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Chapter Text

Sitting across from the married couple always felt a bit like walking into a fight he would never win. 

He’d spent five long years learning that lesson before Shen Qingqiu had returned and shocked them all by choosing the demon lord. Then again, looking back, hadn’t he always chosen Luo Binghe?

Without a Cure came from putting his disciple’s life first, his self-destruction came from that same desire. Then the events at Maigu Ridge... Liu Qingge knew that Shen Qingqiu would die again for Luo Binghe if the chance ever showed itself.

Somehow, the famed War God had missed the fact that he had lost the battle for Shen Qingqiu before he’d ever even challenged Luo Binghe the first time.

Now, he sat quietly, sipping slightly salty tea, something he was certain was Luo Binghe’s doing as Shen Qingqiu happily asked about his recent travels.

“There was a Three-Tailed Rampaging Boar in the West near the Golden Peaks,” Liu Qingge said.

“Did it truly have three tails?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

“Shizun hasn’t seen one before? This disciple could bring you one if you wanted to sketch it!” the demon lord said.

“No, it did not have three tails, just three tufts of fur at the end of a single tail,” he said, ignoring Luo Binghe. He’d deliberately checked the tail of the creature because he knew Shen Qingqiu would ask.

“I don’t need to see one,” Shen Qingqiu patted the top of Luo Binghe’s head. “Won’t Binghe bring us some snacks to have with the tea?”

The demon lord looked torn between disobeying a request from his husband and his desire to not leave Shen Qingqiu alone with his fellow peak lord. But, as it always did, Luo Binghe would not deny his husband any desire.

“This disciple will only be a moment,” he said, kissing Shen Qingqiu’s hand.

The demon lord threw a brief glare at Liu Qingge before he vanished into the kitchen.

Liu Qingge promised himself to thank Shang Qinghua for his recent ‘count to ten in your head’ strategy he had introduced at the last Peak Lord meeting. Instead of hitting the table and demanding a fight, Liu Qingge merely sipped at his tea, determined to finish it despite the salty flavor.

“Are you doing well, shidi?”

He nodded. “En, there are more night hunts, so I’ve been keeping busy.”

Liu Qingge enjoyed being off of the mountain. It reminded him of the lifetime before Shen Qingqiu had saved him in the Lingxi Caves, back when he had little tying him to the mountains. His role as War God was to spread word of the might of the sect had been his only duty then.  

Now the distance from the mountain helped quiet the strange twist of his heart whenever he saw Qing Jing. 

“Aiya, there shouldn’t be so many monsters out!” Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “I thought things would calm down after everything that happened.”

Whenever Shen Qingqiu was on the mountain, Liu Qingge noticed unusual creatures appearing in distant places. He could prove nothing, but he had an inkling a certain demon lord arranged for that to keep Liu Qingge too busy to visit Qing Jing.

“And you are well?” Liu Qingge asked.

Shen Qingqiu smiled at his teacup. “I am. I’m very well shidi.”

Liu Qingge nodded.

It was the same answer his shixiong always gave him. Not that Liu Qingge didn’t believe him. Clearly, Shen Qingqiu was happy, but part of him, a quiet part that he kept under strict control, wanted to be the source of his shixiong’s happiness.

“En,” was all he said instead before pulling a fan from his belt. “You left this at the last Peak Lord meeting.”

“Ah, thank you shidi, I’ve been looking for it!” he took the fan with a smile.

Part of him wanted to believe that Shen Qingqiu left the fans behind because he wanted Liu Qingge to find them to have an excuse to come visit.

As often as it happened, he couldn’t really bring himself to even chide his shixiong because seeing the smile on his face from something that Liu Qingge had done eased that small, selfish voice in his heart.

“Shidi, you look more serious than usual. You’re certain everything is alright?”

Liu Qingge nodded. “I will bring your fans back as many times as you leave them behind.”

Shen Qingqiu laughed. “You make me sound like a forgetful old man when you say it like that!”

“No, I...” Liu Qingge floundered. “I just wished to promise you that, so don’t worry.”

“A promise from the War God himself? How lucky my fans are to have you as their guardian!”

“Not the fans.”

“Hm?” Shen Qingqiu paused, tea cup half-raised to his lips.

“I, Liu Qingge, swear to you. Shen Qingqiu, if you ever have need of me, I swear to be there. No matter the distance or danger.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened before curving into amused half-moons. “Thank you, shidi but I will try to not find myself in harm’s way. I’ve had quite enough of that, and Binghe hardly lets me out of his sight.”

Liu Qingge nodded. His heart fluttered in his chest. A promise would be all he could offer, but it quieted that selfish desire in his soul.

“Snacks for you, shizun!” Luo Binghe stepped back into the room with a tray of elaborate sweets he placed in front of Shen Qingqiu.

“Binghe, they’re for us both!” Shen Qingqiu laughed.

“They’re for shizun,” the demon lord said.

“Aiya, what am I to do with you?” Shen Qingqiu affectionately pinched the demon’s cheek.

Liu Qingge finished the last of his salty tea and stood up. “I should report in about the monster attack. Shixiong, Lord Luo,” Liu Qingge bowed stiffly and left the room.

Everything bubbled on his skin. How much he wanted Shen Qingqiu, to kiss him, to hear him chatter away about everything, to watch him breeze through the world so elegantly. There was no part of the Qing Jing Peak Lord he didn’t want.

Words were not his strong suit. How could he even put into words everything he felt whenever he saw Shen Qingqiu?

It would be like trying to name every raindrop in a storm.

Emotions were annoying things, and he hated the weight of them, the push and pull of happiness and pain that strung through him after these meetings. He wanted so much, but none of it seemed to matter because the world had other plans.

He walked from the house, drew his sword, and hopped onto the blade without another word.

His meeting with Yue Qingyuan wasn’t for another shíchen and he needed to get himself under control before then. 

The sect leader was far too perceptive sometimes.

A few startled Bai Zhan disciples pointed at him as he flew past and straight to his home.

His house remained as it always had been: simple. Set up with nothing extra, just the things needed to survive. 

That was how he’d lived his entire life, chasing one singular question. What did he need to survive? That focus had guided him into becoming the War God, the strongest.

Shaking his head as if to dislodge that thought, he hopped off his sword and into the rock garden behind his house for training. Others liked to meditate in stillness, but he’d always found that sword work quieted his mind more than anything else.  

He twirled his sword in his hand and felt its warmth like an extension of his own body. Already he could imagine the lecture Yue Qingyuan would give him when he heard that Liu Qingge hadn’t even bothered going to the town that requested aid. 

He’d just found the monster and killed it. Simple.  

If they wanted paperwork to be completed, they shouldn’t send the War God to deal with a problem.

The sword moved faster, the movements engrained into him. His mind quieted, the world around him fading into silence. 

Then he heard it.

The sound was barely audible like a whisper trying to be heard over a waterfall. Someone calling for help, yelling stop! The voice sounded strange, paper-thin, and weak.

Liu Qingge ran towards the sound without hesitation, not knowing what he would encounter, but ready to face whatever it was.

None of his disciples would cry out like that.

As he rushed out of the garden, he only found a strange crack in the world, as if the air itself were a steel sword splintered open.

The rift glimmered like silk in the sunlight before it expanded wider, enough for him to see that behind the strange thing was... another place. Some place odd and there, Liu Qingge could just see a pale man with shockingly short hair kneeling on a black river made of a strange metal.

“Stop!”

Something in that voice made Liu Qingge’s chest ache strangely, familiar and yet totally unknown. 

Liu Qingge had never encountered a rift quite like this before. Most led into the Endless Abyss or the Demon realm. This one showed him neither.

Instead, it showed a man in a strange world of metal and light.

The man seemed frozen in place, staring towards an odd rectangular beast held up on four wheels and with eyes that glowed like twin moons. It showed no signs of slowing, and the stranger seemed trapped in place as it bore down on him.

There was only an instant of hesitation before he threw himself through the distortion. 

Trap or not, he would handle it.

Energy flickered around him as he crashed through the thin barrier and plummeted to the ground. The air around him smelt burnt and rotten. It felt heavy and strange, but not worrying enough to slow him down.

The beast screeching towards the stranger had nearly reached him. Liu Qingge leaped to place himself between this man and the creature. 

Hot metal slammed into his back, but his Qi deflected most of the attack. The beast screamed and hissed, steaming hot blue and black blood spurting out of its mouth as it dropped still with a final rumbling growl.

“What...” came the strange man’s very soft voice from where he still knelt on the ground, shoulders twitching as he took slow, unsteady breaths.

A woman in a surprisingly scandalous outfit stepped out of the beast’s body somehow.

“My car!!” she screeched then noticed the two men on the ground. “Oh my god, are you okay? I totally didn’t even see you!”

Liu Qingge stared at the woman and then at the man he’d saved. He would worry about this strange beast-taming woman later (likely a demon based on the shameful nature of her clothing).

“Are you alright?” he asked the man, taking hold of a pale, slim wrist and sending a bit of Qi to check for injuries.

He found a body with no spiritual veins and not a bit of Qi in his body. Who had done this? How could any person end up like this? Had someone removed his golden core? Plucked out his spiritual veins? Even a normal villager should have some ambient Qi absorbed from the environment.

“Who are you?” The man asked, pulling his hand away. “What... you broke that car?”

“Car?” Liu Qingge repeated.

“Uh yeah,” the woman said. “You wrecked my car!”

“You hit him!” the man yelled back at her, getting to his feet. “We’re in a crosswalk! How did you not see us?”

“It’s dark out and.. whatever, you’re fine and you wrecked my engine!”

The man pointed a finger at her. “You-” Then he doubled over into a coughing fit.

She winced before dashing off, leaving the bleeding beast to die alone.

The stranger’s coughing got worse before he pulled out a strange white device that he brought to his mouth and inhaled like it was a strange pipe.

This man clearly needed help. Surely Mu Qingfang could reverse whatever had stolen all the energy from this man’s body.

Liu Qingge picked up the coughing man and looked up for the rift.

Only a starless sky greeted him, no flicker of home anywhere to be seen.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan’s day had truly gone from bad to worse. First, he’d had to leave his apartment then it started raining. He’d taken so long walking that his phone’s battery died (yes, he should have charged it before he left, but he forgot) so he couldn’t even call a cab to pick him up.

Then his preorder of the exclusive Luo Binghe demon emperor model had been given away to someone else by an incompetent employee at his favorite shop (not that it would be his favorite anymore!). They had promised to get him another one, but that had been the entire reason he’d left the house. He could be home, curled up under blankets, and watching the newest episode of Heaven Official’s Blessing if it weren’t for this nonsense!

By the time he finally started home, he was exhausted, his breathing labored and his walk struggling. The weather made his joints ache, and every breath hurt. Why had he not called for a ride? 

On the last stretch of road, he stumbled in a crosswalk, hitting the ground and before he could even get himself back onto his feet, a car sped towards him.

He’d mentally said his goodbyes and braced for death.

Only it never hit him.

Instead, some modelesque, beautiful man appeared in the car's path, shielding Shen Yuan totally as the car exploded (!?) on impact with the man.

A nightmare. This whole day had to be an involved nightmare of some sort. He’d wake up any moment now.

The man said something, but Shen Yuan’s ears rang so loudly he couldn’t hear it. What contacts gave someone eyes like that? A vivid purple-gray that definitely wasn’t natural. The stranger took hold of his wrist, and a strange electric warmth rushed through his body at the touch. 

This definitely had to be some kind of weird dream. 

“Who are you?” Shen Yuan asked. 

The car gave a final gurgle of oil and engine parts. 

He tugged his hand back to his chest, looking from his rescuer to the sputtering SUV. “What... you broke that car?”

“Car?” the impossible stranger repeated.

“Uh yeah,” the woman screeched. “You wrecked my baby!”

“You hit him!” Shen Yuan yelled back. “We’re in a crosswalk! How did you not see us?”

“It’s dark out and.. whatever, you’re fine and you wrecked my engine!”

He waved a finger at her. “You-” 

Before he could finish that thought, his vision swam, and his throat squeezed tightly. Like a fish suddenly out of the water, he gasped for air before grabbing his inhaler and quickly using it. Already he felt his lungs relaxing, his airways opening again. He’d opened his mouth to ask this stranger where the driver had gone when he suddenly was picked up bridal style and held against a very firm chest.  

The man looked towards the sky as if expecting to find something, but only a bit of rain fell down on them.

“Where is a healer?” the man finally asked, looking down at Shen Yuan.

Healer? Who talked like that?

“I just want to go home,” Shen Yuan said. “I’m fine, but I should get a picture of the license plate of this car, at least.”

The man didn’t look convinced, but then again, Shen Yuan probably looked pretty rough right now. Shen Yuan tried to get himself out of the man’s arms, but wow, this guy clearly had not skipped a day at the gym ever in his life.

“I’m fine, just, let me get to the back of the”

“We should get a healer,” the man said. 

“Okay, no, I’m fine,” he said, motioning towards the car. “Let me write down the tag number.” 

The unfairly beautiful stranger looked confused, but followed where Shen Yuan pointed and carried him to the back of the car. Shen Yuan scribbled the tag number down on the back of a random receipt. He’d send his brothers after her for this. 

“Where do you need to be taken?” the man asked, still holding Shen Yuan. 

“Just that building there,” Shen Yuan pointed, accepting his fate of being carried around. Since this clearly had to be a dream, this had to be a message about him needing more human contact or something. 

The man looked towards his apartment building and frowned before he walked that way, Shen Yuan still cradled in his arms like a new bride. 

“You don’t have to carry me!” he tried to protest even as his voice wheezed.

The man did not respond, just walked towards the building. He paused briefly in front of the lobby doors before just kicking them open and walking inside. 

His building’s security guard had already stood from her seat, hand reaching for the phone as she stared at the two men. 

“It’s okay, Miss Anna,” he promised her with a nervous wave of his hand.

She didn’t look convinced. “You’re sure? You nearly broke those doors.” 

His handsome dream rescuer just lifted Shen Yuan higher up his chest as if to demonstrate why he’d kicked in the doors. 

Dream or not, Shen Yuan’s face wasn’t thick enough for how Miss Anna looked between the two with a knowing smile forming. 

He coughed. “Okay, we’re just going on to the elevators now!” 

“The what?” the man asked, looking at the security guard as she slowly sat back down.

Shen Yuan, resigned to his dream’s insistence that he get some physical contact, no longer resisted being held and just pointed. His noble steed carried Shen Yuan over then just glared at the metal elevator doors. With a sigh, he leaned forward enough to hit the button. He barely hid a snicker as the man glared at the button lighting up.

How could someone so beautiful glare so much? Wasn’t there something about getting wrinkles that way? Oh well, dream logic clearly had no concern about mortal issues like wrinkles. 

When the elevator doors opened, the man looked the interior over for threats before stepping inside the box. Shen Yuan gestured towards the panel of floor numbers until the man stepped closer and let him hit the right button.

Soft classical filled the air in the silence between them, and Shen Yuan briefly hated that he lived on the top floor. Dream or not, awkward silences still sucked. 

“You...live around here?” Shen Yuan asked. 

“No.”

“Oh, just visiting friends?”

“I came here through a rift.”

“A rift?”

Oh god, maybe this man had really gotten hurt and had some serious head injury that he was dealing with. He had gotten hit full-on by a car and now he was talking about traveling from rifts? Maybe this was some dream meant to encourage him to take care of himself by having to care for someone else! 

When the elevator doors opened again, Shen Yuan motioned. “My place is the last door on the left.” He fumbled around for his keys as his strange rescuer carried him down the hall.

“Where do all the other doors lead?” the man asked.

“Huh? Other apartments.”

“Apartments,” he repeated as if it were some strange concept.

“Yeah. Here, put me down so I can unlock the door.”

The man grunted in agreement and set Shen Yuan carefully on the ground, though he stayed right behind him to catch him if Shen Yuan somehow fell.

He opened the door and stepped inside, hesitating just for a moment before motioning. “Here, come on inside.”

Of course, if this was real life, Shen Yuan would never invite a total stranger into his home, but in the dream world, that was normal and fine. Besides, his mind was obviously trying to tell him something by conjuring up this protagonist-level man to rescue him. 

Shen Yuan walked inside, put his keys in the bowl on the entry table and tried to think of any food or drinks he could offer. He’d cleaned out his fridge after nearly dying from eating expired yogurt. His phone was still dead, so there wouldn’t be ordering right now either.

Well, he did at least have some tea that his mother had sent him as a housewarming gift. If he could get that brewed, it might be long enough for his phone to charge for him to order food. 

“I’ll make tea to warm us both up,” he said and started his kettle and plugged in his phone.

The man stood in the entryway, staring around like he’d never seen anything like this place before. Shen Yuan’s place wasn’t that messy to deserve that hard of a look!

To distract from that glare, he rushed into the bathroom and found a clean-ish towel to bring out to the man. 

“Here, you can dry off with this,” he held out the towel.

Only then did he realize that despite the pouring rain outside, the stranger was dry, with not a drop of water to be seen. Shen Yuan also finally noticed the strange clothes, like a cosplayer dressing up from some Wuxia show. 

“I’m going to change into something dry,” Shen Yuan said.

As he walked into the bedroom, he huffed at his own mind. Oh great, had his dreams conjured up some isekai nonsense? Really, he was certain he could think up something far more original than that kind of story!

Shen Yuan wasn’t some hack like Airplane. 

He changed out of his utterly soaked clothes and into his warmest pjs before stepping back into the living room.

The stranger had moved to stand in front of the patio door, looking out into the dark night sky.

“I’m Shen Yuan, by the way. Thanks for saving my life.”

He turned to look at Shen Yuan as if seeing him for the first time. “Shen?”

“Yeah? And you are?”

“... Liu Qingge,” the man said after some hesitance, as if unsure if he should say it or not.

The name sounded vaguely familiar like it lingered just on the edge of his thoughts. With as good-looking as this Liu Qingge was, he probably belonged to some boy band his sister kept making him listen to. That’s probably where he’d heard the name before and seen this guy.

Yes, that made sense. Dreams were so illogical. 

“Thank you for saving me,” he said again as the kettle whistled.

He busied himself making tea, which really just meant tossing a tea bag in the mug of hot water and then reading the package to see how long it should steep for. 

His dream was really no joke, it even included the same nonsensical directions from tea in his waking world. What did just under boiling even mean? And no tea needed to steep for just 30 seconds.

Utterly ridiculous. 

He had to force himself to stay focused on the tea (and trying to count to 30 seconds in his head) and not stare at the handsome stranger, but how could he not? The guy was unnaturally and unfairly attractive and Shen Yuan was just appreciating that as a matter of fact.

Anyone would want to stare at such a handsome man!

A+ to his dream! He really had captured the celebrity’s likeness for sure! Shen Yuan would have to look up this guy as soon as he woke up and see how close the resemblance was with his dream rescuer. 

He hoped it’d been long enough for tea and handed the mug over to the stranger, the bag still steeping away in the hopefully just below boiling water.

Liu Qingge took it and looked at the vaguely yellow-green water and tea bag with some suspicion. 

Shen Yuan grabbed his own mug for something to do.

Now what dream? Give him the plot here! 

He breathed on his tea, nearly burnt himself trying to take a sip before opening the freezer and adding in a few ice cubes. There, perfect! 

The stranger frowned at the ice cubes in Shen Yuan’s mug and looked at his own tea. 

Ah, right! This was a dream about taking care of people! About learning how to take care of himself by helping someone else! That’s right! Shen Yuan dropped ice cubes into Liu Qingge’s mug and smiled. 

“You’re sure you didn’t get hurt by the car? It hit you hard.”

“Car? Is that what those creatures are called?” The man looked at the tea bag, then the melting ice cubes, and then at Shen Yuan.

“Yeah. Okay, here sit down,” Shen Yuan said as he put his hands on the man’s arm (such firm muscles, wow!! Very realistic and nice to touch!) and guided him to the couch.

The man eased down, letting Shen Yuan guide him without resistance.

Shen Yuan busied himself looking over Liu Qingge. He didn’t see any blood or signs of injury anywhere. No obvious head injury. But if this was some kind of caregiving dream, then there had to be something, right? 

Without thinking, took the man’s face in both his hands, squishing his cheeks and staring into his too-purple and perfect eyes.

“What are you doing?” Liu Qingge asked, voice muffled by his cheeks being squished.

“Ah well, I’ve read that head injuries sometimes make your pupils dilate or something.”

“I have no injuries.”

Liu Qingge gently but firmly took hold of Shen Yuan’s wrist with his free hand and lowered it from his face. The man rotated Shen Yuan’s hand to expose his roughed-up palm.

“You’re still bleeding.”

“It’s nothing big. It’ll heal in no time,” he laughed. 

How could someone so strong also be so gentle? WOW, his dream had gone all out on making this guy. This had to be the most impressively complete dream he’d ever had!  

Liu Qingge frowned and pressed two fingers to his pulse point. That same strange warmth flowed through him. 

Shen Yuan stared as the scrapes on his palms knitted themselves closed.

“You... healed me?”

“En.” 

“You... came from a rift?” He nodded.

The isekai angle seemed like something he’d dream of. He had almost met truck-kun, so it made sense that was the direction his mind had gone in.

But god, wasn’t this dream going a little long? Not that he minded getting to (admire) spend time with Liu Qingge, but still!

The man nodded. “En.”

“Oh.” Shen Yuan said. 

His phone lit up as it revived from its dead battery and he opened it up to look through some food options. Maybe that would trigger him to wake up!

Yes, we’re hungry, so wake up, body.

“You hungry?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge eyed his phone. “What is that device?”

“Smartphone, let’s me communicate with people and look things up. Don’t worry about it.”

He scrolled through a few options before just going with the fastest option: the bodega on the corner. He ordered a few different types of sandwiches and some classic chicken noodle soup. 

“A smartphone?” Liu Qingge repeated. 

“Yeah.”

He completed his order and then flipped over to Google. 

How long does a dream last? He tried first, but that just brought up results about REM and sleep patterns. 

“What are you doing?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Looking up how long dreams last. This has to be a record or something,” he said. 

“Dreams?” 

“Yeah, this is an awesome dream, but I’m ready to wake up.” 

Liu Qingge frowned. “Shen Yuan, this is not a dream.” 

Shen Yuan just patted Liu Qingge’s (surprisingly soft and squishy) cheek and poked the beauty mark under his eye. “It is, but don’t worry about it.” 

He switched his search and looked up lucid dreaming. Wow, Shen Yuan didn’t realize he had such a deep awareness of the world to be able to do this sort of thing. 

“Okay, here we are, tips on waking up!” Shen Yuan said triumphantly. 

“Shen Yuan,” Liu Qingge said. “Are you certain you’re not injured? You are not dreaming. This is not the Dream Realm.”

“Don’t isekai logic me,” he scoffed as he read over the suggestions for waking yourself up. 

Easy! The first option, yell for help… well, he’d done that earlier with the whole car crash scene, so no need to repeat that experiment. His dream self couldn’t quite handle yelling for help with Liu Qingge sitting right here staring at him. 

Talk about embarrassing!

Well fine, the second one was easy: blink rapidly. 

He opened and closed his eyes until his head swam and his eyes hurt. 

“What are you doing?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Don’t worry about it!” Shen Yuan insisted as he rubbed his eyes. 

The third step seemed like the most practical one anyway, so of course that one would be the one to work! Pretend to fall asleep in the dream! 

He patted Liu Qingge on the (very firm!) shoulder. “I’m going to lie down. Someone will knock on the door. Just open it and get the food, then let me know, okay?” Shen Yuan said, patting his shoulder again to admire his dream work one last time before he stepped down the hall to his bedroom. 

He flopped face-first into his bed, hugged his Hatsune Miku plushie close to his chest, and closed his eyes. His breathing relaxed and he could feel himself drifting off… Perfect. 

After what had to be plenty of time, he rolled over and opened his eyes. His bedroom looked the same, but his dream self was a genius, so that level of detail was to be expected naturally. 

He stood up and stretched. No pain lingering in his body so that clearly meant he’d woken up! After all, he’d been feeling terrible in that dream. Checking himself over in the mirror, he nodded. That all looked perfectly normal and so did the view out of his window.

Great, he’d done it and woken himself up! 

After that dream, though, he wanted a sandwich from the 5th Avenue Market after dream-ordering some food. He headed out of his room, pleased (and also a little disappointed) to see no handsome stranger sitting on his couch. 

Until the beautiful man stepped into view, holding up a bag of food. “This has been delivered,” Liu Qingge said.  

Shen Yuan stared at Liu Qingge and the food, then pinched his arm. He yelped. That hurt. 

“Shen Yuan? Are you alright?” 

Liu Qingge stepped closer. The warm scent of chicken noodle soup and sourdough bread rushed over him, too clear to be anything but reality. 

“Shen Yuan?” 

His head swam as he put a hand on the wall. “This… this isn’t a dream?” 

“No.” 

Shen Yuan nodded. “Oh.” 

A heavy buzzing noise roared through his head like static taking over him. He vaguely heard Liu Qingge yell his name and then rush toward him before Shen Yuan passed out.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge stared down at the strange man in his arms. Shen Yuan had collapsed again and, with his lack of spiritual energy and pale coloring, Liu Qingge was truly worried this man could drop dead at any moment.

It took only a short time to locate the soft bed-like object nearby and lay the man down. At least the man’s pulse remained steady, proving Shen Yuan hadn’t died.

Liu Qingge wasn’t the worst at tending to injuries. Being the one sent off to deal with dangerous creatures often meant dealing with his own injuries, or the injuries of fools who had tried before him. However, spiritual energies were not something he had a good grasp of.

If only Mu Qingfang were around, he could have identified and cured this strange illness quickly. Some disease that stole all qi and made someone prone to collapse sounded like a plague that could wipe out the sect.

Frowning at the slumbering man, Liu Qingge took the chance to explore this space for any medicine or other helpful objects. Clearly, he had traveled to some other realm, perhaps one of the strange pocket realms that Shen Qingqiu liked to talk about, small, self-contained worlds that only opened their doors rarely.

If that were the case, he would need to remember all that he saw so that he could tell Shen Qingqiu about it. The metallic creature he’d already killed would delight his shixiong. He tried to commit the details of it to memory.

The kitchen space was strange with circular coils of metal by a set of dials. A large, black-colored box was shoved into the corner of the space, but Liu Qingge couldn’t quite figure out what it was for and he didn’t want to destroy his host’s space.

He had learned some manners from Shen Qingqiu.

While his first instinct of the stranger he’d save was that of a criminal or other vagabond, he realized that the clothing and visual customs of this world might be slightly different. The woman with the beast had, had short hair and a scandalous outfit. The woman at the entry of the building had also had short hair, so perhaps that was the custom of everyone here?

He didn’t at all claim to be an expert on this sort of thing. Another thing to add to the list of details to share with Shen Qingqiu when he returned home.

The man groaned softly and Liu Qingge stepped back over towards him.

“What?” Shen Yuan groaned and ran a hand through his short hair.

“Are you feeling better?” Liu Qingge asked.

The man, Shen Yuan, froze and looked at him with slightly panicked eyes. Liu Qingge could hear the uptick in the man’s heart rate. Fear maybe? To minimize his ‘threatening aura’ as Shen Qingqiu called it, he squatted down to no longer be looming over the man.

“What happened?” Shen Yuan finally asked, taking off the glass objects in front of his face and rubbing them on his shirt.

Liu Qingge ignored the flash of pale abdominal skin he saw.

“You collapsed after realizing it was not a dream. Are you alright?”

“Not a dream?” the man repeated. “Oh god, not a dream?” He pinched at his own arm again.

Liu Qingge frowned and pulled the man’s hand away from himself, pinning it down with ease. “Stop injuring yourself. Do you have heart demons? Where are your healers?”

“This has to be a dream. You... You broke a car!”

Liu Qingge made a note of the name of the beast he’d slayed. “Mm,” he nodded. “It was trying to kill you.”

“It-you... who are you?” he asked.

“I’ve told you, my name is Liu Qingge.”

“Where are you from? What are you doing? Why are you here?” Shen Yuan put the glass objects back on his face and sat up.

Liu Qingge released his arm. “I am from Bai Zhan Peak and am here because I heard a call for help. I assume that was you as you fell before the car.”

“I-you heard me?” he frowned. “I didn’t think I yelled out... Wait, wait, wait. Bai Zhan Peak?”

Liu Qingge nodded, pleased at that flash of recognition. Good. Word of his peak and sect had traveled into other realms. That was good. Bai Zhan deserved its reputation.

“Proud Immortal Demon Way?” Shen Yuan.

Liu Qingge understood those words individually, but together like they were some kind of incantation, didn’t seem to mean anything to him so he just stared at the man, confused.

“Are you alright Shen Yuan?” he asked again.

“Did that asshole Airplane put you up to this? Seriously! Liu Qingge? He had like three lines written about him and that’s the cosplayer he hires to come harass me? Bet he hired that SUV lady too and set this whole thing up.”

He didn’t know what an ‘Airplane’ was or what exactly Shen Yuan was talking about but.. “What is a cosplayer?” he asked.

“Okay, haha, great job. I’m sure Airplane paid you really well, but you’re not at all the Liu Qingge type. I mean, the War God would not be some pretty boy type. He’d be an old, grizzled man! Built like a mountain of muscles!” Shen Yuan said. “I mean, of course, you fit the vibes of Liu Mingyan, because she is the most beautiful wife, but no way the War God looks like you.”

Liu Qingge stared at him. What?

“I am Liu Qingge.”

“Yeah, okay. I think you’ve done enough for the night. Thanks for whatever, but it’s time for you to go or I’m going to call the cops.”

“Cops?”

“Oh my god, that’s it.” He grabbed his smartphone device then frowned. “Look, I don’t really want to call the cops, so just, can you please leave?”   

Liu Qingge wasn’t sure what a cop was or how this person would call them when he didn’t have any qi to even use a talisman. But Shen Yuan sounded upset. His hands shook faintly and his heart still raced in his chest.

Liu Qingge didn’t want that.

He had never been good at actually comforting people. Shen Qingqiu went with him on missions because the Qing Jing Peak Lord could soothe and comfort people while Liu Qingge dealt with the threat. Not that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help, and he often helped with the slaying of the beast. But his way with people was truly unmatched.

It was why he was the one most often sent to help with missions. Well, it used to be until his marriage and now he rarely went out on missions because ‘it would upset Binghe’ if Shen Qingqiu wasn’t home in time for a meal.

Liu Qingge forced his thoughts to this present moment and the man in front of him, clutching the small black rectangle like it was some sort of lifeline. He just didn’t know what to do with this.

This Shen Yuan was clearly not hostile, not a threat either. Reacting with violence would be ‘brutish’ as Shen Qingqiu often told him. When he told his shixiong about this adventure, he didn’t want to get a scolding for his manners again.

“I am Liu Qingge, Peak Lord of Bai Zhan,” he said again.

He wasn’t sure why this man didn’t believe him or why he knew Liu Mingyan’s name. Things he would figure out later. First and foremost, he wanted the man to not be upset. Seeing him look frightened twisted something in his chest.

Was this qi-destroying disease contagious?

“That’s impossible,” the man said. “And stupid. In fact, I don’t care what time it is, I’m calling Airplane.”

He pressed his fingers against the strange rectangle he called a smartphone, which lit up under his touch and then emitted a low ringing noise. A communication array device? The man had said it was used for communication but those were incredibly expensive and limited in their use.

After a few more of the strange rings, Liu Qingge heard another man’s voice speak. “Hello?”

The voice sounded as though the man were speaking through a narrow cup, tinny and strange.

“I am going to kill you,” Shen Yuan said.

“What? Bro, I haven’t even posted anything today! You can’t be that mad at me yet!”

“Tell this Liu Qingge cosplayer in my apartment to knock it off,” the man insisted.

“Bro, are you okay? What are you talking about?”

“This!” Shen Yuan said, holding the smartphone up and pointing it towards Liu Qingge.

The War God braced, his sword flying to his hand to block the attack he was certain would charge for him. Had this all been a ruse to lure him in, then spring an attack on him?

But nothing happened except for a long silence from both Shen Yuan and this Airplane voice.

Relaxing slowly, Liu Qingge realized the device held a picture of a man in it. No. Not a picture, but a moving image. Was this device not an array but a prison with some person trapped in it?

“Holy shit,” Shen Yuan said.

“Bro. Bro, that filter was awesome. What are you using?”

“That wasn’t a filter.”

“What? Bro, the sword came out of nowhere. That doesn’t-wait, bro what-”

“I’ll call you later,” Shen Yuan said, and the box went dark again.

“Who do you have imprisoned in that device?” Liu Qingge asked, keeping his sword out, but not actively pointing towards anyone.

Shen Qingqiu had trained him to not point his sword towards anything (or anyone) he didn’t intend to kill, so he kept it in his hand but lowered in a more relaxed stance. Besides, he was confident he could react faster than anything that Shen Yuan could do.

“How did you do that with the sword?” Shen Yuan asked. “Can you do it again?”

“Summon my sword?” Liu Qingge frowned, but he made a gesture and his sword sealed itself out of sight again before reappearing in his other hand.

“Holy shit,” the man said again.

“Have you not seen a spiritual sword before?”

“Okay, how do you do that? Is it a hologram or something?” the man reached towards the sword.

Because Liu Qingge only lived around people who knew swords were dangerous, he did not react in time to stop the man from slicing his finger, though he prevented him from actually wrapping his hand around the blade. Instantly, he sent his blade away again.

“Fool!” Liu Qingge snapped as he grabbed the man’s hand and looked at the slice on the finger.

Thin, hardly worth noticing, but this man had no spiritual energy of his own. He sighed and sent some of his own qi to the minor wound, watching in satisfaction as the wound knit itself closed.

“Do you not know that swords are sharp? You never touch the edges!” he snapped. Who was this fool who didn’t even know the most basic of sword safety rules? Even the unruly children on Qing Jing knew better than to touch a blade like that!

“You’re... You’re Liu Qingge,” the man said, his voice sounding distant, similar to how it had before the man passed out. Liu Qingge prepared to catch him again, but Shen Yuan just stared at him, eyes wide behind the glass circles he wore.

“Mm,” he nodded. “I have said so multiple times.”

“Did you transmigrate? Is Luo Binghe here too?” the man asked.

Liu Qingge scowled at that name. How did this man know that brat’s name?

“I found a portal to a hidden realm and heard a cry for help. I found you,” Liu Qingge said. “Another portal will open at some point, and I will return.”

Portals always worked that way. Some led to dangerous places and had to be forced to close before problems could cross, but the harmless realms would merely shift through the world, doors opening when the energies aligned.

“You did! You totally transmigrated. Oh my god, a reverse isekai? In my living room. Holy shit. But wow, if you’re here...” the man began muttering to himself as though Liu Qingge couldn’t hear him.

Most of the words made little sense. He didn’t know what isekai meant or this transmigration, let alone what a Proud Immortal Demon Way meant, but the man knew quite a lot. He mentioned the Lingxi caves by name, as well as that cursed sword that had caused nothing but trouble, Xin Mo.

Perhaps this man was a seer? He’d heard of people who had visions of other realms and could read the fates in the stars.

“Who is trapped in your smartphone array?” he asked again, motioning to the black device.

“Trapped in.. oh,” Shen Yuan laughed. “No one’s trapped. I told you, it’s a smartphone. A uh… communication arrays aren’t really a thing in PIDW, so um…”

“I know what a communication array is,” Liu Qingge said.

“Those exist on Cang Qiong?” Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up with that look Shen Qingqiu sometimes got: a fire of curiosity.

“They are very rare. More common at Huan Hua.”

Mostly the devices were incredibly expensive to make and most cultivators found them a waste of time. Letters worked well enough and alert talismans served well for emergency communications.

Shen Yuan stared at him before glaring at the phone array. “Common at Huan Hua? That lazy hack! If those existed, then why did he have the 3000 mile trip to deliver a single message arc!”

“What?” Liu Qingge stared at him.

Every time he spoke, Shen Yuan became more incomprehensible in what he said but more familiar in mannerisms.

“Aiyah nevermind that! If you’re here, that means Luo Binghe hasn’t even joined Qing Jing peak yet. What a shame.”

“Luo Binghe is an adult,” Liu Qingge admitted. “And still of Qing Jing Peak.”

Shen Yuan froze and stared at him. “What? He didn’t burn all of Cang Qiong?”

Liu Qingge narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t, but Liu Qingge knew that the only reason for that was Shen Qingqiu. What exactly had this seer thought about Luo Binghe and what he meant for the world? Clearly, he knew more than he was letting on.

“No, he did not.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. The scum villain deserved all he got, of course, but I mean, the whole place wasn’t the…” Shen Yuan frowned. “Are you sure you’re Liu Qingge?”

“Why do you doubt my identity?”

“It’s nothing personal, just, you’re not at all how I’d picture the War God, you know? You’re so...” Shen Yuan made a vague gesture that Liu Qingge didn’t understand at all. “But you know Luo Binghe? You’ve met. And he’s an adult?”

“Yes. How do you know who he is?” Liu Qingge asked.

“Oh, ah. Shit, I shouldn’t have said anything. Just pretend you heard nothing,” he laughed. “How about some more tea or something to eat? I want to hear all about Bai Zhan and about any of the monsters you’ve faced! You’ve got to tell me everything!”

Shen Yuan hurried into the kitchen, again heating water and dunking strange bags into the water.

No one besides Shen Qingqiu ever really sat with him to listen to what he had to say, but Shen Qingqiu always wanted to hear about his missions, always asked to hear everything, hear every detail. The man’s similar features, similar name, similar way of asking about beasts. All of it seemed unbearably familiar.

“Shen Qingqiu?” Liu Qingge asked slowly.

Shen Yuan dropped the cup in his hand and it cracked on the ground as he stared at Liu Qingge.

“Oh my god, no way am I that scum! Don’t get it mixed up!” 

“Shen Qingqiu is not scum. How dare you.” Liu Qingge clenched his fists.

“You’re defending him? I mean, he killed-” Shen Yuan paused and made a series of strange sounds before ducking down to pick up the pieces of the ruined cup.

Nothing this man said made sense.

“Who did Shen Qingqiu kill?” he asked.

“Not important,” the man laughed as he waved his hands as if trying to blow away a foul smell.

“Tell me what you know, seer.”

“Seer?” Shen Yuan paused before dropping the shards of the cup into a round, shiny bin. “Actually, that’s perfect! That’s me, Shen Yuan, the seer, knower of all!”

Liu Qingge crossed his arms. “Explain.”

“In my uh.. visions, Shen Qingqiu was a foul man, cruel and violent. He lusted after his own young female disciples, tortured the poor protagonist, and killed the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan Peak.”

