#but because she thinks shen qingqiu is a saint

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 18 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who celebrates it!

Just to be on theme with the day I am (briefly) stepping out of my downward spiral of zany MHA crossovers to talk about a little idea I had last month.

This is a SVSSS fic that takes place in the first decade after the Qing generation took over as Peak Lords, and the end game pairing will be LiuJiu.

This plot bunny doesn't have a title yet, so any suggestions are welcome.

Synopsis:

Liu Mingyan knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

This was supposed to be just another ordinary day where she (and her parents) were subjected to her older brother's rant about his fellow Peak Lord, Shen Qingqiu. Just more hours of Liu Qingge's raging about how 'Shen Qingqiu is so shameless' and how 'Shen Qingqiu is a cheater'. (At this point, her own mother heard more about the Qing Jing Peak Lord's affairs than her own son's - Liu Mingyan doesn't know if she should laugh or despair for her brother's remaining intelligence at that fact)

Just because her brother's ability to sit still and read a book is next to non-existent does not mean Liu Mingyan's is the same. Liu Mingyan is a cultured young maiden. She read books. All of her readings point out that her older brother's behavior towards the Qing Jing Peak Lord is the only thing shameless in their interactions.

Constantly challenging Shen Qingqiu to fights; yelling at him to get his attention; talking only about the Qing Jing Peak Lord whenever her older brother gets to visit home and always complaining about his behavior to their parents - all of these actions would paint Liu Qingge as an unsatisfied and abandoned wife rather than the Bai Zhan War God he is revered as. And, her brother is not even married to Lord Shen Qingqiu - a fact that is, in reality, the most shameless thing about her brother's behavior.

And Liu Mingyan cannot help but agree with what the books tell her. Her older brother's behavior is not that of somebody who hates the person they slander. If Mingyan remembers correctly, the books said this behavior is common with potential couples - "aggressive sexual frustration" was the terminology used, she remembers.

And yet, Mingyan can not find fault in Lord Shen Qingqiu's rejection and/or lack of interest in her brother. After all, her brother is an idiot. Lord Shen must be some kind of saint to be able to stand in the same room, breathe the same air, and even talk with her walking disaster of a brother after all the hurtful words he was given.

The worst part of this is that her brother remains painfully ignorant to the fact that he is very much head over hills in love with a person that Mingyan knows deserves far better than her idiotic brother.

So, really, Mingyan should have kept her mouth shut. And yet, her patience hit the wall months ago and she cannot stand to hear one more slander towards (the saint) Shen Qingqiu. Her mouth opens without her own will and utters the words that make Liu Qingge choke.

"Gege, you speak a lot about Lord Shen Qingqiu. Have you ever considered you fell in love with him?"

Liu Mingyan feels like she might end up hating her big mouth after this, but the sight of her older brother's reddening face is quite the spectacle for her to enjoy. (And it makes for good future blackmail material, too)

This fic shall feature:

Liu Mingyan - the cultured young maiden who should not have read the books she did, nor jumped at the conclusions she did. (and yet, we, the readers, still encourage her endeavors)

Liu Qingge - the closeted gay who just realized (read: self-manipulated himself into thinking) he is in love with the person he hates the most. He also has like 3 crises: 1. His "Gay Awakening" Crisis; 2. His "I am in love with SHEN QINGQIU" crisis; 3. His "I made my crush hate me" crisis (unsurprisingly all of them are about Shen Qingqiu)

Shen Qingqiu - the most normal person here (trauma aside) and the one that is the most bewildered by this development. Someone save his poor braincells for they can't keep up with Liu Qingge's 180 change in personality.

Liu Mingyan and Liu Qingge's parents - who are just glad that 1. their son will stop acting like a neglected wife and 2. their son will not end up dying alone like the idiot they know he is (they already have made plans for Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu's wedding)

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Let me know!

Honestly, this idea just started with a headcanon of cat!Liu Qingge, who brings all the prey to Shen Qingqiu just to prove he can provide for him. From there it grew into Liu Mingyan being so done with her brother's pinning ass but is not going to say something because her brother is not worthy of Shen Qingqiu until he grovels - she also agrees with her books, a good grovel is necessary and her brother is still an idiot so (the saint) Lord Shen Qingqiu mustn't be bothered by the likes of him. And then it settled at making Liu Mingyan the unwilling wing-woman of her brother's (awful) romance. I quite enjoyed this plot bunny, so there is a chance I might actually write it someday.

