#poor mu qingfang is just like

[sunderwight]

Considering how popular Qijiu and Liujiu are as a ships, and that a lot of people seem to headcanon Liu Qingge as having at least crushed on Yue Qingyuan for a while, I'm surprised there aren't more throuple/OT3 fics for them.

I mean not actually because it would be such a bad idea. They would have so many problems. There would be so many hurdles, like even just getting two of these guys to hookup usually involves some degree of truth serum or cosmic intervention or fuck-or-die scenarios, but embroiling all three of them in something like that would just let their bizarro brain worms thrive. Each of them is convinced that they are somehow the third wheel. Shen Jiu thinks that the only thing stopping Liu Qingge from plotting to kill him is that he's not clever enough to plot, and that Yue Qingyuan is enduring his inclusion under sufferance of guilt. Liu Qingge thinks that Shen Jiu is definitely actively plotting to kill him to get him out of the way, and that Yue Qingyuan is enduring his inclusion under sufferance of guilt. Yue Qingyuan is sure that any day now Liu Qingge and Shen Jiu are going to figure out that they're actually perfect for one another and then eject him from the polycule. They are all not speaking to each other but also regularly having furniture-shattering sex. Despite everything, the sex improves their dispositions so much that none of the other peak lords dare to intervene.

[rox-of-iu]

ayo guys guess what time it is again :)) 💜💜

spoiler warning for cultivate ch 41-46

hehe finally scrambled brain enough to be able to catch up and cultivate makes me go 🥰🥰😌🤗😊😊

cultivate of course by @neonghostcat beloved

[nibbelraz]

ive been really tempted for ages to write a fic from mu qingfang's pov about how sqh's injuries gradually get more and worse. trying to subtly approach the subject, leaving certain medicines within easy stealing access. desperately trying to talk about it when he comes in one day with a dislocated shoulder, a shattered elbow, and an arm broken in two places. hes just clumsy! he fell down the stairs! nothing to worry about shidi everythings fine! he said its fine. stop. asking. questions. please.

Mu Qingfang is so worried about him, He's really only trying to help and Shang Qinghua definitely seems the type to just straight up not go to the doctors if he can help it so he probably had WAYY more injuries that he hid

Shang Qinghua definitely would just laugh it off like "I'm fine. Im fine! I do so much work I'm bound to get an injury here and there!" Except he's been continously getting injured and to such a degree it's CONCERNING

I would love to see a fic about a concerned Mu Qingfang trying his best to help the resident god that can't seem to control his shit very well

[prince-liest]

more self-indulgent jgy abo headcanons

I read a fic so long ago that I no longer remember the fandom nor characters involved, but the thing about it that really stuck in my mind was that it was an abo-verse fic that used the concept that omegas have an ingrained biological need for physical (including platonic) affection, to the point where “touch-starvation” was a medical diagnosis

this is obviously extremely up my alley for ALL my blorbos, but consider jin guangyao in particular:

unlike the usual ‘omega pretending to be a beta’ trope, I think that once he is established at jinlintai, he would not really try to let people assume that he’s a beta. being an omega leads people not only into underestimating him, but also into offering him a certain degree of safety in providing a veil of stereotype-associated demureness, placidity, etc. it is more to his benefit for people to see him as a polite young man, perhaps even one who, yes, is a war hero - but people can’t quite imagine what kinds of things he must have done for that. surely nothing too bad.

but at the same time, this is the character who couldn't even serve tea to people as nie mingjue’s deputy without people making a show of wiping off their fingers after touching the cups. people know he is an omega, people judge him for being an omega on top of all the other things he is already judged for, but I suspect that most of the relevant and appropriate people in jinlintai avoid touching him unless absolutely necessary. in a world where casual contact is thoroughly commonplace just due to the socialities set up by their biology, jin guangyao has a personal space bubble of like 2-3 feet because he's the dirty son of a prostitute.

he walks through the halls, ostensibly the second young master of the tower, and feels like he is drowning in the physical manifestation of loneliness.

who does he have left? family? jin zixuan is not close to him, and frankly is likely an alpha raised by alphas to whom it would not even occur to that such needs need to be minded. jin guangshan certainly is aware, but is using it as leverage, allowing and denying contact as he see fits to manipulate jin guangyao the same way he does with his fatherly affection. there are his sworn brothers, but his relationship with nie mingjue is fraught: certainly da-ge wouldn’t withhold contact as punishment or leverage, but that doesn’t mean he wants to touch jin guangyao anymore, nor does he really understand how the necessity of it feels when he grew up with nie huaisang, an omega who has never been shy about taking whatever affection he wants. and er-ge... he just isn’t around enough.

lan xichen is still the best option, and by the time they have the opportunities to see each other, jin guangyao is pressing nails into his palms to stop from just plastering himself up against lan xichen’s side, which surely would be humiliating for both of them. but still, he’s so aware of it any time they’re in the same room, meting out as many small touches as he can get away with without embarrassing himself. lan xichen slips his fingers over jin guangyao’s wrists as he pulls him up from a bow, intending warm affection. jin guangyao doesn’t want to let him know that it feels like being allowed to gasp for a single breath of air before his head is shoved back underwater.

(with nie mingjue, it is worse. da-ge is just as aware as jin guangyao is when they touch, but for all the worst reasons.)

it is the strangest blessing whenever jin guangyao sees nie huaisang. it’s embarrassing, a little - the knowledge that nie huaisang understands, unlike most people in jin guangyao’s life. but nie huaisang takes that embarrassment onto his own self willingly, never hesitating before making a fool of himself in the way that only a terminally younger brother can, and simply flinging himself into his san-ge’s arms. it’s nostalgic, too: nie mingjue isn’t quite so aware of how important touch is with how proactive nie huaisang can be, and so during his days as deputy, it was often nie huaisang who gave meng yao what he could not ask for.

the cultivators at jinlintai look down on him just as the ones in the unclean realm did, but now there is no willing young master to soothe away the tangible, physical ache of it. more often than not, jin guangyao tucks his hands into his sleeves to hide the way his fingertips shake.

anyway this is my petition for jiang yanli to take two looks at this situation and promptly wrinkle her brows just the slightest amount, expressing quiet concern to jin zixuan that it’s strange how she doesn’t see anybody touch his half-brother very much, does she? and jin zixuan is a little confused, a little embarrassed, a little off-balance - he doesn’t feel close enough to jin guangyao to be that casual, but he’s an alpha, he doesn’t get it until jiang yanli explains to him, with a beta’s patience, the value of family bonds to an omega as well as jin zixuan’s responsibility as a brother (older brother? younger? his father claims older, but there’s no way to truly know - ), and isn’t it wonderful, having a little brother?

and then someone pats jin guangyao over the head until he’s feeling a little less strung-thin and out of options, he realizes he has to keep jin zixuan and jiang yanli alive lest he actually lose his mind (sympathy for da-ge? oh no...), and etc etc things end happily ever after, the end, QED.

[namwool]

fave shen jiu fics? i need to read more of him!

I'm incredibly sorry for answering so late!

I made a list with everything I've read and liked so far, hope this helps and can somehow make it up for my lateness! I tried to link the fics but tumblr is being a little bitch, so I had to remove them.

Also, this list includes smut as well, make sure to read the tags!

