#Scum Villain's Self-saving system

[verycharismaticdragon]

Since not everyone can be Luo Binghe (the meme, the legend)...

please vote for Hua Cheng in @the-ghost-bracket!

EDIT2: next round has begun, so the link above now directs there! And Hua Cheng is also currently in a competition for the title of the best leader.

[sunderwight]

SVSSS fic where Shen Yuan transmigrates into SQQ's disciple days, and accidentally ends up saving Tianlang Jun and preventing Su Xiyan's death by exposing the whole Huan Hua Palace debacle before it can blow up (he didn't even realize this was part of Luo Binghe's origin story at first, since it's not like Airplane ever went into any great details about it. He thought he was just one-upping a rival sect and exposing some sketchy behavior towards the female disciples!)

So, while the system docks him a truly staggering number of points and blaring alarms into his head, SY kind of misses Tianlang Jun telling him that as thanks for his heroic intervention and to solidify the alliance between the human and demon realms, he can marry their firstborn, who TLJ is certain will be a beautiful daughter who will look just like him! SY sort of distractedly prevaricates and TLJ gets the wrong (right) idea and then suggests he could also marry his son, if the brave young cultivator's preferences are more that way, and SY (still distracted) just sort of answers on autopilot that this would be fine, right, TLJ's son, he's sure to be an excellent person who will make his parents proud, and Tianlang Jun is just like "that's settled then! our child will repay our debt to you in twenty years time!" and heads off into the sunset with Su Xiyan.

Shen Yuan is kind of like "well good luck to them I guess?" because it's not like he can un-fuck the hero's tragic backstory at this point. At least he hasn't been killed by the system yet? Although he's getting a lot of notifications about a "genre shift" to compensate, which is worrying...

Anyway. Arranged Marriage AU, anyone?

[shrimpchipsss]

layout of the bamboo house from the scum villain donghua

[setsu0000gen]

not really moshang, but you can pretend it is 

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Luo Binghe- Scum Villain's Self-Saving System/Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Wei Wuxian- Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

[hawberries]

Zhuzhi-lang, a creature of shadow, and Gongyi Xiao, a boy of the light

illustrations for Alex Corduroyserpent’s stunning fic, In Shadow of the Sun, which was written for the Radiance anthology!

[adorerbati]

One thing I love from teen comedies and general nostalgic media is that trope of when a character tries to hard to match-make and make another character fall in love with another person, and they go on and on about the qualities and merits of this spectacular, special, oh so amazing and gorgeous person, person, hinting and nudging to his forced audience/conversation partner who is all but unwitting, all on about how that other person is sooo great and how they (the listener) should totally fall for them, and look at all their good qualities and how one should cherish them, and all these other reasons why, too.

It follows, that the end result is that person being spoken to getting fed up, throwing their hands up proverbially before having a tired and fed-up and BORED but understandable (!!) outburst, out and along the lines of the -by that point- tedious diatribe, going off like:

"I'm still not in love with them! ...But I'm starting to think that /YOU/ might be." Then the character like, promptly leaves, or even storms off this scene maybe, or whatever, depending on their temperament.

This is Shen Qingqiu/A'Yuan to his own narration and subsequently the readers, and that means us, as well as to talking about Luo Binghe the in-verse harems wives that will never again be wives of Luo Binghe's, having grown far away from original PIDW. Blind as a bat to the fact that he is more in love than anyone else could ever be. And it's not a joke to anyone with eyes (Except A'Yuan).

[kukuandkookie]

Finally found some energy to draw something...for the first time this entire new year akfgdsjgf (happy belated new year!).

