Chapter Text
Hero
After surviving the Alliance Conference, his downfall, and three days miserably crawling through the Endless Abyss, Luo Binghe's appearance is pitiful. All his hopes are already shattered when someone saves him from a ferocious lizard. And he thinks he's living a dream when he sees that beautiful and perfect cultivator annihilating the beast with a single blow.
Years have passed since Luo Binghe last saw Can Qiong Mountain Sect's War God, the Bai Zhan Peak Lord. In his memories, he was a terrifying-looking man with an always grumpy expression. And his expression is still grumpy when he grabs him by the neck and drags him away from that cave, but it's not as terrifying as the hell Luo Binghe is trapped in.
He is a little more ashamed of how he looks when they stop in a cavern, colder compared to the inhuman heat outside among the lava rivers. His clothes are burned, torn, and dirty; his curls tangled and he no longer feels his body after so many injuries and blows. In comparison, Liu Qingge is pristine and graceful, with his hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail and that beauty mark gleaming under his left eye.
Luo Binghe flinches like a scared animal when he stares at him.
"A demon," he comments without hiding his incredulity. "We had a demon all this time."
Cowering and guilty, Luo Binghe crouches until his forehead brushes the ground.
"Forgive me, Liu-shishu! This disciple never wanted to hurt anyone."
His words are drowned out by the lies. At least, he would like to hurt his evil shizun. And thanks to Meng Mo, Luo Binghe was well aware of his demonic nature, even though he wants to look Liu Qingge into the eyes and tell him that he didn't know.
"I don't want to be a demon," he sobs instead. "I want to come back..."
But in the end, Luo Binghe is doomed to lose all his homes and the resentment in his heart grows to cover his entire body.
"I can help you," Liu Qingge concedes after an eternal pause in which Luo Binghe's pulse quickened. "But in return, you will have to help me."
The demon lifts his head in surprise.
"How?"
"I need you to help me protect Shen Qingqiu, your shizun."
And his expression darkens, reflecting the fierce resentment that accompanies Luo Binghe in his nightmares.
"Shizun is a cruel man who tried to kill me."
"I'm pretty sure if he wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead." Liu Qingge points out. "You were practically dead when I found you. Shen Qingqiu has never been the strongest of us, but even he wouldn't have a problem taking down a brat like you."
"I'm hurt because he threw me here!"
"You are alive. If I had been in his place, I probably would have killed you after recognizing that seal on your forehead. Or Zhangmen-shixiong." Liu Qingge sighs. "Yes, Zhangmen-shixiong would have killed you without hesitation just because of the danger you posed against the sect. Your shizun is not a good person and I have met better men than him, but..."
He doesn’t finish. His gaze is lost in infinity and Luo Binghe is very curious, after all, they always hated each other in the past before...
"Will you help me?" Liu Qingge extends a hand to him. "In exchange, I'll get you out of here."
Luo Binghe cannot forget his shizun's mistreatment, but neither that the War God has rescued him despite acknowledging that in other circumstances he would have killed him.
"What do you want to protect shizun from?"
"Zhangmen-shixiong."
Luo Binghe's eyes widen in confusion.
"Why?"
"Because he was the one who killed me."
And the ghost extends an icy, almost translucent hand to him, which Luo Binghe accepts.
The Endless Abyss
Luo Binghe believed that Liu Qingge's presence would help him survive in hell.
Dangers
They are walking among the rivers of lava when Liu Qingge stops after recognizing a majestic serpent, more than a li long. Smoke and sparks rise from his jaws, and his eyes burn like fire.
"Let's hunt it."
"What is it, shishu?"
"A monster."
"What kind of monster?"
"A snake."
"Does it have a name?"
"Probably something like Flame-devouring Serpent. It doesn't matter." A gleam of motivation shines in the ghost's eyes. "It's a fabulous goal. Follow me."
Liu Qingge is a recent ghost. He only has been dead for a few years and sometimes he is not quite solid. His strength is ridiculously inconstant, but his determination never fades. Despite the fire that surrounds that area, the rocks that burn, and have covered Luo Binghe's skin with blisters, he is always cold. There are nights when the demon snuggles up next to him to seek comfort.