Liujiu (This is my fave couple, I dream of them like 24/7)

Ongoing

Twin Lotus by s_unfl0wer

The Orchid Grows Where Others Cannot by Iwannabe_lieve

The Wrath Of The War God by NazakiSama166

Devotion by NazakiSama166

Through The Well by NazakiSama166

To You On The Other Side by blackflowertea

Completed

'til death do us part by blackflowertea

The Sword And His Shield by blackflowertea

reluctant romance by backspacedintooblivion (Evil_and_I_know_it) 

Bamboozled Into Parenthood by Renyo 

Surrender by xpityx (Restricted)

Would you dual cultivate with me? by FakeAlice

talking is hard by technorat

Curse of the Black Moon Flower by cannon_fodder

skyfire circle by mercurials

night time, hide my eyes by technorat

One Night of Sleep by Otno (restricted)

Flower of Fondness by mohuji (togaki) (restricted)

Tainting You by scumshizun

A Necessary Darkness by xpityx (restricted)

push furniture in front of the door by formerlyknives (restricted)

Je te laisserai des mots by xnemone (restricted)

Utterance by EasternWarrior

spar with me by revesdelimonade

best laid plans by revesdelimonade 

My annoying demon by FakeAlice

forever and ever and ever and ever by pennydaniels

Mamazun by shorimochi

An unexpected visitor by Parmse

Traces by shypersomniac

Give Me Your Best Scripts by Dandesamm

Guide Dog by FakeAlice

a trip around the ninth sun by ectocosme (restricted)

hustling for the good life by Chesra

Jingwei by xnemone (restricted)

Indebted by UmbrellaMartialGod

it's that talk again by revesdelimonade

you and i by backspacedintooblivion (Evil_and_I_know_it)

it’s a crime you’re not around most of the time by backspacedintooblivion (Evil_and_I_know_it)

Loving You is Easy by Anonymous

uh... you fight good. by saccharinings

behind the scenes and be vulnerable by Anzie (anzie)

The Downfall of Cang Qiong by Anonymous

Sweet Nectar by Anonymous

altar by fencesit

your long tongue runs along my heart by ectocosme (restricted)

The War God's Redo by GT_GoldenTrashbag

Convenience by Phnx

A Poor Choice Of Words by Pancakes_With_No_Clean_Fryingpans

Comfort by xpityx (restricted)

LiuJiu Week 2022 , Promise , Rewritten by xpityx ( all 3 restricted)

like real people do by revesdelimonade

This Omega Just Want His Off Days by shorimochi

In This World by Ehann

tag team carry romance by Chesra

an open/shut case by Chesra 

Alcohol Free by Dandesamm

make sure i die first by pennydaniels

we should stick together by pennydaniels

you're my best friend, i'll love you forever by pennydaniels

Autumn Leaves by dead_leaves_fall_like_tears

Mirror of Truth by dead_leaves_fall_like_tears

Affection curse by FakeAlice

BREAKING NEWS by mohuji (togaki) (restricted)

be good to me by pennydaniels

As the West Wind Blows by demoniqt (restricted)

to tell you the truth by leviiio

Look Into The Mirror And What Did You See? by Invidia_Envy

you got a way (of making me feel insane) by backspacedintooblivion (Evil_and_I_know_it)

Gold Amidst Snow by ClearAutumnVibes

Evil Blankets and Senseless Shidis (These Maddening Delights Have Surprising Ends) by I_dont_know_anything_im_sorry

Marital Bliss by Aledono

Who had you was? I yes you would by technorat

Opposite by Ehann

Two Peak Lords Walk Into A Flower Field (you won't believe what happened next!) by Space_Samurai

Secondary When Compared To You by I_dont_know_anything_im_sorry

Old Ghosts Haunt These Hallowed Grounds by xnemone 

Mu Qingfang / Shen Jiu (this one is kinky. You've been warned.)

Just what the doctor ordered by Space_Samurai

In the carriage by Sakuja

Poisonous Love or Mu Qingfang is a psycho bastard by Sakuja

Doctor's orders by Anonymous

Too Much But Not Enough by Anonymous

healer's prescription by ectocosme (restricted)

etch me a third eye to see deeper by ectocosme

make it hurt by technorat

Shen Yuan / Shen Jiu (This one is my guilty pleasure.)

Almost Perfect by kiseki_pop 

Taboo by Anonymous

Captive by Anonymous

five times shizunyuan couldn't get off by YandereDay

I (26m) drank my best friend’s (28f) breast milk by Kasasagi (restricted)

the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated by zigur_zig_ah

Romancing the Villain for Dummies by Chesra

You're the pink in my cheeks (And I'm scared 'cause that means I'm a little bit soft) by BambooSpirit (restricted)

One Thing or Another by Ilthit

the places where others gave you scars by Blue_tea06, Chesra, SteamingOwl

I Don't Take Insults Lightly by D20Owlbear (restricted)

Perfectionist Complex by YandereDay

Dear You by YandereDay

A coat of copper and a bamboo fan by BambooSpirit (restricted)

Press A to romance the Scum Villain by BambooSpirit (restricted)

Tianlang-jun / Shen Jiu (The potential of this couple is honestly amazing.)

Tie Me Down by Anonymous

Seducing the Villain's Father by demoniqt (restricted)

Remarried Empress by demoniqt (restricted)

True Treasure by MissMegh

Spread your Wings by Araceil (restricted)

Gongyi Xiao / Shen Jiu (Cute. That's all I have to say about them.)

Home is With You by Anonymous

Plum Blossom by hasa3810 

Honey Sweet by jeejaschocolate

Because I admire you Master Shen by IrisEvergreen

The Love Letter by shorimochi

Qiu Jianluo / Shen Jiu (pls don't judge me for this one, I am desperate for more Shen Jiu content.)

Mend, Scar by Anonymous

a whiff of coffee and healing, by im_sevenn

Dirty Laundry by im_sevenn

My Life in Your Hands by shorimochi

Target Captured by Anonymous

An unlikely savior by Midnight_illusi0n (not really Qiujiu, but I kinda hope??)

Xiu Ya / Shen Jiu (listen... desperate times calls for desperate measures, ok?)

I've only got Xiao Jiu for one day and if something happened to him I would kill everyone. Period by ectocosme

Through The Time by Invidia_Envy

Bingjiu (.... I have no excuse for this one. I am terribly ashamed.)

What it Means to Fall by xnemone  (restricted)

youtiao by revesdelimonade

The Touch Of Your Hands, The Taste Of Your Lips by mercury_retrograde

Finally by Shireyaki

Spring Flowers by xpityx (restricted)

an inch of longing, an inch of ash by xpityx (restricted)

bigger, not better by backspacedintooblivion (Evil_and_I_know_it)

Matrimony by spearpoint

The Court of the Night King by 1V1

to break your teeth on love by dearly_anonymous (restricted)

Tale as Old as Time by mrblank8l, shorimochi

When the puppy met a little snake by FakeAlice

Satisfaction Guaranteed, I'm Your Sunshine by YandereDay

Where He Cannot Follow by bloodsongs

No thank you, next! by singlewheelrolling

The Adventure of Bingpup and his Tsundere Shizun by CrazyNekoChan

It's Not Much, Goodness Knows by Anonymous

You are not alone, not anymore by Elis98

Through the Looking Glass by FarawayDreamer (restricted)

and perhaps the greatest grief is being left in a universe where you are gone by sweetlolixo

the hands of fate (my achilles' heel) by Chesra

Soft Skills by beelzebaozi

Smug Kitten's Splurge-Spending System by Anonymous

I didn't put it on the list because it's the most popular and easier to find through the tags, but Yinhua is also one of my faves.

I think I covered everything?

If anyone has anymore suggestions for some other fics I can read, please let me know!!

[xieliansbignaturals]

I'm still thinking about Ye Olde MXTX Crossover T4T Meetup.

