Chapter Text
The clearing in Jue Di Gorge was in chaos. Trees were knocked down, pierced by large blades of ice or cut apart by sharp claws. There were areas on the ground that were scarred by deep slashes and pierced with thick man sized icebergs. Blood was everywhere, both from the battle before and from the disciples that were too slow to move out of the way of wayward blows.
In between the blades of grass in front of him gleamed the shattered remains of Xiu Ya.
Luo Binghe stared at the once bright blade in shock. Around him, cultivators were running around and gathering those injured. Some were shouting in joy at reuniting with their friends while others were simply relieved that the perceived source of the demonic invasion was gone.
What threat? He wasn't... he didn't even... they were the ones who attacked first!
He clenched his hands into tight fists.
He hated them.
How dare they rejoice? How dare they be happy for what they’d done?
Luo Binghe shakily gathered pieces of the great spiritual blade into his qiankun pouch before anyone could see them.
He hated these people… but more than these wretched righteous cultivators, he hated himself the most.
“There he is! The one that colluded with the demon!”
Luo Binghe felt hands pushing him down, forcing him to kneel on the ground. His eyes widenend. Frantically, they scanned the grass. He fought, struggling against the weight. He hadn’t been able to gather all the pieces of Xiu Ya! He couldn’t see the shards from his new angle! He was yelling or crying. He wasn't sure anymore but the sound was almost painful. His head throbbed and it felt like someone else was screaming, like he was just one with the crowd instead of one of the main participants on the stage. He didn't stop though. He couldn't stop. He was crying, screaming, and cursing at them. He didn't care that their grip on his shoulders had become tight enough to almost break his bones or that an experienced cultivator from Huan Hua was approaching him, sword drawn. All that mattered to him was getting the shards. They were all that remained of-they were Shizun's!
“Kill him now! Before he summons more demons!”
A sharp blade was raised, the sun glinting off of the metal. Without any hesitation, the blade swung down towards Luo Binghe’s neck.
Cheng Luan met the blade head on, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the clearing. Standing between Luo Binghe’s furious form and the cultivator in Huan Hua’s colors was Liu Qingge.
“What the hell are you doing to a disciple of Cang Qiong?” he growled before he pushed back with enough strength to force his opponent to jump back in order some distance between them. Liu Qingge didn’t follow however. Instead, he turned to the other two who were holding Shen Qingqiu’s favored disciple down.
“Release him.”
The two cultivators, one from Tian Yi Overlook and the other from Zhao Hua, looked at each other before quickly deciding that facing the War God of Bai Zhan was less than ideal. They let go of Luo Binghe and stepped away, keeping their wary eyes on the peak lord.
“Luo Binghe,” Liu Qingge said as the disciple immediately crawled to Xiu Ya’s remains. The sense of loss he felt at the sight of those shards punched the breath out of him. There was only one reason for Xiu Ya's shattering. He watched for a moment as Luo Binghe carefully collected the pieces, handling them like they were more fragile than glass. He'd let him have that at least. He didn't want to leave the shards or for them to be trampled on by anyone either. “Luo Binghe,” he called again, his voice a little strained, “what happened to Shen Qingqiu?”
Luo Binghe flinched. He bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood before he let out a shaky breath. He touched the last piece of Xiu Ya, silently asking it for strength before he tucked it safely away into his qiankun pouch.
“Luo Binghe! Answer me!”
“They threw him down.” Luo Binghe answered dully, the memory still so very fresh from his mind. He could still see Shizun’s face as he fell, could trace the movements of his mouth, could almost hear the silent words Shen Qingqiu was too wary to speak out loud.
“Keep your head down.”
“They threw him down into the Endless Abyss.” he said again, keeping his head down like his Shizun told him to. Even then, even when he was fighting off cultivator after cultivator, even after his demonic blood had been released from the seal and his qi was causing chaos throughout his spiritual veins, Shen Qingqiu’s main concern was making sure Luo Binghe did not become their next target.
He felt tears slip down his cheeks. He heard Liu Qingge questioning for more information before he felt Bai Zhan peak’s lord grasping his shoulder.
“Get up. We’re leaving.”
Luo Binghe didn’t want to, not really. He wanted to stay, to remain in the last place Shizun had been but Liu Qingge didn’t give him a choice. The grip on his shoulder tightened before he was pulled up, forcing him to stand.
"This disciple wants to stay! The portal might open again! Shizun-I... I could go. I could follow-"
"Luo Binghe!" Liu Qingge barked. "You are coming with me!"
“Stop!” a monk from Zhao Hua protested. “That disciple has colluded with a Heavenly Demon! He must be executed!”
“This matter is for Cang Qiong to decide.” Liu Qingge said, narrowing his eyes at the monk before he stepped on Cheng Luan. He pulled a dazed and shocked Luo Binghe with him, made sure he had a good grip on Shen Qingqiu’s disciple to keep him from struggling before they flew away. They needed Yui Qingyuan’s help to settle this. Gritting his teeth and pushing away the grief that threatened to make his knees weak (Shen Qingqiu was dead, he’d lost his good friend, he’d lost his only friend), Liu Qingge increased the speed of their flight.
He was too late to save Shen Qingqiu but he could still save his disciple.