Hope you had a great day/night and that you take care of yourselves!

See you tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[elencelebrindal]

Sorry if they're too many, you don't have to answer everything! What is your fave novel of the three? Favorite/least favorite character for each one? Favorite male/female character for each one (aside from you all-time fave)? Favorite canon ship? Favorite non-canon ship? Least favorite of them (and why)? Favorite tool/weapon in the three? They're so many, sorrysorrysorry!

Don’t worry, I love answering questions! There might be some spoilers here, so... be wary of them. 

Ok, let’s go in order:

1.

My favorite novel of the three is Tian Guan Ci Fu. When I read Mo Dao Zu Shi I told myself “okay, I don’t think anything could beat this”, and then TGCF came around. I think this novel is, in general, one of my favorite books of all time. Aside from the romance part of it (which is often what people mainly focus on when it comes to MXTX), I really loved the characters and the story is absolutely incredible. I ended up getting so involved in it that I read the entire thing + the extras in three days, subsequently read what was out of the manhua in... maybe two hours? and watched the entire donghua as soon as it came on Netflix in one sitting. The only time this happened to me before TGCF was with the Silmarillion. 

This tells a lot. 

2.

Favorite SVSSS character: Luo BingHe shares his first place with Shen QingQiu.

Least favorite SVSSS character: Immortal Master Lao Gongzhu of Huan Hua Palace. I cannot even begin to explain how disgusted I was by that character, I almost never hated anyone more than him. 

Favorite MDZS character: Wei WuXian. He’s been my favorite character from the beginning. His story follows exactly one of my favorite character dynamic, much like many other favorites of mine (from good to evil to neutral/somewhat good again, even if in this case WWX didn’t actually turn evil). I’m pretty sure the same can be said of almost everyone in my favorite list... oh well.

Least favorite MDZS character: it’s a tough choice between Su She, Wen Chao, and Jin ZiXun. I just... I disliked them so much. It’s not even hate, I just didn’t want to see them on screen. Maybe Wen Chao is the worst of them... yeah, he’s the worst. I could count Jiang Cheng in my least favorites as well, but my reasons for not liking him are way too complicated so I won’t insult him so much. 

Favorite TGCF character: Hua Cheng!!!!!!!

Least favorite TGCF character: I don’t have a least favorite character. 

3. 

Favorite SVSSS male character aside from LBH and SQQ: MoBei-Jun and LiuQingGe. I’m not troubling myself with trying to choose between them.

Favorite SVSSS female character: I used to be torn between Sha HuaLing and Liu MingYan, but SHL follows my general preferences way more so she wins. 

Favorite MDZS male character aside from WWX: Wen Ning. He deserves all the love in the world. All of it. Also I really love Nie MingJue and Xiao XingChen. 

Favorite MDZS female character: Jiang Yanli (because I fell in love with her gentle personality while watching The Untamed and I can’t bear myself to stop loving her). Wen Qing is right up there with her.

Favorite TGCF male character aside from HC: well, first of all Xie Lian. Second of all, Bai WuXiang and He Xuan.

Favorite TGCF female character: Ling Wen, but only because I don’t count Shi QingXuan as a fully fledged female (I am too in love with both forms to choose one side, sorry guys). 

4. (they’re all going to be the main ones, lol)

Favorite canon SVSSS ship: Shen QingQiu x Luo BingHe, though... MoBei-Jun x Shang QingHua is a really close second. 

Least favorite canon SVSSS ship: I don’t think I have one? I mean, there’s not much material to examine when it comes to canon pairings.

Favorite canon MDZS ship: Wei WuXian x Lan Wangji.

Least favorite canon MDZS ship: it’s not really a ship (I think, maybe it’s just me?) but whatever they tried to do with Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing in the drama doesn’t sit right with me. For reasons that are a bit more complicated than it seems, and that would need me explaining my opinion about JC first. 

Favorite canon TGCF ship: Hualian! Hualian! Hualian! Hua Cheng x Xie Lian is one of my all time favorite ships, in general. I stand by the statement “Hualian invented love”. 

Least favorite canon TGCF ship: that weird bullshit the mortal realm like to do with Shi QingXuan and Shi Wudu. Poor guys. It’s canon only because their perverted followers say so. 

5.

Favorite non-canon SVSSS ship: I don’t think I have one...? Maybe ZhuZhi-Lang and TianLang-Jun, but I’m still way too confused about that. I know people ship a lot Liu QingGe and Shen QingQiu, but I never saw the appeal of it.

