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English
Series:
Part 3 of 🤍 Cold Plum Blossom Verse , Part 15 of Proud Immortal Fanfic Way
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Published:
2025-12-03
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1,000
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1/1
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10
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even bad maps lead someplace good

Summary:

Looking around at their surroundings, Cheong Myeong quickly located the necessary prop. Plucking a nearby flower, he strode towards Shen Jiu with a mischievious expression.

"Sajaeeee, this sahyung is in need of you botanical knowledge!" He called, draping himself over Shen Jiu's back and showing off the flower above the map. "Tell me, is this flower an aphrodisiac?"

It was a silly game, but one Cheong Myeong had quite enjoyed. And, considering that Shen Jiu never complained (too much) about being asked to identify "aphrodisiac" plants from time to time, Cheong Myeong would continue playing it.

or: if your world doesn't have sex pollen plants, playing pretend works too!

Notes:

okay so this idea was nested in my head during work today!! but part 2 is soooo far off and sure, i could hide it in my docs somewhere, but i thought to myself... why should i? lemme share the cutie patootie scenes for a delicious rarepair, we'all are STARVING

my headcanon is that they both would use pet names closer to the other's heart. so CM would go with A-Jiu and Jiu-Jiu and Jiu-er but also sajae in more official contexts, while SJ would go more into sahyung, and MAYBE yeobo ("Darling" or "honey"), naesarang ("My love") and Seobangnim (“Husband”) on special occassions

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

They were not lost. They were just... Taking a scenic route through the forest. Yes, A-Jiu was muttering about the negative levels of skill possessed by whoever drew their map, but that was deserved. There was a reason why Cheong Myeong had given up shortly after seeing the map, delegating the task to his fiance.

Could they have flown on their swords? Sure. Would that have helped with finding the rare medicinal plant they were pursuing? Very likely not.

Still, it wouldn't be good to let A-Jiu's blood pressure get too high.

Looking around at their surroundings, Cheong Myeong quickly located the necessary prop. Plucking a nearby flower, he strode towards Shen Jiu with a mischievious expression.

"Sajaeeee, this sahyung is in need of you botanical knowledge!" He called, draping himself over Shen Jiu's back and showing off the flower above the map. "Tell me, is this flower an aphrodisiac?"

It was a silly game, but one Cheong Myeong had quite enjoyed. And, considering that Shen Jiu never complained (too much) about being asked to identify "aphrodisiac" plants from time to time, Cheong Myeong would continue playing it.

If anything, it seemed to make Shen Jiu feel safer. A reminder that here, he never had to worry about a simple flower robbing him of his agency, forcing him to do something he never wanted. Cheong Myeong would help him remember this fact as often as he could manage to manufacture a suitable excuse.

"Hm..." Shen Jiu rolled up the map, hiding it in his sleeve before turning to face Cheong Myeong. He took the flower, twirling it between his fingers. When he spoke, his voice took on a teasing lilt. "I'm not sure. Why won't sahyung try and tell me?"

With that, he gently tucked the flower against Cheong Myeong's ear.

Which, normally, would be a sign that this flower did resemble one of the dangerous ones back in Shen Jiu's first world. Then Cheong Myeong would pretend to be "affected", swooning and begging for kisses, which Shen Jiu would indulgently provide.

Unfortunately, this time, his script got a bit thrown off by a very unfortunate sensation.

Cheong Myeong winced slightly. "I think it's actually mildly poisonous? Or something? My ear's kind of burning-"

Blanching, Shen Jiu grabbed the flower back, incinerating it with a burst of qi. Then, he quickly brushed his fingers against Cheong Myeong's ear.

Now, that small interruption didn't mean they had to abandon their original set-up...

"Sajae, it really hurts," Cheong Myeong whined, making sure to emphasize it strongly enough to make it obvious he was joking. "Won't you kiss it better?"

Shen Jiu exhaled in amusement, leaning in to press a kiss against the shell of Cheong Myeong's ear.

"Is this the only spot where it hurts?" He asked, his breath tickling Cheong Myeong's skin before he leaned back.

"I was holding the flower, too," Cheong Myeong pressed his hand against Shen Jiu's cheek, trying not to grow distracted as his fiance turned slightly to kiss his palm, followed by the pads of all of his fingers. "I think I might have smelled it, too..."

Shen Jiu obligingly leaned in to press a kiss against the tip of Cheong Myeong's nose, staying in close.

"Anywhere else, sahyung?"

Now, Cheong Myeong could have told him that he fell into the bush and needed healing kisses all over, but... Well. He never had much patience when it came to his A-Jiu.

So instead of answering, Cheong Myeong just kissed him. It would go nowhere further - not while they were out in a random forest, and not while on a fairly time-sensitive mission, either - but making out with his fiance was Cheong Myeong's second favourite thing after drinking booze. Sometimes, it even took the lead.

"Wait," Shen Jiu spoke against Cheong Myeong's lips, palm pressed against his chest as he put some distance between them. "That was a five-petalled white flower with yellow stamen. Isn't that what- Where did you find it?"

Cheong Myeong threw a thumb behind himself. "There's a whole bush of them over there."

Shen Jiu moved past Cheong Myeong swiftly, beeling for the bush to Cheong Myeong's great disappointment. Crouching down, he inspected the plant closely, taking out a scroll with a reference image to compare it against.

"...I think that's it," he said eventually. "Not where we were told it'd be, but it certainly looks the same."

Cheong Myeong preened at that. Oh, he'd get so much teasing out of the fact that he accidentally found what they had been struggling to locate...

"If we kept following that stupid map... Who knows if we'd ever find it!" Shen Jiu carefully dug around the plant, trying to excavate it without damaging the roots. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that man. He seemed like he was trying to trick us-"

Cheong Myeong helped to wrap the plant in some fabric, before they worked together to hide it inside of a qiankun pouch to secure it for the journey back.

In the meantime, Shen Jiu kept up the commentary about the guy who gave them directions. And Cheong Myeong, well... He didn't much enjoy hearing his fiance speak so lively of another man.

"You know, A-Jiu," he interrupted as he stood up, hand running through Shen Jiu's hair before slipping underneath them and resting at his nape. "Since we found it so quickly..."

Shen Jiu closed his mouth with a soft click, standing up as well. From such a small distance, it was easy to see his gorgous green irises disappear as his pupils expanded.

"It calls for a celebration, don't you think?"

His fiance, of course, was on the same page. "I suppose," he said, fingers running over Cheong Myeong's collar. "Since we're so far ahead of the schedule..."

Fingers fisting in the fabric, he pulled Cheong Myeong closer, licking against the seam of his mouth with a singleminded intensity.

Their success got instantly celebrated with a thorough make-out against the nearest tree.

Notes: