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Liu Qingge’s spoon hovered over the tofu pudding.  Luo Binghe perked up; but then Liu Qingge’s extended hand pulled back, and Luo Binghe’s shoulders slumped imperceptibly.  Liu Qingge was pointedly not looking at either of them across the low table, and every few breaths, he’d shift his hips.  Ah, they probably should have gotten him a cushion to sit on…

Liu Qingge extended his arm again, this time so his spoon hovered over the perfectly made congee next to the tofu pudding, closer to Shen Qingqiu; Shen Qingqiu stopped fanning himself.  But again, Liu Qingge pulled back.

Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue against his teeth, too quiet for Liu Qingge to hear, and resumed lazily fanning himself.

Liu Qingge’s brows twitched as he reached for the tofu pudding again, then went directly to the congee and then back again.

Really Liu-shidi!  It’d been ten minutes of this!  Throw your poor shizhi a bone, would you?

Binghe had spent a full hour making those dishes for Liu Qingge while the latter slept off the last of his fuck-hole coma, but Shen Qingqiu wasn’t sure their Liu Qingge was quite conscious yet, because since when!  Had!  Liu!  Qingge!  Ever been!  So!  Indecisive!

He pulled his hand back from the tofu pudding, then set the spoon on the table.  His brow had gone from furrowed in confusion to furrowed in stubbornness.  Shen Qingqiu suddenly had a very bad feeling…

He watched in abject horror as Liu Qingge picked up the bowl of congee and poured it into the bowl of tofu pudding.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shen Qingqiu could see Luo Binghe’s own scandalized expression, jaw dropped and eyes glassy.

They both were powerless to stop Liu Qingge as he snatched his spoon up and began mixing the abhorrent concoction, as if that would make it more appetizing.

And then…

He scooped up a spoonful…

And he…he ate it.

Shen Qingqiu could feel Luo Binghe’s shudder.

Liu Qingge grunted, then scooped up another spoonful.

“Shishu, is it…good?” Luo Binghe asked, expression unreadable.  God, Shen Qingqiu’s husband was such a gifted actor.  And good thing too, because knowing Liu Qingge, one wrong move would have him skittering out of the bamboo house like a spooked housecat.

Liu Qingge had already taken a third bite, a clear display of dominance if Shen Qingqiu had ever seen one, and his cheeks bulged.  He swallowed audibly, making Luo Binghe’s hand twitch where it rested on Shen Qingqiu’s thigh.

“Mm,” was all Liu Qingge said before tucking back into his concoction.

When he was finished, he stacked the bowls and dropped the spoon into them, then he stood and asked, “Where do you clean up?”

“No need,” Shen Qingqiu said with a flap of his fan.  “Binghe will take care of it.”

Luo Binghe was already reaching to take the bowls from Liu Qingge, making sure to drag his fingers across Liu Qingge’s knuckles suggestively as he did so.

Ah, Shen Qingqiu’s husband was so effortlessly seductive…

Liu Qingge looked like he might try to fight it, hands clenching around the ceramic, but then he let go.  Luo Binghe took the bowls and disappeared, leaving Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge alone.

As Liu Qingge picked up and refastened Cheng Luan to his belt, Shen Qingqiu looked him over, taking in his still-disheveled clothes, his bright red ears, his crooked ponytail, the indentations of their sheets on his cheeks.  Ah, he was so handsome…Shen Qingqiu’s gaze drifted lower, and his thoughts got a little…

“Then I’ll be going,” Liu Qingge said abruptly.

“What?!”

Liu Qingge stuttered over his next words, “I’m dropping the sword tassel with Wei Qingwei.  Thanks for the food.”

“Liu-Shidi, ah, wait—!”

But Liu Qingge had already slipped out of the bamboo house and flown away on Cheng Luan.  Shen Qingqiu stood in his doorway and watched until Liu Qingge’s figure disappeared past another mountain.

Binghe found him like that a few minutes later.

“Shizun?  Are you alright?  Where is Qingge?”

“He ran off again…”

Luo Binghe let out a huff, then unsheathed Zheng Yang and made to follow, but Shen Qingqiu grabbed him by the arm.  “Do you think perhaps it’s best that we let him be alone right now?  Today was very stressful for him, maybe…he needs some space?”

Shen Qingqiu knew a few things about having your sexuality pulled out from under you via awful plot devices that were thinly veiled excuses for papapa.  Even if Liu Qingge had been receptive, like Binghe insisted he was, how embarrassing!  Especially for someone so manly!

Luo Binghe nodded, but he clearly was fighting not to drag Liu Qingge back to Qing Jing for pampering.

Stroking his arm, Shen Qingqiu smiled at him, “He said thank you for the food.  And now that he’s gotten a taste of my husband’s cooking, how can he stay away, hm?”

Luo Binghe’s pout twitched into a soft smile, and he kissed Shen Qingqiu’s temple.

But Liu Qingge did not visit the next day, nor the day after that, which wouldn’t have been a concern, except that when Shen Qingqiu went to visit Bai Zhan Peak three days after their sexual misadventure, he asked Yang Yixuan if his shizun was around, to which Yang Yixuan said, “He is, but he said to tell you he was out on a hunt if you came by.”

Well!  That wouldn’t do!  Shen Qingqiu marched up the mountain, even more determined to see his shidi than before.

He approached Liu Qingge’s cottage and knocked three times.  There was no noise from inside.

“Shidi, I know you’re home!  Open up!”

Shen Qingqiu put his ear to the door, and could just hear someone moving about inside.

“I came to say good-bye, but if you don’t want to see me off, then I suppose I’ll just go!”

The movement inside grew louder, and Shen Qingqiu had just enough time to stand straight before Liu Qingge yanked his door open.

“Where are you going?”

“The demon realm.  Are you going to invite me in?”

Liu Qingge looked like he’d rather eat dirt, but he stepped to the side and let Shen Qingqiu in.  The cottage was as impersonal and tidy as usual, but the bed was unmade, and Cheng Luan was lying on the floor; for someone like Liu Qingge, who valued battle over everything and only slept when he had to, this was strange.

Shen Qingqiu went to the low table and checked the teapot.  Full, but cold.  With a touch of spiritual energy, he heated its contents back up and poured them each a cup.

Liu Qingge sat down across the table from him and crossed his arms.

Shen Qingqiu flapped his fan, saying, “There’s some demonic festival Binghe needs to attend, so we’ll be out for the next two weeks.”

“When do you leave?”

“As soon as I return to Qing Jing.”  When Liu Qingge made a disgruntled noise, Shen Qingqiu continued, “I would have told you earlier, but you didn’t come over like you usually do.  I think this is the longest my door has been safe on its hinges since Binghe was a child!”

Liu Qingge still looked annoyed, so Shen Qingqiu changed the subject.

“I wanted to check on you before we left, since we haven’t seen you, hm?  How is Qingge feeling?”

Liu Qingge’s whole face was suddenly pink, then red, but his lips remained pinched shut.

Huh!  Shen Qingqiu had expected an easy, “I’m fine,” or “It was nothing.”  But that reaction…

“It would be alright if you were feeling a bit out of sorts, you know,” Shen Qingqiu said, taking a sip of his tea.

Liu Qingge’s nose scrunched up again. 

What would it take to pry this man’s feelings out of him!  Shen Qingqiu’s husband was a fountain of tears, and now their third was a stone wall!  Shen Qingqiu really knew how to pick them!

Shen Qingqiu began gathering his robes to stand.  “Well, if you’re feeling alright, I suppose I was worried for nothing.  Then, I’ll head back ho—”

“Bad,” Liu Qingge finally spit out.  “I feel bad.”

Shen Qingqiu sat back on the floor.  It made sense.  Liu Qingge had just been forced into a pretty hardcore scene with no warning, no negotiation, and no way out.  Shen Qingqiu felt a little guilty about not giving him better aftercare, but they’d had a two hour flight just to get to a gap in the barrier between realms, plus Liu Qingge hadn’t woken up until the sun had set, so even if they’d been at home with all their comforts and snacks and soothing lotions, it’s not like he would have been conscious for it!!

And—! And—! Liu Qingge had looked like he’d snap the neck of the next person to touch him from the moment he’d woken up!  So unapproachable!  It would have been so cool and manly had Shen Qingqiu not been balls deep in him just a few hours before, had Luo Binghe not shot him pouty looks like it was his fault Liu Qingge had the disposition of a bear trap wrapped in barbed wire!

But ah, how to explain sub drop to a war god…

Shen Qingqiu put on his most placid, good-natured expression, then flicked his fan open and covered the lower half of his face.  “Liu-shidi, when you’re under so much stress all at once, it’s expected that you feel a bit adrift afterwards.  You feel bad, but it’s not because of anything specifically, correct?  That’s because it’s really just in your head.”

Liu Qingge’s expression grew darker.

“Ah, well you feel bad because of the endorphins!” Shen Qingqiu tried to explain, waving his hand.

“I don’t know what those are.”

“Well, th-they’re what cause your thoughts.  They’re in your head—”

Liu Qingge perked up and asked seriously, “How do I get rid of them?”

“What? No, that’s the problem, you had a lot of them, and now you’ve lost them, and that’s why you’re feeling like this!”  Shen Qingqiu nodded to himself, trying to convince them both that his explanation was satisfactory.

“How did I lose them?  Nothing’s fallen out of my head,” Liu Qingge said petulantly.

Shen Qingqiu brought the butt of his fan to his forehead.  “Look, this happens from time to time with intense….”

“Shizun,” came a call from outside.  Then there was a knock at the cottage door.  “Shizun, Shishu, I hate to interrupt, but we need to leave soon before the tear between realms closes up again.”

Ah, Binghe was always so punctual…

Shen Qingqiu went to the door to let Binghe in, but glanced at Liu Qingge to get permission first.  Liu Qingge rolled his eyes and sighed, but then he nodded once.

“We’re almost done, Binghe.  Surely we can spare a minute or two more?”

Binghe hummed in agreement, but neither of them sat down at the table.  

“Your shishu is feeling a bit under the weather,” said Shen Qingqiu with no follow up.

Luo Binghe glanced at Liu Qingge in concern, but didn’t finish Shen Qingqiu’s thought like he usually did.

“So he’ll be joining us in the demon realm,” Shen Qingqiu said to them, closing his eyes sagely.  It was their responsibility to make sure Liu Qingge didn’t do anything rash when he was experiencing a long, depressing sub drop!  Of course he should come along!  Besides, this would make Binghe happy by giving them more opportunities to woo, since apparently that wall hadn’t been enough to win Liu Qingge over.  Frankly, if he wasn’t won over by Binghe’s skills, his standards were unreachable—

But as he opened his eyes, he saw Liu Qingge’s expression shutter.

Huh?

“Then Shishu ought to pack up quickly,” Luo Binghe said, speaking the voice he used when other peak lords were around, like he was being over-respectful.

Huh ?!

As they left the cottage, Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe set out ahead of Shen Qingqiu, and although they were almost shoulder to shoulder, it felt like they were…distant.  Like they weren’t connecting anymore.  Like they weren’t part of the same set.

If there was one thing Liu Qingge hated, it was things left unsaid.  He had always been a straightforward person, but watching the decade long tragedy of errors that had resulted in his shixiong marrying his own disciple had cemented his belief that unspoken words only created issues and only ever hurt people.  It was deceptive.  It was wrong.

Shen Qingqiu’s explanation about the endocrines hadn’t made much sense, but Liu Qingge was willing to go along with it for a variety of reasons.  One, Shen Qingqiu didn’t make sense most days.  Two, even if he didn’t make sense, he was usually right.  Three, Liu Qingge had…wanted to stay.

When he’d woken up on Qing Jing Peak, he’d felt wrong.  When he’d been confronted with Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe’s care, eaten their food, he’d felt wrong.  He’d assumed it was because he was intruding, so even though he had wanted to stay, he’d left.  And then he’d only grown wrong-er .

He had assumed, based on Luo Binghe’s behavior, that they all had an understanding.  That Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu had no regrets about what had happened in that castle, and that even if they weren’t happy about it, they at least wouldn’t hold it against Liu Qingge.