Least favorite non-canon SVSSS ship: again, don’t have one, mostly because I never delved too deeply in the world of non-canon SVSSS ships. 

Favorite non-canon MDZS ship: Xiao XingChen x Song Lan. It’s probably the pairing that makes the most sense (to me) out of everyone else. And it’s heartbreaking, so bonus points for that. 

Least favorite non-canon MDZS ship: Xiao XingChen x Xue Yang. [heavy spoiler alert] I absolutely HATE this pairing. I love Xue Yang, he’s an amazing villain, but this pairing is straight up abuse, no matter how you look at it. I am a sucker for angsty shit, but I really draw the line at the fucked up pairing that is this one. Xue Yang literally destroyed Xiao XingChen psychologically, lied to him for years, gaslighted him, forced him to kill innocent people, forced him to kill Song Lan, and then ended up ruining him so much that Xiao XingChen killed himself and destroyed his own soul. 

I have no idea why people love this pairing so much, but I genuinely hate it. There’s nothing redeeming about it. 

Another ship I don’t like is Jiang Cheng x Lan XiChen, but once again this has more convoluted reasons that revolve around JC, mainly. There’s also Lan XiChen x Jin GuangYao. Please, no. I really don’t like it. 

Favorite non-canon TGCF ship: Pei Ming x Shi Wudu and He Xuan x Shi QingXuan. We all know why beefleaf is important in our hearts, so let me explain something about Pei Ming and Shi Wudu; this pairing doesn’t mean I completely disregard everything else about Pei Ming. He’s our good old manwhore womanizer and I haven’t changed that (too much). But this pairing... in my headcanon, which is something I’m also going to write in my desperate attempt and being a good fanfic writer, Pei Ming fell in love with him so hard that he was like “okay, fine, there’s just you now, I’m done with sleeping around”. After Shi Wudu dies, Pei Ming keeps his word and doesn’t cheat on him for the reminder of his life. My own headcanon is the reason why this is my favorite non-canon ship. I stumbled into it my complete chance, but I genuinely love it. 

Least favorite non-canon TGCF ship: anything that has Xie Lian and Hua Cheng not with each other. I don’t like seeing them paired with anyone else. 

6.

Favorite SVSSS weapon/tool: Xin Mo and Xiu Ya. 

Favorite MDZS weapon/tool: Chenqing

Favorite TGCF weapon/tool: E-Ming and Fang Xin

If you want to ask anything else, feel free! My blog is mostly Saint Seiya, but I do write about other stuff if you ask me! ^ - ^

[dongjus-sparkle]

SVSSS Read through 📖

Chap 5 - Chap 15

SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY

Let's go!

■Chapter 5■

• Mission time!!

• "don’t you know you’re exactly like that mission-giving NPC?" 🤣

• Nice. Shen Qingqiu complained earlier about cultivators using horses and carriages when he was reviewing the book. It is a bit weird, but 🤷🏻‍♀️

• "Ming Fan was truly well-versed in being a piece of cannon fodder." His entire character so far.

• The Skinner. Sounds like an exciting arc is starting.

• Ohhhhhh loopholes in the system's OOC function. He's coming up with every workaround to be nice to Luo Binghe and everyone is SHOCKED.

• AND we already have Luo Binghe being like 'he's good to look at' 🤣

• -5 points for smILING?! Rude.

■Chapter 6■

• "He didn’t like looking at an old man in his sixties and a teenage girl fondling each other in front of him at all!" Good I'm not the only one.

• Of course Ning Yingying went missing. So far she just accidentally starts trouble over and over again.

• "Fuck, if there’s an Easy Mode why didn’t you say so earlier! Activate activate activate!" Honestly a mood.

• Get's knocked out just to be taunted by the system OOC: -50 Points.

•WHY IS HE NAKED.

■Chapter 7■

• Oh good not totally naked.

• Immediately guesses correctly who The Skinner is and then just waits for the classic boss narrative. I love Shen Qingqiu 😚

• Ohhh. The butterfly demon is clever! Using Shen Qingqiu as their next skin so that they can use the Xiu Ya Sword to make themselves stronger 👏 but then they just gave away the entire plan.