Hua Cheng is wearing a different pronoun pin and a different outfit every time you look at xem. Just having so much fun with shapeshifting. The one consistent thing about her is how lovingly he's looking at Xie Lian, whose Just Some Guy energy is off the charts.

Shen Qingqiu insists that she only came to support Luo Binghe. That's also the reason behind the she/her pronoun pin, which she picked up just in case Luo Binghe was the only one using those pronouns and felt left out. And, you guessed it, yes, that's why she's been on fantasy HRT for several years. It would be so cruel to let poor Binghe go through that alone!

Wei Wuxian hasn't figured out she's trans yet, but the pronoun pins were her invention. She's attending as an ally to support Lan Wangji, who does not want to be here, and Jiang Yanli, who is very happy to meet other people like himself and Jin Zixuan.

Shi Qingxuan and Nie Huaisang have bonded over their shared enjoyment of fans and chaos. Banyue is talking with Zhuzhi-lang about how great snakes are. Mu Qingfang has set up a little table talking about medical transition options for those who can't shapeshift, and is happy to talk about his own experiences.

The Liu siblings didn't come because being trans, to them, is like being born as a 5lb baby instead of an 8lb baby: completely mundane, why do you need a meetup? Mobei-jun feels similarly. Shang Qinghua is too busy with paperwork, but maybe he'll make the next one. He Xuan refuses to admit that they have anything going on with their gender, and they have no motivation to attend a social event anyway. Nie Mingjue is unfortunately otherwise occupied. Jun Wu is not attending for multiple reasons.

Pei Ming attempted to attend as an "ally", but got bored and left when the only person who wanted to sleep with him was some lizard-headed dude from Ghost City. Better luck next time, Pei Ming.

[scholomancefan]

Hihii, here with a bit late prompt delivery 🚚

Bingqiu + Gifts

OR

Bingqiu + Beach Day

Thank you for your prompt! Sorry for the delay, I'm not very good at tumblr... Hopefully it'll go smoother next week ^-^;

Shen Qingqiu looked out across the water at Ning Yingying, sternly disapproving. Ning Yingying registered none of it, and continued to splash and play in the sparkling water of the ocean. Gentle waves lapped at her ankles as she frolicked. When she saw Shen Qingqiu looking, she moved deeper into the water.

Ning Yingying! Do you not care if Luo Binghe gets sunburned?!

Shen Qingqiu cared, which was why he was currently rubbing white medicinal creams into Luo Binghe’s shoulders. 

“Mnh, mnh, Shizun,” Luo Binghe made happy little noises as Shen Qingqiu smoothed white lotion over tan skin. 

“Almost done,” Shen Qingqiu reassured Luo Binghe, moving down Luo Binghe’s back and carefully tracing the knobs of his spine. “I just want to make sure I don’t miss any spots.”

Shen Qingqiu was straddling Luo Binghe, who was lying facedown on a towel in the hot sand. The sunshine beat down on them both–perfect weather for a day at the beach, but also terrible for Luo Binghe’s latest weakness.

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t sure why Luo Binghe’s skin was so prone to sunburn. It hadn’t featured at all in Proud Immortal Demon Way, but then perhaps Airplane had just left those bits out. It did sort of wreck the impressive image of Luo Binghe, PIDW protagonist and Emperor of the Three Realms, to know that the last time Qing Jing Peak had made a trip to the beach Luo Binghe had gotten so badly sunburnt he had turned lobster red.

Shen Qingqiu had needed to spend *days* applying xianxia-aloe to every bit of Luo Binghe’s skin–and even some bits Shen Qingqiu was shocked were exposed enough to burn. And poor Binghe whimpering the whole time! 

Shen Qingqiu was *not* going to let his poor bun suffer so again, not on his watch! He would instead diligently apply Mu Qingfang-approved sunscreen to Luo Binghe twice a shi, to be absolutely completely certain his precious disciple would not be hurt again!

Shen Qingqiu slipped his fingers under the waistband of Luo Binghe’s swim trunks to make sure that he got lotion in that seam where the fabric ended. Luo Binghe made more little sounds at this, probably enjoying the massage he was getting. He had turned very quickly into a happy little puddle, and was now more relaxed than Shen Qingqiu had ever seen him. Shen Qingqiu was happy for the chance to spoil Luo Binghe like this. Luo Binghe worked too hard!

Ah, but this was why it should have been one of Luo Binghe’s future wives applying the sunscreen! Shen Qingqiu shot Ning Yingying another despairing glance. She ignored him again and launched a wave of water at Ming Fan, drenching him and making him splutter. No help there.

The swimwear everyone wore was entirely inappropriate for traditional xianxia, but as Proud Immortal Demon Way had degraded into basically just porn, standard swimwear was just tiny scraps of fabric. Luo Binghe had so much skin to cover! Shen Qingqiu finished by rubbing lotion on backs of Luo Binghe’s thighs.

There. That was enough, and Luo Binghe could get the rest.

“And now Binghe, you can do mine,” Shen Qingqiu said, passing Luo Binghe the bottle and getting off of him.

“Yes, Shizun!” Luo Binghe said, rising to crouch next to Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu looked closely at Luo Binghe–he seemed like he was turning red already! Mu Qingfang’s sunscreen seemed pretty ineffective, Shen Qingqiu would have to reapply it *very* frequently. Perhaps four times a shi.

“Let me add a bit more to your face first,” Shen Qingqiu insisted.

Luo Binghe closed his eyes and leaned in eagerly, a bright smile on his face.

[koipalm]

HI YES HELLO HI HI HIHI HIHIHIHIHI. HI. SORRY, I'M TRYING TO PROCESS. YOUR. SY ASSISTANT AU. Hey. Hi. I'm in love with it. I'm in love with your au. I keep thinking of the hijinks that Shen Yuan gets into with the other peak lords. I'm sorry, but I'm going to ramble about it - if anything, it's all your fault for making such a brilliant AU. Shoot me down if I'm wrong about any headcanons I'm making about it, but teeheeheeehehehehehee. Okay, so first, thinking about Xian Shu peak. Because Shen Yuan is so irrevocably fruity that, when other guys could be being creepy over the girls upon the peak, Shen Yuan is just trying to stay upright and not pass out because of the ✨gay thoughts✨ that stop him from sleeping. The girls could even find him sweet in the way you see a dishevelled rat and go "awww!", whereas Qi Qingqi just occasionally nudges him with her foot to make sure he isn't dead. Next, next, Liu Mingyuan. The chaotic shipper herself. She sees Shen Yuan glancing at Liu Qingge occasionally and just cracks her knuckles like, "oh, this is is going to make a great book series" and, in typical fashion, starts writing everything. She, at one point, writes Shen Qingqiu as a love rival, which is something that Shang Qinghua holds over poor Shen Yuan's head forever. Liu Mingyuan is the kind of gal that has locked Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge in close quarters together just so she can make new writing about it later. Liu Qingge, who sees this pathetic blob of a man sometimes dragging himself around the different peaks (usually in spirit but, on a couple of very strange occasions, literally), has no idea where Shen Yuan came from. So, after asking his sister, he decides to ask the man himself - in what he thinks is a very normal fashion. Shen Yuan, however, sees Liu Qingge (terrifying Peak Lord of Bai Zhan) storming towards him and promptly cornering him, and just passes out. Hands down. After this, he is utterly baffled. When Mu Qingfang asks (read: scolds) about it during what can be described as a supply drop, Liu Qingge is treated to a lecture that is basically "Shen Yuan is like a little mouse whose heart will give out at any moment because he doesn't take care of himself." Liu Qingge listens and hears "Shen Qingqiu bad." It's not like he's actually trying to steal Shen Yuan in any sense of the word, he just likes the little mouse not looking ready to pass out (he would definitely force a cup of tea into the man before he lets him leave, because he's helping right? Toootally.) I did say I would ramble...I did say I would- (Sorry, I just love love love it)

thank u so much for liking it!! im actually really blown away that this many people like the au it was very simple when i thought abt it <3