"You have to improve your cultivation," Liu Qingge growls at him after rescuing him more dead than alive from the snake's mouth. "It was a simple target. How does Shen Qingqiu train his brats? Any of mine could have hunted it."
Luo Binghe loses track of time. And that wasteland of ash and lava ends when they reach a beautiful meadow where flowers of all colors shine. It is such a beautiful landscape that his heart melts and he regains hope.
"Why are you stopping?" Liu Qingge looks at him impatiently. "You have to find more food than the vermin we have hunted these last few days."
"Is it safe, shishu?"
"Yes. I don't feel any monsters around."
That is a relief to Luo Binghe, although Liu Qingge purses his lips in disappointment.
Half a shichen later, Luo Binghe groans while lying on the ground as his skin burns and his vision is blurred and a very specific heat builds up between his legs and his mouth is dry and...
"Shishu," he gasped out of breath. "What's wrong?"
"I think you are poisoned."
Luo Binghe tries to prop herself up on his elbows to get up.
"Shizhun always says that we must locate the cause. Sometimes the same flower has poison and antidote..." He closes his eyes as a new wave of pain shakes him. "Shishu, help..."
Liu Qingge gazes at the nearly fifty different flowers that surround them. Blues, pinks, and purples. Some with thorns, others without petals. In his opinion, all the same.
"I always say that no poison matters if your cultivation is strong."
Luo Binghe moans even louder with teary eyes.
Through eternal mountains, whose summit is lost beyond the sky, Liu Qingge makes a detour to hunt another monster.
"Faster. I've never seen one like this."
There are twenty of them, gigantic as houses, a pack of grotesque creatures with various claws and spikes on their backs.
"What are they, shishu?"
"Monsters."
"How do we defeat them?"
"With the sword."
None of them have a sword. Luo Binghe's was fragmented in the Alliance Conference and Liu Qingge's is an illusion created with his powers that always fades at the most inopportune moment.
"Shishu, this disciple thinks we should go."
"Nonsense! Luo Binghe, you have a unique opportunity to improve your cultivation by fighting. These creatures only exist here. Don't be a coward!"
Luo Binghe doesn’t consider himself a coward, but rather respectful because of the imposing size of those monsters.
"Shishu..." He gulps. "Is there something that this humble disciple should know before facing those monsters?"
"They are big. And many."
Not only they are big (huge according to Luo Binghe) nor many, they also have fangs like swords, claws that break bones, acid instead of blood, a regeneration of seconds, poison in saliva, four hearts that he must destroy at the same time, spikes being thrown at him...
"I must seriously speak to Shen Qingqiu about how he trains his disciples," Liu Qingge clicks his tongue before losing his consistency and disappearing.
At least the ghost was able to kill half the pack before they tore Luo Binghe apart.
"The good news is... you're not getting dehydrated anymore."
Luo Binghe groans on the river bank. This poison runs through his veins to fill them with fire. Despite the comfort the ghost tries to give him, his mouth remains dry.
"A poisonous river," Liu Qingge mutters to himself. "How unexpected."
"The river is not poisonous," replies an unfamiliar, melodious, and soft voice. "But the golden pollen that accumulates on the surface."
Luo Binghe opens his eyes to see a blue-skinned demoness appear. She walks sensually towards them as she begins to remove her already scant clothing.
"I can help you, little demon," she purrs as her huge breasts are exposed. "I know exactly the cure and you’re quite cute."
Luo Binghe forgets the river, his ghost, and the Endless Abyss. The naked figure of the demoness keeps him mesmerized and a very specific part of his anatomy shakes vigorously when he smells her perfume of salt and lotus flowers.
"No."
It is the only warning Liu Qingge growls before lifting Luo Binghe's numb body onto his shoulder.
"Shishu!" He cries. "Please!"
"No. That will ruin your cultivation."
"I’m a demon! My cultivation is ruined!"
"It's not. And you still have to improve a lot. When you are stronger you will be able to resist any poison with only your willpower."
Meanwhile, Luo Binghe suffers and whimpers and clings to Liu Qingge's icy body before losing consciousness.
A dragon. A dragon as huge as Qing Jing Peak, with four pairs of wings and covered in a greenish goo that Luo Binghe already recognizes as poison. Because in the Endless Abyss everything, even hope, is poisonous. The demon's heart shrinks in terror and he walks with silent steps.