But then Shen Qingqiu had decided that Liu Qingge would be accompanying them to the demonic realm, and Luo Binghe’s face, for just a second, had gone dark.

And there it was.

The chill that had been oppressing Liu Qingge suddenly turned sharp.  This couple had had their fun, but Luo Binghe wanted his husband back.  Liu Qingge could have accepted that; but instead of saying what he wanted outright, Luo Binghe swallowed his tongue to keep his husband happy.  Had Luo Binghe learned nothing ?

‘Well, if Luo Binghe doesn’t want me around, that’s just too bad, isn’t it?’  Liu Qingge thought vindictively.  He packed quickly, and they set out just minutes later.

The trip to the tear between realms took a day by sword, and the trip to Luo Binghe’s demonic palace took the rest of the night.  Despite the late hour, the demons running the place greeted them with great fanfare, which Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu ignored.  Liu Qingge let his eyes pass over each demon, hoping to see Mobei-Jun or that awful jingly red girl, but neither seemed to be in attendance.

“Mobei-Jun is scheduled to arrive tomorrow with his husband,” Luo Binghe said offhandedly.  “Hualing the day after.”

Liu Qingge grunted.

On past visits to the demonic capital, Luo Binghe had impressed upon him that, since he was a human cultivator, fighting with any of the demons could be seen as an attack on their clan, which would only lead to political issues for both Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and Luo Binghe.  He was only to fight Binghe’s generals.  Liu Qingge blew his bangs out of his face.

“Shidi can always come find me if he needs to expend some energy,” Shen Qingqiu said over his fan with eyes narrowed into crescents.

“You’re barely a challenge,” Liu Qingge shot back.

Shen Qingqiu’s expression turned scandalized.  “Is fighting all you think about?”

Liu Qingge didn’t understand what he meant.

“If you must have something to take down, there should be plenty of beasts across the sulfur river two li from here for you to hunt.”

Liu Qingge almost demanded that Luo Binghe be available for fights, but with how off-kilter Liu Qingge was feeling and how curt Luo Binghe was being, it probably wasn’t a good idea.  Instead, he nodded.

Once they made it to the inner palace, where servants were not at every corner cheering for their master’s return, Luo Binghe said, “Shizun and I will be greeting foreign dignitaries tomorrow.  It’s likely to take the whole day.  I’ll send for you once we’re done.”

“En,” Liu Qingge said to hide his quickly fading spite. 

As they walked, Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu pulled ahead, discussing the next day’s agenda, so Liu Qingge broke off silently to the chambers he’d been assigned during the few times he’d spent longer than a day in the demonic realm.  If his shixiong or shizhi noticed, they didn’t call after him.

The next morning, he headed to the kitchens for something to take with him on a short hunt across the western sulfur river.  He still felt cold and stiff and angry, but if he was in the demon realm, he might as well get a good kill in.  On his way there, he had to pass through a banquet hall, which was pretty full for it being so early in the morning.  He did his best to slink around the edges of the room.

It wasn’t that Liu Qingge was afraid of interrupting, but Binghe’s demoness servants liked to swing their huge pots of soup and pudding around as they walked, like they were dancing as they served their guests, and Liu Qingge would rather not get drenched.

He passed by a congregation of tree yao, who were talking about tariffs and infrastructure requests they wanted to bring to Junshang’s attention, then he slipped around a spirit that was playing a flute for some rabbit demons to dance to, and he pushed through a cluster of humanoid rock yao, who didn’t even seem to notice him.

Wasn’t it too early for all these demons to be so rowdy?  The sun hadn’t even risen!  He glared back at the rock yao for getting in his way, but then he collided with a wall—no, a demon, who was built like a wall.  The demon turned with a snarl on its pointed, hairless face, stood up straight to loom over Liu Qingge, narrowed its eyes at him.

Liu Qingge stepped around the demon.  He wasn’t one to judge based on appearance, but really if you had a face like a purple furless rat, wasn’t it considerate to keep that covered up a bit?

“What’s this?” the demon spat.  “The hell is a human cultivator doing here, huh?  You trying to pick a fight?”

“No, I’m trying to get to the kitchens.”

“What the hell would a human need in the royal kitchen?”

“Food?”

The room around them had gone a bit quiet, the flute had even stopped.  The demon squared its shoulders and reached back over its shoulder for something.  Liu Qingge tensed, his own hand reaching to draw Cheng Luan, but he wasn’t supposed to fight any of the dignitaries, so he hesitated.

The demon didn’t get to grab whatever he was reaching for, because one of his companions, a similar creature with bluer skin asked, “You don’t think this little human is trying to poison us, do you?”

“Can’t think of any other reason for a cultivator to be sneaking around like that,” the first demon said.

“Why would I tell you where I was going if I was trying to poison you?”

“Well, maybe he’s one of Junshang’s servants, you know how Mobei has that little rat he orders around,” another wrinkly demon said.  This one sounded more womanly, but Liu Qingge didn’t dare make assumptions.

“That’s his husband,” Liu Qingge grumbled.  “I’m not a servant. I’m a guest, same as you.  Now, if you’ll excuse me .”

“Oh, he’s a fiery one!  It’s so cute when they act tough, isn’t it?” the third demon said.

“Cultivators are no joke,” said the second, eyeing Liu Qingge.  “That sword may be little, but he’ll strike when you’re least expecting it.”

“Doubt it,” said the first one.  “If he was strong enough, he would have just pushed us out of his way, but he’s still here.”

Liu Qingge could feel his blood pressure rising.  Maybe he really was losing those excedrins Shen Qingqiu had mentioned, because he felt like everything in the world was specifically trying to piss him off.

“I recognize that sword!  This is that War God from the human realm!  I told you to be careful!” the second demon said, trying to pull the first away.

The first demon’s brow raised, or it would have, if the demon had any kind of facial hair.  “War God?  Ha!  What humans consider a god, you or I could crush between two fingers.  A man with a face like that likely can’t even kill his own food!”  The first and third demon burst into screeching laughter that would have enraged Liu Qingge if he wasn’t already unsheathing Cheng Luan and flinging a sword glare into the pillar next to the first demon.

The pillar, which was made of solid stone, exploded and sent shards and dust flying everywhere.  So what if Luo Binghe made him pay for a replacement?  Liu Qingge could afford it, and if Binghe didn’t want him starting a very nasty fight, the pillar had to go.

With the pillar gone, Liu Qingge had just enough room to slip through.  He sheathed Cheng Luan as he walked, but then someone grabbed him by the back of his robes.

“Hey!  I’m not done with you yet!” the first demon said.  “Since when can humans pull shit like that?”

“The War God’s the one that fought Junshang every day for five years!” the second demon said, voice trembling.

“It wasn’t every day,” Liu Qingge spat.

“And he kept you alive?” the first demon said, lifting Liu Qingge up to eye level.  Liu Qingge’s robes constricted around his armpits, but he kept his fists clenched and his mouth shut, even though he wanted nothing more than to spit in this stupid demon’s face.

Where the demon had seemed arrogant and dismissive before, his beady eyes now traced Liu Qingge from head to foot with great interest.

“Excuse me,” Shen Qingqiu’s voice suddenly came from the front of the room.  He was flanked by two massive direwolves with his fan covering the lower half of his face.  His eyes were narrowed coldly at the demon.  “Fighting is not to take place until all parties have greeted the emperor and offered their tribute.  Please refrain from any violent activities until then, hm?”  He stroked the wolf on his left’s head slowly, like he was daring the demons to contradict him.

Shen Qingqiu always looked best when he had the upper hand, Liu Qingge thought.

The demon holding him aloft slowly lowered him to the floor.

“My apologies Consort Shen, you know how we demons are,” the demon released the back of Liu Qingge’s robe, but as he lifted his hand away, it caught the underside of Liu Qingge’s ponytail, and the resulting motion felt almost like the demon was…caressing him.  He suppressed another shudder at the thought, and Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan closed, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.

“Well, hurry up then.  We’ve been waiting to receive your party for several minutes, and if you keep him waiting, the emperor may just decide that you aren’t worth keeping around.”  He didn’t turn back towards the door until the three wrinkly bald demons were lined up behind him.  Then he surveyed the room with a raised eyebrow.  All the other demons went back to chatting amongst themselves.  The flute music started up again.

Liu Qingge went to the kitchen, got himself breakfast, and left the palace to vent his frustration on a Daylight Acacia beast.

He returned only a few hours later with its carcass tossed over his shoulder.  He avoided the inner rooms of the palace this time and used the covered walkways outside to drop his kill off at the kitchens.  Along the way, several demons stopped to stare at him and whisper to themselves.

A yak demon with massive decorated horns approached him, asking if he’d killed the beast on his own.

He was a little pissed off that she assumed he would have needed help, so he curtly explained that yes, of course he’d killed it on his own and the battle was tedious and unsatisfying, and then he continued on his way to the kitchens.

“Do you need help carrying it?” she said, following after him.

Liu Qingge’s eyelid twitched.  “It’s fine.”

She asked him a few more questions, hounding him all the way to the kitchens, apparently very concerned about Liu Qingge’s ability to kill and carry a beast that he’d already killed and carried.

The minute he’d set the beast down, he stole out of the kitchens and into the gardens, where he spent the afternoon meditating and waiting for Luo Binghe’s summons.

As dusk was falling, a small fox demon found him and said, “His Majesty and Consort Shen send their apologies for not informing you earlier—”

Liu Qingge stood.  “Where are they?”

“They’ve retired to their chambers for the night.”

Liu Qingge’s hand went to Cheng Luan.  It was a purely self-soothing gesture, but the fox demon must have taken it for a threat, because his tail puffed up and he inhaled sharply.

“Good, great,” he almost laughed.  What had he expected?  Why wouldn’t they retire to their quarters after a long day of appeasing and intimidating?  Liu Qingge had no one to blame for this but himself.  He unsheathed Cheng Luan a few finger widths and slammed it back into its sheath, just to relieve some of his frustration, and the resulting noise startled the fox demon.

Liu Qingge headed out of the garden while it was still stunned, but it caught up as soon as he reached the steps to the main hall.

“Wh-where are you going?!” it called, ears flattened to its head, looking too twitchy for Liu Qingge’s liking.

“To bed.”

“But the emperor—”

Liu Qingge grunted loud enough that the fox demon stopped talking, then said, “The emperor is already retired, I won’t trouble him or the consort this late in the evening.”

But the fox kept trotting after him, asking if the Bai Zhan War God had everything he needed, if the food was to his liking, if there was anything this lowly servant could get for him.  It got so annoying that Liu Qingge finally spun around and slammed his hand into the wall, effectively caging the little wisp of a man in one place so Liu Qingge could say, “If I need something, I’ll get it myself.”

From the shock of the sudden pin, the fox demon had his face tilted away, his neck on full display.  His eyelids fluttered as they opened.  His tail twitched, accidentally brushing against Liu Qingge’s leg.

After a tense moment, Liu Qingge pushed off the wall, saying, “Now stop following me.”

He had hoped, the next morning, that Mobei-Jun would be able to help abate some of his restless energy, but when he asked a servant where the King of the North was, the servant explained that the Northern Desert had become insurmountable.  Mobei-Jun likely wouldn’t make the festival.

Liu Qingge punched a hole into the wall next to him, which made the servant’s six eyes go impossibly wide, and went to find the weaponry.  Luo Binghe had to have some training dummies lying around.

He spent that whole morning tearing apart dummy after dummy, to the point that he drew a crowd.  The six-eyed servant from before made him stop around noon to inform him that the emperor and consort would not be able to see him that day because the southern lizard demon tribe had shown up uninvited with a treaty they wanted to negotiate, and revisions were likely to take the rest of the day.

The crowd of demons cheered when Liu Qingge sent out a blast of spiritual energy strong enough to explode six training dummies in one go.

After he’d destroyed all of Luo Binghe’s wooden and straw dummies, he headed off towards the palace’s baths.  There was an antechamber for removing clothing and selecting soap berries, where Liu Qingge let down his hair and pulled a towel from a basket at the bath’s entrance.  The bathing chambers were separated into four rooms to meet the needs of demons’ varying constitutions: a warm room, a cold room, a sulfur room, and a salt room.

