Chapter Text
Even after three years in this world, Shen Quinqiu didn’t understand secondary gender dynamics. Naturally, this meant he ignored them.
What else was he supposed to do? They didn’t make any sense! Obviously alphas should be the manliest of men and omegas the womanliest of women, with betas encapsulating mediocrity. Only, now that he was here, he’d discovered his assumptions didn’t match the world in play.
Because Liu Qingge had died off page and Luo Binghe never got to meet him in PIDW, details about the peak lord of Bai Zhan were scarce. Shen Quinqiu had known he was a war god, the most skilled and fierce of fighters — besides the protagonist, of course — which meant he should be the most alpha of alphas, a pinnacle of masculinity. Right?
Wrong! Liu Qingge was an omega. A beautiful, lithe, sweet smelling omega. He was still the toughest of fighters, rough and course in behaviour and prone to violence, but with a captivating elegance more appropriate for ballet dancers and figure skaters and other, you know… girls. Great master Airplane, make it make sense!
Qi Qingqi, the peak lord of Xian Shu — the peak known for producing beautiful, elegant, perfect women — should be the most perfect woman of them all, which meant she should be the most omega omega to ever omega, right?
Wrong! She was an alpha. Still beautiful, still feminine, but an alpha.
The web novel had never mentioned that, and Shen Qingqiu had almost embarrassed himself upon discovering the fact. Perhaps he should have guessed. Why else wouldn’t Luo Binghe have married her in PIDW? Luo Binghe was the stallion protagonist, and as an alpha he couldn’t fuck another alpha. That would be gay, even if one alpha was a man and another a woman.
On second thought, he had married a few alpha women, but immediately bitching them into omegas. It’s not like Qi Qingqi’s original dynamic would have mattered after a quick bitching, and surely she would have been willing. Who would reject the protagonist? And surely every alpha woman wanted to become an omega in their heart of hearts.
If it wasn't her secondary gender, it must have been Qi Qingqi’s forceful personality keeping her out of the protagonist’s harem...
The fuckery of secondary gender dynamics made Shen Quinqiu’s brain hurt. There were so many different kinds of gay in this world, and cultivators were too polite to comment on what was proper and what wasn’t — at least, when it came to relationships; Shen Qingqiu had found them just as gossipy as the seniors at mahjong club when it came to every other topic — so Shen Qingqiu had to figure out what counted as straight for himself. Clearly omegas and alphas were meant for each other, but only if they were men and women. A male omega with a male alpha would still be gay, right? It had to be, since Luo Binghe had never mated a male omega.
Fortunately, as a straight man, Shen Qingqiu was only attracted to women — specifically, omega and beta women — and since all women belonged to the protagonist and Shen Qingqiu was determined not to give Luo Binghe more reason to kill him, he had sworn off women anyway.
Problem solved. Shen Qingqiu didn’t need to waste time worrying about it anymore.
Or, he wouldn’t have, if the scent of heat hadn’t wafted from Luo Binghe’s room two weeks before the Immortal Alliance Conference was set to begin.
Shen Qingqiu woke in the middle of the night with a throbbing erection, saliva pooling around his sharp alpha fangs and blood racing through his veins. It was most unbecoming. Did his sleeping body have no shame?
A moment’s attention to his straining cock was enough to tell it wouldn’t wilt without intervention, so he rose from bed to fetch a glass of cool, mind clearing water from the pitcher on his dressing table, diligently refreshed by Luo Binghe earlier that evening.
He made it three steps across the room before the most tantalizing scent in this world, and the last one he expected to encounter, assaulted him.
It was sweet — sweeter than the osmanthus cake Luo Binghe had hand crafted the day before — and musky. Something that called to mind the scent of creased limbs and closed rooms and sweat and sex and...
Heat. Shen Qingqi opened his mouth to draw in a breath so deep his lungs ached, letting the scent coat his tongue, sear his nostrils, embed itself in the furthest reaches of his memory.
It must be the scent of heat. Shen Qingqiu had never been around an omega in pre-heat before, much less one in full blown heat, but it couldn’t be anything else. The hackneyed descriptions in yellow books of wet folds and honeyed slick dripping from blossoming peaches was evocative, but not particularly descriptive of real human bodies. Yet, now that Shen Qingqiu could smell those blossoming peaches with his own nose, it was impossible to mistake it for anything else.
