#hugs will do that and shen jiu needs it

[mios-art]

hihihi :DD for art ideas, do you draw qijiu? i'd love to see some yue qingyuan and shen jiu art in your style! if yesss, maybe your favorite scene, missing scene, or interaction between them, or the scene you want to see happen the most!

how dare you make me have feelings about them again asdsfdsdf

… i just hope they get to see each other again somehow someday…

[pr0cyon-lotor]

AU where instead of Shen Yuan being obsessed with Luo Binghe, he's instead obsessed with the scum villain himself. I mean we all know Bingge is Very Not Good Person™ but you know who else a Very Not Good Person™? Say it with me: Shen Jiu

Like just imagine a timeline where Shen Yuan is writing paragraph after paragraph about how Shen Qingqiu might actually be a good person but Airplane is wasting his potential. The other commenters are saying he's delusional because he abused the protagonist and as all these TERRIBLE allegations towards him. So he's a clear cut villain.

But Shen Yuan is defending his fav with the vigor of a devout worshipper. He's constantly siting parts that are obvious plot holes and how they could give much needed context to Shen Qingqiu's character.

Other people are demanding for worst things to happen to Shen Qingqiu to spite him. Airplane caves. Shen Yuan actively commissions art and fics where Shen Qingqiu is happy. People tell him "Shen Qingqiu won't fuck you bro"

Shen Yuan isn't interested in that. He's a freaky little man with freaky little likes. He'd gladly take Shen Qingqiu's cold glares and even volunteer to have tea poured on him.

When he finishes PIDW, he's been outraged that Shen Qingqiu was killed off a while back. He's even more outraged that Shen Qingqiu wasn't given any mention at the end.

Now, imagine with me that he gets transmigrated into some NPC, literally Unimportant Character No°5. Probably as the head disciple for drama reasons. And as soon as Shen Jiu is brought in, scruffy and hissing as he is. He immediately hugging his thighs and saying he'll be peak lord for sure.

Please follow me into this suspicious alleyway as I continue to explain my vision fueled by sleep deprivation.

So now imagine your Shen Jiu. You're a former street rat and demonic cultivator, you aren't expecting to be liked or respected. You're expecting it, you've come to terms with it a long time ago. What you weren't expecting was for this random ass guy you have to call da-shixiong is immediately insane about you.

He met you first day, literally saw you bite a guy, and immediately started spouting out how you'll be the next peak lord and the absolute envy of Cang Qiong Mountain. You conclude he's missing a few screws because he said it in the most disgustingly sincere way.

You try to continue on with your life, trying to beat him and he looks almost... Excited about you beating him. So he's an M, you think to yourself. But then you see someone trying to beat him or you on something, and this guy immediately gets aggressive. Okay so he's just weird with you.

You continue to deal with him. He's weird but also weirdly respectful. He leaves if you tell him to leave. He defends you like it's his very birth right. He's always there to tend to you as if you were a god. He doesn't touch you and only sits around like a dog waiting for a command.

You eventually get strong enough to beat him, and this absolute buffoon is over the moon about it, already spouting about your supposed success again.

When you actually become peak lord, it isn't surprising. Your hype man has been saying it since day one, he was expecting it for some reason. He continues to spout out nonsense about how he just knew you were going to do it.

So what now? You obviously desire him carnally. What is the next step?

Okay so I know this wouldn't fix them. Almost without question this would make they both worse. But, hear me out, it would be funny. (Especially since just know Shen Yuan's entire inner monologue would be him saying he's just being a good friend as if he isn't being the gayest man in the sect and Shang Qinghua is there. That's an accomplishment to outgay the author)

[anqelbean]

SHIZUN LBH AND DISCIPLE SY??? PLEASE TELL US MORE I'M FERAL

I, too, am feral over these two nonnie, so I shall continue cause you asked so nicely <3

So, the PIDW of this universe follows the immortal lord Luo Binghe, Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak, Demon Emperor on the side (shhhhh, that part's a secret).

Binghe is (seemingly) righteous and noble, but in truth he's always 1 step away from destroying Cang Qiong Mountain. His thread of hope for humanity is about to snap, which is not at all helped by Xin Mo, who has almost taken his mind over completely.

Enter Shen Yuan, transmigrator extraordinaire, disciple of Qing Jing Peak. The person that's supposed to expose Luo Binghe's demonic heritage to the world and kickstart the conquering of the Human Realm by the Demon Emperor, leading to Shen Yuan's eventually becoming a human stick.

Well, he doesn't want to die like that! Who would! So thigh hugging it is!

Thankfully the System in this world isn't as strict as in canon, so he does have one way of saving himself: if Shen Jiu had become Head Disciple, he would not have wanted to expose Luo Binghe.

He tries his darned best to get close to Luo Binghe, although clumsily. He always ends up walking into things when he's around 'cause he was gawking at him. Which, he reasons, is a perfectly normal thing for a disciple to do! To admire his Shizun! Especially since his Shizun was THE protagonist!

Luo Binghe doesn't know what to think of him at first. Clumsy, starry-eyed, always with his nose in the books like he's trying to memorise all the characters, not just its contents, talented enough, but lacking in experience, perfect recipe for disaster. He needs to keep an eye on him if he doesn't want to deal with a dead disciple.

But. It's strange. No one's ever looked at him like that. He knows his disciples admire him, but all of them are so terrified of him they don't dare to get close, lest they end up doing more chores as punishment. But, this Shen Yuan. It's like. Like he's not scared? Like Luo Binghe is...someone worthy of hero-worship. He can't even admit it to himself, but he cannot help but preen under his clumsy disciple's adoring gaze.

Then, a candle accidentally falls in Shen Yuan's dorm, and there's no room for him left. All his roommates went to their friends' rooms, but Shen Yuan didn't have any close friends on the peak! Where should he go???

Luo Binghe…feels he needs to play the good Shizun. It's just an act, of course. He doesn't actually care for the boy. He needs to play the cool, distant immortal, kind enough to take in a stray. He has Shen Yuan move into his side room, BUT only temporarily.

And so it begins.

Luo Binghe finds himself enjoying having someone to cook for again. He himself doesn't need to eat, so he only really does it when trying to woo a demoness into his bed. But with Shen Yuan, it's different. He hasn't cooked for someone just for them to satiate their hunger since his mother. It almost feels…intimate. Seeing Shen Yuan not eat his food so much as inhale it, hearing the sincere praise from the child's mouth… It's all too much.

It doesn't help that the boy is actually quite shameless. Taking off all his layers except one the moment he's home, even his pants! He is just prancing around with all his skin for the world to see! It makes him want to scold him, to take his layers and dress him back up himself just so he doesn't have the image of those long, long legs of Shen Yuan's stuck in his mind. So he does, “Disciple Shen should be more mindful of his appearance,” he says, desperately trying to ignore Shen Yuan's pretty red face as he stammers 'shizun' while Luo Binghe ties his robes, “Anyone could walk in, it's indecent.” And incredibly distracting, he doesn't say.

Few months pass, Luo Binghe realises one thing: this boy is the only person worthy of respect on his entire peak. If something were to happen to him, he would raze the entire mountain to the ground, himself included.

He tries everything just to touch the boy. He fixes his robes, put his hands on his shoulders, picks him up during nighthunts when things get intense, and if he touches him a little more than necessary while correcting his sword forms, well, no one notices.

For once, something has moved his cold, dead heart and Luo Binghe is a hungry soul, bleeding for more, unwilling to let go of this new tiny light he's found, wishing to devour and devour, till no one else can steal it from him, like everything else good in his miserable, lonely life.

