Chapter Text
[Welcome to the System! This System operates in line with the design, YOU CAN YOU UP, NO CAN NO BB; we hope to provide you with-]
Shen Yuan ignored the mechanical voice as he looked around in a room that was definitely not his own, to people in elaborate xianxia robes that he definitely did not know, with a transparent blue panel floating near him that apparently he could only see. If going by the lack of, ‘oh shit what is that?’ reaction was anything to go by the other strangers in his not room.
He looked down at his body, propped up on a pristine bed with sheer gauzy canopy between the four bed posts, in white robes he knew damn well he’d never buy of his own free will. One of the strangers, a handsome man in black robes and a gentle but worried smile, walked towards him.
“Shidi, are you okay?”
Shen Yuan blinked, a hysterical giggle almost escaping him.
No! Not at all! Who are you?!
[Cang Qiong Sect leader, the Xuan Su sword, Yue Qingyuan! User Shen Yuan’s account has been successfully linked to Cang Qiong Sect, Qing Jing Peak Lord and Scum villain, Shen Qingqiu!]
The voice helpfully answered him and that hysterical feeling buzzing around his chest grew stronger. What kind of karmic debt had he suffered to end up in Proud Immortal Demon Way!? And as the villain with a painfully tortuous ending that he was now going to be subject to! And what did it mean account linked?! Where was his original body?
[User Shen Yuan’s body has died in his own world!]
Oh.
Okay.
So he was dead.
Cool.
Shen Yuan laughed as he stared at his hands. Hands that were slightly different from his own, the fingers slender and his skin far more paler.
If he’d ever transmigrated into a novel, Shen Yuan was fairly confident that he would blend in as quickly as possible, maybe learn up on where he was to get a better handle. None of that ‘Oh man, this isn’t Kansas anymore’ bullshit. He’d make the best of a shitty situation as he’d always had to do with his life. And maybe, in this situation, instead of laughing, he would have answered his, apparent, shixiong and assure him he was fine then kick them out so he could freak out privately.
Except his thoughts were stuck on the fact that he died.
A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to look but was it really his shoulder? It was Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder. Shen Yuan’s shoulder was back in his own world, with the rest of his dead body. This whole body he was occupying wasn’t his.
Where the fuck was Shen Qingqiu and how could he get a refund!?
[Account has been permanently linked to User Shen Yuan. There is no refund.]
Cool.
Right.
Time to get the fuck out of dodge then!
As Shen Yuan made to get off the bed, a piercing pain spiked through his head, alarms ringing as if he were surrounded in a room with nothing but screeching bells, hands reaching up to clutch his head. There were shouts around him, a voice shouting for someone called Mu Qingfang and Shen Yuan felt hands help him back to his feet.
When did he collapse? Who cares! That wasn't nearly as important as the blue screen that hovered nearby turned red.
[Warning: User Shen Yuan’s thoughts qualify as an act of violation.]
[Please be advised that such thoughts are OOC and will merit punishment should they continue.]
Ha! What punishment?! He was already dead! What did he care about some fucked up abuser in a sect that looked the other way when Shen Qingqiu abused his students. That wasn’t his problem. No thank you!
[Warning! Warning! User Shen Yuan is advised to stop such thoughts or punishment will be met out.]
“Then go ahead and punish me!” He shouted, startling the other man in the room. Shen Yuan laughed as more and more red screens popped up around him. If he had half a mind to pay attention, Shen Yuan would have noticed the grief stricken look on Yue Qingyuan’s face, of a disciple’s pale expression as he looked at his Shizun lose his mind. Mu Qingfang bursting into the room and his face setting into a grim expression as he noticed his shixiong run head first into a qi-deviation.
None of that mattered.
Because Shen Yuan was dead. And he’d rather die again than suffer through this particular hell.
[WARNING. WARNING. MULTIPLE ACTS OF VIOLATION DETECTED. SYSTEM WILL MET OUT PUNISHMENT. LAST WARNING]
“Do it.”