But yeah, drew this to make me feel better! Wish I had a LBH to take care of me while I'm sick too 😔

[snailtrain]

If you dont mind me going again xD liushen 1D?

interpretation: local idiot realizes this is kinda gay, news at 11

skyguy, mud sent so many pls do not feel bad for sending another, i love SVSSS 🥒💖

this is a response to this meme

[masiethewriter]

Honored Eternal Path of Demise CH. 1 -Game Over

It's bad enough that Shen Yuan dies. It's even worse when he transmigrates into the worst horror game inspired by Proud Immortal Demon Way that could ever be imagined. But nothing is more terrible than transmigrating as the scum villain Shen Qingqiu, the character with the most violent and grotesque deaths the game has to offer! Couldn't he have transmigrated into the stallion novel instead? At least there his character would only die once! Now Shen Yuan has to navigate his new life as Shen Qingqiu while trying to keep not only himself alive, but also a cast of characters, each more suicidal than the next. A goal he is going to fail. A lot. Many times. Too many times! At least he can spend some time with his favorite character Lou Binghe while stuck in this mess.

Next Chapter

"Stupid developers, stupid game!" was Shen Yuan's final words as darkness overtook everything around him.

He hadn't meant to die right after reaching the secret ending of Honored Eternal Path of Demise, the new horror game based on the popular novel Proud Immortal Demon Way. But after spending hours upon hours, days upon days, with barely any sleep or food, and finally painstakingly saving every character (Even the evil scum villain Shen Qingqiu), to see the secret final ending of the game end ambiguously as a sequel teaser, it was too much for Shen Yuan.

After beating the last boss, the cutscene allowed him enough of a break to take a bite of a meat bun, only for the ending sending him into such a fit of rage, that the food got caught in his throat. Unable to cough it out, he was only able to curse out the game as he choked to death.

And like that, Shen Yuan had died.

It might not have been as bad, if at least he died criticizing a better game, but as it were, Honored Eternal Path of Demise just barely managed to sell enough copies to not be considered an absolute failure.

Now, don't get Shen Yuan wrong. When the game had just been announced, the excitement for it had been great. One of the most popular stallion novels being turned into a game! Even Shen Yuan had been interested.

While exactly what kind of game it would be had yet to be revealed, fans were quick to speculate and theorize. Most looked forward to getting to play as Luo Binghe, many discussing which of his wifes would make it into the game and how many romances that would be added. Whether it would be more like a visual novel, focused on the story and relationships or an action game where players truly could feel out the protagonist's OP powers.

Not too long after, it was revealed the game was going to be a horror game. And with that announcement, the excitement only grew. The novel was known for its harsh opening and cruel blackening, so choosing a genre that allowed the project to stay dark and explicit made sense.

Though that was one of the last smart decisions that would be coming from the development team from then on.

Somehow leaks got out and while it was mostly concept art of the characters and potential wifes, it got revealed that Luo Binghe was NOT going to be a playable character.

Fans were quick to get in an uproar, displeased with not being able to play as the overpowered protagonist. Why even make a game about Luo Binghe if no one got to play as him? What were the developers thinking!

This was just the first reveal of many that would leave fans raging on forums and social media.

Next was the reveal that the game was dropping the cultivation aspect and was instead going for a modern retelling. Also, instead of the more edgy, but beloved blackened Luo Binghe, they took the more heroic route, so he resembled himself much more from before he was pushed into The Endless Abyss.

At this point fans begin to question why even make a game based on Proud Immortal Demon Way if they were going to change all aspects of it? If the development team wanted to make an original story, they should make an original story, instead of capitalizing the novel IP for cheap advertisement.

Then, as the full cast were revealed, the more feminist fans began to riot.

The first version included Luo Binghe as the only male character, the rest being either wifes from the novel or original female characters made for the game. "What is this?!" They protested. "Is this a horror game or a harem simulator! Just another excuse to make vulnerable women suffer for the sake of a man?" And while this backlash was nowhere near as aggressive as when it was revealed Luo Binghe would stay an NPC, the developers still rushed to produce an updated cast with an almost equal amount of male and female characters.

"See, we can listen and change depending on the needs of the fans!" They said.

"What about everything else?!" The fans replied.

"..." The developers stayed quiet.

The rest of the production stayed like this. Any time more of the game was revealed, fans only got angrier and more disappointed. The stress and pressure was enough that people on the development team kept getting switched out, people quitting because of the crunch, resulting in new hires barely getting integrated into the team, before they were also loaded with a mountain of work. A scandal broke out with someone not getting properly credited and accusations of art assets stolen from fans. It was even revealed a few developers hadn't been paid in months, paychecks apparently getting lost in the chaos.

