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Chapter Text

Once upon a time, far off in an enchanted land, where the sun always shone brightly, where little foxes frolic in grassy fields, and where the birds never cease their songs; there lived a young man with long, silky, black hair as dark as ink, with the gentlest sunkissed skin, and the sweetest peach blossom eyes, along with soft lips as pink as a peony.

Every day, the young man would head to the marketplace to run some errands, get distracted by some animal running into the woods, play with the village children and tease them for a while, visit the small library in town to borrow some books, before going back home in the afternoon way past the time he should already have arrived home. 

‘Shen Yuan!’ A booming voice called out. ‘Where have you been, you little rascal?’

Shen Yuan threw the books that he borrowed earlier onto the floor and kicked them under a bookshelf. 

‘Nowhere! I just came back from buying the groceries. Ahhh- Ow!’

‘You only went buying groceries?’ The other man sneered as he continued to pull on Shen Yuan's ear. ‘Then how do you explain that hair of yours that looks like a rat's nest? And this large patch of mud on your clothes?’

‘Baba, please stop!’ Shen Yuan whined before the other man released his grip on the young man's ear.

The man humphed before turning away and heading to the kitchen. To most people, this pair of individuals might not seem close because of how their interactions looked at first glance, but out of everyone, Shen Yuan knew the most that his baba, Shen Jiu, was not what he seemed to look like. Sure, he can act cold and distant all he liked, but that man can't stop a smile from forming on his lips at the first taste of a tanghulu, and will still insist on teaching the village children when he's sick even if he's not exactly the best teacher around (Shen Yuan was his Baba's only full-time student, and oh how his Baba's punishments are despairing). Oh, and don't remind Shen Yuan of how his Baba always acted insufferably around Yue Qingyuan too, always denying his Diedie's affections, but secretly enjoying the attention (Can't hide the face blushing!). 

When Shen Yuan heard Shen Jiu's disgruntled murmuring about Yue Qingyuan always returning home late and the sound of water running in the sink from the kitchen, he quietly tiptoed to the kitchen and placed the basket of groceries onto a countertop before sneakily going back to the living room to get his hidden books and dashed upstairs into the comfort of his bedroom.

The door of Shen Yuan's bedroom was slammed open and the young man leapt into his bed, the books flying along with him too before landing on the bed. 

‘Let's see what we have here,’ Shen Yuan absentmindedly said to himself, ‘Mythical Beasts of the East, A Complete Guide of Magical Flora, and What To Do With Parts of A Plant. I think I'll do notes on these later.’

The young man put those books aside and brought out the next pile of books. 

'The Whispering Shore and The Owl in the Storm? That looks new.’ Shen Yuan mused to himself.

There was only one last book left, and Shen Yuan made sure to glance around to check if there was anyone nearby even though he was all alone in his bedroom.

With a great sigh, the young man held the book in his hands, the bright red cover of the book staring back at him. The book’s title, printed with a golden colour, stood out like a candlelight in a dark room, and if anyone who regularly read books saw the words on the cover, for sure they would have a deep flush of red on their face, because that book was none other than Proud Immortal Demon Way; the ultimate male power fantasy of a stallion novel, with the protagonist being an absolute overpowered hunk of a guy, and a harem size nearing three-digits seeing as every single female character fell for the protagonist. Truly, this novel covered all of the fantasies you would expect from most teenage boys! 

To dumb it down, the plot revolves around Luo Bingge, narrating his epic saga as he grew from an innocent young boy that constantly got beaten up from the cruel people around him then discovering his demonic heritage and becoming so powerful that he managed to exact revenge on everyone that had wronged him and took control of both the Demon Realm and the Human Realm, while amassing a number of beautiful women as his wives that would be equivalent to the average population of a town. 

This trope was very appealing to the lonely teen boys out there, and thus the novel's popularity even soared beyond the country and garnered a huge fanbase in further Western countries, to the point that there were already five fully translated versions of the series and still counting. The target demographic and… indulgent…nature of the novel's content caused it to have an infamous reputation, so many people that considered themselves to have a shred of dignity often criticised the novel and made fun of its fans. 

Shen Yuan was also one who highly valued his dignity, and yet… Proud Immortal Demon Way was like a guilty pleasure of his. With its worldbuilding incomparable to any other known works, captivating layers of mystery after mystery, and riveting plotlines, how could a literature enthusiast like Shen Yuan not be entranced? If one could see past the uncomfortably vivid descriptions of bouncy breasts and plump buttocks of a woman every two pages, that is, one would realise that Proud Immortal Demon Way’s story was actually on par with most highly-rated fantasy novels of that time.

That was why Shen Yuan was currently giddy with excitement as he admired the artwork of Luo Bingge in all of his glory at the front pages of the novel. It seemed like this copy of the novel was a limited edition version, because the design of the novel was of higher quality and there was even a signature from the author, albeit their signature only being a single character, ‘Shang’.

However, Shen Yuan’s excitement was only short-lived.

When the young man read the first sentence in the first chapter, a feeling of familiarity washed over him. Then his disappointment only grew as he continued to read through the chapter.

Well, fuck. He’d read through this entire chapter before. Heck, he already finished the entire book! Shen Yuan didn’t notice it earlier, but this was actually the limited edition copy of Volume 9 of Proud Immortal Demon Way, the exact same book he had finished reading last night, just with a different design that fooled him into thinking that it was a different volume. It’s just that the design of this copy of the novel looked too good to ignore, so Shen Yuan unwittingly grabbed the book off the shelf in the library in a hurry without checking which volume he took.

Shen Yuan was distraught. After all, acquiring the novel without anyone knowing was incredibly difficult to do, because whenever he went out to town, there would always be at least one person pestering him. And to add salt to the wound, Shen Yuan was actually excited and looking forward to reading Volume 10 of the novel series, which was the final volume in the series of Proud Immortal Demon Way. He’d been waiting for months for the release of the final volume, always rereading the novels again and again, and when he heard that the novel was brought to the library today, he was the first to show up at the library to borrow the book.

Now Shen Yuan’s chance to binge-read the novel was gone. Sure, he could always borrow the novel from the library at any other time, but then, not being the first to read the novel would mean that someone had to read it before him, and there was a chance that same person had jacked off while reading the novel. Shen Yuan had learnt this the hard way when he unsuspectingly borrowed a novel from the library that looked normal at first glance. Yeah. Horrifying.

Dejected, the young man lay on the bed, staring into the ceiling up above before screaming into a pillow.

Can’t give up. I need to get up and get going, Luo Bingge’s voice echoed in Shen Yuan’s ears.

A sudden wave of determination surged in Shen Yuan.

That’s right, Shen Yuan thought, I need to get up and get going if I want to get something I want.

Granted, it was a bit inappropriate to compare the protagonist’s suffering as he practically fought for his life in a hellscape, not knowing whether he would live to see another day, with Shen Yuan’s dismay of not being able to read the novel from his favourite series, but Luo Bingge’s quote from the novel gave enough motivation for Shen Yuan to get up from his bed and do something about it.

The sky outside was starting to become painted with streaks of vermillion and orange, and the songs of the birds seemed calmer and more soothing. The streets of the village became quieter as people returned from the fields and more shops were closing up. If one listened closely, they could hear the merry chatting and cheering from the tavern in the middle of the village getting louder, as more people visited the tavern after a whole day of work to unwind.

Perfect. There were less people hanging out in the village now. Shen Yuan snuck out the window, careful to avoid making any loud noise. He made sure to look around one last time for any peering eyes. Thankfully, there was nothing else that was of note other than the fact that Shen Jiu was no longer in the kitchen, instead now having tea in the garden with Qi Qingqi, one of the only people with a character competent enough to keep up with Shen Jiu's personality. Shen Yuan didn't realise when she had arrived, but he deemed her as not too much of a threat to his escapade and continued his way. 

The cool breeze of the evening was chilly against the young man's skin as he swiftly jumped from building to building. It was a very exhilarating experience, and he wondered if this was what the birds felt as they flew in the sky. Oh, how he wished to touch the sky too, but his parents, especially his baba, forbade him from flying on his sword. Perhaps he could one day, when Shen Jiu trusted in his abilities (Probably never). But for now, Shen Yuan would need to rely on Luo Bingge describing his first-hand experience of flying in the sky, holding on to a woman’s waist that was bound to be Wife No. 276, as the pair rode on a sword and flew into the distance. 

After some time, Shen Yuan finally saw the familiar outline of the building of the library. Faint light spilled out from one of the windows, and the young man approached it. 

A young girl was sitting at a study desk, surrounded by piles of books. A sword casually laid beside her, and she was currently reading a book, her face expressing one of relaxation that could be seen even when it was half-covered with a lilac veil. 

Shen Yuan knocked on the window. The girl looked up from her book in surprise and got up to open the window. 

‘Shen Yuan?’ The girl asked incredulously. ‘What are you doing here?’

The young man welcomed himself into the room even though the girl didn't say anything else yet. 

‘Mingyan, I need Volume 10 of… You know, that series.’ Shen Yuan said in a hushed voice. 

Liu Mingyan raised her eyebrows. ‘I thought you already came to get it this morning?’

Shen Yuan shook his head, facepalming into his hand. ‘Weelll, it was the wrong volume.’

The girl stared at Shen Yuan for a while before letting out an exasperated sigh. ‘Fine,’ She muttered, ‘I’ll get the one that you want for you.’

Shen Yuan grinned. ‘Thanks, Mingyan, you’re the best!’

‘Whatever you say.’ Liu Mingyan replied as she began to scour through the bookshelves. As she was busy searching, Shen Yuan helped himself on the couch, lazing around while he waited. 

‘Why do you want to borrow this book so badly anyway?’ Liu Mingyan's voice suddenly broke through the silence. 

‘Hmph! You really don't get it? This is the last volume of the series that has been going around for years!’ The young man scoffed. ‘You like reading too, and here I thought we shared a common ground about obsessing over our interests.’

‘Alright, alright, I get it.’ Liu Mingyan replied curtly. ‘Here, take this so-called amazing novel of yours.’

Shen Yuan gently took the novel from Liu Mingyan's hands, treating it as if it was some sort of artifact. ‘Thanks, Mingyan! Your books honestly make this small village feel larger.’

‘Yes, yes.’ Liu Mingyan spoke while waving her hand dismissively. ‘You should go back now, before both you and I get an earful.’

