Chapter Text
The next few months fly by for Shen Yuan. He was happy to discover that when the SYSTEM changed his appearance back to his own face (instead of Shen Jiu’s) it was only the outside that changed. His (Shen Jiu’s) meridians stayed the same. He can cultivate!
Shen Jiu, insisting on all the priorities, made Shen Yuan serve him tea (Sorry, Jiu-ge, this Shen Yuan only makes good tea in the microwave!) and call him Shizun. It starts out awkward, gets unexpectedly good, and then is awkward again when he has to use the term in public. He can’t really say it with a straight face, so Shen Jiu sighs and tells him, “Do as you will.”
Since his wrist healed, Shen Yuan learns that a lot of his violin knowledge is actually super helpful when it comes to playing the erhu! Two of the strings are basically the same, it’s just that the erhu has a really long neck. Anyway, he finds it amusing to play music-related jokes on Shen Jiu. For example, he’s taught the few erhu students how to play the opening bars of Britney Spears' Toxic.
It drives A-Jiu insane! Well, he’s only broken one fan by using it to smack Shen Yuan over the head with, so he counts that as a win.
He’s pretty good at picking out melodies on the guqin too! Stairway to Heaven was a pretty big winner!
The other thing that happened was that Shen Jiu took Shen Yuan into town to buy him new robes, but also to introduce him to his friends at the Warm Red Pavilion. The Jiejies and Aunties squealed about how happy their A-Jiu looked. They were so pleased that Shen Jiu actually has someone on his side up on the mountain now.
Shen Yuan couldn’t help feeling sad and happy at the same time. Sad that up till now, Shen Jiu had to leave the Sect to find any peace, but so very happy that he’s the one that somehow gets Shen Jiu to smile on the regular.
They spend a lovely evening visiting with the girls who are basically Shen Jiu’s found family. Unfortunately, Liu Qingge is waiting for them by the back door when they leave.
The Bai Zhan peak lord just glares at them both, until Shen Yuan says, “What is it now?”
“What happened to the other one?” Liu Qingge demands, crossing his arms over his chest.
Squinting, Shen Yuan tilts his head to the side. “What other one?”
“I’m not talking to you,” Liu Qingge says nastily.
“Go fuck yourself,” Shen Yuan replies pleasantly. “A-Jiu, we should go.”
“How can you disgrace your cultivation partner like this, Shen Qingqiu?” the other peak lord demands, actually looking upset.
Holding out a hand in front of Shen Jiu, Shen Yuan takes a step forward. “You really should ask yourself why you’re so obsessed with my A-Jiu,” he tells Liu Qingge. “But here’s the thing. I’m his cultivation partner.”
Glaring, Liu Qingge shakes his head. “No. It’s that other man, who looks just like him.”
Shen Jiu lifts a fan in front of his face and says to Shen Yuan, “Are my ears deceiving me, or is that brute upset on my behalf?”
“I think he is,” Shen Yuan replies, feeling much more magnanimous now. To Liu Qingge he says, “You are misunderstanding the situation. Shen Qingqiu was aware from the very start that I was cursed to look exactly like him. Shen Jiu broke the curse.” Please ask, please ask, please ask Shen Yuan wishes with all his might.
“How did he do that?” Liu Qingge asks suspiciously.
Shen Yuan snorts. “Obviously, it was True Love’s Kiss.”
“...is that true?” Liu Qingge asks Shen Jiu.
“Oh, now you’ll believe this master’s words?” Shen Jiu drawls smoothly. “It is as A-Yuan said. A kiss broke the spell.”
Brow furrowed, Liu Qingge looks confused. “That…doesn’t make sense, why would a kiss...?”
Shen Yuan is tempted to say something snarky, but you know what? Maybe he can try to be a little more polite. “Aw. It’s okay, someday you’ll find someone that makes your heart beat faster, and you’ll want to kiss them. Or not,” he adds thoughtfully. “That’s okay too.”
Liu Qingge blinks in surprise, but says nothing to this.
Lifting his chin, Shen Jiu looks over his martial sibling. “This master is choosing to believe that Liu Shidi had his best interest at heart on this once occasion.” He inclines his head. “Do not chase after us again, or this master will let Shen Yuan speak his mind without holding back.”
While the Bai Zhan peak lord blanches, Shen Jiu draws his sword. Stepping up behind him, Shen Yuan wraps his arms tightly around Shen Jiu’s chest.
“Don’t worry A-Yuan,” Shen Jiu reminds him. “This master will not let you fall.”
Life moves on, rather too fast in Shen Yuan’s opinion. He moves through the first cultivation manual, learns to read traditional characters, and then slogs through the process of learning to write with a brush of all things.
At one point he mutters, “This must be what Harry Potter felt like at Hogwarts without any damned pens."
Later, he finds out from Airplane that Shen Jiu pinned him down after a peak lord meeting and demanded to know what a Hogwarts is.
Poor Airplane tried to give a synopsis to Shen Jiu, but it just made both of them upset.
“They made him live in a closet?! He should have set their house on fire.”
“Shen Shixiong, that’s…not exactly the uh, point-”
Dissatisfied, Shen Jiu returns to the bamboo house and demands Shen Yuan explain this further. He gets as far as the abusive potions teacher and then just…can’t.
It’s fine.
Mu Qingfang goes on an extended vacation, at least that’s what his harried head disciple says the next time the two Shens end up on Qian Cao peak.