• Luo Binghe sees Shen Qingqiu half naked, vulnerable, and tied up 👀

• Please tell me there's a reason you're directing the Butterfly toward Luo Binghe with your weird roundabout complements~~

■Chapter 8■

• Exploits the systems rule that only Luo Binghe can't die, but then complains about what a cop out it will be for the reader 😅

• "...Just praised you and you said something stupid again. Please don’t talk about how to release your enemy"

• I forgot that he set the mission to easy mode!

• "Even if something does happen, nothing will happen to you.” hi. They're being cute again.

•Earning a whole bunch of points and disabling OOC function. Shen Qingqiu having free control, I sense chaos in the wind~

• He gave Luo Binghe the right cultivation methods. The best master. 💗

■Chap 9■

• Enters the spirit cave to find a way to cultivate, immediately had to deal with someone's Qi deviation.

• 'Congratulations! The system’s notice: Changed the scene ‘Liu Qingge’s death,’ the death and hatred values for the villain ‘Shen Qingqiu’ have decreased' OHHHHH he can change whole scenes and his character!

• Each of the peaks is know for their own thing thats cool. There is an Ascetic peak? And a Lovley Ladies peak 🤣🤣

• I love Shen Qingqiu being devastated by Liu Qingge not being a big tough guy.

• Every single person when Shen Qingqiu is being genuinely nice: 😱🧐

■Chapter 10■

• Shen Qingqiu sees Luo Binghe: oh good he's here! When he sees the leader of the demon invasion: "Don't your feet hurt?"

• I think I need to see some art of the Demon Saint Sha Hualing. Her description is mint. 💃🏻

• Here we go again with the making your character be less like scum. HUM. I wonder if that will change the plot...

■Chapter 11■

•Shen Qingqiu out here getting all fancy fighting the one armed demon with just his fan. God that's style.

• Luo Binghe being like 👀🤩💘

•OH NO NOT HIS COOL LEVEL 🤣

• She is so beautiful that she has to wear a veil all the time. Damn. Thats powerful.

•Shen Qingqiu then just fawns over both the future wives of Luo Binghe being in his presence. "The beauty of an Evil demon girl’s wild and unrestrained behavior can make him drunk; the Righteous saint girl wavering between abstinence and desire letting people’s hearts itch." Dramatic ass

■Chapter 12■

• Everyone thinks he's crazy for calling Binghe forward to fight. And they basically beg him to forfit so he doesn't die... but didn't we say earlier that the protagonist can't die.

• Binghe really takes it to heart every time Qingqiu says he believes he'll make it through.

• He's mad that Binghe didn't win even more cool points 😆

• The demon is so mad he lost and was shamed that he decides it would be a good idea to slight up attack Luo Binghe again. Demon logic.

• "These righteous and awe-inspiring words didn’t just make the demons speechless; in his heart, even Shen Qingqiu’s own old face turned dark red." And I'm sure broke Binghe's brain a little bit.

• Binghe literally: 🤩🤩😍 He saved me again, and be believes in me 💘

• AGAIN?

■Chapter 13■

•He can't stop himself from jumping in front of Luo Binghe again and again.......

• "In his mind and heart there was a string of scrolling fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck brushed all over the screen." Honestly I'd think the same id I was poisoned.

• Luo Binghe is PISSED.

• "Shizun, this disciple is willing to receive the attack in your stead.” 😵 "Since you know this injury is because of you, you should properly protect your own life!” ☠💀☠💀

• Liu Qingge is like, oh, you wanted to run away after attacking us unprompted. No.

• Improves his own role, then sees Binghe crying for him, immediately regrets his decision, passes out.

■Chapter 14■

•Luo Binghe watching his Shizun from as far away as possible is sad.

• Shen Qingqiu is just now seeing how much he's changed the story. And how the future events scare him. Whooo.

• "Luo Binghe immediately ran to the kitchen. The congee that he remade every hour these days finally came of use." 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Oh no. He's like fully committed.

• The flirting is RIDICULOUS. "Why don't I make you something new everyday" 😫

• Shen Qingqiu realizes that's his best pickup line in the original story, but being all, what a guy, why not!

• Him trying to get away with not pushing Luo Binghe into the Abyss.

•You're telling me that in the original book that having set with a half demon half great cultivator is the cure. And that that helps him level up?

■Chapter 15■

• Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu being brothers is cute. But even he thought that Qingqiu might be possessed

• Ming Fan is so mad hearing positive words about Luo Binghe from Shen Qingqiu that he throws a fit. Abd Binghe just accepts it. Hes the best boy.