But why was there an omega in heat in his bamboo house? Only himself, an alpha, and Luo Binghe, a soon-to-be alpha were supposed to be—
Binghe. The stallion protagonist must have started wooing sweet sisters early. Who had he invited into their home? Was it his first and most innocent wife, Ning Yingying? She’d presented a year ago and should know better than to sully her virtue under her shizun’s nose! The loss of face for all involved if she were caught—!
Not that he could blame his sweet white lotus for successfully wooing his first wife years early. As the stallion protagonist his hungers were boundless, and since Shen Qingqiu had given Luo Binghe a safe, loving home his appetites had room to flourish, even in his youth.
And how could he expect poor Ning Yingying to resist in the face of the protagonist’s endless charms?
Still, propriety must be respected. He stalked to Luo Binghe’s bedroom, ready to send Ning Yingying to Qian Cao Peak and the care of Mu Qingfang’s talented disciples. He thickened his face as much as he could, wishing he’d grabbed a fan before approaching the childhood sweethearts, and raised his hand to knock on the door—
Only for an unexpected sound to stop him.
“Shizun,” Luo Binghe’s familiar voice whimpered, followed by a long moan and a bitten off gasp.
Shameless! As impressive as it was that the protagonist had already noticed his shizun approaching the door — and smug as it made Shen Qingqiu that his Luo Binghe’s situational awareness was on par with the blackened protagonists, before he’d even gone through the crucible of the abyss — he would not be swayed by sweet bleating.
Shen Qingqiu wrapped his knuckles against the door, the sound of bone on wood ringing loud in the quiet.
Immediately, the lovers hiding in the side room quieted.
“What do my disciples think they’re doing in there?” Shen Qingqiu asked, voice so hard no one would guess his cheeks were hot enough to light an incense stick.
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe yelped.
“Do this master’s disciples have so little respect for him that they would act so shamelessly in his own home?”
“Shizun! There’s no— it’s just me, Shizun, I would never—”
Shen Qingqiu scoffed. The protagonist was supposed to be a first rate liar, yet this was the best he could come up with? Ning Yingying should be proud to scramble the stallion protagonist’s brains so thoroughly. “Unmated omegas are supposed to retreat to Qian Cao to safely weather their heats, not—” his mouth twitched as he struggle to find a delicate way to refer to the papapa happening under his roof “— collaborate with their shidis, as Ning Yingying well knows.”
“Ning Yingying?” Luo Binghe yelped, followed by a thud and the pounding of bare feet on wooden floor. The door flew open and Luo Binghe’s moon-pale face haloed by a fluffy cloud of curls appeared. “Shizun! Why does Shizun think Ning Yingying is— this one would never—”
Instinctively, Shen Qingqiu’s eyes flicked over Luo Binghe’s shoulder, scanning the empty room and landing on the equally empty bed. Moonlight soaked the small space, revealing nothing amiss aside from a rumpled blanket trailing off the bed. There was no Ning Yingying and no where for Ning Yingying to hide.
But then how...? Where was the smell…?
“This Binghe begs Shizun’s pardon for disturbing his sleep,” Luo Binghe said, wide eyes shining like starlight on a still pond. His bottom lip trembled and he sucked in a quivering breath as he clutched the door. “This one woke feeling… feeling…”
Shen Qingqiu inhaled a deep breath, sweetness and musk and sex overwhelming his nose, all coming from one impossible source.
But it couldn’t be. Luo Binghe was an alpha. Luo Binghe was the alpha. So why, how, did he smell like an omega in heat?
“Shizun, I think…” Luo Binghe bit his trembling lip and looked up at Shen Qingqiu through dark, thick lashes. “I think I’m in heat.” Then, his knees trembled so hard he collapsed.
Shen Qingqiu caught him before he hit the ground, arms wrapping around Luo Binghe’s burning hot torso, hands splayed wide against heaving lungs.
Binghe moaned.
Shen Qingqiu froze.
“Thanking Shizun for rescuing this lowly omega,” Luo Binghe said in a voice more breathy than even the most desperate maiden.