This time at least, it’s a minor injury Shen Yuan received when he tightened the erhu string too much and the resulting tension snapped the wire, causing a deep laceration to his face. It wouldn’t stop bleeding in spite of a qi transfusion, so once again Shen Jiu scoops him up and flies him to the medical peak.
The head disciple treats Shen Yuan efficiently with some specialized hemostatic ointment and sends them on their way.
_____________________
Meanwhile, over on An Ding peak, Shang Qinghua has not heard from his King in many weeks. Is it really that hard to check in? Still, Shang Qinghua has not attempted to summon his demon lord, and chalks it up to Mobei Jun being busy.
Shang Qinghua’s pretty busy too! His martial siblings are always so demanding, Shen Shixiong with his erhu strings made from Flame-backed silkworms, and Liu Shidi with destruction following in his wake.
His own disciples sometimes get into scrapes that he, as their Shizun, has to rescue them from. When will his kids learn that Shizun is not just talking out of his ass? Stay away from the deadly plants in the back garden!
Still more time passes and Shang Qinghua gets even more bogged down in the daily drudgery of An Ding peak. Before he realizes it, nearly four months have passed since the last time he saw Mobei Jun.
He can’t help but worry that maybe the demon lord has given up on his quest. Maybe he changed his mind about Shang Qinghua too. This is probably for the best, he tries to tell himself one evening, flying back from Qiong Ding peak. Everyone is pretty relieved that Mu Shidi is back from his vacation, although to be honest, Mu Qingfang doesn’t seem very relaxed. He barely talks to Shang Qinghua at all!
He’d stopped by Qing Jing briefly to say hello to Cucumber bro who was still happily playing house with Shen Shixiong. By all accounts, they’ve both settled down, and rumors have it that Shen Shixiong has even mellowed some.
Cucumber bro’s hair is growing longer, and right now it’s too long to keep out of his face, but not really long enough to put up. It’s making the younger man very, very irritable, which has the secondary effect of making him burst into Peerless Cucumber style rants at the drop of a hat.Shen Shixiong must not mind it too much, elsewise he would surely teach Shen Yuan how to use a hair comb.
Whatever, the way those two throw around dog food is unbelievable.
Anyway, he’s tired, is the point. It’s after dark when he gets back to his leisure house, and he’s halfway to his bedroom before he registers that there were people in his sitting room which he just walked through.. Carefully, Shang Qinghua backs up.
No. He’s not hallucinating. Mobei Jun is here, standing in the middle of the room, holding a very young boy in his arms. The child is sucking his thumb and leaning his head on Mobei Jun’s shoulder. His hair is wild and fluffy, and his eyes are bright like stars.
Mobei Jun looks…Shang Qinghua’s mouth is kind of dry. He’d just never realized what the sight of his perfect man holding a baby was going to do to him. Especially since the baby is clean and warm and safe.
And then he notices the third person in the room. An older woman, perhaps fifty or so, who looks careworn and pale. Her silvering hair is tied back in a long braid, and she’s wearing the deep blues of the northern kingdom. For that matter, so is Luo Binghe. The woman, who Shang Qinghua never did give a name, is perched on the edge of the couch in his sitting room. Her brown eyes flicker between the tall demon lord holding her baby and the much smaller Shang Qinghua.
All this time, Mobei Jun says nothing, merely allows Shang Qinghua to look his fill. Then he says, “This Lord has fulfilled Shang Qinghua’s requirements.” He shifts and baby Luo Binghe makes a small sound of protest around the thumb in his mouth.
Luo Binghe removes his thumb and pats Mobei Jun’s face with his damp fingers. “Mo-shu, down?”
Carefully, Mobei Jun leans down and places the child on the floor. He toddles over to Shang Qinghua and looks up at him so much, he starts leaning backwards.
Shang Qinghua catches him with one hand on his lower back before the kid falls backwards and cracks his head open. This elicits giggles from the boy.
Luo Binghe glances up at Mobei Jun, who nods solemnly. Luo Binghe gives Shang Qinghua a big grin, showing off his white milk teeth. “Shang Shushu?”
Unable to stop a smile, Shang Qinghua answers, “Binghe?”
“Mn!”
“You’re such a big boy!” exclaims Shang Qinghua as he crouches down on the floor. Binghe just clambers right into his lap and settles there like he’s planning to stay for a long time. His wild and fluffy hair looks so soft that he really doesn’t have any choice but to card his fingers through it.
Looking over at the woman on the couch, Binghe says, “Mama! See Shang-shu?”
Shang Qinghua leans to the side a little so he can see the lady who’s been raising this boy. “Hello,” he says kind of awkwardly, and gives her a little wave. “I’m Shang Qinghua, the peak lord of An Ding peak. I see you met my…” He eyes Mobei Jun for a long moment. The demon lord just returns his gaze, looking softly at Shang Qinghua holding a toddler. “-My betrothed,” Shang Qinghua finishes.
Mobei Jun smiles ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth curling, but his eyes are warm. “Betrothed,” he says. “This lord presents Gu Liang and Luo Binghe.” He takes a step closer to where Shang Qinghua is still sitting on the floor with Binghe in his lap. “This lord found your sect’s healer and he treated Gu Liang.”
Mentally he lights a candle for poor Mu-Shidi, who accidentally got kidnapped as part of Mobei Jun’s betrothal quest. Shang Qinghua will have to send him a special batch of those heal-all herbs he’s been hoarding for a few years.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Shang Qinghua just grins. He presses his lips against Binghe’s hair. “I am so happy to meet you both.