And with that, Shen Yuan was dragged and pushed outside of the window. He only managed to wave goodbye before the window was slammed shut on his face. 

Ah, he was always treated so coldly by that girl. Well, at least he got his desired book now, so all's well that ends well anyway. 

The sky was getting dark, and the lights of the village became brighter, creating a picturesque view. The air was chilly and refreshing, and seeing as there was nobody in the streets now, Shen Yuan thought it would be nice to stroll in the streets for a while before heading home. 

Dried leaves, browns and yellows, circled around Shen Yuan as the wind blew them playfully. The young man was so distracted by them that he didn't hear the sound of footsteps behind him. 

‘Shen Yuan?’ A disarmingly familiar voice called out. 

Shen Yuan turned around to see who had called his name, and the leaves dancing around him fell to the ground when the wind stopped blowing as soon as he saw who it was

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

(Scene with Qiu Jianluo begins)

‘Ah - Lord Qiu.’ Shen Yuan barely acknowledged him. ‘You’re back.’

‘Yes, I have.’ The man reached out his hand. ‘And how have you been?’

Shen Yuan stepped back. ‘I’m fine. Thanks for asking.’

‘I see.’ An odd smile made its way to Qiu Jianluo's face. ‘You know, I just came back from the capital.’

Shen Yuan wanted to excuse himself politely and run away, but unfortunately, he had backed off into a wall. And right above him was a roof, so he couldn't just jump up and away. 

‘So what was it like at the capital?’ The young man asked to distract the man advancing towards him. ‘It must always be so exciting to see new sights.’

Qiu Jianluo nodded. ‘Indeed. There's always something new to see at the capital every day.’

The other man was now standing right in front of Shen Yuan, completely trapping him.

‘But you know what?’ Qiu Jianluo asked out of the blue. 

Shen Yuan tried not to flinch when the other man reached out for his hair and started to play with it. ‘W-What is it?’ The young man stammered. 

Qiu Jianluo brought Shen Yuan's hair to his lips. ‘I couldn't see you when I was at the capital, so I was a little sad about it.’

‘Oh!’ Shen Yuan replied, his voice getting higher from panicking. ‘Okay.’

The other man touched Shen Yuan's cheek and started to caress it, much to the younger man's dismay. 

‘But don’t let that pretty head of yours worry about me.’ Qiu Jianluo chuckled. ‘In fact, I got you a little something from the capital.’

Shen Yuan was beyond merely panicking, but his interest got piqued a bit. ‘Thank you.’ The young man said. ‘What is it?’

Qiu Jianluo smirked and brought out a small box from his expensive-looking robes. 

‘It’s lipstick. The finest and most expensive one currently; all the noblewomen are clamoring to get their hands on this.’

Yeah, Shen Yuan thought, I sure do love wearing lipstick for middle-aged wine aunts.

Qiu Jianluo took out the lipstick from its box and uncapped it. ‘How pretty would you be when wearing this shade I specifically chose for you, I wonder.’

Shen Yuan was caught off guard when Qiu Jianluo began applying the lipstick on his lips. The young man could tell that the other man was trying to be as careful and gentle as possible, but when he was finally done, Shen Yuan could feel the lipstick messily smeared all over his mouth. 

‘Oh, you have no idea just how lovely you look.’

Shen Yuan forced a smile. ‘Um. Yes.’

Qiu Jianluo returned the lipstick back to its box and placed it in Shen Yuan's hand. 

‘So what do you think of it?’ The other man inquired with a toothy grin. 

‘Well, I’m more of a lip gloss kind of person.’ The young man murmured before frantically shaking his head. ‘Not that I don’t like this or anything! Really, I do appreciate this gift. ’

Qiu Jianluo smiled. ‘If that’s what you think so. I’ll be sure to give you what you actually want the next time I'm going back to the capital.’

In his mind, Shen Yuan was scolding himself for suggesting another item to Qiu Jianluo. At this point the girls in the village were pretty much spoiled by Shen Yuan because of the amount of stuff from Qiu Jianluo that he secretly gave out to them. 

‘Wait! You don't need to give me so many things, you know.’ The young man blurted out. 

Qiu Jianluo took Shen Yuan's hand and brought it to his lips. ‘Nonsense. Whatever Shen Yuan wants, I'll always try to get it if I can.’

Then his eyes met with Shen Yuan’s, his stare burning into the young man intensely. Shen Yuan felt like a small animal being cornered by a tiger.

‘Shen Yuan doesn’t need to repay me back, though…This one would like to ask for something from you.’

The young man’s ears perked up but his gaze remained averted. ‘Oh…What can I do for you?’

Qiu Jianluo got even closer, his breaths warm on the young man’s face. He took both of Shen Yuan’s hands together and brought them to his chest.

‘You don’t have to do anything much. Just a kiss.’

Shen Yuan’s mind went blank for a second before alarm bells started blaring inside of his head. 

‘Wait, what?! That’s…I…’

Shen Yuan tried to push against Qiu Jianluo’s chest. He really didn’t want to do this kind of ‘woman from a good family resisting a ruffian’ pose, but the other man was getting way more touchy than he’d liked.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

(Scene with Qiu Jianluo ends)

‘Shen Yuan?’

Both Shen Yuan and Qiu Jianluo turned to the voice speaking to them. From the shadows, a striking visage, fair and dewy as the verdant willow, appeared out of nowhere. Yet that person bore a piercing stare that could cut through anyone like a knife, and they were watching the pair intently.

Qiu Jianluo immediately released Shen Yuan from his firm grip, and Shen Yuan tried really hard to make his sigh of relief inaudible.

‘Liu-gege?’ The young man excitedly called out and ran towards the newcomer.

Despite the bloodstained sword in the other man’s hand, his unkempt appearance, and looks that could kill, Shen Yuan was happy to see the return of a friend after so long and trusted him way more than the foreboding lord anyway. Qiu Jianluo, however, did not share the young man’s enthusiasm to see the proclaimed War God of Cang Qiong, so while the beauty and the brute of the village enjoyed their little reunion, Qiu Jianluo silently slipped away into the darkness of a nearby alley.

Soon enough, Shen Yuan noticed the lack of presence of Qiu Jianluo. ‘Huh? Did he go already?’

‘Yes. Did he do anything to you?’ Liu Qingge asked with a rare hint of worry in his voice.

‘Liu-gege!’ Shen Yuan exclaimed. ‘He won’t do anything bad to me! Also, it’s not nice to assume someone like that.’

Liu Qingge simply ignored the young man’s remarks and grabbed his hand instead. Shen Yuan kept squirming at first, trying to escape from his friend's strong grasp, but eventually gave up and allowed himself to be dragged by Liu Qingge. Eventually, the pair stopped frisking about and settled on a slow pace, leisurely walking on the streets of the village.

The sky was now a complete black canvas, making the bright glow of the moon and the stars stand out as the foreground. A few clouds drifted by, covering the outline of the moon but not its light. The songs of the birds did not come to a halt, though their melody has changed: The merry chirps and tweets of the canaries may be over, so the lullabies of the nightingales began. Serenading the song was a choir of crickets, and even the croaking frogs acted as the backing vocals. 

‘It's a beautiful night, isn't it?’ Shen Yuan mused. 

‘Mn.’ Liu Qingge agreed. ‘I’ve been so busy lately that I haven't been able to even watch the world like this. I should talk to Mingyan sometime.’

Interest stirred inside of Shen Yuan. ‘What have you been doing recently?’

Liu Qingge stared off into the distance. Did you realise anything strange recently?’

Shen Yuan scratched his head, trying to rack his brains. ‘Well, the birds do sound quieter than usual. Hmm, and more animals are hanging out in the countryside too. In fact, baba is a bit stressed out lately because he's been trying ways to get rid of the wild cats that keep messing up the garden.’

An exasperated sigh left Shen Yuan's mouth. ‘No matter what he does, more and more wild cats keep coming to visit. Just yesterday, a tiger came and rolled around in the lemongrass patch!’

Liu Qingge blinked. ‘That’s… an interesting observation. How about anything else?’

‘Anything else?’ Shen Yuan wondered. ‘Probably the sudden influx of visitors in the village nowadays. Madame Qi must be bathing with money right now because of the large number of visitors staying in her inn. Also, there’s been so many patients waiting in line at the clinic nowadays that the physicians had to call Lord Mu from the capital for assistance.’

‘Right.’ Liu Qingge agreed. ‘And what do these patients share in common?’

Shen Yuan furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation. ‘Ah, I got it!’ He cried out. ‘Most of them had bite marks and scratches all over their body.’

Liu Qingge nodded, urging the young man to go on.

‘Hmm, I think I know what’s going on.’ Then Shen Yuan’s expression darkened. ‘Oh…Oh no.’

 A withered flower fell from the branch of a nearby magnolia tree, slowly floating towards the ground. Shen Yuan caught it with the swift movement of his hand before it could land.

‘You must’ve caught on with what I was thinking.’ Liu Qingge said solemnly. ‘Those people were passing through and got attacked by the animals.’

‘But the animals don’t like to go near humans!’ Shen Yuan cried out. ‘They won’t bother anyone that leaves them alone. Unless…Something has been driving them out of the forest?’

A steely look glinted in Liu Qingge’ eyes. ‘Exactly. In the north, there’s been incidents of people getting kidnapped in Bailu Forest, especially young women.’

Shen Yuan gulped. ‘Oh, that-that’s terrible.’

Liu Qingge gave a reassuring pat on Shen Yuan’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. All of the victims are only missing for a few days before they’re found alive. Though they may have been physically unscathed, their mental state however…is not.’

Shen Yuan cocked his head quizzically. ‘What do you mean?’

Liu Qingge cleared his throat. ‘All of the victims report being held captive in a cellar by a hideous beast. However, for some reason, the beast never actually harms them. The most it will do is just threaten to kill someone. Still, this results in a state of paranoia in the victims that lasts for a few days. ’

‘It seems that this beast specifically wants something.’ Shen Yuan hypothesised. 

‘Maybe. But it doesn’t matter.’ Liu Qingge glanced at the sword on his hip. ‘What's most important right now is to eliminate this threat.’

Liu Qingge's sword faintly shimmered, mirroring Shen Yuan's own reflection on the blade even in the dark of the night. While the War God of Cang Qiong continued to speak, Shen Yuan was deep in his own thoughts, lost in the reflection of his own image on the sword. 