Liu Qingge stared at the man and realized that this Shen Yuan, if he was a seer, truly was the worst prophet ever known, and an idiot.

“Thank you for the tea. I am going to find a portal home now,” Liu Qingge said, bowing politely before he moved back to the door that led to the hallway he had entered from.

Perhaps he could still carve some flesh from the metallic car beast to bring back with him.

“Wait, you can’t just-it’s not-don’t just go out there!” Shen Yuan grabbed his arm.

The man’s strength seemed laughable, but Liu Qingge stopped anyway. “Why?”

“It’s-this world is very different. You need to behave or else you’ll never get home.” Shen Yuan slapped a small towel against his hand. “Let this seer guide you on your journey.”

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan could do this.

He could play the role of a seer. He didn’t understand how it was possible that the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan Peak from that terrible stallion novel, Proud Immortal Demon Way, was in his kitchen right now, but there wasn’t time to think about that. No way could he let this guy loose on the streets! 

Not that Liu Qingge would probably get in any kind of trouble, except for being mobbed as some sort of celebrity. He really was too beautiful! Though this guy had already destroyed a car and could summon his sword at will, then who was Shen Yuan kidding?

He’d cause all kinds of problems!

Who knew what he’d do to the subway trains? Shen Yuan could not bear to let the trains be even more messed up than they already were, thank you very much. He needed those to run somewhat on time so he could still get to university! 

“Look, you can’t just ... this world is very different! And you’re going to cause problems if you just walk around doing whatever!” He said, tugging the man away from the door and directing him to sit on the couch. 

“Walking around causes problems?” Liu Qingge asked, looking down to where Shen Yuan’s hand still rested on his forearm. 

Shen Yuan pulled his hand away. It wasn’t his fault the man had the warmest arms and Shen Yuan’s hands were always cold. “Well, for one, you can’t attack cars!” 

“The metallic creature? Why? It was going to kill you.” 

Shen Yuan struggled to answer that. Yes, he’d been about to meet his own maker through Truck-kun but that was a one off occurrence, not a regular thing! 

“Cars are not aggressive creatures! They’re-” Shen Yuan thought about the travel methods in Proud Immortal Demon Way. Of course, Luo Binghe could instantly teleport places via Mogein-Jun’s abilities, but that was not common. 

“They’re like carriages, not monsters. They aren’t alive.” 

“Carriages?” Liu Qingge frowned. “Where is their horse?”

“They don’t have actual horses, they have a thing called an engine which is.. I guess like a mechanical horse. OH my god, is that why they call it horsepower? How I have never realized that?”

“What?”

“Nevermind, ignore that. Cars are not monsters and you should only jump in front of them if someone is about to die. Otherwise, you just leave them alone. They’re not dangerous.” 

Technically, they were one of the leading causes of death, but that was not important information here. Definitely not something to share because it would just send Liu Qingge out on a car destroying spree. 

“Fine. I will not destroy these cars.” The man crossed his arms over his chest. “What else?” 

“Well, there aren’t any monsters here.” 

“What?”

“There aren’t any monsters like in your world, and cultivation doesn’t exist. Well, it doesn’t exist like you know it. There’s um meditation and stuff like that, but cultivating to immortality or using magic abilities isn’t possible.”

“Magic?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Your cultivation skills, whatever you want to call it. People cannot do that here. So don’t summon swords or do anything else. If a normal villager couldn’t do it, then don’t do it here.” 

Liu Qingge scowled. “How do you all survive?”

“What? I told you it’s not that dangerous here! There aren’t monsters or things attacking all the time, so it’s fine. The world is relatively safe.” 

“No monsters?”

“Correct, none.” 

The man seemed even more annoyed at that. A shame that the scowl ruined such a pretty face! He really looked like some kind of super model or idol from a boy band. Maybe he could just take a few pictures for-no!

“We have to find a way to send you home,” Shen Yuan said.  

“A portal will open again soon. They always do,” Liu Qingge said confidentially. 

“That’s not a guarantee.”

Honestly, in almost every transmigration story he’d read, the people never made it back home. Though most of the time, they didn’t really want to go back. He couldn’t imagine the Peak Lord of Bai Zhan Peak wanting to stay in the relatively peaceful world here.

There had to be a way to get him back. Just because Liu Qingge wasn’t the hero of the story, he still was a vital part of the Proud Immortal Demon Way lore. The deep lore even! He’d never even appeared on page in the novel, only in mentions by his poor sister left behind after his death.

The ultimate tragic big brother character!

Not to mention that worthless villain, that no good scum, Shen Qingqiu had killed him. Hopefully Liu Qingge would take solace in knowing that his fellow peak lord had suffered a fate worse than death! Good riddance to him rotting forever in his pickle pot. 

But Liu Qingge had defended and gotten upset when Shen Yuan mentioned the Qing Jing Peak Lord, so then that meant...

Of course!

This Liu Qingge had obviously transmigrated in from earlier in the story before the true face of that no good, rotten Shen Qingqiu had really shown itself.

The poor War God obviously couldn’t see through the flawless mask that the Qing Jing peak lord had put on! After all, it had even fooled the sect leader himself and the novel had been clear that, aside from Luo Binghe, of course, Yue Qingyuan was the most powerful and observant cultivator around. 

Liu Qingge clearly had to have been taken advantage of by the villain, and now it was up to Shen Yuan to make sure that he was truly warned and aware of what a monster his fellow peak lord was before he transmigrated back.

He couldn’t just let this handsome man die! Even if it gave Liu Mingyan a lot of growth and depth as a character, the man had saved Shen Yuan’s life, so he had an obligation! 

Besides, with all the death and destruction that ripped through the entire sect, there was no shortage of other things she and Ning Yingying could be sad about together. Those two wives had spent a lot of time together mourning the loss of their sect together!

The two had even shared a room. They were such close friends! That duo of wives was important! Ning Yingying and Liu Mingyan often had to work together to conquer Sha Hualing and tie the trouble-making demon saintess up. But Liu Mingyan had often left the palace to mourn her brother, and then problems had always erupted in her absence!

Ensuring that the harem developed a healthier dynamic was very important! Shen Yuan had a moral duty, in fact, to ensure that the harem got along, because that would make poor Luo Binghe’s life so much easier. The emperor of the three realms had enough on his plate without also having harem in-fighting to deal with.

By saving Liu Qingge, Shen Yuan was helping Luo Binghe out. It was his responsibility! 

The way forward was clear!

First, he had to make sure that Liu Qingge found a way home and second, that he knew to not trust that snake Shen Qingqiu so that he could live and ensure peace in the harem in the future! 

It was a perfect plan.

He nodded to himself, pleased to have something in motion now. Shen Yuan would be the best mentor to another world there ever was and no one could stop him! 

“I will find a way back,” the War God said. “You need not worry yourself so much.”

Ah, such a straightforward declaration clearly matched the War God’s macho aesthetic and vibe. How had Shen Yuan not seen it immediately and known? There was obviously something very Bai Zhan about the man, even if the robe colors didn’t match the most popular speculation of the colors for the different peaks.

That Airplane had only confirmed that the colors for Qing Jing were a soft green, all the other peaks were left totally undescribed. In fact, he hadn’t even named all the peaks or mentioned their specialty!

All that build up about the 12 peaks and only a few were even named! 

The next time he saw Shang Qinghua, he would absolutely throttle that man for the missing lore that he always ignored in favor of more papapa. How was it he knew more about where Ning Yingying had freckles than he knew about the cultivation sect that trained Luo Binghe? 

Hack! Half-empty bottle of vinegar! Useless author!

“We can figure out a way. I have texts I can consult,” Shen Yuan said. 

He’d read and owned quite a few other isekai and transmigration novels, so he wasn’t totally at a loss here on what to do. Quite a few other ways were possible, and he was sure he could figure out something.

“Then we’ll begin now,” Liu Qingge said. 

“It’s late,” Shen Yuan said. “We can begin tomorrow.” 

He was tired. Despite passing out, he remained exhausted and really just wanted to get some sleep. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this sleepy. There was no way he could go out into the world and perform miracles in this kind of state! He’d keel over before they even made it out of the city. 

“Why does the time of day matter?” Liu Qingge crossed his arms. 

“Well, I can’t travel well at night.” 

“Those metal beasts won’t harm you if you’re with me. There is no need for concern about those.” 

Such confidence! Shen Yuan had never heard anyone speak with such confidence before, even if he was calling cars beasts like they were actually creatures that could just attack him without warning... 

“I need rest,” he finally said. 

Liu Qingge looked like he wanted to argue, but then he looked Shen Yuan up and down before nodding. “Rest then. I will keep watch.” 

Ah, the state of his muscles wasn’t that bad to deserve such a look! Save him a little face at least! But he agreed to at least not go charging out in the night, so that was a victory. 

He didn’t entirely trust the War God to not go off on his own and cause problems. Because a War God on the loose in New York City screamed disaster at every level and he wasn’t about to let the city get wrecked on his watch! Shen Yuan still needed to finish his semester here and get his degree. He couldn’t do that if a transmigrated cultivation master blew everything up in a battle against all things metal! 

Well, he knew a few things about Liu Qingge from all of his sister’s mourning about him. The man wouldn’t lie and never broke a promise. Oh the life tiny white lotus Luo Binghe could have had if he had ended up on Bai Zhan peak under a teacher like that! He’d been devoted and honest, the total opposite of Shen Qingqiu.

 So the solution was simple!

“You have to stay here while I am resting,” Shen Yuan said. 

“Mm,” Liu Qingge said.

“Promise you won’t leave,” Shen Yuan said. 

“What?”

“Promise me,” he repeated. “If I am going to rest, promise that you will not leave this room.”

Liu Qingge looked quite annoyed (though that could just be because the pretty man didn’t seem capable of smiling!) before he gave a sharp nod. “I promise.” 

A promise might be a flimsy thing for most people, but he had the feeling that it carried all the weight in the world to Liu Qingge, so there should be nothing to worry about. He’d rest and then they’d find a way to return this War God to his rightful place.  

He smiled brightly at Liu Qingge, who just stared at him like he’d never seen a man smile before, then patted his shoulder. It was very sturdy. This guy must carry boulders for fun! What a fine specimen of masculinity to admire! 

Then he walked to his bedroom, threw himself into bed and promptly passed out again. Everything else was a problem for future him to deal with.

Chapter Text

Sitting still and waiting had never been Liu Qingge’s strong suit, and that was especially true when he was in a new environment like this. However, he was a man of his word, and he had promised the strange seer that he would not leave. 

He tried to meditate. 

But too many thoughts ran through his head for him to even attempt to actually manage any fruitful meditation. 

It didn’t help that this world had barely any natural energy to tap into. He’d been in areas of low cultivation energy before but never somewhere that had none. It felt like one of his senses had been cut off; none of the world reached back out to him with pieces of information about the area. 

How did the people here live like this? 

He stood back up and paced over to the large windows and looked out into a sea of grey, black, and red buildings that rose sharply into the air. Sword flight would be challenging with so many aerial obstacles to move around. More of the metal beasts called cars ran around on the dark black pathways that crisscrossed through the city. 

This place was like nothing he’d seen and nothing he wanted to see again. Was everyone here like Shen Yuan? The man had no spiritual veins or core to speak of; nothing moved through him but a stagnant energy he didn’t like the feel of. But he knew that Shen Qingqiu would be fascinated by such a place. 

He would want to learn everything about the car beasts and the buildings and how the people functioned with no spiritual energy. He’d probably have some way to help Shen Yuan grow spiritual veins. The seer seemed like he would enjoy cultivating if the way he looked at Liu Qingge’s sword was any indication. 

Though he clearly would have to be closely watched if he was ever near swords again. He had sliced his finger clean open since he obviously had no concept of blade safety. But the confidence the man had in finding a way to get Liu Qingge home made him seem like a cultivator, like someone who could be a strategist... like he could be someone like Shen Qingqiu. 

He shook his head. Ridiculous to be thinking about the Qing Jing Peak Lord when he had hardly been away. He’d been away for far longer on hunts before. Besides, Shen Qingqiu had Luo Binghe to keep him company; he didn’t need Liu Qingge. 

Speaking of Luo Binghe... 

As he glanced around the space, he couldn’t help but see a few strange idols of the beast of Qing Jing. Tiny Luo Binghe statuettes sat in a strange black box on a table, as well as a very inappropriate figurine that appeared to depict that demon saintess that had once attacked the peak. He couldn’t say the figure was inaccurate in how the demon dressed, but why would Shen Yuan have a figurine depicting her? 

He was willing to look past some strangeness and some coincidences, but the idols were exact replicas of Luo Binghe, down to the demon mark on his forehead, not something that could be just ignored as a mere coincidence. 

Liu Qingge was willing to wait for an explanation from this seer, but he would be getting one. This was too much for even him to blindly ignore and move on from. While he did want to get home, Shen Qingqiu had taught him that it sometimes took time to get a full story, and he would be doing that here. 

Looking up towards the sky, he frowned as he realized he couldn’t even see any stars. Did this world not have those? Even the strange pocket planes he’d visited before still had stars in the sky, but it was possible. He added that to his notes of things to tell Shen Qingqiu. 

Somehow he knew that Shen Qingqiu would want to know everything about what he’d seen here. Usually he only had curiosity for creatures, but he thought this place was strange enough that Shen Qingqiu would want to know about everything, down to the starless sky. 

Even through the night, the cars continued their hunting around the streets. They decreased in number, clearly not a nocturnal hunter, but still remained present. Some of them appeared to be sleeping, sitting still in various places, some in fenced areas where they slept in herds, with occasional new cars joining and leaving the herd. 

People also occasionally seemed to walk around, harder to see clearly from this height, but they did not seem to fear the darkness. 

Then again, the world here did not seem to ever get truly dark. Lights lined the pathways, the buildings, everywhere he looked. He couldn’t even tell what the source of the lights was since he couldn’t imagine them using fire so carelessly. These people clearly had no reason to fear what creatures might hunt in the night because they had created lights to prevent any sort of ambush. He had to admit it was clever. 

Before, he might have called it cowardly, but without spiritual power to enhance their senses, these people couldn’t see anything in the dark. The solution they had found wasn’t what he would have chosen, but it had played to their strengths. He grunted in annoyance at himself. 

When had Shen Qingqiu so changed how he thought?

Sighing, he sat back down on the soft seats in this room and tried to meditate through the night, but the walls were so thin here he felt as if someone might burst into the room at any moment. He didn’t want to deal with these strangers nearby. He’d seen large buildings that housed many people before, but usually they were all from a single family all living together with their servants. But from Shen Yuan’s guiding him into the building, this place was clearly filled with strangers who did not interact with or know one another. No one had even approached to bring tea or offer medical aid. 

He couldn’t imagine living or sleeping peacefully knowing so many strangers were around, but his senses were much higher than the others here. Perhaps they could barely hear or smell the other people. 

Nearby he could hear people talking in a language he didn’t understand, strange food smells drifted through the air, and the sense of stillness without the natural ambient qi in the air made him almost disoriented. 

How did anyone live without a sense of spiritual energy to guide them or ground them in their place in the world? 

He’d barely been here a full day, and he felt unmoored without that sense connecting him to the world and making sure that he remained balanced and stable. Shaking his head, he tried to focus back on his meditation and breathing, and the energy within his own body. Slowly he faded into his meditation, only coming out of it when the door down the hall opened. 

Shen Yuan stepped out of his room and shuffled into the bathing chambers before he walked into the kitchen area and pressed something on a metal kettle. 

“Morning,” he murmured, voice groggy with sleep. 

“Why do you have Luo Binghe idols?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan nearly dropped the cup he’d been holding as he waited for the kettle to heat. “What?”

Liu Qingge pointed to the shelf with the several small figures of Luo Binghe and that demoness. “There. You have idols of him. Exactly as he looks. Why?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan pressed a finger to the bridge of his nose and scratched it before adjusting his glasses. Liu Qingge could all but see that the man was thinking hard about how to answer, and he had the distinct impression that the movement was one he had often seen Shen Qingqiu do when he wanted to avoid answering a question. 

“I will make us breakfast! It’s important to have food in the morning,” Shen Yuan said instead of any kind of answer, and Liu Qingge couldn’t even feel surprised. He’d expected that kind of evasion, but he would not be letting the man off the hook without getting some kind of answer; that was certain. 

For now though, he let Shen Yuan move around the kitchen with anxious energy. The man opened and closed the strange metal door a few times, cold air blowing out every time. He then pulled out the small shiny ‘communication array’ he’d used the night before to contact this airplane and pressed some buttons on it. 

“Food will be here soon,” he said. 

Liu Qingge accepted that this man probably just used that device to summon servants with food or something similar. While he wasn’t certain if Shen Yuan was a lord or a young noble, no one of low status would have windows this large and clear. 

Steam rose from the kettle, and Shen Yuan picked it up to pour water into two cups. He hoped it wouldn’t be more of the tea from last night; that drink had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He’d drunk it without complaint because he was used to eating and drinking on the road where taste didn’t matter, but he had gotten spoiled over the years with tea prepared by Shen Qingqiu. He’d rather just have water than that sharp, burnt version of tea Shen Yuan made. 

“Coffee?” Shen Yuan asked. 

Liu Qingge assumed that was the name of the vile tea and quickly shook his head. “Water, please.” 

Shen Yuan handed him a cup of warm water and then dropped a pile of strange small brown pebbles into his cup of hot water. The pebbles dissolved, turning the water to a dark mud color. If the man drank hot mud water, then that might have a lot to do with why he was without any spiritual power. 

However, he merely sipped his own drink and ignored Shen Yuan’s creation of his mud potion. This world was strange enough that odd beverages were not a priority to learn about. Shen Yuan added in a few other ingredients, white powder that looked like sand, and a white liquid he took out of the cold metal box. Truly, the longer he stayed in this world, the more questions he had, since there was nothing to explain what any of this was. 

He had to force himself to remain focused. 

He waited until Shen Yuan seemed pleased with his beverage and had taken a few sips before he spoke again. “Why do you have idols of Luo Binghe?” he asked again. 

Shen Yuan choked on his drink as if the question was a surprise and not a repeat of something he’d already been asked about and been avoiding. 

“They aren’t idols! They’re Nendoroids!” 

“Nen...do?”

Shen Yuan sputtered and walked over to the little idols. “They’re... they’re not idols!”

“Then what are they? What function do they serve?”

“They-They... they don’t have a function. They’re collectables! Limited edition, only 120 were ever made of this one!” he insisted, as if that somehow made a difference. Most idols were very limited. Many talented craftsmen must have worked for years to produce 120 of these small idols. 

“Why do you have them? Where is Luo Binghe in your world to be made into this idol?”

“He... Luo  Binghe isn’t here! He doesn’t... he isn’t-what I mean to say is... let’s just watch some TV.” 

This man was just as evasive as Shen Qingqiu when he didn’t want to answer a question, but Liu Qingge wasn’t going to let him just avoid the question forever. But he did want to know what a TV was and why they should watch it. 

If it was another beast like the car, then he needed to be aware of that potential threat and be prepared to take it down. 

How was this world so filled with dangerous creatures when the people in it apparently had no powers? Why did they keep bringing these dangerous beasts into their lives if they had no ability to defend themselves? Did these people just have a death wish they liked to chase around constantly? There was no reason for them to be behaving like this.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. “Fine. We can watch this TV.”

Shen Yuan moved, putting his hands on Liu Qingge’s shoulders and pushing. It wasn’t as if the man could actually move him, but he chose to allow the weaker man to guide him towards the large, shiny black mirror on the wall. He frowned as there was a flicker of energy within the thing and then an image appeared of a large cat-like creature rushing forward. 

In a flash, the beast was split in half, sparks of life flickering as Shen Yuan just stared in silence before he went pale. 

“MY TV!” he yelled, touching the side of the mirror still on the wall. 

Clearly, this TV was some kind of containment device, and the creature within, that leopard a disembodied voice had said in the second before it was destroyed, was escaping. It clearly would have destroyed Shen Yuan in an instant. 

“Why do you keep such dangerous things around?” he asked, turning to Shen Yuan. 

“Wha-it’s not dangerous! You just... I said don’t destroy anything! You slashed my TV in half!” 

“The creature was lunging. Why should I wait and allow the enemy to attack?” He crossed his arms, sword already safely tucked away before Shen Yuan could cut himself on it again. 

“There was no creature! It was an image of... oh my god, aiyah.” Shen Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose. “It wasn’t dangerous. That was a displayed picture... like a... a moving painting!”

Liu Qingge frowned. Paintings didn’t move, and they certainly weren’t that lifelike. This world was far too strange, and Shen Yuan far too lax about his own health.

“Okay, fine. Fine!” Shen Yuan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, great. My TV is dead. Make sure never to show you my laptop,” he muttered to himself. 

Liu Qingge did not demand to see the laptop, but he was certain it likely was another dangerous device this fool was using without having any awareness of the risk he was putting himself under. Liu Qingge would be keeping a close eye out for that beast too. 

“Why do you have a Luo Binghe idol?” he asked again, moving over to a little figurine and picking it up. 

This Luo Binghe wore the dark robes of a demon emperor, ones he rarely wore on Qing Jing. 

Shen Yuan rushed over and tried to grab the figure from him. “Ah, what are you? Four? You can’t just grab people’s things; that’s stealing and is illegal! Bai Zhan are honorable, aren’t they?” he demanded. 

“You know Luo Binghe and Bai Zhan. You say you are a seer, but why would a seer have idols of that beast?” he demanded. 

“Ah, Luo Binghe is not a beast! He is just... how do you even know him?” Shen Yuan demanded. 

“He’s a disciple of Qing Jing, how would I not know him?” he crossed his arms. 

Shen Yuan sputtered again, like he had said something unintelligible. Just because Luo Binghe wasn’t at his peak, why wouldn’t he know him? Most of the peak lords were aware of all the disciples of the mountain; it helped to ensure there were no disciples trying to slip from one peak to the other without being caught. That was of course allowed, but only through the proper channels. 

Or through brute force on Bai Zhan. 

Shen Yuan paced around the space, occasionally stopping to look back towards the no longer sparking TV. 

“Luo Binghe is....” Shen Yuan started and then changed his mind, shifting directions. “How old is Luo Binghe?”

Liu Qingge frowned and crossed his arms. “He is old enough.” 

“Old enough?” Shen Yuan pressed as if this were some important detail he needed to know and not just useless information. 

He had no idea how old the brat was, but he was old enough to be a husband and a sect leader. 

“He is an adult,” Liu Qingge finally said. “He is married, and the Huan Hua sect leader.” 

While he was also the leader of the demon realm, Liu Qingge did not mention that. He didn’t want to acknowledge that Qing Jing had such close ties to the demon realm, and he certainly wasn’t going to share that with a stranger who kept avoiding his questions. 

“Ning Yingying?” he asked. 

“What about her?” Liu Qingge frowned. 

How did this stranger know the names of so many disciples? He’d even mentioned Mingyan earlier, and now Ning Yingying.

“Does... Does married life suit her?” Shen Yuan asked, as if he were trying to ask something else with these words.

“Marriage? Ning Yingying is not married. She and Ming Fan still tend to Qing Jing Peak; neither of them has a desire to wed.” 

He imagined that eventually the two top Qing Jing Peak students would marry and take their place as the seconds in command of the peak, mostly running things while Shen Qingqiu was going on his various trips with Luo Binghe. But that was many years off as far as he knew; it had not even been discussed, and he had not even seen the two of them express more than sibling affection for one another. Ning Yingying still spent much of her time with Liu Mingyan and seemed to have little interest in the Ming Fan boy. 

“What? She’s not married to Binghe?” Shen Yuan looked shocked, as if that information wasn’t possible. “I didn’t know the War God was such a trickster to give a seer wrong information.” 

“I do not lie,” he said firmly. “Luo Binghe would never marry her, or any other woman.” 

Shen Yuan opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish gaping in the water before finally managing to speak. “No woman?”

“No,” Liu Qingge shook his head. Honestly, he couldn’t even imagine Luo Binghe marrying any other man either. It was only Shen Qingqiu, and it had been since the boy was young. Anyone with eyes had seen that from the time the Qing Jing Peak Lord’s qi deviation had changed everything. 

“Who did he marry then? Mobei-jun??” Shen Yuan demanded, looking more and more upset as he spoke, foot stomping on the floor. “Don’t be ridiculous! Binghe is a bred and true stallion protagonist! He would never- He... Lying to someone who is offering you shelter and helping you is rude even for a great peak lord.” 

Liu Qingge frowned. “A stallion protagonist?”

Shen Yuan huffed and stormed over to a bookshelf where he pulled out a large book and shoved it towards Liu Qingge. Looking at the book, he recognized a picture of Luo Binghe as a young boy on the cover, and Shen Qingqiu looming over him like a dangerous creature. 

“What is this?” he demanded as he struggled to make out the name. The characters were similar but not identical to what he was used to reading. “Demon.... Way?”

“Proud Immortal Demon Way!” Shen Yuan said as if that answered everything. “It’s the story of Luo Binghe’s life and how he winds up as the emperor of all realms with a harem of thousands of women! It’s his whole life story! Well, technically that’s only book one, but it’s his story!” 

“Why do you have this?” Liu Qingge asked, staring at the man. Who was this to have an entire collection of events about Luo Binghe? 

“I just... I just happened to have... It’s a novel,” he finally said, dropping his head. 

“A novel? A story?” 

He nodded. 

“I am not a story character,” Liu Qingge said firmly, handing the book back to Shen Yuan.

“You are.” He picked up the book and flipped through until he found a section and began reading out loud. It described the demon attack on the peak exactly as he remembered it, except... 

“When the demons were gone and the Lingxi caves were checked, they found Liu Qingge’s body, bloody and impaled on Xiu Ya. The War God was dead.” Shen Yuan read, looking up at him. 

“I didn’t die in the Lingxi cave,” he said. 

Shen Qingqiu had saved him, and then the Without a Cure poison had nearly killed the Qing Jing Peak Lord. “Shen Qingqiu saved me. I helped fight off that demon invasion, but Luo Binghe did win in his fight against the brute.” 

He’d heard about that after the fact. 

“Shen Qingqiu saved you?” Shen Yuan sounded nearly hysterical. “WHAT?”

Liu Qingge scowled. This man kept speaking ill of Shen Qingqiu. It had happened repeatedly now, and every time it made him more and more angry. This man had no reason to have so little respect for Shen Qingqiu. 

“Why do you speak of him like that?” he glared. 

“Shen Qingqiu is... well, he’s... he’s scum!” 

Liu Qingge glared and took a breath. He’d gotten better at not hitting people first, and especially since he knew Shen Yuan had no spiritual energy and would not survive a hit. “Do not say that again.”

“He is! And he’s going to lead to your entire sect being destroyed and your death!” Shen Yuan said, nearly wheezing as his heart beat faster. He clearly strongly believed what he was saying. 

“What do you know about him? You have not even met him.” 

“Like I would want to meet someone like that!” Shen Yuan huffed. “I... the ancient texts I studied have mentioned him.”

“And Luo Binghe?” Liu Qingge asked, crossing his arms. “And Ning Yingying? And Mingyan?” 

“W-well, these texts are very detailed a-about these kinds of things!” 

“What kinds of things?” he asked. “Why us specifically?”

 Shen Yuan stammered, and Liu Qingge realized the man was trying to come up with a lie. He couldn’t stand liars.

“Speak the truth. I know a liar when I hear one,” he said, letting a pinch of his anger reflect in his energy. 

Shen Yuan flinched at the fraction of the War God’s wrath. 

“Fine, fine, but don’t get angry with me! You’re all from a novel I read! Proud Immortal Demon Way, that book.” He motioned to the thick tome. 

“A novel?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Yes, like a legend written down, only it’s made up, none of it is supposed to be real but then you showed up and killed a car, and my TV, and what am I supposed to do when not real characters show up in my world?? What am I supposed to think?” Shen Yuan paced as he ranted faster. 

He was telling the truth; there wasn’t a hint of deception that Liu Qingge could sense, but did that mean... 

“Something not real?” he asked, then shook his head. 

Ridiculous. 

He was obviously a real person. Clearly, this was just another realm, and only some of the parts of his world had gotten here. He’d been to a few pocket realms that only knew of the most ancient legends from his world. This one was no different, but clearly since it lacked a connection to natural energy, they had no understanding of this. 

“I’m real,” he said simply. “But Shen Qingqiu is not a scum. Your text is wrong.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered more. “No, in the Lingxi Caves, he- “

“Saved me. Later, he was poisoned by Without a Cure trying to shield Luo Binghe. He is the Qing Jing Peak Lord, and the topmost scholar. Luo Binghe is his husband.” He said, not particularly happy about having to state that last bit, but he needed to make sure Shen Yuan understood that. 

Shen Yuan sputtered again, staring as his face turned red. “That, there’s no way! Luo Binghe has a harem of a thousand beautiful women, the most beautiful women in the world! He’s not-he would never! You’re wrong!” 

Liu Qingge crossed his arms. “Have you met Luo Binghe?” 

“Well he’s not real, so of course not!”

“He is real.” Liu Qingge pulled up his sleeve to show a faded but still present scar along his bicep, jagged like claw marks had ripped into him. He’d gotten them after the Mai Gu Ridge collapsed into the Luo River. When he’d fished Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe from the water. Luo Binghe had been unconscious but still had lashed out to try to protect Shen Qingqiu. It’d been the only injury from Luo Binghe that had scarred. 

“This is from him.” He motioned to the scar. 

 Shen Yuan’s hand instantly reached out to touch the scars. His fingers were cool and clammy to the touch. Was this weak mortal about to collapse again? 

“Luo Binghe did this?” he asked, a note of awe in his voice. 

“Mm,” Liu Qingge nodded. 

“You’ve fought him? What happened? Who won?” Shen Yuan asked. “Because I’ve always said that even against the war god of Bai Zhan, Luo Binghe couldn’t lose, but it would be a peerless battle!” 

“I cannot defeat him,” he admitted bluntly. 

He was no longer ashamed of that fact after suffering so many defeats at Luo Binghe’s hands. It was a matter of life; you were the strongest until you weren’t. If Luo Binghe had been a Bai Zhan disciple, then he’d have been killed, and Luo Binghe would have been the new peak lord. 

“Really? Just like that. I didn’t think the War God would just give up!” Shen Yuan frowned. 

Liu Qingge pulled his arm away and dropped his sleeve before crossing his arms over his chest. “A warrior knows when he is bested. Your text is wrong. Clearly, I am not dead.” 

“Well, a lot of transmigration happens after someone dies. So how did you end up here?”

“I have told you. I heard a cry for help and entered a portal. I saw the car attacking you and stopped it.” 

Why did they need to rehash this, and what was a transmigration? 

“I was having tea with Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu. I left to return to Bai Zhan and found the portal. I did not die before coming here.” 

“Aha!” Shen Yuan pointed as if he’d found an obvious answer. “The tea was poisoned!” Then he frowned. “No, Luo Binghe would never stoop so low as to use poison... but Shen Qingqiu obviously would!” 

“There was no poison,” Liu Qingge said. “Shen Qingqiu would not harm me.” 

He knew that the Qing Jing Peak Lord would never intentionally harm any of his martial brothers or sisters. He’d shown that in all the things he’d taken on without even letting them help, like the entire time he was imprisoned by Huan Hua for no real reason. 

“Yes, he would. He killed you in-“

“He did not kill me,” Liu Qingge pointed out again. “I am right here, alive.” He held out his wrist. 

Shen Yuan frowned. 

“Touch my wrist,” he instructed. Surely, even without his own spiritual power, he would be able to sense the life force in Liu Qingge’s blood. 

Shen Yuan looked a bit skeptical but reached out and grabbed his wrist, then adjusted his hold to something more proper, index and middle finger against the center of his wrist. After a moment, Shen Yuan pulled his hand away. 

“I can feel your pulse. He... He really didn’t kill you.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. “Whoever wrote these stories was incorrect.” 

“That... no way Airplane knew anything he was writing was real. This doesn’t make sense. How can you be real but also in a novel?” 

Liu Qingge felt that somehow he should have been the more confused and upset of the two, but the situation made perfect sense to him. Someone had gotten a glimpse of their world and then lied about it in this demon novel. 

“Drink your potion.” He motioned to the coffee drink Shen Yuan had just been holding. “And perhaps sit down.” 

Shen Yuan nodded and sagged onto the couch before staring into his mud potion. “Yeah. Yeah, good idea.”

Chapter Text

How was Liu Qingge so calm about learning he was a book character? And why was everything so…wrong? 

What did he mean, Luo Binghe was married to Shen Qingqiu??

There was no way the scum villain had actually saved Liu Qingge’s life?? That couldn’t be right! The characters from the books were supposed to be exactly as they were in the books! At least every isekai story he’d read had been like that, and then the transmigrator’s elite knowledge had saved the day because the plot followed the same original path. The NPCs always played their roles, and the villains always did their evil plans unless someone transmigrated and changed everything. 

He looked into his coffee. Had Liu Qingge been transmigrated into? Was there actually a Proud Immortal Demon Way reader in there? He glanced at his ruined TV and threw that idea into the trash. 

No way; that kind of behavior fit someone from Bai Zhan. There hadn’t been a lot about that peak in Proud Immortal Demon way but the few characters from Bai Zhan that showed up were always the attack first and ask anything later type. It would make sense that their leader would be the kind to stab a television. 

Rest in peace television, he’d get you replaced soon. He hoped the television had a good place in the underworld after all the questionable anime he’d made the thing display. It deserved a long, eternal rest. 

“What is Luo Binghe like?” he had to ask. 

This man knew and had recently even talked with the Luo Binghe. He couldn’t resist the chance to get all the details he could!

“A brat. Shen Qingqiu spoiled him too much,” he said matter-of-factly. 

“W-what?” Shen Yuan stared at him. “A brat?”

Of all the words that had ever been used to describe Luo Binghe, and there were millions of them. Never once had he been called a brat! He was a serious, devious man with a cunning heart and an unstoppable golden finger. How could that be a brat??

Who could have guessed that Liu Qingge, the famed war god of Bai Zhan, would be such a jokester? No one! No one could have ever guessed he would just be full of jokes like Luo Binghe being a brat or Shen Qingqiu marrying... no, there was no way.

But if he was Liu Qingge, and the sword moves hinted that he was, then what did that mean for the novel world? It was an actual story, and with real people? 

Well, if it was, maybe some legend that someone told Airplane then, of course, that idiot would have gotten it totally wrong when he was writing it down. Airplane always got distracted by describing some bosoms or hourglass figures with jade skin and not the story, so of course he would get it wrong! 

Shen Yuan didn’t want to believe this stallion protagonist could turn out to be a true-blue homosexual, but he still wanted to know everything. 

“What are the Black-Horn Rhinoceros Snakes like?” he asked. 

“Loud.” 

He couldn’t help but laugh as he realized one-word answers and descriptions were the best he was likely to get from Liu Qingge, and that seemed to be perfectly in character for the man more focused on fighting than anything else. 

“What’s Bai Zhan Peak like?”

Liu Qingge considered for a while, arms still crossed before he said. “Louder.” 

Shen Yuan laughed harder at that. He couldn’t seem to get himself to stop. He had to set down his coffee so he wouldn’t spill it all over himself or the already wrecked living room. Maybe it would be best not to ask questions for a little while. Liu Qingge was too funny. 

For now, he would just try to get this transmigrated man back home. A shame he hadn’t ended up in the Proud Immortal Demon way world; he would have loved to have seen the Wood Darkening Stallion or a Red-Plated Lynx. But if he had ended up in PIDW, he’d probably just end up as some cannon fodder and die quickly. 

The breakfast he had ordered arrived at his doorstep, and he stepped outside to grab it. Then, he shoved a breakfast sandwich into Liu Qingge’s hand. 

The man stared down at the food and waited until Shen Yuan had eaten almost half of his own sandwich before taking a few bites of it. He didn’t seem to like it and sat it back down. 

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge shook his head. “Salty.” 

Who knew the War God would be picky about food! But then again, he probably had to work hard to keep his body in such a prime condition. He had such nice muscles and a good body that it must have taken a lot of work. Shen Yuan could admire that. 

“You can return me home?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“I can try,” Shen Yuan said. “I’ve read the ancient texts about-”

“The incorrect texts,” Liu Qingge said. “What you read does not sound like Luo Binghe or Shen Qingqiu.” 

Shen Yuan huffed and stomped his foot a bit. “I know you say it’s wrong, but those texts are fictional! They can’t be wrong if the people they’re about don’t exist!” 

Liu Qingge stepped closer, and for a moment he worried the man was going to just rip him in half. Instead, Liu Qingge grabbed Shen Yuan’s hand and pressed it to his chest. His very warm, firm chest. 

“Do I feel like I don’t exist?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan stammered. The warmth of the other man’s body spread through his palm, a heartbeat steadily drumming under his fingers. Warm. Alive. 

Do not squeeze his tits . 

“Alright, alright.” Shen Yuan pulled his hand away. “What I’m saying is that I can’t promise I’ll get you home. The easiest way to teleport between worlds is with Truck-kun, but...”

“Truck-kun?” 

Shen Yuan waved his hand as if he could blow that bad idea away. “Well, a lot of people that my stories mention were sent to another world after they got hit by a big car and died.” 

“Like you and the car beast.” 

“I-well-yes, but I probably wouldn’t have transmigrated.”

How cool it would have been if he had. He’d watched enough isekai stories that he wouldn’t have embarrassed himself by asking if the people were actors or demanding to know where the cameras were. He would have been great as an isekai protagonist. 

Alas, he would never get to find out. 

And that was okay! He enjoyed being alive; he was happy to have not met his maker at the wheels of Truck-kun! Really, he was! 

“That is not an option,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan agreed. He didn’t think a truck could kill Liu Qingge anyway, and he wouldn’t willingly throw anyone in front of a vehicle since he didn’t want to go to prison for murder. 

“What other ways of traveling between worlds are there?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Well, stories have a lot of options. Inside a clothing wardrobe, falling asleep, magical portals, fairy rings, stepping outside just before aliens arrive, strange doorways. The sky’s the limit!”

Liu Qingge looked at him. “I am in your hands. What option do you suggest?”

Shen Yuan liked being the older brother guiding figure. He puffed his chest up a bit. “Let’s take a walk in the park. Weird things happen in nature in a lot of the stories, so maybe we’ll get lucky. It’s still early, so it won’t be too hot either!” 

Liu Qingge glanced out the window, and Shen Yuan had the distinct impression that Liu Qingge was judging him by his idea of early in the morning. But it was before noon, so it totally counted as early! 

“I am ready,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan shot back his coffee before he got himself dressed. When he walked back out, he looked over Liu Qingge. In his robes and with his good looks, wouldn’t people think they were filming some kind of movie? Liu Qingge was too handsome to let people see, or else they would be swarmed! 