[WARNING! WARNING! USER SHEN YUAN HAS VIOLATED THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE ACCOUNT! OOC! ACTIVATING EMERGENCY EJECTION OF USER. EMERGENCY SOUL RETRIEVAL ENGAGED.]
[WARNING. ERROR. WARNING. ERROR. ERR-]
Shen Yuan’s vision faded into black and the last thought that whispered through his mind was; this time I hope I stay dead.
---
Shen Yuan really couldn’t complain about his life.
Born into a second-generation wealthy family as the youngest of two brothers and the oldest to a younger sister, he really couldn’t complain. He did roll abysmal stats when it came to his health, always sick, always coming in and out of hospitals but overall, it wasn’t too terrible. His parents weren’t distant but not too affectionate. There was a sense of detachment there but his older brothers made up for what their parents lacked. Da-ge was entirely too protective and critical of everything he consumed and Er-ge was just as protective but with a calmer edge.
Then there was his younger sister who was as much as a wild gremlin as Shen Yuan was. Considering they were only two years, as opposed to their older brothers where there was a gap of more than eight years, Shen Yuan was content with the family he was born into.
Did it suck having a body that seemed to constantly fail? Yeah, it did. But his parents paid for the best hospital, best doctors, and the best health insurance; Shen Yuan was as comfortable as he could be.
There was also the internet.
It’s amazing how much you can learn if all your other options to entertain yourself were cut off or physically impossible. The internet might as well be called the second coming of the Library of Alexander with its wealth of knowledge.
It was also amazing how many trash fire web novels were out there; Proud Immortal Demon Way being the absolute trashiest and unnecessarily horny stallion novel. Luo Binghe was his absolute favorite and the adventures he went through to go from abused student to being discovered as a half heavenly demon then Pokémon evolving into his final form, Emperor of the Three Realms.
The monsters!
The Indiana Jones-esque adventures for treasures!
Even some of the wives Luo Binghe collected along the way were fun to read about (and then relentlessly criticize Airplane for favoring the papapa scenes over the juicy stuff, like the monsters!).
Shen Yuan’s life was alright. He’d long ago made peace with the fact that he’d die before any of his other siblings, and it took a lot of time and teeth pulling talks to get his siblings to at least accept that fact as well. They didn’t have to like it but that was more than enough for Shen Yuan. Better to acknowledge the elephant in the room than leave it to do whatever it was elephants do in a room.
Shen Yuan and death? Buddies! Friends even!
Shen Yuan stared at the door in front of him, his body aching in many different places, as his body spoke, “Qi-ge, you better come back for me.”
“I will,” spoke a voice on the other side of the door.
Friendship over with death. Spite is my new best friend.
Shen Yuan tuned out the rest of the conversation, more taken in by the fact that he couldn’t move or control the body he was in. He could feel the scratchy rug he was sitting on, could feel all the aches that drifted along his body, Shen Yuan could even feel the cold seeping into the old shed. He could feel but that was it.
Shen Yuan wanted to laugh but even that felt half hearted.
System?
There was no answer.
---
His name was Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan wanted to scream.
Over the next couple of days of cohabiting this body, Shen Yuan learned three main things. For one, not only could he NOT control the body, he could feel the thoughts of Shen Jiu. Shen Yuan felt angry every time Shen Jiu did when he was worked to the bone only to be fed scraps that not even a stray dog would eat. He felt that smug satisfaction Shen Jiu felt every time he managed to shift the blame on to someone else because that meant he wouldn’t be beaten. Shen Jiu’s hunger was Shen Yuan’s hunger.
Shen Yuan felt Shen Jiu’s emotion whether he wanted to or not.
The second realization came when Shen Jiu met the young lady of the manor. A cute child dressed in luxury, her eyes bright with innocence and amazement at the boy in front of her. A boy, who prior to her entering the room, was being beaten by the man in the same room. A boy who was forced to clean the blood off his face, stand on weak legs, and looked down at the floor to avoid meeting her gaze.