The beast that captures, but does not kill, Shen Yuan pondered. It doesn't matter what the beast wants, because it has to be killed off or subdued anyway.

But does it really?

‘-Huan Hua Palace has set up a perimeter around Bailu Forest. With the help of the Liu Clan, we will get rid of the beast.’

‘Huh?’ Shen Yuan murmured in surprise, his train of thought interrupted. ‘Y-Yes, you're right.’

‘It’s good that Shen Yuan thinks so.’ Liu Qingge replied. ‘When Bailu Forest is safe, then Mingyan can finally come back home to Bai Zhan.’

After that, Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge's conversation came to an end. The pair walked in the streets of the village, simply enjoying each other's company in silence. 

Both of them came to a halt when they arrived in front of Shen Yuan's home. 

‘This is where I’ll take my leave. See you next time, and don't let that Qiu scum disturb you ever again.’ Liu Qingge reminded. 

Shen Yuan chuckled. ‘Whatever you say, Liu-gege.’ Then the young man's eyes widened in alarm. ‘Oh, and pleaseeeee don’t tell anyone that you saw me.’

‘Why? Wait, don't tell me you snuck out again?!’

‘Goodnight, Liu-gege!’ Shen Yuan giggled, at this point already jumping onto the roof of the first storey of his house. 

The young man crept to the window of his bedroom. When he peered inside, everything still appeared the same way from when he had left his bedroom. The bedsheets and the blankets were tangled up, the pillows scattered all over the room, and the books he had borrowed were strewn across the bed. Confirming that the coast was clear, Shen Yuan carefully opened the window and jumped inside of the room.

Shen Yuan expected to hear the hushed gossip or heated debates between his baba and Qi Qingqi, but the house was strangely quiet instead. He didn’t hear that woman’s honeyed voice, so she must’ve left when he was on his little trip to the library. And even that was not the most peculiar thing. In fact, Shen Yuan had not heard a single sound of his baba’s voice. Where was Shen Jiu?

Well, whatever. Shen Yuan was really hungry after his adventure. With hunger completely taking over his mind, the young man went to the kitchen, not even bothering to be stealthy this time.

A fragrant smell wafted from the kitchen, and Shen Yuan's already lively pace only quickened. The sight of steam rising from the food made his mouth water, and he didn't waste his time rushing to the food.

‘This smells so good, ’ Shen Yuan murmured, ‘But why is it so...tasteless?’

‘If you don't like the food, then why don’t you make it yourself?’ A voice suddenly chimed in.

Shen Yuan froze in his tracks, then he turned around slowly. ‘Hehe. Oops.’

Shen Jiu smacked Shen Yuan’s head with his folding fan. ‘Go clean yourself up first then eat.’

And with that, the young man was hauled into the bathroom. As soon as he took off his clothes, Shen Yuan was pushed into the bathtub. Shen Jiu was no fussy man, so he immediately started pouring water over Shen Yuan's head despite the young man's cries of protest. Shen Yuan couldn’t even finish crying out from the shock before another wave of water came crashing down on him.

‘Ahhh!’ Shen Yuan shouted. ‘The water is so cold!’

‘Then you should’ve come home earlier, the water won’t be so cold in the evening.’ Shen Jiu scolded.

Another gush of water rained down on Shen Yuan, making him sputter and gasp. ‘Can’t you let me bathe on my own?’ He complained.

Shen Jiu replied by splashing water on the young man's face. ‘If I did, you would be spending an hour in the bathroom. The food will be cold by then.’

‘Hmph! But you don’t treat Diedie like this when he comes home late.’ Shen Yuan scoffed.

A faint sigh left Shen Jiu's mouth, but Shen Yuan was too preoccupied to have caught on that.

‘That man can’t be helped.’ Shen Jiu muttered under his breath. ‘But you can! So duck your head.’

'Wha?’ Shen Yuan could only exclaim, before his scalp was pushed forward and drenched with water again.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The rest of the night went on like that, with Shen Yuan getting lectured for every single little thing that he had done by Shen Jiu. Even after dinner, Shen Yuan was once again reprimanded because he just wanted to read his borrowed books.

‘Go to bed!’ Shen Jiu ordered while forcefully tucking Shen Yuan into bed.

The young man squirmed, trying to loosen the blanket tucking him in. ‘Baba, you know I’m a literal grown up right?’

Shen Jiu tossed a stuffed toy cat at Shen Yuan, accidentally hitting the young man's face. ‘And yet you’re still too young and inexperienced for the world.’

The room was filled with an earthy scent as Shen Jiu lit an incense burner. Shen Yuan curled into his blanket and watched as wisps of smoke from the incense burner dissipated into the air.

‘Baba-’

‘No more questions.’ Shen Jiu interrupted. ‘Go to sleep, it’s late now.’

Shen Yuan sulked and huddled his stuffed toy closer. ‘Baba, demons... are they all wicked beyond redemption? Must every last one of them be exterminated?’

Shen Jiu was silent.

‘Baba...?’ Shen Yuan meekly asked after Shen Jiu didn’t say anything for a considerable amount of time.

To Shen Yuan’s surprise, Shen Jiu swung around to face him, his brows furrowed and an angry expression on his face.

'That’s enough talking, Shen Yuan!’ Shen Jiu snapped.

Shen Yuan flinched and lowered his head. ‘Y-Yes, baba.’

Shen Jiu’s eyes softened. He went to Shen Yuan's side and gently patted the young man’s head.

‘It’s late now, so don’t concern yourself with matters like these.’ Shen Jiu spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

Shen Yuan looked up, leaning further into Shen Jiu’s touch.

‘...Understood, Baba. ’

A rare small smile made its way to Shen Jiu’s face. ‘That’s good. Goodnight, A-Yuan. ’

As Shen Jiu quietly left his bedroom, Shen Yuan sank deeper into the bedsheets. He just laid on the bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling above him.

Wow. Shen Yuan only realised how exhausted he was now after all of the chaos that had happened on that day. His eyes kept trying to close, a sign that he was drifting off to sleep. Lulled by the gentle gusts of wind outside whooshing through the trees, Shen Yuan slowly fell into a slumber, with only a single thought lingering in his mind.

What was happening in Bailu Forest?

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Boom! 

Shen Yuan awoke with a jolt, falling off his bed.

Lightning flashed outside, the bright light illuminating the entire room. Leaves rushed into the room as the window flew open. Shen Yuan broke into a frantic sprint towards the window, soaking his face with the spray of rainwater as he did so. He was about to close the window when he was met with a peculiar sight.

Through the flashes of lightning and the battering torrential rain, small, dim lights could be seen flickering outside of the young man’s home. Filled with curiosity, Shen Yuan pushed the window open a little bit, leaving it slightly ajar. The sound of the rumbling thunder and the pounding of rain on the roof only amplified because of his doing, but when Shen Yuan listened closely, he could hear the hushed whispering of people outside. 

Shen Yuan closed the window and crept out of his bedroom. While walking to the staircase, he passed by Shen Jiu’s bedroom (That would also be his Diedie’s if he was back home). The door to the room gaped open, revealing a glimpse into a space that was empty save for a few scattered items. The bed sheets appeared to have been hastily yanked back, and a blanket lay crumpled on the floor, attesting to Shen Jiu’s presence.

The young man shrugged and continued onwards, going downstairs and heading towards the living room. 

‘Bailu Forest…Demons…’

The whispering was getting louder, becoming more akin to a discussion now. 

‘Why did you come to me?’ Shen Jiu’s voice echoed in the hallway. 

Shen Yuan's entire body tensed upon hearing Shen Jiu's sudden voice. His steps became slow, light, and as quiet as possible as he sneaked towards the living room, finally stopping close to the room and hiding behind the bookshelf.

From Shen Yuan’s point of view, he could see Shen Jiu talking to a group of people outside of the house from the doorway. Their figures were barely discernible, lit only by the dim light emanating from the night pearls they carried, which revealed only half of their heavily cloaked and hooded faces.

‘You really don’t know?’ Someone spoke, which Shen Yuan recognised as one of the village elders. Upon hearing the old man’s words, the young man’s shoulders relaxed a little, relieved that the group of people did not seem threatening. 

One would argue that it was a grave error for him to drop his guard so hastily. 

‘Haven’t you heard?’ The village elder continued, his voice heavy with unease. 

‘High Elder Yue Qingyuan is missing.’

Chapter Text

In the middle of the night, amidst the deafening sound of shrieking, cold winds and the roaring of a thunderous storm, the sound of footsteps could be heard running back and forth, the steps squelching against the muddy ground.

The village elders walked back and forth between a few houses, quietly passing the news to a select few people only. But what they did not realize was that they were being watched by an outsider; someone they didn't expect to be present. Unbeknownst to them, another pair of eyes watched them carefully, from high up through a window like a perched owl.

When the village elder told Shen Jiu about Yue Qingyuan’s mysterious disappearance, Shen Yuan decided that it was his cue to go back to his bedroom. Now, he was sitting beside the windowsill, peering at the dim lights of night pearls moving from house to house outside; the glow barely outlining the silhouettes of the village elders who seemed like they blended into the darkness.  After some time, Shen Yuan soon also heard things being shuffled around from Shen Jiu’s bedroom across the hallway.

…Was Shen Jiu really planning to go out in the middle of a stormy night?

The sound of footsteps got nearer to Shen Yuan’s bedroom, and the young man immediately jumped on top of his bed. He quickly pulled the blanket over his body, brought his stuffed toy cat closer into his arms, closed his eyes, and laid on the bed like a ragdoll. Shortly after, Shen Yuan heard the door of his bedroom opening and someone walking towards him. He nearly flinched when an unanticipated, tender kiss was suddenly placed on his forehead.

‘Be good, and stay safe, A-Yuan.’ Shen Jiu whispered.

An empty, sinking feeling welled up in Shen Yuan’s heart when he felt Shen Jiu’s warmth leaving his side. The young man didn’t know why he was even thinking like that, but those unexplainable thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind when he heard a soft thud from the door of his bedroom closing behind him.

The brewing storm outside grew even more relentless, as the winds howled and the rain pounded down. Shen Yuan tossed and turned around in bed, trying to find the most comfortable position to sleep. He closed his eyes, letting himself fall to sleep again…

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter—

Shen Yuan rolled onto his back and his eyes opened wide.