Then production got delayed because of IP issues and for a while the game appeared as if it would never happen. A destructive production, made mostly with sweat, blood and tears, leaving nothing but gossip and slander in its wake.

And then the game was announced to release a month from then.

Of course, as Proud Immortal Demon Way's biggest critic, Shen Yuan had to try out the game. So he reserved the special edition (That of course included a copy of the art book, a CD with the soundtrack and an unique poster for the game, impossible to get anywhere else) and was the first in line to collect the game when it was released.

Now unlike everyone else, Shen Yuan actually understood why the game developers had made the decisions they had. Unlike the fans who were blinded by their parasocial relationship to characters that were never going to fuck them, Shen Yuan was able to look past the seemingly thoughtless decisions and see the true politics at play.

First of all, of course players could not play as Luo Binghe. The OP stallion protagonist who never lost a single battle or chance for papapa with a woman? Of course they couldn't let the players grubby hands all over the Luo Binghe image, potentially failing puzzles and quests while carrying his face! And who knows what the trolls would do with a Binghe character? Certainly not anything the developers were going to risk. So, of course Luo Binghe was going to stay an NPC that would support the player without ever failing in his own goals.

Also, it made sense for them to use the more innocent white sheep Luo Binghe even though the darkened demon lord version was more popular. He couldn't exactly be the villain of the game, right? The IP would never allow it! So instead, with the storyline the team were aiming for, they needed Luo Binghe as his more heroic and kind self.

The choice to modernize the story was probably just laziness though. The developers likely didn't want to do any research for Proud Immortal Demon Way's time period or cultivation. So they just took the easy way out. Bastards.

Updating the cast to be more balanced gender wise, was a decision Shen Yuan had felt more neutral on. While most fans were discussing wifes and potential for spicy papapa, Shen Yuan had been glad the game included beloved characters that weren't going to end with their legs spread for Luo Binghe.

Seeing some of the other peak lords presented as modern characters was intriguing and Shen Yuan had been looking forward to learning more about them in this other world. Even the Scum Villain, though mostly as an opportunity to hopefully see him die in a variety of horrible and creative ways.

So as Shen Yuan began playing Honored Eternal Path of Demise, he did not let any of the prior issues affect his view of the game. None of the decisions, scandals or slander was going to make him play with the expectation that he was going to hate it.

No, the horrible story and awful execution were able to do that all by itself.

First of all, the story was a confusing mess, with more plot holes than plot. At first it might seem intriguing, with the way each character had multiple deaths that each affected the story in their own unique way, leading to a vast variety of different endings. One of the main game mechanics was a groundhog-day-esque saving system. Each time you died you would have to start over, but the knowledge gained from the prior playthrough could be used to affect the story, leading it to split into multiple directions. Each death was a learning opportunity and dying was going to happen a lot. The game was such a challenge that Shen Yuan was unable to save a single character in his first many playthroughs, Luo Binghe being the only survivor each time.

Characters would reset after each ending, though with the occasional 4th wall break joke, related to sudden weird ass decisions, usually only making sense in the context of what had happened in the prior session.

But while the death and restarting mechanic was fun enough, they never tried to explain how it worked in universe! The characters just found themselves in a strange haunted house and at no point did the game bother explaining how they got there, who took them, what was going on or why they all had to survive!

And what was going on was such a mess by itself. Unable to put a single original thought into the game, the game developers had instead just stolen whatever they wanted from other, more popular, horror games. In one playthrough the villain you had to survive might be a deranged serial killer. In another it was zombies eating them all alive. Then you had eldritch beings summoned by cultists turning them all insane. Sometimes it would be the characters themselves, having turned crazy from all the terror and death. The game would go from one horror monster scenario to the next with no explanation for how any of it was connected.

Even the puzzles were clearly taken from other games, with fetch quests happening so many times it was a wonder that the characters themselves didn't get tired of it.

