Chapter Text
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It had been five very long days of silence from the System. Shen Qingqiu moved through his days on autopilot, all the while feeling like a predator hidden behind him was moments away from pouncing. Being on high alert for 120 hours was taking its toll. True, Shen Qingqiu was now starting to feel a bit less twitchy, but that was only because exhaustion was beginning to creep up on him.
Is my punishment the silent treatment from the System? Hello? Did my OOC accidently fry your circuits? Surely you can give me a hint here as to what I am supposed to be doing?
The System would not respond to any of his questions. It issued no more OOC warnings. It didn’t even call him out when he hid in the kitchen’s pantry after he heard from a junior disciple that Yue Qingyuan had shown up and was asking around for him. (Maybe that’s because this action was not quite as OOC as he thought.)
He knew Yue Qingyuan would take one look at his less than immaculate appearance and probably physically carry Shen Qingqiu to Qian Cao. Mu Qingfang would then ask him all kinds of questions he couldn’t answer.
Hell, maybe he should go camp out on Qian Cao Peak so he could get some sleep without worry. When he lay in his own bed at home sleep evaded him.
No help would come if he qi deviated in his sleep. No disciple on Qing Jing Peak would dare bust into Shizun’s private bedroom even if he went missing for a day or two. They would wait a few days then notify the Sect Leader so he could investigate.
An even worse thought occurred to him, what if the ‘punishment’ wasn’t a qi deviation. He couldn’t stop thinking of all the different dreadful consequences the System might inflict on him during the time he was alone and unconscious. He felt very vulnerable when he closed his eyes.
---
Nighttime of the sixth day approached. Shen Qingqiu was trying to read a book in the dim light of his study. Trying was the key word here. It was an interesting book about the history of demon/human truces. It probably had some good plot relevant information in it. Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t know because he kept having to reread pages over and over. He would get to the end of the passage and realize he had retained absolutely none of the information. He hadn’t set the book aside for later yet because he was trying to ignore his desk- on top of which there was huge stack of student work he needed to critique.
It was going to be a warm summer night; outside the bugs were already singing. On his comfortable day bed, with the red talisman withing reaching distance, Shen Qingqiu began to doze off finally. He had previously been eating sweet snacks he pulled from his secret stash to stay awake. Now he felt full and lazy.
The sound of fabric ripping had Shen Qingqiu blinking his eyes open and glancing around. A scent, much like the smell after a night of popping fireworks (was it the smell of burnt black powder and smoke?), enveloped the room and made Shen Qingqiu’s eyes itch. The part of the room by his desk looked… fuzzy and out of focus. There a black portal opened and out stepped tall and regal-
“Binghe?!”
Adult Binghe?!
The confused shot of adrenaline to his system had Shen Qingqiu slamming his open book down and standing up suddenly. His sword, which had been propped near the head of the day bed clattered to the floor inside its sheath.
This Luo Binghe took three steps forward into the room until he was standing on Xiu Ya’s hilt. This was not the sweet child he had met days ago. On his handsome face his lips were pulled up into a grin but there was no sincerity in his eyes. The glowing demon mark on his forehead stood out. His black robe was opened, just enough to show off the firm muscles of his abdomen. Too indecent by this universe’s standards! He was taller and broader than his delicate Shizun. He was also clearly so much more powerful than Shen Qingqiu. The Peak Lords knees almost buckled under the pressure of his chaotic aura.
Even though it brought him closer to the protagonist, Shen Qingqiu tried to subtly inch forward so he could grab his emergency talisman in case things turned ugly.
“Shizun. This Lord is surprised at how quickly you recognized your newest disciple!” Luo Binghe was acting so casual, like he had been invited into the study for tea and a chat.
He picked up the book Shen Qingqiu had previously been reading. The half-demon raised his eyebrows and snorted when he read the title. He picked up the red talisman, that was still just out of Shen Qingqiu’s reach. He used the talisman as a book mark and placed the book behind him on top of the stack of students’ papers. Xin Mo was then unsheathed. Not even pointed at Shen Qingqiu, the threat was still clear.
Was this a blackened Luo Binghe… from the future?
“Luo Binghe, what are you doing here?” Shen Qingqiu said sternly. He realized he was so nervous he had started using his ‘teacher voice’, and inwardly cringed.