Fuck. He can’t sleep.

Groaning, Shen Yuan sat up. He stared out of the window, seeing the lights converge together at a spot. This time, it seemed as more lights joined the group. Were the village elders discussing something?

A spark of curiosity bloomed inside of Shen Yuan, and the young man’s legs twitched, dying to get up, go outside, be a busybody, and eavesdrop on their conversation. But another part of his mind was rioting, telling him to stay put and be a good child just like Shen Jiu had told him to do so.

Wait, Shen Jiu was actually heading out to search for Yue Qingyuan now?!, Shen Yuan remembered.

Worry bubbled up in Shen Yuan’s entire being after the thought struck him. Gone were his feelings of uncertainty, and the young man was filled with determination now.

Shen Yuan quickly got out of bed, grabbed a cloak, strapped on his sword, took a night pearl and headed down, and even managed to snatch a bag of freshly picked fruits in the kitchen on his way out. He snuck outside to the streets of the village, making his way to the place where he last saw all the lights meeting with each other.

The young man paused when he began hearing murmurs and whispers in the distance. He then muffled his own movements and positioned himself in a corner to listen more closely.

‘I-I think the High Elder is in Bailu Forest. He must’ve been on his way back to the village from Shuang Hu after submitting the monthly report,’ suggested a meek voice.

‘Then at Bailu Forest, he was probably stopped by something…The recent monster activity there doesn’t make this situation any better.’ Someone else said.

‘So what are we supposed to do? Ask for help from whom? We’re just common folk from some rural, small farming village, no one is ever going to bat an eye at us!’

Murmurs and low voices could be heard among the group, as they discussed the dire situation in near pitch-black darkness.

‘Silence!’ Another voice hissed. ‘Standing around like this will only make the situation worse. Round up the young cultivators of the village here, and we shall depart immediately.’

A voice belonging to a lady scoffed. ‘Hmph! And leave the village unprotected? Didn’t you just hear what Uncle Weizhe said?’

‘Everyone in the village will be fine.’ The person earlier said in a rasping tone. ‘That brute from Bai Zhan is currently staying here, right? With him around, no monster within a radius of five miles from the village will make it out alive.’

The lady sighed in exasperation. Shen Yuan could visibly imagine her crossing her arms, and her eyebrows furrowed in disappointment. ‘Hmm, if you say so. Still, aren’t you the least bit concerned about leaving your beloved son here all alone?’

Even when hidden in the distance from the group of people, Shen Yuan felt the awkward atmosphere from where he was crouched. There was a silent tension in the air after the brief exchange, occasionally accompanied by the nervous shuffling of feet.

The person earlier muttered something under his breath that Shen Yuan couldn’t hear even with his fine-tuned senses from training in martial arts.

‘That does not-’

‘Shizun!’ A lively young voice called out, followed by a flurry of footsteps behind him. ‘Shizun, the village elders summoned us here. Whatever Shizun needs, please allow your disciples to assist with it.’

‘Hm. What took you so long? This master was about to leave without you.’ The person earlier retorted, their voice regaining back its aloof composure.

‘Ah. All of us would like to convey our sincerest apologies, Shizun. We promise we won’t ever do that again.’ The youth blurted out, his voice slightly trembling as it did so.

The youth’s master only huffed and said nothing more.

‘Everyone’s here. Let’s go.’ The lady remarked.

After that, a whooshing noise could be heard, resembling the sound of a flock of birds taking to the air, accompanied by the rushing of a light breeze. Shen Yuan pulled his cloak closer to his body, and watched as the dim flashes of light from a bunch of swords fly into the sky and get smaller into the distance.

As the search party flew further and further away, Shen Yuan proceeded to take out his own sword too. Then he just stared at it absentmindedly.

…Right. Shen Yuan forgot that he had never actually learnt how to fly on a sword. So the young man stood there cluelessly, figuring out what to do next. In no way was he planning to make his first sword flight on a stormy night, when the sky was dark and the winds were whipping through the air.

Oh, what was he supposed to do? It would be such a waste of time if Shen Yuan went back home now. However, he didn’t exactly want his legacy to be immortalised as the “guy who fell off his sword to his untimely death because his intrusive thoughts won” forever either.

So annoying! All of that thinking made Shen Yuan realise just how tired he was after the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins during the previous exciting events that had unfolded died down. The young man looked around, then sat down on a nearby wooden crate, letting out a long sigh and resting his weary legs after all of that crouching.

‘Ugh, I don’t know what to do now.’ Shen Yuan grumbled. ‘Why did I even go out? I should go b- Ow! Who’s there?!’

A soft grunt replied instead.

Shen Yuan turned around to look behind him. A pair of dull, uninterested eyes stared back at him.

‘Oh, hello.’ Shen Yuan greeted. ‘I didn't see you there.’

Warm air tingled on Shen Yuan’s skin as the horse that he didn’t realise was there earlier snorted and shook its head. It kept headbutting the young man’s hand, and Shen Yuan thought that it wanted his attention, so he reached out his hand and tried to touch it.

Though that intention was quickly taken back when the horse attempted to nip Shen Yuan’s hand instead. Thankfully, Shen Yuan’s senses alerted him to swiftly put his hand away in time, but he still couldn’t help but let out a yelp of surprise as one of his fingers didn’t manage to escape the horse’s bite.

The horse whinnied and kept looking at the bag of fruits beside Shen Yuan. The young man brought out an apple from the bag and showed the fruit to the horse, and it happily took the apple like a champ. As Shen Yuan gave the apple to the horse, he made sure to take extra care of his fingers this time.

‘So you just wanted the food the whole time, huh?’ Shen Yuan chuckled as he watched the horse chomp down the apple in satisfaction. ‘You must be glad to finally have what you wanted, unlike me.’

The horse, being a horse, obviously said nothing and gladly continued munching away.

‘Hmm. To have what you want.’ Shen Yuan mused. ‘That is…’

The horse had finished eating the apple by now, and it was whinnying and longingly looking in the direction of the bag of fruits again.

At that moment, it was as if something had struck Shen Yuan’s mind.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Shen Jiu, Qi Qingqi, and the rest of the young cultivators continued on their way north, heading further towards Bailu Forest. Soon enough, they reached the airspace above the infamous forest. Bailu Forest, which was located right in the heart of the mountainous terrain of Cang Qiong, was indiscernible in the vast expanse of darkness that went on and on for miles; though occasionally, the landscape would be lit up by brief flashes of lightning for a few seconds. In these rare sporadic moments, only those with the keenest of eyes could make out the bare appearance of the forest. Trees that could practically tower over the Emperor’s grand imperial palace stood tall and proud, casting ghostly shadows over the canopy of the forest that spread out like branches, and the ends twisted almost in a clawlike manner. Sharp, unusual landforms protruded from the ground everywhere like cliffs, and if someone were to walk on them and accidentally slipped, they would for sure not meet a happy end.

Shen Jiu’s hair whipped around him as he breezed through the sky. The cold rain drizzled against his face, stinging slightly as it hit his skin. There was not a lot that he could see in near zero visibility like this, yet he couldn’t help but notice that as he flew overhead Bailu Forest, his interest was piqued by what seemed like large, thorny vines that wrapped around the trees. It was inconspicuous at first, but as he went further into the forest with the group, he only noticed that there were unusual, massive vines that curled around the branches of trees as if the vines were strangling them. Shen Jiu realised that the already large vines somehow grew even bigger and wilder as he went further north into Bailu Forest, and some were so massive that they completely dwarfed the tree that was hosting them, managing to grow over the treetops to reach the sky. Shen Jiu felt slightly threatened, like he could just feel the hostility of the forest and the vines that seemed to reach out to them to drag them down into the forest.

Shen Jiu glanced at Qi Qingqi who was flying on her sword beside him. Unlike him, she was wearing a cloak, which she rarely did, that covered most of her face from the rain. Even so, the faint glow from the light talisman she was carrying in her hand managed to reveal her facial expression just a bit. A tense and even a little worried expression formed on the normally proud and haughty woman’s face, which Shen Jiu couldn’t blame her for once for feeling like that.

Qi Qingqi noticed Shen Jiu glancing at her every now and then. When he was found out, Shen Jiu kept his eyes glued to the front, but he could feel Qi Qingqi’s eyes boring into him instead.

‘You’re staring at me longer than you usually want to. Is there something on my face?’ Shen Jiu asked, smirking as he did so.

Qi Qingqi scoffed. ‘No, quite the opposite, actually. As your shimei, I’m just making sure you’re fine.’

Shen Jiu sniggered. ‘The day that you genuinely care about me is the day when pigs fly.’

‘Hmm. I have reservations about that day ever arriving.’

The corner of Shen Jiu’s mouth drooped, his smile turning upside down into a frown . ‘Am I really that insufferable to you?’

Qi Qingqi grinned. ‘Maybe.’ Then upon hearing this, Shen Jiu gazed at her with a scowl.

‘But there’s another reason why I don’t think I’ll be able to look forward to that day.’ Qi Qingqi cleared her throat, already prepared to step in so she didn’t have to hear the man go on another rant again.

Shen Jiu huffed and crossed his arms. ‘There’s another reason? You better make it worth it.’

Qi Qingqi only smiled. ‘Don’t you see? Just look around you.’

‘...What is your point, exactly? It’s dark out here. What is there to see?’

Qi Qingqi shook her head in exasperation. ‘Look closely! Don’t you observe anything peculiar at all? Like the literal deadly forest right beneath us?!’

‘Well, you should’ve specified. I did observe that there is a strange forest below us. It’s crawling with vines that prevent any normal human from passing through.’

‘Exactly.’ Qi Qingqi said. ‘We’re headed deep into Bailu Forest to search for a missing person with no leads, and not even a starter location. We don’t know what we’re dealing with: Ghosts, demons, monsters, or maybe even a combination of the three.’

‘Right.’ Shen Jiu mumbled disinterestedly.

Qi Qingqi’s eyes nearly bulged out of her eye sockets as she stared at Shen Jiu in disbelief. ‘Do you not get it? We might not get out of this situation alive to see the next day!’

Shen Jiu turned away from Qi Qingqi and seemingly gazed into nothing in the distance. After a moment of silence, he finally let out a sigh that broke the silence.