Once undressed, Liu Qingge headed to the warm room, which really, was the only one suitable for humans.

A few groups of demons were silhouetted in the mist in twos and threes, relaxing, washing each other, chatting.

Liu Qingge slipped into the water and worked a lather into his hair, then onto his shoulders and chest.  It felt nice removing the grime and sweat of the last few days, even if he still felt off-kilter and agitated.  When he finished washing, he figured he didn’t have anywhere to be, so he might as well take a moment to himself.  He sat back on one of the many ledges built into the baths, and closed his eyes to meditate.

He was being ridiculous, getting so worked up over a disappointment so small.  So what if Mobei-Jun wasn’t coming this time? 

Liu Qingge consciously unclenched his jaw and flexed his fingers under the water.

A shadow settled over him, so he cracked one eye open to see that weird purple demon from the banquet hall standing over him.

“Little Cultivator.”

Liu Qingge glared up at him, still not moving.  Most people did not get closer than a sword’s length to Liu Qingge, usually because if they did, they’d meet his sword, but it wasn’t like he could bring Cheng Luan into the baths, so this presumptuous demon was standing much closer to Liu qingge than he was comfortable with.

“I heard you brought back a Daylight Acacia beast.  Quite the feat for someone like you.”

Liu Qingge closed his eyes again.  Maybe if he ignored this demon he’d go away.

“But I doubt it, considering there’s not a fresh scratch on you.”  Water lapped at Liu Qingge’s chest, and Liu Qingge could feel the demon stepping closer to him.  “I’ve never heard of someone taking a beast like that down without at least a missing hand.”

“Then you must keep inadequate company,” Liu Qingge said.

The demon growled and took another step towards him.

Bath ruined, Liu Qingge blew out a long breath through his nose and made to stand.  The demon grabbed him by the shoulder. Liu Qingge almost zapped him with a blast of spiritual energy, but the demon was jabbing a clawed finger into his side.

“Where’d you get that scar?” the demon asked.

“An Ink Blossom spirit.”  Liu Qingge had quite a few scars from his adolescence, since he hadn’t been able to heal them with his cultivation, but all were old and pale.

“And this one?” the demon trailed his finger towards Liu Qingge’s stomach.

“I don’t remember.”  Liu Qingge stepped back so the demon was no longer touching him.

The demon mirrored his movement, which made Liu Qingge’s scowl deepen.

“That one’s pretty big,” the demon said, nodding at a rather nasty scar over Liu Qingge’s left shoulder.  “Who was lucky enough to leave that one on you?”

“Luo Binghe.”

When attacks were imbued with strong demonic qi, they could leave scars even on a cultivator’s body if they didn’t seek treatment or take an elixir in time.  Back when they were fighting over Shen Qingqiu’s body, Liu Qingge had let a few of the wounds fester and heal on their own; at the time it had been to remind him of his failures, to encourage him to do better and win the next time they faced off.  Now, Liu Qingge almost wanted to roll his eyes at the thought.  He was actually a bit fond of that scar.

The demon seemed surprised.  “So you did fight Junshang every day for five years?”

“It wasn’t every day.”

The demon smiled, then leaned in a bit closer; its breath washed over Liu Qingge’s face as it spoke.  “And this one?'' The demon poked the scar on Liu Qingge’s left pectoral, the one he’d gotten clearing out a hive of fly-paper bees.

“Stop touching me,” he said as he smacked the hand away, and stepped out of the baths.  Even as he grabbed his towel to wrap around his waist, he could feel the demon’s eyes trailing each drop of water that rolled down his back, and it pissed him off.  Of all the places to try and pick a fight!

He glared over his shoulder to make sure the demon understood that sneaking up behind him wouldn’t work.  The demon smiled at him.

Liu Qingge stalked out of the baths as quickly as he could without slipping, feeling more worked up than he had when he’d entered.

The next morning, Shen Qingqiu sent that little fox servant after him again, saying that they’d definitely meet in the garden for a quick lunch that afternoon, so after kicking the demon out of his rooms for sniffing literally everything, Liu Qingge spent the rest morning polishing Cheng Luan and staring into the middle distance.

As midday passed, he headed to the gardens and found it empty.  He waited for a bit, whittling away at a branch he sliced off a nearby tree.  Then he paced about the garden’s central pond, and then he started catching the fish darting about within with his hands, just to pass the time.  Eventually, the Crowned Gold-Finned Demon Carp learned to stay away from his side of the pond, so Liu Qingge flicked the water off his hands and stomped back into the palace.

He didn’t really know where he was going, both wanting to find his shixiong and shizhi to demand what was taking them so long, and wanting to just go home.

He was in a hall near the throne room when a voice called out to him.  “War God!”

He walked faster.

“I’m talking to you, little human!  Stop running away!”  The demon was much bigger than Liu Qingge and almost caught up to him in a few steps.

“I’m not running away,” Liu Qingge spat over his shoulder.

“Looks like you are to me,” the demon chuckled as it fell into stride with him.

Liu Qingge stopped in his tracks, enraged by the demon’s implication.  “What do you want?”

The demon looked him up and down and smiled.  “What do you think I want?”

“A fight?”  Liu Qingge hoped it was a fight.  He’d kick this demon so high into the air—

“En.  I’ve heard the little War God has been showing off his martial prowess all over the palace.  If I don’t experience it for myself, I’ll feel like I haven’t fully experienced the Tourney Festival.”

Luo Binghe was so worried about inter-realm politics, but didn’t demons love a good fight?  This one certainly seemed ready to lose to Liu Qingge.

“Fine.”

“Aiyoh, but a normal fight is too boring, isn’t it?  Shall we make it interesting?”

Liu Qingge didn’t usually place bets.  He was satisfied with the prestige and finality that came with loss or triumph.  But he was in the demonic realm and he was frustrated.  “When I win, you’ll leave me alone.  You won’t look at me, you won’t speak to me, you will stay out of my way.”  It was the only thing he could think to want from such an annoying demon.

“And if I win?”

“You won’t,” Liu Qingge said.

The demon laughed again, spittle flying from its long yellow teeth.  “If I win, I want the standard reward.”

Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes in confusion.  Would it kill these demons to speak in plain terms?

“Your hand,” the demon elaborated, smile going sharper.

Liu Qingge supposed it made sense.  Losing his hand would be permanent humiliation, not to mention he’d have to re-learn swordplay with his non-dominant hand.  Likely, he’d never be as good as he was now.  It seemed like a steep bargain, but the demon was leaning over him, boring its beady eyes into him, and it pissed Liu Qingge off more than it should have.

“Fine!”

“Qingge!” Luo Binghe called out from the other end of the hallway.

“I accept!” Liu Qingge

“Ha!  Good!  The games begin tomorrow.  We shall have our battle then.”

“Accept?” Luo Binghe said as he approached them, carrying a lunchbox.  He glanced between the demon and Liu Qingge nervously.  “What do you accept?  Who gave you permission to speak to him?”  The last question was directed at the demon.

“Your Majesty, this human says you battled him every day for almost five years—”

“It wasn’t every day!” Liu Qingge snarled.

“—but you never followed through.  Can you blame me for taking advantage?”

“You—!”  Luo Binghe looked, for a moment, like he was going to rip this other demon’s throat out.  It probably would have been a very elegant kill, considering how quick Binghe’s hands were, but he took a deep breath and turned his ire on Liu Qingge instead.  “You agreed?”

“And what about it?”

“You don’t even know—”

“Binghe, did you find him?”  Shen Qingqiu appeared down the hallway, approaching the exact same way Luo Binghe had, but his tone changed the moment he caught sight of the bald demon with them.  “Oh.  It’s you.  Binghe, if you’ve found him, come, let’s have our meal.  No need to dally about.”

“Shizun,” Luo Binghe said, “Liu-shishu has accepted Spine-Back’s proposal.”

Why did he have to say it like that?  Like it was a marriage .

“He did?”  Shen Qingqiu turned to Liu Qingge, “You did?”

“He agreed quite readily, clearly he’s been itching for what our dear emperor has denied him for so long,” the demon, whose name was apparently Spine-Back, laughed.

They all ignored him, not that he seemed to care.

Liu Qingge responded, “Why wouldn’t I?  It’s a fight.  He asked for a fight.”  Surely if they understood it was consensual, that Liu Qingge was not putting Binghe’s empire or Cang Qiong Mountain Sect at risk, they’d all calm down.

Luo Binghe gave Shen Qingqiu a tense-jawed look.

Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open and said, “Lord Spine-Back, our Peak Lord Liu doesn’t understand what he’s agreed to—”

“I’m right here,” Liu Qingge snarled, “and I know exactly what I’ve agreed to.  Just because I let you—Just because you took the lead one time does not mean you get to dictate who I fight and when, especially not when you’ve been too busy to even speak a word to me the whole time we’ve been here!”

“What fire,” Spine-Back said as he leaned down to sniff Liu Qingge’s hair.  Liu Qingge swatted him away, but the demon only laughed that stupid laugh again.

“I will be dueling Spine-Back tomorrow.  It’s already been decided.  You want me to go back on my word?”

“How could we possibly ask that of our righteous War God,” Luo Binghe said, suddenly venomous.  His hair had puffed up with aggravation, and the lunchbox in his hands creaked as his grip tightened, but before he could say anything else, he stormed off down the hallway.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fan shut and wore that expression that looked affable, but was really furious and, on occasion, petty.  “If you two will excuse me.”  And he was following after his husband.  A confusing mixture of regret and anger made Liu Qingge take a step after them, but Spine-Back had a hand around his shoulder.

“I look forward to our battle, War God.” Spine-Back said.  “Don’t be too eager to lose, though.”

Liu Qingge shrugged him off.  “Eager or not, I won’t be losing.”

He took off after Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu, peeking into each room he passed by.  When he found the two of them in a side chamber to their main rooms, he almost kicked the door in to get their attention, but Luo Binghe was pacing about, muttering to himself while Shen Qingqiu listened patiently from a chair.

Liu Qingge couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but then Luo Binghe paused and said with startling clarity, “This is exactly why I didn’t want him coming.”

Liu Qingge felt all the air leave his lungs.

Of course.  Of course .  Liu Qingge had always been a thorn in Luo Binghe’s side, inconveniencing him, taking up his space.  Liu Qingge turned away from the door, accidentally hitting it with Cheng Luan’s sheath.

Luo Binghe’s head snapped up, and Shen Qingqiu stood, but Liu Qingge was already running.

If Luo Binghe didn’t want him around, then fine .  Liu Qingge drew Cheng Luan and swept down the hall, bowling over several servants as he did so.  He made it into a courtyard, and into the open air. 

This was exactly why he hated words left unsaid so much.  Because by the time they finally were said…

If Luo Binhe had just said he didn’t want Liu Qingge around from the start, this wouldn’t be so—!  Liu Qingge wouldn’t feel so—!

He flew in the opposite direction of the sulfur river for a full shichen, checking over his shoulder every once in a while, morbidly satisfied that no one was following him.

If it were up to him, he’d fly back to Cang Qiong right away, but he’d made a deal with that Spine-Back demon, so he’d have to…go back. 

Liu Qingge touched down in a forest clearing and dunked himself in the pond there, hoping to clear his head.  The cold water seeped into his robes and swept away his body heat the moment it touched his skin.

It wasn’t like it’d be hard to avoid Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu, he reasoned.  They’d been able to avoid him for the last six days, after all.

He squeezed the water out of his ponytail.  He’d return to the palace, fight Spine-Back, and then go back to Cang Qiong.  It’s not like the battle would last long.  Spine-Back was a big demon, but that meant he likely didn’t have very strong demonic qi.

Without waiting for his robes to dry, Liu Qingge got back on Cheng Luan, and flew back to the palace.

Liu Qingge woke the next morning to the blast of horns and cacophonous cheers.  He could hear demons running and chattering and cackling through the hall on the other side of his door. 

Staring at the silk sheets over his legs, a harrowing thought dawned on him.  He didn’t want to fight Spine-Back.  He didn’t even want to get out of bed.  He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but it wasn’t there, in the room, and it certainly wasn’t out on the battlefield with those demons. 

