I was Transmigrated as a Sword

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/23185381.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: Gen, M/M
Fandom: 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System -
Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 転生したら剣でした - 棚架ユウ | Tensei Shitara Ken
Deshita | Reincarnated as a Sword - Tanaka Yuu
Relationship: Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū, Original Shěn Qīngqiū & Yuè
Qīngyuán, Liǔ Qīnggē & Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Shàng Qīnghuá &
Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū, Luò Bīnghé & Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Liǔ
Qīnggē/Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Original Shěn Qīngqiū/Yuè Qīngyuán
Character: Luò Bīnghé, Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū, Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Liǔ
Qīnggē, Mòběi-jūn, Shàng Qīnghuá, Shā Huálíng, Tiānláng-jūn, Yuè
Qīngyuán, Níng Yīngyīng, Míng Fān, System (Scum Villain), Mèng Mó |
Dream Demon (Scum Villain)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Original Character(s), no beta
we die, Canon-Typical Violence, hes a sword my dudes ahaha, I Wrote
This Instead of Sleeping, How Do I Tag, An attempt at world building,
Pre Canon, shen yuan is not Shen Qingqiu, Shen Yuan Transmigrates
Early, I write this fic at 3 am, Minor Character Death, Crack Treated
Seriously, Shen Yuan is a sword, Angst, Tags May Change, Rumors,
Rumor Mill, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Shěn Yuán, Fluff, Fluff and
Humor, Crack, meme lord tianlang-jun, Tsundere Shen Qingqiu,
Tsundere Shen Jiu, Yue Qingyuan is bad at communication, Slow Burn,
The slowest, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt,
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma,
Trauma, squint for clues, wordplay by characters, subtle hints, Salty Liu
Qingge, stop stealing my disciple sqq!, Shen yuan is a sack of rice,
metaphorically speaking, do not copy to another site, Shen Jiu has
Abandonment Issues, Manipulation, Being used against your will, It
Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, It gets better chapter 14, Yandere
Yuè Qīngyuán
Series: Part 1 of I was Transmigrated as a Sword
Collections: Reincarnation and Transmigration, Works Worth Rereading, SVSSS
Characters in Existing Storylines, Gifts from Literature Deities,
Mixed_Fics, MXTX fic rec, Leymonaide fic recs, AsianDramas, Rain
Recs, TSVSSS, Fics so good I want to throw my chair out the window,
Interesting SVSSS Fics, System, System, Hanya Fic yang Aku Sukai,
Regular Rereads, isekai fics made by certified geniuses, Long Fics to
Binge, A Pleasure To Read, Fics That Make Me Feel Good,
cauldronrings favs ( •̀ ω •́ )✧, Favorite Fics That I Hoard, Ashes' Library,
An Uchiha's Hoard, Dumb Bullshit to satiate my Escapism, yum, Crack
treated seriously favourites
Stats: Published: 2020-03-17 Updated: 2022-05-08 Chapters: 51/? Words:
178077

I was Transmigrated as a Sword

by lala_the_lesser, misminor, Qwerty224
Summary

Shen Yuan wakes up in the middle of nowhere as a sword due to a system error.

What the hell is he supposed to do with himself now?

No knowledge of ‘I was reincarnated as a sword’ required to read.

Notes

sdgfawgkja this is my second ever fic please be kind. i know i suck at writing. I really really
wish I could write this better hhhhh. Im just so thirsty for svsss content and then i was
thinking one day of this crossover and was like 'well fuck me im writing I guess. gotta feed
myself.' Also i have free time from the corona virus quarantine lmao.

updates.... well..... they might happen..... who knows............ Im lazy and school and
depression are things...............-sigh-

See the end of the work for more notes

 Tfw You Get Turned Into a Sword.

Chapter 1: Tfw you get turned into a sword.

In the endless darkness, a mechanical voice similar to the automated tones of google translate,
suddenly spoke.

[Activation Code: “Stupid author, stupid novel!” Automatically triggering system.]

[We welcome your entrance into the system.]

‘Wait what?’

[Binding role: Error!]

[Error! Object: Nameless Sword bound!]

[System recalibrating]

[Error! Status Bound!]

[System reset]

[Error!]

[System timeline: Unavailable.]

[Error!]
[System power source: Unavailable.]

[Entering Open World mode]

‘ Huh?’

[We hope during the course of your experience, you may achieve what you desire! Please
transform this piece of stupid writing in accordance to your wishes! We hope you fulfil your
dreams of a masterful work of art! Work hard for your desired happy ending!]

‘What’s happening?’

[Entering Hibernation mode. Good luck, valued customer!]

‘ Wait, don't go! Explain more!’

His senses returned slowly in bits and pieces. Shen Yuan groaned as he slowly pried himself out of
the darkness.

‘A System? Why the hell are there so many errors? What’s going on?’ He thought bemusedly.

The world blurred into focus in front of him and Shen Yuan gaped at what he saw.

The 360 degree field of vision that he is assaulted with immediately gave him a sense of vertigo.
The world around him is not his usual dark and messy room. Instead he is in the middle of a deep
crater in dark reddish ground. The sky above him is a similar dark red and twists and tears showing
gaping holes into vast empty voids. His surroundings are dark but everything seems to be lit by an
unknown light source. Unfortunately the crater walls prevent him from seeing much else other
than the constantly tearing sky.

Shen Yuan tried to blink in disbelief, as if the scene in front of his eyes would disappear, only to
realize he can’t. He goes to rub his eyes but is then struck by the realization that he cannot move
any of his limbs. Looking down at himself he starts in horror.

All he sees in the place of his body is a dark shining black blade with a red stripe running down the
middle of it.

‘No way! No way! No way! This can’t be happening!’ He desperately thinks. The last thing he
remembered was cursing at his computer because of the dissatisfying ending of Proud Immortal
Demon’s Way . Then he went and ate a cup of yogurt that he found at the back of his fridge.

‘ Maybe that yogurt was bad? Is this a dream?’

Except Shen Yuan instinctively realizes that it's not a dream. The sheer amount of detail and clarity
that he is receiving from his newly expanded vision tells him so.

She Yuan remembers a burning pain working its way through his stomach before blacking out in
front of his computer. Could he have...? What was the expiration date on that yogurt again?

Now, Shen Yuan was many things, but uneducated and unread about transmigration and
reincarnation stories he was not.

‘ What the hell kind of shitty fanfiction is this? Who ever heard of turning into a sword after you
die!? This is the error that system was referring to? Getting put into a nameless blade?’

While he had daydreamed about transmigrating or reincarnating into a different world before; he
had always assumed it would at least be with a vaguely humanoid appearance! Stuck in a sword
like this with no limbs, how was he supposed to do anything? Shen Yuan panicked for a while as
the harsh reality of being dead and a sword began to set in.

Ah… He died didn't he? In a really ridiculous way too… Food poisoning of all things.

His family… How long would it take them to find his body? He rarely contacted any of his family
members and he was a shut in with no friends.

Well. No one would really miss him except his parents. Maybe.
His family was incredibly distant and often it seemed like living together with strangers when
together. Communication was not a skill that was employed often in the Shen household. His
oldest brother was always busy with friends, his second brother had work, and his sister was too
busy with school for him.

His parents were the same way, too busy with their jobs to really slow down and connect with their
children. Not that Shen Yuan himself really tried to connect with them either though. He had
discovered the world of fictional literature at a young age and thus filled his days with book after
book, rarely lifting his head up to look at the world around him.

But now he was in a situation that would belong in one of his beloved light novels.

What could he do? He ruminated over the System’s words, just how exactly was he supposed to
achieve anything? And what writing was he supposed to transform? Proud Immortal Demon Way?
It was the last thing he had been reading after all… If this really was PIDW where was he? Where
in the timeline was he? The system had an error with the timeline as well after all…

Flexing his non-existent muscles and trying his best to move didn’t result in anything. He tired
himself out mentally trying his best to at least flop over so he wouldn’t have such a dizzying view
of the world. Though he did discover that he still retained a sort of sense of touch during his
struggles as he could feel the ground that he was embedded in.

Shen Yuan contacted the system in hopes of learning something useful but he only received a
message about system hibernation.

Shen Yuan could only sit and watch the sky fold in on itself. He examined his surroundings again,
could he have fallen from one of the voids in the sky and caused this crater?

It felt like time didn’t pass, or at least that's how Shen Yuan felt. The sky never changed colors and
there seemed to be no surrounding life even though he could hear roars in the distance every so
often. Shen Yuan didn’t know how long he spent sitting there with nothing to do. It could have
been only a few minutes or a few hours, point was, he didn’t know how time was passing.

He sunk into a semi meditative state as the boredom set in. There was simply nothing to do as a
sword. He stared dully out at the world, finally adjusting to his increased field of view after what
seemed to be hours.
‘ Damn… If I had to be turned into a sword why couldn't it have been a famous one? Like Xin Mo
or the Xuan Su sword? Why does it have to be a nameless one?’ Shen Yuan thought bitterly.

Soon he didn't think about anything merely sinking into a depressive haze and lamenting his fate.
He tried to sleep to help pass the time but it didn’t work out very well.

It was in this strange hazy state that he began to notice a strange energy that filled his blade. It was
a bit like discovering a previously unused muscle. He mentally assessed the way that it felt, noting
how it flowed through his whole body gathering at a core in his hilt. Shen Yuan could tell that this
core was important to his existence somehow. He tried using the energy somehow when he
suddenly fell over in the dirt.

Ah! This was it! This energy was the key to movement!

Cheering mentally, Shen Yuan excitedly pushed more of the energy out from his blade.

He was sent rocketing into the sky at a high velocity. Shen Yuan panicked over the high speed, and
then panicked at how high he was. As he screamed he absently noted that he could finally see over
the edge of the crater now.

As he began to fall back to the ground below he channeled the strange energy through his blade
and shot up into the sky again. He immediately began to fall the moment he stopped the energy.
Keeping the energy steady allowed him to float in place, letting Shen Yuan breathe out a sigh of
relief and finally take in the world below him.

He could see that his crater was in the middle of a large desolate plateau. The area beyond his
plateau was a veritable hell scape. There were flowing lava rivers and various beasts roaming the
area. He could see what looked like a pack of giant red wolves with spikes sticking out of their fur
and some lava slimes. Shen Yuan mentally sweat dropped. The slimes looked like they were
straight from Breath of the Wild and the wolves were generic recolored mob monsters from any old
rpg. In fact it felt like a few of the beasts in the distance he could see were based off Pokémon.

Was this not the setting of Proud Immortal Demons Way? Or was the author, Airplane Shooting
Towards the Sky, just a lazy bastard who ripped off other franchises? Having spent time reading
through the entire monster wiki of PIDW, Shen Yuan didn't really expect that the verbal
descriptions of the monsters would result in monsters so generic and close to copyright material.
Shen Yuan was so wrapped up in observing what he could see that he didn't realize he was slowly
running out of energy. He only realized his mistake when he began to fall from the sky again. He
screamed again as he fell, cursing himself for not paying closer attention to his remaining energy.

He landed back in the crater with a clatter. Shen Yuan breathed out a sigh of relief at the fact that
there was no pain or damage. Of course, he was a sword now. Shen Yuan sighed again at the
thought. As he waited for his energy to regenerate he contemplated what he would do next. He was
most likely in the Endless Abyss based on the number of beasts in the surrounding area.

Originally in PIDW after the main protagonist, Luo Binghe, had been pushed into the Endless
Abyss by his master he had spent five years fighting his way out. He only managed to escape by
finding the legendary demon sword Xin Mo. The sword had the ability to cut through dimensions
allowing Luo Binghe to make his way into the demon realm.

But he had never heard of Luo Binghe finding a blade like him during his time in the Endless
Abyss. In fact Luo Binghe had trekked through the majority of the Endless Abyss fighting
barehanded; for coolness sake Shen Yuan assumed.

Well. The system did say open world mode was activated. He supposed his role wasn't too
important to the story. He could do whatever he wanted in the world of PIDW!

Except. He was still a sword…

Well! He’d figure it out! No point in continuing to mope. Shen Yuan was bored without the
internet! He had a whole world to explore!

Tapping into his restored energy, Shen Yuan floated out of his crater at a much more reasonable
speed. He made his way over to the edge of his plateau and peered downwards examining the dried
and cracked ground below. He let himself drop down to the ground blade point first. His blade
sank into the dry dirt easily. He made a note to practice maneuvering because dropping like this all
the time would definitely dull his edge. That thought that brought another host of worries to Shen
Yuan, what would happen if he were to get chipped or break? Would there be anyone who could
repair him?

Shen Yuan bottled up the thought and threw it on the thought pile like a proper millennial.
He hovered over the ground and made his way towards a set of mountains in the distance.

Just as he moved roughly ten feet forwards, an earth dragon burst from the ground and charged
with jaws wide open at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan jerked backward in shock and narrowly dodged the snapping jaws.

The dragon was the size of a small house with a squat snout and reddish brown markings all along
its back. It had wicked spines curving up from its shoulders and wide spade like claws for digging.

If he had pores Shen Yuan would be sweating wildly right about now. That was too close! He
finally realized why the area around the plateau was devoid of other demonic beasts. This was the
territory of the earth dragon! In Luo Binghe’s travels he had encountered many ambushes from
these troublesome beasts, they often relied on vibrations in the ground to track and attack their
prey. They were a key component in pushing forward the plot in PIDW when it seemed like things
were too peaceful in the Abyss.

But Shen Yuan called bullshit! He was floating! He shouldn’t have made any vibrations for the
dragon to detect and attack!

He dodged wildly as the dragon flung itself at him slashing furiously with its claws. He barely had
the hang of moving around and now he had to move with his life depending on it! Shen Yuan took
a hard blow to the flat side of his blade chipping him slightly.

‘ Oh Shit! I can break this easily?’

Shen Yuan’s heart shook, he flew high up into the air out of the earth dragon’s range. The dragon
glared up at him and crouched. Shen Yuan’s breath hitched. There was another reason these Earth
dragons were so troublesome. They had wings!

The dragon gave a mighty leap and was up in the air after Shen Yuan in an instant.

Shen yuan wailed and flew erratically hoping to throw the dragon off his tail. But the dragon was
relentless.
‘ Shit! This can’t keep up! If I fly for much longer I’ll be out of energy and completely done for!’
He thought weeping internally.

He wracked his brains for any idea of how to survive. Earth dragons were known for their
incomparably tough hides which were valued for armor making materials. Their only known weak
spot was a small soft portion underneath their chins. Luo Binghe once slew a group of over fifty
ambushing earth dragons by himself. Earth dragon claws were used by demons as shovels. Wait!
Back up the fun facts! A weak spot!

He trembled a bit as he turned to face the dragon. Might as well go down fighting! Shen Yuan gave
a desperate yell as he put every last bit of energy into his blade. Let's go down in a blaze of glory!

A black blade shot forwards at eye blurring speeds. Too quickly for the dragon to react and
pierced its neck. The dragon gurgled on its own blood as its wings beat frantically. But it was a lost
cause, the wound too grievous. The dragon fell back to earth with a thunderous crash.

Embedded in the corpse of the dragon, Shen Yuan shuddered at the sensation of having his blade
end another creature’s life. He intimately felt the dragon’s blood rushing past his blade and its
breaths as it choked around him.

Strangely enough as the dragon stopped breathing Shen Yuan felt his energy restore itself to nearly
half full as well as expand his energy reserves. He observed curiously as the chip in his blade was
then repaired using the energy he regained. A surge of relief coursed through him as he slumped
slightly in the dragon's neck.

Reminded of his position he grimaces as he pulls out of the dragon’s neck followed by another
spray of arterial blood.

Embedding himself in the ground besides the dragon, Shen Yuan heaves a sigh of relief. How had
he just one shot a mini boss? What the hell kind of story was this? Why did the first monster that
he had to encounter have to be a mini boss?
 Tfw You Go Hunting
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan grinds exp

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 2: Tfw You Go Hunting

Still slightly shaken from the encounter Shen Yuan made his way back up to his empty plateau. He
plonked himself down in the middle of his crater.

‘ Oh my god I really just did that.’ He thought. He would be covering his face with his hands if he
still had either of those things.

He just killed something with his own two hands!

Well... His own blade…

As a soft millennial it was kind of traumatizing being in a life or death battle right away. It had
been so easy too! To just simply thrust forward and end a life. Everything still didn’t seem too real.
It seemed everything was in high definition and honestly Shen Yuan was still trying to wrap his
head around how exactly he was seeing things in the first place. It's not like he had eyes after all.

Was it really fair for him to have killed that dragon? But he had been simply minding his own
business. It was self defense your Honor I swear!

As he was sorting out his morals over killing the earth dragon he noted a change in the quality of
his steel. He then noticed a strange new feeling in his blade. It felt like…? He became harder all of
a sudden?

Shen Yuan paused to cackle.

His blade had become considerably tougher after he killed the earth dragon. He had a feeling that
he wouldn’t chip so easily the next time he fought something. Perhaps he had the ability to grow
and take on the attributes of his defeated enemies?

The prospect of becoming stronger filled Shen Yuan with a sense of glee.

But boy, wasn’t fighting more monsters a thought. The more he thought about it the more
depressed he became. The moment he had been transferred into a sword he became destined to kill
things. For that was the nature of a weapon. Did he really want to kill endlessly? He would rather
just observe all the weird demon creatures from a distance.

Shen Yuan forcefully jolted himself out of his crater after his energy regenerated. It wasn’t the
time to quibble with morals. He was in a different world now; did his old morals really apply?
Though he thought that this was a rather dangerous line of thought. He bottled it and put it in the
pile.

It was time for an exploration! Take two!

But first, he had to figure out exactly how the earth dragon sensed him in order to leave his plateau
safely. Earth dragons always lived in packs after all. There was no telling how many earth dragons
lived in the ground beneath his plateau.

He peered over the edge of his plateau and examined the ground beneath him carefully. He
descended slowly and gently let himself sink into the dirt. He held his breath and waited for a
dragon to appear. After several long minutes it was clear that nothing would be happening anytime
soon. He eyed the mountain range that he had originally been headed towards and picked himself
up off the ground again.

Just like before, as soon as he made the slightest bit of progress towards the mountains a dragon
appeared!

‘Gah! Fuck! Not another one!’ Shen Yuan backpedaled furiously. He charged his blade with
energy and pointed the tip of his blade at the dragon. ‘ I can do this! Same as the other one! Just
calm down and aim right!’

Shen Yuan launched himself at it but the dragon was ready. It lowered its head and Shen Yuan
bounced harmlessly off the thick hide with a comical ‘ twang’ sound effect.

He cried internally over his shattered confidence as he was reduced to fleeing for his life once
again.

It was a chase worthy of a Benny Hill theme dub over. Many loop de loops were completed. Shen
Yuan twirled continuously, spinning out of the way of a barrage of attacks.

Fortunately aside from energy reserves Shen Yuan really didn't get tired during his wild
maneuvers. The dragon’s eyes were spinning by the time Shen Yuan stopped to think about the
circles that he was running around the creature. He sweat dropped at seeing how dizzy the dragon
was but took advantage of the chance and thrust himself into the poor thing’s neck. Unfortunately
he was slightly off the mark so he could only cringe as the dragon slowly bled out while thrashing
in pain.

Having killed another dragon, Shen Yuan noticed that his energy reserves had basically doubled
and his blade seemed tougher. But his original question still hadn’t been answered. How exactly
did the dragons know where he was?

‘Does my floating produce vibrations? The dust on the ground doesn’t move when I float over it so
that can’t be right… Or is it the energy I’m using?’

Not thinking of consequences Shen Yuan shoved his blade into the ground and began to emit
energy. Sure enough in a few moments a third dragon appeared. He quails under the massive size
of the beast. It's at least twice as large as the other two dragons.

‘ Ah fuck thats right! I have to actually fight this thing! Think more before experiments next time!’

Shen Yuan is a bit slow in exiting the ground and takes a hard blow to the side. He’s sent flying
away flipping end over end. He weeps as his blade chips against the ground from the impact but
steels himself to face the dragon. Shen Yuan shoots up into the air above the dragon, drawing its
head straight up and exposing its weak point. He twists into a complicated aerial movement to
distract the dragon as it charges towards him and overcharges his blade with energy. His blade
glows brightly for a moment, blinding the dragon, before he launches himself at the highest speed
he can manage at it. The dragon barely reacts as he plunges straight down into its throat.

The dragon gurgles around him and collapses.

It's a beautiful kill that he can take pride in. One hit one kill he thinks. Except a bit anticlimactic.
These dragons are a bit dumb aren’t they?

Shen Yuan notes that the dragon provided the same energy reserve expansion and hardening effect.
But he still doesn’t know how he was found.

He sunk into thought. Struggling to remember what he did before when he first felt the strange
energy he began to think negative thoughts. He beats himself up with a variety of self doubts and
fears about the new world he’s found himself in for a long while.

’Oh god why me— Oh god why the hell am I a sword— Or is it oh system— What do I do next—
Am I just going to be stuck here forever— How's my family— Has anyone found me yet— How do I
survive— Can I even die— Is God real— ‘

Well… Anyways. He spirals.

Once he has achieved the same depressive haze as before, he is finally able to note the stronger
energy dwelling in him.

Observing the flow of energy throughout his blade he noticed that he was unconsciously emitting
very small amounts of energy at all times. When he flew this unconscious output increased as
well.

Oh… Well this was a bit embarrassing. His control over his energy was so bad that he was wasting
a majority of it through careless emissions. Shen Yuan felt that It was a bit like walking around in
public with a bright neon orange squid hat. Attention grabbing and mildly strange.

He made a conscious effort to reign in the emission and slowly floated above the ground waiting
for a dragon. Nothing showed up for at least ten minutes. Shen Yuan decided that the problem was
solved for now at least. He may have just killed all the dragons in the area after all. Either way it
was good that he was alerted to this faulty energy issue early on. He could be much more efficient
in flying now!

With his energy clamped down tightly he noticed an increase in the accuracy of his movements as
well. He wiggled around in happiness for a bit before setting off towards the distant mountain
range.
There were always all sorts of rare creatures in the mountains in Shen Yuan’s readings. He was
excited to see what sort of skills he could gain from some of the rarer beasts in PIDW. Though if
he got some sort of skill related to papapa he would never forgive himself. Ah… It was best to be
cautious wasn't it?

On his way to the mountains he observed a pack of giant red wolves he had seen before. They
really behaved just like normal wolves. The only real difference was their spiky red appearance. He
watched in fascination from above as they played and tussled with each other.

As Shen Yuan observed the wolves, he began thinking of the properties of his new life. He needed
to test his theories about stealing the attributes of his foes.

According to the wiki the basic dire wolves in front of him were slightly flame resistant. They had
to be to live in the abyss which was filled with lava. Shen Yuan didn't want to melt just because he
flew too close to lava one day. So he hardened his heart and picked a wolf that was isolated from
the rest of its pack. Flying overhead, Shen Yuan lined up the trajectory of his blade and dropped
like a rock. He pierced the back of the wolf’s neck; a swift and painless death.

As a blade, Shen Yuan began to take a sort of pride in how cleanly he sliced through tough hide
and muscle. It was like parting butter the way he cleaved flesh and bone.

‘Easy, too easy… If I’m not careful I might just get addicted to this sensation! This truly is a fine
blade that I’m inhabiting!’ He thought giddily.

Shen Yuan observed as his blade took on a slightly red tint and he knew instinctively that he had
gained a new resistance. He turned to the rest of the wolves with a greedy spark in his heart.

The moment the wolf died the rest of the pack was alerted to his presence. They turned as one and
stared in shock at the slain wolf. The pack leader growled a command and two wolves leapt
forward to investigate their comrade’s body.

In a flash one of the wolves was pierced through cleanly. Floating above its corpse was an ominous
black blade.

The pack retaliated in fury. A howl echoed through the area, all twenty remaining wolves threw
themselves at the blade recklessly. Shen Yuan flailed a bit.
‘ Uwahh I've bitten off more than I can chew, haven’t I?’

He quickly flew in the air above their reach. The wolves jumped at him snapping at the tip of his
blade fruitlessly. Shen Yuan chuckled nervously. May as well finish what he started!

He dropped from the sky and ended the life of another wolf. As he shook himself free from the
body another wolf pounced on the corpse. Shen Yuan jerked and twisted back, he panicked and
slashed upwards, decapitating the wolf by accident.

‘ Oh! Right! There’s much more to a sword than just piercing attacks!’

Shen Yuan had unconsciously decided that piercing attacks were the only effective attack because
of his experience with the earth dragons. He had no actual concept of what it meant to actually
wield a sword (or be a sword) against an enemy!

With another addition to his arsenal of moves, Shen Yuan weaved through the pack slashing as he
went. The slashes were clumsy and not well aimed but the sharpness of his blade made up for the
inexperience.

Now that he really thought about it… Couldn't he start imitating anime moves and such? A grin
stretched across his non-existent face. He returned to the attack with flashy sweeps and flourishes.

The wolves yelped and whined at the onslaught. They did their best to attack him but any attacks
that landed upon his metal blade were largely ineffective.

Soon enough the pack was no more. Shen Yuan was a bit thrown over the fact that he wasn’t tired
at all. He should be exhausted for having taken on a whole pack of dire wolves by himself. The
amount of effort he put in mentally did not correspond with the energy he felt thrumming through
him.

He took stock of his new condition, noting with satisfaction that he had basically acquired fire
immunity from the wolves. His energy reserves had also nearly doubled as well.

Since he didn't need rest or food, SHen Yuan simply continued along his way. He ran into the
BOTW lava slimes soon enough. From what he remembers they’re relatively harmless unless they
manage to ambush you and trap you inside their bodies. He floats up pokes at one of them,
cautiously testing his flame resistance. He lets go of his held breath when he doesn’t melt. The
slime jiggles indignantly and rolls towards him in offense. It's googly eyes spin rapidly.

It's kind of cute, Shen Yuan thinks as he lazily splits it into two smaller slimes. The smaller slimes
still continue their dogged pursuit of his floating blade so he quickly finishes them both off with a
languid swipe. Strange goop is all that remains after he’s done.

He examines himself as the goop solidifies into a lump. Shen Yuan is mildly disappointed when he
gives off a bit of heat. He’s about as hot as a cup of tea, not particularly useful for anything. Maybe
he has to get rid of more slimes?

New objective in mind to become an epic flaming sword of ultimate doom, Shen Yuan sets out to
decimate the population of lava slimes in the surrounding area.

He leaves the lava plains trailing goop behind him with a blade that is only capable of creating a
small flame. Perhaps the slimes are too weak to really level up his flame creating abilities? Shen
Yuan just shrugs and goes with it.

There are more beasts out there, Airplane’s world building was at least half decent in that aspect.
Otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck with PIDW for so long. The protagonist needed a never ending
list of interesting monsters to face in order to keep readers interested after all.

His next encounters are much more fruitful compared to the slimes. He accidentally flies into a
group of golden dusk vultures while scanning the ground for monsters to hunt. There’s a collision
of feather and blade in the air before Shen Yuan collects himself. The vultures squawk and shoot
electrified feathers at him.

Shen Yuan hurriedly avoids the electric feathers, he rallies himself.

He sweat drops ‘‘They look like cheap Zapados ripoffs’

Shen Yuan takes a swing at the closest vulture kicking off the battle.

An epic aerial dogfight occurs. Shen Yuan swears he did not flail wildly and miss one hundred
times while trying to chase down a dumb bird. He ended everything in one shot just like the earth
dragons. The vultures did not get tired from tens of tiny nicks and cuts and eventually fall dead of
exhaustion. That did not happen. Nope no sir. He’s a sword that can aim after all!

He does gain a mild static charge effect as a result of killing one vulture. Eventually it does evolve
into something that can do some mild nerve damage but it's not like Shen Yuan can really test it out
on the vultures. They are naturally resistant.

After the vultures he stumbled upon a battle between crash boars and giant iron ants. The two
forces appear to be fighting over territory.

Chance!

Shen Yuan skirts the edges of the beast war picking off stragglers slowly adding to his strength.
He’s not noticed by the majority of the clashing beasts as he is fast enough to avoid attention and
they’re too dumb to notice the sudden deaths on the edges.

The iron ants make him harder (heh.) while the crash boars increase his speed.

By the time the battle field is covered in the corpses of both armies the bosses of both sides come
out. Shen Yuan’s eyes shine at seeing a mutant crash boar go head to head with the queen of the
iron ants.

Both fighters are vicious and unrelenting in slashing blows or heavy charges. They keep the
pressure on their opponent and appear to be evenly matched.

That is, until Shen Yuan decides to intervene. Seeing an opening, his blade draws a stark black line
down from the ripping skies and dramatically ends the life of the mutant crash boar. The iron ant
queen pauses in shock and in that moment Shen Yuan draws himself from the boar and swiftly
slices through her neck.

The surrounding beasts all panic and scatter after seeing their leaders fall.

Shen Yuan quickly escapes back into the skies after seeing the chaos he has caused. His dark blade
blends in smoothly with the dark red skies. The mindless beasts howl and kick up a huge
commotion. Not one to waste an opportunity, Shen Yuan picks off as many of the fleeing creatures
as he can.

As the rest of the surviving ants and boars run off into the distance Shen Yuan focuses inward to
assess himself. He’s pleased with the additional hardening buffs he’s obtained from the boars and
the speed buff is a convenient boost as well. But the true treasure was the skill het got from the
crash boar mutant. The overall quality of his energy has increased so he can put more power into
his swings and his piercing attacks are now incomparable to his first attempts. The queen ant’s buff
confuses him though. It feels like there’s something missing from the skill so he can’t actually use
what he gained from her.

He is disappointed since he felt that killing the queen would result in a cool effect being applied to
him.

Sighing Shen Yuan simply continues his bloody journey towards the mountains.

Shen Yuan is consulting his mental bestiary when he suddenly falls from the sky. Inspiration has
just struck him like a thunderbolt out of the blue shaking his concentration.

MIMICS! Mimics in PIDW were capable of solid transformations and were found in the demon
realm and, very rarely, in the Abyss.

PIDW used mimics as a bad excuse for the protagonist to papapa with his wives. It was a common
trope to have two of the same attractive women swarm over the protagonist. After the protagonist
determined which woman was the real one he would then prove his love and devotion through a
round of ham fisted papapa.

They usually manifested into whatever you were feeling the most strongly about to distract prey.
Greedy people would encounter treasure. Lovers would find their loved ones.

It was rumored that a true monk with no desires would be able to see a mimic’s true form.

Shen Yuan clearly remembered a short excerpt during Luo Binghe’s travels in the abyss where a
Mimic tormented the protagonist with an image of his Shizun.

If he killed a mimic would he be able to transform? The possibility definitely needed to be

explored. Shen Yuan was really missing being able to sleep and eat.
 Shen Yuan set it as his next priority task. First he needed to become stronger to survive in the
world of PIDW.

Also wouldn’t it just be great if he became a famous sword? He would no longer be a nameless
blade!

As Shen Yuan fantasized about becoming a legend on par with Excalibur a cold shiver went down
the backs of all surrounding abyss beasts.

Chapter End Notes

Wao
 Hunting McHunting Times
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan continues to grind and receives an unexpected visitor

Chapter: 3 Hunting McHunting Times

‘AAAAAAHHHHHHH’ Shen Yuan mentally screamed as he fled from a cave chased by a horde of
vibrantly colored centipedes.

Now don't get him wrong. He’s not running away from the bugs because he’s scared of the creepy
crawly things. There’s nothing wrong with the centipedes despite being creepy with their many
many legs and what not. He’s a man after all (well a sword). It's the fact that they were spitting
ACID at him non stop. And acid wasn't exactly very friendly to little baby blades like him.

He had only managed to kill one centipede so far, so his acid resistance wasn’t particularly high.
Who knew killing that one centipede would bring out a horde of others? It seems he had
accidentally stumbled upon a nest of the things instead of a normal cave with only a few small
critters.

Normally he would be utterly gleeful at having discovered more skill fodder but this was a bit too
much for him! Anxiously fleeing into the sky the moment he left the cave entrance, Shen Yuan
watched warily as the centipedes milled around beneath him in a hissing carpet.

He had finally made it to the distant mountains after what felt like several days of killing wolves
and slimes. He was right in the fact that there were many different types of beasts here. Almost too
many in fact! He didn't know how the ecosystem could possibly sustain such a large number of
demons but he chalked it up to the magic of the world. The mountain was sparsely populated with
gnarled dead trees and there were many nooks and crannies for creatures to hide in.

He eyed the centipedes a second time. Should he yolo (well more like yolt?) it? He could kill
enough of them in the time that he would acquire acid resistance before the acid took effect. Plus
with the energy restoration from killing things he would be regenerating at a rate too high for the
acid to work.
Uh. Now that he thought about it. The centipedes actually weren’t that scary at all?

He catapulted himself at the foremost centipede, pinning its head to the ground and killing it. The
horde was upon him in an instant. A wave of acid splashed over him and he jerked himself out of
the corpse and slid through the thorax of the bug on his right. Shen Yuan groaned as he felt the
acid eating away at the edge of his blade. He slaughtered his way through the crowd and charged
back into the cave with determination.

The inside of the cave was pitch black but Shen Yuan could see fine. He had killed a bat with night
vision before entering the cave.

Green guts sprayed the walls in the wake of his passing. At the end of the long tunnel he slowed
down as the numbers of centipedes slowly dropped. He came upon a bend and turned the corner to
find a giant centipede curled around a clutch of eggs.

He hesitated as the giant centipede hissed at him menacingly. The centipede uncurled itself from
the eggs and charged at him. Shen Yuan backed up frantically, should he kill this centipede? It
was a mother after all! He wavered in place for a bit. The centipede spat out a spray of acid at him
making him yelp and duck to a side.

Shen Yuan hardened his heart. He had already killed so many centipedes. What was one more?

And so Shen Yuan swung himself forward in a brilliant arc and easily sliced the centipede in half.

Casting a look around the cave littered in centipede corpses, and guiltily ignoring the clutch of
eggs, Shen Yuan noticed a dark rubbish corner. In the corner there was a partially eaten humanoid
body. From the looks of it, the body was still rather recent.

He floated over to the rubbish pile. The head of the body had been melted off making race
identification difficult. But the clothing style seems to match descriptions of demon race clothing.
He wished he had hands so he could rummage through the body’s pockets to see if there was
anything interesting. He could only forlornly poke at the body with the tip of his blade.

But this meant that the demon race was exploring the Abyss! That was good. That meant that there
was some way out other than finding Xin Mo to escape! Hopefully he would stumble upon an
expedition at some point!
Heartened he turned to leave the cavern, but his gaze once again landed on the lonely clutch of
eggs.

He had just killed their mother and now there would be no one to take care of them…They would
be especially susceptible to fungus and other problems. Even if he destroyed them they probably
wouldn’t give him anything either.

He guiltily floated over to the pile and injected some of his energy into the clump of eggs. That
should help... Right? Well… Hopefully it didn't attract other monsters to the cave after he left.

Either way he bottled it up the guilt and set it on the pile.

Personally he felt that killing the giant centipede was well worth his time since he was now able to
secrete a strongly corrosive acid from his blade. It would definitely help against some of the
heavier armored drakes he had seen flying around.

The moment he left the centipede cave he was randomly ambushed on by a wandering tentacle
monster. Caught in its tentacles Shen Yuan had shivers going down his blade. It was a grotesque
mess of green and purple tendrils and Shen Yuan couldn't help the yell of horror that escaped him
as he frantically sliced through its tentacles. He hacked blindly at it terrified of its messy
appearance and by the time he realized what he had done it was too late.

‘Nooooo! What the hell have I just done!? What happens if I grow tentacles!? Or something
disgusting? Why did I kill this stupid thing!? Where the hell did it come from?!’

Shen Yuan sighed in defeat as the thing burbled its last breath. He prepared himself for a terrible
skill. He prayed briefly to the system and checked himself over.

Vibration.

That was the skill.

Shen Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of shitty monster was this? Airplane
Shooting Towards the Sky Damn you! Whose ever heard of a damn vibrating tentacle monster?
Just what kinda shitty plot point do you want to make? Whose ever heard of a vibrating sword?!
Well… Wait. If he could increase the vibrations enough… Couldn’t he become an even more
lethal cutting weapon? If he could achieve high frequency vibrations it would no longer be a dream
to slice through solid rock! He would also be doing the world a bit of a favor decreasing the
amount of those lewd monsters roaming around.

Thus Shen Yuan spent the next few hours hunting the most disgusting thing he had happened upon
so far.

By the time he finished he had thoroughly mapped out a single mountain amongst the wide range.
He also hunted a few other monsters while he was at it.

There were wandering trees with dripping vines that provided a poison secretion skill. Great rats
that swarmed from crevices in the mountain that increased his nimbleness. Classical green goblins
that actually didn't really do anything for him at all aside from providing energy. The drakes that
he had seen gave a wind manipulation effect. A strange lone floating jellyfish that he poked for fun
deflated sadly and gave him telekinesis (He cried over this skill, it was like having hands again!).
And finally normal slimes which gave him a fun shape transforming skill.

He experimented with shifting forms between a katana, a saber and other types of sword forms. He
found his default classical jian form to be the most comfortable though. Switching his blade form
made him wonder what his hilt and hand guard looked like; he couldn't quite see that part just like
he couldn't see the back of his head as a normal human.

Well it wasn’t important so he didn't pay attention to it.

After he had perfected his supersonic vibration blade skill he began to circle his mountain in search
of rare or interesting creatures.

He sees a few green colored monkeys, howling drunk baboons, hanging in a dense clump of dead
trees chattering at each other.

By now Shen Yuan is completely desensitized to killing random mobs and simply mows them all
down. His poison that he gained from the wandering trees evolves quite a bit which satisfies him
for now.

But Shen Yuan’s greatest discovery comes when he finds a snake lair while poking around in the
underbrush. It's a whole nest of doppel snakes! These snakes had the ability to create a solid
doppelgänger with the same abilities as the main body and send it to do autonomous tasks.

Fighting the snakes is a frustrating task since every other hit he lands is a dud. But he eventually
cuts into a real snake with his wild swinging. Instantly it seems as if something slots into place
with the iron ant queen’s skill and the doppel snake.

A shimmering light takes over Shen Yuan and he splits into two blades. For the first time in this
world Shen Yuan gets a proper look at himself. He is a simple yet elegant black blade with a
crimson streak running down the center of his blade. He does not in fact possess a hilt or a hand
guard, all that is there is a naked tang.

‘Ah that's a bit embarrassing, it's like not wearing pants...’ Shen Yuan thinks while eying his
double quickly.

He returns to dissipating the doppelgängers and realizes he receives information from the clone at
the same time he gives it orders, allowing him to control both himself and the clone seamlessly. It's
the perfect scouting ability. It appears that the iron ant queen had a crowd control ability that
merged with his new clone creation skill.

Shadow clones! Get!

Exiting the nest of doppel snakes Shen Yuan flies high up into the red skies in victory. He scouts
the ground beneath him in search for the next tasty skill.

Distantly he spies a massive black dragon sleeping peacefully in a clearing among the dead trees.
Its a classical western dragon with massive wings and looks to be straight out of monster hunter.
He marveled at seeing its massive form. It loomed over the trees and Shen Yuan wondered at what
he could possibly gain from his beautiful specimen.

He hovered over the dragon’s neck and activated several skills at once, poison stacked with acid
plus vibration and then adding flame and lightning. It was a recipe for a one hit kill. He didn’t
bother to create any clones as he planned on ending the fight with a single blow.

Shen Yuan plunged down from the skies, completely silent, but just as he was about to hit the
dragon, the dragon’s eyes snapped open!
The dragon rolled out of the way and roared at Shen Yuan, cowing him.

‘What the hell?! Some kind of danger sense? That's so op! I want it!’

Not giving up the attack Shen Yuan swung around and attempted to gut the dragon with a sweep of
his blade. The edge that he raised only cut into the dragon’s tough skin lightly even with all his
buffs.

Shen Yuan’s metaphorical eyes widened. So tough!

Even though Shen Yuan barely did any damage it seemed that the dragon’s eyes were glowing in
anger. It’s wings swept open with a woosh and it lifted off into the sky after Shen Yuan.

It charged at him with rage burning in its eyes and Shen Yuan tried to dodge, but just as the dragon
passed him it lashed out with its long tail and snapped the tip of his blade off!

‘Uwoahhh! What do I do if I can’t fix this!? That's it! You’re going down!’ Shen Yuan roared in his
mind.

Shen Yuan proceeded to overload himself with energy and shot straight at the closest weak point
he could target. It just so happened that the dragon was charging at him when Shen Yuan
embedded his blade into the dragon’s eye. The dragon roared and clawed at its eye, snapping Shen
Yuan’s blade once again leaving half of him stuck in the dragon’s eye.

‘Shit what will happen if my blade snaps all the way to the hilt!? I gotta be careful! ’

Shen Yuan swerved away from the dragon and assessed it from a distance. How exactly could he
take it down? The position and acid on his blade was now thoroughly embedded in its eye so
maybe he could just wait it out? But there was no guarantee that the dragon didn’t have a poison
resistance skill.

‘The wings! I'll target the wings and hope the fall kills it!’

Shen Yuan rapidly darted in and out of the dragon’s range, nicking its wings each time he passed
by. The dragon’s claws grazed him lightly scratching his blade, just narrowly missing him as he
retreated. After several more close calls the dragon’s flight started getting wobbly.

With one last desperate slash Shen Yuan managed to completely sever muscles in its left wing,
sending the dragon careening to the mountain below. It’s right wing flapped pathetically trying to
keep its heavy body in the air. It fell with a thunderous crash.

Shen Yuan approached the downed dragon keeping a healthy distance from its thrashing form at
all times. It appeared that the poison was actually working as the dragon’s struggles slowly
became weaker and weaker. The dragon finally gives up with one last pitiful roar at Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan heaves a sigh of relief as he feels his energy stores return to full from killing the
dragon. He collapses to the ground besides the dragon and nearly bursts out cheering when the
broken end of his sword starts to reform.

Taking a break to allow his blade to regenerate he curiously flexes the new skill he has gained. It
appears to be some sort of sensory skill that allows him to sense a different kind of energy that
living beings possess. It also allows him to manipulate the same strange energy within him. Shen
Yuan notes that he apparently has two different kinds of energy. One type feels a lot darker than
the other. For now he just designates the first type as dark and the second type as light.

Manipulating the light energy is markedly different compared to the dark energy. First of all while
he has significantly more dark energy the light energy appears to be of higher quality. Tapping into
it he feels more efficient and he instinctively realizes that he can perform different techniques with
this new energy. Following his instincts Shen Yuan imbues his blade with light energy and swipes
at the air in front of him. A bright beam of energy flies from his blade and carves a deep gouge
into the earth.

Shen Yuan’s little NEET heart can’t take it. He can do blade beams! Getsuga Tenshō!!!

But just as Shen Yuan is celebrating his new abilities a portal tears itself into existence besides
him. Out of the portal steps several humanoid figures arranged in a unit. The most prominent figure
is a dignified individual at the back dressed in luxurious blue and purple robes with a distinct blue
mark on his forehead. The rest seem to be foot soldiers as they are all dressed similarly in plain
purple tunics and carry an array of weapons.

The group of (what Shen Yuan assumes to be) demons stare in shock at the corpse of the dragon
spread out in front of them.

Shen Yuan immediately stops flying and drops to the ground besides the dragon, sinking into the
ground point first. The movement catches the attention of the fancily dressed individual at the
back. His eyes snap over to Shen Yuan’s direction and narrow at the sight of his black blade. Shen
Yuan shivers under his cold and calculating stare that nails him in place. He’s not prepared when
the man suddenly barks out an order to his men.

“Quickly! Spread out and search! Someone else was here after the black dragon as well! There
may be a trap so remain on your guard! They can’t have gone far!”

All the men except for two quickly scatter in all directions assuming the flying blade to be
controlled by some unknown individual. Except there’s no one else here but Shen Yuan, who is
unfortunately, a sword.

The man throws a talisman at Shen Yuan before approaching cautiously. The paper flutters and
sticks to his blade, completely locking down his light energy. Shen Yuan just plays innocent and
doesn’t make any moves to escape, he’s too curious to see what these guys will do. He can move at
any time after all, though he does hide his dark energy just in case.

The man picks him up by the tang and examines him closely. He hums thoughtfully and one of the
men following behind him speaks up.

“Sir? What’s wrong?”

The man turns him over in his hands and runs a finger along his edge careful not to cut himself.
“This is definitely a spiritual weapon, a very strong one at that. But why would it be simply left
behind like this? And why does it not have a hilt nor guard? There’s no smith’s mark either.
Strange for such a fine blade...” he mused.

The other man who stayed behind is in the middle of inspecting the dragon when the man holding
him walks over to him.

“What have you found?”

“Sir, this dragon was killed by an extremely deadly poison. I am unsure if the heart of the dragon
remains usable.”

The man curses bitterly after hearing this, “Damn! This must be the work of the Eastern tribes!
There must be a spy in our ranks! To know what we are after! They will receive no mercy from
me! We will be the ones to obtain the heart of a black dragon! I swear it! We will be the first of the
demons to evolve!”

Shen Yuan sweat drops in the man’s hands but it's not like he can say anything. ‘Oops?’

The man’s attendants nod dutifully to his words and the first of the scouts sent out start returning.

“General Liu Ao,” A scout salutes, “We have found no signs of the one who slew the dragon.”

“Tch. I will return for now. Begin scouting for another black dragon.”

“Yes sir!” The scouts dutifully scatter once again.

Liu Ao scowls after them as they leave.

 Pants Time
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets clothes and Liu Ao gets a fancy toy

Chapter 4: Pants Time

Liu Ao claws at the air, the air ripples around his claws and tears with a ripping noise. Shen Yuan
gapes. On the other side of the dimensional rip Shen Yuan spies a lighter red colored sky and the
outskirts of a bustling army camp.

He's too busy drooling over Liu Ao’s skill to notice as Liu Ao hands him to an attendant. Liu Ao
steps through the portal flanked by his two attendants and heads toward a distinctively large tent in
the center of the camp.

Walking into the tent with a deep scowl on his face the general respectfully salutes the man sitting
at the head of a long table who is surrounded by other important looking men. The man is draped
in lavish robes of deep blue and has his hair elaborately done up into an impressive jade crown. He
too has a demon mark on his forehead. He exudes an aura of dignity and grace.

“Back so soon?” This very important looking man asks, stroking his beard.

Liu Ao reports in a grave tone, “Someone beat us to the black dragon.” The men surrounding the
table startle. “the dragon was killed with a deadly poison. I suspect the Eastern tribes. They also
left behind this spiritual blade.” He gestures to his attendant who steps forwards with Shen Yuan
held in both hands.

“Hmm? Let me see.”

The attendant approaches respectfully and hands Shen Yuan over to the man.

Shen Yuan mentally squirms under the intense scrutiny he is subjected to. He’s turned several
times and closely inspected from tip to tang.
“I see… How strange. Why would such a powerful blade be left behind? This blade is quite the
high quality weapon.” The man hands Shen Yuan back to the attendant, “Have the smiths create a
proper hilt for the blade and identify its origins.”

“Yes my lord.”

The attendant takes him in hand and leaves just as an advisor bends down to whisper into the lord’s
ear. Liu Ao’s face looks sour when the attendant passes by. He shoots a look at the attendant who
winces in return and then they’re out of the large tent.

Shen Yuan observes curiously as the attendant walks through the bustling camp. It's a melting pot
of races. There are neatly dressed humanoids in purple lounging around all over the place.
Fantastical demons are scattered everywhere as well. There’s a guy with a neck that's twice as long
as his body, a cyclops with three arms is talking to a woman without a head. A giant troll looms
over the tents in a corner of the camp. A group of handsome men with antlers are conversing idly
around a campfire.

Except, no matter where he looks there seems to be a current of underlying tension in the camp.
Faces are drawn and worried and he sees more than one demon fingering the hilts of their
weapons.

Shen Yuan feels like a child at a sort of xian xia monster renaissance fair. He’s slightly
overwhelmed with how much stuff is going on, the sheer amount of people here is a stark contrast
to the lonely monster filled Abyss. He’s grateful for his 360 degree field of vision, because
otherwise his non-existent neck would be in pain from craning around, trying to take everything in
all at once.

Soon the tents give way to a small town, there aren’t as many people wandering the town as the
camp. The town buildings are predominantly built of a deep purple stone with black roofs. Unlike
any human towns Shen Yuan has seen, the buildings are twisted and curved, valuing asymmetrical
shapes. There are a few vendors on the streets peddling their wares. Shen Yuan spots a goblin
selling rotting flesh and a floating eye manning the stand next to him is selling an assortment of
eyeballs. The few demons Shen Yuan sees with expressions he can read share the same grim look
as the ones in the camps.

The attendant reaches a rather large building with a high chimney and enters. Shen Yuan admires
the large forge that they have just stepped into. It's clear that it's a busy place, there are smiths hard
at work wherever he looks. Sparks fly and hammers clang throughout the forge. A green roaring
fire burns brightly at the back of the large room. Shen Yuan can make out the shapes of tormented
faces within the flames.

When the attendant is finally noticed he is greeted by a blue skinned old man with bulging muscles
in workman's clothes and a purple headband. The attendant relays the lord’s instructions and hands
Shen Yuan over to the man. The old man nods and calls a break and the rest of the smiths gather to
see what’s the news. Shen Yuan is raised up before the eyes of twenty or so smiths feeling
extremely exposed.

The moment the smiths start to really inspect him there are exclamations of wonder. They pass the
blade amongst each other admiring Shen Yuan.

“What kind of metal is this? I’ve never seen anything quite like this!”

“What sort of technique was used to forge this sword? Just look at this beauty!”

“Who’s the smith? I would love to apprentice under him.”

A man with four arms smacks the one that just spoke, “Fool it’s here because we don’t know the
maker!”

Shen Yuan feels awkwardly proud under the praise, he doesn’t know the answers any more than
they do. All he knows is that he woke up one day as a sword.

“General Liu Ao thinks it might be the Eastern tribes” the attendant chirps from the corner where
he's been ignored.

“Eastern tribes? Not possible. The level of sophistication in this blade is too high for that.” A short
green man shoots back.

“What a pity that there's no name or signature.” Another smith sighs.

“Indeed, this blade would make any smith proud and yet…”
“There appears to be no spiritually bound master either…”

‘How curious, men would kill for a weapon of this quality.”

“Truly a pity.” The head smith turns back to the attendant “This blade is something we’ve never
seen before. It's impossible to determine the origins. Where was it found?”

The attendant hesitates, “Ah, it was found abandoned in the Abyss in front of a slain black
dragon.”

The head smith reevaluates the blade in his hands. “Oh ho? This is the weapon that slew a black
dragon? Remarkable. I assume the ritual is about complete then?” He asks.

“Ah no, not exactly.” The attendant scratches the side of his face awkwardly, “The dragon was
poisoned to death so the heart was unuseable.”

“Hoh. So that is why General Liu Ao suspects the Eastern tribes. Truly, only those dogs would
resort to such uncouth methods.”

“Yes. He had a recent run in with them as well, I’m sure their techniques are fresh on his mind.”

The smith heaved a sigh, “Unfortunate. Do we have any of the poison that killed the black dragon?
We could send it to the apothecary to see if they can determine this blade’s origins.”

Suddenly the attendant looked extremely awkward, “Ah, no the General didn’t think to collect any
to test...”

The smith squinted at him and hummed.

By now Shen Yuan was thoroughly engrossed with trying to figure out the situation between the
purple men and the Eastern tribes. What exactly was the bad juju between them? Were they at war
or something? Why? And oh hot damn, had he just added oil to the fire by killing the black
dragon? He didn’t mean to, he swears! Well… He did mean to… But it's not like he knew other
people were after it as well! Honestly this ritual nonsense just sounds really ominous with
evolution and what not. But it doesn’t really have anything to do with him so…

“You said the lord wants a proper hilt for this blade?” The head smith asks.

“Yes.”

“So he intends to use it, hmm…”

The head smith heads over to a work table at the end of the large room. A standard undecorated
guard is fitted onto Shen Yuan and a plain black leather grip is added. Shen Yuan honestly does
feel like he's wearing a proper pair of pants now that he has a hilt. It feels oddly comfortable and he
definitely feels less exposed now.

The old smith swings him a few times testing his weight and balance and then nods to himself. He
goes to another corner and digs out a standard sheath and slides Shen Yuan in.

‘Woah! Why is this so comfortable?? It's like coming home! It's like a warm hug! What is this?
Who knew a proper sheath could be so nice?’ Shen Yuan thinks.

A satisfied Shen Yuan gets handed back to the attendant. The attendant nods respectfully to the
head smith and proceeds to leave the smithy.

Another trek through the town and the camp and the attendant has returned to the large central tent.
The attendant addresses a guard standing outside the tent and he’s let inside.

Shen Yuan and the attendant are greeted by a tense war council it seems. All the men in the tent
except for Mr. Very Important look worried and harassed. Liu Ao who is still standing at the front
of the tent looks especially grim. His eyes briefly flick over to land on the attendant before
returning to stare grimly at Mr. Very Important.

Mr. Very Important glances at the attendant and smiles, “Ah, well now we can put the grim news
to a side for now. What have you learned from the smiths?”

The attendant salutes and responds, “The smiths say that they have never seen anything like this
blade before. They cannot determine its origin. They also mentioned that it is not spiritually bound
to any master.”

Mr. VIP nods and stares thoughtfully at Shen Yuan. After a while he seems to come to a decision.
“Well, men, let us see what the weapon that slew a black dragon is capable of.” He stands and the
rest of the men in the tent follow him out to an empty training field surrounded by trees.

“Now General Liu Ao, if you would?” Mr. VIP gestures to the attendant who still holds Shen
Yuan.

General Liu Ao takes Shen Yuan and unsheathes him, tossing the sheath back at his attendant. He
removes the talisman that is still stuck to Shen Yuan’s blade and takes a stance in front of a
training dummy. He begins to channel what Shen Yuan recognizes as light energy through Shen
Yuan.

It feels oddly comfortable yet restricting. Shen Yuan likens the feeling to being wrapped in a
blanket burrito. He also realizes he can’t act freely any more. He can no longer access his light
energy on his own, though his dark energy is left untouched. Shen Yuan is disconcerted by this, it
seems like as long as he has a wielder he will no longer have free will to do as he likes. There’s
also what feels like a faint consciousness brushing up against the edges of his own mind.

Shen Yuan doesn’t know how to feel about that. He instinctively knows that he can deepen this
mental bond if he wishes. But the consequences of such an act… It would mean revealing that he
is an intelligent weapon in a situation where he does not know what will happen to him. So for
now, Shen Yuan plays dead, he lets Liu Ao do with him as he pleases.

Liu Ao takes a few light practice swings with him getting used to Shen Yuan’s weight. Once he
feels ready he steps forward and slashes the dummy in front of him. A giant bright white blade
beam is released from his blade at the training dummy. Jaws drop in the wake of its passing and
needless to say, that poor training dummy no longer exists in this world. In fact a few trees several
feet behind the dummy have also departed this plane of existence.

Liu Ao stares wide eyed at the sword and looks back and forth between the destruction and the
sword. He stammers, “W-what? I only put a tiny bit of Qi in??”

Shen Yuan is dumbfounded by his own power when he has a wielder, ‘Yeah uh? Holy fuck? You
pulled on my Qi as well, not just yours? Is that allowed?’
Mr. VIP’s eyes have widened slightly but otherwise he shows no reaction to the destruction. After
several moments of awed silence passes he speaks up, “General Liu Ao, you were about evenly
matched with General Meng Ju during the last martial tournament, correct?” Liu Ao nods with a
blank expression. “Then I would like you to spar with General Meng Ju using that sword.”

Liu Ao nods and Meng Ju steps forwards from the line up of men standing behind Mr. VIP. Meng
Ju is a severe looking individual with sharp eyes dressed similarly to Liu Ao in fine robes of blue
and purple. His hair is in a ponytail with some loose hair framing his face attractively.

Meng Ju draws his sword and both men take up stances opposite to each other. On some unknown
signal they rush forwards at each other and clash, locking swords with each other. Both men were
indeed very evenly matched. Every strike was countered, each blow was parried.

Shen Yuan was in awe of both men’s skills. He felt rather ashamed of himself now. He knew no
proper swordsmanship. When he fought it was all random swings and clumsy swipes. He had only
been able to kill so many monsters because of his sharp edge and various skills. Being wielded by
a skillful swordsman was inspiring. He commits himself to memorizing the calculated and careful
swings of Liu Ao and the aggressive unrelenting blows of Meng Ju. Somehow, Shen Yuan swears,
he will learn proper swordsmanship. Otherwise he would be the laughing stock of all swords.

Just as the battle reaches a climax Meng Ju and Liu Ao clash blades again. Sharp crack flies
through the air and the blade in Meng Ju’s hands snaps leaving him with a third of a blade. The
fight pauses as both men follow the spinning arc of the broken blade. All is quiet as the broken
blade embeds itself into the dirt.

Meng Ju bows respectfully to Liu Ao and takes a step back. “A good fight,” he says “A fine
weapon.”

Liu Ao is breathing slightly heavier but still nods at Meng Ju.

“Hm. Truly an excellent blade. One wonders why it was abandoned. Could it be a trap?” Mr. VIP
flicks out a fan from his sleeves and begins fanning himself. “Though I do see how one kills a
black dragon with such a blade, but why did they require poison if the blade is so powerful? Was it
truly just a sabotage attempt?”

His advisors have no words for him, each contemplating the strange blade held in Liu Ao’s hands.
Liu Ao turns to Mr. VIP after a while of staring at Shen Yuan and kneels, “My lord, please give
me permission to lead an offense against the Eastern tribes with this blade. There needs to be
retribution for the destruction of the town Hui Zhong. Using the Eastern tribe’s weapon against
their forces will be the ultimate insult. I also feel that I have not unleashed the full might of this
blade just yet.”

“Hmm… I will think on it. It is true that we cannot allow the destruction of Hui Zhong to be
unanswered for but we still must be cautious that this blade is not something malicious.”

Shen Yuan took offense to that statement.

“For now simply continue to gather the components for the ritual, I will allow you to use that blade
while hunting demonic beasts. We must keep an eye on it.”

Liu Ao aquisces and stands up again. With a wave of Mr. VIP’s hand everyone is dismissed.

Meng Ju walks up to Liu Ao as everyone is leaving and asks, “What do you plan to do now?”

Liu Ao is back to looking consideringly at Shen Yuan, “I… I have this feeling that this blade is
something of vital importance. But I’m not sure how… I think for now I will do as the Lord
commands and continue hunting the components.”

Meng Ju glances at the blade and nods his head slowly, “How much do you have left to find?”

“Not much, the black dragon’s heart, a hydra’s poison sack, a manticore’s golden horns, phantom
essence and an agni claw.”

Meng Ju tilts his head, “I think I can manage the phantom essence if you can find the rest.”

“Oh indeed? That's one of the more troublesome ones, I’ll leave it to you then. Thank you.”

“Yes… It is nothing…”
“Is something wrong?”

“No it's nothing, take care on your hunts comrade. Bring a back up sword.”

“I will.”
 Hunting. But With Friends!
Chapter Summary

Liu Ao goes hunting

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 5: Hunting But With Friends

Shen Yuan sighed as he was used to cut through a swath of underbrush.

They were currently in a dense forest in the demon realm searching for a gold horned manticore.
Liu Ao had no mercy for Shen Yuan and was doggedly pushing through the thick plants using
Shen Yuan to clear the way. Shen Yuan shed tears in his heart. One day you're a dangerous sword
to be respected, the next and you’re a weed whacker.

They had already been trekking through this forest for about three weeks in search of the elusive
beast. There were manticore tracks all over the forest and yet no manticore. In the meantime, Shen
Yuan had been used to fend off a variety of beasts looking for an easy snack of the demon hunting
party. There were orange tailed hawks twice the size of a man that swooped in looking to carry off
unaware members of the expedition. Various species of snakes and poisonous plants that
contributed to Shen Yuan’s growing toxicity. A golden stump bear that had wandered into their
camp at night one day. A blast shell tortoise that had offed at least one member of the crew with its
deadly wind bullets. And finally there was a nonstop hord of green knee high lizard beasts that
constantly harassed soldiers.

All in all it had been a pretty rough three weeks for Liu Ao’s demon hunting party. Yet
impressively enough Liu Ao looked completely unruffled by the constant demon beast attacks. He
was cool as a peerless cucumber and only pushed his men harder when the demon beast attacks
seemed almost too much.

Meanwhile Shen Yuan was having the time of his life collecting skills with no effort. He didn't
have to do anything! Liu Ao killed everything for him! It was pretty great. It felt like an auto
playing game to Shen Yuan where he merely pressed play and then reaped all the rewards at the
end. He had now acquired advanced wind manipulation, a poison with nearly no cure, sharpness
plus, and additional strength.
But still. Wasn’t it a bit degrading to use him to cut branches and vines like this? Liu Ao please! At
least use your back up sword for this task! He’s a good sword, thus far he had not failed Liu Ao
once! Even if he can regenerate, don't use his edge for such a thing!

Liu Ao, of course, was unaware of Shen Yuan’s grievances. He merely forged onward into the
dense thicket.

A yelp came from behind Liu Ao and he turned to find one of his men strung up by the ankles by
a creeping vine. He sighed deeply and with a flash of Shen Yuan and another yelp the man crashed
back to earth.

“Incompetent fools.” Liu Ao muttered under his breath, turning around in a huff.

Behind his back his soldiers shared commiserating glances, they sighed as one and hurried to
follow their general.

Soon the expedition reached a rather promising clearing at the entrance of a large cave. There were
long coarse hairs scattered about the entrance and deep claw marks on the surrounding trees. A
scout examined a bundle of hairs and nodded at his general. Liu Ao’s face took on a grim
countenance, then he directed his troop to surround the cave. Liu Ao pointed out the soldier who
got caught by the vine earlier.

“You. Go in and drive the beast out. It doesn’t matter how.”

The soldier pointed questioningly at himself with a terrified face while the rest of the crew shot
him pitying looks. The soldier trembled and shakily walked up to the entrance of the cave before
stopping there. He turned to look at Liu Ao whose stern expression didn’t waver in the slightest bit.
The soldier gulped and turned back to the cave entrance white as a sheet. Taking a deep fortifying
breath, the man slowly walked into the cave.

Liu Ao fingered Shen Yuan’s hilt as the troop waited with bated breath for the manticore to come
out.

It took several long minutes before there was a girly high pitched scream and the soldier came
running back out like his pants were on fire. The soldier didn't bother to stop at the clearing, he
simply ran past them back into the dangerous dense forest. The manticore burst out of the cave
roaring, clearly infuriated.
The manticore was a majestic beast, it was taller than four soldiers combined. Huge golden veined
horns rose above its maned lion head. Its fierce spiked cobra tail whipped around from behind its
back and hissed threateningly. The manticore pawed the ground and its angry gaze settled on Liu
Ao who stood in front of his soldiers.

Liu Ao took a fighting stance and the manticore charged him with a mighty leap.

Sidestepping the charge and ducking under the attempted bite of the snake tail, Liu Ao unleashed a
bright blade beam at the manticore’s stomach.

The manticore roared in pain as its side was gouged out, it whipped around, tail lashing out to
strike at Liu Ao.

Liu Ao blocked the tail using Shen Yuan but the snake wrapped around Shen Yuan forcing Liu Ao
to let go of the blade lest he get bitten.

Liu Ao jumped away from the manticore and snorted.

“Stupid beast.” He said derisively

With a hand sign he channeled qi and Shen Yuan flashed and twisted in the snake’s grip beheading
the serpent.

The lion head howled in agony and anger. It twisted and tried to bite at the defenseless Liu Ao. Liu
Ao twisted out of the way elegantly and directed Shen Yuan with precision. Shen Yuan ripped
across the manticore’s limbs severing tendons as he went. The manticore batted at Shen Yuan
futilely before spinning around to glare venomously at Liu Ao. It inhaled deeply and exhaled a
bright stream of flame. Liu Ao jumped backwards out of the range of the flames. He calmly made
another hand sign and Shen Yuan darted across the Manticore’s eyes, blinding it.

At this point the manticore had been bleeding out quite severely, it stumbled and clawed at the air
blindly. Liu Ao called Shen Yuan back to his hand and approached the weakened beast quietly. He
stood beside the wailing beast silently. With a simple flick of his arm upward the manticore was
cleanly decapitated.
Personally Shen Yuan thought that Liu Ao looked really cool at this moment. Liu Ao didn’t even
turn to watch the manticore’s head fall from its body, just like a cool guy.

Liu Ao paid no attention to the corpse behind him, he simply waved his troops over to dismantle
the large creature.

His soldiers moved dutifully to complete his orders. Soon enough the manticore had been
disassembled into various parts and the hunting group decided to camp out in the clearing for the
night. A few soldiers were dispatched to track down the soldier who lured out the manticore. The
guy still hadn’t returned.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was busy throwing a party in his head. Glorious skill acquisition! He
could finally produce flames that were worthy of being a threat to monsters!

That night around the campfire, bellies full of manticore meat, the soldiers lavished their general
with praise.

“General Liu Ao you’re just too cool! How could you manage to just stare down a beast like that
with no fear?”

“Did you see that beautiful strike at the end there? Simply amazing!”

“General, you truly are a man!”

Liu Ao takes all the praise with a stoic face and a grain of salt; he doesn’t react to any of the
comments. He merely stands from the campfire, nods at his soldiers and returns to his personal tent
taking Shen Yuan with him. The soldiers aren’t too put out by this behavior as they have somewhat
grown used to Liu Ao’s distant demeanor over the past three weeks. They make cheerful small talk
of returning to the main camp now that they have successfully obtained the golden manticore
horns.

Shen Yuan had a feeling that it wouldn’t be that easy for these soldiers. He then spent the night
idly experimenting with creating clones and then sending them outside to kill things. Mostly the
irritating ankle biting green lizards.

Now if Shen Yuan still had a face he’d have a psychotic grin stretched out all over it. The clones
could obtain skills for him when they killed things as well. Shen Yuan once again thanks whatever
deities were out there for stumbling upon that doppel snake nest.

The only thing that really worried Shen Yuan right now was the fact that he had no idea where in
the timeline of PIDW he was right now. None of the demons he had encountered had names that he
remembered. But then again AIrplane never did bother with expanding upon the demon realm
aside from having Luo Binghe fight some overprotective father or such for the right to marry his
daughter. Luo Binghe’s rise to power in the demon realm had been thoroughly glossed over with
five sentences. It was never clear how exactly Luo Binghe accomplished such a feat.

Was it possible for Shen Yuan to end up fighting against Luo Binghe? The Binghe that crawled out
of the abyss was ruthless against his enemies. Weapons would be snapped in half and corpses
would be desecrated. Shen Yuan shuddered, even with his regeneration he was sure that with the
protagonist’s golden thumb Binghe would find some way to kill him. Honestly it seemed that the
best way to survive in this world would be getting found by Binghe somehow. Except… He would
probably end up thrown into a treasure vault somewhere the moment Binghe picked up Xin Mo.

The next morning the soldiers had a surprisingly easy time making headway out of the forest.
There were no tiny lizards that hampered their every step and many of the more dangerous beasts
seemed to be staying well away from their area. Morale was high.

And then General Liu Ao opened up his mouth and said, “We’re pushing onwards to hunt down
the hydra.”

It was only thanks to their strict training that groans of complaint did not escape the mouths of the
soldiers. They were tired and weary from fighting everything in the forest and now they had to
travel to the monster infested open plains of Hei Zhu. Liu Ao ignored the pleading looks of his
subordinates and set off at a brisk pace. The soldiers heaved a sigh behind his back and shouldered
their packs and followed.

Shen Yuan felt pity for the soldiers but it’s not like he could say anything. In fact he was looking
forward to hunting the hydra. It was such a classical monster, anyone in a fantasy world would be
excited to fight such a beast. The romance and exhilaration of fighting an opponent that
regenerated as you cut it down. Shen Yuan couldn’t wait.

Liu Ao wondered why his sword was subtly vibrating in its sheath. Was there actually something
wrong with it? He wasn’t channeling Qi right now so what exactly was happening? It had been a
trustworthy sword so far, it boosted his spiritual energy and any attacks he unleashed were greatly
enhanced. It felt amazing to wield such a sword. He wanted to thank his lucky stars that he had
stumbled upon it whenever he used it. It was addictive how easily he overwhelmed his foes using
this blade. In fact if it weren’t for his lord’s worries and Meng Ju’s advice, he wouldn’t have even
bothered with a back up sword.

The soldiers marching behind Liu Ao wondered why their general was staring at his sword with
such a pondering gaze. Perhaps he too was in awe of the sword’s power? All the soldiers had been
thoroughly enlightened of their general’s new prowess due to his new weapon. Many were jealous
that they hadn’t been the one to pick up the blade. But alas, they were normal foot soldiers and
held no significant rank, they could only dream of having such a powerful weapon at their side.

After another week of traveling they reached the banks of a wide river where the hydra was
rumored to have made its nest.

The soldiers spread out and searched for the hydra while Liu Ao stood contemplatively at the edge
of the river.

Soon there was a shout of surprise near a large patch of rush. The same soldier who had been
snared by a vine had stumbled upon the sleeping hydra. It was the same size as the manticore and
covered in purple scales. It had a large snake body and was curled in on itself peacefully. The
soldier held his breath and slowly edged away from the creature.

Liu Ao rushed over to the area and drew Shen Yuan with a flourish. The hydra was slowly stirring,
irritated by the commotion around it.

Soldiers rushed to pen the creature in with their general so that he could fight the monster on his
own.

The Hydra’s nine heads shifted slowly as it woke. Liu Ao didn't give it the time to return to full
awareness before he leapt forwards and cut off two heads with a single stroke.

Shen Yuan tsked at the reckless attack, ‘ I thought you were smart Liu Ao! You’re supposed to
attack the root! Now it's got two more heads!’

Just as Shen Yuan had that thought the hydra snapped awake fully and hissed at Liu Ao. At the end
of the decapitated necks two buds of flesh began forming. Liu Ao watched in horror as the hydra
regenerated two new heads.

He didn't have long to gape as he was soon forced to dodge the relentless attacks of eleven angry
heads. Dancing around the venomous strikes of the hydra, Liu Ao swung hastily and cut off
another head. Twelve heads glared in unison at the general. He frowned and backed off. Liu Ao
ordered his soldiers to draw their bows and fire at the creature.

Arrows rained down upon the hydra. Tink! Tink! Tink! They all bounced off harmlessly off the
hydra’s thick scales.

Liu Ao tsked. He charged forwards and targeted the large body of the hydra. He sent a flurry of
blade beams at the hydra. The hydra screeched as it was struck. It staggered backwards bleeding
heavily. But as it reeled backwards its wounds began steaming, they closed quickly and
regenerated leaving behind a furious twelve headed hydra.

‘Oh. Okay. I’m sorry Liu Ao.’ Shen Yuan thought. ‘ Looks like you actually need my help this time
though.’

Liu Ao had on a complicated expression as he looked at the hydra.

Then suddenly! His sword burst into searing white flames!

Liu Ao nearly dropped his sword in shock. He stared at the flames uncomprehendingly. He wasn’t
given long to understand the situation as the hydra spat a wave of venom out at him. He jumped
backwards avoiding the toxic spray. The poison landed on the surrounding reeds and began
dissolving everything it touched instantly.

Liu Ao instinctively lashed out and sliced off a striking head of the hydra. The flames on his sword
cauterized the wound that was left behind, leaving the hydra with a new blacked stump of a neck.

Grinning, Liu Ao set to attacking the hydra with a renewed ferocity.

In no time at all the hydra was fully dead. Leaving behind a body with twelve necks and twelve
cleanly detached heads.

A soldier rushed up to Liu Ao beaming, “General! That was amazing! How did you do that?”

Liu Ao hesitated, “I don’t know… The sword reacted on its own. I’ve always known it was more
powerful than it appeared but this… Truly unexpected, I don't understand it at all. Perhaps it is
able to find the solution to different battles? The flames were perfect for dealing with the hydra.”

Shen Yuan frowned. It was a good assumption but not correct. In response he began secreting the
new toxin he had gained from the hydra. The poison dripped off his blade and melted the ground
below in the same manner as the hydra’s poison.

Liu Ao’s eyes widened at the sight. “No. Perhaps it takes on the traits of slain monsters? The
flame… I recall it from the manticore.”

The soldier by his side stared at the blade, “Incredible general Liu Ao, what a blade!”

“Indeed… Go tell the others to dismantle the hydra quickly. We will begin our return to camp as
soon as we are done.”

“Ah. Yes sir.”

As soon as the hunting group returned to camp Liu Ao reported his discoveries of Shen Yuan to his
lord.

Mr. VIP stroked his beard, “Amazing. To think that such a blade exists and is now in our hands.
Congratulations General, for finding such a treasure.”

Liu Ao nodded.

“Now, What do you plan on doing next? I see we are almost ready for the ritual.”

“I will be returning to the Endless Abyss to search for an Agni and black dragon. I will not fail you
this time my lord.”

“Hm… Yes… Very good, thank you for the hard work. May your hunt go well.”

The lord nodded and then dismissed Liu Ao.

Meng Ju on the side stared at Liu Ao with a complex expression.

As Liu Ao left the main tent Meng Ju followed him out.

“Liu Ao, Wait.”

“Ah General Meng Ju, did you need something?”

“I have retrieved the phantom essence, here.” Meng Ju took out a small bottle filled with a swirling
green gas and handed it to Liu Ao.

“Thank you very much for doing this for me. With this we are one step closer to our goal!”

Meng Ju nodded, patted Liu Ao on the shoulder and left.

Liu Ao smiled softly to himself and left to inform his troops of their plans.

The concept of hunting a flame Agni made Shen Yuan slightly anxious. The flame Agni had been
one of the more difficult boss monsters Luo Binghe encountered during his adventures. It
maintained a magical ring of flames around its body at all times which made it impossible to
engage the Agni in close combat. It had incredibly thick scales as well making long range attacks
incredibly ineffective. Luo Binghe who specialized in close combat couldn’t deal with the Agni
using his usual methods and was forced to rely on his party members' help in order to take on the
draconic being.

Returning to the Abyss was interesting. Shen Yuan hadn’t realized he had missed the tearing skies
and endless montage of killing monsters without worrying about consequences. It was almost like
coming home with friends.

Fighting the Agni was a complete cake walk for Liu Ao and Shen Yuan. Liu Ao simply directed
Shen Yuan from a distance, taking full advantage of Shen Yuan’s flame resistance. With the
terrible poison of the hydra combined with various other toxins the Agni slowly succumbed under
Shen Yuan’s onslaught.
 Finding another black dragon was a bit more difficult but they caught one eventually. This time
Shen Yuan was careful not to use any of his poison against the beast. Instead his cutting power had
improved dramatically since the last time he had faced a black dragon. He cleaved his way through
the dragon’s scales with contemptuous ease.

Liu Ao returned to camp, victorious and towing a giant heart behind him.

Mr. VIP was waiting for him when he arrived. “Ah. I see you have returned successful. Very well.
Begin preparations for the ritual. We shall begin at first light tomorrow. For now, thank you for
your work general. You have served me well.”

Liu Ao nodded, “Thank you my lord.”

“Return and rest up. We have a big day tomorrow! Our goal is finally in sight!”

Chapter End Notes

I can’t wait for shit to happen lol.

 When You Yeet a Head
Chapter Summary

Liu Ao has a bad time and Meng Ju gets a new toy

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter : 6 When You Yeet a Head

The next morning general Liu Ao was rudely jolted awake by the sound of a large explosion in the
distance. He jumped out of bed and quickly threw on his clothes; he grabbed Shen Yuan from off
his table and dashed out of his room.

Liu Ao was greeted by the sight of chaos. There were soldiers rushing everywhere as the building
that the ritual should have been conducted in burned and crumbled in the distance. Liu Ao hadn’t
been needed for the ritual and had been taking a well needed break, but what was this? Had the
ritual failed?

Rushing towards the ritual site Liu Ao pushed through the milling soldiers who were standing
around the building wondering what was happening.

Arriving at the ritual site Liu Ao was immediately apprehended by several soldiers. They grabbed
onto his arms and bound them behind his back.

“What is the meaning of this!?” He shouted in confusion struggling against his bonds slightly.

Mr. VIP staggered over, supported by one of his advisors. He was heavily burnt on the right side of
his body, his face was damaged and one eye blinded. He lifted his hand and pointed accusingly at
Liu Ao.

“You! I should have never taken you in from the Northern demons! To think you were a double
agent this whole time!” He roared.
Liu Ao looked stricken, “What do you mean my lord? I have been completely loyal this whole
time!”

“Pah! As if a traitor knows anything of loyalty! The false phantom essence you provided has been
our undoing! Take him away! Lock him up!”

“What!? Please wait! There's a misunderstanding! The phantom essence was provided by Meng
Ju!”

“It's not enough that you caused the ritual that we have been preparing for twenty five years to fail?
You must also implicate a loyal subordinate of mine?” The lord asked.

Liu Ao struggled against his captors, “No! Please let me explain!”

“Strip him of his weapon! Take him to the dungeons already! I’ll not listen to his treacherous
slander any longer!”

The soldiers knocked Liu Ao, who was screaming denials, to the ground and harshly grabbed Shen
Yuan. Liu Ao was bundled off to the dungeons while Shen Yuan was left reeling over this fast turn
of events.

‘Whoa! What’s this? An actual betrayal plot by Meng Ju? What the hell?’ Shen Yuan thought as he
was handed over to Meng Ju.

“I can’t believe this, to have been a double agent for nearly fifty years.” Meng Ju said to the lord.

The lord sighed and gestured for his supporting advisor to take him to be healed. “Indeed. I should
have known it was too good to be true that a Northern demon with powers like his would betray his
own kind. Search his quarters. There must be some evidence of his collaborations with them.”

“Right away sir. What of his sword?”

The lord merely waved over his shoulder as he was led away, “It is of little matter. You may take
ownership of it.”
“Thanking my lord for his generosity.”

Shen Yuan gaped. Was this all because of him? No no, it seems that Meng Ju’s rivalry with Liu Ao
had been there for quite some time. This guy! What an actor!

Meng Ju quickly left the ritual site and made his way to a shady alleyway by himself. He waited
there tapping his foot in a specific pattern. A few moments later a horned demon materialized out
of the shadows of the alley way. The demon was dressed in black robes and generally looked like
an incredibly seedy looking individual.

“It is done. Have the evidence planted in Liu Ao’s quarters.” Said Meng Ju.

The shady man nodded, “Yes, right away. Congratulations for finally besting your long time rival
general.”

“Hmph.” Meng Ju crossed his arms, “The only way this could have gone better is if his lordship
had died as well.”

“Indeed. But we can always have him succumb to the wound he sustained today. I can use poison
with almost no cure.”

“An excellent idea. Let’s have that happen right after Liu Ao’s execution. Did you hear? This
sword of his can apparently take on the traits of its slain foes.”

“Oh? Is that so? May I inspect the blade?” The man asked, holding his hand out.

Meng Ju hesitated for a bit before he turned Shen Yuan over.

The man drew Shen Yuan from his sheath and slowly inspected him. “Hm. Doesn’t look like much
does it?”

‘Hey. I look fine, thank you very much .’ Shen Yuan silently retorted.
“That's just the hilt’s fault. It's the blade itself that has the power so the hilt can be replaced at any
time with a better one.”

“Mm. I see.” The man sheathed Shen Yuan and handed him back to Meng Ju. “I will be leaving
now, was there anything else you needed?”

“No. Stay hidden.”

“Of course.”

The man stepped back into the shadows and in an instant he was gone.

Meng Ju made his way back to the main camps and began to assist in the recovery efforts of the
ritual building.

He began ordering the spectating soldiers to do actually productive things.

Shen Yuan didn’t know what to do. He was just a sword. He had no way to communicate with
others and even if he was able to, who would believe him? He could only sit and watch as an
innocent man was condemned.

The next week was a hectic mess as the Western demons (as Shen Yuan finally learned) scrambled
to fix intelligence leaks that liu Ao supposedly created. It was also rather difficult trying to replace
all the important personnel that had been lost in the explosion at the ritual site.

Many of the soldiers felt a deep sense of betrayal from Liu Ao’s actions. They had believed in the
man. They were fond of their cold and distant general since he always took time to meet with his
troops. He never showed it but he did care deeply for his soldiers, he nearly always took the most
dangerous jobs such as fighting monsters on his own. A lot of the soldiers didn't know what to do
now that their trusted general had been revealed as a traitor.

Thank goodness for general Meng Ju though! The man seemed to have a solution for every
problem that cropped up. He quickly found suitable replacements for the high ranking officials that
had died and was quickly able to gain control over the portion of the army that Liu Ao originally
managed. Truly a reliable individual.

Soon enough an execution date for Liu Ao had been decided. The man was not given the luxury of
a fair trial. The entire trial was a farce of planted evidence designed to smear Liu Ao’s good name.
Liu Ao could only look on with a despairing expression as piece after piece of evidence was pulled
from his rooms. He shouted and struggled the whole time as he was pulled from the courtroom. He
pleaded his innocence desperately but not one ear was listening to his pleas. Meng Ju’s reputation
was simply too good for anyone to really put any stock into what Liu Ao was accusing him of. In
fact Liu Ao had been a traitor from the Northern demons in the first place. There was no mercy for
the north in the hearts of the west.

The day of his execution, Liu Ao was dragged out in front of the entire army onto a raised wooden
platform. He was forced to his knees in front of the heavily bandaged lord and his new advisors.
Liu Ao’s wife and son, Liu Ban, cried together at seeing their beloved’s poor state. They were tied
up and forced to watch the execution along with the high ranking officials.

One week in the dungeons had clearly not treated him very well. Liu Ao was beaten and bruised
and covered in his own blood. Many soldiers had visited his cell to relieve stress.

The ritual had been a symbol of hope for many. It was designed to raise up the non humanoid
members of the army and promote the more powerful humanoid beings. And yet Liu Ao had
ruined twenty five years of hard work and preparation. This was unforgivable by many of the races
with shorter lifespans. Some of them had spent their entire lives dedicated to the completion of the
evolution ritual.

The honor of executing Liu Ao had been given to general Meng Ju. General Meng Ju stepped up on
to the platform behind Liu Ao and asked snidely, “Do you have any last words?”

Liu Ao glared venomously at Meng Ju and spat, “I’ll see you in hell, Meng Ju.”

Meng Ju smirked and unsheathed Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was panicking in his head. He didn’t want to do this! He didn’t want to be used to kill
an innocent man! He tried jerking out of Meng Ju’s hands but he was powerless against his
wielder.

He could do nothing.
Shen Yuan could only watch in horror.

In one fell sweep he was used to behead Liu Ao.

The army was silent as Liu Ao’s head fell through the air.

Blood sprayed the air.

Liu Ao’s body slowly collapsed to the ground.

His expression was still twisted into a mask of rage.

Shen Yuan vaguely noted that it didn’t feel any different compared to beheading normal monsters.

Meng Ju raised Shen Yuan into the air triumphantly.

The army cheered in response to the traitor’s death. They roared their approval. One daring soldier
even rushed up to the platform to spit on Liu Ao’s corpse.

The lord nodded and Meng Ju stepped down from the platform. He swung Shen Yuan lightly,
channeling a small amount of Qi into the blade. The blade caught mid air and tore a rip through
dimensions straight into the Endless Abyss. Meng Ju smiled victoriously and then sheathed Shen
Yuan, letting the tear in space close up.

Shen Yuan had a foreboding feeling as he witnessed Meng Ju using his abilities.

He didn't like Meng Ju’s sweaty hand on his hilt. He didn’t like how tightly Meng Ju gripped him.
He didn’t like how killing Liu Ao felt like killing any other thing. He didn’t like how using his
ability reminded him of the sensation of cutting off Liu Ao’s head. He didn't like the reverent gazes
of the army upon him. He didn’t like how the army instantly accepted that Liu Ao was a traitor. He
didn’t like how he couldn’t communicate with anyone.
He didn’t like a lot of things now that he really thought about it.

He especially didn’t like the way Meng Ju smiled at him.

Meng Ju turned with a flourish and saluted to the lord. “This one thanks my lord for allowing this
one to use such a fine weapon.”

The lord just nodded at him and then dismissed everyone present.

Meng Ju smiled and then left to return to his quarters. He was certain that everything was all going
exactly as he had planned.

The next day there was a commotion in the lord’s quarters. Servants were being detained by
soldiers left and right. The guards on duty last night were now in the dungeons being suspected of
working with Liu Ao.

The lord had been poisoned!

He survived but was now extremely weak. The only cure was extremely difficult to obtain.

Mr. VIP sent servants to bring Meng Ju to his quarters. Meng Ju showed up to the lord’s quarters
with a stormy expression on. The lord nodded weakly from his bed when he saw that Meng Ju had
arrived. “Meng Ju my general. I need you to retrieve something for me.”

Meng Ju kneeled in front of the lord’s bed, “Anything my lord. What is it that you need from this
one?”

“The cure to this devious poison is most elusive. I need you to bring me the bill of a blue billed
hummingbird.”

Meng Ju started slightly. “My lord, are you sure that is the cure?”

“Absolutely, the blue billed hummingbird may feed on poisonous flowers for its diet but it’s bill is
an incredible antidote for rare poisons such as the one I was poisoned with.”

“I-I see… I will return with a blue billed hummingbird as soon as I can my lord.”

“Yes… Please hurry. I am not sure I can hold on much longer.”

Meng Ju stood and left the lord’s quarters with clenched hands.

He left the large building that served as the lord’s resting place and found a dark alleyway to sulk
in. He quickly tapped the ground with his foot impatiently. A figure appeared in the shadows
instantly, this time the figure didn’t bother to leave the shadows, they simply spoke where they
stood.

“I failed.”

“I can see that! What I want to know is why there is a cure to the poison you used! You said there
was no cure!”

“I said almost no cure. It is incredibly difficult to kill a blue billed hummingbird. They can teleport
short distances and are extremely fast.”

Meng Ju looked intrigued, “They can teleport you say?”

“Yes. So killing them is an exercise in luck and skill.”

Meng Ju crossed his arms and pondered for a bit before saying, “Hmph. I see. Very well then. I
will hunt down a blue billed hummingbird.”

The shadowed figure tilted its head slightly, “My lord? I thought you wanted his lordship to die?”

“Oh I do. I just never said that I would bring the bill back to him. With my new sword I may just
gain the ability to teleport instantaneously. I will be unstoppable on the battlefield if so.”
“Ah I see. Very well then I wish you luck in your endeavors.”

“Hmph.” The general snorted “I don’t need your luck.”

The general proceeded to eat his words a week later when he tried to catch the elusive bird in the
same forest Liu Ao hunted the manticore.

The blasted bird spun in circles around Meng Ju as he raged wildly and swung Shen Yuan in
increasingly ineffective swings. Spiritual energy soaked the air around the general showing signs of
his waste of energy. The general panted desperately, glaring at the cheeky bird that dared to sit
upon his nose tauntingly. He slammed his hand into his face in an attempt to catch the damn bird.

Meng Ju cursed as the bird teleported to the top of his head twittering.

Shen Yuan had been watching the whole event while laughing uproariously. It was like a tiny dose
of karma that this bird was inflicting upon Meng Ju. The brilliantly scarlet hummingbird twisted in
mid air and performed several fancy aerial tricks mocking the general.

If it were not for the bird’s bright red feathers the general would have lost sight of it a long time
ago. But the man was dogged in his determination and pursued the hummingbird relentlessly. In
fact it had been several days of chasing after a blur of red for the general. He was on his last legs
and the bird was still raring to go. It had started to become bored with Meng Ju and thus began
flying closer and closer to the general.

Shen Yuan had long noticed a pattern in the bird’s teleportation techniques. He took pity on the
general. He too wanted the teleportation ability but he had delayed killing the bird to see the man
flounder helplessly. During the general’s wild swings he waited for the next moment that the bird
teleported and aimed a blindingly fast blade beam at the bird the instant it reappeared.

The bird didn’t stand a chance. It essentially vaporized, leaving behind a sapphire colored bill the
size of a pinky.

Meng Ju sighed in relief and trudged over to pocket the bill, glad that he had finally accidentally
successfully hunted the tiny bugger down. It was not a satisfying kill but he would take what he
got.
Shen Yuan felt something click the instant he killed the blue billed hummingbird. He felt Liu Ao
and the hummingbird's skills connect. He knew that a new ability had just been born. But he
refused to use it for Meng Ju. He would test this skill on his own later. It could be the key to his
eventual escape. He had no desire to remain to be used by a treacherous power hungry man such as
Meng Ju.

Shen Yuan’s escape attempts had amounted to little progress though. He had discovered that when
he remained in a sheathe or was held by a wielder he was unable to exert his free will over his own
body. It was a terrible feeling being forced to activate abilities without your own permission. It was
an even more terrible feeling to have been forced to kill when you didn’t want to. Shen Yuan felt as
if his body were no longer his own. He retained hope that one day Meng Ju would let his guard
down and allow him to escape. He refused to be stuck under this traitorous bastard as a slave for
his whole life. He wouldn’t be wielded as a weapon of destruction. His skills were gained so he
could protect himself, not so that he could slaughter others.

Meng Ju was hunched over next to a tree trying to catch his breath. He straightened with a deep
inhale and smiled wickedly. He waved Shen Yuan and disappeared, only to reappear ten feet away.
After testing the ability several times Meng Ju nodded. It was short range, it was limited to a
certain number of times in quick succession, but even one teleportation could change the tides of a
battle.

Meng Ju made good on his words and delayed returning to the main camp for as long as he could.
By the time he returned the camp the lord had long passed. When asked where he had been Meng
Ju sorrowfully revealed that he had been hunting for the cure to the lord’s poison. The advisors
understood his grief and let him be after that. Next came the matter of appointing a new lord. Of
course Meng Ju was the prime candidate and was thus promptly given a new set of fancy robes and
title. Xilin-jun was his new title and he wore it proudly.

Shen Yuan was forced to watch as Xilin-jun began to recruit more and more soldiers into the army.
He was forced to witness a regime that was slowly becoming more and more oppressive in its
ruling. All the while he had no chances to escape. The newly named Xilin-jun was an incredibly
paranoid individual. He never let Shen Yuan out of his sight even for a second.

‘What am I? Your wife? Actually no. You don’t even treat your wife like this goddamn man!’ Shen
Yuan mentally complained as he was strapped to Xilin-jun’s waist for the day.

There had been rumors of dissent from the eastern borders again.

Xilin-jun was headed out to deal with Eastern tribes. Shen Yuan had a bad feeling about what this
 could mean for him.

Chapter End Notes

SURPRISE DOUBLE UPDATE BECAUSE IM BORED AND YOUR COMMENTS

FUEL ME. I literally sit here and refresh the damn page every ten seconds in hopes
that some one has left a comment so THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who
has commented.

Also. For legal reasons I can neither confirm nor deny if Shen Yuan is Xin Mo. :P
 Bad Toime
Chapter Summary

Xilin-jun has a good time. Shen Yuan and Sha Huating? Not so much.

Chapter Notes

Trigger warning for gore for this entire chapter my dudes!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Chapter 7: Bad Toime

Shen Yuan stared blankly at the bloody mountain of corpses he helped create. Severed limbs
littered the ground below him and viscera painted his blade crimson. The blood felt sticky and
disgusting as it dripped off of him slowly. He looked out over what had been a beautiful ( In a
demon’s aesthetic ) city. The city was now covered in a bright crimson layer and deep gouges
littered the ground, forever scarring the landscape. A fire burned in the background sending the
smell of charred flesh into the air. Rubble was scattered across once neatly kept streets. Buildings
had been razed to the ground all around him.

How exactly did he get here?

Well… It started a little something like this…

Several minutes earlier…

Sha Huating was not a very patient demon. In fact you could say he was the very definition of
impatient. He was used to having things go his way no matter what. His family had doted on him
since birth as he was the first born of their noble lineage and having a son was an incredibly
difficult thing for their race. He was a beautiful individual with sharp eyebrows and high
cheekbones. He was dressed in sheer red and white clothing with multiple layers that hung off of
him in elegant loops.

Which was why he was pissed as all hell when the expected Western army did not show up to any
of his raids along their border towns.

He was itching for a fight but ever since the destruction of Hui Zhong, the West had been strangely
silent.

He smashed the side of the building he was standing next to, sending the building crumbling down,
“Why the hell haven’t they shown up?” He shouted.

A small contingent of Eastern tribe demons was currently camped out in one of the Western army’s
cities. They had just razed the city and were busy looting the place as civilians attempted to escape
or hide in the ruins.

A small dwarf-like demon with a long white beard standing behind him said in a high pitched
squeaky voice, “Perhaps they are currently rallying troops? Or perhaps they are currently in an
internal conflict?”

“But Laoshi! They should at least be sending out scouting parties! We haven’t killed a single
scouting party in weeks!” Sha Huating whined.

“Patience. We aren’t fully ready for a full on war with the Western army just yet. If they were to
truly retaliate we would soon be out of resources for our army.”

“Pah. They’re weak!” Sha Huating paused to pick up the silently weeping civilian woman that lay
at his feet by the neck. She had one eye but soft well formed features. Attractive to any respectable
demon. “See! They’re made up of demons like her!” He roughly shook the demon in his grasp in
emphasis. The woman wailed pitifully as she was shaken.

Sha Huating grunted and then tossed her through a still intact wall casually. She crashed through
the wall and went limp in the rubble as the building collapsed on top of her.

The dwarf tucked his hands into his tiny sleeves. “Their main army is different. They have the
Northern traitor Liu Ao on their side. He can instantly move troops from the Endless Abyss into
the demon realm. There’s no telling when they might show up.”

“Hmph. Even if they do show up we’ll crush them just like this city!”
“Oh? Is that so?” A voice said from behind them.

Both demons whipped around, drawing their weapons. A tiny needle was pulled from the dwarf’s
sleeve and Sha Huating raised his club menacingly.

They were greeted by the sight of a large, fully equipped army that outnumbered their own troops
six to one and a striking figure dressed in robes of deep blue lounging casually atop a ruined
building. This man had slightly pointed ears but otherwise looked like a normal human.

The dwarf paled slightly underneath his beard and his hands began trembling around his small
needle. Sha Huating didn’t notice this reaction, he stepped forwards with a blood thirsty grin on his
face.

“Who are you?” He asked confidently.

The finely dressed man appeared to be amused by this question. He smiled slightly revealing
sharpened canines and lifted his chin arrogantly, “You may address me as Xilin-jun.”

“Hmph.” Sha Huating smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “The big man himself has
come out to deal with us? I’m honored. This one is Sha Huating. Make sure you remember it!”

Sha Huating stoically ignored his Laoshi who was frantically waving at him to stop.

“Hmm… I only remember the names of useful individuals. And you? You don’t look very useful
to me.” Xilin-jun replied.

Sha Huating’s grin fell off his face, he growled and snapped his fingers. From the ruins his troops
emerged surrounding the Western army. They may have been outnumbered but their bravado far
out matched that of the Western army’s.

“And now?” Sha Huating asked grinning nastily.

“I can do that too.” Said Xilin-jun calmly he snapped his fingers and a black sword flew out of his
sheath into his hand.

Sha Huating quirked a brow, confused.

He assumed Xilin-jun was simply disrespecting him. The sword looked incredibly unassuming. It
was plain and undecorated save for a single red stripe that ran up the center of the blade.

Sha Huating snarled in response. “We’ll see how long your confidence lasts after this!” He yelled
thrusting his right arm forward.

The Eastern tribe demons roared and charged at the Western army as one.

Xilin-jun waved his army back saying, “You all stand back. I can handle this myself.”

The Western Army shuffled nervously but did as he asked. They collectively stepped back ten
paces.

Xilin-jun slowly stood from his perch and then with a wave of his dark blade a storm of blade
beams appeared and decimated the first wave of the Eastern tribe.

Bits of gore rained down from the sky.

The Eastern tribe demons reeled in shock. Sha Huating’s eyes widened but he thrust his arm out
again, pointing at Xilin-jun “It doesn’t matter! Attack him all at once!”

The demons rallied and rushed at Xilin-jun in a wave of dark bodies and weapons.

Xilin-jun smirked. He raised his sword up high and swung down. A large bullet of wind exploded
out and blew away the middle of the wave. A swift horizontal slash and an arc of white fire ate
through the edges of the onslaught.

Sha Huating gritted his teeth, “Long range!” He shouted “Target him from long range! Don’t
approach him!”

His remaining demons hurried to obey their leader. A wave of spiritual attacks ranging from blade
beams to arrows rained down upon Xilin-jun’s position.

Xilin-jun raised his sword and lightly drew it down in a vertical line, splitting the air and opening a
portal into the Endless Abyss. The attacks passed through to the Endless Abyss and crashed
harmlessly against the red dirt, creating a large crater.

Xilin-jun’s smirk hadn’t wavered in the slightest bit when faced with the vicious onslaught. He
tilted his head curiously at Sha Huating and asked, “Is that it?”

Sha Huating had no words for him. He stared back with a complicated expression on his face. A
half smile frozen on his lips.

“Well then. If you don’t mind. I believe it's my turn?” Xilin-jun then instantly disappeared from
where he stood.

Sha Huating blinked in shock and then whipped around to stare at his army as it was thoroughly
dismantled by a one man army. Xilin-jun was dancing through his forces humming to an unknown
tune. He weaved around strikes and bobbed over blows. He flashed in and out of sight, each time
he reappeared another ten Eastern demons would fall. It looked like the man was taking a leisurely
stroll through a park as he languidly directed powerful blows at his foes. The more he killed the
more momentum he seemed to build up. Soon the man was snaking his way through the Eastern
tribes as a blue blur.

Try as they might, the Eastern tribes could do nothing to stop this man’s solo rampage. When they
tried to trip the man up, he would disappear only to reappear and reap the lives of those who
resisted. When they tried to flee the man would lazily send a flurry of lightning at his escaping foes
like Zeus striking down his enemies. When they tried to plead and beg for mercy they received a
cold blade through the chest. Blood painted the streets crimson and bodies littered the ground.

Shen Yuan had been helpless to watch the wholesale slaughter. In the beginning he had tried his
best to resist. To prevent his abilities from being called upon. But the wielder’s will was absolute.
He tried to spare those who pleaded for mercy by redirecting Xilin-Juan’s strikes but the man was
unmoving as a bastion in a storm. Shen Yuan couldn’t even close his eyes against the carnage that
was brought into the world with his body as its instrument of death. Shen Yuan was tempted to call
upon his dark energy but he had a foreboding feeling that it wouldn’t help in this situation at all.
He was cursed to watch as his painstakingly collected skills were used to rain destruction upon a
group of sentient beings.

And so Xilin-jun danced. He danced a dance of blood and devastation. Instinctively, Sha Huating
knew, that the only reason he hadn’t been killed in the beginning was so that he could witness this
man’s terrible prowess on the battlefield. Xilin-jun was an artisan of death and his might was
unparalleled. There was paltry resistance as he cleaved through the Eastern tribes like a block of
butter ( well he did in fact, have a very hot sword/knife ).

Sha Huating turned to his right trembling. “L-Laoshi what should we do?”

He turned around to find a cleanly decapitated corpse.

Sha Huating screamed. His club dropped from nerveless fingers and he fell backwards as his legs
gave out from under him and scrambled to get away from the body. At this point whatever fighting
spirit he had had, had been thoroughly stomped out of him by the sight of Xilin-jun cavorting
amongst his army’s entrails.

In no time at all Xilin-jun had dealt with the very last demon standing from the eastern army. With
a simple flick of his wrist the demon was beheaded. He returned to Sha Huating’s side in a flash.

Sha Huating screamed and scrambled to get away from him on uncooperative legs, he crawled on
the ground smearing his fine clothes with dirt and blood. Between his legs a distinctive wet patch
grew.

“My, my what’s this? Whatever’s wrong? I've spared you this whole time for a reason you know?”
Xilin-jun said casually inspecting the nails on his left hand as his right hand rested his blade against
his shoulder.

Sha Huating turned a teary face back towards Xilin-jun. “W-what? You’ll. You’ll let me go?”

Xilin-jun tilted his head, “Now who said anything about letting you go? Well that's wrong.” He
scratched his face idly “I do plan on letting you go. After all. Who else would spread the news of
what happened here today? Ah but then again if you’re spreading news, then you don't need these
do you?” Xilin-jun’s blade flashed.

Sha Huating screamed.

 He rolled on the ground as his severed arms fell limply next to him.

“Hm… you won't die of blood loss before you get back to the Eastern tribes will you? You’re a
demon after all.” Xinlin-jun mused

He ignored Sha Huating’s screams and turned back to his white faced army. The Western army
was composed of bloodthirsty beasts but under might and power, they quailed. A few deviants
were on edge panting as Xilin-jun turned to address them.

“Good work today men! I’m proud of you all for performing so well in today’s battle! Continue to
not let me down!” Xilin-jun said sincerely.

His army nodded back at him, hands shaking on their weapons. If they all got together, even with
the rest of the army back at camp, could they still take this man down? Could this man be killed on
the battlefield anymore now that he possessed a blade like that?

An overwhelming victory. Not a single casualty on the side of the Western army. The first
campaign under Xilin-juns rule and they had already conquered their enemies in a dominating and
absolute manner. If they followed this man. How far could he take them? They couldn’t wait to
see.

Xilin-jun took a moment to gaze out over the battlefield. He had a satisfied expression on his face.
He inhaled deeply, savoring the bloody smell that lingered in the air. A soft smile spread across his
face.

It was a good day for war.

Chapter End Notes

I have a theory that the Endless Abyss works like the nether in Minecraft. If you travel
a certain distance in the abyss then you travel a longer distance in the demon world.
Which is why Liu Ao went on foot to hunt all the different monsters! He might have
skipped over the monsters if he used the Abyss express. Liu Ao could only make
portals to the Endless Abyss, he couldn’t directly connect locations.
Let’s play a game called ‘how many chapters until qwerty224 gets to fucking canon!?’

Also Also. Please Leave a comment I love talking to people in the comments! I’m so
tempted to give spoilers each time i read a comment but I have tied my hand down so I
cant.

Some Ability clarification for SY.

SY cannot move or use his abilities on his own when he is held by a user or in a
sheath. Shen Yuan is forced to use abilities according to his user’s will regardless of
what type of energy that ability requires.

He has Qi/Light energy that users can borrow from him or tap into freely.

He has a mysterious dark energy we don’t exactly know what it can do just yet. Users
cannot access this energy without SY’s permission.

Hope this clarifies some things.

 Dreaming of Teacakes
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan makes a friendo

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 8: Dreaming of Teacakes

The Western army returned to camp in high spirits.

They had suffered no injuries except for a guy who tripped over a vine on the way back (It was the
same guy. You know. That one.). They had a powerful lord to follow. They had looted the Eastern
tribes of all their supplies. They were pretty pleased that they weren’t Eastern demons. So All in
all, most of the army was content with their lot in life.

The only one upset with the situation seemed to be Shen Yuan. He had settled into a depressive
haze and was basically drowning in the amount of dark energy he had reaped from the battlefield.
All of his doubts regarding his transmigration had returned full force. The amount of power he held
was higher than ever but he had no outlet for the amount of stress he was currently feeling.

His skills had also risen exponentially. But unless a demon had some unique trait, he didn’t obtain
any skills from them. They mostly served to increase his already massive power stores. He had
gained a mild blood manipulation ability, some sort of water producing skill, increased ability with
flames, and a few other abilities that enhanced his durability, sharpness, and speed. You could say
that it had been a very fruitful harvest. Except Shen Yuan was not pleased about it at all.

He hated this. Liu Ao’s execution had been a rude awakening that this was his new reality, not just
a skill grinding game. And now the uncontestable reality was that Shen Yuan was now an
instrument in the murder of hundreds of sentient demons. He would much rather return to his days
in the forests with Liu Ao being used as a weed whacker. At least he knew then that he wasn’t
destroying actual lives with each sweep of his blade.

During his time with Liu Ao Shen Yuan had learned that demons were no different from humans
aside from some visual and cultural differences. They laughed, they cried, they lived. It was
unacceptable to him that he should be used in culling such beings. Also, it was generally pretty
traumatizing to be used against one’s own will to murder. It felt like some twisted form of mental
rape.

Shen Yuan could already see the makings of a tyrant within Xilin-jun. He couldn’t afford to stay
much longer. He would become the lynch pin behind Xilin-jun’s power if he stayed. He just
needed a way out of his sheath, as for escaping, well he had the perfect skill to make a clean
getaway. All he had to do was tear a portal into the Abyss and he was off scott free.

Xilin-jun had returned to his quarters after returning to rest for the day, he removed Shen Yuan
from his hip and set him on the table by his bed. He was interrupted by a knock at his door.
Opening the door he was greeted by a nervous servant who had on a complicated expression.

“I’m sorry my lord but the little lord he-“ the servant started to say.

“Grandpa!!!” A tiny figure came barreling into the room and launched itself at Xilin-jun’s legs in a
tackle hug.

“Little lord!” The servant called, dismayed. “That is incredibly rude! I am sorry my lord I will
discipline him right away!” The servant nervously bowed and grabbed at the small child that had
barreled into the room.

The rude little intruder was a chubby thing with pouty cheeks and big round eyes. He looked like a
tiny sheep with the bouncy black curls on his head. He was dressed in neat little blue robes and
only just reached the top of Xilin-jun’s knees.

Xilin-jun chuckled and waved the servant off, “No need. This is my grandchild. As you were.” He
patted the child on the head lightly, “Now what has my little Momo been up to today?”

The child looked up petulantly at Xilin-jun, “Grandpa shouldn’t be so busy all the time. He has no
time for Momo any more!”

“Hahaha indeed. I’m sorry Momo but your grandpa is a very important man.”

“Hmph.” Those puffy cheeks puffed up even more, making one’s heart clench.
Xilin-jun chuckled and pinched Momo’s cheeks.

The boy pulled his face away from the pinching fingers and hugged Xilin-jun’s legs harder.

“Momo spent today studying so play with me grandpa!”

“Alright, alright. Now what does Momo want to do?”

“Hmm… Tell me a story!”

Xilin-jun tilted his head thoughtfully, picked up Momo and carried him over to his bed and began,
“Hmm… Alright… Now once there was a…”

Shen Yuan watched spitefully from the table he was laid on. It disgusted Shen Yuan to see this
traitorous man acting like such a doting grandfather. Why couldn’t he just be evil 24/7 so that Shen
Yuan could hate him and plot his murder without feeling bad? He didn't want to see this side of
Xilin-jun. it didn’t change any of his actions up till now but it certainly changed Shen Yuan’s
perception of Xilin-jun. it wasn’t fair that this man was a good grandfather to his grandchild. It
wasn’t fair that Liu Ao had to die. It wasn’t fair that Shen Yuan had to be used to kill several
hundred demons.

So wrapped up in hateful thoughts, Shen Yuan barely noticed when a knock sounded at the door
interrupting Xilin-jun’s story about a dragon and his friend. Xilin-jun stood to answer the door, it
was a messenger who was panting heavily.

“My lord, we need you. The Eastern tribes have responded, they’re not happy.”

“I see. One moment.” Xilin-jun turned to his grandson and said, “I’m sorry Momo, but grandpa has
to work now. Stay here for now I’ll be back soon.”

Momo looked absolutely crushed but nodded unhappily.

Xilin-jun patted his head and then swept out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Momo sat on the bed swinging his legs blankly for a while before he jumped to his feet and
toddled over to the table with Shen Yuan on it.

He peered curiously over the edge of the table at the black unadorned sword. Shen Yuan stared
back at the kid dully.

Then Momo suddenly spoke, “What’s your name?”

Shen Yuan felt his heart stop. (Well. He would have if he had one.) He cast his gaze around the
room. There was no one else here. Could Momo actually be talking to him?

Momo poked Shen Yuan curiously. “I can feel your mind in there. Don’t ignore me. This one’s
name is Meng Mo. What about you? It's only polite after all.”

Shen Yuan started. Meng Mo. Meng Mo… Why was that so familiar? He delved deep into his
knowledge of Proud immortal Demon’s Way and thought about it for quite some time. The whole
time he was being prodded by little Momo.

That's it! It was the name of Luo Binghe’s demon teacher! Meng Mo was a dream demon that
absconded from his body after cultivation and lived within Luo Binghe’s mind. Was this the same
Meng Mo? It would explain how he had been able to sense Shen Yuan’s consciousness in the
sword then. Meng Mo had been considered to be a genius of dream manipulation by the demons.
Even at a young age he was remarkably talented. Though this did make Shen Yuan worry if
anyone else could sense his consciousness as well.

Huh. So this is what Meng Mo looked like when he had a body?

Shen Yuan tried to respond, ‘ Ah hello, my name is Shen Yuan.’

But little Momo didn’t react. He kept poking at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan’s hopes deflated. It was too much to expect that Momo would have been able to
understand him huh…
Momo tilted his head, a bit frustrated, and frowned. “Or maybe you just can’t talk? Hm…” He
pulled up a chair to the table and sat down on it, continuing to bore a hole through Shen Yuan with
his eyes alone. He propped his arms up on the table and plopped his head on his arms. “Can I pull
you into a dream…? Would you be able to talk then?” Momo wondered. Then without asking for
permission he closed his eyes and Shen Yuan fell into darkness.

When Shen Yuan opened his eyes he was in the same room he had just been in seated at a table
with Momo sitting in the chair across from him.

The only difference was that he had his old weedy NEET human body back. He was dressed in a
plain white t-shirt and grey sweats, exactly what he had been wearing before he ate the yogurt of
doom.

Shen Yuan blinked. Then he blinked again. Holy hell did it feel good to have eyelids again. His
brain caught up. He looked down at his hands in shock.

‘What the hell!? I’m in my old body?’

Shen Yuan jumped up from his seat and stood, still gazing at his hands in wonder. Then he
whooped in joy and started to do a series of random yoga stretches, delighting in the fact that he
had limbs again, enjoying the sensation of stretching muscles to the max.

Momo watched bemusedly from his chair. What was this strange human(?) doing? Some sort of
dance? A ritual? Was this how humans greeted each other? Well… probably not, the human(?)
hadn’t seemed to notice him just yet. He coughed slightly and watched in amusement as the
human(?) yelped and fell over from where he stood in an awkward pose.

“So… What’s your name?” Momo asked, summoning a false plate of sweets. It wouldn’t do
anything for him but he could dream. He wasn’t allowed sweets this late in the day. He took one
and nibbled on it. Mm… tastes like air. He still wasn’t good enough to reproduce the sense of taste
in a dream yet.

Shen Yuan coughed awkwardly and smoothed down his t-shirt with his hands and took a seat at the
table. “I’m Shen Yuan.” He finally said after working his mouth silently for a few moments.

“Well, nice to meet you Shen Yuan. Or can I call you Yuan-ge? What are you?” Momo asked, eyes
bright with curiosity.

“Ah. Sure…” Shen yuan scratched the side of his face, “And Well… I don’t exactly know either…
I just woke up one day as a blade…”

Momo vibrated in his seat a little. “Cool…” Then he bounced up and burst into a waterfall of
questions. “Hey, hey. Are you a demon blade or a blade demon? Or are you a spirit bound to a
blade? How come my grandpa owns you? Where did you come from? Can you feel it when you
slash something? Can you feel anything at all? What would happen if you got broken? What’s it
feel like to be a sword? Do you feed off the blood of your enemies? Do you have any cool
stories?”

Overwhelmed, Shen Yuan shrunk backwards slightly before the child’s shining gaze. “Woah,
woah. Slow down there. I don’t know what the difference between a blade demon and demon
blade is. And can you repeat the rest of your questions?”

“Why don't you know this? You’re living in the demon realm. It's common knowledge.”

Shen Yuan stretched his legs out underneath the table relishing the burn. “Ah, well you asked me
where I was from right? I’m from the Endless Abyss, I haven’t been here for very long.”

Momo’s jaw dropped, “Woah! There are rational beings from the Abyss? Are there any more like
you?”

Shen Yuan’s face soured as he considered what he had been used to do recently, “I sure hope not.”

Momo blinked, “Why not?”

“...I think… Too much blood would be spilt.”

Momo titled his head as he considered this. Then he asked, “But are you a demon blade or a blade
demon?”

“Again, what’s the difference?”

“Blade demons are blades that have gained sentience from resentful energy, demon blades are
blades made by demons with spirits added to them. I’ve never met a demon blade or a blade
demon with a consciousness before though.” Momo replied cheerfully.

“Have you met many demons before? I think I’m closer to a blade demon I guess, or like you
mentioned before, a human spirit in a blade.”

“Oh so like possession!”

“Ehh… Not quite but close enough I guess.”

“Cool!”

“Do you meet many demons, Meng Mo?”

“Call me Momo! And Yeah! Grandpa always takes me to these huge meetings with lots of demons,
sometimes people will bring in rare stuff to show off too!”

“Oh I see…”

“Hey what’s it like to be a sword, Yuan-ge?”

Shen Yuan paused. “Hm. It's strange. Everything used to be so simple before I was found… It feels
horrible to be used against your will… It's rather complicated really.”

“Huh. Okay.” Momo looked down for a while before he perked up and asked, “But what would
happen if you were to break?”

Shen Yuan leaned back in his seat and waved casually, “Ah I've broken before, I regenerate
eventually.”
“So cool…”

“Thanks.”

“What about food! Do you need to eat? Or like, do you absorb energy from your enemies?” Momo
asked excitedly.

“No, no. I don't need to eat but I guess I do absorb energy from my enemies?”

“Awesome!”

Shen Yuan stared at the excited child in front of him for a while. “Say, Momo?”

“Yeah?”

‘Can you do me a favor? Can you take me out of my sheath and leave me on the table in the real
world?”

“Why?”

“Well… You see… My sheath is a bit uncomfortable! So I want a break from that!”

“Oh, okay I can do that!”

The dreamscape dissolved around them and Shen Yuan was back to being a simple blade again.
Momo lifted his head up from his arms and blinked wearily for a bit before he groggily wiped his
eyes with tiny fists. He stood from his seat and pulled Shen Yuan off the table. Shen Yuan was
slowly unscathed and held in Momo’s small hands. Momo admired Shen Yuan’s simple beauty
and razor sharp edge for a moment before he placed him on the table and let go.

The instant Momo let go Shen Yuan leaped up and slashed a hole through the fabric of reality
straight to the empty plains of the Abyss.
He hopped through the hole and flew up into the familiar tearing skies.

Shen Yuan would have inhaled a deep breath of fresh air and sighed in relief if he had lungs.

He was finally out of there! He could finally return to whatever it was he had been doing before
Liu Ao found him! Maybe he could finally hunt down a mimic! He refused to ever have a wielder
again. He wouldn’t trust anyone with his blade form. It was simply too dangerous.

Shen Yuan turned and set off towards the mountain range, it was time for guilt free stress relief!

Then suddenly a scream pierced the air.

Shen Yuan whipped around.

Momo!

Momo had followed him through the portal!

The child was being chased by an earth dragon that had appeared out of nowhere!

Momo cried out and tripped over a rock, he tumbled several times and fell into a heap.

Just as the dragon’s jaws were about to snap shut on Momo’s tiny trembling form Shen Yuan
darted down from the skies and pierced the dragon through the top of its head. He didn’t even
bother with aiming for weak points. He had long achieved a sharpness that could easily penetrate
an earth dragon’s scales.

Momo sniffled as he watched Shen Yuan pull himself out of the dead dragon.

Shen Yuan sighed and slashed open a portal back to Xilin-jun’s room. He jabbed the point of his
sword towards the portal.
Momo sat on the ground on shaky legs staring blankly at Shen Yuan.

The child didn’t move for the longest time.