And don't even let Shen Yuan get started on the characters! One-dimensional stereotypical clichés with not a single functioning brain cell between them! It was physically painful just how stupid every single female character was, constantly making decisions that no real life person would make while in their right mind. And while feminist fans might brag that they had influenced the game development, they would find themselves disappointed when realizing that not a single female character could even pass the Bechdel test. Even in the most insane ass situations, when they would find themselves at death's door, they would whine and sigh about Luo Binghe and how they wished he was there with them or that they just wanted to see him one last time.

Forcing the female cast into a functional death-avoiding group in order to reach the secret ending had literally brought Shen Yuan to tears with how impossible a task it was.

The male cast was slightly easier, but solely because they got much less screen time and deaths dedicated to them.

While there was a seemingly endless amount of endings, Only some led to true progress in the game. Say, once you reached the Serial Killer ending with enough surviving characters, then during your next playthrough a new mystery and monster would appear. This would keep the game going with no end in sight until finally the player was able to reach the good ending - An ending only archivable by saving all characters with the exception of Shen Qingqiu. This ending was considered The Good Ending because it was the only one where the cast managed to leave the mansion and return to their normal, but traumatized, lives.

But of course, which horror game could call itself a classic without secrets? And one of those secrets was the secret ending of course.

After thousands of playthroughs, it seemed like Shen Qingqiu was impossible to save. While all characters (With the exception of Luo Binghe) could very easily get killed, Shen Qinqiu appeared to attract death like it was an obsessed lover. As the character that players got to play as the least, how easy it was to fuck him over would make you insane.

The way to save him didn't even happen during his own scenes. No, instead it was while controlling another character that you had to keep him from betraying anyone else. This resulted in Shen Qingque not even being playable during that run. Only like this was it possible to keep him alive with everyone else and in that way, finally reach the secret and true ending...

An ending so horrible, so excruciating, so absolutely pointless it wasn't worth describing. So awful and horrendous that it ended up killing Shen Yuan.

And so, Shen Yuan died. Alone in his apartment. Honored Eternal Path of Demise still playing on his screen. A meat bun stuck in his throat. A rage that could burn down the world. And as darkness took over, he could only wish that he had never wasted the last days of his pitiful life on such a terrible game.

Floating darkness scraping against his skin. Nothing to see or hear, space going endlessly. Shen Yuan had awareness, but what he was aware of, he did not know. Drifting like this, he could only wonder where he was.

Suddenly a light. Big and square and white and so strong he had to close his eyes. Somehow he wasn't able to lift his hands to provide protection.

Slowly able to squint at the light, he could barely make up black lines across it. He felt like it should hurt and leave his eyes with tears, but they stayed dry. No feeling of pain.

Opening them for a better peek, he could finally recognize the lines as letters. And still remembering how to understand written word, he was able to read what it said:

[ALL PATHS DIVERGES MISFORTUNE]

[MISFORTUNE SHATTER STORIES]

[ONE STORY ABOVE LIFE]

[LIFE GIVEN TO REST]

[REST IS THE END]

[Does user accept the quest?]

[Yes] [No]

Throat tight and hurting, unable to get above a whisper, and still Shen Yuan did not hesitate to speak.

"Yes!"

With a start, Shen Yuan opens his eyes, urgently sitting up. He gasps for breath, a hand against his neck as he looks around at the unrecognizable walls around him.

Unable to take in anything around him, he pushes himself to his feet. He is immediately unsteady as he reaches out for anything to keep his balance. He finds a moldy table, legs broken in one end, as he leans against what still stands.

Things are the slightest bit blurry around him and he instinctively pushes against his face to correct his glasses, only for his finger to meet nothing. As he takes a step, the sound of broken glass underneath his feet tells him of their fate.

"What the fuck?" Shen Yuan asks out loud. No one answers him.

Less dizzy, he pushes himself forward until he stumbles against a door. He quickly pushes it open. The other side provides no answers. An empty hallway going as far as his eyes can see.

Or mostly empty.

At the end stands a shadow. And even with his blurry eyesight, Shen Yuan can see that it is going directly towards him.

Leaning against the wall, as it gets closer, he is able to recognize it as a person. A girl, if the short height and lithe body is anything to go by. As she gets closer, he is able to distinguish dark hair pulled into pigtails and what must be a school uniform. She holds something in her hand and something dark is splattered against the front. Shen Yuan can't discern what either is.