Protagonist!? Save that tone for your wives! What are you doing?
Luo Binghe rested his head against Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder, warm breath fanning across the tender flesh of Shen Qingqiu’s exposed neck.
He couldn’t help it. He shivered. What was happening? Why was—how was— “System! Explain!!!” he called mentally.
[Answering host] the system beeped. [Luo Binghe is in heat!]
“Yes, I noticed that,” Shen Qingqiu responded with every ounce of vitriol he could pour into his mental voice. “Why? He’s an alpha!”
[Answering host: Not anymore!]
“But why—“
“If Shizun could help this one back to bed?” Luo Binghe asked.
As if Shen Qingqiu could deny the protagonist anything. He hauled Luo Binghe three steps across the room and gently deposited him on his bed, only to regret his actions immediately.
Sprawled on his back in the moon light, thin sleeping robe gaping at the neck to reveal smooth, unblemished skin above the small swell of blossoming breasts, stiff nipples tenting fabric into two perfect peaks as the scent of omegan desire saturated the room like fog on a cold morning, Shen Qingqiu finally, belatedly, realized he was out of his element.
He had to get out of here, fast. Luo Binghe was too— and he wasn’t supposed to be at all—
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe asked, petal pink lips barely parting to form the word as he looked at his master through half-lidded eyes.
No time to make sense of it now. Action first, explanations later, thinking about the stirring in his gut and throbbing in his balls never. “Is Binghe feeling well enough to travel to Qian Cao on his own, or should this master call for a healer to escort him?”
“Shizun! Why would I— this one doesn’t wish to go to Qian Cao at all!”
So distressed! You’d think Shen Qingqiu was threatening to send him to the endless abyss! Without a sword! And badly wounded! Haha. Better not think of that… “Binghe must. Unmated omegas are not meant to spend their heats on their peaks, where anyone could smell them and take advantage.”
Luo Binghe flinched and averted his eyes, cheeks flushing further. “I’m not… I mean, this one does not…”
Ah, his poor sweet sheep. He was embarrassed. Of course he was! To think the stallion protagonist presented as an omega. He must be disappointed, ashamed, distraught… “My disciple does not wish to go to Qian Cao peak?”
“No, Shizun. Can’t I stay here?” he asked with wide, dewy eyes. He looked so innocent, so sweet, a poor bullied maiden suffering life’s greatest trials.
It was inappropriate, but Shen Qingqiu could not deny his favourite disciple the opportunity to save face. If he travelled to Qian Cao mid-heat, even arriving under the cover of darkness wouldn’t be enough to keep his presentation a secret. All of Qian Cao would know by morning, Qing Jing by mid day, and the rest of the sect by sunset.
Luo Binghe would have a hard enough time adjusting to his surprise presentation without everyone else gossiping about it. And this way, if he wanted to change his dynamic by consuming a Pillar of Eternal Strength flower or drinking Essence of Virile Horn sap, he could do so. The plants were rare, but Shen Qingqiu would find them for Luo Binghe and save the protagonist from this no doubt system-led mistake.
[System has done nothing and does not appreciate accusations from host when host is the one who—]
Shen Qingqiu flicked the System away with an irritated twitch of his fingers and nodded at Luo Binghe. “Binghe can stay here but this master does not… that is, there are no, ah, materials omegas might use to, eh, assist themselves through their season.” Lacking a fan to hide his expression, he stared intently out the window as he spoke, hoping Luo Binghe was content to ride out his heat without the dildos and vibrators and butt plugs so common in this porn-ridden world.
What would he do if Luo Binghe asked Shen Qingqiu to get him a heat aid? He didn’t have the face! Imagine going to Qian Cao and asking for such materials? How would he explain the need? Mu Qingfang would think Shen Qingqiu wanted to use them himself, as if Shen Qingqiu were some deficient alpha male who wanted to shove a pillar up his—
“If this lowly disciple could ask Shizun to lend him something to help this Binghe through his heat?” Luo Binghe asked, blinking up at Shen Qingqiu slowly.