•The name Dream Realm........ I wonder where this could possibly go!

[neoblogcrying]

Here is the next part! This will be up on AO3 as well very soon!

The System Temp chose ‘I was thinking about the other Peak Lords’!

“You sure struggled with this one.”

“Kept going between that one or giving the neutral answer. Looks like the Peak Lords won by a very thin margin.”

“Really kept #1 on her feet for this one!”

“I was actually hoping for the other option to win out in the end, to be honest.”

Unfamiliar voices could be heard this time around as more System Moderators came to watch ‘the show.’

It seemed with every passing poll question, the other System Moderators were becoming more and more involved with this game. At first, they acted as though they hadn’t a care and they were only there to keep System Moderator #1 in check, but they were slowly jumping on board with this game she created.

How many Moderators were on active duty? This wasn’t something that the Temp was allowed to know, but they wouldn’t be punished for guessing.

“Hey hey, focus. Let’s get started already, alright?”

Beep!

Shen Yuan blurted the first thing that came to mind, “I was thinking about the Peak Lords.”

“The Peak Lords?” Shen Jiu repeated with a look of suspicion on his face. For what reason did his brother have to think about those people? He would never say that he liked any of them (private or not), so hearing that his brother was thinking about them… it left a bad taste in his mouth, to be frank. “Why?”

Without skipping a beat, Shen Yuan answered with ease as if he was used to pulling answers out of nowhere—which he was. If you asked him, he’d tell you that he was a professional at making up answers.

“Sooner or later, the other peak lords will learn the truth about ‘Shen Qingqiu’. Our Peak disciples have learned the truth already, so we can’t keep it a secret forever.”

Yue Qingyuan promised to keep their secret safe for as long as he was able, and Mu QingFang sworn to secrecy (Yes, he was threatened to it). With the recent incident of Shen Yuan fainting, it resulted in their Peak disciples learning the surprising fact that there were two of their master.

Identical twins!

It was only a matter of time before the secret was revealed to the rest of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

“And?”

If the matter gets revealed, that’s the end of what. What need is there to think about people who don’t even matter? Shen Jiu had an inferiority complex and he seemed to have a strong distaste over being around men.

Shocking as it may be, there was a barrier that not even Shen Yuan could cross, even if the two of them were close.

Not that Shen Yuan minded, because he wasn’t particularly the sort to be overly affectionate towards others anyways. If anything, Shen Jiu did lower his guard somewhat when the they were the only two in a room, but even that took years to build up.

Shen Yuan worked very hard to build their relationship up to this point, he’ll have you know.

Neither of the two brothers knew about the other’s past in detail, because they never asked each other for details. If you asked for details, you would have to offer details about your own life, and neither wanted that.

Shen Jiu loathed thinking about his days in the Qiu household, while Shen Yuan couldn’t tell Shen Jiu about his ‘true past’ for obvious reasons.

Over the many years since they’ve found each other, they’ve come to learn how to trust each other to a certain extent. (Shen Yuan trusted his brother, but Shen Jiu still had some reservations).

“I just wondered how they’d react. I haven’t been around them as much as you have, but I think they’re good people.” Shen Yuan truly appreciated all the Peak Lords as he knew about all of them from the original novel, and many of them were interesting characters.

It wasn’t like he could explain this fact to his brother, however.

Shen Jiu, looked unconvinced. Who of the Peak Lords were good people? None of them were. He didn’t like any of them! Rather, none of them liked him, and the feeling was mutual. (Yes, he was ignoring Yue Qingyuan’s existence here.)

“The Sect leader already knows about us so there is no wondering about how he’d react. Still, he’s a nice person, I think. He treats us well. I can tell you both have history with each other, but it seems strained. I won’t ask you about what kind of history you both have, but I hope you can resolve your issues one day.” If you do, maybe he won’t die in the future?

He was under the impression that since they’ve already changed the story so much by making Shen Qingqiu into a pair of twins, they should have the freedom to change other things as well?

[System: Be mindful to not stray too far from your character. If the readers are happy, we will not deduct points from you.]

Shen Yuan mentally rolled his eyes as he cursed the fact that he had no privacy even in his own mind. The System was always monitoring his thoughts and popping in to comment randomly.

“No matter how you treat him, he takes your abuse with stride, and I think he genuinely cares about my well-being. He’s--- … So how about Qi Qingqi? Don’t you like her?” Shen Yuan suddenly changed the topic because he noticed how Shen Jiu’s mood was turning for the worse.