He still got himself out of bed and got dressed.  He still fixed his hair and tied Cheng Luan to his belt. 

He went to the training field on the west side of the palace and found the other competitors easily, since they were all grouped together on the field’s sidelines.  Most of them were large creatures with sharp teeth or claws.  A few were humanoid, with antlers or claws or eyes that were off-putting.  A very harried spirit that looked to be made of straw was trying to verify that all the parties were accounted for.  Liu Qingge raised his hand when his name was called, and suddenly felt a heavy, wet puff of air on the back of his neck.

He whirled around to face Spine-Back, and demanded, “What?”

“So you didn’t back out.  I had thought perhaps His Majesty might have tried to talk you out of it, given your history.”

There was no way Spine-Back could have known about their tryst just a week earlier, but the tone he used was suggestive, and Liu Qingge could feel his face heating.  “Our history is none of your business, and I said I’d be here.  Just because you demons don’t know how to honor an agreement, doesn’t mean I’m the same.”

Spine-Back snorted, then with narrowed eyes and a cruel smile, he leaned forward and said, “Oh, I’m counting on that.  Remember my terms, little War God.”

Liu Qingge changed his mind, he did want to fight, and he wanted to win .

He turned abruptly, slapping the demon in the face with his ponytail.

Their battle was the last of the day since it was agreed to so late. From what Liu Qingge could hear, it was the most anticipated battle, and from the betting pools he walked past, he was not favored to win.

As he watched the first few fights, he could feel two pairs of eyes on him.  From up in their private box at the center of the audience stands, Shen Qingqiu startled and averted his gaze.  Luo Binghe kept staring, his lips pressed together so hard they were colorless.

Liu Qingge broke eye contact first, but only to watch the current battle on the field, where two half-cat humanoids were circling one another.

That battle ended quickly and was followed by two more quick fights.  The fourth match was between Spine-Back’s more timid friend and one of the tree yao Liu Qingge had seen previously.  If Spine-Back’s fighting was anything like his friend’s, Liu Qingge had nothing to worry about.  He hadn’t been nervous regardless, since there were only three people he knew of that could beat him in a fair fight.

The fifth battle was a bit longer, the little rabbit demon was much faster than its monkey-faced opponent had anticipated.

The sixth and seventh battles involved weapons, which Liu Qingge found fascinating to watch, since demonic swordplay was not something he got to study up close often.  Luo Binghe might have been a half-demon, but his technique was all Qing Jing.  Or at least it was on the rare occasion he battled with Liu Qingge.  Liu Qingge didn’t like to think about the last time Luo Binghe and he had fought with no holds barred.

And then the straw spirit was announcing his fight with Spine-Back.

Liu Qingge entered the ring and unsheathed Cheng Luan with a flick.  Spine-Back still had that annoying smirk on his face that only accentuated how wrinkly and loose his purple skin was.

The straw demon announcer signaled for their battle to start, and Spine-Back charged at him.

A stupid move.  Spine-Back’s movements were unrefined, so Liu Qingge only had to step out of the way to dodge his attack.  To counter, he slammed Cheng Luan’s pommel into a gap in Spine-Back’s armor, and he stumbled further.  Liu Qingge let him right himself so they could continue, and this time, Spine-Back wasn’t so brash.  His approach was still clumsy, but even he knew better than to try the same attack twice in a row.  They exchanged several blows, Liu Qingge with his sword, Spine-Back with his yellow-clawed hands. 

Annoyingly, due to Spine-Back’s size and power, the exchange pushed Liu Qingge closer and closer towards the edge of the ring, so after a pointed move, he tried to slip past Spine-Back to get back to the center of the ring, but Spine-Back grabbed him by the back of the robe and slammed him into the ground.

“Yield yet?” Spine-Back said, his spittle hitting Liu Qingge in the face.  Just over the demon’s shoulder, he could see Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe standing, expressions concerned.

What, did they think Liu Qingge couldn’t handle this?  He grunted at Spine-Back, “Don’t flatter yourself.”

With a blast of spiritual energy, Spine-Back was flying through the air and landing on his ass, just inside the ring.  Would have been better if he’d been knocked out of bounds, but Liu Qingge would be sending him on his way soon anyhow.

He swung Cheng Luan at Spine-Back’s head—the demon rolled out of the way at the last second and settled on his knees.  He was still smirking, but now he looked angry about it.  Liu Qingge attacked again, but Spine-Back spun so his back was facing Liu Qingge, and suddenly, Cheng Luan was caught in an array of spines that hadn’t been there before.  And then Liu Qingge felt the pain.

Several of the spines had stabbed through his forearm, a single spine protruded from between Liu Qingge’s middle finger and forefinger.

“Shidi!” Shen Qingqiu’s called out the same time Luo Binghe shouted, “Qingge!”

Liu Qingge yanked his arm off the spines, but he couldn’t hold onto Cheng Luan, so he had to leave it caught in the spines.

“Hahaha,” Spine-Back turned, “Never fought an echidna demon before, have you?  No worries, you’ll be getting very familiar with our species once I win, hmm?”  He raised his arm to swipe at Liu Qingge’s head, but Liu Qingge jumped out of range.

Liu Qingge felt a little stupid for not taking the demon’s name at face value.  He needed a moment to reassess his strategy, but Spine-Back was already rushing him, and although Liu Qingge managed to get in several tooth-rattling punches, the demon kicked sand into Liu Qingge’s face.  He heard Shen Qingqiu from the stands shouting at the straw spirit that that was an illegal move, but Liu Qingge had battled enough demons to know that they didn’t care about rules.  They only cared about winning.

As he fought through the burning in his eyes, Spine-Back managed to trip him once more, and pinned him to the ground, one of Liu QIngge’s wrists in each of his hands.

“No need to cry,” he said.  “Even if the emperor can’t see your value, you won’t ever feel neglected in my house.”

“What?” Liu Qingge was almost too angry to process the words, but once he had, he became even angrier because they made no sense.

“Do you yield?”

“No!”  Liu tried to kick Spine-Back in the stomach but Spine-Back dropped his knees onto Liu Qingge’s thighs.

“Oh, do you want us to consummate in front of the whole demon court?  Show the emperor what he’s missing?”

“Explain!” Liu Qingge demanded as he tried to wriggle out of Spine-Back’s grip.

“I was going to take you back to my harem to officially complete our marriage, but if you’d like to go the public route, no moment would be better.”

Liu Qingge was too furious for words!  He craned his neck and tried to bite Spine-Back’s arm, but he only ended up with a mouthful of acrid tasting skin, and Spine-Back shuddered excitedly, the exact opposite effect Liu Qingge had hoped to achieve.

“I’m not marrying you!” Liu Qingge said as he spit demon blood out of his mouth.

“Aiyoh, but I thought you righteous cultivators always stuck to your word?  Even if you try to run, everyone knows what we’re battling for, they won’t let you back out.”  The look on Spine-Back’s face was unnerving and lecherous.

“Those weren’t your terms!”

Now it was Spine-Back’s turn to be confused.  “You bet your hand!  When you lose, you’ll give it to me!”  He reinforced his weight over Liu Qingge, whose head was spinning.

He’d bet his hand in marriage , not his actual hand!  Demons!  Only demons would determine something like that with a battle!

“I’m not marrying you!”  With a deep breath, Liu Qingge rolled his shoulders for leverage, and with the help of his spiritual energy, began lifting, lifting, lifting, until Spine-Back’s knuckles were unlodged from the dirt

Spine-Back planted his feet in and tried to force Liu Qingge back to the ground, but Liu Qingge refused, circulating his spiritual energy at a dizzying rate.  As he pushed Spine-Back upright with only the strength of his arms and back, he got his feet up underneath him, and at that point, their full-bodied arm wrestling match was decided.  Liu Qingge squatted for just a second, long enough to fool Spine-Back into thinking he was faltering, and then he lunged upwards.

Not only had he reversed their positions from before by pinning Spine-Back to the ground, he landed blow after blow, strengthening each attack with his qi.  He would have preferred a cleaner win, but without his sword, this was the only way.

To Spine-Back’s credit, he only howled once as Liu Qingge bashed his face in.

“Yield!  I yield!” Spine-Back managed through his bloody teeth.  Both of his eyes were already bruising a cherry red that made Liu Qingge curl his lip. 

With a shuddering breath, Liu Qingge removed himself from Spine-Back’s body and shook the blood off his hands.  Liu Qingge had almost forgotten that there was an audience until the straw demon announced, “The War God of Bai Zhan!”

The crowd in the stands erupted into cheers, screams, howls, noise .  So much noise .  Liu Qingge glanced up towards Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu’s private box and glowered when he found them deep in conversation with one another.

The straw demon approached him and timidly asked, “and what does the War God demand of his disgraced opponent?”

“For him to leave me alone.”

“Ah—”

“That’s all he wants?” one of the cat demons from an earlier battle said on the sidelines.

Another demon said, “He was putting up his hand for so little?”

“You don’t think…”

Liu Qingge ignored them completely to kick Spine-Back’s body over.  Then, with a tug, he loosened Cheng Luan from the demon’s spikes.  He narrowed his eyes as the spikes settled back within Spine-Back’s fur, effectively hidden from sight.

“War God!  I also challenge you for your hand!”

That got Liu Qingge’s attention.

“Me too!”

“I want to fight him first!”

“No way!  You only want him because Spine-Back couldn’t have him!”

As the other demon contestants argued, several larger demons from the audience began climbing down from the stands to join them, apparently to fight for their right to wed Liu Qingge.

“Enough!” Luo Binghe’s voice rang out over the field, quieting all the lesser demons.  He had finally stepped down from his private box and made his way towards Liu Qingge.  “The only one battling Liu Qingge for his hand will be this king.”

“He doesn’t understand!” Luo Binghe had said to his shizun, who’d regarded him with quiet sympathy.  “He’s risking his freedom!  Does he know how controlling echidna demons are?  How terrifying their mating customs are?”

“If he doesn’t understand, perhaps we should explain,” Shen Qingqiu said.

Luo Binghe didn’t want to explain it to him, because if he was agreeing to the battle out of ignorance, Binghe could at least accept that, but if he agreed to the battle knowing…  Luo Binghe’s blood went cold.  “It’s not like it matters,” he said, shaking his head.  “Even if he knew, it’s too late now.  He’s already agreed.”

“Hm.  Liu-Shidi is steadfast in his word.”

“These demons have no regard, always looking to bed the strongest opponent they can find, this is exactly why I didn’t want him coming!”

A sharp clack startled them out of conversation, and Binghe rushed to the door, only to see Liu Qingge shooting off down the hall on his sword.

Luo Binghe shouted after him, but Liu Qingge was already long gone.  Shen Qingqiu came to his side and asked, “Perhaps we should go after him?”

Luo Binghe agreed desperately, they should chase after him, pin him down, and explain, but Luo Binghe suddenly felt impotent.  What could he possibly say to Liu Qingge at this point?  Wouldn’t it all sound like excuses?

“When I said I didn’t want you here, it wasn’t because I don’t want you here, it was because I don’t want my nosy subjects thinking they have any right to you”?

Like he’d believe that!  Especially because he’d been right when he said they’d been neglecting him!  Shizun had invited him along so they could keep an eye on him while he was feeling unwell, but then Mobei-Jun had been held up in the Northern Desert, which meant Luo Binghe had to deal with the saber-tooth delegation himself; and Hualing had disappeared at the last minute, which left the Southern Whale-Lions unattended; and then three demon tribes who’d explicitly stated they weren’t coming had shown up anyway, and accommodating them, plus a host of other problems, hadn’t left much time for Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu to see after to their third.

And now they were both at risk of losing him.

“Binghe, sit.” Shizun said, leading him to a chair.  He patted Luo Binghe’s head, which was nice, but did little to quell the mixture of grief and vindictive frustration swirling about in Luo Binghe’s stomach.  Shen Qingqiu sighed and ran his hand through Luo Binghe’s hair.  “He picked you out, you know.”

Luo Binghe blinked.

“Back when you first came to Cang Qiong.  Do you remember digging holes at the base of the mountain?”