Visual representation of this au

[fairsweetlonging]

Okay but Mocking bird demon SY (has shapeshifting powers) pretending to be SQQ to help LBH. No system, SJ lives, just SY will not let his protagonist be miserable. He optionally also wife beams LQG who is extremely confused and horny as to why SQQ is playing hot and cold with him

i LOVE that idea oh my goodneeees!!! all the shen yuan bird aus are a GIFT that keeps on GIVING!!

as a bird he can easily live on mount cang qiong and get around unnoticed, because what peak lord or disciple is going to look twice at a small, grey silver bird? it allows him to stay close to luo binghe and help him in every way he can, from giving him food he carries in his little talons or beak, singing to him when he's down, keeping him company in the forest, to making silly mimic sounds to make him laugh.

i looked up a little about mockingbirds and apparently they're extremely territorial when raising hatchlings and their nest (attacking even cats, hawks and humans), which is perfect because luo binghe is (definitely!) a helpless hatchling in need of protecting, i mean, technically his wings haven't even properly grown in yet, he can't fly! so cue ming fang and other bullies getting relentlessly attacked when they try to come near binghe.

and then the shapeshifting: from what i've gathered, mockingbirds sing regularely at night, so i can imagine shen yuan waiting until nightfall and shen jiu goes to bed when he makes his move. he dons the master's form, goes to the woodshed, and takes binghe out to train in the forest with a real manual. of course, binghe is immediately enamoured with the man shen qingqiu becomes when night falls, maybe he even starts to think it's a "werewolf" thing where he changes when the moon comes up, because there isn't really any explanation to why the soft words, gentle touches and kind eyes turn into sneers, violence and glares as soon as the sun is up!

bc he does have the protagonist halo, and even in canon binghe knew something was up, i think he figures it out eventually when he starts alluding to certain events that never happened but that his "shizun" plays along with. also the bird has the exact same way of petting his head/ruffling his hair as his night-shizun does. one and one equals two, after all.

and liu qingge yeeeessss!! if in this au shen yuan saved him in the caves as well, he's probably getting such a headache from the complete 180s shen qingqiu keeps making!! one moment everything is great, shen qingqiu is tending to his wounds with such gentleness and a kind smile, and when liu qingge runs into him at night (when shen qingqiu always looks kind of... hurried, for some reason, almost a little nervous), they share a smile and a laugh and one time shen qingqiu even hugged him; but then when liu qingge tries to sit next to him at the meetings suddenly he's getting snarled at, called a dumb dirty beast and to sit elsewhere?? hello??? never mind getting invited into the bamboo house, or shen qingqiu accepting his (dead animal) gifts.

i also think it'd be so really funny if shen yuan ended up not caring about continuation errors or consistent character behavior, and just goes all out on the OCC by being kind to everyone in shen qingqiu's form; flirting with liu qingge, cuddling with yue qingyuan, spoiling luo binghe rotten, gifting mu qingfang all kinds of rare herbs that he can find easily in his demon bird form, and generally being a moon-saint that everyone comes to realize isn't actually shen qingqiu, but since he's doing good for the community and not harming anyone, they kind of just..... leave it. the peak lords have a meeting about it (sans shen jiu of course), and they decide the night-qingqiu can stay.

tho i do think yue qingyuan would ask shen yuan to don a different form.

also also, shen yuan getting up to all kinds of mischief by mimicking other peak lords' voices: calling to disciples with their shizun's voice, watching them get all confused because no one's there?? or making shang qinghua go around in circles because he keeps saying "this way, shang qinghua, hurry up!" in an angry liu qingge voice. and also making shen jiu open the door to no one when he mimics yue qingyuan's voice. there's a LOT he can do with it🤭

[eyesforahead]

Mxtx x male reader

A cross over.

When a modern era young man transmigrated in PIDW that has crossovered with other Novel's such as MDZS & TGCF thing's are bound to be both fun & traumatizing!

-----

Name & Description are different but originally this was on my ao3 some things are arranged to suit it being an X reader. My ao3 is Elijah_Ezra.

TRANSLATION MAY NOT HE ACCURATE.

-- MAIN SHIPS WILL NOT HE CHANGED ( such as hualian , wangxian. )

-- SHEN YUAN IS NOT HERE.

shang qinghua is. I have favorite's.

-- Canon, what canon plot line?

-- Don't like, don't read.

-- Hate towards me or anyone is not tolerated.

-- This is a crossover.

-- A lot of spelling mistakes probably.

-- No upload schedule.

-- What Ships is reader in? I'm aiming for it to be a Liu Qingge X Reader however if this is not liked I take recommendations as well.

THIS IS PIDW TECHNICALLY NOT SVSSS.

• SHEN JIU'S PAST!!!!

• TW FOR THAT. PLEASE, STAY SAFE.

Shen (Name) groans and sighs before getting up from the chair to grab his sword Bǎohù

It was time for the Disciple selection..

He flew down and was immediately greeted by the peak lords he was well liked and loved unlike his elder brother Shen Jiu or also known as Shen Qingqiu.

That’s right he (Last name) ( First Name) , A lazy modern guy , died and transmigrated into PIDW not only that as an OC insert the scum villains younger brother!

Airplane , what kind of messed up tragic sad backstory did you need to give Jiu-Ge?!

Naturally they grew up together which meant his childhood sucked too!

Granted not that bad compared to him as that Qiu Jianluo took a very good liking to him and loved his naïve personality he was rarely beaten.

Which now knowing WHAT Qiu Jianluo liked and was thinking made him want to scream cry and rip off his skin to erase the feeling the skin that was touched by him.

What seemed liked innocent hugged were actually very much not innocent.

years later and after much trauma he became a peak lord!

So, that's that! Yippie hooray for you.

The (History of God's and Ghost's) "神与鬼的历史" (Shén yǔ guǐ de lìshǐ) peak lord!

It is the same ranking as Qing Jing Peak.

In this peak they learned about God’s and Ghost’s that are hidden and roaming around somewhere.

Their cultivation was communication with them.

Some Ghosts would occasionally help them when in need by lending them their strength.

In turn they would also help the ghost move on.

However, this is not safety assured as ghosts can be deceiving.

Shen (Name) would know himself, he’s half possessed by one called SYSTEM who forces him to do certain shit!

{ HOST, QIU JANLUO DID NOT NEED HIS DICK! }

Shen (Name) grimaces remembering that memory when the SYSTEM took control of his body and just chopped off someone’s dick.

‘ You didn’t need to use my body! ‘

{ D: Then, who else would SYSTEM posses? Your brother? No, thanks. }

‘ Die. ‘

{ SYSTEM will die when HOST 002 dies. }

Ah, right. Did he mention the author transmigrated with him?

Airplane Shooting towards the sky transmigrated into Shang Qinghua.

“ Didi, are you alright? You’re frowning. “ Shen Qingqiu asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

He hummed and looked towards the disciples hoping that today he will meet the protagonist Luo Binghe .

Yue QingYuan nodded at him and asked if he will choose a disciple.

Right, He himself rarely accepted new disciples they had to be specific and needed to be blessed or gained the attention of a god or ghost.

But as he looks down no one seems to have the veins that are gold or red.

Gold means a god has noticed them.

Glowing Gold means they have been blessed by one.

Red means a ghost has either noticed them or blessed them.

It was surprising to learn ghosts can bless people.

A ghost’s blessing boosts up your QI similar to the gods blessing but a ghost blessing also gives you luck while God’s give you some protection but not luck that would be on you!

Suddenly again he heard Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu fighting which is normal. However, they were fighting over a disciple.