& unfortunately (& i probably should have specified earlier my bad lol) shen yuan has a lot of fraught relationships with the other cang qiong cultivators! most won't say it to his face but plenty think he's putting on an act or scheming with sqq and because of how close he and sqq work he can't escape sqq's reputation in the sect. a lot of the disciples from xian shu peak actively despise him for working under sqq, while qi qingqi herself is suspicious but mostly ambivalent. liu mingyan is reserved because she eventually sees lqg and sy get along fine, and she would have a lot of fun with his stupid humor. lqg is ALSO mostly ambivalent to him bc of sqq but they grow closer together due to proximity. his whole confusion on sqq and sy's relationship would have to be a completely new post lawl

that being said shen yuan is actually fairly close to mu qingfang in a coworkers way in that mqf actively worries after his health but he's mostly unwilling to interfere in sy and sqq's relationship due to fear of retaliation. all in all i find it really fun to take the popular views on shen yuan and his relationships and make them more complicated SORRYY my bad i just think its really interesting ^^ it's not to say that he won't ever have friends its just that i think cang qiong mountain has a whole host of problems they should address and im having fun with it HAHA

[roseunspindle]

Shen Qingqiu's harem (Binghe did his best!)

Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu manage to communicate better (by accident) (Shen Qingqiu may have been drugged (Zhuzhi-lang? Hualing? random wife plot that got way ahead of itself?) and so started crying when he saw his precious student again and kept squishing his "cute little face" asking him to not kill him because he didn't want to push him into the abyss but the system said he'd die which he should have for his sweet little bun but he knew Binghe would live....) Binghe is overjoyed that Shizun doesn't hate him and figures details are unimportant (and confusing).

Shen Qingqiu does take a bit to come around to the "Binghe wants me bad and I kinda want him back."

At some point Binghe has been approached by various demons and cultivators who want him to make a harem. Binghe is like "how dare, Shizun is enough for me"... but the cogs in his fluffy head start turning.

Shizun is amazing and perfect and has gone through so much! He deserves to be adored and worshipped!

(Also if he makes his Shizun a proper harem then that makes him the first husband and head of the harem so take that Liu Qingge)

Binghe starts with Liu Qingge and Mu Qingfang, both would be advantageous (and loyal) matches for his A-yuan.

He does not ask Yue Qingyuan at first...but after the poor man kept wafting about the Bamboo Cottage after hearing of Luo Binghe's plans, Binghe approaches and explains briefly about Shen Yuan and that he was not Shen Jiu.

(Yue Qingyuan wants to hate himself...for agreeing. For accepting even this, for all he knows, knows this man is not Shen Jiu...) (yet he is so dear, those eyes unburdened by things past...

Liu Qingge wonders if he's always going to be one breath away from a qi deviation now. First that wretched beast fights him, then informs him that due to his loss he will now become Shen Qingqiu's husband/concubine... that accounts for two but the rest...well...he not only has the thought of actually being in contact/touching Shen Qingqiu (so many near qi deviations) but then he'll actually...they'll he'll see. He'll there will be...touching....

Mu Qingfang is aware that Luo Binghe just wants him...closer to Shen Qingqiu. He's honestly willing though and well...if the Peak Lord of Qing Jing peak is going to keep coming up with new peril...having a closer relationship is only advantageous. (Nothing at all to do with long dark hair or playful eyes...oh no.)

Gongyi Xiao give's Binghe the equivalent of an apllication. The former/current first disiciple of Huan Hua Palace has become a tad jaded towards his sect. He does not resent being supplanted, Luo Binghe is superior to him that is simple, but Little Palace Mistress...her behavior, her abrupt switch from hanging on his arm and spending time in his company to Luo Binghe's...the truths of Luo Binghe's mother and father and how the Old Palace Master treated them... Being so easily replaced hurts. Not in exact positions but in affections. Also that one he had honored long could act so dishonoroably... Senior Shen is always a breath of fresh air when he meets him, the man's mourning his disciple...his open declaration of his wrong to said disciple... his manor of conduct (when not drugged out of his mind) Gongyi Xiao feels that whereever Senior Shen places his regard an affection, there it will stay. Perhaps he must share...but he will never be replaced.

Zhuzhi Lang can barely breathe over how happy he is. To be offered the opportunity to honor and appreciate Master Shen as he should be! To apporach him honeslty!

Tianlang-Jun remains miffed his son doesn't invite him. What could be more bonding than being co-concubines?

Mobei-Jun almost says no. He is not interested in sharing. Yet...he is not doing well in getting Shang Qingghua to understand his advances

Airplane can only squeak in shock but finds himself agreeing. (look, his king already said yes...and cucumber-bro really works that immortal cultivator thing)

Sha Hualing ends up the first female in it by sheer force of throwing a tempertantrum that she hadn't been invited and wailing at Shen Qingqiu that she had awesome tits! That he'd seen! (She's also pleased that besides Binghe she's the first one personally invited by him and ignores that she forced/brow beat her way in...)

Bing-ge shows up and finds himself absorbed into a harem. He... finds himself a bit more understanding of his numerous wives complaints. Who knows if he stays or heads off to find his own personal shen yuan...

[sunderwight]

Shen Yuan who glitches in his transmigration, but the original Shen Qingqiu still dies of a qi deviation.

So the System still needs someone with narrative relevance to throw Luo Binghe into the Abyss. In a fit of desperation, it contrives circumstances after Shen Qingqiu's death to move Luo Binghe to An Ding Peak (not that difficult), and then the System makes Shang Qinghua be Luo Binghe's new scum master who casts him down.

Airplane's thrilled, really. Cultivators aren't supposed to get ulcers but damned if he doesn't come close to one anyway. Between Shen Qingqiu and then just a while later Liu Qingge both dying from qi deviations, and Shang Qinghua looking like a stiff breeze could take him out any day now, poor Mu Qingfang is also just about at his wits' end.

But it's not all bad news! On An Ding Peak, Luo Binghe actually finds himself surrounded by the kinds of people who are accustomed to being bullied by the rest of the sect. So they're pretty sympathetic to him, and it's easier for someone with basic laboring skills to advance on that peak too. His chores don't decrease too much, but he actually gets rewarded for doing them well, and no one tries to kick him out of the dorms or anything. Shang Qinghua doesn't either go out of his way to bully or praise Luo Binghe, correctly reasoning that his best shot at not getting a gruesome death is to just be a more forgettable bad guy than an abusive dirtbag or a heart-wrenching betrayal. He doesn't sabotage Luo Binghe's cultivation (no point, and it would just farm resentment later) but he also doesn't go out of his way to help him improve (not gonna arm his inevitable maybe-probably-murderer with better weapons!), so Luo Binghe's situation sees an overall improvement but not the zero-to-hero treatment he'd have got with Shen Yuan either.

When Shang Qinghua shoves Luo Binghe into the Abyss (he just full on picks him up and tosses him like a sack of beans, better to rip it off quick like a bandage), LBH is upset, but he's not especially surprised or dismayed about Shang Qinghua's part in it. Later on he'll be kind of confused, because he just assumed that of course the righteous sect cultivator would abhor the demon, but it turns out Shang Qinghua has been working for a demon since before Luo Binghe even came to the sect? But then it still kind of makes sense because a Heavenly Demon would definitely pose a risk to Mobei Jun and to Mobei Jun's rule. Shang Qinghua, he supposes, is just really loyal to his specific demon.