Luo Binghe nodded, looking up at his shizun with wet eyes.

“When asked who the most capable of all the applicants that year, Liu-Shidi pointed you out.  This master saw that he was right, so I of course had to steal you away from him, but…”

Shizun didn’t often talk about Luo Binghe’s early days at Cang Qiong, and Luo Binghe tried not to think about them too much, so hearing this was a bit like stretching; it hurt a little, but the longer he held the knowledge, the more comfortable it became.

“Even before this master, Liu-Shishu was choosing you.  He’ll be back.  We can explain to him properly then.”

Except Liu Qingge had completely disappeared from the palace, and didn’t reappear until his battle the next day.  And with a whole night to work himself up again, Luo binghe was a bit twitchy as he and his shizun watched the matches from their private box.

“Relax, Binghe. He won’t lose to such a low-ranked demon.”

“Under normal circumstances, I’d agree,” he told Shizun as they watched the fight from their private area.  “But he’s agitated.  Look at him.”

Liu Qingge’s movements were graceful, they always were, but they were also haphazard, like Liu Qingge was having trouble controlling his own strength.  As if to prove his point, Liu Qingge stabbed at Spine-Back and ended up losing Cheng Luan.  Luo Binghe winced at the red blooming up on Liu Qingge’s white robes where Spine-Back’s spines stabbed through his arm.

“Hmm,” Shizun said with a concerned tilt to his lips.  “He is being a bit sloppy, but—Hey!  That was an illegal move!  Referee, are you blind or stupid?!  Honestly!”  He coughed behind his fan, then said, “Even at his worst, Liu-shidi wouldn’t lose to a demon like that.”

They both shot to their feet as Spine-Back pinned Liu Qingge to the ground.

Luo Binghe could feel his heart beating in his ears, an involuntary snarl twisted his lips at the thought of a lesser demon trying to take what he’d already claimed for himself and his husband.

He should have made a formal announcement the moment they set foot in the palace.

Liu Qingge tussled with that awful echidna demon for several tense minutes.  Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu gripped the handrail of their box and held their breaths as Liu Qingge was pinned again, Shen Qingqiu even grabbed onto Luo Binghe’s forearm, knuckles white.

If Liu Qingge’s furious expression was any indication, Spine-Back and he were arguing as they fought, and then Liu Qingge’s face went terrifyingly blank, and for a moment, Luo Binghe thought he was about to yield, but then…then Liu Qingge began lifting his torso upwards, against the pressure Spine-Back was exerting on him.

Binghe had experienced firsthand just how intense Liu Qingge could get when pushed up against a wall, or rather, pushed through a wall, but even so, the raw display of power made Binghe feel a little tetchy.

Using a move like that, it was akin to a human showing off how rich and comfortable they would make their future spouse; the other demons would definitely challenge him for his hand as well.

And sure enough, after Liu Qingge beat Spine-Back’s face into a bloody pulp, even the demons in the stands were whispering about challenging Liu Qingge.

“Binghe, look,” Shizun inclined his head towards where the competitors were watching the fight.  A rock demon was shouting at a fox, to which the fox responded with a shove.  That shove escalated to a punch, and soon several of the competitors were throwing fists at one another.  A sneaky lizard-faced demon had escaped and was already approaching Liu Qingge at the center of the field.

“Binghe,” Shizun said again, eyes wide, clearly imploring him to stop the next battle.

Luo Binghe let out a breath so harsh it hurt.  He must have been holding it longer than he’d realized.  He nodded once to his shizun, then jumped down from their box and entered the fighting ring.

“Enough!” he said to silence the competitors and the audience.  He drew Zheng Yang and flicked it in the fancy manner Shizun liked to use to loosen up his wrist.  “The only one battling Liu Qingge for his hand will be this king.”

The lizard demon shrunk back until he disappeared back into the crowd of competitors.  Liu Qingge, who hadn’t even noticed it, looked like he might have a qi deviation.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“I just told you.  Battling you for your hand in marriage,” Luo Binghe said coolly.

“Is this a joke?”

“Does it look like a joke?”

Liu Qingge’s face twisted like he’d smelled something rotten.  Usually, Luo Binghe thought it was a funny expression to pull from his shishu, but given current circumstances…

Liu Qingge was clearly struggling to reconcile his distaste for the bet with his pride; he’d never admit he was afraid of losing in front of all these demons though, even if he’d never won against Luo Binghe.

With an enraged shout, Liu Qingge charged forward and attacked Luo Binghe with a fervor Binghe hadn’t experienced since before he’d married his shizun.

Blow after blow rained down upon Luo Binghe with devastating force, but little accuracy.  Luo Binghe used a snap of spiritual energy to put some distance between the two of them.  They both needed the break, but Liu Qingge rushed at him again, and with the crowd cheering around them, he landed a stinging blow against Luo Binghe’s shoulder.

The sight of Luo Binghe’s blood on Cheng Luan seemed to take Liu Qingge off-guard, and there was a slight hesitation before his next attack, so Luo Binghe used that time to roll out of the way.

“You challenge me but you keep running?” Liu Qingge spat.

Luo Binghe would have explained that they were tactical retreats, but that would have pissed Liu Qingge even more, and Luo Binghe really did worry about him qi deviating.

Instead, Luo Binghe made a hand seal and sent Zheng Yang’s sword glare towards Liu Qingge, who dodged it with an elegant spin, but left his whole left side open when he faced Luo Binghe again.  Their swords met over and over, and Liu Qingge’s fatigue began to show—the more aggravated he became, the sloppier they became.  He struck forward once, but didn’t follow through, then he left his right shoulder open, and his next set of sword forms were out of order.  Luo Binghe fell back each time, confused.

“If you have something—!” Liu  Qingge grit out, “To say to me—!  Just say it! ”

Accompanying his final words was a massive blast of spiritual energy that knocked Luo Binghe off his feet and sent him skidding across the ring.  He was less than a hand’s length away from the boundary.  He spat out a mouthful of dust and blood and wiped at his face. 

Liu Qingge was already on him, blade pressed at his throat.

Luo Binghe looked up at him; he had a black eye and a split lip, and he was covered from head to toe in blood, dirt, and sweat.  The look suited him, and Luo Binghe almost lost himself staring.

“Th-the War God has defeated Junshang!” the straw spirit cried, and the crowd exploded with cheers.

Liu Qingge retracted his blade, looking more constipated than usual.  “You didn’t use your demonic energy,” he said just over the roar of the crowd.

Luo Binghe scrambled to his knees, “En, a fair fight.”

“I don’t need your pity.”  Liu Qingge slammed Cheng Luan back into its sheath.  “Humiliating yourself like that.  You hear that?”  He pointed to the stands, where several large demons were calling for Liu Qingge to kill Luo Binghe and take his throne.

“I know you wouldn’t,” Luo Binghe said as he stood.

“It doesn’t matter!  I don’t want to win with a handicap!  And Shen Qingqiu will be pissed if you have to spend any more time quelling insurrection—”

“Would he be the only one?”

Liu Qingge’s face went red, but he snapped his mouth shut and turned away, stalking off in the direction of the palace.  He only got to the edge of the ring before the crowd of other competitors accosted him to ask him for battle pointers and if he’d let them be a part of his harem and—

“Alright, alright!” Shizun said as he approached them all.  “Please put the War God down!”

The yak demon that’d lifted Liu Qingge up to inspect his limbs put him down with a soft, “Sorry.”

If there was one person who could control Luo Binghe’s subjects, it was his dear husband.  Shen Qingqiu lectured them a bit about propriety before ushering Liu Qingge off towards the palace.  It was good that they left together, since leaving Liu Qingge alone again was not a good idea, but Luo Binghe still felt a familiar ache at the sight of them walking away from him together.

He pushed the feeling down.  It wasn’t as strong as it used to be, especially because it was Qingge his husband was running off with, but Binghe wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself.  He got to his feet and shouted, “You all think I can’t hear you calling to dethrone me?”

Every demon in the arena perked up and stared at him hungrily.

Luo Binghe swung Zheng Yang and yelled, “Let’s see you try!”

The crowd of previous competitors was on him faster than he could blink.

Half a shichen later, Luo Binghe strutted back into his chambers, his clothes in tatters, a line of blood drying on his upper lip, hair a mess.

It wasn’t hard putting his subjects back into place with his abilities; in fact it was rather boring compared to fighting Liu Qingge.

Even if his shishu was straightforward, he at least used strategy and had technique.

Liu Qingge was sitting on a chair Shizun had pulled from the vanity with his arm halfway bandaged up.  He was only wearing clean under-trousers, and his skin and hair were damp, like he’d just taken a bath.

“Stop pulling away, you big baby!” Shizun said as he tried to smear ointment on Liu Qingge’s black eye.

Liu Qingge dodged him again, but in doing so, noticed Luo Binghe, and his previously annoyed expression closed off.

“Binghe, good, would you bring me the basket over there?  With the rest of the bandages?” Shen Qingqiu asked before tutting over Liu Qingge again.

Luo Binghe did as he was asked, coming to stand at Shen Qingqiu’s side.  His eye trailed over Liu Qingge’s exposed shoulder, the protrusion of his collarbones, his brown nipples.  There was a shallow scratch over Liu Qingge’s chest that Binghe eventually fixated on.

“What are you staring at?” Liu Qingge demanded, not bothering to cover up.

“Shidi,” Shizun chided, pinching his cheek, just below that damning beautymark.  Liu Qingge batted his hand away, but his face had gone a fascinating shade of pink.  “Binghe did you a favor just now, is that anyway to thank him?”

Binghe gave his shizun a soft look.  Liu Qingge spluttered.

“You want me to thank him for throwing the fight?”

“Would you rather I had won?” Luo Binghe said, a small smile stretching his lips.  “Surely you understand what that would have meant by now?”

Liu Qingge’s flush darkened and his face soured.  “Even if the original bet was for something so shameless, you could have asked for something else once you won.  With your position, no one would have questioned it.

“And what if I didn’t want to ask for something different?”

Liu Qingge scoffed but didn’t answer.

“Shidi, don’t cross your arms like that, I need to bandage your arm,” Shizun said to fill the silence.  He untwined Liu Qingge’s arms and began wrapping the bandage over the puncture wounds through Liu Qingge’s forearm.

Luo Binghe watched them move around one another for a moment before saying, “If Qingge has something to say, he ought to say it outright.”

Liu Qingge bristled enough that he pushed Shen Qingqiu out of the way to point at Luo binghe, saying, “Oh, should I?  And what about you?  I knew you didn’t want me here from the start, if you had just said so, I wouldn’t have tagged along, and neither of us would be in this mess!”

“Of course I didn’t want you to come!” Luo Binghe snapped back.  “Do you have any idea how you look to those demons out there?!  Do you have any clue the way they pant after you when they realize who you are?  Demons court by showing off their physical strength!”

Liu Qingge opened his mouth, but was speechless, so Luo Binghe continued.

“I didn’t want you here because I didn’t want some undeserving demon to challenge you!  I was trying to prevent this exact situation!”

“The issue is the same!” Liu Qingge spat back.  “How was I supposed to know that demons bet their lives away like that?  Why didn’t you tell me?”

Luo Binghe laughed unkindly.

Shen Qingqiu put a hand on Liu Qingge’s chest to settle him back into the chair properly.  “Shidi, even if you’d known, would you have declined the challenge?”

Liu Qingge pressed his lips together.

“I didn’t tell you, “Luo Binghe said, the fight leaking out of him, “because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable sparring with me.  I didn’t want you to feel obligated to follow through.  And I didn’t want you to stop.”

Liu Qingge’s brows came together like he was deep in thought.  Shen Qingqiu used this silence to finish wrapping his forearm. 

“So you let all of this happen, what, just so you can swoop in at the last moment and lose ?”

Luo Binghe could feel the tears that always accompanied his vulnerabilities rising in the back of his throat, but Liu-Shishu was right.  He ought to say things plainly.

“I didn’t let it happen to lose ,” he said thickly.  “I let it happen to give you a choice .”

“I didn’t want a choice!” Liu Qingge barked back.