He didn’t feel like getting involved and zoomed out before Shang Qinghua whispered to him.

‘ Bro, Go with Shen QIngqiu that’s Luo Binghe he took! ‘

he glared at Shang Qinghua for not telling him sooner and ran after Shen Jiu.

MEANWHILE…

SO, IT BEGINS TOUGHT A MAN WEARING SIMPLE WHITE ON A THRONE HIGH ABOVE WHERE NO ONE CAN REACH HIM.

THE man was beautiful with long brown hair and warm eyes.

The male wished he can help the poor soul yet, he is not allowed to interfere only drop some helpful information nothing more…

---

His peak was often described as a picturesque peak ( he was very proud of his peak ) adorned with tranquil ponds. The water is crystal clear, reflecting the beauty of the lily pads floating gracefully on the surface.

Koi fish gracefully glide through the water, their vibrant colors adding a touch of elegance.

The croaking of frogs adds a harmonious melody to the scene. The air is filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers, and the sight of fluttering butterflies brings a sense of joy.

The overall ambiance feels inviting and pristine. Even the teachers and classes exude warmth and friendliness. It's a place where one can find solace and inspiration.

Near the peak lord's house you'll see a more beautiful building. The building is a shrine. Inside of it is a statue of the main god they learn about.

However, the statue isn't alone along with it is the God's husband.

The crown prince and also now heavenly emperor Xie Lian & his husband Crimson Rain Sought Flower Hua Cheng.

If you're lucky enough (or you're Shen (Name) ) you'll see silver butterflies flying around.

It make's a wonderful painting , silver Butterflies in the moonlight.

From the outside the shrine has an ornate and elaborate design, with intricate carvings.

Inside the shrine, you'll find a serene and reverent atmosphere. 

To the side inside the shrine is a long table where offerings and candle's are lit.

His peak is always calm and right now that's where he wants to be not in his olders brother bamboo house with tension so high he's surprised the kid Luo Binghe hasn't fainted.

' It's the tea scene where he pours hot boiling tea on him ' he thinks.

He wishes he can move from his brother's side yet he can't.

The tea is poured , the child gasps and the master leaves looking back once at his brother.

Shen (Name) immediately goes to the poor disciple.

He grabs the towel from the table and gently wipe away the hot tea.

"I'm sorry, please don't mind my brother."

The child looks up naive brown eyes shining at him.

"N-no shifu it was this Disciples fault."

The peak lord can't help how his heart melts.

Shen (Name) from the past hated this scene and didn't understand why Shen Qingqiu did this. The Shen (Name) who he is now understands.

Luo Binghe's eye's and hair are similiar to Qiu Jianluo.

The child's name make it even worse. Luo Binghe..Luo...

Ning Yingying didn't help either immediately calling him A-Luo...

... something Qiu Haitang used to call her brother Luo-Ge...

Still, it's no excuse to what happened to this child but he can be sympathetic.

He'll show him around himself and leave he can't be absent from his peak but he can visit his brother and this child.

Maybe, in the way he'll see his cute shidi Liu Qingge.

Dropping off Luo Binghe at his dorm's in which he knows he won't be staying there longer Shen (Name) leave's and goes to the shrine.

He needs some advice..

He knows the god probably won't respond but he'll feel his presence and that's enough.

[darlingpwease]

Now that I’m thinking about it.

How is Shen jiu like with reader.

And if we were Luo bingge “Moral pet” who died, what would he do if he met us in another universe where we are alive?

everyone needs an owner

♡ unhealthy behaviour, mention of tortures, mention of death, mention of killing, forced relationship if you squint; 'shixiong' for reader

I used 'morality pet', but you are rather closer to 'morality chain', especially if you stay after LUO BINGHE returns from the Abyss and you are literally the only thing that keeps him sane and trying to be a good person, even if he is a half-demon, — only to find out with shock and horror that you are dead.

this is definitely what is the final trigger for his darkening and first the brutal torture and murder of all who caused your death — and then the complete rejection of any 'humanity'which he could have had. the only one who loved him and cared about him — and only that he didn't even have your body?

only for him to come back and find out that the love of his life is dead?

then what's the point of being 'good' if he can't even deal with those who led you to death?

all those who could not save you deserve only death.

... if Shen Qingqiu hadn't thrown him into the Abyss, you would have lived. he would have saved you. he would sacrifice his reputation, his cultivation, his life, but he would save you. you would be alive. you would be with him.

If he had stayed, you would never have left him.

you were always worried that LUO BINGHE felt inferior when Shen Qingqiu was strangely favoritist towards you, — even if he asked you no less, — but LUO BINGHE never considered it 'strange' or unfair. as long as you let him wander after you, always petted, brought food, gently asking what he wants to do and always hugging him tightly, letting him know that you will always be there and are sure that he will become a great cultivator and person, he didn't dare complain about anything. he liked to take care of you and please you like your servant, and always tried to be there, blooming like a flower after he was given water when your gaze touched him.

even if Shen Qingqiu took up too much of your time, as if not realizing that you were not a river, but his source, he could only bare his fangs and growl, but retreat, allowing everything to happen, having nothing to the extent to hinder, even if your smile, which would only be for him, would be enough for him to give his life for you with pleasure.

you were everything he could never have been, even if he tried; his everything. nobody else's. it doesn't matter 'what kind of relationship you have with Shizun', especially when various rumors begin to creep — LUO BINGHE wants to dig into everyone's throat with his fangs and tear them apart, but Shen Qingqiu copes with especially talkative much faster and easier when there are fewer and fewer of them at the peak.

at least in some ways their interests are similar.

he kills him much faster, even without torture, although he could have torn out his hands, gouged out his eyes and cut out his tongue — but for the first time in his heart, cold mixes with flame, giving his, no, your former Shizun a peaceful death. his heart beats neither faster nor slower when Shen Qingqiu dies before his eyes, even if something inside him should feel relief at the thought that his abuser is dead — but what's the point if you, his most important person, don't come to life?

LUO BINGHE would kill everyone if it revived you, he would make the whole world speak the language of blades — but what's the point if you're not with him?

... his demonic nature, fed by cold calculating hatred and a passionate thirst for what he cannot get, turns out to be much easier to tame than he thought — 'shidi, you will become a great cultivator' he fulfilled your words, right? — especially when Xin Mo lies as if poured into his palm, having found the perfect balance between two facets, where your image still remains the most painful and the most joyful in his life, even if you have always sought to be an example for him and a support, finding something in the brilliance of his eyes and a statuesque figure, always descending to reach out to him like no one before, like a phoenix that soared into the sky only to land on his shoulder, or a dragon floating in the water column, but swimming aground for him.

how could he not adore you?

his fate was sealed from the first meeting.

Xin Mo responds with a vibration when Luo Binghe touches it.

... you are so magnificent — in the form of a disciple of the peak, which LUO BINGHE himself destroyed in the past; with your hair in a hairstyle that he always wanted to let down and see how you look when relaxed; with a light gait, characteristic of each member of the peak, known for its silence and the absence of any sounds at all except those places that were fenced with a barrier like training grounds, and your beautiful subtle smile that he always saw on your face, even if you weren't smiling. everything about you was breathtaking and filled with grace and grandeur, even if you were just walking or eating; after all, it was not for nothing that you walked all the way with him, and would definitely have reached the very end if he had protected you. he will definitely protect you.

Xin Mo in his hand is thirsty for blood, feeling what the person he so desperately craves is so close and far away, so tantalizingly far away that LUO BINGHE has to dig his nails into his skin so as not to pounce and take you with him, seeing you sitting alone in a bamboo forest, enjoying moments of peace, without suspecting anything.