‘I can’t die.’ Shen Jiu said with determination. ‘I promised A-Yuan that I will come back home. And I won’t go back until I find out the whereabouts of that idiotic husband of mine.’

Qi Qingqi still couldn’t stop staring at Shen Jiu in disbelief, and her disbelief only grew when she heard the surprisingly gentle and genuine words that rarely left Shen Jiu’s mouth.

‘Oh.’ Qi Qingqi muttered under her breath, not knowing what else to say.

‘Yes. Be careful now.’ Shen Jiu suddenly said, his voice lowered down to a hush.

Qi Qingqi lifted her left hand and made a cautionary gesture to the young cultivators following behind them. Taken by surprise, the disciples stumbled for a moment before quickly regaining their footing and preparing for whatever was ahead.

‘These disciples- How come this generation of cultivators is so sloppy?’ Qi Qingqi muttered under her breath as she checked on the young cultivators’ situation. ‘Whatever. Shen Jiu, what did you find out?’

‘...Nothing to be exact. Just a gut feeling.’ Shen Jiu quietly replied.

‘... And what do you feel, exactly?’

Shen Jiu’s eyes darted to the forest below. ‘Another presence.’ He spoke softly, almost in a whisper. ‘But I cannot tell whether it is malicious or amiable.’

Qi Qingqi raised her eyebrows. ‘Seriously? Just a gut feeling?’ She sneered. ‘And I thought that the brilliant former strategist of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect would base his deductions on logic and not emot-’

‘Watch out!’ One of the disciples exclaimed, but it was too late.

A sudden, blinding blast of qi struck at the group, and in a split second, there was only a blur of chaos. Qi Qingqi and Shen Jiu managed to dodge the strike in time, but the disciples weren’t so lucky. Instead, they found themselves at the mercy of the wave of qi, tossed and swirled by its violent power, and trying to stay balanced on their swords for dear life if they weren’t already thrown off.

At this moment, the group’s predicament created a rather peculiar and alarming spectacle; as some disciples were barely hanging on their sword hilts, or spinning in the air as they were swerved off course, and some were screaming as they plunged into the dark and treacherous Bailu Forest below them.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Jiu moved like the wind, reaching out to catch a female disciple in his arms before she fell into the forest.

‘Well don’t just stand there!’ Shen Jiu barked at the rest of the disciples who had regained their composure. ‘Do something!’

‘Y-Yes, shizun!’ The young cultivators stammered.

In an instant, the disciples were already springing into action. Some flew down to save their fellow disciples who had fallen off their swords. Others worked in tandem, helping to put back their peers on their feet and redirect those who had steered away from their headed path.

Qi Qingqi grabbed the collar of a nearby disciple’s uniform and held him in place while he summoned his sword.

‘Is anyone hurt?’ The woman asked while releasing the young cultivator from her grip after he had called back his sword and settled down comfortably on it. In response, one after another, everybody shook their heads in denial. Once she had determined that the situation was no longer critical, Qi Qingqi took a moment to exhale a deep, relieved breath.

‘Well, that's good.’ Qi Qingqi muttered with a sense of relief, absentmindedly slapping the back of a still trembling disciple beside her.

In an instant, Shen Jiu’s voice echoed across the chaos, further frightening the poor disciple and sending chills down the rest of the young cultivators’ spines. ‘Don't get too comfortable yet,’ he said, his voice laden with apprehension. ‘There's another wave of qi coming.’

Qi Qingqi's eyes widened in concern as she processed Shen Jiu's words. Without hesitation, she called out to the rest of the disciples, ‘Everyone, assemble in a defensive formation!’ Her voice echoed across the mountainous valley, punctuated by a strange, shrieking noise in the distance and the desperate cries of terrified young cultivators.

Then, in the midst of the rain and darkness of the night, the previously empty sky completely devoid of stars above Bailu Forest might have lit up for the first time, as a bright cluster of lights suddenly appeared, moving in a sequence that seemed to form a shape resembling a shield; revealing the hidden valleys of Bailu Forest with the luminescent glow.

The defensive array created by the group only glowed brighter as the strange qi surged at them like torrential waves borne in a storm.

Shen Jiu glanced at the disciples behind him over his shoulder who were trembling and sweating buckets with bated breaths, and cursed under his breath. ‘Hold it!’ He yelled at them angrily. ‘It’s too late to escape now, so stay focused and defend!’

‘Understood!’ The young cultivators stammered, refocusing themselves and bracing for the impact.

Even the young cultivator that was overly jittery earlier had lost their agitated demeanour and nodded with determination . ‘U-Understood, Shizun!’

Suddenly, clouds of swirling fog appeared from the depths of the forest, billowing like a plague that spread outward from the forest grounds and into the sky. As it raced across the land, the fog blotted out the sky, casting a blood red hue over everything it touched. As the fog rapidly approached the group, it was as if the air grew heavier too, and the shrieking noise earlier grew louder and louder until it became an unbearable, ear-piercing cacophony. The blood red hue that swallowed Shen Jiu's vision was as relentless as it was overpowering, permeating every ounce of his being and flooding his senses with an overwhelming barrage of emotions. He squinted harder, trying to push past the increasing searing heat, stifling humidity and the rivulets of sweat pouring down his face. It was too much: He could barely focus on more than one thing, as his vision was blurred by the bucketfuls of sweat trickling down his face.

Despite the chaos surrounding him, Shen Jiu only thought of one thing; and drawing from his rapidly depleting reserves of strength, he managed to rasp out a single, decisive command, ‘On... on my count!’ He heaved a deep breath, his arms trembling under the strain of summoning his remaining energy.

Somehow, through all of the mess, an image momentarily crossed in Shen Jiu’s mind; of a simple, bamboo house, with the scent of steaming food emanating from one of its rooms. In that room was a table, and around that small table were three chairs, waiting to be occupied.

Shen Jiu shook his head, dispelling the memory that had momentarily taken over his mind. In an instant, he was back to the present, where the encroaching fog completely obscured the area within eyesight and the shrieking noise nearly reached a deafening pitch.

‘Shizun?’ One of the disciples beside Shen Jiu meekly asked. ‘When shoul-’

‘Now!’ Shen Jiu ordered. ‘Activate the formation now!’

There was a blinding flash of light, accompanied by an earthshaking bang, and in that split second, it seemed as if time itself had stopped. For that moment, it was as if the entire world had come to a standstill.

And then, just as quickly as it had come, the moment passed. Just as abruptly as it had arrived, the ominous fog dissipated, taking with it the awful shrieking noise that had filled the air a few seconds ago.

Shen Jiu’s mind went blank. Suddenly, the realisation of the toll of the situation on him struck him like a ton of bricks. A throbbing sensation suddenly rose in his gut, nearly causing him to lurch and double up in pain. He immediately covered his mouth to stifle his groan, and when he removed his hand, dark, warm blood trickled from his palm.

Qi Qingqi approached Shen Jiu from behind, her smile as radiant as the sun as she made her way to the lofty immortal. ‘Well, well, well,’ She exclaimed, her voice laced with a note of amusement. ‘I can’t believe you went and stole the limelight from me just now. It’s impressive, I’ll give you that.’

Shen Jiu cleared his throat and crossed his arms, hiding his hand from Qi Qingqi’s sight. ‘It’s nothing worthy of concern. How are the disciples?’

‘I’ve checked on them, all of them are fine.’ Qi Qingqi remarked. ‘But the forest isn’t so lucky though.’

Qi Qingqi pointed at a long, clear path in Bailu Forest that previously wasn’t there before. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t actually empty: Rather, the “path” consisted of collapsed trees and destroyed vines, as it was actually the trail of destruction left in the wake of chaos that happened when the mysterious qi had collided with the defensive magical array and was deflected back into the forest, thus leaving a clearing that led further north into the forest. It also wasn’t wrong to say that the clearing was like a path, as at the end of the “path”, it led to an unusual landform that stood out like a sore thumb among the jagged cliffs and dense growth of trees. Instead, there was a large, unnatural formation in the distance. Massive, towering structures made of smooth, rocky material stood tall and proud, humbling the giant trees nearby. It was too peculiar of a sight, as the landform looked like it was man-made, which was impossible to think of in a closed-off place like Bailu Forest.

‘Now look at that,’ Qi Qingqi murmured as she gestured to the strange anomaly in the distance. ‘I never thought that there would be a place like that in Bailu Forest.’

‘Right. And I can sense the traces of that strange qi just now from there too. How very convenient for our investigation.’ Shen Jiu mused.

Qi Qingqi nodded. ‘Let’s not waste time. I’ll make sure to run one last check up on the disciples before we head there.’

As Qi Qingqi did an inspection on the young cultivators, Shen Jiu looked around him in contemplation. His mind wandered, his gaze shifting away from the group and towards the forest beyond.

Something was not quite right.

‘-en Jiu! Shen Jiu! Are you listening? We’re all done and set to go now!’ A voice suddenly called out, breaking Shen Jiu’s state of trance. He turned towards the voice and saw Qi Qingqi and the disciples already ahead waiting for him. He wordlessly made his way to them, with his thoughts still weighing on his mind.

‘Well, this is it.’ Qi Qingqi said once Shen Jiu flew to her side. ‘Better make this whole journey worth it.’

As Qi Qingqi spoke, something suddenly clicked in Shen Jiu’s mind. It was as if a curtain had been lifted from his eyes, revealing something he had previously failed to see. Something had always felt slightly off, and it was only now that he realised what it was. It was a small, almost unnoticeable detail, but it had been hiding in plain sight this entire time.

Those two waves of qi were not from the same source. The second blast of qi was demonic, that was for sure, but the first one was actually spiritual qi, not demonic qi! It was very brief and much smaller in scale compared to the second wave, which was probably why no one put much thought in it in the midst of all of the sequence of events that happened.

No wonder why the second wave of qi felt strange!

‘Qi Qingqi!’ Shen Jiu called out to get her attention. However, Qi Qingqi was already zipping ahead with the disciples struggling to keep up with her brisk pace. Despite his best efforts, his voice grew fainter as they continued to move further away from each other. In the end, he gave up on trying to reach her and instead decided to keep pace with the group.

‘There you are!’ Qi Qingqi exclaimed when Shen Jiu finally caught up with her. ‘I was already thinking of leaving you behind if you kept slowing down like that. Are you really prepared to go now?’