Shen Yuan approached him slowly and carefully turned so the flat of his blade was pressing
against the child’s shoulder and pushed him towards the portal.

Momo inhaled deeply but just as he stepped through the portal he grabbed Shen Yuan by the hilt
and pulled him back through. Shen Yuan went limp in the child’s hands and cursed bitterly in his
mind.

Momo returned to the table and slid Shen Yuan back into his sheath. He then sat on his chair and
closed his eyes.

Shen Yuan sighed and fell backwards into darkness.

They opened their eyes to the dreamscape.

Momo clapped excitedly, “That was so cool! You wanted to show me your home right!? Oh man
that was awesome! I didn’t like the dragon though… but that was so cool!”

Shen Yuan smiled bitterly and patted Momo on the head, “Yeah kid… I just wanted to show you
the Endless Abyss…” He refused to regret saving an innocent child.

“Thanks! It was short though… Can we go back sometime?”

“We’ll see…” Shen Yuan said, leaning back into his chair tiredly.

“Hey can I tell my grandpa about you?”

Shen Yuan’s bitter smile dropped. He considered it. The idea of someone else finding out he was
 sentient frightened him. What would they do to him? Would they seal away his consciousness so
they could use his body freely? Would they try to reproduce what happened to him to create
another deadly weapon? “I think…” he started slowly, “That you should keep me a secret… I can
be your secret friend. You know?”

Momo spilled hopefully, “You’ll really be my friend? Really? I don't have many friends.”

Shen Yuan almost had to squint to look at this child’s bright smile, “Yeah, I’ll be your friend. So
keep this between us okay?”

“Mm!”

The dreamscape was rudely disrupted when Xilin-jun returned, he was shaking Momo’s shoulder
lightly.

“Momo, you shouldn’t sleep here, go back to your room to sleep. I’ll be turning in for the night as
well.”

Momo yawned and covered his mouth. “Mhm… Can I come back tomorrow as well grandpa?”

“Of course my child, now off you go. Good night.”

Momo slowly toddled out of the room. He mumbled a quiet, “Good night grandpa.” As he left.

Chapter End Notes

YOUR COMMENTS MAKE ME MORE MOTIVATED TO WRITE. I THANK

EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR THE KIND COMMENTS.

ALSO THIS MAN IS A FOOL.

ALSO ALSO THIS THING IS DRIVING ITSELF I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WILL
HAPPEN NEXT PLEASE HELP.

ALSO ALSO ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE HUGE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT ITS
BEEN PRETTY CRAZY.
 Blood Flavored Tea
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan talks with momo and things happen

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 9: Blood Flavored Tea

Shen Yuan should have known his brief happiness at getting to communicate with another
individual for the first time in forever wouldn’t last.

The Eastern tribes had responded to Sha Huating’s mutilation rather viciously. Several towns near
the border had been completely razed to the ground as opposed to the light raids that the Eastern
tribe liked to perform. Xilin-jun retaliated with equal amounts of force, sending his own raiding
parties across the border. Soon an all out war was brewing. Tensions were high. Xilin-jun wasn’t
helping matters, he was flaunting his power openly and freely, making demons extremely wary.
The man arrogantly declared that no one could defeat him and often showed off his might with his
new blade in martial competitions that he arranged himself.

Xilin-jun had also gone out two more times to demonstrate his martial prowess and each time he
returned Shen Yuan felt the blood on his hands (well blade) more and more clearly.

Shen Yuan felt the weight of life balanced on the edge of his blade. He was the scythe of a reaper
who cared all too much about the souls he reaped.

It was suffocating to live just to kill. But mostly Shen Yuan suffered in boredom through long
bloody days and longer nights. Shen Yuan spawned doppelgängers at night to keep himself
entertained when nothing was happening. It was somehow the only skill that activated when he
was in his sheath. They couldn’t get him out of his sheath but that didn’t mean he had to give up.
He tried every night to pry himself out of his sheath but without hands it was like trying to use a
single toothpick to unwrap a straw. Awkward and extremely frustrating.

In general things were slowly getting worse in the Western territories. Resources were being
pooled for war efforts leaving the demons living on the fringes of the Western army in deep
straits.
The Western army had also undergone many changes in the short amount of time Xilin-jun had
risen to power. Xilin-jun had established total control over the government and the army. He began
instituting extremely biased racial preferences for many of the high ranking positions. Generally
only humanoid demons or demons of pure blooded lineage were found in the high ranks now.

This racial superiority was also being slowly disseminated into public opinion, isolating nearly a
third of the demonic population in the west. This defeated everything the previous lord had been
working towards. The previous lord espoused the equal elevation of all races, hence the evolution
ritual. Xilin-jun simply didn’t care for what he considered as lower races. He put a clear divide
between humanoid and non humanoid beings.

Momo, meanwhile, took up a new habit of visiting Xilin-jun and napping in his presence. Xilin-jun
was content to indulge this little habit as it was quiet and allowed him to work while spending time
with his cute grandson. In reality Momo was visiting Xilin-jun so much just to talk to Shen Yuan in
the dreamscape. Shen Yuan was happy with his new found companionship as it allowed him to
take his mind off the fact that he would continue to be used as a tool of murder.

Momo constantly badgered Shen Yuan with questions, distracting him from his reality. Shen Yuan
even shared the fact that he was from another world with Momo, he didn’t mention anything about
PIDW though. Momo was ravenous for stories about the other world and Shen Yuan was happy to
provide information about happier times.

“...And the end.” Shen Yuan said.

“What… That's it? He just gets to turn into a human without a sacrifice or anything? No demonic
contract? That doesn’t even make sense! All he did was make a whale sneeze!”

“Apparently it meant that he was brave, truthful, and selfless so he got to turn into a human boy.”

“But things don't work like that! And he was messing up the whole time! And transmuting wood
into human flesh should be impossible! Otherwise why would we still be having food shortages in
the demon realm?” Momo exclaimed in frustration.

Shen Yuan smiled indulgently, “Momo, remember, it's just an old story. It's not even a story from
this world.”
They were in their customary dreamscape again. It was the same room as always, painted a
calming blue and filled with luxurious items. Momo had summoned a tea set this time and they
took turns sipping at the flavorless liquid.

Shen Yuan had just finished telling Momo the story of Pinocchio. It was easy to tell Momo stories.
The child was a good listener and was always eager to learn new things.

“But Yuan-ge it doesn’t make any sense!”

“Hahahah I know, I know.” Shen Yuan laughed, patting Momo’s head. “But when have any of the
stories I’ve told you made sense?”

Momo puffed his cheeks out cutely and crossed his arms with a ‘humph’.

They shared a peaceful silence for a while, and then Momo spoke up, “Hey Yuan-ge?”

“Hmm?”

“You never did tell me how you got out of the Abyss.”

“I didn’t?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh well... There was one day I was fighting a black dragon. I was totally winning that fight I tell
you. Just as I killed it a portal opened up out of nowhere! It was really shocking. It was Liu Ao and
a hunting party. They were after the same black dragon I had just killed. I played dead and ended
up in Liu Ao’s possession.”

“You fought a black dragon?! What was it like? Was it hard to beat? How did you kill it? Did you
keep a trophy? Do you think I'll be able to fight a dragon one day? Why was Liu Ao after the
dragon?”
Shen Yuan had long gotten used to Momo’s wave of relentless questions style of talking. He sat
back in his seat and took a sip of his tasteless tea and said, “The dragon was hard to fight, I wasn’t
able to cut through its scales at first. I had stabbed it in the eye and poisoned it and then targeted its
wings while it was flying to make it fall. It died eventually because of the poison but it did break
me in half for the first time.” Shen Yuan paused to recall the rest of the questions, “I didn’t keep a
trophy, have you seen me? I don’t have anywhere to keep things. Maybe one day you’ll be able to
fight a dragon, but that day is still far off haha. And Liu Ao was after the dragon because its heart
was one of the components for the evolution ritual.”

Momo bounced in his seat excitedly with shiny eyes. “Coooooool!”

“Yes, yes i am very cool aren’t I?” Shen Yuan said smugly tilting his chin up.

“How did you end up with grandpa if Liu Ao found you? Wasn’t he my grandpa’s rival or
something? ”

“Ah…” Shen Yuan stopped to look at Momo with a conflicted expression. “You… Don't know..?”

Momo titled his head at Shen Yuan, “Know what?”

“Uh. How to say this.” Shen Yuan scratched the back of his head as he considered telling the child
in front of him the truth. Despite talking with Momo for weeks, Shen Yuan still didn’t quite know
how he would react.

“Your grandfather framed Liu Ao for something he didn’t do and got Liu Ao executed. I was
passed into your grandfather’s possession after that.”

Momo didn’t react for a while. He titled his head the other way and thought for a long while. As
the silence stretched onwards Shen Yuan began to feel more and more awkward.

Finally Momo spoke, “Would you ever tell me a lie Yuan-ge?”

Shen Yuan’s expression became serious, “Momo, thus far I have never told you a lie. You believed
me when I said I was from another world. I don’t really have a reason to lie to you.”
Momo nodded once, then asked, “What did grandpa frame him for?”

“You know about how the evolution ritual failed?”

“It failed?”

“Yes. Liu Ao was supposed to gather components for the ritual. He needed phantom essence as
one of the components but your grandfather offered to obtain it instead. When the ritual failed it
was revealed that the phantom essence was false phantom essence instead. The blame got placed
on Liu Ao’s head and he was arrested. Then they found planted evidence in his rooms for
collaborating with the Northern demons.”

Momo stared at Shen Yuan with large shiny eyes. He searched Shen Yuan’s eyes looking for
something, when he found it, he nodded once. “As expected of grandpa a thorough betrayal.”

Shen Yuan was slightly thrown. “You’re not surprised?”

“This sort of thing happens all the time in the demon realm. If you can pull it off you deserve to be
respected. As expected of grandpa, a very clean execution. No wonder he’s become lord.”

Shen Yuan laughed awkwardly, “Ah but I think he meant to kill the previous lord during the ritual
failure, and then the poisoning afterwards was his fault too.”

“Oh. That was slightly messy. Unexpected.” Momo leaned his head against a tiny hand, “ A
subordinate must have messed up. Grandpa would never make a mistake like allowing the victim
to survive, or allowing the poison to be discovered.”

Shen Yuan suddenly remembered how different the cultural differences between humans and
demons were. He had expected Momo to break down and start shouting denials but instead Momo
was very calm and logical. It definitely threw him for a loop.

Then Momo asked Shen Yuan a question.

“Yuan-ge. Are you happy with my grandpa?”

Shen Yuan stared at the child in front of him. Momo stared calmly back. Would Momo tell his
grandpa if he answered this question wrong? But… He didn’t think that Momo would do that. So
Shen Yuan answered truthfully.

“No… I’m… I’m not happy here.”

“I see. Thank you for being truthful Yuan-ge. I’m sorry but I can’t let you leave. You’re too
important to grandpa right now. He still needs to solidify his position amongst the other lords of
the demon realm.”

“Ah, uh. I thought you didn’t know about the current events?”

“I was testing you Yuan-ge.” Momo smiled brilliantly at Shen Yuan, “I can actually call you my
friend now!”

Shen Yuan just sat there with a dumbfounded expression staring at Momo.

“Seriously, Yuan-ge you're so easy to read!” Momo giggled.

Shen Yuan let out a heavy sigh. This child…

He covered his forehead with his hand and smiled wryly, “How old are you again Momo?”

Momo held up two fingers cheerfully, “I’m turning twenty this year!”

“Ah. I see… And when exactly are you considered an adult in the demon realm?”

“One hundred and twenty!”

“Oh. Okay. Ok. Oh Kay.”

“What’s wrong Yuan-ge?”

“Nothing, it's nothing, don't worry about it hahaa.”

“Okay!”

They sat in comfortable silence. Then Shen Yuan asked, “Hey, Momo. What do you want to do in
the future?”

“Hm… I don’t know. I know I want to be powerful though! I want to be so powerful that no one
can tell me what to do! I’ll be the one telling others what to do instead!”

“I see…”

“What about you Yuan-ge? What do you want to do?”

“I think at this point I would simply like to be free. I’d like to find a mimic and see if I can gain its
transformation powers to gain a real body. Then I would travel the human lands. Maybe learn some
swordsmanship?”

“Thats cool!”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. Hey tell me another story Yuan-ge!”

“Ah sure let me think for a bit...”

After that conversation Momo seemed to loosen up significantly around Shen Yuan. He would
frequently complain about the current political climate and what not like an old man. Momo even
started sharing some secrets and blackmail about various demon officials that he was well
acquainted with. It was funny to see such advanced concepts coming out of the mouth of what
looked like and essentially was, a toddler.

Momo was actually incredibly well informed. His studies consisted of various forms of
psychological manipulation so he had a lot of insight on minds and consciousness. Shen Yuan was
apparently fascinating to him because of the combination of his unique circumstances and cultural
differences as a result of being from another world. Shen Yuan complimented him on being so well
learned. He made a vague compliment about how Momo would be a great teacher; Momo had
blushed and mumbled a vague reply that Shen Yuan couldn’t quite hear.

Tensions soon reached a breaking point between the East and the West. The North and the South
were content to just sit back and watch as the East clashed with the West.

All out war began. The East marched an army across the borders of the west and began to claim
territory for themselves.

Xilin-jun personally led his own army to beat back the intruders.

For the first time in his short life Shen Yuan understood the meaning of the word war.

It was bodies against bodies. Chaos against chaos. There was no place for honor or glory. Each
demon was up to their knees in the mud and muck of warfare. It was teaming up against a
weakened enemy. It was hanging on to take another enemy down with your last breath. It was
taking even one more desperate attack at the enemy in hopes of bringing them down before they
got you. It was hell on earth. It was the struggle of life magnified a hundredfold.

Demons were cruel when waging war. The East had tamed ferocious monsters to use as weapons.
Hydras, dragons, and manticores rampaged. Poison spewed across the land targeting friend and foe
alike. A large portion of the battle field was dominated by a creeping patch of sharp sentient vines
that grew explosively each time it was cut down. Curses and resentful energy filled the air.
Poisoned flaming arrows darkened the skies. Dirty and underhanded tricks was the name of the
game. When ghosts and other resentful beings began to form, they were quickly recruited by both
sides of the war to fight for their second lives all over again.

Xilin-jun had stepped out onto the battlefields a total three times. All were times where the Western
army was being pressed into a corner. This one man turned the tides of battle single handedly each
time. The East sent their own champions into battle in hopes of stopping this one man show. There
were massive giants whose every step made the ground tremble. There were peerless swordsmen
who had never been defeated before. There were knights dressed in the heaviest of enchanted
armors. There were giant mindless golems whose only purpose was to stall and support. But it was
all for naught. The giants were cut down to size. The swordsmen had their blades shattered. The
knights were stripped of their armor before being beheaded. The golems simply disintegrated under
the spiritual might of Xilin-jun.

Shen Yuan, well. He wasn’t doing well. The number of beings he had killed unwillingly were
slowly racking up in his mind. He felt disconnected from his body more often than not. He
mentally protested his actions and yet his body would still follow through on the swing of his
blade. He hadn’t given up on escaping just yet, he looked for opportunities when ever he could.
But there were none. Xilin-jun carried him everywhere. Into the baths and into bed, Shen Yuan
went with XIlin-jun no matter what the man was doing.

Momo watched Shen Yuan worriedly as his dream scape avatar began to look more and more
haggard with dark circles around his red and puffy eyes. The dream scape would reflect one’s
mental state and Shen Yuan was getting thinner and thinner as time passed on. His perception of
himself was slowly wasting away. One time he appeared in the dreamscape in his blade form.
Momo had fretted over him for a whole day after that. But there was little that Momo could do.
The child could only continue to ask for stories of Shen Yuan’s old world in hopes of bringing back
Shen Yuan’s former vitality.

The Eastern tribes were ejected from the Western lands in a matter of weeks. The rest of the war
between the East and the West was fought in Eastern territory. It soon became clear that this was
not a war between two evenly matched sides. It was a fight for survival for the East. The West
trampled over the East and the East was forced to bunker down and try to weather the storm.

The East had already been suffering food shortages before the war, and now the Eastern army
sustained itself by scavenging from the corpses on the battlefields. They soon realized that they
weren’t the only ones harvesting the fruits of war though. The Southern forces were taking
advantage of the war to provide another food source for their people as well. Scavenging parties
often clashed with each other resulting in more losses for the Eastern tribes.

The East began to grow desperate. The West was quickly approaching the central plains of the East
and if they were not stopped soon, they would overtake the Eastern capital. They sent messengers
to the North and the South in hopes of finding support. The North sent a few paltry troops to
support the East at first. They circled around the main Western army and tried to attack the back
lines and cut off the West’s support. They were horribly out numbered and failed miserably. When
the North realized how powerful the West had grown, they began to commit themselves to the war.
They couldn’t afford to let the West completely conquer the East after all. They managed to slow
the inevitable onwards march of the West with their combined forces.

Not all was smooth sailing for the Western army though. The South took a much more malicious
route compared to the North and sent support to a slowly growing section of the Western army.
 The Western army had been split into two factions by the actions of their lord. A faction of racial
supremacists and a faction that supported equality between humanoids and non-humanoids. This
faction was led by a certain extremely unlucky soldier that had served under Liu Ao by the name
of Wan Teng. This growing resistance didn’t act openly just yet. They only sabotaged resources
and gave key information to the Eastern tribes, giving much needed opportunities to the East. The
secret funding that the South provided helped the resistance gain momentum in recruiting
members.

Years passed in this bloody showdown. The resistance began acting more and more openly. Xilin-
jun had to take to the field more often than not. The North and the South resorted to guerilla tactics
to whittle down the Western army instead of clashing head on like in the past. Shen Yuan was
slowly becoming a master at disassociating from his body. His only respite was Momo but even
Momo had limits as to what he could do for him.

And soon... Things came to a head...

Chapter End Notes

:) Thank you for the lovely comments. They are what drive me to write. The more you
comment the more I write. :)
 You Fucked Up A Perfectly Good Sword You Did, Look At It. It’s Got
Anxiety.
Chapter Summary

Bad times all around.

Chapter Notes

Minor gore warning this chapter

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Chapter 10:You fucked up a perfectly good sword you did. Look at it. It's got anxiety.

“...And so like, He Xue totally had an affair with Tian Le’s wife you know? I found out about it
and the fool tried to offer me sweets to not say anything about it. Can you imagine? Sweets of all
things! What does he take me for? A baby?” Momo chattered happily while chewing on a lightly
flavored pastry.

“Haha… Yeah…” Shen Yuan responded weakly sipping at his watery tea.

“....” Momo shot Shen Yuan an unreadable look. Shen Yuan appeared absolutely listless, but
Momo had stopped asking if Shen Yuan was alright anymore several years ago.

Shen Yuan had stopped counting the number of skills he gained from killing.

They sat in silence, nibbling their mildly flavored snacks.

Momo had grown since the first time he met Shen Yuan, he now looked like a tiny teen. He still
resembled a sheep though. His curly hair had grown longer and he liked wearing floaty clothes that
gave him an airy feeling.

Shen Yuan had not grown but he had changed. He had permanent dark circles under his eyes and
was little better than a bag of skin and bones. He appeared more and more often in the dreamscape
in his sword form. It took hours of Momo’s coaxing to get him to return his mentality enough to
take on a human form again. Sometimes he began disassociating even when he was with Momo.

“Oh did you hear? Apparently the resistance base got discovered the other day! Grandpa says he’s
taking me with him because it shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with them. I’m so excited! Grandpa
says they’ve been a thorn in his side for too long! He’s gonna go personally as well!”

“Oh… is that so? I’m happy for you…” Shen Yuan said, not really paying attention.

“Yeah!”

“.....”

“...I read a book recently, you know?” Momo said, swinging his legs. “It was about a guy who was
fighting a demon. He sealed the demon into his son before he died because of his injuries. But! He
woke up again and he was in the body of his son somehow! It was really interesting but there were
so many plot holes it was ridiculous!”

A spark of light returned to Shen Yuan’s tired eyes, he finally looked up at Momo for the first time
during their conversation. “Oh really? How bad was it?”

“Oh it was so bad! I wanted to curse the author out the whole time!” Momo looked up at Shen
Yuan with a bright smile. “The main character was established as one of the fastest people alive
but then they got caught by an unruly mob! It was ridiculous! There were also a lot of ham fisted
plots stuck in on the side as well. The fight scenes were also way too drawn out and overly
detailed. The concept of the story was pretty good but the execution was only mediocre!”

Shen Yuan smiled weakly “Haha, I’ll have to read it some day. Then I could do a full breakdown
of it.”

Momo nodded enthusiastically “Mhm!”

The silence returned, but this time it felt lighter.

Once again Momo broke the silence first. “Hey Yuan-ge? Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Momo twisted his hands in front of him for a bit, “I’mkindascaredabouttomorrow.” He blurted out.

Shen Yuan blinked, “Oh.”

Momo nodded his head.

Shen Yuan put a hand on Momo’s head, “I’m sure your grandpa will protect you no matter what.
So don’t worry.”

“Yeah. He said I’m back line duty… It's just that... I hope the resistance wins? There’s so many
more minds for me to explore if grandpa doesn’t kill them all you know?”

“Ah. I see...”

“Yeah like there's more variety you get me? The demons that grandpa has have such boring
dreams. They’re basically all about the same thing, power. Just dreaming about power the whole
time. Its dumb. Like I wanna be strong too but they’re obsessed. It's like there's nothing else on
their minds.”

Shen Yuan nodded along as Momo began to rant about the quality of dreams he had been exploring
recently. Momo let him rant about terrible novels for hours so he would allow Momo the same
amount of time to rant.

The next day the Western army secretly split themselves into two groups, one leaked information
about a potential raid on the North-Eastern alliance. The other prepared for an actual attack on the
resistance base. When spies had confirmed that the resistance forces had taken the bait the Western
army moved to take the camp.

The resistance camp was basically composed of only backline forces that never faced direct
conflict. The main portion of the resistance had left to support the North-Eastern alliance. There
were mainly spell casters, archers and spiritual masters who directed long range combat and
excelled at sniping their foes from a distance. But the worst part about the resistance camp, in Shen
Yuan’s opinion, was the amount of civilians that they housed. They sheltered army deserters and
civilians who had lost their homes to the war. In other words it was a camp full of non-combatants.

The Western army’s attack was swift and devastating. The soldiers of the Western army mowed
through what ever paltry resistance they encountered. They set fire to the resistance buildings and
burned their supplies. They slaughtered any and all that crossed their paths.

For some strange reason Shen Yuan had been unable to disassociate for this battle. He was forced
to watch as non-combatants were cut down in droves. Old men that couldn't work, women, and
disabled soldiers. Shen Yuan thanked the heavens there were no children.

After a mere hour the only thing left was to clean up the few groups of escaping rebels.

Xilin-jun chased a group of fleeing resistance members into the forests by himself. He leisurely
followed at a sedate pace, teleporting in and out, picking off members of the group one at a time.
He toyed with them and treated the chase as a game of cat and mouse.

The strange thing about the escapees was that they made sure to constantly protect something in
the middle of their pack. Whenever Xilin-jun got close to the center a demon would voluntarily
throw themselves into his path. It piqued Xilin-Juan’s curiosity terribly.

When he had cut down the escaping group to its very last few members he finally saw what it was
they were protecting so dearly.

It was a small child.

A rather familiar child in fact, the same age as Momo. Shen Yuan vaguely remembered seeing him
crying somewhere else before as well.

“Ah hah... So you survived all this time? I thought you and your mother had been killed after your
father was executed.” Xilin-jun sneered.

Then Shen Yuan remembered. It was Liu Ban! Liu Ao’s son! He had actually lived this whole
time? How?
Xilin-jun sent out a wave of blade beams that took out the adults surrounding Liu Ban. Liu Ban
cried out as his guardians fell around him.

Xilin-jun laughed. “How fitting. For me to kill both father and son with the same blade!” He
stalked up to the child with the gait of a predator closing in on its prey.

Xilin-jun lifted Shen Yuan up to bring him down in a slash upon the small crying child.

Shen Yuan couldn't take it anymore.

‘NO! I REFUSE! TO KILL! A CHILD!’ He thought as hard as he could.

A wave of energy rose up to meet his declaration. Shen Yuan blindly grasped for it. It responded to
his negative emotions and curled around him comfortingly. Then Shen Yuan knew what to do
next.

He slammed years of stored up resentful energy from his blade in a huge wave into Xilin-jun’s
body.

Xilin-jun gasped.

He stumbled backwards and clutched his chest.

He screamed.

He convulsed violently, jerking backwards from the child. His veins bulged and burst all over his
body painting him red. His eyes popped in his skull.

But because of his hardy constitution Xilin-jun didn't die right away.

He coughed up a glob of blood and fell to his knees. He stabbed Shen Yuan into the ground and
began to desperately draw Qi from the blade into himself to heal.

The child stared at Xilin-jun in terror and horror. He didn’t know what trick Xilin-jun was up to.
He shakily pulled out a small dagger. With a yell the child ran forwards and slammed the dagger
into Xilin-jun’s chest, piercing his heart.

The man’s head dropped downward as he stared blindly at the dagger in his chest. Then the man
collapsed forwards on to the ground.

Dead.

Xilin-jun was dead. And it was all because of one small child.

Shen Yuan for the second time in this new life had completely spent all of his energy. He lay limpy
in Xilin-jun’s nerveless hands, unable to escape to freedom. He had neither Qi nor resentful energy
to expend.

Liu Ban fell backward to the ground. He stared at the dead man for an unknown amount of time.
Then he slowly crawled over to the body and prized Shen Yuan out of Xilin-jun’s hands. He
clutched the sword to his chest, hugging it, not caring as his arms were cut by the razor sharp
edges.

“Father, I have avenged you…” He said quietly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“NO! Grandpa!” A shout came from the side.

Liu Ban whipped around, a snarl growing on his face.

Momo ran forward recklessly towards Xilin-jun’s corpse. He collapsed to his knees next to the
body. His hands hovered over Xilin-jun hesitantly. “Grandpa?” He asked quietly.

He gently laid a hand on the still warm body. “...Grandpa?”

Then Momo’s body lurched forwards.

Shen Yuan froze.

Momo looked down at the black blade impaling his chest.

Momo coughed. Blood dribbled down the sides of his mouth.

“Yuan-ge?” Momo asked numbly.

Momo turned his head slowly to look at Liu Ban’s face twisted in a mask of rage.

Liu Ban violently twisted Shen Yuan and tore him out of Momo’s chest, sending an arc of blood
into the air.

“If you're related to that scum then you should just die as well!” Liu Ban yelled furiously.

Momo collapsed on top of Xilin-jun. Eyes wide and unseeing.

Shen Yuan howled as Momo fell.

He wailed as Momo’s chest failed to rise again.

He screamed as he felt a new skill click into place within him.

At this point the actual resistance forces had arrived. They received word of the attack on their
camp and had turned around and fought their way through the Western army.

A group of resistance fighters happened to pass by the clearing on their way to support the fight
against the Western army.
They first spotted Liu Ban before looking down and seeing two corpses lying before him covered
in blood. They rushed over to Liu Ban in worry. Wan Teng who happened to be with them
hurriedly kneeled next to the child and checked the child over. Liu Ban was still panting heavily
and holding onto Shen Yuan with a death grip.

“Liu Ban? Liu Ban, what happened? How is Xilin-jun dead? Did you do this?” Wan Teng asked,
putting his hands on Liu Ban’s shoulders and forcing the child to look him in the eyes.

“I killed him.” Liu Ban answered blankly.

Murmurs burst out from the surrounding resistance members. They looked at the sword in Liu
Ban’s hands and then to the corpses.

Wan Teng shot a look at the sword and asked calmly, “How? Many men have tried and failed. But
you are a child, did he let his guard down?”

Liu Ban shook his head dully, “I think the sword did something. He raised the sword and then
there was a blast of energy and he was kneeling on the ground. I took the chance and stabbed him
with the dagger you gave me.”

Wan Teng thought about that for a while before he finally said, “It was probably a backlash from
using that sword’s power too many times…” He shot a look back at the corpses “And the kid?”

“He’s Xilin-jun’s grandchild. He deserved to die.”

“Oh... I see...” Wan Teng looked down. Then he let go of Liu Ban’s shoulders and drew his sword.
He walked over to the bodies and nudged several of the resistance members who had gathered
around the corpses out of the way.

With a brisk hack he cut off Xilin-jun’s head.

Holding the head by the hair he handed it to the fastest member of the group he had arrived with,
“Take this and inform the rest of the army. This should at least shake them a bit.” Then he raised
his sword into the sky and shouted “Our true resistance begins today! The head of the snake is
 dead!”

His companions roared alongside him.

Chapter End Notes

Heee Heeeeeeeee

Thank you all so much for the comments! Those comments are what fuel my updates!

But I might have to slow down the update speed soon! Classes are starting again
boohoo ;n;.
 Picking Up The Pieces
Chapter Summary

Wan Teng doesn’t know how to comfort children and a conference happens

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 11: Picking Up The Pieces

Shen Yuan was drowning despite his lack of lungs.

He was suffocating and floundering and there was no one to help.

No one to listen.

Not anymore.

He wanted to rage at Liu Ban. He wanted to scream and shout until his non-existent throat bled. He
wanted to throttle the kid. He wanted to take his energy and slam it into Liu Ban and liquify his
internal organs the same way he did to Xilin-jun.

But he had nearly killed Xilin-jun to save this child.

This child who he perceived as an innocent being undeserving of death.

This child, who had then turned around and killed his only friend.

Was it worth it?

Why did he even try anymore?

The single time he tried to save someone.

Someone precious to him died.

He was just a tool for others to use.

It was all his fault anyways.

If he didn’t care so much Momo wouldn’t be dead.

If he didn’t care so much he wouldn’t have suffered as Xilin-jun cut down droves of demons.

If he had just flown away that day Liu Ao discovered the black dragon none of this would have
happened.

If he had just ignored that scream the day he had tricked Momo into letting him go, he wouldn’t be
feeling this pain.

So Shen Yuan hid his pain in apathy.

There was no need for a weapon to have feelings.

Swords didn’t need emotions.

He was merely a sword.

It didn’t matter what he wanted.

He would be the blade.

And so Shen Yuan drowned.

“My lord. It appears that Xilin-jun has died.” Said a messenger knelt before a striking demon
draped in fine silks of orange. The demon bore a distinctive mark on their forehead and they wore
an elaborate crown that kept their hair pinned up and out of their face. They had surprisingly soft
features and looked harmless save for the simple sword strapped to their waist.

The demon covered his mouth with a sleeved and hummed consideringly. “Hoh? I thought that
man couldn’t be rivaled on the battlefield? He boasted so much about his powers after all. How
comes it that such a man dies?”

“It appears he suffered some sort of backlash from his sword and the resistance took advantage of
it to cut his head off.” The messenger stated.

The demon barked out a bright laugh. “Hah! What an end. To be killed by the thing which he
praised so much!” He flicked open a fan and fanned himself absently, “Well no matter, this is
amazing news for us. Send congratulations to the resistance. Soon we will be able to collect on all
the help we have lent them.”

“Yes my lord.”

With a wave of his hand Wuye-jun dismissed his messenger.

Wuye-jun smiled to himself wickedly. This unexpected death of Xilin-jun was great news. Soon he
would have control over half of the demon realm. The resistance was heavily indebted to the South
due to their generous support. Their leader, Wan Teng, was a simple, idealistic, and honorable
demon. He would be duty bound to repay whatever support the South had given him.

The South had benefited so much from this war that Wuye-jun didn’t want it to stop. He had plans
in mind to extend the war for as long as possible. There was no need for peace in the demon realm.
There was no point to peace any ways. Demons were born naturally craving bloodshed, peace had
only been achieved through idealistic fools like the old Western lord and previous Eastern lord.
Now that a new generation was leading, war could dominate the lands once again.

As it should be.
A demon with a bright blue mark on his forehead slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne.
“How!? How did he die? This is absurd! I refuse to believe that paltry resistance could have slain
Xilin-jun!”

His messenger trembled before him nervously, “A-According to reports from rumors, Xilin-jun
suffered a backlash from overusing his demon blade and the resistance took advantage…”

Taiyuan-jun leaned back into his throne heavily and sighed. “-Feh. A waste. I had been looking
forward to facing Xilin-jun in combat.” He stood and swished the sleeve of his black and blue
robes and said, “Send out more troops to the front lines. We have no need for hit and run tactics
anymore. The main power of the West is dead, all that is left is their numbers. But numbers mean
nothing against might. We will take this chance and expand our reaches into the West as much as
we can. We’ve been needing more land after all. The East owes us, we will be able to take more
than our fair share if we play our cards right.”

“Y-yes my lord! Right away!”

Taiyuan-jun watched the messenger scurry off, he then called over another demon, “Send message
to my son. He is to go out as well and make some achievements for himself. If he is to be the next
lord of the land he will need the experience. The West will crumble before us.”

The demon nodded and ran off.

Taiyuan-jun walked over to a window and looked out into the snowy distance of his frozen lands.
He sighed as he considered what to do about the South. They would be the next power house after
the West, they had taken no damages from this war after all. Something needed to be done to keep
the power balance within the demon realm.

In the East an impromptu celebration was being held. The moment that the news of Xilin-Juan’s
death hit there were shouts of joy as demons rejoiced over the death of their sworn enemy. They
didn't care so much for how he died as long as it meant he was dead. They toasted to his inglorious
death and drank themselves silly in preparation for the battles to come.

Wan Teng walked through the halls of the newly rebuilt buildings of the resistance camp mulling
over his next actions. There was much work to be done now that Xilin-jun was dead. So far the
resistance had mainly focused on recovering from the unexpected attack on their headquarters.
They would launch an all out offensive against the main Western army soon enough. But first Wan
Teng went to check on Liu Ban. He had been worried about the child ever since he had found him
standing over the corpses of their enemies. He knocked on the door to Liu Ban’s room.

“Enter.” A quiet voice said.

Wan Teng opened the door to see Liu ban sitting on a chair at a table with a black blade laid in his
lap. The boy had been in the middle of polishing the blade when Wan Teng entered.

“How have you been recently?” Wan Teng asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The child stared blankly at him for a while. “...Fine” he finally answered.

Wan Teng raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? You haven’t looked fine in a very long while…” He
looked the boy over, Liu Ban had heavy bags under his eyes. “ You can tell me anything, you
know?”

“I… I just… What do I do now? I killed Xilin-jun! It's supposed to feel better! But now all I get
are… Are these stupid dreams!”

“What dreams?”

“I keep dreaming of the same thing over and over! Me killing that scum’s grandson! It doesn’t
stop! I don’t feel bad for doing it! I don't know why I keep dreaming of it!”

Wan Teng frowned, “It’s probably the trauma of your very first kills… I’m sorry Liu Ban… Maybe
there are some teas you can try that will give you better sleep? Or trying drinking warm milk
before bed…”

Liu Ban looked down hesitantly. “I… I can try that.”

Wan Teng nodded, he continued softly, “Revenge isn’t always what you expect it to be either Liu
Ban.”
“He’s dead! It's supposed to be okay now! It isn’t fair! It doesn’t feel like I did anything!”

“I know… I feel that way too…”

They contemplated in silence for a few moments before Wan Teng gestured to the sword held in
Liu Ban’s lap, “What do you plan on doing with that?”

“I would like to learn how to use it. It was my father’s blade and it has his abilities, I want to honor
him by using this blade to protect the West just like he did.”

“Be careful with it. There are many people eyeing that sword right now. It's too powerful. No one
has contested you for it yet since you were the one to kill Xilin-jun. No one knows what you can do
yet. You will need to master that sword quickly.”

Liu Ban nodded. He had a look of determination on his face.

Wan Teng smiled and ruffled Liu Ban’s hair, messing up his neatly combed look. Liu Ban
squirmed and knocked his hand away.

“I can teach you some swordsmanship to help you master that blade, I’m sure your father would be
proud of you.” Wan Teng said.

Liu Ban looked up at him with bright eyes, “Really?”

“Yes really. You know you can ask me about your father and mother more often right? I’d be
happy to tell you more about them sometime.”

“Yeah… I know… I just feel like I don’t deserve to know more… Especially about mother...”

Wan Teng looked down, “Liu Ban, I’m sure your mother doesn’t blame you… In fact I should be
the one apologizing to you…”

“No, no. Wan Teng don’t apologize to me. I’m sure you did everything you could. You smuggled
me away from Xilin-jun’s soldiers after all. It's just that if I had been stronger… Or faster… She
wouldn’t have…”

Wan Teng sighed and patted Liu Ban’s shoulder, “It's not your fault Liu Ban.”

Liu Ban deflated under his palm. “It's hard…” he muttered.

“Yes. Yes it is… Would you like to have your first swordsmanship lesson then?”

“Right now?”

“Why not? It's not like we have anything better to do.”

Liu Ban stared dully at Wan Teng. The man was now the leader of an entire army, there was much
that he should be doing.

“Ahah ha… Well maybe there are better things to be doing…” Wan Teng laughed awkwardly, “If
you don’t want to, it's okay I understand. I’ll be leaving now…” He turned to leave the room.

“...Wait…”

“Hm?”

‘I think I would like that swordsmanship lesson now…”

“Ah, alright! Let’s go then!”

In the next few years the Western army’s offense quickly collapsed after Xilin-jun’s shocking and
unexpected death. Xilin-jun had been the only thing holding the army together, with him gone,
administration fell into chaos. They no longer had a clear leader and the main spear head of the
army was now in the enemy’s hands. The momentum of the West’s progress into Eastern lands
stalled and then began to reverse.
The North-Eastern alliance took full advantage of the lack of internal structure in the West. They
quickly pushed the West out of Eastern lands and began encroaching upon Western territories.
They repaid their losses tenfold. The advent of Taiyuan-jun’s son upon the battlefield soon meant
that the lands were rendered inhospitable plains of ice and snow. Perfect for Northern demons. The
North shamelessly claimed territory for themselves even as the East weakly protested.

Meanwhile, The South continued to sit back and watch. They were mostly content to take in the
refugees from both the West and East, but what happened after the refugees entered the South
remains unknown. The South’s citizens were content and better fed than ever though.

Wan Teng led the resistance against the West in a highly successful campaign. Their new mascot,
Liu Ban, quickly rose to prominence on the front lines. The boy had mastered the art of warping
and was able to move whole armies through portals. They freely attacked the West in unexpected
locations using the dimension warping ability of Shen Yuan. Liu Ban had grown into a strapping
and handsome young demon, he bore the same blue mark on his forehead that his father had and
dressed in the exact same style of clothing his father wore. He looked like a younger copy of Liu
Ao and his age and bravery inspired many young demons to take up arms as well.

Within a single year after Liu Ban had mastered Shen Yuan the resistance broke through to the
central camp of the West. They quickly assumed operations there. Any supporters of Xilin-jun had
been killed or had fled the moment news of his death spread. It seemed like the war was about to
end now that the West had fallen to the resistance. Messengers ran in all directions bringing news
of potential peace talks to the three lords of the demon realm. A date was set up for the lords and
the representatives of the West to meet up and discuss reparations for the long war.

It seemed things were returning to the status quo.

Then the day of the peace conference arrived.

The lords of the land gathered in a rebuilt castle on the borders of the West to discuss future
treaties. The first day of the conference was spent listing out the grievances that each side had been
dealt. No true progress was made as the representatives quibbled over who was truly wronged and
who was really to blame for the war. The East blamed the West for their undue treatment of Sha
Huating and the West blamed the East for their previous raids of their border towns. There wasn’t
much that the resistance could do to really ward off the combined frontal assault of the North and
East alliance though. They were forced to accept the blame for the war.

Things went better as days passed. For the North-East at least. They wanted what the West could
not give, they pressured Wan Teng into handing over more territory than strictly necessary. The
South spectated with glee and demanded monetary reparations from both the East and the West for
taking in their refugees.

All three lords were looking to drain the West dry and ensure that they could never rise against the
other territories ever again.

“....in addition to our previous demands, we also demand that the West hand over the blade of
Xilin-jun which is now being held by the demon by the name of Liu Ban.” The Eastern lord said
while rudely picking at his fingernails.

“What!?” Liu Ban asked. The boy had been picked to serve as Wan Teng’s right hand man. He was
mostly silent during the proceedings of the conference but now he couldn’t keep silent anymore.

A commotion broke out amongst the representatives of the other three territories.

“I refuse! I have a right to this blade! It is the blade that I won after I killed Xilin-jun! You have no
right to demand such a thing!”

The Eastern lord sneered, “Then it will be a part of the spoils of victory for the Eastern lands. Hand
it over, that is, if you do not fear the consequences.”

‘I believe… That the blade should be destroyed, as opposed to handing it over to the Eastern
tribes.” Taiyuan-jun said calmly. The North did not covet the blade, they merely wanted this
conference to be done with so they could begin to cultivate the new territories they had negotiated.
“It is a powerful weapon, it would be better if it did not exist in this world.”

“I too am opposed to giving the blade to the East.” Wuye-jun said, fanning himself lightly. “The
East has already gained much today.” Besides, he thought, It would be better off in the hands of
the South.

The Eastern lord’s face reddened slightly, He didn’t expect the other two lords to back up the West
when this whole time they had been helping him strip the West of whatever they could. He clicked
his tongue and spat out a “Fine. Then we are in agreement over the amount of reparations and
lands to be paid?”

Wan Teng sighed deeply, the conference had been extremely taxing on him. He had just been a
normal foot soldier, he didn’t expect that one day he would be expected to take up a lord’s work
load! “Yes, we are in agreement.” He said tiredly.

“Well then. Good. Let us reconvene tomorrow for the signing of the treaties. It has been a long
day.” Taiyuan-jun said standing from his seat.

The lords nodded at each other barely giving Wan Teng a glance and then left for their quarters.

The next day Wan Teng woke up feeling rather hopeful for the future of the West. Everything they
had lost could be eventually regained in the future. The people of the West were strong after all.
There was nothing they couldn't overcome as long as they worked together. Wan Teng believed in
the West with all his heart. They could possibly even complete the evolution ritual in the near
future. The majority of the groundwork had been laid by the previous generation after all. All that
was left was to find capable spiritualists and the regathering of all the rare and expensive
components.

As Wan Teng began preparing for the day he was suddenly rudely interrupted by Liu Ban bursting
into his room in a hurry.

“Wan Teng! It's bad! The Eastern lord has been found murdered in his sleep!” Liu Ban said panting
harshly.

“What!?”

“The North and East representatives are blaming us for assassinating him! They’re coming this
way! I think a confrontation is inevitable!”

Wan Teng floundered for a bit before he forcefully pulled himself together, “Inform the others! We
must make haste! It wasn’t us but the North and the East won't believe that! We’ll need to escape!”

“Yes sir!” Liu Ban turned and quickly ran out of the room again.

Wan Teng abandoned his morning preparations and simply strapped his sword to his belt and ran
out of the room after Liu Ban.
 Wan Teng and his party were forced to fight their way out of the castle in order to survive. They
managed to escape using the portals that Liu Ban ripped through dimensions. The North
immediately occupied the castle with the East and the South was unceremoniously driven out.

It seems that the war would be continuing after all.

Chapter End Notes

I love you people a whole lot. Your comments feed me.

I have hit a pretty hard writers block though. please comment what you would like me
to write and where you would like this story to go. I have my own ideas of where I
want to take this but I will definitely take any and all ideas into consideration.

As mentioned before, please don't think this update speed will be regular. Classes will
be starting soon and i have depression which can make it hard for me to write for
months at a time.

Love the screaming that happened in the comments yesterday so thank you all!
 New Pants
Chapter Summary

Liu Ban says yolo and Shen Yuan gets new pants

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 12: New Pants

Floating peacefully in the void Shen Yuan stared blankly out at the darkness surrounding him. He
was numb. He was done. He was gone.

“How pathetic.” A voice rang out.

Shen Yuan moved slightly.

That voice… It sounded so familiar, but… who?

“To think that this is the fool that got me killed. Disgusting.” The voice spoke again.

“You have such power yet refuse to use it. I never understood your hatred for killing. But to think
that you would shut down just because of one death. How pathetic. I thought you were better than
that. I thought you wanted to be free… Useless bastard.”

Shen Yuan turned within the darkness, “...Momo?” He asked. He had never heard that amount of
vitriol come from Momo’s mouth before.

But he couldn’t see anyone or anything.

Then he felt a small hand press against his back

“Wake up already.” The voice said scoldingly.

And Shen Yuan was abruptly thrust back into reality.

Liu Ban slashed a hulking ogre’s arm off and danced around the large demon’s wild swings. He
teleported behind the beast and stabbed it in the back. He pulled Shen Yuan out of it’s back and
whirled and cut down an arrow that was flying for his neck.

Another group of demons charged at him roaring battle cries. Liu Ban met them head on and
charged through, flickering in and out of sight slashing at limbs and heads as he went.

A large rock came sailing at Liu Ban but he rolled out of the way in the nick of time. He panted as
he rolled to his feet, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of forces the enemy was sending at
him.

He was exhausted, he hadn’t had a decent night of sleep for several years due to nightmares and
the fighting just never seemed to end.

Liu Ban leapt at a group of Western soldiers fighting in the distance to back them up. He blinked
across the battlefield and ended up next to Wan Teng who was knee deep in a patch of demonic
vines. He blocked a blow meant for Wan Teng’s neck with his blade and then helped Wan Teng
chop through the vines.

The North-Eastern alliance seemed determined to fight until every last demon from the Western
army had been eradicated. The resistance was on its last legs. Despite having a Shen Yuan, Liu
Ban couldn’t manage the same devastating area of effect attacks that Xilin-jun had been feared for.
He wasn’t knowledgeable enough about all of his blade’s abilities. He could only use the abilities
he had witnessed himself. He didn’t know how to draw upon the blade’s full power either.

This was the resistance’s last stand. If they fell here, their headquarters would be destroyed and all
the civilians within would be slaughtered. They had to win.

Shen Yuan watched as he was used to cleave a demon in half, numb to the sensation of flesh and
bone parting on the edge of his blade. He wondered why exactly Liu Ban was fighting. It didn’t
really matter to him though truthfully. The last time he had been truly aware was when he used
Momo’s powers to make Liu Ban relive Momo’s death in order to try and get him to repent for
killing Momo.

Speaking of Momo… That voice that had kicked him out of his apathy had been right… He did
want to be free… But how?

…And was it really worth it?

Suddenly Liu Ban felt an unexpected energy pouring into his body. He trembled under the
sensation. He recalled this ominous feeling clearly. It was the same energy that had exploded out
of Xilin-jun!

He glanced at the sword held tightly in his hand, he hadn’t used the sword that much to experience
a backlash, had he?

But he felt… Good? In fact, he felt better than he had ever felt in his entire life!

He gave a war cry and charged back into the fray faster than ever. The new energy humming
through his veins boosted his strength and endurance. It allowed him greater senses; he could feel
even the slightest changes in the air around him now. Liu Ban dodged a hit from behind without
even looking and swung his blade blindly. His blade bit into his foe and tore them in half.

Liu Ban wondered exactly what was going on. This second wind had been exactly what he needed.
This new energy didn't seem to be attacking him like it did to Xilin-jun. It reinforced him and even
seemed to be empowering him further. The energy went to his head. Liu Ban smiled and looked at
the never ending waves of enemies.

He instinctively swept his arm up and slashed downwards at a distant enemy. A giant blade beam,
bigger than anything he had ever performed before, exploded out of his blade. It slammed into the
group of demons he had been aiming at and wiped them out.

Liu Ban ran at the enemy with renewed vigor. He could do this! He could break the stalemate and
drive back the enemy! He could protect his people!

He fought harder than ever. He became a storm of blades and advanced through the battlefield
creating a river of blood behind him. His companions gaped at his progress, then they too roared
and followed in the wake of Liu Ban’s advance.
Liu Ban carved a path through the enemy lines relying solely on his body to do the work. His
enhanced strikes were strong enough to strike down ten demons at once. He plowed through the
North-Eastern army paying no heed to the fools who stood in his way. He didn’t notice as his eyes
became bloodshot. He didn't notice as his muscles tore. He didn’t notice as his organs slowly
failed. All Liu Ban worried about was breaking the enemy advancement and protecting the West.

And then. He did it. Liu Ban shot straight through the enemy into their back lines. Then Liu Ban
broke free of the enemy backlines and stared out over the wide open plains that was this time's
battleground. He looked off into the distance where North-Eastern reinforcements were arriving
and despaired. There were too many reinforcements! If they reached the battlegrounds the West
would be simply overwhelmed! They would be no more!

Liu Ban inhaled deeply and began drawing on his blade’s powers himself. His muscles bulged and
he swung his sword in a wide horizontal sweep, destroying the still reeling backline formation he
stood amidst.

He charged at the approaching reinforcements recklessly, leaving behind his allies to clean up the
weakened army behind him. Wan Teng shouted after him desperately trying to get him to stop and
come back. But Liu Ban didn’t listen.

Liu Ban did his absolute best to cull the amount of reinforcements that would reach the battlefield
by himself. He descended upon them like a god of war, whirling through their forces in an
untouchable flurry. Redirecting attacks with portals, Liu Ban returned enemy attacks tenfold.

Then suddenly Liu Ban coughed up a spray of blood. He paused and reassessed himself briefly.
What he found horrified him. His meridians were completely wrecked and the only reason he was
standing was this strange energy thrumming beneath his skin numbing him to the pain.

In the brief moment of inattention Liu Ban received a stab through the stomach from a snarling
enemy demon. He stumbled backwards, staring into the furious eyes of the demon before him. It
was a young demon, roughly the same age as him, there were tears running down his face. Liu Ban
swiftly decapitated him and pulled the spear out of his stomach.

Liu Ban could feel it. This was the end of the line for him. There were unknown consequences to
using the sword too recklessly and he had pushed the limits of it just now.

But there were still too many enemy soldiers standing.

He held Shen Yuan in front of him and focused. He drew out as much power from the blade as he
could. This would be his last act! He would take out as many enemy units as he possibly could on
his own!

And with one last mighty roar of fury Liu Ban self destructed using all of Shen Yuan’s resentful
energy.

The battlefield was bathed in a bright light.

Resistance members cried out as the light blinded them. Wan Teng shouted in grief as he witnessed
Liu Ban’s last actions. He didn’t understand why the boy had suddenly decided to act so recklessly.
They could have fought the enemy together! Wasn’t that what comrades were for?

As the light cleared, the Resistance looked over their enemies to witness a jaw dropping sight.

A giant crater dominated where the enemy reinforcements had been previously. No life existed
within the crater, it seemed as if a huge chunk of the earth had simply vanished within that bright
light. Yet in the center of the crater a black blade laid embedded in the ground, still glowing with
remnants of energy.

Before anyone could react a black shadow sprung up from the earth besides the blade. A figure
emerged out of the swirling shadows and laughed wildly.

“Magnificent! What beautiful resentful energy! What a display! This will surely please my lord!”
They crowed as they pulled the blade from the earth. They held the blade reverently, admiring its
simple beauty. And while everyone was still gaping at the crater the figure vanished in another
swirl of black shadows.

“No!” Wan Teng cried out as they disappeared with Liu Ban’s blade in tow. That was their last
hope! Liu Ban had disintegrated the reinforcements and bought the Resistance time to recover for
the next wave of attacks but now their trump card had been stolen by this mysterious figure in
black!

Meanwhile Shen Yuan was fucking indignant as fuck. He had finally found some modicum of
resolve to escape from this endless cycle of killing by influencing Liu Ban to be more reckless
using Momo’s powers combined with his resentful energy. Only to be immediately snatched up by
this random dude while he still had no energy to move! What was this scenario?

The mysterious figure traveled through several shadows before he stepped out of the shadows into
a grand hall. The hall was decorated lavishly and was filled with detailed paintings depicting great
misty jungles. He walked briskly up to the end of the hall where a heavenly demon dressed in
orange sat waiting.

“My lord. This one has brought an interesting present for you.” He said presenting the blade in
both hands.

“Oh? Is this not Xilin-jun’s former blade?” Wuye-jun asked, fanning himself.

The shadowy figure nodded and said, “Indeed my lord, this one was observing the battle we
orchestrated between the Resistance and the North-East alliance when the boy wielding this sword
self destructed using a massive amount of resentful energy. I thought that this would please you so
I brought the blade back immediately.”

Snapping his fan shut the lord said, “Well done Hei Ying, well done. I am very pleased. To think
that there exists a sword that can actually store resentful energy, this will accelerate my research
dramatically.”

“Thank you my lord. I live to serve.”

“Please bring the blade over here if you would.”

The now named Hei Ying approached Wuye-jun and presented the blade to him.

Wuye-jun picked up the blade and studied it carefully. “Oh ho!” He exclaimed.

“What is it my lord?”

“There appears to be a consciousness resting inside of this blade. How intriguing.”

Shen Yuan startled badly. This would be the second demon to ever realize he was conscious.
Suddenly he felt a swell of hope combined with a stab of pain as he thought of the first demon.
Perhaps he could communicate with this Wuye-jun to release him? He wasn’t adept with Momo’s
powers but he could at least influence minds enough to communicate with whomever held him. Not
that he had bothered with Liu Ban though.

Shen Yuan concentrated, ‘Hello Wuye-jun.’ He thought.

Wuye-jun startled and nearly dropped Shen Yuan. “Oh my!”

“My lord?” Hei Ying asked.

“The sword can actually communicate!”

“What?”

“Curious… What do you have to tell me, blade?”

‘ Please release me. I do not desire to kill any more respected lord. I tire of the endless bloodshed.’
Shen Yuan thought, injecting as much desperation into his thoughts as he could. He tried his best
to convey his pain and torment at being used as a tool. He just wanted to return to the Endless
Abyss and be left alone.

The lord frowned. “What use is there of a sword that does not kill? More importantly, your
resentful energy. Can you channel it into me? I would like to study it.”

‘Please release me. I will not use my resentful energy on those that do not deserve it. I won’t use
my resentful energy just for your research purposes either. I do not want to kill any more. Please
respect this.’

Wuye-jun turned to Hei Ying calmly and asked, “You mentioned before that the blade’s hilt could
be changed without affecting its power, correct?”

“Yes my lord.”
Shen Yuan wondered how this demon knew that. He didn’t really recognize them. They looked
like how one would define a seedy looking person. Wait. Was this the co-conspirator that Xilin-jun
had worked with to frame Liu Ao and kill the previous Western lord?

“Please have my craftsmen create a new hilt suitable for this blade, oh and insert a mental
suppressing crystal on the handle. The blade is defective, there is no need for its consciousness, in
fact the consciousness is suppressing the resentful energy of this blade.”

Horrified, Shen Yuan immediately sent thoughts pleading with Wuye-jun not to do this.

He was thoroughly ignored.

Shen Yuan could only watch as he was brought to the craft men’s quarters. As he was placed on
the table for measuring, he used the little amount of energy he had recovered to slash a hole into
the Abyss. But before he could escape several talismans were pinned onto him by Hei Ying,
rendering him motionless once again. Shen Yuan cursed and struggled, flaring his meager energy.

But it was for naught. There was little he could do as his old hilt was removed and a new one was
slowly created. The new guard that was affixed to him had elaborate dragons carved onto it, the
hilt he received was wrapped in black leather and had an ominous red gem embedded in it.

The moment the hilt was attached Shen Yuan felt as if a thick blanket had been thrown over him,
blocking his senses of the world around him. He was forced back into the void he had carefully
cultivated after Momo’s death. Shen Yuan lost control of his usually finely suppressed resentful
energy. It burst out of him in a wave blowing back the craftsmen and Hei Ying.

A sword that radiated pure resentment had been created on this day.

The completed sword was beautiful, coiling dragons encircled the guard and the hilt’s gem shone
brilliantly. The dark blade itself seemed to absorb the surrounding light, not a single reflection
could be seen on it. The scarlet line that ran down the middle of the blade seemed to shine like
freshly shed blood.

When the blade was presented to Wuye-jun, the lord smiled and declared, “From this day
forwards... This blade shall be known as———“
Chapter End Notes

I thank everyone of you that gave me ideas yesterday! I got a lot of truly excellent
concepts and hell, Im going to be writing so much.

Please continue commenting, they feed me and make me write more! Thank you!
 In Which The Author Does Not Know The Meaning Of A Time Skip
Chapter Summary

Lots of things happen.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 13: In Which The Author Does Not Know The Meaning Of A Time Skip

BOOM!

Western soldiers shouted out in pain as a blast of resentful energy washed over them eating away at
their bodies.

Hei Ying cackled wildly as he directed his forces forwards.

The Western Resistance was thoroughly unprepared for a surprise attack from the one neutral party
in this war.

“Why are the Southern forces attacking us!?” A soldier screamed as the Southern forces charged
the main Resistance camp.

An ominous feeling washed over the whole area as Hei Ying raised a familiar black blade.

Wan Teng pushed his way through a throng of fleeing soldiers just in time to see Hei Ying unleash
a blast of flame at the Resistance buildings.

“YOU!” He shouted. He immediately recognized Hei Ying as the one who had stolen Liu Ban’s
sword. “Return that sword! It doesn’t belong to you!” Wan Teng declared furiously, drawing his
blade.
“Hahaha! Then just try and take it from me if you can!” Hei Ying crowed, high on resentful
energy.

Wan Teng dashed forwards and swung at Hei Ying. Hei Ying smirked at the simple attack and
melted away into shadow just before the blow could land. Wan Teng overreached with his swing
and was forced to roll out of the way as a searing wave of heat blasted past his shoulder. Wan Teng
made the mistake of glancing over his shoulder to see if the soldiers rallying behind him had been
hit. He narrowly dodged a blade aimed straight for his eyes but grunted in pain as the sword drew a
crimson line across the bridge of his nose.

Hei Ying’s form flickered in the dark shadows of the night. He laughed as he pressed Wan Teng
backwards with a flurry of blows from his flaming blade.

Wan Teng realized he had bitten off more than he could chew challenging the wielder of that black
blade.

He was nearly pressed into the burning building behind him. Wan Teng ducked under a horizontal
slash from Hei Ying. The slash destroyed the pillars holding the building upright and the building
began falling in Wan Teng’s direction.

Wan Teng jumped away but Hei Ying teleported and kicked him back towards the collapsing
building.

The building fell with a thunderous crash as Hei Ying smirked. He left to continue burning down
the rest of the Resistance buildings.

Soon the Southern forces had routed the main Resistance camp. It would only be a matter of time
before the rest of the West bowed underneath their new strength.

The West was quickly made into a tributary state for the South. The Resistance was dismantled and
any remaining soldiers were assimilated into the Southern forces either willingly or by… Other
means…

“My lord, I just don’t understand why we are entering this war right now.” An advisor said
hesitantly.
Wuye-jun lazily fanned himself before he snapped his fan shut with a click. “We helped Xilin-jun
gain control over the West but the bastard never benefited us in any way. We helped the Resistance
take over from Xilin-jun’s rule but they never benefited us in any way either.” He aimed a deadly
glare at his advisor. “So now. Now we will simply take what should be ours. We have the power to
do so and so we shall. Then we will turn our sights on the North and the East.”

The advisor quailed under his lord’s glare but still spoke up bravely, “A-and pray tell, my lord, why
are we planning to take on the North and East?”

“Ruling only half of a realm sounds so dull... Don’t you agree?”

“A-ah. Yes my lord…”

Taiyuan-jun and the Eastern lord both stared wide eyed at the messenger.

““What!?””

“It is just as I have said, my lords…” The messenger said, “The South has conquered the West and
declared war on both the East and the North.”

Taiyuan-jun and the new Eastern lord both shot uneasy glances at each other. This was not good,
the South had been building power this whole time while the North and East had wasted troops
against the West. The North and East would be forced to continue their uneasy alliance it seemed.

“What exactly does Wuye-jun demand from us?” the Eastern lord asked the messenger carefully.

“This one does not know, I only know that the lord has declared war and desires the North and
Eastern lands.”

“The East is inhospitable volcano ranges, the North is an icy wasteland. What does he want from
us?” Taiyuan-jun wondered out loud.

“Indeed, the West has their coniferous forests while the South possesses their misty jungle. Why
do they need more land?” The Eastern lord asked.
“Perhaps he has gone truly mad with power?” Taiyuan-jun suggested.

“...Perhaps, I do not know the Southern lord’s personality well I'm afraid.”

Taiyuan-jun sighed heavily, “Either way, we must prepare to face harsh battles ahead.”

“Indeed…”

The South quickly engaged the North and East in battle over the Western lands. War seemed to
dominate the demon realm for years.

Hei Ying sent great gouts of fire flying across the battlefield. He smiled as his enemies screamed
within the cleansing flames.

His favorite thing to do recently, was to lower the temperature of the flames just enough to leave
his opponent thoroughly cooked, but barely alive.

A brave Northern demon wielding powers of ice and frost, shouted a challenge at him from across
the burning forest.

Hei Ying bared his teeth in delight as he witnessed the demon’s prowess at manipulating ice. He
was itching to melt that beautiful icy expression off the demon’s face.

With his blood lust ridden mind Hei Ying didn’t notice as he began drawing on resentful energy.
Without Shen Yuan acting as a filter, Hei Ying would burn himself out in a matter of minutes.

Hei Ying swept through the flickering shadows cast by the wild flames and followed the ice
demon’s swift retreat. He didn’t notice as several surviving Northern demons chased after him
from a distance.

The ice demon reached a clearing and finally stopped. They turned around, extending their hands
in front of themselves in preparation to summon deadly icicles as missiles.
Hei Ying cackled and lashed out. A wave of flame flew towards the ice demon. The Ice demon
calmly waited until the last moment to summon up a wall of ice that blocked the searching flames.

Hei Ying smirked, but that smirk quickly fell off his face as another ice wall sprang up behind him.
Boxing him in.

A wave of sharp icicles flew towards Hei Ying from all directions. Hei Ying snarled and dissipated
them with a spinning sweep of his flaming sword.

The ice demons were unrelenting, they sent wave after wave of attacks at the caged in Hei Ying
hoping to tire him out.

Hei Ying drew on more and more resentful energy. Energy rolled off of him in waves. Hei Ying
wanted to laugh. He felt the best he had ever felt in his entire life and he knew these ice demons
wouldn’t stand a chance against his might.

But just as he took a step forward, his leg burst and exploded off of his body.

“Eh?” Hei Ying wondered. Suddenly an icicle impaled his chest. “Eh?” He asked.

But it didn’t even matter. Hei Ying’s eyes exploded and the man screamed in pain as his body
burst apart from the stress of the resentful energy coursing through him.

The ice demons watched in confusion as their enemy’s body appeared to tear itself apart.

They didn’t question it for long. All that mattered was that the man was dead.

The Northern Demon who had first challenged Hei Ying walked up to his mangled corpse and
pried the black blade from his limp hands. He immediately felt the intoxicating rush of resentful
energy into his body. He shuddered and turned to his companions.

“He died because of the resentful energy of this sword. This sword is too dangerous, we must
destroy it.” He said, trembling under the effects of the energy.

“How?” One of his companions asked.

“I don’t know. For we must win this battle today. Then I will take this sword back to the North and
we will deal with it there I suppose.”

“Yes sir.”

“What the hell is this sword!?” A blacksmith yelled in dismay.

The hottest of their flames could not melt the sword. The mightiest of their hammer blows could
neither dent nor crack the sword.

“It truly cannot be destroyed?” Taiyuan-jun asked from the side.

“My lord I do not know how we can destroy this sword. It appears impervious to everything we do
to it!”

Taiyuan-jun sighed. “I suppose we can give it to the East and see what they can do with it. We
can’t afford to seal it away just yet. It is too powerful of a weapon to be wasted like that. It could
help us turn the tides against the South.”

“Ahh! Why! What have we done to you!?” A demon with a distinctive mark on his forehead cried
out as he vainly crawled away from the terrifying figure with the black blade.

“You all deserve to die. For your relation to Wuye-jun I will Kill you all until Wuye-jun appears
before me personally!” Yi Zheng shouted, crying tears of blood. “I'll wipe out every last heavenly
demon if it's the last thing I do! For my family! For my friends! For the innocent that he dragged
into this war! I swear it!”

Yi Zheng, the eastern general who had been given the black blade, swiftly decapitated the
miserable being in front of him. He stormed through the heavenly demons’ castle with the fury of a
thousand blazing sun. He would deliver justice to the demon world on this day. He would leave
none of Wuye-jun’s descendants alive.

Yi Zheng raced into the forest surrounding the castle, chasing after the last fleeing heavenly
demon.

The heavenly demon hurriedly bit his wrist and scattered blood behind him. As the droplets of
blood fell they formed into hideous beasts. They leaped at Yi Zheng hoping to snare his legs and
allow their master to escape. Yi Zheng dealt with them using a simple blade beam and was upon
the demon in an instant.

The demon was impaled upon the black blade and Yi Zheng coldly threw the body off the blade.

Just as Yi Zheng began walking back to the castle in hope of finding another heavenly demon, his
legs collapsed from under him. His vision grew dark and his breathing labored.

“No… I haven’t… I haven’t killed them all yet! Just… A little more!” He gasped as he hauled
himself up on his arms. “A little more time! Just a little more!” But his body betrayed him. Yi
Zheng collapsed to the forest floor, never to move again.

Taiyuan-jun received news of the missing Eastern general. He sent his soldiers into the forests
surrounding the deceased heavenly demons’ castle in hopes of retrieving the blade.

His soldiers happened upon a simple farmer by the name of Lian Ke, who was using the blade to
ward off a few wild beasts.

They demanded the blade from the farmer but Lian Ke refused. Lian Ke was a demon born with
slight empathetic abilities. He could feel the blade's pain and anguish.

“This blade isn’t meant for the act of killing demons. Please do not push this.” He declared.

The soldiers beat him viciously and laughed at his declaration. Yet Lian Ke still refused to hand
the blade over. A frustrated soldier grabbed the blade from the farmer’s hands and ran him through
with it.
The soldier sneered as Lian Ke fell limp upon the blade.

Then He screamed as a wave of resentful energy tore his body apart mercilessly.

The soldiers handled the blade much more carefully after that.

Taiyuan-jun sighed as he gazed upon the returned blade.

“I entrust this blade to you general Shuang He, I hope you wield this blade responsibly.”

Within a few months Shuang He staged a revolt against Taiyuan-jun

“Why are you doing this!?” Taiyuan-jun shouted as he lay on the ground in a puddle of his own
blood.

The newly declared Muhan-jun looked coldly at the former lord who lay at his feet. “You will
destroy us in this war against the South. There is no need to fight a meaningless war. We must
close the borders.”

“You are a fool if you believe that will make the South leave us alone!” Taiyuan-jun shouted.

“No. You are the fool. We have the terrain advantage if we allow the South the crash against our
walls endlessly. There is no need to send out our soldiers. Leave the East to fend for themselves.”

Muhan-jun left Taiyuan-June’s corpse on the ground as he left to create giant seemingly
impenetrable ice walls around his borders using the blade.

“My lord the North wishes to withdraw from the war.” Said a messenger.

“What!? Why!?” The Eastern lord shouted.

“They have a new Muhan-jun who has closed the borders to the land. The North is now
surrounded by giant walls of ice.

“No. This simply won't do. The East will never survive without the support of the North and the
North will soon fall after us. Lan He!”

An assassin appeared from out of nowhere startling the messenger.

“You know what you must do?”

“Yes my lord.”

“May good fortune bless your steps then.”

Lan He was the East’s best assassin. She paid a most intimate and friendly visit to the new Muhan-
jun under the guise of a courtesan and departed the Northern lands with a new toy. The North was
soon forced to pick a new lord not long after her visit.

The North did not withdraw from the war.

Lan He was soon assigned many more dangerous missions into the heart of the South. These
missions were made laughable by the warping abilities of the blade she wielded.

Lan He made prodigious use of the blade and established herself as the best assassin of the entire
demon realm. She was revered as a hero amongst the East and she acted in accordance to the title.

She had grown up as an orphan in the slums of the East and understood the common people very
well. She was honorable outside of battles and would spend time assisting refugees whenever she
had the time. She held the South off the backs of the East for nearly fifteen years before she
succumbed to organ failure as a result of taking in too much resentful energy from the blade. She
died a peaceful death surrounded by friends.

The blade passed into the possession of another general of the East. This general did not perform as
excellently as his predecessor. This man was a vicious beast and did not hesitate to unleash the
most devastating of attacks upon his enemies. He was merciless and excessively cruel to his
prisoners. He freely manipulated the blood within his enemies bodies using the sword to achieve
gorey success on the killing grounds. He died of a resentful energy outburst in battle one day.

The blade was retrieved from a deep crater by a Southern soldier.

The South was elated to have the blade back in their possession. Wuye-jun used the blade himself
for an experiment. The experiment failed and he imploded in on himself in a gorey mess leaving
his unprepared son on the throne. The son was forced to pick up the nation in the middle of a war.
He appointed a random soldier to wield the blade.

Meanwhile Shen Yuan, contrary to expectations, didn’t stay in his comforting void the whole time
shit was going down.

Shen Yuan got tired.

He was tired of being tired of the killings.

He was also bored.

It got old.

The killings that is.

And there was little worse than a bored millennial.

He became numb, indifferent, and desensitized.

Never let it be said that he wasn’t adaptable.

He was not okay.

But he would cope with bad jokes and self deprecating jokes like a good millennial. Repression
was his best friend. His thought bottle pile had reached critical mass long ago.

Shen Yuan fought his way out of the suffocating blanket and did his level best to fuck with his
wielders. The only one spared had been the farmer, Lian Ke, who stumbled upon him by accident.

Shen Yuan also began keeping track of his wielder's kills for fun, he kept various lists. He judged
each kill harshly, ranking them from most creative, most bloody, fastest kill, most elaborate kill,
and so on. He awarded his wielders with more resentful energy when he was particularly
amused.

‘5/10 Not enough bloodshed.’

‘How dare you use me for the menial task of lighting a campfire? What do you think I am? A
fucking lighter? You want more resentful energy?’

‘I don’t think you’ve cut that guy up nearly enough just yet. Want to try again and cut his fucking
hair next time? Here take this.’

‘Hahahahahahaha, how the hell did you miss that simple move?’

‘There’s pure incompetence… And then there's you.’

‘How to fail at being a decent person. Exhibit A. Have this as a gift.’

‘Ehhh 7/10 not enough flourishes added before chopping his limbs off.’

‘Ah! His head just went YEET!’

‘Oh that was worthy of a Dark Souls You Died screen.’

‘Ewww… Thats disgusting! I get that you want to be creepy but don’t lick the edge of my blade…
You don’t know where I've been!’
 ‘8/10 for flashiness 6/10 for the stereotypical villain line said afterwards.’

‘5/10 very mechanically efficient.’

As the mental suppressing gem wore down he figured out how to use his blood manipulation skill
on his wielders. He could not kill them directly but he could cause them to have unfortunate
bodily reactions during inopportune times.

He did not realize what this would do to his reputation as a blade.

Another thing that amused Shen Yuan greatly were the rumors of a terrifying demon blade
spreading around the continent. He did not assume these rumors were about him. He assumed that
this meant Xin Mo had been discovered. About time if you asked him. He entertained the thought
of what would happen if he and Xin Mo were to clash. He couldn’t be the only overpowered blade
in existence after all. He had also recently gained a skill that allowed him to communicate with
weapons. He wanted to know what Xin Mo’s true history was like. Airplane Shooting Towards the
Sky had never specified after all.

Shen Yuan was then passed from wielder to wielder as the war dragged on for years, and then
decades. The sword bounced between all four territories never once finding a place to truly stay.

And then one day. The sword and a certain demon had a rather fateful meeting.

Chapter End Notes

I love everyone that comments.

Please yell at me more I appreciate it a lot.

I have never been called an S before writing this fic and it amuses me.
 Actual Pants
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets an actual pair of pants

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 14: Actual Pants

Shen Yuan was embedded in the ground waiting for something to happen as he stared out at the
world around him.

His last wielder had decided that they would overuse his resentful energy in battle and then flee
into a random forest and then die like a coward.

Shen Yuan glared spitefully at the corpse lying beside him. He would spit on it if he could.

They couldn’t have had the decency to die in a place with other demons? Because then Shen Yuan
wouldn’t have to suffer this suffocating boredom.

With the mental suppressing gem on his hilt Shen Yuan had become unable to use any of his
abilities on his own otherwise he would have escaped back to the Abyss long ago. Shen Yuan had
managed to bully his way out of the sense dampening effect of the gem but he could not manage to
activate any skill besides blood manipulation.

Shen Yuan vaguely knew that he was on the borders of the South.

He wondered if anyone would find him this far out in the forest.

He had been here for a year already.

He had already engraved into his memories the image of this forest clearing.

You would think that there would be more people searching for him by now. But then again who
wanted a sword that would eventually kill their wielder or drive them insane?

After all, Shen Yuan had taken to using Momo’s powers to drive his users nuts in recent years. At
first it had been a clinical study to see how many dreams of the same thing it would take to get a
demon to react negatively. Shen Yuan had permanently engraved the SpongeBob campfire song
into the mind of a certain poor bastard. Then it simply progressed to seeing how demons would
react to certain things. It made things interesting for him to see the many ways a demon could
crack.

Shen Yuan supposed he should be grateful for the year of peace since it meant a whole year for not
killing things. But it also meant that he had a lot of time to sink into dark and depressive thoughts.
He noted with some distant part of himself that whenever he dwelled, the amount of his resentful
energy would rise.

Shen Yuan snorted, as if he didn’t already have enough from all the killing that he had been used to
do.

Shen Yuan had nothing to do except watch the grass grow slowly. He occasionally tracked the
stray animal that would wander through the clearing but there was nothing else to do.

Oh except counting the skills that he had gained over the long long years.

They were innumerable at this point but he still tried to make sense of the abilities he had. Many of
his skills were variations of the same basic skill, they compounded upon each other to strengthen
the base skill. Shen Yuan could manipulate nearly any element freely. He could instantly teleport,
he could draw all the blood in your body out, he could change shape and attack like a whip, he
could drive you insane with dreams, could instantly duplicate himself over a hundred times, and so
so much more. He had also gained a variety of super sensory skills, making him perceive the world
at a level that was incomparable to when he first arrived in this body.

Unfortunately he had also gained the dreaded papapa skills he had desperately wanted to avoid.
One of his wielders was an avid hunter of rare monsters. Shen Yuan could star in a porn novel if he
so wished.
He didn’t though.

He had StandardsTM.

Shen Yuan could swear he had killed at least one of every possible variety of demon in the demon
realm but he had yet to encounter a mimic with a transformation skill. He didn’t know how to feel
about that. He couldn’t decide if this meant he was lucky or not. The one skill he wanted so badly
just seemed forever out of reach.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of crunching leaves, like someone was walking through the forest.

Hope welled up inside of him. Maybe someone would stumble upon him after all?

Well… Stumble they did. As whoever it was, left the shrubbery, they tripped over the corpse of
Shen Yuan’s former wielder and face planted right in front of Shen Yuan.

“Ow… What the hell tripped me?” The figure asked as they rubbed at their face.

Then they looked up and Shen Yuan was struck slightly dumbfounded. This demon had an
incredibly distinctive mark on their forehead. Which should be nearly impossible, most heavenly
demons had been killed by Yi Zheng.

They were also possibly the most beautiful demon Shen Yuan had ever laid eyes on. And this was
after Shen Yuan had gotten used to being surrounded by handsome demons all this time.

They had large profound eyes with tapered eyebrows that emphasized their outstanding
appearance. His black pupils resembled impossibly deep voids and he gave off an aura of elegance
and regality despite his silly entrance. They wore elegant black robes that enhanced their air of
nobility.

“What’s this? Why is there a corpse and a sword out here? Did this guy die to a beast or
something?” The man asked standing up and brushing himself off. He picked up Shen Yuan and
inspected him closely.
“Why is there a mental suppression gem on this sword?” He scratched his head “It’s not like that
would do anything… Wait is there a spirit inside of this sword?”

Shen Yuan’s hope flared again. For the first time since the farmer that Shen Yuan remembered
fondly, someone had noticed that he was conscious!

The mysterious demon stared at the stone for a bit, and then he shrugged and pressed his thumb
against it and pushed.

The gem cracked under the pressure and Shen Yuan suddenly felt like he had been catapulted into
a world of 4K Ultra HD. The blanket he had been shoved under of an untold amount of years had
finally been pulled off his head.

‘ OH MY GOD DID YOU JUST!? THANK YOU OH MY GOD THANK YOU!!!’ He mentally
screamed at the demon.

The demon winced and clutched at his head.

‘ OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY IM JUST SO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT
HAS BEEN. I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANYONE IN SO LONG AND YOU REALLY JUST DID
THAT. YOU BROKE THAT DAMN THING JUST LIKE THAT. AND I JUST- HOLY COW- I
DON’T I'M SO THANKFUL IT'S BEEN SO SO LONG.’

“Okay! Okay! Stop! You’re making my head pound!” The demon shouted.

Shen Yuan abruptly shut up. ‘ Sorry! I'm really excited! Now if you could put me down so I can go
home that’d be great!’

The demon raised an eyebrow, “You have a home?”

‘ It's just the Endless Abyss, it’s no big deal honestly.’

The arched eyebrow went even higher. “Are you sure you want to go back to the Abyss? That
doesn’t sound very friendly.”
‘Well I have nowhere else to go and I’d really rather not be used to kill anymore. It's getting kinda
old and I’m tired of it. The only thing I would kill now would be a mimic so that I could transform.
So if you could like. Let go now. That’d be pretty great.’

“Hmm… So you’ll just disappear if I let you go?”

‘ ....Yes….’

“Why not come with me for a while? I’ll let you go if you tell me some interesting stories. You
seem like an interesting sword. What's your name?”

Shen Yuan choked slightly. This would be the second time since he had turned into a sword that
anyone ever bothered asking him what his name was. He felt horribly conflicted, on one hand he
would love to talk to someone, on the other he just wanted his freedom back. But he could tell that
this man was just full of harmless curiosity.

For now at least.

‘ Promise you’ll let me go if I talk to you?’

The demon nodded casually and smiled. “Aah, sure. I have no use of a sword anyways.”

‘ Then… My name is Shen Yuan.’

“A pleasure to meet you. This one is Tianlang-jun.”

‘ You're a lord? Of what region?’

“Oh no where in particular. The South-Western region I suppose.”

Shen Yuan would have started coughing blood if he could. He would never be free would he? This
man would take him straight back to the endless days of bloodshed.

‘You’re just wandering around out here on your own? Where are your servants?’

“Maa, My general, Zhuzhi Lang, should be around here somewhere. Honestly that boy needs more
time to himself instead of following me around all day.”

‘ Are you just some laid back airhead? Is that your character trope?’

“Hey. That's kind of rude isn’t it.”

‘Well you can always let me go at any time.’

“Hm… No, I don't think I will just yet. You interest me too much.”

Shen Yuan shrugged in his mind. He had already endured for so long, a little more was nothing
worth getting frustrated over.

He didn’t think that Tianlang-jun would honor his word anyways. Tianlang-jun hadn’t seemed to
realize what he was just yet. The moment he realized, Shen Yuan would be trapped again. Shen
Yuan looked forward to what his reaction would be when the man realized what he held in his
hands.

Tianlang Jun began walking in a direction that would lead out of the forest while Shen Yuan
contemplated his situation.

‘ So what were you doing wandering this far out into the forest?’ Shen Yuan asked curiously.

“Well it's as you just said, I was merely wandering, then I sensed an object giving off a huge
amount of resentful energy and went looking for it.”

‘ Oh. I see.’
“What were you doing out in the forest?”

‘ Well I couldn’t move on my own with that damn gem on and my previous wielder decided he
would flee the battle field and die in a random forest.’

“I see. By the way why did you have that gem on you in the first place?”

Shen Yuan would have scowled if he could, he sent a displeased emotion at Tianlang-jun and said,
‘ I didn’t want to kill so Wuye-jun called me defective and put the gem on.’

“Wuye-jun huh? Man you’re old. I wasn’t even around at that time.”

‘Yes, which is why it is shocking to me to meet a heavenly demon in such a place. One of my
previous wielders had made an oath to hunt down every last heavenly demon. To see one nowadays
is very rare.’

Tianlang-jun stopped walking “Ah. So you’re that blade.”

‘I’m that blade.’

“How intriguing.”

And that was it. Shen Yuan waited for Tianlang-jun to say something else but the man just
resumed walking and didn’t say anything.

‘That’s it?’

“What is?”

‘ Your reaction. That's it?’

“Well of course, it doesn't really matter to me. I have no use for a sword as I’ve said.”

‘ Huh. Forgive me if I don’t believe you.’

“I forgive you.”

At this point the duo had finally left the forest and found a road leading off into the distance.
Tianlang-jun just shrugged and began walking down the road.

While walking down the road they encountered a strangely familiar woman(?). Honestly it was
hard to tell the gender of the individual in front of them.

Shen Yuan thought she looked oddly familiar in a way that he couldn’t quite describe. Tianlang-jun
seemed equally uncomfortable with this woman.

“Xiyan?” He muttered under his breath.

Shen Yuan perked up. Did Tianlang-jun recognize her?

“Don’t you recognize me? It's me.” She said coyly, slowly sidling up to Tianlang-lun.

“No. You’re not Xiyan. Who are you?” Tianlang-jun demanded.

The woman scowled. She suddenly crouched and lunged at Tianlang-jun, striking at his neck with
a pair of claws that suddenly appeared from her nails.

Tianlang-jun batted her away, she flipped in mid air and pushed off the trunk of a tree and charged
at Tianlang-jun again. Tianlang-jun dodged to a side.

“Miss, hey why are you attacking me? Can’t we talk this out?”
The woman snarled and swung at Tianlang-jun with sharp claws. Tianlang-jun ducked under them
and said, “Miss don’t blame me if something bad happens okay?”

The woman ignored him and pressed him back with a series of furious swipes.

Tianlang-jun backed up until his back bumped into a tree. The woman took the chance to leap at
his throat, teeth elongating as she snapped at him.

Tianlang-jun simply reacted. He instinctively drew Shen Yuan and sliced her in half.

“Ah.” Tianlang-jun paused, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill her using you. She was attacking me.”

Shen Yuan was about to respond before he froze. He didn’t bother responding to Tianlang-jun for
several moments. He was too busy analyzing the skill he had gotten from that strange woman.

T-this was...This was! THIS WAS!!!!

A MIMIC!!!

The blessed transformation skill was now his!

What sort of development was this? This kind of convenient thing only happened in bad fanfiction!
Maybe something bad would happen immediately to strike him down from his joy?

Tianlang-jun lifted the sword up to his face and frowned at it. “Hey. I said I was sorry, please don’t
ignore me.”

‘A-ah. No, I don't mind that you killed her… She was a mimic. I'm assuming she was trying to
mimic your lover? But I was here as well so the mimic’s transformation wasn’t perfect ....’

“Hmm…” Tianlang-jun inspected the corpse of the mimic closely. “ I don’t recognize the other
face mixed in with Xiyan’s… You may be right. Who is this individual?”

‘ Ah thats. Me I guess. No wonder she looked so familiar. I suppose that either my self hatred is too
great or the mimic picked up on my desire for a body.’ Shen Yuan said casually.

“You’re rather depressing aren’t you?”

‘ You try being a sword for over a thousand years. Then talk to me.’

Tianlang-jun nodded gravely. “I see. I will do my utmost to find out how one traps a soul within a
sword and then try.”

Shen Yuan had a feeling that this man wasn’t kidding. ‘ What? No. Don’t do that.’

“Why not? It must be fascinating to be a sword.”

‘ It's really really not. Trust me.’

“Well if you say so.”

‘ I do.’

“Anyways--”

“Junshang!” A voice interrupted whatever Tianlang-jun was saying. Tianlang-jun turned to see a
youth with a handsome face and warm worried eyes running towards him.

“Ah Zhuzhi Lang you found me.”

The youth dressed in green bent over in front of the lord panting, “Junshang, please don’t leave me
behind like that again. What if you were attacked?”
“Ahh. it's fine, it's fine, I can take care of myself. Besides, look what I found.” Tianlang-jun raised
Shen Yuan in front of him.

Zhuzhi Lang stared at the blade in shock before he regathered himself, “As Expected of my lord!
To have found that legendary blade! What do you plan on doing with it?”

“I was going to let it go. I don’t need it after all.”

“A-ah... Of course whatever my lord wishes.”

“Say Shen Yuan, meet my nephew, this is Zhuzhi Lang. Zhuzhi Lang, this is Shen Yuan.” said
Tianlang-jun extending the hilt to Zhuzhi Lang and gesturing for his nephew to take the blade.

Zhuzhi Lang hesitantly took the blade from his lord’s hands. As he grabbed hold of Shen Yuan,
Shen Yuan said, ‘ Hello Zhuzhi Lang.’

Zhuzhi Lang startled badly, nearly dropping the blade. “Ah! Ah… H-hello?”

‘ I’m Shen Yuan. It's nice to meet you.’

“Oh! It's nice to meet you too?”

Tianlang-jun smiled and then took Shen Yuan back.

“Now I believe you owe me a tale. How about how you came to be?” Tianlang-jun said.

Shen Yuan considered. Well. He had been wanting to rant to someone after all. This could be a
perfect opportunity to air out his grievances.

And so the trio spent the rest of the day walking back to South-Western territory while Shen Yuan
talked endlessly. Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi Lang were good listeners. The two demons walked with
Shen Yuan held between them so that Zhuzhi Lang could listen in as well. Several times during
Shen Yuan’s long tale Zhuzhi Lang looked as if he would cry for Shen Yuan. Tianlang-jun had a
stoic expression the whole time he listened to the various sins Shen Yuan had been used for.

By the time the day was ending and Shen Yuan’s tale was wrapping up, the trio had reached a
small demon town and booked a night at an inn.

They booked three rooms at Shen Yuan’s insistence.

In Tianlang-jun’s room the man finally agreed to at least let go of Shen Yuan. The man placed a
sheathless Shen Yuan down on the inn table and watched as Shen Yuan floated up and began
moving around on his own.

Shen Yuan zoomed around the room in his excitement like a particularly dangerous and deadly
deranged parrot. He was tempted to just escape from the inn immediately but he had promised
Tianlang-jun that he would stay to talk since they had listened to his story and empathized with
him. Tianlang had promised to release him after the long and sordid tale and he had made good on
his word. Without anyone holding onto him, Shen Yuan would never be caught and used ever
again. Anyone would have a hard time pinning him down with all of his skills at his disposal.

When Shen Yuan had finally finished reveling in regaining full control over his body he finally
stopped moving and simply floated calmly in the center of the room. Tianlang-jun watched him
curiously as Shen Yuan concentrated.

Suddenly the blade that was Shen Yuan’s body shattered in a bright flash of white light.

Tianlang-jun squinted and covered his eyes. As the light cleared a naked human stood before
Tianlang-jun staring blankly ahead. The human’s eyes looked down and they jerked in shock but
didn't move.

The human was lightly muscled and had very sharp features. Their face was set in a severe
expression and their eyes were completely dead and almost darker than Tianlang-jun’s.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was mentally panicking. Why wasn’t his body moving? Could he not
move? Could something have gone wrong with the transformation? Then Shen Yuan noticed the
ominous energy rolling off of him in waves.
Oh.

Shen Yuan had been trying to move his body with resentful energy like he moved in his blade
form. He had muscles now! Of course using resentful energy to move wouldn’t do anything.

Shen Yuan hesitantly dusted off a previously abandoned part of his mind.

He directed a hand to move.

His fingers twitched.

Progress!

He tried to move his entire arm and the arm shot up stiffly like a robot.

Tianlang-jun watched bemusedly as Shen Yuan slowly got reaccustomed to having limbs. Shen
Yuan was awkwardly posing and stretching in all kinds of manners.

“What are you doing? Is this how humans greet each other? Should I copy you?”

Shen Yuan who had been lost in testing out his body started. He had a brief flash of deja vu before
he slowly opened his mouth.

“A-ah. Ah. Ahem. Nn-no. Th-there, there’s nnh no nheed.”

Ah.

Shen Yuan sighed. And then sighed again. It felt good to breathe and to sigh. He would need to
practice talking and moving again.

“I Ahm. Ju-just guh getting. Used tu hhaving a body ahgain.” he slowly managed.
Tianlang-jun nodded from where he was sitting spectating. “Zhuzhi Lang?”

Zhuzhi Lang started from the corner where he was watching curiously. “Yes Junshang?”

“Could you go out and buy Shen Yuan some clothes?”

“Right away my lord.” Zhuzhi Lang walked up to Shen Yuan and measured his body out using his
hands and left the room quickly.

“Well then. The best way to get used to a body is to spar! Are you down?” Tianlang-jun said
cheerfully.

Shen Yuan sweat dropped. He may have been a sword but he didn’t know how to fight! Especially
with a new body!

“Nh-no t-thank yu.”

Tianlang-jun pouted.

And so they waited awkwardly for Zhuzhi Lang to return as Shen Yuan continued testing his body.
Shen yuan noticed he was a lot more fit than his old NEET body and counted his blessings. He
didn’t really understand why though.

After Shen Yuan was able to successfully walk around the room several times without tipping over
his own feet, he began testing his transformation abilities. He discovered he could look like
virtually anything and anyone. He practiced shifting between the chairs of the room and turning
into Zhuzhi Lang and Tianlang-jun.

When Zhuzhi Lang returned he knocked on the door and entered to see two naked Tianlang-juns
poking at each other.

He dropped the package in his hands and gaped, “T-Two lords?”

The Tianlang-juns turned to him simultaneously. The one on the right smiled and said, “Ah Zhuzhi
Lang you’ve returned! Can you guess which is the real me?”

Zhuzhi Lang immediately became deathly serious and his expression became stern, “Of course. I
would never mistake Junshang.” a forked tongue flicked out of his mouth and then Zhuzhi Lang
declared with absolute certainty, “The one on the right is the real Junshang.”

The Tianlang-jun on the left smiled wryly, then his form flickered and he returned to his previous
human form with his sharp features.

Zhuzhi Lang picked up his package from the ground and handed it to Shen Yuan. “Do you require
help putting on clothes?”

Shen Yuan nodded, a flush over taking his face.

Zhuzhi Lang made no comment as he helped Shen Yuan dress. Tianlang-jun dressed himself
behind a screen as well.

When both of them were dressed Zhuzhi Lang asked politely, “Junshang why did you feel the need
to remove your clothes as well?”

Tianlang-jun smiled cheekily at Zhuzhi Lang, “Well for it was for accuracy's sake after all.”

Shen Yuan stepped out from behind the divider. He looked like a proper handsome young man.
The clothes that Zhuzhi lang had picked accentuated him well. Shen Yuan was now dressed in neat
robes of light green.

Shen yuan bowed deeply to Tianlang-jun, “T-thank yu so much for eh-everything you’ve done for
me so f-far. I owe you.”

Tianlang-jun waved him off, “Ahh it was nothing, what do you plan on doing now?”
 Shen Yuan shrugged blithely, “Vuh-vist the Abyss. Possibly t-the human realm.”

“I see. I suppose you will be leaving in the morning?”

Shen Yuan nodded.

Tianlang-jun thought for a moment, “Say why don’t we spread a rumor that you have been sealed
into the Abyss for our protection? Then you can come with me to the human realm. I have some
business there.”

Shen Yuan perked up. It was a great idea to throw those that would desire him off his trail. “Sh-
sure.” He answered quickly.

Tianlang-jun smiled widely. “Well it's decided then! Zhuzhi Lang, we’ll have another traveling
companion now!”

Zhuzhi Lang smiled as well and nodded.

Chapter End Notes

A kind reader reminded me to write for myself instead of the internet. I also appreciate
everyone whos been telling me to take breaks because yeahhhhh oops I can feel
myself burning out haha.

I'm also seriously contemplating rewriting this fic to include more character
interactions and to flesh out details as well as fix mistakes from rushing this fic. this
would probably take several months. I just don't know if I should begin the rewrite
right now or finish writing this fic first and then rewrite. Finishing the fic might
continue at the same pace it has so far unless I want a break for a few days.

please leave a comment with what you think!

 Sleeping Beauty
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets to sleep.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 15: Sleeping Beauty

The next morning Tianlang-jun announced to his subjects that he had discovered a certain cursed
blade and sealed it into the Endless Abyss. He was widely praised by his people for the heroic
action. People cheered as they realized they no longer had to fear another lunatic wielding that
same damn blade.

Shen Yuan on the other hand, spent that morning sleeping in and having the best and most
dreamless sleep of his entire life. He had missed nearly every aspect of being a sentient living
being but he had missed sleeping the most. It was horrible having an active mind all the time. Even
times where he was in the void disassociating he never got any actual rest. But now he could
finally sleep. And quite frankly if they never woke him up again he would have been very happy.
Basically, Shen Yuan was pretty determined to put himself into a coma.

Zhuzhi Lang knocked on the door to Shen Yuan’s room, hoping the man was up.

There was no response.

Zhuzhi Lang knocked again.

Still no response.

Zhuzhi Lang knocked a third time, “Master Shen? I’m coming in.” He said.

Opening the door to the room Zhuzhi Lang discovered a nearly comatose Shen Yuan lying on the
bed. The man appeared to have not even shifted in the slightest bit during his sleep.
Zhuzhi Lang approached the bed, he tapped Shen Yuan’s shoulder lightly. “Master Shen it's time to
get up.”

No reaction.

Zhuzhi Lang titled his head and considered. He patted Shen Yuan on the face. “Master Shen?”

No reaction.

Shaking Shen Yuan’s shoulder. “Master Shen.”

No reaction.

Patting him on the face even harder. “Excuse me!”

No reaction.

Zhuzhi Lang tested Shen Yuan’s pulse.

At least that gave a reaction?

Zhuzhi Lang moved to shift Shen Yuan upright. “Master Shen it is time to wake up!”

Still no reaction.

Zhuzhi Lang shook Shen Yuan lightly. “Master Shen!”

Shen Yuan pushed Zhuzhi Lang across the room with a burst of telekinesis.
Zhuzhi Lang sighed. He went back over to Shen Yuan and tried to pull the man out of bed. But no
matter how much force he exerted he could not budge the man? In fact it felt like Shen Yuan’s
body was becoming heavier by the second?

Zhuzhi lang tried a different tactic. But just as he went to grab at Shen Yuan, Shen Yuan shrank
into a child and avoided his hands.

Zhuzhi Lang scrubbed a hand down his face. “MASTER SHEN!” He yelled. “IT IS TIME TO
WAKE UP!”

A pillow flew at his face and knocked him backwards.

Zhuzhi Lang’s eyebrow twitched as he lay on the floor staring at the ceiling.

Zhuzhi Lang pulled a snake out from within his clothes and sent it into Shen Yuan’s bed. It was a
harmless grass snake that didn’t possess a harmful venom. The snake crawled up to Shen Yuan’s
neck and poised to bite down. But then it decided better and curled up around Shen Yuan’s neck
and fell asleep.

Zhuzhi Lang gaped at it indignantly. How dare???

Zhuzhi Lang groaned and tried one last time. “MASTER SHEN! IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!” He
yelled as he jumped on top of Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan startled awake and gave a yell.

That yell attracted the attention of Tianlang-jun who had just returned to the inn. He raced up the
stairs and threw open the door to the room to find his nephew straddling a struggling Shen Yuan.

Tianlang-jun hesitated then he slowly closed the door. A second passed. The door cracked open so
that Tianlang-jun could peer through.
Zhuzhi Lang flushed immediately and scrambled to get off of Shen Yuan who was still flailing
wildly in confusion thinking he was being attacked.

“Junshang, it's not what you think!” Zhuzhi Lang yelled.

“I never knew you were so bold Zhuzhi Lang… But keep in mind that it's always good to have
consent…” Tianlang-jun replied from the cracked open door.

“IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!” Zhuzhi Lang wailed as he buried his head into his hands.

Shen Yuan had calmed down by now, finally realizing he wasn’t being murdered. He squinted at
the bright sunlight pouring in from the windows and then stared blankly at the mortified Zhuzhi
Lang.

“Wha time izzit?” He asked dully, sleep making his voice scratchy.

Zhuzhi Lang whipped around, face flushed red from frustration and embarrassment. “It’s time to
WAKE UP!”

Shen Yuan blinked slowly, “Th-that doesn’t actually answer anything.”

Zhuzhi Land shoved his head into his arms again. He inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply. He
repeated this several times. When he finally pulled his head out of his arms his face was back to its
normal color, if not a bit pinker than usual.

“Master Shen, please get ready for the day, we have a long journey ahead of us. Junshang, please
it's not what you think I was merely trying to wake Master Shen.”

The door creaked open a bit more so that Tianlang-jun could poke his head through. “I didn’t know
waking someone required one to be so intimate. Is this a human custom? I’ve never heard of it
before, Zhuzhi Lang.”

“No my lord it is not. Waking Master Shen was like fighting a dragon with a toothpick. I was
sorely outclassed and overwhelmed.”
Tianlang-jun nodded knowingly, “It's okay Zhuzhi Lang, you can be truthful with your feelings. I
won’t judge you if you like men.”

“Junshang! I-“

“Soooo… What are we doing to-day?” Shen Yuan asked as he stepped out from behind the
divider. He had made himself presentable and looked rather fetching even though he left his hair
loose.

“Ah... Master Shen. We will be traveling to the border today and then crossing over to the human
world.” Said Zhuzhi Lang. Then he tilted his head, “Do you know how to tie your hair up master
Shen?”

Shen Yuan shook his head, “No not really, if you could te-teach me I would be grateful.”

“Of course master Shen.”

“Oh hoh.” Tianlang-jun remarked from the door.

“Junshang please!” Implored Zhuzhi Lang as he moved to start combing through Shen Yuan’s long
hair.

“Wh-what’s up with him?” Shen Yuan asked, still slightly out of it from sleep.

“Nothing. Nothing, please ignore him, master Shen.”

“Hmm… If you say so.”

Zhuzhi Lang helped Shen Yuan put up his hair (and pocketed the sleeping snake) with minimal
teasing from Tianlang-jun and then the trio got ready to leave the inn.
They soon left the inn behind and set off for the border between the demon realm and the human
realm. They decided to walk casually instead of using other methods of travel to help Shen Yuan
adapt to his new body. While walking Shen Yuan practiced talking and moving his body
naturally.

“Hiya!” Shen Yuan cried as he karate chopped the air. Then he jumped slightly and did a spinning
kick, “Watchaaa!”

Shen Yuan was pleased to note that this new body of his was very flexible, he could do splits while
jumping in mid air. Which he tested thoroughly. Shen Yuan enjoyed the sensation of inhabiting a
solid body with moving limbs while Tianlang-jun watched with a sense of bemusement. Zhuzhi
Lang was slightly embarrassed on the behalf of Shen Yuan. It appeared as if Shen Yuan had lost
all sense of propriety while living as a sword. Or that he was too enraptured with moving his
limbs.

Several fellow travelers paused to stare at Shen Yuan while the man made a fool of himself
prancing about the road. The man clearly either had no shame or was oblivious to his surroundings,
it was a toss up deciding which ever one it was. They all gave Shen Yuan a wide berth as he
cartwheeled across the road.

“Are you done yet master Shen?” Zhuzhi Lang asked, exasperated.

“No not really.” Said Shen Yuan, bouncing back up to Zhuzhi Lang. “You try being without limbs
for nearly a thousand years.”

Zhuzhi Lang stared at Shen Yuan for a while. “....I have… That is fair. I apologize master Shen.”

Shen Yuan titled his head curiously at Zhuzhi Lang, “What do you mean?”

“Ah, this is not my true form.”

“Oh?”

“My father was a snake from the southern borders. My mother was Junshang’s younger sister.”
Shen Yuan paused to consider that image for a while before he shuddered to himself. “Oh.
Gotcha.”

“....” Zhuzhi Lang smiled vaguely at the response.

“Say master Shen,” Said Tianlang-jun, “Do you know of any interesting human customs?”

“Well that depends on what you mean by interesting. And I can't really speak for the humans of
this world as I haven’t met any yet. Ever since I came to this world I have only ever been in the
Endless Abyss and the demon realm.”

“Oh, well then did you have any interesting human customs back in your world? Specifically in
regards to courting rituals?”

Shen Yuan looked at Tianlang-jun strangely. “Uh. Sure? We had lots. It was common to go on
dates and give gifts to the one you’re ‘courting’.” Shen Yuan said, making air quotes around the
word courting.

“Oh? And what does that gesture mean?”

“What? This?” Shen Yuan asked, making the air quotes again.

“Yes, what does that mean?”

“Ah. It's like a way to emphasize a word sarcastically I guess?”

“Oh hm, very interesting, thank you for this knowledge. And may I ask what do you mean by
dating?”

“Huh? Well… A date is where you take the person you're courting out to enjoy an activity
together. Like eating dinner together or going to visit a special place together. Basically moments
where you’re alone with your partner and being intimate.”
Tianlang-Jun nodded to himself. “I see, I see. What do you know of human mating rituals then?”

“Why are you asking me this.” Shen Yuan stated blandly.

“I’m merely curious, master Shen. It's a good reference.”

“Junshang, master Shen appears to be uncomfortable with this line of conversation.” Zhuzhi lang
said.

Shen Yuan nodded and went back to running around the road with boundless energy.

“Oh so asking about mating rituals can cause humans to become uncomfortable?”

Zhuzhi Lang blushed slightly, “Junshang, I think anyone would be uncomfortable if you were to
ask about their mating habits.”

“I see. Zhuzhi Lang you are wise indeed. But what is there to be so ashamed of? It is only
natural…” Tianlang-jun wondered to himself.

And so making small talk the group slowly meandered their way to the border. Shen Yuan felt
more alive than he had ever felt before. He was finally content with the world for once.

As the day slowly came to a close and the sun was setting, painting the world in shades of orange
and red, the group was ambushed by a rogue band of wandering bandits.

The war between the North-East and South-West had left many wandering demons without homes.
These demons took up occupations as bandits and thieves. There were many groups like this
roaming the country sides. Since the respective armies of every territory were still recovering in a
tentative ceasefire, there was no military to deal with them either. Bandits were free to rob and steal
to their heart's content. The bandits had seen three nicely dressed gentlemen and assumed that they
were rich and decided to move in.

“Was that as you say, a ‘yeet’?” Tianlang-jun asked as he watched a bandit’s head go flying off
into the distance.
It was a massacre. The bandits didn’t stand a chance at all as Zhuzhi Lang set about fiercely
dismantling each and every one of them.

Shen Yuan whistled as he watched Zhuzhi Lang cave in another bandit’s skull. “Wasted. And yeah
that could probably be considered a yeet.”

A lucky/unlucky bandit made it past Zhuzhi Lang by accident and gave a terrified yell as he
charged at Shen Yuan with a sword raised over his head.

Shen Yuan watched him approach with dead eyes and summoned a doppelganger of his sword
form into his hands.

But just as Shen Yuan was about to step forwards and block the bandit he tripped for the first time
that day. He fell flat on his face and accidentally impaled the poor bandit through the chest.

“Ah.” Shen Yuan said dully as he pushed himself up, “My first kill in a human body… I meant to
disarm him...”

Tianlang-jun looked pityingly at him and said “Well. You can always practice.”

Zhuzhi Lang turned back, “I apologize for making you dirty your hands master Shen.” he said as he
casually thrust his arm through the chest of another bandit.

“I’ll forgive you if one of you teaches me how to fight. I only know how to use my skills or retake
my blade form to fight. I’m rusty.” Shen Yuan said.

“Understood.”

Tianlang-jun hummed, “Hm… I can teach you some basic swordsmanship later I suppose.”

“Thank you, I would appreciate it.”

Zhuzhi Lang soon had the rest of the bandits cleaned up and the trio decided to make camp a little
distance away.

Shen Yuan helped light the campfire with a small puff of fire from his hand, he felt strange for
doing so for some reason.

They rolled out mats from a qiankun pouch and slept next to the fire.

In the morning Tianlang-jun woke to an extremely amusing sight.

At some point in the night Zhuzhi Lang had migrated over to Shen Yuan’s mat and started
cuddling him.

Shen Yuan meanwhile had slept like a log and he hadn’t moved in the slightest bit even with
Zhuzhi Lang curled around him.

Tianlang-jun sat and waited for Zhuzhi Lang to wake up on his own while he watched with a smile
on his face.

After a few minutes Zhuzhi Lang began stirring. He blinked his eyes open slowly and stretched
languidly. Then he looked down at what the extremely warm thing he was lying on was.

He froze.

Zhuzhi Lang rapidly scrambled away from Shen Yuan, his face flushed furiously. He looked
around to see if anyone had seen him, only to see Tianlang-jun smiling at him from across the
campfire.

“J-J-Junshang! He-! I! It's not! It's not what you’re thinking!!” He stuttered out.

“Do not worry Zhuzhi Lang I understand completely.” Tianlang-jun said soothingly. “You’re too
shy to do what you want while he’s awake.” He nodded knowingly. “But how forward of you. I’m
impressed.”
“JUNSHANG NO!” Zhuzhi Lang yelled, “It's just! It's just that he's so warm! I couldn't help it!”

“I see, I see, you couldn’t help it huh? I understand.”

“No!” Zhuzhi Lang covered his face with his hands, “Junshang please stop teasing me!”

“Hm? I’m not teasing you. I give you my blessings. You have my support.”

“Junshang no! I’m not interested in him like that!” Zhuzhi Lang shrieked.

“Denial is not healthy you know?” Tianlang-jun said wisely.

Zhuzhi Lang groaned into his hands miserably.

During this whole commotion Shen Yuan hadn’t even twitched. His sleeping form resembled a
corpse. Tianlang-jun casually checked his pulse to make sure that Shen Yuan hadn’t died in the
middle of the night.

He laughed when he felt a strong pulse under his fingers. He shook Shen Yuan’s shoulder lightly,
“Master Shen we should get going soon.”

Shen Yuan slept like the dead.

“Master Shen. We should be going now.” Tianlang-jun said, shaking Shen Yuan harder.

Shen Yuan did not even twitch.

Tianlang-jun’s left eye twitched. “Master Shen.”

Shen Yuan slept on.

Tianlang-jun had considerably less patience compared to Zhuzhi Lang. He charged his hand full of
Qi and slapped Shen Yuan on the face.

Crack!

Tianlang-jun stared at his broken hand in amazement. Zhuzhi Lang gaped as well.

Shen Yuan rolled over and continued sleeping.

“Is this for real?” Tianlang-jun asked, turning to Zhuzhi Lang.

Zhuzhi Lang nodded solemnly.

“How the hell did he wake up yesterday then?”

“I honestly do not know Junshang.”

Tianlang-jun sighed. He bit his thumb and let a drop of blood drop to the ground. A canid beast
sprang up from the drop. Tianlan-jun commanded it to bite Shen Yuan’s leg.

The beast walked up to Shen Yuan and opened its slavering jaws next to his leg. But just as the
beast was about to bite down the beast paused. Then it walked over to Shen Yuan’s side, curled up,
and fell asleep.

Tianlang-jun stared indignantly wide eyed. How Dare???

Tianlang-jun sighed. Then he summoned a huge glob of water over Shen Yuan’s head and dumped
it over him.

Shen Yuan sputtered and woke up dripping wet.

“What the hell?” He asked. “Why did you have to wake me like this?”

Tianlang-jun dispersed the blood beast with a wave and said, “You wouldn’t wake up any other
way.”

“What?”

“You refused to wake up. We should be leaving soon.”

“Oh. Well you could have just told me that instead of this water.”

Tianlang-June’s eyebrow twitched. “Indeed, we should have just told you that.” He said blandly.

With a wave of heat Shen Yuan stood, dried himself off and stared at Zhuzhi Lang and Tianlang-
jun expectantly. “Well? Let’s go then.”

Zhuzhi Lang and Tianlang-jun exchanged looks. Then they set about packing up camp.

Soon the trio reached the boundary between worlds, it was a mysterious area where the world
seemed to warp in on itself. If you didn’t know where the rips in the boundary were and simply
walked into the border you would be sent in circles until you left the boundary area. If you knew
where the rips were you could sneak through to the human world.

Humans generally didn’t visit the demon realm since the atmosphere could be dangerous and
inhospitable to human beings and the demon realm had been embroiled in a permanent war.
Demons snuck over to the human realm all the time either to raid cities, trade/barter or to hunt
humans for various purposes.

Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi Lang obviously knew where a tear in the boundary existed so they didn’t
have to spend time wandering around in circles.

They crossed over to the human realm at the top of a cliff.

 Shen Yuan gaped at the familiar bright blue sky that stretched over his head, the lush greenery that
populated the mountain, and the bright glittering lake he could see in the distance.

He was nearly moved to tears.

Tianlang-jun noticed Shen Yuan’s awestruck expression and patted him on the shoulder, “Come,
come. We have a town to get to, there's many more beautiful sights to see after all. Let’s enjoy our
time in the human realm hm?”

Shen Yuan nodded numbly, still taking in the glory of nature that was missing in the Abyss and
warped in the demon world.

Chapter End Notes

Thank you all to the people who are concerned over my health! Im touched by the
huge amount of support and concern!

Ill probably be taking a break in the next few days or so. We'll see.

I love all of my excellent readers you all spoil me.

 In Which The Author Does Not Know How To Title Things
Chapter Summary

The trio travel to a city and meet someone.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 16: In Which The Author Does Not Know How To Title Things

Shen Yuan, Tianlang-jun, and Zhuzhi Lang made their way down the cliff slowly.

Shen Yuan delayed them as he couldn’t seem to stop gawking at ordinary things he hadn’t seen in
so long. The clear blue sky held his attention captive for most of the walk down. But Shen Yuan
was even happy to see the normal squirrels and sparrows in the trees as opposed to small demonic
beasts.

“I never would have thought that I missed the blue sky so much…” Shen Yuan said, staring
upward into the endless blue.

“Is color really that important to you?” Tianlang-jun asked curiously.

“No, not really. But there's just something different about a blue sky you know?”

Tianlang-jun titled his head in thought, “Hm, I suppose I can understand that.”

“Do you visit the human realm often?” Shen Yuan asked turning his attention to Tianlang-jun

Tianlang-jun nodded. “Quite often. I am trying to promote better relations between humans and
demons after all.”

Shen Yuan made an interested noise “Oh? And how exactly are you planning on that?”
“Why I’m glad you asked! I plan on creating a small town on the borders of the human realm with
a population consisting of 50% demons and 50% humans. If the town is a success people will
know that demons are not always so horrible.”

“Ah I see. It's a lofty dream but it's a respectable one. I would definitely support you in your
endeavors.” Shen Yuan praised.

Tianlang-jun slowled in his walking until he stopped, “Would you really? I would have thought
that by now you would be thoroughly disenchanted with the demon race.”

Shen Yuan also stopped as he considered how he wanted to answer this. “...Despite being born
human I have spent more time amongst demons than humans. I have seen many things that have
proven to me that demons have the same humanity, so to speak, as humans. I think that the many
sins that have been committed against me were mainly born from ignorance. Only six people have
known that I was conscious and you and Zhuzhi Lang are two of them. Besides... I know that
humans are equally as capable of the same cruelty that I have been used to perform. In fact I
believe if I had come to the human realm first, things wouldn’t really be all that different. Demons
and humans are all living beings with the same capacity for good or evil.”

Tianlang-jun listened with a calm expression, “You are a wise one master Shen.” He finally said.
Then he resumed his walk. “What do you think of my plan though?”

Shen Yuan followed after Tianlang-jun. “I wonder where you will get willing volunteers for such a
town. It sounds like a beautiful ideal but it is easier to say one thing than it is to do it.”

“You are correct, it has not been easy to find willing participants. In fact many demons would
rather I focus on the rebuilding of the demon realm before I even consider negotiating with
humans.”

Shen Yuan tilted his head, “Why haven’t you then? Seems like a more pressing issue.”

“Because integration will take more time than I really have. I would like to see it happen during my
lifetime. Even if I am long lived.”

“I see.”
“Would you really be willing to support this dream of mine?” Tianlang-jun asked. “It would mean
very much if you do mean it.”

“I would. It is a wonderful idea, integration, that is. Imagine the possibilities of two races working
together. Such a dream deserves to be nurtured for there would be many who would live to see it
fail.”

Tianlang-jun aimed a brilliant heart stopping smile at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was completely caught off guard and was left momentarily dumbfounded. He coughed
slightly and continued walking as if he hadn’t been stunned by the blinding light of that smile.

“A-Anyways,” He stuttered, “You mentioned that you had business in the human world, what
business is this exactly?”

“Ah we are meeting up with my partner in my endeavor.” Tianlang-jun said casually.

“Oh I see. What kind of person are they?”

“They are very cold.” Was the brief comment.

“Oh.” Shen Yuan waited for more information. “That's it?” he asked when Tianlang-jun didn’t
elaborate further.

“I think its an accurate description.” Zhuzhi Lang piped up from behind Tianlang-jun

“Is that so?” asked Shen Yuan, craning his head to look at Zhuzhi Lang.

“Indeed.” Agreed Tianlang-jun.

“Huh. Okay. By the way, where are we going?” Shen Yuan asked. He had simply been blindly
following along with wherever Tianlang-jun was going.

“Ah, we are headed to the city of Gao Song. It's a quaint little city, you might enjoy the
atmosphere, it's very busy.” Said Tianlang-jun

“It's a big city?”

“Yes. Many cultivators visit the city to trade. It is located in a very prosperous area near a river.”

“That's interesting. What can you tell me about the human realm? You’re obviously very
knowledgeable about them.”

“Humans just fascinate me so much. Such short lives and yet they can accomplish many things and
have so many customs. Currently there are four big cultivation sects, Zhao Hua Temple, Tian Yi
Overlook, Cang Qiong Mountain, and Huan Hua Palace. They manage the cultivation world while
the emperor manages the civilians. I’ve found that cultivators generally don’t go into politics but
many politicians try to become cultivators. Seems everyone is desperate to become a cultivator in
one way or another.”

“I see, thank you for the information.” Shen Yuan said.

He wondered where he was in the timeline of PIDW. In all honesty he had forgotten that he was
living in a novel. This was his new reality and Shen Yuan had forgotten many details about PIDW
during his thousand years. He could only roughly remember the main plot line and some of the
more interesting plants and animals.

It seemed canon might be coming up soon? The great sects had already formed after all. Shen Yuan
wondered what it would be like to live during Luo Binghe’s era. He wondered if he would run into
the protagonist at all. He hoped he hadn’t changed things too badly. Suddenly Shen Yuan felt
terribly old despite his youthful body.

“Do you have any plans of what you want to do now that we’ve reached the human world?”
Tianlang-jun asked curiously.

“Well…” Shen Yuan shrugged, “Not really, I’ve always wanted to learn swordsmanship though,
maybe I’ll join a sect? I would probably transform into a younger form to get accepted more
easily.”

“Oh what an interesting idea, I did promise you a few sword basics before you left though so allow
me that. It might even give you a step up when you join a sect.”

“Thanks,” Shen Yuan scratched the back of his head, “I guess I’ll really owe you some sort of
favor in the future. I’ll repay you somehow. You set me free and are helping me even now.”

Tianlang-jun laughed heartily, “Hahah, well then I’ll come looking for you if I ever need any help
then.”

“Would you please recommend a sect to me? I have no idea about the standards of cultivators
nowadays and what sect would be the best at teaching swordsmanship.” Shen Yuan said.

Tianlang-jun took a moment to think about it before he answered.“Hm… I have faced cultivators
from nearly every sect. Tian Yi is a rather mediocre bunch. Nothing special about them. They do
have a lot of disciples though. Zhao Hua likes to use barriers and their swordsmanship is focused
on defending until they can create a barrier or use their talismans. Huan Hua is the largest
cultivation sect but their swordsmanship is only slightly above average. Cang Qiong Sect’s Bai
Zhan peak has a few swordsmen that are decently skilled.”