LUO BINGHE has nothing to do — what can he do? grab you? convince you to leave? what does he want to do? you... you were always there for him at such moments when he was thinking about such things, feeling how you tried to help him understand his desires — and even after you died, he always touched your little thing with him, as if looking for an answer from you, leaving the feeling that you are still here, with him.

“... Shidi?”

The old form is unusual for the body, even reduced, and his attempt to hide the demonic mark is also silly in its own way — but he cannot hide the sweet smile that breaks through the shy expression of his face, although his eyes burn with adoration.

“Yes, my shixiong? Did my shixiong call this shidi? Can this shidi help my shixiong?”

Killing the current LUO BINGHE is easier than simple — as well as taking his place, approaching you with timid but hungry steps, as if not a 'little naive lamb', but a stalking predator who is just waiting for the opportunity when you relax enough to grab your throat with his teeth. Even if you don't see the difference, you feel it, looking at his happy rosy face, delicate thin strong figure, the shine of adoring eyes and a slight tremor that LUO BINGHE tries to hide as he comes closer, as if trying to control himself.

“My shixiong... yo– this shidi... can?”

The excitement in his voice is both so familiar and unfamiliar that you just shake your head, pointing to a place nearby.

“Just sit next to me. Get some rest. You've been working a lot lately.”

You've noticed that he's been working a lot lately.

A tremor runs through his body so large that he can only nod thoughtlessly, sitting closer, letting a few more drops fall to the ground.

Now he is much, many times stronger than you and even Shizun, but when you caress him for a good job, he wants to reveal himself so much and beg you to go with him, even if he knows that he can't.

Can he get a 'good boy' from you if he behaves ethically manipulative enough?

You're alive. You are healthy. He hears your breathing, your movements.

He wants to kiss you so badly.

He even feels the warmth of your body, your smell, the way your blood circulates in your body.

He wants so badly to mix your blood with his.

And the way your chest rises while you sit in silence.

You are so perfect. You don't need anyone but him.

He's finally going to be a good person. Just for you.

You are the only thing that matters.

He won't give you up to anyone or anything.

“My shixiong... would you like to have some tea?”

[shorimochi]

i'm doing this because you're tired, but you don't know

(Canon Divergence, Established BingJiu)

Luo Binghe could see it. That slight twitch in Shen Jiu's eyes while he was reading. The hint of scowl forming. The way he hadn't moved on from the same page.

Luo Binghe made his arrival known with a huge sigh. "Jiu-er, please comfort your husband... I'm so tired..."

He slumped down and leaned against Shen Jiu while putting on his most pitiful pout.

It worked. Shen Jiu rolled his eyes, but he set his book aside and allowed Luo Binghe to lay on his lap. His fingers began combing the fluffy dark hair. "What is it today?"

"Oh, you know... just things…

A decade had passed since they were married yet Shen Jiu still couldn't let go of bad habits. He still tend to bottle up his frustrations and went through a bad day pretending nothing happened.

Whenever that happened, Luo Binghe just needed to distract him with something else.

He trailed his fingers across Shen Jiu's waist. "A hug from Jiu-er would be so nice."

Shen Jiu puffed his cheeks. Cute.

"I suppose I have no choice," he said and lay down as well to cuddle with Luo Binghe in the daybed.

Luo Binghe grinned. He pulled Shen Jiu close and wrapped him tightly in his arm. "Do you want to eat something sweet?" Luo Binghe whispered. "I think I'm craving..."

"Tangyuan," Shen Jiu replied. "You're craving tangyuan."

Luo Binghe laughed. Shen Jiu must have realized it by now. He kissed the top of Shen Jiu's head and found comfort in the soothing smell of tea leaves and bamboo leaves.

[justaghostingon]

Wei Ying does the Holy Grail War

A crossover with fate/stay night

Note: for those of u who don’t know, fate/stay night is a battle royale where seven mages summon seven heroes from the past and future to battle for a single wish.

The Teams:

Mo xuanyu - Wei Wuxian - Caster

Mo xuanyu summoned wei wuxian. He believes its because they are both driven by revenge. But in truth, he summoned Wei wuxian because of their shared drive and frustration with their unjust circumstances

Wei Wuxian complains about being back plenty of times, goofs off, and tries to get Mo xuanyu to relax

Mo xuanyu finds him frustrating but also a bit like an older brother

Wei wuxian for his part sees mo xuanyu as his chance to offer the support he so desperately needed in his last days, and to remind the boy not to give up on life

There fighting style is to keep to the shadows, often wei wuxian tries to pretend he’s not even a spirit

Lan wangji - Hua Cheng - Archer

Lan wangji does not approve of this war, the cost, or the cruelty it invokes

But! He is desperate for that wish, and a chance to wish wei wuxian back to life

That desperation, that willingness to do anything to save his beloved, summoned Hua Cheng

They work well together in a fight, but in their down time…

They hate each other

Lan wangji finds Hua Cheng’s arrogance agrivating, his unwillingness to follow the simplest order’s frustrating, and his handwriting a sin against nature

Hua cheng finds lan wangji cold, stuck up, and worst of all, he bares a grudge because lan wangji wants to fight jiang cheng, and jiang cheng summoned…

Jiang Cheng - Xie Lian - Saber

It was jiang cheng’s despair that summoned xie lian, the overwhelming feeling he let everyone down and lost everything

Jiang cheng and xie lian work well together, and get along realy well

Jiang cheng is reminded of his sister through xie lian’s gentle nature

Xie lian in turn is nostalgic for Mu Qing every second he listens to Jiang Cheng yell

Xie lian works hard to remind jiang cheng that he has waaaay farther to fall, and he should cheer up! He’s doing great! Bettee than xie lian!

Jiang cheng doesn’t have the heart to tell him that’s not a high bar

Jin Guangyao - shen Qingqiu - Assassin

When Jin Guangyao summoned Shen Qingqiu, the strategist of Cang Qiong mountain sect he was estatic! Finally a man who would understand what he’s been through, who’s just as ruthless as he is!

Alas, he did not get shen jiu, he got shen yuan, a posser pretending to be the strategist

He spends his time trying to make life better for the cute little students of lanling jin, lazing around, and trying to look clever

Jin guangyao is left wonderinf how dumb cang qiong mountain sect had to be if this was their best strategist

Nie Huaisang - Lou Binghe - beserker

Nie huaisang summoned lou binghe for one purpose only… revenge

And luo binghe with his OP everything, is more than happy to help this fan weilding man who reminds him just a bit of his shizun

Then he sees the spirit of nie huaisang’s arch nemisis, and turns into a sobbing maiden desperate to get shizun to notice him please!

In the background, Nie huaisang breaks his fan

A-Qing - Wen Qing - lancer

A-qing was not supposed to be in the war. She stole the relic from xue yang

The relic summoned Wen Qing, the legendary doctor

A-qing’s desire to bring back and protect xiao xingchen calls to wen qing’s own desire to protect wen ning

Armed with common sense, a-qing’s cunning, and needles, these two are the dark horse of this holy grail war

It helps that two other spirits reactions to seeing her is to start cryinf and hug her

Xue Yang - Mobei-jun - rider

Xue yang will not let anything get in between him and what he wants, even little blind.