Demon Lord Luo Binghe just laughed. He began to walk forward. With each step forward, Shen Qingqiu took a step back until (oh what a cliché!) his back hit the wall and Luo Binghe cornered him. The hand not holding Xin Mo grabbed both of Shen Qingqiu’s wrists. His hand was able to circle both wrists at the same time. Shen Qingqiu suddenly felt as if his arm bones were hollow and breakable, like a little sparrow. Just a little more pressure and they would snap and splinter.
Luo Binghe let out a sigh and leaned down until the demon mark on his forehead rested against Shen Qingqiu’s forehead. Too close!
“Why is this Shizun not even surprised that I’m a demon?” Luo Binghe pouted. “Did Shizun already know and still take a demon as a disciple? How unlike a righteous cultivator! ”
Shen Qingqiu started stuttering out nonsense as he was unsure of what he could actually reveal. Luo Binghe just hushed him. “Shh, shh. I know. I shouldn’t be surprised when it’s this version of you, so naive and… gentle. Must be nice, one day you wake up and all your sins are erased, you’re completely innocent, hmm?”
Was... this a blacked Luo Binghe… from another time line???
“What… do you mean by that?” Shen Qingqiu asked. This is a story, just a story. He can get this villain(?) monologuing and maybe find out what he wants.
Luo Binghe didn’t answer his question, but he did keep talking. “This Luo Binghe wanted to make sure you were treating your newest disciple fairly! Luo Binghe is so scared when he has to sleep alone in the woodshed.” Luo Binghe’s face was sincere, but his tone was fake sugary sweet. Like he was mocking Shen Qingqiu’s ‘innocence.’ “But I’m glad to see this ‘Big Brother’ has no reason to worry about his A-Luo.”
Luo Binghe’s aura was even stronger this close. Unstable demonic energy pulsed out eroding all other energies present. It was strenuous just being in his presence. Shen Qingqiu felt like he should be making a strategy to escape this scene alive. Wasn’t he Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s Master Strategist? Instead in his head he only had different iterations of the same three thoughts: ‘Holy Shit.’ ‘This wasn’t in the novel.’ ‘System please help!’
“Why?” Shen Qingqiu managed to ask. Why is any of this happening?
“I don’t have any reason to worry about A-Luo because you are a Nice Shizun!”
A ‘Nice’ Shizun? Has he met other nice Shizuns? Other transmigrators or even crazier: other ‘Shen Yuan’s? That didn’t really help explain anything at all. Was Blackened Binghe really running around the AU’s checking on his counterparts’ well-being?
“This Shizun is asking: why are you doing this?” Now Shen Qingqiu sounded way braver than he felt. Fake it ‘til you make it. He really wished Luo Binghe would take a step back and maybe sinisterly pace up around during his villainous(??) monologue like in cartoons. Because right now he was too close. Way too close.
As if Luo Binghe could read Shen Qingqiu’s thoughts he only pressed closer.
“It’s okay if you don’t understand yet, Shizun. Here it is so so much earlier in the timeline than anywhere else! I can’t believe it has been less than a week since you first met A-Luo.” The light gust of air from Luo Binghe’s sigh made Shen Qingqiu cringe in on himself. “Oh well, you see Shizun, when you’re as old as I am and you’ve been using Xin Mo this long, the toll it takes…”
As he was speaking, he leaned back, only to raise his sword Xin Mo up. Shen Qingqiu flinched back so hard he felt his head crack the wall. He was forced to still when Xin Mo was brought up to his throat. The blade did not slice any flesh, instead Luo Binghe simply let the flat side rest against Shen Qingqiu’s collar bone. The sharp edge was not forcefully pressed into his neck, but Shen Qingqiu felt like it was close enough that if he even breathed too deeply it would draw blood.
Everything went quiet and all Luo Binghe did was stare. No expression crossed his face, so Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what he was looking for.
When Shen Qingqiu dared to meet his eyes, Luo Binghe’s face broke out into a smile. Not a mocking one, but a smile identical to the brilliant smile little Binghe had given him only five days ago. Shen Qingqiu instinctively turned away. The movement pressed his neck into the sword ever so slightly drawing blood. A few fat drops of the red blood rolled down Xin Mo’s edge until they reached the hand holding the hilt.
Luo Binghe hissed like he was the one who had been cut. “The two of you…” he started to whisper like he was telling a secret. “Xin Mo and Shizun… oh, it’s so distracting. Enough to drive a man mad.” His stare was hungry and intense but his body was relaxing against Shen Qingqiu’s. Shen Qingqiu didn’t dare breathe or blink. He noticed the drops of his blood had now soaked into Luo Binghe’s sleeve. The wet red blood turned the black an even darker shade.
Maybe he didn’t avoid his fate of becoming a human-stick after all. Maybe he only sped up the time line.
Luo Binghe broke the moment by withdrawing Xin Mo and sheathing it. Shen Qingqiu took in a small shaky breath.
“What was I saying?...” The Demon Lord shook his head as he tried to break out of his stupor. “Ah, the important part- In a few years, when he is older, A-Luo is going to go on a little trip. When he comes back, he will have changed. You won’t even recognize him as the little boy sleeping in the dorms right now.”
The Abyss? Is he talking about the abyss?
“He’s not going to be happy with you after his trip, Shizun.” Luo Binghe made his eyes big and earnest looking. “And, his sword, Xin Mo, is going to make it so much worse. Do you think you could play nice long enough to separate him from that cursed sword, Shizun? Shizun won’t have to worry about Luo Binghe after that. I’ll make sure Shizun is safe.”
Shen Qingqiu just frowned trying to cover up his confusion. Where is he going with this? Does he want TWO Xin Mos? That’s a terrible idea!
“There’s no way that you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart!... If you want me to betray MY Luo Binge, I won’t do it!” Anger born from frustration was starting to rise in Shen Qingqiu. This wasn’t in the novel. It should NOT be happening!
Luo Binghe raised his eyebrows and let out two sharp hysterical barks of laughter.
“Oh no! Shizun does not care about his safety? Shizun won’t betray his disciple?” He said still smiling. He sounded like he was talking to a small silly child. “Okay let me try this a different way…”
Luo Binghe used his free hand to poke Shen Qingqiu lightly on the nose and leave it gently pressed there. If he was trying to unsettle Shen Qingqiu it was definitely working.
“In the future your Binghe’s power will be unsealed. And soon after- his heritage’s power will be in its most raw malleable state… and I’m going to come back. I’m going to break his Xin Mo so he can’t run or hide. Then I will consume his core and drain his meridians dry.” Shen Qingqiu was frozen in incomprehension. The Demon Emperor didn’t like the lack of reaction and so slip his finger from Shen Qingqiu’s nose to under his chin. He lifted Shen Qingqiu’s chin so they could make eye contact. “Shizun, I’m going to devour him.”
Shen Qingqiu’s eyes widened in fear and confusion.
WTF! System! Where did this plot twist come from? System, you’re really going to let an evil alternate universe version show up and ‘devour’ my Binghe??? And what does he mean by ‘devour’! Figuratively? Literally?
(Demons literally consuming each other for a power boost or to stabilize their chaotic energy had been mentioned several times in Airplane’s novel.
Shen Yuan remembered a late novel demon wife plot explicitly about that. An ugly jealous younger sister planned to fucking eat her beautiful married older sister. The little sister had her jiejie stripped, oiled down, and tied up Shibari style. The oven was preheating or some nonsense shit. Then Luo Binghe bust in to save his wife… and you can probably guess the rest. Nobody got eaten… in that way… much to the disappointment of some creep fetishist in the comments. Shen Yuan had typed up a whole dissertation on gaining power through cannibalism and the implications that it had on demon culture and on the plot of the novel.
After that cannibalism and that particular wife were never mentioned again. Maybe her younger sister actually ate her off screen later.)
“Why the hell are you telling me this! I’m not going to train him so you can eat him!” It was easier to be angry than to be scared and confused. Who cares about OOC now? He added, “Fuck you!”
“Shizun! Don’t talk like that!” Luo Binghe looked scandalized but excited, he had a mischievous smile like an elementary student who just overheard their teacher say a naughty word. “You really should train him and train him well! After all, if he doesn’t show progress, I still plan on hunting him down and killing him, it’ll just be less rewarding.”