He disappeared back into his room and dug through his closet until he found the dark grey hooded cloak he’d bought on a whim at a Renaissance festival years ago. Shen Yuan had never worn it, but now it would come in handy since none of his hoodies or jackets would fit Liu Qingge. 

“Put this on.” He held the cloak out.

Liu Qingge did so without a question. Shen Yuan supposed out of all the things he’d seen, cloaks were probably the most familiar thing he’d encountered so far, so of course he would simply take it. 

Shen Yuan reached over and pulled up the hood to make sure that Liu Qingge was properly hidden. Then he grabbed his life-sized, solid wood Xin Mo replica so they could at least use cosplay photoshoot as an excuse for Liu Qingge’s robe outfit being so out of place in the city. He checked his phone was charged, and that he had his keys before he led the way out of the apartment. 

Somehow with the cloak, Liu Qingge stood out even more! People gawked and took pictures. 

Shen Yuan couldn’t even blame them. How could such a beautiful man ever not draw every eye to him! Thankfully, no one swarmed them since it seemed all they needed was a sharp glare from Liu Qingge and they would back away. The crowds were no problem! 

The benefit of being the War God! 

Too cool. 

While he had originally expected the Bai Zhan Peak Lord to be a grizzled and scarred old man, he liked the pretty man that had appeared. It had to be because he was a young peak lord. Yes, that had to be it! How tragic he’d died at the hands of that Shen Qingqiu... except that according to Liu Qingge, that hadn’t happened. Thinking about that too much made Shen Yuan’s head hurt, so he just kept walking until they got to the closest park. 

Shen Yuan didn’t know many of the paths here; he didn’t go outside and do things like walk very often. Since it was a weekday morning, there weren’t many other people around. The early bird crowd had already come and gone; the lunchtime enjoyers weren’t out yet either. He had picked the perfect time! 

Liu Qingge looked around then knelt down and put his hand to the ground. 

“So there is Qi here in this world. It is just weak.” 

“What?” Shen Yuan blinked. “Wait, do you mean people could cultivate here?”

He shook his head. “No. It isn’t strong enough. But I hadn’t felt any until now.”

“Well, is there somewhere it feels stronger? That’s probably a good way to go then!” Shen Yuan said. 

Liu Qingge focused on where his hand connected to the ground and was so still and silent, he was like a corpse. He’d never seen anyone be so motionless! 

Finally, the warrior stood and nodded his head in a direction. Maybe west? Shen Yuan had no idea how to tell directions. He simply took the guidance from the other man and led the way, though he quickly slowed down to let Liu Qingge actually lead the way since he couldn’t sense any kind of Qi. 

There wasn’t a paved path to follow, but the park seemed well cared for so the grass wasn’t too high. 

“What does Qi feel like?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge glanced at him. “Warm.”

Another one-word answer was exactly what to expect from this man!

They walked at a steady pace, but it was fast for Shen Yuan and the enormous sword he’d brought along. He struggled to keep up after several minutes and had to lean against a tree to catch his breath. Liu Qingge immediately noticed and stopped. “Are you injured?”

“I’m fine. Just asthma,” he said. 

“Asthma?” Liu Qingge repeated slowly, sounding it out. 

“It just means breathing is hard for me sometimes,” Shen Yuan waved his hand dismissively. “Not a big deal. The pollen just makes it harder this time of year.” 

“Pollen is annoying,” Liu Qingge nodded in agreement. 

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. In Proud Immortal Demon Way, pollen was almost always some kind of aphrodisiac! So, it had to be quite a problem for anyone living there. He couldn’t imagine what that would do to his body. Thank goodness he didn’t live there.

“I’m alright to keep going,” Shen Yuan said after several minutes. Thankfully, he hadn’t had an actual asthma attack, just some wheezing. It was totally fine to keep going! 

“Why are you carrying that?” he motioned towards the Xin Mo replica. “That is not a good sword, and you have no strength.”

“Xin Mo is the ultimate golden finger! It’s worth carrying!” 

Liu Qingge sighed and easily pulled the sword from him. He twirled it around a few times and ran his finger over the blade before sighing. “Wooden. A training sword? Good for practice, but this is too big for you to properly wield. I’ll carry it.” Liu Qingge resumed walking, but at a slower pace.

Xin Mo looked perfectly in place in his hands with his dramatic cloak and beautiful good looks. Really, he should have been a protagonist!

“Where is your family? They don’t live with you?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan understood. In PIDW family homes were the norm, and people all lived together usually even after marriage for most normal, not-protagonist people. 

“They sent me here,” Shen Yuan said. 

Officially, he’d come here to get an education. But really, his family didn’t want to deal with him. His asthma wasn’t that , but it often caused issues. With other healthy and better children, Shen Yuan just got in the way. He couldn’t remember the last time his family had called to check up on him. Maybe when his meimei had called him for his birthday a few months ago?

Liu Qingge frowned. “Why did they send you away?”

“Education. You have the children that join your sect; it’s the same for me!” Shen Yuan said. 

No, it wasn’t quite the same, but he could dream! Sometimes when school got especially annoying, he pretended to be a cultivator training to prove himself. The fantasy usually hadn’t survived a fifteen-minute study session.

“What is the education here like?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan began trying to explain the college he was attending and couldn’t help but laugh at Liu Qingge’s face as he frowned at the idea of studying literature for hours a day. Thankfully, today was one of his class-free days. 

Well, it was now because he’d decided to skip his afternoon class.

It wasn’t until he finished explaining what a dissertation was that he realized things felt different. The air was silent. 

Now, the park stayed quiet, but there was still always the hum of the city and its ruckus. But now, the silence loomed large. Shen Yuan looked around and didn’t see a single building. Instead, a range of trees and grass just encircled them. 

Where had they ended up? Had they somehow walked out of the city?? He didn’t know the park well enough to have a clue, but this felt different, like the air itself was charged with energy . There was no way this was normal, but to get Liu Qingge home, this was a good sign, right?

“The air here is better,” Liu Qingge said. 

“Where are we?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge looked at him. “Why would I know?” 

Shen Yuan stared. How did he not know where they were? He was the one leading the way! 

“I’ve been following you!” Shen Yuan accused. 

Liu Qingge nodded. “And I have followed the Qi.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered and looked around more. He pulled out his phone but found that his phone screen just had an error message on it. He decided not to think about that too much right now and just put the phone back into his pocket. No buildings were around at all, so that clearly meant that they had gotten far from the city or maybe this trail and park were just nice and larger than he had originally thought. Surely there were areas of the city with no visible buildings, right? 

Yes, that had to be it. He nodded to himself, pleased at having figured it out. These parks were so fancy and impressive these days. He would have to come here more often to enjoy the outdoors where no buildings were around. 

“Thank you for your guidance,” Liu Qingge said, turning to Shen Yuan and offering a bow. 

Oh no, that seemed like a bad sign. Isn’t that what a character usually did right before they did something self-sacrificey and died?

“Where are you going that you need to thank me like that?” Shen Yuan asked and reached over to tug on the cloak. 

Liu Qingge blinked then carefully took the cloak off and held it out to Shen Yuan. “I should return this.” 

Another death flag! 

He shoved it back towards the War God. “It’s a gift; you keep it. You sense another portal?”

“I sense something,” Liu Qingge said, taking the cloak back. 

When he didn’t immediately put it back on, Shen Yuan grabbed it and wrapped it back around the War God and clasped the cloak in front of his chest. He took Xin Mo back from him, just in case some enemy showed up and attacked because Liu Qingge was too busy holding a wooden sword and couldn’t pull out his actual sword. Everything about this sent the hairs on his arm raising up and screeching in how strange it felt.   

“Well, I guess that’s it then?” Shen Yuan asked. 

Liu Qingge nodded, eyes ahead towards a river? Now that he definitely had never noticed in this area. Wow, they had gone all out on this park, adding in water features too! In fact, the river was rushing so loudly, he could barely hear Liu Qingge. 

“I’ll be back to the mountains soon,” Liu Qingge nodded. 

DEATH FLAGS EVERYWHERE! 

Everyone knew that if a character ever talked about the peaceful life they were returning to, then that was a huge flag screaming they were going to die soon. And this guy had died in the original work! What if the death flags were still coming for him?  

“Be careful!” he yelled. 

“Live a good life, Shen Yuan.” He patted Shen Yuan and stared into his eyes. 

AHHHH, HE WAS TOTALLY GOING TO GET KILLED. OH MY GOD!

Shen Yuan had to do something; there was no way he could just let it happen, especially not now that he had met Liu Qingge and liked him so much. He was a lot funnier than the books had ever hinted at, and he was just too beautiful to die. Beautiful characters were supposed to have some sort of protective halo around them! Not as powerful as the protagonist halo, obviously, but one that protected them too! 

Liu Qingge released Shen Yuan’s shoulder after a gentle squeeze and then began walking closer to this strange rushing river. 

Was there something in there? Could... Could Liu Qingge maybe not swim? Was there a monster there? Something was seriously wrong, and he just knew the War God was about to vanish forever.

“Don’t!” Shen Yuan tried to grab for him, but Liu Qingge was already leaping into the water in a graceful arc, water sparkling around him almost in slow motion. 

NO SLOW MOTION LAST MOMENTS!

Could it be any more obvious that he was going to die? There were flags everywhere, but Liu Qingge hadn’t listened to him, so what was he supposed to do!? He paced along the edge of the river and waited a few seconds, but Liu Qingge never surfaced. After what felt like ages, the cloak floated up, empty to the surface. 

That was it. 

Shen Yuan leapt into the water, grabbed the cloak and dove in after the death-flagged man. He could at least try to help.

What was the worst that could happen?

Chapter Text

Without the cloak tangling his arms, Liu Qingge moved quickly through the water and found the source of the qi he had noticed. A small but steady portal.

There was no telling where it might go, but it had a much stronger sense of qi than he had felt before, so it had to be a step in the right direction. As he prepared to dive in, he heard something plummet into the water. 

Readying himself for some predator, he instead turned to see Shen Yuan, tangled in the cloak, and choking on water. Immediately he went to grab the man, but the portal at the bottom of the river had latched onto him. If he let it pull him in, he’d leave Shen Yuan to drown, but the portal wouldn’t easily release him at this point.

There was no hesitation; he sent out Cheng Luan. The sword shot out like a fish through the water. The sword twisted so the flat edge pressed against the frail man’s back and shoved him towards Liu Qingge. 

While he rarely used his sword for non-lethal methods, this was one he’d developed after traveling with Shen Qingqiu and constantly needing to firmly but gently pull his martial brother away from some dangerous beast. Shen Yuan just got in grasp as the portal pulled in Liu Qingge. 

He held the smaller man closer, wrapping the cloak around him as he grabbed Chen Lun with his free hand. 

The portal devoured them both and in an instant he felt the entire world flip upside down and then right itself again.

But the water didn’t fade. Instead, it simply grew deeper as the muddy depths that had been under his feet vanished into a dark abyss. 

Pushing upwards, he swam towards a light, and finally he and Shen Yuan broke the surface. In his arms, Shen Yuan coughed and choked on the air, gasping in greedy gasps of breath. He’d already noticed that the other man had a harder time breathing because of that asthma curse, so he couldn’t imagine almost drowning had been very helpful. 

Liu Qingge looked around and saw almost no sign of land. 

In the distance he could see a few birds hovering but no land on the horizon. Liu Qingge pulled Shen Yuan up into his arms and got Cheng Luan under foot. He rode slowly, close to the surface of the water for now. Since he didn’t know how Shen Yuan would react to heights, he didn’t want the man to panic and flail out of his arms and back into the water. 

While he was confident he’d catch Shen Yuan before anything could harm him, he didn’t want to risk the experience upsetting Shen Yuan. 

Finally, something glinted ahead of them, and Liu Qingge flew closer only to find nothing. Then a bird landed on what appeared to be nothing. Light glimmered, and he realized the surface was transparent. 

He pressed a foot to it as a test. 

When he found the ground solid, he stepped onto it and went to place Shen Yuan down. The man was stubbornly and firmly holding onto Liu Qingge and the cloak now. 

 “It’s solid here,” Liu Qingge said, encouraging Shen Yuan to let go. 

After a moment, Shen Yuan put his weight on his own feet and released his death grip on Liu Qingge. 

He still wheezed a bit, but his breaths didn’t crackle like Liu Qingge had heard in people who’d spent too long in water, so he was probably okay. Liu Qingge wasn’t a doctor, but he was good at staying alive. 

“Where are we?” Shen Yuan finally asked, looking around. 

Tiny fractures ran along the glass ground, and in the distance, small spires of shattered glass reached towards a pale pink sky. Wind rushed past them with a heavy scent of rain and iron. The warm environment wasn’t quite uncomfortable but warmer than Liu Qingge preferred. 

“I do not know,” Liu Qingge said. The portal rarely provided any kind of name or explanation about itself. 

Shen Yuan frowned as he looked at the environment and then at the ground they stood on. He knelt down to tap it and then squinted up towards the sky. Somehow, the man with no qi or experience with traveling to other realms, looked as if he knew where they had ended up. 

Well, the man had claimed to be a scholar and a seer, so perhaps there had been some truth to it. 

“You recognize this place?” He asked Shen Yuan. 

“The Shattered Glass Desert,” Shen Yuan said slowly as he stood back up. “I think, but this doesn’t quite match the descriptions in the book. It’s not that hot, and the glass spires are hardly formed.” 

Liu Qingge shrugged. A name was a name, but that didn’t add much other detail as far as he was concerned. 

“Is it dangerous?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan turned to stare at him. “Is it... It’s only one of the most dangerous places in the Endless Abyss!” 

Liu Qingge looked around. There wasn’t nearly a strong enough aura for him to think this could be the Endless Abyss. But he didn’t see a need to argue about it with Shen Yuan right now. The man’s book clearly was wrong about most things. 

“We can just fly from here,” he said. 

“No!” Shen Yuan said, grabbing his arm. “There are a lot of things in the water, and if they see you flying, they’ll rush out and devour you!” 

“...Walking seems like they would see us too, and I am not just standing still,” Liu Qingge crossed his arms. 

Shen Yuan huffed. “No, you just have to walk where there are cracks in the glass.”

“What?” Liu Qingge frowned. 

“You walk where there are cracks in the glass,” he pointed at the ground. “It distorts your image so the creatures in the water are confused and can’t attack as easily.” 

“Enemies in the water?” He glanced towards the water. 

He hadn’t noted much of note when he was in the water, and his senses for monsters were the best. Then again, a lot of the texts that Shen Yuan seemed to have referenced seem to be wrong, after all he’d thought that Luo Binghe was a man with a massive harem of women when that very idea was ridiculous. 

Luo Binghe had interest in Shen Qingqiu and Shen Qingqiu only. There was no doubt about that as far as anyone could tell, so Liu Qingge knew the man’s information wasn’t always right. Shen Yuan clearly was trying to help, and he didn’t fault the man for that. There wasn’t a lot he could do as someone with no qi so he obviously wanted to help by other means. 

Liu Qingge would humor him for now even though he wasn’t sure he was right at all. But if there were creatures here to battle... It had already been too long since he had had a good fight. The cars and TVs of Shen Yuan’s world had not really even been anything near a challenge.  

He had been itching for a fight. He stepped back towards the water as Shen Yuan tried to grab his arm. 

“Stop, there’s no reason to aggro them!” 

“... Aggro?”

“Just, you don’t need to make them attack. We’re in their home, we should be polite,” Shen Yuan said. 

Shen Qingqiu often had a similar view of things, especially regarding monsters. If they were not harming people, then they were best left alone to do as they wished. Liu Qingge didn’t like it, but over time, he’d accepted it.

He hadn’t expected anyone else to think the same way. 

“Very well. But I will defend us if we are attacked.”

“Of course, I would expect nothing less from the War God!” 

Liu Qingge walked towards the nearest crack in the surface under their feet. It still unnerved him that this transparent, flimsy surface was the only thing between them and the fathomless deep below. Using his qi to keep his steps light, he stepped over the crack splintering the ground beneath his feet, and glanced back to make sure Shen Yuan was following. 

Shen Yuan focused on staring downwards rather than keeping close to Liu Qingge. His eyes were alight with excitement, as if he wanted to see some monster circling beneath them. Liu Qingge shook his head with a sigh. He’d need to keep a close eye on this man to make sure he didn’t get himself into trouble. 

It felt almost like the trips he used to go on with Shen Qingqiu, back before everything else had happened. Before Luo Binghe had returned. 

But he saw no reason in reflecting on the past; the future was the only thing that he could impact, so he kept moving. 

“You are alright?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Hm? Oh, I’m great; this is just... the depth of the ocean! It’s amazing! I can’t believe that there is so much down there! I’m hoping we can see some of it at least; even just a Poison-Tipped Squid would be incredible.”

Liu Qingge was relieved Shen Yuan didn’t seem upset. And he wasn’t sure it was his place to bring up that the man would likely never see his home again. Clearly, Shen Yuan understood portal travel and how rare it was to return home from it, so he had to know the truth.

For now, that; he’d be happy to know where they currently were. While Shen Yuan had said they were in the Endless Abyss, Liu Qingge still didn’t believe that. The air was too clear with only the faintest hint of demonic energy. 

He’d been into the Endless Abyss a few times, mostly after the conference when he’d been trying to find Luo Binghe, or at least his body. It had almost killed him every time he tried to enter one; the miasmic levels of demonic energy had been higher than anything else he had ever encountered, but he'd been determined to find some way to take that broken expression from Shen Qingqiu’s face. 

Generally, the Endless Abyss was so hard to enter because it only opened small tears into it. Instead of full portals, a tear only allowed a brief, small entrance and then kicked anything back out before it closed. No matter how much he’d searched, the tear would kick him out and vanish again.

But it wasn’t like that here. He’d also always heard water was rare in the Abyss, but here they were surrounded by it. Everything seemed to not match anything he knew about the Endless Abyss, but for now, it was safe enough not to cause concern. 

Shen Yuan kept following him and staring into the water beneath their feet. 

“Do you expect something to attack us?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Absolutely!” Shen Yuan nodded. “Don’t you know how deadly the Endless Abyss is?”

Liu Qingge stared at him. Before he could even reply, Shen Yuan continued with bright enthusiasm. 

“I would love to see an Oasis Devourer. OH, or a Star Consuming Whale even! There are a lot of creatures here just waiting for a moment to strike! The splinters in the glass only disrupt their vision, it doesn’t stop them.” 

Liu Qingge hadn’t heard of those particular beasts, but the way Shen Yuan’s entire body lit up when he mentioned them made him want to smile too. How could someone who had no qi and no ability to fight anything be so interested in these creatures that could kill him with barely any effort?

While he wanted Shen Yuan to get to see those creatures, and also wanted to fight them himself, he didn’t sense any killing intent around them. He doubted that Shen Yuan would get his wish to see those specific beasts. Even if he did, he’d only see them for a moment before Liu Qingge destroyed them. 

“We will continue moving until we find solid ground.” Liu Qingge said. 

“To the west is a city with portals!” Shen Yuan reported confidently. 

“Portals?” he asked, already having some doubts about Shen Yuan’s information, but he didn’t have a direction to walk in, so he agreed and turned. 

“W-where are you going?” Shen Yuan said, pointing towards the way Liu Qingge had just been walking. 

He frowned. “You said to the west. That is to the south.” 

Shen Yuan frowned and looked in one direction, then the other and then to his feet for some reason. 

“Well, I think the village is that way,” he pointed again in the direction they had been walking in. 

“...to the south then. Not the west.”

“Directions are difficult to determine in the Endless Abyss!” Shen Yuan protested. 

Liu Qingge didn’t answer but resumed his original direction of walking. “And where do these portals lead?” 

“Well, all over the place. Rifts into and out of the Endless Abyss form at random, but this town has a very high chance of them, so they show up often there!” Shen Yuan nodded. “So we should be able to find one that leads back into the human world and away from here. It’d be far too dangerous to stay here too long.” 

“And you learned this from your texts? Was that in another story?”

“Well yes, Luo Binghe suffered for five years in the Endless Abyss until he found his way out!” 

“Two.”

Shen Yuan nearly tripped over his feet. “What?”

“He was in the abyss for two years before he returned,” Liu Qingge said. 

“What?! No, he spent five years after that scum kicked him down into the abyss! He suffered for so long!” 

Liu Qingge glared. He now knew that Shen Qingqiu had pushed Luo Binghe into the Endless Abyss during the conference. He’d never gotten a reason, and he frankly didn’t need one.

What did it matter now? 

Luo Binghe clearly no longer had a grudge, and the two of them had worked out whatever problems existed between them. It wasn’t his business, but the brat had not suffered for that long. He’d been gone a short time, though long enough for grief to nearly destroy Shen Qingqiu. 

“Two years... truly the protagonist is too OP,” Shen Yuan muttered. 

He had no idea what that meant, but since he imagined it had something to do with Luo Binghe, he didn’t care enough to ask. 

“This portal city is from the same book that said five years. That book seems to be wrong about many things. I’m not sure how much guidance we can actually expect from it. I don’t sense-” He paused as something with killing intention flickered through his senses, far below them but quickly rising. 

Without hesitation, he grabbed Shen Yuan around the waist and hopped onto his sword, rushing upwards. Beneath them, the glass they’d been standing on exploded into a rain of sharp shards as a huge, dark creature burst out of the water, teeth flashing towards them. Raised bumps along the long sides of the creature twitched before the bumps opened, revealing themselves to be an array of eyes that all quickly focused on Liu Qingge. 

The creature twisted in the air, and its tail nearly slammed into them as Liu Qingge pulled his sword into a sharp spin to avoid the beast. 

“A Star-Consuming Whale!?” Shen Yuan gasped. “And a hundred-eyed one at that! Wow! Each of those eyes houses a gem with a unique power! Did you know that-“

Liu Qingge listened as he focused on dodging the blast of fire the whale creature could apparently shoot from one of its eyes. He understood now what Shen Yuan had been saying about different powers in each eye. 

But this creature had no wings, and even with its powerful leap from the water, it soon plummeted back down, crashing through the glass ground and back into the dark water. Liu Qingge didn’t get closer and blasted ahead on his sword. Shen Yuan made a startled noise and wrapped his arms around Liu Qingge, hiding his face against the other man’s chest. 

Behind them, Liu Qingge heard the ground shattering again, water raining down on them as the creature leapt after them blindly. While he wanted a battle, the risk to Shen Yuan was too great if he tried to fight here.

There was no safe ground for him to stand. 

Recalling Shen Yuan’s earlier words, he stayed low to the ground, sticking near to the various cracks in the ground, and that seemed to throw the creature somewhat off, as it burst out of the glass at angles putting it further and further away. 

In the distance, he finally caught sight of more solid ground ahead of them. With a last burst of speed, he reached solid, dark ground. The whale creature gave a low, vibrating screech that rumbled through the air like thunder but Liu Qingge didn’t slow down as he rushed far from the water, before he brought the sword to the ground, helping Shen Yuan down to check him for injuries. 

“Did you see the laser it fired?? That means that eye has a Fire-Encrusted Blood Gem!” Shen Yuan said as if that would mean something to Liu Qingge. “That’s amazing! It’s one of the rarest gems... well, I mean, all of the gems that Binghe finds are rare, but it’s still one of the most powerful... well.. I mean, aside from his golden finger, obviously.” 

Liu Qingge nodded because he had no idea how to respond to any of those words. Magical artifacts had never been a particular interest to him, and he really had no desire to learn what a golden finger was. 

“Where is the village from here?” he asked. 

So far this place hadn’t been that deadly, which just confirmed to Liu Qingge this couldn’t be the Endless Abyss. Because of that, he was willing to let Shen Yuan continue guiding. The man clearly had a passion for adventure and these sorts of creatures, but had never encountered them. His books had incorrect information so he could help the man actually get to enjoy some truth before he found a way to get Shen Yuan home. 

Shen Yuan looked around, hands on his hips before nodding and pointing decisively before walking. Liu Qingge sighed internally but followed him, keeping close and with his usual vigilance for any threats around. A few small creatures lingered in this area, but none of them registered as a threat. After some years with Shen Qingqiu, he no longer went after any beast he could sense and was willing to let these small, harmless ones be for now. If they attempted to cause a problem, he would destroy them then. 

“The town shouldn’t be very far from the Glass Desert. They actually harvest glass from it sometimes!” 

“For what?” he asked. 

“Well, the city is usually in the air, so they use glass to support that,” Shen Yuan said as if that explained anything and didn’t just give him many more questions. 

He simply nodded. Liu Qingge would see what was true, and what was not when they got to the city. At least Shen Yuan seemed to be breathing better now. The water clearly hadn’t settled into his lungs, so that was a relief. Liu Qingge wasn’t a healer and couldn’t handle something like that. 

Hopefully, they would have no need of a healer anytime soon, though if they got back to Cang Qiong, he would be taking Shen Yuan to Mu Qingfang and seeing what the doctor could do for the qi-less man since clearly that wasn’t a way to live, especially not in a world with those kinds of monsters. 

How the man had lived this long only spoke to the strangeness of that world of cars and TVs. Though he was certain that Shen Yuan wanted to return to it, he was pleased to be free of that energy-less strange world of bright lights and metal. 

Shen Yuan was mumbling to himself, and Liu Qingge could only understand the occasional word of Airplane which he didn’t understand. It might be what his small communication device was called. Perhaps he was just upset that the array didn’t work. 

“Most artifacts do not work outside of their realm,” he said in an attempt to be comforting. 

“What?” Shen Yuan blinked. 

“The airplane, it doesn’t work, right? You said it was a...hack?”

Shen Yuan stared at him before bursting into laughter, hard enough that he had to hold his stomach. “Y-yeah. Airplane is a hack.” 

“We will get you home, and that should allow the airplane to work.” 

Shen Yuan adjusted his glasses to wipe at his eyes. “No. Somehow,  even going home wouldn’t get Airplane to work and not be a hack. And it’s alright. Generally, these isekai things are one-way trips.” 

“...Isekai?”

“It just means traveling to another world. I probably died in that water in that park. Or maybe the car actually hit me, and this is a prolonged dream before death.”

“You’re not dead.” 

Shen Yuan didn’t seem to believe him but also didn’t seem to be too upset about it, so Liu Qingge wasn’t sure what to think of this strange man. For now, he would keep walking and find a path to get himself home. 

From there, he was certain Shen Qingqiu would know some way to help Shen Yuan return home, even if the idea of not seeing Shen Yuan again made his chest ache strangely.

Chapter Text

He really shouldn’t have been surprised that he had ended up in the Proud Immortal Demon Way universe. Of course, any contact with Airplane’s hack writing would draw him into some stupid plot. He was certain there had to be some kind of wife plot with this idea, but he definitely hadn’t read anything about Luo Binghe going into the modern world for a wife. 

That would have been a great plot! A modern wife for Binghe! Maybe one who would actually be worthy of the great protagonist.

It would have been such a good fourth wall break from the usual palace drama. He knew that Luo Binghe would have conquered the modern world as soon as he’d arrived, but it would have been glorious to see him master the internet and become an immediate celebrity, obviously. 

Honestly, if Liu Qingge had stayed in Shen Yuan’s world, he just would have had to post a few pictures and become an idol and influencer! How did anyone have any right to be that beautiful? Clearly, he’d had to die before the story started because he was far too much of a competition for the protagonist! 

Though he was wondering if maybe Liu Qingge wasn’t from the original PIDW but in fact from one of the fandom sister’s fanfictions. He liked talking theory with the sisters in the PIDW fandom, but they had wild pairing ideas like Mobei Jun and Luo Binghe being in a romantic relationship!

Ridiculous.  

He’d helped them beta read their fics to help with lore, but of course he’d never found them on official sites and commented! He just had to make sure that the lore was accurate. They’d just needed some guidance to make sure the pollen they used followed the novel, that was all! 

Shen Yuan was just a natural editor, and he wanted to help people! Besides, Mobei Jun was one of the few people who truly understood Luo Binghe and almost the only person the emperor could even trust. 

He could understand why the sisters would want those two together, but not even Mobei Jun was good enough for Luo Binghe, and besides both demons were straight as straight could be! 

Speaking of...

“What about Mobei Jun in your world? What is he doing?” he asked. 

“Married to Shang Qinghua,” Liu Qingge said, not slowing his pace. 

Shen Yuan tripped over his own feet. “Wh...who....what?” 

Liu Qingge stopped and turned to him. “Are you alright?”

“Shang Qinghua is ALIVE?”

“Mm,” Liu Qingge nodded. 

“And married... to Mobei Jun?”

That sealed it. Liu Qingge had to be from some fanfic alternate universe and not the actual Proud Immortal Demon Way because there is no way that Mobei Jun, who valued loyalty above all, would ever want anything to do with the rat Shang Qinghua! 

That must be why the world was so strange and didn’t quite match with the book! What kind of person would write a Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu romance story... but more than that, Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun? What sister was possibly putting together that kind of fanfiction! 

That also explained why Liu Qingge was so handsome. He was from a fanfiction, so he had to be a handsome young man, not a grizzled old man scarred from battles! 

Everything made sense now. He nodded to himself. Now that he had a better picture, he felt better. This wasn’t the Liu Qingge from PIDW, but a sister’s made-up version, so telling him about the novel and everything else wouldn’t impact any of the real Luo Binghe’s story! 

He hoped that the aerial town still existed in this boy’s love fic. Luo Binghe had found this place and managed to offer them trade to use a portal. Of course, that portal hadn’t taken him out of the Endless Abyss but instead into the den of a powerful succubus who told about Xin Mo and papapa’d for 20 chapters!! 

The trick of the portals in this town though was that the portals only opened once and once they had been used, they wouldn’t open again. Thankfully, since this wasn’t the actual world of Proud Immortal Demon Way, they could use the portals without worrying about it causing problems for Luo Binghe in the future. 

He moved with a bit more of a pep in his step now that he understood the situation; he felt better about just exploring and enjoying the world. Fanfictions with married demon lords couldn’t be too dangerous of a world. He knew a lot of the sisters liked a fluffy story, so he doubted there would be much more like the Star Consuming Whale attacking them. 

It should be easy to get Liu Qingge properly home. 

“Are you alright?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Yes, yes. I’m fine,” he said. “You know we could travel by sword now that we’re out of the desert.” 

Shen Yuan doubted anything had changed, but... he did still have the Xin Mo replica strapped to his back. He took out the window sword and threw it to the ground, hoping it would hover, but the sword just thudded onto the ground like a badly thrown frisbee. He stared at it for a moment before putting it back onto his back. 

Liu Qingge’s mouth twisted into what almost looked like a smile, but the man didn’t actually smile, so Shen Yuan was sure he had just seen it wrong. 

Then Liu Qingge offered him a small jade bracelet. 

“What’s that?” he asked. 

“It will let you store your...sword... in the bracelet. People might misunderstand if you have your sword out like that. It can be seen as aggressive or rude.” Liu Qingge said. 

How diplomatic of the War God! He hadn’t considered that kind of thing, but Liu Qingge was right for sure! “How does it work?” 

There was a momentary flash of pain as with barely a second to blink, Shen Yuan found his finger pricked and a drop of blood falling onto the jade. It glowed for a moment before returning to its beautiful pale appearance. His finger also healed in the next instant. It all happened so fast he doubted it had even happened. 

“Now what?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge slid the bracelet onto Shen Yuan’s wrist where it instantly shrank to fit him, not too tight but also not loose enough that he had to worry that it would fall off. Suddenly, something registered in his mind. “Is this the Heart of Jade?” 

He looked at Shen Yuan, surprised, but nodded. “A Liu family heirloom.” 

In Proud Immortal Demon Way, Liu Mingyan had given this to Luo Binghe to show her true feelings. Since she was a reserved woman, she didn’t use her body like the other wives. This was her way of showing her sincerity.

It worked as a smaller qiankun bag that wasn’t so obvious. While most knew to take away any sort of bag from a cultivator, few would think to take away jewelry (because they wouldn’t, they were all low IQ idiots anyway!). 

The protagonist would then of course outsmart them! 

“How does it work exactly?” he asked. 

“Think of the…” He seemed pained to call it a sword. “Sword.”  

Liu Qingge gave the Xin Mo replica a judgmental look that made Shen Yuan feel slightly defensive. He’d spent a lot of money on this replica! 

“And then touch your bracelet. You can summon it back to your hand the same way.” 

Shen Yuan nodded and closed his eyes, thinking hard about his wooden sword. In a moment it vanished into light. He grinned. His first magical artifact, and he’d used it on his first try! Clearly all of that reading had paid off, and he was a savant with these things! 

He’d be a sage in no time at this rate! 

Shen Yuan thought of the sword again and waited for it to reappear in his hand... but it didn’t! What? 

Well, clearly the item just had a cooldown period; that was all. He’d get it back out when they reached their destination. He was a master of artifacts after all. “Thank you.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. “If we can travel by sword now, then it will be much faster.” Liu Qingge put down his own sword, which hovered perfectly above the ground. Shen Yuan absolutely wasn’t jealous. 

He stepped onto it without even the faintest hint of it wavering, truly a master of his craft, which of course he had to be as the famed War God of Bai Zhan. Obviously, even if this was just a fanfic, they couldn’t let Liu Qingge embarrass himself by not being a total master with his sword. They had even made an extra effort for Cheng Luan to be truly impressive. 

Liu Qingge held his hand out towards Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan stared at him for a moment before taking the hand and carefully stepping onto the sword. He’d never even gone skiing or snowboarding before, and now he was supposed to balance on a sword somehow?? 

He tried to find a comfortable feeling position, but couldn’t. Liu Qingge finally grabbed him and pulled Shen Yuan in front of him. One arm wrapped firmly around Shen Yuan’s waist and wasn’t this position a little too familiar?? A little too friendly?? 

But of course he had transmigrated into a gay fanfic, so of course that made sense that this was how Liu Qingge would help him on the sword. He imagined that in the next town or somewhere soon, Liu Qingge would run into one of those original character boys that the fandom sisters were so fond of making, and then Liu Qingge would have his own boyfriend. 

Or maybe the story would pair him up with Mu Qingfang or Yue Qingyuan, maybe? There weren’t a lot of named men in the novel, so options were few, but that never stopped the sisters, and he respected it. 

“I’m starting to move now,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan ignored how his neck went red because wasn’t that what some of those men in his meimei’s books would say during... papapa? 

But that was clearly not happening here! No sirree, Shen Yuan was a straight man in a gay world, that was all. He absolutely wasn’t blushing as he nodded. 

The sword inched upwards, rising into the air, and Shen Yuan flailed, worried about his own balance before realizing the firm arm around his waist kept him absolutely in place and safe. As he relaxed, he looked around. The air was far clearer than he would have guessed for the Endless Abyss. 

The sky only burned with a pale pink and not the deep blood red that Luo Binghe had described. The weather wasn’t even that bad, despite the fact that they were near the desert portion and it should be baking them alive. 

Instead, it felt like a nice day, a faint breeze keeping the heat from being too overwhelming. As they got further away from the ground, he gasped softly. He’d only seen this sort of view from looking across someone else out the window of a plane because he had never been lucky enough to get a window seat.

But nothing compared to this; seeing it stretched out below him with nothing between them felt like he’d transcended into becoming some other person. A laugh of happiness bubbled out of him as even the clouds parted around them. 

“You can go faster!” Shen Yuan said. 

Liu Qingge nodded against his back, and the sword began quickly gaining speed. Shen Yuan braced for the wind to slam into him, but he quickly realized that Liu Qingge had put some kind of barrier around them with his qi. 

“Which way?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“The same way we were going,” Shen Yuan nodded. 

The poor guy obviously didn’t know anything about navigating in the Endless Abyss, and Shen Yuan couldn’t blame him; no one really taught that kind of thing. Cardinal directions would be useless here because intention mattered more! But Shen Yuan had some help from the novel. 

Liu Qingge nodded and took off in the direction Shen Yuan indicated. 

The ground beneath them blurred into a mass of colors almost impossible to distinguish where they were exactly. Part of him wanted to ask Liu Qingge to slow down so he could appreciate every bit of scenery, but going too slow here would be far too dangerous. Besides, he was having a lot of fun feeling like he’d become some kind of sparrow flying at top speed across the world. 

“What is this city we are going to like?” he asked. 

“It’s a small demon settlement. They’re friendly to humans though, so don’t worry.” 

He felt like he was forgetting something about this place, but he couldn’t recall it at the moment. Luo Binghe had visited a lot of strange towns and places in his journeys, and some of them blurred together after enough chapters. While he remembered the portals and the strange appearance of the town, he felt like there was some other detail he’d forgotten.

Oh well, clearly it couldn’t be that important. 

Shen Yuan explained more, “The area the village is in is very unstable so it often has rifts that open. At least one of them has to go back to the human world.” 

Luo Binghe hadn’t made it to the human world through the town’s portals, but they weren’t protagonists destined for a life of adventure, so surely it would go easily for them. 

The sword flight was incredible; he wanted to keep flying forever, especially with how warm and comfortable it was to have Liu Qingge behind him. Just as a nice safety measure, not that he wanted a man to hold him or anything. He just liked getting to enjoy the scenery without having to worry that he was going to fall to his death every few seconds. It was nice, that was all. 

Totally normal. Totally hetero to have your bro hold you closely by the waist against his body. 

He glimpsed the town after Liu Qingge had already started to maneuver downwards, clearly noticing the village first. It looked...smaller than how the book had described it. 

As one of the strangest villages in PIDW, Shen Yuan had remembered it despite how briefly it was in the novel. Demons built the village on a bridge that stretched between two ledges and hovered over an open chasm. Crafted entirely out of metal, the strange place looked industrial and more like something from a steampunk novel than a cultivation one. 

But the metal bridge town had worked well, and Luo Binghe had only been there for a page or two. He’d papapa’d the innkeeper’s daughter, who had taken him to the portal the village elder had selected for him. 

Why? 

Because he was the protagonist! 

Later, that innkeeper’s daughter had joined the harem as wife 786 or something like that. The numbering had gotten inconsistent in later chapters, probably because Airplane had forgotten which wife was which. Honestly, the useless hack had no right to write so many characters if he couldn’t keep track of them all. 

“This is the place?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan nodded. 

As they flew in closer, he realized how small the place really was. 

The bridge of copper and wire stretched across the canyon, but only a dozen or so small houses were there. In the novel, it had been across multiple bridges that interconnected with one another by thin wires like a giant spiderweb of metal.

Strange that it looked so different, but again, this was clearly just a fanfic world, so it was impressive the village was even here! Most fans didn’t bother with this sort of detail. He was quite pleased with the author’s knowledge of the world. Clearly, whoever wrote this fanfic world was very familiar with the source material. Shen Yuan approved!