“Qiu Haitang, what have I said about knocking before entering a room?” The man said.
The girl, Qiu Haitang, smiled and laughed, going over to greet her brother before she began to rush him with questions about the new slave. As Shen Jiu fought to stay still, Shen Yuan was laughing.
Qiu Haitang.
Shen Qingqiu’s ex-fiancée who accused him of murdering her entire family. Shen Jiu was Shen Qingqiu and now Shen Yuan had a front row, surround sound seat to his life. Which seemed to differ wildly from what Shen Yuan remember reading during the trial scene where she recounted how Shen Qingqiu was a slave her family took in and became to be much beloved. They even freed him from his slave contract and her family bethrothed him to her. They were set for the good life before Shen Qingqiu ruined it all.
Scummy, villainous, Shen Jiu.
Ha!
Shen Yuan had to give Airplane some credit. The author actually knew how to write characters with more than one dimension! Good for Airplane, if only he’d actually included it in the novel, maybe it wouldn't have been such a trash dump of a fire!
In any other circumstances, Shen Yuan would have enjoyed this revelation.
Unfortunately, the third realization made it hard to accept the clever backstory.
The third fact, and Shen Jiu’s body suppressed a shiver as Qiu Haitang left the room, leaving him alone again with that man, was that Qiu Jianluo was a cruel master. His body stiffened as Qiu Jianluo walked over to him, a gentle smile on his face.
“Isn’t my A-Tang lovely? A wonderful girl who even spares someone like you the time of day.” He stood in front of Shen Jiu, towering over the younger boy. Shen Yuan felt Shen Jiu’s fear. His anger boiled uselessly under his skin because Qiu Jianluo was an opponent he couldn’t fight and hoped to win against,
“Since A-Tang wants you to become her playmate,” Qiu Jianluo spoke, reaching out to brush his thumb against Shen Jiu’s bottom lip. His hand trailed down to grab his chin and jerk his head upwards. “I’ll have to teach you what you can and can’t do with her.” He shoved his thumb into Shen Jiu’s mouth, a glint of something perverse making his eyes gleam. The fear that Shen Jiu felt quickly turned to horror and terror. Shen Jiu followed Qiu Jianluo to his desk in the room as Shen Yuan wanted to throw up.
He wanted to claw at his skin, claw out his eyes, anything to stop the feeling across his skin but it wasn’t possible.
Shen Yuan felt what Shen Jiu felt.
---
Shen Jiu suffered, and so did Shen Yuan.
Amid the sea of pain and discomfort, of feeling pain and abject disgust on a near constant basis, there was only one reprieve Shen Jiu had. Since Qiu Haitang took a liking to him, the beatings were less. Qiu Jianluo wanted what Qiu Haitang wanted and she wanted Shen Jiu.
The beatings were exchanged for lessons in writing, calligraphy, playing the guqin and erhu, lessons that groomed Shen Jiu into the perfect husband for Qiu Haitang. He was fed more and moved to an actual room in the manor instead of a cold drafty shed by the kitchens. He grew from a scrawny dirty thing into a beautiful young teen.
Shen Jiu, and Shen Yuan, preferred if the beatings came back.
The beatings were replaced with lessons and the ‘beatings’ he did endure left his body feeling sore. It left a film of grime that never seemed to rub off Shen Jiu’s body, no matter how much he scrubbed and scrubbed. Scholars taught him during the day, praised his quick intelligence and ability to absorb the information, and at night, Qiu Jianluo taught him the exact height of his depravity. Qiu Jianluo taught him how to please a man, praised him for being a natural born whore, whispering how good he’ll look when he married Qiu Haitang while plugged with the evidence of his master's favor.
Shen Jiu felt and Shen Yuan felt.
And at some point, it all just merged together.