Shen Qingqiu balked. Did Binghe think he had dildos of his own? Nonsense! He was straight! And even if he wasn’t, wasn’t it a little strange to want to share such intimate things with another man? But before Shen Qingqiu could sputter out a denial, Luo Binghe continued.
“Even one of Shizun’s robes to add to this Binghe’s nest would let Binghe rest easy.”
“A robe.” Oh. Oh! He could do that. He should do that! Of course Luo Binghe needed to make a nest and the poor sheep didn’t have enough blankets of his own because no one in their right mind would have ever expected him to present omega.
“This one would never ask for something of Shizun’s he would miss. Even the scratchiest middle layer—”
Shen Qingiu scoffed. “As if this master would ever give Binghe anything but the best. I’ll be right back.”
Shen Qingqiu searched through his closet on autopilot, grabbing every soft inner robe and silk outer robe that met his hand. It was a good sign Luo Binghe wanted to use his robes, right? Certainly a sign of fondness. If he was willing to overlook Shen Qingqiu’s scent in order to access soft nesting materials, it was surely a sign that he did not yet consider his Shizun a scum villain.
Which, intellectually Shen Qingqiu knew, but the closer they came to the Immortal Alliance Conference, the more he worried. In a mere two weeks he would be the most hateful man in the entirety of PIDW and all the work he’d put in to winning over the protagonist would be for naught. The least Shen Qingqiu could give the protagonist was this.
He stalked back into Luo Binghe’s room and dumped the pile of robes on the end of the bed. “Does Binghe need anything else?” he asked, then hurried to specify what was on offer. “Water? A snack?”
“Thanking Shizun for his care, but this Binghe has everything he needs now,” Luo Binghe said sweetly, hands roving over the robes Shen Qingqiu had provided.
The lack of attention to Shen Qingqiu’s person would be considered rude in other circumstances, but in this moment Shen Qingqiu was grateful for it. There was something so unsettling about seeing the stallion protagonist flushed with heat, looking so soft and rumpled in his bed in their little house, eyes soft and welcoming, smelling like the best—
“Then this master will take his leave,” Shen Qingqiu said, and headed for the door.
"Shizun won't stay and-"
Shen Qingqiu hurried his steps, shutting the door behind him and closing his ears to whatever heat-addled nonsense Luo Binghe was saying. The poor duck would be so embarrassed come morning.
He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling until the sun rose, trying equally hard to ignore the whimpers leaking through Luo Binghe’s door and his own throbbing, aching cock.
For the first time in years, Shen Qingqiu made his own breakfast. He summoned Ming Fan to bring him something. Instead of allowing his head disciple to serve him and make tea, Shen Qingqiu intercepted him on the porch, taking the bland-smelling tray and trying not to grimace. He should get used to eating substandard food. In a matter of weeks Luo Binghe would be in the endless abyss and Shen Qingqiu would never taste his cooking again.
Shen Qingqiu dismissed Ming Fan with instructions to excuse Luo Binghe from his lessons on account of an unexpected illness he was riding out in the safety of the bamboo hut, and to ban all disciples from the house lest they fall prey to said illness. He feigned deafness when Ming Fan offered to escort Luo Binghe to Qian Cao and retreated inside with his lacklustre prize.
He picked at his meal, trying to focus on the subtle scent of ginger hiding within the watery congee, but it was hard to smell anything beyond the mouthwatering musk wafting from Luo Binghe’s room. How could such a masculine young man smell so... ripe?
It didn’t make sense! “System,” he prodded, “explain!”
[Answering host! Protagonist Luo Binghe is an omega because he presented as omega.]
“That doesn’t explain anything at all,” Shen Qingqiu cried. “He’s supposed to be an alpha and he’s not supposed to present until after he falls in the abyss.”
[Host changed the story.]
He jerked, the steamed piece of pak chow clasped in his chopsticks falling back into the bowl. “Are you saying it’s my fault Binghe is an omega?”
[In Proud Immortal Demon Way, Luo Binghe spent his disciple years starved, beaten, and hated. Since host has failed to stay in character, Luo Binghe has spent the last three years, loved, treasured, and fattened up into a juicy, ripe omega.]