Shen Yuan paused, “So you would recommend Cang Qiong’s Bai Zhan peak then?”

“I suppose so. Though to be honest I would easily beat any swordsman from there.”

“Ah…” Tianlang-jun was a demon lord, if he thought Bai Zhan peak had a few skilled swordsmen
then that must mean that they were at the peak of the human world.

“By the way. If you were looking for a partner, hypothetically speaking. What traits would you be
looking for?” Tianlang-jun asked.

“Where is this question coming from.” Shen Yuan deadpanned. It was so out of the blue he
couldn't help but ask.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just curious.”

Shen Yuan sighed. “I suppose I would look for someone who could understand me, share my
views, and accept me for who I was. But I’m not really looking for a partner. And I don’t think I
could have one.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“I’ve experienced too much, I feel as if the age difference would make any relationship I entered
unequal.”

“Hm. I see. But does Zhuzhi Lang have a chance?”

“Junshang!” Zhuzhi Lang exclaimed.

Shen Yuan quirked an eyebrow. “Uh? I don’t know?”

“So that's a maybe then. Hm, very nice.”

The rest of the walk to Gao Song was spent discussing aspects of Shen Yuan’s old world.
Tianlang-jun was fascinated with the advancement of technology that Shen Yuan described. He
avidly questioned Shen Yuan on every aspect of his life until Shen Yuan had to practically pry the
other man off of himself. Tianlang-jun was just simply too enthusiastic to learn more.

By the time the trio arrived at Gao Song Tianlang-jun had acquired a new and widely varied
vocabulary.

“Ah ‘TFW’ you have finally arrived at your destination. ‘LOL’” Tianlang-jun said with a bright
smile as they walked up to the city gates.

Shen Yuan’s face twitched but he didn’t say anything as the trio strolled into the city.

Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi Lang had applied some makeup before entering to hide their more
obvious demonic traits, like the heavenly demon mark on Tianlang-jun’s forehead. Shen Yuan just
had to make sure that no resentful energy was leaking out of him.

The city was just as Tianlang-jun had described it. It was very busy with vendors hawking their
wares everywhere and the crowds of people stretched as far as the eye could see. Truly the
definition of ‘people mountain people sea’.

Shen Yuan stared curiously at everything they passed, excited to compare it to the demon culture
he had gotten used to.

The buildings were neat and orderly and red lanterns hung everywhere despite the fact that there
wasn’t a festival. Shen Yuan enjoyed seeing the tidy rows of curved roofs he could see stretching
out into the distance.

“So how are we going to find your partner?” Shen Yuan asked Tianlang-jun. To him it seemed as if
they were wandering around the city randomly. There were also so many people around them it
seemed impossible to pick out a specific person.

Tianlang-jun only smiled mildly, “I’m sure they’ll show up soon.”

Just as he said that up ahead of them a man suddenly came flying out of a shop. He crashed into a
stall on the other side of the street and fainted.

“Ah would that be considered a yeet as well?” Tianlang-jun asked as if this were a normal
occurrence.

“Sure.” Said Shen Yuan blandly.

They watched as a beautiful woman dressed in flowing yellow robes stormed out of the shop after
the man.

“And next time don’t you dare touch a woman like that ever again.” She said coldly, before
grinding a heel into the man’s crotch.”Don’t come back.”
Tianlang-jun perked up the moment she walked out of the shop. “Xiyan!” He called trotting up to
her excitedly. “Xiyan, I came to visit you!”

Xiyan turned to Tianlang-jun and gave him a cool look. “Oh. It's you.” She said indifferently.

Then she turned to Zhuzhi Lang and Shen Yuan who walked up after Tianlang-jun.

Unfortunately for Shen Yuan, he wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going, Xiyan had
been the most beautiful woman he had laid eyes on since coming to this world. He promptly
tripped over the unconscious man’s legs and face planted in front of Xiyan.

Xiyan stared critically down at Shen Yuan. “And who is this?” She asked.

“Ah. This is Shen Yuan. He’s… Well... He’s incompetent.” Said Tianlang-jun.

“That's not what you said last night.” Shen Yuan snarked back.

“....” The whole group paused and stared at Shen Yuan. He stared back unashamedly as he picked
himself up and dusted off his clothes.

Xiyan rounded on Tianlang-jun. “Who is this man and what is your relationship with him?”

“Ahh… He’s a friend we picked up off the ground. He was just traveling with us until we got to
the human realm.”

“Nice to meet you.” Shen Yuan chirped.

Xiyan did not look impressed with him. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

Shen Yuan’s dead eyes stared back dully.

After a moment of prolonged eye contact in which Zhuzhi Lang became progressively more and
more uncomfortable, Xiyan finally huffed a breath at Shen Yuan. Then she turned and swept away
without a word.

“Ah Xiyan wait up!” Tianlang-jun called out as he hurried to follow her.

Zhuzhi Lang and Shen Yuan glanced at each other before they moved to follow as well.

Xiyan led them back into the shop and sat down at a table and began ordering dishes off the menu
with a cold no nonsense voice.

The waitress seemed to be swooning in her presence and hurriedly went off with her order.

“Shen Yuan I’d like you to meet Su Xiyan, this is my partner who has been working to help me
with my demon integration plans. I suppose you could call her ‘bae’” as you say.”

Shen Yuan choked slightly before he gathered himself and nodded at her. Su Xiyan hmphed.

“So what are you doing here this time?” She asked Tianlang-jun coldly.

Tianlang-jun put a hand over his heart “Ah. I can’t just visit you when I want to?”

“Don’t waste my time.”

Tianlang-jun pouted at her, “I came to discuss the plans for the integration city and how we would
find volunteers to pioneer the city.”

“I see.”

Thus they spent dinner discussing all the nitty gritty details of planning out how to build a city. All
the architectural details, the artistic and aesthetic decisions were considered. They decided on a
survey to gauge the level of interest in an integration city for the demons and humans to help find
volunteers. The younger populations would be more likely to agree to live in such a city as they
were more open minded and hadn’t learned prejudice just yet. As the conversation went on, Shen
Yuan learned a little bit more about Su Xiyan.

Su Xiyan was cold, that much was true, but she was also warm. She had ordered enough food for
all four of them and paid without saying a word, glaring down Tianlang-jun when he offered to
pay. She had thrown the man out of the shop earlier because he was groping one of the waitresses.
She secretly pressed her leg against Tianlang-jun’s while they were eating.

A true kuudere Shen Yuan thought.

“Oh did you know master Shen? Su Xiyan is the head disciple of Huan Hua Palace.” Tianlang-jun
said, making casual small talk.

The temperature around Su Xiyan seemed to drop slightly as he said this.

Shen Yuan perked up though, “Oh really? What’s it like to be a part of a cultivation sect? “ he
asked brightly.

“It's fine.” She replied succinctly.

“O-oh…” Shen Yuan tried to salvage the conversation before it could descend into silence. “Well
um. How did the two of you meet each other?”

“I was hunting something.”

“She was hunting me.” Tianlang-jun said proudly.

“How does that work?” Shen Yuan asked with a sweat drop.

“He destroyed something.” Su Xiyan stated bluntly.

“I destroyed a Huan Hua Palace outlook that was hunting demons.” Tianlang-jun admitted.
“But then how did this agreement to work together come about?” Asked Shen Yuan.

“Pestering.” Said Su Xiyan.

“I asked nicely.” Smiled Tianlang-jun.

“How long have you two known each other?”

“Two years.”

“Forever.”

“Uhm. Are you two happy working together?”

“Neutral.”

“Yes!”

“Ahhh…” Shen Yuan wracked his brains for questions to ask. “ In your opinion, how is the
integration plan going?”

“Fine.”

“Well.”

“I see… Well then thank you, I don’t really have any more questions.”

“That's fine.” Said Tianlang-jun. “we should find an inn soon.”

Zhuzhi Lang nodded from the corner he was being ignored in.

“Since you’re here you may as well help me with some of my missions.” Su Xiyan said casually.

“Of course anything for you.” Tianlang-jun said instantly.

Shen Yuan stared at Tianlang-jun. The man was obviously infatuated with Xiyan. He acted like a
lovesick puppy around her while she kept her distance, only to give him pats when everybody’s
backs were turned.

“What exactly do you need help with?” Shen Yuan asked.

“There has been a mysterious group abducting young and beautiful women, I need to find their base
and eliminate them. Then I need to capture a crash boar alive for the beast tamers of my sect.
Finally I must collect blue moon dew flowers.”

This was the most that she had said the entire night so Shen Yuan stared at her for a while.

“Well okay then” Said Shen Yuan.

“Ah Xiyan, what inn are you staying at tonight?” Tianlang-jun asked.

“Come.” Said Xiyan standing and leaving the shop.

The trio followed dutifully after the woman with Tianlang-jun rambling next to her.

Behind the backs of Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun, Shen Yuan was busy mimicking Tianlang-jun’s
form and pretending to swoon. Zhuzhi Lang’s face was red from holding back his giggles.

They soon reached a rather modest inn and reserved three more rooms. They planned on meeting
up again the next morning to discuss how they would begin to tackle Su Xiyan’s missions.
 Thus, the first day in Gao Song ended rather uneventfully.

Chapter End Notes

I love you all for commenting. Please suggest memes to teach Tianlang-jun I live for
this but my brain is too small.

Thank you very much.

I will be taking a break tomorrow just so ya’ll know.

 Dress To Impress
Chapter Summary

Shen yuan gets kidnapped.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 17: Dress To Impress

“Remind me why I’m doing this again.” Shen Yuan stated dully as he stared at himself in the
mirror.

He fingered the fluttering edges of the clothes he was dressed in and shook his head as he sighed.
The beads hanging off the elaborate hair pins arranged neatly in his hair tinkled as he did so.

With items from Su Xiyian’s wardrobe, Shen Yuan had been transformed into a delicate looking
young girl. He was in delicate semi translucent robes of yellow and white. He had lovely expensive
necklaces draped around his neck and cute pearl earrings adorned his ears. He vaguely wonders
how Su Xiyan could afford all of this but he supposed being head disciple had its perks.

It was out of spite that Shen Yuan based most of his facial features off of Su Xiyan. He had copied
her elegantly arched eyebrows and soft eyes while the rest of his features he copied from a pretty
serving girl down stairs.

“Because we need bait.” Was Su Xiyan’s brisk response.

There was a knock at the door and Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi Lang walked in.

“Hey there, fam. It's me, ya boi.” Tianlang-jun announced as he entered.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Asked Xiyan as she adjusted a pin in Shen Yuan’s hair.
“Shen Yuan here taught me some of the sayings from his hometown. Apparently it was a popular
greeting.” Tianlang-jun reported happily.

Su Xiyan hmphed and turned Shen Yuan around to give him a critical once over.

“Acceptable.” was her final conclusion.

“Why couldn’t you have been the bait?” Shen Yuan whined.

“I am too recognizable, whoever has been kidnapping the girls would not target a well known
cultivator.”

Shen Yuan heaved a deep sigh. When he obtained the transformation skill he did not expect that he
would be using the skill to play the part of the damsel in distress. In fact he expected to never have
to play that role especially since he was plenty powerful in his own right.

The plan was to have Shen Yuan act as a vulnerable lost girl. Hopefully he would then be abducted
and then he could release a strand of resentful energy that Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun could track
when he was brought to the kidnappers base.

Tianlang-jun examined Shen Yuan curiously. “You make a rather pretty girl don’t you?”

Shen Yuan made a face at Tianlang-jun.

“Ah never mind she's gone. The pretty girl is gone.”

“Please don’t tease me, it's bad enough that these robes are too floaty and uncomfortable already.”
Shen Yuan complained.

Xiyan huffed at Shen Yuan then pushed him towards the door. “No time. Get kidnapped soon. Or
else.”

Shen Yuan sweat dropped, ‘Or else what??’ He thought as he obediently frog marched out the
door.

He was promptly smacked on the shoulder, “Walk properly.” Su Xiyan demanded.

Shen Yuan pouted before he straightened up and did his best impression of what he imagined to be
a rich lady’s dainty walk.

He was smacked again, “Too awkward.”

Shen Yuan just sighed, “Can’t I just stand somewhere where there’s not a lot of people looking
appropriately distressed?”

Su Xiyan narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.

Zhuzhi Lang came to Shen Yuan’s rescue, “I think it's a good idea.”

“Fine. But you need to be abducted quickly.”

“I don't think we have to worry about that, look at how pretty he is. I'm sure he’ll be snapped up in
no time.” Tianlang-jun said.

Shen Yuan gave the man a flat look.

The squad found Shen Yuan an appropriately far corner from the crowds of people to look
distressed at and left him there.

Shen Yuan pasted a sad expression on his face and waited at the corner.

When well meaning passerbys asked what was troubling him, Shen Yuan would put on a teary face
and in a warbling voice declare that he was very lost and waiting for someone.
They would give him pitiful looks and curse the person who would leave such a cute girl in such a
state.

Shen Yuan spent a whole day at that corner, waiting from dawn to dusk. Thankfully he didn’t get
hungry or tired anymore. It was only until the sun started setting that someone seedy looking
approached him and offered to help him look for whoever it was he was waiting for. Shen Yuan
accepted gratefully.

Shen Yuan was then led to an abandoned alleyway where an acrid smelling rag was then suddenly
shoved in his face. Of course as a person with a rather unique body make up, whatever was on that
rag would have no effect on him. But Shen Yuan still pretended to struggle for a bit before falling
limp into his attackers arms.

He was then quickly bundled up in ropes and hauled to an unknown location. Shen Yuan had a bit
of difficulty acting unconscious because he was just so damn curious. He wanted to know what
was happening around him at all times. He sort of missed his 360 degree field of vision as a sword
nowadays.

When Shen Yuan opened his eyes after his kidnappers left him alone, he found he was in a dark
and dirty room with a group of about twenty terrified women huddled in the corner. The women
were all dirty bore signs of being mistreated but they all shared the same trait of being distinctively
eye catching beauties.

Shen Yuan sat up slowly. “What’s going on?” he asked the nearest woman.

“We’ve been kidnapped.” She said in a teary voice.

“Do you know why? Or where we are?” He asked.

The woman shook her head miserably. Her cute face was wrinkled in worry and terror.

Shen Yuan would have patted her head to calm her down but he was still tightly bound in rope.

“Everybody, please don’t worry. I was captured on purpose. Help is coming soon.” He announced
to the crowd of women.
The women stared at him with hopeful eyes and began barraging him with questions regarding their
rescue.

“Has someone finally come looking for us?”

“When is help coming!?”

“Who is coming?”

“How will they know where we are?”

“Girls! Girls! Calm down please!” Shen Yuan shouted over the questions.

When the group of women had finally calmed slightly Shen Yuan said, “We need to be calm and
quiet. Please don’t panic if things start getting loud later. I was captured to help my friends locate
us. Please be ready to move together soon.”

Shen Yuan then let a little bit of his resentful energy leak out.

It took an hour or two, but soon enough outside of the room there were sounds of screams and
shouting.

The door to the dark room was kicked open roughly, startling some of the girls and making then
shriek.

Zhuzhi Lang peered around the edge of the door in concern, “Ah, sorry about that ladies, I didn’t
mean to startle anyone. But if everyone would please follow me I will lead you all to safety.”

Shen Yuan shifted his right arm into a blade and cut through his ropes and stood, dusting himself
off. “That took a while.” he commented.
Zhuzhi Lang apologized, “Sorry Master Shen, Junshang and Mistress Xiyan couldn't agree on how
they wanted to attack the base.”

“Ah. I see.” said Shen Yuan, he gestured out of the room, “Well ladies, you’re all free to go, please
follow Zhuzhi Lang here outside to safety.”

The ladies quickly stood and hurried to follow after Zhuzhi Lang. Shen Yuan meanwhile went
towards the sounds of fighting.

He discovered that they were in some sort of abandoned building that had been converted into a
sort of base. Apparently these kidnappers were slavers who were working for a specific nobleman
with specific tastes. Except one day the kidnappers had targeted the daughter of a rather important
noble so now Xiyan had been sent out to find the group and destroy them.

When Shen Yuan reached the main source of the fighting he found a massacre.

He arrived just as Tianlang-jun pulled the head off of a slaver and yelled, “This bitch empty.
YEET!” And threw the head at another slaver.

The slavers stood no chance against the combined might of a demon lord and the head disciple of
Huan Hua Palace. They sure were trying very hard though.

“It's just two people! Take them down already!” Yelled what appeared to be the leader of the
slavers .

Su Xiyan was a whirlwind of death, she danced elegantly amongst the uncoordinated rabble and
her sword flashed in time with her beautiful movements. TianLang-jun seemed to have difficulties
fighting his half of the bandits because he was so distracted from watching Su Xiyan. He
accumulated a variety of small nicks and minor cuts from gaping, but the cuts would heal over
instantly. It was a sloppy display from the normally untouchable demon lord.

“Don’t get distracted!” Su Xiyan shouted at Tianlang-jun as he paused to watch her twirl and slash
a man in half.

Tianlang jun merely stood in place and punched a man on his left through the chest and casually
tore out his heart. “Oh Xiyan, if only I could offer you my own heart just like this.” He said,
sighing dreamily and holding up the heart.

“Fool, this is no time for your nonsense.” Su Xiyan said, sidestepping a spray of blood that came
from severing the neck of the bandit to her right.

‘Ah, she's blushing.’ Shen Yuan thought, observing the faint flush to Su XIyan’s features.

There was much more vigor to Su Xiyan’s next series of slashes that flew through the slavers.

Shen Yuan leaned against a wall casually as he watched Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun work in perfect
tandem to take down the slavers' leader.

The rest of the bandits were cleaned up after him with hardly any trouble. Shen Yuan, Su Xiyan,
and Tianlang-jun were soon left as the only ones standing in a room soaked in blood.

“So now what?” Shen Yuan asked, stepping neatly around a pool of blood.

“We bring the girls back to their homes I suppose.” Tianlang-jun said, still staring intently at Su
Xiyan’s face.

“Indeed. Make sure there are no escapees.” Su Xiyan said shortly.

Shen Yuan was the only one to notice as a slaver behind Su Xiyan slowly raised his head.

A knife went spinning through the air in a deadly arc at Su Xiyan.

Shen Yuan teleported and pushed Su Xiyan out of the way and took a dagger to the chest.

Su Xiyan stumbled back and whipped around to stare at the slaver in shock.

Tianlang-jun was on the slaver instantly, crushing the man’s head into ground meat beneath his
foot.

Su Xiyan rushed over to Shen Yuan who calmly pulled the dagger out of his chest.

She smacked him lightly for pulling it out just like that. She hurried to apply pressure to the wound
fretting over Shen Yuan the whole time.

“You fool. You didn’t have to take that for me.” She scolded.

Shen Yuan just lightly grabbed her hands off his chest, revealing that the wound had already
healed.

“My friend you could have said something instead of injuring yourself needlessly.” Tianlang-jun
said frowning slightly.

“Ahh there was no time, Su Xiyan would have been hit otherwise and I knew I would be fine.
Besides, my body moved before my mind did.”

“There’s a deadly poison on this blade.” Su Xiyan said, examining the dagger that Shen Yuan had
carelessly tossed aside.

“Ah. Well. I don’t think it should affect me but we’ll see?” shrugged Shen Yuan.

Tianlang-jun looked extremely serious, he bowed his head to Shen Yuan, “Thank you for pushing
Xiyan out of the way.”

“It's not a problem, please don’t lower your head to me, it's weird. Any friend would have done it.”

Tianlang-jun straightened, “You my friend, are not just ‘any friend’.” he said with two fingers up
on each hand performing a stilted air quotes gesture.

“Oh.” said Shen Yuan scratching his head, “Thanks?” he asked.

Su Xiyan sighed and wiped her bloody hands off on a dead slaver’s clothes. “Come. We need to
check on the girls.”

“Ah right. There were others here.” Tianlang-jun said, hitting his palm with a fist.

Su Xiyan shot him a look before she turned and left the blood soaked room.

Shen Yuan made to follow but Tianlang-jun stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t owe me anything, my friend.” He stated staring solemnly into Shen Yuan’s eyes.

Shen Yuan smiled back at the man. “No, I believe I still do. But how about this. You can make a
future request to me as a friend.”

Tianlang-jun smiled helplessly at Shen Yuan and nodded.

Shen Yuan smiled back and turned to follow Su Xiyan again.

Outside of the base they met up with Zhuzhi Lang. He had herded the girls into a safe corner of the
forest that the base occupied. They discovered that the base was actually quite far from the city so
they had a rather long walk back ahead of them.

During the walk back some of the girls attempted to get to know Zhuzhi Lang a bit better. Saying
that he should come visit them in the future and what not. Zhuzhi Lang was very embarrassed with
all the attention he was getting and responded awkwardly to each request. It probably didn’t help
that Tianlang-jun relentlessly teased him about not being faithful to Shen Yuan either.

By the time they returned to the city the sun had started to rise, Shen Yuan and his group made
sure that each girl made it back to their destinations safely. There were many heartfelt tears shed at
their return and equally many gestures of gratitude. Su Xiyan waved off the gratitude
magnanimously while Tianlang-jun seemed to be simply content to bask in the attention. Shen
Yuan just wanted to get everything over with so he could change out of his flowy robes and
transform back to his default appearance. Zhuzhi Lang just very politely waved the women off and
seemed relieved once they had all left.
Back at the inn Shen Yuan was finally allowed to transform back. He hurriedly returned everything
on his person to Su Xiyan and scrambled to get his normal clothes back on.

“It can’t have possibly been that bad, could it?” Asked Tianlang-jun.

“Next time we need bait you can do it.” Shen Yuan said back.

“I see. Very well I shall.” Said Tianlang-jun very seriously.

Shen Yuan did not dignify that with a response. He just wanted to sleep well into tomorrow even
though the sun was up. As the group was full of immortals no one was actually tired. Shen Yuan
just felt mentally exhausted and he had gotten used to being able to sleep. The mental exhaustion
wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the exhaustion he had experienced during his thousand year
confinement but he was still tired.

Su Xiyan took pity on him and left him to his own devices for the day, saying she needed to make
preparations before they tackled her next mission. So Shen Yuan happily returned to his room and
fell into a blissful unconsciousness. He actually did end up sleeping into the next day and the next
morning when he came downstairs for the complimentary breakfast the whole group was staring at
him with black faces.

“You sleep too deeply.” Was the first thing Su Xiyan said, aiming an icy glare at him.

Tianlang-jun nodded empathetically and Zhuzhi Lang sighed deeply.

“What? No I don’t?” Said Shen Yuan.

He was instantly hit by three sets of intense killing intent.

Shen Yuan shrugged calmly and sat at the table. He had felt killing intent many times worse than
this mild sensation. The killing intent one produced when on the edge of death was incomparable
to this tame sensation. But then again it's not like anyone at this table was actually planning on
killing him. Shen Yuan idly wondered if he, too, could produce a terrifying killing intent. He had
never tried after all, there was no one he particularly wanted to kill. Not to mention the fact that he
was tired of killing people needlessly.

“So what are we planning to do today?” Shen Yuan asked, thanking the waitress who brought him
a bowl of congee.

“Capturing a crash boar.” Xiyan said before sipping at her own bowl of congee gracefully.

“Oh right. Are we going to the Endless Abyss for that or looking for one in the human realm?”

Su Xiyan raised an eyebrow at him, “And how would we get to the Endless Abyss?”

Shen Yuan scratched his head awkwardly, “I could take us there?” He said.

“Ah that's right, you can, can’t you? I’ve only ever heard rumors of what you were capable of and
each time they varied wildly so I was never certain of what you could truly do. It was a consistent
rumor that you could do that though.” Tianlang-jun said.

“It would probably be easier and faster trying to find a crash boar in the Abyss than in the human
realm. There’s a lot of them in the Abyss.” Shen Yuan said. “Why specifically did you need a crash
boar again?”

“Taming.” Su Xiyan stated.

“Oh. That's it? You’re not going to eat it or anything?” Shen Yuan asked curiously. Shen Yuan had
missed eating during his imprisonment. The first night when Su Xiyan had treated them to dinner
had been the first time Shen Yuan had eaten in over a thousand years. He had barely been able to
stop himself from crying and embarrassing himself that night.

“Yes.”

“Oh. Well. Okay. So when are we leaving?”

“We were waiting for you.” Zhuzhi Lang piped up.

“Ah.” Shen Yuan hurriedly scooped the rest of his congee into his mouth and swallowed. It felt
good to have something in his stomach. “Let’s go then.” He said, standing up.

The group stood with him and left the inn. They walked out of the city to a little copse of trees by
the side of the main road and stopped there.

“So... are we going by Abyss express or hunting in the human realm?” Shen Yuan asked as they
reconvened.

“As you say, ‘YOLO’. Let’s go to the Abyss, I’m sure it will be an interesting experience. I have
never been to the Abyss and have always been curious as to what it is like.” Tianlang-jun said
cheerfully.

Shen Yuan turned to the rest of the group looking for their approval. Zhuzhi Lang was smiling
calmly and Su Xiyan simply nodded at him.

“Great. The Abyss express it is.” Shen Yuan lifted his arm and his hand clawed at the air like Liu
Ao’s had a thousand years ago. He tore a rip straight to the heart of the Abyss into existence before
the group and gestured them in.

Tianlang-jun walked in first and held a hand out to Su Xiyan for her to take like a gentleman. Su
Xiyan ignored him and simply stepped through the portal on her own. Zhuzhi Lang followed after
them dutifully. Shen Yuan was the last to enter the portal, making sure that the rip closed up after
him properly.

He turned to see the awed expressions of the other three as they examined their surroundings.
Tianlang-sun whistled in appreciation as he observed the folding and ripping crimson skies. Su
Xiyan bent down to examine the reddish soil, comparing it mentally with the ground she was used
to. Zhuzhi Lang stared off into the distance at the ominous mountain range with wide eyes.

Shen Yuan inhaled deeply and exhaled, he had a slight up turn to his lips.

Stepping into the hellish Abyss felt like coming home.

Chapter End Notes

:3 back! Twas a break spent full of sleeping.

Updates will probably slow down soon. Classes man.

 What Are Titles?
Chapter Summary

Boar hunting, flower hunting, year summary.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 18: What Are Titles?

“Remind me why we’re doing this again?!” Shen Yuan shouted over the sounds of thundering
hooves as he desperately ran from a herd of charging crash boars. Over two hundred of the damn
things had gathered and were chasing the quartet down the endless lava plains of the Abyss.

“Beast taming!” Su Xiyan yelled at him from the left where she too was running from the herd
with a baby crash boar in her arms.

“No, no! What I meant was! Why are we running from them?”

“Master Shen we’ll die from being trampled by this many crash boars!” Zhuzhi Lang yelled from
slightly behind him.

“We can take them!” Shen Yuan yelled back indignantly.

“Then by all means please do go ahead, master Shen.” Tianlang-jun said casually from Shen
Yuan’s right side.

“Yeah okay. Wait! Why the hell are you running with us!? You’re a demon lord, you do something
about them!” Shen Yuan shot back.

“Ah I am simply looking forward to a demonstration of your prowess master Shen. Also it seems to
me you would much rather be the one to deal with them.” Tianlang-jun said, smiling brilliantly at
Shen Yuan.
“Bullshit! You’re just being lazy!” Shen Yuan yells. Though to be honest it's rather fair that
Tianlang-jun didn’t feel like doing anything. The moment that had arrived in the Abyss they had
been pounced on by a variety of monsters all looking to maul them in unique fashions. Tianlang-
jun had already sufficiently demonstrated his prowess at slaying monsters in front of Su Xiyan for
the day. After all, they had spent the entire day fighting off wave after wave of monsters until they
finally found a crash boar herd.

“Can master Shen and Junshang please decide who will take care of this problem before they are
upon us?” Zhuzhi Lang shouted desperately.

“Fine! I'll do it myself!” Shen Yuan declared, exasperated. He planted his feet and stopped
running. He turned and faced the herd of charging boars head on. Zhuzhi Lang ran past him in an
instant, he shot a worried look over his shoulder at Shen Yuan as he went.

Shen Yuan collected himself and gathered a small amount of Qi into his right arm.

He took a wide stance with his left leg in front of his right, ready to brace himself, and then
punched forwards at the crash boars.

BOOM!

A huge bullet of Qi shot out of his fist and pulverized the crash boars. Disintegrating all 200 of the
boars instantly and leaving a huge gouge in the ground several miles long.

Shen Yuan gaped at the destruction.

He-!

He only meant to lightly blow them away!

He turned back to look at his companions to find them frozen and gaping at the destruction as well.
Zhuzhi Lang’s mouth was hanging open in disbelief, Su Xiyan’s eyes were wide open, and
Tianlang-jun had cold sweat dripping down his face.
“A-as expected of master Shen. You truly are without comparison.” Zhuzhi Lang stuttered out after
a while.

“I believe that's what they call ‘getting wrecked’. Master Shen, how much Qi did you put into that?
Do you truly hate crash boars that much?” Tianlang-jun asked.

“I just put a little bit of Qi in I swear! I didn't mean to do that!” Shen Yuan protested.

“Just how much is a little bit?” Su Xiyan wondered out loud, hugging the sleeping baby crash boar
to her chest and covering its eyes needlessly.

“Okay, so maybe I’m a bit out of practice after a thousand years, but can you blame me?” Shen
Yuan asked, arms crossed over his chest petulantly.

“Perhaps master Shen ought to practice his Qi manipulation before he even thinks of joining a
sect.” Tianlang-jun said, still warily eyeing the destruction.

“Ah. That’s probably a good idea…” Shen Yuan said as he scratched the side of his face
awkwardly.

“On the other hand, you have made me all the more determined to spar with you once you have
learned to control your power master Shen.” Tianlang-jun says smugly.

Shen Yuan laughs nervously, he's not keen on fighting a demon lord anytime soon. He sure he
could take Tianlang-jun, but he's not sure he’ll be able to maintain control if things get out of hand.

“We’re done here.” Xiyan states, recovering her normally unflappable expression.

“Ah yes indeed, we have what we came here for.” Says Tianlang-jun.

“Right. Let’s get going then.” Shen Yuan says.

But just as he raises his arm to tear a portal a tremor goes through the ground beneath them.

Shen Yuan sighs internally, expecting a host of earth dragon attacks and prepares himself mentallly
to take them all down.

He’s not prepared when several giant centipedes larger than a black dragon burst from the ground
and wrap around the group in an instant. The centipedes are some of the largest things Shen Yuan
has ever seen. They’re vibrantly colored, practically neon with how their segments reflect the light
of the Abyss.

Shen Yuan gasps as Tianlang-jun, Zhuzhi Lang, and Su Xiyan are all caught off guard and
captured in the large segmented coils of the centipedes. They struggle fruitlessly in the centipedes
grasps. Even Tianlang-jun who is exerting all of his monstrous strength cant break free from the
centipedes coils.

Shen Yuan crouches and stores Qi in his arms, ready to burst forward and blast the centipedes to
pieces and save his friends.

But then the centipedes?

They stop?

They set Tianlang-jun and the others down and hurry to snuggle up against Shen Yuan?

Shen Yuan is only capable of crouching there awkwardly as ginormous centipedes push each other
out of the way to curl up around him affectionately.

The centipedes bat each other away competing for Shen Yuan’s affection as he lifts his hand and
hesitantly pats one of them on the head.

The centipede he pats lets out a pleased hiss and butts affectionately against his hand.

Tianlang-jun and the rest of the group are slightly ruffled but no further harm has come to them.
They stare in bemusement at Shen Yuan as he is dogpiled by these monsters.
“Master Shen is there something you would like to tell us about the Abyss?” Zhuzhi Lang asks,
quirking a brow as a centipede turns and hisses at him.

“I don't know anything! I've never met these guys in my life! I don’t understand what’s
happening!” Shen Yuan yells back from where he's being smothered.

All surrounding centipedes suddenly wilt at his words. They hiss at him sadly and snuggle up to
him firmer this time.

“Well it seems that they know you in any case…” Tianlang-jun observes, “They also seem to be
quite intelligent.”

“Big.” Is all Su Xiyan says, absently stroking the tiny crash boar nestled in her arms.

Shen Yuan struggles out from under the dogpile and attempts to leave only to get pulled back in.

“Oi! Stop! Please, I need to leave now!” He shouts as another centipede loops its body around him
to prevent him from moving.

The centipedes wilt as one again and spend another ten minutes affectionately wrapped around
Shen Yuan before they let him go.

Shen Yuan stands there looking rather harassed as he scolds the centipedes for suddenly sneak
attacking them. They look appropriately cowed and ashamed of themselves with their lowered
heads.

“Cute.” Su Xiyan mutters under her breath.

Tianlang-jun stares at her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Zhuzhi Lang has a bad feeling as he catches the look on his lord’s face.
When Shen Yuan has finished dealing with the centipedes he sends them off with a pat on the head
for each of them. They wiggle happily before burrowing back into the ground and disappearing.

“I still have no idea why they listen to me so don’t even ask.” Shen Yuan says turning back to
Tianlang-jun and company.

“Perhaps they are sensitive to your energy?” Tianlang-jun suggested.

“Maybe. I can’t really remember running into a group of centipedes like that ever before…” Shen
Yuan says, still dusting himself off.

“Well as nice as this has all been. I think it's about time we returned, no?” Zhuzhi Lang interjected.
“I think the air here is starting to get to me.”

Shen Yuan squinted at Zhuzhi Lang, “What do you mean? The air is fine.”

“Ah, do you mean to tell me that you are used to the constant smell of sulphur and brimstone?
Tianlang-jun asked.

“Err… I suppose so?” Shen Yuan says hesitantly, he’s never noticed anything off with the air of
the Abyss but maybe it's because he woke up here? Either way he shrugs and tears another hole
between worlds.

“Your home, it’s interesting.” Su Xiyan tells Shen Yuan as she walks past him through the portal.

“Eh. Thank you?”

Zhuzhi Lang bows to him as he leaves, saying “Thank you for inviting us to see your home master
Shen, no offense but I’d rather not return.”

“I don’t know Zhuzhi Lang, it has its own charm to it.” Tianlang-jun remarks as he steps through.

The group returns to the copse of trees they stopped at this morning. Tianlang-jun, Su Xiyan, and
Zhuzhi Lang all take a deep breath of fresh air and sigh in relief. Shen Yuan walks out from the
portal and frowns.

“It can’t have been that bad right?”

He is thoroughly ignored as the other three turn to start walking back to Gao Song.

The baby boar is then quickly delivered to where it needs to go and the group is finally at Su
Xiyan’s final task, finding a blue moon dew flower.

Once again Su Xiyan allows them a day to recover from their experience in the Abyss.

Though Shen Yuan is forbidden from sleeping. He protests this loudly but he is out voted by the
others who state that once he has fallen asleep it is impossible to wake him. Thus Shen Yuan
spends an entire night pouting. He does sneak into Tianlang-jun’s room during the night to doodle
on the man’s face since the man had laughed at him when he had flopped to the ground
dramatically bemoaning his fate.

The next morning Tianlang-jun can’t quite figure out why everyone is looking at him strangely
until Su Xiyan takes pity on him and shoves his face into a bucket of water. In thanks Tianlang-jun
takes her aside to give her a small box. When Su Xiyan opens it she proceeds to slam it shut
instantly. Tianlang-jun returns to the group, dejected, with a red slap mark dominating most of his
face.

They walk to a forest that’s not very far from Gao Song and spend the rest of the day wandering
through the trees looking for the elusive flower. During the walk Tianlang-jun manages to pester
out a few more phrases and words out of Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan still doesn’t exactly know how to
feel about teaching a demon lord memes but it has proven to be amusing so he goes with it.

While they’re searching, Shen Yuan makes a game out of how many times he can catch Tianlang-
jun staring at Su Xiyan’s back longingly. He counts along with Zhuzhi Lang and they chuckle
behind Tianlang-jun’s back as they forage through the dense forest undergrowth.

It gets boring for Shen Yuan about an hour into searching for the plant. So he also makes a game
of seeing how many leaves he can stick in Tianlang-jun’s hair without the man noticing. At some
point he's pretty sure that Tianlang-jun is just indulging him for Pete’s sake because the man’s hair
resembles a bush. When Su Xiyan turns back around to look at them, she sighs and helps Tianlang-
jun pick leaves out of his hair. Tianlang-jun looks inordinately smug about it the whole time she
spends picking debris off of him.

Shen Yuan can help but feel as if his shenanigans have backfired.

Its only after half the day has passed uneventfully that they finally find a small grove deep in the
forest with patches of beautiful blue flowers blooming. The scene is gorgeous as the blue flowers
contrast in a lovely manner against the lush green foliage. The group stops for a moment to
appreciate the beauty of nature.

Then they set about picking the whole clearing clean of flowers.

Shen Yuan and Zhuzhi Lang observe as Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan are contently picking flowers
together. Shen Yuan sprouts a wicked grin on his face when he sees how close they are. He
nudges Zhuzhi Lang and whispers under his breath, “Hey. Watch this.”

Shen Yuan then sidles up to Tianlang-jun’s side casually. Then he proceeds to trip and knock
Tianlang-jun into Su Xiyan. Tianlang-jun goes down with a yelp as he falls on top of Su Xiyan.
The two end up in a very compromising position with Tianlang-jun looming over Su Xiyan. Shen
Yuan quickly scurries off to hide behind a tree dragging Zhuzhi Lang with him.

Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun both freeze as they realize the position they have ended up in. They
stare into each other’s eyes for a minute.

Then Tianlang-jun opens his mouth.

“Ah, Xiyan, may I just say that your eyebrows are absolutely on fleek today?”

Su Xiyan’s face contorts in confusion, then she hastily pushes Tianlang-jun off of her, sending the
man flying backwards into another patch of pink flowers.

Su Xiyan stands and brushes herself off calmly, ignoring Tianlang-jun who is sitting up amongst
the flowers and sneezing wildly.
She glares around the clearing looking for Shen Yuan but the bastard is nowhere to be seen.

A sigh escapes her and she returns to picking the blue moon dew flowers.

Tianlang-jun has tears running down his face as he sneezes uncontrollably. The man has stumbled
away from the pink flowers and is sitting by a tree.

Su Xiyan glances over worriedly. Is it normal for one to sneeze so much? What type of flowers
were those?

Su Xiyan walks over to inspect the patch of pink flowers, she picks on and delicately turns it over
in her hands.

Her face flushes instantly.

She quickly gathers the flowers she needs and grabs Tianlang-jun. “Done. We’re leaving.” She
says in a clipped voice.

Shen Yuan stumbles out from behind a tree and gets an icy glare thrown in his direction, “Ah.
We’re done already? We’re leaving now?”

“Yes. Enough.”

“Okay! Hey Zhuzhi Lang we’re going!” Shen Yuan drags out a slightly squashed looking Zhuzhi
Lang and the group start to return to Gao Song.

Along the way back Tianlang-jun manages to stop sneezing, but as soon as he does, he becomes
unbearably sticky towards Su Xiyan. He began using many of the things he learned from Shen
Yuan. He called her ‘totally bitchin’, his ‘bae’ and a whole host of other colorful phrases. Su Xiyan
ignored him the whole way back but once they got to the inn she grabbed him and locked herself in
a room with him.

Shen Yuan was very confused with this behavior but he simply shrugged it all off as another
eccentricity of Su Xiyan’s. He never considers whether or not the flowers could have been a
papaplot device.

The next morning Shen Yuan was left to wake up on his own. He wakes up in the afternoon and
goes down stairs to the dining room to find a very soft and content looking Tianlang-jun who is
melting into his chair.

The moment Shen Yuan appears, Tianlang-jun glances up and aims a beaming smile at him. Shen
Yuan can’t help the chills that run down his spine at the sight. That smile has activated all of his
fight or flight responses. Except Tianlang-jun just sits there smiling angelically at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan hesitantly slides into a chair across from the man and asks, “Okay... Why are you in
such a good mood today?”

Tianlang-jun beams at him, “It's nothing. Something good happened last night is all.”

Shen Yuan squints at him suspiciously and then shrugs. It's not any of his business.

What do you plan on doing now? Are you going to join a sect right away?” Tianlang-jun asks Shen
Yuan.

Shen Yuan hums, “I don't know… I think it would be a good idea to practice my Qi manipulation
like you said, I think I should go back to the Abyss and practice there.”

“Why not stay with us for a while? You can help out with my integration plan if you really have
nothing to do.”

“Huh. That might be okay I guess…”

If Tianlang-jun’s smile were capable of brightening any further Shen Yuan thinks he might go
blind.

Shen Yuan ends up spending a whole year with Tianlang-jun, Su Xiyan, and Zhuzhi Lang. He has
never felt so content with his life before. It's a year filled with teasing and laughter as they plan out
building a city together. They work hard towards making Tianlang-jun’s dream a reality. Along the
way they go on many adventures and meet all sorts of people together. It's a wonderful year and
Shen Yuan is constantly grateful to Tianlang-jun for finding him.

Tianlang-jun makes sure to keep his word on teaching Shen Yuan some sword basics. Basic things
like gripping the sword properly and how to take a stance correctly. Things that Shen Yuan had
already been instinctively doing as a result of being wielded by master swordsmen over a thousand
years. Then Tianlang-jun takes the opportunity to beat Shen Yuan black and blue, venting all of his
stress at Shen Yuan’s numerous largely harmless but highly irritating pranks. Shen Yuan is only
able to negotiate a lesser beating with promises of more vocabulary and information about his old
world.

Slowly but surely everything starts coming together. They have found a list of willing participants
from both realms and a suitable location on the edge of the human realm to build the city. As real
construction efforts are about to begin Tianlang-jun pulls Zhuzhi Lang and Shen Yuan aside to
have a private conversation with them.

“Gentlemen, you must be wondering why I have pulled you aside today.” He says dramatically as
he sweeps his arms wide open as if waiting for a hug.

“What is it? What did you need to tell us without Su Xiyan?” Shen Yuan asks.

“Xiyan is pregnant!” Tianlang-jun declares with a wide smile on his face.

“Oh Shit!” Shen Yuan exclaims. He hadn’t been expecting this at all! He quickly recovers from his
shock though, “Congratulations! Do you know when the baby is due?”

Tianlang-jun’s smile had not faded in the least, “In a couple of months!”

Zhuzhi Lang meanwhile, has been utterly struck dumb by this news. He’s frozen into a statue and
is muttering under his breath “The lord’s child, the lord’s child, the lord’s child…”

Ignoring Zhuzhi Lang who is still processing Tianlang-jun barrels onwards, “I’m planning to ask
Xiyan to marry me soon!’

“Ohh! Good luck! Do you have anything planned in particular when you ask her the question?”
Shen Yuan asks.
“I’ll have a nice private dinner with her and take her out on a walk around the perimeter of the
integration city and then ask her at the top of the hill overlooking the city.”

Shen Yuan shoots Tianlang-jun a thumbs up and a bright smile, “Nice! I’m sure she’ll say yes!
Hey Zhuzhi Lang snap out of it already!”

Zhuzhi Lang receives a smack on the back of the head when he doesn’t stop his creepy muttering.

“H-huh?” He asks looking around in confusion. “What were we talking about?”

“Tianlang-jun is going to ask Su Xiyan to marry him!” Shen Yuan states happily.

“Oh! About time, Junshang! You have my full support!”

“Hahahaha! I thank you for the support!” Tianlang-jun laughs.

That night, Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun spend a most perfect evening together. They have their
lovely dinner, they take their peaceful walk, and finally they reach the hill that overlooks the city
grounds.

Zhuzhi Lang and Shen Yuan hold their breaths as they watch from their hiding place.

Tianlang-jun gets down on one knee and asks her the question.

At first Su Xiyan doesn’t react for a while. Her face is set in its customary stone cold expression.
But then the softest, the shyest, most beautiful smile begins to bloom on her lips. She shyly nods
her head and then hides her face in Tianlang-Juan’s chest.

Shen Yuan and Zhuzhi Lang celebrate quietly and high five behind their tree.

“I guess it's time to begin the wedding preparations hm?” Shen Yuan whispers to Zhuzhi Lang.
 “Indeed, master Shen. There is much to be done.”

“I wonder what to get as a wedding gift?” Shen Yuan ponders out loud. There are too many things
that a demon lord like Tianlang-jun has, he doesn’t know what to get the happy couple.

“I’m sure whatever master Shen brings them they will be pleased with it.” Zhuzhi Lang says as he
sneaks another peek at the hugging couple.

“Oh! I could hunt some rare beast from the Abyss and gift it to them to make rings out of!”

“Why rings?” Zhuzhi Lang asks.

“Ah. It's a western tradition in my world where the bride and groom wear rings to symbolize their
marriage.”

“Oh I see. That’s a lovely idea master Shen I’m sure they would be pleased with such a gift.”

“In the meantime why don’t we go and congratulate the happy couple? I’m sure they’ve had
enough time to themselves by now.” Shen Yuan snickers.

He’s truly happy for Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan. It feels as if everything is going right in the world
for once.

Chapter End Notes

Updates will be slowing down I’m busy with classes aaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Thank you for the comments as usual.

I’m not very happy with this chapter but oh well I tackle it in the rewrite.
 Fireworks In A Dead Sky
Chapter Summary

Bad things have happened without Shen Yuan.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 19: Fireworks In A Dead Sky

Shen Yuan steps out of a portal to the Abyss, dragging the large carcass of a slain beast behind him
while happily humming the opening theme to an anime he has long forgotten the name of.

He spent a good long month in the Abyss searching for a suitably rare enough beast to make rings
out of. The centipedes had greatly helped him out when he asked them to to find a rare beast. They
had dutifully led him straight to a crystal Phoenix. Shen Yuan awarded them all with a round of
head pats and hugs.

It's been an interesting month in the Abyss. Shen Yuan spent a lot of time learning to better control
his outrageous powers. He thinks it's been a highly productive month, he has a better grip on being
able to use his powers in his human form. Taking his sword form and using skills has always been
second nature to him so there's been no need to practice that. He can now freely wield his powers
in any form. Being able to unleash skills under his own will has been a greatly freeing experience.
It goes a long way to his own healing process.

Shen Yuan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he returns to the budding integration city. He
prepares himself to be dogpiled under the attention of Tianlang-jun, Zhuzhi Lang and Su Xiyan. He
hadn’t told anyone except Zhuzhi Lang he was leaving to get a marriage gift after all.

Shen Yuan enters the city and pauses when he is not immediately pounced on by an overzealous
demon lord and his icy partner. Then he takes in the sight before him.

The city grounds are devoid of people. What should be a bustling area filled with the sounds of
construction and people scurrying back and forth is instead a skeleton of half finished buildings.
Shen Yuan is instantly on alert. He had left the growing city a few months after Tianlang-juns
proposal to hunt down a beast for the purpose of making rings out of a rare material.

But the city hasn’t progressed at all since the time he left, and now no one is around.

Where were all the volunteers? Where were the wedding planners?

Tianlang-jun wouldn’t give up on his dream this easily. He wouldn’t let the budding city fall to
ruin like this. There should be builders everywhere, either building houses or preparing for the
wedding.

Something was wrong here.

Shen Yuan hastily plucks the eyes from the Phoenix’s body and pockets the precious crystals that
will be used to forge the rings. Then he dashes through the city towards the completed buildings
where Tianlang-jun, Zhuzhi Lang, and Su Xiyan were living before he left.

He bursts into the building and runs through searching for any sign of his friends. Except… The
building seems like it's been abandoned for a good while… There isn’t even a note for him or
anything.

Shen Yuan is speechless, he was gone for a month! What could have happened in a month!?

Shen Yuan rushes out of the building. He quickly tears a portal to the city of Gao Song and jumps
through. Civilians startle when he appears out of a rip in the air. Though they quickly dismiss it as
cultivator shenanigans, they’ve all seen weirder.

Shen Yuan pays no attention to the surrounding civilians who seem to be in the middle of a festival
for something. Instead he quickly runs to the materials supplier that had been their source of
supplies for the integration city. When he gets there, there's no one around. There's not a single sign
of anyone having been around here for a while as well.

Shen Yuan can’t help but hope that this is some twisted April fools joke. He had told Tianlang-jun
about April fools before leaving after all.
Shen Yuan’s next step is to search for all of the volunteers that had been picked for the project.
Shen Yuan recklessly tears holes through the world, traveling to the homes of all the volunteers.
He spends his entire day searching for anyone that he knows is related to the integration city.

He finds nothing and no one. All of the volunteers' homes are empty. It's like everyone made a
unanimous decision to just disappear without him.

It's eerie.

Shen Yuan is really starting to get worried now. How could so many people disappear? Where
could they have all gone? What’s happened to Tianlang-jun? He wouldn’t give up on his dream
without a fight, but there's been no evidence at the city compound of a struggle.

Thoroughly confused, Shen Yuan can only return to Gao Song and try to ask the citizens about
what has happened to Tianlang-jun’s integration city. The citizens are still celebrating when he gets
back. They have fireworks shooting off into the night sky and cheerful red lanterns hang
everywhere. People are joyful and cheery, they drink freely and eat heartily.

Shen Yuan pulls aside a laughing man who looks like he isn’t too drunk yet and quickly asks,
“Mister, do you know what happened to Tianlang-jun’s integration city?”

The man burst out laughing in Shen Yuan’s face, “What you haven’t heard? It's why we’re all
celebrating today!”

Shen Yuan can’t help the confused expression that flashes across his face.

“Listen buddy,” The man continues, “That demon lord’s evil plan has been dismantled by the
righteous cultivators of Huan Hua palace. They sealed him beneath a mountain and captured all of
his supporters!”

“What!?” Shen Yuan shouts. Though somehow the bit about being sealed underneath a mountain
seemed familiar? Was it from Sun Wukong?

“I know right? Can you believe it? We’re finally free of that demon’s evil schemes! What
integration city? Pah! It's just a ploy to gain control over the human world.”
Another man standing close by listening to their conversation butts in, “Thank goodness for Huan
Hua palace and the other sects though! Did you hear? Huan Hua sent a honey pot to trick the
demon lord and lure him into a trap. Thank goodness it worked. Otherwise who knows how he
would be running the human world now.”

“What honey trap?” Shen Yuan asked, horrified. There was no way Tianlang-jun would ever fall
for a honeypot lure. He was too infatuated with Su Xiyan.

“Oh I heard about that too!” A woman standing at the edge of the cheering crowd interjected,
“Poor dear got impregnated by that horrid demon too!”

“What!?” No. There was no way Tianlang-jun would ever touch another woman besides Su Xiyan.
There was something wrong here!

“What was that woman’s name again?” the first man wondered.

“I think it was Su Xiyan?” The second man said.

“WHAT!?” Shen Yuan shouted. He rounded on the second man and grabbed him by the shoulders,
“Are you sure? Her name was Su Xiyan?”

“Whoa! Yeah buddy! The honeypot’s name was Su Xiyan I think!” The man said quickly.

Shen Yuan let him go and stumbled back a bit. He didn’t know what was going on at all! Su Xiyan
might have been a disciple of Huan Hua but she would never have betrayed Tianlang-jun like this!
She had believed in Tianlang-jun’s dream wholeheartedly. Shen Yuan had also seen the sweet way
they interacted with each other, there was no way that that was all an act.

If it was, well, then Su Xiyan would be the world’s greatest actor.

“Hey you okay there? You’re looking a bit pale.” The first man said as he steadied the stumbling
Shen Yuan.
“Uh. Y-yeah. Do any of you know where Tianlang-jun was imprisoned? Or where any of the
people that were a part of the integration city are being kept?”

“Why would we know that? That's cultivator business. Though I think the supporters are being
held in the Huan Hua palace dungeons.” The woman said.

“A-ah. You’re right… Thank you for the information… I have to go now…” Shen Yuan said as he
walked away unsteadily.

“Hey buddy, I think you should sit down for a bit before you go anywhere! You don't look good!”
The first man shouted after him.

Shen Yuan waved a hand behind him vaguely as he walked off into the night. Thoughts raced
through Shen Yuan’s mind. He would have to figure out exactly what happened. Rumors and
hearsay weren’t reliable. But what should he do now?

Shen Yuan took the first man’s advice and sat down on the side of the deserted road. He stared up
into the night sky blankly. How the hell could all of this have happened in the one month that he
was gone? Why would this all happen after everything seemed to be going so well? The wedding
between Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan was planned to happen soon. It was supposed to happen right
after Su Xiyan gave birth, which honestly should be any day now.

What should he do now?

He traced a firework shooting through the sky with his eyes. As the firework exploded an idea
popped into his mind. The supporters! They should know more about the situation. Shen Yuan
stood again. He would free the supporters first and then try to figure out what happened to
Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan.

Following the instructions of passersby, Shen Yuan quickly traveled to the location of Huan Hua
Palace’s main palace. He observed the palace from a distance, it was a grand palace that
encompassed a large area of land. Lavish decorations were arrayed everywhere. It was truly
worthy of being called the largest sect.

As Shen Yuan snuck into the palace under the transformation of a mouse, he was able to eavesdrop
on a few gossiping guards who were discussing the location of their new prisoners.
“Is it really justified that we’re keeping these people here?” Faceless guard 1 asked.

“They were supporting the demon lord, of course it's okay.” Faceless guard 2 replied.

“No… I mean… They’re normal people… Is it okay for them to be in the water prison?”

“Well… It should be fine. It's not like the water prison is deadly if you're smart about it.”

Shen Yuan faintly recalled what he could of the Huan Hua water prison from his days of reading
PIDW. if he recalled properly, it was some sort of public prison for cultivators in a deep
underground labyrinth surrounded by various seals and what not. One could only enter the
labyrinth with a Huan Hua palace waist card or else they would be repelled by the spell arrays.

Shen Yuan learned the hard way. He had bounced off the barriers several times before he saw a
guard with a waist card pass through easily.

He had been tempted to just destroy the arrays keeping him from entering but that would probably
set off a whole host of alarms. So he waited until the guards at the entrance changed shifts to nick
the waist card off of one of the guards that was leaving with his telekinesis skill. But entering the
labyrinth gave him another problem. He had no idea how to navigate the long twisting passages.
There were too many twists and turns and Shen Yuan had no idea of how to find the supporters.

Shen Yuan shook his head and activated a heat and life sensing skill. He soon acquired a rough
layout of where all the prisoners in the labyrinth were being held. His little mouse form scurried
into the depths of the labyrinth, ignored by the guards patrolling the halls.

The labyrinth was dark and damp, very uncomfortable for any prisoner being held here. The water
that dripped down the walls was highly acidic and seemed to evaporate into the air creating toxic
fumes that definitely would not be good if inhaled for long periods of time.

Shen Yuan searched out large clumps of life indicating a large group of people, he found unrelated
prisoners for the first few groups he found, but the largest life indicator was the group of
supporters.

The supporters had been divided in half based on their race and they occupied cells opposite to
each other. He noticed that the demon supporters had been shoved into a cell that was much wetter
compared to the human supporters’ cell and he cringed at the discrimination. It was the same crime
and yet the demons were sitting in pools of slightly acidic water for who knows how long.

Shen Yuan transformed back to his default human form in front of the supporters’ cells. There was
a small commotion amongst the prisoners as they realized someone was here. The supporters’ eyes
quickly lit up as they recognized Shen Yuan’s figure and they clamored forward to the bars of their
cells.

“Master Shen! You're here!”

“Master Shen! please get us out of here!”

“Master Shen, do you know how to get us out?”

“Master Shen is the lord alright?”

Shen Yuan waved his hands frantically to get the supporters calm down and be quiet. He glanced
around frantically and cast his senses out to see if any guards had been attracted by the small
commotion.

Thankfully there was no one around.

Shen Yuan heaved a sigh of relief and the supporters seemed to get the idea he wasn’t exactly here
with permission from Huan Hua Palace.

They calmed down and sat down in front of the cell bars as Shen Yuan motioned to all of them to
sit down. Shen Yuan crouches by the bars as he leans in to speak with the supporters.

“Master Shen, what are you doing here? We thought you had been sealed away as well.” One of
the supporters, a small petite demon woman, asked.

“I was hunting a beast for Tianlang-jun’s wedding gift and I wasn’t here when everything
happened. I still don’t fully understand what has happened… Can someone explain?”
There was another commotion as the supporters stumbled over each other to hurry and explain the
situation to Shen Yuan. He caught snatches of ‘betrayed’, ‘sealed’, ‘never trusted her anyways’,
and ‘whore’ as they all spoke at once.

Shen Yuan waved his arms in the air wildly again to calm them down. He picked out the demon
woman who spoke before and asked her, “Can you concisely explain the situation? I’ve heard
rumors but I refuse to believe anything before I have all the facts.”

“Master Shen, when you were gone Mistress Su suddenly disappeared one day and didn't return for
quite a while. Tianlang-jun got a message from her to meet her at a certain location. But when he
got there, there was an ambush that involved all of the cultivation sects. He was defeated and then
sealed. But we only know this because that's what the Huan Hua disciples told us when they were
arresting us for conspiring to take over the human realm.”

Shen Yuan nodded at her and frowned, it was exactly as he had heard from the festival
participants. Had Su Xiyan really betrayed Tianlang-jun?

No. He refused to believe that, there must have been something else behind all of this.

“Do any of you have any idea where Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan are right now?” He asks.

Shen Yuan receives a round of head shaking, no one knows where the demon lord has been sealed
and no one has seen Su Xiyan in a long time.

Shen Yuan sighs, why can’t anything be easy?

He sits and stares at the supports and they stare back with glimmers of hope sparkling in their eyes.

“Do you guys know if you’ll be tried for this crime?” He asks, trying to consider what to do with
all of them.

“Uh, master Shen, the humans might be tried but chances are that the demons will be executed.”
Says another demon.
Shen Yuan taps his chin and hums consideringly, “All of you demons have homes in the demon
realm correct? You’ll be safe there if you return?”

He gets a round of nods from one of the cells while the human supporters look on curiously.

“Okay good. That's the demons taken care of.”

Shen Yuan holds his chin and tilts his head as he looks at the humans consideringly, “If the human
supporters say that they were forced into helping they can probably be released without any
trouble.”

One of the human supporters looks incredibly dismayed at this, “But master Shen, that would be
slandering Tianlang-jun’s good name!”

“It might be the only way for you to get out of here safely though. I don’t like it either… Also if
you guys could say that an unknown demon came and broke out all the demons here that would be
great…” Shen Yuan stands and dusts himself off. He walks over to the demon’s cell and shifts his
right hand into a blade. He easily cleaves through the cell bars and ushers the demons out. They
obediently shuffle out of the cell one by one like ducklings.

Shen Yuan draws his hand through the air and the air parts beneath his hand, giving way to a portal
to the demon realm.

The demons ooh and aah over his skill before Shen Yuan has to shoo them through the portal
home.

Shen Yuan turns back to the humans after his has sent the last demon home and bows, “I’m
terribly sorry about all of this, I’m afraid I can’t let you all escape like this since you will most
likely end up on a wanted list if I do so. It is safer for you all to lie and say you were forced to go
along with the demons’ plans.”

The humans make saddened and complex expressions but eventually they all agree to follow his
instructions.
 Shen Yuan sighs as he looks at them and apologizes one last time before he turns back into a
mouse to try and find more information at Huan Hua Palace.

He swiftly makes his way out of the water prison and drops the waist card in front of the entrance
so that someone can return it to the guard he stole it off of.

Shen Yuan scurries through the entire palace looking for any clues as to where Tianlang-jun could
be sealed.

He finds and searches the offices of the higher ranking sect officials for clues but all he finds are
correspondence letters with other sects on planning the ambush. It's clear to Shen Yuan that this
ambush has been something that has been planned for a long time. But not as long as the
relationship between Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun has been going. This means that at the very least
in the beginning, Su Xiyan’s feelings were genuine.

Shen Yuan sighs as he puts down the letters Huan Hua has sent to the other sects. The letters
mention meeting up at Bailu mountain. It's as good of a place to start searching as any other.

Chapter End Notes

The April fools joke is that I need more time to write now. Hahaaaa....

Sorry. I can’t keep up the daily updates anymore I’m getting really tired so I thank you
all for the understanding.

Please leave a comment and feed me! Thank you!

 Mice Are A Sword’s Best Friends
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan tries to find his friends.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 20: Mice Are A Sword’s Best Friends

Shen Yuan bemoans the fact that he can’t draw portals to places he hasn’t been to before as he flies
towards Bailu mountain. Life would be easier if he could just like. Tear a portal and have Tianlang-
jun appear. But he supposes that his life just can’t be that easy. He’s been traveling without rest
since he freed the prisoners. It's a good thing he has a body that doesn’t get tired. It’s an equally
good thing that he is used to enduring the mental exhaustion.

He still can’t wrap his mind around the fact that Su Xiyan could have betrayed Tianlang-jun. He’s
been mulling over her every action ever since he left Huan Hua Palace. He can’t find any trace of
deceit in her actions. It's hard to believe that Su Xiyan would be that kind of person in the first
place. She may have acted cold but she was warm inside. Her love was shown through small and
subtle actions, she wouldn’t, couldn’t, fake the warmth that could be seen in her eyes each time she
looked at Tianlang-jun. Shen Yuan firmly refuses to believe that she had deceived Tianlang-jun for
the sake of an ambush.

Shen Yuan can finally see Bailu mountain emerging from the night with the rising sun as he flies
forward.

He quickly drops down to ground level once he spots cultivator camps in the distance.

He still wants to remain unseen if possible. He doesn’t want to answer any questions regarding why
he's here. They’re also most likely here to keep intruders out in the first place.

Shen Yuan transforms into a deer the moment he hits the ground. He needs to cover a lot of
distance and get to the mountain and find Tianlang-jun soon. There's no telling what kind of
negative effects there are from being sealed. So he runs as fast as his four legs can take him to the
camp.
He uses his deer form to casually stroll up to the outskirts of the cultivator camp. After he gets
close enough, he takes on the form of a mouse again and sneaks into the camp to try and catch
information on where Tianlang-jun might be.

The camp is just slowly starting to wake up so there's not many cultivators up and about talking
with each other just yet. Shen Yuan catches a few complaints about being stationed so far from
civilization but nothing he hears really helps him find Tianlang-jun. He just knows that they are
stationed here to prevent Tianlang-jun from escaping.

Shen Yuan can’t help but think, ‘Please just say some key information randomly like in video
games for the main character to coincidentally overhear…’ Though he is at least relieved that
Tianlang-jun is indeed sealed somewhere on Bailu Mountain.

He’s seriously contemplating if he should come back at night to dive through dreams in order to
search for Tianlang-jun.

Shen Yuan makes up his mind. He’ll search the mountain first, if he can’t find Tianlang-jun then
he’ll return to search the dreams of the guards.

Scampering away from the camp to an empty clearing, SHen Yuan transforms back to his normal
self. He stretches out his Qi sensing ability that he gained from the black dragon a thousand years
ago and concentrates solely on the mountain.

He ignores the bright flares coming from the assembled cultivators while absently noting that a few
of them have achieved immortality. Unfortunately the barriers arrayed around the mountain
dampens his senses enough so that sensing Tianlang-jun’s Qi is impossible. Though chances are
that being sealed has also suppressed Tianlang-jun’s energy to undetectable levels as well.

Shen Yuan thoroughly examines the barriers surrounding the mountain with his Qi sensing. Then
he starts heading in the direction that the majority of the barriers lie. The denser the barriers are the
more likely it is that Tianlang-jun is sealed there.

Following the line of barriers that slowly grow thicker the higher he goes up the mountain, Shen
Yuan eventually stumbles on a cave. Two guards stand at the entrance of the cave looking
extremely bored. Shen Yuan perks up at the sight. This looks promising.
He takes his mouse form again and slowly sneaks his way up to the entrance. The guards don’t
notice the tiny movement at the corner of their eyes and Shen Yuan scurries deeper into the cave.

At the end of the cave Shen Yuan finds a figure suspended from the ceiling wrapped up in layers of
talismans and barrier seals. Shen Yuan transforms to take on his default form and begins to
examine the seals wrapped around the figure.

‘It can’t be this easy… can it?’ Shen Yuan thinks.

He shifts his right hand into a blade and begins slicing through the seals. Soon a distorted figure
drops out from within the seals.

Shen Yuan steps back as he observes what was sealed. It's some kind of strange snake human
hybrid? Whatever it is, it's ugly. Its face is bloated and misshapen. It’s fleshy thick skin runs into
messy ragged scales. The creature looks pathetic and sad.

This can’t be Tianlang-jun… What is it?

Shen Yuan stares at the creature as it begins to slowly stir. He faintly recalls seeing similar
misshapen creatures in the demon realm. They were often the offspring between demons of two
different races. Could this creature be a demon?

The creature shifts on the ground slowly. Soon it’s eyes open, revealing familiar looking deep
green pools. Shen Yuan feels like he’s seen eyes like that somewhere before… But where?

The creature looks up at Shen Yuan and then starts in shock. It immediately scrambles up to Shen
Yuan pleadingly.

If Shen Yuan had not been who he was after a thousand years of gruesome experiences, he would
have recoiled in disgust from the thing immediately.

The creature wraps around his legs quickly and seems to be… Hugging him?

“Umm… Hello? Do I know you? Are you a demon?” Shen Yuan quietly and hesitantly asks it.
The creature nods frantically.

Then its body curled around Shen Yuan seems to shake in despair as it observes Shen Yuan’s
carefully neutral expression. It wilts around him, nearly sending Shen Yuan toppling to the ground.

Shen Yuan hums consideringly as he balances himself, he can’t recall ever meeting something like
this before. It looks like it would belong in the Endless Abyss as another monster for him to slay
and gain skills from. And any demon hybrids he’s seen in the demon world had their existences
swiftly erased by his wielders for being abominations.

Then Shen Yuan considers who he had been looking for and his ever constant shadow.

His eyes widened, “Zhuzhi Lang?” He hesitantly asks.

The creature perks up around him and nods violently.

Shen Yuan squints at him, “Is this your true form?” He finally asks after a while.

Zhuzhi Lang nods sadly.

“Okay… Could you please let me go for a second? I still don’t quite know what’s happening…Let
me tell you what I know. Stop me if I’m wrong.”

Zhuzhi Lang uncurls his long body from around Shen Yuan and arranges himself into a donut and
perches his head on his coils.

“Okay so. This is what I know... During the month I was gone, Su Xiyan went missing. Then she
sent a message to Tianlang-jun to meet up. But the arranged meeting turns out to be an ambush
from all of the cultivation sects. Tianlang-jun is defeated and then sealed somewhere.” Shen Yuan
summarizes.

Zhuzhi Lang nods balefully.

Shen Yuan nods seriously and sits on the cave floor, “Okay then… Here are my questions. Did Su
Xiyan really betray Tianlang-jun?”

Zhuzhi lang does his best impression of a shrug.

“Alright, putting that aside for now… Do you know where Tianlang-jun is sealed?”

Zhuzhi Lang nods and slithers in the direction of the cave entrance before looking back at Shen
Yuan as if to ask ‘you coming?’.

Shen Yuan stands quickly and follows after Zhuzhi lang. He's forced to knock out the two guards
at the entrance of the cave as they startle at Zhuzhi Lang’s sudden appearance and go to sound the
alarm.

Zhuzhi Lang slithers through the forest at a breakneck pace that has Shen Yuan running to catch
up. The two travel in broad daylight but they aren’t seen by any cultivators as they descend to the
base of the mountain. Shen Yuan thanks his lucky stars that no one has noticed them.

Soon they make it to a heavily guarded area at the base of the mountain. There’s a large cave
entrance the size of a house that is constantly being patrolled. Shen Yuan and Zhuzhi Lang stop in
a densely foliaged section of the forest to observe the guards.

Shen Yuan notes that although there aren’t as many barriers around the area, but there are certainly
way more deeper inside of the cave. It doesn’t really make sense to him, but who is he to question
the practices of these cultivators? Why wouldn’t there be more barriers outside so that he can find
this area easier? Come on! Make life easy for him for once! Though he supposes it's a good thing
he found Zhuzhi Lang using the barriers…

Shen Yuan glances at Zhuzhi Lang who is curled up by his feet and bends down to whisper at him,
“I’ll go in as a mouse okay? I’ll try to break Tianlang-jun out. For now why don’t I send you back
to the demon realm?”

Zhuzhi Lang stubbornly shakes his head and curls his tail around Shen Yuan’s leg.
“No? You want to stay here and watch?”

Zhuzhi Lang nods, staring intently at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan sighs and pats Zhuzhi Lang on the head, “alright then. Wait for me I’ll be right out.”

Shen Yuan shrinks in to his well used mouse forms and once again hes past the guards at the
entrance without a problem.

The cave that Tianlang-jun is sealed in is much much deeper than the one he found Zhuzhi Lang
in. It takes Shen Yuan a good while of running in his mouse form before he reaches the end of the
tunnel.

What he finds at the end of the tunnel horrifies him.

Tianlang-jun is chained to the walls of the cavern with a complicated array of dense metal chains.
The man’s limbs have been cut off and talismans cover the stumps to interrupt energy flow,
preventing him from healing himself. Tianlang-Juan’s head hangs limply and his face is bruised
and beat up. He has various wounds across his torso still bleeding slowly and Shen Yuan can see
gashes revealing Tianlang-jun’s organs. Shen Yuan can help but marvel at a Heavenly demon’s
resilience. It's truly impressive that Tianlang-jun is alive in such a state.

Shen Yuan quickly transforms and rushes up to Tianlang-jun, “Tianlang-jun! I’m here to get you
out!” He whispers harshly.

Tianlang-jun’s head slowly rises and Shen Yuan notes with horror that one of his eyes is missing.

“M-master Shen?” He groans out, his whole eye blearily focusing onto Shen Yuan, “Where were
you? We needed you…”

“I’m so sorry! I left to get a wedding gift! I had no idea that this would happen!” Shen Yuan
answers desperately.

“A wedding gift… Hah… To think I was going to marry that woman…” Tianlang-jun laughs
weakly.

Shen Yuan frowns, “Did Su Xiyan really betray you?”

“She did. She sent me that message luring me here.”

“No but did she send you that message in person? How are you so sure that she was the one who
did it?”

Tianlang-jun lets his head fall forward limply again. “They told me she willingly ingested poison
to kill our child.”

Shen Yuan is stunned. “What!? No! That can’t be! Su XIyan was so excited to be able to bring a
new life into the world she wouldn’t do that willingly! You can’t believe what the enemy tells you!
There’s no proof!”

“The proof is that I am trapped here and limbless.” Is the dry response.

“Tianlang-jun she is supposed to be your wife not mine! You should believe in her more! There’s
no way Su Xiyan would ever do this willingly! She must have been threatened somehow!”

Tianlang-jun doesn’t respond. He merely hangs there lifelessly.

Shen Yuan shakes his head sadly, “Never mind all this, I’m here to break you out.”

Saying this Shen Yuan transforms into his sword form and flies into the air. He charges his blade
with Qi and swings himself down on the chains creating a sharp ‘CLANG’ sound.

Shen Yuan watches in shock as his blade bounces off the chains uselessly. He musters all of his
strength and tries again, only to have the same result. Shen Yuan even tries to use his dimension
cutting skills, only to have the skill fail on him for the first time.

Tianlang-jun watches him dully, “It's no use. You can’t free me like that. These are spirit stealing
black iron chains. They absorb energy and grow stronger the more you attack them…”

Shen Yuan gapes. He’s never heard of such a thing. He falls back into his human form, “Do you
know how I can get you out?” Shen Yuan asks desperately.

“If I knew would we be here discussing it?” Tianlang-jun responds despondently.

Distantly Shen Yuan can hear voices coming closer, no doubt to investigate the loud noises he
made.

Shen Yuan hurries over to Tianlang-jun’s side and hurriedly peels up the edges of the talismans
blocking the man’’s healing. At the very least this should allow most of his wounds to heal. If he
tears them off completely someone might know he was here to free Tianlang-jun and increase the
defenses.

“Master Shen, did you find Zhuzhi Lang...?” Tianlang-jun asks weakly.

“Yeah I found him and freed him first all that's left is you.” Shen Yuan says examining the chains
more closely.

“That's good… Leave me here and get out quickly… You can’t be captured too…”

Shen Yuan makes a complicated expression as the voices draw nearer. “I’ll come back for you. I
won’t let you be sealed here forever. I swear.” He says, staring Tianlang-jun in the eye.

The cultivators guarding the cavern round the corner to see their prisoner hanging there just as
lifelessly as an hour ago. The quickly scatter around the cave to examine all of the seals and
barriers, making sure nothing is out of place. They don’t notice as a little mouse scurries past their
feet and out of the cave.

Outside of the cave, Shen Yuan reconvenes with Zhuzhi Lang. Zhuzhi Lang looks like he might
cry when he sees the difficult expression on Shen Yuan’s face and the visible lack of Tianlang-jun.

Shen Yuan sadly shakes his head at him and draws them a portal to the demon realm.
Returning to the demon realm empty handed is a depressing thing. They meet up with the freed
demon supporters who clamor over each other to ask how their lord is.

Shen Yuan waves his hands to get them to calm down and says with a somber expression, “I found
Tianlang-jun but I could not free him. He was bound in spirit stealing black iron chains. If anyone
knows anything that might help against those chains I would be grateful.”

Zhuzhi Lang hung his head as soon as the name of the chains came out of Shen Yuan’s mouth. The
demons surrounding Shen Yuan pale simultaneously and whisper amongst themselves. Shen Yuan
can feel the despair slowly settling around them.

“Don’t worry! I refuse to let Tianlang-jun stay sealed! I will definitely find a way to free our lord
and friend! For now everyone just has to live proudly in the place of Tianlang-jun. We won’t let
this bring us down!” Shen Yuan loudly declares. He will make good on his words. He remembers
what its like to be sealed against your own will. He won’t let his friend suffer that fate either.

The demons look doubtful but hesitantly nod and Zhuzhi Lang comes up to curl around Shen Yuan
again.

“Master Shen, what are you planning on doing next?” A demon asks.

Shen Yuan thinks about it for a moment before speaking, “I’ll look for Su Xiyan.” He finally
decides. “I still need to check up on the human survivors and see if they’re okay as well.”

“And what should we do master Shen?”

“For now… I’ll leave you under Zhuzhi Lang, Zhuzhi Lang. Can you return to your old form?”

Zhuzhi Lang sadly shakes his head.

“Ah… do you need something specific?”

A nod.

“What do you need?”

Zhuzhi Lang’s face scrunches and he draws in the dirt using his tail.

Shen Yuan slowly reads what he writes and frowns to himself. “I can get you some of Tianlang-
juns blood but I’m not sure if he has the power to maintain you a human body right now…”

Zhuzhi Lang nods in agreement.

“I don’t think I can get you his blood right now though, there must still be cultivators in the cave.
I’ll look for Su Xiyan first and then when night falls I’ll return to Tianlang-jun and get you some
of his blood okay?”

Zhuzhi Lang nods again.

Shen Yuan takes a deep fortifying breath and then proceeds to draw himself a portal to the forest
surrounding Huan Hua palace.

Huan Hua Palace is currently in an uproar now that they have discovered the missing supporters.
There are disciples running everywhere as Huan Hua struggles to figure out how exactly a group of
demons escaped their heavily fortified prison.

Shen Yuan sneaks in amidst the confusion as a random disciple and explores Huan Hua Palace
looking for Su Xiyan. No one notices him as he runs from room to room in the palace looking for
her, they’re too busy trying to find the hole in their security. He doesn’t find her anywhere in the
palace so he grabs a random disciple and asks him,

“Do you know where head disciple Su Xiyan has gone?”

“Why would I know?” He angrily retorts, “Isn’t the whole reason we’re searching right now
because she and the demons escaped the water prison together?”
 “What!?” Shen Yuan says, Su Xiyan had been in the water prison? Why? Could it be that she really
was unwilling to betray Tianlang-jun? “Wait why was Su Xiyan in the water prison?”

The disciple looked at him incredulously “Where have you been? Under a rock? It was for
consorting with the demon lord and bearing his child!”

“But I thought that was her mission!” Shen Yuan protested.

The disciple waved condescendingly “Psh. Everyone knows that's not true. The Palace master was
furious when he heard she was pregnant. He forced her to get rid of the baby and now that she’s
run away we’re all forced to work more!”

Shen Yuan can’t help but laugh in relief. The situation is terrible and he worries about Su Xiyan
and the state of her child. But at the very least when he goes to Tianlang-jun later he can tell the
man Su Xiyan didnt betray him.

The disciple looks at him weirdly and then says, “I don’t know what you're supposed to be doing
and why you don’t know all of this but I have work to do. I need to go.”

“Ah. Yeah thanks for explaining everything to me.”

Shen Yuan smiles as the disciple leaves. Everything will be fine once he finds Su Xiyan. They can
work on freeing Tianlang-jun together. Hopefully her child is still safe though. If it's not… Well
they’ll cross that bridge together if it comes to it.

It will all be fine, Shen Yuan firmly tells himself.

Chapter End Notes

Ello Hello. Have a chapter! things have been rough for me but I’m still trying to write
hahah. Writing makes me feel better tho so its all good.

Please feed me comments I live off of them. A big thank you to everyone who has
commented!
 Hope Floating Down An Icy River
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan finds Su Xiyan

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 21: Hope Floating Down An Icy River

Shen Yuan blends into a group of disciples that are working to track down where the escapees of
the water prison have gone. It's a nearly impossible task though. There’s no evidence whatsoever
on how the group of demon prisoners have escaped aside from the mysteriously cut bars. So they
focus on tracking down the one escape that did leave evidence.

It became pretty clear that the Su Xiyan and the demon’s escapes were unrelated after some
questioning. Su Xiyan had left a trail of beaten up guards behind her as she stormed out of Huan
Hua’s water prison. The guards, once they woke up, testified that they did not see any demons with
her as she left. The trail of beat up guards also vaguely led off towards Huan Hua’s forests whereas
the demons have simply appeared to have vanished into thin air.

The disciples diligently tracked Xiyan’s trail through the forest. But the trail looped back on itself
so many times that they nearly lost the trail in their own territory.

Eventually they are led to a river where the trail they have been tracking disappears completely.
Shen Yuan and the disciples search high and low for any signs of the woman but they find
nothing.

Shen Yuan decides that things are going too slowly for his own liking. He splits off from the
disciples and quietly makes a small army of doppelgangers. The doppelgangers all transform into
small animals and set off to search for Su Xiyan further down the river and deeper in the forest.
Shen Yuan then returns to the disciples to see if they have found any more clues.

He’s extremely worried about Su Xiyan. This much moving can’t have been good for her
considering her pregnancy and whatever poison she was forced to take to kill the child. The
thought of the poison worries Shen Yuan a lot. He’s not sure if it is harmful to her as well.
He also just doesn’t know what he would do if he can't find her.

The disciples search well into the night and the next few days. Gradually expanding their search
radius more and more. But there's been absolutely no trace of Su Xiyan after the trail stopped at the
river. She has thoroughly lost Huan Hua and Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan bitterly curses her for being so skilled in his heart as he follows the disciples back to
Huan Hua. He stays long enough at Huan Hua to witness the Old Palace master’s rage and anger
when they tell him that they lost Su Xiyan’s trail at the river. The leader of their group is punished
harshly and the palace master immediately orders more search parties to be sent out.

Shen Yuan slips away while his group sullenly returns to their quarters after being scolded harshly
to rest. He hurries to the forest and rips a portal straight to Tianlang-jun as soon as he's sure he
won’t be seen.

Tianlang-jun raises his head as soon as Shen Yuan steps through the portal. His gaze is questioning
as Shen Yuan carefully inspects his injuries. At the very least the sluggish bleeding has stopped
and Tianlang-jun’s organs are no longer on display.

“Why do you look like that?” Tianlang-jun interrupts Shen Yuan’s careful inspection of the man.

“Why do I look like what?” Shen Yuan asks looking down at himself, then he ‘ohs’. He transforms
back from a Huan Hua disciple back to his normal appearance. “I was with the Huan Hua search
parties looking for Su Xiyan.”

Tianlang-jun tilts his head. “Why would Huan Hua be looking for her?”

“She escaped their water prison.” Is the brief response.

“Don’t make me pull teeth master Shen, why would she be in the water prison?”

Shen Yuan briskly shakes his head and then walks over to where the chains are anchored to the
cave walls. He tries pulling them out with all of his strength but they won’t budge. Smashing into
the cave walls to loosen the anchors is ineffective as well. Shen Yuan sighs and returns to standing
in front of Tianlang-jun.

“I have good news and bad news, which do you want first?”

Tianlang-jun quirks an eyebrow, “Good news first please.”

Shen Yuan smiles back weakly, “Well then, the good news is that Su Xiyan never actually
betrayed you. She was imprisoned in the Huan Hua water prison after her pregnancy was
discovered and forced to take a poison to kill her child.”

Tianlang-jun drops his head down to rest on his chest, “Of course. I should have known something
was wrong the moment she disappeared... I should have believed in her more... Just like you
said…”

Shen Yuan stares at the man sadly, “Do you still want the bad news?”

Tianlang-jun lifts his head to stare at Shen Yuan again, ‘...yes please.”

“Su Xiyan can’t be found by Huan Hua palace. They lost her trail. I lost her trail. I can’t find her
either. My doppelgangers are still searching even now. Also, Zhuzhi Lang can’t maintain his
human form without your blood.”

Tianlang-jun huffs a breath, “That woman. She’s too much for her own good… And you had me
thinking things were worse… As for Zhuzhi Lang’s problem… Well that's an easy fix, come here
and take some of my blood would you?”

Shen Yuan nods firmly and steps up to Tianlang-jun. He makes a small incision on Tianlang-jun’s
right side using his hand that's been transformed into a blade. He collects the thick dripping blood
in a small vial before the wound slowly closes on its own.

Tianlang-jun manages a weak laugh, “Ahh… That poor nephew of mine, you saw him right? He’s
so ugly.”

Shen Yuan chokes slightly, yes indeed Zhuzhi Lang was ugly but he would never tell him that he
thought that!

“I would call him unique instead.”

Tianlang-jun chuckles before he stops abruptly. “Master Shen. I have a request for you as a
friend…”

“Of course. Anything.” Shen Yuan replies seriously, eyes hardening in determination.

“Please take care of Xiyan and my child in my place.” Tianlang-jun requests formally.

Shen Yuan frowns before waving Tianlang-jun off. “This isn’t even a request. I would have done
so without you asking me. Su Xiyan is my friend as well. Save your request for something else,
there isn’t a need to ask this of me.”

Tianlang-jun smiles at Shen Yuan. It's a bit shocking to Shen Yuan that this man can still smile so
brightly even in a situation like this. It's heartbreaking and uplifting all in one.

“You really are a good friend master Shen.” Tianlang-jun finally says.

Shen Yuan can only laugh helplessly. If he were such a good friend he wouldn’t have spent so long
in the Abyss. He would have returned right away so that this whole thing wouldn’t have happened.
If he really were a good friend he would have broken Tianlang-jun out already. If he were really a
good friend…

The doppelgänger quickly transforms out of its previous squirrel form and runs to the collapsed
woman by the river it spied in the distance. The woman lies beneath a huge weeping willow tree
and looks as if she is being cradled by the tree’s large roots.

As the doppelgänger quickly approaches the woman, familiar features begin to pop out to the
doppelgänger. Her clothes, her physique, her familiar sword…

Hope flares violently within the doppelgänger.

In the next few moments the doppelgänger collapses to its knees next to the fallen woman. Not
even noticing as mud smeared its stolen Huan Hua robes.

The doppelgänger puts a hesitant hand on the woman’s shoulder. It turns her over. She’s missing
her outer robe it notices. It slowly but carefully wipes the mud off of her face.

Su Xiyan is just as pale and beautiful as ever. A faint hopeful smile lingers on her face. The
doppelgänger hesitantly lifts a trembling hand to her neck. It’s shaky hand barely holds still enough
to feel her pulse and the flow of her Qi.

The doppelgänger roars in dismay.

It pours all of its collected healing abilities into the woman, causing her body to glow faintly in the
night. The light fades slowly as the doppelgänger lies in the mud next to her panting in exhaustion.
More! It needs more energy!

Another Shen Yuan slips out of the forest behind the doppelgänger and kneels next to Su Xiyan
and begins to heal her. Yet another arrives from further down the river, running over to Su Xiyan’s
body to assist in the healing. More and more doppelgangers quickly emerge from the forest around
the river and throw themselves into pouring energy into the body as well. A whole team of Shen
Yuans work busily to resuscitate Su Xiyan. Each doppelgänger works on repairing a specific aspect
of her limp form. A never ending stream of medical energy pouring into her body brightly lights
up the night.

The clones dissipate one by one as they exhaust themselves of the energy that sustains them in
their healing efforts. The light surrounding Su Xiyan’s body slowly begins to die down. Soon
there’s only one remaining doppelgänger from the whole army of them that had arrived to help
out.

The last doppelgänger stares blankly at Su Xiyan’s perfectly healed body. Yet the body doesn’t
move in the slightest bit.

The doppelgänger yells in despair and anger and punches the ground beneath it, shattering the
ground and creating a giant crater yet somehow leaving the body untouched.

The doppelgänger collapses to the ground. Absolutely spent.

It weakly crawls over to Su Xiyan’s body and gathers her into its arms. Using the last of its energy
it rips a portal straight to Zhuzhi Lang. The clone passes her body through the portal, laying her
gently down by Zhuzhi Lang’s tail. It gives Zhuzhi Lang a look filled with despair before
dissipating into motes of light.

If Shen Yuan were a good friend…

He would have found Su Xiyan in time…

Shen Yuan can’t face Tianlang-jun right now. But he forces himself to look Tianlang-jun in the
eyes.

“My doppelgangers found Su Xiyan just now…”

Shen Yuan’s tears have dried up a thousand years ago. He’s experienced loss and pain like no other
in this wretched world. Crying has never helped him once. He’s grown tired of shedding tears.

But for this woman who was like an older sister to him. For this woman who welcomed him into
her cold and hardened heart. For this woman whose shy smiles lit up the whole world.

For this woman…

A single tear rolls down his cheek.

Tianlang-jun can read the unsaid story behind Shen Yuan’s tear and his deader than usual eyes.

Tianlang-jun swallows harshly but doesn’t make a sound.

The two men stand in silence as the news is processed by the both of them.

“How did she…?” Tianlang-jun asks with a croaky voice.

Shen Yuan’s health analysis skill can answer that. “Postpartum hemorrhage and the poison…”

“Then the child?”

“Missing. I didn’t see a baby anywhere. I will immediately search for them.”

Tianlang-jun nods weakly. “Looks like you weren’t done with your bad news…”

Shen Yuan lowers his face, he can’t keep looking at Tianlang-jun, “I’m sorry…”

“It's not your fault… Thank you for finding her…” Tianlang-jun says somberly.

“...She was smiling when I found her…” Shen Yuan chokes out.

They descend into silence once again. Both men stare at the ground as if it contains the answers to
their shared grief.

“Well this sucks balls.” Tianlang-jun says suddenly.

The abrupt and modern understatement startles a harsh bark of laughter out of Shen Yuan.

“I’m sorry.” Shen Yuan says immediately, stopping his laughter.

Tianlang-jun shakes his head slowly, “No. It's good that one of us can laugh right now…”

“I will definitely get you out of here one day. Just hang in there for now?” Shen Yuan asks quietly.

“That's all I can do now.” Tianlang-jun says dryly.

Shen Yuan quirks a weak smile at Tianlang-jun “Bad word choice.” He says. “I'll be back.”

Then he carves a portal into the air back to where he found Su Xiyan and steps through.

Shen Yuan spreads his senses as far as they can go in order to detect the small life sign of a child.
He’s almost overwhelmed by the small animals and insects in his vicinity but he doesn’t sense a
baby anywhere.

Shen Yuan spends the rest of the night and the next day searching with doppelgangers. He explores
the river and surrounding areas for any sign of a child. He follows the river downstream as far as it
can go but he still finds nothing. He ignores the empty boat floating forlornly along the banks of
the river, dismissing it as unimportant.

Still he searches. He even scans the ground for signs of freshly dug up spots.

But it's to no avail.

There’s no child and no clues as to where it's gone. There’s too many questions regarding where
the child could have gone.

Shen Yuan just doesn’t know the fate of the child of his best friends. Grief and devastation don’t
even begin to describe how he is feeling right now... He can’t even bring himself to return to
Tianlang-jun and tell the man he has failed a second time. He just can’t bring such horrible news so
soon after he’s just told him that Su Xiyan died.

Shen Yuan falls to his knees in the mud. He’s ready to give up the search right there. Chances are
that the child died from the poison that killed Su Xiyan…

But then why would Su Xiyan have died with a smile on her face?

Shen Yuan sighs and forces himself to his feet again. He’s tired and ready to sleep for a thousand
years but he can’t stop searching now. He needs to know what the meaning behind Su Xiyan’s
final smile was.
Once again he leaves doppelgangers searching as he returns to the demon realm. There’s much to
be done to preserve Su Xiyan’s body and Zhuzhi Lang needs his body back.

Stepping through one of his portals Shen Yuan appears out of the air to a depressed looking Zhuzhi
Lang.

“Zhuzhi Lang, I have the blood you need.” Shen Yuan says quietly.

Zhuzhi Lang nods sadly and motions to his open mouth with the tip of his tail.

“Oh.” Shen Yuan says. Then he pulls out the small vial he’s had stored in his pockets and pours it
out into Zhuzhi Lang’s mouth.

Zhuzhi Lang swallows, then shudders violently. His form ripples and then he sheds his former
form exactly like a snake. Zhuhi Lang crawls out of his old form’s mouth naked.

Shen Yuan rushes to get Zhuzhi Lang some robes to cover up.

“Master Shen… What do we do next?” Zhzuzhi Lang asks as he dressed himself.

Shen Yuan pauses. “I don't know Zhuzhi Lang, I don’t know. For now… can you help me search
for Tianlang-jun’s child? I suspect they may be dead though… I’ll take you to where I found Su
Xiyan later.”

“Of course… What happened to Mistress Su though?”

Shen Yuan sighs deeply, “Before that, where did you put her body?”

“I put her in her usual room…” Zhuzhi Lang answers.

“Okay thank you…” Shen Yuan sat down at the table in the corner of the room and motioned for
Zhuzhi lang to sit as well. Once Zhuzhi Lang sat down he began, “Su Xiyan was imprisoned in the
water prison by the palace master for becoming impregnated by a demon. Then she was forced to
ingest a poison to kill the child. She escaped the water prison, gave birth, and then… Well… I don't
know.”

Zhuzhi Lang sat quietly for a while before he spoke, “And the child is missing?”

Shen Yuan lowered his head. “...Yes.”

“I see…”

They share a pained silence. Then Zhuzhi Lang hesitantly suggests, “Could… Could mistress Su
have entrusted the child to someone else?”

Shen Yuan doesn’t lift his head, “But who then?”

“I don’t know…”

“Let’s go look for the child… If we can’t find them by the time the week is over… I'll take us both
to see Tianlang-jun and we can apologize together…”

Zhuzhi Lang gives Shen Yuan a sharp nod.

The two men spend a sleepless week untiringly searching the surrounding area for any signs of life.
They even visit the nearby village to ask if the villagers have seen a baby anywhere. Unfortunately
when they visit the village, it happens to be when a certain washer woman is out washing clothes at
the river.

The week ends with no results and Shen Yuan and Zhuzhi Lang can only make their empty and
shameful apologies to a helpless man.

Both men bow deeply in front of Tianlang-jun.

Tianlang-jun can only stare at them dully, “It's okay. I’m sure the both of you tried your best.
Thank you for your efforts. I’m sure that the child wouldn’t have survived the poison if it killed
Xiyan as well.”

“I know it doesn’t mean anything anymore… But I’m sorry.” Shen Yuan says quietly.

Tianlang-jun only nods in response, “More importantly… What have you two done with Xiyan’s
body?”

Zhuzhi Lang’s head is still bowed in grief as he speaks, “We’ve preserved it. We would rather you
be present as well when we bury her…”

“I see… Thank you. Please continue to preserve her body. There is a treasure in the Holy
Mausoleum that can call back souls. Perhaps there is a way to revive her.”

“Truly?” Shen Yuan asks, he vaguely remembers a few facts about the demon realm’s Holy
Mausoleum from his days of reading PIDW but it's simply been too long.

“Yes. Also, I have another request.”

“Yes Junshang?” Zhuzhi Lang asks.

“Please leave dealing with the Palace master to me.”

Shen Yuan and Zhuzhi Lang nod firmly.

“Do you two know what you will be doing next?” Tianlang-jun asks curiously.

Both men look at each other awkwardly and shake their heads. Shen Yuan glares a hole through
the chains binding Tianlang-jun as Zhuzhi Lang looks at the ground.

“I need to find somewhere with lots of information… Somewhere that can help me figure out how
to release these chains…” Shen Yuan mutters under his breath. Everything he knows about this
 world is now being used to figure out a solution to this dilemma. Shen Yuan deeply contemplates
as Tianlang-jun hums in consideration.

“Cang Qiong sect’s Qing Jing peak has the largest library that this world has to offer… I could
infiltrate the sect for their information.” Shen Yuan suddenly says.

“Oh that's perfect.” Tianlang-jun says.

“Except I don’t want to waste time on Qing Jing learning how to become a cultured individual…”
Shen Yuan mutters.

“Then Just join Bai Zhan. You mentioned you wanted to join them and learn swordsmanship right?
They are also the freest disciples amongs Cang Qiong from what I've heard.” Tianlang-jun says
lightly.

Shen Yuan hits his palm with a fist, “Of course! The Qing Jing peak library is open to all Cang
Qiong disciples. I’ll have you out as soon as I can.” He says staring Tianlang-jun in the eye with a
determined expression.

The corner of Tianlang-jun’s mouth lifts slightly “I have no doubt my friend. Good luck.”

Chapter End Notes

Thank you to everyone for all of the support! I really appreciate it! Please keep feeding
me comments I thrive off of them!
 Into The Peaks
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan attends Cang Qiong’s acceptance exam

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 22: Into The Peaks

That year when Cang Qiong’s annual acceptance exam started, a scruffy young boy about twelve
years old with elegant, sharp, and well formed features participated alongside hundreds of other
prospective children. This child was not particularly eye-catching, was not particularly outstanding.
But they did seem peculiar in that they had dead eyes like that of a corpse.

Hundreds of children and pre-teens were gathered around the base of a large mountain in the early
morning when the sun had barely risen, waiting anxiously for the exams to begin.

Cang Qiong’s annual exam would begin with a legendary stair climbing session. Once the stair
climb was finished the general test began, and then came peak specific tests for those who were not
immediately picked for a peak after the general test. After all the tests were done the prospective
disciple would then meet with their respective peak lords for an interview before they were
officially accepted into the sect.

Generally this was the process one went through to be accepted into Cang Qiong. While it seemed
relatively simple, each step was deceptively difficult. The stair climb had seals engraved upon the
stairs to make climbing up more and more difficult the higher you went. You either needed
exceptional endurance or a very well trained body to make it all the way to the top of the stairs.

Then the general test which seemed to be at a glance, just digging holes. In reality the shovels that
each child was handed was a subtle spiritual tool. The spiritual tool would draw on your Qi
naturally and make it easier to dig into the rock hard earth at the top of the mountain.

The peak specific tests then tested specific knowledge and/or skills regarding each peak. They
required ample prior preparation in order to pass successfully. They could be skipped entirely if
you caught the interest of a peak lord and were chosen right off the bat from the general exam.
Though if the peak lord that had picked you wasn’t the one you were hoping for you could always
return to take the peak specific tests.

But the most deciding factor would be your personal interview with each of the Peak Lords. If a
lord found you wanting, you could be sent back down despite all of your previous successes. This
was perhaps the most difficult step as each of the peak lords had specific yet very vague aspects
that they were looking for within their disciples. There was no way to prepare ahead of time for
this interview, no way to study, no way to build up your body. In a sense, it depended on your peak
lord’s mood and how strict they were feeling on that particular day.

Shen Yuan wasn’t particularly nervous for the exam portions of the acceptance exam. He was
mainly worried about how he would convince the current Bai Zhan Peak Lord he was worthy of
studying under them. Of course Bai Zhan was usually very loose with the interview portion since it
was known as the fighting peak. Even still, Shen Yuan worried, anxiety was an old friend of his
after all.

A Qiong Ding disciple watching over the exams soon called for attention. Hundreds of pairs of
young hopeful eyes fixed onto her in a moment. Tension rippled through the air as the disciple
explained how the exams would proceed.

“First we will have the stair climb, then at the top of the mountain you will be handed a shovel and
assigned to an area to dig the largest hole you can within the allotted time. Afterwards if you have
been chosen by a peak lord you may decide to join that peak for an interview with the lord. If you
have not been chosen you may take the peak specific exams in order to attempt to be sorted into a
peak of your choosing.”

The disciple looked at another Qiong DIng disciple standing by her side who nodded at her. “Now
then, we will begin the exam. Please begin climbing the stairs to the top of the mountain.”

The base of the stairs was immediately crowded as children rushed to be the first up the stairs.
They pushed and pulled their way up the wide stairs, some children were even pushed down the
stairs by more malicious competitors.

Supervising disciples from every peak scouting for potential disciples followed along, flying on
swords.

The children slowly made their way up the long stairway. They began separating based on fitness
and endurance. The ones that had rushed up the stairs initially became unable to continue once
they reached the higher stairs where the seals eventually became suffocatingly oppressive. The
ones who had remained calm and took each step one by one were able to endure longer and make it
much higher.
Shen Yuan remained in the middle of the pack, he had no interest in standing out after all. He just
wanted to be an average disciple so that he could abandon the position at any time. Cang Qiong
was just a stepping stone for him anyways.

Step by step the examinees slowly stumbled one by one onto the testing grounds of the next exam.
Shen Yuan looked at the exhausted children around him and copied their labored breathing and
hunched over figures. The examinees weren’t given much time to rest. In a few moments Qiong
Ding disciples were among the remaining examinees handing out shovels and directing them to a
spot to dig at.

When Shen Yuan was handed his shovel, the instant he grabbed hold of it, it glowed ominously in
his hands. Shen Yuan panicked before he clamped down on the flow of Qi between him and the
shovel. The disciple that was handing out shovels looked shocked for a moment before he took the
shovel back and then handed Shen Yuan another shovel. This second shovel did not glow. The
disciple looked curiously at Shen Yuan and then at the shovel held in his hands. Then he shrugged
and left to hand other children their shovels.

Shen Yuan let out a breath, already he was messing up. If he hadn’t stopped the Qi flow when he
did, that spiritual tool would have exploded in his hands from Qi overflow. He hoped that the
incident was subtle enough that no one had noticed.

Soon the children were instructed to begin digging. They would be told to stop after a certain
amount of incense sticks had burned down. They would not be told how many.

Shen Yuan shrugged at the instructions then he looked around to see if he could spot the peak
lords who were surely spectating the general exam from somewhere.

There! A cliff higher up there were several elegant figures that stood watching.

Shen Yuan watched them for a moment before the disciple in charge of the exam announced the
start of the exam. Shen Yuan turned back to face the disciple and sank his shovel into the dirt to
begin digging.

The shovel easily sunk into the hard packed earth like it was digging into sand. Shen Yuan was
able to dig without any problems. After several moments of digging away without any issues Shen
Yuan started thinking. Wasn’t this too easy?
He turned to look at the other children to see how they were doing.

They still were pathetically chipping away at the surface of the rock hard ground.

Shen Yuan turned to look at his decently sized hole and then turned back to the other children.

Oops? Had he gone too far? Either way it's not like he could casually start filling in his hole now.
Or could he? Well... Probably not…

Shen Yuan observed the other examinee’s progress from the corner of his eye and did his best
impression of sliding his shovel along the sides of the hole to mime digging.

Shen Yuan’s little hole didn’t make much progress until the rest of the examinees caught up
slightly. Then Shen Yuan went and dug a little bit more to seem like he had kept his lead on the
other disciples. He could just say he got exhausted if questioned on why his current progress didn’t
match up to his strong start.

The supervising disciple called for everyone to halt a few moments after Shen Yuan put the
finishing touches on his hole.

Disciples from every peak wandered around inspecting the holes that the examinees made. A few
of the children with the smallest holes were politely asked to try again next year. They turned back
to face the long way down with crushed expressions. Shen Yuan had the biggest hole out of
everyone present. Even though it wasn’t by too much, the other children still stared at him angrily
and muttered under their breaths about him getting lucky and hitting a soft spot in the ground.

A few children were approached by different disciples inviting them to join a peak directly. Shen
Yuan was approached by a disciple from Qing Jing and another from Ku Xing.

He politely declined them both. Looks like he would be staying for the peak specific tests then.
The two disciples left with disappointed expressions as Shen Yuan trotted up to the Bai Zhan peak
disciple to hear what the next exam would be. He was accompanied by some of the burliest of the
participants. There was also only one girl who was trying to apply for Bai Zhan.
The Bai Zhan disciple led them all to a separate part of the mountain where a large fighting ring
was set up. An older disciple, who was intimidatingly well muscled, stood in the center with his
arms crossed with a practice sword at his side and a scowl pasted on his face.

“The Bai Zhan Peak test is to last for half an incense stick inside of the ring without being pushed
out!” The disciple who led them to the ring said harshly. “If you don’t think you can last then get
the hell out right now!”

Several of the scrawnier looking children amongst the group looked fairly intimidated while the
brawnier ones looked more determined than ever.

“Now! Let’s begin! Who will be the first to face me?” The disciple in the ring barked out.

A confident looking kid who was considerably bulky himself stepped up bravely. The disciple who
stood in the ring took one look at him and snorted. The examinee was tossed a practice sword and
he stepped into the ring.

A shout for ‘Go!’ Was given and the spar was on.

The brave child rushed headlong at the disciple and swung his practice sword in an overhead
strike. The disciple lazily blocked and with a twist and flick of his wrist the examinee was
promptly disarmed. Then with several harsh and unforgiving blows the examinee was promptly
driven out of the ring.

Large welts were beginning to rise on the examinee’s skin and he looked appropriately cowed and
in pain.

The examinees learned from the first child’s test and did not attempt to rush the buff disciple. Two
groups of passing examinees soon made themselves clear. There was the group that spent their
entire time in the ring running away from attacks and dodging until the incense burned out. Then
there was the group that bravely stood their ground and defended to the last second.

Of those two groups Shen Yuan belonged to the former. He had sealed a majority of his resentful
energy and abilities away with the help of Zhuzhi Lang and the other demon supporters so that he
could appear as a normal human. He was actually relatively weak without his resentful energy.
Shen Yuan only had large amounts of Qi and not much that he could do with it. He had also never
gotten the opportunity to kill a human and steal their cultivation before so his human cultivation
was at an all time low. He didn’t want to experience being beaten around by a disciple if he didn’t
have to. He was fully capable of standing there and defending. But he still ran like a bitch.

Though speaking of the supporters, before coming to Cang Qiong mountain Shen Yuan had been
forced to return to Huan Hua Palace to free the human half of the supporters as they were slated to
be executed. Huan Hua didn’t care for their excuses and were merely looking for something to
vent their anger on when they couldn’t find Su Xiyan. The human supporters were brought to a
section of the demon realm that had been specifically sealed off so that the humans could live
comfortably without being affected by the harsh atmosphere of the demon realm. Huan Hua had
taken a huge hit to their reputation for these escapes. Zhuzhi Lang also made sure to spread
distasteful rumors about the old palace master in the human realm.

Shen Yuan’s turn was particularly surprising to the Bai Zhan disciples. Most of the time the
children that chose to run from the attacks would dodge wildly without any form or grace, but this
kid actually knew some basic footwork and was dodging attacks with graceful ease. No matter
what the disciple in the ring tried, he couldn’t even graze a single hair on Shen Yuan’s head nor
could he catch the boy’s dirty clothes. By the end of the incense stick the disciple was panting and
out of breath while Shen Yuan still looked as fresh as ever, discounting the mud on his clothes
from digging.

Shen Yuan puffed out a breath as he was told that he passed. He settled in on the sidelines to watch
the rest of the examinees. The sole girl was the only examinee that passed after Shen Yuan’s turn.
The disciple who was testing them had seemed particularly brutal on the rest of the examinees after
Shen Yuan went. Shen Yuan nodded at her as she came to sit by him. She inclined her head in
acknowledgment.

The examinees were then told to wait as they were called up for the Peak Lord’s interview. In a
way this batch of examinees was especially significant. These would be the first disciples that the
new peak lords took in after being promoted to the position. Special attention would be given to
these new disciples as they would be representing the new peak lords for quite a while and would
be used as a way to measure the prowess of the new lords at teaching the next generation.

Shen Yuan waited patiently as the children who passed before him were called up for the interview
one by one. The girl beside him bounced her leg anxiously the entire time. He was half tempted to
reach out and press her leg down but that would seem too forward.

Then it was Shen Yuan’s turn. He was pointed at roughly and then Shen Yuan dutifully followed a
disciple to Bai Zhan peak.

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but let his eyes wander as he was led up the mountain. There were all
sorts of training areas scattered across the mountain. Disciples were busily going through the forms
of different martial arts or practicing their sword swings. Training dummies littered the grounds
and various weapons decorated the weapons stands. It seemed like quite the lively peak with
various disciples exchanging pointers with each other or just simply brawling messily on the
ground. Shen Yuan could practically feel the testosterone soaked into the ground, everyone was
just so buff and manly, even the few female disciples he had seen were well built and sturdy
looking.

Would he become a buff muscle dude too if he stayed here too long? Shen yuan didn’t know how
to feel about that thought.

Shen Yuan was led to a building set far apart from the disciple’s quarters and was told that this was
the peak lord’s residence. He entered politely, kept his eyes low, bowed deeply to the Peak Lord
sitting before him, and waited to be addressed.

A stern voice soon addressed him, “So, you are Shen Yuan? Any relationship with Peak Lord
Shen?”

Shen Yuan chanced a glance up at the man, the man’s arms were crossed and he was shockingly
pretty, like rivaling Tianlang-jun degrees of pretty. He had elegantly arched eyebrows and high
dignified cheekbones. His eyes were shining coals.

It was shocking to see that someone with such a pretty face and slim well toned body was the Peak
Lord of the burly Bai Zhan peak. He looked vaguely familiar in a way that Shen Yuan couldn’t
exactly place until Shen Yuan remembered what world he was in.

In recent years Shen Yuan would quite honestly forget that he was living in a world he had once
read about. He had spent too much time in this world without recognizing any major plot events.
He sometimes thought he had just managed to pick up a bunch of miscellaneous information about
the world by chance instead of having read it as a novel. But this was a familiar face because he
had seen various fan arts of this character during his time in his old world. The current Peak Lord
was the War God Liu Qingge! The current generational character for the Peak Lords was ‘Qing’!
Honestly he should have done his research on the peak lords before arriving at Cang Qiong… This
meant the protagonist was bound to arrive sometime soon!

Just the thought of that brought Shen Yuan a whole new host of worries.

Frankly it was a miracle that he managed to slowly respond to the question with all these thoughts
racing through his head.
“No Peak Lord Liu, this one does not have any relationship with Peak Lord Shen.” Shen Yuan said,
lowering his eyes again.

“Are you certain? You share a remarkable resemblance to him.” Liu Qingge asked. “Would be like
that bastard to have an unrecognized child…” He muttered under his breath.

Shen Yuan pretended he didn't hear that last part. And if anything it should be Peak Lord Shen that
looked like him! He was here first!

“I am certain.”

“Fine then.” Liu Qingge moves on, “Now, why did you come to Cang Qiong Mountain sect and
why did you choose this peak specifically?”

“This one desires to learn true swordsmanship and this one heard Cang Qiong’s Bai Zhan peak had
the best swordsmen of the human realm.” Shen Yuan replied steadily.

Liu Qingge lifts an eyebrow and then asks, “Why do you desire to learn true swordsmanship?
What would you do once you have learned it?”

Shen Yuan paused briefly, why did he want to learn swordsmanship? Was it merely because he
was a sword? Sure in the beginning it had been like that. Then he discovered friends like Tianlang-
jun, Su Xiyan, and Zhuzhi Lang.

“I want to learn swordsmanship to protect that which is precious to me. I would use it to ensure that
my precious ones would come to as little harm as possible.”

“Hmph. You do not desire overwhelming strength then?”

“I only need enough strength to do what matters.”

“I see…” Liu Qingge stared at Shen Yuan consideringly for a moment before he finally said, “In
 that case, welcome to Bai Zhan Peak.”

Shen Yuan bowed again, “This one is honored.”

Liu Qingge hums before continuing, “Bai Zhan Peak is the most free of the twelve peaks. Here you
will learn the art of war. This freedom does not mean you are allowed to bring disgrace upon the
Cang Qiong Sect’s name. You are to use your skills responsibly and learn well from your Shixiong
and Shijie.”

“Yes. This one hears and understands.”

Liu Qingge gestures to a disciple standing on the side, they pull out a cultivation manual and hand
it to Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan accepts it with both hands gratefully.

Shen Yuan is dismissed and the next prospective disciple is called in.

Outside of the building Shen Yuan takes a deep breath and clutches the cultivation manual tightly.
This is it.

Shen Yuan has successfully entered Cang Qiong sect.

Chapter End Notes

I’m procrastinating on two essays and stressing myself out low key lmaooooo so here
have another chapter. I’m irresponsible and have no self control so I write this fic
hahaha.
 The Author Still Doesn’t Know How To Title
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan’s first day at Bai Zhan.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 23: The Author Still Doesn’t Know How To Title

“...And that's the area we play our war games in.” The Shixiong guiding around the new disciples
said, pointing out a large fenced off field.

Shen Yuan nodded along with the other new disciples as they all openly gawked at the Bai Zhan
facilities. Bai Zhan seemed like any martial artist’s wet dream come to life. There were various
obstacle courses to run through, a large lake with a huge waterfall for meditation, a never ending
stream of skilled opponents to face off against, and copious amounts of space for sparring. There
were seemingly unlimited ways to hone and train your body at Bai Zhan.

The very last stop of the tour happens to be the disciples dormitories. Each newly accepted disciple
is then assigned a room and a partner. The partners are expected to keep an eye on each other and
help each other whenever there might be issues. It's a neat little partnership scenario that is
designed to help create bonds between disciples. It's also designed to create a martial sibling you
can rely on and trust in battle wholeheartedly.

“Generally you are expected to manage both yourself and your partner. So treat them nicely.” The
Shixiong says in warning.

Shen Yuan shrugs and looks at his plain and unassuming looking partner. They look like the very
definition of an npc character. With features so ordinary that nothing in particular sticks out about
them, which is the most particular thing about them. His partner stares back just as equally
judgmentally.

He figures he’ll treat his partner at an arm's distance and try to keep a cordial relationship at the
very least.
“Lessons will be beginning tomorrow.” The Shixiong continues, “Every Bai Zhan student is given
basic lessons in martial arts by the older disciples and then you're free to pursue whatever path of
martial arts it is that you want to take. You hone your skills in any way you want here at Bai Zhan.
Shizun is only around once a week for a sparring session and to give pointers, so don’t expect
Shizun to be around often. If you need any help with anything just ask an older disciple. If they
can’t help, you can always visit the other peaks for assistance. Chances are they won’t be much
help with Bai Zhan matters though. Also, don’t forget your daily list of chores, you will be beaten
up by an older disciple if you're found slacking off. Now, any questions?”

The small group of disciples nod obediently and raise their hands. Shen Yuan mostly zones out
though.

“What chores should we be expecting?” The one girl in the new disciple group asks. Shen Yuan
has yet to ask her for her name.

“The usual weapons maintenance will be handed off to new disciples after they have received
lessons on weapons care and handling so that will be a while away. For now you can expect to be
assigned miscellaneous cleaning duties and training dummy repairs. You gain more responsibilities
the longer you stay at Bai Zhan and if you develop specialties then your chores will be assigned
differently.”

“How much free time do we get?” Asks someone in the middle of the pack.

“Your time here is basically all free time. You train when you want to, how you want to. Though if
you're caught slacking off one too many times you could be thrown off the peak.”

“Is the food here good?” A tall and lanky disciple asks from the back of the group. There are a few
giggles following his question.

The Shixiong smiles wryly, “Better than Qing Jing’s.”

That answer seems good enough for that kid.

“What happens if you want to learn a technique that no one here knows?”

“You can ask Shizun when he’s around for his weekly beat- ahem. Lesson.”
“How frequently are we allowed to leave the mountain?”

“You aren’t allowed to leave the mountain without permission from your head disciple, and since
Bai Zhan typically doesn’t have a head disciple… Well you have to wait for Shizun to come back
to ask him.”

“Why doesn’t Bai Zhan have a head disciple?” Someone else asks.

“It’s tradition in Bai Zhan where the Peak Lord doesn’t teach anything until a disciple can beat
him. Then the position of Peak Lord can be handed to that disciple. So Shizun has no head disciple
as of now.”

“What happens if you don’t like your partner that you’ve been assigned?” Another disciple pipes
up.

“Hm. Sometimes you just don’t get along with your partner. You’re not allowed to switch partners
in this case. But you're free to just do your own thing without them.” Their Shixiong explains.

Shen Yuan sweat drops at this, if you’re not forced to cooperate with your partner then what is
even the point of assigning one in the first place? What happened to forming bonds and gaining a
dependable martial sibling?

The questions eventually ran out and then the new disciples were set loose to explore the peak for
the rest of the day. Many of the new disciples decide to just rest in their rooms, exhausted from the
long stair climb, the near impossible digging, and the grueling dodging/blocking session.

Shen Yuan is still awfully energetic, so he decides to explore the rest of the peak.

He wanders into the forests surrounding the peak. The forests around Bai Zhan are thick and lush
and are perfect for hunting and practicing ambushes. Shen Yuan admires the thick foliage and
quietly observes a pair of rabbits nosing around in the undergrowth. He also finds several hidden
nooks and crannies with graffiti that other students must have also discovered to use to hide away
from chores and beatings.
Wandering to the edges of the forest Shen Yuan then tests the security and how easy it will be to
sneak out of the sect. He still needs to visit Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi Lang occasionally after all.

Security is comparatively lax around Bai Zhan. No one really expects anything to invade the
fighting peak after all. Of course there are still general security and one way barriers to prevent
demons and monsters from invading the mountains but they don’t pose much trouble to Shen
Yuan. He’s able to easily make it off the mountain and back up before anyone notices.

Dinner is served in the large mess hall. It's a noisy affair that is one thrown chopstick away from
exploding into an all out food war. Disciples squabble over the choicest bits of meat and vegetables
and you quite literally have to fight for the right to eat what you want. The food is delicious but
limited in quantity. If you want to be full you need to be fast, wiley, strong, and firm in taking your
fair share.

Shen Yuan is able to quickly squirrel away a decent amount of food by virtue of lightning fast
chopstick movements. He holds his bowl protectively against his chest as he scarfs it all down.
He’s not about to let anyone steal his food after he’s gone a thousand years without the luxury of
eating. It's also much easier defending his food from these children than it is to defend his food
from a hungry demon lord. Tianlang-jun has trained him well in the art of guarding his food.

The thought makes his heart ache.

Though based on the older disciples' interactions, Shen Yuan quickly realizes that there is a strict
hierarchy system in Bai Zhan.

These rankings are quite predictably, based on strength and fighting prowess. Though it was easy
to rise in the rankings it was also much easier to fall. A large portion of the hierarchy also
depended on how much the other disciples respected you. Some of the weaker disciples were quite
high in the rankings simply because they performed important chores and tasks. This hierarchy
system was to be expected of a fighting peak but it was still interesting for Shen Yuan to observe
and now for him to be a part of. He idly wondered where he would end up in the rankings after
their lessons began.