The resulting silence made the words echo in Luo Binghe’s head.

Shen Qingqiu coughed politely and hurried off to one of their chests to put the first aid supplies away.

Liu Qingge made a very stilted noise as he exhaled, and refused to meet Luo Binghe’s eyes.  He suddenly stood and headed towards the door, but Luo Binghe intercepted him, hand wrapping around his forearm.

“Let go of me!”

“You—”

“Let go!”

“Did Qingge want me to win?”  Luo Binghe’s felt like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out, the same way he felt when he wheedled Shizun and could see him giving in.  “Did Qingge want me to stake a claim on him?”

“That’s not—!  I didn’t—!”  Liu Qingge’s face was so red.  Luo Binghe didn’t have a word for it.  “You’re both married!”

“It’s well within Binghe’s rights to have a harem,” Shen Qingqiu pointed out coolly as he sat on their bed and flicked his fan open.

Liu Qingge looked at him, aghast.  Luo Binghe also gave him a reproachful look.  They’d talked about it, and it was definitely Shizun who ought to have the harem.

“And it’s not like a three-person marriage is without precedent,” Shen Qingqiu added at their silence. “We saw as much in that palace.”

Liu Qingge had that look on his face again, like he was thinking so hard he might pass out.  It was cute, but Luo Binghe didn’t want him hurting himself.

Pulling him a bit closer, Luo Binghe said, “Shizun and I messed up earlier.  We didn’t want to pressure you, but I can see now that being direct is best with Liu-Shishu.”

Liu Qingge’s nose wrinkled, “You think you can pressure me?”

Luo Binghe laughed and ran his thumb over Liu Qingge’s pulse point, enjoying the way it made his Shishu squirm, especially when his shishu was so stripped down and soft.

“I know I can pressure you.  But I think Liu-shishu likes to be pressured, hmm?”

Shen Qingqiu stood and approached them to take Liu Qingge’s other wrist, as Liu Qingge seemed to be frozen in place.

Luo Binghe ducked his head so his lips were just a breath away from Liu Qingge’s and said, “If Shishu is amenable, I could pressure him right now.”

Liu Qingge wasn’t sure how they made it from the center of the room to the bed, but the moment Luo Binghe sat down on the edge of the bed, he was pulling Liu Qingge into his lap.  Infuriating .

“Shishu has been so cruel for making us go without his presence for so long,” Luo Binghe said as he smoothed his hands over the fabric of Liu Qingge’s undergarments.

“Binghe,” sighed Shen Qingqiu, stepping between their legs.  It was an ineffective reprimand because Luo Binghe just hooked his chin over Liu Qingge’s shoulder and pouted at his husband, even as he shrugged out of his torn up, bloody robe.

Shen Qingqiu carefully tucked Liu Qingge’s hair behind his ears and brushed his hands over Liu Qingge’s cheeks.  The smile on his face was different from his usual knowing or air-headed smiles.  Liu Qingge thought it looked a bit like the smile he got when Luo Binghe brought him something particularly tasty to eat, and the thought made a shiver run up his spine.

He kissed Liu Qingge before Liu Qingge could even anticipate the action, and it was just a simple press of the lips, but it left Liu Qingge’s face burning.  That had been—!  Liu Qingge had never—!

Seeing his reaction, Shen Qingqiu laughed to himself and leaned down for another kiss.  Shen Qingqiu licked his bottom lip, just as Luo Binghe nipped at Liu Qingge’s shoulder.  Liu Qingge gasped just long enough for Shen Qingqiu’s tongue to brush against Liu Qingge’s and retreat, and the wet, slick feeling of it had Liu Qingge’s blood rushing south at a frankly embarrassing rate.  When he pulled back this time, Shen Qingqiu was smiling like he knew exactly what he’d done.

Luo Binghe trailed his fingers through Liu Qingge’s damp hair, then leaned in so his chest was pressed up against Liu Qingge’s back.  Breathily, he said, “Liu-shishu must be so tired from fighting so long today.”

“I’m fine.”

“Hm, but you went up against an echidna demon.  They don’t mess around when it comes to battle.”

“En, it’s lucky Liu-Shidi is so strong.”

Liu Qingge tried to nod, but Shen Qingqiu was holding his jaw in both hands.

“Even if he could accept a marriage to a demon like that, the wedding night would have been a shock, don’t you think?” Luo Binghe said, resting his cheek against Liu Qingge’s ear.  “Four-headed penises—”

Liu Qingge jerked away, but Shen Qingqiu’s hands caught him.

“Or perhaps Liu-shishu was left unsatisfied with our last demonstration?  And that’s why he went out of his way to catch an echidna demon’s eye.”

“That’s not what happened,” Liu Qingge said.

“Oh, then we did satisfy you?” Luo Binghe smirked.  His thumb and forefinger squeezed the tendons at the back of Liu Qingge’s neck, almost like he was scruffing an unruly kitten, and Liu Qingge held his breath to keep quiet, even as his insides squirmed.  “And it was just a coincidence that you went after the only demon with a four-headed cock?”

Liu Qingge gasped and tried to pull out from between them, but Luo Binghe had him caged in from the back, and Shen Qingqiu had him pinned in the front.

He wanted to protest that he had no idea echidna demons had that kind of anatomy, he wasn’t in the habit of researching demon genitals, but even in his head that sounded weak.

“Or perhaps Shishu has a thing for wrinkles and bad breath?”  The hand that wasn’t massaging the back of Liu Qingge’s neck snuck around to his front and settled on his chest.  As he squeezed Liu Qingge’s right pec, he rolled his hips so that…monstrous weapon of his dragged against Liu Qingge’s rear end.

Liu Qingge couldn’t help but remember how it had felt in his mouth, but at the same time, he questioned how on earth that thing had fit!  Forget four cock-heads, Luo Binghe’s dick was already too much!

“I didn’t—” he squeezed his eyes shut only for Luo Binghe to roll his hips again.  Against his will, Liu Qingge sharply inhaled.

“Or maybe it was their mating practices?” Shen Qingqiu mused, the traitor.

Liu Qingge opened his eyes to glare at his shixiong, but had to immediately avert his eyes, because Shen Qingqiu was—!  He was—!

Shen Qingqiu’s robes were discarded on the floor, and he was just standing there!  With his hand on his—!

Naked Shen Qingqiu was not something Liu Qingge had ever deluded himself into believing he’d see.  It would have been disrespectful to both Shen Qingqiu and his husband, not to mention it would have opened the door to a whole other host of problems for Liu Qingge, one of which was currently twitching against his thigh.

Shen Qingqiu shamelessly stroked himself, and Liu Qingge couldn’t help but feel a bit lightheaded when he noticed a bead of white roll out from the tip.

“During mating season, they bring the whole household into the bridal chamber and take turns with the wife,” Luo Binghe said against his ear, and suddenly Liu Qingge couldn’t help but think about being passed from faceless demon to faceless demon and the resulting disgust only seemed to make the heat in his ears burn hotter.

“Is that what Liu-shishu was hoping for?  To be passed around?  To lose whole days in the name of producing an heir for his husband’s family?”

Liu Qingge couldn’t help the way his voice broke when he said, “No, no, I—”  He cried out when Luo Binghe bit at his earlobe.

“Fuck,” Shen Qingqiu said under his breath.

“But perhaps we can at least keep Liu Qingge’s mind off his disappointment.  He must give us a second chance.”

Liu Qingge had grabbed onto Luo Binghe’s arm, thrilled and worried that that hand might try and work its way downward.

“Hmm, Shidi must understand that this shixiong and his disciple are very serious and will not be outdone by some greedy demon from the backwaters,” Shen Qingqiu panted, hand still wrapped around his dick, and approached leisurely.

Liu Qingge kept his eyes firmly above the waistline, terrified that if he looked down, Shen Qingqiu would realize how badly he—

Liu Qingge squeezed his eyes shut.

“Aiyoh, shidi,” Shen Qingqiu said, pressing his thumb to Liu Qingge’s lower lip.  “Still shy?  Just let us take care of you, hmm?  Although I can’t promise endless days of fucking,” his tone was a bit condescending, and a puff of air in Liu Qingge’s hair told him Luo Binghe was chuckling.

“Or four-headed cocks,” Luo Binghe helpfully supplied.  Then he repositioned his hips so his dick was wedged firmly between Liu Qingge’s ass cheeks, as if he was making up for it .

Liu Qingge’s face was so, so hot—how red must he look to Shen Qingqiu?  His shixiong still hadn’t moved his thumb from Liu Qingge’s lip, so Liu Qingge tried to dislodge it, but only succeeded in smearing his lips all over Shen Qingqiu’s thumb, who took the movement for permission and slipped in, just enough to hook over Liu Qingge’s bottom teeth and pull down.

He cursed under his breath again as he slid his flushed, drooling dick into Liu Qingge’s mouth.  Like Luo Binghe’s cock, it tasted like musky skin; unlike Luo Binghe’s cock, it wasn’t inhumanly large, so instead of choking Liu Qingge, his shixiong’s dick rested nicely in his mouth, even if his mind was still stuck on the fact that Shen Qingqiu was naked.

“Close, good boy,” Shen Qingqiu said as Liu Qingge closed his jaw.  “Ah, teeth, watch your teeth Shidi!  Better, better.”

Luo Binghe was still messing around with Liu Qingge’s chest, which had him twitching occasionally, but once Liu Qingge swallowed the spit pooling in his mouth and Shen Qingqiu gave a luxuriating sigh, Luo Binghe reached for the waistband of Liu Qingge’s trousers.

Liu Qingge already felt like he was being kicked back and forth like a jianzi, but his breath caught in his throat when Luo Binghe’s hands skimmed his waist.

“Teeth, Shidi,” Shen Qingqiu reminded him again.  Liu Qingge tried to cover his teeth better.

Ah, but then Luo Binghe was tugging his trousers down, and something hot and wet and hard slapped against Liu Qingge’s ass, and Liu Qingge surged forward, burying his nose into Shen Qingqiu’s pubic hair, finally choking around him.  Shen Qingqiu made a punched out noise, and grabbed Liu Qingge by the back of the head to keep him still.

“Swallow,” Binghe said, and Liu Qingge listened, even as Luo Binghe slid his unholy weapon back between Liu Qingge’s ass cheeks.

Liu Qingge’s trouser waistband was digging into his hips, but he didn’t dare try and wiggle out of them in his current position, otherwise, Luo Binghe would definitely make fun of him for being desperate for it; but really, the position they were in, with him sitting in Luo Binghe’s lap, leaned over so his face was in Shen Qingqiu’s crotch, was difficult to maintain, even with his cultivator’s strength.

He was just about to pull off Shen Qingqiu to say so, but one of Luo Binghe’s arms came to wrap around him from behind, pinning his own arms to his torso at the elbow.  Liu Qingge struggled a bit, just to test the give, but Luo Binghe’s hold tightened.

As Luo Binghe used his unoccupied hand to shimmy Liu Qingge’s trousers the rest the way down his thighs, he said, “Where are you trying to go, hmm?  Isn’t this what you wanted?  Open your eyes, look at Shizun when he gives it to you.”

Liu Qingge made a scandalized noise around Shen Qingqiu’s cock, like hell would he do something so mortifying—!

“Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu said breathily.

Liu Qingge’s cocked twitched, but he could only shut his eyes tighter.  He hoped to heaven that neither of his partners noticed how hard he was now that his cock was standing at full, painful attention, but at the same time, he wondered what might happen if they did…?

Liu Qingge couldn’t follow that line of thought though because Shen Qingqiu drew Liu Qingge’s head back until just the tip of his cock was resting on Liu Qingge’s tongue.  Liu Qingge thought he was going to draw away completely, so he relaxed just a bit.

But then Shen Qingqiu yanked him forward again, all the way down, and forced Liu Qingge to swallow around him again.  Liu Qingge’s whole body tensed up against Luo Binghe’s, and the little brat had the audacity to moan against Liu Qingge’s ear about it.