Shen Jiu was a slave, so was Shen Yuan. They felt the same thing and sometimes Shen Yuan would remember his life. His other life, the one with all the comforts of the world at his fingertips, his distant but caring parents, his overbearing but protective older brothers, his gremlin younger sister. He would remember and then he would mourn because that wasn’t right?
Shen Jiu had no family. The only brother he had was Qi-ge and Qi-ge promised he’d come back to save him. That was the only reason he stayed and endured. He promised.
Shen Jiu was breaking and so was Shen Yuan.
---
The night of the murder happened in a blur.
Shen Yuan remembered being with Qiu Jianluo, asking if he could learn to cultivate. He bargained, Shen Jiu trying to convince Qiu Jianluo it would be worth it if he could cultivate. Wouldn’t he want to keep Shen Jiu looking younger?
It was useless. All it did was make Qiu Jianluo angry. There was a scuffle and Qiu Jianluo had that cruel look in his eyes that Shen Yuan recognized as Bad Touch Times. Shen Jiu backpedaled against a wall, a sword falling off its wall stand and clattered next to him. Qiu Jianluo said something, a hand reached for Shen Jiu and then there was a sword through Qiu Jianluo’s chest.
Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan were both stunned as they watched blood drip down the blade of the sword. His heart was beating rapidly, his skin felt too tight and the small thread of hope died within Shen Jiu.
Qi-ge wasn’t coming.
He was alone. No one would come.
Shen Yuan laughed and for once, so did Shen Jiu.
The rest of the night passed in pieces. He remembered slaughtering every single man that tried to stop him. The maids and other female servants all fled, not once did his sword swing towards them. When he stumbled across Qiu Haitang, her face pale and wide with fear, Shen Yuan felt sad. Shen Jiu felt pity. Qiu Haitang fainted and Shen Jiu carried her out of the burning manor. He set her down away from the manor, where she would be easily spotted, and without looking back, Shen Jiu fled into the forest.
“Why not kill them all?”
Shen Yuan looked down at the sword in his hand, and could remember the push and weight as it slid into Qiu Jianluo’s body. He dropped the sword to the ground and looked at the man who addressed him.
“The one I wanted to kill is already dead.”
The man, Shen Yuan remembered him as Wu Yanzi, the cultivator that had piqued Shen Jiu’s interest, shrugged as if that was answer enough and he started to walk further into the forest.
---
Life with Wu Yanzi wasn’t better.
It wasn’t worse, which was a blessing as far as Shen Yuan was concerned. The rogue cultivator taught Shen Jiu to slaughter, rob, set fires, and steal. He used him for labor and to trick unsuspecting travelers and occasionally would beat Shen Jiu if he made a mistake.
But that was as far as his cruelty went. The cultivator’s vices were women and booze and when he had the coin, he’d treat himself to both. Shen Jiu would often stay wherever they were staying, either in an inn or camped out in the nearby woods. The only times he’d join Wu Yanzi to a brothel was when his insomnia kept him up.
Hiding in Qiu Haitang’s room was paradise because he escaped Qiu Jianluo’s wrath. As sheltered as Qiu Haitang was, she was gentle and warm and he could sleep in peace. Shen Jiu sought that warmth when he visited the brothels, paying for a night and surprising the prostitutes with his simple request of sleep. If a kind of understanding passed between them, a haunted look in their eyes that they both recognized, well that was between Shen Jiu, the prostitute, and Shen Yuan.
So life was okay!
If Shen Jiu happened to murder a few people along the way, well, Shen Yuan wouldn’t fault him. It was a kill or be killed kind of world. Shen Jiu already learned his lesson the hard way. So did Shen Yuan. You look out for yourself. Can’t depend on other people if you want to get anywhere in life.
Shen Yuan did depend on other people though. Or at least he used to. There was his brother, Qi-ge but Qi-ge died. That was the only explanation Shen Jiu had as to why Qi-ge never came back. He only hoped that his death was painless.