“This place will help us get back to the human world?” Liu Qingge asked, looking quite skeptical. 

He really wished that handsome face would smile more and not look so serious all the time! If the author was going for the ice-cold beauty, they had nailed that, but he had a face better suited to smiling. 

“Yes, I’m sure of it.” Shen Yuan said confidently. 

Liu Qingge, surprisingly, didn’t argue, just landed them at the edge of the bridge. He helped Shen Yuan off the sword, and then his sword vanished in a flash. 

Shen Yuan went to summon Xin Mo, but then Liu Qingge shook his head. “We are humans in a demon village. Do not make yourself seem like a threat.” 

Shen Yuan was surprised at how diplomatic this War God was! Truly the author had gone all out to make him an attractive, kind, considerate man. Kudos! Bookmarked!  

They walked into the town, Liu Qingge staying very close to Shen Yuan as they approached the largest building. A sign on the front listed food and room prices, so this must be the tavern! He quickly went inside, Liu Qingge stepping in front of him and entering first. 

“Two rooms,” Liu Qingge said.

The owner, a pale green demon with 5 eyes and quite a few horns blinked all of his eyes at them. “Humans?” She finally said. 

Liu Qingge nodded. “A room.” He held out a tael of silver, which was clearly far more than two rooms would ever cost!  

The demon eagerly grabbed it, biting it between sharp teeth before nodding. “We have one room. Meals included. That alright?”

Liu Qingge nodded, and the demon pointed to a staircase. “It’s the only door up there.” 

Shen Yuan wanted to ask about the portals, but a sharp look from Liu Qingge suggested he should be quiet, so he did. He was in the War God’s care after all. 

They walked up the stairs, and into a room that would be more accurately called a closet. The bed was a pile of hay in one corner, and no other decorations or furniture of any sort. Shen Yuan frowned. 

This place really had been much nicer in the novel; it’d had multiple floors and all kinds of rooms with soft beds. Luo Binghe had really enjoyed the bed and... then something had happened, but what was it? A monster attack maybe? Those happened a lot in the Abyss. 

A knock on the door announced the same five-eyed demon who brought in two metal bowls of some kind of stew. It smelled like curry, but Shen Yuan wasn’t so sure about eating demon food. He didn’t recall this place being home to corpse eaters, but still...

Liu Qingge ate it without hesitation, and Shen Yuan gaped at him. “You don’t know what that is! How can you just eat it?”

“On the road, you eat what is offered and deal with the consequences,” he said. 

Shen Yuan frowned, but that made a certain sort of sense. It wasn’t like he could just order delivery and get his favorite snacks right now. He ate a few bites and found it really tasted like curry. Shen Yuan finished the bowl before sighing happily. The demon came and collected their plates with a smile and told them to rest well. 

“You take the bed; I’ll keep watch,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan nodded; the day in the sun and all the excitement finally caught up with him. He crawled onto the pile of hay and began dozing off when he finally remembered something. 

This town sacrificed cultivators! That’s why they were so friendly to humans! 

He tried to open his mouth to tell Liu Qingge, but couldn’t. When he forced his eyes open, he found the War God slumped against the wall nearby, eyes closed and body still. 

“Liu… Qingge?” he groggily called before the door opened again.

A demon he didn’t recognize tied glowing ropes around Liu Qingge. When the demon noticed him still awake, she grunted and then picked Shen Yuan up, throwing him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. 

Why were they getting protagonist drama when they just wanted to get Liu Qingge home?! This fanfiction world really made no sense.  

Well, at least no one ever died in fanfic; they would be fine!

Chapter Text

The poison hit quickly. Far quicker and stronger than he had expected. Poison rarely impacted him, but after he finished the curry, he felt it. He faded out of consciousness before he could even warn Shen Yuan about it. 

Shen Yuan, without any qi, could he even survive a poison? 

It was one thing when he was reckless with his own life, but he’d been reckless with someone else’s. Now Shen Yuan was in trouble because of it. He’d been confident that anything a demon tried he’d handle with ease, but now… 

He tried to circulate his qi to destroy the poison, but nothing seemed to respond to him. No energy came to his call, and his body remained sluggish, as if a million weights tied him down. 

Poison. 

He hadn’t been poisoned like this in many years. And he was furious it had happened now. He’d let his guard down because he’d been enjoying himself, enjoying the time with Shen Yuan and how excited the other man was about everything they were encountering. And now, they both were in danger. 

A look around the room showed that he was alone but still in the same room. Had they taken Shen Yuan away to some torture room already? Had he also lost consciousness? Could a body without qi even survive a demonic poison? 

When he focused on circulating his qi, he finally noticed the tightness pressing into his skin.. A glance down and he realized he’d been tied up with immortal binding cables. He had lost consciousness. What kind of poison could act so quickly? Whatever it was, probably meant it was powerful enough that Shen Yuan... 

No. 

He refused to believe that anything had hurt that man. 

The demon innkeeper walked into the room and looked Liu Qingge over with a smirk. “Stupid cultivator.” 

Liu Qingge glared. “Why?” 

“Cultivator energy is the strongest there is. Keeps our forges working and our town safe,” the demon said. 

Liu Qinnge snorted. He vaguely recalled Wan Jian’s lectures mentioning that some demons and demonic cultivators believed that metal forged using a cultivator’s life force would create a stronger creation than using just fire. Liu Qingge thought that was ridiculous and hadn’t paid much attention to the rest of the lecture. 

“You’ll remain weak no matter what you do. Poison is the weapon of cowards.” 

The demon squatted down. “Then how come a coward beat you?” 

He refused to respond to that. 

“Where is the other one?” the demon asked. 

Liu Qingge kept his face neutral even as hope flared in his heart, relief rushing through his veins. Shen Yuan wasn’t in the room, and this demon didn’t know where he was either, so that meant he had escaped. 

Good.

Liu Qingge could get himself out of this situation, and he would rather Shen Yuan keep himself safe. 

Then the door opened, and another demon walked in. “The other one is ready for sacrifice. He has no energy, so he's no good for the furnace.” 

Liu Qingge glared and struggled more against the ropes. 

“This one will more than make up for it,” the first demon said. “Use the other one for firewood.” 

He redoubled his struggle. 

“The stronger your qi, the more that poison hits,” the demon said as the second one left, presumably to go deal with Shen Yuan. 

Liu Qingge growled and forced himself to assess. His arms were bound behind his back, but nothing seemed to have been taken from his person, and his legs were unbound. 

Idiots. 

He didn’t need his full strength to fight back. Clearly, he’d been too disoriented to think when he’d first woken, but now he knew the only thing he needed to do was fight. 

Thankfully, that was his strong suit. 

Poison, immortal binding cables, or not, he was still the War God of Bai Zhan. He jumped to his feet and charged at the demon, ducking low and driving his shoulder into the demon’s stomach. The poison made every movement a struggle, but he had trained for fighting with no access to his qi.

The demon slashed at him, claws ripping towards him, but Liu Qingge moved so the claws slashed through the cables binding him, ripping through them with ease. 

He grinned as his energy rushed back into him and began circulating to deal with the poison. It ate at him still, but now his body could fight back.

Hang on, Shen Yuan, I’ll be there soon, he mentally promised. 

Cheng Luan flashed into his hands, and he slashed across the demon, but the blade did nothing. Instead of the creature dropping in two pieces, the demon laughed at him. 

Liu Qingge glared and slashed again, but his blade didn’t pierce through the demon’s skin. Impossible. Nothing could stop Cheung Luan’s edge. It had even ripped wounds into Luo Binghe’s skin.

“You can’t use metal! They’re immune to it!” Shen Yuan’s voice came suddenly from the doorway. 

The pale but smiling man threw the wooden training version of Luo Binghe’s cursed sword towards Liu Qingge. 

He grabbed the sword and let Cheng Luan hover in front of Shen Yuan. He felt like a fool with this wooden sword in his hand now, but he didn’t hesitate as he swung the sword, slashing against the demon, who rolled backwards, panicking in a way he hadn’t been before. 

Strangely, the wooden blade with no sharp edges ripped across the demon’s skin like a glass shard across fabric, slicing open a gash that spilled orange blood. 

At least Shen Yuan’s questionable texts were right about this. 

He glanced towards Shen Yuan. The man was pale, paler than usual, with a bruise forming on his cheek just under his eye. 

Liu Qingge was going to kill every demon here for hurting him, for daring to dull his excitement and enjoyment of this place. He rushed forward, slamming the wooden blade through the demon’s throat, ichor raining around him. He flicked the sword clean and then hurried over to Shen Yuan. 

“Let me see your injuries.” 

Shen Yuan blinked at him. ‘That was so cool! You just exploded that guy! As expected of the War God of Bai Zhan.”

Liu Qingge rarely heard praise like that anymore. Now, the phrase War God was more a mockery than praise. After his many public losses to Luo Binghe over the years after Shen Qingqiu’s death, his reputation held no weight anymore. 

But Shen Yuan said it like he meant it, like it was some kind of praise, not a veiled insult.  

With the wooden training sword in his hand, he nodded and went to Shen Yuan’s side. “Stay close. We are leaving.”

Shen Yuan nodded and stayed right by him as Liu Qingge stormed out of the room. “You said there were portals here?” he asked. 

“It... they only open after a sacrifice. They don’t have anything open right now. I checked,” Shen Yuan said miserably. 

So his books were still partially wrong, partially right, so they needed to take that into consideration. “How did you know the wood would work? From your texts?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan nodded. “I didn’t remember until you passed out. They accept humans to sacrifice them here and don’t fear cultivators since they’re immune to any metal injuring them. I’m sorry, if I had remembered sooner…” 

“You did well.” Liu Qingge refused to let that sad look linger on his face. “Where to now?” 

Shen Yuan's brows furrowed together as he thought. “We should be able to get out of this way. Most of the others went into the furnace hall to prepare for a sacrifice. We can escape before they notice.” 

“You got all of that information from them?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan scoffed. “Cannon fodder enemies can’t help themselves. He talked so much when I pretended to be drugged.” 

Liu Qingge wanted to go hunt down all of them, but Shen Yuan was right: they needed to get away. 

He scooped Shen Yuan into his arms and ran out of the inn. The moment he saw the sky, Cheng Luan swooped down, and he jumped onto the sword. As he took off, demons rushed out of the buildings, weapons in hand. A few threw weapons after them, but they harmlessly bounced off the shield of qi Liu Qingge had put up around them. 

He flew until the town was far out of sight before they landed. Stepping off his sword, he felt his legs stagger; the poison continuing to eat into him since his energy had to be focused on flight. 

Shen Yuan tapped his shoulder, his face red. “You can put me down now! I’m fine, really!” 

Liu Qingge sat him down and quickly made a camp. He’d landed in a wooded area with trees that had strangely metallic leaves but nothing around them seemed dangerous enough for concern right now. The small burst of qi he used to start a campfire nearly sent him to his knees.  

“I need to meditate,” he said. “I don’t sense anything around, but if you see anything, yell.” 

Shen Yuan nodded as Liu Qingge handed the Xin Mo replica back to him. 

Liu Qingge closed his eyes and began circulating his energy. As he settled into his meditation, he felt Shen Yuan’s warmth nearby. Barely opening his eyes, he glanced over and saw Shen Yuan sitting right beside him. 

It felt nice having someone at his side like this. Even if his information wasn’t always right, he knew demons and monsters, and that always helped. His voice always seemed so warm and passionate; someone who saw a wonder in the world that Liu Qingge himself often missed.

As he settled in to meditate and let his system, remove the residual poison, he knew he’d miss Shen Yuan when he returned home. 

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan really was growing to hate this fanfic world.

Nothing matched the lore! That village shouldn’t have been deadly and should have been filled with portals. Instead, they’d been poisoned... which could have happened to Luo Binghe, but he was, of course, immune to poisons. 

He’d only just remembered that the demons in this village were immune to any attack from a metal blade, but incredibly weak to wood. Of course, the demon who had taken him to be sacrificed had just had to talk and talk about the plans and how everything worked.

Because that’s what cannon fodder level idiot low-IQ enemies did. 

And then Liu Qingge had saved the day and gotten them away. The poison, Qi Consumer, another great name from Airplane, hindered only cultivators. Liu Qingge had gone limp after their meal. But since it didn’t affect him, a demon had just punched Shen Yuan unconscious. His head still hurt from that, but at least he didn’t feel so woozy anymore.

Now that Liu Qingge could focus on the poison, he should be able to remove it from his system and get them back on the road. Shen Yuan looked around to see where they had ended up. The strange metallic leaves were familiar, but they were so small... 

He racked his brain as he tried to place it. Leaves... metallic leaves in a forest. 

There were lots of forests in Proud Immortal Demon Way that this fanfic world could have drawn from. But the leaves were the odd part, a detail that had to mean something. And so far he hadn’t even seen a sign of the rare, once in a lifetime flowers and herbs that grew in apparently every forest in the world here. 

Ridiculous how many miracle flowers just showed up that no one but the protagonist ever knew about. Oh well, that was the power of the protagonist halo. 

Besides, none of the magical flowers had ever been metallic. 

The only heavily featured metal item, aside from the swords, obviously, had been a Mirror of Desire. 

Shen Yuan jumped to his feet. 

Of course! 

Man, this fanfiction writer had really gone all out. Even he, the primary editor and maintainer of the PIDW wiki, hadn’t immediately remembered this location because it never technically appeared in the story. It’d only been mentioned in passing.

Luo Binghe never set foot in the Forest of Mirrors. It burned down long before he was born, but several of the leaves from its trees had survived and been turned into mirrors. One of his wives, number 267 if Shen Yuan remembered right, had given him her tribe’s keepsake, a leaf from this long-gone forest that was known as the Mirror of Desire. 

The leaf reflected only the viewer’s deepest desires, nothing else. 

Wife 267 (what Shen Yuan wouldn’t give for the internet to look up and verify if he was right) had actually planned to use the mirror to kill Binghe when she gave him the mirror. He’d conquered her tribe; her father had surrendered and then offered her to be Luo Binghe’s bride. 

On her wedding night, she gave the mirror to Luo Binghe. 

She’d planned to kill him as he stared into the mirror since the reflection of their desires would mesmerize most people into losing all sense of time and space.

But instead, she’d glimpsed her own reflection and saw her own deepest desire, which was of course papapa with Luo Binghe.

She’d then immediately given up her assassination plans and thrown herself at Luo Binghe for a night of passion and then disappeared into the faceless mass of the harem. 

It’d been incredibly disappointing because despite Luo Binghe looking into the mirror, Airplane never wrote what he saw there! 

Not even a hint. 

Only whatever he saw there wasn’t enough to hold his attention away from his new bride. And the mirror had never been mentioned again after that arc. 

So, this place must be the Forest of Mirrors, which would mean these leaves were all incredibly dangerous for non-protagonists. He pondered how to handle this potential disaster.

Also, why did this place even exist? It burned down ages ago. What was the timeline the fanfic writer was using?

Shaking his head, he mentally reviewed Luo Binghe’s journey until he remembered there’d been another similar location, the Cave of Nightmares, that was filled with illusions of your greatest fears. 

Luo Binghe had gotten through that by blindfolding himself and using his superior hearing to navigate his way out without falling into terror like everyone else before him. His reward had been some priceless treasure that never even got named. 

Hack Airplane struck again. 

Now that he had figured out what this place was, he wanted to look at one leaf. What would he see? Ah but he was keeping watch while Liu Qingge meditated out the poison and he couldn’t get distracted from his duty by shiny leaves. 

He had a promise to keep!

Sitting back down, he watched the fire for a bit before looking at Liu Qingge. The War God was by far the most interesting thing here to look at, so of course he had to admire the other man.

Even a totally straight man like Shen Yuan could appreciate how beautiful Liu Qingge was. 

Truly this author had made him the epitome of beauty, fitting for the older brother of the woman so beautiful she had to hide her face at all times! 

The beauty mark under his eye was an amazing detail too. Shen Yuan wanted to touch it. Would the mole have a different texture or would it feel just like the rest of his face? Even his hair was beautiful! Shiny black like spilled ink and effortlessly pulled into a ponytail with no frizz despite their chaotic escape.  

He self-consciously touched his own hair, dark brown and frizzy. He’d half-hoped that hopping into this strange world would magically have given him long beautiful hair too! 

But no, his hair remained short and messy. 

Would he see himself with long hair in the mirror when he looked? Was that his deepest desire?

He glanced towards the tops of the trees. Dozens of leaves glimmered like stars, and he couldn’t believe how plentiful they were. This place looked like a just-formed forest with these tiny glimmering leaves. The mirror Luo Binghe was gifted had been almost the size of a man, so these leaves had a lot of growing to do. 

What a strange choice for this fic author to bring a location Luo Binghe never even visited. The place was never described in the novel, just a throwaway line from the master hack Airplane to explain his latest magical artifact that added nothing to the plot. 

He looked back at Liu Qingge, grateful that he looked a little less pale now. The meditation seemed to work well. The poison only impacted cultivators, which was bullshit, so Shen Yuan wasn’t even sure what it was supposed to do because Luo Binghe was immune to all poisons. But from how Liu Qingge acted, it clearly affected motor movement and muscle control. 

He was just grateful he’d been able to help for once. 

So far he’d mainly just felt like a burden on this journey. Especially since the fanfiction world wasn’t quite the same as Proud Immortal Demon way so his information was wrong. How were they traveling so easily through the Endless Abyss? It should be deadly for a human like him to even be here with the level of demonic miasma in the air, but he felt fine. Liu Qingge could even use sword flight and meditate in a place like this. 

What was really going on? 

He wished he knew which of the forum sisters had written this since he could make some guesses depending on who it was. So far he could rule out ‘Mobeis_Left_Tit’ since there had been no sign of the Northern Desert or Mobei’s family and she always wrote about them. 

But it could be any of the others. A lot of them had written Bingqiu in the past too, but he didn’t know of anyone who paired Shang Qinghua with Mobei Jun. Or anyone who even liked that rat of a peak lord, and that was saying something since some people even liked the scum, Shen Qingqiu. 

If he could just get a better understanding of which sister had written this fanfic he’d fallen into, then he could figure things out better and help make sure Liu Qingge didn’t get hurt like this again. 

His stomach grumbled, and he groaned. Why weren’t there instant noodle trees in this world?

Earlier he’d heard a river earlier and fish liked shiny things, right? He could use a leaf to attract some fish attention and then catch and cook them for Liu Qingge and him to have a hot meal to help recover. Some of the fish in the Endless Abyss had not been deadly to eat, so he could probably make this work. While cultivators could practice inedia, most still ate.

Perfect! He’d make their dinner while Liu Qingge meditated.

Their last meal had been poisoned, so surely anything Shen Yuan made would be better than that! 

He found a small leaf on the ground and tucked it into his hand, careful not to look into it as he walked back towards the sound of water. He found it easily enough and then realized he didn’t have a rod or net. Hm... 

Well... 

Shen Yuan hesitated before taking his jacket off and tying it into a makeshift bag that he could probably use to scoop some fish if they were really mesmerized.

He scooted over to the water’s edge and pulled the string from his hoodie to tie it around the stem of the leak. It was makeshift but would probably work? He tossed the leaf into the river and then stood on top of the other end of the hoodie string so the leaf didn’t go floating down the river. 

When he realized he’d probably have to step off of it to actually catch a fish, he reluctantly summoned his fake Xin Mo into his hands and used that to hold the string down. Then he scooted closer to where the leaf floated in the water and waited. 

It didn’t take long at all until a few fish gathered around, staring up at the leaf as if mesmerized. Perfect! He swooped in with his bag and actually caught about 4 small fish. He couldn’t believe it had worked! 

He pulled on the string, and the leaf lifted out of the water.

VICTORY!

That was when he realized his mistake. The fish were no longer mesmerized and still in his hoodie. 

Several fish leapt out of his shirt bag and back into the river. Shen Yuan wasn’t used to live fish jumping at him and stumbled backwards, tripping over his Xin Mo replica and dropping into the edge of the river, soaking himself. 

He sat there in stunned, annoyed silence before shoving his leaf on a string into his soaked pocket. Grumbling, he stomped back to the camp and began stripping off his wet clothing. Even his shoes were drenched now! 

A nearby tree had some bare branches just low enough for him to toss his things onto it. He kept on his boxer briefs because, well; he had some dignity! But everything else hung on the trees. With the warmth and the fire close by, it shouldn’t take too long for everything to dry. Hopefully before...

He glanced back at Liu Qingge, startled to see the man’s eyes open. 

Shen Yuan hadn’t really noticed before, but the War God’s eyes weren’t a solid black, but a dark purple color. Well, of course they were. In a fanfiction, everyone had to have beautiful, unnatural eye colors. 

But that meant he had just stripped right in front of Liu Qingge....

Well, it was fine; they were both men, so it didn’t matter. Both very straight men, so even if they were in some fujoshi’s world, that didn’t mean that stripping in front of a man was inherently gay. 

“Feeling better?” he asked casually 

“Why are all your clothes wet?” Liu Qingge eyed the tree of hanging clothing. 

“I wanted to wash up,” he lied. “The river is very refreshing and nearby!” 

Liu Qingge didn’t look particularly convinced as he stood up and stretched. “Sleep, I will keep watch.” 

Shen Yuan wanted to argue and ask about dinner, but honestly he was exhausted after everything that had happened, especially now that he had gotten drenched and felt a little chilled.

Liu Qingge opened up a pouch at his side and pulled out some blankets and a pillow and offered them over. Who would have guessed the tough War God traveled with blankets and soft pillows? He took them gratefully and got comfortable near the fire. 

“Don’t look at the leaves too much,” Shen Yuan warned. 

“The... leaves?”

“They’re mirrors that will show you your greatest desire. They make it almost impossible to look away, so people have starved to death by being too mesmerized. So don’t do it!” 

Liu Qingge nodded. “I won’t look into the leaves,” he promised with a hint of amusement in his voice. 

“I’m going to sleep for just a bit. Don’t go anywhere while I’m asleep, promise?” 

Liu Qingge nodded again. “I will be here. You have my word.” 

Shen Yuan nodded. He remembered that a cultivator’s word was like their life, so he trusted that Liu Qingge would be there waiting when he got up again. How nice to have such a reliable man to go through this adventure with him. He really couldn’t have gotten any luckier. 

He slept peacefully, and when he woke, the scent of cooked fish filled his nose. He opened his eyes to several fish skewered on sticks surrounding the fire. All of them smelled amazing even if they looked slightly out of some horror movie decoration. 

“Hungry?” Liu Qingge asked when he noticed Shen Yuan moving. 

Shen Yuan nodded as he sat up. The bedding really had been the softest, nicest things he’d slept on in a while. He thought there’d been no way he could get such a good sleep in a world like this, but clearly Liu Qingge had proved him wrong.

Happily, he ate the fish skewer handed over to him and enjoyed every bite. It wasn’t anything like he ate at home, but it still tasted familiar, like the smoked fish from one of his favorite restaurants. 

“We should keep moving,” Liu Qingge said once Shen Yuan had eaten his fill. 

“Okay,” Shen Yuan nodded. “Let me dress first.” 

He touched his clothing and frowned when he felt they were still damp. 

“Here.” Liu Qingge held out a set of robes in a pale green color. 

“Ah, you have extra robes too? You always travel so prepared?” 

“En,” Liu Qingge nodded. 

“So reliable!” He beamed and tried to put on the robes. 

He wasn’t sure how some of them tied into place and after watching him flail for a few moments, Liu Qingge approached and helped him dress with quick, gentle hands that absolutely did not make Shen Yuan feel things except for gratitude at having such a good, helpful, friend with skilled touches. 

“You will not stick out as much like this,” Liu Qingge said. 

“That makes sense. Thank you.” 

Liu Qingge started pulling his old clothing from the tree and paused as he shook the hoodie. A few dead fish flopped to the forest ground. They both stared at the fish in silence. 

“Shen Yuan, why are there dead fish in this jacket?” 

“Ahaha I have no idea!” Shen Yuan said as he rushed over and grabbed his clothes to shove into his magical qiankun bracelet. 

Liu Qingge didn’t push it and instead just shook his head before looking around the forest. 

“You said the leaves were dangerous?” 

Shen Yuan nodded, grateful for the change in topic. He would not be reliving his fishing failure, thank you very much. “They can mesmerize. I think the best way would be to blindfold ourselves and-”

A blast of warm energy washed over him, and then the sound of a thousand metal leaves shattering. Tiny pieces of glitter rained down over his head as he stared in shock. Had Liu Qingge just destroyed every leaf because Shen Yuan warned him?

“You.... but they!!”

Liu Qingge looked at him and tilted his head with an almost mischievous smile. “This was faster, wasn’t it?” 

Shen Yuan had to agree, but he still didn’t like it. 

“We will travel on foot; trees are annoying to fly around,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan sighed and grumbled about the dangers of stepping on broken glass, but, strangely, even the shoes that Liu Qingge had given him fit well. How did he have a set of clothing that almost perfectly fit Shen Yuan just in his bags?? 

Liu Qingge kicked out the fire and then started walking. 

Shen Yuan scrambled after him. “Ah, where are we going? Liu Qingge!! Wait for me!” 

Chapter Text

Despite what Shen Yuan believed, Liu Qingge was certain they were not in the Endless Abyss, at least not in any of the dangerous parts of it he’d ever been into. Everything here had been far too safe to be part of the Endless Abyss. Even the air in that place tried to kill humans, but here, even Shen Yuan could breathe just fine. 

So that meant that there had to be another answer. 

For now, he would use his usual means when lost: walk in one direction until he couldn’t anymore. Eventually, he’d find something that gave him some kind of information. It was better than moving in random directions and likely just going in a circle. 

They’d left the strange metal-leafed forest a while ago, though Shen Yuan kept muttering something about mirrors, so Liu Qingge could only imagine something else about his wrong books had happened. He wanted to know what else those books incorrectly assumed since so far, nothing about them seemed right aside from people’s names. 

Shen Yuan was right that Shen Qingqiu was the Qing Jing Peak Lord, but he was not a scum as Shen Yuan kept calling him. Luo Binghe was an annoying, devoted husband, not this...... whatever those little idols of the beast had shown him to be. So what else had it gotten wrong? 

At least for now, Shen Yuan seemed to be done giving directions on where they should go. Every once in a while he would look at some plant and, most of the time, he would then squat down to examine the plant from every angle, with a content smile on his face. 

A smile that Liu Qingge knew so well. 

He kept expecting Shen Yuan to teasingly call him shidi and ask him to be patient; he just wanted to get one more sketch done. Now that the other man was wearing the spare robes he always carried around for Shen Qingqiu (who had the habit of dirtying his robes by trying to get too close to some plant or beast) the two looked even more similar. 

But Liu Qingge was certain he was just seeing things, making up similarities where there were none. Shen Qingqiu was far from here, with his husband, whom he dearly loved. 

And Liu Qingge was just helping to get this lost man somewhere safe. Ideally, he would send Shen Yuan home soon. For now, he would settle for finding a safe human settlement. Not that he didn’t trust demons... mostly. Luo Binghe and Mobei Jun did not make the best examples, but his sister enjoyed the company of that barely dressed demoness. 

But Shen Yuan had no qi. Even a slightly too harsh slap on the back could seriously injure him given demons’ natural strength when compared to humans. 

So he needed to find a nice human village to leave him in. Or maybe a cultivation sect if they were trustworthy. After everything that had been uncovered about Huan Hua, Liu Qingge couldn’t trust all of them anymore. Besides, if Shen Yuan couldn’t cultivate then it would be cruel to let him stay with a sect and potentially get his hopes up. 

No, he could find a safe village and then go seeking out the right portal himself. He knew ways of potentially triggering them, but it usually involved a high chance of monsters also appearing. 

“Do you know where we are?” Shen Yuan asked, wrapping his arms around himself.

Only then did Liu Qingge notice that the temperature had dropped. His qi kept him warm automatically as it ran through his body, but Shen Yuan didn’t have that. 

He pulled the cloak from Shen Yuan’s world of cars and wrapped it around Shen Yuan. 

Shen Yuan bundled into it like a rabbit into a burrow.

They needed to find shelter then. The scent of snow danced in the air — not just snow, but a blizzard. 

“Do you see any shelter nearby?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan looked unsure before he said. “There should be a cave to the...” He frowned and spun in a circle. “East of that jade pillar.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. He’d noted the jade pillar earlier, more of a natural collection of stone that happened to be pale green. 

“What do your books say about this cave?” 

“It should be safe,” he murmured, which only meant so much, but Liu Qingge wanted to believe him. 

Besides, if they couldn’t find this cave, he would just put them on his sword and fly out of the storm’s reach. But for now, he wanted to walk and take his time, for no other reason than to let Shen Yuan enjoy the sights that he so clearly enjoyed.  

He headed east from the pillar, and let Shen Yuan be the one to spot the cave. The way the man’s face lit up was worth it. 

Shen Yuan wanted to rush ahead inside, but Liu Qingge held him back and entered the cave first. It looked like a perfect place to take shelter — a singular, large space that looked empty. A quick search showed nothing hiding inside. 

He nodded and set to work on making a camp. “Watch, you can see the storm arrive.” 

Shen Yuan sat at the mouth of the cave, looking thoughtful. 

“Something wrong?” he asked. 

“There’s just something about this that seems familiar,” he said after a moment. 

Liu Qingge nodded, probably something else from his books. He wondered what it would be this time. Not that Shen Yuan’s information was always wrong, but it often was not totally complete. The town that was supposed to be filled with portals, instead had none; what Shen Yuan claimed was the Endless Abyss had no deadly aura, and the dangerous forest of reflections was destroyed with barely any effort. 

Shen Yuan clearly had a sharp memory and wanted to help. His information, when it was right, was incredibly helpful. Knowing the demons were immune to metal had let Liu Qingge easily sort out an escape. He had to admit he was impressed by how much the other man knew, even if it was often not entirely accurate. So, he was curious about what it was now. 

“I think a creature, not just a natural weather pattern, causes this blizzard,” Shen Yuan finally said. 

That caught Liu Qingge’s attention. If it were a beast, then that could be killed. You couldn’t kill a blizzard, but a monster... Well that was very killable. 

“What is it and where can we find it?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan frowned. “I don’t.... I don’t think it’s a good idea to kill it.” 

“What?” 

“Well, it’s just doing what it’s supposed to do! Why kill it when it isn’t harming anyone?” 

“Blizzards can be deadly.” 

“Not here! There’s almost nothing that lives here, and anything that does-Well, the cold serves an important purpose in the world you know!” 

Liu Qingge gave a thoughtful hum but didn’t know he believed that. Creatures were meant to be destroyed; that was his entire job as the War God of Bai Zhan. He sent out a pulse of qi, and something pinged, further away than he would have guessed but still quickly approaching. 

“Liu Qingge, you don’t need to-”

“Stay here where it’s warm.” He dashed from the cave, ignoring the protesting yells of the other man. 

“Wait!” Shen Yuan shouted after him, but Liu Qingge didn’t slow down. 

The creature wasn’t difficult to locate now that he had a sense of it. An enormous beast like this didn’t move quickly, and even as the wind and snow picked up and grew stronger, he found it easily. The lumbering mountain-sized beast in the distance loomed like a dark grey shadow against the bright white of the swirling snow. This was something he could handle. 

He hadn’t had a big fight in days, and his blood sang out for a battle. This giant creature would absolutely prove to be a challenge to get his heart pumping. 

So why was he hesitating and thinking about Shen Yuan in the cave asking him to leave the beast alone and let nature take its course? It was something Shen Qingqiu talked about a lot as well. That these beasts played a role in the ways of nature and that if they weren’t harming anyone or anything, then why should they be destroyed just for existing? 

In his mind, he could see the two men both smiling at him, pointing out some deadly beast or plant for him to admire. 

Ridiculous. 

Beasts were dangerous. 

He moved closer to the giant, blizzard-creating beast. The ground vibrated under his feet with every step it took. The closer he got, the more he saw of the creature. Four legs and a long thin body of a snake. It looked... foolish, honestly. As if a snake had been given the legs of a dog and didn’t know what to do with them. 

He jumped onto his sword and flew upwards to get a better angle on what its weapons might be. 

But he saw only the blunt flat teeth of a plant eater, no claws on its feet and not even defensive spikes along its back. The creature seemed to be weaponless, defenseless. Even the scales that he could see looked more like delicate ice that shattered with a touch, not something that would resist any kind of attack. 

He hovered over the beast, watching it for a long while before he finally turned and flew back to the cave. 

Shen Yuan was, surprisingly, still inside the cave, sitting closer to the fire, wrapped in the cloak. He glanced up at Liu Qingge and then away again. 

“It’s heading this way,” Liu Qingge said. 

Shen Yuan looked up at him, confused. 

“The creature. If you come to the mouth of the cave, you’ll be able to see it when it passes through.” 

His eyes brightened and a smile spread across his face as he rushed over to the mouth of the cave. “Where? Which way is it coming from?” 

Liu Qingge stood behind him and took Shen Yuan by the shoulders to turn him in the right direction. He used a bit of his qi to push the increasing snow away to keep the field of vision clear. He knew that without Qi, it would be harder for Shen Yuan to see, and so he kept the snow away to help. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Snake with legs.” 

Shen Yuan turned to look at him. “What?” He snorted and then laughed hard. “A snake with legs?” 

“Four legs.” 

Shen Yuan laughed. “I have to see it now. Will it come close enough?” 

Liu Qingge looked out into the snow. The beast would come closer, but not close enough for Shen Yuan to really get to see it. So he drew his sword again and stepped on before offering his hand. “I’ll get you close.” 

Shen Yuan beamed that deadly bright smile again and took Liu Qingge’s hand as he got onto the sword. His balance was getting better, and in seconds he was braced on the sword, though with Liu Qingge keeping an arm around him to make sure he didn’t just fall off and die. 

He was pleased to see the progress but also didn’t trust the other man not to get too excited and lose his balance. With a warm bubble of qi surrounding them, Liu Qingge took to the skies again, flying Shen Yuan over to the beast. 

The man went still as he stared at it. “Oh my God, it is a snake with legs.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. “I don’t lie.” 

Shen Yuan snickered. “I have no idea what this is. It’s so ridiculous-looking. But it controls the blizzard! Look at how much snow is coming from it!” 

Liu Qingge nodded. 

Shen Yuan smiled as they flew slowly around the strange creature. Shen Yuan happily chatted about the same details that Liu Qingge noticed — the lack of weapons and that this must be a rare, non-aggressive creature of some sort. Liu Qingge wasn’t sure he would go so far as to call it non-aggressive. 

Shen Yuan suddenly gasped, and Liu Qingge tightened his arm around Shen Yuan’s waist as he felt the other man excitedly start pointing towards the beast. 

“I’ve figured it out! I still don’t know what this is called... something stupid knowing Airplane. But the snow! See its scales?” 

Liu Qingge nodded diligently, trying not to notice how close their faces were. 

“The scales are super transparent and delicate... but that’s because it’s old! The blizzard is just it shedding its old layer of ice! So, that must mean this happens however often that thing sheds. It’s just growing! I wonder if this is just in the awkward teenage years and maybe it will be truly majestic once it grows up!”

Liu Qingge wasn’t so sure why the thought of a weird creature shedding its old ice was so exciting, but Shen Yuan’s enthusiasm was infectious and he smiled too, nodding. 

The nod seemed to clue Shen Yuan into how close they were as he made eye contact and a bright pink color flushed across his face before he glanced away and cleared his throat. “Ah, but we should get back to the cave. You’re still recovering, and I’m making you waste your qi on this little thing.” 

It’s worth it, Liu Qingge thought but didn’t say. 

He recognized this small, warm feeling in his chest. This ember burst into flames whenever he saw Shen Yuan smile like that. At first, he had thought it was purely because he reminded Liu Qingge of Shen Qingqiu, but now he was realizing there was something else there. He thought he’d accepted that he would be alone, but now, this strange man had appeared.

Liu Qingge pushed the feeling away. Shen Yuan’s place was safely back in his own home, not here in a place where anything could be deadly to him. Even simple villagers had some manner of spiritual energy in them. They weren’t strong enough for sword flight, but they were strong enough to resist the pollen from a plant or from a demon exerting a bit of aura. 

But Shen Yuan, any of that could be deadly for him, and he... if Liu Qingge couldn’t keep Shen Yuan safe...

He’d already failed Shen Qingqiu and let his shixiong die twice in a way. Once on the rooftop at his own hands, and once in the strange way of his mushroom body failing... and then almost again at the Maigu Ridge when Luo Binghe had nearly destroyed the entire world. 

Shen Qingqiu had a decent core when it wasn’t affected by Without A cure and still he... 

Liu Qingge took a deep breath, realizing that Shen Yuan had asked him something, andd he’d been too lost in his own thoughts to realize what he’d said. “En?” 

Shen Yuan laughed. “Who knew the War God got qi sickness! Ah, we should get back inside; it wasn’t anything important. Just wondering if such an enormous creature is all alone or in a pack or with a mate. It seems lonely walking along in constant cold!” 

“It just keeps moving; that’s all it can do.” Liu Qingge said as he watched the beast walk on, slow and steady in a single direction. 

Shen Yuan nodded and leaned in closer. Liu Qingge savored the warmth of the other for a moment before he headed back to the cave. Once they were back inside, Shen Yuan rushed back to the fire and dragged Liu Qingge with him.

Neither of them should have been cold since his Qi had kept the winds away but he didn’t resist as Shen Yuan made sure he and Liu Qingge sat near the fire to warm up. 

“How long do you think the storm will last?” Shen Yuan asked. “I think it might not last long. I didn’t see many of those old delicate scales left, so it must be almost done shedding. Do you think the shedding hurts it?” 

Liu Qingge shook his head. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It didn’t seem like it was in pain. But how amazing, for just a part of your life to impact the whole world around you. A walking weather maker! I bet even when it’s not shedding it probably causes snow or... or maybe it changes seasons!” Shen Yuan beamed and flailed around looking for something. 

He passed over a bit of paper as Shen Yuan summoned his original clothing and dug through them until he found a strange, clear and black stick. He grinned and took the paper and began writing.

Liu Qingge’s heart twisted in his chest again as he stared out into the blizzard and thought of the monster following its path in solitude.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan really had to know which PIDW sister had written this because clearly she had the same deep appreciation of the lore that he had! 

In Proud Immortal Demon Way, nobody ever gave a name to the strange snake creature, but then wife 234 briefly mentioned it as a good omen when a blizzard occurs because it shows the prosperity of the great valley beast. But then, never another mention.

More plot holes from the great hack Airplane!!