Shen Yuan is also slowly figuring out the social structure of the peaks. The entire Bai Zhan peak
seems to act as one big warlike family where it is expected of the strongest to help raise up the
weakest (yet bullying is still somehow commonplace here? It's weird.). If you are wronged by an
outsider, then you will have an entire family to back you up.

Especially when it comes to the other peaks. All bets are off in that case. This ‘help the weak’
concept only stretches as far as the newest disciple. Bai Zhan disciples freely roam the other peaks
to throw their weight around and bully others.

The biggest peak rivalry also seems to be between Qing Jing and Bai Zhan. Partially because the
two peaks are neighbors and partially because Qing Jing is the next best at fighting. Though there
is also a distinct element of ‘nerds vs jocks’ in play here.

Shen Yuan personally finds flaunting one’s strength quite distasteful but he supposes that
otherwise the protagonist wouldn’t have any antagonists if this weren’t the case.

He blames Airplane’s lazy writing.

Wouldn’t this cause inter peak conflicts? This was not healthy for a large sect!

Either way, Shen Yuan’s first day at Bai Zhan peak ends with an after dinner brawl which he
barely avoids. It somehow started with a launched dumpling which immediately set off a large
chain reaction of roars and thrown food. Factions form instantly and the new disciples are left to
watch in horror and wonder as a full on war breaks out. Shen Yuan returns to his room with ruffled
robes from his wild dodging attempts as the brawl spilled out of the dining hall.

Shen Yuan spends that night contemplating what it would mean for him if he ever met the
protagonist. Would he want to help make the protagonist’s life easier? Would he be able to change
plot events or were they set in stone? Would he want to interact with the protagonist at all?

These thoughts chase him into his sleep causing him strange dreams which ensures that he does not
sleep well.

The first day of lessons Shen Yuan barely wakes up in time. He misses breakfast in favor of
hurriedly throwing on his new Bai Zhan issued robes. Then he’s running outside to where all the
disciples are gathering. He glares at his partner for not waking him up earlier, for some reason his
partner glares right back.

Unknown to Shen Yuan the poor boy had spent nearly an hour trying and failing to get Shen Yuan
out of bed before he gave up.

Looks like that cordial relationship isn’t going to be blossoming anytime soon…
The Shijie teaching the lesson for the day is a pretty girl with a buff body that doesn’t really fit her
face. Her deep voice resounds over the training fields as the new disciples struggle to match her
movements. She is a good teacher, patient, thorough, and taking the time to correct everyone’s
individual flaws. Though Shen Yuan finds the lessons rather slow after being ruthlessly beaten by
Tianlang-jun for a year. He’s already had some form of basic movements drilled into him so he
follows along to her movements on pure auto pilot.

Shen Yuan’s mind wanders off as his body moves on its own to correctly position itself as their
Shijie moves onto the next set of basics.

‘I wonder if anything I’ve done has affected the plot at all…’ Shen Yuan thinks. The thoughts from
last night still haunting him. He feels like he hasn’t done all that much to the world of PIDW. ‘I
wonder what role I’ll play when the plot really starts. Will I still be at Cang Qiong by the time Luo
Binghe arrives?’

Shen Yuan doesn’t notice at all when the lessons end. He is still perfectly posed as the rest of the
disciples file off the training field for their break time.

“-di, Shidi.” A hand lands on Shen Yuan’s shoulder startling him out of his thoughts.

Shen Yuan jerks under the grip slightly before he comes back to himself. He finds himself looking
into the amused face of the Shijie that was teaching the class.

“While I’m glad to have such a diligent Shidi, classes are over for today.”

“What? Already? That's it?” Shen Yuan asks, it hardly felt like any time had passed at all.

The Shijie tilts her head curiously, “Is Shidi perhaps interested in extra lessons?”

“Ah.” Shen Yuan pauses, “Maybe? I’m hardly tired.” He answers.

The Shijie smiles, “Oh? That's impressive. Most disciples can hardly stand after their first day
combined with the exhaustion of the exams.”
Shen Yuan shrugs “I’ve always had good endurance.” He lies.

“I see… If Shidi is interested, tomorrow I can stay after classes for extra lessons.”

“You would do that?” Shen Yuan asks

“Of course, I need to help my cute diligent little Shidi don’t I?” The Shijie’s smile brightens.

“Ah! Thank you so much!” Shen Yuan bows quickly, “I’m sorry but I didn't catch your name
earlier…”

“Hahaha! It's fine! This Shijie’s name is Yin Lihua! Make sure to remember it next time!”

“Yes, this shidi will endeavor to carve Shijie’s name upon his heart.” Shen Yuan said seriously.

“Oh my.” Yin Lihua giggles, “No need to go that far. But come, come. Classes are over, you have
a bit of free time before lunch. Feel free to explore Bai Zhan peak a bit more or visit the other
peaks.”

Shen Yuan inclines his head at Yin Linhua, “Thank you for your guidance.”

She smiles happily and then walks away to her own training.

Shen Yuan watched her go before he started moving in the direction of the rainbow bridge
connecting the peaks. He’s going to take advantage of Cang Qiong as much as he can and learn
what swordsmanship he can while researching a way to free Tianlang-jun. There's no point in
getting attached to anyone here. Not when he plans on leaving after Tianlang-jun has been freed.

Shen Yuan slowly crosses over the rainbow bridge while marveling at the sights. The view is
gorgeous, tall mountains with lush forests in the midday sun. The beauty of nature is on full
display here.
Shen Yuan nods respectfully at the other disciples he passes who are busy running about with
various messages.

He makes his way to the next peak over to Qing Jing and sets about looking for the library. Qing
Jing peak is beautiful and elegant in a way that Bai Zhan is not. Bamboo forests and gentle
waterfalls are dotted everywhere on the peak creating a calming atmosphere. The buildings are
equally elegant with their curved roofs and simple decorations.

The library isn’t particularly hard to find, it's simply the largest building that he can see. It also
seems like it’s partially carved into the mountainside. Shen Yuan admires the beautifully carved
sign hanging above the large doorway before he enters the building.

His breath whooshes out of him as he catches a glimpse at the huge rows of shelves all filled to the
brim.This is the biggest library that Shen Yuan has ever seen, it rivals libraries he's been to in the
modern world. The library is way bigger on the inside compared to when you look at it from the
outside. Shen Yuan could probably spend a thousand years in this library and not finish reading all
of the accumulated knowledge. He vibrates in glee as he imagines what he could find amongst
these thick scrolls and tightly bound books.

As Shen Yuan is busy standing at the front of the library gaping, he doesn’t notice as several Qing
Jing disciples shoot him nervous and curious looks.

After he stands there for a while a Qing Jing disciple approaches him hesitantly and asks, “Shidi,
are you lost?”

Shen Yuan stops gaping for a second and turns to the Qing Jing disciple with his dead, dead eyes
— he wonders why the hell the guy looks so damn nervous all of a sudden — and says, “No, I’m
not lost, thank you Shixiong.”

“A-ah. Okay then…” The Qing Jing disciple looks down at Shen Yuan’s white Bai Zhan robes,
then back up at his dead eyes, shudders and then returns to his group of disciples quickly. They
quickly whisper among each other, shooting furtive glances at Shen Yuan while they speculate on
why a Bai Zhan disciple is here in the library. Also, why does he look so much like Peak Lord
Shen? Does Shizun have a child?

Shen Yuan doesn’t bother to think much more on that disciple, he excitedly approaches the shelves
and starts browsing immediately. Shen Yuan takes mental notes on the books he needs to read in
order to try and figure out how to free Tianlang-jun. He plans on coming back to visit the Qing
Jing peak library once he has more free time. He knows if he starts reading now, he’ll lose track of
 time and miss lunch and probably the whole rest of the day. Shen Yuan is well aware of his own
lack of self control. If he starts reading he won’t be able put the book down until he’s finished.
He’s a lot like a dog with a bone in that way.

Shen Yuan dearly wishes that he could use his abilities. He wanted to make doppelgangers so that
they could search for information while he was busy. He would be so much more efficient.

But the seal on him prevents him from using any resentful energy and related abilities. True, he
could remove the seal at any time, but then the cultivators on Cang Qiong would be onto him in an
instant. Human cultivators were rather sensitive to resentful energy. If Shen Yuan let even a drop
of energy out, the gig would be up.

Shen Yuan can only sigh forlornly. He would love to be like Naruto and train with doppelgängers
but he doesn’t have the luxury now. He returns to his peak with a complicated mood.

That day when Shen Yuan leaves Qing Jing, the Qing Jing disciples hurriedly converge and
discuss defense plans for the library. They fear that this was a scouting attempt by Bai ZHan and
that the Bai Zhan disciples are planning on assaulting the great library. Many plans are tossed
about and discarded until an emergency response team is formed so that Qing Jing can be ready for
Bai Zhan at any time.

Chapter End Notes

I thank you all for the lovely support! Thanks for all the advice and love! I’m sadly
still procrastinating. :’(
 Honing An Edge
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan visits Qing Jing and Tianlang jun and picks up weapons lessons.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 24:

Basic lessons in martial arts. Hah. How were these basic lessons?

These thoughts ran through the minds of the new disciples as they hauled heavy logs with the help
of their partners. They had to bring them from the base of An Ding peak to the very top. And it's
not like An Ding was even much shorter compared to Bai Zhan.

The logs would be used to construct a new storage building. An effort that the new Bai Zhan
disciples also had to help in.

Wasn’t this just normal manual labor?

“Hurry up back there! This is also basic training! Until you can carry a log by yourself and run up
and down An Ding ten times in a row without getting tired you’re not done with basic lessons!”
Yin Lihua yelled. She was carrying two giant logs over her shoulder with apparent ease. She was
absolutely ruthless when it came to physical workouts and had zero sympathy for the new
disciples.

The new Bai Zhan disciples lagging behind their elders groaned, they shifted their logs and sped
up slightly.

It seemed that if any kind of manual labor existed in Cang Qiong sect, Bai Zhan disciples would be
called to deal with it.

Shen Yuan personally thought that this was a clever way to save money for the sect and train at the
same time. And since he didn’t get tired he could just work to train his body endlessly, this kind of
manual labor was perfect for him. It was a bit boring though… But Shen Yuan had plenty of
experience being bored. His body worked on auto pilot as his mind wandered back to the old anime
he had watched and now had engraved in his mind. His latest hobby was filling in the plot holes of
his favorite stories with his own imagination by using the most ridiculous methods possible.

Thus Shen Yuan calmly hauled his end of the log with his partner who was sweating buckets
behind him. Shen Yuan was quietly glad that his partner was suffering. He had been woken up this
morning with a bucket of freezing cold water dumped over his head after all.

Recently their basic lessons had shifted into basic muscle training. Their lessons on how to move
correctly during combat had been replaced with intense workouts that aimed to strengthen every
part of your body. Though they would still be drilled on the basic movements to ensure that they
did not get rusty.

Shen Yuan was sure that if he still had a normal body, muscles he didn’t even know existed would
be aching and sore. But since he didn’t have a normal body, well, he took full advantage of it. After
all the other disciples had been worn out from a combination of different push ups, sit ups, and
whatever ups, Shen Yuan went and asked his seniors for extra lessons.

He was improving quickly in the realm of unarmed combat. He learned how to throw a punch
correctly ( don’t tuck your thumb inside your fist!), how to kick correctly ( don’t extend your leg
too soon!) and how to block correctly ( catch with your elbow!). It had been rough at first but most
of his initial clumsiness when it came to fighting had been stamped out of him by Tianlang-jun.
Shen Yuan mentally sighed as he recalled the many many times he had fallen on his face from just
whiffing a move.

Though he had been told by a glowingly happy Shijie that he would be able to move on to learning
how to use a weapon soon. Then he would be added to the weekly Liu Qingge beat down sessions.
Apparently some wise person in the past made it so that new disciples could not spar with the peak
lord until after they had received weapons training.

Yin Lihua meanwhile, had recently found herself a favorite Shidi amongst all of the other new
disciples. She absolutely adored Shen Yuan, he was so diligent and determined to improve that she
could ignore all the little weird bits about him.

Like his constant dead fish eyes that screamed to the world that this child had somehow seen too
much. Like the fact that he wouldn’t flinch or blink no matter how hard he was hit. Like the fact
that he would never be tired even after their extra lessons.
It was a good thing he was a cute little shidi. Just so earnest and respectful. He soaked up the things
she taught him just like a sponge.

She wanted to pinch his cute little cheeks.

And then possibly take him by the shoulders and ask him very seriously if he had any relations to
Peak Lord Shen.

He, quite frankly, looked like that man’s child.

Were the rumors of the love triangle between Shizun, Shen-Shibo, and another woman true? If so
then that would be the gossip for the ages! Zhao Li had claimed that Peak Lord Yue Qingyuan had
caught the two men arguing furiously in a brothel. And now a little miniature copy of Shen-Shibo
shows up at Bai Zhan peak? This would be such juicy gossip if it were all true!

Shen Yuan stared strangely at Yin Lihua as she giggled ominously to herself. He shrugged, she
was probably thinking of more ways to torture the new disciples. He turned to go down to the
mountain base for more logs. His partner followed after him tiredly.

Shen Yuan had no pity.

After they had finished building the new An Ding store house and were offered a complimentary
lunch ( which wasn’t as good as the food served in the Bai Zhan dining halls ) the Bai Zhan
disciples were finally released for the rest of the day.

Shen Yuan, of course, took this opportunity to visit the Qing Jing library to start figuring out how
to free Tianlang-jun.

He crossed the rainbow bridge in a leisurely manner and casually strolled into Qing Jing.

The moment that he arrived at Qing Jing, green robed disciples were sent into a frenzy. A group of
disciples dashed off to rally the older disciples as Shen Yuan slowly made his way to the library.

When Shen Yuan entered the library he was immediately greeted by a group of older Qing Jing
disciples who were fidgeting nervously.

He raised an eyebrow and moved to pass them but they shifted to block his way. He moved to pass
on the other side and they moved to block the other side as well.

Shen Yuan paused, then he addressed the group respectfully, “This disciple greets his Shixiong,
what can he help with?”

The leader of the group swallowed nervously then asked, “Is Shidi perhaps lost? This is the Qing
Jing library.”

Shen Yuan nodded seriously, “Indeed it is.”

Then while the group was busy contemplating his short response he slipped past them and moved
deeper into the library. Shen Yuan walked up to a shelf he had been browsing yesterday and pulled
out a book. He then sat at one of the long tables set around the library and started reading.

The disciples gaped at him and then hurried out of the library to form another war council. Clearly
the situation was much more dire than they thought it was! This was surely a ploy to get Qing Jing
to lower its guard before the real attack came!

Later that day after Shen Yuan had left Qing Jing. A small group of Bai Zhan disciples came to
Qing Jing for their usual hobby of beating up Qing Jing disciples. They were promptly met by a
whole horde of older Qing Jing disciples who proceeded to furiously beat them back to Bai Zhan
peak.

Then the rest of the Bai Zhan disciples heard that Qing Jing had somehow grown a backbone and
beat several of their own black and blue. Bai Zhan disciples began furiously planning new attack
strategies. Several disciples even began ramping up their personal training schedules. They
wouldn’t allow this disgrace to stand.

Beat us back? We’ll show you how we beat you up next time!

Shen Yuan meanwhile, had snuck off the mountain and removed his seal. He tore a rift in space
and hopped through straight to Tianlang-jun.
Tianlang-jun had been in the middle of reading a trashy novel that Zhuzhi Lang was holding up for
him. He blinked curiously as Shen Yuan popped out of a hole in space and rushed up to him.

“Found something so soon? And you look very cute by the way. So tiny.” Tianlang-jun said
cheerfully.

Shen Yuan grimaced at the comment and then grimaced again when he spotted the title of the
novel that Tianlang-jun was reading. He knew Tianlang-Jun’s tastes were bad… But seriously? He
didn’t bother transforming into his old appearance because then it would mean destroying the
clothes he was currently wearing.

Zhuzhi Lang waved at him with the hand that wasn’t holding the book up to Tianlang-jun’s face.

Shen Yuan gave Tianlang-jun a quick once over with his eyes. Tianlang-jun honestly looked much
much better now, his right eye had regenerated completely and there were no longer any visible
wounds on him aside from his missing limbs.

“No. I came here to tell you that I successfully entered Cang Qiong and have started reading their
books in Qing Jing’s library. I guess I also came here to get a better idea of what’s sealing you
here.” Shen Yuan said, walking up to Tianlang-jun.

“Oh. That's good. I could have guessed from your robes though.” Tianlang-jun replied.

Shen Yuan ignored him.

Shen Yuan began to inspect the chains and seals on Tianlang-jun much more closely. Tianlang-Jun
hummed contentedly and told Zhuzhi Lang to turn the page. Zhuzhi Lang happily complied.

After several minutes of Shen Yuan curiously poking around Tianlang-jun’s immobile body he
finally stepped back and said, “Well. There are forty nine spells upon you and seventy two chains
that we need to break somehow.”

“I could have told you that if you had just asked.” Tianlang-jun said cheerfully.
Shen Yuan’s right eye twitched. “I think that the library at Qing Jing can help with the spells, but
I’m still not sure what to do about the spirit stealing black iron chains…”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Tianlang-Jun said confidently. “Besides, there's not much
hurry. As long as I have Zhuzhi Lang here to bring me novels I’ll be fine.”

Shen Yuan’s face made a complicated expression. Zhuzhi Lang seemed perfectly happy to be used
as a living book stand. Shen Yuan would have thought that Tianlang-jun would have been much
more desperate to leave… But if he was doing alright then…

“I’ll still do my best to get you out of here as soon as possible.” Shen Yuan finally said.

“Mhmm…” Tianlang-Jun hummed, engrossed in his trashy novel.

Shen Yuan sighed, the man was off in his own world again. There would be no talking to him in
this situation. He could only draw another portal and wave to Zhuzhi Lang before leaving.

A moment of silence passed in the wake of Shen Yuan’s departure.

“Zhuzhi Lang.” Tianlang-Jun said.

Zhuzhi Lang started, “Yes Junshang?”

Tianlang-Jun stared Zhuzhi Lang in the eyes seriously, “If I told you to stop following me and to
follow Shen Yuan instead. Would you do it?”

“Junshang please don’t speak nonsense.” Zhuzhi Lang responded.

Tianlang-jun sighed, “You wouldn’t escape. You wouldn’t stop. You’re so stubborn. What will
happen to you in the future? Consider it. Consider leaving my side.”
Zhuzhi Lang mutely shook his head and then turned the page for Tianlang-Jun.

Tianlang-Jun could only sigh at his stubborn nephew.

Ah… Well… This stubbornness of his was what made him cute…

Meanwhile Shen Yuan was busy fighting furiously.

The moment he returned he was instantly pulled into an epic battle.

He grunted as he was shoved from all sides.

He was desperately defending with all of his might.

The last piece of chicken was his! He had rightfully earned it by returning at the last moment and
by the sheer skill of his chopstick maneuvering!

No one was going to steal this last morsel!

Shen Yuan held it high above his head, avoiding the grabbing chopsticks of his fellow disciples.
Then he twisted and flipped backward in a maneuver Yin Lihua had taught him just yesterday and
shoved the piece of chicken into his mouth.

Groans of disappointment came from all around him as Shen Yuan chewed in a very satisfied
manner.

Yin Lihua watched from the other side of the dining hall with a proud expression. Another Shijie
nudged her from the side and asked quietly, “Is that the kid you’ve been spending so much time
with recently?”

Yin Lihua turned to her with a happy smile and answered brightly, “He’s so diligent! I love
teaching him! You should try it too Zhao Li! It's so nice to see what you’ve taught being put to use
immediately!”
Zhao Li wiggled her eyebrows at Yin Lihua, “Is that so? You’re willing to share?”

Yin Lihua smacked her across the back of her head sending her face straight into the dining hall
table with a loud smack. “Not like that!”

The other girl bounced back up with nary a bruise and smiled wickedly at Yin Lihua. “Defensive
about your new boy interest?”

“No! He’s my Shidi! I don't have any thoughts like that!”

The girl sidled up to Yin Lihua’s side, smirking and asked, “What about in the future?”

“W-well! That’s for the future!”

“Oh hoh.” Zhao Li wiggled her eyebrows even more suggestively.

Yin Lihua promptly tossed Zhao Li into another table sparking another all out Bai Zhan style food
fight.

Shen Yuan had quickly rushed out of the dining hall as soon as he had seen Yin Lihua pick up the
Shijie sitting next to her. He knew what ever happened next he would not want to be around for.
He was proven right when a loud crash came from the dining hall he was fleeing from and several
war cry’s were shouted.

That night was highly productive for Shen Yuan. He spent the entire night writing down different
spell formulas designed to break the first ten spells of the forty nine spells on Tianlang-jun. He
knew that most likely none of what he had come up with would work, but it was a start.

His partner groaned miserably at him and told him to blow out the candle and go to sleep but Shen
Yuan ignored him. Npc boy swore and turned over on his bed, vowing that he wouldn’t be waking
Shen Yuan up in the morning.
Shen Yuan had actually finally learned that his roommate’s name was Wang Cheng. But he still
referred to him as Npc boy in his mind since his name was as equally generic as his appearance.

The next morning when Npc boy woke up he was extremely surprised to see a wide awake and
boundlessly energetic Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan was bouncing up and down in the room and
excitedly stretching, preparing for today's lessons. Npc boy groaned and rolled out of bed. Wang
Cheng was absolutely not a morning person, he was just an extremely responsible person. That's
why he was so dedicated in trying to get Shen Yuan to wake up the first few days. To see Shen
Yuan up so early and so peppy made his face darken.

“What’s got into you?” He asked grumpily, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Shen Yuan beamed at Wang Cheng, “I get to start on sword training today!”

Wang Cheng yawned and nodded in congratulations tiredly. Anyone could see that Shen Yuan
worked twice as hard as any of the other disciples. He deserved to start early, Wang Cheng
wouldn’t be jealous. Also, if Shen Yuan was starting sword training that meant the rest of the
disciples wouldn’t be too far behind.

“Oh also, you woke up slightly late. If you still want breakfast you need to hurry.” Shen Yuan said
casually.

“What!” Wang Cheng shouted. He hopped out of bed and rushed to get his robes on and hair
brushed. Then he bolted out of the room like his pants were on fire.

Shen Yuan snickered to himself under his breath. Wang Cheng was up too early for the cooks to
have even started breakfast. This was Shen Yuan’s mild revenge for all the creative ways and
unpleasant ways Wang Cheng had recently devised to wake him up.

Shen Yuan stretched out his back like a contented cat and then stood and left to track down the
Shixiong that was supposed to be teaching him for the day.

Yin Lihua had mentioned that this particular Shixiong woke up extremely early everyday and was
very particular about his weapons. Their character was very strict and no nonsense according to
Yin Lihua.
Shen Yuan quickly made his way over to the older disciples dormitories. He paused when he
realized he didn’t actually know where to find his Shixiong, Yin Lihua had merely said to ask for a
Han Rei.

Walking up to a handsome Shixiong who happened to be up early doing stretches in the courtyard,
Shen Yuan politely asked him, “Shixiong? Do you happen to know where this one can find a Han
Rei?”

The Shixiong brightened and jumped up, bouncing up to Shen Yuan, “Rei-ge? He’s always at the
armory at this time! You know where that is Shidi?”

Shen Yuan shook his head, this was one enthusiastic Shixiong.

“Ah! That's fine, I can take you there! Come on! Follow me!” The Shixiong started trotting off
while beckoning to Shen Yuan quickly with his hand.

“Then I’ll be troubling you Shixiong.” Shen Yuan said as he hurried to catch up.

“How’s your stay at Bai Zhan been so far Shidi? Settling in alright? What are you looking for Rei-
ge for anyways? No ones given you any problems yet, I hope? Have you seen Shizun beat us up
yet?” The Shixiong asked excitedly with a bright beaming smile on his face.

Shen Yuan smiled faintly, this flow of questions style of speech reminded him of someone he used
to talk to often.

“My stay has been fine so far. Thank you for asking Shixiong. I’ve settled in just fine though I
have some troubles in the morning. I’m looking for Han Rei because Yin Lihua told me to search
him out for weapons training. No one has given me any problems so far. I haven’t seen Shizun’s
pointer session yet.” Shen Yuan replied readily.

The Shixiong paused in his speed walking and stared at Shen Yuan with glittering eyes. “Wow!
You actually kept up with what I asked! Hey, hey this one’s name is Chu Yun! Come to me in the
future if you need any help with dealing with qiang. I’m the best we have! Okay?”

“Okay. Thank you very much Chu Shixiong, this one’s name is Shen Yuan. I'll be sure to keep you
in mind if I ever need help.” Said Shen Yuan stopping alongside his Shixiong.
Chu Yun resumed his energetic walk in an instant, “Man! To think the new disciples are already to
begin weapons training! Time passes so quickly! But Rei-ge is the right place to go if you’re
looking for general help! Rei-ge has spent a lot of time mastering nearly all of the weapons we
have here on Bai Zhan!” He quickly said with a bright smile.

“Ah Chu Shixiong I’m the only one of the new disciples that's learning how to wield weapons so
far. Yin Lihua has been giving me extra lessons.”

“Oh! I see! That's impressive little Shidi! You’ll be sparring with the best of us in no time then!
You must be really good if Lihua-Jie is sending you to Rei-ge so soon!”

“Ah thank you for the praise.” Shen Yuan said blushing faintly.

Shen Yuan and Chu Yun continued making all sorts of small talk until they reached a large
building comparable in size to Qing Jing’s library.

“Come on little Shidi let's go find Rei-ge!” Chu Yun said cheerfully, pulling the door open for
Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan nodded at the boy and entered.

Shen Yuan gazed out upon rows and rows of weapons all neatly arranged. There were hundreds of
copies of the same weapons all in varying sizes and makes. There were Dao, Qiang, Jian, Ji, Gong,
Bian, Cha, and many more. His eyes went wide at the sheer amount and variety of weapons that
were contained in the armory.

Chu Yun slapped his shoulder and laughed, “I know right? The first time I was in here I was just as
overwhelmed! But you should see the Wan Jian armories! There’s so much more there!”

Shen Yuan turned to Chu Yun with a mouth hung open in shock, “M-more?”

Chu Yun laughed, “Hahaha! Yeah!” Then he cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted,
“REI-GE, WE NEED YOU!!”
A figure walked out from behind a rack of Qiang holding a Jian menacingly.

“Don’t shout.” Said a cold harsh voice.

Shen Yuan studied Han Rei as he walked up to Chu Yun with the blade held out in front of him
dangerously. This Shixiong matched his voice, he looked cold with his thin eyebrows and slanted
eyes. His hair was pulled into a severe ponytail with two bangs hanging out framing his face. His
hands were covered in a multitude of tiny scars and he wore the standard Bai Zhan robes everyone
on the peak wore.

“How many times have I told you. Don’t shout in here.” Han Rei said with the point of his Jian
edging dangerously close to Chu Yun’s throat.

“Hahaha! But how would we find you among all these weapons otherwise? Anyways! Rei-ge!
Meet Shen Yuan! He’s here to learn about weapon handling!”

Those cold brown eyes locked onto Shen Yuan immediately and assessed him quickly. “You’re the
one Yin Lihua sent?”

“Yes Shixiong, I would be grateful for your guidance.” Shen Yuan said, bowing his head slightly.

Han Rei removed the Jian from Chu Yun’s throat and sheathed the sword. He turned and gestured
to Shen Yuan to follow him.

Shen Yuan and Chu Yun followed Han Rei to a table at the very back of the armory that looked
like it was used to maintain all the weapons.

“Before I teach you how to handle a weapon, specifically a Jian first, I will teach you how to
maintain it.”

Shen Yuan nodded seriously as Chu Yun smiled and took a seat nearby.
Han Rei pulled out another Jian from off a nearby rack, he pulled out a few rags, a box of powder,
a bottle of alcohol, and a bottle of oil. Then he unsheathed the sword and showed it to Shen Yuan.

“See the oil on the blade?”

Shen Yuan nodded.

“The first thing is to get the oil off the sword with alcohol with a cloth.” Han Rei took one of the
rags and quickly applied a little bit of the alcohol to it and began to wipe the blade slowly and
carefully. “Carefully wipe the whole blade. Do not cut yourself by rushing. Fold the cloth around,
like this,” Han Rei showed Shen Yuan how he had folded the cloth multiple times and was
wrapping it around the blade to wipe off the oil. “and wipe it all off. Then the oil should all be
gone.”

Shen Yuan watched this all intently, none of his wielders had ever really maintained him before,
they had seen his self repairing edge and assumed he never needed maintenance. Honestly Shen
Yuan didn’t even know if he needed maintenance.

Han Rei took out another clean rag and dipped it in the box of powder. “Take this powder and
polish and clean off the blade. Back and forth back and forth in a very small section like this.”

Han Rei slowly scrubbed down the side of the blade with the powder, gradually polishing it. “Take
the clean side of the cloth and wipe off all the powder.” Han Rei flipped the cloth around and ran it
down the blade.

“The last step is to oil the blade again, here we use linseed oil,” Han Rei briskly turned the bottle
upside down over a new rag and then upright quickly. “No need for a lot. Just a little bit is fine.
Lightly wipe it all across, once, then twice.” Han Rei ran the rag down the side of the blade
carefully. “Then turn the blade over and do the other side. Then fold the cloth and oil the cutting
edge very slowly. If your blade is dirty the oil on the cloth will turn black.”

Han Rei pulled the cloth away from the edge of the blade and showed Shen Yuan before he
returned to wiping the blade.

“The last step. Take a clean cloth with no alcohol and wipe the sword off. Wipe and repeat about
ten times for each side of the blade.” Han Rei meticulously wiped the blade down, eyes narrowed
in concentration. “This is a good exercise to train your patience as well. Then you may resheath
your blade.” He twirled the Jian before he resheathed it with a flourish.
Shen Yuan nodded determinedly. His weapon communication skill had been active the whole
demonstration. At first he had been slightly overwhelmed by all the signals he got from the
surrounding weapons but he had quickly focused on the sword being maintained. The Jian was
incredibly pleased and satisfied while being wiped down. It seemed like a very relaxing process for
the blade.

Shen Yuan was slightly jealous as he observed Han Rei’s skillful and sure hands polishing and
then diligently wiping the blade.

Han Rei then walked over to a rack of Jian, he waved Shen Yuan over.

“In general a good blade will have a length of about 32 inches. This will vary depending on your
height and arm length. Since you are still growing, the practice Jian you receive will be changed
constantly. When the Jian is held in the ready position.” Han Rei held the Jian behind his arm so
that it pointed up to the sky with the point resting under his ear, “The tip should be right at the
height of the bottom of your ear.” Han Rei said pointing at where the Jian ended. “Now pick a Jian
and we will have you practice maintaining it.”

Shen Yuan nodded again and walked up to the rack. He carefully took down a Jian and held it at
the ready position, noting that it was slightly too long for him. He put it back and picked a slightly
shorter one.

“Remember Shidi! One inch longer, one inch stronger! One inch smaller, one inch more skilled!”
Chu Yun piped up from the corner where he had been forgotten.

Han Rei nodded. “Indeed.”

Shen Yuan took the saying to heart. It made sense. A longer blade meant more reach and strength
was needed to wield it. A shorter blade meant that it could be maneuvered in a smaller space much
easier.

The third blade that Shen Yuan took off the rack seemed to be a perfect fit for him. Han Rei
nodded approvingly and directed Shen Yuan back over to the table.

As Shen Yuan maintained the blade, Han Rei and Chu Yun bickered quietly. They were debating
which weapon was superior, the standard Jian or the standard Qiang. It seemed like an old and
 worn out argument between friends but it was entertaining for Shen Yuan to listen to anyways.

“One hundred days of bare hand, one thousand days of spear, and ten thousand days of sword!”
Han Rei said firmly as Shen Yuan finished with his last wipe of the blade.

Han Rei noticed that Shen Yuan had finished and walked over to inspect his work. “Good, Shidi.
There should be a thin film of oil left on the blade after you’re done. See how the blade seems
slightly murkier? That's good. When you get your sword from Wan Jian if you want a sword that
doesn’t rust you will maintain it everyday for the first year, then the second year once a week. For
the third year you only need to maintain it once a month. After that your blade should be pretty
much rust proof.”

“I understand, thank you Shixiong.” Shen Yuan said, bowing his head to Han Rei.

Chu Yun hopped up from his seat and threw an arm around Han Rei’s shoulders, “Hey Rei-ge!
Let’s go show our little shidi a real spar what do you say? Then we can teach him some sword
forms!” He aimed a blinding smile at Han Rei.

Han Rei had frozen the instant Chu Yun’s arm landed around his shoulders and flushed slightly as
he pushed Chu Yun off of himself. “Fine. But if I win then you’re giving me a portion of your food
at dinner for a week.”

“A week? Okay! If i win you admit that Qiang are better! Now! Let’s go!” Chu Yun happily
grabbed hold of Han Rei and Shen Yuan’s arms and began dragging them out of the armory to a
nearby training grounds.

Han Rei sighed and looked commiseratingly at Shen Yuan who merely smiled awkwardly and
shrugged.

Chapter End Notes

I’m still procrastinating (‘: please end me. One essay is due tomorrow :’)
AAAAAAAAAAAAA. Its okay i wrote 4K words for you guys to procrastinate i can
do this... hopefully...... hhhhhhh.
 TIL Honing And Sharpening Mean Different Things
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan learns things and meets a certain peak lord

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 25: TIL Honing And Sharpening Mean Different Things

Recently, for some reason that Shen Yuan didn't understand, his Shixiong and Shijie had been
discouraging all of the younger disciples from visiting Qing Jing. Whenever Shen Yuan attempted
to leave the mountain via the rainbow bridge there would always be an older disciple guarding the
entrance to ensure that none of the younger disciples wandered into Qing Jing.

When he asked about it Yin Lihua’s face had darkened considerably and she muttered something
about ‘protecting the children from war’.

Shen Yuan had tilted his head in confusion. He received a simple pat on the head in consolation.

It hadn’t really mattered to Shen Yuan, not visiting Qing Jing, that is. He had been so busy learning
how to wield a Jian from Han Rei he didn’t even have the free time to visit Qing Jing library. He
had told Tianlang-jun of his situation but the man had been busy reading again when he mentioned
he might not have the time to visit the library. Shen Yuan didn’t know if Tianlang-jun heard him or
not. Zhuzhi Lang had offered him a conciliatory smile when he left.

The weapons training was going relatively well. They had first started Shen Yuan on learning the
forms of wielding a blade with a wooden practice Jian. It was good that Tianlang-jun had already
taught Shen Yuan how to hold a blade properly. He was to grip with the middle, ring finger, and
thumb. Leaving the pinky and index fingers loose for wrist movement. Han Rei had merely given
his grip a glance and then nodded. Starting Shen Yuan immediately with a series of choreographed
movements.

“Use the Jian in combination with waist movement as well as the wrist.” Han Rei said as he stood
to the side watching Shen Yuan go through the movements of ‘black dragon whips its tail’.
Shen Yuan turned to the side and flicked his wrist at the end of the turn, lashing out with the Jian
in sharp movement.

Han Rei nodded approvingly. “Good. Remember. Play in the wrist. Don’t bind down the sword.”

Shen Yuan gave a sharp nod in acknowledgement and turned back to practice the movement
again.

“Not fast. Speed comes with skill. Perform the move slowly and surely.” Han Rei scolded.

Returning to the rest position Shen Yuan slowed down his movements and tried again.

“Your core is misaligned. No, I don’t mean your spiritual core.” Han Rei said as Shen Yuan
started. “Disconnection of your core power in the body will be amplified by the time your
movement reaches the tip of your sword. It will make the line of your cut waver.” Han Rei
critiqued pushing at Shen Yuan’s body to correct his movements.

Shifting his waist slightly, Shen Yuan quickly understood what Han Rei meant by a misaligned
core. He would have never noticed it practicing on his own until his cut wavered at the end of his
movements.

It was imperative to have a correct form when wielding the blade. The correct form allowed one to
work through the finer misalignments of the blade. Initially Shen Yuan had been very excited to
move onto actual sparring in a matter of a month, but Han Rei quickly quashed that line of
thought.

“Perfect your form, perfect your cutting, then master the sticking training. Only after, can we speak
of sparring.”

Shen Yuan blushed as Han Rei delivered a thorough breakdown of his faults, explaining why he
could not just simply jump into sparring. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he was
scolded for his impatience.

“Your internal awareness is off. Your mind is not very well connected to your body. You do not
have a good awareness of your core.”

“A-ah.” Shen Yuan lowered his head.

Shen Yuan found it extremely silly that he, as a sword, didn’t understand the subtle intricacies of
sword play even after a thousand years. He had experienced what it meant to be wielded by a
master swordsman and had witnessed their training routines. But to perform the same thing
himself? He was truly a novice in every sense of the word. In order to fully comprehend the art of
the Jian, it genuinely required years of non stop dedication and patience.

Shen Yuan might have had enough patience, but he was sorely lacking in experience so to speak.
He could clearly visualize the elegant and accurate movements of a master, but moving his body
along with his thoughts was a different matter.

Han Rei crossed his arms over his chest. “This form training is meant to bring your awareness
inwards towards your core. Do not be so hasty and you will feel it.”

“I see, thank you Shixiong.” Shen Yuan said.

Han Rei nodded and gestured for Shen Yuan to continue his forms.

After nearly a half a month of non stop form training Shen Yuan was finally allowed to practice
cutting. Shen Yuan then practiced cutting through the air over and over.

“These movements should be as natural as clapping your hands! Engrave these cuts into your
muscle memory until you can perform them in your sleep!” Han Rei shouted from the side as he
supervised Shen Yuan.

“Rei-ge! Rei-ge! Rei-ge! Let’s go get some food! We can leave Shen Shidi to practice cutting on
his own!” Chu Yun shouted, popping up at the edge of the training field that Shen Yuan and Han
Rei had occupied.

“Chu Yun. He needs a supervisor.” Han Rei replied dispassionately.

“Ahh No he doesn’t! You’re just trying to get out of getting food with me because I won last time
and don’t have to share! He can tell if his cuts are wrong if they waver on his own! Let’s go! Let’s
go!”

Not waiting for an answer Chu Yun promptly latched onto Han Rei’s arm and dragged him away.

Han Rei blushed furiously as he was towed away.

Shen Yuan watched with an amused expression. Everyday his practices would end with Chu Yun
dragging Han Rei off to do something or another.

‘ Man, those two are such good friends. It's so nice to see.’ Shen Yuan thought to himself. Then he
took up his stance and began cutting through the air again, carefully observing the way his Jian
flew through the air.

Meanwhile during the half month Shen Yuan was learning forms, Qian Cao disciples had the worst
time of their lives. They were constantly busy with new patients and trying to make new medicines.
They had their hands full of the victims of the war between Qing Jing and Bai Zhan.

Qing Jing and Bai Zhan had formed full on war councils strategizing against each other. A true war
was brewing underneath the peaceful facade of Cang Qiong sect. Volunteers from other peaks were
recruited by both sides and quickly added to the ranks. The sect was solidly divided in two without
the peak lords knowing.

In terms of tactics used by both sides, ambushes and dirty tricks were the style of Qing Jing. Pranks
were where the true war raged. Itching powder infected every disciple on Bai Zhan. Everyone
seemed to be going crazy over the incessant itching, except for one strange disciple. When
questioned, their only answer had been “I can’t feel much of anything these days.”. He was left
alone after that. Many other minor irritants popped up all over Bai Zhan as well. Chickens were set
loose all over the peak interrupting training, the food store houses had been raided, and someone
even informed Liu Qingge that they thought his students were lacking training. Bai Zhan had
responded with simple overwhelming force. They brought full on catapults and war machines to
the group fights.

Injuries were just shy of being fatal.

The peak lords were eventually forced to intervene after one particularly severe round of pranking
was unleashed on Bai Zhan, interfering with daily peak matters.

Bai Zhan was put on lock down for two months while Qing Jing was locked down for one.
Disciples participating in the war were forced through harsh punishments decided by their peak
lords. For Bai Zhan this meant running around the base of the mountain fifty times every day and
an extra round of pointers with Liu Qingge. For Qing Jing this meant copying the dullest and most
boring texts available three hundred times.

By the time the two month lock down was released for Bai Zhan, Shen Yuan had adequately
perfected his cutting. Han Rei had given him a tired thumbs up from where he lay collapsed on the
ground with Chu Yun lying on top of him, exhausted after their daily laps.

Shen Yuan took pity on his Shixiong, he still didn’t understand how the rivalry between Qing Jing
and Bai Zhan had gotten so intense. It had all escalated so quickly that Shen Yuan even went and
taught Tianlang-jun ‘Well that escalated quickly.’ During one of his visits.

It was not to say that there had been no progress on freeing Tianlang-jun though. Using what little
he had gleaned from Qing Jing library before he started weapons training, Shen Yuan had
managed to break the first spell on Tianlang-jun. Leaving him with forty eight more spells to tackle
while giving Tianlang-jun a very slight increase to his regeneration.

“Shixiong are you okay?” Shen Yuan asked as they both lay on the ground dead to the world.

“Huff… Just… Give us a minute… Huff…” Chu Yun managed.

Han Rei gave Shen Yuan another weak thumbs up.

Indeed, after a few minutes, Shen Yuan’s Shixiong were back on their feet and ready to go.

“Today we’ll be performing sticking practice.” Han Rei said with an air of solemnity. “Chu Yun
and I will demonstrate first.”

Chu Yun perked up at the mention of his name, “We’re doing sticking training? Sounds fun! Lets
go! Lets go!”
Shen Yuan sat on the ground to observe as Chu Yun and Han Rei took up stances across from each
other with their practice blades unsheathed. They touched blades with each other and began
moving to seek an advantageous position over the other without ever detaching their blades.

To be honest it all looked rather silly to Shen Yuan’s inexperienced eyes.

“This training will improve your footwork and teach you how to coil and neutralize attacks with
your Jian.” Han Rei explained as he moved around Chu Yun fluidly. “This will teach you the
importance of angles, the combat line, and how to vary the pivot point of your Jian to control your
opponent's blade without opening yourself to attack.”

Shen Yuan watched intently as Chu Yun and Han Rei appeared perfectly in sync with each other.
Neither let up in the slightest bit as they maneuvered their blades around. There seemed to be no
end in sight as both boys were very experienced with sticking training.

Finally Han Rei relented and allowed Chu Yun to take an advantageous position over him and then
detached his blade from Chu Yun’s.

“After you have mastered sticking, we will be able to move onto sparring. Advanced practitioners
of sticking are easy to spot as they never allow their blades to directly clash with each other. You
will strive to reach that level quickly or it will be beaten into you by Shizun.”

Nodding seriously Shen Yuan leapt to his feet to practice sticking with Han Rei as his counterpart.

Shen yuan diligently practiced sticking, occasionally switching up partners between Chu Yun and
Han Rei. He quickly got the hang of it. Shen yuan was able to draw on his experiences being
wielded by another. He remembered the angles that his old wielders would swing him at and since
his body was now better synced with his mind, he could begin replicating the same movements.

Shen Yuan didn’t have to spend as much time going through sticking training compared to the
previous two stages. Han Rei complimented him for being a natural at discovering different angles
because he had picked it up so quickly.

Then the day finally came. Shen Yuan could finally begin sparring! In fact he even woke up early
on his own for once, as opposed to staying awake all night so that he would be up in the morning.
Npc boy had instantly taken on a new faith and started thanking all of the deities he was
knowledgeable of when he witnessed the miracle that was a morning Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan excitedly made his way to the older disciples quarters and knocked on the door to Han
Rei and Chu Yun’s shared room. Chu Yun opened the door practically the moment Shen Yuan’s
fist hit the wood.

“Whats up Shen Shidi! Ready to spar today!? I know you’ve been looking forward to it!” Chu Yun
said excitedly

“Of course.” Shen Yuan said. It seemed that Han Rei was already at their usual training grounds.
Chu Yun and Shen Yuan discussed how sparring would go for the first time as they made their
way over to the training grounds. It was mostly Chu Yun providing tips for sparring while Shen
Yuan listened quietly.

Once they got to the training grounds they spotted Han Rei with two practice swords in front of
him. Han Rei was reviewing his unarmed forms while he waited for Shen Yuan and Chu Yun to
arrive.

“You have arrived.” He said as he returned to a resting position. Han Rei picked up the practice
swords and handed one to Shen Yuan. “Remember your training and you should do fine. Now.”
Han Rei took up a stance. Shen Yuan quickly mirrored him. “Start!”

A few minutes later Shen Yuan was on the ground with a black eye.

“Rei-ge you forgot to go easy again!” Chu Yun scolded, bending over to examine Shen Yuan.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to control my strength. Shizun scolded me for lacking strength yesterday.” Han
Rei said while bowing to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan just laughed from where he lay on the ground, he pushed himself up into a sitting
position and said, “I accept your apology, it's okay though. I’ve had much worse.”

“Perhaps it would be better for you to begin sparring with Chu Yun instead, his specialty is with
Qiang so he will not be as difficult as an opponent with a Jian.” Han Rei suggested.

“If you think that's a better idea, then sure.” Shen Yuan said.
Chu Yun pouted at the slight against his Jian skills but still brightened up when Shen Yuan stood
and faced him.

“Alright then! Let's do this!”

This time sparring went much smoother, Shen yuan could see what Han Rei meant when he said
Chu Yun’s specialty was somewhere else. Chu Yun’s style was vaguely reminiscent of fencing in
Shen Yuan’s opinion. Shen Yuan still couldn’t beat his senior though, but he did give Chu Yun a
good workout.

After several rounds of sparring they called it quits to have lunch.

“You performed well for your first time sparring. You have the afternoon off today, so go spend
your free time without training for a while.” Han Rei told Shen Yuan while they ate in the noisy
dining hall.

“Really?” asked Shen Yuan.

“You’ve worked hard these past months Shidi! You deserve time off!” Chu Yun chirped from
where he was slowly sneaking a piece of meat from out of Han Rei’s bowl.

Han Rei slapped Chu Yun’s hand and hurriedly shoved the meat into his mouth.

“Well okay then… Thank you Shixiong for the guidance.” Shen Yuan said slowly.

Chu Yun smiled happily while Han Rei gave a single nod.

Shen Yuan hurriedly bowed to his Shixiong as he quickly left the dining hall. It was time to visit
Qing Jing library for the first time in ages!

He ran to the rainbow bridge and dashed across it. He didn’t even bother to take in the sights like
he usually did.
Shen Yuan ran into Qing Jing like he was possessed. Several Qing Jing disciples who spotted his
white Bai Zhan robes screamed wildly and ran to hide. Shen Yuan slowed down and watched in
confusion as whole herds of disciples shook nervously when he walked past. Wha-? Why? Why
were they all so scared of him? Shen Yuan looked down at himself. He looked no different from
usual aside from a black eye. He could only shrug and continue on his way to Qing Jing library.

Entering the library Shen Yuan was greeted by wide eyed Qing Jing disciples. They seemed like
they would bolt at any second as well. Shen Yuan stared at them strangely before he found a table
at the back corner of the library to sit at. He collected a pile of books he wanted to read and began
taking notes on how to break multilayers spells.

Shen Yuan was so absorbed in his reading that he didn’t notice as a certain Peak Lord turned the
corner around a shelf and then froze at the sight of him.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know how to react as he stared at the miniature copy of himself dressed in Bai
Zhan robes reading peacefully.

He promptly turned around the corner and left.

Only to come back a second later to stare at the child once again.

He had of course, seen the child before.

How could he not have? He had sent a disciple to invite the boy to his own peak. Only to be
rejected for- for- for that brute’s peak!

In fact the first time he had seen the boy he had nearly had a Qi deviation on the spot.

The boy looked disgustingly similar to him.

But Shen Qingqiu had never slept with a woman in that way in his entire life! Sure he had visited
many brothels in the past during his disciple years. But that was merely because he couldn’t sleep
in the close proximity of so many, ugh, males!
He had never seen the child up close before though, it was truly disturbing how much they
resembled each other.

Shen Qingqiu flicked open his fan and covered the lower part of his face with it as he frowned.

Recently many of his disciples had been unsubtly asking him if he had any children.

So this was why.

He took a step closer to the child, examining him closely, “How surprising. So the rumors were
true… To think that there would be a Bai Zhan beast capable of reading.” He said.

The child looked up at him and froze. They stared at him blankly with dead eyes.

Shen Qingqiu could clearly read the confusion and surprise in those eyes.

He narrowed his eyes at the child. Now that he had a closer look at the child...

The absolute worst thing about this child sitting in front of him… The worst thing…

Were those disgustingly haunted dead eyes.

The child looked as if he hadn’t smiled properly in a thousand years. It was disconcertingly
familiar, especially with that face and those bruises.

Shen Qingqiu snarled behind his fan.

The child seemed to realize he was staring, he hurriedly stood up and saluted Shen Qingqiu and
said, “This disciple greets Peak Lord Shen.”
Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and placed it coolly into his left hand. He stared down at the
child with a cold glare, “What ever is a Bai Zhan disciple doing in my Qing Jing library?”

“This disciple merely wishes to expand his knowledge, Qing Jing library was said to be open to all
Cang Qiong disciples.” The child said in a respectful tone.

“If you ‘wanted to expand your knowledge’ as you so put it, then why did you reject your invitation
to Qing Jing?” Shen Qingqiu asked coldly. He still bitterly remembered the slight against him,
even to this day.

“This disciple also wishes to learn true swordsmanship.” The child answered easily.

Shen Qingqiu lifted his nose into the air condescendingly, “Was this disciple not aware that Qing
Jing also teaches swordsmanship?”

The child blinked, “This disciple was told by a friend that the best place to learn swordsmanship
would be Bai Zhan Peak.”

Shen Qingqiu snorted, “Well. Your friend is wrong.”

The child tilted his head to the side curiously.

“Hmph.” Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t bother with this uneducated brute. This child would be no
different from the other beasts raised on Bai Zhan. It was a pity that they had chosen Bai Zhan
instead of Qing Jing, but it would be none of his business.

Shen Qingqiu sniffed haughtily and sneered at the child, then he swept away without another
word.

‘ Wow what an asshole.’ Shen Yuan thought.

The moment he laid eyes on the man Shen Yuan thought he was looking into a mirror. If the
mirror had an ugly sneer pasted across its face that is. The man was beautiful though, and dressed
handsomely in green and white flowing robes. He radiated elegance and disdain like a stench. But
 wow was he blunt and rude.

At first Shen Yuan hadn’t recognized the Lord of Qing Jing but now he could understand why Liu
Qingge thought he was related to the man, names aside. They really did look like two peas in a pod.
If Shen Yuan had been in his normal appearance and not this deaged version perhaps it would have
been impossible to tell the two apart.

Shen Yuan took a moment to think.

It was strange to realize he had just met the very first villain of PIDW. Oddly enough, that hadn’t
been as bad as he was expecting it to be…

He had expected way more coldness and sneering. Not that this Shen Qingqiu had lacked that or
anything. It's just that Shen Yuan almost expected bad cartoon levels of evilness to be literally
radiating off the man. But there wasn’t, he could have just been any other normal asshole
cultivator.

It was strange to think that this one man could cause the creation of the ultimate demon lord.

‘For want of a nail I guess…’ Shen Yuan thought idly.

Then his head shot up in thought. ‘ For want of a nail… Could I make it so that the protagonist
doesn’t have as bad of a time here? Could I change the canon to make it better? But how would I
be able to affect Shen Qingqiu? Would it be enough to try and stop the bullying on Qing Jing?
How do I do that as a Bai Zhan disciple though? SHould I have really gone to Qing Jing? Wait. Do
I even want to be involved in the protagonist’s story??? This needs more thought. I can’t be too
hasty. One thing at a time. I have to free Tianlang-jun first after all.’

Shen Yuan firmly nodded to himself, then returned to his rudely interrupted reading session.

Chapter End Notes

I finished my essay \( 'u' )/ yeeeeee. Also remember when I said I couldn't update
everyday? Lmao. Oops. Tfw irregular update schedule
 Blades And Books
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan visits TLJ and interacts with people?

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 26: Blades And Books

Shen Yuan smiled faintly as the 48th spell on Tianlang-jun fizzled out of existence.

Tianlang-jun hummed thoughtfully as he watched and felt the spell dissolve. He stretched his neck
slightly and peered down at himself.

“Not much change, but I can feel the weight slowly lifting.” Tianlang-jun observed.

“I’ll be back soon for the 47th spell. We’ll have you out of here in no time at all.” Shen Yuan told
Tianlang-jun as he packed up his spell supplies.

“Yes, yes. Thank you for your hard work master Shen. But next time could you bring the The
Romance of the Moonlit Butterflies with you when you come to visit? Zhuzhi Lang can’t seem to
find it in any of the bookstores around here.” Tianlang-jun asked casually.

Shen Yuan made a face at the request but he nodded anyway. He would pick up the book later at a
shop in the town at the base of Cang Qiong with Tianlang-jun’s appearance. He refused to be seen
walking into a store and buying such a novel with his own face.

“Aside from the books, how have you been recently?” Shen Yuan asked in concern.

“I’ve told you before haven’t I? I’m vibing.”

Shen Yuan face palmed. “Right. Of course. I’m sorry for even asking.”

Tianlang-jun shrugged. “No need to apologize. Tell me how you’re doing at Bai Zhan recently.
You’ve been coming in here with more bruises. It's weird seeing you injured when you wouldn’t
even flinch with the strongest of my punches.”

“I finally started with actual sparring lately. It has been…” Shen Yuan sighed, “An experience to
say the least... Wielding a sword and being wielded as a sword are completely different sensations.
I hope that one day I’ll reach the same level as some of my past wielders.”

“Ah yes, you’ve had quite a few famous swordsmen as your wielders haven’t you?”

“Yeah… Being used by a skillful swordsman… It’s a feeling like no other. It's amazing to feel their
skill translated through your body.” Shen Yuan said, his eyes going blank for a few seconds,
“But… I don’t think I could ever trust someone to wield me ever again.” Shen Yuan shook his
head sadly. “It would be good if I could just use a doppelgänger as my sword. I feel like if I did
that, I would be able to copy my past experiences.”

Tianlang-jun stared at Shen Yuan and tilted his head thoughtfully, “I see…”

Shen Yuan nodded, “Other than that, things are going well I suppose? I haven’t managed to beat
my Shixiong yet but they tell me I’m getting closer each day.”

“They sound like nice people.”

“They are, they take quite a lot of time out of their days to help their Shidi.”

“Sounds like you’re doing well at Bai Zhan. That's good.”

“Ah. I suppose so.” Shen Yuan said, scratching his head. “I haven’t really interacted with many
people other than my Shixiong.”

“Why’s that?”
Shen Yuan shrugged, “Been too busy I guess.”

Tianlang-jun tsked, “That’s no good. Make some friends. Young people like you need
connections.”

Shen Yuan squinted at Tianlang-jun, “Okay. First of all. I’m older than you. Second of all. Why
are you acting like my parent? And third of all, I’ll be leaving Cang Qiong as soon as I get you out
of here.”

Tianlang-Jun just shrugged as best he could at Shen Yuan, “You never know. You should make
the most of your time with humans, they can be so interesting.”

Shen Yuan sighed and rolled his eyes. “Where is Zhuzhi Lang anyways?” He asked, finally
acknowledging the missing snake demon.

“He’s out buying more books.”

“Oh. Should I wait here with you until he gets back?”

“I’ll be fine on my own. You’re free to go.”

Shen Yuan pursed his lips, he didn't really like leaving like this, it was always so awkward. It
would also mean leaving Tianlang-jun to stew in his thoughts on his own too much. It couldn’t be
healthy for him.

“Seriously, you’re just like a mom. You can go.” Tianlang-jun groused.

Shen Yuan sighed again, he pulled out two fake spell seals from his pocket and slapped them on
Tianlang-jun over where the actual seals had been.

“What’s this for?” Tianlang-jun asked, looking down at it curiously.

“Just in case someone checks on you and notices two spells missing.” Shen Yuan said before he
ripped at the air. “I’ll get you your book, anything else you need?”

“If you could get the author's signature on the book as well, that would be greatly appreciated.”

Shen Yuan silently stepped through the portal without acknowledging Tianlang-jun’s request.

When Shen Yuan got back to Bai Zhan it was still the middle of the night. He casually let himself
up the mountain and slipped into his room. He nearly screeched and jumped backward in shock as
his roommate suddenly lit up a light talisman. He didn’t though and that's the important part, he
simply froze where he stood like a deer caught in headlights.

“Where were you?” Wang Cheng asked suspiciously.

“Ah. Uh. Why are you awake at this hour?” Shen Yuan asked quickly.

Npc boy squinted at him, “I got up to use the outhouse. I saw you were missing when I woke up.”

“Ah. I was. Um. Training?” Shen Yuan said rather unconvincingly.

Npc boy raised an eyebrow, “At this hour?”

“...Yeah.”

“Even after all the extra training you do in the morning?”

“.......Yeah…”

Wang Cheng shook his head slowly.

Shen Yuan sweat dropped thinking that Npc boy hadn’t bought his excuse. He hurried to think of a
more reasonable answer just as Wang Cheng sighed and said,

“Shen Yuan, you really are too much. You’re already so far ahead of us other disciples who joined
at the same time and you’re still pushing yourself so much. I can’t help but respect you. But even
still. You need to rest sometime don’t you?”

“A-ah… Yes! You’re right! I’m sorry for disturbing you! Good night!” Shen Yuan managed,
before stumbling awkwardly over to his bed and flinging himself onto it and covering his head with
his blankets.

Wang Cheng sighed at his roommate. He extinguished the light talisman with a flick of his fingers
and laid back down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling with his hands laced underneath his head.

He wished that Shen Yuan would slow down a little so that the rest of them could catch up. He
didn’t understand why Shen Yuan was so determined to improve at such a rapid pace. Shen Yuan
always worked as if he were afraid of running out of time. He also wished that Shen Yuan would
pay even the slightest bit of attention to his year mates instead of always trailing after their
Shixiong. Shen Yuan could stick around after lessons to help them out a bit more often… Shen
Yuan hadn’t even gotten to know Li Yue, the only girl in their group of new disciples. Li Yue had
even been endlessly pestering Wang Cheng for more information about his mysterious roommate.

Wang Cheng turned over in his bed to stare at Shen Yuan’s blanket covered head. He sighed again.
The dense bastard didn’t even realize when a girl was interested in him. Wang Cheng just might
have been the slightest bit jealous of Shen Yuan, despite having vowed to himself that he wouldn’t
be.

Wang Cheng wondered what the hell was going on in Shen Yuan’s head all the time. That dead
eyed stare unnerved him more than he really cared to admit. Combined with Shen Yuan’s drive to
improve his skills… It certainly didn’t paint a pretty picture of what might have happened to Shen
Yuan in the past. Maybe he had been a street kid? Nah… That would be too tame to be able to
produce that kind of look… A slave? Maybe…

Shen Yuan, meanwhile, had instantly blacked out the moment his head hit the pillow. He knew
nothing of his roommate's grievances and theories.

Wang Cheng turned over again to face the wall. Maybe tomorrow he could ask Shen Yuan to stay
after their writing classes to teach some of them how to hold a sword properly? Shen Yuan
certainly needed to interact with his year mates a lot more. It would get Li Yue off his back at the
very least. She wouldn’t be pestering him over Shen Yuan if he agreed to help.
Wang Cheng sighed one more time as he considered how he would wake Shen Yuan in the
morning. The water bucket had gotten old, Shen Yuan no longer reacted when doused with ice cold
water. Wang Cheng aggravatedly scratched his head as he tried to think up a new method to wake
up his troublesome roommate. He fell asleep with a variety of different half-baked plans running
through his head.

Wang Cheng had very strange dreams that night to say the least.

In the morning Shen Yuan woke up to a loud crashing sound by his ear.

He instinctively lashed out.

Wang Cheng stared in horror at the iron wok he held. Shen Yuan’s fist had punctured the thick
metal, rendering it completely unusable. He had barely moved his head out of the way of Shen
Yuan’s fist. Cold sweat ran down his back as he looked at the wok then at Shen Yuan who was
blinking slowly at him.

“Ah. Good morning.” Shen Yuan said blandly with his eyes still half shut.

“G-g-good morning… I-I have to go do something…” Wang Cheng stuttered as he swiftly

retreated from the room with the demolished wok.

“Huh… Okay…” Shen Yuan sleepily blinked again. Then he yawned widely and stretched lazily.
He got up and began running through his morning routine. He brushed his hair and tied it up, he
dressed in fresh robes, he splashed his face with some water.

Shen Yuan left his room wide awake and ready to face the day.

As he headed down to the dining hall for breakfast Wang Cheng suddenly dashed past him
frantically. Shen Yuan had just turned to ask why Wang Cheng was running when an angry cook
stormed around the corner holding a wok with a hole in the middle of it.

Shen Yuan quickly stepped out of the way as the cook spotted Wang Cheng in the distance. The
cook took off like a star athlete and immediately began gaining ground on Wang Cheng.
“I’M SORRY!!!” Wang Cheng shouted as he ran away.

“SORRY WON’T FIX THE HOLE I’LL PUT IN YOU!” The cook roared.

Shen Yuan watched in bemusement as the cook tackled Wang Cheng like a pro football player.
They rolled several times before landing in a pile. The cook got up and began beating the poor boy
over the head with the ruined wok the instant they stopped rolling.

Shen Yuan watched for a couple more seconds before he shrugged and turned away. He had
breakfast to get to.

Breakfast was pleasant. Shen Yuan saw Chu Yun running off with two bowls of congee, one for
himself and one presumably for Han Rei. Shen Yuan had himself some congee as well. It was
delicious as usual. He thanked the cooks for their hard work and then left to go to his writing class.

Shen Yuan didn’t really need the classes but they were mandatory for new disciples once they had
mastered unarmed fighting. He could sort of see why Shen Qingqiu considered Bai Zhan to be full
of uncultured muscle heads. The reading and writing classes were only really offered after a
disciple completed basic training. Additionally, Bai Zhan disciples didn’t often bother with any
higher education after they had completed their basic mathematics and reading/writing classes.

Shen Yuan was one of the first students to arrive at the classroom. He took his time picking out a
seat then sat and watched as the rest of his year mates filed in one by one. He didn’t recognize most
of them as he didn’t spend very much time around them. The girl he recognized as the disciple who
entered the sect after him took a seat next to him and shot him a beaming smile. Shen Yuan nodded
politely at her. Then Wang Cheng entered the room with a bruised face. He shot Shen Yuan a
positively hateful look, which Shen Yuan received with much confusion.

Shen Yuan turned to look at Wang Cheng in confusion as the boy sat at a table slightly to the left
of him. Wang Cheng didn’t offer any explanations, he merely continued his one sided glaring.

Shen Yuan pointed at himself with a raised eyebrow.

Wang Cheng nodded sharply once.

An older disciple then entered the room before Shen Yuan could ask Wang Cheng for clarification.
The disciple began class immediately, taking Shen Yuan’s mind off of Wang Cheng’s grievances.

They were then assigned to copying letters from a textbook that they received. Shen Yuan quickly
discovered that his talent with ink and brush was… Well… Nonexistent was putting it kindly.
Thankfully he wouldn’t be judged for his calligraphy any time soon… Shen Yuan shot a glance at
his fellow disciples' attempts. Their characters were marginally better than his own sad strokes.
The disciple supervising seemed sadly resigned to the universally terrible calligraphy. They didn't
say a word as they swept past Shen Yuan’s table with a single glance at his messy handwriting.

Shen Yuan looked down at his work. His characters were lopsided and the thickness of his brush
strokes were completely wrong. But at least the characters were correct? He sighed and took out
another sheet of paper to continue to practice.

Class went quickly after Shen Yuan began to simply concentrate on trying to perfect his stroke
widths. Before he knew it they were all being dismissed. Shen Yuan cleaned up his table quickly,
but before he could leave he was stopped by Wang Cheng.

“Shen Yuan, recently the rest of the new disciples have begun to receive weapons training, would
it be possible for you to teach us a few things?” Wang Cheng asked respectfully while gesturing to
a small group of disciples that had formed behind him.

Shen Yuan paused, “Eh?” He pointed at himself, “You want me to teach?”

“Please. We know you’re ahead of us by quite a way. If you could give us some pointers we would
be grateful.” Wang Cheng said as the group of disciples behind him nodded eagerly.

Shen Yuan shifted uncomfortably, he wasn’t really teacher material, “I think you should go find a
different Shixiong to teach you guys. I’m just learning myself. I don’t think I would be very good
at teaching.”

“That’s fine, we don’t want another Shixiong, they would be too strict with us.” Someone said
from the back of the group of disciples. Wang Cheng nodded along vigorously.

“It has to be you Shen Yuan.” He said firmly.

“A-ah. I see… Well then let's go to an empty training grounds I guess?” Shen Yuan suggested
hesitantly.

The surrounding disciples whooped and ran off to the nearest training grounds while Wang Cheng
and Shen Yuan followed along bemusedly.

Wang Cheng nudged him, “Relax, it won’t be that bad.”

“You don’t know that.” Shen Yuan replied tonelessly.

“Aw come on we won’t be too hard on you!” A voice chirped from Shen Yuan’s left.

Shen Yuan turned to see the one girl in their year. “Ah. Thank you?”

“I’m Li Yue! It's nice to finally speak with you! You’re so evasive!”

Shen Yuan scratched the side of his face and laughed awkwardly, “Uh yeah… haha… I’ve been
busy training.”

“So we’ve noticed!” She replied with a shiny smile, “You’ve been shooting ahead of all of us!
Slow down some won’t you?” She giggled.

“...Sorry I guess?” Shen Yuan offered.

Li Yue nodded brightly, “Mhm! Say, do you wanna go get something to eat together later?”

“Sorry, but I have extra training with Han-Shixiong later.”

Wang Cheng shot Shen Yuan an incredulous look as Li Yue deflated slightly. Shen Yuan didn’t
notice either of their reactions as he was busy thinking of what he should teach his group of
disciples. Li Yue and Wang Cheng shared a look behind his back as Shen Yuan held his chin in his
hand, thinking.
“Well that's okay! Some other day maybe?” Li Yue tried hopefully.

“Maybe.” Was the absent minded response.

Wang Cheng offered Li Yue a small pat on the shoulder as Shen Yuan walked off.

At the training grounds Shen Yuan first went over to a nearby storage shed to hand each of the
disciples a practice Jian.

Once everyone had a practice sword Shen Yuan began to explain how to hold a Jian properly. Then
he demonstrated the first five forms that Han Rei had taught him. Han Rei had taught him a total of
twenty four stances but he would be starting these disciples with the five most basic ones.

He had the disciples line up in front of him and begin practicing the forms. He went down the line
correcting what he could. He still firmly recommended that they find an older disciple afterwards
to help them refine the stances that he taught.

Mostly though? He was relegated to scolding the disciples for goofing off too much. It was the
first time some of them got to handle the practice swords. They played around foolishly, clashing
the wooden blades against each other in pretend fights. They laughed happily as they pretended to
strike each other down with the harmless blunt edges.

It didn’t take very long for Shen Yuan to get fed up with trying to control the disciples in a
civilized manner. They simply ignored his attempts to stop them from mistreating the blades and to
take the whole situation seriously.

Shen Yuan shook his head as he watched the disciples descend further into chaos. Wang Cheng
looked apologetically at Shen Yuan from the sidelines while Li Yue sulked quietly, poking at the
ground dully with her practice sword.

Shen Yuan took his practice blade in hand and swung it down furiously in an overhead strike
toward the ground.

CRACK!
The ground split and trembled under the strength of his blow.

The disciples that were fooling around stopped instantly to stare at Shen Yuan in shock.

Shen Yuan crossed his arms and leveled his best disapproving glare upon the unruly disciples.

He pinned every single disciple into place with the force of his cold dead eyes.

They trembled like leaves under the heavy weight of his eyes. They felt the cold brush of death’s
hand from the ice contained in that gaze. They felt the weight of a thousand lives snuffed out in an
instant within that frigid glare. They felt an eternity of pain and suffering locked into that look.
They felt as if death himself now sat amongst them carelessly. As if their existences had been so
meaningless that death hadn’t even bothered to collect their already dead souls.

Shen Yuan was completely serious as he delivered his next statement, “Fool around with these
blades and I will personally guarantee that you will never wield a real blade.”

The disciples all nodded wildly.

They were willing to do almost anything to get that cold deathly gaze off of them. A few disciples
had even fallen to their knees to bow in apology.

Shen Yuan relaxed his glare as soon as he saw that the disciples had understood, “Treat these
blades as if they had real edges. Now. Form one. Again.”

The disciples all scrambled to obey, Wang Cheng and Li Yue included. Wang Cheng’s mental
evaluation of Shen Yuan had changed several times today already, but this really took the cake. He
decided that he really didn’t want to know what happened to Shen Yuan to give him those kinds of
eyes. Li Yue on the other hand, was now completely infatuated with Shen Yuan. She immediately
decided that she needed to know more about this mysterious boy and how she could help him heal.
Because there was obviously something wrong with him for him to have eyes like that.

Unfortunately for Li Yue she didn’t get another chance to talk with Shen Yuan again. Shen Yuan
quickly wrapped up the class and reminded the disciples to treat the training swords properly
before he quickly ran off to find Han Rei for more sparring.

Li Yue pouted as Shen Yuan disappeared into another training ground. Wang Cheng sidled up to
her and asked, “So what’s on your mind now?”

She sighed dreamily and said, “Shen Yuan’s eyes were so pretty when he was mad…”

“....” Wang Cheng thought Shen Yuan was absolutely terrifying when he was mad. But girls
worked differently didn’t they?

“Han-Shixiong!” Shen Yuan shouted as he entered the more secluded training grounds they had
been using for the past week. “I’m here for our sparring practice!”

Han Rei stumbled out of a set of bushes behind Shen Yuan blushing furiously.

Shen Yuan turned to address him just as Chu Yun followed Han Rei out of the bushes grinning
dopily.

“Ah. Chu-Shixiong is here too? That's great. I was planning on asking you to spar with me using a
Qiang.” Shen Yuan said not noticing the slightly disheveled look both of his Shixiong were
sporting.

“I can do that little Shidi. But are you ready to get a taste of my real skills?” Chu Yun asked
smugly.

“I’m sure I can keep up at the very least.” Shen Yuan ventured.

“I’ll make you eat those words if you’re not careful, Shen-shidi.” Chu Yun said, patting Shen Yuan
on the head.

“Enough already. Let’s begin.” Han Rei said, dusting off his robes slightly.

“Who’s first then?” Shen Yuan asked.

“Chu Yun.” Said Han Rei.

“Right! Let me go grab a practice Qiang and we can begin!” Chu Yun said excitedly as he bounced
away to a nearby shed.

Shen Yuan smiled at Chu Yun’s energetic antics then he drew his practice sword and settled into a
basic stance.

Han Rei nodded approvingly.

Chu Yun came charging back with a Qiang pointed straight at Shen Yuan, starting the spar without
a single word of warning.

Chu Yun really deserved his title of best spear wielder on Bai Zhan. He was a master at controlling
the space around him. Shen Yuan couldn’t get close to him no matter what he tried.It was a nearly
impossible task for Shen Yuan. When Shen Yuan tried to parry the lightning fast spear thrusts and
get in close to render the range of the weapon useless, Chu Yun would whip the other end of the
spear around forcing Shen Yuan to back off into a disadvantageous spot.

Trying to go up against a spear master with a sword was a truly difficult task. But Shen Yuan had
wanted the challenge of an opponent that truly outmatched him. Losing here would be a valuable
experience no matter what.

After several long minutes of Shen Yuan trying and failing to break Chu Yun’s iron defense Han
Rei finally called for a pause in the fight.

“There’s something we forgot to tell you.” Han Rei said as Chu Yun took a seat on the ground next
to him.

“Huh? What’s that?” Shen Yuan asked as he nursed several bruises beginning to bloom on his
arms.

“You’ve been added to Shizun’s list of victi-ahem-students that he gives pointers to!” Chu Yun
chirped excitedly.
 “Already?” Shen Yuan asked.

“You’ve been performing excellently in these spars. You are ready.” Han Rei said solemnly.

“O-oh. Well thank you Shixiong. It's all thanks to your help after all.” Shen Yuan said modestly.

Han Rei gave a single nod, “It is still due to your own efforts that you have come so far.”

“Yeah Shidi! You got this! The first time is always the worst! It gets better I swear!” Chu Yun said
in encouragement.

“Somehow that isn’t very encouraging…” Shen Yuan mumbled.

“Aw! It will be alright! Trust me!” Chu Yun gave Shen Yuan a blinding smile.

Shen Yuan laughed awkwardly, he had a feeling that his first sparring session with Liu Qingge
would be rather… Interesting to say the least.

Chapter End Notes

I’m super tired. Haha. I met a guy named LuoBinghe in a game of overwatch and it
felt like fate lmao. Please feed me comments they help me write more thankssssssssss.
 The Development of Masochistic Tendencies
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan fights and fights again.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 27: The Development Of Masochistic Tendencies

Shen Yuan soon discovered that the so-called victims list was an actual physical list of disciples
who were slated to fight. It was posted on the outside of their Shizun’s house at the beginning of
every week. It was an ominous looking list written in red ink and forceful calligraphy. It honestly
looked like someone's cryptic dying message or a list of murder victims penned by a maniac. The
ink dripped in places staining the pristine paper with red spots, creating an effect similar to that of
dripping blood. The very first time he saw the list, Shen Yuan could just feel the cursed vibes
practically oozing off the paper.

Shen Yuan thought that this was all a little bit dramatic. He jokingly asked Han Rei and Chu Yun
if the list was written with the blood of Liu Qingge’s fallen disciples. Chu Yun laughed nervously
and stared far off into the distance while Han Rei gave Shen Yuan an extremely blank and
penetrating stare.

This made Shen Yuan feel rather optimistic about his spar with Liu Qingge.

In the days leading up to the spar with Liu Qingge, Shen Yuan practiced incredibly diligently. He
asked for even more sparring sessions against Chu Yun’s Qiang skills but he also made sure not to
let up his sessions with Han Rei. Sparring with someone using a Jian and someone using a Qiang
were two very different things. Shen Yuan did his absolute best to get used to fighting against
opponents with overwhelming skill differences. He pretty much felt like he was cramming for
some kind of test by training so much.

But even with all his practice sessions against Chu Yun and Han Rei, Shen Yuan didn’t really think
that this would be enough to prepare him. This was the event that all disciples on Bai Zhan looked
forward to with dread after all.

In fact when Wang Cheng heard that Shen Yuan would be receiving pointers from Liu Qingge, he
gave Shen Yuan a conciliatory pat on the shoulder and then promised to pray for him and light
incense in his honor. When Li Yue heard, she eagerly promised to help Shen Yuan patch up his
wounds afterwards. Shen Yuan thanked her but said it wasn’t necessary. He hoped that Shizun
wouldn’t hurt him too badly to actually necessitate help from another disciple to treat his wounds

Three days before Shen Yuan was meant to spar Liu Qingge, Shen Yuan was still busy practicing
against Chu Yun. Shen Yuan had improved explosively ever since he learned that he would be
exchanging pointers with Liu Qingge soon. Han Rei and Chu Yun were in awe of how quickly
their little Shidi was improving. Now Shen Yuan could actually give Chu Yun a bit of a workout
during their sparring sessions instead of always being fended off by Chu Yun’s superior range with
the Qiang.

Shen Yuan quickly rolled underneath a sharp thrust from Chu Yun and brought his Jian upwards in
a swift slash. Chu Yun had to lean backwards sharply to avoid the attack, but before he could pull
his Qiang back for another attack Shen Yuan swung his sword down on the Jian, trapping it in
place and locking them into a stalemate with an advantage on Shen Yuan’s side.

“Hahah! Good job little Shidi!” Chu Yun laughed happily upon seeing that his Qiang was stuck.

“Ah. Thank you Shixiong.” Shen Yuan said relaxing slightly.

Chu Yun’s eyes glittered.

Suddenly the Qiang beneath Shen Yuan’s blade jerked up and out from the pin.

“Oof!” Shen Yuan had the wind knocked out of him as the shaft of the long spear swept his legs
out from under him.

“You should never let your guard down until the spar is over!” Chu Yun teased standing over Shen
Yuan’s prone form.

Han Rei snorted off to the side.

Shen Yuan just laughed weakly and nodded.

Chu Yun offered a hand to Shen Yuan and pulled him up off the ground.

Shen Yuan stood and dusted himself off, then he paused to tilt his head at Chu Yun and Han Rei,
“Say, I’ve been wondering for a while… Who exactly is the best swordsman on Bai Zhan?”

Chu Yun and Han Rei shared an uneasy glance between them.

“Why are you asking?” Han Rei asked hesitantly.

Shen Yuan shrugged, “I’m just curious, I would like to spar with them to prepare for Shizun’s
pointers session.”

Chu Yun laughed awkwardly, “Ehehe that's probably not the best idea Shen-shidi.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“They’re a bit of a unique character…” Chu Yun said as he twirled his Qiang in his hand
nervously.

Shen Yuan tilted his head, “Is that all? I’m sure I can handle it.”

Han Rei’s face twisted uncomfortably, “Shidi, you better not…”

“Could you take me to meet them? I would really like to spar with them.”

“Shen-Shidi you…” Han Rei started but was interrupted by Chu Yun tugging on his sleeve.

Chu Yun leaned in and whispered into his ear. “Hey, it's better if he experiences it for himself.
Then he’ll know for the future.”

Han Rei pushed Chu Yun back with a faint flush on his cheeks. He glanced at Shen Yuan’s
expectant face, then he looked back at Chu Yun who had an unexpectedly serious expression on
for once. He sighed.

“Shen-Shidi, come with us. We’ll be going to one of the private training grounds for the older
disciples. They should be there at this time of day. Though first we should get Yin-Shijie to come
with us...”

“Yin Lihua?” Shen Yuan asked.

Han Rei sighed again, “Yeah… Well… You’ll see…”

Shen Yuan shrugged, he trailed after Han Rei and Chu Yun as they went off to find Yin Lihua.

She was in the middle of helping Shen Yuan’s group of disciples through a set of forms for the
Jian. Shen Yuan’s group waited respectfully for her to finish teaching her group before they
approached her.

Shen Yuan’s fellow year mates shot him curious looks, Shen Yuan didn’t usually come to observe
their class. Was he finally paying attention to them? They redoubled their efforts with their forms,
striving to reach perfection.

“Yin-Shijie,” Shen Yuan greeted after she dismissed her class.

“Shen-Shidi!” She smiled widely, “ I thought you had forgotten all about me! Too busy with Han
Rei and Chu Yun for little ol’ me anymore!” She teased lightly.

Shen Yuan lowered his head, “Ah my apologies Shijie, I have been working hard on perfecting my
Jian training.”

“It's fine, it’s fine. It's good to see you working hard! As long as you have been practicing your
unarmed forms as well, then it's all good!”

Shen Yuan nodded, he had been sure to keep up with every aspect of martial arts he had learned
since coming to Bai Zhan.
“Yin-Shijie, we would request your presence, Shen-shidi wants to visit them.” Han Rei said with a
particular emphasis on his last word.

Yin Lihua shot a glance at Shen Yuan and then looked at Han Rei, she stepped closer and leaned in
to whisper to him, “Are you sure he’s ready for that?”

“He pinned my Qiang today when we were sparring!” Chu Yun piped up from the side.

Yin Lihua leaned back with a complicated expression. She stared at Shen Yuan for a while with her
hand on her chin.

“Well… If that's the case I suppose he’ll last at least a while.” She mused. “Fine then. It was a
good idea to come get me. Let’s go then.”

Han Rei and Chu Yun nodded at her solemnly and they turned as one to head deeper into the forest
that surrounded Bai Zhan peak. Shen Yuan hurried to follow after them.

The small party headed deeper and deeper into the forest. This far into the forest the trees got
denser and denser until the trees gave way to a large clearing with a waterfall dominating the
middle of it. There was a large rock in the middle of the lake that the waterfall poured into. A
figure dressed in the white robes of Bai Zhan peak with their back facing the group sat upon the
rock calmly meditating.

“A-Yan!” Yin Lihua took a step forward and cheerfully called out. “There’s someone here to meet
you!”

The figure slowly stood and leapt into the air. They performed several elegant flips before landing
neatly in front of Shen Yuan’s group.

Standing in front of them was a petite girl with willowy arms and a kind close eyed smile. She had
adorable pigtails in her hair and she was shorter than Shen Yuan by an inch. She gave off a
refreshing atmosphere that relaxed you just by standing near her.

“Yin-jie jie who have you brought to meet me today?” She asked in a honey sweet voice.
Yin Lihua smiled and then gestured behind her to Shen Yuan, “This is Shen Yuan, one of our new
Shidi. Shen Yuan this is Zhao Feiyan”

Shen Yuan bowed slightly when Zhao Feiyan’s attention fell on him. She gave him a good once
over and a small smile began to form on her dainty lips.

“Zhao-Shijie, I hope you would grace this disciple with a match.”

Zhao Feiyan smiled prettily and clapped her hands together, “Of course! But only one round okay?
I have to get back to my training after all!”

Chu Yun nudged Han Rei, Han Rei nervously nodded back.

Honestly this should have been Shen Yuan’s first warning.

Shen Yuan nodded, “Thank you very much for your time and for indulging my request.”

Zhao Feiyan giggled lightly and skipped off to grab a practice Jian.

Chu Yun and Han Rei glanced at each other nervously as they watched her skip off.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all?” Han Rei whispered to Chu Yun.

“It's too late. She’s interested in him now.” Chu Yun whispered back.

Han Rei can only sigh. He closed his eyes to pray for Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan watched his Shixiong curiously, he wondered what they were whispering about.
Zhao Feiyan returned in no time at all with a practice blade that seemed too long for her. It
practically dragged on the ground as she rushed back over to the group excitedly.

“Alright! The rules are that we continue until one of us can’t move anymore!” She said happily.

Shen Yuan nodded and took a ready stance while his Shixiong and Shijie retreated to the
surrounding trees.

Zhao Feiyan settled into her own stance and shot a look at Yin Lihua who was a fair distance
away.

Yin Lihua raised an arm. She dropped her arm and yelled, “Start!”

The instant Yin Lihua’s arm dropped Zhao Feiyan’s happily closed eyes snapped open and bored
through Shen Yuan with a startling intensity. Her soft smile transformed into a feral grin with
bared teeth.

It was like a switch had gone off.

By the trees Chu Yun and Han Rei simultaneously inhaled sharply while Yin Lihua sighed from
the other side of the clearing.

Zhao Feiyan disappeared in an instant.

Shen Yuan could just barely react fast enough to bring his Jian up to parry a lightning fast blow.

Shen Yuan wasn’t able to take advantage of the parry though. He didn’t even have the time to
register what was happening as his instincts took over to block another blow for him from the other
side.

Blow after blow rained down upon him. Zhao Feiyan was an untraceable blur as she swiftly ran
through a long combo of attacks, never once letting up.
Shen Yuan’s eyes were able to track her movements perfectly. Simply due to the virtue of being
wielded in high speed combat for a thousand years. But his body was another story. He just
couldn’t move fast enough. He began taking glancing blows as he struggled to keep up with his
perception and Zhao Feiyan’s blinding speed.

Shen Yuan’s Shixiong watched in pity as a goddess of war descended upon him.

There was a very simple reason Zhao Feiyan sat at the top of the Bai Zhan hierarchy.

She was absolutely terrifying and ruthless when she really got going!

Shen Yuan struggled to keep up with Zhao Feiyan as she relentlessly pushed him back. She never
let up on her advantage and exploited every mistake that Shen Yuan made in his footwork as he
stumbled away from her. There were simply no openings for Shen Yuan to counter attack as he
was tripped up multiple times and forced to roll and recover.

“Is this it, worm!? Can’t you give me some challenge at all!?” Zhao Feiyan cackled as she swiped
at Shen Yuan with a sharp horizontal slash.

Shen Yuan narrowly ducked under the slash, he watched as the tree behind him that took the slash
in his place cracked and fell over.

Hey, hey. Isn't that a practice sword? Isn’t this rivaling some of the stronger demons his wielders
have faced in the past?

Shen Yuan desperately dodged her next blow, which sent a deep crack through the ground.

Now if he had his skills Shen Yuan wouldn’t be worried in the least. But seeing as he currently
doesn’t have access to them, and that he has no real desire to experience a broken bone. Shen Yuan
defended with his life on the line.

Surprisingly, he lasted much longer than any of the older disciples spectating the match really
expected him to.
“A-Yan! Stop! Stop! That's enough now!” Yin Lihua yelled as she tackled Zhao Feiyan and
stopped her from beating on Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan laid on the ground limply, beaten black and blue as Zhao Feiyan struggled underneath
Yin Lihua’s grapple to get back to him in the background. Han Rei and Chu Yun meandered over
to him and examined him with vaguely worried expressions. Yin Lihua had stopped Zhao Feiyan
before any serious injuries could really be caused so they weren’t too worried.

“You two… Should have… Said something.” Shen Yuan grunted out past a swollen cheek.

“I tried.” Han Rei says bluntly.

“Hey on the bright side you held out a lot better than we expected you to!” Chu Yun says slinging
an arm over Han Rei’s shoulder.

Shen Yuan only grunted in response. He’s not tired, he can’t get tired, but his body refuses to move
according to his will. His body will also most definitely be terribly sore by tomorrow.

If this is what the disciple that is the closest to beating Liu Qingge is like, then he’s not sure he
even wants to get up in two days to face their Shizun.

Shen Yuan sighed and slowly pushed himself back up into an upright position again.

By now Zhao Feiyan had struggled out of Yin Lihua’s headlock and returned to her previous soft
demeanor with her close eyed smile.

“I hope Shen-Shidi is alright. I apologize, I tend to get carried away sparring, ehehe.” She says
cutely knocking herself on the side of the head and sticking out her tongue.

“Ah… Thank you very much for the experience Shijie. I hope for your guidance in the future.”
Shen Yuan said from the ground.

Zhao Feiyan’s smile brightens and she nods determinedly, “Of course Shidi! I look forward to
sparring with you again!”
Chu Yun and Han Rei stared at Shen Yuan like he’s gone insane. He just may very well have.

“Y-you want more of that?” Chu Yun asked quietly. “Are you okay?”

“It's a good experience and excellent practice Shixiong. I’m sure I can improve quickly if I spar
with Zhao-Shijie in the future.” Shen Yuan replied steadily.

“Come on you guys, let's not disturb A-Yan’s training any longer, she’s entertained us enough for
today.” Yin Lihua said walking over to the three boys.

The three nodded, Han Rei and Chu Yun each took one of Shen Yuan’s arms and slung them
around their shoulders. They support Shen Yuan back to the younger disciple’s quarters.

“Seriously Shidi, there was no need to challenge Zhao Feiyan today, you would have done fine
with Shizun.” Chu Yun said as they settled Shen Yuan on his bed.

“I would like to be ready when facing Shizun though.” Shen Yuan replied.

“Shizun isn’t expecting too much from you. This will be your first time sparring with a peak lord
after all.” Han Rei said, crossing his arms by the door.

Shen Yuan shrugged, “I would like to do well, that's all…”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine Shidi! Take these next two days to rest! You’ve been training hard these
past few days!” Chu Yun said sunnily.

“Thank you Shixiong for the help.”

“Of course! Rest well Shidi!” Chu Yun said Han Rei gave Shen Yuan a short nod as he closed the
door behind Chu Yun.
Shen Yuan let out a puff of air once his Shixiong left his room. He just wanted to take off his seal
and let his injuries heal immediately. But that would be rather suspicious even for a cultivator.
Cultivators may have had accelerated healing compared to normal humans but there was still a
certain limit to how quickly they could heal. He rolled over on his bed to stare at the wall. He still
needed to get up for dinner later but for now a quick nap wouldn’t hurt…

Two days seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye for Shen Yuan. He had taken his Shixiong’s
advice and allowed his body to rest for a day then he returned to performing basic stretches and
reviewing all of his sword forms. Wang Cheng promised to help collect his body after the spar so
Shen Yuan was covered on that front.

Then the day was upon him. Shen Yuan would be facing Liu Qingge, Bai Zhang’s renowned War
God today.

Shen Yuan woke up on his own that day, an event which Wang Cheng shed grateful tears over.
Shen Yuan made sure to have a light breakfast in anticipation of the spar. Then he went and lined
up with a bunch of older disciples at the end of one of their larger training fields. The training field
was surrounded by spectating disciples, mostly Bai Zhan disciples who weren’t called for that
week or curious onlookers from other peaks. In the crowd Shen Yuan saw someone taking bets for
who would last the longest against their Shizun.

Shen Yuan had personally never participated in spectating their Shizun’s pointer sessions since he
had simply been too busy with training. But perhaps he should have come to at least one session
before his name had been added to the list?

Shen Yuan turned his head and looked down the line up of older disciples, he saw Zhao Feiyan at
the other end opposite to him. She gave him a happy smile and cheerful wave. Shen Yuan nodded
back at her. He didn’t notice as he suddenly became a new target for the glares of several older
male disciples.

A flash of light went across the sky and everyone looked up to see Liu Qingge fly overhead on top
of his sword Cheng Luan. The man descended in a graceful flutter of white robes and stood in front
of the line up of disciples sternly. He pulled out the list of disciples who would be fighting him that
week and began barking out names. The disciples answered him one by one with smart calls of
‘present!’. Shen Yuan was the last name to be called as he was the newest disciple to be added to
the list.

Shen Yuan vaguely wondered what would happen to the disciple who did not show up to the peak
lord’s sparring session. Would they be hunted down by the other disciples? Would they get
expelled from the peak? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t really care to find out.
Once everyone had been confirmed to be present Liu Qingge called the first disciple from the list
up to fight.

The first disciple was a burly male in his early twenties. This disciple lasted only two minutes
against Liu Qingge before he was forcefully disarmed and kicked out of the training ring. Liu
Qingge had an extremely unsatisfied expression on his face.

“You've been slacking on your training again! No improvement since last time! Thirty laps around
the peak immediately! And don’t you dare come back for dinner!”

The disciple sullenly nursed a bruised cheek before he ran off to complete his laps.

And so it went. Liu Qingge would proceed to harshly beat down each and every single disciple that
he called up before critiquing their form and then doling out some harsh additional training.

“Not Fast enough! Run fifty laps around training grounds 25 before an incense stick burns out!”

“Not enough strength! Extra assignment to An Ding’s store house!”

“No balance! Practice forms on the log stumps one hundred times!”

And so on.

Shen Yuan observed the man’s fighting style as Liu Qingge slowly made his way down the line.

Liu Qingge’s fighting style was straight forward and deadly. He returned attacks with a single
minded focus. He was a swift and striking tide that never relented. The man had honed his skills to
the maximum. A single leisurely strike from him was equivalent to three hundred strikes from any
other cultivator. His strength was overwhelming and his speed astonishing. It was difficult to think
that such a lithe looking man could contain so much power in his body. Shen Yuan spent his entire
time waiting looking for any weaknesses in Liu Qingge’s stances. Unfortunately such a feat was
impossible for Shen Yuan’s current skill level.
 When Liu Qingge reached Zhao Feiyan in the line up, his stern and dissatisfied expression finally
seemed to relax a bit.

Zhao Feiyan charged at Liu Qingge with a feral grin etched across her face without even waiting
for a start signal.

Liu Qingge easily received her strikes with an almost leisurely look to him. Zhao Feiyan blurred
out of sight to begin her combo attacks but Liu Qingge stood in the middle of the training field
utterly calm. All of a sudden his arm blurred and with a sharp clang! Zhao Feiyan was swiftly
disarmed.

“Not enough focus! Meditate more, stabilize your core! Your attacks are still too slow!”

Zhao Feiyan’s normal gentle smile reappeared and she bowed at Liu Qingge before she collected
her sword and left to train anew.

Shen Yuan swallowed. Zhao Feiyan was already frighteningly fast and Liu Qingge just told her she
was too slow!

Shen Yuan also wanted to protest the clear favoritism displayed here. How come Zhao Feiyan got
off without a beating when every disciple ahead of her had been left on the ground moaning
afterwards?

Shen Yuan could only watch in trepedition as Liu Qingge worked down the line to him. He
watched as money exchanged hands in the crowd of spectators and soon there was only a single
disciple ahead of him.

Liu Qingge dispatched them quickly with a distasteful look to his face. “Messy! Relearn your
forms!” It seemed that after he had fought Zhao Feiyan, his dissatisfaction with his students had
returned in full.

Shen Yuan gripped the practice Jian in his hands harder as Liu Qingge’s iron gaze fell on him.

“Shen Q-Yuan.”
Shen Yuan steps out in front of Liu Qingge. He ignored the minor slip up as Liu Qingge stared at
his face with an unreadable expression.

The ground was dusty beneath his feet, he could feel the midday sun beating down upon his neck.
His blood pounded in his ears. Whispers were rampant behind him with chances of how long this
newbie could possibly last.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath. Like this, on the edge of a fight with an overwhelming opponent.
Shen Yuan can almost understand Zhao Feiyan’s excitement and battle lust.

Shen Yuan’s dead eyes hardened into black voids and Liu Qingge almost felt a shiver down his
back at the sight of those empty eyes that seem to look through him, as if he doesn’t exist. Liu
Qingge cannot count how many times he has seen eyes like those in the corpses of his slain foes.
He didn’t notice the first time he saw Shen Yuan, but looking at this child now? This is someone
who has seen death and embraced it for what it is. But how can this child know anything of death?
Liu Qingge mentally shook these thoughts from his mind and settled into a mindset suitable for
teaching and sparring.

Shen Yuan took his stance, as did Liu Qingge. A moment of stillness passed, unbroken by anything
save for a single leaf falling from a nearby tree.

The moment the leaf touched the ground Shen Yuan exploded off the ground at Liu Qingge with
the fastest overhead blow he had achieved yet. Liu Qingge easily parried it and directed Shen
Yuan’s momentum off to the side, the practice sword in Liu Qingge’s hand swept around, aiming
straight for Shen Yuan’s neck. Shen Yuan flipped backward avoiding the blow and went in low for
another quick attack. Liu Qingge quickly brought his sword underneath Shen Yuan’s blade and
swung upwards leaving Shen Yuan wide open to a harsh blow to his side. Shen Yuan staggered
slightly from the blow but didn’t even flinch as he quickly recovered his stance and performed a
straight thrust at Liu Qingge’s chest. Liu Qingge twisted out of the way and retaliated with a sharp
kick at Shen Yuan’s mid section. Shen Yuan was sent flying backwards from the force of the kick
but he recovered in mid air and twisted his body so that he could push off the ground the instant he
landed to advance for another attack.

Liu Qingge was faintly surprised. Those hits that this disciple had just taken weren’t light at all.
And yet Shen Yuan hadn’t flinched at all and continued to try and press him. He smirked. This was
interesting. Then for the first time that day Liu Qingge took a step forward and began to attack his
disciple. All day he had stood in place allowing his disciples to attack first, he got bored quickly.
The only entertaining disciple he had so far was Zhao Feiyan who required some skill to disarm,
but now maybe another interesting one had appeared?

Shen Yuan was quickly reduced to desperately defending against an endless tide of attacks. He
parried when he could, blocked what couldn’t be parried, and did his utter best to dodge.
Continuing to receive Liu Qingge’s heavy blows would not be good for his arms. He could already
feel his arms trembling from absorbing the force of Liu Qingge’s attacks.

But the worst thing about Liu Qingge’s fighting style in Shen Yuan’s opinion though? Were the
feints. Liu Qingge didn’t use feints often, but when he did, they were unexpected and always
nearly match deciding. Shen Yuan narrowly avoided semi-deadly swings meant to cause serious
physical harm by the skin of his teeth.

Shen Yuan wished that he had access to his skills while sparring with Liu Qingge. Then he
wouldn’t be falling for Liu Qingge’s feints. He couldn’t fall for them. Not with a danger sense skill
screaming at the back of his mind, telling him what attacks were dangerous and what attacks
weren’t.

Shen Yuan mentally sighed as he was sent flying through the air with a harsh blow that knocked
him off his feet.

Though the more he thought about it the happier he was that his skills had been sealed off. After
all, having access to his skills would be a bit like using a crutch wouldn’t it? He wouldn’t ever
really improve if he relied on his skills all the time. He missed them dearly but living without them
had honed his own personal skills.

But it sure hadn’t honed his landing skills!

“Oof!” Shen Yuan crashed into the side of a tree and slowly slid down the trunk.

Liu Qingge ruthlessly pointed at him with his practice sword and said, “Get up Shen Qin-Yuan!
We’re not done just yet!”

Shen Yuan noted the name slip once again and he mentally cursed Shen Qingqiu. Why did the man
have to look so similar to him? And was Liu Qingge taking out his frustrations on Shen Qingqiu on
him? He was certainly putting more effort into this spar with Shen Yuan than he had with some of
the other disciples.

Shen Yuan stood without protest, he didn’t notice the satisfied gleam to Liu Qingge’s eyes as he
got up without trouble though. Shen Yuan was busy correcting his form and assessing his
opponent’s stance for openings.
 Liu Qingge advanced once again, cornering Shen Yuan against the tree. Shen Yuan jumped up and
kicked off the tree, flipping over Liu Qingge and simultaneously slashing downwards in hopes of
getting the man to back off. Liu Qingge blocked the desperate slash. He twisted and flicked his
wrist and his blade came flying towards Shen Yuan while he was still in midair. Shen Yuan
twisted mid air and used his blade to deflect the flying sword. Liu Qingge made a hand seal and the
practice blade spun through the air boomeranging back at Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan landed and
ducked underneath the spinning blade which quickly returned to its owner’s hands. Liu Qingge
didn’t give Shen Yuan a chance to catch his breath, he followed up with a complicated series of
blows that Shen Yuan couldn’t completely avoid.

Shen Yuan weathered the blows as best he could, but he knew that had Liu Qingge been using a
real blade he would have died a hundred times over already.

Shen Yuan was left on the ground twitching pathetically as Liu Qingge’s series of attacks finally
ended.

Liu Qingge’s gaze was assessing as he stared at Shen Yuan. This boy had just lasted ten minutes
against him, and it was his first spar as well. A talent worth nurturing.

“Movement needs more refining! Practice your forms five hundred times atop the bamboo poles!”
Liu Qingge barked out.

Shen Yuan nodded tiredly from where he laid prone on the ground. He couldn’t move any more.
Luckily this was roughly in line with what he expected of a spar with Liu Qingge after his
experience with Zhao Feiyan. Wang Cheng would be around to haul his corpse to bed later.

For now.

Shen Yuan simply passed out like a light where he lay on the dusty ground.

Chapter End Notes

I’m super duper tired but here’s a chapter for you all anyways! updates might have
longer breaks in between now cuz class work. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I thank everyone
who has been leaving me wonderful comments I love you all. Please keep feeding me.
 Bamboo And Conversations
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan talks with people.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 28: Bamboo And Conversations

“Shidi… Don’t you think that's enough for today!?” Chu Yun hesitantly called up to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan ignored Chu Yun as he calmly moved through another set of movements. He stepped
to the next thin and wobbling bamboo pole to continue his forms. He swayed in an opposite
direction to the wobbling pole and stabbed at the air with his practice Jian.

Shen Yuan had long passed the required five hundred forms that Liu Qingge had demanded of him
but he was still going. In the beginning, performing his sword forms on top of the unstable bamboo
poles had been nearly impossible. Shen Yuan had fallen an uncountable amount of times as he
struggled to balance and simultaneously maintain strength in his core to manage his forms. But
now? It was like performing his forms on normal stable ground again.

Chu Yun glanced at Han Rei helplessly as Shen Yuan continued his increasingly graceful and
almost dance-like movements nearly twenty feet off the ground.

It was truly beginning to get a little ridiculous how fast the boy was improving. He had started at
the break of dawn barely able to take a step on the swaying bamboo poles without wildly flailing
his arms. But now Shen Yuan was sure footed and steady as he controlled himself through the
most complicated of his sword forms.

Han Rei stared up at Shen Yuan’s determined face thoughtfully, “Shen Yuan. If you don’t come
down this instant, no one will save you any dinner.”

Shen Yuan instantly hopped off the bamboo poles and dashed up to his Shixiong.
“Shixiong! That's so mean! Please be a little more considerate of your little Shidi! I need food to
live!” He whined.

Han Rei bopped Shen Yuan on the head, ignoring the boy’s puppy eyes, “So does everyone else!
Don’t make us wait for you next time!”

Chu Yun just laughed heartily next to Han Rei, “Come on Shidi! You’ve trained enough today!
Let's go get some food! I’m not even sure if you’ve had lunch today!”

Shen Yuan opened his mouth to state otherwise but then snapped his mouth shut. He lowered his
head and touched his chin, did he have lunch today? He had been so wrapped up in trying to
perfect his forms according to Liu Qingge’s instructions he wasn’t sure if he had taken a break.
Most likely not though…

Shen Yuan shrugged, “I got wrapped up in training.” He said as he put away his practice blade and
began to follow his Shixiong back to the dining hall.

“Yeah we could tell!” Chu Yun said cheerfully, slapping Shen Yuan on the back.

Shen Yuan stumbled forward under the force of the slap and turned to pout at Chu Yun.

Chu Yun only grinned teasingly back at Shen Yuan, “Seriously Shidi you’re so wrapped up in
training! Make sure you get some rest!”

Shen Yuan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Ah yeah, sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to us? Apologize to yourself.” Han Rei scolded.

“I really feel fine though!”

“There's such a thing as training too much. You can hurt yourself like that. You need rest. You’ve
already impressed our Shizun.” said Han Rei.
Shen Yuan was surprised. “What? Really? How do you know?”

Han Rei sighed, “You were the only disciple that he attacked without waiting to be attacked first. It
means he likes you.”

“Oh…” Shen Yuan paused to think about his spar, “I thought he was taking out his anger on me.”

“Now why would you think that?” asked Han Rei, confused.

Shen Yuan shrugged again, “Shizun doesn’t seem to get along well with Peak Lord Shen after
all.”

Han Rei and Chu Yun shared a look over Shen Yuan’s head. An unspoken conversation passed
between them through copious eyebrow movements.

“Is there a reason Shizun’s feud with Peak Lord Shen would affect you?” Han Rei asked
diplomatically.

Shen Yuan frowned, “It’s just that I thought that Shizun was taking out his anger towards Peak
Lord Shen on me instead.”

“Oh I see.” Han Rei said.

Chu Yun leaned in to whisper in Han Rei’s ear, “Is Shen Yuan Peak Lord Shen’s son? They share
the same name and appearance after all.”

Han Rei turned to whisper back, “But if that were the case why would Shen Yuan be on Bai Zhan
instead of Qing Jing?”

“Maybe that's part of the reason Shen Yuan thinks Shizun is mad at him?”

“But Shizun isn’t so petty to take out his anger towards someone on their son.”
“You never know...”

“You could be right... Is it possible that Peak Lord Shen refuses to acknowledge his son? That may
be why Shen Yuan is here in Bai Zhan. Maybe Shizun doesn’t like that the responsibility has been
given to him?”

“Could be…”

“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Shen Yuan asked, turning around and looking at his
Shixiong curiously.

“Ah. Nothing. Don’t worry about it Shidi. Just some recent gossip from the other peaks.” Han Rei
said patting Shen Yuan on the head.

“Oh. Okay… I wonder if I’ll be on Shizun’s list again next week.”

‘Hm… That depends, Shidi. Shizun doesn’t usually call for the new disciples two times in a row.
He wants to give you time to improve before your next spar after all.” Han Rei replied.

“I see. That makes sense. How often does he call on the older disciples then?”

“It really depends on your progress during the spars! But you generally get picked every other
week. If you do good then you’ll be called more often. Zhao-shijie always gets called to fight
because Shizun gets bored. If you don't improve then Shizun assigns you harsher punishments.”
Chu Yun answered happily.

“So if you fight more, then it means Shizun likes you?” Shen Yuan asked.

“Yep! Incidentally I get called pretty often because Shizun likes my Qiang skills!” Chu Yun said,
giving Shen Yuan a thumbs up.

Shen Yuan nodded at Chu Yun and looked at Han Rei curiously.
“I’m every other week. Shizun appreciates my skill with a variety of weapons.” Han Rei said,
answering Shen Yuan’s questioning gaze.

“Ah. I understand.”

“Oh! Shidi hasn’t seen the monthly battles yet either!” Chu Yun exclaimed, hitting his palm with a
fist.

“Monthly battles?” Shen Yuan asked, tilting his head.

“You were too busy with training! You haven’t even seen Shizun take on all of the disciples he
picks for weekly pointers all at once. It's basically one big brawl, every disciple versus Shizun by
himself! It's really quite an experience hahaha!” Chu Yun laughed.

“Basically, Shizun beats up everyone on Bai Zhan and then tells us all we need more training
every month.” Han Rei said dully.

“Sounds like something I should have noticed then…” Shen Yuan mused.

“Nah.” Chu Yun refuted, “Everyone is usually too ashamed after the monthly beatings because
even with all of us working together, we can hardly put a single scratch on Shizun. So everyone
keeps quiet about it hahaha!”

“Wow…” Shen Yuan breathed out, “No wonder they call Shizun the War God…”

“Yeah! Shizun’s amazing!” Chu Yun said, proudly pumping his fist in the air.

“It just means we’re all too weak.” Han Rei said, pulling the mood back down.

“Aw Rei-ge don’t be like that!” Chu Yun said, throwing himself on top of Han Rei and mussing up
his hair. Han Rei squawked and batted Chu Yun’s hands away from his head.
He huffily straightened out his hair and gave Chu Yun a cool glare.

“Don’t touch me.” Han Rei said coldly.

Shen Yuan smiled faintly at the two. Really, such good friends. Maybe he should try harder with
Wang Cheng. He had carried Shen Yuan back to their room yesterday after all.

The trio reached the dining hall together still making small talk. They collected their food quickly
and sat down together at a table near the entrance of the dining hall.

“Say, Shen Yuan, have you decided what you would like to specialize in here at Bai Zhan?” Chu
Yun asked curiously while taking a bite out of a dumpling.

“I only really have plans to master the Jian, I don’t really have plans for anything else.” Shen Yuan
answered.

“That’s respectable, the Jian is a versatile weapon suitable for many situations, it is known as the
‘king of short weapons’ for good reason. It will take many years to fully master, you may not even
have time to branch out.” said Han Rei.

“That's true as well.” said Chu Yun, then he looked around the dining hall curiously. “And tell me
if it's just me… But aren’t a lot of people staring at us today?”

Shen Yuan looked up from his food for a moment. It was true, there were quite a few heads
craning in their direction. Several disciples were quite obviously staring at Shen Yuan’s group.

“Why’s everyone so interested in us? We haven’t done anything.” Shen Yuan asked, shrinking
down in his seat slightly.

“It's not us. It’s you.” Han Rei said calmly, ignoring everyone else and continuing to eat at a steady
pace.

Shen Yuan turned to Han Rei. “What do you mean it’s me?”
“Everyone wants to see the new disciple that lasted ten minutes against Shizun.”

Shen Yuan tilted his head in confusion, “Is that impressive? There were disciples that lasted much
longer. Like Zhao Feiyan.”

“Hahaha! Is that impressive he asks!” Laughed Chu Yun.

Han Rei put down his bowl of rice to stare Shen Yuan in the eye. “Shidi, most new disciples only
last a minute against Shizun for their first time. In fact it’s rare that anyone gets past their first time
without a broken limb. You probably bankrupted the gambling ring the An Ding disciples were
running yesterday.”

Shen Yuan blushed and lowered his head, “O-oh.” he said.

“That's not even mentioning the fact that Shen-Shidi has been one of the fastest disciples to be
added to the Peak Lord spars either!” Chu Yun said while chewing on a mouthful of rice.

Han Rei smacked his arm, “Swallow before you speak. That's disgusting.”

Chu Yun swallowed and laughed again, “Hahaha! Sorry!” He drank some tea then continued, “But
at the rate that Shen-Shidi is going, he just may become the youngest disciple on Bai Zhan to
receive his spirit sword and go on a night hunt!”

Shen Yuan immediately perked up at the mention of spirit swords. Was it possible for him to attain
a spirit sword?

“How exactly does gaining a spirit sword work?” Shen Yuan asked eagerly.

“Well, first it's up to Shizun to decide if your cultivation is at a high enough level to obtain a spirit
sword. Then you pay a visit to Wan Jian’s sword caverns. Inside the caverns are unmarked swords
that have been resting in the spiritual caverns for years gathering energy. You meditate inside the
sword caverns and attempt to develop a connection to one of the swords. Developing a connection
with one of the swords is a difficult process as you are linking your spirit to your sword. It can take
days for a successful connection to form. You open yourself up to the blades and resonate with the
blades, the blade that most strongly resonates with your spirit is likely to be your personal blade.”
Han Rei explained patiently.

“Huh… Okay. And what about night hunts? How do they work?”

“Ooh! Ooh! Let me!” Chu Yun butted in before Han Rei could begin to explain, “Night hunts are
when the sect receives requests to clear an area of beasts or demons that have been troubling
humans!”

Shen Yuan frowned subtly when Chu Yun mentioned demons but Chu Yun didn’t notice and
barreled on explaining.

“Shizun decides if you're ready to fight monsters and sends you out with a specially made group of
disciples from other peaks to deal with the issue. Though before you’re allowed to go out and hunt
you have to visit Hao Shou peak to memorize their bestiaries! Man, I had such a hard time with that
haha!”

“That’s because you didn’t study enough.” Han Rei scolded.

Chu Yun playfully jostled Han Rei’s arm, “Hey! It’s not like you memorized it any faster either!
We’re both muscle heads and you can’t deny that!”

“Hmph.” Han Rei pointedly looked away and plopped a dumpling in his mouth to chew poutily.

“If memorizing bestiaries is one of the requirements to go on a night hunt I think I’ve already
memorized most of the bestiary at Qing Jing.” Shen Yuan mentioned casually.

Chu Yun’s head whipped around to stare at Shen Yuan in shock. “What? How? When? Why?”

“I read the Qing Jing bestiary during my free time, I already knew most of the information in there
because I’ve had to fight a lot of monsters before coming here.” Shen Yuan replied absent
mindedly.

Han Rei and Chu Yun both stopped eating to look at Shen Yuan, then each other.
“Y-you’ve fought most of the monsters listed in the bestiaries? But you only just started learning to
fight after you came to Bai Zhan?” Han Rei questioned.

“It was mostly just me existing.” Shen Yuan said casually, eyes blank and a thousand miles away,
he was lost in all the times he had been used to slay monsters without control over his own actions..

Han Rei and Chu Yun shared a look again. What kind of life had Shen Yuan lived before coming
to Bai Zhan? Shen Yuan’s constant dead eyed look, his intense drive to improve his fighting skills,
his extremely skillful defense of his food, combined with his insane endurance and pain tolerance
and now this? None of this painted a picture of a happy life before Cang Qiong.

Chu Yun very badly wanted to ask what had happened to Shen Yuan but a glare from Han Rei
silenced him quickly. They communicated with a look and then nodded at each other, whatever had
happened to Shen Yuan before, it would never happen again. Not with his Shixiong around to
protect him. Disciples who had been eavesdropping on the conversation suddenly gained immense
amounts of gossip material. Whispers sprang to life all around them. Not that the three noticed.

“W-well that's one less thing for you to do I guess!” Chu Yun said, trying to bring the mood back
up.

“Mhmm.” Shen Yuan mumbled around another mouthful of rice.

“What do you want to do in the future anyways, Shen Yuan?” Han Rei asked.

Shen Yuan paused with his chopsticks in his mouth, “Well… I only had plans for mastering the
Jian, like I said. I don’t really know what I want to do after that.”

“Oh.” Said Chu Yun. “Well! I'm sure you’ll work it out! And if you don’t the sect is always here
for you!”

“On that note, what do you two want to do in the future?” Shen Yuan asked.

“I would like to achieve mastery over as many weapons as possible. After that... Perhaps achieve
immortality and teach as many disciples as I can.” Han Rei answered with a thoughtful expression.
“I think you would be an excellent teacher Rei-Shixiong.” Shen Yuan said earnestly.

Han Rei nodded, a faint flush growing appearing on his cheeks, “Thank you Shidi.”

“And you? Yun-Shixiong?” Shen Yuan asked, turning to Chu Yun.

“Hmm… I’ll master the Qiang! Then I’ll settle down with someone I like!” Chu Yun shot a quick
glance at Han Rei, Han Rei nudged him gently under the table with his leg. “Then I’ll spend my
time participating in night hunts to protect the common people!”

Shen Yuan didn’t notice Chu Yun’s meaningful glance, he just nodded, “That sounds like a very
good future as well.”

“Haha! Thanks!”

“Speaking of achieving things. Shen-Shidi, why do you seem so intent on improving so quickly? I
haven’t met anyone else quite so driven.” Han Rei asked gently.

Shen Yuan scratched the back of his head, “I have something I need to do as soon as possible.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah… I need to help a friend as quickly as I can. They’re stuck in a pretty bad situation and I’m
doing what I can to save them.”

“Your friend must be very lucky to have someone like you on their side.” Said Han Rei solemnly.

“I don’t know about that…” Shen Yuan said looking down at his bowl of rice. “I feel like if I had
been a better friend… None of this would have happened…”

“....” Han Rei and Chu Yun didn’t know what to say to Shen Yuan, they didn’t understand the
whole situation after all. They couldn’t really say anything to lift the sudden depressive mood that
had fallen over the table.
Meanwhile Tianlang-Jun was busy sneezing his head off. “Zhuzhi Lang…” He called out.

“Yes Junshang?” Asked Zhuzhi Lang, appearing in an instant.

“My nose itches. Please scratch it for me.”

“Of course, Junshang.”

Shen Yuan soon bid his Shixiong good night as they all left the dining hall to return to their
respective dormitories.

As Shen Yuan was walking back to his dorm several disciples who had been lurking around the
outside of the dining hall suddenly surrounded him.

Shen Yuan looked around him, there were roughly six disciples, all of whom were taller and buffer
looking compared to him. Shen Yuan stared at them all in confusion. They were mostly standing
around and posturing. It reminded Shen Yuan of stereotypical bullying scenarios he had seen in bad
movies in his old life.

He felt a light bulb go off in his head. Ah! He was being intimidated right now wasn’t he?

“So this is the upstart that our Feiyan Gongzhu has been paying attention to huh?” Said the tallest
boy of the bunch. He was square jawed and had considerably thick eyebrows, not the most
attractive person out there. He cracked his knuckles ominously and stared Shen Yuan down with
beady eyes.

Shen Yuan stared at him dully.

“Hmph. You don’t look like much do you? What exactly does she see in you?” The guy menaced,
stepping closer to Shen Yuan to get a better look.

“Ah. So this is the petty jealousy that a protagonist experiences in a shitty light novel.” Shen Yuan
absently said out loud.

“Haaaah? Hey, you looking to start something here?” The meathead asked looming over Shen
Yuan while his lackies tightened the encirclement.

“This disciple did not mean any disrespect, but this disciple would like to remind his Shixiong that
they were the ones who approached him first.” Shen Yuan droned.

“Looks like someone needs to take you down a peg or two!” The lunkhead yelled.

He lifted his arm to punch Shen Yuan but his sleeve was grabbed by one of his lackies.

“Hey big bro. This kid went ten minutes with Shizun.”

The first guy hesitated, then he pulled his sleeve out of the other’s grasp. “That was probably just
luck!”

“You know sparring against Shizun takes more than luck!” The more intellectually inclined
meathead said.

Shen Yuan just wanted to sleep.

“But look at him! He’s so scrawny! How could he have gone ten minutes with Shizun?”

“I don’t know man. But this is Shen Qingyuan! We can’t touch him!”

“What?” Squareface asked.