Talking about the Sect leader was borderline taboo between the two of them, and it was like a ticking time bomb. “What’s there to like? What do YOU like about her?” Shen Jiu’s eyes narrowed, wondering how his younger twin would answer this. Was it a superficial reason like her looks?

Do you want your older brother to start flirting with her in your stead?

From what Shen Yuan remembered reading from the novel, Qi Qingqi had a frank personality, and she was very headstrong. He personally liked that in characters, especially female characters. Women weren’t only wall flowers that were to be admired. He appreciated a good, strong, female character who could take charge!

“Don’t you admire her strong personality? She’s very admirable, I believe. I appreciate her frankness. I think she’ll be upset about it and have a fit over how we kept it a secret, but I think she’ll accept it easily after the fact. If we do our job properly, she’ll accept us, I think.”

Shen Jiu’s response was to wave his hand, signifying that he should move onto the next person.

Going through a mental list in his head, he went to talk about the next person. “Mu QingFan doesn’t count as he already knows our secret… but… you really need to stop calling him so often. He’s already so busy and you keep calling him to check up on me. I worry he’ll collapse from overworking one day.” These were his honest thoughts, because not only would Shen Jiu call for him often, so would Yue Qingyuan!

Give the guy a break, will you? What will you do if you make him overwork so much, he dies? Who will you count on to look after you then?

He’s not that weak, really! The two of them were like worried mother hens.

“That’s his problem to deal with, not ours.” Shen Jiu rolled his eyes, showing how he truly didn’t care about how tired Mu Qingfang was. If Shen Yuan was ill, he was going to have the best tending to him. “You have any complaints over him looking over you?”

“No, not at all. He’s a great conversational partner. We talk about various things, and he will occasionally visit with fruits. He cuts them for me as I’m resting. He tells me stories about what goes on beyond this room, and it’s pleasant.”

Even though Shen Yuan was trying to help build up Mu Qingfang’s image in Shen Jiu’s mind… his words had the opposite effect. Instead of feeling thankful for how well he took care of Shen Yuan, Shen Jiu was suspicious. Why was he so kind to Shen Yuan?

What reason was there? Was it that he was trying to steal Shen Yuan away from him? Trying to lure him away with sweet words and feeding him fruits?

A shiver ran down Shen Yuan’s spine as it felt like the temperature of the room dropped.

‘Brother, why are you so angry!?’

[System: Shen Jiu’s distrust for Mu Qingfang has grown by 50 pts. He believes Mu Qingfang is trying to steal his younger twin brother from him.]

EXCUSE ME!? Hello, system!? Let’s talk!?

How can I make Shen Jiu hate the other Peak Lords so much if he’s so irrational!? Is he jealous? Is that what it is? You damn bro-con! Let over people spoil your younger brother too!

Ugh… being spoiled by another man though… is there anyone more pitiful than Shen Yuan? OTL||||

Shen Yuan lamented in his head over how irrational this was. How did it come to this? What could have possibly made his brother dislike Mu Qingfang?? The doctor was being kind to him like an actual doctor should! Are you trying to say that cutting fruit is too domestic, and therefore, he’s flirting with him!?

Shen Jiu, is your IQ really that low?

“There’s Shang Qinghua—”

“Pass on him. He’s a useless pack mule.”

“…”

While it’s true that the peak is well known for constantly working for the rest of their lives, it’s not nice to call your fellow Peak Lord a pack mule, right? Though, knowing how he betrays their sect for the demon-kind, Shen Yuan buried his complaints in his heart.

“Liu Qingge—”

“Don’t talk about him. I’ll kill him one day.” Shen Jiu hissed, his irritation levels peaking to a new height. He was tapping his fan against his knee in annoyance, waiting for this topic to finish already. What good was it to talk about other Peak Lords?

They may be twins, but the way they thought about things were so different! Shen Yuan really was the ‘good twin’ here, and he was the ‘bad twin.’ He was the villainous type, while Shen Yuan was more of a saint who could only see the good in others.

The fact that he couldn’t see the world the way his brother did, it secretly made him nervous. Would their dissonance in their world views cause them to split apart? His brother was the only family he had left, and he didn’t want to lose that—the only good thing he had left in life.

If he really were to think deeply on his feelings, he’d realize the reason why he was so upset about this, was because of his insecurity and his feelings of jealousy. He didn’t want his brother to see how the other Peak Lords were better company than him and leave his side because of it.