The beast had been amazing, like a walking building. Even though it had looked a little silly, he couldn’t begrudge it. He still remembered his childhood cat Doudou as a kitten. She’d been a tiny puffball, and then she’d been a very award long creature with fluffy legs but not a fluffy body. He’d called it her ugly middle school years. She’d eventually grown out of that and into a very fluffy, fat cat. 

Maybe this snake was the same way and just in its awkward years.

But if that creature was the beast of the valley... then that meant they were near the Shadow Village wife 234 had come from!

It had been one of the more interesting transportation methods that Luo Binghe had found later on. While the village was technically in the Endless Abyss, it bordered the edge of where the demon realm began. Well, it bordered on that most of the time; the Endless Abyss was constantly moving. 

But that village had a way to let people travel between realms by using shadows! That was how Luo Binghe had met that wife. She’d been the one to show him the power of moving through shadows (and some light and shadow papapa that still haunted Shen Yuan’s brain!).

They used shadows not just as a way to be sneaky, but as a way of life. The entire village was created as the shadow image of a human village. And if you could get a shadow walker to help you, you could cross between worlds using only the shadows. 

This was their way out of here! 

He was a little hesitant to bring in an idea about another village after his last one had gone so poorly, but they didn’t have any other leads. Everything about this place was close enough to Proud Immortal Demon Way that he felt like it could be that world.... but as if none of the main events had happened yet. 

How annoying! 

How fascinating!

He needed to know which sister wrote this so he could make sure that he was a beta reader for any of her other works because she clearly had a great imagination and understanding of the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way, even if she had made everyone gay.

He could forgive that in the name of lore. 

Outside, the weather stayed miserable and cold, with snow still fluttering down like a blanket. He’d seen snow, obviously, but never this sort of snow. The kind that fell over a purely natural environment with no light but the sun. It felt like being inside a snow globe with how quiet it was. The only noise came from the cracking of their fire, and the fading bass from the creature’s steps. Though the snake thing was far enough away now that he more felt the steps in his body than heard them. 

Shen Yuan let out a long breath, and relaxed as he let the fire warm his fingers. He’d never been fond of winter. The cold and the wet made his joints hurt, not to mention the lack of sunlight made him want to hermit even more than he already did. He’d happily start hibernation if humans could survive without food for the whole time.

But in this little cave, he was happy. 

He didn’t even realize he was dozing off until he woke up wrapped in the soft bedding and curled up near the fire. 

Liu Qingge sat not far away in a lotus position. 

Shen Yuan stretched before sitting up and wrapping in the blankets like they were a thick winter jacket. He toddled to the entrance to look out. 

Not much snow remained outside, only a few hints of white along the ground as a sign that anything had happened; however, the ground seemed somehow... healthier? Maybe the snow brought in moisture it needed or something? He knew winter had advantages and reasons it helped in farming. Or at least he assumed he did. 

For now, he would just keep that assumption since he had no way of looking up information, even as his fingers twitched for a nonexistent phone.

“Did you sleep well?” Liu Qingge asked, voice soft. 

As if a meditating war god wouldn’t notice him moving around. Shen Yuan was nowhere near that sneaky. He walked a little closer, weighing his words, but he had to at least mention the village.

“I did. And I... I might know where a village is that will help us get out of here and back to the human realm.” He crossed his arms and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. “I know I haven’t been exactly right yet, but-“

“It’s worth looking. If there’s a problem, I’ll handle it.”

As expected of the Bai Zhan Peak Lord! So badass. 

Shen Yuan smiled. Well, despite his badassness, he hadn’t attacked the creature last night. He’d shown it to Shen Yuan. “And thank you Liu Qingge.” 

“En?” Liu Qingge looked at him. 

“For not killing the snake thing. You didn’t have to do that. So thank you.”

For just an instant, Shen Yuan thought he saw a dusting of pink across Liu Qingge’s face, but then it was gone, clearly just a trick of the dying campfire.

Liu Qingge nodded and then passed over some jerky. Shen Yuan almost complained, but he bit it back since he knew there wasn’t much of a choice here in this place. There weren’t many food options in the abyss, especially now that they weren’t near the river anymore. 

Shen Yuan yawned and reluctantly walked from the entrance to fold and put the bedding up. Liu Qingge stored it back in his pouch and brought out his sword. He stepped onto so elegantly and without even a hesitation, Shen Yuan took the hand that he knew would be waiting for him and joined him on the sword. 

Liu Qingge nodded, allowing Shen Yuan to continue his directions. 

“Yeah, there’s a wall made of red stone, and then we go east. The village is there. But it’s a village of shadows.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well,” Shen Yuan said, mentally adjusting his glasses. “It means the village exists on the border between Abyss and the demon realm, light and shadow.” 

Liu Qingge looked at him and then repeated himself. “What does that mean?” 

Shen Yuan laughed. “It means that the village requires paying attention to and only moving where there are shadows. If we can find a shadow master, they can send us to the human realm! Or at least put us on the path back to the human world.” 

“Find a shadow master, walk only on shadows.” Liu Qingge repeated. 

Shen Yuan smiled again. “Right. It’s one of the most interesting transportation methods. Have you ever traveled through shadow before?” 

“When I was a student.” Liu Qingge said. It seemed that was all he was going to say, but then he glanced at Shen Yuan. “It involves traveling through the shadowlands where all that is light is dark. I was only there for a short time.” 

“Wow, you really have seen so much! What’s your favorite place?” 

“Bai Zhan.” 

“Clearly!” Shen Yuan laughed, delighted by that answer. “What’s it like?”

“Loud,” he answered. “Mostly rocks and patches of dirt. Nothing grows well on Bai Zhan.”

Shen Yuan could imagine that, if the students were anything like their teacher though, they’d at least be well mannered and willing to sometimes let giant beasts live. What a shame he hadn’t been in Proud Immortal Demon Way. Liu Qingge would have been his favorite character for sure!

He happily interrogated the war god about his past as they flew until Liu Qingge eased towards the ground and a red stone wall, fading with time.

“Here. Down here. We need to be on foot,” Shen Yuan said.

Liu Qingge landed and helped Shen Yuan down. He was really getting spoiled by being able to travel by sword. He’d miss going back to travelling by plane, honestly. There was something magical about experiencing the world around you as you flew. 

“East is this way.” Liu Qingge motioned. 

Shen Yuan nodded and hurried that way until they came upon just two stone pillars standing in the middle of nothing. Shen Yuan clapped his hands together excitedly.

“Okay, we’ll need to wait for the door to the village to open. It’s between these two stone pillars, but only when shadow fills the space between the two can you enter. So as soon as the sun moves a bit…” 

Liu Qingge looked up. “The sun doesn’t move here.” 

Shen Yuan blinked. He hadn’t thought about that, but that was right. The Endless Abyss had a noon-high sun at all times... unless it was nighttime or the scene needed romantic sunset lighting or sunrise lighting to show how long the papapa went.

Airplane couldn’t be consistent if he killed him! And now, those plot holes and inconsistencies were ruining all of Shen Yuan’s plans! 

“Well, maybe cloud cover?” Shen Yuan squinted into the cloudless sky. 

Liu Qingge shook his head.

Shen Yuan scowled and glared at the shadowless space on the ground between the pillars. Well, if the sky wouldn’t give them what they needed then he’d have to make do on his own.

He started shuffling out of the top layer of his robes. Liu Qingge coughed. “What are you doing?”

“Making shadows!” Shen Yuan said as he struggled to untie some of the bits he’d mangled together. He’d never learned how to tie robes like this!

Liu Qingge shook his head and with a featherlight touch, put Shen Yuan’s robe back in place and then began removing his own pale grey outer layer. Shen Yuan sputtered as if he had the modesty standards of a Xianxia world character.

“Here. Use mine,” Liu Qingge said as he passed over his robe.

“Oh, thanks.” Shen Yuan did not note how warm the fabric still was.

He stood up and stretched the robe between the two pillars. With the sun so high in the sky, it didn’t make much of a shadow, but it filled the space between the two pillars. Now all they needed to do was step into the shadow, and they would teleport into the village.

“I’ll go first!” Shen Yuan offered. 

Liu Qingge shook his head and took Shen Yuan’s hand. “Together.” 

Shen Yuan felt his face heat up. But of course it was; they were under direct sunlight! Anyone would get a bit red in that kind of environment. 

He held tight to Liu Qingge’s hand as he stepped into the city’s entrance. 

His stomach felt like it dropped to his knees as the entire world flipped upside down and then righted itself again, but he struggled to understand what he was seeing.

A village entirely in shadows. 

The stalls of various goods stretched across the earth, vendors yelling and silhouettes moving all around them. Liu Qingge squeezed his hand, and Shen Yuan held tight to him, feeling like Liu Qingge was the only solid thing here. 

Moving felt like floating across a slow-moving river, weightless and heavy all at once. The shadow shapes paused and looked at them as they walked, and Shen Yuan squeezed tightly to his warm, calloused hand.

When they stopped moving, Shen Yuan swallowed hard and glanced to his side. Liu Qingge’s shape was entirely shadow, but he knew that slope of his nose, the sleek ponytail, and proud stance anywhere.

“Shadow master.” Liu Qingge said, and Shen Yuan realized they were now standing in front of one of those shadow figures. 

“Why?” the person answered. 

“We need to travel to the human realm.” Shen Yuan rushed out, ready to be done with this place. 

Since so much of their world was simply light or dark, these demons respected honesty and people who were straightforward. Shen Yuan could do that! 

The shadow figure was silent before a slim arm stretched out and pointed. “Knock thrice.” 

So cool!! 

Liu Qingge squeezed Shen Yuan’s hand again before they were shifting across the world again, melting from one space to the next. Liu Qingge guided them with confidence, understanding the shadows way better than Shen Yuan ever would have guessed. He felt like he was trying to play a side-scrolling adventure with 3D-glasses on. 

When they arrived at the door, Liu Qingge raised his hand and pounded against it three times. It creaked open before another shadowy person with antlers appeared. 

“We seek the human world, oh shadow master!” Shen Yuan said, hoping he matched the mystique of the place. 

“That is no simple task,” the antlered shadow said. 

Shen Yuan internally groaned. Of course, this was some blowhard who wanted some quest done for the honor of his help. Typical. 

“What do you want in exchange?” Liu Qingge asked. “What do I need to kill?” 

The shadow figure shuddered and flickered as though a beam of light had hit it. “Kill? No! Blood blocks the light.” 

That made sense. Besides, he didn’t remember this group being particularly difficult for Binghe to deal with, so if they tried some sneak attack, he was sure that Liu Qingge could handle it. 

“I seek light,” the shadow master said. 

“Light?” Shen Yuan could hear the frown in Liu Qingge’s voice. 

He stifled a laugh as he imagined Liu Qingge trying to bottle the sun to fulfill the request. 

“Light. Bring me light. To create a shadow, there must be light.”

Liu Qingge crossed his free arm over his chest. “Can’t I just fight something?” he muttered. 

Shen Yuan tried to think. There were a few gems that emitted light, but none of those were near here or easy to get. There might be a few flaming plants they could grab, but those would be dangerous to transport and might not work in a world of shadow. He tapped his leg and frowned when his finger hit something hard. 

The mirror. 

He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the mirror. “This reflects what you most want,” he said, trying his hand at being cryptic. 

“I want light,” the shadow responded. 

“Okay, well fine. This will reflect light, just point at a light.” He held out the mirror. 

Liu Qingge adjusted his arm to create a bridge between Shen Yuan’s shadow and the shadow master’s so his shadow reached the shadow master. The mirror slid from his hand as easily as water over tile. 

The master hummed with delight. “Yes, yes, perfect offering!” 

“The human realm then?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Yes. You will pass through the Shadow Sea then reach the shores of the human world. Safe travels.” 

Before Shen Yuan could even say anything else, the world around them went pitch black, and he toppled, hand in hand, into darkness.

Chapter Text

Darkness wrapped around them with sudden completeness. There was no warning between stepping forward and plummeting into pitch black water. Liu Qingge kept a firm grip on Shen Yuan’s hand, feeling the other man flail in the sudden change. He couldn’t see anything here, so he sent out a pulse of qi but only felt water in all directions and no hint of which way the surface might be. 

No matter. 

He blew out bubbles and listened to the way they traveled before swimming that way, pulling Shen Yuan with him. 

The other man’s hand gripped him back, a faint tremor shaking his fingers. Without qi in this shadowed sea, the man had to be in complete isolation. He squeezed Shen Yuan’s hand gently as he continued swimming in the direction he’d heard the bubbles. 

Suddenly Shen Yuan squeezed more urgently at his hand. Bubbles sounded more rapidly around him, and Liu Qingge realized: Shen Yuan couldn’t hold his breath for this long. As a cultivator, Liu Qingge could recirculate air and keep from needing to breathe for quite a long time. But Shen Yuan... there was only one way to give him fresh air and keep him alive until they made it to the surface. 

Liu Qingge grabbed Shen Yuan’s chin with his free hand, and without hesitation, pressed his lips to Shen Yuan’s.

Shen Yuan struggled at first before seeming to understand what was happening and relaxing into Liu Qingge’s breath. This wasn’t how Liu Qingge had ever imagined his first kiss would happen, but, for some reason, he didn’t find himself particularly upset at it happening. 

Shen Yuan squeezed his hand again, and Liu Qingge parted their lips as he began swimming again. 

A conversation through touch emerged in the dark depths of water. Shen Yuan would squeeze Liu Qingge’s hand hard when he needed air and then lightly squeeze when he was okay. Though he couldn’t see anything in the pitch darkness, he felt the warmth of Shen Yuan’s lips and the increasing warmth of his face, so he knew the other man had to be blushing. Liu Qingge thought he very likely had a bit of a blush on his own face. 

It was just to save Shen Yuan’s life, not a kiss that meant anything, so he didn’t want to think too deeply into it. He knew better than to see feelings where there shouldn’t be any. 

It wasn’t his shixiong’s fault, and Liu Qingge did not harbor any grudge towards him but sometimes he wondered what it would be like if Shen Qingqiu had chosen him, had kissed him in the succubus cave when they’d both been doused with the succubus’ scent. But Liu Qingge would never lose control over his own body enough to let that happen, though he had briefly considered it and then abandoned that idea. 

Shen Qingqiu’s heart had never been his, and he did not covet what wasn’t his. Part of being a warrior was understanding that some battles were not meant to be won, only survived. The battle for Shen Qingqiu’s heart was not one for him to win, just to survive. 

Finally, the pitch blackness around them lightened to a pale grey, and Liu Qingge could make out the shape of his own body, still pitch black as a shadow. Just to verify, he blew another stream of bubbles and watched them float upwards. Good to know he hadn’t been dragging them in the wrong direction this whole time. 

Now that he could see a surface, he summoned his sword, and grabbed the hilt with one hand. He held Shen Yuan closer to his chest before using his qi to direct his sword to rush upwards, dragging them both through the darkness like a bolt of lightning. 

They crested into a world of pale grey.  

 Looking around, he didn’t see sign of land or people, but that was fine. With their heads above water, he leveled out his sword and pulled himself and Shen Yuan onto the blade. Then a gentle rush of qi to dry them off. 

With everything in greys, he had to give himself a moment to orient and to let Shen Yuan catch his breath. The man’s heart thundered in his chest; Liu Qingge could hear it racing. 

“Are you alright?” 

Shen Yuan just waved a hand and nodded, putting a little distance between them and nearly knocking himself off the sword. Liu Qingge grabbed his hips to steady him, and Shen Yuan ducked his head down. 

“Thanks,” he muttered, voice strained. 

“This is the world of shadows. We are in the Shadow Realm.” 

That seemed to snap Shen Yuan out of whatever was bothering him as his head jerked up. “The Shadow Realm?” 

Liu Qingge nodded. 

“That hack! Not only did he steal the blue eyes, white dragon from Yugioh, he stole the Shadow Realm too! That was just an American edit, and he still shamelessly... that absolute hack writer!” 

Liu Qingge blinked. He’d only understood a few words but... “Blue eyes, white dragon?” 

“Aiyah, one of the last guardians of Xin Mo in the Endless Abyss,” Shen Yuan said casually as if he wasn’t giving information Liu Qingge had never heard of. But given everything else in Shen Yuan’s novel had been partially right but not totally, he accepted it.

“Luo Binghe defeated it, I assume?”

“Well, of course! The dragon is an ice dragon who froze the blade Xin Mo in an eternal winter and serves as its guardian. But Luo Binghe’s blood can’t be frozen, so he could overpower it by using his own blood as a weapon. So cool!” 

Liu Qingge scowled at that. Why was everything Luo Binghe did so exciting to Shen Yuan? Liu Qingge had done interesting things too. 

As a rule, he didn’t brag about his battles. Warriors who grew cocky were easily defeated. He was only as good as his most recent victory, and it had been a few years since he’d truly felt victorious. But with Shen Yuan already beginning another rant about Luo Binghe’s abilities, Liu Qingge spoke up like a petulant child.

“I have defeated dragons,” he muttered.

Shen Yuan blinked and then beamed at him. “Really? Tell me about it! What type of dragon was it?” 

Liu Qingge secured Shen Yuan on the sword before he began explaining the fights with the two dragons he had defeated to gain his title of war god. 

The first had been a young acid dragon near a fishing village. Liu Qingge had nearly lost his arm when he’d let himself be bitten in order to get close enough to stab it through the head and kill it. Mu Qingfang had just barely saved it, and even now, the meridians there kinked up and caused subtle blockages. One of those blockages had in fact almost killed him in the Lingxi Caves back when Luo Binghe was still just a disciple. 

 “That’s reckless!” Shen Yuan lectured. “Acid dragons are weak to earth attacks.”

“... Earth attacks?”

Shen Yuan frowned. “Did Airplane not just steal pokemon weaknesses? I remember Luo Binghe using an Earth Gem to defeat an acid worm.” 

Liu Qingge felt a smile twitch at the edge of his lips. Shen Yuan so often said so many things that Liu Qingge didn’t understand, but the enthusiasm in his voice warmed his chest. If only he didn’t talk about Luo Binghe so often.

“Well, what about the other dragon?” Shen Yuan asked after muttering about psychic types and something about a Grimer. 

“Fire Guardian living in a volcano in the desert,” Liu Qingge said. 

“Ah, you used ice to defeat it, right?”

“I used my sword.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered and then laughed so hard that Liu Qingge had to support him from falling off of the sword. 

“Ah, Liu Qingge really is quite predictable.” 

“I don’t need to use tricks to win when I have my blade.” 

“Of course, of course.” Shen Yuan nodded, softly patting Liu Qingge’s arm. “It’s good to have someone so reliable to help me here.” He cleared his throat and asked in a slightly strained voice, as if a laugh was already threatening to erupt. “So how did you defeat the dragon with your sword?” 

 “I stabbed it repeatedly.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered into laughter again, this time not trying to balance himself and just trusting that Liu Qingge would keep him safely on the sword. 

“Of course, that seems like the most effective method, of course.” 

“What? It works.” Liu Qingge defended himself. 

“I said it did! It’s very impressive that you could beat such a monster with just a sword is quite impressive. Most anyone else would need to use an elemental weakness or something to counter its natural abilities, but you just need a sword! I can see why you became known as the war god after that!” 

Shen Yuan smiled, looking somehow both amused and proud. That dangerous feeling in Liu Qingge’s chest only intensified. 

“Ah, bird! Go that way! There has to be land nearby.” Shen Yuan pointed to a bird shaped-shadow flying along the grey sky. 

Liu Qingge nodded and moved that way, keeping far enough above the water to avoid any splatter or any lunging creature attacks, though he didn’t sense any creatures near them. He could be cautious to make sure that Shen Yuan didn’t get hurt. 

Sure enough, the number of birds increased before seeing the shape of a town in the distance. As they reached for it though, the world twisted, inverting on itself as Liu Qingge held tight to Shen Yuan as everything spiraled around them again. Liu Qingge was ready to be done with this ridiculous shadow nonsense. He’d been expecting to have to move as a shadow, not just exist in a world of darkness with nonsense rules of reality twisting. 

But he didn’t mind how the world shifting around them made Shen Yuan hold tight to him, the shifting and turning between worlds obviously harder for him to deal with. 

When the world steadied again, Liu Qingge blinked quickly to adjust to the light and color around him. A brilliant blue sky replaced the grey world, and a wine-dark ocean stretched before them. They both stood on the docks, dripping wet and with a group of humans staring at them. Shen Yuan stayed held firmly in his arms as Liu Qingge directed his sword to vanish. He looked to the villager who seemed the most in charge. 

“We need a room.” 

The older man nodded. “This way,” he rasped. 

Liu Qingge kept Shen Yuan in his arms, ignoring the other man’s protests, and followed the villager as he walked into the town. It seemed to be a decent-sized village, with larger houses and more people than he would have expected. Many boats sat near the docks, more visible in the distance. 

None of the people he had seen so far appeared to be anything but human, and he didn’t sense anything amiss, so it seemed they had left the strange area of low, but potent demonic energy and returned to the human world. That at least would make things safer for Shen Yuan, though Liu Qingge had the sneaking suspicion that Shen Yuan would still try to seek out dangerous monsters and plants. 

They were taken to a wine house that had rooms available. Liu Qingge paid for a large room with two beds and carried Shen Yuan to the bed before putting the protesting man down. 

“I didn’t need to be carried!” Shen Yuan said, cheeks bright pink. 

“En, your pulse is irregular.” 

“You can sense that? Aiyah, of course you can. I’m fine! I just am not used to swimming so much.”

“Stay here. I will get a bath delivered and food.” Liu Qingge said, not waiting for confirmation. 

It took a bit of negotiation downstairs to get the owner of the wine house to agree to bring a wooden bath up. Liu Qingge filled it and then used Qi to warm the water. The only options they had for robes were thin, basic ones, but they would work until their robes could be properly cleaned. 

“Strip, we can wash.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered at him indignantly. “We... we are not sharing a bath!” 

“It’s more effective that way.”  

Shen Yuan crossed his arms. “No. No way!”

Liu Qingge sighed and finally turned his back. “There, I will not watch. Strip and get in the water.” 

Shen Yuan needed to warm up and then dry off. Liu Qingge could manage fine with his qi control, but Shen Yuan had none of that, and the erratic racing of his heart alarmed Liu Qingge. If something was wrong... he was no doctor, and he had little confidence in healers here. 

There was a long enough pause that Liu Qingge wondered if he would have to force Shen Yuan into the tub, but then finally the sound of wet robes hitting the ground and water rippling. Shen Yuan’s pleased sigh eased his worries. 

“You’re taking good care of me. I’m in your debt,” Shen Yuan said. 

“Mn, it is my fault you are here, so I must take responsibility.” 

“So reliable,” Shen Yuan laughed teasingly. “You’re the one who’s been taken from home for longer than me. I should be helping you.” 

“You have. You knew of this shadow village and were able to provide the payment for this visit to the shadow realm.” 

“Ugh, don’t call it the Shadow Realm, stupid Airplane... it’s not even remotely similar to the one Yugi deals with, so why steal the name? But that’s not important right now! What is important is that we will get you home. We can ask people here, and I’m sure someone will know your sect!” 

“Tomorrow,” Liu Qingge said. “Today we rest.” 

If his martial siblings heard him, Liu Qingge, saying that he was going to rest and take it easy instead of rushing ahead, they would have him investigated for possession. But he knew that Shen Yuan needed a more sedate pace, especially after their trip through the shadow ocean. The man’s heart still thudded irregularly in his chest.

“You must be tired from keeping me alive in the ocean. Ah... thank you for that. And don’t worry, I understand it was just for oxygen exchange and not anything gay! I won’t misunderstand you.” 

“...gay?” 

“Aiii... it just means two men who are romantic. Like your Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu.” 

Liu Qingge considered, but Shen Yuan’s heart was beating faster again, so he instead said. “I will get food. Wash. The new robes are on the changing screen.” 

“Thank you,” Shen Yuan said. “I’ll pay you back, I promise!” 

“No need,” he assured as he went back downstairs and collected food and warm tea for them to share. He took his time to allow Shen Yuan privacy since the man seemed uncomfortable with Liu Qingge being in the room while he bathed. He could understand that. 

Besides, it gave him time to check everything for poison. 

When he returned, he knocked first before sliding the door open. Shen Yuan was in his new robes, already curled up in bed, sleeping soundly. 

Liu Qingge quietly put the food down and added a hastily and badly drawn stasis talisman to keep everything warm before going over to Shen Yuan. He carefully pulled the blanket over Shen Yuan before he finally went to wash himself up and change out of his robes. The temporary robes were nowhere near as comfortable or fine as the ones he was used to wearing, but they were good enough. 

Once he felt the salt washed from his skin, he used his qi to dry himself off and then moved over to check on Shen Yuan again. 

Seeing the other man’s hair was still wet, Liu Qingge leaned in closer, placing a gentle hand to the top of Shen Yuan’s head, and used another soft rush of qi to send a rush of warm air along his hair, drying it almost instantly. With as short as the other man’s hair was, it took almost no time. 

But when he pulled his hand away, Shen Yuan rolled over and reached out to grab Liu Qingge’s hand. “Stay,” he murmured, still mostly asleep. 

Liu Qingge frowned. This was not... he wasn’t sure if this was or wasn’t appropriate, but he knew that Shen Yuan probably had just gotten used to holding hands since they’d had to do that to get through the shadow ocean. He knew better than to read into it and think anything more than that. 

“Alright.” He relented and sat on the edge of the bed as Shen Yuan curled up near him. “I will be right here Shen Yuan.”

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan woke up warm and finally not exhausted, though his stomach was growling loud enough it sounded like some kind of pokemon. 

Slowly he opened his eyes and processed that the warmth was coming from Liu Qingge sitting right beside him, their hands wrapped together. 

Heat rushed to his cheeks! Ahhhh, he’d gotten so used to holding onto Liu Qingge that he had just wanted that reassurance in his sleep! That was all! It certainly wasn’t because he enjoyed the calloused feel of the war god’s palm against his. 

That had nothing to do with anything!

Thankfully, the war god seemed to be asleep, so Shen Yuan let go of his hand and hoped that maybe Liu Qingge just hadn’t noticed. As he sat up, he instantly spotted the nearby tray of food and quietly tiptoed over. He recognized the talisman as one to keep food warm, though honestly the handwriting on it would have been more fitting coming from a new disciple and not a peak lord. But Bai Zhan didn’t really use talismans, so it made sense Liu Qingge wasn’t as elegant in his writing. 

But as ugly as the talisman was, it had done its job, and the food was still warm and crisp as he eagerly ate up as if he’d never had food in his life. Then again, aside from the grilled fish from when they first arrived outside of the mirror forest, they had eaten nothing but field rations. 

Warm, crunchy food was the best! 

Even the tea was better than he expected. Shen Yuan had never been a huge tea drinker, but this stuff was great! Of course he missed his soda and coffee, but this would do nicely. It sent warmth through his whole body. Finally, he felt a bit more like a person and less like a battered-around doll. 

“How are you feeling?” Liu Qingge asked and nearly scared Shen Yuan to death. 

He dropped the teacup in his hand, and Liu Qingge’s war god reflexes let him catch it before it shattered into a million pieces on the ground. 

“How long have you been awake!?” Shen Yuan’s voice definitely didn’t crack. 

“I was meditating,” he said. 

Great, so Liu Qingge had heard him pigging out on the food. Embarrassing. 

A knock on the door saved him from having to think of what to say about that, and he rushed to open it. An older woman held out a stack of robes, folded in her hands. 

“Here you are, young masters,” she said. 

Shen Yuan took them and offered what he hoped was an appropriate bow. He’d never really paid attention to how low people should or shouldn’t bow and what rankings meant what. But young master was polite, so he wanted to match her friendly vibes! 

She hurried away as soon as the robes were out of her hands. 

Liu Qingge came over and helped pick out Shen Yuan’s robes and handed them to him. “You may dress behind the screen if you wish for privacy.” 

Shen Yuan took the robes and hesitated. Was this some kind of challenge? Did he think Liu Qingge’s masculine physique intimidated Shen Yuan? Well Shen Yuan wasn’t! He started stripping out of his robes even as he felt his face heat up. 

Liu Qingge didn’t seem to notice and began stripping as well, and WOW. 

Shen Yuan had known that the war god had to be ripped, but he hadn’t expected just how toned he was. Nothing but hard definition and... WAS THAT AN EIGHT PACK?

He tried not to stare, but how could he not when this picture of power and athleticism was right in front of him?? It was only natural for anyone to admire such a body! 

He even had a few scars along his chest that looked a lot like claw marks. What could possibly leave marks like that on the grant Liu Qingge? Maybe one of the dragons he’d conquered?

“What scarred you?” he couldn’t help but ask.  

“Luo Binghe.” Liu Qingge answered simply.

Of course. That made sense, of course the only person who could mark the incredible Liu Qingge would be the protagonist. Amazing that he had survived!

Luo Binghe in Proud Immortal Demon Way didn’t let men live. So that said a lot about Liu Qingge’s prowess — that he could survive an encounter with the protagonist himself. Then again, in this sort of gay fanfiction universe, of course the writer wouldn’t kill off such an attractive man! That would be a crime against all boy love! Honestly, Liu Qingge should be the protagonist in this world! He had all the qualities of one!

“I’m glad you lived,” Shen Yuan finally said, his hand raised as if to touch the markings before he recalled himself and pulled his hand back. 

“You can touch them if you want. They don’t hurt.” 

Shen Yuan tried not to react immediately, but he couldn’t help but reach over to let his fingers graze over the scarred claw markings that marred their way across his chest in a long swipe. The rough texture against his fingertips made him realize how bad those wounds must have been when they were fresh.

“What happened?” Shen Yuan asked. 

Liu Qingge shrugged. “We fought. I lost. Multiple times.” 

That didn’t shock him. The protagonist was unbeatable, but how could the war god be so casual about this? He was basically a protagonist too!  

“Why would you keep fighting him if you had already lost!? He could have killed you!” Shen Yuan worried. The thought of Liu Qingge getting killed... 

Liu Qingge grabbed his wrist, leaving Shen Yuan’s hand pressed against Liu Qingge’s chest. “Your heart is irregular again,” he said.

Shen Yuan shook his head and ignored that. He was just upset at the thought of such a cool character getting killed off, that was all! It had nothing to do with touching such a warm, supple chest. “It’s fine! Just... don’t fight him anymore, okay?” 

There was a nod as Liu Qingge had a hint of a smile. “I won’t. We do not fight anymore.” 

He let out a sigh of relief and haltingly pulled his hand away as Liu Qingge released his wrist. “Well, good.” 

Quickly he went back to changing, though some of the ties on the robes were a bit confusing. When he struggled for too long, Liu Qingge appeared, gentle, steady hands dressing him and adjusting the robes to fit him more comfortably.

“There. Wear them like this.” Liu Qingge’s touches were warm as he positioned everything securely.

Shen Yuan nodded, heart pounding and cheeks red. Maybe he really was getting sick with how much he felt like his heart might beat out of his chest. 

“We should go investigate and see if we can get information about where we are!” Shen Yuan said. 

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Fine! Just so much to do, I’m excited! ahaha...” 

His bad lie didn’t seem to convince Liu Qingge of much of anything, but he didn’t demand further answers and instead just nodded and led the way out of the room. Downstairs, a few people mingled around tables, drinking tea or wine. On the streets, the morning was already in full swing; the docks filled with people hauling in fish and boats leaving to go out and get more. 

He stepped closer to Liu Qingge, not used to these sorts of markets anymore. And well, Liu Qingge was just a very reliable source of protection right now.

Liu Qingge didn’t comment; instead he approached a merchant. 

“Where are the Cang Qiong Mountains from here?”

The merchant took a drag of his pipe and looked over the two before speaking. “What? There are no mountains of that name here.” 

“No mountains with that name?” Shen Yuan repeated. 

The man grunted as he nodded. “We’ve got lots of mountains but nothing called Cang Qiong around here.” 

Shen Yuan frowned. This was clearly a Proud Immortal Demon Way fanfic, right? Why wouldn’t the mountains be here? That didn’t make any sense. This guy must just be an idiot. Every village had one. That was all. 

He nodded politely at the man and unconsciously took Liu Qingge’s hand to pull him away to talk to someone else. There, the elderly woman with the vegetable stall had a trustworthy look to her.  

“Hi, we’re looking to get to Cang Qiong Mountain; can you kindly point the way?” he asked her with his politest smile. 

She shook her head. “Nothing by that name around here.” 

Maybe they hadn’t actually made it back to the human realm, and this was some trap or illusionary world? That hadn’t happened to Luo Binghe after the Shadow Realm, but things were clearly different in this story. So where were they then?

Nonsense, this had to be the human realm, and maybe this village just didn’t deal with cultivators and knew nothing. Yes, that was all!

“Well, if no one here can help us, we can just travel to a larger town for answers,” he said confidently to Liu Qingge. 

Liu Qingge nodded in agreement, but didn’t immediately leave. Instead, he stopped by a few booths to pick up food and some extra robes for travel. The robes were smaller, Shen Yuan’s side, and in emerald greens with dark red embroidery. He insisted on Shen Yuan putting those in his storage bracelet as well. 

“I don’t need all of this,” he said, even as he did as asked. He still got a thrill from having a fricking qiankun bracelet! He might not have his own qi or magic, but he did have a magic bracelet, so who was really winning here? 

“It’s better to be prepared,” Liu Qingge said. “If we are separated again, you will be able to take care of yourself.”

“We won’t get separated. You’d find me quickly and save me just like always,” Shen Yuan said, confident in that. He knew that no matter what this strange fanfiction world would throw at them, Liu Qingge would find his way to Shen Yuan.

Liu Qingge’s ears turned a little pink, how cute! 

But the war god really ought to be better about sun protection if he was so easy to sunburn like this. Even a neet like Shen Yuan knew the importance of sun protection, and he basically never went outside. Thankfully, because this was a fictional world, probably, he wasn’t affected by the sun here. Poor Liu Qingge didn’t have that immunity, apparently. 

“Well, let’s get traveling!” Shen Yuan nodded. “I’m sure we can find a landmark or some other village that can help us.” 

In the now well-practiced movement, Shen Yuan took Liu Qingge’s hand and hopped onto the sword. Liu Qingge stood behind him, securely holding him in place. Now that he was used to being so close to the other man, Shen Yuan had to admit he felt very secure and safe like this. He would like to fly on his own sword one day, but he wasn’t sure it would feel as safe as flying on Liu Qingge’s sword. 

Because how could you possibly feel safer than in the arms of the famed war god of Bai Zhan! There was no way anywhere else could be safer! That was just obvious; it had nothing to do with how beautiful Liu Qingge was or how warm and nice it felt to lean against his chest. 

The village faded away to a dot beneath them as they took to the sky, and they began soaring through the clouds. Shen Yuan closed his eyes and just savored the feeling, warm in the protective bubble of Qi around him and the gentle sound of birds. Like flying in a dream. 

Maybe he was in some elaborate hallucination, and this actually was a fantasy before he died somewhere. Maybe that big car really hit him, and this was his mind processing the pain and shock. That would make more sense than Cang Qiong not existing in a PIDW fanfic.  

He felt the sword descend a little and opened his eyes. 

“Easier to see landmarks from lower,” Liu Qinnge offered in answer to Shen Yuan’s confused expression. “Tell me if you see anything of note.”

“Of course,” he agreed and looked around. 

They flew over an expanse of rich red sand or dirt, hard to tell from this height. Shen Yuan circled through his Proud Immortal Demon Way knowledge for anything in the human world that featured an enormous expanse of red ground. Nothing immediately popped to mind, and he again cursed Airplane for never describing the scenery because he spent 7000 words on heaving bosoms instead. 

Stupid hack author. He had a fascinating world of monsters and dangerous plants, and instead he just talked about tits for chapters on end. Shen Yuan wanted to throttle that useless hack. 

“Does anything look familiar to you?” he asked Liu Qingge. 

“These remind me of The Fields of Ash,” he answered after a long time. “But I have never heard of the fields being this vibrant. They’re more of a grey-red, but it is the only large area of red sand I am aware of.” 

That triggered a thought for Shen Yuan. The Fields of Ash hadn’t been widely featured in the novel, only a brief mention of Luo Binghe going through the area, and, of course, finding several rare diamonds and plants while travelling through the undescribed fields. 

It was an area that once had been home to a volcano known as the Sleeping Dragon. Long before Luo Binghe’s father had even been born, the Sleeping Dragon erupted and continuously covered the area with lava. Over time, the lava cooled and broke down into vibrant red sand. But eventually the volcano burnt out, and the fields lost their color. It had all faded to dark grey when Luo Binghe encountered it on his trip. 

If this really was the Field of Ash... why was the sand still so vibrant? 

“Volcano,” Liu Qingge said, pointing. 

Shen Yuan followed his finger and stared at the short mountain, with steam rising from it. 

“Can we get closer?” he asked. 

“En,” Liu Qingge nodded and flew them closer. 

From here, he could see down into the mountain and a thick, almost totally cooled layer of lava crusted over the mountain. 

In PIDW, the Sleeping Dragon had gone to sleep forever after a blizzard, the worst in a century, rolled over the area, forever freezing the volcano away beneath a perpetual layer of ice. He vaguely recalled something about it erupting again after Luo Binghe merged the realms, but honestly, so many mountains had exploded during that he couldn’t be sure. Better to assume it had erupted since basically everything else had. 

But if that volcano was still active, and the fields were still red.... then was this set in a prequel world? Had they time-traveled?? How was that even possible? His mind spun at that possibility. 

“Your heart is beating quickly again.” 

“I think I know where we are. This is the Field of Ash. But it’s... it’s thousands of years in the past.” 

Liu Qingge took that statement with calm indifference and a simple nod. 

“What? That’s it? Just a nod?” Shen Yuan demanded. “We are not just in a different dimension but in a different time! Your sect doesn’t even exist yet! The Endless Abyss has only just started to form!”

“We will find another portal,” Liu Qingge said. “I will get you home.” 

He sounded so confident in it, as if that was as obvious as the idea that the sun would rise and then set. The certainty of the war god helped him relax a little. Liu Qingge must really want to go home and wasn’t even going to entertain the possibility of not getting back. From what PIDW had said, the loyalty of the Bai Zhan Peak Lord was unmatched. He’d go through hell for his loved ones. It was one reason Liu Mingyan had missed him so much. 

He’d promised so much and then been cruelly taken from her by the scum villain, and forced to break his promise. 

Shen Yuan would make sure that he got back so he could make good on those promises to his sister. In at least one life, the Liu family should get to stick together! 

“What are you thinking about? You’re nodding to yourself.” 

“Nothing, just that I know you want to get home.” 

“You need to get home too.” 