He finds another relic and summons mobei-jun

Mobei jun has a soft spot for crazy small men who have no morals, but even xue yang gets on his nerves sometimes

No problem, mobei jun just picks him up by the scruff of his neck and holds him like s disgruntled kitten

Xue yang is a lot like a demon kid, mobei thinks he should ask shang qinghua if he wants to adopt some kids when he gets back

Xue yang does not apreciate this

And an honorary:

Lan sizhui - wen ning

Wen Ning is not an actually summoned spirit. He broke free from the jins and got rescued by lan sizhui when he found him in the woods

Lan sizhui proceeds to take him home and try to hide him, but lan jingyi found out

Lan jingyi was the one to come up with the plan of pretending they summoned wen ning to fight, so that they can have an excuse to bring Wen ning around and stop hiding him under lan sizhui’s bed

This unexpectedly works, since several masters are keeping to the shadows, lan jungyi and lan sizhui both feel very proud of themselves, but lan Wangji has all the angst about having to possibly face his son down the line, and could he realy do that?

Lucky for Lan Wangji, wei wuxian figures out what’s really going on pretty quick once he meets wen ning again.

[circus-complex]

I Only Ever Want to Stay by Your Side

This fic is a little special - when I saw @i-like-damei-ig's art for G4G, I KNEW I needed to write something based on it. I'm not technically a creator for it, but whoever requested this prompt gets a bit of extra food! It was so fun to write :3

Rating: General

Relationships: Liu Qingge/Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu

Characters: Liu Qingge, Yue Qingyuan, Shen Jiu

Tags: Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Shen Jiu | Original Shen Qingqiu Deserves Happiness

Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge bring Shen Jiu into the woods to have a serious discussion about their relationship.

Inspired from art by my beloved friend, Feya!

Also on AO3

Full work under the cut

“Xiao-Jiu!” Yue Qingyuan tugged at Shen Jiu’s arm. The Qing Jing peak lord was grading students' papers. The sect leader had been bothering him for the past hour, urging him to take a break.

“Come on! Let's go for a walk!”

“Hmph. Let me finish this first,” Every time Yue Qingyuan pestered Shen Jiu, he added another minute to his mental timer.

“Please!” Yue Qingyuan whined. He tugged on his arm again, but softly enough so that he wouldn’t smudge the ink.

“Fine,” Shen Jiu set his brush down. “Where do you want to go?”

Yue Qingyuan smiled and didn’t say a word. He guided Shen Jiu outside, and through the forest.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nah,” Yue Qingyuan shook his head. “It’s a surprise”

After walking for fifteen minutes, Yue Qingyuan stopped.

Two trees stood before the pair. Strung between them were soft lights, glowing a faint yellow. They were made of the same material as Shen Jiu’s automatic lights, but smaller. They cast a soft glow on the man standing beneath the trees. Liu Qingge.

He was beautiful, basking on the light. His hair, pulled back into a ponytail, swayed with a soft breeze.

“Shen Jiu, I know we didn’t get along much at first,” Yue Qingyuan moved from beside Shen Jiu to stand next to Liu Qingge.

“And I know that our start was rocky Xiao-Jiu,” Yue Qingyuan added.

“But we both have had the pleasure of mending those rifts, and getting to know each other better.”

“It has been wonderful to become your friend, and now your partner.”

“So…”

“Will you marry us?”

Shen Jiu was stunned. His eyes went wide. The two men beneath the trees looked at each other nervously.

“Yes!”

Yue Qingyuan hugged Shen Jiu and twirled him around. He was smiling ear to ear. He ended up wrapping his arms around Shen Jiu from behind and peppering the back of his head with kisses.

Liu Qingge was slower to react. He seemed just as stunned as Shen Jiu. Eventually, he hugged him from the side. He kissed Shen Jiu’s jawline. Shen Jiu could feel his smile.

Tears flowed freely from Shen Jiu’s eyes. Liu Qingge licked at the ones nearby.

Xiao-Jiu simply couldn’t believe that someone would love him. Enough to care for him. Enough to be his friend. Enough to marry him.

But Shen Jiu could.

[incognito-lionbeast]

Mmm, been mentally rotating this AU some more -- the one where Shen Jiu comes back, yeah?

First thing that happens is Shen Jiu telling poor, baffled (and painfully hopeful) Yue Qingyuan that he WILL talk, but.... perhaps not while they’re still walking up the mountainside. He also doesn’t object when Yue Qingyuan grabs his wrist -- to verify a few things. Yue’s painfully hopeful, but not stupid. It’s true very, very few people would know to call him Qi-ge, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility that this person could be any number of malicious entities. Thankfully, that’s not the case.

When they’re in private, Shen Jiu is incredibly apprehensive. He’s been steeling himself for this encounter for several years now, but that doesn’t make it any easier or even particularly pleasant. First things first, they exchange information about the past twelve years. Frankly, Shen Jiu demands to know what the hell’s been happening here.

He is, uh, aware of “The Regret of Chunshan” and desperately WISHES he weren’t. Yue Qingyuan’s explanation does nothing to make him wish otherwise, but ultimately...... Shen Jiu determines that, whatever mess that imposter made of his reputation, so be it. That’s their shame now. Even if they hadn’t completely defiled it, he’s washed his hands of the name “Shen Qingqiu” and the wretched body that went with it.

This surprises Yue Qingyuan, but... so long as that’s what he wants...? Yet, before YQY can start trying to muddle through their own issues, Shen Jiu cuts him off--but not in the way he used to. He asks through gritted teeth if the abuse & humiliation he received at the Qiu household was his done by his hand. No? Then don’t take blame that isn’t yours. It’s tiring.

Shen Jiu is still very, very curt with him about these things. He still doesn’t want to talk about it, but realises that Yue Qingyuan will be damned annoying if he doesn’t address it now. And, besides he isn’t as angry anymore. He just wants it to be over, so he never has to touch the subject again. But they both need to move on for that to happen.

So, he tolerates Yue Qingyuan’s lil guilty song and dance as best he can; admittedly his tolerance isn’t great. But that he’s willing to listen at all is an improvement! Ultimately, I think, Shen Jiu tells him that if he wants his forgiveness, then Qi-ge* has to forgive himself first. What’s happened, happened. Shen Jiu has... come to terms, somewhat, with things and that he was not a good person. May still not be. Yet, he’d like to move forward.

And, to do that, he needs the sect leader’s support not his apologies. Shen Jiu would like to rejoin Cang Qiong mountain as a disciple. New body, new name. Rather, for the sake of formality & pretenses, he’d prefer if his past identity was kept between them and perhaps a few select others. He wants to start over.

Accepting this for the time being, Yue Qingyuan wants to be... a little selfish. If he may. He’s missed his shidi so much. Get hugged, maybe?? Stiffly, awkwardly. Get hugged.

*(Shen Jiu does, yes, still hate using their old names. Yet, he is aware of their effect)

[10holmes]

It is done.

Synopsis:

SVSSS meets 2ha/Erha and make it LiuJiu.

An angsty exploration of Shen Jiu's character and the painful ordeal of being known and learning to trust, with a hopeful ending for LiuJiu.

Tags:

Angst with a Happy Ending ; Misunderstandings ; Hurt + Comfort ; Open & Hopeful Ending ; Enemies to Lovers speed run ; Rivals to Lovers ; Shen Jiu just needs a hug

Sneak Peak Snippet:

Unable to mask and swallow down his displeasure and irritation (and sadness), Shěn Qīngqiū now addressed Liǔ Qīnggē with scornful bitterness (…maybe being a little too unfairly pissed off at him, considering Yuè Qīngyuán actually deserved most of his anger… but, as so often, Shěn Qīngqiū just failed to properly reign in his temper…).

“Well, look who’s finally decided to grace us with his presence! Not that I expected you brute to be punctual…” he, thus, sneered at the Bǎi Zhàn peak lord in lieu of a greeting.