“What?” Shen Yuan asked.

“He’s the secret love child of Peak Lord Shen! We won’t get off easily if we do something here!”
“What!?” Shouted grunt number one.

“What!?” Shouted Shen Yuan.

Grunt number two stared at Shen Yuan in confusion. Shen Yuan stared at him with equal
bafflement.

Grunt number two squinted, then he tugged on Grunt one’s sleeve and said, “Come on big bro lets
go.”

“Tch! Fine! You!” Grunt one jabbed a finger at Shen Yuan, “This isn’t over!”

Shen Yuan blankly pointed at himself as the group quickly retreated.

“What?” Shen Yuan asked the empty courtyard. He received no answer in return.

Shen Yuan could only return to his room with a baffled look pasted on his face. He opened the
door to his room to find a jubilantly happy Wang Cheng who was practically dancing around a
small pile of money on his table.

“Ah! Shen Yuan! Just in time! Look at how much I earned by betting that you would last longer
than a minute against Shizun! I knew I could believe in you!” Wang Cheng said, sweeping his arm
towards the small pile of riches on the table. “I’ll split some with you if you help me with sparring
tomorrow!”

Shen Yuan stared at Wang Cheng blankly before asking, “Do you happen to know Shen
Qingyuan?”

“Hm?” Wang Cheng tilted his head at Shen Yuan, “Isn’t that your real name? Shizun let it slip out
yesterday after all. But its okay! Your secret is safe with me!” Wang Cheng said, pounding his
chest proudly.
 “What?”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone that you’re related to Peak Lord Shen!” Wang Cheng declared.

“No! I’m not related to Peak Lord Shen!”

“Yeah! I promise not to tell!”

“No you’ve got it wrong! I’m not related to him at all!”

“Yeah!” Wang Cheng replied enthusiastically.

Shen Yuan’s right hand met his face at a high velocity. “You. I don’t. I just.” Shen Yuan let out a
deep sigh, “Okay. You know what? Whatever. I don’t need you to split your winnings with me. I’ll
spar with you tomorrow.”

“Really? Are you sure you don’t want any of this?” Wang Cheng asked skeptically.

Shen Yuan tiredly waved him off and began preparing for bed. “Yeah… You won it. You keep it.
Whatever. Just don’t mention Peak Lord Shen around me.”

“You got it!”

Shen Yuan didn’t bother to respond as he laid down on his bed. Rumors were wild, man.

Chapter End Notes

I’m still tired af. Class work is getting to me man. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Thank you for
commenting if you commented. Thank you for feeding me. Please continue to ensure I
do not starve.
 Rumors And Hearsay
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan visits Tianlang-jun and does some sparring.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 29: Rumors And Hearsay

Tianlang-jun watched in bemusement as a portal formed in front of him and Shen Yuan stepped out
with an incredibly sour expression on.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” He asked as Shen Yuan crouched down in front of him and
pulled out a bag of spell supplies and began pulling out different materials.

Shen Yuan stopped rummaging through his supplies for a second to stare at Tianlang-jun. Then he
sighed, he sat back on his heels and rubbed at his face,

“Did you know that the Qing Jing Peak Lord, Shen Qingqiu, and I look remarkably similar?” He
asked, peering up at Tianlang-jun. “It's been all that anyone’s been talking about this entire week
on Bai Zhan. And somehow people think my ‘real name’ is Shen Qingyuan for some reason. It's
gotten into people’s heads that I’m somehow the unrecognized secret love child of Shen Qingqiu’s.
Who he then dumped the responsibility of taking care of on Liu Qingge. There’s also somehow a
rumor of a threesome between the sect leader Yue Qingyuan, Shen Qingqiu, and Liu Qingge
because of me? It's all nonsense but people have been hounding me relentlessly over it.” Shen
Yuan said, waving his hand dismissively.

“That sounds absolutely fascinating,” Tianlang-jun said, sounding extremely amused, “how similar
does Shen Qingqiu look compared to you?”

Shen Yuan transformed his face to Shen Qingqiu’s and looked up at Tianlang-Jun, he pointed at
his face and said, “He looks like this.”

“You didn’t change anything though?” Tianlang-jun asked.

“What? Yes I did?”

“Hm… Are you sure?”

“Yeah, his eye shape is slightly different and his nose is sharper.”

“How wondrous... Are you quite sure you don’t have any descendants?”

“It’s impossible for me to have descendants! I was a damn sword for over a thousand years! I don’t
even know if I can have children!” Shen Yuan exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“So it's really all just coincidence?”

Shen Yuan sighed, “Yeah… Kind of messed up isn’t it?”

“Very entertaining though. Please do tell me more about the love child theories. How exactly are
you related to a threesome between the Peak lords?”

Shen Yuan gave Tianlang-jun an extremely bitter look. But the man just smiled amicably back.
Shen Yuan held back a curse. Damn him. He couldn’t deny the man anything when he was still
strung up like that!

Shen Yuan sighed and began pulling out his spell supplies, “Apparently there are a variety of
magical plants that could hypothetically allow a man to give birth and/or cause uncontrollable lust.
There are also strange rumors of children being found in areas of dense spiritual energy after
cultivators have dual cultivated in the vicinity. ” He began slowly. Tianlang-jun nodded knowingly.
Shen Yuan shot him another sour look, “The current most popular rumor is that I was ‘somehow’
an accident of a tryst between Liu Qingge, Yue Qingyuan, and Shen Qingqiu. Either because one of
them was ‘somehow’ accidentally infected with the plant and they had to dual cultivate to get rid of
its effects. Or they were drunk and the plant was ‘somehow’ conveniently around to affect them.
Or something else equally as ridiculous and outlandish. Such as a child being produced out of
intense emotions.”

“I see, I see. And how did the three end up together? How is their compatibility? Why exactly are
you the result of this love affair? What traits do you share with these men that allows for such a
theory?”

Shen Yuan, holding back tears of blood, began to work on breaking the 47th spell on Tianlang-jun.
“I don’t know how the three ended up together. I don’t know how compatible they are. I know that
there’s apparently a rumor where Yue Qingyuan caught Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge arguing in a
brothel together. Apparently I share the sword skills of Liu Qingge, the masochism and
determination of Yue Qingyuan, and the looks and knowledge of Shen Qingqiu. I bitterly resent
whoever came up with the traits that I apparently share with Yue Qingyuan.”

“Why? Determination is a good trait. And you definitely are slightly masochistic too.”

“I resent that.”

“But it's true.”

“I resent that.”

“But it’s true.”

“I resent that.”

“So then you admit that you are masochistic?”

“No! I’m not masochistic!” Shen Yuan yelled.

“Denial isn’t healthy you know?” Tianlang-jun said wisely.

Shen Yuan lifted his head to stare dully at Tianlang-jun, “I won’t give you the book you asked
for.” He stated bluntly.

“I’m sorry.”
Shen Yuan gave a sharp nod and returned to deconstructing the 47th spell.

A moment of silence passed as Tianlang-jun watched Shen Yuan work. “So what else has
happened with you recently?” He asked.

Shen Yuan wrote a quick and messy character on a slip of paper and held it up to Tianlang-Juan’s
spells. He observed it as it burned off in a particular pattern. “Not too much,” He answered
distractedly. “I had my first spar with Liu Qingge, which is what sparked the rumors initially.”
Shen Yuan began drawing on another slip of paper, “Liu Qingge almost mistakenly called me Shen
Qingqiu. He ended up calling me Shen Qin-Yuan which was then apparently taken to be my ‘real
name’.”

“Ah I see. How did the actual spar go though?”

“I got my ass kicked for ten whole minutes.”

“Only ten minutes?” Tianlang-Jun asked incredulously.

Shen Yuan sniffed imperiously, “Apparently ten minutes was rather impressive.”

“To who?”

“To the whole peak apparently. It's what got me attention in the first place. Then the whole thing
about being Shen Qingqiu’s love child started.”

“Mm…” Tianlang-jun nodded indulgently, “But imagine. What if Shen Qingqiu was your love
child?”

“I already told you that’s impossible.” Shen Yuan replied in a clipped tone, still messing with his
spell array.

“No, no. Hear me out. What if someone took some of your resentful energy and put it in a human
child?”

Shen Yuan stared up at Tianlang-jun with a deadpan expression. “I would have known if someone
took my energy for such a purpose. And would that really count as a love child then?”

Tianlang-jun only hummed thoughtfully in response.

Shen Yuan finished one last stroke on his latest spell removal array and activated it. A faint fizzle
was heard and then the 47th spell peeled itself off of Tianlang-jun’s body. Tianlang-jun rolled his
shoulders and hummed in contentment.

Shen Yuan slapped another fake spell onto Tianlang-jun, “Alright, that's all I have for today. I’ll be
back as soon as I figure out number forty six.” Shen Yuan turned to Zhuzhi Lang who had been
standing quietly in the corner, “Here Zhuzhi Lang, this is the book Tianlang-Jun wanted.”

Zhuzhi Lang bowed slightly, “Many thanks, master Shen.”

Shen Yuan turned back to Tianlang-jun, “You have no idea how much of a pain it was to try and
get that damn author’s signature. I had to track the man through three cities.”

Tianlang-Jun was already engrossed in the new book that Zhuzhi Lang dutifully held up for him,
“Finally some good fucking food. And how sad. Zhuzhi Lang play despacito.” He mused.

Shen Yuan’s hands itched to rip the book out of Zhuzhi Lang’s hold.

Zhuzhi Lang looked remarkably conflicted and pitiful at the request, “J-Junshang… I apologize. I
don’t know the song.”

“How sad. Shen Yuan play despacito.”

Shen Yuan turned and ripped a hole back to Bai Zhan and stepped through without looking back.

Back on Bai Zhan Shen Yuan wondered what he should do for the rest of the day. He had quite a
bit of free time and he didn’t feel like visiting the library just yet. Shen Yuan shrugged to himself
and set off in search of Han Rei and Chu Yun to get some sparring practice in before he hit up
Qing Jing library. Unfortunately Shen Yuan couldn’t find the two older disciples no matter where
he looked, when he asked around he was told that the two had been sent off on an urgent mission
together and wouldn’t be back for quite a while.

So Shen Yuan went to plan B. Finding Yin Lihua. She was much easier to find compared to the
other two Shixiong as she was in the middle of directing the spars between Shen Yuan’s year
mates. When Shen Yuan appeared off to the side of the training field to spectate, his year mates
perked up considerably.

“Yin-Shijie! Shen Yuan is here! Can he join us in sparring as well?” Someone asked.

There was a chorus of agreeing sounds from the class and a few smiling disciples ran over to Shen
Yuan to pull him into their spectating circle. Wang Cheng happily clapped Shen Yuan on the back
as they herded him into the middle of their group. Li Yue smiled prettily at Shen Yuan and
fluttered her eyelashes, but he didn’t notice as he was pushed around by the other exuberant
disciples.

Yin Lihua smiled happily when she saw Shen Yuan being pulled along by the other disciples,
“Shen-Shidi! How nice of you to join us! Would you mind joining our sparring practice? I’m sure
your fellow disciples have much they could learn from you!”

Shen Yuan awkwardly nodded at the request, “A-ah. Okay if you say so…” he said.

And so Shen Yuan was roped into helping out with Yin Lihua’s sparring class. He was pitted
against every other disciple of his year and he sparred with them all one by one. Shen Yuan made
sure to hold back most of his strength so that the bruises on his fellow disciples wouldn’t be as bad
as some Shen Yuan had received in the past from Han Rei and Chu Yun. But he was still utterly
ruthless in defeating every single disciple of his year. These simple beginners were really no match
for Shen Yuan who had been constantly working with Han Rei and Chu Yun nonstop for several
months.

The disciples formed a pitiful groaning lump on the ground after Shen Yuan was finished with
them. Yin Lihua smiled and patted Shen Yuan on the head for a job well done. He hadn’t spared a
single shred of mercy for any of his fellow disciples, not even for Li Yue when it was her turn.

Meanwhile the other disciples were busy bemoaning the huge gap between themselves and Shen
Yuan. They resolved themselves to work harder. They couldn’t simply be left behind like this
without a fight! They had entered the sect at the same time! There was no way Shen Yuan would
be leaving them so far behind in the future as well!

Oblivious to the determined thoughts of his year mates, Shen Yuan turned to Yin Lihua and said,
“Yin-Shijie I have a request of you.”

“Oh? And what’s that Shen-Shidi?”

“I would like to request another match with them.” Shen Yuan said with a particular emphasis on
his last word.

Yin Lihua tilted her head and looked at Shen Yuan for a while. She put her hand to her chin and
hummed.

“Alright. I can do that. You’ve been training a lot recently haven’t you? It should be no problem to
have a short spar.”

Shen Yuan nodded enthusiastically, “Thank you Yin-Shijie!”

“Ahaha no problem. Let’s go then!” She says, pumping her fist.

Shen Yuan once again follows Yin Lihua to Zhao Feiyan’s secluded waterfall. Once again Zho
Feiyan is sitting on the rock in the middle of the lake with her back facing Shen Yuan and Yin
Lihua meditating.

Yin Lihua cups her hands around her mouth and shouts, “A-Yan! Shen-Shidi is back for another
spar!”

In a blink of an eye Zhao Feiyan is in front of Shen Yuan with a beaming smile. Her eyes are
closed as usual but she’s quite obviously trembling in delight.

“Shen-Shidi really came back! Usually no one but Shizun wants to fight me! I’m so happy!” She
says bouncing on her toes.
Shen Yuan bows slightly, “Seeking your guidance once again, Zhao-Shijie.”

Zhao Feiyan claps her hands together delightedly, “Of course Shidi! Wait right here! I’ll get my
practice Jian!”

She runs off happily and Shen Yuan is left alone with Yin Lihua for a few moments.

“She’s really happy you know?” Yin Lihua says with her hands on her hips. “Not many people
spar with her nowadays.”

“I can tell, and I can’t imagine why.” Shen Yuan says dryly.

Yin Lihua giggles, “If you know why do you still want to spar with her?”

Shen Yuan rubs the back of his head remembering the bumps and bruises he received the last time
he asked for pointers, “If she is the best swordsman of Bai Zhan, then wouldn’t sparring with her
soon make me the second best?”

“Oh hoh. So Shen-shidi has such high ambitions hm? I see, I see. But are you sure it's not for any
other reasons?” Yin Lihua sidles closer to Shen Yuan and teasingly pokes him in the side.

Shen Yuan tilts his head at her, “What other reasons would there be?”

Yin Lihua gives him a look.

Shen Yuan still doesn’t understand, he tilts his head the other way.

Yin Lihua laughs quietly to herself, “Never mind. There’s no other reason you would want to spar
with our cute sword princess.”

Shen Yuan looks at her strangely, “Is that what they call her?”
Yin Lihua just hums in agreement.

Zhao Feiyan bounces back into the clearing with her oversized Jian and takes up a stance.

“Ready or not~ Here I come!” She said happily. Her eyes snapped open and Shen Yuan was
suddenly met with the gaze of a true predator.

Shen Yuan only had a split second to prepare as Zhao Feiyan launched herself at him.

Shen Yuan leapt over a wickedly fast horizontal strike. Zhao Feiyan took advantage of how Shen
Yuan was airborne to launch a flurry of stabs towards him. Shen Yuan desperately parried but
Zhao Feiyan’s practice Jian still jabbed at his ribs painfully several times. Shen Yuan landed
messily, as he recovered his foot work Zhao Feiyan began to pressure him with a blistering series
of slashes.

Shen Yuan was quickly overwhelmed under the rapid barrage of attacks. He backpedaled quickly
to gain some breathing room but Zhao Feiyan advanced upon him just as quickly. Shen Yuan knew
that he couldn’t retreat forever, he caught a downward blow from Zhao Feiyan and deflected it off
to the side. Using this chance he performed a large sweeping horizontal slash forcing Zhao Feiyan
to back flip away.

Zhao Feiyan’s breathing was only slightly elevated from excitement. Her eyes burned into Shen
Yuan as she categorized the weaknesses in his stance.

Shen Yuan slowly maneuvered his sword into a better position in front of him. He felt just as
overwhelmed as the first time he had fought Zhao Feiyan. Her fighting style relied on superior
speed and overwhelming her opponents with an uncountable number of attacks. Her strength was
not lacking and her attacks were not light at all. Shen Yuan could feel his ribs throbbing in pain.

From their quick exchange, Shen Yuan finally reached a level in swordsmanship where he could
begin to understand Liu Qingge’s criticism of Zhao Feiyan’s swordplay.

If Zhao Feiyan were not fast enough she would not be able to overwhelm her enemy. If her
opponent were faster than her she would be pushed on the defense and unable to attack. And
finally, Zhao Feiyan’s attacks were extremely hasty. Consequence of the high speed which she
operated at. Her attacks lacked focus and could be rather messy and spread out.
Shen Yuan took a deep breath. He was not yet fast enough to be able to push Zhao Feiyan on the
defensive yet, he was not yet skilled enough to take advantage of Zhao Feiyan’s hastiness.

But he would be.

Shen Yuan charged at Zhao Feiyan with his sword held low to the ground. Zhao Feiyan crouched
and vanished in a blur. Shen Yuan pivoted and blocked a blow aimed for the back of his neck. He
received a harsh kick to his midsection and was sent flying. Shen Yuan hit the ground hard. He
was immediately forced to roll out of the way of a devastating slash from Zhao Feiyan that left a
deep crack in the ground.

Shen Yuan leapt to his feet and ran heroically as Zhao Feiyan shouted insults after him.

In the end Yin Lihua was forced to tackle Zhao Feiyan off of Shen Yuan once again.

Thoroughly beaten once again Shen Yuan laid on the ground staring up at the blue sky. He felt like
he had taken a step forward in his sword play by just identifying the flaws in Zhao Feiyan’s style.
He also felt like he had been run over by a truck. And then that truck backed up on him and
brought some friends to run over him as well.

“Thanking Shijie for her guidance.” Shen Yuan groaned from the ground.

Yin Lihua released Zhao Feiyan from her headlock and Zhao Feiyan stood and brushed herself off
as if nothing had happened. She smiled beautifically at Shen Yuan and said, “Thanking Shidi for
sparring with this one! Please come again!”

Shen Yuan gave her a thumbs up. Yin Lihua walked over to him to haul him up over her shoulder.

Shen Yuan thanked her as she walked him back to his dorm.

“No problem Shen-Shidi! If you ever want to spar our little blade princess again you know where
to find me! I think you’re good for her!” Yin Lihua said cheerily as she left him lying bonelessly
on his bed.
Shen Yuan passed out in a matter of seconds after she left. He didn’t even notice Wang Cheng
returning to their room in the noisiest possible manner. Tripping and falling and dropping a pile of
practice Jian he was supposed to maintain as part of his chores.

The next day Shen Yuan woke up to a bucket over his head and a spectacular amount of bruises
blooming all over his body. He had a nice black eye to go with his dead fish eyes and his entire
body generally felt like a mass of pain and upset. He groaned quietly as he sat up. Classes today
would be hell.

Shen Yuan stretched gingerly, he made an executive decision, today would be a slow day with lots
of reading at the Qing Jing library.

And indeed the day was slow. Time seemed to drag on and on during Shen Yuan’s calligraphy
class. Somehow class felt even longer than the thousand years he had spent sealed. He doodled
idly on the margins of his papers and stared blankly at his wonky characters. He wondered how he
could manage spell arrays when he couldn’t even manage to write his own name neatly. Another
one of life’s mysteries he supposed.

The math class right afterwards was no better. Shen Yuan just wanted to sleep through the entire
class but that would be rude to the tired looking Shijie teaching the class. She seemed resigned to
another class of meat heads who could barely put two and two together. Shen Yuan honestly felt
pity for the disciples in charge of teaching non fighting related classes to Bai Zhan disciples.

As soon as classes were over Shen Yuan rushed to the dining hall and ate as quickly as he could.

The books were calling! The wonderful wonderful books were calling his name!

Shen Yuan dashed over the rainbow bridge as fast as his battered body would allow. He ran into
Qing Jing. He ignored the screaming Qing Jing disciples who hurried to clear out of his way and
made it into the library at record speed.

He opened the door to the library to a heated debate between two groups of disciples.

“Fire heart striped ring serpents only spit fire if they have a rattle on their tails! If you think
otherwise then you’re wrong!” One disciple declared with one hundred percent surety.
“No! You’re wrong!” Another disciple fired back. “They only spit fire if they don’t have a rattle!
Su Xu said so!”

“Su Xu is a hack and has been missing for how long? There’s only fire if there’s a rattle!”
Someone else shouted.

“No! If it has a rattle it means its bluffing and has no flame!”

“You buffoon! if it has a rattle it means its warning predators it has fire!”

“No, the rattle means it's harmless!”

“It's the other way around! All rattlesnakes have poison so if it has a rattle then it means it breathes
fire too!”

“Actually,” Shen Yuan interrupted, “Fire heart striped ring serpents spit fire whether or not they
have rattles. You would know if you ever fought one. They shed their skins and lose their rattles
depending on the mating season.” He closed the door to the library with a sharp sound and glared
at the Qing Jing disciples, “And stop yelling. This is a library.”

Silence fell over the library as Shen Yuan calmly made his way to the back and picked up a few
books he had noted from the last time he visited. The Qing Jing disciples stared in shock at the
strange Bai Zhan disciple. Who was this guy to tell them what was actually right? He was just a
Bai Zhan brute!

The debate started anew as the disciples thoroughly ignored what Shen Yuan had said to them.
Shen Yuan simply ignored them and sat down at the same corner table and began to read
immediately.

Shen Yuan didn’t manage to read long though. A fan sharply slapped down on the table. Shen
Yuan jolted from the book he was reading to see a rather familiar face that was schooled into an
extremely tight neutral expression.

“You.” Shen Qingqiu began, he flicked open his fan and covered the lower half of his face with it.
 “Come to the bamboo house behind the north bamboo forest tomorrow morning. I know Bai Zhan
doesn’t teach anything worth learning in the mornings.”

Then the man walked away, utterly calm.

As if he hadn’t just ruined all of Shen Yuan’s plans for tomorrow. Not that he actually had any
though. But it was the thought that counted!

Actually what the hell did the guy want?

Oh. Shit.

Was this about the rumors?

Suddenly Shen Yuan felt an intense impending sense of doom. It seems that his peaceful carefree
reading would no longer be so carefree.

Chapter End Notes

Hello! I am le tired. Thank you all for the lovely comments! So many of you have
such excellent ideas that I want to shove all of them into my fic because they’re all so
good. Thank you all so much for commenting and feeding me! Please continue. I
thrive off of these comments and each one motivates me to write more.
 Realizing You Stopped Putting Memes In Your Titles
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan talks with Shen Qingqiu

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 30: Realizing You Stopped Putting Memes In Your Titles

Shen Yuan woke up on his own the next morning. His eyes snapped open and Wang Cheng just
barely stopped himself from jumping on top of Shen Yuan to wake him up.

“Why did you wake up on your own this time?” Wang Cheng asked curiously as Shen Yuan sat up
and climbed out of bed to begin preparing for the day ahead of him.

Shen Yuan brushed his hair lazily and absently replied, “I’m skipping classes today. Peak Lord
Shen called me to the bamboo house behind the northern bamboo forests today.” He let out a wide
yawn and tied his hair up into a neat ponytail in the same style as Liu Qingge.

Wang Cheng gaped at Shen Yuan, “Shen Yuan I’m so happy for you! You’re finally being
acknowledged!” He burst out.

Shen Yuan blinked sleepily, “What?” He asked, pausing in the middle of pulling his robes on.

“You’ve finally gained Peak Lord Shen’s attention! Maybe he’ll finally officially recognize you as
his son!” That's why you’ve been working so hard right? To get the acknowledgement of Peak
Lord Shen?”

“What!? No!” Shen Yuan shouts, suddenly wide awake. “I have a different objective in mind!”

Wang Cheng paused, he tilted his head curiously, then he whispered under his breath, “Teenage
rebellion?”. He stared curiously at Shen Yuan with a hand on his chin.
Shen Yuan can only sigh deeply in exasperation. Like this, Wang Cheng will only hear what he
wants to hear. He finished dressing and made his way to the door.

“You know what? Just please don’t tell anyone I’m meeting Peak Lord Shen today. It will only
make the rumors worse.” He said as he opened the door whole staring at Wang Cheng in
exasperation.

Shen Yuan then turned around to see a small group of wide eyed disciples standing in the dorm
hallway staring at him.

The disciples in the hallway quickly scattered into the distance at Shen Yuan’s black expression.

Shen Yuan’s right hand was once again introduced to his face at a high velocity.

Meanwhile behind him Wang Cheng earnestly declared, “Shen Yuan I promise I won’t tell anyone
you’re meeting with Peak Lord Shen today!”

Shen Yuan dragged his hand down his face and sighed deeply. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” He
cried out mournfully.

“Eh? Why?” Wang Cheng asked joining Shen Yuan at the door.

Shen Yuan sighed again, “Nevermind. Let’s just go to breakfast…”

“Oh. Okay!”

Breakfast was a quiet affair for Shen Yuan. He sat at a table with Wang Cheng with a piping hot
bowl of congee and a plate of crispy golden youtiao.

“Say Shen Yuan, do you think you’ll ever join us for classes again?” Wang Cheng asked, blowing
on his own bowl of congee.
“Hmm? Oh. I don’t know Wang Cheng, basic classes will be over soon won’t they? Then you’ll be
released to study whatever martial arts you want.”

“Oh! You’re right! But you should really join our sparring practices more often! The last time you
came was really helpful!”

Shen Yuan nodded absently. The noise level in the dining hall gradually began to rise as more and
more disciples filled in for breakfast. He mostly tuned Wang Cheng out as the boy began to ramble
on about how his classes were going and how training with the other disciples was. He complained
to Shen Yuan about his minor grievances with a couple of other Bai Zhan disciples who had been
paired with him for sparring.

“...And you should talk to Li Yue more often! Hey, Shen Yuan, are you listening?”

“Ah. Yeah, yeah. Of course, whatever you say.” Shen Yuan replied, cleaning up his empty bowl
and plates. Shen Yuan got up to return his used dishes and made to leave the dining hall.

Wang Cheng smiled cheerfully at the agreement he received. He too got up and began to clear his
dirty dishes away to bring them back to the kitchens.

“I hope your meeting with Peak Lord Shen goes well!” He shouted after Shen Yuan as Shen Yuan
left the dining hall.

Shen Yuan whipped around to yell at Wang Cheng, “Wang Cheng you-!” He abruptly cut himself
off, the boy had already run off to his classes. All of the indignant energy in Shen Yuan’s body left
him in a rush as he saw that the boy had disappeared.

Shen Yuan awkwardly stood in place at the entrance of the dining hall as disciples began to stare
and whisper while pointing at him. He ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner and
then set off for the rainbow bridge.

Shen Yuan could already imagine the rumors that would appear as a result of this encounter. He
just hoped that Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t flay him too badly during his visit.

He despondently walked into Qing Jing. Shen Yuan watched detachedly as Qing Jing disciples
scattered at his appearance. He still didn’t quite understand what was so terrifying about his twelve
year old appearance.

Shen Yuan wandered aimlessly in the direction he assumed to be north. He casually observed the
lush bamboo forest around him as he walked slowly. The forest was really quite beautiful, tall
bamboo everywhere with the wind producing the pleasant sound of rustling leaves. He breathed
deeply, inhaling the fresh scent of bamboo and earth. He wasn’t in a particular hurry to meet Shen
Qingqiu and he definitely didn’t mind making that guy wait for him.

Unfortunately, even though he was walking slowly, he was still walking. It meant that he would
eventually end up at his destination.

Shen Yuan stood outside of a quaint little bamboo house filled with mild anxiety over the
upcoming confrontation. He gazed at the house in trepidation.

He took a deep and fortifying breath and slowly raised a hand to knock on the door.

Knock, knock. The sound of his light knocks resounded through the quiet forest.

A moment passed before the door opened to reveal a cool and aloof looking immortal. Shen
Qingqiu stood there in all of his elegant splendor. His sharp green eyes glared down at Shen Yuan
imperiously.

“Come in.” Shen Qingqiu said shortly, leaving the door open and sweeping back into the house.

Shen Yuan hesitantly entered and politely closed the door behind him. The house was elegant and
simply furnished with elaborate paintings of the surrounding mountains. There were a variety of
scrolls and books on the shelves by the walls and a small table in the corner with a few chairs
around it.

Shen Qingqiu swept out of a side room with a pot of tea and gestured to the table, “Tea.” He said.

Shen Yuan quietly took a seat at the table and Shen Qingqiu poured him a cup of tea. Shen Yuan
tapped two fingers on the table thankfully and took the cup in hand. He blew lightly on the
steaming cup before sipping slowly at the tea. It was shockingly good, but perhaps he shouldn’t
have been surprised. It was the tea of a peak lord after all.
The two quietly sipped their tea, neither making any attempt at conversation. It was terribly terribly
awkward, in Shen Yuan’s opinion at least. Shen Qingqiu looked as cool as a cucumber as Shen
Yuan fidgeted uncomfortably on his chair.

“How has your training on Bai Zhan been going?” Shen Qingqiu suddenly asked.

Shen Yuan startled slightly and looked up from his cup at the Peak Lord. Shen Qingqiu’s
expression was completely inscrutable.

“It has been going well. I recently sparred with Shizun, he critiqued my forms and assigned me
extra training.” Shen Yuan answered.

“Mm. Yes I heard. The new disciple that lasted ten minutes against Liu Qingge.” Shen Qingqiu
calmly sipped at his tea.

“...” ‘Well if you knew why did you ask?’ Shen Yuan thought sourly. ‘Actually just why did you call
me here? Do you even know about the rumors surrounding us? This is bad for both of our
reputations!’

“What do you think of Qing Jing?” Shen Qingqiu asked, interrupting Shen Yuan’s thoughts.

“Um.” Shen Yuan started, “It's a wonderful peak. Truly deserving of its reputation for the peak of
scholars.”

“Hm.” Shen Qingqiu picked up the teapot and poured another cup of tea for Shen Yuan. “And yet
some of our disciples are not as educated as one from Bai Zhan. Do tell. Did you recklessly seek
out Fire heart striped ring serpents to fight? Those snakes do not encounter humans naturally after
all. Is that why you picked Bai Zhan? For more monsters to fight? Or just for more fighting in
general?”

“Ah. No. I had no choice during my encounters with the serpents. And Bai Zhan is merely a
stepping stone for a future goal. I generally quite dislike fighting.”

Shen Qingqiu paused minutely, then he put down his cup of tea. He stared at Shen Yuan as if
trying to decipher a particularly intriguing puzzle. His green eyes were piercing and Shen Yuan felt
as if the man would develop x-ray vision at any moment. Hell this was a world of cultivators that
could be within the realms of possibility.

“And what, exactly, is this future goal of yours?” Shen Qingqiu asked slowly.

Shen Yuan shrugged, “To save a friend in a bad place who once helped me out of an inescapable
situation.”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression didn’t change but something in his eyes appeared to have shifted
slightly. He leaned back in his chair and stared at Shen Yuan. He flicked open his fan and covered
the lower half of his face.

“What sort of situation is your friend in?” He asked calmly.

“A kind that requires me to gain knowledge and strength to free him.”

“And you could not have requested help from a sect?”

“I can only rely on myself to help my friend.”

“Why do you believe this? Why can’t you rely on anyone else to save this friend of yours?”

“No one would be willing to help if they knew who he was.”

Shen Qingqiu began fanning himself lightly, “Why is that.”

“A consequence of what he is.”

Snap! The fan flicked shut.

“You. What is your name.” Shen Qingqiu said, pointing his fan at Shen Yuan.

“This disciple’s name is Shen Yuan.”

A huff escaped unbidden from Shen Qingqiu’s mouth. He then stood and began pacing through
the room. Shen Yuan watched him curiously, the man appeared to be deep in thought.

After a moment Shen Qingqiu appeared to have come to a decision, he turned to Shen Yuan, “This
master cannot allow your insult to Qing Jing stand. I refuse to allow Bai Zhan to be known as a
better peak to learn swordsmanship compared to Qing Jing. I will be tutoring you in
swordsmanship from now on. You are to report to this house every morning for lessons. Your
afternoons are free for you to do whatever it is you want.”

Shen Yuan gaped at Shen Qingqiu. Hey, hey what’s with this development? Isn’t this the villain of
PIDW? Why the sudden generosity? What would he gain from tutoring Shen Yuan? What was this
guy’s angle in all of this?

Shen Qingqiu sneered disdainfully at Shen Yuan, “Shut that mouth of yours. This master will
prove to you that Qing Jing is just as capable, if not more so, compared to Bai Zhan. I will also be
teaching you some necessary life skills that I know Bai Zhan neglects to teach its disciples. Now.
Give me your wrist.”

Shen Yuan snapped his mouth shut and lifted his right arm hesitantly, he offered his wrist to Shen
Qingqiu and watched curiously as the man strode over to him and took his wrist in hand. He felt an
ice cold stream of Qi pour into him and circulate quickly through his meridians before returning to
Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened considerably after the short examination.

He flicked his fan open again and began to fan himself vigorously.

Shen Yuan felt cold sweat beginning to form on his back. Had Shen Qingqiu found the seal
holding back his resentful energy?

“You. How long have you been a disciple of Cang Qiong?”He asked Shen Yuan in an extremely
clipped tone.
Shen Yuan tilted his head to the side curiously, “Nearly a year now.”

Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose sharply. The fan snapped shut
again. It was leveled threateningly at Shen Yuan, resting under his neck just at his Adam’s apple.

“Then why is your cultivation still at that of a civilian’s!?” Shen Qingqiu asked harshly. “You have
ridiculously large Qi reserves for some reason but no cultivation so to speak of whatsoever! You
have been at Cang Qiong for nearly a year! Were you not going to save your friend? What effort
are you putting into his rescue?!”

Shen Yuan’s eyes widened. What? His cultivation was that of a civilian’s?

“What have you been doing with your cultivation manual? Is Bai Zhan so negligent with their
disciples to not have even given you a cultivation manual?” Shen Qingqiu nearly roared.

Shen Yuan suddenly remembered his cultivation manual. He had glanced through it once and then
disregarded it completely as it was composed of largely only meditation. He didn’t have time to
meditate when he had so much training and studying to do.

Shen Yuan lowered his head, “This disciple has been too busy training, he has neglected his
cultivation.”

Shen Qingqiu looked as if he would explode. Then he brought a hand to his face and rubbed at it
harshly in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. “You. Are you telling me you lasted ten minutes
against that brute without even the slightest hint of cultivation?”

Shen Yuan nodded awkwardly.

Shen Qingqiu simply stared at the inexplicable child in front of him.

“You have been training without cultivation this whole time.”

Shen Yuan nodded.

“Everything you have accomplished has been solely the result of your physical strength and
skills.”

Shen Yuan nodded again, he blushed furiously under the intense stare he received in return.

Shen Qingqiu took a seat in front of him again and downed his cup of tea like a shot. He put the
cup down and gave Shen Yuan a look. “Never. In my entire life. Have I met such an astonishing
and yet foolish disciple.” Shen Qingqiu began to fan himself once more, “You came to a cultivation
sect and yet you do not cultivate? You are well learned enough to study at the Qing Jing library
and yet you do not even have the most basic of cultivating foundations? How have you survived?”

Shen Yuan didn’t really know how to answer. He was pretty sure that last question was
hypothetical but it didn’t prevent him from feeling horribly foolish and embarrassed.

“This disciple read the cultivation manual and thought that it would be a waste of time meditating
when he had so much else to do to save his friend.” Shen Yuan said quietly with his head lowered.

Shen Qingqiu raised his fan as if to wack Shen Yuan over the head with it before he stopped and
retracted his hand. He poured himself another cup of tea and drank that slowly. Then Shen Qingqiu
sighed and leaned back in his chair. He observed Shen Yuan with a hint of disdain in his eyes. As
if he were looking at a particularly interesting bug.

“From now on.” He began slowly and deliberately, as if speaking to someone particularly slow,
“You will bring your cultivation manual with you to our morning sessions. And we will have you
cultivate before we begin any form of swordplay.” Shen Qingqiu rubbed at his forehead tiredly,
“Frankly it's a miracle you haven’t experienced a Qi deviation yet.”

Shen Yuan nodded minutely. Shen Qingqiu appeared to stare off into the distance for quite a while.
Then he shook his head. He turned back to Shen Yuan, “You are dismissed. Come back tomorrow
morning. Do not. And I repeat. Do not forget your cultivation manual.”

Shen Yuan nodded, he stood and bowed to Shen Qingqiu, “This one thanks Shibo for the tea.”

Shen Qingqiu waved him off with a careless hand and shut the door harshly behind Shen Yuan as
he left.

Shen Qingqiu went back to the table after Shen Yuan had left and poured himself another cup of
tea. He put his head down into his hands and took a deep breath. After a while his body began
shaking uncontrollably.

Suddenly Shen Qingqiu threw his head back and laughed coldly. What a ridiculous child! To have
completely neglected his own cultivation in favor training to save this little friend of his! What a
comedy! What a coincidence that such a child would have come to Cang Qiong! Were the gods
playing a joke on him? Wasn’t this just the most delicious irony? Had Qi-ge done the same thing?

Shen Qingqiu stopped laughing immediately. He sobered up and stared into his cup of tea. No.
That was impossible. Yue Qingyuan’s cultivation was stable and amazing as ever. There was no
way that man would have ruined his cultivation to try and save him. Shen Qingqiu’s grip on his fan
tightened.

He stood and began to clear the table of the tea supplies. After he had done so he retired to his
room and laid on his bed. Shen Qingqiu threw an arm over his eyes and simply laid there limply.

Shen Qingqiu hadn’t managed to get rid of the image of Shen Yuan’s dead dead eyes out of his
mind ever since that first encounter in the library. The child’s eyes taunted him at every moment.
Shen Qingqiu had spent weeks floating around the edges of Qing Jing library in hopes of catching
another glimpse at the child that looked so similar to him. He smirked slightly, his disciples had
been especially on edge around the library recently.

He didn’t know what it was he wanted to find in that child but he found that no matter what Shen
Yuan had continued to haunt his thoughts. He wanted to know what had happened to give that
child such eyes. He wanted to know if… If…

What did he want from that child exactly? Someone to relate to? Someone he could help?
Someone who could help him? He didn’t know.

But what he did know.

He knew. He just knew somehow.

 He would make that child into the best cultivator that the world had ever seen.

Chapter End Notes

Sooooooo I finished this real fast my dudes. I’m still tired as all hell but writing is just
so much fun. I dont really have a lot of ideas as to where I want to take this after this
chapter sooooo throw ideas at me? Please? Thanksssssss I’m sorry I’m in creative
hahah. I appreciate each and every one of your comments! Thank you to everyone that
comments! I love you all!

ALSO HOLY SHIT IM NEARLY AT 100k WORDS.

 One Does Not Simply Cultivate
Chapter Summary

Shen Qingqiu has a meeting and Shen Yuan starts cultivating

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 31: One Does Not Simply Cultivate

After Shen Qingqiu had sent Shen Yuan back to Bai Zhan peak he immediately traveled to Qiong
Ding in search of Yue Qingyuan. Qiong Ding disciples scrambled out of his way as he stormed
onto the peak looking as if he were on a warpath.

Shen Qingqiu swept into the main administration building and burst into Yue Qingyuan’s office.
The man startled, looking up from the papers he was reading.

“Qingqiu-shidi?” The man asked, putting his papers down, “What-?”

“I request the joint tutoring of a disciple under Liu Qingge. It has been nearly a year since the
acceptance of the new disciples, yet one of his disciples still remains at a civilian’s level of
cultivation. No progress has been made in this disciple’s cultivation since he has joined the sect.”
Shen Qingqiu interrupted rudely.

Yue Qingyuan paused to take in what Shen Qingqiu said before he responded hesitantly, “Wha-? I
don’t believe Liu-Shidi would ever intentionally neglect a disciple like that…”

Shen Qingqiu huffed and waved his fan imperiously, “Regardless of that brute’s intentions it does
not change the fact that a disciple under his care has not made the slightest bit of progress in his
cultivation since coming to Cang Qiong sect.”

Yue Qingyuan rubbed at his forehead, “Then we must inform Liu-Shidi of this development.”

Shen Qingqiu sniffed and covered the lower half of his face with his fan, “Hmph. Do what you
must.”

Yue Qingyuan nodded and called a disciple to send a message to Liu Qingge to come to Qiong
Ding. While Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu waited for Liu Qingge to show up, Yue Qingyuan
offered Shen Qingqiu tea. The man accepted haughtily.

Yue Qingyuan observed Shen Qingqiu curiously as they drank in silence. “Qingqiu-Shidi, why the
sudden interest in a Bai Zhan disciple though? It never occurred to me that you would take notice
of disciples outside of Qing Jing.”

“Hmph. The matter just happened to be brought to my attention by chance.” Shen Qingqiu
responded coldly.

Yue Qingyuan hummed and stared thoughtfully at Shen Qingqiu. Was this merely another reason
to get into a fight with Liu-Shidi? But even if that were the case it would be unlikely that Xiao-Jiu
would demand to take on the disciple himself… Just what was Xiao-Jiu thinking?

Fortunately the two did not have to wait too long for Liu Qingge to show up. Liu Qingge walked
into the office rather confused as to why Yue Qingyuan would call him over so suddenly. When he
saw that Shen Qingqiu was in the office as well his face darkened immediately.

“Yue-Shixiong, what is the meaning of this meeting?” Liu Qingge demanded, glaring at Shen
Qingqiu who was fanning himself calmly.

“Ah, Liu-Shidi, it has been brought to my attention by Qingqiu-Shidi that a disciple under your
tutelage has not advanced in his cultivation since entering the sect one year ago. He has asked for
joint tutelage of this disciple” Yue Qingyuan said calmly.

“What? That’s ridiculous, all of my disciples are properly cultivating according to their cultivation
manuals.” Liu Qingge refuted quickly.

Shen Qingqiu snorted behind his fan, “Then you may examine Shen Yuan’s meridians personally,
the boy has been neglecting his cultivation in favor of physical training.”

Liu Qingge slashed a hand through the air sharply. “That boy? It's impossible for him to not be
cultivating, his training is going well on its own!”
Shen Qingqiu sneered at Liu Qingge, “If you are referring to him lasting against you for ten
minutes, then yes. His physical training is going well. Yet he has not the slightest hint of
cultivation in him.”

“Impossible!” Liu Qingge declared. On the side Yue Qingyuan’s eyes widened upon hearing that a
disciple without cultivation lasted ten minutes against the War God of Bai Zhan.

Shen Qingqiu waved his fan lazily at Liu Qingge, “Then call him over and check for yourself.”

Liu Qingge crossed his arms over his chest, “Hmph. Fine. I will prove to you that my disciples are
all cultivating properly.” Another disciple was sent out to fetch a certain Shen Yuan.

Meanwhile Shen Yuan was once again running for his life as Zhao Feiyan chased after him
laughing maniacally. Yin Lihua watched with a tiny amused smile on her face as Zhao Feiyan
slashed wildly at Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan dodged by hair breadths.

He was getting faster and faster at avoiding Zhao Feiyan but he still could not prevent himself from
getting overwhelmed by her rapid combo attacks. The difference in speed between him and Zhao
Feiyan was still too large. The skill gap was still too wide. Shen Yuan just barely managed to avoid
getting the mother of all beatings at the hands of Zhao Feiyan. He only received the child of the
mother of all beatings.

When the Qiong Ding disciple sent to find Shen Yuan finally found where Shen Yuan was by
asking multiple extremely intimidating looking Bai Zhan disciples, Shen Yuan had been laid out
flat on the ground again.

The scene that the Qiong Ding disciple walked in on was akin to the aftermath of an extremely one
sided beat down. Well, not akin to, but the exact aftermath of a one sided beat down.

Shen Yuan was face down in the dirt having his head gently patted by Yin Lihua with various dirt
and grass stains all over his white Bai Zhan robes. Zhao Feiyan had wandered off again to do her
own personal training.

“Uhm. Ehem. I’m looking for a disciple by the name of Shen Yuan?” The Qiong Ding disciple
asked hesitantly. Man. Bai Zhan sure was brutal to its disciples. The Qiong Ding disciple firmly
applauded himself for being picked for Qiong Ding instead of Bai Zhan.
Shen Yuan groaned and raised his head from the dirt, “That would be me…” he said waving an
arm weakly.

The Qiong Ding disciple winced at seeing the variety of bruises on Shen Yuan’s face and said,
“The Sect Leader requests your presence.”

Shen Yuan rolled over and sat up abruptly, not even wincing as all of his injuries were jarred.
“Why?” He asked, tilting his head at the Qiong Ding disciple.

The disciple shrugged and said, “I don’t know, he was in a meeting with Peak Lords Shen and
Liu.”

“Oh. Oh okay.” Shen Yuan said as he got up, he pushed himself up off the ground and dusted
himself off. He had a feeling he knew what this meeting was all about.

“Thank you Yin-Shijie for supervising my training.” He said, turning to Yin Lihua.

“Ah, Yeah no problem Shidi, tell me what this meeting is about later won't you?” She said with a
wink.

Shen Yuan laughed, “Maybe.” He teased, “Let’s go then.” He said, turning to the Qiong Ding
disciple.

The Qiong Ding disciple nodded and began to lead the way to Qiong Ding peak. Shen Yuan
followed along without complaint.

Yin Lihua smiled to herself and ran off to gossip with Zhao Li about this new development.

Shen Yuan gazed curiously at his surroundings as he followed the disciple around the
administrative buildings of Qiong Ding. He hadn’t really been on any of the other peaks other than
Qing Jing and Bai Zhan. Qiong Ding shared the same elegant building designs as Qing Jing and
the peak was full of calming waterfalls. The buildings on Bai Zhan that he had gotten used to were
built to be much sturdier compared to both Qing Jing and Qiong Ding. It was a very quiet peak in
Shen Yuan’s opinion.
Shen Yuan was brought to a building that was significantly larger than the surrounding buildings.
Walking through this main administrative building was quite the experience. The halls were
tastefully decorated with a variety of antique vases and gorgeous paintings. It seemed that many of
these were donations or creations of previous disciples of Cang Qiong. Shen Yuan almost felt as if
he were walking through a museum with the amount of items on display here.

Soon enough the disciple leading Shen Yuan brought him to a large office at the back of the
building. The disciple knocked on the door politely and waited for acknowledgement.

The disciple opened the door for Shen Yuan and gestured for him to go in first. Shen Yuan
inclined his head to the disciple and entered with the Qiong Ding disciple following after him.

Shen Yuan entered the room and laid eyes on a rather handsome man with a regal demeanor
dressed in elegant black robes. But the moment he entered and the man looked up at him, the
man’s face transformed into a completely stricken expression. The man stood slowly and said in a
soft trembling voice, “X-Xiao-Jiu…?” His eyes desperately traced over Shen Yuan’s form,
lingering on the bruises forming on his face.

Shen Yuan was the definition of extremely confused. He has never met this man in his life and yet
here this man is trembling at the very sight of him. Is he mistaking him for someone else? Shen
Yuan’s eyes shot over to Shen Qingqiu who had a black expression on his face.

“What Xiao-Jiu. Just who is Xiao-Jiu?” A bitingly cold voice interrupted.

The man paused in shock and turned to look at Shen Qingqiu who was sitting primly on a chair to
his right.

The man stuttered, “I-I just…”

“You just what? Exactly?” Shen Qingqiu demands, completely disregarding the mixture of longing
and guilt that is swirling in the man’s watery eyes.

But before Shen Qingqiu can really lay into the sect leader, who Shen Yuan supposes is Yue
Qingyuan, Liu Qingge impatiently snaps from the other chair, “Well? Were we not going to
discuss my disciple’s cultivation?”
Shen Yuan internally squirms in embarrassment. Ah. So his hunch was right.

Shen Qingqiu humphs and waves his fan at Shen Yuan, “Hmph. He’s here. See for yourself.”

Liu Qingge shoots a dirty look at Shen Qingqiu but stands and strides over to Shen Yuan. “Your
wrist.” He barks out.

Shen Yuan raises his right hand, it is snatched up quickly by Liu Qingge. A burst of steely Qi runs
its course through his meridians and Liu Qingge’s face contorts in shock.

Shen Qingqiu snorts, “You see? Not a hint of cultivation, and yet he lasted ten minutes against you.
Perhaps you're getting soft?”

Liu Qingge doesn’t react to Shen Qingqiu’s taunting, he merely stares at the wrist held in his hand
in a shocked daze. He comes back to himself abruptly, he releases Shen Yuan’s wrist and crosses
his arms over his chest angrily, “You. What is the meaning of this? Did you not receive a
cultivation manual upon entering the sect?”

Shen Yuan quails internally under Liu Qingge’s angry gaze and lowers his head to report
shamefully, “This disciple was too busy training. He neglected his cultivation.”

Behind Liu Qingge, Yue Qingyuan inhales sharply and chokes slightly.

“As you can see, completely incompetent. I demand joint tutelage of this disciple to ensure his
cultivation is not ruined and potential wasted.” Shen Qingqiu declares.

“No. There is no need. I will fix this on my own. This is my disciple.” Liu Qingge angrily shoots
back, still staring down at Shen Yuan.

Shen Qingqiu waves his fan in front of himself lightly, “He may be your disciple, yet you did not
even realize he was not cultivating until this Shixiong brought the issue to your attention.”
Liu Qingge’s fists clench and he looks to be a second away from pouncing on Shen Qingqiu, “Why
are you so interested in my disciple?” He asks harshly.

Shen Qingqiu’s fan snaps shut and he points it at Liu Qingge imperiously, “You are obviously
incapable of taking care of your own disciples, I will ensure that this child’s cultivation potential is
not completely wasted by you.”

Yue Qingyuan interrupts before Liu Qingge can respond. During this whole conversation his eyes
have been bouncing from between Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu, “Liu-Shidi, I think that this issue
would be best resolved if Qingqiu-Shidi were to take joint tutelage as well. This is not to say that
your teaching methods are insufficient,” Shen Qingqiu snorts, making his opinion clear, “But I feel
it would be best if two masters looked over this child’s development to ensure he cultivates
properly.”

Liu Qingge grits his teeth angrily, “Fine.” He points at Shen Qingqiu, “I will prove to you that I am
not an incompetent master.” Then without a further word he sweeps past Shen Yuan and the Qiong
Ding disciple and exits the office.

“Then I believe this matter is settled.” Says Shen Qingqiu standing up from his seat. He too quickly
exits the room leaving Shen Yuan, the Qiong Ding disciple, and Yue Qingyuan in the office in a
rather awkward atmosphere.

Yue Qingyuan sighs and dismisses them both from the office, his eyes lingering on Shen Yuan as
they both bow politely to the sect leader and leave the office.

Yue Qingyuan puts his head down in his hands after they have left and takes a deep shuddering
breath. Did Xiao-Jiu have a child? And a child of that age? Why didn’t he tell his Qi-Ge then?
Couldn’t he trust his Qi-Ge to simply offer the support that he couldn’t in the past?

Xiao-Jiu… Can’t this Qi-Ge do anything for you…?

Shen Yuan and the Qiong Ding disciples shared an uneasy look as they exited the office to the
sound of shuddering breaths. Though the Qiong Ding disciple clearly looked as if he were
repressing a wave of questions. He was practically trembling in curiosity. Shen Yuan edged away
from him just as the boy burst into questions, “Shidi! What’s your name? Did you really fight Liu-
Shishu for ten minutes without cultivation? Why haven’t you been cultivating? How did Shen-
Shishu know you weren’t cultivating?”
Shen Yuan backed away awkwardly from the curious Shixiong. “Uhm.” He started, “This one’s
name is Shen Yuan, and the answers to those things are rather private…”

The answer didn't seem to deter the disciple at all. The curious glint in his eyes just seemed to grow
in magnitude. He clasped his hands in front of his chest earnestly and said, “This one’s name is
Meng Hui! Please remember it! If you need any help or anything from Qiong Ding in the future,
look for me! And if you could put in a good word for me later on I would appreciate it!”

“Ehm… O-okay?” Shen Yuan said, still backing away slowly. He felt that he had seen everything,
it was time for Shen Yuan to leave.

“Shidi! I look forward to your next visit!” Meng Hui shouted after him as Shen Yuan awkwardly
hurried off to the rainbow bridge.

Meng Hui watched as Shen Yuan disappeared into the distance, he stood in place trembling as he
went over everything he had just learned during that short meeting. He was so lucky he hadn’t
pushed messenger duty off onto Li Xue! Meng Hui booked it to the disciples dorms. There was big
news to share! He had just received prime gossip material! The child of Peak Lord Shen went ten
minutes against Peak Lord Liu without any cultivation! And the Peak Lords were fighting over the
right to teach him! And the fact that Shen Qingyuan was the sect leader’s son was practically
confirmed!

Meanwhile on the rainbow bridge Shen Yuan felt a rather foreboding sensation as he thought about
how excited Meng Hui looked. Hopefully it was just his nerves though…Qiong Ding disciples
should know not to spread rumors right? That was the administrative peak after all. They handled
all of the important information of the sect. After all, loose mouths were dangerous around such
information.

The next morning when Shen Yuan showed up outside of the quaint bamboo house, he brought his
practically brand new looking cultivation manual with him. Shen Yuan had looked through the
damn thing once before throwing it into a corner of his room to gather dust.

Shen Yuan knocked on the door to the bamboo house quietly. A moment passed before Shen
Qingqiu opened the door and waved Shen Yuan into the house.

“Did you bring your cultivation manual?” Shen Qingqiu asked, shooting a dubious look at Shen
Yuan.
Shen Yuan nodded and held up the cultivation manual for Shen Qingqiu to see.

Shen Qingqiu took the offered manual and flipped through it quickly. He snorts, “A bit basic but it
will have to do for now.” He handed the manual back to Shen Yuan, “Now, have you read through
it or not?”

Shen Yuan nodded again, “This disciple read through the entire manual last night.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, “Good. You have some initiative, unlike some other fools.” He led Shen
Yuan over to a side room where two mats were set on the ground. Shen Qingqiu sat down on one
of the mats, arranging his robes around him carefully, he gestured to the other mat and Shen Yuan
copied his very proper sitting posture.

“Now. Today we will begin with basic meditation, this is the foundation step to beginning your
cultivation. Afterwards we will review your sword forms.” Shen Qingqiu said.

Shen Yuan nodded. He didn’t think that this would be too difficult.

“Good. To start with, close your eyes. You will simply focus on your natural breathing. Focus on
your breath. You will simply be bringing your attention to your breath every time you have noticed
your attention wandering. Now, Where do you feel your breath most? Belly? Nose? Keep your
attention on your inhale and exhale.” Shen Qingqiu explained calmly with his eyes closed.

Shen Yuan followed along with Shen Qingqiu’s instructions. He focused on his breathing, he
noticed how he felt his breath mostly in his nose. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. He couldn’t help
but wonder how long the man would have them meditate for. How long would it take for him to be
able to meditate? The amount of meditation that cultivation seemed to require seemed extremely
daunting.

“Focus on your breath.” Shen Qingqiu said, interrupting Shen Yuan’s thoughts.

Shen Yuan started slightly, then he noticed how his thoughts had wandered. He brought his
attention back to his breathing. Inhale. Exhale. In through the nose, relax and exhale. Shen Yuan
wondered what it would be like to learn swordsmanship from Shen Qingqiu himself. The man was
not exactly known for his swordsmanship skills despite his title of the Xiu Ya sword.
“Breathe.” Shen Qingqiu said quietly.

Ah. Shen Yuan brought his thoughts back in towards his inhale. And out with the exhale. Inhale,
feel the air running down into his chest. Exhale, feel the air escaping and relax. Should he start
counting his breaths? Would that help him focus on meditation? How much longer did Shen
Qingqiu want him to breathe for? What-?

“Breathe.” Shen Qingqiu commanded.

Oh. Right. Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

How exactly was Shen Qingqiu keeping track of whether or not he was focused? It's not like it
showed on his face or anything. Would the swordsmanship lessons be similar to this? Could Shen
Qingqiu read-?

“Breathe. And no I cannot read minds. The flow of your Qi is easy to read when I concentrate. You
will learn to do this at a higher cultivation level.”

Oh. Okay. Well then.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Shen Yuan soon lost track of time and how many times Shen Qingqiu reminded him to focus on
his breath. He became lost in the rhythm of his breaths. The steadiness and sureness of the inhales
and the regularity of the exhales.

“Come back to your body now.” Shen Qingqiu said after a couple of moments, “Notice how your
body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions. Gently lift your gaze.”

Shen Yuan opened his eyes slowly to gaze into Shen Qingqiu’s placid green eyes. He found a cool
calmness pooling deep in those eyes, it surely reflected the same calmness that he felt himself.
Shen Yuan noticed that he felt much more in tune with his body now, as if he had settled
somewhat better into his human form.

Shen Qingqiu stared at him as Shen Yuan reassessed himself mentally.

“Not bad for your first time meditating. Come.” Shen Qingqiu said standing up in one smooth fluid
move, “We will begin to correct your swordsmanship.”

Shen Yuan blinked and then he stood slowly, he followed Shen Qingqiu out to the back of the
bamboo house where a rather large clearing in the bamboo forest lay. Shen Qingqiu brought with
him a single practice Jian, he handed that Jian to Shen Yuan and directed him to begin his sword
forms.
 Shen Yuan started his forms. He remembered diligently practicing these same movements atop
swaying bamboo poles and he flowed through them with the same confidence and grace that he
had high up on the unstable poles.

Shen Qingqiu watched his forms critically, as Shen Yuan finished all twenty four forms that Han
Rei had taught him, Shen Qingqiu said, “Start over. I will now begin to correct your movements.
You will remember them or I will beat it in to you.”

Shen Yuan quailed slightly. He still remembered the sting of the practice Jian Han Rei had used
when he said the same thing. Shen Yuan sighed internally and started with his first form once
again.

Shen Qingqiu relentlessly critiqued his forms, telling him to bend his leg more, to shift his arm
higher, to straighten his back more. So on and so forth. He was snappish and strict but never
wrong. By the end of the morning Shen Yuan was amazed that they had actually spent a whole
morning critiquing forms he had already learned. It was like he was relearning how to use the Jian
all over again.

The small micro adjustments that Shen Qingqiu dictated were designed to conserve energy and
make his movements more efficient. Shen Yuan felt a marked difference running though his forms
with these small changes. He most likely would have taken years to figure out these tricks on his
own.

Truly, having a teacher was much different from learning on your own. Han Rei didn’t compare in
his knowledge of the Jian. Well. Han Rei was a weapons specialist and not a master of the Jian in
the first place. Shen Yuan couldn’t expect him to know everything about the Jian.

Shen Yuan left Qing Jing with a markedly different opinion of Shen Qingqiu than when he had
started. Shen Qingqiu was actually a good teacher! Shen Qingqiu could actually be patient and
calm! The man had ridiculously high expectations but they were expectations that Shen Yuan
could reach.

Shen Yuan stood on the rainbow bridge staring at Qing Jing thoughtfully. Messengers from
different peaks looked at him curiously as he stared with a blank expression, simply thinking.

Chapter End Notes

I LOVE MY READERS YALL ARE SO NICE AND GIVE ME SUCH GOOD
IDEAS. I LIVE OFF OF THEM THANK YOU ALL SO GODDAMN MUCH. uwu
yall make me soft. \( ‘u’ )/ give it up for 100k!
 I Still Fail At Titles
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan chases rumors and has lessons

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 32: I Still Fail At Titles

Recently due to certain events occurring on Bai Zhan peak, Shen Yuan had been forced to acquire a
reputable source for rumors. Wang Cheng seemed to believe everything he heard and Shen Yuan
needed some way to figure out what was being said about him.

Which now led to the present situation Shen Yuan found himself in. He was currently crouched in
a bush listening to three oblivious Bai Zhan disciples who were gossiping about the latest news to
hit the mountain.

“Hey, hey have you heard? Shen Qingyuan from our Bai Zhan peak is now under the joint tutelage
of Peak Lord Shen and Shizun!” The first disciple said excitedly to the second.

“What? Then doesn’t that confirm that he’s Peak Lord Shen’s son?” The second asked
incredulously.

The first responded enthusiastically, “Yeah, yeah! And apparently the sect leader calls Shen
Qingyuan by a nickname! So Shen Qingyuan could be the child between Peak Lord Shen and the
Sect Leader!”

Shen Yuan’s face blackened, the only other one who could have spread that bit of information was
Meng Hui! Shen Yuan would remember that guy's name. If only to find some way of getting back
at him for spreading these rumors. Hey! Weren’t administrative peak disciples not supposed to
gossip!?

“I thought that Shen Qingyuan was the child of Shizun and Peak Lord Shen?” The second asked.
“I thought he was a result of all three men working together?” Said the third Bai Zhan disciple.

“Eh?” Asked the first.

“Eh?” Asked the second.

“Eh?” Asked the third.

“...How can three men have a child together?” Asked the second disciple, mirroring Shen Yuan’s
thoughts.

“With the Pink rose queen drop flower it's possible.” Said stooge three.

“....How do you know that?” Asked number one.

“Shije told me.”

“Anyways…” Said two.

One interrupted two, “Oh! Oh! And get this! The reason he’s under joint tutelage is because he
wasn’t cultivating on Bai Zhan!”

“What!? But didn’t he go ten minutes with Shizun? Asked three.

“Yeah! Apparently that was all the result of pure physical training!”

“No way. I don’t believe that. Who would be so stupid as to not cultivate? There are people with
high cultivation levels who can’t even go five minutes with Shizun.” Said two.

Hey. Shen Yuan was busy alright. It’s not like anyone ever told him meditating was good for him.
Actually that was a lie but the point still stood.
“Yeah, I can barely last seven minutes against Shizun.” Said three.

“No. No. No. What if it's a new training method? Maybe that's why Shen Qingyuan’s skills are
improving so fast?” One exclaimed.

Two made a face mirroring Shen Yuan once again, “Seriously?”

“Yeah! He could be on to something here! If he's ever left without his cultivation he will have his
body to depend on!”

“Sounds ridiculous. How would we even begin to train without our cultivation?” Two said
doubtfully.

“We could request spirit binding ropes from the talisman peak...” three suggested.

“Hmm…”

“Come on! We can always try it and see if it works!” One said excitedly.

“Fine. But I’m dropping this the moment it doesn’t work.” Two declared stubbornly.

Shen Yuan sweat dropped in the bush. He had gotten reamed out for training without cultivation
and now these disciples were trying to follow in his dangerous footsteps.

A disciple came running around the corner all of a sudden, he stopped by the trio of gossiping
disciples and quickly panted out, “Guy! Guys! Did you hear? Shizun just announced that he's
increasing our weekly beatings to three times a week instead of once a week!”

“What!” The three shouted at once.

“Shizun is increasing our training!” The fourth disciple yelled in a panic.

“We heard you! Why all of a sudden though?” Disciple one asked frantically.

“No clue! I’ve gotta go spread the news! See you later!” The fourth disciple yelled back before
dashing off again.

“What is this? Why is Shizun looking to torture us more? Three times a week? Are you kidding
me?” Two moaned.

“Does Shizun even have that much free time?” Three asked curiously, “Doesn’t he always have
hunting missions or something? He was always too busy for us in the past after all.”

“Does it even matter if he has time or not? We’re all going to receive more beatings now!” One
groaned.

“Do you think he’ll still pick disciples for each training day so that we won’t have to go two times
in a row?” Three wondered quietly.

“Who knows… I just know that we’re all dead.” Two said despondently.

“Aw. It won’t be that bad… Hopefully.” Said three.

The other two boys turned and gave him a nasty glare.

In the bushes Shen Yuan sighed to himself. So this is what Liu Qingge meant when he said that he
would prove that he wasn’t an incompetent teacher. This meant even less time at the library for
Shen Yuan, he felt like he was so close to breaking the forty sixth spell too.

Shen yuan waited for the idling disciples to leave the area complaining bitterly before he stood
from the bushes and returned to his dorm room.

Wang Cheng was already in their shared room when Shen yuan returned.
“Oh! Shen Yuan! Have you heard? Shizun is increasing the amount of times he beats us every
week!”

“Ah, yeah I heard.” Shen Yuan responded dully, flopping onto his bed.

“Man, I’m sure glad our year hasn’t been cleared to fight Shizun yet. It was so brutal watching him
beat you and our Shixiong last week.” Wang Cheng remarked casually, then he paused and stared
at Shen Yuan for a bit, “Hey, Shen Yuan?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it true that you haven’t been cultivating?”

Shen Yuan sighed. Everyone was going to be asking him this weren’t they? He nodded slowly in
response to Wang Cheng.

“...Wow. Shen Yuan, you really are too impressive. I always thought you were cultivating during
our training times because I’ve never seen you cultivate. But to think that you weren’t cultivating
at all! Wow! You’re amazing!”

Shen Yuan made a complicated face at Wang Cheng, “...That's not a good thing you know?”

“But you’ve defeated our whole year without any cultivation! And you went ten minutes with
Shizun! If that isn’t impressive then i don’t know what is!” Wang Cheng exclaimed. “Can’t you
teach me how to do that?”

“This stupidity isn’t something you can teach Wang Cheng…”

“Still... “

“Forget it. Just sleep for now. I’ll help you with sparring tomorrow okay?”

“Ah! Really? Thanks Shen Yuan!” Then Wang Cheng tilted his head, “Hey, maybe your father
will go easier on you during practice?”

“What the hell do you mean now?” Shen Yuan snapped.

“I mean it's like that isn’t it? Favoritism? Shizun won’t beat you up as much as everyone else!”

“He’s not my father Wang Cheng, and if he really were my father I feel like he would beat me up
harder compared to everyone else.”

“Oh so it's like that instead! I see, I see. Good luck tomorrow then Shen Yuan. If you need
someone to carry you back I’ll be here!”

Shen Yuan gave Wang Cheng a dull look. Then he turned over to face the wall. Ignoring whatever
Wang Cheng had to say next. Wang Cheng went on a tirade about how Shen Yuan should pay
more attention to Li Yue, Shen Yuan heard absolutely none of it. He had passed out in an instant.

The next morning at breakfast Shen Yuan had barely managed to sit down before he was accosted
by a whole group of his Shixiong and Shijie. Han Rei and Chu Yun had apparently just returned
from their joint mission and Yin Lihua had dragged along Zhao Li and Zhao Feiyan (who were
apparently not related).

“Shen Yuan! Of all of the stupid things you could have done! I never imagined you hadn’t been
cultivating!” Han Rei scolded fiercely. “Don’t you know that can result in a terrible Qi deviation?
Qi Deviations are life threatening! What did you think your cultivation manual was for?
Decoration?”

“Maa… Rei-Ge I think he gets it, look how ashamed he is.” Chu Yun pacified, taking pity on Shen
Yuan who had lowered his head in shame and embarrassment. “He must have already been scolded
by Shizun for his mistake.”

“Still! To have such a foolish Shidi! Is it that you just didn’t know how to start? You could have
asked for help at any time you know?”

“Sorry Han-Shixiong, this one is truly foolish for solely concentrating on physical training.” Shen
Yuan said with a flushed face. He picked up his bowl of congee and drank deeply, he subtly hoped
he drowned in his congee. He could feel the eyes of nearly all the disciples in the dining hall on
their table. It seemed that even the muscle headed brutes of Bai Zhan were not immune to the joys
of eavesdropping and gossip.

“But seriously… To think that this whole time you haven’t been cultivating... Shen Yuan I really
am in awe of you.” Chu Yun sighed.

“Indeed. To have surpassed your peers without relying on the slightest hint of cultivation is no easy
feat.” Han Rei said settling down a bit.

“Our Shen-Shidi is just that amazing I guess! I knew he was special the moment I first laid eyes on
him.” Yin Lihua said happily.

Han Rei nodded, “Amazing in more ways than one, who comes to a cultivation sect and doesn’t
cultivate?”

Shen Yuan pouted. “Hey. I said sorry already.”

“Shen-Shidi, is it true you’ve been taken into joint tutelage under Shen-Shibo?” Yin Lihua asked
while munching on a piece of youtiao.

“Ah, yeah...” Shen Yuan replied.

A few tables over money exchanged hands quite obviously. Shen Yuan’s eyebrow twitched.

“Really? What’s it like learning from you father?” Zhao Li asked with a cheeky smile.

Shen Yuan turned to her with a dead look, “He’s not my father.”

Zhao Li’s eyes glimmered in amusement, “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I can be.”

“Well anyways, what's it like learning from your mother?” Zhao Li asked.

“I’m sorry, who are you again?” Shen Yuan asked snappishly.

“Ah this is my friend Zhao Li.” Yin Lihua answered, she whacked Zhao Li across the back of her
head making her smack her face into the table. “Zhao Li likes to tease people. Ignore her.”

“Aw Yin-jie Im not that bad!” Zhao Li said cheerfully, acting as if she hadn’t just face planted into
a table.

“Yes, you are.”

Zhao Li clung onto Yin Lihua’s arm stickily, “You know you love me for a reason!”

Yin Lihua just sighed. “Well anyways Shen Yuan, what’s it like to learn from Shen-Shibo?”

“Well, for one he’s a better teacher than I expected him to be. He explains things very well.” Shen
Yuan answered.

“Oh is that so? I haven’t heard many good things about Shen-Shibo but I guess that's because I
never speak with his disciples haha.” Yin Lihua laughed.

Shen Yuan tilted his head, “Why not?”

All of the older disciples at his table shared a glance. Chu Yun who was sitting next to Shen Yuan
patted him on the head, “Don’t worry about it.” he said.

Shen Yuan sipped from his bowl again and wondered at the sudden contemplative mood that had
fallen over the table.

“Shen Yuan.” Zhao Feiyan suddenly said. She had her eyes closed as usual, but as she spoke her
eyes slowly opened until she was staring straight into Shen Yuan’s soul. “Come find me after you
have cultivated to foundation establishment level.” Then she quietly stood and left.
Shen Yuan froze in the middle of sipping his congee. Hey, hey Zhao Feiyan, what was with that
ominous ultimatum?

Chu Yun winced subtly and patted Shen Yuan on the head again. Han Rei stared at Shen Yuan
with pity in his eyes and Zhao Li looked like she was going to burst out laughing. Yin Lihua just
smiled happily.

“I’m glad! A-Yan really likes you Shen-Shidi!” Yin Lihua said, clapping her hands together.

“I don’t know if that's a good thing though…” Han Rei said under his breath.

Shen Yuan could only smile helplessly at his Shixiong.

Shang Qinghua, formerly the author of a certain stallion web novel known as Airplane Shooting
Towards The Sky, was naturally a very anxious person. Ever since his transmigration into his own
novel, his anxiety had worsened. Questions about the existence of god and the likes constantly
plagued him now and he was always micro-managing the slightest of details that happened in Cang
Qiong. He made it a point to know everything that went on in Cang Qiong. It was necessary for his
job managing the logistics of the twelve peaks and his role as a spy master for a certain ice demon.

As a result he was one of the first people to learn of the rumors of Shen Qingqiu’s mysterious love
child. Shang Qinghua didn’t know what exactly he had done to make such a deviation possible.
Had he said the wrong thing to Shen Qingqiu somewhere along the line and caused the man to
father a child? Could Shen Qingqiu’s scrapped backstory with Yue Qingyuan have come back to
haunt him in some way? People were saying that the child was a result of a tryst between the Sect
Leader and Shen Qingqiu after all…

But the thing that caused Shang Qinghua the most amount of anxiety was the question of: would
this new development have any consequences on the plot of his novel? Shang Qinghua bit his nails
nervously as he paced around in his messy paper filled office.

Ever since he had been born into this world, the only advantage Shang Qinghua had over the other
inhabitants of the world was his foreknowledge of coming events. He had accurately predicted
becoming An Ding’s peak lord, had accurately guessed when Mobei-jun would make contact with
him, and had predicted Tianlang-jun’s defeat and imprisonment. If he lost this one advantage over
the rest of the world… What would he do? The world of PIDW was dangerous and unforgiving.
There was simply no telling what dangers lay around the corner.
But wasn’t this divergence a good sign? It meant that the world could be changed after all. Events
weren’t set in stone. It meant that he could change his fate of dying at the hands of his king.

Shang Qinghua sat back down at his desk and laced his fingers together in front of his face. First he
would have to determine if this new character would be significant or not in the coming days. Then
depending on what he found… Take action…

Arriving at the isolated bamboo house for his lessons, Shen Yuan suddenly felt an intense sense of
irritation for some reason. He felt extremely annoyed for no apparent reason that he could think of.
He felt like life would soon get very annoying in the near future.This agitation was present on his
face when Shen Qingqiu opened the door.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t comment on his strange expression though. He just ushered Shen Yuan in and
then off to the side room they had used for meditation.

“We will begin today with a short round of meditation, then move to calligraphy. After that I
expect to spend the rest of the morning correcting your forms again.” Shen Qingqiu said sternly.

“Yes Shibo.” Shen Yuan responded. He copied Shen Qingqiu’s proper sitting form from the day
before and closed his eyes to begin meditating.

Shen Yuan managed to focus on his breathing for a whole minute before his attention wandered
off. He wondered if Liu Qingge was really serious about proving himself to be a good teacher. He
wondered how he would get the time to visit the library. He hoped Tianlang-jun was doing well.
He hadn’t been able to meet the man recently with everything that had been happening.

“Focus on your breathing.” Shen Qingqiu reminded.

Shen Yuan twitched and returned to counting out his breaths.

He had to be reminded several more times by Shen Qingqiu to clear his mind before Shen Qingqiu
sighed and told him they were moving on.

Shen Qingqiu whapped him on the head lightly with his fan, “You will need to begin meditating in
your own time. After the next lesson we will begin on how to trace the flow of your own Qi
through your body. Cultivation is a slow process and cannot be rushed. If you are hasty with any of
the steps you will send yourself to an early grave instead of achieving immortality. Meditation is
the most foundational step. Spend time on this exercise, it is of the utmost importance.”

Shen Yuan rubbed his head lightly and nodded at Shen Qingqiu. That sure was in line with what he
could remember reading of cultivation in his old web novels. He just wasn’t sure exactly where he
could put meditating in his busy schedule. Perhaps he could replace his sleeping with meditation
instead?

After another short lecture on how to properly meditate, Shen Qingqiu pulled out a low writing
table for Shen Yuan.He then went to the other room and brought back a set of writing supplies. He
laid them out on the table for Shen Yuan.

“Today we will be doing calligraphy. As a Bai Zhan disciple, I naturally have low expectations for
you. But we shall aim to make your writing legible.” Shen Qingqiu said condescendingly as he
fanned himself.

Shen Yuan nodded obediently and took a seat at the table. He began grinding the ink to use for
writing under Shen Qingqiu’s instructions and prepared the paper he was to practice on. When
Shen Yuan picked up his brush to begin writing, he was lightly whapped on the head with a fan
again.

“No.” Said Shen Qingqiu sternly, “Like this, you hold the brush between the thumb and first two
fingers. Keep the ring and pinky fingers behind the brush as support. And grip the brush higher up
on the handle.” Shen Qingqiu maneuvered Shen Yuan’s fingers into a proper grip.

Shen Yuan nodded at the adjustment and waited for Shen Qingqiu to tell him he could begin
writing.

By the end of the class on calligraphy, there was very little improvement to be found in Shen
Yuan’s crooked characters. Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrows had twitched and then he gave Shen Yuan
homework designed for children on practicing the most basic strokes. Shen Yuan could barely stop
himself from blurting out ‘I am baby’ when he saw the homework.

At the very least when they moved on to sword forms Shen Yuan felt much more in his element.
Though no matter what he seemed to do there was always some sort of mistake to be found. Shen
Yuan endured the biting criticism with as much grace and dignity as he could. It was all meant to
help him in the end after all. Even if Shen Yuan didn’t quite understand why Shen Qingqiu was
doing this.

Shen Yuan ended his lessons with Shen Qingqiu that day with a customary ‘thank you shibo’.Shen
Qingqiu had sniffed haughtily and then whapped him on the head with his fan and reminded him to
practice his meditation and calligraphy.

Back on Bai Zhan Shen Yuan only had an hour for lunch before everyone on the doom list were
called to fight their Shizun. Shen Yuan had checked and found his name on the list, it was
underlined twice for some reason. It did not give him a good feeling about the upcoming spar. At
the very least both Han Rei and Chu Yun had been listed with him so he had people to suffer with.

The crowd of spectators for this time’s beat down was more than twice the size of the previous
crowd that had been present at Shen Yuan’s debut. It seemed that rumors of Shen Yuan’s ten
minutes had spread throughout Cang Qiong. Many disciples whispered and pointed him out in the
lineup of Bai Zhan disciples. Murmurs abruptly spread through the crowd as two unexpected
visitors arrived to watch the Bai Zhan beat down.

The Peak Lord of An Ding, Shang Qinghua, arrived walking slowly and twiddling his thumbs
together while the Peak Lord of Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu, arrived flashily atop his sword Xiu Ya.

Shen Yuan wondered why the Peak Lord of An Ding would show up to Bai Zhan’s training
sessions. He could mostly guess why Shen Qingqiu had showed up, but why Shang QInghua?

Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Shang Qinghua. Shang Qinghua caught his gaze and
‘eeped’ quietly, he quickly looked away and very badly pretended to have not seen Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan didn’t get long to ponder. Their Shizun showed up on Cheng Luan and called the first
disciple on the list up to fight instantly. The first match ended in less than three minutes. The first
disciple laid knocked out on the ground with a broken arm. All the Bai Zhan students gulped
simultaneously. It seemed that their Shizun was completely no nonsense today. Increasing the
amount of time in a week for their beat downs obviously didn’t mean Liu Qingge was going to go
easy on them. Shen Yuan was subtly nudged by Chu Yun who stood next to him.

“Good luck Shidi. Shizun has it out for us today.” he whispered.

Shen Yuan nodded nervously back. It seemed that Liu Qingge was being particularly vicious
today.
 Liu Qingge finished off his second disciple with a flashy spin of his practice Jian and glared down
the line of disciples. He stared straight at Shen Yuan with a fire burning deeply in his eyes.

Shen Yuan gulped.

Chapter End Notes

Im tired lmao. Please excuse me if updates take longer Im so sorry but classwork is
getting rough haha. Thanks for all the crazy support so far! I cant believe Ive gotten
over 300 bookmarks! this is insane. Also I seem to have some kind of curse with
chapter 32? it was so hard to write for some reason hahaha
 Arm Harm
Chapter Summary

Shen yuan gets his ass kicked.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 33: Arm Harm

Shen Yuan let out a high pitched yelp as Liu Qingge smashed a deep crater into where Shen Yuan
had been standing just moments ago.

Liu Qingge hadn’t even called out his name to start their spar. He just whirled around from where
he had just finished beating Chu Yun into the dirt and charged at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan rallied himself desperately as Liu Qingge picked his way out of his crater, glaring Shen
Yuan down the entire time.

Leaping away from his previous position, Liu Qingge quickly advanced upon Shen Yuan. Shen
Yuan bravely pulled out his practice Jian and dashed forward to engage his Shizun in a heated
exchange of blows. The sound of blades clashing filled the air.

Liu Qingge ended the exchange by kicking out at Shen Yuan, sending the boy flying backwards.

Shen yuan somersaulted through the air and landed nimbly on his feet just in time to block a
devastating overhead blow from Liu Qingge. Shen Yuan’s feet cracked the ground as he weathered
the force of the blow. Shen Yuan tilted his blade and let Liu Qingge’s sword slide off to his left
before he attempted a quick swipe at Liu Qingge’s sword arm.

Liu Qingge quickly pulled back before Shen Yuan could even graze him. He jabbed his sword
forwards in a thrust towards Shen Yuan’s chest, slipping under Shen Yuan’s guard and launching
the boy backward again. Shen Yuan skidded backwards but still brandished his sword before him.
Shen Yuan didn’t even bother to press a hand to the throbbing spot where the sharp thrust had
landed.
Despite having landed what would have been a fatal blow had they been using real weapons and
ended the match, Liu Qingge continued to press Shen Yuan.

Master and disciple once again charged at each other and engaged each other once again. Sparks
flew as their blades clashed around them.

Shen Qingqiu casually fanned himself as he watched the spectacle of Shen Yuan facing off against
Liu Qingge. He scowled behind his fan when he witnessed the sharp thrust to Shen Yuan’s chest
that should have broken several ribs. But his face smoothed out into a practiced neutrality when
Shen Yuan didn’t even wince and returned to a fighting stance.

Shang Qinghua nervously sidled up to Shen Qingqiu’s side and awkwardly laughed, “Heh, so what
do you think of Liu-Shidi’s teaching methods?”

Shen Qingqiu snorted to himself, not even bothering to look at Shang Qinghua, “Uncouth and
excessively brutish.”

Shang Qinghua scratched the side of his face with a finger, “Ahaha I see… And what do you think
of the disciple that Liu-Shidi is sparring right now?”

Shen Qingqiu peered out of the corner of his eye at Shang Qinghua who was now nervously
fiddling with his fingers, “Hmph, he has marginally more potential than more than half of the
disciples here. But he has yet to live up to that potential.” Shen Qingqiu waved his fan in Shang
Qinghua’s direction, “Why are you even here today? I would think that An Ding would not
concern itself with such things like sparring. Well. Not that I really care why you’re here.”

“A-ah, Ehem. I was just curious, you know? I-I’ve never seen Liu-Shidi’s teaching methods eh
heh.”

Shen Qingqiu sniffed dismissively. He kept his attention on his pupil who was still enduring Liu
Qingge’s unending flow of attacks.

Shen Yuan parried another slash from Liu Qingge and weaved out of the way of a slice aimed at
his right. Shen Yuan noticed that his movements were much more economical now compared to
before Shen Qingqiu had taken him under his wing. He spent less effort dancing out of the way of
punishing strikes and put more strength into the force of his blows.
Shen Yuan’s movements were sure and swift, there were definite changes in the quality of his
blows. Liu Qingge could feel his arms shake from receiving those sharp blows.

Liu Qingge grinned wildly at Shen Yuan and redoubled his efforts in targeting the weaknesses in
Shen Yuan’s guard.

Shen Yuan held out marginally better compared to the first time Liu Qingge assaulted him like this.
Shen Yuan back flipped over a low swing and backed up to gain some breathing space.
Surprisingly enough Liu Qingge allowed him to do so.

“Come! Shen Qin-Yuan! Show me what you’re made of!” Liu Qingge declared beckoning to Shen
Yuan

Shen Yuan sweat dropped at the name slip up but willingly obliged, he crouched and leapt at Liu
Qingge with his sword held low.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrows rose judgmentally, what was that name slip just now? Was that brute
mistaking Shen Yuan for him?

Shang Qinghua started slightly. Was Liu Qingge aware of the rumors of Shen Yuan being the Sect
Leader’s son?

Shen Yuan flew through a combo of slashes and thrusts he had learned during one of Zhao
Feiyan’s beatings.

Liu Qingge was barely affected, he deflected the blows with a contemptuous ease. Though the man
did take a single step backwards, Shen Yuan took it as a small victory.

Liu Qingge suddenly struck out at a small gap in Shen Yuan’s movements.

Crack! A sharp noise resounded through the training grounds.

Shen Yuan’s practice sword was sent spinning over the spectating crowd.

Shen Yuan quickly took a barehanded stance in front of their Shizun. He was about to rush forward
and try to disarm his Shizun when Liu Qingge took a contemplative look at him and held up his
hand. Then Liu Qingge sheathed his practice sword, “We’re done for today.” He said crossing his
arms over his chest.

“Huh?” Asked Shen Yuan. Why was Liu Qingge stopping so quickly? He didn't stop when he
disarmed Shen Yuan last time. In fact the spar had seemed to get even more intense after he had
been disarmed. Liu Qingge didn’t stop beating his disciples until they couldn’t stand anymore.

Liu Qingge pointed down at Shen Yuan’s arm.

Shen Yuan let his gaze slowly follow Liu Qingge’s finger down.

Oh.

So that was why he couldn’t feel anything below his elbow.

His right arm was broken.

It was twisted in the wrong direction.

Shen Yuan hadn’t even noticed.

Shen Yuan inspected his arm calmly, honestly it didn’t feel too bad. Not a single indication of pain
made its way to his face. He gingerly moved his arm closer to his body to cradle it.

He awkwardly turned to Liu Qingge and asked in a dull tone, “What do I do now?”

Liu Qingge snorted, “Come with me.” He turned and began walking away.
The crowd parted around him quietly. Everyone was still staring at Shen Yuan in muted horror.
Broken limbs weren’t anything new to the crowd but the complete lack of reaction was. Most
disciples would be crying out in pain by now. Was it simply shock numbing Shen Yuan’s pain?

Shen Yuan hurried to catch up to his Shizun. Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and fell in step
with Liu Qingge ahead of Shen Yuan. Shang Qinghua who had been staring at Shen Yuan in awe
and horror noticed his fellow peak lords were leaving and quickly began trailing after the Peak lord
procession as well.

Shen Qingqiu lightly tapped Shen Yuan on the head with his fan, “What did I tell you about speed?
Listen to this master.” Then he turned to Liu Qingge and sneered, “Seems this brute still doesn’t
know how to teach. I suppose it falls down to me to ensure that you receive proper training.”

Liu Qingge growled as he stomped his way over the rainbow bridge, “He is my disciple, I teach
just fine.”

Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open again and began to fan himself, “Hmph. Your ‘fine teaching’ has
resulted in a broken arm. What will you do if this cripples him for life?”

“I wouldn’t hurt my students that badly. You coddle him too much.” Liu Qingge shot back.

“I do not coddle.” Shen Qingqiu emphasized by whapping Shen Yuan upside the head with his
fan.

Shen Yuan bore the abuse with grace and a neutral expression. He wondered faintly where they
were going.

“A-ah… Doesn’t that hurt Shidi?” Shang Qinghua hesitantly asked from besides Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan shook his head at Shang Qinghua, “Not really, thank you for the concern…”

Shang Qinghua hurried to introduce himself, “Ah. This one is Shang Qinghua, Peak Lord of An
Ding.”
Shen Yuan nodded respectfully at Shang Qinghua, “This one is Shen Yuan. Nice to meet you
Shibo.”

“Likewise…” Shang Qinghua glanced down at his fiddling hands nervously as Shen Qingqiu and
Liu Qingge began bickering in front of them, “I-is your Shizun always so rough on you?” He asked
in a quiet voice.

Shen Yuan shrugged, “This is only my second lesson with Shizun so I can’t really say.”

“Oh... How long have you been a disciple at Cang Qiong?” Shang Qinghua knew already, but he
wanted to see if this Shen Yuan would provide him with any more answers.

This kid was seriously creepy. Like, what the hell was up with his eyes? Shang Qinghua had only
ever seen eyes like that on dead fish at the market. All glazed over and blank. It was unnatural to
see them in the face of someone so young. And that pain tolerance! What the hell? Who breaks an
arm and says it doesn’t hurt? Even if the kid was high on adrenaline enough time should have
passed for the pain to start kicking in!

“Nearly a year.” Was the bland response.

“Ah. I see.” Shang Qinghua fiddled with his fingers some more. “What did you do before coming
to Cang Qiong?”

“I was stuck in one place for a very long time.” Shen Yuan calmly answered.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Unfortunate circumstances.”

Shang Qinghua raised an eyebrow. “And what circumstances were those?”

Shen Yuan just stared at him with his creepy creepy eyes without answering.
Shang Qinghua swallowed and quickly asked, “Well what did you do after getting out of that one
place?”

“I wandered.”

“Oh!” Shang Qinghua brightened. A solid topic! Finally! “And where have you been? Have you
seen many places?”

“I’ve been to Gao Song.”

“Huh. That's quite a big city isn’t it? What did you do there?”

“I wandered.”

Shang Qinghua held back tears. Shen Yuan, he's begging you. Please give him some solid answers.

“Ah… What did you do during your wandering?”

“I was making friends.”

Shang Qinghua smiled. If he could find those friends he could get more information about this kid!
“And how are your friends now?” He asked excitedly.

“They’re dead or worse.”

“....” Shang Qinghua’s hesitant smile froze on his face. Seriously, what the heck was with this
kid?

The rest of the walk was spent in an awkward silence as Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge continued to
bicker.
They soon reached a peak that had giant fields of assorted grasses growing all over the place. It
was a neat and orderly peak with pristine white buildings and disciples dressed in beige running
around busily everywhere. A faint scent of medicine seemed to envelop the entire peak.

Shen Yuan quickly realized that the large fields of grass were medicinal herbs. Ah. This was most
likely Qian Cao Peak then. The peak that specializes in medicine and healing. Makes sense.

Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu fought the whole way to the largest building on the peak. Shen
Qingqiu had begun attacking Liu Qingge’s character and Liu Qingge was returning fire in full.
Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua looked at each other as they walked into what appeared to be a
hospital. All of the working disciples and waiting patients turned to stare at them as the arguing
duo entered rather noisily. Not that Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu noticed though.

“Alright, alright, alright. Stop, stop.” A calm and mild voice suddenly interrupted.

The group turned to the right where a man had just walked out of a side room. The man was
dressed in more elaborate beige robes compared to the surrounding disciples and was rather
handsome. He had finely formed features and looked like a well cultured man.

“Why are you two arguing, here, in my hospital?” The man asked tiredly.

Liu Qingge placed a heavy hand on Shen Yuan’s shoulder and shoved him forward for the man to
see.

The man raised an eyebrow upon seeing Shen Yuan. His eyes quickly darted over to Shen Qingqiu
who was watching him impassively with his fan hiding most of his face.

“Ah. I see. Come along child, we’ll get your arm fixed.” The man said gesturing to a side room.

Shen Yuan and the other Peak Lords followed the man, who Shen Yuan was assuming was Mu
Qingfan the Qian Cao Peak Lord, into the side room. It was an office with a cluttered desk filled
with documents and there was a wall that was filled with tiny cabinets from top to bottom.

Mu Qingfang gestured to Shen Yuan to give him his arm, Shen Yuan stretched his broken arm out
for Mu Qingfan to examine. The man looked down at the broken arm for a while before he lifted
his right hand, “I’m going to touch it now, please tell me if it hurts.”
“Ah, it's okay, I can’t feel it.” Shen Yuan said.

Mu Qingfan paused slightly, he looked back up at Shen Yuan, “You can’t feel pain?”

“Well… I can feel it, but it's not unpleasant?”

“Pain dissociation?” Mu Qingfan muttered under his breath. He took Shen Yuan’s unbroken arm in
hand and ran cool minty feeling Qi through Shen Yuan’s meridians. His face contorted in
confusion for a moment before smoothing out into a mask of neutrality. He didn’t say anything but
he shot a glance at the Peak Lords standing by the door watching him.

Mu Qingfan was calm as He took Shen Yuan's broken arm in hand and gently supported it. He ran
a Qi covered left hand over the break. “Hm… This is a rather easy fix… just hold on for a
moment.” He left Shen Yuan’s side and went over to the wall of cabinets and rummaged around in
one of the cabinets near the bottom left. Mu Qingfan returned to Shen Yuan’s side with a pill and a
splint.

“Take the pill, it's meant as a general anesthetic, I know you said you can’t feel pain but I don't
want to test that.” Mu Qingfan explained.

Shen Yuan shrugged and popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed.

They waited a moment for the pill to kick in. Then Mu Qing fan coated both of his hands in healing
Qi. He gently guided Shen Yuan’s arm back into place, concentrating the Qi in his hands towards
the location of the break. Shen Yuan’s arm gradually straightened out and Mu Qingfan quickly
applied the splint to his arm.

“Don’t do anything too strenuous with that arm for at least a week. Then you can take the splint off
on your own. I've kick started the healing process for now.” Mu Qingfan instructed. “You’re free
to go then. I would like to speak with my fellow Peak Lords for a while.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you so much Shishu.” Shen Yuan said bowing to Mu Qingfan. He cradled his
arm to his chest, “Thank you for your guidance Shizun, thank you for accompanying us Shen-
Shibo, Shang-Shibo.” Shen Yuan then left the office and began to make his way back to Bai Zhan
peak by himself.
Mu Qingfan waited until he couldn’t sense Shen Yuan in the vicinity anymore before he turned to
the other Peak Lords with a grave expression.

“Well? Out with it then.” Shen Qingqiu waved his fan carelessly in Mu Qingfan’s direction, “What
is it that you wanted to tell us?”

“What was this boy doing before coming to Cang Qiong?” Mu Qingfan asked.

“Hm?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

Liu Qingge leaned against the wall of the office while Shang Qinghua finally looked up from his
fiddling fingers.

“Uh… He mentioned spending some time at Gao Song.” Shang Qinghua answered weakly.

Mu Qingfan cupped his chin in his hand and hummed. “That child.... I can’t believe he’s survived
as long as he has....”

“What do you mean?” Shen Qingqiu asked, beginning to fan himself.

“…it's almost as if his body has been through a thousand battles… The amount of internal scarring
in his body is extremely severe. It's like he’s been broken in half before and somehow survived. ”

Shen Qingqiu’s fanning increased in speed. Liu Qingge’s scowl increased in intensity. Shang
Qinghua’s fiddling fingers twitched erratically.

“Did he say what else he was doing before coming to Cang Qiong? I heard you talking with him on
the way here.” Shen Qingqiu asked Shang Qinghua sharply.

Shang Qinghua started and shook his head wildly, “N-no. He just said he spent a long time
wandering around and that he was stuck in one place for a very long time.”
 Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and tapped it against his lips thoughtfully. “The boy mentioned
that he had been in an inescapable situation before… And that he had to fight Fire heart striped
ring serpents without having a choice in the matter.”

“He has?” Liu Qingge asked, quirking with an eyebrow. Those snakes were not easy foes. Though
they did not seek out humans they were wily and difficult to pin, their flame breath was also quite
the deterrent.

“Apparently. He was quite knowledgeable about the serpents after all.” Shen Qingqiu answered.

A silence settled over the Peak lords as they contemplated what the state of Shen Yuan’s body
could possibly imply.

“Is-is it possible that he was stuck in a fighting ring as a battle slave? That pain tolerance isn’t
normal after all...” Shang Qinghua said.

Shen Qingqiu hummed. “Possibly. He said that a friend helped him out of whatever situation he
was stuck in, and that the same friend is now trapped somehow.”

The Peak Lords fell into silence once again.

Just what had Shen Yuan been doing before coming to Cang Qiong?

Chapter End Notes

Ahhhhhh uhhhhhh Im tired as usual uhhhhh thanks for all the lovely comments I die
for them as also usual. uhmmmmmm I had more to say but I forgot what I was gonna
say. bepis.
 Why Are Titles So Hard
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets his ribs fixed and has lessons.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 34: Why Are Titles So Hard

The next day when Shen Yuan was putting on his clothes Wang Cheng suddenly grabbed Shen
Yuan’s shoulder and stopped him from fully pulling on his robes.

“Hey Shen Yuan, what’s with your chest?” Wang Cheng asked.

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow, “Huh? What do you mean what’s with my chest?”

“It’s like. Lopsided?” Wang Cheng said, tilting his head and examining Shen Yuan’s chest
closely.

Shen Yuan took a step away from Wang Cheng’s close proximity before he looked down.

Indeed. His chest was caved in slightly on the right and extremely discolored with a smattering of
bruises.

“Oh.” Said Shen Yuan, “Huh. I might have broken ribs.” He hummed.

“What!” Wang Cheng shouted in alarm. “You might? No, no, no, those ribs are clearly broken! We
need to go to Qian Cao immediately! How didn’t you know you had broken ribs? Doesn’t that
hurt?”

Shen Yuan calmly finished pulling his robes on and tied his belt properly, “Ah, no not really.” He
said dully.

Wang Cheng stared at his roommate in horror, “How can you not feel that? Your ribs are broken!
Do you not feel pain?”

“Well now that you mention it there I do have this weird feeling whenever I inhale.”

Struck dumb by the bland reaction Wang Cheng could only stare as Shen Yuan calmly went to
breakfast as usual.

Shen Yuan was standing in line waiting to receive his breakfast when Wang Cheng burst into the
dining hall. Wang Cheng dramatically pointed at Shen Yuan and yelled, “Shen Yuan! You leave
your breakfast for later! We need to get you to Qian Cao!”

Heads turned into Shen Yuan’s direction as he awkwardly picked up a plate of baozi. “Can’t this
wait? I’ve already gotten my food.”

“No! Your ribs are broken and you don’t even care!” Wang Cheng shouted.

Gasps from the peanut gallery filled the dining hall and Shen Yuan shrank down under the weight
of a hundred shocked stares.

“It's no big deal really…” Said Shen Yuan edging towards an empty table near the back of the
dining hall.

Chu Yun came out of the crowd followed by Han Rei, “Hey, Shen Yuan are your ribs really
broken?” he asked in a concerned tone of voice.

Shen Yuan shrugged and stuffed a baozi in his mouth to escape answering.

Chu Yun frowned at Shen Yuan then he said, “Shidi, excuse me for what i'm about to do.” Chu
Yun promptly pounced on Shen Yuan and quickly shoved his robes off his shoulders.
Shen Yuan choked on his baozi as he was unexpectedly stripped in front of all the disciples of Bai
Zhan Peak. His heavily bruised and lopsided chest was suddenly exposed for all to see. Disciples
hissed at seeing the mottled purple color of his chest and Chu Yun hurriedly adjusted Shen Yuan’s
robs again so that he was properly covered.

Still coughing violently, Shen Yuan tried to ask Chu Yun what the hell he was thinking, but he was
suddenly swept off his feet by Han Rei. Shen Yuan yelped as Han Rei settled him in a princess
carry in his arms.

Han Rei quickly made his way out of the dining hall. Chu Yun and Wang Cheng scrambled to
follow along. Yin Lihua and Zhao Li saw that something interesting was happening with Shen
Yuan and tagged along as well.

Shen Yuan coughed into his hand and then smacked Han Rei’s chest, “What do you think you’re
doing!?” He asked indignantly.

“Taking you to Qian Cao. You obviously aren’t going by yourself.” Han Rei answered bluntly.

Shen Yuan whacked Han Rei’s chest again. “Put me down! I can walk there myself! And I was
going to go after I ate!”

“Nope. You’re injured. Rei-Ge is doing the right thing.” Chu Yun said with a cheeky smirk as he
caught up to Han Rei’s quick pace.

“I don’t need this!” Shen Yuan shouted.

“Shen-Shidi, it's better to accept your fate.” Zhao Li teased from Han Rei’s left.

Yin Lihua trotted up behind Zhao Li, “Shen-Shidi, why didn’t you get your ribs checked
yesterday?” She asked. “You got your arm fixed after all.”

“I didn’t notice yesterday!”

Yin Lihua’s brows drew together, “How can you not notice? Broken ribs hurt alot!”
“I just didn’t feel it that's all!”

Suddenly an epiphany seemed to come over Yin Lihua, “Is that why you never flinched during our
training?”

“Uh.”

Chu Yun and Han Rei shared a glance and then looked down at Shen Yuan. Han Rei’s face
became stern and he sped up his steps slightly. Wang Cheng had to run to keep up with Han Rei’s
long strides.

“We are having a very long discussion about your training later.” Han Rei told Shen Yuan.

“Eh. Why?” Shen Yuan asked.

Han Rei sighed while Chu Yun made a complicated expression next to him.

There wasn’t much conversation after that as the six Bai Zhan disciples quickly made their way
through the medicinal herb fields and into Qian Cao’s main hospital.

Mu Qingfan had just finished dealing with another patient when he turned around to see five Bai
Zhan disciples standing at his hospital entrance. One of the taller disciples was holding a pouting
boy that Mu Qingfan recognized from the day before. He raised an eyebrow at the procession but
waved them over to his work area.

“What seems to be the problem today?” He asked politely once they entered his office/treatment
room.

The tallest disciple held out the boy he held in his arms and said, “Shen Yuan broke his ribs
yesterday and didn’t notice until this morning.”

Mu Qingfan furrowed his brow, how could one not notice broken ribs? They would ache every
time you inhaled after all. Then he remembered. Ah, this is the child with pain dissociation. He
nearly smacked himself in the face. He must have missed the child’s broken ribs yesterday when
he got distracted by the amount of internal scarring Shen Yuan had.

“I see... I’ll kick start the healing process on your ribs as well.” Mu Qingfan said while directing
the tall boy to lay Shen Yuan down on a nearby bed. “You remember what I did yesterday for your
arm?” He asked Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan nodded mulishly, he was unceremoniously stripped by Chu Yun for the second time
that day in order to let Mu Qingfan see his ribs. Mu Qingfan once again coated his hands with
healing Qi and gently ran them over the area of the break. The bruises appeared to get worse as
they turned a nasty purple and then green and then slowly faded away.

“Unfortunately there's not much else we can do for broken ribs but it’s the same thing as with the
arm. No strenuous movement for a week. Then you should be fine.” Mu Qingfan said as he let
Shen Yuan sit up very slowly. “But on the other hand, I can see a very big issue with your pain
dissociation and being a disciple of Bai Zhan peak…”

Shen Yuan tilted his head as he pulled his robes back on, “Huh?”

Mu Qingfan crossed his arms over his chest, “If you do not realize you are injured and continue to
train. You will just be making things worse for yourself. Pain exists as a limiter to tell us when we
should stop. If you lack that then you will need someone else to tell you to stop or check if you
have injuries.” Mu Qingfan turned to the other Bai Zhan disciples who were hovering around the
bed curiously, “I’m assuming you are all friends with this child?” He got a round of nods in return,
“Good. Then I’m assigning all of you to take care of your friend. Make sure he doesn’t strain
himself unnecessarily and check him for injuries every so often. He won’t know if he is injured or
not on his own. It would be terrible if he didn’t notice a wound and it got infected.”

“Yes Shishu!” Wang Cheng replied smartly. Han Rei and Chu Yun nodded seriously while Zhao
Li smirked and patted Shen Yuan on the head. Yin Lihua looked as if she was busy trying to
commit everything Mu Qingfan said to memory.

“Ah, that's not really necessary…” Shen Yuan said hopping off the bed.

“It's a good thing the decision isn’t up to you then young man. Doctor’s orders.” Mu Qingfan told
him sternly. “And don’t move like that. There’s a chance of you jostling your ribs.
“But I’m fine I really am!” Shen Yuan protested.

Zhao Li put her elbow on top of Shen Yuan’s head and leaned on him, “Well kid, I don't think you
qualify as a very good judge.”

Shen Yuan slumped under her weight and sighed to himself. It seems that he would have even less
time alone in future now…

After the eventful morning, Shen Yuan spent the rest of the day under enforced bed rest, courtesy
of Han Rei and Chu Yun. They sternly scolded him for pushing himself past his limits during
training and firmly vowed to cut his training short in the future. Shen Yuan pouted for an entire
morning, his friends didn’t even have the decency to bring him a book for entertainment or
anything. Shen Yuan flopped against his pillow and committed himself to falling asleep for the rest
of the day.

Shang Qinghua was pacing in his office again as he considered the conundrum that was this Shen
Yuan character. Was this a fanfiction of PIDW with someone’s Mary Sue OC character? The kid
seemed overpowered already to be able to last for eleven minutes against the War God of Bai
Zhan. Shang Qinghua had killed off Liu Qingge in the original because he might have taken away
some of the glory of Luo Binghe after all. For this kid to last eleven minutes at his age… It was
incredible.

Wait.

Was it possible that he had designed such a character in his lost drafts and forgotten about him? It
seemed likely… If his hunch was right about Shen Yuan’s backstory, then Shen Yuan might have
been a secondary protagonist that he had simply forgotten about. The tragic backstory that kid had
seemed like something that he would write after all. It would parallel Shen Qingqiu and Yue
Qingyuan’s backstory wonderfully and…

Wait.

Wasn’t this kid the love child of Shen Qingqiu? How the hell would such a kid have ended up as a
battle slave?

Shang Qinghua collapsed into his chair. He held his chin in his hand as he considered the
possibilities.
Did Shen Qingqiu abandon his child somewhere on the streets?

It would be in character for him after all.

Shang Qinghua grabbed a blank sheet of paper and began writing down everything he knew about
Shen Yuan.

Came to Cang Qiong a year ago. Stuck in one place for a very long time. Freed by a friend who is
now trapped. Wandered around a lot afterwards. Fought Fire heart striped ring serpents without
having a choice in the matter. Insane pain tolerance and severe internal scarring. Possible love
child of Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu.

Shang Qinghua leaned back in his chair and stared down at the meager list. He really didn’t know
that much about the kid did he? Shang Qinghua sighed, how would he get more information on this
kid? His An Ding disciples didn’t come in contact with him often and there was only so much that
rumors could do for him. Staring at the ceiling despondently, Shang Qinghua almost wished he
could ask his system abilities this mysterious character. His system had been incredibly useful in
his early years surviving in the world of PIDW, providing him with information about the world
and his stats. Unfortunately his system had gone into hibernation several years ago because he
wasn’t close enough to the power source apparently.

Shang Qinghua rubbed his forehead tiredly. He wishes that he at least wrote coffee into the world
of PIDW.

The week of forced rest seemed to pass startlingly slowly. Shen Yuan still went to Qing Jing to
receive cultivation lessons from Shen Qingqiu. His meditation sessions were still fraught with
wandering thoughts but he was slowly getting better at it. Shen Qingqiu had started to teach him
how to sense the flow of Qi throughout his meridians in preparation for the first cultivation stage,
foundation establishment.

It was a strange feeling tracing the Qi throughout his body. It was like having a second circulatory
system that he was now constantly aware of. As a consequence of his Qi awareness, his body
awareness increased dramatically. His sword forms flowed much more smoothly, taking on a
dancer like grace. Though Shen Qingqiu had harshly whacked him on the head with his fan when
he caught Shen Yuan practicing his sword forms.

Liu Qingge had snorted and crossed his arms proudly when he heard.
That's right, another development of Shen Yuan’s week off was that Liu Qingge had taken to
sitting in on Shen Yuan’s lessons with Shen Qingqiu. His excuse was that he was observing
another teacher’s teaching methods. Though most of the time he just sat in the corner of the
bamboo house scowling. Shen Yuan thought it was a pity that all Liu Qingge knew how to do with
that pretty face was scowl. Shen Qingqiu simply ignored Liu Qingge’s existence as he set about
teaching Shen Yuan the art of painting.

“...What is it that you are painting exactly?” Shen Qingqiu asked skeptically while looking over
Shen Yuan’s shoulder.

“A black dragon.” Shen Yuan answered calmly. “They’re quite majestic in person. Though you
can’t use poison to kill them if you want to harvest their hearts.”

“Is it tearing a group of warriors apart?”

“They’re quite fierce after all.”

“Are those warriors demons?”

“Ah Shen-Shibo has quite the eye for detail.”

Shen Qingqiu took a step back from Shen Yuan and fluttered his fan in concern.

Liu Qingge craned his neck from his corner to get a look at Shen Yuan’s painting. He snorted the
moment he caught sight of it. Shen Qingqiu shot him a scathing look.

Shen Yuan’s tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on trying to get a
splash of blood bursting from a warrior impaled on the black dragon’s claws correct.

A sharp knock at the door resounded through the bamboo house. Shen Qingqiu quirked an
eyebrow, who would be looking for him at this time? He walked over to the door and was about to
open it when the door was pushed open by his visitor. A neatly dressed woman in rich purple robes
swept into the house without introducing herself.
She walked into the side room where Shen Yuan was painting calmly with Liu Qingge in the
corner and inhaled sharply in excitement.

“So the rumors were true!” She turned to Shen Qingqiu who had followed behind her
exasperatedly, “Congratulations. Though I expected better from you. Tell us next time.” Then she
walked over to Shen Yuan and pinched his cheeks fondly, “Oh you’re so cute! It’s like having a
mini Shen Qingqiu!”

“Qi Qingqi. What are you doing here?” Shen Qingqiu asked indignantly.

Shen Yuan examined this Qi Qingqi, she was incredibly beautiful with sharp and dignified
features. She had her long hair up in an elaborate crown with purple ribbons and she had on some
very light makeup that accentuated her features.

Qi Qingqi smiled cheekily at Shen Qingqiu, “Why I’m here to see the child between you Liu-Shidi
and Yue-Shixiong.”

Shen Qingqiu stared at Qi Qingqi with an unamused expression. “What.”

“I’m surprised you hid this from us for so long Shen Qingqiu! If you had a child with Liu-Shidi
and Yue-Shixiong why wouldn’t you have told us?”

Shen Qingqiu spluttered, “What? No! Shen Yuan is not my child!”

Qi Qingqi tilted her head at Shen Qingqiu while Liu Qingge choked in the corner having finally
realized what she was implying. “But his name is Shen Qingyuan? And he looks so much like you
and he’s a disciple of Bai Zhan? How could he not be a product of you three?”

Shen Qingqiu rubbed his forehead, “What? Since when was his name Shen Qingyuan?”

Qi Qingqi smiled benevolently at Shen Qingqiu and continued manhandling Shen Yuan’s face.
“Liu-Shidi has called him that during their spars, no?”
Shen Qingqiu shot a withering look at Liu QIngge who looked more confused than ever. “No.” He
spat. “There has been a mistake. Shen Yuan’s name is not Shen Qingyuan.”

“Oh so it's a nickname! I see! How cute!” Qi Qingqi said excitedly.

“No! Shen Yuan is simply my disciple! He and I are not related in any way shape or form!” Shen
Qingqiu nearly shouted.

Qi Qingqi gasped and covered Shen Yuan’s ears. “No honey he doesn’t mean that!” She told Shen
Yuan. “He’s just in denial!”

Shen Qingqiu ran a hand down his face, “Qi Qingqi. How could Shen Yuan be a product of three
men?”

Qi Qingqi smirked at Shen Qingqiu, “Don’t you know? The Pink rose queen drop flower is capable
of such things. Accidental conception with that flower is quite easy. That’s been the most widely
accepted theory so far.”

“What.” Shen Qingqiu looked mildly dumbfounded, “Most widely accepted theory? How many
people think that Shen Yuan is my son?”

“Why the whole sect should know by now.” Qi Qingqi answered casually examining her nails.

“What.” Said Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu shared a worried glance then proceeded to
glare venomously at each other.

“How can people possibly believe that I would have a child with this brute?” Shen Qingqiu said
derisively, pointing his fan dismissively at Liu Qingge. Liu QIngge scowled back but didn’t argue.

Qi Qingqi smiled coyly, “Oh so Shen Yuan is a product of the union between you and the Sect
Leader?”

Shen Qingqiu whipped around and looked as if he was a second away from whacking Qi Qingqi
with his fan, “No! How many times do I have to tell you! I am not this boy’s father!”
 Shen Yuan chose this moment to speak up, “Its true Qi-Shigu, I’m not related to Shen-Shibo, I
don’t know how the rumors started.”

Qi Qingqi turned back to Shen Yuan and examined him curiously, “How can you be so sure,
child?”

Shen Yuan wants to yell that it's because he's been alive longer than the combined ages of the
people in this room but that won't go over well. So he shrugs and says, “Just a feeling.”

She squints at him but shrugs cheekily. “That's not what Cang Qiong’s feeling is.”

Shen Yuan sighs, he’s aware.

Shen Qingqiu who has been pacing in the background finally stops wearing the ground down and
snaps, “This is ridiculous. I won't stand for such a rumor being spread.” Then the man dramatically
sweeps out of the bamboo house and takes off on Xiu Ya. Liu Qingge gets up and unsheathes
Cheng Luan and quickly takes off after Shen Qingqiu. Shen Yuan watches them go from the
window.

He supposes that lessons are over for the day then.

Shen Yuan is left behind in an awkward atmosphere with Qi Qingqi. The woman is smiling at him
like a wolf about to pounce on its prey.

Shen Yuan gulped and stared at the woman in trepidation.

Chapter End Notes

Thank you everyone who is yelling at me to take breaks I appreciate you all very very
much. Thank you to everyone for leaving such kind comments on this fic I cry every
time. Please leave ideas for what you want to see happen with Shen Yuan in Bai Zhan.
There are still roughly fourteen/thirteen years before Bing Bing shows up!
 I Used To Be An Orphan Like You, Then I Met The Cang Qiong Peak Lords
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan suffers through feminine whims and some people experience Revelations.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 35: I Used To Be An Orphan Like You, Then I Met The Cang Qiong Peak Lords

After a thorough grilling session in which Qi Qingqi asked Shen Yuan about every possible topic
regarding his Shizun and Shibo, She finally took mercy on Shen Yuan and stopped.

Qi Qingqi smiled at Shen Yuan slyly. She sidled up to him and put an arm around his shoulders.
“So. Shen Yuan. Have you seen the rest of the sect yet?”

Shen Yuan awkwardly shrunk beneath her arm and shook his head.

Qi Qingqiu’s smile seemed to grow bigger when he shook his head.

“Why don’t you clean up here and we can go to my peak so I can show you around? It would be an
absolute crime if we were to let Shen Qingqiu keep this cute face hidden from the world.”

“Um. This disciple thinks that leaving without informing Shizun and Shibo wouldn’t be wise.”
ShenYuan replied hesitantly.

“Nonsense child! Now come, come! There’s much to do today!” Saying that, Qi Qing Qi
proceeded to pick him up by the collar like a sack of potatoes and then briskly walked out of the
bamboo house. She unsheathed her sword and stepped onto it and took off with Shen Yuan held
like a teddy bear in her arms.

Shen Yuan blushed furiously as he felt the back of his head pressed against two bountiful mounds,
but he was soon distracted by the sight of the sect from high above. The twelve mountain peaks
were gorgeous in the morning sun. The Tian Gong mountain range was truly a sight to behold as
Qi Qingqi quickly flew across the sky.

Shen Yuan found himself on Xian Shu sooner that he really expected. Qi Qingqi stopped outside of
the peak for a bit to fiddle with the barrier surrounding the mountain that prevented males from
entering. She added Shen Yuan into the list of acceptable males and then they were in. She carried
him to the elegant buildings off in the distance and brought him to one of the classrooms along the
edges of the peak.

Qi Qingqi happily introduced him to a large class of older female disciples. And then, she
proceeded to leave him at their mercy.

Shen Yuan shot her a betrayed look as the girls pounced on him and began excitedly discussing
how they could possibly make Shen Yuan even cuter.

Qi Qingqi simply smirked at Shen Yuan and closed the classroom door behind her.

Yue Qingyuan was just finishing a meeting with Mu Qingfan over the current state of the sect
hospital when Shen Qingqiu suddenly burst into his office.

Shen Qingqiu appeared to be rather harried and looked as if he had rushed over as quickly as they
could. Then Liu Qingge dashed in behind him looking extremely bewildered.

“Sect leader.” Shen Qingqiu snapped. “It has come to my attention that there are certain untrue
rumors floating around the sect that require immediate attention.”

Yue Qingyuan shared a bemused look with Mu Qingfan before he sighed and gestured for Shen
Qingqiu to take a seat.

Shen Qingqiu sniffed and took his seat with an air of injured dignity. Liu Qingge hovered in the
entryway awkwardly and decided to just lean against the wall.

Flicking open his fan Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes at the Sect Leader. “It has recently come to
my attention that there is currently a rumor that Shen Yuan is the product of a strange union
between you, Liu-shidi, and me. This is blatantly untrue. I would like this rumor to be dispelled
immediately.”
Yue Qingyuan sat there for a moment and gaped at Shen Qingqiu, “I-what?” He started, “But your
son?”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrow twitched, “Shen Yuan is not my son.” He declared firmly. “I would like to
make an official announcement to the rest of the sect that these rumors are false. I have had no
relations with you or Liu-Shidi to be able to have a son.”

Yue Qingyuan stared at Shen Qingqiu with a crushed expression. “But Qingqiu-Shidi think of your
son’s feelings! This would crush him!”