Xin Mo rotted this guy’s brain. This guy is nuts. This guy is 100% certifiably fucking nuts. He's become desperate to stabilize himself after over using Xin Mo. Just like in the shitty novel I'm wondering- why doesn't he just throw the damned sword away and enjoy his time being the Emperor of three realms? Even without the sword he's peerless!
“Stop this! You need-“
“Look I’m giving him a chance!” Luo Binghe ignored him and continued as if explaining it would make it any better. “I could have just showed up and snatched him away when it was time.”
Yeah, and why didn’t you? thought Shen Qingqiu. What kind of “protagonist” shows up and reveals his plan to EAT his younger self?!
…Did he replace me as the villain?
“Now Shizun has been warned and can do his very best to train A-Luo.” Luo Binghe said in a placating manner patting Shen Qinqiu’s cheek. “We both want him to grow strong. Who knows? Maybe with all your help he might even be strong enough to defeat me when it’s time.”
Enough of this bullshit!
Even though he knew it was a bad idea, Shen Qingqiu wrenched one of his arms free with a burst of qi. Luo Binghe’s one handed grip tightened on his other arm until he heard two snaps. Adrenaline helped him ignore the pain as he lunged forward, summoning his sword. His free hand grabbed the hilt. Shen Qinggiu nearly dropped it when Luo Binghe jerked him to the side by his broken arm. Shen Qingqiu tried to get his broken arm loose but, when he noticed bone beginning to push its way out from under the forearm skin, he knew it was useless.
Still, he fought.
He swung Xiu Ya at darkened Luo Binghe, who disarmed him without ever drawing Xin Mo. One of Luo Binghe’s hands was still bending his one arm in a way that human’s arms were not designed to bend. After the other hand tossed Xiu Ya away it reached back for Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu turned trying to shield his unbroken arm, but that was not Luo Binghe’s aim.
Luo Binghe’s hand wrapped around his slender throat. He slammed him backwards with such force that the wall shook and several things fell from a shelf and broke on the floor. The more She Qingqiu trashed, the tighter the hand squeezed. He felt something inside his throat pop and something else crunch. Oh god what was that? Blood vessels? Trachea or larynx? What all is located in the human neck?
When Luo Binghe let go there was no relief because Shen Qingqiu still felt like he could not breathe. Bloody drool leaked from the corners of his mouth. Luo Binghe flung him to the floor so he instinctively tried to catch himself with his arms. When the bones of his broken arm couldn’t support his falling weight, he felt his nose smash into the floor.
Fuck.
When he turned over Luo Binghe was standing over him, studying him quietly. The only sign he had been a part of this violence was the small wet stain of blood on the cuff of his right sleeve.
“Stay down, Shizun.” Luo Binghe said gently as he crouched down above him.
Shen Qingqiu didn’t stay down. Despite everything he still tried to fight back.
-----
It took a while for Shen Qingqiu to go down and stay down.
When Luo Binghe was finished with him, the entire front of the Demon Lord’s black robes were stained a darker shade, wet with blood. Shen Qingqiu was pretty sure it all came from him. The only time Luo Binghe had bled tonight was when he had sliced open his own finger and forced it into Shen Qingqiu’s mouth. The demon’s blood mixed with his own blood already dripping down his throat. By the time that Luo Binghe had removed the finger, the cut had already healed.
Whatever point Luo Binghe had come here to make, he must have felt like he made it.
Now Luo Binghe was using his blood to fix his broken body. The times the Demon Lord used the blood to purposely inflict pain had hurt less than this. During the torture, Shen Qingqiu’s body had become numb and his mind had briefly slipped away as he acted on instinct. Now with the blood parasites fixing him, nerve endings were being reconnected and tissue was being mended. Shen Qingqiu was painfully aware of each sensation in his surroundings. Everything felt too real.
Luo Binghe held Shen Qingqiu in his lap. Shen Qingqiu’s body was slumped against Binghe’s broad toned chest. His head had been rested against Luo Binghe’s shoulder. Now that the blood parasites were all focused on repairing his throat, his neck was arched in pain. One of Luo Binghe’s hands was tangled in the hair on the back of his head to provide support. Luo Binghe was whispering reassurances as Shen Qingqiu healed. One of his fingers was running up and down the throat he was now healing. Luo Binghe whispered that Shizun was so brave and doing such a good job. At this point Shen Qingqiu couldn’t tell if he was mocking him or not.