The other just scoffed in reply, sending the scholar a hateful glare right back: “I don’t take criticism from one that is still vain enough to waste qi because he’s concerned about his delicate face in the middle of a fight… What a joke…”

Had Shěn Qīngqiū had his fan in hand, he would have probably cracked its spine in quiet rage at the man’s words (and yet again complete misinterpretation of the matter…).

This absolutely moronic condescending prick! What did he even know!!

… nothing of course… and with Shěn Qīngqiū unable to explain himself, without revealing his shameful background, he had to let the slight stand… merely narrowing his eyes and sending the other peak lord the deathliest death glare he could manage, before spitting at him venomously: “What is the point of you being here anyway? I am almost finished, as you can see, so your help is not needed any longer… Why don’t you just go back to your peak again and leave me be? No need to force yourself to stand my vain presence and for me to have to abide your pea brain…”

The brute had the guts to actually laugh humourlessly at that – or more specifically at him: “Trust me, I’d also much rather be anywhere else than here, but the sect leader’s command was clear… And I do actually follow the tasks and missions I’m given instead of using them to slack off somewhere else…”

These next words hit Shěn Qīngqiū as if the brute had taken his Cheng Luan and impaled him with it… and then given the blade another good painful twist for good measure, before ripping it back out again…

The false unjustified accusation made Shěn Qīngqiū swallow bitter bile. He felt the urge to retort something to defend himself now… even though he knew he had only himself to blame for letting the man and his Qī-ge believe that he had truly used the pretence of going on a mission to instead debauch himself in lecherous sexual acts, while people were left to suffer…

(…although he had been meaning to go on said mission right after stabilizing his core… specifically even had chosen a mission that didn’t seem that dire yet and allowed for some breathing room and a low possibility of things growing worrisome, while Shěn Qīngqiū was shortly indisposed…)

Of course, Shěn Qīngqiū ultimately couldn’t say anything in his defence and had to, yet again, merely grit his teeth and take the insult, damning himself further in the eyes of his shidi and fellow peak lord by not disagreeing…

“Get lost.” Was the only barbed reply the, for once witless, scholar finally came up with, before unceremoniously turning away from the Bǎi Zhàn peak lord to, at last, dedicate all his focus to the still very much visible, wide-open dimensional tear… adamantly staring at the bright qi in front of him without blinking… burning away the furious tears that had suddenly stupidly enough started to rise to his eyes unbidden...

[holy-rarepairs-batman]

Autistic-coded Shen Jiu headcanons

I'm autistic, and since learning I am, I've started seeing it in a lot more places, and finding different ways that we mask and hide and pretend that we're neurotypical (or at least a palatable neurodivergent). And then I started seeing it in original Shen Qingqiu.

Different ways Shen Jiu can be interpreted as autistic:

• he's constantly! masking! because he's afraid of people seeing him without his mask up, and being misunderstood again (yet, even when he's masking, he ends up misunderstood anyways because he doesn't understand subtext like neurotypical people do)

• he prefers to be alone, so he can stop masking and just relax. he can just be himself. this is why his peak lord martial siblings find him "unsocial," and they complain about how he never "invites them to tea, how stuck up~"

• he HATES subtext. just speak straight to him and literally, don't assume he knows what you mean. also hates when people assume what HE means because they are looking for subtext that isn't there.

• he hates word games. they make him tired.

• book hyperfixation. his special interest is knowledge. he read all of the books on Qing Jing Peak to become the head disciple (pg 14, vol 2, official eng TL), so it makes sense that after he learned to read, he absorbed everything he could!

• he makes little noises at the start of end of his sentences. um. mm. mn. nmn. hmm. mm? mhm. etc. so many different ways to add little noises!!

• his love language is physical touch. BUT DON'T TOUCH HIM!!! (his hatred of men being due to implied SA makes this especially painful, bc he can't understand that he's even loveable because he Fears Touch)

• when he's stressed, he wants really tight, deep pressure, but doing that would need to be touched, so he can only calm down when he's in the Warm Red Pavilion and can trust people to hug him tightly without touching him in ways he doesn't want.

• he HATES schedule changes or unannounced/surprise changes to his plans. he needs to know what's happening at all times. if you surprise him with a sudden change to a schedule, he will have a meltdown.

• control issues. he needs to be able to trust whoever is in control to maintain control so nothing happens to him that he doesn't consent to, and if whoever is in charge is incompetent, he WILL throw up. a reason the peak lords think he's spoiled.

• he stims. a lot. he loves gently stroking the soft, smooth wood of his qin, flicking his fan open and closed repeatedly, loves fanning himself.

• only likes certain foods. if they're not sweet, or his Preferred Foods, he will not eat. this is another reason why his martial siblings think he's picky and a spoiled young master.

• his meltdowns are either to shut down and shut everyone out, or he explodes and has a qi deviation while berating the other person who caused his meltdown. if he were left alone, he wouldn't get distracted from his cultivation enough to cause it, despite his twisted meridians.

Anyways. I love autistic Shen Jiu, and I have so so so much more to go on and on about each one of these and how other people could help make him feel safer, or more accepted, but for now, I think that's long enough haha.

[mxtxfanatic]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from SVSSS? And why do you love them? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite moments from the novel? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

Hello, a svsss ask! I do not mind at all 😊

Top 5 SVSSS Characters (the last three are not ranked):

Luo Binghe: what can I say, I love a character who suffers grievously trying to achieve what should be a fairly simple wish, only to be rewarded with it finally at the end

Shen Qingqiu: thought he was hilarious on my first read, but found him absolutely enthralling on my second because of how I was able to pick up on him consciously choosing to be a good person in this book with how he attempted to cope with this violent new world by trying to remain unattached but ultimately failing and changing the narrative because he is literally that good of a person

Liu Qingge: literally was always, always there when Shen Qingqiu needed him, fought Luo Binghe every day for five years and lost every time just for the chance to give sqq a proper burial; best shidi ever

Gongyi Xiao: he was just honestly such a sweet kid, and his death came so far from left field I thought it was a joke the first time I read it

Zhuzhi-lang: my precious cutey snake boy who I ALSO didn’t realize died until my second reread 😭😭😭 upon the reread, I’m pretty sure I like him for the same reasons I like lbh because they are practically the same character with only the slightest differences in their narratives and character arcs

Top 5 Favorite Moments:

The Marriage Extra where sqq is so excited to get married to lbh that he has them do it directly after lbh’s botched proposal—even though lbh spent so much time planning for a proper wedding 😭—then after they consummate it, him calling lbh “dearest husband” without any reason or prompting

The entirety of the Holy Mausoleum Arc when sqq finally learns how all of his conceptions of his version of lbh are wrong and that he’s been blaming lbh for things that other characters were actually doing

The fight between Zhuzhi-lang, sqq, and lbh where zzl is trying to remove the seeds from sqq’s arm, lbh is trying to kill zzl for touching sqq, and sqq is trying to keep everyone alive and not expose lbh’s presence to Tianlang-jun lmao

The argument at the inn about who gets to sleep in a room with sqq, only for sqq to take a single room for himself, forcing lbh and lqg to share (and then both of them avoiding the room like the plague LOL)

Every time sqq saw a vision (whether in the deep dream extra where he gets sucked into lbh’s memories of while he was dead, or when he revisits Shen Jiu’s memories that he did not have access to) of lbh suffering and his first instinct was to try to hug and comfort him, despite never being able to directly interact with lbh in them.