Absolutely not, was what Shen Jiu was going to say. But…they had gone so far already. Was it already too late to go back by now?

Shen Jiu remembered the silent promise that he had made that night, to his treasured little one who wasn’t even awake and aware. So he glanced over his shoulder, giving one last look behind them. Then he turned back and firmly nodded.

‘Yes. Let’s go.’

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan was going blind and deaf.  Well, at least he thought he was. 

In one moment, Shen Yuan was moving through the forest on his borrowed (stolen) horse, trying to be as silent as possible as he secretly followed the search party ahead of him, the only sounds being the soft thud of the horse’s hooves on the ground or the horse’s faint munching as Shen Yuan stuffed a fruit from his bag into its mouth each time to shut it up; and in the next moment, a blast of qi came out of nowhere and freaked out the poor thing, causing the young man to nearly fall off the horse when it started bolting in fear. Then when he just succeeded from his awkward attempts to reassure the horse, there was another   shockwave that was more terrifying than the first, and it was even accompanied by a loud, shrilling noise that almost ruptured his eardrums; then when paired with the sudden occurrence of blood-red fog(???) during that time, it did NOT help with the situation at all. Shen Yuan may or may not have pissed himself a little bit. Just a little bit.

Thankfully, those terrors were gone as quickly as they had appeared. Shen Yuan could finally let out a sigh of relief! No more panic-inducing noises, no more suffocation from mysterious fog, and no more… trees? The young man clearly remembered being completely surrounded by flora, and in the blink of an eye, all of the trees and vines in front of him were flattened to the ground. Not that he minded anyway, as he was pretty glad that the forest would have a harder time trying to kill him. 

Seriously, what was up with this place anyway?! Why was it so overgrown with thick and thorny vines? Shen Yuan swore that he could feel those vines reaching out for him and that the frightening-looking trees were watching him with every move. Where were the singing songbirds and playful deer? Why can’t he see the bright glow of the moon and the stars in the sky at such a dark and secluded place? Were all forests this dangerous and depressing? In the novels he had read, forests had always seemed like places shrouded in mystery and filled with a magical charm. However, this experience had quickly dispelled any romantic notions of this sort. As he rode through the dark, grim forest, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment at the stark contrast between the fantastical images he had imagined and the harsh reality that lay before him now. If this was actually how all forests generally were, then he might as well ditch his aspirations of becoming an adventurer or beast cultivator and only stay within the comforts of his own home, where he doesn’t need to worry about anything. But that would mean being coddled and cosseted all day… 

Whatever. Shen Yuan can rack his brains thinking about that later. He had a little mission he needed to do now. 

Clip-clop, clip-clop . A huff of warm air gently tingled Shen Yuan’s hand. 

Shen Yuan turned his attention towards the horse that had walked towards him. Its mane swayed as it lightly shook its head side to side while it stared at the young man in anticipation. It must’ve calmed down already after some time and was hungry for food after all that stressful sequence of events. 

‘Here,’ Shen Yuan said while giving a radish from his bag to the horse to eat. ‘It’s obviously not a fruit, but I hope it’ll do.’

The horse was more than ecstatic to receive the tasty treat that Shen Yuan offered, eagerly devouring it and crunching on it with apparent delight. Once it was fully satisfied, Shen Yuan took the opportunity to mount the horse, hopping up onto its back awkwardly. Just as he had settled himself comfortably, an ear-splitting explosion echoed in the distance, followed by the sound of something collapsing. 

‘Huh, what is it now?’ Shen Yuan groaned in exasperation. ‘Come on- ’

Shen Yuan looked at the horse, which still hadn’t finished chomping on the radish. He realised he still hasn’t given it a name. 

‘Little Radish. Let’s go!’

Little Radish hesitated at first, but with a little coaxing from the young man, it finally started moving. As it bounded down the newly created path, Shen Yuan seized the opportunity to observe his surroundings. The initial sights consisted of nothing more than untamed foliage, much to his disappointment. As he continued, however, his attention was drawn to a peculiar sight in the distance. Towering structures, seemingly of human construction, were visible off in the distance, perhaps once serving as a fortress or settlement. Shen Yuan’s heart skipped a beat upon discovering this unexpected turn of events. Would it be possible that this seemingly desolate forest had once teemed with human activity? The prospect of finding out made him giddy with excitement.

So Shen Yuan gently ushered Little Radish to increase its pace, approaching the peculiar landform with curiosity. As he closed in, the structures finally revealed their true forms to him. They were actually made up of tall towers, all connected as one with crumbling walls. The building appeared to vibrate as if from immense activity within. Shen Yuan could hear the distinct sounds of clanging, banging, and crashing which emanated from the mysterious building. 

Ooookay. Shen Yuan should probably back up a bit and be more cautious.

After guiding Little Radish to a place that he thought was safe, Shen Yuan hopped off his steed and crept towards the building. Up close, the building was even larger than he anticipated, surpassing the scale of anything he had known before. Growing up in his village, the largest structure he had ever seen was Madame Qi’s inn, but he reckoned this building was the size of a palace - perhaps even suitable for an emperor’s residence. That was, of course, based on mere speculation from the travelogues he’d read and the tales he’d heard from passing travellers.

All of this was very exciting and thrilling to Shen Yuan who had never set foot outside of his little village before, but there was one obstacle halting him from continuing his adventure: A plain, measly door. Despite the towering spires and massive walls, there were no visible entrances - not even a peep hole. Additionally, the relentless storm made it impossible to climb the high walls.

So Shen Yuan stood there, desperately thinking of a way to enter the building. As he pondered, the rain was pouring and pounding on the cloak he was wearing, chilling him to the bone. The waterproof cloak that was gifted by Liu Qingge could only endure so much of the heavy downpour, and the last thing the young man wanted was to be caught in the chilly weather with no protection.

It was during this moment that Shen Yuan heard a distinct hissing sound emanating from behind him. He quickly turned his head, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the source, only to see a snake slithering away in the heavy downpour. To his surprise, the snake disappeared behind a thicket of vines that were clinging to the building's walls.

With his curiosity piqued, Shen Yuan followed the direction of the snake’s movement, approaching the wall of vines with caution. He took a deep breath and carefully reached for the vines, feeling their rough surface under his fingertips. He gently prodded the vines, watching as they swayed from one side to the other. Then he pushed aside the vines, revealing a small opening hidden beneath the creeping vines. The opening wasn’t a particularly large hole, but Shen Yuan could still pass through it if he knelt down and crawled.

That, in fact, was a very stupid thing to do. Shen Yuan knew that. So he did exactly that. He immediately started to crawl into the hole, guided only by the light talisman he had activated earlier. As he crawled, a small stream of water ran beneath him and flowed towards the hole outside.

Finally, after a few minutes that felt like hours, Shen Yuan finally made it to the other side of the opening. After the entire ordeal, his cloak had gotten completely wet, so he shook the water droplets off the clothing and left it to dry at a corner, and made a mental note to himself to pick it up later. 

Shen Yuan took out the night pearl from his qiankun pouch and proceeded to survey his surroundings inside the building. The light cast by the night pearl revealed a dark, empty space. Dust and cobwebs covered the walls and floors. All in all, there was nothing much to see. He was considering to dip out on this whole endeavour when a sudden clang behind him jolted him out of his thoughts. 

Shen Yuan quickly spun around to see the source of the sound. He didn’t expect to see that the opening that he had used to go in was now covered by a thick, rusty, metal cover. The metal cover must’ve been in an upright position for a very long time, and when Shen Yuan had gcrawled through the opening, he must’ve unintentionally disturbed and shook the hinges, finally causing the metal cover to drop down.

Then the stream of water flowing towards the opening outside of the building… Did Shen Yuan somehow crawl through what used to be a sewage drain? Yuck.

The realisation that he may have inadvertently crawled through what used to be a sewage drain caused Shen Yuan to shudder. That thought also brought him back to the fact that he was supposed to be following the search party which he had somehow completely forgotten. 

Shen Yuan was glued on the floor as he stood in front of the opening he had used to enter. He kept looking back and forth between the manhole and the empty space of the room.

And yet, it was as if this room— No, the entire place was beckoning Shen Yuan inside. What secrets lie here, hidden in every nook and cranny? How many stories were lost, just waiting to be discovered and shared to the world?

Shen Jiu was probably more than fine with Qi Qingqi and a bunch of young cultivators with him. He doesn’t need anyone as laughable as his own son to look after him. Shen Yuan will just look around in this place for about 10 minutes to sate his curiosity. There’s probably almost nothing here anyway. If he does encounter danger, he could just blast his way out. Easy. 

…Though he would feel pretty guilty if he accidentally destroyed a potential historical site like this.

Fuck it , Shen Yuan thought. Guess he would stay here for a little while. He groaned as he half-willingly walked away from the manhole and further into the room, complaining about his questionable decision-making skills all the way. 

‘Why am I doing this? Why did I even go here? I should’ve stayed back- Woah!’

Shen Yuan halted when he found himself standing in front of an old, dilapidated door. The shabby piece of furniture pitifully creaked when a light breeze passed by. When Shen Yuan gently pushed the door open, dust and termite frass came cascading down like waterfalls, creating a cloud of dirt that momentarily blinded him.

Shen Yuan waved his hands around to fan the cloud away and coughed as the grimy air invaded his airways. After the dust had cleared, the young man opened his eyes, his vision slowly adjusting to the new sight before him.

On the other side of the door, a long, lonesome hallway stretched far and wide. Naturally, just like the room, it appeared like it was devoid of any life— dull, dreary, and empty. Yet from the bottom of his heart, Shen Yuan oddly believed that it was quite the opposite. For a place that was supposedly abandoned for such a long time in an isolated location, the hallway was more or less empty. In fact, it was probably a little too  spacious than the young man had predicted. He had expected fallen ceiling beams and broken pieces of furniture strewn here and there, yet he was greeted by an almost normal-looking hallway, if you could ignore the dust everywhere, that is. There were virtually no water stains and cracks on the walls. And through all of his time pointlessly wandering in here, Shen Yuan never heard or saw a single rodent scurrying in the corners. It was as if someone was taking care of this place the whole time, albeit doing the barest minimum.

Shen Yuan drew in a deep breath, mustering up all of his courage and took his first step into the hallway. The hallway was completely silent except for the sound of his heels echoing off the walls. As he continued down the passage, more items of furniture began to reveal themselves. Initially, there were only a few paintings, but over time, the larger pieces started to appear— bookcases and corner tables, all lining the walls. 