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and pointed it at Yue Qingyuan, “Are you even listening? He is
not my son! I refuse to accept this!” Shen Qingqiu abruptly stood, ‘if you won’t do something
about this then I will!” Then the man turned in a dramatic swirl of robes and stormed out of the
office as quickly as he came.

Yue Qingyuan’s face fell as Shen Qingqiu left, he turned to Mu Qingfan and asked, “Mu-Shidi, is
it possible for Qingqiu-Shidi to have had a child without him realizing it?”

Mu Qingfan held his chin thoughtfully before he said, “It is possible. If he were to have
particularly strong feelings between himself and another powerful cultivator and happened to
cultivate near a Pink rose queen drop flower, then a child could quite possibly have been born from
such powerful spiritual energies.”

Liu Qingge looked absolutely astonished, “So he’s my son?”

Mu Qingfan furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Liu Qingge, “This Shidi said it was merely a
possibility, not that it actually happened.”

“How could I not have seen it before? He has my stance!” Liu Qingge muttered to himself.

“That's not an inherited trait, Liu-Shixiong” Mu Qingfan deadpanned.

Liu Qingge didn’t appear to have heard Mu Qingfan as he continued muttering, “Of course… for a
child of Shen Qingqiu to be so diligent…”
“Now that's just insulting Shen-Shixiong,” Mu Qingfan said exasperatedly.

“I can’t believe it. I have a son. And with Shen Qingqiu of all people.”

“Shixiong, are you even listening to-“

“I'll make sure to turn him into an honorable warrior.” Liu Qingge said determinedly. Then he
stood and marched out of the room with a firm expression on his face.

Mu Qingfan turned back to Yue Qingyuan with an exasperated expression, “Yue-Shixiong would
you please get this misunderstanding with Shen Qingyuan cleared-“

“Shen Qingyuan? Xiao-Jiu even named him after me? So Xiao-jiu and I had a child? Was this why
Xiao-Jiu didn’t tell me? Was he too ashamed to tell his Qi-ge he had a son without Qi-Ge knowing?
But now he’s even rejecting his own child… Don’t worry A’Yuan this Qi-Ge will do his best to
make your father acknowledge you…” Yue Qingyuan muttered under his breath.

“...” Mu Qingfan pursed his lips and stared judgmentally at Yue Qingyuan.

Shen Yuan tiredly made his way back to Bai Zhan Peak after what felt like a thorough violation of
his masculinity. He was somehow utterly exhausted despite his inability to get tired.

Wang Cheng was waiting for him with his arms crossed when he got back to his room.

“Where have you been, young man?” Wang Cheng demanded. “Your Qing Jing classes don’t take
this long.”

Shen Yuan gave Wang Cheng a deadpan stare, “I got kidnapped by the Peak Lord of Xian Shu.”

“What?”
“I got kidnapped by the Peak Lord of Xian Shu.”

Wang Cheng stared at Shen Yuan dumbfoundedly then he shook his head, “Any way. Come here
Shen Yuan, I need to check if you have any injuries like Mu-Shishu told us to.”

Shen Yuan scowled and walked over to his bed, “There's no need. I’m fine.”

Wang Cheng frowned, “I'm just gonna check real quick. We’re all worried for you, you know?”

Shen Yuan sighed. He stripped down to his inner robes and sullenly let Wang Cheng quickly
check him over.

Wang Cheng hummed as he closely inspected Shen Yuan, then he nodded his head in satisfaction
and patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder, “All set! See! That wasn’t so bad was it?”

Shen Yuan just sighed again and flopped onto his bed, “Wang Cheng you don’t need to take Mu-
Shishu so seriously, I’ll be fine on my own. I've lasted this long all by myself after all.”

Wang Cheng looked rather upset for Shen Yuan, “But you’re not on your own anymore. You have
friends that care about you now.”

Shen Yuan stared at Wang Cheng, then he turned over to face the wall, “...Thanks Wang Cheng.”
He muttered.

Wang Cheng smiled at Shen Yuan like a sunflower, “Yeah!” then he tilted his head as he stared at
Shen Yuan’s back, “Uh… By the way… you had a little something there on your face…”

Shen Yuan started violently, He thought he got all of it off! He sat up and scrubbed at his face,
“Hm? What? Where? Did I get it?”

“Uhh no there's still some over there.” Wang Cheng said pointing at Shen Yuan’s face.

Shen Yuan rubbed at the area Wang Cheng pointed at furiously.

“Did I get it?”

“No.”

Shen Yuan rubbed harder, “Now?”

“Uhh…. Sure.” said Wang Cheng.

Shen Yuan let out a breath, his cheeks were rosy from the rubbing and his eyes were watery and
still prettily accentuated. Wang Cheng blushed slightly as Shen Yuan looked at him thankfully
with luminous eyes that seemed less dead than usual. Even his hair that was usually tied up half
heartedly seemed to gleam prettily in the light.

“Thanks Wang Cheng.” Shen Yuan said breathily.

Wang Cheng looked away flushed, “N-no problem. I-I got to get to sparring now.”

“Oh! I'll come too!” Shen Yuan said.

“You can’t spar right now Shen Yuan!”

“Don’t worry Wang Cheng, I’ll just watch.”

“O-oh. Okay I guess.”

“Well, let's go then!” Shen Yuan said hopping off his bed and pulling on his robes again.

Wang Cheng nodded numbly and followed Shen Yuan out of the room towards the training fields
that their class was held at.
By the time they arrived at the training fields most of their year mates were already there stretching
out. A group of older disciples were also stretching along with them. It seemed that todays sparring
class would be held against the disciples a year above them for experience. Wang Cheng made
sure that Shen Yuan sat himself safely on the sidelines before he joined his year mates in stretching
out.

Yin Lihua who was supervising as usual saw Shen Yuan sitting on the sidelines and happily
walked over to him to sit with him.

Yin Lihua dropped down to sit with her legs crossed besides SHen Yuan, “So Shen-Shidi, how
have your ribs been?” She asked.

“Ah Yin-Shijie, they’re fine so far thank you for asking.”

“Mm. Get well soon! And you look very cute today!” Yin Lihua smiled and propped her head on
her hands and examined Shen Yuan’s face closely.

“Oh, um. Thank you?” Shen Yuan said, rather confused by the sudden out of the blue compliment.

Yin Lihua smiled and patted him on the head.

Shen Yuan leaned back and peacefully watched the stretching disciples. He noticed that quite a
few disciples were looking at him strangely, they were flushed and they couldn’t seem to take their
eyes off him. He wondered why that was. Wang Cheng told him he had gotten all the stuff on his
face off after all.

Yin Lihua called for the stretching disciples to pair off for their spars.

The disciples quickly followed her directions and Yin Lihua quickly called up the first pair to spar.
Coincidentally the first pair happened to be Wang Cheng and a square faced disciple Shen Yuan
vaguely recognized from somewhere. Where exactly though…?

Ah. Right. The square faced dude was someone who was part of Zhao Feiyan’s fan club or
something.
Square face was also staring at Shen Yuan strangely. He seemed oddly intent on Shen Yuan’s face
and was muttering under his breath things like, “Too pretty… No wonder Feiyan-Gongzhu and she
are friends…”

Then square face shook his head sharply and he and Wang Cheng stepped up to positions opposite
from each other and took their stances.

Wang Cheng shot a quick glance at Shen Yuan before he charged at square face with a shout.
Square face met Wang Chang’s head long charge with a firm stance and calmly parried Wang’s
Chang’s first attack. Wang Cheng didn't relent with simply one attack though. He was determined
to impress Shen Yuan so that Shen Yuan would spar with him more and interact with his fellow
year mates more often. Shen Yuan kept leaving them all behind for their more skilled Shixiong, it
made Shen Yuan’s year mates push themselves harder without Shen Yuan ever realizing it.

Wang Cheng followed up his initial strike with a sharp diagonal upward slash and then smoothly
transitioned into a string of jabs and swings. Square face blocked what he could but still received
several bruises from stray jabs that he hadn’t managed to defend against.

Wang Cheng made quite the dashing figure as he beat square face into the ground.

Shen Yuan smiled in approval at Wang Chang’s clear improvement. Wang Cheng glanced over at
Shen Yuan after he finished with square face, he caught sight of the tiny smile on Shen Yuan’s
face and choked. Then he promptly tripped over absolutely nothing and face planted into the dirt.

Shen Yuan’s face contorted in confusion, why did Wang Cheng suddenly trip just now? Had he
taken an injury somewhere without Shen Yuan noticing?

Wang Cheng scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off blushing furiously. Then he practically
ran to get off the training field.

Shen Yuan hoped that he would be alright.

Through strangely enough the trend that Wang Cheng had started continued through the rest of the
younger disciples. They would magnificently beat down their older counterparts and then stumble
and stutter afterwards when Shen yuan made expressions of pride. Li Yue was the worst offender
though, after she had defeated an older Shijie she turned to look at Shen Yuan with bright sparkling
eyes yearning for praise. Shen Yuan smiled hesitantly at her and gave her a nod. Li Yue proceeded
to squeal loudly and then she fell over in a dead faint.

Shen Yuan was very confused.

When the last few pairs were sparring, Liu Qingge happened to show up, putting everyone on
edge.

He stood on the sidelines and watched the disciples spar without saying anything. The sparring
disciples redoubled their efforts when they realized that their Shizun was watching.

A hushed silence fell over the training fields, broken only by the sounds of clashing practice
weapons.

Shen Yuan noticed that the man’s focus seemed to not be on the sparring, but in fact, Liu Qingge
seemed to be staring at him for some reason. Liu Qingge had a rather contemplative look on his
face and Shen Yuan tilted his head as he wondered what Liu QIngge was thinking. After staring a
while longer at Shen Yuan’s face, Liu Qingge huffed a breath then turned to leave.

All sparring disciples relaxed slightly as the man left. Conversation started up in hushed whispers
following the wake of Liu Qingge’s departure.

Stepping out of his portal into the dark dank cave that was now Tianlang-jun’s permanent
residence, Shen Yuan took a deep breath and relaxed slightly.

Tianlang-jun looked up from where he had been reciting something to Zhuzhi Lang who was
diligently writing down everything Tianlang-jun was saying.

“Ah Shen Yuan. Just in time! I’ve had an idea recently. I’ll be writing my own books. Zhuzhi Lang
can get them published for me!”

“Oh? That seems like a good way to occupy yourself. I approve. What’s your book about?” Shen
Yuan said, pulling out his sealing supplies and kneeling in front of Tianlang-jun.

Tianlang-jun seemed to pause as he stared at Shen Yuan’s face for a bit. “By the way.” He said,
“You look very pretty today. Hot date?”

“What? No? What do you mean?” Asked Shen Yuan.

“Hmph. Fine don’t tell me. I can always ask Zhuzhi Lang I suppose.”

Shen Yuan pulled out a brush and a slip of paper, “What do you mean ask Zhuzhi Lang?”

“I’ve been having Zhuzhi Lang keep an eye on you, you know? There’s so many delicious rumors
going around in your sect it would be a shame if I missed out on any of it.”

Shen Yuan froze. Then he slowly looked up at Tianlang-jun. “What.”

Tianlang-jun just smiled angelically at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan frowned at Tianlang-jun, “What’s with that face? Stop it. I don't like it. No. Stop. Take
it off.”

Tianlang-jun seemed to emit sparkles as his smile further intensified in its purity and angelicness.

“Disgusting.” Shen Yuan grimaced, “What do you mean Zhuzhi Lang has been keeping an eye on
me?”

Tianlang-jun fluttered his eyelashes at Shen Yuan, “why nothing at all. Merely that Zhuzhi Lang
has been informing me of how your daily life at Cang Qiong has been going. You seem to be at the
center of quite a few rumors you know?”

Shen Yuan sighed as he scrawled an array onto his paper slip, “I am aware.”

“Are you?”
“Yes…”

“Hoh. Alright then. Zhuzhi Lang, write a note to make sure that the main character is blatantly
oblivious to the affections of his admirers”

Zhuzhi Lang hastily scribbled on his scroll, “Yes, Junshang.”

“What exactly are you writing anyways?” Shen Yuan asked, still drawing his array with intense
concentration.

“I’m writing about a soap opera about the origins of Shen Qingyuan.”

Shen Yuan concentrated on a specific stroke and hummed absently, “Hmm, okay. What’s it
about?”

“Why I’m glad you asked,” Tianlang-jun said. “Its about a young boy who was a slave in a
fighting ring escaping with the help of a friend who becomes trapped in his place. The young boy
learns of his origins as the son of a high ranking cultivation sect official and goes to join that
official’s sect as a disciple. After joining the sect he purposefully chooses his father’s rival faction
in order to gain his father’s attention using his martial skills. When his father finally notices him,
his father refuses to acknowledge him, abandoning him to the rest of the sect. The Sect Leader and
the main character’s Shizun learn of this abandonment and swear to do right by the main character
as they are also the main character’s fathers. The Sect Leader tries his best to provide for the main
character but the main character never realizes his efforts. The Shizun does his best to make the
main character into the best warrior possible, eventually making the main character surpass him in
martial might. The father of the main character eventually softens towards the main character and
accepts him after a very long time of the main character earnestly learning under him. Then… Hey.
Are you even listening?”

“Hmm…” Said Shen Yuan, “...Yes. Of course…” Shen Yuan slapped his unsealing array onto
Tianlang-jun and watched it sink into the 46th seal. The 46th seal popped out of existence and Shen
Yuan pulled out a fake seal from his pocket and stuck it on to Tianlang-jun. “There. That's that. Do
you need me to do anything for you while I’m here?” Shen Yuan asked.

Tianlang-jun cracked his neck and sighed contentedly, “Hmm… Not that i can currently think of.
I’ll have Zhuzhi Lang send you a snake if I think of anything. He’s been getting quite close to the
members of your beast peak apparently. The beasts have quite the interesting rumors according to
him.”
 “Oh okay. Sounds good I suppose. I just came by to deal with number forty six. It's good to see that
you’re keeping yourself busy.” Shen Yuan replied while packing up quickly.

“Yes, yes thank you very much master Shen. I look forward to you next visit. Maybe I’ll have my
book done by that time.”

Shen Yuan stood, “Ah. Sounds good. It's good to see you Zhuzhi Lang and keep hanging in there
Tianlang-jun.”

“Ah yes it's good to see you too master Shen.” Zhuzhi Lang said looking up from his scroll and
bowing his head slightly.

“Hanging in here is all I can do master Shen.” Tianlang-jun replied.

“Yeah. Might as well make a joke of it huh?” Shen Yuan said, tearing a hole through space with
his left hand.

“Mm… That is true.”

“Yeah. Well, see you later I suppose.” Said Shen Yuan stepping through his portal.

“Junshang, are you sure it is wise to write a book based on the rumors surrounding master Shen?”
Zhuzhi Lang asked as the portal finished closing up behind Shen Yuan.

“Well he didn’t seem opposed to it when I was telling him about it.”

Zhuzhi Lang elected to ignore the fact that Shen Yuan hadn’t really been listening to his lord at all.
“Oh. Um. Yes. Indeed Junshang.”

Chapter End Notes

AYYYYYY THANK YOU TO EVEYONE WHO HAS COMMENTED ON THIS
FIC! We have made it to the top commented on fic in the svsss tag! I feel slightly
awkward about this since there are fics that are written way better than this one hahah.
But I’m trying my best QwQ. Thank you all for the insane support! I cry I really do!
 We All Have That One Friend
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan meets new friends!

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 36: We All Have That One Friend

Shen Yuan bit his thumb nail as he stared down at his copy of the forty-fifth seal. He compared it
to the forty-sixth spell which he had broken already.

Shen Yuan tsked.

It seemed that the spells from here onward were going to be much more complicated to break. He
placed the forty-fifth seal on the table and tapped it thoughtfully as he examined the differences
between the forty sixth and forty fifth. He noticed that the forty-fifth seal looked as if it were
incomplete, but that didn’t quite make sense… How would it function if it were incomplete?

Shen Yuan furrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the stack of books and
scrolls in front of him – none of them had mentioned anything close to incomplete seals. He
sighed. Looks like he would have to go deeper into the library then.

Shen Yuan stood and shoved his sealing notes up his sleeves and then made his way to the back
shelves of the library. He found a few books related to sealing on the bottom shelves along the
back wall. Shen Yuan crouched down to read the titles.

Suddenly, he felt someone trip over his back with a yelp. The books held in the tripper’s arms went
flying into the air as they tumbled over him. Shen Yuan watched with wide eyes as a pile of books
fell like rain around them. Then, the mystery clutz suddenly sprang up and deftly caught all of the
flying books with graceful floating movements.

They landed softly and let out a sigh of relief before turning to look at exactly what they had
tripped over.
Shen Yuan made eye contact with the most thuggish looking Qing Jing disciple he had ever seen.
The boy’s face seemed permanently schooled into a strict scowl and he had three large scars
running across his face. One ran from the top of his left ear down to his chin, passing through his
lip. Another went horizontally across his nose from cheek to cheek, intersecting with a scar that ran
vertically from the top older boy’s right brow down to his jaw. It was frankly miraculous that the
boy still had his right eye.

The boy stared at Shen Yuan for a shocked second before he yelped and tossed his books on to a
nearby table and bowed frantically. “S-shizun! This one apologizes for tripping over you!” He then
straightened up and seemed to realize that he was looking down at a rather tiny copy of his Shizun.
“S-Shizun! Why are you so tiny!? Oh no! Could I have done this? Shizun I’m so sorry!”

Shen Yuan tried to interrupt his panic. “I’m not your-“

“Shizun this one didn’t mean to give you a Qi deviation and make you shrink!” The disciple
yelled.

“Like I said I’m not-“

“Shizun! What do we do?” He wailed, “Oh wait! I know!”

Then, the disciple quickly scooped Shen Yuan into his arms and took off in a dead sprint out of the
library.

“Hey! Put me down!” Shen Yuan yelled.

“Sorry Shizun! But I know just what to do to solve this situation!” The disciple hollered back.

“I’m not your Shizun!”

“Sorry, Shizun! I guess I must have landed on you too hard!” The disciple yelled out, quickly
crossing the rainbow bridge.
“Put me down!”

“We’re almost there!”

“Almost where?!”

“There!” The disciple rushed onto Qiong Ding and didn't pause to greet anyone. He charged
straight into the main administrative building and headed directly to a room near the Sect Leader’s
office. He practically kicked the door open.

A stoic-faced female disciple greeted him calmly as he charged in. The girl was beautiful but gave
off a cold atmosphere. She looked like a high born noble with her elegant cheek bones and dainty
features. She was dressed in the typical black robes of Qiong Ding and sported a delicate looking
crown set in her elaborate hair style.

“Chen Tian, what is it now?” She asked.

This ‘Chen Tian’ held out Shen Yuan as if brandishing a small animal and shook him slightly. “I
made Shizun shrink! I need to get into Qian Cao!”

“Then why did you take me here instead of Qian Cao?” Shen Yuan snapped out.

“Shizun!” Chen Tian looked slightly injured at Shen Yuan’s sharp tone of voice. “I guess I really
did hit you too hard! Or the Qi deviation caused you to lose your memories! Mu-Shishu banned me
from going to Qian Cao without good reason!”

“I’m not your Shizun! Put me down already!”

“Head Disciple,” Chen Tian cried dramatically. “Look at him! He doesn’t even know what’s best
for him!”

The girl gave Chen Tian a stiff nod. “Your visit is approved.” She stood from her seat at her desk.
“I’m taking a break now.”
Chen Tian smiled brightly at her – the scars on his face twisted, making him look even more
intimidating – before turning around and charging out of the building with as much energy as he
had used when he’d first entered.

The girl let out a puff of air from her nose and followed Chen Tian out.

Chen Tian practically barreled down the rainbow bridge all the way to Qian Cao.

Shen Yuan resigned himself to the ignoble fate of being hauled around in this strange disciple’s
arms. He slumped slightly in Chen Tian’s arms. Chen Tian let out a worried shout and sped up
even more.

This time, Chen Tian did kick open the door to Qian Cao’s main hospital. He ignored the appalled
stares from the surrounding disciples and patients, and ran to an office near Mu Qingfan’s. He
pushed open the door quickly and brandished Shen Yuan in front of him once again, presenting
him to a gently smiling girl. She seemed to be the very definition of the word angelic, with her
cute, pouty lips and button nose. Her eyes were wide and shiny, and her hair framed her face
delicately.

“A’Lian! Help! I shrunk my Shizun!” Chen Tian shouted.

The girl’s smile didn't waver as she hummed lightly. “Is this your Shizun?”

“No!” Shouted Shen Yuan.

“Yes!” Declared Chen Tian.

The girl tilted her head slightly. Then, the head disciple of Qiong Ding entered the room after Chen
Tian. The girls nodded at each other before turning to face Chen Tian at the same time.

Chen Tian once again shook Shen Yuan in his grasp slightly. “Please help my Shizun! He’s had a
Qi deviation and shrunk!”
At this point, Shen Yuan had had enough. He pulled his stack of notes from his sleeves and
whapped Chen Tian over the head with them. A few scraps of loose paper went flying into the air.

“You wanted to bring me to Qian Cao, and now you have! So release me!” Shen Yuan shouted
indignantly.

He was dropped rather abruptly, as if Chen Tian had just touched something scalding hot.

Shen Yuan wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the Qian Cao disciple’s eyes seemed rather
cold for an instant. It vanished just as quickly as she gently smiled, bending down to pick up the
scattered notes. She handed the papers back to Shen Yuan and said, “You seem like a diligent
student, you should be more careful with your notes.”

Shen Yuan took the offered papers and nodded sheepishly at her. “Ah, thank you?”

“This one is Hua Heilian, Shidi.”

“Thank you, Hua-Shijie.”

“A’Lian, please help my Shizun!” Chen Tian cried dramatically.

“I’m not your Shizun!” Shen Yuan snapped.

Chen Tian hugged Shen Yuan around the waist. “A’Lian, he doesn’t even remember who he is!”

Shen Yuan’s eyebrows twitched as he struggled in Chen Tian’s grasp. “Let me go! I’m Shen Yuan,
not Shen Qingqiu!”

“Wait, you’re Shizun’s son?” Chen Tian asked incredulously, still latched onto him like a limpet.

“No! I’m not related to him! Let go already!”

“You have a bump on the back of your head,” The Qiong Ding head disciple suddenly pointed out.

Shen Yuan paused momentarily. “What?” He asked.

Hua Heilian, still smiling angelically, said, “Chen Tian, please let go before you give me more
work to do.”

Chen Tian pouted and let go of Shen Yuan rather reluctantly.

Hua Heilian put herself between the two before Shen Yuan could turn and scowl at the older boy.
“Patients really shouldn’t be so stressed. It would be a shame if anything unfortunate were to
happen.” She said softly, patting Shen Yuan on the head gently.

‘ Why does it feel like she’s cursing me?’ Shen Yuan thought to himself. He glanced up, only to see
Hua Heilian’s gentle eyes. ‘ Huh, maybe I hit my head too hard. I’m starting to think strangely.’

“Now, why don’t you let me check your head, hm?” Hua Heilian hummed, turning Shen Yuan
around to check the back of his head. Shen Yuan didn’t react as she pressed the bump on the back
of his head. Behind him Hua Heilian paused slightly.

Shen Yuan didn’t see her smile seemingly darken.

“Oh, are you the problem patient that Mu-Shizun mentioned,” she asked lightly. “The one that
couldn’t feel pain?”

“Ah… Maybe?” Shen Yuan replied sheepishly.

Her hand glowed with a light as she brought it to his eye. She examined his pupillary response and
nodded to herself.

“Any changes in your vision? Lightheadedness? Nausea?”

“Ah no,” Shen Yuan replied.

Hu Heilian pointed out a line on the floor. “Please walk on that line as straight as possible so I can
check your balance.”

“Ah okay.” Shen Yuan easily walked along the straight line without any problems.

“Mm… Good.” Hua Heilian’s right hand lit up with healing Qi and she gently ran it over the bump.
“Hmm… Let me check your ribs, and your arm too…”

“Oh. Okay.” Shen Yuan held out his right arm for her and she ran her hand along his arm.

“Carelessness can often lead to unfortunate results,” she said softly. She ran a hand along Shen
Yuan’s side and then pulled back. “Well. We’re all set here. Please take better care of yourself,
Shidi. I would hate to see you coming by with more injuries.”

Shen Yuan nodded. “Thank you very much Hua-Shijie.”

“Well, since we’re all here, why don’t we get lunch? You can come too, Shidi!” Chen Tian said
cheerfully.

Head Disciple nodded. “Acceptable.”

Shen Yuan stared dully at Chen Tian. He didn’t really know if he wanted to go anywhere with this
guy.

“Don’t worry, Shidi. You won’t be a burden,” Hua Heilian said kindly.

‘ Did I give off that kind of feeling?’ Shen Yuan wondered.

Shen Yuan scratched the side of his head. “Ah… Alright I guess…”

“Nice!” Chen Tian then proceeded to pick up Shen Yuan like a rag doll and promptly dashed off
towards the Qian Cao dining hall.

The girls shared a look and followed after him at a much more sedate pace.

At the dining hall, Shen Yuan was plonked down on a chair at a table for four and Chen Tian
quickly dashed off to get food.

Hua Heilian and the Qiong Ding head disciple ambled in a few minutes after Shen Yuan and Chen
Tian had already prepared a table for four. There were plainly cooked fish and chicken, along with
some boiled vegetables. Honestly, it seemed like Qian Cao’s food kinda sucked.

The two girls seated themselves primly and thanked Chen Tian for getting everything set for them.

“So. Shen Yuan, what’s it like learning under two Peak Lords?” Chen Tian asked excitedly as they
began eating.

“Uh. It's okay I guess,” Shen Yuan answered. “It's very different compared to just learning from
my fellow disciples I suppose.”

“Hm… The Sect Leader has mentioned you a lot quite recently,” The head disciple said as she
calmly placed some more boiled cabbage into her bowl. “It would help me quite a bit if you were
to humor him.”

“Ah really? What did he say?” Shen Yuan asked curiously.

The head disciple elegantly ate her meal and didn’t answer.

“Ahh, that reminds me!” Chen Tian turnined to the head disciple accusingly as he chewed on a bite
of chicken. “Did you know that Shen Yuan wasn’t Shen-Shizun?”

“Yes.” She replied simply.

Chen Tian pouted a bit. “Why didn’t you say so then?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Hua Heilian laughed softly at the exchange.

Shen Yuan nearly face planted into his food at the droll response.

“It was good that you came in for a visit though,” Hua Heilian teased. “Head wounds can be very
serious after all.”

“Plus! You got to be treated by Qian Cao’s head disciple!” Chen Tian grinned.

“You’re Qian Cao’s head disciple?” Shen Yuan asked.

“Indeed. The three of us are all head disciples,” Hua Heilian confirmed, adding some of the more
bitter vegetables into Shen Yuan’s bowl. “These are good for you.”

Shen Yuan stared at Chen Tian. “You’re a head disciple and you need permission to go to Qian
Cao?”

“It's complicated.” Chen Tian laughed.

Hua Heilian smiled beautifully. “This idiot cries wolf too often.”

‘ Her words don’t match her expression…’ Shen Yuan thought, obediently eating his vegetables.
Shen Yuan then turned to look expectantly at Head Disciple.

“Just call her Head Disciple,” Hua Heilian said.

“But what’s her name?” Shen Yuan asked.

Hua Heilian‘s smile seemed to glow. “Head Disciple.”

“I am Head Disciple,” Head Disciple affirmed.

Shen Yuan stared at the two girls. “...Okay.”

“Oh! How are your peaks doing recently, by the way?” Chen Tian asked excitedly.

“As usual. I have been to An Ding more often,” Head Disciple said, reaching out and picking up
some more chicken.

“Hm. There have been more fools showing up than usual,” Hua Heilian replied with a pure smile.

“Ah, I see, I see! My Shizun has been giving me a lot of his work in the morning recently, haha!”
Chen Tian laughed. “How about you, Shidi? How have things been going on Bai Zhan?”

Shen Yuan looked up from his vegetables. “Ah… Things are good. My year mates have been
making good progress under the instructions of my Shixiong.”

“Oh, that’s good! But what about you?” Chen Tian asked, shoving another piece of fish into his
mouth.

Shen Yuan looked away awkwardly. “What about me?”

“I mean how are you doing on Bai Zhan? How is your own training going?”

“I’ve been working more on my speed and technique recently.”

“How exactly did you manage to break your arm and ribs, Shidi?” Hua Heilian asked.

“I was a little careless during my spar with Shizun, I’m not used to my spiritual energy yet.”
Chen Tian stopped mid chew. “Eh? But I thought that the last induction was about nine months
ago? Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

Shen Yuan laughed nervously. “I… May have neglected my cultivation a little.”

“So you joined a cultivation sect but didn’t cultivate,” Head Disciple deadpanned.

“W-well I was busy with training…”

“Oh dear, I didn’t think someone more foolish than Chen Tian existed,” Hua Heilian said, a sleeve
elegantly covering her mouth. “Oh my... Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes,” Chen Tian and Head Disciple chorused.

Hua Heilian giggled. “I apologize, Shidi. I was just surprised to find that the Bai Zhan stereotype
had a grain of truth to it.”

“Stereotype?” Shen Yuan asked.

“It's filled with meatheads,” Head Disciple said bluntly.

A short silence fell over the table. Hua Heilian giggled again behind her sleeve. “She said it, not
me.”

Chen Tian hummed and waved his hand as if to clear the air. “Shidi, what’s your training like to
make you too busy to cultivate?”

“My training? It used to be just training with the Jian. I would swing one thousand times and
practice my forms atop bamboo poles five hundred times. Then I would spar with my Shixiong and
Shijie for the rest of the day.”
Chen Tian paused. “I’m sorry, did you say five hundred? A day?”

“Yeah.”

“Meathead,” came Head Disciple’s cutting remark.

Hua Heilian looked absolutely thrilled in the corner. She was sipping tea like she was watching
something extremely amusing.

Shen Yuan just munched on his bitter vegetables rather dejectedly.

Chen Tian reached over and kindly patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder. “Some friendly advice,
Shidi. Get out more often. Don’t waste your youth training every single day. Make friends and
mingle with your yearmates more.”

“And don’t hit your Shixiong,” Hua Heilian added with a charming smile.

“He doesn’t need more brain damage,” Head Disciple said.

Chen Tian wilted dramatically. He had a teary eyed kicked puppy look on his face that didn’t
match his scarred appearance. In fact, he started growing mushrooms on his head with spiritual
energy.

“Please take your mushroom farm elsewhere. It might make the food moldy,” Hua Heilian
instructed, wearing the most plastic looking smile Shen Yuan had ever seen.

Shen Yuan felt a smidgen of pity for Chen Tian so he quickly changed the subject. “So, Shixiong,
it must be fun to have debates on Qing Jing.”

Chen Tian perked up and the mushrooms popped off and rolled onto the ground. “Oh, yes! But
there's lots of research to be done beforehand! Just the other week, we had the most fascinating
debate on Fire heart striped ring serpents. Why, I heard you participated too, Shidi!”
Shen Yuan scratched the back of his head. “Oh. Uh, I may have mentioned something in passing I
suppose…”

“Shidi seems very well learned,” Chen Tian remarked cheerfully.

“Yes, indeed. Also, if you are so interested in sealing, perhaps you could ask Chen Tian,” Hua
Heilian suggested.

“Ah. Not really. I just like to do some light reading in the library every now and then,” Shen Yuan
replied.

Chen Tian brightened like a puppy being patted on the head. “Well, I may not be a sealing expert,
but I do know my way around Qing Jing’s library! If you need any help, Shidi, You can just come
to me!”

Shen Yuan bowed his head slightly. “Thank you, Shixiong, for the offer.”

‘I don’t think I’m that desperate yet,’ he thought.

The meal soon wrapped up with a bit of pleasant conversation about the recent weather, and Shen
Yuan bid the trio goodbye. He found himself thinking about the three disciples the whole way back
to Bai Zhan.

‘ I wonder if all head disciples are like that,’ he wondered.

Back at Qian Cao, Chen Tian and Head Disciple had yet to leave.

“You know, he really does look a lot like Shizun. In fact, Shizun lectured us just yesterday about
spreading fake news,” Chen Tian remarked casually.

“Oh?” Hua Heilian hummed.

“Something about a threesome,” Chen Tian added.

 “...It was a joke…” Head Disciple muttered.

“We know,” said Hua Heilian with her patented smile.

“A’Lian,” Chen Tian sighed. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“I was merely sharing Head Disciple’s genius,” Hua Heilian innocently protested. “And besides,
doesn’t Qing Jing teach the value of knowledge?”

“...Be honest, A’Lian. Why did you do it?”

Hua Heilian smiled angelically. “It amused me.”

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for all the support! Special thanks to Lala and misminor who are now helping
me with this trainwreck of a fic! Thank you to everyone who has left a comment! It
means a lot to me! Thanks for all the support! Thanks for all the support! Thanks for
all the support! Important things must be said three times!

Also also. Is Hua Heilian supposed to call SY Shixiong or Shidi? Please vote in the
comments for which one is right because I have no clue and will take majority vote.
 Triple Treat
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets treats

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 37: Triple Treat

Shen Yuan sipped his soup slowly as he stared dully at Wang Cheng, who was regaling him with
tales of the small town he came from. He was nodding along absently to Wang Chang’s story when
a hush suddenly fell over the dining hall.

Shen Yuan looked up curiously to find the Sect Leader standing awkwardly in the entryway of the
dining hall.

The Sect Leader seemed to be looking for someone as he scanned the tables of disciples. Then, his
eyes swept over Shen Yuan and paused. He seemed to light up as he gestured to Shen Yuan to join
him. Shen Yuan looked around for any other disciples who the Sect Leader could be gesturing to.
He then turned back to the Sect Leader and pointed at himself questioningly. The Sect Leader
nodded eagerly.

Shen Yuan hesitantly stood and followed the Sect Leader out of the dining hall. He could feel the
weight of a hundred eyes on his back as he exited the hall.

The Sect Leader was waiting for him around a corner to give them a bit of privacy.

“Sect Leader,” Shen Yuan respectfully saluted, “not to be presumptuous, but what did you need
this one for?”

Yue Qingyuan frowned slightly. “There is no need to be so formal. I came here to give you this.”
Yue Qingyuan handed him a small black pouch the size of his hand. It was decorated with pale
green embroidered bamboo stalks.
Shen Yuan received the gift with a confused look on his face. Why would the Sect Leader give
him this? What was it?

“This is a qiankun pouch. It can store many things in it at once,” The Sect Leader said looking
imploringly at Shen Yuan. “I thought it might be helpful.”

“Thank you so much Yue-Shibo.” Shen Yuan answered, clutching the tiny pouch.

The Sect Leader seemed to deflate slightly, but he still gazed earnestly at Shen Yuan. “I want you
to know that if you have any problems at all, no matter how small, you can always come and find
me.”

“A-ah. Thank you very much…”

Yue Qingyuan nodded. His hand seemed to hover over Shen Yuan’s head for a second before it
patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder, dismissing him.

Shen Yuan bowed to the Sect Leader and made his way back to the dining hall. Wang Cheng was
practically vibrating in his seat by the time Shen Yuan returned. He looked up eagerly as Shen
Yuan sat back down. Wang Cheng stared at Shen Yuan with questions burning in his eyes –
questions Shen Yuan did not deign to answer.

Finally, Wang Cheng couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey, Shen Yuan! What did the Sect Leader want
from you?” He asked excitedly.

Shen Yuan thought about how much he had suffered due to Wang Chang’s big mouth recently.
“Erm, he didn’t want anything. It was nothing really…”

Wang Cheng peered at Shen Yuan’s hands curiously, he gasped when he noticed the elegant little
pouch. “Oh my gosh, Shen Yuan! Did the Sect Leader acknowledge you?” He yelled for the whole
dining hall to hear, “Congratulations!”

Shen Yuan let his head fall onto the table with a thunk.
He groaned into the table and turned his head so that his cheek was resting against the table and
stared at Wang Cheng. “Why do you do this,” he intoned dully.

Wang Cheng tilted his head at Shen Yuan. “What do you mean, Shen Yuan?”

Shen Yuan sighed and smushed his face into the table again.

It just wouldn’t do to get mad at Wang Cheng. It would just roll off of him like water off a duck's
back.

Conversation around him died as another hush fell over the dining hall.

Shen Yuan didn't notice at first. Then suddenly, a sharp voice barked out, “Shen Yuan! Come
here!”

Shen Yuan sat up with a start. He looked around for the voice, only to find Liu Qingge standing at
the entryway with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Shen Yuan pointed at himself questioningly. Liu Qingge gave a nod and jerked his head to the left,
before leaving the entryway.

Shen Yuan sighed. What was this about now? He felt a bit of deja vu for some reason as he glumly
stood and followed Liu Qingge out.

Outside of the dining hall, Liu Qingge was standing at the same corner Yue Qingyuan had called
Shen Yuan over to. The War God cut an imposing figure, standing there expectantly with his arms
crossed.

Shen Yuan hesitated but still made his way over to the man and saluted him. “Shizun, what did you
need this disciple for?”

Liu Qingge roughly shoved something at him. “Wear this from now on.”
Shen Yuan fumbled with the item for a second, before unwrapping it to find a thin gauzy white
cloth.

He looked at it in confusion. What was it?

Liu Qingge seemed to realize his confusion. “It's a veil,” he grunted out. “Wear it.”

Shen Yuan looked up at the man. “How?”

Liu Qingge exhaled deeply through his nose. Then, the man very awkwardly placed the veil on the
lower half of Shen Yuan’s face.

Liu Qingge took a step back from Shen Yuan and examined his work. He nodded to himself.
“Don’t take it off.” Then, he turned to leave.

“But what about when I…bathe?” Shen Yuan asked.

But the man was already gone.

Shen Yuan tugged on the veil to take it off and examine it more closely, but it wouldn’t budge.

Shen Yuan panicked. ‘A cursed item? Is this one of those things that permanently attach to the
face once it touches? Liu Qingge, is this punishment?’

Shen Yuan glanced back at the dining hall. Was dinner worth having Wang Cheng shout about
acknowledgement twice?

No. Not really.

So Shen Yuan went back to his dorms for bed. Except, he couldn’t get the damn veil off no matter
what he tried. He ended up going to sleep with the stupid thing on.
The next morning, Shen Yuan went to Qing Jing for his lessons as usual.

He knocked on the door to the bamboo house and waited for Shen Qingqiu to answer.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t leave him waiting long. The man opened the door but paused and stared
before Shen Yuan could be invited inside.

Shen Yuan hesitated at the doorway, why was the man looking at him so strangely?

“Shen-Shibo?” He asked.

Shen Qingqiu seemed to shake himself out of something and stepped aside to let Shen Yuan into
the house. Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open and hid the lower half of his face as his eyes flickered
over Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan stood in the middle of the room staring at his Shibo wondering what their lesson for
today would be. The door to the side room that he usually practiced calligraphy in was closed so he
wasn’t too sure what they were doing today.

Shen Qingqiu stood in the doorway for quite some time contemplating Shen Yuan’s appearance.
Then, he snapped his fan shut. “I have decided. We are going to town today.”

In a few strides, Shen Qingqiu was at his desk and writing a note. He quickly folded the note into a
paper crane and sent it out of the window with a burst of Qi. Then, the man stood and gestured to
Shen Yuan to follow him.

Shen Qingqiu exited the Bamboo house and led Shen Yuan out of the bamboo forest. Together,
they walked past the different elegant buildings of Qing Jing. Shen Qingqiu took his time walking.
Shen Yuan had time to absently take in the many elegant buildings of Qing Jing. Disciples milling
about stopped to properly greet their teacher along the way.

Shen Yuan wondered if the Qing Jing Peak entrance was much further from the buildings
compared to on Bai Zhan. They had been walking past various buildings for quite a while already.
In fact Shen Yuan could almost swear they had passed that building twice already.
Meanwhile, the Qing Jing disciples had cold sweat forming on their backs.

“Why is Shizun being so active today?” One whispered to another as they swept the grounds clear
of the fallen bamboo leaves.

“Shh! Get back to work! We can’t slack off. He must be checking if we’re working!” The other
hissed back.

“Why is he leading around a Bai Zhan meathead though?” A third disciple asked.

“Who knows?”

An older disciple who was sitting at a table off to the side of the courtyard whispered to his friend
next to him, “Do you think that’s Shizun’s son?”

“Maybe? But why would Shizun’s son wear a veil?”

Shen Yuan just continued to trail after Shen Qingqiu like a particularly confused duckling as they
passed the courtyard disciples for the third time.

By the time they reached the entrance to Qing Jing Peak, Shen Yuan had started to develop his
own mental map of the area.

Shen Qingqiu stopped abruptly, causing Shen Yuan to run into him.

The surrounding disciples watched Shen Yuan in horror, but Shen Qingqiu made no indication that
he had been bumped into.

Chen Tian was at the entrance of the peak waiting for them. He smiled sunnily at his Shizun, then
he noticed Shen Yuan trailing behind his teacher. “Oh, will Shen-Shidi be joining Shizun today,”
he asked with a polite smile.

“I see you’ve been acquainted.” Shen Qingqiu said instead of answering.

“Yes! I took Shen-Shidi to Qian Cao the other day!”

Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open and began fanning himself slowly. “Again?” He stared
judgmentally at Chen Tian.

Shen Yuan wanted to ask if the man was referring to him or Chen Tian.

Surprisingly, there existed a person who wouldn’t quail under Shen Qingqiu’s cold questioning
glare. Instead, Chen Tian just continued to bloom like a sunflower. “Shizun! I called for your
carriage early just as you requested!” He chirped.

Shen Qingqiu let out a puff of air from his nose. “Very well. Take care of things while I’m gone.
Shen Yuan, let’s go.”

Shen Qingqiu stepped onto the carriage and waited for Shen Yuan to enter after him. Shen Yuan
awkwardly stepped into the carriage and sat across from the Peak Lord.

They got settled in comfortably and the footman soon directed the horses off to a steady trot.

“Shibo, I’m just curious,” Shen Yuan started quietly. “Why didn’t we just fly down on swords?”

Shen Qingqiu scoffed and fanned himself. “Being flashy is neither useful, nor impressive. And
carriages are for those who do not have enough power yet.”

“But didn’t you fly to Bai Zhan Peak Shibo?”

“One must choose one’s tools as befits the situation.”

“Oh. Okay, Shibo.”

“A simple ‘understood’ would suffice.”

“Oh, okay.”

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and whapped Shen Yuan on the head with it.

“...understood, Shibo.”

The carriage trundled slowly along the road down towards the town at the base of the mountain.

Shen Yuan sat and awkwardly fidgeted under Shen Qingqiu’s assessing gaze.

“So, you have been doing quite a bit of reading in my library. Do tell, what have you been reading
about, exactly?”

Shen Yuan felt a drop of sweat form on his forehead. “Uh... I have quite an interest in demonic
beasts, I suppose.”

“Hmph. Then what can you tell me about a split-tailed monitor lizard?”

“Oh, those lizards have extremely venomous bites and are very fast. But surprisingly enough, their
tail is very sensitive to pain. So if you can injure that, the lizard will flinch and then you can finish
it off,” Shen Yuan replied confidently.

“What about the flame-feather kite?” Shen Qingqiu questioned, hiding the lower half of his face
behind his fan.

“They are solitary creatures. Those kites can spread poisonous ash from their wing beats. They
have a weak spot at the center of their claws that is surprisingly soft and they can be easily
distracted by shiny objects.They also taste good when cooked in a stew,” Shen Yuan recited.

“Hm… What about the blue-billed hummingbird?”

“They can teleport short distances, they feed on extremely poisonous flowers, their beak is a
powerful antidote... Oh, and their teleportation has a certain pattern to it.”

Shen Qingqiu continued quizzing Shen Yuan on various beasts throughout the carriage ride. Shen
Yuan was able to provide solid answers for all of them based on his experiences fighting them after
matching their names to the books he read on them.

Shen Qingqiu sighed. “What of the maiden’s smile firebug,” he asked with an uninterested
expression.

“Huh?”

Shen Qingqiu lifted an eyebrow.

Shen Yuan felt that drop of sweat roll down his forehead. Had he just failed this impromptu pop
quiz?

“I-I thought those were myths, Shibo.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrow rose higher. “They are extremely common creatures in this region, often
used to treat melancholy. What can you tell me about the four tailed tiger?”

“The four-tailed striped tiger can create an illusion, making it seem bigger than it really is. It can
manifest the attack of this illusory form into the real world. It has a weak spot on the tip of its third
tail.”

“What about the yellow pione?”

Shen Yuan tilted his head. “Um. Is that the infantile form of the pioneer great beast?”

Shen Qingqiu’s fan rose slightly higher up his face. “No. It sings melodies.”

“Oh! Does it hypnotize its victims?”

“No…”

“Oh… Um, does it deafen them?”

“...They just sing. They are a favored pet of nobles.”

“Why keep it then?” Shen Yuan asked, perplexed.

“It sounds nice…”

“That's it?”

“Yes…”

Shen Yuan just felt confused.

Shen Qingqiu was about to ask another question, but the carriage had slowed to a stop at the edge
of town.

Shen Yuan heaved a sigh of relief as the door was opened for them by the footman. Shen Qingqiu
stepped out of the carriage, ending their impromptu pop-quiz.

There appeared to be a festival in town. A huge crowd filled the streets and Shen Qingqiu wrinkled
his nose as he saw the amount of people out and about. He had originally been planning on visiting
the town later when the crowd had thinned out but plans had changed.

“Come along now.” Shen Qingqiu told Shen Yuan, setting out at a brisk pace. He began expertly
weaving through the crowd, leaving Shen Yuan behind as the boy kept pausing to look at the
amazing food.

Shen Yuan made sure to keep Shen Qingqiu in sight as he dawdled. Someone bumped into him as
he tried to keep up with his Shibo. He turned around to apologize, but suddenly, his Shibo was
there in front of him.

Shen Qingqiu had a scrawny looking teen in his grasp. He looked at Shen Yuan and snapped, “Be
more aware of your surroundings! You’re too naive!”

Shen Qingqiu let go of the teen who swiftly ran away. He handed a familiar looking black pouch
back to Shen Yuan and sighed in irritation.

Shen Yuan received the pouch with a bemused expression and thanked his Shibo. “But Shibo, it's
not like I had money.” Shen Yuan opened the pouch to show Shen Qingqiu a small stash of candy.

Shen Qingqiu sighed again, whapping Shen Yuan on the head with his fan. “Hold onto me. The
crowd is quite thick this time of year.”

Shen Yuan held onto the edge of Shen Qingqiu’s sleeve.

“I suppose it can't be helped.” Shen Qingqiu pursed his lips and grabbed Shen Yuan’s hand, not
deigning to give the boy a look. “You can’t be trusted with yourself. Now come.”

Shen Qingqiu resumed his brisk pace – this time, practically dragging Shen Yuan along behind
him. “You may look at those later.”

Shen Yuan internally shed tears at missing out on the wonderful, wonderful street food that
assaulted his senses. If he had paid attention, he might have seen a tiny hint of red at the tips of
Shen Qingqiu’s ears. But unfortunately, Shen Yuan was too busy trying his best not to trip as he
tried to match Shen Qingqiu’s stride.

Shen Yuan didn’t really pay attention to where they were going – he just noticed the gradually
thinning crowd. Shen Qingqiu had pulled out his fan once more and was fanning himself
vigorously.

They soon came upon a red building that was lavishly decorated. The smell of wine and perfume
wafted out, only growing stronger as they approached.
Shen Yuan gazed in wonder at the building as Shen Qingqiu quickly tugged him inside.

The inside of the building was equally as decorated as the outside. It was dimly lit and looked like
a very expensive restaurant to Shen Yuan’s naive eyes.

He marveled at the interior. ‘ None of the inns I've stayed at were this nice. This place must be
expensive,’ he thought. The posts were elegantly carved and the furniture lacquered, and padded
with plush cushions.

A woman past her prime came out to greet Shen Qingqiu. Looking at her, Shen Yuan could see that
she had aged gracefully.

“A’Jiu! It's been so long!” She said warmly, “I’m so glad to see you have come to visit us again!”

Shen Qingqiu inclined his head to her slightly. “It's good to see you again Jian-Jie. This is Shen
Yuan.” He said, indicating Shen Yuan who was standing next to him with his fan.

“Oh my,” she tittered. “It's about time! But that rascal! Leaving you all alone to raise the child.
Why, if my knees were what they used to be, I’d march right up there and give that boy a piece of
my mind.” She cooed as she bent down to examine Shen Yuan. “But why the veil?” She asked,
shooting Shen Qingqiu a quick glance.

Shen Yuan’s hand darted up to feel his face. Sure enough. The veil was there. He had completely
forgotten he was wearing it!

Shen Qingqiu sighed and shook his head.

The woman tutted.

She called out a few names and several girls hurried out from the back of the building to her.
“A’Jiu has a lot to talk about with this old lady, so you can play with your Jiejies,” she told Shen
Yuan.

“Oh, come along, dear. A pretty thing like you needs some attention. The veil is a good start, but
we can have you bloom like a flower for the festival,” one of the girls said as they swiftly moved to
surround Shen Yuan and hurry him away.

They bustled him into a back room that was better lit than the rest of the building.

One of the girls promptly removed his veil. “Let’s see what we’re working with...”

Shen Yuan gaped as the cursed item was removed. “How!?” He burst out.

She paused, blinked, and then put it back on his face.

“Wait no! How do you get it off!?”

He was shushed quickly. “Jiejie needs to concentrate!” The girls formed a huddle, excluding him,
and began to discuss something in whispered tones as Shen Yuan vainly tugged at his veil.

Some girls ran out of the room and others began to get things ready.

Shen Yuan was suddenly hit by flashbacks of what had happened to him on Xian Shu Peak. He
scrambled to get out of the sisters’ grasps, but it was too late.

Shen Yuan dazedly walked back out to the entrance of the building at noon where Shen Qingqiu
was waiting expectantly for him with a stern look on his face. “Are you ready to go?”

Shen Yuan nodded desperately.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan open and brought it to his face. “...Are you certain?”

“YES, SHIBO!” Shen Yuan nearly felt like crying. His dignity…

He’d been bathed and scrubbed in places he didn’t even know existed. His hair had been pulled and
twisted and oiled in fragrances he couldn’t recognize. His face had been manhandled by those
gentle-looking Jiejies! What gentle flowers? What dainty fairies?! THOSE WERE ALL LIES!!
They even poked and picked at his fingers and toes, okay?! They even tortured and scraped his
heels with rough stones!

‘Shibo,’ he cried internally. ‘I don’t wanna come back here anymore!’ ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̥᷄ ⌓˂̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚

A puff of air escaped Shen Qingqiu’s lips. “Here,” Shen Qingqiu stated as he handed Shen Yuan a
small package. “Keep it with you.”

Shen Yuan received the package with both hands and unwrapped it curiously.

In his hands was an elegant fan with metal ribs. He opened it to find beautifully painted black
bamboo on white silk. It had a weighty feel to it and it was obviously made out of high quality
materials.

He hurriedly bowed to Shen Qingqiu, “This disciple thanks Shibo for his gift.”

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself casually. “Mm…” The Peak Lord hummed in response.

The old lady who had greeted Shen Qingqiu fondly patted Shen Yuan on the head. “You can call
me Granny, okay, dearie? Come back at any time! You’ll always be welcome!”

‘ Yeah. Uh. No thanks,’ Shen Yuan thought bitterly, moving behind Shen Qingqiu and pouting
behind his veil and fan.

“Thank you for the information Jian-Jie,” Shen Qingqiu said respectfully.

“No problem, A’Jiu. Come back and visit more often, okay?” Then, she turned her attention to
Shen Yuan. “Aw, did my girls scare you, A’Yuan? I’m sorry. They can be such a handful. Here,
my apologies.” She slipped Shen Yuan a small pouch of sweets. “It’s A’Jiu’s favorite,” She
whispered with a wink.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan closed. “Let’s go,” he said, turning abruptly.
Shen Yuan turned and followed Shen Qingqiu out, but not before giving Granny a small wave and
thanks in return for the sweets, putting them away in his black pouch.

Shen Yuan automatically latched onto Shen Qingqiu as they left the building, once again missing
the red tinge on the Peak Lord’s ears as he felt the man’s grip tighten.

As they headed back to the festival, Shen Yuan noticed that there were fewer people wandering
around now. Shen Qingqiu walked up to a few stall owners and started to talk with them. Shen
Yuan looked around curiously while Shen Qingqiu asked the merchants various questions about
the current state of affairs.

The merchants were happy to answer the cute father-daughter duo the two made. Several of them
offered Shen Yuan pretty trinkets that Shen Qingqiu politely refused for him.

Shen Qingqiu continued down the line of stalls until he paused at a stall that Shen Yuan had been
staring at earlier that morning. “Your pining is unsightly. Here.” He handed Shen Yuan a small
pouch of money, looking down at Shen Yuan from behind his fan. “Now, one cannot say that this
Shibo does not look after those placed under his care.”

Shen Yuan stared at Shen Qingqiu in wonder.

Shen Qingqiu’s fan snapped closed. “Well?”

Shen Yuan bowed to him a second time. “Thank you Shen-Shibo!” Then, he quickly scurried off to
the stalls.

Shen Yuan gazed in wonder at the complex sugar art that one stall owner was painting. He drooled
over the beautiful looking cong you bing of another stall, and he absolutely worshipped that other
stall’s bing tanghulu .

He glanced at how much Shen Qingqiu had given him to spend and paused in shock. This was how
much Tianlang-jun had to spend every month! Had they really been that poor back then? For this
amount to be considered pocket change! Ahhh, Tianlang-jun… Why did you suck so much at
budgeting?

‘Well… I guess that could be considered a skill,’ Shen Yuan thought sardonically, bringing his fan
to his chin and safely stowing the money into his pouch.

Shen Yuan returned to Shen Qingqiu holding a large bag filled with treats and two sticks of
tanghulu – one of which he offered to the Peak Lord.

Shen Qingqiu sniffed and looked down at the offered treat with disdain.

The merchant he was in the middle of talking to cooed. “Aww, how cute. What a considerate
daughter you have, my lord.”

Shen Qingqiu was appalled. “I am no–”

“Ah, if only my Yan-er was as sweet to her papa...” The merchant mumbled, “should I get
matching fans for me and Yan-er too?”

Shen Qingqiu felt a twitch about to form, which he covered with his fan. He turned towards his
‘daughter’ only to be met with wide eyes and an outstretched hand that held a tanghulu in its grip.
Under his scrutinizing gaze, the Peak Lord could see the hand begin to withdraw in shame before
he reached out to take the offered treat.

The Peak Lord let out a quiet huff behind his fan as he accepted the offering. He had no choice but
to take the tanghulu from his little student. Unfortunately, the boy took Shen Qingqiu’s acceptance
of the tanghulu as an invitation to pester him with more food. It wouldn’t do for the child to tear up
in public, after all. So if he must, then he supposed that he could sacrifice a little bit of dignity to
amuse his little student in order to preserve the face of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

Fortunately, the festivities gave the vendors and informants loose lips and Shen Qingqiu was able
to gather intelligence despite having to lug around his tiny disciple and keep him from getting lost
in the crowd. The child had the unfortunate habit of stopping in the middle of the streets to stare at
something or other, so the Peak Lord had no choice but to hold tightly onto Shen Yuan to prevent
him from wandering needlessly.

He would not suffer that brute Liu’s accusations of irresponsibility.

The sky was deep orange when they got back on the carriage to Qing Jing.
 Shen Yuan reflected on the rather eventful day as they made their way back up the mountain. The
day had been rather pleasant he realized. He had enjoyed watching Shen Qingqiu at work. While
he wasn’t sure about how he felt about the Jiejies at the restaurant or his self-proclaimed granny,
they still seemed like decent people.

Speaking of that granny, he suddenly remembered the sweets that she had given him. She had
mentioned that they were his Shibo’s favorite.

Shen Yuan pulled the bag of sweets out of his pouch and offered a good number to his Shibo.
“Thank you for today, Shibo,” he said with a small smile.

Shen Qingqiu slowly accepted the sweets. He noticed a rather tight and funny feeling in his chest
as he did so.

At last, they arrived at Qing Jing Peak. Shen Yuan bowed one last time to Shen Qingqiu before he
started heading back to Bai Zhan.

Shen Qingqiu noticed that the tight feeling in his chest still hadn’t disappeared yet. He would go
and see Mu Qingfan tomorrow to see if this was a sign of an impending Qi deviation.

Back in Bai Zhan, Wang Cheng perked up like a puppy the moment Shen Yuan opened the door to
their room.

He opened his mouth to ask Shen Yuan how his morning had gone before his face slowly
reddened. “A-ah. Sh-Shen Yuan! You’re ba-ack!” He spluttered. “I-I… Good night, Shen Yuan!”

Wang Cheng threw himself onto his bed and then promptly buried himself in his blankets.

Shen Yuan stared at the lump on the bed strangely before he shrugged to himself and began to
prepare for bed as well.

Chapter End Notes

Chapter End Notes

Mini Theatre: In an Alternate Universe...

LQG: I GAVE YOU A PRESENT AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME

LQG: BY RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME AND FOOLING AROUND

SQY: MOM TOOK ME TO GRANDMA. YOU NEVER TAKE ME TO GRANDMA

LQG: NOT ONLY THAT, YOU ALSO ACCEPTED THAT HOMEWRECKER'S

GIFT BEFORE MINE

SQY: AND MOM GAVE ME THREE PRESENTS!!

LQG: SHE ONLY GAVE YOU A FAN

LQG: A WAR FAN
LQG: WITH MY COLORS

SQY: SHE LET ME HAVE SWEETS DAD! AND AN ALLOWANCE!

SQY: YOU NEVER LET ME HAVE SWEETS OR AN ALLOWANCE!

SQY: You only give me booboos :’(

LQG: YOU’RE GROUNDED

SQY: AAH DAD! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ME!!

LQG: DON'T YOU TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME!

LQG: GO TO YOUR ROOM!

SQY: I HATE YOU DAD!!

SOooo uuhhhhh next week is gonna be rough for the three people now working on
this fic together because of exams sooooooooo........ take this here longer chapter?
Sorry! Hahah!

Thanks for all the support as usual! Please leave thoughts and ideas below! thanks!
 I Pulled An All-nighter For This Chapter
Chapter Summary

Shen Qingiqu sees the doctor. Shen Yuan sees Shen Qingqiu.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 38: I Pulled An All-nighter For This Chapter

It was early in the morning when Shen Qingqiu swept into Qian Cao’s main hospital. Disciples
who were performing chores nodded to the Peak Lord politely as he passed by. Shen Qingqiu
ignored most of the polite acknowledgement he received, merely sweeping onward towards the
direction of Mu Qingfan’s office.

When he arrived, Shen Qing knocked on the door, letting himself in when he heard the other man
say, “Enter.” He opened the door to find Mu Qingfan sitting at his desk, consulting a thick book on
medicinal herbs.

Mu Qingfan looked up to see Shen Qingqiu staring expectantly at him. He closed his book and
adjusted his robes. “Ah, Shen-Shixiong,” he greeted. “What can I do for you today?”

Shen Qingqiu flicked open his fan and began fanning himself slowly. “I may be in need of your
medical assistance.”

Mu Qingfan stood and made his way over to Shen Qingqiu. “Oh? What seems to be the problem?”
He asked, taking Shen Qingqiu’s wrist in hand and sending a small stream of Qi into his
meridians.

Shen Qingqiu absently rubbed at his chest. “I have been experiencing a rather strange feeling in my
chest. It has been feeling tight and warm at times. Could this be a sign of an oncoming Qi
deviation?”

Mu Qingfan removed his hand from Shen Qingqiu’s wrist. His hand lit up with healing Qi and he
pressed it to Shen Qingqiu’s chest for a few moments, then he removed his hand and frowned
thoughtfully. “There seems to be nothing wrong with you, Shen-Shixiong. Your heart beat is
slightly elevated, but that's nothing too serious.”

Shen Qingqiu frowned as well. “Are you sure there's nothing wrong with me?”

“Yes. There were no physical signs or any ailments to be found, and as an immortal with your level
of cultivation, you cannot and will not be developing any heart problems.”

Shen Qingqiu hummed in thought.

“Maybe you can describe what you were doing when you experienced the chest symptoms?” Mu
Qingfan suggested, sitting back down at his desk.

Shen Qingqiu sighed. “I was on my way back from town on a carriage with my disciple when I
experienced the sensation.”

“I see. And did anything in particular happen during the carriage ride?”

“Hm. My disciple offered me sweets that he received while in town.”

Mu Qingfan appeared to think for a minute. Then, he leaned forward, clasped his hands together,
and rested his chin upon them as he stared at Shen Qingqiu.

“And how did you say your chest felt?” Mu Qingfan inquired.

“Tight and warm,” Shen Qingqiu replied.

Mu Qingfan closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. He pressed his hands
together as if in prayer in front of himself, and looked up at Shen Qingqiu. “Could it be possible,”
he started, “that you were experiencing… Fondness for your disciple…?”

Shen Qingqiu stared blankly at Mu Qingfan.

Mu Qingfan returned it with a dull gaze.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut. “Are you implying that I'm so emotionally inept that I cannot
discern the difference between ‘ fondness’ and an upcoming Qi deviation?"

“Of course not, Shixiong,” Mu Qingfan replied calmly. “Merely suggesting a possibility.”

“Hmph. So there's nothing wrong with me then?” Shen Qingqiu asked sharply.

“Yes, Shen-Shixiong. There’s nothing wrong with you.” Mu Qingfan sighed. “Though, if you are
so concerned, I do have some pills for indigestion.”

“I see. Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I will be taking my leave now.” Shen Qingqiu
turned abruptly, leaving as quickly as he had come.

Mu Qingfan heaved another sigh at his desk as he watched the other Peak Lord depart, doing his
best to not give into the urge to massage his temples.

Shen Yuan sleepily blinked open his eyes at the dorm ceiling as he laid in bed. Recently, he had
been waking up on his own to attend his Qing Jing classes. Shen Yuan didn’t really want to know
what Shen Qingqiu would do to him if he were late. Wang Cheng had been ecstatic to hear that he
wouldn’t have to help wake him up any longer.

Shen Yuan heaved a sigh and forced himself out of bed before he was tempted to fall asleep again.
The bed was just too comfortable.

Wang Cheng was still sleeping by the time Shen Yuan had finished getting dressed. He soon left
for breakfast.

Shen Yuan inhaled deeply as he reached the outside of the dining hall. The savory smell in the air
meant that today’s breakfast would be wheat noodles. He licked his lips in anticipation and quickly
entered the hall. He grabbed a bowl that was served to him by the cooks and thanked them before
he sat down at an empty table in the dining hall. Shen Yuan savored his noodles and slurped his
soup noisily. After he finished, he let out a satisfied sigh and returned his dishes to the kitchens
with another round of thanks for the hard working staff.

Shen Yuan set off on the rainbow bridge towards Qing Jing with a cheerful mood and a pep in his
step from the delicious meal. He ignored the various Qing Jing disciples that still regarded him
with a sense of caution and walked through the bamboo forest, taking his time to admire Mother
Nature. The wind rustled through the bamboo leaves as if in cheerful greeting and Shen Yuan
breathed deeply, taking in the fresh mountain air.

He eventually arrived at Shen Qingqiu’s cozy bamboo house in a timely manner and knocked on
the door.

Shen Qingqiu opened the door after a short minute. He stared down at Shen Yuan critically before
he stepped aside to let the boy into the house.

Shen Yuan had an odd feeling of deja vu from the considering look that Shen Qingqiu was giving
him.

“Shibo?” He asked, “Is there something on my face?”

Shen Qingqiu’s fan rose up and pointed at him accusingly as the man looked down at him
condescendingly. “Atrocious. Do they not teach you how to be presentable at Bai Zhan? Tell me,
the day is still young. How on earth did you already cover yourself in filth?”

Shen Yuan looked down at himself following the line of the fan. He looked closely, but could not
find what exactly his Shibo found so appaling. He must have searched for a few minutes before he
noticed that the front of his white Bai Zhan robes had a few small specks of broth from his
noodles. They were so small, Shen Yuan barely noticed the slight discoloration.

“Ah, did you mean this?” Shen Yuan asked, pointing at the few tiny dots of color. “No one minded
on Bai Zhan, Shibo.”

Shen Qingqiu wrinkled his nose in disgust but quickly hid the expression with his fan. “Of course
not. I would expect no less from a peak filled with brutes. However, this is Qing Jing, and I will not
have my disciple wandering around looking so unkempt. You will stay after lessons today for
lunch. I highly doubt that brutish peak would take the time to teach you how to eat like a proper
human being, so it seems I must take matters into my own hands.”
Bemused, Shen Yuan could only nod dumbly.

“Now. Did you bring your fan with you today?” Shen Qingqiu asked, closing his fan, using it to tap
his left hand.

Shen Yuan nodded, he had put the fan into his handy pouch as soon as he had returned from the
trip to town, keeping said pouch tied to his belt.

Shen Yuan pulled the fan from the pouch and held it up for Shen Qingqiu to see.

The Peak Lord nodded. “Good. Today I will be teaching you an exercise you will need to perform
in your own free time. Come.” Shen Qingqiu turned and headed for the backdoor of the house.
Shen Yuan followed the man out to the clearing in the bamboo forest, where they normally
practiced his sword forms.

“Hand me your fan for a moment.” Shen Qingqiu commanded.

Shen Yuan obeyed and handed it over.

“This fan is not simply an ordinary fan,” Shen Qingqiu explained. Privately, Shen Yuan thought
his Shibo was being slightly dramatic as the man brandished the fan with a flourish. “It is a
spiritual tool that can act as a reservoir for Qi. This will help you learn to control the flow of your
Qi. You can only channel a certain amount of Qi into this fan at a time. Too much and you will
waste your Qi by expending it uselessly. Too little and there will be no flow at all. The painting on
the fan will change colors to indicate how much you have stored in the fan.”

Shen Qingqiu flourished the fan one last time and handed it back to Shen Yuan. “The only method
of learning the proper amount that you need to channel is by doing. Remember what you have
learned about sensing the flow of your own Qi. Begin to control that flow, and direct it into the
fan.”

Shen Yuan took the fan in hand and nodded.

He closed his eyes and looked inward to the calmly thrumming Qi that circulated just beneath his
skin. He floated along with the gentle stream, following it around his meridians for a complete
circuit before he attempted to do as his Shibo said. He poured Qi into the fan but he felt as it all
seemed to slough off and dissipate into the air around him.

Shen Yuan tried again with a smaller amount of Qi, but the same thing happened. And so he tried
again. And again. And again.

Shen Yuan furrowed his brow in concentration as he stared at the fan. It felt like no matter what he
did, he was always pouring too much Qi into it. He felt like he was wasting Qi pointlessly. He
glanced up at Shen Qingqiu with questioning eyes, but the man merely stared at him placidly while
gently fanning himself.

Shen Qingqiu would not be any more forthcoming with hints it seemed. So, Shen Yuan returned
his attention to the fan. He tried pressing his Qi into the fan again, but it was like trying to push a
waterfall through a single pinhole.

Frowning, Shen Yuan kept trying to insert his Qi into the stubborn object, but the painting of
bamboo on the fan remained unchanged no matter how hard he tried.

Shen Yuan lost track of time as he kept stubbornly pushing Qi at the fan.

To the side, Shen Qingqiu watched in alarm as the air around Shen Yuan grew heavy with excess
Qi. The air became dense and suffocating. Shen Qingqiu readied himself to catch his foolish
disciple, prepared for when the boy would inevitably pass out from Qi exhaustion. Let this be a
lesson to him to control his Qi output more.

Except, Shen Yuan wasn’t tiring in the least. Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes at the fan and
continued to stand there, rebounding his Qi off of the fan even as his feet began to sink into the dirt
from the weight in the air.

Shen Qingqiu grew concerned. The amount of Qi that the boy was letting out would have killed a
normal cultivator through Qi depletion several times over.

Shen Yuan was forcefully interrupted from his exercise by a solid whack to the head from Shen
Qingqiu’s fan. The blow startled Shen Yuan enough to make him fumble. In his efforts to prevent
his fan from falling, the heavy metal frame had hit the joints between his palm and fingers.

“Foolish boy! Do you not even acknowledge your own exhaustion? An instrument like this is made
to help you learn how to efficiently harness your Qi! Do you think throwing all of your reserves at
it is the way it should be done!? It is as if you are taking a sword and attempting to slice someone
with the flat of its blade! Have you been meditating as I have instructed? You clearly need to
improve your focus if this is how you approach everything,” Shen Qingqiu berated.

“Ah.” Shen Yuan lowered his head in shame, right hand still shaking from the fumble.

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself rapidly to calm down. “Are you not tired?” He asked in a softer tone
of voice.

“No, Shibo. This disciple is not tired.”

Shen Qingqiu frowned. “Do not lie to your Shibo. I ask again: are you tired?”

“No, Shibo. This disciple is not tired,” Shen Yuan smoothly repeated.

Shen Qingqiu’s frown deepened behind his fan, but he quickly smoothed out his expression and
snapped his fan shut. He put his hands behind his back and said, “Come. We have had enough of
this exercise for the day. You shall practice calligraphy on your own for the rest of today's lesson.”
He turned gracefully and made his way back to the bamboo house.

Shen Yuan heaved a sigh behind him and followed. His calligraphy still hadn’t improved very
much. He looked at his trembling right hand and sighed again. It seemed like today’s calligraphy
would be even shakier than normal.

Shen Yuan walked over to the side room where he had his lessons and pulled out the calligraphy
supplies. He set his supplies up at the low table in the middle of the room and slowly began
writing.

As expected, his calligraphy was barely legible.

Shen Yuan pulled out another sheet of paper and focused on trying to not let his hand shake as he
dragged his brush down the page.
He didn’t notice that Shen Qingqiu had stopped observing him and had already left the room. He
only noticed something was strange when a fragrant smell began to permeate the air. He sniffed
the air curiously.

‘What was that smell?’

It was only then did he notice that Shen Qingqiu was no longer in the room.

As if summoned, Shen Qingqiu opened the door to the side room where Shen Yuan was practicing
and threw him a quick look of disdain. “Filthy. You will not be dining at my table looking like
that.”

Shen Yuan looked down at himself. Indeed, he had managed to get black ink onto his hands and
robes. He wilted internally. These stains would take forever to get out later.

“Go wash,” Shen Qingqiu said, shoo-ing Shen Yuan over to another room with a basin of water.
“And change out of those filthy robes.”

“Ah, but Shibo,” Shen Yuan demurred. “I don't have any spare robes…”

But Shen Qingqiu had already turned and left the room.

So Shen Yuan went and cleaned his hands as best he could. His hands were still slightly smudged
with ink when he was done, but he had gotten the worst of it out. He vaguely wondered exactly
how he was supposed to change clothes. Was he supposed to run back to Bai Zhan and grab a clean
set?

He dried his hands off on a rag. Then, he noticed a set of neatly folded clothes set on a table in the
corner.

‘ I hope Shibo won’t mind if I borrow these,’ Shen Yuan thought as he shook them out slightly,
sizing them up. They were green and white, reminiscent of Qing Jing’s disciple robes.

He pulled them on and tied his belt. He was mildly grateful that they fit him rather well.
Shen Yuan left the room expecting to be scolded for taking the clothes, but Shen Qingqiu simply
glanced at him and didn't say a word. The man merely led Shen Yuan to a dining table that was
filled with lightly steaming food. Shen Yuan’s eyes widened at the display in front of him. There
were dumplings, hot and sour soup, black bean fish fillet, and stir fried greens. Two neatly piled up
bowls of rice were waiting for them at the table as well, with a pot of oolong tea on the side.

Shen Qingqiu took a seat first and then stared expectantly at Shen Yuan until he sat down as well.

There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other. Then, Shen Qingqiu picked up his
chopsticks and picked up a dumpling and put it in his bowl of rice.

“Eat,” he said sternly. “You need to replenish your Qi reserves. So eat. But first remove your
veil.”

“Shibo…” Shen Yuan hesitated. “I don’t know how to remove it,” he said in a tiny voice.

Shen Qingqiu stared at him blankly. “Then why are you wearing it?”

“Shizun gave this to me and told me not to take it off.”

“Well, now I’m telling you to remove it.”

“...This one is ignorant, Shibo.”

Shen Qingqiu rubbed at his temples with his left hand. “He didn’t tell you how to take it off?”

Shen Yuan shook his head. “No Shibo.”

Shen Qingqiu sighed. He put his chopsticks down across his bowl and stood, walking over to Shen
Yuan. “Here, this is how you take it off.”
He removed the veil from Shen Yuan’s face with a quick finger flick.

“Understand?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

Shen Yuan gaped. He vaguely understood what Shen Qingqiu did, but he wasn’t quite sure. Under
the force of that expectant stare, however, he swallowed his questions and nodded.

Shen Qingqiu took his seat again and picked up his chopsticks. “Now. Let’s eat.”

Shen Yuan hesitantly picked up his chopsticks as well and began to pick up pieces of the fish to
eat. Shen Qingqiu watched him like a hawk the whole time.

All seemed well until Shen Yuan picked up the teapot to offer some tea. “Shibo, more tea?” He
asked respectfully.

“Do not point the spout at the person you are serving. It is considered to be rude,” Shen Qingqiu
snapped. “You must point the spout outward toward where no one is sitting.”

“Ah!” Shen Yuan hastily adjusted the teapot in his grip and then poured out a cup for Shen
Qingqiu.

“Take smaller bites of food,” Shen Qingqiu critiqued. “It is uncouth to see you stuff so much into
your mouth all at once. Do not turn the fish over when you are finished with one side. Simply
remove the spine and set it aside.”

Shen Yuan shrank in his seat under the force of Shen Qingqiu’s nagging. He sullenly placed a
dumpling in his mouth and chewed quietly.

The rest of lunch was filled with Shen Qingqiu’s critiques. Shen Yuan must have been improving
slowly, however, because towards the end of lunch, Shen Yuan had finally been able to enjoy the
food. He was delighted with the myriad of flavors playing across his tongue. The food of a Peak
Lord was even better than the stuff that they served in the Bai Zhan dining halls – and Bai Zhan
had one of the best kitchens in the whole sect!
“Shen Yuan. Are you even listening?” Shen Qingqiu asked suddenly.

Shen Yuan choked a bit on the last of his rice. The air felt rather heavy all of a sudden. Shen Yuan
looked up to see Shen Qingqiu glaring at him with a stormy expression.

Shen Yuan swallowed awkwardly. “Yes, Shibo.”

“Is that right? Well then, what did I just say?” Shen Qingqiu demanded.

“...Sorry, Shibo…” Shen Yuan lowered his head. “I was distracted by how delicious the food
was…”

Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue. “Clean yourself up. You eat like a savage.”

Shen Yuan quickly wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. Shen Qingqiu’s frown deepened.
“Use a napkin and wipe properly!” He scolded.

Shen Yuan hastily grabbed a napkin and then dabbed at his mouth again. It was a futile endeavor,
however, for there were still bits of sauce on the boy’s face.

Shen Qingqiu sighed and grabbed another napkin. He stood and walked over to Shen Yuan. He
grabbed his disciple’s chin to face him, and rubbed at the corner of the boy’s mouth and cheek
where there were bits of sauce.

“Your manners are atrocious, you will be expected to dine with this Peak Lord for breakfast and
lunch from now on until I see improvement. I will not have a disciple of mine act like uncultured
swine.”

Shen Yuan waited placidly as Shen Qingqiu wiped his face. “Yes, Shibo.” He wouldn’t mind
eating with Shen Qingqiu if it meant he could have more food like today’s fare.

The Peak Lord paused and examined Shen Yuan’s face, turning the boy’s face this way and that,
before letting go, satisfied.
“Is the food on Qing Jing Peak always this good?” Shen Yuan asked curiously, as Shen Qingqiu
retook his original seat.

“Hmph,” Shen Qingqiu scoffed, taking out his fan. “Regretting your decision?”

“The food in Bai Zhan Peak isn’t as delicious,” Shen Yuan admitted.

Shen Qingqiu hummed vaguely and then waved his fan at Shen Yuan. “Clean up here and then you
may leave.”

Shen Yuan nodded, got up, and began clearing the dirty dishes away so he could wash them.

After he had finished with the dishes, Shen Qingqiu handed him back his veil and dismissed him.
Shen Yuan put the veil back on obediently, then made his way back to Bai Zhan with a small
bundle of his dirty clothes tucked away in his pouch.

Shen Yuan was walking past the outer training rooms when a voice suddenly shouted out, “Hey!
You! Stop right there!”

Shen Yuan paused. He turned to see a distinctly square-faced disciple quickly striding up to him,
backed by a small group of other Bai Zhan disciples.

“What do you think you’re doing here, Qing Jing scum?” He shouted loudly, looming over Shen
Yuan menacingly.

Shen Yuan pointed at himself questioningly. “Me?”

“Who else?”

“I’m a Bai Zhan disciple though.”

“Haah? There’s no way you’re a Bai Zhan disciple in those robes!” Square Face yelled.

“Ah, these robes are borrowed,” Shen Yuan replied.

The older disciple bellowed, “No self-respecting Bai Zhan disciple would ever wear anything from
Qing Jing Peak!”

“Is that so? I’m sorry,” Shen Yuan replied blandly.

“Don’t patronize me, you little shit!”

“Really, I didn’t know. I’ll be going back to my dorms to change right now.” Shen Yuan said as he
turned to leave. He was stopped by a rough hand on his shoulder.

“I didn’t say you could leave!”

But just as Square Face was about to open his mouth and shout some more, another figure came
flying in from the side and delivered a magnificent flying kick to Square Face’s face, sending the
boy across the field.

“SHUT UP, YOU’RE A DISTURBANCE!” A masculine voice yelled, storming over to the
downed disciple.

He bent down and grabbed Square Face by the lapels and raised him up, shaking the boy roughly.
Shen Yuan couldn’t make out what the newcomer was saying, but he stared in a daze as Square
Face was viciously pummeled. The rest of Square Face’s posse had already escaped.

“Shen-Shidi?” A familiar voice called.

Shen Yuan turned to find Han Rei. His hair was disheveled and his usually immaculate robes were
in slight disarray.

“Ah. Han-Shixiong,” Shen Yuan acknowledged absently, still watching the beat down going on in
front of him.

“What happened?”

“I came back from my lessons with Shen-Shibo, and Square Face…”

“Square Face?”

Shen Yuan pointed towards the massacre before them.

“Ah, I see…” Han Rei murmured. “I must thank you for your assistance, Shidi.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

But Han Rei didn’t continue.

After a while, Square Face was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. Then, the figure stood
and spit on Square Face’s unconscious body, before making his way towards Shen Yuan, dusting
his hands. As the figure neared, Shen Yuan discovered that it was Chu Yun–Shixiong.

“Chu-Shixiong?” Shen Yuan asked hesitantly. He had never seen the older boy so aggravated
before.

“Hm?” The older boy squinted. “Oh! Shen-Shidi! I didn’t even notice you there! Why are you
dressed like that?”

“Ah, my clothes got dirty during my Qing Jing lessons so I borrowed clothes from Shen-Shibo.”

“Huh. Okay. I meant the veil, but alright.”

“Oh, Shizun gave me this and told me not to take it off.”

Chu Yun hummed and stared at Shen Yuan, holding his chin in his hand. “Our Shizun is wise
indeed.”

“What do you mean, Shixiong?”

Han Rei patted Shen Yuan on the head. “He doesn’t mean anything, Shidi.”

Shen Yuan peered at his two Shixiongs. Like Han Rei, Chu Yun looked equally disheveled, if not
more so. His robes were worn loosely, and Shen Yuan could spot what looked like fresh bruises
covering his neck and chest. Compared to him, however, Han Rei looked more put together.

Shen Yuan tilted his head. “Shixiong, were you guys training?”

Chu Yun blinked down at him and grinned. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Shen Yuan perked up. “What were you guys doing?”

“Crossing swords.” Chu Yun grinned.

“Exchanging pointers.” Han Rei said at the same time.

Shen Yuan nodded. They must have been at it for a while. Han Rei may not have fought Square
Face, but he looked like he was slightly out of breath.

“It must have been a good work out,” Shen Yuan mused. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chu-
Shixiong and Han-Shixiong so out of breath before!”

Han Rei’s face was red. “It was… Very intense.”

Chu Yun looked like a cat that caught the canary. “It was great!” Then he scowled. “Up until we
got interrupted”
 “It was you who refused to stop.” Han Rei coughed, face still red. “We should have been done
hours ago.”

“But Rei-ge,” Chu Yun leered. “We still had so many techniques to try out.”

Han Rei glared in response.

Shen Yuan, on the other hand, nodded in understanding. He, too, disliked it when training was
interrupted. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw something red on the edge of Chu Yun’s
shoulders. “Shixiong,” he started, eyes wide, pointing his finger, “You should get that bandaged.”

“Hm?” Chu Yun asked, twisting and peering down at himself. His twisting revealed more of his
back, it looked rather badly scratched – as if someone had clawed at him viciously.

“It might get infected,” Shen Yuan said, brows furrowed.

Han Rei turned away from Chu Yun awkwardly as the other boy leered at him wickedly.

The turn allowed Shen Yuan to spot terrible looking bruises on Han Rei’s visible neck. “Shixiong,
were you guys practicing chokeholds?”

“We were practicing a little hand-to-hand, Shidi.” Han Rei coughed. “If we’re done here, I shall go
and attend to my injuries. Good day, Shidi.” And with that, Han Rei sped away. His stride looked a
little awkward.

Shen Yuan watched his Shixiong depart and turned to Chu Yun in concern. “Shixiong,” he started.
“I think Han-Shixiong injured his leg. He should go to Qian Cao Peak to get it checked.”

Chu Yun grinned and pat Shen Yuan on the head. “Sure thing, Shidi. I’ll make sure Rei-ge gets all
taken care of.” And with that, he bid Shen Yuan farewell and turned to follow after Han Rei.

Chapter End Notes

Chapter End Notes

Ehhhh my finals are still going and I’m procrastinating. So uh. I thank misminor and
Lala for helping me write this. Lmao.

Happy Mother’s Day SQQ. He nags like a mom in this chapter anyways
 Peak Dumbass
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan feels nostalgic and Qing Jing Peak has a bad day.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 39: Peak Dumbass

Shen Qingqiu walked into the large meeting room behind Head Disciple and looked across the
room to see who was present. Liu Qingge sat at a corner of the large table that dominated the room
scowling. Qi Qingqi sat next to him idly inspecting her nails. Yue Qingyuan sat at the head of the
table with a somber expression and Shang Qinghua sat a seat away from him nervously shuffling
through a stack of papers.

Shen Qingqiu nodded at Head Disciple and then took his seat next to Yu Qingyuan, ignoring the
pleading looks the man sent in his direction.

Yue Qingyuan sent another longing look at Shen Qingqiu before he quietly sighed and stood to
begin the meeting. “Now that everyone is here, we can finally begin to discuss our individual
findings on the children that have gone missing over the past few months. Evidently, there has been
an underground slave ring we are not aware of that must be dealt with immediately.” Yue
Qingyuan sat down again and pulled out a sheet of paper to take notes on. “Liu-Shidi, if you would
please start first?”

Liu Qingge snorted. “It's most likely cultivators,” he stated, falling silent once more.

Qi Qingqi rolled her eyes, huffing. “The place we busted was masquerading as a storehouse for
cattle feed. There was a hidden entrance on the floor where we found the slavers. There weren’t
that many traps, so they clearly weren’t expecting anyone knocking on their doorstep. It was well
supplied with talismans – even for lighting and air circulation.”

Shang Qinghua frowned. “To spend talismans on something like that…”

“Precisely. Those were freely given no matter how you look at it.” Qi Qingqi pursed her lips. “We
found the slaves and the victims further inside. They even had an antechamber for the dead. We
took out the guards but none of them were cultivators. The head guard had the artifact that I handed
over to Zhangmen-Shixiong.”

“Yes, thank you for the find,” Yue Qingyuan acknowledged. “I have handed the item over to the
talisman peak to investigate.”

Qi Qingqi nodded before continuing with her findings. “The slaves we found were also largely
composed of young women and small children – low strength, but high cultivation potential.
However, the most interesting thing we found was in the overseer’s room – a cultivator’s robe, seal
and all.”

“So there is cultivation involved in this, after all? And what would they need children for?” Shang
Qinghua asked as he hurriedly wrote everything down.

Shen Qingqiu flicked open his fan as his lip curled, sneering. “For what other reason do cultivators
kidnap young children with high cultivation potential? Obviously, it's to use them as cauldrons to
plunder.”

“Ah… I suppose that's true, Shen-Shixiong…”

Shen Qingqiu pursed his lips behind his fan before snapping it closed, resting the edge on his chin.
“Hmph, so there are cultivators behind this scheme, is there? Are they merely rogues or is there a
larger group behind this? According to the number of different slaves you’ve discovered and the
sheer amount of similar talismans and cultivation tools, this would not be possible for only a few
cultivators to manage. At best, we have a new group forming that needs to be put down quickly. At
worst, this is a demonic sect making a revival.

“My own investigations have led me to believe that there is a much larger group behind this than
we would suspect. According to the local merchants, street orphans have been disappearing and the
orphanage has experienced several mass adoptions. I will need to further investigate other locations
I suspect have had similar activity. The cities of Wang Jin and Yuan Cheng to start with, I
believe.”

Meanwhile, on Qing Jing Peak, Shen Yuan was idling at the back of a lecture hall filled with
disciples who were busy being awed over a variety of spiritual artifacts and treasures. He
personally wasn’t particularly interested in any of the items as he had seen various rarer
incarnations during his time in the demon realm.

His usual morning class with Shen-Shibo had been interrupted by the girl who he distinctly
remembered was called “Head Disciple.” The Peak Lord had been summoned to Qiong Ding Peak,
causing Shen Qingqiu to dismiss him in favor of answering the summons. Shen Yuan had
originally thought about heading back to Bai Zhan in order to train, but on the way out, he had
spotted Chen Tian.

The older disciple had perked up upon seeing him and had cheerfully invited Shen Yuan to attend
one of Qing Jing’s lectures. Curious, Shen Yuan had agreed and was practically picked up and
carried to the lecture room by the enthusiastic older disciple.

As of the moment, Shen Yuan was listening to a heated debate over the usefulness of a bracelet
that could obscure thoughts from mind reading demons. The discussion was slowly winding down
as the disciple who had brought in the artifact shouted dissenters down into submission.

Shen Yuan knew that the artifact was actually a counterfeit as the demonic inscription on the side
of the bracelet was, in fact, utter gibberish. Even if it were real though, it would not have been very
useful to an experienced cultivator who could use their cores to hide their thoughts. But perhaps, if
the item had been authentic, it would have probably helped a younger and less experienced
cultivator appear more intimidating. Mind reading demons were often weak anyways. They relied
on illusions and simple tricks and rarely had enough bite to be an actual threat.

The disciple that had been proudly espousing the benefits of the item stared at him in indignation.

It was then that Shen Yuan realized he had been muttering out loud.

The disciple puffed himself up and proceeded to rant on about the authenticity of the artifact and
how he had personally found it in the ruins of an old cultivation sect.

Shen Yuan had been mostly trying and failing to avoid gathering attention as he was the only Bai
Zhan uniformed disciple in the sea of Qing Jing disciples. But now, everyone’s attention was
focused on him as he deadpanned at the ranting disciple.

“If you squint really hard. You can see that the demonic inscription on the side actually says ‘Do
not swallow, contains small parts.’” He said blandly.

The disciple squinted at the bracelet. Opened his mouth, then closed it. He sat down at his chair
with a devastated expression on his face as the rest of the Qing Jing disciples roared in laughter. A
disciple quickly scurried out of the room to grab another artifact.

Every quarter shichen or so, a disciple would leave and bring in a new artifact to discuss and
debate. Shen Yuan prayed that the next one would arrive quickly so that the gangly looking
disciple to his right would stop talking about his… er, extensive experience with artifacts. The boy
waxed poetic, as if he had personally made each artifact themselves, but then would be surprisingly
quiet in the presence of said artifacts.

Chen Tian still looked like a bright sunflower despite the surprising amount of venom contained in
some of the ‘scholarly discussions’. He smiled brightly at Shen Yuan and patted him on the head.

“Good catch, Shidi!” He said happily, “I thought there was something wrong with that bracelet too,
haha!”

“Why are fake artifacts even allowed in for discussion?” Shen Yuan asked, tilting his head.

“Haha! Well, then this could also be an exercise in appraisal! Also, some artifacts are hard to come
by, so even fakes are good practice!”

Shen Yuan squinted at the older boy, he couldn’t quite tell if Chen Tian was making this up or not.
Either way, he shrugged and leaned back against the wall as the next disciple rushed in with an
object clutched tightly in their fist.

“Look everyone!” They cried happily as they waved the object in their hand above their head.
“Look at what I found at the back of the artifact hall!”

Shen Yuan blinked lazily and looked up to see what exactly was held in the disciple’s hand.

It was an inconspicuous looking red gem the size of the disciple’s thumb. It glowed brightly in the
lecture hall.
Its shine was eerily familiar to Shen Yuan.

“Ah! It’s a wealth ruby!” The disciple to his right exclaimed excitedly, “My grand uncle had a
collection of these! They’re supposed to be blessed stones that bring you great fortune. We gifted
one to the empress herself once!”

The disciple’s words were like white noise to Shen Yuan as he stared blankly at the red gem.

The disciple was about to continue his bragging when one of the older disciples laughed.

“Haha! You’re so wrong, Shidi!” The other disciple scoffed. “I believe it's a demon seal! It can
cause some people to follow the will of its creator. People with weak cultivation and minds are
easily affected by it.”

Shen Yuan continued to stare blankly at the stone.

The older disciple grinned triumphantly. “It looks like we have our first victim already. Perhaps
we should seal his Qi so he can regain his focus.”

A girl sitting next to the older boy quietly offered some Qi sealing talismans to him. Without a
word of acknowledgement, he stood up eager to play the hero for Shizun’s son. He wondered how
Shizun would reward him for this as he activated a few talismans and threw them at Shen Yuan.
The talismans activated with a spark and a blue glow, arcing towards Shen Yuan.

Back in Qiong Ding Peak, the Peak Lords drew their meeting to a close.

Yue Qingyuan nodded to the room. “Very well. I will draw up plans to further investigate these
areas you deem suspicious. Shang-Shidi, I trust I can leave the preparations for the mission to you?
I expect the Talisman Peak will have some results in two days' time. I would like an update on the
mission preparations by then.”

Shang Qinghua jerked in his seat, startled at the sudden mention of his name. “Ye-yes, Zhangmen-
shixiong!”
“Well then,” Yue Qingyuan started, glancing around the room. “I suppose we can now draw this
meeting to a close. Unless there is anything else anyone would like to share? Very well –”

Yue Qingyuan cut himself off.

There was a sudden oppressive heaviness in the air and a hint of something metallic on their
tongues. They could feel the ground vibrating. The table shook and their chairs jerked with the
unstable movement.

The Peak Lords grew startled as the floor trembled beneath them.

Suddenly, the door flung open and a frazzled-looking Qing Jing disciple came rushing in, drawing
their attention. His hair was in disarray, his robes dusted in dirt. His face was ashen and misted in
sweat. His hands trembled something fierce.

He looked like he was on the verge of collapse.

“Sect Leader! Shizun! Something’s happening in Qing Jing Peak! It’s an emergency!”

Everyone shot up out of their seats in alarm.

“The...artifacts hall…!” The boy staggered and fell to his knees, collapsing.

Shang Qinghua was the closest to the door. He rushed to the fallen disciple and checked for a
pulse.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “What’s going on now? I didn’t write this…”

Meanwhile, Yue Qingyuan called over one of his nearby disciples. She, too, looked pale and
shaken.
 “Get him to Qian Cao Peak,” he instructed.

Without waiting for a response, the Peak Lords rushed out of the building and flew to Qing Jing
Peak. The closer they got, the heavier the air became. The taste of metal slowly grew
overwhelming. Alarmed, Shen Qingqiu sped up, gritting his teeth as the pressure got stronger and
stronger. The other Peak Lords followed closely behind.

What they saw when they arrived was horrifying.

The wall of one of the buildings looked like it had been blown away. Part of the roof had caved in
and the interior looked like a fierce storm had passed through. Rubble had scattered across the
floor along with what looked to be shards of various broken artifacts.

Before them, young Qing Jing disciples were littered across the ground, unmoving.

Chapter End Notes

Heeeeeeyyyyy so Im almost done with finalssss yeahhhhhhh boiiiiiiii! Once again I

spent all night up writing this chapter with Misminor and Lala so imma go pass out in
a few moments hahaha.
 Cry Me a River
Chapter Summary

Qing Jing Peak’s no good very bad day.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 40: Cry Me a River

Chen Tian could pinpoint the exact moment his day went from uneventful to absolutely disastrous.

The day had started out relatively normal. He woke up, had a terrible breakfast of bland, tasteless
congee as usual. And then, he went to classes.

At least classes had been interesting. Chen Tian learned two new songs on the guqin and he
practiced his calligraphy with a few new poems.

He had a pleasant surprise on his way to the lecture hall for the disciple-managed debates. He
spotted a lone Bai Zhan disciple in a veil wandering around on the fringes of Qing Jing.

Chen Tian perked up excitedly. He recognized that veil!

He bounded up to Shen Yuan. “Hey, Shen-Shidi! What are you doing here?” He asked cheerfully.

Shen Yuan looked slightly taken aback at his energy and hesitated before responding. “Shen-Shibo
was called away during our morning class, so I was about to head back to Bai Zhan for more
training.”

Chen Tian frowned. That didn't sound too fun. Shen Yuan looked rather lonely – like he could use
more friends! And despite the number of times Shen Yuan had visited Qing Jing, he never seemed
to interact with any of the disciples. Then again, the Qing Jing disciples would always keep a
healthy distance between themselves and Shen Yuan. With the amount of time Shen Yuan spent on
Qing Jing, he shouldn’t feel like an outsider. After all, it seemed like Shen Yuan had been hiding in
the back of the library the first time they met.

Maybe he felt unwelcomed on the peak…

Then, Chen Tian had an epiphany. A close interaction in a class space would be good for breaking
the ice!

“Say, Shen-Shidi! Would you like to attend a lecture debate? It’ll be hosted by some of our older
disciples,” Chen Tian offered. “It will be fun, I promise!”

From what he had heard from the debate incident in the library, Shen Yuan would surely be able to
impress the Qing Jing disciples and help them overcome the prejudices that Qing Jing held against
Bai Zhan.

Shen Yuan tilted his head with consideration. He looked rather reluctant about the whole thing.

Chen Tian used his best puppy eyes on the boy.

Shen Yuan squinted at him and Chen Tian could see the faint traces of a grimace underneath the
veil.

“Sure…” The younger boy said slowly, “Seems like it could be interesting…”

Chen Tian grinned. “Great! Let’s go then!” He picked up Shen Yuan like a rag doll and dashed the
rest of the way to the lecture halls.

Chen Tian practically kicked the door to the lecture hall open in his excitement and strode in
practically oozing with happiness. Thirty Qing Jing disciples turned to the door in shock before
they relaxed upon seeing that it was only Chen Tian.

“Hey guys! This is Shen Yuan! Please make him feel welcome! He’ll be joining us for our debates
today!” Chen Tian declared, plonking Shen Yuan down at the front of the hall.
Shen Yuan staggered a bit as he was set back on his feet. He looked at the Qing Jing disciples who
were staring expectantly at him and awkwardly turned to look at Chen Tian. Chen Tian smiled
encouragingly at him.

Shen Yuan sighed, turning back to the gathered Qing Jing disciples and sketched a bow. “Please
take care of me.”

Chen Tian nodded and pat Shen Yuan on the back. “Take a seat wherever you want, Shidi! We’ll
be starting soon!”

Shen Yuan nodded and promptly made his way to the very back of the hall where there was an
empty chair.

Ah, Chen Tian wilted a bit. He sure had his work cut out for him if his Shidi was naturally shy and
antisocial.

The discussions started quickly with a silver cup that apparently could detect poisons.

Chen Tian noticed that Shen Yuan kept quiet for the most part but would occasionally drop a sharp
and witty comment. The person on the receiving end was never too happy but the rest of the
disciples seemed to be deriving great amusement from Shen Yuan’s remarks.

So all in all, not a total failure...?

Chen Tian watched with a wry smile as Shen Yuan identified a fake bracelet amongst their
extensive collection.

He was making mental arrangements to have the fake dealt with when the next disciple returned
excitedly with a new artifact to discuss.

“Look everyone! Look what I found at the back of the artifact hall!” The disciple called waving a
bright red gem above his head.

Chen Tian hummed and held his chin. It appeared to be an ordinary red gem, but the shine of it in
the light made him feel dull and slow.

He absently noted the disciple that identified the gem as a wealth ruby. Hm… Not quite. Wealth
rubies were usually much smaller and would normally be a duller red than the brightly glowing
gem that was still clenched in the disciples hand.

Chen Tian looked up sharply when another disciple mentioned the possibility of a demon seal - he
noticed the same disciple approach Shen Yuan who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts staring
blankly at the red gem.

Shen Yuan was pale and trembling slightly. The flow of his Qi was erratic and disturbed from what
Chen Tian could feel.

Chen Tian knew the signs of an impending Qi deviation when he saw them. He had to get Shen
Yuan out of the room. Fast.

Then he saw the disciple approaching Shen Yuan throw out Qi sealing talismans.

“No!” Chen Tian shouted.

If Shen Yuan’s Qi was sealed while he was in the midst of a Qi deviation he could die!

But Chen Tian was too late.

The talismans activated with a spark and a blue glow.

The next thing Chen Tian knew, he was being forced down by the air itself. Powerful bolts of Qi
fired out from Shen Yuan with loud cracking noises, incinerating the talismans before continuing
on their paths of destruction.

Disciples screamed shrilly and scrambled to get away from Shen Yuan as the boy’s Qi lashed out
violently.
Chen Tian grimaced, gathering his senses and pushing himself to his feet again over ringing ears
and a dizzying sense of vertigo.

The hall was being wrecked by sparking bolts of energy. There was a loud crash as Qi barreled
through a nearby support pillar.

A loud creak rang out and a big chunk of the ceiling collapsed right next to Chen Tian.

Chen Tian covered his head with his arms. Rubble and debris bounced off of him. Dust filled the
air, whipping about violently with the storm of energy that surrounded Shen Yuan.

He breathed evenly to remain calm. Looking around the lecture hall, he found that most of the
disciples were either unconscious on the ground from the initial Qi outburst or curled up in tears of
terror.

“Everyone who is still conscious, get up! Get everyone else out of the way! Quickly!” He roared.

He grabbed a nearby Shidi who had staggered to his feet. “Not you! You go get help from the peak
lords!”

The Shidi nodded frantically and sped out of the room.

Then, Chen Tian steeled himself. He took a deep breath and looked at Shen Yuan. The boy was
still standing blankly in the middle of his own tornado.

Chen Tian recklessly charged headlong into the storm with arms held in front of his face.

The taste of metal was heavy on his tongue.

The commotion had apparently caught the attention of the whole sect. In the distance, Chen Tian
could see a beige uniform at the door among the crowd of disciples that had come to gawk at the
destruction currently happening.

“A’Lian!” He grinned, ignoring the streak of blood that dripped down from his forehead. “I would
greet you properly, but my hands are a little occupied, haha!”

The lashing Qi continued to rage around him, with Chen Tian and Shen Yuan at the epicenter.

Hua Heilian’s calm smile twitched spasmodically as she shouted back over the storm of energy,
“Why do you always seem to find yourself in these situations?”

She braved the storm as well. The raging Qi seemed to be actively trying to push everyone and
everything away from Shen Yuan and Chen Tian, who were at the center of the maelstrom. But
Hua Heilian struggled closer and closer to Chen Tian who had an unresponsive Shen Yuan pinned
beneath him.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Qi deviation this bad!” She yelled as she finally made it into the
eye of the storm.

“Haha!” Somehow, Chen Tian still found the ability to laugh. “I know right?”

“How is he not dead!? Hua Heilian exclaimed, pressing her hands to Shen Yuan’s back, trying to
smooth out his energy flow.

“I have no idea!” Chen Tian yelled back. “Can’t you do something to fix him?”

Hua Heilian’s signature smile was strained. “Sorry, but we haven’t exactly gone over storm-
inducing Qi deviations in class yet!”

“Seriously?! You're breaking my heart over here!”

“Then perish!” Hua Heilian snarked, concentrating on maintaining Shen Yuan’s meridians.
Static buzzed and filled Shen Yuan’s ears, drowning out the world around him. His body felt
heavy, as if weighed down by lead. His mind felt muffled like it was stuffed with cotton.

He felt something – someone – wrapped around his body and absently felt the muted whispers of
foreign Qi.

Someone held him in their tight grip.

He couldn’t move.

Someone was wielding him again.

Distantly, he could hear sobbing and screaming.

There were bodies on the ground.

Some were buried under rubble. Some were exposed to the sun.

More figures entered the scene, looking their way. Swords drawn.
Ah…

Another battlefield.
Shen Yuan was tired.

Another massacre.
He didn’t want to fight anymore.
Please...

He wanted to scream.
Don’t make me fight anymore.

As they landed, Shen Qingqiu felt himself slightly sinking into the earth below from the weight in
the air, but he was too distracted to notice. The Peak Lords rushed to the nearest bodies to check
their pulses. Luckily, the children were still breathing.

Shen Qingqiu turned to the tornado of rampaging energy still tearing its way through the rest of the
lecture hall. It was a mass of whipping winds and lashing Qi. He could just make out three figures
huddled together at the center of the storm.

He looked back at the group of gawking disciples standing a safe distance away. “Get the
unconscious and move them to a safer area! Don’t just stand there watching!” He yelled above the
roaring energy.
Disciples started and scrambled to start helping out.

Shen Qingqiu heaved a sigh. Useless fools. They would need more lessons and discipline after this
debacle.

He ignored the other Peak Lords as they began shouting out different orders to coordinate the
rescue efforts. He had more important priorities – a certain troublesome disciple, who he just knew
was at the center of this mess.

Shen Qingqiu unsheathed Xiu Ya briefly and a flash of light cut through the vortex of spinning
energy disrupting it slightly.

In a blink of an eye Shen Qingqiu was beside Shen Yuan’s unresponsive form, next to Chen Tian
and Hua Heilian.

He took one look at Hua Heilian’s efforts and huffed.

“Keep straightening his meridians,” Shen Qingqiu instructed the girl. “Your cultivation is not high
enough for your spiritual energy to be of use to him. I will manage the energy transfer.”

Shen Qingqiu put his hands on Shen Yuan’s back and began to channel spiritual energy into the
boy to regulate the flow of Shen Yuan’s Qi.

He found Shen Yuan surprisingly accepting of his energy.

It was almost as though…

They shared blood…

Shen Qingqiu hurriedly pushed the thought out of his mind for now. He could feel Shen Yuan’s
energy slowly weakening. It felt as if the boy was slipping away under his hands.
Shen Qingqiu panicked slightly. “Shen Yuan!” He shouted. He needed the child to stop releasing
energy. “Shen Yuan!”

There was a familiar voice in the distance.

“...uan...”

It broke through the static.

“...en...Yua…”
Shen Yuan strained to hear it.

“...Shen...uan…”

It was his name.

“...en...Yuan…!”
Someone knew his name! Someone knew he was here!

“...Shen Yuan...!”
Desperately, he searched for the source.

Shen Yuan stilled.

Ah…
He knew that voice.

“Shen Yuan!”

He knew that face.

No...

Don’t…!
Don’t come any closer!

Shen Yuan wanted to cry.

Please...
He didn’t want to lose anyone else.
 Shen Yuan’s tears had already run dry a long, long time ago.

Chapter End Notes

Ayyyyyeeeee can we get a hell yeah for 5000 comments?

And also also congrats to Lala for finally getting an Ao3 account so we can put her as
a co creator now!

Also now we have line breaks hell yeah.

 Wake Me Up Inside
Chapter Summary

Delirium.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 41: Wake Me Up Inside

He didn’t want to do it…

Do… What…?
Shen Yuan couldn’t remember…

All that existed was the all encompassing darkness and the blanket of fog over his mind…
Somewhere…

Someone coughed…
Shen Yuan turned around blankly to see a familiar stricken face staring at him numbly.

The child coughed again. Blood dribbled down the sides of his mouth.
Shen Yuan blinked.

He was… Stabbed…
Why was Shen Yuan the one stabbing him…?
He…
Didn’t want to…!

No…!
No, no…!
A man bound in chains appeared, kneeling before him glaring defiantly…

An arm was raised and a black blade flashed…

A head went flying…

Landing right next to him…

No, no, no…!
A farmer with a gentle smile appeared…

His smile seemed to fade with the light in his eyes as he collapsed with a hole in his chest…
A brave man who stood for the weak…
A burning building crashed down upon him…
An endless battlefield…

A mountain of corpses…
An ocean of crimson blood…
A neverending list of skills…
A neverending list of kills…
His body was dyed in red.
The room smelled like disinfectant.

Ah… Another episode?

Shen Yuan wondered what caused it this time.

The mattress at his back was firm.

His body ached.

His hands felt stiff.

He must be on an IV again.

There was the sound of rustling clothes.

Shen Yuan opened his bleary eyes and saw a blurred figure by his bedside.

“You’re finally awake.”

Ah, this voice...it was Gege.

Gege was always there for him...

Gege was safe.

“I’ll go call someone.”

Gege’s figure stood up and turned to leave but before he got too far, Shen Yuan weakly caught the
end of his sleeve.
“Don’t go!”

“Gege…please don’t go...”

The figure stilled.

“Don’t leave your Yuan-er all alone…”
“I…Yuan-er doesn’t want to be alone anymore...!”
A warm hand rested on his forehead.

“Sleep,” the man said softly.

“Gege...Will you stay?”
“... Gege will be right here...Yuan'er.”
Relieved, Shen Yuan closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Wang Cheng sighed as he hauled beams of wood up the pathway to the ruined lecture hall.

By this point in his career as a Bai Zhan disciple, Wang Cheng had become accustomed to the
endless manual labor that was assigned to their peak. Wang Cheng’s year had been assigned the
dubious honor of bringing supplies and building materials up to Qing Jing Peak. The senior
disciples had been assigned to the more skill-intensive labor – such as shaping the wood, cutting it
into correct lengths, and adding joints and slots.
An Ding Peak disciples were overseeing the construction and directing the younger Bai Zhan
disciples in clearing the area of debris to make it safer for the other groups.

Wang Cheng sighed again. He put his beams down on a large pile that was gathered to the side of
the ruined building. He scowled. Why did he have to work like a dog for Qing Jing? They didn’t
even have decent food to repay them for their labor! Also, the Qing Jing disciples who were
overseeing the reconstruction efforts with An Ding disciples were mean little shits. They drove the
Bai Zhan disciples relentlessly and barely gave them any breaks.

But then again, maybe the shitty food was the reason all Qing Jing disciples acted like they had
sticks up their asses.

Wang Cheng sat down on one of the beams he had hauled and wiped his sweat.

What the hell had happened here anyways? It looked like a storm had passed through Qing Jing,
but it hadn’t even been raining over the Cang Qiong mountain range.

Had it been that earthquake they had felt?

Suddenly, Wang Cheng heard the sounds of furious arguing voices behind the large pile of wood.
His ears perked up when he heard a mention of Shen Yuan’s name. Wang Cheng pretended to be
surveying the wood as two Qing Jing disciples came around the corner.

“... but I heard it was a Qi deviation?” One disciple asked curiously.

“Hah! Are you joking? What kind of Qi deviation can cause a storm? It was obviously a heavenly
punishment!” The second disciple scoffed.

“All over a veil?” Came the incredulous response.

“Well if it wasn’t the veil then what else could it have been?”

“Well… I don’t know…“

Wang Cheng contemplated for a moment. Ah, as expected of a treasure Shen Yuan received from
Shizun himself!

This was exciting news!

Though, Wang Cheng did wonder… What ever happened to the unfortunate fool who thought to
touch Shen Yuan’s veil?

A shiver ran down Wang Cheng’s spine.

He would be extra careful of Shen Yuan’s veil when they sparred in the future.

“That’s it! We’re all done here! Have a good day and take care!” Hua Heilian said with an angelic
smile as she waved off a patient, blithely ignoring the stammers and red cheeks. “Next patient
please!” She called out to the waiting room.

Chen Tian immediately bounced up to her. “A’Lian! Did you miss me?”

“Hm… You seem determined to test my knowledge and skills every time you come see me.” Hua
Heilian said with a stiff smile, ushering Chen Tian into the examination room. “Well. At least this
time you came for a legitimate reason instead of wasting my time.”

“Ah, but if I didn’t come who would get A’Lian out of this stuffy place?” Chen Tian asked, putting
a hand on his chest. Hua Heilian checked over his head with a hand glowing with healing Qi.

Hua Heilian paused slightly, then she punched him on the shoulder lightly. “I wouldn’t be stuck
here if a certain someone didn’t always give me more work to do.”

As she bandaged his head, neither of them acknowledged the pointlessness of the act. Chen Tian
had already been fully healed.
 “It's a shame you won't have a reminder for this. It would be useful to remind you to stop jumping
headfirst into trouble. But obviously, that hasn’t worked out so far.” She said, eyeing the three
scars on Chen Tian’s face.

Chen Tian smiled back sunnily under her ministrations.

Hua Heilian looked away and cleared her throat. “You’re almost back to normal. Just be sure not to
do anything too strenuous.”

“I’d be back to one hundred percent right now if you kissed it better.” Chen Tian suggested
cheekily.

Hua Heilian’s smile stiffened, she strode over to a side table and pulled out a sheet of paper and
began taking notes. “Hm... It seems the patient is experiencing delusional thoughts. Alteration in
thought process...” she muttered out loud.

Chen Tian put the back of his hand to his head dramatically, as if he was going to swoon. “Ah!
That cuts deep A’Lian!”

“It seems you aren’t quite fully recovered yet. Be sure to return for monitoring in a couple days.”

“Aw, I knew you loved me!” Chen Tian said, hopping to his feet and striding out with a big goofy
grin on his face.

Hua Heilian sighed, turning away.

Once again, neither commented on the hint of red on her ears.

Liu Qingge huffed as he looked at his unconscious student lying on the hospital bed. “None of this
was an issue when he was on Bai Zhan under my care.”

Shen Qingqiu indignantly snapped his fan open. “Yes, Shidi – you taught with so much care that he
wasn’t even cultivating before I started teaching him! You are completely unfit to be his teacher.”

Yue Qingyuan puttered in the background uselessly. “Shen-Shidi, Liu-Shidi… Don’t fight…”

Ignoring Yue Qingyuan, Liu Qingge crossed his arms and glared at Shen Qingqiu. “And you are?
With how often you deviate you may as well be lying in the bed right next to him.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes narrowed venomously above his fan. “And you would personally put him in
Qian Cao with your teachings!”

“At least I know how to tend to wounds, having experience on the field! What would you do? Take
him to one of those favored brothels of yours?”

“Hmph. I’ll have you know: I was the one that calmed down the Qi deviation that he was going
through! And so what if I have? I am still actually here for my disciples - a concept you seem
unable to comprehend!”

Liu Qingge’s eyes widened in shock. “You! Since when!? If this is what you're teaching my
disciple then it would be better if you did stay off your peak!”

Mu Qingfan chose this moment to butt in abruptly. He took a step in between the two and glared at
them sternly. “If you two insist on fighting, then I must ask you to leave.”

Suddenly, a weak voice called out. “Gege...Please… Don’t leave... “

It was Shen Yuan.

Yue Qingyuan froze while Shen Qingqiu quickly went to the boy’s side to calm him down.

Liu Qingge glared sourly at Shen Qingqiu before he snorted. Then, he turned with a huff and left.
Shen Yuan woke to the muffled sound of agitated voices.

“None ... an issue...under my care…”

“...so much care that he wasn’t...You are completely unfit…!”

“And you are? ...how often you...may as well be...right next to him.”

“And you would… with your…!”

“At least I know… tend to… what would you do? Take him to one of those … of yours?”

“I was the one that… calmed down… what he was going through! ...so what… i’m actually still
here for… you seem unable…!”

“You! ...if this is what you’re… better if you did stay off... !

A new but familiar voice spoke. “If you two insist on fighting, then I must ask you to leave.”
It was his doctor.

No…!
“Gege,” Shen Yuan weakly called. “Please…”

Don’t leave me alone...

I’m scared…!
There was the sound of movement. Footsteps grew quiet and a door opened and closed.

“Hmph,” Gege’s huffed. “Finally some peace and quiet.”

Relieved, Shen Yuan peered up at his gege’s blurry figure.

“You’re awake.”

“...You stayed?” Shen Yuan’s throat felt scratchy and his voice was hoarse.

“If it wasn’t me, then who would?”

Shen Yuan smiled.

“...Gege…I’m sorry.”

There was a hum.

“I’m a burden…”

There was a pause. Then, something tapped Shen Yuan on the head.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hehe.” He smiled at the familiar gesture.

“Hmph.”

“You know, Gege...” Shen Yuan started, closing his eyes.

His hand reached out and his fingers wrapped themselves around two of his gege’s fingers. He was
too weak to do much else.
“Yuan-er had a bad dream…”
“...What was it?”
“Yuan-er dreamt… that he was somewhere dark and scary…”
In his grasp, Gege felt warm and comforting.
Shang Qinghua surveyed the damage to the Qing Jing lecture hall and took notes on what needed
to be done. He would have to find the previous blueprints for the building and make arrangements
for reconstruction according to said blueprints. Then he would have to supervise the actual
construction and assembly. He would have to verify the structural integrity of the standing
buildings to see how the building collapsed as well.
And since this was an artifacts hall he would probably have to add additional designs for security
and protection of said artifacts. Perhaps he could have some pillars set aside so they could carve in
protective seals? Maybe some seals to avoid light and air damage as well.

Shang Qinghua wanted to cry. Ahhh, he had so much work to do! And now with this catastrophe,
he had even more work piled on his plate!

He wanted to just go back to his peak and sleep for ten years. He hadn’t had a good night of sleep
in so long. Though as a cultivator he didn't exactly need that much sleep, but he still appreciated it
nonetheless.

Shang Qinghua sighed and turned to face his latest headache.

The head disciple of Qing Jing had been discharged from Qian Cao surprisingly early.

Shang Qinghua’s face fell as he looked at Chen Tian’s eager puppy dog face. The boy was tall,
lean, and had unfairly good looks. His hair was full of curls and his voice was smooth. His face
was only marred by the scars that ran across, making him look like a thug. When he wasn’t
smiling, he looked strict and cool. Like a protagonist!

Several of the female An Ding disciples were quite distracted and glanced over at him rather often.
Ah, if it weren’t for those scars, that boy would be devastatingly handsome.

However, the boy caused more problems than he solved. The kid seemed like a good leader, but
whatever team he was assigned to would suddenly start making countless little errors that would
pile up.

Shang Qinghua felt bad at being grateful for the boy’s disfigurement - without them, things would
probably have been a lot less efficient.

There was a time and a place for distractions, and this was not it.

“Shishu, is there anything else I can help with?” Chen Tian chirped.
Shang Qinghua fumbled with the scrolls and papers he held in his arms as he desperately thought
of something that wasn’t critical to the image of Qing Jing.

“A-ah… You can go… And build… This adjunct building!” Shang Qinghua stuttered, shoving a
set of blueprints at Chen Tian.

Chen Tian brightened like a sunflower. “Sure thing, Shishu! I won’t let you down!” The boy
grabbed the blueprints and scampered off to find disciples that he could recruit for his noble
cause.