Luo Binghe's subsequent revenge quest is also somewhat mitigated by the Abyss actually not being that bad.

The Abyss is not actually that bad thanks to the glitched out Shen Yuan having been camping there for several years now.

So when Shen Yuan's transmigration failed it failed because he "woke up" during the process, realized where the System intended to put him, was like no way in goddamn hell am I being that guy about it, and actually kind of won the ensuing tug-of-war. The System couldn't put him in Shen Qingqiu but Shen Yuan didn't want to go back to his dead body either, so he ended up stuck in the nearest available space for lost interdimensional beings. Which was the Endless Abyss.

Luckily Shen Yuan's quasi-transmigrated imparted an equivalent cultivation level as Shen Jiu's to him, and the glitch made him able to sense and manipulate certain extra-dimensional energies, so he manifested as this weird godlike being able to manipulate and control aspects of the Abyss. So he set about transforming Airplane's Torment Nexus into a viable ecosystem (the current version would not be anything approaching sustainable were it not for divine/narrative intervention, and is constantly on the verge of destabilizing into unlivable ruin that would only be fit for some particularly hardy microorganisms).

It's still like, a monster land full of demonic creatures and terrifying phenomenon, but with Shen Yuan's assistance it becomes something more like a demonic wildlife reserve than a dimensional horror plane. Though it is still a dimensional horror plane, and Shen Yuan is its chief dimensional horror. He treats it sort of like those dungeon building or wildlife park sims, figuring out how to keep everything in balance while still preserving all the interesting parts. A lot of the extreme survival issues of the Abyss are more of a result of it being environmentally unstable than a result of its actual denizens, and once he smooths out a lot of the messy dimensional edges and creates stable vents for the fluctuating energy run-off, the demonic inhabits start behaving less like horror movie monsters and more like animals. They're still wild and dangerous and prone to killing one another, but also more cautious, and able to access enough stable resources that they can even start to be picky about what they pursue.

Turns out that a lot of creatures in the Abyss actually don't like fighting and dying and being brutally injured on a regular basis, even if they can heal from it!

Shen Yuan has even discovered that some like chin scritches (he's not terribly worried about habituating them to people, given how rarely any people actually access the Abyss, but also because he's not really all that people-ish himself these days).

This means that one of Luo Binghe's first encounters with the horrible creatures of the Abyss, is in fact a pack of wolf-like monsters thoroughly avoiding an actual fight with him. In fact most of the denizens of the Abyss just avoid him. They can smell the Heavenly Demon energy rolling off of him, and given the current abundance of alternatives to dealing with that, virtually none of the monsters actually choose to challenge him. There are still a few that will go after anything that's bleeding, but that problem stops once Luo Binghe's physiology heals his wounds, which takes like... a couple hours, max.

Despite the stories he's heard, Luo Binghe is relieved to find that the Abyss is not quite so terrible as all that. Normal survival skills suffice for seeing him through much of it. He's able to hunt for food, scavenge for tools, and even finds potable water fairly easily. After a few weeks, he also comes across a ruin which seems to be inhabited.

The being inhabiting it is plainly a god, although he demurs and refutes such assertions whenever Binghe is too frank. He's a strange being, at turns looking like some queer approximation of a human, at other times blinking and winking in and out of existence, in patterns of strange lights and oddly geometrical fire. But he's surprisingly not hostile, letting Binghe rest in his residence, and even directing him towards points of interest. Accompanying him, too, though he seems to think that Binghe doesn't notice the odd almost spiderweb-like patterns that appear on things which he's influencing. The god calls himself The Peerless One, or at least that's what Luo Binghe infers from some writings on the ruin. The Peerless One offers instruction, seemingly without thinking about it, and gets flustered at being addressed by title, so Binghe also begins to refer to him as Shizun after a while.

[rarepears]

Qijiu AU where Yue Qingyuan gets injured during a night-hunt and Mu Qingfang gives him an experimental exilir that ends up turning him into a 14-year-old girl. To hide his identity from his disciples and fellow peak lords, Yue Qingyuan decides to disguise himself as a new disciple of Shen Jiu while Mu Qingfang tries to find a way to reverse the exilir.

Yue Qingyuan: I miss Xiao Jiu. Doesn't he also spoil and favor his female disciples? And I'm now a young 14 year old girl... about the age of Shen Jiu's favorite disciple. Wait a minute-

Insert scene of Yue Qingyuan lunging out of Mu Qingfang's healing rooms to get his Shen Jiu Along Time ASAP.

Poor Mu Qingfang gets a very hard headbutt as he collides with his sect leader at the doorstep. A lot of things go flying in the air... It's a good thing that Mu Qingfang is also very eager to kick out Yue Qingyuan to prevent any more accidents that ruin more medicine.

Oh, Shen Jiu isn't going to be suspicious of Yue Qingyuan at all because Yue Qingyuan gives it away in 5 seconds by automatically calling Shen Jiu "Xiao Jiu". You think this kind of man knows self-restraint??? Fuck no. Calling Shen Qingqiu "Xiao Jiu" is an ingrained response, like breathing.

(Cang Qiong people who are not Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu and therefore Do Not Know that this "14 year old girl" is, in fact, the sect leader: Damn this young teenage girl has a Crush on the most unfornuate person to have a crush on. Just wait for her crush to die when she catches the leacher coming back from the brothel-

Some random (Bai Zhan) disciple: 14 years old is of marriage age in the mortal realm, right?

Cang Qiong: SHUSH we are not cursing this poor naive girl to such a heartless marriage, although this is probably the closest Shen Qingqiu has ever gotten to a non-politically motivated marriage proposal.)

[nibbelraz]

ive been thinking about the 'mqf finds out sqh is god' thing you said and honestly. i think the best way for it to happen is that someone completely random tells him like 'maybe you should ask sqh for a cure seeing as he made the plant to begin with'. everyone who knew kinda assumed he already did too. this is news to him. tf you mean the most pathetic little meow meow of a martial brother is god. horror violin chord. sqh is already running. adios compadre he knows that the difference between medicine and poison is the dose and believe you him he would make another cure if he could but even 'gods' gotta eat mu-shidi!!!

I AGREE Actually think everyone at An Ding Peak knows very well Shang Qinghua is a God either that he told them or they just worked with him long enough that they went "Hey he DEFINITELY isn't normal" which then spread around towards everyone else and somehow left poor Mu Qingfang out of the loop.

He's unfortunately god, and I don't blame him for what he's going to do to Shang Qinghua once he finds out.

[oh-dameron]

Thinking about how the PIDW universe runs on porn rules and so fucking is the answer at least 80% of the time, and even more so if it's medical. Shen Jiu was catching heat for frequenting brothels, meanwhile Qian Cao Peak has got to be a constant writhing orgy. Succubus poisoning? Papapa. Weird flower pollen? Get nasty about it. Qi deviation? Fuck it out. Demonic flu? Not sure, better dual cultivate just to be safe. Whenever Mu Qingfang isn't on screen he's in the back curing hysteria with one hand while writing a prescription with his magical healing cock. Poor guy probably likes Shen Qingqiu because he's the only patient that doesn't insist on a happy ending with his check-up.

[tcfactory]

Pspspspsp. Sneak peak time. Since In Tune is now M rated anyway, I might as well make the best of it, right?