Shen Qingqiu had no idea why the stallion novel character felt the needed to cuddle his most hated male teacher. What was he getting out of this?
Shen Qingqiu felt everything in his throat snap into place at last and the pain there faded. Suddenly desperate he took in a big gasp of air, only to choke on the blood running down the back of his throat from his broken nose. He coughed up more blood onto Luo Binghe’s robe in between ineffective gasps for more oxygen.
The finger on his throat had lifted and now was running along the ridge of Shen Qingqiu’s nose. It became easier to breath once the parasites stopped the bleeding and began to put everything back into place. Luo Binghe’s thumb wiped the tears that were leaking down his face. The parasites fixed a cheekbone he hadn’t even realized was broken.
Shen Qingqiu was sure he looked like something out of a horror movie. Blood, tears, snot, and drool were smeared across his face. Luo Binghe pulled out a clean (???) handkerchief and started to wipe gently at his face. The mocking soft touches made Shen Qingqiu’s skin crawl. Shen Qingqiu wanted to scratch out Luo Binghe’s eyes if only to get rid of that fake look of concern. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t move though, even if he dared to try.
“I hate to leave you here, but A-Luo needs you right now.” Luo Binghe said with a sad smile.
Leave MY Binghe alone, you crazy bastard.
“Don’t blame A-Luo.”
I don’t.
“He’s not me just like you’re not… my Shizun… yet.”
Fuck off fuck off fuck off fuck off fuck off
“I’m going to leave now, Shizun.” Shen Qingqiu gave him no outward reaction just to spite him. God he was tired. “I’ll be back.” Still no reaction. “How about same time, same place, next week?” That made Shen Qingqiu jerk in his arms and express his opinion by angrily baring his bloody teeth since he didn’t trust his voice yet. In this confusing situation, anger felt more productive than fear.
“Just a joke Shizun! I’m a very busy emperor you know.” Luo Binghe petted the Peak Lord’s head like he was a dog. “But I will be back soon to check on you and A-Luo.”
Shen Qingqiu went back to ignoring him. Bored of the lack of responses, Luo Binghe stood up with Shen Qingqiu in his arms. Luo Binghe carried him to the day bed. He stood over the day bed and dropped Shen Qingqiu down on it. Shen Qingqiu landed on his side with the broken arm and let out a pained yelp and curled up. Apparently satisfied with that reaction, Luo Binghe walked to Shen Qingqiu’s desk and picked up the book Shen Qingqiu had been reading earlier. He carefully slid out the red talisman from between the pages. He studied it for a few seconds before ripping it in half, activating the alarm.
“Time for me to go for now.” he said. He used Xin Mo to create a portal but lingered on the outside of it. He stayed until he heard someone slamming open the door and rushing to the room Shen Qingqiu was in. It was then that he stepped through and closed the portal behind him.
Oh Hell. How was he going to explain this?
Mu Qingfang stopped dead in the doorway. He had drawn his sword. His other arm was out blocking the entrance of the mix of (nosey) Qian Cao and Qing Jing disciples who had rushed in behind him. There was HIS frightened little Binghe peeking into the room around Mu Qingfang. This was probably a scary scene for him. Shen Qingqiu knew that his room was a bloody mess. Shen Qingqiu also knew HE was a bloody mess.
“Stay there.” Mu Qingfang ordered the nervous disciples as he cautiously entered the room to go to Shen Qingqiu’s side.
Mu Qingfang gently grabbed his one (mostly) uninjured wrist. “Who was that, Shen-shixiong?” he said in a low voice.
Just being by his martial brother made him relax enough to close his tired eyes. Good old Mu Qingfang. So reliable. Definitely one of his top ten favorites. No scratch that. Top FIVE favorites.
More worried and confused Peak Lords eventually showed up to rush back and forth and ask difficult questions. Shen Qingqiu ignored all of them for now as he drifted off to sleep.
Guess this means he’s not the Scum Villain anymore in this story. That’s good. Too bad he was just replaced with a villain much… scummier.
He hoped the System died a bloody digital death for this nonsense.
Now, he just needs to come up with a NEW Plan to keep himself (and everyone else he cares about) from dying a horrible death…
…he’ll do that in the morning.
[.: End of punishment protocol. :.]
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