Shen Yuan shivered as he walked down the hallway. There were more frequent light breezes that occasionally came by, so he guessed that he was getting near to the courtyard or someplace of that sort. All of a sudden, there was a sudden gust of wind that was stronger than he had expected, catching him off guard. As he huddled closer to the wall for warmth, the sound of something flapping in the wind caught his attention.

A single, lone painting was swaying back and forth in the wind. Intrigued, Shen Yuan went nearer to examine it. Though the colours of the artwork had faded over time, he could still see the vague outlines and shape of a river as it curved through a forest. Crab apple trees grew along the riverbed, their usually vibrant blossoms now tinged with a delicate dusting of white snow.

Written gracefully at the corner of the painting were the words: “Where love is born”.

‘Where love is born?’ Shen Yuan asked incredulously. ‘Uh, in the bedroom, maybe?’

‘What you are doing is wrong!’ A booming voice suddenly bellowed.

‘Woah!’ Shen Yuan exclaimed in surprise, looking around at his surroundings as he did so. ‘Who’s there?!’

A guttural groan resounded instead, sending vibrations through the walls. Shen Yuan glanced at his surroundings but he didn’t see anybody else. It sounded like it came from outside of the building, so the young man crept to a door which he suspected led to the courtyard to investigate the source of the voice. He peered through the flimsy door, attempting to see if there was anyone there. But instead of a person, he was met with a putrid odour that wafted through the holes in the door, making Shen Yuan scrunch up his nose in disgust.

‘Ugh, that smells nasty.’ Shen Yuan retched as he covered his nose. All of a sudden, there was the sound of the ground squelching outside, as if from footsteps. His eyes widened as he had an inkling that someone might be coming. The young man immediately crouched down to avoid detection and waited for something to happen.

From the corner of his vision, Shen Yuan saw a single person standing in the middle of the courtyard. It was rather unfortunate that the young man couldn’t see their figure as their back was facing him, but even if that person revealed their face, it would be shrouded by darkness and the rain that was still pouring down in torrents. 

‘Give it up already. You shall be spared some mercy if you surrender.’ That person said with a commanding, masculine tone.

Right, so that voice he heard earlier in the hallway belonged to this man. Shen Yuan shuddered. That tone of voice was so familiar and stern, as it reminded him of being reprimanded for sneaking out. Yet it didn’t seem to be directed at him, so the young man was slightly relieved that he didn’t need to go throwing hands tonight. Wait, if that mysterious man wasn’t talking to him, who else was he talking to? Was there another third individual that Shen Yuan wasn’t aware of?

As a matter of fact, Shen Yuan didn’t need to wait so long to get his answer. He didn’t even need to see it to believe it as he could just feel  the other presence. Powerful, overbearing, and threatening—  The change of the air around him in an instant as it was laden with demonic qi was enough of an indication he was in range with another formidable being.

A fog-like substance dispersed in front of the mysterious man, enveloping everything that it had touched with a blood red hue. However, the man defiantly stood his ground, remaining unfazed even when facing imminent danger.

  A dark form began to materialise from the fog, becoming bigger and clearer as it moved closer to the man. The brief silence was broken by a chilling screeching sound that sounded like metal being dragged along the ground which hurt Shen Yuan’s ears. It was also that moment when that foul smell from just now returned again and this time with even more intensity, making it a challenge for him to not puke on the spot. Despite already starting to get a little dizzy from the onslaught of stimulation, Shen Yuan quietly stayed at where he was as his curiosity got the better of him.

‘This is a dangerous place. You lot know that, but still insist on entering here.’

Shen Yuan’s ears perked up as he heard that reply. That voice was raspy and strained, unlike the other man who had more of a crisp voice. 

Then, a figure emerged from the swirling fog. The screeching finally stopped when they raised the sword hilt they were holding so the end of the sword was lifted from the ground, leaving behind a long trail of sword marks on the earth. As light glinted off the surface of the sword’s blade, it revealed a pair of dark eyes almost hidden by the deer skull that was perched atop the individual’s head.

Deer Skull Guy drew his sword, now standing in direct opposition to the other strange man.

‘You were warned. Trespassers will not be dealt lightly here.’

Deer Skull Guy initiated first, swinging his sword at his opponent. Like a flash of lightning, the other man moved out of the way faster than Shen Yuan could keep track of. Deer Skull Guy whipped around to find his opponent already standing behind him. Shen Yuan shielded his eyes when striking beams of light shone through the holes in the door appeared from Strange Man’s palms, as he gathered his billowing spiritual qi and rose with a leap, charging forth at Deer Skull Guy. In retaliation, Deer Skull Guy launched a counter-attack by doing a cutting motion in the air, releasing a strong wave of demonic qi towards Strange Guy as his sword gleamed with a sinister black sheen. Shen Yuan quickly jumped elsewhere when the door that he was using to hide behind was blasted away by the shockwave that had occurred when the two vastly different roiling energies collided.

The ground shook and rumbled under the intense clash between the two master combatants,  and as a result the building surrounding them suffered by taking the damage. As the battle waged on, the walls were cracking and debris was just flying everywhere.

Oddly enough, when Shen Yuan observed Deer Skull Guy and Strange Guy’s fight, he saw a dark red, sticky substance appearing on the ground of the courtyard. As more of that bizarre substance appeared, the rancid stench earlier just became worse to the young man’s dismay. And when he examined closer…Oh. That dark red stuff was steadily dripping out of Deer Skull Guy as he buzzed around. The more he moved, more of that substance was coming out of him, and that stench increased as well. Soooooo, that disgusting smell came from an equally nasty source, which was most likely Deer Skull Guy’s blood. But Shen Yuan had smelt that stuff even before the fight started in the courtyard, so how long was that guy freely bleeding out already? If so, he really had to give that guy props for keeping up with a fight for quite some time and not backing down despite being injured.

At the same time, Shen Yuan despaired as he had found himself unintentionally caught between a conflict that was unrelated to him at all. So that shockwave, terrifying blood-red fog that he had encountered in the forest, and the building that he saw shaking from afar some time ago were caused by these two people as they ran around from one place to another to beat each other up! Was he currently at some outlaws’ hideout in the forest?!

Right, Shen Yuan forgot that he wasn’t even supposed to be here! It must’ve been far too long after 10 minutes already, he needed to get out of here, now . Which was pretty unfortunate, as when he was doing this thought process in his head, a blast of qi was already headed his way. And when the young man looked up and was finally set on a course of action, it was too late by that time as he felt the firsthand effects of pure aura of concentrated, spiritual qi coming his way.

Shit , Shen Yuan last thought, before the wall in front of him broke and smashed open from the force of qi.

For his whole life, Shen Yuan never suffered much, as Shen Jiu did not ever want anything to hurt his precious little boy. Excluding those exhausting exercises and punishments from him, of course. Then until now, at this place in the middle of nowhere, through a weird course of events, Shen Yuan was now experiencing his first time full-on, sensational, highly immersive sensation of pain .

At first, Shen Yuan primarily felt the explosion in two areas of his body: Firstly, it was in his chest. The force had hit him, and reverberated as it travelled through his body. He’d never been punched before, but he guessed this was what it felt like but increased by a hundredfold. Secondly, he didn’t know how, but he could feel the force in his head. He really can’t think of anything, his mind going blank at the moment.

And then Shen Yuan felt it . His entire being went limp as he was body slammed into the stony wall behind him, his life literally almost getting knocked out of him. He cried out in pain as his body fell and landed on the hard floor, the newly formed fragments of debris beneath him pricking and cutting his skin. When the cloud of dust had subsided, Shen Yuan now had a wide  open view of the battle as the wall in front of him was demolished. 

…No way. Shen Yuan absolutely couldn’t believe his eyes.

In a twist of fate, Shen Yuan saw that the man who had been dodging attacks and fighting with incredible skill was none other than Yue Qingyuan ! The same Yue Qingyuan who was declared missing, making Shen Jiu stay up for countless nights as he neared the verge of a breakdown; And yet, he was here in the middle of nowhere, seemingly unscathed and fine as he casually fought off against this other person (Or cultivator? Demon?)

As Shen Yuan’s vision started to darken, he let out a chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. The ceiling above him, already battered from the epic battle, finally gave way and crumbled with a deafening rumble. His consciousness slipped away as bricks fell on him, crushing him in their wake as he was buried in the rubble.

Chapter Text

‘Shen Yuan, get up!’

‘Ahhh!’ Shen Yuan gasped, jolting awake. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he sat up from the cold, hard ground, clutching at his chest.

‘Don’t move,’ said someone beside him. ‘You’re still hurt.’

Shen Yuan looked at his left and blinked dazedly as he tried to make out the image of the person beside him. Although his vision was still blurry from being groggy, he could already see the silhouette of someone kneeling down at his right side, holding his hand in theirs.

Shen Yuan closed his eyes, drew in a steadying breath, and let it back out with a loud sigh. He felt a calming stream of spiritual qi entering and spreading throughout his body, and he let himself relax at the sensation.

‘Ugh.’ Shen Yuan groaned, blinking rapidly as his vision started to clear up. ‘What— What happened?’

‘You were caught under the rubble during the fighting.’ The person replied as the ground suddenly shook. ‘It’s not safe here, so we need to leave. Now.’

‘Yeah, yeah…’ Shen Yuan muttered. Then his eyes widened as he was suddenly struck with awareness of the situation. ‘Wait, Yue Qingyuan is still out there! We have to help hi-Hey!’ Shen Yuan exclaimed as he was pulled back down. ‘Let me…go? Ah! You’re—’ 

Qiu Jianluo grabbed Shen Yuan by his shoulders and clamped his mouth shut. ‘Shhhh. He’s close.’

All of a sudden, it was silent. Shen Yuan only realised now that he was still in Bailu Forest, in the middle of nowhere, at an undiscovered ancient palace. He had stumbled upon Yue Qingyuan and somebody else in the midst of battle and unknowingly became collateral damage as a result from their fighting. And now, he might've been narrowly saved from death, but he was not out of danger yet. To think that Qiu Jianluo out of everyone else had found and came to help him when he needed it…

The sound of a fissure cracking open on the ground nearby snapped Shen Yuan out of his thoughts. Qiu Jianluo had mentioned that ‘he’ was getting close. Who was this individual?