Shen Yuan hoped it was painless. As an expert in death and dying, painless was definitely the way to go!
Plus, if there was one thing to be said about Wu Yanzi, he at least taught him how to cultivate. Granted, they had to steal a lot of manuals but it was still learning! The man was a disgusting bastard, a horrible drunk, and possibly steering himself into the demonic cultivation path given the last few kidnappings were other rogue cultivators; he at least kept his word.
Shen Jiu meditated and read. He applied the techniques he learned as he began his cultivation path, building his foundation and breaking through the first stages of bottlenecks. Shen Jiu may have been considered too old to start cultivating, but that didn't stop him. Wu Yanzi definitely loved to point out how he’ll never reach the Nascent Soul stage whenever he could but that was fine. Shen Jiu, being a creature fueled by pure spite, took that as a challenge.
Shen Yuan, a creature also fueled by spite, approved. Never let it be said that spite doesn't take you places. Spite made Shen Yuan bust out a 50k meta essay on the environmental impact merging the three realms had on the wildlife population in Proud Immortal Demon Way. It was one of his best works as Peerless Cucumber. Even Great Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky replied with a, ‘Damn bro’.
Life was okay!
A little murder here, a kidnapping or two there, oh what was that, you’re a lost merchant, no problem! Let me help you out, just follow me into these thick woods where nothing bad will happen at all, pinky promise!
Shen Yuan couldn’t complain about his life, and if he cheered for Shen Jiu whenever he reached a bottleneck and broke through, well, only he would know. Shen Jiu’s pride was Shen Yuan’s pride.
Life was okay… until it wasn’t.
Wu Yanzi and Shen Jiu infiltrated the Immortal Alliance Conference. The plan was simple: sneak in there, lure any stray disciple to Wu Yanzi and then bam! Delicious core for Wu Yanzi to snack on. He got the cores and Shen Jiu robbed their bodies of any goods. It was simple.
Until it wasn’t.
It stopped being simple when a young man in elaborate black robes with silver accents approached the clearing Shen Jiu was at. It stopped being simple and quickly became complicated when the young man eyes widened and a single phrase left his lips,
“Xiao Jiu?”
Shen Jiu went through a multitude of emotions; confusion, shock, anger. Every range and depth of these emotions raced through him until it settled upon heartbreak.
Qi-ge was alive.
Qi-ge was alive and in danger. Shen Jiu’s body reacted before he could think and he grabbed one of the emergency flares near one of the corpses, firing it off as he shouted, “Run!”
But the dumb bastard just stood there, eyes roaming over Shen Jiu, no doubt taking in his blood drenched appearance. Shen Yuan knew Shen Jiu didn’t look okay, he’d seen his face in reflections. He knew that despite the emotions running rampant, Shen Jiu’s expression was calm and cold. It was only his eyes that gave away the frantic energy in him.
Earth to Qi-ge! Move please!
Qi-ge didn’t move. Wu Yanzi entered the scene and Shen Yuan had a moment of dejavu, of flames licking up the side of a manor as a sword slaughtered any man in sight.
Wu Yanzi whistled, strolling up to Shen Jiu, “Well, what do we have here? A Cang Qiong disciple,” Wu Yanzi’s eyes trailed down to the scabbard hanging off Qi-ge’s hip. “Not just any disciple, Head Disciple of Qiong Ding peak and the Xuan Su Sword, Yue Qingyuan.”
Shen Jiu felt the moment Wu Yanzi decided to make Yue Qingyuan his next prey. He could feel it in the way the man smiled. He filed away what Wu Yanzi said for later because right now, Qi-ge was in danger. He saw the moment Wu Yanzi shifted in order to grab one of his secret demonic talisman.