As Shen Qingqiu continued using Liu Qingge’s mouth to jerk off, Liu Qingge rolled his tongue to keep from drooling, to which Shen Qingqiu slammed into his mouth with a bit too much force.  Liu Qingge’s eyes rattled open once more, and he was confronted with Shen Qingqiu looking down at him with hazy eyes, parted lips, and flushed cheeks.

Liu Qingge couldn’t look away.  Over and over, Shen Qingqiu fucked into his mouth, sometimes making him choke, sometimes hissing when Liu Qingge swallowed him at the right moment, but mostly just staring, staring, staring.

And the longer he stared, the longer Liu Qingge was forced to sit still and be good, the longer Luo Binghe held him still, the less Liu Qingge cared.  The feeling was familiar, but less intense to what he’d felt when he was trapped in that stupid stone palace over a week ago; things that were not the thick arms wrapped around him or the hand in his hair or the dick in his mouth seemed to become less important.

He didn’t need to be a Peak Lord or a cultivator or a warrior, because he could just be theirs, and wasn’t that a heady thought?

Luo Binghe had been rubbing his thumbs over Liu Qingge’s nipples, rolling his hips under Liu Qingge’s; there was sweat collecting between Liu Qingge’s back and Luo Binghe’s chest, he could feel Luo Binghe’s pectorals squashed between his scapulae.  The sensation of his cock pressing, rubbing, moving against Liu Qingge’s asshole sent short, intense twitches through Liu Qingge’s body, forcing soft noises out of his throat. 

Shen Qingqiu echoed him on a particularly loud moan, and he tilted Liu Qingge’s head a bit to the side so his cockhead brushed against the soft side of Liu Qingge’s mouth and begin thrusting faster.

Liu Qingge had trouble keeping up, and found himself holding his breath as Shen Qingqiu’s thrusts became more erratic.

“Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu said.  “Binghe—”

“Don’t swallow,” Luo Binghe said just over the embarrassing slick noises Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu were making.

Liu Qingge would have nodded if he’d had any control over his head, or if he’d had any presence of mind, but as it was, the heat between the three of them was so palpable, he was having trouble processing the words, even as he heard Shen Qingqiu’s pants get more and more vocal.

Shen Qingqiu’s grip tightened, and he said, “Oh,” softly as his dick twitched twice in Liu Qingge’s mouth.  On the next thrust, Liu Qingge felt a gush of salty fluid hit the back of his throat, and he coughed.

“Shidi, ah, shidi, you—”  Shen Qingqiu shuddered as Liu Qingge’s tongue moved, and another wave of come filled Liu Qingge’s mouth.

A few more stilted thrusts, a few more bitten off moans, and Shen Qingqiu’s grip went slack in Liu Qingge’s hair.  One hand tried to smooth out the mess he’d made.  He still panted, but it was much less erratic than before, and his expression was contented, Liu Qingge felt a tendril of self-satisfaction unfurling in his gut.

“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu said eventually.  “You didn’t cry this time.”

Liu Qingge furrowed his brow.  Why did he sound so disappointed about that?

A hand suddenly appeared in front of his face, and Luo Binghe demanded, “Spit.”

Without a second thought, Liu Qingge opened his mouth and let the liquid that had been pooling in his mouth drip into Luo Binghe’s hand.  Only after his mouth was empty did he realize just how shameless and disgusting the act was.

The hand disappeared, and just as Liu Qingge was about to demand what Luo Binghe was getting at, making him do something so depraved, Luo Binghe lifted Liu Qingge’s hips and swiped two very slick fingers over his asshole.

The sensation was sudden and intense and gone before Liu Qingge could decide if he wanted to bear down or pull away.  Luckily, Luo Binghe didn’t make him wait much longer, and as Shen Qingqiu climbed onto the bed beside them, Luo Binghe’s fingers were back, gently pressing against him, coaxing, encouraging him to lean back into his embrace.

“Relax,” he said a few times, as if Liu Qingge could with him touching him in the most inappropriate place.  He rubbed circles over the muscle there, making Liu Qingge’s legs kick out.  “Relax, Shishu.  You were so good for Shizun, can’t you be good for your Shizhi?”

Stupidly, Liu Qingge made a strangled noise at that, which only encouraged Luo Binghe to spout more nonsense.

“Deep breaths, Shishu.  Relax.”  The kiss Luo Binghe then placed on the underside of LiuQingg’s jaw started out sweet, but gained teeth, as if Luo Binghe really couldn’t help it.  The slight pain made Liu Qingge flinch for just a moment, to which Luo Binghe pressed more insistently.

Shen Qingqiu scooted over so he was thigh to thigh with them, and again took Liu Qingge’s face between his hands.  With Luo Binghe’s unrelenting fingers prodding at him, swiping that sticky, slick mixture of spit and Shen Qingqiu’s…with that happening, Liu Qingge couldn’t think to guess what Shen Qingqiu might be planning for him.

So when Shen Qingqiu kissed him, he was once again unprepared.  Under the cavalcade of new and mortifying sensations, Liu Qingge was vaguely aware that his attention was slipping again, and his thoughts were growing sluggish.

With his attention split between Shen Qingqiu’s tongue trying to force its way into his mouth and Luo Binghe still trying to stick his fingers where they didn’t belong—he couldn’t help the noise he made when Luo Binghe finally, finally breached him.

“That’s right Shishu, that’s it.”

Liu Qingge knew what it felt like to have something up his ass, Shen Qingqiu had helpfully made sure of that back in the stone palace, but having a finger, then suddenly two fingers there made still Liu Qingge’s eyes cross, especially when Luo Binghe began rubbing one specific spot over and over and over.

With sweat at his temples and running down his calves, Liu Qingge could feel pressure building throughout his body.  I wasn’t urgent yet, but if Binghe didn’t let up in a few minutes, it would be.  He couldn’t help it, had to open his mouth to pant, because he felt like if he held anything else in, even his breath, he’d be done for.

Shen Qingqiu took advantage, licking as far back into Liu Qingge’s mouth as he could with an encouraging moan.  Liu Qingge left himself be swept along with the soft, almost gooey feeling of Shen Qingqiu’s tongue sliding against his, the way his lips tingled and burned pleasantly, and the slight pain that came from Shen Qingqiu’s caning catching on his skin.

Even though Liu Qingge’s neck and shoulders were starting to protest the angle, he found it was a distant concern in the face of the slick, warm sounds of his partners’ hands on him.  With his eyes closed, he even began to lose himself in their rhythm, Shen Qingqiu pushing forward just as Luo Binghe pulled back.

And then Luo Binghe’s fingers disappeared.  Liu Qingge did not moan at the loss, but he couldn’t help but scowl a bit, even as he tried to reciprocate Shen Qingiqu’s next kiss.

And then—and then—Liu Qingge had to jerk back from the kiss because something stiff and hot and frankly inhuman was pressing against his ass again, and no way, there was just no way—!

“Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu said, taking his face in hand again.  “Relax.”

Liu Qingge blinked dumbly at him.

“Shishu,” Luo Binghe said, now rubbing the head of his cock over Liu Qingge’s hole he could soften him up again like that.  “Breathe in.”

Liu Qingge did as asked, only because he needed to re-center himself.

On the exhale, Luo Binghe ‘s grip on his hip tightened, and the head of Luo Binghe’s cock slid inside.

Liu Qingge went boneless in Luo Binghe’s hands.  How could even just the head make him feel…so full?

Without Liu Qingge actively fighting against him, Luo Binghe carefully lowered Liu Qingge’s hips down until he was sitting in Luo Binghe’s lap once more, his head lolling back onto Luo Binghe’s shoulder, his arms limp at his side.

It didn’t hurt.  That was probably the most surprising thing.  When Luo Binghe had fucked his throat, there had been discomfort, even pain at certain points, but Liu Qingge could handle that.  He could handle pain.

This felt like someone’s arm from hand to elbow was stuffed inside him, and maybe he felt a bit out of control, a little stretched thin, but Liu Qingge had to admit, even if only to himself, that this was…nice.  Mentally, it was very similar to when Liu Qingge had an intense fight and won.  Like he’d earned whatever was coming next.

As he settled into Luo Binghe’s lap, Liu Qingge allowed himself to mentally sink lower, where touches felt both intensely sharp, and somehow also like they were a million li away, where he could just exist and release his carefully cultivated control like a lantern into the sky.  Shen Qingqiu ducked down to leave a very wet trail of kisses over his neck, his collarbone, his chest, and then he bit one of Liu Qingge’s nipples. 

“Ah!” Liu Qingge jerked, accidentally hitting his shixiong in the nose.

Shen Qingqiu ogled him, and then just as Luo Binghe started to push in, he took both of Liu Qingge’s nipples and squeezed them.

“Binghe’s sensitive here too,” he commented, like he was cataloging the parts of a beast Liu Qingge had killed for him, as if Liu Qingge hadn’t just tossed his head backwards and sobbed at the pinch.

“I’m not—”  He trailed off when Luo Binghe’s dick slid over that spot he’d been messing with earlier; he couldn’t repress the full body shudder that ran through him.  He hesitantly lifted one of his arms to try and touch his own dick, but Shen Qingqiu let go of his nipples to bat the hand away.

“Not yet,” Luo Binghe said, like a brat.  “Is this disciple not doing his utmost to satisfy you, Shishu?”

Liu Qingge closed his eyes again and huffed, but then Luo Binghe began drawing out, and Liu Qingge that soft descending feeling he’d been teetering on the edge of evaporated.  Had he messed up somehow?!  Had he broken some rule?  He clenched down, as if to keep Luo Binghe inside, but then Luo Binghe cursed against Liu Qingge’s neck and slammed him back down.

It really did feel like Luo Binghe was shoving all the air out of Liu Qingge’s lungs, and as Luo Binghe lifted him up and brought him down three times in quick succession, rattling Liu Qingge almost into incoherence.

“Lay him down, Binghe, Shen Qingqiu said, and this time Luo Binghe really did pull out.

Luo Binghe slipped Liu Qingge off his lap, but kept his hands on Liu Qingge’s shoulders in case Liu Qingge’s arms gave out, and Shen Qingqiu guided him to lie back in the center of their bed.  Liu Qingge missed Luo Binghe’s warmth spread across his back, but the sheets were soft, and Shen Qingqiu was soothingly rearranging Liu Qingge’s hair so it was out of his face.  Luo Binghe knelt between Liu Qingge’s legs, and his eyes roamed from Liu Qingge’s leaking dick, to his chest, to his face; Liu Qingge thought he ought to cover up a bit, but he couldn’t quite feel the need.

“Careful of his injuries, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu said as if he hadn’t just been trying to twist Liu Qingge’s nipples off!

Luo Binghe, eyes still on Liu Qingge’s face, made a noise of assent, softer than Liu Qingge would have expected.  In fact, Liu Qingge would have expected Luo Binghe to make some snide remark about Liu Qingge being able to handle it (which he was), but Luo Binghe just crawled forward and hitched both of Liu Qingge’s legs up over his shoulders, which caused Liu Qingge to weakly scramble at the sheets.

Shen Qingqiu suddenly appeared over him and began kissing him again, like Liu Qingge wasn’t on to him being a distraction from whatever Luo Binghe was doing, and then Luo Binghe slid back into him, still impossibly smooth from their activities earlier. 

The two of them shuddered in tandem, and, now, Liu Qingge was not one to make assumptions, but for that moment, he felt…connected to this golden couple.  Like he could be golden too, with them, and then Luo Binghe began to move, and all cohesive thought dissolved.

The drag, and the stretch, and the discomfort, with Shen Qingqiu holding him down, his hair smelling like floral soap and sweat, draping onto Liu Qingge’s shoulder were the only things Liu Qingge could concentrate on, even when Shen Qingqiu asked, “Is it good, Shidi?”

As if Luo Binghe was determined to be praised, a particularly well-aimed thrust made Liu Qingge’s hips roll and his jaw drop open.  He thought that maybe Shen Qingqiu was saying something else, and then there was a tongue on his, even though his mouth was wide open, and Liu Qingge’s fists twisted in the sheets.

The steady slap of Luo Binghe’s skin on his must have had some kind of hypnotic effect, because Liu Qingge felt like he was really slipping back into that weightless state from before, existing only for the creeping itch caused and soothed by Luo Binghe’s consistently well-aimed thrusts.