Shang Qinghua watched him go with a sinking feeling in his stomach. But still, he shrugged and
turned back to inspecting the ruined lecture hall.

He was still in disbelief. How could a simple Qi deviation cause so much destruction? If he hadn’t
seen the storm himself he would have never believed that such a mess could arise from a Qi
deviation. One would need absolutely insane Qi reserves to create destruction on this scale. Not
even his protagonist, Luo Binghe, was capable of creating such a large storm. Sure, there would be
some harsh winds whipping about and some dramatic energy flares, but nothing to this extent!

Shang Qinghua paused and held his chin in his hand. Was this Shen Yuan a protagonist from his
original draft that he had lost?

Shang Qinghua prodded at his system, but it was completely useless as always - complaining about
low energy and telling him next to nothing.

Would it be possible to hug the thighs of a scrapped protagonist? Shang Qinghua wondered as he
started walkingback to An Ding to fill out more paperwork. No no, he was probably scrapped for a
reason, there was no telling what would happen to him or the people around him in the future.

Shang Qinghua nodded firmly to himself. It was best not to get involved. A scrapped protagonist
probably meant that this character was doomed as soon as Luo Binghe showed up.

Shang Qinghua stopped walking abruptly.

What if the reason that Shen Qingqiu eventually became salty and bitter (well... more salty and
bitter) was because this character died?

The scrolls in Shang Qinghua’s arms tumbled to the ground.

When would Shen Yuan’s death happen that would cause this character change?

Definitely before Luo Binghe’s arrival… Maybe before Ning Yingying’s eventual arrival? Shang
Qinghua gasped.

Was Ning Yingying Shen Qingqiu’s substitute for Shen Yuan? Shen Qingqiu loses Shen Yuan to
dote on, so he dotes on Ning Ying Ying instead?

If the system didn’t have any thoughts on the matter, maybe he should try to have Shen Yuan sent
away before he could die?

With the beginnings of a plan starting to form in his mind, Shang Qinghua bent down to pick up
his dropped scrolls and then continued on his way.

Shen Qingqiu looked over the reports that Shang Qinghua had sent over to him. He needed to
approve of various details regarding repairs and the rebuilding timeline. He glanced over at the
arrangements for classes that Chen Tian had sent over as well. Shen Qingqiu hummed as he
considered the material use.

Would the prestige be worth the cost? And these shortcuts that Shang Qinghua proposed… that
could be seen as shoddy but it would certainly get work done faster.

As Shen Qingqiu worked, Mu Qingfan’s head disciple entered the room.

Shen Qingqiu glanced down at Shen Yuan who was sleeping peacefully – a sharp contrast to how
he was a few hours ago.
Hua Heilian inclined her head respectfully at Shen Qingqiu and said, “Shen-Shibo, I’m currently
making my rounds overseeing all the patients. How has he been doing?”

Shen Qingqiu sniffed and regarded Hua Heilian imperiously. The girl was competent and
unfailingly polite, even when he and that Liu brute had been fighting. “He has improved. He is no
longer as distressed and has stopped tossing and turning.”

“I see. That's very good to hear. Thank you, Shen-Shibo, for the information.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded and observed as she went about with her tasks.

He stared at Shen Yuan as he slept.

He had disliked being called “Gege.” It was less than ideal, but since his troublesome disciple was
in distress, Shen Qingqiu had no choice but to play along with the farce. The boy was still
recovering from a devastating Qi deviation, after all. It wouldn’t do to cause a relapse.

He was not curious at all as to whom his disciple mistook him for.

At all.

“Gege… Don’t leave me alone…”

The small hand curled around larger fingers.

Shen Qingqiu shook the thought away. He was no longer that child.

He stubbornly ignored the niggling voice at the back of his head and couldn’t help but eye the
familiar calming incense at the bedside table. Qi– no, the Sect Leader had been the one to bring
them over.

Shen Qingqiu looked away.

As Hua Heilian looked at Shen Yuan in concentration, the Peak Lord spied her smile slipping a
little. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

‘ Hm, not so gentle then,’ Shen Qingqiu thought idly.

He would keep an eye on this one.

At Qing Jing Peak, Chen Tian touched the bandage on his head and smiled slightly.

An An Ding disciple glanced over at him and started cutting absentmindedly, missing the marking
on the beam by several inches.

They looked down as the beam was sawed through and immediately noticed their mistake.

“A-ah! I’m so sorry Shixiong! It’s all my fault...” They moaned, crocodile tears in their eyes as they
batted their eyelashes.

Chen Tian plastered a smile on his face. “Don't worry about it! We have a lot of opportunities to
help with your skills!”

“Oh! Thank you Shixiong! I am sorry about the wood though… Maybe we can go get some more
together?”
 “Ah, I need to get the plans updated with Shang-Shishu. I’m sure I can trust you to do it alone
though!” Chen Tian replied before turning to make his way to the An Ding Peak Lord.

The remaining An Ding disciples all looked up from their work and sighed in disappointment at
Chen Tian’s retreating back.

‘So upright! So handsome! If only he would look their way,’ they thought longingly.

Chapter End Notes

So! News! I Qwerty224 am getting a cat! :D I’m so excited! I’m also done with finals
but Misminor isn’t yet so we may or may not be taking a break so she can finish up.

As usual, thanks for all the support! It means a lot!

Also also the spacing was done on purpose to reflect sy's mental state so don't worry,
it's not gonna happen every single chapter so criticisms about it aren’t really
appreciated
 You Can Trust Me I'm An Expert
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan wakes up.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 42: You Can Trust Me I'm An Expert

Hua Heilian looked over a peacefully sleeping disciple, writing down a few notes with a brush at a
side table. He was one of the many patients admitted due to Shen Yuan’s Qi deviation. Much like
his fellow disciples, it had taken an entire cup of Calming Tea to get him to sleep peacefully.

Hua Heilian rubbed her forehead tiredly.

Many of the disciples who had been struck by the initial wave of Qi released from Shen Yuan’s Qi
deviation had been suffering from strange visions in their sleep. They would thrash and scream to
the point their voices would go hoarse and disturb other patients.

Just as it seemed like she could take a breather, a harried looking Qian Cao disciple burst into the
room.

“Shijie! We have another one in room five!” The disciple said urgently.

Hua Heilian gave the patient lying in the bed one last look before turning to the other disciple,
nodding in acknowledgement. “I’ll be right there.”

Hua Heilian stood and swept out of the room with the disciple trailing behind her.

At room five, Hua Heilian found the patient lying in bed, thrashing and screaming against the
restraints.
She channeled healing Qi into her hand and began to sooth the turbulent energy flow within the
flailing patient.

With critical eyes, Hua Heilian watched as the patient slowly began to calm down.

She took her hand off the patient's head and turned back to the disciple who had informed her of
the case. “This should do for at least five hours. Call me again if anything happens in the
meantime.” Hua Heilian made her way out, but not before reminding the other disciple, “Oh, and
don’t forget to brew some more Calming Tea. The current batch is almost finished.”

“Yes, Shijie!”

Hua Heilian nodded and headed for the head disciple’s office. As she made her way down the hall,
she made a note to fill out a request to An Ding Peak for more Calming herbs. At the rate they
were going, the Peak’s entire stock would soon run out.

The last time they had had so many Qing Jing disciples in the hospital was during the prank wars
between Bai Zhan and Qing Jing. At least this time, the Bai Zhan muscle heads were busy
rebuilding the destroyed sections of Qing Jing. It would have been a nightmare if they had been
admitted as well. Qian Cao was busy enough. They didn’t have enough manpower to spare to
entertain any interpeak rivalry shenanigans within the hospital.

Chen Tian stepped into the quiet bamboo house. “Shizun? You called for me?”

Shen Qingqiu sat at a table with his back to Chen Tian. There was a clink as Shen Qingqiu set the
tea cup he had been sipping from down on the table. “Chen Tian, pour some tea”.

“Of course, Shizun,” Chen Tian replied, walking around the table and taking a seat across from
Shen Qingqiu.

Chen Tian refilled his Shizun’s cup and then poured a cup of tea for himself. Shen Qingqiu
thanked him by tapping two of his fingers on the table.
There was a short silence as the two sipped at their tea.

“Shizun, did you need me for something?” Chen Tian finally asked again.

Shen Qingqiu hummed thoughtfully and pulled out his fan. The fan flicked open and covered the
lower half of Shen Qingqiu’s face as verdant eyes peered sternly over at Chen Tian. “Report. What
can you tell me of Shen Yuan’s Qi deviation? What was he doing in the artifacts lecture hall?”

“Ah.” Chen Tian scratched his head. “I found Shen Yuan wandering around Qing Jing after he said
you were called away from his lessons. I invited him to join me for a debate over the artifacts
found in the benign artifacts section.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrow rose. “A simple debate sparked his Qi deviation?”

Chen Tian lowered his head and thought for a while, absentmindedly pulling at his lower lip. “At
the end of discussions… A disciple came in with a red gem… Cho Fa-Shidi identified it as a
possible demonic seal.”

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan closed. “That was not an artifact to be found in the benign section. In
fact, that was a mental suppression gem – often used by demons to enslave sentient beings by
suppressing their will, essentially making them prisoner in their own bodies. What was that
disciple doing?”

Chen Tian nodded slowly. “I didn't realize it at first, Ming-Shidi did say he found it at the back of
the artifacts hall.”

Shen Qingqiu picked up his tea cup and drank deeply. He placed his head in his hand and sighed,
then gestured for Chen Tian to go on.

Chen Tian inclined his head. “Shen Yuan appeared to be entranced by the gem… He began
showing signs of entering a Qi deviation while staring at it… Cho-Shidi approached him with Qi
sealing talismans claiming that they would break the hold that the gem held over him.”

Shen Qingqiu’s head snapped up, alarmed. “He used Qi sealing talismans on a disciple entering Qi
deviation? How is Shen Yuan still alive?”
Chen Tian shrugged helplessly. “When the talismans activated next to Shen Yuan… His Qi
seemed to instinctively lash out and burnt the talismans away.”

Shen Qingqiu leaned back in his seat. “Truly? How interesting…” Shen Qingqiu steepled his
fingers as he thought about how he would discipline these two wayward disciples.

Cho Fa would need to review the signs of a cultivator entering Qi deviation at least three hundred
times and then copy the treatment of Qi deviations two hundred times. Ming Jin would need to
copy the rules of the artifacts hall at least four hundred times.

“Shizun…” Chen Tian started hesitantly.

“Hm…?”

“When I had Shen-Shidi pinned with A’Lian… He was muttering things…” Chen Tian looked
rather stricken. “He kept muttering over and over how he ‘didn’t want to fight any more’…”

Shen Qingqiu’s stern expression sombered. “Indeed?”

Chen Tian nodded solemnly.

Shen Qingqiu sighed and hid the bottom of his face behind his fan, deep in thought.

Mu Qingfang walked into his office with a stack of medical books that he wanted to consult.

“Ah, Heilian,” he called, setting his books down on his desk and taking a seat.

Hua Heilian appeared from the shadows.

“Shizun.” Her signature smile was gone in favor of a serious expression as she gave a salute.

“Do you have anything to report?”

“The patients suffering from the aftermath of Shen Yuan-Shidi’s Qi deviation…” Hua Heilian
pursed her lips. “I have been receiving multiple reports from the other disciples that the patients
have been experiencing... visions... of violence or blood.”

The Peak Lord peered up from his seat at his head disciple. “Continue.”

“It seems that the ones closest to the Qi blast have been experiencing night terrors. We’ve had to
restrain quite a few of them. The ones furthest from the blast, however, seem to be experiencing
milder symptoms.”

Mu Qingfang nodded. “What consequences may this have?” He asked, testing his disciple.

“These visions, or nightmares, are weakening their mental fortitude, Shizun. This might make them
vulnerable to Qi deviations in the future.”

“I see…” Mu Qingfang mused. “How is our inventory? Our stock of herbs?”

“The stock of Calming herbs is nearly depleted, Shizun. The younger disciples have been brewing
Calming Tea nonstop since the influx of patients into the wards. This disciple has sent a request to
An Ding Peak for more supplies.”

“The analgesics?”

“The stock of Five Petaled Flowers has decreased by half and we have used up three-quarters of the
Caine Grass and Yama’s Tear anesthesias for treating the patients that were injured when the Qing
Jing building collapsed. The hospital should have enough for now, but this disciple has taken the
liberty of ordering more as a precaution.”
“Bandages?”

“Our pre-made rolls have been used up. The younger disciples are currently cutting up some of the
fabric rolls in storage to make more. Some have also been assigned to roll cotton.”

“The antiseptics?”

“Currently, we have three jars left. This disciple has assigned a fellow disciple to request for more
alcohol from Zui Xian Peak.”

“Bedding?”

At this, Hua Heilian frowned. “The Peak has one room of fresh linens left. However, the available
stock has been steadily dwindling while the laundry has been increasing. Unfortunately, we have
no disciple we can spare as of the moment to address the issue.”

“Yes, that is indeed a problem.” Mu Qingfang frowned.

“Shizun,” Hua Heilian began, “this disciple would like to respectfully request assistance from An
Ding Peak for this matter.”

Mu Qingfang paused briefly in consideration before giving a nod of approval. “See to it that it is
taken care of.”

“Yes, Shizun.”

Mu Qingfang sighed. This unfortunate predicament was unexpected. He wasn’t sure whether or not
they should all be grateful that the patients had fallen unconscious during the event. Had they been
awake, the disciples may have suffered a synchronized Qi deviation, which would have created a
devastating death toll. They were lucky that Shen Yuan’s Qi deviation hadn’t caused any
casualties, but it was a close thing.

“The victims of the Qi blast are having night terrors and visions, you said?” Mu Qingfang pinched
the bridge of his nose.
“Yes, Shizun. The patients who were unconscious during the rescue,” Hua Heilian clarified.

Mu Qingfang looked at his head disciple. “And the others?”

“Unknown, Shizun.”

“Qi deviations normally do not affect others to this degree of severity,” Mu Qingfang mused aloud.
His elbows rested upon his desk as his fingers interlocked. “Something must have exacerbated the
issue.”

“Perhaps, Shizun.”

Mu Qingfang gazed at his disciple from behind his interlaced hands. “Have you found anything…
odd with Shen Yuan, Hua Heilian?

Hua Heilian returned his gaze placidly. “There were no reported anomalies regarding Shen Yuan-
Shidi, Shizun.”

Mu Qingfang hummed, maintaining eye contact.

Hua Heilian remained unaffected.

“Indeed…” Mu Qingfang’s lips quirked. “Perhaps it was an artifact that is to be blamed. If I recall
correctly, the Qing Jing disciples were in the middle of a discussion were they not? A few artifacts
had been found on the scene.”

“Indeed, Shizun.”

“Perhaps we will need to discuss additional protections on the artifact vaults to prevent this from
happening again.”
“Yes, Shizun.”

Mu Qingfang waved his hand in dismissal. “If that is all, you may go.”

“Yes, Shizun.” Hua Heilian saluted. As she turned to leave, the Peak Lord stalled her once more.

“By the way, Heilian,” he voiced.

The head disciple paused in her tracks.

“Have you been sleeping well?”

She turned her head and said, “As well as can be expected, Shizun. If that is all...”

When he failed to speak, she continued her way to the door.

“Heilian.”

She paused at the door, turning to face the Peak Lord. “Yes, Shizun?”

He gave her a considering look. Then he smiled. “Make sure you don’t scare the patients, alright?”

“Of course, Shizun.” Hua Heilian gave an angelic smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Mu Qingfang watched as his head disciple left. When the door closed, he shook his head with
exasperated fondness.

He turned back to his books. He still had a lot to do, but thankfully he had a competent head
disciple he could entrust to take care of matters. She would be a good successor.
Perhaps when this was over, he could finally take care of preparing the dowry for the upcoming
marriage.

There was a hand gently resting on his forehead…

Another warm hand lay comfortingly in his grasp…

Slowly prying himself out of unconscious Shen Yuan groggily opened his eyes. He turned to the
side and saw his Gege.

“Yuan’er? Are you awake now?” Gege asked soothingly.

Shen Yuan stared at Gege blankly. Gege was dressed rather strangely today for some reason. He
wore elegant pale green and white robes that seemed to suit him perfectly. It was almost as if he
were cosplaying a xianxia character.

Shen Yuan blinked slowly, uncomprehending. “Gege… Why are you dressed… Like that?”

Gege glanced down at himself. “Like what?” He asked, “Is there something wrong with my
clothes?”

Shen Yuan continued to stare at Gege with hazy eyes.

Gege’s hand squeezed his lightly. The hand on his forehead slid down to cup his cheek.

Shen Yuan blinked again trying to clear his eyes.

There was something wrong here…

They had the same atmosphere and warmth…

But this...

This wasn’t Gege…

The gears in Shen Yuan’s mind spun slowly.

“Shen-Shibo?” He croaked.

The hand on his cheek pulled away. Shen Yuan instantly missed its presence.

“...Yes. Are you ready to wake up yet?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

Shen Yuan lightly squeezed the hand that was still resting in his hold.

He felt the haze of sleep slowly overtaking him once again and shook his head.

There was a soft sigh and the hand hesitantly squeezed back.

Shen Yuan drifted off again with the ghost of a memory keeping him company the whole way.

Mu Qingfang rubbed his forehead tiredly as he stared at Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu, who were
once again bickering furiously in his office. “Shixiong. We could have our discussion if you two
would just agree to not fight for a single shichen, thank you very much.”

Shen Qingqiu huffed and shot one last scathing glare at Liu Qingge before he waved his fan at Mu
Qingfang. “Well? Out with it then. What is it that you have called all of us here for?”
Mu Qingfang sighed again. “I have some important concerns to share regarding Shen Yuan-
Shizhi’s Qi and his constitution.”

“So,” Qi Qingqi began skeptically, “you have an explanation as to how a simple Qi deviation was
so destructive?”

“Not quite… I had known from a prior examination that his Qi was metallic in nature, but despite
being yin Qi, it was overly violent and focused on harming others. This is unusual and could be a
sign of external influence on his development. His future cultivation will need to be monitored
closely, so he doesn’t misalign his meridians.” Mu Qingfang glanced at Liu Qingge and hesitated
before he continued, “ Yang natured cultivation practices may not be suitable for his stability. He
should balance his cultivation with meditation and more yin methods.”

Liu Qingge looked rather contemplative. “I see…”

“Xian Shu Peak is primarily full of yin practitioners. If Liu-Shidi would like, I could lend some of
the methods that the more combat oriented girls on my peak tend to use,” Qi Qingqi suggested, to
which the Bai Zhan Peak Lord gave a nod in response.

“Yes… that could be a good plan.” Mu Qingfang hummed. “On the other hand, Shen Yuan-Shizhi
is responding well to treatment. His meridians have healed remarkably well and the boy is resilient.
As long as he remains in a focused state of mind, we should have a minimal risk of relapse. In fact,
if I am correct… This Qi deviation was caused by a disturbance to his inner peace. But, as for the
cause… I am uncertain.”

Shen Qingqiu’s fan flicked open and covered the lower half of his face.

“Hmm… A person’s inner balance is delicate and may be disrupted by anything from misspoken
words to an innocuous scene. Without knowing what to avoid… we would have to keep a close eye
on him,” Yue Qingyuan mused. “Especially when he is around so many other disciples.”

“I believe, “Shen Qingqiu started, “that I may be aware of what may have caused Shen Yuan’s Qi
deviation…”

“Oh? And what’s that Shixiong?” Asked Mu Qingfang curiously.

Shen Qingqiu began fanning himself slowly. “One of my disciples foolishly presented a dangerous
artifact during the debate Shen Yuan was attending. They removed a mental suppression gem from
the store house and brought it to the discussion. According to my head disciple… Shen Yuan was
distressed by the sight of the artifact and began to Qi deviate on the spot.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the Peak Lords as they considered the implications of the new
information.

“...Does this mean… He has been under the influence of a mental suppression gem in the past?” Qi
Qingqi carefully inquired.

“...He has displayed a rather serious case of pain dissociation which can be attributed to mental
damage. But such damage would indicate long term exposure to the effects of the mental
suppression gem…” Mu Qingfang contemplated with a serious expression.

“It-it does seem like he has had a rather complicated past…” Shang Qinghua muttered.

Liu Qingge huffed and crossed his arms at the back of the room.

“We should place a monitoring seal on him,” Yue Qingyuan suggested. “That would make things
much safer for him and the sect as a whole…”

Mu Qingfang furrowed his brow as he looked at the sect leader. “It is one thing to keep an eye on
the child, but another to track him like a criminal. Such an act would only stifle his growth and lead
to more instability in the future. Perhaps we could provide a seal to help him monitor his emotions
instead?”

“Oh! Like a mood ring?” Shang Qinghua suddenly piped up.

Mu Qingfang paused. “Shixiong… What is a mood ring?”

“Its… Uh… An artifact!” Shang Qinghua hurriedly blurted out, “Created by an ancient master! It
changes colors based on your emotions! Ahaha… I think I may have some scrolls detailing it!”
“Truly? Would you mind terribly if I were to borrow those scrolls? I find it quite surprising that we
do not have such an artifact amongst our collection at Qing Jing.” Shen Qingqiu hummed.

Mu Qingfang looked delighted. “Why didn’t you mention this before, Shixiong? This could make
treatments much easier!”

Shang Qinghua suddenly looked incredibly awkward. “Uh… Uh… I think I may have misplaced
those scrolls? Ehehe… Excuse me...” He laughed nervously and quickly made his exit.

Shen Yuan blearily blinked up at an unfamiliar ceiling. His head felt fuzzy and muddled. Where
was he?

Shen Yuan slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced around the room. It was
clinically clean and the smell of herbs drifted in the air. The afternoon sun slanted in through the
windows, illuminating a figure dressed in green sitting at a table off to the side of the room.

Shen Yuan squinted at the figure. “Ah, Shen-Shibo?” He asked hoarsely.

Shen Qingqiu deeply exhaled and stood. He strode over to Shen Yuan’s bedside and flicked open
his fan. “You’re finally awake?”

Shen Yuan nodded slowly, it felt as if he were slowly dragging himself out of the fog.

“Hmph. Good. Then I’ll finally be free of having to monitor this troublesome disciple.”

Shen Yuan felt oddly touched. Shen-Shibo had stayed for him?

He felt an odd sense of deja vu…

He couldn't quite put his finger on it though…

Shen Yuan groggily rubbed his eyes. “Why am I here?”

Shen Qingqiu’s fan fluttered. “You had a rather debilitating Qi deviation. Your energy spun out of
control and destroyed the artifacts lecture hall of Qing Jing.”

Shen Yuan stared at Shen Qingqiu in shock. “What? I-I destroyed the lecture hall? Was anyone
hurt?”

Shen Qingqiu sniffed and regarded Shen Yuan sternly. “There were no casualties nor any severe
injuries that could not be healed.”

Shen Yuan let out a breath of relief and deflated slightly. That was a relief. He stared down at his
hands. “Shen-Shibo… how can this disciple make up for the repairs to the lecture hall?”

“...You seek to repay this one?”

Shen Yuan nodded, eyes low.

“Hmph. Perhaps you can assist in the rebuilding efforts. You may repay this Peak Lord by
ensuring that this never happens again.”

“Ah… Yes Shibo…”

Shen Qingqiu rested a gentle hand on Shen Yuan’s head.

Suddenly, a crash resounded from outside of Shen Yuan’s room.

The door opened abruptly and Wang Cheng gloriously tumbled into the room, landing in a heap.

Shen Qingqiu jerked away from Shen Yuan and glared venomously down at the fallen disciple at
his feet.
Wang Cheng hissed in pain and rubbed at his head as he recollected his bearings. He looked up and
froze under Shen Qingqiu’s frigid glare like a rabbit stuck under the gaze of a snake. Wang Cheng
felt his life span decrease by ten years as he stared fearfully back at the intimidating Peak Lord.

Shen Yuan interrupted his feeling of dread with a well timed question. “Wang Cheng? What are
you doing here?” He asked curiously, peering down over the edge of his bed at the boy.

“Ah! Shen Yuan! You’re up! I heard you were still unconscious but it's good to see you up! Some
disciples – well a lot of disciples – from Bai Zhan came to visit you!” Wang Cheng replied,
scrambling to his feet and hurriedly dusting himself off. Wang Cheng shot several nervous, furtive
looks at Shen Qingqiu as he did so.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyebrows twitched violently but the man huffed and returned to his seat at the side
of the room.

Wang Cheng took that as a good sign and turned to look out at the hallway crowded with faces.
“Come on in, everyone! Shen Yuan is awake!”

There was a chorus of cheering that was quickly shushed by Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Yuan watched in bemusement as his room was quickly filled up with the white uniforms of
Bai Zhan.

A hand landed on his head roughly and ruffled his hair playfully. “Hey Shen Yuan-Shidi!” It was
Chu Yun. “We heard you exploded! It's good to see you’re okay though!”

“I thought we finally agreed that it was heavenly punishment for touching the veil though?” Wang
Cheng whined.

“I still think that it was an artifact explosion,” Yin Lihua said, shoving Wang Cheng out of the
way, leaning in to closely inspect Shen Yuan.

“Personally, I’m quite fond of the theory that someone cursed on the peak and the founders
punished them. That's why you don’t curse in the halls,” Zhao Li said, draping herself over Yin
Lihua's shoulder lazily.
“Perhaps Shen Yuan was channeling his past life. He may have been a powerful demon who
subdued the world.” Han Rei said dryly.

Shen Yuan snorted but didn’t say anything as the disciples argued over what could have landed
him in the hospital.

Li Yue shyly pushed her way to the front of the group standing at Shen Yuan’s bedside. “Sh-Shen
Yuan, how are you feeling? Are you okay? Can I do anything to help you?” She asked, blushing
furiously at Shen Yuan’s unveiled face.

“Ah, I’m fine. I don't need anything. Thank you for asking.” Shen Yuan replied.

“A-ah! I brought you some food! I know that the food here isn’t the greatest!” Li Yue said, pulling
out a small basket of Bai Zhan fare.

“Oh, no thank you. You can share with the others though! I’m not very hungry.”

Li Yue wilted a bit.

The room collectively felt pity at the poor girl’s futile efforts.

“Oh! Shen Yuan! I bet you haven’t heard this yet! Shizun created a few classes focused on
meditation and mental cultivation led by a few of our Shijie! Hah. It's so weird! Why does Bai
Zhan need classes for boring stuff like that?” Wang Cheng gave Shen Yuan a whine.

“Oh, is that so? That’s strange. I wonder why Shizun suddenly decided we needed them,” Shen
Yuan mused.

Someone coughed at the back of the room. The cause was right there in front of them.

“How have you guys been doing lately?” Asked Shen Yuan.
“Man. We’ve been so busy. Those Qing Jing bastards have been working us to the bone,” Chu Yun
bluntly complained.

The crowd of disciples made various sounds of agreement.

Qing Jing’s Bastard Supreme twitched at the back of the room.

Soon, conversation about how Shen Yuan should spend more time on Bai Zhan started up. The
chatter picked up in volume bit by bit as his yearmates talked about their training excitedly.

Yin Lihua reached into the crowd of Bai Zhan disciples still hanging back and tugged out Zhao
Feiyan. Zhao Feiyan went along with her blankly.

“Shen Yuan, just look at A’Yan! She’s been so bored lately with you out of commission! You have
to get well soon!” Yin Lihua bemoaned, putting her hands on Zhao Feiyan’s shoulders and shaking
her slightly.

Shen Yuan gave a low chuckle at their antics.

Indeed, he had never seen such a dispirited Zhao Feiyan.

In the midst of the commotion the door opened again and Hua Heilian walked in.

She took one glance at the crowd of Bai Zhan disciples crowded in the room and pasted an angelic
smile onto her face. “Ah, I wasn’t aware that visiting hours were open. However, it's good to see
you awake, Shen-Shidi!”

Wang Cheng took one look at the head disciple of Qian Cao and swooned. “Ah! It's the Fairy of
Qian Cao! Wah, she’s as gentle and kind as everyone says,” he whispered to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan looked at Hua Heilian, then he looked at Wang Cheng who practically had hearts in his
eyes. He looked at Hua Heilian again and then turned back to Wang Cheng. “Really?”
Unexpectedly, Zhao Feiyan suddenly perked up. “Have you changed your mind?” She asked.

Hua Heilian’s smile didn’t waver as she bent over to check on Shen Yuan. Her answer seemed
rehearsed. “No, I haven’t. I won’t be joining Bai Zhan.”

Zhao Feiyan seemed to wilt all over again. “What a shame.” She sighed. “You would do so much
better with us.”

Hua Heilian turned to smile kindly at Zhao Feiyan. “I am perfectly happy where I am.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

Zhao Feiyan clicked her tongue. “If it wasn’t for that–” She turned away with a huff, pursing her
lips, grumbling mulishly, “You should have been with us in the first place.”

Unbeknownst to the room, Shen Qingqiu’s estimation of Hua Heilian rose.

Zhao Feiyan sighed again and then turned, merging once again with the crowd of more standoffish
Bai Zhan disciples at the back of the room.

Conversation resumed, with Hua Heilian running a few checks and tests on Shen Yuan. They kept
talking until an exasperated An Ding disciple came looking for their missing laborers. Apparently,
they were taking too long on their lunch break.

The Bai Zhan disciples departed with cheerful waves after extracting a promise from Shen Yuan to
spend more time with them.

When someone suggested that Shen Yuan could do his ‘meditation stuff’ on the peak with his
Shijie, the disciple broke out in cold sweat as Shen Qingqiu shot him a particularly spine chilling
glare.
 As the last of the Bai Zhan disciples filtered out, Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open and regarded
Shen Yuan with stern eyes. “You are not ready to be supervised by inexperienced saplings. You
have a unique constitution that requires the expertise and experience of a Peak Lord to guide you.
You are not permitted to cultivate on your own from now on. Don’t even think that you can skip
your morning lessons with this Lord.”

Shen Yuan tilted his head curiously but still nodded obediently.

“Yes, Shizun.”

Chapter End Notes

We're getting to the end of misminors finals but Lala has gotten busy so updates will
still be weird hahah. sorry about that. Oh! And my cat is coming this Sunday! I can’t
wait! his name is Hua hua! Basically flowery hahaha.
 Spill the Tea
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan has a tea party

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 43: Spill the Tea

Shen Yuan inhaled and exhaled deeply as he sat on his hospital bed, meditating.

Mu Qingfang had recommended a week of basic cultivation techniques to help restabilize his
meridians after his Qi deviation.

Shen Qingqiu sat in his chair at the side of the room, supervising Shen Yuan’s cultivation. He
would occasionally make a biting remark whenever he noticed Shen Yuan’s attention wandering,
but otherwise the man was mostly content to remain silent.

Today was the last day of Shen Yuan’s stay in the hospital. He had been visited throughout the
week by his friends from Bai Zhan. They kept him updated on peak news as he went through his
basic exercises to get his body back in shape after a week of bed rest.

Hua-Shijie had been rather strict about the way he was supposed to do them. The first time he did
them sloppily, he had been subjected to a menacing smile.

“Shidi,” Hua Heilian had cooed, her perfectly angelic smile on her face. “I know you must find
these exercises to be tedious, but you’ve been unconscious for a while. These are important for
your recovery, understand?”

Shen Yuan had nodded sheepishly in response.

“It’s good that you understand.” Hua Heilian had patted his head in satisfaction. Her smile softened
and her voice lowered as she looked him in the eyes. “Because if you’d rather further cripple
yourself, I would have to advise you to do it once you’re no longer under my care.”

Shen Yuan endeavoured to perform them perfectly after that.

Shen Yuan opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He was itching to get back to training his
sword forms after a week of being cooped up.

“Finished?” Shen Qingqiu asked, noting Shen Yuan’s smooth Qi flow. The Peak Lord looked up
from his papers.

Shen Yuan nodded. He was eager to leave Qian Cao and return to Bai Zhan peak. He had been
hearing quite a lot of disturbing yelling from around the hospital at night. He would much rather
the chaotic and competitive atmosphere of Bai Zhan than this constantly harried, busy, and on edge
hospital.

At least Bai Zhan was quiet at night…

“Very well then, let us be off.” Shen Qingqiu said, standing up from his seat.

Shen Yuan jumped up from the bed and raced to throw on his outer robes.

He quickly tied on his belts and affixed his veil to his face. He was about to tie his hair up in his
standard ponytail with his usual hair ribbon, but realized he didn’t know where it was. He patted
his clothes and searched around the room to find it.

“What are you doing?” Shen Qingqiu asked, raising his left eyebrow.

Shen Yuan glanced back at the man. “Looking for my hair ribbon?” He ventured.

“You mean that tattered thing?” Shen Qingqiu scoffed. “Is that what that was?”

“I suppose…?” Shen Yuan answered. Personally, he thought it was fine. It did the job, didn’t it?
“It was trash, that’s what it was.” Shen Qingqiu tsked. “Has the Sect fallen so low that a disciple
cannot obtain a simple hair ribbon? Don’t bother looking for it.”

Shen Yuan hesitated, then he shrugged. He supposed he could just leave his hair down until he got
back to Bai Zhan.

He was walking over to the door when Shen Qingqiu sighed and asked, “And just where do you
suppose are you going?”

“Ah, Shibo, I’ll get a new hair tie when I get back to Bai Zhan.”

“Do you plan on walking around the Sect in that state? Don’t be ridiculous,” the Peak Lord
snapped. “I will not have a disciple of mine walking around so disgracefully!”

Shen Yuan shuffled awkwardly in place, touching a few loose strands to examine. He didn’t think
his bed head was too bad.

“Must I spell everything out for you?” Shen Qingqiu pinched the bridge of his nose in vexation.
“Very well, I suppose it cannot be helped. Come here.”

Shen Yuan tilted his head but walked over to Shen Qingqiu obediently.

Shen Qingqiu pointed at his chair. “Sit,” he ordered.

Shen Yuan sat as the Peak Lord moved behind him. He was slightly startled when he felt fingers
running through his hair. “Shizu– Uh… Shibo? What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? Be quiet.”

At the corner of his eye, Shen Yuan thought he saw something long, black, and green emerge from
the Peak Lord’s sleeve. A ribbon?
Shen Yuan closed his eyes as deft fingers soothingly ran against his scalp, combing through his
hair..

After a short while, Shen Yuan felt a different sort of movement behind him and he once more
caught a glimpse of the cloth in Shen Qingqiu’s grip. Then, Shen Yuan felt, more than heard, the
Peak Lord take a step back.

Instantly, he missed the comforting feeling of fingers running through his hair.

“There,” Shen Qingqiu declared, with satisfaction coloring his tone. “Now you no longer look like
a licentious savage.” He looked down his nose at Shen Yuan with disdain. “Honestly… walking
around with your hair down? Hmph! Preposterous!”

Shen Yuan reached up and patted at his new hair style curiously. “Thank you, Shibo.”

Shen Qingqiu acknowledged the gratitude with a huff and a casual wave of his fan. “I have my
duties to attend to. I trust you will not land yourself back here in the hospital if I take my eyes off
of you for a few minutes?”

“Yes, Shibo.”

“Hmph. Good. Classes will be at the usual time. Don’t be late.” With that last remark, Shen
Qingqiu turned and swept out of the room.

Shen Yuan took a moment to gather his things before he walked over to the door to leave as well.

Just as he was about to open the door, it was violently pushed open from the other side. The door
bounced off the wall with a loud crack as Chen Tian strode into the room like he owned the place.

“Shen-Shidi!” Chen Tian, upon seeing Shen Yuan standing in front of the door, grinned with great
exuberance. “You’re up! That’s great! Let’s go!”

Chen Tian didn’t wait for a reaction. He picked up Shen Yuan, plopped him over a shoulder like a
sack of rice, and hauled him out into the hallway before sauntering down the hall.
“It's so great that you’re up! Now we can have a proper party!” Chen Tian cheered, making his
way through Qian Cao. The older boy didn’t seem to notice the strange stares they gathered.

Chen Tian soon arrived at a room near Mu Qingfang’s office. He politely knocked on the door
before pushing it open and stepping inside with boundless energy.

Shen Yuan, the sack of rice, was rather miffed that Chen Tian hadn’t knocked on his door. What a
double standard.

Inside of the small office, Hua Heilian was sitting at the desk, with Head Disciple in a chair across
from her. They appeared to have been waiting for Chen Tian while enjoying tea.

“I hope I didn't take too long!” Chen Tian chirped, plopping Shen Yuan down on a chair that was
conveniently located in between Head Disciple and Chen Tian.

“Not at all,” said Head Disciple.

Shen Yuan sighed as he took in the trio surrounding him. “What is this all about? Chen Tian
mentioned a party…”

“That's right! A party for making it through this mess!” Chen Tian said, patting Shen Yuan on the
shoulder and taking a seat beside him.

“Congratulations.” Head Disciple sipped her tea. “You survived.”

“You’ve made quite the impression, Shidi.” Hua Heilian serenely smiled. “In more ways than
one.”

Shen Yuan scratched the side of his face awkwardly.

Hua Heilian moved to get up from her seat. “Well, I do hope you all enjoy yourselves,” she said.
Shen Yuan tilted his head. “What do you mean, Shijie?”

She turned and smiled at Shen Yuan. “It means I must return to my duties, Shidi. Unlike some
people, I’m afraid I don’t have the time to lounge about.”

“Aw, come on A’Lian! You’re the one who deserves a break the most!” Chen Tian whined
piteously, reaching out to grab one of Hua Heilian’s hands.

Head Disciple nodded in agreement. “You look exhausted.”

Hua Heilian just smiled at her friends, allowing Chen Tian to draw her back to her seat.

Shen Yuan tilted his head, examining his Shijie. Was she really exhausted? He couldn’t really tell.
Her smiles were still as blinding as ever.

“Wasn’t it just a Qi deviation? Did I really add that much work?” Asked Shen Yuan.

Hua Heilian’s smile just seemed to grow more brilliant. “We usually don’t get a sudden influx of
patients, Shidi. Entire peak populations taking up bed space isn’t quite something you see
everyday.”

Shen Yuan furrowed his brows. “Entire... peak populations? I heard the artifact hall was
damaged…”

Head disciple calmly sipped from her cup of tea. “It collapsed.”

“...Eh?”

“Oh, don't worry about it! That hall was ugly anyways and we’ve done some really nice work on it.
It was a great chance to work with the other peaks!” Chen Tian refilled Hua Heilian’s cup before
he poured a cup for himself.

Shen Yuan turned to Chen Tian. “Weren’t you there too?”

Hua Heilian sniffed and picked up her refilled cup. “Yes. Yes, he was.”

Shen Yuan studied Chen Tian closely, he eyed the bandages wrapped around Chen Tian’s head
with a worried expression.

Chen Tian noticed the look that Shen Yuan was sending him. “Ah, is Shen-Shidi worried for me?
I’m touched!” The Qing Jing head disciple dramatically held his chest.

“It's a good thing he has someone to fix him up after his escapades.” Hua Heilian took a sip.
“Speaking of which...” Hua Heilian tapped her chin, tilting her head. “Weren’t you there, Shidi?”
Her lips quirked as she gazed at Shen Yuan. “Attending the artifact discussion?”

Chen Tian scratched his head and laughed. “Ah, I just invited him over for a friendly debate.”

“‘Friendly,’” Head Disciple repeated blandly. “Is that the new term for ‘expensive’?”

“Ah… Maybe I can pay the sect back?” Said Shen Yuan.

“With what money?” Head Disciple deadpanned.

“Oh, um...I could help with the repair work…?” Shen Yuan offered hesitantly.

He wasn’t sure if he had any money left over from what Shibo had given him, but even if he did,
Shen Yuan wasn’t really sure if using Shen Qingqiu’s money to repay the man’s Peak was
considered rude either.

“Ah, I wasn’t aware Shidi was so eager to cripple himself.” Hua Heilian gently set down her tea
cup and smiled at Shen Yuan, a hand cupping her cheek. “After all the progress we made with your
rehabilitation, too. What a shame.”

Chastised, Shen Yuan scratched his cheek sheepishly.

“Ah, don’t worry about that! I don't think anyone blames you, though!” Chen Tian reassured.

“Night hunts,” Head Disciple said suddenly.

Chen Tian hit his hand with a fist. “Oh! That's right! once you get a sword you’ll have plenty of
ways to pay the sect back if you want to!”

“I think I’m still a far way off from getting a sword…” Shen Yuan pointed out.

“Eh. I bet you’ll get your sword soon enough.” Chen Tian grinned.

Shen Yuan hummed skeptically, “Hm… I don't know about that.”

Chen Tian patted Shen Yuan on the shoulder. “Well! You’ll get your sword eventually! So don’t
worry too much!”

“That’s right, Shidi. Qian Cao has been chaotic long before you arrived.” Hua Heilian smiled
slightly behind a sleeve. “Why, one time, a certain idiot burst into the Peak, wailing about how his
Shimei and Shidi were dying.”

Shen Yuan blinked. “What happened?”

Hua Heilian took a sip of tea. “Apparently, they had been missing from classes and he had been
sent to find them. Soon after finding them, that certain idiot came to Qian Cao and had me rush
over to treat the disciples.”

Chen Tian laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“What was wrong with them?” Shen Yuan tilted his head.

“Nothing.” Hua Heilian wore a dazzling smile. “Just some curious marks on their necks.”
Shen Yuan hummed. “I wonder what could have caused it?”

“‘What,’ indeed.” Hua Heilian took a pleasant sip. “Perhaps a bug?”

Shen Yuan nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “Maybe something poisonous?”

Hua Heilian’s lips quirked.

Chen Tian laughed awkwardly. “Well, anyways...” Chen Tian coughed, moving to change the
subject. “Shen-Shidi, Cang Qiong is full of really interesting stories, if you ever listen! The scare
on Qian Cao was nothing. In fact, did you ever hear about the time that Shizun and Liu-Shishu and
Zhangmen-Shibo went on a mission to exorcise an evil bride spirit?”

“Oh?” Shen Yuan hummed. “That doesn’t sound too odd.”

“Liu-Shishu and Shizun had to cross dress as bridal candidates to get the spirit to come out!”

“Excuse me?”

Chen Tian’s grin seemed to double in size, “Yeah! And apparently, Liu-Shishu was so pretty
dressed as a concubine that Zhangmen-Shibo, who was acting as the groom, couldn’t keep his eyes
off of him! The evil spirit got so disheartened it dissipated!”

Shen Yuan huffed in amusement.

“Oh, you know shidi? That's supposedly also the story behind that veil of yours!”

Shen Yuan tilted his head. “Hm?”

“Liu-Shishu was so pretty that the dispirited bride left behind a veil!” Chen Tian explained
excitedly.
“That seems unlikely...” Shen Yuan said.

“Indeed,” Head disciple answered. “It was made up.”

“Oh,” said Shen Yuan.

“Everyone knows it was Shen-Shishu who was too pretty.” Head disciple continued with a straight
face. “It’s the reason behind the Qi storm that happened in the artifacts hall. The veil was the
bride’s veil and it got upset that someone other than the groom touched it.”

Shen Yuan frowned. “...But Shen-Shibo has touched it before.”

Head Disciple nodded knowingly. “He was the next bride.”

Shen Yuan furrowed his brow as he thought back to his Qi deviation. He was pretty sure that
wasn’t what had happened though? Or was it? When he tried to recall the entire incident, his
memories blurred and became hazy.

Meanwhile, Chen Tian and Hua Heilian shared a look. Both disciples were shaking with poorly
concealed laughter as they observed Shen Yuan’s confused countenance.

Once Chen Tian got his silent laughter under control, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye
and said, “Say Shen-Shidi, you really look like Head Disciple right now, it’s uncanny.”

Shen Yuan reached up to feel his hair. “Ah, really?”

“Yep! Like two peas in a pod!” Chen Tian grinned. “You both have the same deadpan expression
and hair!”

“My hair is a part of my uniform,” Head Disciple said, sipping from her cup of tea well. “It is
required of me when working under Shizun.”

Shen Yuan looked at Head Disciple's dignified expression and struggled to guess if she was serious
or not. Perhaps the hairstyle had a hidden significance he missed?

Shen Yuan tugged on his hair ribbon lightly. “Huh…”

“Speaking of hairstyles, that looks more elaborate than your usual style Shidi. It suits you.” Chen
Tian said, picking up his cup and taking a sip. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to match
accessories, either. Was your pouch and ribbon a set?”

“I don’t think so? Zhangmen-Shibo gave me the pouch a while ago.” Shen Yuan reached up to
touch his hair ribbon, fiddling with one end. He could feel the raised threads of embroidery and
absently wondered what it looked like. “Shen-Shibo lent me this ribbon and tied my hair for me
this morning.”

Chen Tian inhaled sharply and promptly choked on his tea. He coughed and sputtered until Hua
Heilian sighed and took pity on him. She reached into a sleeve to hand Chen Tian a clean
handkerchief.

“Thanks A’Lian” Chen Tian coughed, wiping his mouth with the offering. “But hey, Shen-Shidi!
That must mean Shizun really likes you!”

Shen Yuan blinked. “You think so?”

Chen Tian smiled brightly. “I know so!”

“Huh. Okay…” Shen Yuan said skeptically.

Hua Heilian looked like she was about to say something but she was interrupted by a round of
urgent knocking at the door.

“Come in,” she said, straightening out her robes.

A tired looking Qian Cao disciple opened the door. “Shijie, we need your help in room 11… And
then we need you in room 7. And after that… Well… Shizun needs your help after that.”
Hua Heilian nodded and stood from her desk. “I’ll be right there.”

The disciple nodded and closed the door to wait outside.

Hua Heilian turned back to the trio sitting in front of her desk. “Sorry, it seems we’ll have to cut
our little ‘party’ short. I am needed elsewhere.”

Head disciple nodded and stood as well. “I, too, must be returning to my duties soon.”

“Aw, well it was fun while it lasted! Have a nice day, A’Lian!” Chen Tian said cheerfully,
collecting the used tea cups to clean them. He puttered around and left them at what seemed to be a
designated corner.

“Thanks for having me,” Shen Yuan said respectfully, standing from his seat.

Hua Heilian smiled at him. “I do hope you stay well, Shen-shidi. It wouldn’t do for us to meet
again any time soon.”

Shen Yuan couldn't tell if that was a threat or not. Either way he moved to follow Head Disciple
and Chen Tian out the door.

“Oh, and Shen-Shidi...”

Shen Yuan paused.

Chen Tian and Head Disciple had left the room, leaving Shen Yuan alone with Hua Heilian.

Shen Yuan turned to face the remaining head disciple. “Yes, Shijie?”

She gave him a considering look, her usual smile was gone. Then, she smiled.
“I do hope you take better care of yourself.”

Shen Yuan nodded. “Yes, Shijie. I’ll do my best.”

“Though, it’s rather fortunate how easily you accept foreign Qi. It certainly made my job easier.”
Hua Heilian tilted her head as she smiled. “One could almost say it was... odd .”

Shen Yuan didn’t quite know how to respond.

Then, Hua Heilian giggled behind a sleeve. “Don’t look so nervous, Shidi.” She reached behind
Shen Yuan’s ear and tucked an errant hair back in place.

Shen Yuan remained still.

Hua Heilian’s lips quirked. Then, she gestured to the door. “Shall we?”

Shen Yuan nodded stiffly and made his way to the door. Hua Heilian followed close behind.
Outside, Chen Tian, Head Disciple, and the Qian Cao disciple were waiting.

“Is something wrong, Shidi?”

Shen Yuan wasn’t quite sure who had asked.

He glanced at Hua Heilian. She looked away from her conversation with her fellow disciple, as if
she had felt his gaze. Her usual angelic smile was in place.

He turned back to Chen Tian and Head Disciple and shook his head. “No.” Shen Yuan felt his
mouth move. “It’s nothing,” he heard it say.
They said their goodbyes to the Qian Cao disciples and left the hospital. Chen Tian and Shen Yuan
parted ways with Head Disciple at Qiong Ding and continued on their way to Qing Jing together.

“Hm, so you can finally head back to Bai Zhan, huh?” Chen Tian mused, making small talk.

“Ah, yes. It will be nice to go back to training with my year mates again,” Shen Yuan replied
absently.

Chen Tian laughed and patted Shen Yuan’s head. “Haha, you sound like an old man. Don't you
have any other hobbies besides training?”

Shen Yuan took a moment to regather himself before he answered, “Well, I do a lot of reading at
the library.”

Chen Tian perked up. “Oh yeah, that's right! What books have you been reading recently? I know
you had quite an interest in sealing before.”

“I’ve been reading the bestiaries and monster journals on Qing Jing. I've found them to be very
interesting. Shen-Shibo even quizzed me on demonic beasts a while back.”

“Oh is that so? How did that go?”

Shen Yuan looked down at the ground. “Well… It was going well until Shen-Shibo asked about
the maiden’s smile firebug…”

Chen Tian paused slightly. “But Shidi… those are found everywhere around Cang Qiong…”

Shen Yuan sighed. “Apparently so... I just don’t see the point of them though,” he muttered
mulishly.

Chen Tian squinted at Shen Yuan. “‘The point of them’?”

“Yeah, they’re not particularly interesting are they?” Shen Yuan’s scowl was hidden behind his
veil. “They don’t bite, they don’t sting, they don’t do much of anything except glow in the dark–
which, by the way, makes it incredibly easy for predators to find them. What’s the use of them? In
fact, the firebug has probably only existed as long as it has because of a symbiotic relationship with
stronger beings, like humans, who actively grow and protect them because they're pretty.” Shen
Yuan ranted.

“Well, Shidi. Not every living thing has to have a purpose. Sometimes, it's enough to just exist.
And sometimes, one just has to appreciate things for what they are.” Chen Tian said wisely, hands
clasped behind his back.

Shen Yuan huffed. “They’re weak though, and uninteresting.”

Chen Tian clapped Shen Yuan on the back. “Hahaha! if you say so Shidi!” He patted Shen Yuan’s
head, careful not to make a mess of it, and grinned down at the smaller boy. “But just because
they’re weak, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to exist.”

Chen Tian soon bid Shen Yuan farewell as they reached Qing Jing, leaving Shen Yuan to make his
way back to Bai Zhan on his own. As he watched Shen Yuan’s figure disappear into the distance,
Chen Tian’s easy grin faded. His brows furrowed and his scarred lips twisted into a concerned
frown.

Shen Yuan walked along the rainbow bridge, taking his time. He appreciated the familiar mountain
scenery and let out a deep sigh as he set foot onto Bai Zhan. He had grown fond of the battle-
loving peak. It was a relief to return to the beaten up training grounds and its deep forests.

Shen Yuan made his way through the peak, heading towards the dorms to put his things away.

Opening the door to his room, Shen Yuan noticed that Wang Cheng wasn’t around – though that
wasn’t entirely unexpected, considering that it was just a little past noon.

Shen Yuan headed out of his room to the training grounds to find someone to spar with to shake off
the dust. It would be a good exercise after two weeks of nothingness.

But strangely enough, the dorms and training grounds seemed almost completely devoid of people.
Then, Shen Yuan remembered the reconstruction efforts his friends mentioned during their visits to
Qian Cao.
It must have been the junior disciples’ turn to help out.

Standing in an empty training ground, Shen Yuan absently reviewed his sword forms a few times
before deciding that he would also go help out with the reconstruction efforts. He shouldn’t let his
friends take on all the work – this was his fault, after all.

He put his practice Jian away and made his way back over the rainbow bridge to Qing Jing. He
beelined in the direction of the damaged artifact hall and was met with the sight of several groups
of Bai Zhan disciples busily working on the foundations of the new building.

It seemed that they had torn down whatever had been left over of the artifacts hall in favor of just
building an entirely new hall.

Shen Yuan spotted Yin Lihua off to the side directing a group of disciples who were hauling
materials. He quickly navigated around the construction site to her.

“Yin-Shijie,” he greeted as he approached. “Is there any work that I can help with?”

Yin Lihua turned to him and brightened, “Ah! Shen Yuan! You’re finally out of the hospital, I see!
Sorry, what was it that you wanted?”

“Ah, I asked if there was anything I could help with, I would like to assist the reconstruction
efforts,” Shen Yuan answered.

Yin Lihua frowned down at him. “You just got out of the hospital! Don’t strain yourself
immediately!”

“I’m fine Shijie,” Shen Yuan reassured. “I would really like to help out though.”

“There’s no need, we have enough disciples as it is.”

“I’m sure there's something I can do to help though?”

“Shen-Shidi. I’m sure there is, but you don’t seem to be very aware of your own limits, so I will
help you. You are not to help with the reconstruction efforts today. Rest and recuperate.” Yin
Lihua said firmly.

Shen Yuan protested. “But Shijie–”

Yin Lihua shushed him. “No buts!” She took him by the shoulders and steered him away from the
construction site. “Rest!”

Shen Yuan sighed as he was directed away from the artifacts hall.

What was he supposed to do now then?

Shen Yuan stared at the Qing Jing buildings off in the distance.

Ah, he could visit the library and see if he could make any breakthroughs on Tianlang-jun’s seals.
In fact, it had been quite a while since he had contacted Tianlang-jun. He hoped the man was doing
well. He needed to pay them a visit soon.

Mind made up, Shen Yuan quickly left the artifact hall and made his way to the library.

Shen Yuan pushed open the door to the library, it was sparsely populated. There were a lot less
disciples studying compared to usual.

Shen Yuan watched as a group of gossiping disciples off to the side of the library froze at the sight
of him. They nudged each other nervously and quickly ran out of the library past him.

He… Wasn’t that bad was he…?

Aside from the escaping disciples, Shen Yuan noted that most of the disciples in the library were
too busy to pay attention to him and were gathered around the artifact books section. There were
even a few disciples from Qian Cao and the Talismans Peak discussing things with the Qing Jing
disciples.
Shen Yuan quietly wedged himself into the section on sealing and began to search for mentions of
incomplete seals.

He spent an hour fruitlessly searching, but he was unable to find anything. He was about to give up
and return to Bai Zhan to rest when he overheard a Talisman Peak disciple complaining of the
advanced seals they had to create for the new artifacts hall.

Perhaps they could help with his problem?

Shen Yuan hesitantly walked up to the group of tired looking talisman peak disciples. “Um, excuse
me?”

“You can leave the tea on the corner,” one disciple said absently.

Shen Yuan paused. “Ah… Tea?”

“What?” A grumpy looking individual raised his head from the book he had his nose buried in and
looked around, “Wait, where’s the tea?”

“Oh… Sorry… No tea… I had a question for Shidi?” Shen Yuan ventured. ‘Shidi’ was the proper
term of address, wasn’t it? Shen Yuan wasn’t too sure. It felt slightly odd to refer to someone who
had been in the Sect longer than he was as ‘Shidi.’

“Tch. Well? What is it then? Spit it out.” The disciple snapped, returning to his book.

“Um, I was hoping for some guidance on seals? There is a seal I am struggling to understand…”

“Have you tried checking the library?” The disciple asked sarcastically.

‘I… Wasn’t able to make much progress…”

The disciple sighed and finally looked up at Shen Yuan. “Hm? Bai Zhan? Ah, whatever that
doesn’t matter. Give me the seal.”

Shen Yuan fumbled around in his sleeves for a moment before he pulled out his stack of notes he
carried with him at all times. He handed the disciple seal number 46 and watched nervously as the
disciple squinted at the seal.

“This is it?” He asked with a brow raised in derision. “This is really basic. This is a linked seal, it's
supposed to be matched with another seal, you have to activate them in sequence and sustain them
until they are stable.”

Shen Yuan just stared at the disciple blankly. His words sounded like a foreign language.
Sequential activation? Linked seals? What?

The disciple sighed and snatched a scrap of paper up from the messy table and scrawled a name
down and shoved it at Shen Yuan. “Here, this book is what you need. Now scram! We have
enough on our plates without having to tutor every disciple with a passing interest in seals.”

A nervous looking An Ding disciple came over with the previously mentioned tea.

Shen Yuan took it as his cue to leave. He grabbed the scrap of paper then quickly bowed.
“Thanking Shidi for the guidance.”

He beat a hasty retreat before the older, technically junior, disciple could send even more
disparaging looks his way.

Shen Yuan read the scrap of paper and quickly set out to find the book that the disciple had
mentioned.

He eventually found the book in the second year curriculum of Qing Jing peak. It was very clearly
a book on the most basic of sealing techniques.

Shen Yuan eyed it skeptically before he shrugged, it was worth a shot. Nothing else had helped so
far and this was the best lead he had gotten in a while.
 Shen Yuan dragged the huge book over to a side table and sighed.

It was time to learn.

Click here for a pic of aged up SY by Qwerty!

Click here for a pic of Chen Tian by Qwerty!

Click here for a pic of Chen Tian by misminor!

Click here for a pic of SY by misminor!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by flatasafryingpan!

Click here for Huahua!

Chapter End Notes

From Misminor: if no one notices anything odd about this chapter and the previous
one I’m going to be sad. :((

From Me Qwerty: MY CAT IS FUCKING ADORABLE AND I LOVE HIM. SORRY

ABOUT THE LONG WAIT FINALS ARE SHITE FOR MISMINOR. EVERYONE
PLS SEND HER YOUR SUPPORT!!!
 Visitation Rights
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan gets kidnapped again.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 44: Visitation Rights

Shen Yuan sat in his chair in a daze, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The basics.

The basics explained so, so much.

The books he had previously been referencing had assumed that the reader already had a solid
grasp of the basics. Shen Yuan had only understood roughly half of everything he had read.

He had been forcing Tianlang-Juan’s seals open with Qi instead of properly unraveling them –
force feeding them Qi until they overloaded and failed.

If he would have tried the same thing with the linked seals, he could have potentially brought the
whole mountain down upon Tianlang-jun’s head. Or call the entire cultivation world upon them. Or
even make it so that the seals beneath the linked seals would have become unbreakable.

Shen Yuan groaned and lurched forward, allowing his head to thunk against the table.

It was both a blessing and a curse that he had asked that Talisman peak disciple for help. Now, he
realized what a truly monumental task unraveling all of Tianlang-jun’s seals was, but his brain felt
like mush.
Shen Yuan sighed deeply and turned his head, resting his cheek on the table. He stared dully at the
thick book of sealing and internally cursed Huan Hua Palace for their skilled sealing masters.

He sighed again, sitting up and running his hands through his hair, careful not to ruin his new
hairstyle. Shen-Shibo had put so much effort into it, after all.

He figured he wouldn’t get much else done for today. He decided to simply check out his book and
rest in his room.

Shen Yuan ended up leaving the Qing Jing library with several books on sealing to work on in his
free time. Coincidentally, he had decided to leave the library when the rest of the Bai Zhan
disciples had been dismissed from repair work for the day and ended up following the group of
senior Bai Zhan disciples back to the peak.

Since it was around dinner time, Shen Yuan headed towards the dining halls, eager to get some
food. He felt like he had overworked his brain today.

It was during his walk back when he suddenly felt a random burst of killing intent.

Shen Yuan startled.

This was Bai Zhan! Who would have killing intent here?

He looked around frantically in all directions in search of the source. His hand reached into his
pouch and pulled out the fan that Shen-Shibo had gifted him.

Shen Yuan stiffened as the killing intent seemed to grow heavier and more intense.

He didn’t understand why.

A few Bai Zhan disciples walked by him completely unaware of the killing intent filling the air.
They stared at him strangely as he stood there awkwardly with his fan brandished in front of him
like a weapon.
“Ah, Shen-Shidi!” Someone called.

Shen Yuan whipped around, hyper aware of his surroundings from the ominous feeling filling the
air.

Yin Lihua strolled over to him with a cheerful smile on her face. “Shidi! How are you doing?” She
gave him a once over and her brows furrowed in concern. “Shidi? Are you alright? You’re looking
a bit pale.”

Shen Yuan awkwardly put away his fan as he felt the killing intent dissipate with the arrival of his
Shijie. “A-ah, I’m alright Shijie… I just felt something strange, that's all…”

“Oh? Do you think you need to go back to the hospital?” Yin Lihua asked in concern.

“No, no. I just… It's probably nothing. My senses must still be a little strange from staying indoors
so much…”

“I see! You should go see A’Yan soon then! It would be good for both of you! Though not until
you’re fully recovered, of course. But come along!” Yin Lihua took him by the shoulders and
began to steer him towards the dining hall. “Let’s have dinner! You can tell me how your day
went!”

Shen Yuan let himself be guided along as he quietly reflected upon the chilling sensation he had
just experienced. He had encountered killing intent too many times to have mistaken it for anything
else. But just who was it from? And why?

Meanwhile, Liu Qingge stood in the shadows of a nearby training room, glowering at the sight of
his disciple. The boy was already wearing his hair like Shen Qingqiu. Brandishing a fan like Shen
Qingqiu. He was clearly emulating that damned Shen Qingqiu!

The last thing Liu Qingge needed was the boy picking up that Shen Qingqiu’s deplorable vices as
well.
Liu Qingge turned sharply and made his way out.

He needed to find Yue Qingyuan.

A few days later, when Shen Yuan had forgotten all about the strange incident, something even
stranger happened.

Shen Yuan was having a peaceful dinner of dumplings when a disciple burst into the dining hall
frantically yelling, “The list is gone! Shizun’s hit list is gone!”

Another disciple scoffed at the panicking disciple. “Didn’t you hear? There is no list this week.
Shizun temporarily canceled the beat downs.”

Several disciples became gloomy at the reminder while others were shocked. A few disciples even
cheered in celebration. The chatter that had been interrupted by the frantic disciple’s arrival soon
picked up again.

Shen Yuan glanced at his Shixiong who were sharing a table with him.

Chu Yun and Han Rei looked equally as bemused as he was.

“I wonder why Shizun canceled this week's lessons like this? Do you think he has an important
mission or something?” Chu Yun mused.

“Possibly,” Han Rei replied. “It’s strange though. He just came back from a mission less than a
month ago. Whatever it is, it must be very important.”

Shen Yuan wilted slightly. “It's been nearly two months since I got a lesson from Shizun.” He
sighed. He had just gotten back to his old form too…
Shit.

Was he becoming a masochist?

“Well, maybe this one won’t be too long. You can always go to Zhao-Shijie if you want to get beat
up,” Chu Yun consoled.

Shen Yuan whined, “It's just not the same though…”

“Are you sure? You end up on Qian Cao either way, don’t you?” Han Rei asked before taking a
bite of his dinner.

“Yeah…” Shen Yuan sighed, standing up and picking up his used bowl. “I’m full now. I’ll be
leaving ahead of you, Shixiong.”

“More for us then!” Chu Yun laughed, getting up to get an extra serving of food.

“Ahh. Enjoy, I suppose.”

“See you later then, Shen-Shidi,” Han Rei said, waving Shen Yuan off.

Shen Yuan nodded at him and left to put his dishes away.

The next morning, Shen Yuan woke up early in order to be on time for breakfast with Shen
Qingqiu. He was looking forward to his lessons with his Shibo today. The man had hinted that he
might begin teaching him how to use his fan as a weapon the other day, and Shen Yuan was
excited to begin learning new weapon forms.

Recently, Shen Qingqiu appeared to have taken up a new habit of redoing Shen Yuan’s hair for
him. It was strange, but not in a bad way.
The man would click his tongue whenever Shen Yuan would show up to their lessons with his
customary simple ponytail. The Peak Lord would then usher him off to a chair and then tie his hair
up into a style similar to his own. Shen Yuan didn’t mind, but it had earned him a few strange
looks from other disciples. He had gotten so used to the new routine that Shen Yuan would head
straight for what he began to consider to be his chair upon entering the bamboo house.

Once, Shen Yuan hadn’t bothered to put his hair up prior to making his way to Qing Jing Peak. He
hadn’t really seen much of a point since it would be taken down soon enough. However, the
moment Shen Qingqiu saw him, the man had looked positively incensed, ushering him inside with
a dark look on his face.

“Did you come here looking like that?!” The Peak Lord had questioned.

Shen Yuan had fiddled with a strand of hair. “Yes, Shizun– ah, Shibo…”

Shen Qingqiu had pursed his lips. “Sit,” he had barked, pointing to Shen Yuan’s chair.

Obediently, Shen Yuan had sat.

The Peak Lord had taken his place behind Shen Yuan and had begun combing the boy’s hair with
a wooden comb. It had been something of a souvenir from the festival.

“Don’t do it again,” the man had said. “I will not have my disciple be subject to scandalous
speculations.”

Shen Yuan hadn’t really understood, but agreed nevertheless. He had closed his eyes, enjoying
Shen Qingqiu’s ministrations.

“Now, your ribbon?”

Shen Yuan had reached into a sleeve and pulled out two ribbons. One was a simple white Bai Zhan
ribbon he had managed to procure, and the other was the ribbon Shen Qingqiu had lent him.

When Shen Yuan had begun dressing down for the night in his dorm the first night he had returned
from the hospital, Shen Yuan had let his hair down and was able to see the ribbon for the first
time. It seemed to have been made of high quality black silk and was embroidered with green
bamboo. Not wanting to ruin the ribbon, Shen Yuan had quickly managed to procure himself a
simple, white Bai Zhan replacement, intent on returning it to the Qing Jing Peak Lord as soon as
possible, lest he accidentally destroy it.

“What is this?” Shen Qingqiu’s voice had been flat.

“Um, I managed to find a replacement for my old ribbon, so now I can return the one Shibo lent
me.”

A hand had reached for the ribbons held in Shen Yuan’s grip and had taken the black and green
one. Shen Yuan thought Shen Qingqiu was only going to put it away before reaching for the white
one to tie his hair, but instead, he had felt the familiar sensation of his hair being tied.

The white ribbon had been ignored.

When Shen Qingqiu seemed to have finished, Shen Yuan had turned to face him, confused.

“Shibo?”

Shen Qingqiu had looked at him with disdain. “Discard it.”

“But...Shibo,” Shen Yuan had lightly protested. “Your ribbon is expensive! It’ll end up getting
ruined.”

But the Peak Lord had only turned up his nose. “Then so be it. It will last much longer than that
worthless thing you call a ribbon. Hmph! That pathetic piece of cloth will not last you very long.
And then what? Shall I have you run around disgracefully once more after that wretched thing ends
up in tatters once again?” The man sneered behind his fan. “I think not!”

Shen Yuan had no words.

Wordless, he had slipped the “worthless” ribbon into his pouch. Then, as if reminded, he had dug
around and brought out a clean, folded set of green robes.
“Ah, Shibo, I also came to return these.” Shen Yuan had presented them to the Peak Lord with a
bow. “Thanking Shibo for generously lending these to this disciple.”

When Shen Yuan had peered upwards, he had been met with a scowl.

“And what,” the man had bit out, “is this?”

Shen Yuan had shuffled in place. “Um, these were the robes this disciple borrowed last time when
this disciple’s robes were stained.”

“Hoh?” Shen Qingqiu had raised a brow. “This Lord does not recall such an incident.”

Shen Yuan’s brows had furrowed.

“Keep them. This Lord has no need of those.” Shen Qingqiu had huffed, turning his nose up at
Shen Yuan. “If you don’t want them, then burn them.”

Shen Yuan had frowned, deciding to keep them as he replaced the clean robes into his pouch. It
would have been a shame to waste a perfectly good set of robes. After all, they seemed to have
been new, and they had fit him perfectly. While they may have been in Qing Jing colors, the robes
themselves did not seem to be affiliated with Cang Qiong Mountain. Rather, they might as well
have just been high quality civilian clothing.

Now, just as Shen Yuan was approaching the rainbow bridge to go for his morning lessons, he
heard a familiar voice call his name.

Shen Yuan paused and turned, temporary ponytail whipping about. He found Liu Qingge striding
up to him with a stern look on his face. The man seemed to squint at the space above Shen Yuan’s
head. Strangely, he looked a little...satisfied?

Shen Yuan saluted the man. “Shizun, did you need me?”
The man asked brusquely, “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“Ah. I was going to Qing Jing for my lessons with Shizu– ah, Shen-Shibo.” Shen Yuan said
awkwardly, scratching his head.

Liu Qingge’s eye twitched. “Your Shizun is right here. Those lessons can wait.”

Then, Liu Qingge proceeded to pick Shen Yuan up by the back of his collar and throw him over his
shoulder into a very familiar position. Once again, Shen Yuan felt like he was a sack of rice.

Shen Yuan wondered why this kept happening to him. Did he look like a rag doll?

Liu Qingge unsheathed Cheng Luan and stepped onto the sword, flying off Bai Zhan Peak and into
the distance.

Shen Yuan startled but didn’t move as the man soared through the sky. “Shizun,” he called over
his shoulder. “Where are we going!?”

“Family,” was Liu Qingge’s blunt response.

Shen Yuan was confused. Why so suddenly? Why did he even need to go? Just what was it that
kept making random people take him to meet their families?

First Tianlang-jun had introduced him to Su Xiyan. Then Shen Qingqiu took him to the fancy
restaurant with Granny. Now this?

What was next? The Sect Leader taking him to see the imperial family?

Shen Yuan propped his head up with a hand. Idly, he wondered what this was all about. His mind
ran through different possibilities as to why Liu Qingge was taking him to meet his family. Was
this a mission of sorts? Was there something wrong? Was it acknowledgment for performing well
at their last spar?
His mind kept bringing up theories that slowly became progressively wilder.

He settled in for a long trip atop Liu Qingge’s shoulder. It was mildly uncomfortable but he could
endure. It was steadier than Chen Tian’s carry so Shen Yuan was pretty content.

Shen Yuan gazed blankly at the passing landscapes, not really taking anything in. He wondered if
he had been to any of those places with Tianlang-jun when they were wandering. Had he and
Tianlang-jun stopped to see those awful plays in one of the towns he and Liu Qingge had flown
over??

After what felt like several hours, Liu Qingge began to fly lower and lower, Shen Yuan took this as
an indicator that they were approaching their destination.

They flew over a large lake that narrowed off into a small stream. A waterfall dominated one end
of the lake and a large estate was built upon the other end of the lake’s shores.

Shen Yuan could see faint dots of pink spotting the lake’s edges. He assumed that those were
distant lotus blossoms. Honestly, the entire area just looked gorgeous and stately.

Liu Qingge touched down before the entrance of the estate Shen Yuan had seen.

The Peak Lord looked perfectly immaculate as he landed elegantly whereas Shen Yuan himself
looked like a windswept mess.

Shen Yuan valiantly tried to straighten himself out but it was to little avail. He wondered if this was
a superpower of Peak Lords or if it was something unique to Liu Qingge.

Liu Qingge let Shen Yuan off of his shoulder and then pinned him in place with a stern look.

For some reason, Liu Qingge looked faintly worried. There was a furrow in his brow as he
regarded Shen Yuan. “Be good,” he ordered blunty.

Shen Yuan tilted his head at the man but before he could say anything, Liu Qingge knocked on the
main gate.
The door was opened by a servant who received them with grace. “Master Liu, you have returned,”
they said. “I will inform the Madam.”

Liu Qingge nodded. “I will greet Zu Fu. Shen Yuan, come.”

He quickly swept away further into the grand estate. Shen Yuan hurried to follow after him.

Shen Yuan wondered at the various decorations and weapons on display throughout the large
manor. He felt that this estate rivaled the luxuries found in the main administrative building of
Qiong Ding with how many artifacts were being shown off.

Liu Qingge soon brought them to an inner room that was rather simply decorated. “Qingge has
returned,” he announced, stepping into the room.

“Hm, I can see that,” responded an older, but similar-sounding voice.

A handsome man walked around a divider set to the side of the room. He looked to be in his late
thirties but Shen Yuan could tell that he was much older than he appeared. He shared many of the
same features as Liu Qingge and gave off an aura of a wisened veteran, similar to the heroic aura
that Liu Qingge gave off. He had a short beard and his eyes were still sharp and bright. He was
dressed rather elegantly in flowing robes of dark red with white accents.

“This is the disciple I spoke of in the letter: Shen Yuan.” Liu Qingge said, gesturing to Shen Yuan
with a hand.

Shen Yuan quickly glanced at Liu Qingge before he bowed to the older man before him.

The old man nodded in approval.

Liu Qingge turned to Shen Yuan and said, “This is Liu Zhao.”

Shen Yuan nodded in understanding.

Liu Zhao stroked his beard lightly and stared consideringly at Shen Yuan. “Hm… Meet me at the
training grounds. I will give you time to freshen up.” He turned and retreated to the other side of
the divider.

Liu Qingge nodded and put a hand on Shen Yuan’s shoulder and guided him out of the man’s
chambers. He brought Shen Yuan to a set of rooms on the opposite end of the estate.

Shen Yuan assumed these were the guest quarters as they were neatly furnished but unoccupied.

Liu Qingge left Shen Yuan in the rooms with a simple command of “rest” before departing for the
rest of the estate.

Shen Yuan could only do as Liu Qingge had said. He pulled out a chair from the table that was in
the middle of the room and sat in waiting.

Not long after, Liu Qingge returned – dressed in a more casual set of robes compared to his Peak
Lord uniform – wearing colors of red and white, just like Liu Zhao.

“Are you ready? Come then.” Liu Qingge said, leaving without waiting for an answer.

Shen Yuan quickly stood and followed the man out to a wide open field of hard packed earth that
was surrounded by high walls. Liu Zhao stood in a large ring that was drawn in the dirt. There was
a group of people at the other end of the field all dressed in the same red and white robes as Liu
Qingge and Liu Zhao.

Liu Qingge clapped Shen Yuan on the shoulder. “Remember your training,” he said simply. Then,
he left to join the group of people at the other end of the field.

Liu Zhao beckoned for Shen Yuan to join him in the make-shift ring. Shen Yuan hesitantly stepped
up to the edge of the circle, he quickly caught an object that was thrown in his direction by Liu
Zhao. Examining what he caught, Shen Yuan realized that the object was a simple practice Jian.
He looked up at Liu Zhao with a question in his eyes.

Liu Zhao just stared at him sternly. “Don’t leave the circle. Now, come at me,” he ordered.
Shen Yuan could see where Liu Qingge got the bluntness from. He also couldn’t help but wonder
if this was the traditional Liu family welcome.

He eyed Liu Zhao doubtfully. He was sure that the man must have been an accomplished
swordsman if he was Liu Qingge’s grandfather.

Shen Yuan adjusted his grip on the practice Jian and gave it a few swings, testing the weight and
balance of the sword.

Once he was satisfied, he looked back at Liu Zhao. The man was standing casually in the center of
the ring with his hands held behind him, staring back at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan circled the man warily. He didn’t trust that casual demeanor – not when his senses were
constantly pinging with danger signs.

Shen Yuan returned to his position in front of the man after walking a few circles and took up his
stance.

He took a deep breath and then charged at the man wildly, acting as if he had put no thought into
his attack. He raised his sword high and made to swing down in a sharp strike before he changed
his trajectory at the very last second, swiping horizontally.

But Liu Zhao wasn’t phased in the least. He merely stepped back and aimed a sharp palm strike at
Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan was forced to roll under the attack but he didn’t let up in his own attacks
either. He adapted the combo attack he had learned from Zhao Feiyan and rushed Liu Zhao. But
the flurry of strikes were all cleanly evaded with graceful movements.

Shen Yuan did not allow the lack of hits on the man to discourage him. He immediately
transitioned into a series of sharp flowing thrusts he had learned from Chu Yun’s Qiang techniques.
Liu Zhao simply leaned to either side like a gently swaying willow branch to avoid the thrusts.

Shen Yuan ducked under a sharp knife hand to the throat and flipped backwards over a swift leg
sweep.
He backed up and reassessed the old man. Liu Zhao watched him placidly and waited patiently for
his next move.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and took up his stance in front of Liu Zhao again.

It was clear that Liu Zhao wanted to see what he was truly capable of. All of Liu Zhao’s attacks
were perfectly timed for the end of his attack combos. Aiming for the unstable moment when Shen
Yuan inhaled and attempted to recover from the exertion of attacking. The man was looking to
throw Shen Yuan off balance and punish overreaching combo attacks as well as assess how Shen
Yuan would recover.

Shen Yuan crouched down slightly. Then he pushed off the ground, launching himself at the man
in a burst of speed. He thrust his sword forward at Liu Zhao and slashed out horizontally when the
man leaned out of the way. Liu Zhao hopped over the horizontal slash.

But before Liu Zhao could land, Shen Yuan twisted his blade and struck upwards towards the
man.

Liu Zhao casually reached out with a gentle hand and brushed away Shen Yuan’s blade, guiding it
away from him by only touching the flat of Shen Yuan’s Jian.

Shen Yuan stumbled past Liu Zhao slightly as his momentum was redirected away from the man.
He pivoted and brought his blade up for a downward swing that immediately led into a tricky feint
that he learned from Han Rei.

Liu Zhao didn’t appear to be phased in the least by the feint. He leaned backward slightly, allowing
Shen Yuan’s Jian to just brush his clothes.

Shen Yuan recoiled and struck out again with a sharp forward cut.

Liu Zhao sidestepped and grabbed Shen Yuan’s sword hand.

All of a sudden, Shen Yuan’s world turned upside down.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Yuan found himself disarmed on the ground with his breath knocked
out of him. Shen Yuan looked around quickly. His sword had landed outside of the small dirt ring.
Shen Yuan hastily rolled to the side and leapt to his feet into an unarmed fighting stance. He didn’t
hesitate. He shot forward, drawing on his experiences with Yin Lihua’s unarmed combat classes,
throwing out a hard right hook.

A glimmer of approval made its way into Liu Zhao’s eyes as he simply tilted his head and let Shen
Yuan’s fist fly past him.

Once again, Shen Yuan released a furious barrage of attacks. All of which Liu Zhao weaved
around, like a flowing river. Shen Yuan tried some of the tips that Shen Qingqiu had given him,
aiming for vital points and trying to trip up his opponent. All the while he was trying to herd Liu
Zhao closer and closer to the edge of the circle.

Shen Yuan lunged forward with a wild haymaker but Liu Zhao nimbly danced out of the way.

Shen Yuan recovered from his lunge and quickly turned to continue his assault, but Liu Zhao held
up a hand.

“Pay attention to your surroundings,” the man said, staring pointedly at Shen Yuan’s feet.

Shen Yuan looked down. He had stumbled outside of the circle drawn in the dirt on his own. He
deflated. His own tactic had been used against him.

Liu Zhao calmly stroked his beard as he regarded Shen Yuan. “Your strategy was sound, but in the
face of a more skilled opponent, useless.” The man walked over to the fallen practice Jian and
threw it back to Shen Yuan. “You may not have been raised in the Liu family, but you are still
expected to uphold our pride and values.”

Shen Yuan nodded and bowed. “Thanking respected elder for his guidance.”

“You may call me grandfather,” Liu Zhao allowed, turning to leave. He gave Liu Qingge a nod and
returned to the estate.

Shen Yuan momentarily thought of the old lady Shen Qingqiu introduced him to.
 Man, these old people were friendly.

Liu Qingge walked up to Shen Yuan and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “You need more
training when we return.”

Shen Yuan suddenly felt an intense sense of foreboding for the future.

But as he looked up at Liu Qingge, he noticed that the man had a slight up turn to his mouth.

It was the closest thing to a smile Shen Yuan had ever seen on his face.

Chapter End Notes

Helllloooooooo my dear readerssssss. Owning this cat is like not owning a cat. He
spends all day hiding under my bed hahahaha.

Can we get a hell yeah for 800 subs on this fic? Because hell yeah the amount of
support this gets never ceases to amaze me.

Please continue to send support for misminor, she is suffering from what I can tell
ahah....

Also also. Misminor is a god at writing tsun sqq i bow to her. - Qwerty.
 Stranger Danger
Chapter Summary

Shen Yuan deals with stalkers

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 45: Stranger Danger

After the brief spar against Liu Zhao, Shen Yuan was left to his own devices to explore the Liu
estate.

He immediately set off from the training grounds to go look at the waterfall at the end of the lake
that the Liu estate was built next to. It seemed like a good place to meditate and enjoy nature.

But just as he left the walled enclosure of the training grounds, he felt several individuals following
after him. He didn’t quite feel any negative intent from his stalkers though…

Shen Yuan stepped behind a convenient tree and waited for his followers to catch up.

As they approached, Shen Yuan leaped up into the branches and waited for them to appear in his
line of sight.

A small group of children ran by. Shen Yuan counted two boys and three girls all dressed in the
standard Red and white robes Shen Yuan had come to recognize as the Liu family colors. They all
looked very young – just toddlers really. The boys and one of the girls held wooden toy swords.

“Woah! Where’d he go?” One of the boys asked.

“I told you we had to hurry! Now we lost him!” The tallest of the little girls adorably pouted.
“Sorry,” the second boy apologized. “I thought he would catch us if we went too fast though…”

“Hmph! I’m always right! I told you so! But if Zhizhi is gone… Hm…” The tallest girl put her
hand to her chin and looked to be deep in thought.

“D-do you think the ghost took him?” The shortest girl asked in a timid voice.

“No, he’s a grown up,” the second girl refuted. “The ghost only comes at bedtime anyway!”

“Gege just disappeared though…” Timid Girl said.

“We just have to find him then!” Tall Girl replied confidently.

“But how do we do that?” Asked the first boy.

“W-well… If we can’t follow him, then we just have to go where he’s going!” Tall Girl declared.

“To lunch?” Asked the second boy.

“No! Everyone knows the best place at the waterfall! That’s where anyone would go,” Tall Girl
lectured. “Now let’s go!” She shouted before running off into the forest.

“Ah! Wait for me!” Timid Girl yelled as the other children ran off without her.

Shen Yuan jumped down from the tree, the vague smile on his face was hidden by his veil. He
followed the children just far enough so that they wouldn’t catch sight of his white Bai Zhan robes,
but close enough to still hear their conversations.

The children chattered excitedly to one another as they made their way through the forest. It
seemed that they were quite familiar with the forest surrounding the waterfall. They must have
played here often.
Soon enough the sounds of rushing water began to grow louder and louder. The children cheered
and ran to the edge of the forest where a beautiful waterfall thundered down from the cliffs above.

One of the boys quickly dashed towards the shallow waters at the edge of the lake. He tossed his
toy sword to the ground and jumped in. He turned to laugh at the rest of the children, and waved at
them excitedly.

The other boy followed him into the water and splashed him by kicking the surface of the water.

The first boy shrieked and returned the favor.

The girls weren’t too far behind as the water wars began. The tallest girl jumped in with a shout
and splashed both of the boys. The boys banded together and worked to push her into the water.
Tall Girl fell with a high pitched bout of laughter and pulled the boys in with her. The second girl
was content to sit at the edge of the water splashing the other three more enthusiastic children from
a distance. The third, most timid-looking child slowly approached the water's edge and toed the
water hesitantly.

The boys saw her and grinned at each other wickedly.

They splashed over to her and pulled her into the water with a shout.

The girl sat in the water, shocked. Then she sniffled and looked down at her soaking wet clothes.
She raised her arms and looked at the way water dripped down her sleeves. Then she threw her
head back and wailed.

Tall Girl rushed over and shoved the two boys into the water again while the second girl quickly
made her way over to the timid girl and began to softly pat her back and whisper reassurances.

Except, Timid Girl wouldn’t stop crying. Her sobs grew louder and louder.

The second girl began panicking as she tried to get the wailing girl to calm down.

Shen Yuan couldn’t watch anymore.

He quickly made his way out of the tree line and walked over to the crying child.

In shock at his sudden appearance, the children all stopped what they were doing, staring at Shen
Yuan.

Shen Yuan dropped to his knees next to the crying girl and gently reached out and wiped her tears.
“There, there. No need to cry now. Everything is going to be alright,” he said softly.

She sniffled miserably as she stared at him with wide, tearful eyes.

Shen Yuan looked over to the two sopping wet boys and beckoned them over. “Now you two,” he
began with a stern voice. “I believe you owe her an apology.”

The boys looked down at the ground and shifted awkwardly as they mumbled a few apologies.

Shen Yuan nodded at the boys and turned to look at the crying girl again. “See? They’re sorry.
Come now, no need for those tears anymore.”

The girl sniffled again and looked down at herself. Then her eyes began to get watery all over
again. She burst out sobbing once more.

Shen Yuan flustered slightly, but made sure to keep his voice gentle. “Ah. Hey, hey what's wrong
now?”

“P-p-pretty Gege s-saw me wet! N-now Liling is- is- is going to get in trouble!” She wailed
miserably, head hung low and hands rubbing at her eyes futilely.

Shen Yuan patted her head softly and took her face into his hands and made her look into his eyes.

“Liling isn’t in any trouble right now.” Shen Yuan soothed. “Gege doesn’t mind that she’s wet.”
“B-but when L-liling goes home wet, Mo-mother always scolds Liling!” The little girl sobbed.

“Well then.” Shen Yuan stood up and made his way over to where the deeper waters were. He then
backed up a few steps, took a running start, and leaped into the water. He landed with a large wave,
soaking the boys all over again. The tall girl laughed happily and clapped at the cannonball and the
timid girl had her mouth open in shock.

Shen Yuan swam back to the shallows and climbed up on the banks. He smiled behind his soaking
wet veil at the timid girl. “There. Now we’re all wet. If Liling gets scolded for being wet then we’ll
all get scolded together!”

Little Liling was too shocked to cry anymore. She managed a small, wobbly smile as Shen Yuan
flicked water off his hands at the boys, making them shriek.

The tall girl whooped and ran over to Shen Yuan. “See! I told you so! We found Zhizhi!”

Shen Yuan laughed softly and patted her on the head.

Tall Girl beamed up at Shen Yuan. “Zhizhi was so cool! We saw him at the fight with Grandpa!”

The boys scurried over and began clamoring for attention as well.

“It was so cool! It was like whoosh! Whoosh!” The first boy exclaimed, waving his arms wildly.

“Hey! Hey! Can you show us that sword trick!” The second boy yelled.

“Oh! Do a splash Gege!” The second girl piped up.

Tall Girl tugged on Shen Yuan's wet clothes. “Zhizhi! Zhizhi! Up!” She declared, reaching her
arms up to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan laughed and picked up the tall girl and put her on his hip. “Up-up,” he said. Looking at
her up close, she bore a striking resemblance to Liu Qingge.
The tall girl tugged on the veil on Shen Yuan’s face. “Can I try on Zhizhi’s veil? It's super pretty!
Zhizhi’s hair is pretty too!”

“G-gege’s eyes are nice…” Timid Girl murmured.

“Eh? But his eyes are scary though!” The first boy exclaimed.

“No! They’re like the special rock!” Timid Girl pouted back.

“Eh?” asked the boy.

“Look!” said the timid girl as she went over to a large rock nearby that had a pile of small pebbles
arranged around it. “Where is it?” She mumbled to herself as she searched. “Oh! There it is!” She
picked up a rock from the center. She ran back holding the rock up in the air triumphantly.

The first boy looked at the rock, then back at Shen Yuan. “Oh! They are! Is pretty Gege the Rock
Prince now?”

Shen Yuan looked at the rock held in Timid Girl – Liling’s hand as well. It was a plain black rock,
slightly roundish and dull. It wasn’t even shiny or pretty or anything. He didn’t know if being the
Rock Prince was a compliment or an insult.

He shrugged to himself. “What are all of your names? I know Liling but i don't know the rest of
your names.” He asked, shifting the tall girl on his hip slightly.

“Oh! Oh! I’m Mingyan! Liu Mingyan!” The tall girl declared, practically shoving her raised hand
into Shen Yuan’s face.

The first boy clung to Shen Yuan’s right leg. “I’m Hu Hai!”

The second girl bowed politely. “I’m Dong Mei.”

The second boy splashed Shen Yuan’s back, making Liu Mingyan squeal. “I’m Liu Sheng!”

Liling timidly made her way up to Shen Yuan’s other leg and clung on. “I’m Dou Liling…”

Shen Yuan awkwardly walked up the banks of the lake with the children still firmly attached to his
legs. “So how old are all of you?” He asked curiously.

Liu Mingyan shoved two fingers in Shen Yuan’s face and confidently replied, “Three!”

Shen Yuan laughed and helped her raise a third finger.

Hu Hai looked at his fingers for a moment before he hesitantly replied, “Four?”

Dong Mei said, “Three,” as well.

Dou Liling muttered a small, “Two…”

Liu Sheng raised a small hand high in the air. “Five!” he shouted.

Liu Mingyan slapped Shen Yuan’s shoulder excitedly. “Pretty Gege! What’s your name?! How old
are you?”

Shen Yuan bounced her on his hip making her giggle in delight. “Me? This one’s name is Shen
Yuan. And I’ll tell you guys a secret.” Shen Yuan leaned down to whisper at the children
conspiratorially. ‘I’m actually over a thousand years old.”

“Eh?” Asked Dong Mei. “But Mingyan, if Gege is your Zhizhi, then he can’t be older than you,
right?”

“Yeah! Shen-Zhizhi don’t lie! Not even grandpa is that old and he’s old!” Liu Mingyan said,
punching Shen Yuan lightly.
“Shen-Gege must have time traveled! That’s why he looks older than Mingyan!” Hu Hai
announced.

Shen Yuan laughed quietly to himself as the children bickered over his age.

“Ahh! It doesn’t matter!” Liu Mingyan yelled in frustration after a particularly strange argument.
“Gege said you're my Zhizhi! So I’m your Gugu! No matter how old you get you have to
remember I’m your Gugu!” Liu Mingyan said pointing imperiously at Shen Yuan’s chest.

Shen Yuan huffed a laugh and nodded at her solemnly.

Liu Mingyan gave a sharp nod and crossed her arms in satisfaction.

“Hey! Shen-Gege! Do you know the best places around the waterfall?” Liu Shang asked, tugging
on Shen Yuan’s wet sleeve.

“Hm? No I don’t. Why don’t you guys show me?” Shen Yuan responded.

“Gege… Want to see the place where you can find the shiniest rocks…?” Dou Liling asked
hesitantly.

“No! I wanna take Shen-Gege to the place where you can see the pretty glowy flies!” Hu Hai said,
tugging on Shen Yuan’s other sleeve.

“Oh! What about the cave!?” Liu Shang asked excitedly.

“B-but we’re never ever ever supposed to go there! That’s only for adults!” Dou Liling stuttered.

“Shen-Gege is an adult! He can tell us what’s inside!” Liu Sheng said, flicking a bit of water at
Dou Liling.

Dou Liling shrieked and ran to hide behind Shen Yuan with a wobbly lip.
Shen Yuan frowned at Liu Sheng who cowed and shuffled his feet.

“I say we visit all those areas!” Liu Mingyan said, jumping out of Shen Yuan's arms and tugging
Dou Liling out from behind Shen Yuan. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

The boys cheered and raced off into the distance while Liu Mingyan dragged Dou Liling along
with her. Dong Mei giggled and ran after them.

Shen Yuan smiled and quickly jogged to catch up with the children.

Shen Yuan and the children spent the whole day exploring the area around the waterfall. Shen
Yuan made sure they stayed far away from the cave though, there was a sign outside of the cave
saying it was dangerous. He didn’t really want to trespass on his first day here

Shen Yuan was dragged in all different directions by enthusiastic children who all had something
cool to show off. Shen Yuan saw cool rocks, the best places to find bugs, great hiding places, and
even a small pond where tadpoles and frogs were found..

Interestingly enough, the pond of tadpoles was lined with a special grass called green drake grass.
Shen Yuan explained to the children that because of the grass that lined the pond, there was a small
possibility that some of the tadpoles might learn to fly and metamorphosize into dragon frogs.

“what does meta-metafu… metas-” The child huffed. “What does that word mean?”

“Metamorphosize,” Shen Yuan corrected. “It means ‘to change.’”

Shen Yuan’s explanation had been received with gasps of awe and wonder.

“So, so!” One of the children bounced in place, eyes sparkling with excitement. “You mean the
little wigglies will- will become dragons?”
The children promised each other to visit the pond often to check for dragon frogs. Shen Yuan
wistfully stared at the pond and sighed. He wondered if this trip was just a one time thing. He
would love to come and see the dragon frogs himself.

As the sky was beginning to darken, Hu Hai managed to shepherd the whole group to the top of a
small cliff near a meadow of grass and wildflowers. The sun set slowly as Shen Yuan and the
children sat at the top of the cliff discussing all the cool things they had seen throughout the day.
Though the children were getting hungry and tired. Dou Liling had dozed off against Shen Yuan’s
side and the other children were fighting valiantly to keep their eyes open. Their robes had dried
off earlier in the day so they laid on the grass quiet and content.

Soon small specks of green light began to float through the air. The children watched with sleepy
eyes as glowing bugs lit up the darkening meadow.

Shen Yuan wondered at the sight too. He identified the bugs as maiden’s smile firebugs. He
watched as a small group of them descended upon him in a swarm.

“Waah… Gege… They really like you huh?” Dong Mei commented sleepily.

Shen Yuan stared at the swarm of firebugs clustered around him. He felt rather strange with them
resting on his skin for some reason.

He startled slightly.

These bugs!

These bugs had slight resentful energy suppressing abilities!

What the hell!?

Shen Yuan observed a firebug sitting on his hand in shock. If he hadn’t already been sealed, he
would have experienced a considerable drop in his resentful energy based abilities. He would only
have a few skills and his still laughably low human cultivation to depend on!
He shivered.

Shen Yuan hurriedly shook the bugs on his body off and stood. He quickly circulated a spiritual
energy barrier around himself to keep the bugs off. “It’s time we returned, kids! Let’s go!” He said
to the children.

The children mumbled sleepily and stood slowly. Shen Yuan bent down to pick up Dou Liling and
began to make his way out of the meadow at a brisk pace.

Liu Mingyan rubbed her eyes sleepily as she followed. “...It’s okay to be scared of bugs Shen-
Zhizhi… I’m scared of spiders… Firebugs are kinda creepy too...” She said.

Shen Yuan laughed awkwardly and sped up.

The children behind him whined at his speed so Shen Yuan was forced to slow down. He
circulated his Qi harder to keep the bugs off of him.

“Zhizhi. Up.” Liu Mingyan commanded with her arms raised to Shen Yuan.

“Ah, I wanna be carried too!” Dong Mei whined, latching onto Shen Yuan’s leg.

“Me too!” Said Liu Sheng.

“Me three!” Said Hu Hai.

Shen Yuan looked down at the group of children. He sighed, “I can only carry two more of you.
You have to play Rock Paper Scissors to be carried.” The four children turned to each other with
determination coloring their bleary eyes. The children threw their hands together and chanted
“Rock! Paper! Scissors!”.

Shen Yuan ended up with Dou Liling in his right arm, Liu Mingyan around his neck, and Dong
Mei in his left arm.
The boys groaned unhappily but still marched onwards towards the edge of the forest. Shen Yuan
slowly followed the stumbling boys back to the Liu estate.

“So cool… So comfy...” Liu Mingyan muttered, nuzzling her face into Shen Yuan’s hair. Shen
Yuan’s lips quirked, his Qi circulation must have had a cooling effect.

Along the way back Shen Yuan ran into a Liu family servant. The servant took one look at the
small gaggle of children and quickly offered to take them off of Shen Yuan’s hands.

Shen Yuan thanked the servant but insisted on taking the children back home on his own.

Thus Shen Yuan bid good bye to the boys first, dropping Liu Sheng off at a branch house building
and Hu Hai at the servants quarters.

Hu Hai waved goodbye tiredly and yawned. “Next time… Gege should carry me…”

Shen Yuan laughed softly. “Next time,” he promised.

He traveled to a different section of the servants quarters according to the half awake instructions
of Dong Mei and dropped her and Dou Liling off. Dou Liling’s mother took one look at her
daughter and looked like she was going to scold her daughter. She quickly relented when Shen
Yuan explained what had happened.

Once Shen Yuan had left with only Liu Mingyan in his arms, Dou Liling’s mother quickly woke
her up and took her by the shoulders. “Ling’er. You play with Shen-Gege more often okay? That’s
the new heir of the Liu family. Maintain good connections with him.”

Dou Liling only nodded sleepily and closed her eyes again.

Shen Yuan carried Liu Mingyan to the Liu family’s main building.

Just as he was about to open the door to the main building, the door swung open on its own.
 Liu Qingge strode out of the building with a stern look on his face. His eyes snapped over to Shen
Yuan and then glanced down at the figure held in Shen Yuan’s arms.

Liu Qingge’s eyes softened slightly, he walked over to Shen Yuan and gestured for him to hand
over Liu Mingyan. Shen Yuan passed the sleeping child over. Liu Qingge cradled Liu Mingyan
gently against his shoulder and looked at Shen Yuan with approval in his eyes. He nodded at Shen
Yuan. “I see you’re still cultivating. That is good.”

Shen Yuan started. He had forgotten he was still circulating Qi. He scratched his head awkwardly
and laughed.

“Come. We will have dinner soon.” Said Liu Qingge before he turned and walked back into the
main building.

Shen Yuan obediently followed after him, staring fondly at Liu Mingyan’s peacefully sleeping
form.

Ah…How nostalgic.

In the recesses of his mind, Shen Yuan could faintly hear the sound of another young girl’s joyful
laughter.

“Gege, let’s play!”

Chapter End Notes

Heyyyyyyyyyy thanks for all the support! I die!

Just curious if anyone is interested in a discord server for this fic because I made one
hahaaaaaaa......... Im afraid it will die out real quick tho hahaaaaaaaaaaaa....... - Qwerty
 Bon Appétit
Chapter Summary

Food is served

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 46: Bon Appétit

In the early sunrise, a pleasant aroma wafted out the windows of the bamboo house of Qing Jing
Peak.

In the kitchen, Shen Qingqiu stirred a simmering pot of congee with a ladle, pouring in a bowl of
scrambled eggs, which had quickly cooked. The rice had been boiled long enough for the
individual grains to have lost their shape, thickening the texture of the broth. A few large pieces of
crushed ginger in the pot enhanced the aroma, refreshing the senses. Slices of well-cooked chicken
were mixed into the pot.

Shen Qingqiu poured a sample into a small dish, lifting it to his lips. He lightly blew on the surface
before carefully tasting his creation. The texture was not too thick and the rice was soft. The
refreshing taste of ginger soothed the throat and was not too overwhelming. The chicken was soft
and tender, complementing the slightly salty chicken broth.

Satisfied with the congee, he snuffed the flames and covered the stove, scooped out two healthy
servings into two bowls, and covered the pot. He peeled two hard boiled eggs, slicing them evenly,
before placing one set in each bowl. Then, Shen Qingqiu chopped up some scallions for garnish.
When he was done, he washed his hands clean and placed the bowls on a small dish before
bringing them over to the dining table.

Shen Qingqiu went back into the kitchen and took out two spoons to rest in the congee. Afterwards,
he went to a cupboard to grab a gongfu tray, a container of jasmine-infused tea leaves, and a tea set
– deciding to use a gaiwan in favor of the usual teapot. He arranged the tea set and the container of
jasmine tea on top of the gongfu tray before making his way back to the dining table.

After breakfast, Shen Qingqiu would begin teaching Shen Yuan about tea ceremony. Gaiwans
were an elegant brewing vessel but trickier to pour. It required a confident and steady hand to pour
properly. If done incorrectly, the vessel itself or the poorly poured tea liquor could burn the brewer.
Because it would be Shen Yuan’s first time using a gaiwan, Shen Qingqiu had decided to use
jasmine-infused green tea leaves for today’s lesson.

Green tea was delicate and required water that was neither too hot nor too cold. When brewed
properly, jasmine tea was sweet and mellow. If the water was too hot or if the leaves were steeped
for too long, the liquor would be harsh and bitter. If the water was too cold or if the leaves were not
steeped long enough, the tea’s flavor would be inadequate and could be likened to plain water.

A properly brewed cup of jasmine tea required attention to detail.

In his seat at the dining table, Shen Qingqiu waited.

The steam arising from the bowls before him grew thinner and thinner.

Outside, the sun rose higher.

Shen Qingqiu waited.

Just a little longer, he decided.

Perhaps the boy had overslept? If so, Shen Qingqiu could forgive him this once. However, he
would not be so lenient again.

Getting up, Shen Qingqiu lit a fire, boiled a kettle of water, and waited. When the kettle shrieked
and cried, he took it off the flames and placed the kettle on a bamboo coaster on the dining table.
By the time Shen Yuan would arrive, the water should have cooled enough to use on the tea leaves.

Shen Qingqiu sat and waited.

Just... a little bit longer.

The shadows grew shorter as the sun climbed the sky.

Still, he waited.

The food had already gone cold.

Just… A tiny bit longer…

The sun had reached its apex as Shen Jiu waited for a person who would not arrive.

Alone in his bamboo house, Shen Qingqiu took a spoonful of congee and brought it up to his lips.
It felt like ash in his mouth.

Tasteless.
Liu Qingge turned to look back at Shen Yuan as he carried Liu Mingyan back into the estate.
“Make yourself presentable. I will collect you for dinner.” He said shortly.

Shen Yuan looked down at his rumpled white Bai Zhan robes that had grass and mud stains all
over it.
“Ah...” Shen Yuan picked a clump of dirt off his robes. He supposed he wasn’t very presentable at
the moment.

Liu Qingge nodded. He swept off, leaving Shen Yuan to return to his guest quarters alone.

In his room, Shen Yuan found a set of neatly folded red and white robes on the bed. He shrugged
and changed into the clean clothes, folding his Bai Zhan robes and setting them off to the side. He
also brushed out his slightly mussed hair and re-tied it in his customary high ponytail. Then, he sat
down and waited to be called to dinner.

While Shen Yuan had proper manners for fine-dining drilled into him by Shen Qingqiu, he was
still a bit nervous for the upcoming banquet. It would be his first time attending one.

After a while, there was a knock at his door. Upon answering, Shen Yuan found that it was Liu
Qingge. The man looked at him and nodded once in satisfaction. He turned and gestured to Shen
Yuan to follow him.

Stepping out and closing the door behind him, Shen Yuan followed Liu Qingge through the grand
Liu estate once again. They arrived at a large dining hall that was lavishly decorated with elaborate
wall carvings and various paintings. Large decorative vases stood at the corners of the room and
the whole room was brightly lit with lanterns and light talismans. There was a large space for
performers at the front of the room, round tables with eight chairs arranged around them were set
up in rows .

Several other Liu family members arrived at the same time as Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge. Shen
Yuan observed them curiously as more and more people filtered into the dining hall and began to
take their seats at the tables along the sides of the room.

Liu Qingge guided Shen Yuan to the center table in the first row and directed him to sit. Shen
Yuan sat in his chair awkwardly as Liu Qingge sat to his right. The rest of the Liu family entered
the room. Liu Zhao entered the dining hall and nodded at Liu Qingge before taking the seat to
Shen Yuan’s left.

The rest of the main Liu family arranged themselves around the seats of the main table. Shen Yuan
discreetly waved hello to a still sleepy-looking Liu Mingyan.
A stately woman who was elegantly dressed with an elaborate crown set in her hair entered the
room and the quiet conversation that had filled the room disappeared. She was incredibly beautiful
and looked remarkably like Liu Qingge. If the man wore female clothing, Shen Yuan was sure the
Peak Lord would be able to pass as the lady herself. She sat herself down at the main table.

Liu Qingge gestured at Shen Yuan vaguely. “This is Shen Yuan.”

The woman smiled. “Welcome to our family, Shen Yuan.”

“Ah, thank you very much,” Shen Yuan said respectfully.

“How have you been finding your stay?” She asked gently.

“Ah, my stay has been quite nice so far, thank you,” Shen Yuan replied with a dip of his head.

The woman nodded, “I am the current head of the Liu family, the mother of our Liu Mingyu.” She
said, gesturing to Liu Qingge. “The one to your left is my father, Liu Zhao, and the one next to him
is his wife Hui Huan. Then we have my sister, Liu Jingyi and her husband Lu Shufen, parents of
Liu Fuling and Liu Sheng. Next is my daughter Liu Mingyan.”

Once she finished the introductions, Shen Yuan thought that would be the end of it. However, she
then gestured to the other tables. Shen Yuan’s eyes glazed over as Madam Liu continued
introducing him to the others in attendance. By the tenth person, the names and faces had all
blurred together.

Shen Yuan inclined his head in response as the introductions came to an end.

The servants came out with delicious looking appetizers. One servant placed crispy looking spring
rolls down in front of Shen Yuan while another brought over fresh lettuce wraps and steamed pork
buns. Another placed a teapot and eight teacups down by Madam Liu.

Liu Qingge’s mother took the pot of tea and filled the teacups before distributing them to the others
at the table.
Once everyone had their tea, Liu Zhao picked up his chopsticks and said, “Well then, let’s eat.”

Since the oldest person at the table had declared his intent to begin eating, the rest of the family
began to serve themselves from the platters before them.

Shen Yuan started off by picking from the dish closest to him, which happened to be spring rolls.

He had just put a spring roll down in his bowl when Liu Zhao’s wife spoke up. “So, Xiao Yuan…
How are you finding the estate? Has everyone been treating you well?”

“The estate is very beautiful but I haven’t had the chance to see very much of it just yet. Everyone I
have met has been very polite, ” Shen Yuan answered politely.

“I see. That is good, I hope you enjoy your time here at the Liu Estate… And please, do call me
Grandmother,” Liu Zhao’s wife said with a gentle smile.

“Xiao Yuan.” Madam Liu gave Shen Yuan a smile. “Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
How did you come to Cang Qiong Sect?”

“Ah… Well, I happened to come to Cang Qiong Mountain because it was recommended to me by
a friend. Before I came to the sect, I had been wandering for quite a while and I found my strength
lacking. I was told that Bai Zhan had the reputation for having the best swordsmen in the world.”

Unnoticed by Shen Yuan, Liu Qingge’s mouth ticked upwards slightly. Madam Liu’s sharp eyes
narrowed at her son.

“Hm… Seems that your manners are quite good despite your upbringing outside of the Liu
family.” Liu Sheng’s father said derisively, sipping his tea.

“Oh, Shizun is very particular about being proper in all things,” Shen Yuan commented.

Madam Liu paused in her eating and looked at her son. “Even eating? That doesn't sound like our
Mingyu.”
Liu Qingge’s eyes had narrowed and he looked slightly confused.

“Oh. Uh.” Shen Yuan awkwardly scratched the side of his face. “I meant my Shibo. Shen-Shibo,
he teaches me about the arts, etiquette and other things.”

Underneath the table Liu Qingge’s fists clenched and the tips of his ears reddened in anger.

Liu Zhao’s wife smiled indulgently at her grandson’s adorable reaction. Aw, he was embarrassed.
So that was the man her cute grandson had mentioned in the letter. It was so lovely that her
stubborn grandson had finally found someone.

Servants walked in with the main course dishes and conversation flagged as they piled plate after
plate of delicious looking foods on the table. A steaming plate of stir fried bamboo fungus was
placed on the table first, followed by king prawn noodles, vegetable fried rice, fried suckling pig,
stir fried vegetables, and steamed scallops.

Shen Yuan's eyes widened as the dishes just kept coming. Shark fin soup followed by abalone with
pak choi and duck feet, roasted chicken, steamed scallops, steamed grouper with green onions,
fried seafood rolls, and braised tofu with mushrooms were all loaded onto the table.

Liu Zhao’s wife began to serve herself from the main course dishes while she smiled at Shen Yuan.
“Maybe when our little Mingyu gets over himself, your Shen-Shibo can come visit with you.”

Shen Yuan thought this was quite reasonable and nodded politely.

Liu Qingge choked on his rice.

Madam Liu made sure to place a few vegetables in Liu Mingyan’s bowl before turning to Shen
Yuan and asking, “Does this Shen-Shibo also teach you combat? What have you been learning at
Bai Zhan?”

“Shen-Shibo has been helping me with my sword forms and recently he mentioned beginning
lessons on how to use a war fan in combat. At Bai Zhan, I first learned how to fight unarmed from
my Shijie and then I started Jian training with my Shixiong. My spars with my shixiong have
taught me the most so far. Oh, but my spars with Shizun have helped me identify a lot of
mistakes.” Shen Yuan answered.

“I see… Do you have any particular hobbies, Xiao Yuan?” Madam Liu asked.

“I enjoy training with my senior martial siblings and visiting Qing Jing peak’s library and learning
more about beasts.”

Grandma Liu looked fondly at the child. The more he spoke, the more nostalgic she felt. It was like
listening to a young Mingyu. Soon enough, their family’s Xiao Yuan would be off hunting those
beasts he likes so much, just like his father.

“Go ahead and eat some more, Xiao Yuan.” She reached over her husband to tuck more food into
Shen Yuan’s bowl. “You’re a growing boy.”

Shen Yuan received the food with grace and obediently ate. As he chewed he had a thought. “Does
Shizun often bring other students to his family?”

He wondered if this was a common thing for Liu Qingge to do. His family hadn’t seemed surprised
at all.

Madam Liu paused for a brief second, before lowering her chopsticks. “It is very rare for our
Mingyu to do so.” She gave her son a sharp smile. “Should he have? I was unaware our Mingyu
had others.”

Liu Qingge drank from his tea cup and frowned. “There are none, Mother.”

The aunty at the table sniffed. “So you say.”

Shen Yuan couldn’t remember her name.

“But Shizun,” Shen Yuan started. “What about Zhao-Shijie?”

“Xiao Yuan.” Madam Liu cooed. Her smile had yet to leave her face. “Who is this Zhao-Shijie of
yours?”

“One of my disciples, Mother.” Liu Qingge pursed his lips.

“Hush, you unfilial child. Let our Xiao Yuan speak.”

Shen Yuan hesitated, glancing at his Shizun. The man chewed his food mulishly at the rebuke.

“Um. My shijie Zhao Feiyan... She is really good at fighting! Everyone says she’s going to be the
next Bai Zhan head disciple.”

Madam Liu hummed. “Is that right?”

Shen Yuan nodded, making sure to chew his food properly like Shibo had taught – careful not to
spill anything on his borrowed robes. “Shijie is really strong. She’s been a really big help with my
training.”

“I see…” The Madam loftily took a sip of tea. “Are you two close?”

Shen Yuan tilted his head. “Um… Not particularly? Though, I always look forward to sparring
with Zhao-Shijie.”

Madam Liu gave him a searching look before seemingly finding his answer satisfactory. “Perhaps
in the future, Xiao Yuan can invite her over when he’s a little older.”

“Oh, I think she would be thrilled!” Shen Yuan replied brightly.

“Wonderful!” Grandma Liu’s eyes brightened with delight. “Xiao Yuan, be sure you bring that
Shijie of yours soon. This old woman would like to see another generation in her lifetime.”

“Grandmother is still young.” Shen Yuan smiled. Indeed, the woman still looked to be in her
thirties, cultivators really were amazing.
Grandma Liu melted slightly and smiled back. “Why, isn’t our Xiao Yuan such a sweet child?”

Liu Sheng’s father snorted softly. His wife nudged him under the table for his reaction.

Shen Yuan didn’t notice the man’s reaction. He was too busy trying to eat at a slow pace in order to
avoid stuffing his face like a hamster. He only looked up when he noticed several musicians walk
into the room with their instruments. The musicians set their instruments up in a corner of the
performing area. Several men and women dressed in elaborate costumes walked into the dining
hall and the light talismans on the ceiling dimmed slightly, lighting up only the performance area.

The musicians began to play, a soft calming melody filled the room and the dancers stepped into
the center of the performance area. Conversation in the dining hall died out as the dancers began
their routine.

Shen Yuan watched the graceful movements of the dancers in fascination. They moved as if they
were stepping on air, floating about the performance area and swaying to the beat of the music.

The music gradually began to pick up speed and the dancers shifted to accommodate the beat.
They leaped and performed elegant acrobatics and demonstrated skillful flexibility.

The music reached a peak and there was a burst of color as the dancers swayed around long red
ribbons.

A man and a woman fell to the floor in a graceful manner as the rest of the dancers surrounded
them with the ribbons.

The music peaked again and the ribbons were thrown high into the sky revealing a lone woman
brandishing bright red blade.

The lead female dancer quickly transitioned into a strikingly fast sword dance. It was energetic and
impassioned. Shen Yuan could tell that the lead dancer was quite the swordswoman from her
skillful handling of the sword.

Other dancers approached her with their own blades but were repelled by the main lead.
She defeated her foes one by one, leaving her the sole person standing. She brandished the sword
high into the air and performed one last flourish with the blade, simultaneously pulling out red and
white ribbons for a dramatic finish.

Shen Yuan clapped enthusiastically along with the rest of the Liu family. The performers and
musicians all stood and bowed, the dancers left quickly leaving the musicians to continue playing
soft music for the rest of the meal.

“So, Xiao Yuan, what did you think of the dance?” Madam Liu asked curiously.

“Oh, I thought it was a wonderful performance! Truly spectacular.” Shen Yuan praised. “Was
there a story behind it?”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it.” Madam Liu smiled. “It was the story of Liu Xiulan – the Liu founder –
and Xue Baiyue.”

Shen Yuan tilted his head.

“Long ago,” she began, “back when cultivation was not so widely practiced, Young Liu Xiulan
was promised to the young master of the Xue family, Xue Baiyue.”

Liu Sheng’s father scoffed under his breath. “The Xue? Peh! No better than demons…”

Madam Liu continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “However, when they were about your age, Xiao
Yuan, a war broke out and very soon, Liu Xiulan and Xue Baiyue were the only survivors of their
clans.”

Shen Yuan leaned forward. “What happened next?”

“A tragedy occurred,” Madam Liu answered solemnly. “No one is quite sure what exactly
happened. Some say the two were betrayed. Others say they had been ambushed. No matter which
version is told, the ending remains the same.”

Shen Yuan blinked up at her. “The end?”

“Yes. In all versions of the story, Xue Baiyue gives up his life to save Liu Xiulan. Mortally
wounded, he collapses in Liu Xiulan’s arms. Despite knowing the inevitability of his death, he still
wishes to protect his beloved and stay by her side. The heavens above must have heard his wish,
because as he took his last breath, he was transformed.”

Shen Yuan furrowed his brows in confusion. “‘Transformed’?” He tried to recall the scene in the
play.

“That is correct. Xue Baiyue’s last wish came true. That very night, under the full moon, Xue
Baiyue became Yueguang Xiaxue – our ancestor Liu Xiulan’s spirit sword. Aptly named for the
blood spilt beneath the moonlight.”

Shen Yuan inhaled sharply, and proceeded to choke on his own spit.

Liu Qingge sighed and offered the boy a cup of tea. Shen Yuan accepted it gratefully and drank to
clear his throat. After a while, he managed to collect himself enough to ask a hoarse question.
“...He became a sword?”

Madam Liu nodded. “That’s correct. Liu Xiulan later went on to fight in the war with Yueguang
Xiaxue at her side and revive the Liu clan. They say, however, that she never was able to love
anyone else after Xue Baiyue.”

“Whe- where is the sword now?”

Madam Liu shook her head, gracefully refilling her teacup. “No one knows. After Liu Xiulan
ended the war, they say her body was encased in light. Perhaps it disappeared with her death.”

As dinner drew to a close, the silent Liu Zhao spoke suddenly. “Mingyu,” he said. “We haven’t
sparred in a while.”

Liu Qingge nodded solemnly. “Tomorrow.”

 Liu Zhao nodded back.

Shen Yuan stared at Liu Qingge. He was sure he didn’t want to miss this spar. This was bound to
be a fight between two masters.

Despite having witnessed countless clashes between peak level swordsmen in the past, Shen Yuan
was excited to be able to watch a fight in his human form for once. Also, there was always
something new to learn from fights between masters.

They finished their delicious dinner with a bowl of sweet red bean soup. Liu Mingyan excitedly
asked for more when she was served. She pouted when she was told there was no more. Shen
Yuan laughed and gave her his own bowl of soup, making Madam Liu smile softly.

After dinner Shen Yuan was walked back to his room by Liu Qingge.

During the walk back Liu Qingge had a rather thoughtful look on his face. Just as they reached
Shen Yuan’s rooms Liu Qingge stopped and turned to Shen Yuan.