The fissure on the ground grew larger as a booming, rumbling sound approached Shen Yuan and Qiu Jianluo from the pile of debris they were hiding at. Shen Yuan’s vision immediately became blurry as the air suddenly went foggy. He tensed when he felt that the air around them became thicker and heavier again, recalling that unpleasant experience earlier. It was oppressive and domineering, making him uneasy as it conjured a presentiment of disaster in his mind.

Yep. Definitely demonic qi. Maybe this was Deer Skull Guy?

Eventually, the rumbling got louder and distinct enough until Shen Yuan could finally make out what the hell they were all along. They were undoubtedly footsteps; why did it take so long for him to figure out?! When he sensed that the individual’s presence was closing in behind the remnants of the shattered wall where Qiu Jianluo and he was, Shen Yuan gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to strike at any given moment.

However, just as he was about to draw his sword, Shen Yuan felt the gentle but firm placement of a hand on his own. He looked up to see Qiu Jianluo staring back at him sternly and shaking his head. Qiu Jianluo hadn’t said a word, but it was clear what he was trying to convey: Not yet.

As the footsteps got closer and the air seemingly harder to breathe, Shen Yuan felt the itch in his hand getting unbearable by each second as he anxiously waited in anticipation. For every second he waited was like hours on his end, as he was just dying to get this over with.

The footsteps stopped. The air became stagnant, momentarily bringing a brief period of stillness in the tense situation. Shen Yuan quickly unsheathed his sword, already bringing the blade to a slash mid-action—

‘Shen Yuan,’ Qiu Jianluo cried out, ‘Don’t!’

Shen Yuan leapt out from his hiding spot, exactly at the same time as Deer Skull Guy lunged at him. Dark eyes like the abyss met the young man’s own soft, mahogany eyes, as if he had stared into the void. Shen Yuan almost froze, not expecting to see those remarkable eyes faintly glinting underneath the skull headdress. He was surprised, but he didn’t allow that to waver him. In a split second, his sword struck Deer Skull Guy’s blade. The two stood their ground, blades crossed as their gazes were fixated on each other, both conveying the same message: Let’s see who gives up first.

‘You cannot escape now, beast!’ Somebody else suddenly spoke, their voice echoing throughout the entire place.

Shocked, Shen Yuan got distracted, and in an anticlimactic manner, the young man lost his footing and stumbled back, falling onto his butt. What just happened? That didn’t sound like Yue Qingyuan… Ugh, who was it now this time?!

‘It’s Shen Jiu.’ Qiu Jianluo whispered next to Shen Yuan all of a sudden. 

Shen Yuan jolted upon hearing Qiu Jianluo’s voice. He had completely forgotten that the other man had been beside him the whole time. ‘Uh, what did you say?’ 

‘It’s Shen Jiu.  He must’ve arrived here already with the rest.’ Qiu Jianluo replied while looking up.

Curious, Shen Yuan looked at the direction to where Qiu Jianluo was looking to see what was going on. Sure enough, like vultures in the sky circling a cadaver, the swords of Shen Jiu and the rest of the disciples glistened in the rainy night as they flew around Deer Skull Guy, cornering the beast like hunting dogs.

An indescribable feeling punctured Shen Yuan’s heart. His heart sank, as he already had an inkling of what was going to happen next. For every animal that was hunted, it had to be put down.

In the midst of the thunder and storm, shrilling howls resounded in the night; and like eagles swooping at a little lamb, the beast let out a screech every time an array of attacks rained down on it. 

Run, run, run! You don’t need to be here, Shen Yuan thought. So he turned away from the sight, covered his ears, and tried to run towards Qiu Jianluo.

Where he would be safe.

Blasts of Qi came down like lightning, and the beast writhed even more as its flesh burned and tore open, as waterfalls of crimson poured out its wounds. Even as Shen Yuan heard the blood splashing on the ground, he pretended not to hear it. And so he ran away, until he got near to Qiu Jianluo, who was reaching out to him with open arms.

‘Yes, Shen Yuan.’ Qiu Jianluo smiled. ‘Come here.’

No, this isn’t right!

Shen Yuan stopped in his tracks. He looked behind him, where the beast was whimpering in pain. Suddenly, the beast craned its neck to look at him, and the young man found himself staring into the eyes of the abyss again. Something tugged at his heart, making him feel uneasy.

‘Shen Yuan?’ Qiu Jianluo called out. ‘What are you doing? Come on here.’

It was as if Shen Yuan couldn’t control his body all of a sudden. His feet instinctively walked towards the beast, and it soon broke into a run. 

‘Shen Yuan! Come back!’

The thunderstorm, the screeching of the beast, the cries of the cultivators, and Qiu Jianluo’s pleas were all deaf to Shen Yuan’s ears. He just ran and ran, until he found himself face to face with the beast.

In that moment, the beauty and the beast just stared, not saying a word to each other. But Shen Yuan, trembling as he was, took a step forward, and cautiously reached out his hand. 

‘I-I can help you.’ Shen Yuan stammered. ‘But you have to trust me.’

The beast’s face was covered by the deer skull, so naturally Shen Yuan couldn’t see its real appearance. But underneath that mask, Shen Yuan swore that he saw the beast’s expression softened as its dark eyes dilated. 

The beast slowly stretched out its wounded, bloodied hand, and Shen Yuan smiled, reassuring the beast to keep going. 

‘Yes, that’s right. Don’t be afraid, I wo—’

Suddenly, something sharp protruded out of the beast’s abdomen, causing it to let out a loud cry. It doubled over from the pain, revealing its attacker that was standing behind it the whole time at Shen Yuan. And standing in front of Shen Yuan, with his sword still pointed forward, was Shen Jiu. 

‘We’ll be having a serious talk once we get back home, Shen Yuan.’ Shen Jiu glowered at the young man. ‘But first, let’s get rid of this demon.’

Shen Jiu pointed his sword upwards, preparing to pierce it down on the beast. Shen Yuan stood there, dumbfounded, as he could only look at Shen Jiu and the beast from the sidelines helplessly.

So this is how it ends…? 

A low rumbling noise emanated from the beast, almost as if it was pitifully pleading for help, yet Shen Yuan turned away, unable to bear witnessing the beast’s inevitable end. 

A long time ago, Shen Jiu brought Shen Yuan to a forest where no one knew except him. 

‘From now on, you will start training here. You will grow up to become someone so strong; you will be my great soldier and cultivator.’

Good soldiers follow orders. Perhaps Shen Yuan was not a good soldier after all.

Shen Jiu’s sword came thundering down like an executioner’s axe, and what happened next was so fast that Shen Yuan didn’t even finish comprehending it—

In the blink of an eye, it was as if the world had stopped moving. Shen Jiu’s facial expression, once filled with hatred, contorted into one that was full of horror. Even the beast, who already laid there like a lifeless corpse even before receving his final killing blow in anticipation, suddenly appeared more alive as he stared with dark, wide eyes.

Loud gasps erupted from the disciples who had been standing by Shen Jiu’s side from a distance away, too fearful to be involved with the violent confrontation.

Shen Yuan looked down, and he finally knew why everyone was so stunned— as dark, red fluid was gushing and dripping out from him and onto the ground, while something shiny, sleek, and sharp like a sword’s blade jutted out from his torso.

Shen Yuan remembered everything in a second. That’s right, in that short time when Shen Jiu was just about to end the beast’s life, his mind decided that he must do something so outrageous in that exact moment. Fuelled by insanity, stupidity, and an extraordinary amount of courage, for some reason, the best course of action he had chosen was to lunge at Shen Jiu and push the beast away from his incoming execution. Now, where would Shen Jiu’s sword be headed? Naturally, stabbed into him instead, of course.

‘Ack,’ Shen Yuan sputtered, as he finally registered the sensation of getting skewered.

‘No…’ Shen Jiu muttered, feeling the strength in his legs faltering as his legs buckled and collapsed onto the ground. ‘No, not you, Shen Yuan!’

The beast had watched everything in motion, and as everyone’s attention was directed at the two cultivators, he allowed himself to regain his strength in the limited time when nobody was watching him. The blood flowing out from his body seeped back into the cracks of his wounds, and his cuts and gashes closed up on its own. All of his burnt flesh shriveled up and fell, revealing new, stronger muscles underneath. The pounding at the back of his head was annoyingly still there, but at least he had completely healed physically.

‘Shen Yuan…’ Shen Jiu murmured, still out of his mind, ‘Why, oh why did you do that?’

Sorry, baba, even I don’t know, Shen Yuan thought. But right as he was about to say that, he felt the demonic qi surrounding them getting stronger.

‘Oh shit!’ Shen Yuan cried out. ‘Baba, watch out!’

A figure suddenly emerged behind Shen Jiu who was still collapsed on the ground. Shadowy tendrils materialised from it, reaching out to Shen Jiu and engulfing him completely, hiding the older man from Shen Yuan’s sight. Yet Shen Jiu did not do anything, remaining docile even in the face of danger.

‘Oi, beast!’ Shen Yuan called out. ‘We didn’t agree to this! Leave him alone!’

Why am I saying this? Shen Yuan thought. I’m an idiot, since when did we even make an agreement?!

‘Beast, release him this instant!’ Someone cried out nearby. ‘A-jiu, do something— fight back, please!’

Shen Yuan dazedly looked up, and right in front of him was Yue Qingyuan, who suddenly made a reappearance after disappearing from sight a while ago. Why he only appeared now was truly baffling to Shen Yuan, but he was too weak to think anymore. Instead, he fell to the ground, feeling his strength leaving his body and sleepiness slowly overcoming him.

The shadows of demonic qi became so dark, growing so large and somehow becoming blacker even in the dark of the night. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it simply went poof! Gone, just like that. All the traces of demonic qi faded then disappeared even though it was so overbearing just a moment ago. As if everything that had happened never even occurred in the first place. The noise of bloodshed and violence resided into the quiet, peaceful silence of the rainy night. No longer was there the booming sound of thunder from the storm. Everything went back into the same condition as when Shen Yuan had first left the house.

Well, almost everything, except for the presence of the beast and Shen Jiu.

It’s done. All of that chaos was over. Everything was now ruined because of Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan couldn’t bear being awake. So he closed his eyes, but not before he felt a tear roll down his cheek.