No one liked him, and everyone betrayed his trust. His brother would be no different—but he wanted to put his faith in his brother. The one who found him, against all odds.

“Ge, Liu Qingge has great character. If you treat him well, he’ll return the favor. He’s Bai Zhan’s strong peak lord! If you ever come across any problems, he would protect you. He will never let a favor go unreturned. He has an honorable character and that’s hard to find. I’m willing to bet that he’d be mad, but after one punch, he’ll forgive us for lying!” Maybe instead of a punch it would be a stab? No no, that hurts more! Shen Yuan implores Liu Qingge to let them go with a punch instead!

Shen Jiu was mulling over Shen Yuan’s words about Liu Qingge:

He’s honorable (the exact opposite of the shameless Shen Jiu).

He had a great character (unlike the scummy Shen Jiu).

He will never let a favor go unreturned (while Shen Jiu would let no disservice so unreturned).

His self-loathing weighed heavy on his shoulders, and this heavy feeling transmitted through their emotional link and made Shen Yuan’s shoulders sink involuntarily. It became harder to breathe as Shen Jiu’s deep, dark feelings started to overwhelm him.

“Ge, don’t… you like any of the Peak Lords?” He hesitantly probed for an answer.

“None.” Shen Jiu’s curt reply was enough for Shen Yuan to know that Shen Jiu was reaching the limits of his patience.

Silence enveloped the two of them awkwardly and Shen Yuan found it hard to speak up again. From what emotions were being transmitted to him (which he mistakenly thought was him reading the mood of the room), Shen Jiu was mad, hurt, insecure, afraid, and frustrated.

It was hard to stop someone from being insecure or afraid, but he could only try his best. Don’t you know how hard he’s been trying to help Shen Jiu heal his heart? Do you think he enjoys acting like a child?

Really, how old is he to be hiding under the covers to avoid medicine? Shen Jiu enjoys the feeling of superiority, so he purposefully does this to give him a sense of superiority over him as the ‘elder brother’. He gives into Shen Jiu on many things to build his confidence, and to have him understand that Shen Yuan was loyal towards him.

No matter how much you distrust him or hurt him, he will always be by your side.

That’s what Shen Yuan wanted Shen Jiu to learn.

Slowly, he reached out to tug on Shen Jiu’s sleeve. “Want to guess who my favorite Peak Lord is?”

“Who? Perhaps you like Mu Qingfang the most as he spoils you? Liu Qingge is the HONORABLE one, unlike your brother. The Sect leader is powerful, well mannered, good-natured, and he treats you well. What is there about him to dislike? Go join their peaks if you like them so much!” As per usual, Shen Jiu snapped at Shen Yuan, but he always took it with stride. His scathing tone was hard to stomach in proximity.

A gentle smile snuck onto his face and he shook his head.

“My favorite Peak Lord is Shen Qingqiu, the one you play. You are the perfect model for what an immortal cultivator should look like. You diligently work and study for hours on end, cramming millions of pages worth of information into your head. No one pampers me and spoils me more than my favorite brother. You may have some personality flaws, but you balance me out. No one is perfect and that’s okay. Is it not enough that I love you? Even if the world turns against you, I, Shen Yuan, will always be by your side. If I ever annoy you, toss me aside. I won’t hate you for it.”

Admittedly, Shen Yuan hated Shen Jiu as a reader. He was the major contributor to the ‘castrate Shen Qingqiu’ driving force in the comments. Really, he apologizes for that. Don’t take his words to heart, dear Author!

However, once he transmigrated into the novel, he’d learned some things about his brother. He wasn’t a mindless canon fodder bent on chaos like everyone thought he was. He had depth, and he had his own fair share of insecurities. He was ambitious, but practical. He cared about others in his own way, and he simply wasn’t honest about his feelings.

He was human, like everyone else.

Even if he had his character flaws, Shen Jiu did try to treat Shen Yuan well in his own way. It showed in the way he would force Mu Qingfang to come watch over Shen Jiu. He’d always check up on him any chance he got.

He’d personally see to it that he ate good food, and he always gave Shen Yuan the comfier of the two pillows. It was small things like that helped Shen Yuan know that he was properly being considered by his brother.

“Ow!” Shen Jiu’s fan came crashing down onto the crown of Shen Yuan’s head. The older twin immediately turned away to face the opposite wall after he’d hit Shen Yuan’s head with his fan.