At no point does she slow down her march towards him.

"Hey, do you know what is happe-" he tries, but she interrupts him, voice full of rage.

"Shen Qingque, you son of a bitch!"

She is clearly talking to him, but must have him confused with someone else. He is about to explain, when he takes an extra look at her hands. Way too late he recognizes the item she's holding as a knife. Sharp edges shiny enough to reflect the poor light of the corridor. He barely takes a shaky step back before she lifts it high above her head. Intent clear.

"This is for what you did to Liu Mingyan!" She screams.

The knife sails down. Stumbling over his own legs to get away, he falls on his back. The girl uses this as her chance. Throwing herself on top of him, he is able to see more of her face. Tears are streaming from burning eyes, lips twisted into an ugly sneer. What must be blood splatter is smeared across her face, dry and crusting.

He has no idea who she is. She clearly believes otherwise.

She howls. Plunges the knife down. With nowhere to go, it goes straight in his chest.

Shen Yuan gasps, experiencing an unimaginable pain. His heart tries to beat out of his ribcage. His limbs are frozen. Blood rushes in his ears. And out his chest.

She yanks the knife out. She is speaking, but Shen Yuan can't hear what she is saying. Instead his eyes are caught on the knife above him. Again it falls. Again it hits its mark. Shen Yuan spits out a mouthful of blood, gurgling on the thick liquid. His chest burns while the tip of his fingers begin to feel cold.

She pulls out the knife and prepares to swing a third time. Finally Shen Yuan manages to get his arms to cooperate. Covering himself, he tries to block the next hit.

It is a futile act. Shen Yuan knows it is already too late to save himself.

Piercing vulnerable skin, the sharp edges still reach the shredded meat his chest has become. Only this time the knife doesn't go as deep. It stays inside him a bit longer than the other times. Manic glee in her face as she takes this opportunity to twist it around, screwing it deeper, forcing him to scream.

He can't hear what sounds he makes, as blood fills his lungs. He is unable to breathe. Turning him into gory mesh entertains her for a bit, before she rips the knife out.

It is as she prepares to stab him a fourth time, that she suddenly freezes. Her eyes caught on something behind him. Shen Yuan can only see red at his edges, as he weakly gasps for air. Her mouth moves, voice suddenly soft. Expression frail and vulnerable. A contrast to the madness spilling out into puddles.

Like this, as darkness overtakes everything around him, Shen Yuan is only able to wheeze out a final: "Stupid developers, stupid game!"

[verycharismaticdragon]

okay so since nobody else jumped to make this, here we go

(there's a 'see results' option for those who did read svsss at the end of the poll btw!)

(also i ask humbly to reblog if this poll caught your fancy. because most of my followers are from danmei fandoms and likely have read svsss)

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - No Propaganda Division - Group 1

[nemainofthewater]

Fists raised, swords ready, it's time to fight-

Oh hold on. What's that delicious smell?

Can we call a meal break?

The contestants of this poll could probably open a restaurant. A couple of them have, before the plot dragged them back in. All I know is that watching them cook make me very hungry.

*a web novel with an English translation here. I recommend it wholeheartedly especially if you enjoy Guardian. (Modern with superpowers, danmei)

**the web novel that took over my life for the past few weeks. An English translation can be found here. I also recommend it wholeheartedly, excellent worldbuilding, plotting, and characters. (Xianxia, danmei)

Propaganda, examples, and write-ins absolutely welcome!

[setsu0000gen]

Zhuzhi-Lang for Maid Day which was May 10th, but I keep forgetting to post things on Tumblr

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Mobei-Jun- Scum Villain's Self-Saving System/Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Nicky Hemmick- All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

Kieran Kingson- The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare

Vanya Schmidt- Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

[bloomingapricots]

The Cunning Cat and Lazy Fox

Updated here first at AO3

I wrote this at work and I’m hella tired so sorry if a bit of my unhingedness bleeds in this

Might change the chapter title later

Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 (Here) | Chapter 5

Chapter Four | The Hamster’s Polar Bear Meeting the Fox and Fighting the Cat

Your date with Shen Jiu went well. The banquet at the village chief’s home was delicious and everyone in Peony village was so kind and generous. Shen Jiu ate a lot on the insistence of the kind aunties and you were able to encourage him to dance with you. Currently, both of you are sitting at “Lover’s Lake” which is a short walk from the village chief’s house and it is a popular spot with couples as there is a tradition of couples releasing boat lanterns with their names written together onto the lake. And even though the lantern sunk once it reached the middle, it is said to be a good thing and not a bad thing as it means the lantern will stay at the bottom forever which means the couple’s love will remain forever.