Liu Qingge was aware of a prickle of pain cutting through the incessant coring Luo Binghe was conducting, and Liu Qingge realized that Shen Qingqiu had moved on from licking his tongue to biting at his neck, just above the bandages on his shoulder.

Liu Qingge heard Luo Binghe call for his shizun, and understood that Shen Qingqiu was leaning back to kiss him.  He could hear them murmuring, but their words meant nothing, they were just sound, the same as his panting, the rustle of the sheets, the occasional slap from Luo Binghe’s hips meeting his.

“A-Are you sure?” Shen Qingqiu said.  A fat glob of precome dribbled out of Liu Qingge’s dick at the sound of his voice.

Luo Binghe nodded.

“Isn’t that…a bit much?”

“He’ll like it,” Luo Binghe said confidently.

Liu Qingge’s jaw dropped open as Luo Binghe finally, finally wrapped his hand around Liu Qingge’s dick.  He didn’t move his hand, but his thumb wandered up towards the crown of Liu Qingge’s dick, and ghosted just over a place that made Liu Qingge’s breath catch, even as he drifted in non-existence.

When he managed to open his eyes again, Shen Qingqiu was leaning over him again, hands planted over both Liu Qingge’s shoulders.  His eyes were half-lidded and focused on the lower half of Liu Qingge’s face.

Shen Qingqiu’s mouth made a few odd shapes, but then his lips pursed, and he spat directly into Liu Qingge’s mouth.

Liu Qingge’s eyes squeezed shut and noises he hadn’t known he was capable of making leaked out of his lungs as the first pulse overwhelmed him.  Muscles he was vaguely aware of tightened and tightened further, like if they contracted hard enough they could force Liu Qingge out of his body, and then they exhausted themselves and released, and Liu Qingge felt a splash on his stomach, only for Luo Binghe’s next thrust to start the whole process over again, pushing Liu Qingge over another crest of ecstasy.

Luo Binghe was pressing hard at the place under the head of Liu Qingge’s cock, rubbing over it as the peak of each wave of Liu Qingge’s orgasm ran through him.

Luo Binghe made his own punched out noise as he shoved back into Liu Qingge’s body; with the spasms running through Liu Qingge, the thrust was impossibly tight, and they both keened the moment Luo Binghe’s cock seemed to get harder and twitch inside Liu Qingge.

To be honest, the blow job is probably the worst Shen Qingqiu had received in a while.  Liu Qingge clearly had no idea what he was doing, but Shen Qingqiu hasn’t been able to see his face the last time they did this, and the way he looked so bullied, so uncertain and embarrassed…it felt a bit like Shen Qingqiu was taking it from him.

And coupled with the silky slide of Liu Qingge’s  cheek, it didn’t take long.

Watching his own come dripping off Liu Qingge’s tongue was almost enough to get Shen Qingqiu hard again.

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t usually thrilled about tasting himself afterwards, but what else was he supposed to do when Luo Binghe was finger fucking him like that, huh? Shen Qingqiu had been in that hole and it was tight.  If they were gonna fit Luo Binghe’s stupid huge cock in him, Liu Qingge needed to be distracted.

So Shen Qingqiu put his all into distracting the most virginal once-fucked man in the history of xianxia.  Honestly, how had Liu-Shidi managed to live this long without getting caught in at least a few dual cultivation plot devices?

Kissing Liu Qingge got better with Luo Binghe fucking him, but Liu Qingge’s neck was looking a little unmarked in Shen Qingqiu’s opinion, so he lowered his head and fixed that, even though Binghe’s thrusts jostled the two of them, making the bites probably a bit harsher than intended.

Why wasn’t Liu Qingge coming already, huh? Hadn’t they been at this long enough?  With Luo Binghe’s technique, they should be finishing soon, right? Shen Qingqiu was getting a little tired, and if they wanted to give Liu Qingge proper after care this time and prove themselves, they’d need to hurry up!!

Just as he’d had that though, Luo Binghe touched his back and beckoned him up to whisper something in his ear.

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t sure why he’d questioned Luo Binghe.  At this point, his little disciple’s protagonist halo pretty much ensured he was never wrong, especially when it came to sex.
But it just seemed so degrading .

Then again, so had implying that Liu Qingge wanted to get fucked over and over by wrinkly, smelly demons with four-headed cocks, and that seemed to have done something for Liu Qingge, so with Luo Binghe’s encouragement, Shen Qingqiu had gathered some saliva in his mouth, leaned over his panting, flushed, sweaty, debauched shidi, and spat directly into his open mouth.

And then Liu Qingge’s face screwed up like he might cry, and he was coming.  A lot .

The last time they’d been together like this, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been able to see Liu Qingge’s face until the very end, so Shen Qingqiu watched, enraptured by the way Liu Qingge’s eyelashes quivered and his whole body jerked with each strike of come he released onto his stomach, over and over as Luo Binghe pounded into him.

Given how violent Liu Qingge’s orgasm seemed to be, it wasn’t a surprise that Luo Binghe followed closely after.  He moaned with the desperate kind of edge he usually got when Shen Qingqiu let him come inside, like he wanted to crawl inside him.  It was a little pathetic, and years of Pavlovian conditioning made Shen Qingqiu’s soft dick twitch in interest.

Luo Binghe rode the orgasm out for a long time, fucking his come into Liu Qingge’s body until they were both twitching with overstimulation. Liu Qingge didn’t complain about it, although, maybe that wasn’t so surprising given he looked like he was about to pass out.  Poor guy probably couldn’t even lift his legs without Luo Binghe holding them up.

Shen Qingqiu wiped some sweat off his forehead and smiled when Liu Qingge’s eyes fluttered open, only to roll closed again with a gasp as Luo Binghe pushed back into him.

“Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu chided.  “I think he’s stuffed enough.”

Luo Binghe defiantly thrust into him one more time, then pulled out; Liu Qingge let out a soft breath of what Shen Qingqiu thought might be relief.

“You’re soft—” Shen Qingqiu said to Binghe before he could stop himself.  Usually his stallion disciple was at least still half hard when he pulled out of Shen Qingqiu.

“Shizun never lets me take my time.  I never get to fully finish,” Luo Binghe said bashfully, as if his giant fucking monster dick wasn’t just flopping around, covered in his own and this teacher’s spunk!

Shen Qingqiu gaped at him, “You—Are you unsatisfied?!”  Had this whole debacle, the whole messy courtship been because Shen Qingqiu wasn’t meeting his disciple’s needs?

“No, of course not, it only makes this disciple want Shizun more,” he said, smiling coyly.

Shen Qingqiu’s dick twitched again.

They both startled when something thumped against the bed next to them.  Liu Qingge was attempting to turn himself over but was having a hard time of it.

“Shishu will need to get cleaned up,” Binghe said.

Liu Qingge went still, so Shen Qingqiu drew his hand down the length of Liu Qingge’s sternum, just in time to distract him from Luo Binghe snaking one arm under his knees and the other around his waist.

When Luo Binghe lifted up, Liu Qingge flailed and almost punched Shen Qingqiu in the face, but the moment he realized what was happening, he calmed, that soft, absent expression settling on his face again.

Shen Qingqiu followed them to the bath, and at Luo Binghe’s request used a small amount of spiritual energy to reheat the water.  Then Shen Qingqiu stepped into the tub and sat with his legs spread, so that when Luo Binghe set Liu Qingge down between them, his shidi didn’t land on anything uncomfortable.

Liu Qingge exhaled as he settled back against Shen Qingqiu’s chest.  As Luo Binghe stepped into the tub facing them, Shen Qingqiu picked Liu Qingge’s arm up by the wrist and then let it splash back into the water.

“I think you broke your shishu,” he said to Binghe.

Luo Binghe smiled sharply.  “I think that was Shizun, actually.”

Liu Qingge made a discontented sound and tried to pull away from Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu tutted, “Where do you think you’re going, hm?  You asked why the tub was so big earlier, this is why.  Sit.” 

Liu Qingge listened without complaint.

Under the water, Lou Binghe took Liu Qingge’s leg by the ankle and began kneading his calf.  Liu Qingge seemed to perk up a bit at that.  Shen Qingqiu knew that Liu Qingge had washed his hair earlier, but the bottom half was already wet again, so he began massaging his shidi’s scalp with his wet hands anyway.

“Do I have enough echidnas now?” Liu Qingge mumbled.

Luo Binghe paused his massage to give them both a concerned glare at the mention of echidnas.  Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what Liu Qingge was talking about either, so he prompted, “Shidi?”

“Earlier,” Liu Qingge said with a sigh, “You said I didn’t have enough echidnas in my head, and that’s why I felt bad.  I don’t feel so bad now, so there must be more of them.”

Luo Binghe’s confusion was then turned solely on Shen Qingqiu.

“Haha, Liu-Shidi is so exhausted, he doesn’t even know what he’s saying!”

Liu Qingge grunted in agreement.  Luo Binghe switched to his other leg after a while, and Shen Qingqiu let his hands wander downwards.

“Shishu has a very nice chest,” Luo Binghe said as if he was agreeing to something Shen Qingqiu had said.

“Hm?”

“You’ve been groping me for the last three minutes,” Liu Qingge slurred.

Now how had that happened?!  Shen Qingqiu moved his hands down to Liu Qingge’s stomach and acted like he hadn’t been squeezing his shidi’s tits like he was expecting milk to come out.

 Luo Binghe worked his way up both of Liu Qingge’s legs, then to Shen Qingqiu’s hands and ran his thumbs over the backs.  He stood up, then leaned down to kiss Shen Qingqiu over Liu Qingge’s shoulder.

Ah, Binghe really was so considerate to remember his husband after all that.

After Luo Binghe nipped at Shen Qingqiu’s lower lip, he pulled away.  Liu Qingge had turned his face away to give them more room to kiss, and his bright red ear was practically begging for attention, so Shen Qingqiu kissed the space behind it.

Luo Binghe snorted at Liu Qingge’s blush, then took his cheek in his palm to guide his shisu into a kiss of their own.

Liu Qingge’s inhaled audibly.

When Luo Binghe pulled away, there was a slight smacking noise that Shen Qingqiu thought was a bit lewd, made even lewder by the way Luo Binghe licked his lips.

Liu Qingge started when Luo Binghe stood to full height and stepped out of the tub.  “Where–”

“The kitchens.  I’ll be right back.  Let Shizun take care of you, hm?”  He patted Liu Qingge’s head, at which Liu Qingge grumbled about respecting his elders.

Once Luo Binghe had thrown on a robe, he was gone, and Shen Qingqiu figured he ought to get out of the tub as well, if only to prepare a towel and a new new set of undergarments for his shidi.

Liu Qingge watched him with wide eyes from the tub, like he was accusing Shen Qingqiu of leaving too.  What had Shen Qingqiu done to deserve two clingy lovers?  To keep his dear shidi from throwing a fit, Shen Qingqiu help him out of the tub and helped him dress, even when Liu Qingge insisted he could do it himself.

“Shidi, look how wobbly you are!  Can you even walk like this?”

Liu Qingge scowled and limped back to the bed.  Shen Qingqiu followed, and stripped back the dirty comforter so they didn’t accidentally sit in any fluids…

They climbed into bed, and Liu Qingge plopped himself right back down into Shen Qingqiu’s lap just as Luo Binghe returned from the kitchens with a tray stacked high with youtiao and a cup of soy milk.

As he watched Luo Binghe try and feed Liu Qingge by hand, just to get his shishu to swat at him, Shen Qingqiu felt less like he was watching a set of chess pieces and more like a king was harassing his jack.  He smiled, feeling much more at peace than he had since the stone palace over a week ago.

Wait a minute, if Binghe was the king, and Liu Qingge was the jack, didn’t that make Shen Qingqiu the queen?  Fuck it, fuck it, metaphor canceled.

“No congee?” Liu Qingge asked with a furrowed brow as he chewed and swallowed.

“After what you did to the last bowl I made you?  Absolutely not,” Luo Binhe laughed.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“It means,” Shen Qingqiu said directly into Liu Qingge’s ear, “that this time, you don’t get a choice."