“Are you calling the protagonist fat?” Shen Qingqiu spluttered. The nerve of that knock-off Google translate! Binghe had a healthy amount of baby fat like the well cared for teenager he was… or like a blooming omega. He was softest around the hips and the chest, and his plush little ass was…
She Qingqiu cleared his throat and returned to the matter at hand. System must be implying the Luo Binghe’s improved health allowed him to present earlier. Surely it wasn’t implying that Shen Qingqiu had somehow turned the protagonist into an omega. Sure, he coddled his little sheep, but not overly so. Just enough to make up for the rough life Luo Binghe had lived so far and to insulate against some of the horrors awaiting him.
But Shen Qingqiu hadn’t turned Luo Binghe soft. In fact, he’d wager that his Luo Binghe’s golden core was leagues stronger than the Luo Binghe of the original PIDW at this stage in the novel. His swordsmanship was also twice as good and his education far more thorough. His Luo Binghe was stronger in every way, which meant he should have been twice the alpha — so why wasn’t he?
[Would host like to buy an explanation for 10,000 B-points?]
“Obviously not,” Shen Qingqiu said, though the number got him thinking. “System, you said I changed the story. Does that mean Luo Binghe doesn’t need to enter the abyss?”
[Host can avoid the Endless Abyss storyline for the low cost of 10,000 B-points.]
Who had that kind of wealth in this economy? “But you said I’ve changed the story, which means I can change it again, this time to avoid the endless abyss.”
[Answering host: no, you can’t.]
Shen Qingqiu barely smothered a howl of frustration. “But Binghe is an omega, now. You can’t expect him to survive the abyss. That hellscape is no place for an omega.” It was barely survivable by the most alpha of alphas! The thought of sending his little white sheep and soon-to-be-alpha into the abyss made Shen Qingqiu want to break out in hives. The thought of sending his little white sheep who was already an omega there made Shen Qingqiu want to die.
[Failure to push Luo Binghe into the Endless Abyss will cost host 10,000 B-points, leading to host’s death, so if host chooses he can die instead of—]
“Yes, yes, I got it,” Shen Qingqiu said, flicking the system’s shining blue text box away and pushing his breakfast along with it. The nausea cramping his stomach killed his appetite as surely as the system would kill him if he didn’t comply with its demented wishes.
An omega Luo Binghe couldn’t go into the abyss. He just couldn’t. Sure, he was healthier and stronger and more knowledgeable than his canon counterpart, but omegas weren’t meant for that kind of hardship. Alpha Luo Binghe had picked countless flowers while fighting his way toward Xin Mo and escape — okay, not countless; he’d bedded precisely eighteen beautiful maidens before escaping the abyss — but this time Luo Binghe would be the beautiful flower. What if some creepy demon tried to pluck him? Shen Qingqiu couldn’t abandon his little white lotus to such a fate. He’d be vulnerable during his heats, and omegas needed soft beds to rest on and safe houses to nest in.
But if Luo Binghe was an omega and Luo Binghe had to go in the abyss…
Ahh, Shen Qingqiu was being foolish. In the nonsensical world of Proud Immortal Demon Way there were half a dozen nonsensical flowers and twice as many talismans that could change ones primary and secondary genders in an instant. Clearly, Luo Binghe’s omega presentation was a mistake, and the young man’s embarrassment indicated it was one he’d be keen to rectify. After his heat ended, Shen Qingqiu would help Luo Binghe transition to alpha.
It wouldn’t make sending him into the abyss right, but it would make it easier.
A pained whimper broke the silence and Shen Qingqiu, eyes focused on the door to the side room before his brain realized where the noise was coming from.
“Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu called quietly. Binghe had spent most of the night, ah, attending to his needs. Not that Shen Qingqiu was listening. It was just impossible to ignore, given how small the hut was and how thin the walls. And it’s not like Shen Qingqiu could slap a silencing talisman on Luo Binghe’s room. What if something went wrong and he called out for his alpha and Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear him? It would be irresponsible, frankly. So Shen Qingqiu had listened to Luo Binghe tend to himself through the night, hanging on every whimper and moan, and knew that he’d only been sleeping restlessly for a handful of hours.
Why was he up already and sounding so distressed? Presentation heats usually didn’t last long. If he’d been properly satisfied in the night, it should have broken by now.