“Honestly, this is the most fun I’ve had in so long!” Shen Yuan beamed. 

“En, I’m glad.” 

“Oh, I have an idea. The Fields of Ash are beside the Ember Woods! A flower there is said to grant wishes. I bet we can find it!”

“The Ember Woods burnt down. They don’t exist…” Liu Qingge paused then nodded. “But they would exist now.” 

Shen Yuan grinned when Liu Qingge got to the answer himself. The Ember Woods burned down shortly before Luo Binghe’s birth. He’d gone to their remains once, and found the last of the wish-granting blooms there (because of course he had) and made a wish to bring one of his ill wives back to full health. Then they’d papapa’d right there in the woods. 

But the flower had to exist, and since the woods should still be here in this timeline, they had to be able to find it and get a wish! That could get them home! 

Liu Qingge adjusted his sword as they reached the edge of a strange forest filled with trees with cinnabar red trunks and pale grey leaves. As they touched onto the ground, Shen Yuan couldn’t help a faint shiver running up his spine. Who knew this place would have such a creepy aura! 

But he pushed past it and got to the ground. “The flower will be in the center of the forest, so let’s go!”

Without thinking about it, he took hold of Liu Qingge’s hand and eagerly headed into the forest to find their miracle flower.

Chapter Text

Liu Qingge suspected something was unusual about this place, though he wasn’t sure he would have come up with time travel on his own. But of course, Shen Yuan had figured it out. 

Being in the world before it had become the world he knew was strange, but monsters still existed, so his role remained the same. 

He didn’t know anything about this forest. Nothing would have brought him out here, and he never took much stock in legends about curses of blessed forests. He didn’t need blessing or curses to get through the day, so he just did what he always did: kept moving forward. 

If Shen Yuan said there was a wish-granting flower somewhere in this place, then it probably existed, but whether it granted wishes, who knew. With this world being set so far behind his own time, and Liu Qingge never seeing much reason to learn about history, he would have to just depend on Shen Yuan’s knowledge and his own instincts. 

Thankfully, battle changed little through history for cultivators. Swords, talismans, and pure qi were constant, and he was good enough at all of those (minus talisman creation) to not have any genuine issues.

He’d survived Luo Binghe’s attacks and everything else that life had thrown at him, but he had never had to worry about what history might mean before. 

The pale grey of the tree trunks was unusual, but not dangerous. At least not in his experience. Plants usually weren’t dangerous aside from some of their pollen causing issues and a rare few that tried to eat people. 

For a wish-granting flower, he expected that the forest would be more lush and grown, but this was clearly still a new forest with everything still growing. The bright red leaves of the trees were small and sparse, and only a few ground plants dotted the earth. Not exactly the place he would anticipate finding a flower.  

The sparse plant growth did mean it’d be harder for things to sneak up on them and fewer places for dangers to hide. 

Shen Yuan kept looking around and smiling with wonder, like he was seeing a great treasure. 

“You know this forest?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Yes, no. Well, I mean, a little. Now that I know this is a prequel world, a lot of things make more sense. This forest is known for its fire-sap trees, but these are all still juvenile. The adult trees can burst into flames at will to protect themselves. The darker the bark, the more fire resistant the trees are, so you can tell these are young since their trunks are still pretty light grey and not charcoal yet.” 

“En.” 

“So this is just a new place that’s only been around for a short period. It’s amazing that something like this will eventually be nothing but ash. Ridiculous for a forest that can literally burst into flames to get burned down! Bullshit!” 

Liu Qingge listened to the smaller man rant for a while, enjoying his voice. Usually, someone making noise while he was traveling annoyed him. On the few times he went out with disciples, he demanded total silence.

But the passion in Shen Yuan’s voice was nice. Warming almost, reminding him of someone else, but also not. While he saw similarities between Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu, they were becoming more and more different in his mind. 

Shen Yuan was rougher around the edges, more prone to swearing and stomping his foot to make a point. He had little concern about proper behavior. Though he had to admit that both the Shen men had a bad habit of rushing into danger without hesitation or warning the people around them about the bad decisions being made. 

But Shen Yuan kept growing in Liu Qingge’s mind as a more vibrant, bright man.

For a while he’d only seen Shen Qingqiu when he looked at his traveling companion, but now, they were distinct in his mind. Shen Yuan smiled brightly at him as Shen Qingqiu’s image turned more and more away and towards someone else. 

He’d always known that Shen Qingqiu could never be his.

Liu Qingge had made his own clumsy confessions, which he only now realized were not clear enough for Shen Qingqiu, and they had not been accepted.

That was the end of it. 

Shen Yuan however... 

Liu Qingge shook his head. There was no reason to get stuck back into this idea again, to reach for things he could never have. 

Warriors knew when the battle was lost, and great warriors knew when they were bested before even stepping into the ring. He would not be making that same mistake twice. 

He would repay Shen Yuan’s kindness by ensuring he returned home to his safe, qi-less world, and not dreaming of impossible things.

“Liu Qingge?” 

He looked over to find Shen Yuan staring at him worriedly. 

“I was just thinking about getting you home,” he admitted. “What did you ask?”

Shen Yuan laughed. “I didn’t realize the War God would be so thoughtful! I was just saying that this area must be really rich in qi. Places with strong natural forces are good for cultivating! Did you want to meditate here and increase your cultivation?” 

Liu Qingge shook his head. “They can be very good for meditating, but volcanoes are too dangerous and unsteady since they can send out unpredictable bursts of qi and injure spiritual veins.” 

“Oh, fascinating! I wish I could meditate and manipulate qi like you! Maybe if I can find one of the spirit core enhancers to eat...” 

Liu Qingge glanced at him. Shen Yuan wanted to cultivate? For a man from a world with almost no qi, he didn’t expect Shen Yuan to have an interest in walking the path of a cultivator, but here he was proving Liu Qingge wrong again. He somehow felt like he would always be unable to guess what Shen Yuan was thinking. 

“I can try to help open your spiritual veins,” he said. 

“What? Really? Even someone like me with no talent?”

“I can see what your spiritual foundation looks like at least.” 

Shen Yuan beamed and thrust out his wrist. “Then please!” 

Liu Qingge took a breath and nodded as he took hold of Shen Yuan’s wrist delicately and let his qi carefully slide along Shen Yuan’s blood. He’d investigated Shen Yuan’s spiritual potential before, but this time he moved carefully, seeking the shape of unused veins in the other man’s body. There wasn’t much there, but he could see potential. 

If Shen Yuan focused and maybe took some of those core-enhancing pills they gave to lacking disciples, he might be able to cultivate a core. It would take decades for him to become a high-ranked cultivator, but it could be possible.  

Usually, Liu Qingge looked down on pill cultivators. But in Shen Yuan’s case, it would really be the only way for him to start cultivating as an adult. Most cultivators began as young children to help their spiritual veins grow with them.

But Shen Yuan never had that opportunity. 

“You have potential.” He pulled his fingers from Shen Yuan’s pale wrist. 

“Really? I could be a cultivator!?” Shen Yuan’s eyes glimmered with excitement. 

He understood now that it wasn’t that Shen Yuan hadn’t wanted to be a cultivator; he just had never had the chance to be one because his world didn’t have them. That’s why he had read all of those (incorrect) texts, just for the chance to be close to what he dreamed of.

What a curse to love something so much and never be able to even get the chance to experience it.  

So Shen Yuan understood reaching for things you could never have. Well... he would find a way to help Shen Yuan. 

“There are pills that can help progress cultivation quickly. Though also eating the meat of qi-rich creatures and meditating in natural qi-rich environments helps too. We will get your core to start developing.” 

“Really?” Shen Yuan grinned. “Okay, but first let’s find this flower and see if it can grant our wish to get you back home.” Shen Yuan said. 

Liu Qingge nodded. “I will teach you how to meditate when we make camp.” 

“I’ll be in your care then.” He smiled.

Liu Qingge looked away, his ears starting to burn and get flustered, which just made Shen Yuan laugh. 

They continued walking through the forest until Liu Qingge noticed Shen Yuan stumbling over his own feet and forced them to stop. He set up another small camp and pulled out their recently bought food to eat. 

Shen Yuan chewed on some of the buns and looked at the soft bedding Liu Qingge had given him. “Is it really alright for me to take your sleeping items? You need rest too!” 

“I can meditate,” he said. 

“Right, and you can teach me too, right? You promised!”

Liu Qingge nodded. “You will still need to sleep, so do not try to go without sleep. Your cultivation is still too weak for that.” 

“I like sleeping too much to ignore it,” Shen Yuan promised. 

Liu Qingge moved to sit behind Shen Yuan and tried to remember how he had learned to meditate. His father had taught him when he was very young. Bai Zhan didn’t really do hands-on teaching, though he had been trying to get better at it at Shen Qingqiu’s insistence. 

“Focus on your breathing. I will move my qi through your spiritual veins; focus on that movement.” 

Shen Yuan nodded and closed his eyes, attention focused. 

Liu Qingge kept the movements gentle, barely using any qi to not overload the basically non-existent system for qi in his body. Years of handling Without a Cure had given him more experience at controlling this sort of gentle manipulation than he had ever dreamed of having. Who knew that delicate use of qi required more energy?  

Shen Yuan’s body absorbed the qi like a sponge, so he quickly stopped providing energy and let his body just process it. He tried to make sure that the energy continued moving in the same pattern. 

“It feels cool. I thought it would be warm,” Shen Yuan said with a smile. 

“It depends on what the qi is being used for. Fighting, qi runs hot, but healing and meditation flow cooler like a river.” 

“I thought it would just be the same the whole time no matter what,” he said. 

“Everyone’s qi has its own properties. Healers have steadier qi. Warriors have more rushing qi. Those do not change over time but can be adjusted to suit the needs of the person at the time.”

“You learned how to use your qi for healing?”

“Mn, all fighters should know basic field medicine.” Liu Qingge said. 

It hadn’t been his favorite moment in his training, spending time on Qian Cao, but it had saved his life a few times. Healers had to know how to fight; fighters had to know how to heal. 

Though Liu Qingge was much better than any other fighter at manipulating qi delicately after years of dealing with untangling the blockages caused by Without A Cure. Occasionally, even Qian Cao sent to him for aid when they needed an extra set of hands for handling spiritual blockages. 

“Of course, how wise of you!” Shen Yuan nodded. 

Liu Qingge removed his hands from Shen Yuan’s back. “Meditate alone now.” 

“Yes, yes, teacher.” 

Liu Qingge scoffed. “Focus on your breathing.” 

He watched the man relax and turn his attention inwards. His breathing fell into a steady, patterned rhythm. It wasn’t proper form, and honestly Shen Yuan’s posture matched a shrimp more than that of a man, but he seemed healthy. Healthier than he had been in that other world. 

Maybe... maybe Shen Yuan would want to come back to Liu Qingge’s home, to meet Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu. See what the world he talked about so often really was like. He was certain Mu Qingfang could create a pill to help Shen Yuan be able to cultivate. 

He opened his mouth to ask, but a rush of killing aura shook the thought from his mind. 

Instantly he was on his feet, sword in hand. He waved his hand and created a bubble of protection around Shen Yuan. 

“What’s happening?” Shen Yuan asked. 

“Something is approaching. Stay here.” 

“What? No, I can help... well, I can be a second set of eyes for you at least!” 

“Stay here,” he repeated as he rushed ahead against the sound of Shen Yuan’s protest. 

The killing intent rose as Liu Qingge pushed through the trees and found the beast. Glowing faintly orange with crystals protruding from its entire body and all along its two heads, one at either end of the beast. He had never seen this sort of creature before, but that had never stopped him. 

He lunged at it, avoiding the first set of snapping jaws that rushed for him, but his sword clanged uselessly off of the beast, unable to penetrate the crystal hide. Liu Qingge adjusted his angle of attack, infused more qi into his sword as he dropped onto the center of the beast’s back and slammed his sword into it. 

But again, the sword flew backwards, not even making a scratch on its hide. 

He glared as he jumped to avoid another attack, first from one head and then the other. The beast roared and swung around to charge at him, its entire body curving so the two heads faced him as it charged. He leapt over the body and tried aiming for the underside this time, but again, nothing pierced through.     

His sword didn’t seem to cut the creature’s crystal skin. 

When something rustled nearby, he braced, getting ready to turn for another fight, when Shen Yuan appeared, branches in his hair, and leaves stuck to his clothes. “Liu Qingge!” 

“I told you to stay back.” He moved to stand in front of Shen Yuan. 

Another complication added to the fight. But... 

“Do you know what this is?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan looked at the creature and gasped as his eyes gleamed in that way they only did when he knew something. Liu Qingge had grown fond of that gleam. 

“A double-heart crystal-crusted lizard!” 

Liu Qingge briefly wondered about the names for such things, and who had chosen such a long name for it, but that didn’t really matter at the moment. 

“Its skin is impenetrable unless you hit the heart of the creature!” 

“How do you pierce a heart without breaking the skin?” Liu Qingge snapped as he grabbed Shen Yuan and dodged a blast of lava the creature sent towards them. 

Shen Yuan yelped and grabbed onto his shoulder. “It’s a phrase! Ah, hit a specific spot in the center of the creature. It’s their shared heart! The crystal over it is a slightly different color. I know it’s stupid!” 

Liu Qingge frowned and scanned over the beast, not immediately noticing anything out of place, but he had never been one to pay attention to color differences. He would just hit everything until he found the right crystal. That was a good enough strategy. 

“It can breathe lava, and has dangerous claws and a burning bite! The easiest way to get it to expose the weak spot is to make the heads look in two different directions. I can distract it from this side, and you-“

“No. You are not a warrior. You wouldn’t survive even a single hit from it,” Liu Qingge said, wrapping his arm tighter around Shen Yuan. 

He would not let Shen Yuan get hurt. Absolutely not an option. He could handle this.

“You can’t defeat it while holding onto me! You need both of your hands.” Shen Yuan protested. 

“I can,” he said, confident in his abilities. 

This creature was not particularly fast, and it telegraphed its attacks easily enough for him to dodge quickly. He only needed one hand for his sword and could still use a sword seal with his other hand if he had to while still keeping his arm around Shen Yuan. 

He would make it work. 

“Hold on to me,” he instructed before rushing the beast. 

Shen Yuan squawked and clung to him tightly. 

Liu Qingge moved in with a leap, sword clanging off another batch of crystals. He growled and moved in again, and again. 

“There, center left!” Shen Yuan called out. 

Liu Qingge looked and spotted the crystal. He wouldn’t have realized it was a different color, but he trusted Shen Yuan’s word. With another thrust of his sword, he finally felt it pierce into flesh. The creature went suddenly still and faded to a pale grey color. 

As he drew his sword back, he found a strange gem attached to the tip. 

Shen Yuan slapped his shoulder and gasped. “The heart gem!” 

“Heart gem?” 

“It’s a rare treasure!” Shen Yuan pushed away, and Liu Qingge let him go. He grabbed the gem, and it split into two pieces in his hand. Shen Yuan didn’t seem upset that the gem had just broken in half; instead, he looked delighted. 

The orange gem glimmered like fire in the pale light of the forest. 

“Wow. It even feels warm!” 

“What does it do?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“It connects people across time and space! It’s said that one piece can always find its way back to the other, no matter the distance!”   

“Gems can’t move like that,” he said. 

Shen Yuan laughed and handed one half of the gem to Liu Qingge. “The gems don’t move! They just make it so that one half always knows where the other is. It’s romantic!” 

Liu Qingge looked over the fire-like stone. He’d hoped it could create lava or fire, honestly. What did he need some love gem for? But Shen Yuan was holding the other half and holding it up to the sky, admiring every angle with a bright smile that made Liu Qingge’s heart squeeze with warmth. 

Shen Yuan made him feel... content, warm, both calm and with a racing heart, like he was in a rainstorm after suffering in a drought for years. 

He wrapped his fingers around the gem and basked in its warmth.

Chapter Text

Now that he had the heart gem in his hands, he was even more annoyed at its use in Proud Immortal Demon way. Out of all of Binghe’s wives, he’d given it to a forgettable late addition?? A gem that connected to its other half. 

Pah! Binghe probably kept that gem in his treasury and never touched it again. 

Obviously, that random wife that Shen Yuan was pretty confident had never gotten an actual name and had only ever been referred to as ‘heart’ was not the love of Binghe’s life. If anyone was, it might have been Liu Mingyan, but honestly even she had mostly vanished into the faceless harem. Ridiculous. 

Why have a heart gem for someone who didn’t have a soul mate?

The gem warmed and pulsated in his hand the way it did when it synchronized with the pair holding it. Well... obviously he and Liu Qingge were just such good friends that they were triggering the gem’s pairing instincts. They had even defeated the ridiculously annoying double-heart crystal-crusted lizard together! 

Well, Liu Qingge had done most of the actual work, but Shen Yuan had helped! 

He had explained how to beat the beast, and that had been vital! This crystal was even hard for Binghe to find. He’d actually had a much harder time with the creature because he’d faced it alone and with no idea what it was. Binghe had been burned badly by the lava breath, but Liu Qingge had handled it with ease. He clearly was the best, after the protagonist, who didn’t even exist in this world... so by default that made Liu Qingge the best!

Satisfied with his ranking, Shen Yuan tucked the heart gem into his bracelet storage, still the coolest thing he’d ever been able to do! 

“Liu Qingge is really impressive! You didn’t even get a scratch on you from that thing!” Shen Yuan smiled as he walked around Liu Qingge just to assure himself that Liu Qingge in fact had not been hurt in the fight. 

When he didn’t see any injuries, he nodded to himself. “But next time, don’t just run ahead without me. You needed my help! Ah don’t deny it!” he countered when he saw Liu Qingge opening his mouth. 

Liu Qingge crossed his arms. After a long silence, he admitted, “You helped. Thank you.” 

Hearing that felt like passing his final exams! The battle master himself said that Shen Yuan helped! He could conquer the world now and not even hesitate in handling creatures! 

Well, maybe he would hesitate a bit with the dangerous ones, but honestly there were so many non-lethal plants and animals in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way he could probably safely look at some of them without getting himself into too much trouble!

He could go into the world and just find all of those strange things that idiot Airplane had never done more than devote a single sentence to! The Echoing Orchid Groves! The Pain-Eating Root Slug! So many magical, once in a lifetime flowers they could fill an entire field with just once in a lifetime life saving flowers! 

How did one world make so many of those things! There should be a limit, but apparently great master Airplane didn’t believe in a limit to nonsense! 

There was so much to see and do, but first, this wish-granting flower. It had to be here, even this early in the world, right? Surely, a wish-granting flower took eons to form, so it must be growing already and just no one knew about it because apparently no one recorded anything in this world! 

Otherwise, these miracle flowers wouldn’t be just growing in forests with no one but Luo Binghe knowing about them! Clearly, there were not people out there doing ecological surveys of areas, and honestly that made no sense. Cultivators traveled all over, and they would have noticed and used those. 

He sighed; just another in the long list of ridiculous bullshit that Airplane pulled. He had so much potential, but then his brain leaked from his ears and turned into nothing but tits and papapa to save the world. 

As he looked at the surrounding forest with the strange trees with grey bark and red leaves. Shen Yuan would bet that they probably had some sort of magical properties in their sap at least, potentially even in the bark. But that was something Airplane would never write about. 

Honestly, Shen Yuan could happily spend his life learning about all the strange creatures and plants in this weird world. He wanted to know all of their secrets and to understand why all the pollen worked as an aphrodisiac because it made no sense that EVERY plant seemed to have that effect. 

He wanted to know all about it, see Liu Qingge fight more creatures and maybe even get strong enough to truly fight at his side, not just shout helpful instructions. 

Well, clearly he wanted to be with Liu Qingge. He was obviously a good friend, loyal, strong, and handsome! What more could anyone want in a friend that you travel the world with! 

That was all. 

“The heart gems are lucky, so keep it close,” Shen Yuan said. “And we’ll always know where the other piece is now. So if you rush off like that again, I’ll be able to find you easily!” 

Liu Qingge grunted faintly, and the heart gem melted into his pouch, and out of sight. 

“Thank you,” Liu Qingge murmured. “That was helpful information.” 

Shen Yuan beamed. He knew his encyclopedic knowledge would come in handy. The human parts of the world might have changed, but the natural things should probably still be about the same so he could work out things like that! 

“Of course. I know that there are a lot of strange creatures around. Did you have to study monsters on Bai Zhan?”

“Mn,” he nodded. “But we don’t learn all of them, only the ones that are most common. We don’t sit and memorize things like that.” 

Shen Yuan laughed. It was hard to even picture Liu Qingge sitting still long enough to read or study. 

“Well, don’t worry! I know almost every creature that could show up. I’ll tell you how to handle them. With our forces combined, we’ll be unstoppable!” 

Liu Qingge smiled faintly and nodded. “You need to get better with a sword if you are going to be in the field.” 

“Well, then do I need to call you sensei?” 

Liu Qingge blinked. “What?” 

“Never mind, never mind.” Shen Yuan shook his head. “I’d like to learn how to use a sword. I really want to learn how to fly!” 

“I’ll teach you about that once we find a way back to the correct world. I’ll show you some basics. But you will need to develop a core and qi before you can fly.”

“There are pills and some herbs that can do that.” Shen Yuan said. “I can meditate and work on it too, but isn’t it a bit too late for me to do all of that?”

“Most cultivators start when they are children, but it is possible. It will just be a bit painful to grow a core as an adult.” 

“Wait, painful!?”

“Yes, you’re basically growing an organ immediately as opposed to it forming naturally.”

Shen Yuan stared at him. It hadn’t been described as painful when one of Binghe’s wives, a normal woman who had almost died taking a sword meant for Binghe so obviously he’d made her a wife and then given her a rare (of course) flower to give her a core so she could be a cultivator.  

But there had been no mention of it being painful! Yes, Binghe had given her the flower, and then they’d papapa, so that probably helped, but still, it should have mentioned that growing a core was painful! 

“You look pale. Are you alright?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“How badly does it hurt?” he asked. 

Shen Yuan wasn’t afraid of pain. He’d had his fair share of painful moments in and out of hospitals, but he still didn’t want to just jump headfirst into something painful without getting any information about it! 

“I don’t know.” 

Well, whatever, it didn’t matter if it hurt, as long as it helped him be able to actually become a cultivator, to get to fly on his own sword. He really would do just about anything to let that happen. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t put up with to have that opportunity. 

And besides, even if he made it home, having a core would probably let him have an easier time with a lot of his health issues. Cultivators never got just normal colds or asthma attacks! 

Liu Qingge looked him over. “It won’t hurt that badly. I’ll be with you.” 

Shen Yuan felt heat rush to his face, how sincere Liu Qingge was! He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone as sincere and honest as Liu Qingge before in his life. The man was just straightforward, and nice. 

He enjoyed getting to be around someone he knew he could trust like that, who he knew would have his back no matter what. He just needed Liu Qingge to get home safely. The man deserved to be there with his sister. 

There was a life there that Liu Qingge deserved to get back to. And more and more, Shen Yuan kept hoping that he could be there with him too. He loved the strange world here, but… 

“Liu Qingge is too reliable. You make it seem like it wouldn’t be that bad just because you’re there. Would you take the pain for me then?” he asked with a smile. 

Liu Qingge’s ears turned pink in an entirely too charming and cute way for someone known as the War God! 

“That... I just would not let you deal with that alone is all I meant,” Liu Qingge said as he crossed his arms. 

Shen Yuan couldn’t stop the laughter rushing out of his chest. “I appreciate you and your support. I feel like I could handle it now than if I thought I had to handle it alone.” He smiled at the other man. 

Liu Qingge somehow became redder. 

“What?” Shen Yuan laughed. “You can’t even handle words of appreciation and gratitude?”

“Ridiculous,” Liu Qingge muttered. “We should keep going and find this wish flower you mentioned.” 

Shen Yuan nodded and went back to his side. “Of course. It has to be close now; monsters only show up when you’re going the right way, so I bet we can find it soon.” 

“Stay close in case there are more of those two-headed things around.’ 

“There wouldn’t be. They are very territorial, so there wouldn’t be another around in this kind of biome. And honestly, most other dangerous creatures wouldn’t be around there either since it doesn’t really share space with anything that could challenge it.” 

“So this place is empty of other monsters because of that one beast?” 

“Not empty! But it would have fewer dangerous beasts because the other one would have gotten rid of them before we got here. It just means it’s a little safer for us here than it could have been, that’s all.” 

Liu Qingge frowned but nodded. “Alright. Well, we should still be cautious because we have no promises that it will keep that pattern.” 

Shen Yuan nodded, but he knew he was right. That monster had been very clear about not sharing its territory. He would just be enjoying the flora in the area and trying to figure out any secrets of the trees. 

There was so much to explore and see. 

“What are you looking at?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Just the trees here. They grow in such a strange shape and look at the bark color. I mean, I don’t know a lot about trees, but it seems like trees aren’t usually that color, right?”

Liu Qingge looked at the trees and shrugged. “They seem normal enough to me. Do you want me to knock one over?” 

“Oh, I hadn’t... no. There’s not really a need to destroy anything just for me to look a little more,” Shen Yuan laughed. 

He knew enough to know that in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way, the people who just destroyed things for no reason were really the ones that got hit the hardest by revenge in one way or the other. Airplane often introduced villains by doing something terrible to the surrounding land or villages. Not that Luo Binghe made things better, and the protagonist had technically destroyed the world in a way when he merged the realms… 

But without the true protagonist halo, who knew what might happen to Liu Qingge if he dared to harm a tree for no reason! 

“I’m sure if I want to learn about the trees later than I can find something then. Maybe find a branch or something. There’s nothing I need to know right now about this forest.” 

Liu Qingge just hummed. “If you want a tree down, just let me know and I will knock one down for you.” 

He laughed. “I saw you conquer that monster like it was nothing, so I have no doubt that you could take care of a tree.” 

Liu Qingge nodded with a very small smile on his face. Shen Yuan got the distinct image of a pleased cat, swishing its tail and holding its head up high. Who knew that the famed war god would be so cat-like in how he behaved! 

He couldn’t help smiling as they continued through the forest. 

“Are there any distinguishing features or things near this flower?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Um, there’s a cave nearby, I think,” Shen Yuan said. 

The description had been very vague. Especially since this whole ‘getting to the flower’ adventure had mostly been about a battle with the beast that lived in the ruins of the forest and not really about the actual exploration of finding the location or anything. 

Airplane really had something against actually describing scenery or just having a nice travel section in his stories. Would it kill him to add some world-building into his novel? Really, that man had no brains and was an embarrassment to writers everywhere. 

“Your heart is beating faster again. We should rest.” 

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I was just thinking about something that made me angry, is all.” 

“What could be making you angry here?” Liu Qingge looked around as if expecting to find some creature that had pissed off Shen Yuan. 

Shen Yuan laughed hard as Liu Qingge frowned.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just appreciate you, is all.”

There was a peace in that, knowing he could just trust that Liu Qingge would have his back if anything attacked, but that Shen Yuan could probably identify it. Even of the creatures that had gotten little description, Shen Yuan remembered them all. Ever since he was really young, his memory of the things he’d read had been top-notch. He’d been able to get through school pretty easily just by making sure he kept up with his reading. 

His sister had been a bit jealous of that, but she’d been much better at socializing and actually making friends. That was something Shen Yuan had never quite gotten the hang of. It was so much easier to interact with people through a screen than in person. 

That was why he liked Liu Qingge so much; he was easy to understand. Honest and straightforward. Shen Yuan didn’t have to worry about being misunderstood or mocked. No, if Liu Qingge didn’t understand something, he would just say so. It made him relax and feel like he could be a bit more of himself than having to worry over every word and how it could be taken. 

“I smell something floral,” Liu Qingge said, holding out an arm to block Shen Yuan. 

“Really? Are your senses that heightened?” 

“All cultivators should be able to detect scents like that at a bare minimum.” 

Shen Yuan had to agree. This world was one of poisonous and aphrodisiac flowers all around, so being able to detect them at a distance was a vital skill. Thankfully, this particular flower did not have those kinds of side effects. 

“Which way?” he asked. 

Liu Qingge led the way past several more trees and a patch of ground that still smoldered with heat as if the lava had only recently cooled. 

There, Shen Yuan spotted it. 

The glowing golden aura made it pretty obvious that the flower was important. If this were a video game, the flower would have a yellow arrow pointing to it. He wondered if every one of the hundreds of once-in-a-lifetime magical flowers glowed like this. The world would look like a rave party at an anime convention if that were the case. Once in a lifetime, flowers were shockingly common in this place. 

“This is it?” 

Shen Yuan nodded and carefully crept closer. Up close, the flower matched the description. Delicate leaves made of a golden crystal that flickered with an inner light: the power to grant wishes. But the flower was small, not even fully bloomed. 

The one in PIDW had been large and able to handle any wish given to it. This one... well.. It looked as if a strong breeze could blow it away. 

Liu Qingge stepped closer, and Shen Yuan moved in front of Liu Qingge to stop him from getting any closer. “Wait, wait. Only one person can touch it.” 

The War God stopped. “Alright, you can handle it since you know about this plant.” 

Shen Yuan took a deep breath. In the book, it had been simple — just touch the leaves and speak to the flower. Easy. After everything else, talking to a flower would be simple. 

Haltingly, he pressed a finger to the sturdiest-looking part of the flower, a dark leaf near the base of the flower. 

“Hello?” he called mentally. 

“It is too early for me to speak with you, traveller,” the flower responded in a soft, whispery voice. 

Shen Yuan suddenly doubted his recollection. Maybe this flower had been a wife? He was sure there had been a flower fairy as a wife at some point. 

“I am no wife,” the flower said firmly. 

Shen Yuan quickly apologized. He hadn’t realized how easily this flower could read his thoughts. 

“Why are you bothering me?” the flower asked. “You know what I can do, but I am just forming. My power is limited. In a few hundred years-”

“We don’t have a few hundred years!” Shen Yuan protested. 

“I can see what you seek,” the flower said. “A return to your homes, both of them, right?” 

“Yes, exactly!” 

“I can only fulfill one. And then I will have to rest. I’m not giving my everything and dying just because you found me,” the flower said. 

He was fairly certain that in PIDW the flower had gladly given all of its power... 

“I am not giving you all of my power!” the flower snapped. “So stop thinking about it!” 

“Of course, of course. But you said you could help, right?”

“Yes, do you even listen? I can send one person to one world. Then maybe try again in a few hundred years, and maybe I can send the other one. Do you know how long it takes to cultivate that sort of power? And I am not even demanding anything in return? Really, you have no idea how lucky you are that I’m so generous.” 

“Yes, yes, truly a benevolent flower.” 

“Sarcasm translates so I suggest you watch your tone, two-legger.” 

Shen Yuan sighed. “Of course.” He looked back at Liu Qingge, who was standing guard nearby. His sect robes wrinkled from the fight but were still pristine in grey and pale blue. 

Liu Qingge had gotten to live in whatever world of Proud Immortal Demon Way he was in, fanfiction or not; he’d gotten to survive, and become his own character. Maybe Shen Yuan’s new favorite, honestly. He deserved to get that chance he never got in Proud Immortal Way.

“Send him back.” 

The flower was quiet for a long while, and Shen Yuan almost repeated the command. 

“Alright. He needs to touch the petals, but GENTLY,” the flower commanded. “And you must let go when he does it.”

“Got it, one sec,” he told the flower. 

Shen Yuan pulled his hand from the leaf, a bit relieved to have the flower out of his head. Honestly, he would have thought a flower would have better manners, but apparently not in this world. 

“Well?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“It can help,” Shen Yuan said. 

“Good. What do we do?”

“Well, you just need to gently touch the petal,” Shen Yuan said. “And it’ll work.” 

“Alright, on the count of three then.” 

Shen Yuan knew he should tell Liu Qingge the truth, that Shen Yuan wasn’t going anywhere. But he didn’t. Shen Yuan had lived a life of nothing much.

He’d been a decent, forgettable student. A man who spent more of his life on the keyboard than off of it. His health was bad, his attitude was bad, and his friends were nonexistent. His family mostly forgot he existed as long as he just didn’t make a scene. Somehow he’d become a piece of the landscape in his own life. 

But now, he had the chance to do something meaningful, something to really help a person who deserved it. 

Even when he’d first read Proud Immortal Demon Way, he’d hated how Liu Qingge died, betrayed by his sect brother, never truly avenged. A character whose death barely registered in the story despite his clearly important role in the world. 

Well, he would make sure that would not happen to Liu Qingge again. 

“One, two, three.” 

Shen Yuan moved as if to touch the flower but only touched just in front of it. Liu Qingge looked at him with shocked eyes before a golden light wrapped around the War God and the man vanished from sight. 

Alone, Shen Yuan sat on the ground by the flickering flower, and laughed weakly to himself. He’d had a hell of an adventure... and... well, if his calculations were right, the core-enhancing moss should be growing somewhere in this forest...

After all, he had a few hundred years to wait for this flower to be ready to send him home.

Chapter Text

The world shimmered a vibrant gold as Shen Yuan vanished before his eyes. Or, Liu Qingge realized, he vanished before Shen Yuan’s eyes. Shen Yuan’s hand was on the ground, not on the flower. He wasn’t going anywhere, only Liu Qingge. But the light was too fast, too much, and when it cleared, he saw himself back in the verdant green of Cang Qiong. 

He instantly recognized the familiar energy circling the area of his home. A quick look around made clear he was in the forest outside of Bai Zhan, back home. 

“Shidi??” a familiar voice called. 

Liu Qingge froze. 

Shen Qingqiu. 

But his voice, while still sweet, still the same, didn’t make his heart race or twist in his chest in the same way. Instead, it just made him think of a different Shen. His idiotic Shen Yuan, who had stayed behind in a dangerous forest when he didn’t have a bit of qi or ability to defend himself. 

He had to get back to Shen Yuan. 

Shen Qingqiu rushed through the woods, his husband, Luo Binghe, right behind him. Shen Qingqiu sighed with relief. “Shidi, there you are! There were unsteady energy fluctuations indicating a portal, and then you were gone!” 

“Mn, I found a portal. I met someone; I need to get back to him.” 

Shen Qingqiu blinked several times. “W-what?”

“He is in a dangerous place with no way to defend himself. I need to get back. How do I do that?” he asked. 

He had to find a way back to Shen Yuan, had to make sure he was okay, had to keep his promise to teach Shen Yuan how to use a sword and how to fly on his sword. He would keep his promise, no matter what he would get back to Shen Yuan. 

“I... well, shidi, opening a portal to a specific location is not an exact science, of course. There are only certain ways to open portals at all and few on how to control where they go.” 

“Fine. Open a portal. I’ll find my way back to him.”

“Shidi, sit. Sit for a moment. Tell us what’s happened.” 

Liu Qingge reluctantly let Shen Qingqiu guide him to a nearby clearing to sit. Shen Qingqiu grabbed his wrist and sent a probe of qi before sighing with relief. “You’re really okay. Shidi, you scared me. You just vanished.” 

“I went to a strange world. There’s someone there. He has no qi and is in a dangerous forest. I need to get back.” 

“Well, how did you get back without him? Did you leave him?” Luo Binghe asked, crossing his arms and glaring at where Shen Qingqiu held Liu Qingge’s wrist. 

“I didn’t. He used some wish flower to send just me back. I didn’t realize what he was doing until I was here.” 

“A flower?” Shen Qingqiu frowned. “... Binghe, can you go bring us some tea?” he asked. 

“Shizun!” Binghe protested. 

“Please?” Shen Qingqiu asked. 

Binghe nodded and hurried away without another word. 

“Now, shidi, tell me what happened.” 

Liu Qingge shook his head. For some reason, he wanted to keep Shen Yuan to himself. He’d never wanted to keep secrets before, but something told him to keep this quiet and to himself. “I just need to get back to him.” 

“Okay, what flower did you use?”

“Orange glowing one in an ash forest.” 

Shen Qingqiu held up his fan. “The Thousand Wishes Flower? It should have been able to send you both here.” 

“It was small. We were in a time far before this one,” he said. 

“Wait, a different time? Shidi, that will be... I don’t want to say impossible, but that will be difficult, very difficult to find. Traveling through not just space but time as well,” Shen Qingqiu sighed, fluttering his fan faintly. 

“I don’t care. I have to find him.” 

“Alright, I will try to help. We need a focal point to try to narrow the search.” 

“Focal point?” Liu Qingge frowned before pulling the heart gem from his sleeve. “Will this work?”

Shen Qingqiu gasped as he leaned in closer to look at it. “A heart gem! Shidi you killed the two-headed beast? As expected of you! This... this will be.. He has the other half of this gem?”

“En,” Liu Qingge nodded. 

“Oh, shidi, how romantic! This gem is activated, which means it has connected your heart with his. With this, we might be able to open a portal, but shidi, we might not bring you back again.” 

Liu Qingge was quiet. He needed to speak with his sister before he made that decision. He would not be someone to just abandon her like that, but he already knew his decision. 

“How long will it take to make this portal?” he asked. 

“At least a day to draw out the sigils.”

“Help me with this,” he mumbled. “Please.”

Shen Qingqiu blinked at him before smiling and then hiding it behind his fan. “Of course! Of course shidi! I will do everything I can to make sure you return to this person. Shall I ask Yue Qingyuan to come speak with you?”

“En.” 

Unsurprisingly, as soon as he heard the story, Yue Qingyuan called a meeting of the peak lords to discuss the War God leaving. 

Of all the peak lords, he was the easiest to replace. He knew that. Yang Yixuan was strong enough to take on that role now. He still couldn’t actually beat Liu Qingge, but he could survive several minutes of sparring. 

With the support of the other peak lords, he could handle the role and step into it fully within a year. The other option was to give the position to Luo Binghe, but Liu Qingge would rather blow up Bai Zhan Peak entirely than allow that to happen. 

Yue Qingyuan sat at the center of the large table. Everyone else was already in their seats when Liu Qingge arrived with Yang Yixuan at his side. He nudged the boy to stand up straighter as they walked in. He took his seat, and his student stood behind him. 

“Shidi, do you have something to tell us?”

“I will be departing and may not return.” 

He watched the words impact every peak lord differently. Most were somewhat indifferent. He knew he was mainly a blade to the sect, not a person, and a blade could be easily replaced. 

“Yang Yixuan can take my place as Peak Lord.” 

Yang Yixuan nodded, crossing his arms. He projected confidence, though Liu Qingge noted the slight tremor in his hands, nervous but not showing it. The boy would do well in this role. 

“He hasn’t beaten you to take the position, as is tradition,” Wei Qingwei said. 

“Not yet, but the day approaches,” Liu Qingge admitted. “I believe he will serve well as the new peak lord and grow into a warrior greater than me.”