“A very typical couple spot,” You commented after releasing a lantern with Shen Jiu on the lake and then sitting at a bench nearby.

“Agreed,” Shen Jiu replied.

“At least the boat lanterns are made of peony petals instead of paper and the candles are made from soybean so the land’s balance isn’t thrown off,” You added. “And it is interesting that as long as the boat lantern sinks in the middle, it is not a bad fortune for the couple,”

“And our boat just reached the middle,” Shenn Jiu stated.

“Yeah,” You replied. You and Shen Jiu watched intently as your boat lantern floated in the center of Lover’s Lake and slowly sank to the bottom. There was a brief ripple of light from the center of the lake. You and Shen Jiu remained quiet as the both of you stared at the lake as other couples’ boat lanterns arrived at the center, sunk, a rippled of light appeared, and repeated again and again. “I guess this is what makes Lover’s Lake different from the water couple’s spot,”

“... A-Duzhe,” Shen Jiu called out after a moment of silence.

“Yeah,” You replied.

“A-Duzhe must… better stay with Jiu-er or he will imprison you, A-Duzhe is after all responsible for Jiu-er,” Shen Jiu stated after grabbing your right hand.

“Ahahah alright, A-Duzhe will stay with Jiu-er till he no longer needs me,” You replied, locking your fingers together with Shen Jiu. The two of you sat at the lake till the banquet came to an end.

—

After returning to Cang Qiong Sect then Qing Jing Peak and giving your report to you Shizun. You gave him his herbs and a bag of white peony tea leaves as a souvenir from your trip with Shen Jiu.

“Has disciple Shen Jiu seduced you enough?” Your Shizun teased.

“Is that rumor still going around?” You huffed.

“Getting caught by disciple Liu Mingcheng and the gossip spread by disciple Qi Ziyuan and her martial siblings has done large damage to his reputation. Head Disciple A-Duzhe should have nipped it in the bud,” Your Shizun stated.

“This disciple understands his wrongdoing, this disciple will collaborate with Shen Jiu-shidi to strategize scheme to make that rumor disappear,” You bowed to your Shizun.

“This master is looking forward to it,” Your Shizun smiled. Tomorrow you will have to be more proactive in getting Shen Jiu the reputation, achievement, and skill to surpass you into becoming the head disciple of Qing Jing Peak.

—

What started out as a normal day. Waking up with Shen Jiu in bed with you, training your junior siblings, doing your errands for your Shizun, tense tea time with Yue Qi, and trying to hang out with Shang Huaisang. When you went to hang out with your hamster of a junior brother to talk strategy for fixing Shen Jiu’s reputation at a small house you had built just for your rendezvous with Shang Huaisang, his wet dream of a man happened to be there. It did not end well, in fact, you just fucked yourself to the demon world and your one-way home is ready to kill you. The future Mobei-jun is glaring at you as the two of you are cramped in a small cave hiding from his uncle. Just your luck, at least you know you will at least get something noteworthy at the end of this.

“For fuck sake, Xiao Bei, did you really think you would not be discovered when you visit my Shang-shidi?” You cursed in English before glaring at the chest in front of you. The cave was really small as you were pressed right up against Mobei-jun, you have started to call him Xiao Bei since he is not the northern desert king yet and to be a little menace, as well as the irony because of his demon heritage he was really tall. Your face is inches from his chest, no doubt Airplane-bro will whine when he hears this from you.

“Yours?” Xiao Bei questioned.