Because the dragon sleeps.
And Luo Binghe won't dare to wake him up.
He advances slowly, pausing for several minutes each time the dragon growls. His eyes itch dry because he doesn't dare to blink. Fear has frozen his body, making him clumsy. Every step on the sand seems too noisy to him, his breathing is too intense.
It took them five shichen to surround the half of the dragon when Luo Binghe discovers that Liu Qingge is missing.
He wishes he had disappeared. Sometimes he does, when he runs out of energy, although over time he has become more solid. But not this time. This time Liu Qingge has lagged and is walking towards that monstrous face.
"Shishu, please don't," he pleads without daring to raise his voice or move. "Shishu..."
The dragon opens one eye when Liu Qingge pinches its nose with the sword.
Ghosts can get stronger too. At first, Liu Qingge's appearance was perfect and unreal because it was the illusion that he had envisioned. But during those years in hell, Liu Qingge becomes more human as he gains power. His body stops disappearing and sometimes he feigns breathing because it calms Luo Binghe at night. It makes him feel that he is not alone, that he is accompanied by someone else and not an annoying ghost. Liu Qingge also recreates his smell and some physiological reactions.
But his skin is still as cold as a corpse's.
It is a comfort when Luo Binghe is poisoned. Liu Qingge keeps him from doing anything crazy and he loses himself in that coldness that counteracts the fire that burns in his heart and veins.
"Shishu, please," he pleads, rubbing his body against the ghost's.
"You are improving. Soon you will be able to continue fighting in this state."
In that state, Liu Qingge is the only target he wants to fight against. First, to get revenge for that torture. Second, to seek the cure in his lean, muscular body.
Sometimes Luo Binghe suspects that Liu Qingge poisons him on purpose to test his strength and assess his progress.
"You are crueler than shizun," he groans, digging his fingers into his clothes.
"Survival is not easy." Liu Qingge strokes his hair and that minimal comfort manage to calm Luo Binghe for a few seconds. "But after so many poisonings you should already be immune. Something is wrong, Luo Binghe. You must strengthen yourself even more."
That means that when he is feeling better, Liu Qingge will send him to do squats or laps around a forest. At least a hundred times.
Exhausted, Luo Binghe closes his eyes and lets himself be comforted.
"A monster!"
Sometimes "monster" means "tortoise with a frozen lava shell" or "amorphous creature with seven claws, three tails, and four wings" or "the skeleton of a predator that runs enveloped in resentful energy" or "giant spitting scorpion of acid. "
To Luo Binghe, "monster" means...
"No."
And he grabs Liu Qingge by the arm and takes him away before he draws his sword and tries to attack any dangerous creature. Over time Liu Qingge has not only become more real, but Luo Binghe is also wider and taller. While one is frozen in time, Luo Binghe has continued to grow into a muscular, powerful, and cautious man.
Prudence is the only thing that differentiates him from his shishu, who protests when Luo Binghe carries him on his shoulder.
"YOU ARE THE MOST USELESS GHOST IN THE WORLD! You know nothing. Nothing! I’ve been poisoned a hundred times because you always say that we are safe and it is never true. I wish shizun was here! Shizun would know the names of all the monsters and their weak points. Shizun would know what things are poisonous and what fruits I can eat. Shizun would not try to fight any monster he sees. I miss shizun! I miss Ning-shijie and my mom! I hate you. I hate this horrible place and I hate being a demon and I hate that you're dead! It's not fair! And I hate that you never let me heal even though we always find a demoness who offers to do it. Even though I don't want any demoness either. I want you. Sometimes I dream of ripping your clothes off and pushing you to the ground and fucking you hard and fast at first, and then softer until you moan my name and won't be able to get up for a week. Or a month. I'd fuck you for a whole month. Maybe that way you would stop being so harsh with me."
Luo Binghe takes a deep breath and tries to ignore Liu Qingge's questioning gaze. The ghost's skin is as cold as ever when his thumb brushes his lips, still damp from the fruit juice.
"This poison is different," he observes.
"If you were shizun you would know it before I had eaten the wrong fruit again!"
"At least this time you don't have a fever."