“What is so important to abandon your sect?” Qi Qingqi asked. 

“I must return to another world to fulfill a promise I made. Returning may be impossible. Rather than leaving without a word, I am giving you notice, not asking permission.” 

Yue Qingyuan smiled politely. “And we thank you for that shidi, but it is most unusual for a Peak Lord to step down in such a way, especially one from Bai Zhan.” 

“Many peak lords from Bai Zhan have stepped down or left without a word, dying in combat or at the hands of a disciple,” he said. History wasn’t his strong suit, but everyone knew that the history of Bai Zhan was bloody and scattered. 

The Peak Lords of the battling peak never left peacefully. His own shizun had died shortly after Liu Qingge became the top fighter on the peak. He’d never gotten the chance to face his peak lord in a true battle. An ambush by a group of demons had taken her life. 

“Most Bai Zhan do not get the chance to say their goodbyes. I respect you all and wish to have that. Thank you for serving as my martial siblings these years,” he stood and bowed deeply. 

There was sputtering around the table, but Liu Qingge had not come here to ask for the Qing generation to bless him and his decision. This was merely an informative session for him. 

“Is it truly so impossible for him to return?” Yue Qingyuan looked at Shen Qingqiu, who instantly hid his face behind a fan. 

“It is not impossible, but it will not be a simple task, and it may not be able to be repeated. Opening a portal is a difficult task, and directing it to a specific location is even more difficult. Liu Qingge has a gem that will help us triangulate the location he wishes to go, but no such key item will allow him to come back so easily.” 

“Well, build him one then.” Qi Qingqi said. “Surely An Ding can do that.” 

“Ah!” Shang Qinghua squeaked and jumped. “Sh-shimei... really, we can’t just build a magical artifact like that. That takes a lot of time and effort. It would be like asking for a custom sword from Wan Jian.” 

“So we just allow him to leave? Do the oaths we took to this sect mean nothing?” she demanded. 

Yue Qingyuan held up his hand and stood. “Are you certain about this, Liu Qingge?” 

“Mn,” he nodded, still bowing. “I have never been more certain of any choice in my life.” 

“Everyone. I understand we are all reluctant to allow Bai Zhan to lose its peak lord and all of us to lose a martial sibling. But the oaths we took to this sect were to serve it as long as our hearts were dedicated to the sect. We all saw the previous generation fall in that oath, and the damage it left behind.” 

None of the others said anything, all looking to the side. 

Liu Qingge hadn’t had quite the same experience since there had been no peak lord of Bai Zhan at the time, but he knew that the previous generation ascension was less because they all had reached that level of cultivation and more because they had failed in their duties and were tearing one another apart. 

“I support your decision,” Yue Qingyuan said. “To go against one’s heart will only harm you and this sect. I know you do not take lightly your duties and that if this is what you wish, then there is no changing your mind. I ask only that if you are able to return to us, you do so.”

“Thank you, Zhangman-shixiong” He turned his bow to face the sect leader. 

“You really think that kid is ready to take on your role?” Qi Qingqi asked, looking Yang Yixuan over. 

“In time he will be. I expect my martial siblings to ensure he lives up to the title of Bai Zhan Peak Lord before you allow him to formally take the role.” 

Qi Qingqi smiled at that, and Liu Qingge couldn’t help but smile back. She would teach Yang Yixuan a lot if she chose to take the time. He believed that Yang Yixuan would one day defeat him. The boy had already learned and grown a lot; he sparred with Luo Binghe occasionally, even. 

He’d always expected that eventually Yang Yixuan would stand over his dead body and take the role of Bai Zhan Peak Lord. Though now he realized the boy hadn’t wanted to do that. He’d wanted a shizun and, as far as Liu Qingge could tell, didn’t want to kill his teacher and take the role. That was the problem with raising the brats too closely on Bai Zhan. Now they were attached to him. 

He blamed Shen Qingqiu for that. 

“Well, we certainly won’t let him embarrass us by taking the role before he’s ready.” Qi Qingqi said. 

Yang Yixuan just bowed, though Liu Qingge could see him itching to snap back. He’d blame the boy’s manners on Shen Qingqiu too. 

“Then, we wish you well, Liu Qingge. Please return to us when you are able. For now, this information will not leave this room,” Yue Qingyuan said. “For all others, Liu Qingge is simply out on a mission, and when the time is right, we will announce a new Bai Zhan Peak Lord.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. Things between the sects and the demon realm seemed peaceful enough, but Yue Qingyuan always played cautiously and carefully until the last moment, except for the moments where he acted far too rashly. 

There was more grumbling and disagreement from his sect siblings, but he honestly didn’t care. He’d never been a careless person, and his mind was made up, there was no changing it. Like when his martial siblings had tried to tell him to stop trying to retrieve Shen Qingqiu’s corpse, he’d continued to do as he wished. 

With that, the meeting ended, and Liu Qingge fled before his martial siblings could demand more answers. Yang Yixuan followed right at his side back to Bai Zhan. 

“You can move into my cottage,” Liu Qingge said as they landed on the rocky grounds of Bai Zhan. 

Yang Yixuan shook his head. “Not until I’ve earned it. Until I can beat every other Peak Lord, I won’t sleep anywhere but a tent!” 

Liu Qingge shook his head. “You will be a Peak Lord in a tent then.” 

“I won’t!” he said. “I’ll use everything you taught me, and prove I’m the best! And when you get back, we can fight honestly!” 

Liu Qingge turned to face Yang Yixuan. The boy had grown taller, though he still had more to go. 

“You’ve learned well.” Liu Qingge reached out and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

Yang Yixuan’s eyes glimmered with tears. “Are you really leaving?” 

He nodded. “You know a warrior must follow their heart to keep growing and improving. To go against one’s own desire-“

“Will lead to ruin and self-destruction,” Yang Yixuan muttered. “I know. I remember.” 

“Then you know my answer. Don’t waste time asking questions you already know the answer to.” 

Yang Yixuan sighed. He rocked on his feet for a moment before rushing forward. For a second, Liu Qingge almost drew his sword, but the boy merely threw his arms around Liu Qingge in a hug. 

“Thank you. You’ve taught me more than anyone. You changed my whole life.” 

“Shen Qingqiu is the reason for that,” he muttered. “So you must make sure you repay that debt to him.”

“And keep his beast of a husband under control, right?” Yang Yixuan grinned. 

Liu Qingge nodded and patted the other’s shoulder again as the boy released his hug. 

“I’ll make sure the peak is in even better shape than now! You’ll be proud when you come back!”

Liu Qingge nodded. “And then I’ll beat you into the ground.” 

Yang Yixuan laughed and bowed. “Until next time.” 

He gathered up a few things from his cottage, mainly extra weapons, before returning to the spot where Shen Qingqiu had started setting up the sigils. He looked around at the sage green forest that used to make him only think of Qing Jing but now all he thought of was Shen Yuan. 

“I’ll be there soon. Be safe Shen Yuan.” 

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan might have made some slight miscalculations in sending back Liu Qingge and staying here alone. But it was worth it!

He really wanted to make sure that Liu Qingge made it home and got the chance to actually be the badass War God of Bai Zhan instead of just a sad footmark of death that was used just to give his sister a little character and a tragic backstory. 

Liu Qingge had clearly deserved so much more than that! 

The guy obviously was protagonist material, and that was why that hack Airplane had killed him off without even introducing him on page! Because then obviously, he would have to be a male lead himself. Ridiculous that such an incredible character was put into a graveyard! 

Shen Yuan sighed and sat down near the wishing flower. Usually, the areas around these kinds of flowers were safe, purified by the power of the petals or something, so he should be okay to sit here and think for a while as opposed to wandering into potential danger. 

So, the things he knew were that this was some sort of prequel world set way before Luo Binghe’s time, and that Cang Qiong Sect didn’t exist yet so this was clearly an ancient past so not everything would be the same but a lot should still be in the natural world at least. And that meant that a lot of these flowers and magical herbs and treasures ought to be around for him to find and use. 

He pulled his small notebook from his magic bracelet and started writing out the herbs most likely to help him. First, he needed a core-enhancing moss to start the process of building a core; then he could start cultivating on his own without major problems. 

Hopefully.

It wouldn’t be fair exactly, but it would let him live and become a cultivator. Other cultivators looked down on pill and plant cultivators, who grew their cultivation through consuming other things, but it didn’t seem like there were other cultivators around to judge him anyway.

Who knew that reading the Proud Immortal Demon Way and remembering all the ridiculous bullshit plants would actually come in handy?

Shen Yuan had had a weak body since he was a kid. He’d gotten notes from doctors excusing him from physical activities (aside from stretching) and never been able to join in on playground games or even much roughhousing with his siblings. 

He’d found joy in books and stories about incredible beasts and powerful cultivators. He knew he could never be a cultivator; that didn’t even exist in his world, but it made him feel less lost in the world when he could fall into the story of a powerful hero. 

That and the worlds that those stories took place in always fascinated him. He loved watching nature documentaries and could just imagine what one would look like in a place like Proud Immortal Demon Way... except not really because that hack Airplane made all kinds of choices that made no logical sense! And no one ever documented things. 

He added a note to his list to get paper and ink. He’d had to learn how to grind the ink, but his parents had made him learn to write with a brush, so he at least should be able to handle that. Someone had to make a guide in this ridiculous world so people knew how to survive! 

But first, a core. 

It should be safe.... should being a key word there, but there wasn’t any other option.

Without a core, he really wouldn’t have a chance here. Well, not to live the life he wanted. He had no actual skills to offer to make a living in this world, and he wanted this chance. 

The chance to make an impossible dream come true! 

He sketched out a basic map of the area as he knew it. The ashen fields were close to the sea, so if he went through the forest and away from the sea, he would reach the mountain lakes, and that was where the first plant he wanted should be found. 

It wasn’t a particularly rare plant, often given to weak disciples to help jumpstart their core growth. Luo Binghe had been denied it, and it’d been highlighted how common it was to really bring home how cruel not allowing him to have it was. 

Another option was the Gleaming Ruby Roots that grew in the fresh, clean water of the lakes near the center of the continent. They were simple items. Honestly, if he had money, he could probably just buy some, but he didn’t have any money or even anything of value to exchange. 

He touched the bracelet on his wrist that Liu Qingge. Nothing that he was willing to exchange at least.

That would absolutely be a problem, but he could make it for a while at least. He knew what items were safe to eat and forage. Luo Binghe often foraged and ate the things he found, so Shen Yuan had at least some idea of those items. 

Now he just had to actually travel and do these things all by himself. 

It had seemed so simple when he was writing it down, but now that it was time for him to actually stand up and start walking, the entire thing felt overwhelming. How was he supposed to do this?

He took a deep breath and tried to imagine what Liu Qingge would do. He would have no hesitation on moving forward towards the next goal. 

Shen Yuan nodded and forced himself to stand up and began walking. 

It took about 2 hours for him to realize he was walking in the wrong direction, but by then he at least had gotten past the paralyzing worry that had kept him from going anywhere. 

One thing the novels never really went into was how boring travel was! Just walking through the mostly unchanging scenery got dull pretty quickly. Even watching the sun shift across the sky and set only held so much appeal. 

He managed to set up a camp in a small cave he found, but he wasn’t able to actually start a fire on his own. But that was fine; he didn’t need fire! Thankfully, he still had the rations that Liu Qingge had bought in the town, so he ate and then laid into the bedding that Liu Qingge had given him. 

Even now that the war god was gone, he still was taking care of Shen Yuan. 

Shen Yuan really needed to get it together so that he would make Liu Qingge proud! Not that he would ever see the beautiful man again, but still, in spirit! He was obligated to make him proud after doing all of that work of sending him home. 

Shen Yuan flopped into bed, exhausted, and dozed off, filled with a determination that he would do more tomorrow. 

But then the next day it was raining, so he decided to just rest for another day... 

By the time he made it to another town, he was almost out of food and ready to weep from how sore he was. How did anyone walk like this every day?? 

But he had collected some valuable herbs and flowers on his travels, and after selling those, he’d bought more rations, paper, ink, brushes, and a very crappy sword. He wouldn’t really be able to use his replica Xin Mo to defend himself, and the more he travelled, the more he would probably run into trouble of some sort. 

He started a routine of practicing the simple sword routines that Liu Qingge had shown him. He did not know if he was doing them right, but he really tried. His arms could barely hold the sword up for them so sometimes he practiced while just holding a small stick. It still counted as practice!

Even just meditating seemed to help his meridians become stronger, so maybe there was something about the world here that helped his health. He hadn’t even had any kind of episode. 

Slowly, sword forms and meditation got easier, and sometimes he could even do the whole routine with the sword in his hands the entire time. 

He couldn’t believe it! 

When he finally got to the lake, he looked around until he spotted the strangely golden flowers that the Ruby Roots grew from. Then he stripped down, hopped in and grabbed a few of them. Thank goodness some of these items grew in not-batshit locations. 

He brewed the smallest bit of the roots into a tea, not sure his body could even handle directly consuming them. After all, even the young disciples had some kind of core to process their energy. He at least wanted to try to be careful.

It brewed into a strangely royal blue tea that smelled like garbage water, and Shen Yuan had never wanted to consume something less, but bottoms up! He chugged it down like he usually did with horrible medicine. 

The tea warmed his entire body, energy thrumming through him like he had never felt before. 

He quickly sat down to meditate, feeling the warmth pool in his center, burning like he’d set a hot pan on himself. 

How unfair that developing a core hurt! 

And worse, that Liu Qingge had promised to be here with him when he did it. To hold his hand and help him through the pain, but Shen Yuan had sent him away. So now he got to suffer alone for doing the right thing!

But Shen Yuan had been through worse, so he focused on his breathing and let the energy move through him, building upon itself and twisting inwards until he felt something click into place in his body like a missing piece returning to him. 

Suddenly every breath was a bit easier, and every muscle ached a little less. 

Was this how cultivators always felt? They truly were living life on easy mode!

He was certain his core wasn’t anything noteworthy, but he had one. He could feel it pulsating alongside his heart, a quiet energy he’d never experienced before. '

Somehow it felt like he’d always been meant to have one and only now had managed to get settled into his body, like coming home. 

Had he just always been meant to be a cultivator? 

Obviously! 

And that’s why he’d gotten so angry at those terrible Airplane novels because he was just destroying cultivator work! Clearly, that was the answer. 

Now that he felt stronger, he ate some of the root and then immediately spit it out because it tasted horrible and felt like biting into a kiwi, fuzzy peel and all. Zero out of ten stars! 

So he cut it up and threw it into a pot with some random seasonings and made a stew. It wasn’t particularly tasty, but the roots were at least edible. Then he meditated well, more like he slept.

Who knew that growing a core was so exhausting?

After he finally felt his core stabilize, he set back to work with his sword, and this time he understood what Liu Qingge had mentioned — the extension of the sword as self. His qi moved through the metal and felt like just another part of his body. 

Though his crappy, cheap sword felt more like a broken extension than anything useful. When he tried to fly on his sword, it just clanged to the ground, useless and not even hovering. He guessed that might be because of the quality of the sword, but who was there to ask?

Surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of cultivators in this world. 

Since there weren’t any sects, that shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was. What sort of world had almost no cultivators when there were demons?? Trash world building as far as he was concerned! 

But now that he had some kind of core, although probably only with the power level of a baby cultivator, he was still a cultivator! His dreams had come true! He could be the cultivator saving the towns from evil now! 

Now, he just needed to work on increasing his skills. And since there wasn’t a teacher or even an alchemist he could go to for some help, he was just going to do this himself. He probably ought to be careful, but the fastest way to level up quickly would be getting some flowers from the deserts near Huan Hua... well, near the Jue Di Gorge since Huan Hua didn’t technically exist yet.

So he would head there. It wasn’t entirely clear what would be there now, but it’d been chosen for the conference that threw Binghe into the Abyss because of its strong natural energy, and at least one magical miracle flower naturally grew there. 

There would probably be a town there too, so that clearly had to be his next choice. He needed to get somewhere he could establish a base. Shen Yuan knew he wanted somewhere to return home to...

Liu Qingge would have been nice to return to, he thought but quickly shook that idea away. That was not happening, so he needed to let it go. 

He’d done the ultimate story move and sacrificed his own comfort for the good of another. Liu Qingge would thrive as a protagonist now! And Shen Yuan… well, he would do okay.

The days blurred together as he walked, following the sun and hoping for the best. The directions given in PIDW weren’t always helpful, especially not when there were no Tian Ti Temple outposts or Huan Hua Palace markers to use as a landmark. Thankfully, much of the natural environment matched the vague descriptions Airplane used.  

He had enough clues to piece together a general idea, and after a few days of wandering, he finally spotted the gorge. It had a distinctive jagged appearance and range of bushes and trees with golden leaves, which was why Huan Hua originally claimed to have made their palace so golden, simply to honor the beauty of nature around them and absolutely not to just flaunt their wealth, ha!

That sect had been a disaster for ages, and he couldn’t wait to see how it even came into existence, assuming he lived long enough to witness that happen. 

Cultivators lived a long time, so there was a chance! 

After his consistent meditation, he felt a bit more confident in using his energy now. He could note where it moved in his body and how to adjust it to help ease discomfort in his muscles from days spent walking. One day he’d master sword flight, and then he’d never have to endlessly walk through forests and fields again! 

He couldn’t wait to fly like that, to see this world from above just like he had with Liu Qingge guiding him and holding him close.

Of course, he’d be alone in his soaring, but that was fine! Shen Yuan was used to being alone, so just because this was a new world, he shouldn’t expect things to be different.

After all, that’s how he’d always liked to live his life, so nothing new to report here! He absolutely didn’t regret sending Liu Qingge home! No way! 

That said, it wasn’t nearly as much fun cataloguing monsters as he thought it would be; grinding ink in the field was a real pain in the ass, and more than once he’d spilled ink all over himself. Then he’d realized that these robes Liu Qingge had left him were somehow enchanted to repel stains, so they hadn’t been ruined by globs of ink exploding onto them. 

Shen Yuan had absolutely taken advantage of the stain repelling to just keep making a mess and hoping that the enchantment didn’t have like ‘blocks stains 99 times and then fails to do anything’ kind of rule.

Surely the war god needed robes that wouldn’t get destroyed every time he encountered a big fight! He needed to be able to handle all kinds of blood, guts and filth getting onto robes endlessly. 

Though he didn’t really get why Liu Qingge would carry around these slightly smaller, pale green robes. They weren’t even Bai Zhan colors, but maybe he wanted to go incognito sometimes. Either way, it meant that Shen Yuan had some decent-fitting robes and, aside from his short hair, he could blend in pretty well. 

Unfair how even when he was gone, Liu Qingge’s care still wrapped around Shen Yuan. 

People always whispered when he walked by in towns and he knew he wouldn’t ever quite blend in flawlessly, but he found that offering up medicinal herbs and some wise sounding quotes made most people just view him as a weirdo and not a dangerous stranger so he accepted that. Maybe when his hair got longer, he’d stick out a bit less. 

The small town near the gorge was larger than the fishing village they had first encountered in this world, but still not the size of even a remote village back in his home. It made him realize just how large the world he’d left had been and how little of it he had seen. 

So now he was seeing the world! Maybe all the time in the sun had done him some good. His sister would tell him ‘I told you so’ forever if she ever found it. 

He paused and looked at his hands. 

She would never get the chance to say that, would she? Eventually, his family would realize no one had heard from him. It would probably take them months, but they would realize it. Though they might just think he’d cut off contact with them and vanished into a new life in New York City. 

So no one would realize he was gone except maybe Airplane. And what could he do? He had no idea where Shen Yuan lived or how to contact any of his family. It’d just an internet presence vanished. 

It felt lonely to realize that even his absence would barely be noticed. 

He’d done it to himself though, but that was fine. It was so totally fine; he did better all by himself, anyway! 

After a brief walk through town, he heard something that caught his attention. Recently, people had gone missing after visiting a certain area of the gorge. This was what wandering cultivators dreamed of! Clearly, a beast was out causing problems, and Shen Yuan could solve the issue and be rewarded for it! 

“Excuse me, you said people have been going missing after visiting the golden leaf canopy?” he asked. 

The two gossiping men paused and looked at him, taking in his clothing and then his sword. “Ah yes, sir. We believe something dangerous has moved into the area. But we don’t know yet, sir. Might you be able to help us?”

Oh, so this was the feeling of being needed! 

He stood up a little straighter. “I can help you. What information do you have? How many have gone missing?” 

“Two so far, and they have only been missing a few days now. Both of them, a married couple, went to gather some mushrooms that grow under the golden canopy. But they haven’t returned.”

“Did they not just run off together to go somewhere else, maybe?” Shen Yuan asked. He was sure the answer would be no because it never was what had actually happened in this kind of genre. 

“No, they would never! Their son is only 2, and they would never leave him or their parents behind like that without a word.” 

“Have there been any other strange instances? Items or livestock going missing?” he asked. 

They both thought about it. “I think Ren Yi had some sheep go missing a few weeks ago. His flock were out near the canopy.” 

Well, that certainly pointed to a pattern. “I’ll investigate and return with answers for you and their families.” 

He didn’t hold high hopes that the people would be alive, but it was possible. Several of the beasts that dwelled in forested areas stayed in caves and would sometimes gather up prey and keep them trapped until the beast was ready to feed. If that was the case, then the people might still be okay and have a little time at least. 

“One last thing: what time did the couple go to the woods?” Shen Yuan asked. 

“Before dawn, many of the mushrooms wilt in the heat of sunlight.” 

Shen Yuan nodded, so it was likely something nocturnal in nature. That would narrow it down slightly since many the beasts in the human world actually hunted mostly in the daylight. And a demon wouldn’t care what time of day it was.

So the information wasn’t totally clear yet, but it was a starting point for his first wandering cultivator quest! Where was his isekai system to tell him about points and quests? Oh well.  

He gave the men his thanks for the information and then marched towards the golden canopy. With the sun still high in the sky, he figured now would be a decent time to at least get some more information. Before he knew exactly what this was, he probably shouldn’t go charging into the forest at night, especially since he didn’t even know his way around that well yet. 

The first thing he noticed was that the trees here were much larger than in several other areas he’d been. They reached further into the sky with fuller branches that stretched out to create the namesake of the golden canopy. A few shrivelled stems seemed to be all that was left of some of the Dewey Button Mushrooms that often grew in places like this. 

There, he spotted a basket with a few shriveled mushrooms in it. So the pair had gotten at least to the forest, and whatever had taken them had had no interest in the basket itself. 

Strangely, he didn’t see any drag marks or really even any sign of a struggle nearby. The ground was moist, with the canopy shading the earth from direct sunlight. But there were no deep marks in the mud, no broken branches or scratches along the trunks of the trees, just straight up, nothing to see. 

It didn’t make sense that these people had been taken and left no sign of it, so that left one option. 

Aerial attack by something large enough to carry two grown adults.

He frowned and racked his brain as he rotated through the options. There were only a few flying enemies that weren’t dragons that showed up in PIDW, and if a dragon were the culprit, it would be super obvious.

So what were the other options? A phoenix would have left a burning pattern behind and didn’t eat people. Qilins didn’t fly, even in Airplane’s world of bullshit. Though that meant there was only one other option that lived in this kind of area.  

The Cloud-Piercing Snake Horse. 

The ridiculous creature had the body of a horse, the face of a bat, the tail of a snake, and wings. Why not throw all the animals together at once? Except for the monsters couldn’t be human-looking.

If anything had a human face, Airplane would give it tits and make it a wife, monster or not. 

Ugh, perverted hack! 

This Cloud-Piercing Snake Horse often hunted in forested areas and hid in nearby caves during the day. With a single screech, it paralyzed its prey and then carried them back to its den, but usually kept prey alive for quite a while as they used them as blood bags, basically. So, there was hope for this couple then! But only if he acted quickly and if he was right that it was this horse snake bat bird… thing. 

It was one thing to wildly speculate on a forum or with Liu Qingge who could handle any kind of monster no matter what, but if he guessed wrong here when it was just him and some potentially nearly dead people... well, he’d be dead. 

But at least he’d die having an adventure for once. 

He took a breath and got out his sword. The Cloud-Piercing Snake Horses hunted at night and during the pre-dawn and dusk times, when there was light but not much. Something about their eyes not being able to handle true night or true daylight because they were not any one thing, but mostly because of Airplane nonsense honestly. It never made sense and was only for what worked best for Binghe’s story. 

The chapter featuring this monster had been all about a woman cursed to be a bat every day and night, but in the times in-between, the gloaming hours as she called it, she could be a human. So of course during one of those brief times she was a human, Binghe saw her and they fell in love. 

But the Cloud-Piercing Snake Horse stole the woman to use as its blood bag. Blah blah blah; the usual stuff happened. Binghe killed the monster, papapa, they got married, yeeted into the blackhole of the harem and never heard from again. 

It’d been disappointing since Shen Yuan wanted to know if she could still turn into a bat since that would be really cool for a wife to have, but she never showed up again in the novel. Ridiculous Airplane wasting interesting powers. 

Well, if this was a pre-Proud Immortal Demon Way world, then none of those characters even existed yet. 

So, step one: find the thing’s cave. It shouldn’t be too hard; there weren’t actually that many suitable caves in the gorge, and most of them were found only in one area. At least that’s what it had been like at the Immortal Alliance Conference since one of those caves was where Binghe had done his first papapa cure of that Qiu sister’s poison. 

He moved quickly, letting qi infuse his steps and marvelling at the lightness with every step. He really could move like the wind; those books had actually meant it! 

When he reached the rocky area, he sent out a tentative pulse of energy. He’d only recently even figured out how to do it, and still didn’t always understand what the response he got from these readings even meant. But he felt something strange and moved towards it. 

Supposedly demonic auras or things with killing intent felt wrong to cultivators, so he’d trust that instinct for now. 

Sure enough, he found a cave and curled up in the corner, looking pale but breathing, a man and a woman huddled together, bites along their arms. The woman spotted him first, and Shen Yuan put a finger to his lips. 

She nodded eagerly and then pointed further into the cave and motioned like sleeping. 

Ah, so the beast was here and resting since it was still daytime. 

He crept quietly closer and cut the faint threads wrapped around the couple’s legs and pinning them in place. Yes, the horse, bird, snake, bat mixture obviously used silken threads like a spider, and no Airplane never elaborated on it. 

The couple, uneven on their feet, stumbled out of the cave with silent grateful bows. The climb to the cave hadn’t been too difficult, so they should be able to escape without his help. He let out a sigh of relief; he could just focus on the beast now. And even if he died, the couple had gotten away and could warn the rest of the town about the monster. 

He’d done it; he was a hero. 

Sword in hand, he crept deeper into the cave until he felt air ruffling his hair. Looking up, he stared into the very awake eyes of the Cloud-Piercing Snake Horse just before it lunged at him from the ceiling. 

He barely ducked out of the way with a very manly and not at all terrified screech ripping out of his throat. But he kept hold of his sword, using the sword forms to block some kicks that the creature aimed at him. It was much larger than he had expected. While he had been ready for a man-sized horse snake, this was much closer to a truck-sized horse snake.

Maybe truck-kun was making another attack at him since Liu Qingge had ruined the first attempt on his life. 

The creature lunged again, and Shen Yuan just barely dodged as the cave shook more around him. In this enclosed space, the bat absolutely had the advantage, but then he caught a whiff of fresh air. The ceiling. There was a small air hole above them, and if he could open that up a bit more... 

He rolled to the side, one fang glancing across his arms in a streak of red-hot pain as he flung his sword upwards with his qi, blasting it off like Team Rocket taking off again. 

The hole cracked around them, and sunlight poured in through the new hole. 

Screeching in fury, the beast rushed for him again, but Shen Yuan called his sword back to him as the monster lunged blindly through the light. With more luck than skill, his sword slammed down, piercing straight through its weak spot, the center of its abdomen. With a last screech, the horrifying thing dropped dead. 

With a strange sense of numbness, Shen Yuan pulled his sword free and then ran from the cave to dry heave. He’d never so much as gotten into a proper fistfight before, and now he’d just killed something. The jumble of feelings in him swirled heavily into more nausea before he remembered he’d been injured and these things, of course, had venomous bites. 

Thankfully, he had the antidote to the bat’s venom already with him and quickly applied it over the scratch from the tooth before making his way back to town. He needed to take notes about the fight, but honestly, he really just wanted a bath and a long rest.  

As soon as he walked into town, a group waited for him. 

“You saved them!” the man who had given him the information said, stunned. The rescued couple stood nearby, pale but smiling. 

Shen Yuan nodded. “Of course. That’s what cultivators do.” 

He grinned as the town cheered around him. Instinctively, he turned to ask Liu Qingge how he’d done and then froze when he remembered he was alone. Laughing softly, he let the townspeople pull him away to a free meal and night at the tavern, but he slept poorly, tossing and turning, reaching for someone who was no longer at his side.

Chapter Text

All the preparations were done. The sigil was nearly done, and his bags packed with the essentials for himself and Shen Yuan. All that was left was for Shen Qingqiu to infuse the sigil with energy and some help from that damned sword of Luo Binghe’s. Shen Qingqiu assured him it would be fine to use for such a short amount of time. Liu Qingge doubted that, but he trusted Shen Qingqiu. 

Now he just had one last goodbye to give. 

“I need to speak with Mingyan before I leave.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded. “I will get the last of the materials together and talk to Binghe. We will be ready when you return.” 

“Thank you.” Liu Qingge stood and bowed.

“Ah, there’s no reason for so much formality between us. We’re martial siblings and friends.”

Liu Qingge nodded. Friends. They were friends. But Shen Yuan... he shook his head; that was something to ponder once he was back with the other man. 

He didn’t go to Xian Shu Peak often. The peak wasn’t near his and when he and Mingyan met, it usually was in town or on Bai Zhan where they would have more privacy. But for a goodbye, he wanted to meet her in her home, not force her to go across the mountains just for him.

She was waiting for him at the gate when he arrived. 

As she walked over to him, her features were placid as usual, but he could see the faint worry in her brow. Qi Qingqi must have said something already. He couldn’t help but notice how much she resembled their mother. When had she become so grown up? 

“Brother? I heard you needed to speak with me.”

“We need to speak in private.”

She nodded and led him down a hallway and to what must be her room. He’d been there only twice before that he remembered. It was more full of books and scrolls than he had seen it, but it looked comfortably lived in.

“Mingyan, are you happy here?” he asked.

She blinked and sat down at the small table in her room. “Brother, what is going on?”

“I am leaving,” he said.

She sat quietly for several moments before looking up at him. “You are not planning to return?”

“I will try to, but I don’t know that it will be possible.”

“Where are you going?”

Liu Qingge looked at his hands. “I met someone. He needs my help, but to help him I have to go through a portal.”

“Someone? Who is he?”

“A man from another world.”

Liu Mingyan arched an elegant eyebrow before she pulled some paper from her desk and a brush. “A man? Have you always been interested in men like this, brother?”

Liu Qingge felt his face warm. “Just him.”

He’d liked Shen Qingqiu, felt a longing that he thought would curse him forever, but then he’d found Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan, who smiled at him with ease, talked to him about creatures and loved the world around them. That Shen Yuan had changed everything in Liu Qingge’s mind and heart.

“He’s from another world? How did you find him then?”

“I heard a call for help,” Liu Qingge murmured. “And I found him.”

He tried to explain that world with no qi, with cars and buildings made of metal and glass. Mingyan took furious notes as he talked.

“So he is not a cultivator?”

“No, a scholar maybe, but his books were not all correct. But he’s smart and passionate.”

Mingyan stared at her brother. “You love him.”

“Mingyan!”

“You do.”

Liu Qingge stared at his hands as if they held the answer. “I would like the time to love him, to get to know him, and see all the different sides of him.”

His sister stared at him, ink pooling under her brush before she quickly began writing again. “So you are returning to this world of metal?”

“No, we found a portal to our world but far in the past, before even this sect came into existence. He is there all alone.”

“You said he’s not a fighter. Why would you leave him?”

“I didn’t leave him. He... He tricked me.” Liu Qingge didn’t like admitting that, but it was true. “There was a flower that could grant wishes. I believe it did not have the energy to save us both, so he saved me.”

Liu Mingyan murmured something under her breath that he didn’t understand.

“And now you’re going back for him?” she asked.

He nodded. “I will not leave him. I promised to teach him how to fly on the sword, how to be a cultivator, and I will not break my word.”

She took a deep breath and set the brush down. “I support you in this. No matter our separation, you will always be my brother. Please do not let worries about me stop you.”

He laughed. “When did my little sister become so grown up as to tell me such things?”

He reached over and patted the top of her head like he had done when she was still young.

She pushed his hand away. “Brother. I am an adult. I will miss you, but I want you to pursue your happiness.”

“That should be what the elder says to his younger sister,” he said. “I am proud of you. Mother would be too.”

She bowed her head slightly. “I... Brother, I’m proud of you. I always worried you would never find a place to rest your heart until a battle claimed it. But you have. I will have faith that we will meet again.”

“I will do everything I can to return to you.”

She smiled and nodded. “Well. Let me at least let me help you pack for this. Please also take some books from Qing Jing and Qian Cao.”

“A wise idea from my sister. I have packed many things from both of those peaks.”

She laughed. “Thank you. I learned wisdom from my shizun.”

“But you learned swordplay from your brother. Carry that with you forever.”

She bowed her head.

Liu Qingge nodded, his heart relieved that she understood. The two of them had always been alike, able to understand each other with just a few words. He would miss her. 

“Now, tell me more about this man you are going to find.”

Liu Qingge thought about it before trying to even describe Shen Yuan to her, but that was like trying to describe a rainstorm. He found himself, unsurprisingly, at a loss for words. “Intelligent but rash. Quick to smile and scowl. Passionate about the things he finds interesting.” 

“And does he like you too? He sent you back, away from him, did he not?” she asked. 

Liu Qingge looked away. Was he destined to forever chase what he couldn’t have? 

But then he remembered the way Shen Yuan always turned to him, reached for him, held tight to him when he was unsure of things. Shen Yuan hadn’t sent him away out of malice but out of some misguided idea that Liu Qingge would be happier in a world without Shen Yuan. 

“I want to believe he does.” 

“And if he doesn’t?” 

“I still wish to follow him for the rest of my days,” Liu Qingge said. 

Liu Mingyan took a deep breath. “Then I wish you many days of happiness and companionship.” 

“The ritual will be today, so this is goodbye.” 

Neither he nor his sister had ever been emotional people. He remembered even at their mother’s funeral not shedding a tear, and even the young Mingyan had only cried a few quiet sobs. Right now, her eyes glimmered with a bittersweet expression. A few tears pooled over the edges of her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her brother. 

“I will forever be honored to have you as my brother.” 

He hugged her closer. “And I will forever be grateful to have you as a sister. You make me so proud. Continue to honor our family, make the world know the Liu name.” 

Her body shuddered a little as she pressed her face to his shoulder. He ignored the dampness spreading on his shoulder and just rubbed her back. She finally took a deep breath. 

“You’ll return one day, I know it.” 

“Even if I cannot, I will find a way to get a sign to you.” 

“Yes, you at least have to tell me that he has accepted your feelings.” She smiled at him.

Liu Qingge felt a flush run up his cheeks at the idea of confessing, but if giving up his life to return to Shen Yuan wasn’t a confession... he wasn’t sure what else could be. 

“I will. I promise.” 

She wiped her eyes before stepping away from him. She insisted on packing up a few bottles of things for him, only saying that they would be important for two men in the future but nothing else. Instead, she included a few books she promised would explain everything. 

Liu Qingge didn’t quite understand but just nodded at his sister and let her help in her own way. 

When he had accepted and put away the last of her gifts, he patted the top of her head. “Mingyan, no more or I won’t be able to move.” 

She sighed. “Alright. Only because I know Shen-shibo wouldn’t let you travel unprepared.”

“Did you want to see me off?” he asked. 

She took his hand and nodded. “Can I?”

“I’d like that.” 

“Then I will be there.” 

He walked with Mingyan back to the portal point. Shen Qingqiu sat in a meditative pose while Luo Binghe watched from nearby. The large cursed sword lay at the center of the sigils, unsealed from its usual sheath, and he could feel the dark energy radiating from that. Mingyan eyed it warily. 

“Don’t worry, I have the sealing talismans ready as soon as we’re done, but this is the only sword that can traverse realms and create portals,” Shen Qingqiu said without opening his eyes.  

Liu Qingge nodded. He didn’t know enough about the sword to really question it; he just knew that it was a dangerous demonic sword that even the blacksmith masters of their sect wouldn’t handle. He would have to trust that Shen Qingqiu could deal with whatever the backlash for using the sword was. 

“Be careful, brother,” Liu Mingyan said. 

He gave her one last hug. She took his hand and untied one of the silver wraps he wore around his wrists before replacing it with a violet ribbon from her uniform. He mimicked her gesture as he tied his silver fabric into place on her uniform. The two looked at each other in silence before Mingyan stepped away to stand by Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe.  

“Now, shidi, please step into the sigil and hold out the heart gem,” Shen Qingqiu instructed as he motioned to Luo Binghe. The demon collected the demonic sword. 

“Once the portal opens, step through immediately, shidi. I don’t know how long we can keep it open.” 

He nodded, as if he would hesitate at this moment when he was finally going after what he truly wanted in his life, what he was finally doing for himself, not for honor or battle, but for his heart. 

“Binghe, ready?” Shen Qingqiu asked as Liu Qingge took his position. 

Stepping into the sigil, he felt the energy prickle along his skin like the moment before lightning struck. Potential pooled along his gut, his core responding to the energy and allowing it to flow into him. He wrapped his fingers carefully around the warm gem and nodded to signal he was ready. 

“Good luck, brother!” Mingyan called. 

Luo Binghe stepped forward and slashed the evil sword through the sigil. A pitch-black portal ripped through the air, and Liu Qingge jumped into it without hesitation. Darkness curled around him as he focused on nothing but the heart gem and how it pulsed with warmth in his hand. Even in this world of total darkness, he felt it guiding him, tugging him in a direction. 

His feet moved, carrying him through this void of nothing, shifting directions at the pull of the gem until finally he saw a glint of soft violet and gold in the distance. As though distorted through water, he heard Shen Yuan’s voice, but he couldn’t make out the specific words. 

He pushed forward, the gleaming light not coming closer no matter how much he walked, but he didn’t stop, instead just keeping his feet moving and his eyes glued to the pale golden portal in the never-changing distance. 

And then all at once he was at the light, plummeting through it like an open door. 

He hit the ground, dust flying around him as he landed in a town of some sort. People stood around him, shocked gasps from the crowd, but he only heard one voice. 

“Liu Qinnge!?” 