“Yes mine, Shang Huaisang is my Shidi and friend,” You tilt your head up with a challenging glare at Mobei-jun. “You better listen to my Shidi well, he is overworked as it is,” You felt his demonic qi swirl around you.

“And why should this prince listen to a lowly cultivator?” Xiao Bei questioned, you felt a claw hand at the back of your neck.

“This one is no lowly cultivator nor are they a righteous one either,” You replied, aiming your sheathed dagger at Xiao Bei’s family jewels. As you and Xiao Bei had a tense standoff, you both heard the sound of footsteps and looked over at the opening of the cave.

Appearing at the mouth of the cave was one of Linguang-Jun’s henchmen, you quickly unsheathed your dagger and launched it at the henchmen with far too much strength, the dagger sliced the henchmen’s head clean off. As you crawled out of the small cave, Xiao Bei following you, you carefully looked around for any more of Linguang-Jun’s henchmen. As you heard steps coming closer you ready your dagger but you were grabbed by the back of your uniform and dragged into a portal as you felt an arrow scratched your arm. Despite the scratch being small, you felt as if your whole arm was lit on fire and spread to the rest of your body. As you blackout from the pain, you feel cool hands on your back and under your knee.

—

As you awoke to a wail, you slowly opened your eyes. It’s really cold, you thought. As you sat up, the first thing you saw was Shang Huaisang sobbing and pacing.

“Shang-shidi?” You groaned.

“Duzhe-shixiong!” Shang Huaisang yelled and in the blink of an eye appeared by your bedside. “Shixiong! Are you okay? You no longer feel poisoned are you?” He asked.

“Ah…” You recalled an arrow grazing you as you presumably Xiao Bei pulled you with him through his portal and the feeling of being burned. You circulate your qi “No, I’m fine now,”

“Great,” Shang Huaisang sighed in relief then stared at you with dread “Now please calm down Shen-shixiong as he is in the Northern Deseret Palace, arguing with my prince and is very much about to fight him,” As you stare into your junior brother's eyes, a part of you did want to see what would happen but you can see how stress he is and you promised Shen Jiu that you would be there for him.

“Lead the way,” You sighed.

—

As you entered one of the gardens of the Northern Deseret Palace, you heard swords lashing.

“Oh no!” Yelled Shang Huaisang and he grabbed your wrist to hurry you along. In the middle of a destroyed patch of frosted willowing silver wisterias was Shen Jiu attacking Xiao Bei while Xiao Bei was just defending himself. You quickly notice that Shen Jiu now has a spiritual weapon.

“Ooo has Jiu-er gained Xiu Ya sword?” You questioned.

“YES! After accidentally entering the demon world with my prince and then getting poisoned, you were in a coma for…”

“Ah,” You can guess the sequence of events that happened while you were recovering. “I assumed I was in a coma for a concerning amount of time and you had to go to Jiu-er to help me?”

“Yeah, you were in a coma for almost three weeks. After a week of your poisoning and I as well as my prince having no idea what kind of poison it was, I went to Shen-shixiong. He was not happy, at all, but since it came to you, he agreed to cover for us and figure out the antidote.” Shang Huaisang paused for a moment and spoke more softly. “However, after giving you the antidote and still not waking after a week. I accidentally stumbled upon Shen-shixiong during a private emotional moment as he was screaming and sobbing for you to wake up as well as other things,” He sighed. “I was, of course, caught and somehow was able to comfort him, and he isn’t angry at me anymore but since you are awake now, please calm him down before he rips off my prince’s head,”

“Alright, I’ll go save you dream man,” After digesting Shang Huasiang’s info dump, you agreed to stop the one-sided battle.

—

Thinking back to this time, you were glad to be poisoned as it was the start of Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu getting closer and later sworn brothers, as well as Shen Qingqiu being comfortable in his role as a senior brother. You were pretty sure Shen Qingqiu was friends with Mobei-Jun by now, even if neither wanted to admit it, as Mobei-Jun would spend time with Shen Qingqiu when neither you nor Shang Qinghua was available. Or it could just be Shen Qingqiu threatening Mobei-Jun to come to learn politics and strategy so that Mobei-Jun won’t rely heavily on Shang Qinghua and overwork your already overworked junior brother.