As the days pass, Mu Qingfang hovers a little less, soothed by the fact that Xuebao and Shen Qingqiu keep each other in high spirits and on track with their recovery, but he’s not completely absent. Today he has decided to join them in Shang Qinghua’s garden, exhausted from a horrendous night he spent managing an incident with the visitors. “Healer Mu stinks of a woman’s perfume,” Xuebao comments, wrinkling his nose when Mu Qingfang unceremoniously flops down onto the soft grass near him, like some wild youth. “Sect Leader Yi’s daughter somehow  came into contact with an aphrodisiac and wanted zhangmen-shixiong to administer the cure. When we made it clear that it was out of the question, Master Yi insisted that nobody less than a Peak Lord might touch his gentle flower.”  Shen Qingqiu doesn’t bother stifling his groan. “They are still trying to strong-arm Yue Qi into marriage?” “Afraid so.” Mu Qingfang raises his head and after a moment points at a flower next to where Xuebao is sitting. “Yan-gongzi, the plant with the serrated leaves. Can I have a sprig of that?” Xuebao raises an eyebrow in silent question, but he obliges, carefully plucking a bit of the plant and gingerly handing it over. He jumps when Mu-shidi immediately shoves the leaves into his mouth. “The late blooming serpent grass is deadly poison when ingested.” “I’m aware, thank you.” Mu Qingfang is chewing the weed thoroughly, without a care in the world. “It’s also horribly bitter. I need something to get the taste of aphrodisiac out of my mouth. The poor woman was drenched in it.” The choice of wording raises alarm bells in Shen Qingqiu’s mind. “Do you think she was coerced?” “It was her father’s idea, but she was a willing participant. She’s desperate to find a husband and move away from her sect. It cooled her enthusiasm a little when I made it clear that I won’t be marrying her afterwards, but she was still lucid and in full control of her faculties when she agreed to the treatment.” “Meaning she wasn’t afterwards?” “She dosed herself with the Lily Pavilion Special. It kicks in slower and hits much, much harder than people expect it to when they try it first.” Shen Qingqiu winces; he’s familiar with the product. Some men pay exorbitant prices to the courtesans to willingly expose themselves to aphrodisiacs, so the enterprising madam of the Spider Lily Pavilion hired a renowned medicine man to create a safe, predictable concoction for that purpose. Most of them, of course, dilute the products enough to remain sober and make up for it with a bit of acting. “Since she was trying to feign poisoning, I assume she neglected to read the recommended dosage instructions.” “Just so. Hopefully, the experience and the many embarrassing side effects will make her think twice about doing something foolish like that ever again.” “Side effects?” Xuebao asks, his expression an interesting mix of horror and curiosity as he hands Mu-shidi another sprig of poisonous weed. “Nothing really detrimental or dangerous, mostly inconvenient and embarrassing. The most common one is an insatiable craving for cucumbers.” “Is that a human euphemism?” “It could be, but in this case I do mean the actual vegetable. Pickles, carrots, cucumbers, that funny yellow fruit they sometimes import from the southern islands if they are familiar with it-” “Xiang jiao?” “- yes, that one. I trust that you can see the pattern.” Xuebao huffs. “I wish I couldn’t.”

[chaoticgoodlawyerwrites]

Hi! I've been very depressed! Have a preview for the next chapter of HSY!

___

Things did change after his little breakdown.

Hitting rock bottom in such a public way was a wake up call. Shen Qingqiu’s shield of numbness was effectively shattered and he found himself somehow ready to pick up the pieces to make something new. 

It was hard, but there was less pressure to pretend he was okay; that ship had sailed then been crushed by a sea monster. Instead, he was sad and showed it, and the honesty made getting through the day a bit easier. Still, if anything could make him pull it together, it was an outside threat to what he was breaking himself to make, and that was exactly what was happening. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t his nameless stalker causing the problem. The energy around the void of a person had shifted to be far less predatory. They still visited daily, but it felt like less of an imposition. They didn’t attempt to touch him or make him feel particularly threatened. No, they simply arrived and came to rest beside him for a short while before leaving. If it was late, they would move between Shen Qingqiu and the door. If his tea had run dry, they would stand by the brazier pointedly.

It was obvious that they were doing their best to… care for him, as clumsy and unwanted as it was. While he had still told his in-laws, Shang Qinghua, Mu Qingfang, and his Cabinet that they had reappeared, no one knew quite what to do with the information. They cautioned him to keep his guard up, but his stalker’s actions proved to him more than anything else that they truly had not meant to hurt him and had actually changed their behavior to make amends.

The same could not be said for a certain former Sect Leader. 

The day before the next Peak Lord meeting, a note from Yue Qingyuan appeared on his desk requesting a private audience. He immediately denied it and went back to contemplating his approach to Huan Hua’s request for assistance following the long-overdue assassination of their Palace Master. 

At the next Peak Lord meeting, before he could even properly start it, Yue Qingyuan stood the moment he called the meeting to order and bowed low to him. It all but forced Shen Qingqiu to actually acknowledge the man. “Yes, Peak Lord Yue?”

“This Peak Lord would like to raise a point of concern that is shared with many in this room and throughout the Sect.”

“Regarding?” Shen Qingqiu asked, voice and eyes cold. 

He startled a little to sense his stalker’s reappearance and had to fight not to glance at them. It wasn’t unusual for them to visit at random times of day now, so he mostly was lamenting the poor luck in them being able to witness what felt like was going to be a trying morning. 

But he had to keep his eyes on the biggest threat in the room, and it was decidedly not the mysterious and powerful person watching his every move when here.

“Sect Leader Shen’s health and ability to continue leading the Sect following his… due to his continued grief over the death of his soulmate.”

…

Shen Qingqiu was so angry he couldn’t speak for a minute. When he had gathered himself enough to not just start cursing at the man, he said, “One, he’s not dead. Two, this master has performed every duty required, has implemented necessary reforms to administration and maintained intersect relations, leaving Cang Qiong Sect more secure than ever. What exactly are the grounds for this challenge?”

“He’s not challenging you,” Song Qingyue interjected quickly. Shen Qingqiu cut his eyes over to the man and he physically flinched at the look

“Yes, I am.” Yue Qingyuan said quietly to him. “For your own good.”

[azaisya]

late submission for qijiu week day 2 (curses/blessings)! have roughly 3k of lighthearted fic feat. outsider pov and getting together. rating: t

When Qi Qingqi returned from a mission with Yue Qingyuan’s unconscious body slung over one shoulder, the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain imploded. Disciples ran everywhere like chickens with their heads cut off, and half of the Peak Lords followed suit. 

Mu Qingfang didn’t know—or care—about any of that. He was the one that Qi Qingqi dumped Yue Qingyuan’s unconscious body on, and so it was up to him to try to find a cure. 

For a sleeping curse, of all the absurd things. 

The demon had supposedly been putting entire villages to sleep so she could feast on their dreams. The stories had been alarming enough to warrant sending two Peak Lords to deal with the problem, but everybody had agreed it was probably overkill. 

Well. Apparently not.

At least Qi Qingqi had managed to behead the thing after it’d cursed Yue Qingyuan.

Demons rarely used sleeping curses. It was an impractically complicated method to get something that could be achieved with simple knockout powder or any blunt object. 

Unlike knockout powder or a blunt object, Mu Qingfang didn’t have the cure sitting readily on his shelf. 

He was just starting to sift through what he did have when the distant crash of his door slamming open interrupted his concentration. He grimaced. One of these days, Shang Qinghua was finally going to snap and go after Liu Qingge for destroying so many doors. 

“Where is he?” a voice demanded, as low and snarling and dangerous as any demon. 

Mu Qingfang hastily put down his things and made for the entrance room as the danger level ratcheted up from Liu Qingge to Shen Qingqiu. 

