perfumed oils from his body that were saturating the room made his head throb. He had a white bandage wrapped around his hand which he held clutched close to his chest. “And who do you think you are?—“
The man began to question, but the Madam cut him off with a smile. ”Peak Lord Shen, it's a pleasure to see you.”
The man’s eyes widened at the introduction, obviously not expecting him to be a cultivator of high status. The man then looked to his side to find Shen Yuan being shielded behind him. He looked back and forth between the two as he took in the resemblance the two of them bore to each other. “And would that make Sh-Shen Yuan your son?”
”I had come down from my Peak due to a summons from the ladies of the Warm Pavilion due to a situation concerning Yuan that got out of hand,” Shen Qingqiu deflected. Nothing but the truth was stated, but he made sure to neither confirm nor deny any suspicions. “I have better things to do than to settle some squabble with a mere merchant.”
”I-I’m sure you do,” the customer was visibly sweating. “But Shen Yuan attacked me and I can’t leave without some form of compensation.”
”There will be no form of compensation given to you today,” Shen Qingqiu sneered. “Shen Yuan tells me you were disobedient in following the rules the Warm Pavilion set forth. He only resorted to violence because he said persuasion became an ineffable task.”
”That’s not true—“
”I have already received a report of what happened from the Madam here before I came up. Try not to accuse anyone here of being mendacious when the lying one is clearly you. You will leave now without a welcome to return. I will have the ladies send for me again if you do.”
Realizing he was outmatched, the man clutched his injured hand tighter as he grew red with silent rage. In a fit, he slammed the doors open and made a racket as he left the brothel in a fit.
The lady next to the Madam deflated in relief once the threat was finally gone for good. “Thank you for your help, A-Jiu,” the madam thanked as she massaged her temples. “I know it wasn’t an easy decision.”
Funny enough, the decision itself wasn’t too difficult. He remembered the conversation bringing up old feelings from his past that he had tried to squash away over the years. He’s a cultivator, a Peak Lord at that, but one little conversation had him feeling like he had nothing again. He made his decision to make sure he felt like he was back on top of the food chain. There was no other reason he had for coming up to the room to confront the customer other than that.
Now he was going to have to deal with the pieces. That man will definitely spread the news that Shen Qingqiu had a bastard he kept tucked away inside the Red Pavilion. Shen Qingqiu could leave the boy here, but it was far too dangerous to leave a mute boy with a sudden target on his back in this place. Especially if Shen Qingqiu had suddenly claimed him as his own.
He would have to take the boy with him up the mountain. There they would still have to endure gossip from Peak Lords and disciples who had nothing better to do than talk. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation. “I’ll have to bring the boy up the mountain with me,” Shen Qingqiu told the madam.
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “A-Yuan will make a fine disciple.”
Her words had Shen Qingqiu reaching for the boy’s wrist. In the chaos of everything, he had forgotten to even check if the boy had strong enough meridians to survive cultivation. The boy was too weak to even speak. How could Shen Qingqiu guarantee he was strong enough to cultivate? The boy tensed when he felt his arm being grabbed but relaxed once he realized the man’s intentions. “His meridians are strong enough to develop cultivation. If he can learn is entirely up to him. Pack your bags boy, we leave now.”
Shen Yuan nodded and practically ran out of the room, tripping on his own feet to leave. Once he was out of sight, the madam spoke up again. “Thank you for taking him. I know the situation was less than ideal, but A-Yuan deserved a life outside of what we could give him. You will have to give us updates as he progresses in cultivation,” she paused before asking. “Are you sure you have to leave now? You two should just spend the night and leave in the morning.”
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “No, I’d rather leave under the guise of night. People would talk more if I were to bring him during the day. It would be an easier transition for the both of us.”
”I understand.”
Ten minutes later, Shen Qingqiu found himself at the entrance with Shen Yuan. He let the ladies get one last round of hugs in before he had to separate them. He unsheathed Xiu Ya and motioned for the boy to stand in front of him. The boy looked just as weary as he felt about letting him cling to him throughout the duration of the ride back. “Either get on or leave yourself here. Either way, it does not matter to me.”
The boy’s eyes widened as he made his decision to get onto the sword. Shen Qingqiu sped off, but he could hear the ladies still shouting their goodbyes to the boy as they flew away.
The boy shivered slightly from the cold air nipping his face and penetrating his clothes, but he made no sign that he was scared of heights. That was good. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t imagine having to comfort a sniveling kid throughout the flight.
Instead of touching down on Qing Jing first, Shen Qingqiu made the decision to stop at Qiong Ding first. Either way, he was going to need Yue Qingyuan’s approval to accept Shen Yuan into Qing Jing. He would much rather face him head-on and get it over with instead of letting the man use it as an excuse to linger on his mountain.
It was easy to slip inside with all of the Qiong Ding disciples tucked away in their dorms. Once he found Yue Qingyuan’s room, he knocked harshly on the door. Shen Yuan seemed to shrink back at the noise but that didn’t stop him from banging on the door another time.
Shen Qingqiu was ready to bang again when the door finally opened. Yue Qingyuan seemed to have haphazardly thrown on a pair of robes to cover his sleeping robes. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Shen Qingqiu of all people at his door in the middle of the night. “Shidi, how can I help—“
Shen Qingqiu didn’t let the man finish his sentence before he grabbed Shen Yuan from beside him and put him in front. “This is Shen Yuan. He’s going to join Qing Jing as a disciple,” once Shen Qingqiu said all he wanted, he grabbed the boy by the sleeve and started to pull them both away.
”Shen Yuan,” Yue Qingyuan seemed to repeat in a trance-like state upon seeing the doppelganger of Shen Jiu as a child. He snapped out of it when he saw the two of them getting further away. “Xiao-Jiu, wait!”
At the name Shen Qingqiu seemed to pause. “What more is there left to say?”
”Is he yours?”
”No. Does it matter if he was?”
”Of course not,” Yue Qingyuan was quick to respond. “Why didn’t you enter him during the initiation season?”
”I didn’t know of him then. Not every child needs to be initiated that way in order to enter the sect. You should know that.”
Silence engulfed the two as there wasn’t much to say to that. “We’re leaving. Anything left to be discussed can wait until morning,” Shen Qingqiu said as he pulled on the boy’s clothes again, tugging him along.
Shen Yuan made one final peek over his shoulder and looked eyes with the Sect Leader. He couldn’t maintain eye contact for long when Shen Qingqiu hastily pulled him down a hallway, causing him to look forward again. Shen Yuan couldn’t help but remember the sad and distant look in the man’s eyes as he watched them go.