His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed to ask Shen Yuan, “Why do
you go to Shen Qingqiu so much?”

Shen Yuan tilted his head and considered the question. “Well, Shen-Shibo offered his time to me
and he has been helping me with a lot of things besides just cultivation. I’ve been able to focus on
my sword play better with the other things he has been teaching me. Oh and he has quite the
extensive knowledge on beasts! It's fascinating to have discussions with him,” he answered
brightly.

Liu Qingge lowered his head and touched his chin consideringly. “Beasts,” he mused. “Very well.
Good night then.” And with that, he turned to leave.

“Ah, good night Shizun,” Shen Yuan replied, watching Liu Qingge walk off.

Chapter End Notes

Q: My cat is slowly becoming more affectionate and I’m dying of cuteness.
Hnnnnnng. Thank you all so much for the support! Thank you all for the wonderful
comments! I’m currently trying to keep my cat from stepping on the keyboard hahah!
Happy birthday to flatasafryingpan and big thanks to her for drawing the art for this
chapter!!!

M: Happy birthday to Bread, our unpaid intern (aka: flatasafryingpan) lol. She's the
newest member of our team and now our official artist hahaha. Please feel free to join
our new discord for more art and future discord-only side stories :)

Join Our Discord!

 Aftershock
Chapter Summary

Some introspection and a fight. Cang Qiong disciple tries out new face mask.

Chapter Notes

Trigger Warning: Abandonment Issues

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Chapter 47: Aftershock

In the dawn of morning, Shen Qingqiu’s fingers idly traced the form of the chair before him.

Every morning, a certain little boy would come into his home and sit in this very chair.

Every morning, Shen Qingqiu would run his fingers and comb through those unruly locks.
Every morning, Shen Qingqiu would tie it up into something presentable.

Every morning, Shen Qingqiu…

Shen Jiu would…

But yesterday, no one came.

He was alone.

Again.

No one had come.

He had waited.
And waited

And waited...
But still…

No one had come.

Useless!

Shen Qingqiu grit his teeth. His light caress turned into a tight grip – the wood of the chair pressing
harshly against his palm.
He felt ridiculous.

Why did he think this would be any different?

Why did he hope–

No.
Shen Yuan wouldn’t…

His…
 Qi-Ge

Yuan’er…

He wouldn’t do this to him.

He couldn’t do this to him.
He couldn’t…

He wasn’t like–
 Qi-Ge, you’ll come back, right?

He was different.
 “Of course, Xiao Jiu.”

Shen Jiu closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, collapsing onto the chair.
Let me just…
Wait a little...

Longer…
Perhaps yesterday had been a fluke.

Qi-Ge was coming.

Maybe the boy had just overslept.
 “Xiao Jiu… Wait for your Qi-Ge, alright?”

Maybe he had gotten lost.

Qi-Ge promised.
Maybe he had to go to Qian Cao.

He just had to wait a little longer, is all.

Maybe.

Maybe.
Maybe...
Maybe today he would come back.
Shen Yuan opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room. He looked around in confusion until he hazily
remembered that Liu Qingge had brought him to meet his family. He looked out of the window at
the sun. It seemed that the sun had already been up for quite some time. Had he missed the fight
between Liu Zhao and Liu Qingge?

Shen Yuan shot out of bed and dressed hastily. He quickly made his way out to the giant field
where he had fought Liu Zhao. When he arrived, he saw only a few members of the Liu family in
the field making idle conversation with one another. They appeared to be watching over Liu
Mingyan and her group of friends as the children chased each other around the field. A few Liu
family members were crouched inside the fighting ring drawn on the ground. There were scuff
marks in the ring indicating a fight had taken place, the men appeared to be restoring the ground to
its previous unmarked condition.

Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao were nowhere to be seen.

Shen Yuan made his way over to the children. The children perked up at the sight of him and
crowded around him happily with calls of “Shen-Gege!”.
Shen Yuan laughed at the attention and patted the children on their heads as they clamoured for his
attention.

“Shen-Zhizhi! Shen-Zhizhi! Where were you? You missed the best part! ” Liu Mingyan exclaimed,
tugging at his sleeves with a pout.

“Really...?” Shen Yuan asked, deflating slightly.

“Yeah! You missed it!” Liu Sheng said hopping up on Liu Mingyan’s right.

“Ah… that's too bad then.” Shen Yuan said, shoulders slumping.

Shen Yuan turned to leave the training grounds. If he had missed the spar, then he might as well
get a little bit more sleep while he could. But he was stopped by a tug on his sleeve.

“Shen-Zhizhi, where are you going? Don’t you want to see how cool Gege is?” Liu Mingyan
looked up at him with wide eyes.

Shen Yuan paused. “I thought that I missed the best part though?”

“Yeah! You missed the poof-wooow!” Liu Mingyan declared, spreading her arms out wide and
pointing at the men working in the fighting ring.

“Huh?”

“So that the flashy-flashies don’t go out of the circle!”

Shen Yuan tilted his head. “‘The…‘flashy-flashies’?”

“Yeah! Where they go- whoosh! And then flash! And then bang!” Liu Sheng shouted, waving his
arms wildly, as if to demonstrate.
“Oh, um. I see?” Shen Yuan said hesitantly. He was just glad that he apparently hadn’t missed the
spar just yet.

“Mhm!” Liu Mingyan nodded in a satisfied manner, glad that her Zhizhi understood her.

“Look! Look! There they come!” Liu Sheng pointed back at the estate, bouncing in place.

Shen Yuan turned to look. Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao were leading a large group of Liu family
members to the training field.

Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao split off from the large group and walked into the ring together. The
moment they stepped over the line, a bright barrier flickered into place, enclosing the two men in a
large dome.

The rest of the Liu family gathered a distance away from the dome chatting amongst themselves
about the upcoming duel. Shen Yuan stayed with Liu Mingyan and her friends at the opposite end
of the field. They had arrived early so they had an excellent front row spot.

Without a word, Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao took up spots opposite of each other inside of the circle.
They unsheathed their swords and took their stances.

Shen Yuan inhaled sharply.

Liu Qingge had just unsheathed Cheng Luan, his spiritual sword. Shen Yuan glanced at Liu Zhao.
The other man held a gleaming spiritual blade in his hands as well.

They were using live blades for this spar?!

Shen Yuan felt a spark of excitement go off inside of him. He closed his eyes and reached out
towards the swords held in the two Liu’s hands. It was a subtle skill in his arsenal that didn’t give
off resentful energy.

He hadn’t ever properly communicated with a spiritual weapon aside from Su Xiyan’s so he was
excited to try it out with these two weapons.
Su Xiyan’s spiritual weapon had adored its master. It was a sword filled with memories of Su
Xiyan’s elegant movements and her time spent fighting side by side with Tianlang-jun. Shen Yuan
was fond of the sword. It always had the best memories of Su Xiyan to share. Even after her death,
the sword still acted like a highlight reel of the best moments of Su Xiyan’s life.

The moment Shen Yuan’s skill touched upon Cheng Luan, he was immediately bombarded with
Cheng Luan’s impressions of eagerness for the upcoming spar. As if it had sensed him, Liu
Qingge’s sword threw memories at Shen Yuan – of slaying great beasts and of Liu Qingge’s
heroism – almost as if bragging about its master.

On the other hand, Liu Zhao’s sword radiated with experience – though there was still quite a bit of
battle lust in the blade. Impressions of long strings of combo attacks were transmitted to Shen
Yuan.

Shen Yuan reeled slightly from the amount of knowledge that the two swords threw at him.
However, it gave him a much better idea of how Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao would fight.

Meanwhile, Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao continued to stare at each other, unmoving in their respective
stances.

The two men’s eyes were hard and vigilant, each assessing the other with focused concentration.

All the spectators seemed to be holding their breaths along with the stillness of the combatants.
Shen Yuan too, stared in single minded focus at two unmoving statues in the circle. The children
by Shen Yuan’s side, however, twitched and fidgeted in their seats.

Suddenly, the two men disappeared in a burst of speed on an unknown cue. The children perked up
immediately as a shower of sparks exploded on one side of the ring. Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao
appeared for a brief second with their blades interlocked. The two men disappeared again instantly,
reappearing on the other side of the ring once more with blades locked.

Both men appeared evenly matched in speed. Neither gave the other any respite as they clashed,
both trying to gain an advantage over the other as they met head on.

Shen Yuan watched intently. Both cultivators were using Qi to enhance their bodies. The speed
with which they fought put Zhao Feiyan’s eye blurring moves to shame. But despite their speed,
Shen Yuan was still able to keep up with their movements and see each individual action clearly.

With a complicated foot work maneuver, Liu Qingge gained the advantage – striking out at Liu
Zhao and drawing first blood with a slight scratch to the side of the man’s face.

Liu Qingge personified a violent storm with his swift and furious attacks. Liu Zhao embodied an
old willow tree weathering the storm with its soft and flowing branches.

Liu Qingge advanced upon Liu Zhao with an unrelenting flurry of blows. Liu Zhao weaved his way
through the hail of blows deflecting strikes and parrying. Liu Zhao leapt backwards from the
assault and slashed at the air. A bright sword beam flew from his blade only to be deflected harshly
by a sharp swipe from Liu Qingge. The sword beam flew off to the side and crashed into the
barrier array that surrounded the two.

Liu Mingyan cheered for the appearance of the first “flashy-flash.”

Shen Yuan absently patted her on the head, too engrossed by the fight.

Liu Zhao wasn’t deterred by the deflection of his attack. He unleashed a veritable hailstorm of
sword beams in Liu Qingge’s direction.

Liu Qingge inhaled and centered himself. He raised his sword. He went on the defensive,
deflecting and parrying the incoming sword beams while sending out a few of his own.

Shen Yuan noticed that Liu Qingge could have countered each of Liu Zhao’s sword beams with
one of his own, but didn’t. Was the man planning on conserving his Qi to wait out Liu Zhao?

Shen Yuan reassessed the fight as he noticed Liu Qingge maneuvering closer and closer to Liu
Zhao. As soon as Liu Qingge re-entered Liu Zhao’s range Liu Zhao abandoned his previous tactic
of firing off sword beams and engaged Liu Qingge first.

Liu Zhao swiftly entered a quick and deadly attack combo that quickly pulled all of Liu Qingge’s
attention. Liu Zhao drew blood from a small scratch on Liu Qingge’s arm. Liu Qingge seemed
completely focused on defending against the onslaught, but suddenly, Liu Zhao made a hooking
motion with his hand. Liu Qingge’s Cheng Luan went flying into the air. But before the older man
could capitalize Liu Qingge immediately followed up with a blow to Liu Zhao’s hand that sent the
other man’s sword skittering across the ground.

Both swords landed a distance away.

Not even glancing at their swords, Liu Qingge and Liu Zhao rushed each other. The moment one
man made to make a hand sign and call back their blade, the other would intercept.

Liu Zhao leaned outside of the way of a furious haymaker and sharply directed his sword into the
air with a flick of his wrist. Liu Qingge’s Cheng Luan flew into the air in hot pursuit and rushed to
intercept the other blade.

In the air two swords danced and clashed with bright flashes of light while on the ground, Liu
Qingge and Liu Zhao dueled barehanded with sharp hand gestures to direct their blades.

With two different fights happening simultaneously, the spectators were torn between watching the
dance-like movements of the bare handed fighters versus the sharp flashing lights of the blades.

Shen Yuan sorely missed his 360 degree vision as he tracked both the swords and the hand to hand
fight. He marveled at the ability of the fighters to split their concentration in such a manner.

Both fighters seemed equally matched in their barehanded prowess. Devastating blows were easily
parried away – heavy punches were deflected.

A sharp crack rang out overhead and Cheng Luan sent Liu Zhao’s sword flying off to the side. The
sword spun out of Liu Zhao’s control and embedded itself in the dirt outside of the circle.

Liu Zhao broke off from the hand to hand fight and his sword flew back to his hand from where it
had landed.

Meanwhile, Cheng Luan had returned to Liu QIngge‘s hands once again as well.

Without an ounce of hesitation, both men leapt at each other and began trading blows once again.
Liu Qingge slashed down at Liu Zhao who directed the slash off to the side. Liu Qingge spun on
his heel and blocked a side swipe. Liu Zhao flowed with the rebound of his blade and transitioned
into another long combo of attacks. Liu Qingge stood his ground and with swift flicks of his arm,
knocked away Liu Zhao’s attacks. Liu Zhao twisted and swung his sword upward. Liu Qingge
leaned out of the path of the blade and stepped forward into a strong horizontal strike. Liu Zhao
blocked but staggered under the force of the strike.

Liu Qingge took advantage and pressed Liu Zhao back. Liu Zhao’s foot work became messier as he
was forced back to the edge of the circle. Liu Zhao endured several more harsh blows and in a
small opening struck out at Liu Qingge. But Liu Qingge twisted his arm and flicked his wrist and
Liu Zhao’s blade went spinning into the air.

Liu Qingge’s blade stopped at Liu Zhao’s throat.

“Yield,” Liu Qingge commanded.

Liu Zhao smiled wryly and nodded. “I yield.”

Liu Qingge lowered his blade and the spectating family exploded into excited cheers.

Liu Mingyan and her group of friends jumped up and down excitedly, tugging on Shen Yuan’s
clothes as they yelled.

“Gege’s really amazing, isn’t he!!” Liu Mingyan exclaimed, smiling brightly up at Shen Yuan.

“Yes, Shizun’s really amazing,” Shen Yuan replied, looking down at her with a smile.

Liu Zhao collected his fallen sword and walked up to Liu Qingge and said, “I see your time away
from the family has not allowed your skills to decay. Good.”

Liu Qingge nodded back with a hint of red at the tips of his ears. “It was a good fight.”

Liu Zhao nodded at Liu Qingge. “Indeed. Now, it's time for these old bones to rest. Do you
understand?”
Liu Qingge’s eyes hardened. “I do.” He looked over at Shen Yuan who was busy being tugged
around by the children. “But the choice is up to him.”

Shen Yuan, meanwhile, was dealing with a sword that had found the mind that had contacted it.
Cheng Luan was poking at him, sending him memories of Liu Qingge asking different opponents
to fight. It appeared that Cheng Luan wanted to test its might against Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan sent a small, “later,” to try and get the sword to calm down.

Cheng Luan sent back an impression of Liu Qingge making a promise with his family.

Shen Yuan sent the sword a vague impression of a nod.

Satisfied, the sword stopped sending images at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan sighed quietly as Liu Qingge walked up to him.

“Xiao Yuan,” Liu Qingge said sharply. “Come. We’re leaving.”

“Oh, already?” Shen Yuan asked, looking up at the man.

Liu Qingge nodded once. Then, he turned and began walking back to the Liu estate.

Shen Yuan bid goodbye to the children who clung to him whining. He gently pried them off of
himself and hurried to follow after his Shizun.

He glanced up at the sky. It was still early.

Perhaps by the time they returned, Shen Yuan would be able to make it back in time for lunch.
While the Liu manor’s food was delicious, he missed the food in Qing Jing Peak.
Idly, Shen Yuan wondered what would be for lunch.

Alone in his bamboo house, Shen Qingqiu sat at his dining table.

How many hours had it been?

He couldn’t remember.

The sun was shining brightly outside. The shadows had shortened. The birds were singing.
And yet...

The bowls of wonton soup he had painstakingly prepared had long gone cold.
What an idiot.

Shen Qingqiu let out a derisive scoff.

No one had come.

As always.
It was the same.

No one ever comes.

Shen Qingqiu grit his teeth.
Everyone was all the same.

How could he think anything would be different?

How could be stupid enough to get his hopes up?

Pathetic.
His hands clenched into tight fists in his lap.

This was ridiculous.

He was ridiculous.

In a fit of anger – with Shen Yuan, with himself – his arm swiped across the table, scattering the
dishes and sending the food flying.

Then–

“Ahh!” A voice yelped.

 Shen Qingqiu startled and whipped his head around.

“Shizun…”

Standing before him was his miserable-looking disciple – bits of wonton soup dripping down from
his face.

Chapter End Notes

Q: Heyyyyyyyy as always thank you so much for the support! Im die! I also cannot
believe how many people have joined the discord! Its really blowing my mind! Thank
you all so much!

M: Thanks so much for joining our discord! Again, we still have some people who
have joined but have not introduced themselves. Please introduce yourselves in the
#introduction-center!!! You will not be able to unlock the rest of the server
without doing so!

Also, please keep away from sensitive topics such as politics in the server. We're here
to have fun and be friendly!
 Wonton Affairs
Chapter Summary

Chen Tian gets a face mask and Shen Yuan trains.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 48: Wonton Affairs

Chen Tian listened patiently to the last of the briefings of the Qing Jing Hall Masters.

He glanced down at the reports he was writing for Shizun and flicked through them checking that
everything was in order.

The last Hall Master, a recently appointed disciple came up to deliver her report. She had been
chosen to replace the previous artifacts Hall Master who had been injured during Shen Yuan’s
disastrous Qi deviation.

“A-and regarding the-the artifacts that have b-been damaged… M-most of the artifacts wer-were
easily replaced but one or t-two are still in need of repairs. The list is-is in the report,” she stuttered
out.

Chen Tian smiled at her kindly and gestured for her to go on with her report. She seemed extra
twitchy when it came to discussing the progress of the more senior disciples. Chen Tian idly
wondered if he should talk to Shizun about swapping her assignment with another Hall Master.
Perhaps with the one in charge of calligraphy?

She hesitantly finished her report and sat back down as Chen Tian regarded the room of Hall
Masters with a kind smile.

“Alright, this should be enough, everyone. Thank you for all of your reports and good job on your
progress so far. Oh, and Xiang-shidi, your request for additional supplies has been approved by
Shizun. You should be getting them from An Ding within the week. Also everyone, please make
sure to keep a close eye on the disciples today. Shizun has been in a bad mood lately, and you all
know what that means. Dismissed.”

Chen Tian looked over the reports one last time as the Hall Masters filtered out of the room. He
nodded to himself once he was sure that nothing was missing and stood to make his way to
Shizun’s house. He wondered what was the cause of Shizun’s bad mood this time. These moods
were usually triggered by a visit from the Sect Leader or Liu-shishu and could last a good week. It
was better not to further upset Shizun during his snits. Liu-shishu hadn't been around recently so it
was most likely the Sect Leader again.

It was unfortunate that Shizun was in such a bad mood though. Just yesterday, the man had gifted
Chen Tian with an entire pot of delicious congee that he had shared with the rest of the disciples. It
had been a little cold, but it had been simple to reheat.

The sun was high in the sky as Chen Tian reached the bamboo house. He checked his clothes and
made sure there were no wrinkles or dust. He didn’t want to give Shizun a reason to get even more
upset. Chen Tian squared his shoulders and prepared a sunny smile for his shizun and knocked on
the door.

Chen Tian waited expectantly for the door to be opened, but no one answered.

Chen Tian tilted his head. That was strange. Shizun would have normally answered by now.

Chen Tian knocked again and called out, “Shizun! It's me, Chen Tian! I brought the weekly reports
with me!”

Still, no one answered the door.

Perhaps Shizun was out? He hadn’t been looking well yesterday… Maybe he was at Qian Cao? In
that case, it would be better for Chen Tian to leave the reports on Shizun’s desk.

Chen Tian pushed open the door to his Shizun’s house and walked in.

It was still and oddly quiet inside of the house.

Stepping inside, Chen Tian walked over to his Shizun’s desk and placed the reports down on it.

He was about to leave when he saw a subtle movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to see
his Shizun sitting at the dining table with his head lowered.

“Ah! Shizun you were here?” Chen Tian asked in surprise.

Except, Shen Qingqiu didn’t react to being addressed.

Worried, Chen Tian hesitantly walked up to his Shizun and called him softly, “Shizun?”

Suddenly, Shen Qingqiu swept his arm out and lashed out at the dishes sitting on the dining table.

Chen Tian yelped as the dishes were swept off the table and he was doused in a wave of wonton
soup. The bowl had smacked him in the face before falling to a clatter onto the floor.

Shen Qingqiu’s head snapped up at the sound of Chen Tian’s yelp. His head whipped around to
look at Chen Tian.

Chen Tian looked down at his soaked robes and looked up at his Shizun. “Shizun…”

Shen Qingqiu’s hand reached up slightly before it retreated. His mouth opened slightly. “Ah…”

Chen Tian wiped his eyes with his damp sleeve.

The two stared at each other blankly for a second.

Something was terribly off.

Then, Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth and Chen Tian struggled to hear him. “...uan’er…”
The air grew stifling.

Chen Tian’s eyes widened and he tensed.

As if on cue, Shen Qingqiu suddenly gasped and clutched his chest. He leaned over the table
breathing harshly. From his spot, Chen Tian could feel the startling, tell-tale sign of an impending
Qi deviation. Shen Qingqiu’s Qi was beginning to go haywire.

“Shizun!” Chen Tian rushed up to the man. But just as he was about to put a hand on his teacher’s
shoulder, Shen Qingqiu’s hand snapped up and slapped his hand away.

“Get away!” Shen Qingqiu roared. His eyes were hazy as he staggered to his feet away from Chen
Tian.

Chen Tian stumbled backwards with a grimace on his face. Shen Qingqiu’s Qi was badly
disturbed. It was starting to lash out, saturating the air.

Shen Qingqiu swayed on his feet before he took a shaky step forward. “....uan’er… I have to find…
Yuan’er…”

Shen Qingqiu slowly staggered towards the entrance of the bamboo house.

Chen Tian hurried to block the door and stop the man from leaving. “Shizun! You need to calm
down! You’re Qi deviating! You shouldn’t go anywhere!”

Shen Qingqiu’s hazy eyes focused on Chen Tian’s form and his face contorted into a mask of
anger. “Get out of my way! Don’t stop me!”

Chen Tian ducked under a wild swipe and frowned. He reached into his sleeves and pulled out
several barrier seals that he kept on him at all times. He threw them at the ground and they
activated in a bright flash of blue. A sturdy barrier sprang up in front of Chen Tian, preventing
Shen Qingqiu from advancing any further.
Shen Qingqiu roared in frustration as he stumbled into the barrier. He punched the barrier
ineffectively. “Let me out! I have to find him!”

Chen Tian backed away from the barrier quickly as he saw Shen Qingqiu beginning to gather Qi in
his fist for an attack. He quickly laid a few more barriers down. It wouldn’t take his shizun long to
destroy one, but having to destroy multiple barriers would at least slow him down long enough for
Chen Tian to return with help.

“Shizun, I’m sorry! I’ll go get help! Please stay there for now!” Chen Tian yelled over his shoulder
as he unsheathed his sword and stepped onto it. He took to the air in an instant. A blast resounded
from behind him as he began flying as fast as he could to Qian Cao. The barriers wouldn’t last very
long under the assault of a Peak Lord, even if the Peak Lord was Qi deviating.

Chen Tian squinted his eyes against the wind as he flew. Shizun’s Qi deviations were never easy to
deal with. It seemed like this would be an especially hard one to weather if Shizun didn’t even
recognize him.

Chen Tian’s scarred lips quirked nervously. ‘On the bright side, at least Shizun’s Qi deviations
don’t cause massive storms.’

Chen Tian shot through the air on his sword, barely slowing down enough to ensure he wouldn't
crash into the side of Qian Cao Peak's hospital.

In Qian Cao Peak, Mu Qingfang sat in his office as he listened to Hua Heilian’s report.

“The patients have been making steady progress, Shizun,” she informed. “The night terrors have
been slowly declining in frequency.”

“Have there been any violent outbursts lately?”

Hua Heilian shook her head. “Negative, Shizun. Not to the point where physical restraints have
been required.”
Mu Qingfang nodded. “The medicine?”

“We’ve had to discontinue the use of Calming Tea for the patients who had been the closest to the
point of origin. They had begun showing tolerance to it due to chronic ingestion. However it has
still shown to be effective for patients that have had only mild symptoms.”

Just as Mu Qingfang was about to ask for further details, a frantic knocking at his office window
interrupted him.

“Mu-shishu!” A familiar muffled voice called out in distress, “Mu-shishu! Mu-shishu, are you
there?!”

Concerned, Mu Qingfang got up to open the window. It was Chen Tian, hovering in place upon his
spirit sword.

Just as he was about to ask what sort of predicament Chen Tian found himself in once again, he
noticed how harried the boy looked. He also appeared to be drenched and had a stray wonton in his
hair.

“Mu-shishu! Please come quickly! Shizun is having a Qi deviation!” Chen Tian pleaded.

“I see.” Mu Qingfang quickly patted his hip to confirm the presence of his qiankun pouch.
Satisfied that he indeed had his medical supplies, Mu Qingfang turned to Hua Heilian and said,
“Heilian you’re in charge while I’m gone” before turning back to the Qing Jing head disciple.
“Lead the way,” Mu Qingfang ordered, quickly drawing his sword.

“Yes, Shishu!” Chen Tian maneuvered his sword to fly back towards Qing Jing Peak. The Qian
Cao Peak Lord followed close behind.

“How long has it been since he started deviating?” Mu Qingfang shouted over the wind at Chen
Tian as they zipped through the air.

“Just a few minutes! I was there when he started to deviate and I immediately put up a barrier to
keep him from going anywhere and flew to Qian Cao!” Chen Tian shouted back.
“Has your shizun been acting off in the past few days?” Mu Qingfang asked.

“Ah, he was very upset just yesterday! Moodier than usual!”

“How was he before he started to deviate?”

“He hadn’t answered the door when I knocked and I found him sitting at the dining table staring
blankly at the food! Then he lashed out and scattered the food across the floor! He muttered
something about finding his “Yuan’er” before he started to deviate!”

“I see.” Mu Qingfang stroked his chin thoughtfully before turning back to the young man. “Don’t
think that this means your restriction has been lifted, Shizhi.”

“Ah…” Chen Tian wilted atop his sword. “Yes, Shishu…”

Chen Tian and Mu Qingfang touched down in front of the bamboo house, just in time to witness
the last barrier Chen Tian placed shatter with a crack and a bright burst of light.

Shen Qingqiu staggered out of the house drunkenly. He looked pale and was breathing harshly. His
eyes were hazed and he was trembling faintly.

“Shen-shixiong,” Mu Qingfang called out to him. The other Peak Lord, however, didn’t seem to
hear him. Mu Qingfang tried again and cautiously made his way closer, carefully noting the other
man’s response. “Shen-shixiong, do you recognize me?”

Shen Qingqiu failed to respond.

“Shen-shixiong,” Mu Qingfang tried once more, “do you know where you are?”

Again, there was nothing.

‘Patient does not respond appropriately to his own name. No recognition,’ Mu Qingfang noted.
‘Disoriented.’
As he went closer, he noticed Shen Qingqiu quietly muttering.

“...uan’er… Where is he?” Mu Qingfang heard him mumble. “Where is my Yuan’er? Who took…?
Where did he go…?”

‘Patient is agitated,’ he noted. ‘Speech is monotonous but clear, with increased latency. Soft
volume. Impoverished speech. Possible hallucination present.”

“Shen-shixiong,” Mu Qingfang called to him with a clear voice. “It’s me, your Mu-shidi.” He made
his way to Shen Qingqiu carefully. As he got even closer, he could sense the disturbed Qi in his
shixiong. “You are experiencing a Qi deviation.”

The man did not respond. Instead, he continued to stagger onwards.

‘Non-hostile but fixated. Possibility of turning hostile if fixation is obstructed?’

Mu Qingfang stood in front of Shen Qingqiu at arm’s length. Despite the other Peak Lord’s
disorientation, Mu Qingfang still made the effort to announce his actions, lest the other man
misconstrue it as an attack. “Shixiong, I’m going to grab your arms to try and regulate your Qi.”

However, before he could reach Shen Qingqiu, the other man lashed out and swiped his hand. “Get
out of my way!” Shen Qingqiu roared, Qi flaring in agitation.

Mu Qingfang jumped back to create space between them and frowned. ‘Patient is hostile.’ He
would have to sedate the other man in order to proceed with treatment.

Mu Qingfang reached into his sleeves. His arm blurred and shot forward towards Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu fell to his knees and collapsed in a heap with a needle sticking out of his neck.

Chen Tian yelped and ran up to his shizun with Mu Qingfang trailing behind him.
Chen Tian rolled Shen Qingqiu on his back, his hands fluttered nervously over his Shizun as he
hesitated on what to do next. Mu Qingfang sighed and pushed the boy out of the way and began
channeling Qi into Shen Qingqiu’s body to calm his spiritual energy.

“Shizun,” Shen Yuan said as he hurried to keep up with Liu Qingge’s brisk pace. “Shizun, are we
going back to Cang Qiong now?”

“Who said anything about going back to Cang Qiong?” Liu Qingge replied sternly, not pausing his
long strides in the least.

“Eh? But didn’t you say that we were leaving?” Shen Yuan asked.

“Yes,” Liu Qingge said bluntly.

“Oh. Where are we going?”

Liu Qingge didn’t respond. His pace quickened considerably and Shen Yuan stopped asking
questions in favor of trying to keep pace with the man.

They walked a fair distance away from the main Liu family compound until they got to a very
densely wooded area.

Liu Qingge walked up to a rather innocuous looking tree and placed his hand on it. A glowing
array lit up the tree and suddenly, instead of a densely wooded area, an elaborate set of obstacle
courses and large flat plain were revealed.

Liu Qingge stepped forward towards the obstacle courses and motioned Shen Yuan along. “These
are the private Liu family training grounds for the heir of the family. You will be training here for
the rest of the week.”

Shen Yuan nodded his head.

Liu Qingge crossed his arms and looked at Shen Yuan sternly. “Do you understand?” He asked
after a while.

Shen Yuan nodded. He would be training in this area for the next week, what was so hard to
understand?

Liu Qingge studied Shen Yuan as if he were looking for something. Once satisfied, he nodded to
himself once. “Zufu and I will be training you as well. So prepare yourself. Today you will be
running the first of these courses. Get going.”

Shen Yuan dutifully saluted Liu Qingge and ran up to the closest obstacle course to begin his
training.

“Hah!” Shen Yuan shouted, striking out at Liu Zhao who nimbly danced out of the way.

“Keep your waist straight!” Liu Zhao snapped, thrusting his practice Jian out and jabbing Shen
Yuan in the chest sharply.

Shen Yuan coughed from the force of the blow and stumbled back. After a pause to regain his
breath, Shen Yuan dashed forward at Liu Zhao once again with his sword raised for a very
telegraphed strike.

He immediately received a harsh smack to the stomach.

“Brace your stomach!” Liu Zhao scolded.

Shen Yuan doubled over from the force of the blow but straightened up almost immediately to
resume his attacks.

Liu Zhao smirked at the fast bounce back and dodged another strike. He flipped away from Shen
Yuan and held up his hand pausing the spar. “Good. You learn quickly. We are done for today.”
Shen Yuan relaxed from his stance and nodded at Liu Zhao. He bowed and said, “Thanking
Grandfather for his guidance.”

“Yes, of course my child,” Liu Zhao said, patting Shen Yuan on the head. ”Now, was there
anything specific that you wanted for dinner tonight? A treat for how well you did.“

“Ah, thank you so much Grandfather.” Shen Yuan straightened, shuffling in place as he made his
request. “Um… could we have wonton noodles?”

“Hmm… I don’t see why not. Well then, I believe Fengyu wanted you at the waterfall for
meditation.” And with one final pat on the shoulder, Liu Zhao turned and started walking back to
the Liu estate.

Shen Yuan hummed thoughtfully while he watched the man go.

Liu Qingge had him practicing a different form of meditation during his stay at the Liu family. He
was to practice staying calm despite the environment. Instead of the quiet bamboo house that he
was accustomed to, Shen Yuan had to meditate by the roaring waterfall. Shen Yuan would often
see the silver flashes of fish moving through the water from the corners of his eyes making it hard
for him to concentrate. Of course when this happened, Liu Qingge would bark out a harsh “Focus!
Clear your mind!” And then begin meditating on his own.

Shen Yuan sighed, it was such a change in pace. He sort of missed his classes with Shen Qingqiu.

Liu Qingge would correct Shen Yuan a lot less often compared to Shen Qingqiu, but he would
always point out when Shen Yuan began leaking Qi. It was very different from his lessons with
Shen Qingqiu, who would often correct him before he could even start leaking Qi. In fact, he found
that he just couldn’t concentrate as well compared to his time with Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Yuan left the private training grounds and headed to the waterfall.

It was during his walk back that Shen Yuan encountered a small group of young cultivators
wearing the Liu family colors hanging out together in a clearing in the woods by a small stream.
Some were leaning on trees, some sat on the ground or atop a boulder. One sat on a tree branch,
leaning against the trunk with his eyes closed.
Shen Yuan noted their relaxed stances and the casual way they chatted with each other. They
seemed to be a close knit group of friends from the way they all roared with laughter at the
comment of one boy who sat on one of the smaller boulders.

Shen Yuan didn’t pay them much attention. He was about to continue on his way to the waterfall
when a voice called out to him.

“Hey! You there!”

Shen Yuan paused mid stride and turned to assess the group of young men again.

“So our honored guest has finally graced us with his attention,” a boy in the middle of the group
said snidely. “Hmph! No doubt too busy with Honorable Grandfather and Uncle to talk to our
humble selves.”

“Honorable Grandfather must be worried about a child who grew up away from our family’s
teachings. Who knows what Didi has learnt before coming here.” The boy sitting next to him
sneered.

“Usually these grounds are for the ones bearing the Liu name. I wonder what Didi did to convince
Uncle to bring him here,” another boy drawled.

“It's unusual for a Liu to go around hiding their face. But perhaps Didi wears a veil because he’s
scared to show he isn’t really a Liu?” Said another.

Shen Yuan turned to continue on his way to the waterfall, as it seemed that they were mostly
talking amongst themselves. Liu Qingge was waiting for him after all.

“Hey! You dare walk away from Liu Fuling?” Someone shouted after him.

Shen Yuan turned slightly. “Hm?” Were they talking to him? “Liu Fuling?”

“The Liu heir!” The boy in the middle shouted indignantly, gesturing to the one in the tree. By
now, the boy had opened his eyes, looking in Shen Yuan’s direction.
“The Liu heir?” Shen Yuan tilted his head.

With his keen eyesight, Shen Yuan could see the resemblance Liu Fuling had with his shizun. With
the exception of green eyes and a beauty mark at the left side of his chin rather than under his left
eye, Liu Fuling looked just like a teenaged Liu Qingge.

Shen Yuan remembered his shizun’s words and nodded to the heir in thanks. “Thank you for
allowing me to use your training grounds.”

Liu Fuling frowned at him in response before turning away with a scoff. He closed his eyes and
crossed his arms, resuming his previous position in his tree.

“Why you!” One of the boys shouted, jumping up from his spot. “Don’t think that just because
Honorable Grandfather acknowledged you that you're better than Liu Fuling!”

Shen Yuan nodded and glanced in the direction towards the waterfall. He didn’t really understand
why they seemed so agitated, but he didn’t really have the time to wonder. “Okay. But I really have
to get going. Why don’t we continue this later?”

The boy spluttered in outrage as Shen Yuan calmly turned around and walked away.

Shen Yuan soon left the group of rowdy boys behind. When he arrived at his destination, he found
Liu Qingge meditating on a large flat rock near the water, waiting for him.

“Shizun,” Shen Yuan greeted. “I have arrived.”

Liu Qingge hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t bother to stop meditating. “Come here. Begin
meditation.”

Shen Yuan nodded and jumped up onto the stone platform next to Liu Qingge. He noted how
pleasantly cool the stone felt as he crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Relaxing himself, Shen
Yuan let out a deep breath as he focused on maintaining a clear mind.
Dinner that night was a much less grand affair compared to the previous day. It was held in a
smaller dining hall with only the members of the main family and branch family present. The
causal setting allowed for a much more relaxed atmosphere. The seating arrangement was less
strict this time and Shen Yuan was placed next to Liu Mingyan and her friend, Liu Sheng. On his
other side sat Liu Fuling, the heir and older brother of Liu Sheng.

As Shen Yuan had requested, dinner tonight was a delicious serving of wonton noodles.

Throughout the dinner the adults at the table mostly discussed the current events of the cultivation
world and the state of the Liu family.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan entertained both Liu Mingyan and Liu Sheng with fun stories about various
beasts. He had just been describing a hypothetical fight with a Jade Fanged Tiger to his enraptured
audience when Liu Sheng’s father huffed derisively.

“Jade Fanged Tigers are extraordinarily rare, they would be horribly hard to defeat. Do you even
know what its weakness is?” The man glared across the table with a condescending look.

Shen Yuan put his chopsticks down across his bowl and calmly regarded the man. “A Jade Fanged
Tiger’s weak spots are its neck, joints, and belly, where its near impenetrable hide is thinner for the
sake of mobility. The best way to kill a Jade Fanged Tiger would be to hamper its movements
slowly by attacking the joints and then dealing one last final blow to the neck for a clean kill.”

“Hah!” The uncle scoffed. “What little you know of fighting! You most likely read an unreliable
source detailing the beasts. If the tigers have such a vital weakness like the neck or belly, then you
should aim for that first!”

“Actually,” Liu Zhao began, “the issue lies with its lightning fast reflexes, if you were to make
such an obvious attack towards its neck, it would easily defend and lash out with its powerful
claws and large wings. You would more likely break your weapon than hurt it if you solely aimed
for its neck. If you were to aim for its belly, the tiger would roll over and lash out with its powerful
hind legs and maim you.” Liu Zhao paused to take a sip of tea. “I have fought one before in the
past. Xiao Yuan’s analysis is indeed perfect. He has keen insight for his age.”

Liu MingYan giggled and clapped her hands together. “Shen-zhizhi knows the most about beasts!
He knows more than silly Uncle!”
 Shen Yuan patted her on the head lightly. “Hush, there are some things that are hard to learn
without experience. It's easy to see why…uh, Uncle… Would think that.” Shen Yuan still couldn’t
quite remember the man’s name…

Lu Shufen’s face reddened and he fumed quietly as he shoveled some more food into his mouth.

Meanwhile Liu Zhao had caught the hidden meaning in Shen Yuan’s words. He shot a sharp
glance at Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge nodded in return. Shen Yuan apparently had plenty of experience
dealing with highly dangerous beasts. It seemed there was even more to his great-grandson than he
had thought.

Chapter End Notes

Q: heyyyyyyy Its ussssss. I’m cri we’re almost at 3k kudos dudes. Hell yeah. I dont
really know what to say this time around but M is having the last of her finals this
week so please send her some luck! Yeah! That’s about it for this week hahah.

M: I really should be studying for my exams instead of working on this

We thank everyone who is participating in our art challenge in our Discord! We are
still accepting entries up until Chapter 50! We will announce the winners in Chapter
51. The prizes will remain as part of our Discord-only content :)
 Play Dates
Chapter Summary

CT plays hide and seek while SY plays tag.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 49: Play Dates

In Qiong Ding Peak, Yue Qingyuan sat at his desk, overlooking some paperwork – some were
updates on the progress of the disciples who were affected by A’Yuan’s Qi deviation; some were
progress reports on An Ding Peak’s construction work in Qing Jing.

Shang Qinghua had submitted a proposal for a possible exchange program. The idea was
appealing; however, the sect could not entertain the notion at the moment. The aftermath of
A’Yuan’s unfortunate Qi deviation had to be resolved before they could allow any outsiders in.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

Yue Qingyuan looked up from his papers. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal his head disciple.

“Shizun.” She saluted.

“Ah, my dear head disciple.” Yue Qingyuan smiled. “What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be
having dinner?”

Head Disciple nodded. “Yes, however, a missive was sent for Shizun.” She took out a scroll from
her sleeve and offered it to Yue Qingyuan.
Yue Qingyuan took the scroll. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it had Xiao Jiu’s seal. He
opened the scroll and began to read.

Silently, Head Disciple waited.

Then, Yue Qingyuan stood abruptly from his seat, face pale. He quickly made his way around his
desk towards her.

“Shizun?” Head Disciple furrowed her brows. “Is something wr-”

But her words went unheard.

“-ong…?” Head Disciple’s voice trailed off.

Ah…

Head Disciple looked down. A wry smile tugged at her lips.

She was alone again.

Chen Tian sighed as he finished delegating peak management tasks to some of the senior Qing Jing
Peak disciples. He had to figure out what exactly had caused his Shizun’s Qi deviation.
At least he didn’t have to also worry about taking care of Shizun. Chen Tian had been going
through the motions to prepare to temporarily move into the bamboo house to look over their
Shizun, but in the end – like he suspected – the sect leader took over the role of caring for Shizun.
He hoped that one day Zhangmen Shibo might push past his Shizun’s barriers instead of keeping
himself at arms length all the time.

He often wondered exactly what kind of history the two men shared but Shizun respected his
privacy. He had never forced Chen Tian to talk about his past so Chen Tian wouldn’t pry into what
Shizun was unwilling to share.

But unfortunately, Chen Tian would have to pry into what exactly made Shizun Qi deviate. It was
for his own good after all… And Shizun had been particularly desperate to find a “Yuan’er” during
his Qi deviation. By all logic, Chen Tian thought it was obviously referring to his shidi, Shen
Yuan. After all, Shizun had private classes with the boy and shared meals with him too.

Chen Tian set off for Bai Zhan to look for Shen Yuan, hoping that his shidi would be able to shed
some light upon the situation.

Chen Tian first sought out the Bai Zhan hallmasters so he could identify Shen Yuan’s year and
where they were. Unfortunately, Bai Zhan was not like Qing Jing. The disciples in Shen Yuan’s
year were scattered in a variety of classes all across the peak.

“Ah, Chen-shixiong,” one of them said. “Bai Zhan doesn’t host group classes past the basics taught
to brand new disciples. Each disciple has their own training regimen.”

“But surely there’s a training field or something they all use?”

Another hallmaster shook his head. “Even if there were, Shen-shidi is very advanced in his
studies.”

“Shen-shidi is too advanced to train with his batch of disciples,” another explained. “He mostly
spars with his shixiong and shijie.”

“If you want to find him,” one piped up, “we’d have to suggest you look for the older disciples that
often train with him instead.”
Chen Tian looked at the hallmasters imploringly. He had no idea where to begin.

One of the hallmasters took one look at his pitiful face and sighed. “I’ll write you a list. Just– stop
making that face!”

A few minutes later, Chen Tian was given a slip of paper and all but booted out of the Bai Zhan
meeting room.

Chen Tian looked at the list.

The very first name listed was Zhao Feiyan.

Chen Tian gulped nervously as he eyed her name with trepidation. She would be his last resort.

Wandering Bai Zhan’s large training fields, Chen Tian found Zhao Li from the list first. Or rather,
she found him.

“What’s a Qing Jing disciple doing here?”

Chen Tian turned to look at the other disciple. “Ah, I’m here to look for Shen-shidi.”

Pretty soon afterwards, Chen Tian discovered this Nice Zhao, as he had internally dubbed her, had
a veritable avalanche of things to say, though she was more interested in gossiping about the latest
peak news and poking her head into why Chen Tian was so interested in finding Shen Yuan and
what happened to Shen Qingqiu. She did, however, in the end mention that Shen Yuan often
sparred with two disciples named Chu Yun and Han Rei.

“They’re pretty easy to spot,” Nice Zhao said. “They’re always attached at the hip.”

After somehow managing to end their conversation, Chen Tian went off to find Han Rei and Chu
Yun before Nice Zhao could continue talking his ear off.

As he searched around the Peak, Chen Tian found two disciples matching Nice Zhao’s description
cuddling with one leaning his head against the other’s shoulder.

Chen Tian coughed from the side and watched as the first disciple quickly pushed himself away
from the other, blushing up a storm and turning even redder than he was before.

Chen Tian politely averted his eyes as the two fixed their robes. He supposed this is what Nice
Zhao had meant by ‘attached at the hip’.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he began, a faint flush on his face. “But do you two happen to be the disciples
Han Rei and Chu Yun?”

One of them scowled and eyed Chen Tian suspiciously. “And if we are?”

“I’m looking for Shen Yuan-shidi. Zhao Li-shimei said you two might know where he is.”

The disciple stared at Chen Tian mullishly and crossed his arms irritably, giving him a once-over.
“Why is the Qing Jing Head disciple looking for our Shen Yuan? Shouldn’t he be at Qing Jing
right now for his lessons?”

“Chu Yun,” the other chided.

He was probably Han Rei, Chen Tian surmised.

Han Rei coughed awkwardly. “Indeed, we haven’t seen him since the day before yesterday.
Though he might just be training somewhere on Bai Zhan.”

“Ah… I see…” Chen Tian trailed off. “Would you two happen to know where he might be?”

The two looked at one another other before turning back to Chen Tian.

Chu Yun scratched his head. “Well… He might be with Zhao Feiyan-shijie since he hasn’t come to
us for sparring lately.”
“Oh. Um.” Chen Tian asked nervously, “Anywhere else he might be?”

‘Preferably not anywhere near her?’ He internally cried.

Han Rei shrugged his shoulders and deadpanned. “Maybe he was kidnapped or something.”

Chen Tian marveled at Han Rei’s expression. It was a look that seemed oddly familiar, but he was
certain he had never met these two before. Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts to focus on his
search for his missing shidi.

“Now if we’re done here,” Chu Yun began with a pleasant smile - a complete 180 from his
previous scowl. “We would like to be left alone now.”

“Ah, yes. Of course,” Chen Tian said quickly, turning to leave the training room. “Thank you for
the help.”

Chen Tian laughed to himself quietly as he left. Kidnapping a Bai Zhan disciple from his peak?
How absurd!

Chen Tian slowly worked his way down the list he received from the hall masters, asking various
disciples if they had seen Shen Yuan.

Among them, he had encountered a particularly square faced disciple with a group of other Bai
Zhan disciples that had nothing but derogatory things to say about Shen Yuan and were particularly
unhelpful in regards to Shen Yuan’s whereabouts. He encountered a girl by the name of Li Yue
who had nothing but positive things to say about Shen Yuan but also had no idea where the young
disciple could possibly be.

Throughout his search, he encountered a number of random Bai Zhan disciples who all seemed
vaguely knowledgeable about Shen Yuan but none had known where he was.

Chen Tian sighed. Looks like he would have to face Zhao Feiyan after all…
Chen Tian wilted and took a moment to mentally prepare himself before turning to walk into the
forests of Bai Zhan where Zhao Feiyan reportedly spent most of her time.

He arrived at a waterfall and found Zhao Feiyan going through her sword forms.

“Ah… Excuse me… Zhao-shimei?’ He called out hesitantly. “Would you happen to know where
Shen-shidi is?”

Except Zhao Feiyan simply turned to face the other way and continued her forms in silence.

Chen Tian smiled nervously.

She was practicing with her spiritual blade. It flashed through the air humming dangerously.

“...Excuse me? Would you happen to know…?”

Swish. Flick. Swipe. Zhao Feiyan moved through her forms unbothered.

Chen Tian groaned to himself internally. She just might be the only person harder to handle than
Shizun on a bad day.

“Zhao Feiyan-shimei, please?”

Swish. Slash. Thrust.

Chen Tian took a deep breath and stepped in front of her trying to get her attention, “Shimei?”

Chen Tian yelped as her moves continued unhesitantly. He was forced to dodge as her forms
brought her thrusts and slashes dangerously close to him.

“You know I wouldn’t bother you unless it was really important!” Chen Tian yelled, ducking
under a swipe that nearly shaved the top of his head, cutting a few strands of hair from his ponytail.

Slash! Thrust! Snick!

Zhao Feiyan’s moves began to pick up speed, forcing Chen Tian to back up as he desperately
dodged. He pulled out his sheathed sword to block a few lighting fast blows that he couldn’t
dodge.

“Please! Listen! I need to find Shen-shidi!” Chen Tian shouted between moves.

Zhao Feiyan’s eye blurring speed began to show itself and Chen Tian was forced to backflip out of
her way as she continued her forms unhindered.

“Please! I won’t bother you anymore if you just help me find Shen-shidi!” Chen Tian yelled
desperately.

Zhao Feiyan’s forms continued to flow.

“Gee,” She suddenly said aloud in a mockingly cheerful tone of voice. “It's so boring to be out here
all alone. I wonder when Yin-shimei will bring Shen-shidi around to spar again? I wasn’t even able
to spar with Shizun last week.” With that said, Zhao Feiyan’s uninterrupted forms began to pick up
speed again.

Chen Tian huffed. Well. He wasn’t going to get anything more out of her. Now. Who exactly was
this Yin-shimei? He sincerely hoped that there weren’t twenty different Yin-shimei on Bai Zhan
peak.

Fortunately, as it turned out, there were only three.

Chen Tian sighed at his bad luck. Statistically speaking, he should have found the person he was
looking for by the second Yin-shimei but the first two were a bust. The first two had balked when
Chen Tian mentioned Zhao Feiyan while the third turned out to be a bubbly girl with a bright and
helpful personality, Yin Lihua, who was somehow friends with that terrifying Zhao Feiyan.
She directed Chen Tian to Shen Yuan’s year mates and helpfully informed him about Bai Zhan’s
partnering system and how roommates were assigned for new students from the time they joined.

“Shixiong,” she said. “Why don’t you try and ask Shen-shidi’s roommate?”

“Where can I find this roommate?” Chen Tian asked. “What’s his name?”

“Hmm…” She tapped at her chin. “I don’t know, but I’m sure if you ask the younger disciples,
they’ll be able to point you in the right direction!”

“Alright,” Chen Tian smiled, internally crying at having to go on another wild goose chase. “Thank
you for your assistance, Shimei.”

And so, Chen Tian spent the next half hour asking around for Shen Yuan’s unnamed roommate,
even making a second encounter with Li Yue, until he finally came upon one Wang Cheng.

Chen Tian was rather tired by the time he discovered Wang Cheng, so perhaps it was not the best
first impression when he lunged at the boy shouting “I FOUND YOU! FINALLY, IT’S OVER!”

Except…

“Eh? Shen Yuan? I thought he was at Qing Jing peak?”

Chen Tian wanted to cry.

Wang Cheng awkwardly looked at the despondent Chen Tian. “Well maybe you’ll have better luck
tomorrow? Nothing like dinner to lift your mood,” he consoled, patting Chen Tian on the back.

Chen Tian thought about the bland food awaiting him at the Qing Jing dining hall and felt his
mood drop further.
Shen Yuan wandered the outskirts of the Liu estate, heading to the training grounds for an
additional workout.

Shen Yuan wanted to work off the dinner that he had just stuffed himself with.

“Ah… I want wonton soup…” Shen Yuan muttered to himself. Shibo had mentioned it in passing
and Shen Yuan had been looking forward to possibly having it at Qing Jing Peak.

He heard a snort from the side. “How plebeian!”

Shen Yuan turned to find some of the youngsters he had encountered earlier in the day sneering at
him. Liu Fuling stood a little away from the group with his arms crossed and a dark expression on
his face.

“What dull tastes!” A boy in the middle scoffed haughtily. “Wonton soup of all things, hah! And
with the amount that Shen-didi eats one would think Didi wasn’t used to the quality of the Liu
chefs.”

“Heh, one wonders what Shen-didi’s training must be like if he still wants to train after eating like
that. Does he do one thousand sword forms and spar for half a day?” The boy standing next to him
mocked.

“Ah,” Shen Yuan said, “I actually only do five hundred sword forms a day. I have to work on my
cultivation and other lessons after all. But is that your routine? If it is, then I’m sure your skills
must be very impressive.”

The other boy’s face reddened. “You think you’re so great? I have already mastered the jian, dao,
gong, and qiang! And young master Liu Fuling has mastered even more!”

Liu Fuling looked to the side and grimaced at the comment.

“Oh, that's very impressive! I haven't practiced with any weapons aside from the Jian, but you’re
really dedicated to keep up training with so many weapons! I’ve seen how impressive a weapon a
qiang is, I can only last thirty minutes in a fight with the qiang expert of Bai Zhan,” Shen Yuan
said placidly.
The boy scoffed. This Shen Yuan really was such a boastful liar! How in the world would anyone
last that long in a fight when fighting a qiang with a jian? You would have to be incredibly fast!
And that training routine? Was he mocking them? Hah! What a big mouth this kid had!

“Shen-zhizhi!” A voice suddenly called.

Shen Yuan turned to find Liu Mingyan and her friends running up to him with smiles on their
faces.

“Ah, Mingyan were you looking for me?” Shen Yuan asked with a light smile.

Liu Mingyan nodded excitedly. “Mhm! We wanna show you something we found! Come on, come
on!”

Shen Yuan nodded and turned to the group of boys. “I’m sorry but I have other matters to attend to,
maybe we can continue this talk another day?”

As Shen Yuan turned around to keep pace with Liu Mingyan who was already tugging at his hand
he missed the dark expressions on the faces of the boys who stared at his back menacingly.

The bamboo house was quiet.

Yue Qingyuan sat by the bed, quietly watching over an unconscious figure. Gently, he brushed
away a few errant strands of hair from his Xiao Jiu’s face, tucking them behind the other man’s
ear.

Shen Qingqiu, his Xiao Jiu, did not stir.

There were no creases marring Xiao Jiu’s brow. No frown set severely on his face. He looked
young – almost peaceful. Gentle. Unguarded.
Yue Qingyuan could almost pretend they were back in time – when things were simpler, when
things were good. Back in the uncomplicated days when they had been nothing but two feral street
rats: Xiao Jiu and his Qi-ge.

Softly, he caressed the other man’s cheek. His skin was warm to the touch.

Yue Qingyuan got up from his spot at Shen Qingqiu’s bedside, only to return to his previous
position with a basin of clean water and a small towel. He soaked the cloth in the water before
wringing it of any excess. Then, he used it to gently pat Shen Qingqiu’s face and neck.

Back when they were still children, how many times had he done this for Shen Jiu? Back when a
fever could send one to death’s doorstep, how many times had he nursed his Xiao Jiu?

He had lost count.

Head Disciple brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face before she knocked on the door in front
of her.

“Come in,” came a quiet response.

She opened the door softly and walked into the quiet house. The figure meditating off to the side of
the bed opened his eyes and rested a placid gaze upon her.

After having received news of Shen-shishu’s Qi deviation, her shizun had moved into the bamboo
house to take care of the Qing Jing Peak Lord.

Head Disciple dutifully presented the calming incense and the sect reports for the past week she
had been sent to pick up.

“Ah, Thank you, it's good to see my head disciple is as reliable as always.” Yue Qingyuan said,
accepting the incense and reports gratefully.
Head Disciple inclined her head slightly. “Yes Shizun, Meng Hui reports that Huan Hua has sent
missives for you to attend to once you return,” she reported. “Tian Yi would also like to arrange a
possible meeting in the near future regarding the talismans we have been using lately.”

She chanced a glance at the figure lying peacefully in the bed. Shen-shishu’s hair was undone,
quite unlike his graceful hairstyle. Absently, Head Disciple wondered if she would be required to
change her hairstyle to match. Though, perhaps her shizun would prefer she maintain the usual
hairstyle Shen-shishu often wore.

Yue Qingyuan picked up the reports and began to leaf through them. “Your handwriting has
improved. You’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you, Shizun.” Head Disciple smiled lightly at the Sect Leader. “I think my handwriting this
time may almost be as graceful Shen-shishu’s.”

Yue Qingyuan glanced down at the reports and chuckled. “Indeed. I may not have to trouble
Qingqiu-shidi with trivial matters in the future with how closely they match.”

Head Disciple silently beamed under the praise, doing her best to maintain composure.

‘Shen-shishu would never break poise,’ she reminded herself. Therefore, she couldn’t either.

Shizun… wouldn’t like it.

Looking at him now, her shizun looked serene – in a way he only ever did when he nursed Shen-
shishu. When Shen-shishu wasn’t – couldn’t be – hostile towards him.

She glanced back over at Shen Qingqiu’s sleeping form. Idly, Head Disciple remembered another
disciple who more greatly resembled Shen-shishu and wondered what the small Shen was doing
right now.

Shen Yuan was idly going through his sword forms at the secret Liu training grounds when he felt
two people enter the area. Curious, Shen Yuan turned towards the entrance. He found Liu Zhao
leading a scowling Liu Fuling into the training area.

Liu Zhao cast a glance across the training field as if looking for something. His gaze landed on
Shen Yuan and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

“Ah, I thought we would find you here, Xiao Yuan.” Liu Zhao said, walking up to him with Liu
Fuling trailing behind him.

Shen Yuan saluted the older man. “Grandfather.”

Liu Zhao hummed in acknowledgement and looked at him consideringly. He stroked his beard. “I
have brought Ling’er here today to spar with you.” Liu Zhao reached behind him and grabbed Liu
Fuling by the shoulder and gently pushed him in front. “It will be good to test your skill with
different opponents. Don't let all your spars be with my old self or that grandson of mine. You may
use anything in these training grounds. Like in real battle, there will be no limitations on where you
can fight.”

Shen Yuan nodded in understanding. He took up a stance with his practice jian as Liu Fuling
huffed. Liu Fuling walked over to a nearby weapons rack and grabbed a jian before returning to
take up a stance, all the while scowling furiously.

Liu Zhao took a few steps back to watch.

Shen Yuan and Liu Fuling stared at each other from across the training grounds.

Shen Yuan shifted his right foot back slightly. Liu Fuling crouched lower.

Neither really wanted to make the first move when they were unaware of their opponent’s fighting
style, but eventually, someone had to make the first move.

Shen Yuan dashed towards Liu Fuling while Liu Fuling kicked off the ground at him.

They clashed and locked blades, testing their strength against one another. Shen Yuan noticed they
were evenly matched in strength. Both fighters quickly disengaged, jumping backwards to reassess
their opponent.

Shen Yuan charged in again at Liu Fuling, taking the offensive. He thrust out at Liu Fuling’s chest
only to have the thrust slapped away. Shen Yuan bent backwards to avoid a horizontal slash and
flipped back, kicking out at his opponent.

Liu Fuling blocked the kick with his practice blade and chased after Shen Yuan. He advanced on
Shen Yuan with a series of slashes and thrusts, all of which were flawlessly parried or deflected
away.

Shen Yuan thrust out at a gap in Liu Fuling’s attacks and began his own series of attacks, hacking
away at Liu Fuling’s defenses.

They moved back and forth, with neither giving up an inch. Both transitioned flawlessly from
offense to defense, equally matched in their Jian prowess.

Liu Fuling swept out towards Shen Yuan’s legs with his blade. Shen Yuan backflipped over the
swing, crouched and shot up with a sharp thrust to Liu Fuling’s face.

Liu Fuling dodged out of the way and grabbed onto Shen Yuan’s sword hand with his free hand.
He threw several quick thrusts at Shen Yuan’s head. Shen Yuan ducked and weaved around the
attacks, using his free hand to redirect attacks by pushing against Liu Fuling’s wrist.

Shen Yuan lashed out with a sharp high kick dislodging the hand that was gripping his wrist. He
jumped and spun in the air and kicked out at Liu Fuling again.

Liu Fuling blocked the kick with his sword and was forced to parry a slash aimed at his neck.
Using the parry, Liu Fuling spun and whipped his sword out at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan ducked under the strike and stabbed out at Liu Fuling, forcing the other boy back. Shen
Yuan took advantage of the distance between them to begin a combo attack pushing Liu Fuling
back until he was pressed to the weapon racks that lined the side of the field. Liu Fuling planted his
feet firmly at the end of Shen Yuan’s combo and slashed down at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan narrowed his eyes as he twisted his blade around the strike and cleanly disarmed Liu
Fuling.
Unphased, Liu Fuling back flipped over the weapons rack and kicked it towards Shen Yuan,
sending weapons flying all over the ground. Shen Yuan dodged out of the way as Liu Fuling
dashed to the right to another set of weapon racks and grabbed a long Qiang.

Taking a stance with the Qiang, Liu Fuling took a short breath before stabbing out at Shen Yuan
with a blinding burst of speed. Shen Yuan hastily turned to the side and let the spear fly past him.
Liu Fuling drew back and thrust his Qiang out several times in quick succession.

Drawing on his experience sparring with Chu Yun, Shen Yuan weaved around the attacks,
occasionally directing a thrust off to the side with his practice Jian.

Liu Fuling whipped the butt of the Qiang around at Shen Yuan only to be blocked with a sharp
crack sound by Shen Yuan’s blade. Shen Yuan jumped over a leg sweep from the head of the spear
and quickly stepped into Liu Fuling’s guard for an attack. Liu Fuling performed a spinning jump
kick making Shen Yuan back off until he was once again at the optimal distance for Liu Fuling to
use the Qiang to its full extent.

Shen Yuan quickly found that Liu Fuling’s Qiang skills were almost as polished as Chu Yun’s as
he was forced on the defensive. Except, Liu Fuling wasn’t nearly as fast or vicious as Chu Yun.

In a gap in Liu Fuling’s movements Shen Yuan struck out with a harsh overhead blow, only to have
his blow blocked by Liu Fuling’s spear shaft.

Unexpectedly, the Qiang cracked in half from the force of the blow.

Liu Fuling and Shen Yuan stared at the broken spear in shock.

Liu Fuling pulled himself together and feinted towards Shen Yuan’s head before performing a
harsh leg strike that sent Shen Yuan stumbling back.

Shen Yuan recovered from the strike and quickly pushed his advantage. Liu Fuling hastily threw
the broken pieces of the Qiang at Shen Yuan and rolled, picking up a pair of hu tou gou.

Shen Yuan hesitated on seeing Liu Fuling’s new weapons, thus allowing Liu Fuling to make the
first move. Shen Yuan knew from experience sparring with Han Rei that he didn't want his blade to
be caught by those tricky hook swords.

Liu Fuling charged at Shen Yuan spinning and hacking down at Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan
instinctively blocked with his jian but just before Liu Fuling could yank the jian out of his hands he
quickly twisted his wrist and slid the blade free from the hooks. Feinting, Shen Yuan baited out Liu
Fuling’s left hook but the right hook swept around and caught Shen Yuan’s foot, pulling him off
balance. Shen Yuan fell and rolled to the side avoiding a crushing blow from the hilt of the hook
swords.

Shen Yuan sprang to his feet and stabbed at Liu Fuling. Liu Fuling caught the stab between the
two of his hooks but Shen Yuan twisted his blade and slipped it free. Taking advantage of how his
swords were hooked together, Liu Fuling let go of his left sword and swung the connected swords
at Shen Yuan in a deadly arc.

Shen Yuan backed away frantically, allowing Liu Fuling to catch his sword and advance upon him.
Liu Fuling struck out, once again hooking Shen Yuan’s sword with both hooks, but Shen Yuan
stepped in and kicked Liu Fuling backwards, sending the other boy sprawling to the ground and the
hu tou gou skittering away.

Liu Fuling jumped to his feet, grabbing a pair of deer horn knives from the ground as he went. He
threw them at Shen Yuan, forcing him to deflect them. Liu Fuling rolled over to another weapon
and grabbed it without looking, brandishing it at Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan stared at the large dao that Liu Fuling wielded with critical eyes. He quickly rushed Liu
Fuling, not giving the other boy a chance to perform the heavy slashes that the dao was known for.
Shen Yuan took advantage of his superior speed and agility with the Jian to pressure Liu Fuling.

Stuck on the defensive, Liu Fuling panted and grimaced, waiting for Shen Yuan’s next attack. He
deflected one of Shen Yuan’s thrusts and spun around for a quick swipe. Shen Yuan saw the attack
coming and ducked beneath it. He thrust out with the hilt of his sword and landed a clean hit on Liu
Fuling’s ribs.

Liu fuling staggered backwards, nearly tripping over a polearm lying in the dirt. He glanced down
and grinned viciously. He hooked the Ji that he nearly tripped over up with his foot and kicked it
into the air, catching it. He discarded the dao then charged at Shen Yuan with the point of the
halberd held low.

The Ji had the disarming ability of the Hu tou gou and the reach of a qiang, a formidable weapon
for Shen Yuan to face with just a jian. He knew that the range would work against him so the best
option would be to move the polearm away.

Shen Yuan fended off several slashes backing up to the edge of the field. He managed to bat the Ji
away but as he shot in close for the range of his jian, Liu Fuling whipped around the butt of the ji
sending Shen Yuan on the defensive.

Once again the superior range of the Ji forced Shen Yuan back even further. Liu Fuling went for a
low sweep at Shen Yuan’s legs but Shen Yuan stomped down on the head of the ji, trapping it
beneath his foot. But before Shen Yuan could capitalize on the opportunity, Liu Fuling gave a hard
jerk and yanked the weapon out from under Shen Yuan, sending him stumbling back.

Shen Yuan grit his teeth and backed up against a tree at the edge of the field. Liu Fuling saw his
chance and charged forward again. Shen Yuan turned his back to Liu Fuling and ran up the side of
the tree before he kicked off and performed a flipping kick at Liu Fuling.

Liu Fuling grunted as he blocked the kick with the shaft of the ji. He pushed Shen Yuan off to the
side, sending the boy into the dirt. Shen Yuan rolled and recovered with his Jian held in front of
him. Liu Fuling planted the butt of his ji and used it as leverage to send his own spinning kick at
Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan managed a sloppy block with his jian that sent him flying further away. Liu Fuling
chased after him as Shen Yuan skidded to a stop. But as Shen Yuan readied himself to receive Liu
Fuling’s next attack, Liu Zhao called out, “Enough!”

Liu Zhao clapped once. “Very good. I have seen plenty. You two are well matched. Do make sure
to spar against each other often. Ling’er, work on your speed. Xiao Yuan, perfect your footwork.”

Liu Fuling huffed a breath and nodded at the elder while Shen Yuan inclined his head in
acknowledgement.

Shen Yuan internally thanked Han Rei for his expertise in multiple weapons. Fighting Liu Fuling
was almost exactly like fighting Han Rei. Both were amazing weapons users who had mastered
multiple weapons, but Han Rei had never swapped weapons like this mid-spar. Shen Yuan would
have never been able to deal with Liu Fuling’s multiple switches if Han Rei hadn’t forcibly taught
him how to deal with different weapons.
 “Now then, carry on with your forms Xiao Yuan. I will be back later to train you.” Liu Zhao said
before turning around and walking away.

“Yes. Thanking grandfather for his guidance,” Shen Yuan called to his back. He turned to Liu
Fuling and assessed him. The boy still wore a rather sullen expression. “Thank you for the spar. It
was a good match. How many weapons are you capable of using by the way? I applaud you for
your adaptability. It is truly impressive to be able to wield so many different weapons so fluidly.”

Liu Fuling huffed and turned away with a pinched look on his face, the boy planted his ji into the
ground roughly and stalked off.

Shen Yuan watched the boy walk out of the training grounds with a confused expression.

Had he said something wrong?

Chapter End Notes

Q: how do you write a fight scene?

Friends: He Stabb stabb, then block, stab stab, block stab, then he dodge

M: WE'RE BACK! So sorry for the late update >_< RL has been hectic. We def won't
be updating daily again due to our schedules, though :/

Also made a twitter so come talk to me there or on disc!

 (ノ 益 )ノ彡┻2━0━2━0┻
Chapter Summary

Happy New Year!

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 50: (ノ 益 )ノ彡┻2━0━2━0┻

Shen Yuan gave a quiet huff as he opened his eyes after once again failing to achieve a blank state
of mind. He peeked at Liu Qingge who sat in front of him, eyes closed with his legs crossed and
his hands resting on his knees. Liu Qingge had dragged him out of the Liu estate to the top of the
waterfall to meditate as soon as the sun had risen. It was strange because Liu Qingge had never
really paid much attention to this aspect of his cultivation.

‘Oh. 300 seconds, a new record,’ Shen Yuan thought as Liu Qingge twitched once again. It didn’t
seem like Liu Qingge was very good at meditation either, which made this whole session even
stranger. Unlike Shen Qingqiu, Liu Qingge seemed to have a need for movement. He couldn’t keep
himself still for very long, either shifting or twitching after being settled in one place for more than
a few seconds.

Liu Qingge’s eyebrow twitched and Shen Yuan quickly closed his eyes again. He absently noted
the sounds of the roaring waterfall beneath them. It was very different from the calm rustling
bamboo forest he had become accustomed to meditating in with Shen Qingqiu. The waterfall’s
noise was enough to drown out all but the most persistent noises of the surrounding birds and
creatures in the forest. There was no focusing on anything else but the thundering sounds of
thousands of gallons of water falling from the top of the cliff.

Shen Yuan’s train of thought was derailed when Liu Qingge suddenly clicked his tongue and
stood.

Liu Qingge stood there with a slight frown studying Shen Yuan for a moment. “This obviously
isn't working for you. Let's do something different,” he said.

Shen Yuan stared at Liu Qingge.

‘Are you sure it’s not because you suck at it?’

“Come.” Liu Qingge turned and stalked towards the edge of the waterfall and jumped off with nary
a care.

Shen Yuan stared at the place that Liu Qingge had been just a moment ago before sighing and
following his teacher down the cliff. Liu Qingge stood at the base of the waterfall on top of several
rocks that jutted out from beneath the rushing water.

“Go through your stances. Clear your mind. Do not fall from the rocks,” Liu Qingge instructed,
taking up a stance on top of one of the slippery rocks.

Shen Yuan huffed and jumped onto a rock next to Liu Qingge and began his own set of stances.
Shen Yuan couldn’t help but let his mind wander aimlessly. This was just as boring as sitting at the
top of the waterfall listening to the crashing water. Shen Yuan glanced over at Liu Qingge, at least
his teacher seemed to be much more comfortable now. Liu Qingge flowed through his stances
smoothly and flawlessly with his eyes shut in concentration.

Back in the Liu manor, Liu Fuling’s footsteps were soft against the wooden floor. He approached
one of the doors with a determined stride. There were shadows under his eyes. The fight from the
day before had kept him up all night.

He opened the door to reveal a room full of weapons.

Liu Fuling quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind him as the early rays of morning
light illuminated the room from a window. He moved further into the room to the side where the
previous day’s weapons were located, ignoring the ones allocated for today’s use – though he made
a mental note to check on those later, if his suspicions were correct.

He looked over the wares with a critical eye and scowled.

He picked up the broken qiang first. It had cracked in half when he had blocked Shen Yuan’s
overhead blow during the spar. He inspected the broken shaft and traced the deep cracks of the
wooden spear before trying to fit the two halves back together like a puzzle.
Liu Fuling grit his teeth and his pretty, yet boyish face twisted.

They failed to slot in place. The wood was warped beyond measure - a sign of poor maintenance.
He inspected the wood to find it dry and brittle.

He had found it odd, during the fight. The balance had felt off and its movements had felt strange.

Liu Fuling set the broken qiang aside and went to inspect the rest of the weapons. The hu tou gou
was dull, as expected of practice weapons, but upon closer inspection, Liu Fuling spotted minute
traces of rust near the hilt of the swords. The deer horn knives had frayed wraps where one was
supposed to grip the weapons. The dao blade was loose in its seat in the hilt, which, upon closer
inspection, had revealed that the wooden hilt had splintered and warped. The ji was, for the most
part, fine aside from the slight warp of the shaft.

With a huff, he abandoned the weapons and began to inspect the others in the room. To his
outrage, the rest of the weapons in the room were all in some state of disrepair. Even the ones set
out for today’s use were in subpar condition!

After returning the weapons to their original posts, Liu Fuling stormed out of the armory with a
dark look on his face.

Eventually, he made his way to the main residence, bypassing several servants and ignoring the
younger members who’d often pester him.

“Greetings, Young Master,” a familiar old servant greeted. “Can this servant be of assistance?”

Liu Fuling nodded tersely. “I would like to request an audience with Grandfather.”

The old servant bowed. “Right this way, Young Master.”

And with that, Liu Fuling was led deeper into the residence, eventually reaching a door and having
his presence announced to those inside.
“Enter,” Grandfather called from behind the door.

Liu Fuling stepped in as the servant opened and closed the door behind him. Inside was
Grandfather, Liu Fuling’s mother, and the Liu matriarch sitting at a table, enjoying tea. He saluted
them with a respectful bow.

“Ah, Ling’er,” Grandfather mused, stroking his gray beard as he signaled the boy to relax. “What a
pleasant surprise. I thought you’d be off playing with your friends.”

Liu Fuling internally grimaced, standing up from his bow.

“Oh, don’t look so disgusted,” his mother laughed and Liu Fuling tried to school his face into a
more neutral expression. Unfortunately, he failed. “I know you’d rather hole yourself up in the
armory, Ling’er, but you really should try to get along with your peers.”

“What peers?” The matriarch scoffed. “Those children can’t bear to match our Ling’er in combat.”

“Not everything is about strength, Jiejie.” His mother took a sip of her tea. “Proper socialization is
very important for children.”

Madam Liu only snorted in response. His aunt was a very different person in the comforts of her
home, away from formal events. When she was home, that is.

“Please be more mindful, Jiejie,” his mother said. "Children are impressionable beings. I'd rather
my Ling’er not grow up to have his head filled only with weapons and fighting."

"As if he doesn’t already," the matriarch muttered. She eyed Liu Fuling and nodded. “I suppose the
future clan head should be more social, like a certain someone.”

“Hadn’t that son of yours brought in his spawn?” Liu Jingyi smiled pleasantly at her sister. “Surely
Xiao Yuan will be the heir.”

“Don’t worry, Meimei,” the matriarch replied just as pleasantly. “I’m sure Ling’er’s position is
secured. After all, he’s been training for heirship for so long.”
“Yes, but I’m sure Ling’er would not mind Xiao Yuan taking over. After all, isn’t it his
birthright?”

The older woman scoffed. “If you hadn’t schemed against me back then, wouldn’t you have been
in my place today? I could have been traveling the world by now.”

“You mean you don’t already do that?” His mother gasped in astonishment. “I was so sure Jiejie
has been leaving the estate for months at a time. I see, I shall just leave alone those duties you’ve
been foisting upon me, my dear Jiejie. After all,” she lamented, “how could I possibly take upon
the clan head’s duties when Jiejie is around?”

The matriarch gnashed her teeth. “Meimei wouldn’t have to worry about such things if she had just
accepted the seat long ago.”

“And take away my Jiejie’s birthright?” She tittered. “Perish the thought, Jiejie.”

The two sisters continued to bicker.

Liu Fuling paid them no mind once it became clear they would just be squabbling over the past
once again. His grandfather did not seem to be bothered either.

“Grandfather,” he began.

“Ling'er,” the old man returned, taking a sip of his tea.

“I would like to request for the items Grandfather had promised me.”

“Hmm?” The old man raised an eyebrow at Liu Fuling, stroking his beard for a moment before
taking another sip.

Liu Fuling furrowed his brows and frowned. He didn not like this. “The items Grandfather
promised me in return for sparring with Da-ge’s son.”
Liu Zhao blinked up at Liu Fuling. “Oh? I don’t recall.” He took another serene sip of his tea. “I
must be getting old.”

“Fuling would appreciate it if Grandfather stops playing dumb.” He pursed his lips, very much
resembling his mother in the face of something unpleasant. “Fuling has come across an emergency
and is in dire need of the promised items.”

“Ah, an emergency? Oh dear.” Liu Zhao was unmoved.

“The weapons in the northwing armory are in deplorable conditions, Grandfather.” Liu Fuling’s
frown deepened. “There’s rust on the blades and the wood of the spears and swords are warped. ”

“I see…”

“The handle grips are frayed, Grandfather!” Liu Fuling scowled. “Grandfather witnessed the spar.
Qiangs do not just snap! ”

“That is very true.” The old man stroked his beard in consideration. “Yet… I still don’t recall this
supposed promise, Ling’er.”

“A new set of supplies for weapons maintenance,” he bit out.

“Ah, yes. Now I remember.” Liu Zhao perked up. “A new set of whetstones and sword oil, was
it?”

“Yes, Grandfather. The Aegis Flower Honing Oil and the Metal Qi Sharpening Stones from Xi
city.”

“Hmm, I only remember promising to look into acquiring those supplies you requested.” The old
man hummed, closing his eyes to take another sip. “But I don’t recall promising anything else.”

“Grandfather!”
“There, there, Ling’er.” Madam Liu laughed. “I can’t remember how many times Father has
tricked me. Take this as a lesson in negotiation!”

“Yes,” his mother agreed. “It’s a pity, however, that Jiejie never learned her lesson. Hopefully
Ling’er will be a quicker study.”

“Grandfather, please stop playing with this poor grandson.” Liu Fuling felt very aggrieved.

How many times had this old man done this? The first time, he had promised to “think about it.”
The next time, he had said he would “consider it”. These false promises were very upsetting,
Grandfather!

“Ah, that reminds me, where is that son of yours?” Liu Zhao turned towards his eldest daughter.
“He should be here for the discussion.”

“Most likely with Xiao Yuan,” Madame Liu replied, a little bitterly. “Enjoying himself. Not having
to deal with clan duties.”

“Hasn’t Jiejie always liked a challenge?” Her younger sister hummed.

“Not the kind Meimei enjoys.” The matriarch pursed her lips and muttered. “Which is why she
should have been in this seat instead so her Jiejie could enjoy the Jianghu.”

“Ling’er,” Grandfather started, interrupting the budding argument. “Why don’t you fetch that
cousin of yours.”

Liu Fuling only crossed his arms.

Grandfather coughed. “This old man is busy with the eldest grandson’s affairs. Perhaps once
everything is in order, this grandfather will be able to request those materials.”

Liu Fuling narrowed his eyes at his grandfather, searching. The old man only took another sip of
tea.

“...” Liu Fuling huffed. “Fine,” he said, saluting his goodbye to the people in the room before
storming out.

Watching as her son departed, Liu Jingyi placed her cup down onto the table. “I wish you wouldn’t
tease Ling’er so much, Father.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“This one recalls a few weeks back that Father had had the weapons in the northwing armory
exchanged with the inventory that were due for replacement.” Liu Jingyi’s lips quirked. “Finding
his beloved weapons in such disrepair must have been very distressing. Of course… It would be
good for Ling’er to learn how to maneuver around such plays.” She sighed. “That boy forgot to
settle the terms of agreement once again.”

The matriarch quirked a brow. “What do you mean? Didn’t they already do so?”

Liu Jingyi gave her elder sister an unimpressed look. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Perhaps
Jiejie should take some lessons as well…”

The madam sniffed. “They would be better spent on that husband of yours. Speaking of which,
where is that oaf?”

“Do mind your words, Jiejie,” Liu Jingyi gently reprimanded.

“I will once he does.”

“It’s been years and you two still act like children.” Liu Jingyi sighed. “I advised him to take some
time to meditate.”

“You grounded him.”

“He acted rather unbecoming during dinner.”

“His existence is unbecoming,” the madam muttered under her breath.

“It was poor of him to take out his frustration onto Xiao Yuan.” Her younger sister ignored her. “If
Jiejie could stop tormenting my Shufen whenever he has to hunt you down to bring you back
home, that would be lovely.” She took a sip of her tea. “Or if Jiejie would stop running away from
her duties, that would be much better.”

The eldest daughter ignored her sister’s words, turning to their father instead. “Where is Mother?
Shouldn’t she be here when our Mingyu arrives?”

“She’s off playing with the children.” Liu Zhao waved off.

“Ah,” Madam Liu smiled, envious. “It must be nice not to be burdened with clan duties.”

“Yes,” Liu Jingyi agreed with much sincerity. “Jiejie must be so burdened, with all the paperwork
this meimei has to do, and all those parties Jiejie makes this meimei attend in her stead.”

Madam Liu ignored her sister, gazing out a window to see the rising sun coloring the sky with
orange and purple, rays peeking through the foliage. The morning breeze was light and fresh.

What a waste for a beautiful morning to be ruined with boorish meetings. She would much rather
spend it outside. So many beasts would be waking up, ready to become her prey.

Alas, today they would be safe from her blade.

In Qian Cao Peak, Hua Heilian stood before her shizun.

“Yes, Shizun?”
The man glanced at her for a moment before taking something out of one of the drawers in his
office. He handed a thin box to his disciple.

She accepted it, looking down to inspect the item. It was embellished with some familiar designs.

“Take that to Qing Jing Peak,” he said.

“Shizun,” she began. Her lips quirked upwards. “Perhaps another disciple would be better suited to
delivering this in my stead.”

“Are you busy?” He asks, reading a scroll.

“Yes.”

“How unfortunate,” he replied absently. “Still, I’d rather you be the one to deliver it.”

Hua Heilian’s smile stiffens. “It’s a box of incense, Shizun.”

“My, what an important box of incense it must be,” he hummed.

“A box was delivered not too long ago, Shizun.” She smiled. “If this disciple is not mistaken.

“Is that right?” He glanced back up at her and returned her smile. “How odd.”

“This disciple has a ward full of patients to tend to, Shizun,” she reminded with a placid smile.
“Perhaps it would be better to send one of the younger disciples on this… errand.”

“This Shizun will be here in your absence.”

“Shizun is currently busy in his office.”

“And this Shizun dismisses his head disciple to attend to her errand.”

“This disciple humbly asks Shizun to reconsider his choice of errand girl.”

“This Shizun has considered the request and has decided not to change his mind.” He motions her
away. “Dismissed.”

Hua Heilian gave a tight smile before properly excusing herself from the room.

Mu Qingfang put away the scroll and shook his head once the door closed.

It wasn’t too good if the other disciples relied too much on her. He couldn’t recall the last time that
child took a break. Hyper-competency was truly a curse.

Hua Heilian left the Peak Lord’s office and headed towards the hospital to inform the others of her
departure. The moment she stepped foot inside, she was bombarded with the sight of harried-
looking Qian Cao disciples scurrying to and fro with various medical supplies. The sound of
agonized groans and screams filled her ears, night terrors haunting nearly everyone of the the
patients in the ward.

“Shijie!” A disciple approached, charts in hand. “Shijie, the patient in bed two isn’t responding to
the treatment. It seems the Calming Tea is losing its effect.”

“Increase the dose for now,” she instructed. “We may have to escalate to using Caine Grass.
Consult with Shizun on the particulars.”

“Yes, Shijie.” With that, the disciple departed.

Hua Heilian made her way towards the main station with various disciples approaching her for
various things.
“Shijie, the patient in bed 13 was on the verge of a Qi deviation,” another disciple informed. They
hold out a chart in their arms and an inked brush towards her. “We’ve had to restrain them to
prevent further injury to the disciples and the patient in question. Please sign the restraining order.”

Hua Heilian continued to move deeper in through the ward, accepting the chart, signing it, and
returning it to the younger disciple. “Have they been sedated?”

“Yes, Shijie.”

“Good,” she said, dismissing them.

“Shijie,” a different disciple called. “A Bai Zhan disciple came in with a broken leg. We have no
more bed space available.”

“Take them to one of the smaller clinics.”

“Shijie, the smaller clinics are running low on supplies,” another disciple said.

Hua Heilian looked at the two younger disciples. “Send the Bai Zhan disciple to one of the clinics
and fetch the required supplies for their treatment. In the meantime, one of you go and request a
senior disciple for the needed stock. Assist them with contacting An Ding Peak if you must. If the
Bai Zhan disciple was brought in by others, enlist their help.” With that, she left them to their own
devices and proceeded to the main station.

After some time, Hua Heilian finally reached the station to find a female disciple from her year.
Before the disciple on the other side could open her mouth, Hua Heilian said, “I will be gone for a
moment. Please inform the others.”

The disciple looked at her in askance, rather startled. “Shijie, the hospital is–”

“Shizun has tasked me to run an errand.” She smiled tightly. “Please inform the others,” she
repeated. “I’ll leave our shimei and shidi in your capable hands.”

The disciple looked at her with a pale face as if she had lost her soul.
And with that, Hua Heilian made her way out, answering various disciples on her way. When she
finally reached the door, however, a very young disciple called out to her.

“Hua-shijie!” A boyish voice called out.

She exhaled silently before turning around to face the young disciple. “Yes?” She smiled.

The young boy ran up to her, dodging the other disciples and nearly making a mess of things.
When he reached her, he bent over a bit, resting his palms on his thighs as he attempted to catch his
breath. Sweat dripped from his face, which was colored in a rather alarming shade of red.

“Shijie,” he started, gasping for air. “The gatekeeper in charge of the storehouse won’t let me in.”

Hua Heilian’s brows furrowed minutely as she eyed the young disciple. “How odd. Did you have
your access talisman?”

The young child froze at her inquiry.

Ah, she could already feel a headache about to form.

“Nevermind. Go inform the main station.” She had business to take care of first. The quicker it
was done, the faster she could return and sort out this mess.

The young disciple nodded hesitantly and began to make his way to the station. When he turned
back, Hua Heilian was gone.

“What was that?” The older female disciple questioned sternly. “You can’t run in the hospital like
that!”

The boy ducked his head. “Sorry, Shijie…”

The girl huffed, face still slightly pale from the news Hua Heilian had given her. Ahhh, she
couldn’t bear it if something went wrong while she was in charge! Why did Shizun have to make
Hua-shijie leave? ( ´ ຶ ຶ`)

“Well? What is it?”

“Hua-shijie told me to come here…” He fidgeted. “I, um… the gatekeeper at the storehouse won’t
let me in.”

The girl looked at him with bewilderment, a slight feeling of dread creeping up on her. “Why not?”

“He said I needed a talisman to gain access inside.”

Oh no.

“Yes?” She said slowly, feeling very much like there was a rock plummeting into her stomach. “Of
course you do,” she affirmed, keeping her voice even. “You should already know this by now. You
should have been issued one.”

“Yes, but I…” He hesitated. “I can’t find it.”

“What.” She stared blankly at the boy, trying to compute his words.

It hadn’t even been a minute since the head disciple had put her in charge.

Hua-shijie, she internally cried. Please come back soon! I’m not qualified to deal with this! ‧º·(˚
˃̣̥ ⌓˂̣̥ )‧º·˚

Hua Heilian made it off the peak with little to no fanfare once she had left the hospital facilities.
Hopping on her sword, she flew off to Qing Jing Peak. She flew quickly, reaching the bamboo
house in no time. She descended steadily a little ways off from the house before getting off her
sword and sheathing it.
A bamboo house in a bamboo forest. Birds sang their morning greetings as light dappled in from
the early sun. The house was well built and pleasing to the eye, resembling something of a scene in
a fairytale - idyllic and peaceful.

Hua Heilian’s steps were silent. She knocked on the front door.

“Good morning,” she called to the other side, announcing her presence. “This is Hua Heilian from
Qian Cao Peak.”

“Come in.” A serene male voice came from the other side.

Hua Heilian opened the door and entered.

It was dimly lit inside, illuminated only by the light that peeked in through the windows. The
interior was clean and tastefully decorated, with not a single thing out of place. There was no one in
sight.

She walked deeper into the house, steps quiet and still. When she made her way to the Qing Jing
Peak Lord’s quarters, she paused.

On the bed laid Shen Qingqiu, pale with a sickly pallor. His lips were chapped and the skin beneath
his eyes were dark against his wan skin. His hair was undone from its usual elegant style. She
could see a faint tremor where an exposed hand lay.

Soon after, large male hands adjusted the covers, tucking in the patient, and obscuring the
trembling hand from view. The Sect Leader sat on a chair by the head of the bed, placing his hands
back on his lap once he was done with his task.

“Good morning, Zhangmen-shibo.” She saluted in greeting.

The Sect Leader smiled gently up at her. “Good morning. What brings you here?”
She brought out the box her shizun had entrusted her with. “Shizun has sent this disciple to deliver
more calming incense for Shen-shibo.”

“Thank you.” He nodded, turning his attention back towards the comatose man on the bed.

Hua Heilian entered the room. It was clear he no longer paid her presence any mind.

The room was tastefully decorated, much like the rest of the house, with a display of fans in one
corner. An elegant, painted folding screen divided the room, though it was placed rather
awkwardly, almost as though it wasn’t meant to be there. It made the room feel smaller. Stifled.

Aside from that, there was nothing that seemed out of place in the elegant room. She glanced at the
Sect Leader. Not even paperwork.

Hua Heilian set down the box of incense on top of a small pile of identical boxes by an incense
burner. They were all full, unused.

She opened one and placed a stick onto the stand and lit a small flame. The incense burned, its
soothing scent slowly wafting in the air.

She glanced out the nearest window. Nothing but an idyllic bamboo forest could be seen. It was
almost as if it was a different world, separated from the sect, from everything around them.

By the bed, the Sect Leader hadn’t moved, still gazing at the unconscious Peak Lord laying beside
him, stroking his hair, tender.

Hua Heilian was silent.

Shen Qingqiu was pale, but seemed to be slowly regaining color. She couldn’t see his hands, but
the tremors must have quietened beneath the sheets.

She saluted the man before leaving.

 It wasn’t her business.

Chapter End Notes

Omake 1

Young Madam Liu: I don’t wanna be the clan head >:(

Young LJY: Too bad :)

Omake 2

MQF: This task requires careful handling

HHL: What, do you think an unconscious SQQ is dangerous?
MQF: No, but his guard is

A/N:

Happy New Year everybody! We’ve reached chapter 50!!! :DDDD

As promised, our Dirt Jar Challenge has come to a close! Please vote in our discord
which entry you think should be #1! We will update this chapter with the winning
entries once the votes have been finalized :3

We loved each and every one of the entries given, but unfortunately, we can only pick
a handful, so please vote! All prizes will be posted and kept in our discord as part of
our exclusive discord content :333

Remember, you can only vote for one entry!

-M

P.S. I have a headache. I’ll go back and fix any errors later. If you find any, pls let me
know TvT
p.p.s. we changed a couple names in the Liu fam due to some naming errors, which
should have already been edited in previous chapters
p.p.p.s Q pls go on disc T^T
 Do You Even Cultivate Bro?
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter 51: Do You Even Cultivate Bro?

Shen Yuan took a deep breath, slowly moving between stances as he tried to balance on the
slippery rocks. The Peak Lord moved gracefully and effortlessly in comparison to Shen Yuan’s
jerky and halting attempts of doing the same off to the side. The man hadn’t really given him much
instruction aside from clearing his mind and to not fall on the rocks. He simply said what basically
amounted to one sentence and then began to do his own thing.

His clumsy attempts at copying the peak lord didn't seem any different from his training on Bai
Zhan. Was this really cultivation? It was basically just doing what he did every day at Bai Zhan,
except at a waterfall. Though to be honest, even the waterfall wasn’t all that unique.

He didn’t really understand what else he was supposed to do besides go through the motions. How
was he supposed to even “clear his mind” when he was occupied with trying to balance on these
rocks?

He thought back to his lessons in Qing Jing.

"Pay close attention to what I show you. The movements are important," Shizun spoke, flowing
between the movements of the eleventh basic form. In a quick movement, he swept forth, cutting the
air with a sharp strike, launching a thin wave of qi from the blade. "However, the proper flow of qi
is just as important."

He just needed to pay attention to how Liu Qingge's qi moved, he decided – like he would with
Shizun!

Though, that was easier said than done. When he focused on Liu Qingge, the War God's energy
simply circulated too swiftly for Shen Yuan to track.

' Maybe I just need to circulate my qi really fast?'.

That seemed easy enough, what could go wrong?

However, Shen Yuan was only able to take up the beginning pose of his first stance when
suddenly, the Peak Lord paused and turned to stare at something in the distance.

The shift in the Peak lord’s attention distracted Shen Yuan from his attempted emulation.
Following Liu Qingge’s line of vision, Shen Yuan soon saw a somewhat familiar figure
approaching from the foliage. A young man? Boy? Around Chen-shixiong’s age appeared. He
looked remarkably a lot like a younger, green-eyed Liu Qingqiu but with the beauty mark displaced
from beneath his left eye to the left side of his chin instead.

Shen Yuan wasn’t quite sure of his name, but this was probably the same Liu he sparred with
yesterday. The Liu heir maybe? Liu Fuming? He was very impressive during their spar, but Shen
Yuan still didn’t know what exactly he had done wrong at the end of their encounter.

“Dage,” the newcomer called.

“Fuling,” the Peak Lord acknowledged.

‘ Ah, oops…’ Thought Shen Yuan, ‘Right, that was his name.’

“Grandfather is requesting your presence.”

The Peak Lord furrowed his brows and nodded. He turned back to his disciple and said, “Continue
working on your stances.” Then, he jumped off his rock with envious ease, landing effortlessly
onto the solid ground beside the other boy.

Shen Yuan nodded absently at the Peak lord’s instructions and began going through the motions
again as the two Liu members discussed something. The Peak Lord left the area soon after and the
younger Liu went to follow when he suddenly paused.

Unbeknownst to Shen Yuan, the Liu heir turned to look in his direction with a strange expression.
This wasn't working.

Shen Yuan tried circulating his qi carefully while moving from one stance to the next. The weight
of the air gradually increasing around him improved his stability and footing on the slippery rocks
as he managed his energy.

Encouraged, he began to circulate his qi quicker and quicker, pouring all his focus into his
movements and then–

Thunk!

Shen Yuan startled when something solid whacked him on top of his head. His concentration broke
and building qi he had begun to mold dissipated harmlessly. Green eyes glared down at him and for
a moment, Shen Yuan forgot he wasn’t in Qing Jing Peak.

"Finally awake?" Liu Fuling asked sharply, glaring at him as he perched on one of the slippery
rocks next to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan stared blankly. When did he get so close? Hadn’t he left?

“If you want to have a qi deviation,” the other boy said, casually putting away his sheathed sword
back into its proper place at his waist, “do it elsewhere.”

Shen Yuan turned his attention to his surroundings. The rock surface he had been standing on had
deep cracks, and several water weeds near him now formed a green froth on the water surface.
Ah… Was that really from his meditation?

“A possible qi deviation just from basic stances…” Liu Fuling adjusted his sword with a huff,
eyeing him with disdain. “You really are something else, Shen Yuan.”

Shen Yuan scratched his cheek sheepishly in response. “Sorry?”

Liu Fuling pursed his lips. Sharply making an about face, he jumped off the rocks and walked
away. He stopped after several steps and turned back to Shen Yuan. “Well?”

Shen Yuan blinked.

“Are you coming or not?” The other boy scanned him up and down, nose scrunched up. “You
clearly cannot be left unsupervised. Dage wanted you to practice cultivation, correct?”

Shen Yuan nodded slowly. For some reason, he felt like the other boy gave off a rather familiar
feeling. However, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Whatever it was, that is.

“Come along then.” Liu Fuling huffed and then walked away.

Shen Yuan carefully got off his now-decimated rock and walked along the new gravel pathway to
the other side to join the Liu boy.

“Um, where are we going?” He asked hesitantly.

“Somewhere where you won’t accidentally cause a rockslide and kill yourself,” was the clipped
response.

As Chen Tian made his way towards the bamboo house, he spotted a familiar figure approaching
in the distance. It was Hua Heilian.

“A-Lian!” He greeted, quickly jogging over to her with bright eyes. He was pleasantly surprised to
see her, given how busy they both have been as of late. “Did you come all this way to see me?” He
asked lightheartedly.

It would have been nice if that was the case – if Shizun hadn’t fallen into a qi deviation. But with
how things were at the moment, it was unlikely for her to have gone all this way from Qian Cao
Peak just for that reason alone.
She smiled back at him. “I came to drop off some medicinal incense for Shen-shibo.”

“How’s he doing?” He asked, wringing his hands fretfully. “He usually doesn’t take this long to
recover.”

Hua Heilian glanced back at the bamboo house in the distance.

“It seems the patient has been forgetting to take his medicine lately…” She said, turning back to
face him. “It might be best if you were to ensure the patient’s compliance with his medications.”

Chen Tian paused and gave her a searching look. She seemed a bit paler than usual and the skin
beneath her eyes was a bit bruised. Despite her composure, she looked a little worn.

Chen Tian knew he didn’t look that much better.

“Alright,” he said with enthusiasm he didn’t quite feel. A sense of unease, brought about by her
words, began to gnaw away at his stomach. “I understand.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

A slight breeze blew by, rustling the leaves of the bamboo forest.

“Don’t work too hard, A-Lian.” He gave her a smile and reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair
behind her ear.

They basked in the silence and tranquility of the bamboo forest for a moment, taking some time to
themselves for a moment of respite. With a silent agreement, they parted ways, each heading back
to their respective duties.

Chen Tian made his way into the bamboo house, announcing his presence and conducting the
daily chores he was to do as his shizun’s head disciple. Once he was done taking care of the house
chores, he began to make his way to the master bedroom before knocking on the door.
“Come in,” the Sect Leader’s voice answered.

With permission to enter, Chen Tian opened the door. “Zhangmen-shibo,” he greeted, standing at
the threshold of his Shizun’s room.

The Sect Leader smiled up at him from his seat beside the bed. “Chen Tian, was it? Xiao– Shen-
shidi’s head disciple?”

Chen Tian blinked. His eyes narrowed with suspicion but it was smoothly hidden by his smile.

“Yes, Zhangmen-shibo,” he said, closing the door behind him. “This disciple is Chen Tian.”

Shen Yuan trailed after Liu Fuling as they arrived at a secluded area filled with nothing but grass
and a large stone platform in the center. The air here felt slightly different from any other place in
the Liu territories. It was an extremely calm and quiet clearing. There was barely any noise aside
from the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. There weren’t even any bird calls.

“What is this place?” Shen Yuan asked, looking around with a bit of curiosity.

Liu Fuling didn’t respond. He jumped up onto the stone platform and turned to face Shen Yuan
with a raised brow. “Well?”

Shen Yuan blinked and followed suit. “Oh…” The air on top of the stone platform was vastly
different. It felt dense, yet not suffocating. “This is… different.”

Liu Fuling gave him an unimpressed look. “Sit down,” he instructed, taking up a sitting lotus
position on one side of the stone’s surface.

Shen Yuan followed suit opposite of the other boy.

“If your demonstration from earlier was any indication of what you consider to be meditation, I
suppose you require an explanation of the basics.” Liu Fuling huffed before muttering under his
breath, “Lest you go off and kill yourself with a qi deviation and then where would we be?”

Shen Yuan didn’t quite know how to respond. “Oh, um, okay… thanks.”

Liu Fuling gave him an unimpressed sneer. “Meditation is what you use to clear your mind –
finding your own focus and strengthening your meridians by guiding your qi through them.” When
Shen Yuan nodded along, he continued, “Everyone is different, but your qi can tell you what
method is best for you. All you have to do is pay attention to what it’s saying.”

Shen Yuan nodded slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the explanation.

“Your qi is metallic in nature, correct?”

Shen Yuan froze, his breath stuttering for a second.

But the other boy didn’t wait for him to answer nor did he notice Shen Yuan’s reaction, and before
Shen Yuan’s thoughts could begin to spiral, Liu Fuling instructed, “Close your eyes and focus
deeply into yourself. Slowly channel your qi into complete cycles through your meridians. Think of
it like molten iron flowing into a mold,” he explained. “Keep your qi controlled and within
yourself.”

After shooting a quick glance at the other boy and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the tight
coils of Shen Yuan’s muscles slowly began to relax. He did his best to follow the Liu heir’s
instructions and focused inwards, trying to imagine his qi as molten iron and his body as the mold.

This was… truly different…

It was progress...

It was slow, but it definitely felt better than his attempts to meditate at the waterfall.

However, it was still that: Slow.

Shen Yuan cracked open an eye and peeked at the other boy. Seeing him deep in meditation, he
reached out his senses to figure out what his meditation partner was doing. Was there another trick
to this whole thing?

He was caught prying immediately.

"What are you doing?" Liu Fuling asked irritably. "Are you meditating to find my focus, or your
own?" His green eyes opened, the annoyance in them almost palpable. "Focus on yourself. Not on
me, not on your surroundings, not on anyone or anything else!"

Properly cowed, Shen Yuan nodded meekly. He hurriedly closed his eyes and tried to meditate
again.

In the bedroom of the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s bamboo house, the scent of medicinal incense wafted
throughout the space. Chen Tian’s comatose shizun laid in bed, pale and wan. The Sect Leader sat
at his bedside, drinking the tea that Chen Tian had brewed and placed on a nearby bedside table.
Taking a brief glance at the burning incense easily visible behind the Sect Leader’s head, the Qing
Jing head disciple continued his report on the status of the ongoing Qing Jing Peak repairs.

"A display piece, one of Shizun's older ehrus has been slightly damaged by the fall, but–"

His report was cut short by the sound of knocking. The Sect Leader's concerned expression
smoothed to a calm smile, as he called out to the new arrival. "Come in."

Soon after, the familiar figure of Head Disciple stepped into the room. "This disciple greets Shizun
and Shen-shibo." She bowed respectfully.

Head Disciple usually came in with her reports much later in the day, so she and Chen Tian never
had much overlap when it came to reporting the status of their respective duties. As a result, Chen
Tian became curious about what had brought her here in such a hurry.

The Sect Leader smiled easily. "You may rise. I trust all is well on Qiong Ding Peak," he asked.
"Answering Shizun, the hall masters have all been assigned their tasks and report no significant
problems. This disciple has arranged for additional parchment to be delivered from the stores of An
Ding peak. All is well with the disciples' cultivation," she reported, her tone professional and her
expression even.

The Sect Leader's smile remained unchanged. "Then I trust my head disciple is competent enough
to handle these matters?"

Head Disciple paused for a short moment. "This disciple requires Shizun's guidance on another
matter," she said.

The Sect Leader nodded, prompting for his disciple to continue.

"We have received word from Huan Hua Palace about the proposed knowledge exchange," Head
Disciple reported, pulling out a scroll. "They have set forth a number of conditions, including a
face-to-face negotiation of the terms and agreements."

She then pulled out another scroll – this time with a signature teal ribbon. "Tian Yi Overlook also
requests our participation in an investigation at seven villages along the Demon Realm border."
She presented both scrolls to the Sect Leader.

However, the Sect Leader made no move to recieve them. "Hm, these do not seem to lie outside of
my disciple's capabilities, nor do they seem particularly urgent," he said calmly, reaching over to
take a sip of tea from the bedside table.

The Head Disciple's expression remained as even as ever. "Huan Hua Palace has not provided a
specific date for the negotiation, but this disciple believes it would be required to set that on our
terms, as the hosts of the exchange.

"The skirmishes at the borders have destroyed several homes and claimed over a dozen victims in
the past week. This disciple would still like to respectfully request Shizun to look over these
matters," she insisted quietly.

"This shizun will have to ask his disciple to look over them again. Planning events like these will
be useful to your growth." His smile seemed to radiate warmth. "I trust your judgment."
Head Disciple remained silent at his statement.

"If these matters remain unresolved by the time I return to Qiong Ding Peak, I shall deal with them
personally." The Head Disciple looked like she wanted to state her case further, but the Sect Leader
was done with the conversation. "Dismissed."

She quickly collected herself – a blank mask of stoicism professionally painted onto her visage.
She nodded at the dismissal and left, saluting the two Peak Lords on her way out.

The Sect Leader turned his attention back towards Chen Tian. "I believe there was more Shizhi had
to say on the repairs? About Shen-shidi's ehru?"

Chen Tian fought to keep his smile even as he continued his report. He hadn't missed the minute
tremble of Head Disciple's hands throughout the exchange.

After being dragged off to meditate on that strange rock, Shen Yuan had spent the rest of the day
with Liu Fuling being berated on his terrible meditation skills. The Liu heir spent the rest of the
day nitpicking at his “horrendous qi flow” and stopping him whenever he did something wrong.

“How are you so bad at this?!” The other boy had finally snapped. “What do you do all day in that
sect?!”

Shen Yuan blinked up at him. “I spar with my senior martial siblings,” he offered.

“Do you not cultivate?!”

“I do…” Shen Yuan weakly protested, “but it’s only been a recent development.”

Liu Fuling looked as if he was slapped in the face with a fish. His mouth unbecomingly opened
and closed as if he couldn’t make up his mind on what to say to those infuriatingly ludicrous
words.
Luckily for Shen Yuan, a servant came by before Liu Fuling could even regain his bearings to
begin tearing into him once more. The servant had come to summon them for lunch, stating that it
was time to eat and escorting them back to the manor.

At the round dining table, Shen Yuan was placed between Liu Qingge and Liu Fuling. Next to the
Liu heir was his baby brother, Liu Sheng. On the other side of Liu Qingge was his baby sister, Liu
Mingyi. Beside the youngest children were their respective mothers. If not for Liu Qingge sitting
among them, Shen Yuan would have likened their side of the table to be the kiddie-corner. There
didn’t seem to be any importance placed on seating based on social ranking among the family
members, only that the family groups were placed by one another. As the only guest at the table,
Shen Yuan could see why he had been placed between Liu Qingge and Liu Fuling.

Lunch was a pleasant break – though throughout the entire affair, Liu Fuling sported a dark look on
his face. He ate quickly with jerky movements and chewed his food aggressively as if taking out
his frustration on the offerings at the table.

Shen Yuan wondered if he didn’t like the food.

The adults at the table made conversation that Shen Yuan didn’t pay much attention to as he
savored the delicious meal set before him. They mostly discussed family matters that didn’t seem
to apply to Shen Yuan at all.

While Liu Fuling decimated his meal, little Liu Mingyan easily enjoyed being pampered and hand-
fed by her mother. Her cousin, Liu Sheng, kept having his plate refilled by his mother.
Occasionally, Liu Fuling would even add the torn bits of food he’d destroyed onto his baby
brother’s rice bowl. Maybe it was something the Liu’s liked to do because even Shen Yuan’s dish
was filled by the War God once or twice, and it wasn’t like they were related or anything.

He wondered if he should put something in Liu Fuling’s bowl as well. Was it rude for him not to?
While pondering this, he picked up a piece of glazed tofu and decided to place it into the heir’s
bowl. Liu Fuling looked at him, foul mood broken and replaced by a sense of bewilderment. Shen
Yuan didn’t see why he looked so puzzled though. Wasn’t everyone doing it?

“Dear,” a feminine voice started pointedly. The tone of voice made Shen Yuan glance up from his
food, he could see it came from Madam Liu’s sister. She was looking at the man next to her rather
expectantly. “Don’t you have something to say?”

The face of the man – the one younger than Liu Qingge’s grandfather but older than Liu Qingge
himself – soured like he had been forced to eat a lemon. Wait, wasn’t he Liu Fuling’s father?
“Let’s not be rude,” the lady soothed. She didn’t seem to be doing a very good job though, Shen
Yuan mused around a mouthful of rice, because the man only looked even more sullen.

“Don’t mind him, Meimei,” the matriarch interrupted, easy and languid as she added more meat to
her small daughter’s plate. “Some dogs just don’t learn. Perhaps you should invest in training your
pet a little bit more.”

The lady glanced at her older sister with a slight frown. Her eyes trailed back to the man beside her
consideringly.

The man in question glowered disrespectfully at Madam Liu, to which she responded with a
challenging sneer. No one at the table paid much attention to the exchange.

Shen Yuan reached over to try a dumpling on one of the dishes, plopping it into his mouth as he
watched the drama unfold before him. He glanced at Liu Fuling. The boy didn’t even seem to mind
what was happening at the table. He was still glowering down at his bowl of rice. His grip on his
chopsticks was also creating some rather ominous creaking sounds.

When he glanced back, the man had stiffened upon noticing where his wife was looking. He cast
her a wounded look, though she only smiled back rather placidly.

The man woodenly turned in his seat and cleared his throat. “Ahem.”

Shen Yuan watched him curiously, taking another bite of food.

“Child Yuan,” the man began, voice sounding a bit strained and Shen Yuan startled at suddenly
being addressed. “I apologize for my poor display during these past few days.”

Ah?

Shen Yuan didn’t quite know what he was talking about but he just stared blankly back and nodded
slowly in reply.
The man looked at him for a moment, pausing before nodding to himself. “Yes, yes, I was
mistaken. This child is much better behaved than a certain wild beast in this house.”

Shen Yuan blinked. “There’s a wild beast here?” He couldn’t help but ask, curiosity and interest
evident in his voice.

“Yes,” the man responded resolutely, his grimace smoothing away. “It’s always running away
from home and making a mess of things.” Bitterly, he added, “It’s quite annoying to have to corral
back.”

The matriarch only scoffed at his words.

“Yes, I’m sure this child here is responsible enough not to run off on his own.” The younger Lady
Liu smiled. “He seems to be a reliable sort.”

“Meimei,” Liu Qingge’s mother shook her head. “Even a house cat will go out to hunt rats when
it’s bored. Isn’t that much better than a lazy dog who only barks and gets fat from doing nothing
and rolling in bed?”

“What’s wrong with a plump puppy?” The lady responded back, amusement coloring her voice.
“They’re much cuter that way, aren’t they?”

The matriarch’s face contorted at her sister’s words. Liu Fuling’s father turned red and looked
down at his own body, incredulous. He dropped his chopsticks and moved his arms below the
table, assessing his abdomen with his hands.

Shen Yuan wondered why he was inspecting himself. Weren’t the two ladies talking about a dog?
Or maybe the man was experiencing some indigestion?

Shen Yuan didn’t know what happened, but he found Liu Fuling mechanically eating, his eyes
dead as his mother and aunt bickered. He looked like he would rather not be here.

Lunch was over quickly after that and Shen Yuan found himself immediately dragged away from
the table by the Liu heir the moment he took his last bite. On their way out though, he thought he
heard a male voice sullenly ask, “Wife, do you think I gained weight?”
No amount of confused questioning earned him any explanation as to why he was being forcefully
conscripted. Shen Yuan’s only real option was to shut up and get pulled along by a determined Liu
Fuling.

It wasn’t long until Liu Fuling had hauled the both of them to the same clearing they had been at
before the lunch. He was shoved down to sit on the meditation rock once more and instructed to
meditate as the Liu heir glared daggers into his back, scrutinizing him with contempt.

For some reason, Shen Yuan felt this scene was all too familiar. Attempting to meditate while a
disdainful stare stabbed into his back the entire time.

“Concentrate,” Liu Fuling huffed, interrupting Shen Yuan’s miserable endeavor at meditation. It
was like he knew just when Shen Yuan’s thoughts would wander. Despite his affected irritation,
the Liu boy was a much more attentive teacher than the War God. “Focus on your breathing.”

Shen Yuan tried his best to follow the instructions, but try as he might, his thoughts were quick to
wander. His qi felt sluggish and heavy as he tried to concentrate on circulating it and the prickling
feeling it left in its trail felt like a vague itch he had an urge to scratch.

Before he could focus on the burning sensation, Shen Yuan felt something solid not-so gently tap
his head. Opening his eyes, an irate Liu Fuling looked back at him with displeased green eyes,
gripping the sheath of his practice sword near the base of the handle.

“Don’t. Let. Your. Mind. Wander,” he bit out with gnashing teeth. Tapping Shen Yuan’s head
harder with each aggravated word.

Shen Yuan rubbed his head and sighed. “I’m trying…”

“Try harder!”

It went on and on like this for a few days. Shen Yuan would do his best to meditate with Liu Fuling
watching over his training with sharp eyes and a heavy hand. Each time he would grow distracted
he was immediately punished with a bonk to the head with Liu Fuling’s sheathed sword. He wasn’t
even able to greet the small children that clamored for his attention in the morning before he would
be whisked away to sit on that one rock Shen Yuan was beginning to grow a bit tired of.
 Apparently, he wasn’t the only one getting fed up with all of this.

“Hahhh…” Liu Fuling covered his eyes with a hand, resisting the urge to drag it down his face as
he sat across Shen Yuan in a lotus position. His jian lay discarded off to the side and his normally
dignified posture was slumped as if weighed down by grief and frustration. “How can anyone be so
bad at this?!”

How was Shen Yuan supposed to know? He sat sullenly on top of the meditation rock, feeling
rather offended. He traced resentful circles on the rock, Shen-shibo never seemed to have a
problem teaching him.

Wasn’t it just these guys who were bad at teaching?

“How could my Qingge-dage’s child be like this?” Liu Fuling asked hollowly to himself.

Shen Yuan’s ears pricked at the name and he turned towards his harsh taskmaster. “Shizun has a
child?” Shen Yuan couldn’t help but blurt out, incredulous.

Liu Fuling blinked and met Shen Yuan’s bewildered gaze with his own. “What do you mean?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that you?”

Chapter End Notes

Q: Hi Qwerty224 here… Sorry for the two year long hiatus… Lmao… Where did the
time go… I generally hate when fics update with hiatus notices but I also realize that
never putting one out either is not much better… But like explanation time I guess,
totally fine to skip.

I got hit by some pretty bad depression which made me not really want to work on
anything at all. To be honest I wasn’t sure I would ever come back to finish this fic. I
have to reread this fic to begin to continue it and good god the thought of rereading
this fills me with horror. This is my second attempt at a long creative writing project
and I think it shows. I cringe very hard at my beginning chapters and I find my pacing
is just not very good. I wanted to rewrite this entire fic at one point. I wanted to expand
on SY’s demon world adventures, add some more lighthearted moments and flesh out
some of the characters I threw in just for SY to have a tragic backstory. I also wanted
to have more TLJ and SXY adventures because growing and developing the
relationships in that trio would have been very cool. But like… I lost all the energy for
this fic somewhere along the way. The days of an upload a day are just not here
anymore. I thought about just ending it all and posting a summary of the things we had
planned for the future. I was in a pretty bad place mentally and there was a lot of
internal debate about just leaving this fic to my co authors. I had just completely lost
interest in the fandom and thus consequently this fic. My brain works in
hyperfixations. I’ll bounce from fandom to fandom and stay in a single fandom for
months before going to another one. When I'm obsessed with one thing I can barely
even think about a different fandom. It's been two years though and I’ve been doing
vaguely better and somehow found some of the old passion for this fic again (largely
thanks to a truly lovely commenter). I don’t really want to get peoples hopes up for
consistent updates though because motivation to write this thing is currently very
fleeting.

I honestly see every single comment on this fic that people leave even if I don’t
respond anymore. Every single supportive comment has just been simultaneously
amazing and terrible because oh wow oof guilt. I really want to thank all my readers
for being so wonderful. I am truly very grateful that people have taken the time to read
this and even possibly enjoy this. Like holy crap there have been so many nice
comments and I just can’t get over it.

I would also just like to give a big thank you to my co author misminor because gosh
damn I don’t think I would be able to get back to writing this without their fantastic
support.

also like… The dirt jar challenge… holy shit i forgot about that and i’m so so so sorry.
If the winners want their prizes please remind me oh dear lord i forgot about
this……….

also also. SY thinks the rock in the clearing has magical Xian Xia spiritual mumbo
jumbo going for it. It’s just vaguely magnetic.

M: Yo, it’s been a while. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

For those of you who entered the Dirt Jar Challenge, yall already know who the
winners are from the votes in the server BUT we’re here to announce it again, now
that Sword Fic is back!

3rd Place: ToriCane

2nd Place: Ada
 1st Place: Phoebe

For those who won, please go to the Dirt Jar Challenge channel in the CT server to
discuss your prizes! Now that we’re back, we’ll be doing our best to get them to you
guys >.<

So sorry for the long wait!

End Notes

Click here for a pic of aged up SY by Qwerty!

Click here for a pic of Chen Tian by Qwerty!

Click here for a pic of Chen Tian by misminor!

Click here for a pic of SY by misminor!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by flatasafryingpan!

Click here for more AMAZING fanart by flatasafryingpan!

Click here Hua Heilian fanart by flatasafryingpan!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by ToriCane!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by krad216!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by YourTipicalGeek!

Click here for AMAZING fanart by YourTipicalGeek!

Click here for Huahua!

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Works inspired by this CLICK

one HERE TO SEE WHAT BAI ZHAN DISCIPLES DO BEHIND BUSHES
by Demonic0Angel, Shen Yuan Conspiracy Meeting by BluePastelLucas
(VeniVediPerivi), Adult Shen Yuan from "I was Transmigrated as a Sword"
by Hope_Is_The_Thing_With_Feathers, so, you wanna make the writers
suffer? by Human_At_Heart, JustAdrian, TheWanderingWandererWonders,
UncaBob

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