The next movement Wu Yanzi found a sword stabbed through his chest, piercing right through his heart. In the very next moment, Qi-ge, Yue Qi, finally moved. He ran to grab Shen Jiu’s hand and they ran away from the clearing until they couldn’t run. Shen Jiu caught his breath, leaning against a tree trunk as he fully took in Qi- Yue Qi.
He’s alive, he’s alive!
But the more Shen Jiu looked, the less he saw of Yue Qi.
The elegant robes, the high cultivation level, the way Yue Qi carried himself as if he was born from a noble bloodline. That person wasn’t Yue Qi. It was Yue Qingyuan.
Yue Qingyuan turned to look at him, and Shen Yuan could see the excitement in his eyes, could see him get ready to speak as if they were equal, “So, you got into Cang Qiong.”
That happy expression crumpled, Yue Qingyuan’s face paling. Shen Jiu didn’t stop.
“And became a head disciple? Not bad.” Shen Jiu spoke with detachment and Shen Yuan felt it. He felt deep within himself as if he was Shen Jiu himself. The question Why kept repeating within his mind and he needed answers just as badly as Shen Jiu needed them. His other brothers never abandoned him but why did Qi-ge,
“Why didn’t you come back to look for me?”
Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan waited but no answer came. Only apologies.
Apologies after apologies after apologies! That wasn’t what he wanted!
“Qi-ge let you down. I’m sorry.”
Oh god, that was the wrong dialog branch, Yue Qingyuan. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
A cold fury swept through Shen Jiu. And what Shen Jiu felt, Shen Yuan felt too. He would laugh if he could, but Shen Jiu kept his face expressionless. Nothing of the massive amount of self loathing that rolled through his body was betrayed. Shen Jiu was calm as he realized the world would only ever see him as a filthy rotten rat. Destined to be trampled on, clinging to scraps and fighting with his life for every single piece.
Shen Jiu belonged in the shadows or in hell. No sane person would wish to see the only family they cared about dead rather than the pure outstanding being of perfection in front of him.
Shen Yuan felt and he cried. Shen Jiu would never cry for himself, so Shen Yuan did.
---
Life could be worse.
It had been worse. If Shen Yuan had a bingo card for every way his life went to shit, he’d have at least two bingos. Maybe more. Shen Jiu would also have two bingos because at this point, Shen Yuan found it hard to separate himself from Shen Jiu. First of all, he literally couldn’t. He was Shen Jiu but at the same time he wasn’t. Second of all, even if he could, he didn't want to be separate from Shen Jiu.
As the world had shown over and over again, no one had Shen Jiu’s back.
And it showed it this time again, as he was accepted into Qing Jing Peak per Yue Qingyuan’s recommendation.
It started with rumors.
Rumors about Shen Jiu being a snobbish son of a noble family. Shen Yuan scoffed at the rumor. The whole peak was snobbish such-and-such from such-and-such noble family. Shen Jiu did what he naturally did. He adapted into his environment and strived to survive. Shen Yuan would like to see any of them go through what Shen Jiu did! None of them would survive. Shen Jiu looked at those rumors, smiled like a shark that caught the scent of blood, and did nothing to correct them.
From there, it escalated with the brothel incident.
Shen Jiu couldn’t sleep in a dorm full of men. It didn’t matter that they were boys, some younger than him. They were all men and being surrounded by them made his skin itch. Shen Jiu did what he always did; he slept outside. The bamboo forest was quiet and far enough away from the dorms. And if it rained, Shen Jiu slept in the wood shed. Even with his makeshift solutions, Shen Jiu couldn’t escape the inevitable insomnia.
Shen Yuan held a vigilante for every poor soul who came across a Shen Jiu with five days straight without sleep. At least to the ones that didn’t deserve it, which were a small amount that he could count on one hand. Most everyone else deserved the razor sharp words flung at them. Shen Yuan flung a few of his own, albeit more colorful.
For Shen Jiu’s insomnia, he went for the tried and true method.
He visited the Warm Red Pavilion.