Sure enough, Shen Qingqiu was standing in the doorway, glaring one of Mu Qingfang’s disciples into a nervous wreck. “Tell me where he is, you sniveling brat.”

The poor boy looked like he was about to faint. Mu Qingfang came into the room and smiled pleasantly. “I would appreciate it if you could refrain from insulting my disciples, Shen-shixiong.”

Shen Qingqiu whirled on him, and the little disciple let out a squeak and ran for it. Mu Qingfang would have to scold him later, but he wouldn’t be too stern. All his disciples were terrified of Shen Qingqiu, and  for good reason. The man looked absolutely livid, his usual affected loftiness abandoned for a raw fury that even Liu Qingge couldn’t draw from him. At his hip, Xiu Ya rattled in its sheath. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

Mu Qingfang’s smile didn’t slip. “Zhangmen-shixiong is currently resting in a private room.”

“Resting,” Shen Qingqiu repeated, the word dripping with derision. He opened his fan with a sharp snap of his wrist, and his dark eyes glinted over its edge. “Let me see him.”

“Ah.” Introducing an element as volatile as Shen Qingqiu to a sick room was invariably a terrible idea. Explicitly telling him so was an even worse one. “Shen-shixiong, I’m afraid that Zhangmeng-shixiong’s state is currently very delicate. It would be best if he didn’t receive visitors right now.”

If looks could kill, Mu Qingfang would be a smear on the floor right now. “Was I asking?”

As mildly as ever, Mu Qingfang said, “I wasn’t aware that Shen-shixiong and Zhangmen-shixiong were close? If Shen-shixiong is truly so worried, then I suppose a brief visit would not be remiss.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened over his fan. “I’m not worried,” he snapped, “I am merely doing my duty, as the lord of Cang Qiong Mountain’s second peak.”

Got him. Mu Qingfang smiled, not at all smugly because he still had common sense and Shen Qingqiu still had Xiu Ya. “Shen-shixiong is truly admirable. Zhangmen-shixiong is still sleeping, and this one was just about to create a cure.”

Shen Qingqiu floundered as gracefully and loftily as he did anything else. After a beat, he closed his fan with a snap and whirled around. “Fine. Do it quickly.”

“Of course.”

Shen Qingqiu drew Xiu Ya in a dramatic sweep and leapt into the air. Mu Qingfang squinted after him. He was heading in the direction of Xian Shu Peak, which was not where he should be going if he was truly “doing his duty as the lord of Cang Qiong Mountain’s second peak.”

Which— interesting. Mu Qingfang hadn’t been aware that Yue Qingyuan’s frankly painfully obvious affections were returned with anything other than reluctant tolerance. 

He could think of no other reason for Shen Qingqiu to go haring off to Xian Shu Peak if it wasn’t to harass Qi Qingqi for more information about the demon that had cursed Yue Qingyuan. 

Well. At least that was a better use for his energy than pestering healers who had work to do. 

Mu Qingfang gave it an hour before either Shen Qingqiu or Qi Qingqi got fed up enough with each other to draw a blade, which should give him at least an hour and a half before anybody came running to him for emergency healing. 

With a sigh, he got to work. 

---

It took them forty minutes. Mu Qingfang barely resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as a hysterical Xian Shu disciple babbled about how Shen Qingqiu had attacked Qi Qingqi—

“Like a beast! For no reason at all!” the girl cried, “He’s going to kill her!” 

Mu Qingfang considered his options. He didn’t like Shen Qingqiu, but he would never deny the man the respect he deserved. He was acerbic and impossible to work with, but he would never just attack Qi Qingqi for no reason. It was far more likely that she’d snapped at him and he—in his state of heightened stress—had overreacted and then she had overreacted too. 

Mu Qingfang smiled his most dangerous smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you properly. Would shizhi mind repeating herself?”

The girl made a vague choking sound and hastily dropped into a bow. “This humble disciple apologizes for her disrespect! She—humbly—requests that Mu-shishu sends medical aid to Xian Shu Peak!”

Mu Qingfang kept smiling, because otherwise he was going to make a very unattractive expression. “What exactly did Shen-shixiong and Qi-shijie get themselves into?”

The girl wavered, still refusing to meet his gaze. “This disciple is unsure. Guo-shijie sent this one here as a— as a precautionary measure before anything terrible happened.” 

Mu Qingfang did not have time for this. He sent her away along with a handful of his best disciples to assuage her wide-eyed look of terror and irritably returned to his work. If Shen Qingqiu or Qi Qingqi got themselves hurt badly enough to need his help, then they’d need to wait their turn.

---

Thirty minutes later, there was another knock on his door. With a heavy sigh, Mu Qingfang gathered himself and went to open it. To his surprise, Shen Qingqiu was standing outside. He had his fan raised to cover the lower half of his face, and his hair and robes were only mildly ruffled by his flight here and whatever brawl he’d gotten into with Qi Qingqi.

Mu Qingfang just smiled and waited. It would do Shen Qingqiu some good to have to actually ask for what he wanted. 

Those dark eyes narrowed over his fan. “Have you made any progress in your research?”

Mu Qingfang kept smiling, because otherwise he’d probably bang his head into the door. Did Shen Qingqiu think that constant interruptions were the ideal environment for productive work? Is that what was happening here? 

It didn’t seem like he really wanted an answer, because Shen Qingqiu continued, “Qi-shimei shared the details of the incident with me. I would like to inspect our Zhangmen-shixiong’s condition myself.” He lowered his fan to reveal a smile that suggested it wasn’t a question.

Mu Qingfang did sigh this time, because apparently Shen Qingqiu cared about Yue Qingyuan! Who knew! Definitely not somebody who’d been forced to sit through their sniping at meetings, that was for sure. “Shen-shixiong may come in,” he allowed, “so long as he maintains the peace of the chambers.”

There was no point keeping him out, after all. He was practically vibrating with stress as it was, and there was no way he wouldn’t cause some other disaster if Mu Qingfang turned him away now. 

“Of course.” Shen Qingqiu closed his fan with a snap. “No need for Mu-shidi to chaperone. I’m sure he has much to do.” Without waiting for a response, he strode past Mu Qingfang and through the door to Yue Qingyuan’s sick room. 

Which. Great. Excellent. 

Mu Qingfang spent exactly three seconds valiantly staring at his work before giving up and following after Shen Qingqiu, fully prepared to do some kind of damage control. To his surprise, the other man was standing motionless in Yue Qingyuan’s doorway, toes barely over the threshold. The hand holding his fan was white with tension. 

Cautiously, Mu Qingfang said, “Shen-shixiong is free to enter.”

Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders tensed. He turned, unfolding his fan with a smooth, languid motion and bringing it up to cover the lower half of his face as he peered at Mu Qingfang. “Mu-shidi should get back to work. Cang Qiong Mountain needs our sect leader, after all.”

Mu Qingfang stared at him. Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were the color of lakewater at its murkiest. They were a deep grey-green, and they were filled with something terrible and unreadable, something that was somehow even more frightening than his usual hissing, spitting fury.

Ah, he thought, suddenly. 

“I’ll find a cure,” he promised.

Shen Qingqiu’s fingers tightened around his fan. His eyes narrowed, as if he were about to scoff, but in the end he just looked back through the door at Yue Qingyuan’s unconscious form, arms tucked neatly at his sides and blanket drawn up to his chest. Without another word, he turned and stalked out.

---

Mu Qingfang read many, many scrolls. He looked through all his notes, attempted all his usual solutions, but the demon’s sleeping curse was tenacious. It clung stubbornly to Yue Qingyuan, locking him in dreams no matter what Mu Qingfang tried. 

In the end, there was only one solution left. 