“Don’t talk nonsense and go to bed.”

“Okay…good night.” Shen Yuan faked a defeated attitude as he slowly slipped into his bed, hunched over in disappointment.

HA, you thought!

Everyone and their mother know that Shen Jiu felt embarrassed and so he forced Shen Yuan to go to bed!

Quiet graced them once more as Shen Yuan attempted to fall asleep, and Shen Jiu lost himself in his thoughts. It was so painfully obvious that Shen Yuan was trying to cheer him up, but it still warmed his heart to hear those words coming from his brother.

Knowing that Shen Yuan wanted to stay by his side until he was tossed away… not that it would ever happen, was heartwarming. Is this what familial love was like? Sticking with each other through thick or thin?

Shen Jiu is very protective of his things, and he takes good care of all his belongings. Shen Yuan, was his precious younger twin, and he wouldn’t give him up to anyone. Not without a fight, anyways.

Hear that, Mu Qingfang!?

He had to protect his brother from that man with evil intentions. Should he stick by his brother’s side more often? Was there anyone he could trust to watch over Shen Yuan?

‘If you ever come across any problems, he would protect you. He will never let a favor go unreturned.’

Maybe… there is a good reason to keep him alive… but it won’t stop him from trying to get in his way at any given moment! You never gave him face during the tournament all those years ago, so he will make sure you suffer for that transgression!

[System: Shen Jiu’s impression of Liu Qingge has increased by +10 points!]

Shen Yuan secretly smiled to himself. He didn’t know what happened to make this happen, but it’s a step in the right direction!

It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but enough went by for Shen Yuan to have truly fallen asleep. Shen Jiu gazed at the peaceful sleeping expression of his younger brother.

“Your Shen Qingqiu is my favorite too. Hurry up and get better so I can watch you play the part.”

It was amusing to see how his good-natured brother could act the part as the scummy Shen Qingqiu. Even if their personalities were nothing alike, they both shared an impeccable acting ability.

DING!

The screen stilled as someone pressed pause, freezing the characters in the game.

“Ah, did we forget to mention? …Whoops~! Sometimes we go for coffee breaks! Since we don’t want to miss a thing, we paused the game for you~! That said, wait until we come back. You’re okay with that, right? You are? Good!”

Obviously, they weren’t giving the System Temp a choice in the matter.

What else can they do if they weren’t in control of the TV? All that can be done is nod and wait until they come back.

“Oh, if you haven’t noticed already, there are refreshments and snacks for you to eat over there. Do help yourself.” Another voice spoke as lights turned on, to illuminate a room full of snacks and drinks to enjoy during the wait.

Don’t say they weren’t fair to you.

“Pssttt, you’ll want to be extra vigilant with the next segment! Don’t forget that we won’t tell you which of the Shen brothers is acting as Shen Qingqiu. You’ll have to figure that out on your own! Good luck! Take this break time to gather your thoughts!”

A helpful moderator graciously gave a warning to the System Temp, telling them to be prepared for the next segment.

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[othercat2]

Obscure Crossover Plus Odd What If

The Tredana Trilogy by Joyce Ballou Gregorian, comprising The Broken Citadel, Castledown, and The Great Wheel. Our Heroine keeps transmigrating to this other world because she is a)related to the royal family of one of the kingdoms in the book. b) is the daughter of a goddess. (The goddess did a baby swap on her, because she was supposed to eventually defeat her. First book is a quest to "rescue" the daughter of the goddess, who is an imposter, and no one realizes Our Heroine is in fact the daughter of the goddess.)

Imposter! Daughter is a minor antagonist and eventually loses her mind due to a bad combination of isolation and being used as a stooge by the other bad guys. (Or so I remember.)

Anyway! The crossover is with Scum Villain, because I was thinking about Sha Hualing's title, which is apparently "Saintess." I am not entirely sure what would make her a "demon saint!" (Maybe Airplane stole the idea from Chrono Crusade, where the terms "saint" and "disciple" were a bit oddly used!)

So I had the interesting idea of "what if 'saints' got the title because they transmigrated and returned?" And also, what if Sha Hualing ended up having possessed Imposter! Daughter? Which means she very briefly had contact with Someone from Earth, and depending on how much she picked up, she realizes both Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu are also "saints."

(Or, I could do the whole scum villain thing and give poor Sha Hualing a system and everything, and have her try to save Imposter! Daughter from Imposter! Daughter's stupidity.)