The first night, with the silent exchange of recognition from weary eyes, Shen Jiu paid handsomely. He ended up curled against the prostitute, the little spoon to her big spoon, and for the first time since he joined Cang Qiong Sect, Shen Jiu had a peaceful nights’ sleep. From there, it became almost nightly. Shen Jiu would finish his duties on the peak then descend to the town at the base of the mountains to enjoy the company of the women in the brothel.
As time passed, the prostitutes quickly adopted Shen Jiu. The Madam of the house granted him access to the girls back rooms, where they waited for customers or took a break in. They refused his coin at one point, eager to welcome him into their home when he visited. When he realized what they did, Shen Jiu had left the brothel, came back a few minutes later with a blue vase, set it down and poured most of his coin into it, daring anyone to say anything with a single elegant, eyebrow lift.
Naturally, they laughed, their smiles warm and filled with much needed joy. No one disagreed, not when their A-Jiu was so sweet. And if the coin in the vase was used to buy sweets, well, that was a secret between them all. A-Jiu would visit during the day sometimes when his disciple duties were done. A-Jiu would play them songs, teach others to write, or let them practice their makeup on him. Shen Jiu didn’t know what love was but the affection he felt for the women in the brothel felt like what he thought love felt like.
Shen Yuan nodded vigorously because he did know what love felt like. With his older brothers and younger sister. And about a dozen more older and younger sisters. Shen Yuan couldn’t reassure Shen Jiu that what he felt was good. All he could do was feel what Shen Jiu felt.
The whores at the brothel acted more like family than Cang Qiong Sect did! Shen Yuan wanted to yell at everyone who sneered at Shen Jiu, who quickly wrote Shen Jiu off as a lazy nobleman's son who spent all his time at the brothels. There was scorn and contempt and Shen Jiu took it in stride, letting the insults roll down his back. The vitriol worsened when it spread that the peak lord of Qing Jing Peak was considering him to become head disciple.
Was this a high school!? Hello! Isn’t this supposed to be a sect that held itself above petty mortal things?! Was this a xianxia version of Mean Girls?!
His Shen Jiu earned! That! Position!
It all came to head at the brothel, when his supposed shidi from Bai Zhan came barging in like a wild animal, screaming Shen Jiu’s name. Liu Qingge. A pretty man with a black and white viewpoint and the bane of Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan’s existence.
He held nothing back, calling Shen Jiu a disgrace, that he was ruining Cang Qiong's image, etc. At this point, Shen Yuan could recite all the ways Liu Qingge pointed out that was supposedly wrong with his Shen Jiu. Shen Jiu seethed and it was only by the appearance of Yue Qingyuan that finally sent Liu Qingge away.
Only for their glorious sect leader to plead on behalf of Liu Qingge’s case, tried to get Shen Jiu to show him kindness. Because it was always Shen Jiu in the wrong. Never anyone else.
“Xiao Jiu…”
“Don’t call me that!”
The hate that seeped into his voice was palpable. Yue Qingyuan could only look away, a rueful smile on his face as he apologized.
Do you even know what you’re apologizing for? Shen Yuan wanted to strangle the useless man but he could only feel what Shen Jiu felt. At that moment, Shen Yuan felt emptiness.
It was Shen Jiu against the world. No one on his side, no one bothering to see past the rumors and Shen Jiu’s cold demeanor. It couldn’t possibly get worse. It could only go uphill from here, right?
No.
The world saw fit to give Shen Jiu one last kick in the ass, as a treat, “From today on, your name will be Shen Qingqiu, head disciple of Qing Jing Peak and the next Peak Lord.”
---
When Shen Yuan opened his eyes to see the familiar gauzy canopy along the bedpost of the bed he was currently laying down on, he wasn’t sure what to think. He slowly sat upright, the bedsheets slipping down to his lap. Thankfully, he was alone which gave him that much needed time to freak out.
'Cause what the fuck?! What was going on!?