Gentle hands were suddenly on his arm, helping him to his feet, and though he didn’t need the help, he accepted it and stared at Shen Yuan.

Clearly, more time had passed here than in his own world. Shen Yuan’s short hair now reached his shoulders, and he carried a sword at his side. Qi, warm and alive, rushed through his veins, clear enough to feel even with this casual touch of Shen Yuan’s hands on his arm.

“What are you doing here!?” Shen Yuan asked, the stunned look on his face not quite hiding a smile. 

“You have a core now,” Liu Qingge said in answer. 

“Well, if I wanted to survive here, cultivating seemed like the best option,” Shen Yuan said. “I’ve gotten pretty good at those sword forms!” he grinned. 

“Where are we?” 

“I’ve been helping here since monsters are a problem at Jue Di Gorge.” 

So this was where Huan Hua would eventually rise to power? Right now, the city looked well-kept but nothing like the gleaming gold city it would eventually become. The small crowd of onlookers whispered excitedly to each other. 

“He’s a fellow cultivator. He taught me a lot,” Shen Yuan explained. “Here, let’s go to my room, and you can have something to eat and tell me what happened.”

Shen Yuan hadn’t let go of his arm yet, and Liu Qingge couldn’t bring himself to even try to pull away. His heart felt whole again, and the heart gem in his hand burned with a soothing warmth until he tucked it away in his sleeve. 

Shen Yuan led him to a wine house and inn and up the stairs to a small but warm room. A few robes hung over pieces of furniture, obviously drying after being cleaned. A few messy scrolls lay on the floor near a dried-up inkwell. 

“You’ve been here long?” Liu Qingge asked as he looked around. 

“A while. There’s a lot happening here, so I’ve been cataloging it all.” He motioned to his papers. “I’ve found quite a few valuable herbs and flowers growing here!” 

“And beasts?” 

“Just a few, and nothing I haven’t been able to handle!” 

He frowned and pulled Shen Yuan’s sleeve back to show the bandages wrapped around his arm. “Really?”

“Aiyah! Just a scratch from a Cloud-Piercing Horse Snake is all! I’ve already put an antidote on it so don’t worry.” 

“You killed it?” 

Shen Yuan smiled. “I did. It was the first thing I’ve ever killed, but it really was trying to kill me!” 

“You did well.” He patted Shen Yuan’s shoulder and nodded at him. 

“Well, I had a wonderful teacher! Here, let me show you some of my movements!” Shen Yuan grinned. “There’s a courtyard they’ve been letting me use for practice.” 

“Hm, I want to see this sword you have,” he said. 

Shen Yuan laughed. “Ah, you can’t judge it too meanly! There aren’t many swords made by master craftsmen here, so don’t be too harsh on it! It’s done a good job!” 

Liu Qingge set some of his bags down in the room and followed Shen Yuan through the doors and then down to a nice courtyard that had been cleared of furniture. The people here obviously liked Shen Yuan as they had set up this location just for him to practice. “You’ve been here a long time?”

“Yeah, I was going to travel more but...” Shen Yuan hesitated as if he didn’t know what to say next or how to work out the words, but Liu Qingge just nodded. 

He was glad Shen Yuan had found a mostly safe area to settle into for the time being. The thought of him trying to set up camps constantly was a worrying thought given that Liu Qingge had seen how much Shen Yuan struggled to even light a simple campfire so he was glad he’d found a place with shelter, warmth, and people to look after him. 

In the courtyard, Shen Yuan grinned as he pulled his sword out and held it out to Liu Qingge for him to examine. 

He took it carefully in his hands. While it wasn’t a spiritual sword, it was a suitable, basic sword that would serve its purpose. No better or worse than some of the live training swords on Bai Zhan. He nodded and passed the sword back to Shen Yuan before he opened his qiankun pouch. 

“Here, I brought some weapon options as well.” He pulled out the variety of swords he’d brought from his home. While he hadn’t actually meant to bring his entire weapons rack, he basically had. He knew Shen Yuan preferred swords over any other weapon, but he didn’t know what sort of sword he’d preferred. 

“Wow, you brought back all of these?” he stared at the options. “So you knew where you were coming? You chose to come back here? But I worked so hard to get you home!” 

“I wanted to come back to you. Do not send me away like that again.” 

Shen Yuan sputtered. “I didn’t mean to upset you so much by sending you home! What about your sister?”

“Mingyan is strong. She wished me luck and to work on finding a way to return to her with you at my side. I plan to keep my promise to her.” 

Liu Qingge nodded as he picked up one of the shorter swords and tested its grip in his hand. The shorter blades would fit Shen Yuan’s slight frame better than the standard-length blade he’d been using. Wan Jian crafted the sword he’d selected, so it was a master blade still filled with potential. In fact, Liu Qingge was confident that with enough time, the sword would become a spiritual blade, bound to one person. Its green silk-wrapped handle and pale purple-grey blade had reminded him of Shen Yuan when he’d been selecting weapons. 

“This one suits you,” he said. 

Shen Yuan took the blade, staring at it while chewing at his lip. “It’s beautiful. You’re sure I can use it?” 

“I brought all of this for you.” 

“Why did you return?” he finally asked as he looked up at Liu Qingge. “Ah, not that I’m not happy to see you, but I just don’t understand. You returned home; you were safe and away from this and back at your home. Why would you return to this place where there’s no guarantee you’ll ever see your family again?” 

“Because you are here,” he said simply. “I want to be with you.” 

Shen Yuan’s face turned a brilliant red, and he stammered, tripping over his words into a squeaking mess of sounds. “I-well we can be the best of friends for sure.” 

“I would be honored with that, but that’s not why I came here,” he said. 

“Oh no, do you need something paid back? I can-“

“I like you. In a way that connects our hearts across time and planes.” He held out the glowing heat gem. “My heart has made space for you, if you want it.” 

It wasn’t the beautiful confession that he was sure his sister would have been able to put together. She’d always been far better with words than he was, but he hoped that his meaning came across and that his sincerity mattered. Shen Yuan stared at him, eyes wide, heart pounding fast enough that Liu Qingge could clearly hear it racing. 

“Wait, you’re gay!?” Shen Yuan asked, voice cracking. 

“...gay?”

“That you want to kiss men!” 

Liu Qingge blinked. He’d never even considered kissing anyone before. “I like you. Not all men.” He didn’t like the accusation that he would just like all men. Liu Qingge barely tolerated most people; that’s why he was good at fighting. 

Shen Yuan stared at him and then turned and started pacing in the room. “I... you like me? Like romantically? Not like we’re besties? Or maybe just that I’m the first person you’ve taught?” 

“You’re not. I have a personal disciple, and I’ve taught the students at my peak.”

Shen Qingqiu had encouraged that, and Liu Qingge had noticed the students improving after some instruction from him. 

“So... me?”

“Yes, you, Shen Yuan,” he said, stepping closer to the other man and holding his hand out. 

“But I’m-I mean I can’t even fight.” 

“You killed a Cloud-Piercing Horse Snake. You know all about the plants and monsters. Besides, fighting is not the only thing that makes someone worth caring for. You took a stranger into your home, helped me, rescued me when I was poisoned, guided me through a world I didn’t understand. You’re brave and beautiful.” 

Shen Yuan turned bright red. “You can’t just say things like that!” 

“Why not?”

“I-because you’re too pretty for me to hear things like that! About me!” 

Liu Qingge felt his face heat. “You think I’m... pretty?”

He’d never been fond of that word, but when Shen Yuan said it, it didn’t seem so bad. 

Shen Yuan stammered and made some noises like a pot boiling over as he squeaked and turned even more red. 

“I...I mean I have eyes! You’re beautiful and so strong! And with just the aura of a protagonist!” 

 “A protagonist?” 

“Just like someone important, someone you can’t take your eyes from, and that you want to root for no matter what they’re going against!” 

“Do you feel the same way as me then?” Liu Qingge asked. 

He wouldn’t force Shen Yuan; as long as he could be close by, he would be content, but the way Shen Yuan talked made hope bloom in his chest, warm and desperate. 

Shen Yuan cleared his throat. “Well, I’m not gay.” 

“You don’t like men then,” Liu Qingge said, accepting it. “I won’t-“

“But I mean, only an idiot wouldn’t like someone as handsome and strong and brave and funny as you! That’s just natural common sense!” 

“So you do like me?” he asked, confused and not wanting to hope for the impossible. 

“Well, of course I do.” Shen Yuan said, face now an impossible shade of red. “D-do you want to see my sword forms or not?” 

Liu Qingge smiled and nodded, stepping back and letting Shen Yuan use the new sword and calm down. Shen Yuan liked him too, thought it was obvious that he should like him. How few people had ever thought something like that about him? 

People found him intimidating and awkward to be around. He always had to be careful about how he dealt with people — well he was supposed to be careful, but he rarely bothered with that around other people. But Shen Yuan didn’t care about that. 

Liu Qingge could barely focus on the movement of the sword steps, and honestly, he saw Shen Yuan flustered enough that his steps faltered. He should just stay quiet about it, let the moment pass for them both, but he wouldn’t let things pass him by anymore. 

Shen Yuan liked him back. 

He stepped in. “Let me correct your moves,” he said. 

Shen Yuan blinked and stopped. “Oh, am I doing it wrong?”

Liu Qingge moved over and put his hand over Shen Yuan’s around the hilt of the sword. His own face burned, and he felt Shen Yuan’s heart racing in their shared touch. “Like this,” he said, easing through the steps with Shen Yuan. 

Their bodies moved closely together through the motions. Slowly he felt Shen Yuan relax and not tense under his touch; they moved together through the motions like a singular river flowing. 

“There, better?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan nodded, turning to look at Liu Qingge as his face grew more and more red. Then, almost at the same moment, they leaned together, lips touching. Liu Qingge let his hand wrap around Shen Yuan’s, grip gentle, easy to break free from. He would not force or demand anything. 

He wanted to be wanted. 

Shen Yuan shivered in his arms and then flung his arms wide, dropping the sword and wrapping them around Liu Qingge in a firm hug. When their lips parted, he pressed his face against Liu Qingge’s chest; the tips of his ears stayed bright red. His voice muffled as he spoke. 

“Who knew you would be such a smooth operator?” he muttered. 

He smiled and wrapped his arms around Shen Yuan to hold him, savoring the warmth and feeling of someone holding so tightly to him. Someone who wanted to be here, in his arms. Someone he had chosen and who had chosen him right back.

“Are my sword forms really that bad?” Shen Yuan mumbled from where he was hiding his face. 

Liu Qingge gently pulled Shen Yuan’s hand from his face and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Shen Yuan’s hand.

“We have time to work on it together.”

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan would not call them boyfriends. They were cultivation partners who occasionally kissed and held hands. That was all! He didn’t need to call it something in order to justify his or Liu Qingge’s emotions. All he needed to do was make sure that they just kept exploring and enjoying the world together and growing as cultivators. 

The world still had a lot of strangeness to it, and though Shen Yuan knew quite a bit, there were still some unknowns here. Luo Binghe’s parents didn’t even exist in this world yet, the Endless Abyss hadn’t fully formed, everything still was in flux with demons and humans mostly coexisting in the same areas. Every day he seemed to learn some new bit of information that made him curse Airplane again, but at least that wasn’t any different from his life before all of this. 

Cursing Airplane truly was a universal experience. 

He worked through the sword forms again, feeling more confident in them every day. He didn’t jump when Liu Qingge slid behind him to wrap his arms around Shen Yuan’s arms and work through the movements with him. “You still tense up at the central pose. Relax your legs more.” 

“I don’t know why sword forms should have relaxation in them. They’re all about beating things, not relaxing.” 

Liu Qingge laughed softly. “They are about the movement, not the violence.” 

Shen Yuan sighed at the answer. “You say that every time.” 

“And it remains true every time.” 

Shen Yuan flopped backwards, knowing Liu Qingge would support his weight and not let him fall. 

“We should go to the north,” Shen Yuan said. 

“Oh?”

“There’s something there I want to show you,” Shen Yuan said with a grin. 

He hoped he was right, at least. His sense of direction had gotten better, but there was no promise with how the geography of this world worked. Maybe they’d head that way and find nothing, but Shen Yuan felt in his gut it was the place for them, and in the world of Airplane logic, that mattered more than any cardinal direction.

“If that’s where you want to go, then we will.” 

“You’re going to spoil me.” 

Liu Qingge just hummed thoughtfully, not disagreeing. “What do you think is to the north?”

“A surprise,” Shen Yuan said. 

If he was right, then the mountains of Cang Qiong were there, but if he was wrong, well, he didn’t want to look like an idiot or get Liu Qingge’s hopes up. He knew the man had given up his home and his place in the sect just to come after Shen Yuan, to be with him, so he wanted to find a way to give him something back. 

It wasn’t the same, but no matter how many times Shen Yuan suggested it, Liu Qingge refused to go back without taking Shen Yuan with him. Unfortunately, every wish-granting flower they had found so far hadn’t had the power to send two people back, so they continued on. Shen Yuan didn’t mind it actually; he got to experience the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way without having to worry that much about the plot coming to get them. The creatures and the natural things were basically the same, but there were no cultivation sects, and no wives to offend accidentally. 

He got to have his adventure basically every day, and feel like the protagonist of his own life instead of just someone watching someone else’s adventure. And he had his own protagonist at his side too!

Liu Qingge was strong, fast, and listened! He didn’t always just charge straight in; he let Shen Yuan offer advice and then took it into consideration. They’d managed to kill a Ruby Encrusted Beetle after Shen Yuan told him about the weak spot where its legs met its shell! Not even Luo Binghe had killed it since he’d only learned its weakness after it had escaped him. 

Shen Yuan wanted to give something to Liu Qingge to say thank you, to give him something that expressed all these overwhelming emotions that swirled in his chest every time Liu Qingge smiled at him or looked at him with those warm, beautiful eyes. 

There probably wasn’t a big enough way to say thank you, because Shen Yuan always assumed his life would be contained within the small apartment he’d settled into, but then Liu Qingge had crashed into his life, literally.

He’d destroyed a car and then just continued to be there, a steady, warm presence at his side. He felt like an extension of Shen Yuan himself, another part of him that he was slowly getting so used to, and couldn’t imagine not having.

“Did you want to try flying on your sword again?” Liu Qingge asked.

He groaned. While he’d gotten much better at his sword and qi control, he still had a hard time managing sword flight, and besides, why did he need to use his own sword when he had someone as reliable as Liu Qingge to depend on, and to hold him close while they flew. So he hadn’t worked particularly hard at it, to be honest. 

Liu Qingge sighed, shaking his head but smiling at the realization that no, Shen Yuan had not been working on improving his sword flight. 

“I can hover now! But I still can’t manage long distances or going very fast. I don’t have enough qi for that still,” Shen Yuan absolutely did not pout as he spoke. 

His... kissing friend, who was a boy, but not a boyfriend like a gay guy would have, just smiled and offered his hand to Shen Yuan. He happily took it and hopped onto Liu Qingge’s sword, knowing the routine well by now. Liu Qingge wrapped an arm around his waist and held Shen Yuan close as they rose into the air. 

Once they got to the clouds, the warm, protective bubble of energy wrapped around them and they began moving, traveling north. Or at least traveling in what Shen Yuan assumed would be north, he still wasn’t the best at determining directions, and besides, he let Liu Qingge lead so he didn’t need to know. 

He relaxed into the warm hold, and smiled as Liu Qingge adjusted the sword to be slightly below the clouds, enough that Shen Yuan could see the environment and note the physical features around them so he could explain any of the particularly strange or interesting natural features. 

“Oh! See that tree? Right now its bark is black, but the sap underneath is rainbow colored! It’s actually incredibly poisonous. A lot of people have died because it looks really pretty and they think it must be harmless.” 

“How quickly does it kill?” 

“Oh, it doesn’t kill you directly. It causes hallucinations, and people usually die because they walk off a cliff or into a river or something and die that way, not from the sap itself. Though I think if you drank or touched too much of it, it probably could kill you. I just don’t know that it’s used that way. Some people also use it as a drug or to have visions as a seer, you know.” 

“Hm, the only seer I’ve met was a succubus and a scammer.” 

Shen Yuan laughed. “What!? You’ve met a succubus?” 

“Not worth remembering,” he muttered, ears going pink. 

“No, you have to tell me!” Shen Yuan demanded. “You can’t just say that and then not tell me the story! Qingge!” 

His ears went redder. “You.... shameless calling me like that!” 

“Do you not want me to call you like that?” 

“I…” Liu Qingge coughed, not bright red. “The succubus just caused problems. Her fortunes were ridiculous too. That’s the story.” 

“Were you affected by the poison?” Shen Yuan asked. 

He couldn’t imagine Liu Qingge being impacted by that kind of effect. Yes, he might blush sometimes, but he never seemed too overwhelmed by anything, and they had encountered a few aphrodisiac types of pollen so far. Nothing too awful, and Shen Yuan warned him in advance, so neither of them had been fully doused at all. 

“No, it’s never had much of an effect on me,” he said. 

Hm, he wondered why that might be. Then again, with as many aphrodisiac things as there were in this world, if it did impact fighters then they would never be able to handle any kind of fight.

Even in the most ridiculous of scenarios in the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, there had been the ability to resist the pollen long enough to battle or flee whatever dangerous scenario existed, but then of course papapa would win out. Maybe heavenly demons were just weak to it? 

That wouldn’t make sense in any way, but it would fit Airplane’s logic. Poisons were useless, but aphrodisiacs were highly effective.

“Why are you thinking so hard about that?” Liu Qingge muttered. 

Shen Yuan laughed. “I’m not. I’m not! Just wondering about all the different effects these poisons can have on different people. Did you know some kinds of demons are immune to most or all poisons just because of their blood?”

Liu Qingge grunted and nodded. 

“Really?”

“Every time there is a demon invasion, someone suggests poison, and it gets denied for that reason. Only pure weapons and skill can conquer a demon properly, not tricks like poison. Even if demons themselves use it. Like that Without A Cure.” 

“Ah, what a stupidly named poison!” Shen Yuan raged. “No one should actually call a serious poison that! And it does have a cure! The same cure as everything else!” 

Liu Qingge went suddenly still. “It has a cure?” 

Shen Yuan suddenly turned red. It was one thing to think about the papapa to cure everything in the privacy of his own head, but it was totally different to actually try to say it out loud! 

“Heavenly demons can cure most any poison with their body fluids,” he said slowly, growing more red with each word. 

Liu Qingge nodded, not seeming to grasp it, but Shen Yuan would not spell anything out for him! He didn’t need to put that kind of cursed information into anyone else’s head! It was cursing his own thoughts enough! 

“What’s your favorite thing you’ve fought?” Shen Yuan asked, desperate to change topics. 

Liu Qingge considered it before telling the story of the dragon fights again. Shen Yuan relaxed to lean back against Liu Qingge’s chest and feel the soothing rumble of his voice and his heart beating so closely. He’d gotten used to that feeling since this was how they usually traveled these days. It was faster to fly, and simpler to fly together. Shen Yuan didn’t have the core support to travel for long, and he enjoyed flying with Liu Qingge. He might keep deliberately not practicing his sword flight to prolong the time they could travel together like this.

“What is to the north? A dragon?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but laugh at the faintly hopeful tone of voice, as if Liu Qingge was asking about going to Disney or some other trip and not going into battle. 

“It’s not a dragon, but I think you’ll still like it. Promise!” 

“I trust you.” 

The simple statement with all the truth of the world rushed over him, and that overwhelming feeling expanded with warmth through his chest and made him want to squeeze Liu Qingge like a plush toy. Was this the cute aggression people talked about sometimes?

They flew through the day and into the night until arriving at another small town. They got shelter easily and information about a dangerous beast lurking in the area. One goat had shown up drained of its blood. In a town this small, even the loss of a few livestock could cause a lot of problems. If they lost any more, the town would struggle to recover and have enough food for the coming cold months. 

So of course, Shen Yuan agreed, and Liu Qingge just quietly nodded, and off they went for a night hunt instead of actually resting. Cultivators didn’t have to sleep every night anyway; Shen Yuan just liked sleeping.

“You’re sure you’re okay to do this and not rest? We’ve been flying all day.” Shen Yuan asked as they walked into the fields of the local farmers. 

“I’m fine. What do you think it is?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Shen Yuan looked around the area and marveled again at how cool it was to see and hear so much better. Now it felt like he had night-vision goggles at all times! Even though it was nearly midnight and there were no lights around aside from the stars and moon, Shen Yuan still could see perfectly fine! It was incredible — 10 out of 10 stars! 

He’d thought that night hunts were stupid and dangerous. Why go after monsters when they could see better than humans at night, but it turned out cultivators really had super hearing and sight! So, it wasn’t like the monster had an advantage here. 

“Well, with this area, mostly flat lands but with some tree coverage, and that it’s drinking blood... so my guess is it’s a Red-Throated Civet. They’re small, sort of cat-like creatures, but they live off of blood. They attack while their prey is sleeping, so we may have to set up a trap to lure it out.” 

Liu Qingge nodded. “Then find a good area and we will set up a camp. I will be the decoy.” 

“What? No, I can-“ 

“I trust you to watch me,” Liu Qingge said. “If there is to be bait, it will be me.” 

“Aiyah,” Shen Yuan sighed and looked around until he found an area surrounded by trees and motioned. “Usually it hides in trees, so we should be near some.” 

Liu Qingge nodded and began setting up camp as usual, starting a small fire and pulling out their sleeping bags. He even started putting together a simple meal. Wow, he was really going all in on selling this! The Red-Throated Civet wasn’t known for being particularly intelligent, so it really didn’t need this much convincing. 

“You haven’t eaten enough today. Eat,” Liu Qingge said, passing over the food he’d just warmed up. 

“Huh?” Shen Yuan blinked. “You want me to eat?” 

“You cannot practice inedia yet; you need to eat.” Liu Qingge held the food out closer to Shen Yuan. “Eat.” 

Shen Yuan laughed. “You really are like a worrying auntie. Fine, fine, I’m eating.” He took the food and happily ate. 

He hadn’t realized that he was hungry until that moment, but now he couldn’t bring himself to stop eating the warm food. It wasn’t anything fancy, but to him it felt like the most delicious meal in the world. He sighed happily as he finished up the meal. Now he was ready to take on the world!

“Alright, Qingge, you get some sleep and I’ll keep a watch on things!” 

Liu Qingge nodded as he got under the blankets and drifted off. If Shen Yuan hadn’t known that he was faking it, he really would have been convinced!

Who knew the War God would be such a good actor! He waited a few moments before getting up and pretending to walk away from the camp. But really, he just found a quiet place to hide and watch. 

In the quiet dark, it only took about an hour before Shen Yuan spotted movement, seeing a slinky creature crawl down one of the trees and move closer to Liu Qingge. At first, it looked like just a cute cat-like beast, but when its mouth opened, large fangs dripped with ichor, its jaw stretching outwards in a distortion of its face.

Not so cute then! 

Shen Yuan watched in horror as it got closer. Had Liu Qingge really fallen asleep? Why was he letting it get so close? 

Just as he was about to attack, Liu Qingge moved with lightning reflexes, beheading the beast in one movement. 

Shen Yuan rushed over to look Liu Qingge over, relieved to see no injuries. 

“Will there be more of them?” Liu Qingge asked as he examined the body. 

“No, they tend to be solitary.” Shen Yuan said, wrinkling his nose as the body melted into sludge.

That was one thing he still hadn’t gotten used to. Weaker demonic beasts tended to just dissolve into goo when they were killed. Stronger ones maintained corpses, but little ones, the ones that were most likely to bother a town like this, just melted to nothing. 

Luo Binghe always seemed to deal with the world-ending level threats in the book, but Shen Yuan quickly learned that the thing most cultivators or normal people dealt with were the smaller monsters. Shen Yuan kind of liked that. He got far more to see and learn about with these kinds of enemies than he would with the big ones! 

“You’re sure you’re okay? It didn’t bite you? Why did you let it get so close?” Shen Yuan worried over him. 

Liu Qingge let himself be manhandled and moved around by Shen Yuan until he was satisfied that Liu Qingge wasn’t secretly hiding some kind of injury. Liu Qingge seemed like the type that would be willing to hide an injury or say it’s nothing when he was ripped to pieces and bleeding out.

Satisfied Liu Qingge wasn’t going to drop dead from a hidden wound, Shen Yuan moved for the sleeping bag to rest, but then Liu Qingge had packed everything back up in an instant.

“Eh??”  

Before Shen Yuan could ask more, Liu Qingge scooped him into his arms and flew him back to the town and an actual inn with an actual bed. They got everything for free as gratitude for killing the monster, which Shen Yuan felt was a little overkill since there wasn’t a whole swarm or a particularly dangerous monster, but he was too tired to argue. As soon as he lay in bed, he was asleep. 

When he woke, they accepted a small payment of thanks from the town and then continued on. Things continued that way until Shen Yuan spotted the river he’d been looking for.

He grinned. “Qingge, we’re nearly there, look, look.” 

They’d arrived just at sunset. Light painted the sky in oranges and purples, throwing a rainbow of light over the 12 mountains standing tall and proud in the distance like a family waiting to welcome them home. 

“It’s Cang Qiong?” Liu Qingge asked after a moment, eyes soft and warm. 

Shen Yuan grinned and kissed his cheek. “It’s not yet, but it will be.” 

Liu Qingge hummed thoughtfully. “I had not even considered that it would be here already.” 

“And we’ll make it into the sect you know,” Shen Yuan said. “Together.” 

Liu Qingge hugged him closer, enjoying the view. “Together.” 

Chapter Text

When Shen Qingqiu, Liu Mingyan, Yang Yixuan, and Luo Binghe arrived, Liu Qingge had been in the middle of a training session. 

Shen Yuan’s startled yelp and his own senses picked up the disruption in the flow of qi almost at the same time. His husband’s cultivation really had improved so much since they’d made their home here on what would eventually become Cang Qiong Mountain. 

“A portal?” Shen Yuan said as he got to his feet. 

Liu Qingge nodded, and they moved that way, only for Liu Qingge to see the faces he’d long accepted he’d never see again. 

“Shizun, are you okay?” Luo Binghe, of course, worried over his husband as Shen Qingqiu waved him off. “This master is fine, I just want to confirm we-shidi!” Shen Qingqiu smiled and waved before freezing when he spotted Shen Yuan.

Shen Qingqiu went pale and then pointed his fan. “You-you are??”

Shen Yuan frowned, arms crossing over his chest. “Who are you?”

“Don’t demand anything of shizun like that,” Luo Binghe snapped.

Liu Qingge stepped in front of his husband. “Shen Yuan, this is Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe, my sister, Liu Mingyan, and my personal disciple, Yang Yixuan,” Liu Qingge introduced everyone. “How are you here?”

“Shen-shibo figured out a way to allow us to come here temporarily,” Liu Mingyan said, her eyes bright. “Brother, you look well.” 

“En,” he nodded. “We are.” 

“So, show us around; this will be Cang Qiong Sect one day, won’t it?” Yang Yixuan asked, looking around. “I see the twelve peaks, but they’re weird. No one lives there?”

Liu Qingge nodded, pleased with his student. “Correct. These are the mountains before anyone began cultivating on them. Now tell me, are you Peak Lord yet?” 

Yang Yixuan lowered his head, kicking at the ground. “Not yet,” he muttered. 

Liu Mingyan looked amused. “He has yet to surpass my shizun in combat.” 

He nodded at his sister. Defeating Qi Qingqiu would be a challenge, and until he could manage that, he could not be called a successor at all. 

“Come, we will show you our home and have tea. How long are you staying?” Shen Yuan asked, starting to walk back to their home on the mountain that would become Bai Zhan. 

“Only a few hours, the ritual will return us then,” Shen Qingqiu said, fan coming up over his face though his eyes kept darting to Shen Yuan. 

Strange. Surely the two of them didn’t know each other; that would be impossible.

Liu Qingge motioned. “This way,” he said and began guiding the group up the simple pathway they had created to their home. 

It wasn’t anything as grand as the sect would become, but their cottage served its purpose well and would do well enough as a tea space for everyone for the time being. 

The group followed along, and his heart warmed at hearing Shen Yuan and Mingyan talking. He wanted his sister to like the partner he’d chosen. He always assumed they would if they ever got the chance to meet, and now here he was, listening to them talk to one another as Shen Yuan showed off the wedding ring he’d insisted on.

Liu Qingge hadn’t been aware of such a custom, but it was easy to commission matching rings and wear them as a visible sign of their bond. They’d performed a basic ceremony, bowing to the heavens, the mountains, and each other, and now called each other husband. 

He also had learned why Mingyan had snuck that oil and those books into his bag and should find a way to thank her, he thought with a flush. 

Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, was quiet, and hiding behind his fan more than usual. Luo Binghe worried over his husband while Yang Yixuan ignored them and tried to join in on the conversation with Mingyan and Shen Yuan, excitedly admiring Shen Yuan’s spiritual weapon. 

It had been long enough that the sight of Shen Qingqiu didn’t affect his heart in the same way, and while he and Shen Yuan bore some similarities, no one could ever surpass his husband in his heart now. 

The cottage was simple, decorated simply with furniture they’d gotten from the small but growing village at the foot of the mountains. A table, some chairs, a bed — all simple but perfectly tailored for the two of them.

Thankfully, they had enough pillows for everyone to kneel on as they gathered around the table. Shen Yuan smiled and excused himself to go make tea, and Shen Qingqiu offered to help.

Liu Qingge sat by Luo Binghe but glanced towards the kitchen area, trying to eavesdrop but unable to hear anything. He and Luo Binghe exchanged a glance before they both stood. 

“Shisu, do you have a training ground nearby?” Luo Binghe asked. 

Liu Qingge nodded and led Luo Binghe outside, where both of them immediately walked around the cottage to the other side to better listen in on their husbands in the kitchen. 

“Peerless Cucumber!? What the fuck!?” Shen Yuan said, pointing at Shen Qingqiu. “You... you what!?” 

“Yeah, Airplane too,” Shen Qingqiu said. 

“What? Who!? How?” Shen Yuan’s voice cracked. 

“Shang Qinghua.” 

Shen Yuan blinked several times before snorting and laughing hard. “For real?”

“Deadass,” Shen Qingqiu said. 

“Wait, wait, Qingge said Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun are married in your world?” 

“Yup.”

Shen Yuan rubbed his temples. “Okay, so... you and Airplane both ended up in that novel?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t realize until way after I arrived. He’d been here since he was a baby; I didn’t get here until Binghe was 14.” 

“14!? Wait, that means you had to do the whole demon invasion and the immortal conference thing? Did you change it?”

“System locked.” Shen Qingqiu looked down at the teapot. “The only thing I could change was saving Liu Qingge.”

Shen Yuan frowned. “Well, thanks for that. You really have a System?”

“It’s mostly gone now. You don’t?”

“No, I guess since Qingge was in my world I didn’t get one.”

“Bullshit. Why do you get easy mode?”

Liu Qingge had never heard Shen Qingqiu swear so readily before; by the way Luo Binghe’s eyes were widening, he hadn’t either.

Shen Yuan ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I guess I just really lucked out. No System and I get Qingge?” 

“Well, he’s no Binghe, but-“ 

“What? Only because that hack killed him off so he wouldn’t overshadow the protagonist!” 

“No, Binghe just naturally overshadows anyone, because he is the best.” Shen Qingqiu said. 

“No way, my Qingge is way better,” Shen Yuan shook his head as he got water boiling. 

Shen Qingqiu got the tea leaves together. “He is not, you read the book.” 

“Well, the book isn’t good now that I know Qingge. He should have been the protagonist.” 

“Absolutely not.”

“Just admit you’re wrong.” 

“I am not! Until he can control Xin Mo-“

“That is an overpowered golden finger because that hack Airplane couldn’t think of any other way for him to get out of the Endless Abyss, and you know it!” 

“He doesn’t even use it except for times like this, and he is still the emperor AND leader of Huan Hua Sect.”

“Yeah, well, we can travel and explore whatever we want with no responsibilities. I’ve already written three field guides.” Shen Yuan crossed his arms. He was very proud of his field guides. 

“...can I see them?” Shen Qingqwiu asked. 

Liu Qingge glanced at Luo Binghe, who looked as thoughtful as Liu Qingge, confused but flattered by his husband’s devotion. 

“What’s an Airplane?” Liu Qingge asked. 

Luo Binghe shook his head. “It’s shizun’s most hated thing.”

Liu Qingge nodded; Shen Yuan hated it too. The two really reminded him of one another in some ways, though they couldn’t be more different in other ways. 

“What is System?” Luo Binghe asked. 

Liu Qingge shook his head. “I don’t know.” 

The two men looked at each other, and Liu Qingge felt a rare moment of kinship with the demon lord. The moment quickly passed as they both hurried back inside before their husbands returned with tea. 

Mingyan nodded at him as he sat back down with her. She looked more and more like their mother the older she got, and he hoped their parents would be proud of the choices he’d made. 

“Will you be able to visit again?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“Occasionally,” Shen Qingqiu said, looking at Shen

She nodded. “Yes, not very often, but at least once every year and a half with Luo Binghe’s assistance.”

Liu Qingge nodded to the demon lord. “Thank you.”

“We will come as long as shizun wants,” Binghe said simply.

Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu walked in, each carrying a tray of tea and serving it. The way they moved eerily mimicked each other, though Shen Yuan was slightly less fluid in his motions.

“I couldn’t help but overhear,” Shen Qingqiu said as he finished serving his husband tea and took his seat for Binghe to pour tea for him. “I wish we could visit more often, but we cannot use Xin Mo carelessly. A year and a half between visits is the safest amount of time between visits, and the portal only lasts for a shichen.” 

“En, I’m grateful you can visit at all.” Liu Qingge said. 

“Once every two years is fine,” Shen Yuan said, sipping at his tea. 

He and Shen Qingqiu kept looking at each other as if they were communicating telepathically. He knew the two of them would get along once they met, so it was good to see he was right. The two really reminded him of one another. 

“I’m glad I can see you again, brother, and meet your partner.” Mingyan said, bringing her cup under her veil and drinking carefully. 

“Tell me what I have missed?” he asked. 

Shen Qingqiu explained the latest issues, Huan Hua trying to plan a new Immortal Alliance Conference, which really just meant Luo Binghe doing whatever he thought Shen Qingqiu would like. His fellow Peak Lords continued on as usual, only now there were occasional visits from other demons than just Mobei Jun and Luo Binghe. Rarely, there were even organized sparring events between the students and some weaker demons. 

Liu Mingyan and the demon saintess Sha Hualing apparently often sparred. 

“I look forward to hearing how the event goes this time,” Liu Qingge said. 

“No portals to the Endless Abyss planned?” Shen Yuan asked. 

Shen Qingqiu almost choked on his tea before setting his cup back down. “No, there will be no unexpected challenges this time.” The Peak Lord reached over to put a hand on Luo Binghe’s knee at the mention of the abyss. 

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Luo Binghe had spent years trapped in that place. 

“We actually have been to the Endless Abyss, you know,” Shen Yuan said. 

“You did?” Luo Binghe asked. 

“What!?” Shen Qingqiu nearly rose from his seat before sitting back down. “How…interesting. Did you see anything of note?” 

“Yes, the Shattered Glass Dessert, and Portaled City, and Shadow Village, to just name a few,” Shen Yuan said. 

“Mn, the Abyss is not yet fully formed here,” Liu Qingge said. “We plan to return to it.” 

Shen Qingqiu pulled out his fan, fluttering it in front of his face and hiding his expression. 

“Does shizun want to go to the Endless Abyss?” Luo Binghe asked. 

“No, no, of course not!” Shen Qingqiu assured his husband. “Now, our time is almost up, we should prepare to leave.” 

Liu Mingyan got to her feet, and Liu Qingge met her, pulling her into a hug. As soon as he let go of his sister, she offered a bow to Shen Yuan, but he pulled her into a hug as well. Her eyes brightened. “It is nice to meet you, brother-in-law. Thank you for taking care of my brother.” 

Shen Yuan nodded. “It’s good to meet you too. You’re just as cool as I heard!” 

“Cool?”

“It is a compliment,” Liu Qingge said. 

She nodded, considering the word. “You are cool too, Shen Yuan.”

Shen Qingqiu made a strange snorting sound, and Luo Binghe worried over his husband, and hurriedly began herding everyone out the door. 

“Do you need to be in a particular location for the return?” Liu Qingge asked. 

“No, no, just an open location works better,” Shen Qinqiu said. “Binghe, are you ready?”

His husband nodded, pulling the cursed sword from his bag. “I am ready.” 

“Next you return, I expect to address you as a peak lord,” Liu Qingge said to Yang Yixuan. “Do not disappoint me.” 

His foolish disciple stood straighter and then bowed deeply. “I’ll be a peak lord next visit. I swear!”

Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan looked at each other before Shen Yuan held out his hand. Shen Qingqiu held it, and the two shook their joined hands up and down. 

“The heavenly pillar, really?” Shen Yuan whispered. 

Shen Qingqiu sputtered and jerked his hand away as his face flamed bright red. “Binghe, let us leave now.” 

Binghe listened to his husband and obediently opened the portal. The group stepped through, and vanished. 

“So that’s the Shen Qingqiu you know?” Shen Yuan asked after a moment. 

“En,” Liu Qingge nodded as he returned to their house and collected the cups to wash. 

“Was he always like that?” Shen Yuan asked as they got everything into the sink.

“Like what?” 

Shen Yuan frowned, leaning against Liu Qingge’s shoulder as he activated the water talisman and began washing the dishes clean. 

“Was he always like that, or did he ever drastically change overnight?” Shen Yuan asked. 

Liu Qingge considered the time they all assumed Shen Qingqiu had been possessed. “He had a qi deviation years ago and was different after that.” 

“HA, I bet he thought he faked it so well!” Shen Yuan laughed.  

“What?” Liu Qingge looked at him.

Shen Yuan shook his head. “Nothing you need to worry about it.”

“You only say that when you don’t want to explain.”

Shen Yuan grinned. “Have I told you I love you yet today?”

Liu Qingge felt the heat rush up his cheeks. No matter how many times he heard it, it made his heart stutter. 

“No. Not yet today.” 

Shen Yuan wrapped his arms around Liu Qingge. “Well, I love you, Qingge, and I am so glad you transmigrated onto my path.” 

Liu Qingge nodded and pulled Shen Yuan close. “I’d defeat a thousand car beasts for the chance to meet you again.” 

He laughed, bright and delighted. “Well, maybe we don’t need to worry about that right now. For now, how about the dishes?” 

Liu Qingge nodded and enjoyed the moment before he glanced at his husband. “What’s a Peerless Cucumber?”

Shen Yuan squeaked and dropped the teacup he was washing.