. . . Shen Qingqiu was going to eviscerate him.

---

“Are you telling me,” Shen Qingqiu hissed, all but vibrating with poorly-disguised fury, “that the only solution is to sleep with him?!” 

“Dual cultivation with a suitably powerful partner, yes,” Mu Qingfang replied evenly, smiling as if he wasn’t sweating bullets. The other Peak Lords, summoned for an update on their sect leaders’ condition and now attempting to melt into their chairs to avoid Shen Qingqiu’s rapidly building wrath, happily avoided eye contact. Liu Qingge had probably zoned out two sentences into the meeting. 

Shen Qingqiu tilted his chin up, both dismissive and derisive all at once. “You have access to resources of the most powerful sect in the cultivation world, and the best you can give me is dual cultivation.” 

Mu Qingfang did not flinch. It would’ve been a near miss, but Shen Qingqiu’s now obvious affection and concern for Yue Qingyuan had diminished his wrath to the hissing of an overprotective kitten and also Mu Qingfang was probably running on a few too many days without sleep. So he said, “Unfortunately, yes, that is accurate.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes locked onto him. Several tense moments passed. Shang Qinghua, several chairs away and not at all involved in the action, was nearly purple with stress. Finally, Shen Qingqiu stepped back, drawing his anger into some secret part of himself until nothing was left but a cold, cruel elegance. “Well! How far the majesty of Cang Qiong Mountain has fallen.” His lip curled into a sardonic sneer. “If I am ever cursed and the only solution is to sleep with my unconscious corpse, then just slit my throat and put us all out of our mistry.”

Somewhere in the back of the room, somebody mumbled, “Please.”

Shen Qinggqiu’s teeth clicked together. “Mu-shidi,” he said, in the same voice that made Mu Qingfang’s disciples piss themselves, “Surely there are some books on my Qing Jing Peak that you haven’t yet looked over. How can you make a diagnosis when you haven't done all the research yet?”

Mu Qingfang considered slamming his head onto the table. Unfortunately, he doubted that Shen Qingqiu’s mood was permissive enough to allow such dramatics. 

. . . it was never permissive enough to allow such dramatics. 

With the pleasant smile of a man who had definitely already read every single relevant book on Cang Qiong Mountain, he said, “I suppose I may have been remiss in my responsibilities. Zhangmen-shixiong’s condition is in no danger of worsening, and so there is no harm in further examining what information we have.”

Shen Qingqiu’s smile might as well have been fanged. “Good. I will drop them off as soon as possible.” With one last glare at the rest of the Peak Lords, he turned sharply on his heel and strode from the room in a flurry of green silks and danger.

Shang Qinghua sagged into the table. Qi Qingqi snorted and patted Mu Qingfang on the shoulder. “Good luck with that one, Mu-shidi.”

Mu Qingfang carefully did not stop smiling.

---

He waited until he was safely alone in his workshop before slamming his head on the table. It didn’t solve anything, but it did technically give him several seconds of shut-eye and that was better than nothing.

He was interrupted—once again—by the sound of his door violently slamming open.

“Shen-shixiong,” he said, peeling his face off his desk.

“Mu-shidi.” Shen Qingqiu sat down next to him and folded his hands neatly in his lap, deceptively demure. “Is dual cultivation really the only way to cure Zhangmen-shixiong of his curse?”

Mu Qingfang peered at Shen Qingqiu’s sleeves. They didn’t look very full, but there was no telling how many books the man had shoved into them. “There may perhaps—” Theoretically, possibly, somewhere. “—be other alternatives.”

Shen Qingqiu tilted his head down in acknowledgement, but his eyes never left Mu Qingfang’s. “But this is the best solution.” He didn’t wait for a response before adding, words crisp and only mildly colored by the revulsion he’d displayed in the meeting room earlier, “Dual cultivation with a suitably powerful partner is the best solution.”

“Yes,” Mu Qingfang said, not even bothering to summon his usual smile. It was what he’d already said in the meeting, after all, and Shen Qingqiu wasn’t looking for his smile anyways. 

Shen Qingqiu’s lips turned white as he pressed them together. He didn’t speak, but the glint in his eyes made it clear that he was waiting for something. 

Mu Qingfang had absolutely no idea what. If anything, all he’d learned from this entire affair—beyond the surprising effectiveness of sleeping curses—was that he could not read Shen Qingqiu whatsoever. Here he was, pale and tense and snappish for a man that the whole sect was convinced that he hated. 

“Would—” Shen Qingqiu began, before stopping and scowling at the wall. “Would. My cultivation level. Work.”

“Oh.” Mu Qingfang wondered if he should even bother being surprised anymore. At least this was one thing he’d already known about his Shen-shixiong: he was an absolutely abysmal communicator. “Um.”

Shen Qingqiu’s cheeks colored, and he quickly said, “Not that I want to do this. But Zhangmen-shixiong deserves better than some brute like Liu Qingge, and there’s hardly a wealth of cultivators powerful enough to match him. So excuse this lowly one for his flawed foundation, but—”

Ah, what?! Mu Qingfang had not asked for any of this??? Hastily, before Shen Qingqiu could ramble himself into changing his mind, Mu Qingfang said, “Shen-shixiong, you are one of the most powerful cultivators in the world.” There was a reason that he’d been able to last as long as he had in duels with Liu Qingge in their youths. “You would absolutely, ah, work.”

Shen Qingqiu’s fan opened with a snap. It did little to hide the redness of his face. “Ah. Well. Good.”

“Right,” Mu Qingfang said. 

They stared at each other. 

Shen Qingqiu bristled, shoulders tilting upwards again, and Mu Qingfang realized abruptly that he was about to get eviscerated if he didn’t leave very, very soon. Quickly, Mu Qingfang exclaimed, “Well! Good. I’ll take my leave first, to allow you and Zhangmen-shixiong your privacy. You know how this works?”

“Of course I know how this works!” Shen Qingqiu yelped, too indignant to maintain an even tone. 

Mu Qingfang smiled. It was perhaps his first genuine smile since Qi Qingqi had absconded after dumping Yue Qingyuan’s body in his arms. “Good. I’ll leave Shen-shixiong to it, then.”

Before Shen Qingqiu could figure out how to stop spluttering, Mu Qingfang gathered his things and quickly vacated the premises.

---

Well. He supposed that was one way to do things.

---

Yue Qingyuan was up and about by the next day. Any assumptions Mu Qingfang had had about Shen Qingqiu wanting to be private about his affairs were quickly dashed. Yue Qingyuan walked into the next Peak Lord meeting with, ah, marks visible high enough on his neck that his collar couldn’t cover them, and he seemed utterly incapable of keeping his eyes off of Shen Qingqiu. 

Shen Qingqiu ignored him as usual, but Mu Qingfang was sitting close enough to see that they were holding hands under the table.

Which. Great. Excellent. Exactly what Mu Qingfang wanted to see at every sect meeting for the rest of his life.

“It’s all your fault, you know,” Liu Qingge said.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Mu Qingfang protested. 

“No, it absolutely is,” Qi Qingqi said glumly, “I can’t believe we have to watch Zhangmen-shixiong making bedroom eyes at Shen Qingqiu every single month.” 

Mu Qingfang put his head on the table. Maybe if he just ignored everything, it would all go away. 

“Did you see them yesterday?” Qi Qingqi continued, “They were wearing matching outfits.”

Shang Qinghua, inexplicably, shot Mu Qingfang a strange gesture with both thumbs sticking up. “Nice.”

“No,” Liu Qingge said.

“Absolutely not,” Qi Qingqi agreed.

[ao3 link]