…Wait. He moved his body! On his own!
Shen Yuan extended his arms out in front of him, wiggling his fingers around. He was still Shen Jiu, or rather, Shen Qingqiu. He wasn’t sure of the time or where he was according to Proud Immortal Demon Way’s timeline but if he had to guess, he was probably already a Peak Lord. He recognized that he was staying in the bedroom of the bamboo house. The same one he had freaked out earlier in.
He slowly got up to his feet, feeling a bit unstable but nothing he couldn’t handle. He was in white robes that felt soft but something in him told Shen Yuan he was too exposed. Looking around, Shen Yuan spotted some robes draped over a chair. His face wrinkled a bit at the thought of someone carelessly tossing his robes to the side like mere trash but he had clothes now! And his body somehow knew how to pull them on. Shen Yuan watched, almost as an outsider, as his body finished dressing him up.
Xianxia clothes! Pretty to look at but a pain to put on!
Clothes? Check! Hair? A bit of a mess but nothing that a high ponytail couldn't fix. Done!
System?
….
System! Right! That mechanical piece of shit knock off a Google Voice brought him into this mess. Shen Yuan tried to call out but nothing responded back.
“System?” He said out loud.
Nothing but blissful silence. Shen Yuan paced around his room, passing by a table to pick up a fan, as he thought of his situation.
So he was still Shen Qingqiu and not dead. Shen Yuan stopped to look down at his hands, idly wondering when he even picked up the paper fan. It felt natural in his hand, like it was an extension of himself. He flicked it open, lifting the fan and flipping it over to see beautiful stalks of bamboo painted on the paper. He flicked it closed again, stopping his pacing as he ventured out into the main room.
The larger main room was sparsely decorated, simple in its decorations but tasteful. Shen Qingqiu had good taste.
-Of course I do.-
Shen Yuan flinched, looking around the empty room but finding no one. Before he could even begin to unwrap that fuckery, the door opened and Yue Qingyuan walked into the room. He looked surprised to see Shen Qingqiu standing in the middle of his own home which quickly shifted to open relief.
“Shidi, you’re awake!”
His tone made it sound like Shen Qingqiu was asleep for a while. Slow panic settled under his skin as he flicked open his fan, bringing it up to hide his mouth.
-Send the idiot away.-
“Zhangmen-Shixiong, how long has this one been asleep?”
“After suffering from a qi-deviation, Qingqiu-shidi has been asleep for about a week.”
Shen Yuan hummed, eyes examining Yue Qi’s face for any lie. Finding none, Shen Yuan slightly nodded as he looked away. A week had passed and in that week, Shen Yuan experienced years worth of Shen Jiu’s memories.
“Xiao-Jiu, I…”
“Don’t call me that,” Shen Qingqiu hissed, distaste in his voice for a name that should be dead. A name that belonged in the past, alongside his memories of Qi-ge. The man in front of him was Yue Qingyuan, sect leader of Cang Qiong and Shen Qingqiu’s shixiong.
“Apologies,” Shen Yuan said, raising his hand to touch his temple. He looked to Yue Qingyuan and somehow, the man looked like someone was dying in front of him. “It seems I’m still feeling unwell. Would you go and bring Mu Qingfang, Zhangmen-shixiong?” Shen Yuan had barely finished speaking before Yue Qingyuan quickly exited the house.
“A-Jiu?”
-Who gave you permission to call me that, thief?-
Shen Yuan ran back into the bedroom to look at the bronze mirror. Shen Qingqiu stared back at him and as Shen Yuan raised his hand, so did Shen Qingqiu.
“Jiu-ge.”
His body flinched, as if he was offended and scandalized by the word, but Shen Yuan, as Shen Qingqiu grinned. The system was gone but in its place, somehow, Shen Jiu had come back and Shen Yuan rather have Jiu-ge’s harsh voice in his head than that damned system.
Shen Yuan - Score 1! System - Score 0!