But how could he be satisfied? Shen Qingqiu had left him in there with nothing but a makeshift nest and his own hands. His poor omega hadn’t had a single cock to bear down own, or even the smallest knot to fill his needy hole. The poor sheep was probably still aching, still dripping, still desperately waiting for a fat, thick cock to split him open and—
“Shizun,” Luo Binghe whimpered pitifully.
Before he knew what he was doing, Shen Qingqiu was in Luo Binghe’s room, hovering over the sweat dappled form splayed overtop the bed. The sight that greeted him tore every thought from Shen Qingqiu’s head.
If Luo Binghe had been distracting while half-obscured by shadows, in the broad light of day he was…
He was…
Well, he was the protagonist! Of course he was the most beautiful man in the entire world! Objectively speaking, of course. As a straight man, it’s not like Shen Qingqiu lusted after him. Perhaps his alpha nature got a little confused by the cloud of omega pheromones saturating the room, but Shen Qingqiu’s appreciation for Luo Binghe’s flushed cheeks and bitten red lips and the patch of glistening skin peaking out from the neck of his loosely tied robes was purely artistic. Luo Binghe looked like a painting by a master, and that was a fact of aesthetics! The way his hair spilled around him in a cloud of black curls, his legs spread just enough to hint at the treasure hidden at his core, and the loose drape of his night robe dipping between his thick thighs was evidence that the protagonist had unbeatable sexual appeal regardless of his dynamic. It wasn’t Shen Qingqiu’s fault for noticing, or appreciating, and if he were to react — not that he would! — it would only be a sign of Luo Binghe’s protagonist appeal.
“Shizun?” Luo Binghe called, voice sweeter than his sugar-spun heat smell. “Please, Shizun. It hurts so much.”
Shen Qingqiu dropped to his knees, a hand rising to pat Luo Binghe’s hair without conscious thought. “You’re hurt? I’ll summon your Mu-shishu right away—”
“No, Shizun, please,” Lup Binghe whimpered. “I don’t need a healer.” His gaze was hazy, pupils blown wide and sparkling tears making him look like the most bullied of maidens.
Shen Qingqiu’s heart lurched, for no reason at all other than that he was a devoted shizun. “What do you need?”
“I need—” Luo Binghe swallowed thickly, then swiped his cherry red tongue over his swollen bottom lip. “This disciple needs help. This foolish one hasn’t been able to satisfy himself.”
“Binghe is not foolish,” Shen Qingqiu said before the rest of Luo Binghe’s request processed. “Ah, so you need… help… satisfying your—?”
“Yes, Shizun.” Luo Binghe dragged his hands down his torso, over the swell of his hips to clutch his inner thighs. “Please.”
Shen Qingqiu swallowed thickly. “You want me to… go get you a, ah, heat aid?” His gaze stuck on where Luo Binghe’s robe bunched around his clenched fingers. The way his legs parted was just so…
“No,” Luo Binghe moaned. “Shizun, it won’t be enough. I already have…” his eyes darted to the side and Shen Qingqiu followed his gaze to see a thick jade phallus with a fat knot lying on the floor.
It gleamed in the sunlight as if it was still wet with Luo Binghe’s—
Wait a minute, why did the alpha protagonist have a dildo waiting for him? Had he known he’d present as omega? Surely he’d never used one before…
“Shizun, please,” Luo Binghe whimpered, exactly as shameless as he was when asking Shen Qingqiu to play another song on the qin before they parted for bed. As if asking Shen Qingqiu to— to— to do that with the protagonist wasn’t infinitely more scandalous!
Luo Binghe whimpered again, his rose petal lips tightening with pain, and suddenly all Shen Qingqiu’s objections seemed trivial.
If Luo Binghe could stand the embarrassment of asking his old teacher to do something so distasteful, surely Shen Qingqiu could find the strength to agree.
“Alright, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu said, head spinning with… something. Something that certainly wasn’t anticipation or lust or— no, it was an infallible sense of duty. It had to be. “This master will help you.”
Binghe beamed, pout transforming into sunshine. “Thanking Shizun for his care,” he said, then pulled his robe open to reveal two swollen nipples atop two tiny, perfect breasts, and spread his legs.