Bonus: the extra where they go back to the town with the skinner to investigate a haunting and lbh tries to hold sqq’s hand while sqq playfully dodges him, and they both acknowledge it as their form of flirting cause sqq loves playing hard-to-get

Most of these revolve around bingqiu as a couple, but I really love how much sqq loves lbh and the ways in which the narrative cleverly shows it since he’s prone to hiding this affection in his words

[rarepears]

SQQ, and his brothel-madam wife who helps manage his information network. SQQ, and the veritable horde of nubile, barely-dressed ladies who love to throw themselves into his arms and say “Papa, I missed you!”regardless of who is watching *and mean it with no actual innuendo*. SQQ and his female disciples who were born in the Warm Red Pavilion, and so who still see him as a grandpa-slash-uncle before rather than their teacher-master half the time.

lolololol so the real reason why Shen Jiu got the reputation of a leecher is because Cang Qiong saw all these young beautiful prostitutes run and hug Shen Jiu in a manner far too intimate to be purely for customer relationship, so they naturally assumed Shen Jiu took advantage and manipulated them.

Yeah that sounds about right.

I love this image so much. People think Shen Jiu has this imaginary harem of prostitutes but it turns out that they are all his daughters and Shen Jiu is always grumpy and snappy at the meetings because he's stressing out how to make more money to be able to provide bigger dowries for his daughters.

That's also why even though he won't forgive Yue Qingyuan, he still takes the sect leader's gift - he needs that extra money. (Well, he's not selling them, but he's keeping them to pack into dowries.)

(He wants to marry his daughters off to good families but doing that requires bigger dowries to make up for their old profession and to gain power in the family or at least to prevent bullying. Money speaks after all.)

Or if he's not stressed out about dowries, he's stressing out about marriage negotiations and filtering out good husband candidates from bad.

Generally speaking, the prostitutes' marriage partners come from one of their clients proposing marriage. Then it's up to Shen Jiu using his network to confirm if the client is worth marrying - his personality, his background, how many other concubines/wives are already married in, the mother in law, etc. And then Shen Jiu also has to show up and intimidate the fuck out of the man with his power, his status as Qing Jing peak lord, and his skill with sharpened leaves to castrate males to make sure his daughter will be treated right.

And once married, Shen Jiu has many daughters and grandchildren to visit.

A father's job is never done.

[Find more: #Shen Qingqiu marries a brothel madam AU.]

[saintone]

Okay but I'm still crying for SJ's life. Like

(spoilers ahead)

He was born and throw away. Taken by slavers and forced to beg on the streets for money. Sold to an abusive household where he was mistreated and beaten, where he had to hide his pain to the only person who treated him well.

He was left by the only person in his life with the promise of coming back, and he waited, waited until he couldn't bear with it anymore.

His hell didn't stop. A demonic, wretched cultivator took him as disciple. We don't know much about what he was made to do, but we know it wasn't nice.

One day, he mets his Qi-Ge: alive and well, as the promising disciple of a strong sect. How abandoned must he have felt.

Still, he murdered his master, and followed Yue Qinyuan to Cang Qiong.

We also don't know much about his time here but we know nobody liked him. Liu QingGe specially went out of his was to scorn him.

He hates the guy, but we know he didn't actually kill him. Nobody believed him wheb he said s(, though.

His cultivation was utterly ruined by the cultivation his demonic master had taught him but still he was able to form a golden core, archieve inmortality and rise to the position of Peak Lord.

He was seen as a lecherous, pedophile man, when in reality he was an abuse victim who seeked confort in the hug of a prostitute when he couldn't sleep. He loved Ning YingYing (how could he not, when he took her in when she wasn't that powerful, took Luo Binghe in just for her, never one punished her for her mistakes?).

And yes, he abused Binghe. I don't think we can except him from that. But Binghe's revenge was way, way worse.

And Shen Jiu never stopped being that slave child in an abusive household, he never felt truly calm in Qing Jing peak (how could he be with that overly sharp and cold attitute, keeping everyone at arm's lenght. That obssesive need to appear as an elegant, unfazable inmortal and not the street rat that used to beg for food. Hiw he hated tough abd truly despised everyone, only soft in presence of women bc only then he didn't feel fear).

At the end he probably died the way he had feared the most in his life. Taken down once again, strippwd of everything, the tortured kid once again, reliving his own personal hell.

Qi-Ge dead bc of scum like him. Cang Qiong burnt to ashes bc of him.

And in the canon story, the alternative version of his life, Shen Yuan appears. With none of his scars and none of his pain. And everyone loves him as if nothing had changed. Everyone ui happier. Not even Qi-Ge realizes that this is not his Xiao-Jiu. Like the only posibility of a happy ending, a happy world can only exist if there's no Shen Jiu in it.

Honestly Shen Jiu's life is so sad. He really, truly, utterly deserved better.

[cybernaght]

Guardian rewatch: Episode 3

First of all, wow. When I decided to post those online, I was expecting that they would be read by two people, both of whom I personally know. It was in equal part surprising and terrifying that so many of you ventured here. Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. 

Episode 3 is probably my favourite case. It’s not perfectly strung together, there is little actual investigative work in it, but it’s a beautiful story of boundless love and devotion, which echoes through the relationship between our protagonists

Professor Shen is looking at some materials that are looking suspiciously like research into something supernatural, when Zhang Ruonan makes an appearance at his office, claiming that she is absolutely fine, while clearly being very far away from fine. This is something Shen Wei can certainly relate to, because he is the king of hiding his ailments from others. 

Zhu Hong’s one-sided affection for Zhao Yunlan starts to show already in this episode:  while he has the cold, she nags him to take care of himself, shoves tissues into his hands, and presses him to drink his meds. It’s easy to imagine even this early on that she will be the woman drunk dialling him one day. 

I know this could be seen as straightbaiting, but I honestly thing that the actual purpose it serves in the show is the opposite; I’ll talk more about it when we get there.

Zhao Yunlan spends a lot of this episode in Shen Wei’s office, starting with this scene, in which is obviously flexing. Not only does he sneeze all over the office, he goes to eat Shen Wei’s cake after specifically being told not to eat it.  He also takes his opportunity to mix questioning with flirting, as is his usual way. He keeps eye contact while spooning cake into his mouth, as he explains, jovially, that another mysterious death on his campus cannot possibly be a coincidence. And, to be fair, he is not really wrong. We are meant to believe that this is all set in motion by Zhu Jiu, aka the least scary villain in the history of villainy, and an owner of your staple baby goth wig. I will not mention him again until the plot makes it impossible for me not to do so. 

Zhang Ruonan comes in, and Zhao Yunlan introduces himself as Shen Wei’s good friend. Which is half-way between a flex and an act of kindness. On one hand, he could have said he was from the police - which would be absolutely true - and risk tarnishing the professor’s good name. On the other hand, he could probably look less pleased with himself. Shen Wei, at the very least, looks neither grateful, nor amused. 

Zhao Yunlan asks her if she new the victim and she looks incredibly shifty as she flees. He is right to think that something is up, and he correctly assumes trauma, rather than guilt. We can now start to see that he is very very good at reading people. It must be equal parts thrilling and disconcerting for him to have met something who he decisively cannot read. Shen Wei vouches for the woman, partly, surely, because his Hei Pao Shi sense is tingling, letting him know that someone is eavesdropping. 

Despite feeling uneasy, Shen Wei still offers Guo Changcheng, who is left to collect various paperwork from his desk, a little smile. He has a reason to like Xiao Guo, of course: he was the one to see the young man’s kindness and understanding, and he is already growing protective of him, way before he will start seeing members of the special unit as his people. This reminds me of how many months later, he will subtly, but decisively stop a barrage of verbal abuse against Xiao Guo by dropping a pair of chopsticks. 