"Shishu, they are always aphrodisiacs. ALWAYS. Weren't you even aware of that?" Liu Qingge doesn’t answer and Luo Binghe sighs. "And this is a truth serum."
At first, Liu Qingge remains silent.
"Oh," he finally comments as Luo Binghe's face burns and not from desire, but from the embarrassment of confessing his dark secrets. "Do you think I'm being harsh on you?"
"Yes!" Tears pool in his eyes.
However, Liu Qingge's expression is one of surprise.
"You are not my disciple, so I thought I was being very gentle with you... Regarding the other matter, dual cultivating with a ghost will probably be bad for your cultivation as well."
The Endless Abyss
Luo Binghe believed that Liu Qingge's presence would help him survive in hell. It was a mistake.
Perhaps when he was alive his personality was different (although Luo Binghe doubts it), but death has made Liu Qingge reckless. He is unable to recognize dangers because nothing affects him. Not poison, not a thousand-meter drop, not a monster bite. All beasts are wonderful targets, and his obsession with hunting them is Luo Binghe's worst nightmare.
Objectively speaking, Liu Qingge is the most annoying, useless, and careless ghost in the world. But his presence makes him very happy.
For the first time in his life, Luo Binghe is not alone.
Xin Mo
Liu Qingge slaps his hand when he tries to grasp the hilt of that dark sword, undoubtedly demonic and powerful.
"Shishu!"
"I don't like that sword. Let's go."
The sword tempts him with sweet promises that pierce Luo Binghe to caress his heart, but his ghost it’s bored in that safe cavern and drags him out.
The Demon Realm
Another negative quality of Liu Qingge is that he is a hypocrite.
"You can't tell me anything when you always want to fight!"
"It’s not the same!"
"Illustrate me, shishu, what is the difference between what you do and what I do?"
That offends the ghost. His cheeks almost flushed with rage.
Almost.
"First, I always fight honorably. Second, I only hunt monsters that challenge me and I don't slaughter them unnecessarily. Third, our deal was to go back to Can Qiong Sect, why are you engaging in demonic wars? Your ego is so desperate for recognition that you allow yourself to be fooled by those who call you Lord? "
Luo Binghe clenches his teeth and fists.
"You punched Mobei-Jun in the nose. That wasn’t honorable."
"It happened seven months ago and you remind me of it every day, are you never going to forget it?"
Luo Binghe smirks.
"No."
Liu Qingge crosses his arms, offended and with furrowed brows. An adorable blush tinges his cheeks and ears pink. Luo Binghe sighs before approaching him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"We will be back, shishu, I promise you. We will be back with shizun."
"I don't like this place," Liu Qingge acknowledges with a grunt. But behind his angry facade, he is sulking.
"Compared to the Endless Abyss, I feel in heaven."
"Let's come back soon, please.” Liu Qingge holds onto his black outer robes with one hand that Luo Binghe covers with his own. “We've been away for many years."
"I promise you, shishu. Can you let me fight now?"
They are almost embracing in the middle of a fierce battle.
The Water Prison
"I told you that we should protect Shen Qingqiu! When you asked me to trust you it didn't mean that Shen Qingqiu would end up tied up and locked up here."
"It's not my fault that everyone accuses shizun of horrible crimes!"
"You should defend him! He's your shizun!"
"He pushed me into the Endless Abyss!"
"So what? If you think about it, it was a sensible decision in a case of dire need to save your life."
"And I won't forget. Just like I won't forget that shishu once threw me into a well."
Lately, it is very easy to make Liu Qingge blush.
"It was also a sensible decision in a case of dire need to save your life."
"It was an accident, why doesn't shishu recognize it? Who is the proud one now?"
Shen Qingqiu, kneeling with his arms twisted behind his back by the immortal binding cable, clears his throat and that rescues Liu Qingge from this humiliation.
"Are you alive?" He splutters, pale and with glassy eyes.
"No."
"Are you then an illusion?"
Liu Qingge crouches down in front of him and strokes Shen Qingqiu's cheek with one of his cold, white hands. Shen Qingqiu gasps and a few tears gather in his eyes. That intimate gesture affects Luo Binghe with virulent envy, making him frown.
"Shishu, you never told me what happened to you.” Luo Binghe takes a deep breath before uttering those words that have haunted him for the past five years. “How did you die?"