Zhao Yunlan is taking Xiao Guo with him on the case rather than anyone else, partly, supposedly, because of Guo Changcheng’s familial connections. The young man looks more sure of himself, asking correct questions, dutifully records answers. He also tries to look after his Chief by asking him to go home and rest. He does phrase it badly, but Zhao Yunlan has a thing against his own health and well-being, so he reacts extra poorly.

Soon after, Zhao Yunlan’s at Shen Wei’s office yet again, as Shen Wei tries his best to ignore him, in the hope that he… well, maybe not goes away, but does not ask him anything that will require him lying. Instead, Zhao Yunlan is asking Shen Wei why he is bad at reading people, which is a very strange thing to ask. Shen Wei answers his question with a question, “Will seeing through people really lessen the hurt and disappointment?” Adding, “Many tragedies were destined from the beginning”. He looks well.. like this as he says it. 

This is loaded. On first glance, it’s a pretty good set-up to the way this story will unfold, as a tragedy of two individuals who let their devotion to each other nearly ruin each other’s life. A fragile human and a dangerous powered Undergroundian: what else is that, but a tragedy, waiting to happen? But this story - this one right in front of us - will not end tragically, at least not for the two people it enters around. It could do so, but it will not. Maybe, this truly is the first hint that this entire narrative, so carefully set up from the very first time Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei meet, is destined to be a tragedy. Moreover, that it must be one, for some cosmic reason. 

(… I apologise while I go have a little cry in the corner. Damn you, Guardian, why do you make me hurt so much?)

Da Qing inexplicably morphs from black cat to a human in white t-shirt while doing night shadowing, and promptly falls asleep on patrol. Why is he being sent to stake anyone out? He is least suitable for it.  He is literally a cat. He sleeps 16 hours a day. 

Surprisingly, when pressed, Zhang Ruonan comes clean very easily, revealing that she was a victim of the three students she failed (two of which are already dead and one one standing right next to them), who lured her out at night, which left her vulnerable to be attacked. Zhao Yunlan listens to this story, and instead of… oh I don’t know, perhaps asking her the identity of the third student, leaves to go find that out for himself. It is heavily implied that he does it on purpose, which is definitely not okay.  

Moreover, he goes and... asks Shen Wei. This makes me suspect that he’s not really thinking with his head at this point. As he does so, he is brandishing a letter opener. 

Shen Wei is looking even less impressed with him than he did during their last few conversations. 

Zhao Yunlan is a little bit flippant when it comes to students’ lives this episode. And yes, they have done something really quite horrible to another human being, but that's not a very good excuse to let the last of them just die. As it happens, the situation Yunlan created - perhaps on purpose - did lure out Zhao Ruonan’s murder girlfriend, but it also cost a student his life. Which is far from ideal, but is somehow never even mentioned. Instead of being aghast, he sits on the table as he goes into full interrogation mode. (As he will continue to do a lot. Sometimes he crouches on tables instead. There is no further point here, apart from: I like this character quirk. It’s a nice character quirk.)

He brings some of his team in at this point, and asks Zhu Hong to continue interrogation. It would be a nice gesture is he did not interject two questions in. 

“How do you regard your relationship with Wang Yike?”

“We are family.”

They are definitely, decisively not going for sisterly bond here. Which is kind of incredible. This is one of the moments the amorphous being that show is looks at the censors, wiggles its battered low budget eyebrows at them, and then proceeds to flip them off. Well done, Guardian. 

Wang Yike calls Zhang Ruonan, saying there is one more victim she needs to take care of, and Lin Jing traces the call back to campus. Zhao Yunlan, who did not even bat an eyelid at a dead student earlier, now looks decisively worried  

“Oh no. Professor Shen.” 

The only reason Shen Wei is attacked is jealousy. Wang Yike does not know this of course, but trying to kill him is a bad move, because a) he has long ago given his heart away, and is definitely not interested; b) this is probably the only thing she could do to make the man on the case very very upset; c) Shen Wei’s immune to her powers. 

“Someone like you will never understand what she means to me!” Wang Yike shouts eventually. “As long as I can protect her, my life has worth!” And, even as Wang Yike has no way of knowing it, these are the words that ultimately save both her and her loved one. Because Shen Wei does in fact understand what Zhang Ruonan means to her. His own endless and ultimately self-destructive devotion is his main driving force.

Shen Wei pretends to be hurt, again, which earns him a half-hug from the object of his devotion. If Zhao Yunlan does notice that Shen Wei should really come out of this attack grey haired and dead, and not just mildly inconvenienced, he chooses not to say anything. 

Worried about her murder girlfriend, Zhang Ruonan rushes in and accidentally touches her. Zhao Yunlan Freaks The Hell Out. Shen Wei does, too, but in his own, reserved, way. They are both emotionally invested in those two people, although for very different reasons: Shen Wei is acutely feeling resonance of his own past in their story, and Zhao Yunlan, I think, wants to fix it, he wants to be able to make it better. Instead, Shen Wei fixes it for him, turning the tide on this tragedy, and giving it a happy ending. He heals Zhang Ruonan right in front of the officers of SID, albeit with much subtlety. (“Have someone saved her right under our noses?” Zhu Hong will snort the very same evening, and she will be 100% correct.)

Shen Wei also lets Wang Yike go despite the undeniable fact that she did kill three people. Here, he is looking at the picture of this human/Undergroundian couple, surviving despite all odds, and touches his only reminder that Kunlun really was in his life. 

He then burns the picture as the only evidence that Wang Yike was not punished by him for her crimes. 

In the end, Guo Chengcheng is making first of his many diary notes about the events, recounting a conversation between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan we had not witnessed, in which Shen Wei mentioned a relationship based on devotion that can last a thousand years, and Zhao Yunlan called such a relationship “guarding”. Finally, Guo Changcheng hopes that he can become a guardian of all. 

And this is making me think that this absolutely should be a set-up for him becoming a wick of the guardian lantern, as per every single other decision that was made prior to the last two episodes. Right? This is a perfect foreshadowing, and mentioning it here, so early in the show would not make any sense if it were a deliberate subversion. So, was Guo Changcheng meant to become the wick after all before... what, some rewrites happened? What made the final episode be what it was in the end?

(This is a genuine question by that way, if anyone has any insight on the matter.)

The episode would end here, if this was a western show, with a familiar monster of the week structure, but it does not. At least, the way it ends is reminiscent of a cliffhanger, with Zhao Yunlan catching Shen Wei in a middle of a crime scene, and looking betrayed. 

Next episode: Lynchian Nightmare, aka people without faces. 

PS.

I did not have a seamless way to stick this in anywhere but... Shen Wei’s technological ineptness at the max: he does not know how to use a Polaroid camera. Help him, he is so lost.

——

Second point of housekeeping to say a few things: 

I don’t think I will be consistent with certain things being transliterated versus translated. I am more likely to use Hei Pao Shi rather than Black Cloak Envoy (because the later reminds me of Tuxedo Mask, which makes me inwardly giggle every time) but at the same time I am also more likely to use Underground/Undergroundian rather than Dixing/Dixingren. I am more likely to use Xiao rather than Little, but have called Chu Old rather than Lao before. I hope that’s not grating, but do tell me if it is

My recaps are Shen Wei-heavy. I have no real explanation for this, apart from.. I like Shen Wei. 

I realise that there will definitely be things here that are head canon and speculation rather than flat observations; this show is a work of fiction and a work of art, which cannot be interpreted objectively. If you have alternate takes on anything I write in the future, let me know!